"I am, thank you. Tell Kilea I'll visit when my summoner allows it."

"This doll will relay that. Now go, serve your part as this doll does its own."

Holy shit this girl has a lot of baggage. Though it seems maybe-plausible that everyone has a lot of baggage after living for centuries.

"—cool." She takes her suitcase and heads to the elevator, apparently indifferent to whether Scythe wants to come or go back. If your default is being a slave in hell, then plausibly it is healthy for others to be indifferent to you sometimes, let you redesign yourself.

Mari will have questions if she comes but otherwise they can wait.

Cytherea comes. She has the face of someone considering her words. 

"That was the second apparently random person to have words for you. Do you want to share any relevant and useful information about it?"

"Yes, but not in the hallway where randoms can overhear."

In the elevator then.

Cytherea follows. 

"Silver is an old flame of mine who used to summon me recreationally. I called her and asked for a favor from her to get to Hawthorne because I wouldn't be able to get the portal on my own. Since you were there she didn't have to do anything. As for the dolls - they all talk to each other, with sending, they're practically one person, they know everything that goes on in Hawthorne Academia.

Kilea - can I explain her in the room, it'll take a little explanation."

"I see. And I'm glad I've been polite to them then. A sending hivemind sounds high mana overhead, I bet they have some kind of mitigating factor. It's surprising on some level that you can get that far with an R0 spell, but low-effort any-distance instant directed-at-anyone faster-than-speech communication is amazing. It sounds like I'm talking about the internet when I say that, but the internet can't quite match the feat that you seem to be speaking of."

Post elevator-ding, Marianne knocks sharply on 1273. She does a full slow twirl, hands touched together above her head like a ballerina, measuring out exactly five seconds — at which point she opens the door and dives into her bed, fawning into it. Her face hurts like shit.

She sends Isabel a very curt summary of Cytherea information; she is busy and doesn't need more to think about.

Cytherea gets the door behind her and sits down at the table. 

"So, Kilea. 

Kilea was one of my targets, back when I was younger and dumber. She's a member of staff here at Hawthorne, one of the administrators. I was sent by Red Mother to get some information from her about the students here, schedules mainly, finding when people were off-campus so Red Mother could kidnap them as sacrifices. I got into a relationship with Kilea, stole her wardstone from around her neck, snuck into her office - but the security was stronger than I'd expected and I ended up soultrapped. 

Kilea - argued for me, said I was bound by contract, that my alternative to serving Red Mother was souldeath. 

I don't think that argument was really what swayed the senior staff - they cared more about the information they could get from me - but they stayed my execution while they went through my memories, and the delay was long enough for Red Mother's people in Hawthorne to negotiate my release in a prisoner exchange. Red Mother… had a personal liking for me.

After my release I started acting as an unofficial go-between for Hawthorne and Red Mother's cult. Like a diplomat, since I was obviously useless as an infiltrator. Kilea forgave me. I didn't understand it. Still don't, really.

We still talk sometimes. I don't know what we are, now. It's complicated.

The Frivolous Society of Hêlak is the local branch of the Hespatians. If they knew I was here they'd relay to Red Mother. And then... things would get complicated. She doesn't actually have any hold on me. But you're likely to get an offer from Hêlak to join once they hear you've summoned me. I recommend you turn them down."

"Wow, I thought my life was complicated but am going to have to revise that opinion now. Is there a reason you're assuming I know who Red Mother is? You can sit or otherwise make yourself at home."

Marianne closes the suitcase handle (warm with sweat), then kneels to unzip the suitcase. Did Scythe pack anything besides laptops-books-stuffies?

"Red Mother is the head of a Hespatian family that does sex magic, ritual sacrifices for blood power, and really takes the "family" thing seriously. She's done a sacrificial ritual that lets her manipulate flesh. She's rank five, at least what of her power I've seen. She's wanted for a whole bunch of disappearances over the years; she's not the worst Hespatian, that would be Whisper or maybe Kain, though Kain's retired now, but she's up there."

Cytherea has packed what was required, as well as Lily and Marianne's toiletries and, apparently, lunch for herself from the apartment fridge. 

"Yeah, they don't sound like our cup of tea. Disguises: I don't think we have anything for you. I will give you some kisses if you see something that helps and you can requisition more. I would like very much to avoid the attentions of another entrails-for-coats gal."

Marianne puts 50₭ on top of Cytherea's lunch and slides it across the floor towards her.

"We have been instructed to work on implements — I don't suppose you have infernal wisdom on the subject, or failing that infernal semi-informed opinions?"

Cytherea takes the lunch and the money. 

"This is a different face from my last already. With your permission I'll continue going by a false name to everyone but you - Silver knows me, but she'll keep her mouth shut, as will the dolls and Kilea.

I don't know much about implements, but I do know you could get a metallurgist - that's a kind of elementalist witch - to help you with shaping anything made of metal. Stone is trickier."

Lily looks up from her notes, opens her mouth. Closes it.

"We should get Cytherea something to sleep on. I'm assuming she sleeps."

"I can buy it myself on Earth if you don't mind my sleeping here."

"Bro," she says. "You do not need my permission to use a different name."

—she was going to make a remark about this being America, but 'this' is actually subterranean Greenland. Her brain hadn't caught up with that yet and it is a little lonely and homesick now! (Perceive for a long moment whatever pain and clarity the feeling has to offer, let it see that it cannot elicit so much as a flinch, then grind it into the pavement until it is no more.)

"And I am cool with it but Isabel would also have to be." This is exerting more pressure than she'd prefer, ideally she would get an answer in private, but Isabel will have to get over it.

"I'm fine with it. Actually, I don't need my bed; you can use it, at least at night. More convenient for everyone."

"Thank you." She takes another bite of her sandwich.

Blessed Isabel, solving the problem herself. Marianne walks over and sits her chin atop her head.

"Do you have any books you can bear to part with?" she says, vibrating into Isabel's hair.

Lily hands Marianne half the stack. "Tell me when you conk out for the night so I can get the books back."

"Hm." She puts the stack back and stands up. "On a moment's consideration, we should absolutely not be reading the same material. Can I give your notes a once-over?"

Lily shifts over and turns her book so Marianne can see her notes.

"Okay, so you have it sorted by field rather than book. Good choice. Four to six of them at a cursory glance. Professor Ravi did not... give us a rubric. Is it that we can do anything so long as the tool can pass tests, do we need to add every upgrade in the book? It's pretty common to not use all of textbooks. I think we'd have to ask someone who's actually attended her lectures."

Seducing people is what Cytherea is purpose-built for, in the same way a dragon is the exemplar of destruction. Marianne is not comfortable with asking her to do that, especially since Mari can also charm winningly; she's just not in the mood for reordering herself to allure a brand new person.

You don't need to seduce a whole freaking person for homework help!