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There was a nervous, excited energy going around in the Bat Queen's domain. Tomorrow, some of the braver or just the more ready palismen will be going to Hexside to find new witches and demons to bond to.
Clover was positively vibrating with anticipation. She couldn't wait. Tomorrow was full of promises and she was determined to go and find somebody.
It has been so long. Her witch abandoned her when she went off to join the Emperor's Coven. Clover never found out why. She waited and waited until she couldn't any longer. Then she came across the Bat Queen and the rest of the palismen.
That was a long time ago.
The abandonment hurt, and maybe it will hurt forever. She would never forget her first witch.
But she was also ready to move forward.
Clover left her soft grass and leaves nest, and shook herself off. She needed to stretch her wings and exercise some of this nervous energy. And besides, there was nothing better than a moonlit flight.
That's when she caught sight of Emmiline sitting on a branch.
She seemed lost in her thoughts as she stared out into the night sky. Emmiline is also coming with them tomorrow, so maybe she should check up on her. See how she is taking it.
Clover landed next to the chameleon and shuffled closer.
'How are you?'
Emmiline chirped dismissively.
'Nervous?' Clover asked. 'Me too. Big day tomorrow, very big day.'
'Excited?' Emmiline turned to Clover and tilted her head to the side.
'Very!' Clover buzzed. 'Can't wait to find new witch. Bat Queen is confident it's going to be fine.'
Emmiline nodded. 'Sure.'
Clover looked her up and down. 'Nervous?' she decided to ask her again. 'Don't worry, you will find a good match. Sure of it.'
Emmiline shuffled around a bit, getting into a better sitting position. 'What if not?'
'Nonsense.'
'Not nonsense,' she huffed. Emmiline brought a paw up against her broken crest and scratched the edge. 'Previous witch didn't like me much,' she said. 'Broke off my horn. Said it was an accident. That he is sorry. But I know better. Could feel him lying.'
Clover nuzzled up against the other palisman. 'So sorry. Mean witch.'
Emmiline nodded. 'Mean witch.'
Few palismen wouldn't agree with Emmiline. Witches and demons can be so mean, beyond cruel with them. Some treated them as toys, regarding their feelings as inconsequential. And then they were those who wanted power over anything else, if you couldn't grant them that, if you couldn't keep up with the training and demands, they discarded you.
And then there were the witches who disappeared. They were there one day and gone the next, never to be heard from again.
'What was your witch like?' Emmiline asked suddenly.
Clover thought about what she should tell her. 'Good, kind,' she decided. 'Thought she loved me.'
That was the best way to describe her. While there was nothing about Emmiline's witch worth remembering, Clover couldn't really forget her's.
'What happened?'
'Left me in the forest one day,' Clover said quietly. 'Never saw her again.'
Emmiline turned her snout to the sky. 'Mean witch then.'
'She was kind,' Clover tried to defend her. Even if weakly. There were many palismen like her as well, to every one of them with horrible owners, there were just as many with those who chose to leave them behind. None of them could call them evil, even if they hated what they did to them.
Her friend was having none of it. 'Still left, still mean.'
Clover didn't want to agree, so she didn't say anything. But maybe there was something in what Emmiline was saying. Maybe Clover didn't know her witch as well as she wanted to believe. Maybe she got tired of her, happy to leave her behind for her shiny new life in the Coven.
But she didn't need to think about that anymore. Because tomorrow she had the chance to start over with somebody. Somebody who wanted her, who would love her and hug her tight, and make sure that she never felt abandoned ever again. And she was sure that the same waited for Emmiline too.
So Clover nuzzled closer to the other palisman. Emmiline in turn curled around her as best as she could.
'Will we see each other?'
'Don't know,' Clover admitted. 'Hope so.'
'Me too.'
Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.