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Meanwhile at the Lair of Dr. Callyco

"Hmmmmm." The kitten in a lab coat hummed to himself and stared at the wolf pup across from him. "And what would you say makes you most qualified to handle this job as my lab assistant?"

"Well for starters I already am doing that job." Dr. Cutie Pup rolled his eyes. "But I guess we're doing a bit on this now."

"Oh? Can you really say that you're employed in such a job?" The kitten smiled.

"... I sense a trap coming... But yes."

"So... You can provide proof that you've been paid for such a position?" The smile widened.

"I can probably..." Dr. Cutie Pup paused. "Wait... Are you supposed to be paying me for this!?"

"Um-"

"Are you getting paid for this!?"

"Well the thing about that is-"

"Have you been stiffing me on my wages this entire time!?" Dr. Cutie Pup flailed his arms.

"Well um uh you see the thing is!" Dr. Callyco tried to think quick. "That was... The correct answer I was looking for! Congratulations! You got the job! We'll just have to talk with HR in the morning about all those questions."

"Last time I tried to talk to HR that just turned out to be what you named your trap door." Dr. Cutie Pup narrowed his eyes.

"I know. I was proud of that one." The kitten gave his best attempt at an innocent smile. It wasn't very convincing.

"That it, forming a union."

"Wait noooo!" Dr. Callyco pleaded. "You can't form a union! At least not without introducing our next guests so he can join!"

"I suppose that makes sense." Dr. Cutie Pup nodded. "Our next guest is Berry the Raccoon. He's a somewhat self conscious gray and blue raccoon with bites of white. Also, he wears clothes including pants because unlike some people he's civilized."

"Hey! You're not wearing pants either." Dr. Callyco crossed his arms.

"And whose fault is that?'

"Anyway! Now that the guest is introduced we can move on to our tale without having to ever return to any of these conversations ever!" Dr. Callyco flailed his arms about.

"But-"

"Never ever!" Dr. Callyco nodded. "Besides, we need to focus on Berry's new job now! As he seeks out new opportunities! But soon discovers that they might not quite be what they first appear! I bring you our ninth tale. The Tale of the Glorified Babysitter."

Thirteen Karmic Tales

Ninth Tale

The Tale of the Glorified Babysitter

Berry fidgeted uncomfortably as he sat on a couch that was far too large for him. This couch would have been big even by human standards. It was gargantuan to the three foot tall raccoon. He found himself having difficulty focusing as he tugged at his own bandanna and stared into his lap at his jeans. He was all too aware of the human woman sitting across from him judging his every action. From her all black evening dress, to the oversized furniture and the gothic mansion she lived in. This was a woman who came from money.

Berry felt like he didn't belong in a place like this. It had been a very simple ad in the paper. When he had seen the mansion he assumed he had the address wrong.

"Now then..." The woman spoke in an accent Berry couldn't identify. Probably something European... Which only narrowed it down around fifty possibilities. She was a strange creature. Her lips were blood red colored compared to her pale skin and pitch black hair. She moved with a slow grace that made Berry picture a spider. "You can call me Madam Willow. You are here about the job posting, yes? What is your name?"

"Berry," the raccoon muttered. "And I fear after arriving... That I am perhaps not up to the task of what you might be looking for. This is all... A bit too grandiose to me."

"Is that so?" Madam Willow covered her mouth and let out a laugh. "So you are from more modest beginnings then? That is nothing to be ashamed of. If anything it might make you more suited. But I should explain. I posted the ad saying that I was looking for a tutor... But the position is more akin to a mentor... Or even a babysitter. She is already receiving the finest education possible in matters of arithmetic, linguistics, history, the arts and the spiritual. The school I'll be sending her away to is simply the best there is."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand." Berry finally looked up to meet Madam Willow's gaze. "If you're sending her away to school what is the point of hiring a tutor."

"She needs someone who is..." Madam Willow paused at this point considering. "Ah what is the word you use in your language. Give me a moment... I know this... Someone that's with her, who she knows and confides in... A person who is..."

"Familiar?" Berry tried.

"Yes! That is the word!" Madam Willow smiled. "I would be hiring you to attend school with her. Oh, don't worry, it's a common practice at this academy. You'll be far from the only one."

"But if you need someone familiar why hire a stranger?" Berry asked.

"Well school does not start until next year!" Madam Willow explained as she waved her hands. "I want time to make sure you two are a good fit. I would not send you away with my own daughter without having had time to judge your character for myself."

"I see..." Berry's ears flattened in embarrassment. "But I'm afraid I have no idea what any of this is about. I thought I'd just be helping someone with their homework. I don't know anything about boarding schools or being a mentor or-"

"You are unsure of yourself." Madam Willow cut Berry off. "You find yourself out of your depth. This entire world must seem so alien to you. These are the perfect qualities for what my daughter needs."

"Come again?" Berry asked.

"My kind... And especially those of my line have become accustomed to power." Madam Willow took on a softer almost sorrowful tone. "It would be fair to say no one of my line has ever known what it was like to struggle in over two thousand years. A long time ago thanks to a roll of the cosmic dice one of my ancestors came out on top. Since then each member of our line has been born into greatness. When you are born into this life there is a tendency to believe you have somehow earned it, that everyone less fortunate to you just wasn't as good, wasn't as smart, and that's why they don't have what you are. It is easy to forget that everything we had is ours but of a stroke of chance. It is easy to forget how cruel the world can be to others."

"But what does that-"

"You are one who is fettered by reality." Madam Willow continued. "You will work, sweat and grasp for every little thing in your life. You can still see the world for what it is. That is why I need someone like you. My kind... To be born in this life, it is so easy to lose touch with reality. I could afford the most expensive tutors and teachers in the world, but I don't want them. She will learn those lessons. I need someone who will keep her grounded in reality."

"I see..." Berry was starting to understand what Madam Willow was going for. At the exact same time he couldn't help but feel like she was being slightly condescending. It almost sounded like whatever lesson she wanted to teach her daughter she hadn't quite learned herself. He tried to keep his fur from bristling in embarrassment as he thought about it.

"I have upset you?" Madam Willow asked. "In that case, I must apologize. As I said. My kind loses touch so easily. I would see my daughter be better. The simple fact is she doesn't need the wisest or the most clever of mentors. She needs one with heart. And I believe you are perfect for the job. If you wish it, the job is yours."

Berry looked around the room. He felt so uncomfortable in this enormous room. Everything from the wallpaper, to the carpet to the clock on the wall looked like it cost more money than he'd see in his entire lifetime. This was not a place he belonged. And yet... This would probably pay more than any job he could ever get.

Besides... Even if he didn't like the way the madam looked at him he didn't necessarily disagree with the motives behind it. He just wished she made it sound like he had more to offer other than understanding what it was like to struggle to make ends meet.

"Okay..." He responded. "I'll do it."

"Wonderful!" Madam Willow responded. "You can start immediately. Now then, for this role I hope you don't mind but the school isn't really fond of animals that walk on their hind legs. We're going to have to do with a quick change... But it was going to be required anyway. Family tradition dictates we take a specific animal for our familiars." As she spoke she snapped her fingers.

"Wait what does that-" Berry wasn't able to finish his sentence before the changes began. He shrunk down into his clothes disappearing into them. His ears grew in size proportionally on his head while his tail shrunk. His legs became shorter while his arms longer. His fur became almost entirely uniform gray over his body. He still a small retained a blue mask over his eyes hinting at his original raccoon species. The only other hints of color outside the gray for white tips upon his ear and blue tips upon his paws.

His decrease in size and change in proportions was hardly the most dramatic of changes though. A large and thin membrane formed beneath his arms running down his body all the way to his legs. When stretched out it took on the appearance of wings!

"What... what happened!?" Berry squirmed to crawl out of his clothes. He tried to look at himself panicking as he saw the changes. His clothes lay in a pile on the couch around him. The only thing he still wore was his bandanna which was now way too big on him.

"You agreed to be a familiar did you not?" Madam Willow responded. "And the bat has always been tradition for our family. Truthfully, the vampire bat would be more appropriate. But we find fruit bats takes up less space and are easier to feed."

"A familiar when did I-" Berry slowly replayed the previous conversation in his head. As he hit a specific part of it he suddenly realized that he and the madam had been having two completely unrelated conversations. "I can't go on like this! I don't even know how I'd live!"

"Oh don't worry I hear it's quite easy to adapt to." Madam Willow responded with a smile. "You're given your own dormitory with other familiars who are acting as mentors. We don't expect you to stay with her 24/7. Mostly you are to be by her side during classes and when she needs advice."

"That's not what I meant!" Berry flailed his arms... or in this case wings. "I'm supposed to be a raccoon!"

"You still are on the inside!" Madam Willow seemed genuinely confused. "People's physical appearances seldom match their true forms."

"But that's not-"

"Though I will have to warn you this body is only a... How do you say... Rental."

"What?" Berry tilted his heads confused by that statement.

"What I mean is that I will use my magic to keep you in that form so long as you continue to be employed as my daughter's mentor. Should you fail to meet my standards and your contract end I will revoke this form... As well as naturally when she is no longer of school aged it would be revoked then. If you wish to remain in the familiar business you will have to enter a contract with a new family."

"O-oh..." The knowledge that this was temporary did do a lot to calm Berry now. He was still feeling self conscious about how small he was... As well as about the fact he was no longer dressed. This was not something he had been mentally prepared for. If he had known it was going to happen well...

Well he probably wouldn't have believed it. It sounded pretty ridiculous. Hey, do you want to be hired to turn into a bat for a few years so you can teach a kid basic manners? Then again... Considering he was basically being hired to be a kid's conscious he should probably just count himself lucky that he hadn't turned into a cricket. Come to think of it... Why did Madam Willow consider bats the traditional choice? As he looked up at her pale skin and blood red lips he began to get an idea. As his eyes moved to her smile and he noticed some rather sharp looking canines it clicked.

He considered his options. It was overwhelming but... At the same time it was a little bit exciting. He didn't even know magic schools existed until just a few minutes ago. He could walk away, go back to being a raccoon and pretend this never happened... But if he did he'd always be wondering about what it would be like.

And with the knowledge he could still quit (or be fired at anytime) he made his decision.

"Ok... I guess I can try to get used to this." Berry twitched his tiny stub of a tail experimentally. It was so weird not having a long one.

"Good wonderful!" Madam Willow's smile widened. "Then let's introduce you to your protégé for the next few years. Come, she is waiting upstairs." Madam Willow stood up from her chair and moved to the edge of the room.

Berry waited a few seconds, then realized she wasn't going to pick him up or help him get across. He was going to have to get around on his own. Well... He did have wings now. He took a deep breath and leaped from the couch as he spread his wings. There was a moment of pure ecstatic joy as he realized he could defy gravity and sore through the air. After doing a few small loops to get used to the feeling of flying he followed the madam upstairs to meet his new charge.

The End