The Magic Box, Monday

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

Today's shipment to the Magic Box?

Voodoo Dolls.

Which were sufficiently creepy enough and/or close enough to the ones that ran wild the other that Surreal immediately taped the box back up, threw a Green-locked shield around it, and proceeded it burn it with a witchfire that would leave the floor - and everything else - unharmed.

She was often reckless, headstrong, and volatile, but she was not stupid. If Tara had actually ordered them, Surreal would pay her back. But there would be no dolls in the shop today.

[Shop is open, OCD freeeeee, and slightly burninated.]

Comments

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba had not come to The Magic Box in some time, and had decided to seek out the store that day to get out of her room.

It was a bit lonely there, and while normally she'd have been fine with that, it had left her oddly restless.

When she entered, she smirked a little when she saw the girl from the lobby the other day.

"I didn't know you worked here," she remarked as she approached.

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"I think Tara hired me because I could reach the top shelves," Surreal confessed, flicking another bit of witchfire at the Darkness-damned box. "And I like the quiet."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba smirked at that, then let her eyes follow what Surreal was doing.

"...is there something wrong with that box?" she had to ask. She assumed the girl had a good reason for it.

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Dolls," Surreal answered, making a face. "Weird dolls."

She was pretty sure she didn't need to say more than that.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

She didn't. Elphaba shuddered for a moment, then suppressed it. "Then I don't blame you one bit. The shield is impressive, actually. I can only manage the fire, myself. I'd have set fire to half the store doing the same thing."

She was totally going to see if the other girl had any pointers.

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"The shield is more to keep things in the box, just in case," Surreal confessed. "Burning something without letting it spread is difficult Craft to master, but it's not hard once you get the hang of it."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"So you're like Karla?" Elphaba said, recognizing the term that her friend had used. "I know it's an odd assumption to make, but she's one of the few I know who use that term for her magic."

Elphaba tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and adjusted her glasses. "It's a rather nice term, I've thought."

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Same place, different races and castes," Surreal answered. "My sire is Hayllian," and she gestured at her skin, "-and the Bluebell is a Healer and Widow."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"You're a different caste because of your skin?" Elphaba said, possibly misinterpreting. Her eyes narrowed a bit, this was not anything Karla had ever mentioned. "It's not... I'm not sure I entirely follow, I don't know about the Hayllians and the Bluebell."

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"I call Karla 'bluebell' to ruffle her feathers," she clarified. "She's an aristo, it does her good to have a regular witch like me keeping her humble."

"But Widows and Healers...it's something you are on top of being Blood. Healers heal the body, Widows the soul. My mother was a Widow, but," Surreal shrugged, "-it isn't something that always breeds true."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"So you're neither a Healer or Widow?" Elphaba said, trying to understand. "So you have craft, but not those particular talents. And you're not royalty, either."

She relaxed a bit. "I've always wondered if all the witches in her land were royal."

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

That got a loud laugh out of Surreal. "Sugar, I spent the first part of my life stealing scraps out of trash cans on the nights my mother couldn't get enough work to pay for food and a room with a roof. Aristo? Me? Hell, no."

"When it comes to the cities, Blood and landens are just the same, unless you're rich."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

No one had really ever called Elphaba 'sugar' before, so that prompted a raised eyebrow, but also an apologetic smile as well.

"I didn't mean any offense," she said. "I... I suppose it would have been more polite to just ask you about yourself then ask what I did."

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"No offense taken," Surreal said, waving it off. "Blood doesn't make sense to me, most days. No harm in asking."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I wish I could say I wasn't an aristo, too," Elphaba said. "But I'm fairly certain I'm close to the equivalent, as a governor's daughter. Even as an unfavored one."

She mulled that over for a bit. "I should properly introduce myself, though. I'm Elphaba. Elphaba Thropp."

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"I guessed, from the poster. You said you were paired with Annie, right?" Surreal replied. "Surreal, but you figured that part out."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba nodded. "I had, yes," she said. "Did you have fun at the dance? It was certainly... shiny."

All that glitter had been a pain to clean off.