Post #1480809

(Art by @RoxannaRachnid) Rith yawned wide and pinched its noseridges, exhausted. "We've been at this for hours, Meph. Anything in your pile?" "No Miss Rith, unless you want to send me back to Hell as a pile of ashes?" "Don't even joke. The only acceptable outcome is that you're free - both from Hell and from me." Meph sighed. "I don't see it happening, Miss. That contract was some of my best work, and while Meph isn't angry you reversed it back on him -" "I'm still sorry anyway, for the record." "- I don't see a way out other than breaking it, which means eternal damnation for one of us." "Mrrp." Meph looked confused. "Did Miss just say 'mrrp'?" Rith shook its head. "No... Mel, are you here?" It looked down - poking its head out of a drawer was a little catlike creature, black as the void, its outline a little strange as if it had been sloppily pasted onto reality. "Oh hello, little one! Meph, what's this?" "Ooh, that's a manavore, Miss. They're scavengers that sit on the edges of reality and nibble away, cleaning up rifts and spell misfires. Sometimes they appear in real places where there's lots of potential food." "Like a shop full of magic items?" "Exactly!" "Will it destroy our goods?" "Only if they're faulty, Miss. They're not interested in whole spells, only wisps of arcane carrion." "So a cute kitty, a janitor and a stock assistant all in one?" The manavore looked up at Rith. "Mrrp." Rith smiled back, rubbing its ears. "Welcome to the family, Manny." "Mrrp!"