The Vampire & Her Witch

”So, a short work table and rolling pins,” Ollie said, hoping to lighten the conversation back up rather than dwelling on the topic of Hauke’s exile. ”A long knife for cutting fish, and what else do we need. Virve?”

”I don’t know how to cook much of anything,” the veteran soldier admitted. ”I can manage to roast meat over a campfire, and I can mix flour and water for travel bread, but don’t expect much from me.”

”I wonder if I can find someone selling books then,” Ollie said as he rubbed his chin in thought. ”You’ve traveled more places than most of us. If someone is selling recipes for things you’ve eaten elsewhere that you like, I can help you learn how to make them. That way we can both learn things together,” he offered.

”I’d like that,” Virve said, reaching out with a heavy paw to clap the young knight on the back. Lately, it had seemed like the two of them were on opposite sides of everything and they clashed frequently, but Virve had a hard time disliking the flame-haired human. He was trying to do his best, each and every day and even when they disagreed, he’d never once tried to distance himself from her.

”But Ollie,” she warned with a teasing grin on her face. ”I might want to make spicy things. Are you sure you’re up to learning the recipes together with me?”

”Oh, that’s fine,” Ollie said with an answering grin of his own, finally seeing a way of getting back at the witch with the iron stomach. ”I’ll learn to eat spicy things, but you have to taste your failures to learn from them,” he added, thinking of a few of the horrible failures concocted by the head cook in Lothian Manor.

Growing up, Ollie had been too poor to see any food go to waste, even if it was extraordinarily sour, salty or otherwise off. Knowing Virve, she would likely eat anything that was properly cooked, but what about the things that weren’t? Would her iron stomach hold up even then?

”All right you two, that’s enough,” Ashlynn said, clapping her hands lightly before they fell into another round of teasing, though this one seemed friendlier than a few of their recent arguments had. ”Virve, Ollie is planning to shop for our kitchens, what are you going to shop for?”

”Well,” the veteran soldier said, pausing for a moment in thought. ”You said that one of the hats we need is a Hedge Hat for foraging in the wilderness and I’ve seen Big Sister Heila’s hat,” Virve mentioned. ”But the Briar is a different kind of wilderness than the Vale of Mists. We’ll want good cloaks to keep the water off and even better socks and boots to keep your feet dry in the woods,” she mused.

”Let me help make sure everyone is well outfitted for the days and nights we need to spend in the wild,” she said, thumping her chest as she realized just how many things they would need to spend several nights in the wilderness if they needed to trek to where different trees or herbs could be found. ”And Sir Ollie can help me pick out the tools we need to cook together in the wilderness,” she added with a wide smile.

”Oh, I can help, I can help too,” Talauia said, fluttering up and looking out over the market. ”Bottles and jars for potions and cauldrons for concocting. Oils for infusing and sharp, sharp, sharp scissors for trimming delicate plants and all the things, all the things you need for witchcraft. I helped set up Auntie Ashlynn and Cousin Heila’s huts in the Briar with all the things they needed, so I can help here too,” she promised.

”I, I want to help too,” Hauke said, looking at the group as he furrowed his brows in thought. ”But I think I need everyone’s help because I don’t know what you’ll like.”

”Just say it, Hauke,” Ashlynn said. ”And remember, you don’t have to spend your money on the coven if you don’t want to. I know you’re far from home, so if there are things that will make you more comfortable then you should take care of yourself while we’re here.”

”No, it’s fine,” Hauke insisted with a shake of his head that caused a brief flurry of snow to form in the misty air around him. ”I might make my room extra cold. I learned how to make Eternal Ice from the ancestors and I can place blocks of it in my room to make it colder instead of lighting a fire in the hearth. We don’t have many fancy things in the High Pass and I don’t need much to be comfortable.”

”But, looking around,” he said, pointing out several of the finely dressed festival goers who were wandering through the expensive marketplace on the inner wall. ”I see many people wearing silver, gold and cut jewels. But Lady Ashlynn, I rarely see you wearing many ornaments, and even fewer on sisters Heila and Virve or brother Ollie. So, I thought, since there is a banquet tonight and many more fancy events to follow, maybe I could help purchase some ornaments for everyone?”

”Hauke, men don’t really wear jewelry like women do,” Ollie started, only for Ashlynn to cut him off with a sharp look.

”You’re a knight now, Sir Ollie,” she reminded. ”When have you seen Owain or his knights without a heavy ring or two on their fingers, a cuff around their wrists or a necklace hanging across their chests? Or cloak pins, hat pins, belts with carved and gilded buckles,” she said, ticking things off on her fingers as she thought about all of the things that not only Owain but her own father had worn for formal occasions or even more casual meetings with other lords.

”We’re returning to human lands soon, Ollie,” Ashlynn promised. ”Hauke wants to help you equip yourself as a knight for the battles that are fought with words over banquet tables. Don’t you think it would be good to accept his gift?”

”When you put it like that,” Ollie said, blushing slightly. ”I guess it’s hard to refuse.”

”Let me fill the cupboards,” Heila offered, having finally arrived at a conclusion. ”There are many different kinds of teas in the Eldritch nations, so please taste things with me and let me know what you all like. And everyone needs their own tea-cup too,” she added. ”I saw someone with hand painted porcelain so please, pick out what you like so I can make tea for everyone in their cups,” she said, looking very serious about tea.

Of course, she intended to go far beyond just tea when she took charge of the cupboards. Plates, bowels, goblets for wine and a dozen other things flickered through her mind as she thought of the places she could help make meals an experience that belonged to the coven instead of just a time to fill their bellies.

Overlooking the group, Ashlynn wore a broad smile as each member of her coven looked for ways to put their mark on the newly forming group. She would have been just as happy to see them indulging themselves, or shopping for gifts to give their friends and loved ones. So long as they were enjoying the afternoon and their time together, she would have been completely content.

But seeing them each putting time and thought into how they could use their unique knowledge and experience to help build the coven’s foundation... it filled her heart with warmth and pride. The days ahead would be hard, but as long as they had the memories they built today and many others like it, then the coven that emerged from the coming crisis would grow into something much greater than a trained squad of warrior witches.

This was the path to nurturing a coven that was a family, and Ashlynn was determined to ensure they never lost their way, no matter what storms shook them in the days to come.