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It's like supernatural, this love's possessing me, but I don't mind at all…
Schroeder hasn't seen Lucy in almost a year. No one has. But at this moment Schroeder needed to find her. She was the most powerful witch he knew, and he was in a rather… interesting predicament. He doesn't remember exactly how it happened. Just that he was walking backstage after a performance when a disgruntled audience member dumped a strange liquid on him. Next thing he knew, he was crawling out of a pile of his own clothes, no longer a man, but a blond house cat.
He'd heard a while back that she'd retreated to Cindersnap Forest to finish her grimorie, and finally be able to take over her grandfather's spell and potion shop. Linus sometimes made the trek out to visit his sister, but most of their friends were a bit apprehensive to interrupt whatever witchy things she was up to. Mostly because they were afraid she might hex them.
There weren't many witches in the world, only a couple here and there. Magic users were rare and tended to have an air of mystique and danger around them. Lucy grew up among the rest of his friends in Pelican town, she wasn't treated any different until she'd accidentally hexed Charlie Brown so that bubbles came out of his mouth whenever he tried to speak. After that, her power only grew, and their friends were a bit more scared of her. Her grandfather had taken her under his wing to help train and control her wild magic.
So here he was, ducking under roots and trying to lay low while he followed a path to what he hoped would be her home. Schroeder doesn't know why he never came looking for her before this. They'd been very close, after all. He guesses that he never thought she'd actually stay away. He just figured that if he stayed where he was, eventually she'd just waltz right back into his music room and sit herself down on his piano like nothing changed. But he was wrong. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.
His music had suffered without her. His audiences grew smaller. His technique was perfect, but he had no soul behind it, no emotion. His manager was always on his ass about the whole thing too. By the time he'd realized his feelings for her, he'd thought it was too late. She'd been away for too long, any feelings she might've reciprocated were surely gone now that he'd wasted any chance to find her.
After a while of walking, he happened upon a cute cottage with blue shutters, a thatched roof, a small greenhouse to the left and a dark stone tower looming behind it. He padded up the steps, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew knocking would be useless like this, so he opened his mouth to call for her. He didn't exactly know what he was expecting, but a high pitched yowl wasn't it.
When the door didn't open, he did it again a bit louder. He heard footsteps, then the latch of the door. Golden light spilled out onto the stoop and there she was. Just as beautiful as the day she left... Lucy put her hand over her heart "Oh, my! Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" She cooed, reaching down and scooping him off the porch. What? No! Lucy it's me! I'm not actually a cat! He tried to say, but all that came out was a random assortment of meows.
Lucy set him down on her counter and began examining him, muttering to herself as she did so. "Let's see… are you hurt anywhere? No, you look pretty healthy, to me." She walked over to her kitchen, waving her hand in the general direction of the record player. Beethoven's Symphony No.5 poured out of the speaker. She emerged with a small dish of cream. "You eat up, okay? I'll be right back."
Schroeder's tail swished nervously back and forth. He didn't know why he thought she'd recognize him, but it was clear she thought he was just a regular cat. He bent his head and lapped a bit at the cream, he hadn't eaten in hours. Lucy always used to make sure he ate. She'd drag him away from his piano and force him to try out some new recipe she'd gotten from one magazine or another. It was always delicious.
Lucy practically skipped her way back around the corner. She gently pet him, running her hand from his head down his back. Schroeder felt his pupils expand, his chest rumbled and he began to purr. He was momentarily embarrassed, but then she scratched the underside of his chin and all he wanted was her. He couldn't care less if he was a cat in this moment, because for the first time in a year, he was with Lucy. He pushed his head into her hand.
Before long, she took her hand away. Schroeder let out a pathetic meow, begging for her attention. Lucy giggled, "You're so affectionate… what should your name be…" She contemplated, taking out a woven purple strap from behind her back. Schroeder backed up, letting out a concerned growl. "Oh, lighten up. It's just a collar." She said, rolling her eyes. She lightly tied it around his neck, making sure it wouldn't cause any discomfort for him.
Lucy looked over at the record player, and then back at him. "Hmmm… What about… Beethoven." She said softly, scratching behind his ears. He closed his eyes and purred again. It was obvious that he would have to find some other way to communicate with her.
Lucy picked him up again, cradling him softly against her chest while she carried him upstairs."I've never had a familiar before, I'm so excited! I get lonely you know, only my brother comes to visit. I didn't think all my friends would come, just… one of them. But I guess he's too caught up with that dang piano…" She chuckled, but there was a sadness to her now. "Not that he should prioritize me over his career, but you know, I thought-" She sighed "I don't know what I thought." She set him down on the landing, entering what must be her bedroom to get ready for bed.
Ever the gentleman, Schroeder waited outside for her to be done. God, he felt like such a loser. Of course she'd have wanted him to come visit. She was such a social butterfly, this isolation was probably getting to her just as much as her distance had eaten at him. Once Lucy was done, he curled up in bed beside her and waited for sleep to find him.
Schroeder flicked his tail in annoyance as he watched Lucy hum contently as she stirred whatever potion she was working on now. It'd been two weeks since Schroeder showed up at Lucy's door, and he was still a cat. He'd gotten into her herbs and potions a couple times, looking for a cure, but nothing he tried worked. He'd tried everything he could think of to communicate with her, but nothing was getting through to her. It was really starting to get to him that Lucy didn't know who he was. Logically he knew that it was impossible to tell, but it still irked him sometimes.
They were in the room at the very top of the stone tower, there were rolls of parchment and heavy books covering the desks and shelves as well as glittering stones and ancient looking objects and treasures. In the middle of the floor was a big rune circle carved into the heavy stone and at the center sat Lucy's large cauldron. She sprinkled in more herbs and strange ingredients, the potion glowed an ominous purple and the light from it pulsed as she put the strange plants in.
Over the past couple weeks, Schroeder noticed that Lucy actually used magic far more than she'd ever used it around him and their friends. She used it like an extension of herself and it was beautiful. Dazzling sparks and runes danced around her hands in every hue and shade of blue he could imagine. To be honest, he's never really seen her do magic at all until now. She'd always kept a tight lid on it, acting as if it was something to be ashamed of. He found himself wishing he'd made her comfortable enough to use it around him more often.
"What are you so grumpy for, Bee?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow as she started bottling up the potion. Schroeder didn't even try to speak, he knew no words would actually come out. He just turned his head and looked at the rain dripping down the window pane. Lucy giggled "You're so dramatic," She rolled her eyes as a bell chimed somewhere in the tower. She finished bottling the purple liquid and rushed to the window. "Oh! Linus is here! You finally get to meet him!" She said excitedly, picking him up and rushing down the stairs.
She plopped Schroeder down on the floor and opened the door just as Linus was about to knock. "How do you always know when to do that?" He asked. "I have my ways…" Lucy said playfully. They sat down at Lucy's little dining room table and got to chatting. Lucy snapped her fingers and the kettle moved over to the stove for some tea. "How's your grimorie coming along?" Linus asked "It's almost finished, I just have a couple more chapters to fill out and then I should be all set to take over the shop." Linus nodded and Schroeder hopped up onto the table, hoping against hope that Linus might recognize him.
"When did you get a cat?" Linus asked. "He showed up on my doorstep a while ago. He might look like a grump, but he's actually really sweet." She said, scratching under Schroeder's chin. He swatted her hand away. Don't patronize me! He meowed. Linus raised an eyebrow "What did you name him?" Lucy looked to the side "Uh… Beethoven. I was listening to one of his records when I was cleaning and I thought it'd be a good name. Wasn't Beethoven himself somewhat of a grumpy person? I remember hearing that somewhere, and you know it just fits this guy so well!" She rambled guiltily. Linus sighed "Lucy, I thought you were past this. He doesn't give a fuck about you."
Who? Schroeder meowed uselessly. Lucy frowned, placing Schroeder into her lap "You don't know that." She mumbled, pulling him closer. Linus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Violet saw him go backstage with a woman from the audience last week. No one's seen him since, word is he got a girlfriend and left town. He's never even tried to come visit!" Me?! No! That's not what happened, I'm here, I'm right here! Lucy shook her head "He said he'd be there when I got back." She pushed. I am! "You can't keep doing this to yourself! He's not waiting for you, he never was." I was waiting! I was! Lucy, tell him! Schroeder yowled
Lucy slid the potion she'd made towards Linus "Tell Charlie this costs more than a nickle. He needs to stop getting injured so much." She said flatly. Linus sighed "You know he's accident prone." Lucy scoffed under her breath. "Get lost, I have work to do." She said, though her tone was devoid of any real malice.
Her door had barely clicked shut before Lucy started to cry. She hugged him close as she sobbed. Schroeder let her, he couldn't really say anything anyways. The kettle started to whistle and she put him down, wiping her eyes and sniffling one last time before she got up.
She fixed herself some tea, and sat down on her couch. She held up her hand and brilliant blue flames burst to life in her palm, she chucked them at the fireplace and they lost their azure tinge, turning back to fire's default array of orange and red. Schroeder hopped up on the couch and sat himself down in her lap.
Lucy scratched behind his ears "I'm such a fool…" She whispered to herself. "I really… I really do love him." She said somberly. I love you too… Schroeder mewled. He put his paws on her shoulder, leaning in to bop his nose against her cheek, which was as close to a kiss he could give in this form. Lucy smiled, "Well, at least you love me back." She amended, planting a kiss on the top of his head.
Poof!
Schroeder was caught extremely off guard by the sudden change to his body and he put his hands on the back of the couch to steady himself. His hands? His hands! He was a man again! He looked down at the very surprised Lucy who's lap he was currently sitting on. "Hi," was all he could think to say. "Schroeder?!" Her eyes flicked down "AHH!" She yelped, covering her eyes with her hands.
Schroeder scrambled to get off of her, grabbing the nearest blanket to cover himself with. "Oh my god! You were my cat? How did this happen?" He sat back down next to her and she took her hands off her eyes. "Someone poured a potion on me after my last show, and then I came to find you and then you took me in and- Yeah, that's pretty much how it happened. What I don't understand is how I suddenly turned back."
Lucy shrugged "Beauty and the beast rules. All transformation curses have the same shtick; Someone has to love you as you are to turn you back." Schroeder grinned "So you love me…" she turned away from him "It can be platonic…" He hummed "What if I don't want it to be platonic." Schroeder said, suddenly finding his confidence after almost a year of making excuses to hide from his feelings.
"I'm sorry I never came to look for you, I was scared. Not of you! Just- Of change. Of us changing. But I'm not afraid anymore and I want that change. I don't want to just be friends anymore, I want to be together. And I think you want that too." Lucy nodded "It's gonna be hard to walk out here all the time, you know. Linus doesn't visit too often because of the trek." She said, subtly testing him a bit. "I don't care about a hike, Lucy. As long as you're at the end of it."
She smiled at him, reaching up and kissing his cheek. "Then I guess I wouldn't mind that change either." A lopsided smile dawned on his face and Lucy giggled. "Your manager probably isn't too happy about you going MIA, huh?" She asked. Schroeder thought for a minute. "What if I just, don't go back?" He said "What do you mean?"
"I mean like, what If i don't go back into town? What If I just stay with you and help you complete your grimorie instead?" Lucy raised an eyebrow "You'd do that?" Schroeder nodded "Yeah, just give me a couple days to get some things in order." Lucy smiled "Okay," She tilted his head towards hers and kissed him softly. "You also need to get some actual clothes." She said. Schroeder rolled his eyes "Yeah, that too."