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\n A tail of magic and mystery

\n By twobunny

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\n My name is Alex Brown. I live in a small town called Boone. I am about five foot four inches tall and weigh about a hundred and eighty pounds. I live in a one bedroom apartment in town near the bus line so I can get to the grocery store and get supplies. I have a selection of rabbit plushies that I care for and sleep with. My favorite is a bunny with a green and white polka dot bow around its neck.

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\n One day I was out and I decided to stop at a small complex with a miniature golf course, restaurant, and a gem mining operation. I go play a round of golf, eat at the restaurant and finally stop in the mining operation. I have never mined for gems before and the clerk shows me how as I pay for the cheapest bucket. (10 bucks) I start sorting through the bucket and find dozens of stones but one stands out. I take it to the clerk and find it is a common quartz. I pay to have this piece mounted on a chain. I pay with my credit card and head home after stopping at the store.

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\n Over several nights I dream of a beautiful person in fur. She looks like a rabbit with the long ears. No words are spoken between us but there is something that is odd. She wants to show me something. On the final night I see a script of words and I speak the words. I wake up after that.

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\n I notice nothing has changed. My plushies haven't changed and so I go start breakfast. As I leave the room I notice the plushie that I slept with moves and think nothing about it. I look at it moments later and it is sitting up and twisting around to look at me. The surprised look on my face is something to see. The plushie stands up and climbs off the couch where I sleep. It comes closer to me and I don't move. It takes its time and when it is within touching distance I pick it up. I hear a female voice in my head.

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\n "Thank you for releasing me. What can I do to repay you."

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\n "What sort of trickery is this. This is not happening."

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\n "I chose this form to not startle you, but I didn't succeed. The short story is that I am a spirit that was trapped in the crystal you have around you neck. You spoke the release spell and released me. I am possessing your plushie. Now what can I do to repay you."

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\n I think on what I want to be repaid with. I cannot think of anything and I tell her.

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\n "I know, I can teach you magic."

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\n "Magic is not real. It is make believe."

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\n "Not real, how do you think how I am controlling your plushie. "

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\n "Can I see your true form?"

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\n "Place me on the floor and stand back."

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\n I place the plushie on the floor and step back and winds swirl around the plushie. I close my eyes as a bright flash appear in the center of it and I look and see a bunny woman.

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\n "Do you believe, now?"

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\n My mouth flies open. I never believe that I would be meeting a spirit.

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\n "W-wh-what are you?"

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\n "I am a Pooka, a nature spirit and this is my native form."

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\n "What is your name?"

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\n "Us pookas have no names but you can give me a name if you so wish."

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\n "Now what name goes with you, I know, Mopsy, Mopsy the Pooka."

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\n "Why that name?"

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\n "I saw a comic strip that featured a Pooka and her name was Mopsy. You kinda look like her."

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\n "Okay, my name is Mopsy. Do you wish to learn magic?"

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\n "What will you be showing me exactly?"

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\n "I have some spells that is useful from controlling fire and winds to protection spells that will stop attacks from hitting you and spells to bring health back to a person injured by anything."

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\n "That could be useful. I agree to learn."

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\n "Good, We need a clear area to practice. I can sense an area nearby where we can be in private."

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\n I get dressed and eat breakfast at the same time. We leave out the back door of my apartment building and hike for five minutes. We come to a clearing and Mopsy speaks.

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\n "First lesson. Make a whirlwind to clear the leaves in the center of the clearing. Now to do that you need to focus."

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\n I concentrate on wind and feel something. I open my eyes and see the leaves blow in a circular fashion. As I loose focus the leaves blow away in hundreds of directions.

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\n "Good, a low powered cyclone is what is called for. You did good. Now lets gather some wood and we can get to the next spell, fireball."

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\n We go out and gather firewood and pile it in the center of the cleared out area. I am told to gather my focus and I look and see a crystal bead appear in my hand and then it launch at the firewood. It ignites and I am overjoyed.

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\n "You are the first student to get that spell easily. Let me test you. "

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\n She touches my hands and pulls back.

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\n "You are powerful and yet you don't know it. I can test how powerful you are. Create an illusion of a beast of your choice."

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\n I go all out and create the mythical dragon. I am limited by size and I create one the size of a small car. The dragon looks at us and does nothing. I go and touch it and see it is real. Mopsy said to create an illusion.

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\n Mopsy looks at the spell I cast and says, "It's an illusion all right. But it's more than a illusion. It is a phantasm. It will act like the real thing, attack, fly, and destroy until it effect goes away or is dispelled. And it cannot be killed, attacks against it will bounce off it. I concentrate on the counter spell and the dragon disappears.

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\n We cast spells for hours and then break for lunch. I am tired but I fix a ham sandwich. I hear a knock at the door.

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\n One of my nosy neighbors asks, "What were you doing in the woods?"

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\n "Taking a walk, the weather is perfect for it."

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\n She wanders back home and I rest. I pick up the plushie from off the floor from where I left it, climb onto the couch and fall asleep.

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\n I wake up at dinner time to Mopsy staring at me from the recliner that sits next to my couch.

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\n "What is so interesting, Mopsy?"

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\n "You look at peace when you are sleeping. Time for another spell. This one is good when you run out of food and water."

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\n I concentrate and on the table appears a good portion of food. A porterhouse steak, baked potato, a side salad and for desert, a piece of chocolate cake.

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\n "Is it real?"

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\n "It's real all right. You will find that magic can be useful in many ways."

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\n I sit down at the table and eat. The steak is perfectly seasoned and cooked to medium rare, the potato has butter and sour cream on it, the salad has a ranch type dressing on it and the cake is a dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

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\n I settle in the recliner and watch a little television and Mopsy sits down on the rail of the recliner and snuggles. I watch the news and Mopsy is interested in the goings on in the world.

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\n "I have been out of the loop for hundreds of years. What has happened since the year of our lord 1690."

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\n I tell her as much history as possible without editing it. Not bothered to worry about wars and such she is interested in the technology that we have created. I wonder if magic and technology can affect each other. Mopsy doesn't know either, but we could check. Boone is 200 miles from the Cherokee nation reservation and they have a casino. I wait for nightfall, get a fix using a spell that shows me locations. Then I teleport using another spell. I have forty dollars in cash and I head for the dollar progressive slots. The jackpot is at over 50,000 dollars. I sit down at a machine and put in a twenty. I focus on the machine and within three pulls I hit the jackpot. Officials come out and check the machine and a half hour later I have my check minus taxes. I go to a hidden corner of the property and teleport home. I place the check in my to do list and tell Mopsy about my trip.

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\n "It was so easy to fix the slot machines. Almost to easy."

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\n "Don't let greed rule your life. It will ruin you life faster than you know."

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\n "Thank you for the advice, Mopsy."

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\n I get ready for bed and Mopsy asks where she is going to sleep. I don't have a spare sleeping area and the couch is not big enough for two. Mopsy then asks for the plushie. She magically returns to the plushie and steps towards me. I pick her up and place her on my pillow and I lay my head on her tummy.

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\n The next morning I get up at the crack of dawn and get ready for the day. I shower and shave and prepare to go to work. Mopsy asks to see my work and she has a spell like ability to hide herself. I am the only person to see her. I goto the bus stop and allow Mopsy to enter first. I sit down next to Mopsy and enjoy the ride. We get to the transfer point and change buses. Mopsy comments that this is a change from horse drawn carriages. We get off at the location that I work at, a major chain super center. I work in maintenance and cleaning up. I tell Mopsy that I get off in nine hours and have a look around at the stuff we sell and not get into trouble.

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\n One of my coworkers asks if I had a good weekend. I say that it was profitable. Three hours into my shift Mopsy appears and watches me work on a backed up toilet. Mopsy tells me all about what she has found and I find it amusing. I continue to work on the toilet and finally get it working. I escort Mopsy back outside the men's room and point to the employee lounge. I tell her I have a lunch break in an hour and she is welcome to join me for lunch at the store cafeteria. (A major fast food chain)

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\n Lunch time comes along and I clock out for lunch. I order a burger, fries and a large soda. I sit down and Mopsy appears and sits beside me. I eat as Mopsy tell me more things she has seen. I agree to everything she has seen. One of my co-workers asks who I am talking to and I say no-one. Mopsy says that we should talk using telepathy. She casts the spell and I think my answers to her.

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\n "I want to explore the neighborhood. See what is out there."

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\n "Come back when you are ready. I'll be working for the next four hours."

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\n I go back to work.

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\n I get off of work and see Mopsy come towards me.

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\n "Did you enjoy your little trip?"

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\n "I did, I saw a lot of things. I especially liked the pet store. All the animals recognized me as a spirit and they did tricks."

\n "I'm glad you had fun, I have to stop at the bank and deposit my winnings."

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\n I go to the bank and get into line and when I get to the teller, a nervous looking person walks in. A gun shot goes off and people fall to the floor. I cast the protection spell in that instant.

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\n "Everyone on the floor. This is a robbery." And then points the gun at those still standing. Everyone else falls to the floor but I keep standing. The gunman points the gun at me. "Get down or I'll shoot." I stand my ground and he fires. I fake a hit and stand back up. I cast a spell that I just learned and I see the fear in his eyes. He drops the gun and backs up into a corner. I keep him cornered until the police arrives. The robber is babbling "Keep him away from me!" I am held for questioning. I give my information to the police and I am released.

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\n We return home and head for the woods to train in the spell crafts.

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\n The next morning I get stopped by a couple of investigators. I tell them that I am going to be late for work. They offer to take me to work in exchange for answering their questions. I accept.

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\n "What happened at the bank?"

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\n "I went in to make a deposit, the suspect enters, fires one shot and orders everyone to the ground. I stand my ground. Another shot goes off and I approach the suspect. He drops the gun and cowers in the corner till the police arrive."

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\n "We have some questions that is unanswered. From the tape it looks like you were hit from the second bullet. Where is your bulletproof vest."

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\n "I wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest."

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\n "That's impossible. At that range you should have two holes in you."

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\n "Can you keep a secret?"

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\n "Sure, I can."

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\n I cast the protection spell and ask the officer to shoot me at point blank range. He hesitates.

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\n "I can guarantee that you will not hit or injure me." The officer still hesitates. I ask for his weapon and he hesitates even more.

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\n "I can prove that you will not hurt me. If you don't shoot me then hit me with your fists."

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\n The officer takes a swing and tries for the gut. I don't even flinch.

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\n "Like hitting a brick wall."

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\n "I have to stop anything from handgun rounds to .50 caliber rounds. I am the bulletproof man."

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\n "How did you stop the suspect from fleeing."

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\n "That is a secret that I am not going to disclose."

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\n "You have answered all my questions. Lets get you to work."

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\n The days pass and I learn more and more spells and I am questioned more and more by authorities. The final group is a group of military officials. They convince my employer to give me the day off. They ask me what I can do.

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\n I cast the protection spell and ask them to shoot me. The highest ranking official takes a potshot at me at ten paces. I don't even stagger. I reach down and pick up the round from around my feet. I am offered a position in the military as an officer. Second Lieutenant.

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\n My offer is a little different. I stay at civilian and get paid at General's rate (4 star)

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\n They counter offer is I can be a civilian but at the pay rate of Captain. I counter at the pay rate of a one star general. We agree that I be paid at the rate of Colonel. I make a phone call to my boss saying that I won't be coming back to work. I go home and start giving stuff away.

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\n A month later everything except my plushies and clothing is gone and me and Mopsy are on a C-130 bound for Afghanistan. Mopsy teaches me about spells to find anything or anyone. I give intelligence information about finding the most wanted terrorists and they reluctantly act sending attacking parties. I watch as the military takes out all the terrorists and they confirm the kills. I have taken out the leaders confirmed by DNA.

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\n I get information that the terrorists are massing to make an attack and I forward that information to the higher ups. I request that I follow as backup. My request is first denied until I cast the phantasm spell and create a huge dragon big enough to ride with a saddle. I have the dragon demonstrate its attacks. A fireball deadly at ranges of 60 feet with low altitude slow speed bombardments. I am then authorized to go into the war zone.

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\n The attack is coming, I can feel it. We are in the middle of Afghanistan miles away from base. From base camp we see armed soldiers enter a town. The commander then sends me to my mount and tells me to fly over and distract the enemy. So I mount my dragon and fly over the camp having the dragon roar and bellow. Several terrorists shoot at me as I pass over the site. I watch as the team enter and with my distraction take out several terrorists. Several members of the team are hurt but all the terrorists are killed or captured. The warlord of the area is among those captured. I speak to him using two spells, compel truth and understand languages.

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\n "Why are you fighting against us?"

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\n Silence.

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\n "Okay, Sergeant. Take this man and feed him to Lucy."

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\n He gets wide eyed when he sees the dragon lick its lips.

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\n "NO! Anything but that!"

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\n "Then tell me what I want to know."

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\n He sings like a bird. I get tactical information and locations of safe houses that the terrorists are using. We hold him and head back to base. I pass the info to intelligence and get back to training.