Fantasy the path to hearth-home [pegasus & bloody_death]

[zuzu]

It was a perfect night. There wasn't a cloud that could be seen, or a whisper of wind that could be heard. The stars twinkled brightly in the darkness above the sleeping cities and towns that slowly disappeared behind them, as they traveled through the sky.

A few hours had gone by since Luna had said goodbye to her family and departed from Venzor, the little town that most had never heard of, and it had been a rather uneventful ride so far. Such was normal. It was a tricky thing for a witch to pick her new home, and it required a lot of patience. Some cities and towns already had a witch living in them, and others weren't exactly welcoming.

Gemma, Luna's fluffy black cat with sparkling eyes that resembled round gems, appeared bored of the whole process already. He sat on the edge of Luna's broomstick, his tail dangling over the side of the wood, yawning every so often. He really wanted to curl up in a warm bed, but all of the cities and towns that they had passed over were either unsuitable, or already had witches in them. Just his luck...

"You know, the town we passed over an hour ago would have been fine," he complained, glancing over his shoulder at Luna. "What exactly are you looking for? Any place will work, right?"

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna hummed a bit to herself as she flew on her broomstick through the stary night. It was indeed one of the best night's she has ever seen, and if she wasn't flying on this broom stick she would totally be stargazing right now. She'd often glance down to see the current city they'd be flying over.

Luna honestly didn't think the trip was going to be this long. Sure, she knew it wasn't the closest city but who knew it'd take hours of flying to get there. Her saying goodbye to her family had already seem liked an eternity ago. She yawned boredly and glanced down at her small fluffy cat Gemma as she shook her head.

"It's not that simple Gemma." She huffed a bit moving her eyes back to the front. "We can't just pick any old city. First it has to be one with no other witch in it, and second it also has to be one who's willing to accept a witch in their community. The cities back there either already had witches or are known to not like or want a witch. Plus I also personally want a more smaller city to start with. And none of those are really by our home."

Luna sighed ever so slightly at her small cat's compliant. She was bored and tired too. But she had to keep pushing on! Surely the town can't be that much farther...right?

 

[zuzu]

Gemma sighed, and looked to the endless sky ahead of them again. "Is that so?" he murmured. Truthfully, he hadn't been paying much attention to the cities and towns, or anything really. That warm bed, and a bowel of milk were on his mind. He almost started purring at the mere thought.

"Well, we've been flying for hours now," he complained again, pausing briefly to yawn, "and it doesn't seem like we'll find a small town without another witch in it tonight. Don't you think we should find someplace to rest for a while?"

Just as Gemma said that, a drop of water fell from the sky and landed on his head. He glanced up to see what it had been, only to let out a startled meow as rain began to fall upon them. "OK! Now we really have to get out of the sky!" he yelled over the violent sound of rain.

The wind slowly started to pick up, and Gemma unsheathed his claws, attempting to hold onto the broomstick tighter.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna sighed a bit at the small cat. "I really don't want to fly for two days in a row searching for a town. If we don't find one in the next few hours then we can take a break-"

Luna stopped mid-sentence after feeling a few drops of rain fall from the sky. "Not good." She said quickly as she watched he Gemma panic for a moment before quickly descending and making her way for the nearest shelter.

The wind made it hard for Luna to control the broom making the ride really bumpy. "Sorry about this Gemma, just try to hold on okay?" She started flying down even faster till they were only a few feet off the ground as she looked around for any nearby houses or shelters.

"Do you see any place we can stop at Gemma?"

 

[zuzu]

"Easier said than done!" Gemma meowed loudly, as he slowly lowered his body so that his stomach was pressed against the broomstick, and his little arms and legs were wrapped around it. He was barely holding on, and water was getting in his eyes. He hated water. "I can't see anything!"

Below them there seemed to only be trees. The cities and towns that they had previously passed over were far behind them. It looked like, if they didn't want to fly through this storm, they would be sleeping in the bushes with all of the wildlife.

"Hey down there!" a voice suddenly pierced through the rain.

Looking up, Gemma spotted a girl flying on her own broomstick. She appeared to be a few years older than Luna, and had short black hair. Her bright green eyes seemed almost excited, despite the weather.

Skillfully, she flew down so that she was flying next to Luna. "This storm came out of nowhere, huh? Funny how the weather works," she chuckled slightly. "I'm Alice! You need someplace to stay for the night?"

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna lookes down apologetically at Gemma before quickly looking forward again trying to spot anything but trees through this heavy rain. "If I knew it was gonna rain like this I would've stopped hours ago." She spoke outloud in a but of an irritated tone.

All of a sudden Luna heard a voice echo through the forest and looked up to see another witch fly down to her. Luna stared at her for a moment noticing her oddly happy expression as she introduced herself.

"It is kind of funny how weather works." She stated plainly. "I just wish it wouldn't have surprised us with storms." She sighed a bit. "Anyway my name's Luna. And this is Gemma." She motioned to the him before nodding.

"And we definitely could use a place to stay for a while if you know of one." Luna wiped the water out her eyes and slightly covered them so they won't get wet again.

 

[zuzu]

"Yes, yes, anywhere is fine!" Gemma said quickly in response to Alice's question. He was completely drenched now, and shivering.

"Nice to meet you, Luna! And Gemma!" Alice's voice was just loud enough to be heard over the rain. "This is Sooty." As she said that, a short-haired black cat with green eyes peeked out of the girl's bag to stare at Luna and Gemma for a moment, before disappearing back into the bag, again. "I'm visiting my grandmother for a week! She has a cottage not far from here. Follow me, and try to keep up!"

Then, she dove down into the forest. She skillfully dodged the trees, and laughed whenever she just barely missed flying into a thick trunk or some branches. Eventually, a quaint little cottage could be seen in the distance. Alice slowed down as they approached it.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna smiled and gave a small wave to the cat before nodding at Alice. "And alright, lead the way Alice. We'll be right behind you." Luna watched Alice dive into the trees and quickly followed after her trying to not crash into a tree. "How is she having so much fun...?" Luna asked to herself.

As Luna followed after her, there were a few too close for comfort calls. But Luna managed to stick fairly close behind her. Despite almost crashing into several trees. "Oh! I think I see the cottage Gemma." She pointed to the cottage just ahead of them as she slowly got close to it ready to go inside.

 

[zuzu]

Gemma squinted, barely able to see the cottage with all of the rain that was getting in his eyes. "That's great. Just get to it already," he muttered, his voice trembling.

Alice slowly lowered herself down in front of the cottage, her feet hitting the ground. She held her broomstick at her side, and glanced over her shoulder at Luna and Gemma with a smile unfazed by the weather. "Here we are! It's pretty small, but it'll do," she chirped, before stepping forward to unlock the door with a key that she had pulled out of her pocket. It swung open with a creak, and Alice beckoned them inside. "Come in. Make yourselves at home. But try to be quiet, my grandmother's probably asleep by now."

The cottage was indeed small, but it exuded warmth. A fire blazed in the old fireplace in the corner, and several armchairs had been placed in front of it. A tiny, charming kitchen was also in the room, with a table and chairs near it. There was a staircase that led up to a second floor, as well.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna happily landed infront of the cottage and picked up Gemma before getting off her broom and looking at Alice. "This is more than enough space." She tried to smile past the shivering she was doing. Her eyes lit up as she opened the door and Luna quickly walked in completely soaked before putting Gemma on the ground.

Luna took off her hat and sat it to the side with her broomstick before wiping off her glasses. "Thank you Alice, and we'll stay quiet." She put her glasses back on and adjusting them before looking around the cottage. "I'm going to head to the kitchen and try to ring out my hair."

Luna made her way to the kitchen and stood by the sink as she began ringing all the water that was caught in it. She then made her way to the fireplace and sat in front of it before motioning for Gemma to come over to sit with her so they could both warm up. "Um, do you happen to know if there are any spare towels we could use Alice?" She turned her head to face the other witch.

 

[zuzu]

Gemma immediately shook his body to rid himself of as much water as he possibly could. He even brushed against the furniture when Alice wasn't looking.

Alice, meanwhile, closed the door behind her, and rested her broomstick against the wall, before hanging her hat on it. Then, she kicked off her shoes, pulled her jacket off, and placed her bag on the floor. Now that they were out of the storm it was more noticeable how tall Alice was. She also had a nice figure.

Once he was as dry as he could possibly get, Gemma padded over to the fireplace, and sat down next to Luna. He purred as the flames warmed his shivering body up.

"Yeah! I'll go get some now!" Alice said with a nod, in response to Luna's question. "You two just sit tight." She then turned on her heel, and bounded up the staircase, disappearing on the second floor.

Gemma glanced at Luna. "She looks a few years older than you. She's probably already left home and found her own town to live in. Maybe she'd be able to tell you if there are any small towns without any witches in them around here," he suggested with a tiny shrug.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna watched Alice run up the stairs before sighing and turning back to the fire. Today had not gone the way she was hoping for. Instead of finding a new temporary home, they were grounded by a storm. She looked down at Gemma and rubbed his head while nodding.

"You're probably right. Having at least some clue for what we're looking for, is much better than flying around aimlessly for another day." Luna looked back up the stairs to see if she was coming back soon. "I'll ask her when she gets back then." She smiled feeling a bit better after sitting in front of the fire for a while.

 

[zuzu]

Gemma purred, leaning into Luna's touch. "Good," he murmured, before curling up next to her. "Because I don't want to get caught in another storm tomorrow."

A few moments later, Alice emerged from the cottage's second floor, holding two towels. She walked over to where Luna and Gemma sat, a spring in her step, and handed Luna the towels. "Here you are," she said, before glancing over her shoulder at the kitchen in thought. "I'll make us some tea. You like tea, right?"

She turned on her heel, and sauntered over to the kitchen. The rain was still pounding against the roof, and there was a rumbling sound that must have been thunder. Alice opened one of the kitchen's cupboards, and pulled out a kettle. "So, did you just leave home? For the first time?" she asked curiously.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna laughed a bit and nodded at Gemma. "I don't either, though I hope the storm doesn't contuine into the morning. I'd hate to overstay our welcome here." Just as she said that, she heard Alice coming down the stairs with the towels before handing them to her. "Ah, thank you!" She chirped before placing a towel over Gemma and wrapping herself in the other.

"Tea actually sounds really good right now." Luna turned a bit to face the kitchen and nodded. "And yes, we actually just left home this morning. And had been flying around most of the day." She sighed a bit triedly before perking up. "Do you know of any good towns we could go to?"

 

[zuzu]

Alice began to flit about the kitchen as she prepared the tea. Every so often she would hum slightly. The weather hadn't dampened her mood at all, it seemed. "I remember when I left home for the first time. It hailed! This is nothing," she chuckled, and gestured out of the window. The rain seemed to have sped up. It would have been nice to listen to, if they hadn't just been soaked by it. "I settled in Castle Combe. It's a really tiny village not too far from here. It's not the bustling city I used to live in, but I've grown to like it."

She paused to pull two teacups out of the cupboard, then said: "Lucky for you, I run a delivery service, so I go to lots of different places." She turned to face Luna, and leaned against the counter. "What are you looking for? A city, or a small town? Someplace by the ocean, or in the countryside? What kind of atmosphere do you like? I'm sure I could think of something for you."

Gemma nuzzled into the towel, and purred. His tail swished back and forth against the carpet.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna stared at Alice a bit shocked. Flying around in hail? Luna could barely fly around in the rain let alone hail. She glanced out the window seeing and hearing that the rain had seemed to pick up, almost making it seem like they were lucky even if they all still got completely soaked. "Castle Combe sounds like a great little village." She laughed a bit. After being bombarded with a whole bunch of questions about her ideal town, Luna thought for a moment before speaking.

"I'd definitely want to settle in a small village, much like yours, rather than a big city. I don't think I'd be able to live comfortably in a big place crowded with people. I'd also much rather live in a village within the forest. I am not a huge fan of any beaches, oceans, or any types of water. The most I'll be happy with is maybe a few rivers and streams here and there. As for the atmosphere, maybe a more in tune with nature one that's kind of relaxing?" Luna let out a confused laugh thinking she might have said something that didn't make sense.

 

[zuzu]

Alice nodded as Luna spoke, a thoughtful look on her face. "Well..." she began, "there's a few you could go to. Near here is Shaftesbury. It's in the countryside. Really scenic. It's small, but not the smallest you could find. A few thousand people, I'd say. But if you're looking for green, it's the place to be. There's also Little Eaton. As the name suggests, it's little, and old. Robin Hood's Bay is nice, too. It's quite far away, but there's a train that can take you there. It's a bay, though, so... water. Obviously," she chuckled, and shrugged.

"I think one of those would be good for you, and I'm pretty sure there's no witches in any of them. I've traveled to each of them a few times on business, and I've never heard or seen one." She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes lighting up slightly. "Oh! The tea's ready! What do you like in yours? Sugar? Milk?"

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna gazed at the fire as Alice told her about the three different villages. Shaftesbury definitely sounded nice, but even just a couple thousand people seemed too many to her. Little Eaton sounded more like the size of people she wanted, but it being old threw her off a bit. And lastly Robin Hood's Bay. Where the only thing wrong with was that it was a bay with water.

Luna sighed a bit and looked at Gemma who seemed to be enjoying himself a bit more. "Which town sounds nice to you Gemma?" She asked before quickly turning back to Alice however, once she heard the tea was ready. "I'd like milk in my tea." She said with a smile as she went back to thinking about the mentioned towns.

 

[zuzu]

Gemma let out a groan, and nuzzled further into the towel. He had been falling asleep, and wasn't pleased about being woken up. "Whatever one's nearer," he mumbled.

Alice chuckled slightly at Gemma's words, as she finished preparing the tea. A moment later, she walked over to where Luna and Gemma sat, handing her the warm cup. "Here you are. Oh! And I'll get some milk for the little guy. Sooty's probably hungry, too." Then, she placed her own cup of tea on the small table beside one of the armchairs, and skipped over to where she had left her bag when she had entered. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead!"

Two tired green eyes peeked out from the bag, before a paw slowly but surely stepped out.

Alice turned on her heel, and walked back toward the kitchen. "Well, if you aren't sure about any of those, then I can think of a few more... How about Bibury? It's a charming town in the countryside. Tiny. Definitely under a thousand people. There's plenty of plant life, but not dense forests. Or maybe Hawkshead. It has a thousand or two people, I'd say. If you're looking for forests, it has quite a few. Lakes, too. But it would take you a while to get there. Flying there was a nightmare," she explained, as she poured milk into two saucers. "I'm running out of small towns near that don't have witches in them, though, so you might have to compromise. "

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna looked up at the teacup and smiled before taking it. "Thank you." She said quickly before blowing on her tea slightly and taking a sip. "I think you've listed plenty of good towns. So I'll pick from the ones you've listed." Luna stared at the fire and she contuined to sip her tea. They all sounded nice and fairly close, besides Hawkshead.

Out of all the towns listed, the one's that stood out the most to her had to be Robin Hood's Bay, mainly because of the train ride, and Bitbury, because of it being small and connected to nature a bit. She's not really a fan of the country side however. After much internal debate, Luna ultimately decided on Robin Hood's Bay. Even if it's a bit far, they'll only have to travel by air to the train station and the rest is the train.

"I've decided." She spoke quietly as she came close to emptying her tea cup. "They all sound like nice places, but I wanna try out Robin Hood's Bay. Even if there's water, the fact that we can just ride a train over instead of flying is just enough to pull me towards that town." She smiled and finished her tea, finally feeling warned up.

 

[zuzu]

Alice walked back over to Luna and Gemma, and placed the saucers of milk next to them. Gemma must have smelled the milk, because his head popped up from inside the towel. He purred, and shifted slightly so that he could lap up the liquid. It didn't take Sooty long to join him. The two of them seemed to be in heaven.

"That's a good choice. There was a lot of work there when I visited, and the people are really friendly," Alice said with a smile, as she sat down in the armchair. She took a few sips of her tea, then asked: "Do you have any idea what your skill might be? You have lots of time, but it's good to give it some thought. The sooner you figure it out, the sooner you can make a living off of it."

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna watched the two cats with a giggle as they happily drank their milks. Luna sat her tea cup on the ground and yawned a bit as she turned around to face Alice while stretching out her arms a bit. "That's good then. It makes me excited just thinking about going over there." She smiled a bit and rubbed her head.

"I don't know what my skill could be yet..." She started off slowly with a sigh. "But I wanted to try learning enchanting or potion making. They're both things I've always been interested in!" Luna let a smile form on her face. "What's your skill? If you don't mind me asking. I know you run a delivery service, so does it have something to do with traveling?"

 

[zuzu]

"Sounds good. People will pay a lot of money for either," Alice said, nodding her head.

When Luna asked her what her skill was, her eyes lit up. "Yeah, it does have to do with traveling. I'm the fastest broom in England. Well, that's what I've been told. I don't mean to boast. Flying to different towns and cities is no problem for me, no matter how far away they are, and what the weather's like. I started just delivering in Castle Combe, but eventually people wanted me to delivery to other cities and towns, and when I would fly to those places people would be so impressed by how fast I got there that they'd ask me to delivery things elsewhere too, so it's kind of all over the place now." The way Alice spoke about her skill gave off the impression that she was very passionate about it, and quite confident.

After a few moments of drinking, both Gemma and Sooty curled up next to the fire, seeming quite content.

 

[Bloody_Death]

Luna smiled as she listened to Alice talk about her skill. "That makes sense though then! I've never seen anyone fly through a storm so easily. I could barely keep my broomstick from flying out of control." Luna let out a small laugh as she scratched her head. "Maybe I could get a few pointers one day? I've never been the best at flying a broom."

Luna smiled to herself, remembering how long Luna and her mother would spend outside just trying to get the broom off the ground. She then frowned remembering how her older brother would always tease her about it.

 

[zuzu]

Alice tipped her head back slightly, and laughed. "You weren't that bad," she said, a teasing smile playing about her lips. "But, yeah, sure! I could totally give you some pointers. Maybe I'll visit you in Robin Hood's Bay one day. I'm sure I'll be asked to deliver something there one day, or maybe I'll just take a trip. Hopefully by then you'll be an established witch!"

Then, she glanced at the clock, her eyes widening slightly. "It's pretty late. You tired?" she asked, although it didn't really seem like she was.