Chapter 3
Luka nearly forgot why he was at the charm shop. As long as Marinette held his hand, there was nothing wrong with him. No women sobbing because he hummed a sad song. No children too gleeful to notice traffic. No classmates hurling notebooks at each other when he drummed out an impatient tune on his desk. No need to hide.
He hoped Marinette could truly figure out where his power came from, because he wanted to lay bare and known before her. He wanted to be as open with her as he was with his mom and sister. He wanted her to know his secrets. He wanted to always feel as at peace as he did while she held his hand and lead him to the back rooms of her parents' shop.
When they passed through the first set of dark curtains, Luka was greeted with another one a couple meters in front of him, leading deeper into the back storage and office of the shop. To his left was a small alcove warmly lit with a string of lights running up the wall and outlining the ceiling. Nestled in the alcove was a small, circular table draped in a navy cloth with a galaxy design printed across it. Three black padded collapsible chairs circled the table. In the front corner, to the left of the table, was a small, corked ceramic bottle atop a simple metal stand. In the opposite corner, to the right of the table, sat an intricate bamboo stand filled with plain tan canvas drawers.
Marinette pulled out one of the two chairs on the side nearest the metal stand, and motioned for Luka to sit down. She then wrapped around the table, and opened three different drawers on the bamboo stand. Carefully riffling through the drawers, she placed four large white candles, four fist-sized crystals, and a pile of small stones on the table. Once she emptied out all she needed, Marinette rested her hand on a black polished-marble box on the top shelf of the bamboo stand. It had three moons carved into the lid: one waxing, one waning, and a full moon between them. After a minute of meditation, Marinette left the Tarot box on the stand, opting instead to simply sit opposite Luka as she set up the candles, crystals, and stones.
"Don't you need to be out front watching the shop?" Luka asked, thumbing past his shoulder. "I don't want to get you in trouble."
"You brought money with you?" Marinette didn't bother looking up from her work arranging the table. Luka scooped the few bills out of his front pocket, and held them out to Marinette. "Good. Then you're not my friend visiting, you're a customer, and this is part of the services we provide. Besides, I can hear the bell from here, and if I get too engrossed, Tikki can alert me. Right, Tikki?"
A strawberry poison-dart frog poked her head out from under Marinette's jacket collar. Despite the vast variety of colors the species came in, Tikki was the perfect example of why this subset of poison frogs were named after strawberries. She was that rich red head to foot, and little black spots – like strawberry seeds – speckled her body. Luka wasn't sure if it was because she was a witch's familiar, or simply because of her adjusted diet to keep her toxins low, but Tikki was also nearly twice the size she should be: even with her legs tucked under her, she was roughly the length of Marinette's thumb.
The little frog nuzzled Marinette's cheek in acknowledgment of her responsibility, and her owner gently pet her head with a single finger. Tikki then let out a happy little chirp similar to a cricket's, and climbed out of the jacket and on to Marinette's shoulder; watching the curtained entrance, and listening for new customers coming in.
"See? All good." Marinette flashed Luka a smile, then got back to work in setting the table. She lined the candles at the cardinal points, and marked the mid-points with the purple quartz crystals. Finally, she carefully laid the stones out in a single layer before her so she could see each one easily. Hovering her hands over the table, she scanned it quick to make sure it was properly set. Satisfied, she clapped her hands together. "Now, Luka, do you know the nature of your hereditary magic?" She lit the four white candles and whispered a little prayer while waiting his response.
Luka watched her, entranced by the subtle movement of her lips and the warm glow the match flame cast against her fingers.
Focus! he scolded himself. Ignoring the warmth pooling in his cheeks and forehead, Luka cleared his throat.
"My, uh, my music-" Luka played with the thick ring on his index finger, his eyes focused on the dark gray band rotating around his digit. "When I play, sing, hum, or even whistle a tune, it-" He wasn't sure how to explain it. "It affects people. Juleka's too."
"You sing?" Marinette's voice was airy, wistful, then it snapped with surprise. "Wait, Juleka sings? For real?" She then smacked her cheeks to help her refocus. "I mean, what do you mean the music affects people? Affect them how?"
The whiplash of emotions from Marinette – from dreamy to curious and back to professional – helped ease Luka. Stifling a chuckle, he rested his forearms against his thighs, his fingers twitching against his knees.
"When I create happy music, people around me become joyful, no matter how stressed or sad they once were. When I'm more aggressive, those that hear it get angry, even if nothing irritated them. Melancholy music depresses others, even if they were just laughing. Lullabies put people to sleep, regardless of how alert they were. That sort of thing."
Marinette hummed to herself as she scanned through her layer of polished stones; her hand hovering just above them. She plucked three out of the collection and held them out to Luka. "Here, hold onto these as I ask you a few questions."
Luka held out his hand, and Marinette gently pressed each stone against his palm one at a time.
First was a mossy-green stone with brown splotches on it. "This is serpentine. It helps discover hidden mysteries. It also opens up powers of observation and instinct. With this we can better narrow down where your hereditary magic comes from." She then pressed a purple stone with lighter purple veins running through it against his palm. "This is amethyst. It will help with your intuition, as well as potentially balance out your power. It also assists with communicating with a higher wisdom to help sort this out." Last was a stone so polished and limited in imperfections that it resembled ice. "This is clear quartz. It will amplify your energy while also bringing clarity and awareness. With these three stones we should be able to find you a solution."
Luka's body tingled with each stone, but he wasn't sure if it was due to the energy they brought, or the fact that Marinette's fingertips brushed against his skin each time. The notes for Marinette's song pinged in his head again. The skin contact made the notes clearer than ever before, and Luka struggled to resist humming them for Marinette.
He looked down at the quartz in particular, comparing it to the much more imperfect and nearly opaque-white crystal he had stashed in his treasure chest. Marinette's song buzzed louder in his head as he wondered if the crystal he had cherished the past four years had somehow come from Marinette's family shop. Maybe she had practiced with it when she was younger, and had lost it. Maybe it was his first connection to Marinette without either knowing about it. All of those years, and perhaps they had always been tied together somehow.
"Luka?"
"Hmm?" Marinette's song had grown so loud, Luka didn't even realize she had been trying to get his attention. With a slight blush, he deflated in his chair, shrinking into himself.
"You okay? You kind of drifted off when I handed you the stones. If this is too much for you-"
"No. No, I'm fine. Thank you, Marinette. I really need to figure this out though, if you don't mind."
She nodded and reached her hands out, her fingers curling to beckon for Luka's. He complied, stretching his hands out to meet hers over the center of the table. Grabbing his empty hand, Marinette closed it over the one holding the stones. She then covered his enclosed hands with her own.
Luka smiled when he noticed that Marinette's hand couldn't fully stretch across his much larger ones. She seemed so tiny in that moment, but he always knew her as fierce. Suddenly, the poison-dart frog familiar seemed very fitting.
~ Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome. ~
*Closing Notes*
I had to fit Tikki in this somehow, especially after I Googled "red animals" and stumbled upon an awesome picture of a strawberry poison-dart frog. The thing looks like it's wearing Ladybug's costume, it was too perfect to not use as Marinette's familiar. Thing is, I really had to size up Tikki because these frogs are TIIIIINY.
Also, I really wanted to anchor Marinette's magic in Wiccan as opposed to "Hollywood witchcraft." The thing is, I'm Christian, not Wiccan. I did try to do a lot of research to make it as authentic as possible. However, if you are Wiccan and catch that I massively misrepresented something, please let me know.
As for the stone meanings in this chapter, I got that information mostly from the website Grove and Grotto.
Hope you're enjoying this story. Happy Valentine's Day!