#i have a few different projects i'm trying to parse through at once because i have things i want to get done and things i just want to do

[heartbeatbookclub]

guess who spent way too much time working on writing stuff and thinking about ddlc tonight and is going to regret it in *checks watch* 5 hours

this guy!

[discipulusmaleficus]

'I was hoping it wouldn't be obvious.'

Hana's talking, of course, about the dark circles under her eyes, the way she can't stop yawning and might as well be falling asleep where she stands. She'd done her makeup as she does everyday, though paying extra attention to the not-so-pretty aspects that plagued her that day; alas, it seems her ruse is falling short.

'I couldn't get to sleep and you know when you're tired and you start, like, overthinking things? I started feeling like I'd plateaued in my skills when it comes to demon possession, so I thought about how I could improve without putting myself too at risk. So I looked through my books, acquired some new books, and finally found the answer.'

From her bag she procures a leatherbound tome. She flips open to the dogeared page - yes, she's one of those people - and turns it to face Kalmar.

'It took even more time to translate it all. It calls itself a withstanding ritual from what I can tell, so someone can hold their own against "unwanted guests" trying to use their body.' And so why wouldn't it work just as well against wanted guests?

'The only thing is it's all timed, as in, if you don't do it on the right night with the right phase of the moon and everything, then you've gotta wait until the next month to do it.' Hana smiles. It's oddly sweet, given the topic of the conversation. 'And I must have great timing, because tonight is the night.

'So I spent all night and my day today trying to get everything together. I'm only missing one ingredient, and I was hoping you might be kind enough to help me. Not for free, of course.'

It's almost amazing she got through all of that without falling asleep. She hopes Kalmar can read this text and that the missing ingredient is one human sacrifice, because she might fall asleep before he gets done parsing all this information and, quite frankly, the thought does frighten her a little.

@idolsummons

Kalmar watches Hana impassively, poker-faced as he listens to her rambling. Contemplates her less-than-typically-perfect eyeliner and the concealer-caked puffiness around her eyes. He understands, of course. There have been moments when he's barely slept for weeks at a time simply because some project or six had arrested his attention.

It's a little more surprising coming from her, mind you.

"A withstanding ritual," echoes Kal. He takes the tome - fortunately for her, it's Latin, albeit a different dialect from the once he's most fluent in. It takes him only a few more moments than usual to skim through most of the details, and he finds the likely culprit quickly enough.

His brow creases.

(Maybe Hana doesn't realise. Maybe she's mistranslated. It has to be that, right? Cold-blooded murder would be -- too out-of-character for her. Right?)

He turns the book back towards her, points a skeletal finger towards the relevant passage.

"You mean this? Ah, 'the virgin blood of the prisoner showering over the caster, such that she might have the will of two men'? Et cetera? "