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lucifer heaves out a frustrated sigh as he sneaks away from the main room, not intending to stay for long after diavolo’s latest power trip is over. the sound of his laughter and the voices of other nobles fill his head, reminding him that he’s nothing but a novelty to the prince - something he can show off and toss aside when he has no need for it anymore. his wings twitch against his back, the feathers he had as an angel around his neck fluffed to an uncomfortable degree, and he hates the way everybody looks at him.
he rushes to a random guest room and seals the door behind him with magic, though he knows anybody strong enough could break it without a second thought. he is, of course, still in this wretched castle. he chooses to not think about that, however, opting to find a full-length mirror.
…he knows well what he’s supposed to be; a peacock is the only viable choice for the avatar of pride, after all. yet as he stares at the sticky and uncomfortable feathers on his neck and tail, he can only curse diavolo for calling him at such a late hour for some damn party he didn’t need to go to. hints of brown peek through blue and green on his tail feathers, barely visible under his coat, and, had he had time, he wouldn’t have been so sloppy.
he at least hopes diavolo didn’t notice that his tail is much shorter than it’s supposed to be. lucifer sighs in a mix of disappointment at himself and annoyance at the prince, ruffling his wings and sending burnt brown and black fluff falling to the floor. he can hear people leaving from the main room, still somehow audible through the walls, and he takes a moment to sit and grab his tail between his hands before there’s a knock at the door. he jumps despite himself, instantly going into hypervigilance when a familiar voice speaks. to his relief, it's much softer than the alternative.
“the nobles are leaving,” barbatos announces from the other side. his tone is carefully neutral, though anybody perceptive enough would be able to hear an undertone of disgust. “diavolo is distracted if you would like to go. i’m sure he would not stop you.”
lucifer lets out a near imperceptible sigh, staring back at himself. the small green feathers on his neck raise in an emotion he can't place, and he removes the spell from the door once he hears the other demon start to leave, though he's not quite sure why. perhaps sensing the absence of magic, barbatos glances around the hall before peeking through the crack of the door. its dull green eyes take in lucifer’s form, disheveled and stressed.
“just hurry up,” lucifer snaps, but there’s no anger behind his voice. it obliges, shutting the door behind it. barbatos is also in his demon form, shimmering scales hidden beneath his clothes, tail wrapped tightly around one of his legs. lucifer glances over at him. “does he always do this? just - does whatever he wants and drags everybody into it at the last second?”
barbatos sighs a little, one tip of his tail twitching. “always. and i’m the one that has to clean up after everybody leaves. that’s irrelevant, however - are you alright?”
“of course i’m not fucking alright,” barbatos’ eyes widen as some flecks of color flake down from lucifer’s tail feathers. “i’m being dragged along like a lapdog, i spat out everything i drank because i trust nobody in that room and i nearly made a mockery of myself.”
lucifer grimaces as he runs his hand over his feathers, uncaring that dry paint is falling to the floor. it’s too suffocating for him to handle wearing it for much longer. barbatos stays silent for a moment, then its eyes light up with realization.
“ah, i see,” it steps a little closer almost hesitantly, not wanting to set lucifer off. “we are more alike than i thought. would you allow me to help remove that?”
lucifer stares up at him incredulously for a moment, a little shocked that he managed to figure it out so quickly; his past titles had already been wiped from records, after all. and though he knows he should reject the offer, pride still chafed by everything that’s led up to this moment, he can’t help but nod. he can’t let his siblings or - hell forbid - diavolo see him like this, and if that means having to rely on the prince’s other pretty little trinket, then he’ll suck it up. just this once.
“...fine,” he sighs, then snaps weakly, “don’t think i need your help, though. i can do this on my own.”
something close to a smile breaks across barbatos’ face, and he bounds over to the build-in bathroom to grab a washrag. lucifer grimaces again and speaks up quickly before it can do anything. “just leave it dry. i’d like to be able to get back without trailing water behind me.”
“very well.” barbatos walks back over and kneels on one knee, grasping lucifer's tail and running the cloth along it gently enough to not displace feathers. it easily goes along the span of its forearm, but one would expect it to drag along the floor instead. lucifer himself is left a bit uneasy by the close contact, but resists the impulse to yank himself away by watching its movements like a hawk. he refuses to think about how nice it feels despite this.
specks of paint drop from his feathers; lucifer's natural colors aren't nearly as flashy or impressive as what's expected of somebody important like him, but rather shades of brown and tan. his wings are singed dark brown and black, and only the ruffle on his neck would be enough to convince people - just barely. he'd rather not have his personal identity plastered all around hell, but he knows it's inevitable with how much attention is on him at this point.
damn his pride for turning him into a bird that's easily distinguishable by sex, right?
he's brought out of his thoughts by the sound of barbatos' tail dropping to the ground. it looks a lot larger and heavier when he isn't curling it around himself, and though it pulsates aqua and green shades, the tips seem slightly frayed as they brush against the carpet. there's also a very faint aura of magic surrounding the butler, but it must be weak and for a small reason if lucifer can only detect it at this range. he decides to pay it no mind; he’d be more surprised if this weren’t the case with the amount of people here and the information it’s already told him.
perhaps feeling his eyes on it, barbatos speaks, “...i know of a spell that conceals physical alterations. it doesn’t last for very long for the inexperienced, but i can hand it off to you if you would like.” it looks up at him as it works, and lucifer can’t help but notice that its eyes look exhausted, though its appearance is otherwise unchanged.
lucifer stares back at its tail and feels a jolt of dread when he realizes just why barbatos would know this. one look at it swaying reveals a faint bruise in the shape of fingerprints on its underside, barely noticeable, and lucifer forces himself to look away. he feels like a coward for doing so, but what can he even do?
“...alright,” he grabs his own tail again and shakes leftover paint chips off his plain feathers, now slightly nauseated. “i’ll keep that in mind. do you think the idiots have finally left?”
barbatos blinks, then rises to his feet. he walks back over to the door and pokes his head through, listening carefully for a moment before looking back at lucifer. “it sounds so, but there’s always somebody listening around here. i’d imagine you want to leave as soon as you can?”
“of course i do,” lucifer stands and huffs under his breath. his wings rustle a bit to shake off any stray dander. if he's being honest, it feels like he's being constantly watched, and he hates it. “and don't you think about blabbing to this about anybody.”
"i wouldn't dream of it," barbatos opens the door and steps out into the hallway while he speaks, moving out of the way for lucifer. maybe it’s just lucifer’s imagination, but his eyes look a little brighter after this interaction. "it's not my place to tell… so long as you keep my secret too."
"i have literally no reason to tell anybody," lucifer deadpans, following him and glancing down the hallway. he’s still astounded by the sheer amount of space in this castle. “what’s the nearest exit in this place?”
“first floor, one hall down. the stairs are that way,” barbatos nods his head in a direction, “it’s hard to miss. i will keep him distracted to assure you run into no trouble.” he pauses, looking down in thought for a moment. “...i apologize for the stress this surely caused you. i hope you realize i have as little control over his actions as you do.”
lucifer turns away, already heading down the hall indicated. “don’t worry about it.i’m not taking it personally. and…” he forces the next words out of his mouth, wholly unused to saying them, especially so soon after falling. “thanks. i really appreciate it.”
barbatos blinks in surprise at him, though he doesn’t see it. before the other demon leaves, it responds with, “of course. please let me know if you’re in need of anything else, perhaps somewhere away from… prying eyes.”
it then turns the opposite way back to the main hall as lucifer leaves, knowing it has to meet with diavolo whether it wants to or not. meanwhile, lucifer is already outside, rushing past the gates. though the threat has passed, he can’t help but feel like there are orange eyes burning into his back the entire way home.