[The Oblivion] Another Day in Paradise

"You assume correctly! I have... quite the collection. Thankfully, due to modern technology and a very kind technomage, they are typically researchable similarly to a Find spell. All sorts of cross references, footnotes, "videos", all to help me in moments like these. In a couple years it will be... two hundred years of the curse!" Ricky says, his laughing a bit forced. "I cannot rightly keep up with it, I am afraid. Early on, sure, but now a great deal slips through the cracks."

Ricky takes that moment a chance to listen to Salem's routine, nodding along in a very engaged manner. "Butter, of course! Explains the sheen," he says, playfully hitting his own forehead with the heel of his palm. He is an animated fellow, Strange might realize, like a Troubadour. "I would be more than pleased to get some of that facial, for personal use of course. Perhaps if the patrons here see my glowing skin, they shall ask for the maker of such a concoction, and you can build up a nice nest egg for when you are two-legged once more," he says, shrewd in his way, though mostly just happy for his friend.

"Ah, knowing your position within the Magical Realms, you shall have books on books, dear Doctor Strange," Ricky says. "You will have to forgive me, as I am an incorrigible gossip, like most of our community. So much among us is word of mouth, and I shall be digging into you the first chance I get," he says, then pauses, smile turning into something more sly. "Unless you would like to tell me something? I think I shall call in that favor now, Doctor Strange. A drink for a secret- seems fair to this bartender. I promise to keep it, however. Just us three."

Ricky preens a bit at his little slice of heaven being called an Oasis. "I work hard to make sure everyone is welcome- a part of my vows, and all. Have to be on call, as it were," he says, and he looks between the two, making sure he had used that modern term correctly. "Which, it must be said, if you, either of you or anyone you know, needs healing... I will provide it. No strings attached."

"I'll be sure to send you a bottle," said Salem with a nod, " and a note explaining what it is, should you forget it. I'd not say no to a nice nest egg; in today's economy, we need all the help we can get. Not that mortal money is that useful... but you need it for the tuna."

A drink for a secret? That did sound interesting. Salem curiously looked from Ricky to Strange before eating another piece of sushi and sipping at the cream. He almost spat out the cream when he heard the "secret" Strange decided to share but managed to keep it long enough to swallow. He'd not expected the doctor to go for a story like that, even less with it being described as a dark secret.

"Now-- that's a secret worth knowing," said Salem, laughing. "I'll be sure to treasure it. But-- how would you class that secret as dark? A little embarrassing perhaps, but why dark?"

Strange was silent, staring ahead at the back of the bar where the ancient bottles lined fhs shelves. His finger tapped idly on the wood, expression darkening as he recalled...

"...that was the last time I spent time with her. My sister. She drowned later that evening, fell into a quarry when we were swimming. I still had black nails as I pulled her out. But you know what the worst thing is?"

Strange looked up at Ricky, with a sad smile on his lips. His eyes were misty, as if several decades of forgotten sadness were catching up with him.

"I remember the dress vividly, yet I can't even remember Donna's face. When I fought Nightmare, he made me live that moment a thousand times over, yet I just remember the hem of that dress in the breeze, not the last day I spent with my sister."

Strange wrapped his knuckle on the wood suddenly straightening up, wiping a sleeve across his eyes. He looked at Salem, a serious gaze set on his face.

"That's the part that haunts me. Some things are meant to be remembered, all right, yet I am cursed with a brilliant mind that can't even remember the face of someone I loved and lost. And I think that's worth the drink, Ricky. Don't you?"

Strange turned that stony look into a bright smile. Perhaps a bit more forced than before, but with a definite twinkle in his eyes. Here was a man who kept a lot of things bottled up, that carried the weight of not just the world, but a sad past on his shoulders.

"Neither of you should stop doing the things you love. I apologise for making light of that. If you want to put time into your routines without resorting to magic, then why not? In an infinite universe, everything could infinitely go wrong. Hold onto the bits that make you happy, and don't let go."

A man haunted by memories, but specifically the part he can't remember. Ricky raises his hand, a glass materializing with two fingers of an amber liquid. It is a gesture of respect, more than anything. For what was lost... the man's sister, his memory, his innocence. He pours out some, the rest is thrown back.

"Well. Damn good secret... did someone take the memory?" Ricky asks, nonchalant about it. As a guy with a specific curse around memories he has tried to break... he might be able to help Strange in this. Giving the Sorcerer Supreme the memory of that day with his sister, her face... would really bad his boon and favor list. Everyone wants the Sorcerer Supreme on their good side, just like they want Ricky. But... best not to get his hopes up... not yet. He knows what it is like to have hope, and it just get... utterly obliterated. Now, though, Ricky knows he needs to get to know Strange more. Kindred spirits, and all that. He has that with Salem- he can feel it. Best to have those in your corner, however that may be.


"Magic, while wildly useful and fantastic, doesn't always ground you. It is good to make sure you have that connection, lest you... make a horrible mistake, and accidentally hurt someone you love," Ricky says, the last bit said a bit stony. 

"Salem! It sounds like I need to take you out, get you some better hobbies! I am sure I have a few favors I can pull for such an endevor. You, me, how about the Night Market? For old time's sake?" Ricky says, waggling his eyebrows. The place is a seedy, old den of the darkest of individuals. Exactly where the likes of Old Ricky and Salem frequented. "Surely no place for someone like a Sorcerer Supreme to be found," he teases, but he looks to Salem. Would he want Strange there? 

"You'll be forgetting a lot more before the end," Salem said, with a surprisingly solemn voice, picking at the sushi with one of his paws. "You're going to live for a long time, Strange, and as time pass, some things become less important and are lost or given away. My mother's already had her things willed out three times, we who live long accumulate so much junk, it only makes sense to do away with things we don't need." There was a pause, before the cat cleared his throat. "Best not to think to much about it..."

"Pish posh, magic has always been the solution for me--" The cat paused as a myriad of memories of his life with Sabrina returned, flashing before his eyes... "Scratch that, I just remembered that time Sabrina grew a magic beanstalk, and her boyfriend almost got eaten by a wicked witch, which was just silly, no one eats mortals anymore."

Salem let out a huff at Stephen's words.

"You should get a stamp," he said, "and yes, I'll be back before morning, I'm going to need my nap time anyways, and there is a nice armchair waiting, screaming my name, so don't you worry about a thing." If that was a figure of speech or not was left unsaid, but knowing the sanctum... who could say.

Strange was quiet for a moment. His eyes watched Ricky with some trepidation... then he smiled. Strange's eyes were still filled with a careful gaze, but he seemed to relax somewhat.

"Well, that couldn't hurt. You've got yourself a deal, Ricky. Perhaps I'll see you again."

He turned, and walked towards the main door. Pausing, Strange looked back, catching the man's eye.

"Look after the cat, would you?"

Then he was gone, red cape swirling impressively as he disappeared from the bar, presumably heading back to the Sanctum.