Tannusen laughs at that. Both the hesitation, and now the description....

"Lil is a copy of who he was before he became a demon," he offers, stroking his good hand over the side of Cassian's face. Those strange, blackened eyes couldn't be full of more affection, "I love you, Cassian. I'm sure you can find it in yourself to spare a friend of mine who can't defend itself."

That's right, a friend.

...Just the hologram, right?