Trinais

Divine Hijinks

Parry was ready to tell Rikive all the reason why nobody threatened his wardrobe- and why even the threat of blackmail held no power when it came to his clothes. Then there was the idea that his previous form of a babbling, piddling child became permanent. Then there was de Lacy showing up at dawn to get his pint of blood.

So yeah, priorities.

"It wash the fairy queen!" Parry said, wriggling to get out of the remains of the onesie. "She didn't show at the pawty I threw for her, she probably got the humans to crash it. The symbol is hers. I don't know why she's doing this though!"

His less-chubby-but-still-chubby hands ran through his unruly, curly hair in frustration.

"She's in the central park. That's where the fairy kingdom is."

Carolyn had recovered from Parry's cursing and successfully beat her urge to wash the toddler Parry's mouth out with soap. She had her own two cents to add.

"It's not so easy to get to the fairy court," she said. "Even de Lacy doesn't have a whole lot of control over them. You have to be invited in to get through the Hedgerows."

Divine Hijinks

"You thought it was going to taste like ass, didn't you?"

Carolyn chuckled as Parry kept slurping down what was in the bottle as fast as he could get it in his mouth and get it down. The potion had no visible effect on Parry but that would take time.

You can't blame me for that. All witch potions are supposed to taste like ass- which I have legitimately tasted. It's not so bad if you do it right.

"It doesn't make sense though. We have to make potions for half of our magic. If they all tasted like mashed goose liver, we wouldn't be able to do magic."

Parry drained the bottle in minutes, stretched out his arms, and waited. And waited. Waited some more. Listened as one by one the kids got picked up.

Any minute now. Aaaaaaaaany minute.

The two of them waited in the kitchen for what felt like an eternity with no sign of anything changing about Parry. Carolyn was afraid the lack of a dragon scale was probably to blame, but the main components were all in there. The dragon scale was supposed to be the ignition for the potion to set the effect off. Without it the potion would work on a slow burn, taking days to age him up- unless she could kick start the potion manually.

Carolyn ran her fingers through Parry's trace of golden hair a wicked smile coming across her lips.

"Listen- after this whole mess and you putting my daughter in mortal danger, I'm gonna say we get three months of tuition for free." Parry just looked at the woman, strapped in the high chair as he was, and pitched the empty bottle over the side of the tray. "And also? I want a look inside your wardrobe. Anything I want is mine- or Fiona leaks the pictures she took."

Parry's face turned white as a sheet, then beet red. Carolyn could swear she could hear a rumbling coming from Parry's stomach- like a distant earthquake.

"If you're about to poop yourself and I have to change you, then we're taking video and posting it all over YouTube."

The rumbling in Parry's stomach intensified, his eyes squinting shut as he groaned or growled- probably both, Carolyn thought. She didn't take any chances, swiftly unbuckling Parry's seatbelt and reaching for his onesie snaps when Parry opened his mouth and let out an ear splitting belch that sent Fiona falling onto the linoleum floor and the blender on the counter toppling into the kitchen sink.

In Carolyn's experience, trolls had better manners.

When her hearing came back, Carolyn lifted herself from the floor and looked up at the high chair.

Parry had grown- not by much, but it was noticeable. His onesie was ripped in half at the waist, his hair had turned into shoulder length golden lockes, and his diaper clung tightly around his waist, looking ready to burst open if he breathed in too much air.

"Bitch, no one touches my clothes!"

Divine Hijinks

Fiona put her phone away, satisfied with the blackmail photos she'd gained.

This isn't fair! Now the NSA has pictures of me being fat too!

"Estelle is fine," Carolyn said with confidence. "Mostly just pooped. Whatever used her to make the charm just left her super tired. Like she drank a whole bottle of cola and crashed right after."

"Without the mess," Fiona added.

Carolyn nodded. "We'll keep an eye on her but I think it'll just give me and Fiona a quiet afternoon together."

"Like going to the Bahamas," Fiona laughed, stepping out of the kitchen to watch the rest of the children. "Whatever will we do with free time?"

Carolyn started up the blender. "I can feel the sun and surf already!"

Parry ignored the flirtatious banter, his eyes focused on the blue concoction in the blender, rapidly turning from a mass of disparate solids into a liquid. The wolf pups in the other room started barking up a storm in response to the sudden noise.

At least it isn't green, he thought. Potions are always green. Why can't witches make them look like margaritas? A little tequila in there wouldn't hurt.

Carolyn shut the blender down and reached into Estelle's bag, removed a clean bottle, and poured the potion in before screwing the top back on.

"I've got more experience with this thing," she said, shaking the bottle furiously in one hand, reaching for Parry with the other. "If you'll allow me?"

Divine Hijinks

Carolyn didn't waste much time after Rikive's go ahead.

"I'll need to use your kitchen," she said, dusting off her mom jeans as she stood. Thankfully she meant the downstairs kitchen.

Fiona was keeping order as best she could with all the kids but she kept rocking Estelle back and forth. Her face was getting more and more worried with every passing minute when her daughter wouldn't be her usual energetic self.

Carolyn escorted her wife into the kitchen with Rikive and Parry, then gave her the lowdown on what was going to happen while popping open her own side bag and removing small bottles of ingredients.

"We'll need sea salt, some grass clippings, a- well, I won't say what that is out loud. Parry wouldn't like it. Anyway, on down the list..."

-------------------------------

Thankfully, impossibly, Carolyn and Fiona had all the ingredients but one between them. The missing last ingredient troubled Fiona but Carolyn had to dismiss her concerns.

"I'm really not comfortable with only mixing this halfway."

Carolyn dumped the sea salt into the kitchen blender.

"It can't really be helped, hon. We aren't going to get a dragon scale here in the city. Those are special order only. This'll bring him up to talking age, just not to four years old."

Fiona nodded but frowned, reaching into her pocket with Estelle balanced on her shoulder. "Maybe. I just hope it'll work at all- ah, here we go." Fiona removed her own smartphone, focused it on Parry in his high chair, and started snapping pictures.

"If you don't think it'll work, why are you taking pictures?"

"I have faith in you, dear- and I want some blackmail." She stuck out her tongue at Parry. "Just in case! But Rikive, you're going to have a fun time. Whoever put this hex on Parry has to remove it of their own free will. Depending on who wants to humiliate Parry like this, it may be a bit of a task..."

Divine Hijinks

Carolyn had no problem watching Parry for the few moments Rikive was gone. And when she got back, she couldn't help but smile at what Rikive held in her hand. Both the genius of it and the appropriate look.

Parry was relieved to see what Rikive brought up with her too. He was beginning to despair that he'd be doomed to live out his last days as a thinking adult with this much body fate. More importantly, he couldn't wait for the charm to become permanent. de Lacy was going to come by for his tithe before sunrise- he'd already snagged one immortal and he couldn't let him get his claws into Rikive. Heimdall would throw a fit and Rikive might just draw her sword on the master vamp in a misunderstanding.

He went full on "I-want-it" mode when Rikive set down the 'Y' block, crawling for it as fast as his pudgy arms and legs could move him. The little cherub Celestial raised the 'Y' block in both hands like an athlete holding a trophy- then shoved it in his mouth, and Carolyn had to chuckle.

"That answers that!"

Divine Hijinks

Parry stopped his fussing for the moment, especially when Rikive started to make the the sketch drawing of the Fairy Queen's old sigil. At least he knew she meant business- plus she probably didn't relish the idea of changing angel diapers for the foreseeable future.

"It's hard for me to tell," Carolyn said, looking over the trace pattern on the notepad. "I know what it is, but I don't know who it's from. How powerful and old they are would affect how fast the charm becomes permanent. But they'd have to be super old and super powerful, so I'd say within two days or by sunrise if I made the 'age-up' potion."

The Hidden People

No biggie. Flint punched Parry in the face.

Divine Hijinks

Carolyn had to rub her temples in thought as Rikive asked about possession. Something taking direct control of her daughter Estelle was something she did not want to think about- ever.

"If you're sure that you sensed nothing malevolent, then possession would be impossible. That's a demonic magic in nature- taking over the soul of another person is a line no magic user would cross. But..." Carolyn paused, considering her next words very carefully. "Possession of the soul isn't likely. And entrance into the house isn't likely either. I know how well Parry keeps this place secured. That's why all of us bring our kids here. But... there's indirect possession. Like a ghost moving objects around."

Parry frowned at Carolyn and tilted his head to the side.

What- astral projection?

"If it wasn't a ghost, then someone may have forced Estelle to interact with the sword with their spirit. Like when I have to pull her out of a toy store because she wants a doll. There are a dozen sorcerers in the city that could pull off a trick like that- and I don't recognize the run on the blade at all."

Parry, on the other hand, did get a good look when Rikive started playing with the sword in her own hands.

What he saw made him red faced with anger, fidgety as a trapped puppy, and babbling like a mad man.

That two-timing, snot nosed, clip winged, earthbound BITCH!

The symbol, a seven-petaled flower ringed in crudely drawn thorns wasn't a well-known sigil in the city. After all, few people were in Camden when the Fairy Queen had risen to power 200 years ago...

Makes sense! She didn't show up to my baby shower that I threw for her! Then she crashes it with humans! Then tries to kill me! Then does this to me!

Divine Hijinks

Carolyn nodded, already heading up the stairs.

Fiona had hoisted the napping Estelle into the stroller and said "I'll watch things down here. You go take care of business."

Upstairs, Carolyn made a beeline for Parry's bedroom- he'd had the witches over for wine and Game of Thrones parties more than once, and those always devolved into tipsy fashion shows in his bedroom. Parry had a few swords hanging from the walls but there was only one in a spot where Estelle could grab it. An old, beat up iron blade. Nothing very special on first glance, but it was extremely old.

She leaned over the blade on the laundry pile, careful not to touch it while she reached into her own child's supply bag. Carolyn removed a canister of baby powder, sprinkled a small pile in her hand, and poured it over the blade.

Bingo.

"I've got something," Carolyn said. "There's a runic inscription here. It looks..." Carolyn extended an arm and picked up the sword.

And nothing happened.

"Yep. This is a targeted curse charm. Kind of like a voodoo doll. It has to be inscribed on a very personal item to take effect. But this isn't witch magic. Estelle wouldn't be able to do this sort of charm on her own. I'd never be able to do it- or permanently undo it." Carolyn had to guess that was Rikive's next question, but she did hold up a hand. "I can whip up a growth potion real quick. Maybe get him to a talking age. But that'll only last for a few hours and if anything, it'll speed up his transition to an, ah, permanently young state."

The Hidden People

Still here (with a broken nose).