You know what? You know what?! Maybe Peregrine had it right after all! Giriel had never been to hell before this journey. People didn't just go to hell! Even people wielding magic, that wasn't a thing you just did! Magic was supposed to be a safe, practiced thing, and they'd just tossed that out the window with all this experimentation. Giriel had been trying to help people, set things to right starting with the raised spirits who ought not to have been caught up in all this, and she'd landed in hell twice for it!

She still couldn't help herself. Even now she was helping Azazuka up, carefully avoiding touching the exposed skin and trying to just give her a comfortable position to rest. No time for healing magic this moment.

But the battle was interesting and there was a lot to be learned here. For one thing, was this what the heavenly spirit was after? Perhaps Giri had simply given unintentional offense, the thing had been of Venus after all. If it was here because of the upheaveal of the hells that would make sense. And the questions Peregrine was asking were such good ones. 

Giriel cradles Azazuka over her lap and looks on. "Good thoughts, Peri" she says, quietly, starting her own patter as they both watch. "It matters that it's mimicry doesn't it? It carries the symbolism of the twin, the mirror, and the thief. It's not just heaven casting out a demon, but usurping the role that we're looking at."

Giri pats Azazuka comfortingly, one hand on her hair. She was burned so badly, and seemed to care much more. The poor girl probably had lived such a pampered, noble lifestyle she might have never felt pain like this before. What was her touchstone for it, even? A bad sunburn? An allergic reaction to a bee sting maybe? That hardly seemed to compare. "If we're right" she continues, still addressing Peregrine, "we might see the role retained and warped, right? The point of a usurpation would be that instead of creating a hole for some other demon to crawl into, instead the heavenly spirit takes the role and then her aspects change and warp it. She's a being of Venus, some aspect of love maybe, what would it mean to bring love into war? Or war into love? Oh gods, I don't want to think too hard about that."

[Giri's going to read Zhaojun as she does her thing here. Her questions are what are Zhaojun's feelings towards demons and what does she hope to gain from impersonating the General? Zhaojun can ask one at her leisure. Answers provided by her next series of actions are fine, hope she enjoys her witchy audience.]