takes to the sky like a bird in flight

“But he did, Sparrow. the only reason he brings it up is because he wants me to feel it. He brings it up because he knows I’ll never forgive myself and…he’ll never forgive me either. I didn’t mean to hurt him, I really didn’t, but it happened and now I can’t do anything to fix it,” they rambled, their words running into each other as their emotions crashed down on them. Pressing their face into their friend’s shoulder, Virgil squeezed their eyes shut trying not to start crying. Thus far, they’d avoided it, and they really didn’t want to ruin Sparrow’s shirt.

“He’s having nightmares again, nightmares,” They mumbled into her shoulder, clenching their hands into fists and digging their lilac-colored nails into the meat of their palms. “I’m the worst older sibling he ever could’ve asked for and I hate it. I hate it. I hate it! I shouldn’t be allowed to have magic. I wish I didn’t have magic.”

“Don’t say that.” Sparrow couldn’t completely explain it but hearing Virgil say that made her heart break, to say that he wished he didn’t have such a huge part of who they were because of a choice they made as a kid. And how could they have known as a kid that the types of pranks and jokes they liked to play would hurt their brother later in life? No kid thinks about what will happen down the pike, especially when it comes to the emotional impact of things. So to hear Virgil hate something that comes with what they are, that is a part of being a Seelie? It made her so very, very sad.

“You were just a kid,” she reminded them. “Kids don’t know that what they do might hurt someone. And I know you didn’t mean to hurt your brother. I’m sure that he knows you didn’t mean to hurt your brother. Its okay to feel badly looking back at it but you were just a kid, Virgil. Kids do silly, stupid or mean things without ever meaning to hurt anyone. I’m sure your brother doesn’t hate you. I’m sure things are just hard for him. But your magic? It’s a beautiful thing, too. It can help people; you can use it to make dreams come true. You could even used it to help him if he wanted you to, to ease his nightmares. Your brother loves you, Virgil. I’m sure of it. And you obviously love him. And you were just a kid.”

Silas nodded, “I understand. Find new things you enjoy in town, and reset, and then when the school year comes, you’re less likely to burn out.” He shook his head lightly, “We used to do all sorts of stuff with the kids all summer- family trips and concerts in the big city, and water parks, and you know… Always got back to school feeling like I barely left.” He offered the woman a smile, “Oh, no. I’m retired, the whole year is basically summer for me. Might do a few bonfires, though- those are hard during the winter.”

“Only because the snow gets in the way.” Living in the mountains snow was abundant during the winter months but Sparrow had always thought if the weather didn’t get in the way? Bonfires would be pretty enjoyable in the winter if for no other reason than the cold weather seemed to call for it. Who didn’t enjoy a good fire in the winter? (Well, perhaps some weres didn’t enjoy it too much.)  “Being retired doesn’t mean you can’t make summer plans though. Everyone deserves a good vacation every so often.”

With Sparrow, it would be all to easy to break down and rant her ears off, her sincere concern and soft smile reminded Virgil of their own mom in a way. Not that the witch was anything like the eccentric fae they’d left back in Baltimore, but she managed to exude the same aura of comfort and familiarity. It didn’t help that they knew they couldn’t lie to her, she knew them well enough to see right through their facade (not that one had to be particularly close to do so, they were a terrible liar) and cared enough to press on issues that had them bent out of shape.

Leaning their head against her shoulder without much thought, the fae sighed, grabbing their phone from the table where it’d been abandoned. “It’s my brother,” they started, curly hair flopping in front of their eyes, “It’s always my brother, and the worst part is, he didn’t even do anything wrong. We’re always butting heads, it’s what we do and I’ve accepted that - it’s part of the fun, the fact that we’re so different. But…”

They didn’t know how to explain it, really, how horrifically, devastatingly guilty they felt whenever their brother brought up the ‘pranks’ they pulled on him when they were younger.

Instinctively Sparrow reached up and brushed Virgil’s curls back from his face and leaned her head against theirs, her cheek against the crown their head. It was more that she sensed they needed it than anything else, the comfort and the closeness of someone they had become close to in town. It was rare to see Virgil acting anything but cheerful and energetic; rare to see anything getting them down.

But the fact of the matter was that Virgil was, emotionally speaking, human. For as different as supernatural beings could be from their human friends and townmates? They still held the same types of emotions. They could still be happy or sad; they could still fall in love or get their hearts broken. They could experience it all. And because she knew that she knew that it wasn’t truly surprising that Virgil could feel something other than cheerful and happy. They were capable of feeling every single emotion in the range no matter how surprising it was.

“Family can get to use the worst because we love them the most,” the witch reasoned, reaching out and squeezing down gently on their wrist, her head still resting against his. “It means that when they’re happy, it makes us happy. But it also means that when they say certain things or we bicker with them- even playfully- it can hurt. But I’m sure your brother wouldn’t have said anything to try to hurt you, Virgil. I’m sure he loves you just as much as you love him.” She paused, squeezed his wrist gently again. “What did he say that has you so down, Verge?”

Everything was that much harder to comprehend when it felt like he was being burned form the inside out. As disgusting as it sounded, there was a faint sheen of sweat on his brow and the nape of his neck. Try as he might, he kept sweating no matter how often he wiped it away, or tried to cool himself down with a thew things of ice.

Ambrose took a second to just close his eyes to deal with the burn, but he was forced to open them just as fast when he heard the front door open. “Hey, what can I.. get you?” He asked, visibly off despite his best efforts to seem normal.

Sparrow wasn’t much of a drinker- but she was definitely the type of person to check around town during things like heat to see how everyone was doing. Which meant popping into bars and making sure that everything was fine. Sometimes she would help out the humans covering the place, doing some kind of spell to keep the were patrons calm despite the problems they were currently facing. It was all she could do most of the time.

“Are you feeling okay?” the witch asked as she gazed at the man standing behind the bar. From the looks of him- and the energy around him- he was definitely a were. And seeing a were working behind the bar during heat was shocking. Most of them were either dealing with it with someone else or held up trying to ride it out. But they didn’t tend to go to work.

Clara shrugged with a fond smile on her lips. “I mean, I’d happily buy you a drink or some food after as a thank you if that’s what you’d prefer. I just… Feel odd going up to someone and demanding help right away.” She chuckled, shifting slightly to stand up a little better. Clara had heard a lot about the witch before her and was pleased to have a proper conversation fully.

She looked down at her leg and nodded in answer to Sparrow’s question. “Yes, it was. I was doing a stunt for work and I fell. Onto uh, silver. I kinda completely missed the crash mats and the all the safety equipment around. Clearly I was way too excited and kinda got impaled.” A sheepish smile. “I healed what I could but even as wonderful as werewolf healing is, it’s still not right. It’s for sure the silver. Hence me coming here asking for help ‘cause it’s agony…”

“I can only imagine.” And it was true- Sparrow could only imagine in theory. There was no such thing as a something for a witch that was akin to what silver was for a were. Yes, witches could be hurt. They were nowhere near invulnerable- and they were definitely more susceptible to injuries than weres were. But a witch could heal almost anything with the right spell or potion and there was nothing that caused an injury to them that prevented healing. The allergy to silver was a great disadvantage to weres, one that she had seen cause problems many times before. But it was only something that she could appreciate in theory.

“Well, I have no problem healing silver-induced wounds. I’ve done it before.” The worst of which had to do with Owen, of course. “And as long as there’s no silver stuck in the wound? It should be pretty smooth sailing. And if there is silver lingering in the room? Well, if it isn’t a lot it can be drawn out. It isn’t a painless process to draw it out but I’ve been told it’s worth it in the end, that riding themselves of the long-term pain is worth it.”

After watching the werewolf quietly for a few moments the witch nodded slightly. “I can definitely help you. And if it makes you feel better? You can pay me back by buying me a pastry of some kind as payment- though I still say it is completely unnecessary. I really don’t mind helping at all.”

“Perfect, she’ll love that,” he beamed, leaning forward on the counter so that his weight rested on his elbows. Like this, Wolfie was almost eye-to-eye with Sparrow, which was nice yet strangely intimate since he usually towered over her by at least a foot. The weretiger was always amazed by the warmth and love Sparrow managed to display for nearly everyone in the town, he could see why she’d been dubbed ‘town mom’ - her energy reminded him of his own mother’s. Maybe that’s why he liked her so much. 

“Do I even have to answer that? You’ve hit the bullseye, you always do. I wouldn’t say I’m running on empty, but I’ve kept myself pretty busy. With my degree and Holy Smokes, I don’t even have time to realize how much I’m doing,” he laughed, glad they were still experiencing the mid-day lull so he could have a proper chat with his friend. Not that Wolfgang didn’t appreciate every one of his customers, but it had been ages since he’d idly talked to a friend and he’d missed it. “I’m happy, though. You know me - the most content workaholic in the world.”

“Calling yourself the most content workaholic in the world is probably the understatement of the year. Surely it’s the whole universe,” Sparrow teased. The truth was that sometimes she worried about her friend. Chalk it up with the maternal side of her if you wanted but she couldn’t help but worry that one day Wolfie would push himself too far and wear himself down. Yes, as a were he had a lot more energy to spare than a normal human and was far more resilient. But anyone could run themselves down so much that something bad could happen. So in her mind? It was alright to worry a little bit.

“You know if you ever get a little too worn down, you can always come to me. I make a mean energy potion.” It sounded almost silly to put it that way, like something out of a video game. But it was the best way to describe the potion itself. Perhaps calling it an energy booster would have sounded a little less cartoonish. Still, things were what they were. No used in worrying about her wording after the fact. “How are your studies going anyway, Wolfie? All good, I hope.”

Hal, surprised and a bit upset to be covered in pie, let out a huff of a laugh at the young woman’s defense of the boy. He wiped at the whipped cream, spread across his torso and dripping down onto his jeans, trying to get the most of it off. “Uh. Yeah, sure. No one got hurt. Listen, you should probably tell your fucking kid- whoever he is to you- that he should be careful who he decides to throw pie at.“ He sighed, giving up on the effort. He’d just have to change clothes. “I was a shitty kid too- fucking pulled shit like this on folks too. Chose the wrong victim once and someone who looked like I do now beat my ass for it, snapped me right outta that behavior.”

Yes, well, assaulting a minor is a serious offense so I wouldn’t recommend doing that either.” It was the kindest response she could muster in that moment. It was a little much, in her opinion, to get that upset over a prank. Especially in a town full of werefox and pixie children, where pranks were pretty common during their teen years. It was definitely alright not to like the pranks. She could imagine many people didn’t. But kids were kids. They did silly things. “Ty really didn’t mean any harm. He’s just precocious.”

Silas nodded, “That’s me.” He said softly, tilting his head, “Yeah that was- yikes. Just… yikes.” He chuckled, “But hey, the school year’s almost over. You get three months off, soon. Any plans for your vacay?”

“No real plans. I mostly just stick around here.” It would have been strange to admit out loud that she had sort of a maternal role with most of her friends- at least to anyone she didn’t have that role with. A lot of them openly called her ‘mom’ and she was fine with it, actually liked that she could be there for them that way. But saying it? Well, it sounded strange for her to tell people she was a mother to full grown adults- some of which were older than her. “I have some friends in town I’m particularly close to and usually I stick around and help them out with whatever comes up. It gives me more time to do so, that’s all. And catch up on my reading. Some people might consider it boring but I find it comforting. What about you? Any big plans this summer?”

“We’ve talked a fair bit about getting married and me taking his name… But part of me worries if it’s like what we did, a little bit of joking. Y’know? Or maybe it’ll be too soon for him. The last thing I want is to scare him off by talking about babies and wedding vows. I love him… So much. I already almost lost him after Dad passed. That breakdown I had really tested the strength of our bonds…. I don’t know how I would’ve coped if I’d lost him. Which is why I’m terrified to bring it all up as a serious conversation. I probably have nothing to worry about. He probably wants the same as me or he would’ve told me that he didn’t want marriage when I say things about. You know I worry too much though.”

Remus rambled before looking at Sparrow with a fond smile. “Thanks, mom. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I think we’d throw the best parties in town if you’re there to help.” He mused with a chuckle.

Once the cake was in the oven, he leaned against the counter to fully listen to her. He had to admit, on some occasions he had considered setting Sparrow up on a blind date. He knew she was happy as was but after realising what love was like, he wanted the most important people in his life to feel it too. But then he figured that Sparrow knew everyone in town already and mothered most so it wouldn’t go down well. “I get that, hopefully they’ll put more effort into their work. As for the cats, yay! It feels like ages since I’ve loved on them.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you have anything to worry about where Alex is concerned,” Sparrow assured him. “I think Alex is in the exact same place as you are. Anyone who knows either of you can see how much you love each other. And the fact that you two were able to make it through such a rough situation together and come out strong on the other side just shows how strong your relationship actually is. Tragedy can really test a couple, can make or break them and you two didn’t only survive it but you thrived. That speaks volumes about your relationship. And you’re probably right. If Alex didn’t want either of those things? I think he would have told you. Maybe gently but I definitely think he would have told you.” Yes, she was trying to ease his worries but it was how she truly felt.

“That’s what I’m here for,” the witch teased, shrugging her shoulders. “Sparrow Suthcliff- witch, English teacher, planner of parties and social events for those in need of assistance. I should make business cards. Pass them out at social gatherings.” Though, in all honesty, she wouldn’t mind helping if someone asked her to. It was just a part of who she was.

The witch had to admit that she was a tiny bit glad when Remus dropped the whole thing about her potential soulmate. Not because the conversation upset her at all. It didn’t. But she was a big believer in things happening when they were meant to and not a moment sooner. If she was destined for someone then they would come into her life exactly when they were supposed to. And for the time being she was happy with the way her life was. “Open the treat jar and the cats will come running,” she informed him, nodding towards the ceramic jar at the far end of the counter. “It’s like sounding an alarm.”

“I’m fine, love, just tired,” they smiled weakly, knowing full well it wasn’t the least bit convincing.

Their phone sat in front of them, the screen lighting up every so often with notifications Virgil opted to ignore - instead trying to lose themselves in the cheerful sounds of the outdoors. They’d decided to do some watercolor doodling at their favorite picnic table, the vibrant colors of springtime both inspiring and a pleasant change from the grey walls of the East Stroudsburg EMT center, but ended up with nothing but overwhelming guilt and a finished landscape that seemed too bright for their current mood.

As a general rule of thumb, the fae was almost overwhelmingly optimistic and refused to believe anything negative couldn’t be spun with a silver lining, but there was one exception to that rule- their brother. He was probably Virgil’s favorite person in the entire universe, the one person they’d willingly admit was better than them at most things, and yet he was the person they’d wronged the most. It was never on purpose, not on their part at least, but they’d practically tortured the poor guy with magic when they were kids.

The weight of their actions had never left them, which is exactly why their brother had brought it up in the first place. If anyone knew how to tear Virgil apart, it was their family.

“I’m not sure I believe that.” As a general rule Sparrow tried to believe people when they said things, tried to have faith in people. But she also didn’t blindly accept what they said as the truth when it was so clearly not the case. And it was all too clear to her in that moment that Virgil was lying. Whether to her or whether they were lying to themself she couldn’t be sure. All she knew without hesitation was that Virgil was not just tired. Something was wrong. Taking a seat down next to the fae Sparrow offered them the most comforting smile that she could, reaching out and laying a hand on their arm. “What’s wrong, Verge?” Squeezing down slightly she offered another smile. “Did something bad happen?”

heather frowned, she wished she could study at home. “i would, but a lot of these books can’t be checked out, and they’re super heavy.” finished she, smiling a bit because she knew the woman wasn’t trying to be snarky with her. she was a wolf, but she wasn’t the hulk, she could not carry all the books home even if she could check them out. if she could study at home it would be a blessing, then the red head wouldn’t feel like she was in everyone’s way and hogging a whole table to herself, because she usually did.

It was a fair point, Sparrow couldn’t deny that one. And it was definitely an inconvenience for students to have to spend a lot of time at the library where there were potential distractions. Studying at home was easier, simpler. It was more comfortable and you didn’t have to worry about anything causing problems. “Sometimes the librarian is willing to do favors for the non-human residents,” she admitted after a moment, shrugging her shoulders just a little bit. “I can ask for you. See if they’d be wiling to let you take a book or to home to make it easier on you.” It was the advantage of being the town mother. She knew so many people.

“It’s alright. I was a middle-school teacher for years, I understand. I’m assuming he’s one of your students?” Silas shook his head, “I do worse things to myself on a regular basis. A little water rarely hurt somebody- plus, it’s… gone, now. It’s Sparrow, right? We met a while back. Coffee shop.”

Sparrow nodded in acknowledgement. Yes, Ty was her student. Her misguided but sweet deep down student. Hopefully he would grow out of his mischievous phase sooner rather than later- or at least before he got into trouble she couldn’t help him with. “Yeah, that’s right. Silas, right? During my misguided attempt to try and grade papers that were barely considered papers. That was quite a mission.”

Silas sighed, looking down to the spot that had been dried, and looking back up to Sparrow. “Thank you.” He said softly, shifting his weight to one side, “I appreciate it.” He hated to admit it, but he wouldn’t have been able to do that one on his own.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Sparrow assured him with a slight wave of her hand. It really was nothing, after all. “I’m really sorry about Ty. He’s just…werefoxes can be mischievous and he doesn’t always know when enough is enough. He doesn’t mean any harm. He’s actually a really good kid. He just likes pranks a little too much, I guess.”

“Of course,” he replied with a laugh, briefly interrupting their conversation to hand one of his employees a paper bag for their table’s to-go items. Many, many months of running Holy Smokes had given him the intuition to anticipate the needs of both his staff and his customers - a useful little skill that made things run all the more smoothly. “Sorry about that - see, I knew you had an ulterior motive!” Wolfie joked, his mother’s southern drawl audible in the background even from the kitchen. Things like that are what he liked best about his current occupation, they made the restaurant what it was - a welcoming environment where everyone could feel at home while they enjoyed good food and better company.

“Regardless of why you’re here, it’s good to see ya. You’re always a friendly face and my Mama loves you like a daughter. You should drop by the kitchen on your way out and say hey. She’ll sneak you somethin’ to snack on for sure.”  

It was almost entertaining hearing that, being thought of as someone’s daughter when Sparrow herself was so often seen as people’s mother. True, with Wolfie it was definitely a friendship rather than a parent-child relationship but the point still remained. For a very single girl in her late twenties? Sparrow Suthcliff had a whole lot of people out there that considered her a mother figure- and it didn’t bother her one tiny little bit.

“Well, I’ll definitely have to pop in and say ‘hello’ while I’m here.” The truth was she liked Wolfie’s mother. There was something warm and comforting about the woman, like she knew all of the worries and concerns a person might have and could make them all go away. Many times the witch had thought that her friend was exceedingly lucky to have been raised by such a wonderful and loving person. Not everyone was quite so lucky. “So? Did I hit the nail on the head? Are you running yourself down to empty as usual?” From anyone else it might have sounded judgmental but when Sparrow said it? It was filled with nothing more than concern.