During his stay here Valtiel had grown accustomed to not exactly doing his heavenly duties. Such feats were proven to be impossible here, and it soured the angel's mood. Instead of moping around though; Valtiel had made it his job to go to a seedy place twice a week, and watch the citizens engage in their sinful acts. It made Valtiel sick to see this kind of depravity from humans; demons enjoying this sort of thing didn't bother Valtiel at all. But that was because those that were called demons had no chance to repent; they had no hope of ever being anything else. They might as well enjoy their sins. Humans though could repent, and they had hope. They had the choice to turn from their evil ways, and walk the narrow path; preferably the narrow path to his own God.
Tonight's choice of venue was a strip club that Valtiel frequented often. The people who ran the place knew him as Daniel; like hell Valtiel was going to let him know his true name. For those who had never been inside; the neon signs enticed those with erotic appetites to come inside and watch the sexually appealing dancers do what they do best. Men from all walks of life were entering the joint; most of them human. Valtiel had decided to dress in black dress pants, a long sleeved light blue shirt, and a tie. Appropriately he looked like a man who had just gotten off of work, and instead of coming home from his job he had chosen to leave his wife a message that he would be home late. The angel was let inside, a few hellos being exchanged.
"Rough day at the office, Daniel?" One person asked him.
"Yeah, you could say that," 'Daniel' told the other man.
He made his way further inside, and scanned the tables. The place was dark; no doubt to hide the shame that these people were feeling. The only lights came from dimmed lamps, and the spotlights that shone on tonight's dancer of choice. Valtiel made his way to an empty table, and sat down. Someone asked him what he wanted to drink; Valtiel ordered gin and tonic. He glanced at the bill; tonight the dancer was a young woman by the name of Lady Vanessa. He put down the bill, and watched with a blank expression. Inside he felt nothing but disgust.
Damien Thorn did not come around this city every night at this time. He usually came straight home to his mansion after work, or he would stop by the Lux for a drink. Or check in on Sylvia and Logan for some carnal, uninhibited fun. Possibly even visit his vampire Valek at the hotel. But this area of town... he did like to explore it once in a while. He enjoyed seeing people when they weren't being so righteous. The low-rent motels, the tenements, the strip clubs and bars.
Tonight, he chose this strip club in particular. He'd watch the strippers dance, and also observe those that watched them.. feel the naughty thoughts in their heads, the urges in their bodies. Damien would be lying if he said he didn't get off on being in the presence of sin. It gave him such a rush. And besides, he could sometimes find a potential follower or two within the numbers of patrons around here.
He was wearing dark slacks, a black button-shirt with matching suede business jacket, and a red tie. It was befitting of a successful young man whom some people knew as the Antichrist. But most recognized him as the CEO of Thorn Industries, from business magazines and television interviews. As he walked into the club, he stiffened for a brief moment, sensing something peculiar in the air. There was a... presence. Something supernatural. Similar to that other night in the Lux. But this felt a little different. He walked past the man known as 'Daniel', taking a seat at a table next to his and spoke to someone passing by, "Hey, I'll have a Scotch.."
Valtiel didn't pay much mind to the young man that had walked past, and sat at the table next to his. His mind was focused on the patrons of the place, and how they should be punished in the afterlife for these transgressions. These thoughts were a little more like fantasies though; seeing as Valtiel wasn't in his domain. That didn't stop the angel from watching people though. Now, what did cause Valtiel notice the man sitting next to him was when he sensed the supernatural aura coming from him. He shrugged, and thought nothing of it. This city was teeming with the supernatural; one patron in a stripclub was no reason for alarm.
The waiter came back with his gin and tonic; for which Valtiel mumbled a small thanks. When the server was out of sight Valtiel took a drink from the glass, and sat it down on one of the coasters. Alcohol had no effect on him; and drinking this was very much like drinking a Sprite; or any other lemony carbonated drink. His hand remained around the contours of the glass which was now starting to perspire; droplets of water forming on the outside. He lifted up the glass to his lips, and took another sip. During this entire time his gaze never left the dancer on the stage, or the men below that stage hooting; hollering; and shoving dollar bills down her g-string. Valtiel placed the drink down once more, and shook his head in disapproval. The song was finishing up, and so was Lady Vanessa's act. When it was over; so was her act; and she left the stage. Not five minutes later, and the next dancer came on stage. A blonde woman dressed in black leather; quite possibly costuming as the dominatrix type. Valtiel shook his head, and said aloud to himself;
"Looks like what the young people wear for Halloween."
Damien laughed, smiling as he looked up at the new stripper. Yeah.... he wouldn't mind a go at that sometime. "I haven't seen anyone wearing those kind of costumes.. but if they have, I definitely need to be out more." He paused, turning to look at the other man. Yes, he was definitely something different.
"I doubt any of these fools know the true origin of Halloween", he said with a shrug, gesturing to those that were around them. "What it really meant in those old days. The rituals performed. The dangers involved. Now they got it mixed up in games, dress-up, apple dunking, candy, and commercial needs. Of course it's the same with other holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas."
At that particular mention, he coughed and mumbled as he covered his mouth, "Cursed Nazarene." He shook his head and took another drink of his Scotch. "This is my first time in here since several months ago. Do you come here often? I'm Damien Thorn, by the way."
Valtiel glanced sideways over at the man; and answered back, "Similar costumes are available in the shops during Halloween." He raised the glass to his mouth again, and took another drink; ice falling near his mouth, but not quite making it inside. He propped the glass down; now it was devoid of the drink. "There are still some that have chosen not to spit on that sacred day." Valtiel turned a bit so he could face Damien better, "and by that I meant Halloween. Thanksgiving and Christmas mean nothing to me. The first is a lie; and the latter is an excuse for people to give into their greed; all in the name of a child who was not likely born on that day."
The angel's brows raised when Damien had made that rather blasphemous remark. Not that it really bothered the angel all that much. "Yes, I come here usually twice a month. It gives me something to do when I tire of not doing anything." The waiter came back, and Valtiel sent him back for another gin and tonic. The first one had had absolutely no effect on him. "They call me Valtiel," the angel answered Damien. "Damien; from the French; Damian. to tame."
"I'm rarely tamed, it's usually the other way around." Damien smirked at his humor. "People use Thanksgiving to get fat and talk about themselves, but then forget it the next day. It's a nice story. But they neglect to mention that in later years, the settlers ran the natives off their land. It was barbaric, I suppose. Chief American Horse was fond of jokes, but it was certainly no laughing matter during his death.. though Sgt. Sutter had a big smirk at the time, showing off his crooked teeth. A shame he died in a knifefight the following year in a saloon." That seemed a bit impossible;e that the young man would know such detail as that. But he did. Knowledge sometimes came to him that way, just be thinking on it.
"Pleasure to meet you, Valtiel." Damien raised his glass and gave a nod of acknowledgment before setting it back down. The man's name sounded interesting in itself as well. He knew the other man, genderly-speaking, was clearly not human. He just wasn't sure on the details. And now he was curious and decided it best to get it out of the way, sort of lay the cards on the table. "So, Valtiel... what are you?"
He listened to all details being spoken; and only nodded his head along with the story that Damien was speaking of. "The natives of America had much more reverence. They knew how to treat the land; and they knew how the gods must be worshiped. The settlers, all they desire is how they can be blessed without paying the price. It's disheartening to say the least." By the end of that the second gin and tonic had arrived. Once again Valtiel took a drink, but decided to glance at the man speaking to him; it was clear this man wasn't human.
"I am an entity that is revered as an angel; and cursed as a demon. I am what you might call a great spirit. Long ago people saw me as the voice of the God. Then the settlers came; they tried to kill off the people, but instead they disappeared. A second group came along; and imposed their Christian beliefs on the land. God became their God, the gods under her; servants of Her's; and I became their Metatron and Samael." Valtiel scoffed, "Humans, always having to label everything."
Damien nodded, listening as Valtiel spoke of the settlers. As he listened, he could see flashes of images in his mind. Bloodshed, fighting, conflict of that time period. He remembered when he was 13, during history class, he had recalled vivid details about Attilla the Hun, things that historians did not know. "It is unfortunate, though humans tend to prefer war more than peace. Everyone loves a good fight, I suppose."
He arched a brow as he heard it being revealed that Valtiel was an angel of sorts. An angel in his world, but called a demon by other people. Labels. He wasn't fond of those. "I can relate to that. Some people think that it's okay to kill something evil on a church alter when he's five, because it says so in their book... or so they claim. Though if they read further, they'd see that the evil guy is supposed to exist, so killing him goes against their own prophecy. Idiots."
Damien paused, figuring that he should explain, lest the angel be confused. Unless he already had a good idea. Ahh well, the young CEO decided to go ahead anyway. "Well.. me? My father is Lucifer. Referred to as Satan by some. You may be called a demon, but I was conceived from one. Now, I never saw horns on him, like what those foolish little kids dress up as on Halloween. My mother, on the other hand.. she was a real bitch. A jackal. No, she really was. I came from the womb of a jackal." He chuckled and took a drink of his Scotch, finishing it off. "Now, of course this leads to holy men wanting my blood, though it usually ends.. badly.. for them. Like, in a violent way. I wasn't born powerless. And it does help to have followers.."
"So you're what they call The Anti-Christ?" Valtiel asked, although he was pretty sure that he was correct. He sat and listened while Damien talked about himself; fascination and curiosity settling deep inside of his mind even if his expressions didn't show it. "Yes, the whole horns on the Devil idea; that popular Halloween costume. If only they knew that the Devil didn't have horns until the Christians decided that Pan; and the horned God were evil." Valtiel took another drink; by this point he was no longer watching the dancer; his focus now on the discussion between Damien and himself. "And still the idea of horns on a devil is ridiculous. Though I refuse to believe that my God is any sort of demon; even if she is sometimes summoned to look like Baphomet," at this Valtiel whispered angrily, "stupid Dahlia Gillespie."
"Humans do have the uncanny ability to change what has been written. I've witnessed it happen twice now." Valtiel decided to explain. "Long ago my God came to Earth to save humans from their eternal suffering. She made day and night; showed them the path of the salvation; and gave them joy and death. Her final act was to create Paradise; a place where all humanity could live without pain and suffering. She died before it could be completed though, but promised to return." The angel took another drink, and started laughing, "Now how is this for human pride? The prophecy clearly states that it must be a man and a woman that bring God to Earth a second time. But humans with their pride; one group decides that only the mother is important; and the other group decides that only the father is important. So you have the first group, and they're searching for the chosen one. The holy mother that can conceive and birth their god; a woman who has the mental capacity to do the job. They find her. Right underneath their noses; a seven year old girl with immense power and they burn her alive. The girl's own mother becomes the conjurer, and in a sick twisted way becomes the father of God. The little girl doesn't like this one bit, and hinders the birth. But you know the most ironic part of all?"
A pause, and Valtiel continued, "this girl; this Holy Mother, she vows to kill the child she's carrying. Kill God; and when she fails and God is born She looks no different from the Mother that tried to murder her."
Valtiel paused for a moment. "Now the latter group decides to find the Conjurer; the Holy Man with the power to bring God from her throne and down to Earth. It's unfortunate then that the Holy Father had severe mommy issues; and decided that he wanted to descend God into an apartment room." The angel rolled his eyes. "My Lord, I love her, but to think of her trapped like that makes me shudder. Well as of now the prophecy has been broken three times." A sigh escaped from his mouth.
Damien nodded at the Antichrist part, as well as what Valtiel was saying about the devil's appearance. "Wow.. yes, I thought the same thing about that. They used Pan as a scapegoat. They simply borrowed.. sorry, stole from other religions and incorporated it into their own. It's really not that surprising." He laughed at that. "They can be quite the superstitious lot, you know.."
When the angel began speaking about his God, about the Conjurer, Holy Mother and Father, and of Dahlia.. well, Damien looked at Valtiel with interest, listened closely. He found all of that rather interesting. He briefly wondered if Father Vincent had been part of this. "Three times? That. well, that's unfortunate. Maybe it will come to pass next time around. You mentioned Dahlia. I believe I've heard her name from the boards. And what of this Conjurer, is he here too? You mentioned an apartment.. I believe I have heard that particular part before. Anyone else here that knows of your religion, your ways.. that are in this city now? And just out of curiosity, where did you live before coming here?"
"And that I couldn't agree with more." Valtiel remarked, concerning the bit about the Devil, and Pan. "I am still amused too as to how kids can toss a sheet over themselves, and say that they're ghosts. It's ridiculous."
"I am not worried; God can be reborn several times over. No matter who kills her; she will always be brought back. Yes, Dahlia. She is the woman who offered up her very own daughter as the sacrifice." He sighed, "She only wanted God to be born so she could control it. Sad, really." That fact did make the angel a little sad. He wanted his God to be born to this world so she could save people; not so she could become a slave to some megalomaniac bitch.
At the mention of the conjurer, Valtiel looked up. "I did not know that Walter Sullivan was here. I wonder how he fared here." He continued speaking, this time about the other people in the faith. "As of right now only Dahlia, Alessa, and Vincent are the only ones who have vast knowledge of the religion. Harry and Heather Mason have some knowledge; though not much." Valtiel took one final drink from his glass, "I lived in Silent Hill"
"Wow.." Damien blinked, surprised to hear about Dahlia. "I know a thing or two about sacrifice. My followers sometimes did that back home. And.. I was to be sacrificed once. Remember how I told you about holy men wanting my death? Well, when I was five, I was living with a couple that adopted me. Bad things happened. And my 'father' found out about me. One night, he took me to a church, had me on an alter, and was prepared to slide all seven daggers into my body."
He shook his head, no wanting to relive that particular memory. But he was curious, even interested, when he had heard of everything else Valtiel had told him. "Silent Hill.. that's an interesting name. Never been there. I do know of a Heather. Isn't she married to someone? Umm.. Sam, isn't it?" He smiled and added, "I do know of Father Vincent, from the boards. We talked a bit. Actually, I mostly find him a bit amusing. It's fun to see the reactions he gets out of people. Especially Heather and.. others."
"I take it that your adoptive father wanted to sacrifice you in order to save the world?" A hint of a smile appeared on Valtiel's face, "They would choose to go against their own prophecy if it meant preventing the Apocalypse."
He reached for his glass; the ice had all but melted, and the angel took to swirling the watery liquid around. "It's a small tourist town in Maine. Used to be a sacred place until people decided to convert the land for prophet. Even so, there are those who still cherish that land." He knocked back the rest of his drink, and motioned to the waiter to bring him another one. "Heather...is she married to someone? I have not actually spoken to her much, but I can't blame her." This time Valtiel smirked, "Her and Alessa share a very close bond. It's actually proof that whoever or whatever runs this city is indeed quite powerful."
For a moment Valtiel looked over at the action on stage. This time another blonde; wearing a skimpy school girl outfit was doing her thing. He rolled his eyes, and snidely remarked, "And that'll be the hot Halloween costume this year! Hmm, oh yes, Vincent. Yes, he is quite the character even though I sometimes question his loyalties."
"Yes, exactly," Damien said as he rolled his eyes. "He did it to save the world. Then when I was adopted again, it wasn't until I was 13 that the man's brother tried to kill me too. They all died horribly."
He paused. "Alessa.. yes, I've heard of her, talked to her a couple times. Very interesting. It sort of makes me wonder what type of life I would have if I had somehow wound up in Silent Hill. I'd probably find some way to use events to my advantage. That's what I do here, at least. It's worked out fine for me so far, managed to get a few employees and followers out of it."
He laughed, seeing the new dancer come out. "Ohhh.... now there's a costume. I'd give her some candy. Antichrist-flavored, of course. I have to agree with you, that is one of the hottest costumes I ever saw on a woman." Although, he wasn't picky, as he liked males too. "True.. Vincent is amusing. Loyalties should always be questioned for one's followers. I do the same with mine."
"I imagine that if they came to know of your powers they'd try and use you to bring my God to the earth." That was pretty much true, Valtiel thought. All attempts to bring back the God had been through very powerful individuals. "So you've amassed quite a following for yourself here? I almost regret that ever since being dragged here my true purpose has all, but been lost." After he spoke, the waiter came by with his third drink. He took the glass, and thanked him.
At the mention of 'Antichrist-flavored' candy; Valtiel raised his eyebrows. "And what is the difference between that flavor and all the other flavors?" He said nothing about the costume, or about Damien's attraction. Valtiel didn't find many attractive in the physical plain; in fact, although the angel would deny it; the idea of sex repulsed him. "He loves God, and he fears Her; but his first love has always been money. One of these days I ought to show him that She does not enjoy being replaced by a stack of green, or a pool of coins."
'They could try to use me,' Damien thought to himself. No one used him. Nay, it was the other way around. He was the manipulator in this city. Maybe not the top leader of them, but he considered himself pretty high up there. "Yes, quite a few. I have a vampire and several humans, there was a demon here.. and possibly a young warlock. There was also Dionysus, but he left a long while ago. Logan and Sylvia are my human allies.. I met them through Voldemort. They have many good.. uses." Mostly physical, but he didn't see a need to elaborate on that. "I've been thinking about starting my own church too. Valek, the vampire, he was once a priest."
He laughed, shaking his head at the question about flavors. "Oh, well.. this particular one lasts longer. More satisfying, leaves a good impression to those brave enough to sample it. My father was the Devil, after all. I know a few things about sin, and getting others to do it. It's easy with humans." He shrugged. "Vincent does like money. Though, I am curious.. how would you show him? Would it involve pain? Or will you find a way to deprive him of money?"
The angel nodded his head, although not 100 percent listening to Damien. "This church; they would worship you? Or your father?" He was genuinely curious about that part; but that's all it was; curiosity. "And a vampire as a priest. I could say that's quite ironic, but truly more ironic things have been beheld."
He proceeded to knock back the last of his drink, and opted to have no more. "Vincent is afraid of physical pain. If you watch him carefully you will notice that he backs away from making a person angry as soon as they threaten to hurt him." He thought long and hard for a while, and finally said, "I could take all of his money away from him; freeze his bank account. I wouldn't let it last long; just long enough for him to learn his lesson."
Valtiel focused his attention on the stage once again, and could not help letting out a disgusted sound. "I do apologize, but I can't stand to stay in this place any longer." He stood up, and offered his hand to Damien, "It was good to meet you, Damien."
"They'd mostly worship me," Damien said with a shrug. "Though it's not so much a place to worship, as a base of operations, a place for us all to gather.. and perhaps gain even more loyal followers to my side." He laughed. "Yes, quite the irony. He thought so too."
"Huh.. you know, I do notice that, now that you mention it.." Damien shook his head, not believing he hadn't caught onto it before. "Vincent does seem a bit agreeable." He listened as the angel described what he'd do. "That's it, the bank accounts. Hit him where it really hurts."
The Antichrist nodded, standing up as he shook the hand offered to him. He smiled and said, "It's been a pleasure to meet you as well, Valtiel. The first angel I met that didn't want to take my life. It's a little refreshing." He laughed then. "Perhaps we can meet again in the future."
Valtiel nodded his head, "Yes, I might enjoy that." He didn't mention that perhaps the reason why they got along was because Valtiel was also considered to be a demon by many people. After the two had exchanged their farewells; Valtiel paid his tab; and left the building. Once outside of that cesspool of sin; he decided to make his way to a church, and enjoy the sanctity of a holy place.
Who: Valtiel and Damien Thorn What: An angel and the Antichrist meet in a strip club. Discussions of strippers, Halloween, homelife, and religion ensues When: Late Tonight; February 19th Where: A Strip Club Rating/Warnings: R, for some swearing, mentions of violence, and mentions of nudity. Status: Log: Complete