applesaucedream | Encampment Under the Sea [Open to All]

Encampment Under the Sea [Open to All]

photo encampmentunderthesea_zps98ceddce.jpg

Since the dreamers of Manhattan had such a lovely time at the last vaguely-nautical-themed party, the Rift has decided to step things up a notch. Tonight, the dreamers will find themselves in what appears to be a city very much like the one they inhabit in the waking world, full of towering skyscrapers, neon signs, and heavy traffic. But there is one rather crucial difference: this city is located deep underwater, and the aforementioned traffic is mostly whales and fish, with the occasional submersible thrown into the mix.

The walls and windows are heavily reinforced to withstand the pressure of the water outside, and the people who dwell in these buildings seem to be doing rather well for themselves, for the most part. Buildings are connected by enclosed walkways, so barring any horrible accidents, the dreamers should have no problem getting around without getting too wet.

Much like the city they inhabit in the waking world, some areas are more obviously affluent than others, and the dreamers are as likely to stumble upon an upscale club as an underwater pub. But while the chances of a full structural breakdown are slim, there are definitely some areas that are on the leaky side, and a general sense of claustrophobia pervades the city wherever you might find yourself.

Explore. Or, if you're feeling particularly ambitious, attempt to escape. Either way, take care - it's hard to say what might be lurking in the darkness just beyond the city lights.

[ooc: Y'all know the drill. All characters are welcome, whether they are in the game or not. Characters can remember or forget the events of the dreaming at the player's discretion. And the party never stops - backtag into infinity!]

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Aziraphale blinks in surprise at the comparative reason in the eloim's tone. It seems he's capable of not being a complete ass, perhaps only under a very specific set of circumstances.

"Wellll, it's sort of different, in our universe," he says. "This whole Order and Entropy thing. That's not so much how we look at it. There's a balance between the two, yes, to keep one from overpowering the other... to make sure the field is level when the final War finally occurs. Which we'll win, of course. When it does happen. I mean. If it happens. I suppose."

This dogmatic sort of fellow is the exact type who would NOT understand his and Crowley's motivations for doing what they did. Better steer clear of that.

"Do you have a name?" he asks, frowning. "Can't go around just calling you 'that stuck-up eloim' all the time."

"When the world is destroyed," supplies Rashad. He says it dispassionately, as though he doesn't care, but in truth that is another concept to which he objects. Heaven alone would be perfect Order, yes, but without the existence of the mortal plane he cannot see the purpose of it.

He considers telling the angel his name, then decides against it. "I am called Rashad," he replies after a beat. It's not a lie. It's also not his real name. Little good comes of sharing one's true name outside one's true brethren. "How else can you look at it?"

Edited 2014-10-04 02:51 (UTC)

Rashad doesn't sound particularly angelic, but he'll take it.

"Well..." He is really not cut out for this. Crowley would be much better at it, ironically enough. "It's complicated?" he offers awkwardly. "I mean, it's not really up to us, how Above and Below runs things. Entropy, as you call it, it's... we're against it, obviously, but it's not about... stopping it. I mean that's just such a simplistic way of looking at things, and ineffability is, well, it's more complicated than that.

"Personally," he goes on, somewhat energized, "I'd rather the world wasn't destroyed. Quite like the world, myself. Life's a lot easier to enjoy when you're not out to kill your enemies all the time. Take it from me."

Would Nhodd be any better?

"It has little bearing on my enjoyment," states Rashad flatly. "And my enjoyment has little bearing on the world. I do not want it destroyed, either, but allowing creatures of evil free reign will not delay that fate."

He blinks at Aziraphale, expression unreadable. "Your demon also claimed he did not want the destruction of the world. I assume he meant that he would rather see it a lawless place for him to do as he wished."

Edited 2014-10-07 04:19 (UTC)

"Ah - well..." Aziraphale waffles for a moment, not quite sure what to say. The truth would probably be the most helpful, though Crowley does hate it when he points out the demon's inherent goodness, as he's come to recognize it over the centuries. But Crowley might also prioritize not being lit on fire next time he encounters this creature.

"What Crowley and I did, stopping Armageddon, it wasn't strictly... above board," he says. "Crowley likes the world just as it is. Just as I do. We, er, both wanted to see it... continue. He's not a bad demon at all, really. He's... well. He's quite good, in his way. He's, erm."

Is he really about to say this? It seems he is.

"He's my friend."

An afterthought; desperate to move away from that: "And he's not my demon," with some irritation. "I've said as much. Terrible habit you've got there."

Edited 2014-10-07 04:43 (UTC)

Rashad is silent for at least a minute as he simply stares at Aziraphale. A demon that likes the world as it is. An angel that not only tolerates the presence of a demon, but claims it as a friend. The two should be diametrically opposed in all ways. Two complete opposites do not make a single whole.

Disregarding the criticism, he tries to clarify, suddenly doubting a basic assumption he's made about the being in front of him. He knows angels and demons and devils, of course, but it's finally getting through his thick skull that he may not be able to immediately identify those of a different world.

"You are not a devil, are you?"

Because at least a demon and a devil together would make some sense, and a devil might claim to like the grievously imperfect world in its present form.

"I beg your pardon!" Aziraphale squawks, utterly aghast at such an impertinent, baseless question. "What on earth are you - no! I'm a principality!" Seriously, the nerve.

He takes a healthy step back from the eloim, re-evaluating the relative merits of trying to 'get to know' him. "What do you mean asking that?" he demands.

And that just confused matters more. "Is a principality a kind of fallen angel?" asks Rashad, noticing that he's upset Aziraphale but not minding it. "It would explain why you are willing to associate with a being of entropic evil."

"No!" Aziraphale is practically vibrating with impotent indignation now. "I am not fallen at all! I'm a proper angel, a principality is a kind of angel, just - where are you getting this?! Crowley's the one who's fallen. And he's not evil, he's-"

Oh dear. Crowley would hate him saying that. Aziraphale's not sure how he feels about it either.

Aziraphale pinches back his annoyed babbling with pursed lips and a moment of silent consternation. "He's complicated," seems like the best way to split the difference.

"He is a fallen angel?" Rashad suddenly has to reevaluate a lot of assumptions. He pauses as he processes -- yes, that explains why the 'demon' was manifested in a body of its own, perhaps even explains the ongoing association between these two, though Rashad himself is no more willing to associate with devils than with demons.

The good news is that Aziraphale might finally be getting through to him a tiny bit. The bad news is that it's the part Aziraphale tried to take back that really got his attention. "He seems evil," he replies dubiously, inviting further explanation.

"Well, he... I mean, he's meant to be," says Aziraphale, frowning and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "But he and I, we've both... gone native, as it were. Spent enough time around the humans that, well, we've grown to rather like the Earth. In our own ways. And... that's what happened."

He's not sure how much more he wants to share with this creature. Since it's already been well established just how little Rashad actually understands or respects boundaries. This is starting to feel too personal. He shifts his weight awkwardly, wanting to escape, not for the first time tonight, and not for the last either.

"So you are both corrupted -- him twice over." Rashad seems oblivious to Aziraphale's discomfort. "I have spent several centuries on the mortal plane myself, but I have not been corrupted."

Such a lie, but his face betrays no sign that he believes anything other than what he's just said.

Aziraphale rolls his eyes. "Yes, you're the picture of purity," he says dryly. "Fine, yes, we're 'corrupted', if you insist, but at least we don't bloody go around picking fights with anyone. We just want to get by, is that so awful?"

He's running out of stamina for this debate. Starting to sound just a bit petulant.

Rashad still finds something lacking in this explanation, a core fault he is unable to resolve. "Are you truly without purpose, the both of you?" he asks, thinking that this might be what the angel and ~~demon~~ devil have been getting at this whole time. The implications are staggering. "You are saying that like mortals, you just...are?"

"No, of course not," he says without thinking, automatically indignant. "We were both assigned to the Earth, we had our jobs to do." He hesitates, chewing his lip. "And now... well, it's different now, isn't it? We're cut off from the Authorities, there's no sense wasting our energy on all that when it's not even our world." He scowls to himself. He supposes it's too much to hope that makes sense to someone like Rashad.

"You don't think this world's mortals are worthy of your angelic protection?" asks Rashad. One world or another, it seems much the same to him. That his own brethren aren't here is perhaps an advantage, a respite from their unending wars and rivalries, but that is no reason to cease in his own purpose. "Or is it that you are unable to act without your Authorities?"

"It's not that - not either of those things," Aziraphale says, flustered. He can't seem to explain anything to Rashad's satisfaction. He suppose he'll just be interrogated all night long. "I protect people, I - you know, I help them, but it's different, I mean it's... well, it's my choice now."

Free will rears its head again. He winces slightly at the thought of it, and how Lucifer is trying to take it from Crowley. Free will is complicated - he doesn't want it, but he also doesn't want anyone to take it.

"It's just not Crowley I need to protect them from," he says finally.

Rashad could keep this up all night, yes. Impatience is an emotion, after all.

At last, however, Aziraphale has hit on something that might interest Rashad more than the question of himself and Crowley. "You mean the thing that came through the rift?" he asks. "Is it known to you?"

Aziraphale blinks at him in slow surprise. He's reservedly relieved not to be questioned about Crowley again, but he's not sure he wants to talk about this, either. He wonders how Lucifer would even react to something like Rashad. Or vice versa, for that matter. Though at least on this subject, he and Rashad might be somewhat alligned.

"Yes," he says. He hedges for a moment before saying, "It's Lucifer."

"You're sure?" Rashad...doesn't seem bothered by this. Rashad doesn't seem bothered by anything. He may look slightly more alert following that announcement, but the news that the Prince of Pride is in Manhattan does not seem to impress him. On the inside, however, his mind is whirling. It's unlikely that such a high-ranking devil will bother with the likes of him, but Rashad knows immediately that he will want to make himself scarce all the same. "You have seen him for yourself, then?"

"Quite sure," says Aziraphale rather bitterly. "He gave me this." He tilts his chin up to show the fading black mark across his neck, frostbitten skin from the Devil's own hand. "He nearly killed me."

He doesn't expect sympathy from Rashad, nor does he want it. He delivers the information dispassionately, a little numb to it all now.

Edited 2014-10-18 23:03 (UTC)

That the average angel could fall victim to one of the principle devils is no surprise. That even this angel who consorts with ~~demons~~ devils should get in a deadly argument is troubling...and begs the question of whether Lucifer will be back to finish the job.

Associating with Aziraphale is not in Rashad's best interest.

"I will not return to your bookshop," he decides suddenly. "Do not tell anyone of my presence on this island."

Oh is THAT what we're doing now. Aziraphale stares at him, faintly appalled, and then huffs out a hugely unamused laugh.

"That's what I - no. Nevermind." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Fine. As long as you leave Crowley be. That's all I ask."

That was not one of the conditions Rashad was prepared to automatically offer, particularly considering Crowley has invaded his place of employment. Given the choice between giving up ~~persecuting~~ prosecuting a lesser devil and risking the attention of one of the Princes of the Pale, however, the choice is clear.

"If he will leave me be," he decides. The compromise will have to stand, at least in the short term.

"That should not be difficult," says Aziraphale dryly. "Now if you don't mind."

He doesn't care if Rashad minds or not. He's extremely done with this interaction. He turns on his heel and stalks away.

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omnomnom_feels - 2014-10-24 03:07 (UTC) - Expand

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