lulu is right. portum is the first place mae has ever felt truly safe -- until recent events, at least, but the fact remains. portum had been a safe haven before. surely there's some way they can make it so again, between all of their combined abilities... right? " okay. brainstorming. " that's good; at least it's a start, something to do. her gaze lifts to lulu's. " do you know anything about... those who came before, like you said? i don't. "

“ worse than everything going on? ” that actually made ithuriel raise a brow as he wondered what the other had been through. worse than this meant that she must have seen things in her life. how old was she? they were getting ahead of themselves again. an old trait of theirs. “ sorry to hear that. i'm sure you'll gain control soon. ” he tried his best to sound optimistic. “ this isn't permanent. ” 

" for me. not for the town, " she clarifies, seeing the befuddlement on their face. " that shit is fucked. but my shit could be worse. " for instance, instead of a plant, it could be a person, just like before. she tries not to continue down that path, to follow that line of thought, but it's hard. she jams her hands into her pockets. " how about you? holding up okay? "

" i think they used to be, but you know -- everyone has glasses or contacts or whatever, now. most people don't really need potions for their eyes anymore. " that kind of thing does seem to be more common in portum, but for obvious reasons, running this little business is also a lot easier in portum.

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ OPEN. LOCATION: the shore

with the ever burning sun on the horizon fergal actually felt the need to wear sunglasses, the fireburning witch felt that the sun was too bright even for him and his whole body had felt like he was on fire. is this what people meant by burning a witch at a stake? he wasn’t sure. for some reason this felt like the worlds worst hangover and he doesn’t even drink that much anymore. he just wished that the sunglasses looked good with his firefighter uniform. now he was looking like he was coming out of the terminator or something like that.“can you tell me what you have for… ever looming headaches that won’t go away?” he asks pushing his dark rimmed sunglasses up to the bridge of his nose. “i also– need a refill on that stuff you’ve been providing me with for my…. illness, sickness–” he rephrases it. the heat from the sun was not helping it either. he was a regular at madam duala’s at this point it had seemed like. this week had been one of those weeks. he felt like he had just gotten a refill on monday, now it was saturday. “are you… okay?” he asks, brows furrowing underneath the dark sunglasses, observing how she was distracted easily this morning.

despite her mood, his requests actually serve to lighten it a bit; these are things she can provide. headache relief can be as simple as one herb, and she has that stuff premade specifically for him, a supply that ought to last a couple months. this will be over in a couple months, won't it? " sure. there's a few different things we could try for headaches. lavender, feverfew, ginger... " she offers. " i have your stuff back at my place. " he looks like he doesn't feel well, but before she can say anything, he's asking after her. she sighs a little. " my powers are going nuts, like anyone else's. it's... bothering me. things aren't working, and i... nevermind. i have your stuff premade. the longer it sits, the better. "

this is why she likes lulu; though they are so different in most other ways, they share the same penchant for blunt honesty. it's a quality that mae has always appreciated. as lulu speaks, she pulls up a chair to sit across from her. " do you think the town is... " she begins haltingly, and then has to stop. not because she wants to, but because she doesn't know how to say it. something wrong with the borders? some kind of curse? " ... dying? " she finally settles on. " it doesn't feel safe here anymore. "

mae gives a half-hearted little shrug. " like you said, it's chaos out there. it's better over here. " usually, she would simply go home. since arriving in portum, her little house by the forest has been a refuge for her in more ways than one, but now... the rooms are filled with plant life, and she is afraid to be there. t's maddening, being so upset over the plant, but she had thought... she had never dared to touch another person, not since the incident, but she had thought the plants were safe. they had been, until now. " didn't want to go home yet. "

at first he thought he was safe. there was no way that whatever was going on could effect angels, right? especially onces as old as he was. soon enough he found that to be a false thought. a vampire was able to drink from him without being revolted and then he couldn't lift a car to save a kitten. that wasn't even the half of it. they'd had been teleporting all over the world without being able to control it.

" i see that. " mae wonders idly what sort of supernatural they are; teleporting is a new one to her ( for a moment, despite it all, she is almost a little envious, and then, looking at their heaving chest, she regains her senses). she thinks of the dead plant. " mine aren't working too great either, " she says, which feels like a massive understatement. " but it could be worse. "

mae hums sympathetically. she may not be able to empathize with, well, being dead, but anger she understands. anger is a frequent companion of hers; anger for the unfairness of it all, for her own innocence, and for the brother she misses even now. " i think you have every right to be angry, " she ventures. " you lost a lot. if you're going through the stages of grief, i think that's... normal, or as normal as it gets for any of us. "

WHO : lulu & your muse !

most of that, mae can agree with -- except maybe that shit about the fog being a fluke. even as time had gone on without the fog lifting, mae had never really relaxed. if anything, the knot of dread in her stomach has tightened a little more and a little more as the weather has lingered, and now, like lulu had said, this. " i don't have any news, " she says flatly, but not rudely. mae doesn't beat around the bush. " i just... wanted to see if you wanted company. " it isn't like her to seek out company. she's usually just fine (really?) with solitude, but this has her on edge.

" well, what the hell kind of friend would i be if i let you pay? " the words are just this side of hesitant; they aren't close, exactly, because mae isn't close with anyone, but she considers serena a friend, at least. besides, there is something so tragic about the dead girl; maybe it's her youth, maybe something else, but these little jars seem like the least she can offer. " i'm not keeping track. "

mae is nothing if not straightforward ( about most things, her own life notwithstanding ), so she returns, " well, if you're insisting, i'm not gonna fight you on it, but just know it isn't required. " but, well, she certainly won't complain. money is money, after all. " you're giving me something interesting to do. " because while this is a fairly easy project, and one that won't take much actual work on her part, it isn't all that common, either. everyone has glasses or contacts. no one needs a spell for eyesight these days.

" i'm sure, ender. " mae shakes her head. she has never intended this to be a business; she works herbal magic because she enjoys it, not because she has to. it's a blessing that she's able to work at madam duala's too, but more often than not it's friends that come to her asking. " i'm not worried about it, so you don't worry about it. okay? " gloved fingers curl around her glass, bringing it to her lips. " do you wanna talk about it? " maybe she doesn't open up in return, but she is a pretty good listener.

who: open to anyone where: aphelion books

" well, no, but that's the point, isn't it? " mae shifts her own potential purchases in her arms. she had meant to carry them to the overstuffed armchair toward the back of the shop, her personal favorite, but the books on the table had caught her eye. " they aren't worried about facts. there's no entertainment in that. doesn't leave anything for the imagination. "