Chapter Text
Rinor grunts as the claw of the Red Crown shoves her against the stony surface of the Altar, and the restraints snap into place around her wrists and ankles. It’s cold, and a little dusty, and rough against her fur. She hears the cranking and grinding of the stone wheels as the altar rotates forward, and lifts her up into position.
“SERIOUSLY, guys?! This is totally unnecessary!”
Yarlen gives her a hardened, stern look. Jalala won’t look her in the eye. The Lamb just gives her an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, Rinor. We’ve gotta do something about that snoring.”
“But an EXORCISM?! I’m not possessed or anything, I just snore!”
“I, uh…do we really need to do this?” Jalala weakly questions.
“Just because you sleep like a rock doesn’t mean everyone else does,” Yarlen says. “And I’d like to get some good rest for once.”
The Lamb pulls out a pair of reading glasses, and grabs the grimoire sat next to the base of the altar. “O-kay! So. Yarlen, if you could just put those charges into that compartment, I’ll read out the incantation here, and the snoring should be replaced with something else!”
Yarlen nods determinedly, and picks up a bucket full of faintly glowing bulbs.
“Can…can we just…guys, I’m really not comfortable with this?” Jalala protests.
“Yes, yes, your objections have been noted,” the Lamb says distractedly.
“No, but, like…aren’t we…kind of…brainwashing my girlfriend?”
“Only a little bit!” The Lamb says with far too much cheer for the situation. “And besides, they say that if you truly love someone, you’re willing to change yourself for them!”
Rinor gives the Lamb an incredulous look. “Can I at least have my clothes back?!”
The Lamb thinks for a moment. “…well…they’ve always done these rituals naked. I don’t know enough about how it works to safely change that. I’ll have to ask Nari sometime.”
“Oh, so NOW you’re concerned about whether this is safe?!”
“Hey, think of it this way; you being naked for this gives Jalala something nice to look at!”
Rinor catches Jalala’s eye as she turns bright red and suddenly makes a concerted effort to look away, betrayed by her eyes occasionally darting back over. Rinor rolls her eyes. “Pervert,” she grumbles without any real malice.
Yarlen slams the compartment shut, and walks back over to the other two. “Alright, should be good to go!”
“Excellent!” The Lamb flips through the book, and begins to softly chant.
The altar powers up, and Rinor’s eyes begin to darken, as the ritual takes effect.
The red lights fade, and Rinor’s breathing slowly returns to normal.
Jalala gives her a nervous look. “How do you feel?”
Rinor blinks a few times. “…tired.”
She yawns, and promptly falls asleep, still strapped down to the altar.
Yarlen frowns. "At least she's not snoring anymore."
Jalala whips around to face the Lamb. “Wha…what did you do to her?!”
The Lamb focuses a bit on Rinor, then nods. “Oh. Looks like she’s a Night Owl now. Cool! Forestry could always use a couple more overnight workers, that’s going to make us so much more efficient.”
“But, uh…my Lamb, all of her friends are still awake during the day,” Yarlen says.
The Lamb pauses to consider this. “…but…efficiency!”
“Lamb.”
“Ughhhh. Fine. We’ll run it again!”
When the second ritual finishes, Rinor’s wide awake. She sees the Lamb and rolls her eyes. “Ugh. Great. You.”
“You feeling alright?” Yarlen asks.
“Does it even matter? Nobody cares.”
“…Cynical,” the Lamb surmises. “Not ideal, but I’ll take it.”
Jalala looks down at the floor. “Doesn’t…that feels like a pretty dramatic personality change, though?”
The Lamb shrugs. “She might not be as cheerful, or as rowdy at the Drinkhouse, but it’s still the Rinor you know and love!”
“Isn’t there…anything else?”
The Lamb sighs. “Rinor, you mind going for another round?”
“Don’t pretend you care what I want, you’re going to do it anyway.”
“I will take that as a yes!”
Ritual three, and Rinor’s trying to yank her way out of the restraints. “You think these straps can hold me?! You’ve got another thing coming!”
“Aw, HECK. HECK NO,” the Lamb grumbles.
“What?”
“Unlawful.”
“It’s not my fault that your laws are bullshit!” Rinor shouts. “Now let me out of here right fucking now!”
The Lamb reaches into the crown, and pulls out another bucket of bulbs. “Yarlen, go recharge the altar before she finds a way to slip those.”
Yarlen reluctantly picks up the bucket, and drags it over to the hatch at the bottom.
Jalala reaches over to softly tug at the Lamb’s fleece. “Uh…my Lamb? Would it…could it maybe…I dunno, I don’t see what’s so bad about this one…”
The Lamb turns around to find Jalala blushing softly, watching Rinor struggle against her bindings. “She’s…uh…she’s not usually this forceful…and it’s kinda…uh…”
The Lamb frowns. “I don’t care if you’re into bad girls. We already have one Leshy and I am NOT dealing with another!”
Yarlen returns the empty bucket to the Lamb, and they reopen the book. “Alright, run it back!”
Ritual Four.
“How do you feel?”
Rinor hums to herself. “…I dunno. I feel fine.”
“Really?” Jalala asks.
“Yeah, don’t really feel that different from before.”
“Oh, thank the gods!” Jalala says.
Yarlen smiles, and moves to begin undoing the restraints.
The Lamb focuses on Rinor, then nods. “Yeah, that works.”
Rinor frowns. “I…do feel a sudden urge to eat poop for some reason?”
Jalala freezes. “What?”
“I dunno. Poop’s, like…kinda hot if you think about it.”
Jalala just gawks for a second before whipping around towards the Lamb and grabbing the grimoire. “Okay, gimme the book.”
“Wha-Jalala, wait, I thought you didn’t want to-”
“Gimme the book!”
“Lots of people are Coprophiliacs here, it’s not that unusual-”
“I don’t care, we’re doing another one!”
She tugs the book out of the Lamb’s hands, and begins another ritual. The Lamb looks over at Yarlen, shrugs, and lets it happen.
When the fifth ritual completes, Rinor vomits.
Jalala stares. “...Sickly?”
The Lamb shakes their head. “No, I just think we weren’t supposed to do this many exorcisms in a row.”
They reach over to unclasp Rinor’s restraints. “How you feeling?”
“…I’ll survive. I don’t think this one did anything weird to me.”
Jalala purses her lips. “You don’t feel…like…”
“I promise I find poop disgusting.”
“OKAY good.”
They crank down the altar, unstrap Rinor, and stands up. Rinor gives Jalala a peck on the cheek, then reaches for her clothes from Yarlen. A raindrop falls on her head. “Oh, right, the sky did look a little gloomy today.”
The Lamb freezes. “Oh, uh, you might want to get inside.”
Rinor continues putting her clothes on. “Why? I love the rain!”
“Okay, yeah, it’s usually not that big of an issue, but right now, you should probably get inside immediately, the altar made you-”
With a flash and a rumble, lightning strikes Rinor. Yarlen, Jalala, and the Lamb jump backwards.
When the smoke and light clears, Rinor is left ashen-faced and twitching, with her fur sticking in all sorts of directions, her clothes burnt at the edges, and a small fire having ignited itself on her sleeve.
The Lamb cringes. “…Conductive.”
“Ow…” Rinor says weakly, before coughing out a single tiny cloud of smoke.
Jalala moves to pat out the fire, only to receive a jolt of static.
Yarlen sighs. “Do we have any more charges?”
The Lamb reaches into the Crown, and feels around, before shaking their head. “Flat out.”
“So she’s just a lightning magnet now?”
“Pretty much.”
Jalala begins to lead Rinor inside. The Lamb waves goodbye. “Alright! Same time same place tomorrow!”