Maria's Gift: Davy 7/8
Maria emerged from the bathroom, replacing her jewelry as she blew the air out of her cheeks.
A still-dripping Mike --- buttoning his shirt --- and Micky converged on her with a unison, "Well?"
"We are half of the way there." She held up a packet. "Have you any broth?"
Micky pointed at the kitchen. "We have chicken noodle soup."
"Excellent. I can use that broth as well." She watched as Micky set out a pan and prepared the canned soup. "I needs must just have the broth."
"I'm gettin' there, Maria," Micky chuckled as he set a large bowl in the sink and a colander in the bowl. He poured the soup in, and the chicken and the noodles remained in the colander. He set them aside and poured the broth back into the saucepan.
Maria smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. Now, please stand back." She waited until the broth began to boil. Then she emptied the packet of herbs into it. "I needs must have three hairs plucked from David's head."
Mike turned to where Davy and Peter were emerging from the bathroom. "Didja hear that?"
Davy nodded and reached up. A second later, he handed three hairs to Maria.
She dropped them into the broth, and it emitted a serpentine hiss. "Behave!" she scolded it. "These spells are always so foul-tempered!"
Despite everything, that brought a smile to the strangely silent Davy's face.
"He looks normal," Micky breathed in relief.
"His looks are normal," Peter informed them. "His voice is not. Believe it or not, those bouts of sullen sulking might have saved it."
"How's that?" Mike asked.
"Maria said the more he used the American voice," Peter explained, "the more his throat would get used to it. Because he went into that silent sulk, more than once...."
Mike's eyes widened. "There's a good chance his accent will be back?" At Peter and Davy's nods, he ordered, "Stay silent, then, Dave!"
Davy shot a "thumbs-up" at him, then looked at Peter and jerked his head toward Mike.
"Normal," Peter said, grinning. "Completely normal."
Davy's grin stretched from ear to ear at that.
"David." At Maria's call, he turned. "You must drink this. Every drop."
She pressed a mug of a vaguely greenish liquid into his hands. He sniffed it, and his upper lip curled in disgust.
Maria chuckled. "I did not say you had to wear it as perfume."
Davy huffed, but tilted the mug into his mouth. His throat worked as he drank it on down. Over the mug, his eyebrows drew together in a grimace.
But he kept drinking. When he was done, he handed the empty mug back to Maria --- grimacing as something slithered out of his throat and into his mouth.
"Spit it out!" Maria ordered.
Davy's lips parted, and all four issued wordless shouts of horror as a four-inch-long black snake fell out of his mouth to hit the floor with a furious hiss.