Nick yelps as she's yanked off the ground by her leg. She has to hold her tunic tightly to keep it from flopping down and exposing her entirely.
"Change me back!" she whined, with her ears flat against her head and her tail lashing hopelessly.
"Now, now, young lady." The wizard wagged his finger. "You have attempted to commit a terrible crime, and the cause of justice demands reparation."
"Reparation...?"
-----
Nick glowered from within the cage at the Exotic Pet Shop in town, gripping the bars and scowling at the wizard. "What kind of reparation is this!?"
"The kind where you pay me back by your sale," the wizard said cheerfully. "Now, be a good girl, little Nikki, or I might have to demote you to the familiar trade." He nodded over towards a series of cages holding various forms of apparently regular cats. Their eyes indicated otherwise, reading a sort of loss and despair Nikki wouldn't have associated with a normal animal.
Swallowing, she nodded slightly and moved to curl up towards the back, wondering at her fate.