You aren't about to give up that easy! So what if this has only made things worse so far... There's no way everybody with magical talents is going to be as reckless with your body as Marisa has been so far. No way! Once you explain yourself, they'll take pity and... would it be too much to ask to be back to normal? You don't know. But at least to be a boy - any boy - would be better than be a little girl... or worse, a little /ferret/. The fact that you were a girl ferret just didn't seem to matter quite as much when seen in that light. You don't even think about how you know how to make the body work. It just works. "Let's keep going, Tommy. Those twins will help us, I just know it! Maybe they can make you human again, too! Wouldn't you like that?"
Tommy looks down at you with an almost parental expression before licking your face affectionately. The gesture would make absolutely no sense if you'd been human, but for a ferret, it was like a gentle pat on the head. It was a "You're adorable, but you don't make any sense." He proceeded to explain, though you were only half-listening by then. "Witch once is witch forever. Familiar is 'til one of us dies, too. Until I die. And if you die, I'll probably die too. I could be human, but I'd still be your familiar even if I was. Most witches don't like that, but I've seen a few come into the store over the years with human familiars. Usually family born without a spark. Most witches are way too old-fashioned to /give/ power like Marisa did to you. She's waaaay nicer than most."
Being a young ferret means you lack the attention-span to really have a sustained conversation like this, but Tommy is interesting enough that you stop bouncing up and down as he talks, looking up into his face. "How do you know all that?" You ask in a squeak, which you realize at that moment is how you two have been talking. Of course you couldn't speak English! He seems to understand okay.
"Because I was human once, duh!" He explains, as though that was enough. He seems to realize that it isn't after a moment and adds, "I'm from a magical family... but magic usually skips the boys, and it skipped me. I came to Marisa, she didn't kidnap me or anything. I wanted to be magic like my sisters... and not to wither away to dust before they were college-age. Now I can! Through you..." He licked you again, pulling you close for another moment.
You really don't know how to take that, not for several long moments as you consider the history of your companion. More than that, you think about what it might be like to have a human familiar. You make a mental note to ask Marisa about it in the future. In the meantime, you decide it's time to move on. You're getting really anxious in such a huge, metallic space.
"I wanna talk about this more!" You squeak up at him. "But not now, kay? I want to be a person again, so I can 'member it all." You don't even notice your little verbal slips as you resume your scurrying, managing to make it a good few minutes before you reach a vent in the ceiling. You're leaning over to inspect it when Tommy climbs atop the grate beside you. There's a gut-wrenching crack, and the gate swings down, sending the both of you tumbling down. You scream pitifully as you tumble through the air, and you are helpless to identify up or down as you fall down, down, down...
You land with a splash, and gulp down several mouthfuls of soapy water instead of air. You might've choked, except that a pair of huge hands wraps abruptly around you. You're too scared to try to react, and your coughs take in as much water as they put out... until the hands lift you gently to her chest, resting your head over her shoulder and patting your back several times. You feel bare, wet skin, but you don't care, closing your eyes and whimpering. You're crying in sheer terror, though your body doesn't seem to be able to cry for real. It's a long time before you are coherent enough to hear what the girl that's holding you is saying. "I've got the little witch, I'm sure of it! See her collar... it's a spell." Your eyes open slowly, and you look up into her face. She looks about... twelve, her skin scary pale, and her hair bright black, cascading down her back, though most of it is stuck to her. She holds you with a hand under each of your shoulders.
"Okay, so what?" Asks an identical voice from behind you... You can feel her holding you too. Tommy's in her hands, held the exact same way, though he is squirming to try and escape in a way you have no energy to attempt.
The girl holding you hesitates for a moment, then replies you would make a great...