Outsider, pt 3

"So what're your contracts? I mean, have you noticed any powers? There are some that a lot of people have, like Hearth. Have you felt lucky or anything?"

"Not lately, but Felix usually was."

"Who's Felix?"

"It's- uh. Never mind."

"Those dice right there, try getting a lucky seven."

Charlie picked up the dice and rolled them. They landed on the chair, showing a one and a four.

"Well, not like that," Rita complained. "You have to mean it. Do it with a bit of flair, something that puts some power into it."

Sighing, Charlie picked up the dice again. He did his best high roller impression, holding the dice cupped in both hands, blowing on them, and shaking them behind his head like a baseball pitcher. As he rolled them, he felt his whole body straining against something, as if moving through water. He struggled to breathe. There was a prickling sensation on his hand, growing steadily into a burning pain as it moved and opened slowly, releasing the dice. When they landed on the chair, the unseen force subsided.

"Ow!" He checked his hand for burn marks. Nothing.

"Cool, you can do it!" The dice showed a five and a two.

"That's... That doesn't mean anything, it's just a question of probability. I- Let me try that again."

"No!" Rita snatched the dice.

"What? Why? If I don't repeat it, I won't know if I really did anything."

"No, you can't challenge fate. Look, if you do it again so soon, fate will notice. And fate gets real mad." She looked truly concerned.

"Uh... Fine, all right. So when can I try again?"

"I dunno, maybe wait 'til tomorrow to be safe. Let's try something else now. What else can you do?"

"Well. I used to be good at building machines, that was my research. But that was a long time ago... or- You know."

"OK, so maybe you built things in Faerie, but I dunno, that seems like a big job though. Maybe you fixed things? Hey, my watch is broken. Maybe you could fix that?"

"Not without the right tools." Charlie smiled. "I can't even open it."

"Just take a look." Rita had already taken the watch off her wrist and dangled it in front of him. Shaking his head, Charlie took it.

"What am I supposed to do with it? OK, fine. I'll look." It was a cheap analogue time piece in garish colours. The second hand wasn't moving. He held it to his ear. Nothing. "It's completely stopped." He tried winding it. Still no movement. When he held it to his ear again, he thought he heard something. He shook the watch. "That's not right. Something's come loose in there." He looked at it, and suddenly he knew exactly how the watch worked, or rather how it didn't. He blinked. If he concentrated, he could imagine the internal workings of the clock overlaid on its face. He launched into an odd dance, the watch in his hand above him, then to his side. He turned it. He shook once. Then he carefully tapped the face twice, and waited. Finally, the second hand began to turn.

"Shit Charlie, what did you do?! That was amazing, it works!" Rita shrieked, grabbed the watch and put it back on. "It's good as new! Thanks!"

"It won't hold for long, there's a piece that's still loose, it's just in the right place for now."

"How did you know? Do you know a lot about watches?"

"I've... Heh, I've worked with similar stuff before, sure, but... Yeah, there's no way I could have known what was wrong."

"You can fix stuff! I have no idea what that contract's called. Maybe Rita or Braggart knows. Hey, isn't it amazing that you had dice here and I had a broken watch, so we could discover your contracts? I think that's amazing! I know this one girl who only has one contract, well that she knows of..."

"Yeah. Amazing." While Rita prattled on, Charlie experienced the all too familiar feeling of one thing after another falling into place. Meeting Gertrude and the others, who led him to Tara. That in turn led to joining the Spring court and miraculously discovering his contracts. One thing after another, like teeth in a cogwheel, as certain as night follows day. It was a familiar situation, but Charlie was different now. So much had changed in his life, and changed him to the very core of his being. Maybe this time it would be different.