Thou shalt not bear false witness

Dedicated to: @Ajax.
Time: 23:10. Monday, October 19, 2020.
Weather: There’s a storm roaring outside.
Place: An abandoned factory in the countryside between Oakheart and Atheria.
Outfit: Link.

It was dark in the dilapidated building. Not much light forced its way inside, but there was one room that was lit up by a single lamp. Past the reception and the main manufacturing area. Inside the old storage room. It didn’t look like much. A shelf had fallen over and left pieces of wood to scatter the floor and a small broken window gave way for the cold winds to enter, adding glass and leaves to the room. But for the most part, it was empty. Efraim had captured the demon earlier that evening. Sedated him and brought him to this place. Tied him to a wooden column in the middle of a devil’s trap, so he now was standing with his ankles and wrists tied around it. Tight enough for it to only be his head falling slightly over in the sedated state. Afterward, the angel had made a few preparations on a table by the wall and gone outside the large doors to stand guard. Michael arrived later that evening, not exchanging many words with Efraim before he sent him back to Heaven. Not deeming it necessary for him to stay around.

The double doors creaked as he opened them and for a moment he just stood in the dark doorway with a menacing demeanor. Observing the demon's reaction. To being trapped. To seeing Michael. It would reveal whether he had been in this kind of situation before or could sense the differences in auras from angel to angel. He then slowly stepped forward, closing the doors behind him with a gust of wind. Ajax didn’t seem to know why he had brought him here, but people often acted that way. Even if they knew exactly why. Of course, Joseph was hardly the most reliable source of information, but Michael had to take his accusation seriously. A situation where an oneiric demon tried to get inside his daughter’s head for information. Because if it was true, he needed to know what the demon knew, and what his parents conspiracy against him was. Using Erin to get closer to Michael. And if it wasn’t for Ajax playing a major role in that, he would have left him out and gone straight to his parents. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. He moved his eyes away from him as he turned towards the table, picking up a container with holy water to pour it into a chalice. “I am sure you are aware of this. But should you get the imprudent idea to harm me, I won't hesitate to send you to Hell,” he said in a calm manner as he poured the liquid. It would seem obvious to most, but he wanted to make sure that point came across unambiguously for the young demon. He then held a hand above a blade on the table, sanctifying it with his weapon's manipulation. It lit up for a moment as the holy symbols got engraved before he closed his fist and turned around to face Ajax. “However, if you cooperate and answer my questions truthfully. I will set you free without the need to use any of these objects,” he promised as he gestured his hand towards the tools on the table. And he meant this. He had no intention of hurting him if he did this. He simply needed to get to the bottom of this accusation and hence ensure that neither his daughter nor anyone else would be in danger because of the Winstons. He took a few steps closer to him to stop by the edge of the trap. “Have your parents ever asked you to invade someone's memories or dreams without their consent?”

He frowned subtly at his reply because although the demon seemed to be telling the truth, a long time ago didn’t exactly align with Joseph’s story. “That’s not what I’ve heard. So, let me ask you again. Have they asked you to poke into anyone’s mind for information about me or any other angel?” he asked patiently. “Someone at school, perhaps?” It didn’t get much more specific than that. Not with the limited information that Joseph had given him. But it should still be specific enough to stir something in him and cause a reaction that would reveal whether he had been asked to do this. Even if he didn’t want to say it out loud. Afraid of what his parents would do if he revealed it. And Michael understood this dilemma, so he wanted to make sure that he wasn't to fall for being truthful to an archangel. “Your parents won’t have to know that you've told me. I just need to know what they've planned against me and what role you play in that.”

He arched a brow as he asked him to untie him, just looking at him as if he needed to process the mere fact that he'd asked such a thing. He could only assume this meant that it was the first time he'd been in this situation, but Ajax was tied to the column for a reason. The trap was there to prevent him from escaping. But the constraints were there so he wouldn’t have a chance to hurt him or prevent him from carrying out the torture, should he refuse to reply to his questions. “No,” he said in a deeper tone as he shifted between the eyes of the demon. He wasn’t that magnanimous. He then walked halfway around the circle to ensure that he hadn’t loosened the chains. After all, he couldn’t know if he had the ability to destroy them. But it would be stupid of him to do so, seeing that he’d only get so far before Michael would hurt him. Because if he was weakened, he wouldn't be able to destroy the chains again. Besides it indeed indicated that he did want trouble. “But the sooner you tell me everything you know about your parents' agenda against me, the sooner I will release you,” he reminded him before he continued his walk around the outline of the circle, like a shark on the prowl, before he again stood in front of him. “How does your oneiric ability work exactly?”

Once again, he sounded sincere as he stated that he wasn’t working for his parents. Even admitting that he hadn’t spoken to them for months. So, perhaps Joseph had gotten this detail wrong. He raised his chin as he kept acting clueless, his mind trying to find possible alternatives. It was strange. How he didn’t get the feeling that he was lying. But Michael was far too determined to give up or get swayed by a simple feeling. And he was still a demon. Evil was in his blood. Whether he pretended to be better than his parents or not. He started to feel the irritation pricking at him as he kept insisting that he didn’t work for them. But then he did something to further fuel his determination, saying that if he did know something, he would be punished for giving any information up. The latter in which Michael cared little for. But now he had more reason to believe him to keep useful information, regardless of the plan Joseph had told him about. “Ah, so you do know something. Well, I promise that whatever you think your father will do is nothing compared to what I have in mind.”

He crossed his arms as he listened to him explain his ability, nodding once as he finished. Naturally, he had to ensure that Ajax couldn’t just enter his mind right then and there, gaining highly valuable information to give his parents. But it didn’t seem that it was that easy, and even if he did manage to enter his mind, it would surely overwhelm him. All the corridors with doors of horror and death. He’d be surprised if the young demon lasted more than a few minutes, but those minutes could still easily reveal far too much.

He let his arms down by his side as the demon then asked about his source. Not seeing why that mattered. Because either he’d been giving the order to get information about Michael, or he hadn’t. And if he hadn’t, that meant Joseph had been lying to him. And frankly, that seemed far-fetched. Because if anyone, Joseph should know how he dealt with liars. Still, he felt inclined to ask him about it. “Are you suggesting that someone is out to get you?” It was the only reason that made sense. However, even with the possibility that the siphoner and demon were enemies, he still had to believe that Joseph had told him the truth, so he wasn't going to rat him out. “This is between you and me, Ajax. Not anyone else. So, if you want to search, then search for any conversations you’ve had about Heaven or me. But I'd advise you to do it quickly because so far, you’ve done nothing but waste my time,” he said as he walked towards the table. Taking a moment to look over the objects that were laid out on it. “And if there is one thing I hate... it is when people waste my time.” He picked up a needle and filled it with the holy water from the chalice. He then lifted it slightly up, spraying some water from it to remove the air before he walked back to Ajax. “What favors do your parents ask of you?” He held out the needle in front of him as he looked at it before he lowered it slightly and looked at the demon.

The car had been abandoned. The door to the front seat still gaping open and what brought the most amount of worry to the little witch; the bundle of keys laying forgotten on the ground beside the car. She might not know all there was to know about the demon but she knew enough to be sure that a scene like that wasn’t any kind of good omen. Ajax would never leave his car like this. He cared more for it than he probably cared about himself.
The worries, however, didn’t just stop there. The tracking spell she had left on him – just in case with all the trouble that was brewing around her – had been partly blocked. Muted if you will. It was still there. Still active. But it was like having a microphone in a plastic case. The sound was muffled. It was fortunately just about enough for her to work with. She suspected one particularly person, but to her pretty big surprise, it should turn out that it wasn’t him.

The sound of a door leading into the dark and dreary factory closing seemed to echo rather loudly out-through the building and would eventually even reach the only lit area. Whoever had entered hadn’t been careful with their entrance. Or that was if they hadn’t purposely alerted themselves. Or perhaps it was simply the stormy weather outside playing with the weathered hinges and locks on the door. No matter which explanations that might have run through the head of the offensive archangel and the hanging dream demon something did suddenly enter the room.

 A sharp CAW pierced the room as a purely white crow flew in through a busted and glassless window and dived straight towards Michael. Claws out as it closed in on the angel’s face and violently started flapping its feathers wings in an aggressive attempt to at the very least force him to back away from the demon and drop the needle holding the holy liquid. It did not actually attack entirely. It constantly sways a little back at times where its claws came a little too close to clawing his face. But any hands that might get held up to either deflect the claws and the wings or to slap the bird away was fair game for the time before it retreated just as the double doors to the room opened and the bird flew to the dark-haired young-looking woman walking in like an obediently trained dog. A trusty broom in her one hand.
“And he will do nothing but that,” was the first words Saga spoke, referring to the statement of wasting precious time as if to say the demon wouldn't be saying anymore. Circe landed perfectly on her shoulder as she walked further into the room. Her naturally intense stare was of course pointed towards Michael and even though her expression was as neutral as it always seemed to be, there still wasn’t much doubt that she was not amused. For a short moment her eyes did move away from the angel to instead look to Ajax, making her cheeks tighten. Cheeks red like the tip of her nose and the messy bun of black hair being even more messy and wind-swept hinting not only to how she had travelled through the cold storm outside but that she had done it in quite the hurry.

She looked back at Michael, now stopping up to stand more or less between him and the dream demon. “What is the meaning of this, Michael? The young man is under my protection so why is it that I find you to be the culprit here? Of all people.” The surprise was actually still present in her voice despite it being displeasure that dominated. Her posture was calm but focusing on her free hand – even the hand holding the broom – one would be able to see her guard being up. Her trust to the angel had swayed at the time.

Michael looked up, alerted by the sound of the doors closing. It wasn’t Efraim otherwise he would have sensed the angelic presence. But he had told him that no one had witnessed the abduction, so the possibility of it being someone who was there for Ajax seemed rather slim. However, he quickly realized that this was the case at the sound of a loud caw. He cocked his head in the direction of the broken window to see the familiar white crow, heading straight for him. He instinctively lifted his arm in front of his face to parry its attack, before he caused a strong headwind so the crow would have trouble flying near him. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had recognized the crow, he would have done worse to it, but he let it get away with the few scratches to his arm, all of which healed within the second they were placed. But ultimately, it managed to hit the needle, making it fall out of the grip between his fingers on the ground. Not that it made a major difference. The tools were primarily there as an intimidation tactic. And for the time being, he had bigger issues.

As soon as the crow retreated, he turned around to the sight of the dark-haired witch. He arched a brow as she spoke on behalf of Ajax. Stating that he wasn’t going to do anything but waste his time. Of course, Michael begged to differ. But that was before she’d decided to interrupt him. And had she been just anyone, he would have fought her off and eliminated the inconvenient interference. Instead, he spent his time wondering how she knew the demon.
She then stopped between him and Ajax, demanding an explanation from Michael. But it seemed that she already had a preconceived opinion about the situation. Assuming that Michael was in the wrong. Admittingly, the looks of the scene did paint Michael in a bad light. But he had plenty of reason to keep him here. “I’ve been told that Ajax and his family are planning a conspiracy against me and that they are using my kin as part of that plan,” he explained, lifting his arm to assess it for blood before he looked at Ajax. Noticing that he had escaped his constraints and now walked closer to them, albeit not further than the outline of the trap. Clearly more confident now that the witch was here since he hadn’t just escaped the chains earlier. He held out a hand to emanate a holy light towards Ajax, causing him pain as punishment for the escape, before he lowered it towards the lines of the trap to create a shield of light, preventing Saga from breaking it, as well as ensuring that no aimed attacks from Ajax would pierce through to him. “But I assume no matter what I say, you won’t care because he is ‘under your protection’ or whatever,” he said in a snarky tone. He knew that she was here to rescue him. But he wasn’t going to just let that happen. So maybe it all came down to how much she was willing to risk for the demon. “I will acknowledge the possibility that there might have been a misunderstanding, but I can’t let him leave until I am absolutely certain that he is telling the truth.” Surely, she should be able to understand that. But regardless of whether she could, there now existed an undeniable conflict between them. “I am willing to look past this insolent interference of yours, but please do yourself a favor and step aside.”

Her lips were parted, ready to speak and repel the explanation that Michael apparently found to be a good enough excuse for what with nothing more than a quick look around the room looked like a torturous action. But then he raised his arm. Not towards her but towards a space behind her. Ajax. The light had almost blinded her, had she not been quick to swing around to look towards the trapped dream demon, now freed from his shackles but yet very vulnerable. The holy light was like a silent killer. A light seemingly as harmless as a bunny kitten. For the passing moment where the light hit the demon, she felt a strange sensation of inability. Uselessness. Because she did not react to stop the angel. She knew better than to even try to out-match him in something that would demand strength. It didn’t make it easier to watch, though. She had tensed up a little bit more than before. But as soon as the light lowered Saga turned back around. The shield he had created definitely didn’t have the same amount of concern so it didn’t need her immediate attention.
There was a moment more where it looked as if she was about to speak but stayed silent for just a second longer. As if to make sure she had her voice under control. “Your assumptions would point to you feel the same way. Someone told you a rumour and you trusted those baseless words enough to not even give the demon the light of day.” The little witch dared taking a step forward, strategically placing a foot down unto the needle on the floor and crushing it under her delicate weight. She calmly looked down on the leftover glass as she removed her shoe again, more bring attention to it and amplify her distaste of it rather than needing to see it herself. She then looked back up into the archangel’s eyes. They, for some reason, still had their valley green colour despite the hardness. “Turning to torture from the start. Your belief in a misunderstanding is nothing but air, I’m sure. I somehow doubt you’d even believe the words of a screaming man at this point.”

His threat didn’t look to have any effect on Saga. Nor did the offer, that he had been so kind as to wrap the threat in before handing it to her. And she really didn’t need much time to think over her answer: “No.” It was as firm and as nonchalant as the ‘no’ from back when the exact same man had asked her about her mate and whether or not she wished to meet them. No. She would not step aside. She would not simply let Ajax be the victim of a clouded vision. That was what she believed this to be after all. Michaels words and actions – which she had seen so far – all lead to that conclusion. This was rushed. Desperate. And of course; his child was involved. So he had no right to accuse her for being biased.

“I vouch for Ajax. I know him. He has better things to do than make plans against higher powers like yourself.” Her eyes did not move from Michael’s. Forcing him to look into hers. Dared him to find any insecurities in them. Saga wasn’t known to be like this; acting upon emotions instead of purely logic. It had just felt… wrong not to. And was she scared or nervous, then she didn't show it.

In some way she was right. He believed his words because the risk of it being true far outweighed the consequences of interrogating this demon. And he had no choice but to take the allegation seriously. Rumor or not. He had almost lost Erin twice within one year. And he was so used to resolving issues this way that it didn’t occur to him how rushed and relentless it seemed. He often felt like he needed to rush things. Because if he didn't. If he slowed down too much, it could have detrimental effects. And when it came to his family, he wasn’t willing to risk that.

His gaze stayed with her as she stepped forward, daring to destroy the needle by his feet. Despite what she'd just witnessed. He lowered his gaze to the floor at the sound of glass shattering, seeing how the water flowed from a place below her shoe. He looked at the large container with the rosary in it before she spoke again, and he returned his eyes to her. “That’s not true.” Sure. He had been ruthless to men countless times, perhaps even found satisfaction and a sense of justice in their screams, but he wouldn’t have admitted to a possible misunderstanding unless he believed it to be there. However much he despised the thought. And he was tired. Exhausted by the constant threats and lies. Because either way, it seemed that someone had been lying to him.
Her boldness didn’t stop as she then defied him. Refusing to step aside. He clenched his jaw at this, only getting more frustrated by her presence, and for a moment he just glared at her. “No?” he asked, surprised by the way she stood up for the demon. “I don’t care if you vouch for him. I won’t let him go until I am certain that my family is safe from their wicked plans.”

He raised his eyes from the witch as Ajax spoke again, shifting his focus from Saga as he knew that they weren't going to come to an agreement. He stepped forward, grazing Saga’s arm as he passed her to walk closer to the demon. Stopping by the shield he'd put up as he listened to him. Again, he only sensed that his statement was true. “Say I do believe you. I just need you to tell me this. Do you know if your parents have planned anything against me, or do you think there is even the slightest chance that they might?” he asked him before he swept a hand above the lines again to remove the light, knowing that it was uncomfortable for the demon to be near. If Ajax had no reason to believe this, Joseph had made up a huge lie. And now that they both insisted on it being a rumor, he was starting to lean towards that being the case. That this was a grave misunderstanding. He turned around to walk further into the storage room. His mind circling around a single thought. That he’d been screwed over by the siphoner. Ajax’s question further added to his realization of this. He inhaled a sharp breath at the fury that coursed through him, causing him to alter the weather outside to a thunderstorm. The heavy rain now hitting the roof in a fast pace. He ran a hand down his face at the frustration before he picked up a chair and forcefully smashed it into the brick wall with a loud thud, shattering the wood into a hundred pieces. “That son of a bitch!” he yelled. A moment later a thunderclap sounded and he turned around to walk back to the demon. “How do you know that Joseph would do something like this?” he asked. Because if one of his students knew Joseph Blackwood in that way, then how the hell had he not been fired yet? And more importantly, why had he lied to him in the first place? “Do you have any idea why he would do this?” He could only speculate why. But it seemed that either Ajax had done something to piss him off or that Joseph wanted Michael to be distracted.

Saga had claimed that she knew Ajax but still she had not expected the demon to defy her own defiance like he did by opening his mouth and not only make another try to explain and thereby make Michael believe but also to plead. For her to go unharmed. So, even with a possible danger standing right in front of her, she turned her torso halfway around to better look to the rather young dream demon behind her. That stupid boy. Did he not know anything? The more he talked, the more he revealed in desperation, the more the archangel would probably use those words and excuses against him. Her grip around her trusty broom got automatically tighter as tension ran through her. And as Michael chose to step forward, more or less ignoring Saga, she was just as quick to turn around with the slight momentum from how he had grazed her. Circe setting off from her shoulder as well in doing so and flew to higher grounds above them.

She did not trust Michael. At least not with Ajax. She couldn’t deny that she still held a certain amount of trust in him apart from that. She just wasn’t fond of him stepping closer. She was ready to step in. She had even already taken her first half a step when the dealing blow seemed to hit Michael in form of one simple question from the demon’s mouth. A question that also came as a little surprise to her, since she hadn’t exactly expected there to be a connection that way around. Because surely Michael wouldn’t have…
But oh yes, he had. The thunder breaking outside made her look towards the windows as an alerted squirrel. You could easily here the rain, how it slammed against the walls and remaining windows. But quickly after that side track Saga intense eyes turned back to Ajax, now freed from the shield, though still trapped in the Devil’s Trap. She had been about to run to him when the a very familiar sensation purred through the humid atmosphere of the large room and the demon would have probably seen her react to its presence. She calmly looked around before looking down at her free hand. She turned the palm upwards and let go of the broom, which stay up on its own. She ran a finger slowly cross her open palm and grimaced at the slicing pain from the cut that appeared. Drawing blood. She had just about made the cut when Michael once more attracted attention when a chair had to let its life for his frustrations.
Discreetly she then closed her hand and... squeezed, blood now dripping from her hand at to the floor while the arch angel looked to be distracted. And understandably so. The handful of drops of blood seeped further into a crack in the floor.

“He has done it before.” At last she broke her own silence, interrupting and answering even if it had been Ajax would had been asked the multitude of questions. “When I found Ajax missing, I thought it was Joseph that I would find here. Playing one of his tiring games. Not you.” She narrowed her eyes and dared walk a bit closer, remembering the glare he had given her not long before. Yet she stayed almost unfaced. “I must admit I am disappointed to hear that you would trust the words of someone like Joseph. I would like to think that you’d know better than that. Lying for Joseph is as natural as breathing and walking for a human after all.”
All it took was a graceful hand movement like a ballerina to guide the magic and the roots laying underneath forced their way through the flooring to surface a crack. A crack big enough that it kept going the rest of the way to Ajax where the drawn seal on the floor got broken. Surely, Michel wouldn’t mind it too much… “But disappointment would seem to be a minor concern right now. I believe we’re not entirely alone anymore. Açé rasj genario,” she chanted while doing another arm movement out into the room, now suddenly revealing thin veils of what looked like transparent lilac fog. Magic.

It didn’t surprise Michael that he had done something like this before. But it was worrisome to think that he used students as part of his agenda. Michael still couldn’t guess what this plan was about, and more importantly, why he’d risk involving him in this way. Ruining the so-called agreeable state of their relationship. At least, that was how Michael had seen it. Clearly, Joseph couldn’t have cared less about keeping the archangel on his better side. He returned his gaze to Saga as she continued speaking, saying that she’d expected to find Joseph here. And he wished to God that she had. That he could have been left out of his game entirely. But now that he was here, he couldn’t exactly turn away and pretend that it wasn’t happening. He turned his body to face her as she stepped towards him again. To his surprise, she expressed her disappointment in him. But right now, he cared little for her disappointment, being rather used to disappointing people one way or another. And how could he have known better? He wasn’t omniscient, and she didn’t know the many prior times where Joseph had told him the truth and helped him. “Sometimes Joseph tells the truth and sometimes he lies. Sometimes he chooses to help, but this… deceiving me in this manner. Now, I thought he'd know better than to do that. But even for the slight possibility of it being true, I couldn’t take any chances,” he explained.

He then lowered his gaze as he heard a cracking sound, following the movement of it until it broke the trap, which made his eyes dart back to the witch. Her defiance took no end. But destroying the trap wouldn’t do much if Michael didn’t want Ajax to be free. However, in light of the changed circumstances, he just sent her a glowering look before his focus was forced to shift again. His eyes landing on a girl appearing behind Ajax. Michael had no idea who she was, but it seemed that the witch and demon did. He found nothing but contempt as she said that they were in a reality show, smiling and giggling throughout her whole speech. “Is this some kind of joke to you?” There was no hint of amusement to find in his own expression. But he also knew that the wisest choice would be to listen to her, seeing that she’d come here for a reason. However, as soon as she cast the spell on Ajax, he walked towards her. Not caring that she’d put up a hand of warning. “I sure hope he reacts. And did he really think I wouldn’t? Being dragged into this cretinous game of his?” He looked at the fairy that Joseph had to do his bidding, not seeming to care when Ajax told her that she could still choose not to answer to him. He then narrowed his eyes as she talked about what he’d threatened to do to him, saying that it would happen to someone else as well. As if he was linked to someone. “So somewhere a human is in pain, bleeding their eyes out, because of your spell?” There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of it. He then looked up as she decided to levitate Saga to the ceiling, and he was inches from grabbing her throat when she said that if he hurt or killed her, she wouldn’t lift the curse. “I’ve had about enough of this. So, go ahead. Tell me what it is you want in return for getting this curse lifted.” He assumed that this was the real message she’d come to deliver. After all, it was hard to believe that Joseph would bother to hurt people for the pure fun of it. But she hadn’t made any demands or further explained much other than Ajax, for whatever reason, was linked to a human. So, he’d intended Michael to harm this human during his interrogation. But why? He simply didn’t see what Joseph would gain from that.

He then heard a familiar voice in the back of his mind. Ethan’s voice. And as soon as he realized that he was praying to him for help, he immediately shifted his attention to Saga and Ajax. He knew that Ethan wouldn’t have asked for his help unless he really needed it and seeing that it was connected to this whole ordeal with Joseph, he could only assume the worst. However, in a moment of hesitation, his gaze shifted between the witch and the demon. Knowing that they needed his help as well. But he couldn’t be two places at once. So, he just had to hope that the fairy was too drained of magic from the prior spells to do much more damage. And knowing their abilities, they’d surely be fine. At least, this was what he had to tell himself. “I’m sorry,” he said as he looked at Saga and Ajax before he gave one last glance to the fairy and vanished into thin air. Teleporting away from the factory to reach Ethan’s location.

Yes. Sometimes Joseph Blackwood would tell the truth and sometime those truths were valuable information but she had learned that no matter what the man’s words should be trusted with caution and this was solely where her disappointment laid. If she had the head to conclude that, then surely the man having thrown Joseph himself into prison realms would in fact know better than to follow completely blind… But at the same time, Saga understood Michael’s reasoning. Understood. Didn’t approve.


Not long after the magic in the room had been exposed and the lilac smog had faded back into nothing as the simple visibility spell wore of, the owner showed herself, giving of a sense of being proud to be found out. Or more; acknowledged. The little witch’s eyes narrowed substantially. So, it was her. Their former run-in had been very short and before then she hadn’t known much about the girl. She hadn’t known anything, honestly. The fairy was as known in the community where her she laid her ears too that Ajax and his family. One thing she did know was the feeling of displeasure of seeing her stand so near the dream demon and she might as well have given herself a clap on the shoulder for thinking far enough that it would be a good idea for him to be able to roam free after sensing the first few flicks of foreign dark magic, no matter if Michael had had plans of letting him go. At least with the trap broken Ajax wouldn’t be trapped in one pla-... Invida. “Ajax!!” she suddenly heard herself yell out and took a couple of hasted steps forward when Michael did that just before her. The vision of the effect of the spell on Ajax just about made Saga tremble in her place. Very delicately. Not of fear, but of something in the lines of anger.

Huh? The switch of gravity around her caught her quite a lot of guard as it almost swept her feet off the ground before sending her with high speed upwards until the roof blocked her from continuing further up and up. “Argh!” she bust out in the hard-hitting pain against her back, pushing air out of her lungs and forcing her otherwise so poised and calm facial expression to grimace as she took some time to silently deal with the lingering soreness. This fairy…
On a more positive side, Saga now had a larger view of the room, being so far up above the grown. She could still feel the inviable hand pressing her against the roof and it made it difficult to move any of her limps too. She saw Ajax, still near Pandora. And she saw Michael. How he looked at her. At Ajax. At her. Something was off. Any redemption that had started to build up after the hold deal with kidnapping and hurting Ajax disappeared together with Michael himself. Saga was dumbfounded. Had she expected him to stay? Sadly… yes.

A sharp look through the intense blue eyes darted back to Pandora. ”Unfortunately, the only one believing there’s good left is Ajax.” The only hesitation from Saga was the gravity making her fight harder to move her arm, but apart from that she didn’t give wait to force the root, she had commanded a few moments before to break all the way through the concrete flooring. It might be storming and raining outside but the moon was still out and the waxing crescent brought still its powers to the growth spell. She root was now massive and as if she completely didn’t care about either Pandora’s life or the fact that her being alive was the only solution to the curse, Saga directed the root to slam down where Pandora stood. And the truth was; she did truly not care. She was confident that the curse would be broken without the fairy. And so far, the fairy was just a stick in the way.

There was very little time between the following attack and the only thing that really made a different as Pandora started draining the root from life energy was the look of it as it became slightly less plump, withering. But the root didn’t move on or attack on life energy. It was magic and Saga was the puppeteer. But the second sweep, aimed to slam into the fairy from the side this time didn’t get a chance to hit.
Suddenly the pressing that at the very least held the witch from falling to her possible death disappeared. And she fell. A short scream existed her lips the moment her stomach retracted by the G-force of falling and she, of course, lost concentration of her magic. The giant root stopped in mid movement and just kind of stayed in position like it had grown that way over time, breaking through the floor and slightly raised. It creaked a little bit in the same way a wooden flooring would creak when sneaking over it. Panic spread out through Saga as she fell. She had to react quickly and she had no time to even notice what was going on with Ajax or Pandora in that moment. Instead her focus tried to find the broom. If she could just get a hold of the broom, then she could… She reached towards the direction she though the broom was but… while her magic was powerful her telekinesis was not. And before the broom landed in her hand, she reached the floor.

Soft.. Or at least softer than what she would have guessed the floor would have been. And warmer. She carefully opened her eyes and quickly noticed Ajax, right under her. Her face rather close to his. She couldn’t help but stare in astonishment for the first couple of seconds before he spoke and turned her attention to the now sleeping fairy not far from them. ”Sleeping, huh. Probably best to let her sleep for the next 100 years,” she commented, sounding quite winded from the stress of the fall, but as soon as she started to move, her voice got interrupted by a pained groan as her back wasn’t too happy with her. She mustered through it, though. Grinding her teeth while she fought to sit up. “I’m not going to kill her. Not… urg… as long as she’s contained.”

Saga couldn’t tell if anything was broken. It sure felt like it but it could just as well be the impact. Never the less she slowly moved her now pretty bloodies hand up to her neck to the small symbol that hid under her hair a little behind her ears. His following comment succeeded in making her laugh, a puff of a laugh that made the sore back feel it. But the faint smile that the chuckle had brought stayed on her lips. “If you had been on your way to invite me to Juice Stop when Michael grabbed you, I’d think this isn’t longer just bad luck or coincidences.”
The blood already on her hand unfortunately wasn’t enough of a sacrifice to activate the healing spell on her neck so she had to utilize the cutting spell one herself one more time. She was used to the cutting pain by now so she barely made a face. And with the cut made and the symbol broken and the magic released she felt and immediate feeling of relief as the healing spread over her like a wave. It wasn’t visible but the bruising on her back disappeared and with a stretching of the back, she felt the pain smooth out and into nothing. The bleeding cut on her hand healed over too without scaring or signs of a wound except the remaining blood. And with all the smaller and larger injuries healed the spell wore off and the black symbol was gone. With a sigh she opened her eyes again at looked to Ajax. She seemed to hesitate, her lips parting and closing again before they parted and she could get the words out. “Are you okay?”

“That’s where he went then. To the linked human,” she stated calmly, thinking back to how the archangel had left shortly after getting the general jest of the curse. Saga knew about a human. A woman. Knowing what she knew about Michael, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if the talk had been about an unknown, faceless person in need of help Both Ajax and Saga could clearly take care of themselves. A defenceless human didn’t have the same advantages. Still this same female human had strings of acquaintance leading to Joseph and she had a suspicion that the man favoured this over complete strangers. She nodded, then rolled her shoulders to check a second time. “Yes. It’s astounding how the more advanced healing spells work on the body.” She really was fine. Not only physical but the mental panic after finding Ajax gone had subsided.

With Ajax asking for a moment to do… something, Saga then took that time to slowly breath out and collect herself completely. She wasn’t stone cold; she still felt a rush of adrenalin when in situations such as the one they’d just been in. Her eyes then wandered back to the dream demon where she allowed herself to simply watch him as he sat there in front of her. Eyes closed. She looked passed the blood and couldn’t help but admire him. He looked too much like someone who didn’t belong in the chaos and yet he was still there in the middle of it all. Together with her. He was alright.
“Not even a scratch. I found it, her abandoned not far from the square. Doors open and-.. oh!” Midsentence she got reminded of something and quickly manoeuvred a hand into a small pocket in her overall-dress, pulling out a bundle of keys that she then reached out towards Ajax. “These were just lying on the ground under the car. I thought you might want them back,” she said just as the white crow soared over them from the ceiling, cawing both a greeting and an appreciation for being thanked as it landed on the shoulders of its witch. It even puffed up its feathers in delight. Circe liked compliments.

This really wasn’t the best place, they should probably get going, get to some place less dilapidated and leaky and draft, but nonetheless Saga scooted a few millimetres closer to the demon and placed a blood-free hand unto his cheek, gently rubbing her thumb over a streak of blood and looked into his dual-toned eyes. “It’s okay. I’m more capable than I look and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. And as long as the tracking spell on you isn’t damaged, I’ll have ways to find you.” She said with such a nonchalant tone like she had already told him about the tracking spell. And not just having placed it on him without him knowing. “Just… do try your best not to get into trouble with archangels again.” She then moved her hand from his cheek up and through his thick blond locks.

Saga’s face softened by the sound of his laugh. She believe his promise. Or rather she believed that he at that very moment actually had plans on keeping that promise. She’d, however, like to think that she knew this demon good enough by now to know that he wouldn’t keep out of trouble. If that was a possibility for him then they wouldn’t be sitting on the floor of an abandoned factory in the middle of a man-enhanced storm roaring outside. And she wouldn’t have placed that small spell on his back for good measure. But had Ajax not been the of the reckless type, then her fall would have been within more fatal spectrums. “Not too far. Maybe an hour flight from Oakheart,” she replied looking back at her own trip. She had made it on 45 minutes or so but she had also been speeding. Circe had taken its winged form from the beginning so she wouldn’t have had to mind any other passengers than herself.

She retracted her hand from the demon and stood up before brushing some dust off herself. Her tights were ripped and were clearly only good for throwing straight in the garbage at this point. While Ajax made himself more acquainted with the place, Saga’s eyes went to the sleeping fairy a little way from them. And without giving much heads up she started walking with calm steps over to her. She wasn’t moving, still sleeping soundly thanks to Ajax’s little trick. She crossed her arms over her torso as she stood and looked down at Pandora. “What do you reckon we should do with sleeping beauty?” She was obviously talking to Ajax although she didn’t take her intense eyes from the fairy. The stepped closer and elegantly squatted down, still with her arms crossed and tugged in between her legs and chest, almost making it look as if she was cozying up in a chill thanks to the big sweater. “Do you know of a time frame that people stay asleep when you do… what it is you do?” How ever much she just wanted to leave her there, it wouldn’t help anyone. Not with the curse brewing. She finally turned to Ajax. He was still linked to... someone. It worried her.
A little hesitant, she wetted her lips before parting them: “You were telling Michael about your powers, weren’t you? You can’t just make someone who had forgotten remember, right? You can get access to all that’s hiding in a person’s mind.” Saga looked back down at Pandora, tilting her head slightly. “Perhaps she has information about the curse somewhere in her mind. It should be fresh, considering.” She hadn’t been around Ajax non-stop but she was confident that this link much have been established recently.

It was done with no hasty movement, when she looked slightly towards Ajax by the mentioning of another friend of his. A witch. A witch with a mate laying by their feet right now. “I see,” she simply replied with a soft tone, looking back down at Pandora. Saga still didn’t feel much pity, but she also didn’t have any actual intentions of killing the fairy. Not as of that moment at the very least. It was more a question of whether she would care if her attacks had to be lethal if this young-looking girl did something of the sorts again. Right now; she was possibly more valuable to them alive. “You’re a kind hearted man, Ajax. It’s not always easy to come by in a place right this.”

With elegance, the dark-haired witch pushed herself back up on straight legs, smoothing out her short dress, brushing off some remaining dust as well, and started looking around for where her broom had landed. There. Not far. And it was – to her relief! – in one perfectly fine piece. “We could, However, there’s a problem with that I won’t possibly be able to fly with both of you. Especially not in this weather.” As if the storm as sentient and was listening, a bang of thunder sounded from outside to make itself even more present. “Dealing with her here would be much preferred. The same with now rather than later. I’m not familiar with what curse you’ve been put under, not before I get a chance to take a closer look. But I…” She fell silent as if she wasn’t sure what to say next and gently pressed her lips together instead of voicing sounds like ‘um’ or ‘ehm’.
She could leave the demon here and bring Pandora with her and then come back for Ajax. But she wouldn’t trust the fairy to be left to her own – sleeping or not – at the shop. And neither would be happy about switching and leaving the fairy there to potentially wake up and get away. He had, after all, just told her how he needed to be near the person to keep up the sleeping state. “No curse is known for getting better over time.” Her intense blue eyes found his and looked deeply into them without wavering in any sense of discomfort from having eye contact. Then she tilted her head to the side. Just a little bit.

“Are you afraid of your abilities?” she suddenly asked, still with her voice soft and calm. She had noticed it before, this reluctance towards the usages of what he was able to. He didn’t seem to trust himself with them. Though, she didn’t judge him. More so, she was … curious. She had always been curious of him since they had met and even more so now, that she was getting closer to him.

Saga watched him in silence. Watched as his thoughts worked on what seemed to be a bit of overdrive - at least compared to herself. Watched this small expressions he made as he looked down at the fairy. She suddenly felt a distance away from him and she realized how she had always had that feeling in the back of her gut. He wasn’t on a different level to her. More like a different platform. She could look to him without having to strain her neck and he could do the same to her. But there was something separating them from each other. It was such a strange feeling. Why did he l-.. Sliding her tongue over her rose coloured lips, she gently took her eyes off of him again, as her mind reminded her about not to stare too much. People got so easily uncomfortable by how unfiltered she looked at them. “Nothing like that is going to happen,” she said with such confidence that it could make the statement true even if it hadn’t been so before she had let out the words. “I can see how you’d be worried about her defences kicking in. I doubt she’s been a person to open up to others before a sharp display of hostility.” Hostility had at least been all Saga had been presented with from Pandora so far. And thinking back to how hostile she had been even towards Ajax that time in the lower floors of the academy, she held firmly onto that belief. Ajax was - or had been a friend of hers, so she could only imagine her surrounding herself with a wall with gates she easily could slam shut after having opened them. “But you have the ability to make her mind as much as your world as hers. And if your presence in someone’s mind can be look on as a foreign virus, that’ll still give you time before the defences find the proper way to get rid of you.”

Her head had only just tilted slightly and her eyes had been on their way back up, when the demon expressed something that immediately became a concern for her. Her eyes adverted from their previous direction and she perked her head up to look around them. Her dark brow furrowing remarkably as she returned her attention to Ajax. She refrained from commenting on it, but she kept it close. Heard something? What? She had only caught the sound of the roaring storm outside as well as the faint scratching of Circe over on the table where, the archangel had been kind enough to leave his torturous instruments.
She hadn’t been blessed with supernatural earing, at least far from the one she was sure a demon would be. Still..

The surprise of his following idea was clear as the bright moon on a crisp winter night in her face. Her blue eyes had widened and although her face didn’t showcased much more than that, her expression still told a clear story of bafflement. “You can bring me with you?” She couldn’t really hide the excitement either. It had pushed forward, passed reason for just a moment. She wanted to go. She wanted to witness that thing he could of such unattainable places such as the mind. Could he.. bring her into her own? The thought slowly started to creep into an uneasy territory.
Shaking ever so gently on her head to bring herself back. “If that’s possible, you might be right. I just worry about the state we’ll be left in here. With you going in alone, I’d be able to watch over you.” And with the ‘something’ he had heard this weight a bit more now. But… “Perhaps I’ll be able to stabilise you if I go with you. Like Clarissa made sure of back then. But by being there.” And not just by giving him a calming tea. They didn't really have much time to decide either so the look in Saga's eyes had turned determined.