15688/Phone calls and dreams

Phone calls and dreams
Date of Scene:	07 October 2023
Location:	Brendan Cemetery, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Harry got a message to meet someone in the Sunnydale cemetary. It turned out to be Satana and they have a common ground for trouble in the future.
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Satana

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Harry Dresden has posed:
A phone call draws the wizard for hire out. He's been busy chasing a lead on another job to no avail, so the promise of meeting with something more immediate is appealing.

As usual he arrives in the cemetary in his long duster, walking stick in hand. This cemetary has a nasty habit of letting its dead walk again.

He sighs as he looks over the place and mutters,"I think Bob might be right. Anyone buried here should have their shoe laces tied before the internment." he mutters mostly to himself.

Satana has posed:
The dream was pause for thought and with Harry's presence in it, Satana thought it might be time to ~~toy with~~talk to Harry again. The quick reconnaissance of his building, however, from the Astral Plane had her decide that ... well, she could beat it (supreme confidence!), but it would be messy and hard work and ... pointless.

So she sent a text message instead:

    Harry. Brendan Cemetery, Sunnydale. 2AM. S.

Let him work it out. He's a bright guy.

So, at 2AM, punctual to the microsecond, a ring of sulfurous smoke forms in the cemetary, expands to about a 2m radius, and through it steps Satana, using the crossing of the ley lines here to power the spell without drawing anything from herself.

The gravitas of the meeting has her dressed professionally. If her profession is hooker. Because she's still rocking the purple, too-tight, flesh-baring catsuit with the snow leopard boots, the gold chain belt and the demonic skull buckle. Hung loosely right where it will attract attention to her nethermost assets, much as the diamond patch removed from the suit reveals the bottom half of her uppermost assets. Eyes are going to be torn one direction or another.

One unusual item she's brought is an ornate rod, 60cm or so in length (to be precise a cubit), made of some kind of wood (a practitioner will recognized polished peach wood) and festooned with precious metals and gems in ornate, eldritch patterns. The rod radiates magic as strongly as its wielder radiates sexuality.

"Harry?" she asks, looking around. "Are you here yet?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
Cryptic means don't be obvious. It is a little cliche', but the wizard/detective rests just inside the shadow of a large mausoleum. Consider Sunnydale has their own castle not far from here, that isn't unusual really.

Once he has identified who it is, he opts to step into sight and replies,"I am here yes." he murmurs from her right side.

He studies her for a long moment and asks finally,"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company Lady Hellstrom?" Formal and curious at the same time. She's beautiful, he isn't blind to that, but he also mindful of what he's seen from her. Not that he is overly concerned with her turning on him, not yet at least.

Satana has posed:
"Ah, there you are!" Satana says, feigning a brief moment of surprise. "How are you?"

Beat.

"OK, that's enough social nicety, I had a dream. You were in it. Please explain?"

Her smile is friendly enough, but there is some body language that could be concerning to those in the know of that. And her pupils have those little pinpricks of Hellfire.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I am well enough." he replies. He is at ease, at ease as he can be really. He smirks when she calls off the niceties to move on to business. That fades when she mentions the dream, particularly since she mentions he is in it.

He meets her gaze, but as usual has no interest in holding that. After a consideration he frowns,"Desert? Shepherds? Weird creatures?" he asks. It is one part question, one part dread knowledge that he is already right,"If so, that would be the first time I was in this dream."

Satana has posed:
"Yes to all three." And then she can't help herself. "And Harry, it's not at all unusual that you'd come into my dream first. I'm so inviting, after all!"

She winks, but then puts on her business face again.

"The dream could have been one of three things: idle fancy, incursion, or prophecy. I'm eliminating idle fancy from the list since you are obviously familiar with it. This leaves incursion and prophecy, and I'm leaning starkly in the direction of incursion."

She takes a step toward Harry, slow, but not her usual seductive sway. And the eyes glow just a hint brighter. "And if it is incursion, I generally like to ... how should I put this? ... explain, in graphic detail, with demonstration, why incursions into my dreams are a bad thing. So tell me, Harry, was it incursion? And if so, tell me you weren't the one who invaded."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He listens to the words of the woman, studying her behavior and not really falling into the amusing part of her words. The business face falls back in place and he raises his brow as she starts to get serious again.

She glows warm and the air around her cools as he looks at her, again not in her eyes,"Well. This might come as a surprise to you, but you aren't terribly special in the sense of this dream. That said I only ever appeared in yours, but there have been almost half a dozen practitioners that have come to me with the story I suspect your telling including Willow Rosenburg."

He sighs and admits,"It's never easy with the pretty ones is it? Maybe someone should introduce you to Thomas' sister and see which one of you comes out on top." Shaking his head he goes on,"Desert climate, small village, kids herding goats, goats attacked by creatures vampiric in nature, creatures scared off by massive canine monsters. How am I doing? A some point a large, Tibetan Mastiff dog scares off the big creatures. Yes?"

Satana has posed:
"I generally like to top, but if she's pretty enough I'll bottom just fine."

Satana really is incorrigible.

"But yes, correct on all details. The mastiff scares off the big creatures as they turn their attention to me and I ... try to illustrate to them why interfering with me might be a bad idea. But the difference at the end is the mastiff, when departing, goes to you."

She tilts her head and regards Harry. "And that is the part I find most intriguing. This dream smacks of an incursion ... but who invaded my dream space? From your behaviour I'm guessing you weren't the one to send the dream to me, so ... the large beings? Were they the ones who came to me?" Her smile is cold. Cruel. The kind of smile that a predator with a streak of sadism would make. "I would dearly love to meet them in person if this is the case."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Lara is pretty enough for certain. White Court. Not to be trusted." he replies finally. It is clear he is attracted to her, but has the good sense to stay clear of her none the less. A hint of a smirk touches his grim visage when he considers her comments about on top.

"As her kind goes, she thinks she has some sort of claim on me. I have resisted the urge to cook her for a while, given we share a sibling and he actually seems to like her on some levels."

"One slayer, two of my apprentices, Miss Rosenburg...those four saw what you saw. I don't know if it is an incursion so much as a warning or some form of magic entity or another just making them known. Some of them have prophetic dreams. The smaller creatures are chupa cabra. Goat suckers. The bigger ones...not as sure. More canine than lupine. There are stories about dogmen, but it's not anything I have ever encountered."

"For the record, no I don't make a habit of dream incursions." he replies,"Besides, you probably dream about me anyway." She's not the only smart ass in the cemetary tonight after all. It isn't flirting so much as giving as good as he gets...so maybe it is flirting on some levels.

Satana has posed:
"Ah yes, the sibling. I had a little parley with Thomas. We got along famously and I promised I would not cause you any lasting harm. He was concerned about this for some reason."

Satana leans in, holding her hand up alongside her mouth in a conspiratorial geasture. "For some reason he thought I had ill intent toward you, a ludicrous notion. I put that to rest quickly, pointing out the world was far more interesting with you in it than not."

She straightens out. "So I'll reassure you as well. I have no ill will toward you and have no desire to cause you any lasting harm. I just think you're interesting and entertaining by turns."

Harry's a bright guy. He'll see the implications of her very carefully-selected wording...

"Also, bravo on the rejoinder, Harry. You must stop avoiding my gaze now that you know I have no designs on your soul."

The eyes blaze with intensity now.

"Make no mistake, no matter what other 'claims' there may be on your soul, if I wanted it it would be mine." Spoken in her usual thrilling contralto ... plus another voice one octave and one semitone (for maximum discord) below it.

The eyes fade. The voice returns to her normal seductive purr. "But I don't want your soul, and I don't want the headache of slapping the other claimants into their rightful place; I have better and more important things to slap in their rightful place. Like apparently large dog creatures."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"It's been interesting, going from an only child to a younger sibling." he admits with a shake of his head,"Always looking out for me that one. It's nice at times, frustrating as all hell other times."

"He knows if you did have ill intent, you wouldn't be the first." Harry admits, but shrugs,"Good to be interesting I guess." There is a nod as he doesn't miss the meaning of her words.

Of course, the daughter of the devil talking about soul taking is unsettling to the mind yet he's too damn stubborn or dumb to let it show,"It's a bold assumption only one has some claim over my soul." he tells her,"Looking close enough would show you Lasciel as well as the Walker. I can't say that I would miss either of them." He's not sweating when she gets all predacious, not at all.

He considers her words for a time and tells her,"I am not avoiding your gaze because I think you are trying to take my soul. I avoid your gaze as I don't want the soul gaze to engage, revealing mine to you and what would pass as your soul to me. That's one permanent memory I could live without. The same reason I don't open my third eye with you, only decidedly deeper.

He finally nods and adds,"Sounds like we need to put together a team to go and see about these things. I have sorted the passage through the Ways. I can't fly and I'm not driving that far. I don't know how well received by the fae, but I am guessing you would have your own way down there regardless."

Satana has posed:
"The Fae and I have ... let's call it a mutual non-aggression pact. I fuck with them only a little and they fuck with me only a little back. (The fact that some of them are hot as all fuck helps in keeping things cordial. They're so ... exuberant ... between the sheets. So exuberant that we rarely actually reach sheets in those rare times we interact.)" Satana winks with a broad, mischievous grin. "Play your cards right and you'll find out what I mean."

Then the game face is back on.

"I can get there if you tell me where. There's nowhere that touches the astral plane I can't travel, there's no dimension I can't reach physically, and within any dimension there's no location that isn't powerfully defended I can't just appear alongside."

Beat.

"Though I do prefer using the ley junctions over cemeteries. Partially to conserve effort and partially for style."

Harry Dresden has posed:
A raise of his brow when she mentions the exuberance between the sheet. Not that it surprises him, he's had a few potentials, but only a few. When she mentions the chances of finding out for himself he shakes his head and admits,"You are good at temptation, much like your father."

When the game face goes back on, he nods and listens to her explination of her abilties to travel. From within his coat, he takes out a map and lays it on a flat stone marker table and points to a border town in Mexico,"That's the town. Approximately four miles to the west there is a smaller village where I scried the site. Just a matter of deciding how many to take and how to deal. The smaller ones are tough, but not untouchable. The big ones are a wild card."

Satana has posed:
"The big ones intrigue me. Not very many would dare to threaten a Hell Lord even in her dreams. I would like to see what they are." And to what use they could be put in her own plans. But that part's not spoken aloud. I mean it goes without saying, right? Even if it doesn't, it doesn't matter.

She closes her eyes after viewing the map and starts swaying slightly, the rod in her hand glowing from a jewel at the top end of it. And ... is her skin turning red or is that a trick of the light?

The horns breaking out and curling around her head are not a trick of the light, however.

All of a sudden her mouth opens wide, her eyes open wider, spilling the baleful red glow of Hell over the scene as her rod simultaneously extinguishes. Head thrown back she stands, blasting baleful blood red into the sky...

...and then, in seconds, she's back in the here and now, pale of skin, and horny only in the metaphorically inevitable sense.

"Found it," she says. "Let me know when and I can be there in seconds."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Again, not as special as you'd like." he teases lightly,"They threaten everyone on the dreams. I think it is set in a pattern. Every dream sounds mostly consistent. Most of them know my dog, so they recognized him. The big creatures threatened all of them, but I can see why you didn't like that."

He watches the transformation with passing curiosity. The horns and the rest of the power presentation gets a slight raise of one eyebrow, but otherwise he doesn't respond to it much. Throwing her head back like that does get a more animated facial response, but why is anyone's guess.

When she returns to her usual self, he nods and replies,"I want to move within the week. I don't much care for the why as I do the getting these things away from the village. My lot in life I guess." he admits,"That is a neat trick. I will have to look into that."

Satana has posed:
"I could teach you so much, Harry," Satana purrs with an inviting smile. "Some of it even about magicks."

Yes. Incorrigible. She's like Jessica Rabbit, only she wasn't drawn that way.

"If it helps you decide how many to take in your little mission, I can carry five when teleporting. That could save you a lot of travel time." Again the inviting smile. "Since we're not crossing dimensions I don't even have to touch those I carry with me; sight is enough." She takes a step closer to Harry, WELL inside his personal space, but not quite yet touching. (Well, not physically. Her body heat ... that can be felt.) "I'm not averse to touching, however. Indeed for some I'd prefer it."

How can someone be alluring, malicious, and full of amused mischief at the same time just around the eyes? One is Satana, that is how.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Oh the temptress is /so/ good at her job. Harry listens to her words, eyes taking her in for a second. A blink and he shakes his head as he replies,"Sounds like a good time. Of course having sex with my Red Court ex girlfriend was fun too, but really stupid."

He considers her words and frowns thoughtfully,"Not that I am trying to be distrustful, but at what cost to bring my team over that way? Everything comes with a price right?" he asks. Not an accusation so much as knowing she has said as much in the past. Proximity to her is intoxicating in its own way and Harry knows he should be wary of her, but enjoys the closeness for a time inspite of himself. He knows who and what she is, but doesn't seem to care for the moment. It is tempting to reach out and grab her, without a doubt. His fingers flex on his hands.

Satana has posed:
"I get first crack at the dog creatures." Satana just says it that bluntly. "They intrigue me. I wish to study them. I have a laboratory for just such purposes. I want one of them to myself."

The allure drops from her like a mantle she'd drop while seducing someone, only, you know, the opposite since she's not t... You know what? Let's just go with the confused simile and explain it. She's dropping the seduction. She's deadly serious.

"The chupacabra I may collect at my convenience if the opportunity affords itself, but the big boys? I want to capture at least one. Especially if it is, as I suspect, possibly related to Wendigo."

Harry Dresden has posed:
The seduction fades and Harry blinks. Probably better off that way. He raises a brow and takes a half step back at her sudden demands,"You want to study one?" He pauses and huhs softly,"I can't say I wouldn't want to as well." They are spending too much time together.

A thougtful frown and he nods,"I don't have a problem with that. When you see your shot take it. Avoid getting yourself rent.." he starts out and then amends,"...limb from limb that is." Wise ass not dead.

"I don't have an issue with you experimenting so long as one of them doesn't end up loose and running down the streets of my town." The mention of Wendigo gets a question,"So, Wendigo the immortal cursed creature or Wendigo the cannibal that has an unending hunger?"

Satana has posed:
"Either or. I'm intrigued no matter what it is. I just suspect that we're dealing with a kissing cousin of the Wendigo."

And ... the mantle is taken up again. Seduction is the order of the day.

"Thank you for this, Harry. I think I'll enjoy this little outing. And don't worry about it escaping. If it does, it will escape in Boston, and nobody cares about that place!"

She winks, adding, "Or, maybe, you know, it could be in Hell that I do my experiments."

Talking of seduction, Satana has not let Harry's reactions and tells go unnoticed, merely uncommented upon. And now she acts. She steps up to Harry, rising on her toes to reach where she can actually rest her head on his chest, face turned to one side, arms wrapping around his torso with surprising strength, and all the bits he'd been catching surreptitious glimpses at now pressed against him.

"I'm serious. Thank you, Harry. Let me know how I can repay you."

Yes, repay is paired with a gentle thrust forward at hip level.

She pauses long enough to judge his reaction...and then steps back. "It's been fun. Let me know when we go."

And with that she's turned and walking away. And ... yeah ... proverbial looking as good leaving as arriving. Especially with that gently-exaggerated sway. Like two Volkswagen beetles parking while chewing gum.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry watches her shift from one gear to another. It is dizzying to a point. The serious is replaced with the seduction again. There is a part of him that doesn't particularly disagree with he idea of nobody liking Boston. Lousy Red Socks and Patriots.

The sudden proximity, head on his chest, arms tight, and the thrust causes the exact reaction she would expect and probably want. It is impossible to miss up close. When she breaks away again he is one part depressed, one part relieved. Watching her go is not helping things either,"I will let you know." he finally manages to lean against a tomb until things settle down.

Finally, he turns and goes back to where he parked his own VW Beetle, trying not to think about...well you know.