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Destiny City was full of amazing places. There was the fish market with all of its fresh, waiting to be stolen merchandise. There was the city bus system where anyone, even an adventerous kitty, could catch a free ride - if they were quick and sneaky enough, of course! But of all the amazing places, the playground at Knightside Elementary was one of the most amazing.

Why? The flame-point Himalayan could easily list off some reasons. Okay, first, there were lots of kids that she could potentially play with. And then second, there were so many different kinds of equipment to play on. Swings and slides and a jungle gym! Third it was right next to the sports field, so she could watch soccer games or whatever else was going on.

... did she mention there were lots and lots of kids? Because Horatio would swear up and down to anyone within hearing range that that was absolutely the best part! The ringing of the bell indicated that soon LOTS of potential playmates would be coming. She flicked her sports-flag in anticipation and positioned herself in direct line of sight from the doors. No way was she going to miss out!

Holy what now? Horatio may not have understood the words, but she could recognize a kind tone when she heard one. And even better than words were soft little hands petting at her fur. Playtime could definitely wait until after cuddle time!

The Himalayan purred loudly and encouragingly, rolling into a fully prone position that exposed her fluffy chest and underbelly. This shift in position made her aware of the big, shiny soccer ball not too far away. The ball could be either a friend by leading to playtime... or an enemy that would take away the attention of her little admirer. She began to kenad lightly on the boy's arm in hopes of preventing the latter.

This kid could easily be in the top 10 contenders for best person to cuddle, and Horatio only purred louder at his continued attentions. The fact that he was keeping her away from the other kids who could also be potential cuddlers really didn't matter as much as it might have on any other day. The cat couldn't figure out why, not at first.

But as she kneaded his arm and playfully batted at his chest... her teal eyes suddenly widened with delight. It looked like little cuddler would be a part of her favorite game. Maybe he'd even win! Only one way to find out...

The speedy kitty wriggled her way out of Daniel's hold and pounced on his shiny soccer ball. Time to get the ball rolling, in more ways than one. Once she got him at a safe distance, away from busy bodies and tattle tales, the game could truly get underawy. Oh, she hoped he won!

Horatio gave a gleeful mew as the game began. He had sure caught on quick that he was supposed to chase her, which was a good sign! For her part, the Guardian was finding it a little difficult to keep the child's size soccer ball in motion. Her paws kept slippingoff and claws could make the ball go BOOM, so she couldn't use them. She resorted to using a series of head butts to get the rubber sphere to go where she wanted.

It was a constant series of smacks and sprints. She could feel her goggles taking a beating and hoped they didn't crack. They were her favorites! (Okay, they were her only pair, but they were still her favorites.) Horatio hoped that she and the little boy follwing her would reach secluson soon. She really, really wanted to talk with him!

They were fully surrounded by bushes now, protected from prying eyes and ears, so mewls shifted into clear speech as Horatio exclaimed excitedly, "You're really fast, you know that? Not as fast as me, but fast! I'll bet you'll win for sure!"

She stopped pushing the ball any further since they seemed to be in the clear and turned all her atentions on him. "Pick me up, pick me up, I want to see!'

"Not just any talking kitty--a magic talking kitty!" Horatio knew that a dose of magic always made things better! She wriggled a bit in the boy's gentle hands, not due to any desire to escape, but simply to get into a better position. She still had a job to do after all! "I'm Horatio, now hold still for a second."

Her paws rested lightly against her companion's chest. Her expression grew even more delighted as she felt a tell-tale warmth radiating from his heart. Her forehead star began to glow in answer to that warmth. No doubt about it. He was a winner! "Do you want to be awesomely magical like me? All you have to do is say Massalia Power, Make-Up and presto chango, a new, magical you! Go ahead. Say it. Say it!"

Needless to sa, she was very excited about all this!

"Don't worry about the bow on your butt. See, we match!" Horatio flicked her tail so that the checkered flag attached to it waved a little bit. "I mean, not just you and me but pretty much all Senshi have a butt bow of some kind. Oh, a Senshi is a magical warrior that fights the bad guys, and you're technically a Chibi meaning you're a little fighter, but hey, little warriors can be just as tough I know that for a fact!"

The Guardian Cat began to paw at Massalia's chest bow in consideration as she caught her breath, studying the paw print and the feel of his energy a little bit more carefully. "Looks like you're the Chibi Senshi of... Coyotes! Isn't that neat? I've never seen a coyote in person, but I bet there's one at the zoo--dude, we should totally go to the zoo, do you want to go to the zoo?"

The Guardian Cat accepted the hug as nothing more than a hug, but she loved hugs so she purred all the same and nuzzled a little closer to the newly awakened Massalia. "There's lots more than talking cats and butt bows, and you're going to see it all. Just like I'm going to see a coyote... I'll bet it'll be really cool! ONWARDS TO THE ZOO!"

Her face screwed up like she had sucked on a lemon as she mused. "But... wait. Feel like we're forgetting something. Let's see. We have you, and me, and... oh, right, the soccer ball! We've got to bring your ball, because we don't want someone to take it, right? I can hop and ride on your shoulder so you can carry it!"

Of course, there were numerous other tiny things that didn't filter in as being quite as important to the playful cat. Powers, and how to turn back to normal, and the fact that her little companion probably had a Mama or a Papa waiting for him to get home and maybe they wouldn't be too happy about him going straight from the school to the zoo due to the talking cat he had just found telling him they should. She simply didn't think about them and for that reason didn't mention them.

Hey, a trip to the zoo awaited. So, she was a little distracted!