@orbbound continued from here
So lost in his thoughts, Gale had failed to realise that his camp companions had retired for the night or gone to take watch. He was left tending the campfire alone, using Mage Hand to gently guide a log into place and give the roaring flames a poke of fresh air. There was a strange comfort in fire, how it burned through most life it touched. But without it, they would freeze. It could ravage a forest in days, yet afterwards, when the ash settled, new, stronger, and lusher life would resurface. Fire gave and took as easily as one breathes. So Gale stared into the hearth, hoping to find answers within. These tadpoles, his orb, what were they doing here? Was there a grand plan in the making by the gods that he wasn't aware of? Or was it just chance that they had all stumbled upon one another, banded together by the ties of desperation? Whatever it was, all the fire did now was tire his eyes, the smoke making them water as he used the sleeve of his evening wear to wipe them clean. Then, he nearly leapt into the air at the distinct accent of the rogue's voice. He spun around, almost stepping back into the fire before catching himself. "Apologies, I was miles away. Night is often the perfect opportunity for a sage to indulge in his finest work: thinking," he replied, catching his breath. "May I ask why you're up at such a late hour?"
It's a restless night. Another night of quite literally wrestling with his demon, trying to keep himself from being fully possessed by the entity attached to his soul in ways he can never hope to understand. He was trained to kill casters, not understand their magic, and so he doesn't understand just what it is those necromancers and blood mages have done to him, to them.
Spite no more wanted to be bound to him than Lucanis wanted to be chained to the demon. They are two unwilling participants in an experiment neither would allow to succeed. They would not lose themselves for the sake of a mad cult of wicked sorcery.
But, that was about as far as their cooperation would go. So nights like this, when Spite wrestled for control through their dreams, Lucanis preferred to try and stay awake. Coffee was in short supply in this gods-forsaken wilderness, but he had found enough scrummaging around the abandoned town they'd stumbled into for a couple of cups.
"I see. Night is often good for assassin's work too, so I am used to being up this late." Lucanis said with a smirk to the wizard. He didn't need to know he was avoiding his demon taking full control. Though Spite had made himself very known to the others from the beginning, Lucanis could hardly stop him from speaking to them all, he didn't want them thinking he posed a danger. For the most part, Spite was harmless. A prick sometimes, but harmless.
He walked over with the coffee pot freshly filled with water and grounds and set it on the edge of the fire to begin warming. A primitive way to brew it, likely he will swallow more grounds than he'd like, but this far from civilization beggars could hardly be choosers.
"Also, I had a craving for a good cup of coffee, but I'll settle for what I am brewing now." Lucanis said with a small chuckle, taking a seat on a nearby log.
"Don't Lie. You Won't Let Me Stretch."
A deep sigh escaped Lucanis' lips as his demon made his presence known, standing behind the rogue with his arms crossed over his chest and a grumpy look on his wisteria-shaded face.
"Because you will only cause trouble while everyone is asleep if I do." Lucanis said with a shake of his head, looking to Gale to give him an apologetic look, then ask him a question as he pointedly ignored his demon.
"Would you like a cup when it's done?"
