O is for Owl

After the lesson had ended all the apprentices went outside. Only Susan and a pair of the others stayed in the Barn. Susan did not want to go outside, she felt moody. She did not feel like going for a walk in the sunshine.

  She climbed the stairs, and navigated the narrow stairs leading to the libraries. She went into the smallest of them, as she remembered that the books on owls and other familiars were located there. After a short search she found a big, dusty volume called Information on Arcane Familiars. She looked in the index, and discovered that the animals were ordered alphabetically. This made it easier. She quickly flicked past Adder, Badger, Bat, Bear, Black Mamba, Blackbird, Boar, Buffalo and  Buzzard to arrive at Cat, and read: "Cats often choose the witch or wizard. A perfectly black cat is the best familiars, but also black cats with white markings or even a red cat can be excellent familiars. Sometimes ...
  Thora entered the room. "Hi Susan, studying on your own?"
  "Yes, I wanted to know more about cats as familiars, you see, I think I once had one, but something went wrong." And Susan told Thora all about Meow, the inbred, stupid cat, who had insisted on staying close to Susan at all times.
  "Yes," Thora said slowly. "That might have been the result of imperfect bounding, or something else. Familiars are not always as they should be."
  "And owls," Susan said. "My Grandma has two big owls sitting on her clothes line. They seemed to understand me, and I them. I would so like to have a owl as familiar. "
  "Maybe when you get older. An owl is a very messy familiar, demanding a lot of space. I live outside of town, just like your Granny. Owls need to hunt."