Felinis: Happy new years everyone!
Flynn would admit he did have doubts. Moving around two bottles didn't seem like it do much. Normally, when Flynn cleaned the bathroom he put everything back where it belonged, but Raven had mentioned that if he wanted to make Yuri upset he needed to do such. Flynn couldn't understand what was written on the bottles, some sort of ancient language of sorcerers probably, but it was apparently a big deal. It didn't seem like anything would happen.
Why would anything happen?
It's not like Yuri wouldn't see the obvious difference between the two. Raven insisted though that while harming the man was impossible it would inconvenience him. Inconvenience would have to do. Flynn still hated the man to no end. Always going about and doing whatever. He was almost never around making Flynn think the man was lazy. Yuri owned two shops but never tended either.
Yes, Rita was gifted but she was still just a child. Children should not be made to run businesses. If Estelle was running that bakery by herself Flynn would worry.
Rita was playing around with two strange colored vials and muttering incantations. "Is it okay for me to ask what you might be up to?" The vials spill and Rita curses. The floor melts where the liquid spills and a smell of cherries fill the air.
"Don't interrupt me while I'm casting!" Rita hisses securing the vials on a rack. "Shit! Do you always annoy people while they're working with caustic acids?"
"Why are you playing with acids?"
She quickly starts scrapping away with a metal knife to the holes in the floor. "All the best potions use acids!"
Flynn gawks at her. "Young ladies should not be playing with dangerous things like acids!"
"Shut up old man! I can do whatever I want!"
"What if you had spilled some of that on yourself?" Flynn points at the hole. "You could have hurt yourself!"
Rita shrugs him off. The nerve of these young people! "It's just hydrogen sulfide and the essence of an ancient tree. No big whoop. Besides, not like I'm not wearing gloves."
"That is not the point."
"Ya know Yuri is gonna be pissed at the giant hole in his floor." Raven crackles from his log peering to get a better look at the damage. "Might wanna fix that."
Rita snorts and turns back to her vials. "What do I look like? A carpenter? Not my problem."
Flynn crossed his arms and tapped his foot. The nerve! Honestly, every time Rita goes playing around she makes some big mess that Flynn is forced to clean up. What is he the maid? Well, sort of… But, young girls should be cleaning up after themselves and have more suitable hobbies. Yes, Rita should pursue magic, but in a way that created less caustic fumes and acid stains. Embroidery seemed like a far safer option. Or charm crafting. Something like that sounded nicer to Flynn.
After all, who'd want to work with such dangerous things? It probably was just a stupid junk potion anyway. Otherwise, Rita wouldn't clam up every time he asked what they were. Flynn snorted to himself as he nailed down a rough board that would keep anyone from stepping through the hole. Yes, they must mostly be duds otherwise she wouldn't always be dumping bottles out in the morning when Rita thinks he's asleep.
"What are you crafting anyway?"
Her face turns red as Rita pulls back one last time from her vials. "None of your business!"
"Well, it must be something special." Flynn hammered in a nail and watched the witch slump at the table. Her sigh drifts longingly. "I know I'm just some old coot, but you're free to talk about it."
It's a long silence and Flynn is sure she's gone back to focusing on her work. Her voice is so soft Flynn's old ears almost don't catch it. "I want to break his curse."
"Hm?"
"I want to break Yuri's curse. Or at least one of them." A small poof goes off and that cherry scent is in the air again. "He's a jerk and selfish, but Yuri's done a lot for me over the years. I was stupid and got him saddled with one a while back. I was careless and let that bitch get near enough to hex me."
"You're cursed as well?"
Well, it seems everyone in the household has their troubles. "Not quite. Yuri took my hex onto himself like an idiot."
Another curse? And Flynn had brought one with him as well… Just how many curses was Yuri under? It seemed that the Witch of the Waste was going through a great deal of trouble. It couldn't be just to kill Yuri because Flynn is certain that protection hex could easily be made to do the opposite. "What was the curse?"
"Can't say. He just said it would ruin my life as a witch. For all I know he's already broken and dispelled that one." Yuri did seem powerful enough to pull off such a feat. Being the arrogant man he was it wouldn't surprise Flynn to learn that he kept that safety hex for his protection. It wouldn't fix Flynn's problem, sadly. He's still old with wrinkles and thinning-grey hair. He misses his home, his shop, and his sisters. "My magic is rather weak sadly."
"I think the effort is commendable."
Rita marches out the door shortly after with no attempt to clean up the mess she left. Flynn let out a sigh and continued to clean and repair these stupid holes. Flynn has no interest in Yuri when he strides in with a smile. He's smiling with that annoying smug grin. Flynn pretends to not see Yuri as he sews a new hat. The townsfolk who come for Yuri's spells had noticed his work and started buying his hats much to Flynn's amusement. He catches Yuri's inspection of Rita's earlier work. A sniff followed by sticking a finger inside and twirling it around.
What is that man thinking?! Now he was tasting it! Hex or not that should be melting his insides!
"No body to it." Yuri holds the bottle to Flynn's face and his fingers fumble on the brim of the boat hat he'd been making. "What do you think Gramps?"
"I think you should kindly remove that from my face."
Yuri presses the vial closer and Flynn tempts the idea of slapping the man again. "Don't be like that. Give it a taste."
"I know exactly how that girl concocted this. No thanks."
The wizard shrugs and dumps the vial on Raven who protests. Smoke and fumes cloud the air a moment before clearing away quick away. "Too bad. I'm sure you could have improved it." It was clearly mockery. Flynn couldn't craft scrambled eggs let alone a magic potion. "Rita is too into the weeds of it all. She could actually craft something if she let herself be simple like you for a change."
"And what exactly do you mean by simple, young man?"
"Exactly that. You're really simple-minded."
Flynn creaked from his chair and headed to the door. "Well sorry for being so mundane." He slammed his door and walked out into Zaphias. Why must everyone always point out how dull a person he is? Flynn likes ordinary! Nothing is complicated, and everything is as and where it should be. Yet lately… it seemed he was rather more exciting in his old age. Or at least the scenery he surrounded himself in was. He muttered his frustrations as he walked with his cane down the lanes looking at the wonderful buildings. He slowly drifts back to the castle with sore legs and a dry throat from all his talking.
Raven is grinning widely when he enters. "Might I ask what has you so happy?"
"Wait."
Flynn suddenly feels a little worried when Rita comes in and is twiddling her thumbs. He focuses back on his hats when he hears a scream tear through the castle. His old bones rattle with the windows. Pounding rushes down the stairs as Yuri stumbles down sopping wet in only a loose towel. "FLYNN!"
Oh.
Flynn almost laughs as he looks at Yuri's hair. It's pink… His hair is pink… Don't laugh. But it's bright fluorescent pink! It's the gaudiest shade of pink it could possibly be. "So that's what Raven meant."
"What the hell did you do?" Yuri charges and hoists Flynn by his shirt.
"it's not a bad look for you actually."
Yuri throws him to the ground. "I can't be seen like this! I'm hideous!"
"You're being childish. Just dye it back."
Yuri's eye twitches and he laughs. "Dye it back? Oh yeah, why didn't I fucking think of that?" Yuri screams again shattering the windows. "It's ruined! My beautiful hair is ruined!" He stomps and then stomps again like a child who's lost their favorite toy. Flynn crosses his arms as Yuri throws everything on the floor in a tantrum. Sobs start blubbering from the wizard as he falls on the floor.
The pink has faded a bit to a softer red. At least it's better even if the man is crying tears all the same. The wails of his cries get louder and something creeps from out of the floor. "Rita, what is going on?"
"He's calling forth calamity and destruction upon the world."
Flynn's eyes go wide. "Shouldn't we stop him?"
"Yuri does this every few months. It's no big deal." Tell that to screams Flynn hears outside of citizens of Capua Torim running from waterspout that appeared in the harbor.
Okay, that's it. Flynn has many lines to draw and right here is one of them. He hoists the man upright and looks Yuri in the eye. "Are you a man or aren't you? What spineless, shallow, self-centered, and heartless person would think themselves a great wizard if they fall apart over something like this?" Flynn ignores the disgusting slime Yuri is oozing all over the floor. He's bringing up an important matter that shall not be overlooked. "You can fix your hair easily enough."
"Shut up!" Yuri spouts flinging slime everywhere. "What's the point of living if people think I look like a fool."
"Get over yourself! You're not that great." Yuri's response is to cry more and insult Flynn. It's such an annoying affair that Flynn takes a seat till Yuri had calmed down enough for Flynn to force him back upstairs into the bath. The man is still pouting while in the bath and Flynn is forced to mop again. He'd thought that making the man frustrated would be enjoyable, but that was just annoying.
And if Yuri wanted a warm glass of milk to heal his wounded ego he could make one himself.
Felinis:
Buy me a ko-fi maybe?
ko - fi felinisfeloney
If you like maybe support my patron or not. Up to you
Pat re on. com felinis
