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Destiny City is hosting an annual scavenger hunt during the Star Festival to encourage people to get out and explore their city. The prize for turning in a completed scavenger hunt is a coupon booklet and a few free tickets to upcoming city events. Even if you aren’t interested in the prize, the scavenger hunt is specifically designed to take you through the city to showcase a few historic buildings, some art installations, and some of the city’s greatest accomplishments. While many of the places are familiar, during your explorations you come across a building you’ve never seen before--something that feels out of time. You’ve been in the area countless times before, so how did you miss this place? When you lay eyes on the building, you feel a strange timelessness and have the distinct sensation of being a part of something bigger. Briefly, you may see flashes of some distant past--a flickering memory that you can’t quite place or fully form. It’s hard to make out, but at some point in time you have the distinct impression of a faded figure taking your hand and telling you to do something. They sound hopeful and encouraging, like they really believe in you. By the time you blink, the visions are gone, the building is gone. The only thing that remains is a beautiful little garden and a plaque so faded that you can’t make out the inscription.

Ryan walked around, busily enjoying another day of the festival. There was just so much to plain do and see; it was probably impossible to be able to do and see it all. Not that he wouldn't put forth a great deal of effort to do so anyway. He was stubborn like that. Plus, everything just seemed like so much fun and so cool. He could hardly be blamed for his boundless enthusiasm to at least try to do everything he could. Well, he supposed, except for the booth games. Those were always too expensive with way too little return. Like, yeah, okay, he'd won once, but that kind of luck didn't stick around for these games. Sahking his head to chase the thought away, he kept walking.

He almost walked past the relatively small booth, but there was a call for his attention and he turned, checking it out and then bouncing excitedly upon being told about the scavenger hunt. Oh, he loved these. He wasn't too great at them, sure, but he loved them anyway. It was always fun to puzzle things out!

They passed him another of the star charms he'd seen frequently around the festival (thankfully a new color, too), one of the papers, and a pen to check everything off. He chuckled to himself at the engraving on the pen. It's dangerous to go alone. Take this! He hoped he'd be allowed to keep it; that was just too precious to ignore and/or let go. At the least, he could probably find one on the internet to buy, if they didn't let him keep it.

With determination, he set off, stuffing the charm into his pocket and glancing at the first hint. He grinned, figuring it out easily, and picked up speed, hoping he wouldn't trip and fall because he was too excited, but not bothered enough to actually slow down.

Ryan groaned as the participation in the scavenger hunt later turned from fun and educational to just plain annoying. He wasn't very good with these puzzles (which was kind of ironic, since he did play a few puzzle games on occasion — then again, this was probably why he only played them occasionally — he wasn't very good at them!) and he was pretty sure he'd just gotten himself lost trying to follow the next set of instructions. He'd been doing so well at the beginning, too!

Some of his frustration dissipated at the sight of another person. Some guy with crazy cool blue hair that cascaded down his back. Oh, man, he was kinda cute. Ryan looked at him for another moment, then, on spotting the scavenger hunt paper in the stranger's hand, he sighed with relief. It would be far easier to approach someone who was definitely doing the same thing he already was. He stepped towards them with a wave, hoping the guy wasn't the kind to ridicule Ryan for his long hair, makeup, and skirt.

"Hi there," he called out, "I got lost doing this scavenger hunt thing, think you could help me?" He smiled sheepishly, waving the paper in the air slightly at the stranger to emphasize his point.

Ryan relaxed a little more when the guy had no outward reaction and he grinned widely. Maybe the city wasn't as bad as he thought.

First, he stuck out the hand holding the paper, then stuck out his free hand, which was definitely the wrong hand to match up to shake, and then swapped the paper to that and finally stuck out the proper hand for a handshake.

"I'm Ryan and I'm directionally challenged," he joked, "Uh, I'm not sure, exactly? I can't make sense of the next clue."

"Uhhh... Yes and no?" Ryan answered and questioned at the same time. "I mean, I moved here a few months ago or so after, uh, leaving home and wandering for a while, ended up here and found a nice apartment I could afford, so."

He shrugged. "Never really ever knew anything about here, or ever looked around, I just... wanted to have a place I could feel... safe. Even if it meant staying in my apartment most of the time so I could just feel... settled, at least, y'know?"

Keiran commenting on the house made him turn and he glanced up and down the street, seeing the more... modern-ish homes, and then this crazy Victorian house plopped in the middle of them.

....It kind of reminded him about Dream Daddy and how Damien's house was a black Victorian house just at the end of the cul-de-sac of more normal homes.

Looking at it too long almost gave him a headache and he winced slightly, shutting his eyes and rubbing his temples. Some kind of... dream or memory played in his head, just a vague impression of it, but Ryan felt distinctly odd about it. Warm, though.

"Wonder who built such an out-of-place house here," he remarked, opening his eyes, "Unless it's the other houses that.... are... wait, what?"

The house he'd just been looking at was gone. "Uh.... Okay, I'm officially going back inside my apartment to be a hermit the rest of my life, because apparently coming outside so much lately has made me crazy."

Ryan startled slightly at the touch, but relaxed quickly.

"Well," he said after a short pause, "I'll take absolutely bonkers weird s**t over where I was before. At least we hallucinated the house together, so.... Not a hallucination, then?"

He tilted his head. "Magic, maybe?" He couldn't stop himself from a sudden giggle. "Oh boy. I bet someone ******** up their Fidelius Charm. At least, if we're talking Harry Potter magic here. I don't know specific spells from other franchises, though. What do you think? You believe in magic?"

Ryan hummed in thought. "Well, you sound confident. You secretly a witch?" he asked teasingly.

He chuckled at his own joke. "I always wished something like getting a Hogwarts letter would happen to me. Or, like, y'know, getting bitten by a radioactive spider and becoming a superhero. Slinging webs through the city and trapping the bad guys. Or, uh, like... radioactive tiger. Something cool. Though I think being bitten by a tiger inherently means I'm dead. Unless, of course, the radioactivity saves me, somehow, uh... Sorry, I'm rambling."

He grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah? Your witch fursona named Glinda of Oz?" Ryan teased.

He couldn't help but grin at the idea of getting his own superhero origin story. "As for a story, you're right, you never know. If something like that did happen..." He trailed off for a moment, shaking his head. "One of the things I'd worry about is magically turning evil. I don't have, like, a partner or a best friend or something like that to do that movie trick where they shout 'I love you' and undo brainwashing or something."

He shrugged. "Silly thing to think about, I know, but I've consumed too much media to write off crazy possibilities like that. I mean, if magic was real in the first place. Fun to write about, though."

Ryan shrugged back. "Be nice if it did, though. Stories about true love.... would actually be, well, true, hah." He smiled shyly. "It's something I've wanted since I was a kid. Heh. Silly, I guess. But yeah!"

He peered at the paper. "This next one is pretty easy, but directions... uh... Nope, I am bad at this," he said with a laugh. "If you're sure you wanna stick with me for a bit."

"Adventure sounds like a good plan to me," he said brightly, grinning. "Let's go."