Sungmin rubs his hands, letting chalk dust sprinkle to the floor. He’s been working on this particular chalk circle for the better part of the day, and his hands are covered in different colors of the stuff. Blue, gold, red, green, and silver chalk smudge up his arms to the elbows, and he’s fairly sure he’s gotten some on his face somehow. He likes color-coding the different types of wards; it makes it easier for him to check for any mistakes.

 And it happens to be prettier. Some other magicians . Sungmin knows can make their work incredibly dull. His teacher, for example.Sungmin likes to throw in little things that make spells more fun, always has, and today is no exception.

He's thrown in some extra sigils today, just to show off. The specialized valknut is particularly exciting, because he doesn't know if it’s actually going to work. Everything looks to be in order, So Sungmin grins and claps his hands together.

The lights above him flicker off as a burst of energy pops his eardrums. The chalk sigils filling the room begin to glow in all their different colors. He takes a breath, closes his eyes, and begins to chant the summoning spell that he has had memorized before he learned to walk.

The words reverberate through the room, magnified by the magic he pushes through each syllable. “Parti vitali transgredi. O daemon infernalis aeternum, mihi veni. Leges universae qui vocatus mandant vel accipetis, vel te tollent. O Marco Kyuhyun cho etalli invictus, mihi veni!”

(He hopes the demon he’s summoning won’t be offended by the word choices of the spell. Really, in Sungmin’s experience, telling people that you’re going to destroy them if they don’t obey your summons is not a good way to introduce yourself.)

When the final echoes of Sungmin's words fade, blue smoke begins to curl up from the shuddering floor in the center of Sungmin's carefully drawn Sigillum Dei. The smoke billows and fills until Sungmin can see the outline of the demon standing there in the shape of a man.

There is a faint smell, but Sungmin cannot place it. Usually the books say that demons fill rooms with sulfur and other such nasty odors, but this one is not so. It is nondescript, almost pleasant in its tang.

As the smoke clears in a flutter,Sungmin avidly takes in the demon’s appearance. He is a lean, muscular man with a crisp suit and tie. Dark blue horns, twisted and elegant, curl upward from above his ears. He stands with poise, hands in his pockets, as his tail flicks disinterestedly back and forth.

His eyes pierce Sungmin , sizing him up. A smirk curls his lips.

“To whom do I owe the pleasure of this call?” The demon asks with polite detachment. He checks his fingernails as he speaks. They are awfully long and sharp, Sungmin notices.

“Lee Sungmin , at your service,” Sungmin cheerfully replies. “But you may call me Sungmin , of course.”

The demon blinks. “Sungmin,” he says, slowly rolling it off his tongue.

“Guilty as charged,” Sungmin says with a small smile. “And what may I call you, if I may be so bold?”

“You already know my name,” the demon says. “The chant..." 

“Well, technically, I suppose I do. Would you like me to call you Marco Kyuhyun Cho ? I would, it you prefer.” Sungmin idly rubs his itching nose with his thumb, smearing chalk onto it. “Oh,.. - ” He cuts himself off with a sneeze.

"Gesundheit," Marco Kyuhyun Cho ays absentmindedly.

“Thank you.” Sungmin sniffs to curb off another sneeze. “Sorry about that, sometimes I swear I’m allergic to the stuff... But there’s the price of being a magician, I suppose, chalk is everywhere. Anyway, yes, if you like to be called by your full summoning name, then I would be happy to do so. Is there another name you would like better, though?”

Marco Kyuhyun Cho stares at him as if he were the demon spirited away from hell.

“Oh, is that too forward? Is it rude? Should I not be asking for your other names?” Sungmin wishes that there were more books on these kinds of things. He wouldn’t have embarrassed himself so quickly if he’d just known a little more about demonic social customs. “Well, don’t answer that, then. I shall simply call you Kyuhyun for the sake of expediency, if it isn’t too much trouble. Is Kyuhyun acceptable?”

“Kyuhyun is... fine, yes.”

“Oh, excellent. Well, Kyuhyun, it’s lovely to meet you.” Sungmin smiles at him. “This is my first summoning, and I must say, you are absolutely magnificent!”

Kyuhyun looks surprised, but says nothing. His tail isn’t flicking back and forth anymore. Sungmin wonders if he’s forgot to apologize for something else that he’s done wrong, something that could be construed as rude...

“Yes, oh! And I’m terribly sorry about the wording of that summoning spell, really. I aim on coming up with a new one that isn’t quite so... demanding, but, well.” Sungmin shrugs. “I have to perfect it first, before I start using it. Optimistically, I’ll have the testing done by the end of the month to use it for a full-scale summons. I do hope you weren’t offended?”

Kyuhyun raises an eyebrow and minutely shakes his head.

“Oh, good.” Sungmin smiles, relieved. “And now, to business, if you don’t mind.”

Sungmin claps his hands together and pulls out a golden chain from the palm of his hand. At the end is a small watch, with beautiful, curved designs carved on its face.

“What’s that?” Kyuhyun asks.

“Oh, I am glad you asked. This is something I cobbled together from several spells after a great deal of research. You see, I have read that demons are unduly uncomfortable in their taken forms on this dimension due to the stresses of stabilizing with the surrounding environment. This watch,” he held it up, “is an experimental attempt at relieving that discomfort. It is imbued with constrained flames of hell to recreate a comfortable environmental basis for an individual from the demon plane, and is also a protective amulet against destabilization of magical form and illusion. In effect, it makes the demonic form in the human plane painless and effortless to maintain. In theory, anyway.”

kyuhyun stares at the watch with fascination.

“Here you are.” Sungmin tosses the watch over to Kyuhyun in a carefully aimed puff of wind. He catches it deftly. Sungmin can see the effect of the watch immediately. Kyuhyun straightens up, the lines in his forehead fall away, and he hums with power.

“It works,” Kyuhyun says, astonished. He flexes his fingers, watching as his claws recede into normal fingernails. He flicks the claws out again. Testing the limits of his control, Sungmin assumes.

“Excellent, I rather hoped it would. I wouldn’t want you to be forcibly uncomfortable. Keep it on your personhood and it should keep working as long as that watch is ticking.”

Kyuhyun tucks the watch into his waistcoat like an old-fashioned pocket wa