never have you wanted to be the one to spark fear in the hearts of others ; you have been shoved around enough in your life, && now that you have found yourself in a position of power, you have no desire to abuse it. leadership has never been your strong suit, you never asked for any of this, but here you are. teacher, caretaker, next in line to be head witch, now that scooter crane had decided to cash in on his retirement fund, the old bastard. damn him for training you so well, for putting undue faith in you. all you can ask is that you don’t disappoint him, && that you’re not already in too deep.
but that hurdle sits in the distance, looming but not yet upon you. first, you must right this wrong.
by the time gael returns to the home you’ve made for them, your stomach is in knots — you do not know what to expect when they walk back in through the door, && you stand, violin ‘neath your chin && bow raised ; a swingle swipe across the strings sends the door slamming shut behind them, && even you flinch at the sound.
“ stop that! " — @magicfleeted
you sigh, && lower the bow ; your worry has put you on edge, anxiety over what’s to come in the next week sparking undue overreactions. “sorry,” you offer. the instrument disappears from your hands. “but what’s bit you, kid? all i said was crane’s retiring. it’s not my fault he named me his successor.” a lie, && you both know it. everything you’ve done for the last fifteen years has been for this moment. “this changes nothing. you know better than to think i’m loyal to the emperor.” you smile sheepishly, && wink. “it’s gonna take a lot more than a promotion to corrupt me.” you offer a hand to them, a truce. “things are gonna be okay. i was just meeting with the batts today. ask katya. you still trust me?”
it was luck, definitely not the titan, that somehow brought them together. gael had been hitching a ride on a lionsnake that just happened to be drawn in by the music. raine had been so kind, so welcoming and they were so tired. tired of running and tired of convincing beasts to help them out with decreasing success. by the time the most recent mount stopped by the violinist, they’d been more than ready to try hibernating. if it worked for the slitherbeast why not them.
some part of them vaguely recalls raine talking about their work as a bard. something to do with teaching at the emperor’s coven, but being vehemently against the entire system. gael hadn’t had any other option to give them the freedom to run. the knee wasn’t kind to the unprepared and it would take them some months to get a good witch’s wool. even longer find someone to not only make the cloak, but add on a scaled exterior and furred interior for extra protection and warmth. gael has it wrapped tightly around them now, a freshly carved palisman safely tucked away from their week long venture to find a blue twit that favored colder climates. its crystalline feathers will need to be ground later.
raine, to the older’s credit, told gael as soon as they came home. not that that made them feel any better about it. heart races even faster when the door slams. their fingers audibly crack from cold joints and flickering gold magic rising in defense. do they know better, though? raine had been gone when gael had come back in the morning to swipe some snails for a warm breakfast. they don’t know any truth spells or potions to combat the feeling of falling. sinking. true, if raine was on belos’ side they probably wouldn’t have let a runaway stay with them for this long.
or it could be a long game. belos was good at those. was it better to run now before he found out? didn’t the promotion mean raine would have to move? gael can’t recall if the coven heads are free to come and go or if they live on ground at the castle. it certainly seemed like some of them did with the way gael could never go unseen even at the oddest hours. “no.” the word is a bite. a bug demon flew in a window and out another. “no-i-i don’t know.” swift forms a staff behind their back and gael brings it in front like a shield. like they actually know how to use one.
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