"Hey!"
"Holy shi-"
She'd not made it halfway up the staircase after sneaking by Husker before the call made her jump out of her skin. Vaggie stood at the bottom of the staircase, wide eyes apologetic as she waited for Clover to catch her breath and turn her attention to the other demon. After ample time, Vaggie spoke.
"We uh, I mean Charlie and I, like, got you something."
"You really don't have to do that, you've both done more than enough."
"I know! It's just, Charlie is all about rehabilitating demons, and she thinks it's probably easier when there's things here that they can enjoy. "So they don't like, fall into old habits or whatever."
"I mean, you guys have a library, and that's pretty cool."
"You found the library?"
"...I may have gone exploring."
The fair-haired demon chuckled lightly, shaking her head before removing her hands from where they had been clasped behind her back to show the bag she was holding. Clover's heart sank, as thankful as she was for the kindness, she didn't want them to do more than what was necessary for her. She was going to find her own way here, one way or another. But, denying the kindness was far worse and more trouble than it was to just accept it and move on, she'd learned. Vaggie stepped forward, setting the bag on the steps at Clovers feet before shuffling back to their prior distance again.
"Hell can get kind of boring if you're not doing all the things that make it, well, hell, and sitting at the bar with those losers will get old eventually. Think of it as part of the charity."
Clover paused for a moment, stuck between two questions that arose from her statement, the most important being that she knew she spent some time with Husker and Alastor at the bar. She decided that it wasn't worth delving into at the moment, and moved on instead.
"Listen, Vaggie, I really do appreciate it. I just don't want you going to all the trouble when I just walked into this place and asked for help. Besides, I don't even know if you can be rehabilitated for the shit I did..."
"It's gotta be worth a shot, right? Look, it's way less than the deal Angel Dust cut with her, Charlie is not wearing anything thin by helping you, so chill out."
Clover smiled, leaning down to pick up the bag without looking inside and giving up on trying to be polite.
"Fine, but I'm at least like, cooking you dinner or something in return."
"Deal, no handshake or contract required."
As much as the comment piqued Clover's interest, she resigned herself to her room with a gracious thank you and a heavier weight on her shoulders than before. She was a confusing cluster of emotions and she wanted nothing more than to wash it away with a hot shower and a cold drink. Her room was thankfully clean, and she promised herself that she would do something nice for Niffty eventually to repay for her phenomenal service. The bag was set on her bed, forgotten in her quick trip to start the water running at the right temperature and half-hidden under her discarded sweater. She showered quickly, wincing at the small scratches that decorated her arm and thankful the skin didn't break it.
She wrapped herself with a fluffy towel, slicking her hair back and returning to her room to search for the most comforting pajamas she could find. The silken set that was sitting crumpled on her bed was too much for her odd mix of infatuated high and stressed overstimulation. The crumbled red sweater laying on the floor beside her bed caught her attention, and she quickly bent to pick it up and pull it on.
And then it started squeaking.
Clover froze, quickly stepping up onto her bed to keep her feet away from whatever it was and gently taking hold of her sweater. She pulled it away on a count of three, forcing herself to keep her eyes open instead of shutting them in fear of whatever hellbeast might have made its way into her room. The shape that was revealed was round, pink and splotched with small horns decorating it's form.
It was a pig.
Small, round eyes looked up at her as it squealed softly, snuffling around in the rest of her clothes before pawing at the bedposts. Clover didn't really know what to do, she was completely in shock at how such a creature made its way into her bedroom. Was it off the street, or a pet? It was a thought she still was running through her mind as she slowly leaned down over the edge of the bed, and slowly extended a curled hand so it could smell the back of it. It retreated slightly before it gave her skin a small sniff, and then was butting it's head into her hand and squealing softly. Her heart instantly melted, trailing her fingers along its back as she lowered herself back to the floor.
"Hey buddy, what are you doing here?"
It only ran circles around her feet in response, getting in her way as she slid on her sweater and a pair of long sleep pants so she could go on yet another investigation mission. The pig didn't resist at all as she scooped it into her arms, stepping out into the long hallway and giving a look in both directions. It wiggled as she moved, so her fingers found a soft spot under its chin to soothe it as she walked past the open doors, evidence of Niffty's cleaning spree.
The yelling from one of the only closed doors in the hallway caught her attention, a familiar accent telling her exactly who it was as she knocked.
"Angel?"
"Not now!"
She blinked, not used to hearing Angel Dust sounding so distraught.
"What's wrong?"
"Go away!"
"Not happening."
It was quiet for a long moment, the only sounds the shuffling before the tell tale sign of the door being messily unlocked.
"I said leave me al- Nuggies!"
The pig was quickly manhandled out of her arms, Angel Dust holding it above him to look him over before smushing their noses together and pulling it to his chest. The look he gave her was almost accusatory, pink and black eyes narrowing as Angel scowled.
"Why'd ya have 'im?"
"He was in my room."
"What? How'd he get down d'ere?"
Clover gave a glance down the hallway, the gears turning in her head as she spied Niffty dragging a basket of laundry down towards the staircase.
"I think… maybe, he got out when Niffty cleaned our rooms earlier and got closed into mine when she left."
"Oh…"
Angel Dust instantly sank, looking as apologetic as he could as he looked down at the small pet he clutched in his arms before looking at her again with a small smile.
"T'anks for bringing 'im back to me, sorry I, uh- yeah."
"It's okay. What's his name?"
"Fat nuggets, he's my uh- my pet."
"He's adorable."
It was everything to see Angel Dust's expression brighten up, and Clover instantly caught his contagious smile. It carried her all the way down to her detour into the kitchen, making herself a quick snack before returning to her room. The bag she'd forgotten on her bed kept her from crawling into it immediately, so she guessed it was time to open it. The bag was sealed with a pink ribbon, which she guessed was a Vaggie trademark, and it was decently heavy. As soon as she pulled the bow apart, the bag popped open, strained from holding the contents. Inside was a couple of folded t-shirts, bands the decades past that fit in with the musical aesthetics she had talked to Vaggie about during their shopping escapade, a hard black casing of some sort, and at the bottom of the bag, a familiar shape.
A laptop, an older model that reminded her of one she'd gotten as a teenager for school projects, and it's charger. It was a bit dusty, and she assumed it probably belonged to someone before her. The rainbow sticker on the corner pointed towards it belonging to Charlie at some point, and it made Clover feel slightly better to know it wasn't something they had gotten new for her. Curiosity sparked, she opened it and blew off the small amount of dust that she guessed they hadn't gotten off before packaging it. It booted up quickly after being plugged in, and she found a clean screen with just the basics, save for the bright pink background decorated with an annoying comic font for a heart-warming message.
"To remind you of the past, and help you through the future."
It was a sweet gesture, and within a few clicks she was quickly clicking into hell's version of an internet service, connecting to the "Happy Hotel Wifi" without the help of a password and beginning to scroll through whatever appeared on the obnoxious red and blue homepage. Soon, the small black case that had come with it drew her attention, causing her to lean far enough off the bed to get it that she nearly fell off. Upon opening the small case, she found a full stack of DVD's. Clover's heart jumped, quickly thumbing through all of them to take stock of what was there. It was a nice collection of staples of decades past, with a number of them being classic horror or thriller films. She found one that called to her, a classic musical that seemed odd to have ended up in hell but she had no complaints.
Soon, she was curled up in the darkness listening to the familiar call of Columbia pictures. Her eyes grew heavy, the film keeping her attention from the terrors of the day that would surely plague her anxious mind, and promising a new, better tomorrow.
After all, it was only a day away.