Who: John Constantine and Zatanna Zatara What: Elevator Shenanigans When: morning Where: in the elevator Warnings: TBD Status: closed, in progress, started in gdocs
Zatanna hadn't intended to go check out the elevators. But it only took a few long minutes for that magical sense to kick her in the teeth and pull her curiosity towards them. She was nothing if not curious when it came up anything with a hint of some magic. Zee threw black shorts on over fishnets and knee high boots, with a black corset, because it felt right to go check out magic in her usual outfit. She'd long since stopped hiding the scar on her arm, even drawing eyes to it with arm bands of twisted silver: one above, one below, framing the scar.
Zee opened a portal door to the building, stepping out just outside of the main doors. She knew who was there before she even finished stepping in the building.
A smile curled her lips, her tone downright wicked. “Constantine, I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not. Caught your curiosity, too, I see?” Her eyes drifted over him lazily, then over the paper by the elevators.
“I was bored.” Of course he was curious too because what the hell kind of thing was this? It sounded like some of the stupider of the urban legends out there. Of course some of the stupider urban legends tended to turn out to be true and they got a lot of people along the way.
“So I figure what the hell? Can’t be worse than daytime telly.” His gaze had glanced over her scar but his expression didn’t give away how he felt about it. Honestly he wasn’t sure how he felt about it, his emotions on the subject tended to change depending on the day and how long it had been since he’d had a cigarette. “Should have known you’d be here pushing buttons.”
*** Zatanna only gave him a look. “Of course you were.” she wasn’t surprised to hear that from him, it had been a quiet few months. Almost a quiet year, really, and she wasn’t sure how they’d gone that long without getting into some kind of trouble. That might have been a real record for either of them. She didn’t think she wanted to think about it too much.
“Nothing can be worse than daytime tv.” she deadpanned as she stepped up to the main doors, opening them so her and John could go inside. Zee brought attention to the scar, wore it rather proudly for reasons known only to her, but she ignored his glance at it. “Curiosity, plain and simply.” she admitted as she looked over the paper again. “Want to be curious with me?” a wry smile curled her lips upward, one eyebrow arched slightly.
It actually wasn’t a record with him. He’d had a few years here and there where he’d settled down with Kit or Dani and decided to have a normal life. Nights at the pub with friends, walks in the park, sometimes boring nights in watching telly together on the couch...but it always ended the same way, John back into the magic game and people hurt and dead.
Now in the last few years it was more of a record. He’d got to the point where the quiet life wasn’t much of a draw anymore.
“No, I don’t want to be curious with you.” Yes, he was just being a pain in the ass. “But I’ll watch you push buttons. That’ll be amusing enough for now.”
*** She rolled her eyes at him, “You want to push the buttons just as much as I do, you know.” she pushed the elevator call button, content for the moment to be the one to embrace the curiosity. Mostly because she knew he was just being a pain. She read over the directions, “Goodness this is really far too complicated for what they’re attempting.” she tapped her finger on the page.
“This could be easily done with about nine less steps.” she wrinkled her nose at the page, her eyes half narrowed in thought, though she heaved a sigh because playing along was the name of the game.
“Don’t critique it just push the buttons. Might be something more to it based on the location of the elevator and the interference of the dome or some stupid rot like that.” He wasn’t doing this without a cigarette so he blatantly ignored the whole laws about smoking inside and lit one up.
“I mean you can summon Bloody Mary without the mirror but so many people believe it now that it’s pretty much become an essential ingredient.” The elevator dinged when it hit their floor and the doors slid open. “After you luv.”
*** “Yeah, yeah, I know I know.” she rolled her eyes at him as she waited, then grinned at him lighting one up, that was expected and she only nodded. “That’s true. Though belief,” she shrugged a shoulder upwards, “It is a powerful thing, even if you don’t need it to get things done.” sometimes belief limited you in ways that curbed your natural talent.
Zee did not have that problem.
She slipped inside the elevator, looking at the paper once more, then looking up at him, grinning a bit. Her hand lifting to hover before the buttons. “You ready?” she was in a playful mood, mischievous almost.
John just believed that rules were meant to be broken and that there was always a loophole if you knew how to find it. It was a great way to always be one step ahead. But for other people too much belief tended to pigeon hole them with rules. He was okay with that mind you.
“When aren’t I ready?” He smirked at her and raised his brows waiting on her to push the first button. “I mean unless it’s for something boring. Then I’m never ready.”
*** She made her own rules. Ignored others. Followed the ones that suited her needs. He found loopholes, she made them. She felt the lack of creativity in the magic community was depressing but it did let the light shine on her.
“If it's boring, it'll be your fault.” She said as she depressed the first button, “I’ll blame you for that one.” The corners of her eyes crinkled as she grinned. It was not going to be boring because neither of them did boring.
"Well I'm blaming you if it's sparkly or has big cute eyes and fluffy fur." Neither of them really did that either but he was going for as annoying as he could get on the possibilities. Zee was not a fluffy bunny sort of person but since she was cute and did family friendly magic shows people tended to assume she was.
"Because you know it'll all be glitter and rhinestones with you pushing the buttons."