As Kaden bounded toward Morgan, thrilled to see her again, Hecate hugged Freyja in return. She welcomed them both in and smiled at Freyja's compliment, murmuring a word of thanks into the bright hair of her old friend. Her aim tonight was not to be beautiful, but she would be lying if she said there wasn't a deliberate aesthetic she was going for. Images had power, and every manner of power was important tonight. The charms that hung around her neck were all old, deeply imbued with magic, and hidden beneath her clothes over her heart was the gift Qebhet had given her, moons ago. She could feel the gentle swell of power from the wedjet eye amulet, the gift of protection and regeneration she hoped to pass on to Kaden tonight.
"Merlin and I are having tea, please, join us," she said, pouring them both a mug and bringing them over to the couch near Merlin's armchair. "Freyja, this is Kaden," she said, though it was obvious which dog Kaden was, there was no harm in being polite with a proper introduction. Kaden, unbothered about manners, was trying to climb into Morgan's lap. "We're still waiting on Marcie, but once she's arrived we can get started. I'd like to begin by casting a circle with each of us calling a corner, if everyone is comfortable with that. This ritual is a combination of all of us, after all, I believe it will be strongest if we all bring something of ourselves into it."