When Zee arrives back at the house, a door off the main hall is conspicuously cracked open, a trickle of languid steam escaping from within. Inside is a small bathhouse of sorts, a single room featuring a shallow pool of heated water with benches built into the sides. Tucked into the far corner, the Nightmare Nurse enjoys a mimosa, dressed in a purple two-piece with her bright hair already plastered to her head by the heat and moisture. Behind an accordian-style room divider nearby is a selection of bathing suits, ranging from risque to ultra-conservative, and beside that a minibar stocked with primarily scotch. Asa lifts her glass to toast Zatanna as she enters. “Quite a show,” she offers. “But why wait ’til after work for your ‘stiff drink and a hot bath’?”
—
The house had a way of providing its occupants with whatever was needed at the time. Zee was thankful for that. The answer to Asa’s question wasn’t really addressed as she began removing the long coat and slipped behind the divider to change into something ‘more comfortable’ as it were.
“That’s how I roll, Asa. I’m glad you were entertained. It made up for your task, I hope?”
She stood on her bare toes to peek over, checking for the creature’s reaction before smirking and ducking back down to fit the suit with the cut-outs and straps that somehow miraculously held it together. When she strolled out with the black suit on she didn’t hesitate to pour herself the a rather oversized serving of Scotch.
There were no other words until she had a few deep gulps and she shuddered the sting away. No, Scotch was not supposed to be enjoyed like that. She didn’t really care at the moment.
“I hope the woman has shown a little remorse over what happened. Without conscience, my hopes aren’t going to float too high. John wouldn’t have handled this so delicately. You know how he feels.”
One toe slid into the water to test for its comfort before she carefully strode in, taking a seat beside Asa with a soft sigh. However frightening and potentially dangerous of a creature that Asa is, Zee was very comfortable around her. Maybe it was hope, a little trust and a lot of horribly bad taste that pulled her towards Asa’s situation.
—
Asa peers up at Zatanna as she peeks, waving a hand dismissively before looking away and sipping at her flute. “You didn’t have to do that for little old me, mon ami; consider that task pro-bono.” It’s unusual for a service like that to come with no strings attached, but nobody had asked her to do it. Well… gods had, thousands of years ago. And they hadn’t asked nicely.
Making no secret of looking the sorceress over after she leaves the privacy screen, Nightmare Nurse wears a broad, intoxicating grin. She’s hardly one to point out drinking etiquette, as everyone tends to approach hedonism in their own sort of way. The smile falters but doesn’t quite leave her lips at the mention of Johnny-boy; she rolls her eyes and says, “He would’ve made sure he came out of it ahead, at least.” With a shrug of her bare shoulders, she finishes off her drink and turns to face Zee.
“I’m a nurse, not a nursemaid; it’s not proper bedside manner to scold a patient. I think she’s feeling it, though.” With one arm up on the edge of the pool, she leans toward the human. “I might just stick around for a while to see how it all plays out. Could be fun… for both of us.” Her blue eyes take on a bit of a shine from the pale light filtering through the paper-covered windows.
—
“I didn’t do it for you. Somehow it went from playful to outright horrifying but what are you gonna do?”
There was going to be no further mention of his ‘message’ to Asa. Asa probably heard it and saw it. The Demon had no idea what exactly he was flirting with. Zee thought she was pretty delicate about letting him down about it but demons are an ambitious and greedy sort. Sometimes they don’t understand ‘No’ until the point if driven through their skull a few times.
“I wouldn’t have expected you to scold her at all. Staying here will give her some time to reflect. Meanwhile, I just need to relax and hope The Bat or other larger entities don’t make a big stink of this. I feel like I’ve done everything I could.”
She tilted her head towards the blonde, taking a sip from her glass as she did so.
“Any other thoughts? I feel like it’s one of those situations where we might have to wait and see what happens. I hope for the best but I also worry it may go horribly.”
—
The ‘healer from Hell’ reacts to that with a playful snicker. “I’ll never give him what he wants, but I doubt telling him that would do much good.” She doesn’t say ‘can’t’ or ‘won’t’ because it doesn’t matter which, or even if it’s both. That her true nature is easy to mistake (and difficult to understand) is generally a useful feature but it can be a double-edged sword at times, as well.
“Oh, I agree completely!” Asa announces. “Her little monster seems to come out during moments of stress, so I made sure she got something to eat then put her to bed early.” She reaches for Zatanna’s glass after setting her own aside, fingers resting on it in silent request rather than tugging the scotch away from the sorceress – truly a dangerous move, even for something like her.
Tilting her head when pressed for further analysis, she shrugs one shoulder then surreptitiously leans it against Zee. “It just might. Blood wants to turn her into some sort of archmage, Etrigan wants to make her royalty in Hell. Meanwhile, all Becky wants to do is hunt demons. “But what are you gonna do?” She mimics Zee’s cadence, winking. “Not like there are many safe alternatives.”
—
“It’s also very safe to assume anything coming from those demonic lips is just a play anyhow. A joke really truth. A play at you just a distraction and an irritation meant to garner attention. I wouldn’t want you to put yourself anywhere within hellfire’s reach of him.”
Though the same could be said for Asa’s words, only a leveled look given to the blonde as the drink is pulled away. Zee valued Asa’s thoughts on this, she’s been in existence far longer than anyone could even comprehend. She’s seen a lot and has a lot of experience and knowledge to pull from. Then again, it seemed she wasn’t at all bored with her human form and some of the perks it granted her. Zatanna entertained her by crawling her fingers across Asa’s shoulder and towards her neck for a gentle caress.
“He’ll get what he wants if she’s killed or banished. I really don’t want to see any harm come to her and I certainly wouldn’t wish for her to go to Hell either,” Zee’s knowledge was a bit limited on that realm. It wasn’t a good place for her or her magic. It was a force that worked against her and perhaps worked against her very nature of what she was. The Magician was completely content keeping her feet firmly planted in this realm.
“We let it play out? Intervene if needed?”
—
“Why Zatanna, I didn’t know you cared!” She giggles as she tugs at the glass, taking a delicate sip before handing it back. She winces a bit theatrically at the burn of the liquor as it slips down her borrowed throat. “I promise I won’t play into his little game,” she says, wording it in a way that would be dangerously close to binding if she were a demon. There’s no use aggravating the situation, and anyway he might prove useful. It isn’t as though he can be completely removed from the equation, so they might as well work with it.
She shivers at the touch of Zee’s fingers on her warm, damp skin. In truth her insatiable appetites are a diversion from her true hungers, something to numb pangs that have been left unattended for millennia. Cravings best unfulfilled, for the continuing (relative) safety of all of mankind. Her holy work, once an obligation and now a wilfull and happy task, is small penance for the atrocities she had committed so long ago that only the merest echos remain in the collective human unconscious.
“I knew you’d see things my way; that’s why I brought her here. I didn’t pull her out of Morgana’s clever little trap just to leave her for the proverbial wolves.” Pursing her lips, she nods at the summary. “Solid plan.” She scoots a little closer, resting a hand on the sorceress’s shoulder. “So, now that work’s done, I think it’s time you let yourself relax.”