Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Why is snow so hot!"

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Mephistopheles ([info]feedsmycontempt) wrote in [info]utr_logs,
@ 2010-11-10 20:31:00

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

Who: Ariel and Mephisto
What: Pub time with the devil and the alchemist
Where: London
When: Wednesday Evening
Warnings: General Ariel and Meph snark, antiquated swearing, you know. Standard them-stuff.


It had been months since Mephisto had taken to his human body. He'd finally gotten adjusted to it entirely somewhere around a month ago, and yet, he was still delighted with the novelty of eating, of seeing, of feeling like humans felt. It was an experience unlike that of being in his true body, a semi-incorporeal state that had senses, yes, but not like those the humans had. Being locked into humanity's five senses was at once both illuminating and stifling for him. And all the while, he'd been teaching his... friend. Ariel was far greater a man than he gave himself credit for - possibly due to all the cutting down he received from the fallen angel - and Mephisto knew it. He finally found some purpose for Ariel than merely to be a reminder of why he couldn't let himself fall again, or a thorn in his side. They were alike.

Sometimes, they were so alike, that it gave the once-holy creature pause. But he had confidence that the alchemist could succeed where he failed.

He strolled up to the pub, his hair tied back and out of his face, wearing a long wool coat and black slacks, still wearing the boots that he'd fashioned near a year earlier, although the thought of making any more hadn't crossed his mind since the first day as a living human. He ordered himself a sandwich and a pint and took a seat near the window, so he could look out at the stars as he ate and waited for Ariel to arrive.

Ariel had finally started feeling... inhuman. Interesting, Mephisto thought, he had progressed far faster than he'd anticipated. He had to broach the subject with mild wariness.


(Post a new comment)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 03:58 am UTC (link)
Ariel was only a few moments late, having taken the tube down from his rooms in Chalk Farm. It was hard to miss the fallen angel once he'd walked in the door, and he nodded a hello. The place was quite busy, and the sheer glut of people all indirectly tugging at his senses was wearying from the beginning. Still, he put a good face on it. "Good evening, my friend."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 04:14 am UTC (link)
With a similar nod to Ariel, Mephisto kept his eyes on Ariel as he approached, and he held out his hand to offer the man to sit. "Good evening to you as well. I do hope it finds you well. You're looking less pale than I had originally assumed. You haven't yet evolved into some sightless cave-newt." He gave a faint smile and took a sip of his beer, waving to the bartender to send another over for his friend.

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 04:19 am UTC (link)
Ariel inclined his head in thanks, taking a seat and putting his glasses back on his nose from where he'd stowed them in his pocket. "I may be getting more blind, but it's my own fault if so. Damnable tiny print." He saw Raziel wave to the bartender. "Beer does sound refreshing; one grows tired of water and cognac. You look very well, I must say." He lowered his voice faintly, just in case. "Humanity does agree with you."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 04:30 am UTC (link)
"Indeed; it suits me just as well as your current path suits you, if you don't mind my saying." Mephisto looked back at the stars for a moment before murmuring, eyes closed, "You have an air about you now, a certain..." he had to search for the correct word, something he rarely needed, "ethereal quality to you. I suppose you've come a long way in that old tome of mine."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 05:00 am UTC (link)
"I'm approximately sixty percent of the way through." Ariel followed Raziel's eye line, curious as to just how thoughtful his friend appeared. He clearly had something on his mind. "And I don't know about 'ethereal', so much as 'utterly forgotten most social skills.'" The barman brought his beer and Ariel took a long pull. It was sharp and clean, and he felt immediately as though it had done him good.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 05:04 am UTC (link)
"Social graces are silly, anyway," dismissed Mephisto, smiling a bit at the way Ariel set into his stout, "especially as you had come to know them. Despite that, however, no. There is truly something different about you. And I know what it is. And I don't know if I really feel like enlightening you on the subject." With the flippant brushing off of the subject, he knew Ariel's interest and ire would be piqued. Getting a rise out of Ariel never grew tiring.

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 05:15 am UTC (link)
Ariel just rolled his eyes. "As ever, you're so mature." He was curious, most definitely, though not quite as irritated as he might have been once upon a time.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 05:19 am UTC (link)
"Well, it's nothing you'd particularly grasp in any case," teased Mephisto. He folded his hands in front of him on the table. "Oh, I suppose you may. Sixty percent is quite an accomplishment. You've learned the Language, and you've practiced with it. You do realize that the reason it wasn't taught to more than a select few was because of its propensity to... alter one's self. Enoch could tell you about that."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 05:50 am UTC (link)
That did pique Ariel's curiosity. "Alter oneself?" He echoed, setting his beer down for a moment, looking across the table. "Physically, mentally, spiritually?"

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 05:52 am UTC (link)
"Yes." He said, to all the above questions. "Most importantly, spiritually. If one is pure of intent, it generally won't make them go mad. So I'm fairly certain you're in the clear, Ariel." He was amused by it, frankly. "And now where's you ask the more important questions. I'm at your disposal as the giver of answers for the night."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 06:06 am UTC (link)
He was amused by the abrupt about-face, but curious all the same. "It's having the knowledge that begins to alter one? And intent ..." Ariel trailed off, thinking. "I mean, do you really think my intent is pure?" He laughed, shaking his head.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 06:18 am UTC (link)
Ariel's amusement was a good sign. "In fact, I do believe so. To learn for the sake of learning, not for power, not for glory or fame... while it may seem extremely selfish, Ariel, you are also quite a kind soul. A purer soul there never has been in all of the men I once considered my subjects. And that is a lofty compliment, as I'm sure you're aware. In all the time you've known me, you only delved into true corruption with my sway over you. You may say that the hallucinogens that you were so fond of were corrupting as well, but what grows in the ground was put there with intent to be used to their potential, and everything has a point where it goes from recreation to obsession. You know that." He had digressed, so he took a sip of his beer to get himself back on track and fixed his gaze on Ariel more firmly.

"Pure, yes, and yet so easily swayed. I'm attempting to reinforce those spiritual walls around you currently. Teaching you what you've learned thus far has elevated you to a level that evils of a minor sort may not claim you. But be aware that your," and here, what he said bore significant weight, "ascension from corruption is tenuous. All things can Fall."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 06:37 am UTC (link)
The emphasis on the word 'ascension' got him thinking. However, instead, he simply answered point by point. "I am indeed aware, and sincerely grateful, for such honesty. I've somewhat understood that my interests were always selfish, but always altruistic at the same time. Opiates were a stupid distraction." Ariel shrugged. "If nothing else, you should rest easier knowing that you've made sure I'm less credulous than I used to be, even now."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 06:41 am UTC (link)
"I don't think that will ease my mind at all, in truth. A measure of credulity is what makes you so apt to learn these things. If you were as jaded as most humans are, it would be bloody impossible to get through that incredibly thick skull of yours." Finishing up his beer, he set the tankard aside and took a deep breath. "You know my intents are often two-fold or more. I wouldn't be teaching you a damned thing if there wasn't something to gain from it."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 07:00 am UTC (link)
"Of course not." In truth, it might have worried him once upon a time, but he knew Raziel by now. Ariel shook his head. "I'm curious as to how my knowledge might help you, but I've always somehow known that this was to help you, as well as me." He shrugged. "I believe your intentions are good, but I've always known there was a price." He managed a small smile. "This price, however, I might be willing to pay."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 07:06 am UTC (link)
"And there's that glimmer of bravery." He'd seen it in Ariel very rarely, but when it shone, it shone like the sun. He leaned back in his seat, tapping his nails - which had been kept short - briefly on the table. "You're a bright boy, alchemist. I think I've given you enough puzzle pieces to solve the riddle of why you've been feeling, for a given value, Other."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 07:12 am UTC (link)
When Raziel said something like that, he usually was telling the truth. Ariel simply nodded, taking up his beer again and setting to think. He muttered under his breath as he tried to work it out. "Easily swayed ... the True Language, altering everything." Hm. He sounded it out in English, then in Angelic. "Alterations ... and ascension from corruption. Corruption." He looked up at the fallen angel. In the True Language, he simply said, "You can't really be serious?"

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 07:17 am UTC (link)
The sound of Ariel's words in the True Language rang and resonated in the small area around them, especially against the pendant that the human-golem of the fallen angel wore around his neck, sending it into ringing for a moment. All Mephisto did, however, was simply tilt his head, his eyes going half lidded, a small, knowing smile on his face.

That expression alone spoke volumes. Of course he was serious. And proud, in fact, if one were to read it that way.

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 07:35 am UTC (link)
Ariel continued to speak in the True Language, not to scare or affect Raziel, but because they'd both be hauled into the madhouse if he spoke of all this in English. "You're planning some sort of ascension for me?" He said quietly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "This feeling of being ... above everything? It's the beginning of whatever this is?" For some reason, he wasn't half as scared as he knew he probably ought to be.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 07:44 am UTC (link)
"You sound nervous," Mephisto murmured in his native tongue, the words dancing like licks of flame, "you should be elated. When I swore to you that the road to Hell is not the path I would lead you down, I was not lying. You deserve your Heaven. I will never return there, even if the option were there for me to go back. Heaven is no longer my home, but for too long, has the Kingdom gone without the ear at the curtain, the purveyor of divine knowledge. For too long has magic been seen as not of God. I know that this is because I alone hold that entire knowledge, and I myself have not been holy for the entire existence of your kind. With your blessing, I may find a home for you yet, Ariel Gagne." His eyes closed and he huffed a chuckle.

"You are quite nearly my equal, and when this year of humanity is out, I may end up losing what purity you have found for me. If there is one being I would most like to balance me through eternity, it would be the one who stood up to me in the first place."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 07:53 am UTC (link)
"Holy Mother of God." Ariel felt inclined to cross himself, for the first time in a long time, but refrained. Instead, he simply looked down, looked up at the fallen angel, and smiled.

"Don't mistake this for being ungrateful," he said quietly, with another pull of beer. "But, and I don't know if you can grasp this, I cannot help a modicum of fear. What you suggest is an astonishing responsibility. I am nervous, but it's a nervousness more about my inability to perform this task, than about my worthiness or anything of that nature." He chuckled. "I realise that sounds self-important, but I trust your judgment, quite frankly. I'm humbled by it, but I know better than to ask you if you are sure."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 08:20 am UTC (link)
"Daunting, perhaps, but that's your humanity speaking. All creatures can reach the Divine, to serve as agents of Heaven, but without a tutor, without a purpose, they simply pass on, souls in heaven or hell, or clinging to earth." He switched tracks and smiled faintly, "Remember months ago, the first day of my humanity? I believe I told you that we are made to be compassionate, but impartial. You're feeling that now, in a way you couldn't understand when I told you. And I... am as human as I've ever been. We balance each other already." Mephisto mused, eying his empty mug with consideration.

"You are allowed your fear. Enoch still has his moments of doubt, and he's been the Metatron for quite some time now."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 08:28 am UTC (link)
"I do remember that. And I do understand now. Or at least I think I do." Ariel somehow didn't want to make any blanket statements. "It's an exceedingly strange feeling, I have to say. I always thought impartiality meant lack of emotion, but clearly it doesn't. I doubt I'll ever be entirely without emotion."

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 08:49 am UTC (link)
"Fucking hell, Ariel," Mephisto rolled his eyes as he slipped back into English, "Have you ever known me to be without emotion? Could you even imagine me without a temper? I certainly do not think so." He motioned for another round to be brought over. "Angels are emotional creatures, just as emotional as humans. What they lack is the propensity to judge, to particularly care about minutiae, about tiny, trifling details like bills, for example. Immortality does tend to make you gloss over the details if you're not careful to keep them in mind."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 09:02 am UTC (link)
"You're not exactly the average immortal," Ariel said, a trifle peevishly. "And I said, I comprehend the notion much better now." His tone mellowed again, between the second beer and another intellectual question. "It quite stands to reason that immortality renders most details largely irrelevant. However, alchemy is a science of details. It's a juxtaposition I find curious, mostly as to how you managed it. You're no mean magician yourself, of course." He teased faintly.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 09:08 am UTC (link)
"Oh, my bruised ego," He said, droll as ever, before taking a sip of his fresh pint. "The difference between daily minutiae and the details of alchemy is, well, as easy to see as the difference between a pinfeather and your nose." He shrugged, "Things must be precise in magic, it is in that precision that the alchemist gains a higher spiritual awareness. The Buddhists call it zen. Perfection is impossible for all beings but one, but the closer you get to it, the closer you are to Her. The devil is not in the details, as the saying goes, but rather, in the forgetting of them."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 09:11 am UTC (link)
That did make sense, and not for the first time, Ariel had to appreciate this method of teaching and learning. To hear such truths from a grumpy old goat of a man (well, a 'man') somehow lent them gravity, even if the fallen angel was as light of heart as he might ever be. He knew himself well enough to know that he would have doubted knowledge like this had it come to him on a silver platter.

Aloud he simply said, "Zen is when the details of art are no longer thought of as details, but as organic parts of a whole?" He was rusty, but trying.

(Reply to this)


[info]feedsmycontempt
2010-11-11 09:20 am UTC (link)
"Well said, Ariel." Mephisto nodded. "And what you are now approaching is not just Zen, but... well, let's just say that for your troubles, you've been allowed a little boost upwards in your path to it. If I could teach a codger like Enoch to be the living mouth of our Lord, I can teach you all that I know and find us both some peace." He raised his mug briefly before sipping from it once more.

"Of course, this does mean that I'll have to deal with you for eternity. I'm not leaving this plane ever again, and you'll have to forgive my love of a good game of deception."

(Reply to this)


[info]defectedfromgod
2010-11-11 09:24 am UTC (link)
He could joke about it now, if only because he knew the angel's little games wouldn't endanger his life or liberty. "Please, if you stuck entirely to the path of the straight and narrow, I think we'd die of boredom, instead of retire in peace." And somehow, he'd made his peace with having this occasionally-maddening life form around until Judgment Day.

(Reply to this)



Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs