"Huh. Well, I'm sorry it didn't work. I think that might mean there are certain kinds of devils you don't get to be but I'm not sure that was on your agenda anyway. 

If Security does their jobs you shouldn't - need martial arts training? Though I'm sure they'll help if you want."

"It seems important to 'truly-living-in' Golarion that I - stop mentally living in a place where major injuries can't be healed and result in permanent decreases in quality of life.  I expect martial arts training to help with that, if it's the kind of training that you wouldn't do in dath ilan because consequences."

He's going to learn that first, get over the simple shock of inflicting and receiving physical violence; and then come back to the question of how he feels about violently physically subduing Carissa, given that it means something deep and positive to her and her sexuality.

- nod. "Makes sense. And I guess we might eventually want to go places not surrounded by bodyguards, once Nidal's defeated, and any other gods that need it."

"That thought had not particularly occurred to me.  I think that's more a question of having endless spellsilver and enchanters to make our defenses, rather than being able to punch harder than anything that tries to punch us or, you know, toss a dozen fireballs at us... which I am not really seeing the punching thing helping with, but what do I know."

"My bedtime should be soon.  Did you want - to try the heating stone yourself, while my handy healing is around?"

"Yes, I do."

Keltham hands it over to her.

"Probability you do this on the first try?  I've got mine but it'll be overridden by your probability as soon as you say it."

" - thirty percent? It wouldn't be a test to be Security if most people with the relevant combat experience could do it on the first try, or even if they could mostly do it on the tenth."

"Huh.  Fair point.  I was at seventy, so if you don't do it I'll know I was undercorrecting for Carissa being less exceptional in this quality relative to Golarion security wizard candidates than she'd be in dath ilan."

"I do bet I won't ask you to take it off at any point in the ten minutes, just, I bet I slip up at the cantrip at some point."

And she tries it. 

There is something there, even if Keltham's not the kind of entity that can understand it, the sharpness of it, the ways that every instant becomes momentous and significant, the parts of her mind she can feel come alive as she tries to marshal more of herself towards the task than she ordinarily could.

It's awful, of course, but she doesn't mind, she really doesn't, she wishes Keltham could have this -

She loses the cantrip six minutes in. Doesn't ask him to stop, just makes a small sad sound and tries a different cantrip. Holds that one until the end.

"Do you want healing on that?"

Why does he always have so many questions. 

Noncommital sound.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I shouldn't have asked you anything, I should have noticed there was something I wanted without you prompting me to check that within myself, I still haven't been out of my Lawful Good world for two weeks okay."

"Let's try you out on a different task that requires concentration, while you're in pain."

He'll attach the heating stone somewhere, turn it on, and see if that impacts her skill.

Carissa is - confused, for a little while, until she puts together - oh, he thought that was hot, watching her in pain. That makes sense. That makes the whole attempt much better, somehow, if Keltham was enjoying it - it's like Abrogail petting her and telling her she suffered beautifully -

- also, she can at this point make him apologize for being Lawful Good just with noncommittal noises, which is progress, if not nearly as good as him actually being Evil.

She will do her tired and distracted best to please.

Him seeing her in pain will more than make up for any hitches in her skill, when it comes to succeeding in her task.

(Any unorchestrated reactions there, at this relatively low level of awful pain?)

Yes! Getting your Carissa extremely tired from ten minutes of very difficult magic practice is a good way to get her to forget to overthink everything about her life and reactions and relationship!

He is really really happy, and will tell her so, once she's all finished, and he's taken off the heating stone from her and healed her.  Carissa in so much pain with her hips writhing as she tries to serve him, is the hottest thing that there is, and he's proud of owning her, and he felt powerful for making her do this, in pain, just because he wanted it, and he's proud of himself for having done some of the work on reshaping her with pain to naturally express feelings again, and he's so in love with her and he doubts any other woman will ever be able to compete.

If this is something that's in Asmodeus's utilityfunction and Asmodeus helped Keltham get it for Asmodeus's own purposes, Keltham still acknowledges the favor owed.

Ending the day like this was the correct decision, including the part where he went through some self-inflicted pain he'd been putting off and now doesn't have to put off anymore.  He feels generally better, and though it's not a promise and only time will resolve the prediction-market, he predicts good skill for his next day's work on the Project.

You know what would be nice, is if it was someone's job to tell Carissa telepathically if this was actually a good outcome or if she's just absurdly susceptible to people saying nice things while they hurt her. Abarco didn't say any nice things while he hurt her.

Probably it's fine. 

"Not sure you said proud of owning me. Before."

"Probably not.  But Abrogail's letter to me called you my possession a lot and, you know, fine.  If that means I get to keep you."  He boops her on the nose.  "Socially_constructed-imaginary-ownership_tag pointing to Keltham.  If any food crops grow on you, nobody else gets to eat them."

She beams at him wordlessly for a while. 

She is pretty sure that is actually quite good news for the project and doesn't just seem like that because aforementioned susceptibility to people who are nice while they hurt her. 

"Love you. Love you so much. Not totally sure you understand, still, but - yes. Imaginary ownership tag points to Keltham and you'd be - terrified, by all that means - but 's good. 's really good."

"Any parts I don't already know about need to be spelled out and agreed to by me before they take effect.  Knowing this, any terror that needs to be handled at that time is my future self's problem."

"...unless there is still cause for my present self to be terrified given that, in which case you should notify me so; the Law governing these matters does tend to imply that, if I would predictably panic later, I should panic now.  Problem #6 on conservation of expected evidence, emotional conjugation thereof."

"Should no such further notification be required, however, you are permitted to just cuddle instead of replying."

Snuggle. "Yes, course. It's not - stuff you're supposed to do, anyway, just - stuff that wouldn't get you kicked out of any cities, because people would see the imaginary-tag and go, ah, well, in, that case, it's all right - I'm not making any sense, am I? All my sense goes and flies away when you hurt me enough. No terror. You don't need to be scared."

Good good.  There shall be additional snuggles then.

In time Keltham shall stagger off somewhat tiredly to his proper bed; the thought that he could also just go to sleep in his cuddleroom will not, in fact, occur to him.

Her boyfriend is a ridiculous alien.

But one who said that he considered himself to owe Asmodeus a favor, if Asmodeus helped him get this.

She puts herself together and drags herself out of bed.

"Cookie from Snack Service.  Apparently you recently had some sort of unanswered wish or question that I can help you with, somehow.  Not my curse, me."