Eoforhild glanced back several times at first, worried she'd find her cute little slave following her after her naked... the girl seemed to have imprinted on her hard, but then again, she had been cast away by her family. Eoforhild was literally all the poor girl had now.

This thought made Eoforhild feel possessive and proud as her booted feet crunched into the thin layer of ice that had formed over the snow last night.

...but she had an undercurrent of worry, too... her Little Mercy wasn't that, well, stable, clearly. Not that she herself had ever been accused of being particularly sane, but she at least wouldn't wander outside and freeze to death. She was tempted to go back, but... that was only delaying the inevitable, wasn't it? It was too long of a trip to simply give the girl a sleeping draught, a dose that would make someone sleep from sunrise to next day's sunset was too risky, and she didn't have any sort of safe way of tying up a girl and leaving her alone for that long.

She simply did her best not to think about Mercy going outside to look for her and freezing to death... maybe taking the rags away was a mistake... but even a foolish girl like Mercy would realize she couldn't go outside naked, right?

At least the sun was warm.

She walked, step after step after step after step, more aware of each step than ever, and it was hard to take joy in the little traces of life she saw, of the little fox darting through the snow, or the strangely melodic howl of an ice drake in the distance... one she had heard before, judging from it's howl. She had first heard it's call late fall of this year... it must have migrated here a bit early.

She smiled a bit. Having a signature howl seemed a bit like shouting one's name in the middle of a marketplace as an attempt to find a girlfriend... but she supposed it was not at the marketplace, but alone, desperate to have a mate beside it.

...much like Eoforhild herself, she realized.

She had found her little prize, but felt a sense of responsibility to take care of the girl after she had cutely and utterly submitted to her at every turn without hesitation, so desperate to live... but forgetting her promise and risking her life to be with her a moment longer... she couldn't let that happen.

Usually girls became afraid of her when they realized what she was, or what she wanted out of a relationship... Mercy hardly seemed to recognize she was being taken advantage of, being shaped into exactly the sort of girl Eoforhild wanted. She was clearly so naive and foolish, and it made an affectionate smile rise to the tall woman's lips.

Eoforhild wasn't weighed down by anything heavy yet, so she quickened her step... she usually took it a bit leisurely, but if she could get to town, buy everything, and rest for the night, maybe she could get up a bit before sunrise and head out, so she returned to her Mercy sooner.

***

The sun hadn't even quite started setting when Eoforhild arrived in town with a decent but steady pace, and she immediately went to an inn to reserve a room. The innkeeper, Faith, looked at the witch in suspicion, hands on her hips... but after a moment relented, and rented a room to her-- winter was hardly the busiest time of the year, and coin was coin.

Then, she headed over to her uncle Adrian's general store... well, general store was perhaps a generous word. It was more like a warehouse run by a hoarder, and there was never any guarantee that Adrian had anything, but often enough he had what you were looking for, or close enough.

Eoforhild smiled as she entered the store. "Uncle Adrian!" She always made sure to remind her relatives of their family connection, lest they just think of her as a witch... but Adrian was generally nice enough to her. He wasn't afraid of her, unlike most of her family.

He still wouldn't invite her to stay at his house, but that was more because of her aunt, who had never quite forgiven her for taking up weaving spells instead of cloth.

Adrian looked up from the little gadget he was admiring. "Eoforhild, I thought you weren't going to come for a few more weeks, at least-- but look at this clock! With a clock, you can tell time without ever having to go outside."

Eoforhild would have scoffed at it before, but if she was keeping Mercy inside... it was worth a moment of consideration, even if probably an unnecessary luxury. "Hmm, how does it work?"

Adrian blinked, then smiled widely at the opportunity to explain the mechanism to his niece. "Well, this little pointer slowly but steadily moves as time passes, and then it moves this bigger pointer a little, and then that in turn moves this even bigger pointer, and when that big pointer points straight up, it's noon... or midnight."

Eoforhild raised an eyebrow. "It can't tell between noon and midnight?"

"Look, if you can't tell between noon and midnight, you probably don't have a clock." Adrian was a little miffed that the genius of this invention was being mired by mere practicality on Eoforhild's part. "But isn't it a miraculous invention?"

Eoforhild shrugged, and peered at the clock for a long moment. "The little pointers aren't moving."

Adrian sighed and placed the clock down. "Yes... the one flaw with this clock is that it's broken. But I couldn't not buy it! It's so fascinating, and perhaps someday I'll figure out how to fix it."

"Perhaps so, uncle." said Eoforhild politely enough, if a bit dismissively. "I need more food, two dresses and a set of winter overclothes, a sled... and a collar about this size along with some sturdy chain that attaches to it."

Adrian nodded at her first words, then blinked and smiled in interest at the mention of women's clothing, and nodded again at the sled... only for his face to fall at the collar and chain. "...Eoforhild, did you kidnap another young woman again?"

"Uncle Adrian... really, it's entirely consensual," said Eoforhild, sounding a bit wounded... and in truth she was a little hurt by his almost-accurate assessment. "I don't kidnap women, regardless-- I just ask them politely to come back to my place. But I know everyone has suspicions of me now, and I haven't been dating anyone in town, because I don't want them to feel like an outcast...."

"More like because you've already slept and broken up with any girls who might've had an interest," interjected Adrian.

Eoforhild did her best to ignore him, and took his hands in hers, looking down into his eyes imploringly. "Uncle... this isn't like that. I found a girl freezing to death in rags outside, and I asked her to come home with me so she'd be safe. I'm worried that she might head outside undressed... practically undressed... so I need clothing so she won't just die, and a chain in case she takes it off and heads outside. I really don't know how else to keep her safe, please help me...."

Adrian stared up into her eyes a bit suspiciously. "...No one I know?"

"Her name is Mercy, about this tall, extremely cute, just adorable, honestly, so in love with me, but a little... unwise. I think she was raised in an isolated environment."

Her uncle considered this for a long moment. "Well, hide the chain among the other things... and you didn't get it from me, if anyone finds out and ask." He started to busy himself finding a nice selection of food items, the clothes, and, of course, the chain... and soon enough, he found them all.

He looked up at his niece, and raised a hand to place it on her shoulder. "You should really go to one of the big cities, Eoforhild-- they're more tolerant of witches there, and I bet you could find someone your equal."

Eoforhild smiled a bit arrogantly. "As if I could ever find an equal," she responded. Not that she had really tried, really-- but women who were interested in her for more than a bit of experimentation were rare, and it hurt her pride a little. "And besides, the village needs a witch."

"It's shameful the way they treat such a needed community member... well, a little of it you brought upon yourself, I guess."

She laughed. "I'm doing better now," she lied.

After a little reverse haggling -- her uncle tried to drastically undercharge her, and she tried to raise their bargain closer to fair market value -- Eoforhild loaded up her sled with the goods, and headed back to the inn, carrying the sled up to her room to keep it and the goods safe, and then wedged the chair in front of the doorknob so no one could come in too fast. Stealing large goods wasn't common in winter around here, since people were much easier to see and tracking walking and dragging marks was much easier than normal... but it would be a real shame if it was stolen. Even with the discount, she couldn't soon buy another load of goods like this soon with her remaining money.

She laid down and closed her eyes, only to hear a knock on the door.

Eoforhild kept her eyes closed. "Go away," she said, as loudly and clearly as she could.

"Eoforhild... please?"

...it was Idronath, her childhood sweetheart. Well... one of them, at least. Now, usually, Eoforhild would be thinking of how to get her into her bed... it's not like she hadn't once or twice before, even after her marriage... but right now she just thought about how if she stayed up too late, she might not make good time tomorrow morning to get back to her cute little pet. She blinked, a bit surprised at herself.

Still, she did think of Idronath as a friend of sorts -- the woman would usually talk to her in public, unlike some other women who she shared mutual interest with -- so she threw off the covers, let a huff of air out, and walked up, unchaired the door, and opened it, to see Idronath looking up at her pleadingly.

"Come in." She closed the door behind her, and did admire her curves in her rather tight-fitting winter coat for a moment... Idronath was still very hot for the mother of two children, in Eoforhild's eyes, and there was no harm in looking, since she was here either way.

Idronath sat down on the bed, hands clutched together as she glanced up at Eoforhild, then back down, as if on the verge of saying something, but never quite getting there.

"Make it quick," said Eoforhild a bit brusquely, "I need to get up early tomorrow."

"I need a love potion."

"Oh, but the gods frown upon love potions... I don't make those."

Idronath stared up at her. "You have. I bet you have a love potion right now."

"I've made lust potions once or twice, but I've sworn them off."

Idronath leaned forwards, and opened up her coat to reveal the thin dress underneath. "Lust potion, then. Please? I'll do anything...." She smiled up at Eoforhild, embarrassed but a bit expectant, expecting her to cave.

"...No." It's not that Eoforhild didn't have a few lust potions with her, it's merely that she had wanted to try them on her cute little pet and see her reaction.

Idronath bit her lip and looked away. "Stephen is enchanted with a younger woman, a singer, and is thinking of leaving town with her. I need to get him back, or me and the kids...."

"This," said Eoforhild, "is why you should have taken up some independent craft rather than becoming a housewife. It's against the god's will...."

Idronath's hand slipped in down the front of her dress, and then she pulled out a piece of gold, emblazoned with the eight stern eyes of Sinor.

Eoforhild's eyes widened, and she abruptly changed directions like a piece of paper in the wind. "...but who am I to argue against the might of Sinor? For clearly he has other wishes." She took the gold, and opened up her potion case, pulling out three of her four lust potions, and handing them to Idronath. "For three nights, give him one when you two are the only ones around. He should start thinking of you when it comes to sex. But it will only respark lust... you have to work out romance and your other relationship issues yourself."

Idronath nodded, tearing up a little, and Eoforhild sat down on the bed next to her and hugged her with one arm.

Idronath wiped her tears away, and looked up at her former paramour. "...you really didn't want to sleep with me this time?"

"No... I think I might be serious about someone," admitted Eoforhild a bit shyly.

"..Really? Usually it feels like you're racing with the other girl to break things off first."

"I know. It's weird." Eoforhild sighed and flopped back on her back. "I need to head back to her early before she burns down my house or whatever. She's not very wise."

"Okay..." Idronath headed towards the door, and then glanced back at Eoforhild, and smiled a little. "...if she breaks your heart, I'll sleep with you once more... for old time's sake."

Eoforhild smiled up at her. "I'll hold you to that."

The door closed, and Eoforhild was alone again.

She closed her eyes, forced her useless anxiety over Mercy back underneath the surface of her emotions, and quickly fell asleep.