=::= Selene's PoV =::=

I smiled as I handed over the small bag with her purchases, "Here you go Miriam. Have a good weekend, and happy Samhain."

"Thank you Selene!" she replied as she returned the smile. "Happy Samhain to you as well."

She turned to leave but stopped and turned back with a look of uneasy concern on her face. There was a brief moment of indecision before she asked, "No cat today? I'm so used to seeing her on the counter, sleeping on her purple cushion or sitting up and keeping an eye on the shop."

"Not today," I replied. I added with a wry smile, "She's decided to use some of her long-overdue vacation time. Pursuing other interests, expanding her horizons, you know how it is."

Miriam was one of my regulars, she laughed at my little joke before turning and continuing on her way out the door. I smiled and waved as she walked past the windows, on her way to continue her shopping on Main Street. Once she was out of sight my smile faded as I let out a soft sigh.

My little shop was busy again, for the moment. It was early Friday evening, and with All Hallows Eve coming on Sunday I rather expected to be busy all weekend long. It seemed like most of my regular clients were looking to stock up, and every last one of them had to ask about my absent companion. A few were even worried that something unfortunate had happened, they were afraid the little black cat had taken ill or gone missing.

It was a problem I really hadn't considered before, and I wasn't quite sure what to tell people. I certainly couldn't tell them the truth, that my small black cat had decided to return to high school.

Speaking of which, school finished for the day almost two hours earlier and there'd been no sign of Skye yet. She hadn't called or texted, or reached out to me with magic either. Not that I had any concerns for the teen's safety of course. To the contrary, I was more concerned with keeping the rest of the world safe from Skye.

I trusted the teen not to do anything harmful, but since returning to school with her friends the girl had finally started acting her age. And in Skye's case at least, being a teen seemed to mean getting up to mischief.

Like on Monday when she took her friends to Mars for some 'community service work', namely clearing dust off the solar panels of some rovers and a little robotic helicopter. Which wouldn't have been a problem, except Skye made a point of photobombing one of the rovers while in her feline form. That picture, along with all the footprints the three girls left behind, would be the subject of NASA cover-ups and top-secret meetings for many years to come.

Applying cute stickers on the rovers to 'pretty them up' was probably a bit too much, but when I spoke to her about it Skye explained they were careful not to put stickers over anything important. And she promised not to do it again, so I decided to let it slide.

On the other hand, I couldn't help but wonder what she was up to this afternoon. I could always have a quick look, it would take nothing more than a thought to locate Skye and see what she and her friends were doing. I resisted the temptation however. I didn't want my young charge to feel she wasn't trusted.

As it happened the question was resolved a few moments later regardless, when the door swung open and Skye walked in.

Her backpack was slung over her left shoulder and her attention was entirely focused on the phone in her hands, while her thumbs moved rapidly over the screen. Once in the store her pace slowed until she came to a stop in the middle of the shop, as if she was so engrossed in her new phone that she forgot she was walking.

I wasn't sure if she was composing a message or playing a game, but rather than disturb her I elected to remain quiet and watch for the moment. And while I watched and waited, I let my mind wander slightly.

Today marked the tenth day of grade twelve for Skye, and as of tomorrow it would be two weeks since she decided to go back to school with her friends. And I couldn't help but be impressed by the ways the teen had changed in that short time.

The first big change was her wardrobe. Her severe black dress and polished mary janes were gone, replaced with jeans and leggings, t-shirts and simple blouses, sneakers and ankle boots. Her clothes were still predominantly black, but they were much more relaxed and casual. So was her new hair style, and the make-up she'd started wearing. She also got herself a new oversized black hoodie to counter the autumn weather. She even got a phone, despite previously bragging that she could access the internet without one.

She wouldn't say it and I didn't ask, but I knew most of that was to help her fit in. A seventeen year old girl without a phone was an oddity, as out of place as her severe dress or lack of outerwear.

There'd been other changes too, which I felt were much more significant than her wardrobe and accessories. The fact was I'd seen more smiles on Skye's face in the past two weeks than I had in the previous decade. Not sarcastic smirks or wry grins, I'd actually seen fewer of those recently. But actual genuine happy smiles.

For as long as I'd known her Skye had been quiet and reserved, mostly serious but occasionally snarky. Suddenly seeing her happy and laughing and enjoying herself with her friends brought me more joy than I'd thought possible. Although I couldn't help feeling a slight twinge of sadness too, at the knowledge that the teen had missed out on those emotions and experiences for so long.

I tried not to dwell on that however, and Skye's happy giggle just then helped me leave the bittersweet thoughts behind. I smiled at her and asked, "Something funny?"

"Em just posted a funny meme," the teen grinned as she finally stuffed her phone into a side pocket of her backpack. She moved to join me behind the counter as she continued, "Me and Danni were comparing Mr. Harding to various barnyard animals, then Emily posted a GIF that summed the guy up perfectly."

"Which reminds me," she added in a suspiciously nonchalant voice, "You should check your email over the weekend, and you can probably expect a phone call from the school on Monday or Tuesday."

That didn't bode well at all. Even though I had zero experience with the school system of this municipality, province, country, or planet, it wasn't hard to imagine that the faculty sending me an email and making a phone call was probably bad news.

So I arched an eyebrow and in a pointed tone I asked, "Why?"

"When I set myself up as a student I put you in their computer as my parent," Skye explained with a shrug. "Students need a legal guardian, and I figured since I use your shop as my home address on all my ID and paperwork, it made sense to name you as my mother. You're Selene Trent by the way, so don't act too surprised or confused if they address you as Ms. Trent."

I found myself momentarily speechless as I stood there staring at the girl, while several conflicting trains of thought ran in opposite directions through my mind.

On the one hand I knew Skye looked up to me, but I thought our relationship was more of a teacher and student, or master and disciple. We were also friends of course, and there was a certain kinship between us as the only two of our kind in all creation. But she'd never given me any indication that she saw me as a parental figure. She'd never once addressed me as 'mother'. So finding out she'd told the school that I was her parent came as more than a small shock.

On the other hand, it was entirely possible that she just used my name as her legal guardian to fulfil the local school's bureaucratic requirements. It was also possible she'd done it as something of a joke. The fact that I was only finding out about it now that the school had some reason to contact me certainly supported that hypothesis. The theory had further support from the fact that this revelation was very nearly successful in distracting me from the actual topic at hand.

I blinked a few times then shook my head, "Alright hon that's an entirely different subject which you and I will discuss later. Right now I didn't mean why are they contacting me specifically, but why do they feel the need to contact anyone at all? Did you get into some kind of trouble?"

"Some kind," Skye admitted as she rolled her eyes. She quickly added, "It wasn't my fault though! Danni and Emily are innocent too, despite whatever nonsense Mr. Harding claims."

I sighed and tried to keep a level voice as I asked her, "Please just tell me what you and your friends did? Or what you are accused of doing?"

"Fine," the teen replied with a sigh. She scowled as she began, "So Blaire and Stephanie, they're part of the popular clique, they started spreading some rumours about Emily. Not harmless stuff, but cruel hurtful things. We heard about it at lunch today, and Danni went and confronted them? Then Blaire and Stephanie made some homomisic comments to her about all three of us. Like Danni's extremely out about being a lesbian, and everyone assumes that since me and Em and Danni all hang out together that the three of us are all in a polyamorous relationship?"

Skye rolled her eyes again as she added, "Which is a complete fabrication by the way. I'm aromantic, and even though Emily's gay she and Danni haven't hooked up like that. So far we're all just good platonic friends."

"Anyways," she stated as she got back on topic again, "So they were making these homomisic comments, and Danni doesn't care about that when it's just her, but when they started dragging me and Em into it then she kind of lost her cool? Especially considering the only reason Danni was talking to them in the first place was because of the nasty rumours they'd started spreading about Emily. So Danni mouthed off at the popular girls, they complained to the faculty, and me and Em and Danni all got hauled down to the principal's office as if the three of us were the instigators."

I frowned as I thought all that through then asked, "Why would the principal drag you and Emily into it? From what you've described, even if Danni made a mistake Emily is the victim and you weren't even involved."

Skye shrugged, "Because some of the faculty believe the rumours that Blaire and Stephanie spread? Apparently they told the principal and Mr. Harding that me and Em and Danni are all part of some kind of gang, and Mr. Harding believed that because he thinks being queer is either a sin or a sickness, and therefore a sign of moral decay or something."

There was a sarcastic tone in her voice and a smirk on her face as she added, "You'll enjoy talking to him by the way. He's probably going to suggest you start taking me to church, since apparently that will set me on the straight path. Whatever that means."

I was already quite certain I wouldn't enjoy speaking with this Mr. Harding, and I wasn't too happy that it was probably inevitable. With an exasperated sigh I asked, "Skye why wouldn't you take care of this yourself?"

The teen shrugged again, "Danni offered to meet with Blaire and Stephanie after class and off school property. Apparently she's got some experience dealing directly with bullies that way? I'm not as strong as her, and I really don't know how to fight. So I'd probably lose badly if I tried to take care of them myself."

I gave the girl a pointed look as I stated, "That's not what I meant and you know it. You could have stopped this from escalating at any step along the way, all the way back to the beginning with the hurtful rumours. Why did you let it get to the point where the school needs to contact me?"

Her smirk faded and Skye's expression became serious, along with her tone. "Because when I'm at school I'm a normal seventeen year old girl. I go to class, I do my homework, I don't correct Mr. Duncan when he perpetuates all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that humans currently have about physics, and I don't manipulate reality or the timeline."

"You took your friends to Mars four days ago Skye. You left pony stickers on three of their rovers," I reminded her. "Normal grade twelve students don't do that."

Her serious act crumbled as she grimaced and protested, "That's completely different and you know it! We didn't go to Mars until after school was over, and it had nothing to do with teachers or other students."

This time it was my turn to smirk, "I know hon. Sorry for teasing you, and in all honesty I'm proud of you for not using your talents at school. And I'm happy for you too, that you're enjoying yourself and have such good friends."

My grin faded as I added, "I'm less happy about having to speak with the faculty, but I know it's not your fault Skye. And if this Mr. Harding is as bad as you say, then I have a feeling by the time I'm done he's going to be even more unhappy than me."

"So I'm not grounded or anything?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

I smiled and shook my head, "Of course not. Just try and keep out of trouble, ok? And please, no more photobombing spacecraft."

"Aww but mom!" she protested with a grin, "Juno keeps trying to take pictures of me when I'm at my hide-out on Io!"

For a moment I'd been about to admonish her about keeping her hide-out hidden, but the words caught in my throat as something else struck me. There was a flutter in my chest and my voice was almost a whisper as I asked, "What did you just call me?"

Skye hesitated, and her normally-fair cheeks started taking on a pink tone. For a moment it looked like she was going to deny it, or play it off as a joke. And in that brief moment I wasn't sure which outcome I was hoping for. But in the end she did neither.

With an expression that was one part anxiety, one part embarrassment, and one part hope, she looked at the floor and quietly admitted, "I called you mom. I hope you're not upset, or unhappy? I've known you were my spiritual mother since that very first night I found myself, when we were looking at the stars in your backyard. I thought you knew? But I've never come out and said it before, incase it made you uncomfortable."

I found myself staring at her as my emotions churned. At first I didn't know how to react or what to say. Then she looked up at me and our eyes met briefly, before she looked down again. From the expression on her face I could tell she was worried her fears had been realized.

"Oh hon," I finally responded as I pulled the girl into a tight hug, "I could never be unhappy or upset with you, and you'll never make me uncomfortable. It's the opposite Skye, you bring joy to my life every day just by being you."

She tensed up slightly at the hug, before slowly wrapping her arms around me as well. Then I felt all her muscles relax, except her arms which held me even tighter. In that moment a thought struck me, and I was positive she was thinking the same thing.

That was probably the first time she'd ever felt a mother's embrace, and as soon as I realized that it was hard to hold back the emotions. Or the tears.

"Thanks mom," my daughter mumbled into my shoulder.

"You're welcome Skye," I replied softly. "Always."

~ The End ~

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