Aka Amy

"That was interesting," I sighed as soon as my angel and I appeared back home.

I gestured at the living-room sofa while I headed into the kitchen, "Make yourself comfortable Raven. Can I get you a drink?"

My angel sat at one end of the sofa and replied, "I'll accept a glass of whiskey if that's the kind of drink you're offering, my Goddess."

"It is," I replied as I poured myself a big glass of wine from one of the large four-litre boxes in our fridge. A glance at the office revealed Tess was still busy studying in there, so I decided not to bother her with a drink just yet.

Then I poured Raven a double of her brand of whiskey, before joining her on the sofa. As I handed her the glass I commented, "We're off the clock now, you can just call me Amy again."

"Thank you Amy," she replied as she accepted her drink.

I had a gulp of the cool crisp cheap white wine and asked, "So what can you tell me about May Hawthorne? Is she another angel or something? I know you recognized her, either the name or Abby's description."

Raven took a deep sip of her drink, then replied "She is another Goddess, and a potentially dangerous one at that. I've never met her myself, but I was warned about her."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Who warned you? And why?"

After another sip of her whiskey she explained, "I told you that I'm friends with some fallen? Last summer I visited my friend Tatiana, and she ended up telling me about a run-in her family had with this other Goddess. It seems May Hawthorne was once a Goddess of magic and witchcraft, about a thousand years ago. More recently she's been posing as high-school teacher. She was using that cover as a way to indoctrinate teenage girls into her worship, by convincing them that they were learning witchcraft."

"Like what I was teaching Tess?" I asked.

Raven shook her head, "I believe you were teaching your girlfriend to be a wise woman, you were sharing genuine old knowledge with her. May Hawthorne simply gifted her followers with functional spells, although she'd woven some extra myth and lore into them to make them seem deeper and older than they were. And apparently what they really were, was a means of worshipping her."

"What?" I frowned. "So she was telling kids they could be witches, giving them magic, but every time they used that magic they were really empowering her? Did they know this?"

"Of course not," she replied. After another sip of her drink she added, "This all came to light after May Hawthorne accidentally injured my friend's adopted daughter. Tatiana was decidedly vague on the details, but apparently some divine magic went wrong and her child was badly hurt. In class no less, in front of a few other students."

I had another gulp of wine then shook my head, "This May Hawthorne sounds like a hazard. So what does she have to do with people like Abby and Rachel? Do you think she's the source of those plush toys you mentioned?"

"I rather doubt that," Raven stated. She drained her glass then set it on the coffee table, before adding "If anything I think she's probably the one trying to clean up after them? Offering to reverse the magic on people like Abby, and from the sound of it she probably rounded up the unsold toys and destroyed them."

I frowned and thought that over as I had another sip of wine. "So we've got an unknown party distributing enchanted toys that give people an instant magical transition, at the cost of becoming demi-humans. And we've got a potentially dangerous Goddess who's possibly working against the plush toy person. And caught in the middle are all the people who got miracle transitions thanks to the plush toys, but absolutely no other support, and now they're potentially stuck in ID limbo."

My angel pointed out, "Not everyone who used the plush toys is trans. There were a few cis people who became demi-humans as well."

"Right," I nodded. "I didn't forget that, but I assume they won't have the same sort of ID problems as the trans ones. I mean they probably aren't looking to change their names or gender markers, and they might even look the same apart from the demi-human traits."

"Are you going to offer to help them regardless?" Raven asked. "Or are you limiting your interest to the ones you know to be queer?"

I frowned slightly, "I honestly hadn't thought about it before? Unless there's a reason not to, I think I'd help them too. I'm going to include 'demi-human' as part of my definition of 'queer', and therefore they fall under my domain as a queer goddess."

Raven nodded her head once, "Very well. I would caution you against spreading yourself too thin, so I'd be careful about how broadly you define 'queer' in this context. Having said that, I don't think including demi-humans under your purview will be a problem. There simply aren't enough of them to make it an issue."

I got to my feet and picked up both our glasses, then headed back to the kitchen to pour us both another drink. While I was doing that I asked, "So about this May Hawthorne? How dangerous do you think she is? And are your friends safe? And their kid?"

"Tatiana, her wife, and her child are all safe," she replied. "Tatiana and Iulia are among the most powerful angels I know, fallen or otherwise. Individually they could each give you a run for your money, together they are quite formidable."

She continued, "As for May Hawthorne, based on what Tatiana told me I think she may have an edge over you in raw power? But that could well be changing, as belief in you continues to grow. And you have the advantage when it comes to purity and devotion in your followers. She gained power through subterfuge and deceit, while you've been nothing but honest and up-front with your people. To a fault, I might add."

"And thank you for the drink," she added as she accepted another double of whiskey.

I sat back down with my wine and commented, "I think I'd like to meet her."

From the surprised worried look Raven gave me, I could almost picture her choking on her whiskey. Or doing a spit-take, although I doubted my angel would ever do anything like that.

"You want to meet May Hawthorne?" she asked. Then she frowned, "Or do you mean you wish to meet my friend Tatiana?"

"I was thinking of Hawthorne. But now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind meeting Tatiana as well? I'm actually kind of curious to get to know one of your friends," I replied with a smile.

My angel hesitated, and for a moment I almost thought she was going to refuse. Instead she had a gulp of whiskey then admitted, "Last time I visited Tatiana I... We had a bit of an argument. She might not be that interested in seeing me again so soon."

"I could call though and find out I suppose," she added with a sigh. "May I borrow your phone?"

That surprised me, "You want to call her? On the phone? I assumed there'd be some sort of magical way you could contact her."

Raven grimaced, "Of course there is. But Tatiana and her wife are living as mortals, they've banned the use of magic around them or their home. And they're very strict about it. I may have ran afoul of their rules last time I dropped in for a visit."

"Ah," I was fighting to suppress a smile, but I could guess how my angel would chafe at those sorts of rules. Especially when I knew how she felt about mundane human things, like taking a bus or using a car rather than teleporting.

I handed over my phone and she made the call. It connected a few moments later, and I sipped my wine as I listened to one half of the conversation.

"Hello Tatiana," Raven began. After a pause she sighed, "Yes I know. That's why I'm using a phone rather than reaching out directly."

She rolled her eyes and added, "Yes Tatiana, I've learned my lesson. And I already apologized, numerous times."

"It's because my Goddess would like to meet you?" she continued after another brief pause. "She has some questions about May Hawthorne, and..."

"Yes I'm with her right now," Raven said after another little pause. Then she looked to me and asked, "Is now a good time to meet? And where would you like to meet?"

I nodded, "Now's perfect. And she's welcome to visit us here if she wants to keep magic away from her home. Or we can come to her if that's more convenient."

My angel relayed that, then nodded. "Thank you Tatiana, see you soon."

"She'll be here presently," Raven announced as she handed back my phone. Then she grimaced again and quickly reminded me, "Fallen or not Tatiana is a powerful angel, so it's best to be the Goddess for this. And please don't let on about your lack of knowledge and experience."

I didn't even have a chance to respond before a column of brilliant white light appeared across from us, in front of the TV. When the light faded I found myself staring at what appeared to be a middle-aged soccer mom.

She was about average height, her brown hair was in a casual off-the-shoulder style. She had unremarkable brown eyes, a pleasant face, and was wearing relaxed-fit jeans, a casual blouse, and a pair of canvas sneakers.

Raven stood up and announced, "My Goddess, this is Tatiana, fallen angel. And Tatiana, this is my Goddess."

I got to my feet to greet our guest, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked me up and down. From her expression I could tell she was about as underwhelmed by me as I was by her.

"Hi," she said after a moment. "Nobody calls me Tatiana anymore, so unless you want to be extremely formal I'm just Tanya. Tanya Underwood, it's nice to finally meet you."

I smiled and let myself relax a bit, "Nice to meet you too Tanya. And in that case, I'm just Amy Price."

My angel's eye-roll was almost audible so I added, "Officially it's Amethyst, but if you get to be Tanya then I get to be Amy."

Our guest smiled, she seemed to appreciate the relaxed attitude.

"Make yourself comfortable," I gestured at the love-seat opposite the sofa. "Can I get you a drink? We've got Irish Whiskey and some cheap-and-cheerful white wine, or if you'd prefer I can put the coffee maker on? Or we have spring water and soft drinks?"

Tanya looked like she was about to respond, but when she spotted the tumbler of whiskey and the glass of wine she looked surprised. Her eyes flicked over to my angel as she asked "Is that your glass Rav? She's actually letting you have whiskey again?"

Raven's cheeks went red while she looked like she was trying to control her expression. "My Goddess offers me a drink now and then. She knows how much I appreciate it."

Our guest's expression shifted from surprised to amused, but she accepted my offer of coffee. I put on the coffee maker and got out a couple mugs, then while we waited for it I asked Tanya, "So Raven tells me you've uh, retired? Settled down to raise a family?"

"That's one way to put it," she replied. She still seemed amused as she looked me over again, before adding "My wife Julie and I prefer to keep to ourselves mostly. We live and work among humans, and generally try to avoid any supernatural entanglements. Raven's the only other angel we've stayed in touch with over the years."

"That's really nice," I smiled. Then I got a bit more serious as I explained, "Another supernatural is actually the reason I wanted to meet you? Raven mentioned you know another goddess named May Hawthorne? I understand she's been masquerading as a high-school teacher?"

Our guest frowned and shook her head, "Not since last year. There was an incident with her, our daughter Cassandra was injured. And that led to Julie and I finding out what Miss Hawthorne really was, and what she'd been doing with some of her students. She resigned after that. Last I heard she was taking a sabbatical, but I don't know where she's gone."

"What sort of incident?" I asked. "How does a goddess accidentally injure a high school student?"

"I'd rather not go into specific details if you don't mind Amy? There's some things about our family that Julie and I would prefer to keep private," Tanya replied.

By then the coffee was ready so I got up and poured a couple mugs, then added the cream and sugar before returning to the others. I gave one to Tanya and set the other mug down next to where I was sitting. Then took my wine glass back to the kitchen and left it in the sink, before finally bringing the whiskey bottle over to top up Raven's drink.

The fallen angel watched all of this with a look of mild amusement, while my angel looked embarrassed for some reason. I figured out why a moment later, when Tanya spoke up again.

"Most gods wouldn't go to the trouble of using a coffee maker or pouring drinks from a bottle," she commented. "At least not unless there were mortals watching and they meant to remain under cover. For that matter I doubt most angels would bother either. Not when it's quicker and easier to just conjure up whatever you wanted."

She added with a smile, "Surprising to see you doing all that yourself, in fact. I'd have expected you to rely on Rav for those sorts of domestic matters."

I smiled back as I sat down and had a sip of my coffee, "My girlfriend's mortal, and I spend a lot of time around other mortals. I got in the habit of doing things their way, whether they're around or not."

Tanya nodded in agreement, "Same. Rav may have mentioned, but Julie and I treat our home as a no-magic zone."

"So back to May Hawthorne," I said while she paused for a sip of her coffee, "Raven told me she was gaining power from her students, but without their knowledge?"

"That's correct," she responded. "May sponsored a semi-secret club that was allegedly about teenage girls learning witchcraft. The spells and the lore they learned were all either Hawthorne's own inventions, or they'd been adapted from elsewhere and modified to suit her purposes. She acted as their counsel and allegedly protected them at times, but for the most part the girls were left to do as they pleased with the magic they learned."

After another sip of coffee she continued, "Honestly the whole thing was a disaster waiting to happen, but when Cass joined their club Julie and I looked the other way. We were just happy to see our child finally making friends and participating with the other kids, it was easy to overlook the potential dangers. And at the time Miss Hawthorne was Cassandra's favourite teacher, she spoke very highly of the woman. Of course that all came crashing down after the incident that sent her to hospital."

Raven finally spoke up, "I'm honestly surprised you let this woman walk away after that. I'm sure if you'd put your mind to it, you and Iulia could have ended her on the spot."

Tanya rolled her eyes, "We were in a hospital Rav, it was hardly the place for a divine showdown. And we were focused on our child's recovery, revenge was the last thing on our minds."

Our guest had some more coffee then looked to me and asked, "Was there anything else you wanted to know Amy?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "We came across May's name in relation to some enchanted plush toys that turned up about a year ago? Do you know anything about those toys? Or how May's involved with them?"

Tanya sighed, "I know something of that story, yes..."