Ugh... I don't want to start doing my homework... -.- My missing textbook comes tomorrow; then I won't have any excuse to not start. Sigh. Oh well, they're cool classes; it could be a lot worse. Anyways, I have a Waglington chapter for y'all today. :) Hope y'all enjoy!

*Waglington's POV*

Oh, this is very bad. How am I going to get help if they don't understand a word I say? I fretted while pacing back and forth on the balcony of Tom's tree house. Even Dianite didn't recognize me. Why couldn't he hear me, and what did he mean by unstable magic? I kept trying to figure out what I could have done differently to let Tom and Dianite know I was more than just a big cat, but I was so flustered from nearly getting killed by Tom's new dog that I couldn't think straight. My heart was still beating at a rate I knew couldn't be healthy, and I was shaking from the adrenaline working its way out of my system. That dog was quite rude. When I get back to being me, I'm going to mute that mongrel. Oh, apparently as an upside to being a cat, I can understand what other animals said, and Doughnut 2.0 had language more colorful than the disco room Tucker was building.

Reaching one end of the balcony for the fiftieth time, I forced myself to stop and sit still. I took a few deep breaths to try and clam down. Looking over the edge of the balcony, I thought, All the planning in the world won't do me any good if I can't get down from here to try and reach one of the others. Tom had shut the portal down behind me. Since he'd never finished the staircase down (we could all fly, so who would take the stairs?), I was well and stuck 100 feet up Tom's tree.

A whooshing sound broke me from my despondent reverie. My ears swiveled trying to pinpoint its source as it grew louder. It sounded familiar from somewhere. I spotted a grey figure in the darkness flying on a course that would bring it past my perch. As it sped closer, I recognized the outline of blood mage armor.

"Tucker!" I yelled. Wait, what am I doing? He's can't understand what I'm saying anyways. To my surprise, he stalled by the balcony and turned to face me. All I could see of his face were his eyes showing above his helmet's visor. I couldn't make out his expression. As he moved towards me, I noticed he had his bound sword in hand. Tucker has a habit of killing random creatures to get blood shards. This was a bad idea, I thought as I started to back up and panic again.

As I turned to run back into the tree, I heard another whoosh behind me as Tucker used his air sigil to reach me in a fraction of a second. Expecting to feel the bite of his blade, I flinched. Instead, I felt myself being picked up by a firm, gloved grip on my scruff. I heard the sound of a sword sliding into its sheath before another arm slid under my chest to help support my weight.

"Easy there, kitty. I don't know how you got out of Sonja's place or got stuck up here, but I'm taking you back." Tucker said as he took to the air again with me in tow.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm enough to slow my still panicked heart rate as he carried me inside Sonja's house and down the stairs. Upon reaching her basement level, Tucker finally set me down and released his hold on my scruff before walking over to Sonja. As all four of my paws fit the floor, I nearly collapsed. All of the adrenaline I'd been running on for the past few hours was gone. I was exhausted. I sat down before I could lose my balance and waited to see what my fate would be.

I lost track of what they were actually saying as I tried to stay awake-the effort proved futile-until I heard and felt footsteps approaching me. My head had slowly drifted down and my eyes had nearly closed while they were talking, but my eyes popped open again as the person stopped in front of me. Raising my head slightly, I saw Sonja kneel in her full set of armor and examine me. She reached forward with her left hand-which was encased in her earth armor-and raised my chin even more so she could see my eyes.

"Hey," I said tiredly, though I knew she wouldn't understand me. It came out as more of a squeak than a word. Her intent gaze softened at my attempted greeting.

"Oh, you poor thing. You've had a rough night, huh?" Sonja cooed and started scratching the underside of my chin. Oh, that feels so good. I couldn't help but lean into her hand as she shifted her petting from my chin to behind my right ear. I closed my eyes in contentment as Sonja started talking to Tucker again. I spaced out until the ringing sound of a bell brought me back to a reality I didn't realize I'd left. I managed to focus and look up in time to see a purple golem with beady, intelligent eyes glance at me before stepping around me to stand directly in front of Sonja to await orders.

"Thaumsworth, I want you to take care of this cat for me while I'm gone, okay? He needs water, a bath and something to eat. Treat him for any injuries you find too." The purple golem nodded that he understood.

"Thanks, little buddy. I'll make you a new hat tomorrow as a thank you." She smiled and patted the golem's shoulder before turning to head up the stairs. Tucker followed after her.

Thaumsworth watched the stairs until we heard the front door click shut. Once it knew its master had left, the golem turned its beady eyes on me for a few long moments. I am so done being examined. I just want to be me again, I thought to myself bitterly.

The golem blinked at me and tilted its head a little to the right before turning and walking away. I decided to lie down where Tucker had dropped me and await the little guy's return. A few minutes later, I felt something bump against my nose. Blinking my eyes, I lifted my head enough to see a shallow saucer on the floor in front of me filled with what looked like water. On the other side of the saucer stood Thaumsworth with a curious look in his eyes. He gently nudged the saucer towards me again. As I bent my head to the surface of the liquid, a familiar scent met me-healing potion.

I took a cautious lick, and nearly gagged. The slightly bitter taste of the potion was amplified by the heightened senses of my feline body. I forced myself to lap up and swallow a few more mouthfuls of the diluted potion before giving up and laying my head back down facing away from the offending dish. As much as it might help, I can't stomach any more, I sighed in defeat. I was feeling a little better after the small amount I had taken. Bruises and sore joints that I hadn't noticed before faded, and I wasn't quite as worn out as I had been a few minutes ago.

I heard a thump and the sound of water being poured into a second dish. As Thaumsworth dragged away the first dish, I inspected the fresh water before me. No medicinal smell came off of this one.

I did not realize just how thirsty I had been until I started drinking. I had downed most of the water by the time Thaumsworth returned to check on me. Though the creature did not have a mouth, I could have sworn he was grinning. Seeing that I'd had my fill, he motioned me to follow him. Finding myself able to rise, I slowly followed the golem down a corridor to the bathroom. A few bars of soap and a glass jar of bath salts Sonja had made lay on the bottom shelf of a rack against the right wall; towels and other essentials that I tried not to look at too closely sat on the higher shelves. The tiled, step-in tub was sunk into the floor in the far left corner. Thaumsworth had filled the tub with just enough water to allow me to lie down with my head resting out of the water on the lowest step. I sank into the lukewarm water, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling I got from being wet.

I was content to let the dirt in my fur dissolve slowly on its own, but Thaumsworth had other ideas. As I was about to let my eyes drift closed once more, a bucket of water and bath salts got dumped over my head. I coughed and sputtered for a moment as I shook the stinging stuff from my eyes to glare at the smug golem holding the empty bucket.

Thaumsworth was doing his "not grin" again as he looked me over, trying to decide if I was wet enough. Satisfied, he nodded before picking up a bar of soap and lowering himself into the tub with me. He started in at my shoulders, lathering my coat and working out clumps of half-dried mud and twigs with his little fingers. I decided to forgive him for the whole water bucket thing. You know, Thaumsworth almost makes it seem worth it going insane to learn thaumcraft. I wonder if I could train a golem to give me a massage?

I rested my wet chin back on the step as he continued silently working junk out of my fur. By the time he got through with my back and sides, I couldn't see the bottom of the tub for all the dirt clouding the water. The purple golem had to drain and refill the tub before continuing, this time motioning for me to stand so he could get the knots and mud out of the fur on my belly, chest, and legs. Once these were finished, he cleaned my tail and lastly my face. He'd let the water he'd dumped on me soak longest there so he wouldn't have to pull as hard on my whiskers to get me clean. He dumped one last bucket of fresh water over me to make sure I was rinsing clear before draining the tub again.

As Thaumsworth started toweling me off, I noticed that there was only one bar of soap left on the shelf now. I felt a little bad about that. I remembered hearing Sonja complain about having to make that special soap to negate some of the worse effects of her thaumcraft research. I wonder if that'll help any with whatever unstable magic Dianite sensed on me? Either way, I'll try to get Sonja some more ingredients once I'm me again.

Thaumsworth removed the now sopping towel from my back and walked out of the bathroom with it, I presumed to put it with the laundry. Another clean towel lay folded on the floor by the shelves. Thinking back over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours, a wave of exhaustion hit me like Tom's hammer. I yawned and dragged myself over to the folded towel and plopped down on its dry softness. I curled up into a tight ball with my damp tail over my face and instantly fell asleep.

Aw, Thaumsworth showing Wag some much needed love. :)

...I just realized that in the storyline, only about 1 day has passed-not counting flashbacks. :/ Do I love detail too much? Don't worry, we're officially moving on in the timeline... after next chapter. >:)

Anyways, I have some suggested means of procrastinating from your homework this weekend. ;3 You might want to re-watch Jordan's S1 episode 62 and Tucker's S1 day 94 (really just the parts with wizard lore) before I post the next chapter... Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.