trans_9 | Yesterday's holiday [Semi-open]

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Yesterday's holiday [Semi-open]

An appetizing aroma drifted out of the kitchen of the Susono Inn this afternoon, making its way up to the second floor. Not one that was particularly familiar, for Zouichi, but one Howard might recognize from the time he'd spent before the FAYZ had cut Perdido Beach off from the rest of the world. Though it might not be Thanksgiving anywhere else in the multiverse, Howard had decided it might as well be Thanksgiving now... and he'd coached Zouichi on the basics of the holiday as he remembered them.

[First thread is for residents of the inn only, characters passing by that notice something's up can show up in the second thread]

Zouichi had spent most of the morning setting up for the surprise meal while most of the others were out and Howard, in a gesture of unusual magnanimity, had offered to share some of the food he'd been stockpiling. They'd even found a nice tablecloth to drape over the table in the main hall, upon which each of foods was set: turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread -- even some homemade Swedish meatballs for Allenby (they weren't really a Thanksgiving food, apparently, but she'd requested them some time ago).

Of course, many of these had been canned or created from mixes -- easier to store, and much easier to make. But food was food. Now it was just time to wait for everyone else to show up.

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Zouichi sighed. "All right, fine." He totally wasn't going to lose, though. Not when it came to motorcycle racing. ~~NEVAR~~

"I trust I could find something embarrassing to tape you doing, anyway. So what are the stakes?"

Howard gives Cedric another blank look before shaking his head and returning his attention to the cat, who has gone from hungry nibbles on his fingers to painful bites that could be construed as malicious.

"Of course I will. Although I'd kind of feel bad, adding to your humiliation when..." Howard gestures at Cedric's bald head and hat.

"I don't know, Zou. What kind of prank spells do you know, Cedric? And I vote if Ced loses, he gets his eyebrows shaved off too."

Cedric visibly winces. Oh, he'd look absolutely awful...unless he found the spell to reverse it. There was always that.

"Oh, there are more than enough! I'm not the expert at pranks, that would be those Weasley twins, but I'm sure I can think of something. Turning him into a canary is one option, but that has risks. I could dye his hair purple, or make his sleeve sing every time it moves, or turn his bike into a goat?"

He smiles innocently.

"No touching the bike," Zouichi said, almost immediately. "And why are we suddenly discussing pranks? If you win, the next time we have a chance to stop off for supplies, I'll make you a meal of your choice. How's that?"

"Zooouuuu." Howard whines and palms his own forehead a bit. "You're ruining it. The point is to have someone to point and laugh at, not actually win something worth winning."

He slugs Zou in the arm a little. "Come on, Cedric gets it. Get into the spirit a little. Making him a meal only counts if you have to wear a funny costume or something."

Cedric shakes his head. "It doesn't have to be such a serious prank. What if I make one of your hairs grow long? I saw it cast on a first year once, it's Crinis---"

That's it! He suddenly looks absolutely delighted. Without further ado, he jumps from the table, tosses the hat aside, and shouts "Crinis!" His hair grows at a rapid rate, yes, but as he doesn't know how to stop it at his usual length it falls to shoulder length and looks rather like a mullet. Now he has a different problem.

"Ah...oops," he says sheepishly, pushing the hair over his shoulder.

"One of my--?" Zouichi stopped and stared as Cedric suddenly sprouted a lush mullet. Surely the envy of, uh. All the other mullets on the ship.

"I'm not so sure I'd like to be subject to one of your pranks, innocent or not," he said. It seemed as though Cedric didn't have perfect control over his magic.

And Howard just laughs hysterically at Cedric's new hair so hard he just about inhales a piece of turkey and has to stop to cough. When he's caught his breath again, he nods at Cedric. "I am never going to mistake you for stylish, Fabio."

He shakes his head at Zou. "When did you get to be such a wet blanket? I thought that was my job."

Cedric glowers at both of them. "I'm perfectly capable with spells I know well! This is just one I've only ever watched other people cast. I'll have you know that I've never failed to reverse someone's green hair."

He pushes the hair out of his eyes angrily. "It's an improvement, at least. All I need is a haircut."

Whatever, Howard. Zouichi wasn't risking mullet victimization.

"I do believe I have some scissors," Zouichi said, watching Cedric brush the hair from his eyes. "If you want, I could try and cut that back down to a more manageable size."

Hopefully Cedric's spell didn't affect everyone in close proximity. Perhaps he should give the scissors to Howard.

Hopefully, in a theoretical world where that thought hadn't already occurred to Howard and he wasn't already leaning far away from Cedric, the curliness of his hair would save his mullet from being an abject monstrosity.

"Don't deny Zou's barber skills. I've seen him work those shears in the garden."

"Don't worry so much," Cedric says to Howard, knowing what was happening. "I know this magic didn't work as I intended it to, but it was only cast on me."

He looks over at Zouichi, considers it, and then nods. "All right. I'd like to be able to see. But I'm not sure cutting my hair's quite the same as cutting a bush."

Zouichi considered this for a moment. "I'll just cut enough so that you can see and not have hair down to your shoulders. Then you can try and find someone who's a little more experienced to clean it up for you. How's that?"

He began rummaging through a nearby chest of drawers. He knew he'd put those scissors somewhere...

P.S. How hard could it be?

"Good. I like my hair how it is." He strokes his chin, looking at Cedric. "Maybe something mid-length? I thought it looked good last time."

Cedric's surprised but grateful for the second opinion. "That'll work. Don't worry, I'll find a way to fix it if it's not exactly perfect. I'd just like something between 'bald' and 'too much hair'."

He sits himself down in a nearby chair and waits patiently.

Zouichi glanced at Howard. "Did you start dabbling in fashion while I wasn't looking?" Face it, that was a weird thing for a kid who wore the same set of clothes every day to say.

Aha! He slipped the scissors out of their drawer, starting with the hair at the back of Cedric's head and beginning to clip away at the extra growth. Not too short, of course.

"No." Howard shoots Zou something close to a glare. Besides, it's the same set of clothes because he only has two sets and Kon bled all over the last set on Galilee. God, he hated everything on that planet that happened.

"Nose goes on the vacuuming," Howard says, tapping his nose. "I'll do dishes."

"I'll vacuum," Cedric offers, smiling faintly. Not that he'd actually use the vacuum, but he'll get the floor clean.

"Thanks for all of this, by the way." He's very happy that he's going to have his normal hair.

Nose goes what? Zouichi gave Howard a puzzled look for a moment, then turned back to Cedric's hair, moving gradually on to his bangs. It should be fine if he just cleared the hair out of Cedric's eyes, right?

After a few more moments, he lowered the scissors. "I think that about does it. And actually, I think your hair might be a little too long to vacuum. I'll go see if I can find a dustpan."

"Ced's just going to turn it to feathers or something. Make it something really pretty, make Alan jealous."

Clearly Howard's going to have to teach Zouichi the nuances of nose-goes and 'not it!'. He tilts head at Cedric, considering. "I think it looks fine."

"Just for that I won't," Cedric laughs, flicking his wand and concentrating again. The stray hairs float up and change into glass beads, all floating into a little bag. Maybe someone would need them someday.

Howard's judgment seems trustworthy enough. Cedric smiles and stands, raking a hand through his hair. Oh, how he missed being able to do that. "Thank you, both of you. I'll have to repay you for all of this."

Howard looks impressed by the glass beads. That sort of power, transforming things, certainly would have been handy back home. "I bet you're a real hot shot at marbles."

He starts collecting people's dishes, making sure each is completely cleared before he puts them in the sink. "Don't think you don't. I'll remember you owe us a favor."

Zouichi frowned; unlike most of the people on the ship, Cedric's magic didn't seem oriented toward offensive effects, like creating fire or freezing things -- or even other areas, like healing or defensive measures. That made it unpredictable and in his mind, dangerous. What was to keep him from turning everyone else into glass beads if he so chose?

"Can you do that to anyone?"

"It's possible, but I wouldn't," Cedric shook his head. "It's a powerful spell, and Transfigurations of living beings into objects or objects into living beings don't tend to last. It wears off. There are branches of magic that focus on torturing, controlling, and killing people, but they're not taught at Hogwarts."

He shuddered. Torture hadn't been fun. Dying...well, that idea was even less fun. "The most we learn about combat is how to defend ourselves with simple stuns, jinxes, and hexes."

Howard gives an exaggerated shudder. It's not like Cedric hasn't already mentioned the many ways magic can be used to hurt people, but it still is never fun to hear there are even more ways people can use their superpowers to kill you. "Even if transforming wears off, would it even matter if you destroyed the inanimate object?"

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