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ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇss ᴏғ ᴘʀᴇsᴛɪᴅɪɢɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ (cigam) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2017-05-06 22:50:00

Entry tags:

!complete, presto, zatanna zatara

WHO: Zatanna and Presto
WHAT: Zatanna comes by to check on Presto’s magical amusement park car
WHEN: The day after this conversation
WARNINGS: None!
STATUS: Closed and Complete when posted

Presto was unsure, and a little nervous as he sat in the entrance hall of his house. It was more likely to say that it was his family home, as he had only owned it for a year, and had it not belonged to his family, would not have wanted such a big house. But since it was, he had kept the oddball, made several hundred years ago and it looked it, house.

It had three bedrooms, four and a half baths, a large kitchen and garage, a large dining room, and several rooms that Presto had no real idea what they were for. Two of those he had repurposed into a library and a magic room. In that room, in a safe, his magic hat of power sat, as warded as he could make it. And behind the house… there sat the amusement park ride. A thing that scared him just to look at it.

He shook his head as he banished the thought and concentrated, once more, on trying not to be nervous about Zatanna’s visit.

He was sure it would be alright, and he was probably worrying about nothing, but he was hoping the mistress of magic could help.

***

Checking out magical artifacts, studying them, research - this was what Zatanna did. It was her actual job with the Agency, yes, but it was also more than a simple career. Magic was very much in her blood, literally, and she couldn’t picture herself doing anything else - she’d moved to Orange County to start fresh, to begin anew, and after a stint doing her stage act at a casino she’d branched out to bigger and better things. Forming the Guild, a safe space, and even doing a little teaching - that was far better than traveling from show to show, never really putting down roots, at least in her opinion.

So it was really no big deal to visit Presto and see what the deal with this amusement park ride was. Given the nature of his dreams, the ‘gift’ from another life had to be magic too - less mystical, she thought, but definitely something. Power, perhaps , and a strong one at that.

She quite literally appeared on his front doorstep, a shift in the energy around the space as her only notice of arrival - and she rang the bell, waiting for him to answer.

***

Presto opened the door, smiling nervously, and nodding to her. “Hello, Ma-er, Zatanna. Come in, please?” He stepped aside to let her in, and nibbled one lip as he did so. At the far back of the main area was the door to the backyard, next to which were several bookshelves, hastily pushed away from where they had been, which was blocking the door.

He had just pretty much abandoned it when the car/ride arrived.

“Can I get you a drink?”

***

“No, I’m fine, but thank you,” Zatanna smiled kindly. She would help ease Presto’s concerns, at least a little - she’d do whatever possible to help. There were no top hats or tails for her today (quite a change from when they’d first met, she realized) but she was dressed for work - professional, yet comfortable. Blazer with brass buttons, blouse, cropped trousers and heels - while she could still wear them without experiencing balance issues, or being top heavy thanks to a pregnancy belly.

And while she could still see her feet. But she still had a few months to go before she became the size of a small country, so, she’d enjoy those fleeting weeks.

Heading to the door, she gave the bookshelves a curious quirk of one black eyebrow and then glanced back at Presto. “Why don’t you start by telling me all you can about the ride? Your experiences with it in the dreams?” Carnival rides were so colorful - they invoked images of ferris wheels with twinkling lights, cotton candy, caramel corn, sweet tea and funnel cakes. They just brought out the kid in everyone, really.

But they could be sinister too. She would have to see what this one’s story happened to be.

***

“Okay.” He took a long breath, and he smiled, following her along, toward the back door. He was nervous, unsure, and a little scared. It had still just been a few months since he had started dreaming all of this mess, and he wasn’t too sure he was ready for anything. Even good things.

He shoved his thoughts aside and began to talk.

“We found it, at the amusement park that me and my friends were visiting. We were just out for some fun and we spotted a Dungeons and Dragons-themed ride. Well, we all played it and loved it, so we ran to get on board. But as soon as we entered the ride, inside the like, mountain sized mockup, it all got twisty, and strange, and we were yanked into another world. We were tumbled to the ground, now in new clothing, and immediately attacked by a dragon with five heads.” He shuddered, thinking of the tattoo of Tiamat on his chest.

“Tiamat, a mad, crazy dragon being, who attacked us, and we ran. A strange being called us by new names, calling me the magic user, and giving me a hat. I somehow knew that I could pull out useful things from it and drew forth ropes that clung to the top of a cliff ahead of us, allowing us to scale it to get away from the dragon.”

Out of a pocket, he pulled the hat, which instantly unfolded, a tall green and pointed hat with a shimmering at the open end. He reached in and pulled out a key, which he used to unlock the back door.

“We never saw the ride again, there, in the Realm.”

He pushed the door open, revealing a backyard that was overgrown with weeds, except for where the ride was, It was a string of three cars, which was covered in pictures of dragons and characters from the Dungeons and Dragons game. Where the ride touched the ground, nothing grew, and none of the weeds touched its side.

“I didn’t see it again until it showed up here, a month or two ago.”

***

“Fascinating,” Zatanna murmured as she stepped closer, studying the caricatures adorning the ride. Dragons, of course she recognized those - they stood for many things, depending on culture. Vast differences between East and West viewpoints. “Europeans consider dragons to be fearsome creatures but in many Asian countries, they’re regarded as benevolent. And can bring good luck to those who are worthy.” She tilted her head a bit, thinking. “Tiamat was also a goddess - related to your Tiamat, somehow, maybe? She symbolized chaos and creation.”

Either way, this ride deserved a look-over. She could understand why Presto was so cautious. Being that magic sang to her blood, was so intricately woven into her being, she was able to sense it even in the fabric of reality around them - she was able to sense power.

Which she picked up on here as well, her hand extended - not touching the ride, but just feeling what was radiating from it. “I’m getting a sense of neutrality from it,” she said. “It’s not particularly good, but it’s not evil either. It just...is. It does what it was created to do and nothing more. I assume as long as you don’t get inside, it won’t do anything to you or anyone else.”

***

Presto waited, watching, feeling nervous, unsure, and worrying, just a little. But her prognostication came back and he sighed with relief. “Thank you, so much!” He blew out a long breath, then hmmed and turned to her.

“I don’t suppose you know anyone good at moving things without touching them? I have a warehouse that is warded to a fare-thee-well, but my magic isn’t trained enough to use a large object teleport yet. And I have no idea if that would be safe, so.”

He nodded, and looked to her, hopefully.

***

“Oh, that’s no trouble. I can do that for you right now,” Zatanna assured - she’d recently teleported a wedding party and guests across the country to Miami, Florida. In groups, of course, but it had gone smoothly. She’d been in the early stages of her pregnancy then, not knowing she was expecting so she’d been too sick to bring everyone back - but Constantine had taken care of it then, and he was just as capable.

However, she was feeling fine now and there was no reason she couldn’t help Presto out. “Where exactly is the warehouse? My magic is channeled through words - “ Backward-speak, to be more specific; sometimes it sounded creepy, she was aware, “...so the more specific I can be, the better.”

***

Presto brightened. “Really? Awesome!” He bounced on his feet, grinning, eyes dancing with the happiness of that simple idea. He would soon not have this thing here. Thank the gods.

“I can do better than telling you. I can show you. Follow me, please.”

He led the way back into the hall, and to a door in the wall. He pressed a hand against it, and it hummed, then clicked as the lock released. Opening it revealed a small alcove, out of which slid a standing desk with a computer on it, the monitor of which flicked on. He tapped at the keyboard, then spoke. “Computer, show the Riverside Warehouse facility, three views. Outside from above, outside from street front, and inside, main room 7.”

The monitor flickered, then cleared and three views showed up. The first showed a view of a building from a view above, some girders closer by showing in the view as it revealed a large square building surrounded by other buildings.

The second showed a view of a building with the address clearly in view. And the third showed a large room, runes glowing on the floor, a lot of them. Presto nodded. “There, please, if you can? It’s as heavily warded as I can make it, for containment. Wards are the one thing I can apparently do in my sleep.”

He stepped out of the way so she could see clearly.

***

“Wow. Now that’s amazing,” Zatanna breathed, watching with delight as Presto worked the computer - it seemed highly advanced, highly technological. Not to mention the ‘secret passage’ in his home; she had to wonder if this place held more secrets, more nooks and crannies and other wondrous things. “You developed this yourself?” If so, she was very impressed. Hell, she was impressed regardless. He was a lot more grown up than his age would suggest, yet had still maintained a sort of innocence that was refreshing.

But alright, moving the theme park ride. Now that she had a clear picture, that would be a lot easier. Focusing on the room with the runes, she nodded assent, closing her eyes. Words were important with her magic but so was intent. She knew where she wanted the object to go, she could see it in front of her and in her mind’s eye.

“Emoh edir taht bgirb,” she commanded, and the atmosphere changed - a ripple and shimmer, extending outward, and then when she opened her eyes she hoped she would indeed see the ride in its new home.

***

“I did, before I started dreaming. I’m a computer engineer. I love using technology to it’s fullest to enhance life. Not replace work, you know, but to enhance it. We develop tools, and I think we should be able to use them for what they are good for.” He didn’t spread a lot of those tools around, because he knew a lot of people feared what tech could do. But why not make his home fun?

He stared in wonder as she moved the ride, and his eyes went wide and then he clapped, cheering, before blushing bright red at his outburst. “That was amazing! You are so cool!”

He bounced in his step and grinned widely at her, eyes full of wonder. Yeah, he could do magic, but it was still new to him, still wondrous, and she obviously had skills. Yes!

***

Well, she didn’t know about cool - that word wasn’t usually used to describe Zatanna, not by those she usually hung around with - but she would take it. There was a distinct sensation of relief when she noticed that the room meant for the ride was now occupied, which meant it had been transported safely. Everything seemed fine, nothing was off - and she felt fine too, not too fatigued from that latest demonstration of magic.

“I try,” she chuckled with delight. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

***

Presto, however, knew she was cool. He was grinning at her. She was impressive.

He nodded to her.“That was the best thing ever. I’m mentoring under Vanessa Ives, but I would love to learn more about your magic sometime, ah, if that is okay?” He waved a hand.

“Sometime or other.” He did not want to be a bother.

***

“Ah, yes, I know Vanessa. She is also a divination expert,” Zatanna smiled - tarot and tea were this Mistress of Magic’s specialties, but she sometimes utilized mirror scrying or the ever-cliched crystal balls as well. Crystals in general, she was always fascinated by. Those and runes.

She thought about what else she could teach Presto, since he was learning divination from another source. He also seemed skilled with sleight of hand and stage show tricks. Zee, of course, believed in a well-rounded magical education. “We can set up some times at the Guild for us to meet, and I can tell you more about my magic? If there’s anything else specific you want to learn too, I can give you some pointers. We can also try something new besides spellwork - potions or alchemy or just a general knowledge of occultism, that sort of thing.” There were a few infamous alchemists branching off of her family tree, so she liked studying areas that paid homage to them.

***

Presto brightened and nodded. “Yeah. That’s how I met her the first time. She did a reading on me.” One that had ended with him breaking down a bit, but that was neither here nor there. Vanessa had taken him under her wing and he was enjoying learning and slowly getting stronger.

“I’d like, thank you.” He smiled. “Those all sound really cool. I feel like I should try to learn a little bit of everything. My dream self knows more than me, but my… powers are not yet… stable. And I don’t know how much will translate the same to here, you know?”

***

In Zee’s opinion, learning a little bit of everything was wise - it may seem daunting, but you didn’t want to have a niche in just one area and then be out of luck when something else popped up. The Guild was good for that - those who joined would find themselves with plenty of learning opportunities at their disposal, and that the goal she’d had in mind.

“Mastery of control does not come overnight,” she said. “I was very unstable with my own magic at first but then it just sort of...becomes a part of you. You slip into it like a second skin.”

After a few dozen mistakes, of course. Maybe more.

***

Presto nodded. “I am learning that. I can do wards fairly okay, and one person or two person teleports alright. But anything else is come and go, and unreliable. I am ready and willing to take the time it takes to do this right. I just went on a break from school, and i think I might make it an official hiatus. I want to learn what this gift is that has been given to me, and figure out how much of my life it is going to occupy.” He nodded again.

“Thank you again for your help, with all of this. It means a lot.”

***

“That seems wise. When the time is right, you will go back to school - or take a whole different path in your life entirely. The future is never set in stone,” Zee spoke gently, and placed her hand on Presto’s shoulder to give it an encouraging squeeze.

She was glad that she’d come over, and that she could help him. Magic users helping other magic users - oh, what a lovely thing it was.

***

Presto smiled. “You're pretty smart. Thank you. If I can ever help you, at all, please let me know.”

He liked this life he was living and he hoped to keep living it.

***