The Witching Hour

I stepped aside and gestured for the two pixies to enter. “There will be no need for that. Ms. Morgana. We are only here to pick up a certain someone.” She glanced past me and over to where Ivy was sitting. I turned around. “Ivy, it would seem you’ve forgotten something again.” Ivy looked my way. “What did I for-” She flinched as she noticed the deep purple glow of Nettle and the white glow of Lilly. “Oh, I forgot that, didn’t I? Sorry guys, I gotta go. I should have been helping to prep for the festival!” She did a short loop to give Soot, Winter and Midnight a quick hug each, then zoomed past me out the door at full speed.

“Well, at least she is owning up to her mistakes these days.” I noted as I watched the viridian ball disappear into the trees. Nettle just shrugged in response. “That does not excuse her tardiness. Though I suppose it is an improvement.” Nettle’s response might seem cold and detached, but I knew few inhabitants cared more for the happiness and wellbeing of Nettledale’s inhabitants, than Lady Nettle.

In response to Nettles’ statement, Soot took off and flew over. “To Ivy’s defense, Milady, Mistress, served pancakes for breakfast.” It was subtle, but Nettles’ reaction was obvious. “I have a few left over, though they will have cooled off by now…” Nettle and Lilly glanced at one another. “I would be remiss to refuse such a generous offer, but we are on the festival committee…” Nettles voice trailed off, and I could see the battle of wills going on behind her stoic expression.

"Well, that’s not a concern, Lady Nettle, you can have it to-go. Just finish it before you get back to the village, or you might spark a pancake induced riot." At the mention of a riot, I saw Nettle shudder. Lilly, for her part, gave a distressed tingle. “Please don’t remind us, the entire village almost tore itself apart the last time. There is a reason pancakes are banned within the village perimeter.” As she spoke, two cold pancakes with no filling floated out from the kitchen and shrank down to a size the two pixies could comfortably handle.

“If it helps your conscience in taking them, consider it an apology from me for forcing you to come all this way to fetch Ivy again.” Nettle hesitated for a moment. “This feels awfully close to a bribe.” However, she relented when she saw Lilly grab hers and didn’t even wait to eat. “Me, bribing you? That’d be the day. The stories of what you did to the last person who attempted such a thing are still the stuff of nightmares for underhanded businessmen across the kingdoms to this day. You’re a boogeyman in that regard, Lady Nettle. How many eyes have that needle of yours blinded for attempting to deceive or abuse pixies?”

Nettle pulled the needle from her back. It was rusty and old, likely older than I was. In her hands, it was like rusty a lance with a point so sharp it could easily pierce even thin sheets of metal, despite its corroded nature. That might be a suitable gift for nettle for the midsummer festival.

Nettle eyed the needle with the same expression a trained warrior would eye their favorite weapon. “I have long since lost count, but there are far more than I would like. Despite the deterrent I have become, biguns of various species still think to take advantage of my kind, after all.” She slid the needle back in its holster. "But that’s neither here nor there. You, Ms. Morgana have always proven to be a friend to our kind." She gave one of her rare smiles, before she and Lilly turned around towards the forest once more. “I look forward to seeing you at the festival.” I gave a polite nod, then waved them off.

Soot flew over and landed on my shoulder. “Nettle and Lilly, a strange pair, those two.” I reached over and scratched Soot behind the head, earning a few chirps in response. “They might be strange, but I am quite certain there is a reason for it. After all, they are both ancient even by pixie standards. Not to mention, they are the only pixies to ever reach the rank of Noble in both courts of the Fae. An unprecedented exception to the law of one court. But also unusual for Pixies, given their carefree attitudes, makes it so they don’t care for court rank at all.”

Soot clicked his beak in response. “Well, this has been enough of a distraction, I think. What’s next on the story agenda? I mean, after meeting Ivy, there was just boring daily routine stuff with not much happening for months. Even more so since it was late autumn, so Ivy and the rest of Nettledale were preparing for winter hibernation, so she wouldn’t show herself again until the following spring.” Soot flew off my shoulder and flew circles around the room as he spoke.

I walked over to my chair and gave both Winter and Midnight their own scratches. “Not entirely true. There was one event you’re forgetting.” Soot landed and tilted his head inquisitively, obviously racking his brain to remember what I was referring to, then seemed to remember. “Oh… that. How could I forget that?” This earned inquisitive glances from both Midnight and Winter. I leaned back in the chair. “Well…”

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Winter was here, and it was cold! The entire swamp was turned into a giant ice block, and snow was piling up by the day. Sure, I was a bit more used to the cold than most from Ireland. But I was not used to an average winter temperature of -20ºC, if the mercury thermometer outside my house was anything to go by. They weren’t perfect, but they were accurate enough. There was, however, one upside to all the snow. It made for a nice cushion.

Over the past few months, I made my first broom. It was a rickety, clunky and crude creation. But it did the job as a cleaning tool. I was, however, horrible at riding the damn thing. With no sense of balance at all. Soot was still around, too. His wing was mended, but he insisted on keeping it bound up longer, just in case. He found my attempts at riding the broom quite amusing. It wasn’t helping that I couldn’t come up with a good way to make a spell to help me keep myself balanced on the damn thing.

“I don’t understand, Morgana. What’s the point of trying to fly using the broom? Wouldn’t it be easier to just fashion a flight spell?” I sat up from the snow pile I landed in this time. “I could make a flight spell, but that would be a constant drain on my magic, have a time limit, and I couldn’t cast anything else unless I wanted to shorten my flight time. The enchantment I put on the broom is permanent, has no limit on flight time, nor drain on my reserves, and if I could just learn how to keep my damn balance, I could cast other spells as well.” I brushed off the snow from my clothes and extracted myself from the latest pile of snow.

I looked up at the landing, where Soot was sitting. “And what about you? We both know your wing was healed a long time ago. Isn’t it time you let it out of the binding and try to fly again?” Soot jumped backward in surprise at my sudden question. “Well… I…” I climbed up onto the landing and got myself under the roof and away from the snow. “Be honest with me, Soot, it’s obvious something’s bothering you, so out with it.”

Soot scratched his foot along the plank flooring. “I… I don’t want to leave, and as long as my wing is bandaged, I can stay.” I blinked. “Oh, that’s it? Well, I don’t mind you staying if that’s what you want. I was going to extend that offer anyway, as I’ve grown quite used to having you around.” Soot looked up at me in silent contemplation for a moment. “That won’t do. I can’t just freeload off you like this. It’s fair enough that you’ve been treating my wing, but I can’t just stay around like a… a pet!” That last part was spat out with a sense of absolute disgust.

It would seem Soot took pride in not being anyone’s pet, and I didn’t really have a suitable response to that. So I just sat there for a moment, looking at him in silence, then it hit me. “I can think of one thing that solves that, isn’t it?” Soot looked up at me and clicked his beak in anticipation of my suggestion.

“Tell me, Soot, what do witches and wizards have in common?” He remained silent for a while. “They… both have fam- Oh. OH! Hmm… you have a good point. That way I wouldn’t be freeloading, but actually be useful, and I could stay as well. And you have proven yourself as someone I can trust… I… Give me some time to think about it, ok?”

I gave his head a loving pat. “I don’t mind at all. It’s a big decision, after all, but meanwhile, let’s get your wing out of that binder. If we keep it like that when there is no need for it, it will do more harm than good eventually.” Soot clacked his beak a few times, but didn’t stop me from removing the bandage and binder.

Once freed, he gave his wing an experimental flap. “Ack that stings. It’s all pins and needles.” He kept trying to move it, though it was clear it was painful. "I can’t say I’m surprised. You haven’t moved the wing in months, so your muscles are weakened, stiff, and out of practice. I recommend taking it slow and training the muscles in your wing back up before you attempt to fly, unless you wish to take a swan dive into the snow, that is." Soot chirped for a bit before he gave it a few weak flaps with his wings and winced. “I’ll take your advice in that regard, I think.”

Two hours later, I was still mulling over how to enchant the damn broom. “Enchant this seat so gravity I can beat? No, no, no, too much mana needed to cancel gravity, but what rhymes with balance?” I heard some chirping behind me. “Mind if I give a suggestion?” I looked down at Soot. “Not at all. Go ahead.”

Soot hopped up on the small makeshift seat I had attached to the broom. “Flying high and far on this broom is my call, so enchant this seat, so I won’t fall. That should do it. It’s simple and easy and explains exactly what you want to do, while challenging none of the larger concepts of reality.” I reached down and gave Soot a few scratches behind the head.

“Thanks, Soot, I’ll try that.” Soot flinched for a moment as I touched his head, but relaxed as I began scratching him gently. Soon he was cooing in delight. After a few moments, Soot jumped off so I could enchant the seat without putting the enchantment on him by accident.

“Flying high and far on this broom is my call, so enchant this seat, so I won’t fall.” The drain of magic both from me and the surrounding air was high, but in difference from my earlier attempts, which I aborted immediately to not cause a surge, it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t handle it. Though, it was on the edge of what I could handle. Once it was done, I felt lightheaded and dizzy.

Soot hopped over next to me and looked up at my face. “Hmm, paleness, glassy eyes, and signs of exhaustion. Your mana reserves running on empty, eh? We should see if we could get you some food. That will perk you right up.” I gave him a tired smile. “Sounds like a plan. As tempting as it is to give the broom another whirl, I don’t think I’d be able to fly straight given how much the room is spinning.”

Soot hopped backwards a bit. “If the room is spinning, we’re postponing the food situation. Go lie down on the couch. You’ll pass out any second.” I didn’t feel like I was about to pass out, but then again, Soot knew more about mana depletion than I did. I tried to stand up, but there was no chance of that happening, so I settled on crawling over to it and lifting myself onto it. No sooner did I lie down before my eyes closed, and I was out like a light.

I woke up several hours later. It was dark outside and the full moon was shining through the windows. Soot was sleeping on the table next to me. I rose and went out into the kitchen. I was famished. After closing the door to the living room, so I wouldn’t wake Soot, I made a simple yet tasty meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes, a meal I knew Soot enjoyed.

Once it was finished, I filled two plates and grabbed some cutlery, then carried them both back into the living room. I placed the two plates down on the table, then woke Soot up with a few gentle scratches behind the head. “Hey Soot, sorry to wake you, but I made us some food if you want some.”

He chirped and clacked his beak a bit, then opened his eyes and saw what I made. “Oh, that’s nice, thanks.” He hopped over to his plate and ate, as I sat down and did the same. “There is more in the kitchen if you want more.” Soot looked up at me as he gulped down another helping of meatball and mashed potato. “More? Are we celebrating, or something? You rarely make more than one plate for each of us.” I held up two fingers, since my mouth was full of food.

“Two things? Hmm, I can guess one, the successful enchantment, but what’s the other?” I reached out and lightly tapped his mended wing. “Huh? Oh, right, my wing, I forgot about it being loose now, been so long since I’ve used it….” His voice trailed off. And he seemed to be in deep thought. “I… I’ve thought about what you suggested earlier. It’s a tough decision to make, given my last experience with that, but… you’ve never done wrong by me, so sure. I’ll become your familiar.”

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Midnight jumped from the armrest and over to the table where Soot was sitting. Once there, she leaned in and nuzzled his neck. “I, for one, can say that I am happy about it. After all, if it wasn’t for you, I never would have met Meowstress.” She swapped to licking his beak as she talked, her usual sign of endearment with Soot, who begrudgingly let her.

Winter flew over as well, and the three were soon just a pile of cuddling familiars. “I am happy that you both are here, Uncle Soot and Aunt Midnight. Mother is nice, of course, but this house wouldn’t be the same without you.” All three of them stopped openly talking and hooted, chirped and purred instead. Seeing all three of them busy, I silently got up and went into the kitchen. It was almost lunchtime, after all.