Demons Out Shopping

Invoker

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Shi Mei showed devotion in departing so quickly. Voldegra was aware that this had come with consequences for its vessel. She arrived on Manta Carlos less prepared to represent its interests than she would have liked. Now she was dealing with the problem. This too showed devotion.

The location was called "Back in Black." Through the eyes of its vessel, Voldegra saw this declared upon the windows and the tiny slips of paper attached to the skin coverings displayed inside. The place and the skin coverings were alike. Smooth in shapes and textures, dark of color, and serenely simple in design.

Shi Mei was here to acquire clothing suited for a competent servant representing a powerful master. Her coverings of treated hides and plastic fibers were suited for travel, for fighting, for action. She did not have coverings for speaking, for dealing, for image.

She was preparing to exchange value tokens for a 'turtle neck' and 'slacks,' which would permit both action and image to be satisfied. Voldegra did not understand why the crumpled and faded value tokens in her possession were considered so worthy as crisp and perfect ones, but this was one of the many services of its vessels. It did not need to understand the value tokens or why the attendant with metal implanted in his ears and nose was the one to trade them with, though Voldegra was fairly certain that this place did not belong to him.
 

Kait

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

Chloe had money now.

Not only did Chloe get an allowance as a dependent of the school, but also her father had given her a debit card. The debit card was set up explicitly so that Chloe would spend money with it, or at least that was how she interpreted it. It would gain fifty dollars a day, but if its balance ever exceeded $750 it would drop back down to zero. Or maybe Gabriel was trying to prepare her for some kind of weird concept she’d run into while trying to rule part of hell. Or maybe he was actually insane?

Either way, Chloe was using it to update her wardrobe. Black was her color, that much was certain; her horns and tail matched anything black she wore. A clothing store called “Back in Black” sounded like it would be right up her alley.

As soon as she walked in the door, something felt wrong. The store itself was pretty neat – the few things she could see from the entrance looked promising. Those hats! That jacket! – but something felt wrong. She had that uncanny feeling she sometimes got around her father, that sensation that something like him was nearby. But it definitely wasn’t her father.

Chloe’s eyes scanned the building, but she couldn’t see anyone who looked obviously threatening. At least, nobody looked terribly out of place for an establishment like this on a magic island full of magic creatures. A man who seemed to have a metal endoskeleton showing through gaps in his face approached her: “Are those horns natural?” Awe was in his voice.

“Yeah,” she grinned. “They broke through my skin when I was fifteen.”

“Brutal.” Metal-face-guy worked here, apparently. The rest of the conversation was brief. Chloe assured him that she would let him know if she needed help finding things.
 

Invoker

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

The exchange went as planned. Shi Mei spoke trivial things with the attendant and placed the coverings into the sack slung over her shoulder. Voldegra liked this sack. It contained everything Shi Mei needed to perform her duties. The sack was efficient.

Voldegra's servant looked upon the place once more, seeking anything else she might find of use. When she did so, she saw a mortal. Something about this mortal seemed almost familiar. Not to Shi Mei, who spent only a glance on the mortal's horns and tail before looking past her. The mortal seemed familiar to Voldegra. It was uncertain why. It needed to know. Contact this one. I must know who she is.

Shi Mei stood, tugged her fighting gloves further down her fingers so that the name on her knuckles was not exposed, then walked toward the child. She paused, narrowed eyes as if she were trying to place an identity to the girl. Then spoke. "Do we know each other?"
 

Kait

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

When the big, tattooed, muscular woman approached Chloe, that uncanny feeling got stronger. Chloe took note of the tattoos; there were motifs and patterns there that looked remarkably familiar to her, and they didn’t look quite like normal tattoos. Didn’t her father’s sigil look kind of like that?

Gears started to turn.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met you,” Chloe said, “But those tattoos are pretty neat. I think I’ve seen something like them before. Do they have some kind of… uh, spiritual significance?”

The half-demon extended a hand for the woman to shake. “I’m Chloe.”
 

Invoker

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

Spiritual. A fitting description. Shi Mei's face twisted in ways Voldegra recognized as a smile. "Yes, you could put it that way."

The child put forth her hand for a greeting gesture. Shi Mei clasped it with her own hand, grip solid but not crushing. Voldegra had attempted to perform the hand clasping gesture once. It did not wish to repeat those messy events. "Call me Mei. Just arrived on the island. You live here?"
 

Kait

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

“Yeah – I go to school over at the academy. But I guess this is a nice place to have summer vacation, too.”

When Chloe shook Mei’s hand, there was no mistaking it. Whatever she was feeling, it was coming from this woman. This was the demon she had been feeling. If the things Gabriel told her about demonic plots and politics were true, she would need to be careful around Mei.

“So, what brings you here? Business? Pleasure? Magical accident?” She chuckled. “Seriously, you'd be surprised how common that last one is here.” Fucking magic island, she almost added.
 

Invoker

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

"Business. My sponsor just found the place and wants me to have a look." Voldegra was paying little mind to Shi Mei's speech. It was still trying to fit the Chloe child with the sense of knowing, of having been present with her at some time and place in this world.

Magic. Accident. These words made sense. There had been a book. With its name inside. And this Chloe. Something had been called, but not Voldegra. Past and present fell into place. Her face between the turning of pages, shown only briefly as its name was passed over. Was she the one who called?

Shi Mei looked over Chloe's less human features. She knew what to ask without need to be told. "You deal with magic yourself? Horns look 'pretty neat' on you."
 

Kait

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

“Thanks,” she said. “The weird stuff about my body is all natural, though. It turns out when you cross a human with a demon, you get a stereotypically demonic-looking thing.” Chloe wasn’t about to reveal how little magic she knew. Mei was still kind of a threat, after all.

“There’s plenty of demons running around here, by the way,” she said, then made a show of sniffing the air. “So, you’re not the only one. In fact,” she shrugged, “I don’t have a lot to do today. Anything your ‘sponsor’ wanted you to look for in particular?”

Mei was a threat, but she was also a potential ally. She hoped trying to buddy up to her would be a good idea and not a horrifically stupid one.
 

Invoker

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

Shi Mei's face did the thing with eye parts tilting up to show surprise. Do not be concerned. It is useful that the summoner sees my presence. The tension in the vessel's body was loosened and her smile pulled wider. "It doesn't know much about the island. Demons are a good place to start, though. Let's walk."

Shi Mei took steps toward the door, waiting to see if the Chloe demon child would follow. "You mentioned your parents. Anyone I should know?"
 

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RE: Demons Out Shopping (Chloe)

And so they walked. Chloe could buy things from the store there later. In fact – the sign there said that they were hiring? She had been looking for a summer job…

Should Mei know about her father? “Probably. My dad goes by ‘Gabriel’ here, and he owns a night club called Gomorrah. He could probably beat up Cthulhu and take his lunch money, if he felt like it.” Chloe only felt comfortable making that comment because Cthlulhu didn’t have a real-world counterpart here. She looked it up. “The rest of my family is kind of irrelevant.”

“There are a few other demons and part-demons around here, though. The physical embodiments of the seven deadly sins moved here last year, and I… guess they count? There’s also a teenage succubus named Kaya who thinks her dad is a big deal in hell.” Emphasis on ’thinks.’ “Then there’s a half-demon who can shapeshift, there’s an art teacher from literal hell, and… I guess I could go on for a while if I wanted to.”

Something occurred to her. “You know about the Academy here, right?”
 
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