Put it in 'O' for Onward!

"Later squirt," Nick called back just as quickly.

The sigh was quiet as Luca went back to the ice cream and watched what they were getting up to.

To Barley he said, "That sounds like a plan. Most of those are things we can cover with materials you've got on hand or things that are easy to get your hands on. When you get to parts like the engine, we'll need to tap in a sorcerer but I've seen it done before so I know how to desribe it."

Of course he'd seen it. it was the only way his own van was still running. You think a normal van would still be in operation after over 50 years of use?

"I ordered a lot of plastic covers for things but I'm not sure they're the best for retrofitting this thing," Barley began with a shrug. "Figured a lot of this is gonna be elbow grease and duct tape. Guinevere can handle a lot, she's had to endure me for years." He turned back to the van, his pride and joy, and felt relief that he was getting help from someone who got it.

"Well good thing we've got a sorcerer in the family, eh? I told Ian that magic was handy."

The one difference was that Nick had a mild version of the elf allergy which meant he'd needed to learn how to safely elf proof the whole thing to be able to function. Barley was only working on that now. But he was happy to share his skills.

Nick saw Luca pouting slightly and sighing down at their phone, nibbling at the ice cream that had come out. Typical, but smarter to start with considering Luca was the most allergic of all of them there.

"Hiya Barley. What's on the docket for today?"

"Well, I'm trying to work on the most obvious parts first so I'm thinking door edges, hinges, and other things like that first. The parts that are the most-likely to be touched and then work my way to the least-likely." He wasn't sure how to cover them properly but he'd try anything at this point.

"Luca's our supervisor."

For most of Barley's life, he's counted his lucky stars that he didn't have the allergies that most elves had. His mother was always careful but Barley had held his own anxieties about her safety close to the chest. Growing up, he'd tried to grab at metal objects before she could like doorknobs or tools to ensure that they would be safe materials for her.

Felt a little surreal to do that for her family now.

"Hey Nick!" Barley greeted the older cousin, a lazy wave tossed in his direction. Luca had already come but Barley had given them the directions to stay at a distance for now. He'd brought out some ice cream, though, to beat some of the creeping afternoon heat. "Ready to rumble?"

Mom had to change jobs and everything; Ian didn't know exactly what all of that involved but it was probably a lot and not very easy. Things didn't sound very easy when you were an adult; mom came home late so often during the week and sometimes he was already asleep so he didn't even see her until the next morning.

He hoped it wouldn't be like that there too.

Ian nodded, reaching for his stuffed octopus, a souvenir from a family beach trip that he'd attached to so immediately and hadn't let far out of sight since, to keep his hands occupied.

Barley was going to be running off to look for treasure and Ian had thought things would be normal there. But that was his brother's version of normal.

He nodded again; museums weren't so bad, even if he didn't know what all museums even had in them in England. The usual things, he supposed; dinosaurs and fossils and things dug up from places far away, or art if it was one of those types of museums. Either was fine really; although he knew the latter wouldn't appeal as much to Barley.

"I'm sure there's a bookstore," Laurel tried, "maybe somewhere like the comic book store back home too." If nothing else that budding interest was sure to hold Ian's attention lately, and books were usually a safe bet to gain his interest.

He did consider that for a moment; he'd have his own room to read in if he wanted to go somewhere quiet, wouldn't he?

"And everything is close; you two can walk plenty of places together without having to wait for me to pick you up. Maybe even from school, we'll have to see how far that is from the new house."

Laurel did hope the idea that home was easily accessible just a walk away would settle some of Ian's nerves and give Barley all the chance he wanted to explore without her worrying they were too far.

"Walking everywhere will be cool! No riding the city bus anymore!" Barley was happy about that. They hadn't done a ton of public transit but being that close to Detroit had meant at least some of it. Barley had been pretty confident in his abilities to navigate it but Ian had never seemed to like it and mom had been apprehensive. Barley figured this would probably be better.

His favorite song came on the radio, interrupting the conversation by Barley's impulse to sing along. He started tapping at Ian's arms and legs, emphasizing certain words and phrases as the lyrics required. It felt hopeful, light, and he was saying a silent prayer that Ian would like it in their new home once he got used to it.

Mom was always telling Barley to give Ian time to adjust to stuff. Barley was all Go Go Go and Ian was much more cautious.

"How many books do you think you could carry home from the bookstore?" Barley asked Ian, hoping to focus on something he knew his brother enjoyed. "Or do we need to take the wagon?"

It didn't make any kind of sense to Nuka. But then he supposed nothing about this town made much sense. "And there's no rhyme or reason to which one it ends up being? Nothing that went on in town that would cause a town-wide psychosis like that?"

Nuka wanted to leave, honestly. But he had a job to do. And he couldn't go until he had done everything he could to make mother happy. No matter how much he disliked everything that this person was telling him.

"I think I'll pass on the therapy session and all, but thanks," Nuka said. He'd rather die than get all emotional with some shrink about some wacky dreams. That was nothing for him. "Good to know though. But they're just dreams right? So there's nothing really to worry about."

"Group isn't for everyone," Barley conceded. "Just good to know you've got the resource, right? Typically they don't have any affect on the real world, you get what you give in terms of if they will linger afterwards. Some people put stock into those connections and some choose to ignore, bury, and forget. It's a personal perspective thing."

Barley, personally, liked to at least try and find meaning in them. What if someone he fell in love with was his soulmate? But.. Also, what if all of those deaths meant something more ominous?!

Maybe she should have higher standards.

Then again, she was rather hungry...

He was getting drawn in nearer to her. Gabby smiled, batting her eyelashes as she leaned a bit closer as well.

"I'm glad to be here, and to have found such a noble knight to sweep me off my feet," she replied, her voice soft and low, her eyes half lidded as she reached up to push some of his hair back off his forehead.

Her fingers trailed lightly down the side of his face to his neck. She could feel his pulse thundering away. So strong. So enticing. Gabby smiled again briefly as she leaned in to close the gap so their lips could meet. Gabby was fair with her meals, she liked to make sure they were happy and satisfied too. It made them taste all the sweeter.

Barley's lips met Gabrielle's gently, a warmth flowing through his whole body. He had been on a few dates here or there recently but there was something different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. An instant attraction he couldn't otherwise place.

This town was definitely going to be a bizarre experience. Nuka was already regretting coming. But what mother asked for she got. And Nuka would make sure that Kovu got it together as soon as possible. This place didn't feel as well suited for Nuka as London.

"I just missed one of those shared dreams?" Nuka asked with a raised eyebrow. "And everything is really the same for everybody in those?" It sounded a little too crazy. But then, with magic he supposed it could go as crazy as it wanted to be.

His eyebrows furrowed. "August? What happens in August?"

Barley was happy to be this guy's Exposition NPC.

"Well, there's always a Town Dream in August, it's a little-studied but well-known phenomenon. Sometimes it's something silly like the children's book Warrior Cats and sometimes it's you getting murdered in the Hunger Games. Honestly, it can be really fun but I'd suggest checking out the group sessions at Jiminy's after your first one. Helps you process everything."

Barley shrugged, fiddling with the keys to his van. "You never know what you'll get."

He pulled his car up in front of the town hall. Might as well get information from the center of it all. He parked his car and locked it, stepping away to study the place before he went inside. There were a ton of different pamphlets. But the one that stood out to him was one on a lesson that explained the town's mysterious phenomena.

He raised an eyebrow at he read some of the contents of the pamphlet itself before he twisted around, spotting a stranger passing by. "Hey. You know about this class or group or something? It actually useful or just some nonsense to fearmonger?"

Talking to Archimedes was always an adventure, though, and even Barley left that conversation with a mild headache.

He was thrown off-kilter by the question, not having expected to be derailed on his way out of the building. "Oh that's real, alright," Barley said with a bemused expression. "You actually, uh, just missed one? They happen at least once a year, though usually a couple times. The class is worth taking if you're sticking around past August."

He had wanted to be a sorcerer like his father when he'd been younger, before starting school and being told so many times how dangerous being a Magick at all was and being looked at nervously by adults, of all people, just for being a Magick that didn't even have magic to use! He hadn't really wanted to be a sorcerer anymore after that; he didn't want to accidentally hurt people like everyone seemed to think he might just because he was an elf.

He wasn't sure why Barley wanted magic so badly but he couldn't ever remember his brother not talking about it like it wasn't something big and important. He didn't like to argue though because their mom always looked a little sad when he said anything bad about magic.

He'd have to convince Barley not to go looking for dragons when their mom wasn't around.

"Put my books up," Ian answered easily; he would have his own room in a big house and the idea of doing whatever he wanted to with it was one of the positives to moving, wasn't it? "And I want to paint my room blue."

A bit predictable, yes, but it was his favorite color.

"Barley, be nice." Laurel's tone was stern but gentle, a reminder not to antagonize his brother.

Barley deflated, just a little. "I didn't mean it in a mean way! I meant it in a I thought it was obvious way!" Barley protested but he quieted when he caught his mom's look in the mirror. Right, no arguing about that. "But really, it does depend on what the item is! If it's a magical book we can learn stuff or if it's a magical shield we can protect our house or maybe it could be, like, a magical shoe that lets us fly or-or-or-"

"Breathe, Barley," Laurel chuckled but otherwise left the boy alone with his roaming imagination.

"What kind of magical item would you pick if you could have anything, Ian? I think I'd want something that could help me with my homework or like a super cool sword." Ah yes, the two sides of Barley's desires.

Ian's answer as to what he wanted to do next was, yes, predictable. "I meant, like, what adventure do you wanna go on? You can decorate your room any time!"

"I certainly love an adventure," she said, walking close to him as they made their way to the van.

The van was painted and bold, and very clearly something he loved deeply. Now, Gabby might seem the type to turn up her nose at something like this, but she herself had very eclectic tastes. And she knew how much personalized things meant to people. She spent most of her life giving higher value and meaning to objects, treating them like little creatures that deserved love and care and to be treasured.

She knew how much something could mean to someone, and it was clear how much this van meant to Barley.

"She's beautiful," Gabby replied as he helped her in. The inside just made her feel a little more connected, seeing the postcards and trinkets that covered the interior. "It seems like the two of you have gone on plenty of adventures together."

Gabby didn't let go of the hand that had helped him into the van. "I don't think I've ever been in a vehicle with so much personality. Or so cozy." Gabby sat down on the blanket covered floor, giving his hand an encouraging tug to sit with her, looking him over with a half lidded gaze. "A true reflection of her driver, it seems."

He sat beside Gabby, feeling that warmth tenfold as he placed himself there. She was enthralling, truly, and he didn't know how to look away. Nor did he want to, really. Well, part of him wanted to ramble about the history of the van and his great many adventures but he held back.

There were other things afoot.

"My lovely steed and I do appreciate such a fair maiden gracing us with her presence." He was Barley, after all, and some behaviors didn't simply disappear with his brain turning quiet. He had stumbled over a few of those words, though, drawn closer to her like a moth to the flame. "I'm.. glad you're here.."

Ian was less sure about that one; all sorts of creatures lived in lakes. And of course all sorts of creatures lived in the ocean too, but they didn't live close to the shore, except for the small ones usually. He didn't mind the small ones. But go out into the deeper water and there were things like sharks, and manta rays, and even whales. Although the whales weren't going to hurt you of course. But the big creatures didn't come into the shallow areas, that was the point really.

But lakes all the creatures that lived in them were right in that one spot, and what if the lake was really deep? What if it was deep enough for some giant animal to be living at the very bottom of it? It was a magic town, wasn't it? So maybe there was some sort of giant magical animal in the water.

The thought was not a comforting one and Ian fidgeted again, missing his mom's reassurance that they would go see a proper beach sometime in the summer because in his mind he was already thinking about what creatures lurked in the darkness of the stagnant lake waters.

"What?" Ian was still trying to come to terms with the idea of creatures under the waters when Barley pointed out an entirely different problem; creatures in the forest.

And just looked at his brother, barley wanted to find a dragon and that was not surprising by any means whatsoever, but what exactly did Barley think they were going to do If they did find a dragon? Dragons were very big, they probably didn't like to be found, and Ian didn't want to know what happened if you disturbed one.

Unicorns were probably okay, they did have those long horns but they were supposed to be nice, weren't they? They were still wild animals though. He was thinking about all of this while he was sitting there; back home they had lived more or less in a suburban setting and aside from things like raccoons or sometimes even a fox roaming around the area, squirrels another rodents, maybe even the rare opossum? Ian was perfectly fine with leaving wildlife to the zoos they sometimes visited and he could watch them from behind the safety of the enclosure walls, or out in the wild where they were supposed to be, far away from his house.

The idea of having a magical forest so close with magical creatures in it was suddenly unsettling.

"Why do you want to find a dragon? Dragons are big," Ian tried to reason with his brother.

"Dragons are big," Barley agreed, glancing toward their mother who was holding back laughter. Barley could always tell when Mom was trying her best to let her boys talk without interrupting in any way. She wanted to see how this conversation was going to go. Her boys were so different but they did get along pretty well considering all of that. "But just because they're big doesn't mean they're bad! Some dragons are really nice, actually. I think that this town would have a nice dragon that would give us treasure or magical items."

That hadn't been his first thought, of course, but Barley didn't actually want to scare Ian.

"Well what do you wanna do when we get there?"

"Excuse me," Barley interrupted, spotting someone passing by. "Any chance you can get into [Name Redacted]? I'm... struggling today." There was just something about the mysterious coffee shop's dark roast that was so unique. Each coffee shop had their purpose and today just.. did not feel like a Hatter's day.