Flattery Will Get You Nowhere.

Refreshed from their stay with the elder witch, Saratoga and Moliagus left the house with a small sample of necessities to help them get through the last two days of their journey. Aside from the physical items, the elder witch also gave a stern warning to them…

“Beware the lux…” she said in a serious tone. “They hunt our kind with an especially feverish passion.”

“We will. Thank you.” Saratoga nodded to her elder.

“Please, promise me you’ll come back and visit after you're done, dear,” requested the elder witch in a grandmothering tone. “I’ll make sure you have a nice warm bed and plenty of food.”

Saratoga smiled at the offer, even accepting an embrace from the elder witch. There were so many secrets and stories she was sure that her elder had to offer, especially regarding her mother. So the idea of returning excited her.

“Of course. I would love to.”

With that deal between the two witches made, Saratoga and Moliagus once again set off to continue their journey.

By this point in the day, the sun had only about a few hours left in the sky. Although daylight wasn’t to her liking, Saratoga wanted to get a head start on traveling to the mountain. If all went well, they’d reach the base just after dusk, and perhaps reach the tears before midnight.

The young witch suddenly had a terribly anxious heart beat erupt in her chest. Given all that she needed to do in just two more nights, she hardly had any time to doddle about.

“We only have a night and a half left before Halloween, and we still need to get back home in time to make the elixir of life.”

“I thought you were attempting to make the philosopher's stone,” Moliagus questioned. “What is the elixir of life?”

“The stone must be processed into the elixir. According to the accounts of those who’ve made it before me, it can cure any disease or curse.”

“Do you think there will be enough for me?” he asked, hopeful to get his human form back without needing to fight for it.

“I don’t know.” Her head shook. “It depends on how many tears we are provided.”

Moliagus had hoped that maybe he wouldn't need to battle a wizard to get his body back, but if the supply of tears was limited, it worried him that his options were just as finite.

While speed walking and keeping a healthy chat, all the little feathered fauna that sprung from one tree to the next generously interrupted their conversation with loud and obnoxious calls.

Chirp after chirp, it seemed like the noisy creatures wouldn’t quell their conversations, causing a throbbing pain to break out in the young witches head and increase her anxiety.

“Aren’t the birds so lovely?” Uttered out Moliugas as he reached a semi nirvana like solace among nature. “They sing such peaceful tunes.”

“Surely we are hearing very different things.” She couldn’t wait for the crack of dusk, seeing as all those noisy little burdens would slumber, or risk being caught by some nocturnal predator.

How Saratoga couldn’t find joy in their songs was beyond Moliugas’s understanding. The royal garden was full of many birds, of which he’d leave his window open during the day to listen to as he studied. He rued the days where weather was unfavourable to enjoy them.

But even as he explained his reason for delighting in daytime, she merely replied “I prefer the rain.”

“Why did I expect anything else?” he laughed to himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so different from myself.”

“Statements like that may be the reason why.”

He shared with her a disapproving face, something like an upset jack o'lantern. “I never said that was a bad thing, you know? They say, variety is the spice of life. I had plenty of servants that preferred working in unfavourable hours or conditions, which kept things going even as I slept.”

“Are you saying I should be a servant?”

“Always so pessimistic…” he sighed. “I’m trying to say, no matter our preferences, we all find a place in this world.”

Saratoga couldn’t disagree with him, but so few understood her as a person with her lack of social skills. Hiding away in her room and only coming out on occasion usually caused others to forget she existed.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget you exist,” Moliagus admitted. “You’re such a unique one.”

Rarely did an emotion consisting of flattery ever spin up from the depth of her dried heart, but when they did, she had no skill at handling them, opting to turn and let her hidden flush face do the talking.

“You’re so annoying,” she said, hoping she’d dodge any further compliments, assuming that’s what it was he was getting at.

“If saying nice things to you is annoying, then consider me a thorn in your side.”

His silly words almost drew a chuckle out of her. She covered it up with a cough. “I already do.”