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

[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.

[ilikebigbuffs]

Curiouser and curiouser...

Absolutely nothing? It doesn't seem likely a demon would just...hold something like that back. Especially after such a period of time spent with a single host.

[inshepherdscloth]

Not even a whisper.

... it does seem strange, doesn't it? He loves so well to tease and tempt, to turn one's doubts against them, and yet...

[ilikebigbuffs]

Right. It doesn't make sense, if he wants you to suffer like you say.

No previous hosts, nothing about hell...either he's really young, really old, or has never even been...

1/2

[inshepherdscloth]

I suffer in uncertainty. If there were any certainty of what I was to face, then I could fully resign myself to it, and in acceptance find a sort of peace--

2/2

[inshepherdscloth]

[he gasps suddenly, pitching forward with a strangled noise as he clutches at his rosary]

[ilikebigbuffs]

[He nods, the claim making sense, really. Humans were adaptable, if they knew what to expect, then...]

--Woah, hey! [He rises from his seat, reaching to put a hand on Kiyoteru's shoulder.] Father Hiyama, are you alright? Is he trying to get out?

[inshepherdscloth]

I-I'm... yes...

... He's angry. He wants to hurt you for what you just said. I've never... this kind of rage from him, it's...

[ilikebigbuffs]

[He looks frightened, but doesn't move from his supportive position.] He's that angry? I was only kidding...

[inshepherdscloth]

[his knuckles are clenched white on his rosary]

The idea... offends him. That he has never been. He is shouting, I can hardly hear my own thoughts above him! He insists that he has. That... that he was not born here, on our "miserable earth".

[slaps one hand against the side of his head as if to shake something loose]

There! I have told him! Are you satisfied? Be silent, now, in the name of God!

[ilikebigbuffs]

[He's still uneasy, but his brows furrow in thought at that. Odd button to cause such a strong reaction...]

Wait.

Ask him to prove it. I'm right here to help keep him down.

[inshepherdscloth]

[he stops and blinks at Gakupo, looking honestly baffled]

... Prove it?