but what do they really know?

VEROSIKA MAYDAY, Succubus Pop Star | 2x09 - Apology Tour

"Mmmmhm~"

There was a decompression in the young woman that could be felt, as if she had been a fist let unfurled. Imagine that. It had been a while since a new face decided that he was someone to let their guard down with. Alastor rather liked the fear as it kept people at bay, but he found himself not minding this either. She was calm enough, spoke evenly, and had a pleasant voice which... goodness he had heard it before somewhere. It was going to bother him.

He didn't wipe his hand on his lapel as he withdrew his arm, though the impulse was there. Instead he let it rest in one of his coat pockets, flattening against his body before curling shut again. At the mention of a friendship exercise he laughed sharply, a bit louder than he intended before falling into a few lesser giggles, tapping the ash off of his cigarette with his free hand.

"Oh please, don't censor yourself on my account. It's absolutely the sort of thing residents get caught up in. Our dear Charlie seems to believe in the exercises still, though it's hard to say exactly what redeems a sinner to begin with. The last and only sinner to be redeemed set down their life for others selflessly, only to be brought up to Heaven. I suppose they were modeling decent behavior prior to getting incinerated in a beam of holy light. But the truth is, there's no real science behind it just yet."

He thought for a moment, eyes drawn upwards as he took another drag.

"Actually. Because there's no science to it, it's hard to say who is included or excluded, either. If you'd like to roll the dice and join, why not? You certainly strike me as the type to enjoy friendship exercises."

He batted his eyelashes at her.

"Or, perhaps if you stick around long enough we'll circle back to creating popsicle stick cabins. Fancy yourself an architect?" 

her confusion remained until the host mentioned so casually that there was no exact route to redemption. verosika kept up with the general ongoings of hell, partly for work but also because it was just in her personality to want to be in the know, but that was a major fact she had been unware of. the way she heard of sinners lining up to be redeemed, one would've thought there was an actual program to follow by now. were they all just... wishing for the best, then?

if she hadn't seen the footage herself of the redeemed sinner, she would've considered the entire thing a monumental scam.

but then alastor was suggesting she join the hotel, and it was her turn to bark out a laugh. "as if!" imagine that. a succubus ending up on the same plane as angels and cherubs and whatever else. he had to be joking even if he didn't know who she was. her lips twisted into a smirk at the question and she rolled her eyes. "heaven sounds boring. i honestly feel sorry for those winners and the guy who made it up there."

He isn't doing much, not anything that would get him in trouble, just munching on some chips and scrolling on his phone. Normal break behavior. When the door opens and Verosika gets more or less shoved inside he looks up, but doesn't dare move, one hand holding a chip halfway to his mouth; a deer in the headlights.

Even when Verosika addresses him, he doesn't move for several more seconds before he's able to pull himself together enough to answer, clearing his throat before he does.

"...as an employee of his i don't think i'm really supposed to disparage him." He glances around. Were there cameras in the breakroom? He hadn't seen any, but that didn't mean much of anything. "...regardless of how i may or may not feel."

normally she'd decline, but since she was apparently stuck here until she got the okay from her manager to leave, she decided to indulge.

"sure. what kind?" she sighed before making her way over and sitting down in a chair opposite the sinner. the group always had the most unique appearances, and it seemed like he was no exception. vero couldn't help but wonder what landed him in hell to look like a candle, but obviously wasn't going to ask.