15513/Rainy Days and Long Nights

Rainy Days and Long Nights
Date of Scene:	22 August 2023
Location:	Somewhere in Dublin, Ireland
Synopsis:	Luci and Sin travel back to Dublin to pick the Phantasm's brain...and have some good Irish Pub food.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Phantasm (Drago), Sinister
Tinyplot:	Shadow Prophecy

---

Lucifer has posed:
The advantages of being Nathaniel Essex and Lucifer Morningstar are several. One of the biggest ones is that Lucifer can travel anywhere he wishes - so long as he's at least seen it first. Which means traveling back and forth to Dublin is only so long as the blink of an eye for the Devil and his partner. Not so much for their other cohort who has to fly. Commercial.

Ick.

None the less, with a new hotel booked for a few days and their bags packed, they arrive back upon the Emerald Isle. Why are they here? Lucifer has questions, for once, because some things didn't sit quite right with him. Who are the questions for?

Well...

A text goes out in the early afternoon hours to one Nick Drago. It's a rainy day, been that way all morning, so surely filming was cancelled. <<Hey N. It's L. If free, let me know. Got an itch on my brain I need help scratching. Talk soon. ~LM>>

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
For one who was not born into riches and at a point never thought he'd ever leave Hell...'s Kitchen, commercial flights are not that bad.

Ok yes they're horrible if you get the wrong seat. You definitely don't want the row next to the toilets and honestly, when there's enough people traveling in a group, the studio springs for a charter instead but-

Ahem.

Right. Either way the flight wasn't THAT bad. Nick had the good fortunate of being bumped up to first class so he had more leg room than most. PLUS the international flights have alcohol included with the tickets no matter where you sit because... honestly if alcohol gets an entire plane to shut up on a 7 hour nonstop flight, it's the least the airlines can do to keep their underpaid flight attendants still wanting to come back to this job from hell.

Nick's phone was off for the flight so he didn't get any messages while in transit. He also got in a lot of sleep on that flight to where the chime of the intercom woke him up.

It wasn't until he was back at Dublin Airport, and glancing out the window at the rain pouring down that he turned on his phone, and promptly got hit with several beeps of importance. One being a message he expected. Rain delay. Today's film schedule was being moved to a back up date. As for Lucifer's...

Shifting to the side, turning so his backpack was pressed between him and the wall, he texts back a response. << Just got back to Dublin. Free day because of Rain. The Brazen Head okay? >>

Sinister has posed:
Nathaniel's clueless about this current question buzzing around in Lucifer's brain. He just wanted to see about certain horse lineages whilst here on the emerald isle -- it's a thing that cannot be overstated that Essex /likes/ perfection and in terms of equine flesh, Irish racers are amongst the top of the line. And very occasionally, they even happen to be gaited.

He has plans there. "So, where were we going first, in the absolute pouring rain?" -- this asked as he has deposited the bags, scant though they are, to contemplate the sky on the veranda of their balcony. Ireland's hotels have rain proof balconies when you pay enough. The Ding of the phone catches his attention, an arch of a brow following. He whistles that old 'you've got mail' dee-da-di-doo-doo, softly.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer checks his phone before glancing over towards Nathaniel. "Apparently to a place called the Brazen Head. We're meeting Nick there. His day was cancelled due to rain but apparently he also just got back to Dublin." Saying this much before he shoots a message back. <<Sounds good. Meet there in an hour?>>

He doesn't like keeping Nathaniel in the dark on anything. So knowing that he hasn't said much about why /he/ wanted to come back to Dublin weighs on his mind a bit more. "Something about what Betsy said, coupled with whatever that being was that spoke through her. I don't want it to seem that we rely on Nick for a lot of the dream and astral stuff... but I at least want to get his expert opinion on some things." There's a pause here. "Nick's about the only reliable person we have in our docket with any ties to anything that goes beyond the physical or spiritual... not that I have much merit due to... reasons..." There's a shrug here. "Anyway, I offered to meet Nick there in an hour."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The response to this text message is easily quicker than the previous one. Only a few minutes instead of...however long it took between the last message and the plane to land.

<<Sounds good. Let them know you're with the S.O.T.D. group. We've got a table on hold.>>

An hour was more than enough time for Nick, it gave him time to spare for swinging by the hotel first to drop off his bag and to change.

Plenty of time.

So much time.

...Hmm. That's a nice piano.

By the time Lucifer and Sinister end up at the agreed upon place, Nick is not at the table set aside for them. But if they were to follow the sounds of a piano rendition of Devil's Dance Floor, they might find Nick surrounded by a few drinkers standing around and watching.

Sinister has posed:
"AAah. Well, I can venture into the dream, but I'm far more adept in the Astral, you're right. I can manipulate the substance of it when I'm there," but that explains that a little better and he considers the weather a little more. "Did you bring something suitable to getting damp? Or am I dressing you, my dear?"

And whatever the answer is there, the Brazen head with its olde worlde charms, will be the venue to meet up at. It gives enough time to dump the duffle and take a shower, maybe work up an appetite for the pub grub.

Sinister is in his usual as they wait just outside of the 11th century establishment, having a cigarette in the designated smoking area of the street itself. White V'neck, black vest, a gold chain with a raven pendant, black leather frock, jeans, nice capped heels. You know. The usual. His hair is short though, a little longer at the front than the back and he's youthful, neatly trimmed and sporting the grey eyes in public.

But the sound of the tickled ivories has him pinching off the smoke after half of it is done, glancing at Lucifer and nodding to the pub itself. "That sounds like familiar playing style to me..." and so it is. And so there's Nick.

Lucifer has posed:
"Yes. I brought something for both wet and dry weather here. Besides, it's not like a little rain ever hurt me." Lucifer says this with a grin and then it's off to the pub where they agreed to meet Nick.

The outside shelter for a smoke is actually decent sized. Cozy for two people to have a nic-stick before actually making their way into the tavern proper. The sounds of tickled ivories hitting him as well and he grins. "I do believe that is the man we're looking for..."

It doesn't take long for Lucifer to come in, explain who they're with and be shown to the table where Nick is not. So once they've established placement at the table he meanders over to the piano where Nick is playing, hanging back a bit but positioned where eyes can meet if Nick happens to look up and around.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
In a general statement of the obvious, Nick is not dressed as nicely as Sinister or Lucifer. Although he did take the time to change, what bit of facial hair that had cropped up since the start of the weekend is still present, giving a general scruffiness about him. Combined with the worn looking ballcap, worn jeans, the dark gray hoodie seems to put him at the less extravagantly dressed end of the pub patron spectrum. But considering the less than concerned looks of staff wandering about, no one seems to care.

Sure, if Nick were hitting sour notes they might have asked him to stop but, they've learned not to question competent musicians who start playing, even if not scheduled. Besides, happier patrons are easier to serve than the surly ones, so whatever skews the mood in that pleasant direction works for them.

The little romp of music is quick and lively and once the song reaches the end there are the occasional hoots in response. Nick grins to the response and glances over to the table. Upon seeing those he was waiting for arrived, he gets up from the bench. "And, it appears my table is ready." He says, excusing himself from the playing, "Much thanks for obliging."

Having disengaged from the piano, Nick steps over to Lucifer, "I may have overestimated how much time I needed to stop at the hotel and get over here." He admits. The tone to his voice is not at all regretful for that outcome. The performer moves back over to the table, selecting one of the unclaimed seats. "No problems getting shown the table I assume?" He asks of the pair.

Sinister has posed:
That could take a little while, when engrossed in the ivories, both pianists of Sin's aquaintence can become moved with the music. But Nathaniel too, settles where he can be seen, next to Lucifer and watching the pianist and his small audience.

Miracles do happen though and as the ahhh... irish italian heads close he offers a smile. "I didn't expect that when we arrived... I hope the flight went well," he offers, glancing to a server to indicate the 'party' have all arrived now. That'll take a little bit, too.

He glances about, whilst listening for the answer though, eyes travelling those that are enjoying on a monday night as well as those that seem to be regulars. The decor, the shape of things. All things observed swiftly.

Lucifer has posed:
"It happens, and don't worry. We had only just arrived in Dublin ourselves." Just not on a plane, and by now Nick should be very much aware that they don't travel via conventional methods. Nathaniel inquires about the flight which means Lucifer doesn't have to. He's also not really about to jump into the meat of why he wanted to meet Nick here for a chat.

Such a thing needs to be eased into.

"Definitely binging on this trip though. I just don't know what to try first. Stew? Mmn, pub stew and irish bread...that might be the winning ticket. And I think I'll take an old fashion.. on the rocks, but lightly." This said to the server when they arrive and then he settles back a bit. Waiting for Nick to answer general questions first - and for their food and drink to be taken care of so conversations of a weightier version can be had.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods to the question regarding his trip. "Oh, the flight went as well as could be. Bumped to first, slept through most of it. Didn't even have to resort to the in-flight drinks." In short, despite the flight, he's got a bit of extra energy in him. WHICH he had been intentionally building up in prep of a long film shoot to go into the evening but- Rain.

WHO KNEW?!

Ok. Everybody. But that still leaves for a bit of energy to get burnt off before he can try and get his sleep schedule back in line with Ireland's time. "I had a bit of time, saw the piano, and- Well, the manager was fine with the idea."

After a few moments of nothing but the drink menus on the table to keep them company, a male server walks over, setting three menus upon the table. "The soup of the day is Colcannon Soup. The special is Shepherd's Pie." The server takes a moment to look to the three men, smiling to them, "Do you need a minute to look over the drink menu?"

Nick glances to the server and then to Lucifer and Sinister for a moment. The devil's debating already answered the question for him. And he figures Sinister knows what he wants to drink as well. "Guinness please."

Sinister has posed:
"I'll take a pint of 80 shilling, please," Sinister muses over the menu a moment, though his choice is prompt. "And I'll take the bangers and mash, with a side of mushrooms..." -- looking back to Nick, his gaze travels all over, then there's a wry chuckle.

"Sleep batteries are full and nothing to direct the energy into. Well, Luci might have something to at least -distract- from that..."

He looks sidelong to his partner and considers a moment. "Oh and potato skins to start with."

Because everything has potato. Even the bangers have a stout and onion gravy.

"One moment..." he looks steadily at the waiter for a moment, who looks a little distant eyed, but then smiles again, waiting for anything last minute. Sin also looks around and with his eyes briefly catching the red glow, seems satisfied. "It's not that nobody can hear us, it's that they'll not process into active memory. Or remember any conversation we have. The waiter is going to ignore anything that isn't a drink, food or a direct question."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer orders the Colcannon Soup with Irish Bread, because why not. Nathaniel does his trickery so that things can be discussed without any worry in the world that anyone else will catch on. It's a helpful thing when one wants to talk shop, but also meet in public to do so.

"So. Nick." Lucifer begins. "In your expert opinion... could one safely enter the dream world and travel back into dreams of the past for the single mission of obtaining information that will help them in the present and possible near future?" He looks towards the Phantasm with a curious gaze. "I'm definitely interested on any possible impacts from the simple to the complex...if any at all exist, and I have to presume that at least a few do."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the others put in their food orders as well, Nick glances down, seemingly confirming what he remembered them to have when he hit this place last tour. "Beef and Guinness Stew." He responds. Because along with everything having potato, Guinness comes in a close second. Also that soup should be heavy which should help with getting sleepy later.

Nick looks over to Sinister as he sums up what he did to ensure privacy. The musician nods. But he is a bit curious to what is going to merit that until Lucifer poses his question.

Nick leans back in his chair, folding his arms. An odd question. "...technically a lot of dreams are constructed of elements of the past. Memories, good and bad. They just tend to get jumbled for the most part. With the proper nudging you could probably guide the dreamer into just bringing the information up front. And then you have to factor in that sometimes it's not a to the letter rendition. Sometimes celebrities end up as stand ins for people they know who they might associate with similar traits."

Which... really works out for him. No one's really going to question about dreaming about a rock star, especially if they've been seeing a lot of news about them in the days prior.

It's an odd question, almost like they're looking into a general archive of something being stored. Almost like-

Nick sighs. "Is the dreamer still alive?"

Sinister has posed:
Sinister remains silent for the nonce, because he wants to see what angle Lucifer is taking with this particular line of inquiry. Potato skins being a quick thing, they're soon brought out, as is the soup and their drinks orders.

Sin cradles his beer after a judicious sip, idly munching on bacon and cheese loaded, hollowed out potato skins that are /crispy/ and not soggy. That apparently is a pleasing factor.

He watches. He listens.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer goes to answer, but then he pauses and actually thinks on it. The original leader of this Cult of the Apophis. Alive? Likely not. The followers who have descended from them, obviously, are. "Well... that's a bit of a loaded question..." He offers this at least and then sighs.

"You remember when we told you about that wonderful idea of me swallowing a space stone? It was a piece of the Apophis asteroid... and it's kind of a big deal. The asteroid itself exists interplanarly, and for the moment...is not detectable in our universe...but when it does come back into our radars it's going to be very very close to earth..." He explains, then looks to Nathaniel to make sure he has his facts right.

"There's a lot of story around this asteroid. A group of cultists believe it's going to bring about some great salvation where others have been seeing nothing but impending doom..." Pause for sinkage. And for more confirmation from Nathaniel.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Considering how much has to be made in advance, Soup IS a quick thing to serve. When the steaming hot bowl of brown stew with two scoops of mashed potatoes resting on top is set before him, the musician takes a moment to admire the presentation. A deep breath is taken, to make note of the scent.

The pause from Lucifer is telling.

Nick tilts his head, looking to the devil as he tries to find an answer.

"...Well." Nick starts, "I'd suggest trying the dreams of those still breathing first. That's probably easiest. I'm not entirely sure if the other part is possible unless you traveled back to when the others were alive."

He lifts up his beer, taking a sip as he wracks his brain, trying to see if that damn book in his head has a glossary entry for dreams of the dead. If it does, it's behind the pages that are still stuck together. Unreadable. Hidden from his knowledge for now.

The glass lowers. "There's still stuff I don't know." He admits, "I mean I've accessed more now than when I first got the ability but there's still a lot I can't tap into."

But maybe-

"I do know there are different types of dreams. The most dangerous ones to travel through are the ones maintained by a solitary dreamer. Those can cause problems if you're inside and the dream collapses. But-There are collective worlds that are long lasting because they're not just fueled by the sleep based dreams but the waking dreams of those sharing the same ideals or dreams."

Nick glances up in thought, "... A cult seems like it'd be full of like minded individuals. Might be your best bet for those no longer here."

Sinister has posed:
"Yes, the Apophis meteor is due to arrive in our solar system imminently. It did dive down, but it will very soon emerge again," Sinister confirms to the room, as it were. "And the more I think upon the asteroid and the history of comets, the more I think it's probably being worshipped as a /herald/ of something dire. Given what we now know, I'd say that's bang on the money -- the comet shows up, crazy shite happens, apocryphal events transpire, rains of fire, seas of blood, red star in the sky, then boom. The actual big cahoona shows up and it's suddenly show time."

And with that grim statement made, he says in a rather bland tone, but with a dark undercurrent. "I really don't want that to come to pass. I'd rather like to see it sucked into the twisting nethers, warped out of all proportion and sent packing to whatever dimension it came from in the first place. You know, /sometimes/ I would love to be wrong about disasterous possibilities, but I knew that was going to be a doozy when I first took the bloody stone out of that woman." He mutters a bit under his breath. "Humans. Cutting the corners to all kinds of medical miracles and never knowing what the bloomin' hell they're playing with. Well, the diet pill definitely worked, it turns her into a living embodiment of famine."

Pause. "Oh."

Another pause. "Lucifer... I've had another idea."

Lucifer has posed:
"Well if certain people could be a bit more reliable - present party not included in that statement - then we might have already had a way to deal with it." Lucifer says this before giving his shoulders a shrug. Drinks are delivered now by the ultimately clueless waiter and he lifts his old fashioned to take a slow sip of it. "Mmn, why does alcohol just seem to hit better here in the emerald country?" Asking, off topic of course.

"Anyway. And here's a question... Is there an issue with throwing it off it's current course? Couldn't I just... I dunno... go and give it a nice push a thousand light-years away from it's current trajectory? Or better yet... find the rip that it's going to try and go through and close it up... I mean they sound like too easy options but..." He shrugs, then sips, then sucks on the orange peel he plucks from the glass.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"So is the talk of dream diving more for just gathering as much information you can on this meteor or what the cult plans to do?" Nick asks, "If it's actually one, wouldn't there be record of it being identified by someone in the astronomy field? If you got a general timeline, you could just see what fits with the story. If it's what you're expecting them to do with the meteor's arrival, money's probably on something that causes harm to themselves and less to those outside of the group."

Sinister has posed:
Well, now we can tackle this in a bit of a quirky order, can't we?

"The Apophis meteor is very real. It's been indicated in scriptures from various religions, most prominantly from the Egyptian mythos. It was not a good thing, heralded apocalpses and cataclysmic events. The cult of Apophis is what we need to know about more solidly, because I don't think it's them that they're meaning to harm, specifically... as opposed to everyone else when they bring about whatever cataclysm they're aiming at." Sinister replies to Nick.

Sin goes on after this "And nobody knows a) what they were up to or how they did it, as they've gone out of the limelight and b) there's not been any records I've been able to find, which is not to say that there aren't any, but secret societies are secret for a reason. We've only got vague references and that's why we want to see if dream diving to someone that was alive during their last active years is possible." Explanatory diatribe done, he looks to Lucifer with a thoughtful twist of his jaw.

"Well, the issue is with comet diversion, that sometimes the gravitational wells have relevance in astronomic terms. I don't know why we couldn't seal a rift, if we can find it, but it might self-generate the subspace dip that it does, what with the energies that permeate it. Again, we don't know enough to be able to say, only to hypothesise. But I just realized there MIGHT be someone we could talk to. The horseman of Famine."

Lucifer has posed:
Anything that Lucifer was going to say or do goes out his braincell when Nathaniel mentions talking to the horseman of Famine. He looks at Nathaniel for a long moment of just blank, silent staring before shaking his head. "I mean...we could...but why the horseman of Famine specifically? Were they involved in something about the stone at some point in time?" Everything else is pushed to the side because it's a Thing(tm) to call the horseman - even one of them. All Lucifer knows is how much they wish to be released upon the world. And in many ways, he's sure they're all chewing at the bit these days.

"Unless you're joking. But you seemed a bit... like you had a eureka moment there..." He glances to Nick and then back to Nathaniel. "But also, you're a scientist. Can't you like... use maths to predict motions and gravitational pulls and when the next snowfall is going to happen?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
And with the puzzle pieces presented. It is Nick's chance to put the pieces in order. Or just rearrange them before he's tsked at and watches his work being corrected by doctor or devil.

But let's give it a go.

Sinister has suggested they talk to the horseman of famine.

There was talk of the very stone Lucifer ate being pulled out of another person

The embodiment of Famine

"The lady you got the stone from?" Nick asks curiously.

Sinister has posed:
"No, she died. I couldn't save her, in the end she was too far gone and kachectic -- refeeding syndrome made her organs all shut down..." Sin murmurs that. "She was alive when I took it out though. I wonder if she'd died with it in her, if this conversation would be going very differently. And that, though sort of side-ways to why I suggested the horseman, is also why I suggested the horseman. What the damn things do, I wonder if that's not another kind of doorway." Sinister replies to them both.

"Also, Irish liquor is just better. You asked, but I got distracted by idea."

As to sciencing it all. "Well, I suppose I could. Astrophysics I'm rusty on, but I have studied it..." he strokes his chin a bit. "Let me think on that one. But... the nature of what those things do, it strikes me that Famine might actually know of the cult. That might not be the first time they've starved people to death. Hell, your sister might even know, Luci. But I suspect Azrael won't say anything, because she's bound not to. Death itself though? Death might."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer listens to Nathaniel as he explains the woman but also why the woman is the reason why he thinks they should speak to the horseman. Lucifer listens intently and at the end of it all he concedes with a nod. "I mean, that makes sense. It's been a while since I've spoken with any of the horsemen... and if you want, I can at least buzz Azrael about it. See if she can say anything."

The comment about Irish liquor just being better gets a chuckle.

"We do like to keep all our options open... just in case one path fizzles out... we have another one to try and go down. But I'm onboard with this... "

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Being sort of on track but not really right. Yep, sounds fair. Nick slides back in his seat as he considers matters. If they could ju...

"I'd suggest looking for a shared dream that the cultists use but if that's not possible... Well. I've encountered two cases of time travel. But- one of the travelers also wanted to start an apocalypse thing but he got bored and went home. As for the other time. Well, that was by accident and involved enchanted items. Unless you want to go to France when burning accused witches was at a high, there's not much incentive to try and use those." Also there's a good chance if they used those coins that what would end up occurring is they undo the things they did to keep Henri's girlfriend alive.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister smiles at Lucifer. "Brainstorming. I promise I will see if I can't figure out if it's logistically sane to destroy the comet, or divert its course and alter its parabola. There will be a /lot/ of mathing. Four dimensional calculations /and/ calculating every gravity well between it and us. There's a lot. I have to make sure -that- math is right." NASA has entire teams doing those calculations on supercomputers! He also reaches a hand to Lucifer's and gives the devil's hand a solidarity squeeze.

Then he turns attention to Nick. "Is it possible to use the collective dream itself? The subconscious astral plane is a bit of a grey zone to me. I've done a few things with it, but not nearly as much as the High and regular Astral plane."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer gives Nathaniel a smile and a nod of his head. "If I could help with the math stuff I would... but I wouldn't be nearly as good at it..." He says this much, chuckles, and then the waiter arrives with their food. "I think we're coming up with some solid ideas..." He pauses while looking to Nick. "So from what I'm hearing, so long as we don't change anything, we just watch the dreamscape and try to pull information from it, we should be fine. Though Nathaniel brings up some points. Which is really why we came to you to begin with. You're the expert in all this after all."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well," Nick pauses, "When you think about it. Avalon is more or less a collective dream and there are those who live in it. Like Morgana. It'd probably depend on which collective dream you go into but I'd probably consider most as like a time capsule of experiences."

Nick pauses to look to the stew set before him, grabbing the spoon beside it, "You don't have to have lived through something to have that as part of the world, just someone at some point introduced it and enough of those within experienced it to basically maintain its existence."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister chuckles at the sidestep of the mathing. Can he blame him? Mathemeticians are a thing because people don't like mathing! The Bangers and mash with its side of mushrooms arrives and is inhaled with a slow, purposeful appreciation. "Aaah, that smells /right/. It's never good in the united states, they always use cock-eyed sausages..." He proceeds to cut his bangers up into bite sized portions and arranges his food to his liking, though the presentation is very good to begin with.

"Let me see... Avalon is the wrong subculture and mythos. The book of the Dead might work to access the dream of Sutekh's nightly slaughter of Apep... Apophis that is. The dream of Egypt though, might be better accessed thrugh wiccan believe systems and new-agers."

Lucifer has posed:
The scent of butter, cabbage, onion and potato hits Lucifer like a sack of...well...potatoes! He looks down at the enticing dish before him, gives it a wee stir and then takes a spoonful to taste. "Okay. It's official. We're doing a whole food tour of this entire bloody country. The food is delicious. And I need this recipe..." He also notes how Nathaniel is oogling his bangers, mash and mushrooms. Especially the bangers and the mushrooms.

"So Nathaniel is going to math... I suppose I'm going to start talking to angels and horsemen... I guess we're going to need the help of a wiccan to understand the Egyptian ties to everything..." Which means a visit to a particular magic shop in Sunnydale likely.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well, we do know of a Wiccan or two." Nick muses, looking over to Sinister and then Lucifer. A Wiccan who coincidentally enough is the one he ended up stuck in the past briefly with.

The musician takes this moment to take a spoonful of his stew, quieting as he focuses on the savory taste.

Oh yeah.

He's going to sleep soundly tonight.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister eats quickly, it's something that has come about from an age of being forced to do it, when research was calling. That's partially why he did away with the need to eat. BUT! This is indulgence and old habits die hard. It is neat though and he's hardly a glutton, the tablemanners of cutlery comportment are exquisite. "We need to make sure that X-force are on the same page," he comments between bites, to Lucifer.

A look is given to Nick as he realizes that this is a new one. "I'm the patron of an X-man team. There is an irony there."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer is often amused by how Nathaniel eats when there is a point to be made or had. Like he has to fuel himself but as quickly as possible. Stiull, he says nothing, because at least Nathaniel eats clean even if he's eating fast. Lucifer takes his time a bit, going between eating the soup with a spoon or dunking some buttered Irish sodabread into the soup. Either way, he's done with his meal before he knows it.

"Which Wiccans do you know? I was thinking of a Miss Willow. A young wiccan we've encountered a few times from Sunnydale." He offers this much while finishing up his food.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods as Lucifer mentions Willow. "First thought." He admits upon finishing his spoonful of stew. Sinister may be a fast eater but it doesn't quite pressure Nick into speeding up any more. Eating quick meals on the go is done enough as is.

The explanation to his patronage of an X-man team doesn't explain that much. Especially when he considers his less than pleasant interaction with a certain visually (Challenged? Gifted?)...altered person. After HELPING them no less. "...How'd you manage that? The guy with the glasses is a bit of a snobbish dick when it comes to non-mutants."

Sinister has posed:
"Oh, did you have a run in with Scott Summers that ended up with him being a twazzock at you? Now there's a surprise. He's supremely good at it. I think I should've been more determined to keep him when he was a kid. I sort of lost control there and he has -no- manners as a result," Sinister murmurs, mopping with a slice of sausage. That sounds ridiculous, but with bangers and mash, it works. As long as there's a bit of mash left that is.

"I've heard a few little twitters on the street when I've been doing my rounds, about a wizard, too. But Willow is definitely on my top choice list."

Pause. "How many lists do we have?"

Another pause. "Well, I have a reputation and infamy in mutant circles. I have not been altogether kind to them all in the past. But because they know me, one of them actually had the balls to approach me. I am quite fond of her too, so. There's that. She is part of why we're doubling down on the Apophis stones, because it seems that they're connected to a prophetic vision of madness. Confirmed by the by, there was an incident with the entity and Lucifer and ... I am actually incredibly proud of my dearling, he was all 'nope' at the entity."

Lucifer has posed:
"So we'll put some feelers out... see who bites. I bet I could even have a special night at Lux and see who all comes..." Lucifer says this much with a chuckle. Though with food all almost done and their conversation pretty much finding an ending point, he settles back and finishes off his old fashioned. "Well... I think we have a nice to-do list either way... "

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, "It was back when some group was forcefully shooting the cure into people in Mutant town. I didn't take kindly to it so helped out. He was perfectly fine with me until he realized my powers weren't from being a mutant."

Wait.

What?

"Keep him? Like adoption?"

The mention of a Wizard draws Nick's attention away from some potentially awkward discussion. "Oh! Harry Dresden. I've actually seen him more recently than Willow. He likes to go to McAnally's Pub. Great sandwiches and ale there. He might be a bit easier to get a hold of. I think Willow's kind of busy."

Sinister has posed:
"Harry Dresden. Well, now we've got a name, Luci." Sinister grins at that and gives a little two-fingers-to-the-temple salute to Nick for the information. "McAnally's... I feel after actual Ireland, that's going to be a let-down." He looks to the devil.

"Yes, feelers," he reaches out to Lucifer's hand again, to squeeze the fingers, looking at his own hand with it as he does so, then up to the devil's face with a smile.

And back to Nick. "I took Scott Summers and his brother in, set them up in an orphanage when their parents died in a plane crash. It didn't go according to plan. But that's between myself and him, though I feel like I ought to... have words so to speak. Anyway. Shall we dessert? I think sticky toffee pudding was on the menu..."

Dismissing anything else that might come, there is a determination to pudding.