Chapter Text
Three knocks in rapid beat. The sudden sound of flesh against wood awakened the beasts within, as Evi listened for the telltale shuffling of bodies: quick paws hitting the floor and the cottage itself coming alive. Footsteps strode to the door. Newly-painted panels, eggshell white, gave way to the person standing in front of them. Short dark hair, and a distinct set of white, cat-like ears and tail.
”Yozhi!” Bee called. She drew past Evi and engulfed Yozhi in a warm hug. Arms returned the embrace, free laughter echoing in the rafters.
“You guys’re back, it’s been so long!” Yozhi grinned at the witches, bringing Evi in for a similar hug (slightly hindered by the cat in her arms). She grasped Bee by the wrist, pulling her further into the house. “I’ve gotten so much of the house fixed. The old chimney? I cleaned it all up, it works perfect now!”
Bee gasped. “No way! The one infested with, like, bugs and rats?”
“Yeah!” Yozhi glanced to the rest of the house’s occupants, who were lazily slouching about. “But the rats weren’t much of a problem, anyways.”
Evi stepped inside the cottage, closing the door behind her with a soft click as the smell of yeast and flour flit through the air— bread, sourdough if she knew Yozhi well enough. Soft sunlight illuminated specks of dust, and the wooden floor still creaked in the same places she remembered. Home.
If she strode up the stairs, took a peek in the room she and Bee shared, Evi knew it would look the same as when they left, tomes strewn about and fur in the most unlikely of places. The spell Evi had cast, runed carved into the door, forbade not only trespass but the passage of time at all. Such knowledge was a weapon, after all.
But instead of taking the stairs, Evi simply took stock of the house’s condition. From what she could tell, the spells she had carved moons ago showed no signs of decay; Yozhi must be taking care of them, despite the malfeasance expected of the house’s creatures. She remembered the cat in her hands. Stiffly, a bit afraid to release him after so long of keeping it on a leash, she holds him to the floor, watching closely as it wriggles out of her grasp, quickly being engulfed by the beasts welcoming it. Foul things. She shook her head— no, they could be sweet if they tried; problem was they rarely did.
Bee and Yozhi sat at the kitchen counter, the latter drawing a knife through the steaming bread as they perched on their respective favorite stools. Yozhi preferred the wooden one bleached by years of sunlight, but easily hidden by the pink cushion Evi had knit together; meanwhile, Bee slouched atop a creaking, rickety thing, barely redeemed by the pollinator patterns painted on it. The last one sat under a basket of yarn. As Bee watched, the bundles shifted methodically, as if something had burrowed into it. Evi would hate that.
“Have the creatures been manageable? Did the new carvings work better, I hope?” Bee asked, referring to the runes that sat upon every entryway— inset into the windows, carved into the wood of the doors.
Yozhi gestured to the back. “All except the last one. I think Evi forgot the reflect seal, I almost didn’t catch it in time.” ”What a bum. I’ll talk to her.”
“Talk to me about what?” Evi strolled through the kitchen, taking her place besides Yozhi.
“Back door’s reflect seal,” Yozhi returned. “You forgot it, I had to do it myself; you’re lucky the little creatures are okay.”
Evi gasped, delighted. “You figured it out by yourself? Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of you— did you add your magick to mine?”
Yozhi cast an exasperated look to Bee. “It wasn’t hard, I’ve been practicing for a while.”
“I’m an amazing teacher,” Evi hummed.
”Yeah, yeah, you tell yourself that. Dinner’s ready.”
Yozhi pushed the plate of sourdough into Evi’s hands, and placed a bowl of greens in front of Bee. She reached into the oven, mitts carefully extracting a thin slab of steak and still-melting cheese; the smell of brie and rosemary hit the air, and the creatures traced behind, hypnotized by the scent. Everyone sat at the small, paint-peeling table. It groaned beneath the weight of the meal. They watched as it leaned sideways, then stopped precariously.
Bee cleared her throat. “We, uh, we might need a new table soon. Just a guess.”
“Welcome home,” Yozhi said simply, eyebrows raised.
They dug in, Yozhi and Evi into the steak and Bee into the salad; the sourdough slowly became undone, used as a weapon against the cheese, and soon the steak was no more. Evi picked greens out of Bee’s bowl. Yozhi finished with the bread crusts before anyone realized. As for the conversation, it sat easy, as if they had returned from a day’s journey instead of a multi-month trip. The circumstances were not lost on anyone, however, and soon Yozhi broke the easy conversation.
“So, how long will you be here this time?”
Even the creatures shied away from the slight tension behind her voice.
“A week, at most.” Bee stared at her. Her brows pulled tight; eyes strayed, downcast. “That’ll be enough time to renew the house spells, go into town for supplies, maybe visit a few friends.” Not enough time to survive the guilt over leaving.
Yozhi hummed, enough of a pause for both Bee and Evi to feel uneasy with the quiet. “Where will you go?” She asked eventually.
Like an interrogation, Evi answered. “We’ll head up north, to the mountain villages— the ones that’ll need us most in the winter. We’ll, uh, we pass your old village on the way.” Again, silence rang. If it weren’t for the circumstances, it’d feel almost like an invitation. Come with us, see the home you burnt down. With the screech of a knife against ceramic, Evi winced, ducking her head. “Sorry. I, uh, that was wrong.”
Yozhi rolled her eyes. “It’s only been a few years, I mean, I don’t think they’ve forgiven me for much… if they ever will.” She gave no further reply.
“It wasn’t your fault!” Bee exclaimed, palms pushed into the table. “The entire village was so stupid. They’re stupid. I’ll slime them out for you.”
A snort came from Yozhi. She considered if this was worth dropping the subject. It was. “You don’t even remember the slime spell.”
“I do too!”
Evi rolled her eyes, half-glad the tension was gone. “If you remember the slime spell, then do it. Right now.”
“Wha— you can’t ask me that!” Bridget objected.
“Because you don’t remember.”
“No. If you do the slime spell over my sourdough, I will personally gut you.”
Both Bee and Evi conceded.
After dinner, they curled up on the porch bench. Behind the fence, the creatures chased each other around, yowling and preening, glad to be let out under the winter moon. The three witches shivered under the blankets, chill seeping in through the wool.
“Yozhi, you wouldn’t mind magicking us a bit of heat, would you? It’s… freezing.” Evi chattered, hunched around her icy hands. “Why are we out here, again?”
“It’s you. You’re the one who thought it’d be a good idea to let actual demons out to play.” Bee deadpanned.
“Yeah, and why can’t you make the heating spell? You’re perfectly capable!” Yozhi slouched farther under the blankets, tail flickering. “Gone for two months, and you put me to work,” she mutters.
Evi groaned, then obligingly felt for the right words. The summoning spell was best done orally, because fire wasn’t something one could simply carve without consequence. That made it easier for situations like these, when her hands were not warm enough to move. The incantation she whispered was a coaxing pull, meant to spread heat to the blanket without setting it on fire— a delicate balance, but one that Evi had learned through years of traveling through such weather.
Soon, the blanket felt comfy, slightly aglow with the magick but sleep-inducing all the same. Through a yawn, Bee asked about the border runes. They’d need to be strengthened during the stay here, mainly because Erk was all too familiar with breaking them. Evi muttered something about doing them in the morning, and Yozhi felt her mind walking the thin line between waking and sleep. Unconsciously, her tail wove itself around the three of them, and one of the creatures pounced on their laps.
Bee sighed, shifting to fit the creature atop her legs. “I swear, these demons are going to be the death of me.”
“They’re not just demons. They’re demonic cats,” Evi said, threading her fingers between its ears. The cat purred softly, and if not for the extruding fangs it’d almost look like the real thing. “And yes, they will definitely be the death of us.”
“Great.”
In the morning, the three awoke on the same bench, soft petals of snowfall drifting down on them, and all seven of the not-cats snoring gently on their laps.