Circe's Shop of Magical Wonders

[Ookalf]

Yeah, I'd generally call that a poor idea... I imagine they didn't take it too well, did they?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Not especially. The followers were gaping at me, and the summoner was in landed-fish mode. ...Finally she recovered her wits, walked up to me and said: ... ...Well, it's the sort of thing I can't repeat in polite company, but to summarize it she was making a pass at me.

...I told her she'd be better off kissing a cow. ...She threw a hissy fit at that point, declared that I'd never know what I was missing now that I'd made her mad, then walked over to complete the ritual. She even amended the summoning chant to account for what I'd done.

[Ookalf]

...Wow. How old did you say this summoner was, again?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...I don't think I'd given an age yet. Far as I could tell she was old enough to look like an adult, but young enough to have an arrogant adolescent mentality. You can never tell with TFs around here...

...But I'm off topic. One big thunderstorm and crackling display of power later, the dragon lord they promised was successfully summoned. *uses a few sheets of paper to craft a likeness of the creature in question* ...While she and her summoner were busy talking, I hit an emergency number on my smartphone and waited for their attention to come back my way.

[Ookalf]

I see... *Circe studies Ellen's image of the dragon.* So, who did you call to deal with that?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Well, I was trying to call Mom at home. I hit the wrong button and ended up calling Callista instead.

[Ookalf]

Ooh... She probably didn't like any of that, did she?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Granted that she had to save me from being harassed by an extremely pushy dragon, no she didn't.

Cynth: *starts to crawl inside her bedding, but pauses* Wait, what? Did you just say har---

Ellen: ...Yes, I did. And no, she didn't get the chance to go that far. Acutus---I think that was her name, but don't quote me---mistook me at first for a new initiate who hadn't been fully educated about what it meant to support her. ...She acted nice at first, sweet-talking me and wasting precious time trying to sway me.

[Ookalf]

These people just get more and more sketchy the more you talk about them... So, what happened after that?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Well, she finally got the hint that I wasn't interested. She dropped all pretenses of friendliness and offered me a few choices: ...either join her army as a soldier-in-training, join her "family" as a servant---putting the term loosely---or join "oblivion" as a lifeless husk. She was barely a foot away the whole time.

...Instead, I joined "made-you-look" as a distraction. Seeing that dumbfounded expression she took upon being hit in the temple with a fireworks-laden soft drink...

*One corner of Ellen's mouth twitches upwards for a split second, then turns down again.*

[Ookalf]

Heh. And how did she take that?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ... ...I'd have to say she looked more surprised than hurt. She didn't understand why "Athena with sunglasses", in her words, was attacking her.

Cynth: Please tell me that Athena bit was a metaphor.

Ellen: ...It was. ...But continuing, Acutus listened to Callista's warning to stay away from me, but only because she saw a prize to be won. Those followers who recognized Callista and tried to warn Acutus were rewarded with sneers and commands to "stay away from the dragon's treasure."

...Take a guess. How much longer do you think the situation lasted?

[Ookalf]

Hmm... I'm going to say about a minute. Minute and a half, tops.

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Pretty close to the mark, actually. Acutus tried to give Callista the same treatment as me, only to be asked if she knew what it was like to go swimming at the bottom of a lake.

...Acutus laughed at her, described her as an "arrogant scrawny whelp", and told her to hit her as hard as she could if she was really that confident in her fate. The whole time, she was exhibiting her Color's better-known traits without caring for Calli's opinions, purely to taunt her.

... *picks up a skull replica from a nearby shelf and holds it before her* ...Alas, poor Acutus. I did not know her, Horatio.

[Ookalf]

*Circe shakes her head.* Oh, so unwise... And what did Callista do then?