A/N: What? What? Starmy is actually alive?
Well, yes! Somehow, hahaha. I was in a bit of a really bad slump because of school and some other personal stuff, so writing took the back burner... and then stayed there. It's been hard to get back into the swing of things, and I've been writing some stuff, but I haven't been able to really work on them to a point I thought was satisfactory. So I'm not going to post any of them until I finish them.

So for now, have this instead! AU in every single sense of the word, just because I enjoy this sort of theme, haha. It's something that I've had in mind for a really long time now, and it's something that's meant to be more episodic and just something that I can jump on or work on whenever I feel the need to. Just for fun, you know? Not too serious or anything.
And for now, it's a bit... short, hahaha. Especially by standards of my account, usually. But I'll have more soon! Like, actually soon. Really.
It's also unbeta'd, so, that's fun too.

Please enjoy! \ u/

Chapter One: High Expectations

There were many countless times when Marth had been nervous.

There was nearly every single day of his life up until he was ten, when he thought that the gift of magic had been passed to everyone in his family except for him, and he was going to be stuck the single human in a family of magi. He'd gotten out of that mess by sneezing and accidentally getting himself stuck to the ceiling for the better part of three hours.

There was that time he almost cursed a human boy when he was startled; his entire head had turned violet, from the roots of his hair straight to his teeth. He'd gotten out of that because the boy was an idiot and didn't even notice before it turned back to normal about three hours later.

More recently, there was when he was forced to decide just what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Did he want to devote his time to knowledge, experiments, and solitude as a wizard? Scorn everything that was known to be good and dear and delve into the dark magics as a sorcerer? Or did he want to become a working-class nobody as just a lowly mage?

He'd gotten out of that by choosing to be none. Instead, he was going to apply for an internship – but was he technically still a mage, then...? - as a witch in one of the most respected covens in the magi world. This was all well and good, of course; witches handled business. He could do that. They frequently specialized in a few areas of expertise, and once he was exposed to enough, he was sure he could do that, too.

But now he had to actually show up.

Which made him nervous on entirely different levels.

For years, the Petal Blossom coven had been by far one of the most impressive and admired covens in the community. They had risen up from practically nobody – a coven in a small, unimportant circle in the middle of nowhere. A band of kids playing pretend in a big, abandoned house.

Nobody quite knew how it happened, but they had expanded at a rapid pace. They'd gained small bits and pieces of knowledge, they collected another staff member here and there, and eventually they jumped from whatever circle they'd originated in – no one remembered or really cared about the name – to the famed Smash Circle, full of witches, wizards, mages, and probably sorcerers, all of the highest caliber.

How they had done it was anyone's guess. Their staff was exceedingly small – less than a dozen witches – and yet they were somehow able to fulfill a majority of their client's requests. They had access to almost everything on the market, and if they became aware of something that they didn't have access to, you could be damn well sure they'd have it by the end of the week. Or the day. Their determination, power, and achievement struck awe, respect, envy, and fear into all who were aware of them.

What nobody really said, but everyone really understood, was the silent reason these feelings were doubled: the Petal Blossom coven was, evidently, exclusively women.

Of course, to Marth, this didn't matter so much. He was used to being around girls a lot; most of his closest friends were female! But all the same, he wasn't sure whether or not his gender was going to change anyone's treatment of him.

Actually, that was wrong. He'd been totally certain that was going to change things. He hadn't even been planning on calling them for the internship because he was sure they were going to laugh at him or curse him over the phone for being a stupid boy and he would be stuck walking around as like, a duck or something for a week. And what would he do then? What kind of coven would accept a duck as an intern?

Well, considering how odd some covens were, probably quite a few. But he had his dignity!

Apparently, his whole duck argument wasn't enough to convince his father or mother or sister that he shouldn't try, so he was stuck internally quivering as he called the coven and asked if they were accepting internships.

"Oh, you're looking to be an intern?" the sugar-sweet sounding woman on the other side had asked, and it hadn't sounded unkind, or anything.

"Um... yes, I was hoping that you were-" he'd started a bit hesitantly, but he couldn't even think of where to go with the rest of that sentence before he was cut off.

There was a cry of, "Oh, fantastic!" that made him jump a little, and he could practically hear her smile as she asked him, "When can you start?"

Marth hadn't been really sure what to make of that, so he was left silent for a few moments before he stammered, "D-Don't you want my credentials, or... or something?"

"Credentials?" the woman had asked as if the thought had just occurred to her. "Your credentials? Well, you can do magic, can't you?"

"Well... Well yes, otherwise I wouldn't be calling..."

"And do you have a chosen specialty yet?"

"No, I was hoping the experience would help me choose-"

"Then you're completely qualified!" she'd crowed happily, and he thought that a touch of some sort of sparkle had come out of the receiver from her excitement. "Now, when can you start?"

"I, uh... at the... the beginning of next week?" he'd said a bit uncertainly. "Would that be alright...?"

"Certainly! The address is – oh, you know the address, you called us. See you on Monday – uh, what was your name?" she'd added as an afterthought, and Marth had to wonder whether or not he'd dialed the right number.

"This... This is the Petal Blossom, right?"

"This This Is The Petal Blossom Right? That's kind of a long name, do you have a nickname?"

He was struck silent for a few moments more before he shook his head, blinking rapidly. "I... no, that's not my name, I was making sure I had the right number."

"Oh! Well, then yes, this is the Petal Blossom coven, currently on the list of the top ten covens in the magi world and one of the three covens in the Smash Circle, established quite-some-time-ago and currently positively blooming, thank-you-very-much," she'd rattled off like it was nothing. "You are currently speaking with Peach, by the way! Peach Toadstool."

Marth felt like his stomach had turned into individual knots. Peach Toadstool – the founder of the coven herself was taking his phone call? And she acted like this?

"Now that I've told you my name, the only reasonable thing is to tell me yours now, right, Mister Intern?" she'd prodded sweetly.

"Marth," he'd said simply, having decided not to question this any longer. "I'm Marth Lowell."

"Great! Starting Monday, yes?"

"Yes."

"A-Okay, I'll be sure to tell everyone to expect you!"

"I... Miss Toadstool?" he interjected once he thought she was about to hang up, making her pause.

"Mister Marth Lowell Intern?"

Good grief. "It's not an issue that I'm... not a woman, is it?" Had there been some misunderstanding? He knew from certain angles, he looked rather feminine, but he certainly never thought that he sounded that way...

There was a pause for a few moments when he was sure that he'd blown it, but then Peach let out a loud laugh that either intensified his jitters or put them to rest. Violently. "Oh, goodness, no! Why? Should it be?"

"N-Not at all!" he stammered quickly, shaking his head. "I was just... making sure! That there weren't any misunderstandings."

"None at all! I think. If there are, we can sort it out eventually! Now, I'm a bit busy, so I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

And then she'd just hung up. Just like that. The phone clattered to the ground from his hand, and he wasn't sure what else to do other than sigh.

So cue packing.

Cue the most nerve-wrecking, nervous week of his entire, very nervous life.

Fast forward to him standing in front of an old, abandoned mansion. The local haunt. A haunted house.

He didn't have a way to get out of this one.