Chapter 17 - Arailia

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Tw: Mention of suicide


"Sure...?" Quin sounded unsure of himself. What could he possibly want?

"Let's talk in private," Lucifer opens up a portal to a scenic café on the outskirts of the pride ring. Despite his hesitation, Quin walks with Lucifer through the portal. The café is empty aside from the two employees. It bares an odd resemblance to something Quin's quite familiar with, but he can't place his finger on it. They find a booth and sit down across from each other.

"What can we get for you today Sir?" The waitress, an imp with white hair, is in a cute, fluffy, pink dress. The look was, unusual for hell.

"The usual," Lucifer smiles gently at her. 

"Of course!" She happily scurries away, heading to the back. She comes back out almost instantly with two of the same beverages. The drinks were a sparkly pink color, almost like it had chatoyancy. They were placed in a simple white wine glass. As she set them down on the table, both Quin and Lucifer thanked her. She smiles and goes back to wiping off the clean tables.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Quin asks nervously, running his finger around the rim of the glass.

Lucifer takes a sip of his drink. "Try it, I think you'll like it." Quin is hesitant. "Here, you can have some of mine if you're so worried about it." He pushes his drink towards Quin.

"I-" Quin stops himself. What's the harm, right? He just drank it. Quin smells the liquid -- it smells incredibly sweet. He takes a sip of Lucifer's drink.

Holy shit- I can't believe it! Quin's mouth was filled with a familiar yet still incredibly delicious liquid. Without thinking, he drinks about a third of the beverage. He almost started to tear up. "Oh! I am so sorry, please forgive me." He slides his drink over to Lucifer. "Here, have mine."

Lucifer laughs. "It's alright. I figured you might remember this drink." Lucifer was right. This was a drink he frequently drank in heaven, albeit a little worse in quality. Still, for not having had one of these in five years, this definitely scratches the itch.

"Thank you, Sir-" He cuts Quin off, waving his hand.

"You can drop the formalities," Lucifer laughs. "This is meant to be a casual conversation."

"Speaking of, what did you want to talk to me about?" Quin inquires, taking another sip of what was originally Lucifer's drink.

Lucifer's facial expressions are soft. "What was it like before you left...? I mean, heaven. How does it look now...?" He couldn't maintain eye contact with Quin. He looks at the floor. Really? Is this all he wanted?

"Beautiful," Quin replies. He smiles at Lucifer when he looks back up at him. As Quin starts to explain the intricacies of heaven, Lucifer's face lights up.

"What?!" He starts laughing. 

"Oh yeah." Quin laughs as well.

"HA!" Lucifer wheezes. "Holy shit!" Quin starts to laugh as well. Lucifer wipes away the tears that had formed in his eyes. "Ho, man. It really is good to hear about that place again. Sometimes, I still miss it."

"Yeah," Quin agrees. "I do too." They share a look, one of a deeper understanding. Knowing what it's like to have it all, and to lose it by someone else's hand. They smile at each other, when Lucifer looks away.

"Thank you," he says, looking back.

"Of course," Quin smiles at him. "And, thank you, for being there for Charlie. She needs a good parent right now. I don't know if what she's trying to do will work, but it's worth a shot. She's trying so hard." 

"I know, and I know it means a lot to her. I know that look in her eyes. She really is a lot like her father," he lets out a chuckle. "She means the world to me, and I really do hope her plan works out. I have faith in her that she'll make this work." Lucifer has a look of such pride on his face. It warms Quin's heart.

"I know so too," Quin finishes off his drink. "Is there any way I could get another one of these?"

"Of course. Hey Charlette?" He calls out to the waitress.

"Yes, Sir?" She walks back over to the table.

"Can you get my friend another drink, please?" He asks with such politeness it's hard to believe that he's the same person from before. You know, I think he was just scared before. Scared to lose his daughter, the one thing he has left. I understand that feeling. Quin thinks back to when he first entered hell.

...

"Arailia?" Horror washed over Quin as he stared at his sister. 

The demon in front of him was short and slender. She had red hair with black at it's tips. Her form was that of an anthropomorphic cat. "Sebastion?" 

"What are you doing down here?" He started to walk towards her.

"I could be asking you the same thing," She also started to approach him.

"It's, a long story," he said with a sigh.

"I honestly thought you'd make it to heaven," she spoke with a somber tone.

Quin lets out a small, sad laugh. "I kind of did, but we can talk about that later. When did you die? How did you die??" When Quin was alive, she was still healthy. However, he was in heaven for seven years. 

"I, uh," she couldn't bare to look Quin in the eyes. "I killed myself. That's how I ended up down here."

Quin felt a wave of sadness crush his soul. "I..." He hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry... I wasn't able to be there for you anymore..."

"It's okay, Sebastion. It's not your fault. It's not like you chose to die from the pandemic," She pulled away just enough to wipe the tears that were rolling down Quin's face. "After you died, Dad started to drink even more. He started to get," she paused, "physically abusive. He beat the shit out of me one night, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I hoped I'd see you again..." She smiled softly at Quin.

"Arailia..." Quin couldn't keep himself from crying. She hugged him tightly again.

"But it's okay now. You're hear with me, and that's what matters," Quin missed her smile so much. He held onto her so tightly, as if he'd stop anything bad from ever happening to her again.

"How long have you been down here?" Quin pulled back enough to look at her.

"Three years," she watched as Quin's face dropped again. "And, a lot has happened." She let out a saddened laugh.

"Like?" Quin asked, incredibly concerned.

"I, uh," she looked away from him. "I sold my soul to an overlord..." Quin felt rage overtake his body. 

"To who? Who stole your soul from you?!" 

"Sebby, calm down," she laughs another sadden chuckle. "It was of my own choice. But, to answer your question, it was to Velvette, a cruel and unforgiving overlord." Though her voice didn't portray it, Quin could see the pain in her eyes. 

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