Between The Pages || Kieren & Willow
It was the height of summer but something had called the wind and rain to their small community. Kieren awoke to the sound of it rattling violently against his windows. He lived in a house filled with early risers, a house filled with people who embraced the rising and setting sun, but on this morning, it could scarcely be seen through the gray. He pulled on jeans and a thick sweater before he left the room. It smelled like detergent and herbs, pleasant company with which to face the morning that felt more autumn than summer, more October than June. His watch read a little after seven. Those witches who wanted to attend the morning cleansing sessions would be in the living room. Some more might stop by later, the ones who lived in the village or in the surrounding cottages. There would probably be a meeting about Rupert and the other girl. Willow, they'd said her name was. Her name was whispered alongside discussion of the way she'd tried to end the world. As far as bad magic went, that one was way, way up there. Lavinia was brewing tea in the kitchen when Kieren walked in. "Morning," he greeted. "Hm. Dreadful one, isn't it?" "I don't know," he shrugged, smiling as he helped himself to a couple of slices off the huge pile of toast on the kitchen table, lathering it with a thick layer of butter and marmalade. "I've seen worse." "Haven't we all. Wouldn't be surprised if that one brought it with her, you know." "From California?" "I don't mean like that. Nature does have a way of sending its omens. She's a dark one. Almost killed our Rupert." Kieren lowered his eyes, pretending to focus intently on his breakfast. As far as his mother had told him, Rupert had been more than prepared to die in order to save Willow, and that meant she was probably someone worth saving. He'd only seen her briefly when she'd arrived late the previous night. He saw her once more whe she left the morning cleansing (if anyone needed it, it was probably her) but he didn't speak to her properly until later that afternoon. Wind and rain made most people want to stay inside, but there were those among them who enjoyed going out and channeling the weather. He preferred the library on a rainy day. It tured out they had that in common. Her red hair was the first thing he noticed, the way it contrasted with her pale skin. It was almost hard to believe she came from a place where the sun almost never stopped shining. Her sad expression followed her. Even if she hadn't brought the literal dark clouds, there was a metaphorical one that hung about her, more like sadness than anger. Like someone who'd been totally beaten and torn down. "Hi." He looked up from his book, adjusting in his seat and smiling so she wouldn't feel like she wasn't welcome. "We haven't met. But I'm Kieren. Althenea's son," he explained, pondering adding to the greeting with a harmless question like 'how are you?', but it didn't seem so harmless today.