<span style="font-size: 125%; line-height: 116%;">As Mirtra spoke of her former rank, and said that she had only spoken her mind, Lucifer's face showed genuine concern. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"That is the truth, isn't it?"</span> He shook his head, a hint of sorrow in his otherwise happy demeanor. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"You were speaking your mind,"</span> he repeated softly, looking upwards at the skies. In the moment, in the silence and solitude, he was beautiful. Then the moment was gone, and he was just kindness and understanding once more. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"How do you deal with it? Well Mirtra,"</span> he said as he playfully returned the bow she had given him a moment before, <span style="color: #00FFFF">"what you need to do is something you weren't able to do before: Ask."</span><br/><br/>He grinned, pulling from thin air an apple and handing it to Mirtra. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"This place isn't like it is up there. Up there, everyone would be telling you to eat, or not to eat that apple. They'd be threatening you either way, talking about 'consequences unseen' and 'dire penalties'. And you know what nobody would think to do?"</span> Lucifer stepped close to Mirtra, only inches away from her. Softly, he said <span style="color: #00FFFF">"nobody would ask you whether or not you *wanted* to eat the apple."</span> He was smiling from ear to ear. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"That's why this place is different. This place doesn't care about what someone else wants you to do."</span> Very gently, he placed his hand on hers, lifting the apple still in her hands to his own lips and taking a bite from it. He only slowly released her hand, and took a step back, eyes shining with something... Playful. <span style="color: #00FFFF">"You had a hard landing, but make no mistake. This can be paradise."</span></span>