#debukefarmhold

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Vasthi has been worried.

She has been feeling guilty.

now, she has gotten bored.

And a bored pooka is a dangerous thing.

Nor is her own sister immune to this.

Agnes sets some tea down for Zara "I see your sister had fun with you too" . Clearly she has noticed that Zara has...

(Pick one)

(A) Had her voile changed to resemble a Hello Kitty costume

B) has a trail of chimerical smoke following her that keep spelling out the words 'SURRENDER DOROTHY'

C) Zara has apparently gained Cleavage. Probably an illusion.

or

D) Does not know it, but is wearing a yankees baseball cap!

(And done)

A resigned sigh. "Well, I am a witch?" She bats at the smoke.

"Mmm mphh" Agnes says and sniffs "Oh, nice. The smoke even has an appropriate scent"

"I grant that it is well-crafted..."

"Try to think of it as a sign of trust. I get the feeling she'd not be able to prank folks at her former life, at least not openly" The tea is poured into the cup. "You want some aged cream?"

"No. She... she was not so lucky as I. I only mind it a little, and I think I must mind it some, for it to count..." Ruefully. "Cream would be lovely, thank you."

Cream is added in, and Agnes is of such will that if she finds it revolting she doesn't show it even a smidge, "You're a very kind sister. Now don't let her get away with too much in the future"

"Well, the best may be to find a tit for the tat... though, of course, pooka will win in the end."

"They can be annoyingly indomitable, though I've discovered they often flee when there's work to be done." mmph

"I think, perhaps, it is a sign of affection. Like, well, being spied upon by a sluagh. Not always - nor all pranks - but... aye?"

"It does show a certain appreciation for your magical studies" She notices the smoke spelling the words again" Hearth Agnes gets a drink for herself and joins the girl "Zara, word is you'll be taking Earl to Vassar." A sip

She pinks a bit. 'We... we have been discussing it. There are a lot of details to work out..."

"But.. ah.. I was accepted. It is my first choice."

"Mmm" A nod "Sounds like a big step, more than one point of fact. Your mother, she gave you the talk?"

VERY pink and a hasty sip of tea.

A swallow, and very primly - "We... take precautions, yes."

"Good good," She nods and sips "All forms of health matters for a young woman to keep amindful of. How are you at paying bills and running your accounts?"

Eyes wide. "Ah. Well, truth, I've never... paid bills, no..."

"Oh my. I think I just figured out how I am going to curtail my worry and occupy some time. You'll oblige and old woman with distraction?"

"...Aye?" Uncertain. "I would not.. I would certainly not allow Earl to lose a home, we have been looking for a place which is reasonable, there is one.. a satyr landlord, so, fae..."

"Oh, this isn't about Earl so much as just something any woman should know. Not saying you can't count on men, but every woman should learn how the Autumn world demands it's tithe. It can feel banal, but the easier you make it the less so it is and learning is power, as you know" The old woman gets up, and zara has a few moments to bolt if she chooses...though it would be rude if she did so.

She fidgets as she waits, oddly nervous.

And then Agnes returns with bills, a checkbook, receipts and more "Truth to tell, Sally Mae's even better than I am. She's got a lot of it set up electronically and I learned a BIT from her."

"Oh... computers, yes. I take my classes on the laptop..." Bewildered. "It is a small price to pay, truth, to avoid the lights and noise..."

"Well, we'll use pen and paper for now, and it should translate well. " And Zara finds herself subjected to lessons on some life skills she..well, may not have realized were crucial

Zara is bright, and good at picking up patterns... but, no, she has not dealt with budgets before, and it shows.

Agnes is quite patient, and , as if she had prepared for this possibility with this particular student, goes "Now in some of those grand books, whole estates of old England could be lost by a misjudging of means. At least I think so, been a while since I read those books... about well to do families falling on hard times so their young daughter had become a maid or governess. I suppose it is rather victorian, if I have the period right? And of course, the Depression." WHile not romanticizing it too much, Agnes' talk brings to mind more than one character in some books Zara has read.

She nods. "Aye. Often. I could be a governess! Though, like in Agnes Grey... so many mistreat the help. Mama always said I mustn't, and she has, I think, always been fair-handed with anyone we employ... we do not keep staff, per se. I know some who do."

"Your mother sounds like a sensible lady with a kind heart. Now you're young and you got a lot of options and time to chase those dreams, but what you don't want to be is forced down a path of misery because a lack of knowing closed off things. That's why learning to manage an estate, be it a grand manor or just a one room apartment is important. " And with that metaphor of any woman's home as an estate in her head, Zara gets another round of learning

Zara comments on new-found respect for the already respected Delores and Agnes...

It turns out to be a juggling act of sorts, what's coming in, what's coming out, and making sure you've got that safety gap in case one ball looks like something might go astray. Both lose track of time, and even Zara is feeling a bit light headed-but it turns out not to be just the rapid assimilation of learning as her stomach uncouthly, growls!

She pretends it didn't, with sluaghish dignity.

Agnes raises a brow but keeps at it.

"And remember every contract is a snare for the unprepared....

"

then..'rrrrr' softly again

Betrayal! A moment of dismay...