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Title: Of Cats and Magic

Chapter: 1

Author: Riko Gonzalez

A beautiful catgirl --- twenty one years of age --- stood atop a cliff,

overlooking the town below. Her silky, cyan hair reached just beyond her chin in

length, the fur on her cat ears (which she possessed in addition to her human

ears) and tail matching the color of her hair. Her skin had a tan complexion to

it, and her eyes shown a lovely pink. Although she was clearly on the shorter

side with a height of only 157cm, she possessed a fairly developed figure, being

quite buxom. In her hand, was a staff.

At the young woman's side, stood a winged cat with sleek blue fur. The feathers

on his wings matched the hue of his fur. Discounting his wings, the cat's size

was comparable to that of the typical house cat. His golden eyes were locked

upon the town far below the two of them.

"Riko," the blue cat started seriously, "when I chose you to be a magical girl,

you were supposed to protect the town --- not do this."

"S-sorry, Timothy. It was an accident. I'll be more careful next time," Riko

apologized, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Her tail twitched

nervously as she spoke.

From far below, sirens could be heard as firetrucks rushed to and fro. The fire

was starting to subside due to the diligent work of the firefighters, but Riko

still felt horrible for causing this.

"Next time just try to not set the entire place aflame," Timothy said with a

sigh, turning his gaze the young woman.

In response, Riko turned to the winged cat and said, "I will try my best!"

determination showing in her pink eyes as she spoke.

For some reason, Timothy couldn't quite shake a bad feeling about this. He may

have picked someone with a high amount of potential, but after this he couldn't

help but worry that perhaps she had too much potential. After all, she managed

to set the entire town ablaze on day one. Accident or not, that kind of scared

him actually. He had other partners in the past, but this had never happened

before with any of his previous partners. When it came down to it, he wasn't

sure if "I will try my best!" will be good enough for this partner.

As the sun set in the west, the two of them returned their gaze to the still

smoldering town below. It looked like it would still be awhile before the

aftermath of Riko Ibara's first day as a magical girl would be cleaned up.

***

Riko yawned as she got out of bed. The wheat-skinned girl was currently wearing

a pink nightgown. It was the day after the incident where she had pretty much

burned down the town. That incident was an accident of course.

Still somewhat sleepy --- not yet having completely woken up --- she casually

glanced around the room. There were pink curtains, pink sheets on the bed, a

cyan carpet, wooden drawers, a wooden desk with a computer on it, and a cat bed

with Timothy seemingly sound asleep on it.

"Guess he's still asleep."

The cyan-haired catgirl headed towards the apartment's kitchen, thinking about

what she should make.

"Maybe I should try surprising Timothy with something. What does he like,

though?"

She thought for a moment.

"Maybe fish. They do say cats like fish. Fish are supposed to be healthy too,

right? Are they healthy for actual cats, though? What about winged cats?"

She continued to ponder as she reached the kitchen.

"Guess I'll try cooking him some fish."

Having come to a decision, Riko happily poured herself some milk before

retrieving some uncooked fish and eggs. She was going to make the eggs for

herself.

After picking a pan, setting it on the stove, and putting a bit of oil in it,

she reached for the knob to turn the stove on, but stopped short.

"I wonder..."

She stepped back and summoned her staff, willing it into existence in her grip.

This was her magical girl weapon. Since Timothy had chosen her to be a magical

girl, she could summon it at will. With it, she could generate flame. Why rely

on the stove's heat when she had an even better source?

***

A few minutes later...

***

Riko and Timothy stood outside of the burning apartment complex. Riko was still

in her nightgown, not having had time to change once her plan went awry. Timothy

just looked plain annoyed at having woken up to this.

"...and I was having such a good dream too."

"Sorry. I wound up accidentally causing another mess. I think everyone got out,

though."

"AAHHH! IT BURNS!" a voice sounded from within the burning complex.

"No, Riko. Sounds like that is not the case."

The catgirl lowered her head in dejection.

Timothy thought for a moment before adding, "Maybe I should enroll you in a boot

camp."

"B-boot camp! ...but I don't want to join the army!"

"I don't mean that kind of boot camp. I mean a magical girl boot camp. Maybe it

will help you with this problem of yours."

The cyan-haired catgirl thought about it for a moment, her tail casually

swishing from side to side. She still didn't much like the idea of going to a

boot camp.

"I'll be more careful next time, Timothy. Surely I can make do without going to

a boot camp," she tried to convince the talking, blue cat that the boot camp

wasn't necessary.

Timothy, though, already had his mind made up. As things currently stood, his

partner was a colossal fire hazard --- the last two days were evidence of that.

Surely a magical girl boot camp could help with this.

"Sorry, Riko, but you really need more direction than I can give you on this. As

you currently are, you are basically a disaster waiting to happen."

"Fine, I'll go to this magical girl boot camp."

Even though she would rather not go, she couldn't really argue with Timothy's

logic. After all, he was right. Two days and two disasters. She basically was a

disaster waiting to happen.