Irene was falling.

The trees stretched up far overhead as she succumbed to gravity, the descent impossibly slow. Each inch down took a lifetime and if she focused hard enough, she could hear noises in the endless forest around her.

Flashes of light to her right, flickering flames to her left, and overhead: A beautiful, white full moon, but as she gazed up at it, any comfort the witch normally felt from watching the night sky faded as the moon began to crack. Howls from wolves, natural and werewolf, rose up into the sky, and with each trembling increase of volume, more of the moon fell away-

Irene gasped and sat up sharply, panting hard and putting the heels of her hands against her forehead. Her eyes wide, she glanced down at the sleeping form of Lee, who kicked a bit in her sleep as usual but otherwise slept soundly. She ran a hand over the werewolf's furry side, feeling the coarseness of her fur between her fingers. "... what the hell was that," she muttered, getting to her feet and grabbing the blanket from off the couch to wrap around herself as she walked to the kitchen. The heating must have turned off in the night; spring stayed so cool here in Vermont that she wasn't sure the heat ever really stayed off. She turned the thermostat, chuckling a little to herself at a memory of her mother chiding her for turning the heat up so high - Just grab another blanket or coat! - before returning to the living room. Lee had woken up but hadn't moved, just watched the witch pick her way across the floor in her sleepy daze. She lifted her head as Irene sat down. "I'm fine, Lee. Just... Were you dreaming?" she asked her, stroking her nose.

The werewolf let out a yawn and nuzzled into her, closing her eyes again with a grumble. "I'm taking that as a no." The big, fluffy tail behind her thumped once. "... Okay, two thumps for yes, one for no. Did you dream?" One thump. "... Are you sure?" Lee clearly thought about it for a moment before thumping her tail twice, before lifting her head up and licking Irene's face firmly. Irene laughed, gagging at the saliva on her face. "Oh, ew! Bad girl!" Lee just grinned a wide, canine grin at her, clearly amused by her own antics before curling up against her again. Irene watched her drift off to sleep with a smile. But her smile faded eventually and she looked out at the early morning sky through the windows of the secluded cabin.

Lee only had one more day stuck in her four-legged shape. Thank goodness - communicating was difficult when she was like this and Irene found herself missing Lee's laugh and voice as the days inched along. Once the sun had risen, Irene stepped outside to check the wards on the property. The patchy grass helped hide the cracks and lines that formed most of the shielding.

Her rounds done, Irene stepped up onto the porch and scratched one of Lee's ears as the werewolf sat on the deck. "I know, I know. I was making noises in my sleep again." She glanced over her shoulder, feeling impossible eyes staring at them from the tree line. "Do you smell anything?" she asked Lee. The werewolf lifted her head, sniffing at the air with great, deep inhales before giving Irene a cross look. "... right, you can't." Irene winced and ruffled her fur, heading into the house.

Stop.

Irene froze in place, hearing the voice but not seeing anyone in the house. She turned around, looking at Lee - but the porch was empty. The world silenced around her and icy tendrils clawed up her spine as her eyes widened.

Sweet Irene, lovely Irene, precious little Irene Lucas in her safe house.

Irene spun around, staring at the figure in the middle of the cabin's den. Looking at their face hurt her eyes, felt as though she were trying to view a VHS tape that had been damaged and all she saw were video glitch patterns in place of their head.

Amazing how easy it is to break into your mind, for all the power you claim to have.

The witch gritted her teeth and stepped forward, reaching a hand up to call her staff to her hand - nothing.

Did you not hear me, Irene? I own you now. The giggle in the voice made her sick to her stomach and she screamed in fury - well, tried. Her mouth opened but not a sound came out.

The invader blinked out of sight before reappearing in front of her - this close, the strange obscuring of their face wasn't as difficult to process. A hand touched her cheek, though the figure didn't move. First things first... give me back my little plaything, yes?

"N-n-!" Irene yanked herself free enough to step back, away from the figure and their blinking face.

Irene, Irene, Irene! This isn't how you treat your new boss. You certainly never act this way with your mother.

Hot, white pain shot up her arm and she yelped in pain, startling the witch and the unwelcome guest, and she looked down, seeing blood run down her arm from a long gouge down her bicep.

No! Don't you-

"Get out of my head!" Irene shrieked, finally pulling her staff to her hand from its resting place across the room.

As the side of the ruby studded staff made contact with the figure's head, she woke up.

Lee grabbed Irene where she was laying on the ground, the sharp rock she'd used to scratch Irene laying abandoned to the side as she shook the witch back to consciousness. "Irene! Irene, oh my god, what happened?" She cupped Irene's face in her hands, resting their foreheads together as Irene blinked awake.

"Lee-" Her throat hurt, why did her throat hurt? "where-?"

"We're in the woods near the cabin. You disappeared this morning, I couldn't find you until now, I thought-" Lee hugged Irene tight, burying her face in her neck. "Holy shit, I'm just glad you're still here with me," she whispered.

"How did you find me?" Irene asked, her voice rasping with each word.

"I heard you screaming. You were tied up on that rock." Lee pointed and Irene turned her head, seeing the flat of stone. It had been a boulder before, she thought dizzily, sitting up and leaning against Lee. Had someone blasted it into pieces to smooth it down...? "Let me get you home, please, this is bad." Lee scooped Irene into her arms, running back to the cabin as though Irene were lighter than feathers. The log building faded into view as they passed through the wards and Lee sat Irene down on the couch inside the house. "Just, sit here, I need to patch you up, I realized you were- there was magic and I realized if you can cast magic in your head you just need something to- I'm so sorry I scratched you, I didn't know what to..." Lee trailed off as Irene stroked her cheek, an exhausted smile on her face. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you saved my life, Lee. And your own. Something got me and... I'm going to have to re-work the shields on the property after this." She clamped a hand across the bleeding gash in her arm as Lee got up to look for the first aid kit. The butterfly bandages were enough to close it after they disinfected it, and once her arm was wrapped up, Lee sat next to her and hugged her close, refusing to let go.

"What were you doing this morning?" Lee asked nervously. "I didn't even hear you leave, I thought you'd walked down to the gas station down the road."

"No, I... I never left the house, I was asleep." Irene put a hand on her head, feeling for bruising or sore spots. She hadn't been hit or knocked out, she knew that. Which meant whoever had kidnapped her, even this briefly, had broken into her house to steal some of her hair from a brush to use for the spell... Damn it, she wasn't normally this careless. "I've got charms Mum made, they can keep me safe this time."

"I hate to say it but I'm glad you started screaming. I don't know if I ever would have found you otherwise." Lee played with Irene's curly hair gently. "I was so scared they'd gotten you."

"They almost did. If you hadn't found me, we'd both be wishing we were dead." Irene turned her head, kissing Lee's cheek warmly and resting her head against hers.

"I don't want to be dead. If I was dead, you'd be on your own to deal with this." Lee moved her head a bit and gently kissed Irene on the lips. Irene kissed her back before pulling away, giggling and covering her eyes.

"Oh gosh, I-" Irene giggled more. "I've never kissed a girl before."

"Well, I've got plenty of experience," Lee grinned, tucking a stray wisp of her own hair behind an ear. "So leave it to me."

"Will do, captain," Irene joked. They sat in silence for some time, listening to the nocturnal animals outside start their noises. "Hey, Lee, when you were... gone, did you ever see the person who had control of your head?"

"Sometimes. Tallish, skinny as a pole, but never could see their face right or hear their voice. It was like watching a movie but the signal was terrible and the images would... Pa called it screen tearing." She frowned at her. "You saw them too?"

"I think so. They knew me, knew who my mother was." Irene shivered and covered her eyes.

"They're not taking you again. I failed this time, but it won't happen again." Lee hugged her close, staring out the window at the darkening sky outside.

That was the last quiet night they had in the cabin.