Apprentice (for Cutiexx)

[FapFapFap]

((It's fine, I'm a bit sporadic myself. There's days where I'm full of energy for writing and drawing and others where I don't feel like it at all. Also, I finished my degree last semester, so my routine is pretty irregular right now))

Dellana's master had in fact had much the same idea as his apprentice. This was not his first time scrying on the antics of the Holzer sisters - only fair since they had spied on him through the windows before he ever got acquainted with them - and he never grew tired of this kind of scene. If anything, he felt more motivated than ever to continue his ginger root enhancement program, since the results were so extremely gratifying.

With the sanctum sufficiently prepared, he went to the kitchen and rinsed out his teacup. Spotting the ginger hand on the table, he picked it up and hung it in a net on the wall, next to nets of garlic and onions. He stood there for a minute, pondering if he should include ginger in tonights meal. How would Dellana react if he was cutting ginger when she came back in? He'd probably scare the poor girl half to death, he thought with a chuckle.

Just then he heard the door behind him and turned around, a bit flustered at having been caught in his pontification. "Ah, Dellana. Are you alright? You were gone for quite some time. You got the - yes very good, very good. These will do nicely."

He reached for the bundle of willow switches she had cut for him and studied the seven branches with interest.

[Cutiexx]

((Oh, congrats! What are you doing now?))

Dellana handed over the switches wordlessly as Thaddeus reached for them.
She wasn’t entirely certain about the width of some of them, but had tried hard to match them to the stick he’d had that morning.

“I hope these are what you wanted,sir. If some aren’t suitable, I can go back and get some more,” she offered, mentally waving away the fact that these were here to beat her with.

She was looking at Thaddeus looking at the switches. His focus was mesmerizing in some way.

[FapFapFap]

((I’m doing job hunting and apartment hunting mostly. I had a slew of interviews these past few weeks and forgot to visit aotk, sorry ))

Thaddeus didn’t answer at first. He weighed the branches in his hand, then shifted three that were of almost completely equal length and girth to his other hand and mumbled a spell under his breath. The three switches vibrated, then danced and swayed in his hand, weaving themselves into a sturdy rod. Thaddeus smiled with satisfaction at his little trick and looked at his apprentice with a wry smile. He imagined they were both thinking of the ruin such an implement could visit on her dainty behind.

“Yes, these are excellent. Now, I’ll help you prepare dinner, so we can get on to tonight’s lesson.”

He placed the switches and his newly woven rod in the bucket by the door that held his collection of staffs and walking sticks, then went to work in the kitchen without another word.

((You decide if they talk about anything specific over dinner or we just jump to the beginning of the summoning))

[Cutiexx]

Dellana's eyes widened as the switches became a cane. Merlin's beard, that looked bad for her bottom. It was startlingly similar to the cane used in the Academy, actually, and Dellana shivered to think what it could do between skilled hands.


They prepared and ate dinner, thick slices of dark bread with tangy cheese, slices of lard, and diced carrots spiced slightly with ginger. Dellana brought up candying some of the ginger, and Thaddeus, didn’t dismiss the idea entirely, giving her permission to try it on the next day, which pleased her.


Soon the meal was over, and Dellana realized with a pang that it would soon all be over. She hadn't even taken the time to brush up on Demonology, too taken with watching the Holzer girls' punishment. As she cleaned the dishes, she fleetingly wondered if their bottoms were ginger-free, or if their mother would keep them plugged 'till bedtime. But she didn't dare to scry and check with Thaddeus puttering in the kitchen behind her.


When the time came, she had steeled herself to be harshly punished and thrown out. She knew Master Arenil had hoped Thaddeus would be able to "unblock" her fears, but she couldn't imagine that happening. He had little patience for what he saw as foolish behavior, and Dellana had no doubt her irrational fears would not please her master, nor sway him to compassionate leniency.


She followed him to the summoning site, silent and shivering slightly, face pale and stony like a woman walking to her execution.


((Sorry for the delay. I hope your job hunting's going well! ))

[FapFapFap]

((Ha! We’re very bad at this you must have replied right after I stopped checking regularly, my apologies))
((you are very good at describing meals by the way.))

Thaddeus ate with his usual focus and was initially confused when Dell mentioned ginger.
“Candying … ginger? Like frying it in sugar? I don’t know, I think the heat might neutralize the irritating effects of the oils and - oh, you mean for eating.” Thad paused for a second. “That … seems like it would taste very strange, but then again I am not an authority on sweets. You should make some tomorrow. Would you be able to do it with syrup? It might not be easy to procure powdered sugar on short notice.”

Later, Thaddeus led her to his sanctum. It was much more tidy than usual, as he had made a large empty space in the middle of the floor for pentagram-drawing. Several items had been placed in bowls and boxes on the floor and his desk; candles, herbs, incense, crystals, pretty much anything that might be used as a spell component. He personally would not bother with any of it for a minor summoning, but he wanted to see what tools Dell felt were necessary.

“I’ve have a copy of the most common pentagram-combination for this type of summoning, but you’re welcome to draw it from memory if you think you can.” He knew she was exceedingly booksmart, so the copy was only a precaution. By her own words demons terrified her, so she might need some aides to help her nerves.
He felt a bit bad for the girl. He could feel her apprehension just walking into the room. And he supposed demons were scary, but he’d always been much more afraid of his teacher. Demons were fierce and sadistic, true, but there were rules of engagement and ways of controlling them. And you didn’t need to feel bad about enslaving them to your will because, well, demons are assholes. Any wizard who was killed by demonic entities only had themselves to blame, either for being reckless with their demonic servants or for not protecting themselves against the servants of other wizards. That was the main reason demonology had become a required discipline. If only 1 in 10 wizards bother to learn to control demons, then the other 9 wizards are at his complete mercy.
Thaddeus supposed all these fine points were pretty moot for the terrified girl standing in his sanctum. He decided to stand at the opposite wall, so she’d feel his presence, maybe calm her down a little.
“Now remember, a Sitri is small, but devious. It lacks the power to defeat you with force or with magic, so it will try to tempt you or confuse you, cause you to make mistakes so it can seize it’s opportunity. Don’t let it. Your task is to make the summoning, hold the demon inside the protective circle, and if possible, coerce it into revealing it’s true name. If you have to dismiss it before you manage the last bit, I’ll consider it a partial success and an acceptable performance. You may begin your preparations whenever.”

Thad folded his hands and gave the girl a look of encouragement.


((Obviously, you decide if she can even manage to complete the summoning, but in case she does, the sitri is going to try and probe her unconscious for stuff it can use to unnerve her. So when it appears, it’ll take the shape of something out of Dellana’s deep shameful fears/desires. Do you have any suggestions for what that form could be? :P))

[Cutiexx]

((Hello hello! I’m back for this! Here’s to hoping you’re still in!))

—

When Dellana entered the sanctum, her fears were forgotten for a short while as she took in the room, and the atmosphere in it. She could feel the magic that had been cast in here, the power it had held. It felt impressive, intimidating, but safe. A bit like Thaddeus himself.

But then she saw the summoning ingredients and all her fears and anxieties came back at once.

Thaddeus spoke, explaining the exercise, and obviously trying to be soothing towards her in a way, which she was grateful for, but when he walked to the other side of the room all she wanted was to go with him and cling to him for support.

He wanted her to summon a Sitri.
Faintly, Dellana realized this was an easy task. He was almost babying her by asking her to summon the weakest type of demon, when at the Academy their final asked for an Incubus summoning, or the summoning of a Fury for the strongest students.
Dellana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Okay. She could do this. She had to do this. She’d seen Sitri summoning before, they’d went well, this was fine.

The girl took a piece of chalk and bent down, holding her skirt out of the way, walking slowly to draw a nice and steady circle. She glanced at the aid Thaddeus had provided, just for safety, but it was quite clear to anyone watching that here, at least, she knew what she was doing. She pulled straight lines, wrote legible symbols, and chose crystals and herbs with confidence, going as far as to select those that would balance each other out, and harmonize nicely with the incantation, supporting it instead of just being used and burned out instantly.

She finished with the candles, placing them with care and lighting them with a whisper, before stepping back, throat tight with anticipation. She glanced at Thaddeus, half-hoping this would be enough, half-hoping he’d take over now, please, and let her off the hook.

—

((The sitri could re-enact the Hozier girls’ figging. It’s very a-propos and very confusing to Dellana at the moment :3
Also Dellana has actual trauma about fire, and houses being on fire, so the sitri could also use that technically))