Little Crowling: A Nevermoor Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Our Wundersmith

"Hawthorne, come on. Move, it's my turn to sit on our favourite cushion."

"You can't make me!"

Morrigan raised an eyebrow at her two best friends as they engaged in their frequent (almost daily) argument over who would take the squishiest, softest floor cushion closest to the fire. She hid a grin and continued reading a copy of The Morning Post from where she was curled up on one of the worn plush armchairs in Hometrain, letting herself soak up the pleasant chatter from the rest of the unit like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold day. 

"Guess we'll just have to share, then, if you're going to be stubborn," Cadence finally groaned, gently shoving Hawthorne across a little and sitting down next to him, ignoring Mahir and Thaddea's protests as the movement caused several of the chess pieces from their game to slide off the board and land with loud plinks on the floor. She mouthed at Morrigan over Hawthorne's shoulder, What else is new?

Morrigan shrugged in reply, a hint of a smile twitching at her cheek as she flipped her scarf over her shoulder. She'd thought it was cold enough in Nevermoor, but the Wunsoc weather phenomenon - just a little more - meant plummeting temperatures and long, freezing blizzards inside the Wundrous Society grounds.

"Er...no thanks, I'll...just go see what Morrigan's doing," Hawthorne finished, blushing and standing up from the cushion with some effort as he hastily made his way over to Morrigan's armchair. 

She grinned at his red cheeks. "What's up, shadow-vanquisher? Anything interesting happen on the weekend?"

Hawthorne flicked a chocolate-brown curl out of his face. "You know, the usual. Lots of things, actually. I had to babysit Baby Dave whilst my parents went to the Nevermoor Market for a whole day. It was brutal. Never let a toddler near your dragonriding gear - and oh, I almost forgot! How's life as Nevermoor's most famous citizen?"

Morrigan gave him a friendly punch in the arm. "Shut up." It was true, though. She'd taken all the headlines of Nevermoor's foremost newspapers - she'd made Jupiter check as soon as they'd woken up. Even the Looking Glass, a tabloid known for their tendency to criticise Wunimal behaviour, screamed Wundersmith Singularity: Could Squall's Successor Save Lives?

"No, really," Hawthorne pressed, his freckled face becoming more serious as he studied her for a moment. "What do you think about it?"

Morrigan sighed. "It's...a bit weird, but yeah. I'm fine." She paused for a moment to accept an iced chocolate biscuit from the polar bear biscuit jar Francis was passing around, dunking it in the hot blackcurrant tea Arch had made for them earlier. "It's just, this changes everything," she added, trying not to spill biscuit crumbs as she chewed. "I don't know what the rest of the Society thinks, and the Elders. What if they think I'm..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands.

"Evil?" Hawthorne said in disbelief, sharing a worried glance with Miss Cheery, who'd paused mid-biscuit bite to tune into their conversation from the other side of the carriage. "How many times do we have to tell you, you're not evil!"

Morrigan wanted so desperately to believe him, to believe in herself, but...ever since she'd heard from Jupiter that the Nevermoor Council was going to declare her Wundrous cloud a Singularity, all she could think about was Squall. She kept turning the same questions over and over in her head, wondering if he'd ever created a Singularity when he was younger. If he had, which Wundrous Arts it had involved? And was it still there now?

But there was one question that surfaced relentlessly, no matter how much Morrigan tried to force it down. It was the question she'd never wanted to ask, and yet there it was.

What if  I'm evil, too?

***

"Brothers and sisters, loyal for life. Tethered for always, true as a knife." 

The murmured oath of the crowd swelled and dropped like waves riding the crest of a tide, then fanning out across the shore. Knife. Knife. Knife. 

The words should have made Morrigan feel relaxed, calmer somehow. After all, the rest of the Society already knew she was a Wundersmith. What was the worst that could happen?

She nervously shifted her feet from where she was standing, pulse racing and fingernails digging into Cadence's arm, as Elder Quinn took to the stage and tapped the microphone, inciting a round of scattered applause. The Elders had called this important gathering soon after the start of second period (Morrigan was secretly relieved they'd got to miss her, Cadence's and Lam's dreaded History of the Nevermoor Boroughs lecture).

The frail, ancient Elder cleared her throat, the sound echoing through the microphone to where hundreds of Wuns, young and old, stood in the magnificent gardens outside Proudfoot house. "Today we gather to celebrate an important milestone of one of our junior scholars." Elder Quinn's ancient eyes landed straight on Morrigan in the crowd, and she fought the urge to pull Hawthorne in front of her as a human shield.

"Miss Crow has created something truly marvellous," Elder Quinn continued, announcing to the stunned crowd. "A Wundrous Act that will surely save lives, a real Singularity. But we'll get to that later. First, Gavin Squires has an important announcement to make regarding..."

"Pst. Morrigan?" Morrigan's attention was snatched away from Elder Quinn by a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see Anah crouching at her side.

She frowned. "Anah? What's -"

"Shush," Anah whispered, holding a finger to her lips and shaking her head of blonde ringlets a little. "I don't want to draw attention to us." She waited for Morrigan's nod before continuing, "I just wanted you to know, I've...been thinking about everything I've ever thought about you, why I was frightened of you at first. It...really hasn't been fair." Morrigan opened her mouth to protest, but Anah cut her off. "I was such a snob. And it was all because I thought you were dangerous, that you would be like Squall." Anah looked up at Morrigan, taking her hand in hers and squeezing it a little. "Now I know the real you, and...I don't know why I ever thought that. 

"Everyone in the Society, once they know you, once they know the Morrigan everyone in our unit loves...well, they can't possibly think you're evil." Anah beamed at Morrigan. "I know you've been worrying about that, so remember, you don't have to." Her coat made a crinkling noise as she stood to leave, brushing her way through the crowd.

Morrigan blinked back tears which, to her surprise, were suddenly welling in her eyes and smiled hopefully to herself, turning over what Anah had told her. They can't possibly think you're evil. 

"...as we said at our last gathering of this nature, and we reiterate today, Miss Crow is our Wundersmith." Elder Quinn gazed out at Morrigan once again, giving her a tiny wink. "Remember that. No matter what she may do from here, we know that she is a force for good. Our Wundersmith. Sisters and brothers, loyal for life." 

The Elder stepped down from the podium to rejoin Elder Wong and Elder Saga as the crowd echoed the oath, "Sisters and brothers, loyal for life." Someone cheered enthusiastically as the last whispers died out, and Morrigan didn't have to look behind her to know it was Jupiter. She smiled a little at the thought of the familiar redhead in his usual 'Monday outfit' - a neon green vest over bubblegum-pink slacks and orange shoes.

The crowd started heading off in their respective directions, some wary, some relaxed, some looking unabashedly straight at Morrigan.

"I told you, Mog," her patron called joyously to her, bright ginger hair flying behind him as he raced up to where Morrigan and her unit stood clustered near the front. He enveloped her in a crushing hug. "I told you everyone would be proud of you. You're our Wundersmith."

Morrigan grinned. She felt a strange mix of elation, relief, and something else. Something she hadn't been able to properly define until just now, but it was the feeling of finally knowing...she belonged somewhere. 

This was definitely a moment she would never forget.