4th Candelabram - Action/Phone

[devilwithananny]

A. Near the Church, Afternoon

[If you happen to be by the church today, you might spot a young, blonde haired boy looking at it from a short distance. It's hard to tell what he's doing at first; considering it looks like he's hiding behind a tree, he could easily be mistaken as a child possibly playing a game with a friend. But if you look closer

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[imjustpicky]

[Sunday was just a day off to Picky. A time where he wasn't in school, and drone-mom wasn't asking him to do anything. So he was off looking around for something to do, as usual... and he spotted the kid hiding behind the tree.

There weren't too many real kids his age. This kid looked pretty real. That was awful long hair to have on a boy.

He's trying to be sneaky as he comes up behind Louis, but his boots crunch softly in the snow. Also...] Uh. Hey. [That wasn't a very subtle whisper.]

What're you doing?

[devilwithananny]

[Lucifer turns towards Picky at his voice. He wonders just how young Picky really is since, after all. Most of the children he's met here seem to be , well, like him in that regard.]

Oh. I was simply watching.

[imjustpicky]

[This is a perfectly reasonable thing to wonder about. Picky, for his part, only sees the surface of the situation, and assumes that the 'kid' before him really is another kid.

He shuffles around to the other side of the tree, and watches for a moment.]

...why're you watching?

[devilwithananny]

[...An actual child, most likely. Or an extraordinarily good actor. It's hard to tell at the moment. But with the shyness and uncertainty coming from Picky, he's leaning towards a real child.]

I just wished to see how many might go to the Church.

[imjustpicky]

Oh. [Picky goes back to watching the mostly-drone crowd pouring out, narrowing his eyes a little as he tries to peer closer. It reveals nothing to him.]

I don't know if I could count that many. How come you want to know?

[He looks back to the other boy. It can't be for any bad reason, right?]

[devilwithananny]

[More just to see how many voices could be lifting praise to God and how pissed off Lucifer should be about it. So nothing bad. Yet.]

Curiosity.

Maybe I could tell how many drones are in the town, in general, if they all attend the church.

[imjustpicky]

Hey. That's a good idea. Cuz... they'd all go, right? [He smiles. This kid had good ideas!]

I think a few normal people go, though? Maybe. No one that I know, anyway.

[devilwithananny]

[Lucifer nods a little at Picky's response.]

That's right.

I'm Louis. Whats your name?

[imjustpicky]

I'm Finch. [Hey, Pokey had never said to quit with the fake name business... and it was getting to be second nature.]

I don't think I've seen you around, Louis. Are you new? I... I guess I'm kind of new, too. I've only been here two months.

[devilwithananny]

I am. I just arrived last month.

Was the month before as bad as what just happened?

[imjustpicky]

It was... {Picky's face scrunches a bit as he thinks about the question.]

It was weird, but... no. Not anywhere like the same kind of bad as... that. Like... some people got really big, or got shrunk, and there were monster crabs and bugs, and some of us got replaced by pod people, and then they threw us a Halloween party.

[There's a moment of awkward silence.]

This last stuff wasn't the same at all.

[Then, some additional awkward silence.]

I hope nothing too bad happened with you....

[devilwithananny]

[So it would seem what occurred in November was an extreme case of what the town does. He supposes that makes sense. After all, if it pushed too hard all the time, it would become too much for the people here regardless.

He nods a little.]

No. Nothing too bad. Were you alright?

[imjustpicky]

Good! That's good.

[He hesitates again, then shakes his head slowly. He's gonna be tough about this. Or he's gonna try.]

I saw some of my friends die. And... I got really sick.

[He shoves his hands into his pockets. Tough. Pokey would never feel bad about stuff like that. Not in front of people, anyway.]

But it got better. So.. yeah.

[devilwithananny]

[Lucifer smiles a bit.]

Oh? That's quite brave of you, to look at danger that way.

[imjustpicky]

[Brave? If there was sarcasm in the statement, Picky didn't detect it. His standing straighter became more natural and less forced, and he half-smiled.]

You have to be brave, here. Or you might not even... get up and go to school, or anything. Things'll get better. Someone'll figure it all out. I know it.

[devilwithananny]

You have quite a bit of faith.

Why is that? What do you place it in?