“Yes Ma’am,” Astrid replied with a smile, pocketing the key and hoisting the backpack over a shoulder. “See you later I guess!”
She made her way to the elevator, stopping at the door and pressing the button for up. There was some clicking and whirring, then silence. Waiting a few seconds she listened, then pressed the button again. Something like a wheezing seemed to be coming from behind the doors. Patience. She sighed quietly through her nose and shifted the backpack from one shoulder to the other, spinning the ring around her right thumb. After a minute or so, the clicking and whirring began again and the elevator doors slid open.
“Thank you,” she whispered under her breath, devoid of any sarcasm, and stepped inside.
After placing the backpack on the floor of the elevator, she pushed the button for the third floor. The doors to the elevator shuddered a bit before closing. Astrid hoped that she wouldn’t be trapped in here for a long time, and was relieved when it had started to move. It stopped at the second floor and opened halfway before, as if realizing it’s mistake, closing again. Astrid smirked and pressed the button for the third floor again. The elevator shook a bit before rocketing up, then coming to a smooth stop and slowly opening. She stepped out and gave it a smile and a little wave before continuing on down the candlelit hallway.
The first few doors had seemingly random objects attached to the front. She had half the mind to examine them closer but the idea of a hot shower was pulling her forward. There was nothing attached to the door of room 333, she noted, sliding the key into the lock and turning the knob.
The bed was a welcome sight, and after putting her bag on the floor she headed over and flopped face-first onto the mattress--promptly passing out for a solid hour nap.
Astrid awoke with a jolt at the sound of whispering that stopped the second she opened her eyes. Probably just the house, she concluded, drawing herself into a sitting position, shrugging off her leather jacket and kicking off her boots. The whispering picked up again and the witch whipped her head around towards the window, listening intently. Again, there was only silence.
She peeled off her clothes and kicked them into the corner of the room before walking into the bathroom. The deep bathtub was a welcome sight, and she wasted no time turning on the tap as hot as she could stand. Turning towards the sink, she removed her fox bone necklace and placed it gingerly on the counter near a little arrangement of soap and shampoo bottles. She examined herself in the mirror, running her fingers along the tattooed blade on her chest and twisting around to gently press the yellowish-brown bruising at her left side.
Mouth a tight line, she turned away and crossed over to the bathtub, testing the water for temperature before turning off the tap. The faucet dripped a few times creating ripples on the surface. She was about to step inside before realizing that she had something she could add to the tub.
Back into the bedroom, she picked up her backpack and moved to the bed, dumping its many, many contents out onto the blanket. Probably not the best idea, she thought, shaking the pack a few more times to let the last few objects tumble out. There was an impressive pile to sort through and it eclipsed a good portion of the bed. But that would have to wait.
Astrid pulled a corked bottle from the pile, knowing instinctually where in the mess it was buried. She took it back with her into the bathroom and tipped the black salt--mixed with sage, lavender, and mugwort--into the hot water, turning it to ink. Now she slid, wincing slightly, into the scalding water with a great exhale. The heat worked slowly into her aching muscles and she closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her mind.
There was blackness behind her eyelids and each breath brought a swirling vision closer to clarity. She stilled herself, drawing her energy close to her core and focusing on the place where the water touched her skin. Breathing from the belly, letting it rise and fall rhythmically, she began to test the boundaries of her body--to see if she could feel herself float just outside of herself. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Focusing on the sound of wind passing through her lungs, she counted each breath and let each muscle in her body relax one by one. Gradually she moved about an inch over herself in the astral, mind blank and still as an obsidian mirror.
Black feathers.
Drops of blood coming together like a rushing river.
Rows of cruel twisting horns.
Flapping of a legion of wings.
A long twisting path down a dark wood.
Howling.
Sulfuric smoke rising from the city.
She shot up from beneath the cold bathwater, unaware that she had even gone under, looking around wildly and gasping--gulping for air. Gripping the side of the tub she struggled to regain her breath, pounding heart near bursting from her chest. Shakily she grabbed the soap from the side of the tub and washed, not knowing what to make of the visions. She finished the bath in a hurry, sitting in the tub as the water was pulled down the drain. With more control over the shaking, she stepped out and walked toward the sink for a towel to dry.
Still rubbing the towel over her skin, she walked back into the bedroom and toward the mess of things in a pile on the bed. What time is it? She reached for her discarded pants and looked through the pockets for her phone.
It was 6 am. 6 am?
She stared incredulously at the cellphone, rubbing her eyes a few times as if expecting that to change. It did not.
Astrid seriously regretted dumping her entire life out onto the bed and grumpily shoved half the pile aside, careful not to let any fall off on the other side of the bed. She crawled under the covers, hair still wet, and closed her eyes.
By the time she awoke again, it was well past 3 pm and her stomach complained loudly. With hair matted to the side of her head, she slithered out of bed and rummaged through her pile for some fresh clothing.
The first day of her fasting she spent going through her things on the bed. Clothing was put into the closet, notebooks in a stack on the bedside table, labeled envelops filled with bills shoved in a drawer, miscellaneous bottles were stowed in the bathroom and all of her tools were arranged on the desk. There was still a decent amount of things still left on the bed.
She settled cross-legged onto the floor at the foot of the bed with a threaded-needle, an open notebook, and her backpack. Remembering to stay silent, she refrained from her usual humming as she stitched a new sigil into the fabric. The process took under five minutes and she sealed the spell with a quick kiss before scooping the rest of her collection back into it. What little remained of the day she spent in meditation, shuffling tarot cards and cautiously exploring the visions from the previous evening.
Nothing was clarified.
Frustrated she went to sleep, only to be awoken twice in the night. The first time a vision of blinding light came from her window, accompanied by the distant sound of beating drums and the rhythmic pounding of hooves on cobblestone. The witch sat straight up, the vision dissolving as she rubbed the grogginess from her eyes. She sighed, not bothering to look for the time, and settled back down again to sleep. The second time she awoke was to the sound of a chorus of singing complete with accordion and fiddles--a familiar bar song. She almost groaned aloud, but kept silent, glaring about the room as the vision dissipated. It took her longer to fall asleep this time.
On the second day, the hunger was easier to bear. She sat on the floor in the morning wearing nothing but the fox bone necklace. With her black bone casting cloth spread in front of her, she tipped the contents of a sigil-embellished leather bag out onto it. She studied the configuration of bones, stones, and bits of things for many hours, jotting down a few notes in her notebook here and there. There was something going on in the city soon--she was to wander the next day and be witness. No further details were provided.
She pulled on a pair of dark wash jeans and a loose translucent forest green teeshirt. Astrid stepped into her boots, grabbed her jacket and stuffed a notebook, the key to the room, and a few other things (that looked like they shouldn’t rightfully fit) in her pockets before heading out the door. She put on her jacket on the way to the elevator, pressed the button for down and waited. It seemed to cooperate much better this time, and she made it to the first floor with no issues. She crossed into the foyer and out the door, fumbling in her jacket for a cigarette and lighter as she went.
It was barely an hour till midnight and the clear sky twinkled with spots of starlight around a huge full moon. The witch walked a little ways from the building, down the circular drive and out to the street before lighting the tip of the cigarette dangling from her lips. The energy from a full moon always set her skin tingling. Back home they would be placing jars of water out on the windowsill to catch the energy for potions later. Astrid would do that herself had she the place to store that kind of thing--she had the mind to collect enough moon water to cool a freshly-forged blade. Someday.
She wondered how the tattoo process would go. Her last tattoo was the sword, done by mundane human hands purely for aesthetic (okay, maybe a little symbolism but nothing of the magical kind). She had nothing to go on save her own magical tattooing experiences, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Would Sabrina mix anything into the ink--or would this be solely energy workings? There was a kind of excitement in not knowing, and she finished the cigarette with a smile on her face.
At precisely 11:15, Astrid walked over to where Sabrina had told her they would meet, smiling in greeting at various people she passed along the way. She knew that she was early, and settled down into a chair to draw for a time while she waited.
