Appointments

[redjacketthief]

This is the mailbox of your's truely, Arsene Lupin III. I take it that you've come here because you want to talk to me or make some kind of plan. Whatever it is, I'l gladly listen, but I need your name, date, time, and the best way to get back to you. Sorry I missed you, and I'll get back to you soon, okay?


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Comments

[quicktoanger]

"Well, what can I say, we're branching out."

I dropped the smile, frowning down at him- carefully avoiding eye contact, of course.

"Just tell me nobody stole it from you."

[redjacketthief]

Do you really think I'll let another thief steal off of me? I'm not the Greatest Thief of the Century for nothing!

[quicktoanger]

I chuckled.

"Fair enough, but I think John Marcone would disagree with that."

Also, I was pretty sure Molly could have snuck in, grabbed the jacket, and come back out without him even knowing, but I wasn't gonna say that. Partly because it was bad form, but mostly because it wasn't my place to talk about Molly's magic.

"So. How would I go about convincing you to part with it?"

[redjacketthief]

He's obviously never stolen Christ the Redeemer.

[Lupin grins.]

...that depends. How badly do you want it?

[quicktoanger]

"... Damn. Mine stole the Shroud of Turin, but that's pretty good."

I scowled.

"But yeah. That coat's pretty important to me. A gift from my ex-girlfriend. Mother of my daughter. Was going to marry her, before she got turned into a vampire."

I let that sink in for a moment, then added,

"You might say it has a little sentimental value."

[redjacketthief]

[Lupin didn't bother hiding his frown--he had come to like the jacket, in the twisted way that a thief likes a garment that he can't even fit into properly. The words don't pass over his head, however, and eventually he sighs heavily.

The door opens wider, but he still stands in the opening.]

Fine. What's in it for me?

[quicktoanger]

"... What do you want?"

I shrugged.

"I'm a wizard. Pretty good at enchantments and the like, not bad at raw spellwork. Could even set up some rudimentary wards, if I had something physical to focus it on?"

[redjacketthief]

...the last time I met a man who called himself a wizard, he levitated by setting up glass panes and shot fire from his hands with cleverly hidden flame throwers.

[That was back home, but even in Luceti the only wizard he encountered blew up his kitchen making candy.]

[quicktoanger]

"You live upstairs from Luke Skywalker, man."

[redjacketthief]

But he's a Jedi~

[quicktoanger]

"... Yeah, I can see how that's a little more realistic than a wizard"

[redjacketthief]

You try having the Malnosso screw with your world anchor and give you the memories of living and fighting alongside him one day. Seriously.

Shits kinda cool~

[quicktoanger]

"... Seriously? Are you talking about back in April? Because they stuck me in the freaking Napoleonic Wars. And made me kind of a wuss."

Well. Blackstone did apparently maintain the suicidally chivalrous tendencies.

Lucky me.

"Point is, with all of the crap you live with on a day-to-day basis, how can wizards possibly be the step too far? Wizards are practically normal compared to some of the stuff here. The Hulk lives here, for crying out loud."

[redjacketthief]

Hey, don't go dissing the Hulk--he and I are buddies now!

[Kinda. Shooting him at Third Party troops via trebuchet counts as friendship, right?]

I'm just saying that I've never met a real wizard that was still reasonable. When all you see is hacks in your world and a bunch of socially awkward people here, it doesn't make for good relations.]

[quicktoanger]

"You're friends with the Hulk?"

... Moving right along, then.

"Anyway, look, what would I have to do to prove it to you? Conjure a fireball? Read your aura? Gimme a for-instance, I'll see what I can do with it."

[redjacketthief]

...how about you pick? I have no idea what you can do.

[quicktoanger]

"I don't know what you'll believe. I've had people see me spew fireballs from the end of a staff, and they told me I did it with a hidden flamethrower. Hell, even people I saved from vampires insist that I just shot a gang member hopped up on PCP.",

I thought about it for a moment. Fire was too likely to cause property damage, without my blasting rod. Soulgaze would probably get the point across, but was... kind of personal, and not in a good way. Force effects might hurt the guy.

Which left one option. I held out my arms in a suitably dramatic pose, and intoned-

"Ventas"

A light breeze began to blow down the hall, and as I poured my will and power into the spell, the breeze became stronger, until soon a rather impressive wind was rushing down the hall, and through the thief's open door. My hair whipped across my face, and I had to admit, I wished I had the duster on just for the badass visual.

I'm a man of relatively few thrills. Sue me.

I lowered my arms and allowed the spell, and the winds, to fade.

"Well, what are the ratings from the judges?"

[redjacketthief]

Daisy can do the same with Filial Magic.

[It was Lupin's first thought, although he had to admit he was a little impressed by it. The coat was a bargaining chip now, and had value-he didn't want to lose it that quickly.]

[quicktoanger]

Oh, hell's bells.

"I don't trust those Filial spirits. Remind me a little too much of the Fae for my tastes."

Hmm. Well, hell, I wasn't intimately acquainted with the varieties of magic the Filial taught, but I tried to remember what I'd read about them. The four classical elements- though air had been split into wind and electricity, which seemed odd- plus light, and healing.

"Alright. Well, let's see... got any blunt objects? I could show you a shield."

Not my preferred demonstration, but I was low on options. As long as he stuck to blunt instruments and I saw the blow coming, I should be able to deflect it even without my shield bracelet.

[redjacketthief]

[Lupin doesn't know much about fae or filial spirits to know the difference, only that magic is magic and he doesn't understand. He eyes Harry carefully, curious, before pulling a long crowbar from a hiding place near the door and stepping through.

The door shuts behind him with a soft click, and he idly twirls the metal tool as a test of the space in the hall. He's grinning the entire time, honestly amused.]

Are you sure you can stand up to this? A crowbar's a crowbar.

[quicktoanger]

I grinned at him. Anybody who keeps a crowbar by the door gets points from me.

"Yeah. And I'm a wizard."

I focused on drawing power, focusing it into my hands, shaping my will into the spell. After a couple of seconds, I looked at the thief again, still grinning.

"Batter up."

[redjacketthief]

[Lupin's smile in return is sharp, a little giddy, He has no idea what it was that Harry just did, but anyone willing to take a crowbar barehanded deserves notice. He spreads his feet and adjusts his hands into a batter's stance.]

Aye aye!

[Swing!]

[quicktoanger]

"Riflettum!"

I spread out my hands in front of me and braced myself, and a hazy mist of swirling energies suddenly congealed into a transluscent partial sphere between them, catching the crowbar. There was a bright flash and a loud rush of magic discharge as sparks fell away from the shield I'd conjured, and then I let it drop.

"... Damn. I've gotten too used to the bracelet. Must half wasted half of that spell on all the light and noise."

[redjacketthief]

...That was pretty cool though!

[Even though he had no idea what it was that he just saw, and was as willing to blame the Malnosso as sleep deprivation. He smile turns a touch childish as he leans on the crowbar as if it were a cane.]

It looked like something out of Street Fighter.

[Even if he had terrible luck at the game, it was still damn fun.]

[quicktoanger]

"Never played it. But anyway, it's not the point."

Hmm. Well, hell. Here was a novel thought.

"What if I were to fix you a jacket with shielding charms on it?"