~The Meeting~
Livia simply smiled at the gathered teachers. Aside from some small looks of disapproval and a bit of hushed whispering no one seemed to majorly object. Of course, why would they?
"Indeed, Miss Gagne." Livia replied.
"We are scholars, not some timid or superstitious peasant that will tremble at any mention of the word demon. Even if we are religious, we should not let such beliefs cloud our judgement at let the chance for scholarly and academic advancement, and as Miss Lindall so astutely observed...St. Sappho academy will be taking on a few new students over the coming semesters."She then turned her attention to Katherine, walking away from the podium and letting her words sink in for a few moments before continuing. It would be easy enough for them to assume who exactly the new students were.
"A few weeks before this semester started I was approached by a representative of the Demons. They have made a rather...interesting proposition. Certain interested parties among the demons and their kin, seek to have their kin attend St. Sappho-""I believe I will take it from here, Livia." Myrilla stepped into the room, long thick black horns poking from her head, curving forward along her head. Large, black wings sprouted from her back. Livia simply glared at her slightly as she was interrupted. This woman was the only one who had ever been so bold as to do such a thing. If all demons were like this, then she doubted she would get along with any of them.
"Greetings, scholars of St. Sappho." She bowed, an oppressive aura filled the room as she straightened herself.
"I am Lady Myrilla Sathanus," The name shouldn't be unfamiliar to anyone who was even remotely versed in either religion or history.
"And I am looking forward to a long and frutiful relationship between my people and this academy."Aetheria watched on as Livia and Lady Sathanus began speaking, but did not return any further comment. The white mage felt she had already said her part, and apart from mild amount of internal dissaproval she had no major feelings regaurding the subject. The former student was mildly concerned about the welfare of everyone involved, but if the students decided to fight she wouldn't be too hasty to stand in their way.
Katherine chuckled a little bit. How perfect was this? Demons in this school? How wonderfully (possibly) brutal. As if there weren't people already afraid of magic, demons? Katherine couldn't find herself really caring, but found it humorous nonetheless. Overall, the puppeteer was rather excited. It was likely plastered on her face, but the woman didn't probably realize it.
A a pair of her dolls made their way over, one carrying the pitcher of water and another a glass to fill up. Somewhat clumsily, the two dolls filled the cup up together and one handed it to the demon queen. They did this own their own volition bringing a metaphorical tear to Katherine's eye. Regardless of whether the horned woman took the glass, Katherine spoke in her usual fake friendly voice.
"Then shall I be the first of us human teachers to say, 'Welcome to St. Sappho Academy'?" She was never good at the whole, "Formally talking to royalty" thing.
Sathanus laughed at the dolls which presented her with a glass of water.
"Well aren't you precious little things." She took the offering, glancing over at the human that she assumed to be their owner, the same who spoke and welcomed her. The demons crimson eyes narrowed at her, easily picking up on the informality with which she spoke. She had half a mind to call the woman out on it, but she refrained from doing so. Livia simply shot Katherine a look to silence her. She would not have her cause a scene here.
"You have my thanks for a warm welcome." She held the glass, swirling around the contents as if somewhat wary before taking a sip of the liquid.
"I understand this is something of a...shock to you all, I'm certain, but I am glad we can set aside perceived differences perceived by religious fools." She took another sip of the water. Livia simply waited back at the podium, waiting for this to be over with. While she wasn't one to be intimidated, causing a scene here would only be bad. Or perhaps Sathanus would find it humorous. Likely a bit of both. Either way, she let the demon continue unhindered.
"More to the point. My daughter will be attending the school this semester. Some of you have likely already seen her in your class. Lyssa, come here dear. Introduce yourself to the staff." From the same way she entered, Lyssa waltzed out of the room wearing her usual smiles and friendly demeanor, dressed in the same green dress she had been earlier. Two smaller horns poked out of her head, and tiny bat like wings sprouted from her back as a small spaded tail swished happily behind her.
She then practically jumped over to the first human she saw, and greeted her brightly.
"Ehehe, hiya!~ I'm Lyssa~!" She giggled brightly as she introduced herself to Aetheria, their face barely inches apart. Her mom had instructed her to refrain from hugs, so she had to make do with a forceful handshake.
"As you can see," Sathanus commented.
"She's a precious little angel and you are to treat her as such."Aetheria tried to avoid laughing at Sathanus' play on words. While the Lady's daughter certainly seemed ... friendly, there was only so far one could go. So Aetheria released the urge to laugh instead as a friendly smile, giving Lyssa's hand a firm grasp as she shook it.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lyssa Sathanus. I am Aetheria, and will be discussing light magic, history, and economics in the classroom. If you ever need a place to eat, my home is yours." Having grown up as a peasant, Aetheria hoped that would be both formal and friendly enough. Formality was awkward, although she was trying. This relationship could prove to be very profitable.
"Ehe, nice to meet ya! And it's just Lyssa. Calling me miss makes me feel as old as my mom!~" The glass Lady Sathanus' was holding almost slipped out of her hand at that comment as she shot her daughter a rather hostile look. Lyssa simply giggled, seemingly oblivious or not caring. All she seemed to care about was how friendly Aetheria seemed. Lyssa gave her a bright smile, standing right next to Aetheria, resisting the impulse to hug the woman in her usual cheerful fashion. Livia, had to suppress the urge to laugh.
"Right," Clearing her throat, Sathanus continued.
"Now that you all have seen her, you are to treat her with the utmost respect. We also request she be given housing among the commoners. It wouldn't do to have her identity discovered at the moment. The church is...well, not something us demons wish to deal with at the moment. As such...I do not need to tell you what will happen if anything happens to my daughter." She let the threat sink in as she took another drink from the glass, taking a more friendly tone when she finished.
"Now, I believe that is all I am needed here for, so unless any of you humans would like to make a deal for yours soul or something of some sort or another, I have things I need to be doing."That was intended to be a joke. Mostly. Aside from a slow nod indicating her understanding and a smile at their playful banter, Aetheria remained silent.
Seeing that there weren't any questions or deals to be made, Lady Sathanus gave a bow.
"Now, I believe you said you had a date Lyssa?" She asked her daughter.
"Ehe, yep! So uhm, can I go now?""Of course, feel free too. Do try and keep this a secret from your father though. You know how he gets.""Yep, of course!~" With a playful salute, and being unable to resist the hugging impulses any longer, the young demon gave Aetheria a quick hug, before bolting out of the room. Aetheria returned the light hug for a moment, releasing her when the time came.
"I feel sorry for the poor fool." She shook her head, wearing an amused smile. "
At any rate, I have place to be now, so I think this ends your little show here, Livia?""Of course, it has been a...pleasure having you here Lady Sathanus.""The pleasure is mine, Livia. I should visit this delightful place more often. Adieu, for now then. I shall come and check on my daughters progress at a later date." With that, the demon left in a rather unimpressive fashion, right through the door she came through, though if anyone bothered followed after her they would find no trace of the demon.
"Well...now that that is over with, that is it for this evenings meeting. Your all have the rest of the day off, of course." At these words, the gathered members of staff started gathering their things rather quickly and prepared to leave.
"Miss Gagne, Miss Lindall, if I could see you in my office before you leave...I have a private matter to discuss with the both of you." She didn't elaborate any further out in public. Instead, she walked back to her office through the conjoining door and took a seat in her usual chair and waited for them to finish whatever other business they had.
Aetheria nodded, standing up from her chair and following the headmistress. Once all of those summoned entered the office, the white mage had to voice her curiousity.
"I'm not surprised that you'd summon my coworker Kathrine here for a private visit, but I am glad to have finally gained the honor as well. Shall we get started?" It was mostly a joke, although Aetheria would be willing to do many things to get closer to power.
"My, Aetheria. If you wanted some private time with me, all you had to do is ask. I can't exactly call you one of my precious little students, but I'm not going to say no if you want some private lessons." She chuckled a bit, the remnants of tea from earlier still visible on her desk. She should have had a maid make more, but there was no time.
"Unfortunately, this is not a pleasure visit, Aetheria. This one is more of a...clandestine and professional nature.""I guess it depends on what you want as a 'professional' visit." Katherine mentioned as she walked in through the door, followed by her small army of dolls. The woman was never really alone with those always with her.
"But I'm listening, Livia. Must be quite something for you to kill your flirting like that." As much a mystery as the woman still was, Katherine knew that much about her.
"Astute as always, my little Katherine." Livia replied. This was quite a serious affair after all, part of something she had personally been working on for awhile. She would ease her underlings here into the subject first, though. See how much they knew about the subject before moving on.
"What do either of you know about the creature known as the 'Phoenix'?"Aetheria nodded.
"The fire bird of legend that reincarnates?" The white mage was very curious about where this was going. If the previous discussion involved demons and had a demon arriving at the school, would the same be occuring with a mythical creature?
"I am intrigued to hear where this is going, to say the least."Katherine really didn't have much more to add to what Aetheria had said. She pretty much hit all the points that Katherine knew on the subject.
"Do tell, Livia. Are we going to see a Phoenix after seeing the quiet beautiful specimin of top tier demons?" She could tell that the Demon Queen irked Livia to no end. To be fair, Katherine would have felt fearful when the demon's eyes closed in on her, but she was too enthralled in how entertaining the place would now..
"You almost sound enthralled, dear Katherine. Maybe I should remind you exactly who you work for, hm?" She mused aloud, and if Katherine knew her at all then she would realize that was more than an idle threat.
"But that aside...No. We shall not be having one at the academy. At least, not as a student...or a willing attendant." She let the words sink in for a moment before continuing.
"From what I have gathered...it is a powerful, ruthless tyrant that goes around razing entire villages simply for its own pleasure." While it was true she disliked the phoenix for such actions, that was only a single motivator for her to seek out the fire bird. If, if, it was as powerful as she had been told. Then she was a threat, as well as a good test of her and her...allies abilities here.
"So the reason I have called you here this evening is simple. We shall be capturing that phoenix...and bring it here, where I will keep it so it doesn't cause any more trouble."Aetheria had to stop herself from protesting at the insane suggestion. Capturing something was much harder than killing it, and the Phoenix ... the Phoenix was not known for being weak. Trying to take it down in a non-lethal manner could be considered a suicide mission. On the other hand, killing it would only ensure it respawned. A question had to be raised however.
"Headmistress ... once we capture it, what are you going to do with it? Place it in a cage? Research it?" It was known the Pheonix's tears were pancea, and the potential funding for the campus from that made Aetheria's mouth water.
"I'm certain I can find so very many uses for an immortal soul that can produce life giving tears, Aetheria." Livia calmly replied.
"Our first step of course, would be to make sure it can't escape. After that? Well. If it cooperates I'll make sure it is comfortable enough. If not...well. I have no qualms of forcing what I want out of it." She didn't mention the certain interested party that wanted the Phoenix dead. No need to trouble her old friend with that.
Aetheria nodded, understanding their purpose.
"Of course headmistress. So what are the details ... ?"
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