Not So Subtle

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I try not to give straight answers. It doesn't really fit my style."

Wyll continued their staredown with Sam, a battle of Wil....err...strength of character. And it wasn't the Raven who blinked first. Rather than submit, Wyll, gave a small shrug and a little laugh, and looked away first.

"It was...necessary," they said. "There is a...kinship there we needed to know more about. A hole that needed filling. The mirror; that glorious contraption you two cobbled together. A framing for the Wild Clay itself. A binding, and yet, at the same time, a pathway to unbounded potential. A version of myself, that needed structure, else he overflowed? How fascinating. How different. How novel. That mirror is surely one of the wonders of the world, and oh, what I would not give to have it in my collection.

But you do not steal from a Goddess. That is against the rules, and if there is ONE thing that the Wyldclay is, it's the obedient servant. To the rules; to tradition; bound by word and deed to courts old and unknowable; found as a foundling and bound as a bounding bundle of merry mirth and mayhem. But always, and forever and ever, bound to command and to serve. And so I would not, could not, should not take your creation.

And yet...the knowledge of it's being gnawed at my soul. And so I had to have some here, to study and test and run between my toes until I knew it inside and out, back and forth, as if it were part of me. And to give my gifts to it; and to receive in turn the lessons it had learned."

"And, yes, for fun," they admitted with a laugh. "What is the point of living if you do not do so with a full heart? Quite honestly, if you two claim ownership of it, I could teach you a thing or three about proper care and handling."

[Samantha McManus]

"The one you sent broke the mirror beyond repair."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"And so I brought a siren with a sniper rifle to take her down -- a misjudgment on my part, perhaps. Would you care to help me correct that little mistake?"

[Miriam Bell]

"Poor choice of tools to send a knife. I'd expect more from a Will." Miriam nods. But this is not their Will, right? Why then does it feel like they're much more similar than her or Sam's dimensional alternates? "An what, now you want us to help you catch those two?"

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Kill, most likely. I'm not sure how one would restrain and defang a Deva, especially one who has stolen something that actually matters. She stole a wishing Orb from our vaults. And that is what has caused...well, your lovely dance routine."

[Samantha McManus]

"I think you know what we're going to ask for in return."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Tell me we're not entertaining this," Tosh said uncomfortably, "Because I sure as hell didn't sign up to kill anyone."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I think you know what we're going to ask for in return."

"Fine, yes, I'll introduce you to my tailor," Wyll sighed, blowing the hair out of their eyes. "He can make something out of you, I'm sure."

[Samantha McManus]

"We'll expect our friend back. In spite of, or maybe even because of how much you poked and prodded him, he's going to want to get back to the rest."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Well, then, you'll definitely want to help me track down our rogue Agents. For, you see, I left it in her car."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Leo facepalmed. "Of course you did."

He looked over at Tosh. "You have my word. I will do everything in my power to keep it from coming to that. Neither of them have done anything worthy of lethal measures yet."

They would be put in containment, which he didn't exactly believe was right but they would be alive. If summary execution was the Society's play, then he should get out while he can before they decide he's outlived his usefulness.

[Miriam Bell]

"I enjoy Will being cheeky but this full-on scheming better not have rubbed off."

[Samantha McManus]

Sam dignifies Miriam's quip with a brief snort, but she's still staring at the Wyldclay.

"...in your long, long experience, is it wise to lie to a goddess?"

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I wouldn't know. I've never done it before. Shall we try an experiment?" Wyll grinned. "I have learned quite a bit from my counterpart, after all."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Leo lightly groaned. He can lie now. Fantastic.

"Just tell them where their friend is, Wyldclay. They don't owe you jack shit in return for what never belonged to you," he growled in annoyance. He never liked the impish creature, but he hadn't started to actively loathe them until then.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Hrm. You know, a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have had any alternative but to tell you when you put it like that. But, as I say, I've lived and learned so much, that I think I rather enjoy not telling you," Wyll giggled to himself

"But fine. I swear, by the horn of Oberon, that your 'friend' is currently safe, well-cared for, and not in any immediate danger of having either status change. And that I shall take no action, or selected inaction, to change that fact in any foreseeable circumstance.

And that, if you wish to enter a pact with me, I shall trade your friend for the service of hunting down and stopping the two rogue agents, and the return of my Orb. The society's Orb," they corrected themselves. "Payment upon delivery. Is that a bargain, Ravenkeeper?"

[Samantha McManus]

"It's a bargain. Just bear in mind that I'm going to be bringing a being back who has very particular ideas about oathbreakers."

"Which isn't to say I'm inclined to let you off easy myself."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

"I'd be happy to go with you. I'm sure you could use the muscle and the Society would want someone along," Leo offered.

After a moment, he added, "Though, after this." He motioned to the half-destroyed mall. "They may not trust me to keep you out of trouble."

[Miriam Bell]

"Impossible task, if you ask me."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"I'd be happy to go with you. I'm sure you could use the muscle and the Society would want someone along," Leo offered.

After a moment, he added, "Though, after this." He motioned to the half-destroyed mall. "They may not trust me to keep you out of trouble."

"Well, I certainly wasn't planning on letting four interdimensional miscreants loose to wander while we track down our next steps. I don't suppose you could resist the urge to hand our 'guests' the nuclear launch codes? Perhaps refrain from letting them tour the Kremlin? Withhold the secrets of 11 herbs and spices?"

[Samantha McManus]

"If you can't keep your own agents down on the farm after they've seen the big city, I really doubt he can be blamed for failing to corral us."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

"Besides, I don't have any top secret knowledge to spill that they haven't figured out on their own." Leo wasn't taking the bait this time. He was going to be on thin ice for a while, so antagonizing a department head any more than he already had wasn't a good idea. However, his body language clearly indicated that Wyldclay was getting under his skin.

[Wyll Wyldclay]

The Wyldclay's base status was 'underneath someone's skin', and seeing how murdering them to death was merely a minor inconvenience, did not seem to mind an antagonistic response.

"Oh, I don't normally work with the agent side of things. We're just a little short on manpower and far shorter on brainpower at the moment, so I stepped in as needs must.

And I have never broken an oath in my life. I am a creature of my word," they added.

[Samantha McManus]

"Well then, I need a little bit to... mostly clean up, and we can go after them."

[Miriam Bell]

"As much as I'd love to aimlessly run around a maze of doors again, maybe we should try to come up with a better plan. Now that we're not in the middle of an active disaster. You guys seem like you have resources at your disposal, yes? Access to... well you probably don't have internet yet, huh? How do you find the weird shit you deal with? Police scanners? Ranting lunatics on the street corners? You got a tabloid-reading division?"

[Leo N. Eskandari]

"Inter...what?" Leo asked, puzzled.

He shook his head. "Not important. As for those other things, all of the above. And, I'm sure, a lot that I don't know about or have the patience to let the info nerds talk my ear off about."

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Oh. You want to talk to...Cass", the Wyldclay said, shriveling up their nose.

[Samantha McManus]

"And she's what, some kind of ogre?"

[Wyll Wyldclay]

"Worse. She's a nerd."

[Samantha McManus]

"I think we'll live, once I'm sure I won't bleed on whatever she's got going on."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

"Don't worry, our doctor is a miracle worker. She's the one responsible for what was keeping me looking like my old self," Leo responded.

Tosh frowned, muttering to himself, "What's so bad about being a nerd?"