Owner	Pose
Zatanna Zatara	A place to get away from blood, away from thoughts of a ruined evening, was requested. While the blood issue is not so easily fixed, since Zee is positively dripping with the stuff, a place away is easy enough.     They end up near Shadowcrest, in a gazeebo amidst the garden. Considering it is only springtime and it is Gotham, it is a rather dreary thing at night. But there is a strangely perfect view of the stars. Shadowcrest in some way lives up to its name, repelling light pollution with ease.     Zee has been very quiet. Something is, as they say, wrong. But she doesn't know how to express it. Zee is off-balance. And frustrated with herself.     "Are you sure you are okay, Satana?" she asks gently.
Satana Hellstrom	"Angels' attacks ... hurt. But it's not the kind of hurt that you would understand, I hope. I'm partially immune; the attack on the actual Fallen is devastating since it reminds them of where they Fell from. I've never been, so ..." Satana shrugs. "I only feel the pain, not the loss and regret. Selaphiel, also, can't really do any permanent harm to me. I'm not sure what it was thinking coming after me like that. Maybe my soul deals for NSBM types offended it?" National Socialist Black Metal. Offensive to the angels on so many levels, but the musical level especially would, indeed, drive Selaphiel mad, wouldn't it? "At any rate, I'm ... almost glad it happened." Wait, is that Satana stirring uncomfortably in her seat? Unable to meet Zee's eyes? "I think I have to explain about ... well ... Basilisk." Beat. "You know what it is, right? Did you notice it had kind of vanished from the scene? I'm why."
Zatanna Zatara	"I heard you mention it, but in the fight, I didn't get a very good look of what happened," says Zee. This topic, it seems is far from what is on her mind. It is easier to her, even if it seems to make Satana uncomfortable. So much easier to her that she lets out a sigh. What's happening in her head is way more complicated and confusing.     "I know what it, yes. Everyone who more than dabbles with things infernal would know and fear it. But how is it you control the beast? And where did it come from? I didn't see a circle or anything that I'd have expected."     She fidgets a little, picking at her clothes. Which gets blood on her fingers. She can handle it no more, honestly. "Naelc em." And so it does, but it does so by banishing both the filth and her clothing, leaving her rather less covered than she had been.
Satana Hellstrom	"If you're trying to distract me, Zee," Satana says with a growl and a grin, "you're doing well." Her eyes linger on the form. Eyes that would ordinarily be 'undressing', but in this case, with that action not making sense, just flatly (and hungrily) looking the magician over with naked hunger. Not that hunger. Thankfully. "Basilisk resides inside of me now," she says, apparently able to visually slake her lust while she talks. Like the two parts of her are barely connected. Because those eyes are still roaming. Everywhere. "I have it locked away under strong wards. But it is constantly battering against them, striving to break free. And I'm constantly having to bolster the wards to keep it there." Her eyes go dark a moment. "When I have to let it go, it takes everything I have to control it and bring it back inside of me. Or many mortals will die and go to Hell before their time."
Zatanna Zatara	"And how did that come to happen, exactly? Is this a responsibility you have because of... well, your father?" While Zatanna does not know a great deal of this story, she gets a sense that there are going to be many revelations that will complicate her life with Satana.     It's odd, as she thinks back, how quickly she dove into a contract. How easily she fell in love with a woman who devours souls. There's no opportunity for regret, nor any entertainment of such a thing.     She sees Satana looking at her like that and smiles. "I do want your attention. Always. Whenever you are craving company, I want to be the first one on your mind. I just hope I can satisfy you."     But she can attend to the more serious matter, as well. "Of course it would take everything you have. It is a force of annihilation. It's something that was never meant to be contained, though hell knows what it might do left utterly to its own devices."
Satana Hellstrom	"It has the desire to immolate all. To destroy all. That is it. If it had the power to, it would destroy all of creation. Thankfully ... it can be controlled." Satana sighs at the question. "It's not a responsibility. It's another curse. When the first curse didn't work out as planned, Basilisk was put in me. My father ... wanted its spirit of evil destruction to influence me. He never really did understand me." The cry of daughters everywhere and everywhen. "He thought Basilisk would make me more amenable to his ideas and plans." The demoness snorts with angry amusement. "It didn't take." Tearing her eyes away from Zatanna, Satana looks in the direction of Gotham's skyline. "See, I like mortals. Some of them are nice morsels to sate my curse. But the rest? You're fun. It's fun to tease you. To play with you. To turn you into screaming, mindless zombies as my tongue or other parts do things you thought impossible to you." She turns her head back to Zee with sparkle in her eye, head tilted. She waggles her eyebrows a moment. "I record you when you're in that state, you know. You're ... very expressive. Sometimes I play back those screams to the souls in Hell who are cursed with an eternity of arousal with no requital. They ... don't seem to appreciate the work I put into their torment. They're so ... entitled!" Beat. "By 'you' I mean mortals, not you in specific. I mean you are very expressive, but we haven't been going long enough for me to get a sufficiently long library to torment rapists with." Oh, whew! And here it was like maybe things might get WEIRD in this conversation! "Anyway," she adds, shrugging, "As long as I don't lose my control, Basilisk is perfectly securely stashed away."
Zatanna Zatara	This entire topic dances around Zee's little enormous problem. There's a question she has to ask. She has to ask even though the answer is probably going to ruin everything.     It's hard to pay attention to two conversations at once. The first being between her and Satana. The second is her gifted internal voices chatting away. Convincing her that of course everything will be ruined. Zee always has everything ruined. Why should this be any different?     But she can pretend to be on topic. "Your father is kind of a piece of shit, isn't he?" she says suddenly. That... that was not what she meant to say. "You'd think he wouldn't be such an asshole to his own child. But parents aren't always the most amazing people."     For someone who uses magic and has to watch what she uses for spells, you'd think she'd have better control of herself. She just has no such control right now.     "What am I to you?" she asks abruptly. She freezes, then. That wasn't even in her top ten questions to ask. Hell, it wasn't even supposed to be a topic. Too real, too fast, she doesn't want to face the answer.     "I mean, shit... I shouldn't have asked that, should I? It's just we have this contrct, and you are really beautiful, and I am starting to get more than just attached. I was ready to kill for you just a few hours ago. I was ready to die for you, to sacrifice some asshole to you."
Satana Hellstrom	Satana freezes and momentarily there is regret on her face before she wipes it away and bolts on the playfully pleasant mask again. "All fathers, from the Original Father are bastards. This is a good thing from my perspectgive. It gives me so much fodder for enticing people into sin." Her voice is light, but eyes seem troubled. "So yes, Daddy is a bit much." Is that a slight wound of warning in her voice? "It doesn't mean I don't love him." Love? The thing she says she can't do? Then her face grows more sombre. "I wish you hadn't asked that. That's a contractual question and as such I have to be honest. I can't state an untruth." Satana takes a deep breath. Expels it. Visibly steels herself. "You are a valued ... I'm not sure what term to use. 'Asset' is too harsh, too impersonal. 'Friend' is too strong and implies something I can't yet do. Somewhere between those words." It's clear as she talks that she really, really, really doesn't want to be. "I know you don't want to hear that, but there's a reason why you had to give me a year to love you. I don't know how. I have to learn how." Reaching out a hand to brush Zatanna's cheek, "The fact you were willing to kill for me puts you far more toward the 'friend' side than the 'asset' side. It was very touching. I ... felt something over that. I just don't know what. This isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but I am working on it, believe me. I've never failed to deliver on a contract; I don't plan to fail on this one. I just have a few ... inner demons ... to fight." She apparently isn't being deliberately ironic by talking about inner demons. Despite Basilisk. And what she is herself. "Make no mistake, Zatanna Zatara, my lover, I will love you. I am determined to do this." Someone just got bought an answer from Inadequate Answers backwards-R Us apparently.
Zatanna Zatara	Zee nods slowly as Satana seems to.. support her father. Somehow? But she won't press that matter. Even if the L word popped up amidst it. She obviously noticed, but it is filed away. Perhaps it will help her understand something later.     She is more focused on the rest that is to be said. She doesn't look hurt, though. Zee nods, "I understand. It is very early, and you have a lot to figure out before you can get there. I just wonder if I should help. Honestly, if I did, would it be useful or not?" She sighs. The only way someone can truly love another is to love themselves. Zee knows this. She struggles with it. There is something in Satana's eyes that makes it clear this is the biggest problem of all.     "Why did you take me up on this contract, anyway? I mean, I understand why your legal team approved it." She smirks, "They are smart. But I know their game. They have me caught in a cleft stick and they know it."     She lifts a hand to hold Satana's. That beautiful hand thus held, she can turn to press her lips against the palm. "You see, if it is completed, they know I must serve you. And if you fail?" She laughs, but there is no joy in it. Despite the tender press of her lips to Satana's palms, her words are bitter. "If I am unloved, they know they shall have me forever. Despair is a sin all its own. I walked right into it. But honestly, Satana. I don't even care that I was outsmarted by pencil-pushers. I just want to feel the way I do when we are together, and I need to know you feel the same."
Satana Hellstrom	Satana is silent a while, eyes focused into nothingness, face troubled. "I think opening up and making you think I'm being honest with you helps in delivering the terms of the contract; the part where you love me." Satana sighs an exasperated sigh. "Hellfire and Damnation I'm still under contractual geas! I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" She shrugs and sighs again, looking at Zee. "Still, it's better you know the truth so here's the truth. I loved once. It ... did not go well. I'm not sure I can love again." Ironically she hums the chorus to 'I Am A Rock'. For no discernible reason. "And no, it's not because 'I got hurt waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' I get hurt all the time. Much of the time I enjoy it." She brushes Zatanna's face again, before cupping the cheek. "I hurt someone else. For eternity. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop MYSELF." She lets the implication of that sink in a bit before continuing. "The one I loved is in eternal torment. And I did it. And I can't undo it. And it ... I ..." The hand cupping Zee's face withdraws, clenched into a fist. "I am, really, a monster, Zatanna Zatara. I am a demon. A Lord of Hell. 'I Am A Rock' isn't the right song. 'Hurt' is. Though that asshole made it to the Other Place. I had my eye on him joining my choir, but he slipped through my grasp!" Wait, Trent Reznor is dead? Oh, she means Cash. "I will make you hurt. It's my nature. And I'm ..." What's this? Vulnerability? "... scared of that!" she says in a strangled whisper.
Zatanna Zatara	Zee's eyes are locked on Satana's. There's a lot to parse in this moment. It's complicated enough to just deal with the roiling sea of her own emotions. She knows the ultimate matter at hand.     "You don't have to worry about that part of the deal, Satana. My heart is yours." She laughs gently, her expression a strange mix of amusement and anger. "I'm not terribly hard for you to win over, am I? I wish I could be a more formidible conquest for you. I imagine you appreciate a challenge."     The comments on hurting do not make her laugh. She is nuzzles her cheek against that hand. "If you like that so much, perhaps we can try a few more creative things." A small smile, then.     But for the rest. It scares her. It truly does. "I'm so sorry, though. For what you could not prevent. For the pain you have gone through, and continue to feel."     The hand withdrawn makes her flinch. She's not sure why. The breathless rush follows, about the choir, the other place, and finally, finally, the whole point of it all.     There is a long, drawn out silence. Zee has to let this sink in. But then? There is the strangest of all sounds: Laughter. Not bitter laughter, but joyful.     "You have my heart, Satana. Whether you cradle it gently in your hand or crush it in your fist, it is too late. You will hurt me. I... give you permission to do so. I promise to try my best to forgive you, to keep loving you, to heal you."     She moves closer, reaching out to hold Satana. "If it hurts me to be near you, it is worth it. When we are together I feel alive again."
Satana Hellstrom	"Nobody," Satana says, again staring into the distance, "forgives eternal Hellfire and torment. No matter how hard they try. We're good at torment. We use any weakness, any attachment, as part of the torment. He is screaming my name in rage, blaming me for his damnation." The eyes focus on Zatanna. "Understand: it would take a saint to endure that kind of torment and retain love. And saints don't go to Hell." The next breath expelled is shaky and unsteady, but Satana is visibly regaining control of herself. "Why did I take on this contract? Because I am a monster. Because the prospect of having a Homo Magi serving me was delicious. Because it's an interesting challenge, to see if I can actually love. And because the legal department said that it was perfect. She rolls her eyes and manages an uneven smile. "They're the one group that monitors me without vengeance. I value their advice. Most times. So we're on this weird course where I, a being incapable of love--afraid of it--has to love you, a hapless mortal that is easy to twist around my finger because you're such a mes..." Her face twists in sudden fury. "WE NEED TO STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS WHILE I'M UNDER GEAS!" she practically screams. What's more chilling? The suddenness of the fury? Or the equal suddenness of the return to a composed bearing? "Sorry. I'm not used to talking about these things. It gets to me."
Zatanna Zatara	For a time, Zee is listening calmly. Her hands on Satana just rest there. While she is not quite so prone to exercising her lust as her lover is, it is still difficult, no matter the weight of the conversation, to not give in. A simple moment of relaxing her mind, of letting down her guard, and she notices the curve of Satana's neck, the way she wets her lips, the power of her voice, especially in her rage. It all turns Zee on far too much.     But she has things she wants to say, and she can control herself. With effort. But all those feelings aside, she has other emotions. And thanks to the geas, she is hurt.     "I suppose I am a mess. My pathetic nature is attractive, I imagine. It's so easy to make me feel what you want me to feel, and do what you want me to do. Far lesser beings than you have used me with ease. John and Necro, they were among the first. I'm just a fool for everyone to toy with, in the end." She shrugs, and her hands retreat once more, setting in her lap.     "You don't have to apologize, Satana. I should probably have realistic expectations. My big dreams and hopes are far too lofty. Ultimately, I am just another desperate woman, only special because I have power. I can be useful."     A few heartbeats later.     "Like I said. The lawyers got the right of it. Even they can see who I really am."
Satana Hellstrom	"When..." Not if. When. "...I love you what I said will hurt me. And what you're saying now will hurt more, at least from what I understand of observed love between mortals. Until then you'll have to be satisfied with making me happy that I'm a step closer to victory." Satana snorts and laughs. "It's time to break this geas so I stop saying such self-damaging things; time for a change of subject." A few subtle hand gestures, concealed by habit, though any Homo Magi would instantly feel a spell being cast. The flowers in the garden blossom suddenly, filling the air with their sudden scent. The sounds of frogs croaking in the distance amplify. And in the midst of these changes, the midst of the gazebo, Satana reaches out for Zatanna and then draws back, pulling the magician with her, until she's lying on the floor, Zatanna above her, mouth at the magician's neck. "You mentioned," she purrs, "something about hurting me?" Her breath feels like a blowtorch on Zatanna's skin by comparison with the chill night air. "Please, do. Whatever you will. I can take it. And maybe, when I do love you, I will accept this as penance for causing you such pain."
Zatanna Zatara	Zee laughs at that. "Hope springs eternal, I suppose. So when you do... well, then the greatest oddness happens. That is my only hope to truly win, because there are things love will do to you that go so far beyond the contract terms."     A quick nod of agreement to the suggestion of changing the subject. The scene of flowers, the symphony of frogs. Zee whispers and works with it, so that a swirl of silvery lights webs across the gazebo, and its floor is covered with warm, plush blankets.     Her laughter rings out, delighted, when Satana pulls her near. She settles confidently on top of her lover and sighs as a warm haze builds inside her, flowing from the stoke of hot breath and kisses.     "Hurt you," she whispers playfully. "I can do that, in all the best ways." She laughs and whispers, "But first, I need to make sure I have you completely at my mercy, Satana."