The Magicians' Realm Chapter 43: Conversational Interaction, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 43, everybody! In which couples discourse and something approaching plot happens….

No movie this week—was too busy trying to get a comic and three pages of writing done before a thunderstorm decides to knock our power out. :\

And about the book discussion there—Dad's always been a fan of John Grisham, and he's gotten me into his works too lately (Gray Mountain—wow. I want to go back to the mountains while they're still there. T-T And then Bleachers and Skipping Christmas…he's got a whole stack I'm working through now). And for the Stephen King reference—Mom used to read his works before she had me—and then she got to Christine, slogged through it thinking "This has got to get better—it's Stephen King!" and then didn't realize Christine was a car until she saw the movie. :\ I, meanwhile, have never read Stephen King (with the minor exception of a bit of The Green Mile), simply because I like to sleep at night (the synopses were enough for me *~*). And yes, Flowers in the Attic and the sequel If There Be Thorns were two of the weirder stories I read (mostly because I spent most of the reading yelling stop being an idiot! at the characters).

In other news, "snit in a bit" is something my Mom says, and is related to getting sand stuck in your craw (which is what my Dad says).

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Yes, bless activity—I think magic-casting burns calories, too, so there's that (ooh, skiing! Love that! :D). Too true, too true…*glances sideways at her soda* Mom always limited us from drinking too much—two a day max, and only after noon (although now I barely drink one after five—my taste buds seem to have matured). This is true—hopefully nothing goes flying. Yes, they must! Plot demands it! The writer demands it! Shape up, you two! And yes, he is—and no, he doesn't….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! I think it was supposed to take Yami's worries away—the fact that it exploded probably means that he has more worries than he likes to let on (I'm concerned that I didn't get that across properly—*goes back to reevaluate and perhaps edit*). Yes, some people entertain too easily—but then again, it's the simple things that often turn out to be the most fun, if approached correctly. It's going to be a sleeper hit….I guess it could be viewed like that—that one and "Tie me kangaroo down" (which makes me wonder what the world views as a typical American song…). It does. :D Yes, as Rae and Wilson pointed out in The Frost King, adults are simply children who survived the experience. :D Yes, it did get extremely popular all of a sudden, didn't it?...

FicReader, thanks for the review! Yes, what indeed? Oh yes, they haven't been hanging out lately—oops. *checks next few chapters* They won't for a while, as the next handful of chapters takes place over a weekend and family time is taken, but I'll throw those two back together on their Monday. :) Yes…you have no idea how painful this whole thing was to write (it involved a lot of minor typing, getting up, walking to the kitchen and back, sitting down, and writing three more words before doing the whole thing again). Yes, at least the food's good. :D

References:

Original characters, + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

Teana wasn't sure what to make of someone skinnier than her with two feet of clearance on her fidgeting like a little boy.

He did finally get ready to say something, raising a finger as he did so. "Ah—"

"Don't," Teana said icily. "Let me guess: you orchestrated the whole thing."

"Actually, I had no idea this was going on until Skul and Idgy shoved me over here," he said. "Although I'm sure that means nothing to you—after all, I'm probably responsible for everything from the Apple down as far as you're concerned."

"That's not fair—"

"Neither is this!" he cut in, both palms out in a controlled gesture. "What does it say that the people we know are conspiring against us like this?"

"That they're interested in your best interests?"

Yami gave that some thought. "That horrifies me to no end. I thought that only extended to my family."

"Maybe the girl you're living with is aggravated with you."

"She is, but I doubt that's the point. Or maybe it is—I'm not sure anymore."

"Now that's just sad."

"It is."

"Explain to me why I'm wasting my time with you?"

"Because Kineil threatened you with a roomful of pirates and Gypsians?"

"I take comfort in the knowledge that Sanji would probably knock them all out before they had a chance."

"Sanji would have to get in line."

"I'm not yours to protect."

"You're not anyone's," Yami countered. "You're not an object, you're a person—and if I ever meet whoever has convinced you otherwise, they'll wish they'd never been born."

"There you go again—"

"So I'm not allowed to solve your problems?"

"No, you are not—not everyone wants their problems solved!"

"How does that even remotely make sense?"

This felt very much like her argument with Kineil, and she crossed her arms and glared out the window rather than continue to pursue a useless topic. This was a waste of her time.

She looked back at Yami to see him knocking his knuckles together and looking at a knot in the wood of the table—it was weird, she decided, seeing the Head Mage like this. Someone who was supposed to be the head of the country, who would live thousands of years and control and affect the lives of millions of people, sitting there at an absolute loss for words.

It was also weird, she decided, knowing that he had probably been at this job for longer than she had been living.

He was rubbing the tips of his pointer fingers against the grain of the wood now. "So," he noised finally. "What do you think of the place?"

"Tell me," she said. "And be honest: how much experience with women do you actually have?"

He bit his lip and glanced sideways. "Well…Kineil…and my sisters—which really didn't prepare me for…romantic attempts, to be honest….Helen would have hit me by now."

Sisters as in plural? "How many sisters do you have?"

"Two—the middle sister Emily and the elder sister Helen. Emily is…vaguely girly, I suppose…but Helen's never had much patience for waffling."

"Is Helen married?"

"Ha! No—she hasn't encountered anyone to suit her yet. She's…like Kineil, but taller." He drummed his fingers. "What about you? Any siblings?"

"Only child. Are you seriously trying to make small talk with me?"

"I do want to be able to go home at some point."

"I doubt Kineil could keep you out of your house forever."

"I'm sorry, have you met Kineil?"

"I think I'm going to have to move—she knows where I live now."

"The Texan Republic lost a marvelous asset when she left."

"Oh, is that where she's from?"

"Explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"No."

Conversation stalled again.

"I don't suppose you'd let me apologize, would you?" Yami asked finally.

"It doesn't matter what I do," Teana informed him.

"It matters to me."

Her expression must have prompted him to continue. "I know, I know," he said. "I'm a horrible arrogant toerag who should actually be doing his job instead of wasting his time on a member of the wait staff. How dare I look at a woman and see anything but her status. How dare I be interested in her opinion. How dare I care. Am I getting close?"

She blinked, reflecting that she might finally be seeing the end of Yami's seemingly infinite patience. "Yes," she said, deciding to push it—maybe if she did, he'd leave her alone. "How dare you."

She was expecting to see a flare of temper, so his look of hurt was actually surprising.

"You should invest in someone else," Teana pressed.

"I can't," he said, looking wistfully amused. "I'm not interested in anyone else—not in that way."

"Wow," she noised. "When you commit to a stupid idea, you really stick with it, don't you?"

"I've been told that."

Conversation stalled again. This was ridiculous—it was like that unstoppable force meets immovable object thing. She was not getting romantically involved with a Magician again, and he wasn't taking no for an answer. Short of killing him, she had no immediate idea of how to dissuade him.

And to be honest, she really didn't like the idea of him being dead—it made her blood cold.

"The atmosphere leaves something to be desired," she said finally. "But the food is good."

Yami seemed more than a little stunned. "Huh?"

"You asked me what I thought of the place. That's what I think of the place."

He blinked a few times. "Okay…and what was your opinion of the Revue, since I didn't get it."

"Good food, but again, there was something left to be desired with the atmosphere."

"Max has that effect."

Sanji deposited a tray of food and drinks and kept going.

"Well then," Yami said, warming to the subject. "Where would you like to eat?"

"Someplace where you don't know anyone," she returned.

Long, long silence.

"Does such a place even exist?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Yami said, pulling a dish over. "I'll find someplace that fits the bill eventually."

*/*\*

"That book boring?"

"Hmm?" Greg noised, looking up. He and Jenna were currently sitting in bed, and she was watching him with some concern. "Uh…why?"

In response, she pointed at one line. "You've been staring right there for the past thirty minutes, and I'm of the opinion that John Grisham is more diverting than that."

"I don't know, we thought the same about Stephen King until we read Christine."

"I can't believe that was about a car."

"I know, right? It left something to be desired."

"And yet that's not what's eating you."

Greg couldn't help but sigh. "No, no it isn't."

"What is it then?"

He turned the topic over in his head, trying to decide how best to approach it.

"Administrator Carter," he said finally. "I asked for some files from the library, and he brings them to me…plus one."

"Plus one?" she echoed.

"Yes…and then when I confront him about it….Do we have any pictures from your side of the family?"

Jenna gave that some thought. "If we do, I think the rats have got to them by now—they're either in the storage cave or…."

"Or?"

"The boys were in the attic the other day."

"Our boys?"

"No, random ones off the street—yes, ours. Who else?"

"You don't think they found any photographs, do you?"

"I'm sure we would have heard something. Like 'Mom, who's this guy with hair like mine?'"

Greg gave that some thought. "What else is in that attic?"

"Four fair-headed children?"

"I want you to know that was one of the weirder books I ever read."

"Even more than Christine?"

"Yes. I'm serious, what else is up there?"

"Why do you want to know? What did Administrator Carter do to get your snit in a bit?"

Again, a heavy internal debate, but he was certain the choices were either the truth or the couch. "The…plus one Administrator Carter gave me—it was a file from the cold cases room."

"Oh?"

"On Teana Gardenier."

"Oh."

"Yes. And then he gives me a picture from back then before making himself scarce."

"Oh."

"And thus you see my issue."

"I do. Can I see the photo?"

"I don't know, I'm pretty comfortable…."

Jenna poked him in the side. Hard.

"All right, all right!" he yelped as she pulled a pillow into play. "I'll get it—just hold on!"

He padded over to his jacket, picked it up, fished in the pockets….

Double-checked them all….

"It's not there," he said.

"What?" Jenna asked.

"I don't get it—I put it in my inside pocket so it wouldn't get lost—why isn't it—"

He stopped, the answer occurring to him.

"Administrator Carter," he said, looking at Jenna. "He must have snagged it back somehow—used his shadow magic to pick my pockets, or summoned it back—" quick check of the wallet—money still there. "He summoned it back."

"Why?" Jenna asked.

Greg gave that some thought. "I suppose it could implicate him…why would it implicate him? Why would he give me that picture and that file in the first place?"

"Maybe you should ask him tomorrow."

Greg reflected on his last conversation with Administrator Carter. "Third day he's away on urgent business," he recounted, ticking it off on his hand. "Fourth day, he just doesn't show up for work. Fifth day, Administrator Sumbinix just gives up—which brings us to a weekend, and he won't be available then."

"And this is one of the guys running the country," Jenna said flatly.

"Be glad he only has one vote," Greg said, returning his jacket to its hanger and heading back for bed, upon which he flopped down face-first on. Ow—book edge jabbing into his ribs.

Jenna was quiet as he fished the book out from under him. "It's a little peculiar," she said finally. "That he'd do this sort of thing, isn't it? Being an Administrator and all."

"More than a little," Greg said, righting himself. "But then again, Administrator Carter does strike me as the sort to entertain himself by kicking hornet nests."

"Uh huh. And your plan is to, what, avoid getting stung?"

"That would be the smart plan."

"The way you say that makes me think that's not the plan you're going to pursue."

He adjusted himself so he was facing her. "Yes, that would be the smart plan—and yet right there, the stunt he pulled…it could be the break we need."

"Excuse me?"

"What if…this is the break we needed to right a few past wrongs?"

"What if…the Administrators find out? Then you'd be playing poker with Skellington."

"This is true."

"I get the feeling you're planning on doing this anyway."

"Well, I personally don't plan on it…."

"Don't wonder where our sons' conniving streak comes from."

"My brother Hotch arrives this weekend," he told her. "I ask nicely, and he'll have his best team on it when he gets back to the Capitol."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

Greg shrugged. "The Administrators and the Civil Branch have never worked that closely together—and under severest technicality, Teana Gardenier could be considered a Commoner. So technically, the people to be handling this would be the Civil Branch."

"The phrase 'ridiculously dangerous' comes to mind," Jenna said. She waited a few moments before continuing. "Where's the folder now? Reappropriated again? You didn't leave it on your desk, did you?"

"That one actually is in my briefcase," he said. "I said I had some work to catch up on. There is, of course, the chance that they have tracking spells on it, but I'm hoping the Administrators are too busy with Administrator Carter to notice."

"So your plans hinge on a lazy, chain-smoking hustler?"

"It does sound full of holes when you put it that way."

She fiddled with a page of her book, snapped it shut, put it aside, and turned her light off before kissing him on the cheek.

"You'd better do some hard praying the next few weeks," she informed him.

"Yeah," Greg said, doing the same on his side of the bed as she snuggled under the covers. "That occurred to me too."