— a. device

"East by South, by West by southwest . . . west-southwest . . . got you . . ."  The witch continued, only for a few moments more, before realizing that someone had set foot on the property. Now she’s going to have to start the ritual all over again . . .

“ You see, Agnes was the worst prophet that's ever existed. Because she was always right. That's why the book never sold. ”

     NEWT HAD BEEN TOO INVESTED  in a book  labeled supernatural phenomena to really pay attention to anything else around him. and — it’s not as he would, either. respectfully, when anathema spoke to her mother, newt always just  ( rightfully ) left her alone. but he closes the book, becoming bored with the contents ( he’ll say, at least. the supernatural had fucked up shit, )  newt .. can’t imagine the conversation taking place literal feet behind him. they averted the apocalypse, for now, and anathema still hasn’t returned home. though, he couldn’t imagine it was worse  than his own mother, worried as she is, calling. ( though, why should people complain about someone caring ? )

  newt hopes it doesn’t appear like he’s waiting on her. instead, he removes his glasses and sets them aside on the nightstand. newt has sometimes, often wondered why he hasn’t returned home , either. suppose it had subconsciously been a shared thought between the two of them. Newt asks questions when he has thoughts like such, but this time, he’s unsure of the answer.

anathema exhales, almost a relieved sigh. worse turmoil than having stopped the apocalypse, it seems staying in tadfield and not returning home was a far more risky feat. never mind the fact that they had burned agnes nutter’s second book of predictions, and anathema still hasn’t had the heart to tell her about it. she and newt had already decided, together, that the future won’t be commanded by some book. doesn’t mean it still won’t be commanded by her mother. 

thoughts, worry, stress melt away when she remembers isolating herself on the roof. there’s a warm glow from the bedroom window, still. she’s already forgotten how long she’s been outside. the young woman slides herself down, descends slowly and back through their bedroom window. she’s not surprised to find newt still awake, probably having buried himself in a book the entire time anyway. either way, it’s a relief, admittedly, to simply see his face.

“Uh– yeah.” He scratches his head as he wracks his brain, trying to remember her. Though, to be completely fair, if she recognizes him from the pub, the chances of him recalling any meaningful interactions are slim to none. Still, even if he can’t quite place this woman, he can’t shake the feeling that there’s something a bit peculiar about her. Not in a threatening sense, just in the my gut feels funky around you and I haven’t even eaten today so something is definitely up sort of sense. She’s not the one he’s looking for, at least he’s 75% sure of it, but she’s definitely…someone.

“Oh, I’m not moving in. Just…visiting.” He flashes a small smile. “Why’d’you wanna know? Doesn’t sound like you’re from around these parts either, you don’t have their funny accent.”

in reality, anathema is simply very nosy, by nature. it was once her great-great-great-great-great grandmother’s best feature, simply knowing everything even though she didn’t understand it. anathema in every sense remains the closest replica of agnes nutter to date, so it puts her mind at ease to just know things.

“ i know, mom . . . ”  tone soft and low, she’s trying to keep quiet even though she’s camped out on the roof of jasmine cottage, well out of earshot of the bedroom. of course, bickering with her mother in the middle of the night wasn’t an ideal scenario, but even her overbearing mother can give good advice. she always knew what to do, but anathema begins to wonder if it was only because of the book.  “ i wouldn’t have stayed if i didn’t — ”  anathema’s fingers tighten around her phone; sometimes it’s difficult to keep the conversation on subject.

“ just — listen! i need you to send me the rest of my books . . . no, the spell books. i know — ” halts abruptly, certain she’s heard something over the peaceful silence, and anathema attempts to cut the conversation short.  “ i have to go, mom. let me know when you’ve mailed them. love you. ”