The Story Game

[Gladys]

they glowed right green- he was in his element; fishMMmmm. Anyway, as he supped te titbits and seemed to be refurbishing with new fur and bright eyes she was getting more and more energy from the fumes that bubbled away in that pot.Suddenly, a bang, a whoosh and a great big flash of GREEN smoke it all went quiet. The clock upstairs could be heard ticking, the vicar was heard preying and hsi wife was no where to be seen! Thhhe fug lifted after an hour or so, she held the jar and the teacup and gently poured a sample. Sipping from the cup she drew deep breath and then gulped the lot. 'This is it, it's my new day!' Then suddenly, Ppummmph, Bang (green smoke agin) Thphlwemmmphmmmoooom!!!! Silence. The cat stared waiting, he knew....

[cathidaw]

from experience that some thing had gone seriously wrong.
He sighed and sat down waiting for the choking green fog to clear
and started licking his paws with a glowing orange tongue, stroking them across his ears.As he touched them an eerie glow spread across them, almost as glowing as his eyes.
"Stupid old woman", he thought. "At her age she should know better than to rush things. One more day and she would have made it."
He wasn't just a scraggy mog--he too had powers, perfected over more years than he could remember, so he was quite an expert in the field of magic spells.
Oh, yes! Wasn't he taught by the Queen of them all, old Beckshie, cleverest witch of all time? But not quite clever enough. Look what happened to her. Trying to get her looks back -got too clever for her own clogs. Too greedy she was. Tried to rush a spell and make it stronger by adding double everything- she went up with a bit MORE than a bubble and a bang and ended up twice as ugly as before.
So excruciatingly hideous was she that even the dogs howled at the sight of her, and sped away, tails between their legs.
The green mist cleared slightly. It looked like Christmas in the cellar -green and red slime hanging from the bricks, all over the raggy bed but the most spectacular sight was................

[Gladys]

The bat hanging upside down. It had a strange skewed look about its face;sort of befuddled. Even more strange was that is was huge, about the size of a small 'vertically challenged' human size and wearing a pink silky thing sort of drapped but flopping off sort of garment. It also seemed to be coughing in an old smokers sort of raspy cough. Suddenly it fell to the floor. Jumped about abit, then lay quietly still. The cat licked her lips and thought 'I like bat' then remembered, this was no ordinary bat. 'Mistress' she whimpered, then sort of nudged the thing and then without response positvely bulldozed her.Again, louder, 'Mistress, Mother, Aunty Whatsit' Louder with each plea and then a cat scream of 'MMMMMmmmmmeeeeeoooowwwwgggrapppphlpglurbbb'. There was a sudden grunt from the bat thing, it shook and then sat up wide eyed staring. The cat moved closer and then....

[cathidaw]

realised that the bat thing was staring at something up in the shadows and was starting to shudder and shake. He turned, and gulped . There on the ceiling was the most stomach churning vision he'd ever set his green eyes upon.
Of course being an experienced 'cat of the world' he knew what it was but nothing had prepared him for this.
There she hung, on one of the rafters, the oldcrone he'd see mixing the pot earlier. Her face was the colour of old custard with a skin on it,and dripping from the end of her beaked nose was a steady stream of green and red slimewhich sparkled and crackled in the gloom. She hung there -hooked up on an old rusty nail by an old hairy army overcoat, and on the end of one of her her skinny waxen legs was a scruffy old fluffy slipper. ((just had to get that in))) The other foot was bare with long curling toenails.
The cat jumped up onto the rafter and slowly walked along it being careful not to touch the stuff hanging from it, As he reached the witch he put out his
paw to............

[crazzycat]

realised that the bat thing was staring at something up in the shadows and was starting to shudder and shake. He turned, and gulped . There on the ceiling was the most stomach churning vision he'd ever set his green eyes upon.
Of course being an experienced 'cat of the world' he knew what it was but nothing had prepared him for this.
There she hung, on one of the rafters, the oldcrone he'd see mixing the pot earlier. Her face was the colour of old custard with a skin on it,and dripping from the end of her beaked nose was a steady stream of green and red slimewhich sparkled and crackled in the gloom. She hung there -hooked up on an old rusty nail by an old hairy army overcoat, and on the end of one of her her skinny waxen legs was a scruffy old fluffy slipper. ((just had to get that in))) The other foot was bare with long curling toenails.
The cat jumped up onto the rafter and slowly walked along it being careful not to touch the stuff hanging from it, As he reached the witch he put out his
paw to the cabinet and looked at her.....

[Gladys]

She screeched at him with the most piercing scowl. He knew she was angry. The spell had gone wrong again. He decided the best course of action was to get down quickly before she swiped at him for his impudence. As she huffed and growled clambering so ungainly down, smoothing her ruffled feathers as she went, he noticed she sort of well looked like a bat still but half old bag that she was. He thought better not to say anything at this point but waited...

[cathidaw]

until she had settled down in the corner once again hunched up like a bundle of sorry rags. He now felt pity for her.- All that effort and nothing to show for it except wounded pride and a lost fluffy slipper. He thought he heard a sniff,but dare not move over to look.
" A little bit of my old Beshlie's cat magic may come in handy now", he thought to himself," but what , and how? I'm a bit rusty on the magic front but I can try-now how does it go?"
He closed his eyes and started to purr. Louder and louder it got, vibrating his body so much, he almost fell out of his hiding place.
His face glowed greenly in the dark . "It's coming" he thought again. " I haven't lost my powers". By now his whole body glowed and sparked .Jumping down carefully he slowly slunk across to the corner of the room leaving a trail of almost blinding green lights behind him. The crone watched fascinated, and although afraid, leaned forward to touch the luminous sparking green paw held out in front of her...........

[Gladys]

As she did an arc sparked across the connection and then she began to feel a warm sort of fuzzy feeling. She noticed her hand then her arm then looking down at the rest of her, she too glowed most magnificently in the dark. A surge of something grew up from her toes as she felt a bubbly fizz in her tummy and into her chest up to her head. Suddenly there was a booooombangwoooosh sort of noise in her ears and all was silent and dark again except as her eyes adjusted to the dimlight she saw.....

[cathidaw]

the cat, sitting there on the floor lazily washing itself as though nothing unusual had happened. The green glow had gone and it was now back to the scraggy mog it had always been.
"Now what?" she mused, leaning back again on her bed pulling the rags around her shoulders."Getting cold in here and I've lost me slipper an' it's all your doing. I thought you were me friend" She gave the cat a poke with her foot. It howled in protest eyes flashing angrily ,lighting up the cellar. In the greenish light she saw her foot and gasped.
Where was the filthy foot, the curling toenails...........................

[Gladys]

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh, she shrieked, my toes they've all gone talloned. OOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooohhhh what now, what has happened in thst green warm smog? The cat sidled quietly sideways out of pokesway. He thought to himself about the spell and then realised he'd done it all except forgot to expell the fowl from the issue. Shivering in awful recognition against a whining din he crawled towards the mess that quivered pulling at long chicken feet and crying' oh my toes, my ugly old toes'. He arched his back and then launched into a catawhal (spelling-sorry) of haunting calls and then again a mist, a green mist - it drew slowly under the door into the room and then....

[cathidaw]

flapped across the floor like a blanket in the wind covering the cat and old crone completely. Then it stopped, lowering itself over them both. Deathly silence-- and then it lifted itself gently and flapped back across the floor and slowly disappeared under the door.The cat sat up and gazed around. As his nocturnal eyes got used to the gloom they widened as he saw the apparition sitting next to him. No--it couldn't be--or could it--. He wiped his eyes with a paw and owl-blinked. Yep! the old rags were there, so was the smell, and the wiry thin grey hair, and the single fluffy slipper hanging from one of a pair of shapely--he gulped-yes decidedly shapely- pair of legs. His eyes travelled upwards- and upwards towards the face. A most beautiful face with flawless skin, and two deep smoky blue Irish eyes staring at him.
Once again he wiped his eyes, gave a great jump into the air making her jump in fright. "UREKA, UREKA---THREE TIMES UREKA" he yowled with all his might, swinging dangerously from the rafters with his tail.--"It worked-the spell worked"
"Wot yeronabaht?" shrieked the vision, pointing a beautifully manicured nail...............

[Gladys]

She grinned and as the cat surveyed the beauty before him he gulped inside himself- there was one thing wrong- the grey hair. Mmmm, he thought, best not say anything at the moment, let's see what she says when she looks in the glass. A thought came over him of the dunking bucket inthe corner- he sidled off and managed to knock it over into the drain gulley running on the side of the cellar, the bucket clacked as it clanked and hit the walls on its way downwards to the well pit below. Oooooooohhhhhshe sighed, I seem to have a new....

[cathidaw]

look about me, must find a mirrer" She leaped up-something she hadn't been able to do for a long time-- not easily anyway- and looked around the cellar.
"There was one I know "she muttered to herself. "I bet you broke it"She shouted to the cat, who jumped out of the way of perhaps more pokes.
He was offended, "Who was the one who helped you most of all?" he yowled at her. Although she didn't understand his yowls, the old crone always understood what he meant. After all wasn't he a magical cat?
She looked at him, "Orright I didn't mean it, so don't sit sulkin'- find me somethin' I can see meself in"
The cat looked at her. He was worried that if she did see herself with her grey wispy hair she'd get angry and do a bit more than poke him, in her bad temper. He sidled over to her and mieowed.
"Orright then I'll go out and see wot I can nick for dinner, an I gorra fine somfin to purron me feet, cant go far in one slipper"
She climbed onto the windowsill an slid up and out into the freezing night air, dropping the fluffy slipper as she went.

[Gladys]

Well credit crunch and all, she thought , these times have had there tolls on us all. She sort of limped along as she realised her slipper had gone from her left foot- glad she was a right footed one she carried on. Behind her , Cat skulked in the shadows so she didn't see him but he kept any eye on the old 'Baggage'. He knew he must, he'd been born to do it way back when except these days she'd become moer and more of a Bag. Anyway, she was thinking at the same time he was following -where's that cat- I'll stew him or spell him into a decent meal if he doesn't turn his tricks to help. The problem was as she was thinking an walking through all of this she missed the ditch on the side of the lane and then suddenly there was a scream; 'Aaah, ooooh my good golden moon, Aaahh, me creatures, mind....' and then silence. The cat ran worried to the dip and peered into the darkness that was 6 feet down with the sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh of the running stream at it's bottom. he cried for his mistress Mmeoow, MmmaaawwWWW, BbbuuuurrrrrppppPP, then.....

[cathidaw]

OUT OF THE CORNER OF HIS EYE HE CAUGHT SIGHT OF THE MOON. bIG AND ROUND AND AS FULL AS A RIPE melon.
He stared at it and howled again, this time gently with a weird ghostly sound.. his body stiffened and the pale green eyes started to change coulour to a bright greeny luminous glow which continued all along his body. He sat on the edge of the ditch and stretched his tail down the inside, the glow lighting it up. He could see the crone in all her sorry glory, nearly in the water at the bottom. She reached up and hung on. Somehow the cat had gained super-moggy strength and hauled her up from the mud. She lay sprawled across the ground for a minute, then screeched, "Me slipper . it's gorn, I got nowt on me feet now". The cat looked and thought 'the ungrateful old bag I'm off'.
As he arose, now back to his normal scraggy self, and started to move away the crone realised what he was doing and shouted, "Yer can't leave me now , worram I gonna...........................

[cathidaw]

weout yer, come on , want me ter say I'm sorry ? Is that wot yer want?"
She was nearly crying, something she'd not done since her old mum used to belt her for not wanting to go begging.Suddenly she realised , this was the only friend she had, even if it was only a cat.
The cat hissed and glared at her its dusty fur bristling and shooting out dangerous looking orange sparks.
She'd forgotten he was a special magic cat and could read her thoughts.
"I didn't mean it like that" she spluttered, " I meant you are not only a cat but a special one" She squinted up at him, and held out a scraggy arm.
" Come on , lets go back an I'll see'f I can nick yer a nice bit o' salmon for savin me life" The cat blinked and considered for a while, as cats do, lazily licking his paws, then got up, stretched and sidled over to the old crone all the while staring into her eyes.
She knew she would be forgiven,-- but only if she could get the salmon.
Getting up off the ground she pulled her wet frock down over her knees and shuffled off, her bare feet squelching in the mud.The cat followed, until...........