Trigger warnings #magic bs#religious bs# idkanymorelyxyxt
Misty sat on her porch, smoking from her pipe. She was watching the sunbeams through the surrounding trees, reading the hidden messages from the surrounding nymphs about the celebrations that were coming this spring. She smiled to herself, pinching some more tobacco to reload her pipe when she saw Chris walking towards her. He was holding the hand of the young man she'd watched drag bags through her forrests, returning people to nature. " You forgot to refill the hummingbird feeders before you left, Chris." She said once they reached her front step. " You do know they are creatures of habit. If there's no sugar where they expect, they could starve to death in fifteen minutes or less, depending on their travels. "
" I'm sorry. I told you they needed me, but I fucked up again. " " Neves, I'm assuming?" " Who? Oh, right. John. Neves. John. Honest, he didn't tell me his name until he was sure I was dead. " " Names have power. So tell me what happened, I'll make some tea. After you feed my birds, of course. " She raised a hand, drawing Rodzina to follow her inside while he went to tend to the feeders.
She had Rodzina sit down on the floor across from her rocking chair, creating a circle around him with the heel of her shoe in the dirt flooring. " Is this more comfortable for you?" He gave her an absent minded nod, blinking once for the first time since they've arrived. She returned the nod, smiling kindly at him. She assumed what had happened and was right. Nothing but a cruel trick from the local imp. She went about setting the table and boiling some water to prepare the tea and dinner. Stirring the pot of soup that had been boiling since she first took residence here over two centuries ago. After awhile longer, she served out the plates and went to sit in front of the man on the floor. " Sorry it's taking so long. I have over a hundred hummingbird feeders. It could be awhile." Rod smiled some, looking back at her. He was slowly coming back around, though it was hard to say how slowly. " I can tell you don't smile often. Are feeling better?" "Yes, thank you. " " So tell me then, where'd that little bastard trap your mind?" He looked at his hands, rubbing some of the dirt from the floor between his fingers. " He said we were going to the gates. " " The gates?" " He said it'll give me time to get used to it, because that's where people like me go and belong. " She knew what he meant, leaning back in her chair to relight her pipe. " Do you think he's wrong?" " No. It was terrible, but it felt more like home than my house." " It's easy to get comfortable with suffering. I'm sure you know that though. You had your brother's worried sick. " " I thought I was going to get help. He was supposed to fix the thing. I make things break, I can't control myself." " Neither could Chris, but that's what this circle his for. Bring you back, hold you together, and all I ask is one favor." " I can do that. " " Good. I need you to be a better person. " He looked back up at her. " I don't know about that though." " The only difference between a bad person and a better person is effort. As long as you continue to try, you will be fine." " Thank you. " " Just a few more moments in the circle, then we can eat. Your father should be back within the hour." " He's not my father. " She sighed, letting out a puff of smoke. " Of course not. "
Time went by and Chris returned, looking at the two sitting at the table. Conversing about the local wildlife and the importance of recycling of trash and corpses. " Hey, sorry to interrupt, but what did I miss?" " Dinner. There's still a bowl for you, but I don't think the head trick is appropriate right now. " She waved him over to the table, pulling out his seat. He decided not to ask anymore questions for now, moving to sit with them instead. " Chris, did you know Misty is like four hundred?" " I said I was over two hundred, stop making rash assumptions!" She hit him on the head with her spoon. " Sorry." " What are you doing asking a woman her age anyway? Much less spreading gossip about it to the first person in the door. " " I said I was sorry. " They continued back and forth for awhile, Chris just observing. It was strange to see Misty socializing from the outside. " You're a gem. " She stopped mid sentence to stare at him. " Excuse me?" " You're just a gem. Genuine. You really are." " Well, thank you. I might not be four hundred, but I'm definitely too old to pretend to be anything else. " " Except for nice. It's all a trick. " She hit Rod with the spoon again. " I am delightful. You get home though before it gets too dark. Sun's setting. " Rodzina stood up, shaking her hand. " Thank you again for everything. I'll see you later. " He let go of her, turning towards Chris. " You...you tried, buddy. " He smiled politely before waving goodbye on his way out the door.
Chris chuckled." Someone finally says something nice and it's just for effort."
" Eh, still has a chip on his shoulder. However, he's okay and will be doing much better now. " " So what happened?" " Neves didn't bind anything at all. He transported his mind to the gates. Probably just trying to scare or cheat you." " Ah...speaking of cheat, I think we're back to being business partners. I literally didn't survive last time. What am I going to do?" " Nothing. Remember, your debt was paid. He lied last deal, and this fix was on the house. Just stop going back to that little freak. " " He's all I have left though. " " Keep telling yourself that and your debt will never be lifted. " She stood, walking herself to the bedroom. " What else is there to say?" " Goodnight, Chris."
