Madhukar was perched, as kittens can sometimes be, like an eagle by its eyrie, from one of the many seats in this building that circumscribed a stage.

She was watching, waiting, for something to happen. Her tail was twitching. Her mind was racing. Her heart felt like a clock, like a thrumming drum that wanted to move, move, MOVE Madhukar--! But she didn't move. She sat. And she waited.

That's what this "Magic" seemed to be about. Sitting and waiting, "focusing", controlling. Whenever she let her feelings get the best of her, the electricity within her would dance out of the control of her mind. Then it was in nature's paws, and nature had a way of striking Madhukar in the REAR sometimes. WELL, she was OLDER now, nature, and she KNEW better! And she'd control this. It would be her own sparks, her own booms, all to herself; like her claws, her muscles, her senses and thoughts. There was no one else's influence polluting the things that were all her own, and that's what made them tools that SHE could use in HER OWN favor.

Then that stupid rock-moving bully would be scared. And... and maybe then, also, those bugs... she could protect them. Maybe even move them, spread them, to better this often aggravating world through which she stormed. Could she even do that, did she have that power? Maybe, somewhere deep down inside of her. Now would be a good time to see.

She thought about what this place would look like if there were more plants. More noise. It was soothing... it was tantalizing. Yes, that's what she wanted. She'd been resting, and now she was done, and her heart ached for purpose, for a beat to drum her heart to. And that was it.

Like a thoughtful, brooding thunder cloud up above, the kitten watched... She waited, listened, and dreamed. And she hungered for the gift of life to breathe her ideals into reality.

The time would come.

@Doug

The seats of Coliseum provided many hiding places for insects, and even the occasional mouse or rat. Doug ran over, under, and between the seats, chasing after whatever creature he found the most interesting. He had yet to catch anything yet, since he kept getting distracted by some other critter, or thing.

Currently, all his attention was focused on a red mouse carrying a shiny and alluring bead necklace- or, it was one, once. The necklace had broken in half, and beads scattered about as Doug chased down the little critter.

He was just about to catch it- to snap his jaws right around it's tail- when everything went black. He could still feel stone beneath his paws, still hear panicked squeaking and stray beads bouncing away, but all he could see was the pitch black void. He stopped in his tracks, but not before his nose slammed into side of one of the seats. He whimpered, and when his sight returned, he looked around wildly, as if looking for the cause of the blindness. He knew it was caused by his magick, in one way or another, but sometimes it felt like it chose the times where losing his sight would be the most annoying.

He let out a frustrated growl, beginning to pad away. He was completely unaware of a certain angry kitten perched nearby.

@Madhukar

Sounds of distress dissipated the dreamy clouds in Madhukar's head. Clear-headed and clear-sky'd, the kitten's eyes bolted for the source. A familiar sandy fuzzball, in her personal space, at this indiscriminate time of day or night? It's more likely than you think!

"Wiggly!" she called to it. It didn't sound... well, okay, it always sounded not - normal, but it also always seemed excited. About something. Madhukar never fully understood it, but to be truthful, it never really seemed need understanding. That's just how the wiggly one was.

But in this moment, that's how the wiggly one wasn't. And it was concerning a little stranger than what Madhukar was up for right now.

"Why you make the... weir' noises?" The juxtaposition of this scene flew over the kitten's head. Not so long ago, they'd been in a spot nearby, and it had been the wiggly one who had tried to come to her aid. Now it was in reverse, and she didn't even have a speck of a clue. She wasn't focusing on that. For whatever reason, her mind only wanted to focus on the wiggler; no magic, no big picture, just sandy fur and dark pools of disgusting goo.

Perhaps it was that attention that Madhukar didn't want to pay (but was subsequently forcing herself to) that was causing her to try and compensate with all the moisture in the room. It certainly couldn't be her emotions trying to portray that tiny pang of something that struck her heart once she realized the whimpers had been the wigglers. Because there had totally been no pang! The kitten felt nothing because of that! AHa. Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Though the very slight drizzle starting from above them probably could've suggested otherwise.

@Doug

He immediately looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. It was the angry fluff! He grinned, though he wasn't nearly as excited or wiggly as normal. He was happy to see her, but he was still frustrated- angry, even. What a strange thing, a reversal of roles.

"Owie..." he'd whimper, rubbing his nose with a paw, smearing the black goo across his fur. "Magic go bad... ran into wall 'n my nose hurts.. a hint of frustrated bitterness entered his voice. Similar incidents to this have happened in the past. He'd rub his nose again, further staining sunshine-colored fur inky black.

He wanted to make that mouse pay- to catch it and steal its shinies and do all the things the whispers sang in his ears. But he couldn't- the mouse was long gone. All that was left were the shiny beads from the broken necklace. He wanted to make something pay, even if it wasn't the mouse. But he didn't want to hurt the angry fluff. He didnt want to be alone, either.

At least the gentle drizzle was nice. Even if he didn't quite realize the cause of it. He'd slowly trot over, plonking down nearby where The Fluff sat perched. He was tired, but not from all the running. It was something else, something confusing.

@Madhukar

The wiggler's response made Madhukar consider something for a bit. Tahi had taught her much about magic, about how it could be, about what it could do. The wiggler's type was a confusing one. Apparently its magic, when it went wrong, could make them run into stuff? Madhukar sympathized with the anguish that that could bring. She sympathized a lot.

Because. You know. She'd experienced it herself. And not for any other reason.

The Wiggler came beside her, and she watched it, entirely oblivious to the very confusing thoughts that plagued it. This creature had been part of the helping process for Madhukar in understanding her own magic. It seemed as though she'd passed that onto Tahi-shei. They were all learning here... maybe it was time for The Wiggler to get some attention. After all, the nose pain right now would go away, but if it didn't learn how to better control its magic, that same injury would keep showing up.

"I learn a lotta 'bout magic since las' time," she said, turning her head to look up at the drizzle. "Wiggly, when does your magic work? When's it no go bad?" Now it was going to come full circle. The Wiggler to Madhukar, Madhukar to Tahi, and Tahi (through Madhukar) to The Wiggler.

Maybe that'd ease the pain in The Wiggler's nose, and the strange churning of emotion in Madhukar's heart.

As she sat there, looking up at the drizzle, she decided to maybe add to it while she waited. It needed more noise. Ready, aim... KABOOM!

Madhukar smiled. Yeah. Maybe she could help.

@Doug

Doug poked at a stray bead with a paw, watching it roll away down the steps with a clattering noise. His ears remained perked, listening both to Madhukar and for any signs for the rat, but he wasn’t quite paying attention. He was more focused on the familiar shadowy figures encroaching his vision. Images of spilt blood, of slashing claws and gnashing teeth. Of the very things he wanted to do to that rat. To t̵e̶a̶r̴ ̵i̶t̵s̸ ̵t̶a̶i̷l̶ ̸o̴f̶f̵ ̵a̵n̶d̸ ̶s̷p̷i̵l̴l̴ ̴i̷t̴s̴ ̷g̷u̶t̷s̵ ̵a̸c̷r̸o̸s̴s̶ ̶t̷h̷e̶ ̴s̵t̴o̷n̶e̶ ̴f̶l̵o̷o̶r̴ ̸a̸n̴d̵ ̸t̶e̴a̸r̸ ̴a̶n̴d̵ ̸r̷i̶p̷ ̸u̵n̶t̴i̸l̸ ̸i̶t̶’̵s̵ ̷a̸ ̸m̸e̷s̴s̶ ̵o̵f̸ ̷b̶l̸o̵o̶d̴ ̷a̸n̵d̶ ̷t̶o̸r̵n̴ ̵v̶i̸s̶c̵e̸r̶a̷ ̴a̵n̷d̷ ̷r̵o̸t̴t̶i̸n̵g̴ ̸o̵i̴l̵.̸ ̷T̵o̶-̸

Madhukar’s voice broke the trance. He blinked quickly a few times, looking at her and considering her words. “Sometimes it work. Sometimes it don’t.” He paused, trying to think through the C̸h̷a̴s̶e̶ ̷i̷t̴ ̴d̸o̸w̵n̸ ̵c̶h̴a̷s̷e̶ ̴h̸e̵r̸ ̸d̵o̷w̴n̸ ̸k̶i̵-̶ the whispers roaring in his ears. “Sometimes it work when I don’t do anything, and I see the nothing place.” He didn’t like the nothing place. His father told him about it, when explaining the magic they'd been blessed with. He knew his magic sent things to the nothing place, and he knew he didn’t want to go there. Just seeing into it was bad enough.

Maybe an example would help? He didn't even know if his magic would work this time, but it would help her understand, would it? He scooped a bead up with one paw. He stared at it intensely, staring and focusing and willing it to simply disappear into the nothing place.

Plumes of smoky shadows enveloped the bead, and in the blink of an eye it was gone. A couple seconds later, it appeared right where it'd just been. He smiled a little proudly. "This time it worked!"

@Madhukar

Madhukar had no clue about the wiggler's invasive and extremely grotesque thoughts, but she was paying enough attention to know that something seemed off about it. Like its focus was wavering. Well there's an obvious problem! But wait-- the wiggly's magic something did stuff when it wasn't even trying. Took it to the 'nothing place'. What?? Madhukar's confusion was visible. When the wiggler scooped up a tiny rock and made it disappear (that felt familiar), Madhukar's confusion only got worse. Could it be random? Or could it need aim and attention, like hers did? Or else it... did its own stuff. Against their wills.

It took the wiggler to the 'nothing place' against its will. That felt... really weird to Madhukar. She worried about that. She worried about whether or not their magic was similar or not. Because if so... would her own magic do something she didn't want if she didn't try to focus on it ALL the time? The thought made her feel queasy. It was just a thought, however. For now.

"Try t' focus. Aim a' rock again an' think about wha' yo' wan." She honestly hoped... it wouldn't work. Madhukar kept that hope quiet, of course. She wanted the wiggler's magic to be different from hers, like how Tahi's was. If they were the same... it meant too much. For her. And... for the wiggler.

@Doug