Mistica Chronicles


Welcome to Issue 47

Skinnies Winning Entry

Spring time once again. The time of the year when my allergies get the best of me. The time of the year when the weather changes and I must rid of my winter coat. I would take baths regularly in attempt to rid of the loose hairs, but it still seemed to coat everywhere I went.
It is now late spring, and my coat has decided it has become thin enough. As I enter my den to clean out the hair, I notice something different. Things weren't in their usual spots, there was a different smell in the air. A deep growl rumbled in my throat, and I struggled to stop it. The scent that lingered in the air was still fresh, so that meant that the intruder was still inside. I lifted an inky paw, sniffed the air again, then silently made my way through my shelter, all the while my senses on edge. I was beginning to think I was going insane when a crash in the west wing reassured me I wasn't. I froze, eyes wide, nostrils flared. The intruder wasn't a very good one; it couldn't stay quiet. I convinced myself that if it couldn't stay quiet, it wasn't a threat, and trotted cautiously to my storage room.
As I rounded the corner, something blond and burly bumped into me. I backed up a few paces, and glared angrily at the form in front of me. "What do you think you're doing in here?" I half yelled half asked.
The animal in front of me looked as startled as I did. He had blue eyes with a flare of brown over one, and blue noes and claws. He was like a bear, but not, as I was like a wolf and lion, but not. "I was just wondering if you were having as much hair loss as I," he murmured. The intruder was clearly self-conscious about himself. I smiled reassuringly at him, feeling slightly embarrassed by my anger. "Yes, as you can see, I've lost a lot of hair." I smiled.
He stayed for a while and we talked. Once he left, I resumed my cleaning. I finished within a matter of two days, my den now spic-and-span. I certainly would never forget that spring, even though I had many to come afterward.