Mistress puts on a self-amused grin as she prances confidently to my side. "Now, let's see how your work turned out!" She chirps happily as she gazes into the cauldron.
She spends a few moments like this, occasionally shifting her gaze to stare me dead in the eyes for just long enough to cause drops of sweat to creep down my forehead. Still, I put on a confident gaze. Looking confident about your work is half the sale, Papa always says!
"Adequate." She finally states blankly. Not much of a sale, huh?
"You can tell just by looking? We're not going to test it or something?"
"No, Nadja, as much fun as it may be to let you test potions on yourself, I really am not interested in watching you spend the rest of the day emptying your bowels." She retorts, laughing to herself.
"Waaah- I didn't mean on me!" I immediately feel heat rising in my cheeks. Why would she say such a bad thing and think it's funny? "And why would you be WATCHING?"
"Jokes aside," she continues, disregarding me completely. "Your work is adequate for an initiate. That means you should be perfectly capable of learning any recipe in my library of similar difficulty. I'll mark the ones I consider you prepared for with a blue note so that you may study on your own time."
"On that note," she turns away in a single sharp move, scanning the shelves of books for something or other. "I have preparations to make for your Initiation."
"Initiation? I already did that! Why do I have to do it again? I didn't cheat or anything!"
"You performed your Rite, yes. But we still need to- Aha!" She grabs a particularly heavy-looking book, bound in a deep purple cover and adorned with a golden star on the front. "-to introduce you the Elders of the Coven."
"Elders? Who's that?"
Mistress glances out the window toward the sky, then nods to herself. "Well, we have a fair bit of day left to burn, so we may as well cover this now. It won't do for you to be ignorant of the Coven for long."
"That is, after you clean up."
>>46117006
"Now," she begins the moment I enter the room. "First we should talk about the Coven. Essentially, the Coven is where decisions are made that affect the rest of us. The Coven was founded not long after the Exodus to the New World to organize the few remaining witches. Those ten agreed to gather twice a year and to spread their Wisdom to only the worthy. We call them the Elders. Entirely out of respect of course, and not because most of them are older than the Empire itself." She seems terribly amused by her own remark, even though it seems wrong to talk that way about your elders.
"Wow!" I try to hide my disapproval. "Even older than the Empire?"
"Mhmmm." She nods. "Of course a few of them have been replaced as they died off or disappeared over the centuries, but the rest actually grew up in the Old World. And, as I'm sure you can imagine, they're all horribly stubborn."
She's doing it again!
"So anyway, each Elder is the head of her own Circle, which includes every witch she has trained and the witches they trained, and so on. Ours would be the Circle of Redwing, my old teacher. The next step of your initiation is to meet each of the Elders, so they may inform their Circles of your adoption into our ranks."
"So... I don't have to do anything dangerous?"
"Only to meet the judging eyes of the old crones. Not to pressure you or anything, but the impression you make on them will reflect on what they tell every witch on the continent about you..."
"Oh." That's... not so bad... I can handle that, right?
"Also you need to decide on your witch name."
Name? Oh no! "I have to come up with a name now?!?" I'm not ready for this at all! No no no!
"You have until tomorrow, actually." She says as she tries to suppress her malicious laugh.
"And with that, today's lesson is at an end. I suggest you spend the rest of the day preparing yourself. Now, get lost and leave me to my work!"
>>46117031
I'm not good at this... Maybe I should ask someone for help?
>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
>Go home, Big Sis or Papa are my family so they know me best!
>Head to the church, Kerstin and Klemens are the smartest people I know!
>Someone else? (Write-in!)
>Nadja's Seniors:
>Mistress' current opinion: 15/100
>Lily's current opinion: 05/100
>Camille's current opinion: 10/100
>Seal: 95/100
>Nadja's Witchy Skills:
> Herbalism: Initiated
> Penmanship: Uninitiated
> Infusion: Uninitiated
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/FriendQM
> 4plebs (RIP .moe): http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/search/subject/Witch%20Apprentice%20Quest/order/asc/
> Suptg archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Witch%20apprentice%20quest
> Nadja's Notebook: http://pastebin.com/MabAXjBs (updated 19-03-2016)
>>46117049
>>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
>>46117049
>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
Still need to see if she's alright anyway.
>>46117049
>>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
>>46117049
>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
AMALIAAAAAAAA!
I still like Robin. But, I'm cool with anything small and adorable.
>>46117049
>Head to the church, Kerstin and Klemens are the smartest people I know!
Finally, apprentice time!
>>46117049
>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
>>46117049
>Go home, Big Sis or Papa are my family so they know me best!
>>46117049
>>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!Shes totally not going to be any help
>>46117406
Rude! Maybe she'll be the bestest help of all!
Looks like Amalia wins again.
>>46117157
>I still like Robin
Noted. It's time to actually do this for reals so keep the suggestions coming and I'll compile them in a list along with the suggestions from the characters that you ask. That should help you with making the final decision!
Let's do our very best today!
>>46117049
>>Find Amalia, she's my best friend so she can help!
Let's do this
>>46117049
Well, maybe I'm not very good at coming up with names... but I bet Amalia can come up with a great name for me! She's my bestest friend so she's sure to know the bestest name for me!
"Bye Mistress, see you tomorrow!"
It's still only noon, so I should have time to talk to lots of people today. The more ideas the better, right? I wonder what these "Elders" are really like? Mistress didn't seem to like them very much, but I bet that's probably just because she's not nice to them. But I'm always so nice, so I bet they'll be super nice to me!
Maybe they even have cookies! Or maybe I should make cookies for them, since I'm supposed to impress them? Everyone likes cookies, right? Papa always says mine are the best in the world, even though Sis doesn't seem to think so. But she likes all kinds of crazy things, so it's probably just her!
By the time I return to the town, the sounds of the market are almost deafening. It's a little weird how our market is even bigger than the town itself, but it's a very exciting place. It almost seems like an age, but just a few weeks ago I still spent most of my time in the market, talking to the traders coming from all over the world and telling them they should buy from Papa.
Like that wagon rolling into town right now, I would've made sure to welcome them and help them find things. But I don't have time for that now that I've become an apprentice! And besides, the market is the LAST place I should look for Amalia. She doesn't like crowds, so she's probably at home or in the forest. Unless she's still asleep in the church, but Camille promised she'd be fine so I'm sure she's fine now!
If she's not home, it'll take a long time to find her, so there's no sense not checking her house first. I haven't been there in a while either. I knock on the door three and two times like always, and a few moments later Mr. Gilbert opens the door to greet me.
>1/3
>>46118382
Mr. Gilbert is the Amalia's... uhm, not her Papa, she says that he's not, but he does take care of her like a Papa would and she lives with him, so I guess you could call him an Almost-Papa?
"Ah, little Nadja! I was hoping you would be coming! Please, come on in!"
He's not big and strong like Papa is, and he talks a little funny, almost like he sings every word. Apparently he moved here from very far away with Amalia and they spoke another language there so he's still not used to ours.
"Mr. Gilbert, I'm looking for Amalia. Is she home?"
He elegantly motions for me to enter. Mr. Gilbert may not be a strong man, but the way he moves is very pretty, just like Angeline or the Baroness. Well, almost. He IS a man, after all, even if he looks like he would be very pretty in a dress!
"Yes, yes, very home. In fact... She is in her room and will not come out. And she will not talk to me. But maybe she will talk to you, little Nadja!"
Oh. That doesn't sound very good. I hope Amalia is okay!
"Did something happen, Mr. Gilbert? Is she hurt?"
"Hurt? No no, no wounds. She... has not told you?"
"Told me what?"
He sighs, shaking his head slowly. "I should not say. I am sure she will tell you in time."
He gently nudges me towards the closed door to Amalia's room, whispering. "Good luck"
I softly knock on the door, quickly cut off by the angry voice from within, rudely telling me to... Well, saying bad things you shouldn't say!
"Uhm, Amalia... Do you think I could come in?"
At this, a rapid series of loud thumps emanates from the room and a few moments the door slides open as Amalia quickly pulls me inside, slamming the door behind me.
"Sorry 'bout that." She apologizes. "Thought it was just Gil."
She really shouldn't talk to her Almost-Papa like that. But her eyes and cheeks also shouldn't be glistening like that...
>2/3
>>46118403
"That's okay, but..."
>I should probably ask what's going on. "Were you crying?"
>Maybe I shouldn't ask at all. "I was wondering if you could help me with something..."
>Say nothing, just give her a hug. That always helps, right?
>Something else? (Write-in!)Wow, that took even longer than usual. Maybe I should try to be more brief to speed up future updates...
>>46118428
>I should probably ask what's going on. "Were you crying?"
Hey, it's all good! Could definitely be worse than an hour for a big update.
>>46118428
>>Say nothing, just give her a hug. That always helps, right?
>>46118428
>I should probably ask what's going on. "Were you crying?"
>>46118428
>Say nothing, just give her a hug. That always helps, right?
>>46118428
>Say nothing, just give her a hug. That always helps, right?
>>46118428
Is she being sent away? That's not okay!
>>46118655
Well, let's not make any premature assumptions anon! I'm sure we'll hear it from her soon.
>>46118670
I'm assumptioning that whoever made her cry is a jerk!
>>46118756
That's a fairer assumptionation!
3 for hugs, 2 for talks. Rolling die.
>>46118670
Remember, being a good friend means you never stop believing even when it gets hard!
Rolled 6 (1d20)
>>46119034
Attempting to roll once more.
>>46119056
Quite the low roll, huh. Interesting.
>>46119056
So is that? He resolve fails and she cries?
She reacts badly to the hug and becomes angry?
She refuses to tell us anything?
>>46119114
She reacts badly to the hug and becomes extremely aroused.
>>46119114
Nadja always rolls 20 on Perform (Hug). But rolling for Nadja is your job. I'm rolling for Amalia.
>>46119247
Oh, I like that one. Much nicer than my suggestions.
I'm also sort of worried the cat side is taking over more or something and she's losing her sanity/cognitive abilities.
>>46119357
Cats go into heat
>>46119357
That would suck.
>>46119383
Female cats in heat are a nightmare, let me tell you.
>>46119423
If that's the case that whole familiar thing people suggested might fix it.
>>46119470
Seems very optimistic considering FriendQM was obviously not on board with it.As is only right.
>>46119493
Well I'm just saying friendqm has a history of doing horrible things to cute girls. I tried reading one of the other ones and it turns out you're a soulless husk taking care of kids to try and find your missing spirit or something. Just saying shit can get dark.
>>46119538
But FriendQM's last quest was comfy!
>>46118428
"But..." I can't stand seeing her like this! She needs a hug right now!
She struggles, more than usual, trying to push me away from. "Don't... touch..."
What is wrong with her, she never reacts like this. At most, she gets a little embarrassed! Maybe I should...
>Rolled 6 (1d20)
>Damage: Negligible
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screams into my ear as a sharp pain rushes through my arms, her agile form quickly slipping out of my weakened grip. Immediately, almost feral in her movements she scurries to her bed and wraps a blanket around herself.
"Don't touch me..." She repeats quietly, her eyes staring into nothing.
Looking down, the source of the pain become obvious from the thin red marks running down my arms. She didn't draw blood, but...
"Sorry." She whispers, barely audible from where I'm standing. "Please don't leave me."
"Amalia..." She turns her gaze back unto me. "Your eyes..."
I've never seen her look like this. I didn't think she could, but it's obvious now that she's-
"Please don't leave me."
Afraid.
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>Sit across the room from her, find out what she's afraid of.
>Get out before she hurts me again!
>>46119729
>>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
Got lucky with our shit roll I guess!
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>>46119729
>>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
Certainly seems she's got some feral problems. But Nadja can solve all problems!
Admittedly, problems are usually solved with Nadja hugs so we're at a disadvantage from the start...but I'm sure it'll be fine.
>>46119729
I guess it's good that she rolled low. I can only imagine how horribly she'd react if she actually injured us.
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
Unanimous vote. Writing commences.
>>46119538
What's the point of a star without a night to illuminate?
Be that star, anons. Light the way and never stop believing. That is all I will ever ask of you.
>>46119729
>Sit next to her, find out what she's afraid of.
>>46119965
Fuck did you do to our cat you monster?!
>>46119988
Just gotta believe, anon!
>>46119729
I'm afraid. It... doesn't hurt too badly anymore. But Amalia would never hurt me! She's my bestest friend! So why now?
She's not saying anything anymore, just staring at me, staring into me with those amber eyes. I always thought they were so pretty, but now they're just making me feel afraid. Afraid that, maybe, I'm only just now learning who she is. But... whatever her eyes are hiding, whatever I have to do to help her, being afraid is just stupid.
Slowly, careful not to frighten her again, I sit down next to her, an arm's length between us. She stiffens for a moment, then relaxes again, a soft smile forming on her lips.
"Hi." She whispers awkwardly. I smile back, at least twice as awkward as her. But hey, at least she's more relaxed now!
"Amalia, can you tell me what hap-"
"Bad place." She replies before I can even finish the question.
"Huh?" A bad place? "You went to a bad place?"
She shakes her head.
"Someone took you to a bad place?"
Again, she shakes her head. "Nightmare."
"Oh..." I lay my open hand down next to her. She looks down at my hand for a brief moment, then turns her eyes up to the scar on my arm, grimacing as she does so.
"I was.." She whispers, choking on her words. "I remember now." She stares into my eyes again, as if she was searching for something in them. I put on a soft smile for her, even though I'm still a little afraid.
"Nadja, why are we friends?"
"Huh?"
She takes my hand, clutching it tight. "Tell me! Why are you my friend? Why don't you hate me?"
"Uhm... Well, I guess..."
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>"Because you're really cute!"
>"Because we have nobody else."
>Something else? (Write-in!)
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>>46120650
>"Because you're really cute!"
Why are anyone friends, really?
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest and cutest girl I've ever met!"
>>46120650
>"Because you're nice and smart and always help me out when I ask you to and your hugs are really soft and we always have fun!"
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>"Because you're really cute!"
>>46120650
>>Something else? (Write-in!)
Why not? You don’t need a specific reason to become friends!
Everyone should be friends, and if others don’t want to be friends for some reason, it’s their loss!
>>46120966
True, but I feel Amalia might want an actual reason why Nadja values her in particular (though I admit cool/cute isn't great either). Then again, maybe just being acknowledged as another person will help too.
>>46120650
>"Because you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
>"Because you're really cute!"
>"And you're not my friend. You're my Bestest Best Friend."
>>46120650
"Because... you're the coolest girl I've ever met!"
She turns her eyes back to the floor. "Cool?"
"And uh, you're super cute!"
This time she doesn't respond at all.
"And uh, you're nice! And smart! And you always help me out!"
"And-and-and uh... Because you're really nice to hug! And we have lots of fun and..."
This is stupid. "You know what?"
I take her hand in mine, forcefully, causing her to jump in shock.
"I don't need a reason at all! It's a stupid question! Why shouldn't we be friends? There's absolutely no good reason between the earth and the moons why we shouldn't be friends!"
Her eyes begin to widen as I continue to raise my voice. "And if you think you can stop now, well you're wrong! Because I'm gonna be your friend forever and ever! And..." I say as I tighten my grip on her hand.
"I'm going to stay right here with you and not let go until you start smiling again! Because you're my bestest friend and that's that! Hmph!"
"I uh..." She stammers nervously. "S-sorry?"
Slowly, she pulls closer to me.
"It's just... You weren't there. I was scared. But now you're here. And that's..."
With her other hand she finally lets go of the blanket she had wrapped around herself. Slowly, very cautiously, she leans her head against mine, sniffling softly.
"I'll be okay. Promise."
I'm gonna be honest, I wanted her to cry right now, let it all out and then tell me why she was afraid to begin wtih. But I think it's clear I'm not getting more than this. I've never ever seen Amalia cry and it's a little scary to see it for the first time, but I feel like maybe... Maybe she was always crying when I couldn't see.
I think Amalia is going to need a lot more hugs and the best I can do is be around when she needs them.
Luckily, that's something I know I can do! Starting right now!
>1/2
>>46122093
"So... Did you need something?" She finally pulls away, wiping her eyes dry.
"Well yeah," I admit. "Mistress says I have to come up with a witch name and I thought maybe-"
"Dawn."
"Dawn?"
"Dawn." She repeats, smiling softly.
"Like the color of your hair. And..." She looks away, her cheeks turning a soft red. "The way you make me feel..."
"Aww, that's so sweet! See, THIS is why you're my bestest friend! Thanks, that's super helpful!"
"So..."
>"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
>"I was going to go to the church next, do you want to come too?"
>"I think I'm going to go see what's going on at home. Wanna maybe come for dinner?" [End the search for name suggestions]
>Something else? (Write-in!)
>Don't forget, more name suggestions are still welcome!
>Amalia suggests Dawn.
>>46122130
>>"I was going to go to the church next, do you want to come too?"
>>46122130
>>"I think I'm going to go see what's going on at home. Wanna maybe come for dinner?" [End the search for name suggestions]
>>46122130
>"I was going to go to the church next, do you want to come too?"
>>46122130
>"I was going to go to the church next, do you want to come too?"
Sure, let's church!
>>46122130
>"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
Stop giving me diabeetus!
>>46122130
>"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
>>46122130
I like dawn. Very fitting. Too bad I probably won’t be awake for the voting.
>>"I was going to go to the church next, do you want to come too?"
And then invite her to come to dinner later on. This is mostly in case she doesn’t come with us.
> Wanna maybe come for dinner later?"
>>46122130
>"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
>>46122130
The Robin of Dawn? The Dawn Robin?
>"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
>Witch Apprentice Quest is on again
Why were you gone for so long, QM!
>>46122426
FriendQM was testing you to see if you remembered!
Looks like a very narrow victory for going home for advice.
>>46122292
>Too bad I probably won’t be awake for the voting.I doubt I will as well. Fortunately, Easter is likely to bring the rare blessing of free time, so I feel less bad about the end of the thread growing close.
>>46122426
>>46122450
If I felt I could run more often without compromising the rest of my life, I would. It does really feel unreasonable to expect you to remember what's going on between threads that are two weeks (and sometimes more!) apart.
Alas, such is life.
"I was going to go ask Papa or Big Sis for advice too. Wanna come?"
"Si-?" She gasps in surprise. "Alina is back!?"
"Oh right, I didn't tell you yet! She came home just yesterday!"
"In that case," She stands up, straightening her back and brushing her clothes clean of dust. "We should go right now. I have something important to ask her!"
"From Sis? Why? What?"
Amalia just starts walking, grabbing my hand as she passes me by, dragging along behind her. "You'll see!"
Well, she seems to be back to her old self at least! She keeps leading me along all the way up to the door to my house, finally pausing to let me go in first.
"Hi Papa!" I cry out before realizing that he's right here in the front room talking to a customer, a man dressed in funny clothes. Maybe from somewhere North, judging by the thick layers and fur. And I seem to have caught both of their attentions, each staring at me in surprise.
"Oh, sorry!" I quickly apologize. "Uhm, do you know if Sis is home?"
"Yes, and I am sure now she knows you are as well." He replies jokingly, prompting an amused chuckle from the foreigner.
"Thank you!" I say, quickly dragging Amalia through the room before remembering the important bit and turning around. "And thank you for doing business with the best smith in the Empire!"
"Do you have to do that every time?" Amalia asks as we clear the room, heading past the workshop to Sis' room.
"Nope!" I reply with the biggest smile I have. "I just like helping Papa!"
She replies simply with a "huh."
>1/2
>>46123161
Knocking on Sis' door, we're met only with a muffled "mmph" from within. Assuming the best, we step inside to find her sprawled on her bed, half-asleep.
"Sis! It's well past noon! Wake up!"
"...awake." She mumbles softly.
Amalia nudges me to the side as she steps into the center of the room. "Miss Alina." Miss? Since when is she this polite?
Sis seems struck by the same thought, her eyes opening wide as she quickly sits up on her bed in response to Amalia's presence.
"Miss Alina, I have something very important to ask you."
THREAD FOURTEEN END
>>46123226
Dun dun DUN!
Thanks for writing!
>>46123226
Good night, FriendQM. Until next time!
>>46123226
Thanks for running.
So the good news is that, even though this thread is quite short, and I apologize for that but I have to get up in the morning for my sister's birthday and this was the only time I could find this week, but since next week is Easter, I am likely to have a fair bit of FREE TIME. Which means, I expect to run at least one thread during the week. I will let you know on twitter when I know when that'll be!
So see you much sooner than usual!
>>46123226
Is she going to abandon us? She's going to run away with our sister and leave us all alone.
>>46123336
Be seeing you QM
>>46123360
Nooooo, not our best friend! She can't! And big sis too, she's gotta stay longer!
>>46123407
Nope, she wants to learn how to take care of herself, and that means leaving us behind and running away with our sister.
>>46123336
Thnaks for running Friend. Have fun tomorrow.
>>46123336
Oh and as for WITCHY NAMES, so far over this thread I've gathered:
>Robin (player suggestion)
>Dawn (Amalia's suggestion)
>??? (Alina's suggestion)
More are welcome! Just post them and I'll add them to the list for you to vote on when Nadja makes the final decision. That is, I'll add them in the morning when I wake up.
>>46123360Amalia running away is a Bad End. If a Bad End is approaching, you will be alerted in time to have a chance of preventing it.That's only fair, right?
>>46123507
Then.. she's asking for permission to marry? Does that mean we get dresses!?
>>46123547
She'd be going to dad for that anon. Or Mistress.
>>46123507Why is that a Bad End?
>>46123685
W-wwhat? Because she's our friend and running away into the woods or something would be awful! What kind of a witch are you?!
>>46123724
A wicked witch!
>>46123724
That doesn't really seem like an end though.
>>46123768
