Archive of Our Own

“Ah finally! It is good to be back! Wouldn’t you say, Arch?”

The cat on his shoulder let out a soft purr as they made their way down the docking ramp. Douxie wove through the crowded masses of the Southampton port until the smells of seawater and fish were a fading, distant memory. 

“I wonder how much everything has changed?” He continued. “Do you suppose that little shop is still up the hill?” He snapped a little and wiggled his fingers. “You know the one?”

*MEOW!*

“Yeah, you’re right, it probably swapped owners years ago. Pity.” Douxie let out a small breath, followed by an eager clap. “Aw well, let’s gather up what ingredients we can here and make our way to London. We can rest more on the way. I for one have missed walking after being cramped into that blasted boat for so long.” 

Archie nodded and the two made their way through the streets, Douxie’s wide smile gawking in every direction as he admired the old port town and all its changes. There were some shops he remembered, the names the same, though the faces who ran them had changed significantly. Still, and he had noticed this in his time among mortals, there were faint traces of memory left in the people, new and old who lived in these familiar places. For some it was the same eyes, others an unmistakable shape of the nose or jawline, and even simpler things like hair color or clothing, all with just the smallest hints of their relatives that came before. 

It was only after passing by an old bookstore that he stopped to remember a bit of his own roots, and he rolled his neck before letting loose a reluctant sigh. 

“Hey Arch, do you think we should even check on Merlin’s defenses this time? I mean… after the first five or so times of them being fine, I’m just getting a little tired of having to reset all the traps. Plus now that he’s not really breathing anymore, it makes me kind of uncomfortable to see him like that. It’s a bit of a bummer if I’m quite honest.”

Archie shrugged, but also gave him a sideways glance that told the guilt trip Douxie was trying to avoid in his own thoughts.

“I know, I know…” He waved. “But honestly, I think he’d be fine there for oh, say another fifty years or so and then we can check back in, right?”

Now Archie was giving him a harder stare, but eventually blinked and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you judge me, Arch! You don’t like going there anymore than I do. You know what I think? I think that you—”

“Jack the Ripper!?” a woman gasped, not quite in a hushed breath, though she might’ve thought she was being more inconspicuous with the friends at her side. “Not again?” she continued, shaking her head as her voice rose. “Surely not.”

“Oh no?” a man joined in, his hand smacking against the print of a newspaper. “That’s what it sounds like by the looks of this.”

There was a small group huddled around the paperboy who was shouting about his sales and the news it held within. They were all speaking loud enough now to draw in attention, though whether it was a ploy to sell more papers or just from the sheer shock of the news, Douxie couldn’t really tell. He did slow his pace though, and listened into their conversation with open ears as three more people showed up to join into the ring of gossip.

“That’s what people are speculating,” the man continued, reading the headline with a squint through his spectacles. “A series of unexplained murders in the night.” 

“I say, those folks in London simply cannot catch reprieve.”

“It’s been nearly three years since the last attack. Surely it is all hearsay. A slow news week, perhaps?”

“I should hope so.”

A woman held out her hands and made a face that wrinkled her nose.

“Well I heard it was a wild animal. A bear, or a wolf loose in those streets.”

“In the city?” the other woman gave her an unconvincing look.

She merely shrugged.

“It could happen?”

“Rather it be a beast than a man, though this man should be more beast if he should come back to enact such foul deeds once again.”

With that, Douxie and Archie wandered out of earshot and broke free to a quiet road ahead before turning back for a final glance at the port city, and then shooting a contemplative look between one another once they were a far enough distance away.

“Well that’s inviting?” Douxie said, trying to throw in a laugh, though instead the sound just came out as a semi-nervous chuckle.

Archie’s stare looked somewhat more worried as he glared unspoken words into his wizard’s mind.

“Ah, don’t worry! It’s not like a ripper can do much to us.” His hand came up to his face in thought. “Though it is curious. Maybe we should look into this while we’re here to make sure it’s not— you know— something in our wheelhouse?”

*MEOW!*

“Exactly.” He took a few looks around and nodded. “Alright, looks like we’re the only ones out. The road should be clear for a little while.”

Archie hopped off his shoulders, stretching out before standing up on two feet and extending his arms skyward with a pleased sigh.

“Ah! Good.” The cat cleared his throat and pulled out his glasses as he caught up in stride to Douxie. “You think you were cramped in that boat? Imagine having to do it without speaking the entire trip.”

“Sorry?”

“No matter, Douxie.” he shrugged. “Come on now, the sooner we get to camp, the sooner we’ll get to London. If I’m not mistaken, there should be a path along the way that grows a particular grouping of stinging nettle. We’ll need some for our shopping list before we head back across the sea.”

Douxie kicked out his foot and let the dirt settle onto the tip of his boots.

“Awww, I hate stinging nettle! Do we have to?”

“Well just don’t grab it like you did the last time and you’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Until I reach into my bag and forget its in there! Can’t we get some on the way back?”

“You and I both know that we’ll forget if we don’t get it now. Plus you never know when it might come in handy. Though, speaking of forgetting, I’m really rather hoping you might forget more about this wild goose chase for a ripper by the time we make it to London.” 

“Oh, not a chance!” The wizard smiled.

Archie sighed, another roll of his eyes, though this time he also came back with a smug grin as he pointed to the path.

“Either way, Douxie, we still need the herb, and unlike the latter, it’s the true reason we sailed all the way over here.”

The boy threw his head back with a groan, defeated verbally by a cat yet again.

“Ughhhhh…. Fine!”

It took about two days to walk to London, especially since they had to diverge on multiple side quests for herbs and other magical ingredients along their route. They probably could have made the trip in one day, but the sleep was more than welcomed, and it had honestly been a while since either of them had just spent a couple of carefree nights under the stars they both grew up under.

Just after sun up on their second day out, they made it into the bustling city of London; however, all the peace and serenity of their journey was completely overturned by the scene they stumbled into, and what it was, was not the sort of picture anybody might hope to see first thing in the morning.

There was a foul stench in the air, a mass of people all of whom were a mob of concern, fear, and morbid curiosity lingering in a huddle near one of the stray alleyways. The constable and his men were there, keeping them at bay as best they could, while also surrounding a stained white cloth along the pale stones of the street, the shape a chilling silhouette that made Douxie’s stomach drop.

“Found dead this morning,” the coroner explained. “Just after midnight, same as the last two. The markings are all the same, though we’ve yet to discover any relations between the victims. Markings would still suggest a beast, if not for the human footprints found nearby.”

“Footprints?”

“Aye, though judging by the size, there is no way such a small figure would have been able to tackle such a large fellow alone. Perhaps a trainer of beasts, though that would still suggest two tracks of prints fleeing the scene. I don’t know how to describe it.”

“If not a beast, perhaps you speak of multiple assailants or some use of trickery used to lure this man to his fate?”

“I fear I do not know.” He took a focused look around and popped his collar. “Better to discuss the possibilities elsewhere.”

“Right.” He turned and shouted to what might have been half of Scotland Yard. “Clear the scene, men! We’ve got our work cut out for us this morning.”

Douxie avoided the scattering crowd entirely as he wandered deeper down the streets and let the commotion fade behind them.

“There’s something strange going on in this town, Archie.”

“Perhaps better if we didn’t get involved?” he whispered under his breath, throwing in a soft meow just in case anyone was eavesdropping.

“Still, a simple stakeout won’t hurt anything?”

Archie dug his claws into Douxie’s shoulders and grumbled, but couldn’t argue. Douxie knew this, and chuckled after a quick exclamation of pain, but won the argument in choosing their next evening’s plans. A sleep in a proper bed would have to wait another night it would seem, but then again, what was one more night under the stars? Even the loud, terrifying stars of London while a cold-blooded killer was potentially on the loose.  

“Alright! Let’s try to find a place serving breakfast and do a little research of our own into these mysterious murders, eh Arch?”

“This is a bad idea.”

“What are you so scared of? You’re a dragon and I’m a wizard. If this is some deranged mortal then we have nothing to worry about, and if it’s not then this is definitely something to both worry about and also stop while we’re in the area. It’s up to us now, Archie. Protectors of the realm!”

“And here I thought we were done with these night patrols for a little while?”

Douxie grinned. 

“Always exciting though, isn’t it?”

He rolled his eyes.

“I suppose that’s one word for it?”

They waited around rooftops, travelling silently to and from, all while listening for anything odd happening in the seemingly peaceful night streets. They waited for hours, long, boring, and uneventful hours until the clock struck midnight and then thirty minutes later before finally Douxie let out a yawn.

“Getting bored of your stakeout already?” Archie asked smugly. Irritably tired, but mostly smugly.

“It was just a yawn!” Douxie replied defensively.

“Are you sure you’d rather not just retire and sleep for the night?”

“And miss something important?”

“Trust me Douxie, I doubt anything is going to happen in London tonight. It’s too soon after the last attack. Whatever it was is probably trying to lay low, assuming it didn’t finally manage to escape.”

“Oh so you do think it’s an “it” and not a person?” Now the wizard looked even more awake and pleased with himself.

The dragon started to mouth some kind of retort, but settled for a growl and spat a small spark of fire in his friend’s direction, causing him to hop out of the way with a laugh before the both of them faded back into the still night silence.

After a few more moments of that, he stretched and sat taller.

“Oh, maybe you’re right? That coroner said the murders had happened around midnight, but there’s not been any activity that looked like it was leading up to anything nefarious for hours. Let’s give it a few more minutes and turn in, okay? Just to be safe.”

“Alright, I suppose there isn’t any harm in that. Though I still doubt we’ll see anything tonight.”

“That’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed.”

*CRASH!!!*

A commotion in the distance, maybe five or so blocks over, but Douxie wasted no time in springing to a stand.

“Did you hear that, Arch?”

“Something falling?”

“Something exciting!” He grinned. “Let’s go.”

The dragon took to the sky with a resolute sigh.

“Oh, here we go.”

The wizard wasted no time rushing across the rooftops and over to the source of the disturbance. There were crates toppled off into the alley, the wood crushed and the contents of the box strewn about the pavement. 

Douxie hopped down to examine the wreckage as Archie landed beside the boxes.

“These look like claw marks.” he observed. “And strong ones to have toppled something so large and heavy. What do you see on your end Douxie?”

“Nothing much, just a lot of straw and… I think old papers? We might be next to the printing press or at least their rubbage?” He kicked at a few things and placed his hands on his hips. “What do you think ran into it? A bear? A troll? Maybe a changeling?”

“Well whatever it was appeared to be in a hurry, though I have no idea how it could have snuck away without either of us noticing. The wreckage alone would have made too much noise being stepped over.”

“Well it had to have been here, unless it just sprouted wings and took off, but then again we would have seen it from the rooftops, right?” 

There was an unusually long pause and Douxie looked back over his shoulder.

“Right?” He repeated. “Archie?”  

He turned back to his friend who appeared to be looking up at the wall with wide eyes, and Douxie followed the gaze only to see something massive and dark clinging to the bricks in the shadows above. The only thing either could make out were the large, golden eyes glowing down at them in the dim light of the moon, a predatory growl rumbling the air as the mood shifted into imminent danger.

“Oh fuzzbuckets…”

The creature lunged, a quick shielding spell coming up to save him from being torn to ribbons, though it did nothing to keep him from being shoved across the alley and backfirst into the opposing brick wall. 

Archie laid out a breath of fire, sending the papers, wood, and straw up in a massive blaze before Douxie’s head could stop spinning. When he came to, the glow was almost blinding, the heat sending up hot embers as he shielded a hand over his eyes and saw the beast clearly for the first time. It was a massive wild cat of some sort, fur completely black and taut with muscles as sharp teeth and even sharper claws slashed out at the dragon pushing it back with an unceasing attack of flame. 

Douxie rubbed the pain in the back of his head away as Archie successfully drove it away from them. 

“A little help here, Douxie?!” He called between exhales.

“Right! Right!” A blast shot out of his hand, the blue magic blending with Archie’s fire as he let out a few shots of his own to scare the creature even further down the alley.

The beast snarled, but decided it was through being driven back and without warning spread out a grand set of black wings from its back, blowing the fire and all of the debris out onto the main road, Douxie and Archie included. They shielded their faces from all the wreckage caused by the gust, Douxie being knocked backwards into what was left of the crates as Archie dug his claws into the pavement to try and get some traction. 

Now with its opening, the beast pounced through the air, its claw raised to strike the final blow against the unprotected wizard, when suddenly an echo broke through the imminent attack.

“Impediendum sera!”

A blast of pink-colored energy shot across the stars and struck the beast on the arm, causing the monster to go limp on that side for a fraction of a second before hissing and hurrying away into the sky.

“Bloody—!” Douxie started to exclaim before ducking deeper into his crate to hide from the path of the surprise blast. 

“Missed! She was right there, how could you miss that shot?” The third voice scolded aloud.

Wait... He knew that voice?

He stood, causing the trash in the gutter to clatter around him as he rose back to his feet. In the soft glow of bright orange light, he saw a short woman in dark clothes who was glaring up towards the sky, her long brown hair billowing and blue eyes reflecting a red fury of flame in the direction the large cat creature had escaped.  

“Zoe?” He smiled, chuckling despite all other soreness slowly creeping through his body. “My gosh! Is that really you?”

She let out a small gasp and turned his way, not expecting anyone else to be around, though upon seeing the familiar figure tripping out of the rubbage and making his way over to her, the look of surprise she wore quickly shifted into that of unamused predictability.

“Hisirdoux Casperan...” she said in sour greeting. “Figures your face would be the one to turn up at a time like this.” 

He quickly noted that her voice lacked any of the joyous reunion found in his own. Why, if he didn't know any better, he’d think she was cross with him about something? But that couldn’t be true, could it? It had been way too long since he’d last seen her for her to be mad at him over something now.

Attempting to both shake the ire out of her stare and also lighten the tension a bit, he chose to keep his smile and clap as he and Archie approached their old friend.

“Great Gaius! It’s been what, 80 years? You look good! S-so… uh… how has the Industrial Revolution been treating you?”

“Perhaps you had better save the catching up for a better moment, Douxie?” Archie stressed.

They ducked as a flash of black dove in, the air knocking everything sideways as the beast returned and swooped in lower, already circling back for another dive, though none of them could see it streaking through the sky above.

“What is that thing anyway? It almost looks like an overgrown you, Archie.”

“She’s a bastet! And my friend!” Zoe groaned. “There was this whole situation a few weeks back and we’ve been trying to deal with its effects, but a few days ago, she got loose and I haven’t been able to pin her down since.”

“A bastet?!” Archie repeated, eyes widening. “How in the realms did you manage to encounter the curse of a bastet in London of all places?”

*SWOOP!*

They ducked again.

“A story for another time.” She answered with a wink. “So, do you want to give me a hand in catching her or what?”

“Oh yeah, of course!” 

Douxie stood without hesitation, the runes on his vambrace already spinning around to their proper combination before a blue rope of magic shot out and grappled the beastly form around the neck just as it came in for another sweep. The wizard shot a wink of his own back to his old friend and smirked to himself in smug satisfaction. 

“There we are. No problem!”

“Uh, Hisirdoux…” Zoe pointed.

“See? There’s nothing to worry about, Zoe. I am at your service my lad——EEE!” He took off into the air as the bastet, realizing it could not break the rope, leapt straight up into the night sky, dragging the unsuspecting wizard limply behind her.

Zoe shot a glance down at Archie and chuckled.

“Glad to see Douxie is still up to his old tricks. The bracelet has gotten a little longer. That's good.”

The dragon shook his head fondly in reply.

“He’s not the fastest learner, but his heart is in the right place. Come on, we’d better go fetch him.”

She absorbed the remaining fire around them to make sure London didn’t burn down again and quickly took off after the bastet that was dragging Douxie away.

“It’s always more interesting when you two come to town!” She said. “All things considered, Arch, I’m glad you’re here. It’s good to see you guys again!”

“What are friends for?”

“Can you take up to the sky and try to draw them back to the ground? There’s an empty field up in that direction where we might be able to pin her down.”

“Just leave it to me!”

“And try not to hurt her!” She called after. “Oh, and try not to let her kill Douxie either, okay?”

“I’ll try my best!” He sighed, and took off ahead to retrieve his wizard.

“Whoaaa!” Douxie yelled, still dragging behind the massive creature as she took off through the air. There were some buildings he had to run across and others he had to leap over as the bastet tried to shake him, but the wizard held firm to his spell, and refused to let go until he’d successfully recaptured Zoe’s cursed friend.

“Douxie!” Archie called, his voice catching up to them from the distance. “Hang on!”

“What does it look like I’m doing!?”

“Listen, I’m going to lead her to an open field just up the way. Do not let her loose!”

“Trying my best!” He yelled.

A puff of fire burst just above the bastet’s wingspan and she whipped her head around with a low snarl towards her assailant.

“Looks like you got her attention, Arch. Now what?”

“Now—” He bolted without finishing his thought, the beast giving quick chase as the packed buildings of London turned suddenly into a quiet little farmyard. Bales of hay for sleeping livestock were piled high in rows as the two flying cats steered closer towards the ground. A little too close… There was a small silo coming up actually, and Douxie could already feel the impact as he began to panic.

“No, no, no, no, no!”

Thinking quickly, Hisirdoux transmuted his magic rope into a heavier chain, the links trailing out along the bastet’s body until it formed a net, and the weight of them sent the two plummeting downward before either could strike the tower.

He skidded right into one of the piles of hay, the sturdy thud of the bastet hitting the dirt as Douxie’s concentration wore off of the spell. 

The creature snarled, shaking off the impact and already stalking towards the pile of hay concealing one very aggravating wizard, before the sounds of Archie soaring near and Zoe’s heavy breathing drawing closer caused the beast to rethink its next moves and she darted away into the field with a growl. 

“Douxie!” Zoe called, rushing up to him with fistfulls of her dress in both hands. She tossed hay around the center of the pile, moving it in armloads that didn’t stop until finally revealing the wizard buried deep within.

“Owww…”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I suppose so?” He groaned sorely. Did we get her?”

“Working on it. Where’s Archie?”

“Right here!” The dragon called, landing just beside them with a few breaths of his own. “Well the good news is we managed to knock her out of the air. The bad news is, I lost her in the harvest fields, but she’s in there stalking us, no doubt. She was none too pleased about Douxie and I interfering with her flight pattern.”

“Oh lovely,” Hisirdoux said, shaking away the last of his dizziness. “I guess we’d better go in after her then? Anyone have any bright ideas?”

“Well, I still have a paralysis spell. If I could just hit a wing, I could keep Simone from going back into the air. You don’t happen to have something stronger prepped, do you Doux?”

“I might have something? At the very least, I could try and hit her with a sleeping spell and see if it sticks.”

“And I might be able to pin her if I shifted into something big enough.” Archie offered. “If Zoe can paralyze the claws at least. I might be able to take care of the wings myself.”

“Okay, that’s good. That sounds like the start of a decent enough plan. Okay, we’ll do that then.”

A pair of lights, one pink and one blue started glowing from their hands as they wandered slowly into the tall fields of wheat to search. It was pitch black aside the two magical lights, and all were on edge as they felt a pair of predatory eyes on them, though none knew from where.

“This is the worst…” Douxie sang nervously through gritted teeth.

Zoe and Archie felt the same though none dared say so as they shuffled silently through the tall stalks.

After long moments of waiting and wondering, the three resolved that the bastet was toying with them, even more so than they already suspected.

“Is she scared to jump us as a group? Should we spread out a little?”

“If you want to get picked off one by one, sure.”

“Well, Zoe, what do you suggest?”

She hummed. 

“We need a distraction… some live bait to draw her out. Preferably something talkative.”

Both she and Archie shot a look over to Douxie and he stiffened up.

“I thought you said splitting up was a bad idea?!” He whispered loudly.

“All of us, yes.” She pointed. “Now you go off that way and see if you can draw her out. Archie and I are going to shut off our light and follow behind you. We’ll sneak up on her while you keep her attention.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that?”

“You’ll figure something out. Come on Arch.”

The pink glow faded away as she disappeared into the field.

“Good luck old boy,” Archie nodded, following after her.

“Unbelievable...” he grumbled. “Alright fine! Distract the savage beast. I can do that. I can definitely do that.”

There was a rustle in the stalks and Douxie froze, his light nearly blinding his own eyes as his hand came up to his face in a panic.

“Zoe? Archie? Was that you?” He asked, feeling like he already knew the answer.

*GRRRR...*

He turned around as slowly as he could, watching as the large bastet slipped out of the wall of wheat stalks and into the blue light of his magic. 

Douxie swallowed, but trusting in his friends, kept calm and attempted not to get himself mauled to death.  It was all a waiting game now, neither moving, just locked eyes and light breathing as the wizard waited for something else to happen.

“S-so...” He stammered. “Simone was it? Lovely name.”

The creature growled.

Douxie merely made a face and kept going.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had the pleasure? How long have you known Zoe? Me, I’ve known her for a good 700 years give or take. She’s great isn’t she? Always goes out of her way to help the people she cares about. For sure, she would never allow her oldest friend to get eaten by a bastet here in this dark wheat field. No sir.”

There was a silence, just the low rumbles breathing out through the beast’s throat as she waited for her moment to strike. 

“I remember this one time—”

But the bastet wasn’t interested in hearing anymore of Douxie’s prattle, letting out a screeching roar as she charged forward and Douxie felt his heart stop before a blast came shrieking out from behind him.

“Impediendum sera!” Zoe shouted again, this time her paralysis spell hitting the wing and extended front claw as Archie appeared from the other side as a horse and pinned the bastet into the ground. 

Relieved, Douxie restarted his heart and delivered the sleep spell, point blank into the feline’s face.

“Interminus nocti sluumberso!”

She let out a final soft growl and collapsed along the ground, no longer struggling, and then she grew very quiet until the breaths that followed after came out as soft, peaceful little snores. 

The three had just begun to catch their breaths when the form began to shrink into itself, and what was once black fur turned now into tangled dark hair and taupe skin draped in a tattered plum-colored dress. 

Douxie immediately slipped off his jacket and handed it over to Zoe who wrapped the unconscious wizard over the back with it as the two lifted her to her feet.

“Steady now,” Archie conducted, Douxie managing to slip a hand under her legs and into his arms. 

She was tall, and a little heavier than someone of his muscle mass was used to, but he remained firm as he flicked his head back towards town.

“Better get her back home before the next patrols start this way. We weren’t exactly quiet getting here.”

“Right.”

Still as the form of a horse, Archie sat down, allowing Zoe on first as she helped transfer Simone onto his back.

Douxie resolved to sneak alongside them to save Archie the added weight, as the four clip-clopped quietly back towards Zoe’s place without further incident.

“How is she?” Douxie asked, sprawled into a single wooden chair at the table. 

“Resting,” Zoe answered with a soft smile as she silently closed the bedroom door. 

Zoe’s place was small, but warm and lit well with lanterns that caused shadows to dance all along the walls. Old books and scrolls, plus magical ingredients of herbs and plants adorned the shelves, the stairs leading up to the attic crawlspace lined with potion vials as the windows were completely sealed away in the privacy of thick ivy.

“This is a lovely place,” Douxie admired. “Glad to see you’re doing well out here.”

She hummed and gave him a soft look before reaching over to the kettle and preparing the trio some tea.

“Well, you know I always try to find work where I can. What about you?”

“Here and there, you know?” He replied a little awkwardly. “Settling has never really been our style, right Arch?”

The dragon shrugged.

“Hard to keep a steady job when you’re running around all the time.”

She set down the teacups and took a seat herself with a tired oomph as soon as she hit the chair. 

“Well… anyway, I guess… thank you both for your help tonight.” 

“Of course!” Douxie started.

“How long do you suspect Simone will be tethered to the bastet’s curse?”

She stretched out her hands and let out a long breath. 

“Hopefully this is the last time. I was “this” close to breaking the curse, but well… magic is a pain sometimes.”

“We’ve all been there.”

“Thanks to you two though, I think I finally have all the ingredients I need to try another potion. I’ll brew something tonight and give it to her in the morning when she comes to. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting for midnight to strike again and see if she transforms.”

“What happened to her? Did Simone have any idea who might have cursed her? She never saw anything?”

“I haven’t been able to get any details out of her. She just said she heard a voice, an incantation from a whisper, and then the next thing she knew, she was cursed to turn into that bastet each night at the stroke of midnight. She’s been so tired during the days, plus the guilt she has over those victims… It’s just been a lot to process. I think her memories might’ve been altered, from a spell or from the transformation, I can’t really say?”

Zoe shook her head and the grip on her teacup tightened.

“Since the purges, spellcasters are few and far between, Douxie. Those of us left from the old days have been going missing or winding up cursed, or dead. Simone isn’t the first friend I’ve seen go through something like this. I believe there’s something dark brewing out there that we just don’t understand right now.”

“Something dark?” He pondered. “Like another dark sorcerer? Like Morgana?”

“Or someone like her, who follows her idealism. I don’t know if this is somebody new and inexperienced or worse, someone ancient and malicious. I don’t know if we’re all just practice, or they get their jollies by picking us off one by one, but I know that someone out there has been messing with dark magic. I only wonder how long will it take for them to finally be caught.”

“That’s mental.”

“Well, you go across the sea for a few decades and things start changing, not always for the better.”

She finally took a sip from her tea and quickly changed for another topic.

“So, what are you two doing here after all this time? It’s not exactly been a century yet to check on your boss. What brings you to London?”

“Well, we ran short on a couple ingredients that only grow in the woods nearby. We had a little time and don’t exactly have much to do right now. They’re still founding the area that will eventually become this “Arcadia”, so until it’s ready, there’s no real reason to stay in the States.” 

“Plus the last two centuries have started getting better now that the trolls have settled into new heartstone cities and less people are hunted now based on claims of witchcraft.”

“So, you’ve been in the States now for a while...” she muttered into her cup. “After you’ve gathered all your supplies, when are you heading back out?”

“Well, I don't know, I mean—” He paused, thinking over an answer before detecting the undertones of aggravation in her voice. She also had yet to take a second drink, despite pressing the cup against her lips. He folded his fingers into a fist before pointing to her and easing into a careful question. “Are you— uh... mad at me, Zo?”

Archie rolled his eyes to himself and flew off to the other side of the room, curling into a ball facing in the other direction as a harsh silence filled the house.

She finally took a sip and set the cup gently on the table, her soft silence somehow more chilling than if she would have simply shot it across the room at his head.

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

He almost laughed, but held it in to keep himself out of more trouble.

“Zoe, please, it’s been almost a century! Whatever I did, I’m sorry, really I am.” 

She rolled her eyes and shot him a look.

“It’s not what you did, it’s what you didn’t do, Douxie. You could have sent a few letters every decade or so, maybe come to visit more often than once per century on Merlin’s account. Trouble settling is putting it lightly. You’re all over the place, and from the looks of you, it’s running you ragged.”

“I was on that bloody steamboat for eight days!” He rubbed his mouth and began muttering. “Granted that is still 58 days better than the Mayflower, but I digress! It’s not that easy to hop between continents, you know? It’s not exactly cheap either.”

She chuckled despite herself.

“You always did hate boats.”

“No, not boats, just the slow travel of them.”

“You know, for someone who's lived eight times longer than everyone else, you’re extremely impatient.”

He recalled the countless times Merlin had told him to be more patient as well and sunk his face into his hands with a dry chuckle.

“So I’ve been told.” 

“Well, I won’t argue with you anymore tonight. I’m beat and it’s been eighty years since I’ve even seen you.” Zoe stood up and slipped a blanket over his shoulders before walking across the room and giving Archie a few rubs on the head. “It’s late. I know it’s not much, but you’re welcome to stay here so long as you’re in town.”

“Thanks Zoe.” He said with a small nod, his voice drifting to other thoughts.

He was quiet, still going over the guilt trip in his own mind. She was worried about him. Seeing wizards being prosecuted, dying mysteriously, getting cursed, and hunted— She was his oldest friend left from Camelot, of course she would be worried about him, especially if he forgot to keep in touch. 

She smiled, but it was short lived as a tired breath of air escaped past her lips and she opened the small door leading to the stairs under the floor. 

“Well, if you need me I’m going to be in the basement going over the new potion for Simone. Help yourself to anything.”

“You’re right, Zoe!” He called suddenly.

She stopped and looked back at him, a brow raised.

“I could have sent some letters…” he continued. “Just to check in, make sure you were okay, know that none of your friends had been turned into bastets, you know? Better yet, I could've tried to let you know that I was okay too so you didn't have to worry about it.”

“Oh, I figured Archie would find me if you ever died, but I appreciate the concern all the same.” She teased, and with a shake of her head to follow said, “It's fine, Doux. You're way too stubborn to die on me, so I figured wherever you were, the two of you would make it work for you. That's the way you've always been." She smirked to herself and let out a few fond hums of memory. "Let's see if the industrial revolution will bring something that can help even you to keep in contact with your friends. I hear telephones are about to be a bigger thing. Maybe you can even perfect that projection magic Merlin always used to use to yell at you?”

He nodded at that, the memories bringing a laugh of his own out of hiding.

"Well, until then I guess I'll just have to trust you not to do something stupid, like dying."

With that said, she turned to go back into the basement before the chair moved out from under Douxie's feet and she paused.

“Can I— ummm... Help at all with the potion?” He offered, fingers pressing together nervously though his face seemed eager all the same. 

She shot him a smug look.

“Brewing was never your forte, Douxie.”

“Well, maybe I could learn a thing or two from you? Maybe we can catch up a little more without all the dark sorcerers and bastets getting in the way? I’ve got a few stories from the States I was saving for the next time I saw you, you know, a letter wouldn’t do them justice I think. It's more of a face to face sort of thing.”

She smirked and rolled her eyes, but waved her hand out for him to follow behind.

“Alright, but don’t distract me until I’m done. Be prepared to get put to work, no slacking off.”

“Of course.”

“Archie, you can stop pretending to sleep now. Do you want to come down too?”

“No, no!” he smirked, rolling around with a smug smile. “I think I’ll take a nice long nap up here and keep an eye on Simone. You two go on ahead.”

There was an ulterior motive in his eyes, but the two wizards shrugged it off with a laugh and headed down the steps to reconnect over magical potions and breaking hexes. It was a lot like old times, give or take a few key details, but the nostalgia was enough to make everybody feel more at ease after the long night behind him that was already fading into memory.

The next day was pretty quiet. There was no news of a mysterious murder spreading through the streets, though the scorched evidence of an attempted arson at the printing press, and the mysterious patterns in one farmer’s wheat crop did have some people perplexed. A prank? A dig at the news company? No one was sure, but as the day dragged on, things were mostly peaceful.

Simone awoke in the late afternoon, hysteric over the missing pieces in her memory, but thanks to Zoe and the two new faces in the house, she was informed pretty quickly of the night’s escapades, and was able to rest easier knowing nothing horrible had happened.

She drank the new potion afterwards, the cure that Zoe and Douxie spent most of the night perfecting in the basement as they worked together to fill in the gaps of Zoe’s recipes and other failed attempts.

Douxie and Archie helped around the house until nightfall, cleaning, organizing, making tea, going out for groceries. Just anything they could do to help and pass the time. Eventually midnight was fast approaching and the three readied themselves in case Simone transformed again, but after a minute, and then two, all the way to ten, nothing appeared to change, and by one o’clock all four were elated to see that the potion must have done its job to fix the dark curse.

Zoe made up a few more batches just to be sure this wasn’t going to be a thing that resurface later, and the house was able to relax for the first time in a long while, all the way through till morning.

The boys continued their gathering of magical ingredients in the area, even stopping to check in on Merlin’s cave nearby, though nothing had changed on the outside in the slightest, not even the dust. All the magical restrictors and traps still appeared to be in place at the entrance too, so the duo didn’t even bother breaking past the first few defenses before heading back. 

After two weeks of running around, they managed to have a few additional oddball trips and adventures, none quite as derailing as the bastet situation though. Simone did what she could to make amends to those her bastet form had slain, and those who were affected. It wasn't a lot since no amount of magic the three wizards knew could bring back the dead, but they liked to hope the bits of secret aid they could provide would at least make a start towards a better future.

There were a couple of goblin incidents, a few picnics and trips out to the countryside, just life in good company as they managed to make the most of their short time together. Though, like all things, it eventually needed to come to an end, and Douxie and Archie needed to be getting back to their regular duties across the sea. When it was finally time to return, all the girls in Zoe's—well not coven exactly, but her other magical friends that had introduced themselves while the duo were in town came by to throw them a nice going away party and then helped to hitched up an old carriage so Zoe and Simone could escort the boys back to Southampton personally. 

The ride was pleasant, much faster than their trip there on foot. Finally they made it to the edge of town, the sour scent of fish and salty sea water stuck in the wind, foreshadowing the dread that was to come on that blasted boat, but Douxie shoved it down to say a few pleasant goodbyes to his friends.

“Well, we’d better be off if we want to make it to the docks.”

“Thank you again for helping me, Douxie. I shall never forget your bravery and kindness.” Simone bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Who knows what other horrors I might have committed had you all not found me when you did.”

“It was our pleasure, Simone, though as I said before, it was mostly Zoe who'd been looking for you and who brewed the potion. We just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, with a few helpful ingredients in our bag.”

She placed a kiss on Zoe’s cheek as well.

“Well I already know that Zoe is amazing, but I still thank you all the same. She talks about you two a lot. After this short time with you, I am certainly starting to see why.”

“Aww, you talk about us with your friends?” He teased, nudging her gently.

She flushed and immediately hit him upside the shoulder.

“Just about the times you blew something of mine up, or that time you got run over by the Slorr.”

Simone laughed.

"Oh yeah, that's a good one!"

“Oh...” He visibly deflated, the smile still there, just more tired now. “All the good stories then, I see?”

She slid her hand onto his jaw and scooped him sideways to deliver a quick kiss to his other cheek, shrugging her head off to the side to impart the rest of her context.

“Yeah... well... you know?”

He blushed, reaching up to touch the kiss on his face with a soft grin.

“Yeah... I know.”

“Now, I don’t see why Douxie is the one  getting all this praise when I was there helping too.” Archie teased.

Simone scooped him up and gave him a big kiss on the top of the head before following with chin scritches, holding him like a baby as Zoe came up and also kissed him on the nose. The girls scratched him behind the ears and on his belly as Archie purred contently from all the love. Douxie only rolled his eyes at all the affection being showered down upon his familiar, but let it happen for a few moments longer before checking the time on his little skull-shaped pocket watch and tapping his foot impatiently. 

He was milking this a little too much now.

“Alright Arch!” He chastised. “We’d better get going now, yeah?”

“Oh alright, fine!”

He wriggled free of the girls and over to Douxie’s side, shaking his fur in a satisfactory way before smugly hopping up onto his shoulder.

“You’re sure you two wouldn’t like to stay here for a little while longer?” Simone asked, delivering a side eye to Zoe who looked equal parts relieved and offended that she’d asked. 

“Afraid our orders were clear. The States are where we’re meant to be, but you know, you two could always join us on the boat?” Douxie scratched his throat. “The States are pretty promising for a fresh start. Not so many curses lingering about.”

“Appreciate the offer Douxie, but we’ve got things of our own here to take care of.” Zoe twisted her fingers around the others before settling to flatten her hands out on her dress. “Maybe someday soon we’ll come to visit you though. Save you a dreadful boat ride?”

He chuckled.

“I’d like that.” He then blinked and pointed to Archie. “I mean, we would like that.”

The cat smirked, but agreed and nodded his head.

“You will have to visit this Arcadia when it finally appears. The way Merlin talked about it, the town will be most interesting in the coming centuries.”

“Well it’s a date then.” Simone grinned. “Right Zoe?”

“So long as somebody remembers to send us a letter telling us when the town is finished.”

“I promise! I promise!” He laughed. “I won’t forget to send the message. As soon as we get semi-settled somewhere with an address, I promise to let you know where we are and how to get in contact. No more decade-long gaps, you have my word.”

He gave them a little bow just to seal the deal and Zoe placed a hand on his cheek while he was still at her eye level.

“I’ll look forward to it, Doux. Now go on, or you’ll both miss your boat.”

Their eyes stayed locked just long enough for Simone and Archie to have an entire unheard conversation behind the two wizard’s backs, but they broke off shortly after, all of them waving until they couldn’t see each other anymore.

Simone and Zoe started back to London in the cart just as soon as they could see the sails of the boats going out to sea. They didn’t know which boat was his, but they knew he was probably pretty far gone now.

The girls rode in silence for a long while, just the sound of hooves and wheels against the dirt road before Simone loosened the reins and cleared her throat.

“So he’s cute?”

Zoe’s face turned pink and she shoved her friend as the woman began to laugh hysterically.

“Oh shut up!”

“I’m just saying… 80 years and you two fall right into step like no time’s passed at all. It’s pretty inspiring.”

“I swear, I will re-curse you, Simone.”

She chuckled and shooed away her empty threats.

“It’s cute watching two old people flirt.”

Zoe groaned so loud it almost startled the horse before looking up from her hands and cracking a small smile.

“They have their own destinies to worry about, so let’s focus on our own problems for a few years.”

“And circle back on this before armageddon?”

“Oh ha. ha.”

She jammed her thumb back behind her in the direction of the port city, her eyes going wide as she smiled and chastised Zoe further.

“Seriously Zoe! If you’ve been doing that for over seven hundred years, then we could all be swallowed by the sun before you two decide to share a kiss or something actually fun.”

Zoe started to laugh, slowly at first but eventually she had to hold her side to get herself to stop.

“Oh wow! You kids these days all think the same, don’t you? There’s so much more to relationships than just the parts you expect from your Victorian sensibilities. You'll figure out what I mean one day." That said her small grin turned sour and she grabbed at the bridge of her nose before groaning. "Ugh! Now look at what you’ve done, I sound like a fossil.” 

Simone, confused, was about to start asking a hundred more follow-up questions, but Zoe shut her down pretty quickly, opting to steal the reins and speed the cart up instead of continuing the current conversation.  

Meanwhile Douxie stared off into the open sea with a soft smile on his face. He and Archie were on deck, watching the clouds drifting overhead as all looked to be smooth sailing ahead. It was nice to be home while it lasted, nice to see old faces again and walk though areas he could maneuver through blindfolded even though the landscape had changed around some. He’d really missed it all. He would continue to miss it for a long while, he supposed. But they had a new home now, a new mission that needed doing. Merlin’s instructions were very clear that they were to settle in Arcadia until his return, so until the town existed, he would just have to do what he could to make sure it all happened as his master foretold.

It was good to see some new wizards again though, good to see that Zoe was helping them as much as she could while keeping a low profile. Or... as low as she could keep one without dark, mystery sorcerers mixing things up. That part still concerned him, but Merlin never mentioned a new dark sorcerer in his instructions. Unless this somehow skipped his master's mind, it was probably nothing to worry about more than he already was. They hadn't seen any signs of dark magic their entire time roaming around England, so he could only hope that when the time came, they would all know how to deal with this mystery should it ever come up again in the future.

“Hey Douxie,” Archie started, his voice hushed, but breaking the wizard out of his other thoughts. 

“What is it, Arch?”

“We gave all the nettle to Zoe when she made those potions didn’t we?”

“We did.” He nodded.

“And we never picked up any more on the way back to port, did we?”

“We did not.” He nodded again, the same peaceful resolve on his face as before.

“Ugh! I told you we would forget!”

He let out a heavy sigh and slumped before Douxie laughed and started to rub at the fur on the side of his face.

“Aww, it’ll be okay. I have a feeling it won’t take us very long to get some next time. Maybe Zoe could even mail some to us?”

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. Douxie was in a good mood after reconnecting with Zoe. A few weeks getting back to his roots had done the boy some good, and that was worth more than a prickly herb at the very least. The sooner this Arcadia appeared the better. It’d be nice to have a place to settle down in, nice to have friends closer than an ocean away, and good for Douxie if he could start living more of his own life, rather jumping from place to place on Merlin’s orders.

Archie purred and rubbed up against the side of Hisirdoux’s face as the wizard let out a laugh.

“What was that for?”

*MEOW!*

“Is that boy talking to a cat?” some passerby whispered from behind.

“Just don’t make direct eye contact.” The other replied, both shuffling quicker, hands raised to avoid the boy and his cat entirely.

Douxie lifted his brow at them, then back at his familiar, but the cat only bopped him on the nose with his paw. 

He broke out in a laugh, shaking his head and shrugging off the mortal's comment as they started towards their quarters.

“Alright, alright, we’ll finish this off the boat. Don’t think I’ll forget like the nettle! We're not through here.”

Archie nodded, unconvinced her would remember. It was about to be a very long boat ride after all.

With that the two embarked on a lengthy journey home, the slow, steady pace of the sea somehow less terrible as it was on the way here as the duo found their chambers and settled in for a long deserved nap, thinking back to friends and adventure, and wondering about whatever else was yet to come.