#What if i just wanted to bake bread and eat a nutritious meal huh. ever think of that?

[punishedmemelia]

why is being a member of society so difficult. get me outta here!

[mina-mauveine]

Dens Leonis: Lion toothed, but Petal Soft

A bouquet of words for @merclucio​ for this year’s gift exchange hosted by the lovely @fieldsofvesuvia blog. 

Summer came early to Vesuvia. The temperature and humidity had rose until anything more than the sheerest of fabrics meant clinging heat and sweat. Magdalene had spent an arduous hour trekking up to her spot. The rocky outcrop allowed her to view both the luscious greenery and frothing seas. 

The sunny skies had splashed the verdant fields with a thousand sproutings, displaying flowers in their brightest shades. The vibrancy of the landscape made it seem more a painting than reality. 

She sighed in relief when she dropped her pack onto the stony ground. Setting up took little time. Here she didn’t mind using her magic, smoky greys and white lit and unraveled the blanket, set up the fine china and filled it to the rim with the season’s favoured drink. She sat down as her magic weaved above her like a spider’s web, providing shelter from the scorching sun. 

She could finally breathe out here, have a moment uncrowded. The air was a bouquet of sea salt and flowery fragrances, she opened her charmed picnic basket and pulled out this morning’s bread.

A bush to her left rustled, but nothing emerged. She crushed the bread in her hand, the crackle of its perfectly baked skin made whatever was hidden within the shrubbery jostled excitedly about. 

Magdalene smirked and broke the bread in half. “You do know what wanting to be alone means, right?”

Volta’s head rose sheepishly from the hiding place. Magdalene could almost imagine the little bird wings settling anxiously over the smaller woman’s eyes, reaching towards the pink heart-shaped nose. But that was then and this is now. Volta’s pallor was no longer tainted by a sickly grey and she lacked the ravenous hunger linked to the demonic possession. 

Though with the famished expression on her face, it seemed Volta had forgotten that aspect of her freedom.  

“I was helping in the kitchen when you rushed by.” Volta licked her lips and stared longingly at Magdalene’s picnic basket. 

“Does ‘helping’ actually mean sampling?” 

Volta snapped open her eyes and quickly moved her head ‘no’. “I didn’t take anything in that basket, I swear it.”

“I’m guessing because the chef was guarding it from you?”

Volta gasped, her index finger catching at the corner of her lips. 

Magdalene laughed, and offered out the piece to Volta, only to yank it away when the tiny coutier tried to take the morsel back with her to the foliage. “Uh ah ah, you have to sit with me here if you want food.” 

Volta’s eyes gleamed, she scurried free from the bushes and plopped herself next to Magdalene. She happily perused the basket for more treats even as she chomped into the bread. 

“Hungry?”

Volta nodded, her lips covered in crumbs and yolk as she munched into a soft boiled egg.  

Magdalene grabbed Volta’s face, her companion squirmed until she used a cotton handkerchief to wipe at the mess. “Your mouth is a tad smaller now, huh?”

Volta giggled and looped her hands to rest on top of Magdalene’s wrists, content to be fussed over. “It’s just all so good.”  

“I bet,” Magdalene twisted Volta’s face this way and that and felt satisfied, “there’s no rush, the basket is charmed to be practically endless.”

Volta beamed up with such uncontained joy that it made Magdalene’s face heat up. 

“Ahhhh, you’re amazing my lovely magician!”

Magdalene felt her blush grow. She coughed and quickly pecked Volta on the forehead before focusing on setting out the picnic as it was meant to be served. She laid out a serving platter of cheeses from across the country and numerous other condiments and assorted cured meats.

She kept her eyes on the cutting board as she sliced the bread into thick chunks. “Go ahead, put whatever you want on.”

“Any combination?” 

Magdalene shrugged, watching as Volta splattered on as many options as she could overload onto her toast. 

“It’s going to fall over if you’re not careful.”

“I’ll eat it anyway.”

Magdalene rolled her eyes fondly. “Of course you would.” 

A gust of wind picked up with the tides, whirling loose petals and dandelion fluff into the air. The sky snowed down vibrant shades and downy puffs. The ascended bits drifted over the outcrop, piling onto the magical shelter Magdalene had formed. 

Most of the petals stayed free floating, finding other perches, but the more tenacious dandelion fluffs managed to land into Volta’s stack of food. 

“Oh, it’s ruined!” Volta said even as she took a hearty chomp into her tower of food, making any of the earlier cleaning moot. 

Magdalene waved her hand, her magic removing most of what had settled in the area.

“Valdemar is allergic to it and nothing they do ever helps,” Volta picked at the seedlings that remained in her meal, “Vulgora hates them, just hates them, ‘stupid, little, monstrous’, and then they would punch at the things until red in the face.” 

Magdalene looked at the courtier, her expression closed. 

Volta sighed to herself. “I tried to calm them down, but they wouldn’t hear it, the chambers almost got burnt down to rid the place of the weeds.” 

“How wasteful.” 

Volta tilted her head, looking a perfect resemblance of a confused pup. Whatever ire had started to build in Magdalene was calmed enough for her to take a lighter approach. “Why call it a weed?” 

“Uh… because…it is one?” Volta tried, food momentarily set down to wait in her lap. 

“Because it grows well no matter the location? Because it’s endures?”

Volta could only listen, trying to note the meaning of this discussion. 

“Dandelions are tenacious and rooted deeply to provide one of the most nutritious and versatile little plants and what do we do with it? Hate it and try to get rid of it, but guess what, it doesn’t get eradicated instead it dominates.” Magdalene waved her hand out to indicate the field of lush growth. “It’s admirable.” 

It seemed to click for Volta, her eyes suddenly knowing. “I guess we just call them weeds because we want to… There’s nothing wrong with the flower itself, the yellow makes me very happy and… it makes me think of the colour of your hair.” 

Magdalene could feel her blush return in full force, she grumbled out a thanks and looked over the cliffside where it sounded like someone was doing a horrible job at scaling the side wall. “There’s a path around the back, Lucio.” 

“Ah, hello my sweet Magpie, and no I don’t need some little side route.” Lucio grunted as he made another feeble stretch for a handhold. “I’ve got this just fine, this is the fastest way I’ll be…” he found himself half a perch and draped dramatically along it’s edge. “If only…if only someone would assist my own magic then I could just float on up.” 

“My king, you don’t have any magical abilities.” Volta also peered over the edge, speaking with her mouth full and nearly dropping crumbs onto lucio’s finely coiffed hair. 

“I do too!” He coughed. “Maggie,sweetie, you wouldn’t mind just…” He snapped his fingers and gave a whirl motion with his hand. 

“There’s. A. Path. In. The. Back.” 

“Now now, don’t be a sourpuss Mag!”

Magdalene stared. Lucio pouted his lips. 

Magdalene crossed her arms and moved away from the edge, making it so Lucio couldn’t see her anymore. 

“Babe?” 

“You’re ridiculous, I don’t know why I…” Magdalene summoned her magic, and tossed the King to land in a heap on the ground next to her and Volta. 

“Is that the aged Formaggio Imbriago?” Lucio straighten out. “You knew, that I knew, where you’ll be going and had my favourite wined flavoured treat readied.” 

“My king, you’re lactose intolerant!” Volta fretted. 

“Am not.” He said already serving himself a piece. 

“Why don’t you try the Bastardo del Grappa, that’s more your style, goat boy.” 

Volta let out a chortle loud enough to surprise the group, but she quickly returned to the basket, pilfering another treat. 

Lucio squinted at Volta, but then turned his eyes onto Magdalene. “Sticks and stones, Dollface.” 

“You’re awful.” 

“Ah, before I forget!” Lucio reached into his cape, and tugged free a bouquet of slightly crushed dandelions. “They’re almost all in puff form during this time, you don’t know how many people I had to order around to get these.” 

Magdalene took the bouquet, smiling at Lucio until he tried to give her a kiss. “No, your mouth is covered in food!” 

“How about just one kiss?” Lucio looked over to Volta, giving her a sly wink. “Maybe one from each of us?”

Volta clambered onto Magdalene’s side, leaning up to peck a kiss onto the other woman’s jaw. Lucio tried much the same. 

The serene naturescape was overshadowed by guffawing laughter and Magdalene promising bloody consequences, but her mood had certainly been elevated.