[u][b]Mary Hawthorne - S&W Weaponry[/b][/u]

"Yeah, I like to read about it, but after my last endeavor,” she paused and swallowed hard, “I don’t even know what to say about Calypso and her Jade Emperor." 

"This Calypso", Mary asked, "Was she trying to convince you she knew magic?

"I believed in her and her beliefs for years", Shelby continued, "it slowly unraveled and I had my doubts. Ended up being a load of sh…crap.” Shelby sat back down and propped her feet up, “I have a real hard time believing in anything magical, good, bad or whatever. The idea of witchcraft entices me though, and I do enjoy imagining it was real and all.”

"It's not as glamorous as they make it out to be in books, and old movies and TV shows", Mary replied, "Ever notice that Museum at the edge of town? I found a pamphlet about it in my house, it talks about how the museum was about the women who were killed here hundreds of years ago because folks thought they were witches." Mary scoffed, "You'd think those fools would have realized if they had caught a real witch the odds of getting a halter around her neck were slim indeed." 

Waylon popped in “Hey, I’m going to go help Frieda with watch tonight.”

Shelby was sitting in a chair with her feet propped up, “Frieda? Whatever, have fun, I’m sure your watch the town,” she rolled her eyes.

“Brat,” Waylon turned and headed back out as Shelby shook her head.

"Frieda?", Mary asked, "She is that woman who was shooting at the green man this morning, yes?"

Shelby looked at Eliza resting and got up and sat closer to Mary, “Do you believe in that stuff? I wish that it was real and that I knew how to...um…do the spells and such.” She hiked her thumb towards Eliza, “I would heal her up as quickly as I could. I’m a blade smith, and I’ve read fantasy books about enchantments and such, that would be pretty neat to enchant my blades. But, I just like to learn, and the stuff that attracts me is mostly considered dark.”

"If magic really exists", Mary said, "Gaining such power wouldn't be easy....it would at least as much dedication and practice as it took for you to learn to make quality blades...and in the end by learning it you'd only be replacing your everyday concerns for bigger and more dangerous ones. And you'd have to hide your power because folks would see you as a threat if they knew...because such power is never free, somebody had to pay the price for it and they know that it's likely to have been someone like them. And when people see something or someone as a real threat they band together and end that threat. We and the Chinamen saw each other as a threat, and look around you to see how that ended up." She then added, "At least, that is my take on it. If magic were real...and easy to do...it would be everywhere. So, it stands to reason that it's either not real....or those who [i]do[/i] know it are in hiding."