[Video]

[flamescout]

Hey. Seems like we got a lot of new people at once, so allow me to welcome you to the city. My name's Raye. I've been here about...probably a year now? Close to it, anyway. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them, but Harry's fliers next to the Bay cover most of the basics.

Let me know if you need help with anything.

[Private to Harry]

I'm guessing I was the only one of us that wound up in snoozeville. Knowing you, you're probably moping around acting like the loneliest scruffy wanderer in the world. Well, I'm up now, so it's time to start shaving again!

[She grins a little and winks. Just teasing! Probably. ...He does need to shave, though.]

Comments

[no_love_potions]

Uh, sure. Give me an hour or so to finish playing chauffeur for the new kids and then we'll get this figured out.

[flamescout]

Oh yeah, I've met them over the communicator. I referred the blonde guy to you, hope that's okay.

[She'll just go sit on his porch step with a couple of Cokes.]

[no_love_potions]

Oh, we'll talk about the blonde guy.

[And a bit later, Harry's truck appears at his apartment and the wizard climbs out after grabbing his staff from the back seat.

He's already got a nice new bruise forming on his jaw. Stupid spring-loaded shield.]

[flamescout]

[Huh? What's wrong with the blonde guy? Other than being a clueless doofus, of course. She'll ask him when he gets there.]

[Once the truck pulls up, Raye rises to her feet with a little smile.]

Hey you. Long time no see.

[no_love_potions]

[It's true that Harry usually looks fairly ragged, but it's even more apparent when he gets out of the truck. As much sleep as Raye just had, Harry somehow looks like he hasn't had a peaceful night's rest in a long time.

Still, there's a smile on his face when he sees Raye there, a real one, not his usual smirk and even though the mushy stuff isn't the style for either of them, it's all there in his expression.]

Hey yourself. Enjoy your nap, Miss Van Winkle?

[flamescout]

Hah! Like you're the one to talk, scruffy face!

[She smirks at him, folding her arms as if daring him to tease her further. But seriously, couldn't he refer to her as some sort of sleeping princess instead of a hairy narcoleptic old man?]

[Once he's up the steps, she steps forward and hugs him. It must have been rough, being awake while everyone else was locked into a deep sleep. Solitude isn't fun. Not even for Raye the eternal loner.]

[no_love_potions]

[Because it was funnier.]

Look who's talking, bedhead.

[The hug catches him a little by surprise, but he's quick to return it, holding onto her tightly. It hadn't been fun, even if he'd had plenty to keep him busy during his isolation. It still hadn't been enough to keep his own guilt away all the time.]

Good to have you back, Raye.

[flamescout]

[She smiles quietly, hidden against his chest. The tightness of the hug isn't missed -- he was genuinely glad to have her back. It feels a little strange when she thinks about it too much, that they could form bonds so similar to what a family develops. But there it is. They genuinely care for each other as if they were related, and she wouldn't give that up for the universe or a hundred Archways.]

[When she speaks, her voice is muffled.]

I brought you a Coke.

[no_love_potions]

[Family was always in short supply in Harry's life, and it was pretty much nonexistent in this dump. However it had formed, he was glad to have that bond here, it had kept him from going down into a pretty dark place when he'd first arrived and it had kept him sane during the past year. A lot of people hadn't come back from wherever they'd gone off to, but Raye had, and that was good enough.

Even as much as some part of him would love to see her safely home again.]

Thanks. [He chuckles a little bit, holding onto her for a little while longer before clearing his throat, blinking a few times and releasing her.]

[He took a breath.]

So. Let's take a look at that talisman.

[flamescout]

Sure.

[After passing off his sodea, she sets hers down and reaches back to unhook the little silver chain from the back of her neck. She draws out the talisman from where she keeps it hidden in her blouse, then passes it to Harry.]

Do these things usually wear off after time?

[no_love_potions]

[He takes the small metal charm and holds it up, focusing for a moment to probe it with his senses. He'd made the thing in the first place, so it was a simple matter to follow the paths of energy he'd laid into it. The enchantments were still holding strong.]

Nah, but I beefed up the wards and added a few new ones so better safe than sorry.

[Satisfied that all was still well with the talisman, he turns to the door, holding it up and studying the interplay of energies between the wards and the charm.]

[flamescout]

[Raye watches with mild interest, but other than a slight increase in the already strong vibes she feels from the wizard, she can't really make heads or tails of what he's doing. So she cracks open her can of soda and takes a sip.]

...What happened while we were sleeping, anyway? Did you run into any trouble?

[no_love_potions]

[Harry pauses in his work, glancing over at her.]

Remember last year when... something got into Attleton?

[He figured she did, it wasn't the kind of thing you forgot about.]

Well, when you all went to sleep, it didn't. And then it figured out how to cross Archways.

[flamescout]

PFFFFFBBBBBBBTTTTTTTTT!

[Maybe Raye should have waited before taking that sip, because all of her calm mature coolness? RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW.]

Are you serious?! How is that even possible if it doesn't have one of the necklaces?!

[no_love_potions]

[Well, there goes a mouthful of Coke all over the wall. Harry will tactfully not draw attention to that.]

I really wish I knew. The point is, it got into the rest of the city.

[flamescout]

[Harry is so wise and also wise.]

That's horrible! And all of us were completely vulnerable...!

[All except Harry, that is.]

You didn't have to fight that thing alone, did you?

[no_love_potions]

[He has his moments.]

[He sighs a little.]

I think that's why I was awake. It would start poking around where one of you were, but as soon as I got close, it turned around and headed straight for me.

[So, basically, yes. Yes, he did.]

[flamescout]

Harry...

[Raye's grateful. She truly is! But she's also really worried, because that thing didn't mess around. If it was strong enough to get through gates, it was probably no pushover for Harry. If he slipped up even once... Raye's quiet for a moment. Then she steps closer, looking him in the eyes. She probably shouldn't do that, but she doesn't know any better yet.]

How many times did it kill you? Be honest.

[Because if he died, that means he might have wound up having pieces of himself stripped away in order to return.]

[no_love_potions]

[It wasn't. The thing, things, whatever were powerful, fast and horrifyingly hard to put down. Even throwing everything he had at it, most of the time he was just lucky to be able to run away in one piece.]

It--

[And then she had locked eyes with him and there's a flash of panic as he feels the tug of a soulgaze begin with just that look. Before the floodgates open, he tears his eyes away, focusing just above them. He had no idea what anybody looking at his soul would see now. He'd seen the looks of fear and shock before, even had one person faint, and that was before he'd sold it for power. Before he'd tainted his hands with the blood of someone he loved. Before he'd unleashed black magic of cataclysmic proportions on the world.

Whatever he was now, he didn't want to force that burden onto Raye. Not her. Not ever.]

-- twice. It managed to catch me off guard once, and another time when I had to bring a building down on both of us to stop it.

[flamescout]

[Raye feels sick, and she knows it's not because of the carbonation. He died twice. She's been killed before, so she knows how painful it is, and how awful and full of regrets she'd been as she lay dying on the ice.]

Please tell me the city compensated you for protecting it...i-it didn't take anything, did it...? What did it take?!

[She's so rocked by the revelation that she barely notices the odd vertigo that comes from meeting his gaze if only for that split second.]

[no_love_potions]

Raye.

[That tremor to her voice and the expression on her face isn't lost on him, so his voice is gentle and he reaches out, putting his right hand on her shoulder,and comes as close to looking her in the eye as he dares. His left was back to a scarred, twisted mess after he gave up the healing it had done for his second resurrection. The other... well, he supposed not remembering what that was was the point.]

I got myself killed by that thing, nothing I can do about that, it's the risk I took for getting in its face. But paying the toll to come back? That was my choice, just mine, and I'd make it again. No regrets.

[Because it was worth it. Because being who he was, being able to do what he could, having power sometimes meant making hard choices and sacrifices and doing it because it was what was best for somebody else.

He manages a smile and gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze.]

So don't worry about it, okay?

[flamescout]

[She hadn't noticed the hand before, but she sure does now. Her face blanches at the sight, and at her sides, her hands clench into fists. This stupid city. This stupid, rotten, horrible city!]

You can't seriously expect me not to worry, Harry.

[And he gets a look. ...At least it's a little funny.]

[no_love_potions]

[Harry glances down and moves his hand behind his coat. It was the price he paid and considering some of the other stuff he might have given up, it was a cheap one.]

Hell, no, but there's plenty of bigger stuff to worry about right now.

[It would be funny if she wasn't looking so pale, and it didn't look like she was trying to force her fingernails through her palms.]

[flamescout]

Like what?

[Is that thing still out there? Did he find something else? Because seriously, she's not sure what's 'bigger' than the fact that her not-dad just got smeared into paste TWICE.]

[no_love_potions]

Breakfast. Did you eat yet?

[Because dad or not-dad, it's his job to do the worrying, not for her to worry about him. He grins and releases the wards over the door using the talisman with an unseen crackle of energy.]