Everyone's Favorite Salty Wood Witch

“If something makes you happy then you are never too old for it.” Earth smiled warmly as he spoke to a few of his hounds who were following close behind him while they made their way to see Faerie and the kiddos. It’s been some time since the last time he checked on them so he figured that he’d do it while he had the time.

Ben stirs from his nap and sets up a wail she recognizes as hunger, and Faerie puts down her mug. With practiced ease, she puts the Ghouling to her breast and he settles in for a brief nosh.

She smiles at Ben getting up from his nap, having not seen the baby Ghoul for a long time. “He’s getting bigger every day. Soon he and Matilda will be roaming free in the church.” The Abbess took a final swig from her mug, getting up to wash it out in a small sink on the other side of the room.

Ben stirs from his nap and sets up a wail she recognizes as hunger, and Faerie puts down her mug. With practiced ease, she puts the Ghouling to her breast and he settles in for a brief nosh.

She smiles at Ben getting up from his nap, having not seen the baby Ghoul for a long time. “He’s getting bigger every day. Soon he and Matilda will be roaming free in the church.” The Abbess took a final swig from her mug, getting up to wash it out in a small sink on the other side of the room.

Buy Here >>> Umbrella $21 / Sunglasses $10 / Bag $40 / Corset Top $30 / Skirt $17 / Choker $29 / Gloves $3 / Boots $80

“Ah, yes, of course,” Faerie says, offering him the photo case. She is very proud of her babies, and can never pass up a chance to show them off.

The Witch also knows how rare children are in this Church. When she brings them on the grounds, they are met by excited Church members, eager to get a glimpse of the Ghoul children. Matilda and Ben get cooed and fussed over, and it pleases her to watch hardened clergy members smile and hear them praise her for raising up such delightful little Ghouls.

“They’re both quite bright for their age, healthy and strong. Matilda already shows signs of being a witch like me, and I think Ben will serve the Church very well when he’s grown.”

Copia took hold of the framework and examined it at length. The round, pink cheeks of the two toddlers reminded him of an innocence he had long lost. Lost in his own memories, he stroked the frame with his thumb as a melancholic smile formed on his face..:

“ It is indeed a beautiful family. Congratulations to you and to the father.”

He hadn’t even looked up to Faerie. Then he blinked as she began to speak as if he had suddenly remembered that the world continued to revolve around him. But the witch’s remark was not without interest: new disciples were always more docile when they were impregnated with the Cult’s dogmas at a very young age, especially when they were inherently skilled with magic. So he raised an eyebrow, and his smile widened

“ All good news! Are you going to raise them alone, or will you put them in class with the Sisters?

He hummed for a moment, as an indiscernible slyness could be seen in his eyes, although he was staring in the blank as if daydreaming:

"When they are older I would like them taught by the Sisters. They can't go to a regular school like I did, Ben has horns as you can see, and when Tilly's mad, she grows these claws...then there's the levitation. It's hard growing up with amazing abilities and having to hide them because people are afraid of that they don't understand..." Faerie trails off, trying to push back a few unwanted memories. People's ignorance and fear can be so very dangerous.

Ben stirs from his nap and sets up a wail she recognizes as hunger, and Faerie puts down her mug. With practiced ease, she puts the Ghouling to her breast and he settles in for a brief nosh.

She smiles at Ben getting up from his nap, having not seen the baby Ghoul for a long time. “He’s getting bigger every day. Soon he and Matilda will be roaming free in the church.” The Abbess took a final swig from her mug, getting up to wash it out in a small sink on the other side of the room.

//Let muses be bitchy, let muses act like little shits,

“Datura will be fine. This isn’t the first ceremony I’ve been in that requires sacrifice or a trance,” she says, allowing herself to reminisce. Burning candles, the bleat of the sacrifice and the whispering of old gods.

“I had a very interesting visit to Little Havana, in Miami a couple of years ago.”

She pauses to fish an antique silver case from her bag, then open it to reveal two portraits. The first is of a little girl, roughly a year old, with dark curls, chubby cheeks, and large blue eyes. The second is a baby boy, born astonishingly soon after his sister. Three months old, also blue eyed and chubby cheeked, differing only in his fine blonde hair, and a small set of horns like a baby goat’s.

“I am glad the Church will make an exception for me, especially considering I’ve given them two strong little Ghouls.” She says, with a note of motherly pride. “Matilda and Ben, Cardinal. Your youngest disciples. Their father is one of the Meliora Ghouls, Aether.”

He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow:

“Really? I’d be delighted if you’d take some time to tell me more, one of these days.”

Not that Faerie was someone he felt particularly close to, but there was something fascinating about the magical rituals of other cultures. This involved the use of other products, the veneration of other divinities. So much knowledge that excited him, a bit like a kid being told an adventure novel.

But today, it was new people who were going to arouse his curiosity. Copia widened his eyes at the sight of the photographs: the Church, with its cut-throat corridors and its sometimes bloody customs, was certainly not a place where many children were met. It was thus a singular vision which was presented to the Cardinal, who pointed the case with his finger:

The Witch also knows how rare children are in this Church. When she brings them on the grounds, they are met by excited Church members, eager to get a glimpse of the Ghoul children. Matilda and Ben get cooed and fussed over, and it pleases her to watch hardened clergy members smile and hear them praise her for raising up such delightful little Ghouls.

Faerie smiles, finding his enthusiasm and excitement rather endearing, even as he reigns it in. Her own feelings of anticipation for the ceremony bubble inside her.

“Yes, tomorrow,” she agrees.

“Is there anything I have to do beforehand? I cannot fast right now, not while I’m still nursing my son,”

“Oh. This is embarrassing.”

Copia scratched her head in search of a subterfuge to get around this problem. But after a few moments he just shrugged his shoulders:

“Well, just avoid animal products, I think the Church will be willing to make an exception for you.”

Then he grabbed each of his hands, hoping that in this way his instructions would be more striking. He stared attentively at the witch, supporting the important points of her strong head-butting speech:

"I had a very interesting visit to Little Havana, in Miami a couple of years ago."

She pauses to fish an antique silver case from her bag, then open it to reveal two portraits. The first is of a little girl, roughly a year old, with dark curls, chubby cheeks, and large blue eyes. The second is a baby boy, born astonishingly soon after his sister. Three months old, also blue eyed and chubby cheeked, differing only in his fine blonde hair, and a small set of horns like a baby goat's.

July 5th, 2018. Faerie and Aether’s first born, Matilda is one year old. Faerie’s outside, getting the yard ready for the small birthday party they’re throwing. She’s tossing some grass clippings into the compost when she sees the Couch Graveyard. She and Aether have destroyed three couches in the year they’ve been together. First during her Marking, and again during the births of their children.