Work Text:
With a last flourish on his signature and a dot on the i, Ludger heaved a relieved sigh to have finished the accumulated paperwork after his Geheimnis Nacht absence. However...
He shifted his gaze to a second pile of paperwork. This was, unluckily, of his own creation after he’d shifted the funding for Ceoren Academy from the troublesome nobles to the Exhilion Empire, Oliver, Duke Heibech, and the Kingdom of Eutar. Still, it was well worth it. Ceoren Academy’s financing would be secure for at least the next three years.
Ludger eyed the stack for a moment before firmly putting down his pen. No. As tempting as it was to just plough ahead on the paperwork. He needed a break. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Sedena would be upset with him if he honestly couldn’t tell her he didn’t work the whole weekend.
Turning his chair to look out the window of his office though, Ludger didn’t feel any temptation to leave for a walk. In fact, he thought a power nap might be the best use of his time.
However, the sofa in his office was not all that comfortable. Neither was it a good option to just lay his head on his desk. So...
A smirk pulled on his lips. He hadn’t tried it in a while, but Ludger did feel his Director of Planning office was safe enough for him to indulge. He took off and folded his reading glasses to safely put them away in their case and folded his hands on the desk.
A shimmer of magic covered his body for a moment, rapidly shrinking to size of a loaf of bread. The glimmering glittering magic faded as a sleek, black, long-haired cat with sapphire blue eyes appeared on Ludger’s desk.
Ludger sat up to lick a paw before sweeping it over an ear as he checked himself over. Right, all parts there.
He stretched luxuriously and shook his fluffy tail in satisfaction. All right! He still instinctively remembered how to move as a four-legged creature with a tail. This wasn’t like his first few weeks of experimentation and learning under his Master’s amused watchful eyes, where he was stumbling around awkwardly like the tiny kitten that he’d been, when he’d worked out how to perform this transformation.
Satisfied with his change, Ludger curled into a ball on his desk for a nap. He had liked to indulge when he could after he realised cats spent two thirds of their life sleeping. Naps in this form were always so much more restful and invigorating as compared to staying human. However...
Ludger uncurled to sit on his desk. His hardwood table wasn’t that comfortable, even in a cat’s body. He looked at his chair and the sofa, contemplating which to try. But neither looked like a good option either. Then the coat and hat stand caught the corner of his eye.
Oh! He’d worn a top hat that day. He plucked his hat off the stand with his telekinesis to bring it to his desk, placing it brim up before him.
Deciding that trying to climb it would probably topple it off the table, Ludger took a breath before scrunching down for a graceful leap into the centre. The hat wobbled precariously for a moment, but stabilised once he curled himself comfortably in its depths. Perfect!
He snuggled down, irrelevantly thinking about how the small hat could manage to contain him, and the internet meme he’d once encountered in his previous life asking if cats were solid or liquid. Whatever it was that made cats like boxes, this suited him very comfortably as he soon slipped away into a cosy nap.
@>;~
Elisa Willow did not enjoy being a workaholic, however, since taking up the position of Principal of Ceoren Academy, she’d had to be one just to keep up with the management and administrative duties. Fortunately for her, her aide Wilford would tuff her out of her office for breaks when he felt she needed it. And this was how she found herself aimlessly wondering the halls of the management building this Saturday afternoon.
Wilford had suggested she take a walk in the gardens, but Elisa didn’t feel like it. Instead, she found her feet leading her towards the office of the Director of Planning.
Ludger Cherish... Even after all these months, he was still an intriguing mystery to her. She knew it wasn’t his real name.
However, he was genuinely one of the best teachers for the kids she’d ever encountered. And there was so much good work that he’d done for Ceoren, Elisa was seriously contemplating formally having him as her successor.
But who was he, really?
She knew about the brand of an illegitimate child on his back. And she could believe that he had created this identity to hide from his family. However, she couldn’t help but also think there was more to his story.
The Ludger Cherish in her files was listed as the youngest Mage to reach the 4th Circle. However, Elisa believed he was hiding his talent.
During that attack of the fire spirit on Ceoren, the students and the Blue Mage, Casey Selmore witnessed a feat of 6th Circle magic in the skies above the warehouse. The Sixth Circle ice-property magic, Heavenly Sea Icebreaking Vessel.
Ludger had quite skilfully deflected her questions then, placing all blame for the disturbance upon Kloro Phebius. Also at that time, having just discovered Ludger’s shameful secret of the Illegitimate brand upon his back, she hadn’t wanted to pressure him too much.
He had after all incurred horrendous injuries in his efforts to save Professor Celine. Elisa could believe that he’d only accepted a restorative position and fled medical attention because he didn’t want the doctors to discover his shameful brand.
Elisa was thankful she’d rushed out to check on him, because despite taking a short break on a park bench during his flight, he still fainted at her feet from the shock of his injuries. She was also thankful that she’d stayed to help settle Ludger in the infirmary after she’d carried him there with her telekinesis.
As it was, it was a secret shared with Chris Benimore who happened to be at the infirmary tending to Devian Bertego. The man had swiftly thrown aside the backless patient gown to button Ludger back up in his charred dress shirt while she distracted the nurses and doctors.
Then while she stood guard, Chris had rushed back to his townhouse to grab a set of his own sleepwear to loan to Ludger. And they’d in private removed Ludger’s ruined clothing to check that his injuries were all safely healed by the restorative potion (they were not!) and dressed Ludger in clean clothes. Chris then helped to carefully feed the unconscious man another potion to take care of the rest of his injuries.
In this time, Elisa had noted Chris Benimore well on his way to remove himself from actively supporting the noble faction. She had at first worried that Hugo would soon know Ludger’s shameful secret, but Chris surprised her with his soft declaration that he would never tell of it to anyone. Furthermore, Devian had apparently spoken to Chris too of what he’d faced against Ludger in the duel and the two men kept this from Hugo as well.
Surprisingly, despite his shocking defeat, Devian held no animosity for Ludger after that. In fact, Elisa was to observe that he held an expression of pity for the man.
Elisa’s rambling thoughts were abruptly broken by her arrival at the door to the Director of Planning’s office. Right, since she was there, she might as well peek in to check if Professor Ludger was working too. And perhaps send him home if she could tear him away from the paperwork.
She gave the door a couple of knocks to announce her presence and swung it open. “Professor Ludger, sho--”
The man wasn’t at his desk?! Elisa wasn’t sure if she should feel disappointed or relieved. He was apparently a worse workaholic than she, and during the week days his assistant could usually push him out of the office. But on this weekend after the Geheimnis Nacht, she thought he’d have stayed in to finish the accumulated paperwork. However, the man was nowhere to be seen. Or...
Elisa frowned as she walked into the office. Ludger’s frock coat was hanging on the coatrack, and his hat was sitting on the table. Surely, he wouldn’t have left his office without them. And why was his hat on the tabl-- was it moving?
@>;~
Ludger had awakened at once with Principal Willow’s knock upon his door and her call as she entered his office. ‘Crap! How long was I asleep?’
Would she leave when she didn’t see him? Is-- oh no! He could sense her walking up to his desk.
Astonished golden ember eyes peered into the hat at him.
“Meow?”
“P-- pro--professor Ludger?!”
Ludger sighed. She saw right through him immediately.
He uncurled from his comfortable cuddle to try and exit his hat. Unfortunately, in his haste, the hat toppled.
‘Oh no!’ He yowled in panic as he felt his hat roll towards the edge of his desk.
Fortunately, Principal Willow caught the hat before it fell off the table. She had a huge smile on her face as she peered in on him again. “There’s never a dull moment with you, is there, Professor Ludger?”
He gave her a cat scowl of irritation.
She helpfully tipped him out of his hat onto his desk. Where he deactivated the spell to be restored to his human shape again and seated at his desk.
“Good afternoon, Principal Willow. How can I help you?”
“Don’t you try and distract me, Ludger. What was that about?”
“Would you believe I was having a cat nap?”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Really! It’s something I discovered early on when I was experimenting with shapeshifting into animals.” Ludger waved at her as he got up to walk towards the pantry nook of his office and offered to make her a cup of tea. “Napping as a cat is far more efficient, restful, and restorative than as a human. Especially if the furniture isn’t conducive towards human comfort for said nap.”
“You can shape shift into other animals?” Elisa looked fascinated as she watched him prepare her tea while she took a seat at the sofa.
“I’ve only explored two, really. But these were the two animals that resonated with me. I didn’t seriously think of doing any further study into more.” Ludger carried over two cups of tea for them. “So, I can shape shift into a cat and a raven.”
“Both black.”
“Well-- you know what I had like to stay unnoticed...”
“Of course.” Elisa hastily assured him.
@>;~
Elisa’s head was swimming with this latest revelation. This was just incredible. How could so much talent reside in one man? At her last count he had skills for 6 out of the 10 elements; 7 if she counted the 6th circle ice magic he wouldn’t admit to. And now shapeshifting into two animals, no less.
“Your second animal’s a Raven?”
Ludger’s face pinked a little in shyness. “It’s-- It’s quite freeing to fly sometimes and forget the stress and worries on the ground.
“I could use wind magic, but that would draw attention on the ground. No one bothers to give a second look at a raven.”
Elisa immediately felt envious.
Ludger frowned at her. “Pardon my rudeness, Principal Willow. But you don’t currently look like you’ve been well rested.”
Her hand immediately reached up to touch the delicate skin under her eyes. His statement was quite true. She hadn’t been sleeping well with the stresses of the last few months, what with the funding drama caused by the nobles. And now with future planning for the investments given to her by Exhilion, Eutar and Oliver of Rederbelke.
“If-- you’re interested...”
She stared at him in astonishment. “You would share with me your secrets on shapeshifting? Ludger, that’s too much!”
“It’s a variation on something commonly known.” He waved it off dismissively. “After all, you do know the basics of curses. Especially, the one of transformation? And how to break such a curse?”
“Yes?” She asked curiously. “All nobles are taught that to especially guard against kidnapping...
“Oh my!”
“Yes, then you already know the spell that’s used to transform someone into an animal.” Ludger undid a button on his left sleeve to show her two spots on his wrist which she’d noticed before but taken as moles.
“These are my curse marks that I can activate and deactivate for the two animals I shape shift into.”
And to demonstrate, one of the ‘moles’ shimmered to engulf his body shrinking it to the size of a water pitcher. At its end a Raven sat in Ludger’s place. It flapped it’s wings to take a short flight around the room before it returned to shimmer before her again and Lunger landed lightly on his feet.
“How innovative!” Elisa had to applaud at this revelation.
“Would you like to try this?”
Yes, she would indeed.
Elisa learnt then that Ludger’s cat breed was called an Angora. He’d let her study the curse mark to read the full spell and draw it out carefully on paper. And he’d even let her cast it on him to test it before trying it upon herself.
It was a nervous moment when Elisa was confident enough to cast the curse upon herself. For her perspective to change so suddenly to such a tiny creature was disconcerting. She felt out of sorts and imbalanced to be on all fours with-- with a tail!
She looked up at Ludger in fright. He was so big from her current perspective.
“Oh. I’m sure you’ll like this.” He walked away for a moment to return with a mirror to show her what she looked like.
Well! This was nice indeed! Unlike Ludger’s cat, Elisa was pure white and-- she was a beautiful cat.
She deactivated the curse, returning to human form. “This is-- it’s easy and fun! Thank you for teaching me!”
He nodded shyly at her. “It-- can be addictive. So do make sure you’re in a safe place when you indulge.”
“Oh, of course.” Elisa sobered up to think of what Ludger must have gone through in his youth when hiding from his family for him to give her this caution.
“The balance is--”
“Strange. Yes, the tail does take some getting used to.”
“Would you mind--?”
“Of course.” He shrank down to the black Angora she’d encountered earlier. And she followed after in her white Angora form.
He swished his tail, encouraging her to try. It took her a bit of time to think of this brand new appendage and follow his move. It was a bit stiff, but with his encouraging tail gesture, she was soon getting a hang of it.
With his tail held high, Lunger got up to walk across the floor. Elisa was at first insulted, of course she coul-- she sprawled, falling on her face. He didn’t laugh.
How long a time they spent like that with him demonstrating and her trying to follow, Elisa couldn’t say. At one point though, Ludger had turned back into human form to move their cold teacups to the floor and tap her on the head.
“Stop thinking so hard. The curse works to turn us completely into a cat. Trust nature and let your instincts guide you.”
Then he turned into a cat again and cast a warming charm on their tea before lapping at the drink. Realising she was thirsty, Elisa tried to lap at her tea too, trying her best to switch off her human brain as she did so.
It was fascinating to realise the mechanics of how a cat drinks. Dipping its tongue into the water to quickly retract it carrying a splash of water into its mouth for it to swallow. It was so different-- she understood why Ludger used this to shake her out of the human way of thinking to relax and trust the cat brain to take over.
The cat lessons proceeded faster after that.
@>;~
Wilford was perplexed. He’d sent Elisa away from her office for a break, but she’d usually return within 10 minutes and wheedle her way back in to continue working.
Today though, she was now already gone for nearly an hour. And so, he’d worriedly gone hunting the halls to look for her. Instincts though told him to head towards the office of the Director of Planning.
Wilford rather liked Ludger Cherish. He understood Elisa’s concerns and he also believed the man was hiding his true identity. However, the old Knight also trusted his instincts. And his instincts told him that Ludger was a good man.
All his actions thus far showed that he was a caring man, fiercely protective of his students and a good ally for Elisa. He was also always acting in the best interests of Ceoren Academy. His latest foray in securing Ceoren’s financial funding was a phenomenal achievement that cleared Elisa’s worries for at least the next three years. Wilford would quite happily think that no matter how or why ever Ludger landed at Ceoren as a teacher, it was a very fortunate blessing indeed.
Arriving at Professor Ludger’s office, Wilford knocked on the door before pushing it open. “Professor Ludger, excuse me for interrupting your day, but have you seen Principal Willo--”
@>;~
Elisa was having fun! She was really getting a hang of being a cat now. Ludger was nodding at her and practically radiating pride in her growing comfort and ease in moving around as a cat.
He’d taught her how to judge and jump onto furniture without banging into it. Run across the room and into small spaces without crashing into the edges. Climb the curtain rope pull which could stand their claws and spare the curtains. Walk the curtain railings and the top of the bookshelves without slipping.
He’d even showed how to use her claws to hook the croutons out of the left-over salad on his table for a crunchy snack. (Oops, why didn’t he finish his salad lunch though. He really should be eating more. He was far too slander a man to be missing meals.)
They were back at their teacups for a drink and Elisa had a feeling that he was about to end their fun though. Which was a pity.
Still... Watching him now licking his paws and then brushing his head to groom himself made Elisa wonder how it would feel to be the one licking him herself or be licked by him.
Elisa couldn’t stand it any longer. She let her cat brain act when her human brain wouldn’t and charged at him, sending them tumbling end over end in a play wrestle. Perhaps it was this preoccupation which made them miss hearing Wilford’s knock on the door and his call to Ludger.
Ludger the cat had stared at Elisa stunned for this unexpected ‘attack’. Then she flicked her tail in his face and ran. He gave chase immediately.
@>;~
Wilford thought his jaw had hit the floor and his eyes must surely have bugged out at the sight which greeted him.
Cats-- A very handsome black cat and a pretty, beautiful white cat. Play wrestling and now chasing each other around Ludger’s office.
The old gentleman was a high-level enough Knight to realise this was Ludger and Elisa. And they were now cats.
What? How?
He quietly closed the door again and leaned on the wall beside it for a moment to process what he’d just witnessed. Elisa was playing. With Ludger.
Oh. Oh! Okay. This was-- this was quite fine. Ludger was a good man, and Elisa-- she was playing. This was great! Ludger could actually get her to relax and be playful.
He worried about her constantly. And he’d seen how she’d sometimes get Ludger’s guard up by doing something disquieting to his senses. But they were playing.
Wilford walked away from Ludger’s office with a lightness to his steps he’d almost forgotten ever feeling before.
Perhaps there was hope for them after all.
@>;~
They didn’t destroy his office. The only casualty was the toppled coatrack. The stacks of paperwork were untouched as Elisa had avoided his desk.
She let him catch her eventually and they play wrestled a while more before collapsing on top of one another in exhaustion. He’d given her a good licking that she’d returned, and they snuggled for a nap on his fallen frock coat.
The sun had begun to set when Elisa woke to find herself still in cat form and entwined with Ludger. That was a great nap. And as Lunger had suggested, she felt great. Invigorated even.
She licked his ear prompting him to yawn and blink at her sleepily. She could tell the moment his human brain engaged because his eyes opened wide as saucers and his body went stiff against her.
Elisa purred as she rubbed her head against his, then reluctantly untangled herself and returned to human form. She leaned down to hold Ludger by his front paws and rubbed her human nose against his cat nose.
“Don’t think so hard, Ludger. We can trust our instincts, can’t we?”
She let him go and waited for him to return to human form too. The poor man was blushing so hard, Elisa was afraid he’d pass-out from all the blood rushing to his head.
“Principal Willo--”
“Elisa.”
“E--Elisa, I--”
Looking at him now. Elisa suddenly understood. The poor man. He’d been on the run from his family for so long, he’d probably never given a moment’s thought to courtship and romance.
Well? If she didn’t take charge, he never would.
“Ludger, we can meet as friends first.” She reached for and took his hands in hers. “This-- today. It-- genuinely felt like a first date, and we had fun together, didn’t we?”
Ludger nodded shyly. “Yes, yes, we did.”
“Come on, I did give you that coupon. We can finally have that promised meal together.”
“We can?”
“Yes, though-- I’d-- like it if-- it’s not our only meal together.”
“Oh, okay. If-- if you have time for me.”
“I’ll make the time.”
“Okay.”
“Well then.” Elisa looked down and stepped off the fallen frock coat.
“Oh, let me.” Ludger picked up his cat hair covered coat and gave it a shake. His precise use of telekinesis cleaning it of dirt and also straighten the creases before he pulled it on.
“What do you think my second animal should be?” Elisa slipped her hand into Ludger’s arm as they left his office.
“What would you like to do with it?”
“I’d like to fly free too. We could fly together.”
“I-- I’d like that.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
~owari~