Arcana's Path Ch. 02

"Then don't." Violet shrugged and began putting things away, "Go have your bath. Dinner should be ready by the time you're ready to get out."

Stalker wasn't the right term for the witch. Maybe more... Friendly tyrant.

---

Violet smiled to herself as she heard the happy squeal from the bathroom. The flower had really been a flower, but it wasn't a boring one. She'd picked it up from the Fae a while back.

When it hit the warm water, it would have blossomed and filled the entire room with floating rainbow sparkles, and a scent so beautiful that you could find yourself in tears.

When you actually got in the water with it, instant relaxation.

It was as close as Violet dared to get to massaging Rin. The woman was more stressed out than she would ever admit. Rin's thoughts were always a jumble of confusion, self-loathing, and anxiety.

The witch stepped back from the curry and rice, switching to magically stirring things and expertly controlling the heat. Biting her lip and wondering how much of a violation it would really be if Rin never found out.

Her mental image of a naked and happy Rin slipping into the water was breathtaking. It wasn't real, she wasn't that much of a pervert, but all the same it made her want to do stuff to herself.

She might not be about to make a move on Rin, but it didn't mean she didn't daydream about the brunette kneeling between her legs. Fantasize about grabbing Rin's hair as she came into her mouth.

Violet nodded and jumped up onto the edge of the counter, careful to keep one eye on the cooking as she pulled up her dress and shoved her hand down and into her panties.

She rubbed little circles around her clit, humming happily to herself. Rin wasn't just a cutie. When she stopped worrying and smiled, when her shoulders stopped drooping and she stood up tall, the woman was dropdead sexy.

The purple-eyed witch imagined that confident girl on her knees, smiling knowingly and giving little kisses to her out of control bush. Not touching her pussy, just teasing at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Violet flicked the softened garlic and ginger from the pan and into the rest of the light curry, and flicked her clit at the same time. Imagining Rin's tongue darting out for just a taste.

The witch growled to herself and pulled her hand out of her pants. As horny as she was feeling, it didn't feel right getting off over the woman, right now.

Felt like a violation of trust.

---

Kitty stared at the ceiling of the cheap hotel, at the stains from the smoke and water damage, and felt at home. Arcana was asleep, sprawled halfway across her and drooling on her chest, with a half-smile fixed in place.

She was feeling tired from the plane ride, the crash, and then the argument with Arcana's mother. She was also unable to relax fully, stop her mind from spiralling around how her world had changed.

She'd ridden dragons, seen demons explode, and eaten mythical creatures. Been teleported across the world and seen armies assembled to fight scary monsters.

Seemed like if she stayed with Arcana that it would be part of her regular life to see crazy shit. Her first instinct was to embrace it, to revel in how awesome fun her world would be.

But she also knew that sex and adrenaline alone weren't enough to keep a relationship together. That if she lost Arcana, she'd lose any right to walk in her world.

Was she just using Arcana?

Kitty hadn't ever felt the need to examine if she was exploiting a partner before. Thinking on whether they were using her, sure. That happened more often than she was really capable of admitting to herself.

Arcana's mother had got to her. Not that Kitty believed she was unworthy or any of that crap. It was the way the woman had kept calling her mundane, like it was some racist word. Their two worlds were segregated.

The way a demon had managed to feed off her for so long and she never even realised it... Was Kitty always going to be pathetic? She wasn't able to stick up for herself when any magic bastard could paralyse her with a thought.

Kitty had never felt so inadequate in her life. Ever.

She'd never really felt like she couldn't fight back before. You can always find a way to fight back. You might get your ass handed to you, but get in a good shot or two and you could still come out of it with a win.

Except, now that magic was real, now that gods and demons were real, it wasn't remotely true anymore.

It wasn't just that Arcana was her only doorway into this crazy fun world. It was that she simply could not exist here without the woman's permission and support.

It pissed her off, to be dependent.

So, Kitty spiralled. Unable to work out if she was using Arcana, or the woman was using her, or if there relationship ever had a shot in hell at succeeding.

---

Somehow, without the door opening, her clothes had vanished. Replaced by her pyjamas, a fluffy robe, and a cordless hair drier. Rin smiled as she got herself ready, heading out to the kitchen area whilst still drying her hair.

"Nearly ready!" Violet called, "Why don't you find us another movie?"

"Fine." Rin yawned as she headed over to the lounge space to find that her TV could magically stream movies and shows even though it wasn't a smart TV. She looked through a random selection and settled on a favourite TV comedy instead of a movie.

She was already giggling to it when Violet came over with their food, setting down two steaming bowls of curry, and another of extra rice. "Didn't know how spicy you like it. So, it might be a little less than you wanted."

Rin smiled at her, "Didn't cook it, I'm already in heaven."

"You like this one, huh?" Violet curled up beside her, as she began eating.

She shrugged, "Its funny. If you don't, we can find something else to watch."

"S'fine."

The two ate quietly, laughing along with the jokes, but mostly just sitting together. It felt strangely comforting, like she was a part of a family again.

Violet eventually picked up the bowls and headed over to wash them. Rin slid down the couch, both hands under her face as she settled in. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

Witches didn't make for terrible company.

Or maid service.

Rin felt herself beginning to nod off when Violet came back. The witch put a sundae down on the table in front, but also put a snuggly blanket over the top of her. Turning the dessert into an impossible choice.

Then, Violet sat up beside her, pulling her legs under her, and Rin heard the shuffle of pages as the witch went back to reading her book. "You get a sundae, too?"

"Not tonight. I ate too much." Violet replied distractedly.

Rin frowned, "Me too. Still want it. And you're in way better shape than I am. Running a cafe has more exercise than an office chair. You just made it so that moving was too tempting. Make me unsnuggle."

"Oh, nah. I cheat." Violet replied, "Using magic is like running a marathon. Burns off the energy quick. I'm not worried about my weight, I'm just full."

Rin rolled her eyes, "Lucky."

"Still as much effort as running a marathon, though."

She sat up slowly, pulling the blanket around her and picking up the glass that held the icecream and marshmallows. Rin looked at the comfortable witch and blinked as she realised they were now wearing pyjamas somehow. "Sounds hard. Doesn't stop you using it for everything."

Violet smiled without looking away from the book, "Might be habit forming, too. Like what you see?"

"When the hell did you get changed?"

She shrugged, "Dunno. It has pockets."

"Cute. So... Are you planning on sleeping on the couch...?" Rin swallowed nervously.

Violet shrugged, "Probably not. My bed's just a port away. Way more comfortable."

"You know that's not the problem I have with that. You're getting even more comfortable, here."

The witch yawned and turned a page, "Yeah, you still seem to think you have a choice in any of this. Isn't it cool to be able to get to and from work in five minutes?"

"Sleeping in would be nice... But porting? That is nauseating." Rin shuddered, "No bringing it up when I'm enjoying awesome ice cream. Which is me trying to remind you I'm not ungrateful. I just have limits."

Violet nodded, "So we can do the mirror thing in the morning. You've got a full length mirror somewhere, don't you?"

"My... Wardrobe..." She said slowly, and considered it carefully. She didn't really want to give the witch an excuse to enter her bedroom. Yet, being able to sleep in that much longer was amazing.

The witch put her book down, "Speaking of the morning, I figured you were bored of pancakes. I was thinking cinnamon toast and rice omelette. Any dietary issues or dislikes?"

"Bored? No." Rin replied quickly, "You make food taste amazing, somehow. All food. But that does sound nice. You buy eggs with today's groceries?"

"Nope. Have chickens." Violet smiled at her, "I have a cafe. Fresh ingredients is sort of my thing. Also, it is really fun with the whole witch stereotype when people find out. I always get at least one quick thought from them about cutting a chicken's head off before they get all embarrassed at themselves."

Rin laughed along with her at that, as well as realising just what a wide ranging world of teasing had been opened before her. She had been reaching for the wrong boring insults. Witchery was right there in front of her.

"Heard 'em all."

She pouted, "Heard the one about the overly attached witch who decided to be someone's mother-wife on a complete whim?"

"What was Shakespeare's three witch stereotypes?"

Rin scratched her head, "The ugly one, the cute one, and the fat one?"

"Eugh. Wow. Need to do something about your education." Violet shook her head, "Maiden, mother, and crone. Or, to translate it into more modern language. The girlfriend, the mother, and the wise ol' grandma."

She shrugged, "Okay..."

"It's actually older than that. Lots of people have taken to calling it the Triple-Goddess for... Bad reasons that they think have to do with history but really doesn't. Anyway, I got distract there..." Violet paused to reorganise her thoughts, "I'm your triple goddess. That's our relationship."

Rin shook her head, "Ya know, I do get along with you. We could have been actual friends, if you didn't choose to take the weirdest way possible to insert yourself into my life."

"Friend isn't one of the three options."

She sighed heavily, "So you really are interested in me, that way. Look, you are cute, but I just... Don't. I'm not into women. I don't mind the pancakes. I do mind that I think you're hoping to get a kiss out of it one day. Feels like using you."

"I admit that I would love that." Violet said sheepishly, "But I know it's completely unrequited. I've never been into a woman before, either. Don't know how it'd even work. But I'm not trying to seduce you. This... This is part of your problem."

Rin cocked her head, "Huh?"

"Your problem with me isn't that I might like you. It's that you don't think anyone even should like you in the first place. That one or both of you will get hurt because Rin Kisaki is some kind of reverse Midas with a bullshit touch." Violet said angrily.

She put down the remnants of her dessert, and took a deep breath. "You're... Not wrong. I do hate myself. I just don't get why you care. So, sue me for trying to work out your motivation."

"You're a waste, like this. I don't like it."

Rin shook her head, "Yes? I know I'm a waste of space. I still don't get it."

Violet slapped her.

Her ears rung and she blinked back tears, feeling her face swelling from the impact. She reached up in surprise and touched her cheek gingerly, "You... You hit me."

The witch glared at her, "If you don't matter, then it shouldn't matter if I did. If you do matter, maybe this will remind you to stop treating yourself like garbage. Or other people might treat you the same way."

"Get out."

Violet shook her head, "Nope."

"Get the fuck out of my house!" Rin screamed at her.

The witch grabbed her head forcefully, and then lightly kissed her cheek. She felt a shiver go down her spine as the swelling stopped, and then a crawling sensation as it began to reverse.

Violet shook her head, "You matter, Rin. You're not the Midas of shit. You're wasting yourself by not realising it. I'm never going to apologise for treating you well. And I won't let you drive me off just because I scared you by acknowledging it, either."

"You're leaving, because you fucking hit me." Rin seethed, "That's assault."

The witch shrugged, "I'll make you a deal. I'll leave, but if you cry and it's because you hate yourself, I'll be right back. Do I need to go anywhere?"

Rin wanted to punch her. She wanted to scream at her and hurt her. She also knew if she agreed to those terms that Violet would be back within less than five minutes. "I hate you."

"So, shut up, grow up, and take the hug I'm offering instead."

She ran to her room and slammed the door, before falling to the floor and bursting into tears.

---

"Ssh. You'll wake her." Arcana told off the small dragon wrapped around her shoulders with a furtive glance towards the exhausted and sweating woman lying in their bed among the twisted sheets.

Kitty's chest heaved, rising and falling. Mesmerising Arcana. It was fast and violent, but also somehow measured. Consistent. Almost like the stress of some of the bigger dragons as they geared up for a fight.

Sweat ran down the sides of her unmarred face. How could her face be so perfect, when Arcana had counted more than twenty scars across the rest of her body? She'd grazed the entire side of her body in road rash once, but not a mark on the beautiful face.

She didn't know what was going through Kitty's head, and right now she didn't want to know it. All she knew was that she had been woken up just before dawn by Kitty punching her in the face.

A couple hours later she'd found a half-starved baby dragon clinging to the eaves of the building, and been unable to help herself. She brought it inside, and fed it scraps of food and flame.

Now, it clung to her, purring and telling her over and over just how much it adored her. It was a greenscale, one of the more affectionate of breeds. Usually incapable of being trained to be a guard, because they'd end up loving anyone willing to give them a pat.

Most ended up as gliders for the witching community. Easy to raise, easy to train, and good natured. Not particularly good at long-distance flights, but in a city leaping roof to roof wasn't a big deal.

Whenever a litter was born, things tended to get out of hand. Greenscales usually gave birth to somewhere between ten and twenty at a time. Some witches were prepared enough to deal with it, but most weren't.

The kids scattered into the cities, trying to survive on scraps in the cold and wet places. Mostly keeping the wild cat populations down and at a barely tolerable rate. Few survived for more than a handful of years. Two or three.

Yet, a well cared for greenscale, in the hands of a decent witch, would live for somewhere north of fifty years.

Arcana leaned back, pouting.

She was in a mood, even though she was in one of her favourite places in the whole world. She was a quick ride away from some of the busiest and nerdiest shopping districts in the world. Full of the cutest plushies in the world.

She even had the mana to spare to slate the most voracious of appetites for cute things.

Like her own.

Instead, she found herself fretting and wondering about the woman she was tying herself to. She could feel it, a thirst like no other. A craving for Kitty's approval, her joy, her love.

Arcana didn't appreciate the way her mind was being twisted up. It felt more like a hex than it did an actual emotion.

She'd even checked, as best she could. Checked and failed to find anything at all. Even had a friend give her a once over before she picked Kitty up for their date.

The only option she had left, beyond continuing to ignore it, was to ask her mother for help. If there was a witch experienced at bloody hexes, it would be her.

Arcana was going to ignore it.

"Die!"

She glanced over with an intentionally blank face as Kitty finally woke up, screaming and threatening. The woman relaxed visibly, dropping a raised fist, and wiped her forehead and blew at her hair. "Well, shit."

Arcana smiled and popped a piece of fish into her mouth, "I ordered in. If you're interested."

"Ordered... Oh, right. God of dragons. Japan." Kitty yawned tiredly, and then walked over slowly and sat down across from her, "You love these short tables, don't ya?"

"Comfy." She shrugged, and held up a piece of food with her chopsticks, offering it.

Kitty ignored her, tossing a different one into her mouth with her fingers. Arcana glared at her before she ate the offering, herself. She struggled to keep the mad look on her face as it practically melted on her tongue.

The woman ran a hand through her hair, and sighed, "Sorry, I guess. I'm in a mood. Don't want to be touched, don't wanna touch. I just... Need some space."

"Nightmares were bad." Arcana shrugged glumly, "I guess I can understand it. I was just... This is my favourite place. Sorta. Akihabara was, but it'll take mum more than a day to rebuild and resurrect everyone. But, there's a ton of slightly less tourist-y places that are fun. But I get it."

Kitty looked at her with her scornful face.

Arcana shrugged, blinking sweetly, "I like cute stuff. Sue me."

"Nerd."

She grinned happily at the woman who seemed to have started softening up again. She looked at the sashimi spread, "Don't like fish?"

"Honestly, sort of craving a decent burger." Kitty shrugged, "Dunno why, really. Should be excited to be in another country, 'nother city. Even one that reminds me too much of dad. Mostly I just feel pissed."

"Burger?" She flicked her wrist to produce her wand and tapped the end of it to glow a soft white. She twisted it a couple times, and then an image of the city spread out in front of them in the air. "Few options. From the cheap fast food you're used to, all the way to a place pretending burgers are somehow gourmet food. Its a city. It has stuff."

Kitty glared, "Why are you being nice to me?"

"I like cute stuff." Arcana repeated, "Tap whatever you want. This is some kind of delivery network that runs here. Most of the witches here still ride broomsticks. Really weird. But they do love their traditions."

Kitty nodded slowly, "Speakin' o' weird. Are you wearing a dragon like a scarf?"

"Overly attached prat." Arcana complained, and tried to grab at its neck. The dragon deftly avoided her before swiping a piece of fish with a flick of its tail.

The woman laughed at her, "For an animal trainer, you never really seem to like ya pets."

"You'd struggle to get along if you could understand half the things they say." Arcana rolled her eyes.

Kitty screwed up her eyebrows, "You really can talk ta animals, then? Is that like, a magic thing? I mean, obviously. But... Like, everyone? You said somet'in' about learnin' magic at school. They teach ya to talk to cats at school?"

"Its a... Thing." She frowned, not sure how to explain it. "Um... No, not everyone can. But just because you can doesn't make it easy. You still have to learn the languages. Idioms and jokes and stuff are hard to translate. So you need both the talent, born with, and the skill, work your ass off."

Kitty smiled and tossed one of the fish pieces to the dragon. It grabbed it, and purred happily. Arcana flicked it in the nose, "Shuddup."

The woman frowned and stared at the map before finally choosing something she'd find familiar. "What did he say?"

"She. And she's a brat. Complained that you didn't give her the biggest piece, and asked for more." Arcana said and tried to dislodge the dragon from her shoulders again.