[Oh, jeez, he was in so much hot water if he didn't do well on this exam. Since he was late taking it (due to a hangover no less) several points had already been shaved off. Something is off though. He doesn't remember connect-runes as part of the quarter's lesson. But. Well. He doesn't remember a lot of things. His heart is in enchanted engineering and songspells not this dead ass language and history.]
[But fill in the spaces he does, as well as he can. Candles are lit, crystals are placed, drops of blood are shed with a ritual knife. With his bleeding thumb in his mouth, Maurice dots his last rune and glances up at the clock. Where is Prof. Clauselle? Shouldn't she be in here by now? He's done. He is not a fast worker.]
[Suddenly the circle comes alive with hellfire and a burst of energy that knocks Maurice flat on his ass.]
[Temeraire had never gotten the chance to be summoned out into the human world before. His kind of demon didn't usually get summoned by anyone, and if they did, then his elders would jump on the chance first, because it was always a very powerful and important person doing the summoning.]
[But this time...this time none of the others seem very interested. Now is his chance. He slides into the ritual working, making it focus onto him...a little clumsily, perhaps, but he thinks he does very well! Nothing that the wizard would probably even notice!]
[He had always imagined being summoned into a grand hall or maybe on the edge of a properly dramatic cliff face. But as he steps onto solid ground, flames swirling around his taloned feet, he sees that he's...in some sort of small room? Well, maybe it's a very important, secret study. He looks down at the wizard, already feeling the contract settle and seal in his left eye.]
I am Temeraire, wizard. Who are you to have summoned me?
[He spreads his wings for size and lets the fire crawl up his arms too. That was all appropriately impressive, wasn't it?]
[What was supposed to have happened: the runes locking together and creating a colorful but beautiful tapestry that could be manipulated by the hand not unlike an electronic touch screen. It should have been a reproduction of one of the old manuscripts with smoky animations of the grand Mage War.]
[What happens: not that.]
[Maurice claps a hand over his eye as it suddenly alights and something deep inside him feels tugged on. As the creature looms, the wizard feels his heart leap up into his mouth. He's seen things like Temeraire. He's seen them in woodcuts eating sinners alive. He's seen them in the smoky demonstrations of what happens to Bad Wizards. He's seen them in his nightmares.]
[Temeraire's new master sucks in an enormous breath. And screams.]
[Temeraire wasn't expecting the screaming. Some good and proper fear and respect, yes, but...]
[He frowns.]
There's no need for that, even if I am very frightening. You did summon me.
[There's a note of petulance to his voice. But, given the fact that he's just been summoned and still has his Demon Voice turned on, it's probably not that noticeable. He takes a step forward, floorboards creaking as his foot lands outside the circle. Once the contract was sealed, he was no longer bound by its confines.]
[It was hard to butt-shuffle backwards with only one hand. OH GOD HIS EYE WHAT IS HAPPENING. But he looks upon the demon. He looks upon the circle. And he looks upon the slice in his hand. His blood went into that. He thought this exam had been a little on the extreme side and Prof. Clauselle was a very hardcore lady but.]
[He sure did go and summon actual Satan.]
[Well he was getting an F for sure.]
I'm--sorry! You can. Go back home now! Wrong number! Bye!
[At the whipcrack sound of the dragon's tail, Maurice covers his head with his arms. Goodbye school. Goodbye parents. He is going to Magic Prison. OW HIS EYE. Now that he isn't covering it, his sight is no doubt altered as he stares up at this...this monster he's pulled from God only knew where. Hell probably.]
[Most definitely Hell.]
[Think, Hutch, think! What do you remember about summoning Satans?]
[Terrible wizards summoned devils like this for gain. Great power, wealth, whatever sick bidding they could think of. Did this mean he was in charge? Maurice Hutch, the guy who falls asleep in Wizard Calculus, ripped the seat out of his pants two days ago getting off the bus, and was so drunk he threw up on the RA's shoes during homecoming, had summoned a demon?]
[With stars (and dragonfire) in his eyes, Maurice stole what little nerve he had and balled his hands into fists.]
D-demon STAND DOWN!
[I wonder if Mom and Dad will turn my bedroom into that sewing room they always wanted.]
[For all that Temeraire is a very high class of demon, the rules of the contract still stand. Maurice Hutch the college wizard is, in fact, in charge here.]
[So even though he bristles in growing frustration, he stops moving forward and loops that tail gracefully around in front of his legs, as though he was perfectly calm. The end of it is still twitching, though, like an irritated cat's. His voice is ice.]
[Master wizard. Maurice suddenly feels dizzy and it isn't the sudden alternation to his depth perception.]
[He stands, clenching and unclenching his fists, as he looks Temeraire over from horn to flaming talon. This is bad. This is very very bad. There is only one way he knows how to deal with this sort of thing.]
Thank you...bye.
[Coat billowing behind him, Maurice turns tail and bolts from the room. He careens past the open classroom where Prof. Clauselle waits, her chin on her hand, sighing in disappointment. The stairs! He has to get down the stairs!]
[Temeraire follows after his fleeing master, wondering if maybe the elder demons hadn't gone for this one for a reason...not that he has a choice in following. The contract binding between them is still brand new, and the farther away the wizard runs, the more of a painful tug Temeraire feels in his chest.]
[But he doesn't for long, because he's running right after. There's not enough space in the hall to spread his wings and fly faster, and his claws keep skidding and throwing up sparks on the stone floor.]
[The wizard is heading for the stairs, and Temeraire doesn't intend to let him get there. As soon as he thinks he's close enough, he leaps, stretching out an arm to try grabbing onto him as he does.]
[Maurice, while he majors in movement-based spells, is not a fast runner. His Wizard Football days are over and the freshman fifteen has taken its toll on him. Just as the glorious double doors to freedom come into view, the ground swings up to say hello as he's tackled.]
PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY SOUL! IT'S MIDTERMS I ONLY HAVE SO MUCH LEFT!
[Naturally, nobody leans out of any of the classrooms to see what's going on because it is, in fact, midterms. Just another Tuesday in Magic College.]
[Temeraire just sort of...crouches on top of the wizard, very much like a cat, and snaps his tail against the floor again. He is fairly certain that he probably shouldn't be sitting on his new master, but he's not so sure this is a very experienced wizard, and maybe won't realize the breach of etiquette.]
I have already taken my part of the deal, and if you will stop running and shouting, then you may tell me what it is you desired from summoning me.
[As he talks, he glances around to see what sort of place this is. There are an awful lot of doors...]
[Maurice winces, feeling Temeraire's claws poking through his coat. His new eye waters (TOTALLY NOT CRYING!!!) and he pants, mind racing.]
Then--then I desire you to go back to wherever you came from! I didn't--well I did but-- I didn't mean to summon you! I was trying to finish a make-up test!
[Temeraire feels the sharp stab of disappointment. Summoned by accident? He'll NEVER live this one down.]
Then...
[He moves to get up and stand next to poor Maurice instead of sitting on him, trying to look as dignified as he can manage after all that.]
You will have to perform the ritual to send me back. This is a very complex binding contract, you cannot simply tell me to go. How did you do something like this without meaning to?
[The wizard slowly gets to his feet and wobbles there for a moment. Everything about Temeraire is scary. He can't tell where the creature's adornments end and his true horrors begin. One thing's for sure, though, those claws are something he doesn't want to end up on the business end of.]
O-okay. I...I guess that wasn't my test I grabbed. I'll put you back! I'm really sorry about this.
[He's not sure how smart it is to turn his back on a Satan, but it's the only way he can get back to the classroom without looking like a weird crab person scuddling along the walls or something like that. He steps over a scroll without even thinking about it as he enters.]
[The classroom, while a little sooty from Temeraire's grand appearance, is empty. The piles of books are gone. The stacks of papers are gone. Even the ritual dagger is gone. The only sign that anyone had been there at all was the shitty dragon doodle that had been halfheartedly erased off the blackboard.]
[Maurice feels his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.]
[Temeraire follows after him, talons clicking on the floor. This is awful.]
[He wonders if maybe he can convince the wizard that he could be very useful to have around after all; corrupting someone would be worth something, wouldn't it? Even if it wasn't likely that any great nefarious deeds would come of this one. Maybe he wouldn't be laughed at quite so much when he returned--]
[He's lost enough in his own thoughts that he very nearly runs right into Maurice when he goes through the door into the now-empty room--a classroom, he realizes in the back of his mind, this must be a school of some kind--and stops short himself.]
[He was sure there had been all sorts of books and notes and ritual items in here before. But now they were gone. Which means...]
You don't know the ritual to send me back, do you?
[Temeraire actually looks startled, his wings flaring partway open. He hadn't expected this wizard to do anything of the sort, not with the way he'd been acting.]
[Of course, then his own eyes narrow, and he looks pretty insulted himself.]
Do not blame me, you are the one who finished a spell that wasn't even your own!
[Maurice paces in a tight little circle over the scorch marks his spell left behind. He dragged his fingers through his hair and occasionally stopped to rub at his new eye. Did he get something in it? Ashes?]
Somebody was doing some seriously dark stuff in here...I can't tell anyone, they won't believe me. Well. They might believe that I fucked up this big but that doesn't change the fact that you're still here.
[He stops and looked back to the demon. What someone could DO with a weapon like him. Oh God, it's like he's tied to a bomb.]
You can't be here. We can't be here!
[Maurice's legs shift, he's getting ready to bolt again.]
[Temeraire shuts the door behind him when he walks in, but stays in front of it, just in case there's anymore running. And as it turns out, he was right.]
[He spreads his wings out as a sort of block, hoping that maybe the wizard might get scared again and not lead him on another chase.]
Then where should we be?
[His tailtip twitches.]
We are contracted, I would not let anyone take you to be locked away.
[When those wings billow out, Maurice shies back as if he's suddenly reminded again exactly what he's dealing with. Is he too young to have a stroke? He feels like he's having a stroke.]
[Maurice squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath. He lets it out and turns in place to look at one of the windows.]
Follow me.
[He shoves a few of the longer desks against the wall, shoves open the window, and starts squeezing through.]
There's a--ow--ledge out here. You can hop onto the awnings. I have to hide you.
[Temeraire follows after him, really unsure about this plan.]
Alright, but...I do hope you do not plan on hiding me on the roof forever. Unless you would like to also stay there with me. The connection is still very new.
[Still he climbs out through the window after Maurice, except much more gracefully. Minus the bit where he has to rearrange his wings.]
[Once the window dumps Maurice out onto the school roof, he steadies himself with his arms. Luckily, one thing he has no fear of is falling. His magic is motion-based.]
We're going to my dorm so I can have a psychological meltdown in private.
[With his back to his new winged shadow, Maurice sets out at a swift walk, his coat billowing behind him. His palms are sweating and he's starting to feel queasy. This isn't happening this isn't happening.]
[The campus is modest--it has to be to stay hidden. Most of it is actually underground. The dorms are within sight though and a few roof hops later, Maurice is scrambling down the side of the gutter. He slips and falls the last few feet, not bothering to use up magic to save a bump on the head.]
[The young wizard lays face-up in a daze for a long moment before rolling over and climbing to his feet. He ducks behind a dumpster and watches the entrance.]
I need you to stay here. Can this connection thing let you do that?
[While they move over the rooftops, Temeraire never stops looking around. It's almost to the point where he nearly overbalances a few times because he was paying more attention to everything else about this brand new universe than where his feet were.]
[He touches down onto the ground easily enough, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the dumpster and the smells coming from it.]
It...might be getting stable enough for that.
[But he doesn't sound so sure. After a moment's thought he speaks up again.]
I could attempt to disguise myself as a human...
[He doesn't want to ADMIT OUT LOUD that he's never tried that before. He's supposed to be a powerful demon who can do anything! Besides, he thinks to himself, he's very good at magic and surely he could do it.]
That...that would be ideal. Because we're going to have to get past Mona.
[He leans further around the entryway. There is a small lobby with a table covered in wizardy treats, a coffee maker, some soft sofas, and of course a desk area where the RA sits. She is a young but stern woman with some serious long hair. Her parrot familiar busies itself destroying things on her desk.]
I haven't been able to invent a spell yet that can get booze past her, much less Satan.
[This is, he thinks again, not what he had imagined. Sneaking around and being worried about a single wizard guarding a building...oh, the others would laugh. He can't leave until he has something impressive to show for this, even if it weren't for the contract.]
But I will make myself look human. Wait a moment.
[This can't be that hard. It's just a simple glamor, nothing terribly complicated...he closes his eyes, concentrating for longer than should have really been necessary.]
[But then, with a very small fizzing pop, the demonic features all disappear, hidden. Even his clothes look less...prince of hell, instead changing to look similar to Maurice's. If a little more tailored-looking.]
There! I have done it, this will fool this...Mona, will it not?
[Maurice watches Temeriare with wonder as he easily changes himself. No incantation, no potion. just...pop. And he's hidden. It looks so easy. No wonder people summon these demons for power.]
[And now that his guest no longer wears a mask and there was considerably less blue fire, he feels somewhat better. Not nearly as likely to lock himself away in the bathroom and scream in the shower for the rest of the day.]
[But he's still so fancy.]
We'll have to see. Come on.
[Maurice tries to fix his hair and smooth out his coat before waving the doors open and doing the most obvious stiff-legged I'm Totally Hiding Something walk past the RA's desk this college has ever seen. Mona does not look up but her familiar does.]
[Temeraire at least doesn't look guilty as they walk by, but he definitely looks like someone who is being Ever So Stealthy. The stealthiest.]
[He doesn't like the way the parrot looks at them as they go by; he wishes that he could just eat it, it would be much easier, but...sadly, that would also probably draw much more attention.]
[HE DEVOTES MORE ENERGY TO BEING STEALTHY INSTEAD.]
[Mona doesn't look up until Temeraire speaks. There's something about him. An energy rolling off of him. It's almost enough to make the fly-away hairs poking from her curls to start smoking at the tips.]
I see...are you the new tutor?
[Maurice wishes he was as good at sending words into other peoples' heads as he was making beer bottles float to him from across the room. SAY YES! SAY YES!]
[Maurice reaches behind him, grabs his new pet demon by the sleeve, and all but drags him out of the entryway and up the stairs.]
[The parrot watches them grow and mutters something unintelligible to itself in its horrible little robot voice.]
[Once they're at the top of the stairs, Maurice lets go and starts...wobbling down the long hall. He weaves left and right until he finally reaches his dorm, which he opens with a wave of his hand. He makes it two steps inside before face-planting right there on the rune-embroidered rug.]
[Temeraire was certainly not expecting to be grabbed, it is very undignified, but there's not really anything he can do about it.]
[And by the time he could pull his arm back, Maurice has let go and fallen down on the floor anyway. Temeraire snorts in surprise and mild alarm (his wizard can't just die!) and crouches down on the balls of his feet beside him.]
Why? Are you injured? Do you require a healing spell?
[Maurice's room is, frankly, a mess. There are half-built machines crammed onto every flat surface and what space isn't occupied by gadgets is taken up by empty soda cans. The walls are smothered in band posters and mountains of dirty clothes on the floor were the only thing keeping Maurice from busting his nose when he face-planted.]
[The wizard groans.]
No...
[He then rolls to one side and curls into the fetal position and stares at all the empty cans under his bed.]
There's a demon in my room. I'm hiding a demon in my room. How are we gonna find whoever left all those notes? I need a drink...Demon!
[He flops onto his back and points up at Temeriare.]
Manifest me a cold Green Cerberus ale. With a straw.
[Temeraire wrinkles his nose in distaste at the mess, deciding that that was going to need to change. He'll try nudging Maurice into being tidier, but that can come later.]
[He knows what an ale is, and hopefully what he manifests will be close enough to whatever Green Cerberus is. But it's an easy enough spell, and between one blink and the next, he's holding out a chilled glass of ale with a little straw sticking out.]
Here you are, master wizard.
I am not sure that drinking will help you think more clearly, though.
[Maurice had expected some kind of scary incantation or at least a puff of blue smoke but you know what after the hour he's had he isn't going to complain. He accepts the glass and stirs the drink with his straw for a moment before turning it up and shotgunning the entire thing without breathing.]
[Then he takes the straw in his teeth and chews on it while he waits for it to kick in.]
You don't know what you're talking about. You see that over there?
[He points to a boxy gadget.]
That thing makes bracelets out of soda tabs. I blacked out with the materials in my hand and woke up with enough bling to make a dragon cry.
[Honestly, Temeraire is entirely too straightforward to be a very good demon. Which is part of the reason why this is his very first time in the human world.]
[He sure does look interested in the gadget the moment Maurice mentions bling, though.]
Truly? Is the...bling very fine? What are soda tabs?
[He finally climbs to his feet and makes a surface to put down his glass by shoving several cans onto the floor. Then he grabs up one of them and a small metal bracelett. He presents both to the demon and it's clear that the machine Maurice crafted twisted the tabs into a sort of braid and then melted them so that they did not slide or pinch.]
[...well, it is perhaps not quite as fine as Temeraire had hoped--there aren't any jewels on it!--but...BUT.]
[It is shiny, and a nice silver color. His eyes light up at the offer, even if there aren't any jewels after all.]
Oh, I would like one.
[He coughs, suddenly, remembering that he is a Celestial demon and has standards of dignity to maintain. So he straightens his shoulders and nods more curtly.]
I mean--yes, you may gift me with one if you so desire, master wizard.
[He held the dinky little thing out for the demon to take and the started slogging through the mess in his room to find his backpack. One of his backpacks. He'd lost one and then had to scrape together to find another.]
Okay. Okay... Okay. So. Let's go through this again.
[He tosses a ratty textbook over his shoulder.]
Somebody was trying to summon a demon in the school and somehow I wound up finishing his circle. And by the time we got back to the room, he'd split with all his Do It Yourself Demon junk.
[He finally surfaces with the backpack and unzips it.]
Can't you use your demon magic or whatever to see where he went? I mean...you can make Green Cerberus appear out of thin air. All I gotta do is tell you to, right?
[Temeraire reaches out to take the little bracelet with both hands, turning it over in his hands a few times to see how it catches the light before sliding it right onto his wrist. Treasure obtained. c: ]
[After that, he tries to look more serious again while he listens, because after all this is a very serious subject. They have to work this out. That doesn't stop him from occasionally shifting his hand to make the bracelet move into a slightly nicer-looking position, or glancing down at it. At the question, though, he looks almost sheepish.]
Oh. Well, you see...location magic is not the same thing as making things appear, there are rules...I should have to have a bit of his physical being, or know his true name to simply find him."
[He tugs a battered spiral notebook out of his bag and sits down on the closest thing to a bed under all the junk. Then he smooths it out as best he can and starts writing his will.]
Well that's no good...I'm gonna guess you can't just make him appear out of thin air either, huh?
[When he glances up he notices the way Temeraire is playing with the bracelet still. You know maybe he's not so scary...]
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D FOR DRAGON
[But fill in the spaces he does, as well as he can. Candles are lit, crystals are placed, drops of blood are shed with a ritual knife. With his bleeding thumb in his mouth, Maurice dots his last rune and glances up at the clock. Where is Prof. Clauselle? Shouldn't she be in here by now? He's done. He is not a fast worker.]
[Suddenly the circle comes alive with hellfire and a burst of energy that knocks Maurice flat on his ass.]
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[But this time...this time none of the others seem very interested. Now is his chance. He slides into the ritual working, making it focus onto him...a little clumsily, perhaps, but he thinks he does very well! Nothing that the wizard would probably even notice!]
[He had always imagined being summoned into a grand hall or maybe on the edge of a properly dramatic cliff face. But as he steps onto solid ground, flames swirling around his taloned feet, he sees that he's...in some sort of small room? Well, maybe it's a very important, secret study. He looks down at the wizard, already feeling the contract settle and seal in his left eye.]
I am Temeraire, wizard. Who are you to have summoned me?
[He spreads his wings for size and lets the fire crawl up his arms too. That was all appropriately impressive, wasn't it?]
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[What happens: not that.]
[Maurice claps a hand over his eye as it suddenly alights and something deep inside him feels tugged on. As the creature looms, the wizard feels his heart leap up into his mouth. He's seen things like Temeraire. He's seen them in woodcuts eating sinners alive. He's seen them in the smoky demonstrations of what happens to Bad Wizards. He's seen them in his nightmares.]
[Temeraire's new master sucks in an enormous breath. And screams.]
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[He frowns.]
There's no need for that, even if I am very frightening. You did summon me.
[There's a note of petulance to his voice. But, given the fact that he's just been summoned and still has his Demon Voice turned on, it's probably not that noticeable. He takes a step forward, floorboards creaking as his foot lands outside the circle. Once the contract was sealed, he was no longer bound by its confines.]
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[He sure did go and summon actual Satan.]
[Well he was getting an F for sure.]
I'm--sorry! You can. Go back home now! Wrong number! Bye!
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[He draws himself up, tail snapping against the floor. He is Very Displeased with this new master.]
That is not at all how this works. You cannot just dismiss me like that!
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[Most definitely Hell.]
[Think, Hutch, think! What do you remember about summoning Satans?]
[Terrible wizards summoned devils like this for gain. Great power, wealth, whatever sick bidding they could think of. Did this mean he was in charge? Maurice Hutch, the guy who falls asleep in Wizard Calculus, ripped the seat out of his pants two days ago getting off the bus, and was so drunk he threw up on the RA's shoes during homecoming, had summoned a demon?]
[With stars (and dragonfire) in his eyes, Maurice stole what little nerve he had and balled his hands into fists.]
D-demon STAND DOWN!
[I wonder if Mom and Dad will turn my bedroom into that sewing room they always wanted.]
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[So even though he bristles in growing frustration, he stops moving forward and loops that tail gracefully around in front of his legs, as though he was perfectly calm. The end of it is still twitching, though, like an irritated cat's. His voice is ice.]
I am standing down, master wizard.
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[He stands, clenching and unclenching his fists, as he looks Temeraire over from horn to flaming talon. This is bad. This is very very bad. There is only one way he knows how to deal with this sort of thing.]
Thank you...bye.
[Coat billowing behind him, Maurice turns tail and bolts from the room. He careens past the open classroom where Prof. Clauselle waits, her chin on her hand, sighing in disappointment. The stairs! He has to get down the stairs!]
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[Temeraire follows after his fleeing master, wondering if maybe the elder demons hadn't gone for this one for a reason...not that he has a choice in following. The contract binding between them is still brand new, and the farther away the wizard runs, the more of a painful tug Temeraire feels in his chest.]
[But he doesn't for long, because he's running right after. There's not enough space in the hall to spread his wings and fly faster, and his claws keep skidding and throwing up sparks on the stone floor.]
[The wizard is heading for the stairs, and Temeraire doesn't intend to let him get there. As soon as he thinks he's close enough, he leaps, stretching out an arm to try grabbing onto him as he does.]
Stop running! This is not how this works!
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PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY SOUL! IT'S MIDTERMS I ONLY HAVE SO MUCH LEFT!
[Naturally, nobody leans out of any of the classrooms to see what's going on because it is, in fact, midterms. Just another Tuesday in Magic College.]
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I have already taken my part of the deal, and if you will stop running and shouting, then you may tell me what it is you desired from summoning me.
[As he talks, he glances around to see what sort of place this is. There are an awful lot of doors...]
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Then--then I desire you to go back to wherever you came from! I didn't--well I did but-- I didn't mean to summon you! I was trying to finish a make-up test!
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Then...
[He moves to get up and stand next to poor Maurice instead of sitting on him, trying to look as dignified as he can manage after all that.]
You will have to perform the ritual to send me back. This is a very complex binding contract, you cannot simply tell me to go. How did you do something like this without meaning to?
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O-okay. I...I guess that wasn't my test I grabbed. I'll put you back! I'm really sorry about this.
[He's not sure how smart it is to turn his back on a Satan, but it's the only way he can get back to the classroom without looking like a weird crab person scuddling along the walls or something like that. He steps over a scroll without even thinking about it as he enters.]
[The classroom, while a little sooty from Temeraire's grand appearance, is empty. The piles of books are gone. The stacks of papers are gone. Even the ritual dagger is gone. The only sign that anyone had been there at all was the shitty dragon doodle that had been halfheartedly erased off the blackboard.]
[Maurice feels his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.]
Oh, no...
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[He wonders if maybe he can convince the wizard that he could be very useful to have around after all; corrupting someone would be worth something, wouldn't it? Even if it wasn't likely that any great nefarious deeds would come of this one. Maybe he wouldn't be laughed at quite so much when he returned--]
[He's lost enough in his own thoughts that he very nearly runs right into Maurice when he goes through the door into the now-empty room--a classroom, he realizes in the back of his mind, this must be a school of some kind--and stops short himself.]
[He was sure there had been all sorts of books and notes and ritual items in here before. But now they were gone. Which means...]
You don't know the ritual to send me back, do you?
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Of COURSE not! Demon summoning is super fucking mega illegal! You're a walking life sentence!
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[Of course, then his own eyes narrow, and he looks pretty insulted himself.]
Do not blame me, you are the one who finished a spell that wasn't even your own!
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Somebody was doing some seriously dark stuff in here...I can't tell anyone, they won't believe me. Well. They might believe that I fucked up this big but that doesn't change the fact that you're still here.
[He stops and looked back to the demon. What someone could DO with a weapon like him. Oh God, it's like he's tied to a bomb.]
You can't be here. We can't be here!
[Maurice's legs shift, he's getting ready to bolt again.]
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[He spreads his wings out as a sort of block, hoping that maybe the wizard might get scared again and not lead him on another chase.]
Then where should we be?
[His tailtip twitches.]
We are contracted, I would not let anyone take you to be locked away.
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[Maurice squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath. He lets it out and turns in place to look at one of the windows.]
Follow me.
[He shoves a few of the longer desks against the wall, shoves open the window, and starts squeezing through.]
There's a--ow--ledge out here. You can hop onto the awnings. I have to hide you.
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Alright, but...I do hope you do not plan on hiding me on the roof forever. Unless you would like to also stay there with me. The connection is still very new.
[Still he climbs out through the window after Maurice, except much more gracefully. Minus the bit where he has to rearrange his wings.]
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We're going to my dorm so I can have a psychological meltdown in private.
[With his back to his new winged shadow, Maurice sets out at a swift walk, his coat billowing behind him. His palms are sweating and he's starting to feel queasy. This isn't happening this isn't happening.]
[The campus is modest--it has to be to stay hidden. Most of it is actually underground. The dorms are within sight though and a few roof hops later, Maurice is scrambling down the side of the gutter. He slips and falls the last few feet, not bothering to use up magic to save a bump on the head.]
[The young wizard lays face-up in a daze for a long moment before rolling over and climbing to his feet. He ducks behind a dumpster and watches the entrance.]
I need you to stay here. Can this connection thing let you do that?
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[He touches down onto the ground easily enough, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the dumpster and the smells coming from it.]
It...might be getting stable enough for that.
[But he doesn't sound so sure. After a moment's thought he speaks up again.]
I could attempt to disguise myself as a human...
[He doesn't want to ADMIT OUT LOUD that he's never tried that before. He's supposed to be a powerful demon who can do anything! Besides, he thinks to himself, he's very good at magic and surely he could do it.]
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[He leans further around the entryway. There is a small lobby with a table covered in wizardy treats, a coffee maker, some soft sofas, and of course a desk area where the RA sits. She is a young but stern woman with some serious long hair. Her parrot familiar busies itself destroying things on her desk.]
I haven't been able to invent a spell yet that can get booze past her, much less Satan.
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I am not Satan, my name is Temeraire.
[This is, he thinks again, not what he had imagined. Sneaking around and being worried about a single wizard guarding a building...oh, the others would laugh. He can't leave until he has something impressive to show for this, even if it weren't for the contract.]
But I will make myself look human. Wait a moment.
[This can't be that hard. It's just a simple glamor, nothing terribly complicated...he closes his eyes, concentrating for longer than should have really been necessary.]
[But then, with a very small fizzing pop, the demonic features all disappear, hidden. Even his clothes look less...prince of hell, instead changing to look similar to Maurice's. If a little more tailored-looking.]
There! I have done it, this will fool this...Mona, will it not?
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[And now that his guest no longer wears a mask and there was considerably less blue fire, he feels somewhat better. Not nearly as likely to lock himself away in the bathroom and scream in the shower for the rest of the day.]
[But he's still so fancy.]
We'll have to see. Come on.
[Maurice tries to fix his hair and smooth out his coat before waving the doors open and doing the most obvious stiff-legged I'm Totally Hiding Something walk past the RA's desk this college has ever seen. Mona does not look up but her familiar does.]
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[He doesn't like the way the parrot looks at them as they go by; he wishes that he could just eat it, it would be much easier, but...sadly, that would also probably draw much more attention.]
[HE DEVOTES MORE ENERGY TO BEING STEALTHY INSTEAD.]
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Mr. Hutch if you're doing what I think you're doing, you had better not be.
[Maurice screeches to a halt, back like a rod.]
Aaaah--ahah! Ahaha! Hah! No ma'am! Not today! It's--it's not even noon yet!
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[Clearly it is Maurice's fault and not his. With a little nod, he speaks up in what he hopes is a very convincing tone and a smile.]
I am only visiting, ma'am, I hope that isn't any trouble.
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I see...are you the new tutor?
[Maurice wishes he was as good at sending words into other peoples' heads as he was making beer bottles float to him from across the room. SAY YES! SAY YES!]
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Oh, yes, I am. I believe it will be easier to help him in a quieter setting.
[c:]
[He's trying to keep his power dampened down, but there's only so much he can do, especially since he's never really had to before.]
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[Mona looks back at her papers.]
Your faith in me is as encouraging as always!
[Maurice reaches behind him, grabs his new pet demon by the sleeve, and all but drags him out of the entryway and up the stairs.]
[The parrot watches them grow and mutters something unintelligible to itself in its horrible little robot voice.]
[Once they're at the top of the stairs, Maurice lets go and starts...wobbling down the long hall. He weaves left and right until he finally reaches his dorm, which he opens with a wave of his hand. He makes it two steps inside before face-planting right there on the rune-embroidered rug.]
My life is over.
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[And by the time he could pull his arm back, Maurice has let go and fallen down on the floor anyway. Temeraire snorts in surprise and mild alarm (his wizard can't just die!) and crouches down on the balls of his feet beside him.]
Why? Are you injured? Do you require a healing spell?
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[The wizard groans.]
No...
[He then rolls to one side and curls into the fetal position and stares at all the empty cans under his bed.]
There's a demon in my room. I'm hiding a demon in my room. How are we gonna find whoever left all those notes? I need a drink...Demon!
[He flops onto his back and points up at Temeriare.]
Manifest me a cold Green Cerberus ale. With a straw.
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[He knows what an ale is, and hopefully what he manifests will be close enough to whatever Green Cerberus is. But it's an easy enough spell, and between one blink and the next, he's holding out a chilled glass of ale with a little straw sticking out.]
Here you are, master wizard.
I am not sure that drinking will help you think more clearly, though.
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[Then he takes the straw in his teeth and chews on it while he waits for it to kick in.]
You don't know what you're talking about. You see that over there?
[He points to a boxy gadget.]
That thing makes bracelets out of soda tabs. I blacked out with the materials in my hand and woke up with enough bling to make a dragon cry.
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[He sure does look interested in the gadget the moment Maurice mentions bling, though.]
Truly? Is the...bling very fine? What are soda tabs?
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[He finally climbs to his feet and makes a surface to put down his glass by shoving several cans onto the floor. Then he grabs up one of them and a small metal bracelett. He presents both to the demon and it's clear that the machine Maurice crafted twisted the tabs into a sort of braid and then melted them so that they did not slide or pinch.]
You can have one if you want.
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[It is shiny, and a nice silver color. His eyes light up at the offer, even if there aren't any jewels after all.]
Oh, I would like one.
[He coughs, suddenly, remembering that he is a Celestial demon and has standards of dignity to maintain. So he straightens his shoulders and nods more curtly.]
I mean--yes, you may gift me with one if you so desire, master wizard.
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[He held the dinky little thing out for the demon to take and the started slogging through the mess in his room to find his backpack. One of his backpacks. He'd lost one and then had to scrape together to find another.]
Okay. Okay... Okay. So. Let's go through this again.
[He tosses a ratty textbook over his shoulder.]
Somebody was trying to summon a demon in the school and somehow I wound up finishing his circle. And by the time we got back to the room, he'd split with all his Do It Yourself Demon junk.
[He finally surfaces with the backpack and unzips it.]
Can't you use your demon magic or whatever to see where he went? I mean...you can make Green Cerberus appear out of thin air. All I gotta do is tell you to, right?
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[After that, he tries to look more serious again while he listens, because after all this is a very serious subject. They have to work this out. That doesn't stop him from occasionally shifting his hand to make the bracelet move into a slightly nicer-looking position, or glancing down at it. At the question, though, he looks almost sheepish.]
Oh. Well, you see...location magic is not the same thing as making things appear, there are rules...I should have to have a bit of his physical being, or know his true name to simply find him."
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Well that's no good...I'm gonna guess you can't just make him appear out of thin air either, huh?
[When he glances up he notices the way Temeraire is playing with the bracelet still. You know maybe he's not so scary...]