#mostly bc i probably need to be jotting out how AE ends. like. properly

[dyketectivecomics]

Unexpected

(note: y'all already KNOW this a magic fam thing. got a part two & maybe 3 depending on how long it gets that’ll drop soon too. first meetings/introductions are fun, right?)

Constantine's recovery from the blast was quick. These kinds of theatrics were par for the course when requesting an audience with a being from one of the Inner Circles of Hell, and this summoning ritual was but the latest in a series of attempts to recover Astra's soul from that realm. The inspiration for which struck less than a month ago, John had become a bit obsessed with the endeavor. Having chased a rumor that one of Hell's up-and-coming demons was causing yet another schism in their convoluted politics, John was holding tight to the hope that in the chaos he'd be able to gain favor, through whatever means necessary, to finally right one of his longest-running wrongs.

But with all of the horrors he knew to expect, nothing surprised him more than to see the form of a small girl take shape as the smoke began to thin. It was unconventional by most demons' standards, to say the least. And John was all the more caught off-guard by the first thing she said to him...

"You're not my father," she said. Well, more so accused, he thought.

"And you're not the demon I was trying to summon," he shot back between fits of coughing, the smoke and incense was still thick in the room. "But life is full of disappointment, luv."

Constantine watched her carefully for a moment. She was obviously very young. Much, much younger than Astra was... and younger still than Chas' daughter probably would be now. (How long had it been since they’d had a decent chat, anyway?) The white robes she wore were tattered at the edges, burned as if the journey she had endured by her accidental summons had been a rough one. But not dire, no, she seemed relatively unharmed.

Her black hair was chopped in a bob style and extremely uneven. He noted how choppy it looked in the back as she turned her head to take in the room she was in, one of many libraries that John had made use of over the years, this particular one being the result of his hoarding one too many arcane books and leaving them in his apartment. (After all, demons were easier to trick if you flattered them with some hospitality. And if the meeting went south, he'd at least have a home territory advantage.) The front of her hair was just long enough to stay tucked securely behind her ears, keeping it out of her face.

And Lord above, her cherubic face... Her eyes were piercing and blue, as sharp as freshly cut sapphires, flashing something dangerous for the briefest of seconds as she turned her gaze fully to him. It made John think twice for a moment. Maybe he had succeeded in summoning a demon after all? Because there was certainly something there just beneath the surface. And it was red and angry.

"And just... who might you be, then?"

"Nu-uh. You're a stranger," she said, shaking her head back and forth slowly at him, her eyes flickering something more violet now, "I'm not telling you my name."

"Well then, what may I call you, luv?" he bargained. If there was something John tried to have in spades, it was his charm and skills of persuasion. A magic all on its own, really. And one that often came in more handy than not. 

The girl looked him over a moment longer, as if gauging him and his trustworthiness. The longer those deep blue eyes stared into John's own pale ones, the more hypnotic they seemed, especially as they began to even out into a rich navy. John felt calm, a sense of ease washing over him.

"Raven," she said finally, finding something that evidently made him worthy enough. Her voice snapped him back to reality, out of the trance that her eyes had set him in. "Call me Raven."

"Alright then, Miss Raven," he rose from where he had been knocked off his feet, and offered the girl his hand. Making sure he kicked the salt away from the binding circle she was in (not that he was absolutely certain by now that it'd have held her, at any rate), he helped her up onto her feet and led her out of the room. "Why don't we see about sending you on your way, hmm?"