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Entry tags:

action | OTA

Passengers: Theo, and you
Location: Chapel/loading bay
Date: morning/afternoon of Feb.15
Summary: Theo is an annoying brat and he's here to tell you about it
Warnings: none, yet

[After a pretty intense drying out period, Theo is slowly returning to his normal self. Unfortunately, that self is an unrepentant pain in the ass, with too much time on his hands and no real outlets for his energy and seemingly endless anger. At least he's starting to finally look a little better. He's back to wearing his suit again instead of just Peregrine-issued pajamas, and he's even got a little more color back in his complexion. Some fresh air and a trip to the beach seems to have put some life back in him. Maybe this wasn't a good thing.

With his books limited on what he is allowed to read, and the ship locked down on what inmates are allowed to do unsupervised, he’s left to wreak havoc on whatever he can get his hands on. Little did he know that today he’d finally be assigned a warden of his own for the first time, so Lucifer gets to hit the ground running with this kid. ]

For inmates [morning]
[Any inmate who happens to be passing the much-neglected chapel will hear some crashing noises from inside. When they peek in, they will find Theo causally tearing the place up. Digging through what little has been supplied, as nothing had been requested yet, he upturns the storage containers of symbols and vestments, littering the floors. Seats are knocked over, tables tipped. It’s definitely the work of one very mature teenager.

When he notices he’s being watched, he only shrugs as he rummages around.]

Y’know, it’s funny. I half-expected to find one of them hotel Bibles hiding in here somewhere.

For wardens [afternoon]
[There’s a loud crashing noise coming from the area of the loading bay, and upon investigation, there’s Theo. He’s dragged several of the chairs from the mess hall out here, and has tossed them in the way of the auto-closing doors that smash them like tin cans. He’s holding the next one over his head and is ready to toss it over when he’s discovered, and he stops in his tracks.]

[Dryly, he adds:] … Oops.

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For someone recently raging about being treated like a child, you certainly have no problem acting like one.

[ Since his point about the baby apparently went disregarded. His wings come out, allowing him to close the distance between them very quickly, grabbing Theo by the collar of his shirt and lifting him easily off his feet. ]

This means you're grounded.

Well if everyone's going to treat me like one, I figured I--

[Well that escalated quickly. Theo is, of course, caught completely off guard. And while for a moment he looks furious, it quickly starts to melt into panic because Lucifer is touching him and he hasn't let go.]

Hey! Stop-- Put me down, asshole!

Oh, I'll put you down. I'm your warden for the next little while, how would you like to move to your own private room?

[ He suspects Theo won't like it at all, actually. ]

I didn't sign up to babysit, but if that's what you need, that's what I'll do.

[ He's absolutely dragging Theo out of the loading bay by his collar, making for not the inmate communal dorms. Nope. He's absolutely heading for the warden-adjacent rooms. ]

WHAT?!

[Theo hadn't checked the assignments. He didn't care - or he hadn't until this happened. He begins or struggle with a surpring amount of enthusiasm, but he still weighs about 100 pounds soaking wet, so it's not getting him anywhere. There's a moment where he goes to grab Lucifer's arm to try and pull it off, but that means more touching. No thanks. He'd be pretty upset if he tore the collar on the only nice shirt he had with him on the ship, but he'd willing to risk it in order to get away.]

I-I don't want a babysitter! I'm not staying in there so you can watch every move I make! Fuck that! Let me go!

[ Lucifer is tall and well-built for his size - even if he was a normal human, Theo would be mightily outclassed. But he's not human, so even if the boy can manage to land a kick or a scratch, Lucifer will only shift his grip so he can't do that again. ]

We'll start with a strict curfew. Let's say, 9 pm to 7 am, confined to your room, every day.

[ The shirt is starting to rip, so he just grabs Theo's upper arm instead. His grip is basically as strong as a pair of handcuffs would be. ]

If you don't calm down, I will sling you over my shoulder and carry you. This is lesson one: your actions have consequences.

[Theo lets out a strangled noise when Lucifer takes him by the arm. His other hand shoots up, thumb and first two fingers raised. A reflex action - Theo just started a force spell, but of course nothing happens. No rush of energy, no spark inside of him.]

--Fuck! [It's an expletive that's full of despair.

He's hearing what Lucifer's telling him, but it's not fully registering because he can't get over the fact that the Devil is grabbing his arm. His next words are full of a starling amount of pleading desperation.]

Let me go already!

Let you go, so you can run and hide again? Or destroy more ship property?

[ Lucifer scoffs, and continues on his way. He doesn’t stop, in fact, until he comes to the warden-adjacent inmate quarters. If Theo puts up more of a fight, he will be carried in like a sack of potatoes and dumped unceremoniously on what is apparently his new bed for the month. Otherwise, Lucifer will give him a gentle nudge into the room and release his arm, closing the door behind them. ]

There. I let you go.

[He struggles, but it loses steam as they get closer to the rooms. Once the door is closed with them in there, Theo has to muster everything in him to not look petrified. Fear isn't something he's felt in a long time, but it's all that's coursing through his veins lately, only making his anger explosions more volatile.

He immediately retreats backwards, back to the wall. He can afford to be furious at Lucifer from a distance.]

What the fuck do you people want from me! What do you want me doing?! Sitting around pleading for forgiveness? Prostrating myself in front of the Wardens and the Navarch? Give me a fuckin' break! This place is a joke!

Edited 2022-02-16 15:54 (UTC)

[ Lucifer once again leans casually against the door. He lets Theo yell for a bit - get it out of his system or whatever - unconcerned about himself. ]

If you’re finished, we can talk about the expectations. The first one is that you won’t be wantonly destroying things anymore. If you trash this room, for instance, you’ll get an immediate downgrade to solitary. No one will be able to hear your temper tantrums in there.

[Solitary would even be worse for him than this, and the twitch of fear that crosses his face gives that away.]

Whatever. As if it's any different than this. I'll sit in there and do nothing, instead of sit in here and do nothing. Or sit in the dorms and do nothing.

Oh, things will definitely be different with me.

[ The bullshit stops here! His demeanor is deadly serious. ]

If you’re so bored that you’re destroying chairs, then we can find you some things to do that will be more productive. I’m thinking we start with cleaning toilets. Scrubbing the mess hall down after meals. Maybe laundry duty. I’ll have a chat with the Navarch about reconfiguring the cleaning bots so you’ve got more to do.

Are you kidding me? Fuckin' maid duty?

[The stern look on Lucifer shows he's obviously not kidding, and Theo scoffs.]

Inventing busywork. Great.

[There's a brief moment where Theo looks him in the eye, considering challenging him. What if he doesn't do it? What's the worst that could happen to him?

Maybe he'd say something, if it wasn't Lucifer glaring back at him. Theo's tough, but not as tough as he used to be. He finally looks away, sliding over into the corner. We're approaching maximum sullen teenager here.]

I don't care. It doesn't matter what I do or don't do anyway. If scrubbing toilets gets you off my back, fine.

Edited 2022-02-16 18:51 (UTC)

You can’t invent your own busywork, clearly, so I’m going to do it for you. If you’re so clever, come up with something you’d like to do and run it by me. I’ll consider it.

[ He’s got plenty of time to think, after all! ]

I’ll send some reading material to your CommLink as well. Doctor Claire thinks it’s a good idea for everyone to have some basic first aid knowledge, so we’ll start with that. If there’s anything you’d like to read about, let me know and I’ll consider it.

Oh, and you’ll be having conversations with me. Every day, for at least an hour. We’ll start in here, and if I think I can trust you not to make trouble we can move to other locations. The observatory, maybe, or even the SIRE.

What am I supposed to do here, exactly? I can't even get the books I want! You can't take care of the plants, cuz everything is fucking automated and growing in test tubes. The shit they put in the commissary machine is a goddamn insult to us. And everything else is locked to us because we have to be fucking babysat.

[By the Navarch's order, Theo is strictly limited to two books a month on magic, and absolutely nothing on necromancy.

He runs a hand through his hair, his usual nervous tic. He's shaking slightly, though he hasn't noticed yet.]

I felt like utter shit after they brought me here. I was still fucking dying. [Recovering from the decimation his last spells did to his body and soul, as the autodoc only repaired the bullet wound that actually killed him. All made a hundred times worse by suddenly being cut cold turkey from nicotine and alcohol.] I could have just fucking died in my bunk and no one would have even noticed for days. Drag my ass across the universe and resurrect me, and then leave me to fucking rot?!

[And yet, when he ran off, the wardens mobilized pretty quickly to find him. But he won't believe they did it for any other reason than their jobs forced them to.

Also, all of that sort of spilled out. He was trying to make a point, but got lost in the weeds of his own anger. He shakes his head, refocusing.]

So fucking excuse me if I wasn't feeling fucking clever.

[Wait. Hold the phone. He looks up at Lucifer now, looking very suspiciously about one thing in particular.]

What? Hour-long conversations about what, exactly.

[ It's impossible for Lucifer to know how much of Theo's rant is objective truth, and how much is exaggerated or an outright lie to make himself seem an innocent victim, alone and abandoned by the universe and everybody.

What's also true, is that Lucifer learned from his daughter that sometimes, being objectively correct isn't as important as listening to what someone else is actually feeling and experiencing. What's clearly true is that Theo is frustrated, bored, angry, upset, and maybe most of all frightened. And he genuinely doesn't know what to do.

Also, he files away the bit about gardening, to ask the Navarch about perhaps. If he's interested in it, perhaps at some point Lucifer will be able to give him the chance to do a bit of gardening. ]

Yes, we're going to talk. This is a good start, actually, because we're mostly going to talk about you. This is what you're going to do, here. What we're going to do. We're going to find productive ways for you to pass your time, and we're going to talk about you. Your life, your feelings, your actions. That's how we get you out of here. That's how you avoid simply dying and going to a place far, far worse than this.

[The more Lucifer explaina, the more incredulous Theo looks. His feelings? He doesn't want to talk about those! You know, those things he just yelled loudly about ten seconds ago.]

No amount oftalking is going to suddenly fix me and get me out of here. And how many times have I said that can't go home? If the Navarch can wiggle her fucking fingers and undone what I did, then why doesn't she just fucking do it now?

[ There are so many feelings being talked about already. Such feelings. Wow.

Joke's on you, Theo, this isn't even your first session with Lucifer. ]

Why should she? Why should she do more for you than she already has? She saved your life, after all. You did terrible things, yes? And yet, she saved your life. Yours. Why do you suppose that is, if you can't go home?

[This is finally getting to be too much for this kid. He's been asking himself that since he's arrived, every day. His response comes out choked, almost a sob.]

I don't know! But I wish she fucking hadn't!

[He stops himself from going further, taking a sharp breath inward and standing up straight. Get your shit together, Crawford.

He wants to follow that up. He wants to clarify or back track, but he can't. He can't trust himself to say another word without losing it completely. So he just glares at Lucifer, still shaking with anger.]

[ Lucifer only looks sad at that. He’s sure Theo has done genuinely terrible things. He doesn’t know what those are yet, but he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t. Lucifer can only see it, now, as a sad waste of potential. Whatever led Theo down the path to the bad things he did, he almost certainly didn’t deserve it.

But he can’t change the past. He suspects even the Navarch can’t. ]

Why? Why should she have left you to die?

[ He asks that quietly, into the silence that Theo has made thick with his anger. He suspects he knows the answer but he wants to hear what Theo is thinking. ]

[Of course he has a hard time answering that. Theo can't tell if it's because Lucifer really doesn't know, or if he's just trying to get him to talk more.

Lucifer wasn't here when Theo arrived to see the charming name badge they outfitted him with. "HELLO, my name is THEO CRAWFORD. I have killed 987 people. I enjoy CHESS and READING."

He finally looks away, finally noticing that torn collar. When he reaches for it, he sees how he's shaking and stops.]

If you don't know, I'm not telling you.

No, I don’t know. I don’t have your file, and I’m not psychic. I don’t know what you think about what you’ve done, what you believe or feel, unless you tell me.

[ But he didn’t expect to get a coherent answer, anyway. This is a process, and a long one, judging by his own experience. It took Lucifer several years in therapy to fully admit to the depth of his own self-loathing. It would be absurd to expect so much progress from Theo in a couple of conversations. ]

Is there anything you want to ask me? About what I expect from you, or about anything at all, really?

[ He thinks he’s clarified the whole what am I supposed to do thing as well as he can, for now, but he also wants to make sure Theo knows he’s here to listen to whatever he’s got to say. ]

[Still looking away, Theo lets out something resembling a rueful laugh.]

Pretty fucked up of an idea for them to make you do this job without telling you what you're up against. Seriously, what a joke this place is.

[He realizes this means he's going to have to talk to Lucifer about it, that it's supposed to be up to him to talk about it, he grimaces. Maybe he could just make something up. He's really regretting everything he spilled so far. Theo's favorite subject was himself, but only when focusing on showing off how much he knew about spellcasting, and how good he was at it. Everything else? Not so much.

When Lucifer asks if he has any questions for him, only Theo's eyes swivel his way.]

Yeah. You fuckin' regretting taking this job yet? It's gonna be a long fucking month.

If we were to be paired up permanently, I'm told I would have access to your file. It may help. But I've never had one before, for any of my patients in Hell, and I've gotten along fine.

[ Recall that he's been doing this in Hell already, more or less. This isn't his first rodeo. ]

And no, I don't regret taking this job. Just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. I've found that goes for people, too, sometimes.

Edited (html faaaaaail) 2022-02-17 22:03 (UTC)

[The idea of being paired permanently with a warden - any warden, but especially Lucifer - was a terrifying prospect. He swallows, but he doesn't lose his gaze. It outs serious weight on his next statement.]

I wonder how they'd compare against me.

[He meant that. What circle of Hell do you land in for mass murder on the scale he committed?]

[ Lucifer, on the other hand, suspects Theo ought to be permanently paired pretty quickly - he feels like the boy could really do with having someone reliable and trustworthy, long-term, rather than being shuffled about from warden to warden for potentially months on end. ]

That might depend on what metric of comparison you're using. There's what people have actually done - and then there's the guilt, and the denial, and the self-loathing, and resentment...

[ It's the other stuff that actually brings them to Hell, after all. ]

action | OTA

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