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Running Out of Time...and Coin

Started by DragonSong, February 11, 2018, 08:09:35 PM

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DragonSong

Both demon and summoner shuddered slightly at the influx of magic, but Jynx was too focused on looking at the interior of the shop through Tiameth's eyes to pay it much mind.

Empty. Empty and dark, but who knew how long it would stay that way.

"I'm ducking in," she told Jareth abruptly, coming out of her semi-trance. Then she blinked and looked from him to the building. "What did you do?"

Celegwen

He smirked. "The shop has a matter warping spell around it," he said simply. "Basically, only people within fifty feet of the shop when I cast the spell can see what we're doing."

Jareth felt slightly self-satisfied, taking his mask off and putting it into his satchel. "You can scream and jump like a banshee, but nobody outside of that range will notice."

DragonSong

Huh. She blinked. "Well, that's useful." She smiled crookedly and gave him a quick nod of respect. "Nicely done."

Glancing toward the window, judging the distance, she added quickly, "I'll be right back," and jumped to grab the sill, swinging herself gracefully up and through into the shop.

Celegwen

"Showoff," Jareth said, smiling to himself. If he attempted to do the same thing... Well, it wouldn't have been nearly as graceful, so he decided to play it safe and stay where he was. He could see well enough, and his magic wasn't quite charged enough to teleport again. He watched her through the open window, though the visual wasn't exactly the best he could've hoped for.

DragonSong

Jynx couldn't help smirking a bit at that. Alright, maybe she was showing off a bit, but it was kinda fun.

Landing softly on the balls of her feet, she slowly straightened and looked around the shop. Tiameth fluttered near the rafters, squeaking and chittering quietly. Silent as a cat, Jynx crept forward. The amulet was supposed to be stashed beneath the counter.

She vaulted the counter top and leaned down to search, probing cautiously with her fingertips. She touched metal and locked her fingers around it, pulling the pretty bob out and feeling the chain shiver against her hand.

Wait.

The voice echoed through her head and she froze. He hadn't spoken to her so clearly in days- he normally didn't have a reason to. "What?" she hissed quietly.

There was a long, horrifying beat of silence. Then Ilieth's voice slithered through her mind again. Keep it. Get rid of the hanger-on and keep it.

"What- why?"

Do not question me! This time his voice was accompanied by a jolt of pain and she only managed to half-stifle an instinctive cry, doubling over and clutching at her head.

Celegwen

Jareth watched her move through the store, then behind the counter. She was bent down behind the counter, but he was able to see her still well enough. When she stopped moving, his brows knitted in confusion.

Suddenly, Jynx cried out, holding her head and doubling over as though she had been attacked.

Instinctively, the man ran inside, climbing through the window. "Hey, hey, hey," he said, quickly approaching. "What happened? What's wrong?"

DragonSong

"Back! St-stay back!" Jynx staggered back from him several steps, blinking away the sudden migraine. Ilieth seemed to have retreated, for the moment at least, and the pain was slowly dulling. "I'm fine, just...gimme a minute."

Celegwen

"No offense, but you don't look fine," Jareth said plainly. "I don't mean to pry, but.... That's not true, I am prying. What the fuck just happened? You were fine a minute ago."

DragonSong

The thief bared her teeth at him, but her head was still aching too badly for the expression to last long, quickly melting into a pained grimace. "Just- a headache," she lied sharply.

Well, it wasn't entirely a lie, right? "They happen sometimes. Don't worry about it, I got what we need." She straightened and moved to brush past him, walking a little more carefully than normal. The headache seemed to have messed with her equilibrium; it felt like she'd had way too much to drink, but without any of the fun side effects.

Celegwen

"Bullshit," Jareth said simply. He folded his arms across his chest. At that point, his curiosity outweighed whatever payment they were getting.

DragonSong

"Yeah, fine, maybe so." Jinx glared at him and tried to pull herself up a little taller. It didn't really work. "So what if it's bullshit? None of your business, that's what it is," she grumbled.

Celegwen

"If we're working this together," Jareth started, "it is my fucking business. My partner has episodes of whatever the hells that was, so I'd like to know what the fuck happened to be more prepared for when or if it happens again."

DragonSong

Jynx bared her teeth. "Back off. We're working one job, it's not like I owe you my life story-"

But that would be so much more interesting, wouldn't it?

Another flash of pain and she doubled over with a cry, clutching at her head. "Shut up shut up shut up!" Panic was plain in her voice. He had never felt so strong before, so close to breaking through the careful barriers she'd erected around herself.

Celegwen

Jareth quickly stooped down to prevent her from going all the way to the ground. Her panic and pain made up his mind. "We're not going anywhere until I get a solid answer," he said. "Don't try to leave because I have the place sealed off."

DragonSong

"Fuck you," Jynx growled, not entirely sure if she was talking to the mage or the demon. Ilieth chuckled gratingly in the back of her mind.

"Demon," she spat out after a moment. "Demon, alright? People like me, sometimes we deal with the assholes more than we'd like. I've got one piggbacking in my head right now, and he's a little bitch and feels the need to- ah!"

More pain, probably in reaction to her less-than-respectful description of the demon. The thief whimpered quietly, eyes clenched shut. She hated how weak she sounded, but didn't know how else to satisfy his questions.

Celegwen

Jareth sighed, shaking his head momentarily. He glanced around, unsure if the demons were just in her head or if they needed a physical tether. From what he could tell, nothing around them looked particularly demonic.

"Assert his dominance?" Jareth asked semi-rhetorically. "Crazy idea, but how about you don't insult him?"

DragonSong

Jynx chuckled, though her teeth were still gritted in pain. "You kidding? That's the only kind of enjoyment I ever get out of this," she muttered, slowly straightening up. She took a deep breath. "Alright, come on. We've got what we can for, let's move."

Celegwen

"I don't know what instructions you got for once the thing was in your possession, but I'm not letting you go on your own."

Jareth allowed her space to lead the way, and he did away with the dark barrier he had created for their thieving privacy.

DragonSong

The demonlord rolled her eyes, but didn't argue as she crept back out onto the street, glancing around carefully to make sure their route was clear.

Once relatively secure, she darted out of the house, not bothering to glance back to see if Jareth was following her.

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