[He laughs just once, a friendly scoff at her admonishment about lewdness, but doesn't comment on it beyond that.]
While I appreciate your blessing, I'm not looking for some bought-and-sold encounter, I hope you understand that.
[He drums his fingers in thought, and leaves that sentence hanging alone without elaboration.] Would you be surprised to know that he's guarded with me as well? He thinks he's above the Devil and can use him for his own purposes. He'll be fine so long as their interests directly align, but that can't last forever. The Devil hates humanity, no matter how twisted the human might be, and Crane is just a pawn like the rest of them.
[There's an edge to the lattermost words. Abduxel feels at the moment like a vicious dog on a tight chain, waiting to be released. He doesn't feel that sharing this is over-stepping anything, even if he's just taking Raina at her word that she isn't human herself; it's only true, and Raina is a knowing Ringbearer, and could discover these things herself over time. Nothing Lucifer could punish him for sharing. He lies a little before he tells the truth:]
I don't know what he's planning, exactly, Raina, but I can tell you that he has desire tucked away in there, buried somewhere very deep. I saw it. [He hesitates a moment, unsure how to explain, and then just brushes past explanation.] I saw that he was led on and rejected when he was a boy, maybe a teenager, and that it affected him. I don't think he's partial to my kind of charm, but someone with the right assets might be able to coax him and his secrets out of hiding. Particularly if he had a nice bouquet of flowers.
[ Such arrogance. Such foolishness. Raina offers a coy little smile and an innocent shrug in response to his first comment about what he seeks out of Chilton. To think that anything could even happen without her express permission is laughable. But best to let him keep thinking he has that power over Frederick. Best to let him underestimate Frederick and their relationship.
She listens as Abduxel goes on, and a part of her will be thrilled when Crane finally gets what's coming to him from Lucifer. But the story of Crane's childhood does cause her head to cant with interest. ]
Pathetic that he would allow one lousy encounter to change his whole perspective on life. But I will not be the one to seduce him, I'm afraid. I have no interest in sleeping with Crane. Goodness, can you imagine? Two minutes, tops. One if you start talking about fear.
[ Yes, let's make fun of Crane right now because it's funny. ]
But more curious than Crane and his secrets -- why align yourself with him when you obviously have a great dislike for the man? He even used you for his research. Are you expected to simply bide your time and wait for Lucifer to decide Crane's usefulness has ceased? You're better than that, Matthew. I feel as though you could accomplish so many great things were you to act according to your own wishes.
[Her jest about Crane makes him laugh aloud at the man's expense, eyes alight with unkind amusement.
But the expression falls a bit as she tells him he's better than that that he could defy Lucifer. There's a pause after she finished speaking, before he begins]
I'm not aligned with Crane. [He says it sharply, with more harshness than he meant to. He frowns a bit.
The tone has changed rather abruptly, his voice moody and dark.]
You're one to talk, doing the Morningstar's bidding yourself. If you're anything like all the others he chooses, I guess you'd probably say it's in your own interests as well. Well what I say is that He has an uncanny way of making sure his interests are aligned with mine. I'm sure he'll get the hang of that with you, too. It isn't hard, since he can read your heart. [He'll leave out the Heaven-forged weapons Lucifer can torture him with. Best not to bring that up with someone he's only just met, effectively.] You're playing with fire, Raina, if you're going to go around trying to sway people against Him.
You're taking this the wrong way. I don't mean to sway you or anyone else against him. I recognize and admire his power just like most who follow him into his darkness. But what I meant when it came to you is the invisible leash that ties you to him. Can't you be free and still serve him?
[A hallmark pause of someone who didn't mean to say as much as they had. And then he backpedals:]
...I mean, I am free and still serving him, as much as I can be. It's not as if he monitors my every movement, or would ever care to. It depends what you mean by freedom.
[He sounds like he's getting defensive.]
You wouldn't understand. Whatever kind of monster you are. I'm a part of something larger.
Matthew, need I remind you that we're from far different worlds and saying you're part of something larger is like comparing apples and oranges?
[ She leans in as though sharing a secret. ]
My world? Is so expansive, there is a complete parallel of it running alongside my universe. Same people. Same powers. Some slight alterations in events that have either happened or have not happened yet. My world can't even be contained to one specific world, it needs two and possibly even more for all I know. All this to say, we are in no way comparable. Your powers, whatever you're a part of -- it no longer matters. Not here.
[ Just like his loyalties. They no longer matter, and yet he chooses to keep them. A slippery little manipulator like Abduxel needs someone to pull his strings and direct him. Without direction, it seems as though he's only capable of playing games and making out with taken men. ]
But I digress. I look forward to working closely with you.
[Lucifer's arrival had been painfully bittersweet; bound to direction and orders so long, he has no idea how to make his own purpose, and without Him would just drink alone all day while tormenting people around him. Feeling any kind of rush he can get his grubby hands on.
He listens to her, bristling, uncertain why exactly he feels so uncomfortable. He wants to pace back and forth, like a tiger in a small cage.]
It does matter. It would follow me home if I left, and it would follow me for eternity. Do you expect to live forever, Raina? I do.
[There's the unspoken implication that it's a curse he can't die. No escaping this fate.
He won't drop the subject, referencing what she said earlier about accomplishing great things.] What would you imagine me to accomplish, I wonder? Is it coincidentally the very same thing you hope to do? If you need help with something, all you need to do is offer me incentive, not... whatever this is.
[ Well, from the sounds of things, it seems as though he's taken the bait. Inwardly, Raina smirks but outwardly, her expression is gentle and almost sympathetic. ]
Think for a moment about why this upsets you.
[ And she lets that linger for a few seconds before shaking her head. ]
Matthew, I have no intention of using you for anything other than the task Lucifer has assigned to us. What I said isn't about me trying to recruit you to work alongside my ideals. What I said was for you. You must know deep down that you have the potential to do something incredible in this world. Why hold back?
It's a shame you can't feel what I feel right now with the famine ring. The weight of the world lifts off your shoulders once you finally give in to your deepest desires.
[Still irritated, her question only spawns spirals of despair over how trapped he feels, how hopeless, how eternally bound, how cheated. How unfair! But it's defeatist, forlorn, and angry. It might take some work yet to ever spur him to true rebellion.
But, something incredible? His mind still responds with like what? He's never felt like more than a drop in the ocean. A drug smuggler in a sea of drug smugglers; a demon in a sea of demons; an imPort in a sea of imPorts.
First, he latches onto something easy: he laughs at her mention of deepest desires, and he sounds sarcastically jovial.]
Give in to your deepest desires. That's supposed to be my line. Do you really think a demon like me holds back from desire? But I thought this was about Crane.
Oh... I lied. I do hold back from flaying Crane alive, and that is certainly a desire in me. Is that the incredible thing you'd have me do? It will happen. Patience is a virtue.
[He taps his fingers, and then suddenly gets serious.]
You say I'm better than all this, but you don't know me at all. You say I could do incredible things, but you've never seen what I'm capable of. What are you trying to get at?
Abduxel, I don't need to know you to see what's inside of you. It was a gift of mine back home -- my main gift, to find those who had gifts of their own and awaken them to live their lives to their fullest potential. You react with such suspicion and doubt, and I wonder is it because you fear my intentions or is it that you fear I may be right?
[ The part about Crane is entertaining, and hell, when Raina goes through the gassing, she will be all for that flaying of Crane. But right now, Crane is on the backburner in favor of observing the demon -- watching his behaviors. He reminds her of a feline, swishing its tail in irritation, not quite sure whether to surrender to the strokings or scratch the hand giving them. ]
Your intentions, undoubtedly. For all I know, you seek to tell the Morningstar that I'm defiant, to take a better position for yourself.
[Crane holds that fear over Abduxel's head, and everyone Lucifer picks is selfish.
But what she's said does have him tempted, even if he will only hint towards admitting it. The sweet lure of freedom, which he tasted tentatively in his first weeks here before Lucifer's arrival; it was by the grace of the Morningstar that he wasn't immediately punished for the defiant, independent way he'd dove into his freedom then. It was a test, probably, to see if a touch of freedom would get him headstrong enough to fight for more. And Raina is testing him now. On the inside, he's failing, and so he alternates between accidentally letting that show, and overcompensating.
Goodness no. A higher position under him is still a position as nothing more than a servant. I like to consider myself a contractor.
[ She studies her nails and then eyes the ring on her finger with a smile. ]
He requests something from me and it's within my right to say no. Though if the price is right and the end result is something I can approve of, I'm more than happy to offer my assistance. No deals. No bargains. I don't request anything of him. I have nothing to gain or lose. I'm no fool when it comes to playing with the devil. And trust me, I'm certainly not after your position.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
While I appreciate your blessing, I'm not looking for some bought-and-sold encounter, I hope you understand that.
[He drums his fingers in thought, and leaves that sentence hanging alone without elaboration.] Would you be surprised to know that he's guarded with me as well? He thinks he's above the Devil and can use him for his own purposes. He'll be fine so long as their interests directly align, but that can't last forever. The Devil hates humanity, no matter how twisted the human might be, and Crane is just a pawn like the rest of them.
[There's an edge to the lattermost words. Abduxel feels at the moment like a vicious dog on a tight chain, waiting to be released. He doesn't feel that sharing this is over-stepping anything, even if he's just taking Raina at her word that she isn't human herself; it's only true, and Raina is a knowing Ringbearer, and could discover these things herself over time. Nothing Lucifer could punish him for sharing. He lies a little before he tells the truth:]
I don't know what he's planning, exactly, Raina, but I can tell you that he has desire tucked away in there, buried somewhere very deep. I saw it. [He hesitates a moment, unsure how to explain, and then just brushes past explanation.] I saw that he was led on and rejected when he was a boy, maybe a teenager, and that it affected him. I don't think he's partial to my kind of charm, but someone with the right assets might be able to coax him and his secrets out of hiding. Particularly if he had a nice bouquet of flowers.
no subject
She listens as Abduxel goes on, and a part of her will be thrilled when Crane finally gets what's coming to him from Lucifer. But the story of Crane's childhood does cause her head to cant with interest. ]
Pathetic that he would allow one lousy encounter to change his whole perspective on life. But I will not be the one to seduce him, I'm afraid. I have no interest in sleeping with Crane. Goodness, can you imagine? Two minutes, tops. One if you start talking about fear.
[ Yes, let's make fun of Crane right now because it's funny. ]
But more curious than Crane and his secrets -- why align yourself with him when you obviously have a great dislike for the man? He even used you for his research. Are you expected to simply bide your time and wait for Lucifer to decide Crane's usefulness has ceased? You're better than that, Matthew. I feel as though you could accomplish so many great things were you to act according to your own wishes.
no subject
But the expression falls a bit as she tells him he's better than that that he could defy Lucifer. There's a pause after she finished speaking, before he begins]
I'm not aligned with Crane. [He says it sharply, with more harshness than he meant to. He frowns a bit.
The tone has changed rather abruptly, his voice moody and dark.]
You're one to talk, doing the Morningstar's bidding yourself. If you're anything like all the others he chooses, I guess you'd probably say it's in your own interests as well. Well what I say is that He has an uncanny way of making sure his interests are aligned with mine. I'm sure he'll get the hang of that with you, too. It isn't hard, since he can read your heart. [He'll leave out the Heaven-forged weapons Lucifer can torture him with. Best not to bring that up with someone he's only just met, effectively.] You're playing with fire, Raina, if you're going to go around trying to sway people against Him.
no subject
You're taking this the wrong way. I don't mean to sway you or anyone else against him. I recognize and admire his power just like most who follow him into his darkness. But what I meant when it came to you is the invisible leash that ties you to him. Can't you be free and still serve him?
no subject
[A hallmark pause of someone who didn't mean to say as much as they had. And then he backpedals:]
...I mean, I am free and still serving him, as much as I can be. It's not as if he monitors my every movement, or would ever care to. It depends what you mean by freedom.
[He sounds like he's getting defensive.]
You wouldn't understand. Whatever kind of monster you are. I'm a part of something larger.
no subject
[ She leans in as though sharing a secret. ]
My world? Is so expansive, there is a complete parallel of it running alongside my universe. Same people. Same powers. Some slight alterations in events that have either happened or have not happened yet. My world can't even be contained to one specific world, it needs two and possibly even more for all I know. All this to say, we are in no way comparable. Your powers, whatever you're a part of -- it no longer matters. Not here.
[ Just like his loyalties. They no longer matter, and yet he chooses to keep them. A slippery little manipulator like Abduxel needs someone to pull his strings and direct him. Without direction, it seems as though he's only capable of playing games and making out with taken men. ]
But I digress. I look forward to working closely with you.
no subject
He listens to her, bristling, uncertain why exactly he feels so uncomfortable. He wants to pace back and forth, like a tiger in a small cage.]
It does matter. It would follow me home if I left, and it would follow me for eternity. Do you expect to live forever, Raina? I do.
[There's the unspoken implication that it's a curse he can't die. No escaping this fate.
He won't drop the subject, referencing what she said earlier about accomplishing great things.] What would you imagine me to accomplish, I wonder? Is it coincidentally the very same thing you hope to do? If you need help with something, all you need to do is offer me incentive, not... whatever this is.
no subject
Think for a moment about why this upsets you.
[ And she lets that linger for a few seconds before shaking her head. ]
Matthew, I have no intention of using you for anything other than the task Lucifer has assigned to us. What I said isn't about me trying to recruit you to work alongside my ideals. What I said was for you. You must know deep down that you have the potential to do something incredible in this world. Why hold back?
It's a shame you can't feel what I feel right now with the famine ring. The weight of the world lifts off your shoulders once you finally give in to your deepest desires.
no subject
But, something incredible? His mind still responds with like what? He's never felt like more than a drop in the ocean. A drug smuggler in a sea of drug smugglers; a demon in a sea of demons; an imPort in a sea of imPorts.
First, he latches onto something easy: he laughs at her mention of deepest desires, and he sounds sarcastically jovial.]
Give in to your deepest desires. That's supposed to be my line. Do you really think a demon like me holds back from desire? But I thought this was about Crane.
Oh... I lied. I do hold back from flaying Crane alive, and that is certainly a desire in me. Is that the incredible thing you'd have me do? It will happen. Patience is a virtue.
[He taps his fingers, and then suddenly gets serious.]
You say I'm better than all this, but you don't know me at all. You say I could do incredible things, but you've never seen what I'm capable of. What are you trying to get at?
no subject
[ The part about Crane is entertaining, and hell, when Raina goes through the gassing, she will be all for that flaying of Crane. But right now, Crane is on the backburner in favor of observing the demon -- watching his behaviors. He reminds her of a feline, swishing its tail in irritation, not quite sure whether to surrender to the strokings or scratch the hand giving them. ]
no subject
[Crane holds that fear over Abduxel's head, and everyone Lucifer picks is selfish.
But what she's said does have him tempted, even if he will only hint towards admitting it. The sweet lure of freedom, which he tasted tentatively in his first weeks here before Lucifer's arrival; it was by the grace of the Morningstar that he wasn't immediately punished for the defiant, independent way he'd dove into his freedom then. It was a test, probably, to see if a touch of freedom would get him headstrong enough to fight for more. And Raina is testing him now. On the inside, he's failing, and so he alternates between accidentally letting that show, and overcompensating.
What a struggle.]
no subject
Goodness no. A higher position under him is still a position as nothing more than a servant. I like to consider myself a contractor.
[ She studies her nails and then eyes the ring on her finger with a smile. ]
He requests something from me and it's within my right to say no. Though if the price is right and the end result is something I can approve of, I'm more than happy to offer my assistance. No deals. No bargains. I don't request anything of him. I have nothing to gain or lose. I'm no fool when it comes to playing with the devil. And trust me, I'm certainly not after your position.
no subject
...Well. If there's anything else you'd like to discuss... Otherwise, if you'd like to meet at my home we can arrange your flowers when you're ready.
no subject
Give me the address and I'll be there. I look forward to this new opportunity, Abduxel.
no subject
De Chima #002. Don't mind my roommates, if you encounter them.