entrancelogs | 001 :: >press any key to continue (arrival)

Entry tags:

001 :: >press any key to continue (arrival)

Who: Charlie Bradbury and anyone!
Where: Outside the mansion/entry hall.
When: January 1st, celebrating the new year newbie style! (Being confused)
Rating: Prob PG-13
Summary: Charlie's not in Oz anymore, Toto.
The Story:

One moment she's saying good bye, starting on her journey down the yellow brick road, and the next she's waking up beside a horse stable, propped against the side.

The high pitched whinny is what wakes her. Charlie comes to with a start, gasping and immediately regretting it as her nose is assaulted with pure horse. It's definitely not an odor she was expecting, which is why she chokes for a moment and starts coughing violently.

Once her initial shock dies down (and she's able to breathe again), Charlie pushes herself to stand, confusion starting to settle as she glances around. Anyone can see that this place? Definitely not Oz.

With more questions brewing in her brainspace, Charlie walks around to the front of the stables, checking out the horses she's had the pleasure of smelling today.

"You know, you guys look way awesome in movies and paintings," Charlie says this companionably as she crosses her arms, just having a friendly chat with the horses. "But in real life? Super smelly. Not majestic at all."

The horse closest to her snorts, pawing the ground. She gives it a suspicious look and decides maybe this isn't the time to make friendly with the animals.

"Gonna take that as my cue to get going. Later, my equine bros." Giving them a Vulcan salute, she turns around to take in the landscape and to figure out what's next on the agenda.

It's easy to pretend to be calm when it just seems so surreal. Like being in a lucid dream. That's what this has to be, right? As she starts a path down to the mansion, she doesn't feel so confident in that theory.

Oz is real, she was going to it. Who's to say she wasn't transported into some other kind of fairy tale world? And by the looks of this place, that's what it has to be.

Maybe there's be some dancing munchkins inside that can point her in the direction of the Emerald City.

As she walks, Charlie's looking over her shoulder every few seconds, wondering where her new traveling companion is. Traveling with Dorothy, the Dorothy, is like a super rad dream come true. Now here she is, alone in a strange place with no backup to speak of. Awesome.

It's like every fantasy novel she's ever read, or at least every RPG she's spent hours of her life chasing after every side quest she could find. Normally, that would make her feel a little better except for one simple fact: every hero, when beginning their quest, usually ends up running into some super hard tutorial fight. Maybe even an unwinnable one.

Charlie's wishing for a sword right now, and when she puts a hand in her jacket pocket, desperate for anything, her fingers brush against something unfamiliar.

"Huh?" Pulling out the object, at first glance it seems like a regular smart phone. Not hers, though. By now she's reached the steps in front of the mansion, and she comes to a stop, sitting down on one of the steps and turning the phone over in her hand.

She's in a hurry, sure, but she can take a fiver to figure out what this thing is, and more importantly, what it does.

(OOC: Charlie will chill on the steps a bit before going inside, feel free to catch her anywhere!)

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She lets out a squeak, wondering if this is the part where she runs away screaming. Charlie knows stags aren't known for their man eating habits, but what if. What if?

These days, she's willing to believe the worst right off the bat just to be safe.

He doesn't look like he's trying to gnaw on her arm, though, so she relaxes a fraction before giving the stag a nervous smile.

"Are all the wildlife this friendly, or you just hit on the cute nerdy ones?" It's a joke brought on by nerves, and she probably looks a little nuts chatting with an animal like it'll understand her. Dr. Doolittle she ain't.

He answers this by letting out a breath into her hair and making it flutter around a little. It might not be a clear yes or no, but it was definitely a response at least, so maybe she is Dr. Doolittle, just a bit.

(Though really, it's obviously because she's an adorable and easy-to-fluster red head. Obviously. So, that would point in the direction of "because she's cute and nerdy".)

He's pleased she eased up a little though - he never had any plans of actually hurting her. Maybe messing with her a little, but not hurting her.

If there were a story she was reading, or a Disney movie she'd sit down to watch late at night, Charlie would think this was one of those magical moments. You know, where the princess gets to be BFFs with the local animals and they help her sweep the floor and do random chores.

Since she has no chores to speak of right now, she's thinking the stag might just be too used to people. Which would explain why he doesn't seem to be wary of her.

"Wish I had a carrot or something to give you." She pats her pockets, giving him an apologetic look before a random thought occurs: "Do you eat carrots? Is that only a horse thing? Where's Mr. Ed when I need him."

He has no idea who Mr. Ed is supposed to be, but he's going to assume he's some sort of Muggle Horse Expert or something. Which would be an odd choice to consult anyway, since he's a stag? But, oh well. Either way there is no Mr. Ed here.

He actually nods at the question though and steps even closer than he already was. Sure, he would eat a carrot! But since she doesn't have a carrot, he nudges her again, this time making a whiny noise much like a squeaky door. Why talk about carrots if you don't have any?!

But really, he's eyeing the phone in her hand and getting terrible ideas. Hm...

Edited 2014-01-02 03:07 (UTC)

The noise he makes earns a weird look from her. Do they really sound like that? And here she was thinking horses weren't as majestic as they appeared in movies.

"You can't talk can you?" There's suspicion in her voice as she watches him. "Not that it wouldn't be cool, because yeah that would be. A heads up would be greatly appreciated, Mr. Stag."

She doesn't want to be surprised by talking animals, okay. He seems like he's understanding her, and her head tilts just the slightest as she looks at him.

"You aren't like an animorph or anything are you?" Oh, how close she is, but still so far away.

He shakes his head slowly, his antlers weighing him down. No, he can't talk. It'd be nice though. Convenient and good for pranking! Though, maybe not at home. That'd be a good way to get caught and get hauled off to Azkaban, but here? He'd love to see the look on someone's face if he just started talking as a stag. It'd be priceless, really.

But he tilts his head back at her, mirroring her, when she mentions ani...morphs? He's never heard that word, but it would be a good way to put it, wouldn't it? An animagus animorphs into an animal? But, no. Whatever she's thinking of, he's probably not it, so he shakes his head a second time.

He decides this might be his best shot, now that she's starting to get all suspicious anyway. So, he leans in closer...closer...closer...

And then...he suddenly snatches her phone away with his mouth.

Edited 2014-01-03 17:26 (UTC)

Charlie, having not predicted that at all, stares down at her empty hand, and then looks back up at the stag.

"Uh...." She scrambles for something to say, even though trying to reason with an animal seems pretty close to being full on crazy, but he seems like he understands her. "I probably kinda sorta need that back, man."

Not that she's going to reach for it. He has teeth, and she likes her fingers right where they are.

"Pretty please?" She tries for cute as she gives him a pleading smile. God, she hopes he doesn't frolic off, she won't be able to keep up.

Hmmmmmm.

Nah. He doesn't really feel like it. Just to mess with her a tiny bit more though, he actually shakes his head in a what is most definitely a "Nope, not giving it back" gesture.

Then, he takes a few steps away from her and waits. When she doesn't move, he takes another step or two away and looks back at her expectantly.

Apparently he wants to see if she'll put up a chase for it.

Her brain goes through a second of what could be consider keysmashing before she takes a few steps after him, ready to pounce.

"Look, you won't like me when I'm...I need my phone, okay?" Because she isn't getting angry, just nervous and just the tiniest bit anxious. "I will tackle you, Stagmeister."

Not that she has any plan other than 'leap and tackle' and then hopefully 'protect face so it isn't mauled'.

He actually looks vaguely impressed by that threat - or as impressed as stags can look, really. And Stagmeister? That's a new one.

Sadly, he's not sure he believes said threat. He actually takes a step closer, like he's maybe considering giving it back.

But nope. He takes another couple of steps away. Looks like she's going to have to try and catch him. He'd love to see that "leap and tackle" any day now.

How is this her life?

Charlie's shoulders slump the tiniest bit in defeat - she's gonna have to run and tackle a wild animal now. She never pictured this in all the fantasies she's had about visiting far off worlds and what have you.

She's pretty sure she needs that phone.

Straightening her back, a determined look in her eyes, she takes a few steps forward and then throws herself at the stag, arms reaching out to wrap around his neck. It's a little clumsy, but she's desperate and it's entirely possible she might end up face planting on the ground.

Well. She's kind of right.

The stag like incredibly startled for a second, but instead of running away or turning its impressive prongs on her, he only stumbles a couple steps back. He waits though, and waits.

And as soon as her feet leave the ground, he transforms back. It's very sudden, and it only takes a couple of seconds, but it's enough to make them both unsteady (since she's suddenly not latched onto a large stag) and James (now in teenage boy form) slips and falls to the ground, taking Charlie down with him.

Her phone's still sticking out of his mouth at first, but he pulls it out now that his hands are hands and not hooves.

And then he laughs hysterically.

"I...I didn't think you were actually doing to pounce on me," he says, wheezing his words out between fits of giggles. "Well done! Well done!"

Her immediate reaction once her mind registers the wild animal transformed into a teenage boy is to jump off him, practically landing on her feet with no effort. She would have been massively impressed with her skills if she wasn't staring down at him with a look of complete shock on her face.

The shock turns to suspicion, though, as she remembers her earlier question. Animorphs...animagus?

No way.

"That's - well, you took my phone!" She's torn between feeling a tad ridiculous and feeling flustered. She settles for 'slightly miffed'. "This how you greet all the new kids in town? A fruit basket would have been way better, bro."

Truly, she's not actually angry. The idea of him being a wizard is stuck in her brain and part of it her kind of sort of dying to know.

"Neat trick, bee tee dubs. What's the secret?"

"A fruit basket?" He scoffs, but looks terribly amused. "What fun is a fruit basket?"

Once she's off of him, he pushes himself up and brushes the snow off his clothes, and shakes it out of his already messy hair. Then he cracks his back and shoulders - he joints are a bit stiff from all his stagly frolicking.

"Sorry, sorry - couldn't help myself," he laughs. "The opportunity was there and I had to reach out and take it - literally!"

Rather than answer her question directly, he takes out his wand, and with a swift motion and a couple of vaguely Latin-sounding words he conjures a handkerchief out of thin air. As it falls, he catches it and wipes off her phone quick (since, technically it had been in his mouth and it's probably the polite thing to do). Then, he hands it over to her.

"Secret? What secret? You mean to tell me you can't turn into an animal? I'm shocked!"

He's kidding though; the grin all over his face says so. He has a split second mental debate about whether he should mention she's been around before, and that he already knows who she is...but then decides he's probably broken her mind enough for one afternoon.

On one hand, she's flustered enough to glare at him for laughing. On the other, a theory on who this guy is has started to gain life inside her mind and she's dying to know who crazy turns-into-animals guy is.

"I would if I could, bro, trust me." It's a little silly to outright ask Oh hey, are you wizard, but there are other ways. "You think if I could cast a Patronus charm it'd give me a hint on what I could change into?"

She looks smug. If he answers that, then he is a wizard, and not just a regular one. One that went to Hogwarts, or at least knew of it, and considering his accent he had to have gone there. Here's Charlie, hoping she's on the nose with this one.

Hey, weirder things have happened.

Ooo. Tricky! He likes this Muggle already. He was already pretty sure he would from the first couple times they met, but this time he's certain. He puts his hand to his chin, thinking about how to best put it.

"Hm. Maybe, but not always," he says. "Not everyone can even make a corporeal Patronus though - non-corporeal ones just sort of poof out like smoke. And besides, sometimes Patronuses change, but once you've become an Animagus, that animal's yours forever."

Or at least, he's pretty sure that's true. He's never heard of someone changing animals before, and given the process involved in becoming one, he sincerely doubts if it's possible.

"Might be better to say your Animagus form would give you a hint about your Patronus," he says, and then chuckles, "but since it's much easier to cast a Patronus than become an Animagus, I don't think anyone would bother."

Charlie feels proud of her deduction, and at this point since she's figured out he's a wizard through totally amazing subterfuge, there's no point in playing sly anymore.

"I knew it!" There's excitement as her irritation from his previous stag related shenanigans fades away. She can definitely forgive a prank if it means she's talking to a wizard - Best Day Ever. "I knew you were a wizard. Wait, don't tell me your name!"

Not that he looked like he was about to, but she holds up a hand anyway, stopping any attempt just in case. "I want to see if I can guess it."

Nope, not even going to explain herself here. If Charlie wasn't so excited about this, she would probably be a little more subtle about this - for all she knows, he's not even aware that he's a character in a book. Right now, though, she's in the thrall of an actual wizard is here in front of her.

"Okay, so twenty questions. One: What year did you go to Hogwarts?"

She's expecting a wizard who might not have been mentioned much in the books, never in her dreams would she imagine she's just chatting with James freakin' Potter.

Her excitement is contagious, and he finds himself grinning right back at her. He's a little surprised she hasn't blurted it out yet (after all, he did just turn into a stag in front of her, and he's fairly sure he's the only wizard in his time who can do that) but it's alright. Making a game of it is fun. It was his first impulse the first time he met her.

"Alright, alright - don't think you'll need twenty of them though," he says.

And then he hums a bit, as though he has to actually think about his answer. He glances up at the sky quick.

"I started Hogwarts in...1971! And at home, it's 1977 for me."

It might be cheating a bit to give extra bits of information that she didn't actually ask for, but he doesn't care. It's still fun to watch her puzzle it all together, and he's still pretty sure she can figure it out for herself.

It really isn't a hard conclusion to jump to, when she factors in the dates and the fact this guy is a wizard who can turn into a stag.

Also glasses. That helps with the identifying.

"No frakin' way." She holds up her hands, shaking her head. "You can't be James Potter, nooooo way."

Even if it rings true, even if everything she's experienced since he approached her as a stag, screams that it is indeed James Potter. Dropping her hands, she peers at him.

"....are you?"

As soon as she says his name, excitement stretches across his face, but he tries to hold it back. It's not working at all though; he's clearly very, very excited she's put it together.

"I can and I am!" he exclaims. "Yes, James Potter, at your service!"

And he bows in very silly, exaggerated way, almost ridiculously low, before popping right back up with a smile and a laugh.

"Nice to meet you! Err, wait now, don't tell me-" and he holds his hand up, signalling for her to wait a moment while he guesses who she is.

"Red hair...well, definitely not Lily; I'd know her anywhere. Maybe a Weasley? No, no, that's not right either. Muggle girl, probably American..."

He hmms loudly, studying her for a moment. This is the point where he should be giving up and admitting he doesn't know any American girls, but...that doesn't seem to be happening. Instead he seems a bit mischevious, though he tries to put his "guess" as innocently as possible.

"Begins with a C, doesn't it? Ch..."

How to Properly Fangirl in this Situation: A Comedy starring Charlie Bradbury.

For a full minute, she just stares at him, mouth slightly agape, because as much fun as playing pretend and picturing what it would be like to meet fictional characters would be like, she's really just not prepared to meet James Potter.

Play it cool, Charlie.

His exaggerated bow does make her laugh a little, which eases some of her nerves. When he does his own little guessing game she grins, shaking her head.

"Oh, so close! Charlie." Would it be weird to ask him to sign her copy of- oh wait. She doesn't have any of her books with her. Dammit. "Charlie Bradbury."

He doesn't seem surprised that she knows who he is, so it seems like maybe he's run across this before.

"You get recognized often, Mr. Potter?" She can't keep the smile in check, because seriously. She got to say Mr. Potter at James Potter.

Maybe one day she won't be such a fangirl (that is a lie).

"Charlie! That was it," he says, acting like she's successfully jogged his memory. "Charlie Bradbury. Welcome back to Wonderland!"

He's really not surprised she knows him, for all sorts of reasons. It's come up countless times before with all sorts of different people, but he's also met her a couple of times now. He makes the comment quickly and casually and moves swiftly on from there.

"Oh, more often than you'd think, yet somehow less often than I would have imagined."

He shrugs. That's what happens when you wind up with barely thirty pages' worth about you over the course of seven novels.

"Just James is fine though," he laughs. "Unless you want me calling you Ms Bradbury."

Because he will, if she keeps that up. He will do it every single time.

"Oh, wow, no that's totally okay. James is awesome with me."

She is way too young to be called that, dude. The fact that he's been recognized before goes a long way in explaining his light heartedness about it now. That has to be super Twilight Zone for him.

"Mucho apologies about the whole leaping and tackling thing." She definitely learned her lesson with that one. "Is this how you say howdy to all the newbies?"

"No, not all of them," he says with a wink. "Just the cute redheads."

He's kidding, of course. Even the cutest redhead couldn't tear Lily from his heart, but Charlie's always been fun to pick on.

But yes, it would be very Twilight Zone for him if he knew what the Twilight Zone was. It's hit the point where he half-expects people to at least be vaguely familiar with those books, even if they don't immediately know who he is. It would be exhausting to have some kind of existential crisis every time.

"But no, no, it's fine. I...might have deserved that a bit." Maybe. "But hey, at least it was definitely more interesting than some variation of the usual Welcome to Wonderland speech you're going to get a thousand times."

His compliment has her grinning. Hey, she may be into the ladies, but she's never been one to wave off a descriptor such a cute.

"Seems like you've spent some time around here." She's gotten a version of that speech a couple of times already, and she's still learning new stuff. "How long?"

Charlie's met people who have arrived more recently, but James acts like someone who's seen some stuff.

001 :: >press any key to continue (arrival)

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