Solomon's Seal root smoke fanned over around the ritual area and into every corner for good measure. Two identical circle-enclosed pentagrams were drawn in chalk a few inches apart and pointing at each other on the floor of the room. Orange candles were placed at each of the five points of one pentagram and green candles on the other's. Seraphinite, achroite, blue agate, alexandrite, amber, and chalcopyrite surrounded the laid out bones of the long dead Demon in the pentagram with orange candles. Onyx, opal, red jasper, zircon, aventurine, and larimar were held in the hands of the Demon Familiar of the Witch in the pentagram with green candles. With a wave of the Witch's hand, all ten candles sparked to light and the ritual began.
The first step, invoking the elements needed in the reconstruction of the Demon's body using the stones in the orange pentagram. Using a wand of birch, the Witch gestured from the top point of her pentagram once to both bottom points and then from the right bottom point to the left side point. Earth, Fire, and Spirit flowed into the Witch. Her green eyes began to glow brighter and her dark brown waist length hair rose slightly away from her proportionally curved figure which was only slightly visible under the forest green tank top, knitted brown and green long sleeve hooded shawl, and denim jeans she had on. The only piece of religious jewelry she wore was the amber and jet mali wrapped nine times around her right wrist.
The second step, the actual reconstruction of the body. Without smudging the chalk lines of the pentagram the Witch moved to stand in the middle of the five pinnacles. Both hands raised to the pentagram in front of her, the Witch lowered her head and closed her eyes. With her mind clear of all thoughts but those of the ritual, the Witch began mouthing her incantation and directing her gathered Power into the other pentagram. Organs, muscles, and nervous tissues began to manifest within the skeleton and around it before smooth skin and hair could start to form.
"Alistair, the onyx, the opal, and the jasper?" the Witch instructed. The steel eyed Familiar nodded then tossed her the stones before returning his gaze to the now fully formed body laying of the floor a few feet away with a prideful smirk. "Thank you."
Step three, the thinning of the veil between dimensional worlds. This and the steps hereafter were the most dangerous. With the veil almost completely lifted, beings on the other side could see the open vessel body in the pentagram. The Witch hoped that the Solomon's Seal would keep away any undesired entities from interfering and that she could piece together the Demon's essence and memory before anything else got too curious. With the onyx in the Witch's right hand and the other two stones in the pockets of her jeans, she envisioned milk turning to water and slowly felt uneasiness invaded her senses. Taking a shaky breath, the Witch tried to calm herself before continuing on.
Step number four, summon the Demon's essence. This was the part of the ritual the Witch was unsure about. Reconstruction of a body, feasible. Reconstruction of a Demon's "soul", a bit out in the left field somewhere no one has gone. No other Witch had ever attempted it, there was no instruction to go off of. Just a couple thrown together ideas and theories discussed with the other three members of her coven. She was hoping the jasper would work and that she'd be able to manifest the Demon she wanted instead of one that just so happened that be nearby. Replacing the onyx with the red jasper, the Witch sat on the floor while leaning on her left hand onto the top pinnacle of her pentagram and stared into the body in front of her.
He was good looking, there wasn't a Demon in hell that wasn't, but his looks seemed to be offset by the permanent scowl on his mouth. The Witch was so absorbed in the one characteristic that she didn't see the essence of the Demon starting to collect within the circle. Sheer ribbons of purple, black, and navy began to swirl in the confinement of the circle, and once thick enough, almost completely blocking out the Witch's view of the body. The darkness revealed to the Witch her mistake in being too interest in the physical features of the Demon's vessel.
Step five, bind the essence back into its vessel. Compared to the time it took to reconstruct the body, it would depend on how much the Demon fought as to how long it would take for her to work him back into his body. With the opal now in hand, the Witch closed her eyes and envisioned dust particles (the Demon's essence) being sucked through an air filter (the body) and the dust sticking. At first the Witch used only a normal trickle of her Power to cox the Demon in his vessel but after ten minutes and the Demon not budging, she knew the situation would called for a higher level of convincing. The Witch stood slowly, getting her feet under her before straightening out her legs and then standing properly with her shoulders back.
"I know that you know I couldn't have found your bones or this," the Witch monotone voice paused, extending her arm out to her use and clenching her teeth, as a large greenish blue sword emerged from out under the Witch's left sleeve into her hand, "if I wasn't told where they were by someone who did know. Now, get in your body!"
With that said, the darkness within the Demon's pentagram began to slowly dissipate and the candle light once again illuminated the Demon's body. The Witch exhaled in relief. When she opened her eyes again, the Demon in the pentagram was now standing and staring at the woman in front of him. One emotionless gaze looking into another, neither being let their faces betray what was going on in their minds.
"Alistair go upstairs," the Witch ordered, she still glowing eyes not straying a moment from the Demon in the pentagram. "He'll need clothes."
"Yes, my Queen," the Familiar bowed to his mistress before turning on his heels and climbing the stairs behind her.
There was a short silence that overtook the spacious basement before the Witch spoke again, "What was the name our last master called you by?"
"Claude," the Demon's voice took the Witch by surprise though she played it off as contemplation. "Claude Faustus."
"Nadia...Queen," the Witch said, pausing because she still unsure about the Demon. "I'm glad you decided to comply."
"I didn't have any other choice," Claude allowed his eyes to fully survey what was visible of the woman in front of him.
"I'm known to have that effect on your kind," the Witch smirked as Alistair came back down the stairs. "While staying with us Mr. Faustus I suggest being on your best behavior. I wouldn't want to complain to your employer."
"And why would he listen to you?" Claude asked slightly smugness evident in his voice.
"Because Daddy loves his little girls," Nadia stated, turning on her heels and smudging a line of her pentagram. "Both of you have two minutes to be upstairs, don't doddle."
"Yes, my Queen," Alistair nodded to Nadia as he past, going to give Claude the bundle of clothes in his hands.
Not wasting anymore time, Nadia climbed the stairs up and out of the basement the living room. Closing the basement door tightly behind her, Nadia quickly glanced around the living room and finds her sister curled up on the couch with a bowl of Pops watching Adventure Time on the TV. Nadia smiles at the back of her sister's blonde head before going to the kitchen to get herself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and then returning to stand behind the couch, bowl in hand. Nadia's sister, Mari, was the complete visible opposite of Nadia. Where Nadia had long straight dark brown hair, Mari had shoulder length blonde curls. As Nadia's eye were a leafy green, Mari's were a deep ocean blue. Their figures followed the same concept. Nadia was curvy and Mari was athletically thin. Being ten years apart, Nadia was the mature one while Mari was childlike. Nadia did have her moments though as did Mari.
"You really from school?" Nadia asked after swallowing her mouthful of cereal.
"Yep," Mari responded around her spoon. "You get your Demon?"
"Surprisingly... Yes, I did," Nadia answered, meeting eyes with her sister. "His name is Claude."
"Is he hot?" Mari questioned.
"He's not entirely repulsive," Nadia replied, sensing the pair of Demons coming up the stairs and a human coming up to the front door. "But you're free to form your own opinion. I have flowers to sign for."
For the past year, Nadia had been reserving anonymous gifts for a secret admirer/employer. Sometimes it was small trinkets, polished stones, or long letters expressing concern over a particular person's actions at the time and doting on her to be careful in dealing with them. But most of the time the admirer would send flowers, beautiful handmade arrangements, which Nadia would display in the hall. One of their letters had disclosed the location of Claude's bones and the concern that someone else was trying to get to they first.
"Good morning, Kyle," Nadia greeted the boy as she opened the front door seconds after he had knocked.
"You know Miss. Queen," Kyle started to say as Nadia when to put the flowers on the table in the hall before returning to sign Kyle's clipboard, "If this guy really likes you enough to send you flowers everyday, don't you think he would want to meet you?"
"Who knows Kyle?" Nadia countered, succeeding in sounding lighthearted about it. "Maybe he's just shy? I'll see you tomorrow, Kyle."
"Bye, Miss. Queen," Kyle waved back as he descended the step to the porch.
Nadia shook her head as she closed the front door and went to pick up her bowl of cereal. Returning to the living room, Nadia found Mari glaring at Claude with so much hatred that Nadia almost wasn't sure it was her sister. Looking over to Alistair for some sort of explanation but only getting an equally confused look. It's only when Mari speaks does Nadia understand what is going on.
"You killed him," Mari growled, getting up from the couch with her now empty bowl in her hands. "And all he did was love you."
Mari was a special girl, like Nadia. They both have gifts unique to them personally. Nadia had the ability to sense others presences with a two mile radius of herself. Mari on the other hand had the ability to communicate with the dead, weather the soul was taken in by a Demon or not didn't matter. It seemed in this moment a particular spirit had such strong feelings about Claude that Mari can't tune them out. Claude didn't show it in his face but Nadia could see confusion in his golden eyes. Nadia stood in the entryway eating her cereal and deciding whether or not to let the situation progress. One glance at the clock made her mind up for her.
"Mari!" Nadia raised her voice, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Your bus."
"Oh, shit," Mari exclaimed, looking down at her wristwatch to confirm what Nadia said and then rushing to put her bowl in the sink before getting her backpack.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Nadia asked holding up a five dollar bill in between her fingers for Mari to take for lunch.
"What would I do without you?" Mari thanked Nadia with a kiss on the cheek as she took the money from her sister.
"You'd be hungry," Nadia responded sarcastically. "Now, go. I'm not driving you to school."
Mari resumed her mad rush out of the house, slamming the door in the process. Nadia sighed and continued to eat her cereal as she followed the little blip on her radar that was Mari all the way to the bus stop and waited till Mari was on the bus to let her presence fade into the rest. With her bowel now empty in hand, Nadia went to the sink to rinse out her and Mari's bowls and then put them in the almost full dishwasher. With that done, Nadia went to the hall to put on her shoes and grab her phone and bag before turning to Alistair.
"Watch him and don't let him out of the house," Nadia ordered as she was leaving the house, not bothering to lock the door.
_
It wasn't a far walk from the house to Stray, the apothecary shop Nadia co-owned with her best friend Victoria Summers. Vic, as Nadia liked to call her, was a bit too concerned about everything which would annoyed most people. However, Nadia had been friends with Victoria since kindergarten so she was actually amused by her friend's constant worrying. Sometimes Nadia would even go as far as to joke about Vic's concerns but only when she was absolutely sure whatever Vic was worrying about was completely absurd.
"Morning, Vic," Nadia called when she saw a puff of brilliant red hair move past the bead curtain that separated the store from the storage room.
"Morning, Nana," Vic hollered back, pronouncing the nickname"naw naw", as Nadia stowed her bag under the cashier counter. "Did you do your ritual yet?"
"Yes...I did," Nadia replied, bracing for the sound of whatever Victoria was holding at to moment to fall on the floor.
There was no sound of course for Victoria had been sorting feathers in the back as Nadia had come in. After noticing the mess of feathers she had made, Victoria cursed under her breath and tried her best to pick them all up. Nadia was left waiting for a crash or some other commotion from her friend but after a few moments, she became extremely confused when nothing happened.
"You okay back there, Vic?" Nadia inquired, confusion evident in her voice. "You're very... quiet."
"I just dropped a bunch of feathers, nothing to worry about," Vic assured her friend as she set the feathers on the large table in the back room.
"Oh," Nadia blurted, walking over to the library ladder to take stock of the more requested good. "No wonder I didn't hear anything, I was expecting something loud."
There was a short silence before the first of seven customers came in and started looking around. These ones were their older customers, the respected elders of the Craft and friends of Nadia's grandmother. After the last one was rung up and out the door, Victoria emerged from the back room and leaned on the cashier counter. Nadia looked over at her friend, feeling that something was on Victoria's mind. By the way Victoria gripped the edge of the counter, Nadia knew.
"Do you think Mr. Michaelis is coming in today?" Vic asked, nervously playing with one of the many necklaces around her neck, as Nadia moved over on the ladder to another row of shelves.
"It is Thursday," Nadia stated almost distracted as she moved the tins of tea closer to the front of the shelf. "Today is the day he usually comes in on."
"Do you feel him coming?" Vic questioned, looking even more worried than before, and only received a look from Nadia that seemed to ask if Victoria really wanted an answer. "Never mind, I'll just go back to sorting things out in the back. You can come and get me when he leaves."
With that, Victoria disappeared into the storage room. Nadia shook her head at her friend but smiled at the way Victoria brought up her gift so casually. That what Nadia loved about Victoria's friendship, there weren't secrets between them. The redhead might has been a worrywart about everything else but with Nadia she just cared. Nadia repaid that caring with trust. That's probably why their friendship had lasted, because they both cared and trusted each other.
After the bomb rush of early morning buyers that had pried Victoria out of the back room with questions about certain items that they had ordered, Nadia had sent her friend home for the rest of the afternoon somehow knowing he would show up when it had quieted down. Nadia was on the last shelf of the row when the infamous Mr. Michaelis entered the store. He didn't announce his presence for he suspected Nadia had already noticed it. She did of course notice but Nadia didn't feel the need to acknowledge the Demon. She simply grabbed one tin of Earl Gray tea and another tin of New Moon Drop tea and put they separately into the large pockets of her sweater before climbing down from the ladder. Before coming to stand behind the cashier counter, Nadia grabbed two pouches of dried black rose petals with one of her open hands for measure.
"Your forethought forever astounds me, Miss. Queen," the demonic Englishman praised Nadia as she rang him up on the register.
Nadia only smirked and shook her head as she put the teas and rose petals into a paper bag. Sebastian Michaelis by all means was devilishly charming. With his raven black hair and burgundy eyes, if anyone thought he was anything but a Demon they were either ignorant or just blind. Given Sebastian's behavior, Nadia could tell he either had a master or mistress under contract in the area and that he had been in that contract for some time now. Whenever he came into Stray, he looked almost angry at something but would visibly calm down once he was inside the shop. Nadia was glad that the little store could bring him some sort of peace while he was between souls. But today the Demon didn't seem as at ease, when Nadia saw this she couldn't hide her sudden curiosity in the Demon's well-being.
"I don't mean to pry Mr. Michaelis but you don't seem like yourself, is something bothering you?" Nadia voiced her concerns, meeting Sebastian's dark red eyes.
"Someone I care deeply for is in a bit of a quandary because of me but they don't seem to know it, Miss. Queen," Sebastian explained, handing Nadia the correct change to put into the register. "I'm just hoping they notice before it's too late."
"Are you just hoping?" Nadia asked, walking around the counter to hop up on to it. "What, you're not going to do anything about the situation? You're just going to watch the timer on the bomb tick down the seconds until detonation, Mr. Michaelis?"
"I don't intend to interfere for the sake of the relation-" Sebastian began to say but was cut off by a loud crash that seemed to come from the back room. "Is Miss. Summers still here?"
"No, I sent she home for the day almost an hour ago," Nadia was already moving to the back room in curiosity when she responded to Sebastian's question.
Nadia's hand was about to part the beaded curtain when an all black pussy cat came bolting past her, scaring her slightly. Sighing in relief that it was nothing more than a cat that had been the maker of the disturbance, Nadia returned to the cashier counter where the cat was now sitting. Hoisting herself back up onto the counter, Nadia took a closer look at the cat to make sure it was a stray and not someone else's. When she didn't see a collar, Nadia decided she'd let the cat stay and moved her gaze to Sebastian. Nadia wasn't fazed by the look on his face as his eyes stayed fixed on the black feline, she had seen it so many times she was particularly unaffected by it. But not until now was the look ever turned on Nadia herself.
"You have the same eyes," Sebastian stated, moving closer to the counter and placing both of his cool hands on Nadia's face.
Nadia had been so stunned by the look Sebastian had given her that when he touched her it was as if her mind had shut down completely and her body was simply on autopilot. For about a minute all Nadia could do was breath and blink occasionally as her heart tried not to beat out of her chest. Then her phone rang. It was like a flick of a switch, one second Nadia was static and the next she was calmly moving Sebastian's hands from her cheeks back to his sides. Sebastian stepped back to give Nadia the room to get off of the counter and get to her bag. As Nadia was reading the text, red flags started flying up right away.
"I think I might need to close the store early today, Mr. Michaelis," Nadia said, looking up at Sebastian, as her mind raced in several directions at once.
"I'll show myself out then..." Sebastian trailed off, sounding as distracted as Nadia, and took the beige paper bag that contained his tea and roses.
"Thank you," Nadia smiled softly, holding the door open for Sebastian, the cat in one arm and her bag over the other's shoulder. "For confiding in me and for your understanding."
"Only for you, Nadia," Sebastian said, watching as Nadia flipped the sign on the door from open to closed and then closed the door behind her.
"Oh, before you go," Nadia exclaimed after locking the store door, shoving her hand into her bag and pulling out a cream colored envelope. "It's my birthday tomorrow and I've decided to host a dinner party."
"Is this all spur of the moment?" Sebastian asked, accepting the envelope with a small smile.
"The party, yes. Inviting you Sebastian, not at all," Nadia admitted, scratching the cat in her arms between the ears. "If you can't come or feel like bringing someone with you, my cellphone number is on the invitation and you can call me for any clarification. Now, I really must go. I wish you a good rest of your day, Mr. Michaelis."
_
When Nadia entered her home, Alistair was waiting in the hall for her. Nadia quickly set down her bag, making sure that her phone was in her back pocket, and then strode up the stairs to her library on the second floor where she felt the unwanted presence. With anger bubbling inside her, Nadia threw open the set of oak doors with a flick of her wrist and had them pinned against the walls they hit so that they wouldn't swing back at her as she entered. Claude was already in the room when she got there, he was typing away on Nadia's laptop learning about everything that had happened and that had been invented since his death. The male that was the target of Nadia's anger was combing the leather spines of her mother's journals with his ocean blue eyes and holding back the sandy blonde lock of hair that threatened to get in his eyes as he did so. If it weren't for the flawlessness of the man's neck and her gift, Nadia would have easily mistaken the man for he own father for the physical features of both were practically identical. She knew better than to do that, for Nadia loved her father for his assistance in raising her but despised the man before her for his neglect in raising his daughter, Mari.
"What are you doing here, Michael?" Nadia demanded as she parked herself on top of the mahogany desk Claude is hunkered down at, crossing her legs.
"He's here to see his daughter, Nadia," the blue eyed tightly curled dirty blonde Angel that Nadia hadn't bothered to notice answered her as he rose from the wingback armchair that had hidden him from view.
"Michael? A father? Is that supposed to be a joke, Gabriel?" Nadia asked, calmly. "Excuse me for not laughing, because I find it hilarious how you could even think him capable of being one. After all, God doesn't seem to be much of an example of fatherhood nowadays."
This got the reaction from Michael, not exactly the one Nadia was looking for but definitely one she had expected. Staying visible indifferent to the Archangel running at her enraged, Nadia lifted her hand and sent the Angel flying through the air into the mantle of the fireplace across the room. Nadia's eyes flashed brightly as Michael struggled to get back on his feet. Gabriel seemed unimpressed by the whole thing, shaking his head at Michael as he irritatedly straightened his clothing after getting back up.
"Can't we all be civil about this, Nadia?" Gabriel asked, smiling over at Nadia.
"Not to be rude for correcting you but he ran at me with preserved violence intent when all I did was speak the truth," Nadia said acting convincingly innocent. "I don't think I'm the one who needs to be reminded to act civilized, dear uncle."
This made Claude's fingers pause in their hungry affinity for knowledge and look up at the woman sitting on the desk. Claude moved his gaze to the man Nadia had identified as Michael and studied closely. Nadia turned for a moment to flick the Demon in the forehead to get him attention away from the angel and back on her.
"Mind your own business," Nadia said to Claude, knowing where his train of thought was heading, before returning her attention to Michael. "Mari is not your daughter as far as I'm concerned. If you had wanted to step up as her father, you would have done so when our mother died. But you didn't, you choose to leave her in the hands of our grandmother. My father stepped up as soon as he heard of her demise and helped financially and visited to make sure both Mari and I were well. He still does. Hell, she knows you're her father but would deny your very existence straight to your own face if you ever ask her to admit it."
"Would you like to test that theory?" Michael challenged, narrowing his eyes at Nadia.
"Yes...I would," Nadia grinned overjoyed but the idea. "But remember, Michael; we're on Earth, let's not start anything."
Michael looked about ready to run at Nadia again after the quotation but retained his composure. Nadia hopped off of the desk and practically skipped out of the room. Alistair waited until Michael had fallen in behind Nadia before exiting the room himself to follow behind the Archangel. Nadia headed straight for the kitchen, knowing Mari would go there as soon as she got home from school, and positioned herself on a counter as far away from Michael as possible. Michael sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen and seemed to realize that they would have to wait until Mari got home. Alistair went to the fridge, taking out a bowl of berries and handing them to Nadia. See as Nadia had yet to have lunch, she accepted the bowl and picked her way through its contents.
After about five minutes of sidestepping all of the blueberries that seemed to dominate the assortment, Nadia heard the front door open and smirked over at the Angel now sitting ramrod straight in in his chair across the kitchen for her. When Mari entered the kitchen, she froze at the sight of the man at the table. After several seconds of looking over said man, her face went from surprise to shut out and her eyes narrowed down at him almost daring him to do something. Mari moved to the table briefly to put down her backpack before she turned to the fridge. Alistair was fast in his actions, retrieving the stationary bowl of blueberries from the counter space at Nadia's side and offering it to Mari before her hand could meet the fridge's handle.
"Thanks, Alistair," Mari flashed back to her normal self to thank the Familiar before flipping the switch back again as she turned back to face Michael.
"Mari," Michael breathed as she sat down across from him at the table to start her homework.
Nadia did miss a beat and quickly asked, "Did you hear that Mari, I thought I heard something?"
"I didn't hear anything, must have been the air-conditioning," Mari reasoned, her pencil unfaltering on the worksheet she's completing. "Or you just tipping over to edge of crazy again and seeing things."
"I could have sworn someone said something," Nadia attempted again to get the reaction Michael was looking for.
"There's no one else here but you me and Alistair and none of us said whatever it is you think you heard," Mari said sound in her logic, if that what was really going on there.
"I guess you're right Mari," Nadia gives in, walking over to her sister and draping her arms around Mari's shoulders. "You know I love you, right Mari?"
"Of course I do Nadia," Mari paused, setting down her pencil and gripping where Nadia's wrists overlap while looking up into Nadia's eyes. "You've never give me a reason to question it."
With a gust of wind, both Witches knew that the Angel was gone. Mari got out of her chair and properly hugged Nadia, burying herself into Nadia's chest. Resting her cheek on the child's head, Nadia let her sister stain the front of her tank top with silent tears and just held Mari until she felt a small push from the little girl. Claude seemed to have decided, since Gabriel was gone, he could go down stairs and see what aftermath there was to deal with after the whole tribulation, catching the end of the sisters embrace. Nadia's phone rang for the second time today, the caller ID was unknown to Nadia.
"Nadia Queen speaking," Nadia answered formally, winning a strange look from Mari, as she moved to the living room.
"Yes, Miss. Queen, this is Ciel Phantomhive calling about the dinner party I was invited to," a stoic male voice spoke from the other side of the connection.
"Could you hold on for one moment, please?" Nadia asked, heading straight to the basement at the mention of the dinner.
"If I must," Ciel grumbled, sounding bored with the whole conversation.
"Thank you," Nadia said before she put the man on hold, hoping he wouldn't be put off by the classical hold music that would welcome his ear.
Acting quickly, Nadia descended into the basement and with a snap of her fingers light every candle in the room to illuminate all of it. Grabbing a bound herd and lighting it, Nadia blew out the flame and wafted the smoke around the room. Before answering the phone again, Nadia hopped into the same pentagram she had stood in while summoning Claude.
"I apologize for the wait Mr. Phantomhive," Nadia said over the device. "It's quite a feet to find privacy in my own home nowadays."
"That's quite alright Miss. Queen," Ciel assured Nadia. "Now, about this party..."
_
After answering all of the young master's questions about the party and going upstairs, Nadia fell exhaustion onto the couch and just laid there. That was until Claude found more interest in Nadia's laziness than in Alistair's cooking or Mari's schoolwork.
"Who was that on the phone?" Claude asked, making himself comfortable on the loveseats by Nadia's feet.
"If I wanted you to know Mr. Faustus, you would," Nadia mumbled, looking at the Demon briefly from under the crook of her arm.
That's when all of the cats that Nadia and Mari have collected over the past three years came out of the woodwork. Several crowded around Nadia and others piled on the empty spaces of the loveseats. Most of them stuck to the window seats to keep watch of what happened outside. The cat from the shop was the first to Nadia, curling up in the bend of her leg with its head resting on her straight knee. Once the cat was comfortable, Nadia sat up and picked up the feline. Holding the animal in the air, Nadia thought over names and tried to decide on one that fit the cat's personality. Claude watched in curiosity as Nadia did this, wondering if she was communicating with the animal seeing that they both had the same color eyes.
"Ophelia," Nadia declared, naming the feline after her grandmother seemed like a good idea. "You've got her eyes, my eyes, and she wasn't the most coordinated either."
Setting the cat on her chest, Nadia scratched the head of the animal absentmindedly. As the felines purrs intensified, Nadia's minded wander further into itself and almost reached too far back for her liking. Before Nadia knew it, Mari was done with her homework and sitting on the loveseat opposite Claude. Dinner was called by Alistair not long after, Mari helped pull Nadia up and off of the couch as the older of the two still held onto the cat. The meal was pleasant, Mari was mostly the one that talked while Nadia just encouraged the babbling of her sister with a head nod, or a short bit of input. Dessert was nowhere near as formal as dinner, Mari simply grabbed a pint of ice cream from the freezer and two spoons from a drawer so that her and Nadia could share it on the couch. Nadia let Mari eat most of the ice cream and once the container was empty Nadia was the one to throw it away. After rinsing the spoons and putting them in the dishwasher, Nadia headed up stairs in get ready for bed. After a long relaxing shower, Nadia slipped in a pair of underwear and a set of black silk pajamas before proceeding downstairs with a brush in one hand and a hair tie around each wrist.
"Hey kiddo, you want to braid my hair?" Nadia asked, holding the wooden handle of the brush out towards Mari, who was now wearing her favorite purple flannel pj's.
"Pony tail or tails?" Mari asked, taking the brush and motioning Nadia to sit on the couch besides her.
"Plural," Nadia answered as Mari started brushing her long hair, letting the brush pull at her locks without cringing.
Nadia was completely complacent with the tugs of the brush, her face like a doll's through the whole ordeal. With every tangle the brush found, Mari came to appreciate her short manageable hair that all she had to do was wet down and comb each morning. On the other hand, if Nadia forget to do her hair the night before she would wake up the next day and have to spend the next ten minutes at her vanity table untangling the matted mess that would be her hair. Claude watched for the corner of his eyes as Mari skillfully parted Nadia's slick hair down the middle and sectioned the hair using Nadia's shoulders and the provided hair ties. Given the fact that she basically braided Nadia's hair every night, Mari made quick work of the first half of hair and was on to the other half in record time. When Mari was done, Nadia kissed her on the forehead and left her to sit in the bay window with Ophelia.
"Now, what could you be so interested in?" Nadia asked, knowing very well the cat wasn't going to answer back to her, as she picked up the now slightly annoyed feline. "Hey, don't be like that. I know the cushion may be more comfortable than my lap but you're just going to have to make do with it."
Looking out the window while stocking Ophelia from head to tail, Nadia could see nothing out of the ordinary. It was only when she tried to use her gift that things started to look strange. Several yards away there seemed to be a two foot wide and seven foot high void of existence. Nadia's brow furrowed in confusion in the direction of the emptiness.
"What are you staring at?" Claude asked, knocking Nadia out of her confused state of distraction.
"To put it quite frankly Mr. Faustus, nothing," Nadia replied, continuing to gaze in the direction of the void.
Claude could tell Nadia wasn't lying to or diverting him. Given the fact that Nadia didn't much care that Claude was standing so close to her, it wasn't until Mari decided to turn off the TV and climb lethargically up the stairs to her room that Claude withdrew from his post behind Nadia to watch Mari ascended the stairs. Still holding on to Ophelia, Nadia got up from the window seat and brushed past Claude going up the stairs to her library.
After setting the cat on the couch facing the fireplace, Nadia went into her routine of recording the entirety of her day in the spelled journal, which only other Witches could read, that she kept in the large mahogany desk. It was a very plain looking journal, wore unstained leather bound the thick parchment pages and a leather cord wrapped around it to hold it closed when it wasn't being written in. Personally, Nadia preferred to use fountain pens over ballpoint when writing but as she looked through the contents of the top drawer of her desk she couldn't seem to find the one she kept in there. Claude pick this moment to look in on Nadia, curious as to why she hasn't followed in the likes of Mari in going to her room to rest. Seeing that she was searching the top drawer of the desk with what he thought as annoyance, Claude reached into his pants pocket and produced the jade fountain pen he had used to take notes on certain topics he was getting to ask Alistair about later after the Witches were asleep. When Nadia looked up at some point of her mad search, she saw Claude standing at the front of the desk offering her the writing instrument she was looking for.
"Thank you," Nadia said, emotion lacking in her voice, as she took the pen for Claude.
Claude simply nodded and went to sit in the armchair Gabriel had occupied a while ago as Nadia began to write. In was a quiet process which only began to weigh on the two by the time Nadia reached the last couple sentences of her account of the strange empty space that had yet to dissipate or move. Shaking her head, Nadia dated the pages she had written on and closed the notebook, securing it shut with the cord and placing it back in a desk drawer.
"...mystery, Miss. Queen," Nadia's ears only seemed to caught the end of what Claude was mumbling to himself.
"What was that Mr. Faustus, I only caught the last of it?" Nadia inquired moving from her seat at the desk to the chair opposite to Claude's .
"You're a riddle wrapped in a mystery, Miss. Queen," Claude repeated somewhat amused that Nadia had actually heard him. "Trying to understand you is like being a fly and wondering why I continue to run into the window when I see my desired destination right in front of me."
"Interesting analogy but it's not that difficult when I seemed to have dropped a considerable amount of hints this afternoon," Nadia countered, snapping her fingers a few times before the wood in the fireplace burst into flames.
"From what you've provided I can paint a very vague picture of you life but you as a person is still too absurd to begin understanding," Claude droned, him monotone voice boring Nadia to the point of feeling the fatigue that wouldn't normally surface this early in the night.
"To be honest, I'm not just one personality," Nadia started to say, getting more comfortable in the chair. "Unlike other beings, I contain two souls. Now can you understand why I can understand why you can't understand."
"Than, if you wish, make me understand," Claude smirked at this amused by Nadia's attempt to confuse him.
"How would you expect me to do that, Mr. Faustus?" Nadia sighed as she got up from her chair, sleep becoming harder to fend off.
"In the morning, Miss. Queen," Claude answered, rising from his chair. "When you're speech is even more confusing than it was a moment ago and you're fully rested."
Holding out her arms to the Demon, Nadia admitted, "I don't trust I'll make it to my bed on my own.", thus causing a smirk to grace the face of the Demon for a short moment. Claude allowed Nadia a second to wrap an arms his neck before he scooped her up from her chair and exiting the library. Ophelia followed close behind them as Claude turned down the hall and found his way to Nadia's room. As Claude opened the door to her room, Nadia waved a hand in the general direction of the bedside lamp. Even without the small amount of light provided by the heavily shaded lamp Claude could have easily found his way the Nadia's four post bed. Shifting his hold on Nadia, Claude moved aside the sheets and comforter before setting Nadia down on the mattress. After pulling the covers around he in a comfortable fashion, Nadia watched Claude as his attention and presence was pulled in the direction of Nadia's bay window.
"Am I to expect exposure to your presence all night, Mr. Faustus?" Nadia asked after several minutes of watching Claude stare out and teetering on the edge of sleep.
"For a large majority of it, it would seem," Claude answered, glancing at Nadia's curled form on the bed. "I'll be sure to keep an appropriate distance, Miss. Queen."
Nadia laughed softly at this, "Am I supposed to take your words for their really worth or blindly for their interpretative value?"
Claude looked to Nadia's form on the bed and smirked, "Do not worry yourself, Nadia. Believe me when I say, I find the accommodations you and those of this household provide than those of the alternative."
Nadia signed at this, she couldn't argue with Claude's reasoning, she simply let it go. With a yawn and a few more conscious deep breaths, Nadia slipped into a familiar dream.