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Mephistopheles ([info]feedsmycontempt) wrote in [info]utr_logs,
@ 2010-07-19 22:31:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:ariel, mephisto

Who: Mephisto and Ariel
What: Drinking, telling stories
Where: Nemo's Rare Books
When: Monday nightish
Warnings: Swearing, BROMANCE SO CANON, grumping at each other.

He had a feeling that he wasn't the only creature that felt like he needed a drink after the bullshit of the day, and he knew just the other creature who'd need one. It wasn't often that Mephistopheles and Ariel agreed about anything, but the one thing that was contested today was their feelings about each other. Mephistopheles ran his fingertips over several bottles at a bar that someone had set up in his castle, before he found himself at Ariel's doorstep. He could feel the devil traps, like thick cobwebs, pull at him when he walked in.

"You know, you're going to need more than those to hold me out. I don't need to use the door," Mephisto announced, before the bottles he'd touched in his castle came to rest on the shop's counter top. In all, there were an even dozen, all different sorts of spirits. From whiskey to wine, vodka, to rum and sake and beyond, all of the finest flavor, and all of the highest proof.

"Women," he said in a dismissive grumble.


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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 04:51 am UTC (link)
Ariel heard the voice before he saw the dark form, so he wasn't afraid upon walking out from the back room. "It keeps most of the riffraff out," was all he said, turning off a few of the electric lights. The shop hadn't yet begun to make a true profit, and the bills were ruinous.

He saw the bottles sitting on the shop counter, and had to laugh, or at least try to. "You're more imaginative than to try and kill me with spirits, so I'll simply appreciate the act of bringing them." The day had been draining, bruising. He'd had his talk with Mary, he'd been thoroughly embarrassed by Mary, and he'd been in more than half a fog while working. He wanted, needed to talk to Princess, but she'd not answered his letter.

He stood behind the counter, while the devil stood in front. When Mephisto grumbled about women, Ariel simply shrugged. "They have their good points." Warm, soft and true, to start. But that was a road he had no wish to travel, and simply removed a corkscrew from his pocket.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 04:56 am UTC (link)
"And yet, they cut straight through to the soul," Mephisto added as he tapped his foot to get a clear picture of the place through the echo. He found a chair and pulled it over, sitting on its back, setting his foot on the seat, before also summoning two glasses. "Instead of dwelling on today, let's go back to better times. Tell me about your life of travel before you came to my realm." That was something Ariel hadn't done - and something Mephisto ever cared to learn - when they first knew each other.

"Surely there's a story behind your arrival, there always was."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 05:04 am UTC (link)
Ariel wasn't aware that he'd ever entered a realm belonging exclusively to the demon, but it was a moot point. "There are parts I don't remember," he said, opening the first two bottles in turn - the whisky and the wine. "It might be because of the opium, but I find my memory is not complete even about periods of my life I ought to know." He had no idea if dying had erased them, if it had been transport to this world, or something else. It had been almost two hundred years, after all. "The first memory I can possibly recall is being en route to China, via Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan." He had to chuckle. "The ship almost foundered. I almost died at the age of sixteen." In other words, at a time when the only mention of Mephistopheles he'd known had been within the pages of Faust.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 05:11 am UTC (link)
"Blessed thing you didn't," Murmured the demon, pushing his hair back from his face and onto his back before pouring a glass of wine for himself, "Human life is too short as it is, but to be snuffed out so early would be a tragedy not fitting one such as yourself." He sipped the wine, approving it, the backwash somewhat curdling the wine, the brim from which he sipped corroding. He paid it no mind, or perhaps Mephisto simply didn't notice.

"To lose such a great amount of your life is also a tragedy, though. How old would you say you are today?"

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 05:15 am UTC (link)
He raised one eyebrow - that flattery bordered on simpering - but didn't comment on it, at least not for now. "Today? Perhaps thirty. Twenty-eight, thirty-one. Within that corridor." He'd been twenty-eight or so when he died, but this world was perfectly capable of adding a few years if it so chose. "The passport of the man I replaced gives his age at thirty." Ariel chose the bottle of sake for himself, the Japanese rice wine feeling very reminiscent of China. The ports in Guangzhou had been stocked with anything anyone might ever want or need, at the height of their power.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 05:24 am UTC (link)
That made Mephisto raise his own brow, sipping the wine again. "Still in the height of your life, then. If you were stronger, you would have died at war with a different concept of evil. I think you chose the more glorious road." He sat up and lazily spun the stem of his glass between his fingers. "I must admit, for all that I have known, and all that I have done, it astounds me that you may be more well traveled than I. Then again, walking from what is now Iraq, to Bulgaria, in the time that I had is an accomplishment not taken lightly." He smirked. "Even Alexander had a horse. You would have liked him, I think, if your egos didn't clash. The search for power, knowledge and righteousness is a very well-traveled road, though no two travelers are quite the same." He finished up the wine and set the glass down, and it, not daring to displease Mephisto, returned to its pristine, perfect form. He had that way with things.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 05:36 am UTC (link)
"The closest I ever came to war was when I was a child." He took some of the sake, allowing himself a pleased noise as it burned a bit. "I don't remember it specifically, but I do remember that the place where I lived was very near the President's House in the District of Columbia. The British burned the city, of course, during that war." Ariel shook his head. "As for being well-travelled, going from Mesopotamia to a place I gather used to be part of the Russian Empire by foot is definitely an achievement I would hesitate to undertake. And my own travels were as much to get away as they were to go anywhere, if such a thing makes sense."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 05:40 am UTC (link)
"It was Eden and Lands Unknown when I'd done it," Mephisto corrected, but he understood.

"From what? America? A home you couldn't stand? Why Ariel, I thought you were seeking out demons, not running from them." He filled his glass once more and turned his head to the human. He was intrigued to say the least.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 05:44 am UTC (link)
This hurt, somehow, but it was a story that probably needed the telling. "I was bored. Beyond belief." There was a surprisingly bitter note in that simple phrase, and it worried him. "I wish I remembered more of it, to be quite honest, but I remember being trapped. I'm sure I would have been pressured to farm the land, make myself a bored present to some young w -" He broke off, angry at himself, somehow. "I left to get away," he said dully. "And because I knew there was more to discover. In that, I was correct."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 05:54 am UTC (link)
"And in that opinion, you always will be correct. Humans are a fascinating creature, I knew the first one, and he dulled me, perhaps setting me up for an eternity of surprise when it seems that every twenty years or so, a mortal stumbles upon one of the simplest, most amazing facts that they could learn, and shows the world that truly anything is possible through mere searching." He paused as he considered, the glass nearly up to his lips.

"Your story begs to be traded for one of my own. I quite nearly loved a human, just before we met." He started it with that, because he knew Ariel wouldn't believe it, but still want to hear the story. He went on to tell about his friend Daniel in more detail than he'd ever laid bare. His deep connection with the mortal man still affected his perceptions of the entire race, and by the time he even got to the last night they spoke, his voice had gone from a conversational tone, to one of a creature in mourning even still - sad, soft, nearly a whisper.

At the end, he emptied his glass and grabbed the bottle to fill it again.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 06:00 am UTC (link)
He didn't believe it at first, but by the end of the recital, the doubt was gone. There were times when the truth simply slipped out - when even one's best attempts at falsehood were betrayed by something in the face, or voice. Ariel watched the demon's face as he spoke, but it was the voice that made him think the story true. He didn't believe a being like Mephisto could summon that much pathos.

He could have said something, but everything sounded bathetic or patronizing or simply silly. So Ariel poured a third tot of sake and simply inclined his head before drinking it down.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 06:05 am UTC (link)
"It may the only time I'll ever show compassion, if all I got from that is you," said Mephisto, his words full of venom. "Though, even you're not the personal hell God would think you are to me. She cast me into Hell, and here I am, walking on earth. I killed you, and rather than going to hell or ascending, you stand here with me, drinking."

He quaffed his third glass of wine.

"Not quite Hell for both of us, because at least we have things other than each other to focus on."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 06:27 am UTC (link)
The sake was starting to give off a warm buzz, and it made him a trifle more relaxed. "What makes you believe that it was solely the act of compassion that led you here?" Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Though I do agree that you are only part of my personal hell."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 06:35 am UTC (link)
"It's nice to know I'm only a fraction of your mental anguish, Ariel, truly." He shook his head as he set down the glass to start sewing. "No, the Creator spoke to me because of that act, and that's when we made the wager. And now, I don't have Daniel, I have a spiteful little bookworm who still trembles in fear over me. I admit that you have your right to, but have I done anything to you personally since I got here? Have I sent my legions of pit fiends to assault you in the darkest part of the night? The worst I did was send Calliope out to mess with you a little and look how little she did. You have all your digits, all your limbs, and you still breathe. You were lucky."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 06:44 am UTC (link)
This was getting tiresome to explain. "Funny, I thought you lived on fear. And are you really so ignorant of your effect on people?" Surely not; surely he had to know. "It's almost as if you want to be forgiven." Which was idiocy. "You ripped my soul out with your hands, Mephisto." He even managed the name; if only as an illustration of Not Fucking Around. "I'm not afraid of you personally, but I'd be ten times a fool if I thought that there isn't a very thin line between me and whatever imaginative torture I'm judged to deserve."

He took the sake bottle, pouring a slightly larger shot. "If you want me to trust you fully, you'll be waiting a damned long time."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 06:56 am UTC (link)
"I'll wait until the end of all things, and drag you whining and bellyaching the whole way, if that's what it takes for you to come to terms with the fact that I had no choice." He faced the human still, following his breathing.

"If your only way to find peace, to find home, was to ruin and kill a man, a specific man not of your choosing, would you? If your only way to return to a being that you once were? You couldn't comprehend that, never mind." He wasn't angry at Ariel, and didn't fault him for his anger. He was right, and he deserved it, but by God's name, if the human carried a grudge with anyone, it should have been their Creator.

"God chose you. Not me. God chose you. Not anyone else. I would have taken anyone else, too, if that's if it would have needed. I would have killed you all singlehandedly, if that's what my Lord asked me to, but no. It was you. And you won. I never HAD your soul, Ariel. You redeemed yourself before I could. And yet, I do not fault you."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 07:12 am UTC (link)
He sighed. "If this is winning, I would hate to see a loss, but I understand at least part of what you say." He downed the sake, and by now, could barely feel it.

Still, he chose his words carefully. He truly didn't want to offend, not now. This felt to important to piss away by being flippant. "I understand that I was not a target chosen by you. I also understand that it was God's arrogance and deceit that was the direct cause of my griefs." And yet. He wet his lips, leaning on the counter. "But something always frightened me about the joys with which you went about your work. To undertake a task is one thing. To enjoy it is quite another."

He would never be able to truly forgive Mephisto, but even now, things were different than they had been. He was beginning to comprehend the demon, to understand some of his actions. That frightened him more than anything, before God and all the angels.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 07:22 am UTC (link)
"Wouldn't you be happy to have a chance to see the one thing you loved the most again? To see?" Mephisto's brow knit in concern. Humans were emotional, understanding, empathetic creatures, and now, here, when he needed it, Ariel seemed to hold back from that.

"I was elated that I had even the slimmest chance to go back there. The slightest possibility. It meant that I wasn't truly lost to this world. I would ascend and my corruptions would slip away. I would be what I was meant to be, again."

He stood and took one of the smaller pamphlets out of a bookcase and held it up to Ariel. "It's a book, and its purpose is to contain knowledge for those to learn." At that, he dropped the book on the floor and stood on it, crushing it under the heel of his black leather boot. "It fell." He picked it up, dusted off slightly, and then started ripping the pages from the edges, but never completely. Hell, not even halfway in. He knew that this was getting through to Ariel. "It became something not quite like itself." Now. If you were this book, wouldn't you want to be repaired and go back on that shelf, or even somewhere reasonable, where you could be used for your original purpose? Oh, right. Too bad." He lit the damn thing on fire and all that was left was a little bit of ash in his hands, which he dusted from his fingertips before sitting back down.

The book, incidentally, found itself in perfect condition back on the shelf again. Even Mephisto wasn't that cruel to fine literature.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 07:38 am UTC (link)
It did make sense. It scared him to death that it made sense. "There are times I don't believe mortals are meant to comprehend so much," Ariel said heavily, sitting down. "It leads to questions that most of us don't want to comprehend. The nature of God and the universe. Sin. Forgiveness and lack thereof."

He swallowed, looking at his glass, the lights bouncing off the clear liquid. "In some ways I have my strength, but in others, I fear I'm quite weak." It seemed a logical progression to say, so he simply said it. "To understand you, I fear, is to become you." The words were whispered hoarsely, over the rim of the glass, with all their permutations alongside. All the pain, bitterness, fear, anger, longing. To be not only sure of damnation, but positive. "I cannot adequately express how deeply that spectre frightens me."

Ariel didn't move, anticipating fury or even a physical assault, but he'd told the absolute truth. So be it.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 07:45 am UTC (link)
Mephisto considered that for a while, and then a smile formed on his lips, and he chuckled silently. "You won't. For one, I was always hot tempered, far more than you ever could be. Another point is that you're human. You're always able to be redeemed and forgiven." He plucked up the brandy and poured it into his glass, shaking his head, still amused.

"You can never fully understand me, Ariel. But you can learn from me. I may not be what I once was, but in your presence, I damn well remember what it feels like to want to be. I hope not for redemption or to ascend any longer, I'm too far gone for that. But I can hope for purification. I'd rather be locked on this earth, eternally bound like Cain, to roam forever, but as my first form, than ever have to be the bitter old relic I am."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 06:39 pm UTC (link)
Ariel was surprised at the reply, which made it all the clearer, he supposed, that there was so much still to learn. He set the sake glass down; no need to court pain in the morning. "Purification," he echoed, mind spiraling away into thoughts and formulas, ideas and conjectures. Dear God. One wondered.

He didn't dare voice such thoughts, though, and instead spoke of the other thing that weighed on his mind. "Mortals don't grasp the idea that any being would be denied the forgiveness of God. And it's a paradox, at least for them." He leaned forward, arms bent on the countertop. "Their natural inclination is to think no sin is too great, no sinner irredeemable. But to sympathize, and possibly to pity, the man in the stocks is frowned upon by this allegedly beneficent God."

He shook his head, hoping the demon wouldn't get upset and accuse him of pitying him. He felt no pity for Mephisto, but he felt no great urge to justify God.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 06:55 pm UTC (link)
No, it was a perfectly rational confusion that the human expressed, and Mephisto understood. "For your kind, there is no sin too great. Redemption comes easily to God's favored creatures. The Creator sees humans as her golden children - creatures that can do wrong, but innocently. We, God's first creations, need but go against our very natures to suffer eternal exile. To put a fine point on it, I did not love your kind as God commanded we all do, so I became persona non grata in all of creation. I'm not the only one."

He faced the window as a car drove by the shop, following its sound. "All things considered, your kind has an easy existence. Infinite chances to redeem your soul from damnation, the loophole of ignorance, your mortality, and God's favor." All those things were very well and good, but still, Hell was always gaining new arrivals. It spoke greatly of humanity's stupidity and apathy.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 07:06 pm UTC (link)
It was a heavy burden to realize. He did not consider himself a misanthrope, but he liked to think he was aware of just how foolish humans could be. It was a former alcoholic judging his former brethren; it was a man turned states' evidence condemning his co-conspirators from the bench instead of the dock.

For the first time in a long time, he felt as though he'd somehow been lucky; if he'd been in hell, he didn't remember it. And this time around, he was beginning to wonder if he wasn't getting information enough to escape it. Perhaps it wasn't even about comprehending Mephisto, but comprehending a part of all heavenly beings.

"How we must be hated," Ariel said softly.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 07:19 pm UTC (link)
"Mm," Mephisto answered, neither a confirmation or denial. "And consider the pit spawn that was never pure, nothing but corruption embodied. They have more reason to find displeasure in your existence than even I do. I'll never claim that mine is the most tragic tale, but I pity things that have never felt purity. Perhaps they simply wouldn't know what to do with it if they had it, but I still find it unfortunate." He sipped his brandy and went back to facing Ariel.

"It has always been a game of mine, to tell some the truth, and others lies. To send some down the path to Hell and some to the Creator. The ones I see fit to Ascend, assuredly do. God sent me down here, and to what end? To lament my descent? To be a hermit? Pah. If there's one thing I cannot do, it's resist a little game."

And didn't Ariel know it.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 07:44 pm UTC (link)
Surprisingly, Ariel kept his temper. This was why the demon was perplexing - above all, he still seemed to love the "work" he'd crafted for himself. It would have served no purpose to make some retort about being painfully aware of that. So he simply asked, "So in a sense, you've become another Creator. The ultimate choice is not yours, but a push in the right direction is sometimes all we need."

Perhaps one more tot of sake was in order, because now he'd likely be slapped.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 07:53 pm UTC (link)
"No, I dare not presume I have that kind of sway over creation. I just... Shanghaied her creation from her. Humans are my dominion, now." Mephisto was feeling mellow, oddly agreeable. Hooray for alcohol. "This is fine brandy," He mentioned, before giving a tiny smile.

"I almost miss those carefree days of ruling over that little territory in Bulgaria. I laughed more. My work is joyless now."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 07:59 pm UTC (link)
Miracle of miracles. Ariel raised an eyebrow at his undamaged person, but of all moments not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still. "It must become boring when so many humans corrupt themselves," was what he finally said, draining the sake from the glass and letting it thud on the countertop. He didn't presume to comment on why the 'work' might really be joyless, if only because he had an idea.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 08:07 pm UTC (link)
Mephisto smirked then, "It's more fun that way because they're easier to lead down that path even further. There's no limit to the depravity your kind seems to enjoy. And to give them the tools with which to indulge those sins, that's generally a pleasure to me." He leaned back and listened to Ariel's breathing, his movements.

"You're fucking drunk, Ariel." To the tune of 'you're welcome'.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 08:20 pm UTC (link)
"I am not." Not sober, no, but he rarely ever indulged to the point of actually being drunk. He stood up with only minimal difficulty, pushing his weight off the countertop where he'd been leaning.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 08:26 pm UTC (link)
"Why lie to me, of all the beings in the universe?" Mephisto stood as well, though getting down from the perch he'd given himself was with a little difficulty. "I have the luxury to sober up at will, but you, sir, must strive to maintain both the inebriation and the presence of mind to know that you are inebriated." He decided to stroll through the aisles of shelves, running his fingertips over the spines of the books Ariel had in store.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 08:47 pm UTC (link)
He was at least sober enough to understand that, and grumbled. "It's not that I lack the presence of mind, it's that my pride rebels." Surely he didn't have to elaborate on the nature of pride. If anything, Ariel was all too well aware of what they had in common.

He could still walk in a normal fashion, and followed along behind. The grimoires were locked in the office; it was likely the demon would find little of interest in the main room.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 08:56 pm UTC (link)
He slipped a book out from the shelf and ran his fingertips over a random page, careful of his nails. "Printing presses have made it easier for me to read the letters, but even now, I have to piece together the story, filling the gaps by intuition." He had a very fine sense of touch, and the ink stood up off the page just enough where every third letter or so was readable. Mephisto smiled as he read. "This is a book I've never read or heard of before."

Truth be told, there were probably millions of books that Mephisto hadn't read, and that always astonished him. To him, it gave him great pleasure to know that humans too could make something out of nothing, just like God. They were all, in some way, gods of their own.

"Fiction is priceless," He mused as he set the book back on the shelf. "Though you probably don't think so."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 09:07 pm UTC (link)
"I genuinely do not know the answer, so if it's a facile question, please permit me, but are you familiar with the Braille alphabet?" He knew the demon had been on earth for time immemorial, but he'd only just discovered the thing weeks ago. It had been invented after his death. "And I understand the value of fiction as escape, if nothing else. To be able to get away from the difficulties of life is indispensable."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 09:14 pm UTC (link)
"I am not, is it new?" Asked Mephisto, turning to face Ariel again, standing nearly a head taller than the human. "I've only been back on earth since October of last year, and I've been too busy to catch up on human affairs as you may know them." He smirked and patted Ariel on the shoulder as he walked past, seemingly called towards the direction of the office. When it was obvious he was going to walk straight into a shelf, Mephisto simply walked through it, disturbing nothing upon it.

"Of course you keep grimoires."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 09:25 pm UTC (link)
He was certain he had a few books written in Braille, but before he could say so or look, the demon passed through the back wall. Ariel just sighed, following behind. The only grimoire Mephisto might have any interest in was his own, and that was not in the office. The others were no threat to him, and Ariel said as much. "Of course. They're rare. Several false ones, but the living ones are in there. Mostly general spellbooks, though there is one about non-theoretical alchemy." The idea of literally turning lead into gold seemed profitable, if crashingly dull.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-20 09:36 pm UTC (link)
"I can feel the energy coming from some of these..." Started Mephisto, before he tilted his head back slightly. Ariel had a book that he knew was once at Mordhaus. It was obvious that the alchemist had met his red haired toy soldier. How novel.

"Yes, in particular, this one." He said, tapping the book's cover. "It is more than just a simple spellbook. There are words in it written by the angel Phounebiel. Knowing her nature, it's likely against disease." He turned again to face Ariel, arms crossed over his chest. "Their powers still call within me. That is how I can tell. I would give you that inner sight, but you would abuse the power."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-20 11:41 pm UTC (link)
Ariel was fairly certain that usurping any kind of angelic authority was a very fast ticket to the Ninth Circle, and thus for once, agreed unequivocally. "I would." He'd acquired perspective, but he was still himself.

He took up the book in question, though, turning on a light and opening it to a random page. It seemed to be a ward against the plague, written in an elegant script so fine as to appear printed. Another page yielded a recipe for a tincture of colloidal silver, to guard against joint pain. It appeared a general spellbook, but if it had been written at least in part by an angel, that did change the nature of the thing, obviously.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-21 02:47 am UTC (link)
Mephisto, still under the affects of alcohol, settled down on the corner of the desk, listening to Ariel read - he might not have read aloud, but he turned his head, turned the pages, his lips occasionally forming out syllables without breath behind it. "It may all be rubbish but that part." Mephisto tapped the flat of his claws against the side of the desk. "You know, for a creature most repulsed by me, you keep me around quite well."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-21 02:52 am UTC (link)
"What would be the point of screaming 'Out, damned spot' like Lady Macbeth?" All right, perhaps he tended to get a trifle lyrical when he'd overindulged. "You can walk through walls and wards. I'd rather save my energies."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-21 03:00 am UTC (link)
"You protest it, yet you've shown no interest in being rid of me while I'm around." Mephisto mused, head down, lips pulled tight in a smile. "You may hate me as much as you claim, but you certainly aren't balking the company when you have it. I would go if you so asked, but you not only have not said to go, but you even asked me here. I only point it out because I appreciate that you have learned to accept that I aim not to destroy you again." He paused a moment, and then the demon added, "And furthermore, Ariel, whether or not either of us admit it, we're the only ones we have to ground us in this reality. Everything else is surreal."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-21 03:08 am UTC (link)
Ariel rolled his eyes. "You rather invited yourself, firstly, and secondly, I suppose it's my deep distrust of all things demonic that makes me not give you the benefit of the doubt that you'd actually leave if I asked." His tone dripped sarcasm, but fine, he'd test it. "I should go home and retire, which means you should be off." He didn't address the other statement. He wasn't sure it was possible at the moment. He'd make a note to be irritated in the morning.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-21 03:19 am UTC (link)
"And you allowed me to stay." Pointed out Mephisto, though he stood. "Ariel, you are a twit, but you're my favorite twit." He put a hand on the man's shoulder again and faced him. "You have a great many things to consider again. That will give you headache enough, and hangovers are truly abysmal. Consider yours taken from you." That said, he turned and walked through the wall and out of the shop's immediate area, returning to Radek and to his duties, fully sober.

He considered, later that night, that perhaps the Void wasn't the worst fate to be suffered by any of his kind. No, maybe being turned human would be worse. The notion got a chuckle, and Mephisto made a mental note to share it with the one human he knew that would grasp that concept the next time they met.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-21 03:28 am UTC (link)
Ariel was left blinking in confusion when the demon disappeared, but it turned quickly to grumbling as he locked the shop door. Presumptuous bastard - he wasn't one of the psychic beings, he'd stake money on that. To attempt to dictate his own mind to him? Intolerable!

He didn't live far from the shop, especially not by cab, and though he was still a bit foggy-headed, he managed to call one and give his address. The motorcar would make his head ache less than the walk. Even if he believed Mephisto that they'd begun to tolerate each other's company, it couldn't last. He couldn't let his guard down fully. It'd be suicide. Yes, suicide.

"Talking to me?"

Ariel jumped, only belatedly realizing that the cab was outside his rooms, and the driver was looking back at him in a profoundly quizzical manner. "Erm, no. Apologies," he managed, squinting at the meter and paying before angling himself inside the house door, toward hopefully unbroken sleep.

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