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 Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:32 pm
Zar moved his attention from the mark on his hand back to Barth, giving him a slow and measured look which only grew quizzical at his closing remark. He was on some level, rather disappointed that the mark would theoretically fade once the terms were met, and noted mentally that using this ability on others, he would use every deceit and loophole available to him to make sure that they would never meet their terms and that their failure would remain indelibly written on their flesh as his victory.
He would maybe give Barth some leeway. Maybe.
"Verbal agreements are slippery. In a scenario where an arrangement was settled upon verbally I would remember every word said verbatim but there is something deeply psychological about having the terms undeniably laid down in front of the subject in writing. It is intimidating and final." He looked Barth over. "I can see why you should prefer the verbal type however."
He eyed the papers with the same degree of wary uncertainty, the tip of his tail flicking like a curious feline. "Fine. I cannot say that I am entirely thrilled at the prospect of filling things in at the moment anyway, it is a simple request."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:07 am
"Yess, well, any kind of agreement can be slippery." Barth cleared his throat.
"Any contract made on school grounds has to be documented. ...In triplicate," Barth said wearily. "If I had just, I don't know," he swirled a claw, "bargained to make you my eternal slave, it wouldn't...work correctly, and they'd dissolve it."
He pointed.
"Those are the documents. It's the same on all three sheets. The nature of the agreement, your information, my information, our signatures. ...Did you have any other questions? About Contracts. I'm obligated to answer."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:38 am
Zar wasn't remotely comfortable with the situation he found himself in, he simply wasn't furnished with all the facts of what was going on, despite the fact that Barth had been informative. He wasn't even being evasive but Zar simply didn't know the correct questions to ask in the first place.
He couldn't help the way a single brow raised at the other demon in response to his comment about eternal slavery. "I should jacking hope so." he snapped, a rare slip of profanity from him, though he was a little disappointed that on school grounds he wouldn't be able to trick other people.
Turning his attention to the documents he shook his head. He'd just said he wouldn't sign the paperwork, and despite assurances to the contrary he didn't believe for a moment it wouldn't end up in his eternal servitude. "I'm not signing anything."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:47 am
"Well, we do have to fill out the forms. Writing Bartholomew Mudd on a bit of paper won't hurt anything. My sigil, on the other hand...or, on your hand-" Barth considered his claws.
"As far as the magic's concerned, you've already signed."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:52 am
Barth earned himself a look of pure outrage as it dawned on Zar that if what Barth said was true, the paperwork was completely superfluous to the agreement itself.
He still didn't entirely buy it. "Well the magic can think whatever it wants, I am still not signing anything. What can it even do?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:00 am
"A contract can never absolutely force someone to do something against their will. It's more of a persuasive tactic. But keep in mind, it can go both ways. I don't have to answer your questions."
Barth continued pleasantly, "It's just nicer than the alternative. Fill out the forms."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:07 am
Zar had no intention at all of filling in the forms and made no move towards them, even while ordered to. "Then they are no better than paper contracts, paper contracts can force someone to do something by enforcing it via a higher authority."
His hand was starting to feel strange, irritated and itchy. It was worrying, but he didn't say anything to Barth about it lest it was just him being an overreacting weakling. "And I told you that I wasn't going to. Especially if you can't make me."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:15 am
"It's just going to get worse," Barth informed him. "Not as bad as a contract made off the grounds. But it won't stop. Not until the contract is filled. Start writing."
At the command, the feeling jumped, an increased spike that didn't slope off afterwards, like being bitten without the release.
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:23 am
Zar's pupils narrowed to mere slits as the sensation increased, flinching in response to eye his hand accusingly, his tail coming up to twist around his wrist as if in doing so he could tourniquet off the discomfort. Of course it didn't make any difference and the sensation didn't abate even slightly.
He clenched his claws and hissed through his fangs, his posture dropping into an echo of the predatory twist that he sometimes lapsed into. Regardless he fought it longer still, feeling out the upper limit of what it was capable of on the grounds, setting his own determination against it. "I can imagine what a contract off campus would be like." he said quietly, tracing a talon across the mark. "Interesting."
Still, he defiantly made no move, curious if it was as enduringly intolerable as he expected it to be.
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:38 am
"Yes. As I said, not irresistible- you might have a hard time convincing someone to say, harm a friend. At first. This is only a mild, momentary dose. And if you want relief, you're able to just pick up a pen. But it wouldn't give you breaks for sleeping, of course, and day after day after day-"
Barth tapped his chair, "at full power, it usually doesn't take that long."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:47 am
"I prefer immediate results, but I can see why it would be ultimately effective." Already the itch and pain was bordering over into irritation, just on the cusp of being satisfying but not enough to quite be there. He sighed heavily and made his way over to the paperwork, laying it out, picking up a pen in each hand and one in his tail and filling in all three at the same time.
"I can understand why. It's irritating like this, it would be intolerable after a few days of constant harassment. And it simply isn't spike enough to be pleasant."
He put down all the pens at once with an irritable flourish.
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:18 am
"Sss. There are still a number of useful low-level agreements. A Truth Pact, for instance, where both parties agree to tell the truth about a subject. And the location of the mark can be in a variety of places. Hand, shoulder, thigh, tongue."
As Zar finished, Barth's mark began to bleed upward into a curly, foggy, distorted version of itself, leeched off the skin, until the last of the black dissipated completely. There was a lingering smell of smoke.
Zar and Barth's hands were both clear again.
"So. There you have it."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:25 am
Zar watched the mark fade away with a faintly wistful look, but Barth was nevertheless right, it had been an education and in the wake of it he was left with a wonderful sort of realization. "I have no marks on me other than my natural mottling." he said. "And I have never felt so much as a twinge since I stopped working on what I was supposed to."
His grin turned predatory. "Perhaps it was just a verbal contract after all. Perhaps I'm freer than I thought."
His tail flicked in amusement. "That is certainly interesting."
He gave Barth another long look. "Have you ever written up any contracts that weren't demonstrative?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:34 am
"I'm glad to hear it." Barth wasn't keen on someone with his Name being permanently beholden to anyone else. It was the reason he hadn't given it to Christof yet.
"Oh yesss," Barth said, "Minor and major. Ssome filled, othersss- ongoing. ...Those will need to be turned into the office, by the way."
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:18 am
"The office." Zar hissed. "That hive of disorganization and chaos, they'd just lose it in the mountains of mess." He pushed one of his own mountains of mess off the desk. "I need to get Nahm around to eat this disastrous pile of junk." He sighed heavily. "I suppose I should confront my father about my resignation"
He shook his head. "I can't see it going entirely without a hitch, contract or no contract. His natural form is formidable."
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