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 actually smirks.]

Now you really are speaking my language.

[unconditional]

Will you serve our cause, then, knowing that sometimes we may require you to go from Earth to Heaven to that filthy Hell of painful recognition? Soon, like us, you may come to find Heaven just about as unbearable in its pitch as Hell. Its bliss will make you eager to heal the evil He has done, and just as we seek Hell to work on those tortured confused souls, to help them up from the morass and into the Light, you will grow more determined to cast down his system and help them. When you're in the Light, you can't forget them! That's what it means to serve me.

[ he pauses, looks to az, and then back to des ] Do you have the courage to see it?

[nothingsodivine]

It's not about courage, Lucy. [He stands up, barefooted and determined.] You set me on a path- I stay on it. It doesn't matter what happens. I don't stop until I get what I'm after. That's the one thing good about me.

[He grins, showing his teeth.] I'm stubborn.

[unconditional]

[ a small, almost sympathetic twist of the lip ] I was talking about Hell.

[nothingsodivine]

[des keeps smiling but the light leaves his eyes as he's unable to hide what his posturing failed to conceal. He's terrified of Hell, of what he might feel there. He's no murderer or rapist, but he's no saint either.

After a second, he swallows.] I can do it.

[unconditional]

I warn you, it's Hell.

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, well. I came this far, right? Why would I putz out now?

[unconditional]

Because, like any rational being, you're afraid of it. You're wise to fear. But you've never been more ready for what we have to reveal.

Azrael will take you into Hell. Just as in Heaven, in your earthly body, you could not survive the environment on your own, but as long as you remain close to one of us, you will be fine.

[ he turns away from them, black wings unfurling once more ] Before you see the heart of it, you'll meet our compatriots - the other Fallen, who rule each Circle. I will see you again at the bottom of the Pit, in my palace in Nessus, where I will take you to see my school firsthand, to witness our work.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des turns to Azrael, sighing.]

This is gonna be good...

[so. dryly.]