The Family Business

by **Madeira Dusk** on December 10th, 2019, 3:51 am

10th of Winter, 519

"Delivery!"

A young boy stood shivering on the doorstep of a tall, hexagonal manor, his gloved hand banging away at a worn Okomo head knocker. He eyed the signs on the door suspiciously and banged again, louder. He had snow on his boots and ice in his eyelashes. In his arms were several parcels, all labeled in perfect cursive: Silk Palace, to Infinity Manor, Zintila.

"Come in!", Madeira called back, setting down the last of the necessary materials in Infinity's kitchen. Stepping back, she rested her hands on her hips and counted them in her head: flour, cheese, eggs, willow bark, sharpened knife, jar. Perfect.

To her left the front doors creaked open, letting in a blast of snow. The delivery boy inched inside, bewildered to not see anybody on the other side. "Uh, Miss Craven?"

"Right here", Madeira dusted her floury hands off on her skirt and went to meet him with a smile. With her hair tied back and her sleeves rolled up she looked like any number of young baker's wives on the peak. "Thanks for coming all this way. You can put the parcels down right there, the house'll be upset if you track in the snow." She dug into the purse hanging on the coat rack and surfaced with a gold rimmed kina, which she pressed into his palm.

"Yes Ma'am. Have a good day", the boy put down his burden and accepted his tip. He only paused long enough to nod politely before backing out again. This house gave him the creeps.

The manor slammed the doors on him the tick he was past them, and Madeira could hear it whining through the chimney flu as it observed the puddle he left behind.

"Drama queen", she laughed, carefully maneuvering around the damp patches to lift the boxes and deposit them on the kitchen table. "This is what winter looks like, get used to it."

This is the first time Infinity had seen snow, or even a proper winter. For the most part the sentient house seemed to be taking the sudden development in stride. It was diligent about boarding up the henhouse and making sure every fireplace stayed lit. But in true Infinity style it seemed determined to kick up a fuss, first lamenting the destruction of its flowers, then rumbling like thunder the moment someone walked in without removing their boots and cloak.

But the manor wasn't the only person in their family experiencing winter for the first time. The twins too, less than a year old and living in a Morwen-less world, had never seen snow. Yet unlike the house she had no idea how they felt about it. She hadn't been around at all last season, preoccupied as she was with work and ambitions, not to mention the magekiller investigation and trial. It was Autumn, of all people, who made her realize she was missing the childhood of her kelvic twins. But this was the season that would change that. She was going to start a real relationship with her children.

Opening the first of the packages she pulled out a heavy fur-lined coat, several meters of warm wool scarf and a pair of mittens. Good, it look like everything she ordered for Amelie's winter wardrobe was up to the Silk Palace's usual standard. Her daughter might be a fox, but she was also human half the time; she needed to keep warm in this weather.

Madeira looked back up at everything she had laid out. She had learned to make soulmist around Amelie's age, and if she was going to take the time to bond with her daughter, she was going to do it properly. It was time to teach the youngest Craven the family business.

"Amelie!" She called loudly, trusting the house to funnel her voice to its upper floors or as far as the sound could reach on it's expansive grounds. "Come here, little fox!"

Ledger :

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by **Amelie Craven** on December 10th, 2019, 11:30 pm

Amelie Craven

An indescribable noise would find its way from the upper floor, down to the kitchen, something that could be very loosely likened to a dog's bark if one had to try. Next came the tell tale tapping of tiny claws on the pristine wooden flooring and then stairs as the young Craven made her way downstairs and towards her mother. Winter had come with the mysterious frozen rain called 'snow' and Amelie had quickly realised that her fox form was far more suited to the new climate.

It had been quite the surprise, her first time venturing out into the icy cold in fox form and realising that she could hardly feel it, her tiny nose being the only part of her body truly exposed to the cold. It seemed to her that the magical weather had been made for her. Her fur blended in with it perfectly too, something she couldn't wait to make use of for Hide And Seek, though she was never sure if anyone would want to play with her since her nose always helped her win… Moritz wasn't very good either, his Okomo self was getting very big and obvious and his smaller self wasn't the most mobile thing she'd seen.

Because of the snow, Amelie spent most of her time in her fox form, whether indoors or out, it was just too cold not too, and only really changed when she needed to speak to someone… even then, the young Craven could not stand it for very long, without many layers of clothing, a blanket or being near to a fireplace. What was worse was that she'd been growing too quickly and had already outgrown most of her clothing.

Her mother had told her not to worry about the clothes and that she'd get new ones, but despite her excitement and trust in her mother, her patience was beginning to wane. As a young girl of approximately nine years old in human age, Amelie adored clothing, the newer the better, so the winter clothes had been all that was on her mind for the past few days.

Padded paws finally made contact with the ground floor as Amelie froze in place, short snout pointed upwards as she sniffed, curious about the recent yet unfamiliar scent that seemed to be wafting from the front door. Who had just been there? The strength of the scent suggested the person couldn't have left very long ago and would probably still be making his way across the yard, but she knew Finity wouldn't let her out in the cold so easily, not even if she whined. She noticed the small puddle near the front door and considered sniffing it too, but with the mysterious visitor no longer around, it seemed like a pointless investigation.

Sighing in fox form, as she gave up on the idea, Amelie remembered why she'd come running down the stairs in the first place, her mother had called on her.

Bounding happily into the kitchen, Amelie immediately noticed the unwrapped parcels, catching her mother holding an, obviously new scar… the clothes had arrived.

Now jumping and yipping with excitement, Amelie would do her best to get her mother's attention in fox form before reforming in a flash, the naked white haired Craven now standing in the kitchen with a big smile on her face as she eagerly eyed the new clothing. "Are these my clothes mommy? They look so pretty" She couldn't wait to try them on.

by **Madeira Dusk** on December 31st, 2019, 2:34 am

Madeira looked down on the tiny fox in her kitchen, and only flinched a little bit when half a tick later it was a delicate nine-year-old girl. It had become clear over the years that it was an inevitable fact of Kelvics that clothing was more of a suggestion than a requirement. But now that Amelie was on the cusp of puberty it was becoming harder and harder for Madeira to deal with it. She didn't want the entire population of Lhavit to know what her daughter looked like naked.

"These are yours, indeed!" she laughed at the girl's exuberance, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "What do you think? Did your mom do a good job?" she threw the long scarf over the girl's head and swooped in to kiss her nose while the girl was struggling to sort herself out. "Gods, your nose is as cold as a fox's, here, put the rest on." Together they managed to get her into most of her clothes, putting aside the items meant to wear outside.

"What a pretty little lady. I swear you get bigger every time I blink", she smiled warmly, taking a few steps back to admire how she looked. Madeira could see bits of herself in Amelie, somewhere between the colour of her eyes and the slant of her jaw, but the girl was destined to be a beauty far beyond her mother and father. Far from jealous, the idea made Madeira strangely proud. "I know you probably want to play outside, but can I have a favour first, little fox? I need your help in the kitchen."

She motioned to the neatly laid out ingredients on the kitchen counter. She couldn't quite remember her own first soulmist lesson with her father. She was absurdly young at the time, and it took several long years before she managed to produce even a single drop for her frustrated father. Now that she was so far removed from that part of her life she recognized the abuse for exactly what it was, and she was determined for things to go differently here.

"We're all out of soulmist. I need to restock, but its a lot of work for one person. Why don't we make some together? Its about time you were inducted into the family magic, don't you think?"

The Manor's consciousness perked up from its pouting, and both women could feel the tingle on the back of their necks as the sentient house began to watch them. Eager to demonstrate its own learned magic, or perhaps show off to Amelie, its concentration focused on the wall in front of them. Then pearling like the condensation on a cold drink, soulmist began rising from the wallpaper. It was misty and mostly opaque, somewhere between a liquid and a gas, and as it grew it leeched into other droplets until they began to streak down the wall like rain on a window.

"Not you, house. Stop that. You're going to attract every ghost on this peak", she scolded, leaning over the counter to wipe the wall with her sleeve. "Lesson number one, for both of you: soulmist has a fragrance. Not to you, but to ghosts. They can sense this stuff from a mile off. If you want to keep your house un-haunted make sure you don't leave it lying around!"

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by **Amelie Craven** on January 11th, 2020, 12:49 pm

Amelie Craven

Although Amelie still didn't understand the need for clothes, especially when her fox form did just fine without them, the young Craven still liked clothes, especially new ones. There was something about dressing up all fancy that made her feel as if she were a beautiful lady like her mother. There was something about the way clothing made her mother look, shiny rings on her hands and even shinier necklaces around her neck. If wearing clothes was what she had to do to be like her mother then she would happily do so.

Without a mirror to observe herself in, Amelie was unable to properly judge her appearance but that was unnecessary, the fact that her mother had chosen them along with them being predominantly blue and white was more than enough to please the young kelvic. "I love them, Mommy…" she giggled out as her mother wrapped a beautiful blue scarf around her neck, adding a ticklish kiss to her nose that caused a smile that reached all the way to her eyes.

Once completely dressed, adding several practice twirls to test out her new outfit and finding it satisfactory, Amelie was indeed eager to dart outside and into the snowy yard, but was stopped by her mother's words before she could even take her first step. Her mother was asking her for help, that was something that would always trump playing outside and Amelie nodded happily, attempting to compose herself and behave in the way her mother had been teaching her to.

Back straightened, shoulders back, head up with only a small hint of a smile which she was visibly struggling to contain. "Of course, Mommy. I would love to help you." The young kelvic couldn't help but feel that her new found love for acting was somehow helping her portray the prim and proper persona her mother embodied and she was pleased with the results.

"We're all out of soulmist. I need to restock, but it's a lot of work for one person. Why don't we make some together? It's about time you were inducted into the family magic, don't you think?"

Following her mother's gesture to the kitchen table and the ingredients laid out before it, Amelie was entirely unable to prevent the massive smile that broke out across her features, rocking back and forth on her heels with excitement. She was well aware that her mother was a well renowned spiritism in Lhavit and had been eager to follow in her foot steps since the day she'd been able to comprehend the basics of what being a spiritist meant. Now, here her mother was wanting to teach her… and needing her help. What was the saying? Two birds with one stone? Amelie eyed Bird from across the hall.

"Yes yes yes! I want to learn to be great spirits just like you mommy!"

Her excited ramble was cut short by a tingling sensation on her neck, had she been in fox form her ears and tails would be pointing straight upwards. Soon enough, it was made clear that the sensation was caused by Finity as droplets of what Amelie recognised as soulmist began to form on a nearby wall, the kelvic gasping and clapping in amazement before quickly falling silent when her mother told the house to stop and in a display of exactly why she was so amazing, quickly took the chastising moment and turned it into a lesson for both.

Two Birds with one stone…

The lesson was simple, soulmist smelled good to ghosts, the way candy… and Bird, she eyed the feathered creature once again, smelled good to her. In response, Amelie nodded enthusiastically, "I understand, Mommy." she answered, moving nearer to the table of ingredients, eager for the next lesson. Learning was fun!

by **Madeira Dusk** on January 21st, 2020, 8:53 pm

"Yes yes yes! I want to learn to be great spiritist just like you mommy!" Amelie announced excitedly.

The words shot a bolt of love straight through Madeira's heart. A blush rose in her cheeks, and she did her best to fight it, coughing daintily into her glove. She always struggled to be a good, composed Craven around Amelie. Gods, her child was adorable.

"Alright, alright", she chuckled, squeezing the girl's shoulder. "Before we begin, I need to explain a little more about Spiritism. You know what Spiritism is, right, little fox?" Madeira asked as she maneuvered Amelie to stand beside her in front of the counter. "In the most basic terms, a spiritist is a medium, a kind of bridge between the dead and the living. It is our job to understand ghosts, nuit, and a certain class monster on a deep level. Then, when any of these creatures become a problem, we become exorcists, and our job is to resolve the problem.

"Because of this, Spiritism as a discipline is unique. I firmly believe it is the only magic that is necessary in the world. Every city you will ever see will have at least one Spiritist. Even Alvadas, where the practice of magic is a punishable offence, has an entire lineage that is publicly respected for its use of Spiritism. Reimancy is useful, as is Auristics and morphing, but the ability to deal with ghosts is a prized and necessary art."

She was speaking both to Amelie and the house, her voice projecting around the room and slipping into her distinct Teacher Voice, used only in lectures in her tower classroom. But as she spoke next she turned to her daughter, and her voice dropped into a more intimate tone, and a lower volume. She looked her daughter in her blue eyes that looked so much like her own.

"Everywhere has ghosts, little fox. Some more than others, but from the top of Wind Reach to the pits of Sunberth I guarantee a spirit is wandering. That means that wherever you go in the world, Amelie, you will find work and will be if not respected, at least accepted. Which is more than you can say for any other discipline. Do you understand?"

The thought of Amelie ever leaving her was a bitter one, but it was a possibility. Moritz was too steady and logical for her to imagine him being taken in by flights of fantasy or a need for adventure, but that was not the case for his sister. Amelie was going to grow up to be a dreamer, she was sure of it. The least she could do as her mother was prepare her if she ever was swept away by it.

Turning back to both her audience members, Madeira continued.

"Another thing that makes Spiritism unique (and its something spiritists keep very much to themselves) is the fact that spiritism as a practice is barely magic. You will learn exactly one spell that you will do a hundred thousand times to prefect. And it’s only by creative use of that one spell and a heaping pile of bullshyke that you will interact with ghosts on any level. And that spell, the creation of soulmist, is what we're going to learn today."

She looked between Amelie and the empty wall, "Questions?"

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by **Amelie Craven** on February 3rd, 2020, 11:46 am

Amelie Craven

While, usually, the young kelvic's attention span was relatively short when it came to anything that required more listening than doing, it did not apply to things that Amelie found interesting. Amongst those things the young Craven placed Spiritism somewhere near the top. Of course, she hardly knew anything about the practice itself, but it was THE family business and something her mother was known for, so naturally she felt curious about it. As far as she understood, Spiritism meant speaking to and helping ghosts wherever they needed it and perhaps getting them to help you in return as well. Jomi and Emma seemed, to Amelie, like ghosts that worked for her mother because they were grateful to her for helping them. She wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter too much in her opinion, they were family in her eyes.

Her mother went on to explain the real meaning of being a spiritist, which seemed to be a lot more than Amelie had initially thought, though it didn’t stray too far from her image of a spiritist. According to her mother, spiritists didn’t only deal with ghosts, but nuit and some kind of monsters as well. They were a bridge, meaning a connection, like the way the bridges in Lhavit connected the different peaks. She understood that much. And they only had to deal with ghosts when they were a problem, meaning it was fine to leave ghosts be if they weren’t.

When her mother confessed to Spiritism hardly being a magic, Amelie’s face scrunched up in confusion, the information contradicting almost all of her little thoughts up till that point. She thought to ask, but knew her mother would explain soon enough, it was unlike her mother to say something without explaining it, she was a teacher after all.

When her mother finally did explain, Amelie could barely stifle the childish giggle that escaped her mouth at the sound of her mother swearing. ”Bullshyke.” she repeated in amusement. As for the only spell that a spiritist needed to learn, creating soulmist, Amelie was beyond eager to learn it. It would be her first real step to following in her mother’s shoes.

[i]"Questions?"[i] Her mother finally asked, indicating that it was the time for Amelie to speak up on anything she didn't understand.

Amelie nodded, her young mind soaking up the new information like a sponge and drawing its own conclusions using what she was learning. Spiritism sounded amazing, just like her mother, a job that was needed and respected everywhere on Mizahar. The young Craven’s eyes were practically shining with the enthusiasm to learn more. ”Mommy, what is a nuit? And what kind of monsters do you have to deal with? Naturally she was curious.

Questions aside, the young kelvic was more than ready to create her own soulmist, she'd seen the way Emma pined after it and had already formulated her own schemes on using it to bargain for favors from the little ghost. She could play so many tricks on Moritz with Emma's help.

by **Madeira Dusk** on February 18th, 2020, 11:19 pm

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"A Lady doesn't swear", Madeira recited automatically to hear something like bullshyke spill from her daughters mouth. Only to belatedly realize she had said it first. Madeira cleared her throat daintily. "...With notable exceptions", she continued lamely.

Amelie used the break in the conversation to ask about Nuit and the other monsters Madeira had mentioned. The Spiritist tapped her lip, considering how to break down the concept before answering.

"There are many kinds of undead. Ghosts are a natural phenomenon, Nuits are not. They are created by other people by removing the soul from one body and forcing it into a corpse." The memory of her experience of a Nuit transfer with Savis made her shiver. The woman's 'soul' had been confined to a thick black icor that had to drain from one body to the other. The memory of gutting and embalming the body, then laying the decaying corpse atop the fresh one so the icor could drip slowly from one mouth to the other made her break out in cold sweat. She didn't regret the experience, as the new body had been ethically harvested and she felt she understood the creatures better after having attended the ceremony few living people had ever seen. But

"Unlike ghost's they're not technically dead, as their soul never died, just the body. So they tend to be more rational than ghosts and are able to use magic. But they're still trapped in their rotting bodies, and must switch corpses regularly to maintain their hold on this life. Like that they can live forever." Her last sentence held such clear disgust it was clear what she thought of such a trade.

"The other type is much more dangerous than either ghost or Nuit. They're called the Returned, and they are made by the god Uldr." Madeira's eyes flicked to the window, as if just saying the name would bring the deity down upon them. 'They are wretched, powerful beings given a new quasi-existence by their god, in return for their obedience. They can not be reasoned with, and cannot be stopped. But this is all a discussion for another time." Madeira smiled down at her daughter, shaking off the memories. "Right now lets talk about a Spiritist's most important tool: soulmist."

She took down two wooden bowls and plopped one down in front of Amelie, and one in front of herself. "Soulmist is made of three distinct ingredients: flour, eggs and cheese. Other things can be added, and in a pinch these three things can be substituted for others. But you need at least three ingredients from three different sources. Lets go ahead and mix them together."

Madeira scooped out a handful of flower, a small bit of cheese and a whole egg into her bowl. Then, removing her gloves, began to knead and mixed the sticky mixture with her hands. Once it was thoroughly combined she scrapped it off her fingers and picked up the knife. "The last ingredient is blood. The best soulmist is made with your own blood, but you can use someone else's if you must. Once you're a master you can even empower the soulmist with the abilities of whichever blood donor you use." Pushing back her sleeve, Madeira chose one of the few bits of smooth skin left on her completely thatched forearm and dug in the tip of the knife until she found a steady flow. She shook several drops of blood into her dough before passing the knife to her daughter. "Your turn", she nodded to the blade, still clinging to a few ruby drops of her blood.

Once Amelie had taken the knife, Madeira gave her dough a few more turns before popping a portion into her mouth. "Then you chew." she spoke around her mouthful, holding her waxy and scarred right hand in front of her mouth for politeness sake. "The dough must spend some time inside your body for it to turn. Just focus, concentrate as hard as you can on what you're trying to do. You're essentially infusing the dough with a piece of your own, living soul. Think of it as making that piece of dough a part of your body. Make it become part of you, stretch the edges of your soul to include it. Imagine your soul filling you up, from the tips of your fingers to the souls of your feet, to the little hairs on your scalp to your tongue and that dough sitting on top. Take your time, it'll be hard at first. Then, when you think you're done, spit it out."

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by **Amelie Craven** on March 13th, 2020, 9:50 pm

Amelie Craven

By this point, Amelie couldn't help but start to lose focus, she found the stories about different kinds of dead and undead interesting, of course, but her restlessness found more subtle outlets, like a soft rythmic tapping of her fingers on the kitchen table. When her mother reached the part about the other monsters, The Returned, Amelie's tapping quickly stopped, noting the subtle change in her mother's tone as she herself felt a shiver run down her spine at these terrible monsters. She didn't like the sound of them at all.

Happy to be moving on from the talk of these monsters, Amelie was excited to get into actually doing something. Flour, eggs and cheese, or other things. She nodded eagerly.

Following her mother's example and instruction, Amelie scooped some flour into her own bowl, spilling more than half of her tiny handful across the table and having to go for a second scoop. Next came a piece of cheese and finally, an egg… a shard of the shell falling into her mixture because of her careless breaking method. Unconcerned, Amelie picked out the tiny piece of shell and dropped it on the table before mimicking her mother's mixing method.

The young Craven giggled and squirmed at the odd sensation of the ingredients on her hands as she continued to mix it as best she could. It felt wet and sticky and she both liked it and didn't. She'd been so busy enjoying the experience that she'd almost forgotten she was in a lesson until her mother had started speaking again. "Blood…" she mumbled, wincing slightly at the sight of her mother's arm and then again as she dug the tip of her knife into it, the potent scent of blood quickly reaching her nose.

Reluctantly, Amelie took the knife, eyeing it with uncertainty, her gaze alternating between her mother's and the blade before finding a spot on her own arm. She gently pressed the tip into the side of her arm, a brief whimper escaping her lips at the sharp sensation, before squeezing the few red drops of her own blood into the squishy mixture.

With a few stray drops still running down the side of her hand, Amelie began to mix the dough once again, watching as the red of her blood slowly vanished from sight the more she turned and squeezed.

"Then you chew."

Amelie quirked a brow up in her mother's direction, face scrunching in confusion. "But mommy, how will Finity chew?" She was genuinely curious, but did not wait for an answer before, very reluctantly, popping some of the foul smelling and feeling mixture into her mouth. She was appalled to discover that it tasted even worse. A look of disgust plastered on the young Craven's face the entire time she chewed.

This last part, was by far the most confusing. She needed to put part of her soul into the dough? She didn't know how to move her soul, it was something she'd never seen or felt before, at least she didn't think so. Though, she trusted her mom's judgement, so she would do her. With eyes scrunched tightly in concentration, Amelie began to chew aggressively, as if trying to force all her energy into the piece of dough.

Make it part of me, make it part of me, make it part of me…

The words were repeated over and over in her mind until she became numb to anything other than her mantra and the disgusting taste of the dough in her mouth. All the chewing made it feel like the warmth in her body was moving toward her mouth and the dough inside it. She wondered if that meant it was working.

by **Madeira Dusk** on March 13th, 2020, 10:58 pm

"Infinity is... special. Honestly I have no idea how it does what it does."

Madeira was done her portion in moments, and she pulled the bowl closest to her over to hack a huge quantity of the pearly white soulmist into it. At this point her body seemed to naturally exude the substance. But Amelie wasn't quite there yet.

It was an effort for Madeira to marshal her amused smile to an expression of dignified observation as she watched her daughter struggle. Her cheeks were puffed out, nose wrinkled in disgust as she chewed loudly and furiously. A flush of effort was creeping across her cheeks, staining her snowy white skin. Madeira laid a cool hand across the back of her neck and brushed the bangs off her forehead with the other.

"You can't force it, honey. Sink into it. Magic is not something you can bully."

The house around them was cheering the little girl on, the flue and iron staircase rattling like a whole crowed of clanging spectators. The noise brought out Spooks, the bumbling, armored kitten-thing, who crawled out from the under the common room couch to sit in the middle of the kitchen to watch with slightly unnerving fascination.

"Think of the soul as an energy that runs through every fiber of your body. We're going to push that energy outward, so it covers not just your mouth but what's inside it", Madeira spoke quietly under the noise. "It's rather like stretching your fingers. Just reach for it, moving not your body but something deeper. When it works you'll feel the dough change, it's turn into something that feels like it's not quite real. There's no other way to explain it. You'll know it when it happens."

Madeira moved her thumb in long gentle strokes down Amelie's neck and retrieved a fresh bowl with her other hand. She placed it in front of her daughter, ready for when she expelled whatever was in her mouth. Whether that was about to be soulmist, chewed up dough or vomit at that moment Madeira couldn't say.

Let her concentrate, she admonished the house as its cheering went on. She know's you're proud I promise.

Bracing her free hand against the counter she pushed her dijed out through the contact, as if to soften her words. The effort didn't feel at all like making soulmist, though the soul moved the same. While soulmist was essentially creating a small piece of dead soul, Architrex required living dijed. She felt it thrum through her fingers, the dijed reaching for the other eager soul. And it was a soul, she was certain. Infinity might be able to speak with the dead, but it very much belonged with the living.

Once she had offered all she was willing to give she pulled her hand back, feeling the building's contented thanks slide over her mind as the clanging stilled. Then silently both of them watched their little Kelvic girl, hoping for her first attempt at magic to be a success.

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Closed The Family Business