1 1 Me and the Witch
CHAPTER 1: Me and the Witch
The feeling of comfort after a tragedy. Literally.
My head felt heavy and painful as my brain tried to process the events that happened.
I was Andrea, an office worker in a big manufacturing company. My boss is a pervy jerk whose only goal in life is to make sure his underlings' lives are a living hell.
After a whole day of constant harassment and unreasonable demand from my fat, balding boss, I grabbed a drink from the 24-hour open café where I always buy my coffee. It was 7 o'clock in the evening so the surrounding was dark.
I walked out of the café after getting my coffee and traversed the busy road towards the apartment I'm renting. The buzzling city was full of people, cars, and establishments. There were people in their own worlds, the atmosphere is filled with pollution and aroma from restaurants and food stalls, and the whole place is noisy and disorderly.
My apartment came into my view. It was located just across ahead. I waited for the traffic light to turn green. Then, a cat came running into the fast-moving lane.
All the rationality in me was gone and all I could think of was the poor cat that was about to get hit by a car.
No!
The cat!
God knows how much I love cats. I did not own one myself but I do love them.
One time, when I was about to get caught peeking at the CEO's office, a stray cat suddenly appeared, thus, giving me time to run away. Cats are saviors.
My feet immediately accelerated and picked up the cat. I threw it away with all my might. The cat, startled, ran away from the commotion. I'm glad.
I suddenly felt pain on the right side of my body and in my head. The crowd screamed. My body felt numb and cold as I lost consciousness. Is this the end?
Sniff.
Sweet. Something sweet. I smell something sweet.
Yawn~
Another day, another day of hellish work.
Hah?
Wait a minute. I feel weird. I feel sleepy and light, the feel of comfort and warmth. What is happening?
I struggled to opened my eyes. My world, it is clear? I am not wearing glasses, am I? Or even if I did, 20/20 vision is not like this. Okay, Andrea, calm down. This is a good thing, alright?
Just when I thought I had calmed down, I looked at my hands and— WHAT IS THIS?! My hands are paws. Paws. There are black beans and fur. Am I a Cat? They are cute but THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! What will my grumpy boss say if I appear in his office looking like this? Calm down, calm down, Andrea.
Andrea? Is that my name?
What am I thinking about? Of course, it is my name. Why is my memory so blurry? I cannot remember some significant parts of my previous life. It's like it was a dream and I just woke up. It's hazy.
I scanned my surrounding and I see an unfamiliar place. It's like I'm in a cottage or an old house. There is not a single sign of modernity. Old. But pretty interior, I must say.
Looking up, I see a black and pink... cloth? 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. It is soft, what is this? A pillow?
My hands--paws kneaded the soft pillow like it was the most natural thing to do.
"My, my, are you awake?" a voice spoke. THE SOFT THING SPOKE? Not. Yeah, of course not. The woman looked down and fixed her sitting position. I was finally able to see her face.
No... Wait... Face, neck, breast, stomach. Neck... THAT WAS HER BREAST? Calm down, calm down, Andrea, you may not have been blessed with big boobs when you were a human but still... human... Right, I was a human. WAIT! HOW DID I BECOME A CAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!
Breathes. Breathes.
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!
...
The woman stood up and placed me on the chair. The chair is made of wood, carved with flower design, and a cushion was placed on top of it, where I am currently sitting on.
This is a nice house, the space is small but the design and details are beautiful. There are vines on the wooden wall but it did not look dirty or unkempt, the floor is flourished and swept clean, the color of the wood is maple, and the scent of the air is vanilla and mint.
Really, the house smells like the woman.
I followed the woman with my eyes. She is beautiful and kind-looking. Her hair is pink, a little bit curly, and shoulder-length. The color of her eyes are pink and her lips are also pink and glossy. She is wearing this sexy black and pink mini dress with a belt and pouches on her waist. Her hat is black and huge. And her boots are black, knee-length. She looks like those typical witches in fantasy stories, the only exception is that she is real.
The woman walked out of the room and when she came back, she was carrying a bowl containing a fish. She placed the bowl beside the chair I was sitting on, then signaled me to come down and eat. It hurt my pride as a human, well, used to, but my cat instinct was telling me to go down.
I guess I'm hungry so just this once, ok? Even if it was raw and had no seasoning, it tasted good.
Mmmn~ it tastes good that I wanna eat this forever.
I guess being a cat means loving this.
"Do you like it?" she asked, smiling sweetly at me. There is a hint of gentleness and kindness in her smile.
Meoww~ I unconsciously replied.
WOAH WOAH! What is this sound of happiness and love in my voice? I am sure my voice sounded passionate, or maybe, I am just making this up because I really love cats and every sound a cat makes is adorable and lovable. Ok, Andrea, that's not it, ok?
I hissed. I hissed and she was shocked because I hissed. Sorry, lady, I am not mad at you, I just hissed.
"Ah! You must be wondering who am I. I am Priscilla, a witch. Not the witch like my kin but I really am a witch. Don't worry, I'm the weakest so I won't do anything to you." She laughed and playfully caressed my head. What did she mean by 'Not the witch like my kin' ? And weak?
"I shall grant you a name," she stated and held her chin as if she's thinking. "Dark gray shiny fur and black star on the forehead, I shall name you Andromeda."
What's this feeling? As if there's something going on in my body.
« Name: Andromeda the cat
Status: Speed: 20%
Power: 10%
Stamina: 100%
MP: 5%
HP: 100%
Skills: Witch's protection LV1, Predation LV1, Sleep LV1, Terror LV1, Fangs LV1 »
What's this? Why is Sleep on my skills? What do my skills mean?
«Witch's protection allows you to be summoned and to be protected by the witch (ok I know that); Predation allows you to acquire the skills of anything you defeat and charge your status when you eat, Sleep allows you to charge when you sleep, Terror allows you to frighten your enemy and weaken them, Fangs is your bite.»
Ah, just like in the games? But how did I even come to this fantasy land? Hmm~
"It's strange that a mere animal has skills and magic power," the witch stated. I guess since she is my master, she can see my status. What did she say? Strange? Ahah! Maybe because I am originally a human. Meow~
Before the witch could even dive deeper to her thoughts, there was someone who called her outside. She went out and I followed her, of course, as her pet, I must know her businesses. Not that I am curious, ok?
"Pris! I have brought the flowers and herbs you asked me," an old lady said. A human?
"Thank you, grandma Las," the witch replied as she took the basket off the old lady's hand. Once again, she displayed her sweetest smile. She gave a small pouch to the old lady as a payment.
"You really are different from others. It's rare to see a witch smile and to get to talk to them. I'm going, see you again, lady witch." The old lady waved goodbye and walked away. This witch is different, huh? Maybe I am so lucky that my master is one of a kind witch that is filled with kindness and sweet smiling.
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