Chapter Text
Prologue
The Abyss had swollowed Corey – Swann and Kat had pushed him in after he had beaten up Kat. Kat had offered herself to the Abyss to seal the deal and was awaiting to be absorbed into it, with her friends wailing around her. A golden light surrounded her...but then time stopped, and the golden light withdrew into the giant hole.
Swann could feel it, and she saw that her friends and Dylan didn't show any sign of movement anymore, except for Kat. Both girls looked at each other in surprise – and then they heard the voice. No, it was more than one voice, speaking in unison. It was coming out of the Abyss, and the voices were both old and young.
They said: “It's not your time yet to return to me, Raven.“
While it spoke, a blue light pulsed in the Abyss.The two girls stepped closer to the brink of the giant hole.
Kat looked at the pulsing light in fascination, then she said pluckily: “Thank you for your guidance and aid, Abyss – but if I may ask a question: what exactly are you?“
The voice answered: “We have been called many things. Angels. Demons. Aliens. We are many, and we are whatever you make of us. You asked for justice, and there was no malice in your hearts when you did so. You offered us gifts, as you would to a friend. You asked for our guidance, honoring the old ways by doing so. Therefore we are inclined to help you.“
The voice continued: “So we are going to help you. You will forget everything which happened in this place lately – but it was your wish that your coven will stay together and that your friendship will last forever. I will give you a chance to make it happen. You will also forget this place, though we will always occupy a small space in your hearts, so when you really need us you can summon us again. Goodbye, Raven and Moth, my faithful companions - till we meet again.“
With this, the Abyss sent out a blast of pure energy, throwing everybody around to the ground, unconscious.
When Swann came to again, she looked around in confusion – why were they here, in this strange place near Fawn's Rest, the one with the mushroom circle. Hadn't they done something here a couple of weeks ago? She couldn't remember.
The rest of Bloom & Rage were lying on the ground close to her, also coming to slowly. And Dylan was also here? Why? She didn't even like Swann, Autumn and Nora. Most curious...
Swann took a closer look at her friends, especially at Kat, the small girl she had a giant crush on. Wasn't she looking different? Healthier somehow? Swann shook her head – why couldn't she remember what they were doing here?
The girls went home after that – they all couldn't imagine what they had been doing in the mushroom clearing. Life went on as usual for them, only Swann's move to Vancouver was looming over them. They made plans how to best stay in touch, especially Swann and Kat, who quickly found out that they were in love with each other and told each other so – it seemed to be easy somehow.
Shortly before Swann's move, Kat called her excitedly: “Swann, it's gone! It's gone!“
“Calm down, Kitty“ - Kat hated this pet name - “What is gone?“
“The cancer, dude! Completely gone! The doctors are absolutely baffled!“
Swann drove over to Kat's house to celebrate these news with her. When they looked into each other's eyes, smiling and crying with happiness in turn, they somehow knew that this has been a gift by somebody or something important, but they couldn't pin it down.
Bringing the band back together
So life goes on for the Bloom & Rage girls. Kat, Autumn and Nora keep meeting on a regular basis, and they all get in touch with Swann as often as possible, which is actually not that often, since long distance phone calls are quite expensive.
Winter's are hard in Canada and the very North of the USA, and it's a great distance between Vancouver and Michigan, so Swann can't come down to visit during the months after her move. But as spring approaches, the time to come back to Velvet Cove is finally there – two weeks of spring holiday sparkle on the horizon.
Kat and Swann can hardly wait for it – they haven't seen each other for a very long time, and they are very excited about it.
One Saturday, Swann and Kat have their usual phone call. Swann dials Kat's familiar number from memory, then she let's her thoughts drift waiting for the connection.
School in Canada hasn't been a complete waste of time – some subjects are quite interesting, and the other students are not too horrible. There have been the usual nasty comments, of course, but Swann has developed a thick skin over the years. But there are also some nice kids she met there, misfits like her, music nerds into grunge music. It's nothing compared to her friendship with the girls, but at least she's not alone at school and has somebody to talk to if she wishes to do so.
There, the dial tone. “Hello“ says a familiar voice – Swann gets the usual warm feeling in her stomach as she hears it.
“Hi there, my little Kitty“ Swann purrs – the girlfriends are trying to top each other with silly nicknames for each other all the time.
“That you, Holloway? Gawd, you can be annoying!“ Kat tries to sound as pissed off as possible, but she can't hide the amusement in her voice.
“That's why you love me, is it not so?“ Swann asks in a sweet voice.
“I've missed you, weirdo!“ Kat says quietly. “Like, so much. Can't believe that you'll be here in a couple of days! We've got a lot of catching up to do, me gal.“
Swann melts like butter at these words. “Can't wait for the catching up. And I've missed you too – still do, in fact.“
The girlfriends start to talk about their everyday life – school (Kat goes to high school now after her miraculous cure), friends (especially Nora's latest shenanigans), movies, books, you name it.
Suddenly Kat goes quiet. “Swann...can I talk to you about something?“ Swann gets a sinking feeling in her stomach. Is Kat tired of having a long-distance relationship? Did something happen to her health again?
“S..Sure, you can talk to me about anything.“
Hearing the slight quiver in her voice, Kat sighs and says: “In case that you've wondered: no, I'm not dumping you just yet – don't be ridiculous. You're my soulmate, I'm glad that I've found you.“
Swann exhales with relief. “Sorry for being so nervous sometimes, but it's not that I've had lots of experience with being in a relationship. Like, zero, in fact.“
“That's okay, we'll discover everything together, don't you worry – you big softie!“ Kat clears her throat. “Anyway – I wanted to talk to you about Bloom & Rage – our band. Aren't we supposed to be a punk band? But after this...“ she pauses “...ill-fated gig at the Blue Spruce, we've hardly played any music at all. Shouldn't we do something about it?“
Swann is dumbfounded. “How are you doing this, Kat? Are you a mindreader?“
“What are you talking about?“
“How did you know about the big surprise I was about to tell you all?“
“Surprise? What surprise? Get to the point already!“ Kat exclaims impatiently.
“I've also thought about the band. Like, a lot. About us not really being active anymore. So I...I bought a drum kit. Put it in our garage. It's not really big, and our garage is huge.“
“Wait, you bought a drumkit? For whom? You can't play the drums, can you?“
“I couldn't, no – but I've been practising a lot, and I even took some proper lessons, so right now I'd say I'm able to hold a steady beat – nothing fancy, mind you, but surely better than that stupid drum machine.“
“Swann...you always manage to amaze me. So I thought I finally dig this gorgeous girl with the emerald eyes, and then she turns out to be a musician! Awesome, dude!“ Kat sounds really excited. “This could get the band going again.“
Kat suddenly laughs, loudly and full of mirth. “So instead of hiding behind the camera, you'll be hiding behind a drum kit from now on! This is so classy Swann!“ Swann's blushing at Kat's sudden amusement.
“Yeah yeah, very funny – but wait till you hear my plans for you! See, Nora has always had some problems playing the guitar properly and singing at the same time. Soooo...we need a new front-woman for the band...“ Swann expects a disbelieving exclamation at the other end of the line and is not disappointed.
“What? Me? Fronting a band? That's just ridiculous! You're out of your mind, weirdo! I can't even sing properly.“
“This is punk music, you don't have to have a beautiful voice for it as far as I know. But you've got energy. You love music. And you are able to scream very loudly indeed – perfect for a punk singer.“ Swann concludes with a broad smile. “Also, you had to go to church frequently – didn't you pick up how to sing there?“
Silence on the other side of the line. “Kat, you still there?“ Swann asks nervously, ready to apologize, as always. “Yeah, I'm here,“ comes the answer a couple of seconds later. “I'm just mulling things over. You know, being without a terminal illness is still new to me.“
Swann rolls her eyes. “You always say the sweetest things, my love.“
“Hear me out,“ comes Kat's response. “A couple of months ago, heading a band would have been impossible to me – I wouldn't have had the stamina to do so. But I guess I'll have to change my mindset now. And since it's only you girls who have to put up with my feeble attempts at being a singer for now...count me in!“
“Okay, I'll tell Nora to get some extra sets of ear plugs then, shall I?“ Swann asks mockingly.
“Sure, we might need those when you start banging on those drums without any sense of rhythm or knowledge of music...“ Kat mocks Swann back.
“Touché. When shall we tell the other guys?“ Swann asks excitedly.
“Let's wait for your visit. I wanted to talk to the girls about the band before that, but I could never get my nerve up. Autumn hardly picks up her bass anymore, and Nora seems to want to break the world record for smoking spliffs instead...but with you by my side, you dork, I might just be brave enough to bring up the subject.“
“Can you imagine...two whole weeks together...this is going to be so sweet...“ Swann says in a dreamy voice.
“You'll be driving the whole way yourself, right? Be careful out there, lotsa people drive like they recently had a lobotomy. I can't lose you to some stupid car crash...“ Kat's voice trails off.
“I'll be very careful, don't you worry – but that you worry is soooo sweet, Kitty!“ Swann purrs. “But how else should I get my drumset down to you guys? I'll be on the road for at least three days, lots of time to catch up on my music knowledge then.“
“Fat chance that you will be able to do that! Without my guidance, you're lost when it comes to music...“ Kat is on firm ground once again, her weakness from a minute ago forgotten.
Swann blinks. Guidance...why does this strike a cord with her? She can't pin it down...and then the thought is gone.
“Swann? Fallen asleep on me?“ Kat's voice draws her back from her thoughts.
“No...I've just had some strange...feeling...but anyway.“ Swann mom calls up from below, telling her to end the phone call now, it's getting too expensive. “Kat, I've got to go now I'm afraid, my mom just told me. But look on the bright side...we'll see each other next weekend!“
“Yeah, I'm as excited as you are, you can count on that. We've already prepared our guest room for you. But be careful not to let on to my parents that we are together...you know how they are...“
“Sure, I'll be good, no probs. I'll call you from a payphone when I'm close to Velvet Cove, okay?“ In a lower voice, brimming with emotion, Swann adds “Love you, Kitty Kat, can't wait to see you soon.“
“Love you too, Swann – like, so much. Already dreaming about next weekend. Save travels!“ Kat answers in a similar low, emotional voice.
Swann hangs up and lies back on her bed. Only a few days to go...if she could just skip the rest of the week...Swann sighs and gets back up. Right, back to drum practice, she wouldn't want to disappoint the girls...