Morning Star

Duality: Part 5

Lucifer
The crown prince let out a soft sigh of relief as he and Lumiel finally exited those horrid caves. If he ever had to enter one of them ever again, it would be too soon. But they were on the surface and on their way to Raphael, so things were starting to look up at least a little bit.

"So, Lumiel, any idea where Raphael could possibly be?" Lucifer inquired, one fair brow raised as he met the auburn-haired angel's gaze. Lumiel paused for a moment before he turned in an eastwardly direction, a bit of a hesitant expression on his features.

"Well, I think he's this way. I don't often deal with the healer, so I'm not certain on exactly where he is. I just know he rules the second Heaven and the eastern direction. So he's most likely in the same direction. Probably."

Lucifer made a skeptical face, which caused a laugh to escape Lumiel; something that dragged the seraph's expression into a pout as he whined, "I don't want to be lost with you."

That got a snort out of Lumiel as he looked over at Lucifer with a narrow eyebrow raised. The prince was bluffing, he knew that, and it only served to amuse the smaller seraph as he replied, "Oh, I am so horribly hurt by you not wanting to be lost with me. I'll never be able to recover from this. You prick."

Lucifer cracked a grin at the mocking tone in Lumiel's voice, silver eyes gleaming slightly as he perked up a bit. Even though Lumiel was irritating at times, the seraph could always be counted on; whether it be through cheering him up, helping with various tasks, or just being there for his friend. And that was why Lucifer loved him so dearly.

"You are so damn dramatic at times," Lucifer scoffed, arms cross over his chest as he continued, "But you're loveable."

"Damn right I'm loveable. Else you and I probably wouldn't be friends, or even speaking to one another right now."

The prince rolled his eyes and chuckled softly as he walked alongside Lumiel. He was anxious, both from his predicament and having to run all over Heaven, so Lumiel's presence and teasing were helping with that anxiety. Yet another reason Lucifer stuck around Lumiel.

But Lucifer was still pretty worried, both about his current problem and having to find Raphael. Hopefully, Lumiel could take the two of them to the healer without taking too long; as it was nearing dusk. The crown prince didn't want to be wandering around Heaven after dark. Heaven was not as pretty and perfect as people made it out to be, so he really did not want to be out after dark in this place.

"So...Guardian of the East, huh? Isn't Raphael an angel of vengeance, too, despite being an angel of other happier, cheerier things?" Lumiel looked over at the taller angel with a bit of a confused look, wondering why he was asking him that. But he just shrugged--blaming the question on Lucifer's anxiety--and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Raphael's a bit... Contradictory. He's the angel of joy, laughter, song, and other 'merry' things. But he's also an angel of the apocalypse and of vengeance, along with having the title of Wrath of God. But from my interactions with him, he's pretty sweet, though still a jackass. Just don't do anything tp piss him off. He has a bit of a short fuse."

Lucifer's silver eyes darkened once he digested that information, his mind whirling a bit. He hadn't heard anything about Raphael previously, so this information was setting quite the expectation of the male in his mind. It was even more so cemented in his mind by the fact that he didn't often visit the healing side of Heaven, preferring to fight or perform. He may be the crown prince, but he was also a soldier, one with a fierce love of fighting--whether it be through brawls or just picking someone at random and fighting them.

The seraph sighed heavily as he plodded alongside Lumiel, his silver eyes restlessly scanning their surroundings. He didn't know what was going to happen once they found Raphael and it was worrying him so damn much; to the point where he wanted to wring his hands and pace anxiously.

Lumiel noted that his friend was down in his mood and smiled in reassurance, his lavender eyes glimmering a bit in the light. "Hey, it'll be okay. Once we're done with this, we'll head home and relax, alright? We'll have some blackberry parfait and curl up to read until we both get tired enough to sleep."

That brought a smile to Lucifer's face and he nodded to show he was just fine with that plan. The scribe always knew how to cheer him up and Lucifer loved it so much. He could always count on his friend for anything.

"That sounds like a good plan. Better find Raphael soon or it'll be too late to even think about doing that." The auburn-haired angel grinned before tugging Lucifer off in the direction of the labs where Raphael frequented. But that angel was flighty, so Lumiel just had to hope that he would be there.

--------

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here! Lucifer and Lumiel, Morning Star and the Lord of the Dawn! I was wondering when I would have the two of your waiting in my office."

An exasperated noise left the prince before he aimed an 'are you kidding me?' look at Lumiel--who remained tactfully straight-faced. Raphael, so far, was not living up to Lucifer's expectations whatsoever. He had been expecting a kindly, neat angel, not the sarcastic, disheveled male currently sitting in front of him. But he just decided to let Lumiel do the talking; just like he did with Gabriel.

"Lord Raphael, we aren't here for a routine check-up. Neither of us are. Lucifer is here for what seems to be the start of a split-personality disorder." Lumiel's words were quiet and refined, something that made Raphael's lips purse for some reason or other. But the healer just clasped his hands under his chin and smiled, though that grin suggested something... eccentric. It didn't help that his blonde hair was sticking out at ever angle imaginable, making it look like he'd just been electrocuted for the fourteenth time in a row. Combined with the crooked grin and the ever-changing kaleidoscope color of his eyes, Raphael looked like his mind was half-baked.

"Ah, split-personality! Have you checked first to see if it's a case of demonic possession or that he has intruding thoughts? As either of those would certainly cause distress. Though I imagine that any demon that gets into that head of yours will suffocate because of the holiness." Raphael scrutinized Lucifer closely, his eyes shifting from blue to amber, then to an unnerving shade of white before he looked to Lumiel again. "If he starts saying things like 'We need to disrupt Heaven, let's go burn an orphanage,' or just wants to maim others, get yourself an exorcist. Otherwise, you can go skip in flowers with him. I dunno, I don't care. He'll be fine."

Now even Lumiel was taken aback by the healer's words, something that didn't happen often with him. But Raphael had made some cracks in Lumiel's normally calm, collected facade. And it had completely baffled Lucifer, who had never had any sort of encounter in his life quite like this one.

"Erm, Lord Raphael... aren't you going to take a closer look at Lucifer? Like, do an evaluation of him?"

Raphael looked up from the stack of papers he was fiddling with and an eyebrow rose, his eyes turning silver then purple. Another crooked grin spread across his lips. "Oh, Lumiel, Lord of the Morning Star, have you considered having an evaluation done of your own? As I don't see anything good with you, dear. But Lucifer, on the other hand, is healthy as a horse. So I think he's going to be just fine, Lord Lumiel."

The prince glanced over at his friend--who was looking eerily stony-faced--before he turned his gaze to Raphael once more. Even though he was quiet, his mind was racing. What did Raphael mean when he said that he saw nothing good in Lumiel? Was something wrong with his dear friend? And if there was something wrong, why didn't he tell Lucifer? The two of them were best friends, for crying out loud! The least he could do is tell him in a business-like way, as the two of them did work together. But Lucifer was wrenched out of his thoughts when he heard Lumiel begin to reply.

"I am just fine, no thanks to you, Lord Raphael. So, unless you're actually going to do something for Lucifer, he and I are leaving."

The Supreme Healer's grin only widened as he took in the rage, fear, and guilt blooming in Lumiel's eyes before he waggled his fingers playfully at the two of them.

"Ta-ta, prince and Lumiel!" The smaller angel glowered at Raphael fro a moment before sweeping out of the room with Lucifer in tow. Both of them had come to a decision before Raphael uttered those last words.

That's enough socializing for one day.