Young Writers Society

~1044 words

Grey

(yes, Grey again, I know I know. I just don’t really know what Ivy’s doing right now. Also, trying out Strix for Gwen’s name this time. Still thinking about Eerin though. So Strix = Gwen. Also, I’m still trying to figure out her personality. When I first thought up her character, I thought she’d be super chill, akin to Luna Lovegood, even, but wow that hasn’t happened. She’s been a lot feistier, which is why I’ve chosen Strix over Eerin this time. I described her voice as… idk whispy or something last chapter? Basically it sounded like she was hooting all the time as she talked. Get that image out of your head. That’s not who she really is.)

Strix walked Grey home. He assumed she would just walk him to the edge of Hazel’s Hill, but when they reached the neighborhood’s border, they continued walking and talking together. When she wasn’t threatening him, Strix was actually kind of fun to talk to, even if Grey was somewhat off-put by the fact that she was a witch.

“So you’ve been a witch your whole life?” Grey asked as they passed through a neighborhood called Gabelsfield. It was quiet, well-kept neighborhood full of nice single-family houses that all looked the same. They were the only ones on the street at this time of night, but Gabelsfield still didn’t feel as unnervingly deserted as Hazel’s Hill had.

“Of course! We’re born with it,” Strix said with a little hair flip. “All our powers are with us from our birth. Even our familiar.”

“Familiar?” Grey echoed.

“You know how you think witches all have green skin and ride around on broomsticks and have black cats or whatever?” She said.

“I never thought that!” Grey protested.

“Well, that was just one witch, Hilde Crebble.” She lowered her voice. “Very infamous. She flew around on that bewitched broomstick of hers cursing people left and right. She was part of the main reason your folks started burning witches, why we all had to go into hiding for so long. Anyway, her familiar was a black cat.”

“I still don’t understand what that is,” said Grey.

Strix sighed, and with a strange shuffling sound, an owl was standing right where she had been a second ago. It was about two feet tall, was mostly white with a scattering of dark grey streaks, and was staring at Grey with round black eyes. It clacked its beak at him and took to the sky.

Grey watched as the bird soared over the pristine buildings of Gabelsfield. It screeched a bit, and divebombed toward Grey’s head. He ducked but the owl had pulled up and was coming to a graceful rest on the ground. It looked at Grey a little longer, its head moving very smoothy—almost, grey though, like a machine. Then, with the same shuffling sound as before, Strix was back.

“Do you understand now?”

Grey was too busy searching the street behind him—in case anyone had seen—to answer. Thankfully, the nice suburban street around them was still empty.

“It’s a Ural owl, in case you were wondering what kind it was.” She lowered her head in false modesty, but to Grey, it almost looked as if she were preening. “It’s the best owl, in my perfectly objective and bias-free opinion.”

The more Grey looked at her, the more he could see how owlish her human features were: her huge dark eyes, round face, sharp nose, and even her pale skin were reminiscent of her owl familiar. Grey shuddered. He’d never be able to unsee the connection between her and that bird. He was somewhat horrified. He’d never seen magic like that before, right in front of his eyes, like it was nothing.

“So tell me more about this secret society thing you work at,” Strix burbled on.

“Um.” Grey was at a loss for words. “What else is there to tell you? Crazy inventor and his apprentice building stupid machines.”

“But why?”

“He’s crazy. Did I not stress that enough? My master, Alder Thornton is insane. I’m just in it for the roof over my head and three meals a day.” He stared over her head at a house with a red roof and a blue door, not really seeing it. He was thinking about what he could be doing if he weren’t bound to Alder by an apprenticeship.

“Is that really all? You aren’t there for any other reason?” Strix asked. Grey could feel her analyzing his face, probably wondering why he wasn’t meeting her gaze.

He looked away in the other direction at a different house, one with a blue roof and a red door. They were almost out of Gabelsfield. Only a few more minutes until they reached the Workshop’s front. “I mean, I suppose I’ve learned a lot about machines there. I don’t think I’m learning much more though.”

“Don’t you have any feelings at all for someone in that place?” Strix goaded.

Grey flinched in surprise. “How did you know about me and Ivy?” he demanded, suddenly vehement. He blushed at the outburst, and looked around again. Seeing no one, he continued in a lower voice, “Did you read my mind? Have you been doing it all this time? You conniving little… witch!” He finished in a whisper-shout.

Strix seemed taken aback at his sudden anger, her mouth hanging slightly open, her stance defensive. When he noticed her hands were up in front of her, Grey realized his own had been raised as well—and tightly clenched into fists. Strix had been afraid of him. Grey dropped his hands just as Strix’s face contorted in rage.

“I did no such thing.” She said in a barely-contained whisper. “I can’t believe you’d accuse me of something like that! I was only trying to get you to admit that you love Alder, but I see now that I was wrong to try to. You don’t care about anyone other than yourself,” she spat. “How dare you use the name of my people as an insult. I was getting interested in joining your secret society, but you can choke on it for all I care.” With that, she transformed into an owl and soared away.

Grey walked the rest of the way to the Workshop. He felt like he’d be drenched in shame. He had to go apologize to Strix. He hadn’t meant to be so angry at her. But he had no idea where she lived or how to find her, and Hazel’s Hill was a big neighborhood. He hit his palm against his forehead. He’d been so stupid. He’d almost made another friend and he’d immediately ruined their friendship. Why did everything he worked for have to crumble?

Right now, the only thing Grey wanted to do was get to bed and sleep off this awful night, but then he noticed the lightening sky and groaned. He had to go extinguish the streetlamps first.