11274/A visit from a red friend

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A visit from a red friend
Date of Scene: 22 May 2022
Location: Cafeteria and Bar (Asteroid M)
Synopsis: Azazel pops in, out of boredom, and finds out that he might be able to help out some of Lydia's friends a.k.a. the JLD.
Cast of Characters: Raven Darkholme, Lydia Dietrich, Azazel




Raven Darkholme has posed:
It was later in the evening, the sun had already set and the vampires were awake to play, or in this case... join Mystique in the bar for an of day drink, of alcohol, and something to eat, not Mystique.

The cobalt mutant had left a message for Lydia to join her in the bar once she was awake, which is where she presently was. The evening bartender was mixing up some fruity things for a group by the video games, but Mystique had chosen her favorite table... it allowed her to see the entire room, and her back was to a corner.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia saw the note upon waking, and since it didn't sound all that urgent she took her time to do her morning routine. Get up, shower, wrestle with her hair, feed, and then brush her teeth. (Even vampires should maintain good dental hygiene.) Somewhere along the line she even got dressed.

    She arrives at the cantina and spies her fiance at their regular table and she makes her way to it. Hugging her from behind she plants a kiss on top of Mystique's head. "Hey there," she says, releasing the cobalt mutant and sliding into a seat next to her. "You wanted to see me? I mean. Aside from when we normally see each other."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
On the table is is a plate of what looks like ham with yams, Mystique clearly has a craving, by it a cup of coffee and a mixed drink of some kind. As Lydia approached, she looks up just in time to accept the from behind hug, even wraps one arm back to hug back.

"It wasn't a need to see you," she replies, using her foot to push out a chair for Lydia to sit in. "It was a want to see you, have something to eat, just got done with an insanely busy day, and I think I've thought of colors for the wedding sort of thing." Grinning broadly, she slices off a piece of the ham and pokes it in her mouth.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Oh?" Lydia asks with a raised brow. "What did you think of?" Having just fed she doesn't have the desire to get herself a drink, though she does reach out and pinch off a bit of the yam, giggling at the uncouthness of it all. "I thought we'd settled on blue and white? Or am I misremembering things?"

Azazel has posed:
And with a *BAMF* Azazel is seated across from them with his feet up on the table. Nobody can really explain how he does it, not even him. But somehow he lands precisely where he wants without ending up inside of anything. He fires off a lazy salute to Mystique, saying "Evening, ladies. How are things on the super-secret space rock that just about everybody knows about these days?"

    After waving a server over and getting a drink, he continues, "Do you have any idea how BORING living on a tropical island in the Caribbean is? Nobody plotting my overthrow, suggesting ultimately useless but fun to try plans for escaping Hell or generally just trying to kill me. It's like I'm a normal, boring old human or something."

    He looks between he two and adds, "Tell me you're up to something at least a little fun?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique chuckles as the yam is stolen, not minding at all of course, but she figures its just for show.

"White and blue is what we talked about," she says as she picks up her coffee. "But I would like to add a dark gree..."

And then Azazel. She doesn't jump, she doesn't freak out, it's as if she's just used to people popping in out of no were. Lifting a brow, she listens to his little rant, as that's exactly what it is, then does her best not to smirk... she smiles instead.

"Welcome to the reality of the world Azazel," she offers him, not needing to invite him to sit, he already did that. "You aren't human however, just pretending to be one and thankfully, failing. What did you expect escaping Hell to be like?"

She glances over to Lydia for a moment, still smiling. "We weren't doing anything fun, at least not yet. That usually comes later in the evening," her eyes shift back to Azazel. "How might we entertain your bored self?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia is only a little startled at Azazel's entrance. She should be used to teleporters by now, having been friends with Clarice for so long, but still... having him pop up RIGHT THERE causes her to jump a little.

    She rolls her eyes at his general griping. "If you like I can try to kill you. I'm not terribly good at it, but it should be good for a laugh at least."

    "It's how I tuck her into bed," she says with a nod. "It's quite fun!"

Azazel has posed:
    Azazel shrugs. "Well, usually the plan involved all of us breaking free and conquering to our heart's content, gathering souls and generally you know.. enjoying life. Can't really roll with that one now that I'm here solo and most of the others want to kill me. Conquest and domination are not really what you'd call subtle. So I sit on my island, occasionally pop off to steal tomes of magic to add to my collection, swim in the ocean and name the sharks. The best one is named Bruce. He likes eating things, and I'm cool with that as long as it isn't me."

    There's a second's pause, then he adds, "Did you know how hard it is to tell if I have a sunburn or not? Yeah, that discovery wasn't fun. You'd think someone as generally resistant to damage as me wouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
As Mystique listens to Azazel, she starts to chuckle then it goes to a laugh. It was a dangerous thing to have a mutant of his power being /that/ bored. His sense of morality was always in question as to what he would or wouldn't do, so in boredom he might actually try conquering a small country or just manipulating the hell out of their government until the country implodes. She wouldn't put either of those things past him.

"Okay, okay, so we need to get you some more active hobbies," she finally says once she's got control of herself. "Seriously, naming sharks? But in all seriousness, what do you /want/ to be doing?"

She picks up her glass for a sip of the mixed drink before adding, "I mean, clearly you aren't interested in conquest and domination any more, or at least don't appear to be. I think part of that came from who you worked with in the past, and now that they want to kill you..." she pauses there, switching back to the topic. "Do what do you want to do?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia can't help but chuckle a bit at Azazel. "I'd love to see your stolen collection of ancient tomes of magic," she says. "I have a vested interest in such things. What started out as a hobby ended up with me helping a bunch of people save the world from angels." She shakes her head with a shrug, "I had to cut back on my mutant activism during that but now that things have settled I can pick up where I left off."

    "Sharks are just sea puppies with razor sharp teeth," Lydia says with a nod. "There's a video... hold on..." She pulls out her phone and taps away at it until she finds the video in question. "Here." It plays and it shows a man in full SCUBA gear obviously in an aquarium cleaning the inside of the glass. Soon a leopard shark comes in frame and swims to the man in a gentle inquisitive kind of way. The man reaches out and grabs the shark, and starts rubbing it's belly, eventually even turning it over on its back to get better access to tummy rubs. The shark is, like, /really/ into it, obviously enjoying the attention. "See? Puppies with razor sharp teeth."

    Mystique's question is a good one. "You could always open up a bakery. Everybody loves baked goods."

Azazel has posed:
    Azazel snorts, "Right, Satan's Bakery. That'd go over well. As for what I want to do, obviously I don't know or I'd be doing it already." He looks at Lydia with a little more interest when she mentions the angel thing. "Wait, you were involved in that? I'd like to say thank you, I really didn't need those self-righteous pricks poking around on this plane of reality as long as they did, much less any longer."

    He looks between the two and announces "That's the kind of thing I'd like to do. Breaking things that think they can just get away with whatever they want has always been fun in the past, I bet it still is! I mean, sure, that's sort of what I do, but I'm more subtle and attractive while doing it."

    It really is amazing how he can make that kind of statement without an ounce of modesty.

    "So next time you have an issue, give me a quick phone call and I can come help you out. As for the books, not a problem, you're welcome to look them over. Well, most of them. There's a couple that you're better off without unless you think Raven would like you as a mind-blasted vegetable, which I personally doubt."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A bit of yam and ham is put on the fork for a bite while Mystique listens. Azazel was such a humble mutant... no, really. He was attractive, and subtle, so at least he wasn't lying while failing at modesty.

"I would still love her," she states plainly. "She'd have the best care, and I'd ravage her body all the same..." maybe she was joking about that part.

"So you'd be interested in helping out in the magical fuckery department?" She then asks, sounding a bit surprised, but that was all Lydia's department over all. Mystique knew fuck all about magic, except that it had a way of ending up messing things up and then, straightening it all out again.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "I don't know..." Lydia says uncertainly. "You're typically the kind of thing that we fight against. World conquering demons who barter for the souls of the living, and all." She holds up a hand, "Not that I'm judging. You did what you had to do. But, you'll have to prove yourself to the others, and you'll have a higher bar to clear."

    "I'm not saying no," she says. "I'm not the one who decides who's in or who's out of the JLD." She leans forward and rests her arms on the table and sizes Azazel up with those strange golden eyes of hers, judging him for his sincerity. Coming to a conclusion she nods, "I'll pass the word on and see if I can't get you in on whatever next comes around."

Azazel has posed:
    With a grin, he nods a little, "Yeah, but I'm on a break from human sacrifice for the next hundred years or so. That kind of thing becomes passe after a bit. You've got to keep finding new things. Besides, I hear you may have a few less than virtuous members already. I think I can manage to fit in well enough to manage. It's worth it just to fight the boredom, and if I manage a few good deeds along the way, well, yay for me."

    He takes a sip of his drink, then adds "I'll even tone down my normal mayhem levels if I have to. I suppose I don't need to kill everyone who opposes me, but it's a damn good way to make sure they don't bother you again."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A playful grin dances across Mystique's features as he mentions mayhem, something she remembers from him very fondly and almost misses. No one would create chaos like Azazel in the mood, but she made no comment regarding that. Instead she took another bite of her dinner and let her mind wander over the memories while she chewed.

"Azazel isn't pure evil, Lydia," she comments once she's swallowed. "He gets painted that way because of his appearance, and perhaps some past actions, but those are very far in the past."

Turning her yellow eyes back to Azazel she continues with, "And no, you don't need to kill everyone who opposes you, unless of course they are attempting to kill you while opposing you, then by all means make them pay."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia laughs, returning Azazel's grin. "Indeed. I don't think we'd mind a little mayhem as long as it helps us get the job done. After all we /do/ work with Terry," she mutters.

    Lydia reaches out and takes one of Mystique's hand and brings it to her lips. "/I/ know that. When you find yourself in unfortunate circumstances you have to do what you need to do in order to survive. It's the others that need to be convinced. /I'm/ willing to give him a chance. You know how I am."

Azazel has posed:
    "I'm sure they'll like me. I mean, I've got five thousand years of convincing people that a deal involving their soul was a great idea, and for this, all I have to do is convince them I'm handy to have around. That's like kiddie pool levels of difficulty." He sips his drink with a grin and adds "Besides.. I really _am_ handy to have around, so I don't even have to sell that part. And I doubt many of them actually know who I am to begin with, so I've just got the unfortunate appearance thing against me, but I bet your group has a few odd looking folks in it."

    Then he seems to think of something, raises an eyebrow and asks Lydia, "And just for clarification, do they know you're a vampire? If they're okay with that, they should have no problems with me. _I_ haven't bathed in the blood of the innocent since Roman times."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique gives Lydia's hand a light squeeze when it is taken. "I know you're willing," she says with a soft smile. "But he's right in that most of them probably have no idea about his past or him at all. He's had many names, played many roles, done many things, but linking five thousand years of things to one mutant? I don't know who could do that."

Then she half smirks as she looks to Azazel and says teasingly, "Ick-snay on the ood-bath-say, Azazel. That's not something you need to be sharing, but since you did... were they virgins?" No, she's not phased by his past, part of it she knows, most of it she admired, but she wasn't going down that path again.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia just stares at Azazel. "Just because I'm a vampire it doesn't mean that I'm Elizabeth Bathory. I'm not that kind of vampire. And... yeah. They know. Some of them knew me before I was turned so it wasn't exactly something that I could hide."

    She shrugs at Mystique, "I don't even know /half/ of what he's done. If he's on his good behavior then he should fit in."

Azazel has posed:
    "Maybe not, but there's still a certain stigma to the whole vampire gig. People just hate to be reminded that they're not at the top of the food chain, so those of us who are usually get a bit of attitude from the normal types. Trust me, I have no problem with the vampire thing, been friends with a few down the centuries."

    Finishing his drink, he holds up his right hand and says "I solemnly swear to behave when I'm helping Lydia and her friends." He nods, "There you go. Mystique will confirm for me that I never lie. Misdirect, allude, help people form the wrong conclusions, but not lie. In an existence like mine, you don't get people to make deals if they think you're lying to them."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A brow raises on Mystique's face as Azazel solemnly swears to behave. It was something she was totally not expecting from him, and since it did occur, she knew in that moment just how sincere and deep his boredom was. For him to actually take an oath, that was serious.

"He's right," she replies, looking to Lydia. "He doesn't lie, and when he gives his word, he keeps it. He may be a lot of things but a liar isn't one of them. Often, as you may have noticed, he's a little too blunt and honest." Yes, she was referring to the Roman blood baths.

"So thank you," she continues, giving Lydia's hand another light squeeze. "For being willing to give him a chance and introduce him to the right people so he can help. He really needs it, to have something to do, or he wouldn't be here asking."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia doesn't seem to understand the gravity of Azazel's oath until Mystique points it out. "Well. All right then. I'll let the others know you're interested. See if I can't get them to meet you sometime in the near future, and give you a chance to charm the socks off of them."

    "I can only imagine what being so old would be like," she says. "If I'm lucky I'll get to find out, but..." she shakes her head. "Just because I'm immortal it doesn't mean that I can't die."

Azazel has posed:
    With a shrug, he says "Same here. But I've always been very careful with what I do, and for most of the time, I had some really heavy hitting backup if anything went wrong. The fact that I can pop out of any situation I don't like is also a contributing factor, so you may want to be more careful than I tend to be most of the time. Unless I'm there too, because then I can pull you out just as easily."

    "Good preparation and scouting removes ninety five percent of the danger, so if you have that, you're in good shape. It's pretty much like any military campaign. Scout it, map it, create a battle plan and most of the time things will go your way."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Leaning over, Mystique places a soft kiss on Lydia's cheek then whispers very quietly in her ear, -"He really does need this, so help me think of a way to thank you later."- before nibbling it lightly and sitting back.

"You know Azazel," she then says more loudly. "There is something quite amazing about Lydia's vampiric bite, you should try it some time. You might become as addicted as I am."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods in agreement, "Indeed. During the invasion we had to do a /lot/ of preparation. That ritual that we performed in Central Park took me weeks to prepare. Jon was running a distraction to keep angel eyes off of me so we could pull it off. It..." she shakes her head. "It didn't go quite as planned, but the result was favorable. Things /hardly/ ever go as planned."

    Her eyes flick over to Mystique and she grins, snapping her teeth while showing off a little fang. "When I was turned I didn't think Mystique would be into it but I shouldn't have worried."

Azazel has posed:
    "I'll have to give it some thought then." He nods to Lydia "That's mostly true, but if you've done your intel gathering correctly, you have contingency plans for when something hits the fan. I've learned from some of the best strategists this world has had, so that kind of thing just comes naturally to me at this point."

    He watches the nibbling with a grin, then says "Well, I think I will let you two escape my inimitable presence for the evening so that you can proceed to nibble on each other." He waves, winks at Mystique and *BAMF*, he's gone again. Not really one for extended goodbyes.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique chuckles a little, wiggles her brows aaaaand he's gone.

"You know my love, it is really annoying how he does that," she states bluntly with a sigh. "But he has /always/ done that." Shaking her head a little, she looks back to Lydia with a grin.

"So... as I was saying, I want to add a dark green to the colors because green is still your color, even if your not so much green any more. What do you think?" She wiggles her brows. "Want to see me in green lingerie on our wedding night?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "There are days when I miss being green," Lydia confesses. "It was part of my identity, you know? Not that this," she says waving a hand through the twinkling stars of her ectoplasm "is bad or anything, it's just rather cliche at this point."

    "But I approve. Dark green it is." She gets a little wicked grin, "I don't care what color lingerie you wear that night. The fun part is getting it /off/."

    She stands and holds out her hand. "C'mon. Let's get you into bed. You've had a busy day."