A/N: Tut Hollie, that was the rubbish parts because they were old. This is where I started writing again from. If it gets worse, I so don't want to know.
*
A Beautiful Life
*
The next day started for Paige at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. A large crash from the attic startled her into the world of the waking, and blearily she tried to make sense of what the noise had been. Eventually she decided to try her luck and actually find out for herself.
It became evident from the dark sweat stains on his shirt and the dirt on his face that Leo had been up all night. His face looked stretched out and thin, and his eyes had that weary look in them Paige only recognised all too well from the mirror.
He was currently scrabbling through a large chest which he'd excavated from the dark recesses of one of the disgustingly dusty corners of the attic, occassionally retrieving oddly coloured bottles and sheets of aged paper, and tossing them onto a well-placed set of pillows behind him.
Unsure of how to approach this desperate man, Paige edged into the room and cleared her throat lightly.
It was loud enough for Leo to stop still, his left hand perched on the rim of the chest, right are groping the interior, knees bent on the floor and breathing rather rigid. Eventually, with a straining movement, he looked over his right shoulder and regarded her silently with wild, crazed eyes. After a moment of cool scrutation, he seemed to relax and flipped himself over so he was sitting, legs straight and arms flopping to his sides. "I can't find it," he groaned.
"Find what?" Paige frowned, taking a few more cautious steps into the mess, careful not to step on anything. "What are you looking for?"
"The damn... crystal!" Leo replied angrily. "For the damn stupid map! So you can scry for Melly and we can find her and save her."
Warning bells went off in Paige's mind. She knew that Leo knew full well where the crystal and map were kept; rolled up neatly behind the Book of Shadows, with the crystal tying the map together. It didn't adversely mean Paige thought Leo was lying to her, but it worried her slightly that he was slipping into the world of obsessing. "Leo, um, sweetie," she coaxed, offering her hand to help him to his feet, "the map and crystal are over there."
Taking his sister-in-law's outstretched hand, Leo grunted as he got up, his whole body shaking uncertainly. He was exhausted. Slowly, he glanced to his left and saw the map and crystal. Wordlessly he gathered them up, cleared a space among the debris on the floor and then laid the map out gingerly, motioning for Paige to kneel beside him. "Go on," he urged. "Do your thing."
Knowing that it was pointless to argue, Paige bowed down and succombed to her concentration, the meditative state she often reclined into for such delicate activities as scrying. Gently, she took up the crystal in her right hand and clasped the thin silver chain the stone was welded onto between her thumb and forefinger. With a soft circular movement in her wrist, she swung the gem in small, weilding ovals, and began to raise her right arm so she could negotiate the map in an ordered fasion. Starting at the top left corner of San Francisco, Paige bit her lip and closed her eyes as she navigated her way from left to right, then back to the left after bringing her arm a little lower down the map.
In the duration of just under ten minutes, she had circled the entire map four times, and didn't feel so much as a twinge in the crystal. Eventually, she came to a halt, hand still suspending the stone which gradually wound tighter circles before stopping still in the air, twisting and rotating around itself carelessly.
Breathing in through her nose, Paige grimaced and sat back on her legs, fixing Leo with an apathetic stare. "I'm sorry," she sighed.
"No, she's gotta be around here somewhere," Leo asserted furiously and slapped his hands down onto the map, almost crawling on it, and scrutinising it, examining even the most minute of details. It was as if he believed that by staring at the map, somehow the location of his daughter would leap out at him in neon, infrared signs with large arrows that read: "Here!"
But he had no such luck.
Paige let the crystal clunk onto the floor, and gripped at her thigh with her right hand, the chain still wrapped around her fingers. She felt angry and confused. Did this mean that Melly wasn't in the vicinity of San Francisco? And if not, where on Earth could she be? The task of finding her suddenly seemed even more impossible than Paige had deemed it earlier. Sadly, she looked down at the ground, and let the chain of the scrying stone slip onto the floor where it jangled distastefully and came to a rest in a small heap of silver.
Not quite knowing how to console her brother-in-law, Paige placed an awkward yet soothing hand onto his shoulder, and helped him to his feet. "Let's get you to bed, shall we?" she offered. Leo didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea, but he didn't protest either. She took him downstairs and led the way into his bedroom.
While he tugged off his pants, Paige heaved a weary sigh and sat on the bed. Still wearing the grimy, sweaty shirt, Leo's weight soon lifted hers a little as he too sat down. He pulled his dirty shirt over his head and after a moment, shuddered at the cold.
"Do you want another shirt to sleep in?" Paige asked, wondering if he'd be warm enough in just his boxer shorts.
The distraught father simply shook his desolate head and then clambered into the bed, letting Paige help him pull the duvet over his chest. He breathed loudly and abrasively for a few minutes, before calming and closing his eyes.
Paige sat with him a while longer until he fell into the world of the dreaming, before getting up and going downstairs.
Once in the kitchen, Paige began to make herself a cup of instant coffee when something made her stop. She couldn't quite place what felt odd about the moment, but she suddenly felt the urge to be in the attic. Without another moment's consideration, her body had disappeared in a flurry of white, crisp orbs and shot through the ceiling in silent aggravation.
She reappeared in the doorway of the attic, in case her instinct had been warning her of danger, an intruder, but the room was empty. The map she had sat at under an hour previously had curled itself back up, but that was all that seemed different. Slowly and graciously, she paced over to the Book of Shadows and pawed through it without really taking in any of the information presented to her. It took her a minute to notice the silver chain hanging out from one of the pages, bookmarking it. Frowning in wonder, she lifted the loose chain in her left hand and recognised it as that of the scrying stone.
"How did it..." she murmured as she fingered it lightly while glancing at the map on the floor and the place where she was certain she had left the stone.
As her fingers traced their way up the chain, she found her way into the page of the book it was keeping open, and lifted a stack of pages over to see where the crystal lay.
"Titania," she read, her forehead creasing in thought. "The mother?"
As her eyes flitted down the page, the witch learned that Titania was something many demons held dear to their hearts, a soothing mother to them, someone to teach them and get them back to their feet if they'd been bruised in battle. They followed her like a family, ensuring Titania's eternal protection.
'The demoness,' the book said, 'traditionally reigns for around two centuries before passing her leadership on to an heir. The heir is hand-picked from any race, chosen by the Titania for her heart, and then her blood is infused with the Titania's to become the new demon mother. Demons from afar will go to any length to appease Titania, and protect her from any possible threat. In return she nurtures and heals them.'
Paige looked up, her eyes narrowed. "That's a heck of a weird demon." Glancing over the words again, there was a nagging feeling at the back of Paige's mind; something she should know, but wasn't coming to her. And then it did. "Ohmigod," she uttered, and orbed out immediately.
A disembodied voice woke Leo with a start and caused him to stare wildly around his room in terror for a few moments before it registered that the panicked voce belonged to Paige, and that she was in the process of orbing in - practically on top of him.
"A demon's got Mel to be her heir and the mother of demons for two hundred years and then she'll have to get a new one and she looks after them and nurtures them and she'll be evil we have to go now now now!"
Leo exhaled and tried to sit up, his eyes bleary and half-open. "Your hair's fine," he grumbled groggily.
Paige leapt up and down, jostling the bed and causing Leo to cry out in surprise. "Not my hair - an heir! Leo-" she leant forward and grabbed his shoulders, her hands slipping on the sweat covering his torso, but still gripping him tightly. "The demon who has Melinda, is going, to make, her, her heir."
Lips slightly pouting, the lower jutting out, cold realisation crept through Leo like ice melting on a tilted surface. "Oh God," he uttered, jumping out of bed and began tugging on his pants. He then changed his mind, pulled them back off, stumbled to the bathroom and promptly vomited.
Cringing, Paige sat edgily on the bed whilst she listened to his body racking and choking over the toilet bowl, and then the sounds of the shower grating on. A few minutes later, Leo emerged, still sopping wet, but with clean water rather than fretful sweat. He precariously pulled his pants back on and then flopped onto the bed beside Paige, cupping his face in his hands.
Rubbing her right hand over his soft back, Paige inched over to the edge of the bed and cocked her head, looking at him. "So here's what I found," she said, getting right down to business. "This Titania demon is like a mother to those who need it. They go to her for help, encouragement and healing. She acts like their little solace thingy to protect them from the big, good world, and in return they protect her with their lives. Now in the Book, it says-"
"How do you know it's this... Titania demon that has my daughter?"
Paige stopped short. How did she know? She then remembered how the scrying crystal had bookmarked the page in the Book of Shadows. She hadn't even questioned it properly at the time, but once she'd explained it to Leo, its oddness struck her somewhat obtrusively.
"Maybe just scrying doesn't apply only to the map nowadays?" she suggested, and shrugged. "Leo, trust me, this is the demon we're after. And since time is not on our side, I suggest we get our whitelighter asses on the move."
Nodding determinedly, Leo grimaced and stood. "What should we do first?"
With a coy look on her face, Paige gave a small half-smile and bobbed her head up and down assuredly. "I think it's about time for a good old fashioned torture interrogation of some of our local demonic friends."
*
*
A Beautiful Life
*
The next day started for Paige at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. A large crash from the attic startled her into the world of the waking, and blearily she tried to make sense of what the noise had been. Eventually she decided to try her luck and actually find out for herself.
It became evident from the dark sweat stains on his shirt and the dirt on his face that Leo had been up all night. His face looked stretched out and thin, and his eyes had that weary look in them Paige only recognised all too well from the mirror.
He was currently scrabbling through a large chest which he'd excavated from the dark recesses of one of the disgustingly dusty corners of the attic, occassionally retrieving oddly coloured bottles and sheets of aged paper, and tossing them onto a well-placed set of pillows behind him.
Unsure of how to approach this desperate man, Paige edged into the room and cleared her throat lightly.
It was loud enough for Leo to stop still, his left hand perched on the rim of the chest, right are groping the interior, knees bent on the floor and breathing rather rigid. Eventually, with a straining movement, he looked over his right shoulder and regarded her silently with wild, crazed eyes. After a moment of cool scrutation, he seemed to relax and flipped himself over so he was sitting, legs straight and arms flopping to his sides. "I can't find it," he groaned.
"Find what?" Paige frowned, taking a few more cautious steps into the mess, careful not to step on anything. "What are you looking for?"
"The damn... crystal!" Leo replied angrily. "For the damn stupid map! So you can scry for Melly and we can find her and save her."
Warning bells went off in Paige's mind. She knew that Leo knew full well where the crystal and map were kept; rolled up neatly behind the Book of Shadows, with the crystal tying the map together. It didn't adversely mean Paige thought Leo was lying to her, but it worried her slightly that he was slipping into the world of obsessing. "Leo, um, sweetie," she coaxed, offering her hand to help him to his feet, "the map and crystal are over there."
Taking his sister-in-law's outstretched hand, Leo grunted as he got up, his whole body shaking uncertainly. He was exhausted. Slowly, he glanced to his left and saw the map and crystal. Wordlessly he gathered them up, cleared a space among the debris on the floor and then laid the map out gingerly, motioning for Paige to kneel beside him. "Go on," he urged. "Do your thing."
Knowing that it was pointless to argue, Paige bowed down and succombed to her concentration, the meditative state she often reclined into for such delicate activities as scrying. Gently, she took up the crystal in her right hand and clasped the thin silver chain the stone was welded onto between her thumb and forefinger. With a soft circular movement in her wrist, she swung the gem in small, weilding ovals, and began to raise her right arm so she could negotiate the map in an ordered fasion. Starting at the top left corner of San Francisco, Paige bit her lip and closed her eyes as she navigated her way from left to right, then back to the left after bringing her arm a little lower down the map.
In the duration of just under ten minutes, she had circled the entire map four times, and didn't feel so much as a twinge in the crystal. Eventually, she came to a halt, hand still suspending the stone which gradually wound tighter circles before stopping still in the air, twisting and rotating around itself carelessly.
Breathing in through her nose, Paige grimaced and sat back on her legs, fixing Leo with an apathetic stare. "I'm sorry," she sighed.
"No, she's gotta be around here somewhere," Leo asserted furiously and slapped his hands down onto the map, almost crawling on it, and scrutinising it, examining even the most minute of details. It was as if he believed that by staring at the map, somehow the location of his daughter would leap out at him in neon, infrared signs with large arrows that read: "Here!"
But he had no such luck.
Paige let the crystal clunk onto the floor, and gripped at her thigh with her right hand, the chain still wrapped around her fingers. She felt angry and confused. Did this mean that Melly wasn't in the vicinity of San Francisco? And if not, where on Earth could she be? The task of finding her suddenly seemed even more impossible than Paige had deemed it earlier. Sadly, she looked down at the ground, and let the chain of the scrying stone slip onto the floor where it jangled distastefully and came to a rest in a small heap of silver.
Not quite knowing how to console her brother-in-law, Paige placed an awkward yet soothing hand onto his shoulder, and helped him to his feet. "Let's get you to bed, shall we?" she offered. Leo didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea, but he didn't protest either. She took him downstairs and led the way into his bedroom.
While he tugged off his pants, Paige heaved a weary sigh and sat on the bed. Still wearing the grimy, sweaty shirt, Leo's weight soon lifted hers a little as he too sat down. He pulled his dirty shirt over his head and after a moment, shuddered at the cold.
"Do you want another shirt to sleep in?" Paige asked, wondering if he'd be warm enough in just his boxer shorts.
The distraught father simply shook his desolate head and then clambered into the bed, letting Paige help him pull the duvet over his chest. He breathed loudly and abrasively for a few minutes, before calming and closing his eyes.
Paige sat with him a while longer until he fell into the world of the dreaming, before getting up and going downstairs.
Once in the kitchen, Paige began to make herself a cup of instant coffee when something made her stop. She couldn't quite place what felt odd about the moment, but she suddenly felt the urge to be in the attic. Without another moment's consideration, her body had disappeared in a flurry of white, crisp orbs and shot through the ceiling in silent aggravation.
She reappeared in the doorway of the attic, in case her instinct had been warning her of danger, an intruder, but the room was empty. The map she had sat at under an hour previously had curled itself back up, but that was all that seemed different. Slowly and graciously, she paced over to the Book of Shadows and pawed through it without really taking in any of the information presented to her. It took her a minute to notice the silver chain hanging out from one of the pages, bookmarking it. Frowning in wonder, she lifted the loose chain in her left hand and recognised it as that of the scrying stone.
"How did it..." she murmured as she fingered it lightly while glancing at the map on the floor and the place where she was certain she had left the stone.
As her fingers traced their way up the chain, she found her way into the page of the book it was keeping open, and lifted a stack of pages over to see where the crystal lay.
"Titania," she read, her forehead creasing in thought. "The mother?"
As her eyes flitted down the page, the witch learned that Titania was something many demons held dear to their hearts, a soothing mother to them, someone to teach them and get them back to their feet if they'd been bruised in battle. They followed her like a family, ensuring Titania's eternal protection.
'The demoness,' the book said, 'traditionally reigns for around two centuries before passing her leadership on to an heir. The heir is hand-picked from any race, chosen by the Titania for her heart, and then her blood is infused with the Titania's to become the new demon mother. Demons from afar will go to any length to appease Titania, and protect her from any possible threat. In return she nurtures and heals them.'
Paige looked up, her eyes narrowed. "That's a heck of a weird demon." Glancing over the words again, there was a nagging feeling at the back of Paige's mind; something she should know, but wasn't coming to her. And then it did. "Ohmigod," she uttered, and orbed out immediately.
A disembodied voice woke Leo with a start and caused him to stare wildly around his room in terror for a few moments before it registered that the panicked voce belonged to Paige, and that she was in the process of orbing in - practically on top of him.
"A demon's got Mel to be her heir and the mother of demons for two hundred years and then she'll have to get a new one and she looks after them and nurtures them and she'll be evil we have to go now now now!"
Leo exhaled and tried to sit up, his eyes bleary and half-open. "Your hair's fine," he grumbled groggily.
Paige leapt up and down, jostling the bed and causing Leo to cry out in surprise. "Not my hair - an heir! Leo-" she leant forward and grabbed his shoulders, her hands slipping on the sweat covering his torso, but still gripping him tightly. "The demon who has Melinda, is going, to make, her, her heir."
Lips slightly pouting, the lower jutting out, cold realisation crept through Leo like ice melting on a tilted surface. "Oh God," he uttered, jumping out of bed and began tugging on his pants. He then changed his mind, pulled them back off, stumbled to the bathroom and promptly vomited.
Cringing, Paige sat edgily on the bed whilst she listened to his body racking and choking over the toilet bowl, and then the sounds of the shower grating on. A few minutes later, Leo emerged, still sopping wet, but with clean water rather than fretful sweat. He precariously pulled his pants back on and then flopped onto the bed beside Paige, cupping his face in his hands.
Rubbing her right hand over his soft back, Paige inched over to the edge of the bed and cocked her head, looking at him. "So here's what I found," she said, getting right down to business. "This Titania demon is like a mother to those who need it. They go to her for help, encouragement and healing. She acts like their little solace thingy to protect them from the big, good world, and in return they protect her with their lives. Now in the Book, it says-"
"How do you know it's this... Titania demon that has my daughter?"
Paige stopped short. How did she know? She then remembered how the scrying crystal had bookmarked the page in the Book of Shadows. She hadn't even questioned it properly at the time, but once she'd explained it to Leo, its oddness struck her somewhat obtrusively.
"Maybe just scrying doesn't apply only to the map nowadays?" she suggested, and shrugged. "Leo, trust me, this is the demon we're after. And since time is not on our side, I suggest we get our whitelighter asses on the move."
Nodding determinedly, Leo grimaced and stood. "What should we do first?"
With a coy look on her face, Paige gave a small half-smile and bobbed her head up and down assuredly. "I think it's about time for a good old fashioned torture interrogation of some of our local demonic friends."
*