abraxaslogs | I don't trust, but I see right in front of me

Through some unfortunate circumstances that he's unlikely to discuss, primarily claiming "magical accident", Lucifer is... gardening.

It's not a sentence that he likes to hear in his head, but it does come with a snide, upturned nose to his Father Dearest, because really... it's not that hard! But for the most part Lucifer can be found at different parts of the castle's gardens, trimming and weeding the flowers.

He's generally oddly engrossed in it.

If you have even more unfortunately luck you have occasionally caught him, aggrieved, teeth-grit, some effort put into it... reading to children in the library on the weekends (except Nocwich's). Hopefully you caught Istredd doing it instead.

[The new populace making use of the public library likely hasn't dwindled as much as he would like, but Lucifer's returned to his usual perch up on a beam near an impossible-to-reach selving of books within Istredd's domain.

Lucifer's ravens occasionally bother him and might make a swoop down to those Lucifer is familiar with, but otherwise he's simply reading peacefully from a stack of books, avoiding social contact unless someone forces his hand.]

[Despite a few disastrous moments in the Hunting Grounds the first time Lucifer was able to participate in them, they have since been his preferred space.

He can be found hunting solo with a spear through the woods, or perhaps if others from Thorne are present, he's willing to pair up and hunt or use it as a teaching opportunity.]

"Got our permission slip from the teacher," Lucifer says from the doorway.

There is no permission slip and there is no teacher, but they've got the okay/acknowledgement for their trip. For someone that prefers to operate from the shadows, he makes it a point to be open with Thorne about his comings-and-goings. It gives him a springboard for when he might have to change that.

And anyway, he's awfully certain Thorne just tracks them with spells. Why give them a reason to catch him in a lie?

"You finish up with your upgraded enchantments so we can go?"

Edited 2023-05-06 21:20 (UTC)

It's not often that Lucifer uses his domain as a meeting space. Usually he can get away with Istredd's, but for that he has to be willing to... mmm... be open to Istredd potentially hearing certain things and, well. It's not in the best practice to keep his movements quiet from his partner, but just as he's unwilling to say any single damn thing about the truth of Jack Kline, some things are better to plead ignorant about.

Their minds are stronger as a unit but Lucifer expects that there will always be someone with more power that can pry apart their mental protections like tissue paper.

Putting even light thoughts of treason into Istredd's grasp was a bad idea.

Or maybe Lucifer just didn't want to.

Eh.

He's said his part on Thorne and that he needs changes. If it comes up, this shouldn't be a surprise. And anyway, he's just shooting out bad, likely nonsense, ideas. General bullshit.

Regardless these are the two people he'd like to talk to for this--or at least touch base with in general--and he's asked them both to come, waiting dipped down into a carved out room of the glowworm cave, wards hidden in the darkness, but if either of them have any sensitivities to magic, they could feel their hum. They'd have been led by a movie-sized anaconda to the space.

He's added some torchlight, but it is still quite dark despite the eerie blue bioluminescence.

"Istredd and I took a trip recently to Nott," he says, getting straight into it. "I had some loose ends to take care of, offering aid to a family that got, ah, caught up in our search for information." They may've heard about the Sea Creature on the Lake Incident. He spreads his palms, being honest about it, as he has no reason to hide, "I just wanted a potential 'in' with someone in Nott if and when things go pear-shaped for us here."

He claps his hands together and glances to Thancred. "I don't know if you've been in communication with Lyle recently, and if he shares the general opinion of the populace, but Nott? They've grown in their discomfort of the Castle and anyone associated with it." Meaning the Summoned. "That in digging around," he doesn't think just himself, he knows others had gone to Nott, "we've brought trouble into Nott once again."

Edited 2023-05-06 22:00 (UTC)

Sabine happens to be out in the garden herself. Reading, not gardening. Her appreciation for new books has her devouring at a quick pace the books Jack already had in his room on top of books she picked up in Nocwich and Hale. There's a hell of a lot of backlog in being denied any new books for six years.

The garden isn't the bower of The Rift's raged, ravenous gaping maw of a forest—that self-same where she ran barefoot through, and she and Jack built their treehouse in—but it's better than nothing. There are trees and flowers; an abundance of green, even soft burbling water feature is not too far off. It's not everything, but it, too, is more than she's gotten in those years (and more than she'd supposed she might ever get again before waking up in that fountain).

There's sunshine on her face and a book in her hands,
it could be so, so, so much worse.

Kahlil likes to nap in the gardens now that it's warmer out again, usually up in a particular tree and with his face turned toward the sunlight through the leaves. It's in a less traveled part of the gardens, in need of some TLC - which is probably which leads Lucifer to it.

He watches with curiosity from his perch for a little while, deciding not to spoil the peace and quiet by asking why. Eventually, he leaves just as silently.

You would think that after everything they had gone through, that the Summoned would be less inclined to wander out into dark woods that they were unfamiliar with, alone. And yet there Hilda is doing just that. And man, is she regretting it.

Her initial plan hadn’t actually been to wander this far into the woods. When the friendly herbalist in the square had told her that the pretty, fresh versions of the dried flowers she admired could easily be harvested at the start of the hunting grounds, Hilda thought it wouldn’t be more than several minutes of walking tops. She’d collect what she needed and be back in time for tea. Unfortunately, that’s wishful thinking.

“Was it a second right or the third left?” She hefts the spear across her shoulders with a whine and tugs her goggles atop her head. “Ugh, I should have just bought them it would have been easier.” Unfortunately all of her whining and less-than-delicate steps through the forest means the last thing she’s listening for are other creatures. Or say, someone else out hunting.

"I'm assuming that is a common phrase in your sphere." At this point Istredd can always tell when something has to be a colloquialism as it makes little sense to him, but also doesn't make sense for Lucifer either. As if he would wait for a permission slip from anyone let alone a teacher, in the rare time he was out of the Cage.

Istredd is doing his level best to seem absolutely calm externally, but he is still inwardly battling his fear of leaving the castle. He has come a long way since returning, less afraid of every shadow, going into town (with company), and the nightmares were mostly spared due to his sleeping arrangement. Hayle he made certain someone was with him at almost all times.

And Lucifer will be with him during all of this. He just needs ... to let go. Istredd has a bag with the log in it, the higher level enchantments having settled into place, and also storing the money they pieced together. He kisses Lucifer on the cheek in the doorway before passing by him.

"This may go poorly, you realize."

The whining that catches up to him reminds him distinctly of the whining on the mountains about the cold that he actively peeled away from. Shadowing Kyle in the Search party group was the smartest decision he could have made, despite the turn it made.

Hey, they came out of it actually finding people.

He thought maybe this chick would've been an icicle left on the mountain, but evidently she's continued taking breaths.

His typical prey during these open hunting times are the feline-like Gealaci Kucing. Their quick movements have kept his fighting style up to snuff and remind him to keep his eyes on the trees instead of what's right in front of him.

But Lucifer is a quiet stalker, and her presence alone is going to draw ill towards him, knowing full well that there was a nearby Fisceime herd. Still far enough out last he knew; he couldn't hear any of their eerie crying-calls to one another.

If you kill another Summoned in the woods what's the likelihood you get in trouble? What's the likelihood anyone finds your body? Ehhhh. He imagines the werewolves tally who goes in and maybe pays attention who doesn't come out.

"Do you ever stop talking?" he hisses, low, from where his back is pressed up against treebark. Likely being a surprise that he's there at all.

Maybe it's unwise to call the kid here so soon after Dean Winchester stalking about in all his sickening demon bullshit, but, well, maybe because of it being recent enough it should be... fine. Dean's not stupid enough to come back to soon.

... Probably.

It's the Horizon, anyway. Dean can kill him either one of them but they'll just wake up. The emotional trauma for Jack is the real problem and honestly Lucifer can derail that by literally just being himself.

Not that he needs to protect the kid. Not that he has any real will to protect the kid. It's not his problem. He's doing the bare minimum by not spreading the truth of Jack's parentage. Easy.

(It's not easy.)

Either way, he does send Jack a message like he said he would once he's rested enough. That took a bit longer.

Lucifer is sitting on the beach of the aforementioned red lake, but instead of being cross-legged in the sand there is an odd chunk of snow out-of-place in the middle. He's sketched lines and weaves around him that have no meaning, no harm for when Jack arrives.

Just Lucifer, oddly focused and hard at some kind of unseen 'work.'

"I donno," he says. "It's--" He waves his hands. It's just a thing, cobbled together in his weird Earth Knowledge box that honestly is likely filled with more razors than value, but then, that's how he feels about (Earth's) humanity, so.

Sometimes he does throw these things out towards Istredd just for the fun of it so he can't really be surprised when Istredd questions it and then he doesn't have a real answer.

The kiss does nothing to alleviate Lucifer's dullest look to Istredd. "'This may go poorly' may as well be my catchphrase, Istredd," he groans, but he peels on out of the room, matching Istredd's steps and heading off towards where Nott's portal is stashed.

He's still not sold himself about bringing Istredd to Nott of all places, so close to the trading route that in theory the Summoned were brought to after they'd been knocked out. Nott, for it's... riffraff, honestly. But they can handle a scuffle. General thugs. Honestly, Lucifer despises Nott, but it's the only port in their storm.

He needs to know more about Hayle before that becomes any option. Borrel sure has nice weather for his cold-hearted existence, but he does not need to deal with Thorne's military stooges.

"I didn't ask," he starts, with a bit realization there that he should have before now, "have you been to Nott, ever?" Lucifer really only went with Kyle before the kidnapped Summoned to kill some undead, but that didn't exactly seem up Istredd's alley.

The amount of books that the Thorne Summoned all naturally consume when they're first brought in is exceptional, really. That natural pull to find some semblance of knowledge in the books, like their eyes are the particular ones to read just barely, correctly, between the lines in order to gleam something of value.

Lucifer had defaulted to the fairytales--his closest equivalent to the Bible--in hopes that some inane creation story had been between those lines.

He was sorely disappointed, but he never told Yennefer that she was right.

He never told Yennefer a lot of things and really, he maybe should.

It's... fine. If he doesn't.

Most anyone that's been residing in the gardens have been a backdrop of scenery to Lucifer. Something to not care about.

He does, however, notice her. Whatever... she's supposed to be. Approximation. Human-shaped.

But... not. Off enough that she chimes somewhere, still, in his dulled senses.

He's worked in silence for quite awhile as she reads. Doesn't acknowledge her. Moves about the area with a careful, building precision. He doesn't want it to take so much of his focus, but he falls into the act of gardening far-too easily. There's a joke here, somewhere.

She's still just... corner of his eye abnormality. Something he tries not to notice, but there.

It is, eventually, that he asks--not trying for rude, but there's no other way that the question could be interpreted--"What are you, anyway?"

"Mostly because the family will be emotional no doubt, and you're not particularly good at that. Just try to be repentant."

He doubts they will attack him or anything, it wouldn't seem very smart although who knows what state they're in. But their loved one did die fairly horribly. Istredd is only slightly better with emotions. He's getting better at them, becoming a more empathic person by the day, which is why he sees his place here as the more emotive of the two.

Lucifer asked him to come in the first place because he didn't want him out of his sight, and Istredd felt the same way. Neither of them is past their fears of separation and violence. He knows it's good for him, that he should get out, that he should see more of Thorne. Nott isn't safe though, he knows that about it. Thugs they can handle.

"Yes, technically, after they were attacked as retaliation for the attack on Free Cities. Urianger and Thancred came with me. We didn't explore any of Nott outside of those locations though." So it was barely a visit. They teleported them directly to the places that needed help and they handled it. It didn't give him a real view of it.

"I know its reputation." High crime. High dislike of the throne.

It's definitely a surprise. A startled noise along with Hilda's heart jumps out of her chest, whirling the spear (pointy end out) towards the source of the noise. Kind of pointless really when you can't see in the dark. Belatedly she realizes that her goggles are on top of her head where they aren't doing the job they're meant to be doing.

With a huff she shoves them back over her eyes and is greeted with a snarly looking man that she thinks she recognizes from the Search team. The time back then had been a blur; faces that weren't ones she was familiar with melded into on another as her brain tried to hyper focus on finding the ones that she did know. She quickly comes to the conclusion that she'd rather be faced with a grumpy man than a creature.

The spear is quickly withdrawn again but the same can't be said about the amount of sass in her expression. Unfortunately for him, the comment doesn't deter her and she does the complete opposite of what she's sure is a rhetorical question. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's kind of rude to be hiding behind a tree and listening to people instead of offering to help them when they're clearly lost?"

The request for a meeting from Lucifer is not precisely unexpected. In the aftermath of all that happened with Josselyn Creed and her cult, there are still so many threads to pull on. Thancred hasn't immediately thrown himself back into it, at first focused on Urianger's recovery and then the execution and the gala. But it feels like it's about time to refocus on his original goals within Thorne, and when Lucifer reaches out and asks to meet in his domain (not Istredd's), he's intrigued.

When he arrives at Lucifer's domain, Natasha is not far behind him. It seems they were sent the same invitation. The anaconda finds them not long after that, but as soon as it's clear that it means no harm, Thancred follows after it. This would not be the first time that some massive creature has acted as a guide for him. (The turtle being the most recent example.)

The cave is a sight to behold, and Thancred has to admit he wasn't expecting anything like this from Lucifer's domain. The man has such a dreary, cynical way about him. He doesn't sense any of the warding given his shortcomings when it comes to any magical aptitude.

He nods to Lucifer in greeting when they arrive, who unsurprisingly launches right into why he called them here.

"Rhy and I spoke with Lord Vela shortly after the abductions began and petitioned him and Nott as a whole for any aid in the investigation, as well as rendering care to our recovered companions. He agreed to that. He did not seem to hold any disdain for us at that point."

Still, even if it's only the general populace, Thancred's intention has always been to make friends with Nott, not enemies. He frowns, leaning himself up against one of the cavern walls as he crosses his arms over his chest. "And I assume you learned of this sentiment from the family in question?"

It's a good question. Right up there with Jack's first.
The one he hadn't meant and still flat-footed her.

Lucifer means his.

She knows that.

It'd probably been building since Jack's outburst and the first time they saw each other. When it was clear what they saw and what Jack saw were two different things. A situation that wasn't strictly speaking 'new' on her part at all, but Lucifer was an unknown. And she hadn't heard the best things about him so far. And it's tangled up in what Jack doesn't know any longer.

"Busy with a civil war." An answer without looking up from her book.

A feat that would have been spectacularly familiar behind the gas station counter.
Well. Six years and some change and a coma ago, it would have been.
Sometimes you don't atrophy your best skills, it seems.

Being led to greet the devil by a giant serpent has a whole host of irreverent jokes on the tip of Natasha's tongue when they finally reach where Lucifer is waiting for them. Although she's momentarily distracted by their surroundings. She's never been here in real life - vacationing is not something she's good at, even if this is somewhere she'd have loved to see at some point - but just the fact that it's somewhere she recognizes from home is momentarily distracting as her eyes drink in the sight.

She doesn't have long to marvel at it, though. Not when Lucifer's words bring both of them immediately to the problem at hand and she frowns slightly as she mulls that over. She's the newest of them here now, and is still grasping all the nuances of the politics between Thorne and Nott. Nott, especially.

She catches that slight evasion and wonders what Lucifer had done to the family who needed aid. Especially since he sounds faintly remorseful over it? Which is impressive, considering she'd witnessed his interrogations techniques and how he had not an ounce of regret after that. Not that he'd really needed any. He'd skirted that line excellently in her opinion. Although she doubted Sam or Steve would agree with her.

"I was aware of their opinions regarding those in the Castle, but I was under the impression that they lumped us into a category of our own. Not strictly aligned or involved with those in the Castle themselves. Has that changed?"

"I can fake it when the cost-benefit analysis weighs in my favor," he argues. Which is to say that most of the time it doesn't. He puts a hand to Istredd's shoulder to stop him, looking for a moment genuinely mournful as he says, "'I'm very sorry for your loss. It was never our intention for there to be any casualties. Your husband was doing us a service and he paid the ultimate cost.'" And then he breaks away with a scrunched up, annoyed expression, like the words themselves left him with a bad taste.

It's real nice that false sympathy isn't typically worth it these days, here. What a bore.

"'Technically.' You could've just said no. It's okay just to say no." He's purposefully giving him a hard time as though it might be distraction enough for their venture.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending who you ask, he can see in the dark, so this display just continually bothers him.

"Did anyone ever tell you to not get lost in the first place?" he fires back, clearly having no trouble continuing to be rude. "I mean, come on, natural selection and all that." He'd likely be doing someone a favor just letting her get gulped up by some monster. The hair alone might make her a target, after her voice.

Istredd makes the exact same scrunched up face in response to that, like it also left a bad taste for him. "I'll give you this, it was very convincing. But those are the best lies, aren't they? Mixed with the truth." It's true that they didn't intend any casualties. The fisherman was doing them a service and paid the cost. The words are all correct. Istredd's never been good at lying so at least one of them is.

"The answer is technically yes." He is purposely being difficult right back at him because bickering is something they do well, and he could really use the distraction. Istredd knows it is illogical for him to be so nervous about this. He has all of his magic back. Lucifer is with him. Even if they get in trouble with bandits or criminals, the two of them are more than formidable enough for that situation.

So why does he feel like his heart is beating too fast? It is deeply frustrating and he's getting annoyed more at himself than anything else now. With anyone else, they'd have no idea how he feels, because Istredd appears as calm and composed as ever. "I suppose we should take a very good look at everything while we're there." Meaning, in case they ever have to flee there.

Today it's two of them, technically. Kahlil in the tree and the long-haired mouser on the nearby stone wall. He's learned not to believe her lies, and so they exist out here in this secluded spot in a fragile harmony. He's only alerted to Lucifer's approach when he hears the rustle of leaves, and notices that she's left her napping perch.

"Only Lyle, right? You haven't been in touch with any of the other Lords there?" It would just figure if the Lords didn't care about... much anything. Public opinion, the Summoned. They're all in agreement when it comes to the Thorne Royals though. But he does have to wonder if the others have a different viewpoint that simply isn't being properly expressed.

It's a government.

Lucifer has zero faith in it having any functionality.

"The family directly, yes. But even just walking throughout both Old and New Nott it had the same feel. It has changed," he says this to Natasha.

He leans back and folds his arms. "I've been wondering if there's not a way we can aid in breaking them completely from Thorne's hold," he says. "It's what they so desperately seem to want, mm?"

The best lies are the truth, he corrects. Omission, obfuscation. Not telling someone everything, telling them the truth--but specifically the parts they'd want to hear, or give them something to obscure what you're really trying to hide. He said a shortened version to Wilhelm about this at one point. His Speedrun, Ted Talk on How to Lie.

He still basically told the kid to throw him under the bus as the Worst Case Scenario and he's still shocked it didn't happen. Instead Wilhelm got put in timeout when they did finally pull him in.

(See. Just like Lucifer.)

But Lucifer didn't try to use magic (untrained) on Thorne guards.

So. Y'know.

"I'll give you the sightseeing tour," he agrees. The best spots to duck away. "The sea creature should be dead now at least. That thing was wild, and that says a lot coming from me." God was more one the 'lots of teeth' side for the Leviathans, not strange insectoid-octopus like monstrosity.

"You know that's not what I was asking," he replies sharply. Lucky you, he actually for five seconds decided you might have some intelligence kicking around in there.

"And unless you mean some civil war going on here," which frankly would do the Thorne territories a lot of 'good', "whatever wars you've got going on are gonna just tick on without you." She good be dead in her future, like Lucifer. Like maybe all of existence.

"I won't tell your," pet, he barely doesn't say, "little loverboy if that's what you're so worried about." Come on, what's the big deal. So what if he has a bad rep. If Jack's your only source of info, of course he's gonna have a bad rep. Eugh. People. Entities, whatever. They all (mostly) suck.

I don't trust, but I see right in front of me

OTA / Thorne

OTA / The Horizon

OTA / Nocwich / Hunting Grounds

Istredd / Nott / first week of May

Natasha + Thancred / The Horizon / second week of May

ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ'ᴅ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ

driveby in the gardens

hunting grounds

no subject

no subject

Jack Kline / The Horizon

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

driveby in the gardens... day 2

no subject

no subject

no subject