"Eye of fish and shell of snail," the young woman muttered seemingly to herself as she pulled jars off a shelf and pinched or poured their contents into a small pot over the fire. Today she wore mostly blues and purples, with some orange and red and yellow thrown in for spice. Her wild hair was held in check by a vibrant purple and orange scarf, it's long tassles adding streaks of color to her otherwize mundanely black hair, which hung a little past her shoulders in slightly frazzled almost-curls. It was a chilly day, so the layers she wore were practical, but more than that, they were... very layered. Though not in a 'bundled up' sort of way.      Her current customer watched anxiously. He knew she was well respected for her knowledge and influence, but... something in the way she eyed him made him nervous. He didn't really believe in all that 'hocus pocus' stuff, but when you're desperate, you'll try anything. Really, the fact that she didn't even dress like a propper witch was enough to dispell (no pun intended) any lingering sense of magic or mystery about her.      Still, everyone always had something good to say about the girl, even if it was only 'she's a good listener.' And besides, every little bit helped, right? Even atheists will pray for a miracle when the situation is dire.      She spoke again as she stirred the concoction (which smelled suspiciously like some sort of gumbo), and this time her words were directed at the man, rather than herself. "Well now, you do seem to have a problem, don't you? Any ideas on how to fix it?"      The man gawked at her. Wasn't that what he'd come here for? He sputtered on the edge of indignance, but she grinned.      "Oh, I see. Come to the little witch up the hill to fix whatever little trouble crosses you, is it?" Her smile broadened momentarily as she eyed him, and then she turned back to her stirring. She was silent then for a long moment, and her customer fidgeted. Finally, she set her spoon down and pulled the pot away the small fire.      Another long moment followed, and Janis studied her client's face and posture, then sighed and pulled a length of thread out of her pocket. And then three buttons. And then one thumbnail-sized stone that looked suspiciously like a sapphire. One by one, each item was placed neatly on a table at the man's elbow.      "Here," she said as she knealt before him, one hand held out. "Give me your right hand." When he did, she turned it palm up and placed the stone in it, closing his fingers around it. "Hold that."      The man obediantly held that little stone, and watched as she wove a surprisingly intricate pattern in the thread she had produced, managing to string all three buttons on it with swift, deft motions. Well. Maybe 'pattern' was too strong a word for the tangle of knots she ended up with when she finally paused. "Well. Interesting." she giggled to herself. Janis held out her hand again. "Gimme." Once she had the stone, she dropped it right into the center of that tangle... and it's weight pulled the whole thing into a neat little necklace-like orientation.      He blinked, surprise showing in every line. She giggled. The stone was suspended in a net below the three buttons. The whole arrangement looked both artful and dubious, but then, so did the girl herself.      "Here," she placed it in his hands and patted them benignly. When she said nothing more, he eyed her suspiciously, eyes darting to the potion she had been mixing. "Was there something?" she asked, eyes quizzical.      "Oh, no.. I mean, what am I supposed to do with this?" he managed to come up with something that didn't sound like he was questioning her magical practices, since everyone knew how horrible a witch's curses could be if you made them angry.      She shrugged. "You'll know the thing to do when it happens."      "What?" he blinked repeatedly and eyed the thing in his hands.      "Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me." It was not a request, but a very definite dismissal. There was nothing the man could do but thank her politely and exit stage left.      As soon as he'd gone, Janis couldn't hold it in any longer, and she burst into helpless laughter. It took her quite a while to calm down and regain what little composure she'd had to begin with, and when she did, she sat near the fire stirring her dinner. Which contained absolutely no part of any kind of fish or snail, but she couldn't help but tease the poor man. He was entirely too gullible, for all the show of cynicism he put on.      It was oh so tempting to give him a gaudy shawl to wear, or tell him to cut his hair just so. Oh, she had given him exactly what he had needed; Janis would never go so far in one of her pranks as to give a customer something useless or wrong for them. Still, it was tempting.      She wondered if he'd ever figure out exactly what to do with that charm.