faelans_folly | [Open - Irish Coffee]

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[Open - Irish Coffee]

Maggie finished the chalk easel for the front of the cafe, embellishing the announcements of specials with sunny wildflowers and scrolled ivy leaves. As she walked it out to put on the sidewalk in front of the store, she stopped to let the sun warm her face.

It had rained in Faelan's Folly for a week - starting with storms full of thunder and ear-splitting lightning strikes until tapering off to yesterday's lighter clouds and soft soaking rain to last night's light drizzle.

She'd spent most of her off time during the week near the monument, the flat stone just off the park grounds that was, for all intents, the heart of the Folly. There were rumors about it, of course, some of them right on the mark. Not that she'd ever confirm it.

The monument was also where she rechared, reset her magic and reconnected with the elements that bowed to her. At midnight last night, she knew it was time to get back to business, back to herself, and move herself forward.

Maggie pulled water from a nearby puddle, rinsed the chalk from her fingers, and settled in to help her morning regulars get the caffeine they needed to start their day.

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Maggie pressed her lips together. It wasn't the first time someone had arrived bleeding, or broken, or any of a dozen potentially fatal incidents. She just continually thanked her forebears that the cross into the town brought her only what she could handle, and healed what it could of those injured, leaving only the superficial wounds behind.

"Would you mind if I checked anyway? The transition takes care of most injuries, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't make certain a simple wound didn't turn nasty."

I eyed her skeptically. She clearly knew what was going on and while I appreciated her concern for my well being, I'd really rather know where I was. Normally I'd threaten or growl or do something equally stupid, but I just didn't have the energy. After all I'd been through, the least of which was getting shot, I didn't have the energy to put up a fight.

Plus, she controlled the flow of Coke. She was Arrakis.

"Alright, knock yourself out," I said with a shrug.

Maggie nodded and stepped around the counter, cloth in hand to stand at his back. "While you strip out of the jacket and shirt, I'll give you a little background on where you are, deal?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You're in a town, well, city now, I suppose, called Faelan's Folly. Most of us who've been around awhile just call it Folly, or the Folly. A few, I've heard, refer to it more as 'this fucking town' but I don't take offense. Call it whatever you wish." Maggie went on to give him the rest - how he was pulled from wherever he'd been and that they existed apart from the world he'd come from, and everything else that went along with it.

When she was finished and starting to look over the wounds, she paused. "Any questions?"

I eyed her for a moment, trying to determine if this was some sort of ambush. If it was, I was just as susceptible to it bare chested as I was standing here with a bloody shirt and holy jacket. Of course, I was still going to get topless in the middle of a coffee shop, so that was kind of weird.

Eventually I shrugged and peeled off the wet jacket and shirt as I mulled over what she had said. It sounded a lot like the City, which was both terrifying and a relief. I had done what I set out to do. Everyone was safe. Safe-ish. Everyone except- No. Not going to think about that now. Right now I need to prioritize.

"How did this place come to be like this?"

So. The chest was just as impressive as the rest of him. Good to know. She actually had to stifle a giggle when she touched just outside the raw edges of the wound with her fingertips, even on the stool he was taller than she was standing up.

"Another popular debate topic." Maggie placed the cloth over the wound to his back when she felt nothing foreign or malignant there, pulling moisture from the air to mix with the healing herbs she'd soaked into the cloth before letting it dry. "The short version is that the town was under attack, generations ago and somehow the town was removed from the threat. In the process, it was also removed from everything else. If you want the mechanics of how it was done, I can't help you there."

She came around to stand in front of him, and searched the front wound as well, pressing the wet cloth there as well. "It's almost like magic," she smirked, tongue in cheek.

I could feel some sort of magic working and my skin prickled with goosebumps. Unfortunately, I'm too tired to care or do anything about it. I'm fairly certain that it's not bad magic though, or maybe I'm just being hopeful. I'm a regular Suzie Sunshine since my death, apparently. How lucky for me.

I do want the mechanics of how it works, but apparently I'll have to look somewhere else for that answer. First things first though, she seemed to know I'm a wizard, which is interesting. Then again, she didn't seem all that surprised by my appearance and she lives in a place that clearly believes in magic. So she's either crazy, or she knows about real magic. She could also be crazy AND know about real magic though.

"Next are you going to ask me to pick a card, any card?"

Maggie laughed, pretty sure this one was, no matter what state he'd arrived in, not someone she'd have to speak to her preternatuals about. "Nope, and I don't have a top hat filled with hidden white rabbits. Though I should caution, if you're the type that thinks sawing a woman in half is a fun past time, without the magic box, there are a few in the city that know how to handle those of ill intent."

She looked up at him with a sparkle in her blue eyes. "So that leaves me to ask if you're a good witch or a bad one?"

"It's just too messy without the box," I said, realizing that it sounds kind of gruesome. Wizard humor can tend to be a bit dark. Okay, maybe that's just my humor but since I'm representative of the wizards as a whole from my world I get to make the sweeping generalizations.'

Her question though isn't as easy to answer as it once was. I've done some bad things, some really bad things, especially recently. Can I still call myself good after everything I just did? At the end of the day, I did what had to be done to save, well, a lot of people but my stake in it had been personal. I wouldn't sleep well for a long time but was I bad? Was I evil?

"I'm a wizard who is far, far too tired and hungry to cause any trouble. Besides, you're far too cute to not be really, really scary when you need to be."

Maggie laughed a little at the comment about the box and nodded. "True, it is. And you make that kind of mess here, you'll attract too may of the wrong sorts of people. People being a relative term, of course," she added cryptically.

She watched his face as he chewed over her question, wondering what was behind the answer. No matter what it was, she knew that his debate was answer enough. Anyone that conflicted had a good center, no matter what path they'd walked before arriving in her cafe. One of her more recent arrivals had taken a full five minutes before he'd even been able to meet her eyes.

"Then you're a smarter man than many that try to push me," Maggie winked and walked back around the counter. "Thankfully, you're in the right place for hungry. I've got what you see in the cases and the sandwiches listed on the board behind me."

"So I take it I can put my shirt back on?" I asked. It was still a little like a religious war, bloody and holy, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with it on.

The offer of food is good too. I'm not necessarily starving but my brain is in survival mode ride now making sure I get the basics when they're available. You never know when an invisible demon might try and eat your face and you wished that you had a decent last meal.

"Everyone's forever taking away my fun," Maggie said with a mock pout, "even you, and you haven't even been here an hour. This is not a sign of good things to come." She was grinning goodnaturedly as she said it, though. A little teasing always put the new arrivals at ease. "Want to tell me where you're from? Or are you the mysterious sort that's going to give me either half-answers or outright lies?"

I would think she's flirting with me but I'm pretty sure she's just being nice because I'm stranded in a weird dimension. Which, actually, is appreciated and I'm grateful for her efforts. I still put my shirt on though, just because it's a little too weird to be eating shirtless. I don't even do that at home. Not that I have a home to go to anymore.

"I don't lie. I'm terribly at lies. Deceiving with the truth is way, way more reliable for me. But I am from the mysterious and mystical city of She Cah Go in the land of Ill Eee Noise."

Maggie paused in the act of pulling out a tray of oatmeal raisin cookies she'd made that morning, playing over what he'd said until a smile tugged up one corner of her mouth. She let a brogue slip into her voice. "Aye an I've heard of such a mystical place. Just down the lane from Tir na nOg, is She Cah Go. Full of fancies and fae alike."

"Way, way more faeries than you ever want to deal with," I said. I immediately push away all the things associated with that in my mind because I am ignoring that right now and I'm super great at coping. Denial is a tried and true tactic and who am I to mess with a classic?

"Or at least than I want to deal with. Never mind that I end up dealing with them anyway."

Might have to get the prince of darkness to talk to this guy, Maggie thought as the cloud went back up over his head. It probably wasn't a bad idea, no matter the flippant thought. Both had the same air about them, anyway.

"You might here as well since we have a few of them. Not sure if they're the kind you're used to seeing or not, different worlds have different rules and so on. For the most part they're pretty benign, but if you really don't want to deal with any of them, I can give you a list of clubs to avoid. My best friend seems to attract them like spots on a white dress, so he'd know where to skip."

I barked a laugh at that, unable to help myself. At least it started out that way, but once the laughter was out, I couldn't stop it. After everything that had happened it just came out and I couldn't have held it back if I wanted to, which I didn't. It was cathartic, in a way, so I just let it happen. Of course, the girl probably thought that I was crazy. Since I am pretty nuts, that wouldn't be an entirely unfair assumption for her to make.

"Sorry, I just... don't worry. I don't do clubs, unless you're talking about the kind you hit people with and then it's mostly getting clubbed."

Since this wasn't exactly her first day doing this, Maggie just leaned back and let him go, waiting and sipping at coffee until he was finished with his emotional purge.

"If that's what you're into," Maggie smiled innocently back with a little wink, "I'm sure there are a few places that will suit."

I didn't like that wink, not at all, because it made the bottom drop out of my stomach and I should be way, way too tired to feel like that right now. It's kind of nice though, to have a good feeling to go along with the self-loathing and numbness, so I'll take it.

"I'm not so much in to it as it tends to happen. I guess I just have one of those faces."

"A face that causes people you don't really know to walk up to you on the street and say 'so you're the reason my life is for shit' and then punctuate the statement with a club? Fist? Well-aimed spit?"

Maggie's tone was teasing, but her expression said she probably had one of those faces, too.

"I think it's mostly the mouth part of my face that has that affect," I said, chuckling a bit. Of course, it's not like it's nice people that want to club me. Well, sometimes it is. But the vast majority of them are bad, bad people which I feel like counts for something.

"And mostly it's 'you ruined my dastardly plan' or 'you mocked and insulted me!' that gets it."

Maggie smirked. "I know someone like that. One of - well, my best friend. Sometimes the ruining of dastardly plans, but usually just because he's a sarcastic little shit." The last was said with very clear affection in both word and tone. "I won't guarantee that won't happen here, but there aren't many dastardly plans to speak of. Most of the ones likely to do things like that aren't given that much of a leash. The mocking and insulting is all on you, but we have good doctors and even a few healers if the club makes an appearance."

Her grin still evident, she continued. "I want to say something about 'meddling kids' but I'm not sure if the reference would mean anything to you."

"I assure you, I would never be sarcastic to that point," I said. "I would go far, far beyond that point."

I have to admit, some of the things I've gotten involved in are entirely my fault. I tend to go the extra mile sometimes, which brings down a lot of trouble for me later. Maybe I should watch what I say more carefully.

Nah.

"And if there's a world without Scooby Doo, I don't wnat to know about it."

Maggie giggled again. "Then we're of like minds as far as crime-solving dogs and their perennially hungry human companions go. I can't help you as far as speech filters go, though, I'm afraid, but I will wish you the best of luck. Now then, you mentioned being hungry. I can make you something here, or something to take home with you." She stopped, laughed, "which I should probably go over with you so you don't start thinking you'll be bunking in my dumpster over night. Unless that's a preference," she smirked again, holding up a hand. "I don't judge."

"Well, I just lost my home back in my world so this is pretty much out of the pan, into another pan." I said and gave a bit of a shrug. "Half of one, six dozen of the other."

I'm sure that wherever she has me staying is better than the Water Beetle. It's all about location, location, location and I'm pretty sure whatever location she's going to give me it won't have someone pointing a high powered rifle at it. That's the kind of living situation I can get behind.

"You can pretty much have whatever suits your fancy here. From a house, cabin in the woods, condo or apartment in the middle of downtown, ah....And now I've just realized that I've been a very poor welcoming committee." She extended a hand. "I'm Maggie Donnelly."

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