Eighth Summoning [Voice] || Sometimes I'm nervous when I talk

[knew_anyway]

-right.

[There's a small pause, and Nathaniel takes a deep breath, before starting to speak.]As you all know, there is a festivity of sorts, held on Friday. For preparation, I am willing to teach a class on the basics of dance Thursday evening. Though I am not a certified instructor in the matter, I have attended several galas which required

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[marsfireignite]

[ ... ooh.]

Where do you want me to meet you?

[She is so not bothering to actually say yes, because obviously, she wants to see. 8|]

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[knew_anyway]

-you want to do it now?

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[marsfireignite]

I'm not doing anything.

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[knew_anyway]

Alright. I-

[A pause]

-I'll have to set things up then. It might take a few hours.

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[marsfireignite]

I can meet you then?

[Pause.]

-- what kind of spirit is it?

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[knew_anyway]

Yes. Please come over.

[He purses his lips.]

It's about the level of a djinni- like Bartimaeus, but I don't believe it is as powerful as he. Nevertheless, a degree above a foliot-sort, like Faisal is.

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[marsfireignite]

[And Rei is shrugging on her coat and out the door!]

Is it dangerous?

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[knew_anyway]

Not if bound properly.

[Which they always are.

Nat's home will be the same as ever- maybe a little more books, a few more loose papers with his spidery scrawl across them- but still remaining with some sense of neatness. Bartimaeus has been gone for over a week. Faisal had the home protected with a sensor web, but nothing harmful.]

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[marsfireignite]

[There's a soft hum of understanding, at the response, before Rei shuts off her feed so she can walk quickly, without interruption. When she gets to his home, she knocks once before opening the door without waiting for a response, peering inside curiously before stepping into the room, closing the door soundly behind her.]

Hello?

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[knew_anyway]

[He pokes his head around the corner and nods.]

Miss Rei. I've been setting up in the room over here-

[And Nathaniel leads her up the staircase and into one of the rooms upstairs. It's been cleared out of any shelving or desks, the blinds heavily drawn across the windows, allowing only a scant amount of light to shine through. The carpeting has been torn up and removed, the wood paneling underneath sanded down and smoothed to a shine.

There are three circles drawn in chalk on the floor- a large one, bound with many runes and diagrams, interlocking with one another, spaced out, squished together, but perfectly ordered and neat. There is no break, no thing that looks out of place. Perfect and painstaking

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[marsfireignite]

[She opens her mouth to automatically correct his formality, but stops herself at the sight of the drawings on the floor. They're -- intricute, and painstakingly perfect, and her brow furrows slightly as she looks them over, careful not to step too close to them, for fear of disturbing them.

There's an odd sense of deja vu -- but Rei dismisses it as she looks up at his request before glancing over toward where Nat was pointing, immediately moving to the candles to light them quickly, striking the match with ease against the box.]

Why rosemary?

[She's curious, but focused on lighting the candles.]

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[knew_anyway]

Spirits are vulnerable to it.

[As he works, he sets the bowls out in small circles around the largest circle.]

They can't stand the scent. Rosemary, rowan powder, garlic- anything of the sort makes them recoil and burns their essences.

[He glances over toward her lighting the candles.]

Good. The leftover circles- [Pointing toward the small circles, maybe six inches in length in between the bowls of rosemary] -put them in there.

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[marsfireignite]

[Huh. She keeps that in mind, before carefully settling the candles within the indicated circles. She stays kneeling for a moment, though, to press her fingers against the circles, to look over the designs, out of curiosity, quiet.

She may or may not be memorizing as much as possible, but there was no way to do so without copying them over, so she gives up to look back up at Nathaniel, waiting for further instruction on what else she could do to help.]

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[knew_anyway]

Alright.

[He steps in closer to her, eyes locked on her own, his expression utterly, gravely serious.]

Listen to me. You will be standing in the smaller, disconnected circle. No matter what you see or hear, stay in that circle. Do not let a finger out of the range, do not smudge the lines. Spirits are called demons because they are wicked creatures and they will hurt you if they can. Do not give it the opportunity.

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[marsfireignite]

[Rei frowns, at that, before straightening to listen, glancing toward the small circle before refocusing on Nathaniel, crossing her arms stubbornly.]

If something goes wrong, I'm helping you.

[How, or why, she doesn't say, but dark beings, evil spirits -- it's what she's built for. Sending a few of them back to where they belong doesn't sound all that difficult to her.]

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[knew_anyway]

Nothing is going to go wrong. I have plenty of disciplinary spells that I can use to subdue it- I will be fine.

[He reassures her, but his expression is still stony- he sets a hand on her shoulder, trying to convey his urgency, the importance of this.]

They can appear as elderly women. Squalling infants. Kittens. The monsters of your nightmares. Djinni especially are as unpredictable as they are cunning. Don't let it trick you into trying to help it. Don't let it scare you into stepping back. And don't speak your name until I say it's okay.