Mia's parents had been overjoyed at the return of their child, scared, confused, and terrified at how they had forgotten their precious child. And Mia's room had been restored back to her room rather than a storage room with Yomi's curse shattered.
Rexie despised to admit, (she was an imp now after all), but Mia's parents truly loved her. The tears streaming down their faces, the hugs, the kisses. As much as it sickened Rexie, she knew Mia loved them too in return. Taking Mia away from all this by turning her into an imp too would make Mia sad. Rexie hated this. She was disgusted at herself for this weakness. But there was still a way around this. She was an imp now, she was eternal. Sexless and immortal.
Mia had blurted out everything, saying she'd been kidnapped by a fox, saved by a devil, witches, a werewolf, Merlin the Magician of King Arther's court... naturally Mia's parents thought she'd been traumatized and had filled in the blanks. Even if they COULDN'T explain how they'd forgotten Mia... nor could her classmates, her teachers, or her friends next door (Rexie was sure Mia could have some fun with them soon).
Mia's parents also had no idea what the creatures was that had demanded to know where Mia was and had vanished in a huff. Rexie was fine with that.
Zack meanwhile was scarring the pants off of bullies, drug dealers, and anyone else who threatened his neighborhood's happy community. It was the long job for Zack. Zack was still the hero as far as Zack knew, and acted. They had decades to get him to embrace the darker side of being a hero, and he'd help push back against this tyranny of light.
Mia's house was also gaining a slight reputation for being haunted, and with Rexie around, it technically was. A cute little witchling in a haunted house, what could be more picture perfect?
"Hey Mia, would you like to have magic? Without forgotten your mom and dad?" Rexie casually asked, floating on her back in Mia's room after a round of a cartoonish and over the top fighting game.
"Really?!" Mia asked. "So I wouldn't have to stop being me? Like that black fox tried to?"
"Oh I promise," Rexie nodded.
According to the legal law of the land, a child could not sign a contract. Not without her legal guardians' permission of course. (It was how families of witches existed).
"Hi," Rexie appeared in a ball of flame at the dinner table one night. She ripped off a chicken leg and began munching on it while floating above the table.
"Your baby got kidnapped by a fox monster... she'd have been turned into a fox monster too if I hadn't stopped her!" Not completely true, but just true enough, she was an imp after all. "So I'm the reason your baby is back with you! All I want in exchange is, you agree to let Mia agree to be my friend!"
Mia's parents, never having been one to believe in the spiritual or supernatural, were left dumbfounded at the impossible sight before them returning.
"Oh please! She's really nice! She really is!" Mia pleaded.
Both parents, convinced they were having a shared dream brought on by some bad beef, (which was left absurd to them than an imp floating in their dinning room eating chicken), could only dumbly nod their heads.
"Fantastic! Then it's a deal!" Rexie cheered and vanished. And the parents convinced themselves what they'd just seen had never happened.
Meanwhile, soon after, in Mia's bedroom, she looked over the scroll... it's language simplified to a level she could mostly understand it.
"What's this part mean?"
"Oh that? It means that when you die someday, your soul can still hang out with me instead of going away somewhere."
"Oh! Okay! Cool!"
Of course the INTENTION of that part of the contract was SUPPOSED to be the demon after the witch had lived a life of power and magic, would collect the witch's soul and be able to sell it on the open market... that was the intent... but Rexie's real intention was she had no intention of claiming Mia's soul as her property, nor any intention of selling it. After living out her life as a powerful witch Rexie knew she'd become, after ninety or so years of magic would make an excellent ghost-witch later. Rexie knew she'd be proud of her.
"So I get to be like a magical girl or a wizard?"
"Actually, you'll be a witch."
"What's the difference?"
"Okay, wizards LEARN their magic on their own, books, and stuff like that. Magical Girls form their contracts with... other stuff than me. Sorceress are born with their magic. Witches, Warlock, what you'll be, gain their magic from the contract with stuff like me. Just sign and we'll be special friends."
Mia did so... in red glitter marker.
Instantly a surge of power was plunged into Mia and she gasped. Meanwhile, a chain sprung forth, immaterial, infinite in length, and invisible, connected her and Rexie, binding them together for the rest of Mia's life.
"My new witchling, as your familiar, I welcome you to the world of magic." Rexie made an over the top bow mid-air, then floated down and knelt as was custom. "Also, as your familiar, I can assume the form of any small, mundane beast you desire."
"Oh! Like a bunny, or a skunk, or, a mouse, or a cat, or-"
"Yeah Mia, I can disguise myself as pretty much anything as long as you can pass it off a pet." Rexie had read in Lilith's house about a demon whose familiar form had been as a goldfish!
"That's cool!"
"I think so." A red snake. A white bunny. A red and white skunk. A bat. A mouse. Mia spent over an hour just having Rexie change into different animals for her to be seen with her in public. This would make splitting her life with Lexie at the school trouble, but if Lilith could wipe away Rex, she could wipe away Lexie too.
+++
"Franklin," asked the red hermaphrodite lion.
"Yes, Franchise?" The blue cheetah man responded outside the Cave of Mirrors. They were actually said they hadn't gone with the Merry-Go-Round, equines were always fun.
"Even if they'll be grateful with being improved, most of them it seemed just wanted it to try as a novelty, and none of them seemed the type who'd worship Circe in return for her gift..."
"Then they'll be the first to leave the park as human like is promised. And it'll just show our goddess isn't out to force anyone to worship her or force her gift. Giving less justification to bullies and paranoids to bother us and her. Besides, maybe they'll have a change of heart after getting a taste of the gift. And if not, at least the paranoids won't think we're a cult. All praise Circe."
"All praise Circe." Franchise nodded.
---
Claudia and her friends explored the cave of mirrors. It was set up with fiberglass and smoke machines to give the impression of a deep underground cavern. Claudia could sense the magic in the black, radiating from the mirrors and the entire place itself. Like it slightly existed off of their normal plane of existence, naturally letting it be bigger on the inside than the outside. Also due to the distorted nature of the space within, it was very easy to get lost, turned around, and separated. Claudia also felt the feel of disarming radiating from the place, encouraging her subconscious her to let her guard down, to let all the radiantly beautiful and hideously ugly parts of herself rise to the surface.
There was a faint song like a lullaby the Claudia was sure that if they'd followed would wind them all as furry toddlers in magic diapers. There was also whispers like those of a lover. Others welcoming like friends and family. All seeking that connection to lure them into showing the animal brain that was inside any flesh and blood human, and to give into some primal part of themselves.
Then there was the mirrors themselves... not only did every mirror show them as different species... but it showed different people as different species! The same mirror didn't give the same species reflection for everyone!
"So that's the game," Claudia thought.
She saw reflections of herself as indeed a furry toddler, a teenage mouse girl, a towering purple elephant man, each one gave off a slight whisper for her to keep looking, to be drawn in, to become one with it. But Claudia ignored them, they weren't what she wanted. Some of her reflections even seemed to be gesturing for her to go in certain directions, and she listened to herself, well, potential versions of herself.
Deeper, and deeper in the cave she went, losing track of her friends but not caring anymore, she could hear it, calling to her, to be her, to complete her.
Well, if Baba Yaga wasn't all bad, maybe Circe wasn't either?
And finally... Claudia found it... a creature that looked like a cross between an amazon and a gladiator... a naked furry tiger anthro. Red fur, black strips, but white belly, paw prints and the like. Looking down, Claudia saw her reflection here had equipment of both sexes, and breasts to match.
Claudia continued to look at this reflection, her reflection. 'Yes, this is myself, not what I would've looked like.' Claudia thought, and the more she looked at the reflection, the more certain she was of this truth. Yes.
Claudia came closer and closer to her smiling reflection, taking on the pose and expression shown in the enchanted glass. Circe's Funhouse. Circe had even placed a piece of her essence into this place. It existed across time and space. And would serve its purpose well here.
Claudia's clothes dissolved off her, she was growing taller, bigger, bustier, feeling something new growing between her legs and sealed in a sheath. Muscles, might. Her tail grew next. Followed fangs, claws, fur. Her ears changed shape and moved to the top of her head. Her face itself changing shape. Her legs becoming digigrated. 'Yes, yes.' Claudia thought.
And Claudia and the reflection were one and the same. The muscular tiger creature grinned at itself, liking very much what it saw. And wondered how it had ever been satisfied with the human it had been before. This rocked! It's new beautiful body, it was relieved that the enchantment that came with the change meant it wouldn't have to hide it's body from view, it's body was something to proud of, cherished, not to be ashamed of.
'I have GOT to get Mika to try out this place!' Claudia thought. 'I can't wait to show her the new me! I hope she likes it! I wonder if she'd like to become something like me... I wonder what she'll think of my new equipment! Heh!'