Post-Baseball BBQ: Amanda and Maddie

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Maddie finally has a proper introduction with Amanda, this after Amanda broke her out of jail and Maddie showered in her bathroom. But better late than never. Well, maybe not in this case.




The post-baseball BBQ was in full swing, and the air filled with the delicious scent of grilled meat only served to make Maddie more ravenous. It was baseball, and forget hamburgers and chicken, she wanted a hot dog. Unfortunately, New York obviously hadn't gotten the memo about two foot long hot dogs being the new "thing", so the young redhead was forced to settle with a normal sized dog on a normal sized bun. It was totally lacking in imagination.

Onions, relish, mustard, ketchup, tomato slices- Maddie didn't care what rules she broke with her hot dog toppings of choice, and piled them up high. Which may not have been the best of ideas she'd ever had, as the bun bulged out and toppings threatened to topple over the sides and onto the ground. It had taken some maneuvering, and some leaning over to keep from dirtying her shirt, but eventually the teenager had managed to take a bite, leaving traces of ketchup and mustard around her lips. It may have been a choking hazard, and she may have been getting more of the toppings on her face than in her mouth, but dang was it tasty.

Over by the beer keg (which was being carefully monitored for under-age drinking by the staff, she had no doubt), Amanda had been watching the young red head eat with fascination. It was an impressive feat and she was tempted to applaud once the hot dog was done.

Someone was thinking really loud, and Maddie looked around to try and figure out who it was. Most of the time, the thoughts of others didn't slip in, but sometimes she found that if someone was really intent on it and thought loudly enough, she could hear them. But the question was, who was admiring her skill and prowess of stuffing her face? The voice sounded familiar, but there were so many people and... Oh. It was probably Amanda, since she was staring right at her. That definitely made sense.

Slowly, the teenager made her way over to the beer keg, careful to keep enough distance to make it clear that she was not trying to get in trouble by stealing alcohol, but that instead she was more interested in talking to the person who was standing nearby.

"So, like, I never thanked you for coming in and saving our lives," she said cheerfully. "Except for the fact that those jackasses decided to kidnap you, it was a really cool thing for you guys to do."

Amanda shrugged. "All in a day's work... Maddie, isn't it? 'S good to see you out of the prison orange and doing all right. How're you holding up?" It was possibly a change of topic away from the part where she'd been in jail herself for a while, or it could just be Amanda's usual habit of moving conversation away from the Trenchcoat side of things.

Maddie nodded. "Yup. Madelyne, actually, but no one calls me that except my mother when she's really mad at me." She wiped the invisible hot dog reside on her shorts and held out her hand. "You're Amanda. You're a witch, right?"

"Amanda Sefton. Never 'Mandy', unless you're Jubilee." Amanda shook the offered hand solemnly and then grinned. "And yeah, I'm a witch. A mutant as well, but that's just the fuel source."

The teenager studied the blond woman before her for several moments. Mutants were a dime a dozen around these parts, and Maddie was getting used to not only having them around but being one herself. But witches, not so much. She had met a pagan once, but she was informed that wasn't the same thing. Besides, weren't real witches supposed to be ugly? Wait no, that was only the bad witches, so Amanda must be a good witch, the girl decided, unless she was using her powers to make herself look young and beautiful. The look in her eyes changed from one of curiosity, to one of suspicion.

"So what's your position on flying monkey minions?"

Amanda's eyebrows went up. "Ah, not my thing? Monkeys shi-- er, crap everywhere and throw it at you. Having them flying around would only make that worse. 'Sides, Nico's the only minion I need."

Maddie continued to eye her warily. True, monkeys did fling poo and that was annoying. But flying monkeys. Maybe she was trying to throw the young girl off her scent.

"How old are you really? I've seen 'Bewitched', I know the real deal. Samantha was over 100 years old and she sooooo did not look it."

Ah, so this was the deal. Debunking Witchcraft Tropes in Popular Culture 101. Amanda's lips twitched a little as she replied. "Twenty-five. Kurt can vouch for that, since he was there when I was born."

Yeah. Like that was believable. "Mhmmmm," the young girl hummed. "I totally saw that lip twitch, by the way. So either you're lying and that's your tell, or I'm' making you really really nervous.

"Have you ever turned someone into a Newt? And what happens when you get caught in the rain? And do you have a talking cat that's really a witch who was sentenced to punishment by being trapped in a cat body for a hundred years? And... and... and...." Maddie was beginning to run out of the really important questions. Or maybe that was just another trick of the witchcraft. "Did you fight in the Great Wizarding Battle of Hogwarts or is your accent totally fake?"

Despite herself, Amanda chuckled. "Lessee," she said, counting off the points on her fingers. "No newts, but I did turn the guidance counsellor into a frog once, by accident. When it rains I get wet, same as everyone else. No cats, 'cept the strays I feed on my fire escape, but I'm pretty sure none of them are witches being punished. And the accent's totally real, but I hate to let you down and tell you that Harry Potter's a load of fictional bollocks." She grinned at her interrogator. "Satisfied, yet? Or did you want to toss me in the lake to see if I float or sink like they did in the old days?"

Maddie threw up both hands, signaling for Amanda to slow down. Although she tried to keep a cool, even demeanor, there was evidence of a smile tugging at the ends of her mouth. "Woah there, little lady." She loved saying "little lady", it made her feel all old timey and Western. "Now, no one here ain't said nuffin' bout no sinking or swimming. We best not be gettin' 'head of ourselves. All I'm doin' is askin' a few questions, tryin' to get yer story straight. Don't want no mass hysteria breakin' out in this here town. We got enough on our plate with them Vale twins; ain't lookin' for no more trouble."

The teenager shoved her thumbs in the pocket of her shorts as she closed in on the woman before her, standing almost toe to toe. "Sos far, youse seem like a fine enough gal, but I gots one last question for you.

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

That one got her. Amanda tried to answer, but was laughing too hard to speak. "You win," she managed at last. "'M at your mercy."

"Yes!" Maddie punched the air in victory. "Your witchy tactics have no effect on me. I am immune to such things.

"No but seriously," the girl calmed down and switched back to her normal conversational tone. "Like a witch for really reals? Like with potions and spells and shit. And robes and wands?"

"Really for reals witch," Amanda confirmed. "But less of the traditional sort. 'M more of an urban witch - less robes and wands and potions and more..." She tried to find the words, but gave up. "'S like energy conversion, see? I take energy from the city and it lets me change things."

Well that was unhelpful. Instead of getting an answer, Maddie only had more questions to ask. "Interesting," she said, looking at Amanda over her steepled fingers. "What do you say I buy you a beer and you tell me more. Even though the beer is free and you have to pour it yourself since I'm still underage and this keg is being watched more closely than the Hope diamond and I don't feel like dealing with the security forces today.

"Sorry. Back to topic. Beer (you), soda (me), and lots of small words so I can understand what you're saying?"

"Sounds like a deal," was Amanda's reply, thinking she was going to need the beer by the end of the barrage... conversation. "By the time we're done, you'll know more than you ever wanted to know about real witchcraft."