The most metaphorical demon slaying

[ilikebigbuffs]

[It was kind of refreshing, having a new subject to delve into and squeeze for all the information it had available. He had passed the subject of possession a few times during his research of curses, but never had any reason to search it further. Now, however...a friend was in danger. Week lost to crazy implanted memories or no, he'd been a very, very busy bee.

There was certainly a lot to read on the subject, so his room had become cluttered in notes again. He found, however, that most documented cases of demonic possession he had come across at later dates were instead proven to be psychological ailments instead of spiritual. This gave earlier documented cases more dubious credibility, so he wasn't sure how accurate most of his notes even were. Frustrating as it may have been, it was worth writing down and keeping among the more important notes at his writing desk.

It was dusk now, but Gakupo had already been asleep for...a few hours. He could never keep a healthy schedule when he was studying, and with how long his face had been firmly planted in a compendium he may well wake up with ink on his cheek and nose.]

Comments

[inshepherdscloth]

[it wouldn't do to pressure the other priest, nor to have too much hope. but... it's hard to stay away. nobody has ever offered this, to put themselves out trying to help a hopeless case like him. he wants to know if Gakupo has found anything.

so he drops by to see Gakupo on the way to his room for the night, and this is the sight that greets him.

he smiles a little. opening the door quietly, he slips into Gakupo's room and shakes his shoulder gently to wake him]

[ilikebigbuffs]

[He shifts, lifting his head and blinking sleepily up at Kiyoteru.] Mm...?

[Spotting a brown-black blurr, he sits upright to straighten his glasses--yup, a short blurb on holy water was imprinted on his face.] Oh, Father Hiyama. Sorry about that, guess I drifted off...

[inshepherdscloth]

It just seemed an uncomfortable position to sleep in.

... You have truly been hard at work, haven't you?

[ilikebigbuffs]

You get used to it.

Mm, this is a pretty well documented subject so there's a lot to go on and look through. Pretty time-consuming. [He says that with the tone of an excited (albeit tired) academic, eager to search.]

[inshepherdscloth]

Have you... found anything relevant?

[he tries to say it with casual interest, but. no.]

[ilikebigbuffs]

A good number of things, though most of them depend greatly on individual circumstance. You've told me very little, and I must admit my only encounter is...a little fuzzy in my memory.

I'm hesitant to ask, but if you could tell me a little more about your history with this, like any changes that occur or what has already been tried, it might make filtering the search easier.

[inshepherdscloth]

[after a moment's hesitation, he nods and seats himself on the couch]

Where shall I begin?

[ilikebigbuffs]

You mentioned it had been plaguing you since childhood, so...from the beginning, I suppose.

[inshepherdscloth]

[he nods, clasping his hands together tightly]

... I can't actually remember a time without him. He was more active when I was a child - the sisters at the abbey said that when I was brought to them, it was all my poor mother could do to hold on to me with how I struggled and screamed. They could always tell when the demon was out, because my personality changed so utterly. As myself, I was content to sit and draw, or study my letters, or watch the sisters at their duties. The demon screamed and shouted, ran about like a wild thing, defaced the walls and tore at the tapestries...

He was utterly fearless. It took the better part of a year to overcome him and drive him back into the dark places of my mind, to put the dread of God into him so that he could be contained by prayer. How such a powerful demon came to the body of a child, I can only imagine. But though it is a struggle, outbreaks have been rare, ever since.

But even as he was denied the opportunity to wreak havoc with my body, he learned to speak to me. I hear him often, when I cannot block out his voice. It is... wearying. He undermines all that I do, and drives me to doubt. Even now, I do not know... whether my own morality is true, or if it has been influenced by his whispers.

[ilikebigbuffs]

[He listens intently, cross-referencing everything he could remember off the top of his head. Even after all of that, he quickly searched for a few notes and skimmed.]

It's still very odd that he would be able to enter a consecrated space. Odder that he'd be suppressed within it--if anything he should have been far more active in an attempt to escape it, or wither away after so much time...

[He skims again, glancing around at the other notes he hadn't picked up--and an inkling came to him.]

What has he shown himself to be capable of, aside from speaking to and through you?

[inshepherdscloth]

[blinks]

... He has shown some ability to move objects without touching them. I believe he is able to usurp my own power for dark purposes, if I am not careful.

[ilikebigbuffs]

H'm...anything else? Say, odd lights, fires, creatures--does he always speak in Common?

[inshepherdscloth]

None of that sort... he has a talent for picking out those creatures I hunt that show a human face to the world, however. And yes, he does.

[ilikebigbuffs]

Picking them out...? How so?

[inshepherdscloth]

He tends to sense what is off about them, a little while before I do. He is sometimes the one to point them out - usually to needle me.

[ilikebigbuffs]

So he assists you in hunting his kind? [His tone isn't malicious or accusatory, simply curious. Though the different species and breeds of demons were numerous, there was some sense of brotherhood. At least from what he's witnessed.]

[inshepherdscloth]

[pauses]

With or without his help, I would find them in the end...

[he sounds uncertain]

[ilikebigbuffs]

[And he catches that tone]

...Are you sure?

[inshepherdscloth]

...Yes. Usually, when he calls my attention to them, it is to play on my doubts - he always finds out those that are doing no harm, to try and sway me from my mission...

[ilikebigbuffs]

[H'm, possibly schadenfreude towards "weaker" demons? That isn't unheard of...]

How does he react to a genuine threat, then?

[inshepherdscloth]

I do not recall that he has ever interfered, whether for good or for ill.

[ilikebigbuffs]

Really? Never, at all?

[inshepherdscloth]

Never at all.

[ilikebigbuffs]

H'm...has he ever mentioned anything about the time before he found you? Any previous hosts?

[inshepherdscloth]

No... I do not think that he had any hosts before me. Nor has he told me anything about what awaits me in Hell... I suspect he wants me to suffer in the uncertainty of dread.