WICK

  “Papa, why do we have to leave?” The small child asked, tears brimming her bright gray eyes begging to be released, she refused.

   Her father looked down at her for a long while before his eyes strayed around the area catching the faces of each of his other children, his gaze stuck to her twin not ten feet away as he tried to console his younger sister whom had clung to him with all the strength she had in her little body, before gliding right back to the child before him.

   The desperation in her eyes was enough to bring him to his knees, but he couldn’t show it. He had to be strong for his babies, for who knew how long it would be until they were reunited.

  “Because my little Lily, together we may be stronger but we are also at a greater risk of being discovered.” Her lip began quivering as the finality of his tone struck.

    I will not cry. Her thoughts rang out. Not here, not in front of them. The thought steeled her resolve as she set her shoulders and gave her father a watery smile.

   Her father, having not taken his eyes off the girl, recognized the look in her eyes as he returned the sentiment before scooping her into a tight embrace; her small body trembled in his grasp but still she refused to let her tears fall, “I love you Cattelaya.” She heard him say before he placed a kiss upon the crown of her head. 

   The girl nodded once before she allowed her gaze to roam over the area of the clearing they were in, taking in her many siblings and various other relatives that had gathered to see them off. 

   Once this is all over, we won’t have to be apart, we can be a normal family again. We’ll be safe. With her thoughts grasping to that small ounce of hope, she finally faced her father once more, he looked older than he had a year ago, she reminisced, thinking of the many years they’d been together, then the beginning of the current one when she’d first felt the rush under her skin and electricity in her veins.

   She knew that the day would come eventually, but she hadn’t expected it to have been before the year's end. She had hoped she’d have another couple of years left before they would have to part.

   “I love you too papa.” She said before, once again, being pulled into a set of arms; this one, though, was much smaller and could only wrap around her waist, looking down, she felt her heart tear at the tear-stained face of her younger sister.

  “I don’t wanna leave you Kit Cat.” She wailed; burying her face in her sibling's sweater, her little arm tightened around her sister the best she could in her hysterical fit.

   “I know Lessa, but it won’t be forever. And you know, I’m always just a call away.” She tried, her form visibly shaking from her sister's sobs.

   Their father watched the two girls, both so small, yet it was still obvious that the older girl had a sense of protectiveness for her baby sister, she had been since they’d arrived at the front of his door that day, all those years back. 

    They had been tiny back then; Alessia having only been an infant and twins just barely brushing four, but the firm set of the older girl's mouth and the wisdom that shone through both twins was what had prevented him from seeing the three siblings as even remotely fragile; let alone weak.

   He knew he would not have to worry about them surviving without him, but the weight on his chest refused to alleviate as he continued to watch the young girls, finally he approached the two, seeing as the older girl was having a difficult time calming her sister down. 

   Scooping her up into his embrace, he murmured sweet nothings to her, slowly she started to calm, her wails turning to cries which then silenced to soft whimpers. 

  Meeting his daughter’s gaze, he pointed her in a direction somewhere behind her. 

  Without another word she turned, sparing one last smile for her sister who had finally calmed enough to meet her gaze and began following her father’s direction; she made her way through the masses of relatives, most of which would stop her for a hug or well wishes. 

   She hadn’t noticed where her father had sent her, or who he’d sent her to, until she was met with a flash of brown skin and identical gray eyes.

   Her eldest brother stood before her, trying to read her expression, before snatching her off of her feet, his hold on her was soft; he had also realized this day was bound to come and had been the only person she’d trusted enough to express her despisal of this event. 

   “I don’t wanna go, DJ.” She whispered, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. She heard his exhale the same time she felt it and the swarm of dread she’d been keeping at bay began creeping up, swallowing any form of goodbye she’d be forced to say.

   It was futile to say it, she knew it had been; neither of them could stop the events of today, no matter how much they’d wanted.

   “I know,” He said, his voice thick with emotion as he gently sat her back upon her own two feet, “but it’s not forever.” He stated solemnly, the same sentence she’d been repeating since that terrible letter had arrived.

   It won’t be forever, but it feels like it will be. She thought as she stared up at her brother; he smiled down at her sadly before ruffling her wild black mane. 

   The young girl gave an exaggerated groan in protest as she began assaulting the hand mussing up her delicate curls, before retreating away from another possible attack to her crown.

    “I’ll miss you.” She stated simply as the two settled back into the deflated mood they'd previously distracted each other from; he was silent as he observed the girl, watching as she lifted her head to stare back at him, her soft eyes melted into steel walls as she braced herself for their goodbyes. It won’t be forever.

   The sound of her brother's name broke the two from their silent staring match and brought them back to their reality; D'Angelo gave a sheepish grin before grabbing Cattelaya back into his embrace quickly and turning to disappear into the crowd towards the voices of their aunts and uncles.

   Slowly the young girl made her way through the prongs of relatives and ‘plus ones’ that had gathered for their departure, it felt as though every step she took was brought to a halt as a new face appeared in front of her; some saying their goodbyes whilst others tried to prod for information about the siblings, as if they’d known any of them for years, when in reality; Cattelaya had little to no recollection of ever seeing a good portion of these people.

   The breaking of one of the biggest covens was not an event many would miss, especially with the circumstances of their split; it was a rare occasion for a child to have developed an ability, and even more so for them to also be able to summon it at will, so when word spread that the Divasio coven had been set to split due to the recent surge of “unknowns” surrounding the area, it was as if the already esteemed family had yet another spotlight shown upon them. 

   Cattelaya's annoyance was palpable as she finally broke through the never-ending waves of “well wishes'', questions and prayers of good fortune, she’d almost sat herself in one of the six black vehicles that lined the clearing when she felt a trickle of static on her left side.

   Changing her mind about her retreat, she turned and began following it; hoping the feeling would lead her to the one other person she had meant to see before this whole ordeal was over.

   Her little arms shoved at the bodies blocking her path, causing some to grumble their annoyance before continuing to pester her relatives for any gossip they could leech from the poor soul.

   Soon her entire body became ablaze as she began seeing more and more of her siblings around her, as if sensing her as well, they each began breaking away from whatever they had been doing or saying to drag her into their watery embrace, except for her older sister Sorcha who’d managed a small wave before she flung herself at their father.

    As if noticing the siblings, the crowd began to cluster around them; either to witness the endearing moment or to catch pieces of the conversation.

    The feeling of being closed in struck the young girl as she once again began pushing her way through the group, her discomfort grew as she was scooped into the arms of distant relatives, gushing over her growth and all the time they’d miss with her, her throat tightened as she tried to escape the masses.

    No, no, no, no. Her thoughts cried as she fought against the arms of a rather old lady, whose strongly scented cologne stung her eyes and clogged her sinuses.

  NO! 

   The woman stumbled back as if the wind itself had separated the pair, a hush fell through the crowd as lower coven members rushed forward to aid the lady whose mouth was left agape as the girl disappeared into the throng of surrounding bodies. 

   Her heart pounded in her chest as she thought about what had just happened, what she had done. The swirl of static began again, this time lower, starting at the tips of her toes and slowly climbing up her ankles, then her legs. 

   Her eyes closed, the static having reached her midsection, she inhaled, counting her breath as she continued wandering, her feet moving on their own accord this time. 

   One, two, three. With every odd number she would inhale and exhale with the even before she finally stopped, her breathing was even and her mind sane once more.

    Looking around the clearing she saw the mess of a crowd she’d just fled not twenty feet back and to the right. 

    Her gaze grazed the area she stood before, it froze on the one person she’d been simultaneously yearning to see yet dreading to face throughout the gathering. Her twin brother.

   There they stood face to face, well more like face to back, seeing as he was currently invested in what seemed to be a deep conversation with their eldest cousin, Claudine.

   She was just a few years older than her eldest sister yet had never hesitated to include the two in whatever shenanigans she had found herself wrapped into. 

   That and the fact that the older girl had yet to use her age as a way to demean the youngest of the family, was what made the girl confident in her choice of making Claudine her favorite cousin.

    At her approach, Claudine’s eyes snapped away from the young boy to his twin. She gave a nod in greeting before quickly ending her sentence and pulling the boy into a brief hug, as the two split away, the girl could’ve sworn she saw the slight movements of her cousin's mouth as she whispered something to him quickly before dismissing herself. 

    The young boy watched as his cousin disappeared, being swallowed by family members who had yet to acknowledge her presence, before he turned his attention to his sister. 

    He gave the girl a once over before pulling her into a bone crushing embrace.

   “You'll call. Say it.” He demanded after a few moments, she nodded; not able to push the words out that had gotten caught in her throat. 

    “I’m serious Cat; every day, three times a day,” he rushed out. “When you wake up in the morning, you will call, before you sit down for lunch; you will call me, and before you fall asleep.” 

   “I'll call you, and Less, and DJ and everyone, I promise.” She agreed. 

   “The others will do the same, we won’t be alone,” he heaved a sigh as he tightened his hold on her. “I’mma miss you, Cat.” His somber tone reached her ears causing her to pull away; not completely, just enough to peer into his eyes. 

   He was worried. They’d never spent more than a couple of days apart and even then they’d been in contact the entire time, what if something happened to my phone?

    The thought was quickly dismissed as she looked into his protective eyes, if anything were to happen, she’d know, they all would. The mentors were to report any changes and complications. 

   “Don’t worry, bubba. Nothing bad will happen.” She said, giving him the brightest smile she could muster before stepping away from him.

    His eyes followed her, focused on her face; she smiled harder, to the point where her cheeks felt as though they would explode from the pressure being sent to them. 

    “Stop that.” He demanded, pulling her back into his arms, “you don’t have to be strong right now, Cat, this is scary.” He said, his voice cracking midway through.

    It felt as though she had been thrown in a pool of freezing water as his words bounced around her mind, as if they were the magic switch to her emotions. 

    She felt her eyes burn and throat begin closing with unreleased cries, raising her eyes to the cloudy sky. She almost let out a laugh as she noted the way the grisly cobalt sky reflected the somber tone of the day's events.

    In that moment the girl let her walls down; letting herself be partially engulfed in the grief and resentment that she’d refused to acknowledge in the past few months leading up to this day, Les wasn’t here to feed off of the negative energy radiating from her nor would anyone judge her for finally breaking, and if they did, it didn’t matter. 

    Their judgment could never touch her so long as she had him; he was her anchor and now, she was being left to drift into a sea of the unknown. She was on her own, they all were.

   “The mentors are here.” A voice called out, causing the two to freeze, their great aunt Roslind stepped forward, taking in the coven before her. “It is time.”

    A hush fell throughout the clearing as all eyes were once more on the siblings. A sob escaped her, causing it to ripple through her brother who only hugged her tighter, his eyes closed as he tried his hardest not to think about the time that would pass before they were united again. 

    Instead he began tracing the faces of his siblings behind his closed lids, occasionally he would allow his eyes to open and wander to each of them, searching for any details he might’ve forgotten or left out of the mental images he created.

It’s not fair. 

    His eyes fluttered closed as the weight of their stares began crawling its way up his body, suffocating him with their gratuitous pity and grievances. 

    Heaving one last shuddering breath, his eyes opened, his gaze meeting his sister's soft ones for a moment before they hardened once more, hiding the thoughts that ravaged his twin’s minds behind a wall of impenetrable steel. 

    She’s not afraid and neither are you. He thought as he turned his back to his sister, his hand reached back to grasp hers as he led them through the path the mass had created for the children.

    The dark vehicles lined the edge of the field, the glint on the cars prevalent even with the overcast above. 

    In front of each SUV stood the mentors; their stoic faces contradicted the bright clothes that adorned their bodies, each with their choice of accessories that fit the role bestowed upon them as guardians, their eyes stayed on each of the children as they made their way towards their designated vehicle. 

    None of the children met their eyes as they lined up in front of them, though the mentors recognized their discomfort easily, these were mere children after all, caught in the middle of a raging war they had no business in, being ripped away from everything they’d known for their protection. 

   Silence echoed around the mass. The only sounds being the collective breathing and the occasional whimper from Alessia as she clung to their father desperately. 

    D'Angelo stepped forward, his eyes slid over the crowd easily, had the situation been different they'd be here in celebration; instead a throb of anguish resonated through the heart of the coven as they beheld each of the children's faces.

   The pain was amplified as his first born son stepped forward to meet him in a heavy embrace, his eyes burning against the inside of his lids as DJ pulled away, taking a small step back as he glanced between his father and siblings. His forced smile was met with wet eyes and grimaces before he took his seat at the back of his designated vehicle. 

   His mentor, a shorter woman with honey colored skin, gave their father one last fleeting look before rushing around and into the driver's seat. 

   The soft purr of the engine starting up stirred the ensemble as they began pulling away from the clearing.

    Next was his eldest daughter, Sorcha, then Trevel. 

    One after the other, his children stepped forward for their last brief goodbye before being packed away and sent off with the last being the youngest twins, whose abilities had hardly started developing. They would be safe together, if not for a few more years.

    The clearing was silent as each member stood, grieving the loss of yet another part of their coven; their family.

  "We should leave," D'Angelo's second cousin, Vivian, called out. Her eyes danced around their location fervently. "We've been here long enough for them to be drawn in by the energy." The crowd rustled as the truth of her statement rang through the space.

    As if being reinflated, D'Angelo straightened, his shoulders squared as he stood at attention; the sigh that emulated from him being the only signs of this day having taken its toll.

   "Thank you all for being here for this day." His eyes once more scanned the area; meeting the devastating glances of the other members before he gave a single nod.

    The wind blew, causing the wild flowers to sway in the now empty field.