In the end, the adorable-looking princess dress was rejected, and Leonard had to put the Unicorn in plain, warm, close-fitting clothes instead.
At first, Leonard mischievously transformed a floral quilted jacket and matching pants for Claudia. The overwhelmingly rustic look dragged down her elegance by more than a notch. Her little face was still lovely, but that mysterious, noble air was completely washed away. Paired with her clear, innocent eyes, she looked like a pretty but clueless country girl.
After staring at it for a while, it became almost painful to look at, so Leonard switched her into normal Muggle winter clothes: fleece-lined pants, a wool sweater, and finally a down jacket.
All of this was done entirely through Transfiguration, which deserved another mention here.
To the little Unicorn, though, no outfit felt comfortable. Her shifty little eyes made it obvious she was waiting for a chance to rip the clothes off the moment Leonard wasn't looking. But the quilted jacket was much harder to remove than a dress. She was panting heavily and still couldn't free even one arm.
"Claudia doesn't like this clothes," the little Unicorn said, her speech already much smoother, her complaint clear.
"Without clothes you'll get cold," Leonard explained patiently.
"Claudia not afraid. Claudia can stay with Mum. Warm. Claudia can make fire," she said with complete seriousness.
Her innocent confidence made Leonard laugh.
But he still had to set her thinking straight. He deliberately put on a stern face. "If you don't wear clothes, you can get sick easily. And when you're sick, you feel awful and you won't want to eat anything."
"No appetite?" The little Unicorn's eyes widened like she'd heard the world was ending. "Not even sweet pancakes?"
Leonard seemed to have found her rhythm and nodded. "Yes. You won't even taste the sweetness."
"That's terrible…" Claudia whispered, as if the sky had fallen. "Claudia doesn't want to get sick."
"So you have to wear your clothes properly." Leonard couldn't resist pinching her soft cheek when he saw her crestfallen expression. The springy feel was dangerously addictive.
"Claudia knows. Claudia will wear clothes properly," she said earnestly.
"And shoes," Leonard added.
"Sh—shoes?" The little Unicorn looked nervous. "Leonard, Claudia doesn't want shoes. Feet can't touch ground. Can't run fast."
"Is that so? But what about pancakes? If Claudia can't taste them, eating pancakes would be a waste, right?" Leonard said, forcing back a laugh.
"Pancakes…" Claudia bit her lower lip, looking wronged. "O… okay."
Leonard felt helpless and amused that food was the only way to make the little Unicorn behave.
Fortunately, he had no intention of letting her meet anyone. Otherwise, she'd be kidnapped with a single pancake. And with a horn on her head, Claudia wasn't exactly ready to be seen by others anyway.
Once she finally accepted the clothes, the next step was basic life lessons—don't eat random things, boil water before drinking, use a blanket when sleeping, and take off your pants before going to the bathroom.
That last one he nearly forgot. If he hadn't seen her flushed red and stomping in place, he might never have realized. But teaching a Unicorn how to use a toilet…
The whole thing was painfully awkward. Leonard was more than once grateful he was still only eleven.
After all this fuss, the sky was already getting dark.
Leonard settled the little Unicorn in, setting up her small room with bedding, a cup, a kettle for boiling water, and other basic necessities.
Once everything was in place, it was time for him to head out.
"I'm leaving now, Claudia. Say goodbye to me?" Leonard waved at the little unicorn.
"Where is Leonard going?" the little unicorn asked anxiously.
"I'm going outside the forest. I'll come back to see you tomorrow," Leonard said.
"No!"
The usually calm little unicorn suddenly panicked, grabbing Leonard tightly and refusing to let go. "Can Leonard please not leave?"
"Be good. I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll bring your favorite pancakes," Leonard coaxed gently.
"No! Claudia doesn't want pancakes. Claudia wants Leonard to stay with me."
Claudia rested the little horn on her head against Leonard's shoulder, rubbing it back and forth like she was pleading.
Hearing Claudia choose him over pancakes touched Leonard deeply. But realizing he was being compared to a pancake also left him oddly defeated...
"Claudia, what's wrong? Haven't we always done this?" Leonard asked. "I come see you every day."
"But Claudia isn't like Mum anymore," she whispered. "Being with Mum is still warm, but Claudia always feels something empty in her chest, like something important is missing. It feels awful."
Leonard fell silent, finally understanding what she felt. Loneliness, probably. When Claudia was still a unicorn, she'd been surrounded by her own kind and never had reason to feel alone. But the moment she became human, the difference in size and appearance made her simple heart instinctively drift away from the other unicorns.
The herd still accepted her, sensing she was one of them. But Claudia herself couldn't shake the insecurity of feeling like the odd one out. And Leonard—the only person she'd ever known—naturally became the one she clung to. But he couldn't stay with her all the time.
"I'm sorry, Claudia," Leonard said with genuine regret. "I have things to do outside. I can't stay here with you all the time."
"Why?" Claudia's big eyes turned misty, as if she was about to cry.
"Don't be sad. Here, I'll give you a gift."
Leonard picked up a dead twig from the ground and brought Claudia back into the small cabin. In front of her, he transformed the twig into a life-sized Unicorn plush doll.
It was still a unicorn, but its chibi design gave it far more charm than a real one. If nothing went wrong, it should lift her spirits.
Sure enough, the moment Claudia saw the plush, her eyes lit up. Without Leonard needing to say a word, she launched herself into its soft arms and rolled around happily.
Seeing the little unicorn so cheerful, Leonard finally felt relieved.
"Wait here for me. Don't run around, okay? I'll bring more good food tomorrow."
Leonard bent down and ruffled Claudia's hair.
Buried in the soft plush, Claudia hesitated for a moment, then brightened and giggled.
"Okay! Claudia will wait here nicely for Leonard to come back."
...
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