Nora and the Witch

Something Magic This Way Comes

Bear's pink ursine nose snuffled the picnic  bag. "Bear no!" I called him sharply. "Not all of that is for you." Bear opened his jaws in a groan, but otherwise obeyed me. I set up the beach blanket beneath the fallen hand of the Obsidian statue. Spreading out our lunch as I sat against Bear laying patiently on his belly and Hanami in my lap.  "Bon Appetit!" I gave Bear his double jam sandwich and three packs of jumbo Bear Bars. Bear voraciously dug in while I enjoyed my own lunch of a double jam sandwich with Chaaps and Dragonfruit juice.

"Wonderful Day for a picnic, huh Hanami?"  I pet the animated cherry blossom bonsai, who submerged her roots in a bowl of fresh water. She blinked and mewed soaking in the warm sun and absorbing the water. "Not too hot, not humid, a fine breeze in the air. Can't get better than this." I rested  my head against Bear. "It's  nice to take a break from all that Crystal Gem stuff. Stopping the Remnant, protecting the city. It gets tiring after a while, sometimes I forget I'm on summer vacation." I inhaled the fresh air and the salty scent of the ocean, closing my eyes. "Sometimes I wanna be just that, a high school girl enjoying her summer before school starts again. At least I have moments like this."

Hanami crawled into in my hand and I lifted her up to my shoulder where she cuddled against my cheek. I chuckled with a bright smile. "Yeah, what a nice and perfectly normal  day."

Bear suddenly stood up and lumbered off with huff. "Hey!" I crashed belly up into the sand. "Bear what the heck!" I stood up and placed Hanami in my pocket, running after  Bear across the beach. " Bear wait up, what's going on buddy?" My ursine friend padded on, raising his great furry head and sniffing the air like a bloodhound. "Bear you better not be sniffing after Fish Stew Pizza again!" I tugged his fur. "Old Kofi's gonna turn you into a meatball sub and he's not light on his threats!" Bear turned and padded toward the secluded cove near the Rainbow Cave I used to explore as a small child.

Bear's hackles raised and the hair on my skin prickled.  There was an electric current in the air like you'd feel before a thunderstorm, but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.  Even Hanami felt it, she curled up in my pocket, trembling. "What in the world is going on?" I murmured, summoning the shield from my bracelet. The cove glowed in an ethereal light, making me quickly retreat behind a rock tugging Bear to follow. What I saw blew my mind. A door appeared out of nowhere and walking through it, a hooded figure with a wooden dragon staff. Its emerald scales glimmered like  the stones in the Rainbow Cave. Something about it looked alive, and I tried to understand what I was seeing.

"What in the Great Name of the Diamonds." I whispered, pulling my sword out of Bear's fur. The figure removed their hood, revealing a teenage girl about my age. She appeared to be Hispanic with tan skin and dark brown hair tied into a messy braid. Her eyes a rich, almost unnatural gold and her ears round but slightly pointed at the top. If I hadn't seen her walk through a magic door I would've assumed she was a cosplayer or part of the Beach City LARP Club, but even then I sensed something different about her.

Something magical.

"Did it work?" The girl glanced around, twitching her ears "Is this the Human Realm?" When the tide touched her foot  she jumped and screamed as if it burned her.  I covered my ears and crouched down, hushing Bear who cocked his head at the curious stranger.

"Wait. My foot's not burned off." The girl gasped, gingerly reaching down and letting the waves touch her fingers. "Oh my Titan." She gaped wide eyed, cupping the water to her face. "It doesn't burn. It worked, I did it." She cheered and threw the water above her head. "I DID IT WOOOO HOOOO!! WHO'S THE HALF BAKED WITCH NOW!!" She jumped and stomped in the water like a child. "Azura Blight!! Interdimensional traveler! Human world here I am!! Oh my gosh I can't wait to explore!!"

Bear and I casted a glance at each other. "Don't think I'll be needing this." I sheathed my sword and placed Hanami between his ears. "Wait here, I don't want you to scare her." I crept behind the rocks to slowly approach her and asses the situation. The girl looked harmless but I wasn't going to let my guard down.  I peered through the open door and saw a volcanic landscape with a colossal skull and its mountainous ribs in the background. No way this is happening...

The door abruptly closed, folding up and vanishing behind her. "Okay. That might be a problem." She drooped her ears. "But not to worry! I created the door before, I can do it again when I'm ready to go home." She giggled, making me instantly like her. "I can't wait to meet humans. I wonder what they're really like? I mean,  Mama and Abuela are humans but that's only two. I just hope they don't think I'm too weird. Hmm I should practice talking to them."

"You can start with me." I approached her from behind the rocks, smiling and waving a friendly greeting. "Hello there!" The girl screamed and  hit at me with her staff. I blocked her with my shield pushing her back. "It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt  you! You know, you're not exactly gonna make human friends if you hit them on the head at first meeting."

The girl clutched her dragon staff. "Oh.... my....gosh.... I'm sorry! You popped outta nowhere and I thought you might be an unfriendly demon. Do you even have demons here? No you don't, Mama told me that. Oh man I really screwed up, I am so sorry!"

"It's okay." I said forgiving, offering a handshake. "I'm Nora Universe, you can call me Nora." The girl stared at my hand confused before realizing what she had to do. "Oh...right!" She shook my hand and introduced herself. "I am Azura Noceda-Blight, but you can call me Azura, or Zuri like my friends do."

"Pleasure to meet you Azura." I said happily. " I couldn't help but notice you're not from around here." "I'm not." Azura explained. "I'm from the Boiling Isles, it's another world  ruled by magic and inhabited by demons and witches." "So cool!" I beamed starry eyed. "I can't believe I just met a witch from another world! Wait you are a witch right?"

"You bet I am!" Azura said, proudly. " And you're a human?  The strange girl circled me, examining me like a was a new species. "Yes. Well mostly human." I answered awkwardly. "And....you're not?" "I'm half human." Azura explained. "That's where I get this luscious complexion from."

"Oh I get it, witches are their own species where you're from." I understood, blinking in realization. "Hey, you're just like my Dad! He's half human too." Azura stimmed excitedly. (Oh yeah I already like her.) "No! Way! You have witches here!?"

"Not witches." I explained. "In this world, humans live alongside an extraterrestrial species called Gems. My father is half Gem, which makes me a quarter Gem, but I take a lot after his side because I posses Gem abilities."

"Cool." Azura smiled. "You're just like me! I'm half witch and half human. I have magic from my Mom's side, but  I seem to take more after my Mama when it comes to controlling it."

"Wait a minute, you got me confused." I scratched my head. "Right I should explain." Azura snapped her fingers. "I don't have a mom and a dad. I have two moms." "I get that part. That's not weird around here, a lot of parents are two moms or two dads." I figured out how to say this without sounding rude. "But how can you take after both of your moms, biologically speaking?"

"I get what you're coming at." Azura smirked knowingly. "Witches can reproduce with the same sex. With males it's pretty easy, one of them changes their cells and they basically become  a seahorse. Females  can't do that, it's a lot more complicated. One takes the genetic material from her partner and combines it  with her own. The one that does the taking and assembling is the one who carries the baby. Normally either witch could be the baby mama, but seeing my Mama was a human...."

"Your witch mother is the one who gave birth to you."

"Correctomundo!!" Azura clapped her hands.

"That is so cool." I tapped my foot excited. "Hey Azura, would you wanna spend the day with me? I could show you around town, get you to see what my world is like." "I! Would!" LOVE TOO!!" Azura squeaked clapping her hands. "I can't believe it, I'm not in the Human Realm for even a few minutes and I made a new friend!"

"And you're gonna meet more!" I smiled. "Come with me back to the beach house. I'll introduce you to some of the friends I've made here, starting with the first. You're not afraid of big furry animals right?"