By Way of Secrecy

Written for a friend and heavily inspired by Kiki's Delivery Service.

Chapter 1

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Sora's delayed doubts were drowned out by the roar of the wind around him and the rush of the trees below. He thought to gain altitude and avoid their thrashing branches, but going too much higher up would put him at more risk of the raging winds. Not to mention he thought he might have seen a strike of lightning somewhere in the distance. He didn't want to end this year-long journey prematurely because he got barbequed.

Sora shielded his eyes from the rain with an arm, the other wrapped securely around the broom between his legs. It was hard flying like this, because sometimes the wind would hit him strong for an instant and blow him off course. He would nearly fall then, quickly grabbing the broom with both hands to desperately orient himself before he could plummet into the trees. But the rain pelted his face so heavily he couldn't see what was ahead of him.

"I guess we should land somewhere…" Despite the circumstance, there was still uncertainty in his voice. What Sora wanted was to find the next nearest town as soon as possible. There he would be able find a cozy and dry bed for the night. But as it was there were no towns in sight and all around him Sora could only see endless trees below and the raging sea to the left. He had thought that following the ocean would have been a smart idea. How was he to know that storms were at their worst closer to it?

A high-pitched whine coming from the creature huddled underneath Sora's chest agreed very much with his last statement. Sora tried to give his miserable familiar a reassuring stroke, but the motion threw him off when another gust of wind struck his broom and he went violently twirling in the air. By the time he was able to recover, both of them were dizzy and ready to throw up.

"Okay… let's land somewhere…" Sora finally resigned, shaking his head to clear his senses. At first he thought the flash of light was just his imagination, but then it came again; quickly, and then it disappeared. Sora looked, waiting for the light to reappear. It did—only for an instant—before disappearing like before. Sora pointed his broom toward it and approached carefully until he could see what it was he was looking at. A coincidental strike of lightning in the distance aided him.

"It's a lighthouse!" Sora piped, his momentary drop of guard almost causing him to lose control again. "We can sleep there tonight." Picking up speed, Sora flew toward the towering form of the lighthouse which guarded the ocean beneath it.

Coming in through the window by the beacon, Sora removed the broom from beneath him and placed his two feet securely on solid ground. His round blue cat-like familiar was more than happy to join him in that. Sora chuckled as he watched it shake water of its pelt before proceeding to hop around, happy to be out of the air.

"Yeah. Sometimes it's better to walk."

They headed down the long stairway of the tower, careful of suspicious looking boards that might break under their weight and becoming a little spooked by the sudden squeaks of their steps and the howling wind outside. It only got darker as they neared the bottom and Sora's blue companion started to press itself against his legs as it hobbled underneath him.

"It's okay, Smoochies. This place looks deserted," Sora said, both to assure his familiar and himself. By the time they reached the ending of the stairway it was too dark to see. Sora decided now was an opportune time to try out one of the spells he had learned this past month. He took out a piece of crumpled paper from within the soaked bag slung around his shoulder, held it out in front of him, and spoke a chant.

Out of nowhere the paper burst into flames. So much so that it also almost engulfed Sora's hand along with the paper. Sora cried out and dropped the paper, stomping it out with his foot. He sighed when it was all over, only to jump with a start just a moment later.

"You gotta whisper that chant. Fire is easily excitable."

On instinct, at the sight of the human-like silhouette that appeared in front of him, Sora hid his broomstick behind his back. It did little to hide the bristles that were still visible between his legs. The form laughed good-naturedly and approached, whispering something quietly as it did so before a flame appeared in the air. It was small, yet still bright enough to light nearly the entire room.

There was a boy on the other side of the flame, holding up a piece of paper on which it burned. "See? This is how it should have worked," the stranger spoke, smiling softly.

Suddenly feeling indignant and embarrassed, Sora piped, "I know that!" The rise in defensiveness caused him to carelessly reveal his broom, which he then quickly tried to hide behind him again.

The boy laughed again, waving his hand dismissively. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'm a witch, too!" And with that he turned away and picked up a broomstick that had been leaning on the wall just a few steps away. He turned toward Sora, holding it, still smiling. "See?"

Sora relaxed only slightly. Smoochies, still squeezed tightly between Sora's legs, sneezed. The other boy laughed again, moving away slowly. "You two must be beat. Come on. I have food waiting." As he moved away the light from his flame became dimmer. Sora and Smoochies gave each other one uncertain glance, but in the end the invitation was simply too promising to resist.

"My name is Ventus. But just call me Ven," the other witch spoke once he heard Sora following behind him. The boy was definitely older than Sora, but not by much. His blonde hair stood up in spikes that were almost similar to Sora's brown.

"I'm Sora," Sora replied, glancing around the dreary lighthouse wearily. They approached a table upon which a six-legged cat had been sitting. It hoped down and greeted its master by rubbing itself all along Ven's legs in a figure eight. Then it proceeded to dance over to Smoochies as if its extra legs made it lighter than air. The two cat-like creatures sniffed each other, then went off to chase one another around the tower.

Sora watched them, nearly bumping into the table as he kept walking. "Here, sit." Ven said to him, and Sora quietly obeyed. It wasn't until he actually looked at what was on the table that he spoke again.

"Wow! You prepared all of this?"

There were two plates on the table, upon which were piles of eggs, bread, cheese, and even ham. There were also two full glasses of milk. Sora stared at it hungrily, almost drooling. "Yep. Dig in," Ven invited, his voice unable to hide his amusement. Sora happily obliged, making himself a hearty sandwich made out of all of the above.

As he ate, he started to think. "How did you prepare all of this so fast? I only just got here," he asked between chewing. He suddenly thought that might have been rude and swallowed.

Ven did not seem offended in the least, always smiling. "I'm not that fast," he laughed. "I sensed you coming a while ago."

Sora paused and stared. "You did?"

"Sure! I could tell that you were following the ocean and I figured you'd more than likely rest here. So I made us something to eat."

Sora took another bite, chewing slowly. "I don't know how to sense things yet…"

"I could show you."

"Really?!"

Ven laughed again. "Sure. Once we're done eating." He sorted out a sandwich for himself and took a bite. "You know, this place is abandoned, so all of this food was spoiled when I got here."

Sora choked.

"But this potion makes any food as fresh as when it was first made, no matter how rotten." Ven added quickly, trying not to laugh as he pulled out a small vile from under the table. There was a red liquid inside that shined bright in the firelight. There was no doubting that it was a potion mixed by a witch and Sora very much believed in the validity of a witch's potion. After all, his mother was a potion brewer.

Reassured, he kept eating and added, "I only know the basics of potion making."

"Ah. Me, too. I didn't make this. My big sis—I mean, my friend made this." Ven gave the tiny vile a glance before handing it over to Sora. "Here. You can take this one. I have a few more. It might be useful for you."

Sora accepted the offer slowly, admiring the clear shining liquid inside. He frowned at it then, sighing softly. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of everyone I meet."

"How long ago did you leave?"

"It's been about a month, I guess… Is it that obvious that I'm a new witch?"

Ven laughed quietly. "I just figured. After all you're pretty young, and you must not have a town of your own yet if you're traveling around in this kind of weather. Plus being able to sense other witches is something you learn pretty early on in your witch growing process."

"I've been trying to find a town all this time. But every one I visit already has a witch. Most of them tell me to leave right away. Sometimes they let me stay for one night—some even teach me something. Just the last town I was in…Umm… his name was Leon—he taught me the fire spell, along with a few combat moves."

"Leon's a good guy. But I bet he kicked you out pretty quick, huh?"

"They all do."

Ven rested his chin on his knuckles, smiling sympathetically. "That's normal, though. If I had a town I'd probably kick any other witch out right away, too. The risk of discovery becomes a lot higher when there's more than one witch within a small vicinity."

Sora chewed slowly, staring at the table. A small silence passed by as they continued to eat. Smoochies and Ven's familiar eventually tired, and the big blue cat hobbled over to Sora's chair. He sniffed Sora's leg, lapping at it twice with his tongue to attract his master's attention. Sora chuckled at the cold tickle and placed a piece of ham and cheese together on the floor where then Smoochies proceeded to gobble it up in earnest.

Watching his familiar, Sora spoke, "So why don't you have a town, Ven?"

Ven was also staring down as he fed his own familiar a piece of bread. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you did say 'if I had a town' before. Plus, if you did, why would you be in this old lighthouse?"

Ven chuckled. "You got me. I guess I just never found the right town. I think I prefer it this way, though. I get to see all kinds of new places, plus I'm less likely to be found out when I'm traveling constantly."

"But what about the witch's code? How are you helping people if you don't stay in one place?"

Sora had leaned forward as he spoke, his face scrunched with concern, and Ven laughed again. "I'm glad to hear new witches still understand our priorities. On the contrary, I think I'm actually able to help more people by traveling around all the time. If I see someone who may need my help, I offer my assistance. Then I move on until I see someone else."
Sora thought about this.

"To each his own. I think you can fulfill the witch's code in many different ways. Plus, I can accomplish a few other things by traveling around."

"Like what?"

"Oh… you know…"

Sora gave him a weird look. Avoiding it, Ven stood up and made his way slowly to the door that led outside. There was a small window and he glanced through it quickly, then he started to do something Sora could not make out. Figuring he wasn't really going to get an answer, Sora just shrugged to himself.

"My mom always told me about how important it is that we do our duty and follow the witch's code. She knew what her talent was almost immediately. She found her town and helped people and then she met my dad. So I kind of imagined something like that happening to me from the very beginning. I thought it'd be cool if I could find my own town and maybe find someone to settle down with, too. Like my mom did." Sora looked away as he spoke, listening to the wind roaring outside. His voice idled a bit as he thought back to when he was a kid pretending to go on this very adventure he was on now.

"You're still young," Ven replied, somewhat distractedly, as he knelt down to do something to the bottom of the door.

Still growing ever more discouraged, Sora sighed and dropped his head on his arms. Seeming to finally finish what he was doing, Ven stood up and rubbed his hands together. He frowned slightly, somewhat at a loss of what to say next. He wandered back to the table, picking up the now empty plates and carrying them to the dirty sink on the other side of the room. Once the clatter of discarded dishes died away, he spoke again.

"Buck up, kid. Everything will work out fine. You just need to take it slow."

Sora sat up slightly, looking at the door Ven had spent some time focusing on. By appearance nothing seemed to be different. "What did you do to the door?" He finally asked, possibly having not heard Ven's final words of encouragement.

"I put a seal on the door… just in case," Ven answered, a hint of grimness to his tone.

Sora never thought to ask why. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Ven chuckled, walking back over to the table. "A lesson like casting seals cannot be taught overnight. Let's start with something more your level, like being able to sense other witches in the area."

Sora pouted slightly, more at being called out as a beginner than being refused a lesson. He stood up, however, and eagerly stood beside Ven. Always amused, Ven began.

"First, you have to focus… You can focus, right?"

Sora wasn't necessarily bad at catching on, but he could be slightly tricky to train. He got frustrated easily, but he never gave up. He pouted and moped about a lot of things, but in the end he persevered. By bedtime he could feel the waves of supernatural energy coming from Ven. He tried to memorize the feeling, but only moments after he wrapped himself in a tight ball of blankets on the wood floor of the lighthouse—wet clothes hung up to dry and Smoochies comfortably tucked in the curve of his bare stomach—he was fast asleep.

Morning had both young witches rising early to a sunny sky free of clouds. The ground below them still glistened with wetness from the past rain and the winds had died down almost completely. To one side the ocean was completely still.

"Good day for flying," Ven remarked as they rose up over the lighthouse on their brooms. Sora smiled, chuckling softly as his blue familiar sat contently in front of him. He looked over to Ven as they continued to rise slowly.

"Where are you headed, Ven?"

"Out west. I think you should head north."

He should've expected it by now, but Sora couldn't help but lose some of his good cheer at the casual dismissal. He'd thought, maybe once, he might be able to have some company as he traveled.

Ven must have sensed this, and he added, "I just have something I need to do. You should keep looking for your dream town." He started to drift away from Sora, smiling. "There are a few towns north of here. I have a good friend in one of them. She'll let you stay a day or two. I'll start heading that way after I'm done, too." Then, with a chuckle, he continued, "Hey, maybe by the time I catch up to you you'll have your own town already. Then you'll be the one kicking me out."

Sora laughed. The two young witches bid each other goodbye and flew their separate ways. Sora often cast a backwards glance to see where Ven went, but before long he was out of sight within the horizon. Sighing softly, he tried to ignore the feeling of loneliness. Smoochies gave a quiet chirp, and Sora smiled as he patted his head.

"Okay, Smoochies. This time we'll find our own town for sure!"

Smoochies squeaked in response, wiggling beneath him. Growing more hopeful as he looked over the calm ocean beside him, Sora headed north.