"See you later Nina, Cass," Mrs. Norton said as we headed for the door. "You girls have a good afternoon!"
My little sister smiled, "You too ma'am, we'll see you again on Sunday!"
I waved and bid her a good day too, then me and Nina headed out together.
It was half past four on Thursday afternoon, and we'd just finished our first day of volunteer work at the local animal shelter. It started with a half hour of orientation and instruction with Mrs. Norton the manager, then Nina spent most of her time looking after the dogs while I was with the cats and small animals.
Almost a week had passed since the incident in the park, and fortunately there hadn't been any more trouble since then. The wolfgirls were doing their shifts at work without any problems, both of them were happy with the protective enchantments Sasha made for them.
On the other hand there hadn't been any leads or clues or anything, no hints about who was behind the water balloon in the first place. Brooke even tried scrying with the bits of rubber Willow saved, but that didn't turn up any results.
The only other fallout from the whole thing came from my parents, when they found out exactly what happened to Kyle and Danny. I got a big lecture about being responsible with my power, but I couldn't remember how that ended. I had a feeling not-me took over since it was about goddess stuff, and I was still trying really hard not to think about that subject.
So everyone in the club was being extra careful and watching out for trouble, but we were also kind of focused on our regular lives and our summer plans. And for me and Nina, that meant volunteer work at the animal shelter.
As the two of us headed across the parking lot towards the sidewalk I asked, "So what did you think sis?"
Nina seemed a little conflicted, "The dogs were happy to have attention and get walks and stuff, but I feel bad about having to leave them there. I hope they all find homes and families."
"They will," I told her. "But until they do, I'm sure they're very happy to have people like you visiting and looking after them."
She nodded, "Yeah. How about you, how was it with the kitties? And the other little animals?"
I shrugged, "Most of them were really cute and nice. A couple were a little bit dangerous, but I spent time with all of them. The small animals were ok, there were two budgies and a couple hamsters and a guinea pig. No bunnies though, which on the one hand I was really hoping to cuddle a bun but on the other hand I'm glad there's no homeless buns."
"Were you tempted to adopt any of the kitties or anything?" she asked. Then she bit her lip and admitted, "I kind of wanted to adopt like five of the dogs."
That made me smile, "If there were buns I might have had a hard time resisting. But I live with a couple wolfs, and something tells me a kitty might not appreciate wolfy roommates. For that matter I'm not sure the wolfs would like a cat around the house either."
Nina grimaced, "Yeah. I don't think mom and mum would be happy if I came home with a new pet dog. Or five."
I laughed, "Probably not. You'd definitely want to check with them before bringing new pets home."
Then I asked, "Are you going to head straight back home now? Or do you want to come to my place and hang out for a bit?"
"Or we could stop at a cafe or something?" I added. "It's too early for dinner, or I'd suggest we could grab some food somewhere."
My sister grimaced again, "I'm coming home with you, but I actually have plans? Willow's coming over, me and her were going to hang out with Sasha. Me and Will are helping Sasha with stuff, and Sash is helping Willow get better control of her magic."
"Sorry Cass," she added as she gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sure you can hang out with us too if you want?"
I smiled and shook my head, "It's fine Nina. I'll text Kaylee and see if she wants to get together. Or maybe I can hang out with Melanie and Cerys tonight, after they get home from work."
"Thanks Cass," she smiled back as we continued walking back to my place.
Less than ten minutes later we were home, and found Sasha waiting in the living-room. Apparently there was another fifteen minutes or so before Willow was supposed to arrive, and Nina decided to try and teach Sasha about video games while they were waiting for the sorceress.
That sounded like fun so after I texted Kaylee about maybe getting together for dinner or something I sat back and watched. Nina already had the controllers out and the TV and console were on. Within a couple minutes the small demon was demonstrating a kart racing game while trying to explain how it all worked, while the former goddess watched and listened quietly.
It was actually really cute, Nina was clearly excited about sharing one of her interests with her old friend. I was pretty sure Sasha wasn't quite as into it, or maybe it's just that a lot of what my sister was saying went over the fallen goddess's head. But to her credit, Sasha never once interrupted, and she certainly never gave any indication she wasn't interested.
Before long Nina got my cousin to actually try and play, and she was even more hopeless at it than our parents were. It was kind of fun to watch though, and Sasha seemed to be enjoying herself despite the lack of progress.
In fact the three of us got so into the game stuff we didn't realize Willow was late until the front door suddenly swung open and the sorceress dashed inside. She slammed the door behind her then slumped back against it, breathing hard. Then I noticed her face was flushed, and she seemed upset.
"Willow are you ok?" I asked with a frown.
Nina added, "What happened?!"
After a couple more deep breaths Willow sighed, "I had a run-in with a bully on the way here. It was... I got scared."
By that point the game was paused and all three of us were moving to the petite ravenette. She didn't look hurt, but she was obviously upset. Sasha and Nina helped her into one of the big chairs while I got her a bottle of spring water.
Willow thanked all of us and had a couple gulps of water, then she sighed and started to describe what happened.
"I was cutting through the schoolyard on my way here," she explained. "And I ran into Steve Ford. Or he ran into me. It was weird, almost like he was waiting for me at the back of the school? There was no-one else around, the place was deserted. So as I was cutting past the school he steps out in front of me? And he started kind of mouthing off, pushing me around and acting like a jerk, like he did before."
"Before I changed I mean," she clarified. "He stopped bullying me when I became Willow. I thought that's because I was a girl, like maybe he didn't want to beat up girls or something? Except today he was deadnaming me and misgendering me, basically acting like I never changed."
She looked more upset as she paused there for a moment and had another gulp of water. Then she continued, "He kept pushing me around and stuff until I had my back against the school wall and I couldn't get past him. Then he brought up that weekend in May when he was stuck with the donkey ears and tail? He blamed me for that, like he somehow knew or figured out it was my fault. Or maybe he knew it all along?"
"Anyways he was angry and I could tell he really wanted to hurt me," she added as she suppressed a shudder. "He told me what he was going to do to me, and I was positive he meant it."
Willow sighed as she confessed, "I broke my promise and used magic. I had to, it was the only way to protect myself. I was never strong enough to fight back in my original form, now I'm even weaker. And there was nobody around to help me, and he had me cornered so I couldn't run. So I used magic, only um, I still don't have enough control over it."
Nina looked a little worried as she asked, "What happened? What did you do to Steve?"
"It was supposed to be just a simple spell. I was just trying to get him to leave me alone," Willow insisted. Then she added quietly, "It worked, but um, Steve also ended up with furry ears and a tail again. Among other things."
Sasha didn't seem to think there was any problem with any of that, and I tended to agree with her. I put a hand on Willow's arm and told her, "It's ok. You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe. No-one's going to blame you for that."
"Thanks Cass," she gave me a grateful look. Then after another sigh she added, "Except it happened out in the open behind the school? I didn't see anyone else around, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. And there's some houses and backyards that face onto the schoolyard? Somebody could have seen what happened."
"And um, Steve definitely knows I did it this time," she added softly. "Like without a doubt he knows it was me."
I was still touching her arm so I gave her a gentle reassuring squeeze and smiled, "Well maybe that'll teach him to leave you alone from now on?"
"Yeah," the sorceress responded with a bit of a grimace. That shifted to a frown a moment later as she wondered aloud, "Except if he already knew or suspected the donkey ears and tail were my fault in the first place, then why would he come after me today? Why threaten me and try to beat me up if he already thought I was capable of magic? That doesn't make any sense."
My little sister made a face as she pointed out, "Steve Ford doesn't seem like the kind of guy who puts a lot of thought into any of his actions."
"Maybe not," Willow responded with a brief smile. That quickly faded as she continued, "But it reminds me of what happened with Kyle and Danny on Canada Day? I can't help thinking that whoever set them up might have done the same thing to Steve. And if that's true, then whoever it was probably saw me using magic today."
Sasha glanced at me and suggested, "Cassandra, perhaps you should go and find this Steve? See if he was coerced or bribed the way the other two boys were?"
I grimaced, "If he was then odds are there won't be any memory of who did it. They probably covered their tracks again, same as with Kyle and Danny."
"I know," the former goddess nodded, "But even if it doesn't lead us to them it would at least confirm their involvement."
I knew Sasha was right, and from the sense of calm that came over me I knew that not-me agreed with her. My body turned to look at Willow again as I heard myself ask, "Do you know where I might find Steve now?"
The sorceress shook her head, "Not really? He might still be at the back of the school, that's where I left him when I took off."
"Very well," not-me nodded once, then we vanished as she teleported us there.
Not-me made us invisible when we arrived, to ensure nobody would notice our sudden appearance or see us snooping around. Then I watched in a nervous silence as she began slowly searching the area for any sign of the bully.
He wasn't behind the school or out on the field, but it didn't take long to track him down. I wasn't sure if not-me was using some subtle magic or if she was just really good at guessing or something. Either way it only took two or three minutes before we came upon a dejected figure sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a tree in the ravine.
Other-me dismissed our invisibility as we moved to stand before him, then I heard myself ask "Steve Ford I presume?"
Looking down at the would-be bully it was immediately obvious that Willow had drawn some inspiration from what we'd done to Kyle and Danny. Rather than a large strong intimidating bully, the person we were looking at was small and effeminate, his petite non-threatening body almost lost in his oversized clothing.
From what I could see of him I got the feeling that Willow used her own body as a sort of template. Or at least the magic she used on Steve was probably similar to what she'd used when she changed herself. He could almost pass as the sorceress's twin sibling, except he looked a little bit smaller and had a furry tail and fuzzy ears.
They were feline this time rather than being from a donkey. He had a pair of large triangular black furry cat ears sticking up above his long silky black hair, and a long fluffy black tail emerged from behind him. That was wrapped around his hip with the end curled up in his lap, and his small delicate hands were stroking it as if for comfort.
And finally, from the residual magic still present on him we could tell this transformation wasn't permanent. The changes would wear off in time, but I couldn't guess how long that would take. Somehow I knew that not-me would be able to figure out the details, but I didn't try to ask her about it.
The forlorn figure slowly looked up at us, brushing some of his long black hair out of his face. His eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying, and in a soft voice he replied sadly, "Yeah I'm Steve. But nobody will recognize me now. Not after what that witch did to me."
"Hmm," I heard myself say as we casually looked through his surface thoughts.
It only took a second or two to confirm everything Willow said, along with her suspicions. Someone got Steve riled up enough to confront the sorceress, but there were no memories of who that person was or what exactly they'd said. Or how or where the cat-kin encountered them.
"Well I have good news and bad news," not-me announced a few moments later.
We continued, "The bad news is you've been cursed. The good news is it'll wear off in about a week, as long as you don't trigger the follow-up curse that'll make this permanent. If that happens then you'll remain like this forever."
"A week?!" Steve gasped as he stared wide-eyed at us. "Wait what do you mean, there's another curse? I don't want to be stuck like this! How do I turn back to normal again?"
Not-me replied calmly, "Oh that's easy. As long as you hate this it'll wear off in about seven days from now. If you find yourself starting to like it though, then you'll stay this way. So just try not to enjoy it, and you'll be fine."
The cat-kin mumbled that he'd never like anything about this, but I was distracted by a familiar voice calling from behind us.
"Cass?" Kaylee said as she approached through the trees.
My girlfriend was on her way to meet me so we could get dinner together, and she'd taken the same shortcut as always. And now she'd found us standing over the transformed bully.
"Who is this?" she asked as she came to stand next to us. "What did you do to him? And why?"
I wanted to cringe or hide, but the other me calmly replied "This wasn't my doing, I just came to check on something. Let's head back to my place, we can talk in private there."
Kaylee hesitated as she looked down at Steve, "What about him? We can't just leave them him like that."
"I'll send him home," not-me replied. Sure enough the petite cat-kin vanished a moment later in a swirl of light.
My girlfriend sighed, "Ok Cass. But we're definitely going to talk about this when we get to your place."
"Agreed," not-me said as the two of us started for home.
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"See you later Nina, Cass," Mrs. Norton said as we headed for the door. "You girls have a good afternoon!"
My little sister smiled, "You too ma'am, we'll see you again on Sunday!"
I waved and bid her a good day too, then me and Nina headed out together.
It was half past four on Thursday afternoon, and we'd just finished our first day of volunteer work at the local animal shelter. It started with a half hour of orientation and instruction with Mrs. Norton the manager, then Nina spent most of her time looking after the dogs while I was with the cats and small animals.
Almost a week had passed since the incident in the park, and fortunately there hadn't been any more trouble since then. The wolfgirls were doing their shifts at work without any problems, both of them were happy with the protective enchantments Sasha made for them.
On the other hand there hadn't been any leads or clues or anything, no hints about who was behind the water balloon in the first place. Brooke even tried scrying with the bits of rubber Willow saved, but that didn't turn up any results.
The only other fallout from the whole thing came from my parents, when they found out exactly what happened to Kyle and Danny. I got a big lecture about being responsible with my power, but I couldn't remember how that ended. I had a feeling not-me took over since it was about goddess stuff, and I was still trying really hard not to think about that subject.
So everyone in the club was being extra careful and watching out for trouble, but we were also kind of focused on our regular lives and our summer plans. And for me and Nina, that meant volunteer work at the animal shelter.
As the two of us headed across the parking lot towards the sidewalk I asked, "So what did you think sis?"
Nina seemed a little conflicted, "The dogs were happy to have attention and get walks and stuff, but I feel bad about having to leave them there. I hope they all find homes and families."
"They will," I told her. "But until they do, I'm sure they're very happy to have people like you visiting and looking after them."
She nodded, "Yeah. How about you, how was it with the kitties? And the other little animals?"
I shrugged, "Most of them were really cute and nice. A couple were a little bit dangerous, but I spent time with all of them. The small animals were ok, there were two budgies and a couple hamsters and a guinea pig. No bunnies though, which on the one hand I was really hoping to cuddle a bun but on the other hand I'm glad there's no homeless buns."
"Were you tempted to adopt any of the kitties or anything?" she asked. Then she bit her lip and admitted, "I kind of wanted to adopt like five of the dogs."
That made me smile, "If there were buns I might have had a hard time resisting. But I live with a couple wolfs, and something tells me a kitty might not appreciate wolfy roommates. For that matter I'm not sure the wolfs would like a cat around the house either."
Nina grimaced, "Yeah. I don't think mom and mum would be happy if I came home with a new pet dog. Or five."
I laughed, "Probably not. You'd definitely want to check with them before bringing new pets home."
Then I asked, "Are you going to head straight back home now? Or do you want to come to my place and hang out for a bit?"
"Or we could stop at a cafe or something?" I added. "It's too early for dinner, or I'd suggest we could grab some food somewhere."
My sister grimaced again, "I'm coming home with you, but I actually have plans? Willow's coming over, me and her were going to hang out with Sasha. Me and Will are helping Sasha with stuff, and Sash is helping Willow get better control of her magic."
"Sorry Cass," she added as she gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sure you can hang out with us too if you want?"
I smiled and shook my head, "It's fine Nina. I'll text Kaylee and see if she wants to get together. Or maybe I can hang out with Melanie and Cerys tonight, after they get home from work."
"Thanks Cass," she smiled back as we continued walking back to my place.
Less than ten minutes later we were home, and found Sasha waiting in the living-room. Apparently there was another fifteen minutes or so before Willow was supposed to arrive, and Nina decided to try and teach Sasha about video games while they were waiting for the sorceress.
That sounded like fun so after I texted Kaylee about maybe getting together for dinner or something I sat back and watched. Nina already had the controllers out and the TV and console were on. Within a couple minutes the small demon was demonstrating a kart racing game while trying to explain how it all worked, while the former goddess watched and listened quietly.
It was actually really cute, Nina was clearly excited about sharing one of her interests with her old friend. I was pretty sure Sasha wasn't quite as into it, or maybe it's just that a lot of what my sister was saying went over the fallen goddess's head. But to her credit, Sasha never once interrupted, and she certainly never gave any indication she wasn't interested.
Before long Nina got my cousin to actually try and play, and she was even more hopeless at it than our parents were. It was kind of fun to watch though, and Sasha seemed to be enjoying herself despite the lack of progress.
In fact the three of us got so into the game stuff we didn't realize Willow was late until the front door suddenly swung open and the sorceress dashed inside. She slammed the door behind her then slumped back against it, breathing hard. Then I noticed her face was flushed, and she seemed upset.
"Willow are you ok?" I asked with a frown.
Nina added, "What happened?!"
After a couple more deep breaths Willow sighed, "I had a run-in with a bully on the way here. It was... I got scared."
By that point the game was paused and all three of us were moving to the petite ravenette. She didn't look hurt, but she was obviously upset. Sasha and Nina helped her into one of the big chairs while I got her a bottle of spring water.
Willow thanked all of us and had a couple gulps of water, then she sighed and started to describe what happened.
"I was cutting through the schoolyard on my way here," she explained. "And I ran into Steve Ford. Or he ran into me. It was weird, almost like he was waiting for me at the back of the school? There was no-one else around, the place was deserted. So as I was cutting past the school he steps out in front of me? And he started kind of mouthing off, pushing me around and acting like a jerk, like he did before."
"Before I changed I mean," she clarified. "He stopped bullying me when I became Willow. I thought that's because I was a girl, like maybe he didn't want to beat up girls or something? Except today he was deadnaming me and misgendering me, basically acting like I never changed."
She looked more upset as she paused there for a moment and had another gulp of water. Then she continued, "He kept pushing me around and stuff until I had my back against the school wall and I couldn't get past him. Then he brought up that weekend in May when he was stuck with the donkey ears and tail? He blamed me for that, like he somehow knew or figured out it was my fault. Or maybe he knew it all along?"
"Anyways he was angry and I could tell he really wanted to hurt me," she added as she suppressed a shudder. "He told me what he was going to do to me, and I was positive he meant it."
Willow sighed as she confessed, "I broke my promise and used magic. I had to, it was the only way to protect myself. I was never strong enough to fight back in my original form, now I'm even weaker. And there was nobody around to help me, and he had me cornered so I couldn't run. So I used magic, only um, I still don't have enough control over it."
Nina looked a little worried as she asked, "What happened? What did you do to Steve?"
"It was supposed to be just a simple spell. I was just trying to get him to leave me alone," Willow insisted. Then she added quietly, "It worked, but um, Steve also ended up with furry ears and a tail again. Among other things."
Sasha didn't seem to think there was any problem with any of that, and I tended to agree with her. I put a hand on Willow's arm and told her, "It's ok. You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe. No-one's going to blame you for that."
"Thanks Cass," she gave me a grateful look. Then after another sigh she added, "Except it happened out in the open behind the school? I didn't see anyone else around, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. And there's some houses and backyards that face onto the schoolyard? Somebody could have seen what happened."
"And um, Steve definitely knows I did it this time," she added softly. "Like without a doubt he knows it was me."
I was still touching her arm so I gave her a gentle reassuring squeeze and smiled, "Well maybe that'll teach him to leave you alone from now on?"
"Yeah," the sorceress responded with a bit of a grimace. That shifted to a frown a moment later as she wondered aloud, "Except if he already knew or suspected the donkey ears and tail were my fault in the first place, then why would he come after me today? Why threaten me and try to beat me up if he already thought I was capable of magic? That doesn't make any sense."
My little sister made a face as she pointed out, "Steve Ford doesn't seem like the kind of guy who puts a lot of thought into any of his actions."
"Maybe not," Willow responded with a brief smile. That quickly faded as she continued, "But it reminds me of what happened with Kyle and Danny on Canada Day? I can't help thinking that whoever set them up might have done the same thing to Steve. And if that's true, then whoever it was probably saw me using magic today."
Sasha glanced at me and suggested, "Cassandra, perhaps you should go and find this Steve? See if he was coerced or bribed the way the other two boys were?"
I grimaced, "If he was then odds are there won't be any memory of who did it. They probably covered their tracks again, same as with Kyle and Danny."
"I know," the former goddess nodded, "But even if it doesn't lead us to them it would at least confirm their involvement."
I knew Sasha was right, and from the sense of calm that came over me I knew that not-me agreed with her. My body turned to look at Willow again as I heard myself ask, "Do you know where I might find Steve now?"
The sorceress shook her head, "Not really? He might still be at the back of the school, that's where I left him when I took off."
"Very well," not-me nodded once, then we vanished as she teleported us there.
Not-me made us invisible when we arrived, to ensure nobody would notice our sudden appearance or see us snooping around. Then I watched in a nervous silence as she began slowly searching the area for any sign of the bully.
He wasn't behind the school or out on the field, but it didn't take long to track him down. I wasn't sure if not-me was using some subtle magic or if she was just really good at guessing or something. Either way it only took two or three minutes before we came upon a dejected figure sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a tree in the ravine.
Other-me dismissed our invisibility as we moved to stand before him, then I heard myself ask "Steve Ford I presume?"
Looking down at the would-be bully it was immediately obvious that Willow had drawn some inspiration from what we'd done to Kyle and Danny. Rather than a large strong intimidating bully, the person we were looking at was small and effeminate, his petite non-threatening body almost lost in his oversized clothing.
From what I could see of him I got the feeling that Willow used her own body as a sort of template. Or at least the magic she used on Steve was probably similar to what she'd used when she changed herself. He could almost pass as the sorceress's twin sibling, except he looked a little bit smaller and had a furry tail and fuzzy ears.
They were feline this time rather than being from a donkey. He had a pair of large triangular black furry cat ears sticking up above his long silky black hair, and a long fluffy black tail emerged from behind him. That was wrapped around his hip with the end curled up in his lap, and his small delicate hands were stroking it as if for comfort.
And finally, from the residual magic still present on him we could tell this transformation wasn't permanent. The changes would wear off in time, but I couldn't guess how long that would take. Somehow I knew that not-me would be able to figure out the details, but I didn't try to ask her about it.
The forlorn figure slowly looked up at us, brushing some of his long black hair out of his face. His eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying, and in a soft voice he replied sadly, "Yeah I'm Steve. But nobody will recognize me now. Not after what that witch did to me."
"Hmm," I heard myself say as we casually looked through his surface thoughts.
It only took a second or two to confirm everything Willow said, along with her suspicions. Someone got Steve riled up enough to confront the sorceress, but there were no memories of who that person was or what exactly they'd said. Or how or where the cat-kin encountered them.
"Well I have good news and bad news," not-me announced a few moments later.
We continued, "The bad news is you've been cursed. The good news is it'll wear off in about a week, as long as you don't trigger the follow-up curse that'll make this permanent. If that happens then you'll remain like this forever."
"A week?!" Steve gasped as he stared wide-eyed at us. "Wait what do you mean, there's another curse? I don't want to be stuck like this! How do I turn back to normal again?"
Not-me replied calmly, "Oh that's easy. As long as you hate this it'll wear off in about seven days from now. If you find yourself starting to like it though, then you'll stay this way. So just try not to enjoy it, and you'll be fine."
The cat-kin mumbled that he'd never like anything about this, but I was distracted by a familiar voice calling from behind us.
"Cass?" Kaylee said as she approached through the trees.
My girlfriend was on her way to meet me so we could get dinner together, and she'd taken the same shortcut as always. And now she'd found us standing over the transformed bully.
"Who is this?" she asked as she came to stand next to us. "What did you do to him? And why?"
I wanted to cringe or hide, but the other me calmly replied "This wasn't my doing, I just came to check on something. Let's head back to my place, we can talk in private there."
Kaylee hesitated as she looked down at Steve, "What about him? We can't just leave them him like that."
"I'll send him home," not-me replied. Sure enough the petite cat-kin vanished a moment later in a swirl of light.
My girlfriend sighed, "Ok Cass. But we're definitely going to talk about this when we get to your place."
"Agreed," not-me said as the two of us started for home.
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