us weirdos gotta stick together

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

They couldn't help but grin as she laughed. In another world, in another time, Raine thought they could see the two of them causing problems together. They'd always enjoyed their encounters with Eda, she was always a great change of pace and they liked--as their students might say--her vibe.

There was a moment of softness on her face where it seemed that maybe she was realizing the same thing. That if it weren't for the Belos of it all, they would've caused more problems together, started more fires--metaphorically speaking of course... maybe a few literal as well. But that's not where they were now, and that probably wouldn't ever be where they were.

Her words, for as playful as they might have sounded, confirmed it. Raine shrugged like they didn't care, the most ambiguous smile possible on their face, "Sounds like I'm getting yelled at either way."

Raine had, foolishly, thought they were going to go pick it up from her. But of course Eda didn't want a Coven head snooping around her home, or even knowing the vicinity she lived in.

"Oh, um, you could drop it by my office at the university," they said, giving her the building name and room number. "Whenever you're able to. I wouldn't want you going out of your way for me."

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

It wasn't that Eda didn't want them snooping. That would have been a very smart, logical, and reasonable reason to not have anyone out at her house. But she didn't really care about that sort of thing– she had finally gotten around to putting up all the varying protection spells. And she had Hooty, the best security system in the world. She wasn't concerned with safety or her trade secrets getting out, too confident that she could take on anything that tried to come for her home.

What she was more worried about was someone showing up with no ill intentions and she happened to be romping around out there in the Dark Wood as a giant demon monster. It wasn't often that she just happened to go Owl Beast mode, but hey, you never know. It was too much of a risk.

She didn't care if someone tried to hurt her, she could take care of herself. Eda did care if she hurt someone that didn't deserve it.

"You don't have to worry about that. I don't go out of my way for anyone," she said, as if she hadn't just walked in on this whole scene without getting an invite. "But okay. Then...I'll see you around. Try to stay out of trouble, eh? Not a good look on you."

[owlwitch-eda]

Wrong Neck Of The Woods || Mileda

[lordmilori-ofnowhere]

@owlwitch-eda

Milori nearly snorted at her reaction, having pinned her as somebody much less concerned about anything than that.

"I'm here on Queen Clarion's hospitality, don't worry. No turf war to be had." Milori assured her. "And anyway, fairies aren't-- our only territory is the pixie dust tree."

Which probably meant nothing to her, but.

"We can talk to who we please."

[owlwitch-eda]

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

It did mean nothing to her– but more so because it was him saying it rather than her not knowing what he meant by Pixie Dust Tree. She felt as though she had been lied to, letting her believe something that wasn't true, which in turn made her automatically think he wasn't going to be forthcoming with her from there on out.

Which was fine. It wasn't like she was either. But now that she was aware of his game, she wasn't going to let herself fall for it twice.

"That's kind of rough and tumble. Royalty or political leaders in the human world usually has someone keeping an eye on them, making sure they aren't going to get taken out," she said as she started pouring the ingredients of the spell together in a pot atop the stove.

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

Raine's brow furrowed for a moment. But a grin did begin to crack as she went on. "Drat, you've foiled my perfectly set up plan to find out what you're up to. Yes, the rude man and the driver of that car were paid actors," they said with just a bit more humor and showmanship to their tone to keep it from being deadpanned.

But she does answer a little honestly. "I think there are some of those that many wouldn't," they've heard of some that are considered black magic because they're just a little on the morbid side but are for the most part harmless. But most of them are down right vicious and inhumane. The things out of old, horribly misrepresented fairy tales where witches baked children into pies.

"Even if you were hoarding kitten tears or a mother's grief or whatever messed up reagents you want to imagine, I don't think I'd go through the trouble of reporting this back to anyone," Raine admitted. "It's like what the mundus police say--it's out of my jurisdiction." It' was meant as a joke, but it's also true.

Also they didn't have any interest in getting Eda in trouble. With the way Darius and Raine's discussions were going, they would need Eda at some point. In Raine's opinion, at the very least.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Eda laughed, whole person jostling with the movement. The resulting smile lingered on her features, softening them for a moment before she considered the other sorcerer opposite her. Because, honestly? They weren't bad. They had a sense of humor and flair. They weren't so serious like the other Coven Heads. They were– cool!

So how in the Titan's armpits had they gotten sucked into Belos' bullshit? They seemed so much smarter than that. Or, maybe smart wasn't the word. Not that Raine Whispers was dumb or anything, clearly far from, but Lily was smart. That was her whole thing. She was the smart sister who had gone on to accomplish things with herself. But Eda knew her sister, and she knew her sister had a bit of an ego on her.

Raine, though...they seemed down to Earth. Like someone Eda would have been able to share a pint of Apple Blood with and talk and not be annoyed by the end of it.

It just sucked knowing Belos could scam cool people, too. No one was safe, apparently.

Except for her– but she was the coolest. So.

"Wooooooow. You learn quick, Whispers! Careful, or people are going to think you're one of them and then people will yell at you for completely different reasons." She nodded toward them. "So, where can I drop the music off for you?"

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

Raine nodded along to the list. She was well stocked.

"Sounds like I found myself with the perfect partner in crime for all of this," Raine chuckled. "I'd say lets go with spa music, I feel like it would take well to something like that." It being an instrument and all.

Raine was upset that their instrument had broke. It wasn't their only one, it wasn't even their favorite. It was more the reason it did. Some jerk on the street who thought himself more superior to them for whatever reason. That knew nothing about Raine but saw the way they looked and knew they were Magick and had a problem with them.

They'd faced a lot of that sort of stuff in their life, for different reasons. And though they'd gotten better at letting it roll of their back, it never really felt good.

"Are there any reagents you don't have?" Raine asked almost teasingly.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Right. Should have probably guessed that from the jump instead of just rambling through a laundry list. Titan, what was wrong with her? First guilt and now she was feeling the beginnings of embarrassment? Since when did she let anyone knock her off her usual step? And a Coven Head, of all people!

She needed to get it together.

Thankfully, Whispers gave her the perfect opening to get back on track. The hint of chaffing in their tone acted like a shiny object being waved in the sunlight, enticing and guiding her toward it.

She pretended to think for a moment, opened her mouth as if about to answer, but then stopped herself before saying anything. One corner of Eda's mouth curled upward, eyes narrowing and head tilting away from Whispers. She lifted that finger away from her chin to point at them briefly.

"Aaahhh! I see what you're doing, trying to get me to tell you all my secrets, huh? Well, too bad, Raine-y Days, I've still got to keep some of my mystique from you guys," she said. "Nice try. But to answer your question, yes. There are plenty of black magic reagents I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole– so no need to add that to my rap sheet."

[owlwitch-eda]

Wrong Neck Of The Woods || Mileda

[lordmilori-ofnowhere]

@owlwitch-eda

"Have at it," Milori said, perfectly comfortable with it. Wasn't his first time letting a sorcerer use reagents from him; he'd lived a long time, in different countries, and had been close with many sorcerers over the years.

He figured her staff was her wand but ah, who was really to say. He knew an Algerian sorcerer a hundred years ago who used an ornate dagger.

"Getting old, please. I'm a royal talent fairy, I'm middle aged at this point. Maybe."

[owlwitch-eda]

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

Eda had been in the middle of pulling the string of pain free from the fairy when the term royal talent rolled out of his mouth, like the red carpet itself. She blinked because– huh? Wait, what? She'd thought he was a....shoot. What had he called it? Foraging?

Then again she guessed he had never exactly said that he was. Just that he could have been.

Huh. So. She had a whole monarch in her midst.

Good to know. Would have been even better to have known that little tid bit before letting him into her house.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said and turned away to go get this potion started anyway. "Royal Talent? Seriously? I haven't started some sort of turf war by talking to you, have I?"

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

"It's alright," Raine said. "It's fixable. I'm just glad to have it back. Regardless of the, mm--" they looked at the way the strings were pretty much all that was holding it together-- "condition."

They're surprised at her offer to help more. And, honestly, they appreciate it.

"I... thank you, that would be helpful," Raine nodded slightly. "I'm afraid most of the Reagents I collect get locked up inside my instruments which... are a little harder to access right now. Gonna have to do this the more hands on way." Their magic wasn't nearly as strong without an instrument to channel it through, and since they often didn't prepare to have to do magic without one, they rarely had the right things on hand.

"It should just be a simple mending spell. Maybe some lodestones if you're talking components, maybe a few repairing reagents." Raine knew that this was part of why people saw their magic as weaker than some of the other coven heads. Their clumsiness with doing spells by hand. They didn't care. They didn't mind being overlooked--it made all of their goals that much easier to reach.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Her arms squeezed tighter around herself, both to cringe away from the sight of the instrument and in order to hug her staff closer to her person. Titan, she would have been pissed if someone had broken her staff! It was like an extension of herself at this point, another limb that she used on the daily. Even for things that it wasn't even meant to be used for, like keeping a door open or swiping something off a tall shelf. She didn't know how Raine wasn't more angry with her for being so careless.

She made a noise of understanding and then was nodding along to the spell talk. That, at least, she felt she could do without causing any more damage. Now, she didn't have any lodestones back at home but she didn't mind heading over to the Rock Shoppe to restock. That place was a lot handier than she'd originally thought it would be– and it would be nice to see what Mim was up to these days.

"Repairing reagents, let's see..." she lifted a hand to tap an index finger against her chin as she went over her inventory in her head. Which probably was not at all accurate but, eeehh, whatever. It wasn't like Raine would know better.

"I think I've got about every taste of chocolate there is, minus white chocolate, but I don't think that'd be very helpful here. Spa music, royalty free. Sighs of relief. Restful sleep. So much gotu kola. Oh! And I've got sun shower," she said.

[owlwitch-eda]

Wrong Neck Of The Woods || Mileda

[lordmilori-ofnowhere]

@owlwitch-eda

"Aish, I wouldn't say this hangover is massive-- except, okay maybe I would." Milori admitted, before clearing his throat. "But yes, yes I did. For the first time in a while, my former scout captain convinced me to drink with him."

Milori chuckled and folded his arms across his chest.

"I can't drink like I could in the 1880s."

[owlwitch-eda]

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

1880's? she mouthed silently to herself from behind the fridge door as she dug around for the sound of freshly fallen snow she had tucked away in there...somewhere...

Yeeeeeesh, being a Seelie had some serious draw backed, eh? As much as Eda dug the whole, you know, being alive thing, she could not imagine having to endure longer than the average human grade life span. Then again, she guessed if it was normal then she wouldn't even know the difference.

Finally she found what she was looking for and tucked elbowed the door shut, walking over to the counter to dump everything onto it. Then she went over to Milori, "Oh yeah? Getting old or something?"

Eda gestured to him, "Mind if I take a bit of that pain?"

[veeva-la-vida]

Hunting & Gathering || Veeda

[veeva-la-vida]

So there's said to be a witch in the woods, right? Well, Vee's met this witch and hey! She's pretty cool. Her name is Eda, she's an owl lady, and she was definitely not going to eat Vee. Even with how powerful she was, she was nice enough. That was good enough for Vee, who always thought powerful sorcerers were cool when they didn't want to cause Vee harm.

Because, yea, Vee being a basilisk meant they were not exactly the most welcome anywhere... but as long as people didn't know that's what Vee was, Vee should be safe.

Okay, yea, so anyways, Eda the Owl Lady. And the last time Vee was in the forest, they'd sniffed out some reagent that felt like.... cotton candy clouds? Or maybe it was warm and fluffy like home? Vee didn't know but Vee probably needed help because it was so soft in Vee's head, it would be impossible to let go until Vee figured out what it was.

It's how she knocks on Eda's door, hoping Eda would indulge Vee with this hunt. Hunt reagent. Gather reagent. Get out. That's the vibe!

"Miss Eda!" Vee asks at the door, "I was wondering if you had a moment?"

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@veeva-la-vida

The face on the door blinked its eyes open and looked down at the person standing on the house's stoop. Normally when someone came knocking it was Hooty's job to get rid of them because normally Eda didn't like visitors! In the past they'd mostly consisted of people trying to arrest or capture Eda, or just looking for general mischief.

But this was a re-visitor! Someone who Eda wasn't looking to sick Hooty on– last thing she wanted was to scar some poor kid by having them attend one of his tea parties. Eugh.

"Hoot hoot," said Hooty, body stretching forward away from the door a little to meet their height. "Hiiiii! Eda's napping right now but I can wake her up. Stay right there, hoot!"

His tubular body moved, stretching up, up, up, and around the house to get to the large balcony that led into Eda's room on the second story. From there the sounds of smashing glass could be heard, followed by Hooty's voice, then something hard hitting against something else with a loud, high pitched, "OWW! HOOT!"

Then Hooty was retreating back until he was just a face on the door once more. "She'll be down in a–" and then the door was being flung open to reveal a squinty eyed, sleep rumpled Eda Clawthorne.

"Whuuu?" she asked, scanning in front of her until her eyes landed on the visitor. "Oh. Vee. What're you doing out here, kid?"

[owlwitch-eda]

Wrong Neck Of The Woods || Mileda

[lordmilori-ofnowhere]

@owlwitch-eda

"Omo." The Korean interjection escaped him. "He's got stories? Of course he does. Of course the owl tube has deep lore."

Ooookay, maybe he was losing it, then.

"But yes, moving. Quickly, while he's occupied. His name is...Hooty? Very fitting for an owl. Though I hope you're more creative than that and didn't name him."

[owlwitch-eda]

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

"Eeeeehh, I wouldn't call it that," Eda commented as she stuck her staff into the bucket by the door. It was also occupied by a croquette mallet, a morningstar mace, and one of those long, skinny yard cups that had once been filled with alcohol. "He once spent three hours telling me about the squirrel he chased around. And no, he came with the name. But fits in with my whole gig perfectly."

She passed through the living room, crossed a hallway, and entered the kitchen. It was larger than the living room by a lot.

"Have a seat," she said, gesturing to either of the stools tucked under the large table that sat toward the back of the room next to the large window and door to the outside. Eda turned to the stove that looked like it belonged in the late 1800's or early 1900's. Probably because that's when it had been installed, but that worked for her since it didn't use electricity. Technology was hard to manage for her since she used magic all the time and those two things didn't mix very well.

Eda rubbed her hands together and used the friction, her will, and a whispered spell to blow a flame forward into the firebox to get the charcoal lit. She shut that door and then wandered over to the fridge, opening it, and getting out the ingredients she needed.

"I'm going to assume by the size of your headache that you had a good time at this...celebration?"

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

The man hit the ground with a thud, the wind knocked out of him for a second.

"What the fuck--" he wheezed.

Raine skidded to a stop next to him, looking down at the--admittedly--pathetic man. They then looked to Eda. "Nice shot!" they called out to her.

They watched the violin end up in the street. What a strange day this had been. Hopefully the man learned his lesson, they thought as they started toward the street.

Then they felt a hand around their ankle and Raine quickly found themself on the ground not far from the man.

"You fucking shot me!" the man practically wailed.

"It was a snowball, relax," Raine lied, kicking his hand away from their leg. "And maybe that should teach you not to steal from people."

Before Raine could finish getting to their feet, they heard the sound of a car and then the hollow crunch of wood. They look to see their instrument cartoonishly flattened and crushed in the road.

"Serves you right," the man huffed as he started to get up.

Raine spun on their heels, "I didn't do anything to you; why are you being such a dick?!"

They took a breath, calmed down. He wasn't worth it. So, with as much dignity as they could based on everything that'd happened, Raine went to grab the pieces of their violin and walked over to Eda.

"It should be fine after a mending spell," they sighed when they reached her. "I doubt it held onto the reagents I had stored in it but... that's fine." It really was. Because even if it was broken, they could mend it. At least it wasn't gone.

"That'll teach me to take my favorite violin to the park," they chuckled. Whatever the man was doing, whether he was laying on the ground acting pathetic or he was getting up to come yell at them some more, Raine didn't really care. He wasn't worth it to them.

"Thanks for your help, Eda. I knew you were a better shot than I'd ever be," they grinned. And really, they wanted to thank her more for helping them because she had no reason to. They were a thorn in her side on the Isles--maybe not as big of one as some other scouts or Heads, but still. It would've been almost like karma in Eda's eyes to see them get screwed over, right?

Or were they misjudging her a little too much? Maybe a little of their own petty biases were bleeding into their thoughts. Maybe Eda was a better person than they thought--maybe she was a better person than them.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Eda watched, her staff hanging on her shoulder with her hands still clutching it, looking like a baseball hitter admiring their home run as it sailed into the stands beyond. She smiled as the man went skidding into the pavement below. There was just something sooo satisfying about an idiot getting pancaked.

That smile quickly turned into a scowl as she watched the guy reach out and grab Raine– seriously? If Eda didn't know any better, she'd think this was some sort of fucked up school yard crush thing going on, this guy taking every opportunity to touch them without permission. She started forward, her staff at the ready.

The good thing about carrying around a nice solid object like a wooden staff was that, while it was really good for magic, it also doubled as a giant stick which could just crack down on someone when she needed. Instead, it seemed like Raine had it handled, so she paused– just in time to watch from afar as the car started to roll by.

She squeezed an eye shut, corners of her mouth pulling back as she grimaced at the sound of the violin going cu-crunch underneath the tires. Her shoulders fell an instant later, all the joy of the victory getting sucked out of the moment since they hadn't won at all.

In fact, if she hadn't clocked the guy when she had, their instrument may still be intact.

Eda crossed her arms over her middle, staff tucked between a bicep and her ribs, as Raine approached her. She thought for sure she was about to get chewed out, eyes on their shoes– only to hear gratitude. Her gaze shot up, surprise evident on her face for a moment before she schooled her expression once more.

"Ah, I wouldn't thank me too much. I should have waited until he was away from the street," she said, then nodded toward the pathetic looking instrument. "Can I get you anything for the spell? I've got a bunch of stuff back at my house so you don't have to go searching."

[fancifulfibres]

Owl Witch

[owlwitch-eda]

Fresh Beat || Beda

[vaquero-beco]

Beco's eyes twitched up a little in surprise. And suspicion. Of course she was selling her wares. And now, she was blatantly lying to his face. Interesting.

He put the little vial back down, somewhat reluctantly...which meant it was probably for the best. He had no idea what the reagent did. Or if it was a charm or enchantment. Something was drawing him to it and he probably shouldn't keep messing with it. Beco grew up around magic.

But that also meant he respected it.

Knew not to mess with it.

"I suppose I just assumed," he said, good-natured enough. Though, he was clearly not buying it. (Ha, ironic.)

"What is it you're doing then?"

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@vaquero-beco

Ah, but was she lying? She had just asked a question. Like he had! Nothing wrong with that, right? They were just having a nice little conversation, one stranger trying to get to know the other. Surely this wasn't anything official.

Except she knew that's how it always started, but not nearly how it always ended. Once you said anything that could even remotely be used to sound like something they could use against you, you were booked.

Or cooked as everyone around the campus had been saying these days. Which she thought was a funny term of slang– what had ever happened to saying burned?

She shrugged, keeping up with the nonchalant and casual tone like him. "I'm doing a lot of things. I guess it just depends who's asking most of the time. What're you doing?"

[owlwitch-eda]

All The Different Variables || Tiger Owl [Trope Extravaganza]

[professor-lungri]

@owlwitch-eda

From: Suta Khan ([email protected])

To: Marjorie Hanson ([email protected])

READ RECIPT SENT.

--

From: Suta Khan ([email protected])

To: Eda Clawthorne ([email protected])

Subject: I already filled out the form you c—

Are you going to be an arsehole the entire bloody conference? Why did she even tell you about it? You're not supposed to be here.

xx

Shere

[owlwitch-eda]

@professor-lungri

From: Eda Clawthorne ([email protected]) To: Suta Shere Subject: RE: I already filled out the form you c—

Dear Schmear,

hey, i was just trying to help you and our fellow conference go-ers out by lighting a fire under your ass to get things done! last thing you want is to be the procrastinator and then wind up having to sleep on the floor of someone else's room.

and of course they invited me to come, i'm everyone's favorite. where else am i supposed to be? i'm sure not forfeiting my spot at that round table on birds of prey to YOU, cat boy.

xx Eda

[owlwitch-eda]

Wrong Neck Of The Woods || Mileda

[lordmilori-ofnowhere]

@owlwitch-eda

Milori looked straight ahead and blinked as Hooty continued to shriek into his ear. Good lord.

The worst part? He couldn't even be annoyed. A. He brought it upon himself by getting drunk last night and then following Eda; and B. Hooty was actually quite cute. He was just excited!

"You probably don't get many visitors to practice the personal bubble with, it's okay." Milori told Hooty, now curious as to why she felt the need to live so far from fairies.

[owlwitch-eda]

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

Hooty gasped at the kind words and Eda rolled her eyes.

Ugh. How had such a flawless plan been turned around so fast to bite her in the ass?

"You're right! We don't! Hoot hoot," Hooty agreed. "But now you're here. Finally, someone to listen to my stories– ohmygoshabug!"

Hooty's body darted off in another direction, the long tube of it stretching from the front door. Eda watched him for a moment before turning back to Milori and smiling. "Easily distracted, that one. Come on, before he remembers you exist."

She led the guy up to her door, and paused to take a moment to let down her wards so that they would tear Milori a new one, before opening the door to lead him inside.

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

Raine breathed a laugh. She had a point, really. And, knowing Eda, she'd be able to throw out some aliases to the police and send them on a wild goose chase after an identity that didn't exist.

When she turned and winked there was a brief moment where Raine's heart beat irregularly. But they were also running, so it was probably from that.

They watched in awe as Eda took a detour, scooping up the grossest tennis ball they'd ever seen, casting a spell on it. There was a reason she was such a threat to Belos's system, there was a reason she had such notoriety among scouts. Yeah, she caused problems, but she was damn good at it.

"Definitely not as good as yours," Raine answered honestly. "But I can run interference--get you a better shot."

Raine bent over, quickly scooping up a handful of snow at the edge of the pavement. They patted it into a ball and chucked it toward the guy. It flew past his head, as expected, and hit the pavement not too far in front of him. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make his pace falter, his hesitation leaving him a still target for just a moment.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Eda hadn't expected that answer and found herself smiling, pleased and impressed, as her gaze lingered on Raine for a moment. They had always been a bit different than the others that did Belos' biding, mostly they were a whole lot cooler than everyone else. Both in general attitude, as in they weren't itching to slap handcuffs on her wrists and using brute force to do so, and also in style. Such a shame they were brain washed by the big wig.

And they knew how to be a team player. Eda knew this wasn't big stakes or anything but it was their instrument on the line here– it seemed at least, you know, the smallest itty bittiest bit significant to give Eda the trust to be able to take the guy down, didn't it?

She let her momentum slow down, taking large halting steps until she was standing instead of in motion. Eda didn't pay attention to Raine or the arc of their snowball– instead her focus was on the dumby trying to make a break for it.

As soon as he slowed down, Eda took her shot. She threw the ball up into the air and as it came down she swung her staff forward, hitting the ball right on the money. It zoomed through the air, the glow of the magic acting like that of a comet's tail.

It hit the guy where his neck met his back, pitching his weight forward and sending him sprawling onto the ground. He'd lost hold of the instrument as he did so and it went sliding along the pavement, into the street.

[owlwitch-eda]

Fresh Beat || Beda

[vaquero-beco]

"Honestly, I'm still learning." Which was probably not what a citizen wanted to hear, but Beco wasn't one to lie. (Well, not really. He lied about the important things. Like how the RAS had arranged all his visas and the tests he'd need to take and his application for the police force here to speed things along and give him an edge...)

Other than that, though, he was cripplingly honest. Especially when it came to his career. He was

"The American law system is based on the British one, so there is a lot of similarities, but yes, I had to take competency tests and the sheriff's department provides continuous training. It was a lot of studying the last few months.

What exactly is it you're selling here, by the way?" He reached out to pick up a little jar of reagents. He didn't know what the reagent was, but he recognized the general aura of it.

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@vaquero-beco

American! Well that was– eehhh. There was a whole bunch of them crawling around these parts. Just like there was, actually, a whole bunch of Boiling Isles people hanging around here these days. As if they'd all gotten wind of Eda's little get away spot and decided to invade all at once. Wasn't that just the way of things? Nothing good stayed hidden for long.

It did make her wonder if he'd chosen to take the assignment here or if the police had kicked him this way because he, too, was an outsider in a sense and they were wanting to put him somewhere they wouldn't have to worry about him. Or could turn him into a scapegoat if they desired should things get bad around these parts.

"Who said I was selling anything?" she replied, knowing she didn't have to tell him anything. Her eyes glanced down at the jar, which held the scent of warm leather inside of it.

[mxrainewhispers]

Melodic Misdemeanors || Bard Owl

[mxrainewhispers]

Eda was quick to action, which surprised Raine a little. They were glad Eda didn't just say thanks for the show and go off on her way. Raine just watched, a little impressed, as Eda took off, maybe a moment too long without following as well.

Raine ran beside Eda, trying to think of what to do. What did they have? Nothing that felt right to use against a Mundus. Not to mention, their spellcasting without an instrument was mediocre at best.

"Not really," they admitted hesitantly. They had their bow still clutched in their hand, and while that did contain some Reagents, they couldn't do much without the main instrument. "Do you? Or are we going to have to stoop to his level?" Raine shook their head, "I'd really prefer to settle this without getting arrested if we can."

@owlwitch-eda

[owlwitch-eda]

@mxrainewhispers

Eda snorted and then said, indignant, "Pfft! Please, as if those Mundus cops could catch us, let alone find anything good to charge us with."

She tried to keep her eyes on the man that was dashing around the park, passing by dogs that were playing fetch with their humans and trees that were still in their winter sleep, all bark and no leaves. But, well, she had to turn her head and spare Raine a wink as she said, "I've always got something."

She detoured from their path slightly in order to pick up a disgusting looking tennis ball, chewed up but somehow still round, from one of those games of aforementioned fetch. Still on the move, Eda gathered up her magic and will inside of her. She maneuvered her staff so that her fingers could touch one of the runes that had been carved into the wood. It lit up with a golden, orange hue, and with a whispered word, the same glow gathered around the tennis ball.

"How's your aim?" she asked. Only because it was polite. Eda's was top tier– just ask all her grugby trophies.