hadriel | ♫ text

Demons do this shit a lot?
So he was a shapeshifter cat or just a normal cat?
Nah, it's cool.
That ring sounds useful.
I would love to see a cat balloon.
He came cheap?
That's why you go into business for yourself.
Yeah, it sounds like it would.
Mind control? No thanks.
How do I build up my mental stamina?
Sounds like it.

yeah. demons fuckin blow. a ton of jobs we take on end up stemming from demons somehow.
theyre bad news.
idr the details but something happened and he got bodyswapped w. a cat.
we helped him get his body back but then he immediately bailed on us so all in all he was just a freeloader who squatted on our crew until we saved his ass and then he ditched.
lmao. i did. i got the fuck out of there and me kyna and tucker started our own guild. wed been doin that for almost a year when the door yanked us back here.
tbh the only way i know how to level that shit up is to have it used against u. i dont recommend that.
but other than trial by fire idt theres a way to do it.
knowing the magic urself might help too? i specialize in enchantment and illusion so thats prob part of why i have a leg up but idk. no way of knowing really.

Do you kill them a lot or just fight them?
That's what I've heard.
Seriously? What an asshole.
Doing well, right?
Yeah, that sounds like it would suck.
I've always been stubborn. That might help.
Then maybe it's time for more lessons.

both. demons are tricky to kill but they dont tend to learn their lesson so usually killing is the only option.
but yeah the guilds doin well. took off faster than we anticipated but in retrospect im not fuckin surprised.
the guild system back home is twelve kinds of fucked up. i could rant abt that for years so ill spare u.
dont take this the wrong way but im not going to teach u any enchantment spells.
most of them are too advanced for u anyway but that type of magic is a slippery slope.
tldr is its mind control. no one needs that.
anyway my comment earlier was kind of a joke. i doubt ull have much need for mental fortitude against that kind of shit.
its rare even where im from.

So there are a lot of demons where you're from?
That's because you and Tucker are good at what you do.
Thanks for that.
So if you're not gonna teach me any enchantment spells, what kinds of spells can you teach me?
You never know.
Especially here.

yeah.
the average person doesnt have to deal w. em too often but i do in my line of work.
i can teach u anything except enchantment.
heres a question. what kind of shit do u want to be able to do w. ur magic?
y do u want to learn it in the first place?

Occupational hazard.
Just like bloodspray is one of mine.
Okay.
I want to be able to defend myself.
Maybe fight back a little.
I want to learn it because it's interesting, it lets me spend time with my friend, and because I think that I could be good at it.

ig technically but im not sure if its still an occupational hazard if u go into dealing w. demons on purpose.
its less a sidebar hazard and more just the job.
i dont go out on jobs too much anymore but i usually go if theres gonna be demons.
hm. ok. good place to start.
id say theres not much need for defense here but then the null happened and that all went to shit.
anyway u r good at it.
theres a school of magic devoted to defense actually. its called abjuration. idk much abj magic. sorry.
the offensive schools are like uh evocation is the main one then theres conjuration and necromancy which can sometimes be offensive.
kynas the evocation expert but i know some shit. i can teach u more of that.
most of my magic isnt meant to be purely offensive tho. im crowd control. lol.
ig i could just give u a list of my spells if u want.

That's smart.
Save yourself for the really gnarly shit.
Let the little people handle the lesser jobs.
And the Null will happen again.
Thanks.
I'd appreciate it.
And then I could choose from there?

lmao. i wouldnt call the rest of my guild the little ppl.
since im technically guildmaster im more useful stayin behind. im better at magic than most of the guild but that doesnt mean im better in the field.
its not like im in peak physical condition or anything. im a one trick pony.
plus i just like guildmaster shit better. i like runnin shit. training newbies. dealing w. clients. that kind of shit.
and i get to swoop in for dramatic rescues sometimes. lol. thats fun too.
yeah they will. but i think we got time at least.
gimme a sec on that list.

[It takes him a little while, but he does eventually drum up a spell list, which he sends along. Good luck, George.]

obvs thats missin the gritty details but an overview should work.
lmk what u wanna learn or if u have qs.

I guess that makes sense.
I'm just the type who'd like to be out there more.
Like during the Null invasion.
I knew I was going to be most helpful at the Clinic, but I still wanted to be out there.
Dramatic rescues sound like fun!
Ok.
[she waits (mostly) patiently for the list]

I know I should say cure wounds.
But I'm gonna say chromatic orb.
Or why not both?

hey ur prefs are important when it comes to what ur gonna be most useful doin.
doesnt matter what ur skills r if u hate what ur doin.
if u want to be out doin shit and u dont suck bad enough to be a liability go for it. its ur decision.
ok fun was the wrong word. my bad.
like its fun sure but if the situation is dire enough that a team needs me to swoop in i guarantee im not walking into anything fun.
its typically nbd bc again im better at magic than most so cleanup isnt too rough.
but if theyre calling me in someone is hurt or dying or the team is trapped somewhere or w.e. a million other terrible scenarios.
what i meant was i like getting to do that.
and i like getting to go out when im needed but im glad its not my regular gig anymore.
anyway yeah i can teach u both.
chromatic orb might be a lil easier for u to learn rn. cure wounds is a diff kind of magic we havent covered yet.
o i shouldve mentioned. idk when or if ull get good enough to cast blight but that spell doesnt work on the null.
theyre machines. it only works on natural shit.
tellin u that bc i think ud like that spell. lol.

I don't hate the Clinic.
I like it. I'd like to learn more.
It's just that I feel like a liability.
Like everyone else is out risking their asses and there I am, nice and safe.
The problem is, I do suck.
I can admit it.
And it makes sense to like that.
You're helping people.
That's a good thing.
You can? Cool.
I'm always up for more and different magic.
I'll get good enough.
Sucks that it won't work on the Null, though.
From the description, yeah I would. ;)

kiddo ur still young. uve got time to be better at shit.
it took me a long time to get to where im at now.
and takin risks on the front lines isnt always the best way to contribute. theres no shame in hangin back and playin support.
lvl of risk isnt a good measure of whether or not ur useful.
anyway weve gone on this tangent long enough.
tell me abt betty.

I have nothing but time.
I guess. I just wanna do what I can to help.
However that is.
[there's a pause]
Betty was another Reaper.
She was there the day I died.
She'd been a Reaper since the 20s.
But she was so.
Full of life.

was?
y past tense?

[there's a long pause]
She hitched a ride on someone else's afterlife.
Never saw her again.

[Harlan has the barest awareness that this is probably something that George doesn't want to talk about.

But she offered it in the first place, and remembering a friend is, at worst, bittersweet, so he's going to press.]

thats something u can do?

[George thought of her as more than a friend, but good luck getting that out of her]

No.
The afterlife kind of.
Exploded.

uh.
come again?

It exploded.
I don't have a better word for it.
It was a flash of light and some wind.
All other afterlives sort of faded into lights that went into the sky.
Not this one.

what do u mean afterlives? idt i get how this works.

In my world, everyone has a soul.
Reapers take the soul before they die.
Then we send them to the afterlife.
No one knows what it is because we don't get to go there.
Not until we nab the lucky millionth soul and stick them with the job of being a Reaper.

right. i got that much.
but u said afterlives. plural.

We don't know where they're going.
Maybe everyone has their own personalized heaven.
Maybe they all wind up in the same place.
We just don't know.

that's okay!

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