hexywitch | Charm ☼ 004 [video]

[Lily's set herself up in the library in her house. There's a cauldron in front of her, a small flame flickering beneath it. She stirs the pot three times clockwise, and then four counterclockwise.]

Hello, Vatheon. There are quite a few new people floating about again, so I thought this was a perfect time to post. I'm Lily. As you can see I've been doing a bit of potion brewing. I finally made it down to the Nostalgia Nook, and the shop from my world is absolutely brilliant.

[She pauses to check her potions book and adds an ingredient, tapping the cauldron twice with her wand. Potions is very complicated and delicate.]

I stocked up on ingredients, so after I brewed a few potions for friends of mine, I thought I'd brew a few other useful ones. First of all a big batch of Pepper-Up. [She gestures to the cauldron.] That'll be a cure for the common cold. And hangovers. So if anyone's feeling a bit under the weather, let me know.

That said, [She turns the heat under the cauldron down.] Equius. Sollux. I'm ready when you are.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There is much more at work here than any of us could imagine.

Mmmm...

[Just that nod as if he knows what's going on.]

How come you know about it, then?

Well, I've read it, of course. The novel.

Oh...I wonder if Blood's read it...

He reads a lot, he's got books all over his room back home. He'll probably fill the whole house before long, that's why we need to find a bigger one...

I doubt it. That would be a bit too metaphysical, I think.

[There's a bit of a laugh at that.]

I don't know, sometimes I think he's probably read every book ever written!

Oh, but that's forever impossible, Elliot. Even now thousands of writers are putting pen to paper.

He'll read them eventually, he reads all the time!

He must be very smart, then.

He is! He's very smart.

[His love for his bossu borders on creepy, forgive him.]

I've got a friend who's very fond of reading as well.

Oh yeah? Does he have a whole bedroom full of books?

[No, he's not proud of his bossu at all.]

I've never seen his bedroom at home, but I imagine that there are quite a few books in there. He spends quite a bit of his time in the library.

Is your friend here? Maybe he and Blood could get together and talk about books!

[As if that really went over well the first time he suggested it to someone.]

[Her smile fades.]

No. He was, but he's not here anymore.

[Elliot frowns, his ears drooping just a little bit.]

Sorry, I didn't know...

If it makes you feel any better, I think one of my friends is missing too. I haven't seen him for a while, we were supposed to have a grand tea party.

It's all right. You couldn't have known. I'm sorry about your friend, Elliot.

[He thinks over that for a moment shrugging.]

I guess it's all right, he's kind of mean sometimes. And I really wanted to shoot him at first, but he made a really good cake for me so I decided he's good people.

You wanted to shoot him? Why?

He was obnoxious, that's why! Argued with me right off the bat...

[And a frown.]

But I think he's really gone, so I guess it doesn't matter.

That seems a bit extreme to me. Shooting someone for being obnoxious.

[A blink before he laughs.]

That sounds just like something Alice would say!

[But no, he really doesn't understand that shooting is not the answer.]

What else am I supposed to do besides shoot them?

Well Alice sounds very sensible. You could ignore him. Avoid him. Speak with him and work things out. There are a hundred things you could do and if you shoot him you can't do any of them.

She's a little weird, but I really like her...

[He sounds almost wistful, cheeks flushing a bit before he goes on.]

...besides, if I shot him I wouldn't have to worry about him being annoying anymore. I'm pretty busy sometimes, so it'd be hard to keep track of a hundred things that would make someone easier to deal with.

[Oh Lily, if only you knew how special he was. And that he was mafia.]

Yes but...think about him. He's got friends and a family and...would you want someone to just go around shooting your friends because they were mildly irritated with them? If you shoot someone they can't ever do anything ever again. Because they bothered you for just a moment.