The Shakesperian play ‘Julius Caesar’ features a soothsayer who famously declares “beware the Ides of March.” This character was supposedly based off of a real encounter the real Julius Caesar had experienced, and regaled with his senate and various guests he entertained up until the forewarned day.

Upon the Ides, Caesar sequestered himself while claiming illness and refused any company, and later learned that an assassination attempt had been thwarted when his lifelong companion, Brutus, confessed to the plan to Caesar’s son, Marc Antony. The play’s triumphant recounting of its heroes’ rooting out the traitors, as well as the civil war that followed, garnered little attention from the tragedy-loving audiences of Shakespeare’s time, but nowadays is a beloved romanticization of one of Rome’s greatest rulers.

Caesar’s multiple attempts to find the soothsayer that had saved him is well-documented, as is the legendary Oracle of Delphi, and numerous other ancient diviners who, through practice, natural gifts, or the use of various substances to heighten their psionic focus, were capable of predicting events of extraordinary import, or imparting knowledge of the past and present that would have been lost on a normal person. Diviners of the modern age have a much less dramatic role in society, but are still highly sought after by ambitious (or desperate) individuals.

“Wake up!”

Taz twitched, her dream of having to perform on the America’s Got Talent stage wearing nothing but whipped cream mercifully ending.

“Taz! Wake up!” Melodica whispered insistently.

She made a low, tired noise in response, and opened her eyes. Melodica’s blurry figure was leaning over her bed, her posture visibly quivering with excitement.

“Taaaaaaaz!” Melodica shimmied in place in excitement, and Taz reached over to her nightstand to grab her glasses before looking at the clock.

Then, she collapsed back onto her pillow with a sigh. “It’s not even seven yet, Mel…” Taz mumbled, her eyes closed until she felt her own mind being forcibly used against her will to create two telekinetic surfaces at the ends of Melodica’s fingers to force her eyelids open. “I hate you.”

“Taz, use your stupid nose!” Mel ordered.

With a growl, Taz sniffed at the air almost begrudgingly, and after a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, the fog in her head lifting as she pushed herself out of her lying position.

A buttery, rich smell of cooking batter, the subtle notes of chocolate...

With a small gasp, Taz and Melodica met each other’s eyes with excitement, and spoke together: “Waffles!”

Early Christmas morning in Arizona came with the slightest nip of a chill, though it was still far from being cold enough for snow. It was, still, just enough for Taz to slip into some socks in addition to her pajamas and stumble-rush downstairs to follow the smell of breakfast.

She bungled through the living room, where a four foot Christmas tree had been raised in the corner with glittering tassels and simple ornaments, but Taz didn’t notice the collection of presents underneath it; only Mel paused in her swimming to give the pile a curious look before flying after her creator.

“WAFFLES!” Taz burst into the kitchen yelping in excitement, and her mother, in a fluffy faded-pink bathrobe and bunny slippers, gave her a demure smile and turned to hand her a plate.

“You’re an addict, love.” Anna said with an amused smile, and Taz immediately started scrounging through the cabinets until her mother spoke up again. “Syrup’s on the table already, hon.”

Taz sat, the syrup flying into her hands, and was halfway through her waffles by the time Anna sat down with her own small stack. Taz’s was packed with chocolate chips and covered in syrup, while Anna’s had a scattering of blueberries and a syrup swirl added almost as a decorative afterthought.

Melodica floated around Taz, her tail squirming in delight as she shared in their favorite morning meal—though Anna would argue that it was more of a dessert than breakfast.

Tasha went through a glass and a half of milk in the process of finishing her breakfast, and Anna also mused that it was a good thing she hadn’t gained the psychics’ near universal lactose intolerance.

Anna finished her breakfast and set the dishes in the wash by the time Tasha came out of the bathroom, still rubbing her belly and walking the walk of somebody who was going to enjoy their day no matter what was thrown their way.

The older Cooper hid a small, pained smile; Tasha would have plenty more to celebrate before noon.

In the weeks following the PA Convention, things had returned to a more… conservative normalcy. Anna drove Tasha to and from school, and while they were out together, didn’t allow Tasha to leave her eyesight. Their Wednesday evenings were spent shooting, Tasha babysat Teddy once a week so Zi and Randy could enjoy a private evening, and Tasha’s various friends would swing by to hang out and practice their instruments.

Tasha didn’t go out without somebody Anna trusted watching over her, and considering Anna’s narrow social life, that came to about three people in total; technically four, since Madeline was home for the holidays.

In her downtime, Anna was all but glued to the news. She kept up with any mention of Brain Scythe, and was growing steadily aggravated. They were quiet, which made sense, since terrorist organizations attacking children that got too loud would be sent to hell in a heartbeat.

There had been a kidnapping in Sahuarita just a night ago, a teenage hispanic boy by the name of Armando had gone for a walk around midday and never returned. He was seen on a few outdoor security cameras, a few neighbors confirmed he had been seen on the sidewalk, and then… gone.

The only thing that had kept Anna from calling North Petersburg Highschool and pulling her daughter out indefinitely was Zi’s reassurance, and so far… so far they’d made it to Christmas with Tasha having lived more or less normally.

All it took was one blink, though…

Anna finished cleaning the kitchen and was stewing in her worries when she heard Tasha’s footsteps come down the stairs for the second time, and she turned to see her daughter enter the kitchen with a big smile, a pointed white and red cap on her head, Melodica having materialized a matching hat.

In Tasha’s hands was a small present, amateurishly covered in blue and white snowflake-patterned gift wrap, with a silver bow stuck on top.

Anna blinked in surprise as Tasha ran over and stuck the present in her face, and reached up to take it as Tasha and Melodica both threw their arms out with a simultaneous: “Merry Christmas, mom!”

“O-oh!” Anna stared at the present, taken aback as the girls beamed up at her.

“I know we usually trade gifts at the Coles, but I thought you’d wanna open this one here!” Melodica said, almost quivering in excitement as their mother put the present on the table to start unwrapping it.

It was definitely wrapped by Tasha; if she’d gotten her aunt’s help, it would have been flawless, but there was a charm to Tasha’s work, and quite a bit of tape as well…

Anna couldn’t suppress the bubble of excitement in her belly. She didn’t get gifts often, and… anything was nicer than the demons haunting her thoughts. Tearing the wrapping off, she got to the cardboard box it contained, and inside that, she curiously pulled out a wrapped up picture frame, and underneath that, a small metal locket.

The picture frame was empty, but there wasn’t a way to put a picture inside of it; the glass covering, she realized, was a screen. It took Anna’s curious searching with her fingertips to realize there were a few electric sockets in its back.

“It’s digital!” Melodica told her with a big smile.

“Yeah, you can upload your pictures to it from the computer, or your phone!” Tasha added, bouncing in place with a smile. “Did we put the pamphlet in the box?” She suddenly asked Melodica, who shrugged. “Well it’s either in the box or in my room, but there’s all sortsa settings and—”

“Look at the locket!” Melodica suddenly interrupted. Tasha gasped, and gave a quick, encouraging nod as Anna switched her focus, staring at the heart-shaped, latched pendant on a golden chain.

“Tasha, sweetie, you didn’t spend all your money on these things, did you?” Anna asked, her expression somewhere between concerned and non-comprehension when she glanced up at her daughter. She was used to gifts like songs her daughter was composing, or a picture she’d painted in that anime style her daughter loved.

“No! Well… not my money.” Tasha answered bashfully. “I used some of the money Robbie sent.”

“Ah…” Anna responded, not even hearing the answer. The locket didn’t feel gold, but that was for the better; Tasha shouldn’t have been spending money like crazy, even when it was a gift. Still, it had a nice weight to it, it didn’t feel cheap…

She’d opened the locket to find a picture of Tasha and Melodica beaming and throwing peace signs; behind them, Madeline had an arm around Tasha’s shoulder, smiling gratefully at the photographer, and seated in front of all three on a little red cushion was a grinning Teddy, clutching a toy steering wheel.

‘To the best mother & aunt we could ask for!’ - N, M, M, & T

The house fell to such silence, that all present could hear the attic creaking upstairs with a gust of wind. Anna stood so still, breathing so gently it was like she was a statue.

“Mom?” Tasha asked gently, reaching up to rub her mother’s elbow.

“H-huh?” Anna shook her head, her vision strangely misty, necessitating a quick wipe on her robe sleeve so she could see her daughter.

“Is it okay? Do you like it?” Tasha asked.

“Y-yes! Yes, I do.” Anna knelt down to gather her daughter up in her arms. Her heart hurt tremendously, but it certainly wasn’t in a bad way! In fact, this was a sort of hurt she liked. Her mind was afire, every instinct in the world told her to gather her daughter up and protect her as best she could… but something needed to be done.

“G-good! You just went… really quiet for a minute.” Tasha mumbled, her neck growing stiff as her mother wouldn’t stop squeezing her.

“She’s crying~.” Melodica teased, prompting a small, angry whimper from Anna, who shoved her hand through Melodica’s face.

“Be quiet.” Anna ordered in a burbling voice, a sudden hiccup escaping her as warmth and worry surged in her chest.

“She likes iiiit~!” Melodica sang with a hand through her face.

“Melodica…” Anna said warningly. They both knew she couldn’t actually do anything to punish the tulpa, but the giggling, Christmas-hatted mermaid stopped and just hovered in place, swishing her tail and humming Jingle Bells to herself.

Letting go of her daughter was… surprisingly difficult. Anna’s cheek twitched as she pulled her arms from around her daughter’s neck and rest her hands on her shoulders, staring down at her and blinking to keep her stupid tears at bay.

Her thumb traced Tasha’s chin, before she gave it a small, affectionate pinch, and then stood back, straightening up with a difficult, deep breath that left her feeling a little bit light-headed.

Tasha was staring at her mother in partial worry, though she was mainly excited that Anna seemed to like her gifts. The locket was thrown over Anna’s neck immediately, and in a rare instance of Anna being visibly, outwardly happy, the woman began to hum along with Melodica, the latter even following Anna around so they could harmonize as Anna examined the picture frame.

“Tasha, hon, will you take this up to the computer desk?” Anna asked, passing the gift over to her daughter. “Then, come downstairs and join me in the living room. Your gifts are next.” Anna stated. “These ones are also very personal, so… we’ll open them here.”

Tasha brightened up and nodded, the picture frame jumping from Anna’s grip and into her daughter’s hands so she could speed off upstairs, Melodica following her with a giggle.

Anna sighed deeply as she walked into the living room and slowly sat down in her recliner, staring at the pile of presents. It was going to be a long holiday…

Taz was the queen of garbage, and proudly did she sit upon her garbage throne.

Shining shreds of gift wrap surrounded her like a cocoon, in all different colors and styles, and all ripped to hell and back, because, to Taz, half the fun of opening a gift was getting to butchering the calculated wrapping job with her bare hands and craft a nest for her to perch upon.

Anna was taking pictures and smirking to herself as Taz stared at the impressive pile of gifts she had left over.

“Jeez, are we broke now, mom?” Taz asked jokingly, all smiles as she stared at the pile of gifts she’d already opened. Most of them were pretty utilitarian, not quite the sorta stuff Taz really liked as gifts: notepads, pens, pencils, binders and folders, all of them with some sort of oceanic theme to them. They all matched the aqua blue backpack she’d just opened up, with its seashell decals and little fins attached to the sides and bottom.

“You don’t like them, dear?” Anna asked teasingly, and Melodica jumped out of the pile of gifts with sparkles literally filling her eyes.

“I love them!” Melodica squeaked, picking up a seafoam green notebook with a mermaid swimming on the cover. “This one’s mine!”

“You mean ours?” Taz snickered, and Melodica shook her head.

“Mine exclusively!”

“What does a tulpa need to write that I don’t already know about…?”

“About how her creator doesn’t understand her own creation’s complex feelings!” Melodica growled, clutching the notebook to her chest, partially clipping through her illusory body.

“You just want a notebook for sketching new outfits in, don’t you?” Anna asked with a sigh, earning a quick, eager nod from the beaming mermaid. Anna remembered when Melodica was little more than a puppet Taz could talk through, whose personality was practically inseparable from Taz’s…

“So… not that I’m, um, ungrateful or anything, but, uh…” Taz blushed a little as she opened up a pack of water-themed highlighters and dry erase markers. “But what’s with all the school stuff? I’m not even out of my old stuff from fall semester.”

Anna swallowed thickly as she passed the next present over to her daughter, and answered after the frenzy of ripping and tearing that added to the garbage queen’s throne. “We’re going into a new era, Taz.” Anna answered in a gentle voice. “I want you to… feel ready for it. So I… splurged a little.”

“Mm, okay…” Taz hummed, opening up the rectangular box, her eyebrows nearly jumping as high as she did when she saw what was inside. “Holy shit, mom!”

“Taz!” Anna glared, and Taz quickly covered her mouth to smother another curse. Anna calmed herself, and gave her daughter a small, knowing smile as she reached into the box and held up a brand new laptop; not one of the tiny cheap ones, either.

“Mom?!” Taz whimpered, hugging the box to her chest.

“One of these…” Anna pushed around the shrunken pile of gifts remaining, “should have the laptop skin. I thought I’d keep it in the theme, but it was cheaper to buy the skin separately.”

“I-I don’t…” Taz stuttered, and Melodica hung off of her shoulder, staring at their mother in further wonder. “Why? I-I’m really grateful but it’s really sudden and—”

Taz blinked as another package was handed over to her.

Slowly she set the laptop down to give her mother a curious, almost concerned look before she opened it, and was rendered speechless, further so by the next gift, and the next.

A brand new phone, an electronic tablet, and a big, heavy package that Taz opened to find a mini fridge in the style of an old red hot rod.

Taz stared at her gifts, opening them up to see the boxes weren’t just jokes, and gave her mother a wide-eyed stare of non-comprehension that left Anna feeling both sad, and a little bit smug.

“It’s…” Taz mumbled. “It’s all so expensive.”

“You’re worth it, my love.” Anna said, standing up to kiss her daughter’s forehead, only to be suddenly dragged into a tight hug that she returned gratefully. The two girls rocked back and forth a moment, and Anna savored the feel of her daughter in her arms.

“... Are you okay…?” Taz asked after a while of holding one another, and Anna chuckled.

“Fine, hon, I’m fine.” She stroked her daughter’s hair, and gently nudged her off.

Taz stared at her new electronics and her mini fridge in wide-eyed shock, rubbing her temples in thought as Melodica swam around them, picking them up to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’, and Taz finally seemed to shake the funk out of her head and knelt down to examine the fridge.

“Man, where am I going to fit you? Maybe under the desk?”

“But then you don’t have a place to put your legs!” Melodica mentioned, swimming through the fridge a few times.

“Yeah, ugh! I might have to move the desk or something, ‘cuz it’s kinda stuck between the door and the bed…”

“You won’t have to worry about that, dear.” Anna said in a gentle tone, forcing herself to remain relaxed, forcing her skin to stop crawling along her arms.

“Why’s that?” Taz asked, and Anna slowly pushed herself up to stand, threw her hair back behind her head, and let out a deep, calming breath.

“Wait here.” Anna ordered. “I have one last present.” She walked out of the living room and into her study past the kitchen, opposite of the den.

Taz sat in silence, listening to her mother’s moving about and staring down at her shiny new things. Her mother was usually against buying her these nice, modern electronics. She would tell her, whenever Taz asked, that she should be more focused on studying, playing her instruments, or any number of other artistic skills.

It often frustrated Taz–if only because playing with Madeline’s stuff gave her an aching need–but staring at this all at once, she could only feel the slightest bit of trepidation; it felt too good to be true, but her mother wasn’t the sort to go this far to trick her.

She opened the laptop box and checked it and the components, wondering if it was somehow locked out of specific functions right from the factory, but the only way she’d be able to tell was to plug it in.

Anna emerged from her study holding a manilla folder in her hands, walking slowly back to the living room. Taz stared at her mother, then at the folder with curiosity, and watched her push aside some of the wrapping Taz was lounging on to join her on her trash throne.

Taz blinked as her mother held a pen out to her, then set the folder on the table in front of her and opened it to a small stack of papers, at the top of which sat:

‘Phoenix-Paiute Academy Student Enrollment Form.’

And signed at every empty line, other than the student signature at the bottom, was Anastasia Cooper.

Taz blinked at her mother, who stared at the form in a blank sadness, before turning to look up at her daughter.

Then, yell in fright as she was almost tackled right off the couch amidst a feral shriek of adolescent joy.

“Are you serious?!??” Taz squealed at the top of her lungs, staring at her mother in wide-eyed awe over her askew glasses.

“Y-yes, dear…” Anna answered, trying to push herself back up, but Taz wouldn’t let her go.

“You’re serious!??!” Taz was more whimpering now, but it was still ear-piercing. Anna just nodded her head, hoping it wouldn’t prompt more helium-voiced squealing or tighter hugs, and to her relief, Taz lept off her, leaping around on the couch with Melodica, their excitement filling the house top to bottom, and Anna suspected upsetting a dog on a nearby property…

“We’re going to PA?!” Melodica yelled joyously, swimming through the air in loops and swirls and happy flips while bubbles and sparkles shimmered in her wake.

“W-we are, right?!” Taz glanced back at Anna, who, once more, after a moment of hesitation, nodded.

The shrieking began anew, and Taz asked her mother the same question three more times before she finally settled down enough to sit on the couch and, with a focus belying the sheer adrenaline coursing through Taz’s veins, oh-so-very carefully wrote her name on the unmarked line at the very bottom of the paper.

Anna didn’t even get a moment to resent her decision as Taz collapsed on her again.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you—”

“TASHA.” Anna shouted above her daughter, pushing her off of her with a gasp for air.

Taz just looked at her mother with shining eyes full of tears, and Anna couldn’t help but give a bittersweet little smile at her daughter’s raw show of emotion.

“Tasha…” Anna began slowly, and her daughter nodded, clearly too full of emotion to do anything but breathe and listen. “Listen…” Anna bridged her fingers in front of her belly, and gave a small sigh. “I haven’t changed my mind about PA.” She stated very calmly, looking back at her now worried daughter.

“But…” Taz’s eyes shifted over to the folder and the form she just signed.

“But, my first priority in life is, and always has been, your happiness and wellbeing.” Anna’s hand squeezed Taz’s knee, and she hung her head, quiet for a moment, but then, “I don’t think PA will give you the satisfying life you think it will, but I do think it will keep you safe.” Anna sighed. “Safer than what I can provide.”

Taz’s expression wavered, and her hand quickly grasped her mother’s squeezing it comfortingly. “I-I mean, I haven’t gotten kidnapped!” Taz tried to reassure her with an awkward smile.

Anna brushed her thumb over Taz’s knuckles, and she quietly shook her head. “I know you think you’ve been safe, Tasha, but it only takes one misstep. You understand?” Anna glanced over at her daughter miserably, making Taz wince. “It’s not a single mistake either of us can make, it’s a decision made by a group of people who don’t care about your wellbeing.”

Taz’s chin sank towards her chest, and she gave a slow, unsure nod. Anna, this time, hugged her, burying her face into her daughter’s waterfall of blonde hair.

“Remember what you told me on the way to the convention?” Anna asked in a low, careful whisper. “You wanted to use your powers to improve your non-psychic abilities. I want to hear what you and Melodica do together, I want to see it.” She whispered into Taz’s ear, making her shoulders unknit as the topic switched to less… concerning matters. “This academy will train that psychic talent of yours but I expect so much more from you.”

Their hug parted, and Taz nodded up at her mother. “I-I understand. I know.”

“So that means you do more than practice those powers.” Anna huffed, carefully reaching over to the folder to pass Taz a new sheet of paper. “You have your core classes, of course, but see down here?” She tapped a series of boxes under the ‘Electives’ category. “These shouldn’t be related to psionics.” Anna raised her golden eyebrows. “Am I understood?”

“A-ah!” Taz grasped the sheet, reading over the electives carefully. “Yeah! I understand. Not even one psychic elec—?”

“Ahem.”

“Mmmmusic and—uh… oh! Art could be fun…” Taz mumbled to herself, and Melodica shook her head behind her.

“There’s one for swimming!”

“That’s competitive swimming, though…”

“I’d freaking ace it.”

“Yeah Mel, they’ll allow you to compete!” Taz rolled her eyes, and Melodica sneered.

Anna watched the two with a small, sad smile, but… Taz was lively.

The past few weeks since the convention had been precarious, and Anna had spent at least a small portion of every hour of every day debating whether to allow this, and ultimately, little by little, she nudged herself into the idea.

Every argument Anna made against it was… selfish. She didn’t want to let her daughter go. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want her focusing on her psychic powers. It was things Anna wanted for her daughter, not things that would keep her daughter safe and happy.

Zi made sure to hammer that in over the weeks every time the topic came up between them—that was, every time they had a conversation. It was lucky for her that Anna would kill for Zi, because otherwise, Anna might have strangled the woman for badgering her so much into this decision.

But, ultimately, Anna knew it was important, and knew that it was going to be special. She couldn’t deny her daughter on Christmas… not without a heavy heart.