#isafer writes

The silence that followed was deafening, unlike the pounding of his heart being twisted out his chest. Lucifer could barely muster a steady intake of breath as Isabella finishes recounting her past. The words that carried her background weighed overbearingly heavy. So heavy that he wondered how she didn't crumble from the weight of it all.

He could feel his throat close with a lump of emotions stuck in it when he sees the distant, downcasted eyes she bore at the moment. Her amber orbs empty and hollow, like the porcelain doll she described as her mother.

A mix of emotions swirled inside Lucifer, sadness and fury being the most apparent and he had to curl his fingers to keep himself grounded.

"Damn them." He thinks, enraged that was fueled by sorrow.

Damn her mother for never seeing the daughter she could be. Damn her father for treating her like a parcel to be shipped with the tag of her family name. Damn the rebels who forced her to watch her team burn in the searing embrace of the forest fire. Damn the enemies who had marred her skin with scars that rendered her nerves numb and unfeeling. Damn them all for hurting her before he came to love her yet.

So much pain lumped into one sentient spirit. Was it such a crime for her to ask of a family that would stay and accept her? To crave love? To crave belonging?

He knew what it felt like to lose a battle against something so obviously stronger. He knows of the regrets that wrapped around his heart and mind like a thorned vine. The self-blame that chained his limbs and withdraws his outstretched hands for help. He knows it so well because it's self-punishment.

And he felt helpless when he saw his lover in the same spotlight he is shining in. He felt anguish in greater heights when he saw himself in the reflection of her faraway gaze.

The worse of such comparison was at the very least, he still had his brothers. Still had some to support him during his darkest moments and fell along with him as he loses his grace and acceptance from the heavens above.

But what about her? What of the nothing she was birthed in and ended up with?

No. He'll change that. He'll be the one to challenge her lonely fate.

Lucifer tugs at her arms, feeling the uneven skin beneath his ungloved fingertips as he pulls her into a protective hold. His brows knit together with tightly closed lids, emotions getting the better of him and throwing his pride out of the window.

"I promise you.." He whispers, his fingers carding through her brown locks and dyed crimson tips while his free arm rubs against her bare back, his palms grazing over the burn that mapped the entirety of her skin behind her with a touch that was afraid he'd break a fragile glass.

"I'll never allow another fire burn you down again."

Isabella stays quiet, her mind fog taking a moment to clear up and process his words that were akin to a vow. Then, her eyes began to burn with unfamiliar tears, her breath hitching as her chest constricted painfully at the sheer relief from the comfort she longed forgotten about.

'This is damning.' Lucifer thinks, ignoring, or at least to the best of his capabilities, the slit eyes that followed him up the staircase. He can feel the figure trailing behind him, waiting. Anticipating. Leading himself to his private chambers and to whatever event might happen next. There was a sort of stillness in the air that he swore if he breathed the wrong way, he'd be taken just right outside of his own room.

Lucifer could hear the clicking of heels, and the gentle flicks of a tail as the figure approaches him. It stops just a step away from his stilled being. The scent of pine and rain filled his nostrils, and seeing the shadow that loomed over him and the walls caused chills to run down his spine. His hand rests on the doorknob but he remains in place as if he forgot how to move. Lucifer rarely felt anxious, much less cornered.

He lets out a tiny gasp when he sees a tail coil around his wrist. The touch is gentle and tender yet it sends a violent bolt of electricity through his frame.

Lucifer watches it as it coaxes his arm to twist the handle, manipulating his frozen hand to open the bedroom door and his limb follows listlessly. Like a puppet bound by strings, Lucifer staggers inside as the door swings open, embarrassment colouring his cheeks a light pink when the tail pulls him back upward.

'It's just a form. A guise.' He mentally chastises himself for acting so clumsily. He was the one who asked to show him her impersonation of his species. She's still human, still Isabella.

So why is his heart beating so rapidly?

"I-Isa." Damn the effects this woman has on him. He sounded small, beyond out of character. Yet the humiliation that settled in was quickly thrown out once he felt the tail tighten around his joint. A response from calling her name.

"Lucifer."

For a moment, his mind fogged with the tone of her voice ringing in his eardrums. It was monotonous, yet it felt like a hundred messages were being conveyed. He swears his vision blurred for just a second, almost going limp. It was embarrassing, he felt weak. As if her mere voice poisoned him. He felt like he was trapped in a daze.

Her trained eyes easily spotted how unsteady he was becoming.

Lucifer yelps in surprise when the tail unwinds from his wrist and wraps itself firmly around his waist, bringing the demon closer to her own body. He staggers, caught off guard by the motion but he remains upright thanks to the support. He hears a low chuckle.

"Well, what do you think?" Isabella grins, presenting pointed teeth that were never there in her original form. "Quite convincing, no?"

'A little too convincing.' Lucifer thinks sourly. He turns away and instead, opted to answer with silence.

"Is this form an eyesore to you?" Isabella cocks her head to the side, a playful glint sparkles in those brown orbs of hers and Lucifer swears under his breath as he feels both irritation and fondness swell in his chest.

"Since when were you this chatty?" Lucifer huffs, his eyes narrowing in annoyance when he is met with a soft chuckle.

"Since I can finally look down on you." The human smirks as her faux tail squeezes his hips with a teasing pressure. "Not that I haven't in 'other' situations."

She casually ducks as a pillow magically hurls itself towards her.

"You're uncharacteristically insufferable today." The woman only smiles as she stands upright and hums in acknowledgement, her tail comfortably perched on his waist. Lucifer sighs, exasperated but amused all at once while he glances up to gaze at his lover's new features.

"But to answer your question, it's a no." His lips curve up as his glare softens whilst he stands on his toes, brushing their noses lightly against each other. A little gesture that they've developed in their relationship.

Isabella merely laughs, making no comment at the adorable gesture as she nuzzles her face at the top of his head. Her horns and hair tips glow a rosy red, a testament of her affection towards the Avatar of Pride.

"I'm relieved to hear that." She laughs softly, her fangs poking out of her mouth whilst she grins. Lucifer couldn't help but return the gesture, pulling at the woman's sleeves so she could bend down and receive a peck on her lips.

The Agency

Description & Purpose

The Agency is an undercover, vigilante-military-like organization with only 3 specific goals in mind. Peace, Order & Balance. As humanity progressed with their technology through time, so too did the imbalance and corruption. There is so much conflict, seen by the public eye or not; The Agency is in charge to produce prodigious agents who can uphold and maintain these 3 objectives and keep them afloat.

But despite these ambitions, it's not like the Agency itself is free from injustice, cruelty and misconduct.

Before Isabella became the reigning Branch Master, the Agency used to take in runaways or abandoned children. Sometimes, even taking them from poor orphanages. Children are easy to manipulate, influence and exploit. The child wouldn't be immediately exposed to the harsh reality as they are still given time to grow before starting 'training.'

Captains, Wing Leaders and people from Main teams are the results of these children. Cloudunes are easy to recruit so they don't usually come from this background.

Do they run with the government?

No one knows. This is to the knowledge of the higherups alone. Although they seem to have justified goals, as I explained, the Agency is cruel. They have committed crimes against human rights in order to produce these Agents. Yet these said Agents do missions in order to keep everything in control.

Thanks to Isabella, alot of these rules were bent and changed but even so, there are limits to even her reign in the Agency.

Ranks

Branch Masters: The highest, singular position of a Section. Each Branch Master is in charge of their given Section Number. They're the captains, the head, the leader of their teams. They deal with the more rigorous missions handed out by the higherups.

Wing Leaders: The Vice Captain of a Section. It is optional to have more than one Wing Leader if the Branch Master sees it fit, but mostly, there is only need of one. They are the right hand of the Captain and offers extra support

Cloudunes: Perhaps the most safest and numbered rank in the Agency. They consist from below all the way up to hundreds of 'seemingly' normal workers. Although of the lowest rank, this is what a Section is mostly made out of. They are the info brokers and serve as the eyes and ears of their Section as they actively work in the public eye more compared to the first two mentioned.

Higherups: They're the only ones above the Branch Masters. They oversee all Sections. Each Branch Master reports to one or two higherup. They are extremely low profiled that most Cloudunes and Wing Leaders don't even know who're their designated higherups are. It is only their Captains that have personally met these people but even then, encounters are rather rare.

Terms

Section: A section is basically the term referring to the general team of a Branch Master. That includes the Captain all the way to EVERY Cloudune under them.

Main Team: A Branch Master's main team consists of themselves, their Wing Leaders, and a handful of Cloudunes that can handle the battlefield. This is basically a Branch Master's personal squad to aid them during a mission.

Specialty: This is how a Section will be percieved in the public. This all depends on the Branch Master and the higherup assigned.

(Ex: Since Isabella's specialties are Wildlife and Criminal Investigatory, her Cloudunes' jobs and most of her minor missions fall under anything related to this category. However, a Branch Master's position is far more flexible than this and missions can go outside of their specialties.)

The Vanguard: Basically the council of the Agency. This just consists of the top 5 Branch Masters along with their respective Higherups. Not much to note about except that they mostly hold meetings together (Usually the Branch Masters meet separately as I mentioned that the higherups are quite elusive).

Territory/ies: Depending on a Section's man power is how wide their territories are. A Branch Master has ONE main territory and other smaller branches spread out globally (usually under another Branch Master.) In their main territory is where their main base and hq are located in.

Selection: This is basically just another word to say recruitment for the Cloudunes. If a person was recruited means they were personally cherry picked by a higherup. They will then be introduced to the Branch Master (or the Wing Leader if they're unavailable), and will be decided if they get in their section or not. They'll be given time if they believe their Specialty doesn't fit in a Section and they allow choices of other Branch Masters to oversee you.

Section Ranks: This is the way to identify how powerful your section is. The higher the Section Rank, the more respect the section practically commands.

Rank Duels: There are two ways to move a section higher in the ranks. One of them is this. This is basically a Coup d'état between two Branch Masters. A fight for a position to be higher in the rankings as a Captain and as a Section.

Credit Rate: Doesn't really have the same meaning as usually percieved in business. Credit Rate is basically how much your Section contributes to the agency. The more missions your Branch Master and their Main Team accomplishes and the more Cloudunes flourish in their given jobs will help a Section go up the ranks. This is basically how they calculate a Section's man power to begin with.

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Welp, this is the best I can explain their keypoints. English isn't my first language so I apologize for any screw ups 😭

Up next is Isabella lore 👀👀👀.