call me maybe

[from_scratch]

Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.

He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -

with the Joker (kappa)

with Ripper (kappa)

with Darren (Aestrix)

with Minus (kappa)

with Emma (Marri)

with Facility 3141592 (armokGoB)

with the admin (kappa)

with Jarvis (kappa, Aestrix)

with Miles (kappa)

with Hank (Nemo)

Comments

[marrinikari]

"They are lucky to have gotten anything," Professor Reed says dryly. "One might even call it something of a miracle." She walks around Emma to stare contemplatively at the circle on the floor, then returns her attention to its occupant. "And I assure you, I do not normally have freshmen summon- demons?"

The murmuring has picked up at the word 'demons'. A couple students have pulled out crosses and are holding them nervously. The noise ceases at a look from the professor, but the crowd is now much more obviously nervous and the crosses have not been put away away.

"Why don't we start with you," Professor Reed says finally. "Ideally with the part where you are apparently a literal demon, as those are- supposedly- as mythical as working summoning circles."

"But Professor Reed, demons are-" one girl starts, sounding mildly panicked and clinging to her cross for dear life.

"Ivy, we have no idea what is happening. Remember, never assume things about magic." She eyes the circle. "Especially right now."

[from_scratch]

Cam blinks.

"Sorry, what year is this? Last I checked summons and demons and so on were common knowledge as of a century and a half ago, and you said this was a magic class, you don't need an entire university-level class to teach non-summoning parlor tricks."

[marrinikari]

"It's 2007," Emma supplies. "Isn't it for you...?" She is still eyeing him, but now with more trepidation. "Pretty boy" and "demon" do not appear to be coexisting well.

[marrinikari]

Emma lets out a quiet laugh at 'parlor tricks'. "You sound like my parents. 'Parlor tricks', heh." She looks at Professor Reed, who has stiffened up in outrage. "Bet you get the whole speech now."

[marrinikari]

"Magic is not parlor tricks," Professor Reed splutters indignantly. "It is as valid as any other scientific field, with the history and research to back it! Our master's program in telekinetic algorithms is one of the most respected in the country! And our psychiatric empathy certification-"

She manages to pull herself back together, and straightens. "I apologize. You were saying something about demons and summoning circles..." she prompts.

"And where you got those wings!" a boy in the back yells, to giggles.

[from_scratch]

"I made the wings," sighs Cam. "And the tail. They're very fashionable. And where I'm from, it's 2159, so you've managed to pull me either back in time or to an alternate universe with your incompetent circle, and given that little spiel about magic I'm guessing alternate universe."

[marrinikari]

She knows it is totally unreasonable, but this annoys Emma anyway. "Hey!" she objects. "As far as we knew, summoning circles are, are, legends and fairy tales! By our standards we were miraculously competent."

And then the rest of his speech sinks in. "Alternate universe?! So..." she looks down, and shrinks in on herself, "...can you get home? I don't- it's not- I don't know how to undo this."

[from_scratch]

"Were you the person who made the last mark in the circle?" Cam asks. "It felt like a normal summon from my end, so I doubt every rule of the magic I'm accustomed to is suspended, which means you can probably send me home the usual way."

[marrinikari]

About to reply in the affirmative, Emma changes her mind at the last minute. "...What are the rules of magic where you're from? What's the 'usual way'?"

Best to know what's she getting into by replying.

...What if she has to give up her soul? Or go back to Hell with him? He's a demon! She doesn't know how this works.

Someone in the back of the class calls out an extremely inappropriate suggestion. Emma turns bright, bright red. For lack of a response (that she could make in front of a professor), she ignores them entirely.

[from_scratch]

"Usually, you summon a daeva of any of three kinds of which demons are one, and we're stuck in the circle till you get rid of us or we agree on a task and a payment. The lewd remark was presumably facetious but it's not unheard of, but relax, it's not my speed. But you didn't make this circle very well, so I can do whatever I want whether I do you a task or not. If I tell you how to get rid of me when are you planning on doing it, may I ask?"

[marrinikari]

"Uh." Emma shrugs helplessly. "It's not like I planned to summon you! You're mythical!" Pause. "Kind of. So, um, whenever you want I guess...? Do you need to be somewhere?"

[marrinikari]

"I am aware that was you, Mr. Parker," Professor Reed says without turning around. "I will be expecting you after class."

She turns back to Emma and the circle. "If you plan to stay for any length of time, Mr- I didn't catch your name?- I would appreciate a little more detail on what, exactly, demons do. Cultural bias, you might say." She is carefully not looking at the students with their crosses out. "And how you were planning to do things like eat."

[from_scratch]

"My name's Cam. I can stick around a while, nothing pressing to do at home, but I would object to staying for more than eight years because that's when we get a concordance with Limbo and I want to interact with the postal system. ...I'm assuming here based on the fact that you speak recognizable English that your years are like Earth years back home. What demons do depends on the demon; what makes us demons is the ability to use demon magic, which is - making things." He conjures an ice cream cone. "Including things like food, so you don't need to worry about that." He licks his ice cream cone.

[marrinikari]

"How did you do that?" Jenny asks in fascination. "Magic can't just- make things." She shakes her head and laughs. "Or summon demons I guess! Whatever."

And then, after a second, "-can you make those in chocolate?"

[marrinikari]

"Jenny," Emma says, torn between laughter and exasperation, "how is your concern here chocolate ice cream?"

[marrinikari]

"Because it's delicious. Duh." Jenny grins at her. "How is your concern here not chocolate?"

[from_scratch]

Cam laughs and hands her a chocolate ice cream cone.

[marrinikari]

"Chocolate!" Jenny squeals happily. Cam will receive an excited hug before being divested of the chocolate in question. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

This may have been a mistake on his part. Other students are now looking speculatively at Jenny's ice cream.

[from_scratch]

Cam sighs. "Okay, who else wants demonic ice cream cones?"

He is only pretending to be exasperated. He never gets this nice a reception.

[marrinikari]

Not everyone immediately takes him up on this, but it's still a room full of college students being offered free food. He is promptly deluged with requests, mostly for chocolate.

Professor Reed looks torn between laughter and rolling her eyes. "In light of the... unusual circumstances... I will excuse food in the classroom for now. Just this once," she adds with a look at the previously mentioned Mr. Parker. "But Cam, if it's not too much trouble- I would appreciate napkins, please."

[marrinikari]

"Vanilla, please," Emma says tentatively. This was not really how she was expecting class to go, but ice cream is always an improvement, right?

"...also, I'm Emma. I don't think I said. It's nice to meet you." She nods at Jenny, who is halfway through her ice cream cone and entirely unable to talk. "And Ms. Chocolate over there is my roommate Jenny." Jenny beams and waves and does not in any other way cease her consumption of chocolate.

[from_scratch]

"Napkins," says Cam, producing a stack of them and placing them on the nearest surface. "Nice to meet you. If I wind up sticking around for any prolonged period of time I will want to keep track of you so you can send me back after."

[marrinikari]

"I can give you my email address?" Emma offers. "Or my phone number, I guess? I don't know what's easier."

[marrinikari]

"Thank you very much," Professor Reed says, handing out napkins to all the students in reach. She pays the actual students little attention; if she is offering a napkin, they had better take their napkin.

"If it's easier, Cam," Professor Reed says, looking slightly uncomfortable. She is clearly not used to a lack of a last name. "I'm sure the university would be happy to host you somewhere in exchange for- well. Whoever won, the bureaucrats wanting supplies made or the teachers wanting to study your form of magic." She looks curiously at the pile of napkins. "You really just- create things? Anything?"

[from_scratch]

"I don't have email or a phone here - I can make stuff, but that doesn't mean it'll connect to an existing network that charges for access," Cam points out to Emma. And to the professor: "Do you want my last name? I have one of those too but I haven't used it in a hundred fifty years so it'd be sort of strange. I could use a place to be, although if you didn't offer me one I'd just find someplace nobody was using and make myself a house. I can create arbitrary non-magical matter given a reasonable amount of information about what I'm aiming to make."