Incendium

two.

"Hey, I'm Demitri Grimmel," a young man with a shadow of facial hair peered at her from over the divider. "Welcome to Wayfinder."

"Minthe Ryder," she looking up at him in the midst of her paperwork. "Nice to meet you."

The flat tones of her voice indicated that her words were merely out of standard courtesy, but Demitri was hardly fazed. When he didn't express any sort of aversion to her cold greeting, Minthe paused to consider him and the goofy grin stretched across his face. His dark brown hair made his skin almost pasty white and the facial hair didn't suit him at all. His features were too young and his eyes reflected something closer to a boy than a man. She was reminded of a child trying hard to be a grown up and she briefly wondered about his relationship with his father.

"Where are you from, Minthe?" Demitri asked. "We don't get a lot of people from outside the city."

"A little place up north called Madison," she replied, penning her information on the paper.

"The major city, Madison?" He balked. "What are you doing out here? Most people would kill to make it in a big city like that."

"My hometown is a nuisance," Minthe muttered. "This town seems to suit me."

"You're an honest person, aren't you, Minthe?" Demitri smiled with half his mouth. "Most people would stick around just because it's such a hot spot and be miserable for the rest of their lives."

"I wouldn't say I'm honest," she said, growing uncomfortable as the conversation started to delve into personal waters. "What about you? You're not from around here."

"It's that obvious?" He seemed vexed by this.

"Not necessarily obvious, quite subtle," Minthe said. She turned her eyes up at him again, a theory coming together in her head as her eyes quietly crinkled in the corners. "Your father is someone of status and you're… the lesser son."

Demitri stared at her in utter shock, revealing that she'd just hit the nail on the head. He was already pale to begin with, but Minthe thought he appeared to be rather ashen now. Her brows raised in mild surprise, not expecting to be entirely accurate in her deduction.

"I'm sorry, that was impolite," she admitted, adjusting a pin in her hair and refocusing on her papers.

"No, that was amazing," he said. "What else can you tell?"

Minthe hesitated and looked over at him, taking his curious face as genuine intrigue in her skill. She put her work down and turned in her seat, standing so he didn't have to lean over the divider to see her. Demitri seemed to falter and he quickly backed off as she looked over and swept her eyes his office space once.

"Your ambitions seem simple, but you haven't completely ruled out the option for something bigger in your future," Minthe spoke as it came to her and squinted as she met his dark eyes. "Your modesty is a strength because they see only what you want them to see. But contrary to what anyone thinks, you're as capable as anyone."

"Wow. Are you fortune teller? Can you tell me my future too?"

"No." Minthe scowled, turning away from him and dropping herself back into her chair.

Demitri laughed at her reaction, but stopped when he realized that she was genuinely miffed at him. Minthe turned away with a stern demand to leave her alone, otherwise they might think she was a slacker.

"Oh, come on, Minthe," Demitri said. "I was kidding... But seriously, are you sure you're not a psychic or a witch or something?"

Minthe replied with a severe glare over her shoulder and that was enough for him to throw his hands up in defeat and turn away.

"Ok, you're right," he mumbled. "Shouldn't have said that."

He didn't bother her anymore and they set to work in silence. Come lunch break, Minthe disregarded Demitri's persistent dogging and fled the area to find a secluded niche where she could eat in peace. The young man stopped as she dove into the elevator and smashed the button repeatedly until the doors slid shut. Demitri was just about to turn back around and find his usual company when he sensed someone standing beside him.

"Was that the new employee?" He was a tall, tanned man with an athletic figure. "I told you that you'd have to tone it down if you wanted to get any women, Demitri. You're way too thirsty."

"It's not like that, Rai," Demitri said in defense. "Though she is kind of cute."

The man he called Rai, named Raiden, had jet black hair of medium length that was carefully styled each morning and thin almond eyes that were a cool shade of brown. He happened to be Demitri's closest friend and the one who ate lunch with him every single day.

"She just ran for the elevator as if her life depended on it," Raiden said, quirking a brow. "It's my duty to tell you that you don't have a chance."

Demitri frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. Starting back to his cubicle to get his wallet while he replayed their intimate moment a few hours ago when she told his fortune.

"If that's your idea of intimate, then you're more hopeless than I thought," Raiden muttered.

"Shut up, you wouldn't understand," Demitri grumbled in return. "We're going to be great friends, I know it."

.. .. ..

If there anything anyone should ever know about Moira Kestrel, it was to never get on her bad side. Mavis was fortunate enough to have been tied to her with a red thread of fate, making her somewhat an exception from Moira's long list of annoyances. One of those things included summoning her out of the blue with foolish thoughts of finding the Grand Witch's reincarnation. Mavis had to put a good amount of effort into convincing the moody young woman through text messages.

It was a quarter to six when a lithe girl with long blonde hair slinked through the door and crossed the lobby to lean over the counter. Mavis rose from her seat and placed her elbows over the marble so she could speak to her in lower tones. Moira always sported a heavy, kohl black smokey eyed look that seemed to scare off a majority of the population with a single glare, but it was nearly nothing to Mavis now.

"So, you think you found the Grand Witch?" Moira asked, her tone flat and dripping with sarcasm that was accented with a quirk of her brow. "She just waltzed right in and that was it, huh. The world is safe! Things never work out that way, Mavis, even in movies."

"I didn't even say that," Mavis frowned. "But she's the spitting image of Solen. The fates said she would rise again and I've seen foreseen my destiny in it. I'm sure she's the one."

"What did she say?" Moira asked.

"What? Nothing. I just checked her in last night," she said, eyes flickering up to the doors as the glass glinted when they were pushed open. "There she is now."

Mavis straightened and put on a bright smile as Minthe stepped into the lobby. Her dark eyes were automatically drawn to Mavis' soft cinnamon red hair and she glanced curiously at Moira, nodding once in greeting as she approached.

"Hello, Minthe!" Mavis greeted. "How was your first day at work?"

"It wasn't bad, Mavis. I think I can live with it," Minthe replied. "Is this your friend?"

"Yes, this is my friend, Moira," she smiled. "Moira, this is Miss Minthe. She works at Wayfinder."

Moira hardly looked concerned and continued to fix Minthe with an unimpressed stare. The shorter woman was completely unfazed by this and Mavis looked on in suspense as they traded thick stares.

"I hear there's a nasty storm brewing tonight," Moira said, just as the lights flickered and a low rumble of thunder sounded outside the hotel. "You should be careful."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere," Minthe said, a bewildered crease etching into the corner of her eye. "Thanks for the warning though."

She turned to Mavis, catching a glance at her horrified expression before it switched back to an innocent smile. Minthe chose to ignore it and instead cocked her head to the side. "I think I'll take the stairs just in case. Otherwise you might have to pry me out of the elevator," she said, looking to Moira once more and nodding her head. "Nice meeting you, Moira."

Mavis saw her off with a cheerful good night and waited until the door to the stairwell closed behind her to shoot Moira an accusatory stare.

"Moira!" She scolded. "Were you planning on frying her where she stood?"

"Mav," the blonde rolled her eyes. "She's ordinary. She doesn't have a clue about any of this."

"Or maybe she's too sensible to fall for a challenge like that," Mavis said. "Honestly, do you have to be so abrasive all the time?"

"You're way too naive," Moira scowled. "If it weren't for me, you'd probably have been burnt to a crisp by now. You're in Vanilla Riddle, Mav. You can't trust anyone in this town."

"I can trust Minthe."

"Ugh, why are you so fucking stubborn?" Moira groaned burying her face in her hands with frustration.

Meanwhile, Minthe pushed open her curtains and squinted, searching for any sign of the thunderclouds she heard in the lobby. But everything was clear, aside from a few stray wisps of clouds dotting the twilight sky.

"Hm…"
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I'm all over the place. This is ridic. ._.;