18595/An unexpected Zatara family reunion.

An unexpected Zatara family reunion.
Date of Scene:	16 July 2024
Location:	Shadowcrest Manor - Bristol Township
Synopsis:	Zachary Zatara returns back to Shadowcrest after an extended tour to catch up with his favourite Cousin Z. Bunny meanwhile gets all the carrots. Yes indeed. All of them.
Cast of Characters:	Zachary Zatara, Zatanna Zatara

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Zachary Zatara has posed:
It's a hard life being on the road. Touring the world. Recording youtube videos in between doing stage shows. Zachary Zatara is, once again, back in Gotham. And that means a visit to the family home.

Well the family home he's welcome in. His immediate family having demanded he pick between them and magic.

And he picked the magic.

His tuxedo is rather rumpled thanks to a long haul fight. Bow tie absent. He lets himself in through the front door to Shadowcrest Manor with a jingle of keys, like he's struggling to remember which one opens the door (probably all the warding makes the key more symbolic than practically necessary). But you might be asking, where is his luggage? Poor Bunny has it. Trailing a little way behind with two wheeled suitcases and a coat slung over her shoulder.

When Zach finally gets the door open the reason for his trouble becomes apparent. His free hand holding a thin stemmed cocktail glass the more likely than not came from the plane. Of course no-one who wears a tux for regular day to day clothing would fly anything less than First Class.

Even Bunny gets a First Class ticket. It's in her contract that he can't make her fly coach.

Door finally beaten he glances around for somewhere to put his hat. It's unlikely the hatstand has moved far but jetlag and a little alcohol can befuddle even the finest of minds.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna has not, in fact, enchanted the hatstand to move about like an animated Disney character... yet. And judging by the fact that one of the pegs _already_ hosts a familiar bit of haberdashery, it seems likely that the Mistress of Shadowcrest Manor (She doesn't actually make anyone call her that... often.) is home.

Of course, the strains of music from the depths of the manor's kitchen might also hint someone's home, faint classical strings sounding, not quite overwhelmed by the clatter and clang and various sounds of cooking.

Which is a much more Disney-appropriate display, knives floating and chopping, slicing, and dicing all on their own.

Zatanna _is_ taking part in the magical routine however, while knives, cutting board, and even the seasonings are lifting and floating about on their own, she is occasionally shaking the saute pan and tossing the vegetables about it. And while her arriving cousin has a thin-stemmed cocktail glass, Zatanna's hand not moving the pan around is holding a simple rocks glass, not quite half full with some brown liquor.

This doesn't count as drinking on an empty stomach because she's pacing herself while the food cooks.

Zachary Zatara has posed:
Who on Earth would do something so foolish as drink on an empty stomach? Not Zachary that's for sure. He ate at least one little bag of peanuts.

And for legal reasons any questions about how many Manhattan's he may or may not have had should be directed to his legal council. Who is currently far too busy dragging their luggage up to the house. And strictly speaking, as a magically transmuted rabbit, isn't entirely qualified to act as legal council.

"Zee you about?" He calls out. Not exactly shouting but voice raised a little. He has finally located the hat stand and makes a little jump shot. "It's me." The nice thing about dropping in on family is they generally know your voice even if you are a little jet lagged.

The shot is on target. Despite all factors that'd count against his aim. Muscle memory and years of practise throwing top hats at hat stands paying off.

Bunny finally gets the luggage inside and sniffs. "Someone's cooking!" she exclaims helpfully. "Maybe it'll be lettuce. Or if we're really lucky.. /carrots/."

It's only about now he realises he walked off the plane with a glass in hand. Oops. He tosses the glass up and with a muttered "kcaB ot erehw uoy .gnoleb" it simply disappears into thin air.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
There's a brief pause before Zachary's cousin answers, which could be explained by the fact that Zatanna's glass is noticeably lower as she pulls it away from her lips and swallows before calling out, "No! Just the spooky specters and ghouls if the manor! No famed magicians here!!"

And, through no actual planning for Bunny and Zach to be dropping in, the food does include carrots, if only because Zee's cooking up a light vegetable medley and chicken breast... because the stage has certain demands, and they cannot be met by devouring meatball subs on the regular.

Sizzling intensifies and Zee calls out, "You two may as well come into the kitchen! We can catch up! Where were you? Tokyo? Munich? I did a show in New York last week! ...Admittedly, it was just a little matinee impromptu thing because I was bored, but still."

Zachary Zatara has posed:
Lucky for Zachary the demands of the stage are far less vigorous on male performers. His tux is tailored but rather more forgiving than the fishnet ensemble Cousin Z wears. Not that this stops people from telling him he should wear the fishnets himself. A joke he's only heard approximately three times for every show he's ever performed in person. And for the online shows? Well he has people to moderate the chat.

Plus being twenty means his metabolism can put up with the late nights, junk food and heavy drinking.

"Oh I was in Macau," he calls back. "Have you been? It's a lot like Las Vegas only instead of the Mob it's the Triads. I think it was called... The Venetian or something like that." A cosy little venue. Which just so happens to have it's own full size sporting arena for professional basketball and boxing events. A shopping mall. And enough gaming areas and hotel rooms you could probably get lost for days.

He motions for Bunny to dump the bags for now and then sets off to the kitchen.

"I always like the Hat and Hare when I'm in the area. Small enough the crowds are personal. And they don't mind me recording the show for my channel so long as I include the address. I never really found a venue in New York that had the right vibe for me." Not that his work really needs a venue. The beauty of online work is he can film anywhere. He just needs a computer and a net connection to upload it.

Okay and a team of editors, producers and script writers. Who help to keep the content fresh and the production values high.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
It is truly Zatanna's curse to bear that both stage /and/ casual attire of hers tends to the leg-highlighting and hip-focusing... which is to say, while she doesn't /always/ dress in the tuxedo jacket and fishnets, she really does a lot of the time. As much as she enjoys fashion and shopping, when you have a closet (or two) full of the same outfit, and you never know when someone's going to call you about a demonic portal or a magic invasion or somesuch, you always dress your best.

She clears her throat on the question of whether or not she's been to Macau, "Well, you know, I think I was planning to go on a little jaunt there with some gals, but you know how the whole..." She gestures, "Showbiz and superheroing lifestyle goes. We promised, we babbled, we... haven't seen each other again in /months/." She sighs out resignedly, "I'm just going to start whisking Bunny away on globetrotting hangouts, and you can stay at home in the manor for once."

She grins brightly, "Yeah yeah, I know, the... online video generation has passed me by. I should pivot. Stop focusing on stage shows, but it's just... there's /magic/ to the magic... you know, the curtains, the lights going down... there's nothing else like it!"

Zachary Zatara has posed:
Zach can hardly throw stones on the outfit front. The full tuxedo look isn't really ideal in Summer, not without a little magical cheating anyway, but it's all part of the brand. And with his fans pretty likely to post any random encounters online. Well it's not quite as heroic a reason as his Cousin's but it pays the bills.

Besides he likes the tux. It's classy!

"Or maybe /I/ could stay home. And you two could have an adventure!" Bunny says brightly, staring at the vegetables as if she's hoping this plan is happening now. Leaving her with a monopoly on lunch. "Although Zach would have to carry his own suitcase."

"Thanks for that suggestion," Zach says with a sigh. "We'll keep that in mind." Technically they are both in the JLD. So it's not entirely implausible. "I don't know about that. You've got a pretty devoted online fanbase already."

"I know what you mean though. There's something about a live audience which adds a certain authenticity to everything." It's one of the reasons he likes posting recordings of live shows. "But if you ever want to give it a go. Well I have a team who can help you get set up."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna slowwwwly lets her gaze drift towards Bunny, fighting back the grin that threatens to erupt forth. "Oh, yes. Of course. We could go on the adventure and you could stay home... I mean, I'm sure Zachary wouldn't mind you racking up the bills on deliveries from the organic farmers market for carrots..." Gaze snaps back to her cousin, daring him to rebut that claim, and that grin _does_ break free.

It's just an EVIL grin now.

Zatanna sighs out and nods her head, "I do. I learnt not to have my phone set up with an alert for when my name pops up in online news articles. They're all tabloid-y nonsense. Like, why would I ever be in league with the mole people? They're not even supernatural! They're one of those weird science things the Fantastic Four have to deal with!" She sighs out and rolls her eyes, "And I just might take you up on that. I've got to do /something/ to shake things up!" She clicks her tongue softly, "Although I suppose for now you could help me by getting some plates out. I hope you're looking forward to chicken and broccoli, cousin... I think I know who's going to insist on having all the carrots..."

Zachary Zatara has posed:
"I didn't think you got deliveries out at Shadowcrest," Zachary points out with bland innocence. Trying to sidestep the matter entirely. "Besides she has her own money to buy things with. I pay my assistant quite generously already."

It's even true. She even gets a cut from the ad revenue for any video she appears in. Not to mention a full executive PA level salary.

He grins back. A certain rakish tilt to his head as he heads to fetch plates.

"Do we even have Mole people in Gotham? Aren't they just normal people dressing in mole theme costumes?" A shrug. "Anything beats airplane food." Aka that little bag of peanuts.

Bunny looks momentarily crushed at the notion someone has claimed all the carrots. Before she realises Z is meaning /her/. And normal bright and cheerful service is resumed.