(no subject)

[yinyangwizard]

Abe no Seimei is back in Milliways after a noticeable absence. During the daytime he can be found outside, painting, trying to capture the distinct quality of early autumn sunlight as it filters through the leaves.

After nightfall, he plays the piano, occasionally stopping to take pulls on a cigar sitting in an ashtray on a small table at his elbow.

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[wayward_sun]

Lucifer wanders over, drink in hand.

Music always lure him in.

He is wearing a dark grey suit and an emerald green shirt with matching pocket square. And since he is here and not at home, he's decided to relax.

It's mostly working.

[yinyangwizard]

Lucifer is a bright, hot presence in Seimei’s awareness, like a second sun. Even a fallen angel is still an angel, after all.

Seimei is very accustomed to maintaining his concentration under distracting circumstances, and he finishes his piece. He gets up and bows respectfully, because while people are generally rather casual about distinctions of rank here, Lucifer definitely outranks him, and it is better to be safe than sorry.

[wayward_sun]

Lucifer is the epitome of casual.
(Except for when he is not).
He smiles. Brightly.

"Lovely playing," he says."And the piano here is a dream to play on. Won't you agree?"

[yinyangwizard]

“Yrael-sama generously provided this piano, which is of excellent quality. He also ensures that it is never out of tune.”

Which is quite impressive: even Seimei doesn’t know how to tune a piano himself.

[wayward_sun]

"I do enjoy a well-tuned piano," Lucifer replies, brightly.

"And it's always nice to hear a classic piece."

[yinyangwizard]

“Clair de Lune is one of my favorites. There are many poems that describe the beauty of the moon over the water, but none so well as this song.”

It’s like hearing the moon rise over the clouds, if one can do such a thing.

[wayward_sun]

"Music just have a wider range than words," Lucifer agrees.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei cannot imagine the Christian God expressing a sentiment like that, but it does not surprise him that the Devil would. (It has nothing to do with moral judgements - he simply suspects that God is not at all concerned with aesthetic matters.)

“I think, rather, that they have different ranges. But perhaps it is merely that my skill in poetry is lacking, while I am better at music.”

[wayward_sun]

Lucifer sniffs.

"Dad is keen on words. And silence. The whole mysterious ways thing? Let me tell you, that gets old real fast."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei is a little confused, at first, by Lucifer making a reference to ‘dad.’ But of course only a few moments later, it’s obvious who he means.

“There are some ancient scholars who advise that an Emperor should never share all his thoughts and plans with his ministers. Perhaps your father has read them,” he says, deadpan.

(Yes, it’s a joke.)

[wayward_sun]

"Yeah,I think he is just a shit parent," Lucifer says, sounding remarkably like a teenager.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei had thought that the conflict between Yahweh and Lucifer was a fundamental disagreement over the virtue of obedience, or something along those lines.

(Not that it has much of a bearing on Seimei, who belongs to a very different theological and moral tradition.)

But is it really just…this? Just ‘you can’t tell me what to do, Dad?’

“I am aware, since it is a subject of wide interest, that you and your forebear have irreconcilable differences.”

[wayward_sun]

One could make a case for the fundamental disagreement being about the very nature of free will and many other such topics.

Lucifer wouldn't put it quite like that.

"That's putting it mildly. Dad kicked me out and everyone turned their back on me. Mum, my siblings."

He looks genuinely hurt when he speaks about it. It's been a while, but the resentment seems quite fresh.