There's a brief little startle from Alastor, but he quickly fell into dance with his garou, cackling in delight and pretending to faint in the wolf-man's arms. Playing the part of the dame was fun... but his favorite role?
The music shifts as Alastor melts into shadow, slipping through paw-like fingers and reforming the Demon behind Lucifer, his claws drumming up the fluffy neck for extra eerie effect.
♫ Who shivers when they hear about voo-doo? Don't lie to me, boy - I know YOU do! You better tremble when you hear me call, 'cause you'll make a LOVELY shrunken head! You'll be my favorite little thraaaaaaall~! HAH hah hah! ♫
With the darkness surrounding them in a dense haze, Alastor took Lucifer's hands and led the dance, keeping him from falling into the water since there was no light save for a harsh red to guide them. He'll carry you through his favorite nightmare home, Lucifer, don't you fret.
He even shivered from the touch. Well, he couldn't lie...
The form dissolved from him as he hands were taken, that quiet concern in the back of his mind quickly gone. That water was awfully close, but he wasn't about to put a metaphorical damper on their time. Why, Lucifer even stepped in such a fashion to avoid Alastor's poor shadow in their dance.
Alastor's shadow was having a grand time, swirling around them both, disappearing and reappearing silently in the shadows even with all of the wild dancing. Emerging from the muck and the shadows were more of those shadowy poppets, the stitched together minion demons that served Alastor - they were joining in with 'ohh oooo's, with instruments and dancing, surrounding the two in a faint glow of greens and reds as they played along.
♫ Duke went by the river, now he slings on Bourbon Street. Sings that song by ol' Armstrong, 'bout where it's warm and green. Now if you go by the riverside, You'll never la-la-la-la-leaaaaaave! ♫
If Lucifer wanted to disappear under the willow, be stuck in the bayou forever, why, he should leave a mark! As they danced, Alastor summoned what looked like a rosary - or at least formerly a rosary, as the cross had been removed for now. He looped it several times around the devil's wrist like a bead bracelet, taking up more space than the silly little ring - join him under the willow, Lucifer, since their chaperones weren't here to attend them.
In a dramatic shift of the music, for a final round of the chorus, the bayou lit back up and showed they were both MUCH deeper inside the pocket realm, trees surrounding them and lit beautifully under the moonlight and the dancing veves and fireflies.
♫ There's a bat they call Lestat who'll sink his teeth in yoooouuuu! You might meet a creature from the swampy black lagooooon! And if the moon is full, you might meet the loup-garoooouuuu!
Don't go by the riverside! (Don't go by the riverside!) I said don't go by that riverside! (Don't go by that riverside!) Don't go by the riverside! (Why's that??) 'Cause you might meet me if you do~! ♫
Truly, Alastor was a powerful Overlord... he could see the Sins and the Goetia having their own pocket realms to call upon, but here was a Sinner having his own chunk of paradise at his beck and call! It never really hit him until now.
He blinked his surprise with the arrival of the rosary, felt his heart clench briefly- it all sat nearest his ring, one that maybe he- he should-
Lucifer drew in a deep breath and pushed it all down in his mind, and poured his mood into the music. Music always helped.
By the end he was practically bouncing in his step, admiring the scenery. He clutched the ring-bearing hand tight and held it behind his back. The sigh he gave was one to even him out, relax him. "That was..."
He started. His face twisted into concern and he tugged down his hat. "Ah, crap- I shifted into something canine-adjacent! I wasn't- I wasn't thinking...!"
"Don't you worry your fuzzy head!" Alastor cut him off before he could fret too much, squishing the hat down on Lucifer's head. "No more menacing than hellhounds or dog-faced Sinners. Your sense of fashion made you look civilized instead of like a mongrel."
Hah hah hah! Alastor leaned on Lucifer playfully, an elbow on his head. "It fit the energy so seamlessly it'd have been a shame if you hadn't taken the shape."
It was... fine? Okay... seemed it was dog dogs that bugged him. Considering what he'd read in the archives- what little there was, anyway- things made a whole lot of sense.
But with a lean upon his head, Lucifer puffed his cheeks and frowned at him. Must he be a little leaning stool or a mobile countertop for you??
"Yes, well- I don't get many opportunities to play around with forms. Some days you just feel like howling at the moon, or..."
Boo on you! He poofed and Alastor just needed another stool of some kind to lean on. A sleek white snake perched on the other man's shoulders and looked a little smug.
"...You wanna find a nice warm place to relax, enjoy a little vibe." Already he was wiggling a bit under ol' Bambi's lapel.
It only took a step for Alastor to regain his balance, and he didn't jolt at the change to a snake. He quite liked snakes. Both as an animal, and also to eat - in this case, he just smiled and tugged open his coat, as if inviting Lucifer into the inner pocket meant for a pocket watch.
"I could sneak you out like contraband like this. Hah hah."
Don't mind if he does. He slithered his way into the pocket but kept his head visible. Wasn't polite to talk all muffled in a coat, even if it meant being further from a scent he'd come to enjoyno, he doesn't -sniff- him, he just smells nice, nuts to you-
"Or, who needs one of those prank squirt-flowers when you could shake someone's hand and make a snake come out and bite a dickhead in the face?"
"Oh hoh, imagine their initial shock and fear - and then the reprise immediately following when you reveal that you're Lucifer himself! Why, the faint of heart would perish on the spot!"
Alastor laughed, clear and jovial even with his injuries. Or maybe the static did a good job in hiding any vulnerabilities in his voice. Either way, the man went to sit down again, this time in his armchair by the fireplace so he could relax. There he would rest again, quit using his magic for musical numbers and procrastinating and let his body finish up healing today's bites. ...Not that he really minded them.
"Be afraid, you fool, and perhaps King Lucifer will show you mercy!" A peal of laughter from the little snake's mouth.
But the statement, once they'd settled in, had his eyes boggle briefly.
"I-... heh? Yeah, I guess so. I got... lost in my head for a bit, there." Wasn't a lie. He just doesn't know how to really describe it. But he sighed quietly and nestled.
He paused, looked over the marks he'd left. Rather nasty.
"Goodness, don't tell me that, I'll be too tempted to tell you to break my ribcage and take my heart in your hands if you can put it all back!" Alastor teased. .....Even if there was a sort of... romantic, if morbid, something to that thought.
"But that would be best - wouldn't want Charlie getting nosy from her fretting and catching sight of something earned in a bit of fun, rather than something she ought to actually worry about."
"Heh. ...Been a while since I held a fresh, still-beating heart. Now that was a Hell of an offering."
He regrettably needed to leave the form for focus. With a pop, he let himself shake off the snake's form like an old jacket, and he took a moment to let his horns sprout, his wings manifest.
He needed to take back damage he'd done. Even if in a bit of fun. With the hand bearing the rosary, he brought it to bear against the neck and let that power surge.
Let blood be staunched, and let flesh be knit.
Yes. Best not worry their- his, what, come on- daughter.
Lucifer was back and Alastor just smiled, tugging his shirt collar down a bit and turning his head to give the devil a good sight on at least one of the wounds. It sealed up quite nicely, leaving Alastor feeling much more refreshed - he'd been expecting to be done healing by tomorrow morning, but now he knew his evening would be much more comfortable.
"Lovely."
The healing? Lucifer? The feeling in general? The evening?
It was like just coaxing it closed, but in touching the wounds, he helped guide things along. Perhaps he didn't need to double back and brush against the skin to ensure he'd finished the job, but... it never hurt to be thorough.
Lovely, huh? That's fine.
Peachy.
His palm settled, ran down and eased more of his shirt aside. Something was being built here, something flat. Flexible...?
Oh, but his shadow could get a look. Alastor could have a little square duck-printed bandage in his skin tone where he'd spotted a particularly nasty wound, guarding it for the time being as he focused on the shallower injuries.
"...Mm. It was nice having a taste... both in what I get from you, and of you yourself."
"Is it true you feed on pride? So you would have already known you'd lost the game without me telling you," Alastor chuckled, letting Lucifer paw at him. He was enjoying the mood of it tonight, letting himself be a little map for the devil to explore and do with as he pleased.
Aside from refusing to be completely silent, of course. It wasn't any fun if Alastor let it be too easy.
He owlishly blinked at him, then sharply turned his eyes away. "Look, it's not every day I get my buttons not just pushed but crushed under fists. You played a dangerous game, y'know...!"
He kept his hand were it was, but leveled a gaze at him.
"If I'd lost much more control, you wouldn't be giggling about winning the 'Poke the Bearcifer' game."
"Oh, I still would have won the game, but my goal would have backfired instead," Alastor shrugged. After all, provoking and pressing buttons to stop a spiral, to switch the trolley tracks at the very last second... he hadn't intended to start that way, but the second the button was exposed he knew immediately what he had to do.
"You would have been so regretful, so sad, so lonesome!" He'd have assumed that Alastor hated him when that was so far from the truth. "But I knew you enjoyed me too much."
Alastor beamed, a bit amused at the consternation on Lucifer's face.
"One of your favorites, I'd dare say. You enjoy me," he answered as if it were so straightforward. And to him, it was - Alastor was a pleasant distraction, good company, a fine dance partner. He'd be foolish to assume anything else. "And Charlie gets her soft-heartedness from you."
There's a palpable few seconds of silence, Alastor staring with wide eyes before he caught himself and chuckled, nay, giggled and pat Lucifer's lapel reassuringly.
"At ease, old chap - we're having a bit of fun with this whole dating thing, aren't we? I wouldn't dream of assuming I am any kind of replacement for your Paramore. I am many wretched things, but I don't aim to add 'homewrecker' to that list!"
The silence made his heart stop. Did... did he make assumptions? He thought they- but- earlier, and so many times before, they-
Lucifer let himself breathe again with the pat. But it still left a squirming feeling in his gut.
"Homewrecker- Al... we're not- Lily and I aren't... aren't together anymore. You know this." Even if it hurt to say that. Humans lived such short lives, but had that amazing ability to factor a few weeks, months or even years of time and simply move on.
But how does an immortal, who has known one love for over ten thousand years, simply move on when the separation was only about a sliver of that time, ten measly, blink-and-you-miss-them years...?
"You're not a replacement. I..." He looked up at him. He couldn't just be 'at ease'.
"Did I... ever give you the impression that I was just looking to fill some slot?"
Was he ruining another relationship when it was just getting started...?
...He doesn't believe you, Lucifer. Alastor's smile doesn't drop, but his gaze does... and since it's obvious already, he takes Lucifer's hand gently into his own, bringing it up between them.
The ring. Even if Lucifer can say that things are over with Lilith, that doesn't mean the king is able to move on.
Let alone the fact that Alastor himself is not Lilith. Could never be Lilith, for all of his power and charm he wasn't the sort of compassionate soul someone like Lucifer likely sought. Likely needed.
"I never had any illusions that I would be anything serious. I knew it was a flight of fancy."
He took his hand and the ring caught the low light. It seemed to gleam almost mockingly at him- perhaps the both of them- and Lucifer was struck silent.
He stared at the band as Alastor spoke, and in that, he... understood.
Lucifer wore this ring for so long, it simply became a habit to put it on in the morning, or even sleep with it on some nights. He'd even taken to fidgeting with it, brush a thumb over it when he was lost in thought or feeling some form of anxiety. He chalked it up to a memento, but... was it?
Or was it really from an invisible desire not to let go?
If Lilith simply showed up at the hotel, what would he do? What would he say? He'd never really sat and thought about it... not since he spent his days alone in his workshop, before the phone call that changed everything.
"...Is that how you've really felt? From the start?"
"Now now. If I were opposed to such a thing, I would have never gotten invested in the first place, Lucifer. Here I am, after all - here for a flight of fancy, here for what fun we can have."
After a pause, he intertwined their fingers, feeling the warm metal against his fingers too. Warm memories, a family, something ancient and deep... and something that nearly everyone besides Alastor understood the feeling of.
"Give yourself time. How silly it would have been for me to expect you to be out of love after only a few decades or so passing since you parted with Lilith."
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sugaronthecream) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
divinetree2024-04-01 08:17 am
no subject
The music shifts as Alastor melts into shadow, slipping through paw-like fingers and reforming the Demon behind Lucifer, his claws drumming up the fluffy neck for extra eerie effect.
♫ Who shivers when they hear about voo-doo?
Don't lie to me, boy - I know YOU do!
You better tremble when you hear me call,
'cause you'll make a LOVELY shrunken head!
You'll be my favorite little thraaaaaaall~! HAH hah hah! ♫
With the darkness surrounding them in a dense haze, Alastor took Lucifer's hands and led the dance, keeping him from falling into the water since there was no light save for a harsh red to guide them. He'll carry you through his favorite nightmare home, Lucifer, don't you fret.
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The form dissolved from him as he hands were taken, that quiet concern in the back of his mind quickly gone. That water was awfully close, but he wasn't about to put a metaphorical damper on their time. Why, Lucifer even stepped in such a fashion to avoid Alastor's poor shadow in their dance.
It always worked so hard.
no subject
♫ Duke went by the river,
now he slings on Bourbon Street.
Sings that song by ol' Armstrong,
'bout where it's warm and green.
Now if you go by the riverside,
You'll never la-la-la-la-leaaaaaave! ♫
If Lucifer wanted to disappear under the willow, be stuck in the bayou forever, why, he should leave a mark! As they danced, Alastor summoned what looked like a rosary - or at least formerly a rosary, as the cross had been removed for now. He looped it several times around the devil's wrist like a bead bracelet, taking up more space than the silly little ring - join him under the willow, Lucifer, since their chaperones weren't here to attend them.
In a dramatic shift of the music, for a final round of the chorus, the bayou lit back up and showed they were both MUCH deeper inside the pocket realm, trees surrounding them and lit beautifully under the moonlight and the dancing veves and fireflies.
♫ There's a bat they call Lestat
who'll sink his teeth in yoooouuuu!
You might meet a creature
from the swampy black lagooooon!
And if the moon is full,
you might meet the loup-garoooouuuu!
Don't go by the riverside!
(Don't go by the riverside!)
I said don't go by that riverside!
(Don't go by that riverside!)
Don't go by the riverside!
(Why's that??)
'Cause you might meet me if you do~! ♫
no subject
He blinked his surprise with the arrival of the rosary, felt his heart clench briefly- it all sat nearest his ring, one that maybe he- he should-
Lucifer drew in a deep breath and pushed it all down in his mind, and poured his mood into the music. Music always helped.
By the end he was practically bouncing in his step, admiring the scenery. He clutched the ring-bearing hand tight and held it behind his back. The sigh he gave was one to even him out, relax him. "That was..."
He started. His face twisted into concern and he tugged down his hat. "Ah, crap- I shifted into something canine-adjacent! I wasn't- I wasn't thinking...!"
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Hah hah hah! Alastor leaned on Lucifer playfully, an elbow on his head. "It fit the energy so seamlessly it'd have been a shame if you hadn't taken the shape."
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But with a lean upon his head, Lucifer puffed his cheeks and frowned at him. Must he be a little leaning stool or a mobile countertop for you??
"Yes, well- I don't get many opportunities to play around with forms. Some days you just feel like howling at the moon, or..."
Boo on you! He poofed and Alastor just needed another stool of some kind to lean on. A sleek white snake perched on the other man's shoulders and looked a little smug.
"...You wanna find a nice warm place to relax, enjoy a little vibe." Already he was wiggling a bit under ol' Bambi's lapel.
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"I could sneak you out like contraband like this. Hah hah."
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"Or, who needs one of those prank squirt-flowers when you could shake someone's hand and make a snake come out and bite a dickhead in the face?"
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Alastor laughed, clear and jovial even with his injuries. Or maybe the static did a good job in hiding any vulnerabilities in his voice. Either way, the man went to sit down again, this time in his armchair by the fireplace so he could relax. There he would rest again, quit using his magic for musical numbers and procrastinating and let his body finish up healing today's bites. ...Not that he really minded them.
"You're in a better mood."
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But the statement, once they'd settled in, had his eyes boggle briefly.
"I-... heh? Yeah, I guess so. I got... lost in my head for a bit, there." Wasn't a lie. He just doesn't know how to really describe it. But he sighed quietly and nestled.
He paused, looked over the marks he'd left. Rather nasty.
"...I can heal those, y'know."
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"But that would be best - wouldn't want Charlie getting nosy from her fretting and catching sight of something earned in a bit of fun, rather than something she ought to actually worry about."
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He regrettably needed to leave the form for focus. With a pop, he let himself shake off the snake's form like an old jacket, and he took a moment to let his horns sprout, his wings manifest.
He needed to take back damage he'd done. Even if in a bit of fun. With the hand bearing the rosary, he brought it to bear against the neck and let that power surge.
Let blood be staunched, and let flesh be knit.
Yes. Best not worry their- his, what, come on- daughter.
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"Lovely."
The healing? Lucifer? The feeling in general? The evening?
Yes.
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Lovely, huh? That's fine.
Peachy.
His palm settled, ran down and eased more of his shirt aside. Something was being built here, something flat. Flexible...?
Oh, but his shadow could get a look. Alastor could have a little square duck-printed bandage in his skin tone where he'd spotted a particularly nasty wound, guarding it for the time being as he focused on the shallower injuries.
"...Mm. It was nice having a taste... both in what I get from you, and of you yourself."
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Aside from refusing to be completely silent, of course. It wasn't any fun if Alastor let it be too easy.
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He kept his hand were it was, but leveled a gaze at him.
"If I'd lost much more control, you wouldn't be giggling about winning the 'Poke the Bearcifer' game."
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"You would have been so regretful, so sad, so lonesome!" He'd have assumed that Alastor hated him when that was so far from the truth. "But I knew you enjoyed me too much."
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Staring at him now, it seemed the humor of it didn't quite reflect in the fallen angel.
"Am... I missing something? I don't like that word, enjoying."
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Alastor beamed, a bit amused at the consternation on Lucifer's face.
"One of your favorites, I'd dare say. You enjoy me," he answered as if it were so straightforward. And to him, it was - Alastor was a pleasant distraction, good company, a fine dance partner. He'd be foolish to assume anything else. "And Charlie gets her soft-heartedness from you."
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"What- what do you think this is, Alastor? Do you not- Am I not-" He wasn't even sure what it is he even wanted to say.
"Should we... establish... what we- what we are? Fuck, I guess I'm rusty..."
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"At ease, old chap - we're having a bit of fun with this whole dating thing, aren't we? I wouldn't dream of assuming I am any kind of replacement for your Paramore. I am many wretched things, but I don't aim to add 'homewrecker' to that list!"
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Lucifer let himself breathe again with the pat. But it still left a squirming feeling in his gut.
"Homewrecker- Al... we're not- Lily and I aren't... aren't together anymore. You know this." Even if it hurt to say that. Humans lived such short lives, but had that amazing ability to factor a few weeks, months or even years of time and simply move on.
But how does an immortal, who has known one love for over ten thousand years, simply move on when the separation was only about a sliver of that time, ten measly, blink-and-you-miss-them years...?
"You're not a replacement. I..." He looked up at him. He couldn't just be 'at ease'.
"Did I... ever give you the impression that I was just looking to fill some slot?"
Was he ruining another relationship when it was just getting started...?
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The ring. Even if Lucifer can say that things are over with Lilith, that doesn't mean the king is able to move on.
Let alone the fact that Alastor himself is not Lilith. Could never be Lilith, for all of his power and charm he wasn't the sort of compassionate soul someone like Lucifer likely sought. Likely needed.
"I never had any illusions that I would be anything serious. I knew it was a flight of fancy."
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He stared at the band as Alastor spoke, and in that, he... understood.
Lucifer wore this ring for so long, it simply became a habit to put it on in the morning, or even sleep with it on some nights. He'd even taken to fidgeting with it, brush a thumb over it when he was lost in thought or feeling some form of anxiety. He chalked it up to a memento, but... was it?
Or was it really from an invisible desire not to let go?
If Lilith simply showed up at the hotel, what would he do? What would he say? He'd never really sat and thought about it... not since he spent his days alone in his workshop, before the phone call that changed everything.
"...Is that how you've really felt? From the start?"
So... he did. He did ruin it.
no subject
"Now now. If I were opposed to such a thing, I would have never gotten invested in the first place, Lucifer. Here I am, after all - here for a flight of fancy, here for what fun we can have."
After a pause, he intertwined their fingers, feeling the warm metal against his fingers too. Warm memories, a family, something ancient and deep... and something that nearly everyone besides Alastor understood the feeling of.
"Give yourself time. How silly it would have been for me to expect you to be out of love after only a few decades or so passing since you parted with Lilith."
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