Lilith had a lot of work to do after letting the angel go. Defenses, both internal and external, to shore up. Loose ends to tie up, bugs to squash.
If anyone found out she'd not only captured, but also released an Advisor to the Angiris Council…well, she hated her Father almost as much as he hated her for a reason. They would want the angel for themselves, along with whatever information she (hadn't) pulled from him. And when they found she'd not only let him go, but had nothing of use to show for it, there'd be Hell to pay. Best not to chance it.
And so she'd gone about tidying up her forces, eliminating any threats and bringing those loyal to her even closer.
After all, her most loyal followers were the ones who she planned to include on her plans of escape. Despite this, Lilith didn't bother telling them much. The fewer people that could be squeezed for information, the better, and stars knew how many she needed for her true plans here. She had to be more cautious than ever now.
Lilith kept herself busy, going over her forces with a fine-tooth comb, mapping out plan after plan for how to counter her Father, how to please him, how to fight the Heavens, how to find that one specific angel again… Her thoughts kept turning to him.
An aggravated sigh escaped the demoness, and she resisted the urge to bang her head on the table that housed her plans. Seeing as she wasn't getting anything else done, she turned back to her throne and curled into it. Her elbow came down on the armrest, and she rested her cheek on her fist. Her tail swished against the ground one way, and lashed back the other; a clear indication of her mood.
Maybe it was just because he was something so new and so very different, but it seemed at every corner, Lilith was thinking about him. Inarius . Just thinking his name made her tail twitch in hopeful excitement. They hadn't gotten to finish what she'd started after all, with her hastily guiding him out of her fort in Pandemonium, and him following so trustingly behind. Lilith had already blamed that simple fact for her inability to focus on anything else. She was just sexually frustrated! And sexual frustration for a succubus was a code-red priority.
Still.
She couldn't get the stupid angel out of her head.
His regal, elegant armor and big wings, or the soft silver hair that had spilled out of his hood… His hands, which had been gentle and smooth when she grabbed one of them in her own clawed fingers to lead him down the treacherous path of his escape. His lips. His tongue against hers. His eyes, mis-matched, as hers were. The very dreams he dreamt, as she did.
They truly were kindred spirits. It made her long for his company as she languished in Hell, surrounded by none who truly understood her.
More than what he meant for her cause, she liked him. She wanted him in her dungeon again (which could be decent cover for a 'meeting' with him...). She didn't want to discuss logistics or hopes or dreams though. She wanted him chained up and whimpering, shivering as she touched him and took him and made him her own. She wanted him gasping after her when she kissed him hard enough to bruise those soft lips. She wanted to take off all his armor, and have whatever was underneath all to herself, and she wanted to touch him and keep touching him till he couldn't take it anymore. After all that was said and done…Lilith imagined, for just a moment, having the angel in her bed, curling trustingly-possessively around him.
Lilith wanted to fuck that angel. No, she wanted to mate with that angel.
As soon as the thought came to her, she let out an audible hiss and tried to squash it. Lilith glanced around, as if there were any who could have traced the treacherous thought. No one in sight, but…
Even though she was alone in her citadel, her heart thudded anxiously.
Oh sure, fantasizing about what it'd be like to strip an angel down was one thing. But wanting to actually bond with one? With a specific angel?
That was dangerous territory.
She didn't even know this angel well. Barely at all, in fact. Everything in her dungeon could have been an elaborate ploy - she didn't think so, but it was possible. Maybe this angel was a very good actor. Maybe he'd even known about her own plans, somehow, some way. For as much as she didn't believe that either, Lilith couldn't rule it out, even if she wanted to.
He'd seemed so genuine.
Genuinely upset at the thought of losing his dream before he ever beheld it at least.
Lilith shook her horned head, and shoved to her feet. She needed to fuck something. Preferably a demon. Preferably a strong demon. She needed scales and fangs and carnage, not smooth metal and soft hair and a pretty pair of wings that twitched whenever she-
With a snarl, Lilith walked faster towards where her incubi denned in her citadel. They would at least distract her. …She hoped.
Stupid angel.
Some time passed before they finally ended up in battle together once again. Admittedly, chances were sporadic; Lilith was not often called, or even trusted to lead an assault. Despite her record of being quite effective at weaseling through enemy lines, neither her father nor his brothers wanted her calling the shots. The Lesser Evils commandeering her was out of the question, and if she launched an assault on her own (which she wasn't dumb enough to do, thank you very much,) the Prime Evils would lose their shit.
Lilith was pretty sure they were simply afraid of her. They knew efficiency when they saw it, and Lilith was damn good at what she did. Mephisto, in particular, knew exactly what he'd created in his daughter, and was quick to leash her, and slow to let that leash slack. Bastard.
But, this lack of opportunity did mean it took more time than Lilith would've liked to find her angel again.
All the first battle and most of the second she spent keeping lookout for him, but they ended up clashing primarily with angels under Imperius's command. Wrong I-name, even if it was close. She was pretty sure he'd incinerate her if she got within twenty feet of the angel.
A victory, a defeat, more agonizing time spent playing politics in Hell. Lilith idly wondered if someone else had killed him. There was no one to really know, not without asking the angels, but if she ever found out he was dead, then whoever had done it was pay thousand-fold. That was her angel.
Finally, the third battle after their first meeting found success. Oh, Hell was losing. Her Father's forces had taken hold of a decent chunk of Pandemonium, and even reclaimed an old keep that was mostly-buried in the dusts of the realm. Still, progress was progress, and they'd pushed on, trudging towards Pandemonium Fortress and the treasure inside.
They didn't make it more than half-way before angels were pouring out of the sky. Something had riled them up. They pushed Mephito's forces all the way back to the keep they'd taken, and it was there that some kind of defense was being mounted. Lilith had somewhat lost track of the battle - demons were not known for their communication skills - but was at the very least keeping her own specialized forces together, and more or less alive. They were of no use to her dead.
As usual, she kept an eye and an ear out for a specific resonance. Although, she thought as she watched a wave of angels pass, it was entirely possible he'd been there and she'd simply missed him. He may have stood out in a line-up of angels, but that was if they held still. All darting around in the skies like this, it was hard to tell them apart. Lots of light. Lots of wings.
Lilith was debating whether to pull her own demons back, and let Mephisto take the loss…when she found him. Oh, she certainly found him.
Blasting a hole clean through the wall of their keep for his brethren to swoop through no less.
Lilith had been drawn closer, driven towards the thick of the fighting and debating whether or not to throw her own might into repelling the fresh wave of angels crowding the walls. Then, there had been light, and heat, and a sound like a volcano erupting as rock was blown away or melted. Lilith pulled up short and stared at the angel in all his glory. He looked far better when he hadn't been beaten half to death, with power radiating from his hands, confidence in his stance and a host behind his back.
Far, far better.
Mid-battle was no place for the fluttering she felt in her nethers.
"What's this? A little angelic mage then?" Lilith spoke without thinking, voice flirtatious without meaning to be.
The angel started. Turned minutely to look over his shoulder and down at where she hovered.
"You should dive." He uttered. Then, he whirled around and that was definitely a frost orb charging at his finger-tip.
With a shriek, Lilith dove away, and the angel launched his attack. To her vague surprise, not a single spike hit her. It did obscure the air though. Moments later, an icey blizzard began to plummet out of the sky, further diminishing visibility.
Lilith realized then that he wasn't attacking her, not really. He was providing a veil to escape. To any on-lookers, it definitely looked like he was throwing a furious ice-storm at her. In reality, while the shards came close, Lilith escaped without a mark on her.
Huh. Clever little angel mage then.
They darted through the air in an elaborate chase. Lilith dove down, skirting along the keep wall to reach the craggy outcropping off the far side. Inarius followed, still hurling spells after her, and letting out a low war-cry. It was a good act. They kept going till they were well out of sight, and finally Lilith found a protected spot to land. Moments later, Inarius alit beside her.
"Five minutes." The angel declared as he hit the ground. "Then they will start looking for me."
Lilith blinked.
"So forward of you." She uttered. "You are serious about it all then?"
"Aren't you?" He returned, keeping an eye on the sky. Putting his unprotected side towards her. Funny enough, it both flattered and irritated her; he was either showing trust, or dismissing her as a threat, and it was much harder for Lilith to believe he really trusted her. But then, he was a strange angel, and they were here of a common accord.
Lilith rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. "If I weren't, we wouldn't be standing here."
"Then I would say the same." Deciding that the coast was clear, he turned fully towards her then, yet still kept his guard lowered. "It's a lot easier to hit a target with a blizzard than it is to miss. They're rather made to do so."
Lilith blinked at that - she couldn't fault the logic, and was mildly impressed. There wasn't a scratch on her, despite the bombardment he'd been throwing at her.
Then, they simply stared at one another.
All the things Lilith wanted to say - the need to plan, to figure out where they went from here - escaped her. Inarius seemed little better off, watching her expectantly and then growing awkward and uncertain when the silence stretched. His wings flicked anxiously at the air, almost how Lilith's tail slapped the ground in aggravation. It wasn't as though they actually knew each other, after all. Or even where they really stood with each other; allies? Mutual acquaintances? That was half the problem.
"Well this is a fine mess we've put ourselves in, hm?" Lilith offered, amused despite herself.
"Raging battle doesn't really foster a productive meeting too well." Inarius carefully agreed. "...We need a better way to communicate."
Lilith bit her lip. Straight to business then…
"Agreed." She straightened herself up, and folded her hands together over her stomach. "I have the beginnings of a network, although it is not as of yet completely reliable."
"As have I. It would take some time to link the two up. And, as you said, there are gaps in the foundation." Inarius crossed his arms, considering. "Once this is established though…"
"Then the real work begins." Lilith concluded. "Escaping the conflict will be no easy task. Whatever we will do, it must be iron-tight."
"Not like anything they've ever tried before." Inarius muttered.
A distant explosion shook the ground around them. Lilith could hear the sound of her keep's walls crumbling. Time was not on their side here, and neither of them really knew how best to use it anyway.
Despite having searched for this angel, despite being so anxious to see him again, Lilith was not truly prepared for this conversation. What were they even supposed to talk about? Logistics? There was nothing yet to align. Plans? They needed to figure out what their goal even was first. She'd been so certain, when she'd had him babbling to her in chains, that they were talking about and wanting the same things. But what was escape for an angel? Lilith had always imagined the Heavens must have been a wondrous place free of problems, and jealously slaughtered thousands of angels for it. They were supposed to be the opposite of Hell anyway, and Hell was a mess.
Yet here was an angel, desperate to get away from all of it. What was Sanctuary for him?
"We have much to discuss that cannot be said during battle." Inarius stated. "There is not enough time here. We must reconvene."
Lilith tilted her head at him, considering. "Could you slip away? After the battle's conclusion. We can lay more of the groundwork then."
That made the angel hesitate. "Possibly. I'd say it depends on how the battle goes, but after last time we met, I'm not sure the Council cares all that much about who gets left behind."
He sounded disgruntled. Oh dear, had being abandoned agitated him? How…unfortunate. Lilith deliberately did not lick her lips. She had picked up a bit of that disillusionment with the angel's own leadership when she'd had him in her dungeon, as he'd responded so keenly to her compliments. Almost as though he were starved for such positive attention. He had somewhat implied that the Angiris Council tended to ignore or discard his advice, and now they'd ignored and discarded his very being.
They'd practically paved the way for her to sweep him off his feet and into her loving embrace. How kind of them!
"Well," Lilith purred, "If we can, we should try and find one another. After all this noise is resolved." She gestured at the battlefield. "Since we're in this together, we have to at least try and work within the same terms…"
"You are correct. We will connect after." The angel agreed. He glanced over his shoulder at the skies, tilted his head towards the sounds of combat. With a hum, he seemed to reach a decision, although Lilith couldn't have said about what.
"Our time is up. Come here." He opened his arms to her, as though seeking an embrace.
Lilith's stomach did a flip-flop. To say nothing of what her nethers did.
Her face must have reflected some of this, for Inarius was quick to explain; "If I go back to them without damage, they will wonder why and how. I am not in the habit of letting demons go, and I imagine you are not in the habit of going down without a fight. We must sell this."
"Oh." Lilith couldn't deny her disappointment. "Right, right. Thinking ahead I see."
"It's in my job description." He deadpanned.
Lilith stared at him, baffled, before a snort of laughter escaped her. Oh, she liked this one. She strut up into his space, still giggling.
"You are a strange angel." She cooed up at him, even as she mapped out his armor with her eyes. Looking for the best spots to inflict visible damage that wouldn't kill. There was definitely not any mental-undressing going on here, no sirree.
"And you are certainly different. For a demon." He lightly agreed. There was a lilt to his voice, a tremor of fear? It made Lilith want to hesitate, and she knew then that she was doomed with this angel.
Before she could do anything silly or drastic, Lilith rammed her claw into his belly, tearing the metal there. An odd, shrieky chirrup of noise - a yelp? - escaped him, and his wings flared in pain as he doubled over. Lilith immediately regretted it, for it excited her. This was neither the time nor the place.
"I don't-" She tried.
"The face too." He managed, cutting her off as he straightened back up again. "...Imagine I've done something to irritate you."
Lilith frowned at him. He flicked his wings innocently, and it actually was rather irritating.
For that, she back-handed him across the cheek. Hard. Made him stumble a few steps, and pulled another yelp of pain from him. Okay, that did it. If he was going to keep whimpering like that, she wasn't going to be able to control herself.
As he was gathering his balance and wits back to himself, Lilith stepped up so close they were nearly touching. He peered at her quizzically, mouth opening in question.
Lilith grabbed him by the chin and kissed him hard.
He stalled for a moment, baffled by the abrupt change, but Lilith was forceful as she stuffed her tongue into his mouth. Yes. He was just as warm-soft-wet as she remembered. This was what she'd been waiting, aching, longing for. And now that she finally had it again, all Lilith could think was that she wanted more. She dragged her claws down his chest. The metal screeched horridly as it was marred. There was angelic light-blood dripping from his cheek where one of her rings had caught him, dribbling onto her fingers where she squeezed his chin. Lilith pulled out of the kiss, and daringly licked the blood off his cheek.
A sweet coo escaped the angel this time. Then those smooth-gentle hands found her hips, barely resting there while Lilith touched him. Grinning against his cheek, Lilith wrapped both arms around him to reach his back, and dragged her claws around. To her surprise, Inarius shuddered and dropped his face into the crook of her shoulder with a stifled moan. He reflexively squeezed her waist, fingers digging into her skirt. The position had him cuddled into her, and her tits rubbing against his chest plate through the thin cloth of her dress. Lilith sucked in a sharp breath, and froze in place. Her tail slapped the ground with her excitement, and she had to bite her own lip hard to keep from tackling him to the ground then and there. Neither one of them moved, Inarius working through the pain, Lilith battling with her own lust.
Stupid angel. Stupid noisy pretty angel, when she finally had him right and properly under her hands, oh , the things she would do to him. This was very much not the time or place. Still, Lilith was tempted. Imagine that! The Queen of Succubi, a temptress of the highest order, being tempted by an angel.
They stood like that for what seemed an eternity. Finally, Inarius pulled away from her, wings giving a little shiver as he moved. He seemed…stiff. Had she hurt him that badly? Oh well, he was the one who asked for it in the first place.
"There, see?" Lilith told him breathlessly. "More than one way to rough up some armor."
In response, Inarius ran careful fingers over the claw marks she'd left in his chest plate.
"Hm. I will take this into consideration for next time." His wings spread, and lifted him into the air. "Until after the battle…or next we meet." He called down to her, and without any fanfare, flew away.
"Yeah…after the battle." Lilith muttered.
Personally, she hoped the battle lasted just a little bit longer. She had some frustrations to rub out.