In around five minutes, Claire was back in her sleepwear, a light-colored tank top and soft pants, her now wet hair falling into her eyes. Wandering over to the kitchen, she got herself some crackers and a glass of water before returning to the couch. As she ate, Claire glanced at the clock, which read 8:15 pm. Had they really been asleep for that long? That certainly didn't happen often.
Glancing at the sleeping Magnolia, then Atlas, she didn't really want to disturb either of them. Besides, she planned to go back to sleep after a while, so she simply took out her phone and scrolled through it as she ate.
You Look Familiar // OxO // CLOSED
Atlas eventually seemed to be done with the chips and wandered back over to the kitchen, climbing onto the counter again so that he could return them to their proper spot. He managed to get the chips into the cabinet, but slipped on his way back down and hit the floor. He groaned softly and whined, holding his throbbing head in his hands.
Claire watched him carefully as he got up and went to the kitchen, and shot to her feet when she saw him fall. The thudding sound caused Magnolia to stir, and she sat up, groaning with confusion. As Claire rushed to Atlas’s side, Magnolia heard his whines and immediately followed after.
“Atlas!” Magnolia took him up in her arms. “It’s okay, it’s okay, we’re here. Where does it hurt?”
“I told you to be careful, bud…” Claire murmured, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry…!" Atlas hid his face in his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed that he'd fallen. "I-I'm fine, I promise! Just hit my head a bit… I'm sure it's fine." He looked away, fidgeting with his hands after he'd removed them from his face. He had a bruise forming on his forehead, but he seemed otherwise pretty okay.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Claire said. “Just try to remember next time. Or maybe don’t climb on the counter.”
Magnolia inspected the bruise, frowning slightly. “Are you sure? If it still hurts later, tell me and I can whip up a healing spell for you.”
"I-I'm fine…" Atlas insisted, his cheeks still a bit flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I woke you up… it's late, right? I mean, I'm not generally asleep around this time, but you guys are… I guess I'll have to sleep at people hours now, huh?"
“It’s alright, you don’t need to be sorry,” Magnolia assured him, combing her fingers though his hair. “And it’s not super late now, but…” she paused to yawn. “But for a human your age will need to sleep more than us. Now would be a good time.”
"Mmm… okay…" Atlas relaxed a bit into the petting and closed his eyes, yawning and huddling closer to Magnolia. "Humans sleep less than cats do, though. Right?" He asked softly, glancing up at the two women.
“Yes, but children need more sleep than adults,” Claire said. She got to her feet, Magnolia picking Atlas up and standing as well.
“Do you want to take the couch? We can stay with you until you fall asleep,” she said.
"Anywhere is fine…" Atlas rested his head on Magnolia's shoulder after he was picked up, seeming to have calmed down from falling. "I-I don't wanna be in the way or anything. You guys can go to bed too. You don't have to stay with me if you don't wanna."
“Oh no,” Magnolia said, “you’re not in the way. We want to stay with you.”
“Yeah, after that long nap, we won’t be very sleepy for a while.” Claire led the way back to the living room, taking one last drink from her cup of water before taking it and the crackers she had been eating back to the kitchen. Magnolia set Atlas on the couch, putting the covers over him and sitting on one end. Claire came back from the kitchen and sat on the floor.
"Mm… if you're sure, I guess…" Atlas curled up into a ball underneath the blankets and yawned, closing his eyes again. He relaxed, seeming fairly calm now, and sighed softly to himself. After a while, he managed to drift off to sleep where he was, looking as though he'd be able to sleep through the night.
They stayed with him, Magnolia running her fingers through his hair. After a while, when he’d fallen asleep, Claire asked, “Mag, are we moms now?”
She chuckled softly. “You mean we weren’t moms before he turned human?”
Claire grinned. “Fair point.”
Magnolia gave Atlas a small kiss on the forehead where the bruise was, and with that they turned off any lights that were still on and headed to the bedroom. Magnolia quickly got into her sleepwear, a white shirt with simple lace patterns at the ends of the sleeves, and matching shorts. She joined Claire on the bed and let her braid her long hair.
“You know what’s happening tomorrow? At the funeral home?” Claire asked.
Magnolia sighed. “You know the guy who died from a stroke? He’s coming in to be cremated tomorrow.”
“I wonder how he feels about being burned to a crisp.”
“Claire!” She laughed, though tried to keep her volume low.
Once she was done braiding, Claire collapsed on the bed. “I’m tired.”
“I can tell.” Magnolia snuggled up beside her.
“Are you?”
“Maybe. Just a little bit.”
Claire chuckled, pecking her cheek. “Are you going to bring Atlas to the funeral home?”
Magnolia blushed slightly at the kiss. “Yeah, not sure how I’ll explain him though.”
“It’ll be alright, I’m sure Mr. Khua would understand.”
“Maybe. I don’t want to think about it just now.”
“Understandable.”
They talked for a while longer before they finally settled and drifted off to sleep.
Atlas awoke a little bit after Magnolia and Claire, but before they had come downstairs. He yawned and stretched, getting to his feet so he could go search for food again. However, he was nervous and uneasy after falling last time, so he just stood at the counter and stared at it while he fiddled with his hands.
He still wasn't very used to being human. Walking around was a very different experience. His balance and depth perception were off due to being at a different height and only having two legs to support himself. Having hands was certainly weird as well. He could pick up and hold things now where he definitely couldn't before, considering he didn't have opposable thumbs on his paws before. His heart beat slower, and he felt as though he was always cold with a lower body temperature and no fur to keep him warm. Hence, he was shivering a bit as he stared up at the cabinets. His head was a bit achy from hitting it on the floor before, but he didn't feel too awful.
Claire usually liked to sleep in on the weekends, so she was still asleep when Magnolia got up and started getting ready to go out. She only woke her up to say their I love you’s and have a good day’s, and she was snoozing again by the time Magnolia came downstairs.
Finding Atlas standing hopelessly in the kitchen, she went up to him and ruffled his hair. “It’s alright, I’ll make us something. How’s being human working out for you so far?”
Atlas looked up when Magnolia touched him, seemingly pulled out of his own little world he'd drifted off to. "O-Oh, um… thank you…" He said softly. "And… it's not too bad. It's kind of weird, though. It's hard to get used to. And I'm really cold all of the time… is this normal for you guys, or was I just warmer as a cat or something?" He asked, wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep a bit warmer.
Magnolia nodded as she listened to him, bringing out a pan and setting it on the stove. “Yeah, I think I’d feel the same if I got turned into a cat,” she chuckled, then frowned at the question. She brought out her phone, tapped it a few times, then her eyes lit up with clarity. “Oh yeah, cats have higher body temperatures than humans. Around three degrees higher. And then with the significantly less body hair… yeah, you were just warmer as a cat.”
She put her phone away and brought out three eggs from the fridge, then took out a measuring cup and a whisk. After turning on the stove, she repeated what she did for the chicken she made yesterday, casting a spell on the various items and ingredients and letting them do the job for her. She honestly did not trust herself to make a decent omelette on her own this early in the day.
"Mm…" Atlas sighed softly and ran his hands up and down his arms, trying to warm himself up. "Hopefully I get used to it soon. Before I freeze to death or something." He moved forward so he could keep close to Magnolia and the stove, finding that it was a bit warmer there. "Are you guys doing anything today?" He asked. "Anything I should do? Anything you need?"
She chuckled. “It’s alright, you won’t freeze to death. C’mere,” she motioned for him to come up right against her. “There, we’re sharing body heat. Yay!” She laughed again as the whisk finished, well, whisking the first egg and poured it into the pan. Realizing she forgot a spatula, she quickly grabbed it and placed the spell on it, then said, “Well, I’m going to the funeral home as usual, do you want to come even though you’re human?”
"Mmmmm…" Atlas huddled up against Magnolia, relaxing a little from the extra warmth. He yawned and nuzzled up against her a bit, looking up at the question. "Hm? Oh, sure… I'll go with you. Won't they think it's weird that you have another person with you, though? I mean, you don't normally…"
“Well, yeah…” Magnolia tapped her leg nervously. “Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe Mr. Khua will know something about how you ended up human when I meant for you to turn into a dog. So I kind of have to explain the situation anyway.”
Mr. Khua was the necromancer who was mentoring Magnolia and whom she shadows when at the funeral home. Though mainly knowledgeable in necromancy and the like, he would have to know the ins and outs of other branches of witchcraft as well.
"Yeah, maybe. He's really smart, isn't he?" Atlas asked, looking up at Magnolia curiously as he kept close to her. He glanced over to the pan and tilted his head slightly to the side, clearly interested in it. He wasn't quite tall enough to see what was happening, though. "I bet he knows all sorts of stuff about all sorts of things."
She chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, he is smart. Hopefully he’ll have some sort of an explanation.”
For now, nothing was happening in the pan. The whisked eggs inside were simply sitting there and cooking. Magnolia took the opportunity to go over to the refrigerator and pull out a bag of shredded cheese, spinach, and slices of ham and cucumbers. She put it all on the counter, glanced at the pan, and directed the spatula to move the omelette around and get it loose. Then setting a plate next to the stove, she let the spatula scoop the omelette out and set it on the plate. Quickly sprinkling it with cheese and ham slices she folded the omelette, and it was done.
She held the plate out for Atlas. “This one’s for you,” she said. “Could you set it on the table and eat it there?”
Atlas watched Magnolia intently, seeing what she was putting in, but not quite able to watch due to his height. He kept close to her wherever she walked, seeming a little bit nervous. When the food was done, he very carefully accepted the plate, trying his best to not drop it or anything. "Thank you… and okay." He replied softly. He did as he was told, heading over to the table to start eating. "When do we need to leave?" He asked, looking down at his plate with a bewildered look. It was clear that he wasn't quite sure how to eat it.
Magnolia made sure that the second omelette was cooking before she glanced at her phone. “Around 15 to 20 minutes, I think.”
She turned back to Atlas and chuckled at his expression. “You need help?” She took a butter knife from one of the drawers and went over to him. “Maybe it’ll be easier if we cut it, and then you can just eat it with your hands,” she suggested, taking the knife and cutting across the omelette into smaller pieces. “How’s that?”
"Thanks…" Atlas quietly watched as Magnolia cut the omelet for him, fiddling nervously with his hands. He hesitated after it was cut, but then tentatively picked up a piece and stuck it into his mouth. He hummed consideringly, tilting his head slightly to the side. "It's very different than anything I've had before…"
“I bet,” Magnolia said. She cracked a smile at him, ruffling his hair before going back to the second omelette on the stove and setting it on another plate, filling it with cheese, cucumber, and spinach before folding it. She was about to run it up to Claire before she thought to turn to Atlas and ask, “Um, how do you like it?”
"It's good!" Atlas grinned brightly up at Magnolia, seeming pretty pleased with himself. While smiling, it was easier to see that some of his teeth were unusually sharp compared to those of a human. He stuck another piece of omelet into his mouth, humming contentedly to himself.
“Good!” She returned the smile, though his sharp teeth caused her to stare a bit too long. Then she remembered the omelette and went to the bedroom to give it to Claire, giving her a small peck on the cheek and dashing back to the kitchen to make herself breakfast. Once she’d made her omelette (filled with cheese, ham, and spinach), she sat down next to Atlas and ate it, using a fork and knife rather than her hands, however.
Atlas watched Magnolia as she ate her omelet with the proper utensils, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. He stuck another piece of omelet into his mouth with just his hands, seeming pretty confused. "How do you do that?" He asked. "And… uh… why? You could probably eat it like this too." He pointed down at his own plate.