Who: Ariel & Theophilia Flowers What: Ariel gets some help When: 9/19 Where: A meadow, then Mrs. Flowers' B&B Rating: PG Status: Complete
Ariel had been looking on the internet for sites to find wild vervain; the forums he tended to look at recommended it as an alternative for headaches. It was the reason he was braving the wind up on the cliff now, looking around for the plant. It was cold, and he’d closed the shop early, but his head ached. Even after smoking a bit.
There was another person on top of the cliff, with a small wicker basket lined with a cheerful gingham cloth, a ball of twine, and some small sheers. She hummed to herself, a few strands of her red ponytail blowing in the wind. Squinting when she saw someone else, she waved and called out. “Y’all okay over there?”
Ariel was surprised to see anyone else out here. Maybe she was here for the same reasons he was. “I’m fine,” he replied, raising his voice a bit. “Looking for vervain.”
“Oh, I got loads over here. You got problems with vampires?” She smiled, walking toward him. She was wearing a pair of cowboy boots over skinny jeans, one of the twins’ button down shirts knotted above her navel. She looked every inch the southern girl she was.
“Vampires?” Ariel raised an eyebrow. There was no way that, in addition to strange powers, supernatural beings could exist here. It was just ridiculous. And he wasn’t high enough to hallucinate.
“Vervain. Supposed to help keep ‘em from invadin’ your thoughts. Also good for headaches. Guessin’ that’s the one you need it for.” She moved to crouch down by him, handing him a twined bundle of the herb. “I grow that in my backyard too, if y’need more.”
“I had no idea.” Ariel couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll remember if I come across a vampire. But yes, I have migraine headaches. I have some remedies that usually help, but this one’s proving stubborn.” She grew vervain? That was handy. “Do you keep a herb garden? I would, if I had the space.”
“I do. If you like, I have a tea I give my clients for headaches. I live real nearby, and my shop’s attached to where I live. I can make you a cuppa if you like - I run the Flowers B&B. I’m Theo Flowers, by the by. I’ll even give you a glass’a wine, that’ll help too.”
That was a lot of information all at once. Ariel raised an eyebrow. “Are you a bit of a homeopath, then? I’ve resorted to natural remedies for the migraines” - she didn’t need to know about the marijuana, at least not yet - “and had some success, but not uniform. I’m afraid I’m not familiar with your B&B, but the invite is very kind. My name is Ariel.”
“Always have been, down the line for a couple’a generations.” she smiled. “C’mon, Mr. Ariel, first glass’a wine’s on the house.” She stood up, wiping off her dirty hands. “I can show you some mixes that make rather nice teas for the headaches. They’ll help some.”
“Any port in a storm, ma’am.” He managed another smile, despite how cold it was. “I appreciate your kindness to a relative stranger.”
“Oh, I’m an innkeeper, basically. Ain’t that what the whole business is about?” She started back toward her car, hopping a little over rocks.
“In theory, yes.” Ariel smiled. She reminded him of some of the innkeepers in his dreams - warm and inviting. “Are you very far from here, then?”
“Oh, not very far at all, just a stone’s throw. I walk up here sometimes. Gives me exercise. It’s about a mile, did you drive?” She smiled at him, grinning under eyes that she shielded from the sun.
“Yes. My rooms and my shop are inland.” Ariel did appreciate her smile. She seemed so warm. He felt an absurd impulse to tell her everything he had to deal with, but kept quiet, just waiting to be told where to go.
“Well, here, do y’mind givin’ me a lift up the block? If not, just go north one block, I’m on the left. The mansion with all the ivy.” She giggled as she bounded down the hill to the car park, a rare moment of girlishness.
“Of course, ma’am.” Ariel couldn’t help but smile at her happiness. It was proving infectious. “The little Hyundai, here.” Thankfully it was at least clean.
She nodded, appreciating that he was willing to drive a perfect stranger somewhere, even though it was only a block or so. “Thank you, Mr. Ariel.”
“Oh, Mister isn’t necessary. And is it Mrs. Flowers?” She hadn’t mentioned a husband, so he wasn’t certain. “Still, it’s kind of you to even offer such hospitality.” It was rare in California, or so he’d seen. But it would be even more rare in New York.
“People call me that still, even though I’ve been divorced for a good long time. But you can call me Theo.” She smiled as she climbed into the car, beaming at her new friend.
“All right. Thank you.” Ariel got into the driver’s seat, starting it and waiting for directions. “How did you begin to grow herbs and such? Was it a familial pursuit?”
“Exactly, my Mama and my Nana both did too. And if you put any stock in those dreams, apparently I’ve done it there too.” She left it open that way; if he thought they were silly, she could agree, but if he thought they were real, they could talk about them more.
“Ah, the dreams.” Ariel sounded resigned. “I confess I don’t know what to make of them. I’ve had a few which have resembled a past life of sorts.” He turned onto the main road, figuring she would point the way when they reached the first intersection.
“Left here, and yeah, me too.” Theo shrugged. “They’re hard to make heads or tails of at first.”
“But yours have become easier? Or do you know others who have encountered this phenomenon?” Ariel obeyed, turning left, curious to hear her answer.
“I know lotsa others,” she smiled. “Mine make more sense now. I don’t know if they’re easier, but at least they’re more logical. I’m sure they’ll get worse before they get better,” she sighed.
“Is that so?” Ariel sighed, in spite of himself. “Mine are so strange. And potentially problematic.” Just as he turned down another street, the heavens cracked open and it started to pour down rain.
That made Theo laugh. “Well, if that ain’t a portent of doom, I dunno what is! Here, that’s me.” There was a sprawling 1920s style mansion up ahead, ivy tangling up its sides. “You can pull into the staff parking spot, I hardly ever use the damn thing.”
“All right.” He wondered idly if she was one of those who disdained machines, but didn’t bother asking. “It’s a handsome old place, most definitely.” He liked the place’s lines.
“Well, thank you. I live on site, so not much use for a car, you know?” She wrapped the herbs up in the cloth, giggling as she ran out in the downpour to run into the owner’s quarters’ door. “Come in this way!”
Ariel locked the car and then dove for the entrance; he loathed rain and was uncomfortable being damp. It felt as though his clothes were shrinking, even though logically he knew there was nothing of the sort.
She’d left the door open for him and already gotten a fire going in the fireplace. “You sit, I’ll put the kettle on and then go get you a glass of wine. What kinda fruit do you like?”
Fruit? Ariel blinked, thinking. “Erm. Rather partial to blueberries, I suppose. Thank you, m - Theo.”
“I do have a bottle of blueberry!” She put the kettle on, then moved to the basement to retrieve the bottle, coming back up and putting it on the table before looking for a corkscrew.
What on earth was she talking about? Ariel rose, going to look over at the basement, but soon she was back with a bottle of wine. “Blueberry wine,” he said softly to himself, picking it up and examining it. “Fascinating!”
“You can ferment any fruit, y’know,” she smiled. “Blackberry’s always been m’favorite, then I gave it a go with other fruits. Heck, the winery’s more famous now than the B&B part.” She shrugged, handing him over a glass once the bottle was uncorked. “This was a good year, too.” She poured herself a glass, taking a sip before moving to find her mortar and pestle.
Ariel obediently took a sip, blinking. “That’s quite lovely. What an unusual taste.” One would expect it to taste awful, but it was very nice.
“I”m glad you like it!” She started putting herbs into the bowl of her mortar, grinding away carefully before putting them into a silver tea steeper. She finished around the time the kettle started to whistle.
He liked to watch people who knew what they were about, and she was no exception. “You’re quite skilled, obviously.” Ariel felt like somehow he could trust her. “I dream of spending quite a lot of time in a science lab, and my hands don’t appear to be as exact as yours.”
She smiled, looking down at her hands. “I’ve done this a lot, my mom used to do the same thing. And in my dreams, I do it too. I dream I’m a witch, if you can believe that.” Theo was being slyly obtuse on purpose.
“To be honest, I’m not certain if I do or not. I’ve heard some unusual stories, since joining this network.” Ariel shook his head. “I’ve lived in the area a while, but none of my admittedly few friends ever reported odd dreams until recently.”
“I’ve lived here ages and it’s only happened recently. M’boyfriends both dream weird things, and ... yeah, it’s just odd.” She moved to hand him the mug, smiling at him. “Let that steep about five minutes. By the time you finish your wine it should be cool enough to drink.”
Boyfriends, plural? Ariel didn’t comment, if only because she’d been so polite to him, repaying her with rudeness would have been insupportable. “I can do that.”
She cut up some cheese and got some nice olives from the fridge, setting them down before returning with her own glass to sit down by him. Noticing some blood on his hand, she blinked. “Oh, some thorns got you. Here, let me.” She stood up to get a damp cloth, dabbing the dark liquid off of him. “There we go.” She tapped his hand lightly over the puncture wounds, smiling when they healed perfectly. It would itch on Ariel for a moment, then would feel as if nothing happened.
Ariel did itch, but by the time he reached over to scratch it, it was gone. He blinked. “Was that ... I’m sorry, did they break the skin? Or could you just see the surface?” Had she really just healed something?
“They broke the skin. Sorry.” She sipped her wine, wondering if she should’ve done that.
He wasn’t panicked, but he was thunderstruck, and amazed. “How did you do that?”
“Dunno. Just woke up one day, and found if I focused real hard, I could. I have to think about the spell for it from m’dreams, but if I do, it happens. It comes in handy with all the scraped knees m’boys get.” She blushed, looking down at her glass.
“That’s incredible.” If she’d wanted to harm him, he’d be dead by now. There was no fear to express here. “How do you ... I mean. I’d worry about hiding it, were I you.”
“There’s not much to hide. I can either do it or not. And all I can really do so far is heal. I do way more in my dreams, but dunno. Not so much here.” She nodded at his tea, smiling. “Should be done steepin’, and I think it’ll help your head straightaway.”
“Oh?” Ariel would definitely not turn that down. “These headaches are so ... ” He wanted to explain more, but thinking of Alisa made his head ache more. “They affect me very badly indeed.” He coughed, trying to clear his throat.
“The tea would help you, even if I weren’t the one making it. But since I am, I might have ... oomfed it up a bit,” Theo smiled. “It should help more than the joints do. Though it won’t mellow you out as much. I can make another cup f’r that if you want.”
Ariel blinked, amused. “Do I have a smell?” He was fairly sure he hadn’t mentioned the marijuana.
“I’ve got a good sense of one, most people probably wouldn’t notice. Don’t worry, I ain’t judgin’, it’s good for migraines. You’re more sensible to do that than take too much headache medicine and tear up y’r insides.” She smiled and patted his hand.
“That’s exactly what I thought.” Ariel sighed, closing his eyes. “It’s ... hurting me, though. So any alternative, I would ... I’d be grateful.” Maybe if he could show he’d kicked it, he could appeal the ruling? Anything he could do. “Ceasing to smoke marijuana might help me get my daughter back.”
Theo’s eyes went wide and sad. “Oh, honey,” she murmured. “I can make you enough to take for a long while, if you need. How often do you get ‘em?” She moved to give him a hug, hoping that he wouldn’t think it improper.
“Perhaps three or four times a month. Usually marijuana is the only thing that stops them. But my ...” Ariel chose his words carefully, figuring he ought not to badmouth to a complete stranger. “My daughter’s mother chooses to see this usage as evidence of degeneracy, even though I have the appropriate prescriptions.”
“That’s stupid, if y’don’t mind my sayin’.” Theo stood up to assemble a few bags’ worth of tea, putting them into a little box when she finished. “I figure twelve bags to start. If they help, now y’know where to find me.” She grumbled a little. She’d never gotten to have children; it didn’t seem fair that a good man should be apart from his daughter.
“I hope it helps.” Ariel tried to pull himself together. “I didn’t intend to burden anyone with my troubles, but I’m most grateful for the offer. I’m of a rather Eastern bent in my dreams, and I can only hope that your karma improves for this.”
“I just think that it’s important to help people when y’can,” Theo shrugged. She nodded at his tea. “Drink that. I can put some sugar innit, if you want.”
Ariel took a sip obediently. “Just a touch, if you wouldn’t object, please. But it’s very nice.”
She shook her head. “No objectin’ on my account, valerian tastes somethin’ awful.” She went to fetch a sugar cube, dropping it into his mug carefully.
“Thank you.” Ariel tried it again with the sugar. “That’s much better. There’s some kind of sour note in there I couldn’t place. It’s very interesting, though.”
“Unfortunately, teas made for physical remedies aren’t big on taste like the kinds made to be savored.” She chuckled and watched him drink. “I take one for my courses that tastes like tripe, it’s the damndest thing.”
“Tripe?” Ariel raised an eyebrow. “That’s certainly unusual.” He kept sipping, appreciating the taste.
“It’s awful, but it really helps.” She chuckled, hoping his tea would start helping soon too.
It did, to the point that he looked at her in something approaching astonishment. “It’s gone completely.” Ariel’s eyes were wide. “Utterly.”
Theo smiled, looking down at her hands. “It’s the ... witch thing,” she murmured. “In my dreams, I was born in the late eighteen nineties - but was alive in the nineties. Granted, I looked about sixty, but still.”
“If it isn’t rude, allow me to say you look nowhere near sixty.” Ariel laughed a bit. “But that is very interesting ... my dreams are set in the late eighteenth century. Not long after the Revolution. I don’t appear to be, well, magical - but I do know that my dream self is a proponent of the art of alchemy.”
“That’s not rude at all. And really! That’s awesome, so we’re practically like cousins!” Theo beamed, crossing her legs. After a moment, she couldn’t abide the cold any longer, and got up to put on an oversized cardigan. “M’boys, they dream they go to a wizarding school. They can do pretty amazin’ things too, and that’s not just me bein’ a proud girlfriend.”
Boys, plural, again. “Oh?” was all he could say.
“Mmhmm. We all work from our homes, so they set up a way for me to get to their place instantly.” Theo was beaming a little, but she felt it was justified.
“Via ... magic?” It sounded bizarre to say, and yet he wasn’t convinced it was hogwash. Not by a long shot.
That made Theo smile and nod. “Yup. Wanna see?”
“Yes.” Ariel rose, figuring she would lead him.
She led him upstairs to her bedroom, then opened up a large wardrobe. Climbing inside, she smiled and looked back at Ariel. “Let me make sure they’re not inside, I don’t want you to startle ‘em.” And suddenly she disappeared, save one foot. Her head reemerged, and she motioned for him to follow her.
Ariel blinked as he was led upstairs, feeling even more awkward as she led him into her bedroom. He’d been about to protest when she’d opened her wardrobe and simply walked inside. When she motioned for him to come in with her, he must have looked lost. “In there?”
“Mmhmm!” She grinned, disappearing again. “The back is false!” She called out audibly from the Twins’ room.
“Oh.” There must be some kind of secret passage. That made more sense. Ariel ducked in after her, not entirely sure what to expect. He opened the false back and jumped - they seemed to be directly in another room.
She smiled, pointing out the window. “See? We’re in a different city now.” Theo grinned, feeling somewhat triumphant for helping him understand magic a bit more.
Ariel looked out and immediately felt his eyes go wide. This most definitely was no longer Irvine - the temperature was chilly and the sky was overcast, and he thought he could make out the outline of water in the background. “Good heavens,” was all he said, softly, almost reverently.
Theo smiled. “Welcome to Huntington Beach. But we should get back home,” she murmured. “Don’t want to startle them.”
He obediently followed Theo back through the wardrobe, feeling not unlike he was in some tale from his youth. “That is the most ... Amazing.” Ariel laughed quietly.
“It’s real Narnia, isn’t it?” Theo hoped she learned the obfuscation spell she knew from her dreams. It would help out a lot.
“It is, yes.” Ariel laughed again. “I never had any idea such things were possible.” This whole evening seemed fantastic. Someone who could alleviate his headaches, and do this?
“Well, it does come in handy. And hell, if I can help you, that makes my magic worth somethin’, y’know? Before I was just sort of wondering if I could, but now I know I can. Your head still feels okay, right?” She put the back of her hand onto his forehead, motherly to a fault.
“Better than it has in weeks.” Ariel could have kissed her. “I keep waiting for it to pass.” He felt like he was existing within a state of grace, something blessed by God.
She smiled happily, pulling her sweater closer around her. “Well, good. I made y’up another twelve sachets for tea, just remember to let it steep for about five minutes. Should last you a while. And here.” She jotted down her cell number on the back of one of her business cards. “Lemme know when y’need more, I’ll make pie.”
“Pie?” Ariel couldn’t help but perk up at that.
That made Theo laugh. “I’ve got a couple slices of strawberry left, if you want one.”
He normally would have felt awkward, but it was homemade pie. “I’d be glad to pay for it, if need be.” But it sounded delicious.
“Oh, honey, you don’t have to pay me for anything but wine by the bottle, and that’s just ‘cause that stuff’s hard work!” She put a slice on a plate and then piled some whipped cream into a bowl. “The whipped cream’s a day old, is that okay?”
“That’s perfectly fine.” Ariel shook his head. “I think you’re a blessing in disguise, Mrs. Flowers.” Well. In a very pretty and kind package.
“I just know a few things is all.” Theo smiled, liking somehow that he called her Mrs. Flowers; it seemed right.
He sat down with the pie. “If you don’t mind my asking, does your magic, such as it is, come from books?” Who knew what he might have in his shop. “Because I wind up having spellbooks - grimoires, I think? - come in frequently.”
“Really. I’ll have to come in and have a look sometime,” Theo smiled. Her eyes were wide. “It’s all acquired from herb lore mostly, then I put a little extra oomph into it. It’s a mix of lineage and knowhow.”
“Well, you’re certainly welcome.” Ariel fumbled around in his pockets, coming out with his wallet and putting a card on the table. “Any time of day or night.” It felt like the least he could do.
“I’m excited to come visit already.” Theo smiled, putting the card in a case she had in her purse designed for that specific job.
“I hope you enjoy it.” Ariel smiled. He dug into the pie, and he certainly enjoyed that.
“I will,” Theo smiled, glad that he was enjoying his pie. He looked a little skinny.