"Tea is essential to being a witch; it gives much needed energy, so that will be the first thing you learn." Crow explained as she filled a small vial with the fresh blood and in a flick vaporized the used needle. She corked the vial and set it carefully next to the sink.

“There are lots of different kinds of tea, but the kind that helps witches is called Salembrew; it's a blend of different teas that have been passed down through the ages.” another cabinet opened at will and a small white tea container floated over to them. It plopped itself down in front of the girls and opened. The tea looked like little corkscrews that curled into each other. “Smell it first,” Crow said.

Ivy picked up the tea jar and mustered the contents a short moment before giving them a good sniff. “Smells kinda like cherries?” she said unsurely. “Does all tea look like this?”

“Mm Cherries, interesting, no this is just my personal blend, I like the leaves to unfold as much as possible,” she explained and began walking Ivy through the steps to making tea.

“First, fill the kettle halfway.

Set it over the stove.

While you are bringing the water to a boil, pick a mug.”

Crow flicked her compass and a door opened with a single mug behind it. She raised an eyebrow, it was shaped like a blue dragon curled hugging its tail.

“This is your mug.”

Ivy turned her head a bit in curiosity and pulled the mug from the cabinet. She turned it over in her hands a few times, running her fingers over the glazed details.

“A dragon, huh…” she muttered and set the mug down to continue following Crow’s example for making tea properly.

Crow shut the cabinet again and opened it revealing her mug. A potion vial with a glass handle complete with a cork on top.

"Now we add at least two scoops of tea." Her compass opened a drawer revealing two tea strainers and a leaf shaped spoon. She took the tea canister back and dropped the tea strainers into the mugs. As she did Ivy felt prickles of magic jolt along her bad arm. Crow put two scoops of tea in her own strainer and held the spoon out to Ivy.

Ivy took the spoon and filled it with a scoop of tea, though as soon as it dropped into her strained it changed from little corkscrews to what looked like bits of grass and dried pieces of dark red fruits.

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“It changed!” she gasped in surprise. She looked at the canister again, but it still looked the same as before, so she did a second scoop and the same thing happened.

"Mm, the house seems to accept you. Interesting, it did let you find me, but I thought that was just because of Juniper." Crow mused.

She filled her mug and set it on the counter. Juniper chattered at her feet. "She likes to watch the tea bloom." She watched as Juniper wiggled ungracefully on to the counter and gazed into the mug. Crow huffed, showing a brief smile.

She filled Ivy's mug, and she rolled her eyes as Ivy gazed down at the tea just as eagerly. "Children." Crow sighed.

Ivy twitched at the sigh, but didn’t look away from the mug as the tea leaves slowly sent red tendrils into the water as it steeped. “I’ve never seen this before, so I think I should be allowed to be curious,” she replied with a soft pout.

Crow's expression softened but no smile appeared.

"That's fair, I too was fascinated at first." The witch admitted.

Ivy finally looked over at Juniper when she chattered excitedly, just in time to see Crow’s tea leaves unfurl. “Whoa…”

Crow watched as the tea in the potion vial darkened and soon you could no longer see the tea leaves. Juniper sighed sadly and finally hopped off the counter uninterested. Her compass gave a small chiming noise like a timer and Crow delicately took the strainer out letting the tea trapped in the leaves drain out.

"Let it all drip out. It's best for the flavor, it can change as well based on how low you are on magic." Crow instructed Ivy to do the same and left the strainer to drip in the sink once she was satisfied it was mostly dry.

She waited for Ivy to do the same and picked up the tea. She breathed in deeply and relaxed as she took a sip. It wasn't too hot, just the right temperature for her liking.

“Mm this is just what I needed to get going with the rest of my day. We have a lot to look at today, it will determine if you really fit to be my apprentice. Witches can learn many things and excel at all of them but first and foremost, they need a Trinket.” She explained showing her compass to Ivy, the needle still pointed at Crow no matter where she moved. “Each trinket is unique to every witch and it is how we use magic.”

Ivy nodded to show she was paying attention as she held her mug in her hands. “At what stage does a witch gain her trinket?” she asked curiously, as she lifted the mug to her lips to take a sip. As soon as she did, the bitter taste of it made her grimace. It tasted of fermented cherries and lemon grass, not exactly a favorite flavor for her.

"You will get your trinket and your familiar when you first use magic correctly. Sometimes it can take months, or even years." Crow explained. She waved her compass and a small ice box opened and a bottle of milk came out.

"Judging by your face you need to try harder. Magic is more about feelings than thinking. Do you want some honey?" Crow opened the bottle without touching it and filled the potion mug with cold milk. Juniper was instantly on the counter again to watch the tea and milk dance together.

“Honey would be great, thanks…” Ivy accepted the offer, and Crow floated a jar of honey over. She took a small spoonful of it and stirred it into her tea before tentatively taking a new sip. That at least made it taste a smidge better.

“How can I try harder if I don’t even know the basics of magic yet?” Ivy pointed out softly.

Crow quirked a brow and picked up her self-stirring cup of tea. “Then let us cover them.”