Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Huh, looks like it was pretty clear from the beginning that you're not meant to kill people." The earth guardian comments.

The incubus spits at the earth guardian, an annoyed look on his face.

"I'm just glad we're not the ones being arrested..." The air guardian says nervously.

"We should go and see the dead. Maybe we can help out their family with the grieving process." The forest guardian says, before taking the lead and heading in.


The bat demon seems to want to say something, though simply opens and closes her mouth - as if dismissing what she was going to say.

"Um...thank you for your kindness. I...think I'll head back to my room now and try to find some new less murderous friends." The bat demon says respectfully.

 

The guard uses hardlight to redirect the spit back into the incubus’ face.

A young kobold lies dead with crossbow bolts through her head and chest, otherwise undisturbed in the arena as the other armed guards start to warily let the other demons go as they start filling out papers.
Presumably, her axe lies now cleaned of webs on the floor a fair distance away. Looks like the duel was also not one with weapons.


“You don’t need to cast your old friends aside as you do your thoughts,” Hawk encourages, “Please, speak your mind.”

 

The forest guardian kneels down by the corpse and prays for the safety of the kobold's soul - seemingly more out of a habitual respect over anything else.

"Do you know who this kobold's family was?" The earth guardian asks the nearest guard; or anyone that looks like they might have information.


"Well...I was just going to say, you could avoid doing the thing that caused you to become blind in the first place if you got new eyes." The bat demon suggests.

 

“Killed by another incubus-succubus couple. She joined the guard to avenge them; and though unfortunate she won’t be doing anything of the sort, it’s pretty ironic.”


“I don’t exactly intend to stop working at the Mirage Palace, though yes not redoing whatever blinded me would be smart.”

 

"Sounds like a curse to me," The earth guardian comments, giving the corpse a sympathetic look, "Is there anything we can do to help?"


"What did end up blinding you?" The bat demon asks.

 

The guards glance at each other.
“I, uh...”
“Not really? It’s mostly just administrative stuff that needs to be handled.”
“I mean, I guess they could help with some of the paperwork?”
It’s clear that the guards aren’t used to offers to help with post-incident cleanup.


“There was an incident in a starforge, where a trainee lit up the entire smithy. I turned the wrong way when pulling them out during evac, and looking directly at something as bright as a star is never a good idea.”

 

"What sort of paperwork needs to be done?" The earth guardian asks, seeming eager.


"That sounds horrible!" The bat demon says, sounding sympathetic, "Do they not offer safety precautions there for that sort of thing?"

 

The guards seem a bit suspicious.
“Are you feeling okay? There’s a shortcut to the med wing back the way you came at the junction.”
“Shut the hell up, I helped front desk yesterday and I still can’t hold a damn dagger after all those papers. There’s a bunch of record forms, a few extra contingency forms since she didn’t have a will, and translated copies of interrogation transcriptions that’ll need written up later. It’s a lot of work, but it keeps us organized and helps the public keep us honest.”


“There are safety precautions, but that was in response to an emergency. I was sent in as reinforcement; a building melting down into plasma doesn’t wait for you to prepare, and I paid the price. I wound up being another body needing pulled out of the building, though I am credited with finding a tutor trapped under a collapsed wall,” Hawk says, seeming a bit irked by his reminiscence, “I should’ve known better, but my duty as a guard is to put my life before those I serve. It’s... not easy to be willing to throw your only shot away for a slim chance you might save someone else. I imagine knowing you could just come back would make going in a no-brainer, but otherwise... to go all in like that? I don’t know if I could live with myself if I did it again.”

 

"I just thought I'd find a way to help to better our damaged reputation," The earth guardian says, "My friends and I would be happy to fill out those forms for you."


"When death isn't an issue, just the pain of dying, you tend to be a lot bolder in your actions..." The bat demon sighs, "This new reality is quite scary because of the whole...mortality thing."

 

“Would you relax? Accidents happen. We just underestimated how reckless the demons were.”


“It’s a much different ruleset, that’s for sure. Safer bets are taken more often than risky ventures, and there’s quite an emphasis on prevention over counteraction.”

 

"They are demons." The air guardian says.


"I just hope those culinary schools are safe." The bat demon says, a slight nervousness to her tone.

 

“Most demons here aren’t that... outwardly violent.”


“I wouldn’t worry about that. Everything here is made with mortality in mind. Learning a new skill does you no good if you’re not alive to use it. Besides, culinary schools aren’t notably dangerous in the first place.”

 

"The demons from our reality tend to be a lot more used to violence and meaningless murder." The earth guardian explains.


"W-Well, I have burned down a kitchen before." The bat demon says awkwardly.

 

The guards glance at each other.
“All due respect, I believe that was made clear.”


“There’s more to cooking than the oven, you know. Even still, I wouldn’t worry that much about it - there’s a reason kitchens have fire extinguishers in them.”

 

"I meant that more so you know how to calm them down." The earth guardian shrugs.

The forest guardian gets up, having finished their prayers.

"I can only hope her soul is somewhere safe now," The forest guardian says, a mournfulness to their tone, "I overheard you said we were going to handle paperwork for them."

"We will." The earth guardian nods.


"True." The bat demon says with a nervous laugh, seeming to reflect on a memory.

 

"You really don't have to."
"Admin's used to the wall of paperwork, let them handle it."


"Seriously, you shouldn't worry. You'll be taught from the ground up - from people who cook for a living. You'll be fine, I promise."

 

"It's our reality's fault this admin has more paperwork though, so we should at least take some of the weight." The earth guardian says.


"Thanks." The bat demon says sincerely with a smile, after a brief pause. She turns to leave with the eyeball in tow, heading back to her room.

 

"The books did say that earth guardians were the most persistent," one of the guards comments.
"If you insist, the admin office is pretty much next door to the guest commons. We're just noting observations here."

 

The earth guardian nods, leading his group in the direction of the admin offices based on the directions he was given.

 

The admin office is pretty easy to find, two two inch stacks of paperwork sitting on the front desk.
“You sure you want to volunteer for this?” The clerk asks, adding one page from one pile to the other as they finish filling one out.