Winter our discontent (RP)

"What exactly are demons?" Emma felt like she was missing a crucial piece of information here. Several of them, in fact "I know hell exists. But are demons like... primordial evil, like the Bible says? Are they just forces of pure malevolence, or is there more to them? Where they fallen angels? What do they actually want?"

She pauses, not to wait for an answer, but to breathe so she can ask some more: "And does Heaven exist, too? I mean, if Heaven’s real, do you think someone like Persephone's friend could, I don’t know, earn her way into it? Could she somehow get out of the deal that way and not end up in hell?

"Well, I didn't want to assume you didn't know anything" Emma said with the characteristic buoyance in her voice when Yasmine grew impatient with her for merely asking a question. "What about summoning demons? Do the rituals in these books actually work?" she taps on the book she picked up from the shelf "I heard some people made pacts with demons without offering them their souls" she is referring to Yasmine herself, of course. If the Administrator notes were accurate* (and she had no reason to believe they weren't), then Yasmine was more than a simple scholar. She got her hands dirty, and acquired all sort of strange abilities in return.

Emma never said she wanted to make a deal with a demon, but maybe her questions had given her away. Or maybe Yasmine was just good at reading between the lines.

"I was just being curious" she said cautiously "But I do want to see a summoning. A real one. Just to know if it actually works. That kind of thing doesn't just show up on YouTube."

Emma wasn’t that arrogant to think she could pull off anything close to Solomon’s feats. But if the legends were true, and if someone had actually left behind one of those 'containers' he used, some vessel or artifact still out there in the world, maybe she didn’t need to match his wisdom. Maybe she could find a shortcut. She wouldn't ask for a lot. And after all these millennia spent imprisoned, the demons he bound were sure to be more open toward fulfilling her wishes...

"…Sorry. I’m getting carried away" she gathered herself, glancing at Persephone "It’s just...this stuff is fascinating. Like, really fascinating."

Persephone shifts from one leg to another, clearly uncomfortable. As Emma continues to quiz Yasmine about how to find a genie's lamp, of all things, she becomes annoyed. And when Emma finally admits that she's getting carried away, well, Persephone just sighs and mutters, "Um, you think?"

She shakes her head and her shoulders drop in an expression of defeat. She looks to Yasmine and pleads, "Please. I'm here asking for help. I'm bound to a demon by a contract and I want to know how to get out of it. Or, like, what my options are. I don't want to lose my humanity. I don't want to become..." She shudders.

When Yasmine asks about the contract, Persephone frowns and looks away. She sighs. "...No. I... I wasn't in the best place, mentally, when I signed the contract. But now the demon is... demanding I do things... Awful things I don't want to do, and I honestly don't know what happens if I don't do them, or what other options I have. I plan to speak to my...handler today, try to coax some answers out of him. But I'll tell you one thing; my contract may not yet be due, but I'm no longer entirely human. I can...do things, become things, that aren't...that aren't human."

She shakes her head and looks away for a moment, he expression inscrutable. Then she turns back to Yasmine and leans forward, putting a hand on the desk. She speaks with more intensity now, saying, "I'll tell you what. I will find out what I can from my demonic supervisor and then I'd like to return here for your help. What could I offer you in exchange?"

"Do people still end up in Hell for doing bad things?" she wondered aloud, though she expected the usual 'I’m not a priest' reply from Yasmine "Because you might be earning yourself a place just by holding up your end of that contract. Maybe the only way out is to refuse to play their game, even if it kills you, and face whatever judgment comes from the guy upstairs. A moment of weakness might be forgiven. But sending others to Hell by choice? That might be the one sin you don’t get to walk away from"

Persephone listens attentively, nodding in understanding. When Yasmine has finished, Persephone straightens, crosses her arms, and a reflective look spread across her face. "I sense that I won't get out of the contract by winning a theological argument with my patron about the nature of the soul or anything like that. I dunno; my gut tells me that's just sophistry. There was something visceral about agreeing, about willingly signing this contract that made it binding. It felt more like... well, like I imagine magic would feel, or ... maybe... like a force of nature. It's just... gravity. I dunno; I've never tried to resist or defy because it all felt so inevitable... Thank you, Yasmine, for speaking to me about this. If it is OK, I may return in the future to discuss this again. But I'd be willing to compensate you somehow for your time in the future."

She turns to Emma and Benji and says, "So next I'm gonna go talk to my demonic supervisor ...ugh... is 'supervisor' even the right word? That feels so... corporate. Huh, actually, this whole demonic organization feels a lot when I was an intern at the law firm of Wolfram & Hart as an undergrad."

She shrugs and smiles, indicating she feels satisfied with things at the moment.

"Gravity pulls everything down, but people still figured out how to fly"
Emma's stubbornness and willfulness, with the usual hint of arrogance, was also optimistic in a way.

With the conversation wrapping up, she (somewhat reluctantly) let go of the old book she'd been hugging and set it back on Yasmine’s desk.
"Thanks for seeing us" she smiled lightly at her "Your shop, and collection, are really cool. I’ll definitely be dropping by again."

As they stepped out into the street and Persephone mentioned heading off to deal with her demonic supervisor, she gave her a short nod:

"Yes; checking your contract does seem like the right play now."
She paused, looking away from the two of them "I think I’m gonna talk to Kat. Her sugar daddy invited me to some kind of convention."
She didn’t elaborate. She figured 'Sin' believed she and Kat were in the same line of work. Henry was fond of escorts, and she knew from that dinner party she wasn't the first woman to be seen in his company. Or maybe 'Sin' invited her for a different reason altogether? She would have liked to think so, but she didn't exactly leave an impression that she was anything other than an empty airhead [ref] the last time they met.

"You said she was involved in some demon cult, right?" she turned to look back at Pers "I want to see what’s really going on there"

Persephone heads back out and opens up her umbrella, scowling at the rain. She turns to Emma and replies, "Yeah, I guess I’ll go see him now. Maybe get some answers."

When Emma mentions a Kat, Persephone clarifies, saying, "What I said was that Kat had the smell of demonic contracts on her, but she herself was not contractually bound. I think her captivity is of a more mundane sort, you know? Like she has a rich guy who pays her to be his arm candy. And I think HE is the one working with demons."

She sighs and says, "Well I best get to it. Benji, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope to see you again soon. Emma, I’ll text you after I talk to the guy. Take care, hun." She gives Emma a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She steps back, waves to the others, and heads off to visit Wentworth.

Even with an umbrella and a raincoat, the short walk left Emma both chilled and damp. She was relieved to be back in her apartment, and grateful that it was already warm and cozy when she arrived (though she dreaded to think what her electric bill would look like this month!). She expected to find Sarah on the couch, but the living room was empty. She called out her name, but when there was no answer, she moved down the hallway, glancing into the bedroom before spotting her in the bathroom.

"Happy to see you’re already up" she said as she leaned against the doorframe. Sarah stood at the sink, wrapped in one of Emma’s bathrobes, slowly brushing her hair. It was late afternoon, but Sarah had slept through the morning, as usual, and was just beginning her routine. With everything that had happened today, it was already getting late, and she knew she only had a short time to talk before David got home from work. She didn’t want to waste any time. "I saw Chablis earlier today" she paused, and checked her reaction.

Persephone smiles at Yasmine, a sincere and appreciative smile. After all, this was a woman with obvious power and knowledge, open to the possibility of helping her, but she also seemed genuinely interested, and interesting, if Persephone was being honest.

She takes her leave of Emma and Benji, glad for old friends and new. She gets in a car service and directs the driver to take her to Wentworth's office address. As she rides, she sends a text to Zhiyu, proposing a meetup in a few hours.