Mad World ( Tobey/ OPEN)

**Foxtrot** Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:21 pm

November 2014.- I would be lying if I said the world hasnt changed. It has; but to what cost?- It had been four years since the tragedy of his best friend. The familiar news paper material rubbed up against the magicians finger tips as he read the headlines for the day. Tobey was in his usual spot in the early morning; the corner table of Starbucks. He would order a regular coffee every day, no milk but sugar. It was sort of a bitter sweet taste but it was something the tired man was used to. That and it was Greys favorite. As Tobey finished his article he carefully rolled up his newspaper and left a single dollar there as usual, even though the magician didnt make much money himself; he wanted to show gratitude to the people who worked there.

Tobey owned a small magic shop that he was able to make money from what he and his best friend saved. It wasnt much; but it help pay the bills. The spot lights and the sound of the crowd cheering still held dear to the magicians heart; but it was a dream that couldnt be completed without the help of his deceased friend. Often times he would find himself sitting in the back room when business was slow and reflecting on old photos. He never took it home with him; knowing as a nomad his whole life there was never the feeling of home. So he kept the memories of what was dear to him where he worked; around things Tobey enjoyed and still had a passion for; magic.

When the owner of the shop came in, he did his normal routines of opening the window, sweeping the walk way and straightening out the items that were on the rack. Even though he was a master magician himself, there were items he sold that he wasnt a fan of. In fact; alot of the gimmicks was somewhat agitating. The tired man knew better though, the rare people that would come and look in his store already believed that magic wasnt real. The customers he loved were always the young ones; they would always be in awe with the simple of tricks. The light in their eyes seem to be the only thing keeping Tobey going these days.

Once the chores were done, he switched the sign to open and patiently waited behind the counter. His purple eyes moving over towards the picture frame of him and Grey when they were younger. " another day my friend.."

Delta Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:48 am

The bright red flesh stretched and attempted to bend, bound to to protect. But, really, it was no match for the the sharp white pillars that were driven into it, pulling an enormous chunk of white fruit from within the bounds of the flesh, with juice flowing and shooting all over the place. Really, the apple didn't stand a chance. And the worst part about it was that Skylar didn't even realize the living struggle he was creating with his breakfast as he wandered along the sidewalk almost mindlessly. He and Cade had just dropped Tremor off at school when Cade had decided he needed a new book for some reason or another. Skylar, instead, was hungry and had wandered off to the downtown market that was across the street for the apple he was now mindlessly destroying, his eyes gazing up and down the street.

He'd been here a few times. There was the rare books shop that had the kinds of books that Cade liked, but it wasn't often that Skylar was bored... or hungry... enough to wander around. This time, it just couldn't wait and he actually got to do a little exploring. Starbucks on the corner. Cus THAT was unusual, he smirked to himself, taking another bite of the apple. He paused half way through, however, and tilted his head at the sight of the magic shop. He was a little surprised that he hadn't noticed it before, but then again, that was because the middle Cromwell hadn't been looking properly... or even at all. He made his way to the store, opening the door and letting himself inside, half an eaten apple in his hand, which was covered by his flapping, open long sleeve cuff. "...He...low?" he called out into the store, not spotting the shopkeeper right away, since he naturally wasn't looking the right way. "AH!" he called out, giving a friendly smile towards the man. He made his way over, and pointed around the shop. "How long have you been here?" he asked right away, not even bothering to look at the cheep merchandise. It wasn't useful for anything, except to make jokes out of, since most of the tricks the three brothers could do with their eyes closed.

**Foxtrot** Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:58 am

" Long enough to get your attention" The shop keeper returned with a friendly smile, his eyes the only thing giving away his true emotions. " I personally believe in the philosophy of destiny." Tobey played along with the mysterious intro; when customers played along it would make the magicians day. Also, he would get a reading of the type of person who would come into his shop. Tobey had seen them all; the curious young mages.. ones who try to impress others of the opposite sex; or in this day and ages even the same sex. He had seen what were called 'hellions' in the mages terms; people who would come in and raise hell with the gimmicks and illusions. All of which, Tobey had more than experience on handling.

" What brings you here? Perhaps an interest with the mystical arts of magic?" The old man asked with a soft yet prim tone, his hand gesturing for the boy to come closer to the counter where he had a small felt table layed out for card tricks. " whether your advanced or new, I may have something in here ..for you." The man paused a bit and pursed his lips to the side. " ..i really wasnt aiming to rhyme that. I realize how cheesy that could of sound." Tobey snorted to himself, his mood instantly picking up with someone to just talk to.

Delta Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:18 am

Skylar's face lit up at the fact that the old man was friendly! He looked around at the tricks for a second, having his act fairly well rehearsed after messing with so many 'magicians' over the years. It had always been a little bit of a past time for him and his brothers. When he approached the felt demonstration table, he let out a little laugh, leaning back and pointing at the old man. "That's awesome, new and you!" he let out, looking down at the trick that the man was presenting. Card tricks were always an easy way of starting and he'd let the old man have this one before starting in on him if he was a fraud. "Seriously, though, bro... what you got?" he asked, nodding towards the felt, sticking his hand back into his pocket and taking another bite of the apple.

**Foxtrot** Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:43 am

" we'll start off slow. You must remember though.. that practicing illusions requires patience and practice. In due time it will come to you more fluently; kind of like riding a bike." the old man started and waved a hand at a deck of cards. " we'll try something simply... pick a card any card." Tobey said with a light hearted tone and began to fan the deck out; once he chose the card he gave the boy a side long glance. Something was different about him. The magician couldnt really place it but he had a vibe that seemed to catch the half mystics radar. " ...do you have the card clearly in your head?" Tobey asked with a smile, once he handed the card back he placed it back in the deck and slid all the cards into the box.

" Now .. the illusion wouldnt be complete without finishing the trick. So, lets reveal what you got." he reached for the box and opened the top, with a playful wave above the deck of cards the chosen card began to slide upward from the box. " is this your card?" Tobey asked, the gimmick was inside the box. It was basically a thread; but it wasnt the materials people paid for.. its the secret. In the world of magic; secrets of how tricks worked determined the value.

Delta Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:00 am

Skylar played along, choosing his card with his free hand. "Psh... that'd mean I'd have to eat the card first... then it wouldn't be in my head... it'd be in my stomach," he replied, putting the card back. Regardless, he knew what the card was, not that it mattered that much. He knew full well that the card would rise up out of the box. But, when it happened, he couldn't help but act a little amazed. "Ahhh!" he called out, wide grin growing on his face again as he pointed at the card. "Dude, that's so cool!! So... can I try it out?" he asked, reaching out for the box with a little bit of an innocent smile on his face before he looked down at his apple. "Oh, wait..." he said, looking around for a trash can. "Be RIGHT back!" he exclaimed before dashing out of the shop and throwing the core in the streets for the birds before he hustled back inside quickly, wiping his hand on his pant leg. "So... can I try it out?" he asked again, his grin just a little wider and a little less innocent this time.

**Foxtrot** Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:04 am

"you know.. I do have a trash can.." Tobey replied with a confused look, nonetheless he was still standing there watching the obviously hyper boy. When he randomly decided to throw the core out, the shop keeper HAD to swtich the decks out with a real deck of cards since he couldnt very well show the gimmick without him paying for it. " by all means..''' He offered the deck out and gave a soft smile, often times young adults would always try and figure out how the tricks worked. It was amusing to watch them try and attempt the trick without knowing the real secrets; but who was he to stop those who want to try?

Delta Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:13 am

Skylar took the deck, not knowing that it wasn't the rigged one, but also not exactly caring either. He usually left 'magicians' wondering about HIS tricks, which was exactly what he intended to do. He fanned out the deck just like the shopkeeper had. "Like this, right?" he asked, looking to him for approval. "Okay, so... yeah, pick a card!" he exclaimed, his cheesy grin coming back to life across his face. No, he wasn't up to ANYTHING at ALL! "Okay... and... memorize it? Got it?" he asked, holding the deck open to a spot for the magician to slide the card into, his hand deliberately at the back of the deck to touch the edge of the card with the heal of his palm, marking the card in a way, before he shuffled the deck obviously. Once he'd mixed it up, he slid the cards into the box and held onto it tightly, his hand above the opening and his face contorted in an expression of deep concentration.

As he squeezed the box, all of a sudden, the cards just started to fly out of it. Skylar looked shocked and instantly started to grab at a couple of the cards, most of which rained down over the green mat. "Shiiiit..." he muttered, his eyes going wide as he looked at the shopkeeper. "That... wasn't right was it..." he commented. Obviously it wasn't right... he'd just seen the trick! He moved to set the box down when it rattled a little. He blinked and shook the box again, looking down at it to see that there was one card left, which he reached in and pulled out to show to the shopkeeper; showing that it was, somehow, his card.

**Foxtrot** Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:54 pm

Tobey was absolutley patient the whole time; in fact the young boys antics allowed the magician to smile from amusement. When he tripped over the cards his brows arched to see everything scatter but the clumsy boy seemed to have everything under control. " thats quite alright." He said simply, watching him closely until he finally revealed his actual trick. When he saw his card, he couldnt help but chuckle lightly to himself. " new to magic you say.." Tobey reminded, not offended by the fact that the boy obviously lied when he came into the magic shop. There had been times that experiened magicians would come in to test the shop; alot of them were street magicians and could be found entertaining the public at busy places like the pier. When it came to high end tricks; the value of secrets were determined by who originally had it. Lance burton for example gave Tobey one of his trade secrets since they were friends in the past (especially when he WAS in Las Vegas). Criss Angel tried to sell him secrets also; but the magician had no interest when it came to the heart of the illusionists. Criss was tainted with publicitiy, he no longer did his practice for the joy of doing it.

"Your very good.." Tobey complimented with the same tired smile and pulled away from the counter to get a small black box on the shelf behind him. He placed the box on the felt and opened it to reveal that nothing was inside. " As you can see.. nothing inside the box. Go ahead.. inspect it." The man offered, when the Cromwell finished he closed the lid and rotated it around before knocking the top of the box firmly. Afterwards, he opened it to reveal something surprising. An apple core.

Delta Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:11 pm

Skylar took an exceptionally long time examining the box, knocking on its walls, testing the corners, checking the lid. There wasn't anything he was really checking for per se, but more he wanted to make a show of it. "Looks like an empty box," he teased playfully, actually enjoying the banter and exchange of skills. He leaned back a little, crossing his arms in front of his chest and sucking in his lips slightly, his look intense as he watched to see what the old man could show him.

When he spotted the apple core, he raised a brow at it and instantly headed outside to see if the core was there in the street. Not that it really mattered; the core easily could've been taken away by a bird or flattened by a car or even picked up by a bum, but still, the fact that the core wasn't there made the boy grin from ear to ear. He reached up and pointed towards Tobey. "Alright... you're definitely good," he admitted playfully as he made his way back across the shop once again and took the core into his hand, feeling the weight of it in his palm. "Watch this, man," he instructed, feeling more and more playful as the exchange went on. He licked his lips and focused intently on the core, his hand held above it. After a few seconds, he shook his hair out of his eyes and focused more intently, his lips moving barely perceptively as he thought about the spell he needed. Finally, the center of the core started to shake as the seed inside accelerated its growth. Roots started to come out and wrap themselves around Skylar's fingers and a think trunk started to sprout upwards. He didn't hold it up for long. It was already taking a little bit of a toll on him to speed the growth of the apple seed, and he knew that Cade would probably end up yelling at him over it, but it didn't matter; he looked up at the shopkeeper with a wide grin on his face as he held the core out for him to inspect.

**Foxtrot** Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:52 pm

The magician continued to stand in place, his abnormally colored eyes locked onto the boy who did his next trick. Tobey was simplay amazed the whole time. Not only did he feel that way, but you could see the life returning to his expressions. " You may be new to illusions my friend.. but you are not new to magic". The times when magicians did come to secret shop his store they too would exchange tricks, none of them were even close to what this young boy was doing. There was one visitor he recalled of, a small girl. It was when he was roaming through the countries, she could be anywhere by now.

" You are very free formed, its a style that suits you.." Tobey added with the same friendly smile and reached for the core the boy did his magic on. He eyed it carefully, getting a feeling of what kind of magic the boy possessed. It wasnt mystic.. in fact, it seemed to feel very old. Old magic, but how was that possible to be with someone if they are so young? There were wizards he had encountered, sorcerers, enchanters.. but none of them had this type of aura to it.

"My name is Tobey Hartford. Once known a long time ago as Hartford the Magnificent.. for I would do things, that are..." He allowed the apple core to levitate in his hands before placing it back onto the felt table. " ...and you are?"

Delta Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:27 pm

Skylar was by now grinning from ear to ear, almost bouncing with the excitement of his little tricks being validated. "Oh! Skylar. Skylar Cromwell. Once I was known as the Middle Cromwell at school. Actually, I'm still the Middle Cromwell. Not quite as exciting as your title," he rambled, laughing a little as he watched the apple sapling on the felt.

"So... you're someone who can do actual magic... why sell tricks?" he asked, his voice not accusatory in anyway; simply curious and nothing more. "My brother thinks these kinds of shops are just for fun... I dunno, though. Every now and then I've found something really good that actually gets him because he's not expecting it," he added, still grinning.

**Foxtrot** Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:00 pm

"Skylar Cromwell" The magician repeated, knowing that will be a name he will remember for a long time. " Its safe to assume you have two older brothers.. since you are aferall, the middle Cromwell." Tobey added with the same friendly tired smile. " I wish I had brothers.. I had a friend once" His purple eyes drifting to the picture of Grey and himself. " A very good friend, so close in fact that I counted him like a brother..." The older man cleared his voice and shifted his weight from one side to hte other when Skylar asked him why he was selling tricks.

"Because even though it isnt real magic, it still holds the same mysticism to those who want to master it. It shows that even humans have a curiousity to this art.. " He held out his hand which was empty ad the moment but with a quick flick of the wrist a single card appeared, it was the ace of heart but it had his information on it. " If you ever need to get in contact with me for anything... heres my card." Tobey offered with a nod. " Your brothers.. are they talented like you are?"

Delta Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:48 pm

"Wait... no... I have one older and one younger brother..." Skylar noted, his brows furrowing, unable to tell if Tobey was messing with him or not. "But..." he continued, figuring it wasn't that big of a deal. "We're always doin' stuff together. Except for like right now, because I'm here, Cade's at the bookstore or somethin' and Trem's at school," he nodded, not caring that he was giving 'personal information' out. Like his brothers couldn't handle themselves. "Cade's a little better at this than me... don't tell him I said that. Tremor though... he doesn't use it as much. It sorta runs in our family. Grandpa said he doesn't even know who the first in our family was to have it. Or... he's not saying," he shrugged as if the information really wasn't that important which, to Skylar, it wasn't.

He reached out to take the card, tilting his head at it curiously as a smile started to cross his lips. "Do you maybe have anything for a brother who's just a little too moody?" he asked, his grin both playful and malicious at the same time. "Something he might not expect?"

**Foxtrot** Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:57 pm

Tobeys smile faltered when Skylar asked if he had anything for someone moody, it was safe to assume that he was talking about one of his brothers. Instantly, he thought of his best friend. Grey wasnt exactly the most pleasant to be around and the people who did know him categorized him as being moody; even though the magician was the victim of his anger problems he still held onto the thoughts of their golden days together. Things were so much simpler, so simple that Tobey was actually very happy. The acts were brilliant and Grey always gave his act life whenever they preformed together. " Believe me on this..." Tobey replied softly and pointed to Skylars chest. " He may be moody.. but he wont ever be the same without you. " The magician added with a confirming nod.

Tobey finally pulled away from behind the counter and started to browse the shelves where Skylar was, he gestured for him to follow as he looked through the various items in his inventory. " But when it comes to itmes... here." It was simple, but still effective. " Gas gum" It wasnt magic, but since it was a magic store it did have gag gifts inside. One of which, was a prank gum that would give people gas. " But I assure you, your going to enjoy this more than your moody brother" The man said with a smile. " I'll give you a discount. Free, just make sure you come and visit if your in the area."

Delta Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:04 am

Skylar looked down at his chest where Tobey was pointing, looking a little confused about what he was talking about right away. Once he explained, the Cromwell broke into a wide smile, laughing a little bit. "Sometimes I wonder if he thinks so, but then I think of Trem... and like, he's a year younger than me too, so I'm like... okay I get it," he rambled for a second, nodding as though the stream of consciousness that was pouring out of him actually made some sort of sense.

When Tobey headed around the counter to get the gag, he looked at it, pursing his lips, hoping that Winterfresh was Cade's favorite flavor of New5 gum. He won't even know what hit him! He looked the gum over with the grin of a little kid, one that only got more shocked when the shopkeeper told him it was free. "No shit, seriously?!?" he asked, looking like he was about to start leaping around the room for joy. "Like just... free? Dude, I'm definately comin' back. I don't like any of Cade's books anyway!" he laughed, jovial, childlike eyes looking up to meet his new best friend's!

**Foxtrot** Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:48 am

"I'll be looking foreward to the visit." He told the young boy in a friendly tone. Tobey patted the young warlock on the arm before walking him to the door of his shop. " ..it was very nice to meet you Skylar Cromwell. If your able to convince any of them.. I would very much like to meet your other brothers. "Tobey said with a nod, curious to how powerful the 3 brothers were if they were together. It wasnt like the magician was power hungry but he was wondering to how their magic worked. Tobey enjoyed studying the different types, all of which a different form of art.

When Skylar left he came back to his spot behind the counter and eyed the picture of his old friend once more. " I told you it would be a good day today.." He said with a small chuckle. Tobey missed him.

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