Ahh. There it was. Theo was ever the gentleman but in his domain she was oft the spoiled child, chastised by the adult and told just how wrong she was. Teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her lower lip and she allowed herself to be guided to the rather ornate chair, unable to meet his unwavering gaze at this time.
“…no. I’m-I’m fine.” Minako’s voice sounded small and muffled despite the grand size of the Velvet Room, nervousness stemming from both angering her attendant with the unwarranted flair-up towards him and knowing that the demons she caught tonight would not be kind to her despite their promise of serving her.
That’s the thing about demons - they generally aren’t kind.
With a sigh she leans back in her chair, still carefully avoiding his eyes. There was something about this process that made her want to cling to his arm, as if the contact would alleviate some of the pressure and nausea that came with the entire procedure, but she knew better then to move. The first time the girl had jerked so hard that Theo had to stop, starting all over again and making it take twice as long.
“I have–” Voices counted, personalities bouncing around inside her skull. “—6, I believe, that need to be registered.” Theo knew, of course. That was his job. Still, he was usually courteous enough to ask which ones she wanted registered first. Her eyes drooped, hands gripping the soft leather of the arm chair until fingertips turned white.
“Whenever you’re ready. Thank you, Theo.”
“Such an impressive haul! If your aim is to impress I fear that you accomplish that merely by walking through my doors.”
No amount of cheerful platitudes were going to ease the situation. His gloved hand rested itself on her shoulder, the most effective bedside manner in which he could muster at the time. He found it difficult to empathize with the pain and anxiety which went into these procedures, but he also knew a girl of her composure would not wince at a simple pin prick. Sometimes it was the oddest of things which made him long for the human condition.
The calls to get on with the extraction spurred him onward, his touch disappearing from her shoulder, falling away as he strolled forward to the table which lay before them. He moved carefully, deliberately, as if each and every motion were required for a successful ceremony. His treasured book now lay with it’s cover staring back at the both of them, an ominous source of anxiety but also freedom.
He circled her once more, eyes fixated yet feet in a constant motion around her chair. It may have seemed unnecessary to confirm an act they’d accomplished dozens of times prior, but this, too, was part of the show.
“Do not look at me, keep your eyes keen on the grimoire ahead of you.” His words echoed next to her ear, but despite his lips mere inches away he began to drift further and further from the girl. “Let the thoughts of those you’ve let inside of you flood your mind. Focus on yourself, the stalwart vessel amidst the chaos. Note the separation, acknowledge the similarities.”
While one hand rested along the back of her chair the other stretched itself out between the both of them and his book. His thumb fought against his forefinger, holding the pose as focus shifted to the book now splayed open, pages turning violently as if the wind had found a way inside this alternate dimension. Pages both blank and elaborate shuttered back and forth as if guided by the bellboys hand.
“Cast them out!” With a snap of his fingers the pages crashed flat unto the book, the blank pages filling with ink and pigment by an invisible brush. The ornate drawings began to print one after another, six in total, as Theo kept his focus ahead of the girl.
Once the final life had been entombed Theodore released a sigh, and with the tension in his outstretched arm. Relief for him was far different than the relief of his charge being lifted of such vile beasts, but it was relief nonetheless. The girl who had produced these creatures lay now motionless in the chair, the procedures toll taken on her not in livelihood but in stamina.
Theodore had a thought to wake her which only seemed to grow worse an idea with each gentle rise and fall of her chest. Instead he produced a blanket to cover her and give her the moments reprieve she so deserved.
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