The Magician, The Wand III

--- o The Cup II o ---

   Elly took shelter by the hearth of the still room, a place she found comfort, and spent most of her days prepping brews and arranging orders. The evening chill felt sharper than it had in the past few days; the dull ache of her prosthetic reminded her how much she hates the cold with a fiery passion. Each pulse only deepened her yearning for the warm seasons; thankfully, the mild climate of Alestia seldom bears its winter fangs, and snow was kept to the mountains where it belongs.

   ❝ Ah fuck! ❞

   Elly whined and squirmed with protest as Judge tinkered with her arm. Her protest would be met with a flick to her forehead from Iris, who watched curiously as Elly rested her head on her lap.

   ❝ Language, El. ❞ Iris warned her, as she was resting on her lap, that Elly didn’t want to push her luck.

   ❝ Fuck me, ❞ Judge let out a disapproving groan as he inspected the poorly maintained masterpiece. ❝ No vonder yer’ in so much pain. Tis’ titer tan’ Cathbad’s cun—! ❞ He was promptly cut off by a smack on the back of his head from Iris.

   ❝ Jus’ sayin if ya took care of it, ya’d be complainin’ less. ❞ Judge shrugged, rubbing the back of his head.

   ❝ Now now, Jussments like tees’ are painful, ‘specially since workin’ wit nerves an’ not magiks. ❞ Judge waited patiently for Elly to stop moving before he continued, his focus now on the partially dismantled arm. ❝ Woulda been eas’ if ya wern’t an anomeely. ❞

   ❝ Yer an Anomono —what? ❞ Elly looked at Judge with a knitted brow, unsure if he just insulted her or not. She yelped as he tightened another screw. ❝ Fuck ya! ❞ Another tap, this time a little harder.

   ❝ Anomaly, ❞ Iris added,❝ It just means you’re different, special. ❞

   ❝ More ment weird, but ye do ye. ❞ Jude added with a hearty chuckle, this time he received a tap on his forehead from Iris.

   ❝ Almost done, sta’ still. ❞ Judge gave Iris a brief nod, who kept Elly in place as he tightened the pseudo-nerves and elicited a muffled yell from Elly as she bit down on a bit of cloth. She visibly relaxed when he was done, barely managing to wait patiently as he reassembled it with some new parts, noting down the pieces he was missing so he could tend to them later.

   ❝ An’ done! ❞ Judge chuckled as he wiped down her arm and proceeded to go through his tools and count for anything he may have missed. He nodded to himself and packed everything away. ❝ Still needa get sum new parts so be careful wit’ it. ❞

   ❝ Me workin’ wit some new stuff, still a prototype but a’kno El’ll need anew one soon anywoo, ❞ Judge replied, adjusting some of the parts to fit Elly, accounting for her growth so it would be slightly larger to grow into.

   ❝ An’ a little loose, but ya’ grow. ❞ Judge shrugged, despite his appearance and personality, he was the best in his line of work. ❝ Et be a tad lite, sturdy but weaker tan’ the old one. Fit fer ta cold too. ❞

--- o The Magician o ---