The witch's cottage was a peaceful sight to behold, now that is was free of deer. Fallen leaves had collected around the porch and the roof. The pile of dirt by the open window still had clear imprints of her shoes and the deer tracks from when she climbed up in the mud. Atraeya shivered at the memory of the deer stampede. The door was still broken, so the window was still her only way in. Her first order of business should be to fix the door so she wouldn't have to keep dirtying her boots, now that she intended to use this place more often. Gramps would surely have another fit if he saw them and no way was she going through all that again.

  She set her bucket of, thankfully still wet, brick mortar on the porch, and proceeded to put the ingredients back.

  As she had no idea what any of them said, she had no way of knowing if there was a system in place. She tried to put them back where she found them, but as it had been a while since she last saw the shelf, she wasn't a hundred percent sure if things were in their proper place. Over the past couple of days, she had kept trying to study words from the book, but some letters were harder than others and didn't stick as much. Reading had become easier, but only the words she already figured out for the recipe, not whatever these labels were.

  That was a problem for future Atraeya though.

  On the bottom of her basket, hidden below jars of various ingredients, she had also hid her book. It would be no use to keep it at home, and should someone find it, would make her look suspicious. Even if they couldn't read it. She decided to hide it where she first found it: under the creaky boards in the bedroom. She had plans for this room, but for now, she needed to inspect for any place that needed mortar.

  The cottage was mostly made from wood, and not even the foundation was brick or stone, so the mortar was useless for most of the house. The chimney…. Well, it wasn't in great shape, but it was still usable, unlike gramps' house. She could use the mortar to seal some of the windows. Parts of the wood seemed to have lifted up around the edges, letting in a draft. That should be an easy fix. One of the pillars on the porch had also been broken at the bottom base, causing a slight slant on the roof above it. The mortar should, at the very least, be able to hold it in its proper place, even if it wasn't meant for that.

  While she was fixing those up, she also searched for any chips, cracks, and holes in the wood paneling to stop any insects from squeezing in. It didn't take long to fix, thankfully, since there wasn't much overall. She didn't want anything coming in to mess up her potions. If all humans reacted like gramps did to all that mana, there's no telling how something as small as a bee would react. There was still so much left, though. She didn't want to leave it to harden in the bucket, and it wasn't like she could just toss it anywhere. Instead she tried to shuffle it out and spread it all along the foundation. Nothing would be getting in, that's for sure.

  Once that was done, she was able to start working on clearing the dirt and dried mud from the porch.

  "Atraeya? There you are!"

  She jumped at the voice. She didn't expect to hear anyone out here. How much time had passed anyway? A quick glance at the sky told her the sun was beginning to set. She had been out here for much longer than intended. "How did you find me?"

  "I had a feeling you were here. Your grandfather has gotten worried about you, so I said I'd go and find you. What are you doing?"

  "Oh, I'm just cleaning the place up. I'm going to use this house as a laboratory for all my future potions." Atraeya puffed out her chest in pride. She was cleaning a place she had claimed all her own, and planned to use it to make as many potions as she could that would help out around the place. She felt she had every right to be proud.

  Poe only stared, baffled, unable to comprehend. "Do you even know how to make any potions?"

  "I do! I know one that can help you sleep! Do you know anyone who might need one? I don't have the ingredients though…"

  "No clue. Let's get out of here before the wolves come out and we get lost."

  She could only pout, since he was right. She didn't want to be in the middle of a forest when night came and the trees blocked the moonlight. Most of the dirt was cleared, so the next time she came here should only need a quick scrape. Then she could finally fix the door.

  And so they left together, reaching town just as the sun passed the horizon. Gramps and Mira were sitting out front, chatting. Gramps carving and Mira sowing. He seemed to notice their presence first as they arrived. "Did you finish up?" he asked.

  "Well, I finished the mortar. But there are still something other things that need cleaning."

  "You're going back?" Poe interrupted.

  "Oh, what are you cleaning up, dearie?" Mira said.

  Atraeya decided to ignore Poe. "The cottage in the woods. It could be a good place to store stuff, right?"

  Something passed on Mira's face, a twitch, but she couldn't pin it down. She must have known whose cottage it belonged to, but decided not to say anything. It made Atraeya nervous. Mira nodded after a moment. "Just be careful, alright? Come now, Poe. Time to start getting ready for bed." They said their goodbyes and she and gramps went home as well.

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  The next morning, Atraeya woke up bright and early. She wanted to get all her chores done as soon as she could so she could spend all day in the cottage. She let out the broom, and put the dishes by the self cleaning cloth. She was in the middle of weeding when an idea came to her. If she could imbue the sickle to weed for her, she could save so much time.

  She rushed to tell gramps her bright idea the second he woke up, only to get a definite and resounding "no."

  "What? Why?" she whined.

  "What do you think will happen when a neighbor passes by and sees a sickle pulling up weeds all by itself?"

  She pouted, but did not acquiesce. It would save so much of her time. She didn't want to get caught, of course not. She just needed to be careful. Gramps wanted potions, didn't he? "What if we only let it out at night?"

  Still he shook his head. "Someone could still see it. No."

  "Fine," Atraeya said, punctuating her reluctance with as big of a sigh as she could manage. It was all for show, of course. If she couldn't convince him, she would just need to do it behind his back. After all, everyone should be asleep at night.

  She grabbed her basket and her wand as gramps ate his breakfast. She also needed her name stick if she were to make any progress with the labels. It ,was useless to keep it at home when her book was someplace else. Then she grabbed the sickle from outside and headed out.

  The cottage was just as she left it. In fact, maybe even a bit better. The mortar she had used up dried nicely. Now that she no longer had to worry about outside, she took to cleaning up the remaining dirt from the from door. It was back breaking work, but at least the shade from the surrounding trees provided some relief from the late summer heat.

  The door squeaked when she opened it for the first time in however long. At least it worked, though. No need to get an entirely new door.

  Inside, though, really needed help. Now that she was going to be spending more time here, she took a closer look at the inventory. The front area was similar to her house: a small and quaint kitchen area, with shelves of ingredients lining the back wall, plain wooden dining table and chairs, a brick fireplace, and a wooden bench, with enough space for two or three. Cushions and a blanket laid on the bench, but the moths had gotten to it, leaving holes and stuffing to spill out. A few potted plants here and there, either dead or completely overgrown. There was also an thick layer of dust on every surface, and Atraeya's nose itched just a little at the thought of rousing it from it's spot.

  On the back wall a curtain, half open, led to the bedroom of the previous owner. Its bed was unmade and dirty, the rug well worn, and the closet empty except the coat from before. And no animals had decided to make a nest from the last time she was here either, thankfully. She didn't think she would ever forget those deer.

  With everything checked out, it was time to get to work cleaning the place up. She opened the windows so the dust wouldn't stay in, then made some rags from the moth eaten cushions and began to dust. She had to move the bed post around but eventually was able to drag the rug out from under it, and air it outside. She found a broom too, which now felt unfamiliar after so long without using one. Perhaps she could use her mana on this one as well.

  With nothing but the sounds of nature to distract her, she fell into a zen state as she tidied up the place. The cupboards, the sweeping, the dusting. It felt relaxing in a way Atraeya never felt back in the city, or at home. It was nice. Invigorating, even.

  It was then that she felt…. Something. But the moment she focused on the feeling it fluttered away. Not a spying feeling, but something she had not felt before. She went back to her cleaning, but then it came back after a time. She snapped her body towards the source. Mana?

  She followed the feeling, where it led to the bedroom. The most confusing thing was that she knew exactly where it sat. In the potted plant.

  Which, thinking on it, should not be alive at this moment. It had been away from the windows, in the dark, and had no way to get water. It was a strange plant, completely alive, and yet not. It was filled with mana, nearly bursting. She was afraid that if she touched it, it would explode. But the thing she sense wasn't the plant itself.

  Atraeya stuck her hand in the dirt, digging around a bit, until her hands wrapped around something round.

  A clear glass ball, with a leaf encased in it. She had never seen such clear glass before. What a marvel. When she held it up to the window, it sparkled and displayed vibrant rainbows on the floor below her. "It must be expensive," she whispered in awe. The leaf inside looked like the same one from the plant. However, when she turned her attention back to it, the plant had wilted, and all the mana dispersed.

  "Oh no! I destroyed the plant!" She shoved the glass ball back inside, but nothing happened. The plant didn't come back to life, nor did the mana help it grow anew. It was disappointing, but there was nothing she could do for it now. She looked at the glass ball once again, watching it glint in the light. Such a small bauble had kept this plant alive.

  Could it do other things, then?

  Better to keep it safe for now. With no better hiding spot for it, she decided to place it back inside the pot, and get back to cleaning.

  On a whim, she decided to place a sliver of mana inside the broom, just to get a feel for it. From what she could tell, it was old. It's existed for generations, at least. Many different types of mana once used this broom. Drops of mana dotted the broom, but not enough for it to use. It had been enchanted before, with a memory of its work to boot. All it needed was a touch up.

  Atraeya took a seat and infused the magical broom with more mana for it to work once again. It happened a lot quicker this time. Was she getting better? Or did the broom take the mana more easily, having been used to a lifetime of purpose? She couldn't tell. But thanks to it, she was able to get back to cleaning other things, and finished earlier than she thought she would finish.

  In her cleaning frenzy, she had investigated the cupboards, and found not only the usual plates and utensils, but also a giant cauldron, with a wooden spoon inside it. Cast iron, with a thin film of mana baked into both the cauldron and the spoon. She had set it back where she found it, for fear of damaging it, but it was the most existing find in the cottage. Well, second most exciting, right behind the book.

  With daylight still available, she sat herself at the table, with her name stick, and went looking through the jars of ingredients. She still had not memorized the letters and their sounds, so it took her hours. There was just so much to read. The previous witch must have been extremely skilled and knowledgeable. How Atraeya would have loved to learn from her. Or from any witch, really. There was only the one back in the city, and she didn't exactly impart much knowledge. This left behind book would have to do. And for her to learn from it, she would need to know how to read.