He tucks his arm around her shoulders and drapes a wing over her.

"Gonna be okay," he murmurs.

Snuggle.

"I--don't speak your language. Maybe I should try to fix that."

"I can try'n teach you."

"Might help me look more like a person."

"Okay. So - I'm not sure where to start, exactly..."

"Neither am I," she says. "I guess we'll just have to improvise.

Meanwhile the rest of the demons are gathering in the common area to discuss the problem of Mezeidai.

Talyr and Izaneth definitely aren't the first to show up, but neither are they the last.

Once everyone's arrived, Jiorthkir stands. "So. I believe everyone knows why we're here."

There is a low murmur of agreement.

"I came here thinking I'd hang out with a friend and have a little fun, and instead I find out you're raping a demon," says Izaneth. "It's fucked up. And, like - you kinda couldn't have known - but that almost makes it more fucked up?"

"I should check everyone else, just in case."

There is a brief stunned pause.

"Shit, you're right," someone says.

"Don't you think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves?" another one wonders.

Izaneth picks that last one out of the crowd and raises his eyebrows at him. "Uh, what?"

"Everyone's so freaked out, but does it really count as a demon? I mean. We throw away half-breed fetuses all the time. Maybe we should actually give some thought to whether it's a person and not overdeveloped medical waste."

"...wow," says Izaneth, in a slightly stunned tone. "Now that's fucked up."

He raises an eyebrow. "If half-demons are morally relevant, then what are you doing here? You...have noticed that the brain is pretty much developed by six months, right?"

"I wasn't planning to stick around for that part," he says. "And I don't honestly care that much about the stages of brain development, like, whatever, I'm fine not thinking of babies as people until they're born, seems like the most convenient place to draw the line, but this is a girl I've seen and talked to and hugged and comforted after what you guys put her through, and I cannot begin to tell you how fucked it is that you're standing there arguing that I'd better not think of her as a person if I want to be okay with the premise of this operation? Like, okay, maybe the premise of this operation is a little fucked too, because sometimes you end up fucking raping somebody? I get that this is awful, I'd be wrecked about it in your place, but you don't get to define away somebody's personhood to make yourself feel better!"

He starts to say something else. Someone else punches him in the face. "Shut the fuck up, Erxharin. Even if there's any doubt, do you seriously think that risking raping someone is a good idea? We've got fucking enough on our shoulders as it is."

Izaneth shrugs a 'yeah, my thoughts exactly' kind of shrug.

"Definitely have him check," someone says.

"What could the odds possibly be?" someone else wonders.

"Who the fuck cares, they're apparently high enough," someone else snaps.

"I don't think it's remotely likely I'm going to turn anything up, I just know I won't be able to live with myself until I know for sure," says Talyr.

"Yeah, exactly," the last one agrees.

Izaneth shivers slightly. "The only reason I'm not a rapist right now is luck," he says, half to himself.

Talyr puts a comforting hand on his arm.

"Maybe rub it in slightly less," someone suggests.

"I think how we feel about it is not the issue here," someone else points out.

"Still. It was only luck, it's not like he's better than us."

"I really think that's not a productive frame of mind."