InsaneJournal

Who: Presto and Tas
What: Presto shows Tas magic!
When: recently
Where: Some float shop
Rating/Warning: Squeaky clean
Status: Complete



Tas could barely contain how excited he was to meet the young magician he’d talked to on the Network. Despite the fact that he dreamed of magic, and the fact that his roommate was a powerful wizard, magic still had yet to lose its wonder for Tas. Chances were, it never would.

He’d ordered himself a float, grape pop with vanilla ice cream (yum!), and had paid for Presto’s as well. He took a long sip through the straw, looking at Presto from across the table. “So! What all can you do? Could you make the table disappear? That would be so exciting! Though, maybe you should give us some warning before you do that so we don’t drop our floats.”

***

“If I had the right tools and had prepared, sure. “ Presto grinned as he took a sip of his float, which was odd, but good! He cleared his throat.

“I could also make it just look like it had vanished, but, again, prep time is needed.” He chuckled. “Most good magic needs a lot of preparation. it doesn’t just happen without that.” Presto felt that he had experienced this conversation before. A lot of people thought that magic was instant, and Presto had never experienced that.

***

Tas frowned, slightly disappointed. Raistlin could probably make the table disappear just by snapping his fingers. But then, he had known that Presto’s magic probably didn’t hold a candle to Raistlin’s. He’d never figured out how stage magicians managed the magic they did (because obviously, pulling rabbits out of hats and coins out of ears required real magic), but even he knew Raistlin’s magic was different. “Oh. Well, what can you do?”

***

Presto smiled, seeing the disappointment. He hated to tell people that stage magic wasn’t real. They always made that face. He sighed. It sucked. He remembered being a kid and thinking magic was real, and this guy really had that childlike feel to him. Man.

Presto smiled and lifted a hand. “Well, this.” Presto had prepared a few cool tricks, setup with help from the coffee shop. There was a flash, bright and snappy, and a rush of sound, like a clash of bell tones, and then Presto was apparently no longer in his seat.

And in fact, with a silent grunt, he landed behind Tas, and tapped him on the shoulder. “How’s that?”

***

With a gasp, Tas spun around in his seat, eyes wide with wonder. “That was amazing!” He exclaimed. “That was way better than making the table disappear! I don’t think I know anyone who can teleport!” Not that he had teleported far, but teleportation was teleportation.

***

Presto opened his mouth, then shut it, grinning. Well, why not? If this man wanted to believe, it seemed cruel to disabuse him. “I like little things like this, things that use misdirection to make what is and what appears to be merge.”

He chuckled. “It’s kind of like writing computer code. It seems like gibberish, but the right code rearranges entire worlds full of data.”

***

“Oh, well, you’re very good at it,” Tas complimented him. “Do you do a lot of magic? Like, put on shows and have a whole bunch of people come to watch?” He frowned a little when Presto talked about computers though. “I’m not really a big computer fan. I really only use it to go on the Network. That doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as actual magic!”

***

“Thanks. And no. it’s just a hobby to me.” He shook his head. He didn’t like people staring.

And on Tas’s words, he smiled ruefully. “And see to me… computers are more fun, more exciting, than magic.”

***

“Oh, that’s too bad! I bet you’d make a lot of people happy if you put on a show! I could be your assistant if you wanted,” Tas said cheerily. His eyebrows furrowed together, his kender wrinkles appearing between them. He didn’t really understand how computers could be more interesting than magic of all things, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t willing to figure it out. “Why’s that?”

***

“I dunno about that. I’m not that good.” Presto blushed, but smiled.

“HM? Because I solve problems and create new hardware, and I can do things with computers that I’ve never seen done before, solve problems never solved, and it feels like… like what I imagine doing really powerful magic must feel like.”

***

Well, when he said it like that, Tas could certainly understand how it was exciting. “Oh! So it’s like you’re exploring something that no one else has before! That does sound exciting! I’m not really very good with computers, but I bet if I was figuring things out that no one else had done before, I’d think it felt like really powerful magic too. I like to make maps, and explore all the places people haven’t been before. But there really isn’t a whole lot of places to travel that people haven’t been to before.”

***

“Exactly.” Presto smiled, glad to have actually made it clear. He wasn’t, or hadn’t been, sure he was speaking clearly. So he was glad.

“Maps? That is cool! I like to look at maps sometimes, just to think about places far away.” He grinned. “Mostly thinking about how I could bring computers there or if computers would work differently there.”

Presto nodded. “Maybe someday you’ll find somewhere new.”

***

“Really? I have all sorts of maps I can show you! Ones I drew myself, and others that are hundreds of years old. I even have one that was drawn from Anaximander himself! He was the very first cartographer in the world, you know,” Tas said cheerfully. It really had been a great find. A street vendor had had it among his belongings, and when he spotted Tas eyeing the map he’d explained that it had come from Anaximander. And then he’d only charged Tas $100 for it! “But it would be really great to find somewhere that was completely uncharted! Maybe someday I can be the first person to draw a map of a place!”

***

“I’d be glad to look at some of them. I’m not the best of students, but I am sure some would be cool.” He grinned at the other man. “And No, I didn’t know that about Anaximander.”

Presto grinned. “Maybe someday you will be. After all, opportunity is ever out there, and chance favors the bold, and sometimes foolish.” He grinned again. “MY dad said that a lot when i was young.”

***

“Oh, that’s okay,” Tas said. “I’m not a very good student either. But you don’t need to be a good student to appreciate a good map. Really, I think being forced to learn about them would just take all the fun out of them.”

***

“Well, then maybe someday you can show me some.” Presto nodded. “Thanks for telling me about this place. This drink is awesome!” He would definitely be back, and he would definitely try this again!

***

“I would love to show you some! You should totally come over someday! You can just come over whenever you want you know, just drop on by. I always leave the door unlocked. Unless my roommate realizes it and locks the door. He doesn’t always like visitors, but if you tell him you’re my really good friend, I’m sure he won’t turn you into something small and slimy! I really like this place too! It’s not everywhere where you can get a purple ice cream float! I’ve tried almost all the flavours here so far and that’s by far the best.”

***

“I’d be glad to come over, and I’d be glad to see what you have.” Presto grinned. “But I will likely let you know first.” He nodded, wanting to not cause any problems.

“There might be other places that have such treasures.”

***

“Okay!” Tas said. “I’ll give you my number so that you can call me beforehand,” Tas said, Presto’s phone already in his hand so that he could add his number to his contacts. “And we should absolutely go exploring all the great soda shops around! I bet you’re right! Orange County has some really great food! Have you ever been to the food truck fair? They have one in Costa Mesa, and it’s wonderful! There’s all these people, and lots of snacks, and so many tasty new foods that I wouldn’t have even thought would all be in the same place!”

***

Presto stared as he saw his phone in Tas’s hand. How… ?

Now that was magic.

He smiled as he shook his head. “I haven’t yet, but I would be glad to check it out.” he grinned at the exuberant man. “Maybe we can go there sometime, if you’re up for company on the adventure.”

Maybe he would have fun, Presto thought. It could happen.

He extended his hand. “And if I can have my phone, I’ll text you so you will have my number in turn.”

***

“Adventures are always better if you have company,” Tas said. “Not that I haven’t gone on adventures by myself and had fun, but they’re always more entertaining when you have someone to share it with.” He handed over Presto’s phone without complaint.

***

Presto took his phone, amused, and texted a ‘Hi!’ to Tas, then nodded as he put his phone away. “I’ll call about that visit, and you call if you get any adventure ideas between now and then, okay?” He had a lot of school and work, so he knew he might not have time for a while, but still.. He was interested in how this would go.

Presto rose and nodded to the man. “See you around, Tas, and be safe.”

***

“That sounds wonderful!” Tas said cheerfully. As Presto made to leave, Tas waved eagerly. “See you, Presto! I’m so glad you got to show me your magic! It was really a lot of fun.” A lot of fun. He’d have to text Raistlin all about it once he saved Presto’s number to his phone. As it was, it was a great day, where he’d met yet another close friend in the OC. Maybe this whole settling down thing wasn’t so bad after all.