our star is shining its brightest light

We have been waiting for a while, but MARTHA WILLIAMS was finally spotted in the village today. People heard whispers that she is a FAMILIAR that is hellbent on [ fixing ] the veils. Will she succeed? Only time can tell. Until then we will keep a close eye on her as she listens to “GOODNIGHT MY SOMEONE” by SHIRLEY JONES, and searches for ANASTASIA CASWELL, her WITCH.

Anastasia laughed softly at her familiar’s eagerness for the rain to go away. “Wait!” She laughed a bit. “I’m in need of a book.” She was going to go get said book, but decided to snap her fingers to allow it to appear. “Perfect.” She grabbed Martha’s hand and guided them outside. The rain coming down didn’t bother her. She found a spot, and looked up at the sky the best she could. “Can you find the page on the weather.” She asked as she handed Martha the book.

~

“Of course, my lady,” Martha said with a smile, trying to shield the book as best she could from the rain as she flipped through the pages. Once she found the correct one, she smiled triumphantly. “Here it is!” She held the book out to Anastasia. “Do you want me to shift into my Familiar form? Sometimes I hear it’s easier to draw power that way.”

“You could even say it’s to hit up some outside witcheries and hex shops. London’s a big place, I’m sure there’s plenty of ones to check out.” Of course he wasn’t sure why her witch wouldn’t just want to go on a weekend vacation or something like that in the first place. “and if it really comes down to it I could always work the ol’ Chambers charm on her for you.”

~

Martha’s smile faltered. “Todd,” she said gently, keeping her hand on his arm as she stepped closer to him. “Please don’t ever use your abilities on my witch. I’m sorry, but if you do, I will be forced to cut all ties from you and dissolve our friendship forever.” She looked up at him with incredible solemness.

21. A long text

[text] You absolutely will not believe what happened today at the coffee shop. I was there just minding my own business when this man had the audacity to touch my derrière! It was quite scandalous. I spun around and whacked him with my purse so hard he almost fell over. It wasn't very ladylike of me, I know, but I was so shocked and incensed! Why must men be so uncouth? I miss the days when they had manners and knew how to speak to and act around a lady. [text] Anyway, how was your day?

23. A text asking for advice

[text] Help! Tragedy has struck! [text] The library is hosting a book fair, and I MUST wear the proper attire, and I have misplaced my favorite blouse. [text] What shall I wear instead? Please advise! [text] These are the options I have: [text] {photo attached} [text] {photo attached} [text] {photo attached} [text] I eagerly await your reply.

“So which one do you like better?” they asked with a grin. pulling the half eaten Tutti Frutti further towards them. They dipped the spoon in to take a bite of the remaining ice cream.

~

“I think my preference is obvious,” Martha said with a sheepish smile. She watched him take a bite impatiently, wanting more for herself. She pushed the other closer to him, hoping he’d take the hint.

She was glad to see the other get a smile on their face. She, too, loved the sun, but she tried to appreciate the rain as well. “You’re not bringing me down.” She commented before she nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” She thought for a moment. “I’m not sure if I can stop the rain fully, but I can try to make us a little bubble to clear the rain around us.” 

~

Martha clasped her hands together excitedly. “Oh! That would be marvelous. Should we go outside and try it? We’re sure to get wet, but if it works it’ll only be for a little while.” She reached for Anastasia’s hand, tugging her toward the door.

“I… don’t know what it looks like.” She admitted. “And it doesn’t have to be set in the real world. I just need something that depicts what love really looks like. What it feels like. I’m starting to think I’ll never figure it out and I want to be a writer so, it’s important that I learn.” 

~

“Love looks different to different people,” Martha said with a slight shrug. “There’s not one single overall depiction of love that can accurately portray how everyone sees it. It changes and grows and shrinks and breaks your heart and mends it again . . . I’m sure if you asked everyone in this library right now what love is you’ll get a dozen different answers and not a single one would be incorrect.”

He raised his brows at the other woman.  She…was a lot.  “Uh, yeah, I am.  Nathan, Nathan Jin.”  He gives a small bow of courtesy, though the energy levels Martha was giving off were…uncomfortable to say the least.

~

“Nathan! Is that short for Nathaniel? I think Nathaniel is a splendid name. It has a gallant and romantic feel to it, don’t you think?” Martha said with a grin.

The witch absolutely beamed under the attention.  She loved her pink hair and it was an awesome feeling to have someone else like it as much as her.  Lizzie let out a giggle, cheeks heating up as she rose her shoulders in embarrassment.  “Oh um, no.  I don’t really do social media.  I kinda deleted my Instagram.  But thanks.”

~

“Oh? How come?” Martha asked curiously, thinking the girl in front of her was way too cute to not have an Instagram.

“Really?” his eyes widened as he smiled at the news, “wow, that’s great. You should talk to her about a trip to London sometime. Is she from here?” 

~

“Oh! I didn’t even think about that, but I should, shouldn’t I?” Martha grinned. “You’re such a wealth of good ideas, my dear Chambers.” She reached out to place a hand on his arm briefly. “Oh, I believe so. She’s an old soul, so it sometimes feels like she’s been here for ages.”

Theo groaned a little. “I’m not in the mood to watch some men shake their arses at me.” he moped a little and slumped his shoulders. “Can we just go home and lie in bed instead?”

~

Martha’s expression softened. “Of course we can do that. Naps are always good for the soul, unless you’d like to watch a movie and eat chocolate instead. I’m up for anything,” she said with a smile, moving to gently loop her arm through his.

“Yes. Let’s do it” they nodded with a grin, “it’s for our dear Theodore after all.” Callum then ordered the medium sized cup for both flavors, figuring it made sense if they were going to be sharing. They handed them both to Martha to find a place to sit while they paid. 

~

Martha took the ice cream and skipped over to a table, moving to sit and going ahead and taking a bite out of both ice creams as she waited for them. She was too impatient to wait. They were both good, but the Tutti Frutti tasted best, so she dug into that one, already halfway done with it by the time Callum got back. “Oops,” she said with a sheepish smile, meekly pushing it across the table toward them. “Here you go.”