Chapter 16 – No Longer Alone.

The four of them sat on the edge of the grass verge, trying to look anywhere except towards the wreckages. Well, three of them. Felicia was now resting in Julia’s lap, her cute little body rising and lowering gently as she breathed slowly, Julia occasionally giving her a pat, running her hand along her back. She looked a little conflicted, and was deep in thought, the actions of her hands almost instinctual. Possibly a good thing, given that Felicia was more than just a fox. Callie wanted to say something to help her, but she couldn’t think of anything to say right now, and Felicia was probably giving her the best form of comfort. She really had no experience in this sort of situation, even though she had suffered through it all herself.

Of course there could be other things on her mind as well. Who was she to know?

Burt and Riddling were a bit further down the road, Riddling still on the phone, but Callie was happy to ignore their existence. Burt was not looking good at all, and if he just died she wouldn’t be surprised. What was a surprise was how well Riddling had fared. For someone she had no awareness of at all, his apparent ability to use magic was down right suspicious. That, and the way he had reacted when Julia had first mentioned Prince’s name. She was certain that whatever had happened at the anomaly was related to him, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that that was also related to what Alyther was looking for.

But did that mean that it was all connected to her parents as well? She wouldn’t put anything past them, but, well, it was a line of thinking that she did not want to go down right now. The last thing that she wanted to think about was her parents, especially as she was going to have to face them soon. ‘Hey, mother, father, I’m Callie. Your daughter.’ No, it would not go well at all. She could hear their shouting already, as they denied her, declaring that she was born a boy, looked like a boy, and would forever be a boy. Irrespective of what she thought, how she dressed, and even that her hair had suddenly gained years of growth. Well, damn them too. She was a girl, irrespective of how her body looked right now, and what they said would not change that fact. She. Was. A. Woman. And she was Uriah’s too! Come hell or high water, she would marry him.

As to where that left Julia, she did not know. She had said before that she didn’t care. But right now, with what they’d been through, with how Julia had opened up to them, and with Felicia’s antics, she did.

It was another complicated feeling. One that she just wanted to box away, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to. It was no longer just about her.

She was sitting right up against Uriah, as she always did so, her awareness of why she did that much clearer now. She wanted his comfort, his company. His touch. And he had always indulged her, even if he had been reluctant to initiate it himself. It made her feel just that little bit more special. Actually a whole lot special. Right now, his smell was a little different than usual. The side effect of how he’d used his magic she was certain. He smelt a little... foxy? It was the best fit that she could come up with, but it really wasn’t important. She liked it. It suited him.

“We haven’t done that in a long time,” she said after a little while, gently placing one of her hands on his leg. As much as she had hated being a spellsword, being forced to be a man and fit a certain stereotype, and use her magic in ways that didn’t really work for her, getting to fight again with Uriah had been really affirming, in a strange way. Perfectly in sync, she now as herself. Her magic had revelled in it, letting loose in ways that she hadn’t done before. It had felt so much more natural this time, her magic willing and eager.

“Probably not going to be the last either,” Uriah observed, his voice quiet.

Callie could feel his arm behind her, moving a little, and then hesitating. She looked up at him, a soft look to her face. He had hugged her before, but only when she’d been crying. And that one time in the car. “Please?” she said, as her other arm reached around to find his. “I’d... like that. Always do.” Uriah hesitated for a moment, as their fingers brushed, before he gave her a small smile and moved his arm to around her waist and pulled her into a one armed hug, Callie leaning into it. It was indeed nice, Callie smiling to herself.

“This is nice,” Uriah mumbled quietly, Callie looking up at him again to see that he was in fact blushing and looking oh so adorable in his bashfulness.

“It is,” she said back, running her hand down his leg. For both of them. Just being there, in the embrace, in the warmth of the day. Being close together like this.

“The features,” she said after a little bit, her body feeling like it wanted to doze in the warmth of the sun and of Uriah. “They were so much more vivid and prominent than last time. It suited you, you know. You looked... hot.” He felt her face go that way as well as she said it. But hey, she was allowed to think that he looked that way. She’d always thought him handsome and beautiful, yes a weird combination, but that is just how she labelled it in her mind, and with the magic blazing around him, it just took his attractiveness up a notch or twenty. She had never admitted that to him of course, that would have just been plain weird. But now, that they were engaged, she was more than allowed to, and that she would.

“Thanks...” he finally murmured after a moment. Another glance showed that he was blushing even more than before. Callie couldn’t help smile at that, planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Yours isn’t the only one to have changed either,” he then continued, holding out his left hand for her to see. His mark... it was beautiful and mesmerising. It had only taken up about a third of his hand before, not really standing out much from the rest of the spellswords apart from its slightly larger size and more intricate detailing, only showing his affinity for fire and training as a spellsword. But now, it was taking up the entirety of his hand, the intent of flames stretching right across it, the instinct and aspect of the fox overlaid across it. And tucked in between the two layers, going down to his ring, the connection to the witch. To her.

It was weird, they were more patterns than anything else, different to what she was used to seeing, yet she understood their meaning more than any of the other marks that she had looked at.

“Oh wow. It’s beautiful. It’s all there too.” She traced her finger along the lines that represented his fox affinities. The core and all nine lines that trailed off it. And then blinked. She could feel his magic too, when she did that, simmering underneath all of that. She’d touched it plenty of times, but never had that sensation. “Why though? Why did yours change as well?” She was the one that had had to come to the realisation.

But then they’d both let loose... Not holding back, and being more real to themselves and each other. Magic was a living thing. That she had only come to realise recently.

Uriah shrugged. “It might be the least of the things that we have to explain, if at all. It is our own mark after all, and somewhat personal.”

He did have a point. Though she wasn’t sure if her parents would see it that way. On one hand, they had never really paid much attention to her mark. On the other, she was sure that they’d notice.

The changes to her own mark had been explosive. It had gone up her arm, the changed part still tingling, but she wasn’t going to be taking off her jacket any time soon to actually look. She did not want to draw any extra attention to herself, and she’d have plenty of time later. Her hand, though, now had the same style as Uriah. Beautiful and mesmerising lines whose intent and meaning she could understand, more clearly than the half symbols that she’d had before. Intent of lightning, aspect of understanding, affinity of the fox. A connection to Uriah as the line weaved its way down and around her ring as it had for Uriah, and a much more obvious one to Felicia, if you understood what it actually meant, clearly marking her as her familiar. Affinity to magic, and the symbolism of the witch. More than just somebody’s random comment it seemed.

But if she could understand all of it, surely that meant that there were others out there that could as well. Others like Vampire. There was so much more to her she was sure.

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Callie sighed. At the very least, she was going to talk to Uriah and Felicia about what they all meant. And perhaps to Julia as well. But not here. It was not the right time.

Clouds passed briefly over the sun, the sky tapestry of patterns and shapes, something as kids that they had just stared up at at times, while lying on the grass next to each other, calling out what they thought the various clouds looked like, or represented, to them. A game that probably carried more meaning than they had realised, some things always coming up no matter how often they had done that. A chance to let loose their imagination. And desires.

Some of the magic of that time was now lost, the innocence of that age gone. Replaced by responsibility, the demands of their families, and of those around them. And real magic, that stirred within them. A consequence of the Source. Just a side effect, or was some of it a gift as well? The beasts, they had been more than just mere creatures. She was certain of that. She had felt for them, for their plight. And cried at their deaths.

“We’ll always be together, right?” Callie half asked, half mumbled.

“I want nothing more than that,” Uriah replied, pulling her a bit closer, leaning his head against hers. Callie made a happy noise in response.

Apparently it didn’t take the wildlife long to recover, rabbits making their appearance again as they hopped across the fields, time relentlessly continuing its progress, even if they were just sitting there amongst its flow, trying their best to ignore it. Whomever Riddling had called would arrive soon enough, and then things would become messy again. And when they got back, or someone from the Guardians arrived, it would be even more so.

“I’m scared.” Julia’s voice was quiet, and small. Callie looked up at her, and motioned for her to move a bit closer, sitting up a little herself. Only a little though. She was more than happy with where she was at the moment. Felicia opened her little fox eyes and looked at her, the intent clear even if she didn’t say anything.

“Me too,” Callie replied as Julia moved up beside them, almost touching, Felicia still cradled in her arms, eyes closed again.

“I... I've never been exposed to anything like this.” Julia’s eyes were on the grass in front of her, her face creased with worry. “My training has always been reserved. Secondary to ‘normal’ learning, secondary to their expectations. Unlike my brothers, who were allowed to indulge however they wanted. I had to be the prim proper lady. The perfect daughter. They even frown at me when I dress like this, saying that it's too revealing. Even if it is perfect for exercising in.”

“You look good like that,” Callie replied, before she had a chance to fully reflect on the implications of her words. She wasn’t lying though, and meant it.

Julia blushed a little. “Thanks. I like the clothes. They’re comfortable. More what I want to be. Less just a costume for my parents sake. Less pretentious.”

‘You could just admit that she looks hot.’ Felicia purred, the message only for her, Callie smiling a little in response.

Julia sighed, giving Felicia another pat, unawares of what she had just said. “The marriage... a lot rides on it. For them. My parents. While your family has only become more powerful, ours has slid into the background. They weren't as clever, didn't take advantage of the changed landscape enough. A power play on both sides, with more than just us involved. I don’t know all of the details as they haven’t told me. Not my place to know, or something, even if I was the one that was being married off.” Julia gave a dry laugh at that. “Nor did your parents say much. Their view of you is... weird. Both pride and disdain perhaps?”

“They see me less as their child, and more as a possession.” Callie said it with no small amount of venom, the pain from how they treated her very much real and vivid. She did wonder if they had ever loved her at all, or if even her birth had been planned and scheduled. She wouldn’t put that past them, especially since she was an only child. Too much of an interruption to their life.

“Sometimes I wonder... if perhaps we all get treated that way. The curse of being a foundling. The world into which we were born.” Julia sighed again, Felicia nuzzling her head into Julia’s other hand. “My confidence... comes from how I was brought up. Not from how I actually feel.”

“You wouldn’t be the only one.” Callie could relate, even if a lot of the time she couldn’t even project that sort of confidence. But, she’s always had Uriah there with her, or not far away. It had helped immensely with her having survived life thus far. Julia though... she really didn’t know what she had been through before she reached this point. And if she’d had anybody there to help her at all. But did that matter much? Really? Right here, right now, something else was going on, and they were all a part of it, and that was ignoring the demands made of them by their families which felt like it was still overshadowing everything.

And of course there was also that she had left as Fraser, and would be going back as Callie. That they would not be taking from her. Not her parents. Not anyone.

Callie felt herself blush a little as she looked directly at Julia, her look returned. “I think that now, somehow, we are all in this together. I know that I very much implied that I wanted nothing to do with you, but you know, you’ve grown on me. At the least...” Callie paused. If she said it, there would be no going back on it. “At the least, I would like for us to be friends.”

Julia gave her a sweet smile back. “At the least, I’d like that too.”

‘Me three! I personally, though, would love a lot more than that.’