The Perk, late Thursday evening

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker had finally made it to Fandom, after another stop through a war zone, a city where everything was green, and then Milliways, where she had to explain she wasn't an entree.

Coffeeee. And then calling people to tell them she got here. Parker had called already Isabel. Given the squeak on the phone she figured she had about 8 minutes before the other girl turned up.


[open as a late-night coffee shop]

Comments

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Parker must have been seriously portal-lagged if she thought Isabel was going to be satisfied with a phone call.

Five minutes after getting the call, Isabel was racing through the door of the Perk.

Hopefully Parker was prepared for the tackle glomp.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Unf!" Parker put her coffee down, eyes bleary and barely focusing, and draped an arm around Isabel. "So, yeah. Hi."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You have no idea how freaking worried I have been about you," Isabel said as she stepped back and looked Parker over. "No offense, but you look a little rumpled."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"I haven't slept in-- God, I don't know how long. And the last couple stops I didn't even get to sit down, it was Standing Room Only." Parker leaned into Isabel, mouth drawing down in a yawn. "My shoes caught up with me in some Island place. I don't even know."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I can tell." Carefully Isabel steered Parker towards a seat. "Why don't we have some food then you can come back to Ronan's and crash for the night? I'm sure he won't mind."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Hmmmm. Is there room?" Parker said dubiously. "Food, oh, that would be nice. I should have made hotel reservations, but I had no idea when I'd get here after a while..."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"There's room at least for tonight. I don't know what the situation is at the hotel. You're probably better off to wait till the morning and then go talk to Mary." Isabel sincerely doubted Ronan would have an issue with Parker staying the night.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Mmmmmkay." Parker took a sip of her coffee, rubbing at her eyes. "Hot shower and hot food after sleep would be great." She took another sip of her drink. "Have you talked to Anders since he got here?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No, not yet. I've got to track him and the others down." Isabel took a moment to order a peppermint tea from the barista then sat across from Parker. "See them for myself and all that."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. I talked to him... I don't know. A day or so ago." Parker looked down at her drink. "Told him I talked to Zero. She's staying."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"She won't leave her family?" It made sense. Isabel wondered briefly if she would have chosen to stay with her family if she'd known Wyatt wouldn't be able to orb them to Fandom. "I tried calling Peter Parker. His number doesn't connect."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"She said the same thing." Parker leaned her head on her hand, feeling distant sadness for Peter. Hoping (even though she knew better) that it was just a connection problem. "And no. She won't. Two of her siblings already disappeared. She wasn't going to leave, knowing she was about to be an only child." Parker winced, thinking of Angelo. And Max and Michael. "It's getting too close to home."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

After waking up on the couch in the lounge (he really needed to find a place to stay), Trick made his way over to the Perk. Booze for breakfast, coffee in the evening--probably not the best way to be handling things, but Trick had spent all of Wednesday going over Portalocity's current customer service logs and, well, SOMETIMES BOOZE WAS A BREAKFAST FOOD.

Though even being a Fae did not prevent hangovers. Not for the first time, Trick wished his abilities ran more towards the physical end of things. Yes, technically, he had a few herbal concoctions that could help take the edge of, but there was a part of him that liked being miserable. If he was focusing on his headache, he wasn't thinking of the Dal, or vanishing worlds, or what the heck he'd signed on for when he agreed to help Dugal out.

After being handed his coffee, Tick made his way to a table and sat down. Being absorbed in the sweet, glorious caffeine, it could be understood that he didn't immediately recognize the woman he'd shared a steampunk waiting room with.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker was beyond sleep-deprived and into near-hallucinatory. But she lifted a cup in greeting to the newcomer. "You look familiar. Sort of."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

It took Trick a moment to return the salute. Sorry, Parker, but life-giving coffee here. "You do, too," he said. "Though I may be at that point where everyone does."

Live long enough and you started getting used to feelings of deja vu when meeting people. And in the last few days, he'd seen more humans than he had in years back home.

"But I think we must be mistaken. I am new to this fair isle." He stood to introduce himself. Old habits died hard. "I am Patrick Maccorieghan, though I usually go by Trick. A pleasure."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Parker. First name and middle name only for my friends," Parker told him. "I may be in the same boat. I haven't slept in a few days. Just got back in. Frakking portals sent me through an Escher painting."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

"You have been here before?" Trick asked, trying not to wince. The wince was half-sympathy, half a realization that he was so going to have to answer to people for these shenanigans. "Did you attend the school up on the hill?"

The bloody castle.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Class of 2007. Four years ago," Parker confirmed, smirking. "I come back sometimes for the alumni stuff, it's always amusing. Hard to find anybody else who understands this place outside of them. Are you a new teacher?" She cocked her head. "You poor bastard."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

Trick winced again, wondering how long her sympathy would remain. "Ahhh, no," he hedged, taking a drink of his coffee again. "Just opened a business in town. One that caters to students, or so I was told."

And quick, a distraction!

"Why do you need people to understand this place? A school is just a school, isn't it?"

Even one taught in a castle.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker's smirk deepened tiredly. "So, does your world have spaceships? Unicorns? Gremlins? Time travel? Spontaneous magic powers? Syrup rain?"

She was betting on some of the above, but not all of it.

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm afraid we find ourselves short on most of those things," Trick said, eliding over the ones they did have. "I take it that does not hold true for here?"

Hey, he was a Fae of great and impressive age who harnessed the power to alter reality in his blood and had taken more than a few portals to get here. Trick had no problems believing in nine impossible things before breakfast.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Pretty much," Parker said, taking another life-sustaining sip of coffee. "Not all at once, for the most part. But over time. Half of us go back to worlds that have 'none of the above'. Which makes coming back here a way to check our sanity, weirdly enough." She perched her chin on her hand and studied him. "So what's your story?"

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

Trick gave her his best 'bartender' smile. The one that suggested he was disarming and kind and of course interested in your story, want a refill? "I'm from Canada," he said with a shrug. "So I'm probably going to be boggling over your lack of moose and real maple syrup than your unicorns and spontaneous magic."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Mmm. And hot Mounties," Parker said with nostalgia. She studied him a moment, then decided, "You'll probably be a rather attractive woman." So, so sleep-deprived. Not actually trying to play 'break the newbie.' "At least this place is safe. Ish."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

"Uhhh, thank you?" Trick said, taking a moment to wonder what exactly was in her coffee. "I always did have lovely eyes."

Not even going to ask.

"You don't think it will stay that way?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Much smarter not to.

Parker rolled her eyes. "It's Fandom. The two years I was here, there were murderous zombies, vampires, trolls, killer snowmen, alien invasions, and floating monsters that wanted to cut out our hearts." She shook her head. "It may not disappear like so many other places, but safe? Pfftt."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

That list made Trick glad he'd packed his crossbow.

"Not to be rude, but I can't let that go without at least a token check to make sure you're not stringing me along."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker gave a hysterical, exhausted snicker. "Feel free. Check with the teachers. I went to school with a couple of them." She rubbed her head. "Still. Only a couple deaths in that time. I guess it's ... comparatively safe." Her face grew expressionless. "Safer for some students, definitely."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

Trick sighed and took a long drink. Mortals were such a frail lot and no Fae school would be free of its own deaths, but still. Younglings were to be protected as much as they could and knowing that there had indeed been some deaths meant that there were bad things that stalked even here.

"I sincerely hope this is not one of those times that will end in deaths," he said. "For anyone."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Yeeeah." Parker wondered if she should call Angel and Logan, and check in. The thought If Angelus was dead floated through her mind in search of something to connect with; instead it collided with I don't want them to die, damnit.

Which cascaded to Angelo, Zero, Jarod, her father... "Frak, I'm tired." She swallowed, then carefully said, "Sorry. I don't try to freak people out any more. I'm just. Portal-lagged. Worried."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

"I'm made of sterner stuff than I look," Trick assured her. "I'm not freaked out yet."

He hesitated, knowing that it wasn't his place, but...centuries of taking care of people was hard to ignore.

"Forgive an old man's bossiness, but you looktired." Probably going to get hit for that comment, but at least she wouldn't think he was trying to hit on her. "Do you have somewhere to crash tonight? My office has a lounge with a couch."

He would just...sleep under his desk or something. He was small, he could fold.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Good. It really is a good place, most of the time."

Surprised at the offer, Parker looked up from her coffee, face open for once, then smiled. "A friend is going to be here any minute, probably to bundle me in blankets. But that's very generous of you, all the same, Mr. Trick."

[nohattrick.livejournal.com]

"Ahhh, just Trick, if you please," Trick said. "Mr. Trick makes me sound like some bad cartoon villain."

Like Vex. Ugh.

"And I'm glad to at least make the offer. In appreciation for the head's up about gremlins and syrup rain, if nothing else."

With that, he finished his coffee and touched the brim of his hat. And old-fashioned gesture, but Trick had stopped trying to stay current with the times a few centuries ago. "Have a good night, Ms. Parker. I hope your friend arrives soon."

And that her concerns were unfounded. But not even Trick was a hopeful enough old fool to really believe in that.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Trick," Parker repeated, nodding. "Nice talking to you. Welcome to Fandom."