^^ Sofia ^^

—Erin —

After everyone left, I made a point to visit Terran, laying next to them on the rock they were sunning on. They were a bit uncomfortable at first, but relaxed as I didn't bother them, simply laying there quietly, and relaxing, letting my body soak in the sun.

"Terran, I'd like to ask you a question, but you don't have to answer it." I asked after a little while.

They glanced at me, their nose slowly changing from caramel to charcoal, apparently an indication that they were opening up to me, showing me a tiny piece of their true form.

"Do you have a gender? If you don't, that's fine, I'll keep calling you They, but I'd like to be accurate."

They blinked at me slowly, and then shook their head. "I'm a Man... but I can be a Woman, too, or both, if you want? I know you don't like men." T(He)y shrugged.

"I don't dislike men; in fact, I have a troubled past in regards to both genders... but, you'd like me to call you 'He', Correct?" I clarified.

"It is accurate, unless I am female-presenting, is it not?" He asked, confused.

"Mm. Alright. And you don't need to worry about what I want, Alright? Be whatever you want." I nodded.

"I... I'd like to be what you want." He blushed, his face turning charcoal and then gaining a rust-red color.

"Oh... well, I suppose I don't mind that... but I wouldn't want you to think that because I saved you, you owe me anything..." I hummed, sitting up and looking at him.

His blush spread swiftly, until his entire body was rust red. He noticed the change, squeezing his fists until his skin returned to charcoal. "Ahem... well... no, I don't owe you anything. I know you didn't save me to gain my servitude or any such things... you just wanted to help, and to hurt Ocean Master, which I approve of." He frowned sternly.

I smiled and turned his chin towards me gently. "Good, but you should also be careful with your heart, Terran Doran. You shouldn't give it out carelessly. I do not anchor myself to any one person; I am the Ocean Current, blessing many with my presence, a few with my love, but none may keep me in their lagoons for more than a Tide." I used a wave analogy, trying to make it clear, and he grinned mischievously.

"I think I could manage a tide... or two." He tackled me off the rock, into the water.

I thought to swim towards the surface, but a pain in my neck became apparent, and then rich, pure oxygen flooded my lungs. 'You do not have to surface to breath. Enjoy.' Sofia chuckled.

I grinned and tackled Terran swiftly, letting my super strength activate so we were evenly matched, and when I pinned him to the ocean floor, he surprised me by kissing me, then blushing his entire body again.

"Have you ever kissed a girl before?" I chuckled, feeling the odd movement of water over my vocal cords. He mumbled a non-response, and I nodded. "Good, then, I'll get to train you in what I like, and Vera will enjoy you as well..." I grinned as his blush turned volcanic, and his heart-rate sped up. "Do you like the idea of Vera? Or training? Be honest."

"... mostly of you and Vera. Sofia gave me some pictures, and my imagination ran a little wild... I was going to apologize, but then they came over, and then we all had to leave..." he frowned, not looking at me.

'Sofia...' I chided her mentally, then smiled at him. "So what did you do, imagining me and Vera? Hmmmmmm?" I stroked his cheek and smiled teasingly.

He was literally glowing, now, his blush long gone thermonuclear, and it was the single-most erotic thing I'd ever seen; a blush that spread throughout the body, and glowed. I needed to have gotten a shapeshifter lover a long time ago.

He stuttered out another non-answer, and I nodded, carrying him over my shoulder out of the lagoon, and into the apartment above the tea house. He stripped on his own, to my surprise, but then I realized he had already 'stripped', showing me his true skin.

I smiled and carried him into the shower, then pressed him against the wall. "Now... why don't you show me what you did to those pictures, and then I'll show you the Video?" I smirked evilly, enjoying his returning blush.

—

The new apartment was spacious and warm, yet clinically precise, with an entire level devoted to a library, to my surprise.

I walked in, leading Terran behind me, and raised an eyebrow at the beautiful, buxom brunette that was sitting on the desk in the center of the library. I trailed my gaze slowly up her visible calves, then the leather pencil-skirt, the slightly opened white blouse that accentuated a generous bust, leading to a gorgeous face with pale skin and deep green eyes, surrounded by Smokey mascara that made them seem to shine slightly.

I waited a moment weighing my options, and chuckled. "Well, Sofia, you chose your wardrobe carefully from amongst my memories, didn't you?"

She giggled softly. "Indeed! I was going for the 'Librarian with a Whip', your first Domme, but I couldn't bring myself to use it, and her butt was too small... not very whippable..." she held a riding crop out, and I took it easily, smacking her hip. She gasped and stood swiftly, eying me as she waited for what was next.

"And that's for sitting on the desk. Tables are for glasses, not asses. (Though bending over them is occasionally acceptable.)" I nodded firmly, setting the crop down on the desk, then looked at Terran. "What do you think of Sofia? You've never seen her before, I think?"

He smiled, and nodded. "You are as I pictured you, Sofia."

She blushed delicately, and kissed his cheeks. "Thank you, Terran, that means a good deal more than you know... now! For my next trick!" She waved a hand, and a lock of her hair turned to smoke, rolling off her shoulders and reforming into a quartet of small multicolored cats. "One for Vera, Kyra, Ann, and Selene!" She nodded simply.

"What about me?" Terran asked, then clapped a hand over his mouth, at the petulant response.

"Oh honey... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to forget you!" She nodded, and one of the kittens split into two, and she set it on a nearby shelf, then petted his hair gently, hugging him into her chest.

His skin turned red again, and I smiled, joining the hug mischievously, pressing him between us. "Well, a library is only a room full of books until it's christened..." I murmured, and even his hair turned red, this time.

—

"So you want me to help you make a Familiar animal, for someone else? But you're not a witch... right?" Zatanna asked slowly.

"I'd like to be, I suppose, and all these cats are for someone else, yes, mine is at home. I want to master 'Magic', as the most advanced scientific method around, and prove it to be exactly that; Science." I nodded.

She sighed. "Alright, I suppose that's a good a reason to start magic as any other... Alright, so you've got your... kittens?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, hugging them all to my chest.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "No, I suppose not... I sense that they share a single, quantum brain, which, while interesting, means that they can be contracted as a single Familiar, or each one can be contracted to someone else, if you intended to... well, you know, give one or two away." She muttered, eying a small black and white one that was crawling out of my arms, towards her.

I chuckled, and nodded, another one forming from two of the others, as that one reached her and climbed up into her lap. "Yeah, let's do that. I just want to make them magical, so that they can be contracted. I'm not contracting them, to be clear, they're for Kyra, Ann, Selene, and Vera. Vera isn't a witch, but her having someone to protect her if someone decides to go after my very public loved ones... that would put me at ease a bit." I explained.

"Alright, I can manage that, no worries... so? Chaos or Order? You have to Pick One. Or rather, you should. Using both will just confuse your Familiar, and make them less stable in this plane; as physical animals, instead of spirits, they're already pretty powerful, but they need some roots in either the Realm of Chaos or Order."

"What about the Realm of Shadows?" I asked, considering my options.

"That would be a part of the Realm of Order, actually, the foundation of Doctor Fate's Abilities. The Realms of Lyte and Shade are all about the Structures that hold the universe in place, deciding the Laws of Physics." She opened a book, showing me a diagram of several different realms, some red and some gold.

"Alright... then, those two, and then... these two, the Realm of Thorne and the Realm of Fire... the last two should be... Ooh? I like the look of Life and Death, and Water for the last one-"

"Whoa, Whoa, that's way too many-"

"One for each of them, my dear, there's seven now." I clarified.

"Oooh, Okay, that makes sense... huh, that might have an interesting effect, with the Quantum Brain. Now: Shade, Lyte, Death, Water, then Thorne, Fyre, and Lyfe; those are basically half Order and Half Chaos, 4:3. A good balance. Let's begin. Where's the seventh one?" She asked, looking down at the six kittens I'd released between us.

Sofia made herself known, slinking out of a shadow portal and clawing her large, bone-white mainecoon form luxuriously up onto my shoulders, then stared at Zatanna unblinkingly. "The Queen has arrived... do hold your applause." She purred happily as I scratched under her chin gently.

"Ah, well that's adorable. Can you join your kittens, please, my Queen?" Zatanna smiled indulgently.

"Test me at your peril, human..." she purred, and climbed down, sitting in the center of her little clones/kittens, who all immediately surrounded her and sat still.

"I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty. Now hold still, I'll teach Erin how to connect you to a different Realm in a few moments. It's the first magical lesson most Witches learn, though usually lots of meditation comes first." She hummed.

"Cool. Let's get started?" I asked.

—

I held out a little longhaired kitten to Vera, and smiled. "Surprise!"

She gasped and cuddled the tiny kitten (red haired because I'm witty,) to her chest, where it immediately snuggled, crawling into her cleavage and apparently falling asleep. "Ooh! How did you know I love the kittens?!?" She asked, kissing its head gently.

"Well, I figured she could keep an eye on you while you travel! She's perfectly hypoallergenic, so no worries about Jenny's Cat Allergy." I nodded.

"Jenny is allergic to cats? How do you know this, and I do not?" She asked, mystified.

"Because I always check for pet allergies when I give animals to people? That's just common courtesy, in Pet Gifting." I nodded seriously, and she nodded, smiling happily.

"Thank you!!!" She hugged me, and the kitten kneaded both of our breasts, falling back asleep.

I chuckled. "Well, she's magic, so she just needs water, body heat, and attention. The others are going to Kyra's family, seeing as I can only keep one, and what's a witch without a familiar?" I smirked.

She smiled and kissed me sweetly, then pet the cat again. "Well, I shall name you Подарок, then! You are my Gift!" She kissed the little kittens nose, and giggled softly when it retaliated by licking her nose.

"Mm. And when you return to my Island, you should meet Sofia and Terran. They're part of my little clan, now, and Terran has a crush on you." I smirked.

She hummed. "Terran is the little Them from the Lagoon?"

"He's said he wishes to be a man, for now, so you were originally correct, it seems. And Sofia is my friend. A sexy friend. She's got a French Librarian/Dominatrix vibe, but she's secretly Submissive; it's incredibly sexy."

She nodded. "They do sound nice, and we will meet in a few weeks. I must return to the shoot, but I will see you afterwards, at my hotel, yes?"

"Of course, my dear, text me when you're done here." I nodded and kissed her sweetly, sending her off to work with a playful swat on the ass. I smiled and sat down on a couch, watching her as she returned to the shoot, still holding the kitten.

After a brief period of fawning over the kitten, they got to work, working the kitten into the shoot without any hesitation. They were apparently used to her changing the nature of the shoots on a whim.

I watched a while, and then left through the shadows to find Kyra, with my own cat lounging like a queen upon my shoulders, in all her gorgeous, Ivory Glory.

—

"Trade you?" I held out the kitten, reaching for my coffee.

Kyra didn't even look down, watching the massive and fluffy white cat on my shoulders, and then gasped at the ball of black fluff in her hand. "Oooh my gods!!! She's so cuuuute! Mama come look!!!"

Ann came out of the kitchen, dusting off her hands. "At what, my dear? I- oh! Hello, Pretty One!" She pet the adult cat on my shoulders, then gasped at the little yawning ball of fur in her daughter's hands.

"A-yup. They're magic, by the way, so they don't really require much more than your attention and a little water, every day, once you Contract them." I explained.

"They?" Ann asked, turning towards me, and I placed the leaf-red/gold dappled kitten on her chest, and walked into the kitchen, placing the gold one into Selene's apron pocket.

"And this special little one is for Baba Aster." I murmured, placing a small multicolored patchwork kitten into her apron next to its 'sister'.

She nodded, petting the two kittens gently. "Thanks, I guess? They're adorable, and we've never been able to summon our own familiars."

"Enjoy!" I smiled at the gushing women on my way out, kissing Kyra's cheek and humming a soft tune.

—

"So, you gave out magical cats to several different people, and they are all connected to Sofia?" Terran asked, laying in my lap with his kitten, while Sofia sat next to us in her human form, laying her head against my chest.

"Yes. I gave Shade to Kyra, Death to Zatanna, Water, obviously, to you, Lyfe to Baba Aster, (cause she's old), Fyre to Vera, because their hair matched, Thorne to Anne, and Selene received Lyte; all together, the kittens are like strands of Medusa's hair, connected fundamentally, but with their own autonomy. They're all connected to my Little Sofia, my own Familiar, a shard of Sofia's Consciousness." I explained.

"And... the reason for that?" He asked slowly.

"Because I see a way each of those abilities will be useful in the future, and each of the familiars will protect its mistress. Or master. Also, they're made of Nth Metal, but magically altered, meaning they'll increase the magical power of their contractors, but not their Physical Abilities." I explained easily, pleased at my own genius.

He pet his kitten, and hummed. "I see... so Minnow increases my Sorcery, not my physical strength, that's good..."

"Yep! And just in time for the Calends, Yes? Your birthday, becoming a legal adult in Moray Society? Speaking of, what's the ceremony like? Can I come?" I grinned animatedly.

He blinked, and sighed. "I suppose? It'll just be my parents and maybe a few siblings there to see me, but as my lover, you have a right to be there as well... it'll be the first time I've seen my parents in several decades, though, so don't make fun of me if I cry!" He demanded, then cuddled into me quickly, recognizing my raised eyebrow at his tone to be a disapproving expression.

"I would never poke fun at you for being emotional after seeing your family again. My family is at the moment forever lost to me, after all." I frowned at the accusation that I would be so insensitive and rude.

He hugged me tightly, and sighed. "I'm sorry... but you'll like them. My siblings will show up too, some of them, at least. And any new ones. My parents are one of the few Moray couples who practice Monogamy, having many children, but only with each other; though they still don't live directly together, last I checked." He explained, changing the subject.

"I suppose in 30 years, you'll have gotten several new siblings, then?" I asked, curious.

"No, probably only 2 or 3. Moray have a looong reproductive cycle; our women only menstruate once every ten years, and only right before that are they receptive to pregnancy. And yes, I can turn my body into that of a woman, but I cannot become pregnant. My DNA is Male, and therefore I do not have Eggs, only Sperm. It's been tried before, and it did not work. Another thing that doesn't work is female Moray using their Shapeshifting to make their bodies closer to the point of reception. The necessary hormones are impossible to fake with just a shapeshifting gift." He nodded, dispensing the information clinically.

"What about hormone drugs? Have any been developed for Moray Women, tuned to their specific Physiological Needs?" I asked, thinking of a way to help them increase their population on a relatively faster schedule.

"No, and it's not really a good idea. Tampering with our bodies' natural cycles has never ended well, I don't think." He shook his head.

"I see... so, when do Moray Men begin getting girls pregnant?" I smirked, gripping his cheeks gently and making him look at me.

He gulped slowly. "... After... the Coming-Of-Age?"

"Perfect." I grinned wolfishly, and he shivered, growing visibly aroused.