14042/When is the Devil not the Devil

When is the Devil not the Devil
Date of Scene:	28 December 2021
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Lucifer isn't quite himself due to a trick his father played on him some time in his past. He'll get over it, eventually.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Sinister, Constantine

---

Lucifer has posed:
As predicted, there really is nothing in myth, legend, or truth written about the Devil going mortal. Lucifer is writing his own book, and there isn't really a set of rules he follows - as if he would follow rules anyway. Last night was interesting, and ended on a high note of course. The morning after? Well the Devil's not completely worse for wear as he stumbles out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to make coffee. Looking like death drug him out of bed a time or two for a talk and a beat down just for the hell of it. A soft groan as he turns on a few lights and then turns them right back off. It's not his morning apparently.

Sinister has posed:
Sometime yesterday, whilst Lucifer was in Lux doing his thing and Nathaniel was doing HIS thing, a message did get sent out, via courier to ... some door. With a post box. How else do you let Constantine know that things have been tracked down? There's of course thinking loudly at him, but that could be bad if done at the wrong time. Anyway, information was relayed, the Sinisters have been determined, the batch identified.

But that was before /this/. Following Lucifer out into the kitchen, Nathaniel moves to one of the windows and puts his hand against the glass. The light dims a bit, as the glass polarizes a degree, just enough to cut out that bright morning glare -- and with it, he heads to sort out something that may or may not be an attempt at a hangover cure. It is, in actual fact... alkaselsa. Plink plink fizz. "Here," softly said "...that'll take care of the stomach. The rest may be best countered by the hair of the dog that bit you, Luci."

Constantine has posed:
Ding! "Morning guys. I got your letter," John says as he leaves the elevator to set foot in the penthouse. He says it loud enough to warn of his arrival so private bits and bobs can be covered or pushed under a rug or whatnot. He's even holding onto the stamped enveloppe, waving it to show 'hey, I got your letter'. He stop dead in his track at the exact moment Lucifer's poor state registers. "Is this a bad time?" he asks. And then, "Did someone die?" Absentmindedly, he takes a swig from his flask.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer takes the proffered glass from Nathaniel and nods his head. "I hope this does work. I also think...we need to figure out what the hell is wrong with me." He says this, as a clearer (sort of) head prevails, being more sound and less influenced by the devil's drink. He downs the entire fizzing glass in a few swallows and makes a face after. "That tastes vile..." Then he's looking over at the bar and shakes his head. "Mmn, maybe a little Irish in the coffee this morning will help a bit..."

About to say more and the elevator dings to let in one John Constantine. Luckily Lucifer is in black silk boxers, but the rest of him is nude. Not that he cares so long as his bits are covered. "Can you turn yourself down to about a four, John? Thanks kindly..." Then Lucifer begins to shuffle towards his books of many shelves, searching for something with intent it seems.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister has black silk PJ pants on and his robe. And the raven slippers with their soft squaks when he walks. "There was a great deal of whiskey last night," he explains, with a flick of eyes over to Lucifer. "And for the first time in a long while he has a bit of a hangover..." he gestures to the breakfast counter, setting about getting the coffee dressed up properly. For him, just black. For Lucifer black with a shot of Bailey's. It creams and it has that magic tonic. It's set in the air and floated over toward where the archangel's inspecting his library.

Sinister lifts an empty mug, gesturing with it in a wiggle to Constantine by way of invite. "Asian chapter. I detailed a bit of it, I think. That clone batch is scattered over malasia, singapore, myanmar and hongkong, with one in australia, according to my isotope readings and cross-references."

Constantine has posed:
"Last night?" Always a master of negociations, John 'takes it to a six'. "Well, I got the letter too late then." He pockets it with much greater care than most things that cross his line of sight. His hand returns with a pack of Silk Cuts. He lights up three then tosses two their way, knowing they'll be caught by something or other. "Wait. That's hangover, right?" He frowns and gives Lucifer the full serious Constantine glance. "Yeah... it is hangover. How in He... Hmm. How the fuck could that be?" Oof, that was close.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer shifts to take the coffee that's been floated over to him, lifting the cup to his lips to have that first wonderful sip. "Ssss-ouch!" Said and then he moves to set the coffee down before looking himself over. "I thnk I brnd mah tung..." He says and then glances to the cigarette floating towards him. With a snap of his fingers it burns to ash which snowfalls onto the floor. He then turns back to his library, fixated once more on finding something. Perhaps a particular something. Because the Devil is *searching*. "Altho...I thnk Nuthunil wanted you to hear about hith clone issue."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister looks over at the declaration of ouchiness, blinking once that way, then looking at Constantine with one of those shared looks of worrisome thought processes. "I did yesterday, when I sent out the letter, yes. The invite was to discuss, but then there were other things that took precedence. How can you burn your tongue, you're immune to fire!" And he's incinerating his cigarette before it's even taken! This is just weird. His own is claimed, brought to lips, dragged upon as an ashtray floats over within easy reach of himself and the hellblazer. "What are you looking for, darling?"

Constantine has posed:
John's frown doesn't want to die; it redoubles. Even alcohol won't fix this. "Right... clone. It figures you have broken them in cells all over the world..." he mutters, keeping an eye on Lucifer at all times. "So any chance more than one could have gone wild? Wait. Scratch that. Doesn't matter, right? If there's even one in a billion, we have to wipe all of them, since YOU can live for about ever. Also, he sure cloned himself for safety. That's what I'd have done." He takes a long dramatic drag from his cigarette and puff out a giant cloud of concern. "I'll take it even one step further: your tracking system can't be trusted either because they're you and any rogue one would've masked their signature somehow. And that's why I'm here."

Lucifer has posed:
"Something that might even begin to hint and explain what's happening to me..." Lucifer offers, his tongue healed, which was quick, but it's right to think that never should have happened to begin with. "Or maybe some text on how to unlock some of my memories that may better explain why this is happening... and now of all times..." This explained and then he looks over to John. "We're not destroying all of the clones. You're talking multiple lifetimes of work that will be halted and set back if that happens. Nathaniel did what he set out to do, and found the batch of clones the rogue bad one came from. That batch, yes. All of them, no." He then pulls out a book bound in worn leather and dyed black. There's a pentagram on the front stained red - by paint of blood is the question - and he smirks. "Ah...this might be what I'm looking for.'

Sinister has posed:
Sinister gestures with his coffee mug. "What he said. But yes, I may need your help and I may be quite certain, as he was me that he covered his tracks. And also buried himself into other things. It's marginally easier to fiddle with your batchmates. However, I'll have to ascertain the exact mental signature I'm looking for. Each is ever so slightly different -- but that may require delving where you've yet to go... into -my- head." He holds a finger up a moment, squaking his way over to Lucifer's side to look at the book in question. Of course, it's as good as greek to him. "What is it?"

Constantine has posed:
Yes, yes. Constantine got it the first time... he walks over near Nathaniel and pours some gin in the man's mug. Middle shelf, enjoy. "Go in your mind? For a moment, I thought you'd ask me to use blood magic! I don't do blood magic. It's too potent." He raises his eyes from the mug onto the book Lucifer is holding. "Do I know this book from somewhere?" Some would say 'never judge a book by its cover' and John would agree; the ones at his mansion are often ring stained with booze or have cigarette burns or... other things. In this case though, he draws a blank. He's read so many. So many books...

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer chuckles and shakes his head at John. "No. You would not know this book. No one knows this book. It's the only copy and has been in my possession for..." He stops himself and then smirks. "My whole existance since I fell, really..." A side glance to Sinister and he wiggles it a bit. "This, my dearest, is my story. I suppose you could call it a diary...though it's enchanted, in a sense. As it writes itself."

Turning then, he shifts to walk over to the couch, sitting and placing the book onto the coffee table. "I swear, John, if you call this blood magic and start cursing it I will make you rue the day." That said, he takes his thumb and pierces his other palm with it until he bleeds and lets the blood fill in the pentagram on the front. "It only opens to me."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's eyebrows elevate. "Well, now I'm intrigued," he lifts his coffee about to sip and looks down at it, sniffing lightly. Gin. He looks over at Constantine with his head tilted marginally, then looks to Lucifer's book once again, observing. "A magical genetic lock. Fascinating," he sips the gin'd coffee with a little twitch of the lip and moves to settle on the end of the couch, in range of looking at the pages when they open. Of course, he might not understand a word of it as it'll probably be in enochian.

Constantine has posed:
"That's not blood magic." John rolls his eyes, although he turns his back to Lucifer before he does so. Safety first. "So... huh... you really really got drunk?" He gives Nathaniel a very harrowed look. "And you lost your memories? That's... level 9 drunkness. That shouldn't happen, ever, to any celestial." He closes his eyes and quietly mouths out curses too foul to be spoken. "... the last time a celestial got drunk... Venus used to have life you know..." He empties his flask, hoping to get to drunkness level 3. "Alright, sorry. How can I help, Lucifer?"

Lucifer has posed:
"You're half right. I did get drunk last night, somehow. The usual suspects - like a random mutant with certain powers, or someone with a divine-negating artefact - have been cleared." Lucifer begins to explain as the pentagram glows for a moment and then shimmers a sort of bluish purple sparkle before he opens and skips a few pages. Some of it is in enochian. Some of it is actually in English. "However, I have not lost all my memories. But I do have some that I have essentially locked away...and it's being wondered if they might hold an answer to what's wrong with me." His hand, by the by, where he cut himself open? It's still bleeding.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's eyes track to the blood on Lucifer's palm. There's a hint of his gaze going a little bloodier when he looks, lips pressing thinly together as his nostrils flare. He looks away temporarily, taking a few deep breaths, before he looks back with the standard ruby hue'd regard and composure maintained. "It was quite amusing, in a very worrisome way. Lucifer is not a venus-destroying drunk, he's a happy drunk that giggles uncontrollably at bad puns. I suspect if he got drunk in the wrong mood, all bets would be off though. Last night was apparently quite a good one in Lux, in terms of well... the usual suspects." He looks across where Lucifer sits to Constantine, then back to the book, attempting to read a bit 'over the shoulder' as it were.

"I imagine that having a billion odd years of memories would get very taxing after a while, if one didn't have a way of organizing them. And making sure that you could still be surprised by life." Leaaaaan. Peer.

Constantine has posed:
John is also watching that ongoing blood flow. "I never said nobody got angry..." he says quietly but doesn't care to elaborate. Instead, he summons a slim lick of hellfire and uses it to burn away any blood that would have missed the book. He also doesn't say a thing about never getting invited to the nice kind of parties; most likely he once was and found out he doesn't belong anyway. "Have you come across any leprauchaun or djinn lately? Any faekind? Have you written to Santa this year? Did someone else mix your drinks? ... I mean besides Nathaniel. Visited any forbidden egyptian tomb or dug on native sacred grounds?"

Lucifer has posed:
The hellfire that Constantine summoned to try and clean up what blood may have dripped around Lucifer dissappears in a puff of black before it can even reach the man. A moment after, the world around them shimmers, as the book that Lucifer has unlocked spins counter clockwise a few times before it rises into the air of it's own accord and flips open to some random page. In a burst of purple fire, a scene unfolds before the trio :

Lucifer stands on the edge of a cliff, looking down upon a city below. It could be Jeruselem, or maybe Bethel. They are somewhere in the Middle East and the attire from this memory is like those of the Biblical Age - perhaps a time just after. All cloth with their heads covered in turbans. Lucifer has taken on a mortal form, but his skin is darker - likely to match others in this area. His companion is a male, dark skinned as well, and carries a shepherd's staff in his hand. The two have likely been conversing for some time.

"You are foolish to come here, Samael. Time and again I have warned you. If He knows you are gone from your station..."

"Oh what is the bloody old fool going to really do about it? Send me back? Fine. I'll go back, and I'll come back. One of these days, I may just come back for good. Though today is not that day. I am simply...observing..."

"If you wish not to stay then why do you come?"

"To see what the humans have done with my gift to them. I gave them wisdom, the knowledge of right from wrong. A conscience. This is how they repay me. No wonder my kingdom thrives. Yet what I sometimes would do to take it back..."

"It was alwyas yours to give, Morningstar. You know this. Always yours to give and theirs to take advantage of. A split your Father wanted...This is why you must remain in Hell. I have...a message for you."

"A message? From Father? What is it this time?"

"You keep threatening to come here and stay here. Know this. Should that come to pass, there will come a time where you may lose some of your divinity. A price to pay for willing to get closer to these...mortals...whom you both saved and damned."

The memory shifts a bit, perhaps even falters some before perhaps skipping ahead some....

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's eyes had been on the text, expecting that there would be writing to read, not that the writing would be painted in such a way on the walls. But the writing has ALWAYS been on the all, so why would this be any different? Symbolism is thick and deep in Lucifer's existence, even when he hides so much of it away. It's still there, underneath the fine lines, the sharp dressing, the sophistikat.

And here we are, with a brother? A brother as a Shepherd. He narrows eyes there, as he listens to what was seeded into the mind, to play out later, somewhat forgotten about.

"I suppose you never thought you would be completely here to stay," he muses, very softly as the details of this 'prophecy' -- but this has the feeling of a montage, doesn't it? He cannot seem to help the need to put his hand upon Lucifer's shoulder, the left side of course as that's where he sits.

And maybe that's for him as much as for Samael, to anchor both as he continues to watch.

Lucifer has posed:
When the Devil comes to work, that's one thing. To make deals at the crossroads, or help ferry someone to the other side - someone that is going to his domain. Those moments were exempt from the prophecy given. Lucifer shakes his head some, the memory is faded but it is there. And as it shifts, flashing moments of deals, of that Grin(tm) Sinister has come to love.

Then it stops on the next point. At a new focal point. France, somewhere likely near Paris. Lucifer doesn't wear the face he does these days now. He's standing in a bedroom with a lady who is frantically packing a few bags.

"I could have loved you, you know!" The woman screams to a Lucifer that seems...wholly passive.

"Not like this. You would not understand because you do not accept things as they are. I am leaving. I have to. Besides, my charms never worked on you...and I tried so hard..."

"To hell with you and your 'charms'! I wish I never met you!"

Everything about Lucifer seems to show indifference unless you look into his eyes. Eyes that are somewhat pained, but also curious, and yet...finished. There's no life in them like Nathaniel might be used to seeing. No spark, no curiosity. Like the Devil had given up.

And to the even MORE keen observer, blood drips down from Lucifer's visible arm.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister sits up stiffer. Just a little bit... looking at the scene, then Lucifer in profile and back at the scene. He is holding his breath now and is utterly, utterly still. Lucifer can feel a certain few walls go up in the bond he shares with Sinister, but at the same time, that voice in mind notes <<...do not worry. I am simply not wanting to contaminate this... the time is significant and I want to -see- this.>>

His gaze has dropped to the arm though, seeing the blood that flows and that defeated expression that is almost completely hidden by being a very good actor.

A slow blink, still no breath though and the hand on Lucifer's shoulder remains steady.

Lucifer has posed:
The scene flashes, though it remains in the same bedroom, only Lucifer sits on the edge of the bed, looking through a few photographs. His arm is bandaged and he appears to be mostly giving a few lasting laments before leaving for...wherever he was intending to go.

"You oever stayed your welcome. Not to mention... that mortal made you vulnerable... because she resisted you. The more you tried...the more she resisted... and look at the price you are paying."

"Yeah. Well. It will be over soon. I'm going back."

"If you're going back... then why am I here?"

"Because...I want to call in that favor you owe me... I want you to make the memories go away."

"They won't always be gone you know. From your mind, surely, but you know I cannot - and even if I could I will not - destroy that which is constantly being written."

"Oh that tired old tripe? Fine. So be it. I keep it close to me anyway, but I rarely open it. Just...wipe this mind of mine and send me home, Michael. Please..."

In a flash, the memory ends, and soon they are simply standing within the Penthouse once more. "...Well then..."

Sinister has posed:
In the mind, the walls that had come up, slowly descend again and there's fleetingly a moment of 'He was in Paris at the same time as I was, with the resistance, with the others and I never knew. Occupying the same world... losing some of ourselves.' -- which he did not want to share at the time.

Sinister looks at the book once it's reappeared as itself, writing the moment as the moment is happening, in the infinite volume of Lucifer's Lexicon.

He exhales long and hard. "So. From what I can gather here, this means..." he starts, stops, re-evaluates with a frown and starts again. "You're not becoming a mortal. You're losing part of your celestial nature. The price of remaining on earth, so they say." He begins, thinks about saying more, but leaves it at that. For now.

Lucifer has posed:
"So it would seem..." Lucifer offers and then seems to think on things for a moment. "A small price, in the long term. One that I am willing to pay..though.." He pauses, glancing to Nathaniel and then back to his book. With a wave of his hand the book closes and he considers locking it again. "I wonder if there is something I can do in order to...get a refund on such a thing. Cause I would hate to have to be so careful..."

He then turns to face Nathaniel directly, reaching to take the mans hands into his own and gives them a squeeze. "What are you thinking?"

Sinister has posed:
Inhaling deep, Sinister presses his lips tight, though he enfolds the hand that holds his own and lays his other atop of it, relinquishing the shoulder spot to make that sandwich. Another deep breath and exhale is given to ground himself, looking from Lucifer's face to the man's hand where it's scabbed over at least. But there it is. A scab. Not a healed injury. And back to Lucifer's eyes.

"You really want to know?"

Lucifer has posed:
"I asked, did I not?" Lucifer offers. "...and I only ask because I fear..." He confesses, looking to the book, thinking back on the memories it brought forth. That it made fresh in the mind. "I fear losing you. In addition to what I am already losing. Something about seeing all that... learning the truth..." He takes a breath he doesn't need and squeezes the hand sandwiched in Nathaniel's own. "Please, avail my mind of what ails it...and perhaps help me come up with a way to fight back against what I'm losing?'

Sinister has posed:
"Alright," Sinister doesn't sound like he's upset, or fraught we will note. He sounds calm and like his most cunning and clever self. With a sprinkling of focus -- and the devil already knows how powerful Sinister's focus is, when it's turned on other things. This time, it's focused utterly ON the devil -- He rubs his palm against the hand sandwiched in his own. "Lets play a game of truth or dare..."

And with it, he begins, not giving an opportunity to really give an odd look or a protest. "Your father is a controlling deity. He likes to have his hands on the strings, yes or no?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer does note this, but his mind is a bit all over right now, still trying to process memories long torn from himself. Only kept in a book. He also notes how steadfast and focused Nathaniel seems, and somehow this pleases him. "Alright, lets..." As if he had a choice, as Nathaniel jumps right into a question and Lucifer is quick to answer. "Yes. Absolutely. His fingers on the pulses of all that which he thinks he controls."

Sinister has posed:
"So truth or dare --" and here he grins, then sobers his face up. "--either tell the truth or take the dare. When he made you, he made you perfect in every way. You were his first born and he wanted what was essentially his ego reflected. Most beautiful, the light, the herald of the dawn and all that that promises. Do you think when he made you, that he made a mistake?" He hands that out.

Lucifer has posed:
"A mistake? No. No I do not." Lucifer answers and then tilts his head. "Though now I wonder what the dare would have been... but.. in all truth. I do not think he made a mistake. I do not, in full honesty, believe that I should not exist at all." He thinks a little more. "I am also beginning to believe more and more that while I have maybe veered off pathing a little... that I was slated to do certain deeds at certain times. To not have done them would have proven otherwise devestating for everything, myself included."

Sinister has posed:
"Ok," Sinister makes a 'claw-game grab' with his fingers, plucking toward Lucifer and drawing it to himself. "I'm taking that." He drops it in his lap, pats the invisible prize and hooks that arm over the back of the couch as he turns himself to face the devil a little more. "So now, I'm injecting a bit of me into this. I'm not the usual punter that you'd come across. Outside of my very gargantuan issue, which at the time I didn't think you could help me with, because I didn't perceive the entirety of it... I would never have crossed paths with you on your terms. I don't think in terms of the Powers that Be, so to speak and never have considered that everything I do is predestined. I can make mistakes and have successes and all of what I've done, is what's brought me to where I'm at. If I take free will and the lack of predestiny out of my equasion, is to exonerate myself of any responsibility for what I do. And if that's a truth, then your father is not loving and giving as he wishes to say he is, he's the most absolute vindictive villain and monster that ever lived. Because if that is the truth, we are all destined for heaven or hell, before we even take our first breath. That was not part of the design he had, as far as I can see. Correct?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer shifts to move to the couch and sits himself down next to Sinister. "That always bugged me you know. It makes the idea of....anything...seem...pointless." His gaze shifts upwards to the ceiling, but it's clear he's almost trying to look beyond. "You are correct."

Sinister has posed:
"I put it to you then: Given the duplicitous and conniving nature of your father, would be be more logical and probable that he created his creations in either a) or b)..."

Sinister smiles there.

"A) That all his creations have free will, but the illusion is of predestiny, so that success becomes more meaningful, including successful rebellion."

"Or b) that none of his creations have free will and that it's all just pointless in the end?"

There's a pause here. "And there's the invisible C) option that he tries to convince his creations that they conform only to A and B because he wants them all to think they are one thing or another and are not in fact obedient to a law that was established by X and applies to all other creations by any and all other creators."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer actually pauses for a moment and then he replies, "A. Free will, but behind it is a pre-destined path. You feel the choices you make are your own, and all that comes with those choices are because you made them. But in the end of all things..." Though he hates saying it, it's what he believes to be the truth. "How...is this supposed to help us find a way to stop..." He starts and then redirects. "Or are you trying to tell me that I have to ultimately accept how things are because it's how they were meant to be?"

Sinister has posed:
Sinister shakes his head a few times at that. "Okay, scrap the truth or dare. You cannot have free will /and/ predestination at the same time. They are like being black and white at the same time. Black is all colours, white is the absence of all colours. They do not exist in the same argument. It's part of -your- gift to humanity, that we were able to perceive all of these things and know certain truths in a way that according to Him, we were never meant to know or question."

Folding his arms then, Sinister looks at Lucifer fully, looking him over but still with a loving regard. "You were made with free will. But getting things to work in the way that he wanted them to work, with creatures that -have- free will, he had to dupe you. He did it to us, too. He does to to a lot of things and a lot of beings. He is the one and only, he is the greatest, he is the sole creator of all things and we know that this isn't actually true at all. But a /lot/ of individuals belive this. To say anything is ONLY one thing is to deny all the amazing colour that exists in the world. It makes everything black or white and in his OWN scriptures and stories, he reminds us that the world is full of colour. It is a rainbow. Where would the rainbow of promise be, if everything is black and white?"

Leaving that hanging, there's silence for a little while to let it bounce off or absorb, as it needs to.

"What I think, is that when you have beings of free will, you have to sneakily convince them of one thing or another and make them believe it themselves. He gave you self-actualization. It was a gift. Not a gift with purchase. It was part of the making -of- you. Like all the things that make a man, are part of what was gifted to us. We cannot have that taken away, any more than you can have it taken away. And part of that is divinity. You /are/ divinity. So in order to take it away from you, he had to convince you that it would be a consquence. You had to make yourself do it, time and again, to make you think it would happen time and again. And I can prove it to you..."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer listens to all that Sinister says, giving a nod as he does so. There's not much he can say, and no argument he can present against what the man explains. He just agrees with him, because in the end he knows that Nathaniel is right. Though, further along, he tilts his head at the last that Nathaniel says. "Almost like, it's all in my head? It's only because I believe it that it's happening? ...What can you prove to me? Show me."

Sinister has posed:
With that, Sinister gestures with both hands to the walls, releasing Lucifer's hands to do it.

The shepherd on the hill in biblical times stands there again, by Sinister's mind painting the illusion upon the surfaces. "It was always yours to give, Morningstar. You know this. Always yours to give and theirs to take advantage of. A split your Father wanted...This is why you must remain in Hell. I have...a message for you."

A split your father wanted. A split your father wanted. A split your father wanted. -- It echos like someone's doing a remix.

And then: "I have...a message for you." That comes through like a boom box.

Your father wanted -- A message for you. YOUR FATHER WANTED -- A message. A message...age. age. age....

"In that exact moment, he knew the only way to make what he wanted happen, is to convince you that it would happen, to make you make it happen. Without it you never would have known. If he knew it was going to happen, he never needed to warn you. He would have said that there was just going to be consequence. You would have had to find out what that consequence was on your own. Because he did, he made it happen."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer isn't sure how to feel as he watches, as Nathaniel emphasizes on what leads to the proof in what he was saying. There's a hint of anger in his eyes, not towards Nathaniel of course, but to the truth being laid out before him. He watches and listens and then stands, grabbing his book which has since locked itself again and walks over to his library of sorts. There's never a true home for this book, as it is always placed somewhere different. Makes finding it a task which is why he doesn't seem to ever read it all that often. "Well. Suppose if he made it happen, then he can also unmake it happen. There is no one and nothing that will suffer if he changes it back...and changing it means he's still...almost infalible..."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister rises with Lucifer in that moment of anger. But he doesn't inferfere with it. Almost he feels that he must not. Cannot. Should not? Well... that last is up for debate. But he follows where Lucifer walks back to the bookshelf, his book in hand and at least marks where it's put THIS time. But it could move in the middle of the night by Lucifer's design, one never knows. Only when it's been released, does he put his hands upon both of Lucifer's arms and pulls him gently, oh so gently toward himself, so that he can fold both his arms around. "It isn't him."

And that's why he had to have a moment in time left because otherwise angry lash might have happened. "It's you. Yours is the power that is making you bleed. You're only bleeding because he convinced you you should. And that you would. Stop giving him the power that isn't his to begin with. It's yours. Yours was the gift. Yours is -this- gift, too. You had the power to become mortal for any of the people you loved. That asshat convinced you that it wasn't... but also because of it made you fear certain things and jinxed you." ANd then he strives to manoever the devil about so that he can look him in the face, within his arms.

"Know that this is truth. Your power worked on me, because I let it. I would have told you the truth anyway. You don't need it to mean something powerful to me. And if you truly are becoming mortal in any way, because of caring and wanting to stay here, with me... then so be it. I will love you every day, every moment, every hour. Everything is precious... this is no different. In this life, or the next, right?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer is glad to have been given that moment of knee-jerking anger because once it subsides he can think a bit more clearly. Though by that point, he's gently being taken by the arms and pulled towards and into Nathaniel. The words the man offers has Lucifer raising a brow and then - as always - he listens.

What Nathaniel says makes sense, and even more so rings true to what has been shown to him. It's all in Lucifer's mind, and what triggered it he'll never know. Perhaps the desire to stay that grows ever stronger and never falters especially now that he has someone special in his life. Though he still makes trips back to Hell, it is still his Domain no matter who is watching over it in the interim. Hell is HIS. This life is his. His alone, too, ever since he decided to leave Hell on a more permanant basis.

It's with that thought and those further words from Nathaniel that Lucifer looks to his hand, to the scab that is there from where he bled. "Well, then this isn't going to do now, is it?" It won't be an overnight thing, but perhaps his mind will begin to steer more towards the defiant nature he has and he'll learn to know that he IS divine, and celestial, and those powers are his by birthright. "No one can take it from me.. not even him..." He says, to his palm, staring at it until the scab seems to shiver and then burst away leaving only nice flesh that never seemed to have been cut in the first place.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister had been willing to simply enfold, hold close and let the moment be. But that defiance has its own agenda and with the staring at his own palm that Lucifer's doing, he releases enough to be able to witness it, hands loose on the devil's waist with it. When the scab bursts and falls away, all he can do is give a rather silly little smile, a mere little upturn of the corners. To do anything more would seem gauche. "Maybe I should also qualify something to the ears that are listening. If you were doomed to one life now, one lifetime... I'd find a way to grow old with you. We'd be a pair of cantankerous old gits, complaining about the good old days and yelling at the kids to get off of our lawn." He intones this with somenity.

But the scab is gone, so he turns his face to kiss the palm where it had an injury that is no more. "You know, I want to know about this french woman, now. What she wouldn't accept makes me want to know more, so I don't make the same mistake. But I'm not going to poke. I'd rather make my choices myself, right?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Whatever actual fate I have in store for me, so long as I am with you, I will endure it. But I am not slated to live as a sort of half powerful celestial while I still can be as whole as ever." Lucifer offers, leaning up and in to attempt a kiss upon Sinister's lips.

"As for the french woman. You have already accepted what she would not. I..." He pauses a moment. "I told her my truth. When I was living in France for a time during the war, giving out deals and boons a plenty...finding people charm... she would never give in. I cannot say I loved her, but I respected her, in so many ways. But when I told her who i am..." He shrugs. "She laughed it off, it grew a wedge between us... cause it seemed after I told her who I am, she began to notice how often I wasn't really around." He shrugs.

Sinister has posed:
"Oh. Well, poor thing then." Poor thing? Poor thing! "I'm probably luckier in that the times we live in now have an abundance of proof of things beyond what was originally known. If we can accept Thor as an avenger, why can't we accept Lucifer's been here from the beginning." He pauses, considering that and is such claimed in a kiss, which he surrenders to. Softed, then softing, which is reaching up a hand and gently ploofing hair with the tips of fingers, from front to back.

"I'm now tempted to dwell on if I'd had different decisions in my past. Whether I'd decided to be loud and proud, rather than subtle and quiet about my work. If I'd been a well known entity, doing what I do and you were just... someone... where would I be, trying to state my truth to you, that I am who I am, doing what I've done and do. I think you're a very strong person, overall, all things considered."

Lucifer has posed:
"I think there's no point in dwelling on such things, love. We made our choices and it led us here to this moment. No sense in thinking on how it might have been different. Or come to pass another way..." Lucifer offers and then he shifts a little to begin wandering towards the bathroom. "I now desire a soak, in very hot water, with you. We may stay there all night, but...I just need to relax...and perhaps wrap my mind around things it learned today. So. Join me?" Which, hopefully Nathaniel will, and the two will relax and otherwise enjoy a moment in the hot tub that might just last all night.

Sinister has posed:
"Go ahead and make it all piping hot. I'm going to make espresso and a few cheese cracker snacks to bring in. I'll meet you there." Because that's a good excuse to take a few deep breaths before joining your beloved. Because there's having a damn good feeling that you're right, and then there's painting it from start to finish with the right pace, to convince the one you're trying to convince. That was draining, a thing he'll hide as much as he can. Still, that took work to paint out and he takes those moments to recenter, before joining Lucifer in the bath-tub, with his game face once more where it belongs.