“You play the guitar AND the piano?!” Lisa’s eyes are wide in awe and admiration.

Rosie nods, strums the old brown guitar she’s holding against herself lazily. She was sitting indian-style on the floor of her small living room. She and Lisa had been talking for more than an hour now.

The healer was humming a random tune as Cotton took their trays, placed them in the basket and brought it back to the house. Lisa immediately recognized the song - Paper Hearts by Tori Kelly - and sang along.

Rosie was pleasantly surprised, but happily welcomed the duet.

And that was how they got to this; to sketchbook and pencil momentarily forgotten, to hopping from one topic to another in between humming random songs, to transferring to the living room and setting up the couch as Lisa’s bed, to Rosie pulling out her old guitar from her case.

And Lisa wasn’t feeling as sleepy, as tired, and as sore, too.

But that’s thanks to a little soothing spell Rosie kept slipping into her singing and playing, here and there.

Rosie slips from an F chord to a G, fingertips gliding smoothly with practiced ease along the fretboard and pressing firmly into strings.

“Mhmm. I was curious as a kid and Lola always encouraged me.” The healer smiles in fondness and love at the memory of the kind woman. “She encouraged me to sing, to draw, and to keep learning new things.”

Lisa tries to imagine it in her head, sees a little girl in her mind’s eye holding a guitar that’s still a little too big against her lanky frame, pressing young and uncalloused fingertips against metal strings.

The half-demon smiles at the thought.

“You sound like a cute kid.” Lisa wrinkles her nose.

Rosie watches Lisa’s facial expression, finding the other woman’s face quite animated and cute.

“No wonder Lola loved you and encouraged you.” Lisa finishes.

Rosie smiles wistfully. Thoughts of the old lady always bring her comfort, always bring her warmth. Even in death Lola never brought her pain.

Only love.

“Yeah,” Rosie agrees.

Maybe that was Lola’s true magic. Maybe as Lola healed her patients in the hut, she also healed a little orphan’s heart.

Just then, Cotton flies into the room with happy news.

“Miss Rosie, Miss Lisa! They’re back!” The rosefinch chirps.

Rosie looks towards the back door expectantly with a smile.

And right on cue, the door opens and Jisoo and Jennie walk in.

The moment Lisa lays eyes on the seer, her lips break out into the biggest smile and her eyes crinkle in delight.

“Jisooni!” Lisa calls out, voice still hoarse as she’s not fully healed yet, but never happier to see the witch she grew up with than at this moment.

She’d just survived a fatal attack and thought she’d never open her eyes again, afterall.

The smile reflects on Jisoo’s face, except that the seer’s eyes shine with unshed tears.

Jisoo feels constrict and she swallows the swell of emotions that surged out of her chest when she saw Lisa. She hadn't realized how much she loved Lisa’s nickname for her until that moment.

I guess you tend to feel that way about things your best friend does after she’d just survived a brutal attack.

“Hey, idiot.” Jisoo greets as she moves towards Lisa. She lowers herself onto her knees and envelops the half-demon in a gentle hug.

Lisa winces, body still sore. Rosie reaches out to stop the seer from hugging her patient but Lisa quickly shakes her head, signaling that the hug was fine and that she was okay.

The hug made her feel good, even if her body aches in protest. It was something she definitely needed.

“I was worried your dumb wouldn’t survive.” Jisoo whispers. The seer closes her eyes tight, acting quick before any tears threaten to fall.

Lisa chuckles despite knowing that the act of it would bring her a tiny bit more pain.

“Didn’t you know?” Lisa asks, voice hoarse. “I’m invincible like Ironman.”

Jisoo leans back from her.

“Yeah, I guess you are.” The seer agrees. “If only you’d been just as smart.”

Lisa gapes at the playful insult as if truly offended. Rosie giggles. Jennie smiles, despite being still on-edge around the half-demon.

“How dare you insult someone who just survived a near-death experience?!” Lisa accuses.

Jisoo just shrugs and sits down indian-style on the floor with the healer and her best friend.

Meanwhile Jennie slips into her cat form quietly a few feet from them. She then sashays to and settles into Rosie’s lap.

Rosie’s hand automatically Jennie’s fur, as is her habit when Jennie cuddles up to her and rubs against her.

Lisa’s eyes widen the moment she spots a black cat. She inhales a breath in excitement, buzzing, and lips forming an ‘o’. Her arms are stuck to her sides but her hands flap in a spaz. She instinctively leans forward, inching closer and closer to the healer and shapeshifter.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my, is that a kitty?” Lisa whispers.

Jennieis half-way to closing her eyes when she hears it. Her eyes turn to slits and extend her claws. She hisses and bares her fangs.

“Don’t you dare, half-demon.” Jennie warns, voice slightly distorted and smaller from being in her cat-form.

Lisa leans back from the warming, but her eyes grow ridiculously huge and they twinkle brighter. She holds a hand over her heart.

Jisoo snorts at the scene - Lisa being a pathetic cat-lady and Jennie who likes being in her cat-form rejecting her.

And then the seer clears and decides to get serious.

People were after them, afterall.

“So, we have to talk about something important.”

Two sets of witch ears, a set of furry black ears, and a pink bird turn to listen to her. Jisoo looks at Rosie and Lisa.

“You two already know why Jennie and I went to the Ministry Library.”

Jisoo sees Rosie nod but sees Lisa eyeing Jennie. The seer sighs and decides to call her friend’s attention.

“Lisa.”

Lisa perks up.

“Huh?”

Jisoo rubs her right temple with a thumb.

“Did you just listen to what I said?”

“Oh.” Lisa shook her head sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Listen.” Jisoo glares.

“Okay.”

“So,” Jisoo continues but she catches Lisa eyeing Jennie again.

Jennie was her paw and using it to clean her face.

Lisa goes ‘aww’ internally.

Rosie is waiting for the seer to go on.

Jisoo thinks of strangling her friend. Since those shadows didn’t kill Lisa, maybe she could.

“Lisa.” The seer calls her friend’s attention again.

Lisa looks up guiltily.

Jisoo narrows her eyes and huffs in annoyance. 

“Sorry.” Lisa mutters. “It’s just…” the half-demon tries to explain. “Kitty.”

Jennie voices her irritation in a loud meow.

Lisa gasps, then pouts, making heart-eyes and only finding Jennie more adorable.

Jisoo groans.

“Will you be able to pay attention to this important matter like an adult and not an idiot, or not?” There is exasperation in Jisoo’s voice as she asks.

Lisa looks at her, still pouting.

“I will.” The half-demon makes the gesture of crossing a finger over her heart and holding her palm up as if to swear an oath. “But only if the kitty lets me pet her.”

Jennie growls.

“Call me kitty again and I will claw your face off, demon.”

Jisoo face-palms.

Lisa coos.

“Kitty angy? Kitty cuuute.”

Jennie meows long and loud in anger, eyes glinting, claws extending, and fangs growing longer.

Rosie puts a hand on her back to calm her friend down, to pat the patch of fur standing in disgruntled protest.

“Jennie.” Jisoo starts, voice low and palm still covering her face. “Can you just let her?”

“What?!” Jennie turns to Jisoo, confusion and irritation in her distorted cat voice. “Are you serious right now?”

Jisoo just nods without removing the palm covering her face.

“Yes and I’m sorry but Lisa’s going to be annoying for the whole time that we’ll have to be stuck together unless you let her get what she wants right now.”

Jennie growls, the sound bigger.

Jisoo takes off her palm, looking pleadingly at her.

“Please?”

Jennie looks at Jisoo and Lisa then Rosie.

Rosie just shrugs.

Then Jennie sighs in defeat.

“Fine.” The shapeshifter says.

Lisa claps her hands and barely holds in her squee. Jennie glares at her.

“Just once,” strongly reminds the shapeshifter.

Lisa nods eagerly.

“Yes, just this once.” the half-demon promises.

Jennie reluctantly pads a few steps closer to Lisa. The half-demon reaches out with a little hesitation. The shapeshifter blows air out of her nose, tail swishing in annoyance.

Lisa’s fingers inch closer and closer.

Jisoo and Rosie watch eagerly as their two best friends interact, muscles tense and ready to hold a shapeshifting panther back, in case Lisa suddenly does something dumb.

And then Lisa turns her wrist slightly so her knuckles gently brush the black fur on Jennie’s forehead. Then the pads of her fingers reach the back of the cat’s ears and scratch lightly.

Jennie closes her eyes and purrs.

Jisoo, Rosie, and Cotton gasp collectively.

Jennie’s eyes snap open as she realizes what just happened.

Lisa’s eyes crinkle as she smiles, still scratching the back of Jennie’s ear.

Jennie purrs again, lets herself be petted.

It’s been an exhausting few days after all, and this felt so soothing - so relaxing.

Jisoo, Rosie, and Cotton all watch in amazement.

The rosefinch flies to Rosie’s shoulder and whispers.

“Miss Rosie, did Miss Jennie just...purr?”

Rosie still hasn’t taken her eyes off the scene.

“I think she did.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

Jennie cracks one eye open and addresses Lisa.

“This does not mean we’re friends.” She threatens, although the threat is without the impact she intended for it to have.

“Of course.” Lisa agrees.

Jisoo moves her eyes from the odd pair to the healer to the rosefinch and smiles.

This was an odd group under very odd circumstances.

But she guesses things are working out like they should - like they’d been destined to meet and be here in this living room.

For a moment the seer forgets all that they were about to face.