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As you'd like.

[It's not as if there's anyone he'd feel the need to tell, it has no relevance to the rest of his life here.

Crowley takes another drink of his scotch, contemplating the liquid in his glass]

I've a question, nothing to do with contracts, I've just run into something a bit unusual. Have you met Jonathan Sims, calls himself the Archivist?

( she pauses drinking, returning the glass to her knee )

I have.

( and her tone should reflect how she feels about him: unfavourably )

Why?

[Familiar, and not fond of him. It isn't hard to hazard a few guesses at why that might be. Jonathan doesn't strike him as a man with many friends.]

Can't say I've ever run into anything like him and his, what was it? The Beholding? Thought you might have some input, bad idea to go poking my nose into his business?

[The answer to that is almost definitely yes. It's more a question of how bad an idea it is.]

I've encountered the Beholding.

( the entity itself and not just through the archivist. her tone this time is graver, as if it had been an incredibly pleasant experience, one that lilith wishes she hadn't had to experience it )

If you can remain hidden to him I would advise it.

[If it was just an interaction with Jonathan, he doubts Lilith would frame it that way. She's met the entity itself. That's a far more troubling thought.]

Sims knows what I am, forced me to tell him about my Fall, but I dont plan on spending much time around the man. [So, hopefully he hasn't piqued the interest of the Beholding. He'll do his best to keep it that way.] That's the only one you've met?

[Not asking as directly as he could. Martin seems far more quiet about what he is.]

If he knows that he could try forcing more.

( as much as the archivist claims to want to stop he clearly can't. even with her curse )

I can provide certain spells. ( though they weren't perfect ) Though-- how many more have you encountered?

( she knew the archivist wasn't the only one but didn't know that more were here )

I'm not above a little old-fashioned running away, if I've got to.

[He can resist the Archivist's compulsion long enough to just disappear, he thinks.]

Just one other, called the Lonely. Not as bad as Sims, but that might just be 'cause the person connected to it has some bloody social skills.

The Lonely?

( who gave them these names? )

Do you know the name of them?

I do.

[It's a careful answer. It's I do but I'm not sure if I want to say it. He doubts it would be difficult for Lilith to find out. As far as he's aware, Jonathan and Martin are the only two from their world. And they've both openly admitted to their relationship with each other. If he had to pick out who the Lonely was, Martin would be his first guess.

Still feels like a bit of a dick move to ]

It seems they're more inclined to use it to protect people. [Like the fog surrounding the Institute.] Doesn't have any interest in hurting anyone.

My question is out of caution.

( just to clarify why she's pressing. she can recognise his intention to protect them )

To not become entangled with them, particularly if you're correct in your statement.

Looking out for me, are you? [There's a quirk of a smile, a vague sort of attempt to ease back on some of this heaviness. They both know that notion is preposterous. Why would Lilith want to look out for him?] Don't worry, promise I won't go getting entangled with anyone. Isn't really my style.

[He's such a liar.]

It's not you I was thinking of.

( self-preservation. after encountering the beholding she would rather not risk encountering anything else )

[Crowley considers it for a moment, weighing up the pros and cons, deciding what might or might not come back to bite him.

In the end, this isn't a deeply guarded secret. He feels slightly guilty about offering it up, but he does so with the hope that Lilith really does just intend to use it to avoid the Avatars.]

Martin Blackwood.

( oh. fuck )

I'm familiar with him.

( and it makes sense now. nick had said he was from the same world at the archivist, was familiar with the beholding. did he also know this? )

Though his intentions certainly are different than our Archivist's.

[Somehow, the fact Lilith knows Martin doesn't surprise him. Everyone seems to know everyone, here. It's a reminder to be careful about what he says to who.]

For my money, I think he's just a better person than Sims.

[Which isn't like — a high bar to clear, but Crowley thinks that's where the real difference lies. Jonathan is kind of an asshole, though he has no idea whether that's a side-effect of the Beholding, or just the sort of man he is.]

Perhaps.

( as if it remained to be seen, though when she'd encountered him he'd been giving in to assholes rather than defending himself )

Though his association with the Archivist isn't something to ignore.

Pretty sure they're a couple, actually, bit more than just an association.

[Not that he has any idea what Martin sees in Jon, but that's None Of His Business.]

The Lonely isn't that bad, anyway, I'd take it any day over Sims getting in my head.

[Feeling Shitty™ isn't exactly a new experience, it's preferable to someone dragging his secrets out of him.]

( --hold the phone )

You've experienced it?

( satan, she's going to need more to drink )

Sure.

[It's sort of background noise around Martin, not to mention the fog that Crowley wandered into near the institute. He started more attention to where he was going, after that incident.]

As I said, it's not all that bad, just a bit rubbish. Makes you feel, well, alone, sort of in the name, isn't it?

( she takes a long drink from her refilled glass before resting it on her knee again, pausing before speaking )

The Beholding preys on fears. Nightmares.

( this is something that she hasn't spoken to anyone about, even if she's keeping it vague now. though nick knew of what she'd experienced, that she'd been trapped in her nightmare he didn't know how she'd felt, what else it had done to her )

Providing a statement feeds it your nightmare and forces you to experience it.

( though she hadn't provided a statement. she'd provided her entire being. her existence )

[This isn't Lilith telling him something she's learned secondhand, she's sharing something she's experienced. The fact that the Beholding is apparently powerful enough to mess with her is troubling, at best, and downright terrifying at worst.]

So he's an absolute cunt, then, good to know.

[There's a difference between dragging the occasional bits of information out of people, or Knowing things without being able to entirely control it, but if he's going around forcing people to relieve their nightmares, that's a real dick move.]

All he did was ask me a question I found myself answering, is a statement much like that?

[He doesn't like asking, since clearly this is a sensitive topic, but it's worth it to know what to be on the look out for.]

It's a compulsion. He couldn't take a statement from me-- ( she could resist that ) but-- you describe the event he desires.

( and that becomes the nightmare )

He claims control over his actions but he's foolish. And-- ( she seems a little satisfied by this ) --cursed, to know the pain he inflicts with each statement he takes.

( not quite so but close enough )

[If Jon couldn't take a statement from Lilith, Crowley wonders how the man got into her nightmares, but he doesn't think she'd respond well to be interrogated on this. If she wants to tell him the rest of it, she will. He has no need to press for more information.]

You cursed him. [He does sound a bit pleased by that, too. Good for her.] I can resist it, at at least a bit. Didn't try too hard on the question he asked 'cause it wasn't that awful to answer, but I'll keep it in mind if he goes after a statement.

[He appreciates the warning, is what he means.]

( maybe one day, crowley. one day with more cause to share )

I would ensure that there's no cause for him to try to take one. As-- menacing as he may be it's handled.

( it isn't but she's trying )

I'll do my best to be utterly uninteresting.

[Clearly that's the best way to stop Jonathan from trying to take a statement. As if being a demon alone isn't enough to get the interest of someone like that.]

Anyone else with terrifying powers I ought to know about?

[Since they're on the topic.]

(no subject)

sathan - 2019-10-26 21:28 (UTC) - Expand