2025-01-30 - H.O.T.T.O. Cheeto

Deep within the clothing racks of the second floor at Ruby's: a monster lurks. It's leaned in to the waist, tucked between two crusty leather jackets and try to inspect the higher row while steadying itself on the thin metal hanging rod. It's a monster, obviously, because it's growling and cursing up a storm while the rack of jackets rattles its dissent. There's no way it'll hold his weight like this.

(Clearly this is a man who needs a step stool instead of whatever the fuck he's doing).

Logan has seen a lot of things in the short week that he's been in the park, but a clothing rack monster is a new one. He drifts through the various racks just looking at things. He doesn't have anything to try on. He doesn't have anything that he's carrying around with him. He seems to be wandering more than anything. That's when he notices the struggling.. pants. Because that's all he can see really of Sammy at the moment.

"Need a hand?" he offers from nearby. "I think there's a stool thing over here." He begins to drift in the direction of where a stepstool with the words "ASK FOR HELP" printed on it is leaning against the wall.

Yeah honestly it's just a pair of enchanted black distressed skinny jeans and suede oxford boots here. They really want something up there on the second row and you know, if only they could read. The voice brings the struggling to an abrupt stop. A breath's worth of hesitation. Then the imaginary BEEP BEEP BEEP as Sammy backs it up on out of there.

By the time he stands up straight, his hair is everywhere, but especially in his eyes. He gives his head a good shake and tip back to settle his hair. Ironically the first thing he sees is the sign. "Asking for help is for suckers."

"Which is why you didn't ask, and I'm not planning to," is Logan's response as he deposits the step stool in front of Sammy. It's not really until he straightens up that he sees anything more than a pair of skinny jeans and oxfords. When he does look up, there's a definite pause, a flicker of recognition, and then he just sort of looks at Sammy for a long awkward moment. It's sort of like coming around the corner and running into an emu. It's just unexpected.

He is dressed in a pair of well-worn somewhat baggy jeans and a dark blue hoodie with a logo on it that has long faded into obscurity.

"Oh goo--" but the d never materializes as Sammy's now being stared at like an emu. Well not an emu, but something unexpected. It takes him a whole half a second to realize why. His dark brows shoot up, hazel-blue eyes going wide.

"Shit. Logan?!" His stare is less awkward, more completely shocked to see Logan HERE. On an employee island. In a world-famous theme park. Looking 50% taller and more filled out than last time...whenever last time was.

Kind of like an emu. It's not exactly terrifying, perhaps a little intimidating, but mostly just not what or whom you expect to run into in this particular place. It's when Sammy says his name, though, that confirms that he was right in who he thought he was looking at. It takes him another moment to finally say "Uh, yeah.. Hey, Sammy." It's been a few years. "You.. live here too? How long have you been here?"

It's a legit staring contest for a moment. Sammy hasn't quite realized he should try to be polite yet, nor has he remembered that there's a jacket he wants and a step stool he was in the process of getting. This moment has been derailed by a blast from the past. He combs his fingers through his hair and nods a little. "Yeah. Been here since November. I'm working at the occult shop on the Boo'edwalk. You?"

"Few days," Logan says. "They put me up in the hotel until an apartment was ready." He slides his hands into the front pouch of his hoodie. "I'm ah, over at the Companion Creation Station in the midway. The build-a-bot shop." He falls quiet for a moment and then says, "So, that's weird," in that same tone that indicates he's been saying that about a lot of things in the past few says. "I mean, cool, but weird."

Sammy looks impressed at the mention of the hotel. "Oh well excuse me." Just a little tease that has his smile going lopsided. "Right the creation station. That's...fun? Cute? Did you pick that or did they give it to you?" Logan's very specific use of the word weird gets a knowing look. "Plenty weird around here for sure. I'm the least of your worries." He's still kind of staring though? Looking between Logan's face and his hair and his shoulders.

Logan's brows knit a little at the reaction. "Is that.. weird?" Now he's unsure if it is or is not weird. Either way he moves on to the question, "Assigned. Coulda done a lot worse." He shrugs his shoulders just a little bit. "Making the little robot's kinda fun. Could take or leave all the kids." He then asks, "What about you? You like what you do?" He hasn't exactly stopped studying Sammy, either. Much is the same as he remembers. But with a couple of years added on. A little smile tugs the corners of his lips and he says, "Yeah, I wasn't." He pauses. "Worried."

"The hotel? No. I'm giving you shit," Sammy huffs a bit dryly. "I got straight into an available apartment but that's not the case for everyone." Look, not every joke's going to land, especially with someone you knew as a kid but not as an adult. "I can see that. The toy part. The kid part...is a lot. We don't get a lot of kids at the store, mostly teens who are into Wicca or want to piss of their uptight parents or buy some selenite." Even as he says it though, there's a sort of pride in his expression. "Love it. Been working at a handful of different places like it, just with smaller budgets. It kinda turned into my thing in college." He notes the little smile, smirks. "So what have you been up to since...since you were way shorter than you are now?"

He starts to reach for the step stool as he listens, bending down to look up at Logan .

There might just be a faint bit of relief there when Sammy says he's just fucking with him. "They're fine, usually," he says about the kids. "Some of them are just so fuckin' sticky, man.. so sticky. And they touch everything." Not that he wasn't always covered in dirt from playing outside as a kid, himself. But he smiles a little when Sammy talks about his own work and nods a couple of times when he says that he loves it. "That's pretty cool. Sounds like fun. I'll have to come by, check it out. You're out of college now?"

But then Sammy asks about him and he hesitates a moment. But Sammy knows what his life was like, probably more than anyone else he knows, so he shrugs and says honestly, "You know. Bouncing from place to place. Managed to finally to get a whole year in my last place, graduated, and then.. just odd jobs for a little bit. Was crashing with a friend in Ann Arbor when I heard about this place. Figured with all the jobs they were hiring for I'd have to get at least one."

"Sticky," Sammy echoes as he laughs under his breath. "I guess I'm not around them enough but now, extra no thanks. You should consider gloves. To counteract...the sticky?" That gets another lopsided grin as he tugs the step stool over and starts to position it where he'd just been spelunking between jackets. "You definitely should. I'll read your tea leaves," he says over his shoulder, looking up at the double decker rack. "Yeah, been out a couple years now." He pauses to do the math on Logan's behalf. "So you're here instead of school, huh?" No judgement in his tone there, just a stated fact.

Instead of immediately climbing up, he turns around to face Logan again. That hesitation comes with baggage, and well, yeah he's very aware of it. "For sure." The amusement drops off his face. "Sorry you had to bounce around so much." There's the silver lining though, the last place. "Did you like 'em?" Whichever family Logan was with for a year.

"Or just twin double barrel pistols full of Lysol," Logan says, drawing a pair of fingergun pistols and making "fffssshhht... fsssshhht" aerosol noises at imaginary children standing about the store before his hands slide into his hoodie once more. "Gloves work, yeah. Still gotta clean it off all the glass though."

"Yeah?" Logan asks. "That's a thing you do? Read tea leaves? Do they tell you anything interesting? Or is it just the usual.. you will meet a mysterious stranger.. type stuff?"

"I gotta live somewhere, and nowhere's free," Logan says with a slight shrug. He's on his own now. There's no one to help him with school. "But I got a roommate and that's helping make things a little cheaper. Maybe I can save up for it sometime."

"Yeah, I liked them. They were alright. It was a good place to end up for that last stretch." He then nods a little bit to this place and says, "And now I live in an amusement park. Pretty sure I drew pictures about that when I was a kid."

"Woah woah, down cowboy," Sammy laughs as he holds up both hands in surrender at the Lysol pistols. "Aerosolized tactics are a no no in the employee handbook. But rope..." A sly smile appears on his face even as he's quick to wave his hand around to signify that it's a bad joke. "Anyway yeah, I don't envy your job. Well except the robot part. That sounds cool as fuck."

He nods sagely. "Is is a thing I do, yes. And...you'll have to find out." Coy. He steps up onto the stool. It's one of those bench-like ones with handles. He disappears for a split second before leaning back out again and looking over at Logan.

"There's free online courses and stuff, by the way. Just saying." And now he's gone, digging through the jackets to more easily pull out a vintage moto this time around. "Fucking finally. Hello beautiful. You wanted to work at a theme park as a kid? I think I wanted to be a dragon. Here, can you hold this a sec--" He shrugs out of his current patch and pin studded jacket to hand it over to Logan.

It leaves him in a fitted black tee that reveals about 100% more tattoos than last time.

Logan smirks just a little and says, "I can't just disinfect them?" But he has put the fictional aerosol guns away. The imaginary children are now safe. But for how long? One brow goes up a little at that coy response, but he smiles just a bit and says, "Guess I will." Challenge accepted.

"Yeah do they give you a free degree with the free courses?" Logan asks, only a little bit dryly. He watches from the ground as Sammy goes fishing around in the jackets again and finally comes up with one. "Not work. I wanted to live in a theme park. Live in one of the rides," he says as he reaches up and takes the jacket when it's handed to him. And then he's studying those tattoos. He definitely didn't have those the last time that Logan had seen him, and for a moment he's just openly studying the ink.

"You can do a little disinfecting. As a treat." Sammy will give him that much. The challenge accepted is noted with a smirk. He'll just have to wait to cash that one in whenever tea readings happen.

"Who wants a degree?" asked with a scrunch of his nose. It's a tease, since he huffs out a laugh soon enough. "What degree would you like?" He tugs on the new jacket, unfortunately cutting Logan's study off early. The jacket's cropped shorter and lands at about his waist. The arms look a little snug too. Just a half size too small? "Aw damn. Wait which ride?"

Logan's view of the tattoos is cut off and it also kind of reminds him that he was maybe staring a little too much. "A what?" Oh, a degree. The words are out of his mouth a half second before he remembers what they were talking about. "I dunno. Never thought about it. Didn't figure I'd be going to school anyway. What'd you get?"

There's a little sympathetic disappointment when the jacket isn't exactly right. "Haunted Estate, hands down," Logan says, picking one of the rides at this particular park, but one might imagine it would be a similar ride at whatever dream park he'd imagined living in as a little kid.

Logan's a what gets Sammy brows lofting. He's just realized there'd been a bit of staring and it has a slow smirky smile curving up one side of his face. "Me? English. Didn't care for it much but needed an excuse to leave the house and that was it." He tugs at the cuff of a sleeve to starting shimmying out of the tighter jacket. Its removal is slower. On purpose.

"Haunted Estate is pretty badass, yeah." The rest of the jacket comes off, then he turns to hang it up again. "So have you been around the whole island yet?"

"Oh," Logan says when Sammy mentions which degree he got. "So how'd you start reading tea leaves in college?" he asks. "Folks really desperate to know how they'd do on their exams?" Does he notice that the shimmying out of this jacket is taking longer on purpose? Perhaps not. Is he definitely taking the opportunity to study Sammy's ink again? Yes.

"It sounds like the ones I've imagined in my dreams," he admits. Then he continues to say, "I haven't really been around much at all. I know where my apartment is, some of the businesses in town, the resort, and how to get to where I work. I haven't really explored much more than the little center of town here."

"No," Sammy breathes out a laugh. "I worked part-time at an occult store. I made extra tips by reading tea leaves there. Woulda made me way more popular if everyone was into that stuff at school but ah well." The ink is scattered around his arms from biceps to forearms, mostly grayscale with some small color pieces. There's no real rhyme or reason, just occult-y type things like inverted triangles and geometric patterns layered atop each other, a grandfather clock, a portrait of a Victorian lady in a long dress (who definitely looks like she wants to haunt a castle). That sort of thing.

Alas, with the jacket not meant to be, he turns around, arms draped out on both railings and smirks at Logan. "Would you like to?"

"Too bad," Logan says. "You coulda made bank." He has no tattoos, not that he isn't covered from neck to wrist anyway. But he just seems to dwell on each pattern and the portrait thoughtfully. The question draws his gaze back upward and he asks, "See the whole island? Yeah. I'd like to see all of them eventually." He glances back up into the coats and then realizes he's still holding onto Sammy's. He offers it back up.

"Yeah no I mean now," Sammy clarifies as he reaches for his jacket when Logan offers it up. He doesn't immediately put it on. "What are you doing at the moment? I was looking for a new jacket but I'm picky as fuck so that's not happening obviously so, I'm free. And if you're free..." A glance at the exit. He leans closer to conspiratorially whisper, "then we can both be free together."

"Oh, now. Yeah, I'm free now. I was just looking at the furniture downstairs. And then I figured since I was here.." Logan shrugs. He'd wandered upstairs and the rest was history. When Sammy leans in and whispers, he glances over at the doors and then back to him and whispers back. "Yeah, yeah, I think I'm good with that plan," a little smile forming. And so he backs up a little and starts heading in the general direction of the exit. "The one you have is pretty cool," he says, of the jacket that Sammy already has.

"You'll have time for furniture later," Sammy says with a blasé tone that suggests whatever the hell plan that's formulating in his head is way better. He grins when Logan whispers back, happy that they're speaking the same language. "Great. Let's go." He hops off the top step, which is probably why people aren't allowed to use this thing without asking. The jacket then gets tugged on, both hands shoved into pockets.

"Thanks. It's my favorite. Okay so," he navigates around racks of clothing, heading for the stairs, "what kind of thing do you wanna see first? Animals? The Castle? The Haunted Estate? Pirates? The medieval village?"

There's no argument there. He doesn't seem particularly attached to the idea of furniture shopping and is very much all about getting out of the second hand store and off on some other adventure. With Sammy. He was still trying to process the fact that Sammy was here and they were now essentially coworkers. That in and of itself was crazy.

He follows along as they head toward the stairs, hands in his hoodie's pouch as they make their way down. "Haunted Estate," he says without hesitation. "I gotta go check out my dream house, after all. We could hit there first. Unless you're sick of that area." He realizes a little belatedly that maybe Sammy would want to go somewhere other than the same place he works every day.

Talk about strange run ins no one ever thought they'd have. Sammy seems to be rolling with it now that he's not being stared at like an emu. "Nah, c'mon, this is the Logan tour. Gotta check out the dream house for sure," he tosses a smile Logan's way, then takes the stairs two at a time.

Off they go. A hop, skip, and a ferry ride later-- Welcome to the Boo'edwalk! Spellbound island has a lot and there's a bit of speed walking to get there, but get there they do. The late afternoon is rolling by, sun getting lower in the sky but not yet close to twilight. "So who's your roommate? Maybe I know them?" Sammy asks as he gets in line. Doesn't look like it's a crazy long one today, thank goodness.

Logan walks along the Boo'edwalk, taking everything in as they make their way down its length toward the Haunted Estate up on its hill and behind its gates with all its spooky outside decor. To be fair, the boardwalk is almost better to take in at night. It adds to the atmosphere of the place. As they wait in line he says, "Damian. He's a wildlife biologist, works with the animals over on Starlight. I think he does a lot of work with the big cats." Then he asks, "Do you know a lot of people here?"

Sammy shakes his head, not recognizing the name. "Wildlife biologist sounds pretty cool though. That's a proper degree. He can probably get you in behind the scenes at the cat hab if you're into feeding raw meat to things twice your size?" A little waggle of his brows there, then he shuffles forward as the line moves up. "Not really, no. First three months on a job are usually the hardest for me, especially with relocating and all that. My manager is cool. Her name's Arrow. She's been here since the park opened and helped me get settled. Working on bettering my readings with me. I can look at your palm while we wait?"

"Yeah," Logan says, about the job being cool and then there's some vague trepidation at the thought of feeding raw meat to things twice his size and he says, "Nah, you know, I'm good. I'm more of a city boy. Rats the size of dogs and all, fine. But I'm going to stay away from things with teeth that big that could take my arm off." There'd been a couple of incidents with big dogs when he was a kid, enough that he's still got a little bit of a fear of large animals in general. It's a mild thing. But it's there.

"She sounds cool," Logan says, of Arrow. The offer to look at his palm has him pulling his hands out of his hoodie and turning them over. "Which one?" He just offers both to Sammy, to take his pick.

"You sure? Cause I'm a city boy too and it sounds like a hoot." That dry smirk appears again, revealing the exact opposite. Sammy's humor, clearly. Somewhere on the dark side with a hint of gentle razzing. "Aw. Dog rats. I miss them. I ended up going to school in San Diego so I actually haven't been back home for a while. They still carrying off birds and stuff or did the government get rid of them already?"

Logan's question about which hand to look at has Sammy pointing at the left. "Doesn't really matter but this one, sure. Hand it over." He offers his hand, palm up, for Logan to place his into. At the same time he takes a step sideways progressing in the queue.

"I'll introduce you," Logan says in return. "You can go hold out some raw meat and hope the big cat knows where the dinner meat ends and the keeper meat begins." But the sidelong look that he gives Sammy has a little smirk of his own. He can take the gentle razzing, especially as he gets past the initial surprise stage and settles into a more comfortable familiarity. "Pretty sure they're still there," he says.

His left hand is left out for Sammy to inspect while the other drops back to his side. He follows along in the queue and sets his hand on top of Sammy's, paying more attention to him than the widening gap between them and the people in front of them. But he starts paying attention as the line continues its slow shuffle.

"Yeaaaaaah okay well well you put it that way," Sammy drawls into a laugh that sees his shaking his head quickly. "No longer interested. Thanks. Your roommate can keep his big cats to himself." The sidelong look gets a crooked smile in return, something more subdued that hints at him realizing that Logan's finding his footing here after the surprise. "Some things never change. Good."

With Logan's hand resting atop his, Sammy leans in to inspect the line with a serious expression. "Hmm." He traces a fingertip along Logan's 'life line'. "Interesting." The line is now moving forward without them.

"Yeah, see, that's what I'm saying. Some things are meant to be observed, from a distance, behind safety glass," Logan says. Sure, he's fine taking some risks. He'll jump off of shit just to see if he can make it. But big animals? Nah. Just nah. "Lots of things never change," he says with another shrug of his shoulders. "For better, or for worse." But he's not entirely just talking about the rats, there. But he's quick to let it go.

Logan raises his brows and asks, "Interesting good or interesting bad? Living in interesting times is not a good luck sort of thing.." He does not notice the line move this time.

Logan lets it go but Sammy's interested now. Unfortunately, when he finds an interesting thread, he pulls at it. His head tips to the side just a bit, hair falling into his eyes. "Lots of things, huh? Like what else?"

He stares into Logan's palm though, quiet, thoughtful expression plastered over his features. "So this one..." he points out a line, "says you enjoy Hot Cheetos. And this one," he points to one crossing it, "says you've never seen a picture of a little pig in a raincoat that you didn't like." Then out of nowhere, he smacks a light high-five into Logan's upturned hand and cracks a shit-eating-grin. "I can't actually read palms. I'm strictly a tea leaves guy but thanks for playing."

Logan seems ready to move on, but Sammy's question has his brows furrowing a little as he shrugs, "You know. Bad neighborhoods still bad, people still doing the same shit they always do, but then, some good folks who are reliably good, too." It's sort of vague, but it's heavy stuff for a ride line. He studies Sammy, watching that bit of hair falling into his eyes.

But then he's looking down into his palm and snorting at the 'reading' that Sammy gives him. "Ass," he actually genuinely laughs, and then gives Sammy's shoulder a playful shove with the palm that just got 'read'. "You got a real career in that. Nobody has known my secret love of hot cheetos until now." Oops. The line. He takes a few quick steps to catch up. "I don't know," he circles back around to the beginning of the conversation, "Change can be good, too."

Sammy nods silently to himself at first before mouthing oh. "Right. The old reliable bad and old reliable good. I get what you're talking about." And now he will effectively drop it for the sake of being in a public line for a dark ride.

It's not until Logan calls him an ass and shoves him that Sammy tips his head back to cackle darkly, beyond pleased with how that went. He takes a second to catch up because of it but then he's there, bumping shoulders to announce his presence again. "I looked really professional right? I make that face a lot at work too. Getting better at it." There's a hissy sort of laugh at the secret love for Hot Cheetos. As for change? "Yeah? I'm exactly the same. I wouldn't know."

Which is...a lie.

Logan just shakes his head at Sammy's dark cackling and leaves him behind to move up with the line. It's not like he's gone more than five feet and they're in a corral. It would be very difficult to lose one another. He returns the shoulder bump and says, "You looked very serious," he agrees with a faint smirk, since he'd certainly fallen for it.

Then he glances at him sidelong and says, "No you're not." Then he looks up ahead to watch as they finally get to move up to the operator who asks them to wait for the next car, then waves them on as it approaches the moving platform. The standard announcement about keeping one's arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times follows them as they slide into the car.

Sammy just stands there, looking as pleased as ever with a closed mouth smile. He's got nothing else to add for the moment, seeing as they've finally made it to the front and now carriages must be entered safely and whatnot.

It's not until they're seated and the lap bar settles into place that he leans back lazily and clasps his hands behind his head. Nonchalant as ever. "So I'm taller, is that it?" Back on the change subject. "Don't hold out on me, Logan." They're about to go through the main doors into the properly dark portion of the spooky ride. The theme music's really ramping up.

Logan wants to roll his eyes but all he does is smile slightly and shake his head. He leans back comfortably, though with his arms folded lightly in front of him, stretching his legs out as they approach the front doors of the ride. The question pulls his attention back toward Sammy and he says, "You're definitely taller," he says and then notes, "And have a lot more ink than I remember." Which was zero. He remembered zero ink. "And you graduated college. And you became some kind of occultist prankster." The prankster part was probably a pre-existing condition. He studies Sammy for a moment longer as though there might be more, but he apparently considers that sufficient, as he tips his head back and watches the doors open and feels the car begin to turn sideways toward the animatroics and the first big open room of the ride, filled with "ghosts" and ghoulies of all sorts.

Sammy seems too glad to hear that he really is taller (as if that was ever up for debate). "My friend became a tattoo artist and turns out you get free ink when people need to practice." That would also explain the randomness of some of the designs, like the paperclip on his inner wrist. He looks over at Logan for a moment, as if considering the changes on his side as well...until that line.

"Prankster oh my god what?" His jaw drops, offended but in a good-humored sort of way. "He called me a prankster," he now says to an animatronic ghost. "Can you believe this guy? I'm supposed to be a mercurial oddball, not a prankster. I'm funny, huh? Like ha ha funny? Like a comedian?" Straight up quoting Goodfellas, about to ruin Logan's first Haunted Estate experience. Yeah this is definitely not the same broody teenager who sat in corners scratching into a notebook while his parents worked, but who also managed to leave weird little comics behind for whoever happened to find them.

"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool," Logan says, of getting free ink. "Some of them are really good," he says, not meaning that any aren't good, but that some stand out, at least to him. But then he realizes that he's telling on himself that he was indeed very openly staring at Sammy's ink earlier. And the faintest hint of color touches his features. It's fortunate that it's a dark ride.

Logan can't help but snort just a little at the OFFENSE that Sammy takes to being called a prankster. "Huckster? Charlatan? Con Man? Bammmmmboozler?" Logan tries to think of all the old-timey cartoony words that he can think of. He doesn't seem like his ride is being particularly ruined.

It's dark as heck so Logan's saved in that respect, just not in the telling on himself part. "Some of them," he repeats, much in that same bratty tone that reveals he caught him. "Which one in particular do you like? From the half a minute I took my jacket off." He can't help poke. Surely this won't blow up in his face, ever.

Like right now. Huckster. Charlatan. Bammmmboozler. "In ALL my years!" How old is this guy?! "Such disrespect!" Sammy's gasping and clutching at his invisible pearls. The ones that surely would hang right atop all his metal beaded necklaces and the choker with the upside down cross on it. Because he's never disrespected anyone with that. "Also did you eat a thesaurus for breakfast? Where the fuck are you getting all these from?" The offense withers away as he's now plenty impressed.

Logan keeps his eyes on the ride in front of him as Sammy pokes at him, grateful as fuck that the ride is dark and that the color only deepens a little as Sammy points out the 'half a minute' (it was longer than half a minute) that he had his jacket off. "I really liked the Victorian ghost," he decides to settle on. It was well done. He's not going to start listing more. He's already told on himself enough.

"All your long and many years," Logan smirks. "You're not that much older than me." Okay, so five years is ... not insignificant. But certainly not enough to put Sammy into 'oh-my-stars-and-garters' territory of old. "Yeah," he says, "Fiber," for his reason for eating a thesaurus.

To Logan's credit, he picked a good one. "The lady in white. That one's my favorite," Sammy admits as he watches a slew of ghosts go skipping by. "You know that there are more lady in white sightings than any other color?" That weird piece of trivia at least gets him off the trail and the poking ceases.

"How old are you again?" Logan had to bring up age and now Sammy's poking at that. Look, at least he's not thirteen or however old he was the last time he saw him. "Also, I'm an old soul okay?" The fiber comment has him snorting and sitting back into his seat more comfortably again, arms draped over the lap bars. "You're taller too," he says after a moment. "And sassier than I remember."

"Yeah? Isn't that since most ghosts are supposed to be like.. translucent?" Logan asks, never having actually seen a ghost, himself. "Wouldn't any lady show up in white, regardless of what she was wearing?" Clearly he has not experienced the great and varied types of hauntings that exist! But it does at least get the poking to stop and he's fine with that for the moment.

"Nineteen," Logan says when asked. It's been a few years. He looks over at Sammy at that and says, "What does that even mean? That your soul wants to eat TV dinners and fall asleep watching The Price is Right?" But then he's looking out at the ride again as the cars spin around backward and give a different angle view of the vampires gathered in the courtyard and the werewolves running across the roof. "Yeah. My last family used a rack," he says deadpan, making a twisting and pulling motion with his hands like stretching taffy. Then he smiles and shrugs his shoulders, "If you can't be strong, be fast. If you can't be fast, be funny."

"Supposed to be like? No idea. There are tons of stories too of a lady in red just wandering down the halls. Stories where people think it was another hotel guest or someone who lived in the apartment building only to then learn--" Sammy lowers his voice and makes little spirit fingers, "there's no one here by that name. Or what have you. The translucent thing might just be certain types? Maybe Hollywood magic? I'll have to find one of the people here who can actually chat with ghosts and ask."

"Damn," he says after Logan tells him his age. "You got old." A sly smirk appears on his face before a sudden flat expression pushes it right back off. "The Price is Right? Logaaaaaan." Full on amused groan. "You're killing me here." But he'll just let him have it. The razzing is now flowing both ways and Sammy's very much here for it. "Ah yep, I can see it." He gestures with a finger at Logan's shoulders. Then of course there's a thoughtful hum with a lofting of brows. "So you think you're funny?" He looks over at Logan with a smirk. "Interesting."

"Ugh. I hope I don't get that," Logan says, thinking about the ability to talk to ghosts. "I'm good with not being haunted." But he takes Sammy's word for how ghosts actually show up since it's definitely not a thing he's ever encountered.

"What? Wheel of Fortune? Family Feud?" Logan starts subbing out game shows now since apparently the Price is Right is the problem, here. But then he shrugs slightly. "More funny than I am fast or strong, anyway."

"Yeahhh, same here. I can deal with being clairvoyant easily enough. Lot less trauma involved with that." Sammy spends a second enjoying the ride (and letting Logan absorb it too), looking out at all the spooky animatronics. His hand shoots up, fingers splayed, to hover over Logan's face. "What's wrong with a classic like Jeopardy?!" he laughs. "But no, I mean in the sense where I like classic things and am way mature." Yeah, okay.

But he has to concede a little and drops his hand quickly. "You've made me laugh multiple times no so I suppose it's true." Their cart skitters around a corner to the final room with the big music number and minor jump scares. He studies Logan through the end of it. "So? Live up to your expectations?"

There's the faintest squint when Sammy claims to be clairvoyant, the seeds of doubt having been sewn with the palm reading thing, but he just glances over at him for a moment and studies him, before looking back out and watching the ride as they pass through it. It's only when the hand suddenly waves in his face that he blinks a couple of times. "Sure," he says. "If that's what you wanna call it."

The sound of the music and the big final number draws his attention once more and he takes it all in, a little grin on his face. "Yeah," he says. "I think I'll have to come back and do it again sometime. Probably won't move in. They'd probably kick me out. But I'm definitely going to hang out in here sometime." When he looks back toward Sammy, he asks, "So what's your favorite ride in here?"

Well Sammy definitely set himself up to never be trusted again, that's for sure. He looks over at Logan, looks away, looks back. It dawns on him that Logan thinks this is like a palm reading shenan. "I..." but he puffs out a breath instead. "We'll talk about it once you've been here a while." AKA, he'll just let Logan run into other forms of magic first. He snorts at the sure, shrugs a little more for his own old soul defense.

He can't help but smile as Logan grins through the final portion of the ride, looking away quickly when Logan starts talking again. "Only if they catch you. So...just don't get caught? That room back there had good AC, I bet it's perfect in the summer. Just don't get poked in the eye by all those dancing vampires." As for his favorite ride, that gets his head tipping to one side, hair in his eyes again. "The carousel. It's not like a ride ride but have you seen that organ? It feels...magical in a way I can't describe. Especially at night."

Logan glances over at him a little skeptically but says, "Okay," unsure if Sammy's just pulling his leg or not. But he seems fine with putting off that conversation for another time. He does laugh when Sammy points out the room with the good AC for hiding out in during the summer. "I'll have to come back in the summer and check it out if I'm still here." He's still not used to being anywhere for any length of time. It's reflexive to think of everything as not only finite, but short-term.

"I'll wear goggles," he says, of avoiding being poked by dancing vampires. "I bet there's some in the midway. There's all kinds of steampunk stuff over there." Though when Sammy says the carousel is his favorite, he's quick to say, "I mean you ride it. It's a ride. Plus, it's cool how every one of the animals on it is different, even all the horses that look similar have different paint jobs." He then adds, "We should go check that out after it gets dark."

Logan's way of thinking isn't a complete surprise given how Sammy even met him in the first place. Does it paint a sort of bittersweet smile across his face? Sure. But he totally gets it. "I'll bring you a housewarming ghost." Ghost and not gift, seeing as this is place is haunted after all.

"Oh yeah, there's a surplus of goggles. And top hats with cogs, all that stuff. You can get some fun looking protective wear." To fend off the animatronics, of course. Logan has a point, you do RIDE the carousel. "Good point. Well then yes, doubling down. It's my favorite ride." He turns a smile Logan's way and nods. Then they're being ushered off the cart so it's time to exit the Haunted Estate.

Sammy's tour of Spellbound island takes them sort of hodge podge all over the place but there's allegedly a method to his madness. He just...won't explain it well enough. They pop by the shop he works at, then there's a trip to the Mystic Mountain where the lines are properly long so they don't actually end up on any coasters, River Village to wave at knights, a quick run through Venture Cove to watch the pirates spar in front of guests, circling all the way back to the Midway.

It's well into the evening now, the sun having set a while back. Snacks and drinks were purchased to keep them from starving. Sammy also bought himself a little choker with gears on it and immediately put it on. Now they're lazily making their way to the carousel. At least until Sammy starts to power walk.

"Last one to a hippocampus is a rotten egg!"

"As long as it stays here and not in the apartment," Logan says with only the faintest bit of suspicion. "This place is too new to be really haunted, right?" He hopes. But soon that is forgotten in looking forward to the carousel. He doesn't seem to mind the meandering path that they take through the park. He works here now. If he wants to go back and look at something in more detail or something they missed, he'll have time. Instead, he seems pretty comfortable just following Sammy's lead wherever they end up going.

There's some mild disappointment at the lack of roller coaster riding, but he reminds himself that he can come back, and instead enjoys watching the knights on their horses instead. He lingers there a bit, and then of course there are the pirates. "That looks like it'd be fun," he opines, about performing in the pirate show.

Logan didn't buy anything except his drink and a snack to eat as they wandered the midway which definitely has a different and perhaps more magical vibe in the evening. By the time that they are heading for the carousel, he's discarded his trash and is hurrying to catch up with Sammy, "What the hell is a hippocampus?"

Good that Logan forgets because Sammy isn't completely sure and doesn't want to scare him so soon. Surely SOME on this island think it's haunted. Like. The people who literally talk to ghosts.

At least they're left wanting more, so there may very well be a tour #2 or #3 in the future. Or just and excuse to hop on a rollercoaster between shifts.

There's a gated area, of course, which gathers the next group of carousel riders though it seems close to empty right now. Which is just Sammy's luck because he's not really in the mood to wait an hour. It means the lazy racing ends quickly when the ride operator gives him a look for rushing over. It's great. He just beams right back and waits for the ride to slow to a stop for their turn. "Uhhhh, it's like a fancy seahorse. But like, literal seahorse. A horse...with a fish tail. Look--" he points at one of the painted hippocampus seats bobbing up and down.

The gate opens. They now have exactly one minute to find the perfect animal to sit on. "What're you picking?!" Sammy intones excitedly as he hops up on the platform.

Logan is a half-step behind Sammy as they dart through the gate and begin to find the perfect animal on which to ride. He looks over when Sammy points out the hippocampus and says, "Oh.. with literal horse front hooves.. got it." Then he's looking around to figure out what he's going to ride. In the end? He chooses a dark reddish horse with a black tail and mane not far from the hippocampus. It's saddle and embellishments are done in a dark blue and it has its head tossed proudly as it goes up and down. He settles onto it and leans a bit against the bar, lazily waiting for the carousel to start up. It leaves him near enough to talk to Sammy without needing to shout.

"Yeah, exactly." Sammy takes hold of the golden pole holding the hippocampus up and pulls himself onto the thing. It's pale blue with a dark purple tail that flares into teals and aquamarines that match its main. The saddle is gold and silver with little curling waves in the corner to denote its sea origins. He looks over his shoulder at Logan and nods his approval. "That's a good one." Within a few moments, the organs starts to steam up and play its haunted melody, then the carousel slowly starts to spin. It really is rather magical at night, with all the various colors catching the gentle filtered light of Edison bulbs nicely.

They make it a whole revolution, animals bobbing up and down gently, then Sammy turns a slightly more somber expression to Logan. "I should have checked up on you more. I'm...sorry I didn't."

Carousels at night are always more magical than they are in the dak, including this one, and it had its horses wander off in the middle of the afternoon, once. As the music starts and it begins to pick up speed, Logan leans back a little and just enjoys the round and round, rise and fall, along to the calliope music coming from within. There are mirrors in the center that reflect everything back at the riders. And the lights reflect off the mirrors, making everything glitter and sparkle a little bit.

The somber tone from Sammy draws his attention in that direction. He looks at him for a moment and then shakes his head, "I was your parents' case, not yours, man. It was nice to have somebody to talk to who wasn't.. involved in all of it. But like.. I'm sure your folks had a lot of cases."

"They did but still. You were always someone I really liked talking to. But I was a bit of a shit back then. Not like...I'm not one now but..." Sammy smirks a little there at the end. Yeah, that fake palm reading would like a word. "Just wanted to say that. I'll stop being weird now." He loops an arm around the pole and leans his cheek onto his hand. Comfy. Enjoying this place that has quickly turned into his favorite.

It seems he can be quiet for more than a minute.

"Yeah, same," Logan says, though his expression turns a little amused when Sammy says he's not a shit now, and then smirks. He doesn't point it out. He doesn't need to. "Hey," he says, "It's cool. You can make it up to me by hanging out with me around here? It'd be nice to at least know one person here, ya know? I mean, other than my roommate."

He falls quiet as well, leaning against the horse's support post, but he looks back over toward Sammy every so often, thoughtful. And then at himself in the mirror as they turn around the center. Lost in thought for a bit as they go round and round, he eventually resurfaces to say, "I can see why you like this one."

"I can do that," Sammy replies easily when Logan says he can make it up to him by hanging out with him. He looks over at Logan, smiling softening just a bit at the edges. "I'd like to do that." In case it sounded like an obligation, which it is most certainly not.

Round they go to the sound of the calliope. This part of Spellbound always feels more ethereal than any other, at least to Sammy. Where else can you find mechanical marvels such as these? Or a hippocampus of all things. He's lost in the moment, staring ahead, eyes unfocused, when Logan's voice brings him back to the present. A bright smile flashes on Sammy's face. "Right? It can't be your favorite, though, I already called dibs." That smile twists a little roguish.

Logan nods when Sammy says he can do that, but a little smile pulls at his lips when he says he'd like to. "Sounds good," he says before falling quiet again, this time watching the outside of the carousel, the people standing and waiting in line, the backdrop behind the back half of the ride, the crowds walking beneath the evening park lights, the neon glow of the shops near the midway, the lit tents, the rush of the wooden rollercoaster not too far away. It does have a distinctly different feeling than the day time.

He laughs though when he looks back over to Sammy and says, "I haven't tried them all yet. I'll figure out a favorite after I've been on all the rides in the park. Then we'll find out if we have to fight."

They're both left people watching for a while as the carousel continues on in its never-ending swirl. All these horses with nowhere to go. It's quite bittersweet when you think about it.

Sammy's hazel eyes look fiercely blue in this lighting, and they're sparkling off of watching Logan laugh like that. "Oh, you don't want to front load the fight? Bummer." Okay yeah, he's definitely still a bit of a shit.

Until they kind of break loose and wander around. Maybe they'd just gotten bored. Maybe they would do it again. But they don't seem to be wandering off tonight. At least, Logan's horse seems to be remaining secured to its position on the ring.

Perhaps it's that fierce blue that catches his attention, but for a moment he doesn't really have an answer to that. But finally he just smirks and shakes his head, "Not if it's likely you're going to kick my ass anyway," sounding amused by the prospect more than threatened.

The hippocampus also seems to be remaining still. Maybe tonight's just a mundane night where the world itself just feels magical from the company.

Sammy's left starting at Logan for a moment when Logan doesn't immediately come up with a reply. It's not intense, just...unyielding? Like he could very well look away but is actively choosing not to. A lopsided smile appears quickly. "We both know I'd let you win, okay?"

Not that Logan look away at all either, just meeting Sammy's eyes and holding them. "Would you? Why?" Logan asks, curious as the carousel begins to slow, the music dipping as the ride begins to come to a stop to let the rider's off. But he stays on the horse a moment longer when they come to a full stop before he hops down with a clean dismount, combing his hair back out of his face.

"Come on," he grins, winding his way back through the rows of critters and finally off and out of the carousel area, back out under the lights of the midway.

"Two reasons." Sammy just...doesn't dive into them yet? He continues to look at Logan, smile evening out into something laced with amusement but not that impish sort. The music dips as the ride slows. He lazily slips out of the seat, holding onto the post until the very last second he pulls away. "One, I'm shit at fighting. Two, you'd feel bad for kicking my ass and then you'd be in my pocket." The master plan.

He strolls after Logan, unhurried and with his face turned up to steal one last look at the carousel.

Logan chuckles a little at both of those things, "Guess I'll just have to find another favorite ride, then, so we don't have to fight." Not that it's likely that they would have fought even if he didn't, but now it seems a challenge. He slips his hands into his pockets and glances back to watch Sammy and then the carousel, before he comes to a stop. "Should we head back?" he asks, though there's something about the way he asks it that probably indicates that he's not really ready to head back quite yet.

"Wise. Very wise," Sammy laughs with a little sage-like squint of his eyes. His gaze follows Logan's to the carousel, then back out to the rest of the park. The ferry port is in one direction, more of the island in the other. It's a literal crossroads, and with Logan's deliberate tone, Sammy's pretty sure what the actual answer is. He shakes his head no.

"Wanna keep walking? Grab some tea and sit? See if the line on a rollercoaster's died down?"

"Yeah," Logan says, pretty much to all of those things. "Want to walk over toward the rollercoasters and maybe grab a tea or hot chocolate or something over there?" It sort of combines all of the above. He's pretty sure the hot chocolate place has tea and coffee as well. There is a rollercoaster here on the midway but the big ones are all over at the Mystic Mountains, and that's the direction that he starts to go in.

"Yeah," Sammy repeats even though it's an answer all on its own. He's just surprised enough that his grin looks rather boyish with delight. "So, all of the above. Okay." He lifts up a foot and holds the pose for a second, then clomps it down once the direction is chosen to quickly shuffle after Logan. "Coaster first or we'll be wasting the hot chocolate, yeah?" He leans over to bump his shoulder lighting against Logan's.

"Are you saying you can't hold your hot chocolate, Brooks?" Logan asks with brows rising just a little bit in challenge as he answers that shoulder bump with a light one of his own. Then he just falls into step next to Sammy as they cuat across the park back in the direction of Mystic Mountain. "But sure, coaster first. Which one? Gryphon race? The really tall one.. the uh.. Alpine Escape? Or the dwarf mine one?" He has studied the map and knows most of where the rides are on it even if he hasn't personally visited each of them yet.

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying," Sammy laughs with both hands held up in surrender. "I am proud to say that if you shake me after eating, I am but a mere mortal and susceptible to their follies. Don't let the jacket fool you." The returned shoulder bump has his smile softening into a secretive little smirk. "The tall one. Alpine Escape. Then Gryphon. If we have time the mine cart one but that one's more chill."

Logan eyes Sammy and then says, "Good to know. No shaking after eating." Mental note made to be remembered for later. But then there are roller coasters to discuss and a plan is made for the Alpine Escape, so they head in that direction first. Fortunately, it's at a point in time when the line has died down a bit as people are beginning to wander off for later evening entertainments and shows. And so it is that the line isn't all that long as they step into it, making their way toward the point where they can board fairly quickly. The line for this one is also mostly outside, which makes it only a little less appealing during chilly weather. At least the dwarven mine is all inside.

"Are you telling me that you're impervious to being shaken after eating? Logan. Not even I believe that." Sammy smirks over at him as he side steps into the line. Thankfully they got here at a good time or they'd be waiting for hours. He looks up at the coaster, brows lifting as a cart goes zooming by trailed by happy screams. Sure it's getting colder but the adrenaline will help keep them temperate for at least a bit.

"Impervious?" Logan laughs, "Probably not. But I could probably drink a hot cocoa and be shaken without losing it." Though whether or not anyone wants to actually put that to the test is questionable. Even winning that bet might be a losing proposition. Logan seems entirely unconcerned about the cold, just rolling onto his toes and then back onto his heels a little as he waits for the line to move.

"Yeah nah that sure sounds like impervious to me. Iron stomach over there." Sammy's not about to put it to the test but he'll just believe it for both of them. The line moves up and just like that, they're up. "God we got lucky!" What a joy to not wait 90 minutes. He shuffles into his seat and waits for all the instructions on how to buckle safely yadda yadda. Logan gets one last smirk right before the ride lurches into motion.

To say Sammy's not quiet is an understatement. He's got a pair of lungs on him and he's not afraid to use them. He whoops with glee as they twist and turn in the inversions, getting a thrilling view of the park at night in its entirety.

Logan slides into his seat and gets all fastened in with the safety harness and whatnot. Then he wraps his hands around it and he's ready to go. He's quiet as the ride ascends, just enjoying the view of the park from this height and vantage point. But as soon as they start to dive and pick up speed he lets out a "Wooooooo!!", laughing through the whole thing in between inversions and as they rush by the onlookers below, rising back into the air for another turn. There's a great view of the entire mystic mountain area and even a faint glimpse of the construction site for the new area not far away. It's only a couple of minutes long, as rollercoasters often are, but it's a thrill ride that leaves Logan grinning with the adrenaline when they finally come back to the boarding area.

Sammy's in the same boat when they circle back to the boarding area, grinning broadly, hair a whole mess. It's everywhere and he doesn't yet have hands to fix it but he doesn't seem to care much. He puffs out a breath to get his bangs out of his eyes. "Holy shit that was fun. I haven't been on it since I got here and I almost forgot? How could I EVER forget?!" His face is also flushed from the adrenaline. As he gets up, he wobbles a little, then laughs about it. "It got me good."

Logan climbs out after Sammy, laughing a little bit. His own hair is a mess and he does not care. He only runs his fingers through it once they're out and wobbling their way toward the line for the next coaster. "This next one is a race, right? Like, you help push the buttons to try to make it win?" He has no idea of that actually does anything or not but he seems excited about the prospect of the gryphon coaster.

By the time that they've made it out of the exit and are on the path again to walk across toward the gryphon race, he's not wobbly anymore, but he is still a little high on the adrenaline.

"Yeah, though I still haven't found out if the buttons actually DO anything or if the winner is just on a cycle or something?" Leave it to Sammy to say the quiet part out loud. "Not to ruin the fun or anything. Shit. Too late?" He grins apologetically. "Sorry. It's still super fun though."

He shakes his hair out of his yes, not unlike a dog, and walks alongside Logan just as high from the adrenaline.

Logan laughs and says, "Well, you didn't actually tell me the answer, just that you don't know the answer, so I guess you're not a total fun-wrecker." He'll give him that much, and a nudge to the shoulder before sliding his hands into his pockets and drifting along to the next ride. The line is similarly short here. They must have picked just the right time to come back. And so he slides into that line as well, snaking around the switchback, back and forth until they eventually catch up to the few people in it. "I'm going to choose to believe that we have some affect on our destiny, and that we're totally going to win."

"There we go, thanks for finding the out for me," Sammy smirks and lets the nudge to his shoulder "bounce" him a whole foot away just to be dramatic. He slowly floats back over, one hand raking through his hair as a grin settles on his features. The line hurries along, and he only pauses to let Logan slip in front first, one hand lightly grazing his lower back as he goes.

"I will choose to believe it then and hit the buttons extra hard, just for you." And then? THEY'RE OFF.

Logan grins when Sammy bounces away but returns again, slipping into the coaster ahead of him. The small touch to his back has a little smile tugging at his lips. But then they are once more being fastened in and it is time for the race! "That's the spirit!" he says when Sammy agrees to play along, laughing. He does in fact mash the buttons as fast as he can as they go, trying his best to help win this race while also enjoying the feeling of flying that the coaster gives with its gryphon theme, sailing over the scenery below.

Do they win? Are their efforts rewarded or in vain? Is it entirely random or pre-programmed? Maybe they'll need to find a tech and shake the answer out of them later. But for now! For now, their bird flies magnificently and fast, and that's all that matters.

Smash smash smash smash.

Sammy's doing his level best over here, making use of his buttons to ensure a victory. Assuming a victory is REAL and not out of their hands. But he said he'd choose to believe and he's doing that. Clapping his hands for the fairy to live, as it were. He lets out another series of elated whoops as they rocket along on the coaster. Eventually they return to the 'nest', beating the other gryphon. This of course has a bright grin on Sammy's face. "Alright so maybe it IS real?!" His hair's in his face all over again.

Logan is smashing away at the buttons as well as they soar and swivel and dive. He occasionally checks on the other gryphons that he can see on their tracks. Are they catching up? Oh no! Is one ahead? Phew, they over take that one, and by the time they return to the next they are in fact VICTORIOUS! He throws both arms in the air and lets out a whoooop as they come to a stop, laughing. "It is real!" It may or may not be real, but he's decided it's real. Reaching over, he pushes just a little bit of hair from Sammy's face so he can actually see him. "One more?" he asks, since there is still one coaster left.

Sammy chuckles to himself as Logan throws his arms up in VICTORY. It's one of those infectious moments that's hard to look away from. And though the harness gets clicked off and raised, he pauses to let Logan push some of his hair from his face. His smile softens and he looks from Logan, out to the park, then back to Logan. "Alright one more." Gotta finish the trifecta.

The line for the last of the coasters is short as well, and the coaster itself is one of the milder ones even though it does quickly traverse its underground track through crystal-lit caverns filled with dwarves and things. It's a fun ride but definitely the most sedate of all the coasters. When they finally come out the other side of that one, Logan is grinning and ready for that hot chocolate. "Okay.. I neeed something to drink now after all of that," he laughs. "Thanks for doing all three with me," he says to Sammy as they walk along, some of the adrenaline finally fading a bit as hunger takes over.

Ironically, this last one is a perfect end to the adrenaline, hair-mussing rush of the other two. Sammy can recline a little more easily as they journey through the crystal caverns. The glow illuminates their faces and for a second, it's pretty obvious that Sammy's not actually looking at the ride, gaze instead lingering on Logan. By the end, he manages to shift his focus to actually pay attention. Then just like that, they've appeared at the end, disembarking amidst a gaggle of chittery tweens. "Anytime," he grins. "And yeah lets go to the hot chocolate place and maybe get like a pretzel or something. Or a churro. Or both."

"Or a pretzel-shaped churro, or a churro-shaped pretzel. Or.. a pretzel with cinnamon sugar on it," Logan muses as they turn toward the dessert and hot chocolate vendors, making their way down toward where there are a number of them all lined up. Hot cocoa can be acquired at the sweets chalet, but the pretzels are at the brat place, so it will be a two-stop trip, which doesn't seem to bother Logan any. With the coasters complete, he just meanders slowly along next to Sammy, quiet for a bit. Every so often he looks over at him, just stealing a glance. Had he noticed him looking at him on the roller coaster? Maybe.

"Yes to every single one of those. Now I'm really hoping for a pretzel-shaped churro." Sammy smirks to himself knowing that such things only exist in myth and legend. He shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, quiet as well while they walk. There may be a few stolen glances on his part too, one that of course happens just at Logan looks, meaning they actually meet each other's gaze for a moment. This has him grinning and biting down on his bottom lip. Caught. In the act. When they get to the hot chocolate, he throws his card down quickly to pay for Logan's before he can protest.

Caught. Logan grins and looks away, laughing just a little bit before ducking into the hot chocolate place. When Sammy's card comes down before he can even reach for his wallet, Logan pauses and then relents. He's been pretty insistent in paying for himself since they got here, so he takes a breath and doesn't argue. Instead, he murmurs, "Thanks," with a small duck of his head as he moves up into the line to get hot chocolate with churros. Sadly, the churros are not pretzel shaped. But they are delicious.

Sammy knows, he really does. Logan wants to pay for himself. But something in this act of paying for both snacks feels right for the moment. Plus, he's older and manners and yadda yadda whatever being polite chivalry isn't dead. He holds up both hands in surrender. "Just this once." But Logan can probably hear in his tone that it's a LIE. Once churros and chocolate get handed over, he heads over to a quiet bench and takes a seat. "I can't believe you let me bogart your whole day," he chuckles as he takes a huge bite out of his churro.

Logan shakes his head but smiles sand says, "I didn't say anything!" He puts his own hands up in surrender. He does in fact know that it's a lie but that doesn't seem to bother him that much. But there are churros and hot chocolate and both things together are pretty awesome. Logan settles onto the bench next to Sammy, shoulder to shoulder, and dunks his churro into his hot chocolate and then takes off a chocolatey cinnamony chunk. Once he finishes chewing he says, "Yeah, well, I can't believe you'd want to put up with me all day," in return. Then he's dunking another section of churro in his hot chocolate.

"Okay no you weren't but I could feel you anyway." Whatever that means. Sammy's quick to drop it, instead happy to focus on how tasty the hot chocolate is. "I'll be real with you, even yummier with the employee discount." That gets a little chuckle as he chews, then swallows, then brows knit together. "Um. You're fun? You're cute. But most importantly you're fun and cute? What else was I going to do, sit in my room alone and rewatch all of Twin Peaks? Again? This is way better. Plus I got a churro out of it so no complaints from me."

Logan laughs a little at the employee discount. It is a benefit. Then he glances over toward Sammy and his smile skews a bit as his churro in his cup of hot chocolate becomes very interesting to watch. He has to rescue it before the end melts off though, so he quickly puts it in his mouth -- for which he has almost instant regret as he tries to chuckle around it after Sammy's Twin Peaks comment. After he gets past the bite he says, "Okay, I guess I might be a little more fun than a.. what.. fourth? fifth re-watch of Twin Peaks?" He just grins a little sidelong then. "This was a far better day than what I had planned, trust me."

Oh yeah that poor churro. Sammy watches Logan fiddle with it for a bit before looking away to people watch. His smile remains soft though, probably more for Logan's hot chocolate antics than for the handful of guests that seem to be scurrying towards the designated fireworks vantage points to get ready for the show. His own churro disappears in two more big boy bites, then he much more slowly sips his drink. Until scrunching his nose up into it. "Fifth, ew, how'd you guess?" A beat, then he grins. "Good. Great."

Logan is a little slower to finish off his churro, what with all the dunking and small bites so that there isn't a catastrophe with either the whole thing dropping into his hot chocolate, or falling apart all over him mid bite. But eventually he does get through it and then drinks down the rest of the chocolate -- churro crumbs in it and all. Grinning, he says, "I dunno. Magic." Seems like a good enough explanation for just about anything that can't be explained in this place.

"Magic, of course. Why didn't I think of that?" Sammy grins into the lip of his cup then tips it up to finish off what's left of his hot chocolate. He smacks his lips a little, savoring the taste that's now blended in with cinnamon sugar, as he slowly gets to his feet to head over to the trash bin next to their bench. Wrappers and cardboard get disposed of. He shoves his hands back into his jacket and looks up at the night sky for a second before lowering his gaze to Logan's face. "Walk you home?"

Logan grins and gets up when Sammy goes over to toss the trash, dropping his own into it as well. There's a momentary indrawn breath, that hesitation when one knows that it is time to head home, but is holding off as long as possible. He smiles though when Sammy looks back at him and nods, "Yeah. Guess it's time." He turns and lightly bumps elbows with him, though, and says, "You can bogart my whole day any time," before turning to head toward the park exit and the ferry beyond.

A too-clever smile appears on Sammy's face when he spots that minor hesitation on Logan's. It gets him pushing his hands into his own hair, smoothing it back out of his eyes. There's a bit of reluctance for him to start walking as well. Like they're both in the same boat. He does start walking, only after Logan bumps elbows and draws a gentle laugh out of him. He heads towards the exit as well, a couple steps behind Logan. Deliberately slow. "Oh I plan to. You can bet on it. So what building are you in?"

When Sammy slows, so does Logan, because it's hard to talk to someone who is behind you. Not without craning around to look back all the time, or weirdly just talk to the empty air in front of you. His steps gradually slow to match Sammy's pace. "Silver Brook," he says when Sammy asks which building he's in. "I like it. It's got the game room on the first floor." Then he asks Sammy, "What about you?"

Yeah Sammy will just be the wrench in the quick escape here, taking his sweet ass time. The excuse is seemingly people watching-- which he's doing for the most part until it turns out they're in the same apartment building. His attention snaps right back to Logan. "Oh shit, for real? Me too. 601. You?"

Not that Logan was moving super fast to begin with! He doesn't seem to be in any hurry, and the slowing steps seem to suit him just fine. He's just sort of watching people come and go as well. That is until Sammy says that they're in the same building. But when he gives the apartment number, Logan just stares and then starts to laugh. "No way. I'm in 603. We're literally neighbors. Next door neighbors..."

Sammy's brows lift when Logan just stares back at him. That laugh, however, breaks him out of the moment. "What? Was I unconscious when you moved in?!" That's definitely rhetorical. "Of all the buildings..." he barks out a laugh that quickly mellows out into a thoughtful hum, "you moved into mine." His smile has soft again, in awe of the circumstances. "Kinda wild how life seems to work out, huh? Guess you really will be seeing more of me."

"I didn't know it was yours," Logan admits. Obviously. He hadn't even known Sammy was there. "That just happens to be where Damian's apartment is." The roommate that he moved in with. "But that is.. a very weird coincidence," he grins crookedly. "Very, very wild." But then he looks out toward the path ahead of them and says, "No complaints about that." Then he glances over and says, "Does make walking me home really easy."

"No, no, of course not. But you know what this means?" Sammy doesn't even give Logan space to answer, he just tosses up some wiggly fingers. "Destiny." And just like that, wiggly fingers relent to disappear into his pockets once more. "If you believe in that kinda thing. Who knows, though. Maybe we were destined to run into each other again?" There's a skeptical edge to his grin, like not even he believes it but he likes saying it anyway. "No complaints here either. Not even a wasted elevator ride."

Logan laughs and holds up both hands like he's bookending something in the middle and says, "Aliens.. oh.. oh, wait, no.. Destiny." Then he shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't know. Maybe it is?" He grins a little crookedly as he steps up onto a curb and walks along it, one foot in front of the other as he balances until he comes to a lamp post in his way and has to hop down off of it again. "I think I'm alright with a little destiny."

For a second, Sammy's not sure what this gesture means. His gaze bounces between Logan's hands then a bright laugh gets surprised right out of him with aliens. "Fuck. Maybe?" His smile skews a little mischievous as he watches Logan balance beam along the curb. He holds out a hand just in case Logan needs it for support as he hops down again. "If you would have asked me yesterday I'd say no thanks. But today? I'm very okay with it."

Alas, they've reached the ferry. Sammy heads straight for the back railing, as if he has a reserved spot or something. This little bit of space. Specially his favorite.

"As long as we're not expected to save the world or anything because I don't think I'm really cut out for that life," Logan says, on the topic of destiny. "Isn't that usually what happens to people with destinies? They end up jamming a sword in their hand and saying, good luck, babe?" He follows Sammy onto the ferry and over to the back railing where he leans back against it comfortably, hands curled around it, the breeze off the water as the ferry begins to move pulling his hair into his eyes.

"No, that's literally a Chappell Roan music video," Sammy muses with a cocky grin. He leans his hip into the railing, body turned towards Logan so he doesn't have to speak too loud over the churn of the engine along with the ramping breeze. His hair is quick to take its rightful place all over his face. "It's giving Joan of Arc? But, all things considered, yeah. Luke Skywalker shit. We're fine to refuse it. There are forty hundred other people here with magical powers and destinies too. The world will be fine without us."

Logan pauses and then says, "Oh, right." Because she totally did sing that song with a sword, didn't she? He turns a little bit so that he's facing Sammy too. "Good, as long as we can refuse it and leave it to all the other magical people." He pauses. "Not.. that I'm magical at all. But they did say in orientation that it could happen." He smiles a little skeptically. "Guess we'll see." He then asks Sammy, "Do you have magical powers?"

"Right, yeah, you haven't been here long enough," Sammy adds with a nod. He can feel the question coming, especially once Logan's skeptical smile comes out. He lets out a little rueful grumble. "Yeah I do." His hand comes up to push his bangs out of his eyes, then stays there since the breeze will just do what it whats the second he's not making an effort. "I don't want to freak you out though? It's a lot for people to get here and then see things they were told were always bullshit, you know?"

Logan doesn't look exactly surprised when Sammy says that he does, but then he smiles a little crookedly when he says that he doesn't want to freak him out. "Why, are they freaky weird powers?" he asks, still not asking specifically what they are, but a little bit curious none-the-less. He studies Sammy as though he could diagnose his magic just from looking at him. He can't. But it is an excuse to study his face, his eyes, even if he knows he's not going to find any magical answers there. "But yeah, just the whole orientation and handbook thing was.. a lot."

"NO--" Sammy's quick to blurt out too loud. He laughs it off and shakes his head, shrugging a bit at the same time. "Maybe? Probably? I don't know what your threshold is for freaky and weird." He can tell he's being studied and just stands there, staring right back without an ounce of shame. Seems fair to do the same thing, even if there's no magic yet on Logan's side. His eyes reflect the ferry's safety lights and shine a pale honey color. "It is a lot," he admits. "It never really stops? We just kinda build up a tolerance."

Is Logan even certain what his threshold is for freaky and weird? Most of what he's dealt with in his life has been pretty mundane, not always pleasant, but definitely not particularly magical or supernatural. He shrugs just a little bit and says, "I don't know either, to be honest." Then after a moment's consideration adds, "Try me?" Why not? Especially if it never really stops. "Gotta find out sometime, right?" He's not sure what he's bracing himself for, but he leans a little more heavily against the railing, as though it might hold him up if he truly gets freaked out.

Try me. That gets a slow smile spreading across Sammy's face. "I like your moxie, kid," he says in that old-timey Transatlantic accent from black and white movies of yore. Tipping his head to one side, he lets his hand drop to rest on the railing, hair whipping around his face again. "I can see what's going on in another place. Like...if I've been there a lot or if someone gives me something from there...it's called remote viewing. I'm clairvoyant. And I've helped a lot of tourists find their missing hats and sunglasses since I found out. Also...I can understand like every language? I got here knowing English only and then like two months ago I could follow any conversation. Period."

Logan laughs a little bit at the old-timey accent. Though when Sammy does tell him what he can do, he looks more thoughtful than freaked out. "So like those psychics that help cops find people or bodies or stuff? I thought that was just TV stuff." Which, it is, outside out of the islands. But it's very much a real thing here. "That's.. kinda cool." Then he says, "Huh. Like uh... was it Lucifer? That could understand any language or speak any language that someone was speaking to him? Or was it some other demon on some other show..." He can't remember now. << I can only speak bad Spanish. >> he says in not particularly good Spanish. << And even worse French. >> he says in actually moderately the same quality French. Both sound like someone who slept through most of Spanish and French class.

"Okay so I would never be a cop," Sammy adds quickly with a sly grin, "and I dunno if it means I'm PSYCHIC, cause there's like...people who can see the future and people who can see the past and people who can touch something and know its history and I...can just pretend to be a nanny cam? Not as exciting." He scrunches his nose up a little. "I don't remember which demon? But basically." Whether or not Logan's good at speaking, Sammy still gets it. <<Yeah see, I only know French from that one episode of Dexter's Laboratory where he repeats cheese omelet the whole time,>> he says in fluent French, negating the cheese omelet of it all. "Wild, huh?"

Logan laughs a little when Sammy quickly denies that he would ever be a cop, both hands rising a little in surrender. "Okay, okay, not a cop." But then he says, "Yeah but that's.. kind of cool, right? Potentially a little creepy. But still kind of cool. And you can help people find stuff which is definitely cool." He doesn't remember which demon either, clearly. And he is not very good at either language, but he's got a few phrases still jangling around in his head from some of his classes. "That is pretty wild. And cool. Nobody can like talk shit around you in some other language so you can't understand them." His brow furrows again, "Which I guess could also suck."

"Sure, it can be cool. And I never use it without consent cause yeah, I don't need that kind of mess in my life. Like there's no reason for me to peek unless someone wants me to." Sammy looks out over the dark water, smirking to himself as his hair goes everywhere. "I don't really advertise it a LOT because that's what Security is for. I wanna sell crystals, I don't wanna be chasing after lost backpacks all day." His gaze floats back to Logan. "Eh, it's fine. People talk shit about me in English all the time. I'm okay with it. At least they're talking about me." Here comes a smug expression. It lingers on his face for a second before it turns curious. "So you're not freaked out?"

"Yeah, I don't think I'd want to be the lost and found all the time either," Logan says after a moment's thought. "Good call." On not advertising his abilities a whole lot. Between the wind and all, it's unlikely either one of them can see clearly at the moment. Which is kind of funny, enough that Logan chuckles as he realizes it. But then he smirks and says, "Any attention is attention?" But the curious question gets a shake of his head. "No. I mean, part of me wonders if you're just messing with me again. But I'm not freaked out. Could be worse. You could have the power to turn anything you touch into oatmeal or to uh... blast things with your eyes like Cyclops."

"Any attention is attention," Sammy echoes a tiny bit arrogantly, but mostly playfully. He reaches out to brush some of Logan's hair out of his face even if it's completely pointless right now. Maybe it was just an excuse to touch him. "Ohhh, you don't believe me! I see how it is." No but for real, Sammy wouldn't trust it either. "As much as I'd love to have the Midas Oatmeal touch...here, give me something that's been in your room a lot and I'll prove it." He then barks out a laugh. "And so help me if I find a bag of hot cheetos in there, I will ABSOLUTELY think I learned palmistry magic too."

Logan's pale grey eyes are a little darker on the ferry at night than in the light of day, but they're very focused on Sammy when he brushes the hair out of his face. "Hey, you faked me out once already!" But when Sammy asks for something that's been in his room a lot, he frowns and has to think about it. What's been in his room a lot? Finally he pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to Sammy. It's usually charging in his room if it's not on him, so that's the best he can do for now. "There are no Hot Cheetos in my room."

Sammy just smirks deeply when Logan calls him out but doesn't say anything. His gaze lingers on him even after the phone comes out, but he takes it soon enough. Takes a breath. "I'll be the judge of that." The hot cheetos. He claps his other hand over the phone, sandwiching it between both, then settles into a neutral expression as he focuses. It takes a couple seconds for the overt indication that something magical is taking place to show-- Sammy's eyes go completely black. Just like one of those demons from Lucifer. It's his fun little New Year's change that signals clairvoyance-in-use.

"Alright..." he says distractedly as Logan's room starts to materialize before him in his mind's eye.

Okay, Logan was not expecting Sammy's eyes to go black and for a moment he just stares at him, mouth dropping open a little in surprise, and then closing again once he realizes that he's doing it, and staring, but then can Sammy even see him staring? He continues staring.

Logan's room is uh, well, it's a very nice if very empty room. There's a sleeping bag draped over a beanbag chair in the corner with a pillow, zipped up with a blanket folded on top of it. Next to that is a milk crate turned on its side. There's a couple of books and a few personal belongings in a couple of small tin boxes tucked inside and on top is a phone charger plugged directly into the wall above it. There's no furniture, no decorations, and in the closet are his clothes -- a few outfits and the uniform he needs to wear for work. There's a couple of pairs of shoes at the bottom of the closet and the backpack that he brought everything in sitting tucked away next to the shoes. There aren't many places for a bag of Hot Cheetos to hide. So unless there's some in his backpack, it's unlikely that there are any.

Sammy can't actually see him staring, but it's not like he's NOT aware of where he is. Mostly because it's where he just was, and a part of him can still hear the ferry's engine rumbling far in the distance.

"You haven't gotten a bed yet...or much of anything. Just a sleeping bag over a beanbag...god those things have it OUT for me, I swear." Uh oh, tangent alert. "One almost swallowed me whole at the thrift store the other day-- okay sorry ANYWAY. Let's see. Milk crate for a side table, very smart. Books. Tin...somethings? Yeah there's your charger. Uniform...oh lord that's cute. There's a backpack next to your shoes...and yeah, wow, stunning lack of hot cheetos what the actual fuck." He grins, even though his eyes are still black-on-black demonic looking.

He's fascinated by those black eyes. Not that he didn't keep looking at Sammy's eyes before they'd gone all demonic, but now he was just full on staring. It takes him a moment to realize that Sammy is actually reciting to him everything that he sees in his room. It's then that he realizes that Sammy actually CAN see everything that is, and is not, in his room, and he flushes slightly. "Uh.. yeah don't .. get eaten by a beanbag. Promise this one isn't like possessed or anything. I think." He seems to blow out a relieved breath when the only thing that Sammy seems to focus on is the definite lack of Cheetos in his room. He blows out a huff of a breath and says, "I'll have to fix that." Maybe.

"Yeah I learned my lesson, never try to move one?" Sammy scrunches his nose, still tapped into his clairvoyance for another moment before his eyes slowly fade back to their normal hazel hue. He knows Logan just moved in so he has zero judgement for how spartan it is. Also, the fact that he probably doesn't have as much as most people given his background. "Alright, well. Do you believe me now?" Oh no, he looks too smug about this. The ferry also happens to be pulling into the Crescent Island terminal now.

"Did you know your eyes go completely black when you do that?" Logan asks, wondering if someone else has told him that already, then figuring someone has and he says quickly, "You probably do. Nevermind. Sorry." Then he runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back out of his face for a second and says, "Yeah. Yeah, I believe you." That was definitely some hard evidence right there. While sure, Sammy could have learned a little bad French or Spanish in the intervening years, being able to see everything in his room is a little hard to argue. As the ferry pulls into the terminal, he pulls away from the railing and begins the walk to the ramp to disembark. He doesn't even remember to ask for his phone back.

"Don't be sorry. Yeah, they have. It didn't happen at first and then this year...I dunno, it turned into a thing? Apparently a lot of people got fun new weird things on top of their magic after New Year's Eve." Sammy shrugs, face growing a little more somber when it sort of does look like Logan might be lowkey having a moment. He opens his mouth, but Logan pulls away from the railing to head to the ramp. For the time being, he slips Logan's phone into his jacket pocket to catch up to him. "Blink once if you're freaking out."

"Yeah they uh, mentioned that in orientation too, and gave us like a hotline to call if we had any questions or anything weird happened," Logan says with a faint chuckle. "Like weird stuff isn't going to happen all the time." He isn't moving particularly fast. He's not walking any faster than he was when they were leaving the park, but the ferry is going to want to load and leave, so he doesn't want to hold it up either. And once they're out of the terminal and walking toward the central square to cut over toward the apartments, he laughs a little and says, "I'm not freaking out," with a little shake of his head as he walks along, studying the ground in front of him.

"Oh that's good that there's a hotline, I hadn't realized." Sammy seems somewhat distracted now, like he's in his own head and worried he might have done too much too soon. "It's...yeah. It's a thing I guess." His own gaze remains locked on the ground as they walk through the central square. "Oh. Here." He tugs out Logan's phone and offers it over to him.

Logan looks over at what Sammy is handing him and then realizes it's his phone and he laughs a little. "Oops. Sorry. Thanks." He takes it and slips it back into his pocket as they walk. Eventually, after several long moments of silence as they make their way along the sidewalk. "Is it.. really weird that I found that kind of hot?" he finally asks, glancing over at Sammy.

"All good." Sammy's eyes return to the sidewalk when Logan's question acts like a proverbial record scratch and demands his full attention. A half smile appears of its own accord though the look in his eyes say he's still processing the word hot coming out of Logan's mouth. "Which part, exactly?"

"Uh, the eyes, thing. When they went all black. It was.. kind of hot," Logan repeats, this time without the attached question mark. But he's definitely not looking at Sammy when he says it. Instead, he is idly checking to see if the Winding Vine is still where it was the last time he walked by it. Yep, still there. Imagine that.

Processing over. The half smile turns into a full blown grin, which of course quickly morphs into a smarmy smirk within the same breath. "You really are a Lucifer fan," Sammy teases lightly. He happens to look up again as Logan's looking at the Winding Vine, which is definitely still there. "Too bad it only really happens when I'm remoting in, huh? Guess I'm absolutely not hot any other time. Ever." And now, he's fishing.

"I've only seen like one season," Logan protests. Not that die hard a fan! But he's laughing at the same time. It's not that serious a protest, either. But then Sammy goes fishing, and Logan finally pulls his gaze away from the ground to look over at him. Then he smirks and shakes his head. "You're going to have to use better bait than that." He knows he's fishing. And he's not going to let himself be caught that easily.

Sammy's jaw drops open in surprise. He's aghast. He's agog. He's totally deserving of that. "Damn. Alright. Shit. Called the fuck out." He laughs softly to himself, dipping his head down in penitence, hair falling into his eyes again. But that's it for his smart mouth. He manages to stay quiet the rest of the very short walk to their building. Every so often he looks up at the night sky, purposefully avoiding glancing at Logan. A dumb little smile has plastered itself onto his face nonetheless, wouldn't you know it. When they get to the front door, he holds it open for Logan to walk through first.

Logan laughs quietly, shoulders shaking just a little bit. He ducks through the door when Sammy opens it up for him, and then wanders over to the elevator to push the button and wait for it to arrive. While he waits, he watches the numbers on the display slowly descend.. 3.. 2.. DING And when the doors open he steps inside, waiting for Sammy to get in before he presses the button for 6. He can't quite get the smile to disappear from his face, though, even as they stand quietly together.

Sammy's not quite laughing but he's not quite not either. He bites back a grin, a rumbly noise sounding in the depths of his chest though it never makes it out of his mouth. He's on his best behavior now. The halo's practically visible over his head. He can see Logan's smile over there, which only serves to chip away at said halo. Stepping inside, he leans his back against one of the side walls, one hand lifting to run fingers through his hair. He spends a second taming the wind-blown locks, pretending not to stare at Logan at the same time.

Logan, on the other hand, does nothing to fix the mess that his hair has become. It's all wind blown over one side of his face and he just leaves it there, a tousled curtain. His phone buzzes in his pocket but he ignores it. It's definitely not anything that he needs to check immediately. Instead he watches the buttons on the panel in front of them, the six lit up as the elevator slowly rises, that soothing voice announcing the floors as they go. And when the doors open, he slips out first, turning down the hall. It's only as they draw closer to their respective doors that he fishes around for his key. Eventually, his steps slow and come to a stop between their doors and he turns back toward Sammy. "Thanks," he says, sincerely, "For today. For everything."

The doors open. Logan's out first. Sammy takes his sweet time, mostly because he's shrugging out of his jacket now that the heaters are going full blast. He folds it in half and tucks it under his arm, then unclips his apartment keys off the carabiner on his belt. He's in that fitted black tee again, like back at the thrift store which simultaneously felt like days ago but also five minutes. As Logan slows and turns, Sammy stops in front of his own front door. "You're welcome," he replies somewhat quietly but just as sincerely. "It was one of the best days I've had in a long time...if I'm honest."

"Yeah, Same," Logan says with a little grin. He takes a moment longer to look at Sammy standing there, and then he moves to open his door, glancing down as he finds the right place to put his key. It opens, but before he steps through it he looks back over to Sammy and says, "It's definitely not the only time you're hot." Then he just smiles, and steps through the door, closing it quietly behind him with a soft click.

Sammy has made zero attempt to actually use his keys, perhaps waiting for this very reply. He'd been waiting the whole time in the elevator. The whole walk over here. And now? He just smiles slyly back at Logan. "Night," he adds as Logan walks through the door and closes it. There's still no immediate movement to open his own apartment. He'll just bask for a moment to come down from that sudden high. One deep breath later, he lets it out slowly, then finally unlocks the door and heads in.