14052/The Devil Takes a Sick Day

The Devil Takes a Sick Day
Date of Scene:	04 January 2022
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Lucifer has come down with a sickness. It's a common cold. Though not so common for celestials. He'll be fine. Eventually.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Sinister, Constantine

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Lucifer has posed:
So it was found out that the reason behind Lucifer getting drunk was less him becomig mortal and more him losing a part of his Celestial nature. What's more, is that it was sort of all in his own head. A memory hidden from his immediate recollection that was explained to be a sort of mind trick that Lucifer's father sort of played on him from a time past. In the end, it was only fuel for the fire that burns deep within Lucifer regarding his feelings for his creator. Though it also paves the way for one final coup de grace that starts off slowly enough it's likely seen as nothing for the time being. Lucifer, innocently enough, being in the kitchen cooking up a lunch for himself and Sinister. It's sometime in the middle of this that he does the unthinkable.

And sneezes.

Sinister has posed:
Dwelling overly much on the connivance of planting ideas, tends to make Nathaniel Essex want to take out his operant conditioning texts, just to go over them. It is very hard though, to persuade a man that is a master manipulator and has studied all aspects of psychology, that someone wasn't pulling a clever(ish) con. Mind, when your offspring are incredibly intelligent yet vastly naive at the same time, these things don't require finesse. They do when you're dealing with your rebellious son. He thinks sideways on many a thing. However, a single sneeze doth not a crisis make -- it's if it comes with some other issues that one must start to bear concern. "Bless you," the comment is easily said, from where Sin is reading a newspaper looking at articles that are investigative pieces at the moment. Not a tabloid reader, he's a broadsheet devotee.

Constantine has posed:
Constantine is pacing, smoking like a locomotive on a loop and no station in sight. At least he's got the decency to carry an ashtray with him, which floats alongside. That way, he can also keep a drink in his other hand. "Bless you," he also says reflexively... and then he lets out a quiet grunt. "Remember that business with Vladimir?" he asks, to either Nathaniel or Lucifer. "I never really got what it was all about. Since Vladimir has some history with you-know-who... could that be related in some way? A failsafe?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer shakes his head. "No. The mortal body thing was...well it doesn't count towards this. This is...was..." He grunts. "Unrelated. This was something spoken into being a long while ago. Can't be related since none of that mortal body stuff happened when I was traveling around Bethel and Jeruselum...in biblical times." He offers, throwing a bit more stuff in the pot - he's making a stew of sorts - and then he turns and sneezes again. "Bah. Fuck me..." A sniffle is added as well.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's newspaper is flicked downward and in half. Who even has newspapers these days? There's something about having the paper in hand though, being able to turn the sheets. It's very appropriate to his age. "Dust up the nose?" he asks of Lucifer, looking over toward the devil as Constantine asks questions. "What that was about, was the human experience. I am a scientist and analyst of data and qualitative information; to say that my relationship here has been wholely without the spark of curiosity would be patently false. So in that particular instant, I was both testing a theorum that partial mindscape could be transferred not only along a cloned bloodline of my own, but along another's was important. Plus, the human experience is a good deal different to the meat-shell experience. I wanted Lucifer to know what it's like, in a fun kind of way."

Standing, he approaches but just waits. To see if there's another sneeze in the offing. Three may be the worry threshold.

Constantine has posed:
And John stops his pacing. At least he chooses a destination: the bar. "The human experience, you say..." he says, flashing a smile to Sinister. He goes around and ducks behind the counter. "So it was all about living as a mortal, as a human, for a little bit. And maybe feel the weight of one's own soul. Quite valuable for someone of celestial birth who's got to deal in judging souls for their job, don't you think?" There are sounds of rummaging. "Do you keep salted peanuts? Pickled eggs?" And the rummagine resumes. "So... you made a deal with one of your father's enemies to have some fun being a mortal. What's different with today?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Perhaps. I don't remember the last time I sneezed...and this feeling that's settling with it is...not a comfortable one." Lucifer admits as he sniffles again. "Might have been a weird inhale from this stew too. You know, you get the wrong strong herb up the nose and all hell breaks loose." Then he's looking over to the bar where Constantine is rummaging and raises a brow. "Downstairs. Where there are people who eat that kind of stuff. I'm cooking something that's almost done if you're hungry..." A pause, a finger held up and he turns his head to sneeze again. "Also i would hardly call Sinister an enemy of my father. And what's different is that I was able to experience mortality outside of this body. I...don't really know how else to explain it..." Waving his hand in the air then. "Foods on... my head hurts."

Sinister has posed:
Right. That does it. With the 'my head hurts' admission, Sinister looks over at Constantine a moment. "If you're going to share his cooking, put the cigarette out. You'll never taste it properly otherwise," but he's advancing to raise the back of his hand to Lucifer's brow, then reaches around the side of the ear and down by the side of the jaw, gently palpating. Which you know, might be weird. "I don't know though. I don't -think- I'm an enemy of Yahweh, but the angels sent to cause me grief did not exactly speak of being in his best books, either. Though that might have had nothing to do with Him at all, and all to do with your siblings taking initiative." Pause, beat. His gaze looks vacant and distant for a moment, then refocuses. "There's a twenty four hour walgreens near here, isn't there? I think so."

Constantine has posed:
John emerges from his deep dive with a neutral air. Not that he's feeling nothing, more like he was looking forward to party favors and instead he'll get a cheerful meal. "You know me, I'll take your lunch offer. I heard good things about your cooking Lucifer." Expectations subverted by fate, snacks kept out of reach. "I didn't mean you, Nathaniel. I meant Dracula. Unless we're not talking of the same Dracula? You know, cursed by God and so on? At first sight, it looked like some novelisation but meeting him in the flesh and seeing what he can do, I'm enclined to believe everything."

John takes the time to put out his cigarette and release the ashtray from his spell. "I don't think it matters, in the end, if Dracula had something to do with... this moment of vulnerability. The only difference between your previous human experience and this one is? Last time, it was on your own terms. The trap is what is upsetting Lucifer, understandably. I'm just saying, without Dracula today might have been one of those few moments. A blessing in disguise. The cold is just part of it."

Lucifer has posed:
"Dracula had nothing to do with the day I spent as a mortal. That was Nathaniel's doing. He made a clone of me, and through the power of science and such he transfered my mind into the clone." Lucifer explains as he portions out three bowls of stew and floats them over to the dining table he has. "This is different. This is because way back when my father gave me a message...one that I had erased from my immediate memory...trying to convince me that if I stayed out of Hell for a prolonged time I would lose touch with my celestial self. That is why I got drunk the other night, and...even though myself and Nathaniel figured out some things - more Nathaniel putting the pieces together for me and me accepting them - I am beginning to think that I might be..." He trails off, turns, sneezes once more and then shifts so he can hold up the nearest wall. "...getting sick." A scoff. "It's probably all in my head... but my head is a...right fuzzy mess at the moment."

Sinister has posed:
"Well..." all of that is technically true. Dracula is a terrible force, a powerful entity, the enemy of god, all kinds of fascinated by the concept that Lucifer may actually be the one true Archangel on earth... but in this case, it isn't actually him to blame. There's a cough and a clearing of the throat and the paper folds itself up on the couch, as Sinister sets the table, brings an extra plate and glass for good alcohol imbibement also and looks lengthily at the devil. There's a softening of his eyes before he dips them and looks away, to the hellblazer. "I think in this instance, I'm probably the one to blame for Lucifer being vulnerable. Not sure the being vulnerable to the sniffles is really my fault, but..."

He shrugs lightly, setting napkins out also. "Angels are defined by their own will, either aloof or vulnerable. They're gifted of particular talents that belong to them and them alone. The only one I've actually met, was Azrael and that was not an experience I expected to be as it was. She seems to be gifted with giving peace, which is an odd thing to observe given what she does. But they're also as strong, as fearsome, as challenging, accomplished or whatever... as they perceive themselves as being. Much like us. Only it appears to have a very mystical component to them at times, even to the Archangels. When they feel vulnerable and let their guard down... it can have real consequence, it seems. Or in this case, when they believe a thing will come to pass, because of cunning word in their ear, two thousand years ago... that repeated itself a time or two over that span of time." He looks at LUcifer now with that softer regard once again "...they can let themselves feel the sting of mortality, because they care for a mortal. Even though in this particular case, that perception is cock-eyed and sideways, as I am not remotely mortal. Apparently the loss of grace thing doesn't consider self-made immortality to be a factor." He clears his throat at the end of that. "...maybe this is a mystical malaise. Either way, I've got Johnathan off to get neocitran."

Constantine has posed:
John keeps out of the way, being a guest and all. "Fine, but I'll help with the dishes," he says to the whole ritual of table dressing. He takes a moment to consider all the components of this Lucifer puzzle, moving pieces in his mind. "Look, Lucifer. I'm not psychologist or anything. All I know is, getting drunk is both fun and risky. Catching bugs and cooties is part of it all. You know..." he lets his voice trail for a moment, "...I'd be very interested by what Nathaniel could find from a blood sample from you at this moment. Immune system and all. A unique opportunity. Then I think I know how to cure your little cold."

Lucifer has posed:
"John, you're making it sound like I wanted this to happen. I assure you, this time, I did not." Lucifer offers as he continues to hold up the wall, watching the other two gather to eat. Though his gaze does go to Nathaniel a moment, and while there's a question there, he does not ask it just yet. Not in mixed company. Instead, he simply offers a weak little smile and shifts a bit to be more comfortable in his wall-holding."What's neocatrane?"

Sinister has posed:
"It's a powder cold and flu remedy you add to boiling water. Add a bit of sugar or honey and it's lemony decongestanty goodness," Sinister replies, holding Lucifer's chair out for him. Then because wall propping is not something he particular likes to see, he moves over to make the arm around and hug thing seem to be just that and not an assist to the bunged up sniffly one. "The steam will help your sinuses feel less abysmal, at least." He nods to JC to begin, whilst he manoevers.

Constantine has posed:
John smiles and takes a seat. "Maybe the solution to your thing right now is to get more drunk. If you forget you're sick, won't it go away? Like pushing the reset button in your brain. Just go for black out." He anticipated a rebuttal so he quickly adds, "Nathaniel's probably the best biologist this side of reality, he'll keep you safe... and I'm probably one of the best drinking buddy you've got, too. Look... I hate to see you like this and I remember you pulling off miracles. You can beat this, easy." He pours himself some alcohol, not even looking what it is. Fish need water, Constantines need alcohol. "Thank you for having me at your table, guys."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer makes a happy drunk, but a miserable man when sick. He's not quite got the man-flu but it's close enough to it! None the less, when Nathaniel comes to guide him over to the table, Lucifer gives little protest and takes his seat. "If this is what getting sick feels like, then I don't want any of it. And people suffer worse than this?" He shakes his head then. "Poor sods.." Also, "I don't really want to drink alcohol right now. I really just want to curl up in bed, which I will likely do once I've eaten."

Sinister has posed:
"I think that might be a grand plan. And probably a hot bath later, with menthol eucalyptus oil in the bathwater." Sinister gives John a wry smile at his observation. "Biologist, zoologist, medical practitioner, obstetrician, psychologist and surgeon. Plus, Geneticist, but I do so love to toot my own horn," he rolls a head bow over a rolled out hand and tucks into his stew, keeping it neat, tidy, well behaved and with good manners, though. "You are welcome, John. Consider this part of the ongoing effort to be normal. We even through in the dreaded lurgy for impromptu lunches. After this though, I -am- carrying him off to bed. I ma have to treat this ague with all the solemnity it deserves."

Constantine has posed:
"All fine, then." John tries the stew and after chewing once, he stops. "Thish iv sho good... I don't wonno swollow." He chews again, very, very consciously and let out a grunt of delight. It takes him a bit to finally get over the grief and swallowing his bite, finally. "I don't know about normal because this cooking is supernatural but it feels great sharing a meal with you two. Hey, next time it's on me. I know a pizza place." And then he takes another bite, trying not to overload his fork and failing. He tries mixing it with a bit of alcohol and the pairing makes him smile. "Maybe next time we go on a trip to save the neighborhood, we pack a picnic basket. I mean, maybe not for Chernobyl but the underwater cave wasn't so bad."

Lucifer has posed:
"The only thing supernatural about this dish is that a Celestial made it. I taught myself to cook... sort of as a small hobby but when Nathaniel and I got together and I found out he had a love of food even though it doesn't do us much good...I learned it more seriously." Lucifer offers and then stops to catch his breath. That was a lot of words in a small time and with him being sick, it was difficult to get out. There's also that sort of silence that comes when people tuck into food. Afterwards, Lucifer will follow doctor's orders - and at least take a hot bath because that really does sound good.