[The Oblivion] Another Day in Paradise

Ricky gives a sheepish grin, scratching the side of his face almost comically. "Oh dear, that bad?" he asks, placing a hand on his chest for the dramatics. "I'll be good with him, promise. I'll stop when he begs," he says, eyes going back to where the Sorcerer Supreme had disappeared. He is still joking, but in that way he does when he likes someone a little too much. The heart wants what it can't have, no? 

"I cannot deny that logic," Ricky says with a laugh. "Maybe we shall see her, and she has nothing but fond memories for me. Wishes to rekindle them. We promised to meet somewhere special one year, and I just.... lost the note~" he nearly sings, now very clearly teasing his friend, the temporary cat. He rolls his eyes, leaning onto the bar briefly, then hopping over it deftly. He's done it a number of times. Ricky sinks into the seat next to Salem, stealing a piece of sushi. There isn't much left. 

"Come on, Salem. We both know that's not in the cards for me," Ricky says, ruefully laughing. "It didn't work with Constantine, did it?" he asks, words pulled out of him almost painfully. Of course he knows that. It is so recent. Safer to go after Sorcerer Supremes who don't return his flirts, instead of the Hellblazers who do. Right? Scratches the itch...

"New apprentice? Do tell," Ricky says, propping his elbow on the bar so he can hold his face in his palm. "Tell me some gossip, Salem, I'll make sure to clear a bit off your tab," he says, waggling his eyebrows. "More if it is juicy," he adds, smile going a bit wide.

"Under... the... couch..." Ricky says, jokingly writing a note in his journal. "Smashing, Salem, absolutely brilliant," he says a crooked grin on his lips now. "Constantine was- well, my journal says he is far too prickly and afraid of commitment," Ricky tells him with a shrug. "Surely I am not the problem, I'm perfection incarnate," he says, taking his hands to frame his face briefly, as if he were a portrait. 

Ricky just squints his eyes further and further as Salem stumbles around in his mind, trying to land on details of thins young man. None of it sounds familiar to him, so he just takes what little notes he can. "Riveting stuff," Ricky says, not at all sarcastically. "Whom is Doctor Fate? Cold War?" he asks, trying to get a little more clarification. The latter is a new concept to him entirely. "I wouldn't mind a duel... they used to be so much more common, couldn't go a week without some sort of challenge..." he says, then shrugs. "Might account for our low numbers now, of course..." he says, chuckling darkly. 

"You done, friend?" Ricky asks, motioning to the dwindling sushi. "I can make you a kitty bag," he says, trying to make an old, old joke. "Right? They still call them doggy bags, right?" Ricky asks, a little unsure now. 

"That is why I think I like you, Salem. You tell me like it is, no games, just what is happening," he says, grinning. Ricky takes what Salem has to say with great severity. This is very good knowledge to have about John... but not anything that makes him think there could be anything that Ricky needs in him. It isn't like he needs someone now and forever... just...

"The Helmet! Of course, it has been passed along?" Ricky says, moving on. No need to be so melancholic, not when with a friend. He has it there, always just beneath the surface... but it just.. gets old for people, his journals suggest. The grief may be new for him, but it isn't for everyone else. He has his alone time for that. "Never been a fan of Law or Chaos- seldom do they translate to actual life. I suppose that is their doom, to always be warring, since life is a mix of both, forever more," he says, getting a bit poetic. "I will be sure to avoid this new iteration," he says with a wink.

All It takes is a flick of his wand, and the sushi is made into a little to-go container. It will be as fresh and lovely as it was, with no worry to refrigeration or time passing. Fuck, Ricky loves magic. Can't live without it. "Shall I send this to your place?" he asks, then pauses. "The Sanctum, yes? I do not think I can send it there, but I can certainly try..." he murmurs. Power swells. The room seems to tilt towards Ricky as he exerts himself. Everything stretches, almost painfully, and Ricky has a rather menacing air. There is a pop! But nothing seems to change, aside from everything quickly shifting back into place like a rubber band. 

"Nope! We shall have to make sure you grab it on your way out," Ricky says with a shrug. He wanted to know- now he does. The Sanctum and its Caretaker are powerful indeed. "Shall we, my dear?" Ricky asks, walking to a door that had not been on that spot of the wall previously. He does love his doors. "A healthy mix of Law and Chaos awaits~" 

"Ley lines, of course of course..." Ricky says, smacking his forehead with the heel of his palm. Perhaps next time, when he has introduced himself to the location. A home always adores him- he hopes the Sanctum is such a delightful thing.

With a bow, Ricky does the gentlemanly thing, opening the door for his friend to join him. "After you," he murmurs. The door itself is wooden as most doors are, but this one is stained a terrible black. On it are various occultish symbols. They span across cultures, across time, but all of them are burned into the door and profane in nature. Fitting, given where they are going.

When the door opens, they are assaulted by the smells and sounds of the Night Market. There is some food cooking somewhere nearby, the smoke of it wafting into the room. There are various languages, many of them hushed, creating an incomprehensible din of sound. Ricky allows Salem through first, then follows shutting the door behind them.

The place is mildly overwhelming in its magnitude, density, and wares. Ricky notes that it has... only grown over the years. There is still an element of seediness about the place, and he wonders if this is in direct relation to the amount of Good that has risen in the world in his time alive. The Wheel makes sure there is balance in all things, especially this.

"Well! Where to first, perhaps an apothecary for less ethical ingredients for some experimentation in potion making? Or, perhaps a swing by the Fey, see if we can barter for new eye colors without giving in to their cunning wiles?" Ricky asks, chuckling, actually somewhat excited. This place is so... alive. Dark, but alive. It feels closer to home than it should.

"A bully? Goodness me, I might be a somewhat reformed dark mage, but I cannot stand bullies," Ricky says with no small amount of disgust. He has never been one, nor does he ever plan to be. Anything to put them in their place is a win in Ricky's book. "You must tell me everything. While I cannot help in any retaliation, I certainly can send others to do so for me. Just say the word, Salem!" he says, not quite grasping that this must have been years ago, not months or weeks. 

"Apothecary it is, then! Tally ho!" Ricky says with a bit of a skip in his step. While this place is both similar and different than he remembers, it still feels nice. Nicer than a lot of other places, at least. Some things never chance, truly, and he is thankful the Night Market has some of those things. "So- the Spellmans. You were with them for some time, now you are with the Sorcerer Supreme. Quite the downgrade, my friend. Sorry to hear it. I cannot ease the burden too much, punishment and all, but if there is anything your little feline heart desires, you know who to come to, yes?"

Ricky thinks about that- does evil die? "Perhaps it just... waxes and wanes," he says, pondering it. He has certainly calmed down since the curse- no, even before that. Since his vow. It still lingers, in ways that he is sure won't ever go away, but he's better now. Much better. "Maturing certainly helps, or hinders. I suppose it depends on the person," he says, giving a shrug. "She is lucky she didn't run into too much trouble here. Never know what lurks in these shops," he says, glancing about. This is not the place for your average teenage witch. Who is he to judge? He was here, too, at that age.

"You will have to convince this young witch and her husband to come by the Oblivion, I swear I will be on my best behavior," Ricky says, using his pointer finger to draw an X over his heart as he playfully swears. "I'll give them a night to remember," he adds, not truly intending to sound as ominous as he does.

"Darkwatch, yes, the group of magic users along with the likes of Constantine, the Sorcerer Supreme, and yourself," he says, starting to understand the threads of everything a little better now. "A right little group of... somewhat heroes, it sounds like," Ricky says, not caring either way. He's somewhere in the middle, after all. Not out for evil, not out for good, just... out there. "Anti-heroes? Something like that, right? Hilda and Zelda, while good people, do have questionable morals when compared to those of the Mortal Realm."

"Christmas! A travesty. How is she not a cat?" Ricky teases, chuckling all the while. "I imagine that is a capital offence! While I am no Christian myself, many of the rites hail from pagan worship! To be fair, Christmas had gone out of style when I was a child of the early 1800's. Imagine my surprise to hear it not only had a come back, but a rather sizable one at that! All thanks to the likes of Charles Dickens, Clement Clarke Moore, and Prince Albert, the strange fellows. Though, of course, this is all old news by now, isn't it?" he says, scratching his chin. 

"Aren't we all tempted by the Rumor Mill now and again?" Ricky says, a devilish look in his eyes. "I was- it is one of the many, many places I have tried to used to get rid of this thrice damned curse," he says, shaking his fist at the sky a touch melodramatically. He sighs, deflating. 

"Isn't that the natural way of things, Salem? We all spit in the face of reality, say that we can do it better, then do so with our magics," Ricky muses, thinking about it. "Put in a good word for me to the others? I could always use the business... and if they find themselves in a pinch, I always have some strings I could pull, eh?"