CLOSED ♔ and who shall i blame for this sweet and heavy trouble

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ the fleecing - pedro the lion

WHO || Des, Azrael [Closed]
WHAT || Des learns some unfortunate things
WHERE || Chicago
WHEN || Sometime during the trial, immediately following this [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

AND SUDDENLY DES FINDS HIMSELF... on a roof. Above what looks like is still Chicago. There's a bit of a chill wind out but it's still November, not the arctic chills of January, so they can deal. Azrael releases himself instantly and moves to sit on the ledge, looking down at the city.

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

[Des makes a noise of protest and flails awkwardly.] Warn a guy next time. Christ.

[he finds his composure and wanders over to the ledge, hands shoved in his jacket.] Now what?

[accusatory]

[ there's a heavy silence for a moment, before she speaks, her words weighted with contemplation ]

When we last spoke... I told you that when we met I held the title of Angel of Death.

Did you ever stop to think that perhaps that was no longer true?

[nothingsodivine]

You really overestimate how much thought I give to you a good day, Az. No offense.

[accusatory]

Perhaps you should. As it affects you, in this case.

... Even if I wanted to, I'm no longer the one who holds the power to break the curse on you. That decision was transferred out of my hands relatively shortly after our ... first encounter.

Someone else has been the one to hold your fate in their hands for these long years, Des. Someone who looks at things much differently than I do.

[nothingsodivine]

[he shifts uncomfortably. it explains some things.]

It's not some big object lesson with them, right? It's something else. Something worth trapping me like this.

[even if they had to go after jade to do ir.] So what the hell would anyone want with a stubborn mule who can't die. There's things out there that would make way better patsies. Why didn't they clear your books? I know why you're here. What's their excuse?

[accusatory]

That's the thing.

It is a big object lesson in their eyes. Only what they're hoping for is the opposite of what they're ever going to get from you.

[nothingsodivine]

A handwritten note saying I'd love to be their bitch? [he laughs] Because yeah. That ain't happening.

[accusatory]

If that's what they wanted from you, they'd have revealed themselves to you by now.

You've never seen him.

[nothingsodivine]

[that sucks the wind out of his flippant sails.]Г/small>

Who is this guy?

[accusatory]

[ there's a nearly imperceptible shift in her expression; a hardening of the eyes and the lines of her mouth, the slightest tilt of her head away from him. but what's unmistakable is the look in her eyes and the note in her voice that speaks volumes of history with the being in question - history as messy as humanity's itself. ]

The one who replaced me.

Michael.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des bites the inside of his cheek. He's always mentally categorized her (back when she was just Her- a thing of nightmares that was playing games with him for countless centuries) as some sort of untouchable Boogeyman. Nothing scared him because he'd found true heartlessness (or so he convinced himself) and come out on the other end of it with a curse and a chip on his shoulder. If even Azrael thought this guy was bad news...]

So you're telling me the reason you looked so damn pleased as punch down there is because I just dicked him over without realizing it, right?

[accusatory]

[ the grimness in her features shifts into a sort of 'you got me' bitter amusement as she casts a sly look over at him. ] I'd be lying if I said I didn't derive a very visceral sense of satisfaction from such moments.

[nothingsodivine]

And I'd be lying if I said that suddenly pisses me off way less than it did when this started.

[It's hard to think about- agreeing with her. She still cursed him, even if the curse isn't hers anymore. He's always going to be angry and pissed and hate her for that, but she doesn't have her fingers on his leash, so he can give her some slack. He guesses.

It's like she told him before- playing no side is childish and gets him nothing.

His tone softens as he turns away from her.]

So Jade's death... That was them laying out the board. Not just Chad and his goons and their stupid master plan.

[accusatory]

[ her lip twitches down slightly ] They don't ever pull the trigger themselves. That's not how it works. But subtle influence, intention - sometimes even what they don't do. That's how it's played.

The latter, in this case, your friends got to see in action. They were there, they could have intervened. They did - but for what? Merely enough to afford you a goodbye and offer hope, only to rip it away again.

They wanted to prolong your suffering. It's the very bedrock of their beliefs.

[nothingsodivine]

[And suddenly, it clicks.]

The Grays. Those suit-wearing shady bastards. Michael's with them? [He barks another laugh.] And for what? They've got their sights on Rafael. They've got money riding on me not ending up Iscariot's bitch.

[He takes a step closer.] Go ahead, Azrael. Shake up my worldview a little more. It doesn't matter that they won't get it. I wanna know what was so goddamn important that Jade had to die for it.

[accusatory]

It's a very long story, and I'm afraid there's no Reader's Digest version, if you're really inclined to understand their motivations.

Although I suppose it comes down to the age old argument between Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, very few people understand what the nature of the argument itself actually is.

[nothingsodivine]

You see, this kinda thing is why I'm an atheist.

[accusatory]

There's a difference between choosing not to consider oneself subservient to any god, and foolishly thinking there are none.

You're a stubborn man, Des, not a completely foolish one.

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, yeah but that sounds better than saying "divinely challenged." [SHRUG.] Why do I have a feeling this is gonna get real ugly after the trial?

[accusatory]

That depends on what you mean by 'after'. They're playing a long game here.

[nothingsodivine]

They lost the battle. Jaka's fucking the prosecution hard, thanks to yours truly. I might be on the shit list, but the Grays don't have their fingers in anyone's pie right now.

And they were pretty intense about there being "consequences" for my choices.

[accusatory]

Natural consequences. It's not in their nature to take revenge if things don't pan out the way they desire.

[nothingsodivine]

Natural consequences for a guy who can't die and wanted out of the Glee Club, anyway. I ain't bothered. [Bluff... 16, which is actually a bluff 4.]

[accusatory]

[ she turns to look at him, one leg dangling off the ledge ] You can't lie to me, you know. I understand the impulse to try, but I've watched you too long to fall for your lines, even if they're ones you can convince yourself of.

You may grasp the truth about the Grays, but your friends are more inclined to trust them. Perhaps more inclined than they are to trust you, after all that.

[nothingsodivine]

[He rolls his eyes, but doesn't try to bluff his way out again. He wasn't worried, but now he's wondering how many more of them will end up dying to keep the game moving.] Right. Well, that's a sinking ship. I can't exactly feed them a few lines about how the Grays are going to dick them over harder than I did.

[He paces.] And if they killed Jade to keep me going, then... you know. What if I did let 'em in? What if I did get to the point where the cutesy sing-alongs were my thing. What then? Convenient landmine? Gas explosion? It wouldn't be hard to topple the dominoes to make them all dead.

[This is the first time it's ever occurred to him that such a thing might be possible. Not likely at the moment, but maybe possible.]