Crow With No Name: Part 1

#Wss366 caravan #MastoPrompt quaint

I sat on the porch of my #caravanthat’s what my best friend Rebekka-san calls it. She's a #quaint little British witch—and thought about what I was going to do with my life. In the background, the radio played an old "America" song, “A Horse with No Name.”

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can’t remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

Wish it was me,” I thought.

My girlfriend dumped me because her parents didn’t like her dating a foreigner, especially another girl. College had been a bust. I had three degrees and a prodigious student loan debt, but no job prospects. All the places I’d considered working had been closed due to funding shortages or had hiring freezes. Outside of academia, who needed someone with degrees in medieval studies, Asian mythology, and mystic psychology? The last degree was from Antioch—a roll-your-own degree—and when people saw it, they said, “What the fuck?” Maybe not exactly, but words to that effect.

I felt like ending it all. Enough said.

In my hand was a vial given to me by Rebekka-san’s friend Abiru-san. She was a real joker, so I assumed the vial was one of her pranks. You know, something like castor oil or gall. "Drink this if you reach the end of your rope," she’d said, laughing. But maybe it wasn’t a joke—she was a witch after all.

“Ugh, that was…” I started but finished with, “Crickey crack.”

What had just happened? Had it frozen my vocal cords?

The world looked funny. What was in this stuff?

Holy shit! Black feathers!

Was it a hallucinogen? Acid!?

I must be tripping my brains out. I had wings!

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin

Crow With No Name: Part 2

#Wss366 Redundant #MastoPrompt Lung #ScribesAndMakers Hogwash

I was definitely tripping. Wings? Feathers? I’d been dosed!

The world was full of psychedelic colors, some of which I couldn't identify. The sidewalk wasn't flat anymore. It was layered and cross-hatched with patterns and shadows that I had walked over a thousand times without ever truly seeing. The witch’s vial rolled lazily, a drop of liquid still in it—its taste bitter on my tongue.

Meaning flooded me. The shiny wrapper fluttering in the wind: sweetness clinging to foil. The neighbor—I already knew her: yelling, sudden hands, jerky steps that cut the air wrong. Her form shrieked like a warning siren.

She seemed to offer me a bag of treats: nasty-yellow; awful-gritty-browns; tasty-soggy-golden-flakes; yummy-meat-hollow bones.

It was #hogwash! Best to stay away. I didn’t decide that. I just knew.

None of it was #redundant: motion-sight, all saturated with meaning.

I was in the air before I knew it: Threat-Motion-Arm! I filled my lungs and let out a warning screech so that everyone would know. “Warning, Bad lady!”

I was free of the earth. “Caw, caw,” I cried. “I’m here!”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name: Part 3

#Wss366 Nick #MastoPrompt Articulate

At first, I flew toward the voices cawing, “I’m here! This way!” But I soon veered north. Something was cawing to me: a scent, a murmur, a hue. A fascination #articulated through every sense.

Houses and fields sped past below. Once or twice, places where I might find grubs or seeds beckoned me. But the call had become a song that drew me on.

Then I saw it: a swirl of unnamed colors rising from a glade in a copse of nesting trees. The colors brushed motionless autumn leaves, rising into the sky—a scent as alluring as yesterday's trash.

I swooped down, landing on a branch to take in the scene: a girl dancing. With each swing of her arms, stomp of her heel, and swish of her hips and kimono, a shimmering mist arose. She sang, accompanying her dance with a song like evening crickets or morning doves—ancient, yet new as dawn.

“Caw, caw. I’m here,” I called. I really wanted to know what she was doing.

She stopped dancing—face turning—eyes fixed uncomfortably on me. I wanted to tell her, “Don’t be like that. Look away,” but she spoke first. “Did Old #Nick send you?”

“Satan?” I replied. The words sounded harsh in my ears. “I came because you cawed.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Corvids #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name Part 4

#Wss366 Ground/ #GroundhogDay #MastoPrompt Harridan

Motionless girl—kimono stirring—no longer shimmering—eyes uncomfortably direct.

I scanned the area uneasily, and my gaze was instantly drawn to the sparkling pentagram she stood in. "I want! So pretty! Move, silly human," I cawed.

Moist cavities in the leaves surrounded the pentagram—a feast. "Move! Your ass, girl." I added, making myself clear.

Shadow moving on one side. A harmless head popped out of the #ground. We looked at each other, and then it yawned, looked at it’s shadow, and disappeared.

“Rude!” I shouted. “Shove it, you root eating #harridan.”

Motion. My attention snapped back to the girl—ready to fly.

“You talked,” she said.

“Yeah? So?” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I be able to talk?” Actually, that was a good question, I thought

“You’re a crow.”

A crow? A crow! I wasn’t tripping.

“I’m a crow. Holy moly, no more bills! Eat my shit, bank loans! Drop dead, stupid girlfriend! I’m going to steal some red hats and show those fascists just what I think of them.”

The air in my lungs abruptly ran out, and I shut-up.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name Part 5

#Wss366 detail

I stopped gloating when the girl said, “I was hoping for a cat for a familiar.”

If I could have sputtered, I would have. Instead, I said, “A cat? Why would you want a sneaky old cat?”

“They're fluffy, purr, and make the best familiars. If I were lucky, I could have gotten a bakeneko.”

“I’m fluffy,” I objected, fluffing my feathers. “And I’m smarter too. I’m college-educated!”

“But you won’t let me pet you.”

“Caw, caw, caw, #details, #details, #details.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name Part 6

#Wss366 entail #MastoPrompt Joust

“Why did I ever get such a rude familiar?” the girl complained.

“Rude? You #joust. Ack, Ack… Wait… a familiar? What does that #entail?” I asked cocking my head.

“You help me with magic, let me pet you, answer my questions, make coffee…”

“Hold it! None of the above. I don’t know magic. No one pets me. Okay, maybe I can answer questions. But I don’t have hands, so coffee is out.”

“You're useless!”

“Now who's being rude, Miss Bossy-pants!”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name Part 7

#Wss366 rue

"So, Crow-san, what can you do?" the woman asked.

“I can answer questions. I have three degrees: A BA in mystic psychology, a master's in European medieval studies, and a Ph.D. in Asian mythology. Linguistically, I speak English, Japanese, and the crow dialect of corvid. I can even spout slop like AI. Ack, ack, ack.” I was so funny.

“Just what I need, a brainiac crow. What else?”

“Those should be useful to a witch. You’re a witch? Right? I’ve never heard of a witch in a kimono, but you have a pentagram—so shiny!”

“Yes, I am a witch. What other useful things can you do?”

“Scout, find you shinies… Wait, I haven’t agreed to this. I have conditions.”

“I'm going to #rue the day I summoned you. So what are your conditions?”

“You can't use me as cannon fodder or as an NPC. I get fed well. Chicken nugs are the best. Petting is only allowed with my permission. NO cats! Humm… Oh, I get to keep all the shinies I find.”

“That seems reasonable. And I have conditions too: you answer my questions truthfully, don't fly off without telling me or when I need you; stay out of my bedroom and bathroom unless I call you; and no swearing. You know what kind of people swear.”

“You know I’m not people? I’m a corvid. But okay, no swearing unless you do something I don’t like.”

“No swearing ever!”

“Ackkkk, okay, but no cage. A nice perch and free flying.”

“Agreed. Our pact is made,” she said, and began reciting:

Nomine sagae, matronae, et filiae, pactum nostrum factum est.
Unus pro omnibus et omnes pro uno.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

Crow With No Name Part 8

#Wss366 Aline/Align #MastoPrompt Gloat

As the chanting ceased, the pentagram flared, and the strange, almost violet light surged. Rising first to her hands and then sweeping out toward me, the light coated my body and hers.

I screeched as an almost electrical energy pulsed along every nerve.

“Holy… The swear word I wanted to use refused to come out of my mouth, so finished with “Moly!”

Then the light and energy subsided leaving behind a residue of that unheard melody that had drawn me here, emanating from the woman. Its calm notes assured me she was safe, and I flew to her shoulder.

“I see our auras #align,” she said. “I can’t believe this actually worked!”

“You're a knob witch, aren’t you?” I said. “Ack, ack, ack.” I shouldn’t #gloat, but I’m funny.

She shook her shoulder until I stopped laughing and then said, “Well, this is the first magicy magic I have done. I mostly do divinations, charms, and potions, but I’m good at those.”

Then, maturely, she continued, “We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. Shall we start again?”

Very cliché, I thought, but decided I didn’t want to get shaken again.

“I’m Sumika and am a novice witch. What is your name?”

I thought and thought and finally answered, “I can’t remember.”

[End Chapter 1]

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Butterfly Omen (Sumika POV): Part 9
#Wss366 Keen #TimeTravelAuthors Butterfly Effect

I dreamed that I was in the garden performing dogeza, although I didn't know why. Above me, a man doused me with water, while the #keening wind froze my sodden clothes to my body. I wanted to cry out, but I knew he would beat me if I did.

Then, I saw a water iris reflected in the spreading pool around me. The purple of its flower called to me in my mother’s voice. A sound almost forgotten. But now I could hear her singing the bamboo song. The words spoke of the coming dawn, when the sun would drive away the rain.

Hope took the form of a butterfly. The hurricane of its wings would sweep me away from this cursed life.

[End Chapter 2]

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #MythPunk

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Grimoire Obscuriea I: Part 10
#Wss366 Backroom

My name is Sumika, and I’m a witch. However, I’m nothing like a yamauba, a mountain witch. I’m more like Sabrina: an ordinary store clerk who met a couple of foreign women interested in crystals, pentagrams, and charms.

They say you should show, not tell. So I would like to show you.

“Crystals, Charms, and Divination.” I read the title out loud as I rang up the price. Our brightly lit bookstore was close enough to the “American University” that we stocked many foreign titles: English, French, German, Korean, Mandarin, and of course, Japanese, along with books that would never sell downtown. This was one of them: an eclectic collection of information on Western New Age magic.

I recognized the woman at the counter. She often haunted the corner where we kept metaphysical books. She was an exotic European lady with blue eyes, pale skin, and long ginger hair that stuck in my memory.

The friend who was with her was also foreign, with short brown hair and a plain face. I vaguely remembered her as well.

“Would you have a copy of this?” the second woman asked, showing me a slip of paper with the title “Love Charms and Potions” written on it.

The title seemed very specific, but we had some odd things, so I said, “I’ll look in the #backroom.”

As I suspected, we didn’t have that book, but I found a leather notebook, so old that the cover had cracked. The faded gold title read “Grimoire Obscuriea.” At first, I thought it might be a valuable antique the owner had mislaid, but as I flipped through the stained pages, I found that most of them were blank. That was except for the first page, which was filled with crudely written Latin. The spidery letters were blurred with frequent blots.

When the light in the room flickered, the letters in the first few lines seemed to jumble, then resolve into a poorly constructed tanka. I wasn’t sure how I could have missed it at first.

          Lo, seeker
          And the sought
          Night breeze
          Moth on the fly
          Gem unrecognized

I had no idea what it meant, but that was the case with most poetry, especially old stuff with archaic courtly symbolism.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #MythPunk

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Grimoire Obscuriea (Sumika POV): Part 11
#Wss366 Bridge

I’m not sure why I kept the old handbook. Perhaps I thought I could use the blank pages. It’s all fuzzy, but anyway, I exited the backroom carrying it.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have that title,” I said, returning to my place by the cash register. “If you know the publisher, maybe I could order it for you?”

The woman eyed the grimoire as I placed it under the counter. She cocked her head, looking interested. So I lied. “Sorry, that’s not for sale. It's something the owner misplaced.”

My reaction puzzled me. I'm usually honest, yet I felt oddly possessive of the book.

The woman continued staring at me, then spoke. “You have a very strong aura: white tinted with violet. Have you ever thought of using magic?”

It was my turn to stare. After the six years I’d spent in the States, I should have been accustomed to the casual Western style of communication, but her comment still caught me off guard. I’ve had other people tell me I had spiritual powers, but I’d never seen ghosts, had premonitions, or anything.

"Sorry, no," I said, beginning to wrap her book. Hopefully, they could read the room and would depart soon.

She resumed, “My bad. I should introduce us. I’m Ariel, and this is my friend Jeany.”

“Let’s go,” Jeany said. “Can’t you see she’s not interested?”

“Oh yes, she is. Look,” Ariel said, pointing to the book I’d been reading before they arrived. Then she read the title out loud: “#Bridge to the Stars: Four Pillars of Destiny.”

“I was curious,” I said. That really was all there was to it. I read a lot of random stuff.

“Great! Why don’t you join us for drinks later?” Ariel pressed. “Here, take this,” she said, passing me a flyer for a local izakaya. “We’ll be there around eight.”

It sounded interesting, and it would give me a chance to make some friends. Besides, Ariel was cute. So why not?

That was my first step in becoming a witch.

[End Chapter 3]

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #MythPunk

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

What’s-Its-Crow (Crow POV) Part 12 – 1 of 2
#Wss366 Couch

Sumika’s question should have been easy: “What was my name?” Crow? No, that couldn’t be it. That would mean I had the same name as every other crow. Nope. Nada. No way. I was special.

I looked off into the trees bordering the clearing, and then at the pentagram—which was now just dull-white chalk lines—as if they held the answer. But they didn’t. Nor did the whispering wind, the distant calling of fellow crows, or the patterns of autumn leaves on the ground.

I cocked my head and finally said, “I can’t remember.”

“What do you mean you can’t remember?” Sumika said. “Why?”

“It’s complicated.” Man, this was embarrassing. How could I not know my name!?

“Part of our contract is that you have to answer my questions truthfully.”

Lady read the room,” I thought. “I don’t want to get into this.

Rather than confronting her for being nosy, I prevaricated, saying, “I’m not lying; it’s complicated.”

“Do you really want to play that game? There's a lot of room for interpretation of ‘I get fed well.’”

I thought about that, scratched my head, and gave up. How was I going to #couch this, so that I wouldn't look like the village idiot? I mean, I wasn't one of those pigeons!

“I was human until a few hours ago,” I said. “The human and crow thoughts are all mixed up together. Somehow, my name got lost in the shuffle. See, it’s complicated!”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #MythPunk

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

What’s-Its-Crow (Crow POV) Part 12 – 2 of 2
#Wss366 Couch

[Continued from previous post]

“Did I do this to you? I’m so sorry!”

“Ack.” Where did that come from? Whatever, I might as well be a good bird and be truthful. “Abiru-san did this to me. She must have thought it a fine joke. She’s a witch too. Do you know her?”

“No, but we could find her and have her turn you back.”

I stretched out a wing, preening. “Actually, I think I enjoy being a crow. Humans are weird with their consumption taxes; corrupt, lying politicians; and traffic jams. I've got it good!”

“Okay, I didn’t think being a crow would be that great. As for calling it a joke, that seems a little overboard. Still, if you like it, that’s fine by me. But you need a name. How about Poe?”

“Crickety, crack! Every crow and a ladle is called Poe.”

“It’s ‘cat,' not ‘crow.’”

“Wash your mouth out! If I can't swear, neither can you! Ack, ack, ack.”

Suddenly, the world jumped all over the place. “Panic! Fly! Danger! Danger! Danger!”

Oh, she was shaking her shoulder in response to my comment. I guessed she didn’t find me as funny as I did. Anyway, I’d safely landed several meters away, where she couldn’t reach me.

“So, what would you suggest?” she asked.

"Yatagarasu," I snapped. It was a fitting name, so I strutted a few steps to show how well it suited me.

She shook her head and said, “There are so many things wrong with that. You aren’t a giant, nor do you have three feet. But mainly, naming yourselves after Kamo Taketsunumi might offend the gods. How about Airisu? It came to me in a dream. I think it’s a good omen.”

“I’m a Japanese crow, not an Irish one.”

“Yeah, it sounds like ‘Irish,’ but it also means a purple flower that grows wild. Like water-iris: elegant, melancholy, refined, poetic.”

“Airisu. That works for me.”

[End Chapter 4]

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Nameless Shrine (Airisu POV): Part 13
#Wss366 Back

"Airisu: simple, elegant, refined. I could live with that," I thought, mulling over the name Sumika had given me.

“Now that’s settled, I want chicken nugs,” I cawed.

“I suppose it's time to get #back,” Sumika said. “I parked at the foot of the mountain.”

“Snack. Snacks,” I cawed. I was hungry after the long flight here.

She dug around in a bag she had fetched from the underbrush and held out some rice crackers, which I ate.

AFTER I was done, I told her, “Salt and sugar aren’t good for crows.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Contrariwise.” (I liked that word.)

“Good, because chicken nuggets have a ton of salt and fat.”

To butter her up, I said, “Far be it from me to complain about my mistress’s generosity.”

“You’re overdoing it a little there, Crow.”

“My name is Airisu.”

“Okay, Airisu, let go.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Nameless Shrine (Airisu POV): Part 14
#Wss366 Rut

As Sumika turned toward a gap in the trees, I flew ahead to sit in a tree there. It was then that I realized things weren’t right. The glen had been full of vibrant colors and alluring music when I arrived, but it was now anything but that. The shadows were too long, flickering with a strange, sinister indigo light instead of the warm, inviting shades of my mistress’s song. My feathers crackled with static.

Beyond the trees lay a #rutted trail where the shadows grew darker and more threatening. It was like the feeling of when an owl hoots at night—an unseen hostile energy waiting to swoop in while you’re blind.

“Not safe,” I cawed.

“What isn’t?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but there's something fingering you.” It was true as she came closer, the vibrations from the shadows leeched out, touching her kimono so that it positively crackled with rivulets of sapphire fire.

“I don’t sense anything.”

“I can’t help that, you silly pigeon. This isn’t a good… Ack!” The energy sparked, cutting off my warning.

“Silence, ill-begotten cackler!” the shadows whispered.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Nameless Shrine (Airisu POV): Post 15
#Wss366 Glance #MastoPrompt Lake

“Danger! Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!” I screeched, flying back to Sumika and hiding in her long hair.

“What is it?” she asked, but when I opened my beak to answer, the riverlets crawling over her kimono crackled and popped, drowning out my answer.

“It’s just an old shrine,” she explained. “We used to come here for tests of courage when I was little. No one even knows what kami was enshrined there.”

We were now on the overgrown path. Weeds grew in the track, and a river of bugs flowed through a gully. Dead things that consumed the light in their path, leaving darkness in their wake, and finally gathering in #lakes at low places.

I peeked out from behind Sumika’s head and saw a small stand of ancient ginkgo trees ahead. One #glance was all it took, and I ducked behind her again. There was a shadow inside the grove crowned with golden ginkgo leaves: sinister, deep indigo fire pulsing with red sparks.

I tried to warn Sumika, but the energy crawled up her like egg-hunting snakes and sparked along my wing feathers. All that emerged from my beak was a hoarse croak.

Over the static, a song whispered in the air of ancient power, lamenting the past. It crept into my ears like maggots whispering:

          Royal gold
          Hoarfrost’d now
          Silent grow
          Earth sheltering
          Pulse quickening

Oblivious, Mistress brushed at me. “Hey, get out of my hair.”

I scrambled to stay, wishing I were back at my trailer, where my only worry was my dismal life.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Nameless Shrine (Airisu POV) Post 16
#Wss366 Grant #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever (Early Edo Era)

“Welcome.” The voice sputtered, full of white noise.

“Who’s that?” Sumika said, stopping dead in her tracks.

“Him, down there in the grove,” I cawed.

While we spoke, a fog rolled up the trail. By the time I had directed her to look at the grove, it was already swallowed by the mist.

“What do you want?” Sumika asked.

I would have preferred if she had run, but that didn’t seem to be her plan.

“To talk. To bargain. The night breeze has brought you, Moth. I am the gem unrecognized. Will you unearth me?”

It wasn’t until later that Sumika showed me the verse he was referring to.

          Lo, seeker
          And the sought
          Night breeze
          Moth on the fly
          Gem unrecognized

What was being said would have made more sense if I had heard the poem. Sumika was the seeker, and it was the sought. She was a moth that had found something valuable, or more likely caught by the “flame unrecognized.”

“Come,” it continued. “Enter my shrine. I can #grant you your heart’s desire.”

I wanted to tell her to run, but my caw stuck in my throat.

Sumika began walking forward again.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Nameless Shrine (Airisu POV) Post 17
#Wss366 Idol referenced #MastoPrompt Venerable #TimeTravelAuthors #Whatever Early Edo Period

Sumika had barely taken three steps through the thick fog engulfing us when a gong rang, its tones muted by the vapors. Startled by the sound, I watched the fog part to reveal a new scene.

A serviceable path lay before us, with the weeds trimmed back. It sloped down the hill, leading to a woodland shrine surrounded by dazzling ginkgo trees, vibrant in their fall glory. Next to each tree stood a tall, #venerable monk holding a gong. Their skin was as bright and golden as the leaves of the trees next to them.

Around the shrine, the energy was calmer, no longer indigo but violet, shot with indigo bursts. The sense of malevolence had departed, yet the shrine didn’t feel friendly. Instead, it was watchful, wary.

The shrine itself was sparse. A clear spring bubbled from the earth. Suspended from the ginkgos were a bell and wooden prayer plaques. A small offertory box sat before a weathered stone Buddha. A few offerings lay scattered at its feet: wilted flowers, rice on broad leaves, and burnt incense.

One of the golden-skinned monks lifted the lid of the shrine chest. Inside rested an Edo-period kabuto.

Violet light washed across its lacquered plates and bled outward into the grove.

My years of study were not wasted. The helmet was no mere relic. It was a mitamashiro—a spirit-vessel—binding a dead samurai to this place.

This was not a shrine of gratitude. It was a shrine of appeasement.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Dōken-sha (Airisu POV) Post 18
#Wss366 threshold / Equinox #TimeTravelAuthors #Whatever #EdoEra

It was too late to turn back. Behind us, the trail no longer looked the same. We had crossed a #threshold into the Shadow Land, Kakuriyo.

The monks beckoned us forward. “Bake ichō no sei,” I cooed to Sumika. “Ginkgo kodama, spirits of the ginkgo trees.”

Sumika prepared to visit the shrine by washing her mouth and hands in the mountain spring. I hopped down. The darting of little fish fascinated me for a moment. Then I washed. The drops of water were cool on my back, but not unpleasant.

Cleansed, Sumika clapped and rang the bell, accompanied by the monk’s gongs.

Light gathered over the kabuto, folding inward until it took the shape of a young man, straight-backed, hawk-faced, as composed as Lord Confucius. His austere dark robes were bound with a simple corded sash. Indigo light seeped along the cord binding the ledger tucked under his arm. In his other hand, he held a closed black lacquer fan. Energy gathered there as well. A small handscroll rested at his waist, secured as neatly as a blade.

My first instinct was to fly to a safer distance. His stillness wasn’t of calm, but of judgment. He hadn’t been a man who scattered peanuts for idle birds. This had been a person who counted to the last grain of rice.

“Minor samurai, administrator, Confucian scholar,” I cooed to Sumika. She would owe so me many peanuts!

“Ack!” Sumika made a deep ninety-degree bow, taking me completely by surprise.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Edo #Yokai

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Dōken-sha (Airisu POV) Post 19
#Wss366 gauntlet #MastoPrompt Disposable #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever #Edo

He bowed with formal grace, though not as deeply as Sumika. “Welcome, I’m Arakawa Dōken.” He stopped and studied my mistress, who remained silent, bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“I-I-I…” She finally responded, but couldn’t get anything further out.

“And you were one who wore bells at your waist and spoke the names of spirits without bowing,” the spirit said.

He paused again, waiting. But when there was only silence, he resumed. “Now you are soft, tainted with foreign magic. Still, you are the tool that is handy—you may rise samayō miko. Let me have your name.” Despite the disrespect embodied in his words, his tone was hypnotic.

Sumika straightened, and I struggled again not to topple over. Otherwise, I would have warned her not to give her name. Names have power.

“Yeung Su-sumika.”

That was an odd combination, but it explained why she used her given name. It can be quite the #gauntlet surviving in a Japanese school with a Chinese surname.

“Yeung-san, I see you bear my gift,” Arakawa-sama said.

“Gift?” Sumika said, swaying. Her voice fluttered.

Not good,” I thought. “He is a hawk, and she is a dove.

“The book. The book you gave me in times gone by, I have returned it to you.”

What book?” I asked myself. I would have to ask about that later.

Arakawa continued. His voice was soothing. Not a hawk but a serpent weaving its hypnotic spell.

          Lo, seeker
          Mountain sought
          Before you the path

He paused, waiting for an answer. When none came, he recited his own response to the #renga.

          Owl call
          Stem the tides
          Stones smooth

The word "owl" hit me like an arrow, breaking the spell Arakawa-sama had woven, leaving me itching as if I had fleas.

Having escaped the weave of his voice, I thought about what he was saying. It’s an offer. The upper verse says my mistress had found what she sought, and the lower verse offers to change what has passed. How fitting that Arakawa-sama calls himself “owl,” a hunter in the night, and robber of nests in the dark. The tides he wishes to stem are those that have caught him up; those of a forgotten #disposable kami, not Sumika’s.

“Come, bind yourself to me.” He had now switched to prose. “Remember, Ban Zhao says, ‘Let a woman modestly yield to others.’ Yet, I will deliver all you dream of.”

Pig,” I almost blurted out.

Then he returned to verse.

          Twaining weed
          Moon and Hawk fly
          Wild herb open

He held out his hand, and Sumika reached for it.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Dōken-sha (Airisu POV) Post 20
#Wss366 helm #MastoPrompt Unabashed #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever #Edo

Sumika’s fingers touched Arakawa's. It was the slow motion of someone half-asleep. Arakawa-sama, Owl-sama, had ensorcelled her.

In a moment of insanity, I plunged my beak into Sumika’s neck, screaming:

          Grain in hand
          Snare in the other
          A gilded bridle

Sumika’s hand jerked back as red and indigo sparks spat from the sacred #helm. Arakawa-sama’s leveled his fan at me, snapping it open. But something stayed his wrath, and he finished my renga instead:

          Crow at dawn
          The rooster struts
          Stew pot awaits

I didn’t need to analyze that verse. The threat was clear.

An unsustainable silence of suspense fell. #Unabashed, I stared back at his blazing eyes.

I wondered, though, why I wasn’t feathers scattered on the shrine’s floor.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Dōken-shin (Airisu POV) Post 21
#Wss366 Concert #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever #Edo

“Is the beckoning-cat now the weasel’s master?” Arakawa-sama’s aura had calmed, but his eyes remained fierce.

I took exception to being called a cat and to my mistress being compared to a weasel. However, with the kami’s stew pot metaphor still fresh in my mind, I watched my tongue when I responded, “Neither cat nor vermin. I attend a spotted huntress. Your cord is not for her.”

Sumika watched our debate and remained silent. I dreaded what might happen if she entered the conversation. I doubted she’d mastered the complexities of Edo-era metaphorical sophistication, unlike an educated corvid I knew.

He responded with his fan pointed at me, cobalt sparks snapping along its edge. "I hear an owl in the forest, but does it know the kite has tasted my lure?"

Again with the insults, calling me an owl this time. Thankfully, he hadn’t escalated to physical violence, which would have been impossible for us to respond to. He wanted something from us, so I gave it to him.

“Kindness repaid, but we nest in the wild.”

He tapped his fan; the energy along it began flowing smoothly, mellowing to a soft sapphire, and then replied, “I have been answered.”

Reaching forward, he touched a finger to a trickle of blood from the wound on my mistress’s neck. “A token,” he said.

Sumika flinched, and I whispered, “Silence.”

She nodded assent.

"You may use my gift, little majo. Pay me my daily due until I require you."

The ginkgo spirits sounded their gongs, and the shrine faded away in a fog. When it lifted, we were back at the empty grove. After what we had been through, the lonely forest with its #concert of autumn cicadas was welcome.

“What just happened?” Sumika asked.

“I’ll explain at the car. And you, ‘little witch,’ have much to explain.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Not Easy For a Modern Witch (Airisu POV) Post 22
#Wss366 Dread

[Edit orginal post place in wrong thread]

Overgrown brush obscured the vague tread. Trees had fallen across the path, which sometimes disappeared entirely. Fortunately, we soon emerged onto the well-used Mikaeri Zaka Trail.

I added a question to my list: “Why had she come all the way out here?” Look Back Ridge was behind the more popular Mount Tenran. For now, though, I contented myself with looking for snacks.

The moment I’d #dreaded arrived when we reached Sumika’s car, a dusty-rose Suzuki Alto. I landed on the roof; my feet skittering across the surface until I came to rest. The human part of me saw it was an older-model car with a dented driver’s side door. The crow part saw it as a sleeping monster, not clever but deadly.

Sumika opened the door and called, “Get in! We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“Nope, nada, never,” I squawked.

“You have to get in if we’re going home.”

“Contrariwise! You hop onto your broom, and we’ll fly there.”

The Alto’s door was a blur, banging shut. I took off for the trees before I even thought about it.

“No, look here, Crow-kun, I want to get home, and that is by car. I can’t ride a broomstick!”

“It’s ‘san,’ and my name is Airisu!”

“Okay, Airisu-san. Please get in. Witches don’t ride broomsticks in this country.”

“If anywhere,” she added with a mutter.

She opened the car door, reached into a pocket, and tossed some rice crackers onto the passenger seat. “There, get in!”

“Hey, what do you think I am? That wouldn’t even fool a pigeon or a field mouse.”

“Fine, Crow-san. Just stay here.”

With that, she climbed into the car.

“Wait, you wouldn’t leave me—Ackkk.”

“Want to bet!” she called out, reaching for the door.

I didn’t wait any longer, launching myself into the vehicle. After all, there were crackers to be eaten.

#NMFic

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Not Easy For a Modern Witch (Airisu POV) Post 23 – 1 of 2
#Wss366 Kit #MastoPrompt Gum

It turns out riding in the belly of the beast was every bit as terrifying as I’d imagined. The constant motion was compounded by a chaos of noise. I foolishly looked out a window and shrieked.

“Stop thrashing,” Sumika chided. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

I dug my claws into the seat and closed my eyes, which only made things worse as the vehicle lurched like a tree in a storm.

My eyes flew open. “I’m going to be sick,” I cawed.

“Just settle down and tell me what happened back there.” As she spoke, she touched the wound on her neck, then glanced at me reproachfully.

“Cruel, cruel mistress. Have some sympathy for your poor familiar.”

She touched her neck again, and I hurried on. “I only did it because you were going to give away the whole #kit and caboodle to that greedy kami. That would really #gum up the works. Ack…”

A glare shut down my cackle midstream, and I resumed. “Dōken-shin would have bound you in his service as a vassal. He’s not the kind of boss you want.”

“I’m a little fuzzy on what happened, so could you be more specific?” Sumika asked.

“As you command, oh great and powerful mistress. Ack, ack, ack! Mind you, this is only speculation, but Arakawa Dōken is a forgotten Edo kami who was deified to appease his ghost. ‘Hearing its voice is the time indeed when Autumn is saddest.’—ack, ack, ack—by Sarumaru Tayu from Hyakunin’shu.”

“Whatever,” she responded—no sense of poetry.

“He claims to have given you a book and now wants repayment. I merely did what any loyal servant would do. At enormous risk to my life, I came to your aid when he ensorcelled you.”

“You’re kind of rude, you know, but thank you, I guess. But why did he pick me?”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Not Easy For a Modern Witch (Airisu POV) Post 23 – 2 of 2
#Wss366 Kit #MastoPrompt Gum

[Continued from previous post]

“Dōken-shin called you a reincarnated samayō miko. That’s a wandering shrine maiden. He said you used to bind spirits—now it’s your turn. Tell me about this book.”

“Book? Oh, you must mean the book I found at the bookstore.”

Sumika proceeded to relate how she had become a witch and found the Grimoire Obscuriea.

When she finished, I said, “You really are a nob. A grimoire is a book of magic, like a madousho.”

“Oh, is that why the name on the cover changed to Madousho Mōrō?”

“And that didn’t tell you there was something weird about the book?”

“It did. I’m not stupid,” she said.

I wondered, though.

“Besides,” she resumed, “a spell to summon a creature that would be bound to me had appeared in it. It would be a devoted friend and companion.”

“Sounds like a boyfriend.”

I heard her mutter, “I don’t like boys.”

“A girlfriend then, and you’ve got me. I’m a girl who likes girls.”

“You’re a crow! A rude, obnoxious bird!”

“Details, details, details.”

“Okay, back on topic,” I said. “Why did you come to Mikaeri Zaka?”

“It’s said to be a power spot and was one of the few places where I knew I wouldn’t be observed. Besides, it just seemed right.”

“I see. It called to you. So, tell me about the shrine.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 24
#Wss366 Ghost #MastoPrompt Drama

The year before I moved to the U.S., I was in the sixth grade and didn’t live far from Mount Tenran. That was when I visited the shrine and saw a #ghost for the first time.

But I’m doing it again, showing not telling, so let’s go back.

“Mom, can I spend the night at sis’s friend’s?” I asked.

My mother looked up from packing kitchen stuff. We were selling most of our belongings, but there were still a lot we were shipping to the US. We didn’t know how long Dad would be assigned to the San Francisco office.

“Are your clothes packed? And when have you wanted to spend time with those girls?” came her tired reply. “There’s so much #drama around them.”

“They’re visiting a shrine, and I want to go one last time.” It wasn’t a lie, nor was it the whole truth. It was a test of courage, and the place we were going had long been abandoned. There was a story that if you found the ruins and offered the kami rice, they would grant you a wish. Not cooked rice, raw grain, and lots of it. If you didn’t offer enough, he would cut off your head.

“You can go if all your stuff is packed, and I mean all of it. And we can visit a major shrine this weekend, where you can get a last look at the mikos. They don’t have them in America.”

“Yay!” I loved mikos. As a sixth grader, I dreamed of being one when I grew up. Shrine maiden uniforms were so cute, and they got to speak to the kami.

“Just a moment,” Mom said, leaving the kitchen. When she returned, she handed me some money. “For an offering and to buy yourself a charm.”

“Can I take some rice?”

“Sure, it’ll be done soon.”

She gave me a funny look when I took some uncooked grain and put it in a bag. Then, before she could ask questions, I ran out of the room, shouting over my shoulder, “I’m going to check that all my stuff is packed!”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Crow #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 25
#Wss366 Swear #MastoPrompt Slam

As we hiked to Mikaeri Zaka, I began wondering if this was a good idea. I’d never done a test of courage before, but I wanted to do one before leaving Japan. Now I was scared. The trail was gloomy in the evening light, and once off the main path, the brush seemed to reach out to grab me.

I also remembered why I didn’t like Sis’s friend, Mori-san.

“They say there’s a woman with her head on backwards here,” Mori-san said, trying to sound spooky. “And there's an old man. If he calls your name, don’t turn around or he’ll cut your head off!

I clutched my blankets tightly to my chest and grabbed my sister’s hand. “What if it’s true?” I thought.

“I #swear, you’re such a baby, Sumi-chan,” my sister said. “Those are just stories made up because it’s called ‘Mikaeri Zaka’ (Look Back Ridge). If people found headless bodies up here, it would be on TV.”

Wow!” I thought. “High school kids are so smart.

“Here we are,” Sis announced. “We can camp behind those bushes. If anyone comes, they won’t see us there.” She pointed to a thicket just beyond a ginkgo grove where the tread almost petered out.

Having company seemed unlikely to me. The branch trail we had followed was barely more than an overgrown animal track. More than once, we’d scrambled over or around fallen trees.

The image of an oni or tengu using the path came to me unbidden. This was just the kind of place where tengu would love to hide.

One thought led to another, and before long, I found myself worrying whether I was still small enough for a tengu to carry me away or leave me stranded in a treetop.

The “shrine” itself was in the ginkgo trees. In their shade were the rotting remains of a shrine box. At least, I assumed that’s what it was. A single board protruding from the loam was all that remained. There certainly wasn’t a bell or any offerings.

However, there was a weed-choked spring nearby, so I rinsed my mouth and hands in the water. I was a good girl and knew what to do when visiting a shrine.

The ginkgo grove was cool and made my skin tingle oddly when I entered. I faced the board, clapped, and sprinkled the rice I’d brought on the ground in front of it.

Behind me, Mori-san snickered. “It’s just some old, abandoned kami. No one cares about it.”

I ignored her. Even a forgotten deity deserved respect. That’s what I thought.

“You should wish for a husband as dumb as you are,” Mori-san continued, #slamming me again.

I placed my mom's money on the board and picked up a golden ginkgo leaf that caught my eye. It would be my charm. I clapped again and bowed.

“Maybe when I grow up, I’ll be your miko and dance for you,” I whispered and then joined the others in our little camp.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 26
#Wss366 Murder

Dusk soon rolled around, blanketing us in twilight shadows. My sister and her friend talked while I watched violet fireflies flit over the spring. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, which was supposed to be a good omen, something about its call being related to the triple jewels of Buddhism.

When the last of the light departed, we began exchanging scary stories. I told a tale about the ghost in our school bathroom. “If you knock three times on the third stall at 3:00, she’ll appear and ask you to play,” I said.

“Yes, yes,” Mori-san interrupted. “And if you agree, she’ll drag you down the toilet and off to hell.”

“No, she cuts off your head and plays ball with it,” I responded. “And if you’re going to be like that, I won’t tell any more stories.”

“Big loss,” she said.

Sis finally stepped in. “Leave her alone. She’s only in the sixth grade. Besides, that’s how the story went at our school.”

After that, I wouldn’t speak and eventually dozed off while the other two girls talked.

My sister roused me later, saying, “Wake up! It’s the hour of the ox. If anything’s going to happen, it’ll be now.”

I was sleepy and cold, but sat up anyway. The cicadas had fallen quiet, and the fireflies had disappeared. When I peered out from where we’d hidden, the ginkgo trees were barely visible, like silent monks waiting for something. Even the wind seemed afraid to disturb the stillness.

Yawning, I muttered, “I want to sleep.”

I was about to close my eyes when Mori-san spoke. “Hush! Someone’s coming!”

That woke me up. Who could it be at this hour? Was it an oni or the lady with her head on backwards?

Soon, we heard a female voice ranting: “Shine (die), shine, shine! I’ll #murder you, cunt. I’ll kill you!” A peal of laughter followed.

The railing grew louder and louder until an apparition appeared, floating up the trail. I shivered; it was an onryo, the most terrifying type of ghost, bent on revenge, coming to get us.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 27
#Wss366 Crow

“A ghost!” Mori-san’s voice shook.

“Shhh,” Sis hissed.

“Shine! Just die! Wither up and die. Shine, shine, shine!” the spirit raved, the leaves crunching as it approached.

For a moment, I thought the wraith was addressing us, and I froze. I felt its unseen eyes on me.

Instead of advancing toward our encampment, the specter floated into the grove, stopping in front of one of the ginkgo trees. As terrified as I was, I couldn’t help but notice it blocked our retreat down the trail. Escape would mean plunging into the dark forest surrounding us.

Silence fell, and I held my breath. Mori-san was trembling next to me, and I heard Sis breathing heavily.

The ghost hovered close to the ground and continued to mutter. Suddenly, a flicker of light appeared, growing until it surrounded the figure. The glow revealed an apparition wearing a white kimono. Thankfully, its back was turned, obscuring its face. I imagined a bloated, black visage with paralyzing eyes.

I dropped my gaze in case the spirit spun around, and I saw feet in incongruous sneakers. Relief flooded my body for a moment. It was a woman, not a yuurei! Then the feeling fled. How was a crazed human any better!?

Finally, three lights appeared, floating up until a crown of candles settled on her head.

“Ushi no koku mairi,” Sis whispered. “Who’s she cursing?”

Suddenly, Mori-san was in motion. “I’m getting out of here,” she said, bolting out of our camp.

“Iyada!” Sis grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet, and followed her friend.“Idiot!”

The white-clad woman loomed before us, blocking the way. She turned, so the candles illuminated the face of a college-aged female with round features, tangled short hair, and deeply slanted eyes. She held a mallet in one hand and a straw doll in the other. On her breast was a mirror. The scene was straight out of a horror movie.

Mori-san tried to dodge past her, but the woman dropped the hammer and grabbed her instead. The instrument fell to the ground, sparks flying as it struck a rock. The two of them spun around. I was so close to them I could see spittle fly as she shouted, “Vermin! Spies! Die!”

My shoulders crashed through the brush alongside the trail. Branches whipped at my face as Sis and I tried running past. Blinded, I tripped when my foot hit a root, causing my sister’s hand to slip from mine.

The next thing I knew, Mori-san had seized my shirt, pushing me into the woman. “Take her!”

We all stumbled, and our captor lost hold of the Sis’s friend. She dropped the doll and grabbed me by the hair. “Blood for blood! I’ll give you to him!” she #crowed.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 28
#Wss366 Whale

I twisted in the woman’s grip. “Let me go!” I screamed.

She slapped me so hard with her other hand that I tasted blood.

“Die, brat!” her voice, low and deadly, hissed in my ear. Her breath, scented with mint, brushed my face. That scent has sickened me ever since.

I continued to squirm, feeling my shirt begin to tear, only to be struck so brutally that my head spun. Dazed, I ceased to resist.

“Let my Sumi-chan go!” Sis yelled.

The lady staggered when a storm of blows rained down on her back. Hope sprang up; my sister hadn’t abandoned me. Pure fury blazed in her face as she #whaled on my attacker.

However, any relief I might have felt was short-lived when I saw the knife our captor had drawn. She whirled around to face her assailant. “Die, whelp!”

The woman’s arms flailed wildly, jerking me around. The blade was a blur of ill-aimed blows while she continued raving: “Die, brat, die…”

My attacker’s wrist struck my mouth. I ignored the pain and bit down.

“...Ahh!” she screamed and lost her grip on the knife.

But that didn’t stop her. “Got you!” she said, using her newly freed hand to grab Sis.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 29
#Wss366 Pod

“Desist,” said a new, deep, commanding male voice.

Silence descended in the ginkgo grove. The woman’s harangue ceased; my sister’s mouth gaped, but no sound came out; and my screams froze in my throat.

Our rescuer continued, all the more frightening for his calm, stern tone, “You have brought violence to my shrine, desecrated it with your grudges, and assaulted a samayō miko. She has honored me with an offering and promises to dance for me, while you have nothing but venom.”

There was the snap of a fan, followed by the quote: “If a man has no reverence, what has he to do with ritual?”

I staggered as the woman let loose of me. I righted myself and turned to see who our rescuer was. There, in the ginkgos’ shadow, I saw a hawk-faced man, holding a fan. His dark, austere robes blended into the darkness, but his face and hands were visible.

“Depart and prepare yourself,” he said, “for those who are seen at the ox hour need only one grave.”

He must have been referring to how, if there was a living witness to your performing the Ushi no koku mairi, you would perish, your curse unfulfilled.

Without a word, the woman slunk away and disappeared into the darkness.

“Reibaku-sama,” he said, addressing me. “I am honored by your presence, but you are yet a green gagaimo #pod. Come back when the seeds have ripened and are ready to fly.”

Sis and I bowed and silently fled.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Airisu POV) Post 30
#Wss366 Verdant #EarthDay edition

“So that’s the story of my first visit to the shrine,” Sumika said, finishing her saga.

I looked up from my hunt for cracker crumbs that had fallen between the car seats to reply, “And that didn’t clue you in that the kami there had an interest in you?” I asked, cocking my head and giving her a one-eyed examination. What kind of bubblehead had I hooked up with?

“I thought it was just some guy who’d come to our rescue.”

“Just some guy!?”

“Well, initially I believed it was a kami, but as I got older, I convinced myself that it was superstitious nonsense. Sis said they were both a couple of crazies.”

“You’re the weirdest witch I’ve ever heard of!”

“And you are the rudest crow ever to exist.”

“Clicky, crack. Don’t bet on it.”

At that moment, we pulled into a gravel turnoff and parked.

“We’re home,” she said. “My father owns it and rents it to me cheaply.”

We’d arrived at a rundown house surrounded by a surprisingly #verdant herb garden. Someone had put a lot of work into it. There were rows of rosemary, thyme, sage, and a bunch of Japanese herbs I didn’t recognize.

“Your garden?” I asked.

“Yeah, it helps me relax, and I use them in my magic. I told you I’m a whiz at potions.”

As soon as we were out of the car, I started hopping around the plants. “I’m impressed,” I cawed. “Why so many European species?”

“Those are the herbs Ariel-san is familiar with. She has been teaching me.”

“What’s this one?” I asked, pecking at a parsley-like leaf.

“Mugwort.”

“And this one?”

“Don’t peck at that! It’s devil’s trumpet, datura, jimsonweed.”

“Ack!” I called and hopped away. “Poison, poison; You are a witch!”

“You sound proud of that.”

“I am. You’re my witch. A witchy witch. Where’s the nightshade hedge?”

She looked troubled by my comment, but just said, “Let’s go inside. I’m tired, and we need to eat.”

“Chicken Nugs!” I crowed, flying up to Sumika’s shoulder.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku Omen (Sumika POV): Post 31
#Wss366 Kindle

As soon as I found Airisu a place to roost and went to bed myself, I fell into a sleep as deep as a well.

Once again, I found myself in a stranger’s body. This time, the sky was nothing but a circle above. Stone walls encircled me. But I paid no attention to that; my focus was on a set of plates that hovered in the air.

“One plate…”

“Two…”

I was cold, so cold. Water lapped around my waist, numbing the bruises from a beating. The weight of my waterlogged kimono threatened to drag me into the dark depths.

“Three…”

“Four…”

“Five…”

The moon hung above in an ice-black sky.

“Six…”

It was a sphere, not unlike the white china plates that passed through my hands.

“Seven…”

“Eight…”

Smooth, flawless plates, beautiful like a woman’s skin with fine blue lines like veins.

“Nine…”

“Caw, caw!” I looked up, my counting interrupted. On the rim of the well perched a crow. The moon #kindled a violet fire around its silhouette. “Caw, caw! Wait! She is coming,” it said, then croaked out three lines of verse:

Muddy lotus
The water purify
Fragrant dawn sun

Then it departed as the water swallowed me once again.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Sumika POV): Post 32
#Wss366 Brace

I awoke with a start. Unlike my usual foggy recollections, my dream was crystal clear. I had been this woman before. The first time I dreamed of her, the experience was so powerful that I named my familiar Airisu after a flower from the vision.

I had no doubt that the dreams were messages. The last two lines of the poem were even addressed to me.

The water purify
Fragrant dawn sun

The kanji for my name was “純香,” meaning “pure fragrance.” Though some people spelled it “澄香,” where “澄” means settled, pure water, which was closer to the verse.

Was the crow in the dream Airisu? Probably. Was she telling the woman that I would come and rescue her?

“Scrack, Srity, Kack!”

I jolted upright in bed at the sound of the said crow screaming in the next room.

“Ack! Mistress, hurry! Come here! Creakedy crack! You have to see this!”

I #braced myself for what I would find.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 33 Part 1
#Wss366 Mug

“Ack!” I screamed.

With aggressive footsteps, Mistress rushed into the room, arms swinging, and head thrust forward. It screamed danger.

Fly away!!!

She wore a nightgown and a wrap around her shoulders. Her eyes were as fierce as Dōken-shin’s had been when I bravely stood up to him.

I quailed, taking off for the top of a bookshelf. From there, I shouted down, “Crack. The book! The book!”

She moved, and I crouched, ready to take off if she threw something at me.

Instead, she stood in the middle of the floor, arms on her hips, glaring up at me. “This is the middle of the night. It had better be worth it, 'Crow!'”

Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided not to correct her this time. “It’s the book. You have to see it,” I cawed.

“What book? What are you talking about?”

She moved again, and I hopped back.

“Can I come down? You won’t hurt me?” I asked.

She nodded, and I flew down to a desk near the window. Through the glass, the moon shone aqua-blue, illuminating a messy pile of papers and books. A cold #mug of cocoa lay amid remnants of last evening’s meal. In the center of the mess rested an open volume, which I pecked at. “See? It’s here.”

Sumika approached, asking, “What’s here?” She stopped short and stared. “That’s not where I left the grimoire. How did it get here?”

Indeed, the Madousho Mōrō, aka Grimoire Obscuriea, lay with its pages gleaming in the soft moonlight.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 33 Part 2
#Wss366 Mug

[Continued from previous post]

Mistress took the last step forward, picking up the book. “Something new is written here,” she said, beginning to read.

Phantasm
Storehouse laid bare
Echo whisper
Through the water mirror
Bullrushes intertwined

“I just dreamed of being in a well,” she said. “Could that be ‘the water mirror?’ What’s the rest mean?”

I scratched my head and cocked it, gazing silently back at her. It was a puzzling piece of verse.

“Well, Airisu?” she said.

Hmph. Figures, I was Airisu again, not Crow. But I could be magnanimous and overlook the earlier slight.

“‘Phantasm,’ ‘echo,’ and ‘whisper’ are ephemeral,” I said. “Yet they’re used here to describe something revealed, i.e., the ‘storehouse laid bare.’ What about dreams, thoughts, or wishes? As you pointed out, the fourth line refers to your dream. I don’t have a clue what it means, but it seems important. The last verse sounds naughty. Were you dreaming about you know what, by any chance?”

She blushed and quickly corrected me, “No, not at all. I was an abused woman counting plates in a well. A crow came and told me to wait for someone. Then it ended.”

“Okiku,” I said. “That’s the woman’s name. It’s from a famous play, ‘The Dish Mansion at Banchō’”

“I’ve heard that story. Everyone has. She’s thrown into a well for breaking a valuable plate.”

“In most versions, she’s innocent,” I corrected. “The samurai Aoyama hid the plate and attempted to blackmail her to be his mistress.”

“Right, right, right. But what does it mean?”

I would have shrugged if I could have. “It’s beyond me. What does it say under that?” I asked, peering at the crabbed handwriting beneath the poem.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri #Folklore

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 34
#Wss366 Bash

Sumika switched on a desk lamp to see the writing in the grimoire. “It’s a spell to… Ah… As far as I can tell, it’s about reuniting severed threads of karma.”

I hopped over to the book and tried to read it. The words and letters squirmed on the page. I made out some Buddhist phrases, but that was about it. Clearly, reading was going to be a struggle. Too bad. I would miss that.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“It mentions Kakuriyo, the spirit land.”

“You don’t need to explain the word. Go on.”

“It talks about breaking barriers and fulfilling ancient promises. Got it! In the dream, you said someone was coming for Okiku. Does this spell allow us to rescue her?”

I cocked my head and peered at her. It was the first intelligent thing this woman had said. Maybe she was trainable after all.

“I was just going to say that,” I crowed.

Mulling over what I knew, I chortled phrases in my throat: “Bullrushes intertwined; uniting severed karmic threads; wishes and dreams.”

I saw a pattern and burst out, “Sumika’s got a girlfriend. A mushy, crushy girlfriend.”

Mistress raised the book as if she were about to #bash me with it, and I took off for the shelf again, screaming, “Oggily, puggily, pie. Your blush is as bright as the summer sky.”

And it was. Her cheeks had flushed a brilliant crimson. If I’d still been human, I would have said she was cute. Ah, heck, even as a crow, I thought she was adorable, all flustered.

“I don’t know Okiku-san. How could I be in love with her?”

“A denial; how maidenly,” I said. “You were wishing for love, weren’t you? Dōken-shin promised to give you what you wished for, and this is the answer. As for knowing her, you don’t now, but you did, and you will. Mistress’s got a crush.”

Sumika glared up at me, but didn’t argue.

Karma was a bitch,” I thought.

#Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri #Folklore #NMFic

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 35
#Wss366 Film #TimeTravelAuthors 05/11. Do your characters ever undo anything?

“I'm not in love with her,” Mistress finally said. “I don’t know her. She has been dead for how many years?”

“My pardon, you are not in love, and you are not blushing.”

I hurried to answer her question from memory rather than give her time to continue protesting. "Banchō Sarayashiki is an Edo-era story, so it's been about two or three hundred years."

“And how is that supposed to work? I’m not getting involved in necromancy. I’ve watched enough horror #films to know these things never work out in the mortals’ favor.”

She fingered the wound where I had stabbed her, probably remembering how the kami had almost trapped her before. “Besides, I doubt it’s smart to accept favors from Dōken-shin.”

“Getting cold feet, little lady?” It was my contrariness coming through. She was actually wise not to involve herself with Arakawa Dōken.

While I tried to figure out how to steady my perch, i.e., take back the comment, she studied the spell.

“Oh, I get it now!” she said. “This will allow us to go back in time, and we can save her.”

“Time travel,” I thought. “That would be exciting. Still, what about time paradoxes?”

“Like a romance novel!” she said, clapping her hands.

That last statement worried me.

#TootFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri #Folklore #NMFic #TimeTravel

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 36
#Wss366 purple #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever

I never did figure out a way to tell her this was a bad idea. The allure of a romantic adventure was too strong to overcome with mere words.

Besides, there were some good reasons to cast the spell. It would be interesting. Mistress would be happy. Watching a real-life yuri romance bloom would be entertaining. Disaster lesbian romances were such a fun trope, and Sumika was the epitome of a disaster lesbian. More practically, I supposed all witches had their allies, and Dōken-shin wasn’t the worst. He certainly wasn’t Mephistopheles or a soul-eating shinigami. At least I hoped not.

Preparation took time. She purchased an Edo-style #purple silk kimono, antibiotics (my suggestion), and a map of Himeji Castle. Money was harder to come by. We bought strings of worn Ming cash coins, but a dealer sorting through them dismissed many as modern copies or inappropriate for the era. We made up the difference with small pieces of cut silver. My estimation of Sumika increased. She was still a bubblehead, but she thought through the process, listened to my advice, and spared no effort in preparing.

Then, after she obtained a week off work, we were ready to go.

Edo Japan, here we come!

#TootFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri #Folklore #NMFic #TimeTravel

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku (Airisu POV): Post 37
#Wss366 Yellow #TimeTravelAuthors Whatever

I hadn’t been able to get her to give up the plan of rescuing Okiku-san, but I convinced her to stay away from Lookback Ridge and the presence there. Instead, she drew a magic circle and the required runes in her garden.

On the chosen night, the full moon shone brightly over the neat rows of herbs in her yard. The plants gave off a faint purplish light that I associated with magical energy. The faint scent of shiso, rosemary, and mugwort hung in the air.

As the hour of the ox arrived, Sumika cast yarrow stalks, said the time was favorable, and stepped out into the moonlight. She began chanting and slowly danced backward, widdershins around the chalked lines. I perched on her shoulder, remaining quiet. Now wasn’t the time for me to be clever.

Gradually, a fog arose, first hiding the garden plants, then the stars, and lastly the house. Only the moon remained, casting a diffuse, silvery light. While all this was happening, the circle began to sparkle, giving off a violet radiance. The mist sang back to us in a woman’s voice. As the singing grew louder, a #yellow flickering glow, like a fire, appeared off to one side.

The voice abruptly ceased singing and spoke. “So he has sent someone after all. Welcome, sister. Join me by my fire where it is warm. We have much to discuss, and my time is short.”

#TootFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Serial #SlowBurn #Yuri #Folklore #NMFic #TimeTravel