(no subject)

[no_love_potions]

[Just outside of every entrance to the Bay, new arrivals might find a magazine stand stacked with fliers, each one with a sign overhead saying "READ ME." On the flier itself is a message.]


DON'T PANIC
If you're reading this you've probably just woken up in a strange place and are very confused.
Welcome to the club.

What I can tell you is that you're safe, this isn't a trick, and, no, we don't know any way back yet. The packet you woke up with should give you more information and include some cash and an apartment key.

If you need help, give me a call on that communicator you got. Or you can come by my office in Everglade.



- Harry Dresden, Wizard.
Lost items found
Paranormal investigations
Consulting
Advice
Reasonable rates
No love potions, endless purses
Or other entertainment.

Comments

[Action]

[yesterdays_hero]

[Captain Hammer picks up a flier. Reads it. Chortles. And throws it away. A wizard. That's great. Probably some scrawny old man with a beard down to his toes and a pointy hat on his balding head.]

[Accidental Audio.]

[onecream_fivesugar]

[Ruby had picked up the flier on one of her trips out from the bay, but had never actually taken the time to read it. Now that she was a touch more settled she decided to actually look it over.]

Ooooooh. A wizard, that could be handy.

[She casually picked up the communicator and searched up his name, just to make sure it was there. She didn't actually mean to call him up, but her finger slipped and she pressed the button. When he answers, he might hear Ruby singing to herself in the background.]

♪ If you believe in magic
Come along with me
We'll dance until morning
'Til there's just you and me, and maybe
If the music is right
I'll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night
And we'll go out dancin', baby, then you'll see
How the magic's in the music and the music's in me ♪

[no_love_potions]

[It takes a little while for him to answer, mostly because... he hadn't expected to hear anything from anybody again. As far as he'd know, the city was silent.

He snaps out of it after a few seconds and quickly answers the call in time to catch Ruby's musical number.]

Huh. That's... actually a new one.

[no_love_potions]

[Hell's bells. Those cost money to print, man.]

[onecream_fivesugar]

♪ Yeah
Do you believe in magic, yeah
Believe in the magic of a young girl's sou- ♪

[Wait. Was that someone on the phone?

...Could someone hear what she was doing right now?

RED ALERT RED ALERT!

There's a click as she promptly ends the call.

...This was so embarrassing...]

[no_love_potions]

....

Hello? Hel--

[And that's when Harry looks at the communicator and sees the disconnected message.

Wait. She....

She hung up on him?!]

[onecream_fivesugar]

[It takes Ruby about half an hour to recover from her embarrassment. It's a much longer process without Yang to take her mind off of things.

When she does recover, she'll pick up the communicator again and give Harry another ring. When he does answer, before he has a chance to say anything she'll start talking.]

Hithere! Harrywasit?

I'mRubyandyoumayhavereceivedacallfrommeearlierandI'djustliketosaythatIamsosososorryforhanginguponyoubutIdidn'tactuallymeantocallyouitwasacompleteaccident.

IwasreadingthisflieranditsaidyouwereawizardandIthoughtthatwasreallyreallycoolandIstartedsingingsongsaboutmagic.

I'msorryI'msorryI'msosorryforcallingyouandhanginguponyou. It was an accident, it was an accident!

[no_love_potions]

[It takes Harry about that long to get moving anyway. He hadn't recognized the voice on the other side, which meant that new people were being brought in again, which meant the city was active. And that meant that Something Had Happened.

Somethings Happening was never a good thing in Harry's world.

So he's out on the street when Ruby's next call comes in.]

Hey--

[Holy crap, there she goes.]

Yea--

Um--

Oka--

[And after that he just gives up and lets her ramble it out until he catches a lull in the rapid-fire apology. Even so, he takes a second just to be sure and then....]

No harm done, kid.

[onecream_fivesugar]

[And she lets out the biggest sigh of relief.]

Really!? That's great. Well I'll let you get back to whatever wizardy things you have to do then!

[no_love_potions]

[Well, she sure bounces back quick.]

Hang on a second.

[Because even so, she sounds awfully young.]

Are you, uh... okay?

[Cause, y'know... strange place and all that.]

[onecream_fivesugar]

Me? Yeah, I'm great. Why wouldn't I be?

[There's a brief pause and then some whispering.]

It's not like I woke up in some weird place and have no idea if I'll ever see any of my friends except Jaune again. Oh man I have no idea what I'm doing...

Y-yeah, everything's great.

[Audio/Video]

[short_n_sweet]

[As per Raye's request, Jaune punches the number for this supposed wizard into his video phone, letting it ring.]

A wizard, huh? Wonder if he's like Ms. Goodwitch at all...

[no_love_potions]

[Harry's hearing is pretty good, so he catches most of that whispering.]

You need somebody to pick you up or something?

[Audio/Video]

[no_love_potions]

[Harry is nothing at all like Ms. Goodwitch. Honestly, she'd probably hate his guts.]

[But, wow, he's popular today. Maybe his fliers were finally working. He answers after a couple of rings.]

Dresden.

Re: [Audio/Video]

[short_n_sweet]

Dresden? What's that-- Oh, that's your name. Haha, of course that's your name!

[That's right, people spoke English around here.]

Uh, hey, a girl named Raye said I should talk to you because I'm new here. I just woke up in some cocoon thing and got my shoes all wet walking through the Bay to get to this city...

[He looks around.] Genessia? Looks normal enough... Anyway, uh... Where do I even start? This is all kinda nuts...

[onecream_fivesugar]

Uh... Uhmm... erm....

[She plays with the thought for awhile, not sure what to say. She eventually figures that if anything goes wrong with this guy, she can just beat him up with her scythe. But he has a flier? That means he must be alright, right?]

Y-yeah, sure. Why not?

[no_love_potions]

[They sure do, Jaune, they sure do.]

Yeah, whoever designed the Bay had a great sense of humor.

[He grunts a little.]

Aside from getting new shoes, the best place to start is probably finding your apartment. Got the address handy?

[no_love_potions]

[Harry's on the level, but props to Ruby for thinking that answer over. The kid's got a good head on her shoulders.]

[He doesn't know she's packing a giant scythe-rifle. Won't that be a surprise? Haha!]

I'm a few minutes away from the Bay. Are you still hanging out around there?

[short_n_sweet]

Oh, yeah, it was all laughs walking through there. I can't wait to do it again sometime. [Oh my, what sass.]

My... apartment? I don't remember the pamphlet saying anything about an apartment. I've got my necklace and my money and this neat phone...

[Oh God, did he get a key and drop it in the Bay? Please... please no.] ... Am I missing something?

[onecream_fivesugar]

No. I left a little while ago. I'm on-

[She looks around for a sign.]

Fifteenth? Just down the road from a diner.

Actually, I may have goofed up on the apartment thing. Whoops.

[no_love_potions]

[Oooh, nice sass, kid. Harry approves.]

No big deal, most of the places are pretty much empty anyway. We'll get you set up somewhere.

[Cause apparently that's what he does around here now.]

Re: Actually, I may have goofed up on the apartment thing. Whoops.

[short_n_sweet]

Really? Awesome! Well then, I just kinda parted ways with my friend for a bit so we could figure that out. I'm just at the entrance to the city, you know, just got in from the Bay. Not that I was afraid of getting lost or anything, but man this place seems big.

... And quiet.

[no_love_potions]

I know the place. Sit tight.

[And it's just a couple of minutes later when she can hear the sound of an approaching engine, and a big old truck rolls into view.

Said truck looks like it's seen better days too, which is another way of saying it looks beat to hell and just barely holding together.]

... You've got to be kidding me.

[Is basically Harry's reaction when he gets a good look at Ruby, specifically her outfit. He pulls up not far from her and looks out the truck window.]

... Pretty far off from grandmother's house, huh?

[onecream_fivesugar]

[Ruby was just by the corner, minding her own business when Harry's truck pulls up.

She makes a very confused face at his question.]

Uhmmm... Yeah, kind of like in a whole different world.

...You had a flier about that.

You are Harry, right? You sound a lot like him.

[She didn't get it.]

[no_love_potions]

[Quiet? He's had three whole conversations today, he's not sure how much more of this racket he can put up with.]

You get used to it, but if you're bored there's usually some kind of action going on in the other cities.

[And then at the mention of a friend....]

Is this friend of yours a little girl in a red cape?