you/ you're my mask/ you're my cover, my shelter/ you/ you're my mask/ you're the one who's blamed

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

(Thursday, October 1st, day 123)
(Early evening, The Miskatonic Cafe')

Decided it was time to truly pay Lucien back for knocking me senseless for hours.  Once he rose out of a dreamless sleep next to his woman, I swiftly rendered him unconscious and took over as "Dr. Lucien Constantine" for the day.  It was easy..... no one noticed.

Honestly, it is a refreshing change to be a bit more active, even if I have to wear the 'Lucien suit' to do so.
It is a fair form, and it catches the eye of more than a few females *and males, to be honest*, and I could have been trapped in worse.

After office hours were over, I wander through town a bit, before deciding to indulge in the thing humans seem to be so addicted to, coffee.   Find a seat near the window, and before I can even order, the waitress who is so much more than a waitress, places a coffee cup in front of me, along with a plate of food.  A hamburger and french fries.  Must be a standard order for my host then.  Settle back in the chair and watch life go by the window.  Maybe, after dinner, I'll go back to the Dormouse tonight, see if Wanda will notice the difference.  Lovely, little Wanda.... she's most likely scream if I reveal myself mid-coitus, but how she'll scream..... whether in terror or pleasure....
With that though making me smile, I sip my coffee and listen to the music swirling about me.

"hate, I'm your hate
I'm your hate when you want love
pay, pay the price
pay, for nothing's fair

hey!  I'm your life
I'm the one who took you here
hey!  I'm your life
and I no longer care

I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
sad but true

I'm your truth, telling lies
I'm your reasoned alibis
I'm inside open your eyes
I'm you
Sad But True"

(closed)

Comments

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

Don't like it.

Really don't like it.

Wish I could think of the woman as a cold-hearted bitch, but she's not. That's her husband. Bitchy little girl that sits atop the Mount and plays at being powerful. Petty little shite.

Definitely don't like what'll have to be done. Not to her. Why do I fuckin' promise things to people? Why'd they have to make me like that? Bloody Irish and their fascination with vows...

Step inside the café. Need something to distract distract me. C'mon and distract meeeOoooooh...

"Hello, Lucien," I say as I brush the tails of my open shirt aside and sit down at his table. "How's life?"

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

I am sitting there, pondering on exactly how Wanda and I will have sex tonight, be it sweet and tender or if I will take her by the hand down to that basement when the door to the cafe' opens....

My day just keeps getting better. Not only is it the Liar God, but he's coming right over to my table. Perfect.

"Hello, Lucien, How's life?" The presumptuous prick sits down across from me, without an invitation. Wonder how long it will take him to figure it out? Wonder how long I can keep it up without laughing? "Keeps me entertained." I say placidly, setting down the coffee. "And you, Lúgh? Finding enough to pique your interests lately?"

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Keeps me entertained." Plainly said. Coffee cup gets put down. "And you, Lúgh? Finding enough to pique your interests lately?"

I smile at him. If he only knew...

"Of course I am. This town is a little stuffy for me so I've been traveling a bit here and there. Too bad you can't do the same, eh?"

I indicate to the waitress that I want a tea.

"You have a lot of fans in this place, don't you?"

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"This town is a little stuffy for me so I've been traveling a bit here and there. Too bad you can't do the same, eh?"

Let the features of Lucien's face twist into something of a grimace briefly, then get it back in control to resembling neutral. "Minor annoyance, true. But I've got my diversions to keep me occupied. Been in worse places." Manage not to laugh at my own private joke as I shrug and pop a fry into my mouth in the same fashion Lucien would.

"You have a lot of fans in this place, don't you?" Arch an eyebrow as the being passing for the waitress brings Lúgh his tea. "I tend to make an impression, but why do you say that?" Wonder who he's been playing with besides Wanda?

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Minor annoyance, true. But I've got my diversions to keep me occupied. Been in worse places."

"I'm sure you have," I say as I watch him eat. A familiar tickle at the back of my mind starts up. Something's not what something wants me to believe.

The waitress puts the tea in front of me and I smile at her. Words are a waste on something like what she is. "I tend to make an impression, but why do you say that?" I stir cream into my tea, tap the spoon on the edge of the mug twice, then set it down on the saucer.

"A friend of yours has been asking a lot of questions about your... condition. You don't seem to keep it much of a secret."

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"A friend of yours has been asking a lot of questions about your... condition. You don't seem to keep it much of a secret."

Lean back in my chair and consider the statement. "Someone poking around my business... now who could that be?" Drum the fingers on the table, thinking. "If it were Wanda, you would have come out and said her name. We both know how you like to parade that in front of me. Miao is, not as impulsive as Wanda, she would not speak to you without speaking to me first. Glass has no care for gods....." Nor demons nor anyone that keeps her from her precious dead. Who, who, who....oh, could it be? Really?

Smile at him and cock my head. "Congratulations, you've got me curious, Louise... who could be asking about me?"

I've got a damn good idea, which makes this meeting even more fortuitous then. All the more reason to find out what the Liar God's plans are.

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Someone poking around my business... now who could that be? If it were Wanda, you would have come out and said her name. We both know how you like to parade that in front of me. Miao is, not as impulsive as Wanda, she would not speak to you without speaking to me first. Glass has no care for gods....."

It is so very true. Miao would never discuss her lover to me. Glass, I don't have a fix on her. And Wanda, of course, is not one that I need to even mention to Lucien. So amusing that he hates me so much for her connection to me.

"Congratulations, you've got me curious, Louise... who could be asking about me?"

My eye twitches barely. He goads me. It's not enough to get under my skin, but... I did not think Lucien foolish enough to try such a thing here. The entity within him, however...

"A sexy little thing from the Carnival. She likes to play with fire." I raise the tea to my lips and, just before drinking, I say, "She calls herself Lily." My tone clearly indicates that I don't believe that's all there is to her.

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"She calls herself Lily."

I can't help it. Set my coffee cup down and start to chuckle, and it quietly rumbles with a lions voice and the fires of the underworld. Oh well, game's over.
"Oh my, has Lily been playing with fire again?" I ask with a feral grin. "She merely has the interests of an old friend at heart."

Go about the farce of pretending to be Lucien having a leisurely dinner, taking a bite of the burger, before speaking again. "Hope she didn't burn you too badly."

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

He starts to laugh and now I get it. Not the Lucien in control but rather the Marbas. "Oh my, has Lily been playing with fire again? She merely has the interests of an old friend at heart." I smile back at Marbas, matching his feline grin with a wolf-like one of my own. "Hope she didn't burn you too badly," he says after eating some of the burger. All Lucien Constantine, upstanding citizen doctor of Excolo, to the unaware observer. The demon residing within him is the only consciousness I'm conversing with right now, however.

"I didn't let her fire come too close. Can't be too trusting, you know. Never know what might be next to you when you wake up in the morning," I say with shrug. So true in this shite whole of a town.

I have no idea who or what "Lily" really is but the deceitful lass can keep her secrets. She's not a concern to me. Not in the least.

"I gotta say, Mary, it's nice to get the chance to chat with you. Our last run-in wasn't very pleasant."

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"I didn't let her fire come too close. Can't be too trusting, you know. Never know what might be next to you when you wake up in the morning,"

Now that's just too funny. I actually laugh again. "Isn't that the truth? I was just contemplating that very thing myself. Wonder how our lovely little songbird will react when she realizes she's not writhing under her lover later tonight?" Grin as I think of her pale flesh seared with my tongue...

The Liar now dubs me with a woman's name and I shake my head as he mentions our last meeting. "Oh come now... you know it's not wise to wake a sleeping animal. Spent the better part of five years dormant, getting poked awake like that makes one a little cranky." I say congenially.
"But that's behind us, and I have been looking forward to catching up with you. We have a few things to discuss you and I."

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Isn't that the truth? I was just contemplating that very thing myself. Wonder how our lovely little songbird will react when she realizes she's not writhing under her lover later tonight?"

That muscle twitches again, but I don't react otherwise. Wanda does what she chooses to do and knows what is inside of Lucien. Surely tonight wouldn't be the first time he's been in control, regardless of whether Wanda knew it or not. Poor lass has herself in over her head, I think.

"Oh come now... you know it's not wise to wake a sleeping animal. Spent the better part of five years dormant, getting poked awake like that makes one a little cranky."

Maybe. Maybe. But it worked and I got what I needed.

"But that's behind us, and I have been looking forward to catching up with you. We have a few things to discuss you and I."

I lean back, drape an arm over the back of the chair and glance over at some cute little lass gazing longingly at me. It's that gaze, that expression, that keeps me bare chested most of the time.

"A few things? I can think of two sides but only one issue." Winking at the girl, I slowly return my eyes to the man-demon. "The doctor's soul and your entrapment."

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

The slightest of muscles ticks when I mention Wanda, and it's all I have not to grin. You don't like that idea, do you? Just as Lucien hates the thought of you touching her... no one likes sharing their toys. Too bad she is such a delightful diversion.

"A few things? I can think of two sides but only one issue. The doctor's soul and your entrapment."
Lúgh says casually, while flirting with a pretty little thing. Ah, getting right down to brass tacks.
"Yes... that. There are those who would see us separated. Wanda and Miao, of course... and a few others. But we both know.... that is no easy feat, not without killing my host. So that leads to a problem...." Lose my grin as I twirl a knife between my fingers, a curious trait I have picked up from Lucien. "Those that have my interests at heart could care less if Lucien died, and are getting impatient. So.... whatever you are thinking of attempting...." Look him dead in the eye, so he knows that I am both serious and earnest. "I would attempt it soon. That is, if you want him to live."
Pop a fry into my mouth and shrug. "Then again, if he dies, you will have little, lost Wanda all to yourself. Maybe that's what you've been planning all along..."

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Yes... that. There are those who would see us separated. Wanda and Miao, of course... and a few others. But we both know.... that is no easy feat, not without killing my host. So that leads to a problem...." His mouth settles back to a line. He spins a knife between his fingers, across his knuckles. "Those that have my interests at heart could care less if Lucien died, and are getting impatient. So.... whatever you are thinking of attempting...." He stares me down. Eye to eye to eye to eye. Oh, he is most serious about this. "I would attempt it soon. That is, if you want him to live." He turns casual, eating again. "Then again, if he dies, you will have little, lost Wanda all to yourself. Maybe that's what you've been planning all along..."

I smile at him and lean forward. Voice low low in a hush. "You know that even if Lucien were dead, she'd never be all to me. Her heart belongs to so," tap my finger on the table, "many," tap it again, "different," one last time as I say, "things."

Almost say people, but that's not true. The dog's not people. I'm not people.

"Have either of you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, little, lost Wanda came to me because of you. Because unlike all these other 'powerful,'" oh, I hear the spite in my voice and it's gorgeous, "beings in this town, none of them dare to spit in the face of that stupid little shite sitting in the Tower. I know, I know," I say, hands splayed and raised, and sit back. "You serve him, don't you? But you had a former master. You miss serving him at times, I'm sure. Else why would you be helping my other lovely lass."

I lift the tea cup to my lips and drain it. "There's always a price to things, though, isn't there? What is your freedom-- and the life of the doctor-- worth to you?"

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"You know that even if Lucien were dead, she'd never be all to me. Her heart belongs to so. many. different. things."

Smirk at him now. "Is that supposed to hurt me? Lucien can't hear you, so no use goading him, nor me. I could care less who she bedded. And...." Lean in and whisper back. "by the way, who's fault do you think that is? That she has recently taken on so many lovers? She may have had the inclinations in her to take on half the town, but she never would have acted on them. Not until you blessed her with your chaos. Now impulse control.... right out the window." Sit back in my chair and resume my coffee.

The Liar rattles on, how he must enjoy the sound of his own voice, and speaks of how he's the only one brave enough to stand up to my master. I could laugh, but then he has the audacity to speak of my Creator, and my smile fades. "I am bound my the constaints my Creator placed upon me before time began. While I walk the earth, I must do what I was created to do, and she, who is not yours anymore, falls under my protection." As for the rest.... none of his concern. Once you lose Paradise, how can one not yearn to lay eyes on it once more?

"There's always a price to things, though, isn't there? What is your freedom-- and the life of the doctor-- worth to you?"
"They are worth very little to me." I answer candidly. "Granted, I like the doctor, he actually has a talent that is wasted in this brave new world. Had he been born a century, maybe a bit more before that, he would have been a leading neuro-surgeon or cardiologist..." Take a moment to study the tapered fingers of my host, feeling a pang of sympathy for the man. I can understand what drove him to my Master. "But still... even if we are not seperated, I only have to wait it out until his body finally gives out, a decade at best, or until Lily grows too impatient. And I know I will survive that. Lucien, oh he won't. And she may just kill Wanda for spite, I wouldn't put it past her." Drain my coffee and look at him square again, a smile hovering on my hosts lips. "I think the real question is... whats' the vow you made, whatever it was, to Wanda, worth to you?"

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"Is that supposed to hurt me? Lucien can't hear you, so no use goading him, nor me. I could care less who she bedded. And.... by the way, who's fault do you think that is? That she has recently taken on so many lovers? She may have had the inclinations in her to take on half the town, but she never would have acted on them. Not until you blessed her with your chaos. Now impulse control.... right out the window."

I smile at him. He doesn't get it. She might not get it. Eris gets it. Eris understands the ways of Chaos even more intimately than I do.

"Nice choice of word. 'Blessed.' That's precisely what I did. I didn't force her to be the way she is. Merely made it easier for her to accept who she is."

"I am bound my the constaints my Creator placed upon me before time began. While I walk the earth, I must do what I was created to do, and she, who is not yours anymore, falls under my protection."

My smile doesn't falter. "You're not telling me anything I don't already know. I'm grateful that she falls under your protection."

He goes on and on about the doctor and the way things were once upon a bloody time. Then he asks a question and it's something he's said that I'm actually interested in: "Whats' the vow you made, whatever it was, to Wanda, worth to you?"

It's what he asks specifically that is so intriguing. Not "what is Wanda worth to me?" or even "why is the vow worth it?" No. The vow. What is the vow worth...

"My life."

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"You're not telling me anything I don't already know. I'm grateful that she falls under your protection."
Nod once, acknowledging a sincere offer of thanks from one being to another. "She's young, but she's talented." I say softly, with a touch of pride, but then my mouth twists into something more of a grimace. "And barring anymore 'zombie' incidents, she'll learn." I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
Really need to check in on her at some point.

I am starting to think our little dinner date is over, for my companion is starting to look bored with me, but my last question certainly grabs his attention, and he considers it seriously.
"My life."

Isn't that something? Sit back and study him, wondering if I can believe him or not. The damn Celts always did take their vows with the gravest of sincerities. Would a God actually lay down his life over a vow made to a mortal worshiper? And despite my disdain of him, would I actually have it in me to kill him, if whatever he's planning doesn't backfire and kill him outright with no assistance from me? Not that I have a care for the gods one way or another, but any godly being is a rare thing in these times, so still precious.
This should prove most interesting.

In our brief silence, the waitress has refilled our drinks. I take the coffee mug and raise it to Lúgh.
"Well, in that case... Slainte Mhath."

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"She's young, but she's talented." There's pride in his voice. The sort I have for my worshipers. The sort I have for her. "And barring anymore 'zombie' incidents, she'll learn."

I laugh softly. "I'd prefer it if she not do that again." Rattle me away from the dead like that. Not polite.

The waitress returns and fills our mugs. Marbas raises it and says, "Well, in that case... Slainte Mhath."

I raise mine with him and reply, "The same to you, cara."

It's probably the only time I'd use that term with Marbas. He's not truly a friend and it certainly doesn't mean I trust him. It could very well be him that ends my life. Or Wanda's. Or anyone in this town.

"So this friend of yours... Lily. What's she really like?"

[marbasthefallen.livejournal.com]

"The same to you, cara."
Mutual respect, that will most likely not last outside this conversation. But in these times, I guess we take what we can get. And let's face it, I don't trust him any farther than I could...
actually, I could probably throw him pretty far. That absurb thought actually makes me smile.

"So this friend of yours... Lily. What's she really like?" "She is perfection." I say without thinking. "She is the only being like her in the entire universe, made to be perfect by the hand of my Creator. She is beauty and cruelty and seductive death and pure flame incarnate...."

Laugh a bit, and take another drink of the coffee.
"I can see why humans get so addicted to this stuff. And if I tell you anymore, she will be cross that I am interfering with her sport." I say good naturedly, but grow serious again. "But she is dangerous, make no mistake."

[lugh-thecelt.livejournal.com]

"She is perfection. She is the only being like her in the entire universe, made to be perfect by the hand of my Creator. She is beauty and cruelty and seductive death and pure flame incarnate...." I arch an eyebrow at his description of her. "I can see why humans get so addicted to this stuff. And if I tell you anymore, she will be cross that I am interfering with her sport." Brief sidenote on the coffee and then he cuts off explaining this woman of "perfection" to me with playfulness in his voice. Seriously, he add, "But she is dangerous, make no mistake."

"Sounds like the definition of 'woman.'" Shrugging, I set down the empty tea cup in front of me and stand. "Maybe I'll have the pleasure of getting to know her better. If my luck holds true, it'll be quite a story, I'm sure. Well, Marbas, see you 'round."

Drop money on the table and I walk away.

The clock is tick-tick-ticking for us all.