It was no secret that Serafina had sought the pages of those thick volumes of magic to solve those problems her mentor could not. When her magic failed to manifest all those years ago, she had turned to them to tell her why. Though Serafina failed to find the answer she had initially sought for, those books had always held a plethora of information she had never considered. They had guided her down paths that had led to her distinct value to her mentor and now, they continued to help with his absence. A small frown crossed Serafina's features as the warlock commented on just how those very pages seemed to thwart him, those words sliding off the page, incapable of being truly comprehended. A soft sigh left her lips before Serafina shook her head ever so slightly. "And why is it you have not brought me these books again?" She inquired, one eyebrow rising. It was plausible that she was far more capable of making sense of those words and spells and yet, Brennan seemed so determined to keep her at arm's reach. She watched as his gaze turned towards the ground, only to admit in that accented voice that she excelled far more than he did in the magical department. A sigh left Serafina's lips before the young woman shook her head ever so slightly. "I know it may seem that way Brennan, but half of the time I'm still struggling to master my own abilities." The girl confessed biting her bottom lip ever so slightly, still, even she and all of her own struggles knew better than to leave a portal to a different realm open. Who knew what had wandered across in Brennan's absence! Much less who had accidentally wandered in!

She could hardly help the fervor that settled in her stomach as the woman raise her voice. Serafina hadn't expected just....exactly how much Brennan was failing at being a Warlock, much less this conundrum of his hellish portal and the devil he had quite literally made a deal with. This, she was certain, was the last straw. Despite Brennan's best efforts, she had every intention of merely ignoring the man's aloofness. Her lips pressed together ever so slightly as her arms folded across her chest. "No, I suppose you didn't sign up for this...but now that you're back here, you have to learn your powers...and learn what things can bring demonic havoc on the city while you're at it." She was, perhaps, peculiarly selfless in her very concern for just all the disturbances those villainous monsters might bring upon her town, almost inattentive, at that moment that all he had risked and all he had taken on had been solely for her. At least, that was until Brennan so cunningly inserted his own rather flimsy compliment. Serafina could hardly help the roll of her stormy irises and yet, she found it difficult to truly hold any animosity towards Irishman. "Yeah, yeah." The witch commented dryly, and yet, at the very least, Brennan had a point. "Neither of us are." She commented, with another, possibly over dramatic sigh. No one, she was sure, enjoyed demons. This was something they certainly could agree on.

Serafina gestured for the man to lead the way, only to fall into step behind her ex. Any consideration to silence was all but forgotten now that she had found him and yet, Serafina made no effort to chastise him for it. After all, Brennan had far more experience with those demonic beings then Serafina herself. The sudden utterance of her name, however, provoked a soft prompting from the woman as he uttered those more tender emotions. Truthfully, she hadn't meant for her words to injure him so and yet his almost blunt response seemed to suggest a hurt that caused her stormy eyes to turn toward the ground. Really, she couldn't deny that she still loved him, nor could she deny that care for him that still existed within her breast. Even so, it seemed as if fate was unwilling to allow the pair a happily-ever-after, at least, not with one another. She was wholly unaware of the ring that still sat in his pocket, accompanying him as a reminder of what they had. Rather, Serafina was left considering that ever-increasing conundrum of her own loyalty to her present relationship. After all, though neither herself or Azrael had ever said it - the Dark Hunter loved her too, didn't he? Maybe not as much as the woman whom she still caught ghastly glimpses of...but he deserved something from the witch, didn't he? Or should she just abandon him in the same fashion she had so often been left for in the hopes of rekindling an old flame?

Her head shook ever so slightly at her own internal thoughts as she glanced upwards towards Brennan, considering the very ease at which he so wrote off fate. The crack of a branch beneath his foot was near deafening in the silence that had overtaken the forest, causing the feisty witch to flinch ever so slightly. It sounded so...out of place. Though nothing in this forest now felt right, not since the animals had all but abandoned it in the wake of that hellish energy that all but reverberated around them. Serafina paused as Brennan announced they had arrived, even though her stormy gaze saw little amiss. She watched as he picked up a rock, tossing it with ease only for it to near vanish in thin air. Her gaze widened as that portal rippled. Slowly, she stalked around it, simply eying it from every which direction, even though her naked irises hardly provided any terribly useful information. There seemed, in that pocket of air, to be nothing at all and yet, something was keeping the portal open. That warning upon Brennan's lips was all but ignored as she wandered back towards his side, reaching into the depths of her mind to string together a spell within that dead tongue. Those words rolled off her lips effortlessly, her own affinity so abruptly reaching out to embrace the portal. The foliage and dirt shifted underfoot, skittering away from that crimson circle that encompassed the portal. There it was! That magic circle thought it could hide!

For several long moments, Serafina simply stared at those demonic runes, listen to the hissing that sneered in an ancient language to them. She could feel it's power, it was undeniably alluring as if calling to the chaotic nature within her very soul. "Yes." That word was but a whisper upon her lips in an answer towards Brennan. Yes, she felt it. How could she not? The very temptation of it... Her head shook as she tried to toss those taunting thoughts aside, instead informing Brennan exactly what she saw. It was blood magic, a spell they would have to counter with the same vile magic, though she required....knowledge of those runes. An almost surprise glance crossed her features as she looked up at Brennan, wholly caught off guard by the warlock's insistence that he had already found someone who held the very book she would require. "How...fortunate. I'll be going with you, then. To make sure the book is genuine." Serafina informed him, hardly willing to take 'no' for an answer. Now that there was some future plan in place, there had to be something she could do in the interim. It was hardly a truly satisfactory plan but it was the best she could do, encasing that portal in a circle of her own. At the very least the demons that came from it would be stuck in a cage of her own making, even if that meant they would be forced to face them before closing that portal for good.

Casting a circle to hold in this much...negative energy required a great more deal of magic then the young witch could merely envision, no, they needed...supplies. It seemed that even Brennan had considered this, interrupting her train of thought with the inquiry of anything she might need. For a moment she eyed him almost critically. "Okay, I need a bowl, a lot of salt, a rock...but we can find that around here...a feather, a sea shell...hm....fire...what can we use in place of fire..." Her finger rose to her mouth, tapping against her lips in thought. "Matches, maybe? That'd be too useful for someone passing by...cinnamon. A cinnamon stick...and a knife." Her head nodded in pleased satisfaction before the girl turned towards the ground around her. "Start with that...I'll find a rock...and a feather." After all, they were in a forest were they not? At least those two should be easy enough.

serafina dubois