fandomtownies | The Magic Box, Saturday

"Do you mind?" Jenkins made a third attempt to get the front door to the Magic Box open, shoving it against the rump of a truly massive rabbit that had taken up residence on the sidewalk. "Look, I'm certain it's a perfectly nice spot to have a nap, but you're blocking my customers and I have truly had quite enough of being blocked today." His back door back to the Library, for instance, was cut off. It simply opened to the shop's broom closet, as it had before he'd taken over. And he couldn't reach Colonel Baird or Flynn or even — god help him — Ezekiel Jones on any of his various phones. "So —" He leaned his shoulder into the door and heaved. "— excuse —" The rabbit shifted its weight to its other hind leg, giving him no more than a handspan of extra space. "— ME!"

The rabbit hopped forward, clearing the door, and Jenkins went stumbling out into the street. He straightened, spent a precious moment adjusting his tie, and turned to face the rabbit with a faint, sarcastic bow. "Thank you."

The rabbit barreled into him, knocking him flat. When he sat back up, cracking his vertebrae back into place, it sat a few feet away, twitching its nose at him.

"Right," he said. "That's how it's going to be, is it?"

The rabbit charged him again. He sidestepped it like a matador, whipping his short sword from his jacket and neatly slicing through its carotid artery and nearly managing to get out of the spray fast enough not to ruin one of his favorite suits.

When it stopped twitching, he wiped his sword clean on its enormous fluffy tail and tucked it away again.

"I wonder if anyone on this island has a taste for a truly tremendous amount of rabbit stew. . . ."

[ooc: Open!]

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"You have people?" Parker looked curious, picking up the same crystal ball she had before, spinning it between her hands. "And yeah. I was just gonna check the weather, but the internet was down. Then I tried to call someone, and that didn't work, so..." Yeah. Hardison was not going to be happy at all about that. "This is kinda more random than most invasions, though."

"I'm not some sort of mad genius shut in," Jenkins said. "Well. Not anymore." His annex had filled right up a couple years ago, and he'd had to relearn a few people skills. "And . . . how do most invasions go, then?"

She seemed rather young to have experienced more than about three, in Jenkins' opinion.

"Hmm, well, usually we get warnings earlier in the week? Stuff going strange, or people noticing crap disappearing or something. Or a new person comes to town and is obviously Up To Something." She looked up at the ceiling, remembering. "Weird weather. People getting sick about mid-week? This, just on a Saturday, boom! bunnies is bizarre. I don't like it," she complained, sounding about twelve.

"Bizarre," Jenkins echoed. "You know, it's simply fascinating. Two weeks ago, you were turned into a man and mostly just grumpy that your center of balance had changed. Today we have some connectivity issues and a giant rabbit or two, and you're put right out."

"Stuff I'm expecting I can account for and plan for. Stuff I don't expect, that can make my people unhappy, makes me unhappy," Parker said soberly. She took the Mastermind thing very seriously, okay? Although his comment was now getting her thinking about how to turn those minuses into pluses. "You're taking this all really well too, for someone who hasn't been here very long. Do you do this in your own world too?"

"Slaughter enormous bunnies? Not particularly." Jenkins shrugged. "Investigate magical mysteries, now. That I do a few times a week."

"Hunh." Parker studied him a moment, then nodded. "Do you need anything to keep looking, that I can help out with? I'm good at getting stuff." Absently, she put a tarot card that she'd picked up back on the counter.

Knight of Swords. Jenkins gave Parker a curious side eye, then tucked the card away. "Have you been out and about much on the island today?" he asked. "Perhaps you can tell me what you've noticed."

"I was on the roofs, so. From our place over on Godiva to here." Parker paused, thinking it through, what she'd seen so far. "Four really giant bunnies, I mean, bigger than houses. They don't really seem to be doing anything other than wandering around, though. I'm not even sure they noticed all the people. And a whole bunch of person-sized rabbits being violent and stupid. Plus eggs eggs-sploding." Ha!

"Really. From the rabbits?"

Parker kind of shrugged, and nodded, playing with some of the other items on the counter as she thought it over. "Yeah, from what I could see, they were throwing them. Easter eggs. Pretty, but seriously?" She made a face.

"Interesting. So perhaps it's something to do with Ēostre. Or Cadbury. . . ."

"Are they messing with chocolate?!" Parker was horrified. "That's just wrong. And what was that first thing you said?"

In some indefinable way, Jenkins kind of reminded her of Nate. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because they were both smart and thought out loud without explaining all the jumps in logic.

"Ēostre. Germanic fertility goddess. The original reason why rabbits are associated with the Christian festival of Easter."

"If these are her bunnies, she needs to get them into a pen," Parker said, looking stern.

"Indeed, though I'd rather someone else do the asking. I make it a rule to avoid interacting with gods."

Apep had been irritating enough.

Parker gave this due consideration, then said, "Not it."

Because that sort of thing sounded like one of those stories that only Nate would enjoy telling. Probably from a hospital bed.

Jenkins nodded at her. "Indeed."

The Magic Box, Saturday

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