#i am also responsible for at least one potato talisman drop :]

[risingsunresistance]

digging through some old tweets like a normal person and found this. had no idea statistics were ever released about the technoshop :0

700 BILLION COINS???????? could you imagine if all that money had actually gone back to techno 😭

[sergeantsporks]

Douxie Appreciation Week Day 2: Found Family

“How about New Jersey?”

Nari jumped. “No. Not New Jersey.”

Douxie frowned at the map. The time ship was parked, hopefully not where anyone would notice, and they’d stopped to, well, to figure out where they were going. He’d just sort of gotten on the ship with Nari, Archie, and no plan to speak of. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But they’d need to touch down eventually, to get supplies. Maybe find a place to stay for a while, so they weren’t on the time ship all of the time. “Why not? There’s a troll colony there—they’d probably at least give us a place to start.”

Sparks of magic flew off of Nari. “There is… a coven of witches.”

Douxie frowned. “A—a coven? Like, just a group of wizards?”

“Careful, Douxie,” Archie remarked, “Your Camelot upbringing is showing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nari jumped into the air, floating cross-legged. “Many use the names for magic users interchangeably. Arthur and his knights were especially guilty of this, and Merlin was not much better. But there are fundamental differences between them— especially  between witches and the rest.”

“Spellcasters use, well, spells,” Archie jumped in, “It’s the most basic level of magic—you say a spell to channel the energy, and magic happens. Almost any person can cast a spell, if they have even the barest spark of magic in them. Some are much better, and have a natural aptitude for magic. Those are spellcasters.”

“Wizards have an item that amplifies or helps their spellcasting,” Nari interjected, “Like your staff, or your bracelet. They still use spells, but the magic effect is greater.”

“You were born a spellcaster,” Archie continued, “Once you got your bracelet, you became a wizard. Your staff made you a master wizard. Sorcerers cast spells without a magic item, and without a verbal spell.”

“Like Claire,” Douxie offered, “Or a lot of Morgana’s magic.”

“Precisely. Witches… well, someone who is fully a witch cannot cast a spell on their own. They can capture the arcane energies, but cannot express them. So they use potions to create an expression of the energy, or a talisman. They capture the energy and store it in an item that can use it. No one really practices one form of magic over the other—Morgana practiced sorcery, but also used a staff. Merlin was most certainly a wizard, but to make a staff, or the amulet, a degree of witchcraft was involved—the different forms of magic are closely linked. A few, though, they can be separated. There are spellcasters who are only spellcasters. Like I said, it’s a beginning step. And…”

“Witches,” Nari said quietly, “Practicing some witchcraft, as Merlin did, doesn’t make you a full witch. But only being able to practice witchcraft does. Sometimes, a group of witches will bond, form a community where they all share their particular specialty of magic-item-making with others. Their weaknesses are covered by another member, and their strengths cover the others’ weaknesses. That is a coven.”

Douxie leaned against the side of the ship. “So, why are we talking about witches like there’s something wrong with them?”

“There’s not,” Archie remarked, jumping up on the railing, “Being a witch is perfectly respectable.”

“So… New Jersey?”

Nari shook her head. “No. The coven there… like Archie said, being a witch is perfectly respectable. They are an important part of magic. But like any other type of magician, there are… bad oranges?”

“Bad apples,” Douxie informed her.

“It is all fruit. The coven in New Jersey… they have not always been in New Jersey. Like much of the magic in America, they traveled over from Europe with the colonizers. And while they were in Europe, I… had a rather bad interaction with them.” She sank a few feet lower in the air. “It… took time to recover from.”

A spark of anger crackled in Douxie’s chest. “What happened?”

“They caught me,” Nari said, and it was obvious, so painfully obvious that she was trying to be flippant about it. “Witchcraft is about storing the arcane energies of the universe, like other forms of magic are about harnessing that power in the moment. The universes’ supply replenishes itself, usually so quickly there is no discernable difference. However, the most powerful of magics can drain the energy to the point where there is no arcane energy in the area for a time.”

“In anyone but a witch, this usually manifests in fatigue on the magician,” Archie commented, “It’s the universe’s way of making the spellcaster stop so it can rejuvenate. Harnessing that much energy tires the conduit, your body, out, so you stop casting, giving the universe time to replenish the energy. It’s not always the reason for magic fatigue—that also depends on the amount of energy you can handle, which is what separates magicians from regular people casting spells and beginner magicians from long-term magicians. But witches… they don’t use their own body as a conduit. They use an item. So they can pull and pull without any consequences.”

“Except the consequences that using that much energy will have on the world around them,” Nari snapped.

Douxie blinked. “Nari?”

“They… used a stasis trap,” Nari said quietly, “They used a stasis trap to catch me, and then they used me as a power source. Bellroc and Skrael found me eventually, and the coven scattered before they could attack.” Nari rubbed her arms. “It took nearly a century for me to heal, and I lost my staff to them.”

The spark of anger fanned up. Usually, Douxie was pretty good at staying positive. But that—that was  disgusting . “Okay,” he said finally, in a voice that was just a bit too cheerful, “How about New York, then?”

Nari gave him a bright smile. She was trying too hard, too. “Sounds wonderful.”

Xxx

“Douxie?”

Douxie felt a small spark of panic. Nari sounded worried—and there wasn’t too much that could get her worried. “Yeah?”

“I think I saw someone I know today.”

“Bellroc? Skrael?”

“No.” Nari glanced back at the door, like whoever it was might have followed her. “One of the coven witches. I—I think she came up from New Jersey.”

Something cold and steely seemed to solidify inside of Douxie. “Okay,” he said carefully, “Okay, don’t worry. I’ll strengthen the apartment defenses. Stay inside until I get back, alright?”

Nari nodded, and Douxie slipped out the door, locking it behind him. Right. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, feeling for any signs of magic. There. A knot of it… very close. The witch had followed Nari.

Douxie stalked outside, following the feeling to see a young woman—or, at least, she looked young. But if Nari remembered her from before… She was walking the direction of the apartment. Right. That wasn’t going to happen.

Douxie strode towards her, tapping her on the shoulder. “Hey.”

She whirled around. “Who are you?”

Douxie held his hands up defensively. “Relax. I’m… like you.” He let a small spark of magic turn his eyes blue. The witch relaxed.

“Yeah? What do you want, I’m busy.”

Douxie held up the wrist with his bracelet. “I’m having a bit of a… malfunction, and I’m new in the area. You know where I could find a witch who can fix this?”

The witch held her hand out, and Douxie hesitantly unbuckled the cuff, dropping it in her hand. She turned it over. “Hm. Wizard item, huh? Can’t help you myself, but someone in the coven might know what to do.”

Douxie snatched the cuff back. “Great, can you take me to them?”

The witch sighed. “Yah, look, I’m busy tracking this insane magic energy, could keep the coven in business for CENTURIES—”

An asset. A tool. That was all Nari was to them—that was all she was to the Order, all she was even to Merlin. Did anyone care about  just Nari ?!

“It’ll still be here, and uh…” Douxie gave his wrist cuff a little smack. “I’m kind of worried this thing is going to blow up the next time I use it.”

The witch threw her hands up in the air. “Gah! Okay, okay, I’ll take you. Geeze. C’mere.” She linked arms with Douxie and twisted a ring on her finger. There was an odd twisting feeling in Douxie’s gut, and then they were standing in a living room lit by candles. The witch dropped his arm like a hot potato. “Hey, anyone home?”

A few other witches filed in, glaring distrustfully at Douxie. “You brought a wizard in?!”

“Not a wizard,” Douxie’s witch corrected, “A  customer .”

One of them eyed Douxie. “Oh? What for?”

Douxie summoned his staff, thumping it on the ground. “Have you heard of the wizard Merlin Ambrosius?”

The witch snorted. “Who hasn’t?” he asked.

“I was his apprentice. I am his successor. He appointed me master wizard.”

Douxie’s witch rolled a hand. “Get to the point!”

“Right. Now, tell me if you’ve heard of this person; Nari of the Eternal Forest.”

“That’s… what I… was tracking…” Douxie’s witch replied, her face paling.

Douxie thumped his staff again, sending out a pulse of blue magic that knocked most of the witches off of their feet. “She is under  my  protection.” Another thump. “You will not chase her.” Thump. “You will not attempt to capture her.” Thump. “And if I see you near her ever again…” one more thump. “I know where your coven base is. I will protect her at all costs, do you understand?”

Douxie’s witch staggered to her feet. “You-!” she grabbed a nearby crystal and sucked the fire from the candles, throwing it at him. Douxie twisted the magic, grabbing the fire. It smoldered in a ball above his hand, and tendrils reached out, burning a hole through the witch’s skirt, close enough to heat-sear her, but not enough to actually burn her.

“You will leave Nari alone,” he said in a low voice, “She is my responsibility. And more importantly, she’s her own person and shouldn’t be treated like nothing but a tool!”

The witch gave him a glare. “Really? You really think you aren’t using her as a tool?”

A surge of magic pulsed through Douxie, like the arcane energies had decided that they’d like to be a mood ring today. “I,” he growled, “am apparently the only friend she’s got.” He stalked towards the witch. “And if you  ever  try to lay another one of your fingers on her  I will  personally  make sure you regret it.”

The witch looked up at him, and something that might have been fear flashed in her eyes. “What are you doing?!” she hissed, “the talismans, why…”

“If you choose to use your magic to hurt others, then you don’t deserve it,” Douxie growled, “And if you ever try to harm Nari again, I will take away your magic  permanently.”  he had no idea how to do that, but they didn’t need to know that.

“O-okay! We’ll leave her alone! Just... put the magic back.”

“Swear it.”

“I- I swear. We won’t. Don’t take away the magic, please.”

“Good. It’ll come back. This time.” Douxie slammed the door behind him, making it down the street before his legs wobbled and gave out and spots danced in front of his eyes. What was it Archie had said about conducting too much magic?

“That was impressive,” his familiar’s voice said in his ear.

Douxie chuckled breathlessly. “Thanks, I think I’m about to pass out.”

A fly flew off of his necklace and shape-shifted back into his cat. “I didn’t think you were just going to strengthen the defenses. I figured I’d follow in case you’d like any help. But I think you handled that quite well on your own. The looks on their faces were  priceless .”

“Thanks. Glad you’re here, Arch, because I don’t think I can make it back home on my own. I feel like pudding.”

“Sure, you sucked up all the energy in the area and just held it. The universe is probably wondering what in the seven rings you’re doing.”

“’m protecting Nari.”

“Oh? Looked like a bit more than just ‘protection.’”

Douxie chuckled again. “Okay. Maybe it was a little itty-bit revenge for her, too. Shame I didn’t see her staff.” A wave of dizziness swept over him. “Oooookay. We need to get home before I pass out.”

Archie shifted into a horse, and Douxie hauled himself up, clinging tightly to his familiar as they raced up from the small New Jersey town back towards New York City. They stopped outside the city, Archie shapeshifting back into a cat and the two of them getting on the subway. They made their way back to the apartment, where Nari was waiting, pacing. “What  took  so long? I feared...”

“Good news!” Douxie said cheerfully, “You don’t have to worry about the coven anymore! They will stay well away from you.”

Nari’s eyes widened. “What did you do?!”

“Paid them a little house call.”

Nari let out a startled laugh. “Why would you do that?”

“Because,” Douxie said seriously, “It’s about time that someone started caring about you for you.”

@moppetwithamanbun@einahpetsyarcip@ohfuzzbuckets