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Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.
He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -
from_scratch
toblameforit
"Thanks." He takes the cloud-fluff. He pokes it curiously. It's still mug-shaped, but deforms easily when prodded. Squish!
ask_nicely
Adana giggles a bit, too. "Some angels have taken up fluff-sculpting. If you're curious."
toblameforit
"That sounds amazing. Also, how sure are you that demons are evil, because so far all this one's done since he got here is be kind of adorable?"
ask_nicely
"... I mean I wouldn't bet my immortality on it? But the one demon I have met was very - definitively not a nice person. I've also heard lots of stories about demons not being nice people in general, but... I'd need to talk to him to find out? And to do that the binding would need to be snapped and I am - really nervous about actually being able to take a demon on in single combat if it comes to it. Because if he decides that the world would look way better if it was in the middle of a sun, guess who's the only daeva present to stop him and or clean it up after?" Wince. "Lots of people would die. Like, I hate gagging daeva on principle, but not so much that I will risk lots of lives on it."
She looks at Cam. "... Sorry. If you are actually nice. If you're like the demon I met, kindly go fuck yourself."
She looks at Cam. "... Sorry. If you are actually nice. If you're like the demon I met, kindly go fuck yourself."
from_scratch
Cam's not actually bound, so when he doesn't remember off the top of his head whether a particular gesture is permitted by a gag order and he's trying to pretend to have one he has to guess.
Well, it doesn't sound like she would be terribly likely to know either.
He places his hand over his heart, face wounded.
ask_nicely
She doesn't actually know about the particulars of gagging, she's both never been gagged and never gagged anyone when she was a summoner. She only knows stuff from what she's heard from other angels, or the snippets she read in a book while panicking and trying to save a colony. Not very helpful for tipping her off on the demon present not actually being bound.
"Like I said. Sorry."
"Like I said. Sorry."
toblameforit
"...how does the whole binding thing work, exactly?" he inquires, idly squashing his fluff-mug into a ball.
ask_nicely
"When you summon the daeva, you lay out constraints on their circle and while they are present where ever they're summoned they are bound by those. You give them a task to do that they can agree to help with or not in exchange for payment of various types, and while they're present there are certain things that they can't do. Like, it's standard to bind an angel to not kill people while present, or for fairies to keep to a speed limit of how quickly they can move things. Since, move any object a certain speed and you've got bullets."
She sighs. "If I were a summoner I could just check to see if he's bound and what the conditions are, but I'm not. If I could see the circle itself, I'd be able to tell then, but I don't know where it is or if it's even here anymore. If it was like mine then it's probably gone now."
She sighs. "If I were a summoner I could just check to see if he's bound and what the conditions are, but I'm not. If I could see the circle itself, I'd be able to tell then, but I don't know where it is or if it's even here anymore. If it was like mine then it's probably gone now."
toblameforit
"Okay, but let's hypothetically say this circle was a, like... random arrangement of words and geometric shapes," he says. "I'm thinking the odds of accidentally including a binding are even lower than the odds of accidentally summoning something in the first place."
ask_nicely
"Well, yeah. That's why I'm a little skeptical that it was an accident. Is there someone who would - I don't know, figure out how to summon daeva and then summon some daeva in your basement for various reasons?"
toblameforit
"There is literally no one who could get in here and draw shit on my floor and get out again before you could notice."
He pauses to reflect on that statement.
"Okay, there's someone, but he doesn't fuck with me like that. And he's in New York right now."
He pauses to reflect on that statement.
"Okay, there's someone, but he doesn't fuck with me like that. And he's in New York right now."
ask_nicely
"Well mine was in light. So - fancy computer system rigged up to project something at a certain time when you are likely to be asleep? Or something?"
Pause. She frowns. "But that doesn't make sense, either, I don't even know if that would work. As far as I know it's got to be a person that makes the circle."
Pause. She frowns. "But that doesn't make sense, either, I don't even know if that would work. As far as I know it's got to be a person that makes the circle."
poeticterms
"The two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive," says a dry voice out of thin air. "And Tony has correctly identified the source of the circles as semirandom arrangements of standard visual elements. I would show you, but I don't think the situation would be improved by adding two more daeva to the mix."
ask_nicely
There is a moment of stunned silence. "Oh my god I didn't - um. I am extremely sorry, I didn't know any sort of - AI breakthroughs were made. Hi," says Adana, genuinely apologetic about implying Jarvis isn't a person. "Nice to meet you, um - computer person."
"Uh - you can display them on a wall, vertically? They need to be horizontal to actually summon anything, on the floor or even a table or something. So I can inspect the circles."
"Uh - you can display them on a wall, vertically? They need to be horizontal to actually summon anything, on the floor or even a table or something. So I can inspect the circles."
poeticterms
"There's no need to apologize. My existence is a closely guarded secret, and you are from a foreign dimension. It was a reasonable assumption to make."
A pair of holographic circles appear in midair, oriented vertically and facing the two daeva, decorated with semirandom arrangements of words, lines, and polygons in a variety of colours. They are minimally different - enough for one to summon an angel and the other a demon, but apart from that, functionally identical.
A pair of holographic circles appear in midair, oriented vertically and facing the two daeva, decorated with semirandom arrangements of words, lines, and polygons in a variety of colours. They are minimally different - enough for one to summon an angel and the other a demon, but apart from that, functionally identical.
ask_nicely
Adana peers at these circles.
Then she slooooowly turns to look at Cam. "You are as unbound as I am," she says blankly. "Aren't you."
Then she slooooowly turns to look at Cam. "You are as unbound as I am," she says blankly. "Aren't you."
