Juniper squirmed out from under the sleeping half elf's arms. That was Alex, their familiar for now. Juniper liked to keep their number of familiars low. It was easier to keep track of them that way. With Alex, they manifested as a small male white and brown puppy, retaining their heterochromatic eyes as always. They didn't know why they chose a puppy. It just felt right.
Helping Alex wasn't the only thing Juniper did. With a yawn and a stretch, they stepped forward and dismissed themselves. Alex was sleeping, he didn't need their help right now. Besides, if there was an emergency, he could call Juniper back with a thought. Time to get to work.
The plane Juniper stepped into was a bright lush forest filled with all sorts of animals and creatures. It was the realm of familiars, steeds, and similar spirits. They looked up into the sky, where celestial creatures held tea parties and exchanged the latest gossip. A small blindfolded woman glanced down at them and waved with a smile.
Juniper gave a small bark in response before transforming into a strong and mighty hawk. They took off and rode the thermals up until they reached the happy group. But something was wrong! With their bird eyes, they could see a group of imps and bat-like quasits swiftly flying towards them.
"Watch out!" Juniper cried. The group of celestial spirits had just enough time to prepare for the onslaught, and soon the fight began. Juniper simply flew away. It wasn't an actual fight after all. That was for the real angels and demons, not familiars. There were still consequences, though. The loser wouldn't hear the end of it for weeks.
Juniper floated in spirals down towards a magnificent tree. They knew who lived here, everyone did. The tree was a flourishing Wimba and had an elaborate array of small platforms and rope bridges strewn amongst its branches. With the grace of a dancer, Juniper transformed into a tabby cat as their talons touched the topmost platform. In the middle was a sleeping black cat surrounded by necklaces, goggles, and a little golden crown.
"Oh, Magnificent Fluffers, True Queen of the Tree, would you like to play a game with me today? Maybe chase the fish in the stream?" They strutted over to the black cat who now had one yellow eye cracked open. She growled at them.
"Pleeaaassssseeee? It's been so long and I don't know when my familiar Alex will call me back," Juniper cried.
"No. I'm taking a nap. Beautiful days are meant for relaxing in the sun," she said. The Magnificent Fluffers yawned and closed her eyes again.
Juniper's body sagged at the rejection. But when the Magnificent Fluffers had made a decision, it was usually final. "Tomorrow then, ok?" They said and, transforming into a snake, climbed down the tree and slithered into the tall grass.
As a horse, they pranced by Skadi, dramatic as always, telling a group of her Deva's acts of heroism. Though she did an awful lot of complaining about him, too.
As a bee, they passed by a moth-like creature fast asleep in an oversized flower.
They passed three eyed crows, monkeys, and winged rabbits. Eventually, as a fox, they came upon a rat sorting through various roots and flowers.
"Hello. I'm Juniper. What's your name?" they asked.
"I'm Remy," the rat replied, and took a bite out of one of the roots.
"What are you doing?" They sniffed one of the flowers Remy had laid out.
"NO! No, not that one. That one is poisonous! I'm finding plants for my friend."
"Wow, have fun!" Juniper exclaimed then leaped away. They continued on like this for a while longer, playing in the fields and talking to the other familiars. But after a time, Juniper felt the pull back to the material plane. Alex was awake already? Their surroundings melted and were slowly replaced by the dark dingy surroundings of a cheap room in a seedy tavern. Juniper noticed two odd things: one, that they were not a puppy but a female hairless cat, and two, it was not Alex looking down at them, but his missing friend Damien.
"Juniper?" The tired looking drow blinked as if not believing his eyes. "Why are you here?"
The answer to that was obvious. Apparently, he needed their help. They leaped with their newfound feline grace onto Damien's lap and nuzzled him. He sighed. "Can you lend me your eyes, Jun? I took a job translating some papers for a local scribe, but they found my secret." Damien touched the side of his glasses. "The scribe tried to buy them off of me, and when that didn't work he tried to take them by force. He's a wealthy man, I think... I think he might send people after me." He gave Juniper a few strokes on their back. Not as good as Alex's pets, but this would suffice. "I don't know where else to go... I don't have money to go far. But I can't stay here. Can you help watch my back when we leave in a few hours? You can go back to Alex afterwards… I can't believe I let my intent wander like this. I'm sorry, Jun."
Silly man. Why was he sorry for summoning them? Juniper liked to keep their number of familiars low, but one more wouldn't hurt. Besides, they could now feel how both of their familiars missed each other. Alex would be very interested to hear about this.