misc excerpt from on the shores of halcyon
4:30 AM.
Mabon blearily rubbed his eyes, wondering what had woken him, and then promptly sat up as a clattering noise sounded from downstairs. He wasn't particularly worried about who it was -- doubtless one of his children, or his roommate, or one of the many magical creatures living on his property -- but rather what they were doing. He reached for his housecoat, slipped it on, and headed downstairs to investigate.
Quiet voices emerged from the kitchen, and then there was another clatter. It sounded like Finn -- maybe he'd gotten high again and was looking for something to eat? Mab sighed. He'd asked his son to keep his smoking confined to decent hours of the day, but apparently the teen hadn't listened.
He turned the corner to the kitchen, and stopped dead.
"What is that?"
A giant eyeball hovered about three feet above the tiled floor. A hastily drawn chalk circle surrounded the ground around it, which his daughter was furiously touching up. Finn was searching through the cupboard for something, which was probably where the clattering had come from. Nissa looked up when Mab spoke, the smile she gave in greeting rather sheepish. The eye, on the other hand, stared at him. The iris was an unnaturally pale blue.
"Did you -- did you summon a demon? In my kitchen?"
Nissa laughed nervously. Finn furiously backed away from the cupboard, a lighter in one hand and a sprig of herb in the other. His dark eyes were wide.
"Nissa did it!" he blurted out.
"It was an accident," Nissa countered, then, "His name is Franklin." Finn ignited whatever herb he was holding and waved it in the demon's general direction. It was hard to tell, but Mab fancied that the look Franklin gave as it rotated to face Finn was reproachful. "What are you doing?" she coughed. Finn kept waving the herb.
"Smudging," he answered, as if it were obvious.
"That's for ghosts, idiot!" Nissa stood and grabbed the herb -- sage, by the smell -- and shoved it under the sink faucet. "Now it smells like weed in here!"
Mab laughed despite himself. "It always smells like weed in here."
Finn pouted – an unflattering expression on any eighteen-year-old boy – and crossed his arms. “How else do you propose getting rid of it? You can’t get the banishment to work!”
Nissa shrugged. The motion reminded Mab rather distressingly of her mother; Rebekah had moved her shoulders in the exact same way a number of times during his relationship with her (including when she had broken up with him). Finn evidently felt the same way:
“You look just like Mom when you do that.”
Nissa’s transition from shrugging to flipping off her twin was smooth, smooth enough that Mab had to stifle a chuckle at their antics. Had he not still been attempting to be a stern authority figure, he would have let himself laugh at the way Finn stuck his tongue out in response.
“Children,” he chided, “Stop fighting. It’s easier to figure out a witchcraft problem if you work together. I had a cousin who accidentally summoned a demon once.”
“Did you figure out how to banish it?” Nissa’s voice sounded hopeful.
“No. My grandfather did some complex spell that was far beyond our abilities at the time, and expressly forbade us from ever trying summoning again.”
“Then why do you have the books?”
Mab glanced at his son, who was grinning wryly back. “Because,” he sighed, “When I moved to America I thought: ‘fuck my grandfather’ and bought every summoning book I could get my hands on. And then I proceeded to never try summoning anything.”
“Dad,” Nissa tapped her foot against the ground. “What are we going to do about Franklin, then?”
Mabon shrugged. “He’s contained, right? Leave him. We’ll just have to keep the circle intact and it’ll be fine.”
“You’re not mad?”
He shrugged again. “A giant eye-demon floating in my kitchen, given that he’s contained within a magic circle, is much less dangerous than, say, Renegade climbing through the window and knocking my dishes onto the floor.”
Nissa stared at him, brow furrowed. “Promise you’re not mad?”
“Nissa… come here.” There was a moment’s hesitation, but she crossed the kitchen floor to stand in front of him. “You’re practicing your magic. I wish you’d done it at a normal time of day, maybe asked for help, and not used the kitchen, but I’m not upset with you for learning. You were safe, and that’s what matters. I’m not mad. I promise.”
She visibly relaxed. “Thanks, dad.”
Affection rushed through him, as it always did when she called him dad. It had taken so long to get to that point; he savored every instance she did it. His daughter was strong and stubborn, and she had a lot of walls that were liable to go up at a moment’s notice. It was part of the reason he was so careful to be gentle and kind around her. He didn’t want her to have regrets about him when she got older; he wanted to make up for all those years he’d missed – even though missing them was Rebekah’s fault and not his own.
“Of course, Nissa.” He reached out and stroked the top of her head, carding his fingers through her dark hair. “Now, come on, you two. Go to bed. It’s nearly morning.”
Finn scampered over to pull them both into a hug. “Night.”
“Goodnight, doofus,” Nissa laughed.
“Goodnight, Finn.”
Finn laughed quietly and went upstairs, leaving Nissa, Mab, and Franklin alone in the kitchen. Nissa hesitatingly wrapped her arms around Mab.
“Goodnight, Dad. You sure you don’t want help cleaning up? I know we made a mess.”
He looked down at her, saw the guilty expression on her face, and gently shook his head. “Don’t worry about a thing, y ngeneth i. I’ll take care of it. You’re young; you need rest.”
“Okay.” she let go of him and headed towards the stairs.
“Goodnight, Nissa,” he called softly. She smiled back at him.
“Love you, dad.”
Warmth filled him from head to toe. He beamed. “I love you too.”
And his daughter disappeared up the stairs.
