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levisbaine:

He could see they were… afraid? Was that the word for it? Maybe not quite. But something like that. He could sense that this probably wasn’t the time to mention that Lucifer could be cruel, could seem…. inhuman. Not to him; Lucifer had never hurt him, had never done anything he didn’t want him to. 

It wasn’t like Lucifer had never done anything that had scared him before. It was just… directed elsewhere. Something he could close his eyes from and not think about, something that didn’t effect him. He didn’t go around burning handprints into people, marking his territory or whatever.

     “He’s just a guy, Riles. I promise, he’s not like that.”

Were they certain they believed what Levi was saying?  No, but they were choosing to.  Now more than ever, they weren’t going to stand there and debate Lucifer’s morality with him.  They doubted that was something either of them wanted to dwell on.

      “Cain probably just wanted to freak me out.”  

Riley didn’t need to add that he’d clearly managed.  That what he’d said would be in the back of their mind for a while, as if they needed another doubtful voice up there. 

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cainxmasters:

He could tell that they didn’t want to hear anymore, could see something between disbelief and doubt flicker on their face as they looked around, suggesting there was somewhere else they had to be.

“Whatever. Just, you know, think about things, probably,” Cain shrugged. He didn’t particularly care if Riley stuck around to hear any more than what he’d already said. He was pretty sure that what he had shown them was enough to make them at least think a little bit about everything they were doing, getting involved with the gods, worshipping them without a second thought.

“Enjoy the concert,” he said flatly, stuffing his hand into his pockets and turning to go find Baphomet, despite everything that he had just shown them.

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levisbaine:

He could hear the nervousness in their voice, as they asked – sure, the grotesque scar on Cain’s chest was pretty bad, the story that went with it a little dramatic, a Cain-typical viciousness to the entire thing, and he could understand how they might have been a little freaked out about it. Cain had that effect on people: he made the worst out of his situation, every opportunity to throw himself a small pity party, showing off his misfortunes.

He and Levi had that in common, sometimes. 

But it gave Levi pause, before answering Riley’s question. Sure, Lucifer had never burned a literal scar onto Levi’s body. But that didn’t mean he’d never done anything that might, in the telling, sound a little similar. 

     “Like that? Of course not,” he said, but maybe he didn’t sound as convinced as he intended to.

      “Promise?”  It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Levi to tell them the truth, even when something in his voice had them pause.  But Cain’s words had shaken them.  They threw everything into question, and when Riley had finally began to feel settled in life, that was jarring. 

Hopping down from the counter, they moved to pour the last dregs of their coffee down the sink before leaving the cup there.  They let out a sigh. 

      “He was saying it like this is something all the gods do, but I can’t make myself believe that.  Not even with Lucifer.” 

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levisbaine:

That wasn’t what he’d been expecting. It wasn’t like Riley never stressed out or got upset about things, but he’d been expecting something more along the lines of… what, money? Lucifer? The concert the other night? Their family? Of all the names he expected to come up in conversation, Cain’s wasn’t one.

A friend. Yeah, he supposed that’s what Cain was now – but from the sound of Riley’s voice, from the apparent fact that this was their reaction to Cain… It made him think of his first interaction with Vali’s sword, when his saying those very words had made Cain threaten to burn his fucking hair off. A rough start, to say the least. 

     “You met Cain? Was he weird? Did he do anything weird?”

A laugh slipped out.  A short and incredulous sound, they found themselves shaking their head.

      “That depends what you’d call weird,”  they said, taking another sip.  “We swapped bible verses,  he flashed me his abs - oh, and Vali had burned a fucking hand print onto his chest.”  The casual tone they’d been using fell away, Riley’s face paling at the mere thought of it.  They couldn’t shake the way it’d looked against his skin. 

They opened their mouth, about to say something else, but it took a moment.  They were watching him with wide, nervous eyes, scared for the answer. 

      “Lucifer’s never... done anything like that, has he?”

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cainxmasters:

They could tell how puzzled they were over this whole thing, this revelation. They obviously had never thought of the gods in this way. To people like Riley, the gods were just pop stars who happened to be calling themselves reincarnations of gods. People like them had maybe seen a weird occurrence or two to confirm the godhood, but they had never truly experienced their power, their terror.

Cain wished that he had that naivety. He wished that the gods were just an annoyance, like he claimed that Baphomet was, and not actually a danger to his livelihood. Something that he couldn’t resist, but hated to accept.

“I don’t know if they do,” he said flatly, looking back at them again. “I think they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human.”

They were tapping their thumb against their phone.  Riley was barely aware of it, but it was something of a comfort.  A small reminder that it was still in their hand, there is they needed to call anyone, should the conversation get even weirder. 

As much as Cain had shaken them, though, they doubted they’d need to do that.  Not that that didn’t have them eager to be anywhere else, talking to anyone else.  Anyone who wouldn’t start tearing holes into their new found religion.  They stared back at him for a long moment, at a loss.  It felt weird to just walk away from this, but what else was there to say?  They were too unnerved to ask more questions, and as much as they felt they should, something was stopping them from defending the Pantheon.

      “I should go...”

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levisbaine:

     “And as happy as I would be if that were true, you have never once done my laundry and I don’t think even Baal complimenting your shoes could be a ground-breaking enough experience to make you start wanting to.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, trying for a stern look, but it faded pretty quickly into something else. Worry? Confusion? He wasn’t even sure. Maybe his own personal anxiety over everything that would happen tomorrow was leeching into his worry over them. Or was it the guilt that he hadn’t been around, for almost two weeks? 

     “Come on, Riles, what’s up? You’ve been weird for like… well, longer than usual.”

Levi’s arms crossed look, no matter how short lived, had Riley’s eyebrows furrow.  It was still hard to tell concern from interrogation, or someone just wanting to help from those wanting to lecture and demean.  They dropped their eyes to the cup they held.

      “I bumped into a friend of yours.”  It was said after a pause, Riley sipping their coffee.  They needed that moment.  The words wanted to stick in their throat, and they had to remind themselves that sharing things was fine.  That talking to Levi never came with a backlash. 

      “He said his name was Cain Masters.”

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levisbaine:

     “Why wouldn’t you be?” he asked, suspiciously, raising a knowing eyebrow at them from where he was standing across the kitchen from them, leaning back against the counter on his elbows. They’d been quiet all day – an uncharacteristic sort of quietness that took them when they were distracted, or upset, like they were distracted.

There were less than twelve hours left, before the trial was supposed to start; he needed to be at the courthouse by eight in the morning. The last thing he wanted right now was for Riley to be upset for some reason. He didn’t know if he could handle that..

     “Because I asked if you wanted to do my laundry and clean my room up for me, and you said uh-huh and nodded. I mean, like, you agreed now so I’m taking advantage of that, but I don’t think you really meant it.” 

       “Yeah, well...  you’re not going to do your laundry,” they tried to counter, as if that was something that made a difference to them.  “Maybe I’m planning on doing it all tomorrow, while you’re out.” 

It was the closest they’d come to referencing the trial, especially the question of whether they’d be showing up.  Riley hadn’t made their mind up, in truth - should they go?  Maybe for Levi, if he asked, but Lucifer undoubtedly wouldn’t care.  More than anything, it was their lack of faith in the god being released that had them hesitant.  They didn’t want to be there the moment they were proved right.

The moment yet another power condemned Lucifer. 

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niamh-byrning:

Niamh scratched at her face. Apparently, even she wasn’t really that good at articulating what exactly she found so enticing about the underworld deity.

          “I dunno, it’s kinda…” Niamh made a vague gesture. “It’s like being one with everyone, including Dionysus. Shit, I sound like a fucking hippie. Uh, it’s kinda like drinking. Only better. And without drinking.”

Niamh snickered. Her analogy made sense to her, at least.

She wondered how much she should tell Riley about Levi. She was, of course, prepared to ruin her connection to both of them if she had to squeeze Levi for more shit, but she’d justified not entirely ruining Levi’s opinion of her tonight on the grounds that she might be able to make use of him later. And, maybe, just maybe, she hadn’t wanted to give up what she had with Riley.

          “Ahh, he was getting really upset when I told him a bunch of Lucifer fans seemed to be planning to break Lucifer out with guns and shit. He was upset that he’d tried so hard to not fuck up the trial while half the fandom seemed dead set on making everything worse, or something. Personally, though, I, uh, think Lucifer can get himself out pretty easily. So Levi’s right that they’re probably just making things worse.“

Niamh tried not to think too hard about how one was even supposed to “destroy the gods”  if they were capable of what she apparently believed they were. Fortunately, Niamh was something of an expert at avoiding self-analysis, so this posed little challenge.

Their eyes widened. 

  “They’re not actually planning that, are they?”  Riley’s voice was filled with disbelief.  If anything would make the situation worse, it was a group of Lucifer fans attempting some kind of armed prison break.  Especially when they hadn’t even had the trial yet.  “That’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard.”

They said it with a shake of their head.  They might not have been as concerned for Lucifer himself was Levi undoubtedly was, but they still had a personal stake in the whole mess.  They couldn’t exactly blame him for being upset.  Not that it stopped them from worrying.  They chewed their bottom lip.

  “Was he still worked up when you went your separate ways?”

High Art

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cainxmasters:

“She wanted to mark me as hers,” he said simply, as if that was a real explanation for why someone would burn a handprint onto someone else’s chest. But Vali was a god. Nothing she did had to make sense in that way.

“I think it also….connected me to her somehow? I’m not sure how it works. She touched me and it burned. I blacked out and woke up in my apartment I don’t even know how many days later with not memory of the night,” he explained, shaking his head slightly just at the thought. How many more nights was he missing? More than he would like to say, and all thanks to her. 

“The gods…they’re not kind. They’re powerful, but they don’t give a fuck about how many human lives they destroy while they’re here.”

Nothing about it made sense.  If they hadn’t seen the mark for themselves, they doubted they’d believe it.  Marked by Vali herself, connected to her - they’d never heard anything like it.  Not that they’d heard much about the Pantheon, they realised.  Not outside of what other fans tweeted and instagramed.

Why did Vali want him?

Riley was tempted to demand what made him so special.  There had to be a story there, but was it one they really wanted to know?  They doubted it.

    “But... they were human.  They’ve got to remember that.”

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        location:  the flat         @levisbaine

They’d been quiet.  Since the post-concert buzz had faded, and since the thrill of seeing Oya had passed, the rest of the night had begun to demand their attention.  Bumping in Niamh, their conversation with Cain.  It was enough to say they’d had a lot on their mind.

Riley liked to think they were good at hiding it.  No one at work had noted anything different, and maybe it was giving him too little credit, but they’d expected the same from Levi.  He had plenty to worry with Lucifer’s trial.  But, they supposed, there must’ve been some giveaways. 

The fact that they hadn’t listened to a word he’d just said being one.

        “What?”  Cup of coffee hovering by their lips, they looked across to him from where they’d perched on the kitchen counter.  “Oh.  Yeah, of course I’m fine.  Why wouldn’t I be?”

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cainxmasters:

“I think you should see,” he said simply, like it was gravely important.

To him, it was gravely important. It felt like something they needed to see, to understand that the Pantheon wasn’t just a group of pop stars who happened to be be claiming to be gods. He needed to show them just how serious this whole thing was. He didn’t know why, but his thoughts weren’t exactly the clearest at the moment. 

So instead of trying to think about it any more, Cain lifted his shirt all the way to his collar, so that they could see the handprint-shaped burn with the distinctive V carved into the center, angry and red. He held it there for a second, so that they could take it in, before pulling his shirt down again.

“You get it now?”

By this point, they had no expectations for the conversation.  They were certain nothing would throw them...  except, perhaps, him beginning to lift up his shirt.  They were somewhere between ogling and ready to yell ‘stranger danger’ when they caught themselves with a mental chastising. 

��Eyes up, Riley.”

They wished they’d stayed distracted by his abs.  Taking in the hand print, the angry scar in the center, they paled.  It was a long moment before they could get their head around it.  Vali had done that?  Was this normal for the gods?  For Baal, or Sekhmet, or Kali - no, it couldn’t be.  They swallowed when he spoke, finding their voice.

    “Why would she do that?”

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cainxmasters:

It was hard to see through the pain. Somehow, it made it harder to think clearly, made it harder to decide what he was supposed to do next. And not just now. In the grand sense. Like he should have known, somehow.  He looked up at them suddenly when they spoke, almost as if he had forgotten that they were there at all, even though everything he said was meant to be something of a warning to them.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. But there’s nothing to do about it,” Cain said, voice quieter now, a hint of hopelessness to it. This was strange, and stranger still what he felt compelled to say next, as he looked back at them, a slight frown drawing his brows together.

“Do you want to see what she did to me?”

     “Do you need to sit down?  I could find you somewhere...”  Cain’s words had done nothing to reassure them.  As cryptic his response was,  Riley wasn’t even attempting to unravel it.  Not there and then, at least.  They were more worried by how different he suddenly seemed, starting to panic that he might do something like collapse. 

Then he caught their gaze.

Did they want to see what Vali had done?  Riley wasn’t too sure, the hesitance showing in their voice.

     “I... if you want to show me, I guess.”

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cainxmasters:

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly at their comment. They were so young. Young and naive. Starry-eyed, looking at the Pantheon like they were just pop stars, and not gods with terrible capabilities. Gods who didn’t really care about anyone else, didn’t care about what their influence did to those they chose to be theirs.

The scar on his chest burned, as if Vali somehow knew that he was thinking those thoughts, and wanted to punish him for it.

“Would you? Maybe Baphomet or Lucifer, but not Vali. I’m not really that convinced that everything Vali has done to me is better than what staying in San Jose would’ve done to me. At least then maybe I still would’ve had a choice. And I definitely wouldn’t have been marked, not like this,” he said, voice sounding a little far away, distracted with the searing pain in his chest. His hand went to his chest automatically, as if touching it would somehow make the pain stop. It never did.

What had Vali done to him?  What choice hadn’t he had?  In what way had he been marked?  It felt natural for them to be curious, Riley only given a small part of the story.  Still enough to suggest similarities between them both.  He might’ve been talking about his past, but if he didn’t see something of their future in it, they got the feeling he wouldn’t have bothered.

It was a quiet voice pointing that out, one they found easy to ignore.

      “Hey-”  Taking half a step forward, they were trying to hold his attention.  Seeing that pained look on his face, his hand clutching his chest, their stubborn expression crumbled into concern - not to mention panic.  The whole conversation was only getting more and more surreal.  “Hey, are you alright?” 

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levisbaine:

     “Okay, okay,” he laughed. “I promise. No– wait! I don’t just promise. I pinky swear, the most sacred of all promises.”

He held his hand out to them as he caught up to them at the bottom of the steps, fingers in a loose fist and pinky extended, waiting for them to link fingers with him with expectant eyes and a grin.

     “I’ll only embarrass you in front of gods you don’t think are cute. I can’t make any promises for real people, though, it’s too tempting to resist, so you’ll just have to accept that and move on.”

Their little finger wrapping around his, they gave it a tight squeeze to cement the promise into place.  Did they believe he’d ever stick to that?  No, not a chance in Hell, but they didn’t find themselves minding. 

Not when they’d only return the favour if Lucifer ever came around again.

      “See?  This is why I never bring anyone back to the flat.  I can’t risk them meeting you.”  Said with a little nudge, they still didn’t break pace.  “Come on, I want to get home at some point tonight.”

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ginandturpentine:

“I don’t like it,” Phoebe blurted. Or tried to. She was tongue-tied. She wanted to sit down. All that came out was, “I don’t.”

There was lightning and thunder and rain, and the stars shone too-too much, and then… and then, almost in unison, it was as if the whole gathered crowd pivoted to face Oya’s “stage” on the wet grass. She was her own spotlight, and she flickered like a zoetrope and moved too fast, in the wrong directions, impossibly, without falling– all at once, and all before the dancing even really began.

The endorphins kicked in. Phoebe’s teeth were still chattering. But then in the shifting lights of whatever was happening to Oya, or what was being shown of Oya, or whatever Oya was, it was as if she turned and looked into the eyes of everyone in the park at once. Or maybe it was just Phoebe– she couldn’t tell, except she felt rooted to the spot, and then the beat felt like it was daring her pulse to keep time.

This isn’t real. I don’t like this. This isn’t real.

Who are you trying to convince?

Phoebe looked at the teenager who was staring back at her, and cackled, roughly, scraping her guts with it like the laughter could hollow her out. Oya winiwini, Oyansa Oya winiwini. The wind and the music wrapped around them and pulled the sound away almost faster than Phoebe could hear herself. “…Well, I’ve never been to a concert like this.”

Riley had no words for what they’d just seen. 

When the crowd had parted to create Oya’s stage, they had turned with them.  And once the performance was done, the first thought that formed was that they were changed by it.  Watching the goddess dance, something in them had been touched.  Something in them had shifted.  

They found themselves glancing around, at a loss.  Gaze landing back on the woman beside them, their eyes were wide with excitement.  Her laugh cut through the fog that had filled Riley’s head, somewhat dragging them back to reality. 

      “Did you enjoy it?”

They weren’t sure why, maybe just because of her reaction when the rain had first started to fall, but it felt important to them that she had. 

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cainxmasters:

This was strange, getting stranger by the second. It had been a long time since he was this curious about someone, about how they had gotten to where they were and why. Maybe it was because he had a strong feeling their own path had been similar to the one he had taken twelve years ago. And it was making him want to be a little bit honest with them.

“No, never been that far south. I’m from California, actually. Rode a Greyhoud bus all the way to New York when I was seventeen and haven’t left since then,” he said frankly, giving them a little shrug. Cain was silent for a second, looking at them, the curiosity clear in his eyes still.

“That’s where you ran from then? Texas?”

They didn’t want to be having this conversation.  They had half a mind to simply start agreeing with him, just drop their whole stance on the matter, if it meant they’d get to walk away.  It was all they knew how to do.  But this was New York, not Corpus Christi - and more importantly, this was Cain (not that that meant much), not their dad.

Riley held his gaze, a stubborn look forming.  The kind that said they wouldn’t listen, no matter how much honesty he offered. 

    “The accent hadn’t given me away?”  They shook their head, oblivious to how their next words would only show their naivety.  “I’d take Vali or Baphomet or even Lucifer over ever having to go back there again.”