The Fool doesn't let us see the contract negotiations with Chloe. He sends me and The Other back into the main hall to wait. In the quiet of the cathedral, all I can hear is the quiet footsteps of the pious, the spit of candles, and my own breathing.

"You're an asshole," I say, finally, staring determinedly at the stained glass opposite me and not at The Other, who is fussing with his scarf.

"I'm a survivor," The Other replies, smoothing the scarf around his mouth. "Just like you."

I grimace. "You don't know me or my story."

"You're right, love, I don't," The Other says, walking around the front of me to stand in my line of sight. "So, tell me about yourself."

"I don't have to tell you anything," I say, stubbornly looking to the side and folding my arms.

"We're going to be stuck together for a while. What's the harm?" The Other asks. "I can tell you about myself first if that helps?"

I refuse to answer.

"Well, let's see... My favourite colour is purple. I have a talent for drawing things. I can do this weird thing with my thumb where I can bend it all the way back and touch my arm..."

I glance at The Other to see that they're fixated on bending their thumb back. It's... childlike. But he's covered completely in gore from the man he ate mere hours ago, and that's enough to dispel any notions that he's harmless.

I swat at his hands. "Don't you take anything seriously?"

"Not all of us can be you, love," The Other says, shrugging and dropping his hands to put them in his pockets. "You take things seriously enough for the both of us."

"Can we trust The Fool?" I ask, leaning back against the wall and resting my head against it. "You didn't seem to like him much."

"You tell me. Your kind is the one that named him," The Other says, shrugging. "I'm just an Other, pretty low down on the food chain. Arcana are right at the top. It's like walking into this cathedral and finding the President of the United States here or something for you."

I hum, distractedly. "Why do you know so much about this world? Is the Dark Dimension similar?"

The Other glances over my shoulder. "Do you think they're done in there yet, love? I'm kind of hoping that The Fool will be able to get me a change of clothes. I've always dug those dog collars priests wear."

My eyes narrow. "Don't dodge the question."

"Dodge? Who's dodging? I'm just rather sticky and covered in blood," The Other says, and I can tell by the crinkle around his eyes that he's smiling at me again.

"You said you'd go first and tell me things about you, so tell me about where you're from," I persist.

The Other rubs the back of his neck. "The Dark Dimension is not like this one. Smog covers the land, the very air is poison to breathe. The Pentacles catch whatever they can, enslaving them to work, to produce..."

He goes silent, looking down at the ground. The same hollow look is in his eyes as before with The Fool, only this time his brows are drawn together.

"The Other... We are not part of that system. The cars, the politics, the structures... They are for other creatures, but rest assured that they consume each other just as readily as I consumed that Maligned."

I turn it over in my mind. So our own world, but worse, much worse from the sounds of things.

"It is violent, and oppressive, and cruel," The Other continues. "Only the fastest and most vicious survive."

He trails into silence and I let him this time. It's clear that his mind is on his home, which does not sound like a place anyone would want to go back to. No wonder he decided to take his chances here, even without a contract and The Malignant on the loose.

The door opens behind me. Chloe looks pleased, and The Fool is putting something into his pocket. He gestures for us to re-enter the room and I gesture for The Other to go first.

He winks at me as he passes, and it seems he's shaken off his melancholy as fast as it descended.

"Now, the two of you are Malign-proofed at least," The Fool says, dusting his hands off. "But we still need a plan to deal with The Malignant. Where was it summoned?"

"My flat," I say, taking a seat.

This time, The Other doesn't take a seat at the other head of the table, and instead sits next to me, resting his elbow on the table as he unwraps his scarf again to reveal his mouth.

"The tower block from the news...?" The Fool asks, and I only nod to confirm. "Well, at least we know where it's building its nest."

"How do we stop it? The Other said that we'd need some powerful spiritual leader to send it back. That means you can send it back right?" Chloe asks, leaning forward. "We just have to get you to it."

The Fool shakes his head. "I have been in this realm too long for my powers to be substantial enough to take on something as utterly evil and capable of destruction as The Malignant."

"So what do we do, Father?" The Other asks, slumping onto the table. "Just keep running? I mean, what's new for me right? But humans aren't going to be able to keep one step ahead, even with our help."

"Indeed," The Fool replies, smiling. "But luckily this world has certain relics that were designed for such an emergency and those are the ones that we will find and use in order to banish it."

"Ugh. I hate fetch quests," The Other grumbles.

Chloe reaches out and pats his hand sympathetically, sending me a smile.

"So the Dark Dimension has video games?" My tone is pure sarcasm, but The Other turns his face up to look at me.

"Of course. We're not complete heathens."

"Ahem," The Fool draws our attention back to him. "As I said, there are certain relics. Nine in total, though we will only need five of them to complete our task. We're not banishing a God after all."

"Reassuring," The Other pulls himself back off the table. "So do you have them here?"

"Of course not," The Fool says, turning to a large cabinet behind him and opening it with a long, silver key. He withdraws a large, book with a rune burnt into the leather cover. "But this will tell us where to find them."

Second recommendation is Making the Fur Fly by glynfrans! You can read it over on Tapas for free! Link in the description!