OTA

[pecked_by_birds]

When he'd first returned to London, Prometheus had found himself back at his old studio. It was nothing special, a narrow building wedged between a high street shop and a bakery. The second floor served as a modest apartment, but the ground floor had, at one point, been a small shop. ...A shop the titan had ignored until today.

Old paintings hung from the walls, trinkets and treasures lined the shelves... There were crates of books- Vintage by now, and the case by the counter held everything from women's compacts to queer amulets. Things the titan had gathered and created over the years. ...Things he was ready to let go of.

He'd spent the night dusting and sweeping, washing windows and tidying away the mess. This morning he'd opened the shutters for the first time in ages, allowing the sunlight to pour in as he flipped the sign to open, and sank into a comfortable leather chair near the ancient looking register.

An old boom box sat on the counter, filling the shop with sound as the titan flipped open his old sketchbook and picked up where he'd left off years and years ago.

Comments

[pecked_by_birds]

"Often not to the one who drew it either," the titan grinned. "Blessings are often tainted by true intention- Magic can be so dangerous, and yet it's everywhere. ...You, my dove, reek of the stuff. It clings to you like ash clings to the feet of those who walk barefoot through the fire."

[harrowgate]

Quickly, Felix was beginning to recognize the familiarity he sensed around the (seemingly) young fellow. His lyrical speech, the sweet pet name, and the startling recognition of what Felix was -- it put him in mind of his first meeting with Robin Goodfellow.

He smiled, slowly and carefully, in response to the other man's observation. "That will come of being a wizard," Felix noted, with a small half-bow.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I see- And what sort of wizard are you then?" the titan asked curiously.

[harrowgate]

In response, Felix tugged back the sleeve of his jacket and held up his left hand, displaying the riot of tattoos encasing his fingers, hand, wrist, and disappeared up his sleeve. On the palm, a faint outline of a blue eye was similarly inscribed.

Cabaline wizards had worn these tattoos on their hands for centuries. If the shopkeeper knew anything about English magic, he would know them.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Ah," the titan grinned. "It's been a while since I last saw these. ...Come closer, allow me a better look."

[harrowgate]

It was rare to meet someone who recognized the Cabaline tattoos. Most of his fellow wizards remained sequestered within magical society. Felix was one of the few who lived fully in the world, not mostly in the Mirador.

He stepped nearer, offering out both hands for the shopkeeper to examine. Felix did not wear his magic-focusing rings in public, but he did wear a men's gold ring on one center finger, adorned with a pair of entwined leaves -- a gift from Shannon. "When was the last time you met one of us?" he inquired, wondering if his sense of this person being far older than he looked was correct.

[pecked_by_birds]

"A very long time ago," the titan admitted. "It was a brief meeting, but images have a way of lingering in this mind," he said, tapping the side of his head as he studied the wizard's hands.

"Things get jumbled up, but they rarely fade."

[harrowgate]

"How long is 'long ago'?" Felix inquired, allowing him to look as long as he liked. "More than twenty years, I expect, no matter how the blush of youth becomes you, darling."

He'd once had a delightful time bothering Robin by guessing his age at forty. Felix smiled to himself at the memory of it.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Far more than twenty," the titan laughed, taking hold of the wizard's hands and squeezing gently before letting go. "It was before cars filled the streets, I'm sure of it."

[harrowgate]

"We were a touch more visible in those days," he allowed, inclining his head in a nod. When his hands were released, he slid back a half-step and offered one of them in proper greeting. "Felix Harrowgate."

His name had faded from the news once again, and the memory of his photo and the suspicion of his guilt. Felix had stopped caring about the reactions of others.

[pecked_by_birds]

The titan rarely followed mortal gossip, and the name meant nothing to him.

"Prometheus," he replied, taking the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Felix."

[harrowgate]

To Felix, that name was a metaphor, not a living being whose hand he could clasp. He still looked a bit surprised to hear it. "The pleasure is mine. Do you always go by your full name?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"It's not one easily shortened," the titan replied, laughing softly at the idea of being given some odd little nickname.

[harrowgate]

And yet, the long-lived seemed delighted to call the merely mortal by a host of complimentary pet titles. Robin rarely called Felix by his given name, at least. He smiled. "I suppose that's so. I'm not fond of mine being shortened, either. So," Felix went on, stepping back to take a look around the shop with fresh eyes, "anything you'd recommend for a wizard about town?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"That depends on what you fancy, dove," the titan purred. "What do you hunger for?"

[harrowgate]

Felix's brows climbed delicately. He felt he ought to answer the question honestly, for some reason, rather than flippantly. Honesty was not something to which Felix Harrowgate was accustomed, and he hesitated for a long time. Power. Knowledge. Control. More. "I'm... not sure I know how to answer that question," he finally said.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Oh, but it's an easy question to answer," the titan assured him. "We all lust for something."

[harrowgate]

"I..." Felix began, and then surprised himself by saying, "I like to be in control."

[pecked_by_birds]

The titan considered that for a moment, then headed over to a small display case near the back. When he returned he was holding what appeared to be a hollowed out tusk. The outside was carved in jagged patterns and shapes, and the lid locked neatly into place with a single thin pin, carved from bone.

"This is a very powerful vessel. It requires no spell- Only the right ingredients. You can control many things with this- The will of others, with nothing more than a lock of their hair bound with a silk ribbon- Or yourself, with little more than a drop of blood and a petal from a freshly cut rose. ...It will not remove free will, only make your suggestions and desires more appealing to others, and allow you to focus and direct your own mind."

[harrowgate]

Felix stared at him, lips half-parted, unsure whether to believe him... but wanting to. Wanting very much.

Distantly, Felix recalled that when the mythical Prometheus brought fire as a gift to humanity, he did it by tricking the king of the gods. But his fingers were already reaching out to touch the outside of the vessel.

"And you think I can be trusted with this?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"I don't think anyone can be trusted with it," the titan admitted. "Not even myself. ...I didn't create it though, and I'll not be the one to destroy it. My part in its journey is only to place it in the hands of another, and to watch events unfold."

[harrowgate]

Felix's brows knitted, but he was still touching the dangerous-looking patterns on the outside of the horn. "You don't care what I choose to do with it, whether it's good or evil."

[pecked_by_birds]

"I care," the titan replied, "It isn't my place to intervene though, and I've always enjoyed a bit of chaos anyway."

[harrowgate]

The vessel was in Felix's hands before he quite realized he'd taken it. He glanced up at the fellow calling himself Prometheus, and asked rather dryly, "Learned your lesson about intervening, did you?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"That wasn't intervening exactly- More an act of defiance," the titan shrugged.