Hunting (with) the Exorcists

[Blaze]

Jean giggles and shakes her head.

"Nonsense. I use powers I cannot explain to heal the sick and wounded. What could possibly be evil about that?"

Lucy folds her arms and scowls at the woman.

"We are not 'seduced,' we're just not bigoted."

[Harri-chan]

As Jean giggled, the woman frowned, and shot her a confused look. Her gaze remained on the woman as she explained that she used her magic for good, but then she turned and looked down at Lucy when the younger girl spoke up.

"We? You mean... you, a child, are a member of the Exorcists?", she asked, seeming stunned by the revelation. "This is a lot to take in. Magic... children... this is not like the stories I have been told", she said with a shake of her head.

"Do you even hunt demons?".

[Blaze]

Lucy blushes a bit and scratches the back of her head.

"Er, well... I wasn't always a child. Muffinville will do that to you.

"Of course we hunt demons! Demons that disrupt the peace or are actively malevolent! Or if we get paid. If they're not too bad, we usually just try to scare them off." Jean says with a smile.

[Harri-chan]

The news that Muffinville could change a person seemed to surprise the woman. For a long moment she silently studied Lucy, and then nodded reluctantly.

"My name is Rosemarie de Cannelis. Demon hunter", she introduced herself, bowing her head to the two girls.

"I have been tracking two particular demons for quite some time. I followed them here, but... they appear to have fallen under the protection of a far stronger ally. I... ", she hesitated, the words hard for her to say.

"... need help".

[Blaze]

Jean smiles and offers her hand to Rosemarie her hand.

"A pleasure to meet you Miss de Cannelis! My name is Jean Renias, a pleasure to meet you!"

Lucy grins as well, the awkwardness having passed.

"And I'm Lucy. There are three other Exorcists living here. I'll make tea and contact them."

She slips away, heading down a hallway into the kitchen as Jean pats the couch next to her.

[Harri-chan]

Rosemarie still seemed a little hesitant as she reached out, and firmly grasped Jean's hand, giving it a shake and another nod of her head.

"Forgive me if I have caused offence. This is just... a lot for me to take in. As it is, I am not myself... I have been anxious recently. These two demons evade me like no other before them. I promise you, I am good at what I do, Miss Renias. I do not seek help lightly. To find that help consists of a mere child... ", she trailed off, lost for words, and shook her head.

[Blaze]

Jean giggles and shakes her head.

"We are not questioning your competence Miss de Cannelis. This is not our first team-up and it will not be our last. There is no shame in seeking assistance. Don't worry about Lucy, she is more than capable."

She sits back down and indicted the seat across from her.

"Please, sit."

[Harri-chan]

The woman pulled back the hood from her cloak, but kept the garment wrapped around her. She did remove the large weapon from across her back through, handling it with care as she did so, leaned it against the wall before taking her seat as indicated.

"I am a member of an order than once numbered in the thousands, but today we are barely a dozen, spread so far and wide that contact between members is a rarity", she explained. "Because of this, I am not used to working with others".

[Blaze]

Jean beams with delight at that.

"Oh, I am part of an order too! They don't extend to this dimension though..."

As she says this, Lucy comes in carrying a tray laden with a teapot, six cups and ginger nut biscuits. She sets it down on the coffee table and turns to smile at Rosemary.

"How do you like your tea?"

[Harri-chan]

Rosemarie's gaze turned to Lucy's tray, counting the six cups, and she did her best to return the girl's smile when asked how she liked her tea.

"Without milk or sugar. Thank you... Lucy? I am sorry if I offended you earlier. I would like to hear your story sometime", she added.

[Blaze]

Lucy nods and pours tea into Rosemarie's cup, almost filling it before placing it before the woman, shooting her a grin.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Getting used to it. The others will be on their way. Blaze is at the library and Okuni is doing some shopping."

At that moment, Logos comes up from downstairs, the redhead clad in a black gi with a red belt, her hair tied into a bun. She nods to Rosemary and sits, Lucy making her a cup of tea with milk and no sugar. For Jean, she makes one with milk an two sugars and no milk and one sugar for herself.

[Harri-chan]

Rosemarie glanced over to the stairs as another woman emerged, and she returned Logos' nod before lifting her tea cup and sipping at the drink.

"Then I will explain. My order have been hunting demons for other a thousand years. There may not be many of us left, but we are just as dedicated to the cause now as the founders were. I don't want to sound big headed, but I'm good at what I do. That is why this situation troubles me so", she said, pausing to take a bite from a biscuit.

"I was sent to purge a large coven of Vampires in London. They were ruled by an extremely clever creature that had adapted well to the modern world. She ruled a vast business empire, which funded the lavish lifestyle she desired. This creature was a control freak, but she slipped, just once. She came across another of her kind, a demon which had taken the body of a small child. Even amongst the demons, this is frowned upon. Destroying the vampire responsible for creating the demon child, she then took her in, as if they were a family", she said, her nose wrinkling.

"The demon child was as wicked as they come, and bitter over the body she was trapped in. She was jealous of the mature human females, and took great pleasure in toying with them. The vampires have a way of enthralling humans, turning them into mere pets. The child did this... but things did not go as she planned. The elder Vampire took a liking to one of her new toys, and turned her into a demon like them. Now the tables had turned, the pet was the one with all the strength and power, and she was filled with desire to return all the humiliation she had suffered back on the demon child. The child's wicked ways were now engrained in the new Vampire, but being fully grown, she was a far bigger threat".

[Blaze]

Jean takes a tape recorder from somewhere and begins recording Rosemarie's story, sipping her tea as she talks. At that moment, Blaze bursts into the house, carrying a few books under her arm. Lucy makes her some tea with cream and one sugar as she flops into a chair.

"Sorry, go on." the detective says with a small smile.

[Harri-chan]

Rosemarie regards Blaze with surprise, but then she looks again at Lucy to remind herself not to judge based on appearance.

"You must be Blaze", she said, smiling, but like before, it seemed she forcing herself. Not because she was displeased, but simply because smiling was not something she was used to.

"I destroyed the coven leader. I regard it as a personal high point of my career", she said with no smugness, and not even a particularly proud tone of voice.

"Things rapidly fell apart without her. In a matter of days I wiped out her following of near fifty. The demon child and her former pet slipped through my fingers however", she said, and now there was emotion in her voice, but it was shame.

"The pet took control of the child, very much against the child's wishes. The child, despite her immature form was the elder of the two demons. She took them across countries and continents, trying to find a new life they could fit into. They briefly settled at an old school. The adult managed to get herself a teaching position, and posed as the mother of the child. Just as she had once been enthralled by the youngster, she enthralled a handful of favourite students, turning some... while she tormented others. One girl there was smart enough to sense the evil in her... and was punished for it. She too was turned as a demon... but not as Vampire. She became the sort of demon held in the lowest regard by the Vampires... a Werewolf".

[Blaze]

Everyone pats rapt attention to Rosemarie as they drink their tea and nibble their biscuits. Okuni slips in, carrying several bags of groceries. She nods to Rosemarie before going to the kitchen to pack them all away.

"I never got the rivalry between vampires and werewolves." Lucy says.
"They both turn others, but whereas vampires see themselves as noble and aristocratic and werewolves as beastly brutes, wolves see themselves as proud beasts of the wild and vampires as skulking backstabbers. Their similarities serve to highlight their differences." Blaze says.