Familiars

Kamari

The rest of the week seemed to fly by. I found all my other classes easily, with Naya helping me around campus. I have five courses in total, including my two dance classes. Fortunately, Naya is in Ballet and Freestyle hip hop, but unfortunately, so is Olivia. Olivia, for some reason, seemed to have it out for me, staring angrily at me all week but thankfully not saying much.

My other three classes, Micro Biology, English Lit., and Anatomy, all had extra homework for me, so in between this weekend’s antics with the game and dance I had told Naya I would go to, I would have to fill my time training in my backyard to keep up in dance and work on my assignments to get my grade up. I hate feeling like I’m behind everyone in dance; my competitive nature is getting the best of me, so every day after class, I went home to workout in my backyard, going over the bodyweight exercises I used to do at the gym back in LA.

Everything felt like an easy transition except for my nightly dreams. The same dream kept coming back, except more vividly than ever before. I kept getting more glimpses of the forest I ran in every night. One night in particular, there was a distinct waterfall I ran to and stopped right in front of the pool it fell in. When I looked into the pool’s reflection, however, I didn’t see my face; it blurred as if it was an animal staring back at me before waking up to the sound of my alarm Friday morning. I jolted awake, frightened and excited that my dream was finally revealing more to me. I dressed quickly, not even bothering to put on makeup, and ran out the door. Thankfully, I only had Anatomy for a couple of hours, so I decided to jog to class to get some extra cardio in.

Everyone was buzzing about tonight’s game so much in class that barely anyone was getting work done. I overheard a couple of girls behind me giggling about the team captain, Theron, finally being back after being gone all week. They were swooning over him, talking about how they were going to dress up in hopes he’d see them tonight at the after-party. I rolled my eyes at the thought of trying to look suitable for some jock team captain. I know Naya had mentioned she grew up with Theron and that he was a good guy. Still, my past experiences with football players, especially the captains, ended poorly. A flashback of one night, in particular, went into my mind before I shook it off; there was no reason to re-live bad memories. I told myself I was in a new town with a fresh start.

After class, I returned home and went out back to train a little before the game. I had just finished my circuit when I heard something rustle in the bushes. I turned quickly, startled and slightly frightened, only to relax immediately when a stray white cat limped from the trees.

I ran to it instinctively to help but stopped when it hissed at me. Anything could have injured it in these woods. From my experience as a vet assistant, I knew I needed to look at it immediately to see how bad it was and stop it from getting infected. I slowly crouched in front of it, making a ssshhh sound to help ease it. I put my hand out slowly to show it I was friendly, walking closer and closer. It relaxed and sat down a few feet before me, sniffing the air toward my hand to smell me.

It found what it was looking for because it limped up to my hand, rubbing its nose on me, purring. I stroked its fur for a minute before picking him up protectively, calming my heart so it could sense I was there to help. I’ve always had a way with animals; my friends back home even called me the animal whisperer. I could pick up birds with my hands, and the stray animals around town always seemed to follow me. The vet assistant job was easy for me as all the animals seemed to calm down when I was in the room, and they always gave me the harder-to-handle animals since I had sway over them.

I could see the white cat had a thorn in its paw, so I gently carried him inside to the kitchen to clean the wound. My mom was getting her food prepped for tonight’s shift when she saw me enter.

“And what do we have here? Catch yourself a stray, did we?” My mom came over asking, looking at the cat herself.

“seems to have gotten a thorn stuck in its paw. Do you know where we packed the hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound after I took it out?” I asked matter-of-factly as I went straight into doctor mode. I went to the junk drawer, where I pulled out a pair of tweezers and set up a towel on the counter, gently setting the cat on it. The cat seemed to know what was going on because it sat quietly without trying to move too much.

“Yep! I put it in the spare bathroom; I’ll run up and get it.” My mom grabbed the ointment while I pulled the thorn out. She came back quickly and put the ointment down next to me, as well as some cotton balls and a small jar with a gel in it labeled Aloe Vera, before going back to making food, humming a tune to herself.

After I took the thorn out and poured hydrogen Peroxide on it, I dabbed it with a cotton ball before putting some aloe vera on it for the inflammation. The cat sniffed the aloe vera, seemingly accepting the medicine, watching me as I wrapped his paw. It seemed to be a lot better since he jumped off the counter, rubbing itself along my leg and circling me before it went over by the window in the kitchen, lying down and looking outside.

“Well, he’s making himself at home. It seems you found yourself a familiar. That’s a good omen, sweetheart.” My mom giggled as she started the tea kettle for her evening tea. “Want some tea, hun?”

“You think every animal is a familiar?” rolling my eyes at my mom. “Sure. Thanks, Mom. Do you think we can keep him here for a day or two so I can watch the wound? it was a pretty big gash.” I said as I looked at the thorn I pulled out. It was bigger than a plant thorn, and on a closer look, though it was not very big, it seemed man-made. I got closer and smelled the slight odor it gave off to see if I could recognize and name it. My actions peeked my mom’s attention, and she came over, bringing my tea with her.

“I don’t see why not. Besides, It’s a bad omen not to welcome a familiar when they find you. Let me see this thorn. Here’s your tea, hun. Elderberry and Lemon Balm this time to help keep your immunity up. You’ll be outside all night for the game, and I don’t want you getting sick.” My mom traded places with me, handing me my tea as she looked at the thorn intensely before abruptly standing and tossing it in the trash.

“Nope, nothing unusual. Must have been some plant out in the woods.” As if she was trying to sweep it under the rug, she went back to getting ready for her shift like nothing had just happened. I felt she was trying to hide something but decided not to question it now since helping the cat made me a little late to the game. Naya was picking me up in 30 minutes, and I still had to shower. I quickly kissed my mom on the cheek, saying to have a good night at work before running upstairs to get ready.

I heard my mom leaving as I turned the water off in the shower. I jumped out of the shower, brushing my hair with my fingers and letting it dry naturally before throwing on a pair of tight jeans and a loose white tee. I came out of my bathroom to find the white cat had followed me up to my room and was now lying on my bed. It opened one of its eyes for a moment, seeing it was me, then went back to sleep lazily, sprawling out with its front legs stretched out in front of its head.

“Well, make yourself right at home then. I wonder if you used to live here or something? If you end up sticking around, I’ll have to find a name for you.” I whispered, sitting down on the bed next to him, scratching behind his ear and making him purr before I put on my black cargo boots with a slight heel. I had just finished putting on my makeup, which consisted of mascara, light blush, and a glossy chapstick before I heard Naya’s black Jeep pull up with a honk. I gave my new friend another scratch before throwing my favorite black leather jacket on and ran out the door.

***

Izabele

As Kamari ran up to prepare for the game, I immediately went to the familiar in the room.

“Alright, mister, who are you, and what do you want”? I asked, putting my hands on my hips and looking at the cat sitting by the window looking out. The cat just turned to look at me before lifting his paw and licking it as if he was cleaning himself. I looked at him with a squint in my eyes.

“Hmm, so that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Well, at least tell me this: that wolfsbane on that thorn wasn’t meant for you, was it? It was meant for Kamari.” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. The familiar just looked at me before dipping his head down in a slight nod before going back to cleaning his injured paw.

“And you got rid of it for her but was injured in the process. That’s why you can’t shift right now. Did the priestess send you to protect Kamari”? The familiar paused momentarily as if he was debating telling me before he dipped his head once more and went back to cleaning. I was grateful for the priestess’s willingness to help and protect us against the oncoming threat. She hid us in a rival pack from those who would harm us, especially Kamari. Knowing now, though, that she sent a familiar to help guard Kamari put me both at ease at the added protection and worried me that the threat might know where we were.

We had left so quickly when I heard the Raven Clan finally tracked us to LA after so many years of hiding. I even did a disappearing spell to hide our trace after leaving to ensure Kamari’s friends were safe. Kamari had backed away from all her friends except Sera leading up to leaving, which I figured was why I could talk her into going so easily. Still, I didn’t want any humans to get in the crossfire of the mistakes I made so long ago.

“Alright, you’re obviously welcome to stay as long as you need. Kamari’s room is the second door on the left upstairs. I need to leave for my shift at the hospital. I appreciate your help. The Aloe Vera Kamari put on will heal your paw faster than normal, as I charmed it before leaving.” The familiar looked at me before walking down the hallway. I could hear the water running upstairs, telling me Kamari was still in the shower as I grabbed my prepped food and headed out the door for my shift.