WE GOT DEMONS UP IN HERE

[periphrasing]

It’s around noon when Peridot performs the summoning. By all traditional, dramatic accounts, this might seem an unorthodox time of day to be cracking the barrier between realms and calling upon the infernal forces of hell itself, but, hey. She’s only human, after all; she has a job, a schedule to keep, a sleep pattern to maintain…

Frankly, if you ask her? Anyone who risks doing their demon summoning in the middle of the night while exhausted, just because of tradition or for the ambience or whatever, is probably a clod who deserves to get devoured by an incubus.

No. Peridot is much more pragmatic than that. That’s why she’d woken up this morning after a solid night’s sleep and decided that today, at last, would be the day to act. She’d had herself a sandwich, changed into her work clothes, made sure to hydrate properly AND gone to the bathroom AT LEAST three times before she had gotten settled in to start with her preparations, gleefully determined to put her plan into motion.
Soon enough, the pentagrams had been drawn out, the lines double and then triple checked for accuracy. Incense and candles were both lit, ceremonial items and offerings laid out in the proper arrangements according to all the books. And the whole time that she’s working, in spite of the preciseness of her measurements and the thoroughness of her research, Peridot is achingly aware of the riskiness of this endeavor she’s about to undertake. She’s confident in her theories, and in her own abilities as a summoner, but…

A double summoning. It’s a concept often muttered about among all the scientists at the extradimensional research department which Peridot is employed at, but it’s rarely ever attempted. Too risky, everyone always says. Too many variables, the spells too wordy and complex and the demons… to unpredictable. Managing just one is a struggle for many of those who delve into the dark arts.
But not for Peridot. What can she say, she’s always looking to push the limits of her field, and pulling off such an allegedly impossible feat seems like the biggest and most impressive limit to break of them all.

And all that ambition has led her, at last, to this point. Everything is ready. She seats herself across from the pentagrams, spell book laid open on the floor in front of her, a sticky note with the names of the demons she has selected for this experiment stuck to the edge of the relevant page. She’s practically shaking with excitement, has to take a breath to center herself, focus on the moment before she starts to read aloud.

Ancient words from a lengthy passage. Peridot pronounces every one of them clearly and accurately, and then calls forth through the void for them: Jasper and Lapis Lazuli.
She sits quiet, stock still, and waits for the response.

Comments

[periphrasing]

“Peridot: Senior Researcher from the experimental summoning division of the International Center for Demonic Studies.” Then she turns to Lapis. “And to answer your question: It’s because I’m far less likely to be tempted by a war or a vengeance demon than I would be by a knowledge demon,” Peridot smirks knowingly. “Besides, the records showed that you guys haven’t been summoned in what, decades?” she points at Jasper, “and centuries,” she points at Lapis, “So. My logic was this: If I was going to go through the effort of inflicting my scientific observations on any demons, I should probably at least do it on someone who’s probably been itching for a chance to get out of the hellscape again for a while. So in other words, you’re welcome!”

[mirrortide]

Alright, even Lapis can admit that it's... smart. That doesn't mean she likes it though.

She likes being a charity case even less, and she can't help but frown at her summoner, eyes narrowing just slightly. There isn't much she can do about it though, and any sort of back talking could land her with repercussions.

"Thanks, I guess."

[stompadour]

Jasper, eyes narrowed, does not thank her. "I guess at least you aren't being secretive about it. I hate when they're secretive." She folds her huge arms under her cape. "But you still haven't told us what you want us to do now."

[periphrasing]

"For right this second? I figured we could get to know each other a little, since we'll be working together for a while." She says this with complete sincerity, like it's perfectly normal to play icebreaker games with your supernatural employees from another realm. "As I said, I've read your service records but, the accounts don't give much more than a list of your notable accomplishments. I want to know more. Oh, and also--!"

She pauses and lifts her shirt up a little at the waist, revealing her SCIENTIST'S TOOL BELT, which is full of pencils and empty sample bottles with stoppers and other tools of the trade. From it, she produces a measuring tape, which she pulls the tab for out a few inches. "I'd like to take down some measurements and statistics from you as well."

Peridot lets the tab go, and the automatic retraction device sucks the tape back in with a snap.

[mirrortide]

Lapis quite honestly has no idea what she's looking at when it comes to the tool belt. She doesn't even know what a pencil is, for crying out loud, let alone the measuring tape.

Which means when it snaps back, Lapis jumps in surprise.

Please give her a break. She's old as hell and all this fancy new tech is frightening. "Uh. Measurements?"

[stompadour]

This, lamentably, gives Jasper reason to look faintly smug over the fact that she's seen a measuring tape before... but she still has no idea what Peridot is suggesting with any of this.

"Get... to know each other," she repeats, squinting.

[periphrasing]

Peridot glances between them both, eyebrows lifted slightly. Demons. Honestly.

"Yeah. Like... I know what your first recorded summoning is, Jasper, but that doesn't mean it's the first one you ever experienced. Tell me more about that, while I take a look at Lapis over here." She gestures the smaller demon over, rather than going to her.

[mirrortide]

Well, understandably Lapis isn't going to say no to Peridot when she's being motioned over, but she doesn't have to like being ordered around like this. Lapis takes a few shaky steps when she notices a fatal flaw in Peridots' whole planning thing.

The floors are super smooth. She's used to the gritty stone floors or rough wood floors when it comes to walking.

It's likely that Peridot has never seen a demon pull a feet like this before. And that feet is slipping, sliding, and ultimately-

Yelping as she's forced into doing the splits. Which, for the record, her legs aren't made for.

"What kind of a floor is this!?" It clearly has anti-demon properties.

[stompadour]

Jasper looks put off for a second by Peridot's question -- and then Lapis slips, and she lets out a sharp bark of laughter. She takes her own, more assured step forward. Toe beans. No problem.

"It's lionel-um," she says authoritatively.

[periphrasing]

Peridot reels back a little in surprise, eyes as wide as dinner plates because in all her years of demon research, she's never seen anything quite like this?

"It's linoleum," Peridot corrects her, "and crud, you need more traction-- Hold still!" she barks, holding her hands out, trying to get Lapis to calm down. "Just stay there, I have an idea--"

The human skitters out of the room and returns a few seconds later with a huge towel, which she throws down on the floor in front of Lapis. "There, step on that instead."

[mirrortide]

Lapis hisses, outright seethes as the other demon laughs at her, and her tail lashes back and forth in agitation as she waits for the human to grab- something? She's not sure what this linoleum flooring is, but she immediately dislikes it.

Once the towel is down, it's easier for her to stand up, thankfully. She glares daggers at Jasper. How humiliating, to be taken down by a floor? "What's the purpose of flooring this smooth?" Seriously. It's gotta be a hazard to everyone, not just her?

[stompadour]

"Lionorlem, that's what I said," says Jasper dismissively. "It works for humans because humans don't have hooves."

As long as they stay on this subject she doesn't have to answer invasive questions.

[periphrasing]

"It's not usually this smooth," Peridot explains irritably, straightening up and pushing her glasses back up her nose. "This linoleum--" her eyes flick over to the war demon briefly, LISTEN TO HOW SHE'S SAYING IT, JASPER-- "is super old because my stupid landlord won't pay to replace it. Usually it's textured, but that feature has been worn away over time by friction. Other parts of the house are at least carpeted, so you shouldn't have any problems there."

[mirrortide]

There it is, there's that emotional output Lapis has been craving, and it's absolutely delicious, it makes Lapis perk up considerably. "Your landlord sounds like a jerk." Lapis points out, seemingly innocently enough. "If you're paying for this space the least they could do is keep it taken care of for the tenants."

[stompadour]

Jasper shoots her a Look. "She's not going to buy that," she scoffs.

[periphrasing]

Well. She might have, at least to an extent. Not enough to actually give Lapis what she was angling for, at any rate.

"He's not worth the effort anyway," Peridot adds dismissively. She's circling Lapis now, investigating her more closely. She stops at one shoulder and grabs the wrist of one her wings, flexing it experimentally. "This is impressive... What would you say your maximum wingspan is?"

[mirrortide]

Well, she tried.

At the question, Lapis flares her wings wide open, purposefully bashing Jasper with the one before adjusting, like she hadn't meant to do it. It's a fairly large wingspan for a demon so small.

"This is my maximum, I guess?"

[stompadour]

The wing smacks Jasper straight in the face before she has time to react, and she bats it away with an agitated snarl.

"I've seen bigger."

[periphrasing]

"OOoooooh," Peridot gasps, completely disregarding the little tiff going on between the two demons. "Wait-- Hold that pose."

Without waiting for confirmation, she scurries around on her tip toes, investigating and then feeding her measuring tape out from one wing tip to the other. "Huh. Looks like you're at about 3.1 meters across from one distal phalanx to the other," the human chirps. She glances at Jasper, eyebrows lifted. "Have you really seen bigger...?"

[mirrortide]

These words mean literally nothing to Lapis. They're wings, they let her fly. She doesn't know why measurements are needed, nor why it matters.

"Demons come in all shapes and sizes. It's possible." Lapis supplies helpfully. She's not insulted by Jasper saying she's seen bigger, because big isn't exactly what she's meant for. She's not supposed to be intimidating like a war demon. Frightening yes, intimidating... well, not so much.

[stompadour]

"Of course," says Jasper, rolling her eyes. "This isn't impressive. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of expert."

jokes on you lapis bigness matters more than literally any other thing

[periphrasing]

"My precise expertise is spell crafting, not physiology," Peridot replies irritably, glancing up from investigating the knuckles of Lapis' right wing. "I know a respectable amount about it but it's not what I spend the majority of my time doing. But since you're so experienced, why don't you tell me? What's the biggest you've ever seen?"

[mirrortide]

"Yeah, what is the biggest you've seen?" Said with a tone of 'I don't actually care'.

[stompadour]

"At least three times that," says Jasper dismissively. This is of course pretty rich coming from someone who does not have any wings at all, mind you.

[periphrasing]

Peridot's eyebrows are just steadily climbing away. She's even paused in her poking at Lapis. "Why would anyone ever need to summon a demon with a nine meter wingspan?" she asks, mildly alarmed.