#3 on Drabble list #2? Thanks so much, I love your writing x
“I know it hurts.” (it’s close to that but not quite, sorry!). this is @fraks‘ fault. totally.
tw: mild violence, uncontrolled magic
Pippa closes her office door and lets Miss Pennyford continue shouting.
Pippa (and her staff) had recommended her daughter attend summer classes at a nearby institute to help her catch up, nothing too serious; they'd locked down a scholarship for her, helped her make arrangements to better prepare her for her third year at Pentangle's; but her mother hasn’t seen it that way.
"A burden," she’s called it, "a waste," all the while raging about her daughter's qualifications, her own status on the board, and Pippa tries to keep her calm, keep her voice down, but Miss Pennyford refuses to be silenced.
She shouts so loudly Pippa's assistant sticks her head in the door and asks if everything is alright, and Miss Pennyford nearly bites her head off, a sharp, "Don’t ever interrupt me—" followed by a litany that Pippa tries not to roll her eyes at. She gestures for her secretary to step out, and rounds the desk, trying to motion Miss Pennyford onto the sofa by the fire.
Instead, she launches into a tirade about not being respected or listened to, and Pippa does her best not to let her eyes glaze over. She's used to angry parents, used to the upper echelons thinking they can get whatever the way, whatever way they want; she's spent half her life separating as many wealthy donors from their money as possible, and she knows how it works. Knows, in this moment, there's nothing to do but let Miss Pennyford tire herself out before Pippa will get a chance to speak.
She keeps one eye on Miss Pennyford's daughter, a sweet, quiet girl named Laura the entire time. Laura remains slouched in her seat, lower lip caught in her teeth, flinching every time her mother gets too close, or too loud, and Pippa's heart trips. She tries to interject, to say they should take the conversation elsewhere, but Miss Pennyford barrels over her.
Stepping closer, Pippa puts herself between Miss Pennyford and her daughter, tries again to gesture to the sitting area.
Instead, Miss Pennyford's magic sparks in her hands, and Pippa immediately shifts her body to block Laura completely.
"Laura, please wait outside until your mother and I are finished."
Miss Pennyford stops, blinks, then rages, "You do not tell my daughter what to do—"
"Until you calm down I believe it's best Laura not be part of this conversation." Pippa calls out for her secretary, nudging Laura gently toward the door.
"You will stay put if you know what's good for you," Miss Pennyford snaps, and Pippa narrows her eyes, keeps her arm around Laura's shoulders.
"You will not threaten a pupil in my school, Miss Pennyford, I do not care what position you hold or whose mother you are."
There's a crack of light from her fists, and Pippa turns, shields Laura with her back and waits for some kind of impact. It never comes. She hears the crack, a sharp inhale, and when she turns, there's someone standing between her and Laura and Miss Pennyford. A familiar someone.
Pippa's secretary is at the door in a moment, spluttering, "I tried to stop her she just—"
Pippa shakes her head, pushes Laura gently toward the secretary. "Go with Miss Windfield, please, Laura."
Laura nods, swipes her hand under her eyes and all but runs out the door; Pippa turns the moment she's safe, circles around and sees Hecate looking furious, a red scratch across her cheek, and Miss Pennyford standing stock still, enraged but motionless.
"Hecate? Are you alright?"
Miss Pennyford sputters. "Is she alright? She won't let me go!"
Pippa slides her gaze to Miss Pennyford, sees this time the thin line of magic around her, Hecate's fingers stiff and slightly outstretched at her side.
"Until you can comport yourself in a manner befitting of polite society I suggest you stay. put."
Her tone is clipped, restrained, but her eyes are bright and angry, angrier than Pippa has seen, not since they were children and Alice Moors turned Pippa's familiar into a goldfish.
"Hecate," she says gently, placing a hand on her arm. "You can let her go. Laura's gone."
Hecate slides her gaze to Pippa momentarily. "And you?" she asks stiffly.
Pippa almost smiles. "I'm fine."
Hecate waits a few more moments for good measure, then releases her hold on Miss Pennyford.
"I should have you arrested for—"
"Oh, sit down," Hecate snaps, flicking her wrist, and Miss Pennyworth finds herself seated on Pippa's sofa. She moves to stand, but Hecate glowers at her, stalking closer.
To Pippa's surprise, Miss Pennyford cowers. Shrinks back into the loveseat, and Hecate stills.
Miss Pennyford stares between them, her lip wobbles, and it's the only warning Pippa has before she bursts into tears, blubbering apologetically and heaving through her tears.
Pippa and Hecate exchange glances, and Hecate takes a large step back. Pippa rolls her eyes, but summons a box of tissues and sits opposite Miss Pennyford, carefully talks her through it.
It takes half an hour to sort through her explanation, and for Miss Pennyford to accept that Pippa accepts her apology (unaided by Hecate's unwavering glower from the corner, where she stands with her arms crossed over her chest, fingers tapping on her arm, and a bright red cut on her cheek that keeps distracting Pippa from the conversation at hand).
Eventually, Miss Pennyford calms, and stands, and agrees to Laura's summer classes (Pippa also hints at the idea of her joining Laura for their group therapy sessions offered by Pentangle's, to which Hecate snorts and rolls her eyes). Still, she stands, and thanks Pippa, and takes a quick glance at Hecate before mumbling,
"I'm so sorry. I—" she looks up and meets Hecate's gaze, biting her lip. "That looks like it hurts."
Hecate stares at her for a beat, then lifts one shoulder carelessly. "Your magic is weak. I will be fine."
Pippa bites down a smile, guides Miss Pennyford out of the office, and spends a few minutes with Laura and her mother in the hall before they transfer away.
Only then does she let her shoulders drop, and she quickly returns to her office, to Hecate.
Hecate, who had clearly been watching from the doorway, and is now pacing near the window, trying to pretend she hadn't been eavesdropping, hadn't been playing guard.
Hecate nods. "I'm fine. What on earth—"
Pippa shakes her head. "Your guess is as good as mine." She steps closer, tentatively places a hand on Hecate's bicep until she drops her arms and lets Pippa closer.
Pippa lifts her fingers toward her cheek, and Hecate flinches away. "It's fi—"
"Don't be stubborn," Pippa scolds, gently touching Hecate's cheek, turning her chin to get a better look at the mark. Hecate was right—it isn't deep, isn't severe, but she heals it anyway, feels Hecate shudder as her magic passes over her skin. Smiling softly, Pippa presses a kiss to Hecate's cheek, bites her lip when Hecate flushes.
Knowing Hecate won't want to focus on her actions, Pippa squeezes her arms and steps back just a little. "More exciting than a game of chess, then?" she asks, and Hecate snorts.
"I get quite enough excitement with Mildred Hubble."
"Ah, yes. Well, we don't have a Mildred Hubble, so we find our excitement elsewhere." She winks, and Hecate rolls her eyes. Pippa starts to move away, but Hecate grasps her arm lightly, eyes narrowed as they roam her face, her body.
"You're certain you're alright?"
Pippa smiles. "I'm perfectly fine, darling. Though I'm cross with you for putting yourself in front of me."
Hecate rolls her eyes. "I considered letting her hit you."
Pippa laughs, a bit shaky and relieved. "You did not."
Hecate lifts a hand to Pippa's cheek, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and lets her fingers linger against her skin.
"No," she agrees, "I did not."
