3131/Ice Palace: Spirit Board

Ice Palace: Spirit Board
Date of Scene:	28 August 2020
Location:	Ice Palace
Synopsis:	Entering the ice palace for more information, Nessa finds the layers of lies are piling up.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Nessa Donovan

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Lucifer has posed:
One taxi ride later sets the pair of mystic investigators one step closer to the Ice Palace. Though not too close: after all, SHIELD has the area barricaded off. There's a lot of SHIELD presence there, which means at the very least, they're going to be stopped. Aren't they?

"Do you have a special pass to get closer?" Lucifer wonders.

The palace is in full view now, as well as the skeletons that still are around, crunching about on the ice with vengeful, heavy steps. The place is a husk of what it once was, the beautiful spires crystalized and clumpy, the ground saturated with a mix of ice and frozen mud. Lucifer stops near Nessa's side, looking at it and then to her, as if she were his personal tour guide.

"Or shall I work some magic."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"That'd be impressive to wave around," Nessa notes. "I almost wish I had some kind of shiny plastic badge to make me feel official. No, I usually just ask politely and given that I've worked with them pretty closely so far they let me in. They are aware I'm helping and might need access to further research things. I'm fairly certain there's a picture of me and my name up somewhere in one of those vans to be safe." She pauses. "Or on their computers. They've got some fancy tech."

She's the one leading the way now, scanning to make sure there aren't any agents she already knows available before approaching one to ask for access. It isn't hard for her to get in--she's certainly well-known enough that agents nearby had been informed of her continued cooperation.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer looks at the palace from where they are with interest: moreso as they now approach while Nessa looks for permission from the agents, and he wanders to one of the icy areas nearby, squatting, and getting a closer look at some of the skeleton ichor there. He drops a hand to the ice, coming away with the weird oily quality of it between thumb and forefinger. He makes a face and wipes it on the brick wall nearby. Yuck. He pauses and inspects his fingers, but it's more for goo than actually analyzing.

"I'm not getting 'demon'; corrupted or negative magic, yes: but I'd like to slip inside, take a better look-see. Should only be a tick." Lucifer gives her a closer, focused look. It questions whether she wants to come too, or if she'd rather wait, without much suggestion of which he might prefer.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
These are familiar grounds to Nessa, even if they've been corrupted. The sense of familiarity stays there, even if it's not the same as it was when she saw it made around her. "Not a demon?" Maybe the place is familiar, but the situation is still uncertain waters. "To be honest, the demon part was a guess. It's something I can't put a name to. I'm pretty good at sensing things I'm familiar with and recognizing them, kind of like a scent, but sometimes you just run into something weird and you don't know what to compare it to."

His mention of going inside has a serious look of hesitation. "Last time I was in there it was pretty dangerous, and that was with allies. If you're dead set on going in, I'll go with you, but I'm going to have to go off of trust that you can handle a bad situation in there. Given your knowledge, I think it's a safe assumption, but it's an assumption all the same."

Lucifer has posed:
"I'll be all right," Lucifer cheerfully assures her, through his attention and gaze is on the ice Palace. It may feel quite like he's on a tour, and isn't going to forgo the best /part/ of it! No, he's here to get the sights!

"Although I cannot guarantee your safety, as I am unsure what exactly is in there," he adds. He still has her gloves, and turns them over in his hands, before glancing to her. With a sleek smile he leans towards her bag, attempting to slip them away in there, and adjusts his short sleeves at the wrist 'just so', as if he were a magician preparing to prove he had nothing in his sleeves.

Lucifer watches the place a moment longer, and then simply just /goes/. He walks across the snowy ground towards the palace as if he had all the confidence in the world. Maybe he does. Or perhaps he just watched the skeleton patterns and went when they weren't looking.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's handled herself just fine in there so far, so there's almost a moment of mild annoyance at the suggestion that her safety's not guaranteed. Well, maybe he can't guarantee it, but she's certainly been capable regarding the situation so far. She watches him tuck the gloves away with no fuss on her part. She's about to speak again when he's already on the move.

She doesn't really have a chance to protest and she's already said she'd follow, so she does so. He's managed to get past the skeletons, so she quickly moves to follow his path with a careful eye on the skeletons to make sure none of them catch a glimpse of her and decide she needs an axe to the face. She's barely got a chance to consider if this was a terrible idea.

Lucifer has posed:
Once they're inside, Lucifer takes a look around in interest, looking directly down at the floor, then upstairs. He crosses the icy lower floor area, skirting the center - though it's frozen over - and begins to ascend the stairs with confidence.

He goes up to the upper floor, though with a good view of the area below, and adjusts to be slightly behind a pillar, to block view from the patrolling skeletons. He releases a thoughtful breath, touching a palm to the pillar, and tilting his head. He looks down into that center floor.

The ice below is black, still swirling beneath the surface. Lucifer seems to watch it for a moment. "This place isn't what I expected," he says, upbeat, as if being surprised were the interesting part. "You don't /need/ a phylactery, though," Lucifer adds.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's using plenty of caution, keeping away from the center of the lower floor as she makes her way up to the second level after him. She's being quite aware of her surroundings despite the distraction that is Lucifer. "I described it best I could, but I guess I could be way off-base. Starting to wonder if I should have politely asked the Sorcerer Supreme to poke his nose in..."

She lets her gaze fall to the blackened ice, studying it for a moment before looking at him. "No phylactery? That makes me equal parts relieved and annoyed. Relieved that I don't have to use the information and owe he-who-must-not-be-named another favor, and annoyed that he's probably trying to leverage something else out of this situation and he's using me to do it." There's certainly a lack of amusement there, unlike with the rest of the encounter.

"So do you have a suggestion as to what I might need?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Let me clarify a little," Lucifer says, more gently, adjusting his tone. He'd gotten excited about the place, and it made him callous. He turns more towards her. "You could use one, it isn't worthless. My point was more that you already /have/ one."

Lucifer gestures to all around them. "This /is/ one. This building. It's functioning as a container," Lucifer says, as if it were a neat painting he might like to acquire to look at now and then. "It's hard for me to tell the state of it, just at a /glance/, though I appreciate your faith in me," Lucifer adds.

He sets a hand on the balcony edge. "I do have an idea, though. I think we should try to communicate with the soul locked here. I think it would be.. Illuminating."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well, it's you or a trickster god," Nessa says, though the low tone indicates it's not exactly aimed at Lucifer. "Good to know this is at least somewhat keeping things at bay. I imagine it wants out and so it's trying to find ways to do so." She spares a glance around at the palace, though it darts sharply back at his suggestion.

"I'm sorry, you want to communicate?" While the tone is one of shock, there's a hint in there of actual consideration. "While I hadn't thought about just /asking/ it anything, it seems like a terrible idea to try and stir the pot down there in any way." Regardless of what she's saying... it's not a no.

Lucifer has posed:
"I have a guess about who it is; perhaps I'd just like to be right," Lucifer laughs a little, able to laugh at himself. "I'm good at gambling, though," he asides. He looks down and over the floor again, watching the churning shapes below in the darkness.

"My idea might not work, we might, what, get some skeletons? I admit I absolutely don't want to be hit by them, but I think it's worth doing. It might unravel some layers of tricks." Lucifer looks back to her again.

"Have you ever used a spirit board? A Ouija board?" Lucifer questions.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa takes a moment to legitimately consider the situation. "A contact seems relatively safe, I suppose. We wouldn't be trying anything too complicated. I doubt the whole palace is going to self-destruct with us in it, so skeletons may legitimately be a problem but if it comes down to it, I can handle a retreat from them. I've done it before."

The mention of a Ouija board makes her laugh. "Never got asked to. People don't usually take to the idea of using gloves in the middle of it. Blocks the spirits or something, or at least that's how kids had an excuse to exclude me. But I get the idea. It's worth a little risk if we can clarify things even a small bit. Makes me feel a little better if I'm telling people what to do with actual information."

Lucifer has posed:
"I'm not suggesting we place our hands on a puck and expect spirits to channel through us," Lucifer teases her a little, extending a hand to attempt to teasingly brush one finger onto the back of her bare hand. Maybe to see if she jumps. "I'd be a poor target anyway." He's closer to a spirit.

"But I've noticed the floor below seems to react to what we've done. I think we were watched, coming up here." He nods down towards the floor a little. "How's your ice control? I saw you chill your whiskey; are you able to create some sort of grid of letters below, that the swirling shapes could use to talk to us?" Lucifer asks, nodding down to the tiled floor below them.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Maybe she doesn't jump, but Nessa's attention is certainly pulled in his direction at the light touch. It causes a tiny smile at the corner of her mouth. "I think you're right about it being awake and aware. It seems to have been every time we've attempted anything in here, I don't see why it wouldn't do the same now." His mention of her ice control gets one hand on her hip. "I might not be the second most powerful ice mage in the world, but I'm no novice." She may not have bragged about anything regarding herself before, but there's a sense of confidence and pride in what she's saying. She's up to the task--it's certainly no challenge.

She's shaped ice and done plenty of detail work before, so she extends a hand towards the floor to help her focus on the fine details. The grid is drawn out, big enough so it'll be easy to see from where they're standing, with fancy swirled letters that are still quite readable. That's just her showing off. She adds a few words that could be helpful, just to aid in potential communication: 'Ice', 'Soul', 'Magic', 'Vega', 'Yes', and 'No'. She might not have personally messed with such a board before, but she's seen enough to get some clues on how best to use one.

"That look good?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer laughs, and elbows her a little bit as she asks him. "Show off," he teases her in a low voice, but it's entirely pleasant: friendly. He adjusts the tone a little by attempting to draw an arm over her shoulders with a light squeeze. "Well done. I thought as much," Lucifer adds. "What should we ask first?"

Lucifer pauses, then, watching the floor below them. There are ripples and frothing movement under the letters: activity of an unknown kind. Drifting dead, maybe: it's very hard to see. Skeletal, sunken faces of empty eyes.

"On the upside, no skeletons yet," Lucifer whispers, a chuckle in his voice. He doesn't seem worried, and his confidence may be infectious.

"Write a question in the ice, perhaps? Hmmm. This is new to me, too." But it's very fun, if Lucifer's mood is to be trusted.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The gentle shoulder squeeze doesn't cause her to jump, but again Nessa seems very aware of the touch--any touch, really. Perhaps almost hyperaware, to a degree. "No skeletons means it doesn't find us too much of a threat or too intrusive even though I've used magic, so that's a good sign." Perhaps the confidence is infectious, but she's also feeling like the potential progress is worth the attempt, so there's no hesitation at the suggestion.

"Writing in the ice seems to be the best idea. While the skeletons might have reacted to sound, I'm not sure if it can hear down there," she seems to be thinking for a moment as to a question to ask. After a moment, a finger moves, as if she were drawing in the ice from afar, letters forming near the grid, where she feels the swirling shapes below might see. 'Can you understand us?'

A yes or no answer should be clarity enough to at least tell if their attempt might work.

Lucifer has posed:
"Hard to know exactly what it can sense," Lucifer agrees. "It feels to me like it's very far away." He frowns, and shakes his head slightly, relaxing his arm away from Nessa to let her do her work without his distracting self up in her business.

Besides, the show below is going on, and he leans out over the frozen, twisted balcony rail to see better, eager for a show. He isn't let down, the swirling shapes frost over the area of Nessa's question, blurring it away, and then suddenly various letters begin to pulse, as surfacing ugly shapes churn under. It's a pattern.

It spells out, 'I SEE YOU'.

"Creepy," Lucifer comments, upbeat.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's attitude is less upbeat because Lucifer is right. It /is/ creepy. She takes the opportunity to look over her shoulder, both visually and magically to make sure there's nothing lurking nearby unexpectedly. There's a little discomfort there, but the fact that he's not nearly as concerned as she is is enough of something to draw on to continue. "Right, well, it's certainly aware of us."

The question is brushed aside in a flurry of snowflakes like dust from a chalkboard as she moves to scrawl another message. 'Who are you?'

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer considers, hands on the frozen railing, with an aloof quality. "I don't think it can see us as exactly as I thought, but does have some awareness: someone is here, but beyond that..." Lucifer decides, then, slowly. He nods his head towards the end of the balcony, towards the window.

There are skeletons there, and they are looking in, hunting around, through the windows, as if seeking, but there's a stealthiness to it. Perhaps the soul can't see them precisely, but may want to talk. Lucifer gives her a light smile. But then, the words below start to light with the answer.

'VEGA' lit up. Lucifer gives Nessa an impressed and curious look. After all, she printed the name there. He hadn't been paying enough attention to it until it lit up, to have seen it. Distractions! "I know a number of sorceror names, and Vega is the name of a necromancer, of... oof, a few centuries of age, among other things."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The skeletons are enough to make her wary, but Nessa's not going to flee when there are potential answers in front of her. There's a stubborn quality to the way she looks from the window and back to the floor. "Oh, good, then we're on the same page here. Vega's the necromancer in question. That's how he introduced himself when we met. Jianyu Vega?" The suggestion of his age being centuries old doesn't sit well with her.

"At least we're talking to him, I don't know if?" She trails off, instead scrawling her thoughts on the ice. 'Can you control "it"?'

Nessa looks back to Lucifer. "I haven't been able to fully figure out if Vega became part of whatever this is or if there are two separate entities at this point. Kind of muddled. I feel like the tactics might depend on how much one influences the other." She shakes her head. "This is quite the mess."

Lucifer has posed:
"Ehhh. I think it's true, but I don't think this requires this soul to be honest with us, either," Lucifer warns, with a bit of doubt. It's interesting, a fun game, but lying could be part of it. "He will probably ask something of us," Lucifer guesses. "What I remember of Vega was a great deal of /greed/. Living forever to acquire more. That sort of thing..." He trails off to stop, since the floor is answering Nessa now.

'WHO ARE YOU' asks the floor.

"Don't mention me yet, I think," Lucifer suggests. "We're not bosom buddies; I haven't met him before; not personally."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I'm starting to wonder if anyone's ever being honest with me," Nessa says, shaking her head. "If the other information is to be believed, Vega doesn't have a body. If he's greedy and wants to live forever, he's probably going to want a new one. I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to try and somehow get us to give him one." She glances from Lucifer to the ice letters as she erases the words again.

"Somehow I don't think throwing your name around in general will get quite the response I'd like. So you get to be the secret." He did, after all, mention the potential of being one... albeit in an entirely different context.

This scrawl is simple: 'Nessa'.

Lucifer has posed:
'BRING ME THE RELIC FROM THE FINAL BOUNDARY NESSA' prints the floor, in a long series of flashes and movement.

'YOU WILL BE REWARDED.'

Lucifer gives Nessa a bit of a side-eye look, but doesn't comment this time right away. He waits to hear what she thinks of /that/. Some motion from the skeletons outside brings Lucifer's attention outward, but not for long. They aren't being aggressive in particular, but they have resumed patrols, it seems, out there.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Like hell am I going to do that."

Nessa rolls her eyes before she looks back to Lucifer. "That's a desperate man's attempt at getting anyone to help him. Why use a vague reward?" There's a long pause as she seems to be thinking. "A reward I wouldn't be interested in. There's no 'help me' in that."

Lucifer has posed:
"This is the teacher, right?" Lucifer questions, unapologetically cutting her off as she thinks over things aloud. He faces her more completely, one elbow on the frosty rail, and weaves his fingers together. "Perhaps ask him what he'd teach you," he suggests.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"You've got a good point," Nessa agrees. "He might clarify some." Really, at this point clarity is the thing she needs most. So she scrawls in the ice again. 'What will you teach me?' She glances back to Lucifer. "He's offered me everything I wanted to hear before this, I'm curious how he'd make this offer tempting."

Lucifer has posed:
"Even if you don't want to take up his offer," Lucifer says, with a sly smile, "It might not be a bad idea to pretend to go along with him," he says, with a little shrug. "It could buy you time." Lucifer doesn't seem upset or angling in any particular direction: he's remained very neutral about all of it, other than investigation, which he's clearly into.

The floor is printing an answer: 'IMMORTALITY'

Lucifer lifts a brow, but observes, "From what I know, that may not be a lie. At least, from /his/ viewpoint of what immortality is."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Truthful or not, he's off the mark. That's not something I'd ask for or be tempted by. He already knows what I'd be tempted by." Nessa wiggles her bare fingers. "Immortal and not be able to touch anyone? No thank you. I made it pretty clear that learning to control my power was for the end goal of not having to worry about hurting other people on accident." She gestures towards ice below them.

"Wrong answer, wrong Vega. Something's off. I was expecting the lie. There's a layer I'm missing somewhere in this. This is clarifying, but not as helpful as I'd like. You're right about the stalling for time, though. If he thinks I'm going for the relic to bring it to him, he might not go after it. I might be able to get to it first."

'I'll find it.' The scrawl isn't a lie, just a half-promise.

Lucifer has posed:
The floor is active, even before the scrawl was finished: 'I HAVE WANTED AN APPRENTICE. YOU WILL LEARN MUCH OF MY POWER NESSA' offers the soul within the walls.

Lucifer clicks his tongue against the inside of his teeth in a tut-tut sound, drawing one hand up to brush against the side of his jawline, in a thoughtful manner. He's finding it all quite interesting: a drama that keeps unfolding into new pieces. Pieces of how Nessa reacts, as a big part of it.

"If he's off, he might be confusing you for someone else," suggests Lucifer, equally puzzled. He pauses in what he was going to say, to continue to read the wordy flashes of pulsing skull-faces lighting up words.

'WE WILL PUNISH THOSE WHO KEPT ME SO LONG IN PRISON'

Lucifer dusts his hands off, and looks at her. "How about suggesting the skeletons leave us be on our way out?" he wheedles.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"That," Nessa points to the ice again. "Is not the same Vega. Which means there are way more puzzle pieces in play than I thought. You said this place is already a phylactery, so it's housing 'Vega'. That's the soul, that's the monster. If he's been trapped in here for 'so long', a centuries old sorcerer sure is impatient for someone who's supposedly been trapped in there a matter of weeks at most."

'I will find it. Tell your minions to stand down.' The scrawl gets a chuckle of amusement. It would actually be kind of nice to saunter their way out without harm.

"We've got a chess player moving around pawns and I'm not sure why yet, but I'm getting a bit of a sinking feeling about all of this. I'm being used for a lot more than I originally thought." There's frustration in her tone, though it's not quite rage or anger. It comes off as something more akin to disappointment in herself. "With any luck there will at least be a delay before he tries anything."

Lucifer has posed:
'YOU HAVE ONE DAY' answers the soul from under the floor. It doesn't convey agreement or anything more specifically. Just how long her assistance is expected to take.

"I think we've learned that whatever is inside this palace isn't your teacher," Lucifer comments, wry. "Whatever that means it actually is." He purses his lips a little, and then starts to go down the stairway, hands returning to his pockets as he goes, though he looks outside.

"It might be bad to be witnessed being friendly with the skeletons even if you now are, by your SHIELD friends." Just a thought.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Not that I like having a time limit, but at least I've got a timeline. I think you're right, /that/ is not exactly what I signed up for. That being said, at least that's progress in the right direction." Nessa does take an opportunity to peek out as well, her brow furrowing. "We can go out the back, circle around and use the existing landscape to make our way out. Should look pretty much like sneaking, should anyone catch a glance of what we're doing."

She offers him a nod. "You know, you're pretty good at this whole investigating thing. Seems there are a lot of professions you'd be suited to. Bartender, therapist, investigator? truly a renaissance man." There's a tone of amusement. Even if things have gotten clearer and more complicated in perhaps a frustrating way, there's still an upbeat attitude.

Lucifer has posed:
"You should hear my singing voice," Lucifer laughs back as she teases him, readily willing to lighten the mood back up. Not that he ever truly lost his positive outlook, from all appearances. Lucifer has been curious and interested, but not really concerned. It's a sort of bravado, perhaps: it just reads as a confidence edged in arrogance and pride, though it also isn't in-your-face.

"I like your plan, Hogwarts; let's do it." Lucifer doesn't wait around, either, he'll be right on her heels towards going to the back, though he still looks around in a very /observant/ way as they go through the different palace rooms. It's like he's measuring: the same look someone who was house-hunting would give. As if making sure his couch would fit into the room and where he'd put his television!

"This place /is/ crumbling," Lucifer adds, nodding to one of the spiked, collapsing inner walls. "It wasn't built to last. That's what I think. Like an engine with a set amount of fuel."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"The Vega I met had added to it, magic used to keep the place from really falling apart. If that's not happening, perhaps the intent is for the Vega soul to get out, either by breaking out himself when the palace is weak, taking the magic from the relics to have the power to break out before then. So, if I were someone who wanted a phylactery with a powerful soul in it, I'd make it so it seems like the only choice before it's too late. Checkmate."

Nessa's sinking feeling has been growing the more she sorts through puzzle pieces. Though it's still twisted up on who is the one lying and for what reason, there are some things that seem like they're coming through quite clearly, and not ones she's ready to deal with. Time was short. She leads the way towards the back, warping the ice to make an exit for this floor as well. This exit, at least, wouldn't need a slide to get down.

"I'd offer karaoke, but that would mean I'd have to sing too, and no one wants that," she states. 'No one' really being her.

Lucifer has posed:
"Hm," Lucifer says, as if he weren't fully listening to her. He's looking at the hole that she made, at the whole of the place, with an intense, studying look. He pauses in the exit, but it's only a pause before he comes through it. He moves one hand to her back to sort of encourage/rush her out of the door; perhaps due to the skeletons nearby, but he doesn't quantify his odd surge of wanting the move.

There's a warehouse towards the back area, beyond a chain link fence; Lucifer goes right towards it, finding a loose part of the fence and peeling it aside some, to duck through it, and then turns towards her, expecting her to have come through as well. There's a focus to his features, a studying quality as he looks at her - as if SHE might be something to question. He watches her with that same alertness, and circles to one side, as if checking her for something.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
It doesn't take much encouraging to keep Nessa moving out of the palace and towards the back. She moves to step through after him, but the look he's giving her is odd. She pauses, first checking behind her to make sure it wasn't something else, and once she's sure it's her he's observing, the tiniest frown creeps up. She's unsure if he's questioning her or that there's something else he's seeing... both aren't options he's happy about.

"What?" She asks, her brow furrowing. "Are there hitchhiking ghosts or something?" There's a pause as she thinks about the 'or something', and takes a moment to feel around magically to make sure there's no Loki peeking over her shoulder with a grin.

Lucifer has posed:
"Don't take this personally, but I'm going to need to check you," Lucifer decides, with a firmness that is weirdly direct. He comes around her as she uses her magical senses. He's still not pinging as a mage, though as before, Lucifer has a strange little ambiance to him. A presence of some sort.

He moves around in front of her and attempts to get close, to lean right into her face to attempt to catch her gaze in his and hold it. It has a tension in it, like the stretched elastic of a strap. His eyes are very dark brown here: were they blue before? No matter, they're brown. It's like he's trying to look into her: his own type of 'feeling' maybe. There's still nothing physical to note about him, though there's that coaxing quality.

"That place is a sponge, soaking off of you. I didn't notice until you made that door, but I think it was doing it throughout the conversation. Do you feel that?" Lucifer asks. His manner adjusts a little, more towards the tone of perhaps a doctor; he brings a palm up to attempt to attempt to cup the side of her face.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa holds still at the mention of checking, like someone who'd just been told there was a spider sitting on her shoulder and that they shouldn't move or they might startle it in the wrong direction. Checking sounds fine, she's assured herself. She didn't expect, however, for him to be that close and looking at her. She stays still, however, though it's twinged with the discomfort of having someone that close unexpectedly. Or it may be that she's not used to anyone being that close at all. She keeps her gaze on his, steady amidst the ordeal.

The touch on her face is something that comes easier. It's not as jarring if you're expecting something to be coming even if you don't know what it is rather than being caught entirely off guard. There's no flinch, but it's clear that's not something she's used to either. "Like a battery," she notes at the suggestion. "I can't say I'm surprised that it is trying to siphon something off." Now, she focuses on her own magical presence, where it is, where it's going, and just how much it might have taken from her.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer watches her closely, weighing something. In truth, her reaction; Lucifer's got something of a penetrating awareness, and he's wielding it: though subtly, like a surgeon's knife. No need to leave a scar.

She passes the main thing he was looking for - is she her - and his expression flits quickly back towards smiley again. Were she someone else, he'd have expected a different reaction. His touch loses the directing quality, and instead he attempts to soften the situation by stroking her cheekbone a little.

"It's you that's going to know if you feel weakened by it, not me," Lucifer says, giving her time to look inwards, though he'll continue to watch her.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
While she's not entirely sure if he found whatever he was checking for, the change in the touch seems to set Nessa at ease a little. "What, so you don't actually know everything?" There's a teasing in her tone even while she assesses the situation. She hadn't noticed the drain while it was happening, really, because of the way it just subtly took it in. The magic use probably didn't help. While it wasn't funneling life energy into a construct, it was certainly using her. "Didn't know I needed to be guarding against that," she comments idly. "It's good we got out of there when we did."

Mostly because without her guarding against it and the addition of the distracting presence of Lucifer, it had siphoned off a good deal more than she liked. Going in alone could have been seriously dangerous. "If you're wondering if I'm going to swoon in your arms now, I'm not. I'm alright, I think, but you're correct. Seems the palace likes me."

Lucifer has posed:
"//Heaven// forbid," Lucifer snickers sarcastically. So much sarcasm on the use of the word 'Heaven', said ironically, always. "No, I wouldn't expect your pride would let you do that," Lucifer teases her with a slight narrowing of eyes, lightly challenging. "I think when you end up in my arms you'll be there on purpose."

He then finally stops staring at her and looks at the palace, watches a skeleton patrol on by around that side. "I think this is an elaborate trap. And it has you."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"You're right, I'm not much of the swooning sort," Nessa agrees, though there's a small amused sound that escapes shortly after. "/When/. Such confidence!" She can't hide the smile that follows, but she tears her gaze away towards the palace again when he does. The smile slowly fades the longer she stares at it.

"Maybe it is, and maybe it does." She presses her lips together in a firm line of disapproval. "I'm not sure if I'm caught up in all of it by accident or if it's just meant to look like that." There's a bit of a worried sound there. "You're right about elaborate. There are certainly layers on top of each other. It's clever."

Lucifer has posed:
"Well, now I'm here, to check to be sure you are still indeed /you/, and to remind you not to swoon, it's bad for your image in front of all these..." Lucifer looks around. "Skeletons and SHIELD agents," he decides. His hand was near her face still, he drops it to attempt to gently set it on her shoulder, thumb on her bare neck, though. It's confident without being too invasive. Perhaps a vague comfort, the set of thumb there.

"But if we can get to where you don't have to pretend in front of /me/," Lucifer says, looking at her more directly, "I think we'd both like that." He sleekly smiles but doesn't stay on that item, he clears his throat. Cheerfulness resumed! "At any rate, I think we're done here! Some new clues to digest?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The sensation of touch is still bizarre, but there's an odd reassurance there by the presence. Nessa's amusement is still present. "I already said I wasn't trying to impress you. You're getting about as real as it gets. Unless you're just hoping I'll actually swoon in a non-magically-drained context." She's smiling, but he does have a very fair point--they're standing somewhere a bit awkwardly.

"Right, okay, yes, done here. We should leave before SHIELD draws any weird conclusions about all of this," she turns to look in the direction they'd come from originally. "Lots to digest, certainly. Lots to worry over."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer only vaguely smiles at her comments about what he might actually want or hope for, elusively. Not that it's actually elusive: it's probably apparent that he's just enjoying the game of it.

"Worry? No. I think it's the worry that's part of what keeps you trapped," Lucifer offers. He squeezes her shoulder just a little before dropping his hand away, and picking some possibly imaginary lint or snowflake from his sleeve, beginning to stroll back around towards the front where they'd come in. He certainly fits the bill visually for a warlock, really: the dark suit, sleek debonair thing he's doing. But not, perhaps, in an overly memorable way. Which is perhaps interesting all on it's own: this ability to be noticed and yet not really remembered, at the same time.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"That's easy to say for someone not already caught in a trap," Nessa points out, moving to keep pace with him as they make their exit from the area. She studies him as they move, more of a mental study than a physical one, but she waits a while before she offers any mention of her findings. "You know," she says as her eyes train more on where they're walking and less on him. "I can't quite figure you out." There's a lot to the statement, be it whatever he reads as magically, the knowledge he possesses, or just him as a person. But the statement doesn't stand on its own, she continues the thought.

"But I think I'm okay with that."

Lucifer has posed:
"Can't figure me out, or..." Lucifer rounds on her a little more, with a feisty amusement. "Can't figure out how to react to me?" He's playing, but there's a calm quality to it as well, a natural flow here; this is a dance he's familiar with. He is used to getting slightly odd reactions (or very odd reactions) depending on how he's seen, or how his subtle aura tends to affect humans.

"I don't mean to be /yet another/ mystery that worries you." He really doesn't, that's quite true. It perhaps bothers him a little. But maybe only a little. "You can ask me questions if you like. Reach out for that apple, Eve," the devil teases her lightly. "There's no transaction or deal here. No small print either." He attempts to step back into her space, but just to attempt to brush her hair aside. Flirt? Absolutely. It's whatever fun.

"But if you want to pull your leg free of this trap first, I entirely understand."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Worry me? No. Mystery? Most certainly. Pretty sure you aren't part of this trap, which is a relief in all of this. So no, you're not a mystery I'm worried about." Nessa raises an eyebrow as she looks back towards him. "Unless I should be worried? Starting to think my danger sense is a little off these days. I hope you'll do me the courtesy of telling me in advance if you want to use all my magic or life force for some nefarious purpose. It'd clear things up."

As soon as he's in her space again, her attention is on his physical presence. It's a place she's not used to people intruding upon, much less brushing back her hair. "You agreed to a drink in exchange for information. But you didn't just give information, you came with me and helped. You didn't have to. That gives you a couple of points in your favor, I'd say. No fine print? You've got some more. I'm a little more wary of transactional dealings and swapping for ambiguous favors these days."

Lucifer has posed:
"There's some that would suspect everything I do as being somehow nefarious," sighs Lucifer in mock dismay, but he's smiling. "I /do/ run a nightclub of debauchery, which opens... shortly," Lucifer says, with a glance at his watch. There's no /rush/ to his motion, he isn't in some state of needing to run off to deal with it. The watch is very shiny, very expensive, very gold. Bling is not something Lucifer is a stranger to, but it's within a gentlemanly style, at least.

"Well, let's decide here and now to avoid all transactions," Lucifer suggests, offering her his hand.

"Deal?" There's a twinkle to his eyes. Oh, he certainly knows.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well, your name /is/ Lucifer and debauchery is an entirely different form of nefarious. I can get behind that. People batteries and trying to break out of phylacteries? No thank you." Nessa's amused, but when he mentions his nightclub opening soon, she doesn't rush either. He'll take his leave when he needs to. His offering of a deal gets a bit broader of a grin.

"How about we agree that the only transactions that occur are... mutually beneficial." That almost sounds vaguely of a flirt.

Lucifer has posed:
"Indeed, the club focuses more on.... Pleasures such as drinking, stimulating dance and entertainment, some drug use, some exploration of sexuality," Lucifer lists off, without any catch in his tone. Just relaxed. "While some clients are necromancers, no nonconsensual siphoning on site, no."

"I'd prefer you feel free to do what you feel, without entanglements," Lucifer responds to her flirtation, instead. He flutters his fingers a little bit, hand still extended, awaiting her agreement, to seal their little lack of an agreement.

"Nothing is owed: there can be pleasure in /giving/," he continues, sly smile quite present on his mouth, eyes flaring with his usual lightly frenzied intensity he sometimes seems to get. It's slightly manic while the actual energy level stays low. "Mutually, as you said."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Quite the club," Nessa notes with the slightest hint of a raised eyebrow. "I'm not usually the type to go to clubs... though that rests solely in the fact that there's usually a bit of skin contact there. But I'll see what I can do about dropping by." The offered hand is taken for their not-deal with confidence. The flush of red that follows is less from the hand touch and more of what he says. Easy to flirt with bravado, harder when it's turned in her direction, especially when there's no wall of ice in the way.

She focuses on the less direct route. "I appreciate the freedom," she notes. "There's a lot that comes with being able to do what you feel. It's not always, not /often/, the case with me. You're a rare glimpse of that freedom, but I'll try to not let the power go to my head too much. Who knows where that would get me."

Lucifer has posed:
"I think that I might know," Lucifer answers smoothly, releasing her hand but only increasing the proximity, stepping forwards, hands slipped to seek sides of waist. It's not subtle. "A lot of skin contact," Lucifer says, with another step in. He's tall, 6'3", which makes him a head of height over her. He's not massive, more leanly built, though he's more solid than a wizard like Loki.

"A lot of relief," Lucifer adds, tone coaxing but not demanding. "To put down those heavy burdens for a little while." Lucifer, lord of temptation, angling as always to /help/ and guide. "Though I don't suggest you /need/ me for that." Lucifer lowers his head, attempting a touch of lip on her forehead. Fearless of her cold. Very 'chaste'. Sort of.

"But should you /want/, you can ask for me at Lux."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"No wonder you're called Lucifer," Nessa looks back at him. "You're certainly good at the whole temptation thing." It's just another reminder of that with the lips against her forehead. Another reminder of the lack of an icy wall that's usually there between her and others. "I've managed a long time without, you're right. Need and want are two very different things."

She's studying him again, but it's less in thought and more of just observing him. His presence, his physicality, just how close he is. "I think you were right before. 'When' not 'if'."

Lucifer has posed:
"Like anything, not /all/ of the reputation fits," Lucifer chides her. "But that... yes. But no puppetmaster here. You'll do what you want to do," Lucifer reassures. Sure, he will set up the suggestions, place enticing things out, but he isn't forcing her. She can walk away freely. Or she can tumble into curiosity.

"I also don't want you to think I'm casting a spell over you," Lucifer teases. "I think you've had more than enough of that. Same with the lies: I never lie, and yet somehow everyone seems so /surprised/," Lucifer laughs a little. He adjusts his hands on her sides, warm palms, but hasn't pulled her anywhere, certainly not at him. He releases to bring his hands back to snare hers instead, drawing them together in his own.

"I am going to go now, though," Lucifer says, polite but his smile speaks of debauchery.

"See you tonight?" he asks, with a possibly obnoxious little arrogance, releasing her hands. His smile remains sly as he starts to turn away, head still angled towards her.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt to begin with. Reputations aren't always accurate, so I like to judge based on what I can see for myself. Wouldn't be fair to merely judge you based on a name? even if you've already nailed temptation on the nose," Nessa's gaze goes to their hands, before looking back up. "Distracted or not, I'd at least have a bit of a feeling if you were trying to put me under a spell. And lies? Lies I can do without. It would be honestly refreshing to have someone speaking truths to me instead. I'd started to wonder if anyone was still capable of that."

When he draws his hands away and offers her the sly smile, one of her own crops up. There's only a slight pause before she speaks that belays there were some thoughts taken into consideration before the response. It was a question of when, not if.

"Okay."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer's gaze moves past her shoulder beyond her and to the left. "I think some SHIELD agents are trying to attract your attention when you're done with me," Lucifer observes, with a smirk that he doesn't hide whatsoever. "Perhaps they've waited long enough."

With her agreement, she earns a calm smile and wink, before Lucifer has turned, and strode away towards the street, lighting a cigarette as he goes. He doesn't look back.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa glances back over her shoulder briefly to check on the agents before she returns her focus to Lucifer, even if he's moving away. Her instincts tell her to follow up with some witty comment or joke or bit of banter, but instead she remains quiet as she watches him go. No further comment was needed--she'd have time for that later.