forum You Look Familiar // OxO // CLOSED

Started May 11, 2021 by @Fraust

tune

"It's good!" Atlas grinned up at Magnolia and kept eating, seeming pretty content for the moment. He soon finished the food, and looked up from the couch when he heard footsteps outside. "Is miss Claire back?"

Yes, my mediocre cooking skills have not failed me, Magnolia thought. Then again, I supposed the magic helped.
“Yay!” She grinned back, then pulled out her phone to do a bit more research while Atlas ate. She looked up when he spoke, then glanced at the clock.
“Oh, um-“ she paused. “It’s a bit early…”
But then she heard the door to the apartment open. Magnolia jumped up and dashed over to it, seeing her girlfriend stepping inside.
Compared to Magnolia, Claire had a more stocky frame and was shorter in height. She ran her dark-skinned fingers through her wavy black pixie cut as she entered, still in her waitress’s uniform. Her dark eyes lit up when she saw Magnolia, her full lips breaking into a wide smile.
They embraced, Claire saying, “Hey, Mag. They let us out early today.”
“Mm, that’s good,” she said into Claire’s neck. “I missed you.”
“Aww, poor thing.” She pulled away slightly to peck Magnolia’s nose. “What did you do, all by yourself?”
Magnolia could feel the butterflies in her stomach. “Well, actually it’s a funny story…”

Atlas got up from the couch and tottered into the kitchen to carefully put his plate in the sink. When he heard the door open, he headed to the doorway of the kitchen and peered out, smiling brightly when he saw Claire. "Hi, miss Claire!" He chirped brightly, seemingly not considering that it would be odd for her to hear some random child's voice; especially a child who knew her name.

They both jumped in surprise, pulling apart completely.
“Mag, who…?” Claire pointed in Atlas’ direction. Magnolia panicked for a second before stuttering, “U-um, yeah, the thing is, I uh, I didn’t spend the entire day alone, exactly.”
Claire raised a brow. “Okay…” she said slowly. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Ah-“ she twiddled her thumbs. “Claire, that’s… uh, that’s Atlas.”
She stared at the boy before them. “You mean you-“ she turned to Magnolia, clarity sparking in her eyes, “Maggie! I thought you were still doing insects.”
“Well, I pretty much mastered that yesterday…”
“But-“ Claire laughed, putting a hand to her forehead. “This seems way beyond your skill.”
“I know! I don’t know how it happened, but he doesn’t feel too good right now. I was hoping to turn him back once he felt better.” Magnolia’s voice still held a little anxiety.
Claire put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. Let me put up my things and we’ll talk.”

"I don't feel good." Atlas repeated after Magnolia, still bright and chipper despite the statement. He took a few steps out of the kitchen and stumbled, falling forward onto the floor with a soft whine of pain. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and sort of just stayed there, not wanting to attempt getting up again.
He watched Claire and Magnolia curiously from the floor, his eyes flicking between the two women. He sat up a bit more, toying with his clothes a bit while he observed them.

Magnolia went over to Atlas after he fell, offering to help him up while Claire put up her stuff. When she was done she led them to the couch, where she sat down with her hands in her lap expectantly.

Atlas allowed Magnolia to help him, following her over to the couch and climbing up onto it with a soft hum. "So… uh…" He began awkwardly, seeming a bit nervous. "I'm uh… I'm a person now. Yaaaay?" He smiled weakly, waving his hands with a slight flourish.

Magnolia sat down next to Claire, rubbing her arms nervously.
“Yes, I can see that,” Claire said, looking at Atlas with narrowed eyes. “Do you… like being a person?”

Atlas cowered a bit at the look, breaking eye contact and humming thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Other than not feeling good right now, um… yeah, I think so? I-I mean, I can talk to you now and stuff, so…"

She pursed her lips. “I suppose that’s true.” She turned to Magnolia. “What exactly happened?”
Magnolia stopped rubbing her arms. “Um, I was going to turn him into a dog. I know I did everything right, but somehow the spell turned him human. It seemed pretty simple…”
“That such a huge jump though, isn’t it?” Claire remarked. “Going from insects to medium sized animals?”
“Yeah…” she pressed her finger to her chin. “Maybe there’s something I forgot or missed, and that’s why it seemed more simple than it should’ve been.”
Claire nodded. “Knowing you, most likely.” She turned to Atlas again. “Yes, it’s convenient to be able to communicate now, but would you want to turn back?”

"I-I dunno…" Atlas considered for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he wanted. He wasn't used to being able to make his own decisions, after all, so he wasn't entirely sure how to decide what he wanted or didn't want.
"I suppose not?" He said after a while of thinking. "I… I dunno… it seems nice to be more… functional, and helpful to you guys. I don't want to be a problem or anything, though…"

Claire stayed silent for a moment, thinking. She turned to Magnolia.
“A child is more expensive than a cat,” she said.
Magnolia bit her lip. “Yeah… is that a problem?”
“Well, you might have to get a job as well as working as an intern, or I could work full time.”
“Ooh, I could work at the cafe.”
Claire nodded. “That could work.”
Magnolia glanced at Atlas. “You’re not a problem, it’s just that being human comes with… complications.”

Atlas looked between them while they talked, seeming pretty confused. He didn't really have any concept of money, after all, so expenses weren't on his mind at all. "Should I do something to help?" He asked. "Since I'm your familiar, it's my job and all… I'm just not sure how exactly is the best way to assist in this form."

Magnolia pursed her lips. “Me neither, if I’m being honest.”
Claire had pulled out her phone and started typing in her notes app. “Well, if you’re going to stay human that means we’ll have to throw out the kitty litter, the cat food, and the cat toys. Maybe you could do that.”
“Claire, he doesn’t need to do that. We can just put those things in the storage closet until we know what do with them.” Magnolia crossed her arms over her chest.
“Actually, we could probably sell the cat toys…”
“True…”
There was a pause in the conversation.

Atlas' eyes widened a bit as he watched, struggling to process everything that was going on. Now they were throwing out all his things, which he supposed made sense, but it was still odd to think about all he'd ever known being thrown out just like that. "Um… s-so… is there something I should do…?" He asked awkwardly. "Uh… anything? This is all pretty surreal…"

Magnolia looked between them, biting her nail. Somehow she found the courage to speak up.
“Actually… maybe let’s not do anything right now. It’s too soon to do anything drastic, right? We can’t adjust our lives to something that hasn’t happened yet.”
Claire glanced at her lovingly, a chuckle coming from her. “Maybe you’re right. Just wanted to be prepared, I guess.” Turning to Atlas, “Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself like I usually do.” She leaned back, putting her arm around Magnolia’s shoulder. “Guess I’m still in work mode, hehe.”
Magnolia reached out her hand to Atlas after putting her arm around her partner’s waist. “Yeah. Let’s just calm down for a second.”

Atlas nodded a bit and sighed shakily, seeming to relax more at the new conclusion. Even if he didn't use all his things any more, he'd still feel better to have them around instead of throwing everything out. When Magnolia offered her hand to him, he took it and came closer, huddling up against Magnolia's side with his eyes closed.

She put her arm around Atlas when he snuggled close, a little sad he wasn't a warm ball of fur anymore, but still appreciating his closeness.
"Mag…"
She glanced at Claire, the look in her eyes giving her a strange sense of regret.
"I know it was an accident and he seems to want to stay this way, " Claire whispered quietly in case Atlas could hear. "but I don't know if I want to do this. It's so jarring, and I don't know if I can wait. Either you turn him back, or we make immediate plans to adjust to this."
Magnolia furrowed her brow. "Trust me, waiting is best," she whispered. "He doesn't know what he wants, and until he does, we can't make any plans. If we do, it might end up being for no reason."
"And we'll end up being unprepared for something else," Claire added with a sigh. "Fine, I try to wait."
Magnolia gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek. "I'm getting sleepy," she chuckled softly.
"Me too," Claire yawned. She leaned closer to the other woman.

Atlas yawned, not seeming to notice the two women quietly whispering to each other. He was exhausted from the transformation, and still pretty sore as well. His mind was all muddled and it was hard to process everything, honestly. Being human was definitely very different from being a cat. He thought that it might be better in time, but he'd have to wait until he woke up to see if he felt any better than now. He curled up a bit, tucking his arms and legs close to his chest to feel warmer as he slowly drifted off to sleep beside Magnolia.

She must've had a long day, even if she got out early, Magnolia thought as she looked at Claire, who was now dozing on her shoulder. Looking back at Atlas, it struck her how much he still resembled his feline appearance despite being human. She stroked the hair behind his ear, her eyes getting heavy. Magnolia didn't remember falling asleep, but eventually, her eyes closed, and sleep invaded her mind.

(kinda wanna have Atlas wake up first if that's alright with you?)

(Yep yep)
Atlas stirred fairly late in the night, while Magnolia and Claire were still sleeping. He carefully freed himself and climbed off the couch, starting to wander around the house aimlessly to see how it looked different from his new perspective. He eventually found himself in the kitchen and climbed onto a counter to rummage around for food.