eudaimonikos | Deerington IC Inbox

You died?

[ The thing that looks like a teenager seems shaken by that, eyes widening. That's... what happened to Fern. And he came back, but then he forgot him, and Paimon's... afraid. It's what's at the root of the nightmares that're responsible for him calling Michael in the first place.

As Michael settles in and relaxes a bit, the other demon's just growing more anxious, fingers slowly fiddling against themselves. ]

But you... remember me. Right? All of me?

...yeah.

[Michael's had no reason to suspect he might be missing any memories. Of course, that's sort of how memory erasure works...but Amara's around, and he's talked to a lot of people since. Someone close to him doubtless would have noticed.

The suggestion just makes him a little nervous. Bad experiences.]

Why?

Fern died. And he forgot me. [ Paimon moves to sit down opposite Michael, folding his own long legs inwards to a crossed position. ]

I tried to see him. But he became frightened of me. He did not like me anymore.

[ The demon looks mournfully down to the wooden floorboards as he relives his sad tale. ]

I had a dream about it that made me wake up. I called you.

Oh.

[Michael draws his knees up, resting his forearms loosely on them.]

I'm sorry. I've been there, with my friends back home. It sucks.

You have? [ Paimon looks back up to him, eyes wide and searching. Of course Michael has, he realises. Michael understands everything. He's truly wise. ]

It sucks. [ He agrees, a new word to adopt into his vocabulary. He's heard Peter say it before, but hearing Michael say it is much better. He'd rather imitate Michael than Peter. ]

Did they become frightened of you, too? Fern....... saw me as though I would hurt him. [ It's shaken him to the core a bit. ]

Yeah. It kinda screwed them up.

[To say the least. It hadn't been him who frightened them, as much as everything else, the whole reality of reality - but of course they hadn't trusted him, the demon guy who destroyed everything.

(They'd have been more afraid if they did remember.)]

But, you know - they did come around eventually. It was just a lot to process, hearing about all the stuff they forgot. Did you get to talk to him at all?

No. He would not speak to me. So I gave Peter back to him.

[ Which had been like rubbing salt against the wound. Fern has always disliked Peter, but he'd chosen him, felt more comfortable around him. (Granted, Paimon had smashed Peter's head into the table to overtake him so he could talk to Fern. Most people would be a little.... afraid of that.) ]

Your friends remembered you again? Did they love you again?

[ "Love" is one of those words he doesn't quite understand the severity of, what it means. He.... remembers having some kind of love for his previous host's family, but it had been very wrong and skewed. He knows it means something affectionate, at least. ]

Well - eventually. I was actually able to give them their memories back, after a while...since I was the one who took them away in the first place...

[Yeesh]

But, yeah. That's the way it's always ended up. I think people tend to find each other again anyway, no matter what you do.

Why did you take their memories away?

[ Sorry, Michael. Paimon's absolutely going to Ask Questions. ]

It was just a side effect, that time. They were dead when we met, and after a while I got them brought back to life - but that meant they didn't remember the things that happened when they were dead.

[There was time travel involved. It was a whole thing.]

[ Paimon sits there for a moment, silently absorbing this information. Of course Michael can do things like this — bring people back to life. In some way, Paimon can do it too, given that he can reanimate corpses for a time..... It's a pretty macabre business. What Michael can do sounds much cleaner, maybe. ]

I am...... afraid. That Fern will not like me when he remembers me again.

[ He curls in on himself a little, tugging his blanket up over his shoulders and mournfully looking down. ]

I am not a very good king, sometimes.

[oh it is so much cleaner]

Oh, I'm sure he'll like you again! You two are friends, right?

[Michael leans forward to pat Paimon on - well he's aiming for the shoulder, but he's also trying really hard not to move more than he has to, so he kinda gets him on the shoulder.]

Friends usually find their way back to each other, sooner or later.

He is my knight. [ Paimon says, as if that's a relationship that's just socially normal. Though what he has with Fern is in truth very complicated; they play needed roles for each other — Fern needs royalty to follow; Paimon needs people to guide. It's almost like a child playing dressup; the demon king barely knows what he's doing, just puts the role on like a costume.

But.... "friends?" He's not quite sure such things as "friends" are for him. It's not the sort of relationship he typically has with others. But it is true that he sees Fern as a companion, through all of the other things. The patting gesture has Paimon looking up at the other demon, stunned for a moment. Does he have "friends"? Maybe he... does. ]

How do you know? When someone is your friend.

Oh - ffff, well.

[Luckily, this is something Michael himself has also had to work through!]

You both like spending time together, and you help each other out when you need it. You help each other be better.

[ Paimon considers the words very seriously. That... does sound like him and Fern. ]

We do. We do those things. [ There's a nod, and he looks down at his hands, shifting his fingers a little bit like spider's legs, some thoughtful gesture. There's another pause before he admits, almost nervously— ]

I do not think I have ever had friends, before.

Ha - yeah, I only started a year or two ago.

[That's demons for ya!]

It's nice, though, isn't it? I never really noticed, before, but I think I always did want friends. I just kept trying to - to advance, so other demons would have to respect me. You know?

[He doesn't really know how Paimon's sort of demon does their politics, but Paimon's some kind of king, so obviously they've got ranks too. Just more...feudal than bureaucratic.]

[ There's another soft nod at that — he does know, at least on some level. Hierarchy, status..... Relationships based in fellowship haven't exactly been a part of his functioning.

Though, the relationship he has with his summoners is.... something more. Sure, it's technically a business deal — they call with an offering, he answers and grants what they desire. But in order to truly connect with a summoner, a certain bond is required. Two spirits becoming one, temporarily. It's... very personal and very meaningful to him. And Paimon in particular among the other demon kings is very much about caring for the emotional state of his supporters. ]

I am glad you want friends now. I want to be your friend. [ He reaches out to imitate the shoulder-patting gesture Michael had done a minute ago. And there's a pause as he thinks more on something, admitted more quietly— ]

I am glad you did not forget me. When you died.

Hey, me too.

[Michael smiles, though inwardly he's starting to get a little anxious about all that. Dying was not pleasant; of course he didn't want to do it again. But he hadn't realized it could do things like that. It's...it's sort of a terrifying prospect.

But there's no sense in worrying about it now, so he tries not to.]

Of course we're friends.

[ If Michael had forgotten him too.... it would have been too hard for Paimon to take. The loss of Fern is such an aching one, any more would probably emotionally do the unstable demon thing in. It's still this weird fear he has in him, that maybe Michael, and others, will die again and forget him. But at least for now... he hasn't. At least for now, they're friends.

Paimon reaches down between them then, for the bag of Cheetos..... offering it to the other man. This is how Peter spends time with his friends; he eats..... ]

Do you want to stay? In my treehouse. You can stay tonight. With me.

[ Did someone order a demonic sleepover.... ]

[Michael fears it too, although mostly in the other direction. As much as his friends forgetting him would hurt, it'd be far worse to lose his own memories. He knows what sort of person he is, deep down. It'd take so little to make him a threat to those same friends - worse than he was in October, even, because he'd be doing it all entirely on purpose.

But that's not happening right now. Michael accepts the Cheetos, popping one into his mouth. Oh, yeah, that's definitely stale.]

Yeah! That sounds fun - it's like a cool little camping trip!

[Sleepovers! A delightful friendship concept! Michael's only ever had the kind where you sleep in separate beds in a hotel room, which arguably doesn't count.]

[ He's glad Michael accepts his offering of Cheetos. Peter and his housemate have lots of snack foods, but these seem to be.... the elite? Humans love cheese. And since both he and Michael are learning about humans, this seemed the route to go.

He's further pleased at the enthusiasm, warming a bit at it, pleased with himself for making Michael seem happy. And he feels better, having company, especially this sort of company. Though he's aware it's a little chilly up here, and Michael's been sick.... Paimon gathers up some of the other blankets he'd drug up here, moving them towards Michael. ]

These are Peter's. And Henry's. [ .....Yes, he'd stolen some of her things too, and that was intentional. He doesn't like Henry. ]

Now they are yours.

Oh, thanks.

[Michael leans forward to accept them. He doesn't really get cold, but it's sort of nice to have a blanket anyway. In fact -]

C'mere, are you cold? We can share.

[ Compared to the violent shitfits he throws on a regular basis, this.... is considerably nicer. And he feels a lot better about Fern, thanks to talking to Michael about it, listening to the other demon's words and thoughts. He's still afraid to have more nightmares about it, but he's glad not to be sleeping alone for the rest of the night. ]

We can share?

[ Oh. We can share. Paimon finds himself very pleased by the offer, and moves closer, not shy at all to get cosy with him. Maybe uncomfortably cosy by most people's standards; Paimon straight up wraps an arm around Michael and presses his nose against the other demon's shoulder, very snuggly for a king of Hell. But affection is something he's been without and.... craves, not-so-deep-down. ]

Thank you.

[ It's... not something he's said often! He's learning! ]

[Honestly? Same demonic hat! Michael spent the vast, vast majority of his long life with affection of any sort being nearly incomprehensible. He soaks it in like a sponge whenever he can get it these days, and he's not too shy about giving it either.

(Maybe he hesitates a little, sometimes, with humans. He used to worry he'd hurt them somehow without meaning to; it's all he'd ever done before, and it's always been so easy. But it turns out that affection is pretty easy, too.)]

Sure. Of course.

[He wraps his arm over Paimon's shoulders as well, and pulls the blanket up over them with his free hand. Up close like this, and especially under the blanket, Michael's like something of a man-shaped space heater. The fire under his skin seems to radiate more heat these days. Maybe it's just the cold. Maybe it feels sort of nice to use it in a way that helps out other people.]

[ It really isn't often he gets to do what could be called snuggling with someone. Not directly, anyway. Peter and Luna snuggle a lot, but he isn't really allowed to do it himself..... and there aren't exactly a line of people waiting to get cosy with a creepy twitchy demon. So Michael allowing him to is a rare treat.

And he's warm. Really, really warm. It's a welcomed counter to the cold that the other demon seems to host inside of himself, the one that makes Peter's body feel so sick. Possession's not a pleasant experience for either of them, really. But this is nice. And nicest of all is the fact that he feels safe, after waking up from the nightmare and not feeling very safe at all.

Paimon's eyes are fluttering closed and he conks out in a matter of minutes, breathing quietly. It's a much better sleep he'll find now, thanks to Michael. ]

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eudaimonikos - 2020-12-17 04:51 (UTC) - Expand