(https://66.media.tumblr.com/bd6158c6ff8dd5eeed7495bf56fc8ded/tumblr_n46z8c159v1qm14y4o1_500.jpg)<br/><strong>Zoya Amare (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=289982.msg14241267#msg14241267)<br/>Location: Outside the warehouse &gt; Church's door.<br/>Tag: Everyone (Rosebleue, Hakira, Ig)</strong><br/><br/>Zoya raised her brow at the leather-clad woman who kept swearing and sprinkling foreign words into her speech -- the librarian had not quite figured out if it was a difficulty with the language or some manner of personal tick. Still, she addressed Rosebleue: "He is far too casual about such matters, even if it was coincidence; we will have to confirm the truth of his words ourselves." And decide whether to actually hand those artifacts to him in the end, if they made it that far -- handing over a captive angel, if that part was true, from one slaver to what might well be another did not sit well with her.<br/><br/>An angel might be able to help with certain obligations that chained Zoya's own soul,  but better to remain damned than give such a being up to a similar fate. The choice was clear to her -- her morals made it obvious what she should do, though if it actually came down to it, she was uncertain if she could be tempted. Zoya hoped that she wouldn't be, that her past had inured her from walking the easy path, but it was always easy to act the good girl when there were no stakes.<br/><br/>The librarian watched with a sigh as the others seemed to suffer from an accute need to check for themselves whether the luckily-no-longer-bleeding victim was about to turn into a bloodsucking monsters, crossing her arms beneath her chest -- since the exuberant lizard-like girl had healed her, the blonde was at least stabilized, so there was time to do whatever they needed to assuage their superstitions. She didn't feel the need to impress her knowledge -- at verbose length -- onto others that some other scholars did, but since they were about to face many of the creature's undead ilk, she would likely have to. Rosebleue had claimed to be some kind of vampire hunter, so she likely had practical knowledge, at least -- a good supplement to her theoretical kind.<br/><br/>Whenever Hakira moved, it seemed, she managed to baffle Zoya -- first with the sudden affection that made her freeze up, then by simply lifting the wounded girl as if she weighed nothing. Briefly recalling the heat against her cheek, the warlock reached to touch that spot -- she might have blushed, if she had been prone to it, but instead moved forward. Perhaps she would have to reevaluate calling her 'lizard girl' in her mind -- between Hakira's strength, those horns and the tiny wings, she had more in common with an entirely different scaled creature…<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>*****</strong></div><br/>Unlike the goblin warlock, Zoya had little caution when it come to entering a church. She rather enjoyed them, had in fact entered many before to no ill effect. Her work as a scholar and librarian necessitated it. Her soul was forfeit to hell and each night her dreams were fraught with their temptations, but she had always acted for the good of the people. Perhaps the gods -- perhaps Avacyn -- knew that. It gave the warlock a measure of comfort that perhaps her fate was not as dire as it could be, as long as she remained true to herself.<br/><br/>Still, as Ig stopped, so did Zoya. She waved for the others to go on, forcing a brief smile. "I'll catch up."<br/><br/>The warlock had seen the strange manner with which the green-skinned girl conducted herself in battle; it looked almost as if Ig had been possessed when she had unleashed her fire. While Zoya could hardly fault someone for the source of their magics, it worried her nonetheless -- if Ig was fighting the same battle for her soul as she…  if the influence of her patron manifested so strongly, it might mean that she was losing.<br/><br/>"You … draw power from an outside source," Zoya said quietly to Ig, as she leaned back against the door frame, not quite voicing the last part she meant -- 'like me'. Her own use of Infernal incantations and the black smear of her magic didn't make it difficult to guess that she was speaking from experience. "I won't ask who has a claim on you, but -- are you alright?"<br/>