Hybrid Kingdom PSL

[no1likeme]

{ the “beach” episode }
for some more light-hearted/chaotic stuff happening at the hotel throughout the plot

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[sirenaic]

I can tell. Your eyes look clearer.

[comminuted]

Really?

[Now that idea pleases Conor a lot. He's felt so horribly foggy since he woke up at the hospital... maybe some of that was because he's forgotten what clarity feels like.

It feels a bit silly to ask Lucifer this, but suddenly Conor wants to know.]

Um - how have you been? Since... all that.

[sirenaic]

(( It's true. There's more going on in his eyes when Lucifer sees them now. And lingering haze he can easily attribute to whatever medications the humans have deemed best for him. Not because of whatever hypnotic effects Setekh had.

Lucifer stands upright then promptly plops down in a chair next to Conor. If they're going to have a conversation, he may as well be comfortable for it. ))

Me? Oh, I'm someone who likes to stay busy. You know, there really aren't that many people that make it to Heaven these days.

[comminuted]

[Conor actually turns toward Lucifer just a bit once he's sat down, which is a rare show of trusting body language for him. Lucifer inspires such a strange combination of nostalgic and safe feelings now, one Conor never thought he'd feel again.

Right... if Lucifer really is Lucifer, then he's in charge of Hell. And there are multiple afterlives just like there are multiple gods.]

Did we get worse, or just less obedient?

[sirenaic]

(( Something very sad flickers over Lucifer's face. It's gone so quickly, maybe Conor didn't notice it. But something a little melancholy remains deep in his eyes. ))

The doors were closed a long time ago. It's nothing you've done.

[comminuted]

[Oh... that's right...]

You came from Heaven. [Conor obviously doesn't mean any harm by stating something hurtful so plainly. It's just how his mind works now, largely filterless, and his voice is heavy with empathy.]

[sirenaic]

(( It's not really hurtful because it's true. And the story people know? Not quite so true. ))

That's right. I was made there.

[comminuted]

Do you ever miss it?

[More cautious this time - Conor knows this one might be a sensitive question.]

[sirenaic]

(( Lucifer pulls in a long breath. Does he miss it? ))

I miss... how it was. Before I left.

[comminuted]

[After a moment of quiet stillness, Conor nods.]

I think... I thought missing was wanting to go back, but I think it's actually knowing it doesn't exist to go back to. Or it never really did.

[sirenaic]

Hiraeth.

(( Said softly, almost musically. ))

That's the name of the feeling you're describing. It means 'homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was.'

[comminuted]

[That gets Conor thinking about the massive, nebulous before, in a more literal than poetic sense. He frowns, troubled but not exactly upset.]

My family was killed. They found the bodies. Mom, dad, two sisters. The doctors don't know if it's brain damage or trauma, but I don't remember them at all.

[sirenaic]

(( There's a noticeable pause, a lengthy silence between them. On Lucifer's side of it, it doesn't feel uncomfortable (little makes him truly uncomfortable). ))

Maybe that's some sort of mercy.

[comminuted]

Mm. [Again, Conor nods his agreement. It's hard to tell people about his family because they always want him to feel more than he does - Lucifer's response comes as a relief.

Conor quite likes talking to Lucifer, in fact.]

There's a lot missing. It's like... I'm still the same thing as everyone else, but I'm not like them anymore.

[He's aiming for a bonding thing here, Lucifer vs other angels + Conor vs other humans. He's just too emotionally cautious to be direct about it.]

[sirenaic]

(( A lot missing. Conor's memories, yes. Maybe some bit of what people would call his humanity? Only a very little, perhaps. He certainly isn't a monster, not now. Not by his own accord. He's been through something probably no other human can truly understand because they will never go through it. Still human, but changed, different. ))

Maybe we're not very different, little prince.

[comminuted]

[Conor's smile is always subtle, never wide enough to show his teeth or crease his cheeks, but the change in his eyes is unmistakable.]

I'm glad.

[sirenaic]

(( Nice. That kind of smile, however small or subtle, suits him far better than anything Lucifer saw him sporting while under the cult's influence. ))

Shall we call ourselves friends, then?

[comminuted]

Sure. I've got a lot of professionals and specialists and stuff right now... I could use more friends.

[Though when he really thinks about it, his number of potential friends is getting pretty high. He's sure his wariness with some of the hotel residents will diminish with time, and until then he's also got Lucas and Dae-hyun.

(If there's a little something extra in Conor's smile for the barest flicker of a moment, it's because of that last bit.)]

[sirenaic]

Let me tell you a secret.

(( And just to be a little extra about it, Lucifer looks around suspiciously before leaning in and lifting his hand to cup one side of his mouth as he whispers: ))

You can never have enough friends.

[comminuted]

[That little puff of air exhaled through his nose might have been a laugh. Maybe.]

How do you decide who to trust? I don't think I'm very good at that yet.

[sirenaic]

I... May not be the best person to offer advice on that. I don't know if you noticed, I've been betrayed a lot.

[comminuted]

That isn't your fault.

[Conor shoots his response back so quickly that it almost sounds sharp compared to his usual tone.]

If bad people keep finding you, the only other option is to be alone forever and no one can survive that.

[sirenaic]

(( Huh. It must be something about people with that specific face... They seem to be able to take him off-guard. Lucifer blinks, then smiles a muted smile. ))

I'm bad people, remember?

[comminuted]

Then are you just being nice to me so you can hurt me or use me later?

[Conor doesn't think so, but he tilts his head to indicate that it's not a rhetorical question.]

[sirenaic]

(( Cue the lifting of a brow. ))

Would a bad person admit to that plan?

(( Then, that almost gentle looks returns to his face. ))

I'm not alone, you know. It's just that no one ever hears about my companion because I won't let anyone speak ill of him.

(( The softness remains, but something grows sharper by degrees as he looks at Conor. ))

You look a lot like him. Maybe that's why I'm soft on you.