bravenewworld | Another Town, Another Problem

A

Everyone's probably seen the ad at some point or another. It's been in the newspapers for around about a year now and passed around here and there on business cards. Small, unassuming but the subject of a few mumbles among people who actually notice it. And who can blame them, while the format isn't exactly an attention grabber the content is probably unusual enough. A simple address beneath a block of plain, boring text.

HARRY DRESDEN - WIZARD AND PRIVATE DETECTIVE
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainment

The address points to a simple office on the third floor of a building in Union's business district. A frosted glass window on the door proudly displays the same name and title as the ad. Anybody venturing inside will find a musky old office containing little more than a worn old desk with a few equally worn chairs in front of a small window with a wonderful view of the brick wall next door, a couple of filing cabinets and a couch against one wall that looks very much like it had been dragged off a curb somewhere. A ceiling fan squeaks obnoxiously overhead.

More important is probably the tall man stretched out on that couch. One hand dangling off the side next to an empty coffee cup resting on its side and a magazine over his face muffling his snoring. A Lillipup snoozes away curled up on his chest.

... Business is slow.

B.

There's a man wandering around the streets of Union. A very, very tall man in a long black leather duster and otherwise plain clothes and sneakers. Mouse the Lillipup trots along at his side as he weaves and wanders his way through the streets.

It's a pretty strange sight as the man doesn't seem to have any idea where the heck he's going. Just kind of weaving around randomly on the streets and sidewalks, even doubling back and looping around here and there. Is he blind? Maybe. That'd certainly explain the tinted glasses he's wearing despite the sun beginning to dip over the horizon.

Maybe he's just piss drunk.

Blind or not, he's not particularly watching where he's going so you'd better watch out if you cross his path unless you want to get run over. Or you can stop him if you're feeling more curious.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Huh. That's... weird."

Weird but not immediately worrisome. More a curiosity to mull over when there weren't bigger fish to fry, so to speak. One of those bigger fish was the situation this young man was getting himself into. Waver was young, and meant well, but at that age it was pretty easy for somebody to overlook potential dangers, or miss possible mistakes.

"... I know her. She and I go back a few years, back in Sanctuary." He let out a slow breath, scratching his head. "I think you're right about her not wanting to cause any trouble but, you do know the kind of trouble you're risking by taking her in, right?"

It was a very weird coincidence, but not one that Waver was worrying about. He had other problems to consider, like taking in a former Gigan commander who had been made into a Homunculus and an escapee from Gigas' Enhanced programs and placing them under the same roof.

"Very. More than you realize."

He wasn't going to divulge everything he knew. Nero was more than deserving of her privacy after everything that she had to have endured at the hands of her captors and betrayers.

"And I know what I'm talking about when I say that she won't go and hurt anyone here. Others? I can't guarantee...but she's honest, and that is more than many of the older Magi in Sanctuary."

Yeah, no. All of that was definitely more worthy of worrying about than a couple of extremely unlikely lookalikes.

Waver didn't have to tell him anything he knew about Nero. Harry had been involved enough with the Resistance, and had enough dealings with the Council to know full well where prisoners of war ended up in Sanctuary. He'd been locked out of knowing her ultimate fate but this was just confirmation of what he'd long suspected and it turned his stomach.

Stars and stones.

"Sometimes the only difference between honesty and dishonesty is getting stabbed in the gut or in the back." Now he really did sound like a cynical old man. "But I'll keep an ear to the ground. Make sure you know about it if trouble is coming your way."

"I'd still rather see my enemy coming than not see them at all."

And that, truly, was the only degree of wisdom necessary for survival in this world. A possible enemy who was upfront about their intentions was far preferrable over a potential enemy who comes from nowhere.

Besides, the one thing that always came up whenever people spoke highly of Nero was her honesty-- he was fairly certain that she didn't pose a threat to Union.

"And...thanks, Dresden. I really appreciate that. If you need compensation for anything, I've got a desk job with the Rangers that pays decent enough. And, I can always convince Grandma Martha to make a little extra food on Sundays so I can bring you the leftovers. Her meatloaf and potatoes are excellent. They taste homey, if you get that."

"Doesn't change the fact that you've got a knife in you."

Waver had half of that right. An enemy you knew and saw coming was better than the one you didn't know was there at all... but the part he was missing was that the best thing was to be the the enemy that the other guy saw coming. The best kind of enemy was the one you hit first.

Which was pretty much what Harry was worried about.

"Not really." He said without thinking and winced a bit at himself. Harry didn't talk about his past but it probably didn't take much of a deductive stretch to know that home-cooked meals prepared with love were something he really didn't know anything about, but that didn't mean he had to dump that all over Waver. "But I have heard good things. I'll hold you to that. Double if I do get caught up in any trouble."

"Let's hope neither of us get in any trouble," he said, and meant it entirely.

But he would make good on his deal and pay Dresden any fees that were accrued during the course of these affairs...and, sometimes, deliver him some hot food. Mages liked to eat, and it didn't seem like this self proclaimed 'wizard' even had enough funds to his name for a decent meal.

"I'm with you on that one." Harry nodded, meaning it just as much. Hope for the best and be ready for the worst and all.

He wasn't actually going to send the kid a bill or anything. Waver needn't have worried too much, business was slow but Harry was managing to scrape by enough to keep himself fed. Even if he wasn't swimming in money and fine foods. He wasn't starving either.

Didn't mean he wasn't going to go for another of those curry buns. Take what you can get.

"... Just watch out for yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, you too."

He nodded curtly, understanding the nature of the situation. While things weren't perfect, they were all right enough in Union. It was a very different environment from the one they had been raised in-- it was brighter, and more hopeful. But, that didn't mean it was without danger.

They just needed to stay alert and stay safe. It was all they could do.

"So far, so good."

Union was a nice place to live and in the months since leaving Sanctuary he'd come to like it here. It wasn't a dangerous place, but the world came with its own mess of dangers that threatened it.

Dangers that would have to get by him first. Union was his town now.

"How's the studying going by the way? You still working at your magic?"

"Of course," he said, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"I actually find it easier to practice here than I did back home. The only hard part is getting books, but that just leaves the path open for some experimentation."

Naturally. He should have known better.

"That's good. This place is a lot easier to get by in than back home, even without Gigas." He nodded. "Books'll only take you so far anyway."

"I've also learned a whole lot more here than I would have in any classroom," Waver confessed, tugging at the sleeves of his Ranger's jacket.

"I never imagined that I'd do anything in the wilderness before leaving Sanctuary. Now? I've helped find new areas and even found a new pokemon."

"Good for you, kid." He meant it too. Completely. Waver'd done well for himself and come far in the last little and now had a whole lot more opportunities than Harry did at that age. He didn't have many regrets and he'd probably do it all over again if could go back, but it was still good to know that somebody else's life could take a different, better turn.

He grinned a little, puffing up in a bit of mock-pride.

"But I got my own office."

"It's a lot better than sharing an office with a bunch of people, I'm sure."

He was teasing, but not entirely. He was glad that Dresden had found a place for himself in the city as well-- the sanctions and heavy reliance on tradition in Sanctuary never suited the man, which was likely part of why Dresden was such a big thorn in he Council's side.

For now things would be different for the both of them...and, perhaps one day, they can tell the Council of Magi to 'shove it' and work toward reforming Sanctuary.

Another Town, Another Problem

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