DEPRAVED, EVIL, AND INSIDIOUS<p>"But green is the color of money, right? So it'll make me rich!"</p><p>The squirrel held up multiple bags worth of herbs, all of which had no relation to one another besides all being green. That didn't seem to deter her, though; she waved them adamantly in coyote's face. It took everything in Mojo's power not to swat her handpaw away.</p><p>"Yeah, green can symbolize money," Mojo began, injecting most of her remaining patience into her tone. "But herbs also have they own significance. You mess around with all them, you gonna get somehtin' you weren't expecting."</p><p>At that, the customer's cheery demeanor deflated a bit. "How am I supposed to get rich quick then!?"</p><p>The coyote wanted so, so badly to remind the woman in the most invective way possible that she'd already said this isn't how this worked. But then she got an idea. A swell of mirth rose within her as she scanned the shelves for the most expensive thing on sale.</p><p>"...okay, I ain't supposed to be tellin' you this, but I actually got this spell. Now this one was passed down from my great auntie, and she was a millionaire back in the day, so it's real powerful."</p><p>When she saw the squirrel's eyes practically glow, she knew she had them. </p><p>"You gonna get you a Bible -- not one of them itty bitty ones, the big ones -- and you gonna get a ceremonial bowl. I say the marble one with the gold lining. And then you gonna go through that Bible, look for any page that mentions money or wealth or any of that, and you gonna highlight it in a green marker. Then you burn all them pages in a bowl. When you least expect it, you'll find wealth like you ain't never seen it before."</p><p>The squirrel nodded feverishly before immediately running towards the nearest bookshelf. Any regret Mojo might have felt for this one was immediately discarded when the customer threw all the bags of herbs in her arms to the ground. She sighed before picking her broom up from the wall and walking forwards towards the mess.</p><p>By the time she had it all cleaned, the squirrel was on her way out of Crossroads Conjure, and the dirt-winged dove behind the counter was giving her a suspicious look.</p><p>"Mojo, what did you tell that poor girl?"</p><p>The coyote gave a grin fitting of her species' namesake. "Just a little somethin' about supportin' small business. She looked like she had money."</p><p>DW gave an awkward laugh as he looked between her and the screen of his register. "Well... yeah. Emphasis on the had, think she damn near gave me her whole paycheck..."</p><p>"Guess she really did need that money spell, huh?" Mojo let herself indulge in that snide snark, just enough to satisfy.</p><p>The dove hesitated before speaking up again, voice a bit more serious now. "I... I appreciate it, but... you know we can't be lying to the customers."</p><p>The coyote simply shrugged as she put her broom back and began to walk over. "She wasn't tryin' to listen to anything I was sayin'. If you ask me, she probably don't believe in any of this."</p><p>"I don't know if she do, but..." DW looked up, as if the ceiling of his shop might have some answers. "I'm not just supposed to be a shop owner. People come in here lookin' for a solution to their problems. Maybe they believe that magic can help, or maybe they just want a little distraction. But either way, they gotta think I'm helpin' 'em. Because if word start goin' around that I'm a phony..."</p><p>He gestured towards the bulwark of the store. "This place is done."</p><p>The coyote raised her eyebrows. She responded slowly, trying to word things as best she could. "Right, but... what about the ones who see this place and think it's all phony? How about people outside the culture? You just gonna let them come in here disrespectin' us and say it's okay?"</p><p>"They money all spends the same," the dove pointed out. "As long as I can get 'em to keep comin' back. I just got a few hundred out of that girl who's gonna run home, probably curse herself, and never come in here again. She could've been a regular buyin' green candles from us for the next 10 years." </p><p>"Dirt Wing," Mojo said, ire seeping into her voice, "If I had to deal with that bitch for another 10 seconds, I think I would've quit."</p><p>"Then what you still doin' here?" the dove asked pointedly. </p><p>The air was disquiet between the two of them for a few seconds.</p><p>"You know I-"</p><p>"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm not mad at'cha, and I'm happy to give you a job here. Mojo, you got a good head on your shoulders, and you know what you talkin' about, especially with conjure. But look."</p><p>He met her gaze with a firm but not cold expression. "You under someone else's roof? You gotta play by their rules. That ain't just with me, that ain't just in here. That's everywhere."</p><p>The coyote's head raced with thoughts on that. First words came to her that she so badly wanted to say. Then all the things that she wanted to do. All the ways she wanted to resist that.</p><p>But the only thing she could do was scowl.</p><p><a href="https://blackqueer.life/tags/furrywriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>furrywriting</span></a> <a href="https://blackqueer.life/tags/VillainArc" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>VillainArc</span></a></p>