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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 -
Cam on Barrayar
from_scratch
thisvorlunatic
And when she is gone, Miles erases the circle.
"I feel sort of bad for her, but really, you're not that terrifying. Particularly to someone who is supposed to be indestructible. Round two?"
"I feel sort of bad for her, but really, you're not that terrifying. Particularly to someone who is supposed to be indestructible. Round two?"
from_scratch
"Sure." Here is most of a circle. "A substantial chunk of demons' bad reputation has to do with people thinking we're likely to be rapists, though, not just perpetrators of wanton destruction. If you start from the assumption that I have bad intentions? She was stuck in that circle and I'm the only matter in the room she can't change."
thisvorlunatic
"Okay, point. You could try toning down the 'boo' factor, in that case. We don't get anything out of needlessly harassing the angels, except very limited entertainment value."
from_scratch
"Yeah. It didn't actually occur to me in that framing until the last minute, I've never been ungagged around angels before. Sometimes they used to look kind of reassured if I tried to spook them without talking because it meant, well, I couldn't talk, some summoner had me under control. I'm all recalibrated. Will not boo the angels."
thisvorlunatic
"All right."
Adjusted protocol having been established, he finishes circle number two.
Adjusted protocol having been established, he finishes circle number two.
from_scratch
Here is an angel who, also, looks warily at Cam, but maintains his composure except for a slight fluffing of the smaller feathers on his dove-gray wings.
"Summoner?" he inquires politely of Miles.
"Summoner?" he inquires politely of Miles.
thisvorlunatic
"Hello," says Miles. "Consider this sort of a job interview. How do you feel about working with demons?"
from_scratch
"As long as they're bound appropriately that's fine. I've been on projects that involved demons before."
Cam does not say "boo".
Cam does not say "boo".
thisvorlunatic
"And if the demon in question is not bound in a way that satisfies your standards...?"
from_scratch
The angel looks at Cam.
Cam does not say boo.
"I don't need to audit the circles, but I don't want to be blamed for demonic behavior resulting from inadequate binding."
thisvorlunatic
"No one is going to blame you," Miles assures him. "If you're not comfortable around the demon, we're also going to need angels with medical expertise to help out in local hospitals starting probably a few weeks from now; is that more to your liking?"
from_scratch
"I'm a competent medical angel. Does your demon provide payments for your other summons?"
from_scratch
"Then that sounds agreeable, although I prefer not to take jobs that are longer than a week all at one time."
thisvorlunatic
Miles notes this down, along with 'competent medical angel' and 'prefers jobs under 1 week'. "Thanks for your time, Serandiparos. Any questions before I send you home?"
from_scratch
"For one thing, that was a naturally-occurring angel, I'm almost sure - I couldn't tell for sure with the first one, but Serandiparos sounds like an angel's chosen name on top of a very randomized appearance. And second, he's very curious how you're paying me. I'm not in a circle right now, so he assumes that if I'm bound, I'm on a task."
thisvorlunatic
"Imagine his surprise when he finds out we're paying you in money," snorts Miles, inwardly praying that he won't start to blush.
from_scratch
"He will probably be very surprised! If you don't want all of these angels assuming that I am routinely having my demonic way with you - or some other human not in immediate evidence who works with you - you might choose to mention it explicitly."
thisvorlunatic
Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush. Think about science, think about five-space navigational math, think about anything but the disposition of Cam's demonic way.
"If you care about their misapprehensions, I can find a way to work your salary into the conversation, but I'm not minded to bother for my own sake."
"If you care about their misapprehensions, I can find a way to work your salary into the conversation, but I'm not minded to bother for my own sake."