Aida’s jovial attitude dropped at the other witches words. She seemed bitter to Aida, and that was all well and good but Aida wouldn’t be used as an outlet for someone else’s bad mood.
“What would you have my family do?” Aida asked. “Join a coven? You all are far too busy fighting each other, how is that going to do us any good? How is splitting ourselves into factions and detesting each other more helpful than just existing as a witch outside a coven? It’s not as if my family are the only ones who kept witchcraft a secret up until the unveiling! I don’t recall hearing any covens boldly declaring to the world who they are. Just because I have no interest in petty rivalries between doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for us when the need arises.”
She stopped herself, biting her lip out of concern. She really hasn’t planned on arguing today, it drained her energy and people were so fast to use any resistance she gave them as an excuse to hate her. She quickly answered Nayoung’s question to try and breeze past the conflict.
“I suppose it’s a little isolating being out of the loop. The downside to not having to deal with the drama is feeling like your sort of cut off from… I don’t, your culture?”
THIS WASN’T HOW nayoung expected a conversation over a puddle of water to go in the direction of. but then again, what was she expecting out of it? she hadn’t even expected to be splashed by water by a careless light witch on the way to class. and they were, they realized, probably now late to class.
they were here already, and clearly this conversation was far from over. besides, although they wouldn’t admit it, it really was more interesting than anything they could learn in class. they just had to be careful to not piss off the other witch too much.
that seemed to prove to be a difficult job with how cheery this witch was. nayoung had never been good with dealing with people who were all smiles and positivity. good for them, she supposed, if someone knew how to hold themselves with a bright smile on their face at all times. but that wasn’t something she knew how to do, nor did she know how to act around people who acted that way.
she pursed her lips at the sudden outburst from the other witch. now that, she had certainly not expected, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it too. the way aida was talking about the covens and how they operated felt almost insulting to nayoung, and her first instinct was to shoot back and argue about how the woman didn’t understand how the covens worked. but clearly they’d hit a nerve too, with how the words aida was saying. so instead of jumping to argue, they rocked back on her heels and mused, “i never said that not being in a coven meant that you weren’t standing up for yourself. i was talking about your views on humans who hated us. on hiding your magic. that has nothing to do with covens, right?”
the words came out a little irritated, but that couldn’t be helped. it wasn’t her fault that aida had misunderstood her. “and i never implied that you’re any less than us or decided to start an argument about who’s better,” they continued on. “which, i guess i’m sorry i made you feel that way, but that wasn’t what i was saying, you know?” against better judgment, they settled next to aida on the sidewalk, taking a seat. at this point, fuck class. “well?” they asked. “aren’t you gonna ask me about anything on the witchy community side of things? consider it a thank you for cleaning up my shirt.”