Making Deals with Devils

The Devil stood inspecting the mer painting closely. It was clear that his horns were visible to those passing by as they seemed to pause staring at him. Almost as if they were trying to figure out if they were part of his hair or an attachment. They would not stick around long as they started to get an overwhelming feeling of dread just staring at the man. Though it looked like he was really interested in the mer painting, he was waiting for someone. Perhaps the curator?

Lydia Hummel emerged from the upper floors of the museum, having been dusting off paintings and giving particular care to the dragon egg on the top floor. As she descended, she caught sight of The Devil and smiled at him, though at the sight of his horns, she tried to slip into his mind long enough to whisper one phrase. ~"And I thought -my- way of hiding in plain sight was obvious..."~ In spite of her wary and maybe slightly agitated tone, she held her smile and outwardly spoke to him in a pleasant tone. "How good to see you. How might I help you?" She did her best to address him more or less neutrally, mindful of passersby as she took another few steps toward him.

The Devil did not take his eyes from the painting right away. When he felt her in his mind the corners of his mouth perked upward. When she spoke, he turned to her and looked around. A couple quickly turned their eyes away and made their way out the door. His bright eyes focused on her and he raised his eyebrows. "Yes miss, would like a short tour if you have the time." His voice was rough and thick with an American accent. "Just a bit curious about the fantasy world of lycans and all that." He stepped closer and through his mind, if she were still listening. ~"Perhaps a chat in private?"~

Lydia Hummel was well aware of his consistent ability to intimidate others with his mere presence. The more others left, the more she quickly wracked her brain, taking his request into consideration. The particular mention of lycans had her resisting the urge to instinctively narrow her eyes and instead nodded, improvising. "Ah! Yes, of course. You had an appointment, did you not?" As she spoke, she looked around the room for anyone on that floor, then bowed her head. Her hair moved to hang freely around her face as she pretended to rub her temples, doing her best to conceal the brief violet glow in her stare. Once she was certain the museum was empty - the place tended to be slow anyway when  she wasn't giving tours - she moved toward the doors and brought her hand to the lock. "I think we're clear. Or did you want to be even more cautious and move to the apartment?"

The Devil watched her closely and when she went to the doors only then took his eyes off her to look around. "I am sure we would be fine on the second floor. As for the horns..." He smirked and looked back at her. "Figured I would start a new trend. They already cut their ears to look like elves and paint their skin to look like demons. Even I am not the first to wear horns.. just mine are better attached than most." He started to move to the stairs, taking a moment to look at all the paintings he could see on the first floor. "Dawn is still an amazing artist I see. Haven't seen much of her.." He hesitated then looked over his shoulder. "She has gotten even better at hiding than most I take it?"

Lydia Hummel nodded to him as she took calm and calculated steps after him. Her shoulders shrugged, her thumbs tucking into her pockets. "Mm. I suppose some subcultures could more heavily adopt that trend. You're far more daring than I am..." Her eyebrows raised: it always surprised her when he remarked on one of her family members, but she answered him without much hesitation. "She has, yes. She had to, and it's made her very good at what she does. Perhaps she'll come around soon. Sometimes it feels like they all surprise me with when they show up."

The Devil pauses a moment longer before he heads up the stairs. "Most of the hybrids died a long time ago. She is very lucky." he said blankly as he continued up the stairs to the second floor. He paused a moment looking to his left then turned right looking at each object as he passed. "How you can stand to display these creatures is beyond me. Like cat and dog videos on the internet. Only less... cute." He grumbled.

Lydia Hummel drew in a breath and stared at the ground for a moment. Her brow furrowed; it seemed to be a rough topic for her to acknowledge, even then. "Yes, well. Count our blessings and all that..." Glancing toward the paintings on the wall, she'd since taken to tightly folding her arms across her middle as she followed along before coming to a stop just behind him. "Lest we forget," she replied calmly, despite the hint of disdain that formed in her eyes. "Though the more unbiased, the less suspicious, I figured."

The Devil paused in front of a painting that depicted the war between vampires and the shifters. He snarled slightly at the photo then took a deep breath. "We should have stepped in then. Even the blood suckers knew what was going on before us. They paid the price, not that they will be missed." He finally turned to her and looked down at her arms crossed before back into her eyes. "This is why I am here. There is a grouping of dogs happening in this part of the city. They are spread out some but no doubt will be drawn together at some point. I am sending in one of my spies. His name is Daniel. Lanky tall mutt that only, as they all do, cares for himself. He will be contacting you from time to time to deliver information and ask for your direction on what you want to do next. When you feel it is time, call me in and I will thin the pack like I always do."

Lydia Hummel shook her head and sighed. "No point in lamenting what we should have done; there's nothing we can do to change it." He'd already nudged her mind elsewhere, a heaviness in her features until his slight shift in topic brought her back to focus. "Daniel. I see..." Rubbing at the side of her face, she frowned at the thought of working alongside a wolf, but she would do as suggested - indicating such with a nod. "You know I will. I will watch the area in the meantime and have him discover as much as he can..."

The Devil gave a slight nod. He crossed his arms listening to her. "You can join me in the culling if you want. You have many reasons as do I. There are not many of my kind left. The few that are.. well. Imprisoned some because of their.. inability to control their flame." He looked down at the floor for a moment then started up the stairs. "What about that.. boy.. Kelly I think it was?" He started to ask as he moved up the stairs. His eyes locked on something across from him and he stood for a moment. If she followed his gaze, he would see his attention upon the dragon egg.

Lydia Hummel frowned toward his back as she followed him up, even letting out a quiet huff. "I'm tempted sometimes, though you'd likely end up having to bail me out. I can't imagine it would go too well if they got to me before I could get into their heads..." Stepping around him to follow his glance toward the egg and frown, it took her a moment to glance inquisitively up at him. "Kelly, yes. He and Lucy should be here soon enough. What about him though?"

The Devil kept his focus on the egg for a moment longer then slowly turned those flame like eyes to her. "I have a proposal... though perhaps I should talk to you about my plan."  He crouches down near the egg for a moment seeming to get comfortable balancing on his legs. "I have contacted five other authorities in different cities and countries. They agree that it is probably time. I want to lure the shifters into a large group, and all together eradicate them." He pauses to read her reaction.

Lydia Hummel steepled her fingers. She stared gravely toward him and quickly began to shake her head. "... No," she said flat out at first. A calm step brought her that much closer to him, her arms folding behind her back. "The more that are gathered in one place, the more dangerous they are. Keep them scattered and they are weak. It is a tedious process to hunt them down pack by pack, but you do remember what happened when last they were all gathered in one place, do you not?" She watched him as she continued. His proximity to the egg unnerved her for some reason, but so long as he did nothing to indicate he was about to touch it, she said nothing of it. "Besides, what of your new pet then? You would have to destroy Daniel as well to keep them from bolstering their numbers once again."

The Devil gave a soft shrug, his expression slightly disappointed. He gave a moment of silence as he thought then looked up at her. "Kelly. He is a sharp fighter. Given enough silver he could wipe them all out with his tail if we find the right place for him to take on his full form. As for tedious, if only. Over a hundred thousand men women and children go missing each month. Some to their own illnesses of humanity, most however.. We have found some shredded and others infected. Their numbers grow faster than we can cull the packs. They have gotten clever. They never allow us to catch them in groupings more than four by splitting families. The laws we have written before will not work in this case. Humanity is in constant danger no matter what we do." He slowly turns his eyes to the egg again. "This is a dangerous place for such a delicate piece of.. art." he says before looking into her eyes. It was obvious he knew what it was, but not who it belonged to.

Lydia Hummel gave him an incredulous look, though she paused as if to consider his words - making quiet note of the partial avoidance she couldn't help but notice. "You would endanger Kelly by placing him in the midst of such madness? I've already lost one son to their savagery, among others; I'll not lose another in the same manner. Lucy would not be able to bear it if anything too terrible happened to him at their hand." Gazing meaningfully toward him, she pressed her lips together into a thin line. Her age had suddenly begun to show, perhaps at the thought of losing more family. "Condense them into a smaller mass to more easily neutralize them, perhaps, but all at once is asking for a repeat of the past." Mention of the egg caused a hint of her frown to return, but she met his stare with raised eyebrows. "And where would you recommend I place it?"

The Devil rolled his shoulders slightly looking at the egg once again. When she was finished and asked him where he would put it he sighed. "No where is safe for such a relic. Not even with it's own.." he paused again, and in the pause she might have caught a hint of somberness wash over him.  He gave a slight shake of his head, for good turning his attention away from the egg and standing. "Perhaps speak to Kelly first before you make this decision for him. He might be more willing and capable than you think. To wipe them all out would give us a great relief and make life easier for the humans... at least in the unknown aspect of things."  He stretched some and looked her over. "Wouldn't you wish them to be gone? Rather than having to constantly remember the past and what they cost us? At one point we might have argued balance. Enough races had been... eradicated... but at this point, we're looking across all of this little planet. They could very well gather in the numbers without us leading them. It would be better if we controlled them into one."

Lydia Hummel tilted her head. Silent questions painted her expression into something inquisitive, but she didn't outright ask him - not wanting to press the issue. His suggestion registered, but her expression lingered for another moment before she bothered to answer him. "It will be proposed, but I will not press the issue if he declines, nor will you. If he makes the decision to do so, it'll be of his own accord, without anyone pressing the issue more than needed." He'd given her quite a bit to think about. Her chin dipped and she rubbed at the back of her neck, a deepening frown in her features. "I... need to give this quite a bit of thought. To take part in eradicating an entire race is an extreme that I have not opted to take part in, nor was I raised to believe it to be the solution. But I will contemplate it..."

The Devil gave a nod and stepped a little closer. "That is all I ask. I will leave you with the memory however, if it helps. The lycans did not have such moral conflict when they wiped out those races." He gave that a moment to sink in before he looked to the stairs. "Till then, keep in contact with Daniel. Do not get too attached to him. When he is done here, and if he survives, he starts in Candida. That is where the silver authority has decided it should start. Let me know what Kelly decides." With that he started to make his way back down the stairs. Unless otherwise stopped, he would leave her to her thoughts.

Lydia Hummel looked back up at him once more; her jaw clenched lightly. "They did not, but I am not a primitive beast," she stated calmly. She only nodded for the most part at The Devil's advice, her shoulders rising and falling with a heavy sigh. "I will be in touch. Be well..." And with that, she let him go.