Magic Practice
Summary: New Staff Members and Magic Practice
Evie's Notes: Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful week . Thank you so much your support of this story, it truly means the world to me 💜! I hope that you all enjoy the this new update 🌺.
Note: Please don't take my description of Stick and Poke Tattoos as a how to guide! It can be dangerous and is not something that should be done at home without lots of research and proper supplies! Be safe 💖
"Attention students and teachers, please pardon the interruption" blared Mr. Sweet's voice over the intercom throughout the school.
Lili looked up from the game of hangman she was playing with Alfie in the corner of her notebook.
"I am happy to announce that we have a wonderful new addition to our teaching staff. Miss Nancy Wilson joins us today as our new school counselor. We are so grateful to her for answering our call and stepping up to help us all grieve the loss of Mr. McCreary. Miss Wilson will be making her rounds through each of the classes today to introduce herself. She has asked me to let you all know that she has an online sign up system for appointments which is available on the school site. Students, let's make sure to give her a warm Frobisher Academy welcome!"
Huh, Mr. Sweet actually hired a school therapist. That had to be one of the most surprising things Liliana had learned about the school since arriving, and she knew about the murder cult! Turning her attention back to the front of the room, Lili went back to struggling with the math problem on the board.
A knock on the door once again interrupted the class. An unfamiliar young woman popped her head into the classroom asking "Pardon the interruption Mrs. Tyestro. I need a few minutes of your class' attention". The teacher annoyedly nodded, upset at the woman for interrupting her lesson plan, but giving up control of the class all the same.
"Hi everyone! I won't take too much of your time here this morning, but I just wanted to pop in and introduce myself" waved the young woman. "My name is Miss Wilson and as Mr. Sweet announced I am the school's new student counselor. I am so excited to get to know you all this year! I am here to support you all in any way you need; whether that be study skill help, friendship issues, or sorting through emotions. I am also the replacement for Mr. Phantonly who is on paternity leave, so I will be seeing each of the 12th years to help with University Applications. I brought some printouts about what exactly I can help with and how to make an appointment with me. If you don't see something you are struggling with listed, just ask! If I can't help you myself I can most likely connect you with a colleague who can".
Accepting one of the fliers, Lili skeptically eyed the list of topics the woman could apparently help with. Grief, depression, anxiety, organizational skills, friendship struggles… nothing about school murder cults and magic trauma, she'd pass.
* Scent of Lavender * Scent of Lavender *
"Are we sure about this?" asked Alfie for what seemed to be the hundredth time that afternoon.
"Look, everything is going to be fine" soothed Nina, placing another handful of herbs into the copper bowl resting on the stump in the middle of the clearing. The group had chosen this specific clearing for their ritual space as it was perfectly circular and was lined with stumps the right height to be chairs. In the middle of the space stood a taller and wider stump, about the size and height of a kitchen table which Nina was using as their makeshift altar.
"I mean shouldn't Lili, Jerome, Joy or Eddie be here?" pressed the boy worriedly.
"It's better that we keep this Amneris business strictly to just us five. The more people that are involved the more likely someone will get hurt" reasoned Fabian.
"Easy for you to say your Significant Other and best friend are in the club already" grumped Patricia.
"Let it go Trixie, you know that it won't do any good to argue with them when they have made their minds up" sighed Amber, annoyedly filing her nails on the stump across from Nina.
"While I could have done without the snark, thank you Amber. We are ready to begin" declared Nina motioning her friends to join her around the stump. Tightening her ponytail, Nina focused on the notebook she had affectionately been calling her grimoire, for the ritual she had transcribed from Sarah's journal, to consecrate the tattoo ink.
The Sibuna club joined hands as Nina lit the candle under her mixture. The group had placed a little dish of the ink within the copper ritual bowl. Nina had then placed the other ritual ingredients around the ink. This particular spell called for a mix of lavender oil, peppermint sprigs, eucalyptus leaves, crushed beetles and yarrow.
Nina reached out and joined hands with Nina and Fabian as she began to read the incantation. "Nos defendat Isis. Custodi filios tuos a malo. Adjuva nos, ut firmi et securi ab omnibus, quae nos possidere appetit, maneamus".
As Nina spoke the flame of the candle grew and twisted causing the ink to bubble in the bowl. A wind whipped up around the group throwing rocks and dust into the air. Amber shut her eyes to try and block out the debris. A mild roar echoed throughout the clearing, and Amber couldn't quite be sure, but it seemed like there were additional voices chanting along with Nina. The noise and wind suddenly ceased as Nina finished her chant. Opening her eyes Amber saw that the candle had been blown out and the ingredients in the bowl had disappeared, leaving only the dark tattoo ink behind.
* Scent of Lavender * Scent of Lavender *
Nina laid out each of the items on the desk that Fabian and Alfie had moved to the middle of the room. Pulling on a pair of latex gloves she attempted to give Patricia a reassuring grin as she firmly gripped the girl's wrist.
"So have you thought where you want the design?" asked Nina.
"Yeah, I decided I want it in a ring around my wrist," replied Patricia. "That way it will be normally hidden by all my bracelets".
"Perfect!" Ripping open one of the disinfectant rags, Nina took special care to clean the area, she did not want to risk one of her friends getting an infection on top of everything else. Uncapping one of the black markers from the dish on the desk, Nina began sketching the phrase onto Patricia's skin. Sarah's journal notes suggested using the phrase 'Defendant Nos A Malo' to keep the bearer safe from evil. Nina made sure to place a black dot between each word to break up the phrase and allow the magic to work. Once she was happy with the design, Nina dipped her tattoo needle in the blessed ink.
Locking eyes with Patricia, Nina encouraged the girl, "Take a deep breath in, this will be over before you know it".
Patricia did as instructed and Nina poked the needle into Patricia's wrist. Besides a small gasp, Patricia didn't give that much of a reaction to the needle. The Sibuna Crew had all had far worse injuries than a few needle pokes, especially after last year.
Dipping the needle in the bowl of ink each time, Nina carefully completed her first pass of the phrase on Patricia's wrist. Alfie was keeping Patricia distracted by showing her videos of ninja failures while explaining what he would have done differently.
Nina carefully spread a layer of vaseline over the tattoo before wiping it off and with it the extra ink. "Round two, get ready" she warned, reloading the ink on her needle and inserting it into the girl's wrist at an angle, the ink sliding off easier the second time.
It took five rounds, but Nina was finally happy with the design. Nina carefully wrapped Patricia's wrist in plastic wrap. "Make sure to keep this covered until at least tomorrow night. After that, wash it gently with soap and pat it dry. You need to be careful with it so the ink doesn't bleed".
"Ok, thanks Nina!" chirped Patricia; moving over to Amber's bed and curling up with the blonde, leaving her spot at the desk open for Alfie. Shooting the boy a grin, Nina prepared to repeat the process on her next friend.
Translation of Chant: "Protect us Isis. Keep your children safe from evil. Help us to remain strong and safe from all that seeks to possess us".
The tattoo roughly translates to be: defend us from evil.
Evie's Notes 2: Thank you all so much for reading 💕! I hope you enjoyed this update, let me know your favorite part of in the comments! I hope to see you all next week 💗!
I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole in the comments or my Tumblr House-of-Secrets! Have a great week and stay safe! - Xo Evie🌺
