possessum | — 𝐜 𝐨 𝐧 𝐭 𝐚 𝐜 𝐭

— 𝐜 𝐨 𝐧 𝐭 𝐚 𝐜 𝐭

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NOTE: I am forever backtag friendly and absolutely open to doing things from past events that won't really have an effect on things at any given time. For example, if you'd like to do something with Peter aged down or when he was his spider dream guide, etc.

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What are you talking about?

[She really, really doesn't like this, and she has half a hope that if she keeps mounting an incredulous defense, Peter will be his usual passive, non-confrontational self and lose the steam to try and get around it.

No such luck. Now that he's started purging what's been itching at him, he seems possessed of a different need--a commitment to see it through to the end.]

What? Possess me? [Then she's genuinely incredulous, her scoff built of sixteen years' worth of being able to shelve cartoonish ideas in the realm of fiction where they belong. Resolved, as if it's a matter of making up her mind:] I'm not getting possessed by your demon, Peter.

[She's done her time having no control of her body, at the mercy of male entities. Fuck that. And fuck it. And maybe that's where Peter's hidden resiliency outstrips her own, because she'd take it and herself down before suffering a minute more of it.

But damn Peter a bit, too, for that attention-stealing choice of words. A cord of tension tightens in her and she scrutinizes, uncertain if he's merely speaking in figuratives or finally ripping the curtain down on the wizard. They've never talked about her quickness. Not her and Peter, at any rate.]

Okay, maybe asking the obvious question here-- [She cuts in, grasping at this new piece of information tossed at her, frowning all the harder.] If you have an exorcist on speed dial, why haven't you gotten one already?

[If her elephant in the room is big, his is even bigger, and that does seem like the most obvious missing link here.]

[ Henry's fortitude is something Peter's been leaning on since the moment he met her. Where he often has no mettle, she has heaps: both of them on some opposite end of a spectrum, but perhaps at the root of it, they're the same. It's a form of resilience the way they individually need it to be: she's like a wielded knife daring anyone to get close and he's hiding away under bandages covering his face from the world, but both of them are doing the same thing. Protecting wounds. Where he often relies on that abrasive, assured edge to his housemate, in the here and now it.... frightens him. He doesn't need Henry to be stubborn and sure of herself and deflecting the scary things. He needs her to be worried and careful. She says she's not getting possessed like it's a thing she's just decided isn't going to happen, and Peter turns to her, mouth opening and eyes fretful, a desperation that's not as controlled as he'd like it to be.

But she's throwing a question back at him instead, and it's a valid one, one he can still use to try and convince her she should be really worried about this. ]

The people I've talked to, they don't.... they don't know exactly how to handle this thing. It's not really like demons most people deal with, they don't want to fuck me up. [ .....Give the demon the final push needed to overtake him, maybe. Because what he and Paimon currently have, courtesy of Deerington, is co-existence, perpetually trapped in the Purgatory of this town together, but it's not natural. One or the other should be here, but not both. And whatever rules this town follows, even the professionals he's spoken to have agreed it has to be handled with a delicate hand. Maybe he gets turned into some lifeless vegetable in the process. Maybe removing Paimon from him after all this time they've been trapped in one another makes him worse. ]

That's just it. They don't know what could happen. I mean, say I die and it gets into you. John might be able to pull it out since it just happened. I don't know that for sure, but. You need to have like a plan of action, just in case.

[ He's breached rambling territory here, his words coming out a bit too quick, a bit too fretful. Theoretically, he should have had this talk with Henry long before these tense final moments before Hell Month hits, but when has Peter ever been good with healthy timing? He only acts after he's pushed up against the wall, desperate. Even now, he's throwing this at her, someone he cares about so much that it hurts to think about her suffering at all because of him, in an unfair way. Sorry he sucks, Henry. ]

Please. Just in case.

[There's discomfort on both ends. All this time Fern's found it easier to deal with Peter using anger and hostility, and now they're kind of-sort of getting along and it's weird and the guilt is increasing as he realizes that he's been trying to hurt some kid who is going through the same kind of pain that he is.

It's all awful, and bringing dead dads into it makes it more awful. He knows what that's like - he knows exactly what that's like.]

no, he didn't
which is a good thing, mostly
my adoptive dad was really in-your-face and strong, he was great
he died too, though
my human dad and the wizard that made the Grass Sword are negligent, controlling jerks

[Ugh, he hates that he still has to use present-tense for the Grassy Wizard and Martin. It isn't fair.]

Will understood me in a way they don't

i know this doesn't help anything, but
sorry about your dad

[ (Prooooobably............ R.I.P. to Peter Graham's ears....... Just please don't ask Louis about it, Luna. He's sure to inform her that it means poor Peter's "getting horny for her" or something like that.)

By now, he knows Luna's expressions very well, and the smile she wears definitely has a sort of strain behind it. Peter can see that. The gentle assumption is mostly that being faced with something so significant from her home is... hard, and again, it's completely understandable. Not to mention the fact that these coins served as a form of communication between herself and her peers, and having one in her hand now is probably....... especially hard. A literal reminder of her homeworld and the people she inevitably misses. The connection that's now most likely no longer existent. ]

I'm sorry. [ He says, quietly. ] It must be weird, seeing this now. Thinking about.... a meeting you never made it to. [ Peter has no idea just how severe Luna's situation back home truly was, but it's clear that those meetings of hers were important.

There's a beat as he thinks about something, and then he reaches out, gently, to take her other hand and give it a soft squeeze. It's another little gesture of affection, of communication. A way to reach out even if there's still so much in him that's afraid of what this deal with Paimon is going to mean for her. He's still here with her in the special shy, careful physical way they have with each other. He isn't flinching away from being touched, won't let himself fall back into that. ]

Do you wanna talk about them? Neville and Hermione and.... all of them? You could tell me about them, if you want.

[ So Fern had an adoptive dad, and a human dad, and some kind of wizard involved in his life, and that's...... a lot. A human dad is the one that sticks out at first, because Peter didn't expect that. So there's something to Fern that... is human?

That discomfort on his side is deepening too, because he's kind of placed Fern in the "monster", even "demon" category for awhile there. Over time here, Peter's... learned that his concept of "monster" is skewed by his own experience and perspective, but it's been hard to shake that perception of Fern in particular, because of that frightening hostility. But....

....Kind of weird thinking about him as "monster" anymore. Especially now that Peter knows he's kind of a monster, too. ]

I'm sorry about yours, too
Your adoptive dad
Your other dads sound pretty shitty

Will and Ben were really good guys
I hope wherever they are now, they're together

[ A pause, and then...... ]

Do you have anything of Will's?
Or anything from him, left here

[The problem is, Henry doesn't want to be worried and careful. She's tired of it; she doesn't want to add another worst case scenario to the pile when she already carries worry and caution everywhere with her, whether sleeping or waking, like two cement shoes around her ankles. And in their time together she's felt both for him--but she's worked hard not to line him up in the crosshairs as something to worry and be cautious about.

She doesn't want that.

And she's not alone in not quite knowing how to relieve Peter of his burden once and for all, despite a town full of occult experts. The familiar sound of Peter expounding on maybes and what ifs seems to deflate her, and she releases a breath through her nose, lips pressed into a tight line. Nikolai had taught her that no matter the harm her abilities had caused, they were ultimately controllable. Knowable. Not so for Peter. If anything, he's struggling to keep himself in check more now than he was when he first crash landed on her lawn.

In spite of the evil, unnatural, unknowable nature of his demon and how far from control he must be feeling to talk about his own death in terms of contingencies, here he is, being worried and careful for her instead of himself.

She hates it. Hates that he has to dangle over this precipice with a rage he never seems to show for himself.]

Fine. [Conceded low and soft because she doesn't have the heart add an argument to his pile.] I'll remember.

[The exorcist's name, anyway. She'll do that much, but that's all she'll give sway to. They're not going into this preparing for him to crack like an egg and hatch a demon king.

Without warning, Henry walks around to his side of the coffee table.]

Stand up.

[Fern's whole dad situation is endlessly complicated, and he hates it. He wishes he could just have one dad - or at least one who isn't terrible and is still alive.

... Peter probably thinks the same thing about his dad. That's a bizarre thought to have.]

they aren't great, yeah

i hope they are too
i'm not sure they were even from the same world, though

[That's a weird question.]

oh uh
he gave me his fishing rod
and a fly tying kit

[ (It'd be a real shame if she went to Louis, which she might just do. Is this a teenage boy thing? Guess who's another teenage boy she knows that also knows Peter? Oh, yeah. It's Louis.)

There's another weak smile at his sympathy and she shrugs a little. It's very bittersweet. There's little she can do about it, as long as she's here. And she does know that things... time is a little weird here when it comes to Deerington and home. ]

Apparently, I'll be right on my way again if I leave this place. If what people say about time standing still when we leave home is true. [ She is... not going to argue with him. It'll be staying as 'a meeting' in all honesty. ] But yes, it's quite weird.

[ But Peter offers her much more than a simple hand-hold. Her weak smile shifts to something more genuine and thankful — comforted by it. But there's also what he says next: when he asks if she wants to tell him about her friends. Her lips part slightly and she realises what it is: it's a delightful distraction. As difficult as it is to be without them, knowing just what's around the corner if and when she ever returns home — it's a distraction. She would rather talk about her friends than think about the imminent future of home.

Luna nods a little, turning the coin over in her hand before placing it back in her robe pocket. Not forgotten, but no longer the focus. ]

I'd love to. [ Someone who's so very important to her should absolutely know about the other people who are important to her. Although where to begin—? ] I... have a photo, actually.

[ She turns, heading towards her beside and opening the top drawer. Inside amongst other belongings of Luna's, there's three photographs: polaroids that Sodder had gifted her from last year. One of Luna when she was younger with her mother; another of a swarthy-faced young man she doesn't recognise; and finally, one of Dumbledore's Army, all stood in the Room of Requirement. She picks up the last photo, closing the drawer again before sitting on the bed, patting next to her for him to sit with her.

Yes, this is a good place to begin. ]

[ He's equal parts stunned and relieved when Henry utters that fine, soft and reluctant though it may be. A breath he wasn't aware he was holding is exhaled quietly, the boy.... not relaxing, not exactly, but at least she isn't fighting him on this. Not that he doesn't know perfectly well Henry will do what she wants when (...if; it's an if, not a when) the time comes, regardless.

But it still means something that he... voiced his concern, and she voiced some kind of assurance in return. Maybe he just needed to hear her say it. Maybe through all of the various convoluted ways he's lost his autonomy and is hanging onto some sense of control by a thread, this one little thing means something there, too.

But then she's moving over towards him, and Peter blinks, weirdly surprised by the action. Maybe by the fact that after what they just talked about, what he just brought up, she's willingly getting close to him like this. But he does what she says, getting to his feet, awkwardly looking down at her with all the mannerism of a big nervous dog staring down at a much smaller, and much more intimidating cat. ]

What, uh.... what're you doing?

Oh
Yeah, true
I guess there's no way to ever know for sure

[ He... hasn't thought much on it. Maybe he hasn't been able to. What happens when someone goes home. Do they.... forget everyone they've met here? Everything that's happened? Was this all just some bad dream in the back of their mind? It's a..... sad thought, one that really hurts. But maybe it's time Peter faced reality a bit more. He's been sitting on the loss of people in this place for a long time. ]

This is probably going to sound really cheesy but
Having something of his is like
At least a way to remember he was really here
You know?

[ Aka, Peter's...... trying to be helpful. Because losing people hurts. And.... maybe Fern already knows what he's trying to say here, but he still wants to say it. ]

I have a ring left from Ben, too
Though I haven't looked at it since he left

[ .....Maybe he should. Ironically, the ring has plant-based powers. The Deerington universe seems to have a sense of humour when it comes to the connection between himself and Fern. ]

it might be better to assume they aren't
you know, just in case

[It doesn't make things emotionally easier, but it's more practical when you take secret multiverse portal plans into consideration. It means not wasting time searching in one world for both of them.]

ohhh
yeah, that makes sense
it's

kind of a nice thought

[He is never going to let go of that fishing rod.]

a ring?
i didn't know Ben liked jewelry

Yeah, you're probably right

[ On his end, Peter falls too easily into a sense of pessimism — but it's kind of a safe place for him. False hope isn't something he'd ever allow himself to rely on for long; he often goes the opposite. Having no hope. There is a small part of him that still will gently hope maybe Ben and Will are together, but..... it's kept quiet. It still hurts a lot to think on. ]

I think it was something the town like
spawned for him?
Like the blessing basket thing, kind of

It has some kind of magic, but I haven't used it myself
It can like grow plants I think?

[With everything Fern has been through, being pessimistic comes naturally. The world is too shitty for any real optimism.]

wow, really?
dude, have you tried doing like
plant magic with it? do you know how it works?

[This is... weirdly piquing his interest. Though maybe it isn't so weird given it's probably coming from his octopus side. Either way, he figures it can't hurt to ask about.]

Not yet
I've been kind of scared to mess with it, honestly

But I do know Ben used it to make plants grow from like, his palm?

[ Whatever other capacities the ring has, Peter's unsure. But there's a pause because... well, of all people, Fern might be one to ask about it. Luna, too, and he makes a mental note to bring it up to her sometime soon. ]

Maybe you could take a look at it sometime?
You might be able to figure it out

[A magic ring that makes plants grow from your palm checks out, in Fern's opinion. But more importantly, he isn't surprised to hear that Peter is reluctant to use it.]

i uh
i get it
cursed plant objects can be dangerous

oh uh i don't know

[... Well, that would be true if he wasn't aware of the whole octopus thing. But it - he might be able to figure it out, if it's similar to what he used to be.]

no guarantees, but i could try?

[ Peter's generally kept far away from anything remotely magical. (....Apart from Luna). But magic is something he doesn't really want to dip into himself. It would have been easy to just keep the ring locked up in his drawer and not look at it again.

But if it has some kind of connection to Ben.... What if he's supposed to use it? Maybe he's in a place now where he could try to. And the offer being accepted makes him weirdly shy, because maybe he still wasn't exactly expecting that. Whatever's shifted between him and Fern is still so new. ]

Sure, yeah
We can try it sometime
I uh
I think I'll feel a lot better trying it out with someone who already knows a lot about plants
In case something does go wrong

[There are a whole lot of people here more proficient than him at magic, and probably people more skilled when it comes to plant magic. But he knows weird plant magic objects, and Peter is asking him and not someone else, so he might as well try to help.]

ha ha i don't really know much about plants
i never even did the gardening back home
i'm good at cutting plants up though, so if things go skronked sideways i can deal with it
it'll be fine

[ Peter's pretty surprised to hear this, given his assumption that Fern would know a lot about plants, being.... made of them. But clearly, he's wrong about that.

......Which maybe makes sense, now that he's found out Fern has connections to humans? Has a human dad, even. Just... what happened to Fern? ]

Oh, my bad
I guess I thought you'd know about them because of
being who you are

[ He really hopes that doesn't read as insensitive. He has no idea what to ask or how, but this is some attempt to actually learn a bit more about Fern, whereas Peter had spent so much time being too afraid to in the past. ]

Not that it's weird or anything if you don't
I just uh
I thought maybe plants were like your 'thing', you know?

nnnnope
you being fleshy doesn't mean you're an expert in uh
meat stuff
right?

[He worded that poorly, but he hopes he got the point across. Plants aren't his thing, have never been his thing, and unfortunately for him they're probably going to be his thing in the future, as he gets more used to this body.]

no
they never were
i'm grass because of the Grass Sword
back when i was Finn the sword i had before the Grass Sword broke
long story there
so i needed to get a new one
i bought the Grass Sword from the Grassy Wizard
it was eternally cursed
also it's me too
Finn got turned into the Finn Sword AKA another sword
and then both of the swords merged and made me

Okay that's a fair point

[ He gets what Fern means, even if it involved words like "fleshy" and "meat stuff". Peter sure as hell isn't an expert in humans or how to be a good human or whatever else. He's kind of a failure at that, actually. ]

Holy crap, dude
That's a lot???

[ Peter has no idea where to even begin piecing all of that together, but the main point here is that Fern's clearly had a fucking complicated life???? Definitely not as simple as him just turning from human to a plant boy, apparently. He's also a sword? Or, two swords?? And Peter thought HIS life was a mess. ]

No wonder Paimon has his sights on you
He's really into magic and curses and stuff like that

[ He forever doesn't like talking about Paimon, but.... this has led into him wanting to ask. ]

Do you really... want to be his knight?
Or did he make you?
Because I can probably get Luna to make him leave you alone

um, thanks
but i want to be his knight

[This is so surreal. Peter wants to help him, and he really doesn't deserve it. He really, really doesn't.]

i know it's weird and he's weird and you're
you're in a situation that sucks a lot

[As much as he likes Paimon, he can't deny that Peter is still in an awful situation that he didn't choose to be in. Peter doesn't deserve it.]

but i wasn't a very good knight back home
i'm not really a good knight in general
he makes me feel like i'm good at it, though

[ This really is surreal, and Peter's still trying to be careful here. But there's a lot he doesn't understand, and now that he and Fern are actually capable of talking some, he's letting some of those things out. ]

You're not like
afraid of him?

He's apparently some bigwig demon from Hell
I don't know if you should trust him

[ But Fern addressing that this is weird for him and sucks a lot is something else he wasn't quite expecting, and it takes Peter a minute or two to form his own thoughts in response. ]

It's definitely really weird
I don't even know why he's here
Why he's inside me of all people
I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me

we don't got a Hell back home
just Dead Worlds, and some demons are nice
so i don't think that part is a big deal

[Paimon being a king is a bigger deal than the whole Hell demon thing, and he knows that's weird, but that's just who he is.

The rest of that is... kind of sad. And understandable, given Fern went through the whole why me? What am I? phase back in Ooo. It hadn't gone well, but at least it means he can offer a little advice here.]

maybe there isn't a reason
sometimes there isn't
sometimes life is just totally unfair and sucks and there's nothing you can do about it

[ It's not the first time Peter's hearing from someone that "demons" don't automatically mean "evil" the way they typically do where he comes from. He's... trying to understand. It's hard, when he still sees his particular demon as something bad, but. A lot of people seem to like Paimon. ]

What kinds of things does he make you do?
If you can talk about it, I mean
I don't want to get you in trouble or anything with him

[ Peter's mental image is Paimon relentlessly ordering Fern around to do all kinds of dark deeds....

That next bit, though. It completely stuns the older teen, and he's just quiet for a long few moments. Paimon keeps saying Peter was given to him, and something fucking weird definitely happened to him back home. Some cult business, and Peter's been wondering why for so long. ]

I never thought about it like that, but that would be a lot more... freeing. [ He.... actually kind of wishes he could see it that way. It's no less awful, that random things just randomly happen to people, that maybe it's a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but... it's a bit better than thinking everything is some predestined fate, isn't it? ]

I guess I've been thinking about it like
I did something really bad
Back home
And maybe this happened to me because I deserve it, you know?

[ He's well aware this is a lot to say to Fern. It's... pretty personal. But Peter can talk about his guilt now, in ways. He can't let himself forget what he's done. ]

i think it's ok, you already know about him so it's probably not a big deal
mostly scavenging stuff for him and trying to protect Luna
she's really important to both of us
uh he also likes the plants that grow on me? so i give those to him sometimes

[Really, it's a far cry from what you'd expect from a demon king, and Fern has had no problems doing it all.

He isn't really sure if any of this applies to Peter, he just hopes it helps a little.]

like karma?
dog i doubt you did anything really bad back home

[Certainly nothing that results in a punishment like this. That seems like overkill.]

you're just a normal person, right?
not like a serial killer or anything

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— 𝐜 𝐨 𝐧 𝐭 𝐚 𝐜 𝐭

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