Better Late Than Never...I'm blaming the boys... (Jan. 23rd)

01/29/2014

[[With Jem’s words provided by the world’s best Sissy! *smiles* ]]

Harlequin paced back and forth outside the owlery, awaiting Loki’s return. She had sent the owl out two days prior with a scathingly annoyed letter aimed at Sergei and Marko and their ineptitude. She had only asked them to do one simple thing, and they couldn’t even do that right, or at least on time. Hel hoped that Madam Zarah would remind the boy’s that they had promised, and that she depended on them while she was away at Hogwarts.

After about an hour of pacing and muttering to herself, a small reddish speck appeared on the horizon. The closer it got, the more it resembled an owl, and owl with a small burden. “Dad, so glad to see you know how to return on time,” Hel grinned at the bird as he landed, “and you are bearing gifts. Not my gifts of course, as Jormungandar and Fenrir don’t know their heads from a hole in the ground and don’t realize they are going to have to deal with me eventually,” the witch rolled her eyes, receiving a soft hoot from Loki.

Retrieving the box and accompanying piece of parchment from the owl, Harlequin unrolled the paper to read what Madam Zarah had written. “Well,” she began, speaking to the red fowl perched next to her, “Marko and Sergei are apologetic, and still promising their next package won’t be late. Madam Zarah says she will keep after them. So,” the witch shrugged, “maybe.” Stuffing the parchment in her robe pocket she carefully opened the box, nestled inside was a silver arm band, the central feature being a star with a blue gem placed in its center, and two small crescent moons on either side of the gemstone. “It’s perfect,” Hel smiled, “what do you think? Think Jem will like it?” Loki responded with a sort of nod. “Good,” she returned with a nod of her own. Fishing out a treat from her pocket she rewarded the owl. “Off with you now Dad, you’ve had a busy couple days.” The owl hooted softly, then flew off towards the owlery door to find a place to rest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With the box carefully wrapped in shiny blue paper, held in place by a sheer silver ribbon, Harlequin set out to find Jasmine. Not a hard task, as the other witch was still working through the stack of books they had procured from the Restricted Section.

“Got time for a tiny bit of a break?” Hel asked, sitting down across from Jem, who nodded with a small smile. “A week late, but better late than never, right? Besides,” Hel continued, “it was out of my control. This is what comes from trusting important tasks to snakes and wolves.” That being said, she produced the box from the folds of her robe, presenting it to her best friend.

Jasmine smiled, accepting the gift with eagerness. She stripped away the ribbon and paper and then opened the box. Inside was a silver bracelet with a blue gemstone adorning the center of the silver pentacle. Her wide eyes flashed red as she lifted the bracelet from its package and slipped it on her wrist. "This is absolutely stunning," the ebon-haired witch beamed. "I love it! Thank you!"

Harlequin chuckled softly watching her friend’s excitement. “You know,” she began, “I might just have to start calling you sparky, or flash, or something,” she finished with another laugh. “I’m glad you like it, and you are welcome. Only sorry it was a bit late.”

Jasmine waved her hand dismissively, still grinning. "Not an issue. This was well worth the wait." A smirk tugged at her lips, "By the way, call me sparky or flash, and I will start calling you chameleon."

“I’m glad,” Harlequin returned, “and point well taken. I shall resist the urge.” The white haired witch peered over the tome Jasmine was investigating. “Anything helpful?”

Jasmine shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t read in the other three or four books prior to this one. The information is scarce, as to be expected. The faery people are an elusive race, after all.”

“They can be as elusive as they want,” Hel returned, “we’ll keep looking until we find something helpful. Even if we have to launch a full scale invasion force on them,” a slight smirked played on the witch’s lips, “after all, it worked in the library.”

Jasmine shook her head slightly, a bemused smile on her lips. “You do realize the danger in such an undertaking, do you not? Thank you for offering a plan, Hel,” she chuckled softly at her brave friend, “but I don’t think that is the best approach.” She bit her lip, “Besides, don’t think I want to venture too close to the realm of the Faery King anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” Hel joined in with a chuckle of her own, “just wanted to make sure you know I’m here for you, no matter what.” She offered up a smile to her friend.