Persis lay back in her bottle for several hours, amusing herself with her new powers while she waited for her first master or mistress to discover her. Her thoughts drifted back to her life before she changed. She hadn't had a lot of close friends or family, but she realized she probably ought to find a way to slip the friends she did have a message, letting them know she was fine (never better, really,) and likely wouldn't be chatting as often. Perhaps there'd be a way to play with the wording of a master's wish to slip one out at the same time she granted her new master some desire.
After a while, she heard voices coming from outside her bottle, if indistinctly. She could hear a man and a woman, and at least one child, she smiled to herself, wondering which one would end up noticing the most valuable treasure first.
Eventually, after several minutes of excited cheers and torn paper, the voices of the adults faded into the distance, while a child's voice drew closer. Persis felt someone rubbing the surface of her bottle, and giddily made her way out.
"You have summoned Persis, genie of the bottle!" She said, rising out of her bottle in a cloud of smoke. She got a kick out of making a big entrance. "State your wish, and I will grant it!"
Looked down, and saw her new master, a little dark-haired boy who looked about five or six, gazing up at her with a gasp. It suddenly dawned on her that, while she, in her eccentricity, might have found snake ladies attractive, most people would likely be freaked out. She decided to soften her approach, starting with a smile that didn't reveal fangs.
"Hello there, little one. I'm Persis. What's your name?"
"I'm Riley," the boy replied. "Did you say you're a genie? Like in Aladdin?"
"Oh yes! I can grant nearly any wish, though, like that genie, I have a few rules. I cannot change the past, I cannot bring the dead back to life, and I will not grant any wish made with the intention of hurting others. And of course, there is the classic limit of no more than three wishes per master."
As she went through her explanation, she glanced around the house. There weren't a lot of gifts under the tree, the house didn't look to be in the best shape, the furniture and Riley's clothes all looked worn down, and while her new body wasn't bothered by the cold, she could tell that it was fairly chilly in here. Clearly, there was a lot to do.
She bent down toward him. “So, Riley? What would you like to wish for?”
The boy didn’t hesitate for a second. “I wish it was snowing!”
Persis was confused at first. It had been snowing back home when she’d made her wish, but reaching out with her power showed that she was in a much warmer area now. Obviously, there wouldn’t be a white Christmas here for a long time without a little magic. Making it cold enough for snow to stick for a day would be trivial, and she could easily throw in a protection spell to keep any plants from freezing over in the meantime.
Still, it seemed a waste to let this child spend a wish on something so simple… Well, if genies in stories could be tricky in granting wishes to make their master’s life miserable, perhaps she could employ a little trickery for good. She smiled, still being careful not to make her fangs obvious.
“Ah, but it is snowing already.”
The boy giddily jumped up and rushed to the window. “…No it’s not!”
She giggled. “Hmm hmm, sorry, Riley, sorry, sometimes we genies can be so silly. It’s snowing in Antarctica right now. Sometimes we need to be told something a little more specific. Perhaps you could try wishing that you’d have ‘a perfect white Christmas.’”
“Okay.” He stood up straight. “I wish for a perfect white Christmas.”
“Ah, there we go!” Persis snapped her fingers. “Now take a look outside!”
Riley turned around, and saw snow rapidly piling up.
“It’s snowing!” He cheered, then dashed to the back door.
“Don’t forget your coat,” Persis called to him, as she followed him out, willing herself invisible to all but him.
She laughed as she watched the boy stomp through the snow, never noticing that the roads and sidewalks out front remained perfectly clear. Though Persis was certain the adults around the neighborhood would notice, and be equal parts thankful and baffled that their travel plans wouldn’t have to be put on hold to shovel snow. Holding the road at a slightly higher temperature than the lawns had been a simple feat.
While Riley made snow angels and packed up snowballs, Persis let her magic go to work inside his home, fixing old heating systems, providing better insulation, and generally repairing the wear and tear of the house, as well as setting a warm cup of hot chocolate down on the table. After all, she’d hardly call it a perfect white Christmas if you couldn’t warm up quickly once you were back inside.
She giggled to herself, imagining how Riley’s parents must have been freaking out.
Riley looked over to her, her giggling reminding him she was still here.
“Thank you so much!” He rushed up and hugged her. He paused a second, looking at her wispy clothes. “I remember hearing that snakes get cold really easy. I wish you had some warm clothes.”
Persis laughed. “Oh, that’s very kind of you,” she started, “but I already have some.” With another snap of her fingers, her thin satin shirt and veil were replaced with by heavy furs. “We won’t count that as a wish.”
Riley blinked a few times. “Okay… How about this? I wish I could be an arctic fox so I can stay out here as long as I like without being cold.”
Now this was the sort of wish Persis had been looking forward to granting. Still, without the ability to warp history, or permanently cause people to think the results of her magic were normal, she needed to be cautious in how she granted it, especially to a child.
She willed some of the snow drifting down to fall into her hand, and solidify into a crystal necklace, with the image of a fox’s face carved into the surface. She held it out to him.
“As you wish. Wear this necklace, and you’ll turn into a fox until you take it off again. Its magic will even let you keep the ability to talk, stand up, and use your hands, if you wish.”
“Cool! Thanks, miss!” He reached out for it, but she pulled it back.
“I must warn you of one thing, though. It would be wise to keep this a secret. There are many that would want to steal something like this. Only show it to people you truly trust, okay?”
Persis knew the boy would likely not take her warning seriously, but this was the best compromise she could do without severely limited the object’s power.
“I’ll be careful!” He nodded.
She held the necklace out to him again, and he quickly put it on.
Pure white fur rapidly grew from his neck, spreading up and down from there, coating his whole face, and turning his hair the same color. His ears bent into triangular shapes as they moved up the sides of his head, able to swivel slightly to pick up distant sounds. His jaws stretched forward his teeth sharpening as they did so. His nose turned black and wet, as new worlds of smell opened up for him.
As fur spread under his clothes, his winter wear became thinner and looser, looking more fitting for summer, to be less redundant with his new natural coat. His hands and feet alike grew short claws as their nails vanished, and black, leathery pads swelled up on his palms, fingertips, and under his feet. His knees and heels, subtly reshaped themselves as well, bringing Riley into a digitigrade stance.
Finally, a hole opened in the back of his pants, releasing a fluffy white tail, that wagged rapidly as he looked over his new body.
With an excited yip, he began diving through the snow.