Archive of Our Own

Coco did not think much of the strange person she met down by the river.

This was her first mistake.

The fact that they were covered head to toe in the heat of the summer should have maybe been the first indicator that something was amiss. Given that there was even a veil that hung from their wide brimmed sun hat, she figured they were just a person concerned with sun exposure. They had been cordial enough as they talked. The person had even helped fish out the ribbon that the wind had taken and carried down to the river. So, when they also handed her a hand bound storybook with an intricate pen along with some tear filled story about how they used to belong to a nephew of theirs that had out grown them, Coco felt moved to accept them.

She made yet another mistake when she scared off the crow that swooped down at her during her walk home. She didn’t see it for what it was; a clumsy attempt at rescue. The crow had swooped down so suddenly it startled her. It zeroed in on the shiny bauble at the end of her new pen. She figured it was just trying to get a shiny new treasure. Though, looking back on it, she had never known a crow to behave so aggressively. In the moment, there was only panic and she swatted at it wildly. She knocked its wing with the book and it landed on the ground in a ruffle of feathers. The crow looked at her scornfully and cawed with pure vitriol, but it seemed too stunned to continue its attack. As Coco ran away from the crazed bird, she felt guilt twist her stomach the whole way. She hoped she didn’t injure it too badly. She really didn’t mean to hurt it.

They said bad things always happened in threes. If the three mistakes Coco had already made—trusting a stranger, accepting their gift, and batting away the crow—counted toward that, then that should have been the end of it. However, when one was already on a downhill path, it was hard to stop until you reached the bottom. Later that night when Coco had slumped over her desk, drained from all her homework, she learned the full weight of her naiveté.

Cheek pressed against the surface of her desk, Coco flicked at the pen the stranger had gifted her. Her desk wasn’t quite level. After she would flick it, it would slowly roll back towards her until it knocked against the corner of her textbook. She watched the purple bauble at the end with a strange fascination. It glinted in the light of desk lamp, but it also appeared to darken the shadows around it. It almost looked like there was some kind of liquid inside, dark and thick. As the pen rolled over and over again the dark liquid would splash and swirl around. Yet, its motions did not quite coincide with that of the pen’s. The liquid surged like it was a living thing trapped inside a little cage. Slowly the darkness began to overtake the beautiful purple of the bauble.

Everything that happened after that occurred in a blur of flashes. The details only stood out in the darkest of her nightmares. A flash of cold light. Panic. Suddenly being yanked away. Tree branches and leaves. The spreading stone. Frantic shouting echoed by the call of a crow. Confusion. Her mom’s frightened face. Her voice calling out in the dark. Her last word—Coco—choked out before it could finish. Tears. Cold. So very, very cold.

It was easily the worst night of Coco’s life. Followed by a brutal two months to set everything right. Even now, when things were better, it still haunted her in the dark corners of her room. However, despite the horror of everything, Coco found, if she were to be fully honest, she could not regret it. That day had been what brought her into this world of curses and magic.

It was the reason she met that surly crow.

A crow flew overhead as Coco made her walk to school. It was mostly silent except the occasional caw when Coco had spent too long staring up at it rather than watching the path in front of her. This morning she had left out a pair of small buckles along with a hardboiled egg. The crow had finished the egg by the time she left out the front door and the buckles were safely secured in its talons as it flew. This had become their routine since Coco’s return to a semi-normal life. She would leave out food and sometimes gifts, and the crow would follow her to school.

“Coco!” Tartah called from the corner, waving a hand. Her eyes snapped down to him at his call. His eyes drifted upward, spotting the crow she had just spent too much time staring at once more. “Do you think it’s the same bird that follows you every day?” he asked as Coco came to a stop before him. His voice held an undercurrent of irritation.

Coco smiled, trying not to give away the secret. “Crows are very smart, you know. They remember those that have helped them and those that have wronged them.”

“So, you’re saying you, what, befriended a bird?” Tartah’s face held clear bewilderment as his eyes dropped back to his friend. “Doesn’t it feel creepy? Having a bird like that follow you around?”

Overhead the crow let out an indignant caw. Then it banked hard to right and began to fly off in the direction of the old forest on the edge of town. Coco tried not to frown at this. The crow often left when Tartah showed up to walk with her the rest of the way to school. It was hard not to though, especially when Tartah’s words also pricked at her.

“It’s not creepy. You just need more,” Coco paused as she tried to think of the right word. She couldn’t let out the truth—that she knew it was always the same crow, that she even knew the crow’s proper name, that they were in fact friends. She couldn’t let the secrets she had been trusted with be known. “Whimsy,” she said, settling on the closest word that felt right.

“Whimsy, huh? Well, I guess I’ll work on that. We better get to school for now though.”

School was boring and mundane. It definitely lacked whimsy, but Coco enjoyed it for the most part. She liked learning and seeing her friends. The special events were always fun when they happened. Art class was a highlight. Although nothing could completely stop her mind from drifting to thoughts of monsters, curses, and magic items during lectures. Maybe it was wrong of her to wish there was more chaos about town so that she could be out with her other friends, the secret ones that also knew of the supernatural world that sat right over their ordinary town. Even though it was scary, it was filled with wonders all the same.

Coco repressed the sigh in her throat, letting her head loll on her shoulders. Through the window she could see her crow perched on the sill outside. She didn’t know how she knew it was her crow. It didn’t have any special markings, but she always, always knew. The crow wasn’t looking back at her. It had its eyes trained on the blackboard, head tilted to one side. A thought popped into her mind. There was a small smile on her face as she turned to jot down a note in her notebook.

She couldn’t wait until the school day was over.

Tartah had club activities after school so Coco was free to meander home on a different path. The path she took winded out towards the old forest on the edge of town. If Tetia didn’t have club herself, she would be walking beside Coco now. As much she adored her friend, she was somewhat happy that Tetia was delayed today. She wanted it to be just the two of them in the meadow. She liked that best.

The route Coco took through the underbrush could only generously be called a path. The old forest was not maintained and hardly anyone found themselves within its bounds. The ones that did had no real need for a foot path. They had other means of travel. It was only two months of Coco trudging in and out, slowing kicking away the overgrown bushes and fallen branches, that turned it into something recognizable as a trail. Even after all the times since then, Coco still found herself having to carefully pick her way through as to not trip over things. The tangled bushes of the forest did not like to be tamed. Or perhaps this was intentional on their part, acting as a defense to the forest’s residents. If that were the case, Coco wished the plants would recognize her as a friend. There was only so many times she could get an errant vine wrapped around her ankle or accidentally kick an exposed root before it got annoying.

It wasn’t long before the stubborn underbrush became a problem no longer and the trees opened up to a sunlit meadow. White and blue wildflowers blossomed amongst the tall, green grass. Coco did not stop to admire them today. Instead, her eyes zeroed in on an old stump in the corner of the meadow. Her crow was already there. Its wings stretched out as it ran its beak through its feathers.

“Agott!” Coco called in greeting, a smile sprouting easily on her face.

The crow hopped back with surprise. Coco never quite thought of a crow’s face as expressive, but the embarrassed shock on its face was so clear to read, it almost made her laugh. The air around the crow began to distort. Witnessing magic was still a little strange to Coco. Her brain had difficulty adjusting to it. It was almost like looking at something through warped, semitransparent plastic. It only lasted half a second then, where there was once a crow, was a girl the same age as Coco.

The girl was dressed plainly, a simple white, short sleeved button down shirt tucked into dark jeans. A simple, practical, put together look as she preferred. Clothes never meant much to her. Maybe it was because she spent half her time as a crow. Either way, Coco thought it was a shame. She was truly a cool beauty; anything would have looked great on her. Her jawline was strikingly sharp. She was blessed with dark, full lashes that framed intense, deep purple eyes. Her thick mop of curly, black hair was somehow always perfectly maintained. Coco wondered if all the preening she did as crow had any effect on her appearance as a human. However, when she shifted there was never any trace of the bird, not even an errant feather. It was little hard to not be disappointed by that.

“Coco, good afternoon,” Agott greeted, treating Coco’s ears to her pleasant, elevated accent. She wouldn’t quite meet Coco’s eye though. A light dusting of pink colored her cheeks.

Yep, embarrassed. Coco was right. She giggled to herself.

“Did you use the buckles yet?” Coco asked. Agott wasn’t wearing her normal leather shoes. Instead, she had on some simple, black, canvas shoes. Her normal pair had gotten damaged on their last job clearing out a curse from an old farmhouse. There had been overflowing amounts of mud on that mission, amongst the other hazards.

“You just gave me them this morning. I haven’t had time to do anything with them yet,” Agott said, settling herself down on the tree stump. Coco sat down in the grass right next to her.

“Right, because your day is so busy,” she teased.

Agott’s face scrunched up in that cute way it always did when she was being picked on. Her blush grew more bodied. She indignantly answered with, “It is.”

“Well, I guess I did see you at the school today.” Coco tilted her head with faux thoughtfulness. “I think you were the most attentive one during the history lecture.”

“I was just doing my normal reconnaissance. Schools attract a lot of curses you know.”

“Right, right. Of course.” Not like there was anyone else at the school who could keep an eye on things, but Coco didn’t say that part aloud. It was best to let Agott think she could pass it off. Her pride could only handle so much.

Silence began to settle around them. It wasn’t uncomfortable. Coco was never really uncomfortable around Agott anymore. She had grown used to the girl’s quiet struggle with conversation. There was a particularly thick patch of daises within arm’s reach of Coco. She began picking the flowers one by one, ensuring to keep their stems as long as possible.

“Do you like history?” Coco asked. She hoped her voice didn’t sound too tentative. There was a point she wanted to get to, something else she wanted to ask. She was nervous to go right for it though. An opening needed to be made.

Agott shrugged. She was watching Coco’s fingers as she began to weave flowers together. “It’s always a bit interesting to learn new things.”

“Why don’t you just attend school then?” This what Coco truly wanted to know.

“I don’t need to go school with all the humans,” Agott rebuffed. “Qifrey and Olruggio make sure I get plenty of education here. Besides, normal school wouldn’t teach me the most important things I need to know.”

“Tetia attends school with us. She always seems to have lots of fun there.”

“And Richeh doesn’t. What’s your point?” Coco tried not to take Agott’s harsh tone too personally. It hurt, but she knew Agott had reasons she wouldn’t voice about why she was uncomfortable with the idea. Still, Coco wanted to ask even if it twisted a little in her stomach.

“I thought you might enjoy it. You’d have an easier time following the lectures than you do through the window.” She kept her eyes trained on the flowers in her hands and she gave a shrug of her own. “And I thought it would be nice to be able to spend more time together.”

Agott shifted on the log. There was a pause before she answered, “I’ll… I’ll consider it.”

Coco’s heart beat against her chest. She looked up at Agott with the biggest smile. The blush still decorated Agott’s cheeks, much to Coco’s delight. “I’m happy to hear it.”

“It’s not a promise, or anything,” Agott deflected.

“I know,” Coco said with a giggle. She had anticipated this response. After all this time she thought she was getting a pretty good at understanding her friend. Habits from before that would lead to misunderstandings now lead to amusement when Coco correctly guessed them.

“You’re really good at that, huh?” Agott asked after the conversation lapsed into a pause.

It was these new habits that were surprising. Agott trying harder to carry a conversation instead of letting them die in her signature reservedness or wrapping Coco in a hug after a particularly harrowing mission, things like that were what made Coco’s pulse thrum and her breath catch.

Agott never seemed to notice the effect she had. She interpreted Coco’s lack of immediate response in a different way and added clarification to her statement. “Working with your hands, I mean. You’re good at mending and things like that.”

“Is this you asking me to help with your shoes?” Coco asked, hoping her casual tone didn’t sound too forced. It was hard sometimes to be around Agott and pretend she had no effect over her. There were reasons to hold back for the time. She just needed to be patient.

“Ah, no, that’s not what I was after. Though you could probably do a better job than me,” Agott admitted. She brought one leg up to tuck against herself as she leaned forward on the log, still watching Coco’s hands as she worked.

“Why don’t you come over Thursday then? There was a sale at the store and Mom bought some extra food. She wanted me to invite you over for dinner. I could fix your shoes then," Coco offered.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Great.” Coco looked up at Agott with a bright smile. The other girl wasn’t quite smiling back, but there was a happy light in her purple eyes. Coco then held up the finished flower crown and Agott leaned forward a little more to let her put it on her head. The white daisies stood out with beautiful contrast against dark curls. “Cute,” she declared.

Agott turned away at the compliment, but Coco could still see the blush creeping onto her ears. Her blushes were thrilling. It gave Coco hope that she wasn’t off target, that maybe Agott was similarly affected by her. However, befriending crows could not be done in rush. It took small, consistent attentions. For Agott, this was a labor Coco was more than happy to endeavor in.

The rest of their afternoon was spent talking about nothing. Yet even that nothingness felt profound. Spending time together like this was a triumph all its own. It was elevated even more when Coco was able to pull out a genuine smile or small laugh. Agott was so pretty when she smiled. Could Coco really be blamed for wanting to spend more time together, to hear her melodic laugh breakthrough the monotony of the classroom?

Eventually Tetia made her way back home, passing by the two in the meadow. Coco stayed for a few minutes more to greet her friend, but it was time for her to get home for dinner. She still had homework to do as well. Perhaps if Agott started going to school, then they could work on it together. Studying never felt more exciting. Coco was beginning to lose it now, she was certain. Her crush was no longer something she could just brush off.

However, she wasn’t the only who hesitated at their parting. She noticed the way Agott’s weight shifted uncertainly before she turned to follow Tetia back to the cottage they called home. It was perhaps only a second, but it could have been an hour for how profound a change it was from the way she would immediately turn on her heel when they first met. Coco’s walk home was filled with groans as she fought a wrestling match with her heart.

There was a new moon. It made the night extra dark. Shadows were deeper, somehow stretching longer when there wasn’t a source of light. The mountainside was far from any of the town’s light. Only their flashlights and the light from Olruggio and Agott’s magic did anything to fight against the darkness. The former was too easily knocked away, and the latter only came in bursts. It was too chaotic for them to cast anything sustainable, and they needed to keep moving.

Coco dove behind a boulder as a claw filled shadow made a swipe at her. She was disoriented for a moment as she landed against the hard dirt. Then a small hand on her shoulder helped her right herself.

“I don’t understand,” Coco said in a panic to the blue haired girl that had helped her. “There’s no moon tonight. Shouldn’t Euini have more control?”

Richeh’s face was a hard mask. Normally the girl didn’t express much emotion, but at the moment her eyebrows drew sharply inward and her mouth was a tight line of hard-pressed lips. Her small hands worked the stones in her hands furiously.

“It’s some warlock trick,” she answered back.

Coco had just been settling into bed when her window was thrown open from the outside and a dragon’s claw clamped around her shoulder. Tetia had been too much in a hurry, her words unintelligible as she slammed them together as fast as she could, and Coco only partly grasped the issue. Now, it made much more sense why she had been rushed out here. While the others knew a great deal about magic—it was the world they were born from, after all—each being had their own specialties. While Coco was just a regular human, she knew a great deal about curses. They had become her singular focus after she unwittingly let one turn her mother to stone.

Coco dared a look over the boulder. A flash of fire lit the scene of a dragon with glittering red and pink scales wrestling with a dark shadow of claws and teeth. Tetia and Euini in the most uncharacteristic fight Coco could imagine. Her fingers curled hard against the boulder.

Euini had always been an imposing black wolf. Now he looked twice as large and even darker. It was as if the shadows themselves had fused with his fur, blurring his every movement with an after image. While he had always had a shaky control over his abilities, the new moon should have given him peak authority. The only reason he should have been in his wolf form was because he wanted to be. Worse yet was how aggressive he was being. Even on a hunter’s moon, when the moon was full and very close, Euini was never violent. He was more like an over rambunctious pup if anything. This was a terrifying and heartbreaking sight.

Coco sank back down next to Richeh. “It’s too dark to see anything clearly.”

“It’s on the back of his neck.” The stones in her hands shaped into the model of a wolf. She pointed at the spot right under where the skull connected to the neck. “We just have to find a way for you to get a look at it.”

Sharp claws slashing at armored scales flashed behind Coco’s eyes. A shiver ran down her spine. “We need to restrain him somehow.”

“Understood,” Richeh said. The stone wolf in her hand was crushed into her fist. Then she tossed the broken stone into the air, but instead of the dull stone she held before, they were shining bits of blue-white crystals.

A small back shadow flew overhead, intercepting the crystals before they could hit the ground. Agott was suddenly skidding on the dirt in front of them. Her clothes were dirty and Coco thought she saw a few open gashes in the fabric. Agott was panting hard, and sweat beaded on her neck. Even in the dark Coco could see the intensity in those enchanting purple eyes. Fear was the only thing that kept Coco from losing focus as she took in the girl that suddenly appeared before her.

“Ideas?” Agott asked between breaths.

Richeh started in on her plan. Coco interjected where needed to give guidance on her part. Agott nodded along, offering a few logistical corrections. At this point they had taken on so many challenges together it took no time at all for a plan to come together. There were no toes stepped on or feelings hurt. Just three people who trusted each other implicitly and shared the same desperate goal.

Then they were a blur of coordinated movement. Agott changed back into a crow, cawing out orders to Tetia. Richeh was rolling out to the side, hands sliding across the dirt as she shaped the earth to her will. Coco scrambled to climb up onto a tall boulder near Richeh. Once she was on top, she gripped her flashlight in her teeth and dug through her bag. The caws, growls, and roars grew louder, but she couldn’t focus on that. She needed to pull out the necessary ritual items. Not looking only made everything sound worse. The loud crashing noises almost made her drop her flashlight. She could only hope that no one was getting hurt.

There was a crash so hard it shook even the boulder Coco had climbed on. This time the flashlight did tumble from her mouth. Between the fear and shock there was singular thought that she should invest in a headlamp. Minds were funny like that. The beam of her light fell just enough for her to see Euini’s wolf form slam into a stone wall of Richeh’s creation. The wall rapidly grew to encircle him before he could get back to his feet. Then Richeh was throwing ribbons of stone over his trapped form to Tetia, who no longer took the form of the dragon, on the other side. They made quick work of securing him.

Coco scrabbled to pick her flashlight back up. She shined the beam directly on the back of Euini’s neck where Richeh had showed her on her stone model. As soon as the light landed on his fur Euini let out a pained howl and thrashed against his restraints. The seal that was burned into the back of his neck shined a blue-ish purple under the white light. The fur around it looked singed and what skin Coco could see looked red and angry. The contents of her stomach wanted to come back up, but Coco clamped her mouth shut and pushed past it. She needed to work quickly. She could already see cracks forming in the stone restraints. Richeh and Tetia were gritting their teeth to keep everything together.

“Agott!” Coco called out, whipping her completed counterseal up overhead.

In a blink of an eye, a crow moving faster than any normal crow could fly snatched the counterseal out of her hand. She dove down towards Euini like a meteor falling from the sky. A thunderous crack broke the air just as Agott reached Euini’s neck. There was a split second where Coco watched in horror as Agott’s tiny crow body was violently redirected off its trajectory at a sharp angle. Then she lost sight of anything as she covered her head to avoid the rubble being thrown into the air from Euini breaking his restraints.

A strong arm wrapped around Coco’s shoulders. There was a moment of weightlessness as she was tackled off the boulder. The landing was a bit rough, but mostly controlled. Coco blinked up to see Tetia had grabbed her and moved her to safety.

“Did Agott get the counterseal on him?” Coco asked, flashes of Agott being struck playing endlessly behind her eyes. Her stomached dropped and she felt bile rise in her throat all at once.

Tetia looked over her shoulder. Her eyebrows were drawn tightly together and her mouth was a wavering line. “I-I think so.”

The oppressive dark shadows that clung to Euini began to unravel. Coco almost wished they stayed in place. Now she could see clearly as he writhed on the ground, claws scrapping uselessly against the ground as convulsions overtook him. Did she somehow mess up the counterseal and make everything worse? Euini continued to twitch, but the aggressive energy was seeping away as the shadows dispersed. The harsh growls changed to pained groans, high pitched and desperate, the sounds of a terrified young boy. The large wolf began to lose size until it started to resemble Euini’s human form once more. Coco had never seen one of the shifters change like this before. Usually, it was near instantaneous change from one to the other. This looked more like a slow reshaping of bone, muscle, and skin.

“Euini!” Richeh cried out in a voice louder than Coco had ever heard from her before. She rushed forward to his crumpled form on the ground. The convulsions had stilled and the shadows that remained were the normal kind. Richeh carefully lifted him into her lap. Euini, despite the black tracks that ran from his cheeks down his neck, managed a small smile. He lifted one arm to grip at the sleeve of her sweater.

“Richeh,” he murmured weakly.

Tetia and Coco let out a collectively held breath. Coco still felt something was off with the counterseal, but at least Euini had regained himself. It was more than a relief to watch the two of them together. Coco could not join Tetia in her smile as the other girl helped her to her feet. The worst of the horror had passed, but not everything was okay. Coco had lost track of Agott. Even though the unnatural shadows were gone, the night was still dark. A small black bird was not easy to find. Where had she gone? Why did she not come back on her own?

“You kids alright? Everything settled?” a kind voice carried through the dark. Coco turned around to see Alaira had arrived. The older woman was kneeling next to Agott who sat in her human form. It was hard to make out in the dark, but Agott looked mostly okay. At least her dark eyes were open and alert. Coco’s heart lifted.

“Yeah, I think we were able to break most of the curse,” Coco answered Alaira, but her eyes never left Agott.

Alaira nodded. She had a short exchange with Agott that Coco could not hear. She placed a gentle hand on Agott’s shoulder, then she stood up. “Alright, let’s have a look at you,” she said as she approached Euini.

With everyone else’s focus on Euini, Coco had no hesitation to rush over to Agott. She threw her arms around her shoulders, dropping to her knees. Agott let out a breath, but Coco couldn’t tell if it was from surprise or pain, maybe a bit of both. Then Agott brought one arm up to rest on Coco’s back. Her hold was weak, but at least she wasn’t trying to push her off.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Coco spoke quietly.

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re safe too,” Agott said. She spoke it like a secret. Her voice was so open and tender. The breath of the words tickled the back of Coco’s neck. Coco melted into the solid contact of Agott’s frame. A heart beat like a drum, but Coco could not discern if it was hers of Agott’s. Maybe it was both of theirs. Maybe it didn’t matter at all. What was the point of distinguishing the halves when the whole was so seamless?

“Qifrey has apprehended the warlock. Olruggio went to help him,” Alaira announced to the group. She managed to get Euini to his feet, but he was leaning on her heavily for support. “I best get you kids back. Coco—”

“I can take her home,” Tetia offered. “I brought her here, and I still have the energy to fly.”

Coco was a little disappointed that Agott had not been the one to offer to escort her home. Even more disappointed that she did not offer any counter argument. She had pulled away from Agott as soon as her name had been called. It was a little cold now where they had been pressed together. As they stood up Coco couldn’t resist the opportunity to knock the back of her hand against Agott’s.

“Goodnight, then. Take care. Stay safe.” Every word out of Coco’s felt mouth felt lame. She essentially said goodbye three times, but she didn’t want to say goodbye at all. Now, she feared she was coming across as too much.

“Good night, Coco. Get some good rest. You did really well tonight.” Agott’s praise instantly stopped the nose dive of Coco’s thoughts. It was the first smile she had managed the whole night. She supposed that was worth not having her walk her home. Besides, they would see each other in the morning anyways.

Coco was a little late getting up in the morning. It wasn’t until late that Tetia helped her sneak back into her room. There were a few things Coco could shortcut in her morning routine to make up for the lost time, but there was one thing she refused to compromise on. Before she was even fully dressed, she ran outside to leave a generous handful of nuts on the fencepost out front. Agott was always extra peckish after a long night. Not that she ever liked to admit that.

“Coco! Your lunch,” Coco’s mom called from the kitchen, catching her daughter at the front door before she could put her shoes on.

“Oh, thank you so much,” Coco called back. She hastily redirect herself, hopping on one foot to maintain her balance. In the kitchen her mother greeted her with an amused smile and held out the almost forgotten lunch.

“You should have breakfast.”

“I’m gonna be late, mom,” Coco complained as she stuffed her lunch into her school bag.

“Hence, toast. Perfect for on the go.” Coco’s eyes lit up as her mom held out toast with butter and jam already spread across it just how she liked it. She thanked her mom with a hug. Then she was out the door, lunch in her bag and toast clenched between her teeth. Nothing more to delay her progress.

Except, when Coco reached the fencepost where her crow usually sat waiting for her, the only thing she saw was the handful of nuts she left out earlier. The light blue of the early morning sky barely held a cloud, let alone any crows. Coco frowned. The pile looked completely untouched. Coco spun in a circle as she looked to the sky. Agott was annoyingly punctual. No matter how late they stayed out the night before, no matter the weather, she was always where she was expected to be with a timed precision that could only be magic in its own right. Not seeing a feather of her this morning made Coco’s stomach sink. Unfortunately, she did not have the time to spare. Coco quickly pocketed the nuts—she didn’t want another bird to come in a steal Agott’s gift—and hurried down the walkway once more.

Coco was distracted the entire walk to school. She barely registered what Tartah had to say to her. He even had to grab her arm a couple times to keep her from running into people as she kept looking to the sky, hoping to see a black bird that was never there. At least Tartah was kind enough to not comment on it. He mostly teased her for not sleeping properly.

Tetia was already in the classroom when Coco arrived. She set down her things, then immediately made her way over to her friend.

“Good morning, Tetia,” Coco greeted.

Her pink haired friend let out a yawn hidden behind her hand. “G’morning, Coco. Were you able to get any rest?”

“Enough,” Coco answered noncommittally. “Is Agott alright? I didn’t see her this morning.”

Tetia blinked. “Do you usually see Agott in the mornings?” A blush blossomed on Coco’s cheeks. Did their friends not know about the little morning routine they had started? It had been weeks now. How had no one noticed? Had it not been mentioned? The embarrassment would’ve burned hotter if Coco didn’t have bigger things to worry about.

“Well, I usually see her flying about.”

“Ah, well she did hurt her shoulder last night. It makes being in her crow form rather difficult. Qifrey advised her to stay in bed this morning,” Tetia said. Coco pressed her mouth into a thin line. She thought back to the night before, trying to spot what she missed. Annoyance rose up in her at Agott’s stoicism. She could have at least told her something.

Before Coco could say what she wanted to next, the door to the classroom opened and Alaira came in with Richeh and Euini in tow. Both kids were dressed in the same school uniforms as Tetia and Coco. Alaira was dressed in her usual teaching attire, as she worked at the school. The older woman made introductions to the teacher who was busy readying the morning’s lesson on the chalkboard. Coco saw the faint trace of charm magic as they talked. No one else would have caught it, but Coco had become very used to the feeling of it. It was probably just to help the transition of suddenly adding two new students in the middle of the term.

“Richeh and Euini are going to school now?” Coco asked.

“Euini is still having some lingering effects from the curse. It will be easier for Alaira to watch over him here. Richeh came along because she didn’t want him to have to go through it alone,” Tetia explained.

Coco hummed. Perhaps her thoughts should have been more directed on her two friends in front of her. However, she found herself distracted by another person entirely. It wasn’t so coldhearted. Euini had Alaira and Richeh to look over him, and Tetia was also there for support. “Agott is alone then,” she murmured under her breath.

“Why don’t you come over after school today?” Tetia asked, making Coco startle. She did not realize she had spoken her last thought aloud. When she turned back to Tetia she found the other girl eyeing her with a sympathetic look. “I’m sure Agott would be happy to see you.”

“Yeah? Okay.”

Coco was surprised by how awkward she felt as she raised a hand to knock on Agott’s bedroom door. There shouldn’t have been any reason for awkwardness. She had been in this room several times. She used to share it with Agott for crying out loud.

The two months they spent as roommates felt impossibly far away for everything that had happened since then. During that time Coco had been in too much distress to really appreciate what it offered her. It didn’t help that Agott was scary and abrasive when they first met. In a lot of ways, she still was all those things, but she had softened ever so much and Coco had come to understand her better. Now, Coco found herself longing for those bygone days. She had taken for granted the ease of access to Agott, the closeness, the quiet sanctuary of the shared space. Now, she had to knock to enter. It was ridiculous.

“Come in,” Agott’s soft voice called from the other side of the door.

“Hey, Agott.”

Agott looked surprised to see Coco enter the room. She jumped a little at her greeting which caused her to wince. Her left hand drifted towards her right shoulder before Agott halted the movement, clenching her hand into a fist and resting it on her desktop. Coco could only shake her head at the way Agott shifted her posture as though the movement didn’t bother her.

“Coco, why are you here? Is there something wrong from last night?” Agott asked. Purple eyes carefully looked her over. The glint in that discerning gaze revealed that she was looking her over on a magical level and not just a physical one. Normally, her attention and care were precious to Coco, but the irony of it made her bitter.

“Tetia told me you’re hurt,” Coco said, having no patience to wade through Agott’s more frustrating behavior. She grabbed the spare chair from the corner of the room and dragged it over to Agott’s desk. “Were you not gonna tell me?”

“It’s nothing serious. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Unfortunately for you, I was worried as soon as you didn’t show up this morning. So, I fear it is quite serious,” Coco said. Agott at least had the sense to look contrite. She removed her fist from her desk to her lap. Her other hand came to envelope it, thumb working the against the skin on the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Coco. I really did think it was just a minor thing,” Agott apologized. She looked down at her hands, eyelids dropping to cover her eyes. “I didn’t think you’d really notice one missed day.”

Coco’s head reeled back with sudden outrage. She couldn’t decide which hurt worse; the fact that Agott didn’t think she cared or the fact that Agott held so little value of herself. That was the first major thing Coco had to contend with as she grew to know Agott. The anger and loathing that nestled around her heart. All her worst impulses, even her pride, all came from this part of her and built the walls of her shell. Belligerent anger rose in Coco whenever she thought about it. Not for Agott herself. She could never dislike her. It was for the people that installed such a deep pain in someone so fundamentally kind hearted. Why would anyone ever seek to destroy such a bright thing?

“Of course I would notice,” Coco said gently. She reached out a hand to place it top of Agott’s own. Then, because that did not feel sufficient, she quietly admitted, “I’m always aware of you.”

Agott immediately stiffened. She raised her eyes slowly, as if not trying to startle a wild animal with sudden motion. Her violet eyes scanned over Coco’s face with an earnestness so open it was almost painful. Her mouth worked like it was chewing something over. Coco did not always understand whatever it was Agott was always fighting within herself. What she did know was that when it was all settled it resulted in something that never failed to buoy her heart.

“I’ll have to remember that then,” Agott spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, “that I’m not the only one.”

And there it was. Coco’s heart swelled so much she nearly forgot that she was upset with her in the first place. She slid her hand from being on top to intertwine her fingers. Agott gave a small squeeze in response. However, after the small gesture Agott’s eyes began to flit about the room, unable to hold Coco’s gaze. Agott shifted in her seat, but at least their fingers remained intertwined.

“It’s just a small tear in my shoulder,” Agott said suddenly.

“What?”

“I, ah, you-you wanted to know what was wrong.” Agott squeezed her eyes shut and gave her head a little shake as she stammered out her answer. When she looked at Coco again there was a desperate kind of pleading in her expression.

“Yes, right.” Coco couldn’t help the breath of laughter that danced over her words. Her mouth stretched into a lopsided smile. She did not intend to make fun of Agott, but she was terribly cute when she got flustered. Of course, she would lead them back to the original thing they needed to talk about rather than stay in whatever truth they had just exposed.

Agott continued her explanation. “It should only take a few days to heal. In the meantime, it’s best I avoid being a crow. I need to rest the shoulder, and as a crow I’d always be using my wing.”

“Does that mean I won’t be seeing you for a few days?” Coco asked.

“More than likely,” Agott said, nodding her head.

Coco glanced off to the side and faked a pout. “I fear I will miss you.”

Agott drew in a long breath. The way her chest rose reminded Coco of a bird puffing out its feathers. However, she couldn’t be more grateful that Agott could not escape into being a crow in this moment. She would have been denied the sight of blush blossoming along the ridge of her cheeks. Cold attacked Coco’s fingers as Agott’s hand slipped away from hers. She was going to launch a complaint before she noticed Agott had only released her hand to retrieve something form the drawer of her desk.

“Will this make it better?” Agott dropped a small hairclip in Coco’s empty palm. It was a cute little thing, clearly handmade. A green star decorated with glitter and plastic gems. Coco recognized some of the components it was made from as the little trinkets that Agott loved to pick up as a crow. Receiving something from her little trove was quite the honor.

“I love it.” Coco pocketed the hairclip, not wanting to risk losing it for a second.

“Really?”

“Yes, thank you, Agott.”

Coco’s eyes flicked up to Agott’s face. Her eyes were bright and her mouth held an adorable grin. Impulse instantly seized her. Coco quickly leaned forward placed a light kiss on the dimple of her cheek. The effect was immediate. The light blush grew to a full bodied pink that over took Agott's whole face, even to the tips of her ears that peeked out through dark curls. Agott did her best to hide her face away in her hands, but it didn’t matter. Coco had already seen it.

Tetia’s knock came shortly after that. It was for the best. Coco was pretty sure she had just lost any functionality out of girl before her. Although while Coco could not shrink the smile on her face and Agott’s composure was fumbling, she was not cruel enough to reveal the secret to Tetia no matter how many times she asked. She was kind enough to spare Agott the merciless teasing. At least for now.

The next week and half was quite boring. There were no more curses or monster attacks. Richeh and Euini had settled into school life comfortably enough. Whatever lingering effects of the warlock’s spell upon Euini had caused were fading. His strength seeming to return as the moon grew fuller. Coco was grateful her friends were doing well, and their additional presence in the classroom was a blessing. Especially since Agott was still not well enough to return to their morning routine.

She had been right. She did miss her.

Unsure of Agott’s return, Coco no longer left out treats on her fencepost. Instead, she stuffed a bag of trail mix into her pocket on the chance that when she left the house, she would see an all too familiar black bird waiting for her. If Agott didn’t show up, then Coco would just have an extra snack for later. The time waiting for Agott was dull, but at least there wasn’t any worry. Tetia kept her apprised of Agott’s recovery and she knew it was not Agott’s choice to be avoiding her. Knowing this did nothing to ease her impatience though.

“Alright, I’m off. Bye, mom!” Coco called over her shoulder as she put on her shoes. As if there was string tied to them, Coco’s eyes were pulled to the fencepost as soon as the door closed behind her. Once again there was no crow waiting for her. That fact did not make what she did see any easier to believe.

A girl about her age was leaning against the fencepost. She wore the same school uniform as Coco, although the other girl’s was much neater, looking freshly pressed. She held herself with a confident grace. Intense violet eyes sat under a crown of dark curls that gently swayed in the morning breeze. That piercing gaze softened as it settled on Coco.

“Good morning, Coco,” Agott greeted. Her accented voice carried with it the lilt of a soft song. Coco’s heart demanded to rush the tempo of it. She wanted to return the greeting, but she found there was no air left in her lungs. The only thing she could do in response was smile like an idiot. She almost felt drunk as her feet carried her forward to join Agott, unsteady as though she were walking on air.

So, then their morning routine had returned, but it was not the same. Instead of flying overhead as Coco made her way to school, Agott now walked along side her every morning. Always close enough that the backs of their hands might brush if one of them stuttered in their rhythm. Even better, Agott no longer turned away at the corner where Tartah waited. Instead, the three of them would walk all the way to the school building together. Agott even joined them inside. Now, when Coco’s focus lapsed during a lecture her eyes no longer drifted to the window, but rather to the desk one row over and two seats up. A smile had never been rare on Coco’s face, but it felt like she was doing even more of that lately. Of course, she was also spending more time with Agott than she ever had before.

Belatedly, she realized the thing she had been waiting on, the thing holding her back, was no longer there. As they made their walk home, just the two of them as their other friends were kept by other obligations, Coco slipped her hand into Agott’s and readied her words. She felt ridiculous for how long it took her to do it. However, she also knew one could not rush anything when it came to crows.