2013-02-25 - The Enemy: You Can't Spell Death Without T(ea)

Death looks over at Madame Xanadu as she comes into the back. "Didn't want to interrupt you while you were working. Nice to see you again Nimue... hope you have some of that tea? We have some stuff to talk about." For someone who represents the cosmological meaning of life and death itself, she always seems to sound remarkably chipper.

Madame Xanadu seems not too surprised as someone sits in her backroom when she returns from the front of her shop, where she dusted off the poor shrink head she had acquired in the late 1960's. "Nimue... a very, very long time no one called me this name, and the last who did..." she speaks, not having faced the figure clad in black yet. "The very last person who did, was in fact you, my dear." A second of silence fills the room before she passes through a curtain to light the stove "Be my guest. Of course I put on the kettle to brew a cup or two, but we both do know, that it is more the gesture, than the drink itself, don't we?." It doesn't take long for her to return through the pearl curtain however, behind her the sound of the gas stove heating the old kettle. "I just wonder why you came by at this time, Teleute."

 Death smiles. "In my defense, I was there when they named you anyway." She saunters over to a chair and leans back on it. "Well... there's the tea of course." She pats her lap and says nothing for a few awkward seconds. "Annnd there's the fact that this whole merging of universe wound up causing there to be two devils who apparently are at war with each other with a third pseudo-devil in the middle." She smiles a bit and shrugs. "I might be needing to use you as a bit of a 'speakerbox' for this one person who is going to be heavily involved. I already met up with her once but it's always sort of awkward... since I sort of had to take away her entire universe when it died. Her work name's Power Girl, have you heard of her? Kryptonian. Alternate universe. All that?"

 Madame Xanadu ponders about the heard as she slowly walks over to her usual couch, a hand stretching out to a set of cards - the very same set of cards she had read when she had met Death the last time. "Kryptonian... I did foresee the arrival of three mighty heroes in the 60's. One of them from a star far away, one forged in his own fire and the other... well, it does not matter really, but..." Slowly she mixed the cards, just opening them into a fan to pull out a seemingly random one. "the lovers inverted... foolish plans... I am not sure, but I believe if she is from another world, then she might have been the hero from another star of this world, brought to the world not her own but ours by plans that came out foolish?" she contemplates, eying her guest long moments "If she is, then in no way she should be weaker than her cousin from the world that was ours before the... incident happened."

 Death waves her hand a bit abstractly. "Well it's not like I only do my job on this planet or this universe, remember. I'm very equal opportunity." She pats her hands as she waits for the tea. "Anyway, it really doesn't have so much to do with her powers as the fact that apparently the big guy took an interest in her for some reason, and don't ask me what it is. She's a nice good person and all but I wouldnt try figuring out His mindset. Anyway... she's probably the only person I can think of off the top of my head that can put a monkey wrench in Lucifer's plans, which might be jumpstarting a whole lot more people dying ... which would make my job so much more annoying." She leans forward, "So if it's okay with you, when I find out information on Lucifer or Morningstar's plans, I'll pass it along to you, you pass it along to Peej."

 Madame Xanadu seems to ponder about the request for several seconds, rescued by the bell as the old kettle behind her starts to sound its very own whistling tune. For some strange reason this very whistle mounted to the kettle could have been used to drive out numerous demons for its very own harmonics - if Nimue wouldn't have put it to use as a tea whistle. So it just served this very mundane issue, just driving away some minor being that proved to be too curious about the shop at times. "I will be right back, together with a tea and an answer." she excused herself, passing through the bead curtain to her kitchen once more, stopping the sound that was even for humans annoying after some time. Carefully she searched her racks for a good blend, filling the hot water into two cups. She had learned that the English way of drinking tea was so much more comfortable to its Chinese variant in the last hundreds of years, even as she did shun teabags. Placing the two cups of porcelain on a tray, she came back after some time "Lucifer Morningstar... I remember good his involvement in evens when I took actions just after Camelot’s fall, during my alignment with the Demon Knights. And I remember well, that he was not innocent in the events that resulted in the day of vengeance. Still, wasn't he more an ambiguous ruler of his domain at most times, leading in ways that kept the status quo?" she remembers, placing the tray on the small table between the armchair and the couch before she sat down in her former place once again "but as the situation changed, so may have he."

 Death then starts shaking her head. "No, no... that's the thing. It's not 'Lucifer Morningstar anymore. Now it's Lucifer -and- Morningstar. Two separate beings. One from each of the universes. Apparently there can only be one God, or one Me.... but the Devil? Not limited to one. They're sort of having a turf war now. One of them is the Morningstar you know about..." She makes air quotes, "ambiguous ruler, keeping stuff in status quo. The other one's a bit more .... how can I say this in a way that befits it properly." She thinks for a moment, then says "More douche-y."

 Madame Xanadu was about to take up her cup, as Death revealed that indeed two beings seemed to have been created from the one she knew from her long life. Instead of lifting the strong earl grey to her lips, she did put it down again on the saucer, eying it for a second or two "indeed... that would make sense. The ruler of old, bond to his rules and laws, and his dark side, chaotic and uncontrolled, split in two when two beings with very similar agenda had to merge when the worlds did." she mutters shaking her head slightly to clear her head "Of course I can try to pass the word to those that need advice, but as long as they don't seek for it or call upon my help, my hands are bound. You know it as well as your brother Photos, that I can not act all on my own, unless me or my very own brethren are involved. When the Girl is seeking Advice, I will provide it to her as I do to anyone, and I can pass her the word freely then, but if she does not want to receive my word, I may not give to her, what she needs to know."

 Death nods. "Yeah... I know. She'll be seeking help." She takes the tea and sips it. "My goodness this is good." She looks over at you again. "You might need to give her more than just advice." She pauses, looking at the plethora of 'items' in your shop. "But it'll keep within the bounds of your geas, don't worry about that."

== Fade to Black ==