might as well do it with style

[starving_artist]

Henry doesn't want to go back home.

Yes, his money's beginning to run out. Yes, his friends probably want nothing to do with him. Yes, he's gone from living in the lap of luxury to sleeping on the street.

But he really, really can't go home.

He can't seem to sleep anymore. The sounds of stray dogs or passing drunks sound like footsteps. The police, coming to drag him back, or some magician's demon, or even his mother herself. She's rich and powerful and a lot smarter than him, he was deluding himself when he thought he could escape for good.

There's one small glimmer of hope. One thing he can think of that she wouldn't expect.

The chances of this working are infinitesimally small, and failure is more than likely to kill him.

But Henry cannot go home.

So Henry decides to summon a marid.

Comments

[between_worlds]

Henry speaks the final word of the summons.
Without fanfare, a young man appears inside the circle.
The air around him begins to move, testing the boundaries of the circle, looking for any flaw or break the demon can exploit. There is a sharp, painful pressure in Henry's ears.
The circle holds.
The air stills.
The demon stares at him, saying nothing.

[starving_artist]

Oh my god it actually worked.

Henry is not sure whether to be delighted or terrified. The latter tends to come more naturally to him.

He opens his mouth (words, he had words he was going to say but he doesn't remember them, what even are words).

"I command you to...do not kill or injure me in any way, don't set up a situation where I will be killed or injured, preserve my life at all costs and prioritizing protecting me from harm above all other orders thank you." (He says that last part as quickly as he can).

[between_worlds]

The demon inclines his head slightly.

[starving_artist]

Okay. He is not being dismembered. That's a positive.

"I need you to make sure no one can find me unless I want them to," Henry says, more authoritatively. "Stay near me while you do that so I can instruct you further if I need to."

[between_worlds]

The demon steps out of the circle and walks in a circle around the edge of the room, placing a barrier only visible past the fourth plane.
"You are hidden."

[starving_artist]

"Thank you," says Henry, sinking to the floor with relief.

Now that he's safe, the full reality of the situation is sinking in. He summoned a marid. He summoned a marid. That is a thing he can do.

This is going to be awesome until it inevitably goes wrong.

[between_worlds]

Alex raises an eyebrow, then says in a slightly less formal voice, "You seem to lack the inflated ego of my past summoners."

[starving_artist]

"That's because I'm bad at...almost everything," says Henry. "I mean, I guess I must not be terrible at summoning demons? Or I got lucky."

Too late, he realizes he probably shouldn't have said that.

[between_worlds]

The demon lets out a single, cold laugh, "Are you planning on dying today?"

[starving_artist]

"Not if I can avoid it," he answers honestly. "But I'm prepared for the possibility."

[between_worlds]

"Why did you summon me?"

[starving_artist]

"I ran away from my master, I didn't want to go back, and I was running out of options." He shrugs, looking embarrassed. "And I wanted to see if I could."

[between_worlds]

"You were a slave?"

[starving_artist]

"Oh, no! I was an apprentice magician. I mean, it was a bad situation, bad enough that I really can't go back, but it was not as bad as slavery."

[between_worlds]

"Well, you succeeded. You summoned a Marid. What's next?"

[starving_artist]

"I didn't think that far ahead," he said. "But now that you're here...I suppose we could try to destabilize the government a little bit. If that's okay with you."

[between_worlds]

The demon takes a deep breathe, expression shifting from angry to incredulous. "You summoned a marid, just to see if you could, without a clear plan for if you succeeded? You want to know my opinion?"
He shakes his head, "I might actually feel guilty after I kill you."

[starving_artist]

Oh shit. Oh shit.

Henry tries to think of a loophole he could have left. He doesn't find one.

"I did have a plan," he says, a bit defensively. "My plan was 'hide'. I was thinking about adding something to the plan. And I was being polite, it's a reflex-" He stops abruptly, stands up, and starts pacing.

"Why am I doing this? You literally just told me you wanted to kill me. I shouldn't feel like I need to justify myself to you. I should be angry, or, or, or something, I should stop being so pathetic." He's crying a little bit now.

"Because I don't really want to die. I know I probably deserve it but I don't want to. I thought I was okay with it but I'm not. I'm finally...I mean, I don't even know what kind of person I am. I don't! Until about a week ago I just did what I was told because I didn't know what else to do. And now, well, I guess I'm just running around being a moron." He half-laughs. It turns into a sob.

"'Don't summon anything beyond the limits of your power, Henry!' Did that! 'Don't ever try to run away or you'll regret it, Henry.' Did that! 'Don't ever tell a demon your birth name, Henry.'" He stops. He stands still. He looks Alexiar in the eye.

"My birth name was Hyo-jin. And I don't care if you know that, because I'm going to be dead soon, and because, guess what? Torturing people is a really shitty thing to do, and I don't want to do it anymore."

[between_worlds]

"Hyo-jin," the demon says, stepping forward and staring directly into Henry's eyes, "I'd been told humans sometimes have a conscience, but I assumed it was merely wishful thinking. But I think you are telling the truth," The demon steps back, "Perhaps you will prove me wrong. Do you know of the eighth plane?"

[starving_artist]

"No," he says warily.

(This is...not imminent death, but that's not necessarily an unambiguous good).

[between_worlds]

"It shows the complete, unadulterated truth of whatever I choose to look at, though often those truths are difficult to read."

[starving_artist]

Henry is curious about what he means by "truth of whatever I choose to look at," but doesn't want to push his luck by asking.

"Oh," he says. "Do you want to look at something?"

[between_worlds]

"I already am."

[starving_artist]

Oh. Oh.

"Um," he says. "Yes, you are probably doing that, aren't you."

[between_worlds]

"I have never met a magician who did not deserve to die. Tell me who you are Hyo-jin and I will see if you are an exception."