A/N: I love this fic. I really, really do. It's my precious. It's an AU idea that I got while I was going to NY city and I've been working on it ever since. I always loved witches (with my parents, how could I not?) and I've always wanted to write an AU involving them. I've had several ideas, but this is the only one that I've ever considered to be, well, good. Eh…don't like the title too much. It was all I could think of. I might change it in the future, if I can think of something better.
Disclaimer: See this? It's a disclaimer. If I owned Fire Emblem, the word 'disclaimer' wouldn't be there.
WARNINGS: Shonen ai, slight language, violence. Nothing too bad.
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Something Wicked
Chapter 1
By Amethyst Bubble
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In the summer, the air in New York is hot and humid. It presses down on you, so you can barely breath. New Yorkers are used to it. They barely notice the heat as they go around their daily business.
Raven's eyes stung from the sweat that dripped down from his crimson bangs. He wasn't used to this kind of heat; everything just felt so heavy. People pushed past him, talking to each other or on their cell phones, their skin glistening in the hot summer sun.
Crimson eyes narrowed and Raven let out a sigh. He hated waiting. Wasn't Legault supposed to be helping him? He growled at the thought of the lavender haired man. The second they get to the city, he claims he has business to attend to and runs off, leaving Raven to look for this supposed witch Ninian had sensed on his own.
"China town, she says," He grumbled, entering a large store named Pearl River, according to it's sign. At least the place had air conditioning. He could seek refuge from the heat within it's walls. "You'll find him around there, she says."
A flash of color caught his eye. Brown and red mixed together, a sort of mahogany color, against forest green.
A teenage boy, maybe a few years younger then Raven himself, was standing by a rack of Chinese-style shirts, running his fingers over the silky material. His hair was what had caught Raven's eye, a rich color that was definitely mahogany the crimson-haired teen decided. He wore a green shirt and worn blue jeans with a large hole in the left knee.
But it wasn't his hair color or his clothing that kept Raven from dismissing him as just another New Yorker. Something about the boy was out of the ordinary, though Raven couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He took a few steps closer to the boy, and suddenly the air felt much cooler. Raven frowned, that was certainly odd.
Sensing the presence behind him, the boy turned around, locking his warm brown eyes with Raven's crimson ones, "Nice store, isn't it? I come here all the time. Their air conditioning is pretty good, but most of the cold air escapes because they leave that door open! Not too smart, is it?" He grinned widely, waving his hand in the direction of the door.
The motion would have looked ordinary to most, but Raven's well trained eye caught something most people wouldn't have been able to see. A trail of something silvery, almost invisible, circled around the other boys arm, swirling about him.
"My name's Wil," He stuck his hand out. Raven reached over, tracing the silver stuff. Definitely magic, he decided. So this was the kid Ninian had sensed.
"Raven," he replied. "Did you know you could do that?" Raven inquired, still tracing the silvery magic Wil had somehow conjured up.
"Do what? You mean the silvery stuff that makes the air all cold?" Wil blinked, "You mean you can see it to? That's great! I thought I was crazy, because I could create this silver stuff and no one else could see it! That's a relief!" He grinned widely.
"You know that it's magic, right?" Raven asked, hoping that Wil did. It was a real pain to explain to them that they had 'magical powers'. Raven scoffed at the term. It was simply another sense that some people had and some people didn't. There wasn't all that much that was 'magical' about it at all.
Wil's brown eyes widened considerably, and Raven mentally cursed. "You mean magic? Like in Harry Potter? That kind of magic? Are you joking with me? I mean, you can see the silver stuff and all, but c'mon, magic? That stuffs not real…is it?" Raven rubbed his temples. Did this kid always talk so fast?
"Yes it's real. It's really more of talent some people posses though. You know how some people are double jointed?"
Wil nodded, "I had an uncle like that. He could do the coolest things! Old Uncle Tom could have been in the circus and everything, but instead he was a dentist. That's really wasting a talent, if you ask me…"
Raven twitched. He needed a nice piece of duct tape to slap over Wil's mouth. That would keep him quiet.
Wil suddenly stopped his rant about 'talent wasting dentist for an uncle' and locking his eyes with Raven's. "…Does that make me a witch, or something?"
Raven opened his mouth to speak but Wil was quicker, "Or are witches only female? So am I a wizard? Or a warlock? Hey, does do I have to use a magic wand to work mag-mmph!"
Raven clapped a hand over Wil's mouth, "The term witch applies to magic-users of both genders," he explained. "No, you don't need a magic wand to use magic. You'll develop your powers on your own, though it'd be good to get you some instruction. I'm going to offer you something, so if you could shut up and listen, I'll begin." He drew his hand away from Wil's mouth.
"I'm listening," Wil said, absorbing the information he'd just received.
"I'm a witch. I live in a house with a bunch of other witches. You could get the training you need there. You could also get protection." Raven noticed the confused look in Wil's eyes and decided to elaborate. "There are witch hunters out there that will kill an untrained witch without a second thought."
"Witch hunters?" Wil repeated, tilting his head to one side, frowning in a rather confused manner.
"They have the same powers we do, but they refuse to admit that there witches," Raven explained, his crimson eyes darkening to a wine color. "They use their powers to hunt other witches. To kill them."
A look of horror crossed Wil's face, "That's horrible! How can they do that?"
Raven shook his head, "That's why it'd be wise if you came with me. There's enough of us that we could defend you incase of an attack." Raven paused, waiting for Wil's reply.
The brown eyed boy had a look of deep thought on his face, one that said he was seriously considering Raven's offer, "How do I know you're telling the truth?" He said after a moment's hesitation. "You could be trying to kidnap me, and take me to some kind of Kentucky slave trade-"
"Kentucky slave trade?" Raven repeated, raising an eyebrow. Why was he always sent to find the crazy ones?
Wil waved a hand, "You know what I mean! I could go with you and never return! You could be lying to me about this whole thing!"
"You want proof?" Raven asked. Wil nodded, and Raven sighed. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, forming a tiny flame in his hand. Curling his hand into a fist, Raven extinguished the flame.
"Wow!" Wil exclaimed, uncurling Raven's hand and examining it. "Didn't that hurt?" Brown eyes looked up into Raven's crimson ones, questioning him.
Raven shook his head, "No, it didn't. You'll learn to do those sort of things with training."
Wil stared at Raven in awe for a few seconds, before his usual wide grin, "Okay, then! I'll do it!"
Raven let out a sigh of relief. The last few witches had been a lot more reluctant, and therefore a lot more trouble.
"So, can I go get my stuff before we leave to…to…where exactly are we going?"
Raven rolled his eyes, and began to explain.
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The apartment building where Wil lived was an old building, concrete steps leading up to the doorway. Ivy grew up the stone walls, the long green vines looking slightly wilted in the hot summer sun.
Wil walked a couple of steps ahead of Raven, trotting up to the door and fishing the key out of his pocket. A window slid open and an old woman poked her head out.
"You're back early today," She commented, looking Wil over. "Where you been, boy?"
"Just went to China town, Mrs. Waters," Wil smiled at her. She glared at him.
"It's too noisy down there, all those people hustling and bustling, and all those fish markets! How much fish can one person have? Pfeh," Her eyes wandered from Wil, and then to Raven. "Who's he?"
"Ah!" Wil exclaimed, "That's just Raven, Mrs. Waters! He's a friend of mine!"
A friend? Raven blinked, they'd barely known each other half an hour, and they were already 'friends'. Wil was just too social.
"So, you're got yourself a boyfriend, eh?" The old lady raised an eyebrow, making a face. "I always knew you weren't straight, boy. Just too much evidence in that department," She scoffed, leaning a bit farther out the window. "Don't be doing no dirty stuff up in the apartment I'm renting you! And for half price, no less!"
Wil turned scarlet, "M- Mrs. Waters! He's not my boyfriend!"
"I'm already spoken for, thank you very much," Raven glared up at the old woman.
She glared back down at him, before a smirk spread over her wrinkled face. "I like you, boy. You've got nerve talking to me like that. I won't be takin' up anymore of your time. Head on up, but," She paused, narrowing her eyes at them for emphasis. "No funny stuff." The window slammed shut with a bang.
Wil laughed nervously, opening the door and stepping inside, "You'll have to excuse Mrs. Waters, she's getting a little senile."
A door in the hallway opened, and the old lady stuck her head out, "I'm not senile, boy. I'm just as sharp as I was twenty years ago, and don't you forget it!" The door slammed shut with a bang, much like the window.
"Apparently her hearing's just as good as it was twenty years ago too," Raven commented, raising an eyebrow. Wil had one odd land lady. She reminded him of Hannah, the old fortune teller back home.
Wil laughed, starting up the stairs, "The elevator stopped working two months ago." He said, "Good thing I never used it in the first place. I live on the third floor."
The inside of the building wasn't much better then the outside. The walls had cracks on them, the paint was chipping and the floorboards creaked. Raven was almost surprised that there was no ivy growing inside.
Wil had some trouble opening the door to his apartment. Apparently, you had to unlock the door, and then give it a good kick before it would open. Inside the one room apartment was scarcely furnished. A bed lay in alongside the wall, and a small, dented radio was placed in one corner. Wil's clothes were in cardboard boxes that were stacked up against the wall.
The brown eyed boy grabbed a small suitcase that lay in a corner and began shoveling clothes into it. Raven leaned against a wall, looking around, "Do you live alone?" He asked, surveying the small apartment.
Wil nodded, "Yep. I moved out of my parent's house five years ago."
"Five years?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?" He hadn't thought that Wil was older then he was, and he was only nineteen.
"I'm seventeen," Wil replied, struggling to close the suitcase.
"You mean you moved out when you were twelve?" Raven said, taking the suitcase from Wil.
"Thanks," the other smiled. Crossing the room, he gave a tug and the door flew open, "Err, well, I didn't really move out…it was more like running away."
"Why would you do that? Family issues?" Raven asked, following Wil closely.
"My friend Dan and I decided the responsibility would be good for us," Wil replied, "but he quit after a month or so. He went back home and I haven't seen him since."
Quite a story, Raven thought, walking out of the building.
"Where're you going with that suitcase, boy?" Mrs. Waters inquired, sticking her head out the window. She pointed a long bony finger at the suitcase, "You didn't come in her with no suitcase!"
Wil turned, smiling at the old land lady, "Mrs. Waters, you've been the best land lady a guy could wish for!" He called.
"You gone and bumped your head?" She inquired, giving him an odd look. She could swear that that boy got odder every day.
"You see, I found out I'm a witch, and I've got magic and stuff, and Raven here's gonna take me to this place where there are other witches who can teach me more about magic, so I'm moving out! I'll miss you!" He waved to her.
Raven growled, grabbing Wil by the arm and dragging him down the street.
Mrs. Waters hung half out her window, her mouth hanging open, "The boy done gone lost her mind," She mumbled to herself, trying to make sense of what Wil had said. Magic and witches! Pfeh!
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"You drive a car?" Wil asked as Raven dug around in his pocket for the keys.
"What did you expect?" Raven growled.
"I don't know, teleportation or broomsticks or something."
"Teleportation can be done, but I don't have the patience to learn it," Raven explained. "And the whole broomstick thing is just fairy tale nonsense."
"Oh," Wil said, blinking. "So, witches drive cars?"
"No, they ride hippos. Of course they drive cars, you idiot!" Raven snapped, pulling open the car door and getting in. Wil walked around the car, opening the door and sliding into the passenger seat.
"What's that?" He pointed to a piece of paper on the dashboard. Raven picked it up, reading the writing hastily scrawled across it.
Raven,
Business is going to take longer then expected. I'll be back soon. Don't wait for me. When you find the kid Ninian sensed, drive him back. I'll find some other way of transportation.
Legault.
Raven cursed, crinkling the paper into a ball and throwing it into the backseat.
Wil had read the note over Raven's shoulder, "Legault? Who's that?"
"Another witch. I'm unfortunate enough to know him. The irresponsible bastard," Raven started up the car, sharply pulling away from the curb.
Wil decided not to pursue the topic; Raven did not look like the kind of guy you should piss off. "So…is this witch house thingy in the city?" Wil inquired, changing the subject. He was curious about the place, anyway.
"No," Raven replied.
Wow, whole lot of information there, Wil thought sarcastically. He glanced at Raven. The red-haired teen was scowling at the road. Wil hoped he wasn't angry enough to run over any pedestrians.
They were out of the city now, although Wil had no idea where they were exactly. Raven drove so fast the signs were just a blur as they whizzed by.
"Please don't hit any little old ladies or squirrels!" Wil begged, breaking the silence. "The ladies are probably grandmothers and the squirrels have little furry grandchildren too!"
For the first time that day since he'd arrived in the city, Raven smiled. A small smile, but a smile all the same.
"So you are human!" Wil laughed, and the mood in the car lightened considerably, "Say, I don't suppose I could roll down the window, could I?" He asked, casting a glance at Raven.
The other shrugged, "Sure."
Wil grinned, rolling down the window. A soft breeze filled the car, whipping crimson and mahogany locks around their respective owners faces. Wil let out a laugh of pure delight. "So this is what country air feels like," He commented, "I've lived in the city my whole life and I've always wanted to know. The city air is okay, but it can't compare to this. This feels so fresh! So clean!" He laughed again.
"Your element is probably wind." Raven commented quietly.
"Element? What's that?"
"There are six of them. Water, wind, fire, earth, darkness and light. Your element determines what kind of magic you work the best. I'm a fire element."
"Oh," Wil said. "So I guess magic isn't as easy as just saying 'abra cadabra', huh?"
Raven snorted, "Magic is hardly that simple." The car came to a sudden stop, "We're here."
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Lucius sat on the porch of the old Victorian mansion, the winds whipping his blonde hair around him. It was nearly sunset, where was Raven? He bit his lower lip.
"Getting hysterical isn't going to help you know." Serra commented, "He'll be back soon."
"I can't wait to see the new witch!" Nino bounced up and down on her heels.
Serra let out a dramatic sigh, "I hope it's a boy. A cute one who'll fall madly in love with me the moment he sees me." She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead, pretending to swoon.
Lucius laughed lightly at the pink haired girls antics.
Farina swung her legs over the arm of the wicker chair she was seated in, "Whoever they are, I hope they're loaded and gullible."
Nino stopped her bouncing, running to the steps of the porch and peering into the distance, "We'll be finding out soon! That's the car, alright!" She bounced down the steps, running across the long grass.
Lucius gracefully got to his feet, "Priscilla!" He called, "Raven's back!"
A red head popped out the door, "My brother's back?" Priscilla questioned, a shy smile on her face.
Lucius nodded, setting after Nino at a slower pace.
Two figures got out of the car and Nino ran towards them.
"Where's Uncle Legault?" The green-haired girl questioned, placing her hands on her hips. "Didn't he go with you?"
"He said he had some other things to do. He'll be back later." Raven grumbled, scanning the horizon for a certain figure with long blond hair and clear blue eyes.
"When exactly is later?" Nino questioned. Her blue eyes caught on the figure standing behind Raven. "Are you the new witch?"
"Yeah," He grinned. "My name's Wil. What's yours?" He leaned down so he was eye level with her.
"I'm Nino!" She exclaimed, pushing some loose strands of hair behind her ear. A flicker of movement caught her eye. "Raven! Where are you going? I'm not done with you, mister! Where is my Uncle Legault?" Wil laughed as the girl chased after the red haired teen.
Raven paid no attention to Nino. He came to a stop in front of Lucius, "What are you doing out here? It's too hot for you!"
"I was waiting for you of course." Lucius smiled, standing on tiptoe and placing a light kiss on Raven's cheek. Wil could have sworn he saw Raven turn as red as his hair.
"They're so sweet it's sickening." Serra commented from her seat on the porch.
"And the new kid doesn't look very wealthy at all!" Farina pouted, "No fair!"
Raven motioned for Wil to follow him as he headed towards the house, Lucius walking next to him. Wil had to jog to catch up, Nino running behind him.
He let out a gasp as he saw the house. It was a huge, three-floor Victorian style mansion. Two girls sat on the porch, both looked rather disappointed.
"You're not rich, are you?" One of the girls asked as he passed.
"No," Wil answered.
The girl frowned, running a hand through her dark blue hair, "Dammit!"
"Ignore Farina," Lucius advised Wil. "She's got a bit of an obsession with material things."
"Money makes the World go round, my dear Lucius," She called after them as they entered the house.
Raven and Lucius were talking quietly to each other, glancing back at Wil every once and a while. Wil caught a few words of the conversation.
Lucius and Raven stopped half way down a long hallway, and Wil had to stop short to avoid walking in to them. Nino had long since disappeared down another hallway.
Lucius turned around to face Wil, "Your teacher will be Rath. Hannah and Nils, our fortune tellers decided earlier today." Pushing one of the many doors in the hallway open, Lucius stepped inside.
Well, Wil thought as he followed Lucius, at least the place had doors you didn't have to kick open.
Inside the room was furnished in different shades of green. On a dark green couch sat a man with hair and eyes that matched the rest of the room. A bandanna hid most of his hair, but the strands that were visible were of a beautiful shade of green. Wil wondered what that hair would feel like. Silky, he imagined.
The man looked up from the book he was reading, "Yes?"
"Rath, this is Wil. He just arrived," Lucius explained, placing a hand on Wil's arm. "Hannah and Nils decided that he is to be your student."
Rath sighed, getting up. He walked over to Wil, taking the brown eyed boy's hand in his own, "I'm Rath."
A faint blush spread over Wil's cheeks as he shook Rath's hand, "I'm Wil."
Nino went unnoticed, as she watched from the doorway. "And I think you'd be cute together," She whispered to herself, a grin breaking over her face.
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Chapter 1-End
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….That was really long. X.x;; That's the longest thing I've written in ages! It's like 11 pages on Microsoft Word. Sorry if it seemed a little fast-paced, if I'd written it any slower, I'd had had to break this into two chapters!
Hope you all enjoyed! And for those of you who are wondering where the hell the next chapter of The Troubles of Matchmaking is, don't worry, I'm working on it. And no, Nino does not play a major role as matchmaker in this fic, I just thought it'd be a cute note to end it on.
Oh, and Pearl River is a real store in New York. It's a Chinese store, and it's wonderful! They've got really pretty clothes, and one of the best selections of candy I've ever scene! So much Pocky…
In the next chapter, Wil's magic lessons begin! The mystery about what business Legault was attending to (although I'm sure you all can guess) is…well, probably not discovered quite yet. And a bunch of other stuff!
Oh, one more note! I'm going on vacation from the 18th to the 27th, so I probably won't be updating much until I get back. Sorry!
Reviews and shonen ai fanfictions make the authoress happy! When the authoress is happy, she updates! You get the hint!