What the Nose Knows
21st of July 2006 A.D.
There is a part of you, loud and growing louder that just wants to pick up and head to Harry's right now.
What is mom going to do yell in front of the warded steel door all night? You can feel a smile pulling at the corners of your mouth at the mental image and then abruptly you stop.
I want her to be pissed off, so would I be doing this because I am worried about Harry's place and about Mouse or just because she would hate it?
Maybe it's pride, but you don't want to have
that fight with mom, the big one,
just because she pissed you off treating you like you are ten, if you are going to stand on principle than you want it to be rock solid the right thing to do and you have to admit guarding the unknown contents of Harry's laboratory probably doesn't count.
With an eye-roll to the uncaring night sky you get in the car. Without touching the dial the radio turns to your favorite station letting the worst of your anger flow out on leaden wings of bass.
"Dad I'm going to need some money for a cheap burner phone for Mouse, I'll pay you back." You rush out the words because you
don't want to see mom right now, just in case she takes into her head to ask you why you are going out again. At that point all the principles in the world aren't going to cut it.
"Those don't work very well around magic from what Harry told me..." he starts
"I can fix that now dad," you cut him off with a sheepish smile. "Just another sort of weird Molly magic."
"OK, be careful out there alright." from the tone it's clear he doesn't mean around the corner to buy a phone. "Do you need me to go sleep at Harry's?" he asks unexpectedly.
And that is the other reason you do not want to have the big fight, you remember abruptly very glad you had chosen to come home. Dad doesn't deserve to be caught in the middle. "No, it's OK dad, I think Mouse can handle himself and he'll be able to call for help if he has to," you reply with a smile, taking the money.
You briefly wonder if the inside of a bottom of the barrel Nokia is cramped for the spirit you will be conjuring, but Clippy is quick to dissuade you of the notion:
"The Silent-Enduring Domain of Matter is far preferable to the Cacophony of Eternally-Devouring Memory-Space."
And so Burny the Burner Phone is born, reborn maybe, his mark a pixelated flame logo and his ringtone
Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.
Lost 1 Essence
Biding Achieved for One Month
Mouse is glad to see you, though he is obviously worried about Harry from his body language. After a good sniff he judges that Burny is allowed in as well. You had reasoned that he could just bark at Burny who would know to call you, but Mouse is not happy with just that. Soon enough he is getting messages in by gently booping the keys with his nose, a sight as impressive as it is adorable. You swear Harry could solve all his money problems by just selling Mouse merch online.
"Do you and Mister need anything, food, water?" you ask once he is done sending his first text message.
A shake of his golden head assures you that he does not. You are about to leave when he pulls on your sleeve to wait.
"What?" you ask, then you see him go back to the phone. "Burnny read out what he writes."
"Harry... did ... not... tell... you... everything.... wanted... to... protect... you..."
Of course he did, it seems like everyone you knows wants to protect you, in spite of the fact that you are a lot more bullet-proof than they are.
"He... has... a case... The... Cold... Queen... asked... him... to... find... someone.... in... Chicago... According... to... her... they... will... not... be... here... long. Maybe... an... enemy... wants... him... to... fail."
An entire different layer of danger Harry is in that you did not know about because he did not tell you. Why would he not just tell you he's too busy to go after the Thule Society lead this week.
"Likely because you would then have asked what he is busy with mistress and the wizard is far less skilled at lying than you are at spotting lies, particularly when you impose your rightful authority upon the world. The best way for him to keep a secret would thus be to not mention it at all even obliquely," Usum offers far too reasonably. That sounds like Harry logic alright, take on another task that cuts into limited time just to make sure you do not know about the initial danger and get in the middle of it.
You turn to Mouse hoping he knows more, but he just shakes his shaggy head sadly. Mab had not given Harry the task in Mouse's hearing, all he had to go on was him speaking to someone else about the thing.
"Who was he talking to, maybe I can ask them," you reply. It's not even eight thirty, you can still go around town if you have to.
"Secret... Big ...Secret... DANGEROUS." Burny shouts out the all caps, which is just ow, he could have just
said it was capitalized.
Do you try to persuade Mouse to tell you who Harry was talking to?
[] Yes, you need to know all the trouble he's in if you are going to help him (Charisma+Empathy, can use excellency)
-[] Write in stunt
[] No, if this is an important secret for Harry you won't snoop, you can ask Father Forthil ask him, or better yet get him out of jail and ask in in person
[] Write in
OOC:If the Mab Mab Mab vote had actually won somehow the results would have been interesting. 
