One Good Turn
"… And that's the last of the ingredients," Dortheabeth said to herself as she paid the shop owner and picked up her paper bags full of plants, animal parts, and groceries for her mom.
Doratheabeth, known by some as Thea even if she'd decided to grow past a diminutive nickname, was a young witch woman of average height and petite build, her skin tanned and her straight, waist-length hair dark where it wasn't streaked with golden blonde and parted to make way for the short horn that curled up from above her left eye. Said eyes were dark and focused, though deep creases beneath them usually gave her a tired appearance. She wore a denim jacket over an off-white shirt and short shorts with steel-toed work boots, the jacket serving to hide the bandages covering one of her arms from … a childhood incident.
Thea grunted and shifted the load to a more comfortable position as she kept walking down the backstreets toward her family's new home. The shifting weight was starting to make her arms burn, but she grit her teeth and kept at it. Her mom and stepdad didn't raise a quitter!
As she walked, she distracted herself from her aching arms by considering when, and if, she'd be able to move out of her parents' house this year. Granted, she loved her mother and stepdad dearly, but she was nineteen, for Titan's sake. And she had a good job brewing potions for a local apothecary to supply to the Healing Coven infirmaries around town.
Really, the only thing keeping her home was-
Thea gasped and bit back a screech of pain as her arm felt like it had been lit on fire from the inside. She strangled her scream as her arm began to twitch, threatening to spill her purchases that she really couldn't afford to replace right now. The familiar weight of a potion bottle in her jacket pocket might as well have been in the Tippy Toes for all the good it could do her now.
Finally, the straw that broke the unicorn's back was a loose cobblestone in the street that snagged her boot … and she pitched forward toward the rest of the cobbles. Thea winced as she prepared for impact and the sound of her purchases being ruined … but it never came, and she felt like she had stopped in midair.
Thea unscrewed her eyes to find herself floating a foot above the ground, suspended by an aura of shimmering red magic. But without the fear to distract her, the pain in her arm came rushing back to her attention and she grit her teeth and groaned against it as it slowly built toward agony. She gripped her arm and curled in on herself as tears threatened to fall.
"Hey, do you need help?"
Thea looked through the haze of tears to find a witch a few years older than her looking at her with concern as she played a tambourine that glowed and produced the magic keeping her — and now that she looked, her groceries and potion ingredients, too — suspended in the air. The woman was slim but curvy, with caramel skin, wide hazel eyes, glossy dark hair tied in a high ponytail, and prominent fangs. Contrasting her pretty features, she was dressed in a drab, though form-fitting brown cloak.
Thea grit her teeth and forced herself to reach into her pocket and remove the bottle of silvery potion she always carried with her. The pain was now not only building, but also slowly spreading which was a very bad sign. She tore the cork from the lip of the bottle with her teeth and spat it out, distantly noting that it got caught in the magic to float close to her face, before taking a long swig that brought instant relief, as if pouring ice water onto a raging fire.
"Oh Titan," she sighed, plucking the cork out of the air and sealing the bottle, "that's the stuff." She smiled and nodded at the witch, who looked at her with concern before altering the tempo of her tambourine. Thea dropped to her feet, her legs shaking and her arm still trembling, like aftershocks from the pain.
"Sweetie, no offense," the witch said in a raspy but soothing voice, "but you don't look to be in any shape to carry all that," she gestured with her free hand at the paper bags still floating in the air, "to wherever you're going."
"I'll be fine," Thea said, her cheeks burning with sudden shame at needing help. She was a strong, independent woman! "Could you please lower them?"
The woman smiled mischievously and did indeed lower them into Thea's waiting arms … but they were weightless. Even with her arms still trembling with the shock of her flare-up, she could handle them more easily than large pillows. Thea regarded the woman and smiled gratefully. "It's a long way to my house," she said.
"It'll give me practice," the woman replied. "I'm Katya."
"Dortheabeth," Thea supplied, and they walked with her in the lead.
Thea hadn't been lying when she said it was a long way from the market. They made their way practically the distance across the city through a maze of tight backstreets until she indicated a grey house that seemed little different from the rest, but Katya assumed this girl knew where she lived. Thea maneuvered the weightless bags to get to her house key and opened the door, motioning for Katya to follow her.
"Mom! I'm home!"
"Well, it's about time," a woman's voice said, and a small, slim woman who greatly favored Thea, with the same brown hair and tanned skin, as well as a beauty mark under her eye instead of a horn above it, wandered in wearing a denim shirt and shorts. "Just a 'quick walk' wasn't it, Thea?"
"Mom," Thea whined. "It's Dortheabeth. You put it on my birth certificate!"
"You're my little Thea no matter how old you get, Hun," her mother said. Then she noticed the glow of Bard magic around Thea's bags as they lifted away from her grip and floated onto the dining room table. She looked around her daughter and blinked at the sight of an unfamiliar witch in her home. She had a cloak over one arm, revealing her attire of an indigo, off-the-shoulder dress and leather boots, with a choker around her neck. "Oh! Hello. May I help you?"
"Oh, no," Katya said, raising her hands with a smile. "I was just-"
"Ready to have dinner with us," Thea butted in. "Mom, my condition just may have flared up on the way home," she blushed with shame, "and this nice witch saved our groceries, my ingredients, and me from a bad fall. Then she lightened my stuff all the way here."
"Goodness!" her mother said. "That's a long way to keep up a spell!"
"It wasn't that bad," Katya shrugged humbly. "I had a really good teacher."
"Well, good teacher or not, you're at least staying for dinner. You must be famished." The mother walked up and took Katya's hand in a firm, calloused grip. "I'm Claracolt Skarn. Just call me Clara."
Katya returned the shake with a smile. "Katya Serdtse," she returned. "And really, it wasn't-" Her stomach growling interrupted her, and she blushed from embarrassment. "Okay, I am kind of hungry."
"Well, I'm almost done preparing griffin pot pie," Clara smiled. "So why don't you and Thea sort out her things while I finish up and get it cooking, hmm?" She bustled into the kitchen before Katya could answer, and the fanged witch snorted before doing just that.
"Sorry about her," Thea said. "She's uber-motherly."
"She reminds me of my aunt," Katya said. "And my mom before she died."
"Oh, yikes. Sorry."
"It's fine. It's been a while." Katya sorted out herbs, taking care to handle them gently. "So, Plant or Potions Coven?"
"Potions," she answered. "My mom is in the Plant Coven. I joined Potions for my-" She cut herself off, but Katya was a good listener.
"Condition?" she prompted as gently as possible.
"Yeah," Thea said lamely. "When I was seven I was stung by a young manticore."
"Oh. Well, heck," Katya said, eyes wide.
Manticores were some of the most feared and vicious beast demons on the Boiling Isles. The witch-faced big cats with scorpion tails had three rows of razor-sharp teeth, could mimic voices to lure prey, and their venom was lethal. But the young ones were arguably worse, as their venom took days to reach throughout the body to eventually kill the victim.
"My stepdad had a friend who was able to figure out a potion to stop the spread," Thea continued. "But it needs constant upkeep or it keeps spreading, and the process is, well …" She shivered. "Today, you saw what happens when I don't take my medicine."
Katya wasn't sure what to say, so she put a hand on Thea's shoulder. "So you decided to take matters into your own hands and brew up your own medicine, right?"
"Yep," Thea chuckled. "It's cheaper that way. Plus, the money's pretty good."
"You go, girl," Katya praised lightly as they continued to sort the contents of the paper bags.
After several minutes of sorting and Thea taking the groceries in to buffer Katya from her mom, Thea smiled her thanks to Katya and gathered up her potion ingredients to take to her small home lab. "Make yourself at home," she said. She started for a hallway, but paused midstep. "Oh, and if my bratty little brother shows up, just ignore him."
"I wish you wouldn't talk about Matty like that," Clara called from the kitchen.
"Ah well, what're you gonna do?" Thea called back as she finally entered the hall.
Katya looked around and decided to sit on a worn sofa. She traced a spell circle that summoned a classic quill pen enchanted to keep its ink and her notebook for fan fiction. She flipped to the back and started writing down notes on Thea and Clara, as well as the situation that had led her here. She was well aware that inspiration could strike from any place at any time, and she wanted to remember this.
She even started designing characters based on Thea and Clara, deciding on a boneana for Thea and a griffin drumstick for Clara.
When she'd finished the notes, she looked up to find Thea watching her with curiosity. "What are you writing?"
"Nothing important," Katya said, clapping the notebook shut and banishing it back to magical storage. "Is everything alright?"
"I just wanted to ask you something," Thea said, fiddling with her hands. "Why, uh … Why'd you help me today?"
Katya smiled at the question, her mind turning backward to a time a few months ago when she'd had no hope left. Locked in the Conformatorium for writing "subversive content" or whatever, with people who also hadn't hurt anyone. Then this human girl swoops in and frees them, gives them a rousing speech and leads them into battle with the warden, which they won.
It was after the escape that she was searched out by Raine Whispers, the up and coming new head of the Bard Coven. They'd spoken to her of her experiences and offered a place in their rebel group, the Bards Against the Throne. She'd had the chance to meet Amber and Derwin, who acted as the siblings she'd never had. And even after their capture and Raine's brainwashing that Lilith was kindly helping them research, she wouldn't give any of it up for the world.
And all because of the kind heart of a human girl.
Why are you helping us? Katya had asked Luz at the time of the jailbreak.
"You looked like you needed help," Katya said. Her smile widened a little. "And someone once told me 'Us weirdos have to stick together'."
Thea blinked and snickered at the phrase. "That's so corny," she commented lightly.
"Yeah, but it's come to define my life lately," Katya replied.
Before Thea could respond, the front door opened and in came a young teen witchling with tanned skin like his family and brown hair with the bangs cut to bear one side of his forehead, much like Thea though he had no horn. He was dressed in the Construction track uniform from Hexside and looked generally moody.
"Hey, Matty," Thea called brightly.
"It's Mattholomule," the boy groaned. "I'd think you'd get that, Thea."
"I dunno," Katya said, casually leaning back against the couch, "I think 'Matty' is kinda cute."
Mattholomule blushed hard at the sight of a very pretty witch in their living room. "Uh, hey," he said, moving to "suavely" lean against a wall and falling into open air with a grunt of pain. He was back on his feet in no time, rubbing his side. "Ma, I'm home! I'll, uh, be in my room!" With that, he ran up the stairs and there was the sound of a door slamming shut.
Katya snorted and couldn't help but laugh. "Oh man, it's when they try to recover that's the best part," she chuckled.
"That was mean," Thea grinned. "I knew I liked you."
"Oh, you like me, hmm?" Katya asked, batting her eyelashes.
"Oh, please. You know what I mean," Thea said, though her cheeks still pinked. "Plus I'm already seeing someone."
"So, any other siblings I can embarrass or just the baby brother?" Katya asked, propping her chin on her hand.
"We have an older brother," Thea said. "I mean, technically he's Matt's halfbrother, but we really don't care about that." Her smile faded a bit. "Steve's the best brother you could ask for, but … his job keeps him away a lot."
Katya pursed her lips before smiling and holding her hand out with an effort of will. Her staff materialized in her hand before shrinking down into her beloved palisman carved as a rhinoceros beetle.
"This is Herc," she said, holding out her hand with Herc nestled in her palm. "Do you want to pet him?" Herc shuffled his wings and shell in encouragement with an adorable chittering sound.
Thea's eyes shone and she held her hand for Herc to waddle into her's from Katya's so that she could gently scratch at his shell. "I've always wanted a palisman," Thea breathed.
"Yeah, the palistrom shortages suck," Katya groused. "Herc was carved by my great-grandmother. My family's kind of old-school with palismen. When one of them dies, they ask the palisman to hibernate in a collection and each generation tries to bond with them before carving their own."
"That sounds a lot like Hexside's palisman adoption," Thea mused, still showering Herc with attention. "Matty got his weasel palisman, Duke, that way."
"What about your parents?" Katya asked curiously. "Or your older brother?"
"My stepdad has a palisman carved as a mole, Grahame. Mom never got to carve one. And Steve, he-" She closed her mouth and swallowed thickly. "Steve was able to carve a palisman from Glandus High's personal tree as part of a high-achiever program. He carved a golden jackal and she was the sweetest thing. But … something happened to Goldie a long time ago, and … he doesn't like to talk about it."
It sounded like someone had hurt Goldie or taken her from Steve. Katya couldn't help but clench her fists in outrage at anyone hurting a palisman, especially one that was not theirs.
"Ladies, dinner's ready," Clara called from the dining room. Then she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Matty! Get down here for dinner!"
Everyone heard Matt tromp down the stairs before he entered the dining room and took a seat next to his mother and across from Katya. "Where's Dad?" he asked.
"He should be home any-"
"Home," called a deep, rough voice.
"Second," Clara finished with a fond chuckle. "In the dining room, Mandrake. We're just serving dinner and we have a guest."
Heavy footsteps tromped into the dining room to find a burly witch of below-average height, his skin weathered as well as tanned and a thick beard compensating for only a fringe of greying hair around his scalp. Though he also bore a wide, short, conical horn sticking out from the left-center of his forehead. He grunted and nodded to Katya before kissing Clara's forehead, faintly smiling to his children, and sitting heavily in the chair at the head of the table.
"Katya, this is Mandrake Skarn, Matty's father," Clara said, serving portions of the griffin pot pie to everyone. "He doesn't talk much, I'm afraid."
"That's fine," Katya shrugged. "My uncle's the same way. Prefers to speak through his music."
Mandrake narrowed one eye and glanced at Thea with a questioning look. Thea scoffed and shook her head, shoving a spoonful of food into her mouth to prove she wasn't trying to impress anyone. Mandrake nodded and tucked into his meal, too.
"What was that about?" Katya asked.
"Mandrake was wondering if you were the certain someone that Thea claims she's seeing. We haven't met them yet."
"We're not there yet, Mom," Thea said, her tone showing she'd said this several times.
"Got an interest in Cornuta witches like your mom?" Katya asked teasingly as she took a bite.
Thea blanched at the question and Clara heartily laughed. "What can I say, dear?" she said, brushing a tear from her eye. "I have a type and I'm not ashamed of it." She reached over and ran her finger around her husband's horn. "I just think they're so handsome."
"Guess I can't judge with these," Katya said, sticking out her short fangs. "To each their own and all that."
"If you'd met my dad, you'd get the appeal," Thea whispered. Then she blinked and looked carefully at Katya as the woman happily ate more of her meal.
When everyone was finished, Mandrake rose and nodded before heading for the den.
"He works in maintaining the streets," Clara explained. "So I've insisted since we got married that he take an hour in the evenings to rest easy."
"Yeah, great parenting," Matt drolled.
"Matty, bite your tongue," Clara scolded. "Your father works hard and deserves his hour of peace."
"Sure, whatever," he said as he petted Duke's head, the palisman curled over his neck. "I'm heading to my room."
As he left, Katya stood and began collecting the bowls and spoons. "Let me help with this, Mrs. Skarn," she offered.
"Oh no, dear," Clara said, trying to gently take the dishes. "You're a guest."
"My aunt and uncle always said to offer to help when a guest in someone else's home," Katya said with a smile.
"Oh, fine," Clara relented. "But just collecting," she added with a raised finger. "Thea and I can wash."
"Fair enough," Katya chuckled and whistled, Bard magic lifting the pot of leftover pot pie and dropping it into her arm. She deposited the dishes on the kitchen counter and stepped back to watch mother and daughter wash and dry together, all three women keeping up conversation.
Soon enough, the dishes were done and the sun was nearing the horizon.
"I've really got to get back," Katya said, somewhat reluctantly. "My roommates will start to wonder if I'm okay."
"Well at least take some for the road," Clara said, offering a ceramic dish of more food.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Skarn," Katya said.
"Thank you for helping my dear girl," Clara replied.
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Katya," Thea said brightly. "And, y'know, my birthday's in a few weeks," she added, offering a card with a time and date. "If you wanna stop by … Steve said he might be able to make it this year."
"Oh, the mysterious eldest brother," Katya said, taking the card with a smile. "I'll be there for sure. Not even a slitherbeast could keep me away." She hugged both of them one last time and summoned her staff to mount side-seated, waving as she took off and glided into the fading daylight.
"I know what you're trying to do," Clara said bemusedly.
"I can't imagine what you mean, Mother," Thea said primly.
"You want to set Steve up with this Katya girl," Clara said bluntly. She sighed. "Just don't push too hard or you'll spook one or both of them." She re-entered the house. "I will certainly admit that I like this girl and think she'd be good for Steventus, but it has to be their choice. Not yours."
"'That's matchmaking one-oh-one," Thea said as she closed the door. "You'll see. They'll hit it off, straight up!"
"We'll see, sweetheart," Clara chuckled. "We'll see."
Welcome to "Tales From the Grove"! This will be a collection of tales exploring scenes from the "Ash & Ebony" series that didn't make it into the main series. Some have been alluded to, others are just because the muse strikes.
This particular story is alluded to in Chapter Twelve of "Strength in Body and Mind," in how Katya met Dortheabeth and was invited to her birthday party to eventually meet Steve.
*Mr. Skarn's palisman is named after Kenneth Grahame, the author of "Wind in the Willows."
*Steve's palisman being a golden jackal is inspired by actual golden jackals occasionally forming a horn-like growth on their foreheads hidden by their fur that is believed in some cultures to be a sign of magical powers.
*Cornuta witches are a subspecies derived from distant demon ancestry that have one to three horns on their forehead. Named for the scientific term for horn.
If you have an idea for a story derived from the Ash&Ebony-verse that you would like to see explored, feel free to leave it in a comment. I'm not guaranteeing that it will be written, but inspiration can come from anywhere. And exploring this AU is still as fun as when I first started it!
As always, I hope this one was a fun read. Leave a review! And may your own works be as fun to read as to write!