Nishant Residence - Evening - Hard Rain
Lunaria Nishant
Usually, Luna loved the rain.
There was just something about how calming it was, and she enjoyed it more than most people did. Most people didn't like the rainy days because it was always gloomy and depressing, but Luna found that she enjoyed them. They made her smile, however; today wasn't one of those days. A frown marred her lips as she closed the front door, locking the deadbolt and the other two locks before walking to the nearby chair and taking a seat into it.
They had paid Alastor the fees he was due, however; he'd decided to make another surprise visit to hear their answer. It had been a flat no from Soleil. The fucker decided that it wasn't the right answer, though, and only tsked. He'd made it quite clear last time that if they refused his offer, he was going to up their protection fees. And he did. The pay that Sol received from that demon guy had been enough to pay the late fees, and the fees for this month, however; who was to say what next month would look like? Luna didn't consider themselves especially lucky, but they had been with Sol's contract.
She still hadn't finished the job, because something or another was wrong with the car she was working on, so she hadn't been paid for that. Luna could only speculate that it might be enough to pay the fees they would need for next month, but that didn't mean much in the face of the future. She sighed heavily, shaking her head. It was so damn hard trying to find a second job. If she could, then maybe it would help. Maybe it would be enough to pay more than her measly check from the Baileys could provide. She appreciated them; she couldn't fault them for her pay.
But it was getting so damn hard. Maybe... maybe if she agreed to Alastor's proposal, it would help.
No. No, Luna, don't you dare. Sol worked too damn hard to get you here; don't you dare do that to her.
She mentally slapped herself and slid further down her chair. She could find something. She would find something. For now, they could only do their best.
“Any luck with that demon guy, what's his name, Samuel's car?" she asked, glancing in Soleil's direction.
"Samael," her sister corrected, voice distant in a way that suggested distraction. She was using their scuffed old tablet, something she'd bought off a pawn shop lady for a few bucks because it was broken. Things being broken wasn't usually much of a challenge for Sol, though. She'd had to spend a couple months accumulating the right materials, but then she'd gutted the whole thing and rebuilt it; it ran faster extranet than the sleek newer ones the Baileys had. "You know these people never have human names—why would he be called Samuel?"
She flicked a finger along the screen, eyes narrowing at what appeared to be a complicated diagram for some kind of engine part. Luna knew more than most people about those, because of her sister, but Soleil could build most parts from a pile of wires and metal, which was a different level of understanding. The picture looked like an exploded sensor array of some kind.
"And I know what the problem is. Working on fixing it. But if he wants it done right, I'm going to need to build him an entire fuel injection system, and I dunno if he'll go for that. It's expensive." She zoomed in on the schematic and clicked her tongue against her teeth, apparently finding it unsatisfactory for some reason. Dinner—red beans and rice—was already done, still warm on the stove, but Soleil didn't appear to be eating.
“Eh, sounds about the same," she replied in reference to Samael's name. It didn't sound the same at all, but Luna didn't much care. They were pretty much the same as far as she was concerned. “I mean, you can tell him how much it'll actually cost," she suggested. The guy gave them—well, Sol anyway—two credits like it was nothing. She stood from her chair and made her way towards the stove. Sol might not have been hungry, but Luna was. She grabbed one of the bowls and filled it before making her way back towards Sol.
“You saw all of his cars and where he lived, right?" it was a rhetorical question. Sol made a house call for this Samael guy, after all. “Just let him know that if he wants his car to be fixed right, it's going to be expensive." Luna knew, though, that telling a demon that wasn't exactly a smart move, but Sol had managed to make it back in one piece. Which meant that Sol had actually managed not to snark the guy, or... well, she wasn't sure.
"It's not telling him I'm worried about," she replied, brow still furrowed as she flicked through a few more schematics. "It's whether he'll believe me or think I'm trying to gouge him." She flipped the tablet around so Luna could see more of it, then pointed at a specific spot on a diagram. "This is a factory standard fuel injection system for the fucking 2442 Yrden Phaser. It's also shit. They cut a ton of corners in the construction of the sensor array—if you want to do this shit right, your microchips need medical-grade abyssium. But some corporate dickbag decided to use an abyssium-silver alloy, which means the sensors aren't sensing right and the fuel's getting mixed all wrong. I can't just order a part for another kind of hovercar, because the whole engine on these was completely redesigned. None of them will fit. So I have to build him a custom one from the ground up, and as far as he knows I'm a two-bit mechanic from the Pits."
She raised an eyebrow. "Plus it's so early for these models that this is probably the first observed case of this problem. It's not even going to be in trade mags for another couple months at the soonest. Maybe if he says no I can still write an article and send it in..."
Luna supposed Sol had a point, though she couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. Soleil was always easily excited about things like this. If these kinds of problems weren't even known yet, then it would be difficult to convince the guy that what was broken, was actually broken, though. “Why don't you show, him, then?" Luna suggested, taking a bite of her dinner.
“These guys aren't dumb by any means, so if you take the time to explain it, maybe even show him what you're talking about, maybe he'll agree to let you fix it. I can't say for sure, though, because unlike you, I haven't met the guy," and she really didn't know what his personality was like. It was unlikely that he was any different than the other demons who were all high and mighty.
"He's weird," Sol said, shrugging a little and putting the device back into a sleep state before flipping the cover closed. She seemed only then to remember that dinner was there, and served herself a small bowl, sitting back down across from Luna with a soft thud.
Luna arched a brow in Sol's direction. “Weird? Weird, how?" she asked, slightly curious as to what Sol had meant by that. It wasn't like the sisters weren't weird themselves, but for a demon to be labeled weird by Sol meant something different. Luna wasn't sure how it was different, but it was.
Sol shrugged, swallowing before she elaborated. "I dunno, just... weird. He feels kind of like a demon, but says he isn't one. When I sassed him, he uh... seemed to find it funny? Weird." She cleared her throat, eyes returning to her food.
Luna had all but stopped eating as she gave Sol a quizzical look. He found it funny when Sol sassed him? Sol sassed him and she's still alive? Luna was certain her eyes were wide with shock. How was that even possible? Most demons wouldn't have hesitated to either remind Sol who they were, or would have killed her just for doing that. But then Sol said that he felt like a demon, but claimed he wasn't one.
“So what is he, some kind of mutant worm?" she stated without really thinking about it. If he wasn't a demon, then maybe he was a cambion like Alastor was. “I mean, he has to be something if he felt like a demon, right?"
"I don't think a mutant worm would have had opinions about my ass," Sol replied bluntly, choosing that moment to take another bite of red beans. She shrugged again, though, and spoke once she'd finished chewing. "It wasn't a cambion thing, either, but like... a demon but not all the way there yet? Somehow... I dunno, like incomplete or something. Maybe he hasn't eaten any souls yet, or whatever the fuck they do. Vegetarian demon, like the vegetarian vampires in those stupid books you used to bring home from the school library and tell me about." The slight quirk of her brow was the only thing that gave away her snark for what it was.
“Don't pretend you didn't like them, either," Luna retorted easily enough, taking a large spoonful of her food into her mouth. “And you found those stupid books just as entertaining as I did," she continued once she'd swallowed her food. She loved the Dusk series; it had been one of her favorite series growing up.
"Not the vegetarians," Sol replied dryly.
“Still, I'm not entirely sure that's how being a demon works," but what did she know? They were human, or at least weird humans. “Maybe you should ask him the next time you see him since he likes your sass and ass so much," she stated, smirking lightly in her sister's direction.
"Oh yeah I see that going over real well," Soleil drawled. "'S'cuse me, Sam, but my sister and I were kind of wondering how that whole soul-eating thing works. Do you have to do it to become a demon, or is it just part of the whole deluxe world domination package? What do they taste like, anyway? Chicken?'" She rolled her eyes.
"He'd probably just flip all that hair really dramatically and tell me I got to find out by being dinner or some shit. He's extra enough to do it."
She couldn't help herself. Luna laughed at how casually she referred to Samael as Sam. Almost like they were old friends, somehow. It was just too funny. Once she caught her breath, though, she pushed a soft gust of air through her nose, and shook her head.
“Hm, well, seems more and more like something you could ask him if the most dramatic thing he's going to do is flip his hair," she stated, leaning back in her chair a bit. “You could just ask him what he meant when he said he wasn't a demon. Very innocent like, and maybe shake your ass a bit, like this," Luna stated, doing her best to shake her own, but failed in her chair.
"Wow Luna, I think if you used those seduction skills on Zinoviev he might actually leave us alone forever."
“You think I should try it the next time he comes over?"
"No. If I have to see it again I might die from proxy embarrassment."
“Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad."
"You didn't even see it; how would you know?"
“I felt it."
"I'm so sorry. That must have been traumatic."
“Yeah, well you had to see it so that might actually be worse."
"I'm glad you understand. Now you know why you shouldn't do it again."
There was just something about how calming it was, and she enjoyed it more than most people did. Most people didn't like the rainy days because it was always gloomy and depressing, but Luna found that she enjoyed them. They made her smile, however; today wasn't one of those days. A frown marred her lips as she closed the front door, locking the deadbolt and the other two locks before walking to the nearby chair and taking a seat into it.
They had paid Alastor the fees he was due, however; he'd decided to make another surprise visit to hear their answer. It had been a flat no from Soleil. The fucker decided that it wasn't the right answer, though, and only tsked. He'd made it quite clear last time that if they refused his offer, he was going to up their protection fees. And he did. The pay that Sol received from that demon guy had been enough to pay the late fees, and the fees for this month, however; who was to say what next month would look like? Luna didn't consider themselves especially lucky, but they had been with Sol's contract.
She still hadn't finished the job, because something or another was wrong with the car she was working on, so she hadn't been paid for that. Luna could only speculate that it might be enough to pay the fees they would need for next month, but that didn't mean much in the face of the future. She sighed heavily, shaking her head. It was so damn hard trying to find a second job. If she could, then maybe it would help. Maybe it would be enough to pay more than her measly check from the Baileys could provide. She appreciated them; she couldn't fault them for her pay.
But it was getting so damn hard. Maybe... maybe if she agreed to Alastor's proposal, it would help.
No. No, Luna, don't you dare. Sol worked too damn hard to get you here; don't you dare do that to her.
She mentally slapped herself and slid further down her chair. She could find something. She would find something. For now, they could only do their best.
“Any luck with that demon guy, what's his name, Samuel's car?" she asked, glancing in Soleil's direction.
"Samael," her sister corrected, voice distant in a way that suggested distraction. She was using their scuffed old tablet, something she'd bought off a pawn shop lady for a few bucks because it was broken. Things being broken wasn't usually much of a challenge for Sol, though. She'd had to spend a couple months accumulating the right materials, but then she'd gutted the whole thing and rebuilt it; it ran faster extranet than the sleek newer ones the Baileys had. "You know these people never have human names—why would he be called Samuel?"
She flicked a finger along the screen, eyes narrowing at what appeared to be a complicated diagram for some kind of engine part. Luna knew more than most people about those, because of her sister, but Soleil could build most parts from a pile of wires and metal, which was a different level of understanding. The picture looked like an exploded sensor array of some kind.
"And I know what the problem is. Working on fixing it. But if he wants it done right, I'm going to need to build him an entire fuel injection system, and I dunno if he'll go for that. It's expensive." She zoomed in on the schematic and clicked her tongue against her teeth, apparently finding it unsatisfactory for some reason. Dinner—red beans and rice—was already done, still warm on the stove, but Soleil didn't appear to be eating.
“Eh, sounds about the same," she replied in reference to Samael's name. It didn't sound the same at all, but Luna didn't much care. They were pretty much the same as far as she was concerned. “I mean, you can tell him how much it'll actually cost," she suggested. The guy gave them—well, Sol anyway—two credits like it was nothing. She stood from her chair and made her way towards the stove. Sol might not have been hungry, but Luna was. She grabbed one of the bowls and filled it before making her way back towards Sol.
“You saw all of his cars and where he lived, right?" it was a rhetorical question. Sol made a house call for this Samael guy, after all. “Just let him know that if he wants his car to be fixed right, it's going to be expensive." Luna knew, though, that telling a demon that wasn't exactly a smart move, but Sol had managed to make it back in one piece. Which meant that Sol had actually managed not to snark the guy, or... well, she wasn't sure.
"It's not telling him I'm worried about," she replied, brow still furrowed as she flicked through a few more schematics. "It's whether he'll believe me or think I'm trying to gouge him." She flipped the tablet around so Luna could see more of it, then pointed at a specific spot on a diagram. "This is a factory standard fuel injection system for the fucking 2442 Yrden Phaser. It's also shit. They cut a ton of corners in the construction of the sensor array—if you want to do this shit right, your microchips need medical-grade abyssium. But some corporate dickbag decided to use an abyssium-silver alloy, which means the sensors aren't sensing right and the fuel's getting mixed all wrong. I can't just order a part for another kind of hovercar, because the whole engine on these was completely redesigned. None of them will fit. So I have to build him a custom one from the ground up, and as far as he knows I'm a two-bit mechanic from the Pits."
She raised an eyebrow. "Plus it's so early for these models that this is probably the first observed case of this problem. It's not even going to be in trade mags for another couple months at the soonest. Maybe if he says no I can still write an article and send it in..."
Luna supposed Sol had a point, though she couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. Soleil was always easily excited about things like this. If these kinds of problems weren't even known yet, then it would be difficult to convince the guy that what was broken, was actually broken, though. “Why don't you show, him, then?" Luna suggested, taking a bite of her dinner.
“These guys aren't dumb by any means, so if you take the time to explain it, maybe even show him what you're talking about, maybe he'll agree to let you fix it. I can't say for sure, though, because unlike you, I haven't met the guy," and she really didn't know what his personality was like. It was unlikely that he was any different than the other demons who were all high and mighty.
"He's weird," Sol said, shrugging a little and putting the device back into a sleep state before flipping the cover closed. She seemed only then to remember that dinner was there, and served herself a small bowl, sitting back down across from Luna with a soft thud.
Luna arched a brow in Sol's direction. “Weird? Weird, how?" she asked, slightly curious as to what Sol had meant by that. It wasn't like the sisters weren't weird themselves, but for a demon to be labeled weird by Sol meant something different. Luna wasn't sure how it was different, but it was.
Sol shrugged, swallowing before she elaborated. "I dunno, just... weird. He feels kind of like a demon, but says he isn't one. When I sassed him, he uh... seemed to find it funny? Weird." She cleared her throat, eyes returning to her food.
Luna had all but stopped eating as she gave Sol a quizzical look. He found it funny when Sol sassed him? Sol sassed him and she's still alive? Luna was certain her eyes were wide with shock. How was that even possible? Most demons wouldn't have hesitated to either remind Sol who they were, or would have killed her just for doing that. But then Sol said that he felt like a demon, but claimed he wasn't one.
“So what is he, some kind of mutant worm?" she stated without really thinking about it. If he wasn't a demon, then maybe he was a cambion like Alastor was. “I mean, he has to be something if he felt like a demon, right?"
"I don't think a mutant worm would have had opinions about my ass," Sol replied bluntly, choosing that moment to take another bite of red beans. She shrugged again, though, and spoke once she'd finished chewing. "It wasn't a cambion thing, either, but like... a demon but not all the way there yet? Somehow... I dunno, like incomplete or something. Maybe he hasn't eaten any souls yet, or whatever the fuck they do. Vegetarian demon, like the vegetarian vampires in those stupid books you used to bring home from the school library and tell me about." The slight quirk of her brow was the only thing that gave away her snark for what it was.
“Don't pretend you didn't like them, either," Luna retorted easily enough, taking a large spoonful of her food into her mouth. “And you found those stupid books just as entertaining as I did," she continued once she'd swallowed her food. She loved the Dusk series; it had been one of her favorite series growing up.
"Not the vegetarians," Sol replied dryly.
“Still, I'm not entirely sure that's how being a demon works," but what did she know? They were human, or at least weird humans. “Maybe you should ask him the next time you see him since he likes your sass and ass so much," she stated, smirking lightly in her sister's direction.
"Oh yeah I see that going over real well," Soleil drawled. "'S'cuse me, Sam, but my sister and I were kind of wondering how that whole soul-eating thing works. Do you have to do it to become a demon, or is it just part of the whole deluxe world domination package? What do they taste like, anyway? Chicken?'" She rolled her eyes.
"He'd probably just flip all that hair really dramatically and tell me I got to find out by being dinner or some shit. He's extra enough to do it."
She couldn't help herself. Luna laughed at how casually she referred to Samael as Sam. Almost like they were old friends, somehow. It was just too funny. Once she caught her breath, though, she pushed a soft gust of air through her nose, and shook her head.
“Hm, well, seems more and more like something you could ask him if the most dramatic thing he's going to do is flip his hair," she stated, leaning back in her chair a bit. “You could just ask him what he meant when he said he wasn't a demon. Very innocent like, and maybe shake your ass a bit, like this," Luna stated, doing her best to shake her own, but failed in her chair.
"Wow Luna, I think if you used those seduction skills on Zinoviev he might actually leave us alone forever."
“You think I should try it the next time he comes over?"
"No. If I have to see it again I might die from proxy embarrassment."
“Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad."
"You didn't even see it; how would you know?"
“I felt it."
"I'm so sorry. That must have been traumatic."
“Yeah, well you had to see it so that might actually be worse."
"I'm glad you understand. Now you know why you shouldn't do it again."