The glow of the television bathed the living room in a soft, blue light that danced across the walls as the movie played. The volume was set low, just loud enough to hear, to avoid disturbing those who were sleeping. And, at two in the morning, that was nearly everyone else in the apartment complex.
Aella jabbed her spoon into the carton of ice cream and shoveled a generous amount into her mouth. She didn't particularly like sweet things, especially sweets that were sticky or chewy, but she had always made an exception for ice cream.
"Bad day?" mumbled Janne as she shuffled into the room, her sleep-heavy eyes squinting against the television's glow.
"Mmm," Aella confirmed as she ate another spoonful of ice cream.
"I thought you were supposed to be at the office party," Janne yawned, making her way to the kitchenette. She rifled through the cupboards until she found an herbal tonic, then returned to the living room and sank down next to Aella. "Didn't you get that promotion?"
Aella snorted and stabbed her spoon back into the ice cream. Her temper flared and tendrils of magic swirled along her skin as she recalled the meeting with her manager.
"I was slapped with a pay cut and a demotion," she answered bitterly. "I'm the only spell weaver they've got and they treat me like I'm worthless."
"But you brought in one of their top three clients!" Janne exclaimed, fully awake now. "Aren't they worried the client will bail if you leave?"
"Hah! As soon as the top brass got all buddy-buddy with the guy, I was quietly swept out of the way. They brought in some pedigreed weaver on retainer instead, since I 'lack the necessary, high-quality background' to meet with clients. Yet I'm the one who has to handle most of her work in the background because she's too specialized to weave any spells outside of her narrow field! They just wanted a someone with a fancy lineage to impress the clients."
"'High-quality background'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Janne exclaimed, spilling some of her tonic. "Aella, I know you don't like me poking my nose in, but you really need to look for a new job! Your bosses are idiots!"
Aella sighed and took another bite of ice cream. They were idiots, paying for a semi-famous name that lacked the talent actually needed, but finding new work wasn't so easy.
"I've been trying, Janne, really I have. But I'm a Natural, so I don't have a fancy degree or a star-studded family tree to make me marketable. No one taught me to do what I do. I'm a no-name weaver and companies aren't looking for people like me. They want the pedigrees, the diplomas, the Oathtakers who can bring in business through name alone."
Janne fell silent, rolling the bottle of tonic between her hands, her brows furrowed. Aella was grateful for the quiet, as it allowed her to focus on eating her ice cream and soothing her temper. The last thing she needed after a day like today was a mishap caused by anger-fueled magic.
"I know you're in the middle of your pity party, but I have a friend whose boss has been looking for a spell-weaver. I can promise that the pay is good, the company is legitimate, and they definitely aren't doing anything illegal, but..."
"But?"
"But the work is a little...unique. I'm not a weaver, so I can't give you specifics about what you would do, but my friend is someone I really trust. If you want, I can ask him if they can set up an informal interview."
This prompt was provided by @mariannewest and can be found here.
