“Ooh, that’s great,” Arabelle said, taking a sip of coffee. She felt she should say more, but she wasn’t usually good at comforting people, or continuing a conversation.
Maybe it was the coffee, but she was gradually getting used to the heavy magic in the air. She just had to tune it out.
As they caught up with the others, she took a pamphlet from Forti, and looked over it. She wasn’t feeling hungry at the moment.
Cassius only taking a breath and ignoring the rudeness of this man, he walked beside Vienna near the front. She was obviously pissed, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it.
"Im keeping an eye on this dude" she whispered up to Cass, who nodded.
"Ill be sure to do the same." He says before almost gagging at the sweet aroma of fried food and sweets. Not being able to eat any of it came easy for him. His stomache wouldnt take the nutrients of any food actually. One of the many curses of being what he was.
Meanwhile Vienna started to subconsciously drift over to the smell of the food. She was starving but she stopped herself.
"How do we know its not poisoned" she asked the man, arching an eyebrow.
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"I doubt anything's poisoned," Mia remarked, overhearing Vienna's question. "It wouldn't make any sense to turn us all sick or dead now…..it's too early on. This area's probably just for us to get our bearings, maybe let our guard down a little." Realizing she might be making Joshua even more nervous with her words, she added, "Heck, I'll try the food first, if you guys want. And if my theory's wrong, then, I guess I deserve it for being so overconfident."
(bump?)
Forti didn't seem to mind that they didn't trust him. "I assure you all that it is not poisoned. But you don't have to believe me. Visitors are always wary when they first arrive at Ravenmire. Trust me, that will change." The words may have sounded menacing, but his tone and manners were completely polite.
The pamphlet the Arabelle picked up was pretty, the kind that was usually in normal amusement parks. The front was decorated with fancy lettering, spelling Ravenmire Vacation Grounds and Amusement Park, with a picture of the ferris wheel. Inside, there was a map, and some information about each place.
The map showed that there were two parts to the Vacation Grounds. The Amusement Park, where they were at the moment, and a place called the Villas Square, where there were condos and houses by a lake that was hidden by the trees. The Villas were separated into four sections, the Pearl, Emerald, Opal, and Ruby Villas.
Cass tapped his bottom lip for a few seconds as he thought about what could be happening and figuring out how to maybe get out of this place. He was surprised at how calm everyone was.
Usually he would be the calm, father figure type to keep everyone else from losing their marbles. He wasn’t necessarily glad that he didnt have to do that. But he wasnt mad about it either.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked over to the man.
“So…you talk about how good this place is… but theres gotta be a downside. Mind telling us what that is?” He asked
Arabelle could appreciate an aesthetically pleasing pamphlet, but she was too laser focused to appreciate it too much. She raised an eyebrow at Forti’s words.
So people have come here before? Unwillingly, like us? That sounds like what he’s implying.
She silently eavesdropped on Forti and Cassius while keeping her eyes on the pamphlet. Taking a sip of coffee, she studied the Villas Square and briefly wondered, if this was a sort of twisted game like Mia described, if that was the place things would start going wrong. Maybe. Definitely.
And it was interesting how the Villas were divided and named. Why Emerald, Ruby, Opal, and Pearl? Did that mean that they each had a certain color scheme, or that everything was covered in their respective jewels?
No, of course not. That would be way too expensive.
She chuckled at the idea, then looked up to try to see the Villas Square from where she stood. But just as the pamphlet suggests, it was hidden by the trees. Why is that?
She looked back down, looking over it some more.
Mia, by now, had already purchased some food for herself and Joshua, and was busy consuming it. It tasted great, but then again, a meal had to be pretty darn horrible before she'd turn it down. Ambling over to Arabelle, she peered over her shoulder at the pamphlet while she finished her third hot dog. "Where to next, d'you think?" she asked between bites. "I'm kinda vibin' the lake, personally…..unless that area's for residents only or something."
Arabelle reluctantly turned her attention from Forti and Cassius, turning her gaze down to Mia. She made a noise that sounded like both a sigh and a raspberry.
“I guess a lake is better than an Amusement Park, even if there are no crowds…”
But honestly, she couldn’t decide if crowds or the few wandering people was worse.
Mia grinned. "I'm just looking for a bit of breathing room, to be honest. And who knows, maybe if we go somewhere with no distractions, we can focus enough to pin down that weird magic that seems to be everywhere here. Plus, maybe the people in the Villas will be able to give us some real information."
Joshua hadn't said much of anything, as he was busy eating. Plus, it seemed like this was a situation for the grown-ups to handle. He listened to the conversation, eyes moving to whoever was talking at any given moment.
She nodded, pursing her lips. “I like the way you think. To the lake it is.”
She folded up the pamphlet, putting her cup of coffee under her arm. She put it in the pocket of her sweatpants, then held the cup in her other hand, taking a drink.
Mia patted Joshua's shoulder and waved for the others to follow them, setting off towards the trees. "Speaking of magic," she said to Arabelle, "We never really finished our convo about our own brands of the stuff. What did you say you used? Blood magic or something like that? I've never heard of it."
“Among other things, yes,” Arabelle said, pleased to return to the topic. “I’m a witch. Most witches can use blood magic. Ooh, I think I can show you, if you’d like.”
She reached into her other pocket anyway, and pulled out a vial of crimson liquid. Then she glanced at Joshua and hastily put it away. “Ah, never mind. Anyway, I don’t know about you, but as the name implies, magic accumulates in the blood in the form of tiny points of light. Kind of like glitter except it’s producing light and not reflecting it. Blood magic is- well, I guess the most accurate term is art- the art of manipulating and influencing one’s immediate physical surroundings via magical human blood. I suppose that’s the most solid definition I have right now.”
She took a moment to sip her coffee.
Mia tilted her head curiously. "That's kinda wild. Energy in blood, huh? The way I was taught, magical energy circulates through the body in veins, but I never thought of magic and blood sharing the same space like that. I guess it makes sense." She realized she was out of food and sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Couple questions: How'd you learn blood magic? Is it something you were born with? And I have to ask–where d'you get the blood from?"
“Interesting,” she murmured. “A witch is born with the ability to perform blood magic, yes, but you have to learn how to use it too. I’m trying to learn a few spells myself.” Then she chuckled, patting her pocket. “And this? Well, you can’t just use whatever kind of blood. You have to use your own. So…” Eh, might as well state the obvious. “So it’s my own blood. Got it from my right shoulder, I think.”
"That's pretty cool, not gonna lie." Mia checked the treeline for any big fences or 'no trespassing' signs, and when she found none, she strolled confidently into the woods. "Sounds like my power, kinda. I mean, it's generated from within and you're born with it. I don't have to extract my magic to use it, though." She tapped her temple. "My kind all use the same type of magic. We call it Avity. I'd show it off for you, but unfortunately my lifestyle means I almost never have the energy to spare." She glanced around, then added, "I could show you my wings, though, now that we're outta the crowd. They're feeling kinda stiff anyway."
Arabelle peered through the trees, taking in their surroundings for a few moments before turning her gaze to Mia. “Fascinating. It is kind of similar, blood magic is the only kind witches have to extract their magic to use, though. Wait,” she blinked, trying to figure something out. “I’ve been wondering about that. Wings? Your kind? I don’t mean to offend, but what are you? I don’t see any wings around here.”
Mia flashed a smile. "We're called Happa-Brynn. Basically, we're magical winged people. Not angels, though. Common misconception." She slowed to a halt, pulling her hair over one shoulder. "Where I come from, humans aren't allowed to know about magic. So we keep our wings hidden." So saying, she unfolded them, allowing the magic hiding them to drop away.
There was no flash of light or strange noise as the wings appeared. They seemed to simply blossom from between her shoulder blades, growing in size as they did so. Soon, they were enormous, crowding against the nearby trees with a soft rustle of rich brown feathers. Mia shook out the primaries, which were a lovely russet orange, then tucked both wings close and fished an old candy bar from her pocket.
"You're part of the secret club now, I guess," she said, taking a bite. "Joshua too. These big honkin' wings are classified information, clear?"
“Woaaaaahhhhhhhh,” Arabelle exclaimed as Mia’s wings spread from her back. “Nice! Don’t worry, people hate witches, so I’m used to keeping my magic hidden as well.”
She watched as the highest point of the wings brushed against the trees’ branches. “And I’m assuming you can fly with those?”
"You bet. Can't take off on low ground or with no breeze, but once I'm up, I stay up." It felt good to share her secret with someone after so long, but she played it cool and stowed the candy bar wrapper back in her pocket. "Sure save a lot of gas money, lemme tell ya. Unfortunately, flying costs more calories than you would believe, but I think it's worth it. And who knows, it could come in handy around here, too—assuming there isn't a magical roof or some friend waiting to shoot me out of the sky."
Joshua went wide-eyed when Mia showed her wings. He wasn't the only weird one? "Wooowwww…" he gasped. "That's so cool! I can–well, Mama says I should keep it secret, but you shared your secret so I'm gonna share mine. I can turn into birds," the boy said, with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. He knew Mama wouldn't tell him to be quiet about it without a good reason, but it felt really good to tell them.
Mia glanced down at Joshua with raised eyebrows. "Hey! Really? That's pretty cool, kiddo!" She grinned at him and ruffled his hair. "Like, birds plural? A whole flock of birds? or just one? I've never heard of a power like that before."
“Definitely,” Arabelle agreed with Mia. She tilted her head at Joshua, unsure how to engage with him. If Mia was a… Happa-Brynn? Then what was he? Was he a witch, or something else? She thought she remembered a friend of hers had a daughter who turn into a crow, but she hadn’t yet heard of a witch who could turn into multiple animals, as Joshua implied he could do.
She was going to show Mia some magic of her own, but she assumed Joshua wanted to show off a little too, so she stayed quiet. She took a long drink of her coffee.
(Tbh I wasn't intending for Joshua to be any kind of witch but I might just go that direction)
Joshua shook his head. "No, I can only turn into one at a time, but I can turn into more than one kind! Watch this!" He closed his eyes and after a moment, he seemed to shrink in on himself until instead of a nine-year-old, a blue jay flapped its wings in the air where he was.