Quaxo rolled onto his back and looked at the stars.
Beautiful, he thought, The stars are always so beautiful...
Looking at the night sky, he slowly began to trace the shapes made by the bright specks with a small paw, noting several familiar patterns. There's Jelliscce, the first Jellicle...And there's the great hunter Eieel, along with his sister Eacch...and the twins Illknoc and Issale.
The cold sparks of fire remained motionless in the sky, dimly shining upon the dull ground.
Sighing, he flopped onto his stomach. So beautiful... He looked down regretfully.
Beautiful.
Again the black tom looked at the sky. The stars shined even brighter now, glowing with an unearthly urgency. Quaxo quickly sat up, looking at the stars apprehensively. That's odd, he thought, What's happening?
The stars were getting brighter and brighter, their light becoming almost blinding. Quaxo trembled with fear, before a calming, cool breeze swept across the field.
Mistoffelees... It seemed to whisper.
The breeze slowly passed, ruffling Quaxo’s fur. The small cat settled down again, but the stars kept glowing brighter. Suddenly, he was hit by a strange force that felt like lightning and thunder rolled into one, or of water and fire mixed. It seemed to come from above him, behind him, and from within his very being. His eyes shut tightly and his paws clung to the damp grass as though it were a lifeline between him and death. A soundless noise howled into his ears, and the world swirled by in a blast of light and color.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
Quaxo slowly opened his eyes and looked up. The stars had dimmed down, and everything was the same as it had been. He felt a strange tingling in his paws and looked down. He gasped at what he saw. My paws... he thought, looking at his fur, my coat...
His coat sparkled with a jeweled luster, as bright as the stars themselves. From far away, the wind whispered.
Beautiful.