14136/The Devil Spring Cleans

The Devil Spring Cleans
Date of Scene:	17 February 2022
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Lucifer cleans and organizes his bookshelf while Sinister watches and gives commentary
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Sinister

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Lucifer has posed:
There are methods to the Devil's madness, and sometimes it comes in like a slow tide while other times it sort of just drops in like a bad habit. It would seem to some that might find Lucifer in his current state that he's gone quintessentially mad. For others that might know him better, this could just be a typical - albeit random - weird day for the Devil.

All of the shelves of his library are empty. The special pieces, boxes of things, and other sentimental items are on the island bar in the kitchen. The books - and there are a lot of them - are in stacks upon stacks in front of the shelves. They're all in different stacks, and each stack has a different meaning from the other ones. Some are big to small, some are sorted by era, and even more are sorted by their stories. In the interim, Lucifer has a rag in one hand and a spray bottle of Pledge(tm) in the other, and he's dusting and polishing the empty shelves.

Sinister has posed:
The concept of organization strategies is something that is unlikely ever to be brought up by the man named Nathaniel Essex. Far be it or him to tell someone else how to make method out of their madness; his is a codified system designed to make sense to him, but to almost nobody else. Laboratory spaces may be organized logically and sensibly for function, but data and research? Pfff.

It is late in the day when he arrives on the balcony of the penthouse, dusting snow off of his shoulders as he idly unlocks the doors with a flick of one wrist, stepping inside with a cautious eye to the piles and empty shelving. He looks up, he looks down, he says nothing and simply goes to hang his coat up. Only on the return: "...reorganizing for function?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Well I went to go looking for some books that I could give to my friend, which then caused me to notice how out of place some of my books are. Then, when I began to move them around to make better sense, I noticed all the dust. So...dust first. Then reorganize." Lucifer explains this much as he continues to dust the shelves. Spray, wipe, dry, move on to the next. He seems to be quite meticulous in this method of cleaning. "Course, I still need to make sure the organization of the books is good and that they're all in their most logical place." A pause. "Didn't you mention something about the encyclopedia brittanica? I should order a set..."

Sinister has posed:
"I did. The junior edition, that one has pictures. To engage young minds, I think." Sinister settles himself on the couch, glancing negligently at the coffee machine, which begins sorting itself for a pot. Tall european style coffee glasses with metal handles are taken out of the top shelf at range and set aside and the irish cream used specifically for coffee doctoring is floated out of the fridge and on to a tray. Shortly, the sound of percolation and the scent of fresh brew begins circulating.

"Next time, I can probably make this quicker for you, but I think that's beside the point..." the observation made with a small smile, he tries to make sense of the stacks. Some of it strikes his mind as being the equivalent of fiction and non-fiction in the Devil's library, with journals and biographies alongside manuals and how-to guides for witchcraft.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer chuckles and then glances back over his shoulder towards Nathaniel. "Mmn, I think I like the method I use for cleaning. I don't do it often, not this detailed, so when I want it done..." He motions. "Not that quicker isn't good, just...well..." Then he looks back towards the shelves and with a little shimmy shake he's out of jeans and shirt, and in...a maids outfit. A proper one with the little white apron and black dress (the skirt leaves NOTHING to the imagination), and the white bonnet on his head. "You'd miss out on this..."

Then he tilts his head and nods. "Right. We'll need to order that...I want to go see it soon...so I'll want to be prepared." Another smirk and then he moves on to the next set of shelves. Nathaniel's thoughts on the books equivilancy to such natures and products is spot on.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister blinks once, just once. Perhaps t'was an effort to burn that image into his retina. So there is a slow, methodical taking of a cigarette from its case with suitable tamping of tobacco, an ashtray floated, the end lit and the whole affair sent to follow Mademoiselle Luci with her studious pledging. He lights his own with much the same attentio, but 'ladies first'. "I'm sure it can be rush ordered through Indigo-chapters," concentrating on the air, a webpage holoimage pops up in thin air, thanks to the technology the Doctor has installed here and he flicks through options. "...Junior Britannica still comes in five volumes, but that is considerably smaller than the full set. Maybe your friend will upgrade when the time comes." Flick flick, click. "Done. It should be here tomorrow, or the next day. You can have Johnathan receive it, when he's doing the morning cleaning..."

At this point, coffee is floated to a tray, it and the irish brought over to the coffee table and set down, so that he can pour and doctor adequately. "There appears to be some civic unrest in one little nation in Africa, that has generated rather more global attention than I would have anticipated. It makes me wonder what all the fuss is about. THe dark continent has been fighting for the last hundred years, on and off."

Lucifer has posed:
"You are very good to me, thank you. We'll do just that, and then I may take them to it the night from which it arrives." Lucifer muses for a moment while continuing to pledge some of the shelves. Though he is paused by the scent of nicotine and caffeine, setting rag and Pledge(tm) down to turn and move to the couch. He sits, still in his outfit, right next to Nathaniel. Lighting cigarettes and irishing coffee. "Civic unrest in Africa? Is there someting you or we need to do to help qualm it before the world gets too invested?"

Sinister has posed:
"I don't know, honestly. It seems that SHIELD got involved, from the reports I've been observing," Coffee is handed over, though it's done so with a lean to peek down that apron front, "Oooh, la la," -- and then we're back to normality, enjoying freshly made irish coffee and a cigarette. "I'm sure they'll be attempting to find the source of the coup, etcetera. But with SHIELD and the Avengers, that got high profile quite quickly. Which drew my attention as to why it could've been so important to be involved."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer blinks. "You think that's the thing that caused that Fury fellow to come here the other night? I haven't seen him since then...curiously enough." Saying this as a sort of passing comment before he takes a drag off his cigarette. "So if they're involved, perhaps we should stay out of it? Or, well, I should stay out of it. You do all that you do so well." A nod and a grin then before he eyes the shelves. "How do you think I should arrange it? Bigger volumes in the middle? Era-centric on one side, journals and such on the other?"

Sinister has posed:
"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know at the moment, but I suspect I shall poke my nose in and have a look around, when some of the initial hype has simmered down," Sinister smiles though and it's perhaps not the nicest of expressions if you were facing him the wrong way. Like head on. "I do do me, don't I?" He pauses. "I have this feeling that there's a file on you, too, with SHIELD. Fury knew what he was doing, walking into Lux. And he knew who I was and had the respect to aknowledge."

He shaves ash neatly into the ashtray though, sipping his coffee with a suck on his cheeks, regarding the shelves with a sloe-eyed look. Eventually, he sucks his teeth and offers "...commonality and function. You want what's often used where it's in easy reach, but obscura ... honestly, these volumes run such a gamut that you could be needing any one of them for any purpose if asked a question. So, mountain stacking with the peaks in the middle is as good as any kind?" There's a slight grimace at the end, clearly he hadn't meant it to sound like a question.

Lucifer has posed:
"I love you, but that is the third or fourth time you've mentioned that they may have a file on me. I am slightly curious if they do, and what deeds that I've done were worth recording onto it. Or is it just me, and perhaps a curiosity as to if I am who I say I am." Lucifer doesn't ask it as a question even though it's worded like it should be. He does give a slight shrug a bit after and then listens to how Nathaniel offers the books should go. Considering, he then nods, and while taking a drink of his coffee he begins to sort books back on the shelves with his mind. Telekinesis for the win - or something like that.

Sinister has posed:
"OOps, well, I might be paranoid and frankly you..." Sinister waggles his cigarette in the devil's direction "...precious. Love you, too. But I do wonder about such things as espionage agencies keeping enough data on us to know who we are. ANd yet never interfering." Watching the float of books, he leans his head back on the couch, stretching arm around the back to do the subtle-stretch-into-coupling-up manoever, patented by many a teenager in a drive-thru, or at the movie theatres. "Rather a lot of me wonders, if I were to honestly want to go and poke, could SHIELD actually do a dratted thing to stop me? Would they even know I was there?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Ah. Well that does make sense, but I don't think I've ever really done anything to actually catch their whole attention. Just their interest." Lucifer says this as he's subtly-stretched-into-coupling by way of an arm around him and he shifts just enough to fit into the coupling quite neatly. "I suppose that all depends on what they have on you, like how many eyes they may have watching your movements. If any at all. More or less because you're consistently with another person of interest. We almost brought the apocalypse - not that anyone really knows - but..." He shrugs then.

Sinister has posed:
"Well, nothing that makes a dent on large-scale political agendas, or endangers the world. I think they're much more into the generalized protection schemes. However, I would not be adverse to assisting if there was a threat to our continued existence. I like existing. And my work does require that the planet isn't squished or destroyed by annoyances." Fingers curl and simply hold, securing the archangel beside himself securely with it and Nathaniel watches the last of the books floating to their housing. There's a smile, perhaps at a memory and he looks sidelong and across his cheek at Lucifer.

"The apocalypse that never was. I'm in general a little hard to keep track of at all times. Plus, I have funds in an enormous amount of lobby groups, politicians, superpacs and otherwise, plus research facilities that the governments of several countries have made use of a time or two. I own the patents on quite a number of things, actually. And considerably more real estate than I did, at any rate. I've been investing in affordable housing, you know."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer listens and nods. "That makes sense. Self-preservation at the cost of saving the world is a thing. I like existing too. I love existing with you." The Devil chimes and is then held for holding's sake. The books finish nestling into their places and are soon followed by all the boxes, keepsakes, and sentimental pieces from the kitchen island back onto the shelves that once held them. A place for everything and everything in it's place.

"I do know. You've set up quite a nice deal for yourself. Which is definitely a good thing." This and then he breathes deep, claps his hands to dim the lights a bit and just curls. "This is nice. Can we just stay like this a while?"

Sinister has posed:
"It keeps me busy," And to a degree, safe from systematic excizing. It's hard to get rid of all the places he exists in, helpful and otherwise. And in a world where housing is a crisis so often, affordable housing comes with benefits when you're Sinister. All that gratitude, in a convenient space where you can offer free medical treatment at the Clinics he inevitably sets up in the area. "And one day, you'll know all the places." That sounds oddly like a promise.

And thusly, silently and with a single, long-contact kiss to the temple, the sectional sofa is telekinetically rearranged, to provide a chaise-longue shape with throw blanket and pillows lofted in to make a kind of nest, complete with view of the city. "I think that can be arranged. And to existence never being meaningless." Peace is silence and security, in company that you never actually have to say a word to, to share exactly how you feel.