The Sisters of the Woods Ch.12

“That’s an interesting crowd.”

Nic stood at the edge of the Croire’s yard, gawking at the small group of beings that had gathered. The sisters were there, as were Orlin and Zephyr, along with a few more people that Nic didn’t recognize. They were mingled among a far larger gathering of forest creatures, birds, beasts, mammals, lizards, and amphibians mixed in with a smattering of far more obviously magical creatures. Nic even saw some pixies hanging about, apparently holding no hard feelings for their earlier misadventure.

“Yeah,” Geniveve said. “More than usual.

Nic glanced over where she stood next to him, finding her in a state of unease. They had made it back to the house just over an hour ago and Geniveve had gone straight to work, mixing paint and attacking the canvas with gusto. Nic had been impressed by her passion for it, even if it did leave her front rather stained with slightly shifting splotches of random colour.

She’d finished just in time, refusing to let him see the finished product as apparently that was bad luck. Nic didn’t know if he quite believed that but hadn’t pressed, just happy to see her sounding confident for a change. He’d helped cover the work with a tarp and set about levitating it through the house to the show. They’d arrived to find the crowd already gathered, their arrival going unnoticed at the edge of the jovial atmosphere. At least he’d thought so until a familiar voice sounded from right behind him.

“There you two are!” said Renee.

“Hello ma’am,” Nic said, keeping his surprise in check.

“Hey now, don’t you be ma’aming me,” she said, wagging a finger. “What’d I say about manners?”

“They’re dull?”

“Dull and boring, just the worst,” Renee laughed, turning to her daughter. “Everything ready sweetie?”

Geniveve nodded, gesturing weakly to the painting following behind them.

“Good, good, put it over there with the rest.” She pointed at a small pile of covered objects, sat to the side of what Nic presumed was the stage for the evening. A cleared portion of the lawn with chairs arranged haphazardly before it, small glowing orbs hovering above to light the scene.

“You okay with going last?” Renee continued. “Your sisters already got the order sorted.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine,” Geniveve said.

“Good, good, and pudding,” Renee said, giving her daughter’s shoulder a squeeze before darting off. “Quickly now.”

“Nervous?” Nic asked.

Geniveve didn’t immediately answer, her gaze vanishing into the middle distance as she rubbed the back of her arm. The words to retract his question were halfway out of Nic’s mouth when she finally spoke.

“Yeah,” she said. “But I think I’m ready.”

Before Nic could think of a reply, a low whistle rang out over the yard, drawing all eyes to where Renee hovered at the front of the stage.

“Friends! Friends!” she called. “Thank you all for coming! It’s always a fun day when we can share it with you pack of losers!”

A light chuckle rippled through the crowd, a few calling back with equally light insults. Renee took them in her stride, waving from side to side as she continued.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re all wonderful people. Now, if you could find your seats, I believe our rocket ace is eager to show off what she’s been working on.”

An excited murmur ran through the crowd as they shuffled over to the chairs. Nic and Geniveve joined them, choosing two seats on the edge just as Adelaide took the stage. She wore a blue dress with long, flowing tassels hanging from the back and wrists that wafted lightly as she moved. Held in the crook of one arm, she carried a new rocket broom, slimmer than the one she’d been riding that morning and polished a gleaming silver.

Reaching center stage, Adelaide bowed to the crowd, earning polite applause as she pressed several buttons on her broom. It sprang to life, small thrusters beginning to glow up the length of the body. When Adelaide released it, the broom stayed vertical, remaining in place as she took several steps back and bowed again, this time to her broom. To everyone’s delight, the broom bowed back, tilting forward to salute its partner.

The broom followed suit, firing its thrusters to mirror her movements on its half of the stage. Though far less expressive, it matched her perfectly, hitting every mark with perfect accuracy.

After a moment of this performance the music shifted tempo as dancer and broom came together in the middle of the stage. With a single fluid motion, the former grabbed hold as the latter rose into the air, never once breaking rhythm. The dance continued unabated, now airborne, swooping over the crowd in a daring display of acrobatics. Applause and laughter broke out in earnest, mingled with gasps as she intentionally dipped low over their heads.

As the music hit its crescendo, the duo returned to the stage, spinning about in endless loops that would have made Nic ill, but which Adelaide pulled off flawlessly. With a grand flourish, she leapt from the broom and spread her arms, the ribbons billowing like great wings. She landed like a snowflake, settling to the ground on dainty tiptoe before fluidly transitioning into a bow, the broom settling behind her in a picture-perfect denouement.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, calling congratulations and encores. She smiled, accepting all graciously as she made her way off the stage.

“How long did it take her to learn that?” Nic asked Geniveve. She just shrugged, having already stopped clapping.

“No idea. She’s always been good at it.”

Before Nic could reply, Sylvie took to the stage. Behind her followed seven boxes hovering in mid-air, each one painted in a colour of the rainbow. She brought them to rest center stage, arranging them in a neat row before herself, the result reminding Nic of a child’s xylophone.

Raising her arms, she began to wave them back and forth like a conductor, gesturing first to the rightmost red box. Its top popped open and a stalk emerged from within, slowly working its way skywards. When it had reached roughly a foot in length the tip split open, unfurling into a lush red flower. Music began to play in the same moment, not from the speakers as Adelaide’s had, but instead from the plant itself, the petals shivering as it sang.

With another wave of Sylvie’s hand, the blue box sprung open, and a second flower emerged. Different from the first in every way, colour, shape, and the tune it played as it opened to the world. Lower pitched than its sibling, the two sounds nonetheless merged as one, elevating one another to heights they never could have achieved on their own.

One by one, Sylvie directed each box to open and reveal another flower. Each was distinct from one another, though unmistakably related as they sang, their voices melding into a single, perfect harmony that rang out across the yard. Nic found himself swaying to the sound, lost in the melody and feeling at intense peace with his surroundings. He was genuinely sad when the song ended, replaced by rapturous applause to which Nic enthusiastically added.

Celeste was up next, struggling to haul a large clockwork device behind her. Why she wasn’t also employing magic Nic had no clue, but no one seemed overly bothered about it as she shoved the machine into place. At the flip of a switch the device whirred to life, components spinning, clattering, and throwing off bursts of light at random.

“don’t forget the-” Selene said, emerging from her sister’s shadow.

“Yes! I remembered!” Celeste snapped. “I’m not an idiot.”

The machine gave a cough, followed by a singularly unhealthy grinding sound. Celeste’s eye darted between the machine and her twin, saying nothing as she gave the former a sharp smack. Instantly the noise ceased, settling back into its gentle hum.

“Alright everyone,” Celeste announced to the crowd. “Brace yourselves, this is going to be a ride.”

Nic did as told, leaning forward in rapt attention as he waited for the demonstration to begin. He kept waiting, the deep, awkward silence carrying on for a full minute. Celeste’s face grew redder with every passing second until she leaned over to Selene.

“Do the thing,” she hissed.

“oh sorry, did I forget something?” Selene deliberately did not hiss.

“Really? Right now?”

“no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Will you just do the thing!?”

Selene turned to give her an expectant look, drawing an exasperated sigh from Celeste.

“Will you just do the thing please!”

Wearing a satisfied smile, Selene rose into the air, her shadowy form beginning to rapidly expand in all directions. Soon the entire space fell under her presence, snuffing out the light spheres and leaving them all in near pitch darkness save for the dim glow of the machine. For a moment nothing happened, the crowd sitting in tangible anticipation as they waited.

Then, in a literal flash, a burst of light rushed from the device, washing over them in a dazzling wave. Nic had to blink several times to clear the afterimage but was rewarded with a breathtaking view.

A starscape hung in the air, projected directly onto the shadows from the device. Millions of stars, reproduced in what Nic could only assume was perfect detail. A brilliant tapestry of nebulae, pulsars, aether, and void, all seeming to stretch on forever. It was so realistic that Nic found himself unconsciously moving to avoid a comet that flew towards him, coming so close that he could have reached out and touched it.

It lasted altogether too little time, Selene eventually retracting back to her normal shape and allowing sunlight to return. Nic had to blink his vision back again, joining in the applause blind and only just regaining his sight as the next act took the stage.

It seemed Lunette and Estelle had settled their differences as the two of them elected to go as a pair. Or at least Nic was pretty sure that was what was going on because otherwise their act didn’t make too much sense. Estelle sat on the stage, waving her rattle around like a wand, bubbles spewing from the star shaped head. They took many shapes, forming into stars, cubes, reptiles, cats, dogs, birds, and a selection of other creatures Nic didn’t recognize. Why, or how, she did this was unclear, but she apparently found it hilarious going by her giggles.

All of them immediately moved to swarm Lunette. Though Nic felt a stab of worry, no one else seemed concerned and it quickly became clear why as Lunette leapt into the fray. She shifted form into that of a small manticore and darted between the bubbles, striking out with stinger and claw to burst each one in turn. They produced exaggerated sounds in response, some the expected pops, many more being roars, squeals, and chirps as each creature died.

Far from upsetting her, this seemed to utterly delight Estelle as she summoned more and larger creatures. Lunette was right on the ball to react, shifting from manticore to a juvenile Roc. She swooped through the scene, taking after her older sister and using gusts of wind to herd the bubbles together, easy picking for her long talons. In less than a minute she had the entire swarm fended off.

Ever more amused, Estelle swung her wand above her head in a wide circle and summoned her final act. A humanoid form this time, though swiftly growing far beyond the build of any human. Arms like tree trunks, barrel chested and a lumpy blob that looked closer to a boulder than a head. A troll, Nic realized, or at least a child’s imagining of one.

It reared back, roaring somehow as it struck out with its massive fists. Lunette dove, folding her wings to plummet to the ground and duck the blow. She shifted again just before impact, this time into the familiar form of a ferret. In a flash she was moving, darting about between the troll’s feet. Grunting in annoyance, the bubble raised one of them and stomped down, trying to crush Lunette with distressingly serious effort.

The young shifter proved too quick, morphing again into the form of a snake to wrap around the troll’s leg. In a flash she had climbed the length of its body and wrapped around the neck. Opening her fanged maw, she bit into the head, bursting the bubble with a comically small pop, leaving her to fall to the ground and land next to Estelle back in the form of a ferret. The little one was all smiles as she hugged her sister, babbling away with glee.

A chorus of cooing cheers followed the two as they shuffled off stage, clearing the way for Lucile. A cauldron followed her, floating alongside two intricate glass statues half as tall as she was, each depicting some complicated molecular structure. Settling all three objects in the middle of the stage, she turned to the crowd, somehow demanding attention without looking as if she cared what anyone thought.

Once she was certain all eyes were on her, she produced a small hammer and swung it at the lefthand statue. It shattered on impact, thousands of pieces showering down on the ground. Nic winced at the sight, joined by the rest of the crowd, Sylvie in particular glaring at her sister with withering disapproval. Lucile paid them no mind, instead retrieving a vial from a holster on her belt. Swishing it through the cauldron, she extracted a draught of bright yellow liquid, holding it up for them to see. Once everyone looked suitably engaged, she turned to the second statue and poured the liquid over it.

To Nic’s surprise, it didn’t slide off but instead somehow soaked into the glass. In seconds it was gone, not a drop remaining anywhere on the statue or the ground, and Lucile took up the hammer again. She moved to do something, then thought better of it and turned back to the crowd.

“You want the honors boy friend?” she asked.

Sputtering, Nic looked around at the crowd, the familiar feeling of eyes boring through him from all around. Thankfully these ones were much kinder, everyone encouraging him to take the offer. He glanced over at Geniveve, her eyes cast down at the ground, though she did manage to nod at him. Needing no more encouragement than that, Nic rose and approached the stage, taking the offered weapon from Lucile.

“Take your best shot,” she said, stepping back.

Mildly confused, Nic stepped up to the statue, raised the hammer and took a swing. He was unprepared for when it bounced clean off, pain shooting up his arm as if he’d struck a piece of solid iron. He stared slack jawed between witch, hammer, and statue, which Lucile seemed to find no end of amusement in.

“Problem?” Lucile asked. “Why don’t you try again.”

Nic did, planting his feet and gripping the hammer with both hands as he took another swing. This one was somehow even less effective, the statue utterly refusing to break in the face of all logic and sense. He must have looked quite silly, laughter ringing out from the crowd and Lucile herself.

“Invulnerability potion?” Nic asked, brain slowly putting the pieces together.

“No,” Lucile said, taking the hammer from him. She used a burst of magic to levitate it and send it flying at the statue. The impact half worked, the top flying off to land in the yard, though both pieces were otherwise undamaged. “But close enough.”

Despite himself, Nic laughed, giving her an exaggerated bow. That earned a hearty chuckle from the crowd, everyone applauding as both he and Lucile cleared the stage.

“Right, Veve,” Renee called. “You’re up dear.”

To her credit, Geniveve did not shrink from the words, though she was very much not excited by the sudden attention. Recognizing the look on her face, Nic moved to intercept her as he returned to his seat, gently touching her elbow as she passed. It made her jump and look up at what Nic hoped was an encouraging smile.

“Good luck,” he said.

He was rewarded with a small smile and a nod.

“Thank you,” she said. “Here goes nothing.”

*

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