Visitor

Since
August 23, 1999

The Hatchling—1995

<<< Previous Episode | Next Episode >>>

III—The May Horn

Arnica walked carefully past the potting bench. Small bits of orange clay pots could be seen upon the ground beneath, remnants of the earthquake which happened the morning of Eostara Eve, more than a month ago. The grass was fresh-mown and the herbe beds freshly weeded, the dark soil worked deeply. The gardens looked ready for Beltane. Clumps of iris sported proud blooms, raising themselves proudly up to the Goddess Isis. Beneath the lilac a bleeding heart arched tender stalks, each strung with a row pendant pink flowers dancing with early morning dew. Beltane Eve would be celebrated this very night in a ritual circle of grass surrounded by small, standing stones. A patchwork of beds spread out from a sacred site, beds of herbes and perennials. And right there, cutting across the beds, through the soft soil, was a trail of cloven prints leading right to the garden Circle.

"At least she didn't step on any plants," Arnica grumbled affectionately, for there stood 'the munchkin' nibbling on the grass in the Circle.

This still-awkward unifilly which had been hatched in their stone Circle had come to be called 'the munchkin' because she just loved to munch the grass in the large garden Circle. She looked so pretty, munching away. Whenever Arnica and Holly wondered where she was and went looking for her, this lovely, young Unicorn was usually found grazing inside the circle or just sitting there, looking young and lovely. She obviously knew that it was sacred space.

Shortly after her birth, one of the first mornings the unicolt had wandered off, only to be found in the Circle. It was remarkable. Even though Holly fed her bottles of warmed goat milk, she had begun to munch sacred grass within a week or two of her birth. There was a precocious quality about her which could only be a gift of the gods; that, and having a father like Andrius! The first time she was found with tiny wisps of new grass tucked in her mouth, "you must have at least a trace of munchkin blood," Holly teased her, scratching her soft ears, and she had been called variations of munchkin since. Arnica's intuition told him that she had been named even before birth and that her name would be revealed to them 'when the time was right.' In the meantime, they had to call her something, and she responded to her nickname. Holly could stand by the open kitchen door and call out, "hey, munchie," and she'd come trotting up within a minute or two.

Arnica walked over toward the beds with the tell-tale signs of unicolt trespassing. As he suspected, not a plant had been touched. He got down on his knees, trowel in hand, and began working the soil around the dicentra. "Aha," he said, spotting a tiny pair of bright green ears coming up through the soil. Moving over to that spot, he began digging deeply, going after a piece of dandelion root which had sent up new growth in search of sunlight. More than three years since they'd put in this bed and buried pieces of weed roots which escaped at the time were still appearing now and then. "Look at that, over a foot deep," Arnica said to no one, his voice filled with wry admiration for the stray dandelion root's tenacity. The munchkin whinnied in response, to Arnica's amazement.

Munchie trotted over to the edge of the garden Circle, staying carefully on the grass and began making sounds at Arnica. She cocked her head to one side, as if exasperated with this old human who was unable to understand her. Arnica looked at her and began laughing, then decided that he ought listen to her more carefully. He sat back on the soil, tucking his legs beneath his body, carefully (he had 'old bones' in his back) and began to slow his breathing and relax. He looked at the munchkin and extended his thoughts and emotions to her. As if she understood (and she may well have), she sat down and looked right into his eyes, then jumped up and began trotting out of the Circle. Arnica rose, and now knew that Holly wanted him to come to the house. He gathered his tools and began heading up the path.

Putting the garden tools away in the shed next to the potting bench, he sat on the back steps and removed his garden shoes. The munchkin dashed about, smelling a flower here, chasing a butterfly there. "If only I had her energy," Arnica thought, but realized that his youth had not been wasted and his age was a great treasure, one he wouldn't trade for anything, not even restored youth!

He stood, turned around and reached for the kitchen door when it suddenly opened and Holly jumped with a loud, startled sound. "I don't know how you do that!"

"It wasn't me this time, it was our muncher," Arnica said. His intuitive sense of timing was the source of teasing between them.

"Well, it's time for lunch," Holly said. "I thought we should eat early so we can complete our preparations for tonight's ritual."

The munchkin leaned forward and nuzzled Arnica in the back of the neck and this time it was Arnica who jumped, much to Holly's glee. Lunch started off with lots of teasing and giggling to stir their appetites.

The sun was soon to set. The woods were filled with twilight but in the gardens there was plenty of light. The Maypole was set in the center of the garden Circle, long ribbons hanging down to the grass. Set toward each of the four directions were symbols of the four elements and candles. Toward the north side of the Circle was the altar. The delight of magick was in the air as Arnica and Holly scurried about like elves. Gathering the needed herbes from the closet, the cauldron from the temple, chalices and ritual blades and all sorts of ritual tools, Holly carefully set them into an old woven picnic hamper he liked to call his 'Wicca basket' and placed it just outside the door for their next trip out to the Circle.

"What robe should I wear?" Holly asked Arnica.

"You know I like it best when you don't wear any robe at all," Arnica teased as he tried to make his face look like a leer.

"If you weren't so full of the Horned One, you'd be a dirty old man," Holly joked. "I think we've got enough for this trip. Let's carry things out to the Circle."

Arnica picked up his staff and opened the door. "But where are they, Holly?"

"Right there, can't you see them?"

"No, I can't. They're not sitting on the porch like you said."

Holly came to the door and, to his surprise, the basket was missing!

"I wonder…"

They walked out the door and looked down, toward the Circle. There was the munchkin, just as proud as she could be, carrying the basket, its handle in her mouth, as she walked toward the Circle with a cocky strut to her gentle gait.

"Well, I'll be an old salamander," Arnica said. "Something tells me this will be quite the night. Let's head out to the Circle."

Just at twilight their closest friends began to arrive. Phoenix and Pearl, a Pictish couple who lived on the other side of the village, came dressed in matching gold-toned robes embroidered with bright patches of flowers. "Quite stunning, the Mother will be honored" said Holly with admiration. This couple was known for their skill with needle and thread!

A few minutes later Amethyst and Crystal came chattering their way around the corner of the house, busily talking about the latest foolishness the Politicos were trying to foist upon the Tribes. There was a movement in the great House. The Users wanted to outlaw all religions but those which accepted their god and considered the massive Book of Doom to be the only book of religious myths to follow. The Earthkin were doing their best but many were beginning to worry and a few talked about retreating, moving away to the mountains to live in hiding. The village commons in Lothloriën were filled with much talk these days.

Amethyst shook her long, dark hair. It had ribbons and beads strung throughout it and looked like a work of art. Crystal's fair hair was cut very short. She had just completed a long, personal vision quest which included offering her hair to the Goddess. As he saw them, Arnica thought to himself, 'what a fun couple they are.'

"Jewel and Lotus called and said they can't make it. They tried calling you but you must have been out in the gardens. Jewel thinks she may be having a Beltane baby although she's not really due until the Full Moon next week."

"How will we dance?" asked Pearl, even though she knew that they could do the round with six. Eight was their usual number.

"Patience, bright one," said Arnica. If his intuition was flowing well, he knew the answer would soon be arriving. "Let's just move into our places as we normally do." He took Holly's hand and they kissed, lightly, then entered the Circle and moved to stand before the North altar. Amethyst and Crystal headed toward the East, for they worked together to invoke Air and the couple clad in gold started crossing the Circle toward the South. The munchkin whinnied in her curious way, and pranced into the Circle and went to the West where she stood poised. No one could say anything.

Holly held forth the large gong they had found years before at the bazaar and Arnica, striking it with the felt hammer chanted, "Let the Rite begin…"

From the time Crystal spoke the first word until the moment the element of Water was to be invoked, all had moved into their ritual mindset, focused only upon their individual work, upon the verses and the images and the element each was working. As they turned to the West, they saw munchie kneel, bowed before the basin of water, and then, wouldn't you just know it, a familiar large, blue unicorn came leaping over the munchkin's head, turned smartly and took his place alongside his unifilly. "Andrius," chuckled Holly, "why didn't you tell us?"

"He did," whispered Arnica…

The weaving of the Maypole was never so festive. Unicorns could dance with greater agility than humans, but they certainly took up more space! The pole was not woven as tightly as usual, but there was more laughter ribboned into place than ever before.

When it was time to close the Circle, Andrius and the munchkin began to frolic about. Andrius snuck up behind Pearl and, with his long, silver horn, snatched Pearls' braided crown of flowers and tossed it across the circle where it landed, perfectly, around the munchkin's horn. The Circle dissolved quickly into complete silliness. Andrius had crowned his daughter as the 'mayhorn!'

IV—A Midsummer Night's Dream

Holly had noticed a definite change every since the unicolt had been crowned by Andrius. Although she was less than three Sabbats old with many years' growth before she reached maturity (for a Unicorn), there was a maturity about her. When working about the gardens, Holly would look up and there she'd be standing, her head tilted just a bit as she watched him closely. Their eyes would meet and Holly's mind could still see the crown of flowers circling the unifilly's delicate horn.

She was quite precocious, although neither Arnica nor Holly had even a clue about the nature of Unicorns. Andrius had come into their life many years before, but he was already full-grown, his personality developed (even if not quite matured around the edges). Perhaps the munchkin was no different than other Unicorn young? Well, there was no way of knowing but she certainly made day-to-day life more interesting.

"I certainly wish she could develop a taste for dandelion and cat's paw flowers," Arnica mused as he sat back on his heels, a bemused smile on his face. "Not that I begrudge her the borage blooms…"

"Mother knows there are plenty of them," Holly responded, laughing.

Arnica and Holly shared a running 'garden joke' about this year's borage. As the Wheel of the Year turned past Eostara, no borage had been found sprouting in any of the garden beds. Arnica and Holly had relocated many of the beds and reworked others yet not found even one seedling borage.

Borage was an essential herbe in Arnica's pharmacopoeia and the thought of there being none at the Harvest Days was unsettling. Many of the Earthkin families came to Arnica for herbal remedies and borage was much used during the winter. Borage was useful when the children ran mild fevers during the virus season. Holly enjoyed using the pink and blue blossoms in salads. Every year borage brought fun, for there was a sense of joy watching the seedlings appear here and there in the gardens, as if having chosen their growing sites the year before.

Holly called up Jewel to see how their borage was growing. "Oh, it's up about four inches and it's just wonderful," said Jewel. She was happy about everything in life since her baby was born at the Scorpio Full Moon, just a week after Beltane. "Why don't you come and get some and then you can see Dagon. He's just the cutest baby I've ever seen but I know that's because he's my first!"

And so Arnica and Holly went in to the village to buy a small, silver bell for the baby Dagon. Going to town was increasingly unsettling. The cute, little shop once known as Amber's Crystal Emporium was changed. Since their last trip to town, Amber, daughter of the Loon Tribe, had closed up her shop and moved to the River Mountains to be near her peoples of the Descendant Tribes. One time too often a wife of one of the Politicos had come into the Crystal Emporium, making rude comments about the lovely gems and crystals being tools of the darkness, according to the Book of Doom. Now Amber was gone, her little store having become yet another real estate office selling off many of the properties once owned by the Earthkin who had since left under growing ecological and economic pressure from the Politicos.

The bell delivered, the baby adored, a large pot of borage now sat in the greenhouse awaiting planting and here it was, Midsummer Eve. It was unlike Arnica and Holly to let plant babies sit so long but borage had begun to appear everywhere in the gardens, dozens and dozens of plants! There must have been a lot of borage seed in the compost turned in this spring, and just as Arnica was beginning to think they'd need to start weeding out the excess, they found the hatchling was supplementing her diet of her favourite grass from the garden Circle with mouthsful of borage blossoms! And there were so many seedlings coming up that no matter how much she munched, they were assured of a plentiful harvest.

The hatchling began dancing about the paths and grass, pink and blue borage blossoms peeking out from her mouth. Arnica gave up. Setting down his garden trowel, he gave himself over to laughter. There was not enough laughter these days and it would be wonderful Magick to bring to tonight's ritual!

Holly took advantage of the situation. With Arnica doubled up, laying on the grass laughing, he pounced on his older lover like a cat and the two of them tumbled together, amid tickling and laughing until the munchkin tried to jump in as well.

"It's time," Arnica said, "we're ready, now, to begin preparing for Midsummer's Eve," and off he and Holly went to their cabin to take their ritual baths. Little did they know that the hatchling knew she must prepare as well.

Midsummer's Eve. This was one of Holly's favorite Sabbats which led him to make elaborate preparations! Although twilight lasted very late into the night, Holly had lined the path into the woods with little candles, set safely in jelly jars, to guide them all the way to the stone circle. The Circle, itself, was set. A silk scarf lay upon the altar stone, the chalices and candles waiting. Arnica had made as many trips as Holly, and as Holly brought candles and jars, Arnica brought vases filled with flowers to set on just about every stone of the circle capable of holding a vase upright. It was beautiful and easily moved their emotions and minds into a completely different world.

They knelt before the altar and readied their thoughts. So focused were they that they didn't hear the hatchling come quietly down the path and lay down to watch, just around the turn. It seemed she blended right into the foliage. They kissed, sweetly, then Arnica stood and, drawing his ritual blade from the scabbard hanging from his belt, walked around the altar to the East. Carrying it around the Circle he called upon the Guardians of the Fir Trees to keep this sacred space protected, always, even as the Changing Times moved about them. As he passed the north stones and came to the northeast portal, his intuition took over and, contrary to his conscious desire, his blade created an opening. Arnica was so focused that he didn't realize what had happened as he returned to join Holly at the altar.

As their Midsummer's Eve ritual progressed, the woods seem to darken with the deepening twilight, each little candleflame growing in brightness. This was surely a night of Magick! As it came time to give honour to the Mother of All, dozens and dozens of tiny fireflies began to flit about the trees and as Arnica invoked the Horned One, an owl sang into the night, causing tiny shivers to dance along his spine.

Holly met Arnica at the center of the Circle and they lit the Midsummer fire and began dancing around the cauldron, their voices chanting into the night. This was the night when dreams were called forth, when the Earthkin would commune with the realm of the faerie. Dancing to part the veils, Arnica and Holly lost track of conscious thought. The flowers around the circle blurred into a mist of nature and the fireflies danced with the stars until all around them was a spiralling Magick. Just as the two were about to move into ecstatic reverie, the munchkin lept right through the northeast portal and in another bound, right through the cauldron's fire! A portal opened in the great tree which stood just outside the circle, showing a descending spiral of stairs and down she went, into the underworld just as Holly and Arnica lowered themselves to the ground, the vision of the hatchling blending itself with the Magick of the Midsummer dreams as they moved into the realm of the faerie as well.

When the morning sun stirred the trees overhead, Arnica was wakened by a cramp in his elbow. "Sweet thing?" he asked.

"I'm here," Holly answered, waking.

It was dawn, the candles having finished their brief life during the night. At once both remembered the hatchling's disappearance and sat up at once. But there she was, lying near their feet, sleeping in the Circle just as sweetly as Dagon slept in Jewel's arms. But there was something different about the Hatchling, nothing Holly could put his finger on, but it was obvious she had spent the night touched by a very strong Magick!

<<< Previous Episode | Next Episode >>>

return to top of page…