Vessels and Trueforms

[tryingitall]

Balthazar lands on the terrace, taking the opportunity to set out the decorative baby pumpkins, as well as the larger one, and tracing a light preservation spell over them before heading inside. His Halloween shopping gets set on the kitchen counter, still in the bag. He's pretty casual about his surroundings sometimes, equally at home with tidiness and clutter. He seems to have brought in some additional groceries and drinks today, though, and these are put away in the pantry and refrigerator.

There's apple cider, for one thing, and a couple bottles of a golden-tinted auslese with a cornucopia on the label. He likes sweet wines.

This minimal labor done, he goes into the living room and flops onto the sofa, looking pensive. "Best to do this slowly, I think," he says to Lucifer. "I'll let him take control of the vessel for a bit before trying to separate. To talk to you, perhaps? I think he'll want to."

Comments

[tryingitall]

Levi looks apologetic, although not at all intimidated by Lucifer's obvious discomfort. That's probably a good sign. Best he not be frightened of Lucifer. "Well. Maybe I should mind my own business, anyway. Let you two work it out."

He'd help if he could, but no matter how closely integrated he and Balthazar have been or might become, it's better to let the two most directly involved talk things over without playing at conflict mediation until asked. He reaches up and gives Lucifer's shoulder a friendly squeeze, anyway, and then sits back, happy to get caught up in the idea of painting.

The offer of company is apparently a huge relief. He takes a breath and nods eagerly. "Yeah, I...don't know if I'll be okay alone just yet. I mean, it's been a while. I was going to ask you to lock up the liquor cabinet. I should be okay with someone else here, though."

He's admittedly curious about Phenex, as well, as soon as Lucifer describes them and their role. "I'd like that. A lot. Thanks."

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer smiles a little and nods. It is definitely a topic that Levi really couldn't do anything for and probably shouldn't be involved in. He's appreciative of the show of comfort though. He was sure the other angel would come around at some point. He was just impatient with the situation because it was painful and riled up his anger sometimes, though not at Balthazar. The anger had a vague 'whomever caused this needs beaten' feel and it was that lack of target that made it worse.

"Phenex will not allow you to do anything harmful. Though fallen, some of us still serve as guardian angels. Phenex is among those who have chosen that path."

"When the time comes I will summon them, provided Balthazar has no qualms about a strange angel being here with you." Lucifer remembered Balthazar being uncomfortable with Azazael just showing up and didn't want that to happen again. It was courtesy and respect for his lover's domain.

[tryingitall]

There may actually be a select few angels of his own world Balthazar would allow Lucifer to rough up--though he'd be upset if he actually killed them, so it's best not to risk it. Specifically, Michael, Raphael, and the other Lucifer would be more or less fair game, and Michael even more so than the other two.

"I don't think 'fallen' means the same thing to you that it does in his world," Levi comments with a little smile, and nods. There's a moment where he looks like he's listening, and then he laughs and shakes his head.

"He says if I'm going to cavort about the apartment with other angels he wants pictures. I don't think I've cavorted since I was in my twenties. He doesn't mind."

Levi gets up slowly, making sure he's safe to stand on his own--it's been a century since he's tried, after all--and stretches, joints popping. "I think it'd be better if I go on to the studio? Once he leaves me, he can't stay in one place long. He says he'll meet you at the river and you can decide where you're going from there."

[the_rebel_son]

"No, I do not think it does." Lucifer confirms.

"Cavorting is a possibility. They do have a weakness for artists." Lucifer laughed quietly. "I would be careful. Phenex has a way of seducing others without trying. They are quite beautiful."

Lucifer didn't say that about many angels, but there was a softness to the other angel that could lure people surely as his charisma could.

"I will meet him as soon as you are settled here, Levi." Lucifer nodded and called to Phenex while he waited for the other two to do whatever was necessary to separate. He could bring his artisan to the studio when they arrived.

[tryingitall]

"Hey, good news for me, then!" Levi's rakish grin is another place where he and the angel within him blend together. It seems entirely possible Balthazar learned that expression from him in the first place. "Guess if I'm going to cavort with angels at all I may as well set up a dance card and start filling it in. I'll save you a spot. You want a waltz or a two-step?"

He's being silly on purpose, but he hasn't missed the look he's gotten from Lucifer, either. He will always pine for Bart Delaney, but a world where he can paint at leisure and there are beautiful people around him who don't look down on who he is or where he came from is a pretty good best-case scenario.

It'll take work, but he could be happy here.

He slips into the studio confidently--it's set up exactly the way his was, once, chaos with a deceptive hidden order to it. Lucifer will probably feel the shift of energies in the room as Balthazar leaves, and anyone watching would see the sudden upwelling of white-gold light as the angel disentangles himself from Levi's body and departs. For a split second there's a trail of fire in the sky above the building, visible through the terrace window. It's only a glimpse; Lucifer will have to wait until he gets to the river to see the entirety of Balthazar's true shape, but the glow of him is like a miniature sun.

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer grins, impish and matching the playful tone. "I prefer the tango if you are offering."

While Levi and Balthazar take care of themselves, Phenex arrives on the balcony, adding more fire and sparks to all the bright light. He takes a moment to explain the situation before taking them back to the studio.

"Levi?" Lucifer spoke as he came in. An artist would need the warning before a spirit of art joined them. It could be overwhelming.

The angel with him is tall, though not quite as tall as Lucifer, and snow white in eyes, hair and skin. It's the wings though, shifting through colors like a mood ring that was considered the truest beauty of this angel. In the excitement of meeting an artist important to Lucifer the current colors are bright reds, lilacs, and calm pale blues. This angel has a beauty like a classic marble statue, stately and perfect. Phenex is dressed in crimson though whether thier attire is a lose fitting dress or tailored robe it is hard to say. The movement of the angel fit the ambiguity of the dress. Neither wholly female nor male.

"Phenex, this is Levi Gilman." Lucifer made the introduction and the other angel waited politely, though thier smile is bright.

[tryingitall]

Levi laughs and nods his acceptance, but honestly Lucifer would have to teach him the Tango first.

When the angels come in, Lucifer is likely to notice in short order that the artist looks a bit smaller than he did a couple minutes ago. Smaller, a bit paler, and his hands are no steadier. His body language is the same otherwise, though, and he's carefully going through a set of charcoal sticks, blowing dust off the pieces and shaking it out of the chamois cloth at the bottom of the box. He glances up with a welcoming smile, but his expression shifts when he catches sight of Phenex.

That's probably to be expected. The show of light and color is more than a little engaging, and combined with the general androgynous beauty of the angel's face and body it hits Levi like a freight train. He forgets to breathe for a few seconds, then has a brief coughing fit when he remembers he need to do so, and goes pink. "Ah, s-sorry! I have manners, I swear, I've just forgotten them."

He stands up, trips slightly, catches himself on the edge of the desk, and then, after a breath, manages to master himself once more. There's a second where he's visibly pulling himself together, and then he offers Phenex a handclasp. "Er. Marquis, yes, hello. It's..."

He probably means to say 'nice to meet you' but forgets the words somewhere between brain and mouth. "You're...more than welcome to come in and...I think there's another chair under those blank canvases."

If Phenex is sensitive to the kind of artist Levi is and has long been, they are likely to notice the physical damage to his liver and vascular system caused by drinking, which has been largely mitigated by Balthazar's presence but the scars linger. But there is also a part of his very soul that hungers for and rejoices in beauty, and has ever since he was born. They're likely to get along wonderfully.

[devilsphoenix]

Phenex has often seen this response and knows to wait, or be there to catch someone who truly fumbles. Even so, the angel is softly admiring of the impact. The reaction between angel and artist is one that causes Phenex's presence to brighten both visually and spiritually.

"Phenex, or some call me Songbird." There is a glance at Lucifer that suggests he is the origin of the affectionate nickname.

They take Levi's hand and place a kiss on his cheek in greeting. "The pleasure is mine."

With the kiss and thier presence comes an unburdening calm. It is thier effect on one of their own, though how that ability effects an artist differs greatly. They can feel the damage, and like Lucifer have the same inclination to heal the scarring, but that is a discussion for another time. For now, it is time to get to know one another.

[tryingitall]

The general feeling of being overwhelmed and made silly by the angel's presence lingers, and is mildly embarrassing, but there's a sense of safety even in the awkwardness. If anyone were going to judge him for being clumsy, it's not this angel. A bit like screwing up in front of a trusted teacher. No big deal; no one else would understand a well-meaning mistake so well.

Probably not Lucifer either, honestly. "Phenex," he repeats sheepishly, although Songbird will linger in his brain now. There's a little burst of mental images, the frisson of energy that often precedes a storm of creative output as the idea of birds with snow-white beaks and rainbow wings dances through his head.

The kiss is highly unexpected, but the calm it brings is helpful. There is such a thing as artistic frenzy, and it's likely that without that calming effect, a being like Phenex could spark that by their mere presence. Instead, Levi takes a breath, eyes closing for a moment, and then smiles, visibly recovered.

"You know, I haven't had a chance to sketch in years, but I haven't eaten on my own power in just as long. Do you mind if I make cocoa and cookies? I'll share, of course."

And then they can get down to the business of making art. There's no question in the human's mind that that's on the agenda.

[devilsphoenix]

"It's a shame that the king has left. He is a splendid cook." Phenex comments. Lucifer had, indeed, disappeared without warning but once he saw the two were comfortable he felt like a third wheel... and honestly had somewhere he would much rather be. "I do not mind and will join you if you wish."

They are utterly calm and placid, more like how angels are described than Lucifer or the others who were relatively brash, fiery, unpredictable. They moved out of the room but waited in the hall for the human to join them.

"Lucifer mentioned that you are a visual artist. Do you do more than painting and sketching?" No one had to tell Phenex which pieces of art in the studio belonged to Levi. There were marks upon them of their creator that they could trace, feel in the presence of the pieces even if they remained hidden in their safe spaces.

[tryingitall]

"I think he has a date," Levi comments wryly, although not without a fleeting thought that it's interesting that a king can cook so well.

"Anyway, I used to know my way around a kitchen, but it's been about a century." He approaches slowly, still a little sheepish in the angel's presence, but content to lead the way up the hall and to the kitchen. He knows the layout of this apartment well enough. He's seen it through his own eyes, with Balthazar operating his body, many times.

"I'm mostly a painter," he says, "but I've dabbled in other things. I can carve wood and stone, but I get impatient with it. Clay is better, but sometimes i feel like I need the color to make my brain work right. I was good with glass, believe it or not, but I never had enough space for my own equipment, and working with someone else would've meant making what they told me to make. Couldn't make myself do it."

[devilsphoenix]

"I would call it more than a date. Lucifer hasn't let many see him since we fell." Phenex had been lucky enough to see him once when he was speaking to God while he remained in his heavenly splendor. It had nearly taken the angel's sight, but worth it.

The angel followed colors in their wings shifting into yellows with the rising curiosity about the artist. "I don't know how long you have been asleep but there are colored clays now. Perhaps we should venture out to an artists' store while they are away?"

Phenex didn't even know if they were aware of all the current human art supplies. It would be interesting to browse. "I prefer watercolor, chemistry, and gemstones when I have a choice, but I find all of the arts and sciences appealing in their own right."