backyardbbq | Crybadger continued

[ Unfortunately, that is Luca's natural state: complaining.

He is also tired and hungry and not really in the mood to go scam some shady people. That will be tomorrow's endeavor. ]

No, one is fine. We will just have to share the bed, or get a second one somehow.

...ah. take turns , not share.

[Huh. He wasn't expecting Luca to agree to a single bedroom quite so easily. Ah well. Saves them money for sure.]

Weeell. Since I got the bed last night, seems only fair that it's your turn to enjoy a mattress now. [Also, they're technically using Luca's money to fund this place, considering it was his stuff they pawned. Cabanela doesn't mind taking the couch tonight- or most other nights. It looks very comfy.]

[Luca is still a bit iffy about it if only because he fully intends to find someone to sleep with during his time here, and if that person happens to not be Cabanela that could lead to awkward moments. Luca doesn't want to force someone to sleep in a bed that has been used for sex by two other people.

Though, given that the apartment is fully-furnished, that might still happen. Luca tries not to think about it.]

And we can trade off every day, too. Hopefully you do not mind if I do the cooking?

[Because after a week of crap food, Luca wants REAL food. Which he can make, fortunately, though learning how these new stoves work may take a moment.]

[Please. The first rule of the apartment will be that Luca doesn't get to bring any guys home for sex. There will be none of that in here. If Luca wants to get laid, he'll just have to go to the other guy's place or find a cheap motel room. ...Unless the other guy is Cabanela himself, but he's not banking on that right now.]

Not at aaall! [The less time he needs to spend on cooking, the better. Somehow he doesn't have the attention span for it and food ends up getting burned.] You handle the cooking, I'll handle the cleaning.

[Those rules suck, And Luca will say as much when it actually comes up.]

Sounds fair.

[And with that, they have a place to stay! And they can turn to more pressing matters.]

So, ready for your first lesson?

[Tough shit, Luca. When he joked about how people these days brag about their nighttime accomplishments, this is not what he meant. There's a difference between bragging and rubbing the explicit details in someone's face.

But yes. More pressing matters.]

Alreeeady? Don't you want to settle in first? [Maybe get some food for the fridge? And booze? He's willing to condone the presence of booze so long as they share their rations.]

[Give him some credit, he wouldn't do it while Cabanela was there. ~~unless Cabanela is the other person involved because then things are different.~~]

Well, yes, which is why I suggested starting.

[There is a small grocery store nearby, so they can get food and booze. Win-win! And that is the direction Luca will be heading in.]

The first thing you have to understand is that magic-users are always using their magic. They're not going to save it for some grand situation, they will be using it in any instance where not using it will be an inconvenience.

[He is so not following this train of logic.]

... Meeeaning?

...just keep walking and listen.

[He's not going to show off what he can do yet for an example.]

You have electricity in pretty much every building, yes? Electric lights, electric stoves, electric everything. That doors at the hotel even had electric locks. Now, is all of that necessary? No, humans have survived without electricity for centuries. In my time, electricity is a rare commodity reserved for the rich and for situations where it is absolutely necessary, and people still live normal lives. Everyone in this city could get by without electricity. But it would be inconvenient. You follow that, right?

[He's walking, he's walking! Though, by now his stride is back to its usual sashaying prance, so walking might not be the right word for it.]

Yeees, I follow that much, baby. So you're saying that if there are magic users around here, you'll see 'm using it for just about aaanything?

Exactly. So if you already know that magic has to be involved, looking at a crime scene won't be helpful. They will be careful to erase any traces there. But they will not bother in their everyday life, as they will forget the small details when they are not focused on covering their tracks. Much like how a criminal is careful to leave no traces of their presence in a crime scene, but does not bother concealing their presence when they are supposed to be somewhere anyway.

Makes sense, baby. Just one problem. Magic's not supposed to exist. The one guy who has something sooorta like it is selling his skills for a high price, so it's safe to assume we're not gonna run into any magicians out here in the streets. [...] Not the kind yooou're thinking of, anyway.

And we are unlikely to come face-to-face with a lion here on the street, but does that mean they do not exist?

[The walking is for food anyway, not magic. They need Hella groceries, and this gives them something to talk about. ]

[Wait, so the first lesson was 'magicians are easy to spot but we're probably not gonna run into any'? Hopefully the next lessons are a bit more helpful than that.]

Nooo, but at least lions can be found if you know where to look.

[No that was more about Cabanela insisting that magic-users are rare. In Luca's time lions are not seen outside of a few specific places, but they ate not as endangered as they are now, so the comparison made sense to him. ]

...right.

How about you describe what thus one man you know of can do, then?

[He doesn't respond immediately. First, he needs to instinctively glance around to make sure nobody's listening in. All of this is top secret. He really shouldn't be telling anyone about this.]

... Manipulation. That's what he calls it.

...well that is a pretty vague description that could cover pretty much any kind of magic. Did he specify what he manipulated, and how?

[Luca does not see the need for secrecy, magic is a very open topic in his world.]

People. [...] In a very physical, mind control sort of waaay. Apparently he can mess with objects too.

[Remember the very first time he asked about what sfeer theory could do? This is why.]

[Okay yeah that sure is a thing. Instantly Luca's mind flashes to the rumors he had overheard from soldiers at a bar, once they had returned from Valence after that messy political affair.

'Did you hear about that one solider? The one who inadvertently started the uprising?'

'I did actually, something about getting surrounded by Valencians?'

'Not only that, they say he turned his gun on himself during it.'

'Why would he do that? The city was crawling with soldiers, he could've been pulled out of there.'

'Well I heard that a sfeer may have been involved...'

Luca tries his best not to shudder at the memory. Poor man, he had deserved better than a death like that.]

...Ah. Such a thing is most certainly possible, but it would take an incredible amount of willpower to do so. If you are involved with someone like that, you really are 'messing with fire' so to speak.

[Incredible willpower, huh? Who even knows? He has no idea who the Manipulator really is.]

Yeah? I don't miiind getting burned if it means I get to pull my old friend out of the flames. [... Ah. And now he's outright admitted that the person he's trying to save is a good friend of his. Ah well.]

An old friend?

[That makes more sense then. The urgency in everything Cabanela has done, how serious he is taking all of this, the fact that he's even considering facing this manipulator rather than keeping a wide berth...of course a friend had to be involved.]

If I may ask, what happened, exactly?

[Sigh. Well, if he's already saying this much, he might as well spill the rest of the beans.]

Five years ago, his wife was shot. Right in front of his daughter. He says he's the one who pulled the trigger, but I knew riiight from the start it couldn't have been him. The Manipulator had a hand in it. That's why I've gotta catch that guy before it's too late.

How did you find out about this manipulator? Did he tell you?

Nooo, baby. Intel. I'm the head of Special Investigations for a reeeason. Any information that might be related to this guy makes it straight to my desk.

So he has been involved in more than one crime, then?

[Luca is no detective, and anything he can think of will probably be something Cabanela already thought of, but helping!]

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whoop whoop assuming things from canon

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