blessed are the damned

Athanasia Subelza | Pact demon | Student | Mun/muse 21+

[athanasia-ia]

In her search for the stolen-and-lost item, the pact demoness had barely paid attention to the interior she had broken into. The whole lack of furnishing had not bothered her; it had not caused even the farthest, dustiest corners of her mind to feel uneasy or strange, not because she, herself, was a minimalist (lords and those below them were familiar with her unreasonably large collection of rocks and crystals, scattered around her dorm room in premeditated chaos), but because, once she had set on a goal, Athanasia tended to lose sight of everything her subconscious deemed irrelevant for the task at hand. The task, obviously, being going through all of the trinkets in order to find the invaluable key, had.

However, she had been interrupted. And whilst the marauder had yet to show themselves in their full might or appearance, it was Bella who had picked up on their actual presence first, and, having decided they were a threat to her undead master, she emerged from the shadows behind Athanasia, put her scrawny fingers on the pact demoness’ shoulders and used the weightlessness of the air to prop herself up. Suspended in the air behind the demoness, legs dangling in the air, rotten teeth baring, Bella, in all her ugliness, snarled at the mirror - though the sound she had made was less of a growl, and more of a guttural and desperate call for breath.

Bella, of course, was dead. She could neither breathe, nor see, not with her physical body, and so, bereft of all corporeal senses, she hissed into nothingness, ready to protect the demoness whom she served.

Athanasia, however, was calm. A moment later, she saw him, too. Or, at least, the shadow within which he had manifested, or the shadow he had been as of yet. She had never met a mirror walker before, and had only heard some stories, here and there, in her long past, but she was unafraid. “Down, Bella,” she told the revenant, and pointed a finger in Alastair’s direction, squinting her eyes in accusation. “It’s mine and I know you have it. The key. And don’t dare ask which key. I’d hate to assume your lack of intelligence, and frankly,” she crossed her fingers across her chest, and huffed, “That’d be offensive to the both of us. So, before you get into trouble you don’t want to be in, give it back!” She tried to calm as cool, calm and collected as she could, but truth be told, she was getting nervous.

More nervous than it was worth showing. For, indeed, following her very steps, was another creature, a few ranks up in the same, general world the demoness was from, and they were not happy. Then again, no one ever was happy whenever Athanasia’s thieving fingers were involved. “If you know what’s good for you,” she continued, “you’ll stop hiding and return what’s mine.” Hers, theirs, someone else’s - who cared, as long as the item was no longer labelled ‘missing’.

[athanasia-ia]

Athanasia had stolen the item fair and square. Through a series of carefully plotted moves and schemes, she had gotten a hold of what she deemed was currently one of her most valuable assets. An asset to what gain - she had yet to figure those details-schmetails out but it was her complacent opinion that the items was hers.

As we said - fair and square, under the treacherous pact demoness' own terms.

But, the item had remained in her criminal possession for too short of a time. Suddenly, it was gone, and after some snooping around, she had discovered where it was. The only issue was that she had to yet another series of breaking and entering, and possibly facing the other thief which she, truth be told, did not want to. It was a hassle. But, she had to.

And that was how she had wound up at his place, having sneaked in by use of magic. Bella had helped her create a wee portal, a short-lived and weak one, which had allowed Athanasia to find her way into Alastair's...lair. But, where was it? She had just been going through a drawer, when she unexpectedly felt a living presence behind or...somewhere near her. She immediately spun around on her feet, and, unsure if she were even facing the correct direction, considering the fact she could not yet see him, she proclaimed, "I'm taking what's mine back! Now, if you could just tell me where it is, I'd greatly appreciate it, you marauder!"

@alastair-ia

[athanasia-ia]

Until I figure out what is wrong with my Discord app, I will post this here: the two starters I owe will be posted on Saturday! Plotting resumes (looking @ u especially gemini @yongguk-ia) when the damn app works again orz

[athanasia-ia]

She thought she could walk for longer.

As they were moving away from the strange hotel, Athanasia had slowly began to feel unwell, but, having prescribed it to ‘stress’ which the hotel incident had caused (even though she herself knew it was all bullshit as she was practically dead and stress usually only had a proverbial effect on her, without any effect on the flesh), she kept on going and following the conversation she had been having with the moth-boy...man.

>“Does your kind come with no sort of magic?” she asked. She skipped over a branch, and then tried to move a bit faster. That was when she suffered a brief spell of vertigo and she fell. An “ouch” was hummed as butt met the ground but, fortunately for the pact demoness and unfortunately for Sanori, only her ego was bruised.Her cheeks adopted a faint shade of peony as he helped her get up. “Thank you. It could be, the magic we- I had to wield back there wasn’t the easiest feat.” She was not bragging. To have been able to summon any sort of magical forces back there, where such strong and strange shields had been lifted...It had to have had some sort of consequences on her flesh.

She sighed after finding stability once more. “I’m pretty sure the fence we passed, back when we were entering the hotel premises, circled the entire visible area,” she then spoke as she continued walking. “If I’m not wrong, we’ll be passing the fence soon, and then it’s minutes from the road, and then...That way,” she pointed right, “to the bus, right?”

[athanasia-ia]

"Welp,” Athanasia pursed her lips, as a fleeing moment of a dilemma passed through her mind. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth, or pretty-fy the whole thing and make an excuse? “Soul matters. I went on a small trip to Czechia where I had to fulfil my end of the bargain, of a contract I signed a couple of years back. No biggie. Even though it was a bit of a hassle, at least I could eat some trdelnik. Have you ever had one?”

She thought about Hancock for a moment, imagining the spirit haunting the catacombs. This reminded Athanasia of an unfortunate event (or two) she had gone through in the first months (or was it weeks?) of her stay at the Academy. Itching to know more, and having not had a chance to ask someone before (or, well, she might have asked and not received an answer she deemed satisfying), she turned to Merry with a curious smile on her face and almost pleading, doe eyes. “Merry-ssi, what do you know about the catacombs themselves? The structure itself, I mean. It’s a given this entire place is shrouded in Old Magic, but...Did they ever serve any other purpose? The walls,” she paused for a second or two. “The walls and the stairs, they move, don’t they?”

Once they got the spa schedule, the pact demoness read it carefully, wondering what was the best course of action. “Where shall we start?” she asked. But, when Merry shared her concerns, Athanasia immediately gave the other woman a look of contempt. “Your friend? Why would they do that? And,” she squinted, pushing her face an inch closer to Merry’s, as if otherwise someone might overhear. “Are you mad at him? Who’s your ex anyway? I could always ask Brutus to take him away. Forever.” It was a serious offer, and anyone who knew Athanasia for longer than a day would understand that from the matter-of-factual expression on her face.

[athanasia-ia]

It had been a long time since she had last seen the reaper. Two or three decades? More, or slightly less? Time, once again, meant nothing, for the moment he had sat across from her at that cafe, the pact demoness felt like not a single moment had passed since the two of them had last crossed paths. And just like he felt about her, Athanasia was eternally impressed by his outer shell, and equally distressed at his stubbornness, or what she, at least, perceived to be stubbornness.

She could have rejected his ask for help, naturally; she could have swatted a hand, shook her head and told him to bother someone else, but the idea of him owing her a favor and the prospect of fetching a lost soul were too attractive for her to just dismiss. And, so she agreed. She had told him "I hope you do know you'll owe me a big one," when they had first made a deal.

Today, about to board a train, bound for Limbo, Athanasia could only hope that their mission would not be fruitless. If they failed to retrieve the soul, the deal would be void, she was sure, and the only thing she would get from the adventure was a waste of her time. "Thank you," she nodded, stopping herself from offering him an ironic curtsy as he waited for her to go first.

"You don't have to worry about me. I am always prepared."

Fortunately, the train was not late, though it was more crowded than Athanasia had expected. She was not pleased with the thought of temporarily becoming a sardine stuffed in a moving vehicle, but she discarded the image soon enough, for when they got inside, it looked far more spacious than it did on the outside. Once they found their seat, she continued, "Well, it's not like one would advertise it all over their social media. Hey, guys, I'm about to start attending a magical Academy for mostly non-human beings!" She huffed playfully. "You know, you're the second person that I've met before that has come here." Did he know Samael? Probably. She refused to think about such a 'coincidence' at the moment. "What are you doing here, then? Have you grown sick and tired of the 'regular' world?"

[athanasia-ia]

@sammael-ia​

Even on her way to the place where she and Stranger were going to meet up, Athanasia wondered why on Earth she had agreed to Jaemin's strange request - or rather, a very strong suggestion - to go on a "casual" blind date with "someone Jaemin had just met and could vouch for". Vouch for apparently met they were a tall, dark and handsome male, who was a rather decent conversationalist. Now, the pact demonness had no doubt that Jaemin had her best interests in mind, but she could not help but feel a teeny-tiny sense of doom; and not one brought upon by a "good" type of nervous - it was one that made her want to rethink her agreement to doing this, spin around on her heels and just go home.

But, she didn't. She moved forward, and went through the instructions Jaemin had given her. Meet at 7:30 pm at X. A table for two had been reserved by the vampire himself in a private booth in section Y. Look for Stranger, or wait for him to arrive, though it was unlikely, she thought, that this person would keep her waiting. It was all simple enough, and when she finally saw, and eventually entered, this strange bar, Athanasia felt a sense of relief. The place was decorated in style - not a single table, seating, color or wall decoration had been too little or too much.

At least, she thought, if the ambient was this pleasant, she could find a way to have a great time regardless of who this stranger was. That was until a staff member escorted her to the booth and she saw...Samael. Drinking a glass of wine, staring into the glass of that dark-red liquid at that very moment when she entered.

"You have to be kidding me," Athanasia said after the staff member left, nearly breathless, but most definitely bemused. "You're my date?"

[athanasia-ia]

Her over-two-millennia long life nearly passed before Athanasia’s eyes. Not because she was afraid she would die should the mothman and she crash upon their flight. It appeared to be a reaction that she could in no way control. Some bizarre instinct inside of her kick-started the dusty gears of the back of the back of her mind and showed her a list of haphazard images from both her own and Moon Yoojin’s life as Sanori lifted them off, if for a moment, only to focus on his energy on not actually crashing them.

She was ready. Once they were outside the span of the hotel’s power, Athanasia was confident she would be able to summon Brutus and have him catch them both in their fall. Her hands had already reached out for the darkness, for the whispering shadows calling onto her, a summoning chant right on the tip of her tongue and her lips, but, without the help of her dark crafts, Sanori had helped them land, virtually unscathed. They went down with a thump and she ouch-ed and ow-ed a few times, but once they were down on the cold, moist ground, they were safe. For now.

“I’m fine,” she responded a moment too late. She propped herself up into a half-seated position and looked at the hotel.It looked dark and dismal, and from this short distance, given how abandoned it appeared, Athanasia wondered what sort of magic had held it together enough for it to seem remotely open when they had first arrived? A rustle in the trees, and muffled gasping brought in by the wind told her that danger was lurking still. “I think we need to get away from this place right now. As far as we can.” She got up, helping Sanori do the same. Her vessel was bruised in several places, and if she put her weight down on her left foot, she felt shots of pain from the ankle but...

It could be ignored. For now. “The magic it’s...Interwoven with this entire area. Can you feel it? Can you smell it?” She could. It left an acrid taste on her tongue. “Which way should we go?”

[athanasia-ia]

His enthusiastic greeting drew a smile to the pact demoness’ lips. She would have dropped some pride and gone for a high-five; instead, she offered him a wave as an additional greeting, and after she was comfortable in her seat, she propped her elbows on the bar top and said, “I’m sorry. I should have let you know I was going to drop from the face of the Earth.” Although her words may have been nonchalant, her tone of voice indicated a rare, genuine sense of apology. The last person who’d heard her apologize must have been on the receiving end of Athanasia’s unbridled sarcasm.

She shook her head at the question, and gave a defeated sigh. “Not anything special, I promise. I had to go back...Home.” The word ‘home’ was uttered carefully, as she wondered what home was, and how the Academy and its surrounding premises felt homely just as such as Sheol did. “There were some soul...matters to attend to, a few people to see about a thing. Just a series of tedious tasks that I wish I could have outsourced.”

“Enough about me though!” She chirped once her drink was served. “Tell me about yourself. Give me all the updates, because, given the dynamics of this whole area, I feel like I might have missed a year’s worth of affairs.” When she was coming back, Athanasia worried that a lot of time had indeed passed on Earth; whenever she went to Sheol, there was always a possibility that time would warp and slow down or even increase in speed, leaving her with no choice but to return to changed circumstances.

[athanasia-ia]

Athanasia lifted an eyebrow as she listened to Harvey’s explanation. She thought about the few hunters she’d come cross on Insolitus grounds, both students or staff and outsiders who had come for a visit, and she, personally, could not recall a single one she found remotely aesthetically pleasing. Then again, this was Athanasia we were talking about, i.e. her own standards were inexplicable and rather torturous to contemplate.

“Have you met a cute hunter, as you put it?” she nonetheless asked, looking to sate her unreasonable curiosity.

“If you did not choose your name, then you gave it to you? I mean, who named you?” she asked bluntly, as per usual showing a lack of concern when it came to potentially prodding into matters that had no business being discussed between strangers; especially during a dance class practice. Her foot skipped again, yet she showed no frustration here either, choosing to make up one of her own as she continued. “It’s quite a big place. I got trapped down in the catacombs twice. Those staircases down there, they move randomly at times. So do the walls, so that’s my warning to you - don’t go exploring if you don’t wanna be trapped for a specific amount of time,” she shuddered at the memory.

“A warlock?” she repeated. “Who is it again?” she then asked through a chuckle. Of course. Any demon ,of any origin, had to make an enemy for themselves as soon as they settle in an area. It was almost as if this was part of any demon’s essence; maybe it was, who knew? She certainly did not. “I’ve come to realize that it’s less smart of an idea to make an enemy here, rather than out there, in the “humans’“ world.”

[athanasia-ia]

Instead of immediately dismissing the elf’s words in her typical playful manner, Athanasia gave everything a good thought for a change. One could tell she was seriously going over it all in her head from the way her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth grazed over her bottom lip. Eventually, she nodded, to herself, and looked ahead, focusing her eyes on a person or a tree or an apparition in the distance while she responded.

“Why am I setting myself up for misery?” she began with an earnest question. “It might be so if I thought my happiness and well-being depended on another person. No offense, but I think that’s precisely what’s wrong with so many people in this world: they think other people are responsible for their own serenity. I’ve never been unhappy for not having a significant other. There were always things to do, places to be, people to meet, that I’ve never had a chance to grow lonely, you know?” She took a deep breath, and allowed a more genuine smile to paint her lips.

“However, once upon a time, I did wonder what sort of twisted, wicked soul could be worthy of being my partner. Just how twisted they’d have to be, such thoughts, I’ll give you that,” she chuckled. “Do you ever think about going monogamous and settling down with a single soul?”

[athanasia-ia]

”How is it not?!” she retorted, amused by his reactions.

Shaking her head, Athanasia continued her argument. “If you know what you’re doing, it’s easy-peasy lemon squeezy.”

Taking offense at his next comment, Athanasia pulled her face into a disappointed and indignant grimace, huffing at the very thought of what young Ethirdil had suggested. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you really believe there is someone out here, or there for that matter, that deserves me?” She scoffed again. “Puh-lease. I think the chances of me willingly bathing myself in salt holy water are higher than encountering such a creature,” she said that almost proudly.

[athanasia-ia]

Days seemed to pass somewhat faster here than they did in the ‘outside’ world. Before she knew it, Athanasia woke up one day and it was Thursday morning. In fact, it was a quarter past ten, and she had not only missed a class, but there was a chance she would be late for her meet-up with Merry if she did not hurry up.

Normally, the pact demonness took an awful lot of time making sure that every strand of hair was in the right place, that the make-up matched her outfit and that the outfit matched her shoes and that the overall look matched the perfume of the day, but this time, she could not afford such luxury. Nevertheless, within the half-hour time frame, Athanasia managed to put together something decent and while still feeling like somewhat of a clown for not setting an alarm clock that morning, she hurried outside, running only a couple of minutes late.

“Merry! Hi!” she waved as she approached her new friend and then gave her two pecks on the cheek. “Sorry to be late, I was uh- Indisposed.” A white lie hurt no one, right? She followed Merry inside, looking around quite impressed at the interior. “Such a lovely place! And this is the perfect day for relaxation. don’t you think? Any news? You didn’t bring my boy with you, did you?” She teased, wondering as to what the spirit was up to presently.

[this-is-youniverse]

The Prom Queen

[athanasia-ia]

"Exactly!” the pact demonness could not help but agree. She was glad that at last there was someone at the Academy who would wholeheartedly agree with the more morally and ethically questionable worldviews which she herself held. 

Once in position, she made sure to follow the teacher’s instructions, as well as the pace of her new dance partner, unbothered by the possibility of missing a step or not following the music to the tune. She was there to have a good time, and pick up on some art and dance skills, not become a professional. And for her, that was enough. Now, passing the class was a whole other pair of gloves, which she had decided to deal with much later. “Good. That’s smart. Besides, there’s enough hunters around here who wouldn’t take well to any...Shenanigans,” she said in a  a both forewarning and matter-of-factual tone.

“Harvey,” she repeated, nodding her head. “Nice to meet you. As for my name, thank you, I picked it myself,” she grinned. Naturally, it was a name which she had picked for the human world, and any other for that matter. Her real, “demon name” as some called it, was kept a secret, kept selfishly away from everyone, for safety reasons. One could never be too careful when one was a demon.

“Have you gotten to know the premises and the people yet? Made any friends? Enemies, maybe?”

[athanasia-ia]

Athanasia thought about Jaemin’s question for a moment. Really, was there a reason why they kept bumping into one another? She was confident Senth would never go out of his way to find her, for any reason, and she, herself, had no desire to go around looking for him, so was it truly an act of fate - a twisted sort of fate, the hands of which yearned to put together with its scrawny fingers that which should not be joined  - or was it pure coincidence?

The demoness huffed, to herself. Who believed in fate? But, then again, who believed in coincidences?

Caught in the whirlpool of this conundrum, Athanasia let out a hum and then rolled her shoulders into a shrug. “Beats me. It’s borderline annoying, to be honest, but there’s nothing that I can do about it. It doesn’t seem that I can, at least. As long as he doesn’t bother me much, though, we’re gucci.” Senth didn’t do that either. Although they were now attending the same school, he did not get into her face, not that much at least, but Athanasia simply could not shake off the slight and unjustified hostility she felt towards the preliator. “Do you relieve in fate?”

And as for the angel. Athanasia could not help but laugh a little, at the vampire’s reaction. “Yes! Almost! He’s a mean one, I’m telling you,” she replied.

“New teacher?” she asked, looking up from the map. She went through her most recently stored memories, but could not recall the face of the person being mentioned. “Who do you mean?” How had the person slipped her radar? Or maybe they didn’t - she just did not bother to memorise them yet. A temporary hiccup of her brain, that was all. “Rude how? Oh, by the way, if you want new shoes, I know just the store. See that sign over there? Let’s go!” And with that she tugged at his arm and led him towards the shop. A ridiculously expensive place, might one add.

[athanasia-ia]

"You’re a funny man, Samael,” Athanasia’s high-pitched chuckle echoed off the walls of the hallway as she all but skipped forward, more enthusiastic about the angel’s and her’s little adventure than she should have been. “Why would I make anything easier for you? If I did that, then that would be...How do you normally put these things? Aha, yes! That would be against everything and anything I am supposed to be. Remember?” She winked at the angel, looking up at him as if she had just offered a spectacular rebuttal to a statement of his, a refutation he could not possibly hope to respond to in a meaningful manner.

“Besides, you want magic to be guarding these papers. Without it, who knows whose filthy, greedy intemperate, hands might end up whisking them away? You yourself know that these scripts, in the wrong hands, could pose trouble for both you and me and anyone else involved with either one of us.”

It wasn’t just a painting, after all. Sure, they could go a back and forth as to the items she had stolen and then hidden away from the angel, in an attempt to gain leverage, and sure, they could pretend it was all about ‘preserving art’ and ‘offering due respect’ to the mortal artists who had just so happened to contribute to this world works of immeasurable value, but underneath all of that, there lay a far more important fact that within the sought-after painting, a powerful amulet had been stowed away, for centuries now; an amulet that apparently needed to go back to the angel’s hands. For reasons he was as of yet unwilling to share with the demonness, and frankly, Athanasia was not sure she really wanted to know that much.

“This way,” she beckoned him as they went down a small flight of stairs that led downwards. When she stopped, a large, locked door was in front of them, and a golden lock. “I’m afraid this is the part where you come in. I cannot touch that lock,” she said, nudging her chin towards the item which had been designed to keep creatures of her origin away. Back when she had hidden the documents, there was no lock - just some measly demon traps that she did not have a difficult time circumventing. 

“Why did I go to Insolitus, eh?” she thought, going back to his question. She shrugged at first, and stepped to the side so that he could deal with the door. “I’m not sure. I found out about the Academy by pure chance. It felt like a good idea. I’d been living among humans for far too long, and by that I mean I’d been living surrounded mostly by their kind for too long. Sure, it’s fun and it’s become easy, much easier than it was up until, what, a hundred or hundred and fifty years ago, but...It’s kind of dull at this point. So, I figured I could lay low here and see what sort of new technologies humans invent, or what sort of adventures they set themselves off to before deciding whether or not I want to re-join them.” She paused then, perhaps a bit too suddenly, and then looked up at Samael.

The question she asked next was uttered more quietly, and with more concern. “Is this world...going to end soon? Has it been scheduled? Is that why you’re here?”