"It's just gone 5:30 and if you've only just joined us, this is Phoenixbrook Radio, I'm Todd McKenzie, and where the hell have you been? Coming up in half an hour, an exclusive interview with Tanya Palmer and we'll be asking her about her latest album, 'Reflections of Rainbows.' And just in case you're wondering what all the fuss is about, pin back those ears and take a listen to this!"

Leana Sharinda Snowkitten woke with a start as the train's intercom system burst into life with a sudden burst of static. The pretty feline cursed herself for falling asleep again, simultaneously attempting to grasp the remaining shreds of her dark-tinged surreal dream, but it seemed to slip from her grasp and melted away, gone forever.

Leana shook her head to clear the fuzziness, struggling to catch the rest of the announcement, but something was causing too much interference. However, the mention of Ferrington was clear enough. She yawned, revealing her tiny little fangs, stretched, and rubbed her blue sparkling eyes. Looking out the window of the comfortable (but unremarkable) carriage, sure enough there was the picturesque Ferrington village, glittering under a thick blanket of snow that had fallen during the previous night. The next stop would be the snowkittens' hometown of Phoenixbrook. After a five hour flight and more or less immediately boarding the train for this lengthy journey, she was looking forward to being back on more familiar territory and fully planned to sleep for at least the next six months.

Leana blinked as she looked round the carriage.

"Andrina…?"

Darn it, she thought. I bet she's sneaked out to that vending machine again. Leana sighed, dragging a small yellow brush out of her backpack and she began to brush her spiky blue hair back into a mess of her own making.

Aside from her blue hair and matching large blue fluffy tail, much of the rest of her fur was white. She had black ears and a black stripe between her eyes. Leana was quite slim, and not particularly tall. She wore a light blue sweatshirt and a long black frilly skirt, as well as an array of bracelets and a diamond shaped necklace that seemed to glow with its own strange energy. In the right mood, Leana could be all sweetness and light. But those who knew what snowkittens, particularly Leana, were capable of knew better than to cross her or to make assumptions about her seemingly unthreatening appearance.

Several chimes resonated round the train followed by a range of different clicks and whirrs indicating that the train was about to start away from Ferrington station. The town of Phoenixbrook was situated in the north of a small country called Aredria, and Aredria had developed the hi-tech magnetic train network, which was the envy of the world. The engines kicked into full power, just as the carriage door opened and a snowkitten with red and yellow hair almost fell into the carriage following the slight jolt as the train began to move again. Undaunted, the female snowkitten landed - or more accurately bounced - onto the seat opposite Leana, and with barely a pause she whipped out a large polystyrene cup from her own backpack, waving it under Leana's nose. Leana raised an eyebrow curiously.

"It's hot chocolate, you doofus!" beamed Andrina. She lifted the lid off the cup, using it to make it seem as if it was talking. "Yes, I am. Drink me. Now! You cannot resist a moment longer."

Leana grinned. "Okay, you got me. Thanks kitty." She took a sip, while Andrina began burrowing deep into the backpack looking for something else.

"Well, maybe hot isn't quite the right word to use. It's more lukewarm chocolate maybe. Sorry about that. I got chatting to a really cute mouse girl in the corridor, and she was totally covered in bracelets and goodness knows what else. As you can imagine, I could hardly pass up the chance to plug my jewellery stall and… got it! Oooh look, they had cherry bars!" Andrina held it aloft as if it were a glittering sword that she had prized from a rock. With one swift motion she sliced the wrapper open using an extended claw, and crammed half the bar into her muzzle.

Leana shook her head, grinning. "What you really mean is that you were flirting again. Trying to make me jealous, Miss Andrina…?" Suddenly a vision of being sprayed with half chewed biscuit crumbs became terrifyingly close. "On second thoughts don't answer that until you've finished chewing, you greedy kitty."

Leana returned to her drink, and looked across at Andrina. Apart from the red and yellow hair, she was much the same in appearance. The blue tail and black ears and stripe, the white fur. She was a little taller than Leana and not quite so slim, and her clothes reflected her bubbly bouncy personality perfectly. Andrina wore a vivid pink top and sky blue jeans, as well as the traditional snowkitten bracelet. The two girls had been best friends ever since they had met at school. Andrina had been a victim of especially vicious bullying, which Leana had helped put a stop to, and she had vowed to always be her friend and to make sure nobody would ever hurt her again. They had dragged each other through some traumatic times over the years, but this had only made them increasingly close, and they were almost inseparable these days.

It seemed a miracle that Andrina's happy attitude to life had survived the things that had happened to her, but somehow it was that attitude that had helped her survive it. Now that she had her own beautiful cottage, her jewellery stall on the world famous Phoenixbrook markets, her friends and Leana, she was totally happy with her life for the first time ever. Of course a healthy supply of cherry bars also helped.

Andrina offered Leana the other half of the bar, which Leana politely declined, so she stuffed the other half in her mouth. Letting out a sudden muffled "mmmphh!" she began to point excitedly at the view through the window before giving a hiccup.

There before them lay the vast city walls of Phoenixbrook. Ancient stone rising from huge embankments linked with towers and battlements. The sight of her hometown lifted Leana's heart. It was such a simple thing really, but having been away from her hometown for nearly a month, and after the journey back home, she was immediately relieved and felt far more relaxed.

Just for that moment, even the bad news she would have to break to the town's inhabitants was forgotten.

"Yeep!" Andrina jumped as the intercom crackled into life again, droning on about how they were approaching the final stop on this route, how everyone should make sure they had all their belongings and please take care as you get off the train. Off to one side were the remains of a tower that used to span the arch shaped northern gate, one of four such archway entrances to Phoenixbrook. Now, only the southern entrance still had its twin towers in their original form. The train momentarily vanished into darkness as it entered the tunnel through the northern wall, then back into the light, and shortly after slowed to a crawl as it approached the station platform. A slight shudder ran through the carriage when the train finally stopped, the magnetic locks holding it in place. The gentle hum of the electro-magnetic engines dimmed and then faded away completely.

Leana stretched and stood up. "C'mon Andrina, let's haul our tails off this thing. I need to get my paws on some fresh air. And the sooner my head gets the chance to hit a pillow, the better." She scooped up her coat, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the door with Andrina padding out behind her.

Snowkittens were rare. Very rare. It hadn't always been that way, but across the planet of Venuvia there were believed to be fewer than fifty left, and in Aredria there were just six, all living in Phoenixbrook.

Snowkittens were rare, but snowkitten twins were unheard of.

Leana's twin brother Eliki shivered and pulled his blue coat tighter around himself. His feet crunched in the snow as he headed through the frozen gardens at the back of Phoenixbrook town hall, the best shortcut he knew of to reach the train station. Despite the snow, it hadn't seemed all that cold when he first left the house. Except that the house was in the south of the town, and the station was in the north near to the vast Phoenix river, and the cold air rising from the river was cutting right through his coat and fur.

As with most snowkittens, Eliki had the same markings and blue tail and hair as Leana. Apart from the obvious physical differences, they were almost identical, though Eliki had shorter, shoulder length spiky hair. As he approached the station, the main entrance as ever didn't fail to take his breath away even though he had been here many times - to visit people and to sketch and paint the view. He took in the sight of the massive entrance archway, covered in ornamental carvings and with two large crystal towers either side of the arch. There were elaborate decorations in the recesses of the tunnel that led into the large waiting area and the train platforms. Inside, Eliki was very relieved that the temperature was considerably more pleasant. High above the station's ceiling was supported by numerous gothic arches, all as stunningly decorated as the outer ones, with gargoyles looming from the shadows.

Another intriguing sight was the floor of the station, totally covered in semi-transparent multi-coloured tiles, which changed colour whenever anyone walked across them. It took many visitors completely by surprise, who would sometimes be seen doing bizarre walks across the station trying to see how many tiles they could change as they left. A few clever street entertainers had even developed dances that took advantage of the colour changing tiles to their best effect, and some people journeyed to Phoenixbrook for this sight alone.

Normally Eliki would play around with the tiles himself, something he and Leana had done ever since they were little kittens. Today though, he had more important things on his mind. His sister and Andrina (who he got on with almost as well as Leana did) were returning from abroad after being away for a month, and he had missed them badly. The twin's mother, Koreen, no longer lived in Aredria, and Eliki had a morbid fear of flying so he had been unable to visit her. Instead, Leana had gone, dragging Andrina with her for company and taking news and gifts from Eliki.

In her absence, Eliki had looked after Andrina's jewellery stall on the market. Andrina had a special talent for making wonderful bracelets, necklaces, earrings and all sorts of trinkets. With some money from her gran she had been able to set up the business and the stall, and though it didn't make fortunes, she did make a decent living from it. Eliki worked on the stall part time so it made a pleasant change and an easy transition for him to take charge of it for a time. Even so, and despite the lack of teasing from Leana, Eliki had found the house much too big and dauntingly quiet, so he couldn't wait to see the two snowkitten girls again.

As usual he had allowed far too much time, preferring to arrive there too early rather than late. Eliki sat down against one of the many pillars, waiting patiently and conjuring up multi-coloured bubbles which floated across the station, occasionally bursting on a tile, changing its colour. If nothing else it was keeping a small grey rabbit girl happy. A flicker of mischief crossed Eliki's face, and he sent a square bubble over to her. The rabbit giggled when it burst on her nose then ran off to tell her parents about it.

Snowkittens were born with extraordinary powers. Usually it was something specific such as fire, healing, or weather control. Andrina's powers, for example, had manifested in an ability to conjure and control water. Over the years, snowkittens' powers had helped save and change many lives, as well as help to create the many magical and technological innovations all over Aredria. In the wrong paws such powers could be lethal, but snowkittens were rarely malevolent creatures.

Things were more complex for Eliki and Leana, simply because of the rarity of snowkitten twins. When the twins' mother had become pregnant, somehow the abilities and powers that should have gone to Eliki had instead become tangled up and merged with Leana's powers. Although his natural self-healing worked well enough most of the time - one of several reasons it was extremely difficult to harm or kill a snowkitten - Eliki didn't have as much magic as he should, and lacked the powers that normally a snowkitten would rely on instinctively to get out of all sorts of trouble. This was one reason Eliki tended to be wary and nervous. Though it was not her fault in any way, Leana felt somehow responsible for seemingly having taken away his powers, and as such she was fiercely protective of her twin. In a strange twist, Leana had found that her powers had not merely doubled… In her thirty years, she had mastered her abilities, but even Leana didn't know just what the limits on these powers were. Eliki knew that sometimes this terrified her.

Unsurprisingly these extra powers meant that Leana carried herself with a lot more confidence than Eliki, though thankfully not in an arrogant way. Snowkittens had always been highly respected in the town, but people seemed to home in on Leana as though she were some sort of beacon of authority, which she respected but also found a little disconcerting.

A loud cheery chime and a pre-recorded message announced the arrival of the train from Ferrington. Eliki leapt up praying that this was the right one. Moments later the train floated into the station almost silently, and latched into place alongside the platform, then…

The doors remained firmly shut. Not for the first time, some small electrical fault must have kicked in.

"Awww heck, not again" Eliki said aloud. "If you don't get that door open in the next few seconds, Leana will…" As if in answer to that comment, the door to the next carriage along from where he was waiting suddenly flew open in a shower of sparks, and Leana stepped out onto the platform followed by a slightly bewildered Andrina.

Not that her bewilderment lasted long. As soon as Andrina noticed Eliki, she let out a short squeal and pounced, nearly bowling him to the floor.

"I hope you're okay and you took good care of the stall and sold lots of things, and oooh we've got presents! But you can't see them yet 'cos Leana said so," Andrina exclaimed seemingly in one breath. Her tail swished side to side and she attempted to squeeze the air out of Eliki's lungs.

His first attempt to get any words out resulted in little more than a muffled croak. He blew a mouthful of Andrina's red and yellow hair out his mouth, then tried again.

"Hehe, I missed you too, silly, and the stall is doing fine. I managed to sell most of those blossom crystal necklaces so it looks like we'll be busy next week making a lot more of those!"

As the conversation drifted onto who was taking care of the stall at the moment, and how they'd need to catch a bus in time to get the stall packed away, Leana looked back towards the train. She severed the spell that had forced the carriage doors open, causing them to hiss shut again. She sighed - as with so much of Aredria's technology, the train and railway were nothing short of a miracle of hybrid magical and electronic engineering. However, anything mechanical was still prone to wearing out. This train, with its dodgy intercom system and faulty door, was in quite a poor state compared to the normally flawless trains, but at least these were things that could be put right easily enough. Leana was about to catch the attention of the nearby railway technician, when Eliki grabbed her in a tight hug from behind.

"Yeeeep!" She grinned, putting her paws on his and Eliki nuzzled the back of her neck.

"And how are you, sis? I've missed you so much, more than you'd believe. That house just seems so quiet without you there."

She smiled. "Are you saying I'm a loudmouth?"

"Silly. You know what I mean."

Leana turned to face her twin and they hugged again, purring softly. "Oh, I'm glad to be back at last. A month is a long time. I wish mum didn't live so far away, so these trips didn't have to be for so long. Still, at least this time we remembered to bring back the presents she gave us."

Eliki nodded. "Andrina mentioned something about that, along with another fifty subjects that she managed to squeeze into a single sentence. Wherever she may be at the moment."

They watched for a while as Andrina jumped and span from one tile to another, happy as could be, as the tiles changed colour each time she landed on them. Leana shook her head. "I don't know where she gets the energy from. I'm totally shattered!"

Eliki looked back towards the train. Luckily the technician had discovered for himself that there was something wrong with the door, though he did seem bemused by the scorch marks along the top of the frame.

"I'm not surprised after that long journey. I promised Rich that we'd get back in time to pack the stall away though, so we need to get that done before the snow starts coming down again."

Leana looked around, admiring the gothic architecture of the station. "Hey, I can think of worse places to end up stranded." Eliki lifted Leana's backpack and carried it for her as they wandered over to where Andrina stood. "Come on, crazy kitty. Let's go and sort your stall out. And then maybe I can get some sleep."

The fifteen-minute bus ride from the station to the Market Square was uneventful, though as ever Eliki found the journey across the Phoenixbrook suspension bridge an event in itself. The bridge had four wide traffic lanes and two walkways either side, with numerous elaborately designed turrets and towers along the entire structure. The bridge was made from a huge range of metals imported from all over Aredria. The light had almost entirely faded now that it was approaching 6:30pm, so the vast array of lights covering the bridge had automatically switched on making it look even more spectacular, and visible for many miles around.

By the time the three snowkittens had left the bus, the snow had begun to fall again so they hurried across the huge Market Square towards Andrina's stall. All of the other stall holders had long since packed away and gone home, except for Rich, the raccoon who had promised to look after the stall till someone returned. After Andrina had thanked him and seemingly attempted to break several of his ribs with a huge hug, he left too and the snowkittens began to lock up the stall, removing display stands and price tickets. Andrina, never one to fuss, simply shoveled whatever remained of the stock into a smallish suitcase, planning to sort it all out when she got home.

People visited the Phoenixbrook markets from all over Venuvia, travelling huge distances. The range of stalls and goods for sale was bewildering, and Andrina considered herself extremely lucky to have secured a permanent stall here. And yet, as the snow fell and an almost eerie silence descended across much of the city, it was hard to believe that just a few short hours ago the place had been buzzing with visitors and the stallholders.

Andrina gave the twins one last hug before hefting her backpack onto her shoulder and lifting the suitcase containing the remainder of her jewellery stock locked safely inside. She very politely declined the twin's offer to walk back with her to her cottage, and headed off home down one of the many winding streets as they waved.

"C'mon, sleepy. Let's get you home," Eliki said.

"About time. I'm fit to drop," Leana remarked, taking one last look back for Andrina, who was now out of sight. The snow was falling gradually faster so they headed through the welcome shelter of the well lit brick lined Apple Tunnel. Fortunately the tunnel opened out into Apple Street, and their home was just at the end of the street.

The twin's house was a fairly small but beautiful old fashioned black and white building with three floors, the first of which was mostly garage and storage space. The garage floor was set into a large hill - a hill that in better weather would normally be covered in a blanket of multi-coloured flowers, rather than a thick layer of snow. The top floor of the three housed the bedrooms and Eliki's small art studio. They headed up the long white metal staircase to the second floor where the front door was, which Eliki unlocked quickly with fumbling frozen fingers, using his keycard. A beep signalled that it was open, and they almost tumbled inside.

While Leana bundled her coat into the corner of the hall along with her backpack - there was a time and place for unpacking and this wasn't it - Eliki pushed an array of buttons on the security console that protruded from the wall to the side of the door. A brief wait and the green glowing letters on the console informed him that every window and the front and back doors were all locked and sealed. For the most part, Phoenixbrook didn't have a crime rate that truly justified that level of security, but the town had seen some bad times, and every home had much the same security system, mostly just for peace of mind.

In the main living room, Leana made a gesture towards the fireplace, and in moments the logs that Eliki had piled up during the early morning burst into flame.

"Who needs matches when you've got a Leana around?" Eliki smiled as he closed the door to the hall and gazed out the window at the silent falling snow. "So… did you find out if the rumours were true?"

Leana huddled by the fire warming her paws. "I really wish I had better news to tell you. But yes, sadly it seems they're true."

There was a long silence. Leana looked round to see Eliki still quietly watching out the window. Finally he turned round and as Leana curled up by the fire, he sat next to her.

"So what do we do now?"

Leana watched the dancing flames. "We have to get the news back to Jarret as soon as possible. The Elysia are back, probably stronger than ever, and he is almost certainly going to be their priority target this time. Maybe you can sort that out in the morning, and I'll inform the mayor about the situation. Other than that, all we can do is wait."

"And Andrina?"

"She knows, " Leana said quietly. A few moments later the exhausted snowkitten was dozing. Eliki glanced over at the lightswitch, using his limited powers to turn the lights off, leaving the room glowing in the firelight. Not long after, both snowkittens were cuddled up asleep, while outside the snow fell slowly but relentlessly.