Life is strange true colors- Chenrich

Bewitched

(sexual content)

Thaynor bounces with excitement as he knocks on the door to the Magpie Emporium. Alex is looking forward to visiting the magical store again, too. So far, only good things have happened in there. But today, they don't get an answer. Thaynor knocks again, with no reaction from the other side of the door.

"Where's Dina?" Thaynor asks in confusion, trying to look through the glass panels in the door. But there's some dark fabric draped over them from the other side.

"Have you tried if it's unlocked?"

The warrior turns the doorknob, and to their surprise it swings open with a quiet ring of the bell. Looking back at the bard he establishes: "That can't be a good sign, Alwynn. Dina always keeps the shop locked."

Alwynn nods, peeking through the door into the dark store. There's no lights on, and it's eerily quiet without any music. "Let's be careful. I'll go first."

Resisting the urge to just hit the light switch, Alwynn enters the store. Too much light would just destroy the creepy atmosphere. Instead she grabs a dim lantern from the front desk. It's a cheap plastic one that barely illuminates three inches in front of it, but it fits the theme. There's no one in sight. As the two of them look around the Magpie Emporium, they find hints of a fight: Decorations knocked over, papers on the floor, and Dina's witch hat laying on the rock records shelf. Thaynor and Alwynn exchange worried looks.

Alwynn wanders over to the door to the backroom that has a big piece of paper glued onto it. She reads it loud enough for Thaynor to hear: "Only passable by playing a musical instrument." She pats the guitar on her back. "Good thing we have that."

"Well, good for you. I don't have a musical instrument to play," Thaynor interjects.

"I'm sure I can take you with me," Alwynn reassures the boy, but Thaynor is distracted by something else.

"Can you come here with your light, please?" Thaynor asks and points to the newspaper pages that cover up the doorway to the side room. Alex had thought that was just a way to indicate that the room is off limits, but now she notices a similar sign next to the door frame.

As she shines the small lantern on it, Thaynor reads the inscription: "Home of the cursing magician. Entrance only though magic or force. Only two living beings able to fit inside, including the inhabitant."

"Huh," Alwynn squints.

"So I can slash my way through the barrier, and you can go through the back door, bard!" Thaynor enthusiastically pulls out his sword, but Alwynn holds him back before he can slice anything into pieces. Though his eagerness is adorable.

"I don't think splitting up is a great idea," she cautions, but her younger companion shoots her a look that seems to doubt her mental capacity.

"We don't have a choice, do we? If the magician is in there, only one of us can go inside."

She looks down at the warrior, and a small burst of golden excitement reaches her mind.

Come on, let me fight.

"Fine," Alwynn relents with an internal grin and holds out her hand to Thaynor, "Good luck. And don't get cursed, okay? I want to go on a lot more adventures with you."

With a bright smile Thaynor shakes her hand. "We will. And be careful out there. I'll see you later, bard."

And without waiting another moment, he raises his sword and rips though the paper entrance. The joy he gets from it is obvious, and Alex smiles. He's easy to please, and it's adorable. Ethan barges through the slit in the paper he made with a loud war cry, and Alex immediately hears Ryan mumbling incoherently from the other side. With a shrug she turns to the back door. If Thaynor is fighting an enemy right now, she will either face a second one, or she'll find the lost witch. She strums a random assortment of cords before she turns the doorknob and enters the back room.