Poppy sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and cocking her head as Aura explained. Or at least, shared what she could. It seemed there was a big gap in her knowledge, apparently because there was no one left around to fill it. Poppy frowned. There was a story there, written in the way Aura looked towards her staff, but Poppy wasn't sure she was quite ready to pry that far yet. Obviously something had had to happen to bring Aura back from the dead, and Poppy had heard a few rumors. She hadn't paid them much mind - had told herself she didn't really care. And maybe she still didn't, for the most part; after all, Aura was here now and what was done was done. But...
In these past few years, Poppy had taken steps. She'd divorced Draco once and for all, though he hadn't been around to notice (nothing new there); she'd built herself a house, made a fresh start for her and Zel. She'd taken all her pain and frustration and channeled it into making a new life, into Eselda. And now it was time for her to take the next step on that journey - finding something to do. Becoming useful. She'd dabbled in a few jobs here and there, but they never lasted long for one reason or another. She uncrossed her arms, studied Aura through narrowed eyes.
"So if all the previous ones are gone, that means you've got lots of vacancies, eh?" she asked. "And you're obviously busy, so you could probably use some help. With things as they are between the King and Tristan, it's only going to get busier anyways..."
She paused, considered again and then spoke. "What I want from you, Aura, is a job. Figuring it out as I go along is kind of my specialty, right?" Poppy cracked a half-smile at her, knowing Aura couldn't argue with that. After all, she'd never relied on her mother's help before... |