[open] november catch-all

[assembles]

Who: Steve Rogers & various
When: Throughout November
Where: Cadens, the Red Path, the Horizon
What: Renovating the Sarstina inn, restoring the Red Path, being Bothered by an execution, and hanging in the Horizon.
Warnings: Mentions of execution/dead bodies.

[ Open prompts below! If you want a specific prompt or starter (or something in Nocwich), let me know and I can throw something together. Find me at demonology or on Discord at demonology. If you need any more details re: Steve's Horizon domain, also reach out! I haven't put a page together because of who I am as a person. ]

Comments

[assembles]

[ Steve tries not to get too tripped up over who is or isn't a friend, but he knows that sometimes it's hard to be sure whether or not you became that close with someone. Especially since Natasha is the sort of person who keeps her walls up for a while with people she's just getting to know.

Maybe this guy is the same. ]

A sparring partner. [ He raises an eyebrow, mildly curious. ] She must have respected your abilities, then. She doesn't tend to go easy on people.

[ Unless she was also teaching them, like with Hilda, but that's neither here nor there.

Realizing he should probably explain his connection to Nat, something that's such a given for him that he forgets that it's not self-evident, he adds: ] We were friends. From home. We led a team together, were on the run for a while... [ He feels his throat get tight again and cuts off, staring out toward the water. ] It was good, to have her here.

[thedevilwhorose]

I don't go easy on anyone. [So she was good.

And it was incredibly amusing to insult the guards he was training when they showed no improvement by telling them what they thought Natasha would think about their abysmal performance.

Heh.

'It was good, to have her here.'] You have no idea. [Of course he does to some extent. But he wasn't in Thorne when the kidnapping happened. Natasha was. Natasha and Kyle and Lenore. Two of the three are now gone.

But a lot more would have gone wrong had all three not been there at the time.

He raises a brow at the mention of a team. That's familiar. Knowledge from somewhere, Istredd likely.] You know Wanda, then?

[assembles]

[ When the stranger insistently makes a point about how he doesn't go easy either, Steve only nods. The guy doesn't need to prove anything to him, but the bottom line is that he kept up with Natasha, she kept up with him, and that alone said plenty.

The man's remark about her that follows, though, that grabs Steve's attention. It's said emphatically enough that there must be something behind it, and he tilts his head, brow knitting. ]

What do you mean?

[ Because he does have an idea. This was his only chance to see her again, but he isn't going to get into that, since he's not sure if Natasha shared that with many people. Probably not.

The makeup of the Avengers is no secret, so Steve isn't surprised when Wanda's name comes up. ] Wanda and Sam, yeah. Actually, it was the four of us on the run together.

[thedevilwhorose]

A story for another time. [Which is the polite way of Lucifer saying there's no way he's going to tell a stranger anything about that time. Honestly he'd barely even tell anyone from Thorne of that time that were of those kidnapped. The people that dealt with him back in the castle know. That's all that matters.

They saw him at his worst and accepted that.

That doesn't get to be for anyone.

He knows Sam only in the way that he knew Viktor. The man helped in the coordination, which was extremely necessary. It also means in a rare occasion Lucifer has minor respect for someone he's never met in person. But that's it.

Wanda is a friend. Wanda may be on the same tier of Importance as Istredd, if not more.] Wanda is a friend. [Said firmly. Concrete. No doubts as Natasha.]

[assembles]

[ While the evasive response is interesting, Steve also isn't going to push it, especially with someone whose name he hasn't even learned yet. This interaction happened more or less by accident, through a bout of shared grief, and it wouldn't be right to turn it into an interrogation.

Still, it's interesting how the stranger makes a distinction when it comes to Wanda, that she is in fact a friend. Steve frowns through a thoughtful pause as he wonders if she's ever mentioned him. ]

Glad to hear it. She's... [ He pauses, not even sure how to sum it up. ] We've been through a lot together. [ And the more support she can find in this place, the better.

So with that, Steve holds his hand out. ] Steve Rogers. I'm in the Cities, which is probably why we've never run into each other.

[ And this guy definitely wasn't in the pit, Steve knows that much. ]

[thedevilwhorose]

[He hides his distaste at the handshake and probably the only reason he responds is because of the other two women, when normally he wouldn't bother.

The odd thing is it's only after they've shook and after he's dropped his hand away that he gives his name, expression turned away so that he doesn't have to Deal With Steve's reaction.

He clearly does not like introductions and likely would never have given his name had Steve not mentioned his own. Doesn't matter that he's had decent luck in the fact that no one knows whatever they think they know about him: he does know that isn't the case for Steve's world, and he's not banking on the women being the Norm response.] Lucifer.

[assembles]

[ It's probably for the best that Lucifer pulled his hand back first. While Steve does actually have enough discipline and self-control that he wouldn't have yanked his away as if he'd been burned, it would have been a close thing.

As things stand, he does tense up at the name, but it isn't the sheer shock and confusion that might have come if this was his first time hearing about Lucifer's presence here. There's no way he can't do another once-over with this information, forced to see the stranger in an entirely new light. ]

Right. Uhh, Natasha mentioned something. About working with the Devil. [ Steve still can't believe how casual she had been about the whole thing, but then again, this was Nat.

Maybe he shouldn't be as thrown by it. Like Natasha pointed out, Thor was a friend of his, but this was just different somehow. Maybe because of how he'd been raised, and the reputation that Lucifer has in the Bible. ]

I'm... sure you already know how weird that is to hear for someone from Earth.

[thedevilwhorose]

[It's almost like he is actually experienced with dealing with people from Earth.

It almost makes him drop out of the Horizon right then and there, honestly. There's only the most imperceptible flicker of disgust across Lucifer's features before he smooths it down under his masks, but there's new layers that weren't they before. He'd been unusually open with a stranger due to his thoughts on Natasha, but now that's all tucked away and his expression is blandly neutral.] Oh. I am well aware.

[He steps away, putting distance between them.] But don't worry, I won't trouble you. [Anymore.] Forgive my intrusion.

maybe end on your tag?

[assembles]

[ They've only had a brief exchange, mostly about Natasha, but Steve thinks it's safe to say that based on first impressions he wouldn't have guessed this stranger was Lucifer. It goes to show that any pre-conceived notions aren't really going to match an actual person, and while Lucifer must have a dark and bloody history, a fictional character that's essentially a metaphor for temptation into committing sinful acts isn't going to look the same in reality.

Still, it seems like the very topic is something that Lucifer would rather avoid. ]

No, it's... it's all right. [ Steve shakes his head. Lucifer didn't know, after all. He was just looking for Natasha. Steve averts his gaze, mainly for Lucifer's comfort, to watch the water again. ] If I do find out she's back, I'll make sure she reaches out to let you know. If she doesn't show up in Thorne, anyway.

[ And hopefully Lucifer will return the favor. ]

o7 not the worst first meeting SHOCKING

[thedevilwhorose]

[That Lucifer wasn't his usual awful self to a Summoned outside of Thorne is only thanks to Natasha being the topic. He's not exactly a People Person and when he is, 99% of the time it's a lie, manipulating.

The stories about him may be wrong but that's because the actual truth of the things he's done are just as bad, if not worse, and the only regrets he has for his actions is the damage to his family.

He tilts his head in acknowledgement and only briefly considers him before answering.] I'll let you know. [And then he's dropping out of the Horizon.]