InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Hauntings ❯ The Wiccaning ( Chapter 15 )

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar
I love not Man the less, but Nature more.

-Lord Byron
English Poet (1788-1824)

 

The wind blew gently through the tall, uncut grass. It swirled around the old tree, whistling through cracks in the old bark before moving up to shuffle the dried brown and red leaves. It rocked the swings in the far corner back and forth, heading over to the small garden. A young child danced and played in the light breeze that flowed past, entangling her bare ankles in tall grass and sending the sweet smell of late summer and the brisk promise of autumn to her nose. It was October, The world of the living and dead were becoming closer, the end of the harvest drew near, and the time to truly remember and honor those who had died was hear at long last. The birds chirped merrily as they watched the girl laugh and fall back, disappearing almost completely under the length of the grass.

A small fox came bounding out, his bell chiming noisily as he pranced down through the forest of grass to reach his friend. The girl breathed heavily and laughed as she waited for him to pick up her scent and clumsily bolt over to her.

“Rin!” She heard the old woman call. “Rin! Come out of the grass you wayward child! Your dear friend is here. And I believe the young fox is back here, do bring him in with you, Soten gets fretful when he wonders too far.” Rin peeked her head above the neglected grass and looked at the woman who watched her. “Well, come on girl, it's not right too keep guests waiting!”

“Yes Sister.” She replied. It was obvious that the woman didn't like the fact that she played in the dirt. Many people looked down on her behavior. But that's what they get when they place a Wiccan child in a Catholic orphanage. She couldn't stand their scrutiny of her, like she was to be kept under surveillance at all times when she did nothing wrong. She prayed to their god, but did not neglect her own. She honored their traditions but kept faith in her own. She was tolerant, why was she not tolerable.

She picked up the baby fox and carried him back up the stone steps that led to her home. The sisters and other, older children stared at her with distaste. Her pale orange dress had dirt smudges and her hair was slightly tangled, her feet were bare and dirty, and the fox in her arms bounced around, looking this way and that making the bell tied to the blue ribbon around his neck jingle noisily. She was not surprised that most were cross with her, she had skipped worship today to play in the neglected garden out back.

She slipped into her sandals and skipped down the hallway, clanking the heal on the cement floor as loud as possible just because she wanted too. She was always told that children should be seen and not heard, that she should behave and be respectful, that it was unladylike to play outside in the weeds. The fox eventually got tired of the bouncy ride and jumped down to prance beside her. Together they made beautiful, annoying sounds that said they were children.

Soten was waiting outside when she finally made it to the front door. She could have just opened the back gate and come around, but she enjoyed the looks on the faces of the sisters when she disobeyed their restraining rules. Soten smiled and ran to hug her friend.

“Rin! Oh, how I missed you. I can't believe they wouldn't let me see you!” She laughed as the fox jumped up on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. “Shippo missed you too.” Shippo jumped from Soten's shoulder to Rin's and back again several times before picking a spot on top of Soten's head. They both giggled and began walking down the sidewalk.

“Soten, you should know that they wouldn't let you see me after they found my ritual notes. They made me sit in confession for an hour. Then I was punished by having to wash the hallway floors.”

“Don't you have cleaners to do that?” Soten asked

“Not at the orphanage, they don't like relying on technology. They still use wood burning stoves.” She remembered the children teasing her, saying they would push her in the oven.

“Oh, that's too bad.”

“I know I shouldn't hate them, but sometimes I don't know what to do.” She turned to Soten. “Your cousin is catholic, are they all so mean?”

“No actually, you've met my cousin and he's really interested in Wicca. He says that it's a nice religion. But not all people are as tolerant as us.”

“As long as I retain my feeling and my passion for Nature, I can partly soften or subdue my other passions and resist or endure those of others.” Rin recited a quote from Lord Byron. For some reason, his poems and words of wisdom seemed to best fit with the hectic lives of people in these troubled times of religious intolerance.

 

“What is the Witches New Year?” Soten asked as they walked up the drive of an attractive two story house. The beautiful gardens in front contained flowers of every season, and some for year long. There were spices and vegetables, grains and fruits, and of course, the decorations for the coming Sabbot. It looked like some old lady's house decked out for Halloween, no young, or middle aged person could have such time or patience to care for the place with such loving detail.

 

“It's the Last Harvest, also referred to as Halloween, All Saints, Day of the Dead, All Hallows Eve, Feast of Souls, Feast of the Dead, All Souls Eve, November Eve, Hallowed Eve—”

 

“I know all that, I'm not completely ignorant of this coming sabbot. I mean, what are we going to do for a ritual? This will be the first Autumn Sabbot I will attend.”

 

Rin smiled, Soten had been interested in Wicca for almost as long as she had, but it was only recently that she convinced her brothers that she wasn't joining some devil-worshiping cult.

 

“Well, our traditional practice is leaving a plate of food out for the souls of the dead called 'soul cakes'. We light a candle in the window and give food to travelers.”

“What travelers?”

“Trick or treating, silly. We carve jack-o-lanterns to frighten off evil spirits and for decoration and have a big bonfire!”

 

They continued chatting merrily about the weekend's events and what they planned to do for the coming autumn sabbot, the symbolic death of god, before the rebirth of the Goddess and the beginning of the season of death.

 

They reached the porch steps with its two little shrines for the guardian spirits on each side. Because of Rin's restrictions and Soten's brothers' dismay at the thought of her going out after dark, they had both missed The ritual to honor the guardians of the house and the only place both of them felt welcome. Each Alter had a small statue to house the spirit; the one on the right was an owl, housing a powerful guardian, the one on the left, a pigeon, home to a sweet guardian who was formidable, but not foreboding like the owl. Both were kind when unprovoked, and both had been here for decades.

 

These were, of course, only the outside guardians. They had watched over this house since the owner was first initiated into the religion, still, they were not the only guardians. Many did not have any obvious distinctions, but there where others who chose to guard this house and the gardens.

 

Rin pulled from a small pouch strapped around her thigh beneath her knee length orange dress a small folded cloth in which she had snuck some of her breakfast cornbread. She untied the knot and broke the small square bread into two pieces. Beside her, Soten had dug into her bag and brought out a bundle of fresh grapes and barriers of a variety. They each smiled at each other and placed their contribution on the alters.

 

“Well, it's about time you two showed up.” They looked ahead to the large wooden door to see the owner of the house leaning against the doorframe. The woman was only in her late twenties, her long black hair pooled down her back in waves, looking as though she had just taken it out of a tight braid. She had beguiling crimson-brown eyes and lips that almost never required color; she had on the traditional colors associated with the coming sabbot, obviously wanting to be in the right state of mind while decorating the house.

 

Her blue Tank-top and dusty faded hip huggers, combined with Rin's cutesy orange dress made Soten feel a bit out of place in her big brown boots and tan hoop-dress with detachable sleeves.

 

“Hey Kagura!” Rin smiled, and ran up the remaining steps to embrace her dearest friend, Kagura wasted no time in catching her in a big hug, swinging her around in a circle twice before setting the child down. Shippo bounced off of Soten's head and rushed up, eager for a part of the Young witch's welcoming attention. Soten took a little more time coming up the stairs in her high plastic boots but she embraced Kagura with just as much enthusiasm as the others.

 

“Where have you all been? You missed the Esabat last night.” Kagura seemed a little down. She had never really wanted to join a coven, she preferred to worship alone. But ever since the girls started coming around and showed interest in Wicca, she found herself enjoying the company of others, maybe so much that doing it all alone now…just seemed useless. Their power always seemed stronger when they were together.

 

“Sorry Kagura, the sisters caught me trying to memorize the Wiccan Rede again.”

 

“I know well enough that that didn't go over well.” Kagura had lived in the orphanage after her mother and older sister Kanna died. They didn't like the fact that they were in charge Of a witch's daughter, initiated into the hated religion at 5 weeks. She was the first to be born into the coven as a witch. After her mother's death the pressure of the church increased. Many times the police had interrupted their rituals and gatherings after receiving claims of living sacrifices and devil worship. Soon the coven dissolved and many of the members moved. Others went back to the church. Kagura shook her head, eager to clear out those unwanted thoughts.

 

“Come in, you girls can help me finish decorating. We only have a week before the last harvest and we must be ready. Soten, you will be joining us then right?”

 

Soten nodded happily, “Yes, and so will Shippo.” Kagura smiled down at the small fox pawing at the pumpkins waiting to be gutted and carved.

 

“We will have to get to work on your ritual robe. Our colors are dark-blue and silver.” She turned inside and the girls followed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*

 

“All Hollows Eve. …” The young spirit smiled grimly as he watched the two witches and their initiate crowd around an alter in the middle of a large cramped room, the youngest of the two witches smiling brightly as they both dug through a large chest.

 

“First, this is your book of shadows.” The woman handed the girl in pigtails a thick, dusty book made of recycled paper. The looked to be made of sanded down bark and there was an engraving of a woman in a robe sitting on a moos, an owl perched on her arm, a bow in her other hand. “It is the most important; you can not do magick without it. This book is like your magickal memory bank, and every thing you do, feel, experience, and practice goes into this book.”

 

He settled down beside the youngest witch and watched carefully, making no move to appear hostile. The tension in the air was smothering him; the guardians of the home were questioning his intent. The youngest one handed the girl a book with a similar cover, only the moon was facing a different direction.

 

“This is your book of light. Kind of like the book of shadows, except this is a book only for all the knowledge you gain on your path in the craft.” The woman and the girl continued to pull objects out of the trunk, giving them to the girl and describing their use. Salt, for purification and used to make blessed waters, incense for purification and associated with Air, and candles, associated with Fire.

 

He watched with interest as they handed her a cauldron and broom from a corner of the room. Cauldrons for boiling brews and burning lettering needed in rituals, the broom for cleaning the place where you cast a circle. He remembered reading, back when he was alive, that witches were evil and flew around on their brooms, capturing children and cooking them up to eat in their big rusty cauldrons. He even watched many people hang from the gallows under the accusation of witchcraft. It had convinced him to always be mindful to his nobleman father and attend church regularly. Then again, 300 years had taught him to be mindful of his duties.

 

He was, by lack of a more familiar name, the grim reaper. But it was not as final as many stories made it appear. He had the decision whether the person lived or died. He and about 2-300 other condemned spirits who never learned to love or care. Emotion, he had been convinced, was a pointless luxury that cost too much. He was a nobleman, and a member of the king's court. He had to make stern decisions, to act justly but still have his own goals in mind. He did not need love, only an heir. He did not need comfort, but a vast mansion to house himself and his servants. Now, he did not need anything but his memories, the constant torment of knowing what he did wrong in his life and knowing he could never change it. That is his hell.

 

Now his new charge was sitting here, the youngest witch, a light that this world needs, and may not be able to afford to loose. Here he was, watching the soon to be dead girl show her friend a handful of crystals while the woman readied the fabrics and tools for the child to make her own ritual robe. He had to monitor the girl, to make sure if she truly deserved to live. Then, when the time came, he would decide whether she lived or not.

 

“—And hears Cat's-eye for beauty as well as Jasper and Opal, and I only have Amethyst and Clear Quartz for Dreams, but there is also azurite and Flourite for that too.”

 

The woman came back up the stares and into the large room. “Rin, Soten, Shippo! Come on, we have to get started. After we finish this robe we can carve the pumpkins!”

 

The girls quickly set aside all their things and raced down the stairs. The spirit's grim smile took on a bit of light. He never set forth the death of a witch, it would be interesting. Casually, so as not to disturb the Guardians, he followed. He only had three days to finish this, and with the rogue spirits around this town, as well as the two that had escaped from the spirit world, and the ghost hunters, those…Gehists, he needed to be careful. Alot of things could go wrong on this job....

 

~*~*~*~*

“Kagome…are you feeling better dear?” Her mother knocked quietly on her door. “Kagome, your friends are here to see you.”

Kagome looked up from the pillows, her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red and pouty, but she did feel better. The thought that something had happened to her beloved ghost kept her stomach rolling and sent her sprawling for the bathroom more and more, but she didn't feel the despair of abandonment that she did before. And now that her friends were here, she didn't feel alone. Soon, her brother would be home and Helium would be too. Then her despair would escalate!

”Hey guys,” she smiled slightly when she saw Miroku and Sango standing in the doorway.

”Hey Kagome, how are you feeling?” Sango asked moving to sit beside the bed. Miroku walked to the other side.

”A little better. I really wanna go outside for a walk but I don't know if mom would let me.”

”You have to stay in bed. Hey, how about tomorrow, since it's a weekend and all, we head to the library. If you're feeling better that is.” Miroku picked up the stuffed mouse from her floor and handed it to her.

”Pocky.” She snuggled up into a ball with her stuffed toy.

”Pocky?” Sango looked at her friend curiously.

Kagome smiled and explained. “My friend Ayumi was going to get her some Pocky when we walked by this toy crane and she wanted the stuffed puppy that was in there. After a few tries she got a hold of the dog and managed to get the tag of the stuffed mouse buried beneath it. So she gave it to me, and we named it Pocky.” Her smile widened a bit as she remembered her old friends back in Japan.

 

“Well, we had better be getting home. We'll stop by tomorrow to see if you're batter, than we'll head over to the library ok?” Kagome nodded, then slowly drifted back to sleep as she watched her friends head back out the door.

 

~*~*~*~*

OMG! I'm soooo sorry. I know it took me forever to write this up! I would like to come up with this really imaginative excuse, like I almost ran my friend over with my bike, causing her to go into labor and having the baby be born 2 weeks early, or that this power outage hit out town because of the early summer storms and so my computer didn't save my work, but I'm afraid the only excuse is:

I'm moving. Yup! Just a boring old move from my dreary cramped apartment to a nice little house. My computer is packed up and I'm forced to use the ones in the comp. lab here on campus. Which isn't so bad really, their pretty up to date. Even though the still use internet explorer. I'm a Mozilla Firefox user. Much better!^^ So here's the update, and please try and guess who the new spirit is! Oh, and thanks to my bro for offering a new name. Gehists is much better that H.U.N.T.E.R.S. Blech. How lame it is. But helium and Kola wanted it, and nobody else gave me a name. So thankyou Xombie. You rock for saving me. Hunters....*shuder*

To clear up a few things about my religion. You may be wondering was Sabbots and Esabats are. These holidays do fall on different days depending on the hemisphere and the tradition that is being practiced… I kind of liked the thought of Kagura as a Wiccan; they do call her a “wind witch” in the series…

Anyway…Sabbots represent the changing of the seasons and the solar cycle, and are directly connected to the planting of crops and harvesting them. They are also associated with the solstices and equinoxes and represent the birth, fertility, death and rebirth of Goddess/God. They are also called "High Days". Esabats are determined by the phases of the moon. They have the same amount of importance as the Sabbots.