"Alright... eye of newt, a banshee's tear. Feather from the scale and liquefied fear. A pinch of a vampire's love, ew, and a evidence of a fairy's failed singing career!"

Talia stirred everything in as she listed it off, watching the bubbling pot swallow each item whole. She scrunched her nose up at the smell of liquefied fear, but by the end the whole mixture was back to the savory one she had grown to enjoy. There was a purring next to her on the counter, of her naughty kitty. He liked to be close when she was making potions, always there to lick her when she bumped the hot metal or to flick his tail and blink slowly at her. She'd been told sometime that witches like her were supposed to have black cats, but something about the blue-eyed white cat had caught her eye.

So she chose him, and he chose her.

She reaches over and combs her fingers through his fur, him turning to bump his nose into her palm and lap at it. She leaves it be for a moment while she stirs.

Talia was aware of the irony. She was a witch with a cat in a small house at the end of a long driveway, with a wonderful garden outside tended by her friend, Iris, and thick, old trees surrounding her. She was making a potion on halloweeen, and she definitely wasn't going to be getting any trick-or-treaters. Well, it was less of a potion, and aimed more at attracting things. Specifically, squirrels. She was tired of stepping on nuts, and needed a few more to chitter and ruffle through the trees around her home at night, so she was going to summon some more. It should, if all goes well, also summon some birds and raccoons. She liked to watch them, leave little presents outside. The world around her was a beautiful one, after all.

The brunette sighed and rubbed the back of her hand over her forehead before leaning over to press a kiss to her cat's stomach. It was always too hot to make potions, but if she picked him up and went to sit by the open windows, she'd cool down enough to finish it off. And the potion would have cooled by then too, into a sludge. Then she'd just have to mix it with peanut butter and lather it onto pinecones, and voila! Squirrels and birds and raccoons, oh my.

"Ah, come here my little prince." She offered the cat a smile and picked him up. His paws flexed and he reached for the counter, but he didn't struggle. He liked to be held. And even if he got annoyed with her, she could scratch between his eyes and behind his ears, and then he'd love her again. Talia cooed at him, pressing another kiss to his back, then began to scratch behind his ear as she made her way to the window.

She'd moved out here a few years ago when the city was too annoying and stifling, and was loving the change. She also switched from the big law firm to the smaller one, family owned and with cheesy local ads and terrible greenscreen effects. She went into the office three days a week, four if there was a bigger case, and spent the rest of her time with her cat or with her friends, calm and comfortable. She'd been renting the house from Nathaniel's aunt, and there was talk of her buying the place. All within the family, of course, they'd tell her, and her heart would swell with the knowledge that she was considered part of the family.

Izira, her older sister, was still out in the big city. They hadn't lived together in years, but without fail, her older sister would call at the end of every week. She'd talk about the spells she had worked on, the places she had seen, and ask her younger sister about what she had done. Sometimes Talia would just smile and say she hadn't done anything at all, and they'd giggle over that for a few minutes. They just preferred different paces with their lives, and Talia was learning every day that it was okay.

She settles into the window seat with a sigh, leaning against the wood frame. All of the first-floor windows had a bench underneath them, and she liked to store her dry herbs and some books underneath them. Then there was a nice cushioned top, this soft floral pattern that went so well with the dark wood. She'd asked her friend to sew her some curtains too, gauzy and covered in handmade lace. She loved the way her home looked in the afternoon, a breeze wafting through and the hazy smell of leaves and maple drifting through.

Outside, there's the driveway and her little jeep, the garden and the stream. It would flood in the fall and the spring, but she did what she could to keep it from her side of the bank. Once or twice Iris had seen fish in it, but Talia never cared for fishing. She preferred to leave most of nature as it was, and to let the animals do whatever they wanted. A few times she'd woken in the night to see a fox creeping through her living room when she forgot to lock her windows, or the one time she caught a raven on her dining table.

She hadn't said there were no animals around, just not enough.

Talia closes her eyes and keeps scratching behind her prince's ear. His soft rumbling was comforting, feeling like a little engine on her thighs. She could tell when she hit a good spot because he'd start to knead her leg with his paws, pressing his head into it.

Life was good.

Then came a loud crashing noise.

She jumped, eyes opening and heart jumping immediately. A million thoughts fly through her head, but the only one that she sticks to is "What the hell?".

She can't see anything out of place, not at first. But she does feel a breeze on her thighs, belatedly realizing that her prince had jumped ship. And then she sees that her pot isn't where she left it, and hears something dripping, something oozing over the floor.

Talia runs.

It's hard, due to the fact that she was wearing socks on shiny wooden floors, but she managed to haul ass over there, grabbing furniture to launch herself further and faster.

She almost slammed into the counter across from the little kitchen island, but opted for a slide instead, eyes widening at the sight.

There was her little prince, crouched over the shining purple sludge, shoulders knitted together.

If she'd been thinking rationally, she would have realized that it was edible, anyways. Completely safe to eat, intended for eating. But in that moment, sprawled over her kitchen floor, her only thoughts were a very loud, firm "no!".

So she scrambles over to him and picks him up.

There's evidence over his chin, the blue eyes seeming to twinkly mischievously in her panic. Talia clutched him to her chest and leaned against the fridge, wheezing and trying to catch her breath.

The breeze wafts through.

Talia looks down at him. Her little prince was just lapping at his paws and cleaning off his chin, calm as can be. As if she hadn't practically lost her mind at the perceived threat.

Talia laughs, a choked sound. There's a flurry of chaos in the path from the window seat to the kitchen, two chairs pushed out of place, the rug flipped up, the coat rack laying on the floor. It looked like something terrible had happened, and all she can think is that she's glad nothing did.

She stood slowly, but ended up slipping and landing on the floor again pretty hard. Little prince jumped out of her arms again, but it took her a moment to get her head back together again so she could refocus. It was about then when she realized that the potion was edible, and she groaned at herself. It was completely safe, if a bit warm. Talia rolled her eyes and stood up slowly, thinking about just grabbing a bowl and scooping the rest of it into there. Then she'd be able to mop up the rest- hopefully it wouldn't stain...

She rolled her eyes, stopping by the counter to toe off her socks. Yep, those things would get her killed. Next time she'd just suffer with cold feet, and when she took a break she'd tuck them under a blanket.

There's a noise behind her like when her prince hacked up a furball, and she wrinkles her nose. Ew... maybe she'll throw it all out. If he got it in the potion, that was.

She grabs the bowl she'd been thinking of, along with a washcloth. And she'd have to wash her prince... This what she'd signed up for, right? She shook her head and walked around the opposite side of the counter.

When she looked at the mess, she saw several things at once. First of all, there was no hairball. The pot was laying on its side, a bit dented. The potion had spread in a sticky mess all over the floor and gotten on her cabinets and oven door as well, and there was one solitary glob stuck to the dish towel she'd tucked into one of the drawers earlier.

Oh, and there was a naked man on the floor, sticking two fingers in his mouth and staring at her.

Talia did what any rational person would do, and screamed. She threw the bowl at him and booked it for the bathroom, just barely grabbing her phone as she went.

"Okay, Talia, calm down."

Talia put a hand over her eyes, breathing slowly. She'd locked the door to the bathroom and used a spell to keep it shut, and thrown some water on her face. And, of course, called her best friend to freak out to.

"I'm calm now, Iris. Well, as calm as anyone can be. Jesus, I thought I moved out to the middle of nowhere so I didn't have to deal with this kind of stuff!" She leaned against the wall and let her head thunk against the wall.

"Sunny Bay isn't the middle of nowhere, Talia. Just calm down, I'm on my way."

"Stop telling me to calm down! There was a naked guy in my kitchen!"

"And I'm sure that he'll be gone by the time I get there. What are you wearing?"

Talia looked down at herself. "Uh, a harvard hoodie, leggings, and my lucky apron?"

Iris clucked her tongue. "Yep, harvard hoodie. You totally spooked him out."

"Oh, don't be mean." Talia pressed her ear to the door, but couldn't hear anything beyond the muffled rustle of leaves. "I'm not stuck up about it."

"No, but people think that people are stuck up about going to harvard, so he was totally scared off!" Iris sounds like she's hopping over something. "Also you have a branch down on your driveway, but I can't pick it up."

"Then what's the use of you, blondie?"

"Making your house look like it's straight out of a fairytale?"

"Hm, fair enough." Talia crossed her arms. "Do you see anything from the front?"

"Nope, nothing. Did anyone try to get into the bathroom?"

"Nope on this end. Maybe he is actually gone..."

"Okay, I'm on your porch. Come out of the bathroom now, so we can look together."

Talia hung up and dropped her phone into one of the apron's pockets, slowly unbinding the door. She was careful as she poked her head out, but there was the familiar smiling face and mountain of blonde hair.

"What are you wearing?" Ended up being the first thing out of her mouth, however.

Iris blinked. "It's a one piece. I'm going as a superhero."

"Going where?"

"To Missy's party tonight? Come on, you've been invited for forever." The blonde frowned at her, tucking her phone into her top. Talia had a feeling the original design hadn't been low cut, but the sweetheart neckline was clearly part of it now.

Talia gave in and stepped forward, out of the hallway.

"What happened in here? It looks like a tornado came through. Did he hurt you?" Iris hopped over the upturned rug to take Talia by the hand and turn her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, really." The brunette could feel her face flushing. "But my um, pot fell over while I was at the window, and I kind of wrecked the place while I was trying to get there."

"And the socks are why?" Iris points at the discarded pair by the kitchen.

"Yeah. God, my house feels like a crime scene now. Is everything evidence?"

"No. But I am wondering, why didn't you call the cops?"

"Because you're faster?" Talia offered.

Iris raised an eyebrow, but took Talia's hand. Together they crept towards the kitchen.

When they turned the corner, however, there was no sign of the naked man. Only the mass of purple potion, savory and thick on the floor, and the discarded bowl and dented pot. Nothing else. Iris took a few minutes inspecting the kitchen, but neither of them could see anything.

Together they took each others hands again. Iris grabbed a kitchen knife and Talia grabbed the broom, and they both headed for the hallway. The bathroom was still empty, Talia didn't need to look in there. She shut the door to it.

They looked through the rest of the house. The study, both of the bedrooms, even the hall closet. And still, nothing. No naked men under her bed, none in her closet or behind the doors, none anywhere at all.

By the end of the search, Iris sighs and suggests that the guy had jumped out of the window and left that way. She helps Talia mop up the potion and makes the other girl some hot chocolate, then helps her close all of the windows.

"Is it okay if I head home? I still have to finish getting ready for the party. If you want to join us, just come on down." Iris offered a smile and squeezed her hand. "And if the guy comes back, call the cops! There isn't much I can do, T."

"Yeah, I know. But thank you." Talia sighed and squeezed her hand back. "I might just stay home, catch Halloweentown. If you get tired of the party, come on down."

Iris giggles as she leaves, but makes Talia promise to lock the door behind her.

Talia does it, sighing and closing her eyes.

Maybe she'd just imagined it all. Besides, it was almost winter, the squirrels could stay wherever they were. They might freeze their tails off if they moved to her woods without proper time to set up.

She grabs her hot chocolate and goes to sit down on the couch, sipping it slowly.

Maybe the night wasn't a bust, after all.

"Excuse me?"

Talia screamed again, sitting up straight again and turning towards the noise. There was the naked man, holding one of her towels around his waist and smiling sheepishly.

Talia threw the mug at him, and he yelped and ducked out of the way. She reached for the broom, getting it up in the air before he holds up a hand.

"Wait wait! Hold on, please?" He offers a pleading smile now, but she can see from across the room that his blue, blue eyes are panicking. Good.

And his blonde, nearly white hair.

"Give me one reason why!" She snaps back. "Also, where the hell is my cat? Did you eat my damn cat?"

"What?" He blinks and jerks his head back. "Why would I eat your cat?"

"I don't know! You ate my- uh- stuff!"

"Potion. I ate the potion." He rolled his eyes. "I knew what it was. Sorta."

"Then why were you eating it off the floor?" She took a step backward, broom still at the ready.

"Can I please explain?"

"You have about thirty seconds before I call the cops."

He swallowed. "Fair. Uh, I am your cat."

Talia stared at him. "What?"

"I wanted to try it because it smelled good, and then this happened. Really, I'm as confused as you are."

She lifted the broom higher. "So you're crazy? That potion was supposed to attract squirrels, not turn cats into people! That's not something I can do!"

He yelped and backed up a bit, one hand almost leaving the towel to hold up. But then gravity began to act, and he grabbed the top again.

"Try again, creep! 15 seconds!"

"I'm serious! I promise! You got some of my fur in the pot and you uh, put too much of the vampire's love in. Actually, you usually do. You really need to learn what a pinch is."

"I'm not taking advice from a naked guy!" Talia threatened.

His shoulders went up and he frowned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. Uh, what will make you believe me?"

"I don't know. What's something only my cat would know?"

He blinked, looking down slowly, clearly trying to remember. "Well..."

"Hurry up, creep."

"You, uh, really like 80s music? Like, Dolly Parton and Madonna and Diana Ross?" He offered.

"Really? My friends know that too." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but like, you have a playlist of 80s and 90s music and will put it on and just clean and dance to it sometimes, and you kind of have a really nice voice but you hold the notes too long. And you can play the guitar!"

"What's my favorite song?"

"Uh, Little Lies from Fleetwood Mac? Or that one Madonna song, Into the Groove?" He rubbed the back of his neck slowly.

"What do i eat most often?"

"Fruit salad?"

"Favorite color?"

"Blue?"

"Something I don't tell my friends?"

"That your sister is a popstar?"

Her eyes widened. Okay, yeah. Either this guy was a stalker or he was actually her cat.

"Why are you naked?"

"Because cats don't wear clothes? Duh."

Talia groaned, slowly lowering the broom. "If my cat comes wandering in, you're dead. I'm going to go find a verification spell."

"Yes! Do that. Then you'll see who I am!"

She went over to the window seat and lifted the bench, scanning the titles of the books, moving a basket of dried hibiscus flowers. She pulled out a leather-bound book, older, and flipped through the pages slowly, scanning them.

"It should be near the end, if I remember right..." He comes closer, and she flaps a hand, hushing him. But surely enough, there it is, in one of the last twenty pages.

"Okay, uh." Talia shut her eyes and set the book back down. "Auribus teneo lupum, astra inclinant, sed non obligant." She opened them slowly, expecting to see that he was just a regular man.

But, as per the spell, when she looked at him, all she could see in her head was her cat. The spell confirmed it. She frowned.

"My prince?"

"Yes, finally." He sighed in relief. "Can I please have something to cover up with? This house is way too drafty without my fur."