(Pov Sophia)

  Sophia looked down at her notebook on the small desk in her room. Glaring up at her were some terms she was still trying to grasp fully. Magecraft, witchcraft, alchemy, and runemaal. She got that the first three were the different types of magic, most of them at least, while the last was the language developed to effectively use witchcraft. Supposedly, it could be done in any language, but that had a larger chance of…backlash. Or rather that was the word she kept coming over.

  Her hand tightened around her pen as she looked back at the research she had conducted over the last few weeks. She had found lots of information about the theoreticals of magic, but nothing at all describing specific rituals or even a more detailed theory for how one might pull off a witchcraft ritual. Nor had she found anything that might help her translate runemaal, though she had found some copies of text written in the language, but most of that was useless. She couldn't use information she couldn't even read. No, what she needed was a text describing a ritual and a translation guide. Maybe if she showed enough initiative and skill, then the conservatory might, just might, take her as an apprentice.

  That was, however, far easier said than done. She had been looking for weeks; there simply weren't any published translations or guides to the language. She had found some evidence that such books existed, but it seemed none had been digitized, or if they had, they hadn't been published. One particularly conspiratorial source had said it was illegal to possess or publish any book on the topic, at least in most countries. She wasn't sure if she believed that theory, but she had found information saying that possession of a galdr was illegal without a license. She had looked into the term when she first saw it and found out it was… a witchcraft spellbook. At least that was the best definition she had found for it.

  Sophia dropped her head into her notebook and groaned. This was such a pain in the ass. Why couldn't they just publish something simple, something that never failed, just so people with the head for this stuff could try it. People like her. It wasn't like they needed to publish something that needed you to work with a demon.

  Taking a deep breath, Sophia tried to bolster her resolve. She hadn't expected any of this to be easy, but she had expected to make some progress. But no, all she had was some magic circles designed by some occultists and Wiccans here in the US and a lot of theory.

  “Still, though, I should at least try."

  She stared at her notebook for a few seconds. Then she started to flip through it to find the notes she had for what was needed for those rituals and magic circles.

  —--------------------------------------------

  (Pov Jason)

  The smell of frying rice, boiling beans, and slightly burned paprika permeated the kitchen. The spatula scraped against the ceramic of the frying pan. Jason winced at the sound.

  His parents were gone for something, so he was the one who had to cook. Not that he minded cooking. He actually quite liked cooking; it was calming, and it was easy to focus on. But more importantly, if you did it right, the end product tasted great.

  Jason took out the wheat tortillas he had been heating up in the oven and placed them on a plate. Luckily, he had already set the table. Sure, Sophia could have helped, but she had been locked up in her room all day, so he figured she was doing something important. His grandfather was asleep in his chair in the living room, and Jason felt bad about waking him before he had to.

  Jason added the beans to the rice and splashed in some extra oil. The oil sizzled as the rice was starting to turn slightly brown. The smell of frying beans tickled his nose before he took the pan off the stove and placed it on the trivet on the kitchen table.

  Jason drew a deep breath and shouted. “Dinner!!”

  He heard the snoring coming from the living room, stagger before it stopped entirely, followed by some nearly inaudible grumbling and the tapping of a cane on hardwood. From upstairs, he heard a door shut and the creaking of someone walking quickly before it eventually morphed into the heavy stomps of someone moving quickly down the stairs.

  Sophia appeared in the doorway and looked over the dinner table, her eyebrows furrowed. “What's that?”

  “It's something new I wanted to try. You either eat it or don't eat at all.” Jason said while looking at his sister with raised eyebrows.

  Sophia raised her hands defensively. “Jesus, I wasn't complaining. Just asking, god.”

  The tapping sound became louder as their grandfather entered the kitchen. He was a hunched-backed older man and was very much so dependent on the cane. His voice was gravelly, but still warm as he chastised Jason's little sister. “Now don't you take the lord's name in vain, miss. Your grandmother would have hated that, and your mother certainly does. It is also just a disgraceful lack of creativity; if you are going to cuss someone out, be creative about it. Not that you were, though.” The old man stopped and stroked his beard. “Take the last part as an elder's wisdom.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Sophia looked away before sighing and rolling her eyes in such a fashion that their grandfather couldn't see. “Sure thing, grandpa.” She said while going to sit down.

  Jason took some of the rice, beans, and vegetables and placed them on the tortilla before adding a bit of sour cream and hot sauce. Taking the first bite, Jason hummed with satisfaction. He looked at the two others at the table, and given how quickly they seemed to be eating and how quiet they were, the meal seemed to have been a hit.

  Sophia's knee bounced up and down, shaking the table slightly. Her fingers fidgeted with the cutlery. “Jason. So, can I ask a quick favor?” Sophia said in a surprisingly small voice. Her eyes locked on her food.

  Jason swallowed his food and put on a small smile. “Of course you can. Doesn't mean I am going to do it, but asking won't hurt.”

  Sophia took a deep breath before looking at him. “Can you… Drive me to Butte? This afternoon.” Sophia seemed to shrink in on herself, avoiding eye contact.

  Jason considered it for a second. He did need some things himself, and they did need various miscellaneous things that he might actually find in Butte that you simply wouldn't find in Fairvern. On the downside, it was 90 minutes away. Jason looked at his plate for a second more before looking at his sister.

  “Yeah sure, we can go tonight. Though we need to be quick once we're there. So I hope you know what you're getting.”

  “Yeah, I know what I need to get.” Sophia beamed at him. “Can you take me to Missoula on Sunday too?”

  Jason shook his head. “No, gotta work on Sunday. Though you can ask mom and dad to help you.”

  Sophia's face fell as she nodded. “Thanks anyways Jason.”

  It took about another half an hour before they left, and Jason knew he would have to drive in the dark on the way home. As they drove down the mountain valleys on the way to Butte, he couldn't help but notice that Sophia seemed to be subsumed in her own thoughts.

  “So what is it you need so badly we have to travel all the way to Butte today?” Jason cast a glance at his sister.

  Sophia hesitated for a second before turning to him and saying. “I need to buy some bloodstone, copper, and steel wire. Some other small stuff too, but mostly that's it.”

  “What's bloodstone… You know what it's not important. What do you need all that for?”

  Sophia checked her phone. “ It's for the thing I talked to you about two weeks ago, I think that was it.”

  Jason glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “The thing I wanted to study?? Remember.”

  Jason's eyebrows shot up. “OHHHHHH. Right, right. Yeah, the magic study thing… It was for the conservatory in Appalachia, right?”

  “Yeah, I just found something related to that I wanted to try. It's not a big deal.”

  Jason sighed inaudibly. If his sister didn't want to talk about it, that was fine. A little annoying, but fine. He would just need to find a way of getting her out of her funk.

  Jason flipped through the car radio. Eventually, he found exactly what he was looking for. The one musician who could always get his sister to engage and at least open up a little, if only about a different topic. Taylor Swift.

  —-------------------------------------

  (Pov Sophia)

  The drive had been… Fun. At least after Jason found the channel just playing a whole Swift album. Sophia could still feel the smile tug at her lips. She loved Swift, and Jason had somehow gotten her into singing along with the radio.

  Still, now she was here, standing in front of Misty's esoterica. The one store she had found referenced again and again when she was looking into witchcraft. None of the sources she had found were any good, and even this place wasn't referenced by the proper sources. Mostly, it seemed to be Wiccans and occultists who tried this place. The people trying to reverse engineer actual magic, rather than the ones who actually knew how to do it. But it was infinitely more than nothing.

  Sophia drew a deep breath and pushed open the door. A bell rang just over the door frame as she walked inside. The smell of incense and various other herbs nearly made Sophia gag.

  The store was cramped, the aisles between the shelves were cramped. Dried herbs, books, candles, crystals, and more filled the clearly overstocked shelves. Though Sophia wondered if the store even had a storage room.

  The light was dim, but in the inner parts of the store, she found the store counter. A few candles helped light the otherwise dark part of the store, though she didn't see anyone there. Sophia saw a bell sitting on the counter. It was a finely carved piece of metal and looked old. Sophia gulped before picking the bell up by the handle and rang it.

  “I am coming!” sounded an older woman's voice from somewhere deeper in the store. And after about a minute out of a small doorway, with no door, came a woman Sophia could only describe as a hippy who never really left Woodstock. She set down a cup of… tea? on the counter and looked Sophia up and down.

  The woman smiled at Sophia and sat down on a stool behind the counter. “What can I do for you, sweetie?”

  Sophia drew a breath, handed the note in her hand to the woman and said. “I was hoping to buy the items on the list here. If you don't have them, do you know who does?”

  The woman picked up the list, and she adjusted her glasses. Her eyebrows furrowed, and as she looked up at Sophia, her smile had turned mischievous. “I see, so that's what you wanna do. You know I do have some books in the back that a young practitioner of the art might appreciate.”

  Sophia hesitated for a second, her finger tapping against the back of her other hand as she looked for any signs of deceit on the woman's face. She found none. ”That would depend on the cost... wouldn't it?”

  The woman laughed, a sound that reminded her of her late grandmother. “I will lend them to you, hun. Just have them back here in two months, and it's fine. Though you will owe me one. Is that something you want?”

  Sophia considered for a second if these people had made any more progress in actually learning how to do witchcraft. They couldn't have… could they? Her eyes darted around the surface of the counter.

  Her heart raced as she gave her response in a slightly shaking voice. “Yes, I would like that very much.”