9694/Catching the Upness

Catching the Upness
Date of Scene:	18 January 2022
Location:	Red Rose Cafe
Synopsis:	A pair of demonic entities walk into a coffee shop. How do they take their coffee? DARK, LIKE ...TEA, APPARENTLY.
Cast of Characters:	Ree, Jason Blood

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Ree has posed:
The door swings open, allowing in something which should never have been allowed into a cafe. The demon girl in snow pants walks right up to the counter, then says, "Something to warm chilly hands please. Black, the way I like my soul." She looks back at the door, waiting for her cohort to catch up. She didn't give him much warning after all. But then, coffee is important too.

"I'm about to have company. Don't stare, he's cute though."

Jason Blood has posed:
Despite the lack of warning, Jason was quick to follow and thus did not fall TOO far behind the imp. He slips in, debatably in time to catch her warning to the counter person. Once there is no need to actually race, Jason quickly shifts into a more rigid and formal posture. He glances around the diner and then looks to Ree.
"I assume you are a regular here?" he ventures, based around her apparent comfort level. And theirs.

Ree has posed:
The counter person has a 'I live in retail and have no soul left' face. There's no comfort level, it's just a matter of no longer caring if a demon eats him. He serves coffee, looking at Jason for his order, assuming he has one.

Ree shrugs, cupping her cup in cupped hands. "Never been here before, why?" She flops into a stall, room for two, and waits. "So. Magician? Alien? Or are you something new? I'm taking a poll." She kissed him earlier, so apparently none of those options is a dealbreaker.

Jason Blood has posed:
Seemingly a bit befuddled with the ease with which the demon walks around looking...demonic...Jason shrugs and heads over towards a seat. "Tea," he offers as an order, before sliding into the seat opposite Ree.

"A little bit of everything, perhaps. Enough to know that you probably should not be here." Jason leans forward and lowers his voice. "Not that I am trying to chase you back. More...impressed? That they have not hauled you back yet."

Ree has posed:
It's not without threat. Someone else in the shop is pointing and whispering, and another is taking a picture with their phone. But given that Ree is clearly not doing anything, there's no counter-threat. Yet. Maybe they think she's wearing a costume.

"Can't tell myself," Ree admits. "My abilities are a little weird even by demon standards. I imagine it helps that I'm not overly threatening looking. Small girls don't get attacked by mobs unless they actually steal souls or take your credit cards for porn."

She sips the coffee, looking for all the world like a cosplayer with caffeine. "This isn't bad. Wish they had it in hell, would make a lot of the flesh rot easier to handle."

Jason Blood has posed:
This does not seem to satisfy Jason. "Can we start maybe at the point of how you got here, if you do not mind?" He leans back in his seat and nods to the waiter without looking away from Ree as the hot cup of water and tea packets shows up.
"I am one of the foremost demonologists on the planet. It is exceedingly rare for any to be out and about up here. Especially...unsupervised."

Ree has posed:
Ree lights up. "Oh! Oh, sorry. I thought you were just chitchatting, or planning to lure me into an alley." She says it so easily...

"No, no problem. See, I was in one of the layers," she refers to Hell of course, "and apparently I had the usual fate. You know, wisp until you get noticed, then promoted to Imp. Maybe a Fiend someday. I was glad to stop being the one given the acid enemas for once, took the Imp promotion handily."

Wtf.

Ree nods, then shrugs. "I had someone looking out for me apparently, because somebody got word out. And Azazel came and yoinked me to Earth, and some mutants took me in and taught me how to adapt," not that well yet, "and then I got a couple of odd jobs, working for Satana and a strip club."

Beat. "You still with me on this, dude?"

Jason Blood has posed:
"What would I do with you in an alley?" Jason seems a bit confused by this suggestion, but then moves on, as his gaze studies her as she continues.

"Yes, I could see that. The caste system there is pretty rigid. Although you still have a ways to go, it is most impressive." He starts to make his tea, again somehow doing so without taking his eyes off of her. It might even be a bit unsettling - to a normal human, maybe.

"So you came out via a transdimensional portal not linked to the usual magicks, and so they have no way of pulling you back." He flashes a grin. "Brilliant. Congratulations, I think you have managed to escape, unless someone up here takes notice of you." His expression shifts for a moment. "Perhaps, as much as the idea of further conversation with you intrigues me, it is far better for you to avoid me, unfortunately." He leans back in his seat, picking up his spoon to squeeze out the tea bag for a moment. "Simply fascinating."

It takes a moment for the last piece to catch up. "Excuse me. Strip club?"

Ree has posed:
Ree grins. She just lets him have his moment, before skipping ruining his innocence by telling him what she'd expect in a dark alleyway. And moves on.

"I nearly had myself hellfired back to blazes already once, but I grovelled my way out of it. Hang on." She leans down under the table, then pushes on it. The table, loose and squeaky, suddenly stops squeaking. She comes back up. "Sorry, that was bothering me."

No explanation, she just continues. "Sure! I have no body issues, nudity is normal for me. CLothing weren't a luxury we got. Why not strip for aliving? People think that all this is a gimmick." She indicates her horns, her tail. Red skin and sharp teeth. "I'm getting surprising tips, though my dancing is shit."

"Why avoid you though? I kinda like ya."

Jason Blood has posed:
"It is amazing how much an appeal to the ego works on the demons. Often the best tactic." Clearly, this man /does/ understand the demonic mindset.

He nods as she talks through the visage, and a look of recognition appears on his face. Then he laughs. "I do forget that while it is immediately clear to me what you are, and all the implications that come with that, to the mortal mind it is going to try to explain it as a shapeshifter or something else." He lifts the tea cup to his mouth and blows on it for a moment, before sampling it. His face twists a bit in displeasure, likely the result of a Brit trying to have tea in a New York diner.

At the last question, he ponders how to answer. Clearly, weighing a decision. "Let us just say that too much time around me could result in you attracting attention that you do not want. Assuming, of course, you want to stay up here."

Ree has posed:
"There's a guy that looks a lot like me, I saw in the news. A mutant, I think. I'm not even very remarkable." She's wrong, she's VERY remarkable, but taht's an allowable mistake. "Honestly I don't know a hell of a lot yet. It's a big world. Better than having my arms used as bait for spleen golems though. Or something unpleasant."

She's not acting. She actually just has a good pain tolerance. Having spent time in Hell, there's not a lot on Earth that really scares her much. No comparison.

"I have to ask though. Do I grovel to you?" The classic military question, posed in Demonic. Do I salute you? Do I call you 'Sir'? What is my standing relative to your own? It's a fair question; she just wants to know if she's in way over her head or not.

Demons don't have to tell the truth, but she's not wrong to ask.

Jason Blood has posed:
"I have not seen any others walking around that look like a demon. Many that look like what people might expect one to look like." Jason pauses for a moment, and then nods. "This world is definitely more pleasant than the other. Imagine being down there and being a human." He scoffs a bit at that, sipping at his tea.

As she asks about a groveling, he shakes his head. "No, no, I have no power over you nor any desire to claim any." He pauses, staring at her for a good long moment. Allowing the silence to linger. There is definitely something at work in his mind. He elects not to continue to whatever that statement is, electing instead to sip at his tea. But his eyes still remain.

Ree has posed:
Ree would hope so. If his eyes suddenly weren't there she'd probably think this was all another dream, and she was still back home. Not like that's never been done, making you think that you'd escaped only to jerk the hope from under you.

*cough*

She nods, then extends her long tongue to lick the last of the coffee from her cup. It's ridged, and it's lucky that nobody but Jason could see that. Hard to hide a demonic tongue. "I want to try more foods. Gluttony's a fun one." The sin of Pride is clearly not one she practices, happy to grovel if it means her life, but she's all about sensations. "I'm glad. You seem like a nice guy."

"I you **** me, don't sever any limbs, okay? I can't actually reattach them very well yet here, it's a bit of a process."

Yep. She's spent all this time assuming that Jason was trying to lure her into that alleyway after all.

Jason Blood has posed:
"It is my favorite sin, to be sure." Was that a joke? Or maybe a confession. Hard to tell. His tone in everything is even. Practiced. "I am - " He searches for the words. "I am what I am. I would not say that I am nice. I think my friends would say I am, and my enemies would say otherwise. But generally, I try to resist the temptation to inflict harm on others simply for the sake of doing so." From his tone, it sounds like this is an actual temptation he is resisting, not just speaking metaphorically.

He raises the tea to his lips to sip as Ree offers the rather blunt comment. He is refined enough to avoid spitting out his tea. "I would not dream to detach any of your limbs. I think you are rather perfectly assembled quite the way you are." Perhaps as a way to reassure her, his eyes finally drift from her face, considering her arms and her torso. "Besides," he says, eyes moving back up to hers. "I am certainly no match for you physically in this form. You would be the one to tear my arms off."

Ree has posed:
The fact that this is, in fact, flirting for demons is a little scary. Not for Ree, but her typist has to mention it at this time.

Ree grins. "I do bite, but I was told not to actually gouge when I do. It's in my literature for adaptation. Should show it to you sometime, we can see if the mutants who saved me are on the level."

Ree has no issues with Jason looking. Looking is expected, and appreciated. Also the rather noticeable upsizing of her potential danger level is pretty stroking to her ego. She likes that.

Unfortunately, she has no idea what to do next. So she waves for more ocffee, and ....they chat.