SINFUL

Lilith is instantly recognisable, even just from her back. There is something timeless in her posture, the way she carries herself. She faces the buffet table, and he approaches her from behind, attempting to speak before she can sense his presence in the hopes that he can drive her to flinch.

"Is this all going to your plan, Lilith?" A smirk is audible in his voice, his typically obnoxious demeanour coming far more naturally than it does with the angels.

His derision for the cursed humans goes back eons; he has no love for God anymore, but this age old hurt doesn't simply go away. He moves to her side, reaching for something on the buffet table; he doesn't look to see what it is. One of the benefits of being the face of greed, he won't turn down anything he can taste. His teeth crush down on a cherry, right through the pit.

"I don't care what you think of me. You've all passed judgement millennia ago, I refuse to be defined by that." And it wasn't like she'd tried to get away from them ever since, avoiding Eve and Adam as well. The way he behaved and carried himself, it made her sick. "I'm surprised you didn't just reach for God yourself to eat him up," Lilith rolled her eyes, "or am I missing something? You must be still under Lucifer's thumb, right?"

But to see her. To see her, to have her see him. They were created for each other, were they not? Perhaps it was always in God’s plan that they may one day find each other in the mortal coil, atop mortal soil. Her fingers felt familiar upon him, her voice as silky as he had known it to be – he didn’t need to shut his eyes to believe them. And contact – touch with another like himself, another doomed to walk the Earth because they dared to defy – had become so special. He placed the back of his hand upon her cheek – call it second nature – and uttered, “Lilith.” Her name felt like honey upon his tongue. Lilith. It was a name he never believed he would utter again, at least in circumstances such as… this.   “Why am I here… or why am I here?” Why was he in Eden, or why was he no longer in Eden?

His warmth felt real, so she accepted the fact that she wasn't hallucinating despite the punch's effect. She knew him all too well to not immediately recognize him by the shape of his jaw, his smell, his voice, too. "Adam." She drew her hand back, afraid it would last all night against his skin, "I don't know why. We've all been practically stuck in here, but I never knew you'd be here, too." In fact, Lilith was shocked to see him here. Someone must've invited him without her knowledge. "This isn't a good idea, you must go." Lilith looked around, "I can't go back, not like this." It's almost a reminder of how they'd chased her down so she'd return to Adam. "How did you... did you have a good life?" she was curious, awfully so, to know more about him and his whereabouts all these years.

"Name one of us who isn't," he points out, chin tilting in the direction of those familiar to the pair, "Scheming, that is." He'd never claim as much – in this life and the last, he didn't scheme so much as unify. Piecing together the strings of demons, and every plan that came to pass until they became the destruction that followed. Neither a leader, nor a follower, Belphegor remained something more. Other. The huff of laughter that befalls his lips, serpentry that perhaps only Lilith would know the taste of. If only she knew, how far he'd fallen well before Lucifer took the first step before them all. The depths of supposed poison he'd touched and consumed before the lines were drawn. He did nothing blindly. "You assume too much."

"So, are we going to play nice or are you already picking favorites? Then, by all means, at least tell me every juicy detail you know about those you loathe, so you can make your presence worthwhile."

Lucifer places his hand on his chest in mock offense. "Lazy?" He tsks as though he were scolding a disappointing child. In some ways, perhaps he was. Lilith and her guard, her ambition nearly as sharp as his own. They nearly cut the same line — this for me and me alone. The smile, despite the stars, is not a reassurance. If anything, it is a warning. Watch yourself. It might be her turf but this is still his game. "When have you ever known me to be lazy?"

Never. Ever bright star of the morning, he never wavered. He never faltered. There is little of that star left to him. His eyes, once bright with those words of subtle creation, are endlessly dark.

He accepts the glass. "What would demolishing the club do, hm? No, you have my praise." & he lifts the glass. It is very easy to read that as mocking but Lucifer merely offers the gestures. Not a smile, not a flood of flattery — it is perhaps as honest as a demon can allow themself to be. "You've created a place where even the holiest of them have willingly crossed into. That is no small feat, my dear. Between you and me, sin looks good on them. Though perhaps—"

"I didn't invite them," for once, Lilith decided to be truthful, "I don't know who did. And while I do appreciate the praise, I'm sure you'll agree, that this is just the beginning of something much worse. Angels will be tempted by the throne just as any Demon will." She wanted for Lucifer to see how crucial obtaining the throne might end up being. Having the throne meant to rule overall. No matter the cost, she hoped he'd go all the way. With the stars above their heads, Lilith simply smirked at the display of his powers, "I'm sure you've used that trick on many before, Morningstar. However, I'm not interested in God's Eden anymore, I have my own." She paused to really consider her next words, as if saying them would open another can of worms. Maybe it would. "Scarred, perhaps. I have seen kingdoms fall, saw mortals consider themselves godlike, only to die shortly after. Mortals are stupid enough to consider themselves equals to you. Why would I not consider you and everybody else's presence a warning, a bad omen? Are you not the most tempting of them all?"

꩜  .ᐟ      there  was  always  a  certain  delicacy  to  these  things.  favours  to  be  asked,  services  to  be  offered  —  even  with  your  very  dearest  and  oldest  friends.  always  better  to  start  with  an  offering  first,  before  getting  around  to  whatever  it  was  that  you  wanted.  “so,”  she  began,  eyeing  the  other  woman  carefully  in  the  neon-washed  haze  of  the  bar.  drawing  absentminded  patterns  on  the  table  with  one  fingertip,  doodling unseen shapes. “ someone  may  or  may  not  have  scored  tickets  to  fashion  week  in  milan.  all  expenses  paid,  plenty of  fun  promised.  the only thing  i  need  now  is  the right  plus  one.  .  . ”

where: eden, lilith's club

delicate fingers released the creature, scorched, a limp body that fell to eden's floor, only a few meters away from her, mother of monsters. " one of your creatures has crossed a brother of mine... i came to return it " a demon, one that inflicted pain upon her youngest sibling, a far gentler creature than michael. " i hoped you would keep them on a tighter leash, disobedient things " aberrations of creation, tied to lilith in sin. the archangel despised them, yet somehow she questioned if they were a part of god's plan all along. " are you not going to offer me a drink? i know you are a woman of many flaws, but lack of manners didn't strike me as one of them. "

His cadence is gentle as he sidesteps hushed patrons whose gazes linger, whose sighs drift after him, a shade wistful. His delicate gaze falls upon Lilith: the proprietor with a sense of irony. He remembers when she rebelled all those eons ago, the murmur she sent rippling through Heaven at the news of her abandonment of Eden. At the time, he’d been dismayed, perplexed, of course, but quietly sympathetic. He had thought there must be a choice before total abandonment; after all, no one should be beholden to another’s command in paradise — none but His.

Now, he imagines her sympathies lie more with her fellow subversives, though her establishment opens its arms to all. With this in mind, he approaches her, cautious, composed, yet expecting reproach, his head swimming with fleeting hallucinations. She deals in secrets and unanswered questions, and he has many.

“Lilith,” he murmurs, voice soft as gossamer. “How gracious of you to open your doors to us all.” His gaze drops to the glass in his hand, first in acknowledgment, then in wary curiosity. “I don’t suppose you know who is responsible for the punch? Unless I have you to thank for the apparitions. I would have preferred to agree to them first, but if this is how mortals imbibe…”

"Chamuel," she half sings his name to serenade him, "so you also think it was me who wrote those atrocious looking invitations? All that glamour and gold really isn't my style, as you might be able to tell." In fact, she'd always prided herself with the idea that Eden wasn't a paradise, but a sinful place of ruin and opulence. A place where one could lose themselves in. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she joked, one eyebrow raised to watch his reaction, "why? Have we encountered any unwelcome guests already? Oh my, sounds like such a burden to the one who feels everything, am I right? Come to think of it: what's it like to love and feel everything? Must be exhausting." They couldn't be more different in that regard, with her being the one to abandon love for the sake of her own freedom.

THE FIRST SEAL — event 001. sinners, you & i | @sinlaced

There are many, many things that Lucifer could say about Lilith but first and foremost — she knows how to make sin a delight. The other is that she knows how to make monsters out of men. Monsters of pride, monsters of greed, monsters of lust all reaching for one another in bright sighs of pleasure. They are beautiful, these creatures with human faces and human laughs and human delights as they drench their souls dark.

He could watch this all night. She stays on the edges of his attention. Every now and again, he would catch sight of her face and the memories come crawling back. The soft air of Eden, freshly made and heavy with mist, trembling with two voice wavering without a song embedded into the soul.

That is what moved the heart of God. Eons, God had been Lucifer's — until they were scraped out of the mud with braying voices and no song, shaped into the image of God without being gods, without being angels. A shoddy lookalike with nothing to off— oh, if he lingers on that much too long then he'll find himself as bitter as Leviathan.

"Apparently I'm not busy enough when I'm seen with you, Lucifer." there was no contempt in her voice, just fact. Instead of condemning the once angel whose sole reputation relied on their beauty and ambition, she now understood the poets even better for making that assumption. Though she'd seen Lucifer before, she could now fully take them in. "I'm actually surprised you haven't decided to just completely demolish my nightclub now that you can reach your precious angels again. Have we gotten a bit lazy?" Lilith smirked while offering them a glass.

"Name one of us who isn't," he points out, chin tilting in the direction of those familiar to the pair, "Scheming, that is." He'd never claim as much – in this life and the last, he didn't scheme so much as unify. Piecing together the strings of demons, and every plan that came to pass until they became the destruction that followed. Neither a leader, nor a follower, Belphegor remained something more. Other. The huff of laughter that befalls his lips, serpentry that perhaps only Lilith would know the taste of. If only she knew, how far he'd fallen well before Lucifer took the first step before them all. The depths of supposed poison he'd touched and consumed before the lines were drawn. He did nothing blindly. "You assume too much."

"Right, we're both just monsters ready for everything, are we not? Assuming things or not, maybe you might just be the closest I'll ever have to a kindred spirit, apart from Satan, of course." She could feel it in her bones, the silent schemes, the meaningful looks as Belphegor assessed her. "Just tell me you have an ace up your sleeve, anything you're willing to achieve on your own," one eyebrow raised, with her interest now piqued, "or have you seriously devoted yourself now?"

such a melody of a chuckle slivers out from mammon, lips parting to beam perfect pearly whites. to any outsiders innocuously looking in, the unfolding scene would've displayed a mirage of two long time companions catching up over lost time rather than a pair of demons devising another scheme. "and here i was going back and forth on the idea of taking credit. it does fall right into my alley of interests, too," facetiously hummed the brunette, smile dazzling much similar to the gems draping her figure.

while initially hesitant to oppose god in the first place, the idea of prolonging her stay in heaven certainly hadn't ceased its reservations, an irrefutable desire to possess and conquer reigning prominent. "more ways to climb the ladder?" aforementioned grin is now edged with a nearly sinister element. "do you know how much of a fortune we could profit? a club slash gambling hotspot, lil. no better way to pull these toys under than through their pockets and livelihoods." on the precipice of bouncing in glee, mammon quickly reinforces why lilith remained one of her favorite counterparts.

immediately the angel's head cocks to one side as lilith made such a statement. this was almost too much to even try asking for any help , but , if he didn't take the humiliating selfie , how else would there be proof of the stunning outfit? five minutes contemplating the darkside and already he was becoming vain. he couldn't be that easy and for that he decided satan would earn his loyalty. a hand brushes against his glasses as lilith's thoughts are turned on like a light switch . swimming through the usual anxious notions , gabriel 's head tilts as he heard lilith thinking of those days . tangled bodies in private quarters and lips dragging across supple skin . this was dangerous , another temptation and he might never come back. NOW , amber eyes gaze up over the glass of punch with another compulsive sip.

"I don't need anyone to look after me. Neither you nor Raphael, but the two of you just never listen, am I right? A huge savior complex all hidden behind divine judgement. At least now you'll have some... ice cold drinks to drown your own thoughts and sins." She raised one brow, hoping he'd understand her vague words, "Weren't you happy.. to sin? Earth might be just what you desire, Gabriel."

Eda had heard whispers of Eden long before the gilded invitation arrived, the kind of nightclub that pulsed like a heartbeat beneath the desert heat, seductive and unholy in equal measure. Of course, it was her. Only Lilith would summon the fallen and the forsaken with something so poetic, so cruelly nostalgic. Eda had laughed when she read it, the sound tasting like guilt and longing. She tells herself she’s changed, that centuries on earth have softened her envy, dulled the ache of what once divided them, but as she steps through the haze of perfume and neon light, she can still feel the ghost of that old rivalry threading through her veins. Moving through the crowd with a dancer’s grace, pearls glinting at her throat, she finds her, Serena Chandra now, but she’d know that gaze anywhere. Eda’s lips curve, her voice honey-sweet and edged with something ancient. “You always did know how to make an entrance, Lilith,” she murmurs, tilting her head, curiosity gleaming in her dark eyes. “Tell me… what are we remembering tonight?”