abraxaslogs | Set my sights on the setting sun

"The casket is enough of a reason. Even if you solely put weigh on allowing you to go because of that casket, no other purpose." Give the mage what he wants and they'll get what they want.

He watches Istredd fold into himself which given the size of their room and their both equally tall heights there's just something very amusing about it, but he's not laughing at Istredd now as he had on the dance floor.

"It's Geralt," he says simply, "I'd say that comes with the territory." In his experience, anyway. "Stupid and petty or otherwise."

As long as they're both aware that it is stupid and petty. Istredd hates when he has feelings about things that are unimportant, even if technically to him, they are important, otherwise he wouldn't be upset about them. It's frustrating and it used to be a lot easier for him to internalize everything and swallow it all down. Not so easy now.

"Jaskier asked why they hadn't told him about me, and Geralt said, and I quote, 'I tend to forget about the mage when he's out of sight.'" To someone who knows Istredd, it should not be a surprise that he'd be set off by being referred to as insignificant. Annoyance flares through him and he stands up. Now it's Lucifer's turn to have someone pace as they rant.

"He showed up back home asking for my help and I dropped everything for a stranger, and when he asks for my expertise or ideas here, I give them. And then!" He throws up his hands. "In the Pit we saved each other's life, I stopped him from killing someone while sick, I helped everyone escape." So they were supposed to have bonded through that, in his opinion! "We've talked since, I thought in an almost ally-adjacent way." He isn't going to say friendly! Ever! "But apparently I'm not memorable to Mr. I Communicate In A Series of Grunts But Somehow Everyone Loves Me."

Yes, Istredd can go on petty rants too. Surprise surprise. "In front of a new person too!" That's part of it too. He and Jaskier were unexpectedly thrown together and he finds the bard interesting, but that indifference gnaws at him.

Edited 2023-07-13 21:58 (UTC)

Wow.

Okay.

Geralt really did piss him off.

But then, this isn't entirely petty.

"To be fair I think it's less an insult to you and more that he doesn't have the brain power to process someone literally not in constant eyesight," he says blandly. So, an insult for Geralt, but genuinely it wouldn't surprise Lucifer if it was accurate.

He is not going to comment on the 'Mr. I Communicate In A Series of Grunts But Somehow Everyone Loves Me' as tempting as it is.

"He's much smarter than he looks. Yennefer doesn't get involved with stupid people." She might have sex with someone hot but stupid, but she wouldn't stay with them. Istredd waves a hand, he doesn't want it to get confused. "This isn't about her, I'm just saying, he is no fool." Not everything is about Yennefer, it's more because he knows Lucifer respects Yennefer's opinion.

He also just revealed more or less the two of them are a thing, not only from the same world. Oh well.

"But it's also bullshit because why does he sometimes seek me out if he doesn't remember I exist? I said fuck you and then he kept talking like nothing happened." Could it have been teasing? Probably not. He doesn't think so. Well Geralt did say we're not there yet. Ugh. Istredd feels like early days at Ban Ard. And those were the worst of the days.

"What a prick." That is muttered mostly to himself and he sits again, a firm thunk down. Several swears in a row.

"--Wait, hang on, I'm sorry, him and Yennefer?"

He is truly apologetic but he just needs that clarification because he didn't even get the potential memo that this could've been a jealousy thing. He gets that it isn't but he needs to catch up.

"And you answered your own question. He's just a prick."

"Yes, in the past, I don't know about now. They're allies at the least." Istredd glances up with a sharp look, warning. "Don't use that against them. He may be a prick but he's important."

And maybe that's what it is coming down to yet again. Istredd seeing someone else as important and not himself. But Geralt is, undeniably, important. He is Ciri's father, and she is the most important person in their entire sphere. He is bonded to her by Destiny, which makes them special. That is just something he is not going to get into.

It's also obvious that Istredd wouldn't like using anything against Yennefer. He can't take back that Lucifer now knows, but he will warn him all the same.

"I don't like being dismissed, that's all." Rage button.

Edited (too many at leasts) 2023-07-13 23:51 (UTC)

Wild.

"I don't particularly like getting on Yennefer's bad side--" So he won't use it exactly against them, however--"I could stick my arm through his chest again for you." Paaaaaause. "In the Horizon. Of course."

But seriously. If he ever actually pisses Yennefer she could easily just turn the Queen his way.

He does not need that, ever.

"No, then he might think I care, which I don't." Yes, Istredd understands how ridiculous and untrue that sounds considering his rant but he's going to stubbornly stick to it no matter what. It's not exactly that he cares only about Geralt's opinion, but maybe his occasionally growing pride is easily taken the wind out of.

He sighs and gets up to start taking off the costume. His is actually very comfortable, all things considered, but the shirt part at least can come off, and he can remove the illusions so it's simple black again.

"He also might have flirted with me? I don't know. I don't understand how they all talk to each other, it's very strange." It's the kind of easy and warm and fun way friends who all love and feel comfortable with do. Not really his way of doing things. He only talks like that with Lucifer.

Which he doesn't care. Clearly. Super obvious not caring.

That wasn't a 'no, don't murder people in the Horizon, Lucifer' that was a 'no, don't murder people in the Horizon because they might think I care, Lucifer.'

Eyyyyy.

That's likely what happens when Istredd realizes he's just stuck with someone who is 1) prone to murder 2) likes murder.

(Or: Istredd is too much in his own head to realize.)

But Lucifer's hardly going to draw attention to it.

"Oh, he flirted with you," he drawls, a touch amused, "you should've led with that, there's all your answers. Maybe the real answer is he's playing hard to get." He waggles his brows. "Being an adamantly difficult d-bag," which must explain the purely dismissive behavior, "because he's jealous of Yennefer having you."

Istredd is absolutely too much in his own head right then to realize, but that's because he has already told Lucifer to stop murdering, so he assumes his general 'don't murder' would still apply. Although if it's in the Horizon, he can just roll his eyes and hit Lucifer on the nose with a rolled up newspaper like a bad dog.

Istredd scrunches up his nose at the very idea. Blasphemy! "That is ridiculous and very untrue." After a beat, he smiles though because it is funny as a concept and the waggling eyebrows are obnoxiously charming, as per usual. He knows for a fact it's silly but he can tell Lucifer's trying to get him to laugh, which is cute on its own.

He steps over to Lucifer and puts his hands on his hips, blue eyes getting some of that clearness to them again, less frazzled. "Once you win the ultimate game of hard to get, everyone else is really too easy." Now it's his turn to waggle his eyebrows at Lucifer, the obvious ultimate in question.

Edited 2023-07-14 01:03 (UTC)

No it does not always automatically apply. It's also more like. A guideline. To him.

And now wholly important. Generally speaking.

Honestly, it's likely good they don't live in Free Cities because Lucifer would just become a mercenary just so he can leave the city and kill people on a regular basis. Come on, Thorne. Let him out so he can kill people ~~in their name~~!

Ah there's that clarity. Good.

"Hey, I'm not saying win Geralt," don't play to win that one he said he'd share with Yennefer (and the Singularity) not Geralt, "I'm just saying mentally screw with his head a bit as punishment for casting you aside and making you feel like dirt."

:)

You know!! Simple things!! Perfectly normal things.

Istredd is not someone who is prudish about killing people. If he has to, he is confident he will, it's not about that. Like he said, it's mostly about enjoying it. He doesn't want to be like Stregobor or the other mages who stopped caring about anyone other than themselves. He knows he's involved with someone who has no such hesitations. And he'll keep reining him in where he can, to keep trouble from happening.

"My love, I assure you, Geralt truly does not give a shit about me, and he does not want me. Although your confidence that I would be capable of winning him over is very sweet." He kisses the top of Lucifer's head and starts to set up their bed on the floor, leaving most of his clothes on, outside of his shirt. He runs warm as usual.

"It rubbed me the wrong way, but I'm not going to waste more energy on it than I have to." Istredd sighs. "And he did step in to help with the Nero situation."

Edited 2023-07-14 01:55 (UTC)

What if he flirts with Geralt to screw with him on Istredd's behalf then, huh.

God the amount of effort that would take, no thanks.

"He's stupid not to give a shit about you," he huffs. Which is maybe one of the nicest things Lucifer's ever actually said to or about Istredd.

It doesn't make him less right!

He should get out of his moth layers, not just the mask. It will not be comfortable to sleep against and he does like this outfit more than any of his others, though when the heck he'd ever wear it again is a mystery. He could take up a vigilante role, costumed and all.

Also too much effort.

It's going to take years off his life getting out of this so he does slowly get started, revealing a layer of black fabric under all the parts and pieces.

"Yeah I don't think he stepped in for either of us," Lucifer points out.

"You have to say that because you regrettably fell for me and can't turn it off now. Poor thing." Istredd thinks that is a very nice thing for him to say, but Lucifer is also generally a show not tell person. He is saying nice things to Istredd all the time with his feelings and actions. The fact he doesn't often open his mouth to form the thoughts doesn't matter.

"He didn't do it for Nero either." Well, maybe a little for Nero, but mostly in a general way. "He knew just as I did that having the two of you play who is the more dangerous person in the middle of a party was going to be a disaster. As fun as it may have been for you both."

And Istredd does think they probably would have ended up having fun. Two destructive super powerful people letting loose? They may even have ended up friends if they both survived the encounter. The rest of the people there though, that would have been the problem.

Istredd manages to make a nice little nest of pillows and blankets, the only way for the two of them to enjoy sleeping here, and strips off the rest of his costume to put it on top of one of the beds. He might use it again some day too, now that he figured out how to do the illusion the right way. Lucifer's seen him naked plenty by now so it's not a concern.

"And then they definitely would not invite us back. Which would be a problem as this might be a great place to hide out some day."

"Trust me, I absolutely don't have to say that."

Geralt may be smarter than he looks but now Lucifer thinks Istredd is giving him too much credit. No, he's pretty sure Geralt did it for Nero. Something something white-haired men stick together. Or whatever.

Istredd has a nice nest and Lucifer is literally tossing bug exoskeleton pieces into that bed and Istredd's space.

"They've been underground for thousands of years with just each other," Lucifer says, "they would've invited us back even if we blew a crater in the middle of their party, just with different precautions."

And as Lucifer tosses his pieces, Istredd picks them up out of their makeshift bed and puts it on the bed. He is even nicely stacking it in a very easy to pick up way, organizing both their costumes next to each other. He is neat that way. It's a credit to how long they've been sharing a space together that he isn't even thinking about it, he just automatically starts doing it.

"Maybe." Istredd concedes. "We still know too little about them to make a decision, but is there anything jumping out to you as an absolute not about the place?" Nocwich has an absolute not, it's a good question to start with. They still have to build relationships and what have you here, but it does seem like the potential best spot to hide from Thorne.

With the understanding that this would be a choice by the Fey. The Summoned aren't going to force their hand, at least not Istredd himself.

Istredd's far-too accustomed at cleaning up Lucifer's messes, purposefully made or otherwise, that it likely should be a sign of... something. An omen to come, maybe.

"The trades they were making," he says. "Currency that none of the other locals were using or bits only the person themselves could give. Some of it wasn't weird but I caught one vendor trying to get hair from Rhy for a piece of jewelry."

It's entirely possible that it didn't mean anything, but...

I don't like willfully giving over something someone could use as tracking spell components.

It's voluntary. Istredd would swear up and down that when they snuggle down on this makeshift bed together, he'd do just about anything in exchange. Besides, he truly doesn't think of this fight as a Lucifer mess. Nero is who overreacted. Most people can hear something vaguely insulting and move on with their life.

"It was definitely all a test of some kind. I didn't give them anything physical of mine." Istredd is far too used to potions and magic to do that. He is suspicious as soon as those requests are made. He doesn't blame them though. They were clearly in research mode, trying to understand these strangers they allowed in their midst. He suspects all of their reasoning is solid, but it means they're currently the specimens.

Did you visit the tree? Something about it ... reminded me of the Singularity.

With all the leg and arm pieces off it makes detaching the entire chest piece that much easier and that thumps next in Istredd's near vicinity.

It reminded me of Heaven and I hated it. So maybe it's best he doesn't visit the Singularity. Anakin's presence made it tolerable. He likely would've immediately left had it been just about anyone else there, Istredd included.

"They don't practice the arcana as literally everyone else in Abraxas seem to--which isn't off-putting so much as why were we pulled into this world and stuffed into an arcana box." He's gotten better at sucking it up and dealing with the Devil slapped to him immediately upon arrival but turns out there's other options!

Istredd picks up the chest piece and neatly puts it down with the others. Without thinking about it he has even organized it in a way that if for some reason Lucifer wanted to put it all back on, it would be in the order that would be optimal to do that in. It's how his brain works.

Heaven's like that? Istredd doesn't actually know much about Heaven outside of what he's been vaguely told and read. I can't put my finger on it, outside of thinking it may be connected. Which makes sense, the Singularity is connected to everything. Some areas maybe more than others. Maybe it feels to him the way he imagines it feels for Rhy and Sabine and whoever can communicate with the Singularity. Something he longs for but can't make happen.

"No idea, I would say it might be because they're not human, but neither are the vampires and werewolves.." Istredd is used to carrying the High Priestess sign everywhere he goes. It doesn't have connotations for him like it does for Lucifer. "Maybe we'll get an answer some day, if we get closer to them."

A gnawing, get-inside you, forced relaxation and yet extraneous all the same.

Don't uh. Use Lucifer's viewpoint to understand Heaven. Don't use Michael's, either. Castiel might be just the right level of 'just right.' Not completely tainted and still wanting to go home.

Lucifer's view is completely tainted (but he still wants to go home).

"Wouldn't it be nice if we had more answers than questions for once," he says. He waves a hand at Istredd. "You can find new things to ask about but getting some of our big ol' honking pile down would be a real treat."

I'm glad Anakin was there to make it less bad then.

Istredd is not extremely interested in heaven just like he isn't extremely interested in hell either. Curious the same way he is for other spheres or for other locations in Abraxas, but he does find the snippets he gets from Lucifer fascinating. The afterlife isn't something he's given great thought to. Too absorbed in the past, his books, and the possibilities.

"We're going to have to be here longer than a year before we can hope for that. Two years now for some of them, and still no answers." Although for the two of them, what is a few years? Lucifer with his billions, and Istredd with his eventual centuries.

Istredd waits until he has every piece of Lucifer's costume so he can keep it in one place and then he fusses with the bed to make certain Lucifer has the maximum amount of blankets for his comfort. Only when that seems acceptable does he lie down.

"If we're looking at the potential rest of our lives here, that really is reasonable."

What the angels and demons perceive of Heaven and Hell is far unlike the actuality of the afterlife of humans.

Best that way.

Lucifer wouldn't like Heaven's afterlife. Trapped in memory, regardless of it being his best memories, is still being trapped.

"Maybe they haven't been asking the right questions," Lucifer says.

Lucky for Istredd the last bit of costuming comes free and that's the only piece he hands over instead of tosses, as it's the back with the slightly-more fragile wings. Istredd can read too much into that if he likes but Lucifer simply doesn't want them damaged.

"And I want all the questions if hiding away to here is at all a possibility."

He does leave his seat to thump down carefully besides Istredd, on his stomach--careful because this is only a workshopped bed. He does not want to test Istredd's craftsmanship.

"Maybe," he allows, "there aren't many. And one of them is Geralt." Who they know by now is not always helpful. He is very careful with all of his costume but he can tell the wings are of importance. The reason why is obvious. The thing about Lucifer is that Istredd has always known he's not human. It didn't require him to read his mind. There is an otherworldly energy to him, a quiet power. It's always been about the details.

He makes room for when Lucifer joins him and cuddles up next to his side, kissing his shoulder affectionately. Istredd tucks the blankets around Lucifer in case his body heat isn't enough. This is why they can't be trusted when dancing together. The lack of personal space is constant.

"It will take time, a building of trust. And that requires them letting us return so we can make firmer connections." Just as they have in Thorne. It's starting from scratch again. "I suspected awhile ago that the people who released the Summoned to the Free Cities and Solvunn were hiding here. If it is true, I wouldn't know who to look for." No one described them as Fey.

And Yennefer was busy trying to climb the ranks. As one does.

They're both rather starved for touch and unlikely to ever admit it--Lucifer wouldn't, anyway. In private it's hardly surprising, but it does overflow in public at times no matter how much either of them police themselves.

Lucifer half rolls and calls to the ceiling, "Hear that, guys? We want to build something with you!"

Yes Lucifer still believes all walls are listening and nowhere is secure even if Istredd did slap together some form of temporary warding, so y'know might as well acknowledge that paranoia and any potential ears to leave 'em alone.

He resettles, arms folded beneath his chin. "My senses can't pick them out," he says, slightly annoyed by that. But he can pick out barely-there demons! Yay.

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