|
   |
Reno was perched on the windowsill reading the newspaper smoothing out the page with one taloned foot. "Butcher shop owner… arrested for animal endangerment…Whyyyyy is this new news?" The crow sighed and shook his head. He's been returning with regularity, sometimes just to perch on stuff, or tell Strange what the people were up to, not that it was asked. "You missed it yesterday I got to see the ghost of this old lady possess someone log enough to slap her son and tell em like you mama raised you better than that.' and take off. Like he was a grown man, so I dunno if it makes it better or worse but I about fell off a bench watchin that go on. How's you? Earth blowin up t'day?"
Strange laughs quietly, watching the crow as he leans against the frame of the open window, his arms lightly crossed. In the usual dress-clothing — white button-down and black slacks, the first button undone at his throat — he's doing his best to "laze" about the Sanctum today…insomuch as that's possible for the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Nothing blowing up today, no," he replies to the crow, daring to reach out and riffle a fingertip through the plumage at the bird's chest. "Sounds entertaining, however, to see Karma extend her reach from beyond and into our world proper. I haven't encountered that precise scenario, but I enjoy the concept nonetheless."
Billy is over, for tea and just hanging out. Its a thing to do, hang out with pop. So he has a tea/honey combination that is, let's be honest here, leaning more heavily towards the honey then is fair for anyone at all. And so, the Kid Witch watches the crow talk to the Sorcerer Supreme, and he seems to be taking it all in stride. He only blinks a little bit. "Right, soooo,… dad, you have crow friends." is what he takes from this conversation so far.
Reno picked up his feathered head looking from Strange to Billy and back to teh Man-in-Charge tilting a bit blinking and ruffling the wings. "Awww You know more crows? You'll have to introduce me." Looking back to Billy the bird withthe Harlem Spanish accent admitted, "I consider em a friend. Trus' me he need em too. He got some long days lemme tell you but, hey! The world not blowin up today is a good start. Uhhhhh, gracias?" He hedged the bet here. 20 liklihood ya know some primordial threat might have been adverted. That's a plus.
The Sorcerer looks away from the corvid to his son and smiles knowingly.
"Yes, Billy, I have friends and connections in places that even you may not consider. Never underestimate the ability to receive news as fast as it can fly." Ooh, not only the Master of the most Mystically locked-down house in town, but a spymaster to boot. He's known as the cosmic chess player for a good reason, it appears.
To Reno, he replies, "I know a few, yes, but none have the power to shift between forms as you do, Cordova. They are as they were born, purely animal through and through." He offers out a forearm, in case the crow wishes to rest his wings. "More tea, I think. Would you like anything?" He asks of Reno, his gaze turning towards the kitchen and back. "I believe there is a leftover scone from the last run I did to the local bakery. Wanda won't mind if it's eaten. Billy, anything for you?" He turns his attention to his son, brows lifted.
"Huh." Billy in all his great wisdom reduces his mild dismay over a conversation with a crow down to that one word. He lifts a hand and waves it at the offer, "No, no, I'm good." He sips his tea, remarking, "For my part, I'm not aware of any world blowing up events myself, either. Which is good because I have a date with my boyfriend later. The last date we had a dinosaur tried to eat us, which is not what I'm considering an ideal outcome, really." He shrugs helplessly, what are you to do?
Reno shifted from one foot to the other considering that and looked up with that hopeful expectant bird look that read: Food? "Aw man, if she won't be upset that'd be great!" He was still standing on the newspaper so it didn't fly out and litter the street before he did the crossword.
"Awww that sounds like a terrible date man. You guys should grab a bite to eat, not like be the bite to eat. I been there… once… " He paused and the wings …shrugged? They adjusted. "I got a habit of indroducing people I like to people I think tehy'll like. Mi primo keep sayin Reno, stop that,but ya know I like seein people happy. Is a thing. This um, this dinosaur ain't still walkin around is it?"
"I rather thought the same, on having a bite verses being a bite." agrees Billy easily enough, "Introducing people's great, I think. I'm Billy, by the way." Pause, "Which you probably heard from dad but that's an actual introduction now." He half-shrugs and sips his tea, "No, no. Said aforementioned boyfriend punched it to bits, this other lady took the little girl that caused it to, well, be a living dinosaur instead of a statue, well, off of said dinosaur and gave little girl back to her mother. Don't worry, I put a magical beacon on her and will be doing a followup."
Reno hop-turned to look to Billy. and listened. Hey to be fair he was about as good at listening as he was at talking. "Woah, I never dated no one that could punch a dinosaur in to bitty pieces man." Oh yeah greetings. "RIght right. Reno Cordova. Hairdresser. I, ya know, ain't a wizard, but, ya know, sometimes I get transported to other dimnesions when they need like help and stuff, or they got a problem with split ends. That happened once. Nice guy too. Hey is it true the better at wizarding you are the longer your beard gets cause the guy that summoned me looked damn close to bein like father time." Oh look at that, Strange person with scone makes chatty bird stop chatting. Oh and there was the hophop damnce. He might be able to switch back and forth but the instincts were all ingrained there. "So why's a lil girl makin dinos to eat people? Anyone look into this? That seems unsafe."
Returning from the kitchen, Strange walks in to hear…dinosaurs. A little grin crosses his face before host-like formality takes over. His actions, however, are tempered with the familiarity of being amongst knowns — family and friends. The small plate, showcasing a rather nicely-iced orange-poppy seed scone, is set beside Reno on the windowsill, its weight aiding in keeping the newspaper from being lofted away on the wind. Now the crow can potentially focus on food and not avoiding littering.
"So that's what all the fuss was about at the museum. I heard titters about the dinosaurs being…more life-like than expected. I presume it was all handled?" He asks this of Billy, definitely with the minor inflection of the Dad Voice.
"You're a hairdressing crow." Billy squints at the crow, considering this, and he shrugs. Okay. Sure. Why not. "As to why, I don't know. I'm not sure she did it, per se, but there was a residual magic signature around her after the dinosaur turned back into a you know, not live dinosaur. She was riding it while it tried to eat people." He n ods to Strange, "I put a magical tracker on her before her mom took her home— it was too crowded to look into closely at the time— I plan on following up this afternoon." He looks back to Reno and grins, dimples showing, "Strangely, apparently, there is no direct connection between wizarding power and beard length *or* pointiness of hats. Who knew? Crazy, isn't it?"
Reno preeeeeeeened owrrying slightly less about the little girl and far more giding his buddy bird praises by fluffing up. One clawed foot stamped on it while he beak-bit a tthe scone. Once his mouth full his head tilted up at an angle, "Nah man, I ain' always a bird, ddue. Be relly hard to use scissors. The loops are too big or like if they had lil ones, like really lil, it'd take me like all day. That won't pay teh rent." He ate. He was happy. He stopped looking from Billy to Strange- "What? Capey doesn't get to have an accessory mate? They cheated you outta a pointy hat I'd call the guy-lady-person in charge of magic sprinkles and stuff to say i'm adding I earned a pointy hat' to my rider. Maybe like to keep teh cape company." To Billy there was comisseration, "THaaaaat's rough man. But hey, saves you on needing to grow a beard like right now."
Strange nods to Billy even as he walks over to his half-dismissed cup of tea, a deep green blend with citrus notes today.
"If you find anything particularly abnormal in your inquiries, Billy, do let me know." The emphasis is necessary; after all, what is normal in their world of magic and Mysticism?
But of beards and pointy hats…? He idly draws a finger down one half of his goatee, jumping the dimple as he checks just how precise it feels. Yep, still crisp and clean, exactly how Wanda prefers it. The Witchy waifu's opinions matter greatly in terms of this. "The Cloak does not require a companion," he says, looking over at Reno with a small smile, even as he pours a warmer into his cup. "And having worn a beard before, might I opine that they're itchy and give others the impression that you're a half-mad hermit, squirreling away your wisdoms and acting more inclined to curse someone rather than greet them on your doorstep. Besides. Wanda like the goatee." A playful defensiveness in tone there.
"Will do, pops." Billy agrees readily, nodding over to Strange before looking sympathetically back to Reno, "I know, the lack of pointy hat and long beard and instead going for this Elderly but not Old yet Suave look…" He gestures to his dad for emphasis, "…totally betrays the whole wizarding stereotype, doesn't it?" He tries to hide a grin behind his tea cup. He adds absently, "But no, no beards for _me_ for sure."
Reno stilled and stopped eating. The wing went out a bit forward and he said in all seriousness and concern, "Heeey, man, it's okay. Capey can have other friends too. You'll still be it's favourite wizard. A lot of us been through that feeling, but ya know, we're here for ya. Don't think of it as like your cape tryin to see other people. It wouldn't do that to you, right?" He was talking to the cape for affirmation expecting it to show up and hug him likely. Billy HAD a point though. "Hey, jefe, you ever wanna get the white out drop by Harlem. I hoo you up but ya know I think our man, Billy, is right here. It workin for you. Besides, Happy wife happy…. universe as we know it." In Wanda's case? yeah, he'll stand by that one.
"Your mother doesn't appear to be bothered by the silvering at my temples. They're a biological indicator of stress, not of age or stamina." Strange replies quietly…and the little sly curls at the corner of each side of his lips betray him. Clink-clink-clink, he stirs in another half-teaspoon of honey. "After all…you exist — and you're welcome," he adds magnanimously before sipping at his tea. The spoon is set aside on the tea tray. "But old? Tsk. Dignified, please." He settles into his highbacked chair with a sigh and lofts a brow in Reno's direction.
"I have no inclinations to change myself according to popular opinion. Ridding myself of it would be a vanity I have no inclination towards. The Cloak really isn't lonely, though, I assure you. It regularly entertains itself by interacting with the other relics upstairs. It even attempts to prank Wanda, as foolhardy as that is in general." Yes, imagine deliberately startling the Witch and getting away unscathed. "She adores it, so it gets an unusual immunity to her reactions. I admit jealousy." A soft laugh. "Last I attempted it, I ended up as the opposite sex. It was startling. Lesson learned." He snorts into his tea cup before enjoying another large sip. Mmm.
"Boobs _suck_." Billy says emphatically, rubbing at his chest a bit, "I don't know _how_ women put up with them." Is all Billy has to say about sex changes.