After classes and work, Monday, Room 204

[greenexorcist]

"Whew." Shiemi sat back on her heels and wiped a hand across her forehead, examining her 'artwork'.

Summer had been acting weird ever since the two had come back to school. Shiemi had thought it was just a passing thing, at first, and tried waiting it out. But now she was worried. Maybe it was something worse! Maybe something had happened to Summer while she'd been home? Or in the few days at school when Shiemi wasn't there?

Oh no. What if... what if it was a demon?! When people were possessed, they acted strange and did things they didn't normally do... But how could she check? It wasn't like she could exam the girl for marks or bites or other symptoms. And people didn't usually like to be asked if they were demon possessed.

A review of her ExWire books had revealed a spell similar to the one used on demon warding gates. It was only a small paragraph and a picture, since that was an advanced spell, but Shiemi had decided to try it. Hence the circle now on the floor in front of the door.

She took up the book again, trying to compare the tiny image on the page to what she'd drawn on the floor. If it worked, any demon who stepped on it would get a small shock and not be able to move from the circle.

Shiemi gathered up her supplies and moved back to her side of the room. Now to wait for Summer to come back and step onto it. Then Shiemi would be able to find out what kind of demon was possessing her roommate and (try to) get rid of it!




[open, warnings for slow play]

Comments

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer had been off...contemplating the purpose of existence, or whatever. Something that made her question the futility of life. And she was still, like, totally in that fugue state of philosophical dreaming when she opened the door to slip into her room like any other day.

But she stopped a step in, almost as if...

...she only realized that she had stepped on something. What the hell? Why was there a drawing on the floor? Did Shiemi...?

"Ohmygod!" Summer gasped and leaped to the side, out of the circle, staring down at it with wide eyes. "Ohmygod, did I, like, totally just ruin your, like, art or something, Shiemi? I'm, like, so totally sorry!"

Although, really, if you didn't want people stepping on your weird art,maybe don't put it right at the door?

[greenexorcist]

Shiemi turned at the sound. She had missed seeing Summer come in! "Ah! Summer? Uhm no. It's uhm." Hmm. "Are you sure you stepped on it?."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Uhhh." That was a weird question, but Summer could roll with it. She took a second to check the bottom of her shoes, but there was nothing on them, but, at the same time, the thing looked like it wasn't too fresh or whatever. "I'm, like, pretty sure. It would, like, totally be hard not to, you kinda, like, totally got the space in front of, like, the door."

And then she felt she just had to venture, "Uh, what, like, is it?"

[greenexorcist]

"Uhm. It's uh." Shiemi leaned around the other girl to look at the floor. "For class."

"Maybe you should try again?

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Like, what class?" Summer asked, her programming not handling this confusion well at all, and she was trying to figure out exactly what Shiemi was trying to see in the art work. "And try what again? Like, stepping on it?"

[greenexorcist]

"Class! Yes? You know. That... one?" Shiemi was trying her best, but she wasn't a very good liar. "And just... maybe take a step back? On it. Only, like maybe right in the middle?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Uhhhh," said Summer, "okay?"

Really, it wasn't like there was any harm in it, right? She was sure Shiemi had her reasons for not explaining the finer details of whatever project this was for whatever class would require having your roommate step in weird and ornate little circles drawn on the floor. It was Fandom, or whatever. So Summer shrugged her shoulders and stepped back into the circle, where nothing happened, except her lifting her eyebrows expectantly at her roommate.

"Like this?"

[greenexorcist]

Shiemi took a step back herself, arms up and in position to cast a protection barrier in case there was trouble when the demon realized it was trapped...

Only nothing seemed to happen.

She dropped her arms slightly and frowned in concern. "Ano... are you stuck?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Umm..."

Setting aside the weird way in which Shiemi was holding her arms, Summer looked down and lifted her foot. She lifted her other foot. She hopped forward out of the circle. She hopped back into it and shrugged, offering Shiemi an apologetic look.

"No? I don't think so? Should I be? Is this, like, some sort of magic trap spell or something?"

People, like, totally did spells here all the time, so it didn't seem too far-fetched.

[greenexorcist]

Eep! She guessed?!

"Ahaha." She waived her hands dismissively. "Why would you think that?"

...

"Do you maybe feel a... a tingle?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Because what else would, like, circles on the floor and, like, asking if I'm stuck be about?" Summer ventured, wondering what in the world could have gotten into Shiemi. She hoped it wasn't anything serious, like they had ghosts or something. "But, nope. Totally no tingle. But, like, I'm not magical. Like, at all, so if that's something you, like, totally need to make this thing work or whatever, I don't know if I can, like, help. Is, um, everything okay?"

[greenexorcist]

Shiemi's shoulders dropped. "No. You don't have to be magical, it's a containment circle. You're supposed to be stuck in it. I must not have drawn it right."

She pinched her lip a moment. "Can I try something else?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

And Summer felt a bit bad for having messed up Shiemi's spell thing or whatever. She shrugged, following it with an enthusiastic nod.

"Yeah, like, sure, totally! Whatever, like, you need to do, Shiemi."

[greenexorcist]

Shiemi smiled... and then tossed a small bucket of water in Summer's direction. Holy Water, to be exact.

That would burn any demon who was possessing her roommate!