There was a rock in her favorite coffee cup. She had a lot of coffee cups, but she drank out of this one the most. It sat next to her coffee pot, ready to be used. And now it had a rock in it. She dumped the rock into her hand. It was a small piece of quartz. It looked like it had been broken off a bigger piece and was a bit jagged. She held it up to the light and smiled when it shimmered pink.
She put it in her pocket. It would make a pretty necklace.
—-------------------------------------------------
It was midday and everyone was in similar states of lazing around. The TV volume was low but no one was paying attention to it. Massie was sprawled out on the couch as she watched the boys try and show Wren how to play a board game. Wren's face was scrunched up adorably. The light reflected off the scale on his face, giving him a glimmering shine as he huffed about some rule in the game.
The doorbell rang. The four of them turned to stare at the door. They never got visitors. Well, besides the ones that now live in her house. It was an odd turn of events for the doorbell to ring.
Wren gracefully rose from the ground, making Massie a bit jealous of his agility. He looked out the peephole and made a curious sound in his throat. The boys moved closer to see. Wren opened the door and they all watched as a cat casually strolled in.
"A cat!" Jace screeched. And it was indeed a cat. It walked past them, sat primly in the middle of the living room, and stared.
It was a pretty calico. Mostly white with brown and black patches. Its tail curled around its body. Wren walked over, got on his knees a respectful distance from the cat, and engaged in a staring contest.
The boys looked at her with questions, and Massie shrugged back. This was definitely bizarre.
She got off the couch and walked over to the cat. She reached down to pet it and Wren grabbed her by the wrist. He didn't take his eyes off the cat. The calico turned its head towards Massie.
Its eyes were wide and green. She couldn't look away. It was green like looking over a valley from a mountaintop. Miles and miles of trees, endless green. Then a streak of orange across the vast emerald scape, like a burning sunset peaking over the trees. She was floating above it all. She was weightless. A speck in the endless landscape. Silver swirled across the horizon, glimmering like water in the distance. She kept rising, higher and higher, leaving the mountaintop behind until a sharp tug had her plummeting back to her living room.
Wren had tightened his grip on her wrist and had tugged her to the ground. His other arm was out, keeping the boys back.
She looked around completely bewildered, like she couldn't shake a dream.
Wren clicked his tongue. "That wasn't polite," Wren said, to the cat.
The cat flicked its ears back.
"You're talking to the cat." His grip was tight and grounding.
His eyes didn't leave the cat. "It's not a cat."
She looked pointedly at the calico. It looked back. No tricks this time, just a snotty look she wasn't aware a cat could make.
"It sure looks like a cat." She replied, still a little dazed.
Wren let go of her wrist. She instantly missed the connection.
"It's an Ozark."
She looked at the cat and then at Wren. "A what?"
He huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're an absolute cretin. How are you a witch and not know what an Ozark is?"
She shrugged a little helplessly. "It's never came up."
The cat, or the Ozark flicked its tail. She hopped it was a playful flick and not an annoyed flick.
"Ozark's are ancient. They roamed the Earth before man, powerful and cunning. Magic bent to their will. They have always been, and will always be." Wren explained with reverence in his voice.
Massie looked back at the dainty little cat. "What in the world is it doing here?"
"Did you accidentally preform a summoning?" He asked dry as bone.
"How would I accidentally preform a summoning? I think I would be aware." She kept an eye on the Ozark. It gazed flickered between the four of them.
"Oh, I don't know. Probably the same way you accidentally make a blood oath. "
He had a point but he didn't have to be so mean about it. She was almost positive she hasn't summoned anything.
"Do you think its here because of the oath?" She asked.
The cat turned its attention back to her, stood up, stretched out in a move that was entirely cat and walked towards her with feline grace.
It stopped right before her, its whiskers brushed her knees. The cats nose and mouth were white expect for a little orange patch right above its whiskers. Everyone was silent for a moment, waiting to see what this being would do.
Wren wouldn't be so casual if it was a malevolent creature, would he ?
Maybe.
Probably.
He'd let it eat her but not the boys. That was slightly comforting.
The cat didn't attack or eat her. It rubbed its face against her and walked past her, jumped on the couch and curled into a little ball and promptly fell asleep.
—-------------------------------------------------------
The next couple of days were odd. The Ozark stuck around and seemed to take pride in making them uncomfortable. Massie woke up in the morning to the cat on her chest, inches away from her face. It could apparently open doors, or teleport though walls. Every time she shifted or moved, the Ozark would dig its sharp little nails into her. Massie had to wait for it to get tired of torturing her and leave.
Another time it stood in front of the bathroom door while Jace was in it. He opened the door and was too nervous to walk around it so he waited.
The only one that didn't seemed unnerved was Wren. He kept a distance from it and didn't initiate any contact. He spoke to it in a respectful tone but he wasn't afraid of it. The Ozark also seemed to leave him alone and torment the other people in the house.
Massie made a small plate of whatever they were eating and offered it to the ancient little creature. Wren laughed so hard he almost choked when she offered it a small plate of spaghetti the first night.
Apparently it didn't eat that kind of food. She didn't particular care to find out what it ate, but it was rude not to offer food to a guest so she kept making it little plates.
Three days after it arrived, it got up in the middle of lunch and walked to the door. It looked at them all with an air of impatience.
Wren opened the door for the not cat and gave it a farewell in a language lost to Massie. The Ozark weaved between each of their legs and left.
It was definitely one of the oddest things to happen to Massie. And she was harboring a dragon and two werewolf pups.
—-------------------------------------------------------
She could focus a little better with out an adorable timeless being in her house. She remembered the pretty piece of pink quartz that found its way into her cup. She dug through her workroom to find a necklace with a crystal holder attached to it. The quartz was a perfect fit and she admired the way it lay against her skin.
She was hopeful about the origins of the quartz. It would have had to come from one of the three other people in the house. While it would be a sweet little gift from Jace or Gael, her heart was full at the thought it came from Wren.
She made sure to wear it at breakfast. She was hopeful when Jace came down to grab a waffle and said nothing about it. The hope was bubbling over when Gael hugged her tight before snatching his breakfast and moving on.
She fidgeted in the kitchen while she waited for Wren to come down. She was unsure of how to stand, her body felt clunky like she forgot how to stand.
His eyes went to her when he entered the room. She did her best to act normal. She made him a plate and took a seat across from him. His gaze was locked on her chest her the necklace laid above the collar of her shirt. She tried to breath normally and not squeal in excitement. He stayed locked on the quartz before he physically shook his head and started eating. The scales across his cheekbones seemed more vibrant than normal, a flush against his skin.
She ate her waffle and tried not to smile too wide.
She was hopeful and the seeds of affection that had been planted for Wren were sprouting.