*Author's Note*

Disclaimer: I wanted to anchor Marinette's magic in Wiccan as opposed to "Hollywood witchcraft", but I'm Christian. I tried to do my research, but I also know I'm taking a lot of creative liberties. If you notice any glaring misrepresentation of Wiccan, please let me know.

Chapter 5

She was gone for only a few minutes, but Luka felt feverish the whole time. He was anxious about her potentially finding him a way to subdue his power, and whether or not he truly wanted it. He also missed her terribly already, and struggled to keep her song trapped in his mind.

"Back." Marinette pushed through the curtain with a flourish before making her way back to her seat at the head of the circular table. "I hope this works." She sat down and placed a small wooden charm on the center of the table. It was a snake, wrapped around itself like a pendent, with a coil of its tail leaving a loop for string or a chain to slide through. Its head contently rested on its back at the bottom of the circle the rest of its body knotted into.

Luka gestured to pick up the charm, and Marinette nodded approval. The charm was about the size of a ten Euro cent coin. The snake's coils themselves were about as thick as a phone charger cable. The back half of the pendent was flat, sanded wood, but the front was rounded and finely detailed. Each scale was etched onto the charm, and a surprisingly expressive face was carved onto the head. The snake's eyes seemed welcoming, and soothed Luka as he looked into them. Even the faint scent of rose coming from the wood calmed him.

"Luka," Marinette cut in, "I believe you're descended from Sirens. That's why your family feels comfortable near the water, why you think in terms of music, why songs constantly play in your head, and – most importantly – why your music profoundly effects the mood of others."

"Sirens? Juleka and I are Sirens?"

"Well, you yourselves aren't Sirens, but you have their blood, and – ugh, excuse the pun, but – watered down versions of their power."

It made sense. All of it felt true as Marinette said it.

"But." Marinette dragged out the word as she tapped on the charm in Luka's hand. "This little guy here should help you with the powers bit." She held out her hand, and Luka gave her the wooden snake charm.

"It's lovely. Did you make that charm, Marinette?"

"Huh? Oh! Oh no. No. I'm not this good at woodworking. There's a local craftsman we get our talismans from, and then we imbue whatever spell we need the charm to possess. Here." Marinette handed Luka a long spool of black hemp cord. Then she picked the course stone back out of the bamboo stand, and handed that to him as well. "While I work on the charm, I need you to work on the string. Wrap it tightly around the limestone while picturing your power fading inside you; unable to reach anyone else."

Luka nodded and began to do what he was told. Marinette pulled a needle-fine chisel from her pocket, and leaned close to the table. Muttering to herself, she flipped the snake charm to the smoothed back, and started to carve into the head. It only kept a few seconds, with her surface area so small, and then she held the tip of the chisel in the flame of the Northern candle beside her. With the tip hot, she again took to her carving, now slightly charring the wood around the etching. A few more seconds, and she pulled the chisel away, resting her left hand on the charm and muttering a couple more words.

Abruptly, she stood, and held the wooden charm at the very height of the Northern candle flame, just barely kissing the back of the charm with the heat of the fire. She then walked to the Eastern candle and did the same. She slid between Luka and the other collapsible chair as she again baptized the charm with the flame of the Southern candle.

Luka stopped his winding as he watched Marinette, so when she finished with the Southern candle she quickly tapped him in the shoulder, and pointed to the limestone in his hand. With a little start, he went back to winding the string around the rock, picturing himself playing his guitar on the deck of The Liberty without worrying about others within earshot. He was performing with Juleka in front of their friends. He was humming while making his deliveries around town. He was playing Marinette's song for her as she sat on the foot of his bed. It was all possible. Marinette was going to make it possible, because she was such an amazing girl.

Marinette finished her ritual by kissing the back of the snake charm with the flames of the Western candle, and sat back in her spot. She held out her hand for Luka to pass her the bound rock, and he complied, hoping he wrapped it tight enough and enough times.

"Luka Couffaine." Marinette spoke as if she were presenting him with a metal: stern and distant, but still warm and encouraging. "Your animal guide is that of the Snake. They move quietly among others while exuding a magnetic energy that draws people to them. Snakes are well mannered, dignified, and charming. Snakes can weigh people up quickly and decisively, with a natural psychic ability that lends itself well to your power. Most importantly, Snakes never give in when there is a battle for something they believe in, and their incredible compassion makes them ready to help others. This is why I chose the snake charm for you." She held it up, pinched between her thumb and forefinger.

She then held up the wrapped limestone on her left palm. "I also thought that perhaps you are an Earth Snake, and maybe you are, in part. Earth Snakes are serene, enjoy down-to-earth conversation, and are rarely roused to anger. Because of this, I had you twine this string around the limestone as a way of binding the protection of Earth into it."

Marinette gently placed the stone on the table, making sure none of Luka's winding undid. She then rolled the snake charm onto her right palm, holding it out for Luka to see. "Instead, it is clear that you are a Wood Snake. For you, things must be in balance; in harmony. You care deeply for those in your life, but you still remain a bit of a loner. You possess kindness and compassion unlike any other Snakes influenced by the other elements. You are also far less egotistical than other Snakes may be. Despite the chaos you live in, Wood Snakes appreciate stability in their lives, in their family, in their friendship, and in their love. You have a firm foundation on which you can build a great life. This is why your charm is made of juniper wood. Juniper is an evergreen bush that thrives year-round; allowing you to equally thrive throughout the full year. Juniper is also a symbol of protection and purification; allowing your true talent to shine through without the influence of your Siren heritage."

With a single finger, Marinette flipped the snake charm over. The back of it was blackened by the flames Marinette passed it through, but it still seemed sturdy; the natural flowery scent of the juniper stronger now. Tapping by the head of the snake, Marinette showed off her carving. It was a straight line running the length of the snake's head. Up by the neck, there was a smaller line, angled down and to the right at a forty-five-degree angle. By the nose, another small line – equal in length to the upper one – slanted up and to the left at a forty-five-degree angle. The symbol itself looked like a slanted Z reflected in a mirror.

"This is the Eihwaz Rune. It symbolizes the yew tree, for further protection from your home element. It is also a magical protector and facilitator. Its job is to absorb the magic your music spills out, and traps it for you." Sitting back in her chair, Marinette placed a pair of scissors on the table, then began unwinding the string wrapped around the limestone. Once she had a strand about as wide as her chest – a few more lengths of string still bound around the rock – she laced the string through the looped body of the snake charm.

She then stood up, stone in hand and string stretched out before her. Walking around to Luka, she stood behind his chair. "Keep facing forward," she instructed, "and imagine your music only moving people because of how good it is." She lowered her arms on either side of Luka's head, so the string stretched in front of him as well. She leaned close to his ear, measuring the twine against his neck. "Picture playing for your friends. Hold that image in your mind."

Marinette's breath on his ear made Luka only imagine her: a concert for one; the only one he painfully wanted to play for. Her song was now as clear as a recording, and his whole body softly vibrated in yearning. This magic charm will work. He will be able to play for her. She will hear exactly what he does whenever he's around her.

A few more coils of string were unwound from the rock before Marinette held it out for Luka. "Cut the string here, as close to the stone as you can." He did as he was told, holding the loose end of the string so it wouldn't fall. Marinette then placed the stone on the table, collected the scissors from Luka, and accepted his end of the string. Again she walked the table, singing the ends of the string with fire from all four cardinal candles. Her task completed, she carefully tied the twine into an intricate knot to hold the charm in the center of the string.

Looping back behind Luka, Marinette draped the necklace across his neck. She nestled the charm within the notch between his collar bones, then held it in place with a light touch of her hand. Her fingers rested against Luka's hot skin, and he wanted them to stay there. With his eyes closed, he placed his hand on top of hers, and the world stilled.

~ Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome. ~

*Closing Notes*

I really wanted to have Marinette present Luka's binding charm to him much like she were presenting the Miraculous, especially since I kept him as a snake. Which is actually fantastic, because Snake fits him so well, based on their descriptor on the site Witches Lore.

Also, just a quick FYI: when Marinette was pulling out the symbols of the elements last chapter, I know I didn't include air. I went based on the different Snake elements listed on Witches Lore, and it only had Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood.

I also the Learning Religions website to learn about bindings. For learning about the Elder Futhark runes, I used The Rune Site. Between those two sites, I discovered that the best type of wood that could be used for runes would be nut-bearing trees, so after researching THAT I decided that juniper was the best option, and used info from Tree Symbolism.

Again, I'm using creative liberty here, but if you notice a massive misrepresentation of any Wiccan practices, please let me know.

Hope you're enjoying this story. Happy Valentine's Day!