A secret Santa story for MagicalTF! Features cat TF, obviously~ Merry Christmas y'all!



Callie impatiently combed her long, jet-black hair, straightening out the kinks and gathering all of the stray hairs back in line. She fiddled with the towel wrapped around her body as she struggled to fix an especially frizzy streak— she’d just gotten out of the shower, and the heat and damp was making her seemingly-always frizzy hair go absolutely bonkers this morning. Must be the cold, it was shaping up to be a very white Christmas, after all. Great for the view, much less great for her hair.

With a soft tch, she gave up and set the comb down. Straight enough. She stared at herself in the mirror for another couple of seconds, before leaving the bathroom. If she had the time, she would love to take another couple of minutes and get every last strand smoothed out, but she had places to be, things to do. Besides, she wasn’t the only one who needed to use the bathroom.

Her roommate, Kendall, was outside, waiting for her turn, rocking her cat pyjamas. She raised an eyebrow when Callie walked past her, lips curling into an amused smile when she saw the small frown on her face. “Hair giving ya trouble again, eh, Cal?”

“Always does. I didn’t keep you too long, did I?” Callie grinned back. She’d been roommates with Kendall for about half a decade now, practically ever since the two of them had shared the same first-year dorm in uni. They were comfortable enough with each other by now that Callie didn’t really care that she only had on a towel— it wasn’t as if Kendall would be a perv about it.

Although… Callie wouldn’t be mad if Kendall did react. She’d always harbored a little flame for her friend, but she never could work up the courage to ask Kendall about it. What if she wasn’t interested? She never seemed interested— not in a mean way, she was nice and all, but just the friendly, polite kind of nice. Nothing that would suggest some kind of interest back, which drove Callie nuts. She just wanted one interested glance, or a throwaway flirt— for Christ’s sake, she’d even take a drunken kiss at this point. Just something to let her know if she should pursue her feelings or let them go.

Unaware of the thoughts slowly bubbling around the back of Callie’s head, Kendall shrugged, making her short brown bob bounce. “Nah. I am curious, though… You’re up awfully bloody early, yeah? Got a little surprise present shopping planned for little ol’ me, have ya? Let me guess… you’re up early to adopt a cat? A cute Shorthair, perhaps? Or a Siamese?” With a teasing snicker, Kendall tilted her head, humming as she nudged open the bathroom door.

“A regular Sherlock, you are.” Callie shoved her thoughts aside and rolled her eyes, scoffing as a playfully derisive edge lined her voice. “As if. We both know how this place feels about pets.”

“Ughh, yeah…” Kendall pursed her lips, sighing. “But it is what it is, I’d rather save two hundred pounds a month here than go elsewhere. Until I get a few raises, anyway. What are you up so early for, though?”

“Well, it’s winter, uni’s out, so I’m just… sitting around all day. Thought I might try and get some part-time work lined up…?” Callie shrugged as she started to drift down the hall towards her room.

Kendall’s pensive look quickly morphed into a confused frown, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she stepped into the bathroom. “On Christmas Eve? What, are you working at a Tesco or something? If you need a few pounds, I—”

“Oh, no, no.” Callie quickly waved her roommate off, shaking her head. “I’m just bored, doing nothing but drafting up lesson plans. I need something to do that’s stimulating, yeah? And I saw an advert when I was out and about the other week, for a cat cafe. Morgana’s Lounge, I think? It’s a new place, along Holloway— so I thought it might be a nice little winter job to take.”

Kendall’s eyes might as well have been spotlights, with the way they lit up. Her lips formed a little ‘o’ and she let out a little excited squeal, before she blushed, cleared her throat, and composed herself. “Oooh~. Well, I reckon I might need to stop by la— Oh, bother… I need to pick my brother up from the airport later today. Damn. How long’s your shift? Maybe if I have some time in the evening I can pop in for a bit?”

“From seven ‘til seven. They’re doing a holiday thing, so I thought I may as well stick around for the whole time.” Callie put her hand on her room’s doorknob, grinning sheepishly as she slowly twisted it open. “And I’d hate to be late on my first day, so, er… I’ve got to get on the underground in about fifteen minutes…”

“Oh, right! Sorry, sorry, I’ll get out of your hair!” Kendall lowered her head apologetically, gesturing for her roommate to go as she ducked into the bathroom. “Just remember to send me the address, will you?”

“Will do~!” Callie shouted back as the bathroom door clicked shut, retreating into her room to get dressed for the long day she had ahead of her. Working on Christmas Eve was a little odd, that she couldn’t deny, and the advert had been a little strange… but the hourly wage was quite nice— forty pounds an hour was hard to refuse, especially because it was nearly double what she made as a professor. Besides, the money made it easier to justify the stash of cat plushies she’d bought Kendall and subsequently squirreled away for Christmas, and if this turned out to be a permanent thing, maybe she could convince Kendall to move into a new apartment with her? One without such an asinine pet policy…

Humming, Callie slipped into a comfortable pair of fleece leggings and wriggled her arms through a plain white tee, before covering it up with one of her favorite Christmas sweaters, a nice, thick one that would stand up to the cold outside. Gloves, scarf, beanie, thick socks, and done! She quickly pulled out her phone to check herself out, nodding as she brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face. She looked cute!

A grin tugged at the corners of her lips as she forwarded the address of the cat cafe to her friend. It would be fun seeing Kendall gush over the cats later— but for now, she needed to get on the tube and make it to work on time. Callie stuffed her phone in her pocket, giving herself a quick once-over to make sure she had everything. Phone, yes, obviously… wallet, yes, flat keys, yes, tube card, yes, double check just to be sure, yes again— that should be everything! With one final glance at her room, Callie rushed out, speed-walking down the hall, listening to the familiar sound of Kendall singing in the shower as it faded out. Humming herself, she rushed over to the shoe rack and put on a pair of fluffy winter boots.

A few butterflies fluttered around her stomach, but a little bit of nerves had never bothered her before, and it certainly wouldn’t now. She stepped out of her flat, blowing out a shivering breath when a gust of frigid wind whipped against her face, and quickly locked her door before setting off to catch the tube on time!

*****

ring ding

Callie brushed the hair that the wind had blown into her face out of her eyes, rubbing her gloved hands together to warm some life back into her fingers as she stepped into the cat cafe. She guessed that it was usually more witch themed, but today, it had been decorated to match the season. Cute little santa hats on top of the sugar pots, a few snowflake cutouts lining the walls, the warm scent of gingerbread and eggnog perfuming the air… Mmm. Super cozy and super festive, Callie had a feeling she would be busy today, just based on the atmosphere of the cafe alone.

“Welcome~!”

A clear, high voice rang out across the cafe, coming from a short, slender woman who’d just peeked out of the back room. She was wearing a crisp red and white dress, which made her look a bit like a candy cane, and her bleached hair only really helped to reinforce that look. Her caramel-colored skin didn’t help either— she looked like a candy elf, fresh on the run from Santa’s workshop.

 She waved to Callie, who waved back with a cheerful grin, loosening her scarf a little as she stamped her feet on the doormat to rid her boots of the small dusting of snow clinging to them “Hullo! Um, are you Morgana?”

“Miriam, actually~. But that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it? You must be Callie!” Miriam waltzed over, gently but firmly grabbing Callie’s hand once she was close enough. “I was worried you weren’t showing up, but it’s nice to see that you’re here! Come on, let’s get you warmed up before you get to work~.”

The toasty red blush colouring Callie’s cheeks deepened a little as she awkwardly nodded her head and let Miriam lead her behind the counter. “Mmm, thanks…. Sorry about the wait, by the way. Spent a little too much time fixing myself up this morning, the cold made my hair a mess...”

“I totally understand!” Miriam cheerfully interjected, humming reassuringly as she dragged Callie into the back of the cafe. “And don’t you worry about being a little late, it’s not something I’ll bite your head off over. Can’t blame you anyway, I wouldn’t want to show up with my hair out of place either!”

“Hahaha, yeah— your hair looks gorg, by the way!” Callie wryly grinned, relaxing a little now that she knew Miriam wasn’t mad. Still, she couldn’t help but blurt out the questions she had spinning around her head. “About that advert I saw, though… it mentioned that I would be, er, a part-time… cat?”

A cheerful nod was the only answer Callie got— which confused her a little. Was it just a cute job description? Should… should she ask? She felt a little stupid for worrying about it, it wasn’t as if Miriam was planning on making her wear cat ears, or a tail, or something of that sort. Right? She was pretty sure the flyer mentioned a relaxed dress code…

She quietly cleared her throat, before apologetically piping up again. “Would you, um… mind explaining exactly what that entails…?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like!” Miriam chipperly fired back, grinning as she led Callie into her office.

The scent of honey and fresh catnip gently washed over Callie when she followed Miriam inside, along with a nice gush of warmth from the space heater in the corner of the room. As far as offices went, it was pretty standard— a computer, a filing cabinet, and some paper and pens. But there was also a massive cat tower taking up more than half the room, which, after a closer look, was housing quite a few cats!

So that’s where the cats were being kept. Callie had been wondering where they were, since she hadn’t seen any out in the front. Keeping them in an office, though… maybe not the best idea, but if it worked for Miriam, who was Callie to judge? Breathing in the refreshing smell of Miriam’s office, Callie decided to shelve her question for now.

She did wonder where all the other employees were, though. She couldn’t have possibly arrived before everyone else, given that she’d shown up late. Another question added to the list of ones that she really wanted to ask but was too polite to.

“Ready to change?”

“H-Huh?” Callie blinked in surprise when Miriam’s question broke into her chain of thought, and she sputtered lamely before nervously wetting her lips, unsure how to respond.

Her puzzled look must’ve been really obvious, because Miriam’s grin softened into a sympathetic smile. “Ah, I get the feeling you might not have known exactly what you were signing up for~. Shall I explain?”

“Er…” What did Miriam mean by that? Callie glanced over at the cats, feeling her heart skip a beat as an outlandish idea surfaced. By part-time cat, did Miriam mean…?

No, that was ridiculous. It was just some cosplay thing, more likely than not. Callie shoved the idea out of her head, scoffing inwardly at letting herself come up with something that crazy— next she’d be in Parliament trying to convince the PM that aliens were real. She cleared her throat after the awkward pause, hoping that Miriam wouldn’t say something crazy. “If you’re just talking about wearing a cat costume, that’s fine…? I just wasn’t expecting it, but it’s not a problem!”

“Oh, dear…” Miriam murmured, quickly correcting herself a second later. “Ah! It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong! It’s just… how do I explain this…”

Callie waited as Miriam nibbled on her lip, wondering what the dickens was going on. She really hoped Miriam wasn’t about to spew some nonsense about acting like a cat, because even for forty pounds an hour, that was a bit much to ask— and she really didn’t want to quit before she’d even begun her shift. Not to mention, if Miriam did ask for something crazy, she’d have to let Kendall know not to come, which would dampen her mood, which would make her feel bad for raining on her parade… ugh.

When Miriam didn’t say anything for another few seconds, though, Callie sighed and pinched her forehead. “Just say it, I don’t want to hold you up any longer than I already have…”

“Right, right.” Miriam sucked in a breath, then blew it out. “Ok. I already said this, but you’ll be a part time cat. In the most literal of senses.”

“But what does that even mean!? Do you want me to pretend to be a cat??” Callie blurted out, frustration creeping into her tone.

“You won’t be pretending!” Miriam was quick to reassure her. She paused, again, then sighed. “Look… I’m a witch, so I’ll be turning you into a cat. I was trying to keep it a surprise, but, well… secret’s out, I suppose.” With a reluctant sigh, she scooped up an onyx cat paperweight from her desk, before pressing it into Callie’s hand.

“'Ayuha alhujr, astayqaz ealaa hadha alshakla, wanzur.” She murmured— her words made Callie’s ears tingle, as if she was listening to something she wasn’t supposed to hear. “I know you’ll ask for proof— everyone does —so there. Open your palm and take a look.”

This was turning out to be one insane mess of a morning… A witch, really now— “Ah!”

Callie yelped when she felt something stir in her palm, almost throwing the paperweight across the room before catching herself, heavily breathing through her nose as she rode out the adrenaline coursing through her veins. What in God’s name was that? She gave Miriam a cautious stare, gulping as she very slowly unfurled her palm…

Lounging in the center of her hand was that black cat paperweight… only now it was moving, and licking its paws. “Oh… gosh, it’s actually…” Callie barely recognized her own voice, scratchy and hoarse as it was. She slowly let out a shaky breath as the stone cat in her palm leapt off and landed back on Miriam’s desk, unable to do anything else but stare at it in shock as it froze back into place. “You… weren’t lying…”

“Nope~.” Miriam shrugged, sauntering over to give her a pat on the back.

Callie tensed when Miriam’s hand came to rest against the space between her shoulders, before squeaking out an uneasy laugh. “So… I’m really going to be a cat, then? Bloody hell…” She sucked in a breath, slowly letting it out to calm herself as she gestured at the cat tower, where the cats had gathered, watching her and Miriam. “They’re people as well, I suppose? My coworkers?”

“Well, at the moment, they aren’t people, per se…”

In spite of herself, Callie giggled— the smirk on Miriam’s face, combined with the knowing looks coming from the cats watching them was kind of funny. Maybe she was just shocked, and a little delirious, but now that she’d had a moment to process the idea that magic was a real thing and not just something in kids’ novels, it was…

It was kind of wicked, honestly. The idea of being turned into an animal for work, of all things, was definitely a shocker— but it didn’t sound that bad, doing nothing but being cute for a few hours. Forty pounds an hour to be a cat…

“So?” A gentle nudge from Miriam snapped Callie out of her musing. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, they—” She gestured at the cats, who were starting to jump off the tower and onto the ground, tails swaying as they stared up at the two women with interest. “—should be able to cover everything. If it’s too much, then I certainly can’t force you to work.”

“I’ll do it.” Callie blurted out, determined to not let her nerves get the better of her or overthink her decision. She wasn’t going to throw away a chance to experience real magic just because she was afraid of having fur and walking around on all fours. And a little part of her wondered what it would be like to have Kendall hold her in her arms and pet her… “Um, but, I will still be me, right? I won’t be craving tuna afterwards, will I?”

“You’ll still be in control of yourself, don’t you worry. Goodness, sweet, do you really think I’d trust a regular cat around food and coffee cups? I’d be sweeping up a mess on the hour if you lot had cat thoughts bouncing around your tiny skulls.” Miriam playfully shook her head, moving her hands up to Callie’s shoulders. “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose?” Callie braced herself as Miriam began to whisper in that strange, arcane language again…

“Aljism filin wayasir mithl altiyni, yunazif allawh…” Callie felt the tension in her back release as a strange feeling of softness crept into her muscles and made her eyelids droop. She felt so relaxed, like every part of her was being stretched and massaged by invisible hands, working out all the little kinks in her body. She’d been expecting something different— a poof of smoke, or a flash of light, maybe even some quick change action with a curtain or a mysterious potion, those were what was on her mind. She certainly didn’t expect it to feel good.

“Tin, ahmi eaqlak washakal nafsiki, aistayqaz ealaa shakl jadidin, wahsh sayd almatar waldabab fi aljazirati, 'asbah hayaatan jadidatan!”

It felt really bloody good, too, like a giant hug from a marshmallow. Only she was made of marshmallow, not just being hugged by it. Callie felt Miriam lowering her onto her hands and knees, but she couldn’t find it in herself to complain about her new posture. She couldn’t really couldn’t find it in herself to care about anything, honestly— the warmth and softness caressing her body was all she could focus her mind on…

She barely even noticed when the invisible massage suddenly grew a lot more insistent, and she watched the ground slowly rise towards her for almost half a minute before realizing, almost as an afterthought, that she was being molded and squeezed into a new, much smaller shape. Shuddering, she licked her lips, feeling a numbing tingle brush against her skin as her clothes began to merge with it, the individual threads of fabric unwinding and sticking to her skin, before thinning out into soft, supple hairs. Bit by bit, her sweater and leggings melted into her body, gradually sticking to her curves as the green and red threads bleached into a soft, pale creamy hue.

A sigh escaped her lips as they thinned and stretched out along with her nose and jaw. Callie sniffled as her nose started to jut into her field of view, blinking rapidly when an odd itch entered her eyeballs, making her vision blur. She blinked, trying to see what was happening through the cloudy fog obscuring her sight— but it was slow to fade, leaving her with mostly just her sense of touch and self to figure out what was happening.

Her teeth were definitely elongating, she could feel them sharpening in her mouth, pushing out of her gums as they grew long and slender. She winced when she pricked her tongue— only, wait… she hadn’t touched her tongue at all, it was her tongue that was prickly. Smacking her tongue against her palate, Callie shook her head, a little weirded out by the sandpapery texture of the bristles peeling off her tongue— she could feel little jolts dancing across her taste buds, giving her the urge to rub her tongue against something to calm it down. She settled for smacking her lips for now, but as the feeling intensified, she found herself licking her snout, running her tongue over her fangs and across the fur clinging to her face.

A soft sneeze shot out of her nose as the skin cracked around the tip, making Callie sniff again as her nose grew moist. It felt like someone was pinching it, trying to push it into her face… which made sense, seeing as it was melting into the snout that her jaw was doggedly pushing itself forward into. It did make it feel all stuffy, though, as if she had a cold.

Her whole head felt like it was being pinched, actually— like a giant had grabbed it between its fingers and was slowly squishing it, forcing her chin to jut out as it moved mass from the back of her head. The shape of her head definitely wasn’t human anymore, that much she could tell even with the mental fog clogging up her thoughts. She could feel the muscles in her jaw actively relaxing when she let it slack, and she could feel the skin around her neck sagging as it loosened into a scruff. It was odd, feeling her mouth… well, snout, really, take up so much space compared to the rest of her head. Felt like she was more mouth than brain, in all honesty.

There really wasn’t any sensation in her head  apart from the pleasant warmth and sense of pressure, though. She could feel the changes, but it was hard to get a sense of how drastic they were, when it all just brought the same squishy nudging sensation to mind. And if she hadn’t been distracted by her obscured vision, Callie would’ve noticed the same pressure and warmth busy molding the rest of her body into shape as well— pushing her chest flat and easing her hips apart, forcing her stance to drop as her bum began to even out into her thighs. She would’ve also realized that her fingers and toes were becoming stiffer and thicker too, she would’ve felt her nails thickening into proper claws and her wrists and ankles rising off the ground.

But that was all secondary to the myriad of changes happening to her face, at least in Callie’s mind. It was easy to just shelve away the way her body sat lower to the ground as natural, or the way her shoulders and hips splayed outwards as normal too. Why that was… well, it just felt like that was how things should be… Callie let out a sigh as the tip of her nose flattened, feeling a rumbling build up in her throat as her nose began to sink into the tip of her snout. “Mmmrrrrrrr…”

She half-groaned, half-purred, feeling something swish around her thighs and over her bum as her eyes widened and her pupils constricted, thinning into slits, bringing her vision back somewhat. It made her wince— everything seemed sharper, more in focus… brighter too…

A blast of smell hit Callie a second later, distracting her from the buzzing in her ears and limbs. That same smell of catnip and honey, only now magnified a thousand times, flooding her head with a dizzying rush of sensation. Overpowering was a little too strong of a term to describe it— but it helped shut out the few nervous thoughts still clinging to Callie’s train of thought. She gently lowered herself to the ground as her elbows and knees rose up her arms and legs, raising herself up onto the thick, pink pads hardening against her shrinking palms.

As her chest and stomach touched the warm wooden floorboards, they flattened as well, the curves of her chest flattening like cookies being baked in the oven as they hit the ground, with her waist and hips evening out not too long after, rounding her entire torso into an even-ish cylinder. Like the rest of her, it had lost most of its previous, human curves, and in its place, there was just lean muscle and tight sinew, giving her a slim, lithe appearance. Callie coughed as her lungs shrank, forcing the air out of her throat as her vocal chords tightened and shrank the gap between themselves.

Huffing, she arched her back, instinctively flicking her ears— which had grown thick and triangular, taking on a felt-like appearance as tiny hairs sprouted all across them. She meowed, sounding more cat than human this time, shivering a little as her scarf melted into her pelt, coloring a stripe around her neck green and red for a few seconds before it all evened out into a creamy white. Her gloves, on the other hand, had mostly already fused with her paws— there was just a little trace of black fabric sticking to them, and as she retracted her claws into her paws with a quiet shink, it actually spread out a little, forming squiggly, snowflake-esque patterns on her fur. Tail squirming, she licked her lips and turned her head over her shoulder to get a better look at herself, wrinkling her nose as fine white whiskers emerged from her face and hit her with an entirely new array of sensations.

The supernatural relaxation that had been putting a damper on her mind was blown away as all of Callie’s new senses rushed to her in full— everything was just so much more… well, more. That was the only way she could think to describe it, all of her senses felt like they’d been kicked up to 11, and then punted up to 12. From the dozens upon dozens of new smells that she could nearly taste, to the way her whiskers told her how to hold her balance, to the tiny vibrations her ears were picking up om the cabs outside, to the shadows that she could see as if they were in broad daylight— she felt like she’d been blind before, compared to this.

And yet, it wasn’t overwhelming— anymore, at least. Far from it, in fact. With an idle swish of her tail, Callie admired her cream-colored coat. She was stunning…

A thought struck Callie as she looked down her snout, watching her strawberry-pink nose twitch and her whiskers move along with it. She really was just an animal now. Wild… it felt so natural as well, as if she’d been born a cat and had never been a human at all. She didn’t even have to think about how to move with four legs, or how to use her whiskers to balance, or how to purr or flick her ears or any of that. She just thought about it, and it happened. Must be her new cat brain at work, she guessed.

“Awwwwwwwww! You’re adorable!” Miriam squealed, bending over to scoop Callie into her arms, simultaneously summoning a thin pet collar at the same time. “You even have little black snowflake marks on your booties! Eeeee~!”

She gave her a loving scritch behind her ears as she fastened the collar— which had Callie’s name stitched into it in gold —around Callie’s neck, cooing as she gestured for the other cats to follow her out of the office. 

Callie wiggled against Marian’s tight hug, pawing at her new collar with an annoyed little frown. It felt weird, having something cinched around her neck. On a human level, she got it— people would want to know her name, and if she had been a real cat, it would be good practice to collar her just in case she got out. But the cat side of her was bloody miffed, and she couldn’t help but wiggle her head and try to shake it off.

But a teasing ruffle on the top of her head was all it took to call her down. A small smirk graced Callie’s snout as Miriam’s fingers rubbed the top of her head— that felt good… She squirmed against Miriam’s arms, getting comfortable before slowly yawning and letting her thoughts drift elsewhere.

Clearly, she’d have to explain this whole situation to Kendall later. Or try and get Miriam to change her back before Kendall arrived. But on the other hand, if she was still a cat when Kendall stopped by, it could be nice to have her do the same thing Miriam was doing to her right now. A little attention and some ear scritches sounded really good coming from Kendall, and along with that…

Callie knew Kendall was notoriously loose-lipped around animals, she’d babble constantly and just let things spill while playing with her parents’ cats. And maybe if Kendall did the same here, Callie would finally get to know how Kendall felt about her? And with that, maybe she could ask her out too. It was a harebrained idea that relied on a LOT of things going right, but at the same time, if she could cozy up to Kendall, things could go really well.

A bout of nervous excitement wracked her body as she swished her tail against Miriam’s arms. She just had to make sure she didn’t chicken out of it. Like she had done every other time. Ugh, the more she thought about it, the worse of an idea it sounded. It was honestly kind of scummy— cowardly, honestly. What if Kendall thought she was a loser for doing things that way? She couldn’t blame her, it basically amounted to spying, and ugh, no, she couldn’t possibly go through with this, could she?

But what else was she supposed to do? She couldn’t outright ask— again, if Kendall didn’t swing that way, it would wreck their friendship forever. Ugh. Callie squirmed against Miriam’s grasp, leaping out of her grasp and smoothly landing on the floor the moment she was back in the cafe proper, resolving to just enjoy herself for now and leave the worrying for later. No sense in worrying herself sick over nothing. The other part-time cats made way for her as she joined the group, purring as they tapped their snouts against hers and touched noses with her.

“Mrrreeow~?” Callie tried to talk to them, but all that came out was a meaningless meow. She couldn’t understand the meows she got in response, either— it was all just noise. 

“Miiiaaaoww…” She tried again, whiskers twitching when another meaningless meow came out of her snout. Was she doing something wrong? Maybe if she concentrated on the meows and tried thinking about translating them…

She flicked her tail around with an embarrassed yowl when she caught Miriam smirking down at her. “Mmmrrroww.” She tilted her head, realizing again just how much larger Miriam was now. She felt like she was back in nursery school, staring up at her teacher— and it made her feel uncomfortably small. Ears twitching, Callie leapt up onto a table, gracefully landing without a peep before curling her tail around her hindquarters and taking a seat. Much better. She nudged aside the pair of laminated menus in front of her and laid down, resting her underbelly against the wooden tabletop.

“Meeeeow.” Callie meowed insistently, trying to ask Miriam why she couldn’t speak Cat. Surely the witch would understand her, right?

“Meow all you like, sweet. I don’t speak Cat, and you certainly aren’t fluent either, hah~.” Miriam grinned, her gaze drifting over to the other cats as they spread themselves out around the cafe. She gave Callie a teasing scratch behind her ears as she passed by the table on her way to unlock the door, whistling to herself as she tapped a finger against the door and magically undid the latch. “Trust me, you’ll be too busy today to talk, anyway. This just helps me simplify the magic— make it too complicated before your body can adapt to it, and you might just end the day still meowing.”

Callie’s ears quivered as she took in Miriam’s words, and she stared at her as she busied herself behind the counter, contemplating whether or not to let out an annoyed hiss. She compromised with a sassy yawn, before turning her attention elsewhere. Miriam made a good point— even if it was a little annoying, not being able to actually talk with her fellow part-time cats.

She stared down at her speckled paws, delighting in the snowflake-like dots covering them— though Miriam’s teasing words lingered in her mind. What would happen if the reversal magic, or whatever it was, didn’t turn her back completely? Would she be part cat? Kendall would probably like that, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have happen…

ring ding

Without meaning to, Callie swiveled her ears over to the sound of the shopbell jingling, perking up as she saw a couple walk in and wave to Miriam. They gave her a passing look… but ultimately settled on a table next to the counter, shouting in surprise when the tabby cat patrolling the perimeter jumped into the woman’s lap.

Ugh, so cute. Callie purred, crossing her front paws over each other as she laid her flank against the table, feeling the cool, laminated menus flatten her fur when she eased herself onto them. She heard the shop bell ring behind her again as the couple perused their menus, and then again, and again. Miriam hadn’t been lying when she mentioned they’d be too busy to talk, huh. Busy as a relative term, anyway, being cute hardly counted as actual work. She idly watched the couple write down their orders on a little sheet of cardstock, tracking the tabby cat as it snapped up the paper and carried it off to Miriam. 

“Awww, hi there, kitty!”

A sudden hand on her back made Callie flinch and jump back to her feet. She spun around as the hair on her back bristled— before realizing that it was just a girl poking her. Somewhere around thirteen, fourteen, just getting into secondary school, accompanied by her besties, who were giggling at her for being just as spooked as Callie.

“Reckon you’re more scared of her, haha!”

“Oooh, careful, she might hit you with her tail!”

“Oh, quiet down, you lot.” Blushing, the girl tried to play it cool, rolling her eyes as she approached Callie again, gingerly reaching out her hand for another pat.

Callie inwardly grinned as she pressed her cheek against the girl’s hand. Time to get to work, then…

*****

Callie swished her tail as her most recent table got up to leave, silently pleading for one final ear rub— which they gladly obliged her with. Purring, she leaned into the rub, ears twitching uncontrollably as the bubbly little tingles of bliss their fingers brought spread throughout her head. She was definitely resigning after the spring semester, being a cat was loads better than having to teach a hungover uni class.

Her spirits deflated a little when her table finally left, but it was hard for anything to really put a damper on her mood right now. She felt great!

There was admittedly still a lingering, gnawing nervousness lodged inside the pit of her stomach about what she’d do with Kendall once she got here, though. But with the way things were going, Callie was almost certain Kendall had gotten swept up into a family thing— with how dark the sky had gotten outside, it had to be really late. And now that Miriam was starting to wipe down the counter and sort out the uneaten pastries, there was a pretty good chance they were closing soon, if not now.

ring ding

Callie perked up when she saw a familiar brown bob peek through the doorway— Kendall was here, finally! She really wanted to hop off the table and get her attention before she sat down somewhere else, but she held herself back, forcing herself to demurely lick her paws as Kendall sauntered up to the counter.

It was easy for Callie to listen in on the conversation that sparked between them once Kendall had Miriam’s attention— the only hard thing was making sure she stayed calm. With an impatient wiggle, she stuffed her tail underneath her bum and swung her ears over to the counter, intently focusing on every word being exchanged.

“Um, hello!” Kendall breathlessly waved, smiling when Miriam set down her cleaning cloth and curiously looked at her. “Er… I know you close in a few minutes— you don’t have to stop closing up —but do you know where Callie is? She’s my roommate, I told her I was going to visit, but I got delayed, and anyway, um, is she still here? Black hair, fit, she was wearing a totally glam sweater when she came in this morning, might’ve been a little late…”

“Yeah, she’s here!” Miriam cheerfully gestured at Callie’s table, hiding her smirk as she grabbed a freshly cleaned cup from the storage rack. “She’s in the back, getting dinner ready for the cats, so why don’t you take a seat at that table and I’ll get you a cup of cocoa and a scone while you wait?”

“Oh, well, you really don’t have to do all of that—” Kendall protested, flinching when Miriam shushed her with her finger.

“Nonsense, sweet. Go on, ok?” Miriam winked. “You’ll be doing me a favor, eating today’s pastries instead of letting them go to the bin.”

Kendall hesitated, but Miriam was strangely convincing. “Well… alright, I suppose. If you’re alright with it…” She relented, giving Miriam an awkward, but thankful, smile. “Cheers, miss.”

“Call me Miriam. I’ll be right over~.”

Callie could feel her tail desperately twitching against her bum, trying its best to betray her emotions. She stared into Kendall’s warm, green eyes as she sat down beside her, stiffening when she saw her roommate’s hand drift over to her head. The weight of what she was about to do suddenly crashed into her mind as she watched Kendall’s fingers reach out for her— Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh, was she really about to try and confess her love for her roommate in a cat cafe, of all places? And on Christmas Eve as well— maybe she should save it for another day. A better day. And a better time. And maybe she shouldn’t even be trying to ask Kendall anything, if things got weird—

Kendall’s hand came down on her head, making all of those nervous thoughts disappear in a blur of soft, fuzzy joy. Mmmmmm…

She purred and leaned into Kendall’s hand, savoring the attention she was getting as all of the annoying thoughts fluttered out of her head like paper scraps, leaving her with just one thought. Kendall made her feel good. All thoughts of trying to prank her roommate completely vanished, replaced instead by a lazy thought. Why wouldn’t she ask Kendall to be more than friends?

Miriam grinned as she watched from behind the counter, mixing up the chocolate she’d just shaved into a mug of frothy, hot milk. Kendall and Callie were cute together— and it would be very funny if she were to turn Callie back while Kendall was petting her. A mischievous plan started to collect in Miriam’s mind as she sprinkled a few marshmallows atop the mug of hot cocoa, and by the time she walked over, mug and scone in hand, it was fully drafted.

“Here you are, sweet!” Miriam innocently smiled and set Kendall’s food and drink down in front of her, winking when Callie looked up at her.

That wink snuck into the happy daze Callie had been drifting in, making her pause for a second. That did not look like an innocent wink. Wait, no, was Miriam trying to turn her back? She wasn’t ready for that yet! She still needed to think about what she was going to say!

Callie loudly meowed and scrambled to her feet, but as she bunched up her muscles and prepared to spring off the table, she caught Kendall’s disappointed pout.

Oh, for…

She reluctantly sat herself back down, nervously eying Miriam as Kendall’s hand descended upon her head again, flattening her ears and making that happy daze creep up against the edge of her mind again. Resisting the urge to give in, Callie scrambled to sort out her emotions— what to do, what to do…

As Callie’s tail impatiently danced against Kendall’s arm, Kendall giggled, shaking her head. “She reminds me of Callie, hah. Getting spooked at every little thing~. Thanks again for the cocoa and the scone, it’s very nice of you!”

“Don’t mention it, sweet.” Miriam humbly brushed Kendall’s compliment aside. “Funny that your friend’s name is Callie, though.”

“Why’s that?” Kendall curiously asked, blowing on her mug before taking a careful sip of her cocoa.

Smirking, Miriam brought a finger down to Callie’s collar— making Callie restlessly lick her lips. She wished Miriam would just get things over with, instead of playing these ridiculous games.

Kendall nearly spat out her cocoa when she realized what the letters on the collar spelled. “Her name’s Callie as well!? Oh my god, what are the odds?” The corners of her lips twitched as they lifted themselves upwards, into a goofy, disbelieving smile— which only made Callie worry even more. Oh, nooooooo, this was going to be so awkward…

“Crazy, right?” Miriam’s smirk widened.

Kendall nodded, glancing down at Callie. “Absolutely, yeah…” She trailed off, before suddenly blurting out a question. “Er, if I tell you this, will you promise not to tell Callie?”

“My lips are sealed, sweet. Fire away.”

Blushing, Kendall stared into Callie’s eyes for a second, then gulped and spoke up. “So, er… I rather fancy Callie, do you think I could also come and work here? Maybe part-time? I’d love to just spend a bit of extra time with her—”

It took Callie a second, but when she finally caught on, the rest of the confession faded away, replaced by a sense of giddy, overwhelming excitement and nervousness that filled her mind with a soft static buzz. She had to be imagining things. There just was no possible way Kendall had said that. No way. No. It felt like she was a million miles away as she wrestled with the idea that Kendall liked her back— she’d been preparing ways to broach the subject once she was back to normal, trying to figure out all sorts of subtle segways. But it hadn’t occurred to her that Kendall would just… say it like this. No beating around the bush, just a flat confession, nearly totally unprompted…

Had Kendall been holding herself back too? In… In that case…

Callie’s head spun as the last of Kendall and Miriam’s conversation filtered into her mind. “—sweet of you. Want to know a secret, too~?” Miriam’s teasing voice shocked Callie back to the present— uh oh. Magic was about to happen…

“Um, sure?” Kendall’s grin morphed into a confused, but still delighted smile.

Miriam didn’t need any more encouragement to go ahead. If anything, Kendall’s confession had only made her more excited to release Callie from being a cat. “That is Callie.”

“Well… yeah…?” Breaking off a bit of her scone, Kendall nodded, oblivious to the other meaning of Miriam’s words— the other interpretation was so ludicrous that it didn’t even come to mind as a possibility. “Er, you just said that her name was Callie…”

“Not just her name~. Alsuhri, yatimu tabdiduh.”

Callie felt a pressure well up in her chest as Kendall flinched, as if a balloon were inflating inside her body. She stumbled to her paws, shuddering as the magic maintaining her form started to dissolve— it felt like she’d drank one too many fizzy waters. Yowling loudly, she leapt off the table, just in time for the magic to fail entirely and release her back into her human form!

Her body rapidly spread outward, morphing so fast that it was hard to see what exactly was happening. Limbs, head, body— they all just swelled back into shape, and in a few seconds, a very human Callie was on her hands and knees on the floor, panting heavily, dressed once again in her sweater and leggings. Her hair was frizzy again, but Callie didn’t care— she had more important things to worry about.

“Oh my god! Callie!?” Kendall hopped out of her chair and quickly grabbed Callie’s arms, hoisting her back up to her feet before staring at Miriam in shock. “Y-You—”

Miriam just bowed, theatrically flourishing her arms before giving herself a round of applause. “Ta-da~!” She smirked, reaching over to unlatch the collar from Callie’s neck.

“Oh my god…” Kendall repeated again. She stared at Miriam for another few seconds, before a soft groan from Callie made her glance over. “Callie…”

A blush warmed Kendall’s cheeks when she remembered how she’d been petting her roommate earlier. And then she remembered what she’d said, and that blush grew even darker. “Er, about earlier, I—”

“I-It’s alright.” With a weak grin, and an exasperated glance in Miriam’s direction, Callie shook her head. “I… um… feel the same.”

Kendall’s eyes might as well have been tea saucers, with how wide they got. “O-Oh.” She stammered, at a loss for words. “So, er…”

“Girlfriends?” A small grin found its way onto Callie’s face as she reached out and grabbed Kendall’s hand.

Gulping, Kendall nodded. “I’d like that, y-yeah.” She squeezed Callie’s hand back, her blush slowly fading as her embarrassment gave way to a sense of slightly-disbelieving excitement— making her lips curl into a tentative smirk. “Sooooo… would this count as a Christmas present, darling~?”

“You wish.” Callie shook her head, trying— but failing —to suppress the wry grin spreading across her face. “You better have gotten me something better.”

“Awwwww, really, I’m not good enough for you?” Kendall giggled, mock-pouting when Callie gave her a thumbs down. “Fine, fine. Just for the record, I did get you something.”

“Good~.” Callie squeezed Kendall’s hand, before leaning over to give her a quick peck on the cheek. She savored the hot blush coloring Kendall’s cheeks, then blushed herself when Kendall kissed her back.

Before they could go any further, however, Miriam interrupted them with a stern ahem. “I hate to barge in, sweets, but I really do need to clean up and get my other employees home. So if you don’t mind…”

“Oh, r-right.” Both Kendall and Callie apologetically bowed their heads, sheepishly grinning when Miriam tucked the scone into a napkin and poured the still steaming cocoa into a disposable cup, handing them to Kendall and Callie respectively. They took the food with another thankful murmur, sharing a glance as Miriam shooed them out, calling out their thanks as they left.

Miriam waved goodbye on their way out, grinning when the door swung shut with a sweet tinkle from the shop bell. As they left, a cream-colored tail slipped out of Callie’s leggings and peeked out from underneath her sweater…

Smirking, Miriam strode off to the back of the cafe, waving for the other cats to follow. One thing was certain— those new lovers would have a very meow-y Christmas~.