The Magician, The Wand III

--- o The Wand III o ---

   Elly took shelter by the hearth of the still room, a place she found comfort, and spent most of her days prepping brews and arranging orders. The evening chill felt sharper than it had in the past few days; the dull ache of her prosthetic reminded her how much she hates the cold with a fiery passion. Each pulse only deepened her yearning for the warm seasons; thankfully, the mild climate of Alestia seldom bears its winter fangs, and snow was kept to the mountains where it belongs. Though, the pangs of pain was perhaps due to the not-so-gentle tinkering Judge was doing to her arm. Despite his appearance and personality, he was the best in his line of work.

   ❝ Fuck me, ❞ Judge let out a disapproving groan as he inspected the poorly maintained masterpiece. ❝ No vonder yer’ in pain. Tis’ titer tan’ Cathbad’s cun—! ❞ He was promptly cut off by a smack on the back of his head from Iris.

   ❝ Jus’ sayin if ya took care of it, ya’d be complainin’ less. ❞ Judge shrugged, rubbing the back of his head as he dismantled the forearm, inspecting the collection of dust and gunk hiding away beneath it.

   ❝ Eugh, ❞ Judge wrinkled his nose. ❝ If yer’ gon’ stash snacks don’ put em near ta joints. Bugger ta clean out. ❞

   ❝ She shouldn’t be doing that to begin with. ❞ Iris spoke sternly, it wasn’t the first nor the last time Elly has used the small cavities behind the plates to stash things, despite them being there for a damn good reason.

   ❝ Wen was ta las’ time ye oiled tis? ❞ Judge asked, though he got his answer by the look on Elly’s face. Truth be told, she did try, but she had neither the patience nor touch to take care of it.

   ❝ No rus’ tis time so can’t grieve er’ too hard, ❞ Judge shrugged, brushing away the bits of dirt and debris on the joints, using a rag dipped in alcohol to clean off the oil stains before applying fresh lubricant. ❝ An’no swellin’too, least’ yer keeping tat part clean. ❞

   ❝ Now now, Jussments like tees’ are painful, ‘specially since workin’ wit nerves an’ not magiks. ❞ Judge waited patiently for Elly to stop moving before he continued, his focus now on putting together the partially dismantled arm. ❝ Woulda been eas’ if ya wern’t an anomeely. ❞

   ❝ Yer an Anomono —what? ❞ Elly looked at Judge with a knitted brow, unsure if he just insulted her or not. She yelped as he tightened another screw. ❝ Fuck ya! ❞ Another tap, this time a little harder.

   ❝ Anomaly, ❞ Iris added, smacking her lightly on her forehead for cussing,❝ It just means you’re different, special. ❞

   ❝ More ment weird, but ye do ye. ❞ Jude added with a hearty chuckle.

   ❝ Almost done, now sta’ still. ❞

   Judge gave Iris a brief nod, who kept Elly in place as he tightened the pseudo-nerves and elicited a muffled yell from Elly as she bit down on a bit of cloth. She visibly relaxed when he was done, barely managing to wait patiently as he reassembled it with some new parts, noting down the pieces he was missing so he could tend to them later.

   ❝ Ah fuck! ❞

   Elly whined and squirmed with protest as Judge tinkered with her arm. Her protest would be met with a flick to her forehead from Iris, who watched curiously as Elly rested her head on her lap.

   ❝ Language, El. ❞ Iris warned her, as she was resting on her lap, that Elly didn’t want to push her luck.

   ❝ An’ done! ❞ Judge chuckled as he wiped down her arm and proceeded to go through his tools and count for anything he may have missed. He nodded to himself and packed everything away. ❝ Still needa get sum new parts so be careful wit’ it. ❞

   ❝ Me workin’ wit some new stuff, still a prototype but a’kno El’ll need anew one soon anyhoo, ❞ He added, having adjusted some of the parts to fit Elly, accounting for her growth so it would be slightly larger to grow into. ❝  Isa little big, but ya’ grow. ❞

   ❝ Jus’ wait, I’ll be taller than ya! ❞ Elly stuck her tongue out as she promptly sat up, rolling her shoulders, relieved she could now move around freely.

   ❝ Still a wee fuck, jus’ not as wee. ❞ Judge added. Whatever that means.

   ❝ Hey, dinner’s up! ❞ Veld called out from beyond the door, and Elly was already half way over to it.

--- o The Magician I o ---