Adrian Blackwood

Blackwood Grove, Saturday Morning

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 07:37:08 GMT

Adrian woke up slowly, his face buried in the softness of Rey's hair, feeling the slight weight of her against his chest. He knew he should be getting up, he'd had plans for slipping downstairs to make Rey breakfast (he'd been perfecting his heart-shaped pancakes for days now) before she even woke up, but now that he was awake, he couldn't convince himself to move just yet. It wasn't that he was worried about jostling her and waking her up, or even just that his cabin held a bit of chill in it and that staying under the blankets with Rey was warm and cozy, but just that he was so happy and content with where he was that he honestly just couldn't make himself move.

Breakfast could wait. Morning snuggles couldn't.

(For the lady, pls!)

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Blackwood Grove, Tuesday Evening

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:27:56 GMT

Adrian and Rey'd had a date planned for tonight - nothing major, just some spending a bit of time together. But when he saw the reindeer made of lights wandering through the Grove, he'd had a much, much better idea than just cooking dinner and maybe enlisting her help with making Christmas gifts.

"Do you think telling her to dress warmly will give it away?" he ~~fretted at~~ asked Boston. Boston, who was once again reminded how much energy Lydia-kitty had, opened one weary eye. "Yes," he said. "Telling her to dress warm in December is surely only something one would do if they were up to something."

Adrian scooped up Lydia-kitty, pulling her away from her current favorite toy: Boston's tail. "It's not that cold," he scoffed.

"Spoken like someone who grew up in a forest in Massachusetts," Boston said, letting his eyes drift shut again. "You should tell her to dress warmly. You'll only fuss if you don't."

"Good poi--hey! I don't fuss!"

Boston was not inclined to dignify that nonsense with a response. Not when there was prime napping to be done, and he was going to take advantage of it while Adrian entertained Lydia.

"Oh! Oh! Boston, I know the best way to handle this!" Adrian said, excited. He read off the text he'd just sent Rey. "Don't forget to dress warm--Baby, It's Cold Outside. Get it? Like the Christmas song!"

...If anybody needed Boston, he'd be hiding under a plant in the greenhouse. Emphasis on hiding.

[For the aforementioned date, if you'd be so kind!]

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Blackwood Grove, Saturday Afternoon

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 13:47:52 GMT

Adrian turned in a slow circle, examining his Grove from every angle, his brows drawing together and his shoulders slumping. The damage was...extensive. Not catastrophic, thank the Forest, but not far off, either. 'Devastated' might be about right.

Naked branches clawed at the sky. Tree trunks were withered and twisted. The grass was dried and yellow under his feet, crumbling to dust wherever he stepped. The soil was thin and powdery and several of his reservoir rocks had split or shattered. Even the air felt thin here. He laid a hand on his heart tree, the acorns all paper-thin husks scattered across the ground.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the great oak, which seemed a little diminished under his touch. "I was a poor steward to you. You are my responsibility and I failed. I'm sorry. I'll do better, I swear. Just..." He looked around again. He wasn't even sure where to begin to fix the damage he'd caused. "Just keep going. I'll swear, you'll be strong and healthy again."

"Adrian!" A yowl as a black blur streaked from the cabin to his side. "Adrian, what happened? How did this happen? What did you do?"

Adrian looked down at the accusatory face of his familiar and winced a bit. "C'mon," he said, holding his arms out to Boston. "I'll explain inside. We've got a lot of work to do."

[Open, though Pam's thread is canonically last!]

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Blackwood Grove, Wednesday Evening

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:49:52 GMT

The sauce was simmering on the stove, filling the whole cabin with the scent of roasted garlic, spices, and tomatoes. There was also a freshly baked loaf of bread cooling under a dishtowel, and Adrian hummed as he washed up the dishes from dinner prep in advance of Rey's arrival. Bran was also hard at work, sweeping up the floor of the entire cabin - and sometimes bedeviling Boston as it followed Adrian's familiar from spot to spot, cleaning up any cat hair before it had a chance to settle. The fire was already burning merrily in the hearth, chasing away what little autumnal chill Baltimore had managed to accumulate as the sun headed towards setting.

"All right you two, enough playing," he called, ignoring Boston's indignant squawk. "Rey will be over any minute. Bran, do you want to give the greenhouse another quick once over to make sure everything is still clear?"

The broom performed a small circle and disappeared towards the back of the cabin.

"And Boston--"

"Don't worry about me, Adrian," Boston declared with regal dignity. "I have plans of my own this evening."

Adrian was pretty sure that wasn't true, but Forest forbid Boston should be seen as less in demand than his witch. "Of course," he said.

"I'll go keep an eye out on the porch," Boston continued, sauntering out the door with his tail high.

"Thanks!" Adrian called after him. Dinner, cabin, broom, and cat all accounted for, now all he needed was his date!

[For the lady mentioned and for SP as I ~~deal with~~ enjoy guests!]

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Parent Weekend Offer Redux!

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:06:07 GMT

Once again, Adrian's Aunt Muriel, the oracular Witch of the Future, will be visiting for PW

So, if you want a random person to pop up next to a character of yours to give some cryptic hints about the future or just know things no one should, drop a (screened) comment below! I can make it as vague or specific as you'd like, whether you'd like me to c/p something you type out exactly or you have a general idea and we noodle on it from there, anything works!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Tuesday, already in progress.

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom to Baltimore's Anchor Market, Monday Afternoon

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 05:50:03 GMT

Okay, so...Adrian's Market jaunt had been pushed back a few days. Mostly because Pam, Rey, and Lydia had all told him that they were coming along with him. Adrian had tried - briefly, and not well - to point out why that was a terrible and dangerous idea, but all of his arguments against had been taken as arguments for and eventually Adrian had bowed to the inevitable and given in.

But they couldn't just go in. They needed a plan and, even more importantly, they needed disguises.

So first, a meeting here to figure out their story and get them all into the proper disguises, and then it was off to the Market.

If he were going anywhere that wasn't crawling with warlocks, Gilgamesh's enforcers, and had a slave pit to boot, Adrian would almost be excited. Sadly, that was exactly what each Market was like and so he was filled with dread instead.

"Do you think that they'll be more willing to listen to reason and stay here today?" he asked Boston.

The cat didn't even deign to reply, just opened one baleful eye long enough to look at him and then closed it again to nap.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Me neither."

[For the aforementioned ladies please!]

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A Large House In New Jersey, Saturday

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:40:00 GMT

Adrian dipped the towel into a basin full of cool water, heavily scented with herbs, wrung it just dry enough that it wouldn't drip, and placed it on her lower abdomen. There was a folded washcloth on her forehead, another tucked under her neck and behind her knees, and draped over her side, held in place by her arms. Normally, he'd wipe her body down with cooling infusions, but he was trying to disturb her body's lamia as little as possible, and so had to settle for placing cool towels against what his mother called 'hot spots' and hope that helped bring her fever down instead. The remains of a mug of nourishing broth rested on the nightstand; he was careful to not to feed her too much at a time, so she wouldn't choke. His own bowl rested beside it, still steaming, a small enchantments on the bowl itself to keep the contents warm while it waited for him to finish up with her.

"You know, Pam, any time you wanted to wake up would be okay by me," he said, voice low and calm and conversational. "I'm trying to give you time to work through this on your own, but if you're still comatose on Monday, I'm going to have to start using actual magic, and I'm not sure I'm ready to pull the scales off these women's eyes and have them declare my Grove should be the next holistic retreat." Dip. Wring. Place. "I know you can do this, Pam. You're one of the strongest people I know. And I know, I know. Everything in its own time. I'm trying to be patient, but you've got me worried." Dip. Wring. Place.

Eventually, he ran out of towels and retreated back to the chair, sinking into it with a soft groan. He reached for his soup by rote; he didn't feel hungry, but he knew he had to replenish the energy he was spending on her, and food was easier than sleep. He held the bowl for a few minutes, letting the warmth of it sink into his hands. "Come on, Pam," he murmured. "Don't make me start with threats. I've got some single-user plastic packaging right here and I'm not afraid to use it."

[For the unconscious one and SP! NFB for distance]

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Wednesday Afternoon

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 06:00:20 GMT

Adrian really appreciated winter. It wrapped the grove up in silence and stillness, a hush blanketing over the woods. Winter was a time of rest and restoration; a hard season yes, especially for animals, but the world slumbered and the rhythm of the cycles slowed and the season itself brought beauty, especially if you knew where to look.

Today, he was taking some time to just enjoy the season, become as one with it as possible. He sat out on his porch, a cup of coffee in hand, wrapped in a thickly-knit blanket, and just enjoyed the serenity.

Surely it would last.

[For one, please!]

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Wednesday Afternoon

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:39:09 GMT

Adrian had been positively enchanted with everything the island had been doing thus far for the holidays - yesterday had been a bit of a trial, but he had appreciated having mulled wine and hot cocoa literally on tap.

Today he was sitting on his couch, sewing together squares for a Christmas quilt, and watching the cats interact with the balls of sugar. Boston, of course, had declared himself far too dignified and mature for such shenanigans, but Adrian could see how his tail was lashing about. Lydia was...nowhere near as dignified and mature.

"Kitty will be very proud of you," he informed her as he sewed. "And if they persist through the rest of the day, I might even be able to get the rest of my knitting done."

Lydia had not been dignified or mature about yarn balls, either.

[Primarily for one, but open!]

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Thursday Evening

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:05:36 GMT

After two weeks away from home as a houseplant, Adrian was only too happy to get back to his grove. He had all sorts of plans: check his plants, make something filling for dinner, take a bath in his greenhouse...

Only to come home to both a cranky Boston and...another cat entirely. Who was also not Yelena.

"Who...?" Adrian asked. "Is that...?"

"This is Miss Bennet," Boston said acidly. "She stopped by this morning to check on me and, in so doing, turned into a cat."

"Huh," Adrian said. "...Runs in the family?"

With another acid glare, Boston turned away from his witch and stalk off, tail and nose both high. Adrian sighed, picking up the small cat and cradling her to his chest. "He's just mad he's gonna have to share the tuna," he said, following Boston inside.

[Establishy! Lydia-kitty modded with permission!]

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Thursday Evening

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 23:14:34 GMT

Tonight was Supper Club and Adrian had absolutely intended to go, but he'd made the mistake of laying down on his bed after work. He'd been making sure he could reach every part of his Grove without having to be in physical contact with it. Next he'd test whether he could reach every part of it while not being in his Grove at all, but baby steps. So he'd lain down and sent his consciousness out to examine every corner of of the land.

And when he'd come back to himself, he realized he had suddenly gathered every animal in the house. Boston was in his preferred spot on Adrian's chest, Fanny was sprawled out half on his legs, and Yelena was somehow taking up more of the bed than should be possible and yet. But her head was rested on his arm and her paws were pressed against his ribs.

"You're the worst to share a bed with," he informed her, amused. "Even as a cat."

But there was no way he could move now, not with three different animals using him as a cushion. He wasn't a monster. And he, fool he was, had set his phone on his solar charger, which was out of reach for his bed.

"Well, I guess I'm here for awhile," he sighed. "...Damn, and I'm really hungry."

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Wednesday Morning

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 06:33:55 GMT

It had taken awhile to get everything ready, especially with the break in the middle to go to Quebec, but Adrian and Boston had been working like mad to finish getting the stones ready. He wanted to make sure everything was done by the time the ground froze - which, sure, might not be as much or as soon as he was used to in Massachusetts, but neither witch nor familiar were keen on taking chances and the rocks still had to settle into their new locations. It had been several days of intense labor, hoisting rocks and digging ditches, moving in patterns that left beautiful markings on the ground wherever they went. Or, at least, he thought they were beautiful and that was what mattered. Some of the stones had been put flat into the earth, creating large stone spirals like the one in front of his house. Others were standing stones, dotted around his grove. There were a few more rocks to place, these ones nearly Adrian's own height, and a large hunk of natural quartz he'd found, but these were the last, getting placed not far from his garden.

"Proper circle or elliptical?" he asked Boston, using the bottom hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat and grime from his face before peeling it off entirely. There was a definite chill in the air, but he'd be working too hard to notice it soon enough.

Boston hopped down from the tree he'd been perched on, and wandered around the planned location, then began drawing a spiral pattern in the dirt with a claw. "Circle," he declared. "Make the radius bigger than the last one, though. Between the garden, greenhouse, and your heart tree, this will end up handling a lot of magic and the less we need to diffuse through the spiral--"

"--The better off we'll be in the long run," Adrian finished. "At least we got good rocks. I was worried we'd be working with shale."

"So you've said," Boston noted. "You've got the markers, right?" Adrian held up a fistful of long, wooden stakes. "Excellent. Let's mark out the proper places and then you can start digging."

"And then hauling. And then more digging," Adrian said, though he sounded happy about it, rather than complaining. "Let's get this done then, huh? After lunch, there's vegetables to harvest in the garden and the tomatoes should be done simmering by the time I'm done with that, and that'll leave us the evening to bottle more potions..."

"Less talking about things on your to-do list, more actually doing them," Boston said. "Get to work."

[Open! Conversation about Natasha NFB, please!]

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Blackwood Grove, Fandom, Friday Afternoon

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 14:21:38 GMT

Adrian was humming to himself as he bustled about his kitchen, finishing up some chores and making a second cup of coffee. Boston was taking a nap in a sunbeam, and Bran was moving himself around the kitchen, though there wasn't much to sweep. At least that was what was happening until he felt that familiar jolt of magic that meant that someone had crossed into his grove from somewhere else. For a moment the additional effects that came from it being his grove nearly drowned out the fact that it was a group of Blackwoods who had stepped onto his land. Traveling from Blackwood grove to Blackwood grove was a common trick, and one that Pam would approve of, considering how much it saved on fossil fuels and carbon emissions.

It must be some family bringing his extra orders, to make sure the shop didn't run short of inventory. "Thanks I'll take it from here," he began, opening his door to greet his delivery cousins or whatnot. And then he saw who was truly waiting for him.

"Aunt Muriel!" he said, quickly running down the stairs to embrace her slight frame with his. "What are you doing--"

"Oh, you can hug your Aunt Muriel, but as soon as it comes to--" His Aunt Lydia didn't get a chance to finish that sentence before Adrian was hugging her in return. "Look at you two!" he said, stepping back as if to examine them. "I can't believe you're both here. Is this a drop in, or are you here for the weekend or...?"

Lydia and Muriel exchanged glances with one another and then looked back to him. "You got it wrong, sweetheart," Lydia said.

"Oh," Adrian said, his shoulders slumping a bit. He would have loved a longer visit. "I understand, of course," he assured them. "You're the Old Wives, the forest needs you--"

"No," Muriel said, with a warm and wistful smile, though her eyes were tracking some moth or another winging on its way into the sky." We're not both staying over tonight. The three of us are."

"What?" Adrian asked, and then from behind Adrian's heart tree came the most beautiful woman in the world.

Adrian needed a second to take a deep breath. The woman in front of him never left the Blackwood. Ever. For any reason. It was impossible, yet there she was, smiling at him the same way she had a months ago when she walked him to the forest's edge and sent him off to catch his plane.

"Hi, Mom," he said, before wrapping his arms around her for the tightest hug yet.

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Parent Weekend Offer!

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:47:00 GMT

So, Adrian's Aunt Muriel is the Witch of the Future and, shockingly, she's an oracle who sees into the future!

So, if you want a random person to pop up next to a character of yours to give some cryptic hints about the future or just know things no one should, drop a (screened) comment below! I can make it as vague or specific as you'd like, whether you'd like me to c/p something you type out exactly or you have a general idea and we noodle on it from there, anything works!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Sunday.

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The Increasingly More Explored Woodlands, Sunday Afternoon

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 18:09:26 GMT

Last week, Adrian had invited Yelena and Lydia both to watch him bury his heart and properly claim the land. Lydia, because he thought that a fellow practitioner would appreciate watching a ritual of this size, Yelena because...well, if nothing else, he figured that she'd enjoy having something else to tease him about.

He'd brought out a nice picnic blanket and some refreshments, including several bottles of his homemade fruit beers that he'd shared with Logan, water, fruit juices, a light herbal tea, sandwiches on a thick, hearty bread (made fancy because he'd cut them into quarters), and a nice, freshly-baked cake that he'd cooked because he'd wanted to, not because he was nervous.

"You're fretting," Boston noted, sunning himself in a tree while Adrian made sure that all the utensils and plates were just so for his guests.

"I'm new to hosting," Adrian said. "I want to make sure that everything is nice for them."

"Uh-huh," Boston said. "...You're going to do fine." He wasn't talking about hosting. "We've practiced a hundred times back home."

"I know," his witch replied. "I just kinda wish it had been a hundred and one." Or maybe a hundred ten.

***
Once his guests had arrived and seated themselves, Adrian pulled out his trunk, went over to the black steamer trunk that he'd flown in with and, after rooting around amongst various things (he really needed to unpack this), he pulled out a beautifully carved wooden box and clutched it reverently to his chest. "Would you care to hold it while I finish preparing?" he asked, offering the box to Lydia. Boston made a grumpy sound, but forewent commentary as Adrian knelt down in front of the oak tree, plunged his bare hands into the acorn-covered ground, and began to dig. He moved handfuls of soil with surprising efficiency. "This has to be done by hand," he explained, figuring Yelena, at least, might be wondering why he wasn't using a shovel. "I'm a good digger, though. It won't take me long."

He wasn't kidding. Adrian Blackwood dug a three-foot-deep hole through hardpacked, rocky soil using nothing but his hands. He worked calmly, methodically, but fast, and didn't so much as rip a nail. There had to be some magic behind that, but he didn't say a word the entire time. He just kept going until he had a neat, knee-deep, root-filled pit wide enough to sit in, finished. A hole that size should have taken hours, even with a shovel; Adrian had finished in maybe twenty minutes. "There," he said, brushing the earth off his fingers as he stood up. "Now we're ready."

( Snipped for mention of a human heart )

"Well done!" Boston called from the branches he'd climbed up into. "That went even better than it did in practice."

Adrian was panting too hard to answer. He'd been perfectly calm the whole time he was filling in the hole. Now that he was finished, he collapsed onto the needle-strewn ground with a gasp, sprawling under the trees with a triumphant smile on his face.

[Text taken and adapted from Hell For Hire by Rachel Aaron, because you know how I love me some perfectly normal canons. While the two ladies mentioned were invited, post is open for other folks, either before or after the ritual.]

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The Increasingly More Explored Woodlands, Monday

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 07:41:45 GMT

The past few days of socialization had been fun, but Adrian was glad to get back to work on creating his grove. There was only one last thing to take care of before he could create a heart tree, and that was getting rid of whatever the weird, magical effect was that littered the topsoil. Yesterday had been spent verifying that that spell wasn't hurting the earth at all and that removing it would not either, and so today, he and Boston were going to get rid of it entirely.

( Witchcraft and yardwork are basically the same thing )

A breeze came from nowhere, cool and refreshing against his sweating skin, redolent with the scent of pine and oak and birch. Adrian smiled at that and snapped his fingers; the sound far louder than it should have been and echoing over the whole of the territory he'd claimed for himself. It was followed by a whumph more felt than heard and the entire contents of the pit burst into flames that burned a brilliant, dazzling white.

"Well done!" Boston called from the porch, away the the fire's heat. "It feels like the bulk of that spell is gone and the rest is fading as the mycelial network chases it below the surface. Let the fire burn itself out, it should all be gone by then."

"Great," Adrian said. "Will do." And then sat down heavily in place and resolved not to move for a good five minutes.

Working magic could take a lot out of a witch.

[Open!]

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The Unexplored Woodlands (Not Near The Hermit Shack), Wednesday Afternoon

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 09:47:48 GMT

Okay, so after that fiasco last week (Bran was still sulking), Adrian was making sure that the next place he found was devoid of anyone who might possibly be living in whatever area he decided to stake out for his own. That did put him a little closer to the onsen and the creepy mansion than he would have preferred, but he could cope with that if it didn't mean unhousing anyone who might live there. And having the grove in a long oval rather than a perfectly symmetric square or circle wasn't what he'd anticipated, but that was why he was doing this, right? Nothing ever went exactly the way you expected when you were dealing with nature, and the more surprises he figured out how to deal with now, the better he'd be equipped to handle them later, when it really mattered.

He didn't find another Douglas fir, but he did find a white oak, definitely over fifty years old considering the acorns he'd spotted. It was a grand stately dame, her canopy stretching out over much of the surrounding area.

( Boston, of course, had opinions )

"Good," Boston said, swishing his tail. "Now can we get to work?"

"I was thinking of spending some time sitting on the porch and drinking some tea, and giving you a nice fish to celebrate, but if you'd rather we jump right to it..." Adrian teased.

"Now, now, let's not be too hasty," Boston backpedaled. "It's important for your magic that you take time and appreciate life's little comforts."

"Making excellent points as usual, Boston," Adrian said with a grin, taking a moment to look over the land and smile.

[Open!]

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The Unexplored Woodlands (Near The Hermit Shack), Friday Afternoon

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:41:53 GMT

After his meeting with Margo, Adrian had returned to the hotel to change and grab Boston and Bran, and they headed out to the other woodland that they'd spotted during their exploratory hike around the island. Immediately upon stepping into it, there was promise. For one thing, it lacked that oppressive feeling of old, deep magic. That was the same feeling that most Blackwood groves had, but a forest having that already didn't make it conducive to actually creating a witchwood.

He walked through the trees with his broom in his hand and Boston trotting in front of him, sniffing the ground with his cat nose like a bloodhound, though he'd be offended to his core by the comparison. ( The late summer sun was high and hot )

"Well, I guess this place has Bran's vote. Boston?"

"Obviously."

"Then it's unanimous. Let's mark out how big we want the plot to be so we can make a bid on it," he declared.

It felt right here. Not quite like home - but like it could be.

[Bits and pieces of the description and discussion adapted from Rachel Aaron's Hell For Hire.]

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Arms Hotel to the Preserve, Thursday Afternoon

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 22:32:00 GMT

Yesterday, Adrian had ~~handwavily~~ explored the town before dropping into the bar. Tomorrow, he had a meeting with his...contact? Boss? Something?...to discuss the addition of Blackwood products at her store. Which meant that today was time for him to get started on his own projects.

"Come on, Boston," he said, "it's time for us to figure out where we're settling down."

( A man, a cat, and a broom walk into the preserve )

"Now that we've agreed that this place is unsuitable to be another Blackwood, shall we turn around and keep searching? That was that other spot of woodland on the other side of the island."

"We could," Adrian said. "But I think I'd like to keep walking through here a bit longer, if you don't mind. It feels a bit like home, while being absolutely nothing like home."

"I'd like that," Boston said, settling down on Bran a bit more. "It's a nice walk. But we explore that other patch tomorrow," he added in his most stern keeping my witch in check voice.

"Tomorrow," the witch agreed, and continued their wandering through the great forest they were lucky enough to share an island with.

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BWI Airport, Monday Afternoon

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 08:15:46 GMT

The massive black cat crouched inside his plastic carry crate, fluffy tail lashing with indignity. "I can't believe you stuck me in the middle seat."

"Would you rather I carried you in my lap?" asked the black-dressed man sitting in the window seat beside him. "And keep it down. Normal cats don't talk, remember?"

The cat lowered his voice to an angry hiss, which wasn't much of an improvement. "I'd rather not be on this flying death contraption in the first place. There's no anti-falling ward, no safety charms, no magic of any sort! We're just hurtling through the air in a metal cylinder powered by explosions." He turned his green-eyed glare on the happy family sitting across the aisle. "I'm amazed there are any scalies left if this is how they travel."

( Don't be rude, Boston )

"Did she hire a bodyguard out of an abundance of caution or because she...?" Boston asked from his carrier.

"Cute that you think Aunt Muriel has ever given me a straight answer in my entire life," the witch snorted as he slid the phone back into his pocket. "Now be quiet. I can't do a Nevermind while walking, and this place is packed." The cat grumbled but didn't say another recognizable word as the witch began marching down the disembarkation tunnel toward the sunny, crowded airport terminal. Time to find a bodyguard with a sign. "Could have given me a little more of a description, Aunt Muriel," he muttered.

And just like that, his phone chimed with an incoming text. He dug it back out of his pocket and saw the message was just a phone number and a name. Yelena Belova.

[Adapted from Chapter 1 of Hell For Hire by Rachel Aaron. NFB for off-island, and for the grumpy Russian ~~babysitter~~ bodyguard.]

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Voicemail

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 08:35:08 GMT

Hello, you've reached the phone of Adrian Blackwood. Thank you for your call, I look forward to getting back to you within one to three business days.

What do you think, Boston? That sounded normal, ri--

Click

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