[It's been a full day since the incident, but at last Landon's body begins to smoke and burn, tiny flames working their way up his sides before his body is finally swallowed up in a ball of fire. Despite the embers insisting on dancing at the bottom of the charred mattress, it puts itself out easily enough, and Landon sits up, coughing and brushing himself off.
That one felt kind of weird, actually. Coming back is never pleasant, but it isn't usually this achey. He rolls his shoulders as he looks for someone to fill him in.]
Hope?
[Is she feeling better? She doesn't look quote as goth right now.]
( hope hasn't left. her father sat beside her, or near her, and occasionally stood off to the side. he didn't leave her, not even when she went to confront lilith. that had been fruitless. landon's resurrection is taking more time than usual, all because of lucifer and how weak he is.
sure.
fine.
hope didn't like her answer but she couldn't do anything about it. all she could do is go back. and sit. she ate when her father pleaded her to. she waited. she mindlessly checked the network.
and then the spark.
he erupts in flames, destroys the mattress he's on, but hope doesn't care. she keeps her distance until the fire dies down and her boyfriend sits up covered in ash and char. )
I'm here. I'm - I'm right here.
( turning back to her father who'd finally witnessed his phoenixing in person, she asks for a moment. she appreciates that he was here and thanks him. but she and Landon need time. and her dad needs a shower. (and a change of clothes)
once he takes his leave, she moves closer to the bed and kneels. )
[He swings his legs over the side of the burnt mattress and pulls himself to his feet, swaying slightly as he does so.]
-- You're feeling better? You look better.
[ He's a little paler than normal, but his heart is beating and his body is warm with life. ]
Sorry about making you clean up. [After his body. Whatever mess was left if he bled out somewhere. Do you even bleed out after someone snaps your neck? He's never had to think about it before.]
You didn't know me. You were under a spell or something. Those mares everyone was talking about.
[He leans against her, but transitions into an embrace.]
You weren't in control of yourself. [Her body was being pulled around. Like Raf's was. Better his friends kill him than kill someone who won't come back.]
That's what Lilith said. That resurrections here are connected to Lucifer's magic. People can't die. You already can't die. What if they leveled the playing field?
[He follows her eyeline, but doesn't see anything in particular. Maybe something was there before?]
I just... We didn't talk about some of the things that came with us. And then when you weren't you, it was the first thing you wanted to ask about. But if there's something else going on I should know about...
Have the golden arrow, or, come back to life in a burst of flame. He was standing right there. He knows you're a phoenix. It's probably the only thing he approves of, about you. ( But, she says it with a shrug. )
[Oh. There's a lot in that, a series of worries to knot together and keep among the rest of his anxieties.]
The second one. But... Is. Are you okay with that? Not having his approval, I mean? [Having him around changes their relationship. And shouldn't it? She finally has her father back. She's a little more whole. Maybe she doesn't need as much.]
Landon. He knows I love you. That's enough for him. He sat here for me for almost twenty four hours. If he didn't think you were worth it? If he didn't care?
I don't want to embarrass you either. [ he's nowhere close to Hope's impossible backstory. It was different when they were all just misfits together. Her father is a reminder that she's basically a princess. It's hard to work through, and really he'd rather work through it by stuffing it into a box until it ceases to be a real emotion. ]
But we should drop it. You're right about the arrow being here. But there's something different about it.
[He lets the subject drop. If they keep talking about it, she's just going to say more things that she thinks he wants to hear instead of acknowledging the divide between them that he can't shake until he's good enough. He just has to keep getting stronger, and maybe then...]
We could be happy about that, but -- it's different now. I think it's more powerful here.
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That one felt kind of weird, actually. Coming back is never pleasant, but it isn't usually this achey. He rolls his shoulders as he looks for someone to fill him in.]
Hope?
[Is she feeling better? She doesn't look quote as goth right now.]
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sure.
fine.
hope didn't like her answer but she couldn't do anything about it. all she could do is go back. and sit. she ate when her father pleaded her to. she waited. she mindlessly checked the network.
and then the spark.
he erupts in flames, destroys the mattress he's on, but hope doesn't care. she keeps her distance until the fire dies down and her boyfriend sits up covered in ash and char. )
I'm here. I'm - I'm right here.
( turning back to her father who'd finally witnessed his phoenixing in person, she asks for a moment. she appreciates that he was here and thanks him. but she and Landon need time. and her dad needs a shower. (and a change of clothes)
once he takes his leave, she moves closer to the bed and kneels. )
Landon, I'm --
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-- You're feeling better? You look better.
[ He's a little paler than normal, but his heart is beating and his body is warm with life. ]
Sorry about making you clean up. [After his body. Whatever mess was left if he bled out somewhere. Do you even bleed out after someone snaps your neck? He's never had to think about it before.]
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He - no, he didn't bleed out. ) I. ( He's - is he apologizing to Hope? ) Landon, I killed you. I need to be the one apologizing.
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[He leans against her, but transitions into an embrace.]
You weren't in control of yourself. [Her body was being pulled around. Like Raf's was. Better his friends kill him than kill someone who won't come back.]
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( They say it at the same time, but that shouldn't leave her off the hook.
She slowly, surely sinks into his embrace and his warmth. He smells of soot, but also the deodorant she likes him to wear. He smells like Landon. )
I thought you were a monster. ( Her voice muffles against his body before she leans back with a sigh. ) You've been dead for 24 hours.
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[But she'll feel his muscles grow tight against her as she says more.]
What do you mean 24 hours?
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( She just slides her hands around his waist more, not wanting to pull away from him just yet. )
I mean that, Lucifer's magic is weak or can only do so much and your resurrection took... longer. A lot longer.
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[And it's hard not to overthink the implications of that. To think about Rafael being resurrected under the necromancer's incredibly specific terms.]
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( What if this had nothing to do with Lucifer. )
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I don't think that would've happened if Lucifer was involved. But... It didn't feel right. Maybe he was holding me back or something.
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[He gives her a squeeze before pulling away.]
I need to show you something. I don't want to risk it having any kind of power over us if this happens again.
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( She self consciously looks back at the door, at her father hopefully back in his room before turning back to Landon. )
What is it you need to show me?
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I just... We didn't talk about some of the things that came with us. And then when you weren't you, it was the first thing you wanted to ask about. But if there's something else going on I should know about...
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[Is he okay with his daughter bringing home corpses?]
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The second one. But... Is. Are you okay with that? Not having his approval, I mean? [Having him around changes their relationship. And shouldn't it? She finally has her father back. She's a little more whole. Maybe she doesn't need as much.]
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( He wouldn't have. )
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But we should drop it. You're right about the arrow being here. But there's something different about it.
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( She brings a hand to his cheek, trying to impart this on him. That's not how she sees him and she hopes that's not how he sees himself. )
What, it's not what everyone's suddenly after? I think we should be happy about that, don't you?
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We could be happy about that, but -- it's different now. I think it's more powerful here.
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