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[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

Samantha has been denigrated and ignored for most of her life, when she wasn't being used as ritual fodder. She has self-esteem issues, and knowing Jubilee for at most two days now isn't quite enough to fix that. Samantha's willing to be autonomous, except when it requires standing up to intimidating magic-users she's relying on for training.

"Were it a demon, I'd have dealt with it decades ago. No, my grandfather made the mistake of overconfidence, and thought he could bargain with a devil. A portion of one, anyway. It has been sealed for a century, and I don't think it has achieved communion with its greater self. It has not demonstrably learnt how to deal with people, at least, beyond appealing to their basest impulses." Samantha looked slightly reassured when Jubilee dismissed it, but her eyes widen when Benedict explains.
"Would... that be a devil from the same hell as the raksha and demons my father dealt with?" She glances at Jubilee at that, a worried look in her eyes.
"From what I know of Jackson... yes. My grandfather may have been the best diabolist of his generation, and let that get to his head. Nobody can deal with a devil from that realm and get out on top, and they are monstrously difficult to dispose of. This one, at least, has a weakness; if we can injure my grandfather, the deal is forfeit and my grandfather's soul is returned. That, however, is a monumental 'if', and still not a guarantee my grandfather could banish it." Injury counts as degradation, and so the devil is constantly working on keeping it intact.

Once arriving at the manse itself, Benedict has a skeleton guard open the door. Large concentrations of magic tends to warp space, and the manse contains a lot of magic. The door leads into a large hall, three storeys tall, with flanking staircases on the sides leading up to the black basalt of the tower. Benedict ignores that, however, opening a side door to a small bathroom with a nautical theme and frowning, before shutting the door, knocking twice, and opening it again. This time it enters a library on the second floor, the space dominated by shelves filled with books and trinkets, nearly all of it magical. Benedict and Mergei sit at a small coffee table in large armchairs, and Benedict gestures to the chairs opposite for Samantha and Jubilee. On the coffee table are three books, a bound scroll, and a twisted length of obsidian, an ethereal blue flame flickering at its tip.

[Morty]

[A Succubus Problem]

Sophie closes her eyes at the burning pain, burying her face in Trick's chest and whimpering quietly. She's no stranger to pain, but this isn't something she's experienced before. She just hopes it will be over quickly.

[Askeladd’s Hideaway]

Askeladd nuzzles his head against Krayger's beak. He's clearly got some experience in a bird's body.

"Then let us go. There are views here that can only truly be appreciated through a bird's eye."

[Halae]

[Skye's Apartment]

That just gets Skye to laugh, which may distort what Mary is trying to say, "... Yes, I suppose we do. Thank you for the criticism, Asami."

It seems Skye is entirely accepting of someone telling her she's acting in a wrong way. It helps that Asami clearly feels more in control now.

[A Succubus Problem]

As with Sophie, Trick isn't afraid of things hurting a little. She'll stay quite still as Sekhmet performs her ritual.

[Gullara]

[Aftermaths and Futures]

Dulcinea's expression is akin to the cat who caught the canary as she shifts herself to the foot of the bed, watching Reilana get to work with a satisfied little smirk. It's not the most graceful exit in her current condition, but it'll do for now. Her eyes fall onto the wicked knife in her girlfriend's hand. Had she really only carved those runes into her a week or two ago? It felt so long ago. Perhaps it was because of how drastically it had changed things for them. "I'm surprised they've let you keep that," she observes.

Dulcie stays where she is as the bone shard is placed and a theatrical gesture is made... and then suddenly, the two get way more than they bargained for. "Ah!" Dulcinea yells in surprise as the bed frame cracks under her, sending her tumbling backwards into the center as the mattress drops inwards. She lies there for a moment, wide-eyed, her legs dangling over the newly-formed ridge. "Spirits... do you think anyone heard that?"

[Aftermaths and Futures]

Reilana looks just about as surprised as Dulcie, though she wasn't thrown around. "Um..." All composure is dropped as she tries to parse what happened. "Probably."

Sure enough, they can her approaching footsteps. It's not Tamawhetu that throws the door open, though, but Jostan. His eyes flit over them. He's not surprised to see Dulcie, quickly moving past her to settle on the bone structure. "Reilana."

The younger necromancer flinches. "I know I know. Only study, no practice."

"And yet?" He prompts.

"I was just... showing off, alright?" Reilana lies partially. A side objective was showing off.

"With that? I expect far more control from you. If I were your formal teacher I'd have to back on pure theory for a month after that display." He responds harshly. "What is going on here?"

[[brackets lover]]

[Skye's Apartment]

Asami tilts his head at Mary, red bubbly question marks manifesting above his head. "What?" Asami exclaims, taken aback by Mary's suggestion. Why would you insult someone in a fight? These kids must not be very good at fighting if they have time to. Or maybe its all for show? Pretty strange in Asami's opinion.

At any rate, it seems the insult was taken well. Which is strange. Earthly folk are ok with insult between friends, sure. But Mary and Skye were Asami's enemies. Then again, WHY were they his enemies really?

There's only one real option here! Never address this issue. And with that issue unaddressed, Asami's free to not worry anymore. "So, uh... Do you have any games?" He asks casually.

[Ironsmith]

Benedict's Manse

Samantha has been denigrated and ignored for most of her life, when she wasn't being used as ritual fodder. She has self-esteem issues, and knowing Jubilee for at most two days now isn't quite enough to fix that. Samantha's willing to be autonomous, except when it requires standing up to intimidating magic-users she's relying on for training.

"Were it a demon, I'd have dealt with it decades ago. No, my grandfather made the mistake of overconfidence, and thought he could bargain with a devil. A portion of one, anyway. It has been sealed for a century, and I don't think it has achieved communion with its greater self. It has not demonstrably learnt how to deal with people, at least, beyond appealing to their basest impulses." Samantha looked slightly reassured when Jubilee dismissed it, but her eyes widen when Benedict explains.
"Would... that be a devil from the same hell as the raksha and demons my father dealt with?" She glances at Jubilee at that, a worried look in her eyes.
"From what I know of Jackson... yes. My grandfather may have been the best diabolist of his generation, and let that get to his head. Nobody can deal with a devil from that realm and get out on top, and they are monstrously difficult to dispose of. This one, at least, has a weakness; if we can injure my grandfather, the deal is forfeit and my grandfather's soul is returned. That, however, is a monumental 'if', and still not a guarantee my grandfather could banish it." Injury counts as degradation, and so the devil is constantly working on keeping it intact.

Once arriving at the manse itself, Benedict has a skeleton guard open the door. Large concentrations of magic tends to warp space, and the manse contains a lot of magic. The door leads into a large hall, three storeys tall, with flanking staircases on the sides leading up to the black basalt of the tower. Benedict ignores that, however, opening a side door to a small bathroom with a nautical theme and frowning, before shutting the door, knocking twice, and opening it again. This time it enters a library on the second floor, the space dominated by shelves filled with books and trinkets, nearly all of it magical. Benedict and Mergei sit at a small coffee table in large armchairs, and Benedict gestures to the chairs opposite for Samantha and Jubilee. On the coffee table are three books, a bound scroll, and a twisted length of obsidian, an ethereal blue flame flickering at its tip.

[Benedict's Manse]

Jubilee sneers. "His first mistake was offering his soul. Too many diabolists fall for that, thinking of it as an abstract possession of theirs that they can do without in exchange for some minimal discomfort, as opposed to the sum totality of their being. It's quite literally impossible to get a worthwhile trade out of that, unless you're sacrificing yourself for someone else, but the sorts of people who make those kinds of deals don't bargain with devils."

She listens intently to the rest of the story about Benedict's grandfather, of course, but the only response she gives to it is a weary sigh. Benedict mentioned compensation earlier, and then of course mentioned his grandfather's perdicament right on the heels of that, to the witch specializing in Calamity and carrying a magical artifact for cutting things not meant to be cut. She can already see where this will go.

But, first thing's first.

"So tell us about what happened to Jackson North. In detail, if you'd please." Jubilee begins, taking the offered seat.

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

"Vampires work perfectly well without souls, and one of my distant relatives was able to remove hers and encase it in an unbound folio, her mind following after her funeral rites, which included binding the tome with her own skin. Were his soul my grandfather's totality, he would not be suffering. And yet, he is. His mind remains, trapped within his body as a devil's finger puppets it around." It is, however, something valuable enough not to be traded away thoughtlessly, nor without knowing what purpose the other party means to use it for.

"Yes, Jackson North. A subpar talent with no resources or knowledge was my initial impression. He came to me begging for shelter after his family kicked him out. I don't know why; I never cared to ask. I was minded to refuse him, when he offered a surprise. A technique for binding an imp into a humanoid body, creating a loyal servant with greatly improved strength and endurance. Able to think for itself, yet unable to escape on its own and totally reliant upon its summoner to ever taste freedom again. I choose new-formed imps; they're too weak to resist, and few have any adaptations that would make things harder for me. I release them after a decade, as they adapt mentally to their bindings and get better at subverting orders. I reuse the body, unless it has been severely damaged or destroyed. Obviously, I accepted the deal, and agreed to shelter him for five years." A skeleton enters with a tray containing a teapot, four cups, a tray of digestive biscuits, a jar of milk and a plate of sugar cubes. Mergei gets to work pouring tea for herself and Benedict, as well as Jubilee and Samantha if they accept. (Samantha will take a biscuit anyway.)

"If you want more, I'd like to know more about you. This Onyx King, for example. Not a deity I am familiar with, and I have relics and artefacts from many temples, shrines and tombs, not all of which were abandoned." Benedict isn't fishing for his grandfather being disposed of; he doesn't know enough about Jubilee to think she could do it.

[Keeper]

The Richards' Residence

There's a very pregnant unicorn ringing the Richards' doorbell. He's looking a little embarrassed, but there you go.
...surely Geneva knows that Jace is a unicorn and also pregnant? Right?

[Rebonack]

[The Richards' Residence]

Of course she knows!

Geneva drops her cubs off at Glog nearly every day. And Khannie helps out there regularly. Geneva is astute enough to notice that Khannie is a unicorn all of a sudden (and recognizably Equestrian at that!) and to inquire about it. And the Richards are no strangers to strangeness. Thankfully their perfectly normal and wonderful cubs have totally avoided such things.

So.

The door opens and Jace gets a lovely view of not only Geneva smiling at him, but also a condo that is WONDER OF WONDERS! completely designed for people with four legs. What a magical thing.

"Hello Jace, hello Khannie! Please, come in. Dinner is ready and being kept warm when we decide to sit down," Geneva, says, gesturing into the entry room with a wing.

Khannie is, of course, right behind Jace.
Or is she?

[Keeper]

The Richards' Residence

Well, at least Geneva is the first person to not comment on Jace's belly.
"Hello, Geneva. It's good to see you. It's been ages, hasn't it? I feel like there's been developments, and not just me."
The griff cubs are getting old enough to getting close to school! Surely Geneva has stories too.

[Rebonack]

[The Richards' Residence]

Ah, see.

That's an old fashioned Equestrian thing. When Jace visited Carousel Court the ponies oddly didn't ask the sorts of questions humans do, like when is the baby expected? They could tell, obviously, and they were friendly and helpful. But commenting directly on a pregnancy is considered untoward. Because they can smell what's going on, easily enough. Pony noses are a bit bigger than human noses.

Anywho!

Geneva gives that dorky snort-laugh of hers at the development comment. "And it's all for the best. Come on in to our living room. It has pillows! You'll love it."

As soon as Khannie walks in Gilda immediately explodes out of an alcove with a fearsome (if squeaky) roar to tackle the purple unicorn-
-only for the unicorn to dissolve into a snare of shadows that springs upward, leaving Gilda dangling between the floor and ceiling.

"HEY!"

"Ha! You didn't think it was gunna be that easy, did you?" actual Khannie laughs as she comes trotting into the Richards' home. It would appear as though their pounce/counter pounce contest is still alive and well.

[Keeper]

The Richards' Residence

Jace wouldn't even be giving off the obvious smell. But SOMEONE had to tell him that was a thing in a way that made him think he had already been doing it. So now that's a thing.
"Don't mind me if I avail myself of your pillows." Jace trots over and gently flops down. Glory peers at them from the door of her room, trying to decide if she should come out or go back to her drawing.

[Meowmai]

[Flats and Cats]

"Huh, this ain't a bad place," Blanche muses, lifting her own cup - coffee, black with nothing but a dash of sugar. It's the kind of atmosphere she prefers. Not too refined, the kind of place she doesn't feel out of place in, reminds her of her old mercenary days.

"Ugh, yeah, very." Blanche sighs. "There's been too much goin' on lately, so many things to keep tabs on. Everything in Riverside especially... things are a mess down there." The exhaustion is palpable in her voice.

[Flats and Cats]

"It's probably about the best you'll get out here." Elizabeth replies. If you wanted real fancy coffee you'd have to look somewhere else in Inside.

Elizabeth's face sours a little at the mention of the Riverside situation. While it's out of her way, and not something that affects her, she's worried about the way things are going there nonetheless. And she doesn't exactly trust VIGIL to handle it well should the situation worsen. But she can hear and see Blanche's exhaustion, and unlike their first meeting, she's not exactly here to pick fights with her half-sister. "Yikes... yeahhh. I imagine that's pretty rough."

[Ironsmith]

Benedict's Manse

"Vampires work perfectly well without souls, and one of my distant relatives was able to remove hers and encase it in an unbound folio, her mind following after her funeral rites, which included binding the tome with her own skin. Were his soul my grandfather's totality, he would not be suffering. And yet, he is. His mind remains, trapped within his body as a devil's finger puppets it around." It is, however, something valuable enough not to be traded away thoughtlessly, nor without knowing what purpose the other party means to use it for.

"Yes, Jackson North. A subpar talent with no resources or knowledge was my initial impression. He came to me begging for shelter after his family kicked him out. I don't know why; I never cared to ask. I was minded to refuse him, when he offered a surprise. A technique for binding an imp into a humanoid body, creating a loyal servant with greatly improved strength and endurance. Able to think for itself, yet unable to escape on its own and totally reliant upon its summoner to ever taste freedom again. I choose new-formed imps; they're too weak to resist, and few have any adaptations that would make things harder for me. I release them after a decade, as they adapt mentally to their bindings and get better at subverting orders. I reuse the body, unless it has been severely damaged or destroyed. Obviously, I accepted the deal, and agreed to shelter him for five years." A skeleton enters with a tray containing a teapot, four cups, a tray of digestive biscuits, a jar of milk and a plate of sugar cubes. Mergei gets to work pouring tea for herself and Benedict, as well as Jubilee and Samantha if they accept. (Samantha will take a biscuit anyway.)

"If you want more, I'd like to know more about you. This Onyx King, for example. Not a deity I am familiar with, and I have relics and artefacts from many temples, shrines and tombs, not all of which were abandoned." Benedict isn't fishing for his grandfather being disposed of; he doesn't know enough about Jubilee to think she could do it.

[Benedict's Manse]

Jubilee won't object to the tea, of course, but it should be fairly evident from the way she reaches for the teapot that she intends for that to be a matter of self-service. The sugar cookies, likewise, she helps herself to.

"Sounds fascinating." She deadpans, pushing aside the presented demonology disinterestedly. "But I came here to learn about Jackson North and what happened to him, not the finer points of whatever you've been up to with imps lately. So far, all you've said is that he lived here for five years. That's not really accounting for his demise."

She leans back in her chair and throws up one leg over the other, sitting in a way that looks to be a bit uncomfortable in a dress with that long a skirt. "But fine. You want to know about the Onyx King? He's a bit of a tool." She says matter-of-factly. "You could call him a god if you want, but that's sort of overselling it. It's more of a... well, a Fisher King sort of situation, if you're familiar." She takes a nibble off the edge of her cookie before continuing. "Where I'm from, all mages have a connection to this place we call the Shadow Realm. Well, it's not really a place so much as a concept, and the fact that it isn't a place is sort of crucial to how the whole thing works, but the whole underlying principle is it's this thing that is simultaneously connected to everything, everywhere, everywhen, all at once. Everything that exists came from there, and will eventually go back there, spiritually if not physically. For ordinary souls, that happens long after they die, but we mages burn through our souls faster than that and thus our expiration and reincarnation times are much closer together. And in some cases, when you're dealing with a particularly old and powerful mage, the process... sort of goes in reverse a little bit. Rather than being assimilated back into the universe writ large, the universe writ large is partially assimilated into them. So anything that's particularly strongly connected to them- their homeland, their family, their favorite TV show- it becomes even more strongly connected. If he's in a bad mood, for instance, the Onyx King has been known to send storms all across Ainran, which of course he swears to me weren't intentional but tells his subjects is a sign of his displeasure with them."

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

Samantha turns to listen to Jubilee, far more interested in her backstory and explanation than the demonology- most of which she already knows the basics of. Or at least the distinctions that Benedict's using. This is also the first she's heard of Jubilee's name and titles.

"So not a god, yet you introduced yourself to my minions as his high priestess. Interesting. Back to Jackson... I agreed to let him stay for five years. He was here for four and a half, roughly. Well, he's still here, in some respects. He was a coward, and terrified of his own mortality, but despite that he was mostly aware of his faults. I was not expecting him to overstep himself. I warned him of my grandfather, and the consequences of that, and it spooked him badly. I gave him leave of the public libraries and select private ones- any that can be accessed through an unlocked door, or using the key to his bedroom. I thought he was content with this; he was not. I found him at the top of my tower in the midst of a storm, trying to channel the elemental fury of the sea and wind to reactivate the flight enchantments the first of my house laid upon the tower. He failed, as the enchantments are still active. I keep them maintained and empowered, just in case I need them- along with some other last lines of defence. He nearly blew the tower up by overcharging the wards. I killed him to stop him, and on his corpse found several things he had stolen from me." Benedict smiles coldly and clicks his fingers.

A large man enters the room, a tall figure wearing a black waistcoat over a white shirt, with black slacks and a top hat completing his uniform. Bolted straight to his face is a bronze mask, fitted straight to his skull. He's holding a large glass jar containing a translucent liquid and a human head that is placed on the table. Benedict sips his tea before opening the jar, releasing a smell of garlic and formaldehyde, and hoiks out a head. He's holding it by the hair, which is long and grey-white. The man was old when he died; his left eye is clouded with a cataract, and his nose has been broken. His right ear had been cropped at some point, and rebuilt with wax that has not fared well in the chemicals of the jar. His mouth hangs open, revealing old chipped teeth, stained red by a habit of chewing sourleaf. Samantha is fascinated by the grisly sight, and will confirm it's her father- though he's also older than she remembers him.

[Ironsmith]

[Benedict's Manse]

"The distinction's largely academic. To your average rube, the man who owns the fields where they toil and whose whims decide the next rainfall might as well be a god." Jubilee waves her hand dismissively, allowing the subject to pass as the conversation turns back to Jackson.

She sits slightly impatiently through the story, waving her hand in a circular "uh-huh, uh-huh, get on with it" sort of motion as Benedict explains what happened to the man. Her expression barely changes when the preserved head is shown, save for a quick glance over in Samantha's direction to confirm that she recognizes him. At which point she frowns and sets the teacup down.

"Pity. Part of me was hoping we'd have a chance to reckon with the man ourselves." She says after a moment. "He had a lot to answer for. Particularly with regard to his daughter, and my apprentice. It would have been a very teachable moment."

Though exactly what sorts of lessons Samantha could have learned through the process of watching her father be roasted alive, it seems, will be lost to speculation.

[Rebonack]

[The Richards' Residence]

As Jace moves in to take advantage over the pillows he'll spy Gwen laying near one of the windows watching clouds rolling past. But as soon as she realizes there are STRANGE PEOPLE in the home she hides behind the nearest couch. Geneva makes a very bird like chuckling noise and approaches her daughter.

"It's okay, Gwen. It's just Jace, Khannie's daddy. You like Khannie and Jace is safe. Do you want to come out and say hi?" the big hippogriff asks the little one.

Gwen responds by hiding behind Geneva and shaking her head.

Geneva gives Jace an apologetic smile. "Sorry, she's very shy."

Meanwhile!

"Hey! Let me down!" Gilda yells at Khannie.
"Inside voice, please," Geneva interjects.
Gilda clicks her beak together, then repeats. "Let me down please?"

"You gotta promise that you won't pounce me again today," Khannie negotiates.
"I promise," Gilda lies.

[Keeper]

The Richards' Residence

"It's quite alright. Khannie has told me that she's shy. I do appreciate you fixing a meal for us. Especially since my tastes have become rather odd. I suppose I don't need to eat at all anymore, and my preferences have...maybe adjusted? It's hard to say. Suffice to say, I do not have a horse's appetite at least."
He's tried it. It sucks.

Meanwhille, Glory strolls out and sets up with one of her books near Jace. She isn't trying to make Gwen look bad, but sometimes someone needs to show her baby sister that things are fine and clearly Gilda isn't taking the initiative on that one.

[bc56]

Skye's Apartment
Mary mentally rolls her eyes at the gracious acceptance of the insult.
She waits for Skye's response to Asami's question; she has no answer to the question.

[bc56]

A Succubus Problem
The pain is intense. It seems to last forever... Or maybe moments.
The smoke rising off Sophie and Trick forms into a wispy figure; a rough approximation of Sekhmet in her full succubus form. As it gets more defined, their altered features begin to recede and return to normal, and the pain lessens.

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

"Ah, one of those. The royalty of my homeland tried that trick, but alas they lacked the potency to keep up the lie. The nobles rebelled first, forcing concessions from the monarchy, and then more recently the peasantry likewise rebelled. An angry mob even marched against my humble abode, and I don't have a title despite my position on the aristocratic rolls. One of my ancestors had the title of baron stripped from my line due to an unpleasant revelation regarding a severed hand. Fortunately the mob consisted of a hundred and seven people, which was enough to power the translocation arrays." He didn't kill them, just stayed in his tower and fed a bit of power into the activation sequence. Now he's got plenty of skeletons to guard his house and grounds.

"I could arrange for you to talk to him. The soul's gone, but I can awaken the mind. He'll be lacking in such niceties as empathy and the higher emotions, but if there's a technique or location you wish to know about that he knew in life, it'll be available to you that way." The head is lowered back into the jar, but it's not sealed yet.
"I don't... really want to talk to him. I'll prove his views wrong, and succeed at what I do, but... I don't need to boast or gloat to him." Presumably she's missing out on the very important lesson on how flammable humans are, and how to initiate spontaneous human combustion.

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Aftermaths and Futures]

Reilana looks just about as surprised as Dulcie, though she wasn't thrown around. "Um..." All composure is dropped as she tries to parse what happened. "Probably."

Sure enough, they can her approaching footsteps. It's not Tamawhetu that throws the door open, though, but Jostan. His eyes flit over them. He's not surprised to see Dulcie, quickly moving past her to settle on the bone structure. "Reilana."

The younger necromancer flinches. "I know I know. Only study, no practice."

"And yet?" He prompts.

"I was just... showing off, alright?" Reilana lies partially. A side objective was showing off.

"With that? I expect far more control from you. If I were your formal teacher I'd have to back on pure theory for a month after that display." He responds harshly. "What is going on here?"

[Aftermaths and Futures]

"She was just starting to show me something she'd been studying," Dulcinea attempts to explain. She struggles to pull herself up, winces as the motion puts pressure on her healing leg and settles for awkwardly propping herself up on the elbows. "It was my fault, I encouraged her. She seemed so passionate talking about it, and I just thought doing something would be good for her." She offers an apologetic look. "Perhaps you could show us what we've done wrong with the theorems?"

[Ironsmith]

[Benedict's Manse]

"From what I gather, that would be something of a lateral move." Jubilee deadpans, staring at the disembodied head in the jar. "...It doesn't seem as though either of us has anything to say to him now. But a possibility does occur to me... would you be amiable to selling us the head, and the ritual needed to temporarily reanimate it? We may have need of it at a later date." And it would be oh-so-tedious to have to come back to Benedict every time said need came up.

And maybe she can still get Samantha that learning experience after all.

[Rebonack]

[Richard's Residence]

"She's a sweetheart once she gets to know you, aren't you Gwen?" Geneva says.

Gwen makes a noncommittal bird noise in reply. She'll be sticking close to her mom and watching Jace cautiously for a while yet.

"So how has your new perspective on life been treating you?" Geneva asks. "Khannie has taken to it well, from what she's told me. All the children at Glog love the unicorn rides."

Khannie, meanwhile, lets Gilda down. The young griffin is already plotting her revenge.

[Keeper]

Richards' Residence

"I mean, I feel the same, mostly. I just suddenly have more of a problem with doorknobs and I don't worry about my jeans anymore." Jace insists.
"At the very least I'm starting to get used to waving my horn around to talk. But I do wish I could have waited over a week to get used to everything before Kit happened." Or started to happen, depending on your perspective. "It does kind of change the experience."

[Gullara]

[Aftermaths and Futures]

Jostan narrows his eyes and looks between the two. "I can hardly do that without seeing the theorems, or at least being told what you were trying to do." His eyes settle on Reilana.

"Uhh, just more complex and directed thanergetic parthenogenesis." She explains, at a very high level. It's technically accurate without stating an exact goal.

Jostan eyes her for a moment before looking back at the mess of bone. "While I'm no bone practitioner, I can recognize a complete lack of thanergetic control when I see it. Often seen with students who have little control over the thanergy they're drawing."

Reilana purses her lips, doing her best not to retort with a snarky reply. Unfortunately he's right. "It's not my best work."

"No." Her father agrees. "Now for heaven's sake, help Dulcinea up. Then clean up this mess. I'll discuss this matter with Tamawhetu." With that he sweeps out of the room.

Reilana turns back to Dulci with a pained expression. She's just burning with frustration and shame. "Sorry... let me help you." She offers her hands for Dulci to grab.

[Morty]

[A Succubus Problem]

Sophie almost falls to her knees as the pain intensifies and only manages to keep herself from doing so by holding onto Trick for dear life. If she was still mortal, she might have blacked out by now. Even now, the pain lessening is a welcome relief.

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

"Of course I am amenable. I doubt there is much more he could teach me, and I'm yet unsure how little Donatien's affinities lie. Even if he does lean that way, with nature and interest, I have better resources for teaching him than... this." Benedict gestures distastefully to the severed head. "The ritual itself is simple. A pair of semi-nested heptagrams, the internal one inverted in relation to the external, both drawn in blood or another similarly potent bodily fluid. Put the head in the centre of the diagram. Place a tallow candle at the points of the internal heptagram and a beeswax candle at the points of the external one, and light them with a nonmagical flame. Provide some power to the diagram, and the head will awaken until any of the candles are extinguished. If it's still in the jar, you won't be able to hear each other and the head will panic, as Jackson experiences the sensation of drowning without having the ability to die." Benedict sometimes enjoys watching the head panic, but given his shallow pool of power he has to use a battery to power the diagram and that can get expensive.

[Ironsmith]

[Benedict's Manse]

"That sounds like a strong confirmation should we decide to test the ritual before we go, then. In fact..." Jubilee leans forward in her seat. "...Why not? We could both use the catharsis and performing the ritual once before our departure would ensure there's no miscommunication on how it's meant to be done. And Samantha could use the tutelage in some small part of ritual magic."

See? Learning experience!

[Earl of Purple]

Benedict's Manse

"Of course, follow me. I have a ritual chamber where I store everything needed for this and other rituals." Benedict stands up and takes the bottle, walking to one of the bookshelves in the library and examining it before pulling on a book titled Camouflage and its Practical Applications, revealing a secret door and a staircase behind it heading down. "Some of my ancestors developed and conducted rituals that were disrupted by natural light, and it is easier to bind certain things when surrounded by worked stone. My ritual chambers are primarily subterranean as a result. There is one atop the pinnacle of the tower, but that is for defensive rituals." The stairway is old and worn, quite narrow, and steep, but they aren't slippery; there's runes carved into the steps that make it easier. It's also not dark; garnets set into the walls glow with a soft light.

Eventually they stop at a corridor flanked with doors; some doors lead into what are clearly cells, others not cells. One of the cells contains a squat spider-like creature with an old woman's face on the back of its abdomen, bound within a series of circles- one of salt, one of sugar, and one of ash. Samantha doesn't seem to notice it, instead staring at an apparently empty cell. Benedict ignores all of it, headed to another door.