[Kitsumi]

Hazel
Level 1 -- Post 1

With everything that had been going on lately, Hazel just really needed a bit of a vacation. She may not have the funds to go on a tropical excursion, but she was taking a day off work to treat herself. Her first stop was the candy store she had noticed on her walk home the other day. It had been so long since she allowed herself the pleasure of eating anything really sugary...just this once, she could justify a sugar binge, at least in her own mind.

Eyes scanning the shelves stocked with sugary goodness, Hazel realized that she was probably going to be splurging quite a bit. She hesitated, arm already stretched out to grab a bag of assorted saltwater taffies, wondering if she should really do this. Wasn't she stronger than this? It wasn't like her to just check out of her emotions and stuff her face with candy. And yet, she was already tucking the bag of taffies under her arm and looking for something chocolaty.

Hey, everyone was allowed a few moments of weakness in their life, right?

[Isalynne]

Aella liked to think of herself as a peaceful, level-headed being. Not much could really stir her and get her frustrated unless it had to do with mistreatment of people she cared about. However, life had been really testing her lately, and as such her stress levels had skyrocketed.

Who would try to burgle a candy shop? It beggared belief. Sure, maybe they were after some of her more titilating stock, but that would mean they would have had to have known that she was brewing them in the first place and that was a nightmare in itself. Oh, lord. She could practically feel her blood pressure rising by the second. Her temples throbbed painfully - a split second later, she heard the sound of shattering glass from the store front.

"Oh my gosh!" A mop of curly hair popped up from behind the counter, followed by two wide frightened eyes staring directly in Hazel's direction. A jar of strawberry bonbons had exploded; thankfully it was on the opposite side of the store from her customer, but there was still the possibility that shards had flown across the room. "Are you okay, sweetie? I'm so sorry about that, it's my fault.."

[Kitsumi]

Busily examining the various candies, Hazel hadn't been prepared for the sudden action across the store from her. Her back had been turned to that side of the store, but the witch turned suddenly at the sound of grass shattering. Already she was quickly muttering a low leveled protection spell, just enough to prevent any of the shards from reaching her. It didn't seem to be needed, however, as each splinter of glass fell harmlessly to the floor. Hazel let out a sigh of relief, thankful that she had been the only one in the store. Well, aside from the shopkeeper.

"I'm perfectly alright," Hazel assessed the woman with a slightly bemused smile. "Although it looks as though you may need some more bonbons." Most of the candies were now scattered across the floor, with very few left in what remained of the glass jar that had held them.

It took a moment, but eventually Hazel realized that the woman had said that it was her fault. Although she already had her suspicions, the witch had to ask. "How exactly is it that you could have caused this from the other room?" If her suspicions were correct, Hazel knew that she may not get a straight or honest answer. She was hoping that she would be able to judge based on the other woman's facial expressions whether or not she was telling the truth.

[Isalynne]

The head disappeared for a moment, before it returned with its body - Aella was clutching a broom tightly with a grumpy little frown on her face. All that exploding glass was getting pretty annoying to deal with day in, day out, never mind being a massive risk to poor unsuspecting customers. Thank goodness that one hadn't been hurt. Small mercies.

"Oh, I've got some more round the back, I think. Don't you worry about those, I'm just glad you're okay." She let her sour expression give way and smiled kindly, beginning to sweep the mess up and off to the side to be disposed of later. Using her magic had occured to her as a solution, but she didn't want to cause more disruption, and to add to that, she had no idea how her guest would respond to seeing it used openly. Little did she know!

"I, uh.." Shoot. That was the last thing on earth she wanted to be asked. What could she possibly say?! Sorry, darling, I'm emotional and that makes me blow things up and generally put people's lives at risk? What a riot, it'd go down like a lead balloon. "I'm not very good at stacking them properly. They.. slip a lot, you see?"

[Kitsumi]

//Just so you know, Hazel's kinda...bold xD She kinda figures she has nothing to lose at this point haha

Hazel would never have told the woman this, but she was almost amused by the woman's reactions. She seemed so sweet and concerned. Actually, she reminded the witch a bit of her High Priestess in that regard.  But it was obvious that her magical abilities - if Hazel was right in assuming that she possessed them - were obviously not fully under control. And this was why she stayed, watching the shopkeeper and wondering how she could bring up the topic of magic.

As the woman swept, Hazel began to feel bad for simply standing there. "Is there another broom somewhere? I'd be happy to help." Before there was even time for the woman to answer, Hazel realized that there was another solution. It would be slightly dangerous, because she had no proof that this other woman could use magic. But she was willing to take that risk. Besides, the hesitation in answer was all the confirmation that Hazel needed.

"It slipped, huh?" She made her disbelief of this claim obvious in her voice. "You know, it would probably be easier to simply fix the jar, wouldn't it? Like this." Taking a deep breath, she spoke a simple restoration spell that she had learned only recently. The pieces of glass began to float a few inches above the ground, before coming together almost seamlessly. The spell wasn't perfect, and it was possible to see the faint lines where the glass had once been broken. But the jar should be sturdy enough to continue using. "There, isn't that better?" Holding out her hand, the witch finally introduced herself. "I'm Hazel - and I'm a witch."

[Isalynne]

Aella honestly wasn't paying as much attention as she should have been. She would've just waved off the offer to find a broom and help; it was her responsibility, she had no right to drag the innocent unsuspecting customers into the mix. Unfortunately, it didn't seem she was going to get away with her antics that easily, especially since the glass shards began to float and reassemble right in front of her eyes.

Darn it. That was so unfair! Of course she didn't hold it against this magic lady, but it was slightly vexing to be exposed and shown up in her own store. The day could have gone on quite well if she'd been a normal human being and she'd accepted the stacking explanation and left her to chase the runaway bonbons out of their positions under the various items of furniture in the room.

"With all due respect, Hazel - and it is lovely to meet you!" She shook her hand briefly before dropping to the ground in search of the sweets, tipping her head to the side to look under the counter. "But with all due respect, it's magic that got me into this blasted mess in the first place, and it's magic that I am gonna avoid as such. It's nice to see that you are so in control, but I am not, so. If you wouldn't mind refraining."

[Kitsumi]

//Super sorry for the belated reply! Things were oddly busy the past couple of days.

The woman's reaction wasn't at all what Hazel had expected. She had plenty of experience with stumbling upon inexperienced witches who weren't sure how to use their powers. They had been grateful to find another witch, and had seemed eager to practice magic with her. But then again, they had usually been quite young, lost and feeling very alone. That obviously was not the case in this situation.

Immediately, Hazel began to feel guilty. "I apologize," she said quietly. "I wasn't intending to show off or make anything difficult for you. I just...wasn't quite sure how to vocalize that I was a witch." This was certainly a new situation for her. She had never had to apologize for using her magic to help somebody. "I suppose I was trying to confirm my suspicion that you were one as well...?" She paused expectantly, hoping that the woman would at least give her a name.

Hoping to attempt to make amends, Hazel dropped to her knees as she spotted a bonbon that the woman had missed. It was only because of her unique vantage point that she had noticed it at all, and now she scurried forward on all fours, reaching beneath a piece of furniture and waving her arm blindly until her fingers touched the stray piece of candy. "Aha! Are you sure you don't need any help? I really wouldn't mind."

[Isalynne]

(Don't worry at all! Take your time, no worries. <3)

Aella kept herself from looking at Hazel, for the simple reason that she was beginning to feel atrociously guilty too. All she'd been trying to do was help, and she'd practically bitten her head off for no reason at all, and that was completely unacceptable. It wasn't Hazel's fault that she could control her magic and she couldn't, was it? Even with that acknowledgement, she was still determined that she didn't want to get into the conversation in fear that she'd never get out of it, so she kept her focus on the bonbons in her palm.

"Yep, I am." She didn't sound very joyous about confessing her status as a witch. Surely that was particularly unusual - magic was normally seen as a blessing to make life easier and help those around you! That's what her mother used to tell her. It did nothing to soothe her when they were living in secrecy and selling their potions illegally in the narrow hope that they could remain undiscovered and have enough money to pay the bills. It was just.. so frustrating. "I'm Aella."

After a mere couple of seconds of continued searching, she could keep the charade up no longer and sighed softly, plopping down on her bottom with her back against the counter. She was being unnecessarily mean. In fact, she was pretty shocked that nothing else had broken with her fluctuating emotional state. Ah. As if on cue, the stuffed bear she kept by the cash register flopped sadly to the floor. Aella stared at it with pity.

"It's fine, it isn't important. I'm sorry, I'm just.. all kinds of stressed."

[Kitsumi]

Hazel smiled as the woman finally introduced herself. It was nice to have a name, so that she could finally stop simply thinking of her as the 'shopkeeper'. "Aella," she said the name out, testing it on her tongue against the woman in front of her. It seemed to fit, although Hazel had no idea of the origin behind the name. Names were things of power, at least in this witch's opinion. She tried to learn as much as she could about them, although this was a name she had yet to encounter.

Her desire to spark conversation was soon overshadowed by her desire to do something to make Aella feel better. She could tell that something other than the broken jar was the matter, and this seemed to be confirmed by the other woman's words as she apologized.

"You don't need to apologize," Hazel said quickly. "After all, I was the one who pranced in here showing off. Whether or not you are a witch was really none of my business anyways." She plopped down beside the woman, hoping she wasn't being too forward. "I know that you don't really know me from Eve, but I've found that sometimes you just need to get things off your chest. If you'd like to talk, I'd be more than happy to listen." Truth be told, Hazel was practically desperate to at least be near another witch at this point. Ever since her...incident...her coven members had refused to see her until judgement on her actions had been passed. It was turning out to be a rather long and drawn out trial, and she could really just use the company.

[Isalynne]

Aella was warming to Hazel, to say the least. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot, without a doubt, but there was no reason they couldn't make immediate amends and move on from it as swiftly as possible. They were two of the same kind, after all. A kind that Aella was having trouble finding many others of who weren't in her family or in her illicit coven.

"You don't have to listen to my sob stories, darling." She patted the woman's hand, offering her a markedly brighter smile than any she'd exhibited thus far. "Plus, I'm worried that if I say something that sets me off, we'll have another explosion! Bam. Jellybeans everywhere. Oh, I hate those things."

Maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world to have a discussion, though. Hazel had given the impression that she was a wonderfully understanding person, and with the instant bond that they shared due to both being witches, there was no one safer to talk to. A fresh perspective could be a wonderful thing. Who knew? Perhaps her newfound friend knew a lot more about unruly, emotion-fuelled magic than she appeared to.

"I'm not very good at being in control. I'm strong, and mama says that's good! But, you see, it's not good, because my emotions.. they set them off. I can't just turn off emotions. I am not a robot."

[Kitsumi]

For once, Hazel seemed to be doing something right. Aella seemed to be cheering up a bit, as well as becoming a bit more open. It was a bit of a relief, knowing that she hadn't blundered badly enough to completely ruin her chances at conversation. Who knows? Maybe she would find it easier than she had first thought to redeem herself in the shopkeeper's eyes.

"I wouldn't mind," Hazel said honestly. "But if you're worried about more things exploding, I'd be happy to talk about anything right about now." She laughed at the image of jelly beans exploding all over the place. "I have to admit though, exploding jelly bean jars sound fun! I personally love jelly beans - especially the buttered popcorn flavored ones."

While she had mostly been looking straight forward, Hazel now adjusted her position so that she was mostly facing Aella, the side of her head leaning against the furniture her back had been against. "I can understand how that would be distressing," she said thoughtfully. It had been a while since she had been a teenager with no grasp on her powers, but she tried to remember what it had been like. "I'm a first generation witch, so when my abilities first manifested, I thought I was going crazy. It took me a little while to figure out how to separate my powers from my emotions."

[Isalynne]

It was rare to get a lover of jellybeans into this shop! That shouldn't have been the most dominant thought in Aella's mind at that moment, but it had been such an awfully long time since the poor things had seen even the slightest interest. They'd be walking out of the shop in rows by themselves if they didn't have any eager customers come for them any time soon. A more relaxed subject was putting her mind at rest and helping her to be more pleasant to Hazel, which was always a good thing.

"A first generation? You're the first I've met." It couldn't have been more true - her whole coven were born and bred witches from lineage stretching back generations. "I.. I'm a progeny from a very powerful line. I'd like to sound more happy about that, but.. I'm like the rotten apple in the bowl. No one in my coven ever had issues with their magic, or getting to grips with it, or anything. There was no problem with emotion."

Sitting on the floor was quite a strange thing to do, she was coming to realise. It wasn't like they'd decided that this was the best place to have the conversation, but it was still.. bizarre, and not fitting for the calibre of discussion.

"Would you like to come upstairs? We could have some tea."

[Kitsumi]

Noting the expression of surprise on Aella's face, Hazel laughed. "What? Don't tell me you don't get any jellybean lovers here?" She grabbed at her chest in a mock display of surprise. "I may just have to buy all of your lonely little jellybeans. You know, so they don't feel alone. Not so I can gorge myself on them later." The woman was acting quite a bit sillier than she normally would. But it was just so nice to get her mind off the more serious matters that had been plaguing her thoughts lately.

"I'm the only first generation I know of, too," Hazel replied honestly. "I never thought that first generations were so rare, until I tried finding others." Her expression turned sympathetic, and she patted Aella's hand in a comforting sort of way. "I wouldn't call you a rotten apple, honey. Some people just take longer than others. It's like when you're in school, some students take to math easily, while others have to really work hard and concentrate on it. It doesn't mean they aren't smart, they just need to work a bit harder."

Hazel laughed slightly. "Yes, it'd be nice to get off the floor. But are you sure it would be alright? I don't want you to have to close shop and miss out on potential business simply to speak to me."

[Isalynne]

"Nonsense! We don't get a lot of business at this time anyway." Aella waved Hazel's concern off, using the counter to haul herself clumsily off of the floor and then offering the other woman a hand to help her up. A lot of people had already done their shopping for candy - a lot of the Christmas stock was depleted by the early rush and now she only had odds and ends laying around in the back. It was a relief. She wasn't one for the chaos and madness. "It'll be nice to get off my feet!"

Once they were both well situated, she made her way to the door to flip the sign. If her roommate wanted to come up, he knew to come through the back, so it was of no concern to her. After everything was sorted out and she was confident there was nothing she'd forgotten, she smiled and motioned for Hazel to follow her up the stairs, far more merry than she had been a matter of moments ago.

"Okay! Please make yourself comfy." Aella's flat was much more cosy than her shop front. Warm and lived-in, with a log burning fire and a cute rug that looked like it'd been stitched out of random swatches of fabric. It was very.. her - very obvious that she was the one who lived there. "I hope you like lemon tea! And, I have biscuits if you want some. Oh, I don't know. You can tell me a bit about yourself while I get this, I promise I'm listening!"

[Kitsumi]

Taking the offered hand, Hazel rose to her feet with Aella's help. "Well, in that case I'd be happy to give you an excuse to take a break." Although she still felt a bit uncertain about allowing the other woman to close the shop on her account, she had to admit that the place wasn't exactly buzzing with activity. As long as Aella thought it was alright, she was happy to speak privately with the other witch.

"Thank you," Hazel said as she followed Aella into the upper area of the shop. "I love your place," she commented. It was much more of a home than her small, sterile apartment. She had only recently moved into her place, so she hadn't yet had the chance to put the loving touches on it. "I like practically any kind of tea," she said honestly. "And I'd love a biscuit or two, if it isn't too much trouble."

Talking about herself was difficult. There was always the question of where to begin. "I'm not sure exactly what sort of things you'd like to know about me. Is there anything specific you're curious about?"