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Ariel ([info]defectedfromgod) wrote in [info]utr_logs,
@ 2010-07-31 02:53:00

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

WHO: The grumbly twins
WHAT: The moment of truth - testing the purification potion
WHERE: An uninhabited hill, somewhere in rural Ireland
WARNINGS: You know, I have not a damn clue. Possible violence? Blood and guts? Demons screaming?



He'd managed to wait until nightfall to contact the demon; best to stack the odds against anyone seeing whatever was to happen. He'd told Princess exactly what he was doing, and told her which portkey he was going from. He didn't think anything would happen to him personally, but he wanted her to know, just in case.

When he'd done that, he teleported to a field, somewhere in central Ireland. The only light was by the moon, and there was no wind to speak of. Perfect.

He set to drawing the sigils in the grass with chalk, making sure the lines were connected. He'd brought the tarnished brass censer filled with water, and he set it down in the middle of the circle he'd drawn. The circle was about ten feet by ten feet, and in the centre he began to draw sigils with chalk. At the last minute, he took out the phial of chemicals he'd mixed in the shop, and combined it with the water and saltpeter he'd gathered. It congealed, forming a paste of sorts, as it ought to. He retraced his lines with the mixture, feeling a flash of excitement as the sigils turned a brown color. It all seemed to be working.

Only when the preliminaries were finished did he feel for the medallion in his pocket. Raziel, he murmured in his mind, knowing the fallen angel would respond to either name. It somehow seemed more fitting to use this one. He knew what he had to do now, and belatedly hoped Mephisto didn't land directly in the middle of the circle.


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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 03:20 am UTC (link)
Knowing Ariel well enough kept Mephisto from appearing directly near to him when he was summoned, and really, even then, he rather would not. After the draining last few days, Mephisto was looking less severe and simply more tired than ever. His grackle perched silently on his shoulder as he walked out onto the field, towards the mortal, his hands behind his back. He said not a word as he stood within the line of sight of Ariel, and nodded his salutation.

Frankly, he had put more trust into Ariel than he currently had for God. That spoke not of his height of trust in Ariel, however, rather than it spoke for a deep lack of trust in the Creator. The conversation they'd had hollowed him out, he felt, and it made him wish even harder to undo the things that She had done to him. Whatever God had said about it being his own doing fell upon deaf ears. He knew she knew him far better than that.

He finally spoke after a moment, his voice just above a whisper, "What do I need to do?"

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 03:28 am UTC (link)
If there hadn't been an indefinable air around the demon, Ariel would not have known him. Who was he aping? It was like he'd put on another skin. None of the familiar swagger was there; none of the contempt, the vanity. He looked drained and almost sad. Even the bird was unmoving, silent, as if turned literally to stone.

God help him, he reminded Ariel of himself.

Well, he amended, picking up his spellbook. Not God.

His own voice came out sounding like a child's, almost cracking, but he eventually regained command. "Nothing for the moment, but when the time comes, all you need do is stand directly at the midpoint of the sigils." He pointed, for the bird's benefit, looking down. "Do not step over the lines until it's time ... the tools used to draw them will hurt you. Physically."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 03:34 am UTC (link)
"Understood," Mephisto murmured, looking through the bird's eyes at the sigils, feeling their power pulsing already. By his word, he never knew Ariel had command of that kind of accuracy. He'd always thought that the alchemist was as clumsy with his doctrine of knowledge as he was with people and himself. But all that was beginning to change. He could feel a growing power within Ariel - he'd grown stronger, in all ways, after his death.

If it weren't for the complete sensation of disconnection he was feeling, Mephistopheles would have been proud of the silly man. He continued to stand in place, still considerably curious to see the way Ariel finished this interesting little venture of magic.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 03:41 am UTC (link)
Once he'd checked his second set of notes for the fourth time, he nodded, once, and looked up. Without preamble, he began to explain. He preferred to act, not think. Not now. This was already confusing. "What I expect to happen, what ought to happen, is that the sigils' power combined, plus the mixture used to draw them, creates the effect of nao sha. The active agent which removes the impurities." He gestured, suddenly feeling a bit silly, but it was an important thing to say. "If that's merely a ... shell ... you may wish to discard it. The strength of this spell would set blood vessels to popping."

Ariel took a breath before giving the Out. "If the spell is correct, it will cause pain. It's essentially scrubbing away at six layers of metaphorical skin. And while I have talent, I cannot guarantee anything. To cause pain for no reason would be abhorrent to me, but it is possible." In this almost pensive state, he wasn't certain what the demon might say.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 03:53 am UTC (link)
"Pain is worth it working, and even if it doesn't, it won't be on your head, but the head of the man who wrote the spell," Mephisto assured, though it sounded halfhearted.

He started walking away, back behind Ariel, before he brought up the form that most easily came to him at that point. In the field stood an enormous lizard-beast, with no eyes - indeed, not even a place for them. The grackle, instead of dealing with the shift, simply decided to perch on Ariel's shoulder for the time being, preening a wing quietly while the beast, fully three men tall and at least seven men long, walked back to where Ariel stood, then lowered his head down far enough where he could hear Ariel without the man shouting.

It was the first time he'd used this natural form in the human world. He hoped it would be his last.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 03:59 am UTC (link)
Well. He was glad he'd drawn the circle large.

It was unsettling, but not alarming. Not now. This was too close. The bird seemed not to care about his moving around, so he decided to ignore it, glad belatedly that Dee was curled up in his shirt pocket.

He raised his voice somewhat, as if giving a speech to a boisterous congregation. "If you wish it, then simply step into the circle. I will read the spell. It must be repeated a total of seven times." Seven being a significant number, et cetera. No need to waste time on something likely already known. "Going into the circle will hurt, and when the spell is read out the seventh time, the pain may spike. But the ritual says, and I quote, "All reverses, the serpent eats its tail, the dead eat their own, and the corruption shall feed on itself until none remains."

All right, now his heart was in his throat. "Whenever you are ready."

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 04:19 am UTC (link)
Mephisto could feel his own tension growing at the explanation and, when he finally moved forward, making certain he didn't disturb the circle or its sigils, he could feel exactly what kind of pain Ariel talked about. It wasn't precisely what he had expected - not just a physical pain, but a ripping pain through the part of him that was intangible. He clawed into the dirt and let out a terrible sound once the incantation was being read and bowed his head low, his tail thrashing precariously close to Ariel. At the seventh repetition, though, the pain did spike, and his tail swung wide, hitting the mortal in his ribs, before he could feel his own form being torn away from him. In place of monstrous flanks covered in swamp green scaly skin, there came legs that were far more humanoid. In place of a swaying neck and terrible, eyeless head, there was a dark cloud of curling black hair around a familiar face. His wings spread as he was taken off the ground, leaving deep gouges in the earth below, and, although they were still sooty in places, they gained some of their sheer brilliance in stark white. The claws, however, did not come away from the body, neither Mephisto's feet or hands would ever be rid of them.

Once the spell brought him back down, he knelt with his hands resting on the ground, jaw still set against the pain. "Dammit, Ariel," he growled, his voice still low, but not near as terrible, "You'd better be alive, so I can fucking strangle you." He was almost joking, the pain was immense, but it did the trick. He felt almost like a mountain of weight had been lifted from his soul.

"Fucking brilliant, is what you are," He added, sitting up slowly, his whole body feeling stiff, as if it had been cramped into position for a life or two.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 04:29 am UTC (link)
He'd simply done his best to focus on the repetition, his voice rising with tension and power with every repetition. By the end he'd nearly been shouting, as if to out-howl the nonexistent wind. He could see the beast in front of him, and practically feel the pain himself. His ears were ringing and he felt a trickle of blood on one side of his face, and as he finished the last syllable of the last repetition -

The tail, in retrospect, had been unexpected. He'd landed hard, knocked his head on the ground, gone dizzy. As he tried to claw himself to a sitting position, he saw it, though. The beast was gone; in his place stood what looked like a human. He squinted, to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but no, it was real. The wings were far more white, far more pure and untainted than before.

He heard the fallen angel's voice. More like a human baritone. The growl was gone; and with it whatever intangible had provoked that familiar frisson of terror.

Ariel heard the grackle chattering, somewhere far overhead, almost seeming concerned, or afraid. Though it made his ribs angrily protest, he couldn't help but laugh, once, twice, in sheer joy.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 04:38 am UTC (link)
"Oh good," Muttered the fallen angel, mostly to himself as he summoned the clothes back onto himself as he stood, still sore, "he's laughing, that means he's alive." He called the bird down to him and she landed on his shoulder, still visibly agitated, chattering at him angrily before he made her focus on what he needed to see. He walked up to Ariel, and held out a hand. "Up, you, the ground is not your resting place yet."

Despite the sadness and immense longing and loss he felt, Mephisto couldn't help but be in good spirits, even temporarily. "You've found what was lost to oblivion, now what can I do for you?" It seemed a fair enough time for a good trade. After all, he hadn't even thought that the spell would work, much less have much effect on him. Sure, he wasn't entirely clean of all corruption, but the nao sha was only supposed to scrape away six layers, so to speak. It would take more than that to get him back to his original fallen state.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 04:50 am UTC (link)
He struggled to his feet with the help, wincing in pain. "I think I may have broken a rib or two, and my head aches horribly, but otherwise, I'm all right." Even his tone was light. How could it not be! He'd just performed one of the most arcane, unusual spells he'd ever seen! His skills were back in force, better than they'd been! Even Bill Turner had thought this couldn't be done!

He took a breath to calm the giddy adrenaline, likely only generated to get his mind off the pain. A remarkable thing, the human body. "Some of the credit belongs to you," he replied finally. "Without ingredients nearly lost to time, this would not have been possible." He was sorry it hadn't worked completely, but at the same time, to have it work completely would have worried him. Surely it wasn't so easy to countermand God's authority.

He laughed once more, though. When the fallen angel had asked what he could do for him, there had been no fear. This wasn't a masquerading deal. This wasn't a trick or a trap. "You may already be doing what you can do for me." Allowing him to be happy.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 04:56 am UTC (link)
"In that case, I'll take your worse wounds from you. Perhaps have a drink in celebration." That said, he simply willed the broken ribs to knit themselves back together, afflicting one of his more devout pain in the asses with the pain of them, knowing it had to go somewhere. He wouldn't tell Ariel that part, however.

"You'll have to suffer the concussion, though. If I had to go through that sort of pain," he gestured toward the circle, "I'm sure a little headache isn't so awful for you."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:01 am UTC (link)
"I'll manage." He could stay on his feet, perhaps brew something when he returned home. "And I told you there would be pain. I honestly regret that it sounded brutal." He touched the side of his head; one of his ears did feel a bit odd. He could hear through it, though.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 05:07 am UTC (link)
"You're bleeding." The way he said it was flippant, but Meph's mere mention of it should have let Ariel know that it was a concern. "Now that the soreness is coming away I... I can tell you that you've never had the pleasure of seeing me so unburdened." He tilted his head as he stretched his wings and flexed his fingers. "Indeed, it has been many ages since I felt this way." He grinned then, still a somewhat terrible thing, but not half as menacing as before. "I insist that we at least toast to this. Where would you like to go? This is far and away from London."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:13 am UTC (link)
Well, he could hardly blame Mephisto for thinking that was in order. "This is the middle of Ireland." Ariel replied, feeling his balance improve as the dizziness began to ebb; only the dull ache remained. Perhaps it wasn't a concussion, just a lump. "Ireland is famous for their stout. Or there's a portkey back over that hill. I feel all right; I can go anywhere on this earth. Except your castle." He added. He wasn't stupid, even if a trifle addled.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 05:18 am UTC (link)
"I wouldn't take you there, idiot, it would be setting the lamb amidst the lions." He knew his followers, knew Calliope well enough that he didn't trust Ariel to be there for a moment. "And there's far too much temptation there that you could not resist, and I'm not trying to set you on that road." He made sure Ariel was well enough to walk with him before he started in the direction of the lights of a city, but he mostly used his surrogate eyes to look up at the clear night sky.

"Stout sounds right for a first. Bloody Christ, Ariel, do try to keep up, I'm walking slowly."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:23 am UTC (link)
"Head injury." Ariel said peevishly, but he did try to pick up the pace. He could see the same village, and smiled to himself. He rather believed the angel, 'not trying to set him on that road.'

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 05:28 am UTC (link)
"Whiner," Mephisto shot back, though it was more amused than it was sincere. "You know, I'm rather amused that of the three times you've called to me, two of them were to my first name. If you really prefer that, Ariel, you can call me that, instead. You alone have that privilege." He figured whatever let Ariel relax around him would give him more comfort as well. For all the pain they caused each other, it could do without the smaller details grating on either of them.

And at this point, Ariel damn well deserved to call him by his original name.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:31 am UTC (link)
That was something he had not expected, and to call an angel, even a fallen angel, by his name, without honorifics, was a rare privilege. He tried to think and walk at the same time; it was harder than usual. "It made sense to me at the time," Ariel replied. "It seemed closer to what you wanted to be." He wasn't sure if that was still the case, and didn't ask. This was proof enough that he didn't wish to be entirely demon, but everyone had seen the conversation between the fallen angel and God. Perhaps he didn't want to be so identified with the Heavenly Host, either.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 05:35 am UTC (link)
"I became the beast I never wished to be, but I took this name to be rid of the other. It was Her name for me. I never truly owned it, not in this form. Or in any other." Mephisto explained, "But you're more comfortable with angels, and that aspect of me. So I suppose it will do for now. I am both, but neither. And with that, I am entirely fine. You really are staggering, would you rather not walk? It's a mile at least."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:44 am UTC (link)
Ariel understood, and said as much. "Being both is, at least, an entirely new direction to learn and explore."

He was about to say more when he felt hesitant Shadow-feet crawling up his shoulder. "Dee?" Ariel craned his neck, just spying his Shadow out of the corner of his eye as Dee climbed to the back of his head and settled. He heard the hesitant, barely-there chirp, and felt the pain at the back of his head decrease slightly.

He had to laugh. "Teleporting might be best, though the fact that Dee's emerged from hiding will be beneficial." He had no idea if the angel knew about Shadows and how they leeched emotion, energy, and apparently heat from physical wounds. But Dee had never once appeared before in Mephisto's presence. The fact he did so now was another good omen.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 05:50 am UTC (link)
"Dee?" He asked, brow arched slightly as he clasped his hands behind his back, "Are you speaking to yourself?" He heard the chirp then, and his head tilted. "My eyes can't see the thing of yours that made that noise, nor can I sense it." Mephisto put his clawed hand on Ariel's shoulder and simply teleported them into town, blessedly close to a pub so neither of them would have to walk far.

"You'll have to explain it to me," He said as he opened the door and stepped through it, his wings immediately disappearing. Of course, the apparent man of 6'6" with no pupils or irises probably was inconspicuous enough, much less when he had a grackle on one shoulder and a man with a bloody ear trailing behind him.

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 05:56 am UTC (link)
Ariel wouldn't have thought anyone noticed; this was rural Ireland. Anything went in a pub. Or at least it had when he'd frequented them.

They'd managed to sit in a corner, Ariel having mild success in staunching the trickle of blood with napkins. Once they'd asked for pints, Ariel began to explain. "I don't know how they came to be or where they originated from, but this world is populated by creatures called Shadows. They leech excess emotions and energy from people - only humans, as far as I'm aware. They come in all sorts of sizes. Dee is very small, as they go, and in appearance is a cross between a caterpillar and a cricket. A friend of mine has one that looks like a hermit crab, though; still another has one that appears like an armor-plated koala bear. I know it sounds mad, but they're here. They tend to see humans as pets, and look out for them while they feed off our excess emotion." He smiled wryly. "Dee's been present nearly every time we have met, but he's never before had the courage to show himself." Perhaps it was just because he'd been injured, but one never knew.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 06:10 am UTC (link)
"Fascinating," The angel listened raptly to the explanation, as the bird hopped onto the windowsill nearby and interjected occasional chatter, but nothing loud or interfering. "I've heard of such creatures, but never saw them, or felt them. I have knowledge of creatures that live in a sub-realm of this plane, which take the affairs of mortals quite seriously, and do their best to sap energy from things. When there's an excess of human emotion and tension, more than they can feed on, they store it away. Sometimes that... makes for disastrous results." He clarified, however, "They weren't called Shadows, when I knew of them. They were creatures made on the Sixth day. They didn't make it onto the fool's boat, either, but simply made their way into their strange half-realm." He faced the waiter when he came back with the pints, and bowed his head with a cordial smile in thanks.

"If they exist here, perhaps the re'em still do, as well."

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[info]defectedfromgod
2010-07-31 09:03 pm UTC (link)
"Now it's you who have me at a disadvantage; that name is unknown to me." Ariel had to think, but he didn't believe he'd ever heard of such a creature. He took a pull of the stout and let out a contented sigh. Its weight actually helped the pain in his head as well; it felt like food. "As for Shadows, I randomly was told by a friend of mine that she thought I had one, but had lost it. She proved correct." Dee chirped from the back of Ariel's head, louder and more self-assured now. He chuckled.

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[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-07-31 09:13 pm UTC (link)
Mephisto was smiling a bit, more because he didn't have to continually force his voice back into a whisper to speak to Ariel than anything else just at the moment. "Their original name to the mortals was 'עדר', or rougly 'A Herd', or 'The Herd', and the Re'em is a creature of which there are only ever two at a time in the world. They are enormous beasts, larger than you saw me, large as a mountain range. They only come near each other once every sixty years to mate, then the female eats the male, gestates a set of babies, and dies in birth, and the babies do as their father and mother did." He was amused by the tale. "I very much doubt they lived long, they seemed like a silly creature to have."

He picked up his mug and held it up. "Congratulations, Ariel, for achieving where so many other of your kind have failed. You've impressed me."

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