Siobhan stopped what she was doing as Astrid talked, she couldn’t See what Astrid had been through because even though she had the potential for premonition, clairvoyance and the Sight, it was a part of herself that she never utilized and purposefully neglected. However, she could feel Astrids emotions as she spoke, they crashed upon her like a soft crashing wave upon the shore, such pain and sorrow, such grief, and overlaying all of that was a profane sense of loneliness. Most of the emotions were old and dealt with for the most part, except the loneliness
She knew what it was to feel like that, to feel all of that, especially the loneliness. A tear formed in her eyes as she reached out her right hand and gently touched Astrid's wrist with her fingertips, laying them softly across her skin. She didn’t want to intrude or presume and so kept the touch light, she just wanted to give the other woman some comfort and let her know that she understood, and that neither of them was as alone as they thought.
She offered a soft smile to go along with the touch before she tried to wipe away her tears as subtly as possible before she went back to making the witches brew. She ground up some orange peel, lime peel, two cardamom seeds, some caraway seeds, bergamot tea leaves, some juniper berries and half a stick of cinnomon in a pestle and mortar, to the side she put some fennel, anise and a few strands of licorice root with a considering look upon her face before she began to grind the other herbs and berries together.
The very aroma released by the grinding concoction helped to clear and focus her thoughts a little and sent a tiny zing of energy to zip through her body but with each clockwise motion of the pestle she sent energy into the mix as well, calling to their natural properties, charging the mixture to boost acuity, clarity and focus of thought, to re-energize and revitalize not just the mind but the body too. For those with the power and skill to see, the mortar and the air above it began to glow with a soft pulsating golden light filled with red, green and orange sparkles. She didn’t know if Astrid would see it, to her it was normal, well normal for a freak like her anyway but it wasn’t something she could prevent either, all her potions, lotions, prepared spells, crystals and magical paraphernalia reacted so when she charged them with energy. Her stomach dropped with dread however when it all started to glow, she didn’t want Astrid to fear her, or think her a freak. Hopefully she wouldn’t see it, it was a hit and miss whether her aunts saw it and Psych said he didn’t but she wasn’t sure she believed him, she was sure she had seen him with wide eyes sometimes when she was “making” stuff.
“Do you like the taste of licorice or aniseed?” she turned and asked, indicated the items she had left out on the counter beside the mortar. “It will add some needed sweetness to the brew but if not I can just add some honey or honeysuckle.” Her smile was warm, but her eyes held a brittleness and a touch of fear as she looked at Astrid.