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I turned and stared at Rebecca.
🕑 Added 2023-01-26 03:01:20 +0000 UTC"When did you learn Elfmind?" I thought at her.
"All my hopes and dreams are riding on this," she lamented. "Right as things were getting good, you're gonna blow it! Oh, he's looking at me! Does he need my help? Or does he think I'm pretty? I don't know what to do!"
Strange. Now it seemed I was just overhearing her thoughts, as I could with all lowfolk ... but a second ago, I could have sworn she was directly addressing me with Elfmind.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, sonny!" Mother Didelphis snapped when she realized I wasn't paying attention. "Young people these days, I swear! Now I've got to backtrack to what I was talking about before you drifted off. You were saying you wanted me to be a phony! You want me going around pretending to be a wizened crone, while on the inside I would be naught but healthy bowels and a fully functioning heart, the very antithesis of what it means to be a venerable old hag! Why not go around dressed as a lord while I'm at it? Roaming the land and lying to people doesn't sound very 'seelie' if you ask me. Back in my day, people knew what it meant to be ..."
As Didelphis babbled on, I realized this wasn't good. Rebecca was right. Allowing myself to be yelled at by a loony old bag was making me look foolish in front of my new followers - and what's worse, it was boring them! I should never have let this old crone hook me into an argument. This was one of the classic Wiles; one that would still work even when the wielder's beauty was gone. If I hadn't been so nervous about this meeting, I would have spotted it a mile away! There would be no reasoning with Didelphis at this point; she was only interested in throwing an old lady tantrum. I needed to escape this trap and win back the crowd, and I needed to do it fast!
"They used to respect their elders and betters!" the cantankerous opossum was yelling. "People used to know what good music was! They played harps, not these newfangled lutes that any moron can pick up and -"
I grabbed the finger she was wagging in my face, and transmogrified her into a little girl with pigtails and a lollypop instead of her walking stick.
"This discussion is over," I declared sternly.
"YAAAAAAAHH!" Didelphis shrieked. "What have you done?? My beautiful decrepitude! My sags and wrinkles! RUINED! How can I berate the youth if I'm even younger than them?"
"You lean on your age like a crutch," I stated coldly. "Let's see how you fare without all the excuses it affords you."
"Rebecca told us you were patient and gentle and kind," she whined.
"I have been extremely patient with you," I replied. "But there are limits. I'm not a push-over. You must learn that The White Elf is tough but fair. When you exhaust my patience, then you get to feel my wrath."
I glanced quickly over at the other witches and was pleased to observe that they were absolutely riveted, watching the dramatic scene play out before their eyes.
"Change me back, change me back, change me back," Didelphis insisted, screeching and stamping her feet.
"I'll consider returning you to your original form," I muttered smugly, "once you've learned your lesson. If you want to be old again, then do something to impress me. Think of this as a test of your worthiness to be one of my disciples."
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Comments
>Adler: You clap your hands together. You've managed to salvage the situation and can move things forward. Alright, as for the lesson plan. Hm... Their group will need to undergo some restructuring. >Coven: You collectively stare at Adler in stunned silence. >Adler: Considering recent events, who is now the oldest in their coven? >Coven: You all wordlessly point at Rebecca. >Adler: Excellent! Rebecca is now in charge. >Child Didelphis: What?? Was this his plan all along? To get you out of the way so he could put his lackey in charge? >Adler: Like you said before, you are fully willing to make her older again if she learns a lesson and impresses you, however, if she wants to continue to be belligerent, she can always become old again by taking the slow path. >Child Didelphis: You immediately cover your mouth and shut up. >Vixen: You meekly raise your hand. >Adler: Yes? >Vixen: If any of you upset him, will he turn you all into children? >Adler: Uh, probably not? She was a special case. It was meant to be an ironic punishment. >Rebecca: Didn't he also turn Oak Marten into a little girl as well? >Adler: That was also a special case meant to be ironic. >Rebecca: Also, you're not sure that counts as being ironic. You remember reading that irony is an incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. This was more poetic. >Adler: Okay fine, it was a POETIC punishment. And, for her information, the situation with Oak still counts as being ironic since that transformation was meant to be a punishment and she ended up being happy about it. >Everyone stares at Adler and blinks. >Adler: . . . Let's get back on topic. Rebecca will be in charge of the Coven for two reasons. One: She is now the oldest, and Two: She is very gifted with understanding elfly things and has grasped the basics of your lessons far faster than you have anticipated. You are a busy elf and you assume the coven all have lives to attend to. It would be difficult to gather everyone together for every lesson, and you don't have the time to individually tutor all of them. Therefore, you will tutor Rebecca in the mystical arts and she will teach what she masters to the coven in your stead. That way it will be easier for them to gather in a setting they are most comfortable in. Maybe in a dark cellar huddled around a bubbling cauldron, if they so choose. Any questions?
Rick2tails
I would assume its a process not unlike walking where you have spurts and bits of success before its steady?
Seems Rebecca can't do Elfmind after all... or is she just bad at it? ;3
