The trek to the witch's house wasn't far from the arena, where the girl had impressively taken down a soul, or an "Anima" as Rue Stonewell and Monty Belinsky pieced together during the fight, to win her mates. Rue and Monty are currently on their way to the witch's home in hopes to collect the first gift for Hebe, the Eternal Life. Rue had no idea what "the tomb of the wicken" actually meant, but she knew the result wouldn't be anything simplistic. The journey here was hectic enough; all the carnivorous plants, the enchanted lake apparently called "Winter Freight," the estrange creatures of Wickentell and their owners' impeccable behaviors, not to mention the Anima Luna was more of a festival of love and explicit passion the teens didn't want to see. The two had paused until they saw the display of light.
The first clue to their "wicken" was the candle that never stayed lit. Hecate had given the two a satchel with many supplies; a never-lighting candle and golden holder, an antique peach, a bottled rose, two vampire fangs, four starfish attached to one another, a ball of yarn, an antique teardrop diamond necklace, and a piece of ripped, black fabric. Monty had suggested the items were clues to find the ingredients. Both had no idea what the clues meant or how they were supposed to find each of the mystery ingredients to have their parents back, no matter how annoyed or infuriated they had been at times with them.
Monty continues to carry the satchel around the entire time they trekked through Wickentell. When they finally arrived to a small township called "Elementary Village," Rue quickly pointed out their food supply, causing the two to follow a large group of males in nice clothing. These men were burly and rugged, yet fresh and sharp. She was the one to hide themselves in the bushes until the speech from an older man came to an end. When the two finally began to venture out, they found the Elders, hoping they could clear their misunderstandings.
Approaching an Elder with brown locks, Rue injects, "Excuse me, how can we find—"
The Elders snapped their attention towards the newcomers, sensing their weakness. An Elder with white hair smirks darkly at the two. "Humans," he laughs dryly. "How.. expected."
The female Elder Rue had decided to detour from her conversation stares menacingly towards the two. "How coold yen 'ave past Win'er Freigh's? I thought we had laid e'ery 'rap we had," she grumbles. Her hair graces her face lightly as she sips on her frothing drink. The green of her irises beam into Monty's for a split second before they're connection is interrupted. The witch is suddenly captivated.
Rue frowns, annoyed by their disrespectful comments. "We're looking for Damara, Bringer of Light." She ignores their earlier input, standing proud for her and her step-sibling.
The golden-eyed witch suddenly perked his ears at the mention of his youngest protege. He sips his glass for a moment while Rue waits patiently, hoping she came to the right place. "Damara, yen said?" The Elder's irises flicker from his cup to the dark eyes of Rue Stonewell. He briefly passed through her memories before pausing. His brows fuse together, before locating his partner.
Monty steers clear of direct eye-contact from any of the witches. The woman stares intently at Monty as the other two speak with Rue. Monty's anxiety rose as his green irises dart around the arena, spotting many more enchanting witches evacuating the building. Monty could see he and Rue had made it to the top of a hill where the older witches resided during the fight. He was only imagining the fall when the witch with the earthy tones came closer, barely touching his arm as she draws him away from the edge. Startled, he turns to her, eyeing her warm smile and the gaze in her darkened irises.
The Elder with the sunlit eyes frowns. He turns, calling to his partner, "Madea."
Monty watches the woman as she peers into his soul, speaking to the other witch, "Trance, Creator of Life, shall direct yens ta the Bringer of Light." Her warm smile causes Monty to shiver a moment before nonchalantly hiding behind his sister. The Elders smile at the two children, guiding them down the path that was chosen for them.
"Thank you," Rue nods to the brunette, and the white haired witch before hesitantly walking back down the dirt path.
Once they were at the bottom of the arena, Rue didn't take a moment to breathe like Monty had wanted. Instead, she had ran over to a few witches, asking about the witch they were to see, while Monty walks over to a bench in the shade for a few seconds rest. Huffing, Monty begins to think of his dad, wishing he were there to talk him through his adventure like he does when Monty needs help with his AP History homework. Even if his dad never knew what happened, it didn't stop him from learning with Monty. A spark of tears ignites, and because Monty held it in for so long, he leans over his knees, sobbing in his hands. He missed his dad dearly and hoped to whatever Gods there were that he could bring back his family safely. The defenseless boy didn't want to be alone again.
As Monty wiped his tears on his sleeves, he notices a pair of leather boots standing in front of him. His eyes follow the boots, finding torn jeans with glitter all over them. Monty notices the shirt the male wears, Twisted Sparks, guessing it was either a band or a brand in Wickentell. A dark jacket hangs on the witch's shoulders, keeping his arms warm. When Monty's green eyes meet an electrifying pair of violet irises, Monty is momentarily frozen. His eyes never leave the handsome face of the witch. Suddenly, the witch crouches down to Monty's height on the bench. He reaches out to Monty, gently wiping away the tear falling on his right cheek.
The witch smiles tenderly, hesitantly drawing away from Monty. Monty unexpectedly didn't want the witch to remove his hand. He was warm and his presence brought Monty comfort; a comfort that wasn't affordable in the human world. "Wha's wrong, li'l un?" The voice of the witch made Monty want to moan and melt from the sound. It was his greatest weakness as of now, listening to the velvet coating his eardrums like a river flowing into a brook.
Monty only bit his lip in response, not certain how to answer. He was caught off guard from the nickname, effected by the "li'l un" term. He wasn't into "littles" or anything of the sort, and brought an anger from his chest. Absentmindedly, Monty knew the witch meant no harm to him because of his previous actions, but was very annoyed and aroused from this witch. The nickname gave him fury, and it fueled with the embarrassment of crying about his dad. Why would anyone tell a complete stranger about crying for their parents?
Monty thought he was pathetic at that second.
The witch must've noticed the change in Monty's disposition because he takes the unoccupied spot next to him. Monty pauses a moment as he tries to speak, but is fascinated by the witch's hair. It was violet as his eyes, only the highlights and reflections of lilacs and faint lavenders spread throughout his hair unnaturally. The witch had touched his shoulder, and because he was distracted again, their eyes connected. An electric jolt sparks between Monty's shoulder and the witch's palm. Monty gasps, jerking away from the mystical creature.
The witch, on the other hand, stares between his hand and Monty. A grin begins to break out on his face before the witch speaks again, "Yeh're human, aren't yeh?" The witch's eyes give Monty a once-over before slyly leaning against the back of the red bench.
Monty blinks, and before he has a chance to answer, Rue comes rushing over. "So, apparently this Trance guy is purple and was last seen near some 'Grand Fruton,' or something—" Rue blinks twice, stopping in her tracks when she spots the witch speaking to her step-brother. "Oh." She huffs, darting her eyes from the two. "Hello," she waves awkwardly, "we were just leaving..." Rue grabs Monty by the arm, dragging him slowly from the witch, trying to back away as fast as they could.
Monty stumbles for a moment, facing Rue's glaring eyes. "Maybe he knows him?" Monty suggests meekly. The only reason Monty spoke was because he knew how pushy his sister was and knew he had to come up with an excuse to stay around this witch. He wasn't certain of what kind of pull the witch had on him, but all Monty knew was that he didn't want to go, just yet.
Monty really wanted to ogle the vibrant violet witch a bit more.