She'd missed the last train, and there was only one person she was thinking of while she stood next to the platform, watching the silver blur disappear into the overgrown tunnel: Miv. Miv was going to be worried.

Stalwart wasn't exactly a safe plant to hunt, with its market prices paid in casualties, and she knew that Mivana knew that, even if she tried to downplay the dangers of being a Witch.

Streaks of dark blue clouds were beginning to set into the pink sky, but the light hadn't faded completely yet. Sighing, she began her walk to the main street.

As she crossed the intersection, a couple of golden leaves chased each other across the wind, and she couldn't help but feel the urge to keep looking, because she was so close to finding it. She could almost smell it. Maybe a few more minutes of searching wouldn't hurt.

The urge to pursue her temptations were quelled by the muffled ringtone of Don't Let It Break Your Heart, and she paused to dig the cell phone out of her bermuda shorts.

Caller ID: Mivana.

Oh, shit.

She allowed it to ring for a couple of seconds, and then she muted it, her resolve strengthening. One way or another, she was going to find the stalwart tonight. Secure the potion. Then she would win the Hecate title, and she would go home and everything would be ok.

Still, she couldn't help but play the voicemail.

Hey, Kyo. Get home soon, ok? Stay safe, all that shit... I know it's dangerous. We've got dumplings for dinner, your favorite. I'll eat them all if you're late.

Facial muscles twitching in an attempt to conceal her smile, she stowed the device into her backpack and unclipped the pendant from her neck. Huer Town next. With a flash, she disappeared.

Huer Town was exactly the opposite of its name: Dark and desolate, there was no evidence of any color whatsoever in the bleach gray brick walls and inky alleys. And she could feel magic, tugging at her navel, guiding her straight into the mouth of a lightless street.

Kyovi was not afraid of the dark. Witches never were. But as she stepped into the gloom, she could sense danger. Shuffling, rough whispers, and an unsettling shlink that hinted at a blade being readjusted.

She'd have to make this quick, then.

Her silent footsteps and gut instinct led her right to a dead end, and a couple of leering goons, holding up a glass bottle filled to the brim with the luminescent plant - Stalwart. How ironic that in all the places, the brightest shrubs resided in the darkest, stalest, city.

"Looking for this?" The rough voice spoke, sharp cut features illuminated through the glow of the plant.

"Yeah." Kyo backed away, little by little, hoping they couldn't see her in the gloom. "So if you could just give it to me, that'd be great, y'know, I'm sort of pressed for time-"

A hand shot out, roughly catching her by the forearm before she could take another step back. "Ah, but you see, little girl," the second face was right next to hers now, and she could smell the stink of cigarette ash on his clothes. "- the Witches want to capture this rarity - what do you call it? Stalwart. And we want to capture the witches. For questioning, you know, magic is hard to come by these days."

Before Kyovi could think better, her fist connected with his nose, spurting blood. The witch hunter yelped, stumbling backward, and she made a wild grab at the swinging bottle of brightness. No avail, of course- the bottle danced out of her reach, and she narrowly avoided tripping over the curb of the alley as the second hunter zeroed in, howling with rage.

Panic gripped her, and she opened her palms, firing twin columns of glowing energy at him, just as she felt a knife draw a deep gash across her forearm. As the hunter fell to the floor, unconscious, Kyovi felt a trickle of blood run down her wrist.

"Very tricky, Majaeie," The first voice called, cackling. "You'll have to try harder."

Kyovi tucked and rolled almost instinctively as she heard the familiar swish of a blade whip past her, drawing a faint line against her abdomen. She was fairly certain it would've cut her through if she was standing in the position she had been two seconds ago.

She chanced another swipe at the bottle with her good arm from the ground, anxiety dancing in her stomach at the thought of it shattering. Her hand connected with the remaining witch hunter instead, and a rough hand grabbed her by the throat with deadly accuracy, hoisting her against the wall of the alley.

Eyes watering with pain and breathlessness, she fumbled against the resisting force uselessly with one arm, her feet dangling inches from the ground.

"Not so clever now, ey?" The leering face pressed close to her. "Maybe that Academy of yours needs to train you better-"

He froze mid sentence as she drove the unconscious witch hunter's knife into his shoulder. She stumbled slightly as she found her purchase on the ground, letting the man fall backwards, and she heard an unmistakable crack of a head hitting the ground, and his form became limp.

"Always have an ace up your sleeve."

Drawing a shaky breath, she slumped against the wall, clutching the bloody knife.

Kyovi allowed herself a minute to collect herself, and then she reached into her pocket, discovering that her flashlight was gone. Summoning the rest of her energy, she let a ball of light loose, allowing it to hover over the scene.

Her flashlight had rolled out of her pocket in the struggle, and was lying a few feet away from the two unconscious men. Kyovi winced as she bent down, tugging the bottle from the pocket of the witch hunter. She delicately avoided the dark patch of blood spreading over his shoulder and chest, instead focusing on stowing the plant and her flashlight safely into her backpack.

She let the knife clatter onto the cobblestone, and reached the hand up to unlatch her pendant once again. There was a flash of blinding, momentary light, and Kyovi was gone.

The door of her apartment seemed to swim and multiply in front of her as she pressed the doorbell, too exhausted to let herself in.

It opened almost immediately.

"Kyo!" She could hear Mivana's shocked gasp, although it sounded like it was coming from a great distance. "You're bleeding."

"I noticed," She murmured, as Miv fumbled with the lock.

"You sarcastic little shit," Miv sounded fairly close to tears as she pulled Kyovi into the sitting room. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." Kyovi winced, shrugging off the backpack and rolling onto her back on the carpet. A patch of dark red was soaking through the fabric of her stomach, and it hurt like a bitch.

"Oh god, you're bleeding." Mivana muttered distractedly, kneeling beside the TV cabinet as she brought out a roll of herbal bandages and disinfectant. She leant over Kyovi. "What happened to your throat!?"

"Mmmrgh."

"Alright, lie down properly and stop straining your abdomen. Are you bleeding anywhere else?"

A shake of the head.

"Good."

Mivana set to work on the wounds, her face half shadowed by the dim lighting in their sitting room. Kyovi noticed she was in pajamas.

"Sorry for worrying you." She said after a while, watching the rhythmic motion of Mivana's hair swinging back and forth like a curtain.

"Don't be stupid." Mivana dropped a kiss on her forehead, although her voice still sounded extremely shaky. "You're fine."

"Hmm."

Mivana finished cleaning and bandaging her wounds, and slowly, the pair limped their way to the bedroom, Kyovi settling down on the bed stiffly. The healing herbs she'd taught Mivana to brew were setting in slowly, and she could feel a rush of relief. Magic would've been faster, but she was too drained anyway, and Mivana wasn't a Witch. "Thanks for patching me up."

"No problem, idiot." Mivana answered, laughing a little.

There was a comfortable silence as Mivana sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand tightly.

"I found it." Kyovi said, suddenly. "I found the stalwart. I'll brew the potion tomorrow and give it to the academy and I'll get the Hecate rank. And everything will be better for us."

She thought she could see Mivana smile in the semi-darkness. "I wouldn't care if you found it or not, but I'm glad you did."

"Me too." Kyovi said, sleepily.

Then, "Hey, Miv, do I get my dumplings?"

Mivana laughed for real this time. "I didn't eat them. You get your dumplings tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok." Kyovi smiled sleepily, and that was the last thing she said for hours.

------------

She had missed the last train home, but it wasn't because she was late. It was because someone hadn't wanted her to take that train home.

Under the sterile white lights of the empty compartment and the rhythmic trundling, a goddess sat in the train.

"Perhaps," She kept murmuring to herself. "It is time to rest."

For this was the goddess Hecate, and she was taking her last breaths as an immortal. There would be a new Hecate, after all, and millennia of existing had worn down on her. Even if the new Hecate wouldn't be an actual goddess, she would be remembered, and that was all that mattered.

And so, in the momentary silence of the night, a train trundled on, the last rays of night crept over the sky and an immortal passed on. Far away in the seventeenth floor of an apartment complex, two girls slept on, fingers tangled over the covers. 

Prompt Challenge with Serena_Nymph 

10/6/2022