The Midnight Sun

Maelik sighed and took her hand in his, turning it palm up and spreading her fingers out, he pondered squinted, making absolutely sure that he knew where he would begin. Then he brought his tail blade to bear, slowly encroaching upon the desired cutting zone until it sliced deep into her hand, carving a thin lined design of a pentagram in her flesh. Following that he did much the same to his own right hand and pressed it into hers, muttering archaic syllables under his breath.

He'd offer his left hand to Arya in case she'd like to join in and should she decide to participate then he'd enact the same ritual to her. Regardless of whether the paladin joined or not he'd move on to the next step and levy his tail once again, only this time it hovered just in front of the woman's chest. Like a hot knife through butter his blade would slide into her chest, strangely enough it drew no blood but every iota of the pain would not be lost, in fact it would be required.

His mutterings grew more deep and he now began to add the names of the crows into the mix. Suddenly rings of sickly red light would begin to twirl around the group and more were soon to follow. Jun (and perhaps Arya as well) would be able to seething sensation deep in their soul. A constant hungering rage that sought to tear down the walls of sanity and wreak its bloodthirsty vengeance upon any and all creatures.

For the mortals it would be maddening, it was an endless vortex of writhing hate, simmering frustrations and barely contained murderous intent and that was just brushing the surface. The two girls would find themselves floating in spiritual bodies at the very edge of this maelstrom and at the center was Maelik. He seemed to be for more sinister looking in this realm than normal, almost twice as large with even more wicked spikes and scales so dark that they siphoned away the light itself. One beckoning claw called for them to delve even deeper into the hostile blizzard so that they could stand next to him pointing and the inferno that blazed in the core.

"Come closer..." the monstrous creature rumbled, "pull that which you desire from the flames, should you hunger it will grant your deepest darkest wish."

Lum'Valia gave a little gasp, when she saw that Maelik's ritual involved stabbing. She almost stopped it right there, but the girls seemed fine. Instead she focused her attention on Jeffery. She gasped when he removed his helmet, then let out little squee. Kissing his cute little face, booping hisadorable little nose, and rubbing his pwecious wittle tummy wummy. She may have said these comments aloud.

When the ritual was finished and Jun returned from her spiritual journey the blood that poured from both their hands would evaporate and the woman's wounds would seal with with a 'sglorp' sound. Maelik didn't get up from his seated position as Jun went to embrace her bird friend, he was too occupied in finalizing the permanency of the crow. In his left hand was an ethereal strand of some kind, a barely visible ribbon of soul, Jun's soul to be precise. He wove it around some thick dark substance in his right hand and with unbroken concentration he completed the final step.

With a grunt the demon would bring himself to his feet and pass along the end result to Jun, a black gem about the size of her thumbnail.

"So... Here it is, a portion of your soul is contained in this small rock. Should it break no harm will come to you but the bird will most likely be forced back into the abyss and we'll have to do this all over again." He'd try to offer a smile at Jun and of course that led to him offering her his hand.

"Sorry you had to go through with that, I'm not really the best choice when it comes to these sorts of things but I hope I was helpful. At any rate I'm happy to have allowed you to see your friend again."

His hand faltered at that last part but he kept it as firm as his (admittedly shaky) smile, for some reason he felt that he wasn't allowed to shake Jun's hand and holding his out was making him extremely uncomfortable.

"Glad to be of assistance... friend?"

Lum rubs Jeffery's belly. The ritual evidently went well, Jun looked fine and her crow was back. Back, and gesturing at her, she wondered why. Still petting the imp she speaks.

"I am glad everyone turned out so well. Thank you for helping her Maelik."

The demon was taken a bit aback by the sudden embrace and his arms went wide as Jun took him in with her hug, to be honest it felt strange to be given a hug rather than doing the hugging himself. Very strange.
Slowly he wrapped his arms around the girl as well, his hug getting tighter and tighter as time went on.

"I'm not used to being spoken to that way Jun, assertion was always something that I put out rather than received but... Thank you." At this point his hug was beyond the point of suffocation and was verging into the realm of bone snapping, there may already be a few vertebra out of place.

Should Jun somehow slip free or ask to be released Maelik would move on to hugging the ever loving crap out of the bird and then moving on to Arya and lastly Lum, each hug becoming more constricting than the last.

"I've never had friends before I came to this plane... It's a really nice feeling."

Looking up from an invoice, Naoki considers the door with a raised eyebrow. She had deliberately cleared a few hours to complete the finance work, and the rhythmic knocking matched no code of hers. Who could this be?

Standing, she sets the invoice down atop a pile of its fellows, and checks her appearance. Since she hadn’t been planning on going anywhere or having any meetings, she chose to wear something comfortable, but not necessarily the mostly visually pleasing or insulating. An unremarkable black skirt, with a simple cotton shirt. Hm. Hmph. Whoever it is would have to cope. She hopes that the knocker isn’t going to ask her to go do something elsewhere.

The orange crystal lantern of the previous day’s painting excursion has replaced the office’s chandelier and now hangs just above the desk. There, it does an excellent job of keeping the room warm. Perhaps uncomfortably so, for those who are dressed for the wintry outside, or dislike warm climates. However, Naoki enjoys the dry heat, as it allows her to wear not very much at all, and not find herself chilly, as she so often does.

Figuring that Reese would have notified her if the visitor was someone irregular or dangerous, and shelving her preoccupation, Naoki moves over to the door, and opens it without fanfare, or any particular demeanor.

Upon noticing Kate, standing there in the doorway, Naoki adopts a demeanor, one of pleasant surprise, and cheerfulness. Brightening visibly, she moves as if to step forward, but upon noticing Kate’s carried package, reconsiders, and instead steps backward, out of the doorway.

Waving a hand inward, she speaks, “Kate! Come in, how are you?”

(To clarify, there are currently no anti-magic effects in operation within the office that would disrupt minor, non-aggressive magics.)

“No, not at all. There isn’t anything that would be of higher priority than you. Careful about the wet- ...”

The words die on her lips as the box touches down on the desk. Naoki envisions the ink of next month’s (botched) budget overview being smeared and pressed into the desk by the pressure of the box. Hm. Well. Saves her the trouble of marking it as incorrect and not to be used, she supposes.

Dismissing the thought, Naoki shuts the door by backing into it, making sure that the locks click back into operation. She approaches Kate at the desk, and without hesitation, receives the cloak, instinctually draping it over her lower right arm, hood facing outward. At Kate’s suggestion, she glances down at it, shifting her focus for the first time since the door was opened.

“Strange…”

Glancing back up, Naoki notices Kate’s expectant gaze. Hardly one to miss such a facial cue, she suspects shenanigans. However, she opts to play along, tail flicking with curiosity as she turns back down to the hood.

“Maybe you’ve caught some sort of irritant in your cowl. Some manner of plant, perhaps... There are probably a lot of leaves that would cause irritation, if one found its way into your hood. If it wasn’t so cold outside, I might make a joke about a bee in your bonnet…”

With her free hand, Naoki carefully tugs at the peak of the hood, aiming to uncover any objects that might be hidden within without Even though she expects some surprise, she can’t help but hold the thing up to her face, simultaneously curious to discover whatever it might be and to make the best of whatever joke is planned at her expense. It wouldn’t be anything harmful, right?

Out of the hood fell a small, glowing violent sphere of light with translucent wings. The slightest twinkle sound could be heard as the fairy fell from the hood. Instantly it tried to zip about like an insect, but was instead plucked up by Naoki. When she picked him up, the glow that defined it intensified.