Arcana's Path Ch. 03

She jerked back their head by the silky black hair, "Raven. Seems you and I need to have a fucking talk."

"You're dead, witch." The Council member snarled at her.

Violet rolled her eyes, "No shit. But that's by my hand, not yours. Not even you and yours. Now, if you ever come after Sam or Sara again, Raven, I will ruin you. I don't mean kill. And it won't be a managuise dogging your footsteps, either."

"You threatening me, you fucking little hedgewitch!?"

She dragged the woman upright, and glared into her eyes, "Mother dearest, who knows my name, and knows my plight, see what I see, and pass judgement upon her."

Raven's face began an absolute white of horror, of an indescribable fear. "No... No! No! How do... How can you cast that spell!? You're an outcast! A criminal! You don't sit on the Council!"

"The judgement of the gods isn't reserved for you and yours." Violet sneered and let go of the woman, "Now, believe me when I swear by heaven, earth and the underworld that I will do worse to you if you ever hurt my friends again."

The woman collapsed sobbing to the ground, staring at her hands as the spark of magic left her. As the gods found her unworthy of the gift that she had been born with.

Violet turned and reappeared in her home. She swayed for a moment and then found herself on the ground, her ears ringing. She winced, feeling her face swelling and distant voices.

Everything felt dull.

She'd overdone it.

Overcooked.

---

"I smell soup." Violet mumbled, and opened her eyes slowly. She pushed herself up in bed, though she didn't have far to go. Someone had put her pillows under her already, and tucked her in.

A bright but battered face looked in on her, "Oh thank God! You're okay. You had us worried there, passing out. Sam wanted to call an ambulance, but I remembered Tim telling us it was a witch thing or something. I didn't know what to do, really."

She smiled tiredly, "Just fatigue."

"You bled from your nose, eyes and mouth. That is not fatigue, and I am not stupid." Sara snapped and then shrugged, "But that's your business. I made chicken soup. My mum's recipe. Always made me feel better when I was sick. How's your stomach?"

"Growling." Violet smiled, "But first, come here a second."

Sara walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, crushing her hand in a frightened grip. "Yeah?"

She leaned forward and surprised the woman with a kiss to the cheek. Violet giggled as she went red, "Don't misread it. Doesn't mean anything at all. Just something I meant to do before I... Feinted."

Sara touched her face gently as the swelling and bruising faded, "Oh my God. Holy shit. You really are crazy magical, aren't you?"

"Just a witch. Not crazy. That's Raven." Violet joked, and then winced, "Ow. Shouldn't laugh. I must have hit the ground hard."

The waitress shook off the shock, "Sam wasn't exactly gentle getting you to bed. He was still out of it, but I'm too weak."

"You're not weak." Violet snapped, "You have never been weak, Sara. You will be happy to hear, however, there will be no more reprisals. Raven might have been powerful, but I went over her head. There's always a higher authority. They took a look at the evidence and... Well, she's been sentenced."

Sara winced, "I should feel happier about that, right?"

"Not today, not tomorrow." Violet shook her head, "Right now, all you need to care about is getting your head straight. Someone violated you. Hurt you, in your home. You can stay here for now, if you like. I've got a spare room."

The waitress stood up, "Just a minute. Soup. Don't want my chef criticising my skills."

The woman walked away, and Violet nearly collapsed. She really was feeling weaker than she should have been. She must have nearly burned out everything she had, doing all those jumps in a row. Then calling on the gods.

All the skill in the world didn't help when you didn't have the power to back it up.

Sara came back with soup, and boyfriend. He was quiet, and demure. She could hear his frantic thoughts screaming out his utter terror. He knew exactly who Raven was.

Violet took the tray of food thankfully, and broke off a piece of bread to dip in the hot liquid. "Raven's been excommunicated, Sam."

He looked up blankly, "Ex... What now?"

"You remember what it means." Violet shrugged and began eating, "Sara, your mum knew what she was doing. I love it. Also the talented woman who made it. Maybe I should get you in the kitchen more."

"No." Sara said quickly, "Run off my feet as-is, thank you all the same. Tease."

"She's... Not coming back, then." Sam figured it out.

Violet shook her head, "Nope. Wow, I do feel like trash. Um... There's some pills in the cupboard to the top left of my stove. Mind getting me something for a headache?"

Sam wandered off, and the witch dropped onto her pillows and sniffled. She cringed, and reached for the box of tissues beside her bed. Sara snatched them before she could and dabbed at her nose, "Still telling me that you're not sick?"

"If you're going to stay here, you should know, I suppose." Violet took a deep breath, "I'm not sick, Sara. Not anymore. But I was. I was hospitalised last year, an accident with a student. At first, everyone thought I was lucky to survive. Turns out, not that lucky."

The waitress breathed in sharply, "Are you dying, Violet?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath, "There's no softening that blow. I'm not sick anymore, but... Damage done. Part of me, an organ, was damaged beyond repair. No one can do much about it, except try and make me feel comfortable. All I want... Is to make people smile. So... Don't go telling the others, please? I don't want anyone's pity."

Sara burst into tears and hugged her, "You suck, Violet."

She laughed weakly and held the woman, stroking her head and gently pulling apart the threads of depression trying to seize her heart. It was difficult magic, but she'd be damned if she was going to let Raven ruin Sara's life.

Defusing trauma was one thing Violet was exceptionally experienced at.

Sara took a breath and leaned back, "A student? Were you looking to replace Tim, then? Kitchen accident?"

"Oh, no." Violet chuckled, "I used to teach at... Well... A magic school. More like a university, really. That's why I used to leave the cafe at midday, to go over there."

"Wait, this accident... You had a cold for three weeks. Are you telling me you were basically in some kind of full body cast whilst we were joking that your immune system must suck?" Sara said accusingly.

She shrugged, "Not a cast. I didn't break a single bone. I did singe my hair, but... No burns, really. Just the bad luck of internal damage."

"You lied to us." Sara said in confusion, "About something so serious. How could you do that?"

"If I had told you, would you have wanted to visit?"

Sara shrugged, "Probably."

"Not a hospital. Like a hospital." Violet sighed, "How was I supposed to tell you that I was somewhere that people like you can't actually go? You would have just got mad at me for seemingly wanting to tough it out on my own."

The waitress glumly agreed, "But... You did have visitors, right?"

Police, lawyers, paparazzi and journalists aplenty. Yet that wasn't something that Violet was going to tell her about. She shrugged, "One or two."

"Liar." Sara glared, "So you ended up on your own, anyway. I... I hate magic, I think. Hate what it does to people."

"Sam's with you." Violet smiled at the shadow in the doorway, "Find 'em?"

He handed her two pills and a glass of water. She swallowed them quickly, but not quickly enough. Sara had noticed they looked weird. She glared not at Violet, but her boyfriend.

He buckled under that gaze, but no one could blame him. "They're magic medicine, best I remember. Raven used to make something like it for the old people's home. No idea what they do."

"They shrink an organ I have, and you don't." Violet explained tiredly, about ready to go back to sleep. "Think of it like... Reducing swelling to the brain. Reduce the nosebleeds."

Sara saw the exhaustion and moved the tray to her bedside, "Okay. That's enough questions from your irate friend. And I am your friend, Violet. Especially after this. I'll see you when you're feeling a bit better."

"Just a minute." She yawned and reached into her bedside table to pull out a menu card.

The waitress laughed when she saw it, "Your local pizza place give you a frequent customer discount?"

"Something like that. The website is a bit weird to reach, not listed. But I have an account, so get what you want on it. Don't worry about the costs, really." She held out the card with the instructions on the back.

Truth was, Violet didn't pay anything at all. The owner was someone who was so far indebted to her that he hadn't seen a way to ever pay her back. The deal was for pizza whenever she wanted, for the rest of her life.

She felt guilty taking advantage of it, sometimes.

But mostly not, considering she'd saved the little shit from burning eternally in hellfire.

Violet's door clicked shut quietly, and she fell asleep.

---

Waking up was not a pleasant experience. She could already feel that she'd bled all over her pillow before she even opened her eyes. Her hair clung together and to the bed, a crusty mess.

Violet sat up slowly, feeling dehydrated and even more exhausted than when she'd fallen asleep. She kicked her feet out of the bed and into her bunny slippers, and dragged pillow and sheet behind her to the laundry, tossing them in and turning on the machine, before heading to the shower.

She paused in front of the bathroom as she heard the water running, and laughter, and only then remembered she had house guests. Who had both recently gone through a trauma.

Human nature.

She crept back the other way, and paused in her kitchen, not knowing what to do. She really didn't want anyone to see her this way. But she only really could think of one person she could call... But she'd agreed to never speak to them again.

She cringed and fetched her phone from her bedroom and sent off a timid text message, apologising and begging a favour.

The phone rang immediately, which shocked the hell out of her.

Violet answered timidly, "H... Hi."

"What the hell do you want?"

She cringed, "Um... I need a shower. I'm sorry, but there's a roommate in mine, and I really need it and... I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything and you wouldn't have to see me and -"

"Oh, stop it." Rin said tiredly, "You already apologised. At least this time you have the balls to say it to me. Come on by, witch stalker."

With that, the phone hung up.

Seemed that Rin wasn't exactly in a good mood, but that she was going to be even more pissed if she didn't get to talk to Violet in person. Should have seen that one coming.

She took a deep breath, walked over to one of her windows and tapped her reflection. She walked through the glass and the dark hallway to emerge directly into the bathroom.

Rin was sitting on the edge of the bath, running the water, when she arrived.

Violet squeaked in surprise and tried to turn her head so that the woman wouldn't see. "Y... You didn't have to..."

"I felt like it. So I did it." Rin said stubbornly, "Now, what are you hiding there? Did some asshole hit you?"

She sighed and turned her head back, revealing the scabby blood covering half her face and hair. "Not... Exactly. Nobody did this to me. It isn't as bad as it looks! Just like, a nosebleed."

"The. Fuck." Rin swore, "Do you need a transfusion? Or did you pop a vampire whilst it was eating you?"

Violet couldn't help but giggle at the imagery. Then her face fell again and she stared at the ground. "I am sorry. About everything. I... Tried too hard. The wrong way. I do everything the wrong fucking way."

"Shuddup." Rin sighed heavily and stepped over to her, taking her hand gently, "I'm not saying I forgive you, because I don't. But I am saying you don't have to carve yourself out of my life. You inserted yourself too well for that. I spent all of yesterday crying because of you. So shuddup some more, and get in the bath."

Violet smiled sheepishly, "Privacy?"

"Nope." Rin glared at her, "You have a habit of disappearing. I don't like that, and we do need to talk. So whilst you can't run, we will."

She sighed and slipped out of her pyjamas, going bright red as she realised she was in her birthday suit in front of her crush. She hopped into the tub quickly, hiding beneath bubbles, and then scrubbed quickly at her face with the hot water.

Rin reached over her to turn the tap off, "I get why you hit me. I was probably reminding you a bit much of yourself, right? But it's still my choice, Violet. I get to treat me like crap. You don't have to like it, but I'm still me. It isn't changing."

"Life is worth more than that, Rin." Violet said sadly, trying not to burst into tears. "I... I said my roommate was in the shower? She only moved in yesterday. One of my waitresses. Her husband's ex beat the living daylights out of her. She still thinks more of herself than you do. Life is shorter than you know."

The woman sat down beside the tub, leaning on the edge and watching her with her intense gaze. "Life is shorter than I know, huh? Figured you might come out with some nonsense like that."

Violet paused, her hands full of soapy hair, "... Why?"

"'Cos Chelsea came to see me. She's worried about you."

The witch's head dropped heavily, "That fucking little wench. I told her to stay the hell out of it."

"Wow. That was angry." Rin said in surprise.

Violet nodded firmly, "Chelsea is dangerous, Rin. She doesn't mean to be, but she's like a truck accident waiting to happen. A bomb about to go off. She's not supposed to leave her house. She could have killed you. That, and... Well, it'll be hypocritical coming from me."

"A violation of your privacy?"

She shrugged, "One standard for me, another for you?"

"Chelsea is worried about you." Rin repeated, "She told me a few things about that accident of yours. The one you didn't want to talk about because it was personal. You tried to save a kid's life after his spell rebounded. Saved everyone else in the classroom, the way Chelsea told it."

Violet shrugged, "Didn't save him. Convicted of manslaughter for it, by the way. Reckless endangerment, too. And a whole heap of others."

"Which is bullshit." Rin swore, "Why do they all call you Violent? I've never seen that side of you."

"You won't. Not if I can help it." She swallowed, her mouth going dry, "But... I get angry, Rin. You saw it. I hit you. I might have meant to do the right thing, but I still hit you. Which is... I'm not good with people. I'm a right asshole."

She blinked as Rin slapped her lightly, "And now we're even. Don't you dare talk about yourself that way. You're better than that. Life is too short. Or didn't risking your life to save that kid teach you that?"

"Aw, fuck."

Rin cocked her head adorably, "What?"

"I..." She hesitated, not wanting to, but knowing that Rin deserved to hear it more than anyone else. "I'm not having that conversation in the bath tub. Um... This is a huge ask, but can you get any time off work?"

"Already quit my job." Rin replied quietly, "Like I said. I spent all of yesterday crying."

Violet's head jerked around and she stared in horror, "I made you... Want to... Aw, fuck. Shit. No."

The woman rubbed her on the head gently, "Nearly. But Chelsea turned up. Just like you. Made me jump halfway across the room, too. Almost thought I was cursed into having a witch harem for a minute there. She had her hand in her panties."

"Rin, you were going to... Kill yourself." Violet's eyes welled up, "Because of me."

"No, I wasn't." She shook her head and giving a small smile, "You're not quite that important. But... Because you made me realise how shit my life was by showing me how much better it was, with you.... And me not having the balls to simply walk into your cafe and ask to see you. Not even one last time. I was... Going to run away. Start a new life."

Soap suds and water went everywhere as she grabbed the woman in a hug, and the two of them cried silently, together, for different reasons.

How on earth could Violet tell her, now?

---

Arcana had started out a few days ago not liking the taste, but liking the reaction. Now, she could feel her own pussy quivering with excitement as the salty taste of Kitty hit her tongue. It still wasn't a pleasant taste, but she knew she was going to get addicted to it.

"Faster." Kitty said breathlessly.

She glared, "I'm not you. Sex goddess."

The woman grinned and put a hand on her head as she went back down, "Doin' fine."

Arcana rolled her eyes, knowing that her girlfriend was just being charitable. Getting Kitty off without kissing her tar-flavoured mouth was going to wear out the trainer's mouth. The biker needed things hard and fast, and Arcana hadn't thought that maybe she should pick up some toys until just that moment.

She did have a couple spells that Kina had taught her, but she'd never practiced any of them. Wasn't like Arcana had ever expected to need any sex magic. There was also the one that Ardet-lili had taught her, but it had creepy requirements. So Arcana couldn't use magic to cheat.

She shifted her position, so she could keep lapping at the woman and also introduce a hand. Slipping a finger inside caused Kitty to groan, and Arcana immediately found what she was looking for. The sensitive spot inside that Kitty had shown her last time.

The walls of Kitty's vagina rolled and squeezed briefly the instant she touched it. Arcana quickly started making come-here motions, curling and stroking at it as she licked the slit that was starting to flow freely. Kitty's precum spilling over the top of Arcana's hand.

"Mmm. Fuck yeah. That's it."

Arcana didn't know if that meant she was doing things exactly right, and shouldn't change a thing, or if it meant she was just finally giving Kitty something that she liked, but needed to pick up the pace if she wanted her to cum this century.

Kitty spread her legs a little wider, and lifted her hips a little, "Mm. That's it. Fuck! Nothing like... Sex after... A decent fight. Mm."

The trainer pretended what Kitty had just said wasn't a massive turn-off, and tried to speed up the stroking of her hand, even though she could feel the muscles starting to complain that they were getting tired.

"You're... Gettin' better." Kitty groaned, "Just a bit... Deeper."

Arcana glared but pushed her chin into Kitty to try and get her tongue deeper into the woman. She was instantly rewarded by Kitty's legs closing tightly around her head.

"Fuuuck! That's the bitch! Don't... Change a... Fuckin' thing!"

She couldn't breathe that well through her nose, nuzzled as it was into a blonde and out of control bush. The legs tightly locked around her head were also way too strong to let her move at all.

Arcana focused hard on giving Kitty exactly what she wanted, but she'd never been that great at holding her breath. Her hand hurt, and one of her eyes felt like it was burning.

She heard Kitty's toes crack, and wondered which god she should pray to if she didn't want to be completely embarassed about begging a divine to help her get her girlfriend off. Technically, her mother was the usual sex goddess, but that didn't sound wise.

"Arcana!" Kitty said loudly, making her own grin despite herself, "Shiiit. Nearly... There."

The ache started to spread through the side of her jaw, and Arcana seriously doubted that she could make it. Kitty's hand hit the bed loudly, screwing up and yanking on the sheets.

She felt her knuckle click at the repetitive motion as it noisily played inside the dripping snatch of her girlfriend. The tunnel beginning to hug her hand tightly as the spasms got faster and faster, tighter and tighter.