The Witching Hour

Miva and Ivy were all happy to join in on our little venture and our group made its way across the clearing and over to the long winding stairway going up into the trees. Miva was carrying Midnight in her arms, while Ivy was riding Soot, as she was so full, she could barely move.

Winter was roosting on top of my hat, as usual. We began the long ascent, and it gave us a magnificent view of the clearing below. Hundreds, if not thousands, of small lights scattered around a clearing the size of two soccer fields. And milling around that field were the guests and all the inhabitants of Nettledale. Their movement created an interesting flux of normal torchlight, pixie lights, and shadows of people milling around.

And yet, despite the colorful display, it wouldn’t hold a candle to the skylights that would soon begin. Soot landed on my shoulder. “You know, Mistress, according to Ivy, Pepper and Burr have taken lessons from Elven mages on how to improve the sky lights this year.”

Lessons? That seemed redundant, as the two were some of the best in the business. At least in the region. In response to my expression, Soot could only shrug, a gesture that nearly knocked Ivy from his back. “Yeah, I don’t get it either, and sorry, Ivy.” Ivy just hugged Soot’s head in response. “It’s fine Soot, it’s not your fault I got overeager, ugh.”

Once we finally made it into the branches of the tree, I headed towards the reserved section. Only those with special reservation could use the observation platforms there, and with a private section to myself. The platforms were grown from the trees themselves with nature magic, creating a part of the tree that could be used as benches, tables, and railings without harming the tree itself.

As we sat down, I noticed movement down below. I glanced over the railing and saw that it was Aurlin and Irun. They were at a lower branch and out of earshot. I could see them clearly enough, though. Just then, the show began. The sky above Nettledale exploded into patterns and explosions of color that would make fireworks seem lame, and even the strongest northern lights couldn’t compare to.

On the branch below, I could see Aurlin speak and as he did, he stood up from the bench. This caused Irun to tilt her head, confused. He turned around dramatically, then just as a powerful blast of light lit up the platform below, he pulled out the box and presented her the ring, causing the light to reflect over the silver and studded gemstones.

I couldn’t see Irun’s expression from here, but I could imagine it well enough from her reaction. She stared at Aurlin for a few moments, then nodded, and I could see something reflect off her cheek during the next blast of light. Tears of joy, no doubt. She slid off the bench and embraced Aurlin, the two sharing a deep kiss. I stopped watching. This was a moment that shouldn’t be spied upon.

I focused back on the skylight show and just leaned back against the table as I looked up at the lights through the canopy. “And so passes another midsummer.” I felt something on my lap. “Well, I see the two of you are getting comfy.” I noted as I gently pulled a hand through Miva’s hair. She was lying down on her back on the bench with her head in my lap. And was patting Midnight, who was lying on her stomach. “It’s rather nice to just relax like this now and then. It’s always business at the coven, even more so since mom took over as the leader.”

That was a bit of a surprise. “Aile withdrew as the coven's leader?” Miva nodded. “We were as surprised as you are. I mean, she said ‘over my dead body’ every time it was brought up before, I guess her back problems finally got to her.” Well, as long as the coven was happy, I suppose. “Well, I wish your Eira good luck as coven leader. It’s a hard job as far as I know.”

Miva looked up at me, her expression bordering on pleading. “You sure we can’t tempt you to take the position?” I shook my head in response. “No, thanks, I have my hands full dealing with the shenanigans of these four troublemakers.” I gestured to my familiars, and Ivy. “I am not interested in adding a coven and all the stipulations and troubles that ads on top.” Miva grimaced, then sat back up. “Fair enough, I guess.” She scratched Midnight behind the ears with a loving smile before leaning back against the table, as I did.

We continued to watch the show in silence, and once it was over, we began heading back down. When we returned to our table, we found that, to the surprise of no one here, it was now overflowing with pastries and sweets of all kinds. “I just don’t understand how they expect us to eat all this.”

I sat down at my seat again and Soot and Winter hopped off my shoulder and hat, respectively. “Neither do I, Mother. I mean, none of us familiars can eat the stuff, the chocolate is toxic for Soot and Midnight, and the sugar is a killer for me. The fact I can handle cooked meat at all, I attribute to the familiar ritual.”

I looked through the mountains of cakes, pies and the like, not just on our table, but also the smaller filler tables nearby. “It would seem they thought of that. Look there.” I pointed to a table with a massive helping of meat both cooked and raw, for those who enjoyed that stuff. “I see rabbit, venison, and at least five different fish if you want more to eat.”

After another helping of food, which I partook in with a great deal of restraint since I would be flying us home, the feast came to a close. By the end of it all, it was now closer to dawn than dusk. “Alright, you three, or rather four, since I bet you will be joining us as usual, Ivy. Time to head home.” I gently lifted a sleeping Miva into my arms. The kid mumbled something in her sleep. Alrighty, let’s see if we can find Eira.

It didn’t take long to find the Coven at all, as the pixies, ever curious about new things were swarming around them now that the festivities were over. “Excuse me, coming through.” As I broke through the circle, I was met with eight witches, of which I only recognized three. “Sorry to disturb your meet-and-greet, but I need to deliver something to you, Eira.” I nodded down towards the sleeping bundle that was Miva.

Eira, who was the spitting image of her daughter, minus the single fang, and of course being much taller. When she noticed Miva, she just chuckled. “Thank you for looking after her, Teacher.” I just waved her off. “Not an issue at all, and again, I’m not a teacher. I only showed you the basics. The coven taught you the rest.” That got a rise out of the old, shrunken, blue-skinned witch to her right. “Basics, she says. Well, I’ll remind you that your ‘basics’ catapulted our coven forwards about a decade.” I just shook my head while giving her a good-natured smile. “Hello to you too, Aile, how's the back?”

Aile pulled a long spindly arm across her crooked backside, then sniffled. “It’s seen better days. The straw that pushed it over the edge happened the other day when I went to grab a bucket of water and nearly broke it in the effort. I guess age is catching up with me. Well, not for long! I have all the ingredients I need for a youth potion, but until then, Eira is acting as Coven Leader in my stead, so I can focus on the brewing.” She paused for a moment, then eyed Miva for a moment.

“Say, Morgana, are to do an old woman a favor?” I couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Let me guess, you want me to take in Miva for about a week, so you can focus on the brewing without worrying about her shenanigans potentially causing a catastrophic failure.” Aile went quiet for a moment. Then she sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. “You hit the nail on the head. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the kid as if she were my grandchild, however…” Her voice trailed off.

“Oh, I get it. I have babysat her before, after all. I’ll take care of her, if you agree to Eira.” She handed Miva back with no hesitation. “I am sure she’d be ecstatic about the opportunity to hang around with Midnight for a week. Besides, Teacher, you are like an aunt to her, you know that. Though she would never openly admit it.”

I looked down at the sleeping bundle. “Eight years this winter, I will see if I can come up with a fitting present. Speaking of winter, isn’t her father’s tour finally ending this winter too?” Eira nodded now with a bittersweet smile on her face. “Teilar’s finally coming home. First time he gets to see his daughter too, I really should see if I could talk him into quitting the mercenary business. A decade is far too long to be away on a tour of duty.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but a tired hoot from above made me reconsider for a moment. “As much as I’d love to continue this conversation, it’s dawn in about two turns of the hourglass, so I should see about getting home.” Eira glanced up at the half-asleep Winter. “I suppose you’re right. Take care now and see you in a week.” She leaned down and gave Miva a loving peck on the cheek as I turned and left.

Considering most of the pixies would be too hopped up on sugar to sleep, I wouldn’t be surprised if the coven would be kept awake long into the early morning hours answering their questions at this rate. I pulled out the broom with one hand and sat down on it, while putting Miva in my lap. Midnight hopped onto the tail, while Soot landed with Ivy on the front. A few moments later, I was in the air and was leaving Nettledale behind. It was a good thing I didn’t need sight to navigate, as clouds were obscuring the moon, and dawn was still a ways away. “Looks like there will be rain tomorrow.”

I didn’t get a response. Most likely because all of them were sleeping. It was nice to have some quiet for once though, so I wasn’t complaining. I loved my tree familiars, but just some quiet now and then was delightful. I landed at my cabin, but didn’t wake everyone immediately, instead I hovered inside and over to the guest room, where I gently tucked Miva in.

Then I floated back to the living room. “Alright you guys, wake up.” I nudged Soot and Ivy awake while also poking Winter from below, while my tail patted Midnight awake. “You present awaits, besides you can’t sleep on the broom all night.” The mention of the present got the three of them to wake up a bit more. I walked over to a corner of the room. There I gestured for a bit as I undid several concealing spells.

The three of them managed a gleeful squeal as I revealed their present. It was a combination of multiple things they requested multiple times over the years, but I always postponed, for various reasons. It was a scratching pole, bird bath multi roost, with a nice and padded basket for Midnight to rest in and a strange ring with a glowing field on it.

The three eyed the ring curiously. “I know how much you loathe bathing, Midnight, so that ring will magically clean you if you jump through it. No more annoying bathing sessions. Whereas the two of you, who love to wash your feathers, have a bird bath whose water is always the perfect temperature you want it to be and will never run dry, nor will the water get dirty. The scratching post and roosting sticks never wear down, and the basket is self-cleaning and will keep both bugs and water out of it. Even a deluge won’t get it wet. If you want to try it, it can be found on the landing tomorrow. For now, let’s head to bed.”

I gestured at the contraption, and it vanished in a poof of smoke. I didn’t show it, but I was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to stagger into bed, and judging by the reaction of my beloved trio, they weren’t feeling much better. “Ivy, your bed was made ready before we left for the festival. You know where it is.” I mumbled as I staggered off towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. I could see Ivy’s dim viridian light flutter off towards the shelf where her guest bed was. About ten minutes later, I staggered into my bed and was out like a light mere moment later.