#seductive speechcraft

Chapter 2: Satan’s Seduction

You move to grab a new prop from your bag, deciding to take a character prompt from the bowl of prompts before sitting yourself back at the table. Your character for this scene is designed to have an illness they can't cure, which modern medicine couldn't help with. This time, you're reading a medical textbook. You open the page to a random one and motion to the teacher that they can beep in the next student.

Whoever it is, they're taking their time to assess you from afar. They haven't stepped past the door. You begin reading your book, and you have to stop yourself from snickering as you realize you opened to a page on liver disease. This will be a fun scene if they try to ask about what you're reading like the last one. You're in a pretty great mood as you hear footsteps come up alongside you.

"Mmnh, the Merck Manual of Medical Information. That's a curious read. Are you a doctor?" The smooth voice is familiar and you look up to see the familiar lime-blue eyes of Satan.

You smirk and turn your head back to your book. "No, I just love a good medical textbook." Leaving it up to him to interpret whether you're joking or not.

"Sounds like you've got quite the hunger for knowledge." He smiles warmly, moving to take a seat at your table.

"Actually, it's more about how it's written. This particular edition was written to be read by folks of all walks of life, attempting to make medicine an accessible study to the common folk." You push the subject of the book. You want to see how well he can engage you in something you know he's not as well-versed in. It's a human realm book, and he's shown a lot of interest in learning about human texts before. It also pushes your character's narrative in an interesting way.

Curious surprise paints his face as he processes the challenge you're throwing his way. His smile returns once again, this time much more sure of himself as he playfully pretends to muse in thought, stroking his chin. "Hmn.. Would you say you're particularly passionate about making knowledge accessible~?"

"Oh yes, absolutely." You slightly put your book down, keeping your thumb inside it to keep your page, but now he has some of your attention. You begin studying him, now taking a moment to take him in. Your calculating eyes actually fluster him a little as he feels embarrassed, realizing that he's got a foot in the door. "... You don't seem like you're here to ask about my thoughts on this book, however. Out with it. What're you lookin' to get from me?" You've got a playful demeanor, despite your hard pivot into the subject matter of his approach.

Satan lightly taps your book cover, eyes locked on yours. "If you're looking to expand your horizons of knowledge, I've got access to libraries you've never even dreamed of." You can feel his magic tugging at your mind. The sense of ease. The comfort. The intrigue. The way it makes you want to ask more. The way it makes you feel like he's telling the truth.

You watch him for a moment, visibly curious. He knows he's got you, but before he can continue, you finally break eye contact. You scoff, opening your book once again, leaning back on your stool to read. "Something tells me that what you want to teach me is a little less studious, and a little more dubious." He's losing some ground, but that's fine.

He loves the challenge you're posing. He loves the way you side-step him. It makes him have to use his mind to think of ways to intrigue you. The demon can't help but to grin a little as he leans back, watching you, getting comfortable. "Dubious, certainly. I am a demon, after all. Though if medicine delights you, you're only scratching the surface with what that book can tell you.

"You glance to him and look him over, which earns him a skeptical chuckle from you. "Funny. I've actually heard that one before. I'm certain some might call you a 'demon', but I'm not interested in playing fantasy." You choose to ignore his comment about the medicine. It'll be easier to resist if he has to prove himself to you.

"I assure you, every word I'm saying is the truth. Would you like me to prove it to you?" He's keeping smooth, his voice is like that soft, gentle tone he usually only uses when it's just the two of you sharing late-night chats over books, which is to say he's very relaxed and in his element in this moment.

You raise an eyebrow, setting your book on the table, your thumb still propped inside to keep your place. Your other hand rests atop the one in the book and you give him the majority of your attention now. "Well now I'm curious. How does one go about proving they're a demon?"

He stands up and looks around before shifting into his demonic form for you to see. You feign surprise, now letting your hand forget your place in your book as he has your full attention. He smiles warmly to you, waiting to gauge your possibly scripted reaction. You lean against the table, the hand that was in your book now supporting your head as your eyes narrow in visible calculation.

".. Alright then. So you're a demon. What's got you interested in me, hmn?"

Satan shifts back into his humanlike form, once again seating himself at the table. "You've got one of the brightest souls I've ever seen. No doubt, it's honed from time well-spent studying and improving yourself. I want to strike up a deal with you for it." He's very straightforward in this portion of the conversation, which suits him well. It helps that as he speaks, his eyes are warm and gentle, his smile challenging you to find a flaw in his approach.

It makes him seem trustworthy and approachable, which is very dangerous. You can feel him layering in his magical influence as he speaks, helping you to feel safe, to feel light-hearted. As though this were a conversation about favorite music instead of the fate of your soul.

Once again, you feel yourself having to tear yourself to breaking eye contact. You unconsciously touch your face as you look away from him. ".. Sounds a bit too good to be true. I thank you for your offer, but you're just going to have to find someone else to sucker outta their soul.”

The smile once again spreads through Satan's lips. It's hard to contain his excitement. He knows he's got you. He's keeping a cool head though, and even when you steal glances at him, you aren't be able to tell how delighted he is to finally give chase.

"I hope it's not too presumptuous of me, but..." He begins, lacing every word with a glaze of honeyed allure. His magic is much harder to resist this time. You can feel as your senses are awash with the comforting influence. Your heart relaxes. Every word he says feels like a truth that you can and should trust. That he'd never hurt you. "You're passionate about medicine being an accessible study, you read with such fervency that I feel almost jealous of your book for getting so much of your attention.. I just can't help but wonder if it's all because you're searching for an answer yourself."

"..." Your silence and the way you stare at him speaks volumes.

"You've got the drive, I've got the tools, we can make that dream of yours a reality."

You give his offer serious consideration. Your job is to find the reason your character would say no to such a deal. "... You've got the tools, but your price is a bit too steep. I may spend the rest of my life working towards it, but I could also pave the way for others to expand medicine as we know it in the process." It takes a significant amount of energy for you to deny his sweetened offer.

He loves getting to play off of you. You're so different from the usual actors for these kinds of tests. This feels so real. So organic. He can't help but admire your dedication to the part. "If you're looking to pave the way for humans to grow in medicine, whatever you do with the information you learn through our deal is all your own. You can teach as many people as you like. Pass on ages and ages of medicine untapped by humans." Every word from his mouth feels like it's a brush stroke building a bigger scene in your mind. One of grandeur. Of greatness. Of answered questions. It feels like you're standing on the precipice of a legend in the making.

All you have to do is say yes."..." You begin to bubble with soft laughter. It diffuses the building tension of his magical influence building inside of you as you stand up. ".. Something tells me that if I don't go now, I'll find myself lost in those hopeful eyes of yours. ... You can consider me painted with intrigue, but I can't allow myself to make a judgement so rashly."

"Certainly. I'd never want you to regret this kind of deal." His warm smile melts your heart, making you really believe he's going to let you walk away. "How's this- Take however long you'd like to for thinking things over, and when you're ready to talk with me about it, you can use this." He places a page with his pact sigil on the table. "Draw this sigil in a circle of candles and speak my name out-loud. We'll pick this up where we've left things off."".. And what's that name of yours?"

"Satan."

"..." You feel a warmth in your chest. You've definitely fallen under his influence. It's intense. Unlike Asmodeus' charm, this is a type of magic that just makes you more suggestable. It can't control you, it's just capable of bringing your desires to the surface. Dangerous magic indeed. You knew he was talented in this class, you just didn't expect it to feel so... real. ".. Thank you then, Satan. I'll consider your offer."

You take your D.D.D out to take a picture of the sigil and turn to leave the 'stage' of the front of the room and your teacher begins applauding. You sheepishly return to the front of the class, the effects of Satan's speechcraft magic still tugging at your mind and heart.

"Ooh, top marks all around! Satan! You were perfect. You took it slow, you took it careful, you were deliberate. You took care to earn their trust before sharing how much they gave away about themselves. If that were a real moment on earth, there's a very good chance you'd have gotten that soul. You were smooth, you were warm, you knew exactly where to lace your influence so that it felt natural. ___? Did it feel as though he was just a very emphatic speaker?"

"Oh god yeah. That was intense. I had to expend a significant amount of energy to tear myself away from the scene, because it felt like infatuation bubbling to the surface, making me want to hear him out." You can't help but laugh. Satan's cheeks warm up as he hears your praise. He does think he's particularly good, but hearing that directly from you adds a certain layer of excitement from what would otherwise be normal marks for him in this test.

"And you, ___!" The teacher motions to you. "The way you chose to separate yourself when you realized you were outmatched by the strength of his magic, and that you couldn't fight it head-on, that was a brilliant display of your cleverness. In instances where your opponent is particularly strong or well-versed in Speechcraft, sometimes the only winning move is not to play. I'm also particularly proud that you didn't pick up the paper on the table. Any number of objects can be cursed to make you more susceptible or agreeable to demonic influence."

Satan raises his hand. "Is there anything I can improve on?"

"Yes yes- Improvements. Satan, I don't have anything to share in terms of ways you could improve your performance. You hit every note that you needed to, and then some. ___, you need to work on making little-to-no eye-contact. Though you may not be susceptible to charm spells at this time, there's no telling if that'll ever change in your future, and you should be particularly careful to cultivate healthy practices in magic resistance." You nod, taking in the feedback, and Satan smiles, watching how determined you are to get things right and improve.

The teacher motions that Satan can leave now, and you two give each other a warm hug before he goes.

After such an intense session, you end up needing to take a break, putting the midterms on hold for the other students assigned to work with you. It's no wonder, though, given that Satan's one of the seven avatars of sin. The fact that you could resist him nearly as well as you did was nothing short of amazing on your part.

Your teacher notes as much in her notes on your performance.

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Chapter End

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Chapter List:

- Chapter 1 (Setting The Scene) - Chapter 3 (Mammon’s Magnetism)

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You can read the rest of this series, and other works, here!:

Chapter 3: Mammon’s Magnetism

You return from your break and go to change out your book for a new prop. You think for a moment. You'd like to free-wheel this one, so you don't take a prompt. This time, you'll just play yourself. For that, you decide your prop of choice is going to be a water bottle. You move to stand up, beginning to stretch, and you motion for the teacher to call in the next student.

You hear the door open, followed by a high-pitched squeak, and a very familiar stammering. You glance up at the source of the sounds to see Mammon standing in the doorway. His face is hot with embarrassment as he sees who he has to seduce. You smirk and return to your stretching, pretending not to notice him. He admires you as you stretch and for a moment, forgets why he's here.

He takes so long to move that the teacher clears her throat, causing Mammon to jump into action. He comes up to you and whistles. You slowly look up from your stretching and give him a 'Really..? What the hell?' expression.

".. Did you just whistle at me?"

"Yeah. Y-yer.. Uh. ..." Your eyes catching his flusters him. "... Ahh fuck- I'm so sorry I'm jus' bein' an idiot."

You briefly remember you're supposed to avoid eye contact if you can, so you chuckle from his response and return to your stretching. "Y'know, this isn't a show. You're either here to talk, or you've gotta go. There something you want?"

"Go out with me." Mammon throws it out there, and you briefly wonder if he forgot the assignment. You pause in your stretching to size him up. He continues, putting his hands up like he's surrendering. "Look, I'm seein' that look in yer eye - Yer thinkin' that I ain't shit- But'cha see," He puts his pointer fingers and thumbs up in a square and closes one eye as he looks through the frame at you. "I've got a special ability that you don't know about."

You smirk softly, raising an eyebrow. You stand up straight now, no longer stretching. "Oh? And what's that special ability?" You cross your arms looking him up and down again.

"I can tell ya' the worth of anythin' just by lookin' at it. I've got a great eye fer riches."

"What's the worth of this, then?" You hold up your water bottle as a test.

"Priceless. Y'see, because, well..." He starts losing his gusto as he tries to force himself to say it. "..

It's touched yer lips."

He practically glares at you, like you're making him say this as a lost bet. You don't know if he's angry or flustered at a glance at his face, but you know by the way he's fiddling with his hands that he's definitely on edge.

You pause, soaking in his corny line and how angry he looked after having to say it. You bust out laughing and he gets loses his cool entirely, burying his face in his hands. You put a hand to your chest and double over as you just continue to laugh heartily at his attempt at seduction. "Okay well, we can cross off that you're cute. Are you actually interested in me? Or are you just playing games?" You calling him cute, you swear you almost saw smoke coming out of his ears. He shakes his head and tries to recompose himself.

"Alright, here's the deal - I see promise in ya'. I can see the worth of somethin' by just lookin' at it, and by lookin' at you, I know I'm lookin' at someone amazing." His demeanor shifts from embarrassed as you start to get a glimpse of a side of him you rarely ever see. He's over his initial nerves, and is now in the 'selling his grift' phase of trying to get your soul. "And someone amazing deserves a lot more than you got, yeah?"

You raise an eyebrow, now unfolding your arms to rest your hand on your hip. The other hand holding the water bottle. He has your attention, but does he have your trust? "And what exactly do you think I deserve?"

"Diamonds. Gold. You're carryin' plastic around to drink from, when it SHOULD be stainless steel! Or crystal!" He comes alongside you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, and uses his magic to conjure up imagery of said riches. It's obviously magic at the sight of it, the way the images appear out of nowhere. They sparkle and dazzle  and almost look like they're comprised of stars. "You're wearin' duds, when you could be covered in the finest clothes we've ever seen!" He conjures up an image of you in expensive lounge clothes, and his cheeks burn quietly at the sight. He pulls away from you.

You blink, a little starstruck from the idea of being surrounded by such expensive things. ".. Okay, so either I'm on drugs, or you're not normal. What the hell was that?"

"Just a taste of the kinda power I can bring to the table." Mammon shifts into his demon form, grinning. "You and me, we could be a team up for the ages. I'm a powerful demon, you're a human with one helluva soul, let me show you what you deserve."

You feel his magical influence for the first time since he started. Your mind floods with images of you clad in expensive clothes that fit you perfectly. Your favorite styles, you'd finally be able to wear them all. The images of expensive houses and finery, cars, every electronic your heart has ever yearned for. Every getting-rich-fantasy you've ever had begins playing in your mind. Every craft supply and hobby you've ever yearned for, every tool and machinery you've never had the money to get your hands on..

And you feel it, your heart aching with greed.

You want it all.

Mammon's influence is intense, powerful, and overwhelming. Even though you know it's a trick, and even though you know it's his influence, you can't help but feel.... safe. Like he'd never hurt you or lie to you. Every alarm bell in your head quickly quieted as you can imagine him beside you in stores, paying for everything you've ever even slightly fancied.

And the safety that envelopes you is a sense of financial security. A sense of independence. A sense that he might be bringing the power, but you're the one in control.

Mammon isn't the second brother for no reason. His power is overwhelming.

You can feel his grin as he looks to you with his dazzling blue-gold eyes. Like a promise that everything he's saying is true and more. You really have to avert your eyes, and the only way you can is to close them. You begin breathing carefully, trying to find some semblance of your own thoughts amidst the torrent of magic influencing you.

It's hard to regain your footing when he's so clearly swept your feet out from under you. You feel like.. just hearing him out will get you exactly what you've wanted in life. Every desire, fulfilled. Every need, met. Every hunger, fed. You manage to croak out a thought. ".. You've put me under a spell of sorts."

Mammon smirks. He can tell you're trying your hardest to recollect yourself, so he leans into it. What you thought was sweeping you off your feet was just a taste test. "I just wanted to show you what you can achieve if you work with me." You can feel his entire influence dripping away. The thoughts of riches no longer fill your mind as he steps further away, giving you a little distance. "You've got a soul, and I want it. I'd be willing to give you anything you want, put you in the driver's seat, make you everything you've ever wanted to be, give you everything you could ever want, just to get my hands on it. The deal's pretty sweet - You live your whole life the way you want to from here on out, me bankrolling the whole thing and pulling the strings to get'cha what you want, and then your soul's mine. .....” There’s a pause. As though waiting for you to speak, but when nothing comes, he continues; “Of course... " He continues to step away, slowly, his back turned to you. The second part of his influence begins to take its toll on you. "If you're not interested, I can find someone else with a shiny soul and give them a try."

And with every step, you feel yourself losing your grasp on that dream. Like if you let him get away from you, you're missing out on the chance of a lifetime. Oh this is a tricky influence. You think to yourself, as you can feel the way your emotions flurry in a panic in response. It reminds you of the kind of desperation you see when he bets- The desperation to have it all, and the fear of losing everything you have if you don't take that leap.

For one moment, he gives you a glimpse of the world, and then he slowly rips it away from you the longer you take to agree.

Your mind is screaming with the fear that you're going to miss out. That this is the only chance you'll ever have to get this. Everything you've ever worked for begins to turn to ash in your memories. You can see how palpably useless your efforts are when it comes to the fickle whims of the world. Hard work doesn't matter when you can lose everything in an instant, and people who've never worked a day in their lives can get everything just the same. You feel the futility of playing by the rules of the game. You feel a desire- No, an itch to cheat the game yourself. To steal everything you desire with your own two hands.

In contrast to the excitement you felt moments prior, this fear is the real danger to you in this moment. The fear of regret.

It's almost enough to make you forget that he's the one making you feel this.

Almost.

You force yourself to turn away from him and begin to leave. As you do, his influence screams in your ear that you're losing out on the deal of a lifetime, that you're losing everything, that you will be nothing if you walk away. "Nice try. I think you went a little too hard on the sell though. I don't trust you."

Mammon turns to see you walking away and your words hit him heavily. His heart sinks and you can feel his influence completely remove itself from you as he follows after you. "Okay, I'm done with this test- I don't give a shit if I fail. ___? ___?? You don't really not trust me, yeah?? Awwh fuck I shouldn't'a gone so hard-" He starts muttering and you turn to look to him as his influence of fear completely washes off of you.

It takes a moment to normalize emotionally after that, but you relax as you're back to feeling like yourself. His magic no longer trying to pry you out of your shell, all that's left is the bubbling warmth of hearing your panicked friend who loves you deeply apologizing repeatedly.

You can't help but to smile as he starts panicking that he's hurt you or bothered you, checking you all over to make sure you're okay. Upon seeing your smile, he tugs you into a tight hug and buries his face in your neck, where you can feel the way he shudders against you. You give him a hug in return as he mutters repeated apologies to you, begging you to forgive him for doing what he did for the sake of the test. Patting his back, you laugh at him. "Mammon, Mammon, I was playing a part. I know you would never hurt me."

"GOOD BECAUSE I WOULDN'T. I'D RATHER FAIL THAN HURT YOU. FUCK THIS TEST, I'M NEVER DOIN' THAT AGAIN. FAIL ME, I DON'T CARE." He becomes almost aggressive towards the teacher with his words, but he's not leaving you, protectively scooping you in close, wanting to make you feel better.

You bubble with laughter as the demon clutches to you in a tight hug, refusing to let go. You look to the teacher who shakes her head with a small smile. It's cute, but it also means the scene is over.

Once you've helped Mammon calm down, and you've reassured him that you're okay, and that you're not actually upset with him, and he hasn't actually lost your trust, he's able to finally give some of his attention to the teacher, who clears her throat and begins going through her notes.

"___, how did it feel while you were under his influence?"

"It felt like I could see everything I wanted within my grasp, and if I let him leave, I'd lose it all. It felt very overtly manipulative." Your words make Mammon feel guilty, but you just gently give his hand a squeeze, reassuring him that you know he wouldn't ever actually try to hurt you like that. You're a sturdy person, and you knew he used his influence because that's what he was supposed to do for the scene, not because he actually wanted to manipulate you.

"Now, see, manipulation tactics should be light and less obvious. Mammon, you're going to want to work on not being so heavy-handed with your techniques. You want the human to doubt themselves. You want them to wonder "Is this my own insecurity?" rather than "Is he doing something to me?" You lost the soul because they lost trust in you, because your manipulation was too obvious." She nods with her notes, beginning to read through again. "Also, you'll want to work on your approach a lot more. It worked this time, but your attempt to engage the human leaves much to be desired, and could easily be off-putting if you're not careful."

Mammon scowls and looks off to the side. He doesn't even want to be here anymore. He just wants to pick you up and carry you away. His hand squeezes at yours, and you can feel the way he bounces in his place next to you, how antsy he is to get away.

The teacher continues. "___, good job on starting to avoid eye contact. Closing your eyes was a good last resort, but you'll still want to work on avoiding that altogether if you can. Overall, you were successful in seeing through his techniques of manipulation and successfully removing yourself. I understand that you don't have magic, so it's harder for you to block out the influences of demons, but there are still meditative techniques that can help a lot with bolstering your natural abilities to see through deception and re-ground yourself. I think for you, my only feedback is to just continue to strengthen your resolve and avoid eye-contact." She smiles and nods, motioning that Mammon can leave now.

Except Mammon starts pulling you with him. "We're takin' a lunch break!" He calls out to the teacher, who just shakes her head with a smile. She was going to have you take a break after such an intense scene anyway.

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Mammon walks you to the cafeteria, where he buys you anything you want on the menu and sticks to you like glue. He's so terrified that you'll see his love and warmth as a form of manipulation after seeing him work hard in a grift for a human soul that he wants to remind you of who he is. You two go to sit in a nice secluded area by the garden, where he holds you as you eat, his face buried in your shoulder as he hugs you from behind. You know he needs the closeness too, so you don't mind letting him stay so close. You do make him eat too, though. You lean back against him and let him know that you can and will still lean on him.

".. I really am sorry."

"You've apologized a lot."

"Yeah, but, I never should'a done that to you.

You're not just some human-

you're YOU!"

"Mammon, are you forgetting that within two minutes of meeting me, you threatened to eat me?" Mammon sputters, shifting from burying himself in your neck to looking over your shoulder at your body language, nervously looking for an answer to the swirling questions in his mind. Do you see him as a monster? Do you see him as a threat? Are you scared of him now?

You just smile warmly and continue; "You've never tried to hide who or what you are from me. THAT'S how I know that your testing persona wasn't who you are. You are straightforward and loud and proud about your intentions. You always have been. I've never once doubted what you think of me or how you treat me. You're a bad liar."

You can feel the way his arms tighten around you as he hugs you. "... I don't ever wanna be the person who makes you feel worthless." He buries his head back in your neck as he mumbles against you. "... You're

way

too precious to me.." You can feel how hot his face is against your skin, how he hugs you. There's no magical influence with these words, it's just Mammon, showing you who he is and will always be for you. Showing you just how much you mean to him. His fear of making you feel like you're anything less than amazing is just enough to make him speak earnestly in a way he'd typically be too embarrassed to.

You decide to tease him a little. "I know. You're super shit at making people trust you." You grin, rubbing his forearms. "That's how I know that my trust in you is real, and I don't ever have to doubt it for a second. You'd have been too shitty at keeping it up if it was fake."

He grips you by your waist in a hug and blows raspberries against your neck because he knows you're insulting him, but he couldn't be happier with it. You laugh throwing an elbow back at him and you two grapple a little like that until you go back to cuddling and eating your lunches together.

It's hard for Mammon to peel himself away from you when it's time for you to go back to your midterms. He gives you one last big hug, squeezing you close.

Mammon's great at seduction, but terrible at manipulation. Manipulation may be something he's meant to perfect as a demon, but it doesn't seem like it's something he'll ever really get the hang of. Which is fine by you, because you prefer when he's more honest anyway.

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Chapter End

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Chapters:

- Chapter 1 (Setting The Scene)

- Chapter 2 (Satan’s Seduction)

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If you enjoyed this piece, I have a continued series for it over here, and lots of other pieces of writing:

Chapter One, Introduction

It was decided that you and the other exchange students would take your tests a little differently. In classes like Seductive Speechcraft, where your studies have been centered on learning and analyzing and dissecting the methods in which demons seduce and manipulate others, it would be best to showcase your strengths in those classes by testing how well you can resist those influences.

Still, you weren't exactly prepared for 7 particular students to be testing their mettle against you.

Coming into class, you brought a series of props as requested by the teacher. You're going to play both an actor and test taker, and the students have to actually use every tool in their arsenals to seduce you. Magic, wiles, they can and should pull out all the stops.

You're directed to the front of the classroom, where you're set to sit on a stool. You pick a prop from your bag, and you play a human in the human realm minding their own business for the demons to approach. Your goal is to be hard-to-get.

The first student to approach you is one you don't know very well. You choose to start with a book as your prop, and you sit on your stool. There's a table in front of you. The teacher is watching, making notes. The student approaches you.

"Oh wow, that book there looks quite interesting." He flashes a grin, leaning against the table as he stands beside you, looking out behind you. You glance up at him, then give him a look up and down, and then return your eyes to your book, playing an uninterested individual.

He knows he doesn't have you hooked in yet, so he's gotta find something to help you disarm yourself. He read the title of the book as he approached you, and noticed it was about poetry. "Are there any poems in there that you'd recommend?"

You raise an eyebrow, moving to slightly close the book to give him your attention. "Maybe to a friend, but uh... You don't seem to be one of those. Look, I'll save you the trouble. I'm not interested, and I don't want to buy what you're selling." You look to him expectantly.

He blinks, then chuckles, crossing his arms, still half-sitting against the table. "You must get a lot of folks bothering you to have a reaction like that. Look, I'm not here to sell you anything, and I'm not here to try to get in your pants. I was actually interested in seeing if there was something I could do for you.

"You lean against the table, looking more directly to him, now turning in your seat to face him. You lean against the table, resting your head against your hand. "And what would you be looking for in return for this... 'Kind gesture'..?" You're visibly skeptical, but your book is now closed and in your lap. You're interested. He can tell. Just has to rein in his excitement.

He grins, giving you a playful look as he says "It'd be a hefty price-tag.. The kinds of favors I'm looking to do for you would be the kinds people sell their souls for."

"Mhm." You smirk, turning back to the table and opening your book. "Well, nice try, but I think you'll have to sell your snake oil to someone else."

"Oh I assure you, nothing about my offer is fake or cheap." He now turns to move to the side of the table, taking a stance, his hands on the table pretty confidently as he grins to you. "After all, when the price tag's so steep, the goods have to be worth it, right~?"You snort. "Not always. People always mark up crap and try to sell it as quality. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a poet." You playfully shoot him a 'I'm done' look and then return to your book.

"Ooh, but you haven't even perused my goods. Maybe I should show you a taste?"

"If you flash me, I'm going to hurt you." You say this without even looking up from your book, and it catches him off-guard. He breaks character and can't stop himself from laughing. He props himself up against the table, completely breaking down, losing all sense of composure. You can't help but break character too as you start laughing with him.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR" He exclaims between wheezing laughter.

"That's a normal thing for a human to say!!" You defend your point, still laughing. "It felt natural!"

The teacher is scribbling notes, as you both look to her for her verdict. She glances up when she's done and motions to you with her pen. "Good work. I saw that you were able to resist all magical influences, and you put your opponent off-guard in a manner that was natural and pleasant. Continue to hone your resistance to magical influences, and I think you've got quite the skill at maneuvering the social side of these encounters with ease."

She motions to your partner in the scene. "I think the only real feedback that I have is that you need to 'commit-to-the-bit' in this. I understand that a testing scenario is significantly different than the real thing, but you'll need to be able to roll with the scene as though it's real for us to truly be able to give you meaningful feedback on your performance. Otherwise, I think you did fantastically with your banter, you were goal-oriented, but in a pleasing manner. You weren't pushy, you weren't off-putting, I just wish I could have seen more. I'd have been very interested to see how that scene could have played out if you'd been able to stick to it. Continue to strengthen your seductive speech magic, and I think you've got great promise."

You and your partner shake hands and he steps away.

It's the next student who comes in that shakes things up a little..

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Chapter End

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Chapter List:

- Chapter 2 (Satan’s Seduction) - Chapter 3 (Mammon’s Magnetism)

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You can read the rest of this series, and other works, here!: