hellicious | Riverview IC Inbox

[Flatly.] No. But if it's pulling other people out there, or trying to, then that's a problem.

Other people's religious bents aren't your problem, love. Even where we hail from, there are plenty of people doing dumb, foolish things in the name of deities that don't even exist. Suicide bombers, human sacrifices, not to mention the horrors visited upon the genitals of both genders...

[He physically shuddered then, a noise of disgust leaving him.]

You can't force people not to be how they are. If they want to go off and sing praises to a jungle spider, let them. It's their life.

That's not the same thing.

[She's not intending to argue. Hell, if Lucifer is telling her she shouldn't worry about it, then she should take that at face value and let it lie. And yet her intuition's never steered her wrong before, and it's telling her now that something's wrong. The idea of leaving someone out there because of outside influence doesn't sit right with her.]

Believing in something that isn't real and hurting yourself or others because of it and being manipulated into something from an outside force aren't the same at all. If I went skipping out there because I couldn't control myself, should someone just let me because I'm 'not their problem'?

That depends. If someone has no drive, no direction in their life to the point they're steered that way, you or anyone intervening isn't helping. Now, if you, who I happen to know is of sound mind and... mm, body, went running off in a frothing mass of prayer, then I'd follow along and slaughter whatever asinine bastard of a god was trying to take your will away from you. I don't like the notion of free will being taken, love. Not from anyone. But some people are sheep. You saw the Satanists. Lambs to the slaughter, the whole lot of them.

So just because someone's not as strong-willed or wants to believe in something because they think it helps them in some way, they deserve to die. But not me, because you know me personally.

I don't believe too many people genuinely deserve to die, no, but you can't protect everyone from their own stupidity.

[He would always be honest with her -- even if that could bite him in the ass.]

It's not stupidity if they're being beckoned out and can't stop themselves.

[She doesn't want to call him hypocritical, but... if he'd chase after her doing supposed stupid things, then it doesn't really hold a lot of weight.]

If they don't have the drive to not want to stop themselves, it is.

[He may well be a hypocrite. That didn't change that he cared more about her than anyone else.]

Wow. Okay.

[While Lucifer could be reckless and overly prone to play, she never thought him cold before.]

So we should just not do anything, then. Because some people are stupid. That's what you're saying.

[He could hear the fury in her voice, and he was confused.]

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm merely stating that you can't save people from making their own decisions. If that isn't the case, then perhaps the people here who are on the guardian team should be the ones to handle it. If it's something dormant on this moon that was here long before we were, they'd be more equipped to handle it, wouldn't they?

I wouldn't know. I'm not from this moon. That doesn't really seem to matter, though, because we're here and we're pulled into things whether we want to be or not. And so far it doesn't seem like people really know what to do about it.

You're good at research. Why don't you look into that? See what temples might be on the moon that could have been forgotten. I'm sure they've got archives here that have something about it.

Yeah. I'll do that. After I get some sleep.

[And probably on my own, she doesn't say, but she flops back down onto the pillow. This whole thing has her stressed out. At least with homicides and LA crime she knows what she's dealing with.]

There, there, my love. Just lie down and try to get some sleep.

[He had an idea, one that may or may not cause her any relief, but with a little shifting around and the sound of rustling feathers, one of his wings spread over her, the other folded against his back as he lay on his side. He engulfed her as much as he could in white, fingers smoothing over her hair.]

I'd like to see it get through this, mm?

[A piece of pure divinity? It might not do anything at all, but it might keep her blocked off enough that she could get a good night's rest.]

[She hears the rustling before she sees the flash of white and the brilliant shimmer of his feathers stretching over her. The part of her that's upset at him wants to tell him to keep his wings to himself, but the part of her that wants his comfort and that assurance that they were partners and would get through this made her sink into that warmth.

She's quiet for a little while, shifting every now and then to get more comfortable. And probably because her head is still overworking. Her voice is tired when she speaks.]

You know how you asked me to let you know when I'm upset with you? This is me letting you know I'm upset with you.

[He'd been about to ask her if she was lying on something, her fidgeting noticeable enough the he kept waiting for her to settle. Then she spoke and he stilled, the wing around her lifting up as he looked curiously down at her.]

You are? Would... do you not want me to do this?

[He was, of course, confused.]

It's not about your wings.

[She reaches out to gently pull his wing back down over her, body turning onto its side so she could face him better.]

I'm a little disappointed by your attitude about people who might need help, is all. It seems really dismissive. I feel like you're not usually like that when we go on regular cases together.

[Even if their regular cases were more of a thrill and enjoyment factor for him, he wouldn't dismiss a murderer for their crimes because the victim was stupid.]

[He gave her a blank look for a moment, worried about letting his actual feelings show before he realized that was a little too close to a lie for his comfort. The look then turned sardonic, and he couldn't help the mocking smile he gave her.]

Of course I am. You just generally seem to put a different spin on how I'm taking things than what's the fact of it. I'm condescending at best to most of them. They're strangers, love. I don't care about them, not nearly as much as I do about you.

Right. So when it's a human going around killing people, they need to be punished. But it's fine if it's a god or higher being because us humans are stupid sheep. Got it.

[He may not be able to help the mocking smile, but she's not really interested in seeing it. So she turns onto her side to face the other way.]

Forget I said anything, then, Lucifer. I'll handle it on my own if I have to.

What? No, that's not what I said at all. Why are you twisting everything to the wort possible meaning of it?

[She turned away from him and he scowled, even if he didn't pull his wing away, he was still scowling down at her.]

Now you're just trying to be upset with me. That's not fair.

I'm not trying to be upset with you at all. I'm upset with you because you're saying things that are upsetting me. But by all means, if I'm misinterpreting you, then tell me.

[She can practically feel his scowl on the back of her head and feels her own irritation swelling up, but she keeps her voice level.]

You said that people who choose to do dangerous things in the name of a deity are not my problem. And when I said that I don't view it as them 'choosing' to do these things because they're being manipulated, you said that if they're too weak-willed to stop themselves from being controlled, then that makes them stupid. To me, that comes across as you thinking they deserve what they get because they're not as strong-willed or are more easily swayed. There's a difference between not intervening with strangers because you're not personally invested and actively thinking they're not worth the effort anyhow.

Most of them aren't worth the effort. You're too... bloody hell. Gracious in how you see others, Detective. If someone is easily swayed over something because they have no personal convictions, it's one thing to the next. Like an addict. You can force them to clean up because you feel it's best for them, but if they don't have any cause or conviction of their own, any reason to want to not do what they're doing, they'll either go back to it or find something new to get lost into.

Besides, I never said any such thing about them being forced into it. If something truly is capable of mentally forcing someone to do their bidding, well... that's the antithesis of free will, and I'm not for that. But there are many in this world and every other out there that are open to suggestion, and those ones, Detective, cannot be saved outside of their own wanting. No matter how much your heart bleeds for them, they are their own worst enemies.

[He was still huffy, still scowling, still tucking his wing over her and not understanding how they'd gone from tender cuddles to petty bickering.]

And while I'd agree with you that I'm not responsible for someone else's choices, I feel like we're talking about two different things. Like I said before, I'm talking about people who are being beckoned out and don't have a choice. About something that's more powerful than them. I'd like to believe I'm pretty strong-willed and independent myself, but even I'm having a lot of weird feelings from all of this.

[She didn't know how it came to this either; she certainly hadn't meant for it to. She sighs and turns back onto her side again, so she can face him.]

I don't want to fight.

I don't want to fight either. I just... well, I think maybe I'm just not seeing it from your perspective. For me, there's never been anything that can make you do something you truly don't want. Dad's a prick, but even He usually only moves the pieces where He wants them. Any time I've heard anyone say they had no control over their own actions, it's always been a lie. 'The Devil made me do it'. Do you know how many monstrous humans have used that as an excuse? As if I stood behind them, making them do anything? Even Malcolm's actions were his own, albeit a little twisted from his little visit downstairs. He chose to try to... woo me, as it were. The notion that anyone with free will, something Dad gave to all of you, could truly be made to do something against your own better judgement, against that will...

[He lifted a hand, gesture trailing off.]

I haven't seen that before. I'm not entirely sure I believe it possible.

You were worried about me not having free will for awhile there.

[It's stated softly, without any judgment or barb. His explanation has a more thoughtful look crossing her features, understanding slowly taking the place of irritation.]

Look, I don't know what's going on for sure. Maybe you're right. But I also know that a month ago, I never thought any of this could be possible. Alternate worlds and whatnot. So I wouldn't put it past the universe to throw out something that neither of us have ever seen before.

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