❧ hospital

@hannah simone [Nah, we can stop. You can pm me with any other ideas you might have~]

@park jamie ♜ Being called away from the drawing in the little boy's hands, Hannah turned her head to look at Jamie. The demon seemed interested in the way she operated, to which Hannah chuckled a bit. "Well, there's a bunch of things to plan back at the Youth Center. We have events sometimes, like a trivia night or a game night, where the kids come on a weekend or something and just hang out, have some snacks. During the week, we organize drop-in hours for kids to come in after school lets out – we have snacks there, too. There's a lot of food involved in making the Center appealing to kids," Hannah paused to laugh at how much food they really bought every month. "But anyways, the planning usually lands in the category of finding volunteers who are reliable, who can then run the events we want to do. Does that help? I'm not sure if I made much sense there."

[ big oof i feel like im losing the muse for this but if ur feelin it i can power through ovo ]

@hannah simone "I'm certain that's completely valid when you have a million things going mentally. I know your kind tend to concern themselves with multiple dilemmas at once," the demon replied, having already checked out from the topic when planning things didn't seem to be requirement of any sort. This was all keeping up appearances for people that weren't Hannah and if if all the requirement boxes were checked off, Marchosias really wasn't going to concern themselves with going the extra mile for, well, anything. Things merely needed to look nice and typical, saintly even, from the outside. "We're thriving quite well sans plans, however," they continued, turning their attention to the child that moved to sit in front of them with a bundle of yarn in her hands. A silent request to play cat's cradle.

"You know, with some well placed energies and perfect intent, you can use knots to ensnare, uhm, trap enemies," the demon murmured after a few minutes of playing, easily correcting the elevated speech that they couldn't help but use. The little girl was surprisingly good and, even with a few abrupt coughs, they had yet to break the cradle. She probably practiced a lot since the last time they played. "The Cat's Cradle and a few other knots can be very useful someday. I'll teach you if you'd like," they offered, looping the yarn around their fingers effortlessly, but slowing it to a degree to accommodate the girl who nodded eagerly.

After a moment, they looked over at Hannah, who was in drawing, and spoke up, "Since you'll be here a while, it'd be worth imparting some of your methods. You mentioned plans and all, so what exactly do you plan?"

@park jamie ♜ Hannah’s face dropped as the demon’s words registered in her mind – not in a bad way, just in astonishment. She crouched back down, her knees folded up to her chest; she wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned in towards Jamie. “I mean, planning things always lets me stay on track when it’s with programs back at the Youth Center,” she started out, avoiding eye contact with Jamie. “But I guess plans are more my style than anything. I’ll let you take the lead here, since you already have the kids’ affections.” She turned her head towards Jamie this time and shot her a wide, eye-crinkling smile.

Hannah didn’t seem to have much to help with at the moment, so she just sat back and watched the kids continue to play with each other, some crawling over to Jamie to ask her questions about her “costume” or to play a game. One little boy came over to Hannah, though, and asked if she wanted to draw pictures with him. With a bright smile and a nod, Hannah agreed and the two of them moved over to the low kid tables placed in the middle of the room.

@hannah simone Marchosias flinched a bit, as if expecting a hug despite their warning against doing anything more than a sincere thank you. The human personification of sunshine had some restraint, which was much appreciated because the resulting rescind of agreement would have put a major damper on their larger plans.

"Right. We will see, won't we?" they responded, moving from squatting to having a proper seat on the carpeted floor and moving their wings a tad to surprise the kid that started touching them. Hannah standing up took the demon's attention from the child's awestruck expression. Marcosias blinked at the question, genuinely caught off guard by it.

"I don't really plan things," they admitted, tone giving way to the sudden realization. Besides occasional chant teachings disguised as fun songs above adventure packed storytimes featuring a certain fearless commander, these sessions mostly consisted of doing whatever the kids wanted. Within reason. The demon looked up at the woman with furrowed brows. "You're supposed to plan things?"

@park jamie ♜ The good news that Jamie brought back made Hannah's smile grow even wider. "Ugh, thank you so much, Jamie!" She kept herself back from throwing her arms around the demon, thinking that they wouldn't like it very much. "I think we'll work well together, the times I'm here." Hannah meant it truly as an optimistic comment, and she hoped that Jamie didn't take it any other way. From the small amount of time she'd spent with the kids, Hannah already felt a tie to them that she wouldn't have wanted to let go of if Jamie had returned with bad news. She turned to the girl next to her and patted her head as she turned and gave a gap-toothed smile back.

"What were you planning on doing today with the little guys?" Hannah turned back to Jamie and stood up, straightening out her clothes. "Anything I could help with? I'm free for the rest of the afternoon." For emphasis on how willing she was to help with any activities, Hannah shimmied out of the cardigan she wore and placed her bag down on a chair in the corner of the room.

@hannah simone The little "talk" with the director was brief and uneventful. Marchosias might not have been able to sway Hannah very easily to do bad things, but influencing pretty much any other inconsequential humans was a snap. After brushing off questions about their appearance, using the same costume excuse, the demon put on their best act, claiming that a dear friend was interested in collaborating with the Asa Chrishom program. Merely planting the seed was enough and as soon as the director seemed to show hesitance to agree, muttering something about the paperwork and authenticity checks that it would take, Marchosias rounded the desk and leaned over his shoulder.

"Please, director? You can do it without all of those official procedures. Hannah's a hard worker, a good person, - disgustingly so - pretty too. It won't hurt," they spoke in a low tone, gauging the man's reactions through their peripheral. This was more or less the same method that the marquis used when securing the position for themselves."You know you want to," they coaxed lightly.

Shortly after, the demon returned to the main area with a pleased smile on their face. Even if they couldn't steer their assignment to the wrong decision with ease, didn't mean other humans weren't weak. Especially men. Men didn't always use the best judgment, often ignoring the nagging feeling in their gut.

Back in the mains suite, Marchosias was met with a more less expected sight, Hannah sitting among the children while they played. A few were more interested in the new addition. After briefly glancing at the clock, the demon knelt down next to one of the kids. "I think it might be time for somebody's physical therapy. Get going." They nodded in the direction of the door. "Hannah will still be here, promise," they said before turning to the woman in question. "You're in. Don't make a big deal out of it."

@park jamie ♜ At the demon’s agreement to vouch for her, Hannah couldn’t help but smile ear to ear. “Thank you so much!” she called out as Jamie walked towards the back office, tail swaying. Hannah still wasn’t used to the visual, if she were to be honest with herself, but she supposed that the horns and tail were just another part of who Jamie was as a demon.

With her smile still wide, Hannah her heel to face the kids again, who were still seated in their circle – well, more of a suggestion of a circle at this point. She walked over towards them and approached two kids who were playing a game of Slide with their hands, two girls. “You guys are super good at that!” Hannah commented, reaching down and lightly ruffling one of the girls’ hair. High-pitched “thanks”s sounded from the girls, followed by giggling.

“Who are you, lady?” Another high-pitcher voice called Hannah away from the pair of girls. She raised her head to look over across the circle, meeting eyes with a small boy, probably only eight years old. He wore a beanie on his head and his skin was pale – cancer, most likely. Hannah subconsciously sent a bittersweet smile his way.

“My name is Hannah, and I work at the Belgate Youth Center,” she started, choosing to sit down just outside the circle to make herself seem less intimidating. “But I’m going to be coming here a little more often. We’ll do some fun stuff together, hm?” The kids had all tuned in at this point, and the pair of girls who’d been playing Slide turned around to give a little cheer of encouragement; the others were happy, but wary, as kids should be.

@hannah simone [Don't worry about it lol]

Whatever misconception Hannah had in regards to the demon's intentions were probably wrong. Not dead wrong since they had become rather fond of the little humans, but Marchosias had a feeling that the other was missing a big part of what was really going on. A very big, self-serving part. Which was good. She didn't need to know about the harmless following that was being built up in anticipation of larger things because it'd get blown way out of proportion. The kids weren't doing harm or being harmed - they were too young for true moral assignment - but the mere implication of a "cult," as humans called them just had such negative connotations.

Marchosias just stared at the human as she went on this entire spiel about...whatever it was that she was talking about and nodded in all of the right places. Midway through, another glorious benefit occured to the demon. If their charge was around more often, that meant more opportunities to catch in her teetering on the edge of temptation. The Sense was great for when the two were apart, but it wasn't nearly as specific as witessing a dilemma in person and jumping right on it. This might just work out in the marquis' favor and their tail swayed in delight at the mere thought.

A smile graced their lips at the question and they nodded, "I suppose I can. I'll go put in a word for you. I suppose you ought to get familiar with the children. I'll return soon. Don't do anything I wouldn't." And with that, they headed to the back office.

@park jamie ♜ Hannah listened to the demon's conditions, nodding her head to show she understood. She herself had been irrational beforehand, but she couldn't help but wonder why the demon in front of her was making her own assumptions about what Hannah wanted to do with the kids. Stuttering the smallest bit, Hannah began to speak. "Of course I wouldn't try to undo what you've done, Jamie. I did not come here with any such intention– hell, it was a surprise at all to see you here /period/, as we both know." She paused again for a moment, recalling Jamie's comment about how much the children meant to her. Hannah was confused, but in a pleasant way; she hadn't expected the demon to have a soft spot for anyone, especially not tiny humans.

"I do really want to do this," Hannah continued, shifting her weight onto one foot, resting the other. "I want to be able to do collaboration programs with the hospital's pediatrics unit since the kids who are here long-term most likely don't have the means to get to the main youth center. I'm here just to help make kids' lives better, Jamie. I hope you can sympathize with that." She risked a smile, hoping Jamie would see eye to eye with her on this. After all, the demon had just admitted to liking the kids, too. Perhaps they wanted the same as Hannah did.

[ oof that was probably super crappy, so im sorry about that lol plus it took 10 hours for it so ! oof, better next time ]

@hannah simone "The benefits of a vivid imagination," the demon responded with a hum. That was the main reason they had been so comfortable with even coming in today. Thankfully, the storm hadn't taken away their ability to adopt a more humanoid form. A fire breathing wolf would have had much less room for convoluted explanation. A little less ticked, Marchosias dropped their tightly linked arms and gestured for Hannah to go first.

The perky, upbeat voice, while not really surprising coming from the woman, was mostly unwelcome. It rang in the demon's ears, causing them to screw up their face in distaste. Despite being much smaller versions, children were human too. They understood you no matter what tone of voice you adopted. The demon, as a result, stuck with a normal conversational tone when talking to the kids. The only thing that needed to be doctored was the use of larger, more complex words. The regular language lessons with Ronove certainly paid off in that aspect.

"Hey, little monsters," they greeted, affectionately ruffling the hair of the nearest child. The boy giggled gleefully as they turned their attention to the adult in the room. "You really want to do this, don't you?" they asked, disdain laced through each word. "We need to set some conditions first. Number 1: do not come around and undo everything I've done thus far. The trust and dynamic built with these children is more valuable to me than you can ever imagine."

@park jamie ♜ Hannah took Jamie's startled demeanor as truth; the demon must really not have made their form fully present on purpose. "Alright, never mind that. I'm just glad the kids see it as a fun costume rather than something out of the ordinary. Let's head back in," Hannah suggested, taking the lead and walking back into the colorful room.

The kids hadn't made any noticeable messes, and the noise level had stayed reasonably low. Hannah smiled in adoration at the tiny humans, as she liked to call them, and commended their cooperation. "Thank you guys for being so good while we were out!" Her tone again bubbly, she addressed the kids directly; they smiled back and tossed around greetings to Jamie. Hannah turned back to the demon and switched back to her normal, adult tone, "Would you be able to talk with me in place of the director? About the program collaboration? Or is there still more that needs to be done with the kiddos right about now..." she trailed off and left room for the demon to respond.

@hannah simone The rep that demons had among humans as these terrible, treacherous creatures was warranted. A lot of demons did some pretty terrible things over the centuries. There were definitely a grouping of demons with intense bloodlust, but not every demon was like that. Not without purpose, anyway. Despite being a formidable fighter, the redheaded demon really only resorted to violence when provoked and during battles. Humans were more evil as far as Marchosias was concerned.

There were no words for a beat, and the demon just watched the counselor seemingly shrink in on herself. She clearly felt bad. Good. She ought to. They waited, with arms crossed tightly across their chest and lips drawn together in a thin line until Hannah spoke again.

Everything she said, while understandable, meant basically nothing to the former marquis and they chewed idly on the inside of their cheek waiting for the round-about apology to just be over. They actually zoned out about midway through and were caught off guard when the conversation was turned back in their direction.

"My wha- ah.." In the heat of the situation, the whole fully presenting thing had completely slipped the demon's mind. "No. Of course I didn't do it," they responded as if it were the most obvious thing. "I'm meant to be inconspicuous, obviously. Something's just...gone wrong."

@park jamie ♜ Hannah didn't even respond, and instead lowered her head and clasped her hands together nervously. In no other situation would she have been so harsh to anyone else, but for some reason her conscience had decided to be pretty rash towards Jamie. Her cheeks were burning in a way that could only be described as sharp; she was embarrassed. Raising her head again to face the angry demon, Hannah began to speak, this time at a normal conversational tone.

"You're right to have snapped at me," she began. "I was quick to judge, you're right. I mean, I know you're a demon and all but I did definitely jump to some huge conclusions there just now. I just... care about kids so much, Jamie. I saw you with them – especially now with the demon features out – and I immediately sprung into protective counselor mode." She stopped talking for a moment to gauge Jamie's expression. Upon deciding it was alright to keep talking, Hannah tried to lighten the mood a little, "Do you know why the horns and tail came out? Did you do it? I wouldn't assume you did, I'm just curious."

@hannah simone "Why would it be weird? I'm literally here to make you not you," the demon deadpanned. "That's my entire job. My whole purpose for the next..." They trailed off and shook their head, dismissing the subject. Just thinking about how long this field mission could possibly take was depressing, especially since Hannah seemed so aware and against doing bad things. Truthfully, only redeeming quality was that she was tolerable and nice enough when Jamie wasn't trying to influence her.

"What the hell does being human have to do with supervising children?" they asked, not even bothering to knock their voice below conversational. "I'm a glorified friend at the most, not their counselor." They waved a dismissive hand in the direction of the suite. "That's some other man's job."

They let out an annoyed sigh, shifting their weight from one foot to the other as this conversation was becoming more and more tedious. "If anything hap--" they stopped talking and reached up to pinch the bride of their nose. "First: bad things don't happen just because a demon is around. We're not ing Nue or something. Second: I'm not going to do anything bad to these children. That's not my what I'm here for and not all demons are like that. You humans are so quick to judge, you know?"

@park jamie ♜ “Ah, I’m so sorry, Jamie, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just saw you with the kids and immediately assumed the worst. I feel like your presence just makes me... not me. Is that weird?” Hannah shook her head and took a breath before settling in to listen to the demon’s rebuttal. Despite her greatest efforts to listen to what Jamie had to say, Hannah was distracted both by the prominent horns and tail, as well as the thought that the demon was putting these already sick kids in danger.

“I know you don’t need a babysitter,” Hannah huffed. “But these kids need to be supervised by a person who is qualified to supervise them— and that’s not you. You’re not even human, Jamie.” The last comment came out more hushed than the rest of it and, even though the demon’s horns were on display, Hannah still looked around in case any other human was there to hear the strange conversation. “These kids are already sick and in pain and if anything bad happens here because of you, oh God I don’t know what consequences would pop up.”

[oof this is a little crappy, sorry]

@hannah simone Hannah's charged response only brought a pleased smile to the demon's face and they tilted their head a touch, bringing the pout back. "That truly hurts my feelings," they responded, placing both hands over their heart. As Hannah spoke to the children, the demon rolled their eyes as they felt an unnecessary conversation about to come on. Feeling the other's grip on their arm, they immediately protested. "Hey! You are not authorized to touch me!" they complained, reluctantly being pulled out of the room by the surprisingly strong woman.

Out in the hallway, they wretched their arm free before crossing them. "Don't ever do that again. I have not once man-handled you," they managed to squeeze in before the lecture started. They waited for the human to finish speaking, the single breath being a window to toss in that the "volunteer work" had only being going for a few weeks. At the insinuation of being watched over by the very person they were supposed to be watching, and a human at that, Marchosias's brow furrowed. "I'm no child, I do not require a babysitter," they protested firmly. "You will not be allowed here, I'll see to it that the director says no."

@park jamie ♜ Hannah couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her demon. It was typical for the demon to respond like this, inappropriately when the demon knew full well that they weren’t supposed to be here. “Of course I’m not happy to see you,” she whisper-yelled before stopping herself, remembering there were kids. She turned to the little ones and slapped a smile on her face before speaking, changing her tone. “Hey, kiddos, would you mind giving me and Jamie here a little time to talk? We’ll be right back! Take some time and play a game amongst yourselves.” The kids responded with high-pitched and cheery agreements. Hannah grabbed Jamie’s arm and pulled them up and away from the gaggle of kids.

“Literally what are you thinking, mentoring kids? You are not qualified.” Hannah could feel her heart speeding up out of fear— not of Jamie, but of the idea of Jamie with kids. The demon was just that, a demon with ill intentions, or at least from what Hannah understood. “How long has this been going on?” She took a calming breath before continuing. “Y’know what, whatever. I came to try and make arrangements to come here a couple times a week, so maybe now I can keep an eye on you too.”

@hannah simone "You'll catch flies, dear," they informed as their charge seemed to be at a complete loss for words. Rightfully so, of course. Marchosias had been just as shocked when the appendages returned to sight and showed no signs of going away. But in nearly 600,000 years, you learned to take things as they were. Subconsciously leaning in, the demon listened to whatever it was that Hannah was whispering before glancing at the woman when she cut herself off.

"I work here, obviously," they responded dryly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Once glance at the children had the slightest ghost of a smile make it's way onto the demon's lips. "With these kids." In reality, a volunteer job at the hospital had been the perfect ruse to get close to and stay near their previous human assignment. The more or less cult following that resulted was a nice bonus. It was just by chance, however, that the demon ended up taking a shine to the little, ill humans. The demon blamed their innate compassion that seemed to overshadow their taste for chaos. Hardly anybody did summonings these days, so with no one to help settle vendettas and arguments, that energy went into kids.

"You don't look very happy to see me, Hannah," Marchosias said after a moment, a facetious pout playing on their lips. "I'm truly hurt. This should have been a gracious coincidence."

@park jamie ♜ The sight of Jamie’s familiar, yet unfamiliar, form shocked Hannah in more ways than one. She had not expected to see the demon here at the hospital, nonetheless in the youth counseling center. The horns and tail registered in Hannah’s eyes and her heart nearly dropped into her stomach. Jamie day amongst a healthy gathering of children and it seemed as if the kids were extremely comfortable with the sight of the demon’s otherworldly appearance; Hannah didn’t understand, but instead chose to focus on Jamie.

Hannah stepped further into the colorfully-decorated room with hung open – she wanted to reply to Jamie, but she feared that if she spoke now, she would say something inappropriate for the children to hear. Instead, she waited until she was right next to the demon to whisper a reply, “I was looking for the director to talk about collaborating on a program–“ Hannah cut herself off as she remembered that that wasn’t exactly the most pressing matter at the moment. “But what the hell are you doing here, Jamie? With these kids?”

She turned her head to look back at the kids, who stared back in innocence with small smiles painted on their lips. None of the kids seemed to be harmed – mentally or physically – to which Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. If any of the kids had been hurt, she probably would have tried to kill the demon to her lefthand side herself.

@hannah simone The counseling center was tucked away in a little corner of the fourth floor, it's brightly colored walls and cushy furniture a beckoning any and all of the pediatric wing's unfortunate residents to enter and freely air their worries. Many weren't up to the task straight away, of course, but the room functioned as a safe space nonetheless. Even with the presence of a literal child of hell, unbeknown to the staff that hired them, the children were safe.

Sitting in the middle of the floor, legs crossed beneath them and serpentine tail slithering idly along the floor behind them, Marchosias was surrounded by a small gathering of youths, their average age being no more than 8 or 9. Each child was hyperfocused on their friend and mentor's "new" appendages and the demon, though reluctant had allowed a brief period of time for "show and tell."

"They sure feel real! Are you lying to us, Jamie?" one of the children asked, hand retracting from the pointed horns nestled in the demon's crown of scarlet locks to pay attention to the sable wings folded against their back instead. The demon smiled and leaned in, gesturing for the children to come closer as well.

"Of course they're real, but if you want dear old Jamie to stick around, the people in charge have to think they're fake, okay?" The children readily agreed, a few heads bobbing up and down while one yelled out their agreement in a loud, short "yes!" and a jump up from their seated position. The demon wasn't convinced though, or perhaps they wanted to make a show of things, and held out both pinkies. "Swear by Satan that you won't tell, hm?" Eager to please the children linked their pinkies with Marchosias, who gave an endeared chuckle. They were about to speak again when a sharp knock sounded.

Looking to the door, Marchosias was pleased to find a very familiar human. "Well, if it isn't my favorite human," they grinned, standing and stepping out of the child-circle to approach the woman "The director...stepped out, what was it that you needed?"

@park jamie ♜ The lobby of the new Belgate Hospital smelled like a mix of flowery perfumes and the usual, chemical scent of a doctor’s office. Hannah gladly breathed the scents in, marveling at the beautiful architecture and the natural light spilling in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. She had heard that there was a thriving youth therapy group at this hospital, and Hannah’s interest had instantly piqued upon hearing this information. All her time at her small youth center on the outskirts of the city had prepared her for the next step of advising at-risk youth – counseling. Or, at least, more accessibility to advising. Whichever came first.

A bubbly receptionist directed Hannah to the fourth floor, where the pediatrics department was located. With each floor that the elevator ascended Hannah could feel her heart beating more and more with excitement. The doors opened, and a directory sign greeted her; block letters, clear as day, peered back and read “Youth Counseling Center, Suite 437.”

Hannah reached the suite, finding the door already half open, probably to create a welcoming air for the kids on the floor. She knocked on the wooden door, “Is there anyone here? I’m here to meet with the director about collaborating with the Belgate Youth Center.”

[dsuuivsv no need to mirror i got carried away a lil]

@hannah simone [] alright, no rush!

@park jamie ♜ [ cool !! will write that starter soon ]

@hannah simone [] hospital's up!

@kim youngwoo Thank you!

@park jamie ♜ [Hospital has been added! Enjoy!]