[center][b][u]Time in a Bottle[/u][/b][/center]
[center][i]Chapter 1[/i][/center]

"Wendell, please see me after class." The owl's feathers ruffled as he placed a parchment down in front of the deer. [i]The History of Magic[/i] wasn't the most compelling topic to write about, but the failing grade seemed a bit harsh. The deer rolled his eyes, annoyed that the class was still focusing on theory rather than any practical application.

"Yes Professor Time." This was his third failing grade in a row. It almost seemed like no matter how much effort he was putting in, the owl simply had it out for him. Of course, it probably didn't help that he spent almost every class in the back of the room practicing tiny incantations rather than listening to the old owl drone on.

He waited behind as the classroom emptied, and made his way to the front where the professor was waiting for him. He had prepared a flurry of arguments for why he didn't deserve a failing grade on the paper, but the owl held up a wing to silence him before he could even start.

"Wendell, you have a lot of potential, I can see that you're eager to rush your studies. I can't stress enough how important it is to learn the basics first. Many great potential students failed to understand the kind of power they were wielding."

"I just don't understand how learning about the Elder Wolf or Kitsunes or The Source are going to help me get better at using my powers."

"To perceive power we must first know where it came from." The owl's proverbs had a tendency to both annoy the shit out of him and go completely over his head. What did the owl even mean by perceiving power? He simply nodded, pretending to understand what his teacher meant.

"A sword in the hand of a child is nothing more than a fancy stick." The owl nodded as though he were proud of his newest turn of phrase. Wendell wasn't sure exactly what his teacher meant by it, but he was pretty sure he was being called a child.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wendell took offense, he could feel the anger beginning to bubble up inside of him.

"Wendell, this is your third failing grade, you will not be able to continue this class in this manner." The professor reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small bottle with a stopper on it.

"What? Are you kicking me out?" The deer's hoof scraped against the ground in disgust.

"No, not exactly. I'll be stripping your powers and storing them in here. Then you will be transformed into a familiar and paired with one of the other students for tutoring. Once you bring your grade up, you'll get your powers back." The owl pried the cork from the bottle. Wendell's mind reeled, he couldn't imagine losing his powers. It was a fate worse than being kicked out of class. 

His head pounded. The enraged deer held up a hand and a single word crossed his lips, [i]"Avertitque!"[/i] As soon as he'd said it, the owl dropped the bottle in shock.

"Where did you learn that curse? Who taught you that curse?" The old stumbled backward and looked down at his body. Wendell wasn't sure where he'd heard the word, he must have read it somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. He wasn't even sure what the curse was supposed to do, nor had he any expectation that it would actually work. The classroom and the professor must have had some powerful wards against offensive magic, but this one seemed to have penetrated them.

"I don't remember... what's happening?" The deer was upset with his professor, but he hadn't intended to hurt him in any way. The owl's feathers drained of all their rich dark brown colors until they were nearly pure white. He lifted one of his wings away from his body and a sticky substance strung between it and his body. Wendell wanted to back away from his teacher and run out of the room, but instead he took a step forward. It took him a moment to realize that his professor was getting smaller.

"Quickly, grab the bottle. Use the levitation spell, you'll need to be careful and store me in there until you find a reversal spell." His professor's body seemed to be melting. Wendell grabbed the bottle and as he did so, he got a good whiff of the odd odor coming from his professor.

"Are you... turning into cum?"

"Yes, now hurry, the reversal spell will be in..." His voice caught in his throat as his beak and facial features melted and turned a glistening white. His eyes rolled back in his head and disappeared. Wendell held the bottle up but wasn't sure what to do exactly. The professor had said to use the levitation spell, but he couldn't remember what it was. He'd have to try something different.

"Sigillum!" The bottle activated, a burst of light enveloping both the bottle and what remained of his professor's body. It must have been working because the pure white gooey owl was now floating in the air straight towards the bottle. The amorphous blob splashed into the clear bottle and settled at the bottom, the stopper magically resealing the bottle as soon as the entire liquid was trapped inside. Wendell gave the bottle a shake and watched the owl cum inside slosh around, sticking to the walls of the glass.

He'd have to find a way to reverse this curse... in due time.

[center][i]To Be Continued[/i][/center]