In a Bar [houdini plz?]tinybutfierceJune 16 2011, 05:09:31 UTC
It had been a hell of a week. Normally Karrin would get a drink in the hotel bar but she wanted to be alone or at least away from the usual people she might see. It's what had brought her to a small bar she had been to a few times with her fellow police offers after work, so it was comforting. She needed that right now because there were just so many things going wrong so quickly. She still hadn't come to terms with why she was even here to begin with.
She nursed the beer as she sat on the bar's edge, making sure her back was NOT to the door. Even though this place felt safe she knew that was nothing more than the familiarity talking. This place wasn't Mac's and therefore it wasn't protected by any accords. She sighed and took a swig of the beer, the puzzle pieces of the week rolling through her head and refusing to settle into a picture she was pleased with.
There was another man in the bar, but he had neither food nor drink in front of him. Instead, he was perusing through a set of papers, his mouth pressed into a solemn line.
After a few minutes Karrin realized something that had been bugging her for awhile. She looked down the bar at the man who had been there for awhile with several papers and no drink or food. It wasn't like the bar was loud or anything but it still seemed out of place. Now that she was looking at him she realized something else...it was one of the magicians from that meeting.
Karrin got up. She wasn't drunk, thank God, and walked with purpose over to him. Sitting a stool away from him, "I know it's not loud in here but isn't this place a little weird to be doing paper work?"
"Far quieter than a number of places I could name," Houdini replied coolly. "And less likely for someone to find me." He put down the piece of paper he had been looking over, suddenly looking too calm about Karrin's sudden appearance. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Depends. Are you planning on playing the mysterious wizard card? Because, honestly, I stopped tolerating that from Dresden a long time ago and I really don't want to play games any more." She'd gotten tired of games a long time ago as well. She decided not to be SO accusatory and rested her chin on her palm, "Granted, I think that's like asking a zebra to change it's stripes."
"It depends if I'm being interrogated," the wizard answered. He raised an eyebrow at her, his expression still unreadable. "And if the questions you're asking are even answerable."
"I left my handcuffs back at the hotel...not that it would stop YOU of course. But no, this isn't an interrogation."
She sighed, he had a point. He might not even be able to ANSWER her questions. "How about I ask and we see how far we get? For starters...how or why did you chose certain people? I mean, you have to know that not everyone here is in anyway prepared to fight the sort of being you all are saying we're up against."
He only nodded in acquiescence, turning back to his papers and marking across them in a fluid but minuscule print. He stopped briefly at her question, not looking up at her as a frown flashed across his face.
"Perhaps," he began, voice betraying nothing, "some philosopher may say that many of you were chosen for this battle, be it by your personalities or actions on your own worlds. But the truth is that we picked no one." He gestured absently with his pen. "The spell that brought you here was the result of a magic and an equation, nothing more."
Karrin's brow furrowed in concern, "So you left it up to chance who would save the multiverse? Isn't that a little risky?" She didn't understand magic and she had no idea what equation he was speaking of. There may have been a structure to it but as far as she could tell it sounded pretty arbitrary who was pulled here and who was not.
His frown deepened. "While a century may seem like a long time to study people and their motives, you'd be surprised by how quickly it goes. We tried to seek out the best people for the fight, but nothing is ever certain." He sat back in the booth, looking down at his notes as if willing the answer to pop out at him. "Do you think we 'picked' the wrong people?"
"I think you picked people who are in way over their heads. Sure, the majority of the people here can probably handle the vampires and fae and the like. But I've seen some of the things out there and I know it's only the tip of the iceberg...and the things I have seen have managed to hurt and nearly kill a man I care about. The fact that they can do that to him when I know the kind of power he packs is scary enough...but you've introduced mortals into this fight who have had no experience at all with it." Clare was the first to come to mind, but she knew there were others. Linkara may have had magic equipment, for example, but he was still only human. And then there were those ponies popping up who looked like they came from a world of sunshine and rainbows.
"This may not officially be my town but that doesn't mean I can just stand by and let people get hurt by those kinds of things."
"Are you saying that only those with power should have a chance to protect their worlds?" Houdini's words were quiet, serious. He tapped his pen against the papers in front of him in an off-rhythm. "Sure, the danger is great but it would be greater if she won. In hindsight, perhaps it won't be the strongest wizard who stops her but someone who because of their lack of powers saw something they may have overlooked."
Karrin considered that rebuttal for a moment. "No, I suppose not, especially since I imagine there are probably worlds out there with almost no supernatural or magic or anything remotely resembling what we’re dealing with." She took a drink, “But now you are getting rather philosophical on me. 'A single grain of rice can tip the scale' or 'The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few' or whatever. You have to admit though that using a magical or scientific formal and taking out the human's will to DECIDE to fight for their world is a little...I dunno...wrong? I understand the need for a draft, but even then people have signed up for it in a way and there are ways to opt out of it."
Houdini shook his head, frowning. "There's nothing philsophical about it. Just a simple truth about perception. Besides..." he looked down at this notes again, frustration evident in his tone, "I agree with you. If I had any choice in the matter, none of this would have happened. But there are worse alternatives."
"Like the end of everything as we know it," she supplied. She figured that was the worst scenario. She was a little surprised to hear Houdini agreed with her though. It did explain why he seemed so frustrated with his colleagues. He hadn't wanted this. The real question was, what had been HIS plan for preventing the destruction of several worlds.
"More or less. Where there should be answers, there aren't."
He suddenly stopped, hand clenching into a fist as if he wanted to say more, but physically couldn't. The moment quickly passed and he turned back to his notes, absently paging through the sheets of paper in front of him. "But we'll find out soon, regardless."
She nursed the beer as she sat on the bar's edge, making sure her back was NOT to the door. Even though this place felt safe she knew that was nothing more than the familiarity talking. This place wasn't Mac's and therefore it wasn't protected by any accords. She sighed and took a swig of the beer, the puzzle pieces of the week rolling through her head and refusing to settle into a picture she was pleased with.
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Karrin got up. She wasn't drunk, thank God, and walked with purpose over to him. Sitting a stool away from him, "I know it's not loud in here but isn't this place a little weird to be doing paper work?"
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She sighed, he had a point. He might not even be able to ANSWER her questions. "How about I ask and we see how far we get? For starters...how or why did you chose certain people? I mean, you have to know that not everyone here is in anyway prepared to fight the sort of being you all are saying we're up against."
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"Perhaps," he began, voice betraying nothing, "some philosopher may say that many of you were chosen for this battle, be it by your personalities or actions on your own worlds. But the truth is that we picked no one." He gestured absently with his pen. "The spell that brought you here was the result of a magic and an equation, nothing more."
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"This may not officially be my town but that doesn't mean I can just stand by and let people get hurt by those kinds of things."
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He suddenly stopped, hand clenching into a fist as if he wanted to say more, but physically couldn't. The moment quickly passed and he turned back to his notes, absently paging through the sheets of paper in front of him. "But we'll find out soon, regardless."
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