02 | text

[pajarita]

well, i've been working on the thermostats problem for a day now and the bad news is: it's not heating, and the worse news is: it doesn't act like anything that's broken

and before anyone thinks of calling it 'magic' -- don't. it hasn't been long enough for me to stop being cynical

also, it's cold and i'm not in the mood

Comments

[carjacked]

I've got good news and bad news.
The good news is it's definitely not magic

[pajarita]

that's the good news

[carjacked]

that was the good news

[pajarita]

and the bad news is there's no magic

[carjacked]

actually the bad news is I was screwing with you, it's probably definitely a magic problem.

[pajarita]

i have no words, jackass

2/2

[pajarita]

just like you've got no magic

nothing happened you're drunk

[carjacked]

okay, okay, sorry.
but listen, for real, I can prove it this time. I can show you, if you give me like five minutes

your face is drunk

[pajarita]

i'm curious and bored, make it good

YOUR face is FACE

[carjacked]

meet me in front of the lobby fire in like five minutes

[ He'll already be there along with the remains of a broken chair. ]

indeed it IS

[pajarita]

[SIGH fine look at this, someone got her to leave the room and it's not octavia blake and the power of 'come on raven stop being an ass'. not sitting in one place makes you not feel like you're freezing your ass off.

so it takes her about ten minutes to get downstairs, because stairs, but there she is. jacket zipped up to the top and hands stuffed in her pockets as soon as she can handle not grabbing the railing.]

A broken chair. That's magical.

blam booya

[carjacked]

[ He huffs something of a laugh at her sarcasm, because woah calm down there Emma Jr. ]

No kidding. Wait 'til you see the finale. Just- wait right there.

[ He informs her kindly. He's learned that the furniture's apparently fireproof, but that's fine. He takes the leg of one of the chairs, and sticks whole pieces of paper to the very end. Probably a good seven or eight pieces, all wrapped sticking up from the tip of this chair leg.

He takes some of the shredded fabric and wraps it around the paper a couple dozen times, tying the pieces securely to the leg, and in no time at all he's got a nice homemade torch.

He holds it up for her inspection, just for a quick second, because whatever, she gets the point. Sticks it in the fire until it starts to catch, and pulls it out still burning and alight. ]

Now, watch this.

[ He stands up, strides passed her toward the stairs. The torch seems fine as he crosses the lobby, burning brightly, but as soon as he's on step number one the torch fizzles, then dies.

For no apparent reason.

He shoots her a look that clearly says explain THAT, smartass. ]

[pajarita]

[that's princess emma jr. to you, though.

she watches, standing to the side, as he makes a torch. as he walks to the stairs. tries to burn the stairs. fails to burn the stairs.

oh god.]

You were ready to burn the stupid stairs just to prove magic is real.

[carjacked]

[ That time she doesn't get a laugh, only an annoyed expression. She's missing the whole point here. ]

I'm not burning the stairs, lady, I'm-

[ He huffs, gesturing vaguely with his flameless torch. ]

You can't take the fire out of the room, is what I'm trying to show you. You burn paper, wood, a shirt, whatever, it fizzles as soon as you leave this room. I bet you five hundred dollars you can't get a flame up those stairs. A million dollars. Hell, I'll give you my blankets if you can get something to burn on step number one.

[pajarita]

[oh, he mad. and she's smirking, apparently because she likes to make men mad.

but it doesn't last forever, because his theory calls forth her attention, and she frowns before walking over and taking the makeshift torch out of his hand. she sniffs it, trying to detect whether or not the wood's coated in anything. she can only smell burnt paper, unfortunately.]

You really want to make me believe in magic.

[carjacked]

[ He's not mad, he's just proving a point. He holds up the torch in full smell-range, hell, he'll even give it to her if she wants, because... ]

I want you to believe the truth.

[ He says earnestly, sincerely, meeting her eye. She seems smart, she seems like she might be incredibly useful in finding a way outta here, but she can only do that if she's operating with all the information. If she factors in all the possibilities. ]

Try it yourself. Go 'head.

[pajarita]

[that's a nice gesture from a practical stranger. believe the truth. she meets his eye, silent for a moment, before nodding. lips pressed together, she takes the torch and heads for the fireplace to light it up again.

there are more exits than the stairs, she's going to try and see if heading out of the area elsewhere has the same results.

shocker: it does.]

Okay. [now she's looking at the ceiling, looking for some high power vents. when she sees nothing, she tries wetting her finger to see if she feels any sort of draft, but still nothing.]

[carjacked]

[ He watches her with his arms crossed, with his head ducked, with his brow furrowed, eyes gazing up in keen interest through his lashes. He shifts from foot to foot at every new exit she tries, patiently waiting for her to exhaust all possibilities.

There's no drafts. No sprinkler system, no trick to the wood, no trick to the paper, no oxygen vacuum. There's nothing, no scientific explanation for why fire can't leave the lobby.

Several attempts and minutes later, he finally speaks up. ]

There's nothing you can do. It won't work. There's no reason, other than that whoever summoned us here, whoever trapped us here, doesn't want us to be able to do it. It's a spell, it's why your thermostat's fine but the heat's not coming on. S'not broken. It's crappy, but it's the truth.

[pajarita]

[it's so crappy. she has to make peace with the idea of magic.]

I thought my first experience with magic would be different. Back when I hoped it was real.