Atlas shrugged a bit. "I can't read, so I don't know whether you said it right or not." He fidgeted a bit with his hands, trying to get used to them. He tried to keep quiet, not wanting to be annoying, but he couldn't help but be curious about what Magnolia was doing. "When will miss Claire be here?" He asked.
The realization that he couldn't read caused Magnolia to chuckle a bit. "Right, I was just hoping you'd have some ideas. It's alright if you can't read the spellbook."
She flipped to the front of the book, then to the back. After studying it for a second, she said, glancing at the clock again, "About thirty minutes." She studied the book a bit more, searching for something, then closed it in defeat. "All it says is that the effects of each spell aren't guaranteed. Ah well. There's always the Internet."
"Mm… well, if we can't find a way to turn me back, that's alright. I'm sure I can live as a human." Atlas shrugged again and yawned, laying back down on the couch. "Humans age a lot slower than cats, though. How old would you say I am as a person?" He asked curiously, looking down at himself again.
“Well, if it’s alright with you.” Magnolia shrugged back. “I should be able to turn you back though, once you feel better.”
She moved to pet Atlas again, looking him over. “Hmm, 7, 8 years old? A child, certainly. Basically the human equivalent of a 5 month old kitten. Kinda cool how that works.”
"Interesting…" Atlas closed his eyes when he was pet, leaning into Magnolia's gentle touch. "I'm sure I won't mind being human once I stop being so achy. Body's not used to being so big… the magic was pretty significant, too."
Magnolia nodded, smiling as he closed his eyes. “Are you hungry? Maybe eating something will help you feel better.”
She had to admit, despite the spell not going as she planned, she was rather proud of herself. It was really cool to understand what her familiar was thinking, and he still had the same basic personality as when he was in feline form.
"Hmm? Food?" Atlas tilted his head to the side a bit, his eyes growing wide and curious. "What kind of food? Do I get people food now that I'm a person?" He asked eagerly. "You don't normally let me have people food! Is it good? It always smells really good…"
“We never let you have people food because it could make you sick,” she chuckled. “It’s only good for you when you’re a human. And now since you are one, I don’t think the cat food is going to cut it.”
Magnolia stood, walking over to the kitchen. “What would you like? If you’re still used to a meat-based diet, I think I could find something.”
Claire was vegetarian, so there wasn’t usually a lot meat to be found, but Magnolia liked to get herself chicken or beef and store it in a sort of secret stash in the fridge. Claire always nagged at her about where to buy her meat though, but that was just one of the many things Magnolia liked about her.
Atlas sat up and watched over the back of the couch, eyes still wide with curiosity. "Well, I don't exactly know anything about food. I've only had cat food." He shrugged a bit, humming softly to himself. "I'm pretty sure I'm mostly supposed to eat… uh… meat stuff. I tried to eat a vegetable once and then I didn't feel very good."
“Ah sorry, I’m probably going to forget that you don’t know about a lot of things,” Magnolia said, a little embarrassed. “But yeah, I think I have something.”
She pulled out a container of chicken from the fridge and set it on the counter, then opened it up and took a portion of the chicken and started cutting it with a knife. When she was done cutting, she frowned, then took her phone from her pocket and pulled up a recipe. Then she pressed her finger to the chicken and murmured an incantation. She did the same with a pan from the cabinet, a spatula, and one of the nobs on the stove. Then everything began to move on its own, preparing the chicken with nothing but Magnolia’s mind to guide it.
“There we go,” she said, turning to Atlas. “Should be ready soon. You don’t want to eat it while it’s frozen.”
Atlas nodded eagerly, watching as the food essentially prepared itself. He pushed himself up onto his knees, still struggling with his balance, but trying his best. Although much bigger than he was as a cat, he was still a very small person. "How long do you think?" He asked after a bit, resting his head against the back of the couch with a contented hum.
“Not long.” Magnolia smirked slightly at him. “And you do know you can eat with those hands, right? Not eating it face-first?”
"Ah…" Atlas looked down at his hands, tilting his head again. "I'm sure I can figure it out. How hard could it be?" He shrugged a bit, watching Magnolia closely from the couch. "How long is 'not long'? Is that like, a specific amount of time, or…?"
“Alright.” She chuckled again. “And no, not really. I just never know exactly how long it takes me to do these things, but I know that’s a brief period of time to me.” She shrugged. “If that makes sense.”
On the stove, the pan hissed as the chicken was stirred around by the spatula, the small blue flames beneath it.
"Okay…" Atlas sighed softly and pouted a bit while he waited for the food to be done. He seemed antsy, and he clearly didn't want to sit still, but Magnolia had told him to stay where he was on the couch. He didn't want to move until he was allowed, as frustrating as it was to have to keep still.
Seeing his restlessness, Magnolia gave him a sympathetic glance and went over to pet him. After a minute she checked to see that the chicken had thawed, then the fire turned itself down, and the spatula continued stirring and flipping the small blocks of chicken. Magnolia added some seasoning, mostly out of habit, she didn't know if Atlas would want seasoning. After a few minutes, the chicken was done. She took out a plate and the chicken floated onto it. Pointing her finger at it and murmuring a few words to deactivate the spell, she brought the plate over to Atlas.
"Here you go," she smiled. "I hope my cooking doesn't turn out to be another disaster, haha."
Atlas relaxed a bit when Magnolia came over to accompany him, but he was still distracted and wanted to move around. He perked up when the food was finally done, smiling a bit and sitting up straighter. "Thanks! So… how do I eat with my hands?" He asked, looking between his hands and the chicken a couple of time before turning his gaze up to Magnolia for guidance.
She snickered. "I thought you said you could figure it out!" She held out her hand. "Okay, you mainly use your fingers, not your whole hand. Use can your thumb–" she curled in her other fingers and held out her thumb so Atlas knew which finger she meant, "and any other finger you're comfortable with. I just use my pointer finger." She uncurled her other fingers and tapped her pointer finger and thumb together. "Now watch."
Using the fingers she mentioned, she picked up one of the pieces of chicken and popped it in her mouth.
Atlas stuck his tongue out a bit when Magnolia teased him, huffing indignantly. He watched her closely and mimicked the movements she was making with her fingers so that he could get used to it. He didn't feel like his hands were particularly strong, but hopefully that wouldn't really be a problem with eating. After watching and copying Magnolia, he carefully picked up a piece of chicken and stuck it clumsily into his mouth.
Magnolia giggled as she watched Atlas mimic her. She swallowed the chicken and said, “That’s good! How do you like it?”
"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?”