“He’s Eleven but he’s started telling people he’s almost Twelve. I’ve been on my own since I was four months pregnant.” It was nice just talking to another adult and it not being about her job or another factor in her life she constantly worried over. Not that she didn’t worry about her son. The fact the stranger hadn’t excused themselves yet was also a plus. “I do wonder if my being so out of practice might mean I get a little too buzzed on cocktails a little too quickly.”
-
“I get it.” Atreus laughed lightly. “I’m twenty-nine but I’ve started telling people I’m almost twenty-eight.” Xe teased. “Have you eaten? We could order some food, that might help.” Xe offered, reaching to grab the bar menu which had a few appetizer items that no one ever ordered. “I’m Atreus, by the way. My pronouns are xe/xyr.” Xe slid the menu towards her, realizing they hadn’t made introductions.
“No special occasion. I just came to the decision that I needed to get back out there and meet more people, you know? I spent the last decade of my life prioritising my son and my job. So as you can imagine, not a lot of down time for me.” She was careful. She knew the stigma around single mothers. Mentioning her son was a sure fire way to weed out the weak and unsuitable.
-
Atreus wasn’t someone who spent much time thinking about the past or the future, so a decade spent doing anything sounded like an eternity. “Wow, yeah. You totally deserve some time to do whatever the hell you want.” Xe nodded insistently. “How old is your kid?” Xe didn’t really know many parents aside from the occasional client, and xyr own hadn’t been much of an example while they’d been around.
Daivi looked up from her drink, surprise quite obvious on her face. While the intention had been to come out and meet new people she hadn’t exactly thought about what to do should anyone actually do that. She blushed hard at the compliment from the stranger, it being the first time someone had said something like that in a while.
“Thank you, that’s very sweet. You don’t have to worry though. I think it would only become a problem if I wasn’t comfortable with you coming up to me.”
Atreus relaxed when she indicated that she was comfortable with xem approaching her to talk, xyr smile widening further when she thanked xem. “Is it a special occasion, or did you just come from one?” Xe asked curiously, glancing towards the door as xe inquired as subtly as possible whether or not she was waiting for someone. Xe’d been punched in the face before, and it wasn’t an experience xe wanted to repeat.
Maybe it was a decade too late bit Daivi has decided to try and put herself back out there when it came to meeting people. She would argue that raising a hybrid on your own was tough and so she’d never had time to date but Daivi knew better. She had spent years mourning her husband. They had been prepared for the day he would outlive her, they had never dreamed she would out live him. So there she was, wearing a new dress and her favourite heels, sipping at a drink at the bar wondering how she’d even done this the first time around. @faerunestarters
Atreus jaw nearly dropped when xe saw Daivi sitting at the bar. She looked otherworldly, and xe immediately assumed that she probably was because of where they were. Xe picked up xyr drink and stepped around others to join her.
“Hey,” Xe greeted her with a smile. “Feel free to tell me to fuck off, but you look like you should be on the cover of Vogue, and I don’t know why I’m saying that other than... to try to explain why I’m approaching a total stranger and trying to talk to them, I guess.” Xyr smile grew sheepish, thinking this was much harder than talking to guys.
Bailey eased off on the intensity a bit at the other’s clarification, though he didn’t look fully sold on it either. He couldn’t see how a store like his— essentially a pagan Home Depot— would work with… whatever the other was proposing. “So it’s couples counseling for witches. As an adult summer camp.” It sounded ridiculous. But so were Disney adults, and those apparently existed.
“Do I have to participate in this demonstration?” Bailey asked distrustfully. “I’m not a witch. And I’m not affiliated with one.”
-
Atreus wasn’t sure how xe was supposed to give a demonstration without a willing participant, but that concern was quickly sidelined when Bailey said that he wasn’t ‘affiliated’ with a witch. Immediately overwhelmed by a desire to save this poor man, Atreus’ features were flooded with compassion.
“You don’t need a witch.” Xe assured Bailey, assuming that Bailey felt inferior because of it. “A lot of my clients are only one or the other. You’re a familiar?” Xe guessed hopefully.
Abby was kind of surprised at how personally xe seemed to take that. “Wow, you always just roll over and take punches like that?” she asked, shaking her head as she put her money back in her purse. “You don’t gotta leave if you figure out how to stop projecting your emotions so much.”
(( @wellraiser ))
-
Atreus stood there with a helpless expression, thinking that xyr life probably would have been a lot nicer if xe had ever figured out how to stop feelings things so strongly. “I don’t really know how to do that.” Xe admitted blankly. “Do you know how to do that?”
Bailey didn’t look convinced. Not only did the other look like and say the same things he’d expect from some modern version of The Stepford Wives, but the chipper and cryptic sales pitch did little to assuage his suspicions of a cult. “How pleasantly vague,” he said expressionlessly. “What do you do, exactly? If it’s a weird sex thing, you’ll have better luck talking to Leland.” He crossed his arms, hoping to exude just how little interest he had in weird sex things.
-
Atreus shook xyr head with a slight grimace, trying to think of a better way to describe what xe did and not let xemself be scared off by Bailey’s stance. “It’s like counseling, for individuals and couples both. It’s not a sex thing. I teach classes- meditation, yoga, relationship building, conflict resolution- that kind of thing.” Xe attempted again. “I could give you a free demonstration, if you’re interested.”
“Ugh.” Abby rubbed her temples as she fought a headache. Glancing around, she tried to zero in on who was causing her this pain. Narrowing her eyes, she slid off her seat and walked over to the offending person. “Hey! Do you mind feeling your feelings somewhere else? Or, like, feel them less intensely? You’re giving me the worst fucking headache. Look, I’ll even pay you to go somewhere else.” She began rummaging through her purse.
The stress of moving to an unfamiliar place was one that Atreus was familiar with. The stress of hurriedly relocating under duress was something that xe was also familiar with. Xe felt like xe should be used to it by now, but settling in was always a process. Meeting new people was fun for xem, but even Atreus had learned that not everyone was going to be nice or like you on the first try.
Xe looked up from xyr coffee, a look of concern on xyr face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” Xe apologized instinctively, already moving to stand. “You don’t need to pay.” Xe shook xyr head, cringing as xe saw her reach into her purse. Xe grabbed xyr coffee to leave, wanting to get out before xe managed to make things worse. “I’m really sorry about your headache.”
Bailey liked to think that the decades he’d spent traveling the world and getting thrown into a myriad of dangerous situations had prepared him with worldly experience. Unfortunately, the more time he spent around Sam and other people, the more he realized that the only thing he was well-versed in was survival. Like abandon the building, wipe your fingerprints, and switch license plates sort of survival. And nowhere in his repertoire did he possess the knowledge to understand hippie tree friends.
“Define holistically,” Bailey said, preternaturally suspicious of anyone or anything that appeared too attractive. Traps were designed to be tempting. “As a rule, I try not to endorse cults.”
-
Atreus appeared confused by the question because xe was. Xe had no idea what ‘holistic’ actually meant, it was just a word xe’d learned to use from hearing others use it. Xe assumed it meant ‘good’, ‘well’, ‘100%’.
Xe lit up when Bailey mentioned cults. Now that was something Atreus knew about, mostly because xe’d fallen prey to several before. “Not a cult.” Xe assured Bailey, which is what anyone recruiting for a cult would say. “My focus is on helping witches and familiars in strengthening their bond, teaching them ways they can improve their relationship with one another. It’s important work for our community. Happy witches and happy familiars living their best lives.” Xe summed up, looking pretty pleased with ximself as if that had been an effective pitch.
Madison had been frustrated with the collision, but as she heard the hurried apology, she instantly reeled back her temper. ‘’Uh, it’s alright. Like I was paying much attention.’’ she uttered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes as she accepted the offer of her fallen back. ‘’Thanks…So you’re new huh?’’ she uttered, trying to make up for the rude reaction she’d had earlier. ‘’Where are you from?’’
-
Atreus relaxed when she didn’t seem upset with xem anymore, a smile lighting up xyr face. “I moved here from L.A., just got in a couple of days ago.” Xe offered. “It seems nice, from what I’ve seen. Are you from here?” Xe asked curiously, eager to make friends with anyone that would give xem the time of day. Loneliness was unacceptable to Atreus, a weakness that had led xem down plenty of shady paths in the past.
Bailey was manning the store alone for once, which didn’t happen often because Sam didn’t trust him (and rightly so). But even she needed days off sometimes, and he never said no because she was the only thing keeping the place afloat.
He heard the customer, but was slow to open his eyes, as he unfurled reluctantly from his impression of a cheap Halloween prop. He’d been hoping to get through the rest of the day with minimal interaction, but witches (and by proxy, familiars) were worse than hipsters, grilling him about the provenance of anything in the store that caught their attention. And although he could tell they were a witch without any effort (he’d encountered enough species and variations thereof to recognize with ease), he took a moment to really try just to double-check; he’d been on the receiving end of a glamour once or twice in his life before, and he didn’t appreciate it.
“I own here,” Bailey said flatly, which had the dual effect of making him seem facetious rather than stupid. He glanced at the door totally calmly and not at all panicked to confirm that, yep, the sign was indeed flipped to the OPEN side. “Now’s fine. Or you can come back later.” (What the fuck was wrong with him?)
-
Atreus followed the other’s gaze to the door, xyr smile never flagging despite the look of confusion that crossed xyr features.
“Okay, well... it’s a nice shop. That you own. Here.” Xe leaned against the surface of the counter, xyr smile widening as xe observed the man on the other side. “I’m new in town, and looking to set up shop for myself. I specialize in helping witches and familiars grow their bond, holistically.” Xe explained, hoping to make it sound appealing to someone that was presumably part of the club. “I thought I’d see if you guys might be interested in partnering up. I don’t sell any products, so it wouldn’t be an issue of competition.”
Atreus was excited to explore the city, but business had to come first. Xe had bills to pay, or xe would, presumably. A plan hadn’t really been made yet, but xe was confident things would fall into place. They always did for xem, eventually.
Oleander’s was priority number one, even before xe knew that the owner was a beefy-thick fixer-upper. “Hello?” Xe called tentatively as xe poked around the shop, looking for someone who worked there. Xe caught sight of Bailey slumped behind the counter, xir eyes lighting up like xe had just seen a GQ model instead of... whatever Bailey was.
“You work here?” Xe asked curiously, approaching the desk. “If now isn’t a good time, I can come back later.”
A soft sigh escaped her lips as her eyes scanned the white paper attached to the clipboard she was holding. She was standing near the nurses post of the hospital, gently tapping a pencil to chart she was holding. Madison had already changed from her scrubs into her everyday clothes, but decided to give a patient’s chart a final once over before she went home. If anything, she was meticulous about her work and couldn’t even imagine walking out without knowing for sure that her surgical patient was recovering well.
After receiving several playful scowls from a few senior nurses, she finally slipped out the main entrance, giving her colleagues a short wave during her exit. Before she could straighten out from her greeting she felt someone bump into her side, knocking her bag from her shoulder and effectively dropping it to the sidewalk. ‘’Whoa, watch it!’’ she admonished, rushing to pick up her bag.
Atreus wasn’t paying attention and nearly bowled over the surgeon as she was trying to leave the hospital, Atreus’ face filled with dismay as xe turned just in time to see her bag fall to the sidewalk. “I’m so sorry.” Xe insisted, crouching down to retrieve the bag and offer it to her as xe stood. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, entirely my bad. I’m new to the city, and still trying to find my way around.” Xe explained, hoping she would understand and forgive xir mistake. The last thing xe wanted was to start off this new chapter with a bunch of bad vibes.
Atreus is a runaway who just never found xir way back home. Xe grew up on the east coast of the US and left when xe was fourteen, wandering the states as nothing more than a cold case and a nameless statistic. Xe had vanished. And it seemed that the farther xe wandered the less intentions xe held of returning home.
Despite being far from clever, necessity taught xem to be resourceful. Xe coped with many unfortunate things in xir life by treating it like a game, developing a persistently lighthearted attitude towards situations that would have others clinging to the armrests. Atreus has disappeared and reappeared all over the United States, xir reputation a collection of unsubstantiated rumours in any given place. Atreus has had xir share of run-ins with law enforcement but somehow xe seems to always slip through the cracks. Xe would claim that it’s thanks to xir charming personality, but the truth is never that simple.
Atreus found xir people in LA and put down roots, garnering a positive reputation under a fake name for xir work in the wellness industry. Atreus built a brand, specifically catering to the needs of witches and familiars who need a helping hand. Xe’s known for xir work as a wellness coach, a matchmaker, and social media presence.
Due to unforeseen (unforeseen by Atreus, anyway) circumstances, Atreus was compelled to make a hasty exit from LA. Xe traveled to Faerune to continue xir work, assuming there’d be no shortage of witches and familiars who could use xir semi-professional help.
~ PERSONALITY ~
Atreus is an optimist. Xe’s very adept at changing xir perspective to cope with the murkier realities of life. Xir levels of optimism borders on being dangerously delusional sometimes, refusing to accept truths that don’t suit xem.
