Ariel did not hate her name but rather disliked it. A lot.
It was not so much the name itself but rather all the associations people had when they heard her name. She still believed her parents had been high when they had chosen her name. After a Disney movie! The cute little mermaid. The innocent mermaid.
And the men before her were no different. They looked at her like she had fallen down from another plane.
“You’re Ariel? Ariel of Sanara?”
“Yes”, she grumbled. “What can I do for you? If you are finished staring at me”.
“I’m sorry, you are just not what I – we expected”.
“And what did you expect?” She raised her eyebrow in a challenge. She had gotten quite good at that by now.
“Somebody more nature witchy-like?” the other man chimed in. He wore dark sunglasses which annoyed the hell out of her. They were indoor, not to mention impolite.
“Who said I was a nature witch?”
“That is what the Sanara Coven is known for, right? Weather witches, elemental witches. All that stuff. ‘Fuck with nature and we fuck you right back’-witches..?”
“We are a coven of witches not a school of mages or conclave of sorcerers. Hence the coven in our name. We don’t try to control nature. We work with and for nature”. As if. Sometimes she really thought Nature was out to get her.
“You certainly could have fooled me”. The man with the sunglasses said. Damn, he was annoying.
Ariel leaned over the counter. The two men didn’t flinch but the man with the sunglasses did put his hand on the sword by his side. Interesting detail, considering she did not see any amor on either of them. The other man without sunglasses did not wear a visible weapon.
“So I did go through a rebellious phase in my youth. Who doesn’t? Opened up a rift and had a little run in with an elemental”. Or two. Or four to be precise. But who was counting? And why did they always come in pairs? “I survived but not before th – the elemental gave me a small gift. It’s not my freaking fault my eyes are glowing and make me look like a demon!”
Customers looked their way when her voice was raised, but since she was still smiling and they were regulars, they did not pay much attention. The two men were clearly flustered.
“It could be worse. At least they are only red when its raining and foggy. Like today. If you had come in a stormy day they would have been blue. So gentlemen. Now that we have gotten my appearance out of the way I can assure you that I am a nature witch, albeit what kind is up for discussion. Are you here to shop or are there other things I may help you with?”