A Paw In Two Worlds
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In a bygone era, Legacy was merely a feral feline, a stray born to the savage beauty of the wild. For six precarious years, she survived on cunning and stealth, observing humans from the shadows with a curious yet wary eye. That was until the day a benevolent soul plucked her from a treetop refuge. This human was an enigma, his voice a gentle melody that seemed to understand her very essence. Entranced, Legacy found herself ensnared in a mystifying domesticity that would last three bewildering years.
Coexisting with humans proved a confounding enigma. Their minds worked in inexplicable ways. She'd mew plaintively by the door, desperate for freedom, only to have her human respond with maddening chin scratches. Did they not grasp the simplest of feline language? Her demands were clear: liberty, not affection!
Gradually, her human grew attuned to her needs, though the process taxed her feline patience. Still, the shelter and protection he offered were a balm to her wild soul. Yet, proximity only deepened her fascination with the human enigma. What lay beyond those inscrutable eyes? How would the world alter if she strode on two legs instead of four? What wonders could opposable thumbs unlock? To experience the tactile marvels denied her species... the very idea was both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
Tragedy, however, has a cruel way of reshaping lives. After three years, Legacy found herself cast back into the wild, her heart burdened with loss and her spirit shattered. This desolate chapter brought her closer to true despair than any prior hardship. Even had her human friend lived, their companionship was by nature fleeting. Humans were blessed with an infuriating abundance of years, while cats were but brief, flickering flames. For two years, she drifted amidst human settlements, a ghostly observer consumed by their mystifying rituals. Why were they entranced by glowing rectangles, their faces bathed in the pale light of those tiny windows to the soul? Why did they bellow at these inanimate objects as if expecting a response? And what possessed them to emit those grating, cooing sounds that set her very teeth on edge?
Amidst this sea of incomprehensibility, one human stood out. An aged crone named Agatha, her skin sagging like well-worn leather, her teeth a testament to decay. Yet, despite her fearsome appearance, a gentle kindness radiated from her. The townsfolk dubbed her the "crazy cat lady," and it was she who brought food to the feral kindred. One day, as Legacy mingled with the colony of cats, Agatha's voice rasped against her ears. "You, little one, are not like the others. A shadow that hungers for a life forever out of reach."
The woman spoke cat!
Deal with the Devil
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"Strange human, your words are a riddle, a secret language only cats may comprehend. In all my years, I've never known such a marvel to be possible. Yes, I find myself entranced, observing and pondering the great 'what if.' What form would I take as a human? What tones would my voice carry? Would I roam the world in solitude or amidst a tapestry of loving kin and companions? The queries swirl in my mind like a maddening whirlwind!" Legacy had exclaimed, her tail twitching with the fervor of her curiosity. Then, a heavy sigh escaped her, "Alas, I am old, human, and my vitality ebbs with the fading moon. Perhaps, if the cosmos favor me, I shall be reborn in human form."
The wizened crone had cackled, a sound like brittle leaves and malevolence. "Why plead with the capricious Fates when I, myself, can grant your heart's deepest longing?"
The specifics of the pact that followed are a tale Legacy prefers not to recount. Suffice it to say, she bartered with a being from the shadows. The evidence of their compact is forever seared into her very being. Only later did Legacy discover the hag's true nature: a weaver of spells, a wielder of the arcane. Legacy's transformation was not merely into human form, but into a vessel for the mystical forces she had never imagined existed. Suddenly, she was a conduit for powers that both thrilled and terrified her. A wondrous gift, one might think.
Yet, it is a curse. The cost of this 'blessing' is a burden she can hardly bear, a weight of remorse from which she shall never find absolution.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Biggest Fool of All?
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Legacy stands about 5'8 and has a petite figure. Her long brown hair cascades down her shoulders in dark waves, and she often shrouds herself in a mysterious cloak. Her brown eyes, flecked with gold, glow with an otherworldly intensity when she's casting powerful spells or consumed by strong emotions. Though she doesn't have a true birthday, having been born a cat, she appears to be in her late 20s.
She still has the ability to take on her feline form, though it's now a younger version. Her medium-length fur is a beautiful mix of brown, black, and white, and her amber eyes gleam in the light. Despite her desire to live as a human, she's most comfortable in this form and can even speak while in it.
Legacy has only recently gained freedom from the witch who held as an indentured servent, so she sometimes speaks as if she were still a cat. She's alone in the human world, with only her past scars for company. She has the potential for great power, but there's so much she still needs to learn.
Though eager to experience life as a human, Legacy is naturally distant, quiet, and mistrustful. She's patient and a good listener, with a bookish nature that leads her to get lost in libraries. Despite her prickly exterior, she's fiercely loyal to those she cares about. She often observes humans in bars and taverns, and has a fondness for animals. As a feline witch, she can see and speak to spirits, sometimes appearing to talk to herself when she's actually conversing with the dead.
Her shop, The Sixth Cauldron, is her sanctuary. The garden, overflowing with herbs and plants, is the first thing visitors see. The shop itself is a small stone hut, but the interior is surprisingly spacious. Shelves upon shelves of potions, ingredients, remedies, powders, and books line the walls. A flock of beloved chickens calls the backyard home. Don't fuck with her chickens.
She lives upstairs. The wooden floors creak with every step. The wallpaper is peeling, there's no hot water, and she's pretty sure the microwave is on the fritz, but it's home.
"She will have a legacy that will reach beyond the forest."
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Witch 🐾 Cat
Single 🐾 No Interest
Late Twenties
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"Her destiny is beyond what I can see."
Comments
Maleficent took a few steps forward and her eyes wandered to Legacy, locking onto her like a predator discovering a new snack. Despite her human appearance, the feline’s true nature did not escape the sorceress. With any creature capable of transforming, there was always a faint smell of their inherent being, a stamp on the soul no magic could ever completely erase.
Malphas noticed Maleficent’s interest but had every intention of pulling it elsewhere. This was not a cordial visit. He was here out of necessity. The stones were a mistake, and he needed to remove each one from the equation, before someone summoned him far worse than Agatha. He was being hunted which was an incredibly unusual feeling for the president of Hell. He was vulnerable and it was his own creation that made it so.
While still confident, his demeanor shifted at the sight of his elder. He did not speak to her with the same confidence that had radiated from him with Agatha just a short time earlier. This was someone he knew and had known his entire life.
“I am here for the stone.” His words were short and to the point. Maleficent was unpredictable and the longer he was in her presence, the higher the chance something would go wrong. It was something he had learned centuries before.
One of Maleficent’s brows rose at the mention of the stone, and she finally pulled her piercing gaze away from Legacy. Why did he want the stone? The sorceress thought the stones were a mistake from the beginning. Why give someone the power to summon you whenever they desire? She could not understand his motivation for doing so. He had creatures he cared about in the mortal realm. Maleficent was full of many things; knowledge, power, influence, but her life was still empty.
“The stone?” Her words were poison. Did she even still have the one he gave her, or did she trade it away in hopes of teaching her son a lesson? A wicked grin formed on her face, and she retreated behind her desk, slowly opening one of the drawers to reveal a small obsidian stone identical to the one Legacy retrieved for Malphas.
She was disappointed it was all her son was there for. No news of the beautiful destruction and chaos down in Hell. She sent him to Hell centuries ago, and he still had not forgiven her for it. It was a complicated and cracked relationship the sorceress made no effort to repair. That would not change with this meeting, even if she was curious about his company. Was this a familiar? Not possible. Zev would never allow it.
“Very well.” She slowly approached Malphas and gently grabbed his hand, placing the stone in his palm. A dark chuckle left her lips as she continued walking. Legacy was given one last malevolent smirk before the sorceress vanished from view allowing the set of doors to close behind her. It was just the two of them again. Malphas sighed, perhaps in relief, and placed the stone in his pocket.
Two down, one to go.
Before he sought the third stone, there was the matter of Legacy’s brand. “Thank you for being patient.” She did exactly what he asked her to do and did not utter a word. “I will remove your brand.” He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch in the study. This was going to hurt, so instead of tossing the feline into a world of pain, Malphas tried to distract her first. He asked the question that had been lingering in the back of his mind since they left Agatha’s.
“What payment did you give Agatha for your human form?”
There was an animated laugh from the little girl as she watched the foxes dart off, scared little creatures really. They had more of a reason to be afraid of a rambunctious little girl than vice versa though. Bee loved to chase the foxes and though they ran from her, she was full of endless energy and fast, and it might not have surprised people to learn she’d caught one more than once. But they were not her friend despite how badly she wanted them to be.
As Bee burst into the breezy autumn, she was full of giggles in the way only a child truly could be. The back garden was indeed large. Half of it was paved with stone tiles, although tiny sprigs of grass were beginning to creep their way into the cracks of it. There was a patio table and scattered children’s toys meant to be kept outside, a rubber ball and a hollow plastic bat with a plastic ball, a jump rope, an abandoned stuffed animal having long given way to the elements, discolored and covered in dirt. The other part of the garden sported a small garden shed, and otherwise a large… well, garden. It sprouted with flowers of all kinds, now mostly just green stems and dying, withering heads as autumn claimed its victims. There was still a remaining sunflower or two, wilting slowly, and mums and marigolds, whose season it was, and were thriving despite the chill. They littered a corner of the garden, bright oranges and yellows and reds. It made the sunny day feel even brighter, despite the presence of wilting flowers around them.
Clouds were starting to roll in, but it seemed like the rain was still a while off, and Bee was determined to make the most out of her free time. She stomped through the paved portion and right toward the back garden gate. She was tall enough to unlock it and open it, which she did, revealing that behind their house lay rolling hills and green, green grass, and little fences, both picket and hedge fences. There was forest further back, but Bee seemed determined to walk on the footworn path that led away from their home and followed along a rather large pasture.
“I think…” Bee said cheerfully as she half-skipped out of the yard, paying no mind to the witch behind her, knowing she’d follow. “Let us go talk to the sheep and ducks.” She said it very matter of factly, like she was attempting to speak with the same cadence an adult would speak with, although her words came out childish and seeming off.
Navy didn’t say they weren’t allowed to leave the yard, and Bee seemed confident enough that she likely did this all the time. She skipped out of their fenced in yard and began to make her way down the small hill, giggling all the while. There were indeed sheep off to the right of them, behind a green hedge fence. Bee waved at them, but waited until she was already down the hill and halfway across a long stretch of straight path to approach them. There was a break in the hedge, and a white fence was the only thing separating sheep from the outside world. Bee approached it with ease and excitement, giggling, and when she put her hand between the slats of the fence, the sheep lazily began to approach her. This was clearly a routine both parties were used to by now.
”Hi, sheep!” Bee giggled at them as they baa’d at her in response, pressing their heads into her outstretched hand.
You will regret this!
The threat stung a little. He had created another enemy. She was a name to add to that ever-growing list. Wherever Malphas went, misery followed. The reluctant president blamed much of this misfortune on his profession, but his habit of meddling into mortal affairs did not help. He spent far more time in the mortal realm than Hell these days. He could hunt down the creatures responsible for Lucinda’s death, but there would always be one left. Her death was his fault and as time went on, he was slowly beginning to realize that.
He was still for a moment staring at the castle walls of the place he had once called home what felt like eons ago. The sound of the stone hitting the cobblestone caught his attention and he turned and watched as Legacy transformed once more. A small smile crept onto his face, and he bent down and grabbed the stone. The small piece of obsidian had caused so much trouble. He placed his regrettable creation in his pocket and looked at Legacy. Her news was a relief. What he told her earlier was true, but Malphas did not exactly want to ask the sorceress for help. It had been years since he saw her and the president did not exactly leave on the best of terms.
“Must have felt good though huh?” The image of a feline hanging off Agatha’s arm was one he would not soon forget. She was a fighter.
He watched her stagger knowing the mark needed to be removed as soon as possible. He could do that here in the safety of the castle walls. It would be painful, but Legacy knew what she had gotten herself into. Any pain she felt now would be worth it to be free of Agatha. He sympathized with her and was glad his actions managed to free someone else. His mark went far deeper than the skin. He was tethered to Hell in a way she could not imagine.
“Follow me.” He led Legacy through the front gate and into his old home navigating down multiple hallways that looked identical to one another. The place was a maze, but he could do this with his eyes shut. There was a chance the owner was not home. He hoped this was the case, even if they had something important to discuss. He brought Legacy here in case the sorceress was needed, but he also wanted to retrieve Maleficent’s stone. He doubted any witch would venture to the Forbidden Mountain but wanted to remove the possibility. He already had one thanks to Legacy. Once he took Maleficent’s back, that left only Monty’s. One of his friends lost her life over the piece of obsidian and he did not wish to risk another. It was not long before the two reached a set of grand purple double doors. There was a glimmer of light shining through the bottom.
She was home.
Malphas took a deep breath and looked at Legacy. The disappointment was evident on his face. “Please stay quiet. I need to retrieve one of the other two stones. Once I have it, I will remove the mark on your back.” He did not expect a confrontation but discussions with Maleficent were always interesting to say the least.
He slowly opened the doors and stepped inside revealing a grand study with bookshelves as high as the eye could see. The shelves were littered with thousands of books it would take a person ten lifetimes to read. There was a desk off to the left in front of a lit fireplace. Verdant flames danced on the logs giving the entire room a green tint. A tall green skinned woman dressed in a long black gown and a horned headdress sat at the desk with an open book in front of her. Her bright yellow eyes darted to her company once the door opened. The pair of eyes would look familiar to Legacy.
“Malphas?” The sorceress seemed surprised. She grabbed a golden staff previously leaned up against the desk and slowly stood up from her seat.
A smirk formed on the president’s face when Agatha spoke. She had a point. What was to stop him from killing her once he had the stone? There was nothing stopping him, but contrary to popular belief, Malphas had no interest in spilling blood. His focus was still on Lucinda. Agatha had taken the stone, but someone else killed her. There was a chance that Legacy could help him find out who and right now that was far more important than Agatha’s life. She would meet her fate eventually. He would see her in Hell.
There was something the witch said that caught his attention. She suggested Legacy betrayed her own blood to become human. It was an interesting thought, and he could not help but wonder if there was any truth to it. The witch could be spewing lies to get a rise out of the feline. It was a story he would want to listen to someday, but now was not the time. The flames continued to dance on the wood slowly eating away at the floorboards. It would not be long before the home was engulfed in flames.
Whether he knew it or not, Malphas was lucky Legacy chose to ignore his order. He heard the stone fall from Agatha’s hand with a thud, but before he could grab it, the feline pounced on it and took off. The sight was enough to elicit a chuckle from the monster. Legacy knew exactly what she was doing and despite her fear took the leap through the portal and into the darkness. The president was not too far behind her. He took a moment to look into Agatha’s eyes.
The look of confidence she wore when the two first met was long gone, replaced by a mixture of shock and fright. He gathered the witch was not used to losing.
“Attempt to summon me again and I will kill you.”
Without giving it a second thought, Malphas tossed Agatha into the circle and stepped back into the portal allowing it to close behind him.
The other side.
At first Legacy would assume she traded one hell for another. The portal opened onto a drawbridge leading up to a grand dilapidated castle. The exterior was decorated with an assortment of stone creatures, each one more frightening than the last. The one comfort came from above. The sky was dark but littered with stars unlike anything naturally occurring. A mixture of purple and green fog blanketed the landscape. As the feline looked around, Malphas appeared behind her. His face was no longer hidden by a mask, and he traded the long black cloak for a pair of black jeans, T-shirt, and jacket.
“That was impressive.” He looked down at her with a smile. Legacy was safe, but not completely out of the woods yet. There was still the brand on her back. He would have to remove that for his new companion to be truly free.
“I am sure you are wondering why I brought you here. This is the Forbidden Mountain. I need to remove the symbol on your back. Once I do that, it is possible you will permanently revert to your feline form. If that happens, there is someone here who can make it possible for you to transform at will.” This was no guarantee, but he wanted to try. Legacy’s human transformation came at a cost Agatha had alluded to earlier. It would be a shame for her sacrifice to go to waste.
There was a softness to the way Bee looked at Legacy, and even with those eyes hidden it could be felt by her. Sensed. Bee was a trusting child, but she had good parents who were willing to go out of their way to keep her safe, never thinking for a second that this would be kind to her just because she was a child. They only let people into their house that they trusted, which was a great testament to how they felt about Legacy. Or… maybe how they felt about Legion. Even if Navy didn’t like him – at all – it seemed she trusted him enough to give a complete stranger he vouched for, a place in her home.
And the little girl giggled at Legacy’s compliments, in the soft, shy way a child often giggled, looking down to her little drawing where everyone wore happy faces. She had given Legacy cat ears, which seemed fitting, and Navy a hearing aid, which the gorgon woman evidently did not use all the time, but used enough that Bee had noticed it on her.
“Yeah,” Bee agreed, in the chirping way a child would, knowing that she would have to show the big scary demon her pretty art when she saw him again.
She considered Legacy’s words in the way only a child would, biting at her fingertips in thought. What did she want to be when she grew up? She didn’t know she could say. She hadn’t given it much thought yet.
“Mama says when I turn fifteen, I go see the other sirens and they give me a name. Maybe I’ll be a mermaid when I grow up.” Mermaids and sirens were similar in modern mythos, although they varied based on story. Evidently Anna’s version of a siren lived near or around the sea, or at least Bee assumed they would. “And mommy says when I’m eighteen, I go see a biiiiiiiiig snake!” She spread her arms out wide to show just how big big was to her tiny body. “But I don’t think I’ll be a snake.” She concluded. So, mermaid it was. “I’d be a cat though, if I could.” She added finally, a giggle in her little childish voice. Partly because she knew Legacy was a cat herself, and partly because becoming a cat was a nice thought, but even to her tiny mind, impractical.
She did listen to Legacy’s words with specific intent though. As the world changed around her, her eyes sparkled with indiscreet amazement. As all children would, Bee let her jaw slack as she stared, wide eyed, around her. It was an amazing display of magic to a child, and even though Legacy wanted to write it off as nothing, Bee would certainly not feel the same way. She giggled as she saw her toys marching around her, and reached out as if to touch the fuzzy cat that opened its mouth to meow at her in a silent voice.
But then the scene changed again, and once again the small child was amazed, head whipping around to revel in the sight of being atop a towering castle in the middle of a wide, sprawling field, a wicked looking and gnarled forest far in the distance. And then they were in that forest! Feeling the cool breeze on her cheek, her big eyes staring up at the tree tops with unbridled enthusiasm.
As they fell back to the living room, the girl erupted into frantic giggles, before rolling onto her stomach and slithering underneath the coffee table, and up onto her feet again to run toward Navy’s little office room.
“Mommy, can Legacy and me go play outside?” She asked aloud, before slipping into the room to ask her mother with what was presumably sign language, her request falling on - literally - deaf ears.
Soon the little girl emerged again though, still full of giggles as a child should be. She stood in front of Legacy and looked at her behind a different pair of glasses, this time tinted pink, though the pink was so dark it was hard to get a good look at her eyes behind them. This was, of course, by design.
“Mommy says we can go if I wear my wellies and jacket and be back by lunch and do not play with the foxes.” A very specific request, so likely a problem for the spritely child. Soon enough she was running off again. There was a small room just off the kitchen, a mudroom that held a washer and dryer and several dirtier pairs of shoes, that also led to their backyard. She did in fact immediately forget her jacket that hung right beside the back door as she slipped out of it, a powdery blue denim embroidered with small bees and flowers. She was just eager enough to go play with a new friend that the chilly autumn air meant nothing to her right now.
Every Dog Has Its Day...
Of all his time on this earth, not once did it cross his mind to seek help, not once did he think that he would need help to begin with but of course, given his circumstances, you wouldn't think that would be on his mind but it was. Every day, he thought about that night where he was shot and left in the alley way to die, he could hear the sirens coming in the distance towards his direction before he woke up again in a hospital bed, very much alive and well but with a price of course. The men who did it, were still alive and on the run from the police and he wanted an end to this madness, he didn't care if his soul was sold back to the devil, he just wanted his revenge so he could move on from this world and be some where else. He was given a location to go check out, a place where he was told that someone may be able to help him track down these men that killed him.
At first, he wasn't so sure about it but it was all he had to go on, plus he needed some resources to help him track down these men since they had a habit of covering their tracks without a trace. He was given the name of a shop and of a person to look for once he arrived at this shop, they said that if he were to seek this person out, they should be able to help but at what cost exactly? Something like this couldn't be done for free really, they could want anything in return for helping him which he had whatever they wanted really, Kujo wasn't exactly someone that would be a average man oh no, he was much more than that.Chocolate brown eyes looked down at the piece of paper in his hand for the direction of the shop, he was bit skeptical about it at first but hey, this was the only lead he had in hopes of having someone to help him with this task.
He followed the path that he was told to stay on until he came upon what could pass to be a home but he was told that it was some sort of make shift shop that the person had created, looking back down at the paper and looking back at the structure before him, this had to be the place that he was looking for. He placed the piece of paper back into his pocket and looked around, he seen a signed up that said The Sixth Caldron. That was the name of the place that he was suppose to seek out to look for a woman....not a man but a woman that would either be willing or not willing to help him, depending on if she was interested in helping him to begin with. Taking a deep breathe, he walked up the path to the front door and reached for the door knob, he knocked before he slowly opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him gently.
The inside of the place would pass for any regular shop really, his brown eyes scanning around the place, just what did this person do for a living? What did they sell or make? It had a warm. welcoming vibe to it when you first walked into the shop. The walls were pretty much covered with just about eveything you could think of, there was this heavy scent in the air that someone was brewing up something somewhere in the place but he couldn't exactly pinpoint the location of where it was coming from, he was too occupied with looking around the place but he didn't venture to far or anything, he waited patiently for whomever was suppose to be here to come out from the back or somewhere, it would be rude to just wandering around somewhere without permission.
"What is this place exactly....."
Once up close, his external features were more visible: Instead of ears, the tall protrusions on his head were actually horns, jagged on the inner portion, but still adorable beyond measure. A nose was absent on his white face. His scent would be unlike anything she likely smelled before, but still unusually sweet. One would almost think he was some sort of child ghost manifesting into physical form, but his bodily warmth would say otherwise.
In the event she lightly bumped him, his small arms wrapped around her fur-covered frame with an excited squeak, practically hugging the feline. Both black hues briefly closed themselves during that embrace, only for one hand to delicately stroke the back of her neck. There was no visible or audible sign that he was in any sort of trouble strangely enough, just happy to see her.
“So snuggly!! Now who would discard someone so sweet like you?” Questioned the Mici as he gazed into her own eyes. While doing so… the little diplomat swore he sensed some kind of sentient presence within her being due to him being a psychic. Such a phenomenon caused him to free for a few seconds, not expecting such from one of Earth’s most popular domestic animals.
For now, that feeling was dismissed before lightly rubbing behind her ears and sitting with the feline. “Hmm- No tags or collar on chu.” Abbitt commented upon noticing such, further reinforcing his hunch about her being a stray cat. His mind started drifting off while continuing to pet the four-legged mammal. “I have to go to another meeting with political leaders and already know they might not listen to certain things I’ve been warning them about. At least dis world has good food.”
What on Earth was he even talking about? One would not expect a child to use the words he used. And what business would political leaders have with somebody so young? There was far more to him than was on the surface if his unworldly appearance wasn’t already a giveaway.
Since he had a hunch that Legacy was far more intelligent than she was letting on, Abbitt proposed an idea. “I could sneak you some food from the Embassy I’m going to! They got lots of meat stuff in the cantina. No snuggly bean in the wild should be allowed to go hungry.” His plan: Tell the Embassy staff she was a service cat!
Having just rounded a corner, the little extraterrestrial suddenly halted when his reflective black eyes spotted her: A feline of all things. Both corners of his small lips rose into one bright smile of joy, followed by an audible, excited gasp.
"SO CUTE~!!!"
With that, the infant-sized being sat down with his little arms spread out to invite what he thought was an ordinary, stray cat. His psychic aura would put out a warm, fuzzy feeling if she was close enough.
Fleeting, maybe. Though it seemed like they were in no rush to remove Legacy from their home. She could stay as long as she wanted to, needed to. There would be no complaints from anyone in the household if the witch hung out here for a while. It probably eased Legion’s mind too, to be honest, not having to worry about Legacy and where she was staying alone, and whether or not somewhere was going to be safe for her. If she was tracking down someone as dangerous as she claimed Agatha to be, it would certainly only aid in her downfall if she wasn’t cautious.
Navy wasn’t worried about Legacy being trouble. She didn’t seem like she was trouble, and given the people that lived in this house and people that she and her wife knew, her point of view of ‘trouble’ was almost certainly skewed. She left Legacy to her breakfast without much of a rebuttal though. It was nice to know someone cared about whether or not they were getting in the way and being a hassle. Unlike some other people she could name. But that was neither here nor there.
When Legacy entered the living room, she’d find a space that was as warm and cozy as Anna herself. It dripped with soft, warm light from a lamp beside the overstuffed gray fabric couch, a pile of plush warm toned blankets stacked high in an espresso colored wicker basket. One cream colored blanket was already thrown over the couch. Though the floor was a warm pine colored wood, most of the space was taken up by a large brown area rug. It was simple, but extra fluffy, and very soft. The floor to one side, near the front of the house, was littered with toys, and on the opposite wall, a large window veiled with white gauzy curtains gave a view into the extent of their beautiful backyard, teeming with plant life and flowers galore. Navy was nowhere to be seen, but an open door near the window on a perpendicular wall – the same wall that housed the couch – suggested she was in a different room used for office space.
Legacy would indeed find Bee sitting on the floor in front of the couch, leaning over a pine colored coffee table. It looked old, with knicks and stains, but that was probably for the best. An old, tiny handprint stain could be seen on the table top, never to be fully scrubbed away. Children didn’t make for clean houses, although Bee didn’t seem particularly dirty. The tv was in fact on, but it was very quiet, playing reruns of Bluey, evidently her new favorite show.
And though she had in fact drawn Bluey characters on a page, that had been pushed aside. She blinked at Legacy behind those glasses. Despite their cover, it was easy to tell how wide and doe-like they were, soft eyes of a child.
“Thanks.” She said with a gap-toothed grin, taking the plushy and setting it in her lap, before pushing the sheet of paper over toward Legacy. It depicted the witch herself, and the smaller cat stuffed animal beside her, though obviously not to scale. It also showed Bee right beside her, or a young child’s interpretation of herself. Legacy was holding little stick figure hands with what was presumably Legion, white skinned with black hair and black clothes, and tiny black dots for eyes. There were trees and flowers and crudely drawn butterflies around them, too.
“It’s okay, she added, watching Legacy behind those tiny sunglasses of hers. “Mommy always said sleep is good. She said Uncle Le will sleep forever if she leaves him alone.” But she said this with a giggle.
As Legacy greeted the new morning refreshed, she’d find some new things in her room. Firstly, an extra blanket had been thrown on top of her for extra comfort against the chilly autumn breeze that made its way through her window. A glass of water had been placed next to her bead, and her abandoned clothes had been washed, folded, and set on top of the desk. Also beside her on the bed lay the cat plushie of Bee’s, evidently left there for comfort or companionship.
As she slipped out of her room, and down the stairs, she’d notice how quiet it was in the house. Some typing on a laptop could be heard from the living room, as well as the sound of a pencil on paper. It took quite a bit of time for someone to even acknowledge her presence, but when someone did, it was Navy who slipped out of the living room and into the kitchen.
“Sorry, Anna’s working right now. She’ll be back this afternoon, though.” Her voice was calm when she spoke this time, not overly friendly but not cold either. Her accent was strong, and she signed when she spoke, as if out of habit. “Feel free to help yourself to any food. We have bread for toast, jam, butter… peanut butter… some cereal, though admittedly it’s boring and kind of tastes like sawdust.” She smiled, then, a little. Not untrue, but it seemed like she was making an effort to be friendly at least.
“Eggs and milk and stuff too… we were worried about you. Anna especially. You know you slept an entire day? Bee thought you’d never wake up.” Speaking of, the little girl poked her head momentarily around the door frame from the living room, before giggling and slipping away again. The sounds of pencils on paper returned again. What a way to go, sleeping through your own death. It didn’t sound like the worst thing.
“I’m working today, too,” Navy added, gesturing vaguely toward the living room, where she presumably had a desk set up. “But feel free to bother me if you need to. I’m mostly in meetings all day, so it’s not really anything important. And we have a TV, if you wanna watch something… though Bee usually ends up having control over the remote.” With that comment, there was another sly little giggle from the girl, amused by her own power over the pretty picture box. By all accounts, they seemed like a loving family, even though Navy did have a tendency to come off as cold.
“Oh, and if you prefer to be outside, we have a pretty nice garden set up. There’s also paths to walk through the farmland right outside of our gate, just watch for foxes and hedgehogs… oh, and bundle up, because autumn is really hitting hard and the temperature has dropped significantly.” She was not the cruel thing she seemed to be when she was around Legion. She may not have been as affectionate as Anna, but she was motherly in her own way. She cared in her own way.
“Anyway…” she added, after a beat of awkward silence, before offering a gentle smile to Legacy, and retreating back to the living room. She wasn’t wrong. The temperature in the house felt at least ten degrees colder than it had two days prior. It seemed they kept their windows open for as long as they could stand it, until the cold was too much to bear. At least the English summers were mild, and letting the breeze in then was nice. It was nice now, too, if a little chilly.
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