* evil / mask

“ magic ? oh , don’t worry .   this isn’t magic .. call it a   charm . all approved by   the king himself . i have   a certificate if you want .”

                      she gestured behind her , soaking in his words                       and gritting her teeth ; still putting that smile on                       display . there was something off about him , and                       it wasn’t just his refusal to the easy way out . she                       just couldn’t put her finger on it and it was starting                       to get under her skin .

“ go ahead , take it . don’t use it .   or do , but another time . you’ll   find it rather useful if you ever   need to freeze time for a bit . ”

Persistence mortal, Clyde was growing irritated but none of it showed. “Magic comes in many forms, forgive my rudeness but I have to continue to reject your offer.” Better safe than sorry even if it seemed like some harmless trinket. A little bit of paranoi was essential every now and then. “Anyways, thank you again for the help. I wish you good fortunate.” Final words before he took his departure from the shop.

“ of course it is , sir .   well , go ahead then .  don’t want to keep you .”

                       a mock grin , malice easily spreading over as                        she strode over to one of her jars and withdrew                        a withered old piece of wood . maybe she could …

“ here , take this . it’s petrified   fighting tree . crush it in your palm ,   and blow it over the doorway . ”

“thank you.” he nodded, ready to take his departure until she stopped him. he arched a brow at the piece of wood before shaking his head. “i’m sorry but i will have to decline. i’m sure you only have good intentions but i agree with auradon’s view of restricted magic. i would rather not involve myself with it to any degree.” complete bullshit but clyde knew a trap when he saw one. his secret hadn’t remained a secret for so long by chance after all.

“drinks can be the most pleasant of company. they don’t talk back to you, tend to agree with your ideas and give ya the courage to get what you need done.” she twirled a strand of blue hair and leaned on the counter. “maybe your friend got lost, fell into a bottomless pit or was attack by a raging plant. something like that.”

“as long as there’s not too many had,” he corrected, taking another sip of the disgusting liquid. the immortal could not get drunk so a beer had been a poor choice just to keep up pretenses. however, it was free since his former friend now had bought it for him. “i find that unlikely but it’s fine. i can be on my way sooner.”

“Poor thing. Buy me a drink and I’ll keep you company. I’m not free.” He says, downing his own drink and waiting. He’d known clyde on the isle but hadn’t gotten to know most people on the isle due to his circumstances.

The male scoffed internally, like he would ever pay for company. “Ah -- thank you for the generous offer but I’m afraid I’ll be leaving soon. No reason for me to stay if my friend isn’t here.” At least he had a built in excuse.

“Seems like you got dumped. That sucks. Don’t look so sad Clyde, you’ll be okay. We can go dance or something.”

“I’m fine, Panic. I’ll be finishing my drink and then leaving since they don’t seem to still be here.” And Clyde definitely did not want to be around this many annoying mortals.

“ i’m sure you would . must   be very important this person   you’re looking for .”

                        she made sure to choose her words with                         care , attempting to get some information                         from him about who he was or what he desired .                         perhaps it was something she could use .

“ not entirely . luckily i’m quite fond   of chaos so , it really works out in   my favor in the end . ”

                       digits grab at the paper , flipping it over                        before bringing it closer to her face so it                        was easier to read the messy print . ah .

“ you’re looking for shop number 888   this is 666 . that should be about two   blocks away , on your right . ”

“i’m just doing them a favor. it’s important to me to keep this promise.” actually, it wasn’t at all and if he could have gotten out of it by claiming to be lost, he would have. he could only imagine the shock on the faces of his acquaintances if they knew what kind of being he really was. “thank you. hopefully they’ll be willing to excuse my lateness.”

Approaching the downtrodden male, he had a flask of his own. Arching an eyebrow, he took a swig, “Well, would you prefer company? Though company always breeds talking which can lead to nothing.” He shrugged, taking a seat.

“ no , it’s fine . you’re not the   first person to come in here   looking for someone else .”

                         she murmured , internally debating whether                          or not it was a wise decision to kick out a                          stranger with a magic so strong she could                          feel it as easily as the clothes on her back .

“ perhaps you could tell me whom   you are looking for . maybe i know   them . can give you the right path .”

“ yes -- i would be eternally grateful. ” a smile, a little too sweet, crossed his lips before he pulled out a slip of paper with a name and sloppily written address. it was clear the number of the shop had been where he had made his mistake. “ must be hard to find peace if you often have misguided strangers walking in.”

– & Brows knit together then, curious at the intention of the others words. “Old way.” Jackson offers, tilt of his head. “You mean you’ve refrained from your nature?” He wasn’t exactly on the side of the villains OR the heroes, but why would one try and subside their natural desires? It didn’t make sense to him. “Why would you do that?”

“Smart, lad. Smart, questions.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “If my nature is to do evil then is it not best to go against it? Although, I sure hope that my nature is more pure than that somewhere underneath all the layers that make up a person.” The lost kids were proving to be a more interesting bunch than he expected.