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Adrian had never been the type of guy to hold down a traditional job and being Moroi, he had wealth and privilege to insulate him from the real world for a lot longer than most people. Still, since branching out to Palm Springs and now to the Nexus, he had to actually work to support himself even if it was just as supplement and not his main income source.

To that end, he'd set himself up in the hotel lobby doing caricatures. It worked for people down on the boardwalk and while he didn't have the advantage of great natural lighting indoors, his pale skin wouldn't appreciate the sun beating down on him while he was trying to work so it was a fair enough trade off. He was charging a few bucks per portrait and while it was mostly pocket change, it did keep him from getting bored.

Right now, he was working on a drawing of Sydney just to hone his skills. It was mostly her blonde hair with a prominent chin and generous mouth but it was coming together and starting to look distinctly Alchemist like. He was toying with whether or not to add the lily to her cheek when he decided against it; Sydney had broken away from that life and maybe he needed to respect that and depict her as such.

He looked up every once in a while, hoping to catch the eye of someone he could charm into buying a portrait off him. Pocket change, sure, but every little bit helped.

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The weariness of decisions had always plagued at him and Hal is immensely grateful that he has been in hiding for long enough that his decisions, by and large, are hardly ever asked for. When he was bad, when he was evil, he hadn't minded who got caught in the crossfire, but that was a long time ago. "And do you yearn for it? Power?"

"Not really. It means I have to be responsible and I'm allergic to responsibility," Adrian said, shrugging a little.

"I guess it might be nice to be called King Adrian or something but really, I'm fine with being a prince and being left pretty much alone by the royal court. There's too many rules and regulations that go along with that and my friend Lissa is a great queen. She can have it."

Hal feels that old frisson burst through him, whispering about how he could be a King too, a ruler of all things mortal and they would bow to him and they would worship him and he would never be hungry. As always, Hal closes his eyes tightly and ignores it, ignores any hint of that old life. "Is she like you, then? Young, but different?" he asks, shaking off the tremor in his voice to gain control again.

"Lissa? Yeah. She's Moroi," Adrian explained. "And she uses the same element that I do in her magic. She's just...a lot more put together than I am ever going to be. I guess having a functional family for your formative years will do that to a person. My parents have never been functional."

Once more, this is something that Hal has no experience in. Family is foreign to him, as foreign as the concept of humanity is. "Well, then, let her live long and reign, then," he suggests. "Don't form a coup and I believe you will have great luck skirting away from your responsibilities."