[I]The last year had definitely been an interesting one, but Atticus couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. Lately, Kathleen seemed more on edge and disliking the lessons even more as time went on, so when she asked him to put the books up, Atticus gave a nod and headed into the library, putting the books on the proper carts. He gave a sigh, listening for a moment when he heard a slam and before Kathleen got his name out the second time he had already began moving. He had managed to get there before the vampire could pierce her skin and he threw him off of Kathleen with enough force to shake the bookshelf he hit and a few books came tumbling onto the vampire.

Atticus’s  eyes turned an almost black  color as the vampire got up and ran at him again, but Atticus grabbed hold of his hair and snapped his neck back and heard him scream out. He threw him down, and Atticus saw him still looking up at him and he picked him up by his collar.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re  not to touch her? She is not a blood bank.” He hissed, and when the vampire kneed him in the stomach, Atticus reached over and forced his head to the sighed, placing his mouth over his neck and draining the vampire’s energy. He watched as the vampire had crumbled to the ground, two small burn marks on his neck as he lay there unconscious.

Atticus walked over to Kathleen and lifted her up, and moved as fast as he could to the infirmary. He placed her on the bed nearest him and he moved her hair from her face. “I’m sorry, I should have listened out better.” He apologized to her, his eyes returning to normal finally. “I promise, I will never let this happen again.”[/I]

It was odd, to be completely honest, that Checkov was even at the cottage, much less extending a dinner invitation to the four of them. He heard as Ophelia declined rather respectfully, and then Mitch’s almost harsh response had him wondering, especially when he saw Lia look over to him with an almost soft expression. It was still mostly unreadable, but there was an obvious air of softness to her features, like she could understand. Then he was almost surprised again at Kat’s vague answer. Atticus couldn’t help but offer her a look, not bothering to give an answer before Checkov left. He was at the sink rinsing out his bowl when Mitchell said for him to come along; his tone still a little harsh and he raised a brow watching his friend leave.

As he put on his shoes he heard Ophelia speak. “At, don’t take that to heart. It struck a nerve with him, so just… don’t take it personally.” She said. There was still a certain softness to her as she spoke. She was being almost motherly towards him, like she often did with Kat and he gave a curt nod before heading out the door, pulling on his jacket. Mitchell wasn’t too horribly far ahead and he sprinted to catch up, but he didn’t say anything at first.

He could feel the rain and it felt amazing to him, the natural energy giving him a bit of a boost and finally he looked over to Mitchell. “So, what’s up with the sudden weeklong sleepover?” he asked him, looking towards the castle as they got closer to the tower that they stayed in. He knew better than to poke a bear when it was hibernating and he was sure that if he asked what the whole thing about the dinner would be doing that just that. Plus, he was curious, especially since he could remember every time being told it was just an all-around bad idea for them to stay with the girls.

As they got to the tower, he headed in, holding the door for Mitch and then he went to his room, looking around and taking his bag. He could remember the last time he had packed for something, and as he threw some clothes into a small duffle, he walked over to his bedside night stand and grabbed his Walkman and CDs for his morning runs [s]the ones he had been horribly neglecting the last few weeks[/s]. He sat on his bed for a minute as a page fell out of the drawer and he picked it up and smiled at it a bit, running his fingers over the old paper.

It was the only memory he had with any sort of clarity from before waking up in the west coven’s care, and this had triggered it. When it came back to him, it was about three years before Kathleen came along, and Checkov had Ophelia trying to figure out what was wrong with him because it left him out cold for about a week, but now the memory just made him smile despite it all.

[i]”Do we have to do this again?” Atticus whined as he sat in front of Ophelia in the circle she had set up, and she gave him a look. “We’ve been going for a week, and I’m fine now.”

Mitch was in the kitchen reading as Ophelia gave a sigh and took his hands in hers. “Atticus, a small part of your memory returned to you with such force that it left you out cold for a week, even if Checkov hadn’t asked me to look into it to see if magic is somehow involved, I would have anyway. That’s extremely dangerous, and believe it or not, I do actually care for others.” Atticus will just roll his eyes.

“Yes, [b]mother[/b].” he said with sarcasm, but Ophelia gave him a look and he almost felt it cutting through him.

“Don’t call me that.” She snapped, and she motioned for him to give her his hands. “Now, I don’t like rooting around in your brain any more than you like me rooting around in it, I’m no good at this type of magic and it’s the reason it is taking so long, but if I can diagnose the problem at least, then we can figure out a plan of action from there.”

He sighed and gave her his hands, and she closed hers around his. “Alright, but this sucks. It’s so draining.” He said, “I have wanted to feed off you more than once, I won’t lie about it.”

“Well, we learned early that I can’t do this while you’re asleep, and once we’re done I can at least put you in an energizing circle that you’ll be able to draw energy from. So let’s just give this one more go, and if I can’t figure it out, we’re done.” She said, and he nodded. He could feel her pulling his energy and pushing it back to him in constant pulses before the memory started coming back. The one he had been having every time. The one that came to him.

[b]The forest was bright as he walked side by side with another figure, but they were slightly blurred, he couldn’t make them out. The voice was strong though, and it sounded in his mind strongly. “C’mon Atticus, just a little more and we’ll be able to show mother that we don’t need magic to climb this cliff.” It said, but even it was distorted. Like the person was changing with every word they said. Their voice disappeared as they continued about, the forest was coming in with more clarity as the person’s clarity faded more. Still, as they walked he felt a certain calm.

“Race you to the top!” the figure said before taking off, and Atticus just smiled and ran off after him, but they veered off in different directions and he took in the scenery around him as he ran before he heard another voice. It was female, and when he turned his head the vision of a woman with long greying locks came with almost more clarity than everything else.

“Child, what are you doing?” she asked with a smile on her face, and it was then Atticus realized that he was actually much smaller than he realized as if he was younger. “You know that you shouldn’t be out and about right now. Did your brother put you up to this?” she asked a warm smile on her face.

“Yes mama.” He replied laughing a bit. He couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 as he began to realize. And the woman ruffled his hair. “What are you doing mama?”

“I’m looking for Wolf’s bane to help your father heal. Do you want to help Atty?” she asked and he nodded as they walked about the forest when the blurred figure came in, the distorted voice coming out again.

“There you are! I thought you decided you wanted to play hide and seek for a minute.” It said, and his mother looked over to the figure.

“He’s helping me gather Wolf’s Bane for Carl, do you want to help us?” she asked and the figure nodded, walking alongside Atticus as they gathered the herb. Once they had gathered enough though, the figure tapped Atticus’ shoulder.

“Tag, you’re it!” it sang, and Atticus began chasing after them, but he fell, and he could feel the vision fading.[/b]

He felt Lia push herself away from him, and he looked up at her, seeing her breathing hard, and she laid back. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, and Lia shook her head.

“There’s definitely magic binding your memory.” She confirmed. “I had to pull myself away, it’s some dark magic, darker than any manipulation spells I’ve seen before. I’ll have to look into how I can help you further, but at least we know the root.” She said, and when she got up and headed up to her room, he saw the piece of paper sitting between them and when he picked it up he smiled a bit, the memory coming back again.

[b]”Tag you’re it!” the voice sang, and Atticus began chasing after them, but he fell and when he got up he saw the blood on his knee, but he headed off to try and tag the blurred figure, but he kept missing them, and he eventually stopped in an open field that they had chased each other down to and he laid on his back, staring up at the sky, the figure noticing it and laying down with him and looking up with him.

“Brother, do you have to leave?” Atticus asked, and the figure sighed.

“I do, Atty, but here.” The figure handed him the piece of paper that was in his pocket. “This is how you will find me when you are big enough. I promise I’ll come back and visit every once and a while, but you need that to get in. It’s the password.”

“A secret password?” Atticus asked, excited.
 
“Yes, Atty, a secret password.” The figure said, an obvious smile coloring their tone.[/b][/i]

Atticus smiled, opening the small paper and seeing the words printed neatly across it. [i]Atty, I had to tell you that there was secret password so you wouldn’t try to follow after me when I left. I love you little brother, and I promise I will come back and see you soon.[/i]

Atticus put the page in his bag too, and he double checked and made sure that he had everything before zipping his bag shut and leaving his room, and he looked to see Mitch in the hallway too. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean to take so long just kind of got lost in my thoughts for a minute.” He apologized before slinging his bag over his shoulder and shoving his hands in his pockets, dreading the walk back a little more than he thought he would.

Now he had one other thing nagging at him. Would Kat decide she wanted to attend this dinner with Checkov and the elders and whoever the fuck Issack was? He was hoping she wouldn’t because it was nice being away from the castle for a while, but at the thought of what it would be like, he wanted to go in a weird way. He and Kat had never been alone with the elders and Checkov, at least not without Lia and Mitch too far behind. And after the attack they hadn’t seen the elders at all unless Lia and Mitch were right there.

He shook his head at the thought and looked outside before they headed back. This rain was going to make the walk back more hassle than it was worth.

--

Ophelia listened to Mitch’s sarcasm when he answered her about having a date. She rolled her eyes a bit, and let out a sigh. “I wouldn’t take it from you. You need to enjoy yourself every once in a while. I know I’ve made your life hell for the last 45 years… at least I know parts of it were.” She corrected herself before he could even comment on it. She wouldn’t deny the small little smirk that came over her face at the thought of Mitchell and Atticus dancing together, but it quickly faded. He really had been good to her, she couldn’t get over that fact, even with how horrible she had been to him.

[i]Ophelia looked at Checkov with a certain bit of confusion over her face and he spoke again, “Mitchell is currently the only one in my coven I can trust to protect you, and he has knowledge he can offer you too.”

Ophelia will roll her eyes. “You’re really adamant aren’t you?” she asked.

“I am, but you can’t blame me, if we wouldn’t have found you when we did, you would be dead.” He pointed out and she will shake her head.

“That’s not exactly true, but I will give you that you helped me.” She agreed a bit, but Checkov got up.

“Just be easy on him. He’s here to help you, not hurt you.” Checkov said, but received a look as he headed out the door. She sat there, rubbing her side seeing she was bleeding again, and she rolled her eyes a bit, lifting her shift before hearing a knock. Mitchell’s voice and she got up, holding her side again, and she opened the door.

“Come in.” she said, quietly, walking over to a mirror nearby and grabbing the bandages that had been left there for her. She winced a bit as she pulled off the old ones and discarded them on the floor for the moment before she began attempting to wrap herself up again.

She had been quiet since she had let him in and after about five minutes of trying and failing to re-wrap her side, she turned to him. “As much as I hate to ask, will you help me?” her tone was empty, but it still edged on cold. She really didn’t need this kind of treatment. She wasn’t a child, she could handle herself, but she supposed it was better to make the best of the situation. As much as she didn’t like it.

She remained silent for the most part, trying to figure things out in her own mind, how she went wrong when she was out there, but there was no point in trying that now, as her eyes were drooping and her vision fading. She knew it was from the blood loss because she had managed to lose quite a bit, but she still tried to fight off everything going on around here.[/i]

Ophelia listened to Mitch, but when his hand ran down her arm and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, she couldn’t help the sudden softness that came over her. “It’s not your fault, but I appreciate the thought.” She barely whispered, and once they were back at the cottage and eating, she knew from Checkov’s presence that there would be some form of tension. There always was, but she hadn’t fully expected it to root where it did. It rooted with Mitchell.

The softness hadn’t left her and when she heard the harshness in Mitchell’s tone, she just looked at him, barely aware of the expression that had fallen over her face. She knew that had to have struck something, especially after learning he had been from the east. Checkov didn’t know her entire story about back east, as she had kept it to herself for the most part. He did know that she was the Death Witch, but not much else… However, it didn’t stop the sinking feeling that she had that he knew [i]exactly[/i] what had happened with Mitchell.

Once Mitchell left the house and she spoke to Atticus, watching him leave too, she let out a long sigh, having lost her appetite as well. She was so all around not herself that it was affecting everything she did. She was tired and wanted to sleep but feared the act of it with that nightmare on edge. She wanted to read, but knew it would likely have her falling asleep. She washed her bowl and the other dishes in the sink before she looked at Kat and gave a soft, barely there smile. “So, I’m thinking that one of the boys can sleep on the couch and the other I think I still have that air mattress from when the last meeting with the South coven witches. I’m going to bring it out and get it going down here. That way we all have space. If there wasn’t so much stuff in that other room upstairs I would have them sleep there, but there’s just too much to sift through in there still.” She suggested before heading up to her room and finding the air mattress under her bed.

She looked to the clock a moment before sitting on her bed and just staring at it. She knew this was for the best and if Kat asked why, she would likely tell her it just for her own safety… She had a feeling somewhere that Kat knew that her bad dreams were her undoing. She’d been having more consistent nightmares in the last year and it had been affecting everything she did. One night she even asked Kat to sleep in her room just because the company was appreciated. It had been about 6 months ago when the whole thing happened, and though it helped for a while it had been getting progressively worse.

[i]Ophelia looked at the clock, it was now nine at night and the boys had just left for the day. She had been down in the kitchen, sipping her tea and reading her book when she noticed Kat was in the living room and she just looked at her for a moment. The nights had been getting bad, and Lia hadn’t been getting more than two or three hours of sleep a night for the last month and it was draining her. She needed some kind of comfort, something that she had found over the years helped with her sleep, but everything she had tried had not been working.

She marked her page and got up with her tea and sitting in the chair near Kat. It had taken her a moment to finally speak. “Kat?” she asked, and when she had her attention she thought a moment before speaking again. “I know this may come as an odd sort of request, but would you mind sleeping in my room tonight with me? If you don’t want to I understand, I just haven’t been sleeping well and I’m not wondering if having someone else with me might help a little.”

She had finished up her tea and went over to the sink, washing her cup and setting a few things up for in the morning. “I’ll be upstairs.” She said, barely waiting for her answer. She felt a little embarrassed almost at her request, and when she laid on her bed and stared at the wall, she couldn’t think of what came over her to even ask.[/i]

Ophelia snapped back from her thoughts and set down the air mattress, lying back on her bed to where she was staring at the ceiling. She needed rest. She knew she did, but it was so hard for her when she knew what was coming… Especially after seeing Issack again. The thought of him crossing her mind made her hand ball into a fist, but she released it once she realized that she had lit the candles in her room, completely by accident.

With a sigh she sat back up and began rummaging through her things for clean sheets and blankets for the boys.