The two women stood there on the stoop, gob smacked and dazed from the sudden appearance and vanishing of their presumed host. Valentina sighed and crossed her hands in mild disappointment, frustration, or whatever other scathing emotions she might be feeling at the moment. Raising her hand to knock again on the door, when Dorothy started pounding on it instead, shouting angrily.

"Open Up Sissy! it's me Dorothy, come one, Come all, Come out and play Fran!" She shouted, banging on the door like a woman possessed. The animals herd she'd gathered coming in had returned, and was like wise barking, howling and squawking alongside her. Valentina grimaced as she covered her ears against the noise of the unruly animals. Joining the cacophony, shouting at Dorothy to stop, and then resorting to slapping at her to stop banging on the old door, spiraling into a tantrum between the two older women as they were reduced to whacking at each other on the threshold instead of abusing the slab of wood in front of them.

"Dorothy! Oh come in Dearie, come in come in." the shrill noise of excitement from the dotting old woman, practically dragging the two women into the house by their wrists, the door closing behind them with a loud cacophonous bang, disturbing guest and kicking up dust clouds from the interior.

"Oh, I'm a mess, I haven't cleaned the house or made the tea, I've just come all to pieces its been so long - Who are you again?" Pointing to Valentina "Friend of yours Dorothy?"

A Quiet shudder flitted across their faces as a Dorothy tired to steady herself and come up with a sensible explanation, Valentina spoke first, carefully but with a clipped boldness in her voice. "Yes, I'm Valentina, we've met before Francesca, Do you remember? the Fair Field Spring Ball at the Lady Duchess Miranda Hall."

Dorothy nervously glanced between the two women, one confused and bedraggled, the other prim and proper in her black lace dress. Their old friend scratched her head puzzled, a vacant mind behind her eyes, before suddenly lighting up in recognition.

"Why yes, Oh how delightful to see you again, Valentina, yes. Oh its so good to see you again I feel like its been ages!"

Valentina and Dorothy sighed in shared relief as the woman began to putter about the crowed and foul smelling house. Trying to tidy up the house in haphazard fashion, muttering strange things under her breath and humming softly between half spoken interruptions. Dorothy drew closer to Valentina, holding her arm in scared fashion. "She's not much better then when we left her." She whispered, afraid. Valentina patted her hand with a soft reassuring care.

"Fret not, Dorothy. We know better now, it'll be fine. We're not scarred school children, this is our Francesca, we must, Care for her." A slight pause as she sighs, trying to purge unwanted emotions from her mind. "Even if it means some, pain in the interim. But she's, Still our dear friend."

Dorothy knelt to pick up a goose, stroking its feathers with nervous fingers as she tried to keep her nerves from coming apart. " But that was near twenty years ago, Vee. And in a few ways, she's worse than when we left." the goose nuzzles her check with it's bill as Dorothy cuddles the animal a bit closer. "We never should've left her behind."

Stolen story; please report.

Valentina give a sharp snort, ruffling the goose, "They didn't give much choice in the matter, now did they? After all, she wasn't much better then a vegetable most days, and we didn't have much time to prepare in the first place."

Dorothy sighed in silent agreement of those grim memories, the Goose now slightly shifting in her arms as she continued to pet the little creature, the other animals around her feet, looking up and pinning for similar attention. "Did we do the right thing? Leaving her to live, like this?" gesturing to the disarray around them. Valentina started to say something when Francesca turned the corner and screamed.

"Who Are You? What do Want? Why are you in my House?"

Valentina gave a slight groan as the animals around their feet began to growl and hiss. Dorothy's gaggle of eclectic pets circling around one witch, facing off against the formations of Francesca's ungodly army of cats and mongrel dogs. Like a two armies squaring up their formations, the eve of battle on the field, Dorothy's small force of scavenged animals against the more regular army of their mad friend. Like something from a history book.

the cry of a kettle's whistle broke the silence as Francesca's face when from dark and fearful, to a bright and cheerful thing. "Oh, tea's on. Come on girls let me get you seated." flicking her wrist towards the gathered animals with a 'shoo' motion. "Chamomile, Valentina? and of course, mint honeysuckle for Dorothy." she recited off handedly, scuttling back into the kitchen to the clanking off mugs and spoons.

Dorothy followed cheerfully into the other room, her small herd following her in, Valentina on the other stayed for a moment. Glaring about the room, exerting a cold rigid power over the scattered animals, bending them back into place as they ought to be. Neat, tidy, obedient. All but one of the creatures fell to her powers. A single black cat, with eyes to clever for an animal, and dark with animosity. Deep and smoldering, such that it's black coat seemed to deepen, less a color and more like a pit without light.

Valentina studied the creature curiously for a moment, before moving to the calling of her companions, leaving the spiteful beast to stalk the other room by itself. Darwin watched the tall and harsh woman leave, and scoffed to himself.

"Who in hells blazing plains was that?" he growled, unpleased with the presence of more people moving on his territory. Those were his secrets, Damn you! And he wasn't abut to see them poached by these, decrepit hags, just moving in and calling themselves 'old friends.'

It was a trick, it had to be, but who would even know, or care? perhaps the rumors of Witch covens was true and the did like to work in consorted circles. But then why now? Why not sooner, or at all? Things were a foot that he didn't know of and that made him, perturbed.

Also, he'd woken up from a dream about mice again, and it was starting to annoy him with its frequency. He did not eat mice, simply disgusting!