⇨ The Tourist Trap: PROLOGUE

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: Any time before the start of the event.
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: Once you've submitted your AU summary, you can use this post to do some CLOSED THREADING to play out some character interactions that happened before the event start. This means that memory regains will not be in play yet. Open top levels are not allowed - these threads are intended to sort out closed interactions between planned backstory connections, during the week leading up to the actual event start.
Warnings: Could be anything.

PORTLAND, AS YOU KNEW IT↴ The shift went unseen and unfelt. One moment you were one person, and the next, another. This before all that, though, in the new life that you remember living here in Portland. No memories of your true self have arisen yet, and at the time this was the only life you knew. Did these events truly happen at all? Or do they only exist in memory?

Comments

[atouts]

Unfortunately for Childermass, there's still enough cigarette left that he does have to carry out the next command. He sets his jaw in a way that he's clenching his teeth together, but not being too obvious about it. He doesn't particularly want to give away how angered he really is by this, which is, safe to say, a lot.

Regardless, he lifts his shoe up off the crushed cigarette and leans down to retrieve it. With that in hand, he's off to the kitchen, tossing it into the trashcan before returning. The brief trip across the apartment and back gives him a moment to revert fully to his indifferent calm.

"It isn't in my nature, sir," he states, maintaining a bored tone as he does so. "Clearly my kind is troublesome by nature. I'm sure you already knew that."

Not actually true, but like Strange will know any better.

[kingsroads]

He's liking this far too much already. Idly, Strange wonders just what the limits are on the binding. Of course he's not going to make Childermass do anything stupid. What's the use of a faerie servant if you maim him right away? But even just someone to get the groceries or pick up the books he wants from the bookstore would make his life so much easier. Information was the priority, of course, but hey, if you've bound yourself a servant, might as well use him for other, more menial things.

Strange will have to provide the money, of course. If the changeling doesn't sleep somewhere in the Rose Queen's realm, he probably sleeps under a bridge or something like that. Gross.

"I know faeries are a troublesome and duplicitous lot. I'd imagine that any of those traits must be muddled with the blood of your human parent, no matter how strong your fae parent would be—who is your faerie parent, by the way?" It's a question, not an order, so Childermass is under no obligation to answer. But the man's appearance is quite striking, not the sort of thing he'd expect to see from a servant of the Rose Queen. It's obvious to Strange that no matter what Maury-like situation Childermass's parents got themselves in, the Rose Queen is not the mother.

[atouts]

It's true. Feathers and the distinct lack of bright colors are very much not what one would imagine when it came to someone called the Rose Queen and her children. Plants, flowers, thorns, sure, but birds simply don't fit in there. Childermass isn't even in a position to deny he's any different than the other Summer Court changelings, not with how the summoning had stripped away his glamour on arrival.

It isn't an order, though. He gets the feeling it may become one after his answer turns out to be disgustingly sarcastic, but he can't help himself, going on to say, "The Queen of England. Isn't it obvious?"

[kingsroads]

Childermass really should have seen this coming. Strange just gives him a frown, a sort of 'really? you're still being difficult?' lineface of a frown. And, shock and surprise, his next statement is an order.

"Tell me who your fae parent is." It's said as Strange crosses his arms over his chest and still just glares at poor Childermass. Again, he really should have seen this coming.

[atouts]

He had seen it coming, but that won't change anything. Childermass intends to be difficult every step of the way, as long as he has the energy for it. Having to say who it is, however, earns Strange a look of utter distaste. The Rose Queen may have agreed to protect him from his father, but he still doesn't like to say his name.

"The Count of Crows," he answers nonetheless, this time forced to be truthful. "Of the Winter Court."

[kingsroads]

Strange...vaguely knows that name. Obviously the Count of Crows doesn't have much of an impact in Portland, what with the whole Winter Court thing, but he'd be an awful mage if he didn't know a cliff notes about the major fae power players (and some of the lesser fae power players).

"You're out of your jurisdiction, changeling. I hope whatever brought you here was worth it."

Because Strange has a feeling that the Count of Crows miiiight not be too pleased that his son skipped town. Urgh, if he gets involved in any ridiculous inter-court business, he'll throttle Childermass himself.

[atouts]

Strange would have brought it on his own damn self, summoning and binding faerie (or changeling, in this case) servants. If his nonsense puts him back into the Count's path, he's absolutely taking him down along with him, but until then (which will hopefully be never)...

"You're an idiot," Childermass tells Strange outright. "Changelings don't go out of their jurisdiction. They escape."

[kingsroads]

Strange just bristles at being called an idiot. He briefly goes a bit flushed and his hands are clenched tight in a fist. It's obvious he's counting to five before he continues, speaking through gritted teeth.

"You knew what I meant. I've met plenty of changelings who've escaped, living on the street or under a bridge or what have you. Portland has more of your kind than most people realize."

[atouts]

"Then maybe you should have picked one of those changelings for this instead," Childermass says coolly. "I'm sure you could have found one meek enough for your tastes, Sabrina."

Yeah, he's moved on from 'Merlin'.

[kingsroads]

Sabrina does get a rise out of Strange because for one brief moment, he looks like he's going to throttle Childermass then and there. There's another pause and another attempt to catch his breath before Strange starts talking again.

"I needed someone competent, not meek. The parameters for the summons were someone who was allied with the Rose Queen's court and someone who could get the job done. Honestly, you should be honored I summoned you in the first place—I wasn't going to waste my time on those changelings."

It literally does not occur to him that most people wouldn't view being summoned and stuck in a binding arrangement as something to be happy about in the first place.

[atouts]

"Should have thought to include 'can be browbeaten into submission by a pissy little fuckwit' while you were at it," is Childermass's less than kind advice. It's completely unhelpful. In any case, so long as he's stuck here, he's going to go back to leaning idly against the boxes, arms folding loosely over his chest.

"Or better yet, just take a stroll through the rose gardens yourself. I'm sure if you beg enough, Her Majesty will take pity on you."

[kingsroads]

Turns out that being called a pissy little fuckwit is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Strange looks like he's about to haul off and hit Childermass before he just skulks off to the kitchen and rummages around for pencil and paper. After writing down a list of five or so books, he practically shoves the list in Childermass's face.

"Find these books and bring them to me, with receipts. I'll pay you back if you spend a reasonable amount of money on them, but if you're stupid enough to get scammed on the price, then you'll have to eat the cost yourself."

Clearly the problem to being insulted is to give Childermass more shit to do.

[atouts]

Childermass looks down his nose at the list in his face, disdain apparent, but he takes it. He has no choice. The list gets a curious look over after he has it and then it's shoved unceremoniously into a pocket. That done, he steps back and sketches out an extremely sarcastic bow to Strange, overexaggerated in how deep it goes.

"Of course, master, anything you say," he says it like an insult and, then, before the mage has a chance to reply or add any other tasks, he falls back into shadows again, just as he'd moved the last time, and is gone.

Though what he'll be getting back in the near future is the books and receipts for random bullshit rather than the actual books, because he absolutely stole the damn things. Hey, he never specified receipts for what.

[kingsroads]

It's only after Childermass is gone that Strange realizes he probably should have added cleaning supplies as well to the list. Shit, now he's going to have to go out and get them himself. He really needs to be better at the whole 'having a servant' thing.

And thus begins the year of Strange sending Childermass off for gossip and mundane errands and Childermass contemplating the best way to make Strange's life a living hell.