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Who: Charlie Bradbury and all you crazy kids out there!
Where: Mostly the library, but she can be found in the kitchen stocking up on snacks, too.
When: 9/17 and on
Rating: pg?
Summary: Charlie is trying to brain up riddle things and keep herself busy and useful. The mirrors are coming and shenaningans are afoot! This is a catch all for the event, so any mirrors come her way!
The Story:

One Charlie Bradbury has practically moved into a corner of the library.

Her presence is obvious, even when she isn't curled up in one of those super comfy chairs with a book in her lap. There's not a whole lot in these books that can help her with the riddle set before them, but at least it's something. Keeping her brain busy usually helps in the sudden epiphany department, and that's exactly what she's hoping for.

There are breaks, naturally. Food runs to the kitchen, since pulling food out of a closet still seems real strange when she thinks about it. Plus, she doesn't really trust the closets - she's pretty sure they're mad at her.

Which is silly, but whatever. Being paranoid keeps her safe.

Ish.

Point is, Charlie has now moved into the library and she's working hard. There are at least three notebooks full of scribbles, ideas she's struck with that she needs to get down to run across someone else. Riddles could be fun, but in this case it was a little more dire. She's not sure if that's a good motivator, or if it has her so nervous she's just screwing up all over the place.

It's possible anyone who walks through those library doors are going to be accosted by one energetic redhead who is on a mission.

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"The mirrors have a rep, that's true. Not all of them are diabolical evil masterminds, but some are pushing it. Mostly, they're just crazy loyal to the Queen of Hearts, who I guess is the Big Bad here."

Charlie, for all that she's gotten experience with hunting, is still a bit of a chicken sometimes. When it comes to temperamental monarchs in a crazy land, she's way more of a chicken. She approaches Raven, reaching out to shake her hand with a grin. "Charlie. I've been here about nine-ish months. Don't know an exact number, but time gets away from me here."

That whole no job thing really messes with time management here. "Anyway, we need the sword to kill the Jabberwocky. Did you ever read the books back home? Or, did you even have them? People come from all sorts of places, like other planet sorts of places."

Charlie gets a firm handshake. Nine months? That was a long time, drat.

She hadn't been sure how much of what the books had said were relevant to the situation at hand, but apparently the answer is 'more than she was expecting'. Unfortunately...

"--I've heard of them. I'm sure my brother read them to us when we were children, but I don't remember much. Alice, rabbit holes, flamingos...yeah." She rubs the back of her neck, faintly embarrassed. So much for being useful, right? The thought of Charles reading to her as children also brings a familar pang of longing and guilt to the surface. Lucky her.

"'Jabberwocky' doesn't sound pleasant, though. And if you need something special to kill it, that just makes it sound worse."

"Haven't seen any flamingos yet, but I will totally be steering clear if they make an appearance." Never trust the local wildlife in Wonderland, that's one of Charlie's rules for herself.

"No biggie, I had to do a little refreshing on my Wonderland deets when I got here. Read the book when I was just a kiddo, so the memories were fuzzy." And she hadn't realized how dark the book actually was until she studied up.

"Word in the halls is he's one terribad monster." Charlie goes back to her current task of making some tasty foods, talking while she works. "Last Christmas, we learned that it goes on a rampage sometime in the future, and it gets to the point the magic in this place just doesn't work. Closet run dry, nobody ever leaves, and dying means actually dying."

Raven snorts as Charlie talks about the flamingos, nodding her agreement about the details of this place being a little hazy. She had never been good at listening to Charles' reading voice -- something about it was comforting enough that it put her to sleep, much to his chagrin.

As the girl goes on about the Jabberwocky, she lets her lips twist into a frown. "Well, that's cheery. And lacking about as much useful detail as I'd be expecting, based on what this place has had to give so far." She's nearly finished up with her own fries, so she moves to lean against the counter near where Charlie's working on her meal. She's never been much good at cooking.

"So we find the sword and just try to hack at the thing? That seems ... like a bad plan."

"It's kinda the only plan." She has to sigh, because part of her agrees - seems like all kinds of things could go wrong with just swinging a sword at the thing.

"We've got all kinds of genius brains here, so I bet they'll figure out some kind of strategy once we can actually get it. We just need to get past step one." And now her plate is ready, so she hops right up on the counter, setting the plate in her lap as she eats.

"Not that I'm gonna be one of those on the front lines. I've taken up hunting as a full time gig, but they don't really go over Jabberwockys in hunter 101."

Not that there's a class. There should be.

She can't help the curiosity that sparks in her eyes when she speaks. Not the part about a bunch of genius brains being here, because she's pretty sure that all sorts of people got dumped in this place -- but the part about Charlie 'hunting' things as a full-time gig. The curiosity is tinged with concern, though, because for all she knows the girl is actually hunting mutants that she thinks are dangerous monsters.

"Hunting what, exactly? And was that before here, or after you got here?" Because the first seems like the kind of thing she'd want to know more about.

Sometimes, she forgets that not everyone is in the know about hunters. Which is silly, since she had no idea it was a thing until she met Dean and Sam Winchester. Then her whole world opened wide.

And her arm got broken, but that was totally in the past.

"About a year before I got here, I found out my boss at work wasn't exactly human. He was a Leviathan -" She pauses to scoop up a few fries, chewing thoughtfully as she tries to come up with a way to explain what the hell that was. "In the Bible, it talks about Leviathans some. They were God's first try with creation, like before the angels. They were way worse than expected, so they were locked up in Purgatory and managed to get out. They are real nasty, I promise. We've had one show up here, my old boss actually, but he kinda disappeared soon after."

Dick Roman makes her nervous in ways she can't describe, and she did a fantastic job of locking herself in her room and not leaving it for a month.

"Anyway, I ran into a couple of hunters and learned about all those supernatural creatures - werewolves, vampires, demons - are real. Then I kinda took up hunting as a side job, because once my interest is piqued I get super obsessive."

Raven opens her mouth to say that Charlie must be on the good drugs, but then she closes it just as soon and swallows. It turns out that if you're a mutant and someone is telling you about things that are only talked about in books, you're still an unbeliever for a moment or two.

"...that sounds like a rude awakening." She shoots the other woman a sympathetic side-glance. "But I can understand, wanting to know as much about something like that as possible. Sounds like something my brother would do." She can't help bringing him up, even now. There's something about Charlie that reminds her of him, and definitely not in a bad way.

"So, you're bringing your expertise to 'our side'. That's -- actually good to hear."

"We've got all kinds of good guys on our side. I'm totally confident we will take down the big bad monster - once we get the sword." There's always that one weapon needed in any good quest, right? When it applies to actual life, though, it's not nearly as fun. Can't they just explode the thing into a million pieces?

Probably not, or if they could it would destroy everything.

"Sounds like your brother is a super smart guy. He's not here?" Charlie asks, knowing it probably seems like she's prying but if Raven doesn't want to talk about him she gets it. Sometimes, talking about the people you care for the most can be painful, especially when they aren't with you.

"Yeah, he's a lot smarter than me." At least in the realm of 'not diving into things head-first, completely led by feelings' sort of way. That was one of the ways she and Erik were similar, not that she wanted to admit it to a stranger. Bringing up your emotional weaknesses with someone you just met probably wasn't the best way to go about things.

The second question, though ... she half-shrugs and stuffs what's left of her food into her mouth to chew while she thinks about how to answer the question.

"He wasn't there when I got pulled away from my home, either. It's kind of a long story." Everyone has those kind of things, right?

"Let's just say we were on speaking terms, but it was more awkward than some first dates I've had." And one time when she was on a 'date', she choked a guy out against a wall so she could impersonate him and assassinate a major corporate head.

Fun times.

"Anyone you know made their way here?"

Long stories are definitely a thing around these parts, Charlie knows that all too well. Some more sad than others.

"Yeah, a couple I know personally and a few I only heard about." She's got a few fries in her mouth after saying that, chewing as she wavers between going into detail or not. It's always a weird tale, talking about her world and how her friends had books written about them. Books that are considered gospel.

"They've had a lot of experience in this kind of thing - weird kidnappings, fictional worlds actually being real. Actually, I was on my way to Oz before I showed up here. Literal Oz."

Hey, that's a reference that Raven can actually get! She can't help the slight twist of her lips when she speaks next.

"Was it anything like this place? I mean, 'Wonderland' without being anything like the books, with a lot more murder and mayhem going on?" She'd like to think no, but her gut says yes.

Raven nods her head. Since Charlie's being so forward with her information, she doesn't think much of probing just a little.

"What about mutants? Any experience with that? You know ... the people that everyone else calls freaks." It would clue her in as to whether these people might've been from a world like hers, or a would that could be hers - it would be useful to know if there were supernatural creatures hiding in the darkness, after all.

"Dorothy said it wasn't all sunshine and yellow brick roads, but I didn't get a chance to take a look." There's a miffed tone to her voice as she finishes up her fries. She was really looking forward to it, too - fantasy roadtrip with a pretty lady, what's not to like?

"Haven't run across any mutants where I'm from - it's all demons, vampires, werewolves and Djinns." Hopping off the counter, she sets her plate in the sink before turning around. "People are jerks. Freak is such a lame thing to call someone, I mean seriously."

Sam had done so in the past - not that Charlie was there, but she read it - and so the label is not her favorite.

"If we have any around here, I bet they'll fit right in. We have a dragon running around, nothing can be stranger than that, right?"

Right, so no mutants from the girl's world. It was something of a relief as far as Raven was concerned, since politics with mutants in the mix made things complicated enough as it was. Adding the supernatural to the pot would multiply that tenfold, she was sure.

Charlie's opinion of the word 'freak' is duly noted by Raven, who flashes a more genuine smile once the girl's done speaking.

"I don't know how we'd react if we were completely accepted," she drops casually, "But I guess you're right - I don't know if I'd hold a candle to a dragon." Which gets her thinking on whether she'd be able to shapeshift into something that much larger than her ... she's guessing no.

Charlie notices the drop, but doesn't think much of it. Hey, she's dealt with demons, angels and wizards around here, mutants are no big thing. Actually, kind of a cool thing, if she's being honest, but she'll hold off on the excitable fangirl questioning for another time.

"We've got a lot of non-homo-sapiens around, I don't think anyone really thinks about it after they've been here a while. Some peeps have trouble adjusting at first to all the new people and stuff, but I don't think we've got anyone around who's hardcore anti-anyone." Unless they're being stealthy about it, but she doubts that. Are there any secrets around here?

Charlie just earned a lot more brownie points for not being worried or concerned about the drop. She listens to the other woman's words and nods.

"When you say it like that, I guess it makes sense. Not only because there's so many people from different worlds, but also because from what I've heard, keeping secrets might be difficult here...depending on the nature of some of the 'events'." She recalled the small conversation she'd had with Jane, and the woman believing she was an angel sent to protect someone.

....yep.

"Yeah, one day we might have some kind of truth telling event that happens and all the cats will be out of every bag." Which might not be a good thing, considering they've got some shady folks around the halls.

Pushing herself away from the counter, she gives Raven a smile. "I better get back to riddle duty. Not getting far, but maybe if I stare at a book long enough the answer will just come to me. An epiphany, even."

Charlie had at least given her something to think about, and when the woman pushes away from the counter -- she nods, matching the smile.

"I shouldn't keep you from it, since so much is apparently riding on it.

I've heard that if you're having troubles with understanding a book, you should try reading it while you're upside-down."

Charles had looked ridiculous, but he still claimed that it had helped him piece some things together. She was sure it had been the blood rushing to his brain.

"Anyway, good luck."

The suggestion has her pausing the door way, looking thoughtful before giving Raven a thumbs up.

"Any idea is better than none, I might try that." And here she gives a little Vulcan salute, because that's how she rolls. "I'll catch you later!"

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