Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the land of Ingary, where magic really exists, being born the oldest of three is a misfortune. Being the eldest tells everyone that you will be the first to fail, and the worst, if all three of you set out to seek your fortunes. Calysto Stratos was the eldest of three siblings and his family owned a small hatshop in Market Chipping. One fateful morning, his mother, Jillen, disappeared without a trace. Even if it had probably been for the better, his father, Malley, missed her terribly.

 And missed her money. Taking care of him and his younger sisters, Breeze and Cataleya, took too much money from the earnings of the hat shop. A month later, his father sat him and his sisters down after dinner.

“Due to your mother having disappeared, we do not have the funds to keep all of you here. I have tried my best to set up lives for the three of you that you will flourish in,” He looked at all of them, a deep sadness in his eyes. “Cataleya, I have set up an apprenticeship for you with the witch Madam Shadow. I know she will teach you well.”

“Thank you, Father,” Cataleya didn’t look all that pleased with her situation, but understood that she had to do it anyways.

“Breeze, I have a job set up for you at the bakery a couple roads over. The owner is an old friend of mine, and you should be happy there.”

“I will do my best work, Father. Thank you,” Breeze didn’t show it as much, but after years of antagonizing her and seeing them fight with Cataleya, he knew that she was actually very upset with this situation. 

“Calysto, my eldest child,” He already knew what was coming, “You are going to stay here and help me run the hatshop. I still need help here, and you are very good with the hats and the customers.”

“I would be happy to help you here, Father. Thank you for this opportunity.” And the surprising part is, he wasn’t lying. He really was happy for this opportunity, as the cursed oldest child of three. He just wished he had more to offer.

Over the next couple weeks, Calysto helped his sisters pack, and saw them off, promising to come visit. By the end of the month, he was working in the back of the hatshop. To pass the time, and to keep himself from getting too lonely, he would talk to each hat he made, making up a story of who would buy it. Currently he was working on blue-gray pillbox hat.

“You will be bought by a rich man as a gift to a lovely young woman who he is attempting to court,” He finished the bow in the back, “She will accept the hat, but not the man.”

And with that, the hat was finished. He put it on one of the display heads and was heading back when he heard the little bell on the door. He redirected to the counter. A young girl, probably in her late teens, had walked into the shop. She was quite pretty, long blonde hair in a braid and deep brown eyes. She went straight for a lavender beret that he had said would go to a young woman who would find great success as an only child. She grabbed it off the mannequin and headed for the counter.

“Hello, find everything you came here for?” Calysto put on his best customer service face. 

“Yes, how much for this beret?” He checked the small paper tucked into the inside seam of the hat. 

“10 gold coins,” She handed him the money and he handed her the hat, “Have a lovely day, ma’am.”

Once she left the shop, he checked the time on a little clock by the money box. It was 5:34 PM, meaning the store had technically closed 4 minutes ago. He quickly switched the open sign to closed and started closing the shop. He took all the hats to the back room, setting them carefully on the already cleaned shelf, then swept and cleaned the front room. He put the hats back on their displays just as carefully, and counted all the money. Once he finished, it was 6:47 PM. 

He realized that he never really held up on the promise to visit his sisters, but he honestly hadn’t had the time. The shop was behind on orders for the first two weeks, and then he just got so wrapped up in his work that he hardly even realized that he hadn’t left the shop. While he did miss his sisters, it was such a long trip to Madam Shadow’s house, and the bakery was always so packed lately that he tried to avoid it when he could. He couldn’t stand the crowd. Even so, he had made a promise to them, so he went up the stairs that lead to the house above the shop and found his father. He was sitting at his desk doing paperwork for the shop.

“Father,” His father turned around.

“Cal, you look like you want something. What is it?” His father was always good at reading him.

“I wanted to go visit my sisters. I would like to take three days off to go visit Breeze and Cataleya if that’s alright.”

“Of course. I’ll be able to take care of the shop while you’re gone, just be careful on the streets,” He waited for the inevitable words, “They say that the Chemist has been targeting people lately.”

The rumor that had been taking over the streets of Market Chipping lately had been the one of the Chemist Antoine. Most people claimed they would curse any who even looked at them the wrong way, but Calysto had a hard time believing that. No person could possibly be that petty. Nearly all the rumors were… less than kind. His favorite one that he heard was that they were sent here fight Hail, the Wizard of the Waste. 

Calysto wanted that menace and danger to the whole kingdom out. He saw the wizard once, and it was him yelling at one of their subordinates for speaking out of turn. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if it were scarily close to getting physical. The guy just gave off the worst possible vibes all the time. 

“Of course, Father. Thank you, I will see you in three days,” Calysto nodded at him and left the room. He packed for the next two days rather quickly, and was out the door by 7:02 PM. 

The streets were incredibly busy, he could hardly take one step without running into another person. He was about halfway to the bakery when the crowd started thinning out of nowhere. He looked to his right, and promptly bumped into someone. The first things he saw were an ivory mask in the purest shade of white and blonde hair so vivid it may as well have been made of gold, and then he realized who they belonged to. The Chemist Antoine.

‘You know, you should really watch where you’re going,” Antoine kept speaking, but Calysto wasn’t hearing a word of it. Nobody had told him they were pretty. 

“I apologize, however I really need to go,” He attempted to walk around them, only for them to grab his wrist. 

“And where are you going in such a rush?”

“Well, that’s none of your business, now is it?” The response was out of his mouth before he could think it over. It was obvious that nobody had spoken to them that way before based on the way their posture had straightened. 

“Aren’t you interesting? I have half a mind to steal you away, but you did say you have to go. Next time then, I suppose,” They let go of him, and walked off into the, rapidly parting, crowd. Quickly deciding he didn’t want to deal with whatever that was, he hurried to the bakery.

Upon entering, he noticed three things. One, it was incredibly packed. Two, Breeze was nowhere to be seen. Three, Cataleya was there, behind the counter. He squeezed through the crowd, only having to push a few people. Once he made it to the counter, Cataleya noticed him immediately. She gestured towards the stairs and then ran off. He hopped over the counter, much to the other workers dismay, and ran up the stairs after her. 

“Cat, what are you doing here? Father set you up to be Madam Shadow’s apprentice!” 

“I know he just wanted success for me, but I couldn’t do that! I wasn’t made for magic, Cal. I’m having so much fun here. This is a much better arrangement for both me and Breeze.” He sighed as she finished explaining. 

“Does Father even know about this? How did this even happen?” He sounded more defeated and exasperated than upset now, which Cataleya took as a win.

“Father doesn’t know about it yet. Breeze and I have plans to tell him when we visit in 2 weeks. As for how it happened… that’s a long story.” She seemed to think something over, “If you go visit Breeze you’ll probably have time for her to explain the situation to you.”

He sighed, again, “Guess I better get going if I want to hear the whole story. See you in 2 weeks, I suppose,” He hugged her tightly, then left out one of the staff-only back doors to escape the crowd. He ended up in the alley, but he was rather used to sneaking around. Today, the alley felt… less empty than usual, but he chalked it up to still being put off from the interaction with the Chemist. 

He was quickly proven wrong though, as he was surrounded by goopy figures. 

“God. Damnit. Can’t have one normal day out.” Despite the tired, nonchalant sound of his voice, he was actually quite scared. Calysto had never been in a fight before, and had no magic either. He had no way to defend himself from the goop creatures. 

Far too quickly, he was backed into the corner of a dead end. For a split second, he thought he was actually going to die. He needed to get out of  this situation, and fast. He couldn’t find a way out. This was it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable, when he heard someone start shouting.

“TAKE MY HAND!! QUICKLY, IDIOT!” His eyes shot open, and he looked up. Rapidly approaching him from above was none other than the Chemist Antoine. Deciding he would rather be stuck with someone who would curse him than kill him, he stuck out his hand. 

In an instant, he was flying above the rest of the town, the Chemist’s hand surprisingly warm in his. He didn’t even have time to question anything before the Chemist spoke.

“Where were you headed? I’m going to bring you there now.”

“And why, pray tell, should I tell you? Why do you have to bring me there?” Their shoulders stiffened slightly.

“Because now the Wizard of the Waste is after you, the bastard.”

“I cannot have. ONE NORMAL DAY,” He sighed, “Do you know where Madam Shadow’s place is? That’s where I’m headed.” 

“Madam Shadow? Who do you know that’s training underneath her?” They sounded shocked, and just a little uneasy. 

“If you happen to remember our conversation in the street earlier, I still believe that is none of your business.“ They huffed in amusement.

“It became my business when the Wizard got involved with you. So, who are you going to visit?” He paused for a moment, considering if it was worth it to tell them who he was visiting. If he was willing to risk his sister like that.

“My younger sister.” He practically whispered the words. He only answered because he knew they wouldn’t stop pestering him until he told them. The only response he got from them was a small nod. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the long trip to Madam Shadow’s. On a good, low traffic day it took about 1 ½ hours to get there. 

Not even a half hour into the trip, the Chemist spoke again.

“So what’s your name? I assume you already know mine,” From the angle he was at, he could see a small smile on their lips. 

“I most certainly do know yours, Antoine. My name is Calysto, though I have no clue why you’d need to know it considering after today we won’t interact again.” He spoke those words like they were a guarantee, and not just a hope. He really didn’t want to get involved with this beautiful, dangerous stranger more than he had to. He couldn’t put his family in danger like that.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Calysto,” Oh no. No no no no no. First of all, he never should have told them his name, he couldn’t handle the way it sounded when they said it. Secondly, they were very clearly implying that they would have to interact more, “Due to the Wizard’s… interest in you, I’ll have to keep an eye on you, just in case.” And didn’t that sound like hell on Earth. 

“Well fuck.”

“That being said, I am not going into Madam Shadow’s with you. I will, however, pick you up whenever you decide to leave.” The silence seemed expectant.

“And what incentive do I have to tell you when I’m leaving?”

“I’ll just show up every day until you actually leave.”

“Two days. That’s when I’m leaving if you’re going to be so insufferable about this.”

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, which Calysto was incredibly thankful for. Once they reached Madam Shadow’s home, Antoine spoke.

“See you in two days, I’ll come by around midday,” He nodded in response and entered the house. Almost immediately upon entering, he was greeted by Breeze. 

“Hello, Cal. I’m gonna assume that Cataleya already told you about the switch?” He nodded.

“In the vaguest way possible, yes. Care to share the whole story?”

“You should get settled in first, it’s a very long story,” She started walking away, gesturing for him to follow them. He was led to a small room that had a bed, dresser, and desk. There was a window above the desk letting in small bits of the fading sunlight. He set his stuff down next to the dresser and sat on the bed.

“Ok, please explain to me exactly how and why you two switched places.”

“It started after the first week of the original arrangement. Cataleya was good at magic, but she wasn’t enjoying it as an occupation. I didn’t really enjoy the idea of the bakery, and it wasn’t really my thing. We met here at the end of the first week, and realized that both of us were unhappy with our jobs, so we decided we would switch. Cataleya found a spell that would disguise us as the other and used that to switch us out. Madam Shadow figured it out within the first two days, and we decided to stop using the spell and just… switched spots. And it’s honestly been great, I really like it here,” She smiled, and that’s all it took for Calysto to be happy for the both of them.

“As long as you’re happy, and not running into major issues, I suppose I could excuse the insane switch you two did,” He flopped backwards onto the bed, “Alright you little shit, it’s getting dark and I have had a hell of a day, so out you go. I’m gonna go to sleep.”

“Fuck you too, then. Tell me about your ‘insane day’ tomrrow.” Breeze left the room when she finished speaking, and Calysto was left to silence. For a while, he just sat there, going over the day in his mind. He kept thinking about the Chemist. How warm and calloused their hand was. How their hair shined in the sun. How the little smile he saw was so, so cute- and stop stop stop. What the fuck did he just think. He is NOT going to have a crush on the Chemist of all people. Nope. NO. WAY. He sat up and changed into pajamas, eventually falling asleep, still thinking about the way his name sounded on their lips.

Chapter Text

When Calysto woke up the next morning, with the sunrise filtering through the window above the desk, the absurd situation he was in fully registered. He ran into the Chemist. He told the Chemist his name. He told them about his sister. He was a target of the Wizard of the Waste. His sisters switched jobs. He told the Chemist his name. He had two days before he had to see them again. He sighed, getting out of the guest bed and getting ready for the day.

He wandered around the house, which was far larger than any building should ever be, and eventually found the kitchen. It was empty, but he expected that. Just because he was here didn’t mean that Breeze’s studies had stopped. He found ingredients for a simple ham and cheese sandwich, which he deemed a good enough breakfast. About 20 minutes later he found where Breeze was, and by extension Madam Shadow. 

“Good morning, Madam, Breeze,” He nodded to Madam Shadow, and practically ignored Breeze.

“Oh so now I’m less important than my teacher? What kind of-” she glanced at Madam Shadow, “... messed up favoritism is this?”

“That’s what happens when you’re a merdinha,” He grinned at their flabbergasted expression. 

“Desgraçado, I have a break in about 10 minutes. Then you get to tell me about yesterday.” He nodded, and sat down on the floor a little ways away from where the other two were. 

They were practicing a plant spell, or something of the sort. Calysto can’t quite say he payed attention past the Madam’s initial instructions. His mind kept wandering to the Chemist. Their hands had been so warm, and so calloused. What did they do to get hands that calloused? What does the Wizard-

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Breeze walking towards him.

“Alright, so what happened yesterday?” Breeze sat down infront of him. 

He took a deep breath, “So it all started when I left the house…”

Five minutes later, he had explained almost everything. He was not going to tell Breeze about the stupid thoughts he was having about the Chemist. 

“Calysto what the fuck. How much shit can one person get into in a day?” Breeze looked like they were about to grab him by the shoulders and shake the nonsense out of him. He just sighed and crumpled a little in response, “Not to mention they’re coming back tomorrow, to take you home, therefore learning where you live. Do you realize how stupid of  situation this is?”

“Yes, Breeze, I am well aware of how stupid this is. And how possibly dangerous it could be. However, I don’t have another choice.” She seemed to consider it for a moment.

“You may be right, but you’re still stupid.” There was no winning with this. 

“Ok, I’m done explaining yesterday, so you should probably get back to practicing your magic.” She sighed loudly, and stood up.

He waved at her as she walked back, which only resulted in him getting flipped off. He grinned, and watched as Breeze got back to practicing the Casia spell, which would grow lavender wherever the casters focus was. He didn’t pay enough attention to know if it was a movement based or incantation based spell, though. It couldn’t be a  spell circle based spell though, as there weren’t any spell circles. 

Within the next five minutes, he got lost in his thoughts again. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Chemist, and the Wizard, but mostly the Chemist. Why was the Chemist so set on protecting him? Why not just let the Wizard do… whatever he was going to do to him? What was the Wizard even going to do to him? Why was he being targeted by the Wizard? How did those rumors about the Chemist get spread? Who did they curse? 

He didn’t even notice Breeze approaching him until they flicked his forehead.

“Hello? Cal? You alive in there?” He flinched when she flicked him, and leaned backwards.

“Why’d you flick me?”

“Well I called your name about 50 times, and you weren’t responding, so flicking you it was. What were you thinking about?” Well, he couldn’t exactly admit to thinking about Antoine.

“That’s not your business, are you done training for the day?”

“Don’t think you can just change the subject, but also yes. Seriously, what were you thinking about?”

“I absolutely can just change the subject, and it’s seriously none of your business.” Breeze just stared at him for a moment, giving him a look that implied that she was not going to let this go, but ultimately didn’t say anything. Which was worse. He finally stood up as Madam Shadow walked over to them. 

“Hello, Madam. It’s nice to properly meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Calysto.” She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something, “Have you ever considered having someone perform the magic-checking ritual on you? Considering both of your sisters have magic, it wouldn’t be that surprising if you did too.” 

“Oh! No, I’m decently sure I don’t have magic. Just visual snow.” The Madam stared at him for a second. 

“I still think you could consider the ritual, just to be sure. I’d be willing to do it for you while you’re here, if you’d like.”

“Oh no, that’d just be a waste of materials and time, I couldn’t ask you to do that for me. Thank you for the offer, though.”

“If you insist. Alright, I think it’s time for dinner, so let’s head inside” They followed Madam Shadow inside.

Calysto hadn’t even realized how much time had passed, but now that he was paying attention, he noticed that the sun was starting to set. The siblings sat down at a small table near the kitchen while the Madam made dinner. Calysto wanted to help, but knew that he would likely be refused. Within the next 20 minutes, all of which was spent in silence, everybody had a bowl of ravioli in front of them. 

They ate in relative silence, and Breeze was the first to get up to put her bowl in the sink. Calysto decided that he could ask Madam Shadow about Antoine, now was the perfect time because Breeze wasn’t there to question him.

“Madam, what do you know of the Chemist Antoine?” The Madam stared at him for a moment, their eyes slightly wide in shock.

“I used to train them, back when they were younger, but I don’t think that’s of much help currently. Why do you ask?”

“The Chemist brought me here after an encounter with the Wizard of the Waste, I couldn’t really tell due to their mask, but they had some sort of reaction when I initially told them that I was coming here, so I figured you knew something about them.” Her eyes widened even more.

“They brought you here?”

“... Yes?” There was a small silence broken by Breeze walking back into the room. She grinned at him, and he realized that she probably heard most of the conversation. He mentally prepared himself for the psychological torture he was going to recieve later. The two finished their dinner and put away their bowls. He bid the Madam goodnight and slowly headed towards the guest room.

Immediately upon entering, Breeze questioned him.

“So. The Chemist, huh? Is that what’s been on your mind this entire time? Please don’t tell me you have a crush on them.” He was silent for a second too long. “Oh my god you do. Calysto. You have interacted with them twice-”

“I know-”

“They are known for cursing people”

“I know-”

“What possessed you to have a crush on them of all people?”

“I don’t know, Breeze. I really don’t. You’re never gonna let me forget this, are you.”

“Oh absolutely not, this is hilarious.”

“Can you just. Leave? And let me sleep?”

“Fiiine. But you are so gonna tell me the full story tomorrow.” He groaned.

“I already did! The only thing that I left out was my thoughts, which were useless and not at all urgent or important.” She started to leave the room. 

“You’re still gonna tell me, I want to know your thought process on liking them.” And then they left the room. 

“Spill.”

“I already-”

“Calysto. Spill.” There was a brief silence.

“Ok fine. When I first ran into the Chemist, my first thought was ‘oh fuck they’re pretty’. This line of thought has not stopped. That enough for you, nosy merdinha?”

“No, but you won’t tell me more, so I guess,” She finally let go of his arm, the only reason he hadn’t bolted yet, but he stayed anyway.

“You know I’m leaving today, right? At around midday, the Chemist is going to take me home. Do. Not. Say anything to them about this conversation or so help me god.” All he got was a small nod in response, but he took it. He left the room, and went to sit out in the garden. 

A while later, Breeze found him, “It’s almost midday, you need to get packed up,” He nodded, and they walked back to the guest room to start packing up for Calysto’s departure. Once they were almost done, there was a knock at the door.

“Can you finish up? I’ll go talk to them,” Calysto stood up, not letting Breeze answer. He quickly made his way to the door, opening it just as Antoine went to knock again. 

“Hello, Chemist. Give me about five minutes, my sister is finishing up my packing. In the meantime, you should come inside and sit, I have questions.” He practically dragged them inside. They attempted to pull away, but he refused to let them go. He pulled them inside and made them sit in one of the chairs in the dining room.

“First of all: how do you know Madam Shadow?”

“And why, exactly, should I tell you anything?”

“Because if you don’t, I won’t leave with you.” The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Just as Antoine went to speak, Breeze came back with Calysto’s bags. She stared at the both of them for a second, putting the bags down next to him.

“The hell are you two doing?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Calysto gestured to the Chemist, hoping that they’d say whatever they were going to say before Breeze showed up.

“I do hope you realize how utterly stupid that would be, Calysto, considering you know that the Wizard is currently after you.” There was another tense silence, in which Breeze glanced between the two. Eventually, they seemed to give in.

“Magic users have to learn magic from somewhere, right? Now, let’s go. Preferably with no more questions.” 

“Fine,” He turned to Breeze, giving them a brief hug and then grabbing his bags, “But don’t expect me to stay quiet the entire way like last time. Bye, Breeze. I’ll see you when you visit,”

“See you, vadia,” the Chemist seemed a little thrown by the use of Portuguese.

“Na casa do caralho,” He flipped her off as he walked out the door, the Chemist not far behind. Not long after they started on their way, walking this time, the Chemist spoke.

“So, what language was that?”

“I thought you said no questions.”

“Obviously I meant no questions towards me-”

“That’s not what you said~! But, I’ll make you a deal,” He smiled at them, “I will answer your question, if you let me ask you a question.” 

“Not worth it, you’ll ask me something stupid and probably invasive. I just wanted to know what language you and your sister were talking in,” He sighed.

“Worth a shot.”

The rest of the walk to the hat shop was relatively quiet and uneventful, only some small bickering occurring on the way there. (“No, trees don’t hibernate. That is a mammal thing. Trees respirate.” “How the hell do you know this? Respiration seems a lot like hibernation to me” “IT’S NOT”)

By the time they got to the hat shop, Calysto and Antoine had started to be partially comfortable with the other. Well, at least enough to be able to have a half-normal conversation.

“One last thing,” Antoine pointed up, “That’s my hawk, Anil. He’s going to be flying around here a lot, and will notify me if the Wizard gets anywhere near your shop.” The hawk flew down, landing on Antoine's head. They looked only minorly annoyed by it.

“Alright. If that’s all, I’ll be going. Hopefully see you never!” Calysto walked into the shop, not leaving Antoine with enough time to respond.

The next few days were quite normal, with Cal getting back to his usual routine of making and selling hats. About three days after he got back, he was closing up shop when someone walked in. 

“Oh, I’m sorry we’ve just closed for the night. You can come back tomorrow!”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Before Calysto could even respond, the mysterious stranger started chanting.

All he felt was pain. 

He screamed.

Everything went black.

Chapter Text

The first thing Calysto noticed when he woke up was Antoine in front of him. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a lot of pain. And then he realized that he had something on his back. And his head.

“Gh, what… the hell happened?” Antoine sat in front of them, glancing above them occasionally.

“First, don’t freak out-”

“Oh that’s reassuring,”

“You’re cursed. You are some sort of moth hybrid, I think.”

“Great. Just great.” He tried to stand up, but almost fell over again had it not been for the Chemist. “You know, you make for a pretty shit bodyguard if you let me get cursed while you were ‘watching me’,”

“I will drop you.”

“No, you won’t. Bring me to my room, please. I’d like to see what kind of moth I am, so I can figure out how exactly this is going to effect me.” The Chemist stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out how to support him without hitting the probable wings on his back. Eventually, they decided on holding his waist. He tried not to think too hard about it (he failed). 

It didn’t take too long for them to reach his room. He stared into the mirror, his once brown hair was now purple. His freckles were more shaped than before, but he wasn’t close enough to the mirror to figure out what shape they were. They were also sort of yellow. Sticking out of his head were two leaf-shaped orange antennae. And on his back were two pale green wings with a deep purple edge on the top. There were four little circle shapes on his wings, two on the forewings and two on the hindwings. 

He was an Actius Luna, or a Luna Moth. He looked over to the Chemist in the mirror. Now that he was more conscious, he noticed that they were a mess. Their cape was torn in a few places and had a few suspicious stains on it. Their hair was falling out of the low ponytail it was in, but most notably, part of their mask was chipped off.

The crack went up to around where their eye was, and he could sort of see their eye. It was the gray of the clouds before a big storm, and had just as powerful of a pull. There was a fire in their eyes. And how funny was that, the eyes that remind him of a storm, are filled with fire. He stared at their face for longer than he should have, considering they noticed his staring. 

“It’s rude to stare, Calysto,” He ripped his eyes away from theirs, opting to stare at himself in the mirror again. It was still strange to him that his hair color had changed, especially to such an unnatural color. 

“Anyways, I’m a Luna Moth, which makes me wonder how this will affect my eating habits,” He paused to glance at them, “Luna Moths are known to die in a within a week of living because they have no mouth. Well, technically they do but it’s incredibly small so they can’t fit anything in it. The caterpillars eat walnuts and other things.” 

The silence sat for a moment, Calysto realizing that he had been rambling.

“You’re a massive nerd, aren’t you.”

“Oh shut up!” He tugged on their arm, and had them help him sit down, “So, what do I do now? It’s not like cursed mutant people are very common around here.”

“Well, you could try to figure out how to break the curse?”

“Obviously, I more meant where I’ll be staying. Because it won’t be here thats for sure. You live in the weird moving house, right? Is there any room there?” Antoine seemed shocked by his suggestion. They started muttering to themself, Calysto only picking up pieces (“I could have Honey…” “Do I really want to-”). They looked at him, stared for a good minute, then stood up. They helped him up again, then looked around his room.

“Firstly, it’s an apothecary. Secondly, what are you going to need? If you’re staying with me, you’ll need to pack. Honey will take care of furniture and all that, so don’t worry.” 

He brought them over to his closet, where he dug around to find his suitcases. He was starting to be able to move on his own, so he told Antoine to help him look. About an hour later, he was stable enough to be walking, and was also almost completely packed. He was grabbing the last couple books off his shelf, because he refused to leave them here, when he heard the sounds of his father starting to get up. He shoved the books in his bag haphazardly, zipped it up, and grabbed it.

“Grab the other one, we have to go now. My father is waking up.” Antoine grabbed the other suitcase, and they left quickly enough that his father never noticed. 

They took the back alleys until they reached the field outside of town. Once they were a good ways away from town, Calysto let himself breathe. The rest of the walk to the moving apothecary was relatively quiet and calm. 

Upon entering the apothecary, he noticed three things. One, it was cozy, but was also messy. Two, there was an ant hybrid standing by a little desk. Three, the fire had a face. He decided not to question anything that was happening, instead opting to set his stuff down by the couch.

“Antoine, who is that? Why did you bring a random hybrid into our house?” The ant spoke, seeming very confused and anxious. 

“I’m not a ‘random hybrid’. Antoine has been watching me for a little while due to the Wizard of the Waste’s recent interest in me. You can call me Calysto.” He sat on the couch, curling in on himself a bit as he let his situation sink in. Antoine walked over to the fire-with-a-face and crouched in front of it.

“Honey, would you mind making a room for our… guest? One with a bookshelf please,” And then the strangest thing happened. The fire spoke.

“Oh, sure. Let me just make a whole new room real quick. Not at all a difficult request.” He had read about many things magic related, but not a single thing came to mind to where a fire would speak. Unless it wasn’t a fire. They could be a fire demon, that would explain a lot more. 

“Thank you, Honey. Calysto, this is Honey, a fire demon,” So he was right, “And Wiks, my apprentice.”

“Nice to meet you. I am sincerely sorry to all of you, except Antoine, about the short notice of my stay. It is entirely Antoine’s fault.” Honey laughed at his words, while Wiks seemed to be trying not to laugh openly. 

“I like you, Calysto. I think you might just knock some sense into Antoine,” They smiled at him. Or, he thinks they did. It’s hard to tell, because they’re a fire.

“Uh, thanks?” He saw Antoine start to walk up the stairs and therefore saw them quickly flip off both Calysto and Honey. 

He took a better look at the house, noticing the general mess of it all. The bunches of dishes in the sink and on the counter, dust on almost every surface, and varying items thrown around. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. 

“Portside! It’s Silver.” He watched as Wiks twisted the doorknob, a little color indicator on the side changing. He saw the door open, but it wasn’t to the field by Ingary. It was to the Port on the opposite side of town. Calysto was pretty sure he read something about portal-doors in a book, but those were usually powered by demons who were much stronger than a fire demon. The only reason they could be that powerful is if they had made a deal in exchange for either a body part (though it would have to be a very large or important body part to reach that level of power) or a life. 

In the doorway was a human… dragon? Hybrid? He didn’t even realize dragons were still anywhere near Ingary. 

“Hey Bugz! Just the usual today.” Wiks, or Bugz? He wasn’t sure anymore, just nodded and walked over to the desk he was working at earlier, grabbing a little fabric bag, handing it off to Silver. She handed it 6 gold coins, and walked away with the bag. 

Once the door was closed, Calysto looked at him, “Bugz? I thought your name was Wiks.”

“Oh, uhm. It’s just what most people call me. You can call me Bugz if you want, I’ll probably respond better to it anyways.”

“Alright, Bugz it is,” He smiled at it, and turned back towards Honey.

“Your rooms done now, up the stairs at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you, Honey. I’ll see the both of you tomorrow morning,” He smiled at them and went up the stairs.

His room was a decent size, just big enough to fit a desk, bed, bookshelf, and closet in. He didn’t know that fire demons could summon furniture, but he supposes Honey isn’t a normal fire demon. He decided he would unpack in the morning, and got out only enough to go to bed.

When he woke up, he finished unpacking and decided to head downstairs to see if anybody else was awake. He didn’t find anybody else downstairs, so he assumed he was the only one awake. Well, besides Honey. 

“Good morning, Honey,” He sat in front of the fire demon.

“Morning, Calysto. Everybody else will be down in a little while.”

“Ok. Do you mind if I ask you some questions? I’ll admit, I’m a bit curious about you,” Honey seemed a little surprised by this. 

“I don’t mind, go ahead.”

“Thank you. So, in the books I’ve read on fire demons, they don’t have the amount of power that you seem to hold unless under specific circumstances. If you are able to tell me, what kind of deal did you make to gain all these powers?” 

“Ah, sorry to disappoint, but I am not allowed to speak of my deal with Antoine. Nor are they, so don’t go asking.” Calysto nodded.

“Do fire demons really start off as star children? That seems a bit… too fantastical to be actually true.”

“Actually, yes. I remember the feeling of space, the weightless nothingness. And I remember the fall, the fast burning hot fall. Being a star was so much fun, but I do like it here as well.”

Just as Honey finished speaking, Bugz came down the stairs. He sat on the couch next to Calysto, and nodded at Honey.

“Good morning,”

“Good morning Bugz,” he turned towards it a little bit, “What usually happens for breakfast?” 

Bugz froze a moment, clearly having some form of realization. 

“Uhm, well, I usually make breakfast. I’m not exactly the best cook, however, so…”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’m not too great a cook myself, either, and I used to make all the meals back home. Somehow I never got better despite the practice.” Bugz seemed to relax just a little, then went off to the kitchen to start making breakfast. Calysto turned back to Honey.

“How, exactly, does your power work? How are you powering this entire house from the fireplace?”

“Well, you don’t think that a fire demon that has enough power to sustain this place would really be this small, did you? I have spread my body throughout various supports, and put the most of my energy towards the engine that keeps the house moving. It’s actually a rather simple deal.”

“Alright, thank you for answering. I have no further questions.  Do you have any for me? I’d only think it fair that you have the chance to ask as well.”

“Hmmm. How old are you? And when’s your birthday?”

“I’m 23, and my birthday is December 15th.”

“A winter child, interesting. Do you have many siblings?” Calysto paused before answering, still not fully trustful of everyone in the apothecary.

“Two sisters, younger.” Honey looked a bit surprised at this.

“The oldest of three, huh. Are you happy with the outcome of your life so far?”

Calysto thought about this for a moment, considering everything he had done up to this point. His work at the hat shop, his, no matter how much he wouldn’t like to say it, diminishing relationship with his sisters, the absence of his mother. The excitement of meeting Antoine. 

“I… No. I don’t think I am,” Honey seemed to smile. It was a little hard to tell, given that they were a fire and all, but it was there nonetheless. 

“Well, that’s all the questions I have for you.” It was at that moment that Antoine came down the stairs, and Bugz finished breakfast. 

The three ate together in silence, and Antoine was the first to leave, stating that they had ‘important business’ to attend to. Once everyone was done, Calysto took it upon himself to wash the dishes. 

“I’m going to walk around the forest for a while, I’ll try to be back before it gets dark,” Calysto dried off his hands and headed towards his room to get dressed before leaving. 

“Don’t start a fire or anything,” he nodded.

Not long after Calysto left, he recognized the feeling of being watched. He looked around, but couldn’t see anyone or anything that would’ve been watching him. He curled his hands into fists, just in case, and kept walking. He found some clearing and decided it would be the best place to test if he could actually use his wings. He tried moving them, and they responded well. He wanted to attempt flying, but was unsure on exactly how he would do that. He decided on flapping his wings incredibly fast, but ran into the issue of, somehow, not being able to flap them both in sync. They were slightly off enough that he couldn’t fly. Before he could try anything else, however, he heard rustling to his left. 

He whipped towards the noise, hands flying up to his chest. Something came out of the treeline, moving to fast for him to notice what it was. He ran at it, and punched it. The next thing he saw was fire. He set this… this thing on fire. Backing away from it, he notices that it’s a scarecrow of some sort. But that doesn’t make any sense. How could a scarecrow be moving on it’s own? He doesn’t have too much time to think before it starts moving towards him again, and he decides that he’d rather just go back to the apothecary than deal with this, so he started running back the way he came. However, the scarecrow chased him. 

Eventually, he realized he could probably use this as a chance to test out his flying capabilities again, and started trying to flap his wings. This time, it worked. And he was moving much faster than if he were walking. Once he reached the apothecary, he slammed the door shut behind him and collapsed in front of the door. 

“Uhh… are you, like, ok?” the voice came from the main room, so he assumed it was Honey. 

“So, uh, any chance Antoine, or maybe Bugz, would be willing to do that magic detection thing on me?” He went to go sit on the couch and stared at the fire.

Chapter Text

A couple hours later, once Antoine returned to the apothecary, Honey was able to explain the situation to them.  Calysto was shaking slightly, the situation settling in. He used magic. He set something on fire with his hands. Maybe that was why the Wizard was after him. But why him? Why not any other magic user? He realized that Antoine was infront of him, saying something.

“-ey. Hey, Calysto, pay attention. I need to explain to you how this is going to go.” He looked up at them as they started to speak again, “I’m going to clear out the room and draw out the magic circles, which you will stand in the center of, and give you the potion, which I had prepared from the moment I started keeping watch on you. Then, you will drink the potion and I will start the incantation and if you have magic, your physical features will change for a moment, telling us what branch of magic you use. Understood?”

Calysto nodded, folding his hands together. Antoine moved back and started moving the furniture around so they could start drawing the circles. Calysto helped move things, then stood in the middle of the room waiting for Antoine to start drawing the circles. A couple minutes later he was handed the potion and Antoine nodded at  him, signalling for him to drink the potion before they started chanting. Not long after Antoine started chanting, Calysto felt the magic in the room start to surround him, almost suffocatingly close. For a brief moment, he saw Bugz’s eyes widen. Then the magic surrounding him started to hurt to look at, so he closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt the magic disperse again and opened his eyes. Everyone in the room was silent.

“So…?” Calysto glanced around the room, eyes settling on Antoine.

“Well no fucking wonder why the Wizard was after you. You’re a star affinity.” Calysto stared at Antoine in disbelief. Something must have gone wrong, he couldn’t be a star affinity. That’s- that would be insane. 

“I- no, wait. You’re sure that I’m a star affinity? You didn’t just, I don’t know, see it wrong, or something?” Antoine shook their head.

“Nope, you’re definitely a star affinity. No doubt about it.”

“But… I can’t be a star affinity. I’m the, quite literally, cursed eldest child of three. I’m not-” He stopped himself, taking a deep breath, “I need some time.” He headed off towards the room he was staying in, ignoring the Chemist’s shouts.

Before he could even reach the room, there was a knock on the door. 

“It’s from the hills! I can’t tell who it is, but they are hurt.” Calysto turned back around.

“It’s a sentient scarecrow,” there was a brief silence, “I set it on fire in the woods by accident earlier.”

“Is that what prompted the sudden magic detection ritual?” Honey sounded like they were about to burst out laughing.  Antoine moved to open the door, and Calysto started back towards the room he was staying in. 

“Oh great, another cursed person. Just what I needed this week.” The scarecrow hopped inside carefully and leaned against the couch, “Wiks, I’m giving you a new assignment. Figure out how to remove this persons curse.” They went upstairs, leaving Bugz and Honey alone with the scarecrow. 

Calysto collapsed into his bed, staring at the bookshelf across the room. His fingers itched to do something, to distract himself from his own racing thoughts. He missed working at the hat shop, the familiarity of it, the comfort of making stitch after stitch, not ever having to think too hard about what his hands were doing. He hadn’t taken any sewing materials from home, and he was regretting that now. 

He ended up taking out an old sketchbook of his, mostly used for hat designs now, and started drawing. He didn’t let himself think about the drawing itself that much, instead focusing on the issue at hand. His magic. His whole life, he had been taught to believe that he would never amount to anything, just because he was the eldest of three. Yet here he was, someone who, by magical world standards, had a massive amount of potential. Calysto Stratos had never been someone important before. Calysto Stratos had never been worth anything valuable. But here he was, a well-known witch and a fire demon in the other room, trying to keep him safe from someone who is quite possibly the worst person alive. Because Hail wanted him. Alive or dead, he didn’t know. He never knew when it was important. 

He remembers the night his mother left. He saw her that night. He was too young to understand what was happening, he believed every word she said. 

“I’m going out to the store,” His mother spoke softly. The sky was dark, a starless night, “I’ll be back in the morning.”

Calysto never saw her again. He never told anyone about that night, that final interaction with her. It wouldn’t help anything, it gave no hint as to where she went. 

He looked down at the notebook, taking in what he had drawn. It was some sort of garden, a few crumbling marble pillars in the background, bushes full of stars everywhere. That was the most noticeable thing, the stars everywhere. It felt familiar, comforting. He closed the notebook, putting it back on the shelf before going back out to the main room. Upon entering the room, there was a loud crash followed by Bugz voice.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry sorry, um, just let me, uh…”

The scene he saw was interesting, if nothing else. The scarecrow from earlier was floating, seemingly having crashed into the ceiling, while Bugz ran around trying to find something. He seemed to find it, grabbing a bottle and a broom, and started hitting the scarecrow down. Then it poured the potion over the turnip that was being used as the head of the scarecrow. And another strange thing happened, right where a line was drawn for the mouth, a little hole opened up. 

“There! That should’ve worked, try speaking now.” He watched as the scarecrow balanced himself out, and then they spoke.

“Hello..?”

“Hi! What’s your name?” Honey spoke, leaning out of the fireplace slightly. 

“I’m… Magnus. As your… friend said, I have been cursed.” It took Magnus a few seconds to get used to speaking again, each word that they spoke seeming a little more confident than the last. 

“Sorry about setting you on fire. You scared me a little, and I wasn’t even aware that I could do that,” Calysto walked closer to everyone. 

“It’s alright, I could tell you didn’t mean to. I probably could’ve chosen a better approach as well.”

“Speaking of, why did you approach me?” 

“You have the same traces of curse magic on you that I have, so we have been cursed by the same person. I figured you would be able to help me, because to the strong magic concentration around you.” Calysto nodded, moving to sit down on the couch. 

Bugz started talking about a bunch of magic procedures that he was going to test out on Magnus, to try and determine what exactly the source of the curse was. Calysto understood none of it, but stayed on the couch anyways, not wanting to be alone for any longer than he had to be for now. He thought about asking the Chemist for some sewing materials, for next time they’re out in the town. He’d ask next time he saw them.

Three days later, Calysto finally saw the Chemist. Where they had been for three days, he didn’t know. At this point, his sketchbook was starting to fill up, and he was still in desperate need of some sort of distraction. At the moment, he was cleaning the living room.

“Hey! When you’re next out, could you perhaps grap some sewing supplies? Just about any fabric and needles will do, but do make sure to grab the correct type of thread. Make sure it is sewing thread and not craft thread, or anything silly like that. Thank you,” he quickly returned to his cleaning, not waiting for the Chemist to give a response. 

“I’m not buying you fabric. It’s bad enough that you live here, I’m not going to spend my money on your frivolous purchases.”

“Then at least an embroidery hoop, and of course needles and thread. After all, if I recall correctly, it is still your fault that I am in this mess in the first place, Chemist.” He spit their title out like it was poison, “It’s the least you could do for me right now.” 

“No, the least I could do is let you stay here, which I already am. I am not going to buy you stupid things. You can rot here, for all I care, but right now you are the best lead I have on the Wizard.”

Calysto stood in shock for a moment. That was why they let him stay? So they could track down the Wizard? Well, what else had he been expecting? Calysto Stratos was worth nothing, no matter how much ‘potential’ he had. All he is, is a pawn in their stupid little game. But what else could he have expected? It’s the Chemist, afterall, the one known for cursing everyone they come across, for killing people in back alleys, for ruining the peace. What else could be expected from a monster? 

“You know, I’m getting real fucking sick of you talking like you’re all high and mighty. I don’t get to know anything about you, I’m ‘lucky’ enough to be staying in your ‘apothecary’. I don’t get to know anything about you, because you’re too weak and pathetic to tell me anything, but you get to know everything you want about me because I’m ‘in danger’ and I’m ‘in your house’. The second of which was your choice to make, Chemist.” He dropped the broom, walking closer to them, jabbing his finger into their chest, “I don’t think this situations very fair. But when has life ever been FUCKING FAIR? I get stuck with you, because the gods decided that I get to have magic, and the Wizard decides something about me requires me to be cursed, and the ONLY thing I get to know about this situation is from your vague excuses and you apprentice’s guesses.” He jabbed his finger into their chest, and before he could stop it, he felt a deadly amount of magic go through their chest.

“SHIT!” Antoine stumbled onto the floor, breathing heavily, and clearly injured, but not dead. Bugz came rushing down the stairs, and started trying to figure out what was going on. Calysto backed up, running into the wall. He sat down.

Why didn’t that kill them?