Naya is fitting a fresh sheet over the table when the bell chimes, followed by one flash of blue light that signified one guest; human species. "Come in, come in," she calls, smoothing out the wrinkles in the linen before turning and scowling at her new guest. "No. Absolutely not."

"B-but miss, please!" Begged a little boy, his round eyes beseeching as he clutched something covered in a gray cloth close to his chest. Against her better judgement the brunette crosses over and lifts the scrap of fabric, her scowl deepening at the sight of the dead starling that lay underneath. "I only want--"

"No," Naya interrupts, dropping the cloth. "I don't bring back the dead. Everyone knows that."

"But I only need a minute!" The child continues, heedless of her protests. "Please miss, I've had him for years and he died while I was away. I only...," the little human trails off, lip trembling and eyes going watery. "...I only want to say goodbye."

The witch falters for a moment, cursing the bit of softness she still has left for the little ones of this world. "Go fetch me a field mouse. And be quick about it, boy," she orders, taking the corpse from him. The child nods enthusiastically, racing back out into the cold to do as she says.

When he returns Naya had the little song bird spread out on the slab, a triangle of salt, lavender, and bone dust drawn out around it. "I found one," the boy tells her, holding out the tiny beast held firmly in his hands. Its little breaths are frantic and it squirms wildly in his grasp.

"Good. You know what must be done," she says, glancing between the mouse and the boy. "You can not buy a life without a life."

The boy looks horrified. "Can't you do it?"

"No, boy. It has to be you," she huffs, quirking a brow at him. "Get on with it or get out. I can't spend all morning on this." 

He hesitates a moment longer and Naya is about to make him leave when he finally does the deed, the mouse's neck snapping with a sickening crack. "Good," she tells him, her voice gentler than before as she eases the creature from his hands. With deft fingers the witch pops the head off and puts it at the top of the triangle, followed by placing the heart and lungs at the other two points. Wordlessly she pulls her dagger from it's place on her hip and slices her palm, watching intently as the blood begins to well up. Gingerly she dips a finger in the liquid, glancing at her open grimoire before drawing the appropriate runes around the corpse.

She feels it welling up under her skin, an electric current that hums louder and louder until it overwhelms her and Naya can't focus on much else but the sensation of being a conduit for this dark magic.

When she can focus again the little starling is taking labored breaths, but it lets out a happy warble when it sees the boy. "Yo-you've only got five, maybe ten minutes before he passes on again," the witch pants, bracing herself against the table as she tries to get her wind back. "Best say your goodbyes fast."

She has an armful of slobbering human child before she can even blink. "[i]Thank you,[/i]" he sobs, pressing his face into her belly.

"Hush now, child," Naya scolds, but there is a hint of warmth in her voice. "Tell your friend goodbye. We'll talk about your payment later."

On shaky legs she heads back up to the front counter to give the two companions a bit of privacy. 

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