A Wraith Walks Into An Office

Everything that happened to him since he'd been on this island convinced William that Maria had to be dealt with. Not that he hadn't contemplated it before, but finding ways to deal with demons in the normal world was a lot harder, and tended to be looked on with suspicion. He hadn't needed people checking him out too closely.

Besides, he'd never been able to tell which things were scams and which were real, and Maria certainly wasn't going to help him control herself. The most effective methods appeared to involve actually removing the demon from the possessed, usually via exorcism, and the wraith could not use that method without killing himself in the process.

He'd been doing his own research ever since he'd arrived. But it had been difficult, to say the least. The demoness in his head did not really give him room to think, and he couldn't make any detailed notes because she just burned them. Besides, there was only so much he could do on his own, even with all the library resources. He really had no idea where to start looking.

So he'd decided to make use of the fact that he didn't sleep to consult with someone with more experience dealing with occult matters than he had. He was considering maybe taking classes as well, but he would rather talk to the professors one on one first. Narrow things down.

This Professor Zero was first on his list. He hadn't made any appointments, hoping to just catch people during their office hours - he didn't want to get too in-depth with anyone until he had tested the waters. But he still knocked politely on the door, even though it was wide open.

"Professor Zero? Dr. Brown. I am a - prospective student, you could say. I had a few questions..." he looked at the woman fixing her arm and added, "if you are not already occupied?"

William frowned slightly at the professor's comment about his demon problem. But his mask of politeness quickly returned. He was not pleased about his issue being common knowledge - he would have kept her hidden if he could. Unfortunately, Maria had a mind of her own, and since demons were plentiful on this island, there was no way he could convince her to stay hidden. Especially when she could cause him more aggravation by coming out.

The only good thing about this was that she generally used up all her time very quickly. The wraith had made sure that she would not be able to show herself while he talked with the professor - another reason he had not made an appointment. But there was no point in denying the truth. People would find out about Maria sooner or later, and it would've been hard to get advice about dealing with her without bringing her up eventually.

"A demon problem, yes. How much have you heard about it? I am looking for... assistance of sorts." He felt a little uncomfortable as he moved into the slightly messy room. His hands itched to tidy up the folders, but he managed to resist the urge. Then the professor stood up - he towered over the wraith, and William felt a brief flash of terror he hoped didn't show on his face. He sat down on a chair across from the other man. At least he felt a little safer with both of them sitting.

When the strange purple thing landed on him, he looked at it placidly, fussing with his gloves. He wasn't nervous, it just seemed a little undignified to have someone's pet sitting on his shoulder. "This- creature sniffing me belongs to you?"