hadriel_logs | Piano Man

Entry tags:

Piano Man

Who: Lucifer & Anyone brave or foolish enough to walk into his dreams
What: The devil decides to try to charm Delight
Where: Dreaming Event
When: Towards the latter half of the dreaming event
Warnings: I have clips of Lucifer playing the piano inside. They're not really enough to be considered spoilers, because they don't really tell anything about the episodes they're from but just an FYI all the same.

In the end Lucifer decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

He'd been dozing throughout the event, finding himself in the dreams of others more out of his own curiosity than anything else. Because while he was certainly suggestible he was also stubborn enough to be willful about bending to the games played by Fear and the others.

But it had slowly dawned on Lucifer that perhaps he could use this to his own advantage, and if there was one thing Lucifer liked, it was anything in his advantage. He had yet to find a piano anywhere in Hadriel (he may just have not been looking closely enough ) and the truth was he missed the outlet. He'd also decided that of the four godlets currently running this show, he liked Delight.

This was completely arbitrary mind you, he'd never met her or Fear, Hope or Rage. But Delight appeared to have the in on the booze supply and of the four emotions she annoyed him the least.

So he decided to go for a little twofer. Give in to the urge (and it really was intense by now) to sleep and sink into his own 'dream like state' in search of a piano and also to show his support to Delight, as finding a piano and playing it would delight him. Even asleep he had enough awareness of his own mind, enough Willfulness over his own state of being, to build and construct the 'dream' he wanted. The memory of Lux wasn't that difficult to bring over from his subconscious and soon enough, Lucifer had his beautiful grand piano once again under his fingers.

Smiling he sat down at the bench, in the dream and began to indulge in one of his less destructive vices. ]

Sinnerman
Jazzy number
Knockin on Heaven's door

OOC Note: None of the other characters/circumstances in these clips are in Luci's dreams. He's just playing the music.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Blue's been a wanderer for nights now. She's not really shared any of her dreams, and she's grateful of that. Some dreams she's seen have been nice. Some have been too terrifying to bear for too long.

This one isn't so bad. She's too young to be the clubbing type, but this one looks a little nicer than she expects it to be. As she walks along the edge of the floor, someone settles at the piano. It becomes apparent that he's the dreamer. The dream's focus stays on him, illuminating him more while the rest of the world around him seems darker.

Then he starts playing.

She doesn't move closer as he plays. Instead she keeps to the side, trying not to interrupt. She recognizes the tune he plays, smiling as the familiar rhythm for "Knockin' on Heave's Door" fills the room. Once he starts to wrap up the song, she paces a little closer, until he finishes entirely. ]

You're really good.

[ While he was playing, Lucifer's focus was on the piano and the simple joy of the music. The whole 'angel and harps' cliche made him cringe and don't get him started on Heavenly trumpets (even if his personal insignia was trumpets) but despite all that Lucifer did like music. He also liked to produce good music and was perfectly capable of doing so, thank you very much.

He could play the songs and hold a conversation without even having to think about it, but it was nice that she waited for him to finish the specifics of "Knockin on Heaven's Door" before she approached. At the sound of her voice, Lucifer looked up. His long fingers continued to pluck out cords on the piano but it was more random now, just making stuff up.

Even if he wasn't aware of his dream and his surroundings Lucifer would have recognized that Blue didn't exactly belong. Pretty as she was, she was definitely too young for anything his mind would dream up which suggested she was someone in the cave with him, walking in his dream.

Lucifer smiled, shades of arrogance but also a laid back, mellow type of welcome. ]

Of course I am. I'm good at anything I put my mind too, point of personal pride and all that. [ He explained, and though the words were arrogant, there was a shade of a playful tone to them. After all, this was a Delightful dream and he was in a good mood. ]

Do you play?

[ He may be able to do both, but honestly she didn't want to talk while he played. It was good.

Strangely, she missed music. There wasn't enough of it here. Not in the right way. She could use more music. Even just more like this. Maybe they could ask Hope for a piano. Did music not inspire people? Especially from the heart?

She didn't know if Lucifer played from the heart, but it sounded good enough to be. ]

No.

God no. [ She shakes her head. ] I don't have any musical talent in me. [ Though her clothes all look personally made. That's where she spends her time.

She gently touches the edge of the piano before glancing back at him. ]

I just admire it.

You kind of don't realize you miss things until you suddenly don't have access to youtube.

Edited 2016-05-25 03:03 (UTC)

[ Lucifer winced as his father's name came into the conversation and he gave his head a shake, remarking as an aside. ]

Why mortals think putting Dad's name in front of an exclamation is going to make it more impressive. Trust me, child your opinion of your own musical talent is the least of his concerns.

[ There was no particular heat in his tone, more just a case of noticing the instance of taking Yahweh's name in vain and making a remark about it. Then he was moving on, in typical Lucifer style. ]

Yes, well there's a lot to admire about me. [ He suggested with a grin that was just cheeky enough to possibly make it difficult to tell if he was being serious or not. ]

Otherwise, what's your name?

Edited 2016-05-30 19:09 (UTC)

Sometimes it's just an exclamation. Like saying "Oh."

[ That's like. The easiest part to parse out.

It's plain to hear in her voice that she's trying to understand the rest. The whole "dad" part. The over familiarity with God. He didn't look like those over-enthusiastic Christian types. Even southern Baptists would claim to be His children but not call him "dad" like that. ]

Blue. My name's Blue. [ she still sounds as confused as she feels and just.

Okay no. She shakes her head and gestures for them to back the conversation up a little. ]

Did you just call God "Dad"?

Yes well, how would you feel if people made an exclamation out of your name, hmm? [ Lucifer offered, his fingers still dancing lightly over the keys of the piano. ]

"Oh, Blue it!"

"For Blue's Sake!"

"Blue damn it."

"Oh blue, OH Blue, OH BLUE!"

[ He reeled off some of the classics, pitching his voice particularly at the end to make that last one as potentially embarrassing as possible. ]

See what I mean?

And of course I called him "Dad". He's my father, what else should I call him?

[ This is not the face of someone who was at all amused by that last one. ]

I know I just met you, but I'm not above hitting you in the face if you say that one again.

Besides. "Out of the blue", "true blue", "feeling blue", "Dammit to blue blazes." I've heard most of those too.

[ She leans against the piano and tilts her head at him now. ] A lot of people call him the Father. Dad's a new one.

Edited 2016-06-13 17:29 (UTC)

[ It's alright, her expression is one he's used to seeing and he just grins impishly in response but lets the subject go. ]

Yes well, you wouldn't call your father 'the father' now would you? Even the Victorians at the height of their most stuffy didn't get that formal.

[ He never did really seem to help out with the obvious confusion of what he was saying. Perhaps it was because he didn't stop to think of it from their perspective or -and more likely- he knew he who was and would speak that way.

If they wished to believe him, good. If they didn't, that was their choice. ]

[Of all the things Nick misses from the world she left behind in being brought to Hadriel, music is probably the one thing she misses the most. It's funny how that works, how something that's always been a part of her everyday life is suddenly gone for months - no radio, no recordings - and then hearing it again after such a sharp absence feels like discovering the fact that she's been missing a limb all this time.

She's drawn to the piano, pulled forward by the vibrations of the strings ringing out in the air around her and resonating inside her chest. She thinks, hazily, that she might recognize the song he's playing and singing - maybe something she heard Kennedy play once, in a coffee shop, or maybe when they were alone together in the house in Pilsen, before everything fell apart and Kennedy left and then Nick too eventually left, to find a place far enough away from the ghosts of Chicago where she could piece her ripped-up heart back together.

Nick watches, rapt, as he plays, waiting until the song ends and the applause fades to approach closer.]

I think I heard that one before somewhere.

[ No doubt the dream piano was definitely singing as Lucifer played. This song, for obvious reasons, struck an emotional (in so much as he admitted to emotions) cord within the fallen angel and he played it with passion, coaxing the utmost performance from both the instrument and his voice.

Well the instrument at least, the full range of his voice could risk a touch of the divine and that would be problematic for everybody.

If he was aware of her arrival, Lucifer paid no mind to Nick until the last cords of the song had faded and the dream applause with it. Lucifer was well aware of his own mind, and could easily identify the constructs of his subconscious against the reality of someone caught up in the godlets' games. He pushed aside the memory of applause and focused on Nick.

The setting stayed, the interior of Lux and of course the piano, which he now played in a loose, free form as he looked towards her and offered a wicked smile. ]

Nina Simone should be required listening for every mortal.

Also, hello and hello. Don't believe I've had the pleasure yet?

[She huffs a quick laugh at the first statement.]

Yeah, I think I've heard that before, too. My ex used to tell me all the time, "You know, the world of music doesn't begin and end with the Rolling Stones."

[She shrugs after giving her exaggerated impression of Kennedy.]

I don't think I've been here before - I'm Nick. You're really good with that.

[She gestures to the piano, smiling warmly.]

An ex eh? This dream's getting better and better. [ Someone's default setting was impossible.

The flattery was also appreciated. ]

I'm really good with a lot of things. [ Like ... being impossible. ] Lucifer Morningstar, pleasure to meet you, Nick and the Stones certainly have their place, no doubt. But Ms. Simone was something special indeed.

[Nick laughs at that, recognizing in a distant way that he's probably flirting with her but not thinking much of it. She's been a bartender for too long to take the things guys say - or imply - seriously. Besides, she'd have to believe in her own worth as a person first in order to believe anyone else would find her worth anything (except the obvious). She may be dreaming, but Nick still has her own mind, her own thoughts and beliefs and perception of self.]

Yeah? Good to meet you too, Lucifer. [She doesn't really bat an eye at his name. This is a dream, so even weird things seem fine.] Why don't you tell me more about Nina Simone, since you're something of an expert?

[ Despite his persistence with Chloe, Lucifer was capable of recognizing a brush off when he received one. Well, alright it was extremely rare to receive one, angelic charm and all that but he'd seen it happen to other men around Lux enough to pick up the cues.

At her easy acceptance of his name, he relaxed a little. Usually he was having to field questions or incredulity, it was a little nice not to encounter either. Though he chuckled at the idea that he was an expert on the lovely Ms. Simone. ]

Hardly an expert. Merely someone who appreciates the music she produced during her fleeting existence.

I suspect you feel the same about the Stones then?

Well - yeah, of course. I mean, I'm not some egghead historian or anything, but I know my way around their discography.

[She shrugs, arms folded over her chest.]

Not just the popular stuff, either - people always remember "Sympathy for the Devil," but mention "Blue Turns to Grey" and you get blank stares.

[ Castiel had discovered, by later in the week, that if he went walking in other people's dreams deliberately, he could avoid having any of his own, and so that was what he was doing, slowly and meticulously taking in the dreams of others, trying not to disturb them too much with his presence.

It was really something, when he slid into the dream of the archangel. It was under control - of course it was - but he could feel the soft hum of Desire's power underneath it all. This wouldn't be an unpleasant dream to settle in for a while, unlike the others that he'd fallen into here and there. It would be safe, at least for a short while.

Besides, Lucifer had invited him to follow up on their previous conversation. It didn't have to be a visit to the top of the spire where he lived. It was peaceful, in its own way: to see that his brother had such control made him feel less helpless himself. The dream was nice, anyway. It was such a simple, almost human pleasure, not anything that he could imagine his own brother indulging in.

He listened as Lucifer played. It was a track he'd heard before, playing in the front of the Impala - although to be fair probably not the original, Dean being Dean. It's relevance, therefore, didn't go over his head.

But he stayed quiet, and still settling in one of the seats and admiring his surroundings. Wherever they were, Lucifer felt absolutely at home, safe and content enough to fall into one of his few vices, if it could be called that. It was a truly pleasurable experience, and because it was his brother, his elder brother, the one who had caused so much harm, it was even more poignant, more beautiful.

He merely sat, a presence, not moving even when Lucifer was done from where he sat with his chin in one hand. ]

[ This was part of what Lucifer liked in Castiel; the other angel was open to learning and applying the matter Dad had put in between his ears. Granted Lucifer had sorted out that little trick almost from the beginning (hence why he'd walked into Castiel's dream in the first place) but that really wasn't material.

Except for big brother bragging rights.

For the time being at least, Lucifer was playing by the godlets' rules. They hadn't pushed him one direction or another and that tended to be key in keeping him tractable. So long as he had control over the dreamscape, Lucifer was willing to behave and even buy in; for Delight's sake at least.

The dream was, if not safe in the traditional sense, at least controlled by Lucifer's indomitable will and subject to his rules. Much like the club they sat in.

In the real world, for all it's debauchery and the infamy of it's owner, Lux was known as a safe club. Lucifer wouldn't tolerate people breaking his rules about choice, and Mazikeen was more than happy to enforce those rules. Also bad behaved customers were bad for business and Lux was known to cater to the creme of LA.

Of course he could recognize Castiel's presence in the dream. Perhaps a bit brighter in terms of awareness than the mortals who walked through, Lucifer continued to play the song he was enjoying out to the end. As the last bars faded off and he began to improvise with the cords and melodies, he lifted his head and looked over towards Castiel. ]

Welcome to Lux. [ He said, glancing around at the club setting and then back to his little brother. ] I'd say, from a decor perspective at least, it's a step up from Hell.

This is what I've been doing with myself for the past five years.

[ He explained, and despite himself he watched Castiel, curious to see what the other angel thought of that. Particularly as it seemed his alternate self was more aggressive, angry.

It was a state of mind he could remember very well. He wasn't entirely certain he could claim to have moved beyond it; more like he'd started to adjust his perspective. ]

[ Castiel felt, if anything, infinitely calmer and happier in the archangel's presence once the song was done than he had in the presence of...well, in the presence of any of his brothers or sisters. Higher or lower, archangel or cherubim, they tended to make him incredibly nervous, even genuinely afraid. Not this one.

For the first time ever, Castiel wasn't afraid for himself, or his friends. He wasn't afraid that this was going to turn into a fight, that he was doing to find himself on the other end of an angel blade, for no other reason than the fact that he was who he was. And this, with Lucifer of all people. Of all angels.

He was such an enigma, but an interesting one. An enigma that Castiel appeciated for what it was, for the breath of fresh air that was an angel who didn't want to tear the whole world down just because it could.

Here he was, with the Adversary himself, and he was just enjoying his company, enjoying his music, enjoying his mood. His own dreams had offered no respite, compared to this, and he warmed to it like a flower turning toward the sun. Toward the light. How odd. His own siblings would be horrified with him, but Castiel had a sufficiently open mind, and there was no denying the changes that this archangel demonstrated. He'd learned something, in his time on Earth, much the same way as Castiel had.

He pulled himself up out of the chair and came closer, moving up to the edge of the piano. ]

I like it better than the Hell I saw, during my incursion.

[ He supposed he could discuss that, if pressed. Something else that Lucifer shared with Dean, his escape from Hell. ]

You're improvising [ he said, an edge of amusement in his voice. ] There aren't many angels who could.

[ Truthfully Lucifer the last time he'd had any regular exposure to the younger seraphs of the Host, they'd only been a few hundred years old. Once he'd fallen what little interaction he had with Heaven came in the form of fellow archangels and recently it had been mostly restricted to Amenadiel.

Like almost any family, Lucifer fought with his siblings but he also felt a bond to them. There had been flashes of that when he and Amenadiel had attended the auction, the connection you couldn't completely ignore; Adversary or not.

He felt it with this younger brother, that sense of family, perhaps for the first time in millions of years. Perhaps there was also a connection to be had (though Castiel might be horrified by the thought of it) in their shared curiosity about humanity and that pesky habit of thinking for themselves. Two character traits that most certainly separated them from a number of their siblings.

Did it also put them together in the shared family dog house? Until just recently Lucifer would have wryly pointed out that they could share being on Dad's bad side but now adays ... Lucifer was starting to wonder. It was ironic, he had chastised his brethren for blindly following what they believed were their father's wishes, while falling into the trap of believing he understood his father's disapproval.

However, did any of them truly know their father's mind?

He remembered the vision of Hell, the bars of the cage and the hallucination of his other self and so he didn't react when Castiel spoke of his incursion to Hell. Perhaps that would be a conversation for another night, when they had access to actual alcohol and not dream whiskey.

Instead, as he continued to dance his fingers up and down the keys, his eyebrows raised at the statement. ]

You sound surprised. [ He remarked. ] Improvising is in my nature.

How about yourself, Castiel, have you ever played?

[ He watched quietly, intently, and at the question he glanced upward, startled and a little surprised by it. As if any of his brothers would ever ask. It was practically an inane question, truly, utterly insensible with any kind of relation to the life he knew, the brothers he knew. They didn't share Lucifer's obvious interest in music and creation and rhythm. Castiel hadn't either, really. He preferred poetry, although he wasn't in truth any good at that either.

He gave his head just the slightest shake. ]

Music requires soul, and I don't have one. I'm afraid I suspect I'm also somewhat tone deaf.

[ His expression was everything apologetic, although on the tailfeathers of their previous conversation it was at least a little less self-belittling. ]

That doesn't mean I don't have ears. I can enjoy it, sense the emotion in it. That's a great deal more than many of our brothers and sisters could say, which personally I consider to be something of a step up. [ A pause. ] And Sam and Dean--well, they have gone to great lengths to try and explain to me the difference between good and bad music. It's why I'm not allowed to touch the dial on the radio. At first I thought it was superstition, but...

[ He was rambling, he realized, and he gave his shoulders the slightest shrug. ]

You understand them better than I do.

[ See? He'd worked that much out, at least. ]

[ Poetry? Hard to claim no soul if you can enjoy poetry. But perhaps that would be a conversation for another time.

Lucifer continued to pluck out random cords and a small, background melody as he listened to Castiel. He allowed the other angel to run with his rambling, actually pleased to hear it, it was much better than the locked down ache he'd encountered in Castiel's mindscape.

It didn't surprise him to hear that this little one had more of an ear for something like music than a lot of the Host. Lucifer tried to imagine Uriel listening to Nina Simone and just ... nope. Even after eons of saying it, Uriel still used the same boring speech on souls entering Heaven, Lucifer couldn't imagine his brother possessing a creative bone in his body.

No, Castiel wasn't wrong about the majority of their brothers and sisters, angels hadn't been designed to express the same capacities as mortals. But Lucifer had always questioned that and had always challenged that it was a belief rather than a genuine design flaw. ]

Music is music, Castiel. What you like and what someone else likes need not be the same. True, that's what the Silver City would have you believe, everybody following the same path, the same design, the same Plan.

[ He started to get a little wound up as he spoke and since this dream was supposed to be about Delight, Lucifer tempered it back down. He suspected that he and Castiel could discuss the Silver City, angels, Dad and mortals for a whole week straight if they wanted too but this dream wasn't for that.

It was for pure delight and Lucifer ruthlessly pulled it back on course.

Patting the piano bench beside him, he commanded. ]

Sit down.

[ And only once Castiel had sat would Lucifer continue. ]

Music isn't just about the soul. There is heart and passion in it, the desire to create and to express individuality. These are all traits that mortals embrace instinctively, though I'll agree it takes our divine brethren a little more thinking on the subject.

But if you stop over thinking and embrace what mortals are capable of ...

[ Here, Lucifer began to play with more intent. A specific song this time, one that had a quick and hurried sort of beat but also a depth of melody that ached for song.

And the song did come because this time the Lightbringer added his voice to the music. ]

Oh, Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Where you gonna run to?
All along dem day

Well I run to the rock, please hide me
I run to the Rock, please hide me
I run to the Rock, please hide me
All along dem day

[ In the beginning lyrics his voice merely overlay the music, with the piano doing much of the work but as he continued along, Lucifer began to improvise on the chorus. ]

So I ran to the devil, he was waitin'
I ran to the devil, he was waitin'
Ran to the devil, he was waitin'
All on that day

I cried, power
Power
Power
Power

Bring down that power Lord
Bring down that power Lord

[ His voice rose, then pitched downwards almost like a prayer. ]

Power
To
Da

[ Then, perhaps surprisingly, his fingers coaxed the piano up to full voice, even as his own rose effortless above it, strong and powerful as he sang out the last word of the song. ]

Lord

[ As the last sounds of piano and angelic voice echoed away, Lucifer let his fingers rest on the keys, silencing he piano for now as he took a break and then looked over at Castiel. ]

That was written by a mortal. [ He explained. ] They're so delightfully creative, Castiel. Living here among them, have you never wanted to try to emulate them?

[ Castiel wasn't in a hurry to sit beside Lucifer. He had to think over it intently, in fact, before he finally submitted and stepped forward, reminding himself once again that this wasn't the Lucifer that he knew, but another, one who had changed in his own way, one that was somehow gentler, and more willing to indulge him.

So he sat, slowly, carefully, on the seat beside Lucifer, looking at the keys, at his hands. He angled his head very slightly, just so that he could look up at the archangel shyly out of the corner of his eye. He had a great deal of doubt for what he was hearing, it had to be said. Heart? Passion? Creativity? Castiel didn't think that they were things that angels could embrace. He was almost certain of it, having so rarely experienced any flicker of creativity himself. He was a warrior; he just wasn't built for it. Humans. They were made for invention. They made beautiful things, things that could fill even angels with joy and envy.

It had been startling enough to watch Lucifer playing the piano with such creativity, such intense emotion and physical effort. Now, sat right beside him, he was given effectively a front row seat to the entire surprising affair.

The power of the piano, the voice beside him filled with intent and personality--he didn't expect it, not even remotely, and yet he found himself drawn even further into it, moment to moment.

He was practically breathless, in the end, or he would be if he did anything more than emulate breathing. Lucifer was incredible--but that shouldn't be surprising in any way. He was the seducer. He was powerful that way. Castiel found himself riveted by it, and it was terrible of him to fall this way for an archangel. For this archangel. What would become of him now? ]

More than anything, [ he found himself answering, after a long, painful silence. He hung himself in it for a moment longer, and then turned his eyes away, ashamed. ] It isn't how He made me. This--this is what makes them special, and that's the way it should stay. It's not for us to intrude upon what makes them so precious. Their hearts, their passion. We are servants to that, and guardians of it.

[ Was he being a seducer? A tempter to all that was wrong, to disobedience?

That was a hard one to call. Lucifer would say no. Nothing he did was meant to tempt Castiel towards disobedience as he saw it. The Silver City certainly would frown but in Lucifer's opinion the Silver City had it wrong.

So from that perspective he was doing nothing wrong in his own estimation.

He looked at Castiel with genuine bewilderment and then a shake of his head. ]

How can you protect something if you don't believe in it? 'Not for us to intrude upon', Castiel you sound like Uriel or Gabriel there, reciting the party line, which sounds all blissful and stupidly noble, but tell me. Without feeling it how can you have a heart for it?

[ Lucifer gave an imperious nod with his chin and motioned with one of his hands towards Castiel's. ]

Come on, I'm going to teach you something. Here, put the fingers of your right hand, here. [ And he would be trying to guide Castiel's fingers up onto the keys of the piano. ]

[ It was the words more than anything else that let the desire of the dream wrap around him, tugging him toward obedience. He wanted to feel; he did. He wanted to truly understand it. And Lucifer... Lucifer was willing to teach. It was ridiculous how that particular concession made him feel. Lucifer wanted to teach him how to be more human. It was insanity. If anyone had ever told him so in all his billions of years, he'd have laughed at them, particularly most recently, since Lucifer's imprisonment in the Cage. It was impossible.

It was even more impossible, in his opinion, that any of his elder brothers, God's archangels, would ever want to teach him a damn thing. Spend time with him? Help him to understand more, cherish more, of the humans they guarded? It didn't occur to him to mention that the Uriel and Gabriel he knew were clearly not the same as the ones that Lucifer knew, and that they were both very dead, not remotely. Not when the archangel was taking his hand into his own and guiding it to the piano's keys.

He should be more afraid. He should pull himself away from that grip. But he wanted it. The teaching, the feeling. If that was something he could be taught, even in a dream, how could he walk away from that kind of temptation? ]

Okay, [ he answered, softly, riveted and hopeful. ] I'll try.

[ Though it was no doubt odd for Castiel, it was also of worth note that he was meeting this version of the Adversary at a vulnerable point in the archangel's infinite life. In so much that such a thing could be imagined.

Amenadiel had challenged him with such, insisted that he was changing and not fully aware of it. The fact that he was mortal and vulnerable to guns; had actually bled. It was all very curious indeed and for the first time in a very long while, Lucifer had no idea what it all meant.

And that was rather exciting.

The Lucifer who flew out of Hell, would very well would have had no use for a confused little brother and would have ruthlessly driven Castiel away from him. But now, he felt no desire to take up an adversarial position against one of Heaven's agents. It helped, no doubt, that Castiel didn't appear interested in a fight either and more so that the angel seemed genuinely curious about the world around him, in a way most angels avoided like the plague.

Most of the angels who had thought that way had followed him through the initial rebellion and died for their belief. It was an odd sensation, after all these millions of years, to come across an angel who was trying to find his own thought process.

So yes, it could be easily argued that Lucifer was indulging in his 'tempting' nature but he didn't see any harm in it. Though, it wasn't lost on him that somewhere at least a few of their more uptight anal brethren would be having apocalyptic fits over this small dream. ]

Alright, this key here... [ He began the lesson with a very simple and straight forward explanation of the keys and their notes. Lucifer didn't need to use sheet music so that particular part of the lesson was going to go wanting; sorry Castiel.

Next he walked Castiel up and down the range, before showing him how to use his fingers, stretching at times, tucking under at times. He kept it simple, just the one hand to begin with and Lucifer worked the peddles so Castiel could concentrate on his (hur hur) fingering. ]

[ ooc: In the interest of full disclosure I don't play the piano. So uhm ... please imagine that Lucifer is doing a hell of a better job than my pathetic description. /o\ ]

[ Castiel found that he didn't struggle, not with the simple explanation of these things. It was physics and mathematics, and the music was just an incidental part of it. Learning how everything ran together was much easier than Castiel had expected it to be, and his eyes brightened with every passing moment. Curiosity became relief, and he found little by little that his confidence was building. This wasn't as hard as he'd imagined it would be.

Maybe it was just the dream, maybe because he desired it, it all seemed to make the sense that it was most to make. He became enamored with the entire process, and with his teacher, and by the time they were done working through the simplest things - which considering it was a dream could have been forever and no time at all - he was positively enjoying the archangel's company.

How he was supposed to explain this to Sam and/or Dean, he didn't know.

Sure, it wasn't even anything very special, and Castiel played how he was shown, not with any kind of vibrancy or emotion of his own, but copied from the archangel's example. But...it was the effort that counted, right?

Finally, finally, he drew his hands away from the keys, and looked at his instructor again. ]

I'm not sure I understand them any better. Music, perhaps. Is this... Is there more to it?

[ Though Castiel wasn't immediately picking up on the finer nuances, which was maybe a little disappointing, Lucifer had to tell himself to be pleased with the progress that was made. After all, this dream was supposed to be about delight and perhaps some of the Will he was enforcing on the matter to keep the dream in line was helping both of them.

Or perhaps teaching someone who seemed to want to learn was another one of those new experiences Lucifer had found himself craving more and more these days.

Regardless at one point he took his hands off the keys and crossed his arms over his chest as he simply watched Castiel work on it on his own. Lucifer still had one foot on the peddle but otherwise, he let the other angel sort himself out. Perhaps, to Lucifer's ear, the music was more academic that passionate but the fact that Castiel would even try. The he didn't let himself be chased away from the attempt by the notion that this simple pleasure was restricted to humans.

The fact that Castiel didn't let Heaven's rules hold him back, that was just as important as some concert level performance.

Lucifer made an amused little chortle at the comment and he unfolded his hands to set them back on the keys, plucking softly at cords. ]

There is, to both them and to their music. [ He admitted. ] I've spent eons overseeing the punishment for their evils against one another and yet, seeing it first hand has been an experience.

[ This was a good dream, Lucifer ... good dream. He glanced over quickly and tried to turn it around. ]

They're curious creatures, Castiel. Strong, weak, passionate, apathetic, compassionate, selfish. I thought I knew everything about them and academically speaking [ he paused and nodded to the piano, academically speaking ... the way Castiel had initially played just now ] I do. But at the same time, in the past five years, living among them?

[ Even in a dream, he couldn't admit to not knowing something but the rhetorical question hung there for Castiel to make of it what he would. Lucifer began to play the piano a little more powerfully, his one arm occasionally brushing companionably against the other angel. ]

Edited (html evilness) 2016-05-22 23:34 (UTC)

[ It wasn't the piano he desired, Castiel realized, as he felt that--it was definitely a passion, filling him. It wasn't the piano. Oh, it was very nice, very enjoyable, to learn something that he'd considered to be inherently human, and out of reach of angels. It was more, even, than the fact that he was learning more about humanity itself. What he wanted, truly, was this.

It was those last few words: in the past five years, living among them?

His brothers and sisters had been nothing but disappointing. Their contempt, and dismissal of human beings, their casual lack of care for whether or not they survived when angels battled their way through their lives--it was something he'd grown to despair about. He'd been bad enough about it himself. But being connected the way he was with Dean, joining that fight even when it meant turning against his own kind?

Castiel had begun to doubt that there would ever be a moment like this; begun to doubt that he would ever share his compassion for humanity with another angel. He'd begun to think his own kind, the family he loved, was irredeemable in that respect, and would never understand that humanity had beauty and grace far beyond Heaven's invention.

And here, sharing this with Lucifer - with Lucifer - this moment, this curiosity and odd respect, even passion for what humanity was and what it could be?

Having his own family, too, one which could bear his presence after everything he'd done, one which accepted his flaws, and saw that curious side to him not as one of God's mistakes, a break in the mold, but something to be cherished? All of it filled him with such relief, and such joy.

He continued to play for a moment, in tandem with Lucifer, before he drew his hands away and just let the archangel go to work again, content to sit and listen to him.

How safe he felt here. How welcomed. He hadn't felt that way even since before the fall of his Garrison, after all there was no doubt that he'd been stationed on Earth because few angels in Heaven appreciated his company. It had been a bum assignment--not that Castiel, the odd one out, had ever felt that way. No, he was very content just to enjoy this for what it was, and the revelation that came with it, and not simply find himself turfed out of the dream straight away for invading the other angel's privacy.

Maybe, just maybe, he dropped his head against Lucifer's shoulder as he watched, forgetting himself. ]

[ There would be no shortage of angels (and humans for that matter) who would be quick to tell Castiel that Lucifer was the original mistake. The original crack in the mold and from some perspectives Castiel was merely being led down the wrong path by the original Fallen angel.

This moment, here and now, if ever observed by other angels could only serve to further condemn them both; Castiel as irredeemable and Lucifer as hopelessly conniving. But it wasn't meant to be either of those things, at least not on Lucifer's part.

Perhaps he was being too eager to show Castiel all his 'wicked' ways, with the idea of angels with free thought, the beauty of creativity, a fascination with Dad's second borns, their flaws and their strengths. A younger Lucifer might have done the same, but from a position of just wanting to prove he could 'corrupt' a little brother.

But this was different. His desire to share the piano, Lux, all of it, came from a place of simply wanting the other angel to appreciate it with him.

Maybe it was the changes in his life back home. The Detective and her weird influence over him, even Dr. Linda's words and advice, yes he listened in between 'payments' and all of it certainly drove Mazikeen to drink. Perhaps it was being in this creation outside Dad's influence, and maybe it was the dream and perhaps Castiel himself.

Truth was, it was all of it. Had Castiel continued to come at him with that angel blade, wings flared wide with all the righteous fury of one of Heaven's Garrisons, things would be a lot different. There might not have been a fight, Lucifer wasn't interested in fighting, but Castiel certainly would not have found welcome in this particular dream.

But a little brother expressing free thought? Curiosity about Creation, not just the rank and file and word of the archangels? One who was so obviously tired of it all, all the family drama, one who seemed as ready to 'retire' from it all as Lucifer himself?

It may have not been what he'd have done in the past and he probably wasn't above giving Castiel a little bit of a hard time (particularly on the subject of Dean) in the future. But for right now, the other angel was more than welcome ... his presence was -in an odd way- appreciated.

Though about that head on his shoulder. Ahem.

While Lucifer spent most of his nights (and parts of his mornings ... occasionally the afternoon) plastered all over more than willing mortals, he did not -as a rule- invite people to touch him. Casually slaps on the back, bumps on the shoulder (Dan's ill conceived grab of his arm) were usually met with either a firm glare or a quick avoidance.

About the only creature (aside from the detective) who got away with grabbing him and receiving none of these was the child. With her, he tried bribes of bacon and tossing a favorite toy to escape her small fingered grip but he never seemed to succeed. She was ... sticky.

Castiel was reminding himself of the child. Lucifer could shrug him off, or he had no doubt that all he'd have to do was pause in his playing and look at Castiel and the other angel would remember himself. Just like he had only to pull his hand away from Trixie when she grabbed and tugged him around. But now, as with the child back home, Lucifer did ... nothing.

He merely adjusted his playing a little so that the movement came mostly from his forearms and hands, thus not shifting his shoulders and running the risk of jostling Castiel too much. There was that fragility, in Castiel that Lucifer hadn't missed or forgotten, despite their more relaxed encounter at the moment.

And Lucifer wasn't aware of it yet but there would be a time in the very near future when he would do something purely altruistic, for the good of another and it would make him feel good in return. Perhaps Delight's dream was a small dress rehearsal for that up coming event, because as he played on and allowed his little brother to lean on him like a pillow, Lucifer felt content. ]

[ That was how things stayed for a while. It could have been forever, or it may have been just a few passing moments, but that contentment that hummed between them and from the billows of the piano, building up a soft vibrato that was almost like the beating of wings. If Castiel slept, he would have slept like this, but it was enough that his guard fell completely. That was quite the leap for him, forever protective of himself in the wake of his taking on Sam's memories of Lucifer's torture.

The truth was, Lucifer wasn't the only one performing a dress rehearsal. In time, he would accept the archangel into himself in oh, a much more personal way. ~~Not like that, shut up.~~ Becoming a vessel for him wasn't going to be pretty, and it would tear him to pieces, but they'd learn to accept each other in their own way. Even that Lucifer would protect him, in the end.

So this... This was good. It was a gentleness and a camaraderie - a brotherhood - that he wouldn't have expected.

But all good things had to end, and Castiel jerked his head upward suddenly, and looked off to nowhere in the dream. Duty called, if sitting anxiously at the bedside of his friends while they dreamed horrible dreams was a duty. It was his cross to bear, however. He spared the briefest glance for Lucifer, as he rose from the piano, not thinking he needed to make an explanation. ]

It was good of you to share a place with me that you think of so fondly. [ He told him. ] And I hope that Delight hears your request. It was too eloquently put for her to ignore.

Thank you. For this. For your patience.

If it's one thing Hell teaches you, it's patience. [ Lucifer remarked, wryly. He didn't stop playing though, even as Castiel straightened and stood.

There was no explanation needed. He may not be aware of the specifics and quite honestly, they weren't really his business or where he needed to stick his nose now where they? Not that it would stop him from meddling if he decided to later on!

But for now, it was simply enough that Castiel had somewhere else to be and it didn't involve Lucifer. ]

Yes. [ he answered, in complete agreement. ] Something like that, at least.

[ He didn't stay to explain himself, and perhaps because he had control over himself, within the dream and without it, there was a whisper of feathers swishing through air in his wake, as he left. ]

[Sette has rather a soft spot for piano music, so finding herself near someone playing one is not unwanted.

This sounds very different too, better somehow, and she remembers something Winalils said about her father's piano being out of tune. It's relaxing as well, not like the stuff Da played.

Her eyes peep over the piano's lid.] Did ya make this up?

[She's never heard it before.]

[ Lucifer was riding high on his happy piano induced endorphines. The last thing he expected to find peeking over the edge of the grand piano's shiny surface were young eyes. ]

Naahhyaa.

[ He made a distressed noise, frowning as he spotted the child and his fingers hit the keys off note, causing the piano to make a sour sound. ]

What are you doing here, child?

[ He accused. He'd never dream of children ... even as a nightmare! He'd forgotten that in this particular instance his dream was open to any available walkers and he was going to have to suck it up! ]

I dunno. S'your dream.

[Pouting, traces the sides of the fancy piano with her finger.] Pretty dull one too. And ya can't blame me for that!

Hardly, the last thing I'd invite into my dreams would be one of their spawn.

[ That would be more appropriate for a nightmare. ]

So you must be visiting. In which case you can take yourself on and find someone else to bother tonight.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Piano Man

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sinnerman.

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many apologies for my lag here /o\

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knocking on heavens door

I apologize for him in advance; kids are not his long suit

sette is no one's strong suit tbh; and i am sorry for the lateness of this

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