[img]https://i.imgur.com/hYfpILH.png[/img] [right][sub]A collaboration between [color=gray]Ollivander[/color] [@BeastofDestiny] & [color=bbaaee]Vanessa[/color] [@Aviaire]
with mention of [color=b42020]Disguised-D[/color] [@TootsiePop][/sub][/right][hr]
[indent]So she wasn’t a student? Well to each their own. Ollivander wasn’t one to chide someone for their life choices, even if he were, as a ‘molder of minds’ his tools and skills would only go so far on the proverbial ‘unwilling clay’.  Still, the historian was surprised when the young woman told him that she didn’t attend university, and while he should have been equally as surprised that she followed him anyway, he couldn’t exactly blame her either given the circumstances. After all he had given her an out based on an assumption, whether that was offensive or not didn’t seem to matter, as he was sure her newfound identity catastrophe was far more concerning than the misjudgements of an aged man. Clearly it was as she started with the obvious question about her likeness in appearance to the missing Lillian or if he knew of her whereabouts.

Sighing wearily he began to answer, [color=gray]“Sadly I do not know of Ms. Turner’s current whereabouts. I imagine if anyone did there would be no point in the formality of a town meeting or of this… fracas over there.”[/color] He flung his arm wide at the frantically, flabbergasted frenzy of news cast and crew, panickedly packing their gear. There was plenty of shouting coming from that direction, drowned only by their vehicles horns as they tried to clamber away, like carrion vultures ready to pick apart their next meal. While the morning edition of the paper was likely to display the events taken today, Ollivander had no doubt in his mind that the evening news would flourish an over embellished story of the meeting and subsequent fire.

Turning back to his new acquaintance he continued to answer her question, [color=gray]“Lillian Turner is somewhat of a town celebrity if you will, a treasured presence. If there was an event to be held, regardless of its nature, whether it be political, educational, or purely entertainment she’d find some way to participate in its planning and development. When Ms. Turner went missing, the town went into a bit of a tizzy and those closest to her suddenly became lost. To say that her sudden disappearance is a tragedy would be a gross understatement.”[/color] He let that sink in for a moment before continuing, [color=gray]“I suppose that brings us back to you, for upon closer inspection you don’t match her appearance, from a distance anyone could mistake you for her, as you just recently experienced.”[/color] Ollivander shrugged slightly before giving a knowing smile, [color=gray]“Colour me curious, I’d simply call it ‘being in the wrong place at the wrong time’, at best you’d most likely just receive looks of bewilderment.”[/color] As if on cue, a smartly dressed young man came bolting by, only stopping for the briefest of moments with a look of confusion in his face before spiriting away. Raising his cane up, pointing the butt of it towards the increasing silhouette, Ollivander gave a small chuckle, [color=gray]“If nothing else, I’d call that a rather sterling example.”[/color]

Vanessa nodded along as the old man kept on talking, regarding their surroundings with mild interest. More people in one place than she'd ever seen before here. It was good to get reassurance on the fact that she wasn't going to be constantly bombarded with the attention of anyone who even knew Lillian, though at the same time, she wouldn't be too surprised about the odd identity theft inquiry. [color=bbaaee]"Not like short hair and a fringe is the most outlandish haircut,"[/color] she yawned. [color=bbaaee]"Guess people are gettin' a little desperate, though. If she's really that great... you can see why."[/color]

She frowned slightly as some guy did a double take at her. [color=bbaaee][i]Have I seen that guy before? Maybe just around town. Damn, I know too many people with weird fashion taste to put a name on him.[/i][/color] The old man laughed (who was he, anyway?), but Vanessa didn't find much humour in the sudden realisation that this was far from the last time anyone would do that. Instead, she groaned. [color=bbaaee]"Just hope something is found before it gets worse. Can't believe they dragged us out here, at this time of day,"[/color] Vanessa said, ignoring the fact that the conference was at noon, [color=bbaaee]"and then they didn't even tell us anything! Like, what was the point."[/color]

Right after they'd had the conference, a whole new slew of other problems had come up too. Vanessa hadn't even known that that there were that many people in Emerald City. Much less that one had vanished off the face of the earth, that one was an arsonist, and there might even be a murderer sprinkled in.

Oh god, she could be friends with a murderer.

That irritating part of her brain also pointed out that she could be talking to a murderer right now, and she told it to shut up. He seemed nice enough, and Vanessa sincerely doubted his ability to commit any kind of crime. Not when he used the word 'tizzy' with a straight face.

There was some humor to be found in her words, although the old man in him simply wanted to shake his head; honestly, today’s youth and their inability to get a good night’s rest. [color=gray]“I suppose you might have had a point if you were in some kind of Metropolis, you’d practically blend into the crowd with your unassuming locks. In a city of a couple thousand, where most everybody knows everybody else,”[/color] He paused briefly, head tilted quizzically to the side as though he were trying to come up with a solution. [color=gray]“Perhaps you need a wide brimmed hat in the interim? Preferably one made of straw...that would certainly fit the ‘farm-to-table’ attitude the city still has.”[/color]

All joking aside, she did raise questions that were most appropo, what was the point of the whole damned thing today? The news of Lillian’s disappearance wasn’t exactly new, and anyone who didn’t know was living under a rock. If there was no new information to be had and considering the town was both small enough, and the news recent enough, why would there be a reason to reiterate the point? If this was for some kind of political or financial gain, it’d be disgusting to say the least, but the Turner family was known to rise to the occasion, not milk blood from stone for every bad situation. Maybe the police were looking for a potential guilty party to show up at the meeting? If a potential suspect was involved in Lillian’s disappearance, would they be so bold enough to come?

[color=bbaaee]"A hat, huh? Like, I don't wanna cut my hair, but it would take ages to grow out,"[/color] Vanessa murmured, as if she were actually considering it. [color=bbaaee]“Still, there's no way they haven't found anything, right?"[/color] She faintly remembered the question about the lake, and what was found there. [color=bbaaee]"People don't just disappear. That's like, not how it works."[/color]

[color=gray]“True enough, but if anything has been discovered, clearly no one is interested in bringing it to light.”[/color] Despite his companion’s attitude coming off as disinterest, she at least had a reason for voicing her concerns, at least on the bias of youthful optimism if nothing else.  People don’t just disappear… at least not without cause or reason, but life wasn’t fair like that.  The damsel doesn’t always get rescued, the dragon doesn’t always get slain, and mysteries like these don’t get solved by misguided, meddlesome juvenile-adolescents with a snack-crazed bloodhound. [color=gray]“If something good was found I’m sure it would have been told already, meeting or not. If it were something less than ideal, however, then they wouldn’t want to incite any more panic than the city is most likely already feeling.”[/color] He paused in place, a hand stroking his beard in thought, [color=gray]“That still doesn’t explain why they put on this ‘show’ for today….”[/color]

[color=bbaaee]"Sometimes I just wanna be an important person so that I can know all the stuff going on behind the scenes, y'know? Looks like they just wanted to tell us stuff. Yeah, that's useful, but it's not the most interesting,"[/color] Vanessa said. [color=bbaaee]"I get that they're like, not telling us everything for reasons, but there's probably something we should know in there somewhere."[/color] Her tone was a little irritated but she got the point across. Vanessa really did hate being left out of things, no matter whether it was shopping trips or details on a potential murder case.

[color=bbaaee]"Sucks that someone got to the mayor's house though. Takes a special kinda bastard to do that while things are like this."[/color] She grimaced, the disapproval plain on her face. [color=bbaaee]"Makes you wonder if it's related to Lily going missing. Like, if the same people were involved."[/color] The whole situation was unusual, even more odd than one would expect someone vanishing without a trace would be. Too many questions, and not nearly enough answers. As a matter of fact, no answers at all.

She wasn't even sure why she was telling this guy so much. There was something that seemed honest in the way he spoke. Perhaps she was just sick of not having anyone to discuss her thoughts with. Either way, she could worry (or regret) about these things later. One thing she didn't mention, however, were her thoughts about Lillian. Vanessa didn't know her too well, but if she was truly loved as much as everyone made it out to be, then something of this sort wouldn't have happened. There had to be something else going on, some kind of secrets hidden somewhere. If there weren't, well, she just wasn't looking well enough. She added that to her ever growing list of things to get done too. She already had enough stuff to do, so a little bit more couldn't hurt.

[color=gray]“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back,”[/color] the phrase elicited another chuckle from the aged man. [color=gray]“For someone who appears so adamantly against formal education, you don’t seem to shy away from seeking answers.”[/color] Despite the amusement, there was a certain level of respect in his tone, admiration even. Vanessa flushed a little, though kept her composure. [color=gray]“This town has gone through quite a bit lately, a lot of questions needing to be asked without any answers to follow up on, and as the string of crimes grows longer, all we can hope for is that they’re not related to one another.”[/color] Regardless of relation or not, would it even make a difference in a matter of safety or comfort? Probably not, but the Turner family has suffered enough without needing to be the victim over and over again. 

The two were closing in on his vehicle and Ollivander couldn’t help but give a sidelong glance to the young woman beside him. She was a rather inquisitive soul and he could understand the level of frustration she was feeling, after all, no one liked to be left in the dark, not even him, still… [color=gray]“Even with my own personal investment in Ms. Turner’s disappearance I’m far too old to be diving headlong into mysteries and adventures, and am more than content to let the authorities handle these sort of things themselves.”[/color] He stepped off the sidewalk and rounded the front of the old Ford, popping over the driver side door, but not getting in, not just yet. [color=gray]“Eventually the answers we’re looking for will come to light and I’m sure if someone curious dug deep enough, they’d find those answers sooner than others.”[/color] He traced his fingers along the roof of the car, [color=gray]“Though for me to suggest something like that to just anyone would be rather bold if not...what was the word you used? Outlandish?”[/color] Ollivander gave a small, knowing smile to his companion, [color=gray]“I thank you for joining me in our walk and talk, and greatly appreciated your company, miss…?”[/color] Ollivander realized they never properly introduced themselves to one another, rather rude and embarrassing of him, though he was more than likely caught up in the conversation.

[color=bbaaee]”Oh, uh, Evans. Vanessa Evans, that is. Yeah, it was nice to chat. Thanks for getting me out of the Community Centre, like, unharmed.”[/color] She gave a slight smile to the old man, with just a hint of mischievousness. [color=bbaaee]”Right, and your name is?”[/color]
[color=gray]“It was truly my pleasure, Ms. Evans,”[/color] Ollivander bowed his head slightly in respect, well aware of the lightheartedness in her tone. [color=gray]“As for my name, I am--”[/color]  As if she had remembered something all of a sudden. Vanessa checked the time on her phone, and cursed softly. She really had to get home soon. She had to go to work in a few hours and god knows that she needed to make the most out of every minute before then (meaning she would be doing a lot of nothing and still somehow being late). [color=bbaaee]”God, I really gotta get going. See you ‘round? As in, definitely not doing anything related to what we’ve just been talking about.”[/color] She waved at him, taking a step back. [color=bbaaee]”Bye, then.[/color]

Before he could get another word in edgewise, the young woman darted off, leaving Ollivander’s mind in a rather awkward end point. All he could do was muster the willpower to focus, gently stroking his beard, before thinking, [color=gray][i]“What a rather peculiar girl…”[/i][/color] She was right though, the time was getting late and Silas would have his head if Ollivander kept the dean waiting any longer than necessary. With a shrug, the elder lowered himself into his car seat and, starting the Crown Vic, began to drive away towards the campus. Noting the smoke in the distance from the recently announced blaze, he made mental detours of which routes to take to avoid the emergency services. All the while his mind wandered to his most recent acquaintance and of Lillian Turner. Considering their near doppelganger appearance, Ollivander hoped that Vanessa wouldn’t be mistaken for the other, lest a literal ‘copycat crime’ were to be committed. In that regard, Ollivander certainly hoped that the next time he saw the young woman, she’d be wearing that hat he’d recommended.[/indent]