[complete]

[agebeforeanger]

Who: Lena and Hisoka
When: Tuesday evening
Rating: Probably PG. There's children involved, after all...
Warnings: ... none to speak of?
Summary: Hisoka needs somewhere to live. Lena is, as usual, on a Devil's Nest terminal, doing paperwork.

The Devil's Nest's main room was fairly quiet at this time of night - it was too late for most people to be

Comments

[cupofsass]

Hisoka had spent the first two weeks of his stay at Purgatorium in what shelter he could find - but he could only stand so many nights sleeping in what moldy, bug-infested, abandoned rooms he could find. Not that any established housing on the lower level would be that much better, but at least he could be assured the building wouldn't collapse around him during the night. And now that Makubex had found work for him, he finally had some money to secure him a bed, in the very least.

After work, he took a walk through the ghastly black streets. He'd started to get used to the perpetual feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of his stomach upon his arrival, but it didn't make the scuttling noises and shadowy figures any easier to bear. Hisoka felt the hollow gaze of the Eyes on his back and shuddered, hurrying his pace.

Looming up before him was a massive old building - the Devil's Nest. Hisoka remembered from the peeling, stained maps he'd seen around the city. Well, it did seem like most of the population lived in the boarding house - he may as well try his luck.

Quietly he approached the large doors of the building and knocked softly. When there was no reply, he sighed and pulled on the door knob. The door opened with a painful creak and Hisoka slipped inside before he woke any of the residents. There was a dim glow coming from the terminal room, and Hisoka tried to peer inside.

"Excuse me?"

[agebeforeanger]

Lena jumped violently at the door's creak, backing directly into the terminal with a thump. How... pleasant. She sighed, startled blush fading into impassivity as the boy's words registered. "... You are- yes?"

Her voice had its usual cadence under stress, slipping back and forth between open emotion and her mask of apathy in a way that sounded almost like stuttering. He didn't look like he'd be dangerous. Though taller and several years older, he looked... more like her brother than anything; too-skinny and wide-eyed. Which meant that this was probably one of the newer arrivals that came in every few nights. (Probably, maybe; he had said that this was a... potentially dangerous place.)

Nonetheless, he had the disheveled appearance of someone who'd been outside for a few days, in the abandoned buildings that comprised most of the lower level. How could she be angered by that?

She slid her papers farther from sight surreptitiously, both because of the notes and the half-erased drawings.

[cupofsass]

Hisoka's chest clenched as the girl's surprise slammed into his mind. Dammit. Why couldn't they have taken the empathy along with the healing? The emotion ebbed away, replaced by suspicion, simmering at the edges of Hisoka's empathic perception. With Muraki and who knew what else running around this place, she had good reason.

"I'm Hisoka Kurosaki," he ventured, trying his best to look non-threatening. "I was looking for a room...?"

[agebeforeanger]

Lena paused, finally turning to pick up the papers, and clutched them to her chest with a faint sense of exasperation. She didn't recall where the empty rooms were, though they appeared in the oddest of places, so she couldn't simply give directions.

He did look... disconcertingly like her brother, with that look on his face. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not; Perin could be frustrating, but... that was brothers for you, she supposed. She ignored the homesickness which that thought caused. "I shall... I'll find one," she said, more quietly. "Several of the residents can be... disinclined to appreciate intrusion."

She turned quickly to walk down the hall, trying to ignore how quickly Hisoka would catch up. She hated being short, not so much for its own sake, but for how much younger it made her seem. "... You have been informed of the essentials of the situation?"

[cupofsass]

Hisoka hated being short for its own sake, but as it was he was more than able to keep up with the girl. Her officiousness reminded him briefly of Tatsumi, but he brushed that thought aside quickly. He needed to focus on essentials before he could give himself time to think. He hadn't stopped to think since he'd arrived - suddenly finding food and warding off monsters and Muraki had consumed every waking moment. He could think later.

"Essentials?" he asked, unconsciously shoving a hand in his jeans pocket and clutching the spare few coins inside. "I'm not sure how much rent is, if that's what you're asking."

[agebeforeanger]

Lena sighed as the boy caught up, pausing before the stairs. No rooms on this hallway. "... The location of this region; the deities in control; the aggressive entities about the streets..."

If his first experiences here had been anything like hers, he hadn't had much chance to find a terminal and information; the monsters tended to be something of a deterrent, in unguarded regions.

She flushed red for a moment. "There is no rent. It is required that one... contribute to the upkeep, through chores and the like, though nothing else, to my knowledge. ... Nonetheless, it would be wise to inform the owners of your residence. ... If you're staying." The last was tacked on as an afterthought, in a half-hearted attempt to avoid too much officiousness. People tended to take offense.

[cupofsass]

"I've picked up a few things," Hisoka replied truthfully. "No one's given me the tour, but there have been a few people kind enough to explain the basics."

The news about the money gave Hisoka a glimpse of hope - with free housing and a job, maybe he could scrounge together something resembling security in his life. "No, I would very much like to stay," he replied. "There is room, right?"

[agebeforeanger]

"Good." Lena's voice trailed off into a near-whisper. "It would be- It would be wise to be cautious. Those in power are not always... kind."

She ventured a smile; it made her look her age, for once, rather than someone desperately trying to seem older and more in control. "That would be... There is room. Presumably on one of the upper levels; the lower ones are more rarely... vacated."

[cupofsass]

Upper level was good. Upper level meant Certain People would have to climb a hell of a lot of stairs in order to murder him while he slept, and if that was going to happen, they had to want it. Hisoka wondered briefly if death here would be anything like death back on Earth.

"That's fine," Hisoka replied. "I'm a lower level resident... will there be any problem securing a room closer to, well, the 'upper level'?"

Given Hisoka's luck this might have been too good to be true after all, so it didn't hurt to check before he actually felt relieved.

[agebeforeanger]

"I--" Oops. Lena flushed red again. This was where trying to speak with vocabulary got her. "The upper level above the plate is... not accessible until one has resided in... Purgatorium a month.

"The higher levels of this building are... they should be fine." There weren't too many people on the top floor, so if he wanted that... She mentally shrugged, leading the way up the stairs.

She'd taken one of the middle floors, herself; there was no view to speak of over the ruined city, and she'd never been that fond of heights.

If she'd noticed what Hisoka was worried about, she would have been quick to reassure him. Not many people really liked to cross Greed and Giovanni; it was rather a suicidal endeavor.

Unfortunately, she wasn't much good at reading people. At all.

[cupofsass]

"Sounds good."

Hisoka followed her up the stairs, walking in silence for a bit. He supposed he'd better find out her name, as long as she was helping him. There seemed to be too many... loose cannons around, that it was comforting to find someone who seemed stable enough.

"What's your name?" Not that tact was really Hisoka's strong point.

[agebeforeanger]

Hisoka's lack of tact was probably a good thing; Lena had a bad habit of... forgetting to mention certain details, like her age. Her name was actually more innocent- most people she met knew at least one of her brother's friends - but... the case stood. She might pry, but she didn't volunteer information about herself.

She turned back, blinking. "Lena."

"I think... I believe this room is unoccupied." Only one bizarre neighbor, bed in place, basic furniture only slightly battered... It should do.

[cupofsass]

"Thank you, Lena-san," Hisoka replied, casting his eyes about the room. Many times better than what he had been living in, and he wouldn't have to worry about the ceiling caving in.

"I hope this wasn't much trouble for you."

[agebeforeanger]

"I-" Turning bright red seemed to be a common thing, today. "Of course."

"Better to have the... relatively rational about." She sighed. Then maybe he would leave her alone.

"... san?"

[cupofsass]

"Oh, it means 'Miss'," Hisoka said vaguely. "I guess... whatever it is that's letting us understand each other doesn't translate everything."

[agebeforeanger]

"... It appears not. There has been... at least one untranslated language, here. Possibly more."

She glanced out the window. "I- it is relatively late. And I cannot imagine you have obtained much rest without shelter. Shall I... leave you alone?"