Sinfully Delicious

Loyalty

Lucifer had already been in the shop, unseen and watching, since Baltha had alerted him to the shifter's interest in Ferya's location. If other customers from the previous shop had found this place, it would only take so long until the council's Guardians would find it as well, even if they were truly friends of Ferya.

And true to form, he had seen the blood elf walk into the shop, followed by... well, he had been very intrigued by that second one. The Tuath Dé had dark hunters, like the man, they had warriors and fighters of other clans, but the woman who walked in behind him was from one of the more peaceful and light loving clans. They were both Tuath Dé, but one was a light creature and the other was one of his, no matter how much they spoke of neutrality.

Most Tuath Dé served as the Guardians of the cities while on Earth, they were supposed to be loyal to the council, not merely the day kin but it didn't take a genius to notice that the council of twelve usually held more sway in the upper echelons of the force. Nor that the Guardians paid more attention to what happened during the day than they did at night. Even night kin, such as the man here now, would only get places in life if they played the council's game.

Even more interesting, was the fact that he recognized the elf he was looking at, though this was the last place he would have expected to see Murchadh.

What really intrigued him was the instant focus of the dark one on Ferya and the surprise that told Lucifer that the Guardians had not expected to find her here. Lucifer found himself incredibly curious to know why the two of them had come to the shop at all. He left that mystery for the time being and turned his attention to the blush creeping up into the human's skin, seeing her sudden nervousness that was setting Baltha on edge.

Lucifer's enforcer saw only the nerves as submission that Ferya was no longer expected to feel toward any kin who deigned to pay attention to her. Despite the growing fury of his general, Lucifer smirked slowly at that development, feeling the girl's infatuation with the elf permeating the air around them. He waited, expecting her to ignore his rules, expecting the betrayal when she chose this creature over his benevolence and was surprised when he felt the thrum of the bracelet through the air.

She had actually alerted him, as she had promised to do.

Baltha barked, drawing the Tuath Dé 's attention, causing the war trophies on the elves' ears to jingle and sparkle in the low light as both Guardians turned to face the approach of the fire demon.

"Are you having difficulty swallowing your food?" It was the female who responded, smirking to Baltha with hands resting on her sword hilts that hung low on her hips.

"No. Just figured dogs like you could only speak one language." Baltha growled back, stopping an easy distance away from them, tell-tale smoke escaping through his lips as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"A coffee." The male said dismissively, before turning to the counter, where Ferya was standing, waiting with two disposable cups, filled with the coffee that she usually reserved for herself. "Ferya. How are you?"

The girl blushed darker, her eyes widening for a moment, before she offered a shrug and glanced away in embarrassment. It was adorable, she could barely look at the elf, though that behaviour was doing nothing to placate Baltha. "Good sir... just coffee...?"

Before Baltha could burn the place down with his anger, Lucifer appeared beside the demon, drawing a curse and a jump from the female elf, which he ignored. "He does not require any servitude from you... do you, Guardian?"

The male turned back, calm and controlled, barely showing his surprise as he offered the appropriate half bow, which inspired the younger female to follow suit. "No, m'lord. I am a simple fighter, but Ferya has always... preferred to address me as such."

Ferya, on the other hand, looked mortified as she glanced between him and the male, looking like she wanted to be facing neither one of them, though when she focused on Lucifer, he saw a little trace of that iron will that she hid deep within her. "Sir, I know Murchadh's name... and Cingetorix's, but they are on duty, I've always been told... that they deserve the proper respects.... For protecting the city... "

But that was a lie, she used the titles for something else, and judging by the blush that was burning in her cheeks, he would bet his soul on the fact it was a desperate attempt at keeping some formality between them. She liked Murchadh far too much to allow herself the dalliance of familiarity.

"Oh, yes, it appears that they are on duty, though they still haven't told us why they're here." Lucifer grinned darkly, turning back to Murchadh. "You've seen five centuries of battle in how many realms? And you are a mere footsoldier? Most of your caliber are the right-hand pets of the Council. Or clan leaders or Generals in your realms."

The man bared his teeth, just slightly, before letting out a slow breath. "I am told I do not play nicely with others, my lord. I offer no disrespect. We received intelligence that you had begun purchasing other establishments and that your enforcer was in town, doling out justice." Murchadh nodded to Baltha. "And I wanted to know if there was any cause for a simple foot soldier to worry. But I am not a dog of the council."

The blood elf bit that last bit out bitterly, a near snarl directed at the fire demon.

Lucifer could smell a lie, even from a being as powerful as this elf, who could give Baltha a decent run for his money in a fight, but there was no indication of dishonesty. With a nod, he accepted the explanation and turned his gaze to where the female was standing, still gripping her swords, looking like a warrior, for all that her colour screamed that she wasn't made to be anything of the sort.

"These are my friends... the ones I told you about." Ferya offered from where she still stood behind the counter, her voice quiet, her gaze cautiously on Lucifer when he looked back to her.

He could sense the protectiveness in her words and realized that she thought that he would hurt these two. That she had called him here and thought he was going to hurt them. He was still testing her loyalty without even intending to, but she had been faithful despite worrying over the safety of people she might possibly consider friends if given the chance.

"I surmised as much." Lucifer offered her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and inclined his head. "I told you that everyone was welcome here, did I not? They are welcome, if they follow my rules and respect the safety and sanctity of my establishment."

He turned to look at Baltha, who growled but merely nodded and turned, stalking back to the table, followed by the shifter who had stood behind him silently, ready to do battle. Though Lucifer hadn't yet decided what motivated the shapeshifter named Gavin, even as night Kin, the man would have little to gain and a lot to lose in attacking Guardians.

Finally, when his enforcer was no longer trying to start a war, he turned to the two elves. "This is no secret, nor are my intentions. It is a coffee shop. And my justice is always swift, I don't wait for the downtrodden to fill out paperwork to act, when people step out of line. I protect those who seek my protection."

When understanding appeared on the Guardian's features, Lucifer disappeared once more, knowing that the Council would know about the shop by dawn.

It was inevitable and it was what he wanted.