hadriel | Video 3

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Video 3

[the video opens on Laura sitting on the edge of her bed, legs crossed at the knee. she's dressed and madeup in full eighties regalia, but her expression is more on the serious side than playful.

she's seen multiple posts about Caedra and has learned from their mistakes. so she's playing as nicely as she can]

Look, I get why people are so worried about Caedra going on a rampage and trying to kill a lot of people. It makes sense to be scared about that. But what if I had a way to keep her from being able to kill people in the first place?

[she holds up her right hand, a ring on her ring finger]

This ring keeps Caedra from being able to kill me. So I'm willing to let someone who knows about magic to study it and try to duplicate its magic so that other jewelry and trinkets can be enchanted with the same magic and passed out to everyone. That way, she wouldn't be able to kill anyone, even if she does decide to play nicely this time and not attack everyone.

I'm willing to turn the ring over to anyone who thinks they can figure out a way to use it to keep others safe. All I ask is that I get the ring back before she defrosts.

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[she takes the ring back with a slightly shaking hand and watches him cut open his jeans to expose the wound.

she gapes as he heals his wound with only a touch and doesn't know what to think of the scars present on his leg. Laura had done things to hurt herself in the past, but none of them left lasting marks]

Okay. Okay. If you're sure?

[...magic is really impressive]

I guess so. Where do we go from here?

Super sure. Do you think that was the first time I've been stabbed? That didn't even hurt.

[Well, it did, but he has a high pain tolerance, so it's fine.]

Hm, well...

[He hadn't thought this far ahead, actually. This was his one plan. If the ring had stopped Laura from stabbing him, that would've given him something to work with, but as it stands? The ring may as well just be a typical hunk of metal.]

Does it do anything besides protecting you from evil shit?

[somewhat doubtfully] All right. I'll take your word for it.

[the Black Lodge and the Red Room never make anything that easy. she would know. she's been there in her dreams, thanks to a painting she was given]

I don't think so? It kept me from being possessed and it kept BOB and Caedra from being able to kill me.

Right.

[...Yeah, he's coming up empty, unfortunately.]

This doesn't work like anything I'm familiar with, sorry to say. The best we can do is keep experimenting with it, but I doubt I'd be able to replicate it.

[But, hm, he has one more idea.]

It's possible that the ring is attuned to you, meaning it'll only work when you're wearing it. We could try to test that, if you're up for it. I can cast a spell on you that'll be dangerous if I let it run its course, but I'll cancel it before that happens. I won't let it hurt you. That said, tell me to fuck off if you're not comfortable. We don't have to do this.

[at the news that he won't be able to replicate the ring's protections, she breathes a disappointed sigh]

Damnit. And I was really hoping that something could be worked out.

[she considers his idea for a moment, then nods]

Let's do this.

[she holds her hand out for the ring]

[He nods and hands over the ring, considering whether or not he should give her warning before casting the spell. It would be the polite thing to do, that's for sure. Under normal conditions, he would spell it all out for her, but, well. They're supposed to be testing a magical item. Explaining the spell would assure her that she's not actually in any danger, but if he does that, it could compromise the experiment. He's already gotten her permission to do this, and that has to be good enough.

Once she's got the ring on, he doesn't waste time. He steps out of the way as a massive black cobra rears up behind him, the snake standing tall enough that it has to dip its head to fit under the ceiling. It fans its hood and hisses, specks of venom spraying from its mouth as its muscles tighten, ready to strike.

It's not real, of course. It's an illusion that Harlan can't even see, a fact which always bums him out a little, but it will feel very real to Laura. Assuming the ring lets her see it, that is.

The cobra slams downward toward Laura, its fangs as long as her forearm and its strike lightning fast despite its size. Harlan's hoping that the ring will repel the snake or dispel the illusion, but if it doesn't, the illusion will dissipate before the snake makes contact to do any real damage to her.]

[she slips the ring back onto her right hand ring finger.

and holy shit, that's a big snake. her mouth gapes open and she barely restrains herself from screaming. she's afraid that if she does, or if she makes any sudden movements, it will attack.

she does let out a shriek and scrambles backwards as the cobra moves to attack, but then the cobra vanishes.

her heart is pounding and she raises her hand to her mouth, feeling how fast she'd been breathing]

--holy shit! What was that?

[Harlan feels a little guilty when Laura screams, but at least the spell was effective. That was the point.]

It was an illusion. Are you okay?

[He still can't be sure whether or not the ring had any effect on the spell, but he'll ask about that as soon as he's checked in with her.]

[she's gaping. it's not the first time she's seen magic in action, but she's never seen it used that way]

I--I think so? It was so real.

[she's trying to regain her composure, trying to not be the same scared little girl she was back in Twin Peaks]

[Okay, now he feels a lot guilty.]

I know. I'm sorry. Illusion magic is powerful.

[Her reaction is definitely warranted, especially considering she has no experience with this kind of thing.]

Did the ring do anything?

[it's fine, her heart rate is returning to normal]

Yeah, I'll say.

[no experience whatsoever. and while she may be used to the gods' influencing her once a month, that was something else entirely]

I. . . don't know? I don't think so?

Damn.

[Welp, double guilt that he scared her for no reason, then.]

Maybe it can sense the difference between real danger and fake danger.

[guilt from her, too, because her stupid ring won't behave and give them something useful to work with]

Maybe? Jesus. I hid during the Null attack, so I can't even tell you if it worked then.

[Double damn, though hiding was definitely a smart move.]

Hm... I don't know what else to do with this now, but I know of a spell that might help us out. I'll see if I can learn it. No promises, though. Learning magic here is tough.

[Mostly because he doesn't have access to learning materials.]

[she arrived just before the attack and couldn't defend herself. hiding seemed like the best option]

Okay. I hope that you can figure it out 'cause I'm really worried about what might happen. I've had. . . a bad experience with a demon before. I'd really like it if no one else had to have one here.

[There's something about the way she says that that doesn't sit well with Harlan. It's not his business to pry, but something bad clearly happened to this girl.]

I've had bad experiences too.

[He gives her a very brief but pointed look. He understands, to some degree, even if he doesn't know specifically what she's talking about.]

I'm gonna see if I can do something about Caedra when she wakes up, too. I don't know how effective it'll be, but there's no sense in you worrying about shit you have no control over, okay? We have a month of downtime, at least. Take advantage of that.

[yeah, it probably shouldn't set well with him. but she's not going to talk about it unless pressed and even then, she'll edit heavily]

Really? Huh.

[for a moment, she looks like what she is, a vulnerable seventeen year old girl. but she pulls herself together and again dons the armor of the jaded teenager who knows everything about everything]

Seriously? Isn't that really dangerous? I mean, she's not exactly the friendliest around and that's before someone stuck her in an ice prison.

[Oh, Laura. His heart hurts.]

It is, but I do dangerous shit all the time back home. I've dealt with worse than her. I'll be okay.

[...Well.]

If I'm not, the gods will revive me. I'm better equipped to handle her than most people in this town. I can handle it.

[no one here knows the full story of Laura Palmer. and she plans to keep it that way]

All right, if you say so.

[now that gets an eyebrow raise]

Really? What did you do back home?

I run an adventuring guild. We do shit that's too dangerous for most people to handle, but either not serious enough or too specialized for the cops. Shit like reclaiming magical items to make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands, exterminating dragons from banks, that sort of thing. I've dealt with demons before.

[Harlan's the go-to demon guy around the guild. Unfortunately.]

[she raises her eyebrows]

Seriously? [she whistles] Damn. That's a lot more impressive than most of the other jobs I've heard about around here. How many--how many demons have you taken on?

[because someone needs to stop BOB--her father--before anyone else gets hurt]

[He shrugs.]

Don't give me that much credit. It's an average thing where I'm from.

[It's... really not, especially since Harlan founded one of the first guilds that actually cared about the safety of its adventurers.]

About a dozen at or above Caedra's level, though I had some repeat customers.

What, really? Demons are average where you're from? Holy shit.

[she's imagining BOB and Caedra times by about a million and trying to not gape. because each by themselves are terrible enough]

And you're still alive. [a pause] You are still alive, aren't you?

Guildwork is, and demons sort of are. There's a shitload of 'em, but they don't mess with people very often. When they do, that's where I come in.

[Wait. He should clarify.]

Demons vary a ton, though. Not all of them are as dangerous as Caedra. A bunch of them are just annoying.

[Some aren't even sentient, really. And that question gets a laugh out of him.]

Yeah, I'm alive.

You're lucky that they don't mess with people much. ["I'm not so lucky," goes unsaid]

[she's imagining demons minding their own business. she's trying to, at least]

--annoying? Okay, gotta ask: what do they do that's annoying?

[at least she's funny?]

Okay. Not that I woulda held it against you if you weren't.

Video 3

(cw: self harm)

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