snowblindrpg | [log] The Pit [open]

[Her humanity is currently no illusion; while there must be some spark of the divine in her still, Tess's nature has been knocked out of balance by the nanomachines, all but overwhelmed by her own humanity.

She debates with herself about whether to rise -- but she doesn't want the knife out of reach. She stays where she is as she lifts her chin, defiant against the fact that he scares her a little bit in her present weakness.]

His kind are mine by birthright. I took him from a nest my friends and I had to destroy.

[Time to test the waters. She's never actually met any of Lucifer's siblings; doesn't know if they at least pretend to care what becomes of mortals or if they're all just flat-out batshit like their dad.]

I like humans. Didn't think Las Vegas should be snake food, cute as these little bastards are.

So you're a remnant of one of the Mesoamerican pantheons, then. [ Castiel's posture stiffens somewhat, though he doesn't reach for his weapon. His assumption had been that this woman was simply one of their chosen - a mortal laden with gifts in a last-ditch grasp at relevance - but a goddess, even a fallen one, is far beyond his ability to deal with as an angel of his rank.

(It occurs to him, dimly, that they're both equally powerless here. But this is how he's assessed his encounters with other celestials for millions of years, and the instinct is burned into the structure of his mind.) ]

Is it safe for your pet to be around the others, then? [ He eyes it, even more warily than before. ] I wasn't aware that feathered serpents ate human flesh. [ Though he supposes it would follow, based on what his siblings who dealt with those gods personally had told him. Powerful, vicious and bloodthirsty. Why wouldn't their messengers have similar appetites? ]

[She notices that shift in posture, stiffened in turn, but thankfully still resists the urge to close her fingers around the handle of her knife.]

I'm not a remnant of anything. New gods for the new world.

[It's biting and bitter. The new world is his dad's fault, after all, among others.]

And Roy's not going to eat anyone, so you can chill.

Edited 2018-02-26 17:34 (UTC)

[ Castiel's eyes only narrow further, flickering bright blue for the briefest of moments before his power fizzles away again, useless and ineffectual. ]

Do you mean to outlast us? [ It's the only thing he can think of. He knows for a fact that many of the fallen gods have been waiting eagerly for the end times, under the mistaken impression that the war between Heaven and Hell will leave enough behind for them to swoop in and pick through the ashes. It doesn't quite occur to him that Tess of the Wayward might be from a different world and context entirely. ]

Good. Know that if it ever becomes a threat to these people, I will not hesitate to destroy it.

Yeah, I kinda do.

[Her hand does slip into the bag now; out comes the knife as she rises to her feet. She doesn't move toward him at all, but there's almost a challenge in her posture. Come at her, bro. (Except please don't actually come after her; she'll probably hurt herself with this knife if she tries to fight).

Maybe she should have stopped and thought about the possibility that maybe he's not from a world where his dad helped kick off Ragnarok with the help of a bunch of bastard tricksters, that maybe he's got a different context for this conversation. Little late for that now, though, and so far it's all sounding like the crap she'd expect.]

You know that if you hurt my snake, you won't be the first titanspawn I've killed.

[Brave words. They're even sort of true, if you squint.]

[ Titanspawn isn't a term he's familiar with either, but the implication isn't lost on him. When Tess draws her knife he unhooks the skillet from his pack and brandishes it like a club, adopting a practiced fighting stance. ]

You hold no more power here than I do, goddess.

And your dad isn't here, so maybe back the fuck off with your stupid I'm only doing it for the mortals act!

[RGBV is getting agitated, coiling tighter on her shoulders, neck crooked and ready to strike. Tess, though, does not make a move.]

[ That gets under his skin, even moreso than the implication that she's killed his siblings before. He draws himself up to his full height, shifting his grip on the pan. ]

Everything I have ever done has been for their sake. Can your predecessors say the same?

[And up comes the knife, but for all her bravado -- and all her heritage -- she holds it more like a cook than a warrior, gesturing with it in frustration.]

Are we seriously going to do this sins of the father shit, because I already told you that I'm not with them anymore. You want to talk about shitty parents, how about what your dad did to Africa?!

As a celestial being you can no more deny your nature than I can mine. I am a soldier. What are you?

The situation in Africa is regrettable, but inevitable. We knew something like it might happen from the moment the first of humanity left Eden - it was just a question of when and where. How they chose to react to it was ultimately their decision. That was the entire point - not that your kind would understand.

And now you're victim-blaming the mortals. I'm a healer, asshole. You know, the kind of person who fixes the shit soldiers break?

[ Will was doing his best to keep to the edges of the walls, out of sight and as out of mind as he could make himself. Which may have been how he came to be within earshot of this escalation.

Making the 'tst tst' sound he often used when distracting his dogs from hostilities, Will didn't bother getting to his feet as he looked up at the pair. ]

As one of the poor mortal creatures you two are delightfully patronizing -thank you for that by the way- I say with all humility and appropriate deference; this is the most pointless conversation I've ever heard in my life.

You're both coming across as moronic, and reinforcing my atheistic belief that all religions are based in the desire for warfare and bloodshed.

[ The sudden reminder that there are actually humans present brings Castiel crashing back down to earth, bringing the situation back into perspective in a way it hadn't been when he was so caught up in trying to deal with a foreign god. That's right, this is Norfinbury. Things are different here.

He lowers his weapon and glances over at Will, chastened and sheepish, though he's careful to keep Tess and her serpent in his peripheral vision. ]

That is your right as a being who has been gifted with free will.

[Tess, on the other hand, isn't chastened at all.]

Yeah, absolutely, free will, unalienable right. One problem, though -- literally no one asked you.

You squabble in public, you open yourself up to commentary from the peanut gallery. [ Will responded in a flat tone to Tess.

He glanced towards Castiel, recognizing the shot across the bow with the 'free will' comment but looking singularly un-'gifted'. ]

You two want to posture and kill each other, be my guest. Just try not to take any collateral damage into the pit with you. We're all in regrettably close quarters.

[ Oh so regrettably close quarters. ]

Edited 2018-03-02 20:13 (UTC)

[ Castiel just looks back and forth between the two of them, clearly thinking hard about the situation. It's a moment before he hooks his pan back to his bag and backs down, however reluctantly. ]

If you and your serpent aren't a threat to these people then there's no reason to fight.

Oh, for --

[Tess squeezes her eyes shut, searching for some well of patience that must be buried somewhere deep inside her.]

No, there's not. There's also no reason to jump to threats to kill my snake, you know?

[ His work here was done.

Hopefully they didn't ramp up the tension again, but if so that would be for the next hapless mortal to deal with. Rolling to his feet, Will was headed off ... uh ... thataway. ]

I said if it became a threat. Would you not do the same to me if I proved myself dangerous to their continued survival? [ Or inconvenient to you, he thinks, but manages not to say out loud this time. ]

Yeah, but it was, like, the first thing you went to. You don't know anything about me. You think you know, but you don't.

You'd just said that its nestmates had posed a threat to an entire large city. No responsible deity allows its agents to run feral like that.

Uh, yeah, agreed. I also said I killed them before anything happened, remember that part? You don’t even know the first thing about what happened there or what role I played in it, but you’re just — you’ve just decided you know anyway! Fucking typical.

[Hello, squabbling divinities, you are about to have another guest.

It should be of little surprise that Beckett had been watching and listening: with half-attention since Tess's introduction of herself as of the Wayward, with full focus since Castiel called her goddess. And he'd been almost disappointed when Will stepped in to deescalate. Things have just been getting well and truly interesting.

He's not interested in violence - he rarely really is, despite his regular brushes with it - but they were talking about something a lot more interesting than the possible dangers of feathered serpents just a moment ago.

He clears his throat.]

It's interesting, [he says into the crackling air between the two,] how being turned effectively mortal doesn't seem to have changed either of your perspectives.

[ Castiel starts to answer Tess, but Beckett cuts in before he can formulate a real response. He looks over at him, clearly confused. ]

The ability to die doesn't make me any more human than I was. I am still an angel.

Oh, for--!

[Tess curls her hands in a supremely frustrated gesture. Stops herself. Takes a deep breath. Isn't any less angry than when she started.]

How much did it change your perspective? You one of them again now? And who asked you, anyway? Are we just going to get commentary from the entire peanut gallery now?!

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cw: i wasn't kidding

tbh she's not much more impressed with her uncles and aunties herself

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