6: In Which Maka Has Her First Delivery (And Everything Goes Horribly Wrong)
"Maka," Kim called from the doorway separating the apothecary and the coffee shop. The girl looked up from the receipts she was sorting. The girl pointed towards the front of the store.
"Dr. Stein told me to come and get you. You have a client."
It took a few seconds for his words to register, but once they did Maka bolted out of the chair and dashed to the front. A client! Her very first client!
She paused in the hallway to make sure her hair was decent before taking a calming breath and walking out to the main café area. Stein was standing by the table in the far corner, talking to a woman with dark blond hair. He noticed Maka and beckoned her over.
The woman seated came into full view. She was very pretty. Her skin was pale and her hair fair. Her slanted golden eyes watched Maka with interest.
"So you must be the young lady Stein's told me so much about." The woman extended her manicured hand towards the open seat with a smile. "My name is Medusa Gorgon."
Maka curtsied and took a seat very carefully. "It's wonderful to meet you! I'm Maka Albarn!"
"Lady Medusa here is an old friend of mine," Stein explained. "She and I attended medical school together some odd years ago. How long ago was that now, Medusa? Ten years?"
The woman laughed, covering her mouth. "Goodness Stein, we shouldn't talk about such boring things! And you almost gave away my age. You know a woman never tells anyone that secret."
Marie appeared in the doorway, looking surprised. "Medusa!"
"Marie! Goodness, it's been a while. How are you? My, the baby's grown! Is it due soon?"
"About a month now, the doctor says."
The two women exchanged pleasantries and began to chat together as Stein excused himself, leaving Maka sitting between the pair of them awkwardly. Once they had finished talking Lady Medusa turned to Maka.
"I'm so sorry about that. I haven't seen Marie in a long time. Not since she first announced her pregnancy."
Maka shook her head. "I understand."
"Wonderful! Well, I should probably tell you about this deliver then." Lady Medusa pointed to a birdcage on the table beside her. "You see, today is my nephew's birthday. I meant to drop off the present yesterday, but I had to cover an extra shift at the hospital last night."
"Is Mira still feeling under the weather?" asked Miss Marie.
"Unfortunately. I phoned yesterday and her voice is back, thank goodness. As I was saying, I wanted to drop this off to him. Since I have to work tonight as well there's no way I can get it to him. Especially since my sister lives out in the country. I was hoping you would be able to have this delivered safely by this afternoon. Is that at all possible?"
"Of course!" Maka stood up. "If you could please come to the counter, I can look it up on the map!"
The three of them walked to the counter, where Maka had laid out a map of Dödenstad and the surrounding area. Lady Medusa began pointing towards an area outside of the city, murmuring directions to her sister's house.
Blair had hopped onto the counter and peered into the birdcage curiously. Inside it was a small black cat identical to her. The difference was that it was made of cloth and had a key coming out of its back. A wind-up mechanical toy then.
As Blair continued to examine the fake cat while Maka scanned the map. She was searching for a short while until she found the road she was looking for.
"It's here, right?"
"You do have a sharp eye. Yes, that's the area. My sister lives right there." Medusa tapped a small road going off the main one. "Will that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all! I can fly directly, so it should only take an hour or so!"
"I'm happy to hear it!" Medusa smiled as she pulled out a snakeskin wallet from her purse. "How much will that be?"
Maka was shocked. How could she not have decided on a charging rate? "Well, um, I really haven't given it much thought…"
Lady Gorgon didn't seem phased at all. She pulled out a bill from her handbag. "Will this suffice?"
"This much? Are you sure?"
"Of course. I just want that present delivered as soon as possible. Think of this as a start up of a booming business."
"I can leave right away then!" She ran to grab her broom. "Come on, Blair!"
マカの宅急便
Meanwhile, Soul and Black*Star were walking their bikes up the street sharing a bottle of water between the two of them.
They saw the young girl saying a few words to Miss Marie before mounting her broom. The boys exchanged one look before getting on their bikes again.
"Race you!"
"There's no way I'd let you win!"
They pedaled furiously to the top of the hill to where Miss Marie was standing, breathless. Maka was slowly ascending into the clear blue sky. Blair was sitting on the end of her broom while a birdcage with a yellow cover
"Man, I wish I could fly like that," Soul murmured as he watched Maka's figure fade out of view. "That'd be pretty cool, especially for a cool guy like me."
"As if!" Black*Star retorted. "You wouldn't look half as good as she does with a big stick of wood between your legs! If there's anyone I bet could fly like that someday, it'd be me!"
Soul laughed. "As if! You can barely stay on that bicycle without having an accident."
Black*Star got his revenge as he pushed Soul over with a laugh. They were both promptly scolded by Marie, who soon after offered Soul a bandage for his skinned knee and both of them water.
マカの宅急便
Blair scanned the streets below her worriedly as the two of them rose. She carefully balanced on the broom and tugged on Maka's sleeve.
"Maka, is it safe to fly within city limits?"
"As long as we fly high enough the police can't see us. If they can't see us how could they possible charge us?" Maka said bravely as she continued to gain altitude. It'd been a few days since she'd flown and it was nice to have her feet off the ground again.
Once they were high enough that Maka deemed it safe, she pulled them map out from the string around her neck and double-checked the directions. It was a simple enough path straight down the road and into the country. Maka rotated her broom until she was pointed in the right direction. Then she urged the broom forward. They flew over the small inlet and towards the grassier plains outside of the city.
After about thirty minutes Maka slowed her pace. She and Blair were now flying over the main road, with was almost completely deserted. Thick woods spread out from either side of them. There was a cawing sound coming from the trees.
"Crows? No wait, these are magpies, aren't they?"
Blair nodded. "It looks like they're all gathered in there nesting."
Maka noticed a group of magpies flying just a little ways ahead of her. She grinned and joined their formation. The nearest bird crowed in surprise, but aside from that made no comment. Maka relaxed. It was a nice pace.
A couple of the magpies cawed playfully, and Maka joined in with a laugh. However, the entire flock began to caw urgently. Maka stopped and looked down at Blair.
"Blair, what are they saying?"
"They said they're going to gain altitude. There's a big updraft coming."
"A big updraft?"
Maka's question was soon answered. The birds had all straightened their wings and gone eerily quiet. Maka watched as each of them was ripped up from where they were gliding. The wind was like nothing Maka had ever experienced in her life. It tore through her and flung her sideways. She was gripping tightly to her broom, and Blair was gripping tightly to her dress. They rolled several times before Maka was able to grit her teeth and straighten up. As she did she was the birdcage falling towards the trees far far below.
Maka uttered a word she knew her papa would ground her for if he ever heard her say and dove straight for the cage. It was just out of her grasp. She sped up until she felt her arm wrap around it. By then Maka had gained too much speed to pull up all the way. She leveled her body and crashed down straight into the trees below.
マカの宅急便
Maka groaned and came to face-to-face with a magpie. It was cawing loudly, hopping from branch to branch around Maka. The witch sat up carefully. The cage was in her lap, broom underneath her and unharmed. Blair was on her shoulder.
Blair nudged Maka. "She's saying, 'Egg stealer. Don't take my eggs.'"
Maka was surprised until she looked under her right elbow and saw a nest with four (thankfully) intact eggs.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. I don't want to steal your eggs. It was just an accident, I swear!"
The angry mother paid no mind to Maka's words as she continued to screech at the witch and peck at her. Maka batted the bird away as she grabbed her broom and the cage. "Blair, come on!"
They took off with a swarm of angry mothers following them. The birds, thankfully, turned away once Maka had made it a safe distance. Maka finally gave herself a moment to breathe. There would definitely be a lovely bruise on her shoulder where she'd collided with the tree, but other than that everything seemed okay.
"Blair, are you hurt?" Maka groaned.
The cat replied weakly, "No, Bu-tan's fine."
Maka sighed in relief and hooked the birdcage back to the end of her broom. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more mishaps during this trip. One incident was bad enough.
"That wind was unexpected," she said.
"The magpies knew about it."
Maka looked straight up to where the magpies were flying much higher. "Well, they did warn us. I should've listened more." She sighed and relaxed. "It looks like I still have a lot to learn about flying."
"Maka!"
Blair's voice was in a panic as she pointed to the birdcage.
"It's empty!"
And it was. The door was hanging open. The note was still intact, but there was no cat to be found.
"Oh no!" Maka pulled the broom to a halt and turned back towards the forest where she'd crashed. A swarm of magpies began to rise from the trees below.
Blair gasped. "Maka, turn back. They're saying, 'Here comes the egg stealer.' They're going to attack you!"
"But the present—"
Maka didn't have time to finish her reply as the birds attacked. They pecked at her, tugging her hair and dress. Maka swung wildly at them.
She felt a sharp twinge through her connection with the broom. Turning, the young witch saw the birds were also pulling out the straws from the end.
"Stop it! Stop!" she shouted, swinging the now-empty birdcage at them. She flew a safe distance away, hovering in midair as the magpies went back to their nests.
"What am I going to do?" Maka asked. "I have to deliver that package and the cat could be anywhere in there."
Blair shrugged. "Unless you can find another cat to take its place Bu-tan can't help you."
"Another cat to take its place…" Maka murmured. She stared down at Blair.
Her familiar noticed. Something about that look was making her very nervous.
マカの宅急便
"MAKA, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!" Blair screamed over the wind.
"Do we have a choice?" Maka bellowed back. "We're already behind schedule as it is! Besides, it's only temporary. I promise I'll be back for you within a couple of hours!"
"Somehow I'm nowhere near reassured!"
Maka held the cage with her arm, flying as fast as she could towards the house. Blair was gripping the bars with her paws, a look of pure horror on her face. As much as they hated to admit it, they really had no other choice. Unless Maka wanted to face failure on her first delivery she had to go and find the cat and still be more or less on time.
"You remember the drill, right?" Maka asked.
"Stay as still as possible until Maka gets back. Then find a way to escape. Got it."
"Okay, good." The witch saw the house coming into view. "Hold still. I'm landing."
Blair swallowed. All she had to do was deceive the boy for a couple of hours. How hard could it be?
The young witch landed before the door. Maka brushed down her dress, checked that Blair was still, and rang the doorbell. It made a sound like a church bell gong. There wasn't anyone for a few moments. Maka was about to push the bell again when the door opened.
A short elderly man wearing a suit answered. He looked Maka up and down with a calculating gaze that had her stiffen slightly.
"May I help you?"
"Ah, yes! My name is Maka Albarn, and I'm here to deliver—"
"MY PRESENT!"
Maka almost dropped the birdcage in shock as a very excited boy ran to the door. He pushed the butler aside and grabbed the package eagerly.
A boy around the age of six looked up at Maka before going back to the birdcage. He had short strawberry blond hair that was a spiky mess on his head. A bandage was across his nose, another on his skinned knee. Maka figured this was Lady Medusa's nephew.
The boy held the cage to his chest as he babbled at Maka. "It's from Auntie Medusa, right? What did she get me this year? Was it hard to find the house? Did you really fly here from Dödenstad? How long'd it take?"
"I, um—"
"Giriko, please behave yourself," came a sigh.
A woman wearing a very fine dress and a necklace of pearls came down the stairs to the door. She was gorgeous. Maka could see the resemblance between her and Medusa. They had the same build, though this woman had dark eyes and black hair. She tilted her head down slightly at Maka. Maka curtsied.
"Maka Albarn, witch-in-training."
The elegant woman smiled. "I'm glad to see you here in one piece. You were a little late. We were beginning to worry."
"I apologize for the tardiness," she said quickly. "Lady…?"
"Arachne Gorgon. I'm glad you made it and that's all that matters. Was it hard to find the house?"
"Not at all. It was just a bit windy today," Maka said pleasantly as she dug out a pen and notepad. "If you could just sign for the package, please."
The madam smiled and gave Maka's notepad a swirling signature. Maka quickly tucked it into her dress before curtsying once more.
"I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a rush today. Happy birthday to your son."
She ran down the driveway, mounting the broom and kicking off in one fluid motion. Lady Arachne watched, impressed. So the girl could indeed fly.
She turned back to the house and sighed as she saw Giriko had already left the cat to the side, trying to convince his pet bird to move into the bigger cage. At least the dog seemed to take some interest in the stuffed animal.
Perhaps that present hadn't been a complete waste after all.
"Mygga," she called to the butler. He appeared in an instant.
"Yes, Lady Arachne?"
"I would like a red wine in the dining room. Make sure Giriko's bird doesn't get loose in the house before our dinner guests arrive."
He bowed low. "Yes Lady Arachne."
マカの宅急便
Maka wasn't sure how much time had passed since she'd left Blair in the hands of the rambunctious boy, but she knew it must've been over an hour. The sun was beginning to set and it was getting harder and harder to see through the thick undergrowth of the forest. Maka had landed a safe distance from the birds and had since searched through the trees below where she had crash landed.
"Oh no," she groaned as she looked up towards the darkening sky. "It's got to be around here. Maybe it's in the trees? But I can't fly up there without getting attacked."
Maka ducked around another tree and stumbled upon a cabin. Well, that was unexpected. The witch was about to leave when she saw something in the window she hadn't expected.
The cat!
Maka ran over for a closer look. There wasn't a doubt about it. That was the cat she'd been searching for. She peered in through the window. It looked like a simple enough place, complete with a stove and bed. The adjacent room was some sort of studio. Papers and pens were strewn on every available surface in this room. There were also several crafting tools on the far table. A violin was perched on its stand in the corner. The entire property looked abandoned.
"E-excuse me? Is anybody home?"
There was no reply. Panicking slightly, Maka tried again. "Hello?"
"I'll be there in a minute!" The voice came from above. The roof? Maka took a quick lap around to the far side of the cottage. Sure enough there was a ladder.
The voice was calling again. "I can't pull my hands away at the moment. Climb up if you want!"
Maka took a deep breath and climbed up the ladder.
She was greeted by a magpie. Maka gasped and flinched back, but the attacking bird was called off by the voice. The bird gave Maka one last piercing glance before hopping back to the person on the roof. Maka climbed up all the way.
A man with white hair was crouched on the slanted roof. Pages upon pages of sheet music were scattered around him with no apparent order to them. They were all held down by paperweights of various sizes and colors. He glanced over his shoulder at Maka before turning back to his work.
"Give me one second..." he said. Then he went back to scribbling around on the sheets with a very fancy fountain pen, humming slightly. The fingers on his left hand tapped as he wrote.
Maka stood off to the side as she waited. She noticed there were several magpies watching her with cautious eyes, but the man was talking to them easily. A few were nipping friendlily at his hair and ears. The man responded by scratching them slightly.
After almost a minute he sat back and turned to Maka. His clear blue eyes met her green ones.
"Sorry about that," the stranger said. "I had to get that melody down before I forgot it. What did you want?"
"That cat, in the window."
"Oh, that thing?" the man asked with a chuckle as he gathered up the music. "I was taking a walk when I found it. The magpies were pretty upset about it being in their territory so I brought it home with me."
"It's actually mine. I dropped it earlier." Maka swallowed. "In fact, I'm supposed to deliver it to Lady Arachne's son in the next town over, but I dropped it and have been trying to find it for the last hour. Please, it's an emergency!"
"Say no more! I'm sorry I didn't realize you were in such a rush, miss."
The young man slid down the ladder and opened the door. He disappeared into the cottage. Maka cautiously went down the ladder after him. He came out a moment later with the little cat safely in his hand.
"Here you go. Shame really. I actually took a bit of a liking to it."
"Thank you very m—" Maka started. Then she stopped, noticing something. "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's broken."
Sure enough the cloth near the head was ripped, revealing the gears on the inside. The cloth could be sewn shut pretty easily, but it looked like a few of the gears were knocked out of place.
"What am I going to do? I can't possibly deliver this!"
The young man leaned in to look at it. He hummed in agreement. "Those do look pretty misaligned. Tell you what, how about I fix this for you?"
"Could you? But I have nothing to pay you with."
He laughed. "I don't want to take money from you! Think of it as a favor between two people."
Maka peeked into the cottage. She couldn't help but notice the mess of papers strewn everywhere.
"How about I clean up a bit?"
マカの宅急便
"I feel terrible making you do this."
"It's fine," Maka said. "I don't mind at all!"
The man was seated at one of the numerous work areas in the cottage (which was surprisingly spacious on the inside) while Maka was going through the papers, organizing them into manila envelopes and labeling each by piece name.
The man swiveled around in his stool. "My name's Wes, by the way. Wes Evans."
Evans? The name sounded familiar, but Maka couldn't place her finger on it. She shrugged it aside as she put a piece titled Arancio e vaniglia in a new folder.
"I'm Maka Albarn. Thank you so much for this, Wes."
"No problem. But now I'm curious. Are you the reason why the magpies were so feisty earlier?"
Maka blushed. "I think so. I was flying over their nesting area and a strong breeze made me lose control. I dropped that cat and crashed while trying to catch it."
"Flying? Are you a witch?"
"Yes. Born and raised."
Wes whistled lowly. "Isn't that something? So you're on your one-year service?"
Maka made a noise of agreement.
"That's pretty cool," Wes said. "I've never met a witch before. Not many come near the city, especially one like Dödenstad that's been modernized. I heard a rumor some people say things like phones and televisions stop working around witches."
"That's just a myth," Maka said.
Wes laughed. "Guess we need more education then. All the schools I attended either ignored the existence of witches or taught about all the evils of magic. Which I honestly think replacing the words 'magic' with 'money' or 'technology' could make a solid argument too."
Maka laughed. Something about Wes was very relaxing. He had a very easy-going wavelength.
"Did you write all this music then?" she asked as she sorted through another piano piece.
"Yeah," he said. "It's not that great. Most of it's just silly little things for violin or piano."
Maka tried to decipher the little squiggles on one sheet and promptly gave up. "I think it's impressive. I've never played an instrument in my life."
"Never?" When Maka shook her head Wes hummed. "I can't imagine a life without music. My whole family's very into it. I've been playing the violin since I was four. And my little brother is very good at the piano. I keep trying to get him to play some of the pieces I write, but he keeps refusing. Stubborn as a mule, that boy."
マカの宅急便
They continued to talk until it became dark. Maka ended up sharing the entire story of how the little damaged cat in Wes's hands came to happen. Wes talked a bit about studying violin in France and instrument-making in Italy. It ended up he lived alone in the cabin because it inspired his work.
Due to the distraction of conversation Maka had only gotten half of the music sorted. She was sure Wes could've fixed the cat a bit faster too but she couldn't be mad at him. The only thing that made Maka worry was the fact that it had been several hours since she'd seen Blair. Hopefully everything was okay.
"Finished!" Wes shouted from the porch.
"Really?"
Maka came out of the house with an electric torch. Wes held up the cat triumphantly. The key was spinning, making the cat meow metallically.
"Does this look fixed enough to you?" he asked.
Maka took the toy from her hand, trading it for the torch with Wes.
"Thank you so much!" she breathed, more relieved than she'd ever felt in her life.
Wes was grinning. "My pleasure. Sorry it took so long." He picked up the broom that was leaning against the door. "It was nice to meet you Maka. Now go save your familiar."
"And it was nice to meet you too, Wes."
"Feel free to visit whenever you'd like."
"And to you!"
Maka pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down the phone number and address of the café. After they'd said one final goodbye Maka took off. She clung to the fake cat as if it were a lifeline. There was no way she would lose it this time.
マカの宅急便
Night had fallen by the time Maka landed by the cars parked in front of the mansion. Hopefully no one inside had noticed her. Seeing how the blinds were drawn she was probably okay. She was about to check from each window when the door opened. Maka continued to hide behind the car.
The boy, Giriko, was letting out an old Saint Bernard. "Close the door behind you, Ludde."
The dog wagged its tail once as Giriko went back inside. The dog walked closer to where Maka was hidden before placing something it'd been holding in its mouth on the ground. A small black something that moved before making a beeline dash to Maka. Maka recognized the cat immediately.
"Blair!"
"You're late!"
Maka hugged the shaking black cat to her chest. "I'm so sorry Blair. I promise I'll never pull a silly stunt like that again!"
"You promise Bu-tan, nya?"
"Of course!"
Blair wiggled slightly out of Maka's hug to point back at the large dog. "He helped me stay hidden from Giriko. I wouldn't have made it out if it wasn't for him."
"Thank you." Maka placed a hand on the dog's forehead. She could faintly sense his welcoming wavelength. She held out the real mechanical cat. "Could you please bring this in for your master?"
Ludde wagged twice before opening his mouth. He took the real mechanical cat inside and shut the door behind him with a paw. Maka's heart finally stopped beating a mile a minute. She was glad to have Blair back.
They flew home in comfortable silence. Maka smiled as a light breeze ruffled her hair, cooling the sweat that had gathered on the back of her neck. Perhaps she'd do laundry tomorrow.
Blair groaned a bit. Maka noticed she kept rolling her head from side to side.
"Are you okay?"
"A bit stiff. Sitting like that for so long was awful." Blair finally finished stretching her neck and turned to face Maka. "So what took you so long?"
"That mechanical cat was picked up by a person in the forest. I found the cat within the hour, but the thing was damaged. So he fixed it for me." Maka looked back at Blair. "So how did everything go in the house?"
"That big dog was surprisingly friendly. He didn't really ask questions and guarded me until that boy left the room. I was able to tell him you would come back for me, and he promised to help me outside when you did."
"I'm glad he did."
"Me too." Blair yawned. "I can't wait to get home. I could really use a meal. And a good night's rest."
Maka reached out and scratched her under the chin where she knew it felt good. Blair relaxed slightly, purring. "Well then, you definitely deserve some pampering after everything that happened today! Since we got paid so much today I'll stop by the fishmonger tomorrow and get you something nice."
That got the cat to perk up. "Really?"
"Really really. We should be back in twenty minutes if we continue at this pace. Want me to go a bit faster?"
"This is fine. Faster would be too cold."
Twenty minutes later Maka landed in front of the now-closed café and went in through the back door.
"I'm back."
"Welcome home!" Marie came out from the living room and hugged her. "You were very late. We were worried."
Maka hugged her back. "I'm sorry. I got a bit sidetracked."
Home, huh?
Maka smiled. It'd been two weeks since she left her quiet country home and only a week since she entered the bustling port city, but somehow she slowly felt as though Dödenstad could actually be a place she could call home.
"Wow, you made Medusa nice!" Don't count on it.
Also, I love Wes Evans and decided he needs to be in this story. So I made it happen.
Next chapter: A new character!