Spirit Witch (Hustle Cat Reese x FTM Reader)

New Witch About Town

It hadn't been long since (y/n) moved to the city. He was hoping for a change in scenery, and if he was lucky much less transphobic neighbors and coworkers. It didn't help that he came from a family that knew nothing of witchcraft, despite his incredible skill in the matter from simple self study and tutoring from spirits. 'It's strange... Maybe some super distant relative was a witch or something? My direct family definitely isn't.'

You had moved to the city for one reason in particular: you could sense the witches around everywhere. You had visited once while you were in high school -some field trip if memory serves- and could feel the overwhelming magical energy of this city. A bench on the side of the street beckons you, and you sit down a moment. You focus on communicating with one of your spirit friends -and teachers- who came with you. 'Hey, Izzy? You sensing the same energy as I do in this area? I feel like there's a group of witches somewhere nearby, or at least those with potential.' The long haired, black furred, and blue eyed cat spirit nods, speaking back to you. This would be bad if ordinary people could see her, but the only ones capable of seeing your spirit companions were fellow witches. "Yes. There's definitely a starting coven somewhere around here... Follow me; let's see if we can find them. It's why we all moved to this city, after all."

You follow her through several alleyways, trusting her implicitly. She could be sassy and sarcastic, sure, but she was also incredibly well meaning and was the first spirit companion you had met and bonded with. She stops in front of a little cafe, and you look up to read the name of the establishment. "A Cat's Paw, huh?" Izzy leaps into your shoulder, pawing you to get your attention. "Look (y/n)! The now hiring sign is enchanted. Only witches and those with magic potential can see it. This has to be the place." You grin, rubbing between her ears. No one was around to think he was petting air, so it was fine. 'Thanks Izzy. This is definitely the place. Should we go ahead and call the others to us as well? There only really seems to be... two witches here? The others all have potential and one is close to discovering their skill, but only two people would be able to see you all. One of them would be the owner; I assume.' Izzy nods. "Yeah, we may as well let whoever is looking to add to their coven know just what they're working with." And so you did.

Izzy still remained perched on your shoulder, but a Capuchin Monkey spirit -you met him on a cruise your family went on several years back- perched on your other. The monkey is named Ludus, and he is one of your youngest spirits. Your rabbit spirit -Autumn- was on top of your head, the youngest female of the group feeling most secure while up high and nestled into you. She was the most affectionate and cuddly of the group. Your male raven spirit, Zephyr, landed on your non-dominant arm. He was the most protective of the bunch, and had secretly been looking after you from your home long before you discovered your ability to commune with spirits. Quicksilver -a non binary, silver fox spirit and the most mischievous of the group- followed you closely as you opened the door to the cafe, and the nature guardian spirit named Forrest you had encountered a while back followed you inside, having to duck to avoid his antlers hitting the door frame. He is a dark green stag, with light green antlers and hooves; he also has honey gold eyes -three of them, with the middle being upright.

Now that everyone was here and inside with you, you took in your surroundings. "A cat cafe, huh? It seems like a nice place." Some if the cats looked at you uneasily -they could sense spirits after all- but once one of them came to be pet by you... They all realized you were no threat to them and simply had spirit friends. There were more cats than you could count swarming you, being drawn to you like you had catnip on you. This was how it always went though. Animals and animal spirits have always been drawn to you, and as a result you had far more animal and spirit friends growing up than people.

There was one cat still looking at you suspiciously, however. A white bobtailed cat with orangish cream patches. 'Is that... A glamor maybe? Ordinary cats have always loved me, so if it's a witch in disguise that would make more sense...' You shrug. It is what it is. Your attention is drawn to the stairs as a tall, tan guy with brown hair comes down. He seems sort of wary of you too, for some reason. Izzy answers that question. "He doesn't know his skill yet, but he is an adept. He can sense the magic radiating from the seven of us, (y/n)." That made a lot of sense. "Hello... The cats seem to really like you. Would you like a menu?" You smile warmly at him, trying to put him at ease. "I'm actually here because I noticed the sign? Is there still a job opening?" He freezes for a moment, but doesn't seem all to surprised. Magic practically radiated from them after all, even if he couldn't see the spirits he could sense their energy.

"O-oh. Yeah, I'll go get Graves and let him know. My name is Landry by the way." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Landry. I'm (y/n)." He goes off to retrieve Graves -who you assume to be the boss- and you don't fail to notice the boss's eyes. 'Heterochromatia, huh? His magic must have something to do with felines.' Both of his eyes widen a bit when he notices the cats swarming around you, and even more so when he can see that spirits are with you as well. Landry didn't come back downstairs, maybe he was trying to gauge whether Graves thought you were safe to bring in first? It never hurt to be cautious.

"I heard you were interested in the job? We may have recently hired someone but... I can tell that you have a lot of potential. He definitely knew that you were a witch, not that you were hiding that. "Thank you very much, sir." "Now normally I'd ask some random interview questions but... I only have one question for you. What's your... knack?" You could feel a sort of curse on him, maybe it affected what he could say? It certainly seemed that way. "I work with spirits. Animal spirits in particular. Both living and those who have passed seem fond of me, but that's not all I'm good with." He motions for you to continue. "I'm quite familiar with plant magic, courtesy of Forrest and Izzy's teaching." You motion to the stag and cat spirit. "I also do dream work."

Graves writes down your information and has you fill out the paperwork. "I wish to inform you that you will not be... Afflicted with the same sort of burden as others in this cafe. It would be impossible to disguise you as a familiar, so feel free to ignore that section of the contract. I'll see you and your spirit companions tomorrow."