they warned of dark clouds gathering over head [open]

[thedevilwhorose]

Who: Lucifer, others
When: August
Where: Thorne + the Horizon
What: catch-all, closed starters
Warnings: None at the moment.



(Poke me at ShadowSpirits if you'd like to plot anything. Lucifer is generally wandering the Horizon and can easily come across others, and he frequents the Winking Cauldron and castle courtyards in Thorne.)

Comments

Jack Townsend / Thorne

[thedevilwhorose]

[The month had disappeared for Lucifer under a tower of books from various locations, mostly useless. He's been a haunting fixture in the libraries more than most places, trying to read between the lines and find any fragment of truth out of fairytale.

He gets Yennefer's point; he does. Fiction and storybook drivel is nothing more than nonsense.

But storybook drivel is what Lucifer would call his Father's creation myths and he's one of few people who could decipher the fact from the fiction of that.

Surely he could do the same here.

But one more book about good defeating the evil wizard was one book too many and Lucifer slides back in his chair, legs sprawled, arms flung back, and agonized groan on his lips.]

I can't take this anymore. I'm done here!

[He is not telling Yennefer that she was right.]

[stations]

( Speaking of haunting fixtures in the libraries — soon passeth by a spectre, hauntingly thin with bruised eyes, an entity that has surely embraced death and strode away with him toward a peanut-butter green van meant to chariot him to the afterlife.

Well, no. It's not a spectre, it's Jack, and that one time he met Death it turned out not to be Death at all. Just a super fan of his blog that stocked his dad's van full of erotic fanfiction and lotion, then drove across the country to the gas station to try and trick Jack into getting into the back of it. But I digress, the scrawny guy looks a little ghost-like as he passes by right on time to hear a grown man bemoaning the state of fiction in this residence.

Which. You know what? Relatable.

Normally he wouldn't stop. He's not the sociable type. It's just...

He squints. )

Hey, do I know you from somewhere?

( Don't worry, it'll come back to him in a second. He's off his meds here, he's not working at full speed. )

[thedevilwhorose]

[The voice is familiar enough.

The question... stings? Yes. It stings.

Because he forgot? Really? And to think Lucifer had concerns about what the guy might say about the entire nightmare fiasco because Lucifer had lost control and his masks had all slipped away. His meticulous work could have been ruined.

And Jack FORGOT?

But this is not a nightmare and Lucifer is in control.

He doesn't even deem to look at Jack, his voice calm, nonchalant.] I shoved my arm through your chest. [And then he cocks his head towards Jack, small uptick of a grin to his lips.] You see your buddy Spencer anymore?

[stations]

( I shoved my arm through your chest. )

Oh, shit!

( Exclaimed emphatically because, yeah, there it is. There's that memory slamming back into place where it's supposed to be. His hands tighten on the hardcover book he'd been carrying, and he raises it up like a weapon or a shield. )

No, but if I did it would be fine, because I've learned, like, so much magic since the last time I saw you. It's crazy. A crazy amount. I'm like fucking Gandalf. Also, my bodyguard can teleport. Because he's too big for most doors. Just. Huge.

( He's not... a good liar. )

[thedevilwhorose]

[Yeah.

Okay.

The only part out of that which sounds remotely like there may be some lick of truth to it is the bodyguard part and even that... Well.

Lucifer knows why this guy might need a bodyguard (because he's a pain in Lucifer's ass, so surely he is to others), but why anyone would agree is another question entirely.

Still, he doesn't respond yet, just shifts his wings only the slightest and then he's moved from his chair to lean against a bookshelf, arms crossed.

(And oh, oh good, he can do that without doubling over coughing, isn't that a nice treat?)]

Big whoop, what's your point? Did someone actually agree to be your bodyguard, or are you lying about that, too?

[stations]

Ah-

( He's not proud that his immediate reaction to Lucifer blinking into existence slightly closer is to let out the most monotone, inflectionless yell any man has ever heard and throw his book.

The thing about Jack is... he's got weirdly good aim. Seriously. He's no good with guns, he's not much of a fighter, but when it comes to chucking things at high velocity at people's faces? It's one of his few bizarre, hidden talents.

He doesn't even really mean to, it's just reflex.

Whether it actually hits or Lucifer deflects it, Jack will still be standing there awkwardly, unsure whether to apologize or run or stand his ground. Torn between those three options, he goes with the stupidest possible reaction: he answers the question like he totally didn't just hurl a hardback. )

Maybe. He's more like a... roommate... but I'm pretty sure he's a blackbelt, so...

[thedevilwhorose]

[The book hits him. Whether or not he let it is debatable. He keeps his arms crossed, and glances at the book, then up at Jack, then sighs and looks away.

He won't admit aloud the small thrill at shaking the previously unshakable Jack. Dreams or not, maybe he just wanted to feel on a more even keel.] Blackbelt, right. I'm quaking in my boots.

[So the guy is a terrible liar. That's both good and bad to know, Lucifer supposes.] Well good luck with that, I'm sure the whole castle will know when it no-doubt goes south. [Lucifer's suddenly very glad that he has an extremely easy-to-deal-with roommate.]

Yennefer of Vengerberg / Thorne

[thedevilwhorose]

[She's not easy to find. It's asking one apprentice after the other, exhaustive, each just a shy more unhelpful than the last.

But eventually—eventually he tracks her down, surprise crossing his features when he sees her.

He was starting to think he'd never find her.]

Ah, forgive me. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?

[vixening]

[ she both is, and isn't, depending on whether or not she wants to be found. as of late, yennefer's been diving headfirst into her studies, into her work, securing her place more and more firmly in the castle, as if trying to fill a void.

it is because she doesn't know he's looking for her that it takes as long as it does, which means that she of course had kept her interest and focus somewhere else. but seeing the surprise cross his eyes has her own brow lifting, now taken with curiosity herself. ]

You're in luck, I have a moment to spare.

[thedevilwhorose]

[His goal has been keeping on the down-low. Even making a big show over trying to touch base with Yennefer seemed too much for what he wanted.

Still, finding the best approach for what he wants to ask is... well. He just comes out with it.] Do you know anything about fire magic?

[vixening]

[ yennefer blinks, once, at the question - taking not even half a moment to discern whether this was some sort of layered comment. to see if lucifer had brought this to her because he knew.

but then it passes, the blink shifting to amused and interested, any concerns she may have buried far below any surface that lucifer would be able to see. ]

In what context, exactly? Thornean or in general?

[thedevilwhorose]

In general, Thornean, Singularity, I don't know. [And he doesn't. He's very bewildered by someone just suddenly acquiring magic--not realizing that he himself is also in that category.] The kid. Wilhelm. He's newly a firebug. In theory he has a teacher, but... [Lucifer doesn't know him, so he has no estimate.

If he truly cared enough he'd go seek out Strange but for the moment he's just weighing worst case scenarios.] And my own abilities have been limited. I can only preach theory.

[vixening]

In theory? Who is he learning from?

[ yennefer is a busy woman, so she doesn't keep as up to date as she probably should with the goings on around the castle. or maybe she has been told and she just wasn't listening - again, 'busy woman'.

still, lucifer is asking her a question, and considering his i don't know, yennefer takes something of a breath. ]

Elemental magic of all sorts can be taught, especially here in the castle. It is one of the doctrines that falls under the study of arcane magic, which is the primary way in which those from here, Thorne or Abraxas, and we Summoned are able to learn and use it. It can be more difficult for certain users due to its unpredictable nature, but is considered some of the simplest magic to teach.

[ there is a pause, here, before yennefer's head tilts. ]

Limited - so your abilities have been restricted here?

Mat Cauthon / Thorne

[thedevilwhorose]

He's put this off for longer than he had intended on--the thoughts niggling in the back of Lucifer's mind. People he had to pay attention to for various different reasons, and Mat was on that list.

Follow-up discussions.

He finds Mat in the dining hall, sliding in across from him with a plate of sliced meats. Maybe Lucifer's developing favorites, Dad Forbid. It's awful, but if he has to eat, he's going to find something he likes.

"You," he begins, without preamble, "owe me a conversation."

[a_better_man]

Mat's mind is a thousand miles away when Lucifer sits across from him. His fingers tap against the tabletop and his plate is currently ignored. Magic occupies his thoughts at the moment, and how to easier master it.

But he comes back to himself at the sound of being directly spoken to, shaking his head and focusing on the man on the other side of the table.

"Huh?" He blinks in mild confusion at first - much of his nightmare experiences are a blur in his memory. "Do I?"

[thedevilwhorose]

Rude.

Okay, fine, sure, most people might forget that little tidbit if they weren't hoarding freely-given information like treasure to be used against someone at a later time.

He clicks his tongue and winces slightly, rubbing a knuckle at the side of his head.

"End of times prophecy," he says, feigning sympathy.

[a_better_man]

"Oh!"

That. Yes, Mat remembers now. He rakes a hand through his hair and nods a bit. Yes. The prophecy. And all of that.

Well, he had said he'd explain later. Even if he'd been under a very false impression of what had been happening at the time.

"Alright, my world goes in cycles. Ages. And every age, so they say, there's a great battle for the fate of the world. A mortal born with very powerful gifts against a dark evil entity that can't actually be killed. Only said mortal might either remake or break the world, depending on their sanity and strength of character." It's the very simplified version, but it's the easiest way he knows to explain to anyone without all the cultural context. The Dragon, Aes Sedai, the blight, Lews World-Breaker...they all mean nothing to anyone else.

"Anyway, some bastards got it in their head that the subject of said prophecy was in my village. They were after folks my age."

[thedevilwhorose]

'They're here for me' Mat had told him in the nightmare. Maybe they were after others too, but they thought they needed Mat. Whether or not it was accurate was interesting to figure out, but Lucifer couldn't strike right into that yet.

He fiddles with his fork as he listens, debating which way he wants to lean into this.

"I know a thing or two about prophecies," he says at last, driving the prongs of the fork into the table, gaze around the room instead of Mat. He thinks about leaving himself out of the discussion, but putting himself in means he can empathize or something silly like that. Oh I've been there, I understand, let me help you.

Lucifer hides a grin by picking up a slice of meat with his hand (he got the fork to fidget with, not use), and shove it into his mouth, taking his time with chewing.

"My brother and I were part of a prophecy. The script got changed, not by us, though I tried to convince my brother to do so. But it is possible."

[a_better_man]

"Yeah?"

Mat lifts his eyebrows, and then shrugs. He doesn't know how any of these things work. He does know that he turned away from it, and did his best to remove himself. And now he's here.

So perhaps...

"I admit, I am not a fellow who's studied prophecy or philosophy or any of that. I know what I grew up with, and it was all very broad strokes. And things I thought were lifetimes removed from me anyhow."

They were things that would come in the future. Of course word of unrest in the world had reached the Two Rivers, but countries were always squabbling and the darker things were passed off as rumors. Flights of fancy.

"And maybe they are now."

Inej Ghafa / Horizon

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer explores the Horizon more often than perhaps he should, but it keeps him on the level. "Or do they also keep you in a cage?" grates through his mind and he has to find ways to get out and not feel so confined. There's enough space, he had told Wanda. All cages can be broken, he had told Wilhelm.

Didn't make it any less true about where he was.

So as long as he doesn't find himself back of the path of Dean's bar, he believes he's set.

He wanders through the more scenic places. Less populated, less likely to run across other people. But then he also gets distracted by the more... unusual. Out of place, almost.

It's how he finds himself in the middle of the circus tent, staring up, a quizzical expression on his face.

[shadowthief]

Inej doesn't access the Horizon often, but when she does, it's usually with a purpose. Whether that purpose is one of her periodic meetings with Himeka, or something a little less concrete varies.

Today, it's perhaps the simple nostalgia that brings her to the circus tent not far from her small homage to her family's encampment. She doesn't notice the stranger wander in, because she's focused entirely on the rope she's balancing on. It's been years at this point since she'd been on a tightrope, but she hasn't given up the skills, and it's as natural as breathing as she steps onto the wire.

She's centered, and moves as easily across it as though she's walking on firm ground. She can picture the crowd, can almost feel the wild energy of it all, as she moves through the old, familiar routine. Steps quickening– a pause, and a wave at the invisible crowd, when she falters. Except it's all part of the act, too. Not that the audience ever knew it. They always thought she was on the teetering edge of falling. And with no net to catch her! How daring she was!

She finishes the routine with a flourish on the receiving platform, wholly unaware of her audience the entire time.

[thedevilwhorose]

Came to the Horizon, got a show.

Who'd a'thunk?

He continues to watch, more surprised that she does seem to be playing at an act despite there being no one else here, and he doesn't think she knows he's watching. Familiarity, habit, comfort.

He considers her a moment after she's finished. Just enough in the span of time for her to take a breath, before he relents and gives a loud, slow clap. Only to see her reaction.

[shadowthief]

Her eyes widen at the sound, though there’s no other obvious sign of her being startled as she spins on her heel to look at whoever has found themselves as her audience.

A tiny frown etches into her features, though it’s not likely he could tell from some far below her. She doesn’t think she knows him, which is both curious and unnerving all at once. Even though she knows The Horizon is an open space, everything is always available to everyone simultaneously, it just seems like it might be common courtesy not to wander into someone’s space uninvited.

Though, she supposes, not everyone has courtesy. And some people see The Horizon differently.

“Did you enjoy the show?” She can’t quite tell, the clap seems slow and sarcastic more than a genuine thing. She doesn’t particularly care if he enjoyed it, she wasn’t actually doing it for anyone else, but it was good as anything to quip at him in the moment.

[thedevilwhorose]

Courtesy is something he allows the people he has to share a faction with. And even then it varies from person to person.

As long as he continues to practice a certain level of care (in case something of his actions trickle back to people he's trying to maintain a guise around in Thorne), all bets are off in the Horizon.

It's the only freedom he has.

"It was impressive," he allows, "for a human." And there it is.

[shadowthief]

A human. She cants her head the slightest tilt to the side. It's specific. Chosen purposely. A powerplay, perhaps. Certainly, it piques her curiosity, as she thinks is his intention.

She doesn't say anything for a long moment, instead, scales her way down the side of the platform with practiced expertise, hopping off once she's at a reasonable distance.

With purposeful steps that show no single ounce of fear, and an air about her that makes her seem to take up more space than the 5'3" of her frame truly can, she makes her way over to him. Stops just a foot or two in front of him, "And what are you, if not human, to judge me as though I am less than all I'm worth?"