[ for his part, ray just speaks aloud in response, startled words coming out against his will-- ]

Oh... crap. [ wince. ] I should walk away. I should definitely just walk away right now.

[ the man says standing in place and not at all walking away... ]

[ SIGH ]

Curiosity killed the cat and I've been told I'm more of a dog.

[ thanks, mick. ray's still insulted. ]

I'm not really a fan of sugar cubes.

[ he pulls a face, insulted but not quite taking this seriously just yet as he cranks through the list of mirrors this might be. not leonard-- he's a cinnamon roll. not chronos-- he doesn't care about ray enough. not rip-- he'd accept ray's lack of ability to follow orders ever. sara, though. her mirror might be bored enough to mess with him. ]

So what do you go by over there? Gray Canary?

[ another scowl, before his face goes a bit blank. ray doesn't know any johns. he actually has very few actual friends outside his team, sarah's crew, and darcy.

oh, crap. he'd only spoken to blake on the network but he and darcy were spending more time together lately. ray scowls again, clenching his teeth before speaking. ]

Darcy and I are friends over here. I can't help what my mirror does.

[ the relief offers ray a better frame of mind to think through it. he'd met a few new people recently, but none that he'd call a friend. and none he calls johnn-- OH ]

Doc?!

[ ray backs up instinctively before forcing himself forward again and very badly trying to play it cool ]

Okay uhh so you go by John, then?

Johnny, then. Sure, OK.

[ ...not as cool as doc but that's fine dude. you do you. ]

So are you one of the ones who's super duper loyal to the Queen and looking for something to get you points? Or is this just a social call?

[ ray can you take anything seriously ever pls ]

That's great, but you're also a liar.

[ ray's demeanor finally turns, then. he's got no love for mirrors-- though partially because some can elicit what ray finds to be his most dangerous weakness these days: compassion. ]

Ah.

[ he thinks he gets it. ]

I'm guessing you're going to tell me not to trust him now. He's not the guy I think, et cetera. Trust me, I've trusted actual scoundrels. I'm not new to this.

[ he rolls his eyes. ]

I might seem like an idiot but I'm not actually stupid, you know. Come on, get it out of your system. The curse makes her uncontrollable or whatever it is creepy dudes like to say about ladies who can kick their asses.

[ that cuts close the bone for ray. now he's not comparing wynonna to kendra anymore. ]

Well, siblings don't always get along.

[ his confidence slips, the joke landing flat. ]

[ keeps trying, too. ]

Says the self-proclaimed liar.