PREPERATION
It takes time, but eventually, Ariel can lead Carlisle back to the house with the rest of the coven following suit as she texts out the word that is safe. Granted, the scene back at home isn't a pretty one. Most of the Cullens do their best to try to not show their discomfort, with Edward sticking to the walls as much as possible. Not one of them seems to be able to find the words needed. Jasper and Edward look the most outwardly affected, with Jasper's eyes gleaming from a fresh hunt and Edward avoiding looking at anyone for too long. Her eyes soften knowing that it's not just his own thoughts that he's battling with, but that of his family as well.
Carlisle sticks close to her, eyes bristled with concern as he tries to swallow the sight in the house. His hand slips just under the hem of her shirt to rub circles on her hip that are more for his comfort than hers. She can't say she blames him.
Yana is unconscious and bloodied to the point of unrecognizable. The reanimated corpse's blood scattered across the room like twisted art, making the room reek. Mazikeen is unbothered as she cleans off her knives casually, with only Amenadiel as the only angel looking affected, clearly a bit nauseated.
Ariel looks to Lucifer with a look of exasperation. The blood alone will be a pain to get out of the floors and ceiling, the smell even more so. "My house is a mess, Lucy."
"Ah, no worries. I'm sure that Amenadiel won't mind help cleaning up and I'm about to pop her back to where she belongs anyway. Somewhere she won't cause any more issues and she'll learn her lesson."
The threatening undertone comes across clearly, his eyes flashing devilishly. Amenadiel doesn't seem too thrilled about being volunteered for cleaning duty, but he doesn't protest so Ariel can only assume that he actually will help when this is said and done. Which would be appreciated. She's already cleaned and reset her house once, she hardly wants to go through the process a second time.
Lucifer waves off the concern for the mess as he adjusts the cufflink on his wrist. With the care he takes in doing so, Ariel can recognize it as a matching set gifted by Chloe. She can imagine the now captain won't be pleased to see blood on them. "The good news is that we did get the answers that we're looking for."
Ariel crosses her arms tightly against her chest, unbothered by the mess even as she feels some of the Cullen members shift uncomfortably. Jasper shifts the most, hand over his mouth as he mutters comments about how disgusting the blood smells. She can only imagine. A rotting possessed corpse could hardly smell appetizing.
"She's got quite a few numbers waiting to hear from her in Seattle," Mazikeen is the one who offers the information. "Only about fifty or so, not nearly as bad as last time, but still a pain in the ass. Got the location. We can just swoop in and take them all out by surprise."
"How many do you reckon have weapons?"
Ariel glances toward Carlisle and the rest of the coven. She knows that they will want to join the raid, but she can't help but hesitate. Fifty demons with knives could spell trouble for the vampires; while the knives could hurt her and her brothers as well, she knows that the inexperience the coven has with demons would put them at a severe disadvantage. She doesn't want that disadvantage to be any worse than it has to be.
"Hmmm maybe a few," Mazikeen makes a face as she briefly thinks the question over, "Most of the demons are lower level, I doubt that they'd have their own weapons."
Lower-level demons won't be too much of an issue. Fifty or so will be annoying, a definite pain in the ass to handle, but completely doable. Not impossible and not an all out war either. Something that she knows that their small group is capable of handling - and without the help of Lucifer's human, which would lower the risks of her getting hurt. She glances at Carlisle from the corner of her eyes, an unspoken conversation passing as she debates about how much to truly involve them. He grabs her hand and squeezes it tightly, reassuringly, his eyes screaming at her that their family will want to help as much as they can. The smile she gives him is tired and somewhat forced, clouded with too much concern at the thought.
She has no idea how Lucifer handled it. Four years and ongoing of living - of loving, of protecting - a human. Someone even more fragile than her coven. Not to mention his aid in the police department, how many times that she must have gotten shot at -
"Yes, I'm sure that incident in the forge doesn't quite help their cause either." Lucifer adds on thoughtfully, not quite elaborating on the incident in question. He catches Ariel's eyes and the almost pained understanding on her face, his eyebrows furrowing a bit in confusion at the sudden shift and wave of sincerity swirling in her eyes. He chooses to ignore it - for now.
"Seattle's due for rain." Alice speaks up, curled into Jasper's side almost protectively. "A big storm actually. It should last for about a week."
Jasper's hand digs into her side and Ariel wonders if the smaller girl had gone through a similar experience with Jasper as she did with Carlisle. But Alice's words confirm that the entire coven seem to be on the same page with Carlisle, with not even Rosalie voicing protests about getting involved.
"I don't know about involving the -" Amenadiel pauses with a sigh before seeming to correct himself, "-the Cullens. Demons can be a handful as is, even the lower ones, without having to worry about the safety of more people."
Ariel does want to agree with him, mostly out of sheer concern for them, not wanting to see them get hurt. But when she glances at them, she sees the same steel expression in their eyes. Determination. Comradery. Familial protection. She's seen that look enough to know what it means and that it would be pointless to try to stop them. She should be a bit more against it, but a part of her feels warm knowing that they have her back this deeply, that despite not being married quite yet, that the family has wholly accepted her like this.
"Chloe helped during the previous attack with Charlie," Lucifer chimes, "But I do suppose that the safety of one person is different -"
"Chloe didn't give you much of a choice." Ariel's voice is dry. She leans into Carlisle's side with acceptance, "I don't believe that they're giving any of us much choice either."
"We're also really wanting to kick some demon ass." Emmett grins wildly.
Rosalie looks at her nails with scrutiny, but her lack of a comment speaks loudly about her own agreement. Edward and Jasper both give a single nod as their agreement, not openly voicing their opinions. Carlisle's smile is tired, but amused as his grip on Ariel becomes more relaxed. He presses a kiss to her forehead as his hand goes to her hair.
"There's other covens who may be willing to provide aid," Carlisle murmurs softly, "I can't guarantee it, but -"
Ariel quiets him with a kiss to the temple, "Don't go out of your way, love. I believe between our coven and my brothers - and Maze - we will have this handled. Should everything go well, we'll be in and out of Seattle before you know it. My brothers and I have faced worse and I believe that our family can handle themselves well against this."
Our coven - our family - her preferred terms don't go unnoticed, with Carlisle absolutely beaming as he looks down at her with care. His eyes twinkling with mirth that she's fully accepted her place into their lives, making him more secure that her choice has not wavered about their engagement. Edward glances at him with an exasperated look, not quite believing that even in a time like this, his father's thoughts drift toward the wedding and their honeymoon.
"Then it's settled then." Lucifer claps his hands, a large grin spreading across his face. "I'll pop her into a cell and we'll all be on our way."
