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 Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:37 pm
A real smile came over his face at that. "Ah, but I'm the one who wants to be friends. It's only right to try and make you comfortable." He wasn't one to get carried away by minor victories though; the sunny smile faded into a grin, then a mere upward quirk of his lips. "So. A question for you..."
He leaned forward, enough that Soah couldn't avoid meeting his eyes without being rude. "If you started to feel well enough, would you like to begin attending school again?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:45 pm
"Any discomfort I feel, I'll get over quickly enough. I think it's more dangerous for your kind, as demons, to be uncomfortable, right?" He liked the smile that Lucifuge was showing him, and because smiles were characteristically contagious, Soah was smiling right back at him. Even when Lucifuge's smile died down, his remained somewhat strong. A smile always did miracles for Soah's appearance. It brought light and life into his face, and even his cheeks flushed slightly with pleasure. He didn't look like the sickly child Merihem had reduced to him, and instead looked something akin to his former self, a youth full of energy and excitement, full of life that Merihem was carefully stripping from him.
"For me?" He hadn't thought Lucifuge would want to ask him a question, and he blushed appropriately when Lucifuge leaned forward, though he resisted the urge to look away or lean back. "Well, yes, I would, a lot." He bit down on his bottom lip, only because he was uncertain as to where this was going. "I would really like to. I miss it, and it helps me get away from Merihem for a few hours. I'll just find a public school to attend starting next year, though. I doubt I could get my old school to take me back, no matter how smart I become."
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:52 pm
Lucifuge sighed. "Not if we're in control of ourselves, as all those deserving of their name should be." Yes, he was a bit idealistic for such a high-ranking demon. Well, if he couldn't change the original Named, he could control the ones whose positions as high-caste demons were dependent on his whim. "It's rather like... Putting on an uncomfortable costume for a school play, or wearing a shirt you don't like for pictures." He shrugged. "Sometimes it's necessary. You adapt."
Intrigued, he rested his chin on his knuckles. "Do you want to go back to your old school?" For this boy, he might even get involved in the human world. And anything that got Soah away from what Lucifuge saw as one of his rivals was perfectly wonderful to him. School seemed like a good idea. Surely they would allow him back if the appropriate documentation could be made for his illness. "Even if you had to continue attending classes after the last day to catch up?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:16 pm
"You don't have to adapt, though. Really, I'm fine with however you look." Appearance wasn't what was important - it was behavior, and the guarantee that Soah would be unharmed if he decided to forge a friendship with the demon. That was what he really cared about. Merihem didn't seem particularly fond of Lucifuge, and even seemed wary at the mentioning of the other demon. Soah couldn't interpret if this boded well for him or not. But, he was willing to give Lucifuge a chance. The demon didn't seem all that mean, and he hadn't done anything to hurt him... yet. Well, everyone deserved a chance, even if that someone was an unearthly creature that could easily wrought destruction and chaos and overall unhappiness...
He wasn't going to think about that.
Hope was lighted in his deep indigo eyes, and hope could always be considered a dangerous thing... since it could easily be crushed. It was a dreadful thing to have one's hope crushed, and it would set Lucifuge so much further back then he had started out with. "Oh, I really do! I don't care about having to go in the summer... I don't want to fall behind. I want to hang out with my..."
That stopped him dead in his tracks.
No, that wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to get close to his friends once again... that could attract Merihem to them, and he would play the same game that he played with Neil, and it would be disasterous for Soah. He couldn't stand the thought of any more people going through what Neil did. A pained expression was on his face, and then finally he stared down into his lap. He bit his bottom lip in his discomfort, unable to entertain the idea of returning to that school any longer. "No... I guess I really don't want to. I'll just go back next year, to a different school, and just let myself be held back that grade."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:48 am
With a sigh, he pulled on a lock of his black hair. "It's remarkably easy to change form," he commented, not mentioning that it took a lot more power to change out here in the bright sun. That probably was why he wasn't going back to his favorite appearance. "Thank you, though, Soah."
He watched the play of emotions on the human boy's face, transfixed (though he tried to appear otherwise). "Your friends," he prompted. "You must care for them very much, if you'll decide to go elsewhere for their sake." The Prime Minister actually felt... sad? about the boy. It seemed like Soah had such a martyr complex; no wonder he despised and feared the incubus so.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:28 pm
"Yeah, but if you don't like it, you shouldn't have to change form just to meet somebody like me." He smiled genuinely then, glad that Lucifuge seemed pleased that Soah didn't much care this way or that for what Lucifuge appeared like. Of course, he was a little more comfortable with Lucifuge when he appeared as a human, but he had adjusted to Merihem's presence well enough, and he had even adjusted to Astaroth's. He would adjust to Lucifuge's if Lucifuge seemed so determined to make a friend out of him. Soah's level of discomfort was something the boy was finding he had to conquer multiple times. If this was going to help him get adjusted to the existence of demons... well, he would try his best not to cringe if Lucifuge showed up as his demon-y self.
He smiled sheepishly as Lucifuge pointed out the exact reason why Soah did not want to return to his old school. "I wouldn't dare get them mixed up in the stuff that I'm mixed up in. I'd be much happier losing contact with them, so they can go on and live their lives obliviously... and without risk for demon interference. Besides, I've got a bunch of new friends. I've got Neil, and Kyrie..." But, really, that was where his list ended. He wasn't really trying to add on to it, afterall.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:51 pm
"What of the one whom you intervened to save? That one, at least, should be allowed to keep in contact with you- she was already 'mixed up in it'." He paused. Knowing almost nothing about Merihem, he couldn't say whether he truly preferred men over women, or if it had just been part of the original game. Then, deciding it wasn't worth it to continue, he said, "It's your business." He shrugged, though he filed away the information about school for later perusing.
For a minute, he watched the ducks (which were keeping a wary distance from his seat). "What do you do, since you're not in school?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:59 pm
"She's suffered through enough already, and I wouldn't dare try to keep contact with her. Merihem would just show up, and then she'd get hysterical." Anxiously he unbound his hair, and with a few flicks of his wrists had his hair in a tight ponytail once again. Really, his friend had to put up with Merihem when he was still loose... and he had truly frightened her with his advances and his games. Soah wouldn't take the risk of Merihem seeing her again, and deciding to play with and torment the girl. So, the friend he had saved was the person he was distancing himself from the most. It hurt him, a little, but it was for the best, so he toughened up and dealt with it. Besides, he had new friends he could turn to, friends who could understand his situation and help him get through it.
"I hang out at Neil's all day, except on the weekends. We usually play video games together... or I play and he watches, really. I stay the night there most of the time, once I've fed Merihem. We just hang out, really." This was something he enjoyed talking about, because Neil was one of his true friends. Neil did all he could to protect him, and accepted who Soah was and what he had done without a second thought. Neil meant a lot to Soah, and was probably one of the most important people in Soah's young life.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:44 pm
Seeing that the boy didn't seem comfortable with the topic, he changed over fully to the other thread of conversation. "Is Neil another summoner?" Did he know the full extent of Soah's contract? This Neil person must know it all, he thought, if he was allowing the boy to stay overnight. But that made him even more curious. Perhaps he could meet the boy's new friends through the boy?
Yes. That might work.
"You're very responsible, for one so young. You're fifteen, aren't you?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:57 pm
"Yeah, he summoned Astaroth, though he doesn't seem to want to tell me why. I don't pry, though, 'cause I know he'll come to me if he is in trouble and needs help. That's all that matters to me, is that he let me help him when he needs it." The way he talked about Neil made it seem as if he was rather fond of the older man, which was quite true. Soah valued Neil more then he valued most things - the only people he valued more was his father and his little sister. Neil came in right at third place, all because the man was so kind to him, and was willing to do anything for him. "He helped me with Merihem for a while. If I was feeling too ill or tired, he'd let Merihem feed off of him while I rested. Of course... Merihem got mad at him one day, and they broke it off, but I still enjoy seeing Neil almost every day. He's a good man."
He blinked at the new question, but smiled easily and answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm fifteen. I get that a lot. Neil tells me stop acting like I'm so old. But, my dad is only home when I'm awake on the weekends, so I learned how to take care of myself early on." Of course, 'taking care of himself' certainly wasn't what he was doing by contracting with Merihem.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 6:40 pm
Neil sounded like competition, which he didn't really like. If he had only had to deal with Merihem, it might have been easier, but here was another human! Well... There were ways to deal with that. Ways that Soah would never have to know that he was involved with.
But Lucifuge didn't see how he would have to do that. He could just... collect this Neil along with Soah. "Fifteen going on thirty, is it?" The Prime Minister smiled disarmingly. "Well, when I was fifteen I was full-grown and fighting wars, so you're pretty childish to me still." With a smile, he patted the boy's shoulder. "I do have to go, though. It's beginning to get late, and it's a long walk to the nearest place dark enough for me to resume my natural form."
He paused. "Will you allow me to see you again, Soah?"
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