Zatanna is badass (ssadabsiannataz) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-12-01 13:02:00 |
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Zatanna was finally leaving her home on her own accord. She was tired and still recovering from pushing herself. Not much pushed her to the limits, she really had none after all, but she had pushed too hard and bled too much and it had done nothing to help. Every nerve ending hurt, she felt raw, like she could feel just about every bit of the ether around them. And that pissed her off. She was feeling the magic coursing through her veins, a tangible feeling coursing through her, slick and powerful. She was furious and it was hard to control her desire to strangle someone. Or hit them with a frying pan charged with power. Instead she was dying for a drink. She was twitchy, and needed to get out of the house, to get away from the center of her sanctum. She needed to breath and have a drink and try to dull the pain. Dull the feeling in her veins. She threw on a pink sheath dress and heels, forgoing her usual outfits because she wanted to not be her for ten minutes. Of course that limited where she’d go - she wouldn’t go to Lou’s dressed like that so she ended up at the Verdant. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to banish every things she could feel and see, failing that she just sighed and slid into a seat at the bar, ordering a whiskey straight and resting one elbow on the bar, her fingers lacing through her hair, the hand with the still angry scar curled around her glass. She was halfway through the drink when someone sat down beside her. She didn’t even have to look to see who it was. She was too in touch with the ether around her to not know. Her lips turned downwards in a slight frown. This was bound to bring more trouble down on her head, and an image of the darkness in her flashed through her vision before she banished the thought and turned to the man. “Well. Hello.” It wasn’t exactly the kindest of greetings. *** “Oh, Zee, you can be friendlier than that to an old friend, can’t you?” Were they friends? Probably not. Sure, they’d slept together but he was pretty sure that didn’t mean instant friendship for either of them. It certainly didn’t for him. He’d come here tonight to have a drink, and to go over his employment options. He’d quickly discovered that being broke wasn’t for him, so he was searching for employment options which paid well but didn’t require him to do a lot of work. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be very many of those. “Constantine’s fine, you don’t have to worry about him anymore.” *** “We're not friends.” Was her reply as she sipped from her glass, her fingers tapping on it slowly. There was no way she'd call him friend, ever. He was on the short list of people she'd like to strangle, to be honest. She stiffened, then turned to look at him. “I'm not worried about anything concerning the pair of you, but I'll always worry about him in general.” She pushed her now empty glass aside, rubbing her palm, she could easily get rid of it but for now it was a reminder. “It is simply part of my job.” Zee stopped playing with her scar and looked at him. “How are you finding this town, hmm?” Anything to steer the conversation away from her. *** “Oh, darling, of course we are,” he smiled. “How could we not be friends? We’ve spent so much time together and shared so much.” That, at least, was true. “This latest fiasco of his had nothing to do with me,” he said. “Yes, yes, maybe I saw the telepath offering to help him, and maybe I knew that was a bad idea. Maybe I could have told him how dangerous it would be, but really, what fun would that be? And this place could use a little excitement.” And that was how he was doing in this place. He was terribly, terribly bored. *** “One night is not sharing so much. Nor spending that much time together.” She fought to not grind her teeth. He was good at getting under her skin. So she smiled instead. “I'm sure you find a single night of passion terribly educational about a person.” She smiled through the anger that bubbled under her skin. Control was slipping, she could feel it. “Well, I can't blame you. You have no responsibility to mind him. That was my failing, not yours.” Even if she wanted to. “My extra strength migraine thanks you for your version of entertainment.” The words were bit out sarcastically. She signaled for another drink, she was going to need it. “Goodness, what ever will you do next?” *** “I think you shared quite a bit with me, love,” he said, completely unaffected by her anger. What was she going to do to to him? The detective wasn’t around, he was completely invulnerable. And plus, poking at her amused him. What? He was the devil. “Yes, Zatanna, your failing. You should be more careful next time. Keep your eye on the things that are yours.” He winked. “Especially when those things happen to be John Constantine. He really is a bother, isn’t he?” *** There wasn't much she could do that would hurt him. Punching him would make her feel better for a few minutes. But she was better than that. “I did, did I?” A brow curved upwards, and she laughed. “Perhaps a favorite position or two, I suppose.” She lifted her chin a little, fingers curled around the new glass. “My important things are tucked safely away, so I don't feel terribly worried.” Though she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes, which had gone cold. “He isn't a thing to own, and well quite clearly I'm not his and he's not mine. I slept with you, after all.” Indifference, she could try for that, she could lie even as his words stung. “He gets himself into trouble with or without me around.” *** “But he seems to do it better with you around,” he said, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Really, it was amusing. Humans were amusing. Even ones like Zatanna and Constantine who were more powerful than others. They were so...emotional. And Constantine could be so pissy. But in the end they were still just humans who’d die someday. Why not just enjoy their lives? Lucifer would never understand. “Yes, you did,” he grinned. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not his. There’s more to belonging to a person than where you sleep at night.” *** “Wouldn't that be an argument for me to stay away from him?” She asked with a laugh. Powerful as she was, she was still half human, emotions could throw her abilities into a crazed whirlwind. She couldn't afford that right now. And well, Constantine, he was just a curmudgeon. Even she knew that one. Her lips twisted into a smirk. “Didn't you hear? I've been uninvited from his life.” Even as she said it she knew it wasn't entirely right. Words didn't always reflect the ties that bind. “I crossed a line when I slept with you. He cut me from his life like a tumor.” *** “Yes, well, that’s probably better for you, objectively. I am a good deal better in bed than he is.” There was no doubt about that. He had eons of experience on Constantine. “Is it? I don’t think so,” he said. “If he gets into more trouble with you around, that means you get under his skin. Which means there’s something there.” *** Zatanna couldn't resist an eye roll. “I think I prefer being celibate.” Because she was not debating this, lying through her teeth. He had advantages Constantine didn't have, couldn't have. She couldn't deny that. She'd enjoyed every second. Which is why she felt so damn guilty. “Maybe he just likes having his ass saved by a pretty woman in fishnets and heels.” She wrinkled her nose a little. “This is seriously the weirdest conversation. You are just amused at getting under my skin.” He was making sense and that irked her. She traced the wound on her hand, she'd cared enough to bleed and try ritual magic for him. Her hand closed, digging her nails into it, the sharp pain a focus. **** “Oh, absolutely,” he said. He wasn’t denying that, not even a little. He loved getting under her skin. It was fun. “And I wouldn’t mind having my ass saved by a pretty woman in fishnets and heels either,” he said. “Actually, that sounds perfectly lovely.” He frowned though, when he saw the wound on her hand. “Now what did you go and do that for?” *** Zatanna leaned forward, closer. “You can dream of that as much as you wish.” Her lips curled into a sweet smile as she brought her glass up and drank from it. “I'm sure the image won't be hard to conjure up.” She grabbed a napkin with the injured hand before tucking it out of sight. She didn't want to stain her dress. “Hypothetically speaking, it could have been because a spell would demand blood. Obsidian knives, in theory, bite deep.” *** “Messy thing, spells. I’ve never been too fond of them, really.” Witches and spells and dark magic, and people who tried to ‘worship’ him generally just succeeded in bothering him. Very few of them could actually ‘summon’ him. None of them could unless he wanted to be. And he rather loathed the things they did in his name. And he wasn’t even going to get started on the goats. *** She actually laughed. “Why yes they can be. I certainly avoid the messy ones when I can. That's not my forte.” Zee just smiled. “I prefer my own brand of magic, but some things require a little nudge.” She muttered “pots gnideelb” under her breath before using that hand to grab her glass after the blood stopped. She murmured again, “hsinav doolb dellips” making all remnants of her blood vanish as she smiled at the literal devil before her. “I can only imagine what they do in your name.” She teased. Grinning as she looked at him, she could handle this, no talking about John. “It must get so boring.” *** “No, that part doesn’t get boring, only terribly frustrating.” He frowned. Humans seemed to think that he was the root of all evil. He wasn’t! He’d never made anyone do anything, ever. They just liked using him as a convenient scapegoat for their own fault. Goat! There they were using him as a goat again, dammit. “I’m not evil, you know,” he said. “I punish evil. It’s very different. Very different indeed.” *** Zee lost it then. She just couldn’t help it. She had to set the glass down as she burst into laughter. She only wished she could hear his thoughts because they’d have her on the floor in tears of laughter. “You’re defensive. It’s actually not what I was expecting and it’s hilarious.” She raked a hand through her hair and shook her head. “Look, religion made you out to be evil. People are easily swayed by religion. Thus you’re the root of all evil.” she shook her head a bit more. She was not a fan of religion in general. It got things wrong and mucked up details. “I don’t know what you are, really. I can’t say you’re a saint or a force of good - you’re too devious for that. And you inspire quite a bit of sinning.” even she’d caved to that one. *** “Well, I don’t mind inspiring the good sort of sinning,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Actually, that was a sort of sinning that he didn’t really consider sinning at all. That was just having fun. And Lucifer loved having fun. What else was life for? “I got screwed because dear old Dad was pissed that I wouldn’t cater to his every whim. How is that evil?” *** “And a lot of people call that evil.” she said with a smirk on her lips as she shook her head. “Have you met the Quakers? Heaven help anyone who likes the idea of fun period. But I’m pretty sure by religion’s standards sinning is evil. So there’s that.” she shook her head at him, she was not falling into that one again. Even if it had been fun. “I’m not qualified to answer that question, even after two drinks.” ** “Pfft, humans,” he said. “I just want people to follow their desires. Enjoy their lives. There’s’ nothing evil about that.” He threw back another glass and slammed it on the table, before ordering another. “Tell me, Zatanna. Why Constantine? I mean, he’s not even attractive.” This was the conversation he wanted to have. It was the one that had gotten the biggest rise out of her, and therefore certainly the most interesting. *** Zatanna stopped laughing and went still. She carefully thought it over before answering. “Does it matter? We're simply humans after all. Simply following those desires.” Sort of human anyways. Mostly. “I have my reasons and they aren't for you to mock me for.” She tipped her glass back, emptied it and looked at him. Moth to a flame, that's how she'd described it to Tefe. But to admit that to this man? That'd be giving away too much information. *** “Oh, but they are. What are angels supposed to be amused by, if it isn’t humans?” He rarely called himself an angel, even if it was true. Father had driven him away from that, although he couldn’t take it from his heart completely. “I understand desire. But this desire seems terribly badly placed. You have better taste than that.” *** Her lip curled in annoyance and she got to her feet. From calm to worked up in all of five seconds, this was not good for her. So she took a deep breath. “Mock other people.” She leaned down, her face inches from his as she spoke quietly. “I'm questioning my taste right now. My desires aren't for you to play with, I don't need to explain them.” ** Lucifer just laughed. He wasn’t that easily ruffled, especially when it came to bothering other people. “They are, actually. That’s kind of what I do. You don’t have to get so snippy about it. Sit. Have another drink.” *** “I think I've had quite enough.” She straightened up and looked down at him. “You may think so but leave them be. I'm content not acting on my desires, I don't need to.” Oops. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Bullocks. Damn him. *** Lucifer grinned at that little slip. It was something he was so very good at - getting people to express things that they really, really didn’t want to. He took pride in that. “But you should act on them, darling. You won’t be happy until you do.” *** “Act on them, huh?” Zee suddenly smiled, and acted on a desire, slapping him across the face. It wasn't meant to hurt, not like it would anyways, it was mostly for show. “You're right, I feel better already. Who knew.” *** Lucifer blinked. It was impossible for her to actually injure him, but that didn’t mean that the slap across the face didn’t sting. It did. “Now what was that for??” *** “You're downright impossible, I've wanted to punch you since you brought the conversation back to Constantine and I. You get under my skin.” She said quietly, eyes narrowed. “You'll use everything you can against anyone because it's fun. I don't need love life advice from you or anyone else. You're incorrigible.” *** That brought the smile back to his face, bright and happy. “Why thank you. I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. Truly, I’m touched.” *** Zee threw up her hands in exasperation. “Why do I even bother?” she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers and shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to thank.” “I’m calling it quits before you hurt my head even more.” She just wasn’t sure how to handle that one, and with her head still pounding, well, it was safer to throw the cards in before she bet the house. As it were. ** “Pity,” Lucifer said, actually managing to sound somewhat disappointed. “I do hope that I’ll see you again soon. I’d be glad to help you handle some of those...desires.” *** “You’ll find someone else interesting to bother tonight, I have faith in that one.” she rolled her eyes at him as she pushed away from the bar. “You can keep dreaming on that one, we’ve been there done that. I’m pretty sure I’m good to go.” she waved lazily over her shoulder at him, laughing. ** |