Fall Fest Bingo 6

[kiramaru7]

Title: The Tale of The Young Witch and The Search for her Familiar
Fandom: Original
Author: kira
Rating: G
Character(s): a young witch and an owl
Genre: slice of life
Warnings: none
Words: 613
Written for the prompt(s): Owl (allbingo’s Fall Fest), Fall/Autumn, Apple
Beta: kat
Summary: Rhiannon, a young witch needs a familiar…
Author’s notes: Special thanks to Kat for pinking this for me and all her help. Also, please note that this was written as a Halloween treat for COM as well as for Fairy Wish13.

For COM… Happy Halloween…



Rhiannon traipsed through the myriad of falling leaves, covering the path. As a young witch, she needed a familiar to work her magic, the trouble was, she could not find one. There were plenty of cats roaming her village streets and while they were traditional familiars, cats made her sneeze and itch. She bent down and picked up a windfall apple from a pile of leaves, and bit into it.

Kicking the leaves on her path, she pondered her choices. Since cats were out, Rhiannon considered getting a bat. They were small and rather cute in her humble opinion, but most people were afraid of them, which did not bode well for passing it off as a pet. It was the same with a rat, even if they were not as cool as a bat. A mouse would work, but their lives were too short. And dogs were well… dogs, and not terribly suitable for being a familiar.

Rhiannon sighed and took another bite out of the apple. She chewed the soft, sweet flesh and swallowed. A jay flew overhead and landed in a tree, calling raucously to her. A jay could be fun… she thought. Or even a raven… “Hey!” she cried when an acorn hit her on the head. She scowled up into the tree, rubbing her head. The jay laughed at her and flew off. “Stupid bird!”

Feeling prickly enough to go looking for a badger to be her familiar, Rhiannon grumbled to herself. She was getting nowhere fast in her search. She stepped into a clearing and pausing just long enough to watch the sun paint the sky with soft blues and pinks and oranges as it set. Feeling calmer, Rhiannon had a feeling her familiar would make itself known by the time she got home.

She followed the path through a copse of trees and out into a meadow. By now the sky was beginning to darken and it would not be long before the stars came out along with the moon. Rhiannon loved the night and the darkness. Whereas other girls and some boys were afraid of the dark and the terrors that were said to inhabit it, Rhiannon did not mind it. The Great Mother lived on the moon with her sacred rabbits and it was by her light that certain herbs and mushrooms were harvested for her potions. Even when moon hid her face and bathed everything in starlight, Rhiannon felt the Great Mother’s comforting presence.

As she neared the edge of the meadow where it met the outskirts of her village, Rhiannon was sure the Great Mother would give her a sign. The moon hung big and round in the night sky, and she paused to bask in her light. Eyes closed and face upturned, Rhiannon sent a silent prayer to the Great Mother, asking for help in finding a familiar. When she opened her eyes a beautiful white owl flew by. Rhiannon hurried after it through the maze of wattle-and-daub cottages and hovels of her village as it glided overhead.

She found it outside her home, where it had landed on its prey. Poor lil mousey… The owl looked at her with golden eyes, its face solemn and thin as it folded its wings. It made no move to eat the mouse, nor did it attempt to fly away. Rhiannon smiled. Thank you, Great Mother… She had found her familiar. Whispering the words, she made a contract with the owl’s spirit, asking it to help her. The owl hooted softly in reply, before taking flight. She watched it go and when it seemed to get swallowed up by the moon, she went inside.

Comments

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Oh I love it. Thank you very much (as I sit here eyes itchy from brushing my own cat familiar if we can call the lazy beast that). An owl would be perfect (so would a bat!)

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

YAY! I'm sooo glad that you do! :D You're welcoem! :D (XD) I love owls! They're sooo cool! I agree, if I was a witch, I'd want an owl for a familiar or a cute lil bat, too! :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Owls are definitely cool (I'd probably rather a raven because they're obnoxious)

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*nods* I like crows, ravens, jays too. I would love to have a crow named Merlin. XD But I don't think that's possible, since they're wild birds. XD

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I've seen people with tamed crows but I'm not sure it's a good idea. I keep feeding ours with the hopes they'd give me gifts. They don't. ungrateful things

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Cool! But you're right, they're meant to be wild. Awe... I have yet to see a crow here at my feeder & the only time I see jays are in the fall when they start caching things for winter. Yet, you hear the lil boogers all the time. XD The best is watching the squirrels hide the grapes I put out. They eat a few, then push several into the ground, only to cover it with grass & pat it down. They look adorable doing that. XD *gives the birds & critters uneaten apples, grapes, strawberries, blueberries (a bird fave!), and blackberries*

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

we give the squirrels walnuts and they go nuts

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely lovely! The imagery is great!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :D

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Yeah? :D I wish I could find peanuts in the shell for the jays & squirrels. Even pets stores don't seem to have any, despite carrying wild bird food.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yeah and the grocery store ones are salted. I go to the woods and collect the nuts (because we have lots of them)

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*nods* Which is why I don't get them. Sweet!! We're too built up here & the woodsy places I have been, I've never seen any nut trees, aside from oaks & their acorns, which grow here. We have one that's too close to the house XD which probably came from a squirrel putting it there. He probably found acorn in the back or the diagonal neighbor's as they have a MASSIVE oak growing in their backyard. Even though they knocked that house down & are rebuilding, the oak was safely tucked out of the way. XD Although if it ever does fall, it'll either take out all the power lines, before hitting a house, or it'll take out a house. XD Surprisingly, it had survived a few hurricanes. XD

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

You are so very welcome. :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Oaks are downright sturdy. I love them even though the two on the walkway at work have squirrels in them that LOVE to throw acorns at my head

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

:D