8569/Lessons and Near Misses

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Lessons and Near Misses
Date of Scene: 06 November 2021
Location: The Laughing Magician
Synopsis: John gives Nico a lesson in demon contracts and Zatanna one in near misses when he *almost* falls to victim to an urge for human contact.
Cast of Characters: John Constantine, Nico Minoru, Zatanna Zatara




John Constantine has posed:
    Meeting with Wonder Woman, hitching his wagon to the Justice League of America, definitely not something John Constantine ever thought he would ever be able to say happened. But it did. So now... he's taking a break from thinking about that and what it might hold for the future.

    How does John 'take a break' from one thing? Well, he does another. Currently he's on his Pauper's Throne, all his usual supplies around him plus a few books that he's paging through. One's Big and Old, the other looks like it might have come from a local library, it's simple, paperback... doesn't look all the worse for wear.

    The Silk Cut he has dangling from his lips is burned down to the point of being precariously close to those lips in terms of ability to burn, but he doesn't seem to notice. He's too focused on a page in that Big and Old book.

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico has been up to... something? She comes skidding into the bar practically, or at least, someone very Nico-like does. Certainly the hair, the eyes, the general facial expression are peak Nico, but the 'I'm hungover' hoodies and leggings, or 'It's my day off' ornate gothic attire are both most definitely lacking. Nico looks like an overworked intern, rocking that pencil skirt, nylons, flats, and blouse 'I'm an office drone, pay me no heed' look, with the barest little hints of herself peeking through, earrings perhaps a touch more complex with little hanging ornamentations, hair done up a little more stylishly than truly brow-beaten corporate casuality would have.

    But she's also carrying an armfull of manilla folders, papers haphazardly poking out at various angles.

    As soon as she can, Nico manages to navigate via peering over the very edge of her bounty of reading materials, until she finds a suitably dry, unused table to spill them onto with a desperate gasp for breath, "Oh my _god_! This is... just... people do this _every_ day? And it's not illegal?!"

    She's kidding, of course. Nico knows how jobs work. Totally. But with her arms freed of burden, it's a perfect time for her to freeze-frame, slowly turning her head to behold John in all his leisurely glory, "...So... uhhh... how's... tricks?"

    She knew he was there. This is her being disarmingly charming, you see.

John Constantine has posed:
    John looks up from that page, but only after a long few moments, and comments, "Not very good for you if you're turning them wearing *that*," along with a wrinkle of his nose. "Responsible adult doesn't suit you," he adds before he's reaching into his pocket to pull out a familiar scroll of paper.

    "But... it's good you're here." He holds out the scroll and says, "Take this." Is he going to LET her sign the thing?

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico huffs out a sigh and shakes her head, "Hey, temp gotta temp! Believe me, I'm _so_ close to considering alternate financial avenues... I mean, if nothing else, a skimask and a bank..."

    Her eyes widen, then narrow, and she stalks forward, slowly, practically serpentine side to side movements, like she's getting ready to leap out of the way of a laser beam. Once she's in arm's reach that metallic left hand slowwwwly reaches out to pluck the scroll up as her gaze darts between the Paper of Doom and John.

    "So, did you get around to reading it? Oh god, you didn't _sign_ it, did you?" Eyebrows perk, because that's really only half jesting.

John Constantine has posed:
    John picks up his zippo and asks, "You know how this works, right?" Not even giving the asked question the time of day. He holds out the lighter. "I'll assume that you do. So, now take it and make it do what it does to that bit of paper, aye?"

    Just a beat and a drag from a Silk later and he adds, "Because that, luv, is what we do with any deal from a demon that doesn't specifically specify the terms."

    ...another beat and he adds, "Scratch that, it's what *you* do whenever you get a contract from a demon."

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico holds that contract out at good and totally maximum arm's length... and for a split second she kind of wants to be all flashy and like, use her totally awesome witchfire to burn the contract. But that also seems like maybe it could go horribly terribly wrong. And Nico's just too run down for that.

    And so the lighter is flicked, flickered to life, and then oh so carefully brought to kiss flame to paper until it's good and truly conflagrating.

    She at least holds the paper over an ashtray as she lifts an eyebrow, "So _not_ the bargain of the century, huh?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The barest displacement of air....pffffft.....Zatanna strides out of the portal with a book in one hand and a stiff shopping bag covered in colorful Japanese kanji in the other.

"What are you two cooking up or is it burning up"

"Looks like serious business," she comments wrinkling her nose at the particular smell that only demon paper can have.

John Constantine has posed:
    "Oh, no, luv, it's always a bargain of the century to sign a deal with a demon that says, 'favors of my choosing' with no specifics. Grand idea. Just grand and nine months from now you're giving birth to demon spawn," John replies ... voice dripping with sarcasm. Not really *mean* per say, but with his typical 'puppies' tone.

    His attention shifts to Zatanna when she enters. "Just giving a lesson in what we do with demon contracts." Because Lord knows *he's* an expert on those, and most of the time even getting out of them in one piece.

    He slams back the contents of that full scotch glass next to his Big and Old book.

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico snorts and rolls her eyews, about to make some remark when Zatanna arrives. She jolts just a little, because... that's still _the_ Zatanna she is sometimes acquainted with, and gives the contract a little shake, depositing ash in the ashtray, because she's environmentally conscious, "Oh, just burning that deal with the... a... whatever, some level of devil or demon from that Halloween party?"

    She snorts and shakes her head, "I mean, god, that's... kind of sad? Like, you're at a party full of hedonists and open bars, can't you just... play the field?"

    She flicks the last of the contract down into the ashtray and sighs out, "So, what's up in the glamorous life of... _not_ spending nine hours on orientation for some temp office assistant job?"

    And that's about when her eyes lock on Zatanna's bags and she gasps, "Wait, did you go _shopping_?!"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Got to watch out for those hip boys hanging out at an open bar! Or so my daddy always told me," Zatanna says with a wry smile as she deposits the bagS, because what sane girl with money can shop in Tokyo and just got to one boutique? She doesn't add aloud how do you think I met /that/ one, meaning John when I was still underage.

"Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto are irresistible these days plus I'm doing an entire room of Shadowcrest over in classic Japanese style complete with tatami."

"How /did/ you get mixed up with demons? And how /did/ they get you to sign something." She scrutinzes both Nico's and John's face before adding with an ingenuous flutter of her thick eyelashes, "You can tell me if I'm overstepping my bounds. I'll show you what I got, Nico, if you'd like."

John Constantine has posed:
    "He was playing the field, luv," John replies. Best place in the world for a demon to troll for insidious bargains, innit? A room filled with drunken idiots. "What is it, though, that you want to learn about magic?" Because that end of the deal didn't escape him either.

    "No, she was smart enough not to sign it right off, just not smart enough to bring it to me immediately... the former is why I'm not giving her a harder time."

    When the talk turns to shopping and redecorating, John takes that as a hint to turn his attention back to the Big and Old book. He added a house plant to the House of Mystery once, it died. ...and it was a cactus.

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico snorts softly and grins, "Hey! I brought it in when I woke up the next day! I didn't even read it before I brought it in! I mean, jeeze, I was _pretty_ sure I imagined it when I woke up.

    She huffs out nad shrugs lightly, though her lips take on a slightly more downturned cast, brow furrowing in thought, "I... Jesus, like, everything I can? I mean, my magic talent's not exactly... academic in nature? It's not like I understand the principles behind the spells I cast or anything. The staff's like a motorcycle. I can rev the engine, I can go down the highway, but it's not like I understand how it _works_, not the real nuts and bolts."

    She grins brightly to Zatanna again and shakes her head, "Oh no, no! I am... way way too mentally fried to even comprehend shopping right now. ...And now i'm tempted to try and zip to Tokyo, but with my luck I'll run out of phrasings for 'teleport me back to NYC' and wind up in like... Anchorage or something."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna only pretends to be /that/ spoiled rich magician that will shop till she drops. Her act is as superficial as the whole rich girl trope is; she loves Japan for so much more than shopping. She has the heart of a nerd, all things magic and occult being her province and love.

"Oh, good, because I'm not in the mood to squeal over clothes either," she says with a measure of relief and puts the bags on another stool.

"Did you think that a demon that you had known for five minutes would teach you about what is happening under the hood?" she asks, her eyes sliding to John with the big book in front of him.

She motions to the man on the pauper throne with a lift of her head, "You have one the best teachers in the world right next to you."

John Constantine has posed:
    "Teleport me to the Bronx, teleport me to Hell's Kitchen, teleport me to the Met, teleport me to Central Park." Need he go on? John figures not so he stops. "A'ight, well... soon as I get this business figured and sorted with Phoebe's cu -" ... "Bitch cousin, we'll get to work on that figuring out your shite, aye?"

    In his head he is totally not thinking, one more thing to fix. Gotta fix it. Not at all. He's not instantly obsessing with it, not one bit.

    He's also not obsessing with that same page in that book, but he is. He hasn't turned it once since Nico came in. Something on that page must be *really* interesting. Although is attention does snap to Zatanna with that last bit she says, faded denim blues narrowed just a bit in contemplation. His nose wrinkles just a bit. Uh-huh, sure... before he turns back to the book.

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico rolls her eyes, "Hey, it's not like I was really _looking_ for a demon as a magic teacher! I thought he was just some guy going overboard on his costume until he recognized me using magic... and he had a little mini-him on his shoulder. Also his tail was definitely not animatronic."

    She shakes her head and huffs out, "Listen, this is not about me, and my _woefully_ terrible choices in relationships!" Sure, those choices have been 'avoid them' and all, but still.

    She rolls her eyes and huffs at John, "And I'm always worried about that being too... similar for the staff to accept it. Feel like the deal's a little more complex than grabbing some translator app on my cell phone and all."

    She finger-guns at Zatanna and grins lopsidedly, "Promise, we'll totally gush over shopping some other time."

    And then she's eying John... sure, she doesn't know him well, it's really just been these little odd hours get togethers at the bar. But he's always in the middle of some serious disaster or another, so she just rolls with 'I bet he's in the middle of some serious disaster' and points at the book almost accusingly, "And what's with that, huh? I mean, it's no demon contract, but books that big are either artsy photo collages or... whatever that is."

    Eyebrows perk up then, "Wait, what's going on with Phoebe's cousin? She causing trouble? I mean, you just called her a bitch so... like..."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Mentally, she makes no bones about shielding the image, Zatanna sticks her tongue out at John. *hear my raspberry*. A smug smile whispers across her face.

"Which book of Arcana is that, John?" she asks dropping all pretense of sass and shopping.

While John decides to answer, she murmurs to Nico, "I like the sorceress Crowe, Nettie Crowe could guide your hand if she doesn't bite it first." Said with a perfectly straight face, a faint quiver on one side of her mouth giving it away.

An angry huff of breath proceeds, "Phoebe's cousin is a straight up bitch who does nothing but cause trouble, Nico. It's been a concern."

John Constantine has posed:
    "She's a necromancer that wants to use Phoebe's light to power an army of undead creatures," John explains as if he's talking about the lunch menu. He slides the book over in Zatana's direction. She'd be able to tell the human skin its bound in right off. Gross. It's old enough that it has no name, just a picture of two demonic creatures ripping apart what appears to be a young woman on the front, burned into the binding. Perhaps even branded before the skin was removed. So Gross.

    The inside is filled with pictures of demons, their names, descriptions, believed powers. It looks like someone went out of their way to create a really authentic Monstrous Compendium for their D&D campaign.

    He points to the demon in the picture. "That's who's giving Leksandria all her power."

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico frowns and nods her head curtly with a soft sigh, "Well, can't be letting bitches necromance around. Certainly not if part of the plan involves anything even _remotely_ harmful to Phoebe. That shit doesn't fly."

    She glances over to Zatanna and quirks an eyebrow, "So like... it's part of magic training that you eventually start declaring you're all surly and unapproachable and scary and shit, right? ...I already _do_ that, do I have to double it up? That's going to be exhausting." She practically _whines_, life is already exhausting enough!

    And then she's eying that book closer and shaking her head slowly, "That's... uhhh..."She groans and closes her eyes, taking a slow breath and mumbling out, "I miss when this shit was just 'Huh, my parents have a lot of parties where everyone disappears and we're not allowed to go in the basement all night.' ...I mean, sure they were dealing with gods or demons or something, but it just never lets up, does it? There's always another pointy bearded fuck with a pitchfork."

    She stares at John, "Wait, does this one have a pointy beard and a pitchfork? I mean, that guy at the party didn't have a pitchfork, but... he had _strong_ pitchfork vibes."

    That's right, Nico! You chase off that existential dread with teenage snark. It doesn't matter that you're not a teenager anymore! It's still a valid strategy!

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Nico's reaction is fitting. Magic is /never/ that simple. And often not very nice. Take necromancers, for instance.

Some poor witch died horribly giving her *skin* to empower the incantations and inscriptions in the book. The homo magi touches the tome with respect for the sacrificed life and the power it contains. Her eyes snap to John's in surprise when he tells her what the image is, it's portentous news. She studies the image gravely, "How did you find him?" she asks, raising her head.

"Finally," she says aloud. If we know who then we can learn how.

John Constantine has posed:
    "Asked Ner..." He gives a little shake of his head. Almost John. Last time someone invoked that name in John's presence, the demon reached out even through the wards here and caused John's blood to start boiling in his veins. "I asked *him*, part of the deal... part of protecting the names on the list from harm. I needed the information to do so."

    He pulls the book back to look at the picture again, problem is... there isn't much in the way of *text* in this book. "I think I have a summoning circle down for it, just need a few more tweaks."

    He closes the book and stands with it in his hand. Silks get snatched along with his lighter but he leaves the scotch behind, he always has that where ever he's going to 'study' anyway. "I'm going to go work on that, aye?" He takes a step toward Zatanna. Almost, he *almost* looks like he was going to do something like press a kiss to her forehead, cheek maybe, some sort of gesture of affection, but there's that damned tilted little head shake and he steps back again, offers a middle finger to the forehead salute to Nico and heads for the backroom.

Nico Minoru has posed:
    Nico shakes her head and snorts softly at that departing salute, her own returned one is, of course, not seen. But she's sure it's felt.

    And then she's shaking her head and standing up, looking at her earlier pile of folders and papers... whatever, if someone _else_ wants to read all the HR policies of her temp job, they're welcome to them.

    She flashes Zatanna a little perked eyebrow at that almost-affectionate pause of John's. Oh yeah, she totally picked that up, but she's not going past that raised eyebrow, except maybe for a little shrug of her shoulders.

    She clambers herself around to aim herself at the door, "I... am going to go fall on my face and lose consciousness for _several_ hours."

    She's not sure it's going to be sleep, but it's sure going to be not awake, and that's good enough.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna takes a quick shocked breath as he nearly says the name. It wouldn't be some drunken dance under the stars on a narrow steel beam - John has truly walked on the edge of the abyss for too long. That uncompleted word could have sent him and those in the room with him spiraling over its edge. She, too, takes a longer look at the demon over his shoulder, memorizing the horror.

The tantalizing mention of an uncompleted circle, is like lure to a hawk.

Zatanna's mouth tightens into a faint wry smile at his aborted gesture, someone who knew her well would see the fleeting pain that she is careful to hide. She says nothing to stop him. A magician reveals his magic when he will, he knows that she will back him with her life.

With a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, "Well, Nico, either it's a night of drinking or home to bed."