Into the forest...

Sage sat on the worn pine stool behind the counter of the shop. He hated the winter; with no tourists around he was lucky if he got four customers in one day. Still, he mused, it was probably better this way. He wasn't really the best with people in general, a fact that made no impression on his elderly boss who continued to assign him counter duty.
He leaned his chin on his palm and let out a sigh.

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Bastien couldn't decide. Before him were three small, plump pixies presented to him on velvet pillows by his attendants. The pixies trembled. One of them looked as if she was about to speak. Bastien crouched down in front of her so that he was at the level of her beady black eyes and gave her an encouraging smile. "What is it, little one?"
"We don't have your dues, mighty ruler." her voice was a tremulous whine that made the other pixies cower into their pillows, as if her words were needles piercing the air around them, "We just need-"
"Ah, I see." Bastien's smile tightened on his face, "Of course, naturally. But...I'm afraid I have to remind you of your contract. You see, you are the ones who decided to gamble at my party. And of course when you ran out of money I graciously allowed you to sign into an IOU...now the time has come for you to pay me what you owe."
The pixie squawked and tried to hide it's small mottled face in it's hands, "We are sorry! We are fools! If we could just have a few more moonrises we could-"
Bastien held up a single finger. The terrified creature in front of him fell silent. "I'm sorry, Narghen, but you know the rules. I am gracious only as far as the rules allow me. You knowingly entered into a binding contract. You have to understand this."
"But Bastien-" before the faery could continue, Bastien grasped it's supple body in his hands and ripped it in two. Silvery white blood spilled on the ground as he bit into the faery's head. The crunches of bone reverberated around the large thrownroom.
After swallowing, Bastien turned to the other two pixies, who were frozen with fear. "Now," he wiped the back of his hand over his bloodstained lips, "You have four days to get back to me with what you owe. And please don't try to hide. You really don't want to know what I do to those who trick me." he sank back into his immense silver thrown, waving the pixies away with the bottom half of their comrade and splattering them with blood in the process. They tripped over each other in their haste to get off the pillows and out of the thrown room.
Bastien sighed and took another bite of the pixie's head before throwing it in the general direction of his attendants. "Take care of that." He ordered. Without waiting for a confirmation, he swept out of the great thrown room and out into the adjacent shaded courtyard.

Queiin sat curled up in a little alcove just off the courtyard. It was set off by a few weeping willow trees whose viney tendrils shifted and swayed with every little rustle of wind. There was a sloping bench, perfect for lounging, carved into the large rock beneath. It was one of Queiin's favorite spots in the court and often sat there, reading, or on occasion, bringing someone back here for a quickie. It was hard to see into the alcove with the willows but easy to see out and hear all but the quietest rustling through the vines if they approached. Currently though, she was just lounging, her book set aside for now. Her white locks were splayed behind and all around her head as she gazed up at the sky. The stars were lovely and she picked out constellations she knew and also imagined other pictures between the points. She figured she should probably do something productive but she couldn't bring herself to move, sloth creeping up and encircling her limbs as securely as any restraint. No one was expecting her though and thus no motivation to proceed with any task. She supposed she might make a visit to the town, maybe pick up a tourist to feed from, but then it was the slow season and snacking on the locals was risky.

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Jyiinx Sagona sat behind the register of his mother's shop. It had been a slow day, and by slow, not a single person had come in since Jyiinx got there that afternoon after lunch. The young witch didn't really care though, meant less work for him. He had headphones in, his favorite band leaking out in a muffled rumble. He'd gone to see their concert just last week and he still had all their albums on replay. Whenever a song that they did came on, he had little flash backs to the concert - what they were wearing, the variations between live and the studio track, the jumping crowd, the beautiful red head he'd made out with on a whim in the pit - yeah, good memories. He couldn't wait till he could save up enough and convince his mother to let him go to another. Listening to music was a lot more fun than practicing his craft. Sure, being a witch had its perks, but he would have traded it in a heartbeat for a one way ticket out and an apartment in the city. He tried not to dwell on that, but on days where the smallness of this place was apparent, the longing thoughts creeped up on him.

Jyiinx glanced up when he heard the door buzzer go off. It was a member of the coven, he recognized the face but he had always been bad with names - a sad fact considering how few names arpund here there were to remember. He couldn't remeber talking to her, just seeing her at the coven gatherings after he'd started attending. Being the male minority - most if not all the witches more powerful than him - he didn't talk that much and it suited him just fine. He remained at the desk doing his own thing until she came up to the register. He unhooked his headphones from his ears and gave her a pleasant, retail smile before he starting ringing up her purchases. He looked up again, about to tell her her total, but frowned when he saw the cigarette in her mouth. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask that you don't light that until you leave the store. We have a no smoking policy." There wasn't a sign but hell if he was going to smell lingering nicotine in here the rest of the evening.

Bastien stretched his arms up over his head, feeling his joints pop. He always hated sitting in the thrown room. The ornate silver thrown was gorgeous as all getup, but it always left him sore. The courtyard was where he liked to spend his time when he wasn't at parties or in the Iron Realm. It's shadowy corners had been his havens back in the days before he was the ruler; they were just hidden away from the leisurely strolling grounds that lined the middle of the courtyard that they attracted his type of people.
Of course, now that he was ruler, he guessed that his type of people technically meant the nobles walking the main paths. He made a face and slunk away towards one of the large weeping willow trees. He'd take a back corner over stuffy conversation any day.
Or perhaps he wouldn't. It seemed his favorite hidden alcove was already in use by someone, and a very pretty someone at that. "I don't remember seeing you around here before," he intoned, casually leaning against the trunk of the willow tree, "And I'm sure I would remember someone like you.

Sofia kept her hard look on him but was thinking about the way he treated her back. She found it interesting how he took being disrespected and didn't fight back. He had obviously had much practice in dealing with it. She knew he wanted to say something though, she had caught a glimpse of his mind. Taking another puff of smoke out on the window, she put out her cigarette and gave him one last hard look, wondering how far would she have to go to make his self-control go down the drain. Being that she couldn't resist, always looking for trouble, she opened the door to peek her head through but didn't walk in. "One can not 'logically conclude that there was a pretty good chance they were going to light up.' Assumptions lead you into trouble. Especially in a place like this. You never know who will actually get upset and pull some sort of weapon on you or be something you might never want to see in your lifetime. In before, you say that you could probably take them in a fight, one musn't be so arrogant of themself, it could lead you to honestly underestimating your opponent and you could possibly get killed. You should remember that, noob." She said this in a less hostile tone but more in a teaching manner, almost motherly, her messy bow bun finally undoing itself and her snow blonde hair avalanching down, nearly a foot away from the floor. Sofia came inside to pick up her hair tie and was redoing her bun. It was her job to teach the new generation as best as she could, the previous Coven leader had taught her to put that first before all, that it was number one responsibility of any Coven leader. She remembered her fondly, a brief look of nostalgia crossing her face before finishing her bun.

Sofi didn't pick up entirely on his mind, not having full control of her telepathy. She just raised an eyebrow to 'Ms. Queen of Condescension.... Advice on high... Ball and chain... Leave me alone..' and grinned, getting a gist of the concept. Leaning against the wall, she adjusted her bandanna on her newly fastened hair and crossed her arms. She was obviously amused by him and his anger. "Queen of Condescension... I like that. It's a much better title than 'Coven leader'." These words were spoken in her voice but her lips didn't move. In fact, the statement came from behind him where another one of her appeared, a carbon copy. Sofia's clone walked from behind him to sit up on the counter, tilting her head to the side and resting on one arm. "You're a lot easier to get to than I thought." Sofia#3 had spawned from behind him and walked to the other side of him but instead of sitting on the counter, she leaned against it. Sofia#3 poked at his cheek to mess with him, smirking. It was as if she was alive though and her touch was very much real. They also played on his anger, one messing with his clothes and the other playing with his headphone cord. The original Sofia had moved to where the sage was sitting in bulk, picking up some. Too bad the clones were only visible to him, on camera and in reality, Sofia was just looking at more smudge sticks.
"I did miss some." She said, grabbing some more smudge sticks before walking to the front, looking at the sage. "You do know that you are never ball and chained. I'd prefer to keep my home filled with family." She suddenly looked at him, her gaze growing dull and her expression grave.
"If you honestly feel that way then i'd rather you leave. I don't want to have to die for someone who wouldn't do the same for anyone else in my Coven. No matter who they are or how they act." Sofia#2 spoke this time, playing with his hair.
"You are here because you want to be here, for whatever reason. I really don't see any kind of ball and chain around your ankle." said Sofia#3, looking at the smudge sticks, down at his ankles, then looking back at him.
"Besides, if you honestly don't care then why DO you attend every event? Not every event has been necessary nor has every event been a chore. If you honestly don't care then why do you act like you do?" They all simultaneously asked, all of their eyes narrowing onto him as if interrogating him.

It took all of Jyiinx's patience not to swat the clones away when they started playing with his headphones. Those things were expensive. Now that his mental outburst was done and she'd gone into lecture mode again, he felt his energy for the situation drain away. Why couldn't she just leave him be. Sure, he could answer her questions, argue back, but he had no obligation to. She may be the coven leader but she didn't own him. And family? What family? He'd been a disappointment to his mother all his life and that view transferred to many of the others underhandedly. He specialized in electricity not herbology, his power even in that was nothing notable, and to put the cherry yon top he wasn't a girl. His mother had hidden her disappointment well when his specialization bloomed late, but he'd known. He would have been normal like his father. He shook his mind out of his thoughts as she finished up. He didn't care and broke pretense, "What an interesting question. Too bad it's none of your business. I do what I have to do here, my motivations behind it - whether you are who you are or not - are irrelevant." He concentrated, letting spark of energy flicker out and zap the clones, with any luck shattering them.

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"Or maybe they are just so scared of you they spread their legs anyways,' she thought to herself but kept her mask up. Outwardly she would look demure and submissive, a bit frightened even, but underneath she loathed their ruler, his neglect of their people the cause of so much unnecessary pain. She kept her eyes down until he was at level with her own. Slowly she raised them, "Queiin, Milord." She was surprised he was there, less about his seven foot self getting to her five and a half foot self, but that he might even kneel in the first place.

"Boo-fucking-hoo. Do you always wallow in your own self-pity?" The illusions dispersed like mist after complaining of the little shocks and she laughed then stopped abruptly, slamming her hands onto the counter with such force that it caused any small object to bounce and fall off. "Kid, you really don't want to fucking piss me off. It's all fun and games until you threaten the Coven and I am responsible for ALL lives in it. Your motivations, your INTENTIONS are relevant to me because of that alone. I don't give a flying fuck about your mother or the fact that you are a guy. I care that you are in MY Coven with MY charges and that you don't even have the fucking respect to be honest with yourself and me." She said, calm, despite the intensity in her words. Sighing, she pulled back and restrained herself. "We all have fucking problems. You being in the Coven at all means that your care is in my hands as well. I can not help you if you wont help yourself. Simply because your mother thinks you are a disappointment doesn't define you. What others think doesn't define you. What defines you is what you can do for your society and yourself." Sofi said, crossing her arms again, looking down at the smudge sticks. "Ring me up for these." She said in passing. "You don't have to do anything. You don't even have to take my advice, you really don't, but don't expect me to acknowledge you as family to the Coven. I wouldn't be here if I didn't care but I can't allow any danger to anyone and I don't trust you. I need to be able to trust you if you will be in the Coven. There are reasons why we call each other sisters and i'm not against having a brother. I'm pretty sure YOU are the one isolating yourself from people in the first place. Prove to people that you being a male doesn't effect how good you are at controlling your powers. If you don't like your family then make a new one. There are solutions to everything if you care to find them."

Mordred was sitting in the elegant wheeled chair built for her when her sickness had first started. She had it parked at the top of one of the palace's many large airy landings atop the staircases. This was one of her favorites. It was close to her bedroom so she needn't call for anyone's assistance to reach it, and the morning sun hit it in such a way that the stained glass entrapped in the stairway's handles made dazzling rainbow patterns on the wall. It was also quite peaceful, for rarely was there anyone who ventured this near to her private quarters besides her helpers. She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning further back into the mossy padding of her chair and settled in for a midmorning rest.
Of course the very second she did a loud thump reverberated around the room, startling her out of her doze. She peered over the railing of the landing to see her top adviser spilling his scrolls all about. She smiled at his cheery joke; he had always been a favorite of hers, giving her unbiased accounts of the goings on of her court. She wheeled herself closer to the railing and called down, "I could have the wall tried for treason, you know. Conspiracy against an adviser to the queen must count for something." she coughed gently into her sleeve.

Mordred waited until he was seated near to her before she replied, "I am as I ever am." as if to illustrate her point, she pulled out her pocket handkerchief and coughed into it as delicately as she could. When she pulled it away, it had a drop of deep green blood on it. "I'm going to have to ask my handmaid to bring me more of that tincture our herbalist whipped up. It seems that the winter chill has not agreed with my lungs." She sighed, turning her chair to fully face him. "I pray you come with good news of the land, dear adviser. I'm afraid I could not handle anything more than that today. Tell me, is the summer court braving this winter better than I?"

Queiin shook her head, "No, of course not." She didn't rise from her position, not stupid enough to think that because he was speaking informally that she could rise and behace like they were informal. "I was just relaxing here as you are already aware it is a nice spot. I Wil take my leave should you wish to be alone." She hoped he would. She spent a good deal of time evading handsy court male's and didn't want be on the rulers radar even more so.

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Jyiinx wasn't stupid, he saw her point but at the same time he wasn't going to yield to her. Reinforced that her reaction of yelling at him was correct. He wasn't going to give her any more ammo and focused on clearing his mind. "Sure," he punched in the sage sticks and then said the total. "You're going to hurt your case rather than help it by continuing to lecture and berate me." He hoped she backed off, if she didn't he would loose hope for her being resonable. She might think it was that easy but the reality of it was try all he might he wouldn't be their equal.

Adviser laughs, a lot louder than he meant to. It was as if sleeping was just some large joke that he didn't quite understand. "I am fine, my Queen. Please don't worry about me." He smiles softly at her. "I worry about you- I mean.. Well we are all worried about you. But especially me. That sounds really mean, I mean I don't mean to say that no one else would-" He covered his mouth with his hand quickly. He couldn't control the words coming out of his mouth. "I'm so sorry my Queen, I seemed to put my foot in my mouth again."