eswareinmal | The great NPC Hunt! (Open NPC log)

There was a great deal to be said of what occurs when a Princess seeks the aid of a Witch, and inevitably, it was always going to go poorly for the Princess. Selene was prepared to risk it, however, for a proper cause. Whether she had one or not, well. That was a damned good question.

Hell, at least she was already cursed. Wasn't like the Witch could really do anything to her, anyway. Right?

She'd dressed for the part, of course, because she would be expected to do so. Her cloak was pulled tight as she walked through the forest, head down. It covered a simple, white dress, because she felt it couldn't hurt to play up her position if she meant to bank on it. Nerves were a problem, but Selene had learned to push them to the back of her mind and ignore them years ago, and she did so now, as she paused to rest a hand against a tree and take a deep breath.

Still no smell of candy on the air, despite the hushed whispers of the servants back in the castle about one of the places to studiously avoid if she felt the need to go into the Two-Faced Forest. A slight shiver, and she started off again. She wasn't going to find anything standing around, after all, and Selene wasn't one to give up because she had to walk around a little. It was a good reason to invest in good boots, and Selene had done that.

She was nothing if not prepared.

Eventually as she walked, the faint scent of baking gingerbread and warm candy soon came wafting from the distance. The forest was quiet, only the occasional chirp from a bird or rustle of small creature in the bramble. There was a clearing with a large, clear, glittering lake that seemed almost too clean to be natural as she grew nearer, and a windy path leading out from it towards the source of the scent.

Selene slowed ever more as the scent began growing stronger, and stopped altogether at the edge of the clearing. She crouched, careful of her dress, scanning the lake and the path leading from it. She frowned for a moment, and then skirted the lake and clearing both, out of caution, sticking just inside the trees, despite the extra time it took.

Reaching the pathway, she paused again, wary despite her purpose. Despite the caution, however, she stepped onto the path and began to walk along it, head high and skirts lifted out of any mud or dirt that might make her hemline a complete mess.

And if she was lucky, the witch wouldn't be able to smell or sense the nerves she was feeling the closer she got to the smell of baking and candy.

As Selene approached, the house came into view, looking exactly what one would expect a candy house to look like. Leaning against it was a ladder, the witch of the house up on it with a tray of cookies in one hand, a bucket of frosting slung over an arm and a spatula in hand. Her black apron had a few dots of the white frosting already on it.

She paid Selene no mind, utterly ignoring her as she carefully began to a lightly browned cookie in the spot she had just slathered icing onto.

She stopped when the house and its owner came in sight, biting her lip for a moment. Almost, she turned away, but then shook her head and stepped forward. She looked around the house, and the area around it. Letting out a heavy breath, she squared her shoulders and walked forward, towards the woman.

Before she got too, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Excuse me, ma'am? Is this your house?" A slight wince; it wasn't exactly the best question to ask, but too late to take it back.

The old woman snorted, not looking over. "No, I'm just fixing the roof for my health," she retorted. "What do you think? Stupid bubble headed Princesses...." she muttered, digging out another wad of frosting with the spatula.

It took a moment for her to manage a reply; she simply wasn't used to locals saying anything like that. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she nodded. Selene could do blunt, too.

"I've come for your help, ma'am." A little smile. "Against the judgement of the townsfolk, I might add."

Another snort, though this one was more amused. "Finally a hint of sense from you idiots." There was a wet slap as the frosting hit, followed by a gooey thunk as the spatula was roughly shoved back into the bucket. "Well, what is it? Something new chewing on the castle walls or some crap like that?"

Selene snorted back. "I'd probably pay to see that, so long as I got to see the look on the King's face when he found out about it. There is a boy who is unconscious. The white mage who brought us here. I thought you might be able to help me wake him. And know what, exactly, the King and the voice floating around his throne room wouldn't come out and tell me about Order's great mistake."

Absently, she started brushing imaginary twigs and leaves from her cloak. "I had hoped you might also be able to tell me something more about the thorns than 'they are bad' and 'they are scary.' Maybe why the fall of some wall was so important it became the basis for an entire calendar. Back home, it took the birth of the son of God to fix a calendar everyone could agree on, so I'm thinking this 'Wall' had to be pretty special."

She took a slow breath and looked up, licking her lips. "And there is another boy, one brought here from another world. I hoped to ask you for something to protect him from harm. He is a...confidant child, and I have reasons to worry for his safety. I do not know what manor of payment you would seek for these things, but I am willing to discuss it."

Smoothing the front of her dress, Selene took another slow breath. The woman didn't appear much more than a frail, loudmouthed old woman, but Selene had known more than one person that could claim the same thing, right up to the point where they tried to eat your face. She looked around the yard again. "Oh." She pressed her lips together for a moment, the pressed on. "One more thing." She cleared her throat, smoothing her dress again. "There was a...spirit, or something. It was a talking fire, and I'm certain it burned down the White Forest, the one that used to be North of the city. When the fire happened, the mage fell ill. What did the 'Voice of the Thorns' want in that forest? It spoke of ending the war in one stroke. What could possibly be so important to the fight against the thorns?"

"Right in the thick of that whole mess, huh?" The witch shook her head, slathering on another glob of white. "Easy thing first, which kid? One of those two little brats who've been running around of late, trying to bite off more than they can chew?"

"About as deep as I could have managed to get. Not wholly intentional, but...it's my best shot to get back home." Selene considered the question, and only reluctantly answered. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to say there is a very good chance he is involved, unfortunately. Like I said, he is...confidant, in his abilities." It was something Selene had a problem with, too. The wolf in them both, really.

"I will speak with him about bothering you. Sternly." Because sometimes, a pup just needed knocked head-over-heels. Especially when he probably only thought of the danger with excitement, and not caution.

The witch chuckled. "Don't bother. He'll learn soon enough. He's a bright boy, even if he does follow others far too easily."

Another splat of icing. "Taking over his guardianship, are you?"

"The boy will not be harmed." Her tone is cool, a little sharp. And backed up with a growl that just isn't quite human. This isn't a plea, or even a threat, but a simple statement of fact. It is also the only answer to the witch's question Selene offers. She didn't come to fight, but that didn't mean she was unwilling.

"Make sure you can back that up." The witch appeared to be paying more attention to the placement of the cookie tile than Selene at the moment.

Selene is silent, for a moment, staring at the witch. Then she turns her head, an tips it to the side, giving a decent ciew of her neck: a clear indication of backing down, from her.

"I'd rather not test it," she said, though it wasn't hard to tell that the words ground on her. "Like I said, I came here, in part, to protect him. I...am sorry." It didn't sound terribly sincere. But she did apologize, at least.

"The fool child has nothing to fear from me, so don't worry yourself over that. If I'd have meant him or the girl harm, they would have found it the first time they showed up."

Selene nodded, slowly, and let out a heavy breath. After a moment, she stepped closer, eying the house again. "May I offer you any assistance? I've never worked on decorating anything quite so large, but I've helped with a few small gingerbread houses. The vampire across the street loves making them for Christmas, and I'm the only one in the neighborhood willing to visit her at home."

It was a genuine offer, but also a veiled warning; she wasn't afraid of vampires, and this lady was just a little old witch. Selene just couldn't help it. She was too nervous not to puff up her own abilities, in her mind even more than the witch's.

"Like I want some clumsy wolf making a mess of my house," the witch snorted. "You'll mess up the magic, getting your own all over it. You just stay down there, I'll be done soon enough."

That took her by surprise. She opened her mouth, then shut it, blinking. Another attempt to say something, and then she half-turned away, looking back at the forest. Finally, she managed a soft, "I'm hardly clumsy."

The Witch snorted. "You're no elegant creature no matter what dress they stuff you in." Another splat of icing punctuated the sentence.

Selene couldn't decide i she liked the old woman or not. She didn't like what she said, much, but it was a pleasent surprise to run into someone that didn't act like a sequel to te sequel of a Grimm Fairytale from Disney. Growling, she hunched down, resting her arms on her knees, not quite looking at the witch. She kept her mouth closed, though, because she didn't really want to antagonise the woman, and also because she'd probably get it right back.

It was like being a new pup in the pack all over again. She couldn't decide whether to be excited or afraid.

There were a few minutes of silence, punctuated by the slap of icing being slathered onto the roof before the witch hobbled back down the ladder to admire her handiwork.

"That ought to keep those dang birds for now," she nodded, making a gesture with her hand, the ladder and the black apron she had been wearing vanishing. It was only then that she looked over at Selene. "Still here, eh?"

Selene looked back, frowning a little. "You don't get a rabbit by pouncing too soon. First thing a pup's got to learn if he's ever going to catch anything." She stood, smoothing the front of her dress and taking a slow breath.

"Now, then. The 'easy thing first,' as you said. Can you offer me something to protect the boy from harm?"

"Common sense would do it, but there's a lack of that in this world," the Witch returned with a chuckle as she hobbled towards the house. "But I suppose I can put together something."

"We're talking about a 10-year-old boy. Common sense won't develop for another five years, at least." She shook her head a little. "If he's lucky." Selene took a couple of hesitant steps after the witch, then stopped. She'd been told off of getting near the house once already, after all.

"Now, Kori. The white mage. He's just a child, too, and whatever this Voice of the Thorns did, it's affected him rather severely. IS there anything you can do for him, ma'am?" She clasped her hands at her waist, since there weren't any pockets to shove them into. Sometimes, she did miss jeans.

The Witch

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So amused every time the Witch just bowls her over :D

You would be.

>D

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