A quick story I wrote for Virmir.
Virmir appears to have a small problem when meeting Mara's newest henchman, Toby.
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Tob(y) & Virry
Story By: Airafox
Vimir, Lucile, Vir-Bot, and Mara (c) Virmir
It was a typical Saturday at the tower of Lord Virmir, an imposing stone tower stretching high above the treeline in the mountains. The mage fox had few neighbors, one of which annoyed him to almost no end. With his cleaning chores completed, Virmir prepared to begin his favorite past-time activity, drawing. His furred butt had barely made contact with the seat of his chair when a loud knock echoed throughout the tower.
Virmir's brow furrowed. Lucile, his female clone, had taken Vir-Bot with her to fetch some supplies back in town, leaving Virmir alone in the tower and thus the only one available to answer the door. Sighing, he stood up and made his way toward the front door as the incessant knocking intensified.
“If it's that witch again...” grumbled the grey-furred fox, his black cape flowing behind him with every step despite the lack of wind. The cape was the only article of clothing he wore, held in place by a clasp around his neck. After heading down the stairs, he finally opened the front door.
“Mouse And Rat Awayers! Exterminator at your service!” Greeting the fox was a black cat a bit shorter than him. The hair tuft atop his head seemed a little familiar, but Virmir did not currently care enough to try and remember where he’d seen it. The feline was a bit shorter than him, a rarity when Virmir interacted with people, forcing him to look down. A pink bandana was wrapped around the cat's neck, and in his right hand was a bag with the company name he just mentioned on it.
“I didn't call for any exterminator,” Virmir muttered in response. Nor did he recall Lucile or Vir-Bot calling for one. The fox wizard was not a fan of solicitors. While normally he would have just slammed the door on the unexpected guest, a thought crossed his mind. “Although, there is that infestation in the cellar raiding the veggie freezer.” As Virmir spoke, the feline reached into his bag and pulled out a canister. “If you're here, you might as well--”
The vulpine cut his words off as his face was engulfed in a cloud of powdery dust. He blinked as he saw the cat standing there with the open canister pointed directly at him. A grin spread across the cat's face.
Vimir's field of vision quickly provided him with a different view of the cat before him. First he was viewing the cat’s chest, then his belly, then his knees, and finally his feet. His tail felt strangely barren, as if he had suddenly shed all of his fur. But that was impossible! Looking back, he could see that it was now long and thin. His feet had long toes, and his hands were suddenly furless. He reached up to feel rounded ears on the top of his head.
It did not take long for him to put two and two together. He was a mouse! He hated when this happened.
The cat dropped the bag he was holding, giving Virmir a good look at the name. Mouse And Rat Awayers. M. A. R. A. Virmir's eyelids narrowed and his eyes shifted to the left. He should have known.
“Hey Virmir, I see you've met my new assistant!” A familiar snow leopard leaned against his open doorway. That witchy hat, those shoulder guards and cape. It was the neighbor who annoyed him the most! “Say hi to Virmir, Toby.”
At Mara's insistence, the cat licked his lips. A wide smile popped onto his face as he display all of his teeth to Virmir. “Hiiii~”
Virmir's new mousey instincts gave him all of the warning he needed. Before the duo could count to 2, Virmir had skedaddled into the next room already.
“Well, Mr. Exterminator. Go do your job. You're here to catch mice” ordered Mara with a smirk.
Toby cheered out a “Yes ma’am!” and dropped to all fours, his claws extending from his each digit. The chase was on!
“Trees! Trees! Trees!” panicked Virmir as he searched for a hiding spot. It had been a long time since he actually felt threatened by one of Mara's surprises. He made a beeline toward a bookshelf. “Grrk!” He nearly choked as a heavy press came down on his tail.
The world Virmir saw turned upside-down as Toby picked up the rodent-fied Virmir by his tail, dangling him in front of his face. The two made brief eye contact before a rumble from below told Virmir exactly what fate Toby, and by extension Mara, had in mind for him. Forming a fireball at his fingertip, Virmir flung the flame at Toby's face. At this size, the impact was minimal; the feline felt almost nothing from the heat. As he opened his mouth to drop the mouse inside, a falling ember suddenly caught his attention. His eyes trailed upward to see the tip of his hair on fire. Silence stilled the air for a moment.
“Rrowwrr!” Cat noises suddenly rang throughout the room as Toby dropped Virmir in order to clasp his hair and put out the flames. It was minor enough that he quickly dispatched it, but the distraction was enough for Virmir to escape. Gritting his teeth, Toby once again pursued Virmir.
Virmir darted down a hallway, spotting a crack beneath a closet door. He quickly dashed into the crevice, his body only barely managing to squeeze through. His smaller form had become slightly pudgier, making it an effort. Toby spotted him, but he was not quick enough to grab Virmir.
Seemingly not minding, Toby called out to him in a sing-song voice. “Come on out, mouse snack~ Mistress told me I was getting a treat today~” He reached up to open the door. Grabbing the latch, he pulled open the door. “Huh?”
A large mallet hung over Toby's head. Virmir, with surprising strength, was lifting an oversized hammer and swinging it downward. Toby barely made out the Urocyon text on the rim of the hammer head as it swung down onto his head. Toby's eyes bulged from the impact, his teeth firmly clenched and his fur splayed out. The tip of his tail frizzled out in a cartoonish fashion. A lump rose from the top of his head, pushing the hammer off his head. The cat lay on the floor, his body twitching as stars swirled around his head.
Once again, Virmir made an escape attempt, running upstairs. He just needed to grab one of the wands from his collection. If he could get one, he could reverse the effects of whatever was in that powder Toby dumped on him. It did not matter too much which, as most of the wands he kept would provide a better alternative than being a mouse in this situation.
Climbing up the stairs was a chore in this form, but fortunately Toby had yet to regain consciousness. He panted as he made it up the last step before scurrying down the hall as fast as his little legs would carry him. His body began to slide as he skidded to a stop. To his annoyance, Mara was standing in front of a closet door, using her back to hold it shut.
“Did you forget I learned the layout of this place when I pretended to be your female clone?” the snow leopard snickered. “I know where you store all of those little doohickeys of yours.” She was quite smug about it.
Virmir cursed. “Trees!”
“Tell you what: if you admit I'm the best and agree to work under me from now on, I, the gracious Tree-Witch Mara, will give you the antidote to my special mouse transformation powder.”
Virmir's eyes widened. “There's an antidote?”
“Blast...” Only now did Mara realize her mistake. Of course she had prepared an antidote. She had learned from past antics that her plans sometimes backfired, so this time she was prepared. Unfortunately, while she meant to say she would turn Virmir back to normal, in her boasting she accidentally revealed a way to reverse the effects without magic.
The mousified had already left the scene during Mara's self-regrets. He surmised that the antidote was probably in the back from earlier.
“Toby!” called Mara. “Get up and do your job, you lazy cat!”
Toby blinked his eyes open as his ears caught Mara's voice calling out for him. Just as he did, he spotted Virmir running down the hall not too far past him. Grunting, he pushed himself back to his feet and chased the mouse once more, quickly gaining speed.
The entrance in sight, Virmir kicked his feet against the ground with enough force to leave scratch marks on the stone flooring. He leapt into the air, diving headfirst into the open bag. Frantically, he began searching. A slight feeling of dread overwhelmed him as he felt something grasp his tail.
“Blasted trees!”
Toby once again held Virmir by the tail. However, unlike the last time, this time Mara approached the entryway and knelt down to meet Virmir’s eye-level, as much as she could anyway.
“Nice try, fox wizard.” She smiled down at him, chucking softly. “Last chance, Virmir! Submit to me and become my loyal fox. Or become lunch for Toby here. Which will it be?”
Virmir held out his hand and blew. Dust flew out of his palm toward Mara and stuck to her face.
“Oh tree biscuits.” Mara's pupils shrank as her body quickly disappeared beneath her hat. She slowly poked her head out from underneath it, now in the form of a mouse like Virmir, albeit a white one with grey spots.
With Toby momentarily distracted by what had just unfolded, Virmir managed to pull his tail free and fall directly into the open back. Sifting through the contents of it, he finally located a small vial with a dropper top plugging it closed. The label clearly said “Mouse Powder Antidote: Washes away all traces of mouse powder”.
There was no time to lose. Virmir popped it open and doused himself in the liquid. His body began to violently shake as his body quickly expanded in size. His stomach bloated outward first before the rest of his body followed suit. His feet grew big, his hands inflated into giant toon hands, before his body began to fill out the rest of him. The bag was ripped apart as he returned to his natural height, and the natural fox shape he was most familiar with. The last thing to return to normal was his tail, exploding in a display of grey and black fluff and fur.
Mara looked up at the fox towering over her form. “Trees...”
Virmir looked down at Mara and Toby, his eyes expressing disapproval. He grabbed Toby by the scruff of his neck and stared at him.
“Eheh... Hi.” Toby meekly whispered.
Contrary to Toby’s expectations, Virmir did not resort to any form of violence, nor did he throw the cat outside. Instead, he placed Toby down in front of the Mara mouse.
“Get the mouse,” Virmir calmly ordered.
“As if Toby would ever--”
A loud rumble interrupted Mara's refutal. Maybe it was the concussion from the hammer bonk earlier, or perhaps his hunger from skipping breakfast, but Toby had actually forgotten that he was specifically meant to chase the Virmir mouse. Mara had made a big deal about him chasing the mouse all day and his feline instincts were telling him to act.
“T-Toby?” Mara began to panic.
Toby licked his lips. Realizing her precarious position, Mara scrambled for the antidote vial. Unfortunately for her, Virmir had used the entire thing.
“Blast it! I need to get more!” Mara bolted out the door and sprinted back home, Toby following her close behind. Toby continued to pursue her as the two disappeared down the road.
For the first time since the whole ordeal began, Virmir smiled. It lasted for only a second, though, before he slammed the door shut and headed upstairs. There were foxes to draw, and he was way behind schedule.
