Chapter Text
“Doux -”
“Hang on, Archie, I think I can beat this level this time -”
“What - oh, is this that little game with the witch cat.” Archie sniffs.
“Just - yes, alright, but just a minute -”
“Don’t see why you spend so much time on a fake ‘magic cat’ on that contraption of yours.”
“Well, you do insist on not wearing a pointed hat - hah! See.” Hisirdoux reaches out to pat Archie’s head. “What did you need?”
“I believe the Lady Claire is calling.”
“Claire -” Hisirdoux looks at his phone - “Oh, Skype!” he darts over to his laptop - the Arcane order hadn’t figured out much in the way of modern technology, so while they kept magic to a minimum to avoid being traced, the Arcane order hadn’t figured out enough leet hacking to trace Hisirdoux’s Skype calls.
“Claire! Sorry, I was -”
“Playing games on that infernal device.” Archie chimes in.
“Thanks, Arch.”
Claire laughs. “Happy Halloween!” From behind her, he hears two other “Happy Halloween!”s from Jim and Toby, part of the Nuñez - Lake - Domzalski quarantine bubble.
“Happy Halloween,” he says, with a smile. “What are you up to?”
“Quarantine Halloween! Scary movies and all the Nougat Nummies we can eat!” Toby says.
“I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear we’re staying in and safe.” Claire says.
“I am.” Hisirdoux says. “How’s everyone else?”
“Well, we’re all expecting another DJ Kleb mixtape to drop soon - Krel’s going a bit stir crazy and it’s all going into his turntable. So prepare your ears for that.”
“I will.” Hisirdoux says. “I should send him some recordings of what I’ve been playing around with, see if he has any fun with that.” He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t going a little stir-crazy too, New York was surprisingly well defended from the mystical, and he was mostly trying to stay holed up - not from the virus, it had been established that he was immune to human diseases centuries ago - but from the Arcane Order. And of course, setting a good example and all that. At least he had a new, non-spellcaster guitar to jam on, but Arch and Nari weren’t always the most enthusiastic listeners.
“I’m sure he’d enjoy that.” Claire says. “I wish I could jam with the girls, but -”
“Yeah,” Hisirdoux says. “Hey, first Battle of the Bands after all this, I’m on the first flight there to hear you all play, right?”
“Flights are for people whose students don’t have shadow magic.” Claire says, but she looks genuinely pleased.
“How’s practicing coming along?”
“Claire’s amazing! You should see what she’s doing with conjuration.”
“Aw, Jim.” Claire says fondly. “We can catch up about magic anytime. What are you doing for Halloween!”
“Honestly? Archie and Nari and I are going to hang out and watch some Addams Family.”
“Oh, that sounds fun - Jim, we should add that to the list.” Claire says. “Seriously, Doux, you deserve the break.”
“You too. I’m glad you’re staying safe. Please don’t make yourself sick with nougat nummies,” he adds, and Claire laughs.
“Okay, teach.” she says, then smiles. “Have a good Halloween.”
“You too.” He says, and she waves before clicking off the skype call.
“How are your friends?” Nari asks.
“They’re doing well.” Hisirdoux says. “Popcorn’s over there - ‘cmon, let’s watch a movie.”
On the couch in their New York apartment, the forest spirit, the wizard, and the black cat curl up for the Halloween night.