[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[nyanotech]

[Takes his wrist.]

Bath first.

Come on.

[direstnews]

I've things yet to attend.

[nyanotech]

What do you need?

[direstnews]

I would... I would see the circle undone.

And I would have my mirror.

[nyanotech]

[Something in her attention gets caught by the term summoning, but fades just as quickly.]

Where?

[direstnews]

[Nods toward the place where Rosette and Chrono are exploring the circle.]

I'll be but a moment.

[But he takes a moment to gather himself, and then another, and finally he moves to approach it.]

[nyanotech]

[Goes with him.]

There's no rush.

[direstnews]

[There sure is a circle on the ground here, all in strange lettering, drawn into the soil. He sets about erasing it, rubbing it out until the earth is, if not smooth, at least unmarked.]

I'll not tarry. Not over this.

[nyanotech]

[She stays caaaarefully outside the circle, tail fluffing out a bit from the proximity.

Legible or not, the meaning is clear.]

Who were you trying to call?

[direstnews]

A creature known as the Teller. It presides over all manner of tales.

[WELP it looks like Rosette and Chrono broke the mirror - but he will pick up the spoon.]

[nyanotech]

Not a bad choice for a place like this.

But that's not what you ended up with.

[direstnews]

It is not. The Teller was... overwritten.

[He's going to tuck away the spoon, bend to retrieve the kitchen knife, and then stoop to hook his fingers into the torso's shoulder joints, again.]

[nyanotech]

But it was here at first?

[But you are such a tiny thing. Reaches down with him, hooking fingers in its neck—it comes up a lot more easily.]

[direstnews]

[...you are a lot stronger than you look.]

It came in answer to my call.

[nyanotech]

[Maybe I'm just as strong as ladies with four eyes and cat ears usually are.]

Well, that's a bit of good news at least.

Whose story were you trying to figure out?

[direstnews]

Mine. And those I left behind. [A hand gestures around him.] And ours.

[nyanotech]

[Tucks the torso under an arm.]

It must be something important to you, if you can't wait a day or two to try and figure it out yourself.

What were you going to give up in return?

[direstnews]

I intended to gift it another tale - one it has, which stands incomplete.

[nyanotech]

[Reaches out, heedless of the spattered ooze, and pulls him into a hug.]

[direstnews]

[...what? What?]

[Really?]

[nyanotech]

[Yes, most definitely really. It's smearing all over her white lab coat and everything.]

You've been worried since you've got here. It's okay to be worried, and it's okay to be scared—but there's people here who care about you.

If you're worried enough to summon something that would mean you harm, if you're brave enough to do that even knowing it may come at a cost . . . why not talk to us, too? None of us can be quite so scary as that.

[direstnews]

It wasn't meant to do me harm. It was only meant to bring me answers.

[But he's holding on tight, now that he's over the initial surprise.]

None of you are like to have those.

[nyanotech]

[Yesss, good. Hugs are good.]

Demons who won't do you harm don't need circles to hold them fast.

And how will you know, if you don't ask?

[direstnews]

Have you a means, then, of knowing the tales of others?

[nyanotech]

You're really new to having people to talk to.