THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[Good morning, Titled.

Well, it's mostly a good morning. Those who are waking up in their bedrooms wake up to another boring morning. At least as boring as this place can allow, but even so, everything seems perfectly fine in that wing. Perfectly normal.

However, that feeling of normalcy might not stick around for too long. Especially as people start approaching the stairs going down to the food court...]

Comments

[incrediblystressedout]

Yeah...

...

He killed a bear, stuffed it, and built a grandfather clock into it. What even makes someone think to do something like that? That's putting-jelly-on-a-hot-dog levels of "what the heck?"

[theirmagic]

... That's AWFUL!

[ SHE OWNS A BEAR, of course it upsets her. ]

What kind of person would do such a thing?!

[incrediblystressedout]

His only redeeming quality is never being home and I'm pretty sure that actually makes him worse.

[She's downright glowering at her drink now.]

That kind of a person.

[theirmagic]

Well, you don't need him, Joey! You're strong on your own, and you have your sibling! Show him up and prove just how capable you are. You become a veterinarian and take care of animals and spite his terrible actions!

[ Oops passion time. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

...you do know how to tell a girl what she wants to hear, I'll say that. Thanks, Ursula.

That's the plan once I get out of here. And figure out the monster issues. And that weird snake door in my attic. And I guess turn 18 and wait for Jude to do the same? It's not like I can leave him alone there.

One thing at a time.

[theirmagic]

Good! Well, one thing at a time, I suppose. Since you're here, I can at least teach you something useful. Do you see these potion ingredients I have laid out here?

[incrediblystressedout]

Well, I don't know for sure what they are, but if you tell me they're potion ingredients, I'm not going to argue with you.

[theirmagic]

They're ingredients for a repair potion! I happened to be lucky enough to win it from one of the machines.

[ She puts a few things together, then reaches for her hip, but remembers YET AGAIN she doesn't have her wand. ]

Well... it should still work, even without my wand to enchant it. Probably.

[incrediblystressedout]

[This sounds like the setup for some explosive and/or gunky shenanigans that Joey isn't completely sure she's in the mood for, but on the other hand, what does she know about magic? Or alchemy? Aren't potions alchemy anyway...?]

So what all goes into this? Just put it into a pot and stir, top it off with wand-waving?

[theirmagic]

Sort of, but not exactly. You have to prepare the ingredients correctly.

[ She takes a handful of Frankinsence and puts it into the small pot. ]

It's actually not a large-scale recipe, this one. But it does use a lot of common herbs and a few magical things. You need fairy powder, for one. That's stuff you can only get at a magic item cafe or from mailorder or... well, from a fairy.

[incrediblystressedout]

I've definitely never seen any fairies. What are they like?

[theirmagic]

It... depends on the fairy, I suppose. Some are small fire spirits that keep the water in our school warm by munching up wood, others are actual janitorial workers like goblins or minotaurs or trolls. There's quite a wide range of them, really.

[incrediblystressedout]

Oh, so a fairy can be...any kind of monster, then?

[Also, fire fairies feeding themselves with wood sounds suspiciously like Just Actual Fire but Joey's not going to start an argument today.]

[theirmagic]

[ They have eyes and mouths, Joey, which she'd tell you if you asked. They also have arms. ]

Well, no, not quite. Not every monster is a fairy. Fairies are the only creatures that HAVE to survive off of magical energy, like, say, provided by the Sorcerer's Stone. It's why so many work at our academy, we have ready supply.

1997 is going to be a banner year for this entire family

[incrediblystressedout]

A school for witches, staffed by fairies, with a Sorcerer's Stone that can just...provide magical stuff there?

Man, my babysitter would be freaking out, this sounds so cool.

things LWA has also cribbed: the dude from pawn stars as a magic cafe owner

[theirmagic]

Yes, the Sorcerer's Stone is a conduit. It draws magical energy up from Yggdrasil's roots, the Arcturus Stream, so we can all use our magic. Without connection to this stream, often referred to as a Ley Line, we'd be incapable of any magic!

[ Little lesson for you there, Joey. ]

Of course, I'm sure your babysitter would probably find all of it interesting. It's a shame she didn't get to see any of Shiny Chariot's performances, they showcased best how magic can be used as spectacle but also to help.

[incrediblystressedout]

[That sure is a lot of Capitalized Words but she gets the general idea. It's an electrical transformer, but ~magical~.]

Magical performances would be pretty amazing...

[Hm. To tell, or not to tell.]

Actually...I have sort of been putting together like...a magic-themed dance show? Like obviously, not with real magic or anything, just sort of celebrating the idea? It was just kind of something to do at home, but talking to you's kind of been, uh...inspiring.

Sorry, this probably sounds really dumb and I'm not explaining it well...

[theirmagic]

... That would be wonderful! Oh, I would love to help you, Joey!

[ Wait that reaction was a little too earnest. She clears her throat, to dial it back a bit. ]

--I mean, if you'd like.

[incrediblystressedout]

I would absolutely like. I'd love, even! It's something I can do, like you're doing this potion stuff.

[theirmagic]

Oh, I could teach you a lot. I used to--er, my friend used to be a performer...

[ So, you know. ]

So I picked up on a few of her tricks. I'm sure I could help you.

[incrediblystressedout]

[Sure is an interesting stutter you picked up there, Ursula.]

Well, it'll be great to have choreography help from someone who knows about magic and dancing. Second-hand, that is.