“Thanks, guys. But it’s very noticeable, and not many people see it that way.” Leon smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Baron had lamented the boy would have been a perfect familiar if not for his birthmark.
Midnite, too, he’d tossed aside at first because he was half-breed. As if it mattered. If he showed mage potential, he was a mage. They were genetically identical to humans, but they had magic.
And Warring? He spoke up with a chuckle. “I was sick, too. They were playing nature documentaries, and I was learning about how skunks come in all these neat colors and how bad their vision is, like me. I used to sit with my face almost pressed up against the screen. My papa had the TV set with way higher contrast so I could see it better. I was happy, though. Notthathappy.”
“I still need a mage to feed from for my magic.” Mads pulled his wand out, still wrapped up in a cloth. He unraveled it for the first time, watching as the stained, polished driftwood unfurled into his hand, rolling across his palm like butter.
It was a simple design; the handle carved to resemble a tree trunk, the bottom of which had an ornate hollowed-out design clutching a garnet crystal orb. And in a natural node, a knot in the wood, a tiny hole with the peeking head of a small raccoon stuck out, curious masked eyes inlaid with black diamonds. “Marquis just made this for me, and I regret that I can’t use it yet.”
It tingled in his palm, and the more he stared at that little face, the more amused he grew. Fuzzy little thieves.
“Mads?” Midnite stood as he stared.
Sheila, sensing something was off, ran up to Mads and barked, the sharp sound startling him into fumbling the wand.
In slow motion, the world around him dimmed, color melting away like an old television, static inundating his vision. As the wand fell, so did he, pulling down and away from it as he reached, the hand extending not matching what was in his head. Instead of pale skin, dark flesh met his gaze, clawed fingers. He blinked and stared at them as his clothes seemed to pool about his torso, shirt falling down his neck and body.Oh shit!
Mads snatched his hands down to cover his genitals and froze. Silvery-pale fur met his gaze. And no visible genitals… He tilted his head and glanced around.
“Sheila, no! This is Mads!” Sheila rushed up, fur standing on end as she barked fiercely. Mads, feeling a little brave, chattered back, trying to link his own sounds to his body.
Mads?Sheila stared as her little tail wagged once.
“This is Rex’s papa.” Midnite stumbled over and scooped Sheila into his arms with a twirl.
Rex’s papa is a ratcoon?Sheila pinned her ears back.
“Raccoon, not ratcoon.” Midnite gave her soothing strokes and gently let her down.
Mads stood very still, his entire body prickling with fear and anxiety as the pup scooted closer, sniffing.
Vince, excited about another shifter, ran from the corner of Mads’s vision and tackled him with a mew of excitement.Fuzzy grandpeep!
“Go limp, Mads. I’m picking you up.” Midnite strode over, leaned down, and scooped Mads into his arms, making the world spin. “Easy. If you stiffen up, it’ll make you dizzy.”
Mads did his best to relax, his skin prickling as the world around him swept by, features that seemed familiar in color all came off as foreign and strange in his new vision. “Marquis!”
The shout earned no response as Nite strode past a few doors on the main floor and entered around a corner by the parking garage. Through that door, Marquis glanced up from a table with Roan, Sailor, and Rex hashing out the events to come with Midnite’s family visiting.
“Midnite? What do you ha— Oh my spirits.” Marquis stared at Mads, a moment of horror and joy fluctuating over his face. “Mads?”
Relatively certain so.Mads pawed at his fuzzy belly. It was cuddly and strange, the skin loose and plush.
“By all that glows, it is you.” Marquis stuck his hands out and scooped him up, strong fingers sliding through dense fur.
Am I cute?
“Immeasurably so.” Marquis laughed and pulled Mads in for a firm hug. “I thought this would be you.”
You put it on my wand. You knew. I trusted you.Mads did his best to give Marquis a raccoony grin.
“Am I hurting you?” Marquis eased his grip.
No, I’m happy. Smiling, see?
“That’s a smile? I mean. Okay. Yes. I see it now. Perhaps we get you a mirror so you can become more acquainted with your body.” Marquis cleared his throat and turned to the rest of them. “Mads!”
“I thought he wasn’t a familiar,” Roan said, brow furrowed.
