Kickaha decides to have a yard sale, despite being an animal, who lives in the woods. Somehow he is certain it will work out, and he really does need to unload some of his magical nick-knacks before he runs out of closet space.
The Technically a Yard If You Think About it Sale
By CalexTheNeko
Kickaha carefully brushed off the wooden table he had dragged out of his burrow, careful to avoid letting the dust get caught in his rust colored fur or on his green cloak. He then threw a blue tablecloth over it before setting down a small lockbox, a calculator, a weight scale, and a pair of thick rubber gloves. He then paused and looked around the forest immediately outside his burrow. A number of other tables had been set up, covered with various objects of interest, as well as a few free standing objects like a large mirror and a grandfather clock. Everything was just about ready.
“Ugggh.” The groan of a young fox kit could be heard, as Tony, currently in his red fox form, emerged from Kickaha’s burrow holding a cardboard box full of more objects. “These boxes are so heavy. How much junk do you have?” He sat the box down at an empty spot on a table.
“Well…” Kickaha shrugged. “The thing about being a magical trickster, is that you spend just as much time finding yourself in bizarre situations as you do creating them. So, stuff just sort of builds up overtime. Figured it was time to unload some of it. Even magic can only do so much to increase closet space.”
“Uh huh.” Tony stretched, glad to be free of the weight of the box. He then looked over at the table Kickaha had set up. “Okay, I get the money box, calculator and weight… But gloves?”
“A lot of cursed artifacts are touch activated.” Kickaha nodded sagely. “So, safety precaution while I package them up for the buyer.”
“And if the buyer picks up said artifact with their bare hand to bring it over to you and ask a price?” Tony squinted.
“Then they will learn an important lesson about respecting ‘Do Not Touch’ signs.” Kickaha held up a paw as he attempted to look sagely.
“Is that a lesson you ever learned?” Tony snickered.
“Irrelevant.” Kickaha thrashed his tail. “But… Anyway, thanks for helping me get this all set up. Fee free to take any one thing from the pile before you go as payment.”
“Neat. Thanks.” Tony’s tail wagged as he looked around. “He began to look through the various items on the tables. “Still…. You really think a yard sale is a good idea? I mean… You live in the woods, I imagine you don’t get much traffic.”
“You’d think that.” Kickaha shrugged. “And yet I still get door-to-door vacuum salesmen, in 2020. Besides, this is the space outside my home. So that technically makes it my yard if you think about it.”
“What?” The first part of that statement gave Tony pause. Being as young as he was, the idea of door-to-door salesmen were an alien concept. He thought he had seen something about it in a cartoon once. “Aren’t those extinct?”
“You’d think that too.” Kickaha nodded. “Anyway, better pick something quick, if I recall you have drama practice today.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t remind me.” Tony muttered as he continued to examine the various goods. He finally paused as something caught his interest. It was a small wooden box containing six different colored dice. Each of them had twenty sides to them, and they came in red, blue, green, violet, white and black. “These look pretty interesting.”
“Ohhhhh, that one is great at parties.” Kickaha grinned. “Each die causes a magical effect when you roll it, and rolling two or more dice at the same time created completely different effects unrelated to the original dice. Makes for a great game night. Shame I could never find the manual for what die does what. If you play that with friends you should probably do it outside… Or at least away from breakable objects.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Tony picked up the box before walking towards Kickaha’s burrow. He picked up a small backpack next to the front door and slipped the box in. Then Tony’s fur and tail began to melt away as he changed back to his human form. He produced a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and some sandals from his bag and quickly dressed. By this point, Tony could walk through these woods in human form freely without scaring or irritating any of the other animals. Pretty much all of them had caught on to his human nature by now… And even those who hadn’t knew his scent. Still, he just found himself more comfortable in animal form when he was out here.
“Good luck with practice, and thanks again for the help!” Kickaha waved.
“Sure thing.” Tony waved back. “See you next Monday for my next lesson.” With that Tony set off, leaving Kickaha sitting alone along the various magical and cursed items he was hoping to sell.
“Hmmmm.” Kickaha muttered. “I feel like I forgot something important.” He snapped his claws. “Of course!” He waved his paw in the air as it began to glow with magic. A moment later a chair came floating out of his burrow and stopped right next to the desk with the cash box. Kickaha sat down and reclined back into the chair with a happy sigh. “Much better. Almost left myself standing on my paws all day.” With that Kickaha kicked his paws up onto the table and waited.
Waited for random people from the nearby suburbs to randomly walk into the forest looking to spend money in a yard sale. It shouldn’t take long.
In fact, it had only been five minutes before Kickaha had his first customer. He hadn’t even had time to get properly comfortable. The first customer was a tall man, dressed in a business suit. He had facial hair, formed into a perfectly manicured goatee and moustache combo — the kind that was usually reserved for the main villain in an action movie. But of course, Kickaha would never judge someone merely by their appearance.
Especially when appearance was such a fleeting thing.
“Nothing but junk.” The well-dressed man snarled. “What’s this… $2 for a single coin?”
“It’s a solid 24k gold coin.” Kickaha said flatly.
“Utterly overpriced.” The man shook his head. “It doesn’t even do anything.”
“Again, it is a solid gold coin.” Kickaha repeated in his flat tone as he stood up. “Also, when you flip the coin, if it lands on heads, it has the ability to grant anyone’s greatest desires.”
“Huh…” There was a sudden glint to the man’s eyes. “And if it lands on tails?”
“Then the coin vanishes as it teleports to some random place on the other side of the world till the next person finds it.” He grinned. “I only have it because whoever flipped it last got tails and it teleported right into my sock drawer.” Kickaha of course didn’t wear socks. Instead, the drawer was full of things that were not safe for the untrained to look upon.
“Still overpriced.” The man snorted.
“$2 is too much money for a solid gold coin with the power to grant any wish?” Kickaha felt his fingers twitching, wanting to ready a spell. He relaxed them. He suspected this situation might resolve itself very soon.
“I’ll give you a dime.” The man dug through his pockets for change. “Why, that’s all you need anyway, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make it in the world.” And with that, Kickaha went from having mild distaste for the man to debating the ethics of turning him into a naked mole rat and dropping him off in a zoo.
“You know what?” Kickaha forced a fake grin. “A dime is fine.” He took the coin from the man’s outstretched hand. “The gold coin is yours. Now if you give me a moment to explain.” Kickaha took on the tone of one who knew they were about to be ignored and had no interest in being heard. “Flipping that coin can fulfill the desire of anyone in the-“
“I got it the first time. But if this lands on tails, I want my money back!” The man grabbed the gold coin and flipped it up into the air.
“Oh no.” Kickaha spoke in a completely flat tone. “Don’t do that. It might not be safe.” He leaned against a table and watched, waiting to see how it happened. Regardless of what side came up, he was about to get some free entertainment.
The coin landed on heads.
“YES!” The man shouted. “Looks like you’re looking at the new richest man in the-“ And it was at that exact point that the man shrunk down into his own clothing. He let out a surprised yelp, and then his voice became more animalistic as a large bump began to move around underneath his clothes. A moment later, a very irritated porcupine crawled out from beneath the clothes, a few scraps of cloth torn and skewered on its quills. It squeaked and growled furiously at Kickaha.
“As I was saying… If you had let me finish.” Kickaha didn’t even bother to hide his smile. “The coin can fulfill the desire of anyone. That means anyone in the entire world. But the one who flipped the coin receives the effect. With over seven billion humans in the world, and even more if you count us talking animals. And really, who knows how many alien species might be out there in the universe… And I’m really not sure if it accounts for alternate timelines and universes. This thing doesn’t really come with a manual.” Kickaha was enjoying every moment of rubbing this in. “So the odds of any one person getting the exact thing they want are… somewhere south of one in a trillion. That’s why I priced it at only $2. Even if there’s no way someone is getting their own wish, I figured someone would have fun with it for a good laugh. I’d say you got pretty lucky. Clearly, someone wished they could be a porcupine. And why not? Quite impressive creatures. And you really do have absolutely wonderful quills.”
“Squeaak!” The porcupine had several angry words for Kickaha. It was a shame he couldn’t say them. In anger, he picked up the coin in his mouth and threw it at the foxyote. The coin landed tails side up, and immediately vanished in a flash of light.
“Ohhh that’s unfortunate.” Kickaha clicked his tongue. “With another heads you might have gotten to transform into something else! See what I mean, it can be a ton of fun.”
The porcupine responded by turning around, clearly intending to threaten Kickaha with his spines.
“Now there’s no need for violence.” As Kickaha spoke, he moved a hand behind his back and it began to glow with silver light. A moment later, a loud roar echoed through the forest coming from behind Kickaha’s burrow and the glowing faded. It was a simple illusion spell, but useful for situations like this. “Oh hey, Grizz is coming by.” Kickaha smiled. “He’s a friend of mine, big bear. Usually pretty friendly. Unless he’s hungry…” Kickaha paused for dramatic effect. “You don’t think that roar sounded hungry do you? I’m wondering if I should hide inside for a moment.” Kickaha’s tail quivered. It was an act of course. Body language gave a lot of a person’s intentions away. All the more so for foxes… their telltale tails made them terrible poker players. That was why Kickaha had carefully trained to deliberately send the wrong feelings.
“Grr.” The porcupine hesitated and looked in the direction of the roar, then at Kickaha. He decided his best course of action was to turn around and run off as quickly as possible.
“That’s taken care of.” Kickaha clapped his paws. Then he rubbed his chin. “Huh… I wonder if whoever wished for that wanted to be a porcupine forever or temporarily.” With that he returned to his chair and waited for the next customer. This one appeared to be a teenager. He was dressed far more casually, jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers and a pair of headphones.
The boy made no attempt to acknowledge Kickaha when he first arrived. Instead, he just began to look through the various items on the shelves. Eventually, he stopped before the large mirror, looking at it in confusion. Why? Because while he was around the age of sixteen, his image in the mirror was only two years old.
“Something catch your eye?” Kickaha got up again and approached the teen.
“What’s with this mirror?” The teen reached a hand towards the mirror, but as he touched the surface, it rippled and his finger started to pass through. He quickly pulled his hand back.
“Magic mirror.” Kickaha shrugged. “Portal to another world. Thanks to a friend of mine’s careless use of water balloons I have two now. Figured I’d sell the extra to someone who wants it. Asking price is $20, but I’ll give it to you for $10 if you can get it home yourself.”
“But… You expect me to just believe in magic mirrors and other worlds?” The teen stared in disbelief.
Ah, teenagers. Not quite as set in their ways as adults. But not quite as open to new ideas as children. It would seem a demonstration was in order.
“Okay, maybe it seems unbelievable. But, consider these three things. One, you are currently talking to a magical three-foot-tall talking foxyote who stands on two legs. And that’s ignoring that I’m pretty sure I’m a species that is literally biologically impossible without the use of magic.”
“Fair.” The teen nodded but wasn’t convinced.
“Second, you can see your reflection in the mirror.” Kickaha pointed at it. “This isn’t some funhouse trick, it’s too perfectly formed, and there’s no way it could be an electronic screen because I’d have no way to know you were coming in advance to program a model of you. Plus, you already saw your hand pass through.”
“That is true.” The teen seemed to be coming around.
“And third.” Kickaha held up a paw. “I can do this.” Kickaha snapped his claws and suddenly began to change. He grew larger in height, becoming even taller than the teen as he reached a grand height over six feet tall. His tail became thinner, with less fur but kept a hairy tuft on the end. His ears became more rounded, and a mane of brown fur grew around his chest. He had become a lion. Though, his rust colored fur, with his white belly, yellow trimmings and diamond shaped patch on his chest all remained. “Though if it’s all the same to you… My cloak is a little tight like this so I’d rather change back.”
“Yes… Yes… Point taken.” The teen swallowed nervously. The small friendly little critter was suddenly way bigger and more intimidating.
“Thank you.” Kickaha snapped his fingers as he shrunk back down and returned to his normal three-foot-tall foxyote self. “Have I proven my point?”
“Yes… Yes you have…” The teen admitted eyes awe, then he stared at the world. “So… What kind of world is on the other side… Is it dangerous?”
“Not really.” Kickaha shrugged. “In fact, the place seems to have a mind of its own that keeps people from getting seriously hurt. There’s a big oak tree on the other side with a hollow, you can come back straight through there.”
“But why is my reflection so small?” The boy reached a hand towards the mirror again but stopped just short of touching it.
“That’s what you’ll look like in there.” Kickaha grinned. “It’s sort of a world of kids for kids. You’ll go back to normal when you leave, but you’re a toddler for the time you’re there.”
“So… I could go in anytime I just needed a break…” The teen seemed interested. “But…” He dug through his pockets and produced a wallet. After looking through the contents, he sighed and looked downward. “Sorry… I’ve only got a five and two ones on me… I don’t usually carry cash.” He turned away from the mirror and began to walk away. “But thank you for your time.”
“Huh…” Kickaha watched him start to leave. He seemed like a nice enough kid. Maybe a bit aloof at first, but he hadn’t been insulting, or dismissive. And upon finding out he couldn’t afford something, he gracefully accepted the fact rather than making demands.
Being a magical trickster was really all about karma. And you couldn’t just focus on the people with bad karma.
“Tell you what, I’ll give it to you for $5, but you have to carry it home.” Kickaha grinned. “I really do want to get rid of it, so if you carry it off, you’re doing me a favor… In fact…” Kickaha began to dig through the rest of the junk on the table. “Hey, what’s your favorite animal?”
“Uhhhhh.” The teen was surprised by that question. It took him a few moments to process everything. First, his eyes lit up as he realized he was getting the magic mirror. Then his face returned to confusion at the question he had been asked. Finally, he gave an answer. “Do mythical animals count? Cause… If so griffins. If not… I guess a lion or an eagle.”
“Griffin huh?” Kickaha continued to dig through his belongings looking for something. “Griffin, griffin, griffin, griffin. AHA!” He pulled a necklace out of a jar that had a fang surrounded by two small feathers hanging from it. “I’ll throw this in for free with the mirror, might even help you get the mirror home.”
“What is it?” The teen stared at Kickaha curiously.
“Based on everything else I sell, I assume something magical.” He grinned. “Personally, I think it’s more fun to leave these things a surprise… But… Well… You can probably figure it out. Think about it, if you walk through that mirror and turn into a toddler, your clothes aren’t going to really fit anymore… And from what I understand you humans get all weird about being pantsless.” He noticed the boy flinch. Yup, that was normal. “If you put this necklace on before you go through the mirror, you might find the nudity noticeably less embarrassing. But you have to do it before going in. Magic items from this side don’t work on that side.”
“Wait what is that going to… I don’t follow, and it’d help me get the mirror home?” The teen was trying to process it.
“Indeed. Would also probably be pretty good practice before wearing it in the other world. I’d recommend taking your clothes off first before putting the thing on.” Kickaha noticed the flinch again. “Don’t act ridiculous, there’s no one here but animals… And I can give you a bag to carry your stuff so you don’t leave it behind.”
“But… Getting naked… and…” Realization hit as he remembered what he had seen Kickaha do just moments ago. “Wait if I put that on… Am I going to-“
“Only one way to find out.” Kickaha handed him the necklace.
The boy started to put it on, then he remembered Kickaha’s warning and blushed a bit.
“Could you um… Turn around a moment?” He asked.
“Humans never change.” Kickaha chuckled as he turned around, and the teen stripped naked and put on the necklace. “Except of course when they do.”
Golden fur grew in over from the waist town of the teen, while shimmering white and black feathers grew in from his stomach up. His feet grew larger in size, developing claws as they transformed into lion paws. His hands meanwhile were free of skin or feathers, looking somewhat like talons, but still functional as hands. His face pushed out into a beak as a long furry tail with a hairy tuft burst from his spine. Finally, a pair of wings sprouted from his back.
“W-whoa.” The teen was still bipedal, but he was clearly a griffin. He took a few steps back as he tried to look all over himself, checking out his wings, his paws and his tail. “This is…” He froze. “Is this forever?”
“Nah.” Kickaha waved a paw. “Just remove the necklace and you change back. Of course, if you remove it in the other world nothing will happen, so make sure you keep track of it.” He grinned. “You should also be a lot stronger now, and those wings aren’t just for show, you should be able to pick the mirror up with ease and fly it home.”
“Uhhhh I’ve never flown before…” The teen replied. “Never had wings.”
“Try giving a few flaps, instincts will take over. Once you feel comfortable, grab the mirror with your talons and take it home… Oh and I’ll bag up your old clothes so you don’t lose those.”
“But… Why throw this in for the mirror?” The griffin was still marveling at himself.
“Cause you’re shy.” Kickaha shrugged. “Like most humans, you seem to think if anyone sees you naked you’ll explode or something… But once you’re covered in feathers or fur, you guys tend to become a bit more chill about it… As evidenced by the fact you’ve not even thought about it once since transforming.”
“I… See…” It was true. He didn’t feel exposed like this at all. “T-thank you!” He quickly handed over the money he had before flapping his new wings to take to the air. He hovered awkwardly for a few moments, then managed to do a couple of short loops. Once he felt he got the hang of it, he grabbed his bag of clothes and the mirror before flying off.
“And to think some people think I’m mean.” Kickaha smiled as he watched the griffin go. “Still… So much stuff left to sell… And only two customers so far… Hmmmm, maybe Tony was right. A yard sale in the woods may have been a bit of a stretch. But I’d bet my next mouse I’ll get at least one more customer.”
On cue, a face Kickaha recognized showed up. It was a friend of Tony’s, a girl a year younger than him named Sophia. She had come in human form. Unlike Tony, she had not learned much of the way of magic, so wasn’t capable of any transformation spells herself. Usually when she visited she had Tony or Kickaha change her into a squirrel for her. Today though, she was a normal human dressed in a pair of shorts and a slightly too big t-shirt.
“And as always… These things come in threes.” Kickaha gave a smug grin as Sophia approached.
“What are you talking about?” Sophia wasn’t quite used to Kickaha’s mannerisms yet. Or it might be more accurate to say she hadn’t caught on to the patterns of the universe yet.
“Oh, just that you’re my third and last customer.” Kickaha shook his head. “Shame, I was really hoping I’d attract more business.”
“I mean, you don’t know someone won’t come later.” Sophia protested.
“Nah, I know how these things work.” Kickaha shrugged. “Anyway, whatcha looking for?”
“Well…” Sophia grinned. “Tony told me that you’ve had him unpacking your closet for the last two months preparing for this sale… So I’ve saved all of my allowances since I found out. Did every extra chore I could to earn more money, recycled bottles, scavenged loose change from between the couch cushions. I have a whole thirty-two dollars and seventy-eight cents!”
“Big spender.” Kickaha whistled, choosing to play along rather than let her know how little that actually was. “So what are you planning to buy.”
“Something dangerous!” Sophia responded. That was right, she was pretty reckless. But Kickaha couldn’t really be that surprised. When it came to transformations, Sophia adapted best to rodent forms. Anyone who felt at home in a rodent body couldn’t be all the way there. “But maybe not too dangerous…”
“The fun kind of dangerous?” Kickaha grinned. He saw the opportunity for a little fun coming. “Go ahead, browse the wares. Feel free to pick up anything that catches your eye.”
“What about the ones marked ‘Do Not Touch?” Sophia asked.
“Especially the items marked ‘Do Not Touch.’ Those are the most chaotic.”
“I seeeee.”Sophia began to look through the various items. She picked up a jagged green crystal, and abruptly dropped drastically in size, disappearing beneath her clothes. Her skin changed a violet color, while her ears grew out long and horns sprouted from her head. Short claws formed on the tips of her fingers and hands, and a pair of wings came from her back. Sophia quickly climbed out from beneath her clothes, flapped her wings to get back into the air and set the crystal back on the table. It was a little difficult, she was only four inches tall now and that made the now larger crystal feel quite heavy. “Ohhhh, that one has potential. Putting it in the maybe list.”
“I get the feeling you’re looking for something with a certain goal in mind.” Kickaha grinned cheekily.
“Big weekend coming up next month, need to make sure I’m prepared.” Sophia replied as she flapped around the tables. “But things that cause instant changes on touch like this are about what I need.”
“Then the ‘Do Not Touch’ ones are definitely what you want to check out.” Kickaha nodded.
After looking around for a bit, Sophia landed on the table next to a white mask with red stripes in the shape of a fox. She tried to pick it up, and immediately began to grow larger in size. Thankfully, Sophia was a sensible girl and leaped off the table before breaking anything.
On the ground, she grew as orange fur grew over her body. Her barbed imp tail became a much fluffier tail, which was soon joined by two others. Hands and feet became paws, as her ears shrunk but became more pointed and a muzzle stuck out of her face. Soon, she was a three tailed fox, though one that had to walk on all fours.
“Yap?” Sophia tilted her head.
“Yeah that one you can’t talk with.” Kickaha responded. Sophia nodded before returning to the wares. She picked one at random this time, just to get back to a form that could speak.
Sophia pawed at a yarn ball. A moment later, she only had one tail, as she stood back up two legs, her muzzle shrunk and her ears became more triangular. Now she was a calico colored bipedal cat.
“Yarn to cat, kind of predictable don’t ya think?” She asked.
“Yeah Calex made that one.” Kickaha explained. “And he doesn’t even know he did it.”
“Who’s that?” She asked.
“Well…” Kickaha debated if his apprentice and companion were ready to meet someone that hyperactive and chaotic, even if he meant well. “A friend. But not one that lives in the forest. Maybe you’ll get to meet him some day.”
“Uh huh…” Sophia continued to look around, and then paused as she came across what appeared to be a silver statue of a dragon. “This one looks promising.” She reached for it.
“Wait, not that one!” Kickaha tried to warn, but it was too late.
Suddenly, Sophia cycled backwards in age rapidly, going from grade schooler to toddler, to baby. She barely had time to register what happened as she dropped the silver dragon statue as a silver and blue barrier formed around her. A second later, and she was a dragon egg.
“That one is a little stronger than the others-“ Kickaha managed to finish with a sigh. She’d hatch eventually, but she’d probably get into quite a bit of trouble if she went missing for four weeks while inside an egg.
Kickaha picked up Sophia’s egg then sat down in the dirt. He drew a circle in the dart with his claws, then drew twelve strange symbols on the outside of the dirt, and began to draw lines connecting each of the symbols till there were a series of star shapes overlapping each other. Kickaha sat the egg down in the center, stepped back and held up a paw. The spell he was doing wasn’t an easy one… Even for him, and in this case he really didn’t want to mess it up.
He gathered energy, and focused. The circle lit up, and a purple aura formed around the egg. After a few seconds, the egg began to crack, and then fell apart, revealing a baby half kitten half dragon inside. She looked around surprised, and with his free hand Kickaha signaled for her to hold still. He continued to focus the spell, speeding up time for her, as she soon was a toddler again, then back to grade school… And then with perfect precision, Kickaha cut the spell off right as she was her original age, ready for second grade. Well… It may have been off by a month or two, but good enough.
“Ok I am definitely buying that one.” The kitten-dragon seemed not even mildly perturbed by the fact she had just been an egg.
“Okay, seriously, what’s going on?” Kickaha asked.
“My parents are going to be out of town for a weekend next month.” She explained. “I managed to convince them Tony would be a good babysitter despite being only a year older… After all, he’s a teacher’s assistant. And… It worked. So we have a weekend with a house to ourselves…. And we talked it out… And we’re both ok with playing little jokes on each other.”
“This is an idea I can get behind, but I don’t think I can let you have this one.” Kickaha put on his rubber gloves and picked up the dragon statue. “Whoever touches this is going to spend the next four to five weeks inside the egg… A bit too long for a one weekend prank war.”
“I see…” Sophia looked downtrodden.
“Now this one…” Kickaha produced a bronze statue. “Anyone who touches this one will hatch after a single hour.”
“I’ll take it!” Sophia beamed. “And the crystal too! And you know what, why not the yarn. And the mask but… That one is for… My personal use. I don’t think turning him into his favorite form counts as a prank… And I don’t suppose you have anything that could make someone mouse sized.”
“You’re getting an awful lot.” Kickaha whistled.
“What?” Sophia put her hands on her hips. “Tony can cast spells, I can’t. If I’m going to win this prank war I need as many items as I can.”
“Fair enough.” Kickaha grinned. “I’ll pack them all up for you, maybe throw in a few extras.”
“Thanks Kickaha!” Sophia purred. After getting her bags she started flapping her wings and took off the ground. “Guess I’ll be heading home.”
“Forgetting something?” Kickaha tapped his foot.
“Uhhhhh.” Sophia landed. “Can’t I just go home like this? I’m sure my parents would get used to the appearance eventually.”
“Maybe, but that’s not a decision you should be making on a whim.” Kickaha rubbed the back of his head. “Tell you what, one more freebie. I have a few potions I keep in case of emergencies if something goes really wrong.” Kickaha disappeared back into his burrow and returned with a small vial. “Potion of True Form. Anyone who drinks it, no matter how many transformations are on them will snap back to their real form. You can stay like that and have some fun today… But you have to take this potion before you go home.”
“Do I have to?” Sophia whined.
“Do you want me to continue providing you with these things, and letting Tony use you as his test subject for new spells?” Kickaha tapped his paw.
“Fiiiiiiine.” Sophia took the potion. “But, I’m staying out as long as I can without getting in trouble.” She flapped into the air again.
“Sophia!” Kickaha called out again. “Your clothes.”
“Right!” She landed again, gathered them up and put them in her bag. “I’d be grounded if I lost those.” Kickaha did find it amusing how the reason clothing remained important to his two students had changed so much. “Okay I’m off!”
“See ya.” Kickaha saluted as he sat down in his chair. He waited till after she was gone and sighed. “I didn’t take even a single bill from her for any of those items.” He looked into his cash box. He had made $5.10 today. “Well… Least I got rid of a few things… even if I unloaded most of them onto Sophia.” Kickaha grinned. The fact that these two were going to have their little war meant they were definitely taking the right attitude with magic. He was considering becoming a bird and hanging out in a tree outside the home so he could watch the chaos. Plus… While he did want to encourage this behavior… They were normal humans. Even with magic, they were more vulnerable to injury than Kickaha’s usual companions. He felt a certain responsibility to make sure no harm came to them through the magic he taught.
Still… This yard sale was mostly a failure. Perhaps he should try a flea market approach next time.
The End