#deucate

I got tagged by @byjillianmaria and @christinawritesfiction (over on my main),  thank you two very much! Here are seven lines from In the Land of Twilight, featuring a certain night-witch.

Come down and sit, I prepared soup!” The little witch jumped, giddy with happiness it seemed, and then ran to the pot over the fire-place.

Surely, she didn’t expect them to eat the green shimmering– soup? Daliah and the lynx exchanged terrified glances.

“You… you were expecting us?” Daliah finally asked as she shook her stupor and started to climb down the stairs into the quarry.

“Of course I did!” the witch replied, filling up three bowls with the please-let-that-not-be-the-soup soup, only to eye Shishi suspiciously and filling up a fourth. “I’m expecting all sorts of guests today!

wip; In the Land of Twilight || Deucate | a night-witch

Snippet | Deucate, Daliah, Lynx in Deucate's forest | 5th chapter | Fires, Flowers and Freedom

"Ah! Zapperlott! Impossible!", a voice of a little girl yelled and suddenly the fog parted and let Daliah and Lynx see a shaggy hut. A young girl sat before it and threw ingredients into her kettle and cursed. Her hair was pitch-black, her skin snow white. On her cheeks were beautiful  golden patterns, but her eyes glowed so deeply red as those of the beasts that Daliah had seen in her forest.

"Let's better go back again", she whispered to Lynx who flipped his short tail nervously. 

The night-witch hadn't seen them yet, but as they turned around, it was nearly as if a wall of owls was blocking their way. 

A banging sound erupted and they found themselves in black smoke. Someone cried. 

"Oh, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?", Daliah asked and ran back to the little witch who sat on the ground, wailing. 

"No, no. I just failed again", she cried loudly.

"Daliah, don't go so close", Lynx murmured but both Daliah and the night-witch ignored him. 

"Well, I'm only rarely getting visitors. What lead you two to me?", the night-witch asked and now looked happy again, even extraordinarily curious, from one to another. Behind her, her owls spread in the trees again and on the colorful garlands that were tied between the twigs. 

"Actually, we were looking for a day-witch", Daliah said carefully. 

"Then you're just at the right spot. I may still be a night-witch, but I'm on the best path to become a day-witch. Yes, yes. I'm working extra hard to only do good and now it's only a matter of time before my black hair turns white. I assure you!" 

"Oh! That's possible?", Daliah asked surprised and the little kid nodded hastily.

"Of course! Whether you're a day- or night-witch depends on whether you're a good human. That's why it changes a lot! There are day-witches who have turned to night-witches and night-witches who have turned to day-witches. Although it is much harder in that direction, of course. How can I help you?" Her red eyes were beaming with exhilaration. But Lynx had his ears still put close and even if it was barely audible, Daliah heard him growl. 

" I need help. My forest is infected with black slime and dies. I want to save it! It is my home and those of my mother and so many more living things!" 

"Oh! Do you mean this slime?", the little witch asked, grabbed into her kettle that exploded before and then held her hand full of the exact same black slime that was killing Daliah's forest. 

"Yes, exactly! My mum lost an arm because of it", she said shocked.

"Well, that's just failed magic. Trash, if you so will. If your forest is full of it, it means that someone is taking the forest's magic in a way that doesn't work with its magical field of energy."

"And what can I do about it?" 

"Ah, now that I see you all here, do you have time for a short poll? Just takes five minutes", a stranger's voice asked. Between them appeared a figure out if nothing. Completely dressed in white he stood in midst the dead wolves and held a sheet of paper in his hands. His hair was white as snow and his bangs hung so long and untidy before his eyes that they couldn't see his face at all.

"Who are you?", Kaya asked surprised and even Deucate made a step backwards.

"Ah, well it's a bit embarrassing, but I don't actually have a real name", the figure answered and scratched himself at the head, "but most living things refer to me as The Grim Reaper."

"So you're death? Death as in the one who collects dead humans' souls?", Lynx wondered and even he seemed uneasy at his appearance.

"Well, not just humans. Animals, plants and all inbetween too. Everything that dies, eventually. Even these wolves, although I am a little uncertain with them. As far as I can tell, they already died before once and weren't actually alive after."

"I didn't even know you actually existed", Daliah said and the others agreed in union.

"Well, I actually don't really exist. I'm death after all, so I can't really have an existence."

"How strange."

[...]

"Well, don't worry, your time hasn't come yet, even if you look rather dead to me, Kaya. You should get some more sleep. Don't overwork yourselves with these beasts, they double my work." And then death looked to them, to the dead animals and as suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished again. They were alone in the forest again, only the dead animals at their feet.

"That was by far the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me!", Kaya worked themselves up.

Thank you for asking!