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Rudolph Yerbler had to admit that the Circle of Lust has never been his favorite place. He should not have been affected by it at all, being immune to Hell's mechanisms after completing his training, but in this layer of Hell he often felt rather uncomfortable. The winds forcing his long blond hair in different directions seemed to have a bite to them that was intimidating and infuriating at the same time.? He had no doubt that the witch Mary Sibley felt?even worse when the image?of John Olden that would occasionally manifest in the win would make her shriek as if she were in agony.

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Rudolph himself had many false images acquiring substance and striking at him with brute force in the past, but at this time to his considerable surprise,?the?elegant youthful face of Salome presented itself and instead of?flying towards him?with all the due fury and needing to be dispelled, it lost its grim expression that every face wore in this place, began looking startled and then utterly vanished from sight.

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In fact, the winds began in themselves outlining a shape familiar to him, that of Aguares. That was something bizarre, the demon lord with the crocodilian tale may have been the softer of the?Circle overseers, but he never showed himself so openly to Rudolph. Something?very unusual was taking place here,?and?stranger still, the lines of the song Crowley had mentioned began floating back into his mind, vaguely recognized from his sojourn on Earth.??

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"Made my way to past a man's hollow
Even though it was too soon,"

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Rudolph slowly repeated the lines to himself and realized that for him, the comfort of the subsiding winds was not too soon in the least. There was more, he began to understand briefly, what his mentor had meant, without the Mark of Sorrow pressing on him so harshly, his?ability to think?was beginning to work once more.

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But all that could wait for another time, he knew, as he made the wind targeting the witch soften into a slow breeze. He did not need to talk to her, Mary's knowledge, artless little spells and even play for power were all insignificant here. The one important part here was her conflicted feelings, incredible passion coupled with fear, sadness, rejection, hurt, and a certain possessive love Rudolph could never have understood himself.

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It helped being so close to a woman whose willing bargain to be a witch made her easier to read. Her feelings may have been complex enough for any sane person experience, but Rudolph did not need to live through them, only to reproduce them as he drew his Lovers card. A woman dressed in Victorian cloths reclining?in an arm chair,?with?white wings sprouting somewhere upwards, half converging onto each other in an eager embrace. And?next to her, a gentleman?wearing an utterly alien looking, Roman toga, with black wings pointing downward.

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Although that was?only the first draft, the yellow haired demon found it pleasing for its contrast and the?darkly diverging energies it invoked.?Returning Mary Sibley to suffer the scourge of the winds, once he no longer needed her, Rudolph proceeded with his second, draft, slightly tilting the eyes of prospective?Lovers askance. Then, completing the image with a carefully constructed semblance of Crowley himself over the pair and?symbolizing his presiding capacity over the couple with?unnaturally long wings given to his master, Rudolph smiled in satisfaction.

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Drawing on the?torturous energies of the Circle of Lust, he invested them in his?Lovers image, and fed the feelings experienced by?Mary Sibley to the angel figure he had depicted, hoping that would be enough to ensnare him in a tangle even angelic powers would find hard to unravel. Rudolph wanted to experiment with a few more angles but whichever final draft he chose, at least he would now have something useful to take back to his boss.??

"You poor thing," Rudolph Yerbler dryly commented, in a pale imitation of his master, as he watched the middle age man attempting to fend off an African lion with the magic of an Elder he no longer possessed. "All that magical knowledge of your so utterly wasted?in Hell. The funny thing is you could not have taken the lion down even with all of your magic intact, he is but a form of illusion crafted by the demon Lord Valefar for your benefit. So maybe you would be ready to talk now, eh Gideon?"

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The?yellow haired demon?banished the illusion with a wave of his hand and the curly haired man slowly relaxed, recognizing his occasional patron?and greeting him with a smile. He was quite intelligent truly when allowed to use his intellect but then being an Elder of the White Lighters?classified him as a sorcerer and in this Circle of Hell?it meant never ending hallucinatory visions that threatened to break the strongest mind control. Gideon would have ended up similarly to his colleagues and adversaries alike,?but Rudolph knew how to nurture helpful minds with an occasional intrusion into their torment and the former Elder certainly proved his?value on several occasions.

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"Do you know how things are outside, the girls, Leo, has Wyatt grown..." Rudolph mournfully shook his head at Gideon's hopefully optimistic questions. "Trust me, my friend, nobody among the big guns truly cares about this silly New Age trio or their progeny. We have had in this Sorcerers Circle several Triads, Sources of Evil broken, not to mention that we made both Tempus, Balthazor and even Zankou?cry like?abandoned little babes. You must get it into your head that all the major players you have known as a conniving little Elder don't pose any threats, and are no concern of yours. The faster you get over your silly notions, the faster you could move on through the higher Circles and be more useful to me. Speaking of which, it is time for you to answer my questions,"?Yerbler spoke soothingly and?saw Gideon losing?the nervous edge that came from a virtual eternity of?fighting against illusions.

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Looking almost wistfully at this dimension of Hell he found most comforting because of his long time?self identification as a warlock. Rudolph cast a protective circle and began voicing all the information he possessed. He did not know how to connect it, what questions to ask, but talking to an intelligent trustworthy man?he almost felt relieved, even without gaining any extra insight. The strange tune he remembered Crowley humming even started playing back in his head, especially that part about centuries. Slowly, so very slowly, the Mark of Sorrow began retreating for his forehead and Rudolph allowed himself a small smile as an idea began to bloom in his mind.

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He would draw the angel and the demonness into the likeness of Paris and Helen, with love altogether present, being supernaturally strong, and yet just as evidently disastrous for any involved including their very selves. If he did it right, he could still imprison the two, without even resorting to the ominous powers of treachery that we conspicuously?pouring down from the Ninth Circle. "I am?afraid their relationship, while witnessed, is not widely understood," Gideon sadly admitted, understanding that his ignorance would?put an end to the interlude and let his torment return, that was the condition of his temporary freedom after all.

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"So truly,?Zankou crying out loud,"?the former Elder decided to end the conversation with a graceful?joke. "Yes, begging for the first Oracle that was his nanny?to come and comfort him. You should have seen the proud demon reduced to so much whining," Rudolph returned the favor of an amusing conclusion and then, with a wave of his hand let the African lion illusion return.

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"If you ask the animal for a good familiar, that could help," the?yellow haired demon advised on an impulse and was rewarded with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Master," Gideon formally bowed and proceeded with the required ritual. Rudolph was not sure why he consented to let him?progress unlawfully, but?then?nothing was more appropriate than breaking the rules in Hell. And besides, he had high hopes for?an agent who was both crafty and obedient. Based on Crowley's steady complaints,?such traits were never easy to come by in the most promising of demons, and Rudolph?saw no reason to ?doubt a single word his overlord uttered in front of him.????

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His next Circle of Hell, Lust?was going to be less pleasing than the one for Sorcerers but?it would be more profitable for his drawing than any other, and a demon had to do what a demon had to do. Envisioning a tunnel leading upwards, Rudolph vanished out of sight and continued on his journey. ?

"Seems to me like some kind of a game those two are playing, although I am never particularly certain about the rules or the goal. The game appears to consist of trying to make disgustingly perverse comments about each other, I would not have believed him possible of it had I not watched it myself. Does he ever try to distract his minions by being obnoxious on purpose? Sorry, no offense fox face, just, well almost impossible to wrap my mind around that kind of humor really... at least I sincerely doubt they really have any such strange kinship as could be deduced from his ridiculous comments. You are not related to him Halbrek, not truly, is that right," Castiel suddenly turned to his companion, almost needing some?confirmation in the face of the bizarre exchange.

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The angel of War?had to wonder briefly if Halbrek's concentrated gaze denoted some measure of disapproval, but this relationship thing was too new for him to be certain, not to mention that he never fully had an understanding of regular human emotions before the relationship even started.

Lucifer frowned at first, trying to bring back to mind which one Kellirek may have been. With all the senior demons, he could usually visualize their common names, used for reference in the Demotic Script, the energy signatures behind the names, the possibility to contain the energy with the name and rule it completely. But this demon might?have been below his radar in the past. Picturing his energy, or what he looked like when?assuming an active?form was beyond the arch angel. Until he considered the possible meaning of the demon's name, and nodded his understanding. "Ah yes, the ruler of destruction, a hereditary title. I remember his far removed ancestors, they were inhabiting the skies of my hell when I first landed there, such fabulous predators they have been even before they became true demons...I will keep?Kellirek in mind, thank you, daughter," Lucifer smirked his famous infuriating smile and was gone back to the infernal regions.

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He could not even decide which matter to attend first, the witches, the discomfortingly recovered Book of the Damned that with its energy drainage problem, may have had something to do with his recent memory problem.?He used to remember every single demon he had made, and those recruited, all about them, their abilities, alliances, and possible interactions in the immediate future. And now, now he almost felt like constructing a smaller demon to help him arrange his memory better. He would have done so a long time ago, if only he could ensure?sufficient loyalty in such a creature. Perhaps when he had more time he could address this issue better,?but now was not the time, as well he knew. At least some of his troubles might, hopefully begin to be taken care of with his authority delegated to lower echelons.

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The angel of war grimly regarded his partner when Lucifer left at last. "I am still not convinced if we ended up better or worse than before, but it might be good to have things in the open. And yes, I am very ready to meet Cordelia. You see, it just occurred to me that I had only a few ideas on how to find the rider of Pestilence and his ring. I was thinking to involve human hunters, or, to be brutally honest, follow a blood trail of human bodies?the rider would leave behind, but perhaps Cordelia could offer us a different option, if her psychic powers are not too overtaxed at seeking out such a powerful entity..." the angel added?after some?hesitation. ?

The Lord of Fire slowly considered. There were so many images circulating through his brain, corresponding to the various pieces he set on the board. He had many ideas, advices, warnings he could give, but some of them would be too early to appreciate, others unlikely to be understood, and others still would lead, hopefully, to valuable errors. He could not afford to getting it wrong and settled for something that was the least likely to backfire.

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"Beware of Gadreel. He may wish to offer recompense, he may be sincere in his desires to help, but his intentions are still tainted from his early encounters with dangers he could not comprehend. So make sure you never trust him entirely even if you recruit him for the less secretive?parts of the mission. Otherwise, that should be all," Lucifer sardonically smiled,?hints of fire beginning to blaze?in his eyes at the prospect of future developments.

"Indeed?!" the angel of war offered curiously. "I suppose demons could die at that. but for some already bored folks like you, would that not constitute an improvement of sorts," Castiel suggested with a hint of a smirk. Satisfied to see his demon friend horrified, the angel smiled even wider as Lucifer smugly explained himself to his subordinate.

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"Oh no, dear boy, you have not fallen out of favor at this time. You have done your duty well, and will persist in your good work, I am sure. I am not ordering you to serve the angel in the least. I am merely not forbidding your cooperation with him. The rest is...up to you. If you need to help your friend who also happens to be an angel, so be it, I will not stop you, because I am aware of your friendship already, and my interests at times coincide with those of the angel. Then again, if you are feeling?reluctant to accept the angel's need of your company, you are more than free to refuse and return to where you came. The choice is yours," the Lord of Fire reassured, all the while sadly remembering innocent looking?cohorts of demons in the?past who were swayed by Abbadon's promise of easy prey and because of their taint could no longer be entrusted to make the right choice in the way the fox demon could be.

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"Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do right now," Castiel interjected again. "You are not seriously considering going back to the faggots and guarding them from non existing danger, are you? Did you not mention being bored already, now a few more days of such occupation and your fate would be worse than death. Your mind would simply go mad, then numb, and you would become of no use to anyone, even yourself. Isn't it better to accept my leadership instead," the angel wondered with?an exaggerated?serious look those who knew him well would identify as mocking.

"My woman has always been smarter than me," Castiel responded non chalantly. "that is how she knew of me being a worthy partner for her, probably before I knew myself," the angel seriously added, his black eyes gleaming with barely concealed excitement. "Worthier angels than me, well that puts you into a rather untenable position. You cannot even imagine what some of the worthier angels do, what gender and species orientation they choose

but then again, maybe you could imagine, you are guarding after all a rather unusual couple. Could that perhaps imply your own perverse tendencies," Castiel wondered, his joke delivered in an entirely neutral tone, as he'd watched his charges doing, for the taunting words to be considered successful.

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Lucifer stared into his subject, fascinated for an instant at how different impurities could be. In some demons, they boded for an adversarial attitude, but for this one, they only boded well. Sulfur had chosen his guards sagely. Wondering what would come of the intersection of energies in Azzie's essence, Lucifer slowly shrugged. "I think?this angel had?a greater need of you this time, ironically. Well, cannot blame him for acquiring the appropriate taste for the right side, can we?" Lucifer concluded with a satisfied smile. ??

Castiel skeptically regarded his fox friend and shook his head in negation. "God does not expect anyone to grovel, unlike some people, he gives us free will!" the angel of war solemnly declared, fully believing himself in the validity of his statement. After all, there were benefits to serving his side over the other, and fair dealings with God had to be part of those, he'd assumed. Castiel did not have personal experience with the highest echelons of power, but he'd heard a sentiment like that from some reliable sources and firmly believed that Azzie was wrong.

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He was going to unequivocally state his opinion when the damn demon distracted him with his hint at flirtation. Castiel did not enjoy his little innuendos, even if Halbrek remained immune to his foxy charms for the time being. After all, fox was that animal most notorious for his amorous pursuits and things could always change. Taking petty satisfaction at the fact that Lucifer seemingly took his time before encouraging his subordinate to get up from his obsequious gesture was one of the few things he could, although showing?off his erudition was a pleasantly close second.

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"You know Pestilence, he is one of the riders of the Apocalypse. Cannot be all that much fun for you. We, angels are immune to his powers but you, dear Azzie might not be. More fun like this, and you wouldn't survive to get back to your pretty ladies," Castiel happily reassured, hoping his words?combined with the task ahead would distract?the fox demon from making his move on Halbrek.?