- IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

[slightlyoffchilt]

"Hello.

You've reached the direct line of Doctor Frederick Chilton. As I am not available at the moment, you might assume I'm quite busy with something pressing. State your name and business, and I will return your call."

Comments

Monday June 29 appointment ; action

[abduxel]

[Matthew - well, Abduxel, now - is prompt and well-dressed, as he usually is. He settles into the seat closest to Chilton's perch, leaning and sprawling as he usually does here. He smiles around at the office, reflecting on breaking into it once upon a time.]

Your patient files are very well-organized. I appreciate that.

[slightlyoffchilt]

[Chilton quirked an eyebrow at that, his lips pursed.]

Perhaps we ought to establish boundaries, Mr. Lin. [Knowing Abduxel's true name now, Chilton has opted to ironically employ the demon's alias. It would serve better for when he needed to say what the demon now called himself.] Like, for example, no more snooping about my other patients. It might suggest jealousy.

[abduxel]

[He laughs a little, clearly amused by rubbing his previous invasions in Chilton's face.]

Boundaries, jealousy. That's cute. [Just like you, when you're flustered.] For your information, I was honest with you that I haven't snooped since Walter called me off. There's no need, really. Do I care about imPorts' personality disorders? Not really.

[slightlyoffchilt]

[Chilton tilted his head, acknowledging Abduxel's confession. But the psychiatrist was more interested in the potential for misbehavior than any repeat offense; if committed once, it could be committed again. That was the logic he would employ for his own benefit, during this whirlwind period between their mutual acquaintances.]

You care about yourself. And your significant imPort connections. [A beat.] Do they care about you, Matthew?

[abduxel]

[Apparently Dorian doesn't, he thinks bitterly.]

You should be asking them [he uses air-quotes] that question, not me. I can't answer for anyone else. Some of them enjoy my company. Some of them tolerate it. Some of them know better - or had to learn.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Well. [Abduxel's response was noted for its overtones of defensiveness and hostility. Chilton smiled softly, convinced he had rubbed a thumb over a raw nerve.]

I enjoy your company. While rejection from others isn't kind, you might consider it a pruning process. Some will always be blind to your truer value.

[abduxel]

[Damn right they will. Fuck you, Dorian and Walter. Lightly, although with an undercurrent of bitterness,] The blind ones can have their uses, too.

[But he's getting tense because he wonders if Chilton knows that Walter fired him, and he's reacting to the manipulation of this live nerve with a metaphorical snap of the teeth. His gaze is unwavering, revealing in its intensity. He considers asking Chilton directly what he's getting at, but he opts for a different route, something a little more demonic.]

I'm aware I can be difficult to get along with.

We all have skeletons in our closet, though. Sometimes even on our tables. Is that connected with your unwilling condition, I wonder? I never did read that part.

[slightlyoffchilt]

[Chilton looked down, a moment, accepting that Abduxel had thrown this blow. He forged his features into an expression of exoneration, presenting the demeanor of forgiveness without any strings attached.

But of course, an appearance was simply an appearance.]

Is that what you want from me? Do you need me to recite my trauma to you?

[abduxel]

I don't need anything from you. I could look, myself, but I don't. Are you sure your vision is alright?

[Translation: Do you actually respect me? Are you as grateful as you should be?]

[slightlyoffchilt]

It isn't so much the material itself, as you know. I'm aware of your power. Just as you are aware of how we understand compliance.

[He leaned forward, his elbows on his desk.]

I do not comply for most people, Abduxel. Most people are not worth it. But I can for you, if that is what you want.

[abduxel]

[That makes him begin to relax, cautiously, unwinding tension that had been caused by Chilton needling at that sore spot. At least Chilton knew he was worthwhile, he thought. The cutting underhanded aggressiveness fades a touch, still beneath the surface but submerging to - eventually - give way to his more usual demeanor.

He smiles.]

Oh, I'd like if you complied, but not necessarily in the way you're suggesting.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Of course, of course. [No longer taken aback by Abduxel's poignant flirtation, Chilton only arches an eyebrow in appreciation of their status quo. Innuendo and threats, honesty and veiled promises -- that was their dance.]

And you are quite aggressive when in pursuit. But one might wonder, does that tendency hold true beneath the sheets?

[abduxel]

I think you can guess.

[He leans forward on the desk, propped by his elbows. Smiling at this turn of events, unwitting that Chilton had driven him and Walter apart and then played on his need for validation. Well, the idea crossed his mind, but he'd dismissed it, not yet a knowing witness to the depth of Chilton's manipulative abilities.

But invite the demon in and give him an inch... He looks sly, speaks low:]

I'd have your arms and legs spread and tied, bent over prone across this desk, begging for my aggression.

[slightlyoffchilt]

[Chilton blinked -- then swallowed. A heat roused in his cheeks, the sort of pinkened blush that he hadn't felt for a couple months at least. Undoubtedly the last flustered flush he had suffered was also because of the demon, this salacious and provocative demon. It was astounding what he could provoke with the turn of a phrase or two.

Chilton shifted, crossing one leg over the other, and thus secured his response.]

Vivid. [Chilton glanced to Abduxel's gaze. Glanced back down at the table. Another tide of blush.] You enjoy using elements of your partners -- well, I don't want to say against them. But rather, in exploitation of them. You'd offer to use my desk, symbolic of my prestige and station, as the restraining bed re-purposed for your... Aggression.

That is a perception of yours that I find quite fascinating, you see. You know how people define themselves, the symbols they use, and you understand how to use that to your benefit.

[abduxel]

[He can't hide how pleased he is at Chilton's flustered, blushing reaction. The man never really draws back, never tells him to stop, always leads him forward with the smallest breadcrumbs. But so long as he senses invitation, he pursues. His eyes flick down to note that crossed leg, but beyond that moment, he doesn't break gaze with Chilton. He looks thoughtful for a moment.]

I've never thought of it that way, but you're right. Of course, the lines do blur between exploitation and indulgence.

[Dorian and his narcissism, Elsa and her blood magic... Of course, he was not so combative about it with everyone as he was with Chilton. But then, they didn't need much coaxing to indulge with him.]

Tell me. Do you like being exploited? I think you like it.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Why, Mr. Lin. Are you accusing me of masochism? Hard to imagine someone without masochistic tendencies seeking out someone to exploit them. [It's a lingering preamble, a way of toeing around Abduxel's observation. Chilton wasn't afraid of being subjected to a little exploitation, as long as that momentary humiliation served his greater purpose. He could play the political game, he could give -- as long as he would later take.]

My body had been violated, before. [A beat. As promised, that information about Abel Gideon given willingly.] By a former patient. He kidnapped me and gutted me. He removed some intestine, a kidney... Well. How gruesome do you want the details?

[abduxel]

[His smile emphatically says yes to Dr. Chilton's preamble, but the expression fades naturally to a more serious, intent look as the man reveals his great trauma. Abduxel had jabbed at the cannibalism thing as a continuation of mocking his own invasion of Chilton's files and memories; he thought perhaps the issues with cannibalism were related to Chilton's unwilling vegetarianism, but he had never expected that connection to be so physical and so literal. He'd expected some psychological trauma. And so he seems surprised, almost taken aback.

But the fact that Chilton shared this with him was, although unfortunately not returned flirtation, at least some kind of meaningful token. A gesture, and a rather grand and serious one when it comes to Abduxel. In return, he shows more respect in his reply, a stark contrast to earlier:]

Only as gruesome as you'd like to share, Doctor. I'm not squeamish, but I'm not demanding every dirty detail from you, either. Were you... awake for this torture?

[slightlyoffchilt]

[An exhale followed, long and ponderous. Chilton was willing to indulge and forge this meaningful connection -- he needed to, in fact. Abduxel was not only a favorable ally, he was a vital one.]

I was. My former patient had me on a local anesthetic. He didn't want me to pass out from the pain, and he didn't want me made unconscious from the painkiller. He preferred his surgical targets awake, if numbed. He said it reminded him that they were still human.

[If Chilton wasn't exposing flesh this session, then he'd expose his past.]

He forced me to hold my own entrails as he fled the scene.

[abduxel]

[Would Chilton be surprised to see Abduxel affected by this story? The demon has sympathy, and his widened eyes show it.]

That's disgusting.

Was he caught?

[He looks away a moment, then back at Chilton. He seems a touch uncomfortable, maybe feeling that there's some comparison being drawn here with regards to how he crosses Chilton's boundaries (frequently, and on purpose).]

When I "joke" about exploiting you - when I come onto you - I do hope you're aware that you can stop me with a word.

[slightlyoffchilt]

He was shot. [He spoke that slowly, his eyes voracious for Abduxel's expression. Curious, curious -- this reaction was a surprise. Chilton had yet to measure the demon's capacity for empathy, but he wouldn't have anticipated such investment.] Will Graham had shot him. I recovered, obviously.

[Though it took the better half of a year, and Chilton couldn't use the restroom properly for most of that. He lost a kidney and kept the incision scar.]

You're highly aware of power dynamics. [An observation.] You're sensitive to them. Is that something you understood to this degree before or after your demonic transformation?

[abduxel]

[He acknowledges the conclusion of the story silently. Chilton hadn't directly replied to his final statement, but he took the non-answer as implicit agreement. The question makes him look away to think a moment, like he isn't quite sure he remembers.

With the return of a faint smirk,] In bed? Well, yes. I understood it quite well.

But as for the rest of it, ah, I had a lot of learning to do. Corrective torture is huge in Hell, I'll have you know.

[slightlyoffchilt]

[For a moment, a split second, Chilton looked alarmed. "Corrective torture is huge in Hell" -- something innate and quieted from the base of his spine found sound reason to twitch at that alarming statement. From a metaphysical perspective, Chilton didn't consider himself a likely candidate for not Hell. Legally, he had concerns. Spiritually, he had concerns. And personally, he feared being subjected to any breed of asylum, no matter how mystical.

So for that moment, he was alarmed. And then he beckoned his Baltimore logic.]

Hell doesn't exist in my world. Or rather, it does, but we simply call it daily reality. [More a statement than an attempt at a joke.] Is that a problem for you, here? Punitive correction? Luce -- He seems somewhat hands-off.

[abduxel]

Do you really know that, Doctor? When I traded my soul away, I didn't think there was a Hell, either. Isn't that funny? Look how it all turned out.

[He gestures, spreading his hands. He really does seem to find it funny, in a rueful sort of way.

As for Lucifer, he hesitates a moment. Lucifer burned him with holy weaponry, but it didn't really fall under the criteria of the question; it wasn't a punishment, it was an experiment. He decides it isn't relevant.]

It hasn't been a problem. But then again, it was never by His hand directly. There's a hierarchy.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Who did you trade your soul away to, if you hadn't considered there to be a Hell in your universe?

[It was a question burnt of curiosity, and perhaps a little skepticism. Chilton knew his personal devil: Hannibal Lecter. He knew that Hannibal had orchestrated something horrific for him, and it was waiting back home like the tick of an eternal clock. He knew this because Freddie Lounds had so glibly informed him of that much. Hannibal created Hell for his victims, and the length of that agony was determined by what degree of humanity he would deem you.]

I'll side with our fiery, mutual acquaintance on this one issue: I find that humanity is the greater evil. We even have hierarchies of our own. [A beat.] Though perhaps it would be rude of me to inquire where you stood upon yours.

[abduxel]

It was a ritual. I didn't know anyone was listening.

[He says it reluctantly; he's told others, here, but saying it to Chilton feels especially exposing.

He gives Chilton a little look at that question-not-question.]

Just ask it, if you're going to ask. The answer is not at the top, not at the bottom. I've been a demon only ninety years. [To clarify,] That's very young.

[He looks at his fingers idly, like he's distracted. Airily,] Anyway, I think I've held up my end of the deal, Dr. Chilton.