Asks And Rp Open Mod On Break Until After Exams :3

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

…Uh, I guess I really ought to, in all honesty. Sure. Why not?

“So, if its not too personal, could you explain what you experience? I doubt Ill be able to pin an exact disorder, but I can give you some ideas to research yourself.” Lucifer smiles, back wings wrapping around himself.

——

Hell sighs, arms wrapping around Verchiel as they sit on the ground, pulling him into xer arms and lap. Hell let her hide, covering the small angel in a soft blanket pulled from the couch with the help of strings.

“ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, VERCHIEL. ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. ME AND LUCIFER ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE CARE FOR YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW.” Hell mumbles, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Verchiels head.

(What… what did happen to him usually?)

Well, basically, I very, very rarely black out and wake up places I shouldn’t be having done something I don’t remember. And then I also hear… voices… talking to me. They’re not… real, but… they feel very real. And they keep telling me to do things…

“I would recommend looking into dissociative disorders, like dissociative amnesia or OSDD.” Lucifer recommends, finally meeting Muriels eyes.

“With the voices, is it like internal dialogue thats not yours or actual voices outside of your head?” Lucifer asks, tilting his head slightly.

——

Hell doesnt speak any longer, their touch speaking for them. Its hands rub Verchiels back gently, small circles being rubbed into his spine and side.

It wished they didnt understand sometimes, that she could just be the emotionless villain like others want. But right now was not one of those times. Yes it hurt to have an idea of what Verchiel was feeling, but Hell knew she was hurting more.

(He only really understood one word from what Lucifer said before - dissociation. Dissociative. Maybe, there would be something in the libraries.)

*Verchiel said yet she didn't stop sobbing, it was like a beg, a beg for what?.. She didn't know, she just wanted her to stay, to never leave her side..*

“..You will never leave me, right?..”

*..She had asked that question so many times before.. every time she cried, every time she had an attack..*

“Now, I cant guarantee your safety. I will try and talk to Hell, but they arent the easiest to convince sometimes..”

——

“NEVER.” Hell speaks confidently, slowly beginning to rock Verchiel back and forth in its arms. “I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU. EVER. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REASSURE YOU UNTIL THE DAY WE DIE.”

(Lucifer sounds so cheerful, despite everything. That… breaks him a little bit.)

I’m… I just… I’m so sorry… You shouldn’t be doing any of this.

“Dont be sorry. I was made to help, and you being here is helping me with my purpose.”

The fallen angel wraps the ribbon around his own hand gently, almost absentmindedly as he speaks.

“I think you should go before Hell finds you. Ill talk to her in the mean time. Remember what I said, research dissociative disorders, specifically dissociative amnesia, DID and OSDD.” Lucifer says, before standing and offering a hand.

——

“SOON.” Hell hummed, closing their eyes and opening the one on Lucifers skirt.

Strange, the fallen angel was letting the other go. Lucifer had always been kind like that, and Hell only hoped he had a good reason. (And if he didnt, xe remembered exactly what that angel looked like. It wouldnt be a problem any longer.)

R-right, yeah…

(Dissociative disorders… Dissociative disorders…)

*In that memory, everything was dark, no window nor door being able to give light to the room where she laid, curled around herself, her wing was bleeding yet she didn't cry, she just waited, patiently, for him to come back. Because he always did. He never left.*

“If you have any questions feel free to come find me!” Lucifer hums, stepping away and waving goodbye.

——

After a few minutes, Lucifer walks into the house empty handed aside from the ribbons around his hand. He looks surprisingly calm despite the situation, and he closes the door gently behind himself.

“YOU LET THEM GO.” Hell states, more as an observation. Lucifer nods, placing the ribbon down on the table and giving Hell and Verchiel a quick kiss, Verchiel on her head and Hell on their cheek.

“He seems to have a dissociative disorder. I suspect DID, but dissociative amnesia is a possibility that I brought up. Its likely that, if he does have DID or OSDD, a switch occurred.” Lucifer states, fixing his hair and removing the snow from his feathers.

“I let him know to do his own research on the topic and see where it leads him, as well as to find me if he needs help.” Lucifer hums, looking towards Hell and Verchiel. Hell doesnt speak, simply processes the information given.

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

…Uh, I guess I really ought to, in all honesty. Sure. Why not?

“So, if its not too personal, could you explain what you experience? I doubt Ill be able to pin an exact disorder, but I can give you some ideas to research yourself.” Lucifer smiles, back wings wrapping around himself.

——

Hell sighs, arms wrapping around Verchiel as they sit on the ground, pulling him into xer arms and lap. Hell let her hide, covering the small angel in a soft blanket pulled from the couch with the help of strings.

“ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, VERCHIEL. ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. ME AND LUCIFER ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE CARE FOR YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW.” Hell mumbles, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Verchiels head.

(What… what did happen to him usually?)

Well, basically, I very, very rarely black out and wake up places I shouldn’t be having done something I don’t remember. And then I also hear… voices… talking to me. They’re not… real, but… they feel very real. And they keep telling me to do things…

“I would recommend looking into dissociative disorders, like dissociative amnesia or OSDD.” Lucifer recommends, finally meeting Muriels eyes.

“With the voices, is it like internal dialogue thats not yours or actual voices outside of your head?” Lucifer asks, tilting his head slightly.

——

Hell doesnt speak any longer, their touch speaking for them. Its hands rub Verchiels back gently, small circles being rubbed into his spine and side.

It wished they didnt understand sometimes, that she could just be the emotionless villain like others want. But right now was not one of those times. Yes it hurt to have an idea of what Verchiel was feeling, but Hell knew she was hurting more.

(He only really understood one word from what Lucifer said before - dissociation. Dissociative. Maybe, there would be something in the libraries.)

*Verchiel said yet she didn't stop sobbing, it was like a beg, a beg for what?.. She didn't know, she just wanted her to stay, to never leave her side..*

“..You will never leave me, right?..”

*..She had asked that question so many times before.. every time she cried, every time she had an attack..*

“Now, I cant guarantee your safety. I will try and talk to Hell, but they arent the easiest to convince sometimes..”

——

“NEVER.” Hell speaks confidently, slowly beginning to rock Verchiel back and forth in its arms. “I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU. EVER. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REASSURE YOU UNTIL THE DAY WE DIE.”

(Lucifer sounds so cheerful, despite everything. That… breaks him a little bit.)

I’m… I just… I’m so sorry… You shouldn’t be doing any of this.

“Dont be sorry. I was made to help, and you being here is helping me with my purpose.”

The fallen angel wraps the ribbon around his own hand gently, almost absentmindedly as he speaks.

“I think you should go before Hell finds you. Ill talk to her in the mean time. Remember what I said, research dissociative disorders, specifically dissociative amnesia, DID and OSDD.” Lucifer says, before standing and offering a hand.

——

“SOON.” Hell hummed, closing their eyes and opening the one on Lucifers skirt.

Strange, the fallen angel was letting the other go. Lucifer had always been kind like that, and Hell only hoped he had a good reason. (And if he didnt, xe remembered exactly what that angel looked like. It wouldnt be a problem any longer.)

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

…Uh, I guess I really ought to, in all honesty. Sure. Why not?

“So, if its not too personal, could you explain what you experience? I doubt Ill be able to pin an exact disorder, but I can give you some ideas to research yourself.” Lucifer smiles, back wings wrapping around himself.

——

Hell sighs, arms wrapping around Verchiel as they sit on the ground, pulling him into xer arms and lap. Hell let her hide, covering the small angel in a soft blanket pulled from the couch with the help of strings.

“ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, VERCHIEL. ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. ME AND LUCIFER ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE CARE FOR YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW.” Hell mumbles, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Verchiels head.

(What… what did happen to him usually?)

Well, basically, I very, very rarely black out and wake up places I shouldn’t be having done something I don’t remember. And then I also hear… voices… talking to me. They’re not… real, but… they feel very real. And they keep telling me to do things…

“I would recommend looking into dissociative disorders, like dissociative amnesia or OSDD.” Lucifer recommends, finally meeting Muriels eyes.

“With the voices, is it like internal dialogue thats not yours or actual voices outside of your head?” Lucifer asks, tilting his head slightly.

——

Hell doesnt speak any longer, their touch speaking for them. Its hands rub Verchiels back gently, small circles being rubbed into his spine and side.

It wished they didnt understand sometimes, that she could just be the emotionless villain like others want. But right now was not one of those times. Yes it hurt to have an idea of what Verchiel was feeling, but Hell knew she was hurting more.

(He only really understood one word from what Lucifer said before - dissociation. Dissociative. Maybe, there would be something in the libraries.)

*Verchiel said yet she didn't stop sobbing, it was like a beg, a beg for what?.. She didn't know, she just wanted her to stay, to never leave her side..*

“..You will never leave me, right?..”

*..She had asked that question so many times before.. every time she cried, every time she had an attack..*

“Now, I cant guarantee your safety. I will try and talk to Hell, but they arent the easiest to convince sometimes..”

——

“NEVER.” Hell speaks confidently, slowly beginning to rock Verchiel back and forth in its arms. “I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU. EVER. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REASSURE YOU UNTIL THE DAY WE DIE.”

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

…Uh, I guess I really ought to, in all honesty. Sure. Why not?

“So, if its not too personal, could you explain what you experience? I doubt Ill be able to pin an exact disorder, but I can give you some ideas to research yourself.” Lucifer smiles, back wings wrapping around himself.

——

Hell sighs, arms wrapping around Verchiel as they sit on the ground, pulling him into xer arms and lap. Hell let her hide, covering the small angel in a soft blanket pulled from the couch with the help of strings.

“ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, VERCHIEL. ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. ME AND LUCIFER ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE CARE FOR YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW.” Hell mumbles, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Verchiels head.

(What… what did happen to him usually?)

Well, basically, I very, very rarely black out and wake up places I shouldn’t be having done something I don’t remember. And then I also hear… voices… talking to me. They’re not… real, but… they feel very real. And they keep telling me to do things…

“I would recommend looking into dissociative disorders, like dissociative amnesia or OSDD.” Lucifer recommends, finally meeting Muriels eyes.

“With the voices, is it like internal dialogue thats not yours or actual voices outside of your head?” Lucifer asks, tilting his head slightly.

——

Hell doesnt speak any longer, their touch speaking for them. Its hands rub Verchiels back gently, small circles being rubbed into his spine and side.

It wished they didnt understand sometimes, that she could just be the emotionless villain like others want. But right now was not one of those times. Yes it hurt to have an idea of what Verchiel was feeling, but Hell knew she was hurting more.

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

…Uh, I guess I really ought to, in all honesty. Sure. Why not?

“So, if its not too personal, could you explain what you experience? I doubt Ill be able to pin an exact disorder, but I can give you some ideas to research yourself.” Lucifer smiles, back wings wrapping around himself.

——

Hell sighs, arms wrapping around Verchiel as they sit on the ground, pulling him into xer arms and lap. Hell let her hide, covering the small angel in a soft blanket pulled from the couch with the help of strings.

“ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, VERCHIEL. ITS OKAY TO STRUGGLE, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. ME AND LUCIFER ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE CARE FOR YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW.” Hell mumbles, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Verchiels head.

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

Thank you so much! I can’t even imagin- ow…

(He must have injured something else during whatever happened. Another struggle on Verchiel’s end, likely.)

*She said lowly, listening to what Hell said, she needed to learn a lot.. but did they have enough time?..*

“..yes, you may. But first, I would like to know about your illness you mentioned.” Lucifer speaks, choosing his words carefully. “When I was still in heaven, mental health was one of my domains. If its okay with you, I would love to help figure out whats going on!” The fallen angels smiles, continuing. “I think it would help all of us know how to further keep each other safe.”

——

“YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, NOR ARE YOU BOTHERING ANYBODY. ONE WHO HAS AN ISSUE WITH YOU SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONE TO BE CLOSE TOO.” Hell states firmly, carefully contained anger under xer tone. It wasnt towards Verchiel, but rather the situation the poor angel had been put into and everyone who had hurt him.

“YOU ARE LOVED FOR YOUR FLAWS AND DESIRABLE TRAITS. BOTH ARE PARTS OF YOU, MY LAMB. AND BOTH ARE EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. NOT THE FALSE PERSONA YOU DESIRE TO CREATE. YOU ARE MINE AND LUCIFERS CHILD, AND WE WILL BOTH LOVE AND CARE FOR YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME.”

Hell begins to bandage the smaller wounds now, moving feathers to place bandages against skin and folding the feathers back over gently.

“IT IS YOU WHO WE ADOPTED, AND IT IS YOU WHO WE LOOK OVER. NO OTHER PERSON. YOU, VERCHIEL.”

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

*She said, tears streaming down her fur.. falling from her red eyes.. Her breath was quick and shaky..*

“Uhm, well yes but-“ hearing the others panic, Lucifer thought for a moment about how to proceed. He didnt want to lie to his face and tell him that Hell wouldnt be mad or that Lucifer could talk them out of it, but that was far from the truth. It was possible the other angel could talk himself out of it, but that may be difficult..

“Hey, listen, its going to be fine. As long as you have a valid reason behind it, its okay!” Lucifer tries to reason. “And since it seems to be a mental health condition you have, Im sure she will understand. We both suffer from quite extensive issues after all.”

——

Hell shakes xer head at that last phrase, making another mental note to help talk Verchiel through his issues, fully this time.

“YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE MY LAMB, YOU MUST LEARN HOW AND WHEN TO PROTECT YOURSELF. HURT DOGS BITE, BUT HURT DOGS MUST NOT BITE THE ONES THAT LOVES THEM OR THE ONES THAT MEAN NO HARM. AND THEY MUST NOT BITE OFF A HAND WHEN JUST STITCHES WOULD DO.”

Hell begins to thoroughly clean the smaller wounds once the larger are bandaged, taking extra care to make sure they do not cause unnecessary harm.

“YOU MUST LEARN TO BITE WHEN NEEDED. WHEN THREATENED. AND TO KNOW WHEN TO FIGHT BACK OR WHEN TO RUN.”

Hell thinks on that phrase.. “Im scared of her.” Well that wouldnt do would it?

“IF YOU ARE SCARED, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PROTECT YOU?”

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

Hey! Tiger! You there?

…

“I-.. No.. I didn't..”

(She clears her throat.)

…Holy shit, well done, Tiger! I didn’t know you were that eager to fight. And an archangel on top of that?

Soooo, how did the fight go?

(She didn’t even recognise any signs of discomfort in Verchiel, because she was too busy being overjoyed at the news she was hearing.)

Oh thank fuck, that means I don’t have to worry about giving you this announcement!

See, Tiger, I appreciate our fighting sessions a LOT, but… we’re gonna have to cut back on them. Sorry, kid. Too risky. My roommates are getting suspicious. The only reason I’m here now is because they haven’t figured out I kept the crate of alcohol in that one corner of the room, but whenever they do, I am, like, ultra FUCKED, dude. It’ll be spring in here by time I come back to you. Also, uh…

(She points to the leg that got stabbed last time.)

That’s a bit of an inconvenience. Hey, don’t feel guilty about that. You did EPIC! You’re epic! You’re so cool!

Which leads me to my next point.

You said you were gonna be by my side when Heaven falls, right? So, we might as well get to socialise and be…. Uh…. Friends? I usually think having friends is dumb, but… I kinda like you. You’re probably the only angel I’ve ever seen who’s even remotely cool.

So, how’s that sound? We get to talk about everything! And you get to be stronger and stronger and pick fights in your own time. We don’t even have to completely give up duelling! We just have to make it more low-key, or wait until the roommates stop getting their panties in a twist about it. You dig it, right? Right?

*She said, looking at Pepper.. Friendship?.. She.. She didn't know what to say..*

“I-.. That's okay with me.. We can be friends.. But.. I don't want to fight again.. At least not for now..”

I’m glad you want to be friends.

(But now she realised something is off about Tiger. His words… his demeanour. The vibes were off.)

…But, you don’t really care? About fighting, I’m guessing? You don’t want to fight again? Why? Did you get horribly injured? You don’t look injured to me.

(There’s no undertone of threat or anger. Not yet, at least. Just confusion. Sure, Verchiel might not have loved to fight at first, but why then would she have ended up fighting stupid Marmalade? Or an archangel? She definitely wasn’t asked to. Well, he was told to fight Marmalade, but the archangel? That was all her. Surely, at some point, she started to realise just how alive one could be in the wake of violence? She was seeking a thrill, like he always liked to, right?)

(…Actually, rewinding a couple of minutes to when Verchiel was describing his feats, she seemed apprehensive at best. I mean, yeah, she was a stutterer, but she almost came across like she was… scared to talk?)

Hey, you’re not keeping anything from me, are you? Tiger… what happened since we last saw each other?

Tiger, what the fuck are you talking about?

(She breathes in, hoping to cool the fires of anger igniting even just a little bit.)

You’re not a monster. Tigers eat meat to sustain themselves, not because they’re evil. There’s nothing wrong with picking fights with random people. Although, I gotta admit cutting and ripping out the throat of a random archangel is crazy, but like, they’re an archangel. Archangels have done worse to strangers.

Michael and Phanuel didn’t leave you because you were some kind of evil monster. Phanuel showed you his true colours, and Michael? Michael is a rubbish father at best and actively using you at worst. Because angels are scum, and archangels are even worse. Don’t even get me started on the Seraphim people. Ya heard of Samyaza? People will let you get away with horrible crimes if you’re powerful enough. And by people I mean the council, and any archangel in tandem with them - which is pretty much all of them. Because, as I said, angels are scum.

You don’t want to be “normal” because being “normal” in this world means being controlled. I don’t want them to control you. I didn’t fight tooth and nail to be here, reading about every single worry you had in your life JUST to come back and hear that you’ve changed your mind. Like, the hell? I just asked if we could be the ultimate duo and you’re bringing this up?

*sigh* It must be one of those good for nothing angels… I’ll find who…

*She growled softly, her hands moving to hug herself, sighing and looking away..*

“We can still be a duo! Just.. not fight with innocent people.. They didn't do anything. I-.. Don't you dare.”

Look, face it, Tiger - the “real you” is a bullshit concept. Who is the real Verchiel? Who is the real Muriel? Who is the real Council? The real Father? How people view others is based on subjective crap.

The truth is that all parts of you are you. Even the parts you hate. Yes, there’s a part of you that wants to hurt people. That part is you. The ‘real’ you. And so is your soft wannabe pacifist self. Ideally, I’d like you to completely abandon pacifism and be more willing be to violent, but… truth be told, I find the idea of you ripping out the vocal chords of a random angel crazy even for me. Plus, that will surely draw the Council’s attention to you if you keep being that violent. So, maaaaaybe we need to tone it down a bit. Focus on control or something.

Except I can’t help you with that. I don’t have a “control”. My entire existence revolves around resisting control. That being said, you need to become more willing to fight “innocent” people, if not only because most angels aren’t “innocent people” in the first place. I mean, we can’t be the duo that takes down Heaven if you’re out here trying to defend the people perpetuating the suffering everyone goes through.

…I suppose I could teach you how to fight someone without shedding blood. That will have to be later, though.

As for that bit about us being angels… ugh, I’ve always hated calling myself an angel. I am an angel solely because of the body I inhabit. If not, I would be literally anything else. A shadow, a demon, a human - something along those lines. I don’t really know what I am, only what body I’m in and what body I want to be in. Like, for example, I want what Hell’s got going on with those crazy-looking forms. Spare some style for me, am I right?

And I gotta admit, I don’t see you as an angel either. Well, you have some of the qualities, but you’re different. Maybe when we’re friends we’ll eventually shed off all that ‘angel’ bullshit and be who we want to be. Because as much as you say don’t want to be a “monster”, I don’t think you want to be the things Heaven assigned you to be either.

(Hearing Verchiel’s threat, his stance shifted.)

H-how’d you hear that? I didn’t even say that out loud…

*She growled, her flames starting to darken, getting up from the floor.*

“..I am not a Power anymore, I will show everyone that I am better, but not because of anything, but because of my powers, because of my strength, I will use it to help them, like the Archangels do!”

Secondly, neither of the “loved ones” you’ve mentioned are innocent. I’ve already told you that you can never trust archangels because of their ties to the council, but Marmalade? Stupid ass bird with a stupid ass name who bullied others, you included Tiger, and make you feel guilty over something that wasn’t even your fault, and made you way too forgiving and dependent on them whilst they literally treated you like shit? What did they even do at that party? I know they did something. I saw an angel with a cracked helmet hastily run away from that wedding. The one where you got kidnapped. God knows what that idiot was plotting.

Anyway, baseline - Marmalade is not and will never be innocent. I don’t understand why you’re so keen on that fucker. Are you, like, pfft, in love or something? Lmao!

(She chuckles awkwardly, as if that idea would be utterly absurd.)

Third, I don’t need empathy. And I’m absolutely not giving any to the fuckers who hurt me, or support the ones who hurt me. The day I do that, consider me truly dead.

Finally, you are doing the exact thing I DON’T want you to do! I want you to be strong, yes. I want you to show others that you’re better, yes. But for fuck’s sake, don’t copy the Archangels! They’re the last people you should be learning from.

You want to use your powers to ‘help’? You can help by burning Heaven to the ground. That is the only way you can truly help anyone. Anything else is you deluding yourself into thinking you’re helping. I’ve told you - that place is a shithole. It needs to go. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, good in Heaven!

(Her anger rises. Why is she so dumb? What part of her isn’t getting through?!)

“You. Can't. Control. Me. I will do whatever I want, let it be love my little dove, copy the archangels, or spare Heaven. You won't tell me what to do, are you listening me?! Now. FIGHT ME!!”

(Aiming to stop the fight as soon as possible, she turns around and summons a spear, flinging it at Verchiel’s head as she tries to fly out of range of another attack)

Is this what you want? Huh? You’re too good for me, huh?

I didn’t teach you any of this! Why are your wings like that?

(Was it… that part? No, she was just pissy, wasn’t she? Even then, were the wings really intentional?)

(Needing to act fast, he flung a bunch of holy spears. Not focusing on accuracy, just hoping at least a decent amount would hit where it hurt enough.)

…Don’t want to talk, huh?

(She had been contemplating fighting this whole time. He would risk getting serious injuries and being suppressed again, but truth be told, that was going to happen one way or another, wasn’t it?)

Okay then, fight me, you fucker!

(Then, she punched her. Twice.)

Are you happier now? Is Heaven so good that you’d throw everything away? All the help I gave you, my peaceful offer of friendship, because you won’t get over your stupid archangel daddies? Why would you listen to an archangel over me? Me! Was I stupid for thinking there are angels out there I can actually be friends with? Was I…. Hahahahaha…

“MAMA!! PL-ease-!”

*Her body never stopped twitching, writhing beneath Pepper, trying to get away from her, she was bleeding so much..*

“Love, whats wr-“

“VERCHIEL IS IN DANGER.”

Lucifer flinched at the malice behind Hells voice. It was shockingly rare to hear from her, considering what he is.

“Wait, what?!” Lucifer put the cap of the marker back on, wings puffing out. “Where is she? Shes not hurt is she?”

Hell didnt respond right away, watching with quiet eyes everything that was happening. They didnt bother shifting its form to something else, staying in the form usually meant for Fraud before teleporting down, but not without saying “TREACHERY. PREPARE MEDICAL SUPPLIES.”

—

A heavy crack in the ice is heard behind Pepper as Hell, with their rapidly shifting colours, appears behind him, easily towering over her. Xe is tall in this form, being at least 8 feet tall with spider legs bringing them even taller than that, with swirling galaxies and stars as if it was made from space itself.

“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” Hell was no doubtably angry, the overlaying voices shouting and crying for this to end.

“ΑΝΩΦΕΛΗΣ ΜΑΧΗ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΟΗΜΑ. YOU ARE JUST LIKE FALLEN HUMANITY. FIGHTING FOR NO GOOD REASON OTHER THAN FOR BLOODLUST. NO WONDER YOU ARE IN TREACHERY, LAYER OF BETRAYAL. CLAIMING TO WANT TO HELP YET DESTROYING THOSE WHO DETEST IT.” Hell criticized, one spider leg coming down to crack the ice between Pepper and Verchiel, ribbons quickly taking hold of Peppers legs.

(Whatever. She lands one more punch before finally standing up, taking a deep breath in. God, she loved beating people up sometimes.)

(…A part of her pitied the mess he put Verchiel in. I mean, she didn’t come here to fight. She actually wanted to be nice for once. But sometimes, nice is not what people want. Maybe he ought to do some first aid before he leaves-)

(Suddenly, there was a crack in the ice. Huh?)

(“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” What the hell did those words even mean?)

Hey, who in the Shakespeare do you-

(It doesn’t take more than 2 seconds for Pepper to immediately figure out who this is, as the tall figure looms over him.)

H-holy shit! Hell! I don’t think we’ve ever gotten to speak face-to-face!

Aw, you think I’m like humanity? That’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever heard today! I try real hard to unleash my cruelty to those who hurt me. I’m sure you understand. I mean, you’re literally Hell, haha.

(He doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the ribbons around her legs.)

Uh, I would debate that last part, though. I didn’t come here to fight. In fact, I made it very clear that fighting was a bad idea, but TIGER over here decided that some other shit stain of an angel is better than me, and then refused to do anything other than fight when I tried speaking. What else could I do besides hit her in the face? And, stab her with holy spears…

…Hey, those cuts will heal, right? Right?

(Strange. Was she… regretting a fight? That’s new.)

They really would have to train her.. it made a mental note to bring the idea up later.

“YOU HURT OTHERS YET DO NOT CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES. SHED BLOOD YET DONT REALIZE THE CUTS THAT MUST BE MADE TO DO SO. PATHETIC. NOTHING BUT POWER HUNGRY FOR PAIN AND TORMENT. AT LEAST I AM HONEST IN MY ART.”

“YOU MAY DEFEND YOURSELF, BUT YOU HAVE HURT MY DAUGHTER TO THE POINT OF COUGHING BLOOD. DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE MERCY UPON YOU?”

Hell backed up, legs clicking against the ice, before using the ribbons around Peppers legs to drag them away, thankfully only a few feet away from Verchiel.

Look, the angels up there deserve my violence! They’re pieces of shit! Your daughter is…

Wait a fucking minute. Your DAUGHTER?

(A…ahaha… So, even Hell itself, whom up until this point Pepper had held in high esteem as the strongest opponent against the Father and all he stood for… cared for this one?)

(And Verchiel called for “mama”…)

I…what…how… HELL…. gets on better with Tiger than… me? No. I…

…Why? What does everyone else have that I don’t? An angel who likes HELL more than me but refuses to destroy Heaven? Wants to save Heaven? That doesn’t make-

…Why do I even care? I never care! That’s my whole reason. I exist to spite. To anger. To frustrate the people who thought I’d be better off gone! I’m not supposed to care! I just do things for my own entertainment.

Yeahhh, that’s why! I’m not supposed to care about others! That’s why this was such a mess! But… that doesn’t explain…

(She continues her confused rambling. About Verchiel, Michael, Phanuel, Lucifer, Marmalade… everyone she knows who has been in contact with Verchiel. Something doesn’t add up in her mind and she can’t figure out what.)

(Then, mid-ramble, she stops. It dawns on her - Hell itself, angry that he’s hurt someone it cares about, is dragging her away to do Hell knows what - literally.)

Wait wait wait- You’re not gonna do shit to me because your stray basically begged to fight me, are you? I mean, that’s not really fair. I-I can do some kinda first aid. I mean, I was thinking about it before you interrupted me…

(“…Idiot. Liar. Betrayer. The Beast is correct. Accept your punishment, NOWNOWNOW.”)

Oh, shut up, you hunk of flesh.

(She didn’t bother use her inside voice. Too much was going on inside of there.)

Lucifers voice pierced through the chaos, medkit in hand as he ran towards his son. His wings were puffed up, raised as he slid across the ice on his knees besides Verchy. He barely even reacted as harsh bumps in the ice cut up his knees, he only cared for his daughter.

“Oh no. Oh nononononon.. y-you’re okay Verchiel.. you’re gonna be okay.” Lucifer carefully sat Verchiel up, patting her back gently to help cough up the blood rather than having it go down his throat.

“Cough it up sweetheart, it’ll hurt but it’ll help.” The fallen angels voice is calming, almost like a soft lullaby as he speaks. With his other set of arms, he lifts Verchies helmet above her mouth but not off entirely.

“I MAY HATE THE FATHER BUT I DO NOT HATE THE ANGELS. IN THE SAME WAY MANY HATE THEIR GOVERNMENT BUT NOT THE PEOPLE. THE KING BUT NOT THE COUNTRY. YOU ARE TRULY MISINFORMED ON ME.” Hell speaks, stopping its dragging once Pepper is a few feet away from Verchiel. Its spider legs kept him trapped under xem, it could deal with Pepper later, for now Verchiel didnt need all this chaos.

“GOD STOOD FOR WANTING POWER IN ANY WAY HE COULD ACHIEVE IT, EVEN IF IT MEANT CASTING OUT HIS MOST PRECIOUS ANGEL. EVEN IF IT MEANT TORTURING THE BEING HE CREATED FOR VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DOING IT RIGHT. HE STOOD FOR INFINITE PUNISHMENT FOR FINITE CRIMES, ABUSING HIS CREATIONS, NOT STEPPING IN WHEN HE EASILY COULD. I DO NOT STAND FOR ANY OF THAT. WHAT YOU THINK I STAND FOR IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE, YOU STAND WITH GOD.”

Then we’re misinformed on each other, it seems. I’m not looking for power. If I wanted power, I wouldn’t waste my time wrecking havoc in Heaven, I’d just be a teacher’s pet and a horrible snitch to the Council. I’m sure they’re itching for more executions.

I want vengeance. I stand for vengeance and fury, because Heaven doesn’t want that. They want you to be compliant and quiet. Besides, the people who wield power in Heaven are dickheads. The same dickheads who pushed me towards vengeance in the first place. Why’d I wanna be like them?

And I sure as hell am NOT on the Father’s side. That guy tried to kill me for all my unruliness. That’s why I do what I do. I have to become everything Heaven didn’t want me to become. That’s the only way.

(“The only way I can be free.” She muttered in her head, but refused to say out loud. Freedom - a concept she had longed for years….)

…For the record, I don’t normally go around stabbing people. Today was just… an odd day.

Hey, but …why don’t you hate angels more, though? All the angels up there talk shit about you. Why wouldn’t you hate them?

“..papa-.. it hurts.. papa please-..”

*She cried, hugging him tightly..*

“AND JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT EMBODY HIS VALUES DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT JUST LIKE HIM, ANGEL.” They speak again, occasionally glancing up at Lucifer and Verchiel.

“MANY ANGELS ARE KIND. MANY APPRECIATE ART AND VIOLENCE IN COMFORTABLE WAYS. MANY DONT REALIZE IM TRULY ALIVE. I CANNOT BLAME THEM FOR THAT VIEW OF ME.” They explain, eyes locked onto Lucifer as he hugs Verchiel with one set of arms, the others slowly beginning to clean the blood from the wounds across her body with some paper towel.

“GOD HAS MADE THEM BELIEVE I AM WHAT I AM NOT. THAT I SIMPLY WISH FOR VIOLENCE AND NOT TRUE ART AND BEAUTY THAT COMES WITH BLOOD SHED. HE CONVINCED EVERYONE THAT LUCIFER WAS A REBEL. AN ANGEL WHO WANTED TO DESTROY HEAVEN. TAKE IT AS HIS OWN AND DECLARE HIMSELF KING DESPITE HIM BEING THE KINDEST AMONST THE ANGELS.”

“I DO NOT BLAME THE ANGELS. I BLAME GOD FOR THIS BRAINWASHING. THE ANGELS ARE SIMPLY VICTIMS OF THIS CYCLE.”

Lucifers wings drooped at the mention of what God and the council made him out to be, but he knew Hell was making a point and didnt bother to interrupt. Plus, Verchiel needed him more.

“I know Verchiel.. everything is gonna be okay though, alright? It will only hurt for a little while, not forever. Ill make sure of it.” Lucifer placed a gentle kiss to Verchiels helmets head, letting her go and opening the medkit. Using the alcohol wipes he began to clean the wounds properly this time, holding her hand throughout.

(Memories of a child seeking a cure. Of being scolded for asking the wrong questions. Of being weak. Quiet. Of barely even existing. Times that she hated. She hated it so much. Too much. It filled her with rage.)

I AM NOT LIKE THEM. I am better! I am no angel. I am what they should fear. They should regret ever doing those things. Saying those things. They will never hurt me ever again. I won’t let… I won’t-

Grrrrr, GET OFF ME!

(She starts clawing at the spider legs whilst growling. She refuses to listen to any more. There are only enemies here and he’s outmatched. He has to retreat and come back with another plan.)

“MAYBE YOU WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME, I WILL ACCEPT THAT. THOUGH MAYBE LUCIFER WILL BE ABLE TO REASON WITH YOU. YOU BOTH HAVE SIMILARITIES.” Hell stands fully, walking over to where Lucifer and Verchiel sit.

“I CAN TAKE HER HOME. SPEAK WITH THE ANGEL.”

Lucifer looked at his lover with worry.

“Are you sure? We both know you arent the best with first aid-“

“I PHYSICALLY REARRANGES YOUR ORGANS MULTIPLE TIMES AND YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.”

“…fair enough.”

Looking over at Pepper, Lucifer felt worry shift into anger, wings raising and puffing out defensively. He didnt speak yet, he only waited for Hell to teleport away before beginning to walk towards Pepper.

(…A fade to black, and then he woke up, tied up, on ice. There seem to be new cuts on his body, his head hurts way too much, and he thinks he sees someone approaching.)

…I…is this some sick joke?

(Or…. Did some bullshit happen again? Bullshit he’d have to profusely apologise for, surely.)

(Fuck, why couldn’t he rid himself of this horrid condition?)

H-hey, look, I’m sorry! I don’t want any trouble! I just…. I wanna go home. I shouldn’t be here…

“Mama.. Im so sorry..”

“Listen,” Lucifer started, sitting down beside the other on his knees. “You hurt my daughter. I dont know what she did to you, which is why Im giving you a chance to explain before my partner decides to not give you a chance at all.” The fallen angel speaks, voice serious but with a much softer edge to it than expected.

“Please, angel to angel, talk to me. I promise I wont hurt you as long as you have a good reason behind what you did.”

—

Hell shakes their head, signing “D O N T. B E. S O R R Y. . . Y O U. D E F E N D E D. Y O U R S E L F. A N D. T H E Y. H U R T. Y O U. M O R E. T H A N. T H E Y. S H O U L D. H A V E.” As she leads Verchiel to the couch to sit.

Hell spawns a first aid kit from seemingly nowhere (distantly, a first aid kit goes missing from lust) and some paper towels from the kitchen that Lucifer hadnt already taken. Xe wets the paper towel with some alcohol and begins to clean the wounds with surprisingly gentle hands.

“TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED LITTLE LAMB. WHENEVER YOU ARE READY TO SPEAK. I WILL NOT FORCE YOU NOR GET MAD AT YOU NO MATTER WHAT.”

…Of course I did. This happened before. I… I thought I prevented that from happening…

Now that I think about it, I kind of reek of alcohol. Did… There must be something in my room that I haven’t found yet…

Ah, sorry, you asked me a question. I’m afraid I can’t really tell you the answer. I think I just… have some kind of illness… that makes me some kind of monster…

I’m… I’m still looking for a cure. I’ll… get better. I’m causing all of you so much trouble when you probably have other things to deal with. If your partner wants to punish me, that’s fine. I probably deserve it. I just ask that the punishment doesn’t alter my body too much… Cuts and burns are fine…

W…what am I even saying? To a complete stranger? S-sorry, I’m just tired and…

(Glancing up at Lucifer, he tries to identify him.)

H-hold on, you said you’re Verchiel’s father? But, you’re not Michael. Do you… were you at that wedding? Were you at the meeting where we were planning what to do to save Verchiel?

“..Mama.. im so sorry.. I kind of started this, Pepper was asking me to stop training and be friends, but I told her I didn't.. want to hurt anyone again, and she was upset about it.. I didn't let him talk, I just.. fought, and I guess I dug my grave.. Im.. so sorry..”

Oh, he thinks he gets it.

Finally being an angel of the mind is coming in handy..

“Uhm, yes I was.” Lucifer answers, saving his thoughts in the back of his mind. “Shes had some.. issues with Michael recently, so me and my partner have taken becoming his adoptive parents.” Lucifer explains, wings slowly coming down from their puffed out state.

“And, with this illness. If its mental I may be able to help you figure it out, if thats okay?” Lucifer asks, thinking back on his memory of disorders with amnesia as a symptom.

—

“NO ONE IS ENTITLED TO YOUR FRIENDSHIP OR KINDNESS.” Hell speaks, gently beginning to bandage up the larger wounds.

“THOUGH YOU SHOULD NOT BE APOLOGIZING TO ME. IF YOU ARE TRULY SORRY, APOLOGIZE TO PEPPER ONCE THE TIME IS CORRECT.” Hell points out, voice gentle despite its nature. He wraps the bandages tight, but not enough to cut off any blood or hurt. “I DO NOT BLAME YOU FOR ACTING OUT, IT IS SIMPLY APART OF YOUR NATURE. AND PEPPER SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN INJURING YOU AS HARSH AS SHE DID. THAT WAS ENTIRELY UNDESERVED.”

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

Hey! Tiger! You there?

…

“I-.. No.. I didn't..”

(She clears her throat.)

…Holy shit, well done, Tiger! I didn’t know you were that eager to fight. And an archangel on top of that?

Soooo, how did the fight go?

(She didn’t even recognise any signs of discomfort in Verchiel, because she was too busy being overjoyed at the news she was hearing.)

Oh thank fuck, that means I don’t have to worry about giving you this announcement!

See, Tiger, I appreciate our fighting sessions a LOT, but… we’re gonna have to cut back on them. Sorry, kid. Too risky. My roommates are getting suspicious. The only reason I’m here now is because they haven’t figured out I kept the crate of alcohol in that one corner of the room, but whenever they do, I am, like, ultra FUCKED, dude. It’ll be spring in here by time I come back to you. Also, uh…

(She points to the leg that got stabbed last time.)

That’s a bit of an inconvenience. Hey, don’t feel guilty about that. You did EPIC! You’re epic! You’re so cool!

Which leads me to my next point.

You said you were gonna be by my side when Heaven falls, right? So, we might as well get to socialise and be…. Uh…. Friends? I usually think having friends is dumb, but… I kinda like you. You’re probably the only angel I’ve ever seen who’s even remotely cool.

So, how’s that sound? We get to talk about everything! And you get to be stronger and stronger and pick fights in your own time. We don’t even have to completely give up duelling! We just have to make it more low-key, or wait until the roommates stop getting their panties in a twist about it. You dig it, right? Right?

*She said, looking at Pepper.. Friendship?.. She.. She didn't know what to say..*

“I-.. That's okay with me.. We can be friends.. But.. I don't want to fight again.. At least not for now..”

I’m glad you want to be friends.

(But now she realised something is off about Tiger. His words… his demeanour. The vibes were off.)

…But, you don’t really care? About fighting, I’m guessing? You don’t want to fight again? Why? Did you get horribly injured? You don’t look injured to me.

(There’s no undertone of threat or anger. Not yet, at least. Just confusion. Sure, Verchiel might not have loved to fight at first, but why then would she have ended up fighting stupid Marmalade? Or an archangel? She definitely wasn’t asked to. Well, he was told to fight Marmalade, but the archangel? That was all her. Surely, at some point, she started to realise just how alive one could be in the wake of violence? She was seeking a thrill, like he always liked to, right?)

(…Actually, rewinding a couple of minutes to when Verchiel was describing his feats, she seemed apprehensive at best. I mean, yeah, she was a stutterer, but she almost came across like she was… scared to talk?)

Hey, you’re not keeping anything from me, are you? Tiger… what happened since we last saw each other?

Tiger, what the fuck are you talking about?

(She breathes in, hoping to cool the fires of anger igniting even just a little bit.)

You’re not a monster. Tigers eat meat to sustain themselves, not because they’re evil. There’s nothing wrong with picking fights with random people. Although, I gotta admit cutting and ripping out the throat of a random archangel is crazy, but like, they’re an archangel. Archangels have done worse to strangers.

Michael and Phanuel didn’t leave you because you were some kind of evil monster. Phanuel showed you his true colours, and Michael? Michael is a rubbish father at best and actively using you at worst. Because angels are scum, and archangels are even worse. Don’t even get me started on the Seraphim people. Ya heard of Samyaza? People will let you get away with horrible crimes if you’re powerful enough. And by people I mean the council, and any archangel in tandem with them - which is pretty much all of them. Because, as I said, angels are scum.

You don’t want to be “normal” because being “normal” in this world means being controlled. I don’t want them to control you. I didn’t fight tooth and nail to be here, reading about every single worry you had in your life JUST to come back and hear that you’ve changed your mind. Like, the hell? I just asked if we could be the ultimate duo and you’re bringing this up?

*sigh* It must be one of those good for nothing angels… I’ll find who…

*She growled softly, her hands moving to hug herself, sighing and looking away..*

“We can still be a duo! Just.. not fight with innocent people.. They didn't do anything. I-.. Don't you dare.”

Look, face it, Tiger - the “real you” is a bullshit concept. Who is the real Verchiel? Who is the real Muriel? Who is the real Council? The real Father? How people view others is based on subjective crap.

The truth is that all parts of you are you. Even the parts you hate. Yes, there’s a part of you that wants to hurt people. That part is you. The ‘real’ you. And so is your soft wannabe pacifist self. Ideally, I’d like you to completely abandon pacifism and be more willing be to violent, but… truth be told, I find the idea of you ripping out the vocal chords of a random angel crazy even for me. Plus, that will surely draw the Council’s attention to you if you keep being that violent. So, maaaaaybe we need to tone it down a bit. Focus on control or something.

Except I can’t help you with that. I don’t have a “control”. My entire existence revolves around resisting control. That being said, you need to become more willing to fight “innocent” people, if not only because most angels aren’t “innocent people” in the first place. I mean, we can’t be the duo that takes down Heaven if you’re out here trying to defend the people perpetuating the suffering everyone goes through.

…I suppose I could teach you how to fight someone without shedding blood. That will have to be later, though.

As for that bit about us being angels… ugh, I’ve always hated calling myself an angel. I am an angel solely because of the body I inhabit. If not, I would be literally anything else. A shadow, a demon, a human - something along those lines. I don’t really know what I am, only what body I’m in and what body I want to be in. Like, for example, I want what Hell’s got going on with those crazy-looking forms. Spare some style for me, am I right?

And I gotta admit, I don’t see you as an angel either. Well, you have some of the qualities, but you’re different. Maybe when we’re friends we’ll eventually shed off all that ‘angel’ bullshit and be who we want to be. Because as much as you say don’t want to be a “monster”, I don’t think you want to be the things Heaven assigned you to be either.

(Hearing Verchiel’s threat, his stance shifted.)

H-how’d you hear that? I didn’t even say that out loud…

*She growled, her flames starting to darken, getting up from the floor.*

“..I am not a Power anymore, I will show everyone that I am better, but not because of anything, but because of my powers, because of my strength, I will use it to help them, like the Archangels do!”

Secondly, neither of the “loved ones” you’ve mentioned are innocent. I’ve already told you that you can never trust archangels because of their ties to the council, but Marmalade? Stupid ass bird with a stupid ass name who bullied others, you included Tiger, and make you feel guilty over something that wasn’t even your fault, and made you way too forgiving and dependent on them whilst they literally treated you like shit? What did they even do at that party? I know they did something. I saw an angel with a cracked helmet hastily run away from that wedding. The one where you got kidnapped. God knows what that idiot was plotting.

Anyway, baseline - Marmalade is not and will never be innocent. I don’t understand why you’re so keen on that fucker. Are you, like, pfft, in love or something? Lmao!

(She chuckles awkwardly, as if that idea would be utterly absurd.)

Third, I don’t need empathy. And I’m absolutely not giving any to the fuckers who hurt me, or support the ones who hurt me. The day I do that, consider me truly dead.

Finally, you are doing the exact thing I DON’T want you to do! I want you to be strong, yes. I want you to show others that you’re better, yes. But for fuck’s sake, don’t copy the Archangels! They’re the last people you should be learning from.

You want to use your powers to ‘help’? You can help by burning Heaven to the ground. That is the only way you can truly help anyone. Anything else is you deluding yourself into thinking you’re helping. I’ve told you - that place is a shithole. It needs to go. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, good in Heaven!

(Her anger rises. Why is she so dumb? What part of her isn’t getting through?!)

“You. Can't. Control. Me. I will do whatever I want, let it be love my little dove, copy the archangels, or spare Heaven. You won't tell me what to do, are you listening me?! Now. FIGHT ME!!”

(Aiming to stop the fight as soon as possible, she turns around and summons a spear, flinging it at Verchiel’s head as she tries to fly out of range of another attack)

Is this what you want? Huh? You’re too good for me, huh?

I didn’t teach you any of this! Why are your wings like that?

(Was it… that part? No, she was just pissy, wasn’t she? Even then, were the wings really intentional?)

(Needing to act fast, he flung a bunch of holy spears. Not focusing on accuracy, just hoping at least a decent amount would hit where it hurt enough.)

…Don’t want to talk, huh?

(She had been contemplating fighting this whole time. He would risk getting serious injuries and being suppressed again, but truth be told, that was going to happen one way or another, wasn’t it?)

Okay then, fight me, you fucker!

(Then, she punched her. Twice.)

Are you happier now? Is Heaven so good that you’d throw everything away? All the help I gave you, my peaceful offer of friendship, because you won’t get over your stupid archangel daddies? Why would you listen to an archangel over me? Me! Was I stupid for thinking there are angels out there I can actually be friends with? Was I…. Hahahahaha…

“MAMA!! PL-ease-!”

*Her body never stopped twitching, writhing beneath Pepper, trying to get away from her, she was bleeding so much..*

“Love, whats wr-“

“VERCHIEL IS IN DANGER.”

Lucifer flinched at the malice behind Hells voice. It was shockingly rare to hear from her, considering what he is.

“Wait, what?!” Lucifer put the cap of the marker back on, wings puffing out. “Where is she? Shes not hurt is she?”

Hell didnt respond right away, watching with quiet eyes everything that was happening. They didnt bother shifting its form to something else, staying in the form usually meant for Fraud before teleporting down, but not without saying “TREACHERY. PREPARE MEDICAL SUPPLIES.”

—

A heavy crack in the ice is heard behind Pepper as Hell, with their rapidly shifting colours, appears behind him, easily towering over her. Xe is tall in this form, being at least 8 feet tall with spider legs bringing them even taller than that, with swirling galaxies and stars as if it was made from space itself.

“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” Hell was no doubtably angry, the overlaying voices shouting and crying for this to end.

“ΑΝΩΦΕΛΗΣ ΜΑΧΗ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΟΗΜΑ. YOU ARE JUST LIKE FALLEN HUMANITY. FIGHTING FOR NO GOOD REASON OTHER THAN FOR BLOODLUST. NO WONDER YOU ARE IN TREACHERY, LAYER OF BETRAYAL. CLAIMING TO WANT TO HELP YET DESTROYING THOSE WHO DETEST IT.” Hell criticized, one spider leg coming down to crack the ice between Pepper and Verchiel, ribbons quickly taking hold of Peppers legs.

(Whatever. She lands one more punch before finally standing up, taking a deep breath in. God, she loved beating people up sometimes.)

(…A part of her pitied the mess he put Verchiel in. I mean, she didn’t come here to fight. She actually wanted to be nice for once. But sometimes, nice is not what people want. Maybe he ought to do some first aid before he leaves-)

(Suddenly, there was a crack in the ice. Huh?)

(“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” What the hell did those words even mean?)

Hey, who in the Shakespeare do you-

(It doesn’t take more than 2 seconds for Pepper to immediately figure out who this is, as the tall figure looms over him.)

H-holy shit! Hell! I don’t think we’ve ever gotten to speak face-to-face!

Aw, you think I’m like humanity? That’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever heard today! I try real hard to unleash my cruelty to those who hurt me. I’m sure you understand. I mean, you’re literally Hell, haha.

(He doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the ribbons around her legs.)

Uh, I would debate that last part, though. I didn’t come here to fight. In fact, I made it very clear that fighting was a bad idea, but TIGER over here decided that some other shit stain of an angel is better than me, and then refused to do anything other than fight when I tried speaking. What else could I do besides hit her in the face? And, stab her with holy spears…

…Hey, those cuts will heal, right? Right?

(Strange. Was she… regretting a fight? That’s new.)

They really would have to train her.. it made a mental note to bring the idea up later.

“YOU HURT OTHERS YET DO NOT CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES. SHED BLOOD YET DONT REALIZE THE CUTS THAT MUST BE MADE TO DO SO. PATHETIC. NOTHING BUT POWER HUNGRY FOR PAIN AND TORMENT. AT LEAST I AM HONEST IN MY ART.”

“YOU MAY DEFEND YOURSELF, BUT YOU HAVE HURT MY DAUGHTER TO THE POINT OF COUGHING BLOOD. DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE MERCY UPON YOU?”

Hell backed up, legs clicking against the ice, before using the ribbons around Peppers legs to drag them away, thankfully only a few feet away from Verchiel.

Look, the angels up there deserve my violence! They’re pieces of shit! Your daughter is…

Wait a fucking minute. Your DAUGHTER?

(A…ahaha… So, even Hell itself, whom up until this point Pepper had held in high esteem as the strongest opponent against the Father and all he stood for… cared for this one?)

(And Verchiel called for “mama”…)

I…what…how… HELL…. gets on better with Tiger than… me? No. I…

…Why? What does everyone else have that I don’t? An angel who likes HELL more than me but refuses to destroy Heaven? Wants to save Heaven? That doesn’t make-

…Why do I even care? I never care! That’s my whole reason. I exist to spite. To anger. To frustrate the people who thought I’d be better off gone! I’m not supposed to care! I just do things for my own entertainment.

Yeahhh, that’s why! I’m not supposed to care about others! That’s why this was such a mess! But… that doesn’t explain…

(She continues her confused rambling. About Verchiel, Michael, Phanuel, Lucifer, Marmalade… everyone she knows who has been in contact with Verchiel. Something doesn’t add up in her mind and she can’t figure out what.)

(Then, mid-ramble, she stops. It dawns on her - Hell itself, angry that he’s hurt someone it cares about, is dragging her away to do Hell knows what - literally.)

Wait wait wait- You’re not gonna do shit to me because your stray basically begged to fight me, are you? I mean, that’s not really fair. I-I can do some kinda first aid. I mean, I was thinking about it before you interrupted me…

(“…Idiot. Liar. Betrayer. The Beast is correct. Accept your punishment, NOWNOWNOW.”)

Oh, shut up, you hunk of flesh.

(She didn’t bother use her inside voice. Too much was going on inside of there.)

Lucifers voice pierced through the chaos, medkit in hand as he ran towards his son. His wings were puffed up, raised as he slid across the ice on his knees besides Verchy. He barely even reacted as harsh bumps in the ice cut up his knees, he only cared for his daughter.

“Oh no. Oh nononononon.. y-you’re okay Verchiel.. you’re gonna be okay.” Lucifer carefully sat Verchiel up, patting her back gently to help cough up the blood rather than having it go down his throat.

“Cough it up sweetheart, it’ll hurt but it’ll help.” The fallen angels voice is calming, almost like a soft lullaby as he speaks. With his other set of arms, he lifts Verchies helmet above her mouth but not off entirely.

“I MAY HATE THE FATHER BUT I DO NOT HATE THE ANGELS. IN THE SAME WAY MANY HATE THEIR GOVERNMENT BUT NOT THE PEOPLE. THE KING BUT NOT THE COUNTRY. YOU ARE TRULY MISINFORMED ON ME.” Hell speaks, stopping its dragging once Pepper is a few feet away from Verchiel. Its spider legs kept him trapped under xem, it could deal with Pepper later, for now Verchiel didnt need all this chaos.

“GOD STOOD FOR WANTING POWER IN ANY WAY HE COULD ACHIEVE IT, EVEN IF IT MEANT CASTING OUT HIS MOST PRECIOUS ANGEL. EVEN IF IT MEANT TORTURING THE BEING HE CREATED FOR VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DOING IT RIGHT. HE STOOD FOR INFINITE PUNISHMENT FOR FINITE CRIMES, ABUSING HIS CREATIONS, NOT STEPPING IN WHEN HE EASILY COULD. I DO NOT STAND FOR ANY OF THAT. WHAT YOU THINK I STAND FOR IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE, YOU STAND WITH GOD.”

Then we’re misinformed on each other, it seems. I’m not looking for power. If I wanted power, I wouldn’t waste my time wrecking havoc in Heaven, I’d just be a teacher’s pet and a horrible snitch to the Council. I’m sure they’re itching for more executions.

I want vengeance. I stand for vengeance and fury, because Heaven doesn’t want that. They want you to be compliant and quiet. Besides, the people who wield power in Heaven are dickheads. The same dickheads who pushed me towards vengeance in the first place. Why’d I wanna be like them?

And I sure as hell am NOT on the Father’s side. That guy tried to kill me for all my unruliness. That’s why I do what I do. I have to become everything Heaven didn’t want me to become. That’s the only way.

(“The only way I can be free.” She muttered in her head, but refused to say out loud. Freedom - a concept she had longed for years….)

…For the record, I don’t normally go around stabbing people. Today was just… an odd day.

Hey, but …why don’t you hate angels more, though? All the angels up there talk shit about you. Why wouldn’t you hate them?

“..papa-.. it hurts.. papa please-..”

*She cried, hugging him tightly..*

“AND JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT EMBODY HIS VALUES DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT JUST LIKE HIM, ANGEL.” They speak again, occasionally glancing up at Lucifer and Verchiel.

“MANY ANGELS ARE KIND. MANY APPRECIATE ART AND VIOLENCE IN COMFORTABLE WAYS. MANY DONT REALIZE IM TRULY ALIVE. I CANNOT BLAME THEM FOR THAT VIEW OF ME.” They explain, eyes locked onto Lucifer as he hugs Verchiel with one set of arms, the others slowly beginning to clean the blood from the wounds across her body with some paper towel.

“GOD HAS MADE THEM BELIEVE I AM WHAT I AM NOT. THAT I SIMPLY WISH FOR VIOLENCE AND NOT TRUE ART AND BEAUTY THAT COMES WITH BLOOD SHED. HE CONVINCED EVERYONE THAT LUCIFER WAS A REBEL. AN ANGEL WHO WANTED TO DESTROY HEAVEN. TAKE IT AS HIS OWN AND DECLARE HIMSELF KING DESPITE HIM BEING THE KINDEST AMONST THE ANGELS.”

“I DO NOT BLAME THE ANGELS. I BLAME GOD FOR THIS BRAINWASHING. THE ANGELS ARE SIMPLY VICTIMS OF THIS CYCLE.”

Lucifers wings drooped at the mention of what God and the council made him out to be, but he knew Hell was making a point and didnt bother to interrupt. Plus, Verchiel needed him more.

“I know Verchiel.. everything is gonna be okay though, alright? It will only hurt for a little while, not forever. Ill make sure of it.” Lucifer placed a gentle kiss to Verchiels helmets head, letting her go and opening the medkit. Using the alcohol wipes he began to clean the wounds properly this time, holding her hand throughout.

(Memories of a child seeking a cure. Of being scolded for asking the wrong questions. Of being weak. Quiet. Of barely even existing. Times that she hated. She hated it so much. Too much. It filled her with rage.)

I AM NOT LIKE THEM. I am better! I am no angel. I am what they should fear. They should regret ever doing those things. Saying those things. They will never hurt me ever again. I won’t let… I won’t-

Grrrrr, GET OFF ME!

(She starts clawing at the spider legs whilst growling. She refuses to listen to any more. There are only enemies here and he’s outmatched. He has to retreat and come back with another plan.)

“MAYBE YOU WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME, I WILL ACCEPT THAT. THOUGH MAYBE LUCIFER WILL BE ABLE TO REASON WITH YOU. YOU BOTH HAVE SIMILARITIES.” Hell stands fully, walking over to where Lucifer and Verchiel sit.

“I CAN TAKE HER HOME. SPEAK WITH THE ANGEL.”

Lucifer looked at his lover with worry.

“Are you sure? We both know you arent the best with first aid-“

“I PHYSICALLY REARRANGES YOUR ORGANS MULTIPLE TIMES AND YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.”

“…fair enough.”

Looking over at Pepper, Lucifer felt worry shift into anger, wings raising and puffing out defensively. He didnt speak yet, he only waited for Hell to teleport away before beginning to walk towards Pepper.

(…A fade to black, and then he woke up, tied up, on ice. There seem to be new cuts on his body, his head hurts way too much, and he thinks he sees someone approaching.)

…I…is this some sick joke?

(Or…. Did some bullshit happen again? Bullshit he’d have to profusely apologise for, surely.)

(Fuck, why couldn’t he rid himself of this horrid condition?)

H-hey, look, I’m sorry! I don’t want any trouble! I just…. I wanna go home. I shouldn’t be here…

“Mama.. Im so sorry..”

“Listen,” Lucifer started, sitting down beside the other on his knees. “You hurt my daughter. I dont know what she did to you, which is why Im giving you a chance to explain before my partner decides to not give you a chance at all.” The fallen angel speaks, voice serious but with a much softer edge to it than expected.

“Please, angel to angel, talk to me. I promise I wont hurt you as long as you have a good reason behind what you did.”

—

Hell shakes their head, signing “D O N T. B E. S O R R Y. . . Y O U. D E F E N D E D. Y O U R S E L F. A N D. T H E Y. H U R T. Y O U. M O R E. T H A N. T H E Y. S H O U L D. H A V E.” As she leads Verchiel to the couch to sit.

Hell spawns a first aid kit from seemingly nowhere (distantly, a first aid kit goes missing from lust) and some paper towels from the kitchen that Lucifer hadnt already taken. Xe wets the paper towel with some alcohol and begins to clean the wounds with surprisingly gentle hands.

“TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED LITTLE LAMB. WHENEVER YOU ARE READY TO SPEAK. I WILL NOT FORCE YOU NOR GET MAD AT YOU NO MATTER WHAT.”

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

Hey! Tiger! You there?

…

“I-.. No.. I didn't..”

(She clears her throat.)

…Holy shit, well done, Tiger! I didn’t know you were that eager to fight. And an archangel on top of that?

Soooo, how did the fight go?

(She didn’t even recognise any signs of discomfort in Verchiel, because she was too busy being overjoyed at the news she was hearing.)

Oh thank fuck, that means I don’t have to worry about giving you this announcement!

See, Tiger, I appreciate our fighting sessions a LOT, but… we’re gonna have to cut back on them. Sorry, kid. Too risky. My roommates are getting suspicious. The only reason I’m here now is because they haven’t figured out I kept the crate of alcohol in that one corner of the room, but whenever they do, I am, like, ultra FUCKED, dude. It’ll be spring in here by time I come back to you. Also, uh…

(She points to the leg that got stabbed last time.)

That’s a bit of an inconvenience. Hey, don’t feel guilty about that. You did EPIC! You’re epic! You’re so cool!

Which leads me to my next point.

You said you were gonna be by my side when Heaven falls, right? So, we might as well get to socialise and be…. Uh…. Friends? I usually think having friends is dumb, but… I kinda like you. You’re probably the only angel I’ve ever seen who’s even remotely cool.

So, how’s that sound? We get to talk about everything! And you get to be stronger and stronger and pick fights in your own time. We don’t even have to completely give up duelling! We just have to make it more low-key, or wait until the roommates stop getting their panties in a twist about it. You dig it, right? Right?

*She said, looking at Pepper.. Friendship?.. She.. She didn't know what to say..*

“I-.. That's okay with me.. We can be friends.. But.. I don't want to fight again.. At least not for now..”

I’m glad you want to be friends.

(But now she realised something is off about Tiger. His words… his demeanour. The vibes were off.)

…But, you don’t really care? About fighting, I’m guessing? You don’t want to fight again? Why? Did you get horribly injured? You don’t look injured to me.

(There’s no undertone of threat or anger. Not yet, at least. Just confusion. Sure, Verchiel might not have loved to fight at first, but why then would she have ended up fighting stupid Marmalade? Or an archangel? She definitely wasn’t asked to. Well, he was told to fight Marmalade, but the archangel? That was all her. Surely, at some point, she started to realise just how alive one could be in the wake of violence? She was seeking a thrill, like he always liked to, right?)

(…Actually, rewinding a couple of minutes to when Verchiel was describing his feats, she seemed apprehensive at best. I mean, yeah, she was a stutterer, but she almost came across like she was… scared to talk?)

Hey, you’re not keeping anything from me, are you? Tiger… what happened since we last saw each other?

Tiger, what the fuck are you talking about?

(She breathes in, hoping to cool the fires of anger igniting even just a little bit.)

You’re not a monster. Tigers eat meat to sustain themselves, not because they’re evil. There’s nothing wrong with picking fights with random people. Although, I gotta admit cutting and ripping out the throat of a random archangel is crazy, but like, they’re an archangel. Archangels have done worse to strangers.

Michael and Phanuel didn’t leave you because you were some kind of evil monster. Phanuel showed you his true colours, and Michael? Michael is a rubbish father at best and actively using you at worst. Because angels are scum, and archangels are even worse. Don’t even get me started on the Seraphim people. Ya heard of Samyaza? People will let you get away with horrible crimes if you’re powerful enough. And by people I mean the council, and any archangel in tandem with them - which is pretty much all of them. Because, as I said, angels are scum.

You don’t want to be “normal” because being “normal” in this world means being controlled. I don’t want them to control you. I didn’t fight tooth and nail to be here, reading about every single worry you had in your life JUST to come back and hear that you’ve changed your mind. Like, the hell? I just asked if we could be the ultimate duo and you’re bringing this up?

*sigh* It must be one of those good for nothing angels… I’ll find who…

*She growled softly, her hands moving to hug herself, sighing and looking away..*

“We can still be a duo! Just.. not fight with innocent people.. They didn't do anything. I-.. Don't you dare.”

Look, face it, Tiger - the “real you” is a bullshit concept. Who is the real Verchiel? Who is the real Muriel? Who is the real Council? The real Father? How people view others is based on subjective crap.

The truth is that all parts of you are you. Even the parts you hate. Yes, there’s a part of you that wants to hurt people. That part is you. The ‘real’ you. And so is your soft wannabe pacifist self. Ideally, I’d like you to completely abandon pacifism and be more willing be to violent, but… truth be told, I find the idea of you ripping out the vocal chords of a random angel crazy even for me. Plus, that will surely draw the Council’s attention to you if you keep being that violent. So, maaaaaybe we need to tone it down a bit. Focus on control or something.

Except I can’t help you with that. I don’t have a “control”. My entire existence revolves around resisting control. That being said, you need to become more willing to fight “innocent” people, if not only because most angels aren’t “innocent people” in the first place. I mean, we can’t be the duo that takes down Heaven if you’re out here trying to defend the people perpetuating the suffering everyone goes through.

…I suppose I could teach you how to fight someone without shedding blood. That will have to be later, though.

As for that bit about us being angels… ugh, I’ve always hated calling myself an angel. I am an angel solely because of the body I inhabit. If not, I would be literally anything else. A shadow, a demon, a human - something along those lines. I don’t really know what I am, only what body I’m in and what body I want to be in. Like, for example, I want what Hell’s got going on with those crazy-looking forms. Spare some style for me, am I right?

And I gotta admit, I don’t see you as an angel either. Well, you have some of the qualities, but you’re different. Maybe when we’re friends we’ll eventually shed off all that ‘angel’ bullshit and be who we want to be. Because as much as you say don’t want to be a “monster”, I don’t think you want to be the things Heaven assigned you to be either.

(Hearing Verchiel’s threat, his stance shifted.)

H-how’d you hear that? I didn’t even say that out loud…

*She growled, her flames starting to darken, getting up from the floor.*

“..I am not a Power anymore, I will show everyone that I am better, but not because of anything, but because of my powers, because of my strength, I will use it to help them, like the Archangels do!”

Secondly, neither of the “loved ones” you’ve mentioned are innocent. I’ve already told you that you can never trust archangels because of their ties to the council, but Marmalade? Stupid ass bird with a stupid ass name who bullied others, you included Tiger, and make you feel guilty over something that wasn’t even your fault, and made you way too forgiving and dependent on them whilst they literally treated you like shit? What did they even do at that party? I know they did something. I saw an angel with a cracked helmet hastily run away from that wedding. The one where you got kidnapped. God knows what that idiot was plotting.

Anyway, baseline - Marmalade is not and will never be innocent. I don’t understand why you’re so keen on that fucker. Are you, like, pfft, in love or something? Lmao!

(She chuckles awkwardly, as if that idea would be utterly absurd.)

Third, I don’t need empathy. And I’m absolutely not giving any to the fuckers who hurt me, or support the ones who hurt me. The day I do that, consider me truly dead.

Finally, you are doing the exact thing I DON’T want you to do! I want you to be strong, yes. I want you to show others that you’re better, yes. But for fuck’s sake, don’t copy the Archangels! They’re the last people you should be learning from.

You want to use your powers to ‘help’? You can help by burning Heaven to the ground. That is the only way you can truly help anyone. Anything else is you deluding yourself into thinking you’re helping. I’ve told you - that place is a shithole. It needs to go. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, good in Heaven!

(Her anger rises. Why is she so dumb? What part of her isn’t getting through?!)

“You. Can't. Control. Me. I will do whatever I want, let it be love my little dove, copy the archangels, or spare Heaven. You won't tell me what to do, are you listening me?! Now. FIGHT ME!!”

(Aiming to stop the fight as soon as possible, she turns around and summons a spear, flinging it at Verchiel’s head as she tries to fly out of range of another attack)

Is this what you want? Huh? You’re too good for me, huh?

I didn’t teach you any of this! Why are your wings like that?

(Was it… that part? No, she was just pissy, wasn’t she? Even then, were the wings really intentional?)

(Needing to act fast, he flung a bunch of holy spears. Not focusing on accuracy, just hoping at least a decent amount would hit where it hurt enough.)

…Don’t want to talk, huh?

(She had been contemplating fighting this whole time. He would risk getting serious injuries and being suppressed again, but truth be told, that was going to happen one way or another, wasn’t it?)

Okay then, fight me, you fucker!

(Then, she punched her. Twice.)

Are you happier now? Is Heaven so good that you’d throw everything away? All the help I gave you, my peaceful offer of friendship, because you won’t get over your stupid archangel daddies? Why would you listen to an archangel over me? Me! Was I stupid for thinking there are angels out there I can actually be friends with? Was I…. Hahahahaha…

“MAMA!! PL-ease-!”

*Her body never stopped twitching, writhing beneath Pepper, trying to get away from her, she was bleeding so much..*

“Love, whats wr-“

“VERCHIEL IS IN DANGER.”

Lucifer flinched at the malice behind Hells voice. It was shockingly rare to hear from her, considering what he is.

“Wait, what?!” Lucifer put the cap of the marker back on, wings puffing out. “Where is she? Shes not hurt is she?”

Hell didnt respond right away, watching with quiet eyes everything that was happening. They didnt bother shifting its form to something else, staying in the form usually meant for Fraud before teleporting down, but not without saying “TREACHERY. PREPARE MEDICAL SUPPLIES.”

—

A heavy crack in the ice is heard behind Pepper as Hell, with their rapidly shifting colours, appears behind him, easily towering over her. Xe is tall in this form, being at least 8 feet tall with spider legs bringing them even taller than that, with swirling galaxies and stars as if it was made from space itself.

“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” Hell was no doubtably angry, the overlaying voices shouting and crying for this to end.

“ΑΝΩΦΕΛΗΣ ΜΑΧΗ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΟΗΜΑ. YOU ARE JUST LIKE FALLEN HUMANITY. FIGHTING FOR NO GOOD REASON OTHER THAN FOR BLOODLUST. NO WONDER YOU ARE IN TREACHERY, LAYER OF BETRAYAL. CLAIMING TO WANT TO HELP YET DESTROYING THOSE WHO DETEST IT.” Hell criticized, one spider leg coming down to crack the ice between Pepper and Verchiel, ribbons quickly taking hold of Peppers legs.

(Whatever. She lands one more punch before finally standing up, taking a deep breath in. God, she loved beating people up sometimes.)

(…A part of her pitied the mess he put Verchiel in. I mean, she didn’t come here to fight. She actually wanted to be nice for once. But sometimes, nice is not what people want. Maybe he ought to do some first aid before he leaves-)

(Suddenly, there was a crack in the ice. Huh?)

(“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” What the hell did those words even mean?)

Hey, who in the Shakespeare do you-

(It doesn’t take more than 2 seconds for Pepper to immediately figure out who this is, as the tall figure looms over him.)

H-holy shit! Hell! I don’t think we’ve ever gotten to speak face-to-face!

Aw, you think I’m like humanity? That’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever heard today! I try real hard to unleash my cruelty to those who hurt me. I’m sure you understand. I mean, you’re literally Hell, haha.

(He doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the ribbons around her legs.)

Uh, I would debate that last part, though. I didn’t come here to fight. In fact, I made it very clear that fighting was a bad idea, but TIGER over here decided that some other shit stain of an angel is better than me, and then refused to do anything other than fight when I tried speaking. What else could I do besides hit her in the face? And, stab her with holy spears…

…Hey, those cuts will heal, right? Right?

(Strange. Was she… regretting a fight? That’s new.)

They really would have to train her.. it made a mental note to bring the idea up later.

“YOU HURT OTHERS YET DO NOT CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES. SHED BLOOD YET DONT REALIZE THE CUTS THAT MUST BE MADE TO DO SO. PATHETIC. NOTHING BUT POWER HUNGRY FOR PAIN AND TORMENT. AT LEAST I AM HONEST IN MY ART.”

“YOU MAY DEFEND YOURSELF, BUT YOU HAVE HURT MY DAUGHTER TO THE POINT OF COUGHING BLOOD. DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE MERCY UPON YOU?”

Hell backed up, legs clicking against the ice, before using the ribbons around Peppers legs to drag them away, thankfully only a few feet away from Verchiel.

Look, the angels up there deserve my violence! They’re pieces of shit! Your daughter is…

Wait a fucking minute. Your DAUGHTER?

(A…ahaha… So, even Hell itself, whom up until this point Pepper had held in high esteem as the strongest opponent against the Father and all he stood for… cared for this one?)

(And Verchiel called for “mama”…)

I…what…how… HELL…. gets on better with Tiger than… me? No. I…

…Why? What does everyone else have that I don’t? An angel who likes HELL more than me but refuses to destroy Heaven? Wants to save Heaven? That doesn’t make-

…Why do I even care? I never care! That’s my whole reason. I exist to spite. To anger. To frustrate the people who thought I’d be better off gone! I’m not supposed to care! I just do things for my own entertainment.

Yeahhh, that’s why! I’m not supposed to care about others! That’s why this was such a mess! But… that doesn’t explain…

(She continues her confused rambling. About Verchiel, Michael, Phanuel, Lucifer, Marmalade… everyone she knows who has been in contact with Verchiel. Something doesn’t add up in her mind and she can’t figure out what.)

(Then, mid-ramble, she stops. It dawns on her - Hell itself, angry that he’s hurt someone it cares about, is dragging her away to do Hell knows what - literally.)

Wait wait wait- You’re not gonna do shit to me because your stray basically begged to fight me, are you? I mean, that’s not really fair. I-I can do some kinda first aid. I mean, I was thinking about it before you interrupted me…

(“…Idiot. Liar. Betrayer. The Beast is correct. Accept your punishment, NOWNOWNOW.”)

Oh, shut up, you hunk of flesh.

(She didn’t bother use her inside voice. Too much was going on inside of there.)

Lucifers voice pierced through the chaos, medkit in hand as he ran towards his son. His wings were puffed up, raised as he slid across the ice on his knees besides Verchy. He barely even reacted as harsh bumps in the ice cut up his knees, he only cared for his daughter.

“Oh no. Oh nononononon.. y-you’re okay Verchiel.. you’re gonna be okay.” Lucifer carefully sat Verchiel up, patting her back gently to help cough up the blood rather than having it go down his throat.

“Cough it up sweetheart, it’ll hurt but it’ll help.” The fallen angels voice is calming, almost like a soft lullaby as he speaks. With his other set of arms, he lifts Verchies helmet above her mouth but not off entirely.

“I MAY HATE THE FATHER BUT I DO NOT HATE THE ANGELS. IN THE SAME WAY MANY HATE THEIR GOVERNMENT BUT NOT THE PEOPLE. THE KING BUT NOT THE COUNTRY. YOU ARE TRULY MISINFORMED ON ME.” Hell speaks, stopping its dragging once Pepper is a few feet away from Verchiel. Its spider legs kept him trapped under xem, it could deal with Pepper later, for now Verchiel didnt need all this chaos.

“GOD STOOD FOR WANTING POWER IN ANY WAY HE COULD ACHIEVE IT, EVEN IF IT MEANT CASTING OUT HIS MOST PRECIOUS ANGEL. EVEN IF IT MEANT TORTURING THE BEING HE CREATED FOR VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DOING IT RIGHT. HE STOOD FOR INFINITE PUNISHMENT FOR FINITE CRIMES, ABUSING HIS CREATIONS, NOT STEPPING IN WHEN HE EASILY COULD. I DO NOT STAND FOR ANY OF THAT. WHAT YOU THINK I STAND FOR IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE, YOU STAND WITH GOD.”

Then we’re misinformed on each other, it seems. I’m not looking for power. If I wanted power, I wouldn’t waste my time wrecking havoc in Heaven, I’d just be a teacher’s pet and a horrible snitch to the Council. I’m sure they’re itching for more executions.

I want vengeance. I stand for vengeance and fury, because Heaven doesn’t want that. They want you to be compliant and quiet. Besides, the people who wield power in Heaven are dickheads. The same dickheads who pushed me towards vengeance in the first place. Why’d I wanna be like them?

And I sure as hell am NOT on the Father’s side. That guy tried to kill me for all my unruliness. That’s why I do what I do. I have to become everything Heaven didn’t want me to become. That’s the only way.

(“The only way I can be free.” She muttered in her head, but refused to say out loud. Freedom - a concept she had longed for years….)

…For the record, I don’t normally go around stabbing people. Today was just… an odd day.

Hey, but …why don’t you hate angels more, though? All the angels up there talk shit about you. Why wouldn’t you hate them?

“..papa-.. it hurts.. papa please-..”

*She cried, hugging him tightly..*

“AND JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT EMBODY HIS VALUES DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT JUST LIKE HIM, ANGEL.” They speak again, occasionally glancing up at Lucifer and Verchiel.

“MANY ANGELS ARE KIND. MANY APPRECIATE ART AND VIOLENCE IN COMFORTABLE WAYS. MANY DONT REALIZE IM TRULY ALIVE. I CANNOT BLAME THEM FOR THAT VIEW OF ME.” They explain, eyes locked onto Lucifer as he hugs Verchiel with one set of arms, the others slowly beginning to clean the blood from the wounds across her body with some paper towel.

“GOD HAS MADE THEM BELIEVE I AM WHAT I AM NOT. THAT I SIMPLY WISH FOR VIOLENCE AND NOT TRUE ART AND BEAUTY THAT COMES WITH BLOOD SHED. HE CONVINCED EVERYONE THAT LUCIFER WAS A REBEL. AN ANGEL WHO WANTED TO DESTROY HEAVEN. TAKE IT AS HIS OWN AND DECLARE HIMSELF KING DESPITE HIM BEING THE KINDEST AMONST THE ANGELS.”

“I DO NOT BLAME THE ANGELS. I BLAME GOD FOR THIS BRAINWASHING. THE ANGELS ARE SIMPLY VICTIMS OF THIS CYCLE.”

Lucifers wings drooped at the mention of what God and the council made him out to be, but he knew Hell was making a point and didnt bother to interrupt. Plus, Verchiel needed him more.

“I know Verchiel.. everything is gonna be okay though, alright? It will only hurt for a little while, not forever. Ill make sure of it.” Lucifer placed a gentle kiss to Verchiels helmets head, letting her go and opening the medkit. Using the alcohol wipes he began to clean the wounds properly this time, holding her hand throughout.

(Memories of a child seeking a cure. Of being scolded for asking the wrong questions. Of being weak. Quiet. Of barely even existing. Times that she hated. She hated it so much. Too much. It filled her with rage.)

I AM NOT LIKE THEM. I am better! I am no angel. I am what they should fear. They should regret ever doing those things. Saying those things. They will never hurt me ever again. I won’t let… I won’t-

Grrrrr, GET OFF ME!

(She starts clawing at the spider legs whilst growling. She refuses to listen to any more. There are only enemies here and he’s outmatched. He has to retreat and come back with another plan.)

“MAYBE YOU WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME, I WILL ACCEPT THAT. THOUGH MAYBE LUCIFER WILL BE ABLE TO REASON WITH YOU. YOU BOTH HAVE SIMILARITIES.” Hell stands fully, walking over to where Lucifer and Verchiel sit.

“I CAN TAKE HER HOME. SPEAK WITH THE ANGEL.”

Lucifer looked at his lover with worry.

“Are you sure? We both know you arent the best with first aid-“

“I PHYSICALLY REARRANGES YOUR ORGANS MULTIPLE TIMES AND YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.”

“…fair enough.”

Looking over at Pepper, Lucifer felt worry shift into anger, wings raising and puffing out defensively. He didnt speak yet, he only waited for Hell to teleport away before beginning to walk towards Pepper.

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

Hey! Tiger! You there?

…

“I-.. No.. I didn't..”

(She clears her throat.)

…Holy shit, well done, Tiger! I didn’t know you were that eager to fight. And an archangel on top of that?

Soooo, how did the fight go?

(She didn’t even recognise any signs of discomfort in Verchiel, because she was too busy being overjoyed at the news she was hearing.)

Oh thank fuck, that means I don’t have to worry about giving you this announcement!

See, Tiger, I appreciate our fighting sessions a LOT, but… we’re gonna have to cut back on them. Sorry, kid. Too risky. My roommates are getting suspicious. The only reason I’m here now is because they haven’t figured out I kept the crate of alcohol in that one corner of the room, but whenever they do, I am, like, ultra FUCKED, dude. It’ll be spring in here by time I come back to you. Also, uh…

(She points to the leg that got stabbed last time.)

That’s a bit of an inconvenience. Hey, don’t feel guilty about that. You did EPIC! You’re epic! You’re so cool!

Which leads me to my next point.

You said you were gonna be by my side when Heaven falls, right? So, we might as well get to socialise and be…. Uh…. Friends? I usually think having friends is dumb, but… I kinda like you. You’re probably the only angel I’ve ever seen who’s even remotely cool.

So, how’s that sound? We get to talk about everything! And you get to be stronger and stronger and pick fights in your own time. We don’t even have to completely give up duelling! We just have to make it more low-key, or wait until the roommates stop getting their panties in a twist about it. You dig it, right? Right?

*She said, looking at Pepper.. Friendship?.. She.. She didn't know what to say..*

“I-.. That's okay with me.. We can be friends.. But.. I don't want to fight again.. At least not for now..”

I’m glad you want to be friends.

(But now she realised something is off about Tiger. His words… his demeanour. The vibes were off.)

…But, you don’t really care? About fighting, I’m guessing? You don’t want to fight again? Why? Did you get horribly injured? You don’t look injured to me.

(There’s no undertone of threat or anger. Not yet, at least. Just confusion. Sure, Verchiel might not have loved to fight at first, but why then would she have ended up fighting stupid Marmalade? Or an archangel? She definitely wasn’t asked to. Well, he was told to fight Marmalade, but the archangel? That was all her. Surely, at some point, she started to realise just how alive one could be in the wake of violence? She was seeking a thrill, like he always liked to, right?)

(…Actually, rewinding a couple of minutes to when Verchiel was describing his feats, she seemed apprehensive at best. I mean, yeah, she was a stutterer, but she almost came across like she was… scared to talk?)

Hey, you’re not keeping anything from me, are you? Tiger… what happened since we last saw each other?

Tiger, what the fuck are you talking about?

(She breathes in, hoping to cool the fires of anger igniting even just a little bit.)

You’re not a monster. Tigers eat meat to sustain themselves, not because they’re evil. There’s nothing wrong with picking fights with random people. Although, I gotta admit cutting and ripping out the throat of a random archangel is crazy, but like, they’re an archangel. Archangels have done worse to strangers.

Michael and Phanuel didn’t leave you because you were some kind of evil monster. Phanuel showed you his true colours, and Michael? Michael is a rubbish father at best and actively using you at worst. Because angels are scum, and archangels are even worse. Don’t even get me started on the Seraphim people. Ya heard of Samyaza? People will let you get away with horrible crimes if you’re powerful enough. And by people I mean the council, and any archangel in tandem with them - which is pretty much all of them. Because, as I said, angels are scum.

You don’t want to be “normal” because being “normal” in this world means being controlled. I don’t want them to control you. I didn’t fight tooth and nail to be here, reading about every single worry you had in your life JUST to come back and hear that you’ve changed your mind. Like, the hell? I just asked if we could be the ultimate duo and you’re bringing this up?

*sigh* It must be one of those good for nothing angels… I’ll find who…

*She growled softly, her hands moving to hug herself, sighing and looking away..*

“We can still be a duo! Just.. not fight with innocent people.. They didn't do anything. I-.. Don't you dare.”

Look, face it, Tiger - the “real you” is a bullshit concept. Who is the real Verchiel? Who is the real Muriel? Who is the real Council? The real Father? How people view others is based on subjective crap.

The truth is that all parts of you are you. Even the parts you hate. Yes, there’s a part of you that wants to hurt people. That part is you. The ‘real’ you. And so is your soft wannabe pacifist self. Ideally, I’d like you to completely abandon pacifism and be more willing be to violent, but… truth be told, I find the idea of you ripping out the vocal chords of a random angel crazy even for me. Plus, that will surely draw the Council’s attention to you if you keep being that violent. So, maaaaaybe we need to tone it down a bit. Focus on control or something.

Except I can’t help you with that. I don’t have a “control”. My entire existence revolves around resisting control. That being said, you need to become more willing to fight “innocent” people, if not only because most angels aren’t “innocent people” in the first place. I mean, we can’t be the duo that takes down Heaven if you’re out here trying to defend the people perpetuating the suffering everyone goes through.

…I suppose I could teach you how to fight someone without shedding blood. That will have to be later, though.

As for that bit about us being angels… ugh, I’ve always hated calling myself an angel. I am an angel solely because of the body I inhabit. If not, I would be literally anything else. A shadow, a demon, a human - something along those lines. I don’t really know what I am, only what body I’m in and what body I want to be in. Like, for example, I want what Hell’s got going on with those crazy-looking forms. Spare some style for me, am I right?

And I gotta admit, I don’t see you as an angel either. Well, you have some of the qualities, but you’re different. Maybe when we’re friends we’ll eventually shed off all that ‘angel’ bullshit and be who we want to be. Because as much as you say don’t want to be a “monster”, I don’t think you want to be the things Heaven assigned you to be either.

(Hearing Verchiel’s threat, his stance shifted.)

H-how’d you hear that? I didn’t even say that out loud…

*She growled, her flames starting to darken, getting up from the floor.*

“..I am not a Power anymore, I will show everyone that I am better, but not because of anything, but because of my powers, because of my strength, I will use it to help them, like the Archangels do!”

Secondly, neither of the “loved ones” you’ve mentioned are innocent. I’ve already told you that you can never trust archangels because of their ties to the council, but Marmalade? Stupid ass bird with a stupid ass name who bullied others, you included Tiger, and make you feel guilty over something that wasn’t even your fault, and made you way too forgiving and dependent on them whilst they literally treated you like shit? What did they even do at that party? I know they did something. I saw an angel with a cracked helmet hastily run away from that wedding. The one where you got kidnapped. God knows what that idiot was plotting.

Anyway, baseline - Marmalade is not and will never be innocent. I don’t understand why you’re so keen on that fucker. Are you, like, pfft, in love or something? Lmao!

(She chuckles awkwardly, as if that idea would be utterly absurd.)

Third, I don’t need empathy. And I’m absolutely not giving any to the fuckers who hurt me, or support the ones who hurt me. The day I do that, consider me truly dead.

Finally, you are doing the exact thing I DON’T want you to do! I want you to be strong, yes. I want you to show others that you’re better, yes. But for fuck’s sake, don’t copy the Archangels! They’re the last people you should be learning from.

You want to use your powers to ‘help’? You can help by burning Heaven to the ground. That is the only way you can truly help anyone. Anything else is you deluding yourself into thinking you’re helping. I’ve told you - that place is a shithole. It needs to go. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, good in Heaven!

(Her anger rises. Why is she so dumb? What part of her isn’t getting through?!)

“You. Can't. Control. Me. I will do whatever I want, let it be love my little dove, copy the archangels, or spare Heaven. You won't tell me what to do, are you listening me?! Now. FIGHT ME!!”

(Aiming to stop the fight as soon as possible, she turns around and summons a spear, flinging it at Verchiel’s head as she tries to fly out of range of another attack)

Is this what you want? Huh? You’re too good for me, huh?

I didn’t teach you any of this! Why are your wings like that?

(Was it… that part? No, she was just pissy, wasn’t she? Even then, were the wings really intentional?)

(Needing to act fast, he flung a bunch of holy spears. Not focusing on accuracy, just hoping at least a decent amount would hit where it hurt enough.)

…Don’t want to talk, huh?

(She had been contemplating fighting this whole time. He would risk getting serious injuries and being suppressed again, but truth be told, that was going to happen one way or another, wasn’t it?)

Okay then, fight me, you fucker!

(Then, she punched her. Twice.)

Are you happier now? Is Heaven so good that you’d throw everything away? All the help I gave you, my peaceful offer of friendship, because you won’t get over your stupid archangel daddies? Why would you listen to an archangel over me? Me! Was I stupid for thinking there are angels out there I can actually be friends with? Was I…. Hahahahaha…

“MAMA!! PL-ease-!”

*Her body never stopped twitching, writhing beneath Pepper, trying to get away from her, she was bleeding so much..*

“Love, whats wr-“

“VERCHIEL IS IN DANGER.”

Lucifer flinched at the malice behind Hells voice. It was shockingly rare to hear from her, considering what he is.

“Wait, what?!” Lucifer put the cap of the marker back on, wings puffing out. “Where is she? Shes not hurt is she?”

Hell didnt respond right away, watching with quiet eyes everything that was happening. They didnt bother shifting its form to something else, staying in the form usually meant for Fraud before teleporting down, but not without saying “TREACHERY. PREPARE MEDICAL SUPPLIES.”

—

A heavy crack in the ice is heard behind Pepper as Hell, with their rapidly shifting colours, appears behind him, easily towering over her. Xe is tall in this form, being at least 8 feet tall with spider legs bringing them even taller than that, with swirling galaxies and stars as if it was made from space itself.

“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” Hell was no doubtably angry, the overlaying voices shouting and crying for this to end.

“ΑΝΩΦΕΛΗΣ ΜΑΧΗ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΟΗΜΑ. YOU ARE JUST LIKE FALLEN HUMANITY. FIGHTING FOR NO GOOD REASON OTHER THAN FOR BLOODLUST. NO WONDER YOU ARE IN TREACHERY, LAYER OF BETRAYAL. CLAIMING TO WANT TO HELP YET DESTROYING THOSE WHO DETEST IT.” Hell criticized, one spider leg coming down to crack the ice between Pepper and Verchiel, ribbons quickly taking hold of Peppers legs.

(Whatever. She lands one more punch before finally standing up, taking a deep breath in. God, she loved beating people up sometimes.)

(…A part of her pitied the mess he put Verchiel in. I mean, she didn’t come here to fight. She actually wanted to be nice for once. But sometimes, nice is not what people want. Maybe he ought to do some first aid before he leaves-)

(Suddenly, there was a crack in the ice. Huh?)

(“QUIT YOUR OTIOSE BELLIGERENT.” What the hell did those words even mean?)

Hey, who in the Shakespeare do you-

(It doesn’t take more than 2 seconds for Pepper to immediately figure out who this is, as the tall figure looms over him.)

H-holy shit! Hell! I don’t think we’ve ever gotten to speak face-to-face!

Aw, you think I’m like humanity? That’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever heard today! I try real hard to unleash my cruelty to those who hurt me. I’m sure you understand. I mean, you’re literally Hell, haha.

(He doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the ribbons around her legs.)

Uh, I would debate that last part, though. I didn’t come here to fight. In fact, I made it very clear that fighting was a bad idea, but TIGER over here decided that some other shit stain of an angel is better than me, and then refused to do anything other than fight when I tried speaking. What else could I do besides hit her in the face? And, stab her with holy spears…

…Hey, those cuts will heal, right? Right?

(Strange. Was she… regretting a fight? That’s new.)

They really would have to train her.. it made a mental note to bring the idea up later.

“YOU HURT OTHERS YET DO NOT CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES. SHED BLOOD YET DONT REALIZE THE CUTS THAT MUST BE MADE TO DO SO. PATHETIC. NOTHING BUT POWER HUNGRY FOR PAIN AND TORMENT. AT LEAST I AM HONEST IN MY ART.”

“YOU MAY DEFEND YOURSELF, BUT YOU HAVE HURT MY DAUGHTER TO THE POINT OF COUGHING BLOOD. DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE MERCY UPON YOU?”

Hell backed up, legs clicking against the ice, before using the ribbons around Peppers legs to drag them away, thankfully only a few feet away from Verchiel.

Look, the angels up there deserve my violence! They’re pieces of shit! Your daughter is…

Wait a fucking minute. Your DAUGHTER?

(A…ahaha… So, even Hell itself, whom up until this point Pepper had held in high esteem as the strongest opponent against the Father and all he stood for… cared for this one?)

(And Verchiel called for “mama”…)

I…what…how… HELL…. gets on better with Tiger than… me? No. I…

…Why? What does everyone else have that I don’t? An angel who likes HELL more than me but refuses to destroy Heaven? Wants to save Heaven? That doesn’t make-

…Why do I even care? I never care! That’s my whole reason. I exist to spite. To anger. To frustrate the people who thought I’d be better off gone! I’m not supposed to care! I just do things for my own entertainment.

Yeahhh, that’s why! I’m not supposed to care about others! That’s why this was such a mess! But… that doesn’t explain…

(She continues her confused rambling. About Verchiel, Michael, Phanuel, Lucifer, Marmalade… everyone she knows who has been in contact with Verchiel. Something doesn’t add up in her mind and she can’t figure out what.)

(Then, mid-ramble, she stops. It dawns on her - Hell itself, angry that he’s hurt someone it cares about, is dragging her away to do Hell knows what - literally.)

Wait wait wait- You’re not gonna do shit to me because your stray basically begged to fight me, are you? I mean, that’s not really fair. I-I can do some kinda first aid. I mean, I was thinking about it before you interrupted me…

(“…Idiot. Liar. Betrayer. The Beast is correct. Accept your punishment, NOWNOWNOW.”)

Oh, shut up, you hunk of flesh.

(She didn’t bother use her inside voice. Too much was going on inside of there.)

Lucifers voice pierced through the chaos, medkit in hand as he ran towards his son. His wings were puffed up, raised as he slid across the ice on his knees besides Verchy. He barely even reacted as harsh bumps in the ice cut up his knees, he only cared for his daughter.

“Oh no. Oh nononononon.. y-you’re okay Verchiel.. you’re gonna be okay.” Lucifer carefully sat Verchiel up, patting her back gently to help cough up the blood rather than having it go down his throat.

“Cough it up sweetheart, it’ll hurt but it’ll help.” The fallen angels voice is calming, almost like a soft lullaby as he speaks. With his other set of arms, he lifts Verchies helmet above her mouth but not off entirely.

“I MAY HATE THE FATHER BUT I DO NOT HATE THE ANGELS. IN THE SAME WAY MANY HATE THEIR GOVERNMENT BUT NOT THE PEOPLE. THE KING BUT NOT THE COUNTRY. YOU ARE TRULY MISINFORMED ON ME.” Hell speaks, stopping its dragging once Pepper is a few feet away from Verchiel. Its spider legs kept him trapped under xem, it could deal with Pepper later, for now Verchiel didnt need all this chaos.

“GOD STOOD FOR WANTING POWER IN ANY WAY HE COULD ACHIEVE IT, EVEN IF IT MEANT CASTING OUT HIS MOST PRECIOUS ANGEL. EVEN IF IT MEANT TORTURING THE BEING HE CREATED FOR VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DOING IT RIGHT. HE STOOD FOR INFINITE PUNISHMENT FOR FINITE CRIMES, ABUSING HIS CREATIONS, NOT STEPPING IN WHEN HE EASILY COULD. I DO NOT STAND FOR ANY OF THAT. WHAT YOU THINK I STAND FOR IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE, YOU STAND WITH GOD.”

Then we’re misinformed on each other, it seems. I’m not looking for power. If I wanted power, I wouldn’t waste my time wrecking havoc in Heaven, I’d just be a teacher’s pet and a horrible snitch to the Council. I’m sure they’re itching for more executions.

I want vengeance. I stand for vengeance and fury, because Heaven doesn’t want that. They want you to be compliant and quiet. Besides, the people who wield power in Heaven are dickheads. The same dickheads who pushed me towards vengeance in the first place. Why’d I wanna be like them?

And I sure as hell am NOT on the Father’s side. That guy tried to kill me for all my unruliness. That’s why I do what I do. I have to become everything Heaven didn’t want me to become. That’s the only way.

(“The only way I can be free.” She muttered in her head, but refused to say out loud. Freedom - a concept she had longed for years….)

…For the record, I don’t normally go around stabbing people. Today was just… an odd day.

Hey, but …why don’t you hate angels more, though? All the angels up there talk shit about you. Why wouldn’t you hate them?

“..papa-.. it hurts.. papa please-..”

*She cried, hugging him tightly..*

“AND JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT EMBODY HIS VALUES DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT JUST LIKE HIM, ANGEL.” They speak again, occasionally glancing up at Lucifer and Verchiel.

“MANY ANGELS ARE KIND. MANY APPRECIATE ART AND VIOLENCE IN COMFORTABLE WAYS. MANY DONT REALIZE IM TRULY ALIVE. I CANNOT BLAME THEM FOR THAT VIEW OF ME.” They explain, eyes locked onto Lucifer as he hugs Verchiel with one set of arms, the others slowly beginning to clean the blood from the wounds across her body with some paper towel.

“GOD HAS MADE THEM BELIEVE I AM WHAT I AM NOT. THAT I SIMPLY WISH FOR VIOLENCE AND NOT TRUE ART AND BEAUTY THAT COMES WITH BLOOD SHED. HE CONVINCED EVERYONE THAT LUCIFER WAS A REBEL. AN ANGEL WHO WANTED TO DESTROY HEAVEN. TAKE IT AS HIS OWN AND DECLARE HIMSELF KING DESPITE HIM BEING THE KINDEST AMONST THE ANGELS.”

“I DO NOT BLAME THE ANGELS. I BLAME GOD FOR THIS BRAINWASHING. THE ANGELS ARE SIMPLY VICTIMS OF THIS CYCLE.”

Lucifers wings drooped at the mention of what God and the council made him out to be, but he knew Hell was making a point and didnt bother to interrupt. Plus, Verchiel needed him more.

“I know Verchiel.. everything is gonna be okay though, alright? It will only hurt for a little while, not forever. Ill make sure of it.” Lucifer placed a gentle kiss to Verchiels helmets head, letting her go and opening the medkit. Using the alcohol wipes he began to clean the wounds properly this time, holding her hand throughout.

(..Very rarely did she ever ‘feel’. As in, feeling emotions. She cast that side of her the moment she became the strong being she was today. Well, not strong enough to beat a Power, apparently, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate Verchiel over something THAT petty. Besides, he was always fighting at a disadvantage, thanks to the stupid alcohol. Were he not inhibited, the fights would have been a breeze.)

(But that wasn’t the point of the fights in the first place, was it? The point was to transform that angel into the tiger she was supposed to be. The tiger he deserved to be. After their last fight, Pepper was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to worry much about whether Verchiel was strong enough or not. Though, of course, she could always take drastic measures if need be.)

(Alas, that fight was going to be their last for a while. He took a brief moment to examine his healing wounds. Burns that would probably never fully heal. A limp that was still obvious. No state for a fight. But there were more pressing issues than merely being injured that would stop the fights from being viable, unfortunately.)

(More importantly, there were these ‘feels’ that she would need to sort out. He already had a rough idea of what those ‘feels’ might mean. After all, she felt the same way all those years ago back when he actually felt like making friends…)

(…Okay, enough thinking about feels. He didn’t want to remember that.)

(…)

(How long had he been waiting?)

@facets-of-the-father

Hey! Tiger! You there?

…