"Hey cutie," Nia commented softly, finally breaking the comfortable silence between us. "How are you doing?"
I was about to remind her she could feel for herself how I was doing, when it suddenly struck me that she couldn't. I had the briefest flicker of worry before realizing the bond was still there, the two of us were still joined as witch and familiar, but the effects had waned at some point during our afternoon in bed together.
That left me with a bunch of questions, but the first was answered almost immediately. I wasn't sure how I knew, if it was instinct or I sensed it directly from Nia, but something told me we could make the connection stronger again like it was before. And by 'we' I was pretty sure I meant my mistress. She was the one in control after all.
"Kiki?" she asked, reminding me that I still needed to answer her question.
I snuggled up even closer against her as I mumbled happily, "I'm fantastic mistress. I literally didn't know it was possible to feel this good. Everything's perfect. Thank you."
She responded with a gentle squeeze, "Good. It makes me happy knowing you're happy too."
"Same," I smiled as the two of us continued our cuddle. "I have some questions though? About the bond..."
She gave me another little squeeze as she replied, "I didn't know it was going to be like that."
"I knew there'd be something between us," she added. "And thinking back now I finally understand things my mom said, that didn't make so much sense at the time. She's been trying to prepare me for this since I was fourteen. And trying to get me to do it since I was eighteen. So um, there's been like six years of her bugging me about it."
She sighed, "In retrospect I realize there were a bunch of things she was deliberately vague about. Or the stuff she told me was incomplete. And I think that's because it was things that had to be experienced first-hand, rather than explained or taught."
"Sorry pet," she added as she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "I hope you weren't scared or upset by the experience? I'd have told you to expect all that if I'd known it was coming myself."
I felt another little surge of happiness from her kiss, then shook my head. "It's totally ok mistress. I was surprised and curious, but never scared. And if I was raised as a mousekin I'm sure I'd have been taught some of that stuff too, like by parents or teachers or whoever takes care of that stuff."
Nia sounded like she was grimacing when she responded, "Possibly my dad. I told you he's the local teacher here, right?"
"Yeah," I giggled softly. "Neat."
We fell back into a comfortable silence after that, as we continued our naked cuddling together. And I found myself quietly marvelling at how much my life had changed, literally overnight.
Up until yesterday evening I'd been a quiet depressed egg, I'd fled the house after my dad kicked my ass because he found out I wasn't taking the college course he picked for me. I was scared, desperate, and didn't have much hope for my future. Today I was a cute little mouse-girl, my best friend was also my mistress, I'd found out there was a whole magical world ontop of the mundane one, and I was suddenly part of that.
Now my cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much, I was so happy I almost felt high, and my future wasn't bleak anymore. I had hope.
Things weren't completely perfect though, in truth there was still a lot we actually needed to deal with. But I wasn't afraid of it the way I'd been before. Those challenges weren't insurmountable anymore, not they way they'd felt yesterday. And even though thinking about them wasn't necessarily fun, at least they didn't fill me with overwhelming dread anymore.
I wasn't sure if it was a bond thing or if my best friend just knew me so well, but it turned out she was thinking along the same lines. Either way I wasn't the least bit surprised when she spoke up a few minutes later to talk about those same challenges.
"Much as I'm enjoying this we should probably get up now pet," she commented with a little sigh. "I hate to bring the mood down but still have to figure out how we're going to handle your situation in the mundane world."
I could almost hear the thoughtful frown on her face when she added, "My mother made a lot of promises and commitments earlier. We need to find out how she means to deliver on them."
"Alright mistress," I agreed.
It still took us another few minutes to slowly separate from each other under the blankets. Then as we got up out of bed Nia decided, "I'm going to get dressed now cutie. You're welcome to stick with the nightshirt if you like? Or whatever you're comfortable with. Clothes are obviously going to be near the top of the requirements list."
"Yeah," I grimaced slightly as I weighed my two options. Or three, if 'staying naked' was also on the list. In the end though I pulled on my oversized t-shirt and huge hoodie. I figured if we were getting dressed then I'd go with the only actual clothes I had with me.
Meanwhile Nia started getting herself properly dressed in front of me. That was something else it took me a moment to get my head around, another huge change in our relationship since just last night even. It made sense though, we weren't just witch and familiar or owner and pet. We'd just had sex, and we'd become very familiar with each other's bodies. Not to mention everything else we shared over the bond. It would have been ridiculously silly for either of us to feel embarrassed at that point.
So instead I just quietly regarded her as she picked out then pulled on a matching set of lacy white panties and bra. That was followed by a simple pair of dark jeans, and a light-blue t-shirt. Socks and sneakers and an off-white sweater completed the outfit.
"C'mon cutie. Let's go see what my mother has to say," she said as she headed for her bedroom door.
I moved to her side and nodded, "Yes mistress."
Nia glanced down at me as she unlocked the door, "You know you don't have to keep calling me that, right? You can just call me Nia."
"I know," I shrugged. "I kind of like it though. It has a nice ring to it."
She rolled her eyes but was definitely smiling as the two of us headed downstairs. Our first stop was the kitchen, so we could get something to drink. We both gulped down some juice then Nia refilled our glasses, before leading me out of the kitchen to go find her folks.
That was easy enough, as both Mr. and Mrs. Brennan were relaxing in the little den. The older couple were sitting together on the sofa, Nia's father with a book in his hand while her mother appeared to be weaving a bundle of dried herbs into some sort of decorative pattern.
"Oh hello you two," the older witch commented when we entered the room. Her expression shifted to more of a smirk as she added, "I'd ask how everything went but from the sounds Tadhg and I heard earlier I'm reasonably confident you're both quite satisfied."
I did my best not to squeak as my cheeks went bright red. Nia was blushing too as she grumbled something under her breath. For that matter even Mr. Brennan looked a little awkward at his wife's comment.
Then Nia guided me over to the love-seat so we could sit down together as she replied, "Yes mother, both Kiki and I are very happy with the ritual's outcome. Needless to say it was successful, she is now my familiar."
"In that case congratulations are in order," her mother responded, with a genuine smile on her face this time.
"Thanks mom," my mistress smiled back. "Except we've still got a bunch of practical details to take care of, remember? Kiki's safe with us here in the magical realm, but we need to fix things for her back in the mundane world too."
Mrs. Brennan set her herb-weaving project aside for now then looked over at the two of us, "She's your pet dear, obviously she'll be staying in your bedroom while you're here with us."
Nia nodded, "We'd assumed that much already mom. Like I said it's the mundane world we need to sort out. Even if I let her stay in my bedroom in the apartment there, we don't have enough room for her to move all her stuff over."
"Speaking of which," she continued, "We haven't even discussed how we're going to manage that. We have to get her things out of her dad's place. Computer, books, pretty much everything other than her clothes I suppose. And that brings me to the last point. She's going to need a whole new wardrobe, on both sides of the crossroads."
The older witch pursed her lips as she stared at Nia and I, then made a thoughtful sort of sound.
"Mmmm," Mrs. Brennan considered the situation. "You could use this as an opportunity to work on your conjuration magic. Now that you have a familiar you should start to see some progress again in your magical aptitude. And you can have some fun with it, experiment by dressing your pet up in different outfits."
She was smirking again as she continued, "And should those outfits vanish prematurely, that's just another opportunity for more practise. Or for more fun, I won't judge you for taking advantage of the situation."
That left me blushing again, especially at the thought of finding myself unexpectedly naked at some awkward moment. On the other hand I also felt a little thrill of excitement at the idea of Nia playing dress-up with me. And using her magic to do it.
Meanwhile my best friend asked her mother, "What about the other concerns? Magical fun is fine over here, but I'm not going to risk discovery by doing that in the mundane world. And I know you haven't forgotten that both Kiki and I have classes on Tuesday."
"No dear I haven't," her mother sighed.
She frowned slightly, then glanced at Mr. Brennan for a moment before coming to a decision. "It's still only Saturday today, we have two more full days before you and your pet are due back at college. Let us spend the rest of today celebrating your success, shall we? We'll have a nice dinner tonight to welcome your pet to the family. Other than that you and Kiki should take the time to continue exploring your new bond and what it means for the two of you."
She continued, "Tomorrow morning all four of us will cross over to the mundane world. I'll see about applying some magic to take care of the bureaucratic challenges, while your father can help with the physical ones. By which I mean, packing up and moving Kiki's belongings out of her father's home."
"Good thing I still have my old human ID," Mr. Brennan commented. "We can pick up a rental van to help us get around easily."
Nia asked, "Where are we going to move her to?"
"We'll find a way to fit her into your apartment of course," Mrs. Brennan stated. "You and your familiar must stay together dear, you know that. Even without the other challenges in her life, the two of you shouldn't be separated by more than a dozen meters for the next month at least. Perhaps longer. You're both very new to this, so your bond will be fragile. It needs time to solidify."
Her expression shifted to a smirk as she added, "Of course you can help speed that along by repeating your activities from this afternoon, as frequently as the two of you can manage. Daily should be considered a bare minimum I think."
That got Nia blushing as she muttered, "Mother!"
The older witch just grinned mischievously for another second or two. Then she became serious again as she confessed, "Even an old pro like myself wouldn't deign to allow a new familiar out of my sight for the first month following the ritual. That's even more important for a pair of neophytes like yourself and Kiki."
That answered another thing I'd been curious about, since it seemed to me like her catgirl familiar was absent more often than she was around. But I had no idea how long Mrs. Brennan and Sara had been together. Although Nia said something about Sara having a few years of experience, so perhaps the pair had been together for quite some time.
I had another question though, but I wasn't sure if my new status meant I shouldn't just speak up and ask anymore. So I tried to keep it subtle as I leaned closer to Nia then gave her a gentle nudge.
She glanced at me then smiled, "You have a question pet? You don't have to raise your hand or seek permission, just go ahead and ask."
"Thank you," I mumbled softly. Then I addressed her parents, "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me already, and all the stuff you said we're going to do tomorrow. I'm still worried though, what'll happen if we run into my dad? And what do I do about the mouse ears and tail, when we're back in the normal world? I don't know how to hide them."
Mrs. Brennan explained, "You'll almost certainly find yourself naturally disguised when we cross back over. We'll have to watch and see what happens after you've consumed some mundane food. While I can all but guarantee you're not going to return to the form you used to have, there will be some sort of natural camouflage to keep the humans from noticing your mousekin traits. If that's insufficient or uncomfortable then we'll address the situation as required."
That wasn't exactly the sort of answer I'd been hoping for, and there was enough uncertainty in it to leave me feeling a little apprehensive. After everything I'd learned and experienced and figured out about myself over the past twenty-four hours, the thought of returning to my original form was downright scary.
Nia must have noticed my anxiety though as she slipped an arm around me and gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry pet. I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Meanwhile her mother continued with a thoughtful frown on her face, "As for your father, if I recall correctly he's part of the local constabulary so we'll need to exercise some care in dealing with the man. Nonetheless, I simply won't allow him to threaten my child, or her pet. So we will address that issue as necessary too, when and if it should arise."
"Thank you ma'am," I replied softly. Then I looked up at Nia and added, "And thank you mistress."
My friend smiled down at me then suggested, "We've probably got a couple hours before dinner time, so how about we head back up to my room? It's time for you and I to try some magic together."
"And I can't wait to start dressing you up in cute sexy new outfits," she added with a smirk.
That got me blushing again, but it also left an excited flutter in my tummy. I probably sounded a little too eager as I jumped to my feet and squeaked, "Yes mistress!"
Mr. Brennan looked like he was trying not to blush again as he focused on his book, while Mrs. Brennan just smirked as she watched Nia and I head back upstairs. Except we made a detour back to the kitchen first, to top up our drinks. Staying hydrated was important after all, even for witches and their pets.
As soon as we were back in Nia's room she closed and locked her door. Then she turned to me and grinned, "I'm so excited to actually try this! My first familiar-assisted magic."
"Yeah!" I nodded. "What do I do though? I don't know how to - Oh!"
My eyes went wide and I gasped as some frilly pink undies appeared in my best friend's hand. Only it wasn't the sudden appearance of underwear that surprised me, so much as what I felt inside.
"Did you feel that pet?" my mistress asked as she looked back at me in amazement.
I nodded slowly, "Yeah. During the ritual I could feel this bubble of something inside, raw magic I guess? I just felt it again now. Like you summoned it up and took a little out."
She frowned, "It didn't hurt did it?"
"Not at all!" I shook my head. "It was different and new, but there wasn't anything bad about it."
"Good," Nia relaxed. Then her expression shifted to a smile as she held out the clothes she'd just conjured up, "In that case here's something else that should be different and new. Strip out of your old clothes, it's time for you to try on something properly feminine."
I blushed but nodded as I accepted the items, "Yes ma'am."
It only took a moment to shrug off my hoodie and tee, then I found myself staring at the frilly pink panties and matching bra I'd just been given. My heart rate slowly ramped up as I pulled the panties up and into position. The bra was a little more complicated. I'd never been in a position to help someone out of one before, let alone had the opportunity to try one on. Nia talked me through it though, and even got a bit hands-on to help me get it figured out so everything was comfortable.
"Oh wow," I mumbled once it was done. I was in my very first bra and panties, and it felt amazing.
Nia let me bask in the euphoria for a bit longer, before producing the next part of my outfit. It was less of a surprise when I felt her conjuring things the second time around.
"Here you go cutie," she said as she offered me some plain dark grey leggings, followed by my very first dress.
That got me smiling even more, and I wasted no time putting them on. The leggings looked really nice on my legs, and the dress was just super cute. It was black, the top half fit tightly over my round belly and big boobs. It had a wide scoop neck that showed off my upper boob slopes and my cleavage, and short sleeves that hid the straps of my bra.
The skirt part hung down from my waist to just above my knees in a bunch of loose folded pleats, and there was even a little gap at the back just the right size for my tail. That actually took a bit of doing though, and it didn't feel great feeding my tail through the hole. When it was done though it worked ok, and I didn't waste any time twirling around on the spot.
"I've always wanted to do that!" I announced with a happy grin.
Nia smiled back, "Very cute. How do you feel?"
I beamed up at her, "Pretty? Excited. Happy!"
"Good," she giggled. "I meant how do the clothes feel though? Everything fits ok?"
I nodded, "Yeah! I never liked tight clothes before, but I guess that's because they made it harder to ignore my old body? I like this though. I love my jiggly tummy. And my boobs. And my tail!"
My mistress continued smiling while I modelled my new dress as I talked. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes though by the time I was done talking.
"Let's try something new," she said as she focused her magic at me this time around.
I let out a surprised squeak, as I felt a lot more than her just tapping into my supply of raw magic. My leggings and dress seemed to constrict and flow around me like the material had become almost liquid. At the same time there was a little bump under my feet that made me wobble slightly, before my tail stuck out and wrapped around one of her bed posts to help me catch my balance. And when it was all over with, my outfit was completely different.
I still had the original bra and panties underneath, but now instead of leggings and a skirt I was wearing a pair of tight stretchy blue jeans and a pink satin blouse. And on my feet were a pair of high-heel pumps, that left me feeling like I was practically on my tiptoes.
"Oh!" I gasped as I looked down at my new outfit. "You can change my clothes while I'm still wearing them?!"
Nia nodded slowly as she looked me over with a hungry smile, "I sure can my pet. And I'm going to have so much fun with this..."