The next morning, as soon as the sun rose, Ashe was woken up by the loud chirping of birds outside. It wasn't anything unusual for him. There was something weird however. He felt a warm sensation next to him, then he remembered about yesterday. He wasn't too happy about the whole ordeal, but at least he helped the boy in whatever way he could. Ashe noticed one more strange thing- whatever was next to him felt larger than a cat, so he turned over and saw Athan's human body peacefully sleeping, snuggled up to Ashe. The witch was surprised, mostly by the fact that the boy was not permanently turned into a cat. Also by the fact that, since Athan transformed in his sleep, the transformation was probably incomplete. He still had cat ears on his head. Ashe couldn't help but find that cute. When he fully woke up, he quickly got up, the fact that they were sleeping together also hit him. He was pretty embarrassed by the whole thing, Enough to visibly blush and show emotion. That hasn’t happened in a while. The sounds of him getting up woke up Athan. The boy opened his eyes.

"Am I dead?" He said yawning and rubbing his eyes. 

His cat ears twitched a little bit. Then he finally saw Ashe sitting on the bed. The witch looked like usual, excet he wasn't wearing his hat and coat so he looked a bit smaller. His grey hair was all messy too, without the large witch hat there to press it down. The largest difference was in his flushed cheeks that stood out even more considering his sick complexion from yesterday.

"You... surprised me." He said quietly. Athan now realized what happened, well maybe not the whole cat part- but it's not like that was important to him right now. He gasped and blushed in embarrassment. 

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what- Like I actually don't remember what happened but I'm sorry" He was flustered and a bit scared, what would the witch do to him? When he thought about that he remembered about yesterday, and started thinking about his brother and the strange being that visited them yesterday. While he was lost in thought, Ashe quickly snapped him back to reality.

"Hey don't misunderstand anything. I'll explain what happened, but first at least put some clothes on please..." Ashe said as he threw some of his own clothes at him. Athan was even more embarrassed. Not misunderstanding anything-

"That's easier said than done" He said in a shy quiet voice.

"Oh? The clothes should fit you, they're mine but I prefer wearing things too large for me" 

"That's not what I meant!" Athan replied quickly, putting on the clothes. He thought that Ashe was more snarky than at first glance. 

Some time has passed, Ashe filled Athan in on everything that happened yesterday. The boy was more calm now.

"So. What do I do now? It's not like I can go back to the village in this state, they wouldn't let me in even if I didn't have the.." He moved his cat ears a little "animal parts"

"You'll be able to transform fully eventually. That's not an issue, I wouldn't let you leave even if you could return. Whether we like it or not, you're my familiar now" Ashe said

"And what does that mean?" Athan sat down on a chair more comfortably.

"Well I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure that we're connected in some way now." Ashe wasn't sure about his feelings. What he said was true- but he didn't add that he was lonely. He could not admit that to Athan, after all he hasn't fully admitted it to himself. After all, Ashe felt like he didn't deserve to have such thoughts.

"Well I don't really mind. Living with you sounds way better than going back there" Athan exclaimed cheerfully, he accepted the idea pretty quickly.

"Alright. Umm welcome" Ashe was awkwardly fidgeting. Athan felt that the witch was feeling awkward, but at least his face was making more expressions, he felt a bit happy about that. 

"No need to be nervous, I don't bite," He joked. Ashe briefly smiled to himself and stood up.

"Well, living with me won't be that easy you know. There's plenty of things to do." He said as he reached for his wooden desk and looked through some papers. Athan was a bit preoccupied before, but now that was calm he noticed how the house was filled with strange jars, bottles of colorful liquids, different unidentifiable trinkets and pale yellow papers he couldn't read littered around the place, concentrated mostly on his desk. Despite the mess, he instantly felt at home, he was truly happy. He didn't know the witch well, and maybe it was the special connection as his familiar that Ashe mentioned before, but he felt like they would get along well. He was happy to have made a friend. He also felt a bit embarrassed at how juvenile his feelings were, but it's not like he had the chance to grow up normally. Better late than never. 

"Oh wait by the way, I don't know your name." Athan quickly realized.

"Oh, call me Ashe." The witch said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Ashe, let's get along" The boy said in a bubbly voice, and his enthusiasm probably rubbed off a bit on Ashe, because he was also a bit excited.