[center][img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/3df1a9fc0d9918b8175ff5d3f84021cd/tumblr_mw6gftCJqF1rru28vo1_500.gif[/img][/center]
[center][h1][color=BurlyWood]Jack Woodard - Present Day - Tahoe City[/color][/h1][/center]

[color=BurlyWood]There was a small group starting to gather in the lobby, though most kept their distance almost everyone within thirty feet of the man in the center had their heads turned to him, giving him their attention even if they didn't want to. It was the same thing every day for a week now. In order to start familiarizing himself with the area, Jack had figured that his best shot at getting the job done was to get his face well recognized. Sure he could have just purchased an all-access pass to the resort and got his name spread around that way, but there were plenty of other things he'd rather blow his money on and this... this was just too much fun.

"Alright, alright... who's got a quarter? Anyone got a quarter?" Jack asked, directing the crowd in a way that made one wonder if he was just born with a high aptitude for charisma. A few people fidgeted, digging around in their pockets and purses until one girl finally found what he was looking for and handed it over. Jack took the quarter, flashing the girl a smile and then palmed it in his hand, making sure those close enough were able to see.

"You know how people change the consistency of metals?" he asked, in return getting a few blank stares back, causing Jack to re-illiterate. "You squeeze a piece of metal and it gets hot in your hand right? You change the consistency of metal..." he explained, bringing awareness to the small crowd. "Well look.. watch..." He pinched the quarter between his fingers, licked his lips a few times and brought the quarter to his lips and stuck it halfway between his teeth, keeping his fingers away so that everyone could see. With what looked like a bit of struggle on his end, Jack eventually pulled the quarter from his clenched teeth and revealed what looked like bite marks on the quarter, as if he had taken a bite out of a cookie. This caused a small amount of panic and unbelief to those around him watching as Jack just smirked and 'chewed up' the bit of quarter he had 'bitten' off.

"Wait... wait... watch, look..." Jack said, calling their attention back to him. Holding up the bitten quarter for them to see with his thumb and forefinger, he made a spitting gesture and the quarter was made whole again. The crowd's reaction doubled, one girl even screamed getting the attention of the very few in the room who didn't want to be bothered by such a nuisance.

He wasn't exactly sure [i]why[/i] he had ended up in a ski lodge in Lake Tahoe of all places. All Jack knew was that one minute, he was living a pretty good life of Street Magic on the streets in New York, getting paid decently for his impromptu shows (and even better after cashing in the little trinkets he managed to snatch from his customers while they weren't looking) but for the last month before his surprise trip to the other side of the country he had been getting some very strange, vivid dreams. The dreams themselves didn't explain anything, they were just flashes of his life back home, back with his Papa Geppetto; flashes of The Blue Fairy and of a cloaked sorcerer who gave him the necklace he never went without, and then flashes of [i]this[/i] place. He wasn't sure why [i]this[/i] place of all places in the world was somehow linked to his past, but each time these dreams came he woke with a start, the necklace around his neck burning hot against his skin forcing Jack to remember why he had been sent here in the first place.

While the crowd worked off their excitement, Jack couldn't help but to feel the weight of the small pendant around his neck, worn underneath his dark blue t-shirt in case it drew any unwanted attention. He had made that mistake already by running into one of the guardians who apparently worked at the lodge who recognized it first hand. He wouldn't be making that mistake again; that conversation had been awkward enough but at least he knew he was in the right place. He had come to the conclusion long ago that it was the necklace that was driving him to remember these things; even if it was in dream. Something wanted him here, and after waiting thirteen years for even a sliver of a clue as to what he was supposed to do, it finally came.

Gods. Had it truly been thirteen years that he had been here? It certainly didn't feel like it was that long. He could still remember the very day he came out through the other side of the portal, he could even still remember the feeling of overwhelming fear that came over him when he realized that he had come through alone. There were so many people around him when the portal opened, so many children though younger than him, were still children he could relate to. There were two older guys and a woman with the group as well, but he hadn't been paying them too much attention though the tall, lanky one he had run into at the lodge on his second day here had been one of them. But as he watched the portal closing up behind him he had the sickening feeling of complete isolation, realizing that he had been somehow separated... he vomited.

That was when he had also come to realize he was no longer made of wood. It was strange to get used to all the... fleshy bits and needs of a true human body. And though he was alone from his world, clutching onto the necklace given to him by the cloaked sorcerer for dear life, help had arrived as he had run into a group of homeless boys that took care of themselves, reminding him of his time spent on Pleasure Island... but without the donkeys. It took nearly four years after that before he started to forget about why he had been sent here. The children he was sent to look after only just flashing images in his brain as it was getting harder and harder to remember what they looked like. However with the constant companionship of the necklace given to him by the cloaked sorcerer, he could never [i]truly[/i] forget, but how was he to watch after the children if he couldn't find them? And so he pushed aside his duties as guardian and tried to focus more on the life that he was creating for himself here. It wasn't much of a life... but what else could he do?

Pulling himself from his thoughts as some of the people around him started to beg for another trick, Jack pulled out a brand new, sealed deck of cards from his pocket, handing it to a red-headed woman who was new into joining the group. 

"You wanna see some magic?" he asked the girl. From what he could tell she was somewhere in her mid twenties, maybe a year or two older than him... worthy of a second glance as she took the deck from him and muttered a shy "sure."

"Go ahead and open that up. There are fifty-two cards in that deck... I want you to pick [i]one[/i]. Show those around you but don't show me." The woman did as he asked and unwrapped the new box, handing one of her friends the plastic garbage so that she had a free hand. Thumbing through the deck she picked out the four of diamonds and showed everyone, going out of her way to make sure Jack didn't see. 

"Put it face down on top." he instructed and the red-head complied before Jack took the deck back from her. "Alright, I'm going to cut the deck in half..." He did so. "and put it back in the box." He slipped the cards back into the box and then handed it back over to the woman. "Alright, just hold onto that but not too tight, just loose enough that you feel like you might drop it but don't actually drop it." The woman nodded and Jack pointed to the top of the deck where the flap was still open. 

"Alright now I'm not sure if I can get this to work... it's a new deck after all..." There was a change... suddenly, a single card from the middle of the deck seemed to be wedging it's way out of the deck, like an invisible finger was pulling it up from the box millimeter by millimeter. Just that was enough to shock everyone around them and the red-head nearly dropped the box, making Jack put his hand on hers to keep her from doing so. "Just watch, I need to know if I got your card right." A few silent moments later, and the top of the card was revealed - the four of diamonds.[/color]