"I keep telling you, every time you try and surprise people, every time you give them more 'help' than they ask for, you're going to get complaints." Skye said as she stood behind the counter with her arms folded over her chest and a disapproving frown on her face.

Selene was dusting the display of candle holders, but she looked up and replied "You know as well as I do, if I simply sold her Novum Principio like she asked she'd have never figured it out on her own. She'd never have found happiness.

Skye continued frowning, "I don't believe either of us know that for certain. But that's not the point. I think you need to let people figure themselves out on their own. Either that or warn them up-front what you're doing and what to expect. Sooner or later your meddling is going to backfire."

"My meddling?" the tall blonde asked her young apprentice, accompanied by a pointed look in the brunette's direction.

The teen stood her ground and nodded, "Yes meddling. You won't even admit you do it, but that's what it is. You protest and deny it when I call you out on it, and whether you admit it or not you keep acting like the ends justify the means."

After a deep sigh, Selene decided not to argue. She returned her attention to the mundane task of cleaning and picked up the next elaborate candle-holder in need of dusting.

Unfortunately Skye wasn't ready to let the subject drop just yet. "Why do you do it? Why do you insist on hatching every egg and helping every trans person you come across, whether they ask for it or not?"

Selene sighed again and stopped her dusting. She didn't look up at Skye, she didn't want the girl to think the dark expression on her face was meant for her. "Because it took me half an eternity to figure myself out and they don't have that much time. And because I know what it's like, feeling that something's missing or wrong but not knowing quite what it is or how to fix it."

She gestured vaguely upwards as she continued, "I suffered with that dysphoria for longer than that ball of gas up there has been burning, and it hurts me knowing others are sharing that pain even a day longer than they need to."

She finally looked up at the brunette teen and added "And you know Skye, I don't recall any complaints about my so-called meddling when you were the subject of my attention."

The girl blushed and looked away as she said softly, "That was different. I wasn't a customer, you didn't sell me a spell. You didn't 'accidentally' leave one in my path for me to find either."

"That's because I didn't have to hon," Selene replied calmly. "They don't have our gifts. That's why I have to meddle as you call it, to ensure they get the right spell when they need it."

Skye was quiet for a few minutes after that, and Selene got back to her dusting again.

The teen didn't stay silent for long though, "If it's that important to you, why don't you want to advertise? Why don't you want to call attention to yourself? You could go on TV or use the internet. You could help a lot more than you're doing now, if you actually put some effort into it."

Selene sighed once more, "I wish I could help them all Skye, I really do. But if I help too many, or move too quickly, there's always a tipping-point. I know this because it's happened before. Not here of course, but other worlds."

Her voice took on a sad tone as she continued, "If we do too much too quickly, if we call too much attention to ourselves, the public at large will become aware of us. They'll realize what we can do, what we're capable of. That will lead to fear, panic, and hatred in some. They'll try and attack us, and more seriously they'll attack our customers. Others might want to study us or try and contain us, and when that fails they too will fall back on violence. And finally there will be those who start to idolize us or try and worship us. They'll ask us to do more, help more. If we comply they'll grow dependent on us and their culture will stagnate. If we refuse they'll turn on us and once again violence will ensue."

Selene shook her head and finished, "I'll help everyone I meet, everyone who wants or needs my help. So I don't even let myself see them all. I keep my senses limited to my immediate vicinity, restrict myself to those I happen to meet in person, who wander into our shop or contact us by phone or email. I impose limits and restrictions on my spells, to ensure they can't be spread around. And I take payment for the spells to ensure they aren't used frivolously. But if I let myself become aware of everyone who needs my help, I'll be compelled to help them all and that will lead to chaos."

"Oh," Skye said quietly. She obviously didn't know what else to say or how to react to those revelations.

Selene finished cleaning the table with the candles, then moved to the display beneath the window and started dusting the crystal balls and scrying mirrors.

After a few more minutes of silence she finally spoke up again, "Speaking of advertising and the internet, were you aware of that Discord thing that Ariana mentioned?"

The teen nodded, "Sure. I actually helped start the server, and I'm one of the moderators."

The tall blonde turned and gave a her companion a startled look, "You what?"

Skye shrugged, "It's not advertising. And they don't know it's me, I use a screen name and keep my identity secret."

"What do you do there?" Selene asked. "What happens there?"

The brunette shrugged again, "There's a dozen or so of your past customers who are really active on there, spreading the word. When new folks like Ariana come along looking for information, the alumni answer their questions as best they can. I'm sure that's how she knew Novum Principio and Perfecta Sanitas by name. Some of the folks on there are very talkative, most are more private. Like I said, I help moderate it. There's two other mods, it's not just me. We help keep chats on topic, handle disputes, eject trolls, that sort of thing. And I make sure nothing too sensitive gets posted."

She added, "I'm sure you remember Clover, she's been on there singing your praises practically from the start. And Ariana joined the server again after her second visit here, to say how happy she was. She and Clover are friends now, they seem to get along well. I think there's some camaraderie between them, since they both benefited from the same spell."

"Oh," Skye grinned as one more thought occurred to her. "Since you never bothered to name that spell, they've started calling it Novum Viam. Not entirely accurate, but Novum Verum Viam was too much of a mouthful and nobody liked Verum Principio."

Selene was quiet for a few moments as she considered all of that.

"Is it all good news?" she finally asked. "Do people ever turn up in those spaces to complain?"

Skye smirked, "Not about you. People are pretty happy with both 'old shopkeeper Selene' and 'young sorceress Selene'. And your little black cat is popular too, though everybody's curious what her name is. People aren't so keen on me though. Apparently I'm acerbic, unfriendly, snarky, and aloof. Oh and there's a few ongoing debates about whether or not your cat and I are one and the same. The fact that nobody has seen the two of us in the shop together seems to be enough to convince some, while others refuse to believe someone as annoying as me could be so adorable and happy to accept pets and scritches."

That brought a slight frown to the tall blonde's face. Finally she arched an eyebrow, "You're fussing about my so-called meddling, meanwhile all our past clients like me and are happy with me, while you're the one with the low approval rating?"

The teen blushed slightly, "Those are two entirely different subjects and you know it. Yes people like Ariana are happy, eventually, once you explain it to them. But that doesn't excuse the shenanigans you go through to get them there. It's a hundred percent ends justifying the means with you. And people griping about me has nothing to do with whether or not I'm able to help them, it's just that I'm not as much of a people-person as you are. You act like everyone's favourite grandmother, even when you look a college freshman. I act like a jaded disillusioned teen, so of course I get on people's nerves."

Selene shook her head slightly, then asked "When do you find time to keep up with all of this? I don't recall seeing you using a computer or a phone. I wasn't even aware you owned either of those things."

"You think when I'm curled up on my purple cushion all day long, I'm wasting my time sleeping?" Skye asked with another smirk. "I'm a very busy kitty, I'll have you know."

"Indeed," Selene said with a slightly surprised frown.

The brunette's expression shifted to a sly grin as she commented, "And you're right, I don't have a phone or a computer. I haven't needed either of those things since I figured out how to access the internet directly. So I can be online monitoring Discord or looking at social media all day long, while I'm also doing other important things. Like accepting pets and scritches."

"Hmmm," Selene looked thoughtful. She finally responded, "Perhaps one of these days I'll ask you to show me how that works. For now, as long as you're helping people and not scaring them away, I suppose I'm glad you're there keeping an eye on those places."

The teen shrugged, "Sure. And I only act like a jaded teen, you know I'm not really trying to cause trouble. And while I don't always approve of your methods, I'd never actually try to undermine them or stop you. I'll just keep complaining about it till you either change your ways or change my mind."

Selene frowned again before she said, "I'm not likely to change my ways hon, but I won't try and change your mind either. I don't mind the occasional debate with you on the subject, and it's not a bad thing that you're keeping an eye on me and speaking your mind when you feel the need. Though I might suggest we work a little on your attitude when it comes to dealing with customers. It might not bother you, but I don't think I'm happy about the fact that my clients don't seem to like you very much."

Skye rolled her eyes, "It just helps them appreciate you that much more. Good cop bad cop, right? Yin and yang? Light and dark?"

The blonde sighed, "All right, I get the point."

Her attention returned to the dusting, while behind the counter Skye just smirked again.

A moment later the teen commented with another grin, "You know, I can't help thinking how much fun it might be to one day reveal myself on the server. Drop the screen-name and let them know it's been me all along."

Selene just rolled her eyes again as she slowly shook her head. She knew better than to reply, instead she quietly continued her dusting.

~ The End ~

PurpleCatGirl

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