Nia frowned for a moment then shook her head, "Just delete them. You don't have to answer your dad's messages, cutie. You don't even have to read them."
Mrs. Brennan sounded a little more wary as she asked, "Is there any chance he's tracking you through your phone? That might explain how he knew to search the Grove for you on Friday night."
Hearing that made my gut lurch again, I hadn't even considered the possibility of dad tracking me through my phone. She was right though, if he was then from what Nia said the signal would have disappeared at Gruffudd's Grove. Although that still didn't explain how he knew how to cross over, so he could try and question the people there.
Before I had a chance to comment on any of that stuff another thought struck me, followed by yet another anxious shudder. "Whether he's tracking my phone or not he's going to know I'm back. His texts will show up as 'delivered' now. Which means we're probably going to run into him today..."
"Turn it off dear," the older witch stated in her typical calm voice. "I suggest you dispose of it entirely, to ensure it can't be used to locate you. It would be easiest I think to simply bury it here in the swamp."
I looked up at her and shook my head, "I can't just throw it away ma'am. For one thing I can't afford a new one. Plus it's got all my info and stuff in it. Class schedules, contacts, my banking app, all that sort of thing."
"Just turn it off for now Kiki," Nia said. "We'll figure out what to do about it later."
I sighed but nodded, "Alright."
Once it was powered down I stuffed it back into my hoodie pocket, then the four of us got moving once again. We were all quiet for the next little while as we followed the trail southward alongside the river. I was still anxious about maybe running into my dad, but I tried not to dwell on it. Instead I reminded myself that between Nia and her mom I had two fae witches with me, and they'd both promised to keep me safe.
Soon we started passing other people on the trail, out walking their dogs or just getting some exercise or whatever. I had another minor scare when I noticed the way a couple of them were looking at me as they walked by, that had me double-checking to make sure I was still fully dressed. After all, apart from my hoodie everything I was wearing was just made of magic and illusions.
I still had all the clothes Nia conjured for me though, including the collar. My next worry was maybe the other people could see my ears and tail somehow, but Nia assured me that was impossible. That just left my height, since I was impossibly small for a nineteen year old woman. Which left me feeling a little self-conscious again, since I knew there'd be a lot more difficult questions about that. Especially at college on Tuesday.
"You don't actually look that small here," my mistress explained softly. "You'll see what I mean if we can find a full length mirror someplace? Your disguise-self is still small, but not unnaturally so."
That left me frowning slightly, "Oh. So how much taller do I look then?"
My friend glanced at me then blushed again, "I'm still not good at estimating that sort of thing, but I'd say about a hundred and forty-five centimetres? We'll have to get some proper measurements at some point."
I couldn't help smiling a little, "Cool. So I'm small in the human world, but I'm tiny in the magical realm."
"Yeah," Nia smiled back as we continued on our way south.
Another minute or two later we were just passing the first residential streets at the north end of town when Mrs. Brennan announced, "There's our ride."
That turned out to be a mini-van, parked at the end of a road alongside the trail. It was burgundy coloured and looked fairly new, and it had rental company logos on the license plate covers. And seated behind the wheel was none other than Sara, the older witch's catgirl familiar.
She emerged from the mini-van as the four of us approached it, and I found myself staring at the catgirl's disguise.
Instead of the cream-coloured hair she had in the magical realm it was more like platinum blonde here. And instead of being stark naked like she was at the Brennan house she was dressed more like a college senior, in tight jeans, an autumn jacket with our college logo over the chest, and a pair of brown ankle-boots.
I could just make out Sara's feline ears and tail as well, but only if I stared right at her and concentrated. Then I could see them as a sort of ghostly outline, superimposed over her disguised form.
"Good work pet," Mrs. Brennan said as she greeted her familiar with a hug, followed by a couple pets and scritches ontop of the catgirl's head.
Sara leaned into the hug and purred, "Thank you mistress."
Then she turned towards Mr. Brennan and offered him a man's wallet along with the van's keys, "Here you are sir. They're expecting you to return the vehicle before six o'clock this evening, or you'll be charged for two more days, since they're closed tomorrow for the holiday."
"Thanks Sara," he said as he tucked the wallet into his pocket. Then he climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine.
I figured that explained why Sara wasn't around for the 'family dinner' last night. It seemed like Mrs. Brennan sent her familiar over here on her own, so she could have the rental van ready and waiting for us first thing this morning. Although that left me wondering where the catgirl spent the night. I hoped she didn't have to sleep in the van or anything like that.
"Hop in girls," Mrs. Brennan told us, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Make yourselves comfortable."
Nia and I moved around to the passenger side, then she slid the side-door open. Meanwhile I was suddenly wondering how I was going to handle car seats with my long tail. Even in its phantom state I didn't like the idea of having to ride around sitting ontop of it. And that in turn left me worried about college too. Most of the chairs in the classrooms had gaps in the back, but not the lecture hall.
"Don't worry cutie," my mistress commented quietly. "We'll figure it out."
That made me blush, like she saw me hesitate and obviously figured out what I was worrying about. I finally climbed into the back of the mini-van as I mumbled, "Sorry."
The two of us went to the very back row, where Nia helped me figure out the best way to sit so my tail didn't feel squished. While we were doing that I noticed Mrs. Brennan and Sara were still outside, the two were standing very close together and seemed to be having a private conversation. They must have been keeping it very quiet though, since I couldn't hear anything at all, even with my big mousy ears.
Whatever they were discussing they wrapped it up by the time Nia and I were both settled, then the catgirl climbed in through the side door to sit in the middle row, while Mrs. Brennan got into the passenger seat next to her husband.
"So what's the plan?" Nia asked once everyone was inside and all the doors were closed. "What are we doing first?"
Her mother replied, "A safe and comfortable home is paramount, for both you and your pet. So I believe your apartment shall be our first stop this morning."
"Alright," Nia agreed while her dad got the mini-van moving. "But how are we going to handle that? You already know there isn't enough room to move Kiki's stuff in there. It's barely big enough for Ivy and I as it is."
Mrs. Brennan replied, "Miss Seward is fae dear, she'll understand."
"Understand what?" Nia asked. Then she frowned, "Wait you're not kicking her out are you? You can't just toss her out without warning mom, where's she going to go?"
The older witch sounded calm and a little condescending again as she stated, "Of course we're not going to evict your roommate, whatever gave you that idea? Sara confirmed the availability of another unit in the same building, so we'll simply move you and your pet in there."
"It's another two-bedroom unit," Mrs. Brennan continued, "So you and your pet can sleep together in one bedroom while the other serves as a small workshop where you can practice your magic."
My eyes widened in surprise at all that, while Nia made a bit of a face.
She sighed, "I suppose that's fine, but I'll have to update my address everywhere with the new number. So step one is get the keys to the new apartment then start moving my stuff into it? Other than providing Kiki and I a place to stay it doesn't really solve any of her other problems though."
"One thing at a time dear," her mother responded. After a glance at the clock on the mini-van's entertainment system she added, "We'll likely need to pick up a few more furnishings for your new unit, but that will have to wait until the shops open. We'll also be buying your pet a new wardrobe, which I think should be our second priority of the day."
She had a point there about the stores being closed, considering it was only half past nine on a Sunday morning. Most of the businesses in town didn't open until noon on Sundays, and some wouldn't open at all since it was Thanksgiving weekend. I was pretty sure the chain stores in the big box plaza just west of town all opened at eleven-thirty though.
It was just another minute or so before we pulled into the small guest parking area next to the modest four-story building where Nia lived. The place was conveniently located near the centre of town, and despite being a few decades old it was actually in pretty good shape. Or at least that was my impression, based on what I'd seen whenever I visited Nia.
As the five of us exited the van Mrs. Brennan suggested, "Nia why don't you take your father and your pet with you? The three of you can start packing, while Sara and I make the arrangements and get the keys for your new unit."
"Fine," my mistress nodded as the five of us headed for the doors. She dug out her keys to get us through the lobby, then her dad and I followed her to the elevator while her mom and Sara headed for the property management office at the back of the ground floor.
As we got into the elevator I asked quietly, "Will the office even be open this early on a Sunday?"
My mistress grimaced but waited until the doors were closed before answering, "If it's not then mom will probably just let herself in. But I assume Sara's already made some arrangements, since apparently mom sent her over here yesterday afternoon to get a head start on all this stuff."
I nodded slowly as the elevator took us up to the second floor. Then Nia led her dad and I down the hall to her apartment, which was part-way along on the west side of the building. She opened the door and went in first, and I heard her greet her roommate while her dad and I followed her into the unit.
"Hello Mr. Brennan," Ivy politely greeted the older fae as soon as she saw him. "It's nice to see you again."
"It's nice to see you too Ivy," he replied.
Ivy Seward was another tall girl, even taller than Nia. She was attractive too, and might have been a lot more popular at school except she always came across as sort of haughty and stuck-up. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect fair skin, with a figure that was both athletic and curvy in just the right ways.
I found myself staring at her, since I could see the faint outline of her real fae self overtop of the human disguise I was familiar with. Sure enough her real form was even more attractive. And as soon as she noticed me she stared back with one eyebrow arched, since she'd be able to see my true form the way I could see hers. I just hoped she wouldn't somehow figure out who I used to be, or things would probably get even more awkward between us.
"So this is my new familiar," Nia began the introductions when she noticed how her roommate and I were watching each other. "Kiki this is my roommate Ivy Seward. And Ivy, this is Kiki. We met in Gruffudd's on Friday night and just sort of hit it off, then we did the ritual yesterday."
On the one hand I appreciated that my mistress hadn't outed me to her fae friend, but on the other hand I couldn't help worrying Ivy somehow already knew the truth. Even if she didn't I figured there was a good chance she'd figure it out, when she realized Nia's best friend 'J' had seemingly vanished without a trace the same weekend her familiar showed up.
"Your mother must be thrilled," the blonde fae stated in a flat tone. Then she focused on my mistress again and asked, "So you're moving her in here with us?"
It was clear from her tone that Ivy wasn't happy about that, not that I could blame her.
"Of course not," Nia shook her head. "Mother said there's another unit available here, so she's moving me and Kiki there instead. We're just here to pack up my stuff."
That news didn't seem to cheer the other fae up much, she just made a slightly sour face as she looked back at me again. She was still watching me as she commented, "Oh by the way, that human boy you're always hanging out with? Apparently he's gone missing. His father the cop came by yesterday looking for you. He seems to think the boy came here to see you Friday night."
Hearing that sent my anxiety through the roof again, and I ended up hugging my phantom tail to my chest to try and calm myself down.
Meanwhile Nia swore to herself then asked, "What did you tell him?"
Ivy looked over at my mistress and rolled her eyes, "I told him I'm your roommate not your mother, so I don't keep tabs on your whereabouts."
"Then he tried to give me his phone number," she added with a scowl. "He wanted me to call him if either you or the boy came back. I told him to get lost, that I wasn't going to do his job for him."
Then with another sour expression she commented, "I told you that human boy was trouble. It's probably good you're moving out, I hope the boy's father isn't going to cause me any problems. You'd do well to avoid him from now on too, Nia."
With that the blonde fae turned and retreated into her room without another word. Meanwhile my mistress gestured to her dad and I, so we followed her into her bedroom.
"What are we going to do?" I asked nervously as she closed the door behind us. "My dad might be watching the place, he probably already knows we're here."
Nia pulled me into a hug then whispered, "Just try and calm down, ok pet? Even if he shows up he's not going to find you. He can't recognize you, and nobody here's going to tell him who you are."
I pressed myself against my mistress as I leaned way into the hug, and even wrapped my phantom tail around one of her legs for good measure.
Meanwhile Mr. Brennan agreed, "Everything's going to be alright Kiki. Nia will look after you. And her mom and I will look after her. So for now let's just focus on what we're here for, alright? We're supposed to be packing things up for the move."
It took me another minute or two to calm down, then I mumbled a quiet apology before finally letting go of my mistress. Finally I slowly turned to look around at all the furniture she had packed into her bedroom and asked, "How's this going to work? Can you use magic to move some of this stuff?"
She grimaced, "Translocation is way beyond anything I could hope to achieve. Maybe after a few more years of training? But mom can do it, and I'm sure that's what she's got in mind."
"Oh wow," I mumbled as my eyes widened. "I can't wait to see that!"