milliways_bar | (no subject)

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john constantine

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John sits at one of the tables, smoking a cigarette and drinking whiskey as he contemplates the Observation Window.

Come take his mind off the end of all living things. It strikes a little too close to home.

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"It depends on the demon," John explains, "or the situation. There are Tibetan spells, Hebrew, Creole, Latin, some you can even cast in English. It depends on what materials you have available or the faith and strength of the person casting the spell."

“So, okay, you have to figure out what kind of demon it is, what you’ve got on you that’ll work, and then basically use whatever thing you have to wrestle it into submission.”

Damn, that sounds exhausting. No wonder John needed a break.

John nods. "Just so." He adds with a wry smile, "At least the pay is terrible and I never get a vacation."

YT snerks. “Maybe you should unionize the demon-hunting wizards.” Pause. “Are there others? Demon-hunting wizards, I mean.”

"There are others."

Beat.

"We all hate each other."

“Man, that sucks.”

Stella decides she has had enough skritching and wants to nap. She withdraws from John and goes under the table to lie at YT’s feet.

“How’d that happen? Just professional rivalries? Or did the folks who taught all of you hate each other too?”

"None of us are good at sharing," John says, and folds his hands together to rest on his chest as they talk, now that he doesn't have a dog to distract him. "We've all got talismans or spell books or what-have-you that someone else wants. There's a lot of professional jealousy, too, or philosophical disagreements. For instance, I use any school of magic I can learn, while most mages focus on a single tradition. That upsets people."

“Man, that’s dumb. I mean, the part about covering each other’s magic shit, I can kind of understand. But getting snobby about mixing magic? It’s fucking demons and shit, who cares what you do as long as it works?”

YT has gotten a little agitated. Stella, under the table, is looking up at her with some concern.

“Well, anyway, there’s magic books in the library that probably none of those other assholes have. And there’s some other magic types here who probably won’t care how you do your thing as long as it’s only the demons who get hurt.”

Her agitation causes John to look at her with concern, too.

"It's been this way for centuries," John says, and touches her arm lightly to soothe her. "People like their traditions and want them respected, and trying to find your own path is regarded by them as disrespect. Honestly, though, it makes it easier to find your real friends.

"It's all right."

John’s right. It’s his shit to deal with and YT can’t really do anything about it. She takes a deep breath and tries to chill out.

“Man, ‘trying to find your own path is regarded is disrespect’ is, like, at least sixty to eighty percent of my life.” YT figures that’s why she kinda freaked out about it.

“Although let’s be honest, I really do disrespect the shit out of most of those fuckers.”

John smiles wryly. "Make it ninety-five percent of my life, and I'm right there with you."

YT smiles. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Well, there’s a few reasons. And also John likes dogs. If he hadn’t, that would’ve been a dealbreaker.

John chuckles. "That's as good a reason as any."

He likes dogs, cats -- anything soft and pettable, basically.

“So. Are you going to be staying here for a while?”

Yes, it’s completely unsubtle. No, YT doesn’t care.

John leads his chin on his hand. "I could. Are you?"

“Hey, I could hang out here for a while. Just gotta drop the puppy off at home first.” She inclines her head towards Stella.

(Stella does not stay overnight in Milliways, even when YT doesn’t have a hot date on her calendar.)

"I'll be right here, waiting."

He offers Stella one last scratch.

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