The Witch's Son

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Salem was almost overjoyed when he heard his friend speak. And more than one word! Oh, maybe reading wouldn't be that hard after all. Belphegor was already making such progress! What, with dressing himself and speaking and walking! Walking!! Salem put a hand on his friends shoulder, and smiled.

" Oh, uh, well... When... " Salem had to put it into words, so that way Belphegor would understand. " When a.... When a mama cat loves- is attracted to a daddy cat, they do this thing that involves.... Well, when they love each other they have children. I'm sure you already know about what happens with cats, but uh, humans are a different concept... "

Salem never thought that in all of his years of Witchcraft that he would ever have to teach reproduction to a cat.
 
So that attraction. Did Salem mean to say that the potion was for making birds and bees fall in love with the one who drinks the potion? What a strange concept. But he definitely didn't want that. It just somehow seemed... cruel. He didn't usually concern himself with the feelings of what he considered prey, but unless he was going to eat them or unless Salem needed them, he thought it would be best to leave them alone. He shook his head vehemently, but then looked up again to let his friend finish the explanation. If humans were different, that would also apply to him, and he needed to know that.
 
" Oh. Well then, alright... " Well, time to use all of his common knowledge that came from a women's novel. " Humans have... a more advanced form of attraction. When two humans get together, and they both have the same amount of love for eachother, then.... They do what cats do, actually. " A red hue crossed his face. Oh, this was a tricky subject.

" If one person loves another person, and the other person doesn't return it... Well, it doesn't work out. But now, there are different types of love, now. Like when a friend tells another friend that they love them, it's sort of like.... a brotherly thing. Do you understand? Oh, I suppose I should teach you to read after this lesson... " Salem spoke the last part to himself, just as a mental note.
 
This was complicated. Belphegor tried to imagine how humans felt differently than he did, but he didn't think he could unless he experienced human feelings... and how much did Salem know about cats' feelings? If neither of them knew how the other's mind worked, then was it possible to explain this at all? He tried to just memorize it so he can recall it if a time to apply it ever comes up. There was only one question he definitely had to ask, something that he now no longer had any idea how to connect to the whole topic.
"Bees?"
 
Salem looked around. " Bees? Where? " After a few seconds of looking, he soon realized that he was talking about the metaphorical bees. " Oh, that, well... When a bee stings a bird..... No, no, thats wrong. Oh, how did it go? " Salem thought for a few minutes, before he just gave a short version. " Well, you see, men- along with bees, have these... Stingers. They use these stingers to... Well, to create things. Bees use their stingers to create more flowers, and men use their stingers to create.... More humans. " That was easy, right?
 
That was still really confusing. Belphegor knew about reproduction, but as far as he remembered, flowers grew from the ground even at the end of winter when not a single bee was around, and all bees did with their stingers was hurt the mouth of whoever tried to eat them. He remembered that pretty clearly. His mouth still itched if he thought of it.
But since as far as he understood there weren't any actual bees after all, there was nothing to worry about. He also thought he might understand magic far, far better than this. So he pointed at the book again, and, for good measure, he quickly turned the page to show that he didn't want to make the potion in question after all. Not when he didn't even understand what he was doing. If there was one thing he already knew about magic, it was that it is usually highly advisable to know what one is doing.
 
Salem smiled. Thank god that was avoided quickly. Salem looked to the book, and saw that he wanted to make a different potion. Salem moved to the book, and looked at the potion that was on the specific page. " Alright, do you want to do a different one, then? How about... Levitation? I think that would be a good starter for you. " Salem said to him. A cat could like that, right? Flying for... a few seconds, that would be enjoyable. Maybe it would give him a sort of head rush, but lord knew that it had happened to Salem a few times over.
 
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Belphegor nodded ethusiastically. Flying sounded nothing short of wonderful. As a cat, he had enjoyed the freedom of climbing everything that could be climbed and jumping everywhere it was possible to jump, but now he couldn't even do that, at least for a while, not unless he was trying for an accident. Having a human body felt restrictive. Flying was just the remedy he needed. Even if it was only for a few seconds. He wondered if Salem also felt trapped in his own body. He would have to insist, if the potion worked, that he drink of it too.
 
Salem smiled, and looked over the page. " Alright, come here Belphegor. " Salem said, with the same smile. " Do you see these words? They're just like sounds, but someone just wrote those sounds down. " Salem took Belphegor's hand in his own, and took his friend's pointer finger to point at the words. " Each letter makes a sound, and when you put each sound together, it makes a word. Each word means something, do you understand? "

Salem pointed to the word potion on the page, and sounded each letter out very slowly. " These letters belong in an alphabet, with more letter. A, B, C... " Salem then went through more about the alphabet, and gave examples of each letter and gave their sound, as well.
 
That was a lot to remember for Belphegor. He understood the concept of writing very quickly, it seemed like a very clever idea to make words stay so one could find them later. Immediately he thought how good it would be to preserve the best words like that, words that he never wanted to go away; every time something hurtful happened he would be able to look at such a writing and make the good words come back. Most of all he wanted to preserve his friend's words when he finally recognized him. Nothing had ever hurt as much before as he was hurt then, and it still helped; he was sure it would help every time.
Still, to his untrained eyes the little black shapes looked rather similar; unlike with words, which he had at least heard often and knew how they should sound even if he didn't use them himself, he had no previous experience with them. He resolved to practice that later, now keeping only to listening intently as Salem patiently read the page for him word by word, splitting his attention between following the letters and the potion ingredients.
 
After Salem had read him the entire passage, along with the ingredients needed to create it, he told him the pros and cons of a bad experiment. The good, was that he would be able to fly and fly again, for as long as he had the potion. The bad, was that he would probably not fly, but feel full-on airsickness and probably vomit. Lord knew that he didn't want to clean up puke today.

Salem told him the ingredients that were needed, and he also told him how to measure. What the book meant by ' a pinch ' and ' over half ' and some even stranger ones at that. When they got exact, that was easier. But, witchcraft was never an easy subject. As soon as Salem thought it was appropriate for him to go on his own, he let him.
 
Belphegor listened to the explanation, and for the first few steps just tried to follow it as precisely as he could, often looking up at Salem for confirmation. And then he started to see.
From then on every next ingredient made sense. Once he caught himself reaching for the yarrow leaves and realizing he didn't remember whether that was next on the list, it just seemed to need yarrow leaves. It was impossible to not get carried away. Finally he felt the way he used to while hunting: he wasn't struggling doing something, he did something right. Part of him didn't even care how it turned out or what it was for, he just wanted to do it, wanted to follow along with the potion and want what it wants. He had stopped looking up to see if he was doing it right: now he did it just to share his joy with Salem. He could see it, feel it coming together. In a manner of speaking, he was flying already.
 
Salem watched as he would often look to him every time he put something in the pot, or every time he tried to reach for something. Salem would just nod and smile. Soon, he would notice that he wasn't looking up, but he was going faster. It was an amazing thing, to see him too happy about it. It reminded him about himself actually.

And it was another good feeling to feel like he taught someone something so helpful- and yet, he taught Belphegor something that would get him rejected from the future he would have-could have had. But yet, he felt like a real teacher. No wonder his mother loved to teach him new things!
 
Belphegor was positively drunk with his experiment. It felt like he had something alive in his hands. There was a moment near the end when he thought the whole thing would blow up, possibly along with them - and the strangest of all was that what he felt was not fear but exhilaration.
But it didn't blow up. It boiled one last time, emitting a thick cloud of bluish steam that covered the whole room for a second, and finally settled down as a sparkling lavender liquid. It was ready.
He looked at it almost in awe. It felt like he had now stepped in through that door Salem opened for him - he hadn't seen much of the landscape yet, but he could no longer go back. He found a new fate. And that was frightening, uplifting, wonderful.
 
Salem knew that Belphegor was now crazy with power- almost a little too crazy, but he knew that it was his first time, and he was like this when he was younger! Oh, he could remember his first potion. It was amazing, but it failed. Oh, he hoped that this one wouldn't- he prayed that this one wouldn't. Part of him was thankful that Belphegor was doing this. He would learn about what does what and what happens when you put more in and take some out.

But part of him was mentally screaming at him. " ARE YOU MAD, MAN?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?! " Salem even partly tried to take cover when he saw thee thing bubble. But, it did nothing. That was good. Salem looked over the pot with his friend, then looked to him. " Do you want to try it, or are you going to look at it all day? " He laughed happily, and took out a small bottle that he made specifically for sampling. He took the bottle, let it under the concoction for a moment, and then took it out again.

He then handed it to Belphegor.
 
Belphegor took the bottle to his lips and paused for a second. If it didn't work, now he would find out. He almost wanted not to know if he did it wrong, not when he was so happy.
But he knew that was unreasonable. If it didn't work, he had to know, so that he can look back while it's fresh and find his error. And if it did work, then what was he waiting for? He wanted to fly! He tipped the contents of the bottle into his mouth and swallowed.
For a second or two nothing seemed to happen. Then he noticed he felt lighter. He carefully tried to hop a little; it carried him higher than it should have, and once up, he didn't fall. His movements steered him the same way they did in water: he was swimming, but in air. It was a glorious feeling of freedom.
He ony had a second's warning as his limbs started to get heavier again, and it startled him so much he forgot to steer away from fragile objects; it was only by luck that he didn't fall onto the potion stand. As it happened, he knocked over a chair, scattered a stack of books and landed on his bottom. It hurt a bit, but he hardly even noticed. He had a wide, wide grin across his face.
 
Salem could only watch as all of this was taking place. He watched, and he actually felt like he was floating with him. He watched as Belphegor leaped up only slightly and he was taken into the air. Though it lasted for only mere seconds, he could tell that it felt like a lifetime for Belphegor. Salem stood back to give him space so he could fly easily. He only came back into play when he noticed that he would fall in the pot.

But, it was quickly avoided, and he only knocked some books down. Salem didn't even notice it. He happily walked towards him, and knelt down. " You did well! How did it feel? Good, right? Oh, I'm so proud of you! " He said, with a large hand placed on his shoulder. Oh, Belphegor had done so well and had gone so far, he would only change the way he handled the herbs and the way he added some more ingredients in than what was needed. But, that was for a different day!
 
Belphegor smiled up at Salem proudly. Even better than the flight were the praising words of his friend. He couldn't have been any happier. He leant forward on the witch's chest and nuzzled against his shoulder; he would have purred if he could.
 
Salem was alright with the nuzzling- but to an extent. After Salem grew a little too comfortable to it, he thought he ought to tell Belphegor about it. He pulled away for a moment, and look Belphegor up and down. " Alright, alright. Now that we're done with that, I need to speak with out about something. "

" When you were a cat, I know you used to rub up against me and nuzzle your head on my leg- and other parts of me, but.... Humans don't do that to one another, unless they have... A certain amount of affection for each other. " Well, thats what they did in the book.
 
Belphegor looked up, his eyes blank. A certain amount of affection... which Salem apparently didn't have for him. He didn't think he would ever hear that, and now that he did he didn't believe that he was hearing it. But things changed, didn't they? He changed... He wanted to answer, no, he wanted to shout, but unused to speaking as he was, he felt completely incapable of it now; his throat seemed to close, so that even breathing was a difficult task.
That's not different at all. That's why I did it. Out of love. But you don't like me anymore now that I'm not a cat, do you?
He turned his head away, as he felt the sting of tears in his eyes; suddenly he didn't want Salem to see that anymore. He backed away slowly, still sitting, until he got to the wall so he could stand up; and then, for the first time in his human life, he ran. Several times he stumbled and caught onto what was nearest to him, but he didn't stop, he had to get out, out of the room, out of the house, anywhere but home.
 
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