Violet leaned on the other side of the door as she listened to Rin cry, hearing the woman's own spiralling thoughts telling Rin what a piece of shit she was. It didn't just hurt to hear them, it made Violet angry.
She wanted to walk through the door and hold the woman until she stopped crying, but a forced hug wouldn't do Rin any good right now. Rin utterly despised herself. She needed the space to try and process her emotions.
It also wasn't like Violet didn't need space as well. Rin brought up all the pain and sorrow that the witch tried so hard to pretend she didn't have.
Violet had never learned to forgive herself for failure. Any kind of failure. What she'd come to learn was how to pretend she was okay with failing, and that could get her through the day.
She didn't grieve her failures so openly, anymore.
She also never forgave herself for failing, ever.
Right now, she was failing Rin. Failed. Past tense. She had pushed too hard, too fast. Trying to show her that some things were simply... Wrong. That she deserved more than what she had.
As much as Violet wanted to fix Rin, to give her a life that the woman was content with, there were still limits to what she could do for them.
She stood up, easing away from the door silently. She walked back out to the table where they shared their meals, and snapped her fingers to throw together a small box. She handwrote a letter on top, and then she took the port crystals from inside her pocket.
Violet whispered, unable to raise her voice without bursting into tears, "Winds of change, resonate. Make the two in one, and one in three. Break and bind, and take me to the Glade."
She belched lightly as she appeared in a small clearing in a forest. The trees towered overhead, hundreds of years old, but scarred by frequent fires. It was quiet here, the animals watching the newcomer in curiosity and concern.
She walked over to the small hut and opened the door to reveal a young black-haired girl fallen asleep whilst reading a book. Violet busied herself cleaning up the simple wooden table without disturbing them.
Then she moved on to dealing with the constant invasions of ants and spiders that the occupant had long since given up on. Finally, she headed out of the hut and underneath to check in on the cellar.
"Bite me, one more time." Violet threatened the wolf as it began to growl at her from the dark. The growls instantly became whimpers and the yellow eyes retreated away from her as the guard realised who she was.
She checked over the cheese, turning some of them, and then she opened the buried freezer, looking at what was left in the ice-filled container that was effectively a fridge. Seemed like they were pretty much out of food, again.
Violet headed out to her garden at the edge of the Glade, and began picking mushrooms. She'd cultivated this particular patch for most of her life, but still sometimes the wrong kind of fungi would end up creeping in.
She stood up, stretching her back before she picked up the bucket and headed inside.
The girl had woken up, and crept over to fall into her bed. She stirred lightly, "Vi. Wasn't expecting you for a while."
"Me neither." She replied, placing the mushrooms by the woodfire stove and snapping her fingers to light it.
"Having problems with your little project?"
Violet laughed, "You're my little project. Rin is supposed to be... I dunno. A friend. Someone I don't have to constantly worry about. But I did my usual, lost my temper, and now she hates me."
"So, how long until I get to meet her?"
She shook her head, "You're not understanding. I don't know if Rin will ever want to speak to me again. Things might be over completely."
"Oh." The girl said sadly, "So you're here because you're pouting."
"Escaping." Violet shrugged.
"Well... I guess that means you're cooking something fun?"
"Mushroom omelette because that's pretty much all you have left." Violet said accusingly, "What happened to the month's worth of meals I brought over last week?"
"Got hungry."
Violet shook her head, "You should have texted me to bring you some groceries. Never feel guilty about that. It's my fault that you live way the hell out here."
"It is not your fault my magic is completely uncontrollable, Vi." The girl replied angrily, "You need to stop blaming yourself for that. I'm a once in a lifetime sorcerer. Nobody could keep me in check. That's the part of a heroine's backstory everyone skips over. How the hell a mentor can teach something with creepy amounts of power."
"I don't blame myself for your lack of progress." Violet skirted the issue and began to peel and cut the mushrooms as the pan started to heat up.
"Vi."
She winced, "Yes, I still blame myself for what happened. There's absolutely nothing in the world you can do to change that. I know you blame yourself, too. So we can both just feel guilty."
"He was nice." The girl said quietly. "I miss him, most days."
Violet blinked back tears, happy that she was facing the other direction. "Rin found her way to the forums, somehow. Found out most of what happened."
"Huh?"
She shrugged, "Not like we hide the site from search engines."
"Yeah, but... Like, how? Most mundanes think its either a roleplaying site or a bunch of conspiracy weirdos. What did you do to her?"
Violet smiled sadly, "I didn't hide that I'm a witch from her. I think she set out to prove I wasn't one, or something. Then right when she starts to accept me..."
"You really like her."
She shook her head, "I do, but that isn't it. That was never going to happen, all things considered. Besides, having you on my plate is work enough without a dating life. I just hate how much... The way she talks to herself. She sounds like... Me. My thoughts."
"Yikes."
"Thanks, Chel." Violet laughed.
The girl giggled, "Well, you were being honest. And there's nobody else I've ever heard who treats themselves as badly as you do, Vi. You bury yourself in work because the moment you stop, you spiral."
"Do not." Violet retorted, smiling at the memory. "I managed to finish my book."
"Rin." Chelsea whispered quietly and began tiptoeing across the cabin floor, "So she... Made you feel content with yourself, then?"
"Calm. Happy." Violet shrugged. "It's over, Chel. And if you try and tickle me right now, you're going to get an elbow to the face."
Arms went around her in a reassuring cuddle. "Nope. I'm sorry about Rin, Vi. I really, really am. Seems like being around her did you as much good as you did for her."
She poured in the eggs and flipped the pan to fold it over quickly. "Yeah. She might have done that. Though she was sort of right about how I kept breaking into her house... That might have been a tad... Over the top."
"You're a witch. And you don't have the time to care about rules." Chelsea giggled, "Though, I suppose you didn't tell her that one, either."
"Nope."
The girl sighed, hugged her some more and then skipped over to her other fire, "Been working on my husbandry. Talking to more than just Damon. The birds are worried about something. That normal?"
"Pretty much. Every year, bird migratory patterns get more disturbed. Its humanity." Violet shrugged, "I won't say its good. Or that they shouldn't be worried. But it is the new normal for about the last hundred years."
"That sucks."
She snapped her fingers, suffocating the stove's flames, before gently placing the omelette across a plate and walking over to drop it on a table. "Yup."
Chelsea dug in quickly, and Violet could see the hunger in the girl. She was practically ravenous, struggling not to shove it all in at once. One of the side effects of using her magic.
"You're going to need a bigger cellar."
The girl shrugged, "You're not the only person in the world who brings me food, Vi. Yours just tastes the best."
"I'm still responsible for you." Violet corrected her, "I'll bring by some more groceries soon and talk to Tim about expanding your fridge space a bit more."
Chelsea laughed and shook her head, "Still insisting on thinking of me as your apprentice? I'm as much your apprentice as a hurricane is a storm cloud. Only true on technicality."
"Oh, so I can take back all my magic books, then?" Violet raised an eyebrow.
The girl went white, "N... No. Please don't."
"Then shuddup and call me Master." Violet stuck out her tongue at her, before laughing and cuddling the girl lightly. "We all do what we have to, Chel. We're witches."
"You're still thinking about Rin."
She blushed, "Yeah... Sorry about that. Most people can only hear thoughts, not see the vividness of imagery. So my thoughts are going to be a bit..."
"... Pornographic?" Chelsea finished for her before dissolving into laughter, "Rin has exactly no idea how into her that you are, does she?"
"And she never will." Violet ordered. "That wouldn't help her any."
The girl pouted, "You really don't have to try and mother every lost soul around you, Vi."
"It's the promise I made myself." She said quietly, looking into the flames as she sat down on the floor. "I said that I would do whatever it takes to make people smile. That would be the legacy I leave behind."
"Ouch. That got depressing, fast. Wanna play a board game?"
"Last time I played with you I ended up stuck inside the game for a week. So I'm going to take a pass on that." Violet chuckled quietly. "No... We're going to have an exam. Check in on your focus and control."
"Aw." Chelsea moaned. "Fine, Master."
Violet sighed, "Been avoiding it, but the best magic to teach you control is -"
"Sex magic. I remember." Chelsea rolled her eyes, "I haven't been a virgin since I was eighteen, mother dearest. So... What kind of ritual were you thinking? Doubt you're much in the mood to be part of it."
"Focus and control." Violet replied, and snapped her fingers to produce a small candle and put it on the table. "Basically... Keep the flame even... And edge yourself."
"Aw, fuck you, Vi." Chelsea pouted.
She raised an eyebrow.
