Artemis and Her Shadow

Artemis

You're walking home stumbling after getting drinks -- you knew you had one too many by the way you screamed at that woman who asked: Are you okay?

*Why did I react so angrily to that?* You think to yourself, frustration still brewing within you.

To be fair, you knew you the answer: You weren't okay. You were upset with your recent breakup and, ultimately, disappointed in yourself. You felt stuck. And it REALLY pissed you off that someone you didn't even know could read through the facade of the mask you wore to brush it all off.

"Whatever" - You mutter to yourself, taking a swig of the drink you had taken with you when your friends tried ordering you a ride home. "Fuckers," you said, thinking about the judgments and incessant projection of the people around you. Your phone's dead but you're pretty sure you know the shortcut --

It's definitely past 3 AM, since that was the time shown when you last checked your phone before it died.. But you're pretty sure you know the shortcut to get home. At this hour the lights are out, and, with the drunk vision, honestly everything kind of looks the same.

"This one has gotta be it" You say reassuringly to yourself as you turn down the dark alleyway.

"FUCK!" you shout as something crawls slowly in the shadows. You throw your drink at it, trying to scare the thing off when--

"Some people say it's bad luck to have a black cat cross in front of your path..." A familiar, soft voice says, making you freeze.

"Uh... Hello..?" You respond, squinting your eyes to try to see through blurred vision.

"...I'd say it's even more bad luck if you hurt that cat." The voice continued from up ahead, sounding closer.

Just like that, a street light came on up ahead, making your eyes take a moment to dilate and adjust.

Walking out from the shadows, where you threw your drink, you see her: a woman, the woman -- that damn woman from the bar that pissed you off -- and she's holding some scruffy black thing.

As she walks closer to you, the bright streetlight, combined with the cool glimmer of the full moon, contrasted like they were each drawn and following her with a radiant glow as she came closer to you.

You thought about running, but for some reason found yourself absolutely enamored with the sight. You blinked several times, frozen and stunned --

*Was she this beautiful when I yelled at her at the bar* You think to yourself.

"Now, now, this just simply will not do," She said, shaking her head and looking sadly at the creature in her hands. "My poor sweet kitten..."

You get nervous at hearing her claim ownership... *I'm sure it's fine* You reassure yourself, mentally, still not daring to move.

"It most certainly is not fine." She said in a commanding tone, eyes now focused on you.

While this should have freaked you out, you knew you were drunk still and had probably just said that out loud by accident -- besides, there was something more important here:

Now that she was looking at you, your eyes had locked onto hers: you couldn't look away.

Eyes still fixated on hers, you found yourself absolutely mesmerized, and didn't even notice how close she was to you -- you could feel her breath on your face and her long, soft black hair grazed against you in the breeze of the night. All you could do was continue to stare into her striking green eyes.

"You killed my precious cat," she said, "LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID," continuing, this time with a powerful and dominant tone that snapped your infatuation. The force of her words broke your grip on her eyes, and you looked down to see a small, black cat in her arms. It wasn't moving...

"I... I didn't... It wasn't... It was instinctual! I didn't know what it--" You started, but realized that feeling of being frozen overcame you and found you couldn't -- or wouldn't -- speak.

"Instinctual? Are you saying your human instinct is to hurt innocent animals?"

You look down, shame filling your mind and body -- bursting from every crevice you had hidden it from everything you had ever done, most of all: this.

Immediately, her soft and perfect hand grabbed your chin, squeezing your cheeks, to look back into her eyes. She stared at you, into you, expectantly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I fuck everything up. EVERYTHING. I've wasted my whole life. Fuck, I don't even have a life. And now I've gone and taken the life of another."

She looks at you, a sort of kindness seems to open up as the windows you held over your honesty and sheltered from others to see dropped down.

Looking down at the cat, then back to you, she says, "Well there is something familiar about you now isn't there?"

"Huh?" You say with a puzzled look.

"Well, you say that you don't have life. And, my dear kitten here is no longer with one, so it sounds to me like you two have a lot more in common than you think..." She said.

"If there is anything I could do... ANYTHING. I don't have much to give but--"

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Your life."

"What?!" You respond, now frightened. *Is this lady going to kill me* You feel your heart racing but can't fight the curiosity weirdly holding you hostage to find out.

"Shhhh, there there," she says, placing the cat to the side, never taking her eyes off of yours. You feel, bound, protected, like you've known her for so long and it's so...

"Familiar" she finishes your thought as she cups your face. Her whole attention is completely on you, and you feel an innate desire to devote yourself to her. She starts by touching every part of your face, like she's doing some mental calculations or sizing of each of your features; it's oddly... comforting. She moves her hands around your head, gently touching your ears from bottom to top. The feeling of warmth and devotion grows stronger and the connection you feel to her is hypnotic, growing stronger with each touch. It's not like a woman touching your face in a romantic way; it's more like a maternal or, dare you think it, ownership type of way -- She's petting you, and deepens her nails under your hair, behind your ears.

"Familiar." You agree. "Your familiar..." Comes out with a slight purr; to this, she snaps her fingers, sending your eyes rolling to the back of your head, losing your balance: the last thing you see is her catching you with a proud smile as you fall into her arms and everything goes black.

* * *

You blink your eyes open, shaken. You can't really remember anything from last night besides going to that bar. You try to get up, but quickly drop your head to your hand: the pounding is like no hangover you have ever experienced. It genuinely feels like somebody else's voice is chanting inside your head in some foreign language over and over again. *What the hell* You think to yourself, trying to get a grip. *Ugh, water* You think to yourself, just as you hear that familiar voice--

"Hey you. I thought you might need this. It's an old family recipe, you'll feel like yourself in no time." You look up to see her -- you know her, your mind is too chaotic to remember how exactly, but you trust her, you know that, you trust her with you life.

"Thanks," You say, struggling to reach out for the glass. You take a taste and nearly vomit.

"Oh, love, it's just the first taste. You'll love it." She says, pushing it back toward your mouth.

You chug it down, this time, so fast. Mmm, you think, you do love it. You love it so much you don't even realize you're licking the inside of the glass to get every last bit of the beverage.

"Oh, look how cute you are!" She says, snapping a photo on her phone of you -- the bright light from the flash causes your eyes to dilate and it takes a moment for your pupils to adjust. The sensation is weird, it's like your eyes have never absorbed light before and your vision feels oddly in and out of focus. The visual confusion causes your brain to enter some sort of bliss as it seems to almost reset.

Ignoring your confusion, she continues: "Well now, look at that. I knew you were meant to be: My familiar. You know, even when you think things, sometimes you should make sure you check your grammar -- there is a promise you made by calling upon me as 'Your familiar" rather than 'You're familiar'" She chuckles to herself, but it's hard to keep up with what she's saying. She takes the empty cup and turns to another room: the water runs, so must be the kitchen.

"Familiar, familiar..." You start to remember something you heard of before: Witches and their familiars. *Even if... Haha, no no -- duh, only animals can be a witch's familiar* you remember, laughing at yourself. You shake your head at the silly thought when you hear the ringing of a bell, and it draws your attention. Your focus is back, you feel functional again. You stand up, but wait, where are you?

You look around quickly and the ringing of the bell keeps confusing you. *Where is it coming from?* You think, curious again, as you stand up, not sure if the curiosity of where you are or the bell is stronger.

Hearing the commotion, the woman swiftly moved with grace back into the room.

"Awww, what is it, hmm?"

"I... I think I... I, yes, I was going home," Your brain is now racking itself, confused by conflicting goals but you're pretty sure that's the one.

"You are home, pet."

With that your eyes widen, but that curiosity still keeps your attention to her. You rub your shoulders uneasily, reaching toward your neck when you feel something dangling -- a bell?! You reach around your neck and feel a collar with no clasp locked around your neck.

"Well..." The chanting starts again, but this time you can't tell if it's from her or in your head -- either way it's loud and intense. "...You're not going anywhere. You are mine."

She starts walking closer to you and you stand tall, trying to catch your breath and calm down. It feels like you're losing your mind.

"Oh no, sweet angel, you're gaining a new mind. You promised me your life. I am a witch, you are right. And a witch needs to always have her familiar."

You feel inferior to her; her words are right, why would you question them. She is always right.

She points her finger at you as she continues chanting, her voice deeper and intoxicating, getting closer and closer to you.

You start to back up, but bump into a wall. That's when you look up -- Up above, there are easily at least 5 cats staring at you from between the railing of the upstairs. Her voice gets stronger and draws your eyes back to hers; they're no longer that soft green but more golden and forceful.

She has you pinned against the wall, locked in attention to her every word.

"AHHHH.." You wince as your whole body starts to trill. She ignores your screams, chanting louder and forcefully. "Whaaat.. What's happening..." You manage to gurgle out. Your stomach is churning, as you feel your insides starting to change

"Good." She says. She looks up at the cats, then back to you. "My little kitten," she says to you with a wink.

Just like that, you hear each individual bone start to crack and twist and turn. Eyes still locked on her, she starts to grow. But wait... Your clothes are getting looser and... The walls are getting bigger and... YOU are shrinking. She sees the moment of realization on your face and can't help but laugh.

"Bye bye" she says, as your size and the reshaping of your bones makes you no more than a foot tall, looking up at her until you find your small stature lost in your now massively oversized t-shirt.

"Oops. Animals don't wear clothes," she says as she plucks the shirt off of you--

"AnimEOW--" You start as you hear your spine crack, tilting you now to all fours. She's leaning down, looking at you, observing you. The end of your spine left over, while not painful, has formed into an appendage of its own. Now on all fours, you notice how small your hands are. You yowl as you feel your feet shift, rolling onto the balls of your feet. Somehow, this feels more natural to you. You look back and see black fur covering your feet, growing up over your legs, covering the appendage that now sweeps back and forth within your control. Another crack as your hips shift into the hind of an animal, then you hear the pop of your shoulder blades as they too shift into new positions, forcing your front side, similarly to be in stature to a four legged... CAT

You're distracted even with all the changes when you look forward to see the creature. You remember it now -- the alleyway, the conversation -- only, the cat isn't the same cat.

The witch catches your glimpse. "Oh, yes, well -- a life for a life. While I will never have my dear old kitten back, I now have you, but you can't do much for me without the body of an animal as my familiar, now can you? These spells are quite technical, so in order for you to become a true cat, we must transfer your bodies, which is what the spell was for."

You look in horror as you watch what was once a cat, now longer and without fur, growing into your human body. While your hands shrink and form pads, skin darkening and fur overtaking, the once-paws of the lifeless creature are shifting into the hands you once had. You watch the body to prepare for what's next, as you see the whiskers disappearing from its lifeless face, just as each whisker erupts from yours. You feel caught as you wince to notice your once-nails are now black claws, digging into the carpet and getting stuck.

"BAD KITTY" The witch yells. But you can't help it, the movement is so new and.. you're still wildly curious. You retract your claws then push them out again. The feeling, kneading the soft carpet, it's so... lovely.

"YEOOOWWWLL" You screech, but words can't come out and you realize how much higher your voice is since the shrinking of your whole body -- like a cat's. As much as you try, you can't make any sound other than that of a feline. You look over to where the body is -- no longer a dead cat, but now you see what's essentially your old human body. You feel the final changes as fur crawls up your body, fully covering you and your new set of six small teats, climbing up toward your face.

Your head is bald and you must look alien: You can feel the sharpening of your canines and feel the papery texture of your new tongue on the roof of your mouth. Your eyes are almost done adjusting, and you can feel your nose flatten to your now forming muzzle, connecting closely to your reformed jaw.

"The last step!" The witch smiles as she kneels down closer to you, petting your eyes like before. Only, this time, you feel them stretch with each pet, elongating and rising. The frequency of noise and loudness of her voice is powerful and overwhelming. Your eyes have now fully adjusted: the whole room, everything you see, is hued in colors like yellow, grey, blue. The red carpet is confusing, and you look up into those green eyes as--

*SNAP*

* * *

You wake up in a crate. *Why the fuck am I in a crate?* You think to yourself, memory lost once more. You start to shout for help but shut up when all that comes out is "MEOW MEOW MEOW."

With no response, you just follow instinct and continue: "Meow. Meow. MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOWWWW!" You yowl out.

High stilettos with beautiful long legs meet your gaze through the bars of your crate. Knees come into view as you feel yourself lifted in the crate. A huge familiar face smiles at you, looking at you in awe.

Those eyes -- they lock in; you remember everything but you don't care. This is what you are; who you are meant to be. And you are all hers and she will always care for you and you will do anything. You are her familiar. Yes.

She turns and pulls out a cat toy with a dangling feather attached from it, to tease you through the cage.

You push your paws out through the bars, trying to capture it. She giggles.

"What a good little kitten you are." You don't even notice, you must catch the thing fluttering around. Protect her.

"We're going to have so much fun, Shadow." You purr at the recognition of your name. She opens the crate, and you stretch your body before nuzzling your snout into her hands. She scratches behind your ears, then stops to look at you. You shake your head, hearing that familiar bell again; this time, you know. It's your collar, for you are hers. She leans down and picks you up by the scruff of your neck, takes you to the living room, and puts you on her lap. You snuggle up to her warmth as she pets and scratches all over your body.

"Oh, and Shadow. My name is Artemis." You curl between her legs, give her one last look of love, and fall asleep, purring.