Work Text:
The witch's workshop had been quiet for exactly three minutes before Emu decided that quiet was terribly boring.
Nene sat hunched over a broad wooden table, her pointed hat pushed back just enough that it would not fall over her eyes as she carefully measured a handful of dried herbs into a small brass bowl.
Candles flickered around the room, their greenish flames casting wavering shadows over shelves packed with potion bottles, spellbooks, jars of strange powders, and things Nene had specifically warned Emu not to touch.
Moonlight spilled through the crooked window behind them, illuminating motes of dust that floated lazily through the air.
Emu, meanwhile, floated upside down beside the table, her pink hair drifting toward the ceiling as though she were underwater.
Nene glanced at her from the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the potion.
"Emu, if you're going to help me, could you please stay right-side up?" she asked while carefully crushing the herbs with the pestle.
Emu immediately rotated herself in midair until her head was above her feet, her translucent dress fluttering around her as she grinned.
"Okay!" she promised brightly, hovering beside Nene's shoulder. "I'll be a very helpful ghost!"
Nene smiled faintly at the declaration and reached for the next ingredient. "That's what you said last time."
Emu placed both hands over her chest with an exaggeratedly wounded expression as she floated closer. "I was helpful last time!"
"You knocked over three bottles."
"They were empty!"
"One of them wasn't..."
"It was only a little not-empty," Emu replied, holding her fingers close together to demonstrate exactly how little she believed the problem had been.
Nene's shoulders shook with a quiet laugh as she reached for another jar. "That's not how that works."
The ghost giggled and drifted closer to inspect what Nene was doing.
The potion in the cauldron was a deep violet, slowly swirling on its own even though Nene had stopped stirring it. Tiny sparks rose from its surface before disappearing with soft little pops.
Emu's eyes followed every one of them with fascination, and she leaned so close that her nose almost touched the rim.
"It looks yummy," she murmured while watching another spark vanish.
Nene immediately pulled the cauldron a little farther away from her. "It's not."
Emu's face fell. "Not even a little?"
"It's a potion."
"Potions can be yummy."
"This one contains moonroot, bitterthorn, and powdered beetle shell."
"I can eat anything!!"
Nene laughed again, unable to help herself. Right, she forgot Emu was a ghost. A very wild, chaotic ghost at that.
She returned to the recipe book and carefully traced a finger down the page. The old parchment was covered in tiny handwritten notes, several of which had been added in Nene's own handwriting.
She had been working on this potion for days, collecting ingredients one by one and rewriting the instructions whenever she found something that could be improved.
Emu knew how important it was to her.
That was why, despite her tendency to become distracted by literally everything, she had been trying especially hard to help.
She drifted over to the shelf and began examining the jars without touching them, carefully reading the handwritten labels. "Nene-chan, this one says moonflower!"
"That's the wrong one," Nene replied while she measured another ingredient.
Emu moved one jar to the side and examined the one behind it. "What about this?"
"That's the right moonflower."
"Then I found it!"
"You found it after looking at the wrong one."
"But I found it!"
Nene turned toward her with a small smile. "Yes, you did."
Emu brightened instantly. She floated back toward the table carrying the jar in both hands. She held it out proudly and waited for Nene to take it.
Nene accepted it carefully, brushing her fingers against Emu's translucent ones in the process. There was barely any resistance, just the faintest sensation of coolness against her skin.
Nene paused.
Emu noticed.
The ghost tilted her head. "Nene-chan?"
Nene quickly looked down at the jar. "Nothing."
Emu smiled knowingly, though she didn't tease her about it. Instead, she floated a little closer and watched as Nene opened the lid. The room filled with the soft scent of flowers and rain.
"How much?" Emu asked, leaning over the recipe book.
"Three petals."
Emu carefully counted them aloud as Nene plucked the tiny petals from the jar. "One, two, three!"
Nene dropped them into the cauldron.
The potion immediately changed color.
It went from violet to a luminous blue-green, the surface bubbling gently as tiny stars appeared within it.
A warm glow spread across the room, reflecting in Nene's eyes.
Emu gasped so loudly that several bottles rattled on the shelves.
"Nene-chan!"
Nene instinctively reached for the spoon before remembering what had happened the last time Emu startled her while she was holding one. She instead stared into the cauldron, eyes widening as the potion began to shimmer.
"It worked," she whispered while carefully stirring the mixture clockwise.
Emu clasped her hands together and bounced in midair. "It worked! It worked! Nene-chan, you did it!"
"We did it," Nene corrected while looking up at her.
She continued stirring, her expression becoming gentler as she watched Emu hover beside her. "You helped."
Emu's cheeks seemed to brighten despite the fact that she was technically a ghost and probably shouldn't have been capable of blushing. She floated closer until her shoulder nearly touched Nene's.
"I did!?"
Nene nodded while adding another pinch of powdered crystal to the potion.
Emu's eyes sparkled. "Then we're potion partners!"
Nene smiled as she stirred. "Potion partners."
Emu happily drifted in a circle around her, her translucent skirt trailing behind her like mist. "Potion partners forever!"
Nene watched her for a moment before quietly returning to the cauldron. "Forever sounds nice."
Emu stopped midair.
Her expression softened.
For just a moment, the playful ghost seemed almost completely still.
Then she floated down beside Nene and rested her chin on the table, peering up at her with a fond smile.
"Nene-chan?"
"Hm?" Nene asked while carefully watching the potion's surface.
"I like helping you."
Nene's stirring slowed.
Emu continued watching her, her voice becoming softer as she explained herself.
"Even when I don't understand what you're doing. Even when there are lots of weird ingredients. I like it lots!"
Nene's lips twitched upward.
Emu giggled before resting both hands against the edge of the table. "I just like being here."
Nene looked at her.
She was still smiling, still looking at Nene with the same uncomplicated affection she always had.
Nene lowered her gaze.
She had spent so much time alone in this workshop that she had become accustomed to the sound of her own footsteps, the turning of pages, the clinking of bottles, and the bubbling of unfinished potions.
Somehow, the room felt completely different whenever Emu was there.
Nene carefully set the spoon down and wiped her hands against a cloth. "Then you can keep helping me."
Emu's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Really," Nene said as she reached over and gently straightened the crooked bow on Emu's ghostly outfit. "As long as you don't knock anything over."
Emu immediately saluted. "I won't!"
Nene raised an eyebrow.
Emu lowered her hand and smiled innocently. "Probably."
"Emu."
"I'll try very, very hard!"
Nene shook her head, laughing under her breath as she returned to the potion. "That's all I ask."
The potion suddenly gave a soft, musical chime.
Both of them froze.
Emu slowly turned toward the cauldron, her eyes widening.
Nene leaned forward.
A tiny glowing heart rose from the surface of the potion before bursting into a shower of glittering sparks.
Emu's mouth fell open.
"Nene-chan," she whispered while pointing at the cauldron, "It made a heart."
Nene stared at the glittering residue floating through the air.
Then she looked at Emu.
Emu looked back.
A slow smile spread across her face.
"I think," Emu said while clasping her hands together, "The potion knows we make a really good team☆!"
Nene felt her cheeks warming as she reached for the stopper. "Maybe it does."
Emu floated closer until she was practically pressed against Nene's side, her translucent hair brushing gently against Nene's shoulder.
"Yay...!" she whispered happily while watching Nene seal the finished potion. "Potion partners...!"
Nene smiled as she carefully placed the bottle on the table, the liquid glowing softly between them.
"Potion partners."