Origins

People call her the Pigeon Lady; the time she went down, that is just what Abrams cried out. Her age is something she would rather not discuss. Billy counts her an octogenarian; she has arthritis, and talks of the good days she has left as her “last good ones.” When Viscous asked how old she was, she told him never to ask a lady her age, and when he pressed further, told him to shut up.

“They took out the Pigeon Lady!”

“鸽子夫人倒下了！”

Her magic is made of everyday things. If you can’t curse somebody with a drink, a baked good or a piece of fruit, she says, can you really call yourself a witch worth remembering? The secret of her tea is jasmine, Earl Grey, a hint of lavender and a dash of malice; as for the mortar and pestle, you never know, as she puts it, when you’ll need one.

“If you can't curse somebody with a drink, baked good, or piece of fruit can you really call yourself a witch worth remembering?”

“要是连用一杯酒、一块点心或一个水果给人下个诅咒都做不到，那还能算是个值得记住的女巫吗？”TL

The bench is all but her companion. Before setting out, she says she will animate it and be right there; in a tight spot, she tells it “I’m trusting ya”; she complains that keeping it in line is a full-time job, and after a clean hit says she could kiss it. Lifted high into the air, what she cries is “My bench!”

“Let me animate this bench, I'll be right there”

“让我把这张长椅唤醒，我马上就到。”TL

The pigeons keep her company too. Her creed is a simple one: if you take care of the birds, the birds will take care of you. When the dangers of the ritual come up, what occurs to her is this: if she dies, who’s going to feed the pigeons? She told Abrams that she might hit the ground and break a hip, no matter: her avian friend would peck out their eyes. It’s just a very protective bird.

“If you take care of the birds, the birds will take care of you.”

“你要是照顾好鸟儿，鸟儿也会照顾你。”TL

How much weight she carries in the coven, no one can say for certain. She herself says only that she knows how to keep her coven-mates in line, and that she has obligations to the Soho Coven; in her moments of triumph, she declares that she is making the Soho Coven proud.

“I know how to keep my coven-mates in line”

“我知道怎么管住我的女巫同伴。”TL

She has children, and her children have children of their own. When Rem asked about the grandkids, she could count off only Archie, the one that’s knocked up and the tall one, before turning the talk elsewhere: hey, the ritual’s starting.

“Well ya know, there's Archie, and there's the one that's knocked up, and uh… the tall one and um.. Hey the rituals starting.”

“嗯，你知道的，有阿奇，有那个怀上了的，还有呃……那个高个子的，还有嗯……嘿，仪式要开始了。”TL

Old Friends and Foes

Mildred: A Name Fit Only for Cursing

Baba shows no mercy when she lays into Mildred: a no-talent hack, she calls her, who couldn’t win a game of Bunko if her life depended on it; only with a cry of “Kiss my ass, Mildred!” will she unleash that spell of hers. In her moments of triumph, she even hopes Mildred is burning in hell.

“Mildred always said that this wouldn’t work, and that's how I knew it would work! Because Mildred is a no talent hack who couldn’t win a game of Bunko if her life depended on it.”

“米尔德丽德老是说这行不通，所以我就知道这一定行得通！因为米尔德丽德就是个没有天赋的半吊子，就算拿命去赌，她也赢不了一局邦科游戏。”

Solomon teases her with the name, asking how Mildred is; she warns him first, and in the end tells him to shut up.

Solomon: The Chess-Playing Friend

She can’t let her chess-playing friend have all the fun, she says. Solomon said he thought this was the first time he had seen her leave the park; it is the first time, she said, there has ever been something compelling enough to make her want to.

“I can't let my chess playing friend have all the fun”

“我可不能让我那下棋的朋友独占所有乐子。”TL

Solomon also brought up the possessed Wendigo that was trapped in The Baroness: surely she had been interested in that? Between the Baxter Society and the Doorman, she said, there was no need for her to step in.

“Eh, between The Baxter Society and The Doorman there was no need to step in”

“呃，有拜克斯特协会和门侍在，用不着我插手。”TL

Haze: Taxpayer and Agent

When she asked Haze what her taxes were being used for, the answer was roads, social services, international assassinations; she replied only, “I wanna refund.” Bringing Haze down, she grumbles what a waste of her taxes; yet when Haze fights a fine fight, she changes her tune: so the government isn’t completely useless after all.

“I wanna refund.”

“我要退钱。”TL

She also said she had seen Haze in the park with her kid the other day. Haze said she didn’t have a kid; Baba didn’t argue, answering only, “Whatever you say, dearie.” She asked whether Marlowe had retired yet, calling him the old boogeyman, and when Haze pressed her on how she knew him, told her that was something she would have to ask the man herself.

“I saw you in the park with your kid the other day.”

“前几天我看见你带着孩子在公园里。”TL

Kelvin: The Man Who Wrote the Letters

Kelvin began by asking whether she was sure she was up for this; she called him rude, and he had no choice but to apologize. If a dead man can complete the ritual, she said, so can an old lady. She also asked whatever happened to that Ettrick fellow he wrote so much about; he said he didn’t know, then put her off with the ritual about to start.

“If a deadman can complete the ritual, so can an old lady.”

“死人都能完成仪式，老太太凭什么不行。”TL

Later she told him he had all the notes, but none of the music. After bringing him down, she said she never wanted to lose herself like him.

“I never want to lose myself like him.”

“我可不想像他那样迷失自我。”TL

Victor: McStiches

Victor made light of her advanced years; she shot back with a “McStiches” and told him she was more alive than he was. But when it came to serious matters, she told him: you’re you, and if you ever feel some other soul come knocking on that body of yours, fight it with everything you’ve got. Promise me.

“I'm more alive than you, McStiches.”

“我可比你有活力多了，缝缝补补先生。”TL

Rem: The Kid Who Wants a Grandma

She asked Rem how much trouble he was in, and said she would try to keep him from getting dead; Rem bets she has snacks in her pocket, and in the end says he wishes she were his grandma.

“Well I'll try keep ya from getting dead.”

“行吧，我尽量别让你送命。”TL

Vindicta and Grey Talon: With Regret

To Vindicta she said: I’m sorry for what happened to you; I’m not your enemy. She said, too, that she wished Vindicta had been born in her time, and asked whether she looked like a Hathorne. Vindicta is righteous in her anger, she says, but she can’t let her win.

“I'm sorry for what happened to you.”

“你遭遇的那些事，我很抱歉。”TL

Grey Talon is “Wesley” to her; she knew, she said, that he still had it in him. When he takes the wrong road, she only sighs that he is betraying everything he built.

“I knew you still had it in you Wesley”

“我就知道你宝刀未老，韦斯利。”TL

Seven: Unforgivable

She gives Seven no quarter: what he did to those people, she says, was unforgivable. Seven in turn warns her that once she reveals her true power to New York, the authorities may decide she is too feeble and confused to wield her magic safely. Bringing him down, she said she had done what Lost Whisper couldn’t.

“What you did to those people was unforgivable.”

“你对那些人做的事，不可原谅。”TL

Billy, Ivy and the Rat King: Fellow New Yorkers

Billy volunteered that if anyone gives her trouble, he’ll cave their skull in. She said she didn’t know what she did to deserve such fierce loyalty. He also asked whether she had thrown a brick at the mayor while he was jogging; her lawyer, she said, had told her not to talk about any hypothetical throwing of construction materials.

“Anyone gives you trouble, let me know, I'll cave their goddamn skull in.”

“谁敢找你麻烦，告诉我，我把他那该死的脑袋砸烂。”TL

Later, when she and Billy truly came to blows, she said she hated having to fight another New Yorker. Of Ivy she asked the same: you turning on another New Yorker? The Rat King, for his part, says that at least she is a New Yorker.

“I hate having to fight another New Yorker...”

“又要跟一个纽约人打，真讨厌……”TL

To his face she calls the Rat King “your Highness,” and thanks him for setting his sights on Long Island instead of Manhattan; yet when she strikes him down, she says Long Island isn’t his and it’s never gonna be. The Rat King answers in kind: the Soho Coven ain’t what it used to be.

“No. I feel like you setting your sights on Long Island instead of Manhattan was quite magnanimous and I appreciate it.”

“没有。你把目标放在长岛而不是曼哈顿，我觉得很大度，我很感激。”TL

Viscous and Abrams: Fondness Behind a Sharp Tongue

When Viscous wanted to sit on her bench, she told him it seats two, her and the pigeon; yet she calls him “hon,” and insists he come to Bunko night. With Abrams, she opens with “Hey, handsome,” and says that if he wants to help the Soho Coven with a fertility ritual, the offer’s open; when he fights on at her side, near the end, she calls him a “big blue beautiful bastard,” and when he stands against her she sneers: what idiot trusted him to protect the Tome?

“This bench seats two, me and the pigeon.”

“这长椅就坐两个，我和鸽子。”TL

“Viscous… you are coming to Bunko night and I'm not taking no for an answer…”

“魔液……你要来参加邦科之夜，我不接受拒绝的回答……”

Deadman Danny: The Noisy Salesman

Deadman Danny opens with a “young lady,” and gets “shut up, you bag of bones” for his trouble. He sighs at a tough crowd; she tells him she’s tougher than he is. He runs on and on, and to her ear it is all a sales pitch, any talk of joining nothing but a pyramid scheme; the contraption on his back is, in her eyes, an abomination. He pokes fun at her bench for having chicken legs and says science is magic that’s reliable; she only scoffs, “Bah.”

Most intriguing of all is his boss. She calls Maximilian Fairfax a real piece of shit, yet asks what happened to Walter Fairfax, as if she knew the man who ran things before. Told that he is dead, she asks when that happened, and on hearing the answer, says only, “Huh.”

“Maximillian? What happened to Walter?”

“马克西米利安？沃尔特呢，他怎么了？”TL

Violet: The One Who Sees Her Nerves

Before Violet had said a word, Baba asked her: are you nervous, dear? She could tell, she said, from the wide eyes, the holding of her breath, the trembling hands, and added that she hadn’t been going to say anything. Only then did Violet confess that what she had been worried about was Baba seeing her throw up earlier. Later Violet asked about the last Maelstrom, and Baba owned that she had lived through it; asked for advice, though, she offered only “Go with it,” and when Violet said that wasn’t very helpful, still told her to trust her. When it came to her parents, Baba could hear that the girl’s indifference was only talk, and said simply that it should scare her.

“It will be. Trust me.”

“会有的。相信我。”TL

Nurse Harrow: The One Who Talks to Her Like a Child

When Nurse Harrow approaches, she opens with a practiced patter for caring for the elderly, even a lolly at the ready. Baba fends her off: she doesn’t need her help, don’t talk to her like a child, and a final “Shut up” to close the matter. Another time, Baba gets her word in first: Harrow had better not try to boss her around. On the matter of summoning the Patrons for the first time, Harrow said it was the only time anyone had ever tried; Baba answered only, “Yeah, ok.”

Later, bringing Harrow down, she turns sharp-tongued: the woman reminds her of Mildred; keep that bag away from her, and better stick to the ward. Last of all she sends her coven’s regards, in so many words: “The SoHo coven says ‘hello.’”

“You better not try to boss me around.”

“你最好别想对我颐指气使。”TL

Anecdotes

The Voice of an Elder. She treats young opponents as children in need of discipline. She asks Graves whether she really thinks this ends well, asks Vyper when she is going to find a good man and settle down, and asks Paige whether her parents know she is here. Vyper once stole her purse, and when Baba strikes, she calls it payback; Silver, who passed out on her favorite bench, gets the same words.

“That's for stealing my purse.”

“这是为了你偷我钱包的事。”TL

Tourists. I hate tourists, she says. The shopkeeper is on her side, too, greeting her warmly as “Baba,” urging her to give those tourists hell, and promising to see her at the Knickerbocker game.

“I hate tourists”

“我讨厌游客。”TL

Playing Frail. She warns people not to take her for a harmless old woman: if they think she’s harmless, they’re in for a surprise. When the Doorman suspected her of pretending to be frail, she protested that she wasn’t pretending; she just had short legs.

“If they think I'm harmless they're in for a surprise”

“他们要是觉得我无害，那可就要吃惊了。”TL

The Hotel. She didn’t think the Doorman could leave the Baroness Hotel. Bringing him down, she hopes he won’t ban her from the place over it, says she’s going to miss those mimosas, and reminds him, last of all, that he is supposed to be impartial.

“Didn't think you could leave The Baroness.”

“没想到你能离开男爵夫人。”TL

Arson. She tells Infernus that arson is like riding a bike, you never forget how, and calls him “Fern.” Bringing him down, she says she’ll apologize to Hank later, and that Hank will land on his feet, and urges Infernus not to go back down that path.

“What I tell ya Fern, arson is like riding a bike”

“我跟你说什么来着，芬？放火这事跟骑自行车一样，学会了就忘不掉。”TL

Shiv. She tells Shiv she can see why Wesley picked him, and also tells him to go back to the Baxter Society and not to follow in Calico’s footsteps.

“I see why Wesley picked him…”

“我明白韦斯利为什么选他了…”TL

Turning Into Birds. She has threatened to turn someone in hiding into a pigeon or something; and once, sent flying by Holliday’s bounce pad, she said she didn’t even have to turn herself into a bird.

“Just come out so I can turn you into a pigeon or something”

“你出来吧，我好把你变成鸽子之类的东西。”TL

Open Questions