A/N: Song used in this chapter is "Season of the Witch" by Donovan.
I
"Mistresses do magic. Mistresses hear Luna now?"
The voice was that of a little girl's. Luna was still a kitten, after all. All three of them jumped as the childish voice resounded clearly in their heads. Betelgeuse did not. He wasn't a member of the coven, wasn't a part of the circle. The spell didn't extend to him.
"L-Luna?" Lydia reached a hesitant hand forward. The kitten nuzzled it, purring.
"Pale Mistress. Pale Mistress loves Luna. Luna loves her Pale Mistress."
Mandy joined in on petting the tiny kitten, enthralled. "You know your name?"
"Luna has only had two names; the name given to her by her mother and the name given to her by her Mistresses. Luna loves her Mistresses."
Nona lied down on her stomach and scratched under its fuzzy chin. "Do you consider me a mistress, Luna? Even though I don't live here with you, or feed you."
"Curly-Haired Mistress is Luna's Mistress, too. Curly-Haired Mistress gives Luna toys and treats. Luna loves her Curly-Haired Mistress."
"What was your name before it was Luna?" It was Lydia who was questioning the kitten this time, after taking a long deep sip from her wine.
"It is in the language that humans cannot speak; the wild language."
"The wild language?" Mandy's eyes were huge, the reflection of the candlelight gleaming off of the reflective surface of her orbs.
"Yes, Tall Mistress. The language of beasts! The language of the dog, the bird, the cow! It is all different, and yet all the same."
Betelgeuse was annoyed. If there was one surefire way to get on his nerves, it was to cut him out of the conversation. Clearly, the coven was having no problem conversing with the cat. The ability to speak to animals was one of the powers he'd yet to learn. It had never seemed important, before. He was raised in a time where animals were seen as filthy creatures that were to be feared and avoided, not fed and coddled. "You babes bored of this shit yet? The rat can't be sayin' anythin' that interestin'."
Lydia turned up her nose at his remark. "Actually, Betelgeuse, Luna's been telling us all about the 'wild language.' I bet you don't even know about it." The end of her sentence dripped with smug superiority.
Her husband sneered, though it was hidden in the shadows. He was leaned against a far wall where the candle light didn't touch him. "For your information, kid, I know a lot more about the language of beasts than you do. Probably more than that little rat, too. Just 'cause I don't see any point in talkin' to mangy animals all day long doesn't mean I'm not at the very least aware that they do converse."
Luna mewed a long, anguished meow and walked in a circle on top of the book before locking her viridian gaze on the ghost. "Mistresses' Master does not love Luna! Luna does not know why! Luna loves Master! Master saved Luna! Why does Master hate Luna so?"
All three girls had an immediate, negative reaction. "What did you just call him?!" Nona retracted from the kitten, her adoration for the creature fading just the tiniest bit.
Betelgeuse's curiosity was piqued and he emerged from the shadows. "What? What did it call me?"
Lydia narrowed her eyes on her friends. "Don't you dare tell him."
"Master of Luna's Mistresses! The one who has passed, and yet walks among the living! The one who gives Luna's Mistresses power! Luna loves him! He will not love Luna! He hates Luna!" She mewed again, clearly distressed.
"C'mon! I wanna know!" He was practically throwing a fit at this point, eyes narrowed on the kitten as he walked the path of the salt circle. Mandy gathered the distressed kitten into her arms and began petting and shushing it until its anxiety eased.
Lydia was smug again, downing the rest of her wine. "Hm. Maybe you should've taken more of an interest in 'talking to mangy animals' then." Luna was falling asleep in Mandy's arms.
Nona stood from the circle and lit a cigarette. She moved to a spot on the floor where the draft of air would pull her smoke out of the enclosed space and into the open air. "I knew I was a dog person."
Mandy was less insulted than any of them by the kitten's insinuation. "B…" She looked up at the poltergeist from the snoozing ball of fur in her arms. "She loves you! It really hurts her feelings that you don't like her."
"Boo- fuckin'- hoo."
The blonde knitted her brows together at his indifference and snuggled Luna tighter. "I think you'd like her a lot more if you knew how highly she thinks of you."
"Maybe. Who knows? Not me. You witches won't tell me." The word "witches" was spoken as if it began with a B instead of a W.
Lydia sighed in exasperation and flopped onto her back. "Fine." If he wanted to know that badly, she wasn't going to invest the energy to keep it from him. She just didn't want his already over-inflated ego to expand any more than it already was. "She called you our Master."
Betelgeuse's agitation faded instantly. He popped his collar, stood a bit taller, and licked his lips. "Is that so? Whaddya know, the rat's not completely useless."
"Oh, shut the fuck up." The words were growled out from the balcony in a thick English accent. "You are no one's Master, you arrogant fuck, least of all mine." She sputtered when he conjured a collar around her neck, complete with a long leash that led to his hand, and tugged lightly. A furious snarl escaped Nona's throat and she pulled at the leash with all her strength. The poltergeist howled with laughter, staying anchored to his spot while the English girl fell onto the floor in her struggles, scratching desperately at the leather collar plastered to her throat.
"I'm going to KILL YOU! LYDIA!"
Lydia was glaring daggers at her husband from her place on the floor. "That's not funny, B. Let her go."
He rolled his eyes. "If you say so." And then he released the leash, causing Nona to fall backward. She fumbled angrily with the collar before finding where it buckled together. Once she was free, she scrambled to her feet. Her fists were clenched, her hair was wild around her, and a fire burned in her eyes as her teeth clenched. She strode towards the ghost with single-minded determination and then clocked him across the jaw with her right fist. "Ah!" She cried out in pain and cradled the hand that had been used to attack him. He'd been completely unaffected. It was like punching hard steel coated with cold flesh. A smirk curled his lips as he watched her nurse her injured knuckles, not feeling the least bit of guilt for her pain. "That's cute, Jlo. Real cute."
Lydia stood from her place on the ground and gently took Nona's hand into her own to examine the injury. Nothing was broken, but her knuckles were beginning to swell. "B, that was really, really not okay. Nona, you shouldn't have lost your temper. You know he's just trying to get under your skin."
Nona unexpectedly spit in his face, glowering. Her sneer transformed into a disgusted grimace when he wiped her saliva off of his face and then licked it off of his grimy hand, a dark glint in his jade eyes as they narrowed on her. "I don't care! You don't LEASH people without their consent!"
Nona snatched her injured hand out of Lydia's and stalked off to the kitchen to pour out more wine for herself. Mandy watched the whole exchange, frowning. "Guys, can we please not fight? This was supposed to be fun."
"Tell him that." Nona rasped from the darkness of the kitchen, downing her entire glass in one long gulp. They were all, with the exception of the ghost, good and drunk at this point in the evening. Emotions were running hot and Nona was an angry drunk. "Piece of shit corpse. You don't deserve Lydia. If you had any decency at all you'd crawl into your grave and stay there."
Lydia turned on Nona now, defensive. "That's none of your business, Nona. I think I can decide for myself who is and isn't good enough for me."
Betelgeuse stopped his wife with a hand on her shoulder. It was time to de-escalate the situation. He'd just wanted to ruffle the English girl's feathers, not send her into a rampage. "No, Lyds. She's right. I ain't decent and I'm not near good enough for ya. C'mon, Beyonce, I'm sorry. Let's kiss n' make up."
Nona was momentarily calmed by his admission. Reluctantly, she emerged from the shadows of the kitchen. "Never. Not in this life or the next, will we ever 'kiss and make up.' I will accept your bullshit apology, though. You're so fucking lucky. If I didn't love Lydia you'd be on a one-way express to the Lost Soul's room."
An imploring Mandy pulled a seething Nona back into the circle. "No more bitterness! Tonight is a night for magic and love and friendship, not anger! C'mon, let's play some music and cast more spells!"
Lydia turned in her husband's arms and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear so that her friends couldn't hear her. She knew he didn't have to apologize or agree with Nona's insulting assertions about him. He'd simply done it to maintain peace.
His hand slid under her shirt to squeeze her bare ass and she gasped and pulled away from him. His smirk was slimy. "Anytime."
The stereo was turned on, Lydia's phone connected to the blue tooth, and then music was playing through the speakers. It harmonized beautifully with the howling wind. Mandy laughed when she started to recognize the song. "Really, Lydia? How cliché."
"Cliché?" The raven-haired girl frowned as she rejoined the circle. "I thought it was appropriate."
'When I look out my window,
Many sights to see,
And when I look in my window,
So many different people to be,
That it's strange, so strange,
You've got to pick up every stitch,
You've got to pick up every stitch,
You've got to pick up every stitch,
Mmm… Must be the season of the witch.'