15799/The Happy Dabbler

The Happy Dabbler
Date of Scene:	13 November 2023
Location:	Satana Hellstrom's ... unique ... Boston Mansion
Synopsis:	Harry and Satana dig into a dogman corpse, plan future actions, and flirt.
Cast of Characters:	Satana, Harry Dresden

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Satana has posed:
Satana hums Bolero to herself as she stands in front of one of the dogman corpses in her lab, wearing a thick leather butcher's apron and a pair of plastic safety glasses over her eyes as she fires up the chainsaw. With surprising delicacy, given her choice of tool, she opens the body and starts to peel back its skin before setting the chainsaw to one side, a line of blood dripping down the wall opposite her, as well as down her apron and over her glasses.

And, naturally, her face and hair.

        MY BOY'S GONNA PLAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES!
        MY BOY'S GONNA TURN SOME HEADS!
        MY BOY'S GONNA PLAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES!
        MY BOY'S GONNA KNOCK'EM DEAD!

Tom Cochrane's raw voice fills the mansion as the Wurlitzer in her basement spins up the alarm: someone's at the door. Its choice of song provides a clue as to who it might be, but Satana has long given up trying to work out its quirky sense of humour.

She looks at the dogsbody and frowns. "If it's a salesman I will have him in this lab," she mutters, turning to the door and hanging the apron on a hook before exiting the lab, floating up the stairs to the main hall, catwalking to the front door, and opening it wide.

Standing devoid of all clothing, with blood spatter all over her face and hair (but not her eyes) she blinks and smiles suddenly.

"Harry! How nice of you to drop by! Please, do come in."

Harry Dresden has posed:
It takes a little time. Harry knows her name and knows her general vicinity since she talks about it. Once he knows he sets out to do the connection site to site.

Stepping into the Ways, he makes haste to get where he is going because the Ways are not a fun place to be. Pesky far folk.

When he steps into Boston, a wash sulfur follows. He makes his way to her home, shaking the worst of the smell off in the process.

He takes a moment to look over the house and then he knocks on the door. He takes a breath and exhales, looking back over the street and preparing himself for anything.

When she opens the door, he looks at the door. Nope. Not ready for that. he takes in the look of the skyclad demon's daughter and shakes it off with a blink and follows her in,"Thank you. I wanted to see what you had found so far."

When she saw him last, he was beat to Hell and back. That was two nights ago. Now he seems in perfect health.

Satana has posed:
"Would you care for a drink?" Satana asks, leading Harry deeper into her rather richly appointed lair, directing him to a study with solid walnut bookshelves that are nonetheless practically screaming under the weights of the tomes and scrolls that litter them. "I wasn't expecting you for quite a while," she adds, looking Harry up and down. "I was expecting you to be in hospital. Not wanting, understand. Expecting."

She wipes her hand across her forehead, seemingly not noticing that she's now left blood trails across the white expanse that look for all the world like demonic war paint.

"Your timing was exquisite. I'd just started opening up one of the bodies to see what was inside."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He considers it and says,"Whatever is convenient. It's a long walk even through the Ways."

"I had a friend put me back together." he offers in response to the hospital,"Most hospitals can't take me being there. I am back on my feet in a lot less time that way."

He notices the crimson war paint, but doesn't comment and instead nods when she talks about the timing,"I am curious to know about the things. They aren't exactly a natural occurence in this world. Not even werewolves or shapeshifters as near as I can tell."

Satana has posed:
Satana nods and starts mixing a drink which, served in a beaker, is a horrific green that bubbles and spews a dense miss from over its edge, handing it over to Harry.

"Do enjoy," she says with a face that's completely devoid of any clues as to motive, contents, or humour. It does smell, however, of apple and (*sigh*) passion fruit.

"So after the drink, would you care to ..." She pauses a moment, looks down at herself, looks across at Harry. "Oh, I do apologize." Her face says it's not an apology. "I generally don't clothe at home; I don't see the point of this bondage you mortals put yourselves into. If I make you feel uncomfortable, I'll put on clothes." Still no apparent notice of the blood smears and spatters. "Or if you prefer the decoration of my form, I'll leave it as is."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry takes the offered drink and looks at it curiously. He uses his free hand to waft the scent to him. They might not have a strong trust yet, but he is getting to where he isn't too concerned and takes a shallow sip to start.

He considers her and shrugs,"It's your house. If this is comfortable for you I can manage." he replies. She looks her over and the adds. He avoids her gaze in the eyes for any length of time, but he adds,"It's not fully comfortable, but it isn't so difficut I can't control myself."

Satana has posed:
"Well, then, let me make you fully comfortable. I have many ways of doing this," Satana says conversationally. "There's the bedrooms." Plural. "The entertainment dungeon. The sofa right here. Even the rug right here. I've set up a swing in the attic -- I needed the very tall roof to get that swooping feel just right. And, of course, in the end, there's always me getting clothed."

Which she does. She's suddenly sporting an oversized men's shirt, top two buttons undone, with nothing under it, it seems, the hem going about three quarters of the way up her thighs. On the plus side, the blood is gone.

"I do hate my guests not being comfortable. It leaves a bad impression."

If anything, the men's shirt is actually worse than nudity was. It calls attention to that which just existed before, with teasing glimpses.

She waits for Harry to sip the drink--it's basically a fruit juice cocktail with some dry ice to chill it--before continuing. "If you'd rather see the body I opened than nipping upstairs to the boudoir, it's down in the cellar in one of my laboratory rooms."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry takes another drink, listening to her debate about the diffeernt ways she might be able to make him comfortable. He looks at the places nearby and shakes his head after a little too long considering.

The shirt is worse. It is clear when he sees her in the shirt. Taking a breath he exhales slowly.

He considers her for a while. It's been a long time for him,"Upstairs is tempting. You are good at what do for sure."

He doesn't tell her to dress and doesn't tell her to take him upstairs,"Let's look at both and see how it goes."

Satana has posed:
"Ooh! I like that plan!" Satana says with a wicked gleam (literal!) in her eyes. "We can look at the body, get our hands nice and bloody taking it apart to figure out what it is, and then passion can overcome you and you start to ravish me right in the lab, your bloody hands leaving a trail of your sins on my quivering body as you succumb to passion!"

Satana nods decisively and says, "Walk this way," heading to a doorway that is under a sweeping grand staircase.

It is, of course, impossible for Harry to walk the way she is. He's not constructed to properly roll those hips the way she does...

Heading down the stairs, Satana guides Harry past several closed doors (one of which he can hear an inhuman voice behind, moaning in anguish, "Mistress, I will made good my failings!" She takes him into the room she'd only just vacated, the chainsaw still warm from its earlier use.

"The hide is tough," she says conversationally. "Desperate measures were needed to open it. If that didn't work, I was faced with having to use my teeth."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry shakes his head and smirks a little. Sometimes the easiest way to get to things is the direct way. Other times...takes a little creativity. A smirk and he follows after her, watching her walk and being mindful of things going on.

He can't walk that way, but he reists the temptation to point that out. Instead he just follows after and enters the lab, trying to not think about the inhuman voice.

He looks at the body and listens to her talk about the skin,"They take a beating. One of them survived a first encounter with an Amazon. It didn't survive the second though." He looks over the body and wonders outloud,"Have you sexed the things, see if they are male or female or something else?"

Satana has posed:
"I literally just sliced into this one when you reached my door," Satana says, gesturing to the body. "We can look inside it together. Trust a mortal to immediately think of sex, however."

Says the succubus. Who'd just listed a half-dozen different ways and places to sexually entertain a guest.

Satana winks, letting Harry know she's in on the joke; that this was deliberate, not clueless.

"The various cutting tools are in that tool box next to your elbow. Let's see what we can find out together. They really are intriguing. I may have a use for a supply of them in my various alteration experiments. Picture one of these with a hellhound's mouth and the horns and spikes of some of the pit fiends..."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"You've had them two days." he replies with a hint of a smirk, looking at her with the same wink and then looks at the creature again. He takes a scalpel and studies how the razor sharp instrument barely shaves the hair.

He looks for a pair of scissors and mutters,"Should have brought some wire cutters and bolt cutters." One thing about him, Harry isn't afraid of bloody hands in the lab and gets blood up his arms, forutnately removing his duster first.

Satana has posed:
"Bolt cutters are on the far wall. Wire cutters are in the tool kit under them."

Satana solves her problems by growing razor-sharp talons and just slicing through the skin ... well, with effort. Even serrated demon talons are having problems cutting through the hide, though she does manage it with a lot of grunting.

"And yes, I had them two days. First day, though, I had visitors and they were probably not the kind to appreciate the sensual joys of ichor-covered hostesses. So I decided to cut today."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He glances the direction of the wall and the tool kit. A nod in approval.

He watches her grow talons and start cutting, noting that it isn't going easy even then,"These things are beyond tough." he muses softly.

"People need to learn to open themselves to new experiences." he muses softly. Not even remotely serious. Just talking. He studies the insides as she lays the creature open and shakes his head,"So far normal enough, which makes it peculiar."

Satana has posed:
Satana starts working at the crotch. "You wanted to see the gendering," she says as she strains at cutting it open before diving wrist-deep into the gore, starting to root around inside and carefully excising every organ she can find as an individual item, laid out next to the corpse.

"There's some interesting stuff here," she comments once she's pulled out all the bowel-and-lower bits, heedless of the smell, and indeed seeming to really enjoy the textures and other sensations.

"Am I seeing this right? This one is male ... but it has a visible womb."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry nods when she mentions wanting things gendered. He watches her work her way into the thing. There is very little he can do to help right now all things considered so he just watches and studies what she produces.

When she comments both sex organs, he moves down the table on the opposite side and leans over to reach in as well. His eyebrow raises on the right side and he mutters,"You're seeing it right. I have no idea why we are seeing what we see, but I am inclined to agree with your assessment.

Satana has posed:
"I do a bit of dabbling in alterations," Satana says. "Have you seen my little pet lapdog?" Mercifully Harry has not. "It's sometimes convenient when merging organisms to just take both parts if the origins are different genders. I think these were at some point created by someone or something."

She taps her chin as she regards. "I must say, if this is indeed a designed creature, that skin is impressive. I've dealt with dragons who have less troublesome hide."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry shakes his head and admits,"I can't say I am surprised you dabble." He considers her words and adds,"It make sense I guess. If you combine to organisms that way probably makes them sterile to their own kind. Maybe making them asexual in reproduction."

He looks at the hide and agrees,"Those things were taking a round or two of Hellfire before stopping." he agrees,"Two of them were over powered, one by an Amazon. It wasn't easy for her though. The other wasn't either."

Satana has posed:
"Now the question is, then, who made these?" Satana looks at Harry quizically. "You called me in to extract. Did you get any intelligence before that? Who is responsible for these things?"

Seemingly troubled, she presses her lips together. "I don't like the idea of an unknown force making something with this much ability and not being in my sphere of knowledge."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"The Dogman legends are pretty long established. Cryptid like Bigfoot and the like." he muses,"There are many that claim they are werewolves that forgot how to return shift, but that doesn't ring true to me."

He nods and leans on the table to think a minute,"There are others that say they are fallen angels, but I don't really buy that idea either. They talk about the fall of the third of the host of Heaven. Again, not really onboard with that idea either."

Satana has posed:
"If they were fallen angels I'd know them." Satana's confidence here is supreme. Of course she is considered one of the greatest demonologists of the mystic realms. "And looking inside them, this is not a lycan I don't think. I guess I can do some tests to further test this, but I don't think this is what these are."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, wiping her hands clean(ish) on her belly and hips without thinking, leaving the gory "war paint" pointing by happenstance to the things Harry is probably trying hard not to look at.

"We need to go back, on our own terms, to do a reconnaissance in force." She turns to face Harry. "Now what do I do with the living one?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I considered that." Harry admits,"If they were anything along those lines I had the most expert I could get to suss it out." He frowns thoughtfully and sighs,"They really are just unexplained. I've met a sasquatch. I know they are real. This feels...like someone threw the pieces inside to see if it worked."

He is thoughtful about the question and admits,"Well. I know they exhibit understanding of their surroundings, but I don't know if they are purely cognizant. I am not sure how we'd prove it."

He hmms and says,"You wanted one. What did you have in mind? Try to house break it and make it a guardian of this place?"

Satana has posed:
"I don't need more guardians. I wanted to perhaps use bits and pieces of it to make a new chimera. Another pet, like Phydeaux. Now that I've worked that hide, that sounds like a very good basis. But it also troubles me that someone made something that good and is not known to me."

Her eyes stray to the body on the slab, narrowing as she looks.

"I think we need to find the makers. And maybe find out why this is suddenly exploding on us."

Again she faces Harry. "There's another frozen corpse. Would you like it? I've got enough information from this one to do my work on the living one."

She tilts her head.

"And if you're tired, I can have one of the imps make up a room for you."

Then comes the *sigh, succubus* moment.

"Or if you have other reasons to stick around." Salacious wink. "You know where to find me."

Yes. Right in front of him. Currently covered in cryptid gore in war paint patterns. Next to a slab with a disassembled cryptid...

Harry Dresden has posed:
"We could always put it back where we found it. If we go back in force, we might as well have it to use to seek out it's companions." he muses,"Homing instinct. See if it has one or not. The bad thing is, they are legendary in several areas of the country."

He takes off the gloves and throws them away,"We can take the carcasses back with us too. Might as well give them back what they want." He shakes his head and admits,"I might be hard on the house, just being here too long." He smirks seeing her covered in the gore and smirks,"You wanting me to wash the gore off your back or something?" Sure he's messing with her a little bit.

Satana has posed:
"Take it back?" Satana frowns, her forehead furrowing, at the notion of giving up her experimental subject. "After all the work we did to get it in the first place?"

She looks at the disassembly on the slab, idly picking up an internal organ and tossing it from hand to hand as she speaks. "It would be an interesting test..." she then says, in the tone of voice of someone trying to convince themselves of something. "How do they react to the return? To the deaths? To the disassembly?"

Looking across at Harry, she purses her lips. "Take it back and then I can spy on it from the Astral plane and watch what happens. Or give me a day or so and I can make a device that will let us watch together; I think I have some flourite I can turn into a scry screen...."

Beat.

"Wait, hard on the house? How? And I wasn't planning on having you wash me, but if that's what you enjoy, we can do that."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He shakes his head,"Unless you have a way to incinerate it. They seemed to keep coming back to find the bodies." he admits. He nods,"It would be interesting. I doubt Cassie would be on board. Willow would be questionable. Thomas would probably go back for a fight.

"Astral form watch is a good idea. Study how they react to things like that." he agrees. He looks at her and adds,"My power is hard on technology. Cell phones tend to burn out just passing me on a counter. Anything not shielded from magic by magic I have to stay back from, hence I only touched the non electrical implements."

He shakes his head and tells her,"Hot water heaters. If they aren't mystical, the shower gets cold in a hurry. I doubt you'd like that."

Satana has posed:
"Oh, Harry, you disappoint me! I'm a technomancer. *EVERYTHING* in my home is mystical, even when it looks technological."

She slinks closer. "And cold showers are ... a shock to the system. That can be very arousing."

Sigh. Succubus.

"But it won't be a problem. My hot water heater has a bound elemental. Why would I want to pay a gas or electrical bill?"

Then she withdraws again. "Of course if I don't inflame desire in you, I'm not in the throes of hunger, so while disappointing it's not something I'm going to force."

Eyes back on the body, putting back the organ she was tossing around.

Do we have the day to get a flourite astral screen enchanted or will you trust to my astral observations?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"It might make things last longer." he replies to her with a shake of his head,"It's just the primal energies." He looks at her as she comes closer and he watches her just below the eyes,"It isn't much of a shock when it's a daily occurence." Her proximity gets a raised brow, but no objections.

"It's less about the inflamation that is the issue." he admits, but he listens to her and nods when she says she isn't hungry,"I appreciate the candor though."

He watches her with the organ and finally he tells her,"It doesn't benefit you much to lie about things. You might consider taking Willow with you too. She needs more than one teacher to catch up." He's putting more trust in her than might seems natural.

Satana has posed:
"You're absolutely correct. I rarely lie, in fact. There's little point." Satana's eyes light up (literally) with some malice. "I may not tell people the whole truth, of course, but I try not to outright lie. Outright lies are hard to keep track of. And if you get a reputation for telling the truth, it's easier to fool people later on."

She shrugs. "So stay, or not. Partake of my delights or not. I might be disappointed, but I won't be upset." An evil grin lights her face. "But you'll be missing out on delights you can barely picture. I know your nervous system better than you do; I know how to bring you to sensual heights you've never experienced. It's an expertise I need to predate effectively, after all."

There's something distant in her eyes as she talks about predation.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Lying takes a lot of work." he agrees with a nod,"It seems like I heard Molly talking about some pirate saying telling the truth is the best way to throw off his enemies or something."

He considers what she is suggesting and hmms softly,"Well. Molly is staying at the office tonight because she needed to pass through town without drawing family attention. So I don't need to go right back to the office."