The Belikov Manor

[Doctor]

Nybras gave Melora a bemused smile. "We might be able to arrange that in your contract, my dear." His voice was sweet and coaxing, but Anshel would be having none of it.

"No." Anshel held a hand up to stop him. "No powers, no extra bullshit, no nothing. Keep it simple, short, and temporary. You bought her time, you didn't harbor her for a millenia. In fact, you should just come back later; she's tripping balls right now from the medication - she can't sign a contract!"

"Riiight. Because I really care about that," Nybras drawled.

"It's unethical," Anshel bit back.

"I'm a lawyer, Anshel. Do you really think I care?" He asked, not rhetorically, but as if he really wanted to know.

"Lucifer has standards." Anshel tried to reason.

"Well, he's not here, is he? Like you said: it's a simpler contract than yours. I'm the one who negotiates." He said it as simply as one would comment on the weather.

Anshel bit his tongue. There was no talking his way out of this. It was time to face the music and Melora. He turned to her, face schooled in a look of calm.

"Melora, I've... done something," he confessed.

How the fuck was he going to explain this? He contemplated that for a moment, looking up to the panels of the ceiling as if they would reveal to him a good way to phrase it. He licked his lips and decided blunt honesty would be the best route.

"You had no chance of living, so I called in a favor and arranged for a demon to temporarily possess you, which is what kept you alive through surgery and is what's keeping you alive now." Yeah. That didn't sound weird at all, he thought. "Nybras is from Hell. He deals with contracts with the living and he's here to negotiate a deal with you if you decide to stay alive." He opened his mouth again but closed it, having nothing left to say.

[MeloraBelikov]

While the two men bantered Melora turned her attention to Azura, who was busy rifling through her clothing and belongings. What was he looking for? She cocked her head to the side, watching him. It was important, but the medication had made her forgetful and easily confused. Finally she snapped back to the conversation when Anshel started talking to her.

Fuck. That all sounded really complicated and too fast for her to understand in English. She considered for a moment, taking time to translate it into Russian and...

Fuck.

So she really would have died. Probably figures, she had done much more than she ought to have in her condition, but what's to say not fighting wouldn't have gotten her killed? Dying was seeming more and more like an inevitability. Despite being a hunter and quite familiar with the death thing, she was still young, and like most young people, she had figured she'd still have a few good years. Apparently her job was a little more hazardous than she thought. Dying was kind of a blow to her confidence. Melora'd had a ton of near death experiences, escaping each one with the style and grace that made her famous among hunters. Being at a disadvantage to begin with was no excuse.

Still, if she was alive, that meant Azura had lived too, and Melora fought off smiling to herself in such a serious situation. She had to fight a smile even harder when she realized Rima was absent, which meant she'd no longer have to deal with her either. In light of what had happened, Anshel probably let her free. Or she'd escaped. In whichever case, the group was down by one vampire.

Being alive meant she was possessed, and that fact did little to comfort her. Possessed by what, exactly? And for how long? Questions spun in her head, too many questions to ask, really. Anshel had set this all up for her, the only thing she could really do is trust him and hope that nothing bad would come of it. Trusting people wasn't a strong point of hers, and the thought of trusting her life to him made her shift, bringing on a bunch of pain. Still she ignored it, figuring it was time to respond now.

"Okay, well I'm fairly sure staying alive would be the right choice. How do I go about doing so?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

After a few more minutes of aimless walking, and confusion from not being able to read or understand any signs, she asked for directions in English, then repeated them in Italian on the off chance that anybody would understand anything. No such luck. As she received back were blank stares. Her luck with phones was also running low. She couldn’t buy one here, because all options were of course in Russian.

Rima snarled to frigid air, coming to the harsh reality that she had no choice but to go find that group and forcibly get directions. They certainly weren’t going to have her willingly return to their bare-walled rooms, and sure as hell have anymore help with powers.

She turned, beginning to walk back in the direction she could sense a massive amount of energy which only a Vampire or another extremely old being could produce, knowing that the group would be in that direction. Her thumb ran over the smooth metal of the staff which lay in her pocket.

[Doctor]

Nybras' smile grew impossibly more oily as he stepped around the man to bring a chair to Melora's bedside. He sat leaning forward, face level with her own, prepared to talk business.

"Uphir has put a demon inside of you," he poked at her belly. "We call her Vetis. She's a young thing who's barely grown into her horns, but she shouldn't be giving you any trouble," Nybras explained animatedly, talking heavily with his hands. "She should stay for about two months until your Earthly form recovers. Sixty-six days, just to be sure you don't crumble and die when she leaves you. Focus and you can talk to her, but she's still a bit stung from getting this assignment, so I can't promise you she'll be friendly."

He pulled out a wide book, the pages thick and gilded.

"This is not for free, obviously."

Anshel snorted. "It never is, is it?"

Nybras ignored the remark. "Now, the usual forms of payment are indentured servitude -"

"You are not enslaving her!"

Nybras rolled his shrewd eyes at the interruption, " - or a sacrifice." He took a moment to appraise Melora before shaking his head. "Your soul won't suffice. Hell, you'll probably end up coming to us anyway, right?" He ribbed the girl. "No, you'll have to sacrifice something else." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "How about your first born?"

Anshel was stunned. "A bit old school, don't you think? Also, no."

Nybras took a pause from the dealings to finally address him, exasperated. "Will you please stop encroaching on my business?"

The judge bit the inside of his cheek and kept quiet.

Satisfied, Nybras turned back to Melora. "Jews," he complained before resuming negotiations. "What do you say? Firstborn?"

[MeloraBelikov]

"First born..." Melora mumbled, slowly translating their words. She would have to remember to never end up hospitalized again, the drugs were clouding her head. Finally, she looked to Anshel, who had refused.

"You're a lawyer, right?" She waited for the man to nod and open his mouth to say something smart-assed before she interrupted him. "I'm choosing Anshel over there to represent me in this case, so listen to him. Also, I never plan on being a parent." Why would she? Parents were terrible creatures likely sent from hell themselves. "So that couldn't possibly work."

Melora thought for a bit. "A sacrifice," She thought aloud. Who would she be willing to kill? She assumed not just anyone would do, it would have to be someone important. Someone powerful, close to her, and someone she genuinely wanted to put in hell. "My father." He fit all those descriptions. Though she had just been thinking, she hadn't meant to say it, and wasn't even aware that she had.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura had found what he was looking for, and carefully, slowly, placed the fragments back into Melora's pants pocket without alerting any of the others. As he placed everything back to how it was, closing the bag, he looked up from beneath his brow at the deal they were striking.
This was dangerous business, and his background as a law student wasn't needed to see that.
His gaze passed from between Anshel and the demon, noting the vehemence in his friend's voice as he tried to defend Melora's very existence from this creature.
If he were honest, he'd say that there were very little discrepancies between human and demon law, which was rather frightening. It only served to note the brutality both had when responsible for sentencing and convicting the innocent or the guilty.
Finally, his eyes looked at Melora, really looked at her, and he could tell there was something off about her. It wasn't the drugs either. He almost curled his lip. She smelled different, and not in the good way.

[Doctor]

Nybras looked at her curiously, trying to read into the intricacies of her soul. After a moment, he chuckled in delight.

"Deal."

But before he could open his ledger, Anshel's hand tugged at his arm, imploring him to stand and follow.

"I need to speak with you," the judge ground out as Nybras complied and allowed himself to be pulled into the room's lavatory. Their voices were kept low and muffled from behind the door. "What are you playing at, Nybras?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"What? A child offering to kill her own father? It's so Grecian." The demon approved, eyes alight in excitement.

"I don't want her destroyed," he said.

"She's making a deal with the Devil, here. The girl has to realize the implications." Nybras reasoned.

"She's just a kid! She doesn't know shit about what she's capable of. Melora can convince herself of anything. She honestly thinks she'll be able do it, no problem." He said.

Nybras face softened into a genuine smile. "That's why I want her to do it," as if it was only logical. He took pity and put a comforting hand on Anshel's shoulder. "Look, she was probably going to kill him one way or another. This just makes the act a little more self-serving." He reasoned. "We bring to light the darkest, foulest parts of the soul. It's what we do." Duh, his face said.

The scowl remained on the judge's face, not at all eased.

"Think of it this way," Nybras tried another approach. "The bosses are really dedicated to this whole Balance of the Universe design right now. From destruction comes rebirth, from tragedy - reflection, from a downward spiral - the motivation to be better, etcetera, etcetera, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit." He said, free hand lively in the air. "Anyway, my point is that we're just facilitating that balance. She'll be a finer person for it."

This demon was such a fucking lawyer.

"And what if she ends up stuck in the abyss?" Anshel asked, not at all buying the glittering generalities.

"Well, that's why it's a gamble!" Nybras pipped. Done with the recess, he opened the door and glided back into the room, situating himself back at Melora's bedside.

Anshel followed him out, head hanging and hair falling into his eyes. The part about Melora's father was true. It would have to happen sometime. He was resigned to the fact this was the best deal they could get. Stepping to the foot of her bed, he offered his legal council. "It is my suggestion that, should you want to live, you agree to the terms."

She looked pale and fragile and tiny like a child, swallowed up by the starched hospital sheets.

"Are you positive you want to do this?" Anshel's eyes bore into her's.

Nybras offered her a fountain pen and sheet of parchment from the book, an "X" and a line sat underneath the text. "Sixty-six days of demon possession keeping you alive and, in exchange, you kill your father. Possession will cease promptly at the end of the twenty-fourth hour of the sixty-sixth day no matter the condition of your body at the time. Your father's life must be taken directly through your own willful actions. There is no limit to the time afforded you to complete your part of the transaction, but be aware that should he find his death through other means, your soul and body are forfeit until renegotiations take place."

[MeloraBelikov]

While the men were outside of the room Melora glanced at Azura, who seemed to be making faces at her. "Are you okay over there? And what were you looking for in my stuff?" Looking at him made her think back to the fighting they'd done together back at the mansion, the fact that they'd almost died. Azura had likely filled Anshel in about her father and what had happened. How did Azura manage to live, yet escape the whole making a deal with the devil thing? Lucky ponce. As she thought more and more about the situation, her face turned bright red. She instantly looked the other direction, hoping for a distraction. Had that part really happened, or was it just her mind dreaming things up before she died?

Finally, the men walked back from their council in the washroom, providing a perfectly timed distraction. "So, sixty six days and this Vetis person is out? She won't be causing problems, will she?" Melora raised an eyebrow at Nybris, expectantly extending a contract and a pen her way. She took it and read through it, making sure that what it said matched what he'd told her. Taking one last lingering glance at Anshel, she signed the document and handed the pen and paper back to the demon at her bedside.

[Doctor]

"She won't be any trouble. Just try not to provoke her." Nybras explained.

The ink steamed and set and Nybras lightly plucked his fountain pen from Melora's hand. Scooting his chair back, he closed the book and hugged it under his arm.

"Well it's been lovely meeting you all. Miss. Sir. Anshel." He acknowledged them each with a nod and sat up, walking back to the cupboard. As he passed the judge, he swung an arm around the man's neck and put their heads close, smooth horns rubbing against Anshel's temple.

"Do you want me to set up a meeting between you and Boss?" He asked, concerned. "This job has you on edge. Maybe you can find another situation? Something that'll let you leave your hair down and horns out?" He tried to tempt him.

Anshel contemplated the offer. "You know what? After this crisis is over with, I'll call you and let you know." He remembered the years when just spreading debauchery was his job description. Partying and screwing all night sure as Hell beat this.

Nybras clapped him on the back and stepped back into the hospital cupboard, disappearing into a different plain of existence.

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima’s face harbored a dark expression, not suspicious, but mysterious, and nearly bitter. The idea of returning to them to ask for their help… she’d rather have her finger nails ripped off one by one, locked in the stocks... almost anything else. But this had to be done. She didn’t like the idea of being stuck in a country where she could understand exactly nothing.

Her mind coiled into Anshel’s once more, oblivious to what had happened within the tiny group of Hunters and Vampire. ‘I hate to say this, but I need something from you.’ There were faint notes of her own anger at herself, and distaste for having to speak to those who she had promised herself she wouldn’t agree with any further. ‘And if you try to keep me, I’m warning you now of what I’ll do.’

She was near the entrance of the building in which she could sense them, and she paused, pulling on a pair of fitted leather gloves before returning her hands to her pockets and clenching one around the weapon.

[AzuraGallu]

After the demon had left, Azura let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. That was a situation he hoped to never find himself in. Getting one's balls gripped that hard by Satan's minions was enough to put nearly anyone on a righteous path.
"I was checking for the pieces," he spoke to Melora off handedly, feeling a little resentment at the closeness the two demons shared before turning to meet her eyes.
When she turned away, a slow evil smile spread over his lips, and his good mood suddenly returned full force.
"Oh common. You don't think I'm going to hold that over your head, do you?"

[MeloraBelikov]

Immediately she turned back to face him, batting her eyelashes. "Hold what over my head, Azura?" She feigned ignorance. Of course he was going to hold it over her head. Not only was he a lucky ponce, he was quite a cruel one too. She wasn't fooling him with her forgetful act of course, so she held her breath and hoped that he wasn't going to say anymore about it.

Something in her consciousness prodded at her, and she ignored it.

"Aaaaanyway. How bad was my condition when I got here? And how much longer do I get to be stuck here?"

There it was, that feeling again. Like someone was trying to tell her something. She gave in and focused on it, only to have her head filled with the rudest voice she'd ever heard in her life.

Helllllllo? Are you finally fucking listening? The voice asked, interrupting every thought process she was in the middle of. In that moment, Melora knew it was going to be a looooooong sixty six days.

What do you want? It seemed silly to Melora to be responding to a voice in her head, almost as if she was going mad. Perhaps she ought to be in a different hospital, one with padded cells and straight jackets.

Just wanting to make sure you could actually speak English. You think so much Russian that I'm beginning to feel a bit out of the loop. Would you mind thinking in English so I don't get entirely bored?

Uhg, how whiny. Melora squashed whatever focus she had with her demon guest, ignoring her each time she poked into Melora's thoughts for attention. Fuck.

[Doctor]

Anshel shook his head in frustration. Here Melora was, talkative and joking around like she hadn't just signed away a piece of her soul. She'd go on this way until the time of action actually presented itself, he suspected. It was like being forced to watch an impending train wreck. However, lecturing her or attempting to prod her into reevaluating the mess that was her family situation would only earn her ire, and right now they needed to be a cohesive team.

"You were pretty fucked," he answered Melora's inquiries, voice so very tired. "Vetis' presence is the only thing allowing you to move around unhindered by your injuries. You can walk out of here now, but I suggest you take it easy and try not hurt yourself anymore. You'll only heal at a normal rate and if she leaves you while you're as fucked up as you were, or still are now, you'll die from those injuries immediately post-exorcism."

Explaining possession contracts felt so odd, despite Anshel having had to do it on a good number of occasions.

He would have continued with his cautionary words had Ms. Donavon not again infiltrated his mind.

"Ms. Donavon is requesting assistance." Anshel announced to the room, pointing to his temples in explanation. "She survived the fight and fire it seems."

With Nybras gone and the contract filed away, he finally acknowledged Rima's attempt to communicate. "It pleases me to know you have survived despite the odds." The address was professional. "Our party was in bad sorts and your rescue was simply not feasible. In fact, we ourselves are lucky to have our lives. I'll offer what assistance I can and you will not be taken back into our custody." He might as well explain to her why. "With your relationship with your clan brought to light, the Banglaire Court no longer requires your assistance. Please, take our well wishes for you. You are hereby released of all obligation and charges."

Would she accept amnesty and run? Or continue to pursue him for revenge? Before, she didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge, but now Anshel wasn't so sure.

[AzuraGallu]

"That delightful little kiss you gave me before falling into my arms like a swooning bride," he remarked, smile unfaltering, but he became interested as the light in her eyes dimmed.
She looked like she was thinking to herself, but...had taken on a kind of hollow appearance.
Studying her, Azura tilted his head much like a dog would when trying to comprehend a command.
The Anshel spoke, talking of the Blackraven's survival. "Dammit," he mumbled. The annoying crone had escaped unscathed, had she? And here we was hoping he could return to the home and pluck off one of her fried fingers as a trophy.
Well, best laid plans, and all that.
"In other words," he managed when Anshel ceased to speak, playing his head games. "you need to deal with it until your sixty six days are up. Capicse?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

‘First of all,’ Her voice was edged, holding some amount of venom despite how small. ‘I want my wallet, ID, credit cards, and passport back from your possession. I want you, and only you, to meet me at the front desk. I’ll know if you even think of bringing somebody else.’ She paused, considering her options as she entered the building. ‘Second, that Blackraven which I killed was at least as old as me, another Elder. That is why I lost my grip on conciousness.’ The person at the desk asked her something in Russian and she just shook her head, waiting for Anshel’s reply, and the fact she couldn’t reply, unable to speak the language. 'We’ll talk again when you get out here.’ Yeah, a pissed of Blackraven was nothing to be triffled with. "Don't you consider crossing me." She murmured aloud, eyes scanning the building. The collar of the jacket was upturned, hiding the tattoo from view.