The fact that Prosper happened to be looking out the window just then turned out to be a stroke of luck. As soon as Ryo disappeared from the bedroom, a... a face appeared, peeking out from the side. Prosper's eyes widened, first in shock and then in recognition. Their eyes met, and shortly a hand joined the face, tapping gently on the glass.
Prosper was on his feet immediately, rushing to the glass door, opening it just enough that he could slip out himself. "What are you doing?" he demanded. He was holding onto the shoulders of a half-grown girl, messy blond hair peeking out from under her cloak. Her clothes marked her clearly as another of Elouan's servants, though her name didn't immediately come to mind. One of the newer ones, then--- not that her foolhardiness in coming here wasn't proof enough of that already. "Inna," he said, finally putting a name to the face. Her eyes lit up when he called her, so he schooled his features into a harsher expression. "You have to go. Now."
"But why? I just found you! Boy, I thought that guy would never leave." Inna took his hands in her own and clasped them together. "Everyone else thought you were dead, you know! ... Well, except Jon and Evie. And me. We knew you'd still be alive. And here you are! So who's he?" She indicated the apartment with a toss of her head.
"Leave," he said, pushing her away. He didn't know how good Ryo's senses were, but if he found her here... It was already bad enough that she was here in the first place. It would be a miracle if Elouan let this go.
But she held off against him, refusing to budge. "Where do you want me to go? I can't fly right now, you know, since the sun's up." Which was true. Damnit. Prosper dragged a hand through his hair, resisting the urge to groan. Inna took the opportunity to brush past him and plaster her face against the glass door. "Whoa... You sure are living it up, huh?"
Prosper stalked after her and snagged her by the arm. "As soon as the coast is clear, you're going. I don't care where, but you have to go."
"Why? I won't steal your sugar daddy, if that's what you're thinking. Wow, I didn't even know we could have those. The master's so harsh, I never thought he'd let go of this kind of... Oh! Are you doing it on the sly? Don't worry, your little secret is safe with me!" She saluted him with a wink and a grin, while Prosper watched on with growing dismay. How new was she, to be this perky? Especially now, when they were dying left and right, with no reprieve in sight.
A sound from below made him freeze, and he silenced Inna with a hand over her mouth. Fortunately, she complied. More fortunate still, Prosper heard the door not long after. Motioning for Inna to stay, he peered inside, then crept out of the bedroom to the interior balcony overlooking the first floor. Everything was silent, and Ryo was nowhere in sight. With a sigh of relief, he turned back to fetch Inna, but she had already followed him in and was sitting perched on the bed, legs swinging. He grabbed her by the arm again. "I'm taking you to the elevator. Don't come here again. If anything goes wrong, just... Find Jon. He'll help you."
"Aren't you coming with me? And where's your cloak, anyway?" Inna was still half distracted taking in the details of the luxurious bedroom, even as Prosper was dragging her out of it.
Prosper stilled. She made a small questioning noise, but he was silent a moment before answering. "I'm not going back," he said quietly.
Inna stopped in her tracks, staring at him. He didn't look back at her, didn't meet her gaze. "What... What do you mean, you're not going back? You have to," she said, half disbelieving still. When he made no reply, she yanked on his arm with her free hand, forcing him to face her. "You can't just leave! ... Can you?" The note of hope in her voice made him sick.
"No," he said softly. "You can't. I didn't."
"Then...?"
"I'm here because I died." There, he said it. He didn't even want to see her expression, afraid of what he would find there: disbelief, or terror, or heartbreak. This was why he shouldn't have consorted with the new servants, he thought bitterly. Offer them a little reprieve, and they get attached. He didn't blame them, but it had been a stupid thing to do; hope was useless in a place like theirs, and he knew it.
It was a long time before Inna spoke again. This time her voice was quiet too, subdued, the bright cheer all but sapped away. "What is he?" she asked.
"A god. He... brought me back." Prosper looked away, one hand playing with the sleeve of his other arm. "I'm his now."
Another pause. "Is it better?"
"... No."
Inna stared at him for a moment, something like a frown pulling at her features. "I don't know," she said at last, "you looked pretty cozy before."
Prosper's eyes snapped up. "How long were you there?" he asked.
"Oh, since... almost dawn, I think? I saw you earlier, when you were sleeping outside, but I had to collect, so I came back when I was done." Her skin, Prosper realized, was glowing slightly. It was harder to see in the full light of day, especially as pale as she already was, but her eyes were full of sparks too when he looked up into them.
Prosper sighed again, in consternation this time. "That's... Look, Inna, I can't leave, and he can't find you here. Hurry and go, before he comes back."
"You really don't want to see me, huh..." She sounded crestfallen, but this was for the best. He didn't correct her, and continued leading her down the stairs. When they passed the phone with all the menus scattered around it, left there from yesterday, Inna made her last bid for... whatever it was she was hoping to get out of this encounter. "Wait!" she said, digging her heels in. "Let's order take-out! Come on, please? I haven't had Italian in forever! I promise I'll leave right after, just let me eat!" Prosper stared at her as if she had grown a third head, but she gave him a pleading look.
Half an hour later, she was handing off part of the wad of bills to the delivery guy, and waving him a cheery goodbye.
Prosper, sitting at the kitchen counter with the pizza, raised an eyebrow at her. "You knew the address?" She had gone as far as scribbling it down on a piece of paper for him, when it turned out he didn't know it himself. She sauntered over to join him, nabbing a slice for herself and cramming it into her mouth. It should have been too hot, but that wasn't a consideration for her anymore. "You're just going to throw it back up," he said, watching her. It wasn't so much that they didn't need to eat, but rather that they couldn't anymore. He'd tried it himself, before.
Inna shook her head. "Just let me have this," she said around a mouthful of pizza. "And... I had to remember where to go when I came back, so I memorized it. Hey, aren't you going to have some? It's good."
"I'm not interested in scalding myself," he said. Still, he did pick up a slice, holding it much more gingerly and nibbling off a bit of the end. It was... greasy, but not in a bad way. There were a lot of flavors. He took another bite, and then another.
When they were done, he was as good as his word, dragging a reluctant Inna out of the penthouse and into the elevator. He stayed with her until he saw her out of the building door, and watched until she disappeared from sight. The building receptionist gave him an odd look, but he ignored her. Only when Inna was gone did he go back up, and begin the process of tidying up the remnants of the pizza. Inna had ordered a large, and eaten most of it... Prosper didn't want to think about what she was going to do later, when it inevitably did come back up. That was someone else's problem now.
Seeing her hadn't been unpleasant, exactly, but nevertheless, he was troubled. That Inna--- no, that another of his former master's servants had been here... Somehow, he didn't think this boded well for him.