#ch: mim ambrosius

[majkemaniiia]

"So I'm not saying that you're off today," Magica says, as she hands over the till to Mim, their shift change underway, "but I will say you've been off for weeks."

This is the part where Magica goes home, isn't it? Nope. Not happening. She and Mim have been dodging each other on shifts or are busy on shifts and that's not exactly the right time to talk about whatever big, personal things Mim is going through. No need to air that out to customers.

However. The store was empty + Mim on Shift = Perfect opportunity!

"So, as your friend and store aunt, I am here to offer an ear. And chocolates, if you want some. Because I bought more as an offering. Or a bribe. Whichever suits you best."

@madmagicmim

Shift Change Conversations || Fuchsia

[dr-drckken]

Frog Heist || F.R.O.G. Squad

@justkeepdancing-nemo @madmagicmim

The scene was this: A man was stood in the middle of the road that led into Swynlake with a car blocking both lanes, grey smoke coming out of the hood like a bonfire. The only light was the one working headlight, a flashlight the man was holding, and the waxing gibbous of a moon that had been witness to all that had caused such a thing. 

Then, a third was added to the list More headlights came down the road, the truck they were attached to having to come to a complete stop before it made contact with anything. It was slightly too big to try pulling around, the treeline too close to the road to fit without the top hitting on something. 

The truck’s back lights flickered, showing that it had gone into park, and then the engine died completely. A door opened and driver hopped out. 

“Hey, mate, you okay?” 

“Oh, thank god!” the man cried, coming around to meet the man in the middle. At the back of his car, at the front of the truck. The driver squinted as the flashlight  shone directly into his eyes, bringing his hand up. Keys jangled with the motion, still held between his fingers. The light beam darted away. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to blind you there.” 

“It’s alright, no harm done,” the driver said, blinking away the spots in his vision now. “Er, what’s going on?” 

“That’s just it, I don’t know! I hit something out here and then my car blew up!” the man replied, turning to watch the smoke still billowing up toward the sky. “It’s the darnedest thing.” 

“Have you called for a tow?” 

“No. My phone- well.” The man pulled something from his pocket and shined his flashlight on it to show a very mangled and cracked thing resembled a phone. “It fell out of my pocket earlier and then I kicked it across the way in the dark, not knowing.” 

Silence passed between them as the driver tried very hard not to say anything rude. He gave a sigh, reaching into his pocket. In went the hand with the keys and out came a hand with a phone instead. “You can use mine.” 

“Could I? Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” the man said, relief palpable. He took the phone once the driver had unlocked it.

[dr-drckken]

@madmagicmim

Ironically, Drakken didn't pay this much mind other than to think that Mim was agreeing with him instead of taking a deliberate dig. So he just nodded along, like he was disappointed to have to since that was admitting that people in the world did such things. Tsk tsk.

It sounded all well and good, but a couple of weeks? She really needed that long to get this done? Come on, couldn't she just get it done this afternoon? He'd written 10 different petition drafts in the matter of a single night!

But, ah, whatever. She'd agreed to do it, hadn't she? And that was better than nothing! Which was what he originally thought he was going to have to walk away from this with.

"It sounds like a plan," he said, not wanting to say good until he saw her finished product. Or, better yet, saw it being passed by the Board! "If I don't hear from you by then, I'll be sure to follow up."

At Your Disposal || Drim

[majkemaniiia]

Mim was going to be the death of her, Majke decides. She really doesn't know why she's sharing all of this. Maybe this is one of those rare times the two of them could be considered friends--? No, no. Wrong. WRONG.

Majke didn't want to entertain that idea, that sounded -- no.

(Mim's internal thoughts would have been right. It was the latter. Well, Seamus had done something that felt heinous at the time, but Majke was the one who held that grudge like a prize. Spite was motivating! What could she say?)

"Mmmmmhmmmmm," Majke hums, not believing for a second that Mim wasn't up to something. She practically confirms it. And uses the term bestie, leaving Majke with a mild distaste in her mouth. "You enjoy those, I'm done with them. And we've got stocking to do, haven't we? Probably should start on that before the next wave shows up," she says, changing the subject. Though she does begin mulling on the dream once again the moment she pulls out the shipping manifest. "And do tell Seamus I say hi, if you do go to him with all this information. I could at least be cordial about everything, couldn't I?"

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke gives a wry eyeroll. "Mim Ambrosius, we are associates. Perhaps friends on the days I've lost my sanity. Never besties," Majke says.

Which is a little harsh. They did talk. Just rarely in a personal manner. And half their conversations were about inventory and new Sorcery stock. So that limited Majke's conversations.

Her shadow magic was still a secret, of course. She thinks of the people in town who knew.... Seamus, for one. But after the light incident on the street... She was a sorcerer. That was known. So she could talk about reagents and such with Mim. Just not everything else.

"You look faaaaar too gleeful for me to believe you're not up to something," Majke says, looking at Mim with a skeptical expression. "Whatever you hear, it's probably wrong. Besides, I'm a different person now. He met me before Lena was even born, so that should give you an indicator -- don't do the math, I don't want to hear it."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

"So he's a loner hermit in this world as well," Majke asks, a dry smile taking over. Seamus MacTunnag, you are wretched. "Doesn't surprise me. He's always seemed very... self-directed."

Read: Selfish, arrogant, annoying, patronizing, annoying... Whatever, Majke was petty. And would be even pettier if she heard any of those absurd ideas in Mim's head. But she didn't. So. Mim was safe. Relatively. For now.

"No? I would've thought he wasn't super close with anybody," Majke says, debating if she should try to search Seamus on the internet at this point to see what he was up to. Maybe she'd figure out where he'd been. It wasn't like Seamus was exactly going to tell Majke of his own free will. "He's never struck me as the charismatic sort to make friends easily."

She shrugs.

"Fair enough. I probably would hate being called a bestie," she says, like the killjoy she is -- Or maybe it was because she couldn't actually imagine being anyone's bestie, but that was totally besides the point, Majke didn't need anyone, Majke was totally fine being hot and alone and aloof and mysterious. -- "or do you mean because they don't think they're that close?"

Majke is in a mood. Just her luck that Mim knows Seamus and was likely to be a pest about all of this. Actually, it was a pain because Majke usually was very good about controlling her image. If Mim had knowledge of another person who could fill in some gaps--

"Whatever he says about me, it's probably a lie, just so you know," Majke says, leaning back. "I mean, it doesn't have to be. Just, I'd be careful. Burned bridges tend to scorch bystanders, sometimes."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

A mistake was made. A MISTAKE. WAS MADE. Damn, of course Mim would know who Seamus was. Had he already won over the whole town? Majke would just start over and move and change her name if not for the fact that she's done that before and it gets old real quick, especially with signing leases and transferring banks and--- damnit.

"Oh, so you know Seamus?" Majke asks, treading lightly on the subject. "That's interesting, I didn't know he was so... popular."

Majke had no idea if he was popular or not but Mim sounded like she liked the prospect and that was bad enough news for Majke.

"Erm, a falling out in America a number of years ago," Majke says, giving Mim very little information but a lot of ideas to work with. Go ahead Mim, figure out whatever you like. Majke crosses her arms and takes another truffle. This chocolate was the only consolation from Valentine's Day. Everything else, including her dateless night, sucked.

"So what's your relationship with him, before I spill my secrets and you bring them back to him..." An eyebrow raise. Is she joking? Is it a petty aside? Who knows! But Majke was not going to let Seamus, even in a distant relationship, ruin her days. Or her grudge-holding.

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Ugh . This is exactly why the two of them don't talk about Majke's life. Mim was far too invested in the things that were mere extrapolations of what Majke revealed. Majke is reeling from Mim's assumptions of the mystery husband. How could Seamus be a friend!

She hated him! Her mortal enemy for wronging her! And by that, she meant mildly inconveniening her! Which was still rude.

Back on a trip to America, Seamus had double crossed her on a job. And now they were enemies!

(Reader, Seamus does not care about her.)

Regardless! She will have her revenge! And that dream? Did not aid her.

"He does not like me. I do not like him," Majke clarifies, haughty in her tone. Refusing to entertain the idea that Seamus, of all people, could be fond of her in ANY WAY.

Then, Majke stares Mim dead in the eyes, but dead herself at Mim's suggestion. "Mim Ambrosius, I would rather die than have a pleasant dinner with Seamus MacTunnag. Let the record be written, I cannot stand him and the dream him was just some distraction from my true feelings. It was a vile trick, and I will not be fooled by a dream."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Like she'd thought, Vagueness was working wonders for her. She figures Mim knows by now what Majke was trying so hard to avoid saying in plain English. Or Italian or French or anything else.

"Hypothetically speaking," Majke repeats, because she doesn't know if she really wants to bring all of this up to Mim of all people. It would be the perfect way to get Mim to laugh, though. And, besides, it was a dream, "if I were married..."

She doesn't want to continue. The thought of being married to Seamus was just so... ugh. And Mim's mock-innocence was not helping.

"Say I was married to someone I hadn't seen in years," Majke says slowly. "And this is how I realize that they're in town, mind you. Someone I had a falling out with, and someone who ended up having the nerve to be nice after everything." Okay, actually, this felt good. "I'm not entirely sure how the dream powers-that-be decided to create pairs but I'd like to submit a complaint."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Okay, that was a theory Majke had also heard. Interesting. It's not the reason Majke chose here to live, but that was something he might have to investigate further.

"Well, that's great for you and Martin," Majke says, nodding along. She had been a Viscountess, herself. But at what cost? "And how did that romance work out for you? Or did you wake up before you could get some closure?"

Majke's closure would be punching Seamus for being a charming and decent husband. What the fuck was up with that?

"Uh huh. Well, I'm glad I didn't experience being a tribal cat, then," Majke says, both eyebrows raised in mild disbelief. "I don't even know how that would work. You just imagine you're a cat? I guess I've had a dream I was a bird before, but that's---" Too much information to give Mim. "Yea, I--- so technically, hypothetically... if I interacted with someone in the dream they might remember what happened? Like... your relationship. If it was really them in the dream, sharing that with you?"

Way to go, Majke. Vagueness was working wonders for you.

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

It had been reasonably busy all day since lunchtime at The Rock Shoppe. Thankfully, Majke and Mim were a pretty good team when it came to restocking, helping customers, and checking out customers, but it was still a lot of work for a solid bit.

Which meant that this was the first chance they got to be alone... with all their thoughts. In Majke's head, the worst of it was the fact that she had openly offered -- maybe dared? -- to make out with Mim at speed dating. Which was.... fine. As far as she knew, neither of them had brought it up to Martin and Majke wasn't fired (yet.) So things were okay.

Except for the wild dream Majke had and the fact she hadn't wanted to discuss it, but that was fine, too! Seamus MacTunnag would pay for this slight anyways, so... as Skip would say at speed dating. Whatever!!!

"Hey Mim, do you like chocolate?" Majke asks, somewhat bored and leaning on the counter, sorting out a variety of chocolates in front of her. "I ended up with a few boxes from the clearance bins in NTO, and I'm not going to eat all of them."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke's mouth was slightly open, words she wanted to say forming but not vocalizing. She took dreams incredibly seriously. Dreams could be revealing about life, or subconscious, or intuition or--- "It's just Swynlake? No one else has recorded this phenomenon anywhere?"

Actually, that's incredible? And it's incredible that neither Majke's parents ever mentioned this to her when she mentioned moving here. Was this just some sort of secret or had this knowledge really never come across the de Spell family? She hates that she's been caught off guard by it.

And also? Curse Mim for knowing something that Majke didn't. When Mim shared little tidbits of gossip about the regulars? Totally okay. Welcome, even! But not her knowing these crucial elements to daily Swynlake life.

"I did not have fun, Mim Ambrosius," Majke says, semi-irritated. More irritated, considering Mim was staring at her in an unsettling was as she bit into her chocolate. "I lived a life completely not my own, what about that sounds fun?"

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke just stares, sort of perplexed. An air of confusion, then perhaps bargaining, and then acceptance settles of her. Only not 100% acceptance. Like there's some skepticism still there. Mim might say it matter of fact, but....

"And you all just... accept that," Majke says, glancing about. There's no one there, but part of her is praying that Martin is going to jump out from a pilar with a camera and tell her it's a joke. Which wouldn't happen but like.... one could hope. "Mmmmmm... okay."

Majke reaches over for small truffle-shaped..... thing -- (dark chocolate and raspberry) -- and chews it silently. And then---

"So everyone just remembers?" She's suddenly so invested, as if the reality of the information has just hit her. Maybe she's concerned for what someone could know about her? "They know who you were and your relations and all? That feels like some sort of magical violation of privacy."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke wasn't pretty good at only half-addressing her coworker. Mim had Majke's respect, but also a quality about her that reminded Majke enough of Lena that Majke could allow Mim to become background noise.

It was the youth in her, Majke was sure.

"My first ... What?" Majke asks, pivoting slightly and addressing Mim with raised brows. Both. Not suggestive, genuinely surprised. "I'm sorry, you're suggesting something and I truly haven't gotten it. Are you ... Such a thing is normal, here, Mim?"

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia

[majkemaniiia]

Majke chuckled at Mim's enthusiasm. She leans back as Mim holds out her hands. Part of her wants to say, Mimsy, you have to choose for yourself, but she wouldn't. It's something she would have said to Lena, maybe?

"Well, which ones do you want? There's caramel and dark chocolate sea salt and.... others," she says, glancing down. "One's an orange creme, maybe." She checks a card with an index of the colors, then hands it to Mim. "Pick whatever you want, I'm not choosey."

Majke pushes herself off the counter, leaving Mim to all the chocolates and choice, and starts marking looking at the log for inventory. "We're going to have to tell Martin that we're nearly out of moss agate," Majke says, absent-mindedly. "I wonder if I should bring up to him doing more inventory. I'm craving more things to do and, honestly, perhaps he should be doing less. Though I really haven't been sleeping well, so maybe I shouldn't suggest that because I don't want to cross up all the counts."

@madmagicmim

We Don't Have Time to Unpack All of That || Fuschia