Lew had waited on the porch for a little over an hour, as no one would answer the door. However, he figured they must still be coming back from the news station, so he waited. He waited so long that now, he was asleep, lying on the hotel porch like a dog.
Soon enough, he was awakened by the sound of an automobile motor coming into the driveway. Without moving much, he opened one of his eyes, and peered at the vehicle; a bizarrely shaped, light pink limo.
As the limo slowly pulled to a stop, two goat-like demons got out from the main cab. They looked at Lew with puzzled expressions, and he responded by craning his head up, and giving the two a venomous glare. They looked at him as if affronted, and glared back with exaggerated pouts. Lou rolled his eyes and looked away from them. Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw someone else step out from the back of the vehicle; it was the princess.
He immediately launched up and sat straight, attempting to pull off his most stoic possible stance. The goats continued to glare at him, and he responded by quickly snarling at them before returning to his stance.
As Charlotte exited her limousine, she looked toward the door to see the coyote sitting there. The princess clasped her hands over her mouth, letting out a loud squeal like a tween schoolgirl. Lew raised one of his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side at the response.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, jumping up and down, "Vaggie there's a puppy at the door!!!"
"Wha-" Lou was cut off before being able to finish, interrupted by Charlotte's incessant screaming.
"And he's wearing a hat!!!!" She was bouncing so quickly now, she was practically vibrating.
"What?" Another girl said, stepping out of the vehicle.
"That must be Vaggie," Lew thought, still staring confused at the scene in front of him.
Vaggie looked fourth at the 'dog' on their step. "Charlie, I don't think-"
"Eeehee!!!" The princess continued to squeal, suddenly, running to the porch and miraculously managing to heave the 'dog' into her arms. Lew would have tried to escape, but he was frozen out of shock.
"Vaggie," Charlotte cooed to the girl, holding Lew, "Can we keep him?"
"Charlie, I don't think-" Vaggie tried to dismiss before Charlie stared straight into her soul with the saddest puppy dog eyes she could make.
"Charlie…" Vaggie tried to overcome the effects of Charlie's sad face, but ultimately failed. "...Fine…" she sighed.
"Yay!" Charlotte- 'Charlie', cooed happily.
"I'M NOT A DOG!!!!" Lew finally managed to screech, causing Charlie to leap back, dropping him flat on the floor. "Ouch…"
"Oh! Sorry!" Charlie apologized promptly before kneeling down to try and help him. He swatted her hands away with his wings.
"Don't!... Just. Don't." He grimaced with folded back ears, before getting up off the ground and shaking himself off. He picked his cap off from the ground and dusted it off before he put it back on.
"May I ask why you're here?" The girl who's name was apparently Vaggie asked, with an oddly disapproving facial expression.
"Yeah," Lew responded giving Vaggie a suspicious look, "I was here because I was curious about you're program."
"Really?" Charlie asked, a hopeful smile slowly growing on her face.
"Yes," he said cautiously, giving her a nervous look as he slowly leaned away from her.
"Don't worry," she said with an embarrassed chuckle, "I'm not gonna grab you again."
Lew let out a relieved breath, "Good. Cause if it wasn't for your advanced social status, I would've bitten you." He scratched casually behind his ear with one of his back feet. "But back to topic, yes, I am interested in your little rehab project."
Charlie's smile grew wider.
"Okay what the hell's going on out here," a Steve Buscemi esc voice asked, coming from a spider-like demon who stepped out of the limo. "What's up with the mangey pup?"
"Mangey?" Lew asked, folding back his ears and glaring at the arachnid.
"Yeah, that's what I said," the demon said matter-of-factly as he continued giving him a blank, cold expression.
"Who's the six legged freak?" Lew glared at the two female demons beside him.
"Yah tellin' me ya don't know who I am?" Angel looked at Lew as if he was insulted.
"No sorry," the canid said with a smirk, "I don't hire hookers."
"Excuse- oh wait that's true." Angel said, realizing his retort was pointless.
"I figured."
"Okay that's enough you two." Vaggie crossed her arms, glaring at them.
Lew folded his ears back submissively.
"Vag…" Charlie said to the girl calmly with pleading eyes. Vaggie reluctantly calmed down.
Lou grunted, "I'm beginning to reconsider you're program."
"Nonononono!" Charlie panicked, "I'm so sorry! It's not usually like this I swear!"
"Well you didn't exactly roll out the welcome wagon," Lew said with an unamused expression, "between you attempting to kidnap me, her immediately disapproving of me, and him… well just existing-"
Angel glared at him.
"-I see no reason for me to stay." Lew finished, giving Charlie a glare. Charlie's expression changed into one of utter sadness; she looked crushed. It was one of the saddest things Lew had ever seen- well sort of- but he wouldn't let it change his mind. At least he didn't want to let it. But it did anyway.
"I-uh-hmph," He growled, "Fine… I'll stay. For a bit, at least."
"Yes!" Charlie cheered, grabbing one of Lew's wing-hands and shaking it vigorously, "You won't regret this!"
"Already am," He responded.
The six demons entered the hotel, and when Lew saw it, he was shocked. It was almost, almost, as depressing as his own home. From what it looked like, Charlotte had a celebration prepared ahead of time for any demons that would show up. However, the decorations were all sagging down, or tattered on the ground. Lew walked over to a tattered welcome banner, picking it off the ground and observing it.
"What's this, Mrs…?" He asked, simultaneously looking for what he could call her and the reason for the 'cheery' decor.
"Call me Charlie," she responded, "And as for that, well you see, I had this big welcome party planned for anyone who would arrive for the hotel's grand opening! Unfortunately… you're the only one who's shown up..." She finished, sadly looking at her feet.
"Hmm." Was Lew's only response. He walked over to a large wooden crate, hopping on top of it and lying down.
"May I ask what your name is?" Charlie questioned, an innocent smile returning to her face.
Lew yawned. "Call me Lewis. Or Lew, Lewey, so on and so forth. I don't really care." He replied blankly.
"Oh. Okay Lewy." Charlie took a seat on another nearby crate. She simply sat there, looking down steadily, before choosing to get up and walk out the door for a moment.
"Where's she going?" Lew asked, apathetically.
"None of your business." Vaggie replied, still with her same suspicious tone toward him. She was sitting on a couch not to far away.
"May I ask you something else?" He asked, glaring at her.
"Depends on what it is," she grumbled, crossing her arms, and glaring at him.
"Okay. Why are you being such a passive aggressive ass?"
She glared harder at him. "That's one of those questions you're not gonna get an answer to," she hissed.
"Fine," Lew growled, folding his ears back once again. He impatiently tapped the claws of his wing-hands on the surface of the crate. "So, where's my room?"
"Charlie will show you when she's back."
"Right," Lew said, smiling at her fakely.
"Hey Vaggie?" Charlie asked nervously as she finally arrived back from the door.
"What," Vaggie whined, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"The Radio Demon is at the door!" She replied, fearfully.
"What!" Both Lew and Vaggie shouted at the same time, rocketing up from their seats.
"Who?" Angel asked, as he ate a popsicle in the background.
Lew made a double take at Angel.
"What?" He asked, holding up his hands.
"Nothing… just... I forgot that you were here."
"And I wish you weren't," Angel mumbled mostly to himself, though he made sure it was loud enough for Lew to here.
"What do I do!" Charlie whined to Vaggie.
"Well, don't let him in!" Vaggie exclaimed. Charlie began to head back to the door. As she did, Lew desperately dug at the sides of the crate, whining like a dog, trying to hide inside said crate. He heard the door open, and began struggling faster, as Vaggie left the room.
"You need help there buddy?" Angel asked sarcastically, smiling at him.
"Fuck off!" Lew yelled back, getting desperate enough to start gnawing on the corner of the crate.
And then it happened; the Radio Demon walked in: Alastor. As he walked in, he gazed his eyes on Lewis, halfway into a crate, his back leg sticking out as he looked over his shoulder. Vaggie pinched the bridge of her nose, and Charlie stared at him with a blank face.
"H-hey!" Lew said to the Radio Demon, slowly stepping out of his crate, his tail between his legs, and his ears folded back.
"Well hello my good man! And who are you again?"
Lou squinted at him suspiciously. "...No one."
"Ah! Fantastic to meet you no one!" Alastor replied, grabbing Lew and shaking his hand. Before shoving him to the side. Lew stumbled and fell into the crate behind him.
"Hah!" Angel laughed at him. Lew simply sighed. Exhausted, he just layed in the crate, craning his head up and resting it on the edge of said crate, observing the scene that lay before him with anxiety. Then he heard something really startling; the reason that Alastor was here was to help run the hotel! He shook his head dismissively. Charlie seemed of moderate intellect. Surely she wouldn't be stupid enough to except a deal from this murderous maniac!
And then. She. Accepted. It. Welp, at least she didn't shake his hand. Lew slowly lowered his header into his crate, and slowly pulled the lid shut. Curiosity won him over though… somewhat. He slowly peeked his eyes out of the crate, staying hidden, but able to see the situation unfolding outside.
He could barely hear anything, and observed mostly thru gestures and movements. He observed Alastor's interactions with the other people in the hotel, and eventually observed as he moved over to the fireplace. He watched as he snapped his fingers, and the fire swelled.
From the flames, a tiny demon was pulled out. She only had one eye, and she was the height of a child. "What. The. Fuck," Lew thought to himself, also mouthing it.
The tiny cyclops demon began frantically moving about, casually lifting Charlie off of the ground as if she was the weight of a paper clip, and frantically beginning to clean the place.
Lew continued to watch, as Alastor summoned another demon from nowhere, a grumpy, old, winged cat. And he watched as he bribed him with alcohol. He watched as Charlie adorably squeezed her cheeks in happiness. And then he witnessed a musical number.
Miraculously, he managed to escape that nightmare just by staying inside of his box. It would seem that nobody even remembered he was here.
He watched the door of the hotel be blown from its hinges. At that point, he simply slowly closed the lid of the crate with a look of horror, hiding in complete darkness.
...
"Wait… where's Lewey?" Said a female voice from outside Lew's crate; Charlie. He nervously looked out of his crate.
"Has the train wreck ended!?" He shouted across the room to the gaggle of demons.
"Oh thank god!" Charlie ran over to the crate. She reached toward him.
"DON'T! Touch me." He growled at her.
"Oh right! sorry," Charlie replied, smiling sheepishly. "I was worried; I thought you bailed on us."
"Oh trust me, I have," Lew replied, clumsily stumbling from his crate, "I've had enough of this ridiculous bullshit. There's more lunatics in here than the entirety of Hell!"
"What!?" Charlie cried desperately, "No! Don't leave!"
"Sayonara you little-" Lew started, before he looked at Charlie's face. That face… Lewis reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his photo, and looked at it.
"What… what is it?" Charlie asked, kindly.
"It- it's not important," Lew replied quickly hiding the photo, wiping his eyes, and clearing his throat.
"I- I'll stay," He said.
"Okay…" Charlie stated, looking at him with calm eyes. "I swear, I'll help you as best as I can."
"Thank you."
"Alistor's making Jambalaya. You know… if you want any," Charlie said, smiling at Lou.
"No, no that's okay," Lew responded, shaking himself off quickly, attempting to flush down his emotions. "That bastard probably poisoned it anyway."
"Are you sure," Charlie said, with a tone not incomparable to that of a concerned mother.
"Yes… I don't much care for that stuff anyway, regardless of if it's poisoned or not."
"Well, okay," Charlie replied, "It'll probably be a bit till it's ready; do you want me to show you to your room?"
"Yes," Lew said, staring at his feet, before looking up to meet her in the eye with a smile, "Yes, I think I'd like that."
