Less Than Human

"Hey Luci. Long time, no see." Koriana punctuated each sentence with a long pull from her cherry lollipop and finished with a shaky smirk. Lucifer knew that she was trying not to cry. With a shudder, he pulled the girl into his arms, probably crushing her petite form against his tattooed chest. Sucker forgotten on the ground, she clutched at him just as tight as he did her, arms clamped around his waist. He bent over, enveloping her in his embrace like she was about disappear. His Kory, his princess. He smoothed down pin-straight tresses as she started to shake. Her candy-red nails dug into the duvet of his feathers, clinging to him like a lost teddy bear.

"Shh, it's okay, Kora. Kory, babe, I'm right here. You're fine, you're safe." Lucifer hushed when she began to sob into his chest. Bennett, who looked put off and generally confused, stole a glance at him. Lucifer mouthed 'Long story.' and nodded towards the living quarters. The trainer, although begrudgingly, left them alone. When he was gone, he lifted Kory off the ground and slowly slid into a sitting position, the small girl perched comfortable in his lap. They sat there in a silence that was sliced only by her brief sobs and sniffles. When it had become clear that she'd cried her self out, she lifted her face from his shoulder. Lucifer framed Kory's doll-like cheeks with his hands, a surge of long-forgotten affection and adoration rushing through him like white water.

"Hey Princess." She giggled at the nickname, but it didn't reach her dark green eyes. He frowned.

"Kory, babe, how did you get down here? This isn't . . . you shouldn't be." He questioned. "What's going on? You seem like you, but that's just it. 'Seem'. Like I can't be sure. Princess, I've seen some real bullshit down here. I mean, you don't look at all fazed that I'm one of Hell's Bitches now." She smirked at that. "Wings, claws, teeth. I doubt I even look the same to you." Kory shook her head and opened her mouth in protest. "Why are you are fairie?" The 16-year old's eyes, though cold, still flickered with a familiar childlike spark. She glowed with the youthful aura of fairies, just light around the edges of her skin. Hers felt different though, now that he really looked at it. She still seemed unhappy, working her bottom lip between her teeth to the point of blood.

"I -" her water voice broke as his heart did. She seemed to contain a whimper. "I'm not a fairie."

"Then -"

"Anio . . . brought me down here." Lucifer gritted his teeth. He fought the Shade that began to rise in him like his rage. "I don't know what I am anymore. It was here when Kory began to cry again. Lucifer pulled her in for another hug, squeezing her as tight as possible. She spoke again after a few seconds. "I-I don't know who I am." Her voice hiccuped. "Now, I'm here. And-" Kori's voice broke off abruptly. Her eyes developed a glazed, glassy look to them and he cupped her cheeks again. Her face, which mere seconds ago was contorted with lonely sobs, was now blank and void of emotion. Lucifer, just barely containing the primal anger that relentlessly rose in him in a way he'd never experienced, tilted her face toward his getting a closer look at her.

There was something in her eyes.

Before he could discern what it was, long eyelashes fluttered and blocked the view. She was asleep. Lucifer's brow furrowed in worry, but he shook it off and set about lifting her up, sweeping Kori's blithe figure into his arms. He walked lightly, slowly, trying as best he could not to jostle the 16-year old from her sudden sleep. He took the silence as an opportunity to calm himself down. This anger, no this rage, was so unlike anything he'd ever dealt with. He felt his eyes tingle, giving the familiar tug at his cataracts that his irises were the frosty neon blue he'd unfortunately become accustomed to.

When he reached the living quarters, he found Bennett who led him to her room.

"So, your'e not even gonna try to explain what just happened? Dude?!" Bennett whispered fiercely when Lucifer ignored him.

"How long has she been here? When did you find her?" Lucifer questioned, instead.

"What does that have to do with-"

"Did you know she was Anio's little sister?" Lucifer continued.

"She-she's what?" His eyes were large with surprise. ". . . the fuck." The younger demon rolled his eyes at the trainer. When they reached the door of her room, he had Bennett open the door, promptly shutting it in his face when he tried to enter.

The room, while less grimy, was still as dirty like Lucifer's. A mirror hung on the wall over a small sink a near minuscule bar of soap teetering on it's edge. Aside from a twin bed made of chipped, rotting wood, the bedroom was barren. Lucifer's face screwed in distaste, swallowing the lump of profanities growing in his throat.

Kory stirred in her sleep and her thin eyebrows furrowed as she yawned. It was small, almost kitten-like, and he chuckled at the sound, gently laying her across the bed. He slipped off her shoes, fluffed her pillows (or whatever passed as a sorry excuse for a pillow in the Nether), and smoothed her dark brown locks. Her eyelids fluttered delicately before she opened one a crack.

"Luci . . .?" Kory wondered, her voice microscopic.

"Yeah, kiddo?" He answered, just as quietly.

"St-stay with me. Like before. Please?" She pleaded. "I only ever have nightmares now and . . . it could only be until a fell asleep?" Lucifer smiled despite himself.

"Of course. Anything for you, princess." Slowly, he lumbered downward, squeezing next to her on the tiny mattress. He sat back on the headboard and tentatively wrapped an arm and a wing around her, gauging her reaction.

"It's no California King, but it'll do." She giggled, as she cuddled into the downy feathers, that seemed to curl and settle around her slight form of their own accord. Lucifer ran a hand through her hair and gingerly pressed his lips to her forehead and her bangs. When he pulled back, she was already gone. Kory breathed in soft, cool spurts of air through her pert nose, nimbly gazing his chest.

"Sleep tight, my princess."

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Lucifer opened his eyes to great swaying branches. The wind was so string that leaves occasionally floated down and then were scattered by the tumultuous breeze. The sound was akin to waves beating, crashing, ravaging a rock-laden shore. There was something wrong. He was too still, too straight.

He wasn't breathing.

He coughed as air suddenly forced its way inside him, his lungs shuddering to a start like an old car.

Sitting up, Lucifer rubbed at the back of his head, fresh with itch of wild grass. Footsteps sounded off from behind him and his ears perked, nose twitching minutely. He could smell her. Her. He relaxed, shoulders slumped as he laid back down. He could still hear her heavy boots crunching fallen leaves, but cinnamon and firewood surrounded him like she was in his arms. He felt her breath on his neck, her warm laugh in his ears. The trees overhead turned to green blotches as his vision blurred.

The sensory overload was so intense, Lucifer feared he'd give in to the Shade in his sleep and she would see him for the monster he truly was. But then, the rhythmic footsteps ceased. They had become so loud, that in their absence they created a deafening, nerve-racking silence. Fire licked at the edges of his sight.

No, not fire. . .

Hair.

Her face bobbed in front of him as she hovered, one leg planted on either side. She reached down and picked up his hands. A small frown tainted her freckled cheeks with worry until he beamed up at her. Her emerald eyes lit with a jubilant fire in return. The strong, Scottish breeze tangled her long hair as the sun filtered through it, creating a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, and browns. Her flawless lips parted to reveal a smile that could replace the sun. She fell to her knees, curling her body around his and pressing her face into his neck, whispering ancient words into his skin:

"Talamh agus tu' le cheile go deo. Anam-maites. Is brea liom tu'."

Lucifer brought his arms around her, bringing her even closer to him than seemed possible. The words were foreign and unrecognizable, but sung like music in his ears. She pulled her face from his neck. She leaned closer and closer. Their noses were touching. K once again spoke in her ancient tongue:

"Leannan."

And he understood.

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One blink sent Lucifer whirling back into the Nether. He jumped, gasping as he struggled to come to grips with reality.

'Aren't the dreams reality, too? Isn't K real?' For the first time, Lucifer questioned it. He had never felt anything so intense. It was her, it was all about her every damn time he closed his eyes. if he was being honest, he'd grown fond of K, even though he only saw her when he allowed himself to sleep.

Kory rolled on her side, moaning a bit before settling back into slumber. He shook his head to break it from it's frantic thoughts. Hesitant, Lucifer pulled his sore wings from under the girl, who shivered at the loss of warmth.

"Sorry, princess." He intoned to her sleeping form and kissed her forehead, the action smoothing the creases from the skin there as she relaxed. Lucifer crept from the bed to the door and closed gently, shutting his princess from the harsh world out side.

He tried not to focus on the dream he'd had as he walked back to his room, but failed miserably. K consumed his thoughts: Her scent, her eyes, her voice that mumbled cryptically in that thick accent of hers. He hadn't known most of what she was saying, but one word had stuck at the back of his mind. Leannan.

Lucifer couldn't force himself to sleep, even if he wanted to. His fingers drummed against the sheets as he pondered the word. There was something about the way she said it - separated and emphasized it as she stared him straight in the eye. The way her lips moved around it. Slow and soft and reverent- almost like . . . He shot up from where laid on the crappy mattress.

Almost like a . . . lover.