For Noelle, what happened next was a blur.

The shock of the sudden arrivals had subsided, and her mind once again grew hazy from the pain in her wrist. It was broken, that much was certain, but she was completely in the dark as to how. All she knew was that it hurt a lot and she needed to get to an urgent care center as soon as she could.

But the man, she believed his name was Oscar, wouldn’t let her leave.

He began barking orders at Levi and the two girls, something about pulling the scene together before the boundary wore off. Here she was, a beautiful woman writhing in pain, and he was totally unconcerned. Quite the man.

Lorelei was tasked with repair. With a wave of her hand broken pieces of pavement and cars reassembled themselves. “I can put the door back on, but I can’t do the wiring. The owners will be pretty upset tomorrow.” she complained while touching up the SUV Levi had damaged.

“Things break all the time. As long as you stay hidden, I don’t care if it costs some people money.” replied Oscar.

The little one came over to Noelle while Oscar and Lorelei complained to and chided one another over the cleanup. Noelle believed her name was Beth. She was young, maybe not even in grade school, and she was wearing a brilliant smile even after witnessing the violence of the night.

“You look hurt!” she chirped, “I’ll help since Lorelei’s busy!”

The girl’s hands began to glow and she laid them on Noelle’s wrist. Noelle winced in preparation of pain stemming from the contact, but was met with a cooling sensation instead. There was a brief tickle in her wrist and then the glow stopped. The wrist was still broken but it looked less mangled and hurt much less than before.

“Hmmm. Why didn’t it work all the way?” Beth seemed perplexed. The magical healing was miraculous to Noelle, so she didn’t see any reason to question the results.

“I’ll just try again!”

“No. Leave it at that, Beth.” Lorelei had come over without Noelle noticing. “You’d need to know the anatomical structure to put the bone back together properly. If you push it you’ll rearrange her wrist into some weird shape. Not that I’d mind, it’s what she deserves for coming after us.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” said Noelle.

“Oh please. Striking up a random conversation with me then showing up at my house with a mage? It’s clear as day you’re that man’s scout.”

“Drop it for now,” said Oscar, “I can vouch for Levi at least. Is your guardian still at the school? We can meet inside and talk this through.”

Lorelei closed her eyes for a moment before turning away. She let out a standoffish “Fine!” and continued to clean the scene.

After the street was returned to a reasonable semblance of its former self, Oscar hurried the party inside. Lorelei and Beth took off their shoes right away and placed them in a cubby, it was clear this was their home from the practiced habit alone. Noelle took her shoes off along with the two men and they headed further in.

Lorelei filled a kettle with water. She was standoffish and shifty all the while, yet she still went through the motions of welcoming her houseguests. She stood in the kitchen, foot tapping as the water heated on the stove.

“Ugh. Fuck this waiting.”

Lorelei glared at the stove and steam erupted from the kettle instantly. An obvious display of magic, but thankfully less violent than what Noelle had seen that night. Lorelei fixed everyone some tea and handed out mugs to all but Noelle. Perhaps conscious of the older women’s wrist, Lorelei set the final cup down on a coaster in the living room.

Finally seated after a long evening, Noelle steeled herself for a long, tedious conversation.

“Now you two, explain why the hell you’re here.” started Oscar.

He sat on the couch with a scowl on his face, dark hair clashing wildly with the bright décor of the room. To say he looked out of place was an understatement. It was like placing a dragon toy in a gingerbread house, there was no inherent synergy between the man and the space he was occupying.

Levi had thrown her a few whispers about Oscar here and there. He was a knight of the Congregation, essentially an enforcer for the magic world’s governmental framework. Levi treated this title like it was a big deal, so she was under the impression Oscar was on a different level than a rookie agent of law enforcement such as herself. Oscar’s intensity lent credence to this, and considering how quickly mages could come to blows (according to Levi at least), he was probably more akin to military frontline personnel.

So what? He’s the magical version of a Navy SEAL? Why would he be skulking around in Ithaca?

Of course, this was all information from Levi, an idiot who tried to attract customers to his failing bookshop with vulgar displays aimed at middle-aged women. Taking him at his word was probably a waste of time.

But…

He did save her form the man earlier, so she’d throw him a bone. There were more important issues than being wary of him. There was that man Adrian, the mysterious creature, the knight’s presence and…

What the hell is she?

There was the white haired girl and her sister, who had easily chased off an assailant capable of putting Levi through the wringer. To think that such a hidden force had been casually sitting around the hallway of a pubic building earlier…it seemed the magical world ran deeper than Noelle thought.

“Well?” continued Oscar, “I’m all ears.”

“I live in this town. I know you guys keep tabs, so you should really leave me be.” complained Levi.

“That’s no reason for you to be involved with my jurisdiction. You always end up getting involved with crap you have no business with!”

“What do you mean jurisdiction?” asked Noelle. “I’m the police officer here. Do you magic types have a local department or something?”

“Ha! No way!” Levi jolted up and pointed at Oscar. “This guy just wants to sound important. I bet his boss asked him to be a case worker because nobody else had time! Ha ha ha!”

“Case worker?” Noelle was trying to ignore Levi’s attitude.

Best to go for the facts, forget the diversions.

“He means for us.” chimed in Lorelei. “We’re orphans.”

“That’s what I figured.” said Levi.

“You didn’t figure a damn thing. Quit bragging.”

“You wouldn’t know if you weren’t sticking your nose where it didn’t belong jackass!”

“I’m sure you knew from spying on us! Creepy douche!”

A cacophony of voices flew out. Noelle could see Levi was on the verge of tears from the verbal abuse.

“Aww Mr. Levi, don’t cry!” consoled Beth. “It’s okay to guess stuff like that! Lorelei’s just trying to be a good big sister for me!”

“Uwahhhh~. What about the others? They’re so mean.”

“Ummm…I don’t know!”

Just like that, the angel who had brought Levi hope struck him back down towards hell. Kids were just too honest.

“Can we get back on track?” asked Noelle. “Why is a guy like this a case worker, and why are you so paranoid about people spying on you?”

Lorelei leaned forward in her seat. “Playing dumb? Guess I’ll humor you. We’re witches. Arcane accidents, as I’m sure most would say. Did you think The Congregation would be ok letting us flit about the foster care system? They took the two orphan witches they knew about and paired them up, all so they could have a nosy “councilor” like Oscar follow us around and report on our activities.”

“Hey…come on…,”objected Oscar, “it’s not like you don’t need me. Already forgetting that I stuck up for you two when you exposed yourselves in the last town?”

“We didn’t expose ourselves! Beth sneezed and some fire came out! Thanks for not throwing us in some prison like all your other security risks, prick!”

Oscar was saved from further verbal abuse by the sound of a key in the front door. Lorelei immediately quieted down and raised her hand. Perhaps she thought Adrian had returned to come for her and her sister?

“Um…what’s with the reaction? If it’s a key wouldn’t that just be the homeowner?” said Levi, face blank.

Lorelei closed her hand into a fist and huffed at him, blatantly resentful of the suggestion. Either she thought Levi wasn’t being cautious enough or she just plain disliked having him say his piece. Regardless, she had eased her guard at his suggestion. For such an edgy teen it was an unexpected response.

The sound of the key stopped and the door swung open. A graying man in a lab coat wearing a lanyard with his title, Dr. Bismark, stepped across the entryway. Noelle had seen him before but it was of little comfort. She was assailed by the uncomfortable feeling of being on somebody’s house without an invitation.

As to whether the man cared about this, it was hard to tell. He wore an expression of happy surprise rather than confusion.

“Oscar! What a pleasant surprise! I hope you’re not here because the girls were causing trouble!”

He had a warm and deep voice that lent a sense of security and familiarity with his words. Noelle didn’t want to speak for the girls, but he seemed like the exact kind of person the foster system would be looking for.

“And who are you two? Don’t tell me…”

Tch. Here it comes!

“Lorelei made some friends?! She’s always so ornery that I was getting worried about her social life!”

Not what I was expecting…

“This girl’s no friend of mine!” said Levi, “She bullied me, called me an idiot, an accused me of being a stalker!”

“Lorelei! How could you?!”

“Aaagh shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Are you picking a fight or something?! I made you tea! Take that rat’s nest of hair and get out of here! Take your girlfriend too!”

Dr. Bismark motioned to Noelle and Levi to remain seated. “I guess it makes sense, you two are a bit old to befriend a girl her age. Why are you here?”

Levi shrunk into his seat, milquetoast in the face of an actual inquiry. Oscar said nothing either, a look of irritation indicating he was having trouble coming up with plausible reasoning.

With her good hand, Noelle withdrew her badge from her pocket.

“Levi and I were taking a stroll after our date, his treat of course, and a man was trying to rough someone up on the street. Oscar was outside with the girls and the guy kind of ran into them before getting away. I just wanted to get some statements from everyone while the memory was fresh before calling it in.”

“Thank you, then.” Dr. Bismark said this with a serious look on his face. “All three of you. These two have been the light of my life since my wife and daughter passed. I’d hate if they had to encounter that man alone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, and…you’re welcome.” said Levi, uncomfortable accepting praise for something he didn’t do.

Dr. Bismark chuckled. “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Car accident, you know? I’m a physicist, so the chaotic reality of life is too well known to me. I’m just glad to have been given the chance to care for someone again.”

“Yes, well…we really should get going, right Levi?” Noelle got out of the chair, careful to not let Bismark see her damaged wrist. Levi was all too happy to follow her lead, practically leaping from his seat.

“I’ll head out too if that’s alright. Stay safe you two, I’ll be back Saturday for the usual checkup.” said Oscar as he also got up.

Noelle caught the barest traces of a glare from Lorelei before turning around. She was just about to reach the door when she noticed a thin wisp of smoke float into her vision. It twisted and coiled to form words.

‘Be at your place 4PM tomorrow’

With the message conveyed, the smoke dissipated, and Noelle made her way back out into the night.