The rooms were far nicer than she had imagined, more bedroom than hotel room, with miss-matched stained wood furniture and intricate carpeting. Charlie left her to shower, promising real food and hospitality when she was finished, and Clover didn't ask any questions. She didn't know how long she stayed in the small shower, sinking to the floor and drawing spirals on the fogging glass until the hot water ran out and she felt pleasantly boiled. Another opportunity faced her with the mildly cracked bathroom mirror, wrapping herself in the red bath towel she'd been provided and smudging away the steamed glass with her fingers. The condensation warped her reflection more so than it was already, blurring the red fade of her hair until it looked like blood had settled on the mirror's surface.
She'd seen many different types of people on her walk through Pentagram city, and more since she'd arrived at the hotel. From creature-esque beings like Husker and the person she's literally run into after entering the city streets, more normal looking but not-quite-right demons like Alastor, to the most human seeming people like Charlie and Vaggie, she thought she'd seen it all. She felt she was somewhere in the middle, looking human enough to have maintained her two-toned hair and bangs, but altered enough to have gained bright albino-pink eyes and a set of long ears.
Once faintly olive skin now stood white, feeling like velvet under padded fingertips instead of the fur she expected. She found comfort in the story-book reference, only giggling slightly when closer examination found hearts padded into her palms and small puff residing on her lower back. She was now a bunny, or a bunny demon, but either way she was thankful that this was what she ended up with in comparison to what she'd witnessed on others. Luckily, she'd always been a sucker for animals.
The sharp knock on the outside door pulled her from her self investigation, and when she pulled open the door a crack she was met with Vaggie holding a stack of clothes.
"Hey, uh, Charlie wants to know if you'd be okay with going out and getting you some things before dinner."
"Oh, she doesn't have to do that, I can try and find a job tomorrow…"
"If you don't let her she's just going to find other ways to help you, plus it won't hurt to have some things just to get started. I remember what it was like, to have nothing from life to comfort you, it'll help. This is nothing compared to what she is willing to do for others."
Clover could only nod, taking the clothing from her arms and once again shutting herself in the bathroom. The blow-dryer screeched with it was turned up too high, so drying her hair and, by extension, her ears, took longer than she wanted to. A black dress, white button up, dark tights and a red sweater made up the pile of clothes she'd been given, the layers fighting off the chill that had begun to form on her skin. When she'd finished, she found Vaggie standing awkwardly in the center of the room.
"Thank you for the clothes."
There was only a second of confusion before Vaggie replied.
"Oh, those were on your bed, I didn't bring them."
She didn't have time to ask anymore questions, Charlie popped through the doorway with a smile bright enough to light up the room.
"Ready to go?"
"So, can I ask you a question?"
They'd been wandering around one of the nicer stores of the area, Charlie throwing clothing onto a gathering pile in the poor attendants arms while Clover and Vaggie talked idly along. Vaggie had fallen silent for a moment, watching Charlie bounce around inquiring about sizing and color options with a soft smile before finally breaking the silence once they'd begun sorting through things in the fitting room.
The entire thing was a little too late 90's teen flick for Clover's liking.
"What did you like, do before you fell?"
"You mean like, hobbies?"
Clover was confused as to why anyone would care about life before.
"Yeah, like, what makes you happy? You don't have to talk about any family, or boyfriends, or whatever, just.."
The door closed before she could finish her sentence, leaving Clover to sift through the piles of clothes that had been picked out for her. It fell silent again, the odd electro-pop echoing in the pink fluorescents keeping it from being too stagnant.
"Yeah, you fell in love-
But you fell deeper in this pit."
Well that was a little on the nose, thanks Hell.
"While death rains from above,
So count your blessings cause this is it"
"I went to school for Media."
"What?"
It was too quiet, her thoughts started to get the best of her in the silence. Answering questions seemed like the best way to keep driving herself mad at a minimum.
"College, I graduated with a degree in media. Film, television, radio, journalism, all that stuff."
"So you're into like, movies?"
"I guess you could say that. I like films, theater, music, hell I went and saw a concert a couple of months before...anyway, that's kind of what I do...did with my time."
"There a specific genre you could narrow it down to or…?"
"Uh, fuck. For music? Rock, punk rock, but I kind of listen to everything from swing to showtunes to pop punk. I don't know when you, uh-"
"2014."
Clover fell silent for a long moment, discarding a too-short sweater on top of her rejection pile and taking her time buttoning up the next shirt before continuing the conversation. It made more sense now, why Vaggie was so up in arms about making her feel comfortable and finding camaraderie with her, she'd not been down here for as long as it seemed. The fact almost spurred her question about her relationship with Charlie, which was a clearly established something-or-other, but she decided to save it for a later, hopefully more private, time.
"Okay, so the last band I saw play was Green Day."
"Hell yeah, so now I've got someone to talk to about music. I should've guessed, with how you were dressed when you got here, you looked like you'd been to a funeral."
"It was something like that."
The discard pile was larger than she'd meant it to be, though she'd silently vowed not to let Charlie get her more than was absolutely necessary for the first expanse of her survival. She began sorting through the things that had worked, noting the pause in Vaggie's pestering and attempting to turn the conversation more positive.
"For everything else, I kind of like a wide expanse of everything."
"Well, things take a little bit of time down here to catch up with what's going on up there, lot's of it comes from people like you, so I can't promise that you'll be able to see the newest movie adaptation of whatever teen novel was trending."
"You don't have to get me anything, I really enjoy older media anyway, and I can do without it until I can afford it my- "
"I know that, god can't you take hospitality from anyone without arguing?"
"No."
With that Vaggie fell into laughter, drawing Charlie's attention as Clover pulled together the modest amount of things she absolutely needed; a couple of changes of clothes, something she could wear to work, and pajamas. She had what had been gifted to her on her bed, even though both Vaggie and Charlie denied having anything to do with it, and whatever she could salvage from what she'd worn on the way down. When ringing up the total, she'd kept her eye as far away from the price as possible, insisting she take the bags herself on the way back to the hotel. The ride back was mostly silent, Clover taking to staring out the windows while Vaggie and Charlie discussed hotel business. It was the mention of Alastor that drove her to join the conversation, taking note of Charlie trying to steer the conversation of his involvement with the hotel into a different direction with quick glances in her direction, ones that Vaggie missed a second too late.
"We don't know what he wants, I understand that he's helping but that man doesn't do anything without wanting something in return."
"So, what's the deal with Mr. Tall, Red, and Pointy?"
Both Charlie and Vaggie froze, turning to look at Clover before glancing a couple's communication at each other. Charlie, obviously trying to approach the subject with her seemingly never ending positive outlook, waded back into the conversation carefully.
"Well, he's my business partner! He offered to help us get the hotel up and running more smoothly, and we're very grateful for his input."
The twitching of Vaggie's eye caused Clover to turn her questions towards her, for perhaps a more honest or well rounded answer.
"You obviously don't like him."
"He's dangerous, it's like living with a bomb in the house."
"Oh, come on Vaggie, he's done nothing to make us think that!"
Charlie had obviously had this conversation more than once, and even though Clover put some value on her good faith in Alastor, her curiosity was itching to make this conversation far more informative than Charlie wanted.
"What do you mean?"
An echoed sigh filled the car, Charlie seeming to give up on redirecting while Vaggie sat forward. Clover couldn't help but lean into her out of interest.
"Alastor is an Overlord of Hell. Centuries ago, long before I showed up, Alastor appeared in hell and began tormenting the souls here just a few days later. He's powerful, a dangerous being of chaos that finds entertainment in spreading knowledge of his carnage to sinners via radio broadcasts and watching sinners suffer, earning him the name the Radio Demon. He was as twisted in life as he is in death. He is absolutely not to be trusted."
"No offense, but he's the most mild-mannered and charismatic person I've witnessed since I arrived here."
"Al is… complicated. But we're lucky to have him on our side, right Vaggie?"
The begging glances quelled Vaggie's wrath, the three of them settling back into silence while Clover pondered over the information she learned. It was hard to believe that someone who'd made, arguably, the best impression out of all four hotel staff she'd become acquainted with was as bad as Vaggie made him out to be. But, Clover had misguided judgment that led her to this place before. She decided to take it all with a grain of salt, judging someone without first getting to know anything about them personally wasn't a trait she'd like to pick up in Hell.
She walked alone up to her room in the hotel, Charlie and Vaggie disappearing down the hallway to follow the smell of food while she took some time to put away her spoils. It was with little annoyance that she found that Charlie had rescued some of the discarded clothing and snuck them back into the bag along with a variety of basic needs. Clover wasn't good at dealing with kindness, and all she could do at this moment was accept it and promise to give something back in the end.
The clatter from the kitchen drew her in the right direction, standing in the doorway to watch the odd scene before fully committing to joining the fray. Vaggie was nowhere to be seen, the only familiar faces falling to Charlie and Alastor chatting idly while the former brought plates down from the cabinets. The other person she didn't recognize right away. The small woman who was bustling around the pots on the stove was unfamiliar to her, neon pink hair and poodle skirt standing out against the dark hotel interior. She manically checked the oven every few seconds before quickly changing to checking the stove top and cleaning in between everything, only looking up from her work when a timer dinged and spying Clover standing in the doorway with one impossibly wide eye.
"Hi!"
Everyone turned with the single syllable, watching as the tiny woman quickly made her way down from the countertop and scurried over to Clover. She barely came to her hip, sharp teeth grinning up at her as she waved.
"I'm Niffty!"
"I'm Clover, nice to meet you."
"I know! Your clothes were really dirty, I almost threw them away!"
"I'm glad you didn't, thank you. I'll gladly mend them myself, so don't worry about it."
"No problem! It is time for dinner though."
Clover was slowly growing used to the visual differences of demons, the sharp teeth of Alastor's smile seeming almost-inviting as he looked over her mysteriously gifted attire before stepping aside as Charlie rushed to take her arm.
"You don't have to eat with us, I understand if you want to have some time to yourself, but you're more than welcome."
"I'll just probably take it back to my room, thank you."
She was given more than her share of food, thanking everyone for the hospitality and quickly disappearing back up the stairs as Niffty began talking excitedly to Alastor about yet another woman being there, passing Vaggie along the way and instantly hearing her start up conversation with the rest of the group. The click of the door was calming, as was the feelings of fresh pajamas that slid like silk against her skin. She picked at what she could of the food, still having a hard time stomaching more than a few bites. It didn't take long after she discarded her dishes on top of her dresser and curled up under clean sheets for her to fall asleep, the clock at her bedside clicking away the early hours of the evenings as she slipped away into peace.