The Beach, Monday Afternoon

[my_own_advocate]

The beach was... well, it wasn't not a place Lucifer liked to come. He had many great beachside memories. Usually in a speedo, and surrounded by people in equally small clothing. But it wasn't his place the way it had been Duke's for quite some time.

Times had changed over the past few years, though, hadn't it?

And so it was nostalgia that sent Lucifer ambling towards the beach in a crisp white shirt and far too expansive tan trousers. He had a cooler in one hand, and a beach chair in the other.

With a flick of his wrist, he unfolded the chair and set it down on the sand. He set the cooler down beside him, and flicked it open.

It was full of rather expensive sodas and alcohol.

Was he here to throw a party? No. He was here to wallow happily in sun and nostalgia, however. So he stretched out his legs, grabbed a cocktail from his cooler, and stared out at the water.

[[ open ]]

Comments

[in_sidon_we_trust]

They were fast approaching on Sidon's favorite time of year here on Fandom Island, and he was certainly making the most of it, swimming out for a hearty and fresh lunch and working on his swimming drills for a bit before finally making his way back to shore to find out what excitement may find him here on land.

"Hello, there, neighbor!" he greeted Lucifer when he saw him, since the warmer weather meant that Sidon had definitely moved back to his preferred sleeping spot underneath the docks....when he actually managed to settle enough to sleep. "My, but you look like you've got yourself rather nicely set up!"

[my_own_advocate]

"Since when do we have a neighbor?" asked Lucifer, like the not entirely observant angel that he was. He squinted at Sidon. "Morning," he added, because it was morning in his book, "Drink?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

To be fair, it was pretty easy to miss the giant red shark man living underneath the docks sometimes.

Somehow.

"Well, how could I say no if you're offering?" Sidon laughed. "I would be honored, thank you! And, yes, now that the weather and water have warmed, I'm pleased to say that I can see much more favorable lodging in the port, although the tanks at the animal shelter were a wonderful solution to my temporary seasonal displacement!"

[my_own_advocate]

"Right," Lucifer said, after a moment of trying to figure that out and coming to something of a conclusion. "Seems a bit uncomfortable, but to each their own."

He held out a fancy soda with one hand and a bottle of upscale beer with the other. "Take your pick."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

It was all the same to Sidon, really, and just barely a couple sips for him, besides, but he liked the color of the bottle on the fancy soda, and so it was very soon dwarfed comically in his very large hands.

"Your generosity is greatly appreciated!" Sidon thanked him again with a small bow of his head as he plucked the drink up. "And I'll certainly not try to convince you otherwise for oneself, but I assure you, as a Zora, there is truly no better spot for one to turn in after a rousing evening of swimming and galavanting around town! I find it far more uncomfortable trying to squeeze through those tiny things you call call doors," he had to laugh, fondly, for the memories of a time when such obstacles barely required a bend of his knees to clear!, "these days!"

[my_own_advocate]

"Mm, I suppose you'd have to get some custom-built for you, but that's really no excuse to settle for the bottom of the ocean," Lucifer noted. He looked Sidon and his general... Sidon-ness up and down. "Perhaps I'll put you in touch with a contractor at some point."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Oh, but I rather enjoy the bottom of the ocean!" Sidon informed him with a mighty laugh, because, surely that must have been a joke. "And under the docks is hardly that besides. Unless we start getting an influx of rather large fellow individuals, that would all seem quite the hassle, besides. Especially since I'm still in the process of growing."

Eventually, he'd be too big to do anything but attend his throne, and that would be a very honored but very sad day for him indeed.

[my_own_advocate]

"You can't exactly fit a mattress down there, can you?" Lucifer pointed out.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"I don't exactly require a mattress," Sidon countered, laughing again, this time with a lift of his comparatively tiny bottle and an appreciative wink before taking...a very careful sip to help make it last a little bit longer. "You know, it's a shame we haven't had more opportunities to chat. I had no idea you had such an unprecedented sense of humor!"

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer, deadly serious, tilted his head in the other direction it had been tilted. "Everyone requires a mattress," he said. "There's really no need to settle."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon opened his mouth to point out that birds probably didn't, but then wondered where nests came into play, and the Rito, generally, seemed to prefer hammocks, besides.

But that seriousness did make Sidon wonder if perhaps Lucifer was not, in fact, quite the comedian after all.

"I assure you, my good sir," he enthused, "no settling about it! A mattress is truly not required, and even if it were, it need be only the size of my feet, as we Zora prefer to sleep standing.

"As a matter of fact," he added thoughtfully, "some of the few times I did deign to sleep on a mattress have been wholly unpleasant experiences."

The only exception being when a small blue Twi'lek was also involved, of course.

[my_own_advocate]

"Really?" Lucifer said. "What, was it one of those old dingy ones from the bargain basement or something?"

He could be quite hilarious when he wanted to be, thank you very much. Just not when he was worried about the ergonomics and hygiene of sleeping in wet mud.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Oh, quite the contrary!" Sidon said, pondering whether there was more....consise way of explaining that he slept standing, since, apparently, I sleep standing wasn't doing the trick. "These have mostly been occasions on the school trips when the shower accommodations were regrettably too small, and I have been told that most humanoid creatures find those offerings quite lavish and comfortable."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer squinted at him a moment longer.

"A foot pillow, then, surely."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon squinted, too, although his was more out of intrigue, matching the tilt of his head.

"Do you truly find it so unfathomable," he asked, "that one may perchance sleep in comfort without such accoutrements?"

[my_own_advocate]

"I mean, I sleep with two people who think camping is fun," Lucifer allowed, "But in general, yes."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Well, since I rather have my doubts that suggesting you give it a try sometime will change your thoughts on the matter," said Sidon, laughing again, "I suppose you shall simply have to take my word for it. But I do greatly appreciate your concern for my comfort, good friend. Rest assured, it is most unfounded."

[my_own_advocate]

"If you're certain," Lucifer said. He sounded skeptical, but he was also fishing a bottle of whiskey from the cooler, so clearly the debate was settled.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"You know," Sidon said, with a big toothy grin that proved he just couldn't help himself, "now that you mention it, perhaps I should reconsider more than one hundred years of experience on the matter with this new found sliver of doubt you have thus inspired within me!"

Yes, Lucifer. He was quite certain. REALLY.

[my_own_advocate]

"You know throwing things like centuries around is rather more impressive to people who aren't billions of years old," Lucifer felt he had to point out. "When I was a hundred years old, we all thought putting salt in our soup was the height of culinary excellence."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Then I shall defer," Sidon didn't miss a beat, though he did fill one with another laugh, especially since he wasn't necessarily intending to impress, just to....you know....point out that this was hardly a new thing for him to be sure on, "to the ten thousand years of my ancestors doing quite the same thing. Although, really, you were really onto something back then, a little bit of salt can go a long way!"

[my_own_advocate]

"There are a million and one spices that can add a whole spectrum of flavor to your palate," Lucifer sniffed. "Salt is the bare minimum."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"And yet," Sidon chuckled softly with amusement, "there are surely countless ways in which one may sleep, and here you are, stuck on a mattress."

[my_own_advocate]

"There are about as many varieties of mattress in the world as there are spices," Lucifer pointed out. "Have you ever considered a waterbed?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

And the chuckle was going to build into another laugh. "Why, was not the whole crux of your contention with my sleeping arrangements about my water bed?"

And, besides, really, now, Lucifer, a waterbed? With those claws???

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer was working his way up to suggesting a mani-pedi.

"Just because you sleep in water doesn't make it a bed."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"We might just have to agree to disagree on that one, my friend," Sidon offered, "because I'm rather of the mind that the sleeping part is precicely what makes it a bed."

[my_own_advocate]

"No, it has to actually be comfortable," Lucifer argued, "And feature something soft. And a blanket."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"But that is comfortable for me!" There was, if you looked for it, a bit of a sigh now in Sidon's chuckle, but he grinned through it and shook his head. "And I imagine we'd both agree that there's not much comfort to be had in a soggy blanket. With the water, there's no need for such things! The waves are your blanket!"

Then he took a moment to just sort of marvel at Lucifer, "But you are rather stuck on that, aren't you? Surely, with the vast multitude of spices available to season your foods, there must be at least one you don't care for....does that mean that it is any less a spice, just because it does not suit your own palate? Can a bed truly not simply be where one might find comfort and rest, even if you yourself might not find those particular conditions to be comforting and restful? I believe they have a phrase here, in fact....how does it go again....ah, yes. Different strokes for different folks! And I don't think think there'd be much argument in the fact that you and I are, indeed, quite different folks!"

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer eyed him. Blinked a few times, even.

"No," he said. "I mean, yes, obviously, we are very different, since I'm a gorgeous celestial and you're a strange tall squid-crab thing who badly needs a manicure. But I maintain that wet mud isn't comfortable under any definition."