I listened as Karyn and the zoo keeper.. Anne was her name I think? Continued to talk. I tried to ignore the little kittens suckling at my side, but it was hard, and I found myself reflexively nuzzling and pushing them around a bit to keep them out of trouble.
"Well, there must be some reason he hasn't shifted back like I did!" Karyn said, looking worried and puzzled.
"Well, you said wishes are irreversible, right? So maybe it's something about the wishes you two made to get like that in the first place .?"
"Hmmmmm.. " Karyn thought. "I wished I knew how Jon felt.. But I kinda meant with.. Her. . trouble with the male leopard : Karyn said, flinching a bit at the memory. "But the wish I made on HIM was to see him as a mother I think Oh no! Maybe the stone thought I meant seeing her raising her kittens or something!" Karyn thought out loud.
"Well.. Usually we consider a cat a mother at least until the kittens have been weaned for a few months, and separated from her " Anne said thoughtfully.
I blanched in my cage. A few MONTHS? You had to be kidding. I growled and whined plaintively at them.
"Don't worry Jon, we'll get you back to normal right away!" Karyn said, trying to sooth me, but looking nervous herself. The zoo keeper seemed a bit more focused though. I hope she COULD fix me. After all, she was'nt the one holding the stone at the moment.. My stomach churned with worry. Or was that just the kittens suckling ?
"We have to DO something " Karyn said. "Something to change him back to normal.. Maybe if we wish that he wasn't a mother anymore " Karyn said, thinking aloud.
Anne blinked, then shook her head a bit. "Uh, uh! Wait a second! No way I'm going to do anything to hurt those kittens." She said. "The zoo breeding program really needs them. And they DO rather need a mother to take care of them until their weaned ." Anne said thoughtfully.
"Well.. Well then we can just wish that the kittens were grown up already, and she wouldn't have to wean them!" Karyn suggested, trying to reason with the woman. Ticking her off probably wasn't a good idea.
Anne shook her head again. "Uh uh. Need kittens. They're a really big attraction. They'll bring more people to the zoo to see them, so more money to keep the program open." She said, thinking. "this is really very important work. And not many leopards are born in captivity. It's pretty big news."
"But.. But we have to do SOMETHING! This is all my fault, sort of! We can't just leave Jon like that!"
"Well.. It's not MY fault really " Anne said, frowning and clearly feeling a bit bad. "But I really don't want to hurt anyone. Still, they ARE her kittens and yours " Anne said, still trying to come to grips with the unreality of the situation.
I whimpered and put my paws over my muzzle. This was getting worse and worse! First I turn into a leopard then I get sent to a zoo.. THEN Karyn accidentally wishes me to be a mother, and does the same to herself, and now I'm going to be stuck here for a few months as a zoo attraction?!?
"Come on Anne, there's got to be SOMETHING you can do!" Karyn pleaded.
"Well ."
