witch's familiar

a mouse and a curse

"WHAT THE-!"
A-Xu was rudely torn from his afternoon nap. He couldn't have slept long as the midday sun still shone warmly on him. The cat looked around sullenly and tried to locate the source of the scream.
"A-XU! GET THE MOUSE!" he heard Gu Xiang shout and the next moment he found himself in a staring competition with a little mouse.
The mouse was maybe a good four inches tall, with brown fur and the cutest button eyes A-Xu had ever seen.
"A-Xu!" Gu Xiang shouted again, causing the mouse to run away. The familiar did not move an inch.
"A-Xu, you useless cat! Aren't you supposed to be a predator or something?"
The cat just yawned and went back to sleep while the girl began to look for the mouse.

But neither of them got very far when the master of the house stumbled in. In his arms, he carried a large cardboard box, which blocked his view and made every step a guessing game.
"A little help would be nice" he called into the apartment while trying to close the door behind him.
Gu Xiang rushed to her brother and took the huge package from him. She was surprised at how light it was compared to its size. "What's this?"
Wen Kexing removed his shoes and jacket before retrieving the package.
"This is a belated birthday present from a colleague."
"Your birthday was four months ago," Gu Xiang exclaimed surprisingly. A-Xu had only casually followed the conversation while he tried to disappear back into the land of dreams, but now the two humans had his full attention. A birthday gift this late couldn't mean anything good.

Wen Kexing placed the package on the coffee table and A-Xu took a closer look. Considering it was supposed to be a birthday present, it looked pretty sad. The box was made out of ordinary cardboard that had seen better days. It was a miracle it still retained its shape. Wen Kexing opened the sad excuse of a shipping box and pulled out the ugliest vase the cat had ever seen. It was shaped like a normal vase, but on one side a face was formed which the cat could only describe as a cross between a potato and a donkey. The sight of the vase sent shivers down A-Xu's spine, but that wasn't entirely due to the hideous face. It was the energy that emanated from the vase and he didn't like it at all.

"This vase is..." Wen Kexing began.
"Abominable, horrific, disgustingly hideous, downright ugly?" suggested Gu Xiang.
"I wanted to say creative."
Wen Kexing took a quick look around the apartment before placing the vase on a dresser near the front door. He took a few steps back and looked at the composition.
"Please don't tell me you're going to keep that thing," the girl commented, wrinkling her nose.
"It was a gift! I can't just throw it away just because it's a bit odd!"
Gu Xiang rolled his eyes in irritation and disappeared into the kitchen.
"A Xiang!" shouted Wen Kexing and ran after her.

A-Xu took the opportunity and climbed up the dresser to take a closer look at the vase. In doing so, he noticed two things.
1. The vase was even uglier from up close.
2. The vase was cursed.
Familiars are among the handful of creatures that can tell at first glance if something is cursed and/or poses a threat to their master. They have a special sense for negative energy and most of the time they also know immediately how to get rid of curses in the quickest way.

A-Xu took a closer look at the vase and realized that while it was a curse intended to affect the health of the owner, the curse itself was weak and completely dependent on the vase. This told him that whoever cursed the vase was a complete novice at magic and that the curse can be broken by breaking the vase itself. It was that easy.
The cat raised its paw and was about to throw the vase off the dresser, but stopped before it could touch the hideous thing.
Wen Kexing was not his master. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing did not have a contract. In this home, he was not a familiar, just a cat. Accordingly, he was not obliged to protect the apartment. The curse would only affect the two humans and not Zhou Zishu. Why should he break the vase when he had no responsibilities binding him to the people of this home?

He was about to jump off the dresser when a squeak drew his attention back to the vase. It was the mouse.
It had somehow managed to climb up and walk past A-Xu to the vase without him noticing. Now the mouse was busy running around the vase and occasionally stopping to smell it. At one point, the mouse stopped in front of the vase and looked up at A-Xu. As if it was waiting for something.

Zhou Zishu looked over to the kitchen where he heard Wen Kexing and Gu Xiang arguing. It wasn't anything serious, just a heated debate about whether it was still worth shopping or if they should just order. Gu Xiang very clearly in favor of the latter.
The cat looked back at the vase. The two gave him a home and a name, but a contract was never made. If he destroys that vase, would that mean he recognizes Wen Kexing as his master? Would this mean that he will be bonded to the two of them? does he want that?

A-Xu lifted his paw and the next moment the vase was on the ground. Broken into a thousand pieces and curse is gone.
He heard Wen Kexing stumble as he tried to run to the source of the noise, but A-Xu didn't look around and just picked up the mouse. He tried to be as gentle as possible so as not to accidentally bite the little animal.

Wen Kexing curses as he tripped over his own feet, but his anger at himself was only overshadowed by his concern for A-Xu. What he did find, however, was a cat with its prey and a broken vase. He had to admit that he was anything but sad about the loss and was actually happy inside that he didn't have to see the ugly thing anymore. Only his pride prevented him from showing this openly. Instead, he silently disappeared into the kitchen to get a broom.
Gu Xiang arrived at the same time her brother disappeared. She first stared at the shards on the floor before her gaze fell on the cat.
"Looks like you're good for something after all!" she said with a big smile.

Zhou Zishu jumped off the dresser. Now he only had to take care of the mouse.