Goldiha Avian was, in short, an expert flyer, aviator, and racer. She wasn't the best in academic stuff, but she certainly had the airborne coordination made for riding on a broomstick. So when she graduated from the Magic Academy, she was immediately scouted by the Amber Guild from West City as their flyer.
Her job as a flyer wasn't much. At least, as a new graduate. The Flyer Division was mostly in charge of mail deliveries, but sometimes they handled heavier cargo as well. However, this wasn't all about one of the most longlasting divisions of the guild. They were also a great extra force for beast-taming and rescue. Their flexible ability of flight came in handy when came in face with powerful winged creatures - griffons, for example - or gigantic beings that warlocks and witches small on the ground would stand no chance, such as the hydra. And when a disaster crashed so suddenly, who would have both the manpower and mobility to evacuate nearby citizens as quickly as possible? The flyers! Those who mastered the art of teleportation were rare, as the technique required a mind of absolute calmness, which very few could achieve in this magic-bound world, where imagination, for most parts, was the very key to wielding magic.
The range of tasks the Flyers could do extended even more than that - saving pets from trees was one such thing. Or pick-up services. Or be construction assistants for skyscrapers, because they could ascend steadily on the broomstick, bringing with them the Builders with both hands free and a reassured heart to start crafting the higher, more delicate parts. They were also asked to be flying tutors for the young students at the Academy once every few years.
Goldiha did all of that eagerly. She was also selected to be on the racing team, ready to take on the challenge whenever a magic sporting tournament came in. Despite being an airhead, she was born to dominate the routes. The Guild never really regretted scouting Avian in.
Well, except for one thing: Goldiha Avian was a cat addict. She loved cats so much that every time she had enough savings, she adopted another cat. Soon, her small house was filled with cats of all breeds and sizes, so much that the Guild had to put a limit number so cats wouldn't take too much of her time to spend on her job. Right now, she was taking care of two dozen cats, and it was believed that if she wasn't so busy as a Flyer, she would probably take on a second job in the local rescue station just because they had cats.
"For a talent like you, it's such a waste to dream of something so little as becoming a 'cat lady'," a fellow Flyer had commented.
"Why not?" Goldiha stuck out her tongue childishly, "Cats are cute! You can't ban me from loving them!"
The fellow Flyer shook his head exasperatedly. Goldiha Avian be Goldiha Avian. She was stubborn, and no amount of persuasion could move her. Luckily, this characteristic of her never seemed to interfere with work up until now, so they would just let it slide.
Until one event that changed not only Goldiha's life, but also many others'. This is the story of many years before Lucky arrived at Champion Island, in a different world, one that the calico would've wished to be her birthplace, one brimming with magic. Yet little did she know, it was also a world of many hidden sorrows.
~
It was a rainy day. The sky was black and pouring, as if trying to demolish everything. No souls were seen on the streets nor on the sky, all except Goldiha. Water-unveiling was a simple charm to a now-experienced Amber Guild member, and with the rainfall being diverted away from her, she could safely rush home from a quick trip to the shop for more cat food and a couple rolls of fabric. Her yellow rainboots made splish and splash, and her groceries clashed noisily in her spacially-extended handbag, yet she still caught the sound of small cries - whimpers - coming from an alley.
Goldiha paused in front of the alley. The whimpering sound was definitely from that direction, and whatever creature was making that cry must be in terrible pain. She couldn't just stand still and let a life get taken away by this cruel rain. Nobody deserved to die in coldness and loneliness.
Warily, she stepped in the dark, smelly alleyway. Further, beyond the thick veil of rainwater, she could make out silhouettes of the large, glamour stores of the famous Fashion Street. But the brick walls either side of the alley were old and moldy, unpainted and stained with so many weird substances she didn't want to know the name of. There was the rusty backdoor of the bakery on the street, and next to it, a two-lidded dumpster. Goldiha flinched as she realized the whimpers earlier were actually weak meows coming from the dumpster. Her heart sank from the overflowing amount of despair in there.
Just by the dumpster, there was a tiny collapsed shelter made of newspapers, cans and sticks, and it was falling apart under the heavy rainfall. Goldiha kneeled down, picked up the torn, mushy piece of newspaper, and pushed aside the cans and sticks that were crushing the poor creature, to reveal a kitten. She gasped loudly. The sight wrecked her soft heart: a black kitten was cowering, curling up into a ball so small and tight, shivering intensely, its fur soaking wet. Without a second thought, she picked it up in her arms and rushed home.
~
It was devasting, to say at least.
The kitten was cold as ice and couldn't stop shivering. Goldiha had to force-fed it with a few drops of her internal-warming elixir, the kind she saved for only the coldest winters. She then wrapped it in a nice, thick blanket, gave it the gentlest hug, and sat down in her beanbag by the fireplace. Normally, the witch would give anyone or any creature who had her love a bear hug that could've crushed them, but this thing was so fragile that she didn't dare to do anything more than holding it in her lap, afraid of hurting the kitten.
The rain hitting against the window, and the firewood cracking melodically, and her two dozen cats curling up all across the room, purring, they made her feel drowsy. Soon, Goldiha fell asleep.
The witch was later woken up by a croaked shriek. The rain was still pouring, but the blanket in her arms was squirming. As soon as she released her hold, the little kitten shot out, its tiny claws unsheathed, hair stood on end, and its fangs barred. But Goldiha, of all warlocks and witches, was experienced in dealing with cats. She looked at it in the eyes, its black pupil extended wide, almost taking over the yellow scleras completely. It wasn't hostile. It was fearful.
"Hey, it's alright, little one," Goldiha said, keeping a safe distance to not scare the kitten, "I won't hurt you."
The witch saw something flicker in the cat's eyes - was it distrust? It could've been only her feeling, knowing that it was scared. But again, fear was different from distrust, and for her to be able to tell clearly that it was not mere fear was unusual.
"Wait! Where are you going!?" she called after the cat as it paced away, "Don't move around too much, you're still really weak!"
Goldiha chased it to the living room, but it was as if the black at had vanished into thin air. Normally, she would ask one of the other cats to sniff the stubborn one out - Teris had just hopped onto her arms, offering to do just that with a gentle lick - but this time, the witch sighed and sat down on the couch. No, maybe it just needed some time to acknowledge that it had been brought into a witch's house. For a kitten who lived on the streets and somehow survived, this was probably its first time indoors.
Suddenly, she felt a ringing on her chest. Goldiha fished out a locket embedded with an amber gem - the Amber Guild's distant communication enhancer she often wore around her neck and tuff the pendant in her shirt. It helped warlocks and witches who had to travel far on missions able to receive direct orders from the Higher Council. She opened the locket, and the image of a fellow Flyer appeared inside:
"Avian, orders from the Council. The storm is possibly caused by a pack of wyverns. Our guild is the closest to their location with a team of Flyers. We'll depart after one hour. Have to stop the storm before it reaches other areas and destroy too much crops to make up. Are you clear?"
"Clear," Goldiha replied, nodding.
"Very well. Meet me at the Flyer's runway. Grab some Twitter Dandelions if you have any. They'd be helpful."
The fellow Flyer hung up. Goldiha sprung up from her seat and quickly pack for her upcoming flight. As giddy as she often acted, the witch knew the seriousness of the problem. Wyverns were powerful dragons of storm and darkness, and only by diverting their concentration could warlocks and witches with their fragile human bodies defeat them. Twitter Dandelions did just the trick: in the strong winds of the storm, their light, vibrating seeds would scatter and cause irritation to the highly sensitive beasts while next to nothing to humans, except those who were allergic. The witch took a small, inner space-extended waist bag, stuff her share of the plant in, along with some provisions for the flight, such as food and drink, a first-aid kit, a spare cloak, some warming potions, and a toolbox of simple broom-maintenance equipment. She then wrapped a brown cloak rimmed with a sparkly yellow around her shoulders, left her witch's hat home and instead wore a steel helm - only the leader of the Flyers could wear gold - it was the piece of clothing specific to flights meant to fight. Everyone knew they just couldn't negotiate with these creatures but chase them back to their distant caverns once deemed that they had brought enough rain. To these Western parts, it was an annual task, yet always annoyingly difficult nonetheless.
"Teris," Goldiha called out to the ginger tabby cat resting on the couch, caressing his head and scratching behind his ears, "I'd be gone for a while. In case that kitten shows up again, take care of her for me, okay?"
Teris purred pleasantly and pressed his nose into her palm: Deal, I'll do it. Goldiha found him in a rescue station during one of her missions, and he proved to be very loyal and obedient.
The witch walked into the kitchen, opening some cupboards and closing them, quietly chanting some spells. In time for meals, food would automatically prepare itself for each cat, and the sandbox would dump itself out into the garden and refilled with new sand every time it got full. Goldiha was quite proud of these spells she learned from animal shelters and even felt bad that they weren't taught in the Academy.
"I'm going now. Take care, darlings."
~
Hi there, and welcome to my second Google Doodle book! This is the second in the series, prequel to "Doodle Champion Island Journeys!"
It's already Halloween at my place as I'm preparing to publish this. Boo! 👻
Love y'all
Dreamy Jess