deviant alert: proceed with caution

[patisse]

[Retrieving the body from Canaan had been the easy part. Now the waiting game begins, and that part in and of itself won't be so difficult either—it's transitioning into the next phase that'll be tricky. For now, though, it's the time to play babysitter.

A fallen angel, the attendant to a crippled primarch? How ironic and tedious. Guess he's not done sweating and straining just yet.

Descending the stairway of the abandoned abode in which he's taken up residence, Belial makes his way to the spot where the comatose body rests. As ever, that perfect face looks perfectly at peace.]

Still asleep? For someone who used to be a big shot, you're sure taking your time.

[A primal that has entered its dormant state may take years to recuperate; however, this is Lucifer. Belial doesn't doubt that Lucilius' prized creation will spring back much more quickly than his inferior brethren. It isn't that sooner would be better than later, but more that that's just the way it will be.]

Comments

[supremo]

[He would really rather he didn't, to be honest. Please don't do your job. Please fail to show up at work without calling off. Please.]

We could both do without the company, I'm sure. [Neither of them wanted it, and neither of them needed it—maybe he didn't know the details of his plans, but that was probably safe to assume.] But I suppose I can't deny my host.

[Literally. Nothing he says matters. He's stuck and he knows it.]

[patisse]

[Nah, feels like a work day.

Belial smirks. Now that Lucifer's finally getting it, he's due for a reward.]

Tell you what. I'm feeling generous right now. Ask me one question, and I'll answer it.

[Not a bad deal, eh? But you know what they say: be careful when making a deal with the devil.]

Oh, but I'd be careful of what I ask, if I were you. You might not like the answer.

[supremo]

[That's a tempting offer, but...]

You have yet to give me a single straight answer.

[In other words, he has his doubts?? Why should he trust him now, or ever? Plus, what's straight about Belial, anyway—]

[patisse]

[Nothing. He's as straight as a doughnut.]

That's why I'm saying, choose your question carefully. So? What'll it be?

[supremo]

[Lucifer has absolutely zero expectations of Belial, but there wasn't exactly anything else for him to do here besides humor him, so humor him he does.

(But for whose benefit?)]

What do you want with me?

["You might not like the answer," he says, but that's true whether he's honest or not—]

[patisse]

[He almost sighs. Of course Lucifer would ask the million-rupie question.]

So predictable. [And that's the exact question he refuses to answer straight-up, but he'll throw Lucifer a bone.] Nothing. I don't want anything with you.

Come now, Lucifer. If you really want to know, you'll have to try harder than that.

[Because right now, Belial is very, very soft.]

[supremo]

[Why is he like this...... Although that's still sort of an answer, so it's better than he was expecting, even if it still doesn't tell him much.]

Am I to just ask questions until you deem one suitable enough to answer?

[Because that doesn't sound like a good time!! Then again, it seemed like Belial had all the time in the world, if he could just sit and hang out like this. So maybe he just didn't care.]

[patisse]

Now, that's a good question! But the answer is: no.

[Belial sits up and assumes a cross-legged position. In all honesty, he'd expected Lucifer to be utterly dry, if not in the business of outright ignoring him.]

In case you weren't counting, I've answered you twice. You don't get to ask again . . . for now. How about a question per day? Better luck next time.

[supremo]

[Belial's shift in position is enough for even Lucifer to tell that he's more interested in this (whatever "this" is) now than he was before.

Hmm. Not really a fan, honestly.]

But you answered it anyway. [Why!! is he like this!!!! Lucifer's so exhausted by this man, and not in the way one would expect. Sigh.] I suppose I'll look forward to it.

[His tone does not suggest genuine optimism, but what else can he say? Well, there is one thing...]

I'm going to be here for a while, then, I assume.

[He didn't care for that implication, either.]

[patisse]

[Smiling, he quirks an eyebrow. For such a rigid character, the once supreme primarch certainly excels at finding loopholes. What doesn't qualify as a question obligates Belial to answer.]

Oh, no. You're going to be here for much longer than that. That's why I keep saying, you should take a look around sometime. I'd hate for you to get bored so quickly.

[supremo]

["Much longer than that"... It's difficult to gauge just what exactly that's supposed to mean, especially to beings like them, who had such a different concept of time, and especially when... he still has no idea what Belial actually wants with him in the first place. Lucifer doesn't feel like he's learned anything from this except for the fact that his life is not in immediate danger, and even then, he's not foolish enough to think that'd last.

He doesn't know what he's supposed to do with this... But then again, maybe it doesn't matter, because there's little he can do, anyway.]

I'll manage. [Really, Lucifer was used to not doing very much, so it was fine—] It's difficult to find myself bored in your company.

[Mostly because he'd rather be dead—]

[patisse]

[Please, he'll blush at this rate.

Either Lucifer has ludicrously low standards, or he's got a sharper tongue than Belial has been crediting him. The latter would make a die-for discovery, one that significantly improves the days ahead (but there's still a long ways to go before those days become tolerable).]

But you know, I'm not always going to be around. Today's an exception, you might say. Then what would you do?

[Don't tell Belial—Lucifer isn't a rabbit who'll die from loneliness, is he?]

[supremo]

[He'd like that, wouldn't he—]

I wonder. [He's not wondering too hard, but he wonders. Honestly, even if he sat in this room and did absolutely nothing productive, it'd still be nice just because Belial wasn't there.] I'm not here by choice. Whether or not I'm "bored" doesn't matter.

[In other words, quit acting like it matters to you what he's doing!!]

[patisse]

[Listen, it matters a lot.

This topic is going nowhere fast, but Lucifer has said something mildly interesting. Belial cants his head to the side, his gaze on his so-called guest. Perhaps a change in gear is in order.]

What you feel doesn't matter? Is that what you told yourself when you assisted in sealing all the primals before killing your creator?

[supremo]

[Wow. Lucifer didn't have many sore spots, but that, most certainly, is one of them. His expression was already none-too-thrilled, but he's no more impressed by Belial's new question than he was before. There's no real change in tone in his response, either.]

It was necessary. [In other words, yes, that was exactly what had happened. It didn't matter how he felt about it—he'd simply done what had needed to be done.] Perhaps it's something one as self-indulgent as you would find difficult to understand.

[His responsibilities came first—they always had. If he had let his feelings dictate his actions... the world could be a very different place right now.]

[patisse]

[Well, that stings (except not). Coming from the ignorant likes of Lucifer . . . Heh, the audacity! Playing friends, only to turn around and dispatch them is something he understands intimately.

Better not say that in front of the illustrious primarch, though.

Belial feigns surprise.]

You know, you're right. I'm finding it just a tad difficult to grasp, so why don't you educate me? Tell me, Lucifer—how was slitting the throat of your friend and watching him bleed out necessary?

[It's easy enough to write off the origin beasts in packs. Lucilius, on the other hand, was a dear friend to Lucifer; that makes this an easier subject to tackle, and Belial can't deny that he's curious about the morbid details after two thousand years of wondering.]

[supremo]

[He can't tell if he genuinely wants to know the reasoning for his actions or if he's simply trying to rile him up, but this is probably the most annoying thing he's said so far.]

Do you think I enjoyed it?

[Like, really. Does this look like a guy who'd enjoy murder—]

[patisse]

[Yes.]

Do I? I wasn't there.

What I do know is that the supreme primarch would do anything to maintain the status quo. There's no one colder than you.

[supremo]

["Cold"... Maybe he's right about that. It wasn't that he'd felt nothing back then... Even now, he still felt something about it. But he had pushed aside his feelings, because if he hadn't, he— wouldn't have been able to do what was right. Or what he thought was right.

It was complicated. Either way, he can't deny it—it's exactly as Belial said. What he'd felt wasn't a priority. It didn't matter.]

Then you already understand why I did what I did. [There was really nothing else he could say about it, besides the fact that it was necessary. And anyway...] Regardless, the value placed on my feelings doesn't change what I did.

[He can't imagine Belial is offended by his apparent emotionlessness, but even if he was, Lucilius was still dead, by his hands. Whether or not he'd felt guilt or uncertainty or anything was insignificant, to both of them.]

[patisse]

[Belial stares, then throws his head back and guffaws. Oh, Lucifer. When the esteemed overseer of the skies is so ignorant, how's a fallen angel to feel any offense? Righting himself, he leans forward.]

Okay, I get it. I understand why you thought that was necessary. [A stupid judgment, but an understandable one nonetheless.] But isn't it ironic? You're just like the primals that you had a hand in sealing away: You thought you knew better.

[Arrogant, the lot of them. Why are primal beasts so predisposed to hubris?]

[supremo]

[God help him. Even Lucifer only has so much patience.

There's a lot going on here that he can't really argue, or that, even if he could, he wouldn't know how to. He didn't think that he knew better than the others. He didn't know if what he'd done was right or wrong.

And again, none of that mattered here, now. What does Belial even hope to gain from this?

The answer he gives is... well, cold.]

I was in a position to stop something that threatened the balance of the world, and so I did. That's all.

[patisse]

[At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what answer or reaction Lucifer gives. On that account, Belial smiles.]

If the supreme primarch says so, then it must be true.

[It's no skin off his nose if Lucifer continues the practice of burying everything under stale reason, even if it tends to turn their conversation onto the dry side of the patch. Speaking of which, he'd better go before things really turn stale.

Belial uncrosses his legs and slides off the partition, his hands coming down to perch around his waist.]

Well, that's all for me, too. It wasn't the most stimulating conversation, but you made for a better time than I was expecting.

[supremo]

You flatter me. [Dryly, with a frown. He is not flattered at all, though the idea that Belial is finally going to leave him alone is kind of promising.] Am I still free to look around, or do I require your supervision?

[He assumes he doesn't need him for that—it's not like he can go anywhere, really. But better to be sure. He still has no idea what he actually expects of him.]

[patisse]

I'm a busy man. [No, he's not.] Give yourself a tour. Maybe you'll find interior design to be your true calling.

[Turning on his heels, Belial waves as he approaches the stairwell from which he'd come down.]

Till next time.

[Which might be tomorrow or another week, if even that. Who knows? He promised a question per day, but promises mean nothing to him. Lucifer will just have to wait.]

[supremo]

[Interior design... He hates this man, deeply.

Lucifer won't miss him. He won't even be slightly disappointed if he doesn't see him again soon. (Maybe a little concerned, though—it's troublesome, how much he doesn't actually understand about his situation yet.) In that case, maybe it is time that he took a look around, for his own sake. If he's lucky, maybe he'll get an idea of where he is. If he's really lucky, maybe he'll figure out why he's here. He's aware that it's probably wishful thinking, though. Belial wouldn't make things so easy for him.

If nothing else, at least he will finally (hopefully) be Belial-less. He doesn't say anything to him as he leaves.

Once he's gone, he'll finally stand up. His body still feels heavy, but he can move, and that's good enough. He'll be on his guard, but he doesn't expect he'll have to do much—somehow, he had the feeling that he wasn't going to be seeing much of anyone here besides that lewd man.]