The Witching Hour

Chapter 10 - Tea

September ended before any of the witches noticed. October ushered in clouds and patches of rain as well as a new normal. The witches put themselves on a strict training schedule. Three times a week Ivy met up with Ella and Aura to go over attack methods while Ivy saw Marina twice a week for 'official' trainings. When they weren't preparing, they were either hanging out at Tulip Café where Marina worked or at Ivy's flower shop.

Today happened to be a Marina day. They spent the morning and most of the early afternoon going over spells and mixing potions. Thankfully Ivy took to that a lot better than the physical training. By no means was she an expert at either one, but her time in the flower shop helped her identify herbs and other plants.

By the time she and Marina finished for the day, the two were famished. The water witch didn't feel like going to her own café so they opted for Twisted Teatime. It also afforded them a chance to see what the fairies were up to. Marina and Ivy slid into a booth, ordering a green tea and hot chocolate respectively.

"You're killing it, you know?" Marina looked at her pointedly. "Ella and Aura told me how well you're doing with them."

"Sheesh, you sound like a teacher." Ivy rolled her eyes and laughed. "What are you going to do, admonish me when I fail?"

"You won't fail."

The waiter placed their drinks in front of them. They thanked the server, the only thing to break the silence that had descended. Ivy scratched the crown of her head awkwardly. Her lips parted, but no words to came out.

"Ivy, I know you." Marina looked at her squarely. "You'll be okay."

Then she proceeded to take a sip of her tea and Ivy lost it. She bellied over in giggles imaging the Kermit meme she constantly saw on her social media feeds. Marina eyed her quizzically and waited for her friend to regain composure.

"The way...you did that...straight faced then...to drink the tea." Ivy barely got the words out through her laughter. People started to stare, and for a moment Marina worried a fairy had slipped something into their drinks. She wouldn't put it past them.

Marina shook her head with a grin pulling at her lips. "You're crazy, you know that Ivy Vale? So crazy."

"I have to be if I keep hanging out with you folk," she retorted wearing a smirk. Her eyes swept the room wondering how many people were ingesting the little fairy potions they liked to slip in the drinks. They would find out soon enough.

"Hey, you know Griffin's back." Marina cut through the silence. "It appeared he got back about a month ago or so."

"Griffin? Didn't he dart after..." Ivy trailed off alluding to the fact that both his parents had been brutally murdered. The cops never found the responsible parties, but Ella knew that it wasn't a human attack due to the fact that his parents were pretty powerful witches.

"Yeah, I know, but he came back for some reason." Marina shrugged her long fingers stirring the tea absentmindedly. "All the siblings scattered across the US. Reportedly he just got back from helping his older brother move into a place down in California."

"I can't believe he came back." Ivy shook her head in disbelief. She focused her eyes on her friend. "Had it been me, I would have stayed away."

Marina tapped her fingers against her lips and shook her head. "I'm not so sure about that. Somehow you ended up here despite the running around your mother did. You could have gone anywhere, yet you chose Malachi Peak."

Ivy pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "Losing a parent is different, though."

"Valid, but one never knows..." Marina raised her arms and shrugged her shoulders. "Somehow he came back. We'll have to ask him why next time we see him. The witches really should have a meeting one of these days."