Chapter Text
The leaves crunched under his feet. Despite the late time of year it was rather humid here… then again, perhaps that was due to how swampy the area was. A slight sweat began to gather on his brow but he didn’t mind it. He never really liked walking through the city areas here because of how horrendous humans had become. The swampy woods however… They were peaceful and quiet aside from the croaking bullfrogs and buzzing mosquitoes. He hissed as one bit him and he swatted it. Ugh. Gross… He thought to himself with a disturbed look. He sighed and lifted his head to look around. It was dark in this area of the forest due to all the trees blocking away the sun. It was nice… quiet… he couldn't enjoy it though no matter how much he tried. All he could think of was how all of this beauty had been corrupted. The worst part was that it was his fault that it was all like this. He hated to see how such a beautiful creation had been destroyed, yet he continued to come as a way to remember what he had done. To punish himself in some sick way. It was fine though. It was all his fault that it was ruined after all. People were awful now. They would sin constantly. They made pure things dirty and impure. They were no longer truly made in a godly image. He coughed into his hand. The air wasn't even pure anymore, it was polluted. He frowned. As he listened as he walked through the crunching fall leaves. He could hear music in the distance. Music. Heaven had been full of music when we was there. Music was one of the few things that still had potential to be beautiful in this polluted world. He stopped walking and closed his eyes to listen. Humans had invented such lovely instruments. He could hear drums, trumpets, saxophones, even instruments that he wasn’t quite sure what their names were. They kept making new ones and it made it hard to keep track of names. The music is why he always loved to come here specifically, New Orleans. The place was something unique and of its own. It had its beauty despite the destruction he had caused. In the near silence of the forest he soon heard something other than music… laughter. It sounded like a child. The most pure thing left in this disgusting world, the laughter of a child. It was a sound even more pure than music had been. That sound could never be corrupted by man in the way music could. He soon grew curious of the sound and followed it. He pushed past branches and brambles and vines. A few thorns snagged at his suit but he continued to walk. To try and find the source of the sound. He soon came upon a child, no more than nine, playing by a swamp. He watched curiously as the child dug for bugs and fished for crawfish. The little boy was rather amusing to watch as he ran around in the muck. He continued to examine the small boy. Dear, he looked a bit small for his age, a bit too thin. Beautiful though nonetheless. Then again, he found all children to be beautiful, especially after he had his own. Having a child allowed you to have some sort of appreciation for them. He turned his thoughts back to the little boy. The boy had skin that reminded him of coffee with cream, dark hair with a slight wave to it that could almost be called curls, the most gorgeous brown eyes that he guaranteed looked like honey when the sun hit them, and one missing front tooth. He stayed hidden and took a small step closer, wanting to get a better look at the boy. A branch cracked under his foot. Crap. He thought. The boy turned and looked at him. He smiled widely and called out, “Hello!” He hesitantly smiled and responded, stepping out, “Hello young man.” It felt odd to talk to the boy, he never talked to people when he visited. He couldn’t help but think how awkward he sounded right now. It was so embarrassing to him. He always hated how awkward he always was when talking to people… The boy gave him a gap toothed grin and questioned with a tilt of his head, “What’s your name?” He was suddenly pulled out of his deprecating thoughts and began to stammer awkwardly as he tried to think of a fake name only to still accidentally say his real name, “Lucifer.” He mentally face palmed at his own idiocy. If Lilith knew he had done that she’d likely whack him in the back of the head for revealing himself. Child or not, no one needed to know that he was coming to Earth, that demons and Hell were real. The boy straightened his head with a confused look, “Lisifè?”, he questioned curiously. “Yes,” he responded with a small stutter still thinking of how badly he had screwed up, “Lucifer is my name.” The boy looked at him not with fear but caution, “So… are you one of the djab?” Lucifer looked slightly confused and soon realized it was likely a type of spirit in whatever the boy believed. Come to think of it, vodou is a rather popular religion in the area… He shook himself out of his thoughts. He quickly began to deny it, “Oh! Uh… No! No no no no no no. It’s just uh…”, he tried to think of a reason to have the name of the first fallen angel. This time he actually managed to come up with an idea to use as an excuse, “A family name! It’s a family name. Yeah yeah.” The boy nodded in understanding and Lucifer realized something. “Wait… you haven't told me your name and yet I'm sitting here telling you mine…” He paused, “What is your name?” Lucifer tilted his head just slightly and looked at the boy with curiosity. He knew he shouldn’t ask. Asking would get him attached and make him want to return one day in search of him again. He wasn't sure why but this particular boy interested him a rather lot so he just couldn't help but ask him. The boy perked up and smiled crookedly. He somewhat reminded Lucifer of a small perky puppy. He had to hold back a chuckle as he thought of the adorable comparison. The boy put a hand to his chest and smiled proudly, “My name is Alastor!” Lucifer paused for a moment to register the name. He was always awful with names. He used to call all of his brothers by the wrong name when he still had his grace. “Alistair?”, he questioned. The boy he now knew as Alastor huffed with puffed out cheeks. “No. Alast-OR!”, he replied with emphasis on the o. Lucifer paused as he thought. “Oh. Alastor?” Alastor broke out into a bright grin that could rival the sun and hopped, “Yes yes! Alastor!” Lucifer smiled and chuckled at Alastor's excited behavior. He thought it was cute that the boy seemed so proud of his name. He extended a hand, “Well it's quite a pleasure to meet you Alastor.” Alastor vigorously shook his hand with a surprisingly firm grip. Lucifer paused and then awkwardly spoke with a crooked smile, “Sooooo… what are you doing out here alone?” He was somewhat concerned that neither of his parents were with him. Then again he remembered that it was somewhat normal for people to do that in this day and age, so maybe it isn't as big of a deal as he thinks. Alastor squatted back down in the mud, “Oh I’m lookin’ for bugs and crawfish. My maman said that if I catch some reaaaaal big ones we could have a boil tomorrow! We’d have one today but she’s making jambalaya instead!” He looked up at Lucifer with those bright, youthful eyes that always seemed so wide to him, “Jambalaya is my favorite ya know.” The boy looked back at the muck as he dug around and it built up under his short trimmed nails. Lucifer smiled once the boy had looked away from him. He thought it was nice to hear how the boy spoke of his mother with such love. Children were so kind in Lucifer’s mind. They had yet to be exposed to the horrors of the real world. They still lived in a world of imagination. He began to stammer when he realized that he had yet to reply to Alastor, “O-oh really? That's pretty nice of her.” He laughed awkwardly. Alastor nodded, “yeah she said it's special ‘cause it's just me ‘n’ her tonight. Father had a business trip t’ go on." Lucifer looked slightly surprised when he said his father was out of the house on business, he also found it odd that such a young child would call his dad father. Most children would call the dad or papa… anything but father. Perhaps it was a dialect of sorts… he hoped that was why. “Well I'm sure you and your mom will have lots of fun then.” He paused before changing the topic. “Alastor?” “Yes sir?” the boy looked up at him after giving his polite reply. Lucifer squatted down with him to ask him a question, not caring if he got mud on his white suit. It had gotten snagged and torn by thorns on his way here anyhow. “I know you probably get asked this a lot but I think it's a pretty good way to learn what kind of person you are. If you could just fulfill my curiosity..” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward grin. He never was amazing with kids, not even his own. He was never sure how to behave around them or speak to them since he never had much experience. He continued to ask his question, “Please tell me if you can… um… what do you want to be when you grow up?” Lucifer looked at Alastor with a look that betrayed how nervous he was to say the wrong thing and offend the boy. Alastor stopped what he was doing and stood as a look of contemplation. He hummed in thought and looked down, examining his dirty knees and shoes. Lucifer grew anxious and curious for what his reply would be, but he waited patiently… well, as patiently as he could. He never was very patient, it was one of his many, many downfalls. He had a slightly urging look on his face without meaning to. It was the same look he’d had when he had asked Lilith to be his wife. He smiled slightly at the memory before his thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the decisive look on Alastor's face. Alastor raised his head with a smile as he replied, “Kind.” This took Lucifer off guard. Kind? The boy wished to be kind when he grew up? Not a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer? Kind? That reply seemed to be against the very nature of humans from what he had seen. It was quite vague as well. He gave the boy a confused look and spoke breathily, “Kind? Not like… a doctor or something?” The boy shook his head and smiled, “Kind. Like my maman. She said kind people are the best kind of people.” Lucifer stayed squatted down as slight awe filled his face. His chest felt a growing warmth inside it that he hadn’t felt since before he fell. He thought to himself. Maybe I didn't mess up ALL of mankind like I thought. Perhaps humans aren't all as bad as I thought they'd become. Maybe there’s a chance for them to change for the better…