[The Goblin Market does not stay in Mae's control forever, nor does she want it to. Five years pass and she, as agreed, hands the reigns over to Sin and takes a hard look at her life and decides that she has spent years and years making choices for Jamie, or for Nick, or for Adam, and none for herself. So with the scant savings she's manages to finangle away along the years, she books herself a holiday on her own.
There are covens in America who don't care that much if you're a magician, because you can be a witch anyway. There are covens in America who would take one look at Nick's mark on her neck and welcome her with open arms, a sister in worship; even though, technically, the only demon she ever summoned is her on again and off again boyfriend with no soul.
She has lead the Market into a subdued, sanitised, safe version of itself, and now she finds that she wants that edge back. So wild girl Mae is back, this time in New Orleans. Her sources say there's a shop for the occult that acts more like a doorway to it, and well, Mae is curious and feeling reckless. So she goes.
What she finds is probably a witch - but also the prettiest woman she's seen in her life. Honestly, it's intimidating.]
[Regardless of Mae's polite regard, Prudence would have been taking her time anyway. Some things do not change, no matter what circumstances have since reshaped her. A Weird Sister bends to no one, etc etc. Of course, more than that, she finds the dust frustrating. After a moment she steps down from the chair and turns, dusting herself off with her vague smile and eyes narrow.
She takes the size of Mae in; the pink hair, the clothes, the manner in which she holds herself. She does not think witch, but there is a smell to her that says magic. A friend of someone magical, like Sabrina's little group of misguided idiots. ] Thank you. What can I help you with?
[She likes to make assumptions, therefore she does make a few. Fortunes; charms; something wicked this way comes. ]
[Right - act cool, Maevis. She directs her most winsome smile at the woman behind the counter, trying to not hold her breath for being in the presence of a witch. Chances are, the covens in America are not as vile as in England - then again, chances are she's wrong about that.
Still.] A reading, if that's alright with you? I've heard about this place, and it's been a while since someone read my cards...
Well, usually the cards decide if they're in the mood. [There is a sense that Prudence always had, that everything in Madam Mambo's shop had a life and a mind of its own. From the walls to the furniture, she always felt spectated upon to some degree. She nods towards a small table towards the further right of the room, where curtains are half drawn and things have been left as she recalled them. ] Take a seat, put your hand on the deck.
[This part, perhaps, is mostly show. Prudence has always liked to tease mortals, after all, and she has been stuck here for some hours. ] You're passing through, then?
So to speak. I'm staying for a while. [How much information did you reveal a Tarot card reader, without revealing too much? She's gotten pretty good by now at telling scams from the real thing apart, but it would be a shame to find out that this place doesn't live up to its reputation.]
Looking for something. [With that, and a smile, she sits down at the table, and puts her hand on the deck, looking up towards the other woman expectantly.]
Most people are, if they find this place. The cards seem amicable enough.
[The nicest way of saying you passed the vibe check. She nods to the cards, and leans forward onto her elbows, half way theatrical with her eyebrow lift and half-way interested. ] You may cut the deck.
Love a friendly deck of cards. [She flashes her a grin, and theatrically cuts the deck, before pulling back to let the young woman predict her present and past and future.
The mark on her neck is quiet, no hum to it. A sign that Nick is far away - across moving water, incapable of coming to her rescue in the first place - and for the first time in years, she is on her own. Fucking. Bliss.]
Everything in this store has a mind of its own, most days. The most temperamental magic this side of the french quarter.
[She doesn't say that it longs for someone far away. That may be a little too dramatic, even for Prudence's taste. Her eyes, move down, and then as she selects the first card, her eyes are drawn up to the mark, just a moment. Curious.
First: The Lovers, reversed. Prudence lifts an eyebrow. ] You have been putting your energy into something which has not returned it. A person, a place -- the natural balance has been tipped, weighing you down.
[Next: Death, upright. ] Awareness of this has changed you. You're putting yourself first. [She pauses.] Good for you.
[And then, finally: The Devil, reversed. A little ironically: ] It's the right choice.
[She pauses again, and then leaning onto the table with her elbows, she chins the back of her hand and really looks at Mae. Her eyes, the mark again. She looks deep, and deeper still, and then hums softly. ] Something happened to you, I think. Someone. They took you and they changed you, and you want yourself back.
[Mae listens with a small smile at the corner of her lips, wondering what's pure spin and what is the cards telling the truth. In her experience as the leader of the Goblin Market, she's had her cards read a few times, but most of the artisans of the Market were cons - it was the dancers that raked in the money and attention, after all. Dancers who put their necks on the line at every opportunity, Mae included. Nick's mark on her throat had never been a guarantee that other demons would leave her alone. Only his old friends - and the other conclaves in London. But she's had nimble feet and a sense of needing that danger, so she'd danced.
When Prudence finishes speaking, she lets out a low little whistle and smiles.] You're as good as they told me.
[She looks around the shop again, curious, impressed.] Don't suppose you've ever been to a Goblin Market, have you?
[The question throws her, though she tries not to show it. A pause, and then she sits back, laughing. She shouldn't be surprised, she supposes. Hasn't Sabrina spent the last two years telling her mortal friends all the secrets of their world? Why shouldn't this random mortal also know some of the more niche aspects of the magical world. ]
What does a girl like you know of goblin markets? [Mortal, she means, but she does have a way of making it sound like a judgement. ]
[A girl like you, she says, like Mae sits in a whole category. She could tell her - this pretty girl with a gift for magic and old eyes. She could lay her cards on the table.]
I lead one. [In the end, it's easy to say it. It comes out dry and brief, with a shrug. No big deal, she lead one. When there was that power vacuum, when her brother nearly died - and others nearly died - Mae's strategy, Mae's quick thinking got them out of trouble. Simultaneously, it got her in control of the Goblin Market back home, the biggest one. Under her command, they'd stopped travelling but settled near London instead, to allow the younger kids to actually attend school and try their hands at something else. Under her command, the Market was no longer at war with the covens of witches, either.
Out of her command, now, who knows. But that had been the deal - seven years and no longer. She's served it for seven years, and here she is now, trying to serve herself.]
But thanks, I haven't been made to feel seventeen again with a barbed comment in a very long time. [Here a little chuckle.] Witches. What a gift.
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she summoned demons before you hipsters did
There are covens in America who don't care that much if you're a magician, because you can be a witch anyway. There are covens in America who would take one look at Nick's mark on her neck and welcome her with open arms, a sister in worship; even though, technically, the only demon she ever summoned is her on again and off again boyfriend with no soul.
She has lead the Market into a subdued, sanitised, safe version of itself, and now she finds that she wants that edge back. So wild girl Mae is back, this time in New Orleans. Her sources say there's a shop for the occult that acts more like a doorway to it, and well, Mae is curious and feeling reckless. So she goes.
What she finds is probably a witch - but also the prettiest woman she's seen in her life. Honestly, it's intimidating.]
Take your time.
okay granny mae
She takes the size of Mae in; the pink hair, the clothes, the manner in which she holds herself. She does not think witch, but there is a smell to her that says magic. A friend of someone magical, like Sabrina's little group of misguided idiots. ] Thank you. What can I help you with?
[She likes to make assumptions, therefore she does make a few. Fortunes; charms; something wicked this way comes. ]
the audacity
Still.] A reading, if that's alright with you? I've heard about this place, and it's been a while since someone read my cards...
no subject
[This part, perhaps, is mostly show. Prudence has always liked to tease mortals, after all, and she has been stuck here for some hours. ] You're passing through, then?
the other gay agenda
Looking for something. [With that, and a smile, she sits down at the table, and puts her hand on the deck, looking up towards the other woman expectantly.]
no subject
[The nicest way of saying you passed the vibe check. She nods to the cards, and leans forward onto her elbows, half way theatrical with her eyebrow lift and half-way interested. ] You may cut the deck.
no subject
The mark on her neck is quiet, no hum to it. A sign that Nick is far away - across moving water, incapable of coming to her rescue in the first place - and for the first time in years, she is on her own. Fucking. Bliss.]
no subject
[She doesn't say that it longs for someone far away. That may be a little too dramatic, even for Prudence's taste. Her eyes, move down, and then as she selects the first card, her eyes are drawn up to the mark, just a moment. Curious.
First: The Lovers, reversed. Prudence lifts an eyebrow. ] You have been putting your energy into something which has not returned it. A person, a place -- the natural balance has been tipped, weighing you down.
[Next: Death, upright. ] Awareness of this has changed you. You're putting yourself first. [She pauses.] Good for you.
[And then, finally: The Devil, reversed. A little ironically: ] It's the right choice.
[She pauses again, and then leaning onto the table with her elbows, she chins the back of her hand and really looks at Mae. Her eyes, the mark again. She looks deep, and deeper still, and then hums softly. ] Something happened to you, I think. Someone. They took you and they changed you, and you want yourself back.
no subject
When Prudence finishes speaking, she lets out a low little whistle and smiles.] You're as good as they told me.
[She looks around the shop again, curious, impressed.] Don't suppose you've ever been to a Goblin Market, have you?
no subject
What does a girl like you know of goblin markets? [Mortal, she means, but she does have a way of making it sound like a judgement. ]
no subject
I lead one. [In the end, it's easy to say it. It comes out dry and brief, with a shrug. No big deal, she lead one. When there was that power vacuum, when her brother nearly died - and others nearly died - Mae's strategy, Mae's quick thinking got them out of trouble. Simultaneously, it got her in control of the Goblin Market back home, the biggest one. Under her command, they'd stopped travelling but settled near London instead, to allow the younger kids to actually attend school and try their hands at something else. Under her command, the Market was no longer at war with the covens of witches, either.
Out of her command, now, who knows. But that had been the deal - seven years and no longer. She's served it for seven years, and here she is now, trying to serve herself.]
But thanks, I haven't been made to feel seventeen again with a barbed comment in a very long time. [Here a little chuckle.] Witches. What a gift.