Sal, Butter and Pepper || ONC2024

Chapter 8: Sal and Pepper

Butter's whole attention narrowed down on the word: again.

Had his mistress met Salvador already? Had she bumped into him here, or was she referring to when she was at work, fixing the mess his existence created?

Butter inched closer to his mistress with all four paws tucked under him and searched her eyes. He needed more information, but he couldn't just come out and ask her, could he? Nope.

The kitten waited; his efforts paid off when Pepper sat up and placed him on her tummy. Stroking under his ear, she snapped her fingers. "Dress."

A long, flowing magenta evening gown with sleek curves hovered over them from behind the door, followed by a pair of shiny black, uncomfortable-looking six-inch heels.

Pepper looked at the shimmering gown and then back at her kitten. "Beautiful, is it not?"

"It is, my lady. When did you buy it?" He was sure his mistress had not bought it on her recent shopping spree.

"I did not. This is a gift"—she lowered her eyes—"from Mr. Hart."

Butter was rendered speechless. Even his head emptied out...thoughts and all. That lasted for about five seconds, after which he jumped off his mistress and onto the floor, admiring the satin beauty by giving it a three-sixty-degree inspection.

His mind was still a blank page, though.

"I know what you are thinking," Pepper said, eyeing the dress.

Butter wondered why his mistress looked woeful. The dress was lovely.

"Why did I accept the dress, B? I should have refused. Maybe I still can!" Pepper snapped her fingers. "Phone."

"Wait. I think I am missing something here. Why did Sal...that jerk, give you a dress? Wait, how did he know where to find you? No. First, tell me-"

"B, take a breath." The witch ran her fingers through her disheveled locks. "So, here's the thing..."

Ten minutes, three grunts, a couple of 'How-stupid-am-I?', and one 'What-the-heaven-have-I-gotten-myself-into?' later, Butter had all the deets his absence had made him miss.

Apparently, a couple of days before leaving for their trip, Felicity had called his mistress, pressurizing her to bring a date for the wedding. "If you don't bring one, they will call us names behind our backs, Sis. But if you do, they will not bug me about getting married before you and stop butting their nose into your non-existent love life. It's a win-win. Please, Sis, you are my sister and my maid of honor. You still have a few days before the wedding to find someone. Maybe a guy from work, you know? At least give it a thought. Pleeeeease."

For his mistress, getting a date was easier said than done. Pepper was not antisocial, per se; she just wasn't much of a party person. It was not her fault. It was her job...really. Cough.

Pepper was sure she wasn't going to find a wizard or a human at such short notice (or at all). Not wanting to be the cause of her cousin's unhappiness, the witch had, in a moment of weakness, decided to summon a demon to keep her company for the entirity of their trip. It was a great plan, for demons were no-mess, no-fuss fix-its. They were like puppets that could easily pass off for humans if instructed to function correctly, vanishing once the purpose was fulfilled. The only problem was that the ingredients were hard to come by and expensive.

Despite that, the young witch had bought everything required to cast a spell for creating a demon from WandWmazon. "It cost us a month's salary, B. I am so stupid," the witch had confessed, adding that she was afraid he would try to stop her if she consulted with him first, so she had kept it from him.