Fic - Reflections
My closest friend, once, was Lucifer Morningstar.
((Disclaimer: Carasel, Saraquael and this version of Heaven (i.e. the Silver City) and this version of Lucifer belong to Neil Gaiman. Gabriel, presumably, belongs to himself, although this version of him belongs to me.))
Currently, the light over the Silver City was a soft amethyst. The colour was reflected in the still waters of the pond in the park prototype. There was a soft fluttering of wings, and the Messenger alighted.
Gabriel simply stood there for a moment, drinking in his surroundings. He knelt, trailing his fingers through the clean, clear water, and lifted them, watching the droplets roll off and fall back into the water, sending ripples across the glassy surface.
There was movement in the reflection, although Gabriel himself hadn't moved. The archangel turned and waited for the Morningstar to land. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Off duty already, Lucifer?"
"Would I be here if I wasn't?" the First responded, smiling. "Actually, drills ended a while ago. I was... walking."
Gabriel noted the hesitation, but did not probe. He curved one wing around himself slightly, and began to finger-comb the feathers. Lucifer gently pushed his hand away, taking over the grooming, and Gabriel let him, stretching out the wing for better access. The Morningstar shook his head in mock wonderment.
"I don't even want to know how your feathers can get this messy, Gabriel. I practice aerial sword drills and my wings could put yours to shame."
"Why?" The sudden question caught even its asker off guard. Lucifer blinked.
"Why? Well, Gabriel, it's a simple matter of proper grooming and - "
Gabriel gestured impatiently. "No, not that. Why? Why do you and the others have to train like that? Who else is there to fight?"
Lucifer was frowning slightly, though his fingers didn't slow in their rhythm. "I do not know. Our Father wishes it to be so; he wishes the troops to be ready for battle, and so we carry out his wishes unquestioningly. But Gabriel, I ask myself the same question sometimes, when I walk - why?". His grey eyes were staring at some point beyond Gabriel, and the other angel wondered what Lucifer had seen, to create such a look of sorrow on that divinely beautiful face.
"Something makes me think you are no longer talking about the troops anymore, my friend. What is it?"
Lucifer turned, and Gabriel was shocked by the look in his eyes. "Gabriel, did you hear about Carasel and Saraquael?"
Oh. Tension coiled in the pit of his abdomen. Gabriel nodded silently, wincing as Lucifer's fingers involuntarily tightened their grip on his sensitive feathers. "He loved, Gabriel! He experienced one of the purest emotions yet created! he should not have been killed, and especially not like that." He shuddered; his voice and face were anguished. "Saraquael burned, right before my eyes, and I could do nothing."
Gabriel placed his own hand on Lucifer's, gently pulling it away from his wing, and squeezing it softly. "It was His will, my friend, and against that you can do nothing."
Lucifer stared into Gabriel's eyes, and what Gabriel saw there made him take a tiny step back. "What if there is something you can do?"
"What?"
"What if there is something you can do? What if the Lord is not always infallible? What if the voices were right after all?"
"Voices?" Gabriel gasped, stepping further back. "Lucifer, where have you been walking?" But he already knew the answer.
Lucifer's stare grew defiant. "In the Dark."
Gabriel was shaking his head. "No." he whispered. "Lucifer, I do not know how, but somehow I feel that you are doomed, as is any angel who dares walk in the dark. It is forbidden. And I fear for you, for what will happen to you."
The Morningstar actually laughed at that, pointing to the surface of the water. "Look, Gabriel. Look, and tell me the difference."
The two archangels were stunningly alike. They were both tall, with pale, sexless bodies and glowingly beautiful features. Soft black hair waved softly, falling into grey eyes. Huge, lustrous white wings glistened with the sheen of mother-of-pearl.
And yet, Lucifer seemed different somehow, his glow almost imperceptibly dimmer, his eyes harder.
"The Darkness did not put such thoughts in me, Gabriel. It simply encouraged what was already there; what is already within all of us. We even ask the same question, Messenger - why? And I have a feeling we will get answers soon." He held out a hand. "Walk with me, my friend?"
Gabriel turned away - away from Lucifer, away from the reflection. "I fear for you, Lucifer Morningstar," he repeated. "Tread carefully, for my sake." He flew away, not looking back.
~*~
Gabriel watched his fellow angels Fall. He watched the pain in the face of the oldest, most glorious angel fade, to be replaced by anger. And he shut his eyes, turning away so that noone could see the tears threatening to fall as well.
~*~
Earth was still young; it had only been a few generations. The day was wearing on, however, and twilight had cast a dim purple glow over the forest.
There was a still pool in the middle of a little clearing. Gabriel folded his wings, kneeling to wash his face. He had scarcely dipped his hand into the water when there was a rustling noise and a soft laugh.
"This scene seems very familiar, Messenger."
Gabriel leapt to his feet, spinning around, fear coiling in his stomach and something else coiling around his heart. He knew that voice. It hadn't changed one bit.
Lucifer stepped out of the trees. "Don't look so scared, Gabriel. If I had wanted to kill you I would have done so before now. I have you in my power even now and yet you stand unharmed." He seemed amused.
Gabriel gestured, and a sword appeared in his hand. He gripped it tightly, hearing the whoomph as it burst into flame. "I may not have trained under you, but I can still defend myself." He narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
Satan spread his empty hands, smirking. "Why, my little angel, I was simply having a quiet stroll in the woods when I happened upon an old friend." He spread his wings, and Gabriel gasped; they were huge, and were a mesmerising, glossy black that contrasted sharply with the Morningstar's skin, white as sea foam. "Of course, some things have changed - although not the state of your wings, I might add."
The image before him contrasted painfully with Gabriel's memories of the friend he had known in Heaven, before the Fall. Lucifer looked almost exactly the same, albeit with black wings instead of white; his hair, eyes, face, all were the same.
"You could have any form you choose. Why keep this one?", Gabriel whispered, hating himself for it. He watched the Adversary shrug.
"Vanity, perhaps. Or sentimentality. Or perhaps I simply wanted to remind you of old times." He walked forward - Gabriel tightened his grip on the sword, raising it, but Lucifer simply stood near him, by the water's edge. And as he had once done a long time ago, he pointed.
"Look, Gabriel. Look, and tell me the difference. Besides the wings, of course."
Gabriel refused to play along. He looked straight into the Adversary's eyes. "What do you want, Satan?"
Lucifer pretended to look hurt. "No more 'Lucifer' or 'my friend'? You wound me, Gabriel. I saw you turn away, you know, when I Fell. Couldn't watch another angel being destroyed? Did you too wonder why, shining archangel? Why so many angels Fell?"
Gabriel had expected the Devil to look many things - angry, mocking, amused, mad. He had never expected earnest, or bitter. He turned away, as he had done so many times before, from the being before him.
Lucifer Morningstar smiled bitterly. "As I said, Gabriel, we aren't so different after all." He half-turned, then paused. "Don't look so shocked, my dear Messenger. As hard as it is to believe, I did tell the truth - I wasn't planning to harm you. Next time, though, you won't be as lucky." He smirked. "Now go deliver love messages or whatever it is that you do here." Satan flapped his midnight wings, and flew away.
But Gabriel did not go to deliver love messages. The sword's flame extinguished, and he sat down suddenly by the water, gazing unseeingly into its depths until dawn. Then he looked up, and watched the Morning Star shine in the sky, heralding the new day.
~*~*~*~*~*~
((Disclaimer: Carasel, Saraquael and this version of Heaven (i.e. the Silver City) and this version of Lucifer belong to Neil Gaiman. Gabriel, presumably, belongs to himself, although this version of him belongs to me.))
Currently, the light over the Silver City was a soft amethyst. The colour was reflected in the still waters of the pond in the park prototype. There was a soft fluttering of wings, and the Messenger alighted.
Gabriel simply stood there for a moment, drinking in his surroundings. He knelt, trailing his fingers through the clean, clear water, and lifted them, watching the droplets roll off and fall back into the water, sending ripples across the glassy surface.
There was movement in the reflection, although Gabriel himself hadn't moved. The archangel turned and waited for the Morningstar to land. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Off duty already, Lucifer?"
"Would I be here if I wasn't?" the First responded, smiling. "Actually, drills ended a while ago. I was... walking."
Gabriel noted the hesitation, but did not probe. He curved one wing around himself slightly, and began to finger-comb the feathers. Lucifer gently pushed his hand away, taking over the grooming, and Gabriel let him, stretching out the wing for better access. The Morningstar shook his head in mock wonderment.
"I don't even want to know how your feathers can get this messy, Gabriel. I practice aerial sword drills and my wings could put yours to shame."
"Why?" The sudden question caught even its asker off guard. Lucifer blinked.
"Why? Well, Gabriel, it's a simple matter of proper grooming and - "
Gabriel gestured impatiently. "No, not that. Why? Why do you and the others have to train like that? Who else is there to fight?"
Lucifer was frowning slightly, though his fingers didn't slow in their rhythm. "I do not know. Our Father wishes it to be so; he wishes the troops to be ready for battle, and so we carry out his wishes unquestioningly. But Gabriel, I ask myself the same question sometimes, when I walk - why?". His grey eyes were staring at some point beyond Gabriel, and the other angel wondered what Lucifer had seen, to create such a look of sorrow on that divinely beautiful face.
"Something makes me think you are no longer talking about the troops anymore, my friend. What is it?"
Lucifer turned, and Gabriel was shocked by the look in his eyes. "Gabriel, did you hear about Carasel and Saraquael?"
Oh. Tension coiled in the pit of his abdomen. Gabriel nodded silently, wincing as Lucifer's fingers involuntarily tightened their grip on his sensitive feathers. "He loved, Gabriel! He experienced one of the purest emotions yet created! he should not have been killed, and especially not like that." He shuddered; his voice and face were anguished. "Saraquael burned, right before my eyes, and I could do nothing."
Gabriel placed his own hand on Lucifer's, gently pulling it away from his wing, and squeezing it softly. "It was His will, my friend, and against that you can do nothing."
Lucifer stared into Gabriel's eyes, and what Gabriel saw there made him take a tiny step back. "What if there is something you can do?"
"What?"
"What if there is something you can do? What if the Lord is not always infallible? What if the voices were right after all?"
"Voices?" Gabriel gasped, stepping further back. "Lucifer, where have you been walking?" But he already knew the answer.
Lucifer's stare grew defiant. "In the Dark."
Gabriel was shaking his head. "No." he whispered. "Lucifer, I do not know how, but somehow I feel that you are doomed, as is any angel who dares walk in the dark. It is forbidden. And I fear for you, for what will happen to you."
The Morningstar actually laughed at that, pointing to the surface of the water. "Look, Gabriel. Look, and tell me the difference."
The two archangels were stunningly alike. They were both tall, with pale, sexless bodies and glowingly beautiful features. Soft black hair waved softly, falling into grey eyes. Huge, lustrous white wings glistened with the sheen of mother-of-pearl.
And yet, Lucifer seemed different somehow, his glow almost imperceptibly dimmer, his eyes harder.
"The Darkness did not put such thoughts in me, Gabriel. It simply encouraged what was already there; what is already within all of us. We even ask the same question, Messenger - why? And I have a feeling we will get answers soon." He held out a hand. "Walk with me, my friend?"
Gabriel turned away - away from Lucifer, away from the reflection. "I fear for you, Lucifer Morningstar," he repeated. "Tread carefully, for my sake." He flew away, not looking back.
~*~
Gabriel watched his fellow angels Fall. He watched the pain in the face of the oldest, most glorious angel fade, to be replaced by anger. And he shut his eyes, turning away so that noone could see the tears threatening to fall as well.
~*~
Earth was still young; it had only been a few generations. The day was wearing on, however, and twilight had cast a dim purple glow over the forest.
There was a still pool in the middle of a little clearing. Gabriel folded his wings, kneeling to wash his face. He had scarcely dipped his hand into the water when there was a rustling noise and a soft laugh.
"This scene seems very familiar, Messenger."
Gabriel leapt to his feet, spinning around, fear coiling in his stomach and something else coiling around his heart. He knew that voice. It hadn't changed one bit.
Lucifer stepped out of the trees. "Don't look so scared, Gabriel. If I had wanted to kill you I would have done so before now. I have you in my power even now and yet you stand unharmed." He seemed amused.
Gabriel gestured, and a sword appeared in his hand. He gripped it tightly, hearing the whoomph as it burst into flame. "I may not have trained under you, but I can still defend myself." He narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
Satan spread his empty hands, smirking. "Why, my little angel, I was simply having a quiet stroll in the woods when I happened upon an old friend." He spread his wings, and Gabriel gasped; they were huge, and were a mesmerising, glossy black that contrasted sharply with the Morningstar's skin, white as sea foam. "Of course, some things have changed - although not the state of your wings, I might add."
The image before him contrasted painfully with Gabriel's memories of the friend he had known in Heaven, before the Fall. Lucifer looked almost exactly the same, albeit with black wings instead of white; his hair, eyes, face, all were the same.
"You could have any form you choose. Why keep this one?", Gabriel whispered, hating himself for it. He watched the Adversary shrug.
"Vanity, perhaps. Or sentimentality. Or perhaps I simply wanted to remind you of old times." He walked forward - Gabriel tightened his grip on the sword, raising it, but Lucifer simply stood near him, by the water's edge. And as he had once done a long time ago, he pointed.
"Look, Gabriel. Look, and tell me the difference. Besides the wings, of course."
Gabriel refused to play along. He looked straight into the Adversary's eyes. "What do you want, Satan?"
Lucifer pretended to look hurt. "No more 'Lucifer' or 'my friend'? You wound me, Gabriel. I saw you turn away, you know, when I Fell. Couldn't watch another angel being destroyed? Did you too wonder why, shining archangel? Why so many angels Fell?"
Gabriel had expected the Devil to look many things - angry, mocking, amused, mad. He had never expected earnest, or bitter. He turned away, as he had done so many times before, from the being before him.
Lucifer Morningstar smiled bitterly. "As I said, Gabriel, we aren't so different after all." He half-turned, then paused. "Don't look so shocked, my dear Messenger. As hard as it is to believe, I did tell the truth - I wasn't planning to harm you. Next time, though, you won't be as lucky." He smirked. "Now go deliver love messages or whatever it is that you do here." Satan flapped his midnight wings, and flew away.
But Gabriel did not go to deliver love messages. The sword's flame extinguished, and he sat down suddenly by the water, gazing unseeingly into its depths until dawn. Then he looked up, and watched the Morning Star shine in the sky, heralding the new day.
~*~*~*~*~*~