The next group quickly took the stage, eager to see what they could get for themselves during the optimal time for a Familiar Summoning.
Even Peach had to admit that the results so far had been impressive, given that almost all of the forest animals summoned were magical creatures of some sort. The honey badger, in particular, was proving impressive and had guarded his witch with an impressively strong layer of [Earth Armor] once it decided that she was not sturdy enough on her own.
The witches focused on their summoning spells, and the mists formed again, bringing out a new round of Familiars.
Again, there were three birds, two yellow ones with black markings and a Raven, as well as a squirrel and a pair of Wisps.
"Now, that is a high standard to live up to. The Wisps might be quiet, but they are quite powerful in their own way." Headmistress Peach sighed as she watched the new Witches step off stage with their Familiars.
Cassie dismissed the spell that she had used to make the six-way circles on the dias, leaving one larger circle for Peach to do her summoning in. That was how the other Rank Two witches, other than Mary, had done it, so it seemed like the most unbiased way to get her a quality Familiar.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe cloud of the summoning spell filled the entire circle almost immediately after the Headmistress stepped into the circle, and the room fell silent in anticipation of what sort of Familiar would have created an effect like that.
The cloud turned inky black as it coalesced, and the locals began to panic, but the witches all got excited. Black Clouds usually meant a Demonic or truly strange Familiar, but this one was huge.
Then, they realized it wasn't the cloud turning black. It was the Familiar beginning to coalesce. The black was inky black fur, and as the clouds parted, allowing a beam of light from the moon to highlight the altar, the spell was completed.
Peach was standing next to a monstrous wolf, over three metres tall, that had to curl around her to fit in even the relatively huge circle on the Altar.
Peach looked at the monstrous form of the wolf in awe, and then something even more amazing happened. The wolf shifted into a man. A huge, deeply tanned and very naked man.
"Well, hello my little Peach. I've been looking for you for a long time." The man's voice rumbled through the room, and Wolfe could see half the witches' faces blush.
"Is that, are you?" Peach stammered.
"A werewolf? Every inch of me, my love. Now how about we get out of this circle, and I show you how a mate is meant to be treated?" The man practically purred.
The sight was comical to Wolfe. Peach was well into her elderly years, though her appearance had reverted to a somewhat younger age after she had advanced, but the werewolf looked quite young. Wolfe didn't know much about them other than some basic legends, but this creature was clearly powerful.
He gave off a sense of power and danger, despite not seeming to have any ability to use mana of his own. If Wolfe's limited memory was right, the shapeshifting was the extent of his magical abilities unless the curse of Lycanthropy really was infectious, but in a fight, he would be a force to be reckoned with.
Wolfe felt desperate eyes on him and turned to see Pup staring at him with a look that pleaded to make this level of humiliation stop. First, his witch summoned a cat, not just any cat but a Nekomata, a so-called Demon Cat, and now that there was finally another Canine summoned, it could turn into a smooth-talking human.
The entire situation was utterly unfair, in his opinion.
Peach cast an armour spell once she noticed that her new Familiar was both naked and very human looking, earning a lot of lusty stares from those gathered in the room, then led him off the stage.
Cassie retook the stage with a huge smirk on her face and addressed the crowd.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Thank you all for coming to observe tonight's Familiar Summoning ritual. Those were all the participants who were able to summon a Familiar today, and we hope that you learned a little bit about Witch culture from watching one of the most precious moments in a young witch's life, the moment when she meets her lifelong companion.
Now, I will let you all return to the main level for an evening snack or return to the ground level for one last night of revelry. It has been a pleasure having you all here this week."
Most of the new arrivals spread out to show off their Familiars to their loved ones and acquaintances, while the witches who came from Myrrh Coven's trade showed off their Familiars to the other witches of the Den.
It was a fitting end to the Festival, and the abundance of new animals running around town made things much more lively, especially when Ember met the Nekomata and realized that he had found the perfect playmate.
The demonic cat just went with anything that he wanted to do. It wouldn't ignore him like Pup did when he got annoyed. Instead, the two-tailed cat was immediately drawn to the Hellhound's search for interesting things to do and see.
They were both lovers of chaos and games, so the search for fun things took them both away before Mary could stop them. The little witch just shook her head and mentally tracked her Familiar while congratulating the new Witches and made a point to become good friends with all the children.
She had made a mistake with Katerina by coming on too strong, and she had scared the girl away before she could condition her to become used to a Mary-approved level of physical affection. She would do better this time, and she would have fluffy friends everywhere. She was certain of it.
Cassie and Ella found Wolfe surrounded by well-wishers a few hours later and made some polite excuses to get him away from the gathering and head downstairs, where Ember and the Nekomata had finally worn themselves out and were sleeping on the floor of his bedroom.
There was a dog bed there, along with blankets, but Wolfe had never seen the codependent hellhound use it before. He would always sleep across the foot of the bed so that he would be closer to people.
But now that the hound had a new friend, it seemed that they were fine together and were recharging for a day-long exploration of the town tomorrow.