Morana knows she's different from other people in more ways than one. Firstly, she's sixty-seven years old but stopped ageing in her twenties. Weird things have also happened around her right after she's wished for it. But most importantly, no matte...
During the talk with the witch who worked at the bank, I couldn't help but feel happy over how Morana reacted. I was very used myself to that type of treatment. When I had gone there myself, I had been met with hostility and every time I came to places like this with another female witch, I was treated like air.
I had been slightly worried about how Morana would react to it. If she would follow suit or not. The fact that she consciously handed over all of the talking to me made me let out a sigh of relief. She, at least, wasn't that easily affected by peer pressure.
Her reaction when the money was mentioned had me startled though. Alright, ten thousand dollars was a lot of money, but not for a witch. We lived for so long that we easily could save that money. Sure, I myself also didn't have access to that type of money, but the coven wouldn't blink an eye about giving it to me, as long as it was for a reasonable thing. But even I had managed to through investments scrap together so I had five thousand as a back-up for emergencies. I had decided early on to play on the stock market with the plan to one day try to leave the coven.
But then again, Morana hadn't lived like a witch. And she hadn't had any sort of monetary support from family even. So she must have, for a long time, just worked to be able to sustain herself, forget about saving.
The witch behind the counter waved us away with a scoff. Obviously sick and tired of us. We walked out in silence, but there Morana stopped and glared at me.
"Fucking ten thousand! Why didn't you say so before? Who has ten thousand lying around?" she yelled and threw her arms down in frustration.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think about it," I mumbled and hung my head. It felt obvious now it should have been something to mention, but I really hadn't thought about it at all. Apart from that witches tended to be rich, I also had been too excited about spending the day with her to think about much else.
"Lucky you," she said, her voice filled with contempt.
"How much do you have?"
"Maybe three thousand. Sorry for being poor," she snorted and then added in a mumbled, "If that can be considered poor."
"I can lend you some," I quickly offered. I didn't have enough, but I could probably find a way to convince the coven to give me, or lend me. Inwardly, I shuddered over what such a loan might cost me, but for Morana, it would be worth it.
She, however, shook her head. "No. I'll just move city like I planned to from the beginning."
"No!" I exclaimed, much too loud, but I didn't want her to move. She couldn't move. I... I didn't want to lose her friendship.
"What else do you suggest? Saving that money would take me forever! Almost all of my salary goes to rent and what is left I need for food."
"You can move into my place."
Complete silence followed. It was the type which might appear in TV-shows with cricket sounds in the background. Morana's mouth had fallen slightly open in an almost comical way. And I myself was also shocked by my own suggestion.
I barely knew her. Yes, I felt completely at ease with her, but I still barely knew her. This wasn't a "known you for two days" type of suggestion. Hell, I wouldn't ever even offer Rick to permanently live with me.
But as the silence stretched on, the more certain I became over that I wanted her to move in. I didn't want her to move away, and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. I also had a spare room, so in that way, it made sense.
"What... What did you say? Did you suggest I'll move in with you?" Morana said once she seemed to have collected herself a bit.
"Yeah," I answered and felt certainty in my suggestion. "I have an extra room that's just empty anyway. I have been thinking about getting a roommate, but it would have to be someone magical, so it's not exactly easy for me to find one."
I was lying through my teeth and hoped she wouldn't pick up on it. Instead, I hoped it she would feel more at ease with accepting the offer through the lie.
"Well, I... I'm not sure it's such a good idea."
"Why not? I have the space. I don't pay any rent for the apartment anyway, so you could live for free and be able to save a lot more money. I think we get along reasonably well at least, so hopefully if we notice something that doesn't work, we can talk it out. It'll also make it easier with magic practice lessons. We'll already be under the same roof, so we can practice as much as you want in the evenings. Not sure what the downside would be."
At that point, I felt confident in that it was the best idea I had ever had. Not only did I really want it, but it truly did make sense for her to move in with me.
"I don't know," she mumbled and looked away.
"Well, you can think about it for a few days. It's not like you have to decide here and now." I shrugged and made my voice casual, but in my head, I already planned how to convince her. I would have to show her all the benefits, and I was going to start right away.
"Let's get going," I therefore said. "We can get back to my apartment and we'll start training magic. If you want to."
The hesitance which had been in her eyes since I had mentioned her moving in disappeared in an instance. Instead, they started to shine.
"Yes! Want, want, want!" she exclaimed and took hold of my hand.
For a moment I was in a daze, not getting what her action meant and adding all different types of meanings to it because of that. Then I realized it was so I could teleport us again and I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.
"Hold on tight," I said and smiled to hide the disappointment. Then I closed my eyes, concentrated and turned my upper body.
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