faces of moon: maiden

Chapter 8: Herbs and Dreams

"So you feel like you need to fix me then?" I asked slightly offended. 

"No Lou. That's not it either. I just-I know how you feel because I lived in a constant state of anxiety until I got my magic. You lived before all this. And now you feel- maybe not the same, sure, but similar to how I did. I know I can help relieve you of that burden, and I want to help. You aren't a bad friend to have around either." She nudged me with her shoulder. I looked at her and smiled. "Yeah...okay. You're a good friend M. Thanks. And...I'm sorry for all that." I waved my hands around my head trying to explain my emotional outburst. 

She understood my awkwardness. Meadow held up her pinky finger, "Pinkies and its a truce." I laughed, "pinkies!" "Alright, so since we're BFF's we need a name." I'd never had a BFF before. I guess this is how you got one. "What do you mean?" "You know, like how cute couples get names? We need a name." "Oh! Like..... Loudow?" She gave a face "mmm. maybe." "L&M? Melula? Melu? Tea-Me?" She shook her head no. "I dunno. We need to think about it." I nodded, "Yeah...I mean we can always just be BFF's without a name." I shrugged waiting on her response. She frowned back at me. "No. We'll figure it out."

A slight movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention. "M? Do you see that raven over there?" I asked her. "Where?" She looked around until her eyes landed on my raven, "Oh yeah? That's a pretty bird!" "Yeah he is. He's also kind of my pet." She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a laugh on her lips, "You have a pet raven? They're supposed to be spies for the God of Death you know?" 

I rolled my eyes with a loud laugh, "he's not a spy Meadow. He's literally just a bird who likes me to feed him berries. He's started following me to school though." Meadow laughed, a carefree musical laugh that echoed off the walls. "What?" I asked. "It's like Mary had a Little Lamb, except with a creepy raven," Meadow joked. I smiled halfheartedly and looked out the window. He's not creepy, I thought, He's my friend. 

I continued to stare out the window at my raven as the raindrops became heavier and more icy. He raised a wing to cover his head and then flew off. I immediately felt the overwhelming anxiety creeping back in in worry for him. Would he freeze in this rain? 

"C'mon Lou. You look like someone murdered your puppy. Come eat Takis with me and listen to this podcast. It's a true crime about acid rain killing pet ravens." I laughed, "Sure it is. It's probably that show about the boy who kisses the girl at the school carnival." "Shh! Don't ruin it for me!" Meadow scolded. 

She placed a hand on mine, instinctively knowing I needed grounding again. Without saying anything about the anxiety or the grounding, she continued on about the movie, "Let's watch the one where that girl falls off the boat and forgets who she is and stuff." I shrugged, having no interest in watching any movie, "Sure." "Lou... you okay?" I nodded my head, "I'm fine. Maybe its my period coming or something." I had just finished my period last week. Who knows though? Maybe my new powers messed up my hormones or something. 

"Hey" I interrupted. "We can be T.M. like trade marked?" She smiled wide, "Maybe."

She clicked on a movie. We had about 15 minutes left of lunch, but we had study hall after this anyway. I looked back out the window pane, not paying attention to the rom com Meadow chose. I wasn't a big fan of romance shows. 

The window glass was warped from time and the sun. I could see some of the tree tops. The leaves were long gone and their spiny tops were sticking out of the woods like long fingers. They looked even more deformed through the old worn out glass. I shivered at the imagery.

I became entranced by the bare trees moving back and forth in the cold gusts. The rain turning into icy streaks slowly falling down the glass. The wind howling around the corners of the building. Before I knew it, Meadow was nudging me awake.