Puss was drawing a huge magic circle on the ground using a brush, following the book's instructions in his other paw.
The little fairy Vivianne flew above, analyzing the large red drawing before nodding in satisfaction.
Puss made the last stroke and stepped back, looking at the book and then at the circle, checking for mistakes.
Vivianne descended and landed gently on the brim of his hat.
"Good job! Damn, if you're not kidding me that this is your first time, you've got some serious talent for drawing magic circles." She looked impressed at the cat, who closed the book after confirming everything was correct.
He smiled and shrugged.
"Well, even though I've never drawn a magic circle before, I did have a painting teacher, and although he wasn't much of a fan of rigid forms and perfectly geometric shapes like magic circles, I still learned to keep a flexible wrist with the brush from him, so it was easy."
He explained, his eyes shining as he remembered his calm teacher Bob and his wise sayings.
'We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.'
Of course, to create such a well-made circle on the first try, his training in martial arts, fencing, and his mutant physique also helped a lot.
Vivianne shrugged and accepted it, while flying around making final touches with her magic dust, moving some ingredients and catalysts into place.
Most of what she had gone to prepare earlier when she left was the circle's ink—a mixture of various magical ingredients ground and processed into paint, and also the main part of the ritual.
And it was Puss who asked to draw the circle, after understanding that the only real requirement for such a task was a steady hand.
The fairy, with her magic dust, could easily have drawn it herself, almost giving life to the brush, but she would have needed tremendous focus to keep it perfectly controlled. So Puss volunteered to draw instead—not just because it was practical, but because, from the very beginning, he had wanted to be a part of it, to help Aurora in any way he could.
With everything prepared, a massive red magic circle was now ready, filled with runes drawn all around it.
Finally, Vivianne flew over the circle, scattering her magic dust, which illuminated it upon contact, shifting its color from red to shining gold.
When the fairy passed over the last part of the circle, fully lighting it up in vibrant, energetic gold, she stopped and stepped back.
Energy began to pulse from it, and a strong gale generated by the pulsation shook the grass and treetops around.
The force of the wind also hit Puss, rustling his fur, cape, hat, and feather, making him narrow his eyes slightly to avoid dust getting into them.
Fiona, at his side, also raised her hand in front of her face, shielding herself from the whipping leaves and particles carried by the wind.
Vivianne flapped her dragonfly-like wings as fast as she could to avoid being blown away by the strong wind.
Her gaze shifted to Aurora, who looked at the circle with equal measures of hope and uncertainty. Its strong golden glow reflected in her draconic eyes.
"Girl, it's time for you to enter!" Vivianne shouted as loud as she could, her voice muffled by the ever-stronger wind. "Drink the fox's blood before going in. It will be the catalyst that steals strength from your dragon lineage and gives it to your human one. Hurry, the energy of the circle's materials won't burn for long! I used materials from the bottom of my chest this time, and if you miss this chance, it may take a long while before I can gather them again!"
Upon hearing her words, Aurora clenched her teeth and cast her hesitation aside.
It was time for the truth.
Tilting the small vial of blood held by her massive paw into her mouth, she drank every last drop and tossed the vial aside, which was carried away by the fierce wind, before stepping heavily into the circle.
The magic circle, larger even than her body, seemed to embrace her with its golden energy, illuminating her draconic form as she walked into it.
When she reached the center, she felt a powerful energy seeping through the gaps in her scales and invading her body. She forced herself not to fight against this invasive force.
Vivianne had told her not to resist, for if she actively repelled the magical energy, her powerful dragon body would easily do so—causing the ritual to fail.
The energy flowed into her body and began to catalyze into something within her stomach… the fox's blood she had drunk before.
That blood then seemed to spread throughout her body, and when it happened, a tremendous pain struck her, as if someone were brutally tearing a part of her being away. It was the fox blood stealing part of her dragon lineage for the transplant.
"OOOAAAAAHHHHH!!"
A painful, draconic howl echoed through the forest, spreading far away.
Puss looked at her worriedly upon hearing that agonizing howl. Fortunately, it lasted only a few seconds before the pain went away.
Then, before his eyes, the great dragon in front of him began to shine in gold, and slowly floated upward.
The light became so dazzling that, besides the shape of the enormous dragon, no other trace of Aurora could be seen.
At that moment, Vivianne appeared above her, flapping her wings harder than ever, resisting the pressure of the violent wind.
This was the final part of the ritual, and for that, she had requested Fiona's permission to use the same spell.
Shouting over the wind, and with golden dust gathering in her hands, she began:
"By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm until you find true love's first kiss. Then, take love's true form!!"
With the final cry of her words, she threw the dust down at Aurora's shining dragon form, and an enormous explosion of energy was released, creating a powerful shockwave.
Puss felt himself being thrown back by the explosion, but with agility, he somersaulted backward, bouncing on the ground, kicking off it, and hurling himself toward Fiona, who was also sent flying.
Hugging her with his small body, he pulled her out of the collision path with a tree and hid her behind another.
Fiona, who had closed her eyes as she was flung, suddenly felt herself being protected and opened her eyes, seeing Puss's serious, protective gaze on her, making her heart race.
Puss gently laid her behind a large tree, which was shaking fiercely from the wave of energy.
"Stay here," he ordered, and with a serious look, stepped out from behind the tree, just in time to see a small shadow being hurled his way.
Without a second thought, he leapt and intercepted the little fairy carefully, holding her against his chest protectively as he spun and fell to the ground.
Vivianne, who had been bracing herself for impact after getting dizzy from being hit directly by the shockwave, opened her dazed eyes as she felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace of soft fur.
Seeing Puss in front of her, his eyes serious and caring for her, her small cheeks couldn't help but blush, and a shyness she hadn't felt in literally centuries took over her.
And he saw the timid look in her beautiful little face too, and almost became dazed himself.
Biting his tongue, he reminded himself:
'She has 11 children, she has 11 children, she has 11 children! She has…'
Under his new mantra, he calmed down and jumped back behind the tree, carefully placing her in Fiona's arms.
He then once again moved out from behind the tree, but when he did, the wave of energy and wind had lessened in ferocity, and the atmosphere began to calm.
Puss saw that in the enormous circle, in the place where once stood the fearsome dragon, now rested a small form.
He approached carefully, with a few leaves falling around after the fury of the wind had ceased, and the first thing he saw were red wings fallen to the ground, coming from smooth, white, soft back.
His gaze continued to trace the form of who he knew was Aurora, and he saw the long golden hair spread out, flowing over her pointed elven ears.
Upon her head rested a small golden crown.
Her shoulders were protected by some kind of armor made of red scales, and below, she wore scale-made off-shoulder clothes, ending in a very beautiful, yet also sexy, scaled dress.
With her shapely body, she was a spectacle to behold, and Puss found himself incredibly speechless at her beauty, unable to stop himself from gulping as he realized his luck.
Approaching her face, he gently caressed her cheek, just as he used to do with her dragon form, and softly called out to her.
"Aurora… are you okay?" he asked, with a bit of concern in his green eyes for the unconscious girl.
Her closed lashes trembled, and then, her eyes opened, revealing beautiful slit green eyes.
Seeing who was before her, her eyes sparkled, and she cried out in surprise.
"PUSS!!" her beautiful, soft, and cheerful voice echoed.
And with a jump, she hugged him tightly, drowning him in her not-so-modest valley.
'Paradise…' Puss thought, savoring the embrace of the beautiful draconic maiden in love, who had finally regained her human form.
[Image of Aurora – Not complete, but turned out well]