"Aah, fuck my life!"
Mick must have said that phrase at least three times since he had accepted Loona's offer to have a drink, and each time he meant it. After the two of them grabbed Loona's bottle of booze, the Hellhound led Mick up to the roof where they could drink in peace without the risk of her co-workers coming back earlier than planned. After prying open the door with a cinderblock, the pair of them were now on a vast open concrete space, save for a single large structure in the centre where the door was. It was on top of this structure that both Loona and Mick found themselves sitting with a bottle of bourbon and two shot glasses between them, engaging in a heated discussion over their current lifestyles.
"Seriously!" Loona snapped, her face slightly red after downing 6 shots already. "As if my co-workers weren't bad enough! My boss/adoptive parent treats me like I'm a fucking pup half the time!"
"Preach it, sister!" Mick declared, feeling a little tipsy himself due to the mix of alcohol and weed. "Hell, at least he treats you better than MY employer. Seriously, if I have to hear her call me Cat for much longer, I'm gonna piss in her tea, I swear to God! I have a fucking name, you bitch!"
It was at that moment the duo of Demons cackled like a pair of lunatics. After a couple of shots of bourbon, all sense of hesitation seemed to fade away into nothing as time went on. And while Loona appeared to be a moody bitch at first, Mick had to admit that she was actually quite the nice girl once she allowed her defences to drop… in a way it almost reminded him of how he and Octavia first met.
While it was true that he shouldn't really be drinking while he was on the clock, technically speaking, he wasn't at the house. Plus, it's not like Stolas gave him a time limit for his delivery, so as long as he didn't overdo it, he should have enough time to sober up before he made it back. Besides, given everything he's been through this morning, the least Mick needed right now was to cut loose with a small drink or two. Hell, some of his co-workers probably drank on the job all the time, so what excuse does Mick have for not doing the same?
"Honestly dude, with the way you go on, I'm amazed you haven't quit that job at this point," the Hellhound commented, not holding anything back as she downed another shot of bourbon.
Mick couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.
"Believe me, I WISH it was that easy," he replied honestly. "Besides, it's not ALL bad over there. There are quite a few perks to the job."
Now it was Loona's turn to raise an eyebrow, allowing the new information to sink in before a small smirk spread across her muzzle.
"Oh… I see," she said, slyly leaning in a little closer to the Cat Demon. "So, who's the girl?"
It was at that moment Mick found himself suddenly spitting out his drink in shock, quickly scrounging to find and reattach his mask's mouthpiece before the Hellhound could see how red his face was turning.
"Okay, one: it has nothing to do with that, she's just a friend!" he quickly stated bluntly, only to receive an unconvinced smirk. "And two: I owe her a lot, so quitting the job she gave me would be a little insulting on my part."
Loona couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Whatever dude," she said, brushing off the Cat Demon's declaration as if it were the ramblings of a mad drunk. "But seriously, how do you put up with all that shit without stabbing somebody?"
Glad to be back on a more comfortable subject, Mick had no hesitation in giving a decent answer.
"Well, I find that Scream Therapy usually works," he replied, much to Loona's confusion.
"Scream Therapy?" she repeated, making sure she heard him correctly.
"Yeah," Mick replied, getting to his feet. "I basically go up the tallest building I can find, and shout my lungs out."
At those words, the Cat Demon jumped off the rooftop door and walked over towards the edge of the building, cracking his neck as he took in a deep breath.
"Like so," he said, leaning on the edge's wall. "Ruby Deagle, I… HATE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUU!"
At that moment, Mick's screams grew so loud, numerous birds flew away in terror as they echoed in the wind between the buildings of Imp City. Seeing this, Loona once again found herself bursting into a small fit of laughter.
"Oh man, that was awesome!" she chuckled. "Wait… who the fuck is Ruby Deagle?"
"My old landlord," Mick answered, turning back to the Hellhound with a casual shrug. "Face like a dog, TOTAL bitch… uh… sorry, no offence."
Having spoken without thinking, Mick hoped he hadn't said anything that would sound like an insult to Hellhounds in any way. Thankfully, Loona just seemed to brush the comment off.
"None taken," she said, not caring in the slightest. Then all of a sudden, her face gained another sly grin. "Hey, wanna see something cool?"
Curious as to what the Hellhound was talking about, Mick nodded his head and followed Loona towards the other end of the roof. There they spotted a large plastic tarp covering something big in the far corner. Lifting up one corner, Loona then revealed what was underneath.
"Is that a fucking hang glider?" Mick gasped, somewhat surprised to see something like this up here, especially one in such a good condition.
"Yep," Loona confirmed proudly. "Blitzo and the others managed to snag it from the Human World on one of their last jobs."
"Nice!"
It was a great find, sure enough. Of all the things Mick ever wanted to try when he was alive, hang gliding was one of the top 10 on his bucket list. Sadly, he never did get the chance to try it. However, what amazed Mick more was the fact that Loona's co-workers managed to get something like this from the Living World in the first place. Granted, he knew that Prince Stolas took DVDs from Earth once in a while, but regardless, bringing any object from there was still considered illegal by the few laws Hell had. Sure, something as small as a DVD would probably go unnoticed, but a hang glider isn't even close to the same situation. Suddenly, a faint noise drew both Demons' attention.
"The hell is that?" Mick muttered, earning a small shrug in response from Loona.
It was at that moment, the pair of them noticed something moving from underneath the other side of the tarp. Sharing a glance, both the Hellhound and the Cat Demon carefully walked around the tarp, treading their feet lightly with every step until they reached the other side. Lowering her hand towards the edge, Loona yanked the tarp up with a loud, irritated yell.
"GOTCHA!"
What Mick saw next instantly made his mask glow with an extremely hot blush. There, laying on the stone surface of the roof, intertwined in a frenzy of tongue kisses, were two Succubae. One with white hair tied into a short ponytail, and the other with a large Afro… and both of them clearly busy considering one had her top off while she had her hand down the other's shorts! Needless to say, neither of them were the least bit happy about being disturbed in such a manner.
"Hey, what the FUCK!?" screamed the Afroed Succubus, quickly sitting up.
"Do you mind!?" added the white-haired one, covering up her breasts with one arm. "We're trying to get laid here!"
"Oh, forget it, babe, the moment's gone!"
Seeing the pair of them, even with furious scowls on their faces, Mick was instantly infatuated with how gorgeous these two were. Granted, he may have used to work with Succubae before, but even so, there was no denying the charms of one when they're right in front of you… and on full display no less. Of course, the Cat Demon's sense of courtesy easily made its way into his mind a few seconds later. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know whether to walk away or take a photo with his new Hellphone.
In a furious huff, the two Succubae pulled the tarp back over them, more than likely to give them some privacy while they got redressed. At this display, Loona rolled her eyes with a small groan.
"Ugh… Sluts," she muttered, causing Mick to look back at her with a scolding glare.
"Hey, come on," he said. "No need to be rude."
"No, I mean S.L.U.T.S." Loona clarified, correcting the Cat Demon's assumption. "They're a company on the floor above us."
"Oh… right," Mick muttered, quickly realising his mistake.
Now that Loona mentioned that, Mick remembered that he did, in fact, see a company like that while he was reading the plaque near the elevator earlier. Given what he just witnessed, the acronym did seem pretty accurate.
A few moments later, the two Succubae emerged from under the tarp, allowing Mick to see them in full. The one with the Afro sported a dark purple shoulderless crop top with a skull on it, along with fishnet leggings and very small, very loose shorts that showed a lot of thigh as it slid down on one side. Meanwhile, the white-haired Succubus wore a pair of open-toed high heels, along with a pair of short denim overalls that not only allowed her to show a lot of leg, as well as the tattoo of a snake and apple on her left calf but also had an open front to reveal a black bra underneath. Of course, skinny clothing aside, the two scowls the pair of them had at that moment were enough to scare anyone into submission.
"Well, I hope you're happy!" the white-hair Succubus snapped, crossing her arms with a huff.
"Is it wrong that I kinda wanna say yes?" Mick answered sheepishly, only to receive a smack to the back of his head from Loona for his trouble. "I deserved that."
Hearing that, the Succubae, understandably, were not amused.
"Where do you guys get off, huh?" the Afroed demanded in an accusing tone. "Do you two just make it an obligation to peep on people's privacy or something?"
"Hey, don't start with me, skank!" Loona snapped back, letting out a low beastly growl. "You were the ones having your little tickle-time under OUR tarp! So why don't you take those perky red asses of yours and shove off!"
Quickly sensing that a fight was going to break out, and a violently bloody one at that, given the intense glow in everyone's glaring eyes as they shot ferocious snarls and bat-like hissing at each other, Mick had no choice but to step in.
"Whoa, ladies!" he exclaimed, quickly standing between the Hellhound and the two Succubae. "Let's all just calm down, shall we!? There's no need for hostilities here!"
Stretching his arms out, Mick desperately tried to put as much distance between the three Demons as possible. So much so, he even tried to block all three of them with his tail to avoid any blows. Suddenly the white-haired Succubus's eyes snapped wide open in surprise.
"Wait… that voice…" she muttered, a wave of realisation washing over her in an instant. "Oh, Asmodeus! Coco, it's Crazy Cat!"
At those words, Mick felt an instant sense of déjà vu and a strong urge to groan. Once again, he had managed to find someone who found his past painful experiences to be something to be entertained by. In fact, he found TWO more.
"Holy shit, it is!" The Afroed Succubus declared, sharing in her lover's delight as they both smiled back at him with pointed teeth.
"Oh boy," Mick grumbled, sensing where this was heading.
"We LOVED your video," the whites-haired Succubus continued. "The way you managed to take such a beating like that was absolutely hilarious!"
Seeing the two of them try to stifle their laughter, Mick was once again glad his mask was able to hide his embarrassed blush.
"Glad to know I can make such lovely ladies laugh," he commented through gritted teeth, practically feeling Loona roll her eyes behind his back as he gave the two a small piece of flattery.
At that moment, the Afroed Succubus gasped in realisation again.
"Oh sorry, where are our manners?" she said, gesturing to both herself and her lover. "I'm Coco, and this is my girlfriend, Apple."
"Hi!" the white-haired Succubus, Apple, added, giving the Cat Demon a playful wave.
Seeing that the crisis had apparently passed, Mick allowed himself to relax a little, hopeful that another fight wouldn't get ignited any time soon… even if Loona's sour face suggested otherwise.
"Nice to meet you both," he greeted politely. "I'm Mick and this is Loona."
When he gestured to the Hellhound, however, Mick was surprisingly met with a deadpan expression from the two Succubae.
"Yeah, we've met," Apple pointed out, giving Loona another small glare which the Hellhound gladly mirrored.
After that awkward introduction, Coco rubbed the back of her neck and let out a small sigh.
"Hey, uh… Sorry for the outburst," she said, much to Loona's subtle surprise. "It's just we don't get much time to be by ourselves during the workweek, and with all the extra jobs our company has had lately-"
"Hey it's cool, I get it," Mick interrupted, having a strong idea of what she was going to say. "Believe me, I used to work in a strip club, so I know what you gals go through now and then."
Both Coco and Apple couldn't help but smile at that. It wasn't at all often that they ever got to speak to someone so considerate unless they were being influenced. Loona, on the other hand, wasn't impressed in the slightest, if anything she only seemed more annoyed that Mick and the two Succubae were actually getting along. So much so that she had to make it known as she whispered harshly into Mick's ear.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she all but demanded.
"It's called being nice," Mick retorted. "Surprisingly, it CAN work once in a while."
Not having a decent retort for Mick's snark, Loona merely crossed her arms and looked away with another annoyed huff. Then it was at that moment, things got awkward again.
"Hey, since we're all here, would you mind signing my boob?" Apple suddenly asked, instantly catching Mick off guard and making things even more awkward by pulling down one of the straps of her overalls. "I mean since you're a Voxtube celebrity and all."
"Excuse me!?" Mick blurted out, cleaning out his ear to make sure he heard her right.
"Apple!" Coco exclaimed, seemingly scolding her girlfriend for her sudden inappropriate question. "You don't just ask someone that when you first meet them… no, you have to get them to sign your ASS first."
"Oh, right!" Apple giggled in response, acting as if it were the most obvious thing in Hell.
Nope! They're both as bad as each other! At this point, Mick was once again starting to get vivid flashbacks to when he first met Jewel. However, what made things worse had to have been Loona snickering at Mick's expense.
"So, how's being nice working out for ya?" she joked, much to Mick's chagrin.
"Please, don't start," the Cat Demon pouted, trying desperately to fight back his blush as it once again seeped through his mask with a faint red glow.
As much as she would have loved to have kept teasing him at that moment, Loona never got that chance once the two Succubae said their next piece.
"Hey, how about a selfie?" Coco suggested, sensing Mick's hesitation and providing a less… forceful alternative. "That sound alright?"
"I suppose…" Mick replied, not seeing anything wrong with that particular option.
Smiling in delight, Apple quickly reached into her pocket, however much to her annoyance, she found that it was empty.
"Aw shit!" she exclaimed. "We left our phones downstairs!"
"Don't worry babe, I'll go get them. You just try to find a good spot," Coco spoke up, calmly giving her girlfriend a small peck on the cheek before turning back to the Cat Demon. "Please don't go anywhere!"
With that final word, the Succubae walked away from the others and made her way towards the access door.
"Oh boy, Kiki's not gonna believe this," she thought aloud before disappearing down the stairs.
Meanwhile, Mick and Loona were left alone on the roof with Apple, who at this point was now scanning the area while trying to figure out the best place to take a photo. While she was looking in all directions, trying to find the perfect background, Mick couldn't help but let out yet another sigh.
"So, you guys know each other?" he said, hoping that starting up a conversation might help him take his mind off what he just heard from the two Succubae.
"Only in passing," Loona replied with an indifferent shrug before pulling out her own Hellphone and scrolling through it once again. "We never speak, never socialise, even if we meet in the elevator, we ignore each other. It's that sort of acquaintance deal."
"Ah, I see," Mick replied, having no other words to respond with. "Well, they seem… nice."
Loona rolled her eyes at that.
"Yeah, as nice as an STD," she commented, much to Mick's annoyance.
"Wow, you REALLY need to tone down the snark," he blurted out, earning himself a small glare.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind the next time I see a couple of WHORES on the roof!"
Before Mick could even think of a response to that, Apple suddenly drew his attention to her once more.
"Hey Mick!" she called out, waving her arm as she stood next to the nearest edge of the roof. "What do you think of this background for the-"
Before she could say another word, however, all of a sudden, the air was filled with Apple's screams as the scaffolding she was leaning up against suddenly gave way and collapsed… causing her to fall over the edge!
"APPLE!" Mick yelled, quickly running over to the edge, stopping midway with an exasperated look on his face when he noticed that Loona wasn't as enthusiastic and was still currently typing away in her Hellphone. "Oh no, go ahead and finish your tweet, don't mind me!"
Not appreciating the sarcasm in the slightest, Loona gave the Cat Demon another scowl as she pocketed her phone again.
"There you go hashtag it," he continued, clearly just as irritated as she was.
"Oh, would you relax, Mick! She's a SUCCUBUS!" Loona snapped, resisting the urge to add the word, duh, at the end of that sentence. "What, you think those wings on her back are just for show?"
"AGH! MY WING!"
…
"Shut up."
Quickly rushing over to the roof's edge, the two of them peered down and gasped in shock and horror at what they saw. There, hanging off a piece of damaged scaffolding as the structure leaned over the street like the Tower of Pisa was Apple, her eyes filled with terrified tears as her left wing twitched in a mangled mess. From what Mick could tell, the poor Succubus must have been hit with a broken piece of scaffolding as the whole thing collapsed. Undoubtedly, the structure must have been broken apart at the base after Lars and Harvey drove into it earlier.
"HELP ME!" she screamed, catching the attention of many Imps on the street below.
With the scaffolding leaning too far away for either Demon on the roof to reach out for her, even with Mick's long tail, the number of options to help was dwindling fast. They could try calling for help on their Hellphones, but even if the local emergency services response time wasn't utter crap, they still wouldn't get here in time. As much as she didn't like the Succubus, even Loona had to admit that Apple didn't deserve anything like this. As such, even she was starting to lose her composure as a surge of panic began to flood her mind.
"What do we do now Mick?" she said, suddenly finding herself surprised to see the Cat Demon had suddenly disappeared from her side. "Mick?"
And then… It happened.
"Sorry, I'll bring this back, thank you!"
Hearing that ear-piercing cry, Loona suddenly found herself forced to duck as a large metal wing narrowly missed her head. When she managed to get back to her feet, she felt her jaw practically hit the floor as she saw what was now circling in the sky around the building.
"What the fuck are you doing!?"
"What the fuck am I doing!?"
Of all the impulse decisions Mick could have made, this was by far one of the dumbest. The moment he heard Apple screaming for help, all of Mick's protective instincts went into overdrive. Much like how he responded to Octavia's screams when they first met, the Cat Demon reacted based upon his gut feelings and did the first thing he could think of to try and help… unfortunately the decision he came to happened to involve stealing the hang glider, hooking himself up to it and throwing himself off the roof without any thought even though he had absolutely NO idea how to fly it.
"Oh jeez, how the hell do you steer this thing!?" he blurted out, instantly regretting his idiotic choice.
As he continued to circle around, slowly craning further down towards the ground as the glider rode the air currents that surrounded the tower, all Mick could think of was how in the hell was he going to get out of this situation!?"
"HELP!"
But then, at that moment, he once again heard Apple's screams. Tilting his head down he saw that the metal bar that the Succubus was hanging onto had suddenly begun to move out of place. If Apple moved around too much, she was going to drop to the street along with it.
Once again reacting to her pleas for help, Mick's gaze hardened and he forgot his fear, if only for a brief moment. Hoping it would work in his favour, Mick leaned into the handlebar of the glider and twisted his body accordingly. Thankfully this did, in fact, allow him to descend even quicker while circling around the building one more time.
Watching all of this from the roof, Loona couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on through the Cat Demon's head. The two of them only met an hour ago, and already he's surprised her more times than she'd thought possible! Even the small number of Imps who had gathered in the street after hearing the commotion was in awe at what they were seeing, many of them even pulling out their Hellphones so they could record everything that's happening.
When Mick and the hang glider finally made their way back around the building, the Cat Demon soon found himself gasping in horror as he saw Apple starting to lose her grip, her face stained with tears of pure terror as the reality of her situation struck her more and more. Finally, the bar she was holding onto broke away from the rest of the scaffolding.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
NO! She was falling too fast! There was no possible way he could grab her in time now! Unless…
SNAP!
Feeling herself suddenly switching from plummeting to her death to being pulled upward by something furry wrapped tight around her torso, Apple peaked open her eyes before she gasped in awe at her saviour.
"Got you!" he cried out. smiling in delight beneath his mask.
As it turned out, while Mick was unable to dive quick enough, his extremely long tail had enough flexibility and speed to narrowly wrap around Apple's waist like a whip just as Mick and the glider was soaring by. Now here he was, trying desperately to keep the glider balanced as he dragged Apple through the air like the tail of a kite. Needless to say, a smile that showed both relief and gratitude spread across her face at that very moment.
"My hero!" she declared, feeling that to be the most appropriate thing to say at present.
Even some of the Imps below couldn't help but cheer at the display, whether or not they actually cared about the Demons involved, it still appeared to be quite the entertaining stunt show. Mick, however, wasn't feeling as enthusiastic. He may have been too much of a gentleman to say this in front of a lady, but DAMN, Apple was heavy! Not that she really was for a Demon of her size but when lifting someone with their tail instead of their arms, then the tail was going to feel a LOT more strain. If he didn't drop her off soon, he felt his tail was gonna snap off! Luckily the glider managed to catch a strong updraft just as Coco came rushing through the roof's access door.
"What's going on!? I heard screaming!" she said frantically, her jaw almost falling out of place when the glider suddenly shot over the edge of the roof with Mick and Apple on it. "What the shit!?"
"About time you got back up here!" Loona snapped.
Choosing to ignore the Hellhound's remark, Coco kept her entire focus on the two Demons circling above their heads. Meanwhile in the sky, Mick tried desperately to angle the glider so that he could bring it to a landing, but so far, he wasn't having much luck in terms of control. With Apple's extra weight swinging around like a wrecking ball, the hang glider was now completely unbalanced. Finally, another idea popped into the Cat Demon's head.
"Hang on!" he called out, causing the Succubus to wrap her hands around his tail like a rope, much to the Cat Demon's chagrin.
Before Apple realised what was happening, Mick suddenly forced the glider into a nosedive straight towards the roof, something which Loona and Coco were quick to notice.
"Incoming!" Loona called out, quickly backing away to avoid the oncoming impact.
A few seconds later, Apple suddenly felt Mick's tail release her from its grip, allowing her to fall with another panicked scream… straight into the arms of her girlfriend. When Apple dared to open her eyes again, she suddenly found herself smiling in delight as she saw Coco's gorgeous face looking back up at her while she was splayed out of the roof, having collapsed after catching her.
"Hey beautiful," she greeted, a bashful blush spreading across her face as she got off Coco and helped her back to her feet. All of a sudden her look of happiness changed to a new look of panic as a surge of realisation hit her like a semi-truck. "Wait, where's Mick?"
"Babe! Your wing!" Coco gasped, ignoring her girlfriend's question as she gently caressed her injured appendage.
"Coco, I'm alright" Apple snapped, wincing in pain as her wing twitched under her girlfriend's touch. "Seriously, where's Mick?"
"Up there!" Loona called out, pointed a clawed finger to the sky where the Cat Demon was flying away for some reason.
"Where's he going?" Coco asked, raising an eyebrow at how shaky the glider looked as it continued to soar.
"I have no fucking clue," Loona answered honestly as she and the two Succubae kept their eyes on Mick, neither one of them having the slightest idea of what's going to happen next.
Meanwhile, back on the glider, Mick was desperately trying to rack his brain for a solution to his current predicament. The moment he managed to drop Apple off, Lady Luck once again decided to be a total bitch and flung the poor Cat Demon straight into another updraft, forcing him to fly out of control further away from the building he wanted to land on. Needless to say, he was not happy in the slightest.
"People actually do this for FUN!?" he exclaimed, unable to form a clear thought from both the panic and his ever-growing sense of nausea. "Oh god, how the hell am I gonna get down from- WOAH!"
Once again, the hang glider was caught by another burst of wind, forcing it to spin around like a corkscrew, before Mick forced it to level out by leaning into the bar. At this point, the poor Cat Demon felt so sick that he felt like he was going to throw up on the Imps below him, making him really start to regret drinking all that bourbon earlier. And yet… the worst was still yet to come.
"Oh, please no," he whimpered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he saw what he was drawing closer to.
As they continued to watch Mick zoom closer and closer to the large tower building at a rapid pace, seeing no signs of him slowing down at all, Loona, Apple, Coco and all the other Demons on the streets below had only one thing to say:
"WATCH OUT FOR THAT-!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
SMASH!
"Ooooooooooooooooooohhh!"
What a fucking day. Those were the words reeling through Octavia's mind the moment she and her father finally walked through the front door of their house. As she had expected from the beginning, visiting Loo Loo Land was nothing short of a disaster! Not only did the place bring up some exceedingly painful memories for the young Goetia Demon, but everything else on top of that was like a never-ending stabbing to her emotions. As if the embarrassment of having to sit through an unbearingly horrible show starring the same clown who had haunted her nightmares ever since she first saw him as a child weren't bad enough, at one point Octavia had even broken down crying after having to put up with her father's flirting with their so-called bodyguard.
In all honesty, though, the flirting had only been the final nail in the coffin for what she had been caught in the middle of all morning. Ever since Stolas and Stella's particularly bad argument earlier that day, Octavia had tried to bottle up her resentment just like she usually did whenever she heard them fight, but having the Imp her father was sleeping with hang around them all day was like a constant poking that wouldn't end until finally, she couldn't bear it anymore. Of course, that wasn't to say that she didn't really expect her father to act that way. After all, she was neither blind nor stupid. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever affection her parents might have had for each other had long since dried up. In all honesty, she sometimes couldn't help but wonder why in all the 7 Rings they were even still together. She may have loved both her parents, but even Octavia realised that her whole family situation was completely fucked up.
The day wasn't ALL bad, at least. After Stolas finally got the message that his daughter was unhappy, the Goetia Prince took her and left that god awful theme park. After that, everything else seemed surprisingly pleasant. He took her to her favourite shop, Stylish Occult, took her to dinner at her favourite restaurant, everything he could think of to try and cheer his daughter up. By the time he had Jessie come pick them up, Octavia did feel a little better.
"Ah, home sweet home," Stolas sighed, allowing Reginald to take his jacket after closing the door behind the two Goetias.
"I trust you had a pleasant time, Your Highness?" Reginald asked politely, earning himself a small eye-roll from Octavia
"Define pleasant," she asked sarcastically.
"Via…" Stolas started, worriedly, only to have Octavia shake her head.
"Relax dad, I'm only joking," she said reassuringly. "The day might not have had the best start, but… well it turned out okay."
Stolas couldn't help but smile at that. But even so, the talk he had with his daughter back in Loo Loo Land still stuck with him a bit, and while a nice day out was at least enough to cheer Octavia up a little bit, Stolas wasn't stupid either. He knew full well that he would need to have another serious talk at some point, one where the pair of them could speak calmly without their emotions flying all over the place. Sensing that something was bothering his employers, Reginald was quick to stand at attention when Stolas chose that moment to clear his throat.
"Reginald," he said. "Perhaps a spot of Hell Grey Tea?"
"Right away, sir," the Imp Butler replied, gracefully walking away from the two Goetias to carry out the request.
Octavia, however, wasn't really in the mood for tea.
"If it's all the same to you, dad, I think I'll just head up," she said, turning away towards the stairs.
"You sure, Via?" Stolas asked anxiously, hoping his daughter wasn't still angry with him. "I can have Reginald bring something up for you if you'd like?"
"No, I'm fine," Octavia replied, asserting her decision before her father could argue further. "I'm just pretty tired is all."
Choosing not to push the matter further, Stolas nodded his head in understanding.
"I see," he said. "Well… goodnight, my Owlette"
"Night, dad."
Walking up the stairs, disappearing from her father's gaze, Octavia couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief. As much as she loved her father and his efforts to make her happy, she felt that she needed some time to herself right now. As she made her way into her bedroom, the Goetia Princess found herself putting on a small smile as she was greeted with Snowflake letting out a happy yip while wagging both her tails on the foot of her bed.
"Hey, girl," she greeted, giving the tiny fox a small scratch under her chin as she sat down on the bed. "Weren't too bored I hope?"
In response to that question, Snowflake wasted no time in climbing up onto Octavia's lap and snuggling up into her belly, causing the Goetia to let out a small laugh. She may have actually been Mick's pet, but there was no doubt that Octavia had grown rather fond of the Kitsune pup over the last few weeks. In fact, she'd daresay that she began to love her as if she were her own. What's more, Snowflake seems to have grown quite fond of Octavia as well. Every time the young Goetia was feeling down, the little fox always seemed to know and as such, tried to cheer her up any way she could, either by snuggling up to her or by giving her a present she managed to sneak from the kitchen. Either way, Octavia always appreciated the effort, and always made sure Snowflake was rewarded with one of the treats she now keeps on her desk.
"No wonder Mick loves you so much," Octavia thought aloud, giving the Kitsune a small tummy rub. "Do you know if he's come back from his errand, yet?"
In response, Snowflake only looked up at Octavia and cutely tilted her head. Clearly, she didn't know the answer to that. No matter though. No matter how long it took, Octavia knew that Mick would come back eventually. And when he did, boy, did she have a few things to tell him this Sunday.
Meanwhile, down in the Servant's Quarters, Buzz let out a small yawn as he closed the bedroom door behind him, scratching his head while he wondered where his roommate was. He had gotten so used to having Mick around by now, not seeing him here felt weird, even for him… kinda felt a little lonely, actually.
"Where the hell is he?" he thought aloud, snapping back to reality when he suddenly heard a slow knock at the door. "Well, well, I wonder who that could be."
When he opened the door to see who it was, Buzz quickly found his jaw practically hanging off its hinges the moment he saw who was on the other side.
"Mick!?"
Indeed, it was the very same Cat Demon whom Buzz was glad to call his roommate… and he looked AWFUL! As he stood there swaying in the doorway, Mick was riddled top to bottom in bruises and gashes that not only tore up his uniform but also caked his body in his own blood AND numerous shards of glass.
Buzz may not have been aware of the cause of his roommate's predicament at that time, but soon after this, Mick would eventually tell him about the nightmare of a day he had. How the events that led him to meeting Loona would soon be followed by an improvised rescue attempt, which was inevitably followed by him crashing a hang glider through the window of a Sports gym, after which he would be chased off by a horde of furious bodybuilders, who proceeded to throw him out the nearest window, straight into an open dumpster. As if that wasn't bad enough, the very same Hellrat he had encountered earlier just happened to be living in that same dumpster! So of course, the bastard thing chased him all the way back to the train station, forcing him to jump the barrier and jump onto the train just as it was leaving… in the wrong fucking direction! After that, he had to double back, catch the next train back to Pentagram City, and then WALK back to the estate when he realised that even though he had a Hellphone now, he couldn't call Jessie due to losing the business card she gave him at some point during all the other shit he's gone through! After all that, only one sentence seemed to be the most appropriate thing to say.
"I hate Imp City..."
Those were the last few words Mick would ever remember saying that day before his eyes finally rolled back and he ended up face down on the floor, much to Buzz's shock and bafflement.
"Uh… medic?"