Pie, Spells, Trouble
Julius had never really thought about... magic. Sure, he felt that some kind of magic must exist in the world, for there were unexplainable, beautiful things that he loved. Jewels, minerals, nature... pie.
For a nearly-Winter Autumn day, it wasn't as chilly as Julius had expected when he walked outside his house. He had grabbed his thickest, warmest, and of course most fashionable coat but found that there was just…something warm in the air today. Something made his entire being feel somewhat festive and ready for the upcoming Autumn holidays. What was this…feeling? He simply stood in place, his feet rooted into his welcome mat. He exhaled deeply.
Suddenly, the feeling got stronger as a certain scent entered his nostrils. It was a sweet, spicy scent that warmed him up amidst the dropping temperatures around him. That smell… was that the reason for the strange feeling? Never in his life had he smelled something so… delicious.
It suddenly hit him – of course! He did have a master chef that was obsessed with cooking for a neighbor. No doubt Chase was cooking his little heart out, what with the upcoming holidays… pies, cookies, pumpkin candies for the children…
Julius decided firmly that Mira would just have to hate him today. He was going to be late for work.
As he walked closer to Chase's house, the aroma became stronger, although it was still difficult to pinpoint the exact scent that he was basically drooling over. But no matter—whatever the smell, Julius would soon find out…and hopefully sample in copious amounts.
Julius clenched his fist, loudly rapping on Chase's door. It wasn't a gentle knock, but more of a desperate "I've come to steal your holiday goodies" kind of knock. No doubt, a knock Chase was probably already acquainted with this time of year. As he waited, the smell continued to haunt him… how he wanted to taste it…
As the door opened, a sleepy Chase greeted his unexpected guest. His apron was indeed covered in all sorts of delicious ingredients, but much to Julius' dismay, the smell almost seemed to disappear.
"What is it? I'm kinda busy," Chase quickly offered as a greeting. "And by kind of busy, I mean I have a lot of pies to make."
"Uh…" Julius brought a hand up to cup his chin, stroking it gently in slight confusion. "Well, you see, I was hoping you could help me…"
Chase raised his eyebrows, as if waiting for more to be spoken. "…with?"
"Do you…smell anything? There's this really heavenly aroma I have been smelling all morning! I thought maybe you were baking…"
Chase took a tiny sniff of the air, trying to conceal the fact he was doing so. "Well, I am baking… all I smell is my pi—"
He blinked as Julius had already turned and was walking away. What nerve; he always thought the guy was weird, but this definitely took the cake—er, pie, for strange Julius behavior. With an uninterested shrug, Chase closed the door and made his way back to his kitchen.
Julius didn't even bother going to Ruth's house…he wasn't a fan of her cooking, although her homegrown pumpkins were undeniably topnotch. He liked her ingredients, but that was about it. There was no way that glorious aroma was coming from her house.
The scent continued to lure him towards Moon Hill and the animal ranchers' home. He couldn't remember if either Renee or her mother were good cooks, but once he was a little closer, he realized that the only smell that emanated from their farm was, unfortunately, the barn.
He sighed, stopping again in his tracks as the smell circled around him, trapping him. Where else could this scent be coming from…? He suddenly felt alive again as he continued to follow his nose to the gates of Fugue Forest. He was certain that the mysterious smell was coming from beyond those gates. He wasn't sure how or why, but his nose was certain.
He felt completely entranced as he opened the thick gate, following only his instincts and sense of smell to navigate through the forest. Julius was aware this was really the first time he had ventured into the woods, as he definitely wasn't much of an outdoorsman. He knew that something had to be wrong with him; he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion of hiking through a dank, muddy forest, but somehow he didn't care. Although the forest was dark and cold, something about the sweet, rich smell in the air continued to keep him warm. For the first, and probably only time in his life, fashion, Mira, and punctuality were the last things on his mind.
His daze continued until a sudden sound interrupted his sweet reverie. A tree nearly missed him as it fell at his feet.
"Holy…! Hey, dude! Julius! Sorry about that… I totally didn't see you there!"
Julius blinked as a blue-haired carpenter came into his sight. Axe in hand, he was undoubtedly the reason Julius almost became a pretty stain on the leaf-covered forest floor.
"Uhh…you okay?" Luke asked, waving a hand in front of Julius' blank face. "Earth to Julius…?"
"That smell… it's… it's close now. I can almost taste it…"
In truth, the smell was on the tip of his tongue. Just a few more steps and he could finally savor it…!
"Have you been eating the mushrooms here or something?" Luke frowned, genuinely concerned. "I ate some mushrooms out here once, and I tell ya… Pops never let me live that one down! Ha! He said that I was running around in nothing but my bandanna swinging around my axe! So I'd stay away from those things if I were you—"
Luke was so wrapped up in his story that he had only noticed Julius was gone after he looked up and saw muddy footprints heading deeper into the forest. He crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Man… he's acting weirder than usual. Maybe I should go tell Mira."
Julius could feel his body growing warmer by the minute; the smell had now completely taken over his senses. He tasted, saw, heard, and smelled only the scent of his prey. But he was close now… it wouldn't be long before he…
Finally. He came to a small little house, surrounded by swamp and moss. For some reason, there was a certain warmth about this area, a certain life to the dead scenery around it. Perhaps it was because of the mysterious scent that had also warmed Julius up.
As he opened the unlocked door, his journey proved to not be in vain: there on the table sat the object of his torment. A perfect pumpkin pie sat among other holiday delicacies. But none of the other desserts seemed to have the enticing, sweet scent of the pumpkin pie that had led him here. Clearly, it was inviting him.
A shiny silver fork sat beside the pie, and Julius did not hesitate to grab the utensil and stab it into the dessert. It was too much; he hadn't even tasted it yet and it was already his favorite food. He could practically taste it as the raised the fork to his nearly-foaming mouth.
"Hey, you creep! What are you doing to my experiment!?"
Julius heard the high-pitched shriek, but dismissed it to continue raising the fork…
A sharp sting on his cheek nearly made him drop it.
"Ow! What the… where am I?!" Julius shouted as he reached for his burning cheek that apparently had just been slapped.
A young, angry girl watched him incredulously, tapping her pointed shoe. "Get out of here! I don't know who you think you are to just waltz in here and try to steal my food, but-!"
"Steal your food?! I don't even know why I'm here!" Julius said defensively. He took a quick look around the strangely-decorated cottage. "Who are you?"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know who I am?"
"All I know is that I smelled something really delicious this morning, and I thought it was Chase, but then I went into the forest and now I'm standing here holding a fork with pumpkin pie! And my new shoes are caked with mud and leaves, and... oh, wonderful, I'm late for work!"
The girl walked closer to him and quickly grabbed the fork from his hand. "Pumpkin pie…? Is that what this is called? Hmmm…" She examined it closer before she greedily shoved the fork into her own mouth.
"Excellent…!" she exclaimed happily. "This is… amazing! I think this is the best thing I have ever concocted…!"
Julius watched her with interest, now even more confused than ever. "I take it you don't cook much...?"
"No, you fool! This food spell took me three weeks to perfect, and look at it! Taste it!"
She dipped the fork into the pumpkin pie and then shoved it into Julius' face. He nearly choked as he savored the perfect pie. "Mmmff! This is… amazing… pumpkin pie is my favorite, and I must admit that this is the best one I have ever had! Please don't tell Chase I said that."
The girl retracted the fork back to her plate. "Why would I talk to anyone on this stupid island? Don't be ridiculous."
"Well, you are talking to me," Julius said as he slowly swallowed his bite of pie, staring longingly at the rest of it as it sat nearby them. "But I guess not, considering you're out here in the middle of nowhere..." he started. He hesitated as he chose his next words, almost drunk on the taste that still lingered in his mouth. "I am curious; why are you... out here? All alone...?"
"I'm not alone, you imbecile. I have plenty of familiars in this land, not to mention spells and books that keep me plenty company."
She stopped, looking almost offended. "But I don't expect a creature like you to understand."
Julius scoffed, though utterly amused. "Creature? Goodness, honey, the way you say that makes me wonder if I should've double-checked today's outfit, or maybe chosen different accessories for the day. Do I have leaves in my hair? Maybe I should check a mirror, considering I've been stumbling around in this dirty, old forest..."
"Hey!" the girl interjected loudly, poking the fork at Julius threateningly. "First of all, this forest is not dirty! I take great pride in the beauty of my forest, and if there is anything dirty about it, you can blame your own kind for that... hmph, always destroying the trees and altering that which isn't yours. It makes me sick." She backed away slightly as Julius nearly slunk down into a chair. "And second... I have never seen a human that looks like you. You're so..."
Julius really, really didn't want her to finish that assessment. Clearly, this poor girl had never been exposed to any sort of credible fashion. He wasn't surprised she had never seen anyone as well-dressed as he was.
"Enough about me, my dear, you're... so bitter."
The girl almost didn't respond. She simply stood there, watching. Her empty fork now dangled limply by her side.
"You say you're not alone, but before today, I never knew someone like you even existed here," he continued. "I don't know if you're someone's secret, or if you're hiding from something out here, but... whatever the reason, you sound bitter about it."
She looked away, frowning. "Bitter?"
"Yes, dear, bitter. It's ironic, because if it wasn't for the enticing, sweet smell of your pie, I wouldn't even be here."
"I told you already, it's not a pie... it's..."
Her words began to waver as she hesitated. She walked closer to the table, to be able to look wholly at her creation. Sweet, bitter... pie, spell, what did it all matter?
"I'd like to share more of it with you, if you would let me," Julius said with a sudden smile. "I don't assume you get many visitors. And I don't get many chances to enjoy perfect, marvelous pumpkin pies with such strange—I mean—charming company, such as yourself... and besides, how often do you get to have pre-holiday pumpkin pie?"
She was finding it increasingly hard to glare as she watched this stranger. He sat smugly in her chair, at her table... who did he think he was? And yet, to think her spell had affected him and helped her test out her new spell... maybe he wasn't all bad.
"F-fine," she muttered under her breath, eyes fixed on the floor. "I suppose I could use you as a test subject. So far the experiment has been a success, but..."
Julius beamed. "Ah, thank you, thank you! I can't wait to try another bite or two..."
The two sat down at the table as they continued, bite by bite, to devour the pie. The girl glanced at Julius several times in between her less passionate bites, almost proud that he was enjoying her creation so much. Who was she kidding, though... it was positively delicious. It had been a long time since she had really enjoyed one of her spells for herself.
The two of them, though odd company, ate in crisp silence. Words weren't necessary, only the senses were needed to fully experience the magic of the pumpkin pie they shared. A stray glance or two towards Julius' direction wasn't unnoticed, but he welcomed it the same way he welcomed the fork to his mouth; without thought or hesitation.
For a brief, thoughtless moment, he almost felt that they were friends, lovers maybe. In another life. This could be Thanksgiving Day, and this girl baked this flawless pumpkin pie just for him... a gift, an offering, a selfless act of thanks. Isn't that what such seasons were all about? He imagined what it might be like taking an autumn stroll, hand in hand, through the forest. Leaves of red and orange and brown dancing through their hair. The autumn sky would be perfect for watching stars late at night, after all the festivities are over and done with and Winter rolls around to make its mark at the end of the season. When Winter comes, they could stay warm together, bundled up by the crackling fireplace beneath layers of downy blankets. Maybe this was only an effect of the spell, but it felt like he was amongst real, actual family, here in this moment, out in the woods in a mystery cottage with a mystery woman that he both knew and at the same time didn't. Julius had never really thought about... magic. Sure, he felt that some kind of magic must exist in the world, for there were unexplainable, beautiful things that he loved. Jewels, minerals, nature... pie.
Every kiss tasted like cloves and fire, and every embrace felt like he was melting, melting far, far away into himself and into her. The velvety syllables of her name escaped his lips in complete perfection. This was love, and this was pure and beautiful and he was thankful for her very existence in this world. How could such a feeling be present this Thanksgiving season, and not every other? Did it really take magic and spells to appreciate the beauty and passion in life? He had never thought of himself as outright ungrateful, but this feeling was too much to comprehend.
Every bite had an exquisite taste that exceeded the last, and every bite made the daydreams and languor more delightful...
Suddenly they both sighed as their forks clinked in an almost alarming manner against each other. They met in the middle of the empty pie dish.
Upon realizing there were no more bites left, it didn't take long for them to sink back into their chairs awkwardly. They both knew their secret holiday was over, and the spell had left them full, yet... strangely empty.
Julius clutched at his belt in disgust. "Oh my Goddess… I think I'm going to be sick."
"Hey, you... don't insult my pie!"
"That was a…compliment… ugh…"
Julius sighed as he dusted pumpkin pie crumbs off his coat. It wasn't even Thanksgiving yet and he was already so stuffed with pumpkin pie that he could barely move. Not to mention the fact he was in a stranger's home, lured into eating some "magic pie", and…
He stood up abruptly, nearly tripping over himself as he stood. The dizziness certainly didn't help matters. "Oh no! Mira is going to kill me!"
He grabbed the girl's hand and shook it roughly. "I don't know who you are, darling, but thanks for the delicious pie! I really do have to run! This has all been strange, but… nice to meet you and have a happy holiday season! Come visit me at Mira's Accessory Shop in Town, okay?"
"Please," Julius remembered, not just a moment ago, pleading, "Come visit me, won't you, Vivi, my love? Your home here is so close to mine, and I want to spend more holidays like this with you." This thought was all but fading now, and he shook it off as an after-thought as he re-buttoned his coat in feigned haste.
The witch blinked as the purple-haired man tripped over himself running out her cottage. She was so full she didn't have the energy to even think about chasing him. "Hey! You…! I forgot to tell you… The pie!"
"You're a human, and I'm... you still wish to enter my world? So be it, I'll be there for the next time you celebrate. So long as you don't forget..." The words were more like an echo than a thought, and she didn't have the spirit to focus on this ridiculous memory her mind was fabricating.
She flipped her silver hair back as she yawned. "Oh well. I guess he doesn't care about the silly side effects anyways… Memory loss and indigestion are probably normal for humans. That pie was worth it."
Not much later after that in Harmonica Town, Mira raised an eyebrow as her accessory maker busted through the door. He was completely covered in dirt and leaves and completely out of breath.
"M-Mira! I…I am so… so…rry…. I'm late…"
"Is everything okay?" she asked, quite concerned. Julius was never late, and most of all, was never covered in dirt or leaves, or anything else that didn't sparkle or shine. "Where have you been?"
"Well, I…! I…?" Julius stopped as searched for his explanation. Where had he been? Suddenly, everything was fuzzy. He was far too young to be forgetting things like this. Did he oversleep? Have too much of that cranberry cocktail last night? No, that wasn't it…
"Well?" Mira asked. "No good excuse, I take it? Fine, just try not to make a habit of this, Julius. We have lots of work to do before Winter. Thanksgiving, Starry Night... a busy time of the year for services, as far as gift-giving goes..."
"No, really!" he protested. He couldn't let his immaculate work history be dragged through the mud like this! "I am positive that I was doing something very important before this! You have to believe me, Mira."
She put the back of her hand gently to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay, Julius? On second thought, maybe you should just take the entire day off…"
"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired and I feel a bit sick… ugh, I'll be fine," he sighed, perhaps a little more melodramatic than he meant; he swatted Mira's hand away from his forehead and replaced it with his own. Why did he feel so... empty?
"Hey, Mira!" a loud voice boomed from outside the shop. As the door opened, they recognized the voice to be Luke's. "Hey, is Julius back yet…? Oh, hey, Julius. I was worried about you, especially after you ate those funny mushrooms earlier."
Julius and Mira both simply stared as Luke grinned. "Glad you're safe, buddy. Just checkin' on ya. Well, see you guys later! If I don't see ya in the next couple days, Happy Thanksgiving!"
Mira slowly turned to Julius. "'Funny mushrooms'…?"
He raised his hands defensively. "I honestly have no idea what he is talking about… ugh, I'm going to make some tea."
Mira smiled, scratching her head in confusion. It was never a dull holiday in Castanet, that was for sure. Sometimes, especially when her accessory expert was involved, it was best to just not ask.
But really, Julius wished that just this once she would. Maybe if she would ask, he could remember... just what it was that he was doing that meant so much to him.
Seasons would pass, and still, he would always be thinking of that Autumn day where everything disappeared and he found exactly what he was looking for.
A/N: Good grief, at least I finished before Thanksgiving. I had to take a little creative liberty with the whole "Thanksgiving" thing, because of course the game I'm writing an autumn story about barely has any friggin' autumn festivals. I'm pretending that Castanet celebrates The Thanksgiving Festival, like some of the other HM games.
Really, this is just an excuse for me to ship Julius and the lovely Witch Princess because I've always had this weird idea that they would bond over pumpkin pie (since it's both in their loved gift category) and I think it's adorable. This prompt was super fun, so a big thanks to Accidentally the Whole Fanfic for coming up with it!