am I a villain or a saint?

[thedevilwhorose]

Who: Lucifer, others
When: December January shhhh
Where: Thorne, the Horizon
What: Closed for the moment; will open more later
Warnings: Wrathful teenagers, discussions of violence... Not in the same thread.



(Closed for the moment.)

Comments

OTA / tba.

[thedevilwhorose]

Geralt / The Horizon

[thedevilwhorose]

Geralt! You don't talk, you don't write, what's a guy to think?

But we do.

Need to talk, that is.

[gynvael]

Lucifer might interpret the long delay as Geralt not wanting to speak to him. This is true, but it isn't personal. Even people he likes get put on read (as Dean calls it.)

Though he especially takes his time answering here.

Fine.
At yours.
Where is it.

cw: animal death

[thedevilwhorose]

The description and directions follows up the message shortly (relatively) after. Lucifer finished reimagining the blank, sometimes snakes, part of his domain into something he could use towards beauty and functionality. He directs Geralt to the red lake, the easiest and "safest" place to traverse. There are calcified animals dead on the beach, but a handful of very-alive flamingos tucked nearby.

Lucifer waits, hands tucked in jean pockets, staring over the lake.

[gynvael]

Had Lucifer landed outside Geralt's domain, he'd have found a similar theme: skeletal bones buried under snow, animal and human alike. No ominous blood-red lake, though. It's alluring, in its own way. More than anyone, he knows what it is to find beauty in the parts of nature most liable to extinguish those incapable of understanding it.

Geralt steps across the ground, eyeing the calcified birds, the sky. Quaint is probably the remark Lucifer would receive were they on better terms. They are not. No comment comes, as a result.

He stops in front of Lucifer and simply. Waits, with one arched eyebrow. Lucifer asked, he's here. So talk.

Wilhelm / The Horizon

[thedevilwhorose]

I know you want nothing to do with me but will you please just give me five minutes. My Horizon, I'll give you directions.

[ordinar]

[His first instinct is to tell him to fuck off. But something holds him back from pulling the trigger, and after a long moment of internal debate, he decides to pull a different trigger altogether.]

Fine.

If you try anything, I'm leaving. Poof.

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer wants to ask what trying anything counts as, but instead he just gives the kid the directions; same thing he's done recently enough for Geralt. Directions to the red lake of his domain, and that's where it shifts from Geralt.

Maybe it's Lucifer's own concern that the kid won't follow him after seeing Lucifer, but leaving a singular flamingo away from the rest of its cluster on the beach to guide Wilhelm the rest of the way to the warded cave and the bioluminescence of the hundreds of glowworms above.

Lucifer's waiting, half seated on a rock, hands laced together and pressed at his chin, half expecting an 'are you joking' message from Wilhelm.

[ordinar]

Wilhelm doesn't know what trying anything entails exactly either, but it's good to show a little teeth.

He would like to pretend that he also doesn't know why he has agreed to come. This is the actual fucking devil. Lucifer had used him, deceived him, and laughed in his face for believing him all along. But...his thoughts keep circling back to the conversation he had with Istredd on the deck of the ship. He has changed. Against his will, but all the same. Circling back to the strange evening he had sitting across from Lucifer at the banquet. The something suspiciously like concern cracking through his expression, the way he suddenly seemed to break, just as Wilhelm thought he was about to go to pieces.

That wasn't the face of pure evil.

Following the directions, and then the flamingo, Wilhelm finds Lucifer at the heart of the cave. His attire is casual, a hoodie and jeans, as if to say that this meeting is nothing special to him. His expression is guarded. He hides the fidgeting of his hands in his pockets.

"I'm here," he says, the words measured with sullen defiance. "So start talking."

Kyle + Istredd / The Horizon

[thedevilwhorose]

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd is bad with strangers but he is somewhat decent when it comes to socializing with people he knows. And especially when they have some very interesting and serious details to discuss. A lot went on during the negotiations so there is plenty to discuss in the aftermath. Istredd recommends his domain since he knows he can shield it and block anyone else from coming near it when he wants to.

Kyle will be able to see that the outside has changed now, the monolith has been replaced with a tower instead. Istredd has not answered anyone as to why that changed. The many, many books are still winding everywhere, but he did clear out a space at the bottom of the tower for them to talk. Istredd leans toward stiff tables and chairs best used for a library, but anyone can create their own chairs in his space. It is mentally intuitive, reacting to the visitor's needs.

Istredd is already in there and he's put several pieces of paper down so that they can fill them with the knowledge they have and get it stored officially. If it is memorized here, it can be memorized anywhere. Geralt did something similar when he showed Istredd the diagrams. There are five ravens swooping around, only two of them currently a level up staring at him, the other three higher up.

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer doesn't so much walk in as he simply appears on one of his usual perches, a reading ledge more than a nook, something that can only be access by flight or similar means.

He does give Istredd just a simple trill of a notice that he's there now, while Lucifer just blinks at the diminished number of ravens. But there are still a handful.

Lucifer's thoughts reveal nothing on that topic, and he is not planning on making any comment.

He's not going to apologize for a very-justifiable action.

So then they're just waiting on Kyle.

[ushiri]

They don't have to wait very long. Kahlil arrives soon after the two of them, dressed the way he might in the real world, rather than the cassock he tends to wear in his temple.

He enters the tower with a certain amount of apprehension. Istredd, as far as Kahlil knows, is human. Easier to read, and generally reasonable. Lucifer, on the other hand, is something else. A creature of Nayeshi scripture. Foreign and dangerous. A predator that likes to play with its prey. There's an innate respect, but not quite trust.

Even so, for months he's been going against his own advice to Jack to steer clear of him. He's been a source of information, and in some ways an ally of convenience. Their excursion in Nott made him realize he'd actually not feel so great about stabbing Lucifer in the back one day, if it became necessary. And shepherding the Thorne Summoned really wasn't what he was expecting during their time on the ship. There's also that Istredd seems to trust him, and he doubts the mage could have spent this long with Lucifer and not have some inkling of his nature at this point.

"The negotiations seem to have gone fairly well," he starts carefully, approaching the table and blank sheets of paper. His gaze flicks to Lucifer, though, with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you missing any cats by the end of the trip?"

WILDCARD YO

[magicalarchaeologist]

[ooc: soon after this]

I just met your brother. We had an interesting talk. I'm headed back to the room.

Normally Istredd avoids the room when he is feeling seasick because he doesn't want the potential of getting sick in there, he would rather do it over the side of the boat so neither of them have to worry about it. But luckily, he got a little healing boost from an unexpected source, so he is not looking greensick for the moment. The problem is that he feels better when he goes to the island, and this begins all over again when he returns to the ship. At least he's all better from the Singularity visit.

When Lucifer returns Istredd will be writing notes in his journal that he bought for this exact trip, it has Singularity notes already in the first half, but now he has added a few from rumors and details he's noticed in the negotiations. He has intentionally said very little about the negotiations. Especially the casket issue. Nope. He sits behind the desk provided for them because he is not as cold as Lucifer is, who prefers being by the fireplace.

He looks completely calm and well, in case Lucifer had any concerns about his well-being after being approached by his maybe-enemy brother. Istredd has an entire other notebook for details about the people he meets, but that is spelled so no one can see it but him. You better believe he has added archangel and a few other notes now.

[thedevilwhorose]

Interesting could mean any number of things.

Enough that he almost messages his brother if he did anything, but then, Lucifer would've known, right?

He almost just... Petulantly doesn't meet with Istredd. It's only a brief thought. Curiosity can get the devil, too.

"Define interesting," he says after he arrives.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd didn't know if he'd join him or not, although he suspected that curiosity would win out. It always wins out for him too. Frankly, at the moment he is just grateful not to be sick. He knows Lucifer's coming before he walks in so he finishes the sentence he was writing.

"Interesting how much someone might tell you if they think you know more than you do."

Listen, Istredd has been fairly good about not prying Lucifer on details. He lets him open up in his own time and explain himself when he wants to. But Istredd is very interested and if someone is going to give him information, he's going to take it in. He smiles though, because he knows he was being a bit sneaky with his careful lack of answers to Michael. He was trying to get a read on him, that's all.

"I learned a lot about angels, so that was definitely interesting."

Yennefer / Thorne / during infodump meeting

[thedevilwhorose]

He'd made eye contact when he had seen her in the meeting, a tilt to his head as though for her to somehow call attention to him for Lucifer's chosen place in the meeting space. He knows it might come back to bite him, just as he expected her to follow-up question him for his part in this whole thing. For his part in being the one to talk to her, instead of Istredd.

Far as he's concerned there was no deception. Whether or not she believes him, he meant his words to her, and they all know--they all know--if anyone was going to get Yennefer to even consider making an appearance, it was Lucifer, not Istredd.

They're too much the same.

It's because of that fact that Istredd will probably feel the beginning of a headache, as one of the times that Lucifer drops out of the Horizon for his "watch shift" that he runs into her. Or maybe she was hunting him down. Who could say.

He tries to keep a steady mind so that the man can't pick up on anything. But it might just be too steady. Not the mind of someone keeping apprised of Thorne.

Ah well. Regardless Istredd is too busy to put too much stock into Lucifer's extra white-noise filter.

"Don't give me that look," he tells her, without glancing her way.

[vixening]

She does show up - despite all her complaints, she does. And it's hard to say why.

Part of her considers how this has all changed - how before, back when Kylo Ren and Ronan had been handling this process, they'd all come together in Kylo's study, hadn't worried about Thorne's opinion of a head of one of it's special guard forces and a member of the Queen's court decided they wanted to teach the Summoned what they knew. And now? If she wasn't already so used to watching generations of people pass before her eyes from her time back in the continent, something about the continuation of tradition would stand out to her. As it is now, she really couldn't give a fuck - so instead she enters the Horizon from her own room for the brief few moments she said she would, she makes her appearance, and then she is out again.

His place at the meeting had been noted, of course. Had been everyone who remained inside. But it isn't until she catches him out in the halls, doing what she supposed counted for some kind of 'watch' that she decides to approach him directly. That she comes to stand next to him, even if he doesn't turn her way. The comment has a kind of sharp smirk pulling at her mouth, her hands tugging a heavily embroidered shawl around her shoulders.

"You bring it upon yourself." And then, after another couple of steps, she continues. "Have to say, was a bit disappointed not to see the enthusiasm in action. Unless I missed your speech?"

[thedevilwhorose]

He does bring it upon himself, like most things.

"Then you missed my anti-enthusiasm speech," he says, still careful of his words, given that was the entire purpose of said speech. "Trying to instill people to not be dumbasses." Around Thorne, with Summoned of other factions.

It's maybe a pointless endeavor, but no one that was present can say 'no one warned us'. He did. Very distinctly, in more than one way.

Sam Winchester / The Horizon

[thedevilwhorose]

There's a cluster of ravens higher up in the branches above where Lucifer's stretched out lazily across the bough of an unusual tree. He's mostly out of sight unless one were to specifically look up, but staying the course is hard enough without getting distracted.

Wanda's domain is a commonplace for him. Here if he wants to mimic a fresh-air, "open" space. Istredd's domain if he just wants to be an extroverting introvert, sharing someone's space without necessarily associating with them in that moment. He could easily use his own domain, but this is just... right. An unspoken reminder for both him and Wanda.

A raven-guide lands near him, calling out back the way it came from. Someone's traversing the path through her domain; likely someone new, or simply not yet familiar with the strange maze. The rest of the ravens make some commotion at the guest but Lucifer keeps his idle almost sleep-like state until the guiding bird moves again, and only then does Lucifer squint an eye down to the forest floor. And then he blinks, stunned.

Sam Winchester.

"Well," he says airily, "aren't you Free City's best-kept secret." Because while he knows he and Michael have a constant rocky relationship, he doesn't think Michael would have kept knowledge of Sam from Lucifer. Petty revenge is Lucifer's style, not Michael's. Which only leaves Free Cities.

[outwear]

It's perhaps fitting that Sam's appearance in Wanda's space is some combination of curiosity mixed with the same sort of open air desire as Lucifer. Since arriving Sam has had trouble fully finding his bearings — Dean being a year on and from the past, Jo dead-but-not, Cas and his son (from what Sam's been told) — all seems inexplicable but genuine, and yet...

And yet the disquiet within him is the same as ever.

Sam reeks of distance. He wears his arcana well, keeping to himself in the same ways as always: share a concern, share a smile, say and do what's needed and then retreat. A book, an odd job, a walk — whatever it takes.

He's enjoying the spiraling solitude when he invades the territory of those vocal crows and soon finds himself under the devil's purview. His skin crawls the moment the realization hits him. For a moment he's not sure the voice isn't in his head, but the soft crush of greenery heralds the presence above of something from below.

Stilled, hands already balled into fists without even realizing, he lifts his gaze and can feel how he's breathing carefully out of his mouth in anticipation of a fight.

"That tells me a lot about your influence," he counters as he takes several steps more in order to get a better view. He shrugs, plays it off. Tries to, at least. "Personally, I've been avoiding you," Sam says.

[thedevilwhorose]

He straightens out of his slouch and throws his legs over the branch to dangle back and forth, but he doesn't leave his perch. He has no fear fighting Sam, certainly not in the Horizon, but he does fear Wanda's retribution if she has to deal with another of Lucifer's problems in her own domain. The ravens with him have yet to scatter. He wonders if he can beg them without saying anything to not rat him out.

He offers an easy sigh. "Everyone thinks Free Cities versus Thorne is the bigger problem. I don't care about that place. Solvunn is what matters." He tilts his head, observes Sam. Wonders how much Dean and Geralt have told the man. Wonders how the hell long Sam has even been here. Long enough to have more than likely been on the boat.

More than ever he's actually happy it was Michael to find him when the pain from the Singularity attack had slammed through him.

"You shouldn't say such hurtful things, Sam."

Istredd | late month | don't @ me Abraxas | cw: animal death

[thedevilwhorose]

It's funny because Lucifer doesn't generally make a big deal about his domain, despite everything he wants from it. To be viewed but not ruined by humanity. To be experienced. But it's just a backdrop added to the Horizon, nothing he announces even if he vibrates with pride anytime someone enjoys it.

These last few weeks have been the most Lucifer has been in his own domain and it's been for secret meetings that weren't fair for Lucifer to bring into Istredd's.

But Istredd had mentioned how much Lucifer was prominent in his own--not a bad thing--and that he offered an invitation to his own "months too late." So, really, this was overdue.

His starting point, as the always easiest point, is the beach of the red lake. That's where he's waiting, legs crossed, a few calcified animal carcasses laid out in the sand nearby, and a speckling of flamingos clustered together further off.

don't @ either of us Abraxas

[magicalarchaeologist]

As Lucifer pointed out, Istredd never asked to see his Horizon, but it seemed better to wait until he felt comfortable about it. They both are very comfortable in his domain, with the high rafters for Lucifer, and the constant addition of new books for Istredd. And the ever-growing conspiracy board Lucifer appeared there along with his ravens. To be honest, Istredd rarely leaves his own domain, he tends to wait for offers, because it seems rude to simply walk through other people's mind palaces.

Still, it's very easy for him to know exactly where Lucifer is in general, let alone in here where their connection is already strong. He finds himself at the beach of a red lake and immediately looks around, his eyes bright and curious. He genuinely has no idea what he expects, but it is rather scenic and beautiful at the moment. Except for the random carcasses.

"Let me guess, those are birds?"

He really does have a thing for birds, despite the fact that they too have wings, and one would think he'd connect with them more than a snake or cat.

[thedevilwhorose]

He waves a hand in the direction of the birds.

"That has nothing to do with me, not really. That's always how it's been." He spreads his arms as though he could gesture at the entire red lake. "Lake Natron, Tanzania, Earth. Birds are what are attracted most to the lake; it has the appearance of glass, like they can land on it." He tilts his head towards Istredd, smiling. "They don't realize the optical illusion involved and that's their downfall."