"This is KRXQ, 98 Rock in Sacramento! Little AC/DC comin' up for you after this break!" the DJ announced before the ad rolls started. The radio was an older model, one Thirteen had restored to excellent operating order, and now it sat on the outdoor workbench and played music while the young Acanthus sat on the ground beside her motorcyle. The back of the radio station she lived in had a carport where she kept her bike. She had plans to turn it into a full service auto garage for her own use, but that plan was a ways off. There were other upgrades and improvements to the redhead's Sanctum that demanded priority. Better security, for instance.

Today, however, Thirteen was taking this sunny day off from her responsibilities and just giving her motorcycle a tune-up. As promised, AC/DC's Highway to Hell started playing, and she hummed along as she worked on the engine of her 'baby.'

Jinx, the crow familiar, was perched on the bike's handlebars, watching the mechanical work progress. He might normally find this sort of thing boring, but the Libertine's tools were so shiny!

"Is there a highway that actually leads to Hell?"

"No, it's just an old saying," she answered the bird absently, focused on what she was doing. "Just means you're headin' for a bad end. Quickly."

"Oh," Jinx replied, and was quiet. For a few heartbeats, anyway. "Where is Hell? Also, what is Hell? Is it like a town, or...?"

"I'm not gettin' into a religious discussion, birdbrain, but suffice to say it's a bad place to be, and there's no conventional way to get there."

"Why?"

Thirteen sighed and rolled her eyes. The crow-spirit took things literally, sometimes, and didn't always grasp some human concepts. "There's the belief that Pandemonium is Hell. Or some version of it. Can't get there through normal means."

"Pandas?" the crow was confused.

"Pandemonium. It's one of the Supernal Realms. Like Arcadia."

"Ohhhh... one of your magic places you went to once but can't go back for some reason?" Jinx bobbed his head up and down, in a predictably bird-like manner.

"Aye," the Highlander stated, "one of those."

"So what's Panda Moaning like?"

"Pandemonium. And I don't know. Never been. Ask a Mastigos."

"Okay!"

After a pause, Thirteen corrected herself. "Actually, don't. I don't want you annoying Salem with innane questions."

"Awww... so what's the place you went like? Arcade?"

"Arcadia," she said, switching tools from the box, "It's... weird. Fluid. Shite's always changin'. Frustratin'."

"Why was it frustrating?" the familiar seemed genuinely curious.

"I don't..." exasperated for a moment, Thirteen shook her head to clear it. She knew Jinx wasn't trying to distract her, even if his questions had that effect. Sighing, she set her tools down and looked at the bird. "I... struggled to get through it. The environment kept changin'. Every bloody thing was a roadblock. The Realm itself was testin' me, and I... I think I went about it badly."

The crow didn't say anything, instead just letting the Enchantress speak her mind.

"I bulled my way through. I only succeeded and Awakened because I was too feckin' stubborn to give up." She was silent a moment before continuing. "After, I spoke to some other Acanthi. They wouldn't give details, Awakenin's a private thing, but they spoke of givin' themselves over to Fate. Trustin' in luck to see them through. The opposite of what I did. I defied Fate the whole feckin' way."

"But you still, uh, won the test?" His little head tilted from one side to the other, a sign of avian curiosity.

"Aye... I shouldn't have, but I did. Sometimes... sometimes I think Arcadia was amused with me. Or maybe the Watchtower found me curious enough to let me through. So I succeeded on a fluke. I Awakened as a joke." Some Acanthus liked to think the Realm had a twisted sense of humor, even if it wasn't a sentient force. Thirteen was quiet now, staring at her hands.

Jinx watched her a moment. Not always the best judge of human emotions, even he could tell his mistress was doubting herself, so he spoke up, "Or maybe... maybe it respected your approach? Maybe it wanted to see what you could do if it picked you for Team Lucky? Maybe it saw you had a fate of your own to fulfill?"

"You're giving Arcadia too much credit. It's not a person. It doesn't think," her voice was low.

"You started it, Red!"

Brown eyes looked up at the familiar. "Well, I'm endin' it."

"As you wish, Laird of KROW."

"Laird?" A red eyebrow rose up, "Where'd you learn that?" She was pretty sure she'd never taught him that word.

"It's not easy to find Scottish TV shows around here, but I found a couple on streaming! I wanted to see where you come from!" he laughed.

The Libertine rose to her feet, dusting off her knees and rear, "I fear to ask what shows they were."

"Two pints, ye prick!" the bird quoted.

Thirteen stared at Jinx a moment, then shrugged and turned to head inside, "Well, at least you found a funny one, even if I'm not from Glasgow. C'mon, featherduster, let's go inside and cool off. I'll tell you a wee bit about my home."

"Neat!" The crow took wing and followed.