Before anyone knew it, the day of the banquet had arrived. From the morning to the late afternoon, everyone on staff was making the final preparations for the banquet later this evening. Down in the kitchens, the Chef in particular was feeling the intense pressure of having to supervise all food preparations. Everywhere he went in that room, he was assaulted with the sight of dozens of imps trying to follow his guidance in food preparations.
"Look alive, ya lazy little ingrates!" he snarled as he walked past a group of Imps slicing up vegetables. "Or I'll keelhaul the lot of ya!"
"He DOES know this isn't a ship, right?" one of the Imp's muttered to his coworker… only to get a smack across the head for his trouble.
"Back to work!"
Such was the same in every corner of the Goetia mansion. While Mick was lucky enough to avoid kitchen duty, he still had to assist most of the other departments in their own preparations, whether it was cleaning or setting up the table. By the time it was around dusk, almost everything was complete and the musicians for the evening were now free to make their start setting up for their performance later.
While Johnny and his clones got out of his van, all dressed in white-jacket suits and black bow ties, much to their chagrin, all five of them tried to focus all their energies on making sure everything went as smoothly as possible. Given both what they heard and what they saw about Lady Stella, not a single one of them wanted to do anything to piss her off. After rolling out the last of the equipment out of the van and passing it over to his clones, Johnny took a moment to stretch out his back and take a breath of air before he and the others went inside. At that moment, he couldn't help but notice a new addition to the overall decor of the grounds, namely the number of tall, iron oil lamps similar to that of Victorian England lining the stone pathways.
"Odd choice of decoration," he commented, scratching his head in confusion at the sight of the iron poles.
"They're rich, what do you expect?" his mop-topped clone, simply named John, commented.
"Come on, don't start slacking now!" the clone with the ponytail, Joseph, snapped. "I don't want that crazy bitch breathing down our neck before we even start!"
Sharing in his copies' concerns, Johnny quickly picked up the pace and followed his clones into the house with their equipment. Taking one last look at the lamps, he couldn't help but wonder what poor bastard had the gruelling job of lighting them all.
Little did Johnny realise, the Demon lighting the lamp was a lot more familiar than he suspected. After two and a half hours of climbing up and down step ladders with a lit torch in their hands, both Mick and Buzz were starting to get positively drained from the work. Neither of them knew WHY Stella chose to use old-fashioned lamp posts as a source of illuminating decoration for the night, but once they were all delivered and bolted into the ground, the task of lighting them all was pushed onto them because it was technically the job for the gardener to carry out all outdoor tasks. Unfortunately, that also included any assistants they may have.
"How many more?" Mick asked, the flickering of the flames now beginning to strain his eyes as he and Buzz rested on top of the tall step ladder.
"Relax, this is the last one," Buzz replied, assuringly, waving the flaming torch in his hand.
Mick couldn't help but sigh at that.
"Sorry," he said. "It's just that I still have horrible flashbacks whenever I see you with an open flame in your hand."
Bad memories aside, it wasn't just the fact that Buzz was handling fire that bothered the Cat Demon, but rather the fact that he and Buzz needed to light them at all. Stella could have let Bloody Mary order some electrical lamps or garden lanterns, but NO! The Lady of the house insisted on using oil lamps that went out of date almost 200 years ago! Honestly, there was a difference between being a classist and not keeping up with the times!
"Are you ever gonna let that go?" Buzz huffed, annoyed that Mick would bring up their less-than-helpful first meeting.
"Again, you set me on FIRE!" Mick snapped, just as annoyed by the Imp's impartial reaction to the memory.
"Hey, I apologised for that, didn't I?" Buzz retorted.
At those words Mick took a moment to breathe, not wanting this conversation to lead to an unnecessary argument.
"Yeah, sorry," he sighed. "It's just this whole banquet bullshit has gotten me a little on edge, ya know?"
Before Buzz could give his answer, however, the two of them were suddenly drawn to the additional voice speaking from a few yards away.
"Remember, Octavia: Grace and poise,"
Since the last post was stationed at the edge of the Goetias' swimming pool, all Buzz and Mick had to do was turn their heads to catch a good view of Stella and Octavia standing on the nearby terrace. While Stella sat at a small garden table, Octavia was in the middle of practising her walk for the banquet, gracefully taking each step while balancing a pair of books on her head. However, it was pretty clear that Octavia wasn't enjoying a single moment of it. While she tried to put on an expressionless face, Mick could tell that she was practically screaming from the inside even from where he was standing.
"You and everyone else, it seems," Buzz commented, sharing Mick's observations.
"Poor Octi," Mick sighed, shaking his head with concern. "Say what you like, but she's got it worse than the rest of us."
"No shit," Buzz replied, fully agreeing with the Cat Demon. "Hell, if MY mom tried to marry me off, I would have beaten the crap out of her."
…
"You got issues man,"
Alas, Buzz merely shrugged the comment off.
"Hey, you've known that since you met me," he retorted with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. "Look, why don't you go down there and try to cheer her up, eh?"
The moment those words left Buzz's mouth, Mick looked back at him as if he had just committed a murder right in front of him.
"Because I'm not too keen on dying all over again!" he exclaimed. "You really expect me to go down there while the Queen of misery and pain is lurking nearby?"
As exaggerated as Mick made it sound, Buzz couldn't deny that he more or less had a good point. While Stolas might have been okay with Mick and Octavia speaking to each other, if things had been solely up to Stella, the pair of them would never see each other at all. Which would have been a true shame since the pair of them had obviously grown quite close in recent weeks.
Now, Buzz may come off as deranged most days, especially if he forgets to smoke one of Mick's joints to calm himself down, but he was FAR from stupid and found himself to be quite observant. Ever since Mick and Octavia were forced to postpone their weekly get-togethers and simply text each other instead, Buzz always noticed that Mick's spirits usually seem to be livened up every time he gets a message from the Goetia Princess. What's more, he actually caught a glimpse of Octavia SMILING once in a while, whenever she came out into the garden, which was certainly a rare occurrence in this house.
Sure enough, those two were a good pair, and Buzz knew it, and he'll be damned if he just sat idly by while his friend stood on the sidelines like this. One way or another, he was going to find a way to help them.
"Alright, fair enough," he sighed, feigning defeat. "It was just a suggestion."
Somewhat satisfied with Buzz's response, Mick nodded his head and returned his focus on watching Octavia for a moment, letting the Imp light the last lamp… however, little did he realise, the gears in the diminutive Imp's head were already starting to turn. One flick of the wrist and a swish of Mick's long tail later, his evil plan was in full swing.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Light the LAMP, not the cat!" Mick yelled, suddenly feeling the burning sting at the very tip of his tail. "LIGHT THE LAMP, NOT THE CAT!"
Before he even realised what was happening, Mick was frantically flailing his tail about, desperately trying to put out the flames that were now burning the end of it, courtesy of Buzz putting the torch to it like a match to a candle wick.
"What are you doing!?" Mick continued screaming. "Put me out! Put me out! Put me out! Put me out! Put me out! Put me out!"
"MICK!" Buzz snapped, quickly grabbing Mick's attention for a brief moment.
"WHAT!?"
The next thing Mick knew, he was feeling a hard shove into his chest as Buzz suddenly pushed him off the ladder.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
SPLASH!
By the time Mick broke the surface of the water, he was practically fuming as he swam back towards the edge of the Goetia's pool. At that moment, all Mick wanted to do was climb back up the ladder and strangle the very life of Buzz for what he just did. However before he could even climb over the edge of the pool, he heard it.
"Hahahahaha!"
Snapping his head over towards the terrace, Mick felt a large wave of embarrassment wash over him as he saw Octavia looking back at him, trying and failing to hide her laughter after seeing Mick little dive into the water. As humiliating as the whole thing was, Mick had to admit it was nice to see Octavia smiling again, even if it was only for a brief moment. Unfortunately, that's EXACTLY how long the moment lasted, due to Stella clearing her throat to grab her daughter's attention.
"I believe we're done here, Octavia," she said sternly. "You had better go upstairs and get ready. The guests will be arriving soon."
While Stella might have directed that statement at her daughter, Mick couldn't miss the way she was shifting her gaze directly at him, a gaze that was filled with a surge of annoyance and disgust. Choosing not to say another word on the matter, Octavia nodded her head and proceeded to walk away from the scene with a hidden smile on her face and her mother following not that far behind, leaving Mick alone in the pool with Buzz now standing on the edge.
After the Cat Demon had finally managed to pull himself out of the water, he gave Buzz a furious glare, which was only returned with a knowing smirk from the Imp. Mick hated to admit it, but Buzz's actions did actually get some decent results… However, that didn't mean he was at all happy about it.
"I suppose I should be grateful for that?" Mick asked sarcastically.
"You're welcome," Buzz replied smugly… only to have Mick's hand suddenly wrapped around his neck. The next thing he knew, he became the second Demon to take a swim that day.
SPLASH!
Heading back upstairs to her room, Octavia let out a small sigh as she closed the door behind her. For the briefest of moments, she had actually been able to laugh at something and take her mind off the upcoming event.
Ever since Bloody Mary arrived, her mother's sole focus has been on Octavia and cracking down on her studies. Every day Octavia would have to recite what he had learned from the documents to her mother, which was always followed by a demonstration of how to properly address the guests attending the banquet. What's worse is that Octavia hasn't been able to talk to her mother about her trying to pair her off with one of those guests. She has tried to bring up the subject during the final preparations she had with her, but Stella always either chose to ignore her or change the subject. After the third attempt, the Goetia Princess had no choice but to give in and accept the inevitable… She was going to this banquet and meet the suitors whether she liked it or not.
"Well, Snowflake, this is it. One of the most tedious nights of my life," she sighed, looking over towards the Kitsune pup curled up in her basket, who in turn responded with a small yip.
It was then that Octavia turned towards what she considered the icing on the Shit Cake she was being forced to eat… the dress. She didn't know why, but for some unknown reason, when she came back from school earlier that week, she found that the dress had been covered up with a large sheet with a note saying:
Do not uncover until the banquet.
At first, Octavia didn't know what to make of it. However, knowing her mother, she assumed that she must have had it adjusted to fit Octavia's size. After all, it was a little wide across the waist when she first saw it. In any case, now was the time for the big reveal… not that there was any chance that it didn't look any less disgusting anyway. Just as she was about to pull on the sheet, however, the Owl Demon suddenly felt a light scraping up against her leg.
"Hmm?" she uttered, looking down at the little fox at her feet. "What is it, girl?"
To Octavia's surprise, Snowflake was sitting up on her haunches, raising her tiny paws with a small blue box in her mouth, presenting it to Octavia with a pleading look in her eye. The Goetia Princess didn't know what the Kitsune pup was trying to do, but nonetheless, she accepted the small present and took it out of Snowflake's mouth, allowing her to let out a much happier yip.
"What's this?" Octavia thought aloud as she read the small tag attached to the corner of the box, raising an eyebrow as she examined each word.
Thought this would look great with the dress.
Mick
This box was from Mick? If that were the case, then whatever that was inside was sure to be something nice, right? But more importantly, what did he mean by "look great with the dress"? With so many questions now rattling around her head at once, the Goetia Demon had no choice but to open up the box and see what was inside. To her shock and delight, the item in question was nothing short of beautiful; a small, black velvet choker necklace adorned in amethyst embroidery depicting growing vines with an owl face in the middle. THIS was what Mick considered to be something that could go with the dress? How ridiculous! That dress was too hideous to go with anything, unless…
One quick tug of the sheet later, Octavia found herself gasping with a mix of surprise and awe. Sure enough, the dress beneath the sheet was NOT the same one she was introduced to… it was SO much better! Before long, Octavia couldn't help but allow a small smirk on her face as she began to piece together the possible reason for this revelation in her head, leading her to only one possible conclusion.
"Mick," he muttered with a small laugh. "Why you sneaky little dork."
Finally, the moment had arrived. The banquet was now barely a few minutes away, and both the staff and the Goetias were fully prepared to receive the guests. At this moment in time, almost every member of staff was assembled in the main foyer, with Stolas and Stella standing in front of them and Bloody Mary off to the side, all three of them wearing their finest attire for the evening. The reason for this, of course, was the final words of so-called encouragement before the event officially began.
"A very well done to all of you, my little Imps," Stolas announced, addressing the crowd. "Thanks to your efforts, we are now fully prepared for tonight's event. And of course, a special shout-out to Miss Bloody Mary for her magnificent leadership in organising all this."
"It was my pleasure, Your Highnesses," Mary replied, bowing her head ever so slightly.
"However, the work isn't done yet!" Stella interjected, stepping in front of her husband with a threatening scowl. "This is a big night for this family and we want NO mistakes, understand? If a single thing goes wrong it will be on ALL of you!"
At those words, just about every member of staff swallowed a terrified gulp. Even Stolas couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Despite being annoyed that he was interrupted in the middle of his speech, he knew better than to aggravate Stella when she was in the middle of her moods… some of the time anyway.
"Now, with that in mind, get to work!" Stella finally snapped, causing the entire horde of Imps to disperse, some back towards the kitchens, others to stand at attention at their designated posts for the night.
Among these staff members, Mick let out an aggravated huff as he made his way towards the front door with Buzz at his side, pulling at his shirt collar to let himself breathe a bit. Once he made sure he was out of earshot from Stella and Stolas as the two of them made their way towards the ballroom, the Cat Demon couldn't help but vent a little.
"This is ridiculous," he complained as he opened the front door and propped it open with a potted plant. "Why the hell am I the one on door duty?"
"Because you're the only other Sinner here aside from the Chef," Mary stated as she walked up to him, looking him over and adjusting his tie for a last-minute checkup before the first guest arrived. "If you're the first face to greet the guests as they arrive, it will make the Goetias look even richer."
Mick couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.
"Yeah, as if Lady Stella needed an ego boost," he commented sarcastically.
Normally Mary would have scolded Mick for such a comment. However, after dealing with almost an entire week of Stolas's wife, she couldn't exactly blame him.
"Yeah, you're not wrong there," she admitted, only for Buzz to suddenly step into the conversation.
"At least you can pull off a suit," he muttered. "Me, I look like one of those fucking circus clowns."
A bit exaggerated perhaps, but Buzz's comment wasn't entirely inaccurate either. As per Stella's command, every member of staff was to dress in their finest attire in order to look presentable for the guests. As such, not only did Mick need to have his own work uniform steamed and pressed, but Buzz was forced to switch out his vest and gardening gloves for a two-piece suit and red bow tie, an ensemble that Mick could have sworn was taken straight off a ventriloquist's dummy. Needless to say, the tiny Imp was NOT amused.
"I'm surprised they're not locking you up downstairs if I'm being honest," Mick thought aloud. "No offence, but given what happened my first day here, I would have thought you'd be the LAST Imp the Goetias would let near the guests."
At those words, Buzz couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Well technically they're not really letting me upstairs," he pointed out, much to Mick's confusion. "They've actually got me in the back garden all night looking out for the rose bushes, in case anyone tries to ruin it while they're here."
"In other words they wanted you out of the way while also adding to the number of servants they're showing off," Mick commented, quickly putting 2 and 2 together.
"Yeah, pretty much," Buzz replied.
BEEP! BEEP!
Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by the loud sound of a car horn, causing all three Demons to snap their heads over towards the courtyard, where a limousine was currently driving up to the house.
"Alright. Showtime, gentlemen," Mary announced, straightening herself out. "Buzz, to the garden with you. Mick, keep it professional and don't say anything stupid."
"As if you even have to ask," Mick retorted, giving Mary a small smirk from beneath his mask.
Choosing not to dignify that comment with a response, Mary brushed off her gown and made her way back inside, leaving the two roommates alone at the door.
"Quite the bossy type ain't she?" Buzz commented.
"Guess you just can't take the Queen out of the lady, eh?" Mick chuckled in response.
At that moment, the limo came to a complete stop just a few yards away from the door, allowing both the Sinner and the Imp to hear the pompous voice coming from inside it.
"Watch what you're doing, you blithering idiot!" the voice snapped. "How am I supposed to preen myself when you're driving like a chimpanzee!?"
The moment Mick heard that voice, he knew instantly that whoever it belonged to was going to be trouble. Buzz, on the other hand… looked absolutely terrified. His pupils shrinking into dots in horror, the Gardener let out a startled gasp and poked his head back inside the house.
"It's Seth!" he yelled before suddenly running away from the door and diving into the nearest flowery shrub in an attempt to hide.
Mick, however, was only confused after hearing that.
"Wait, who?" he muttered, raising an eyebrow.
Whoever this Seth person was, it was obvious that he had a reputation around this house, one that clearly terrified every Imp here considering how they responded to Buzz's call.
"Seth!?" Jewel exclaimed, making a break for the nearest door as fast as she could. "I thought he was in boarding school!"
"They must have let him out early this year," Reginald added, sharing the Maid's fear and showing the rare change of emotion aside from being stoic for the first time since Mick arrived.
Unable to bear being out of the loop, Mick quickly rushed over towards the shrub and yanked Buzz out by his horn, much to the Imp's frantic displeasure.
"Buzz, talk to me," he demanded. "Who the hell is Seth?"
Quickly realising that it wouldn't do him any good to keep it quiet, Buzz tried to answer the Cat Demon's question with as much simple clarity as possible.
"He's Count Ipos's son," he said, causing Mick to raise an eyebrow. "Total jackass and certified psycho! And that's coming from ME!"
Now that Buzz said that, even Mick started to feel a little scared. If someone as deranged as HIM was calling someone a psycho, then how bad could he truly be? Of course, it wouldn't be that long before Mick would discover the answer to that question for himself. After stepping out of the driver's seat of the limo, the sharply dressed chauffeur Imp quickly rushed over to the passenger door and opened it, revealing the first guests of the Goetias' banquet.
The first Demon to step out was a tall, gangly figure about a head shorter than Stolas, with a skinny build, two long, black, webbed feet and the green, three-eyed head of a mallard duck with a wiry moustache across the lip of his beak, wearing a large furry coat with a fluffy collar over a copper-coloured three-piece suit. Following close behind him was what appeared to be a younger version of himself, complete with the same suit and coat, although there were definitely a few differences too. Instead of a wiry moustache, the younger Demon sported a sneer and a polished shimmer to his beak, almost as if he had buffered it before he came here. What's more, his feathers were of a much lighter shade than that of the older Demon. Sure enough, this must have been Count Ipos and his infamous son, Seth.
"Wait, you mean the duckling?" Mick asked, not noticing anything remotely threatening about the new arrival aside from his twisted sneer.
"That ain't no duckling, man!" Buzz snapped hysterically. "He tortures Imps… just for FUN!"
If that was true then Mick definitely had to keep an eye out for this particular Demon. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more this Seth character seemed familiar… Octi's documents! He was one of the potential suitors the Goetia Princess was to meet with tonight!? If he was as bad as Buzz claimed to be, then there was no way that Mick was going to leave Octavia alone with this guy! Narrowing his eyes with determination as he watched the two Duck Demons approach, Mick straightened himself out and proceeded to go over and greet them, much to Buzz's dismay.
"Mick, wait!" he cried out in vain, only to give in as he saw the three DemonsDemons mere feet away from each other. "Oh man, it was nice knowing ya!"
With that final word, Buzz once again dove back into the shrub, shivering in terror as he waited for Seth to leave the vicinity. Meanwhile, Mick stood at attention as the Count and his son climbed the front steps and edged closer to the door, ready and waiting to present them with the utmost respect as he gave a small bow.
"His Majesty, Prince Stolas, welcomes you, sirs," he greeted, gesturing towards the open door. "He awaits you in the ballroom."
However, while Ipos gave the Cat Demon a grateful nod in response, his son, on the other hand, looked back at him with a disgusted snort.
"Daddy, why is this peasant talking to us?" he asked his father rudely, refusing to even acknowledge Mick's respect for his presence. "Honestly, you'd think the Prince would be able to afford some DECENT-looking help. I mean, that face is just so vulgar."
Not even a minute in, and already Mick wanted to strangle this prick! Granted, he may have been used to such treatment from Stella from time to time up until now, but Seth was definitely on a completely different level of upper-crust A-hole! Luckily, his father seemed to be somewhat more respectful than his arrogant son was.
"Now, Seth, that'll be enough of that!" he snapped in a deep, garbled voice as he gave his son a light smack across the back of his head. "Keep in mind that we are guests here. So remember your position, my son, or else we're going to have some words later."
However, despite the light sting at the back of his head, Seth merely scoffed at his father's threat.
"Oh, I have no trouble remembering THAT, daddy," he snidely retorted. "However, I should point out that this… feline should be reminded of HIS place first. Perhaps we should-"
"I said enough!" Ipos snapped, cutting his son off before grabbing the back of his coat and shoving him through the door. "Inside with you!"
Once the two Duck Demons were inside, Mick couldn't help but let out a small groan of exasperation. This was going to be a LONG night.
For what felt like the next hour, Mick greeted a great many Demons to arrive at the Goetia household. Some were respectful like Ipos; however, most carried a similar amount of arrogance that Seth had, either openly insulting Mick at the door, or turning their noses up at him, ignoring his very presence. Either way, the Cat Demon had to fight the strong urge to take out his claws and scratch one of their eyes out, lest he gets murdered himself for his efforts.
After about 50 or so guests arrived, Mick was starting to get extremely bored with his task, then again, after standing around in the same place for as long as he had, who wouldn't? As he tried to fight back a yawn, fearing it might trigger another insult from an arriving guest, the Cat Demon suddenly heard a familiar yip from his feet. Looking down, he found himself both surprised and delighted to see Snowflake sitting next to him, looking up at her daddy with cute eyes and a light blue bow wrapped around her neck for the evening. It would seem Octavia decided to give Mick's little Princess a chance to attend the ball too.
"Come to keep me company, eh?" he asked, unable to resist a grateful chuckle as he leaned down and gave his beloved pet a tickle under the chin, to which the Kitsune pup purred and happily twitched her leg. "Thanks, Snowy."
However, soon enough the tender moment between the two was instantly cut short by the sound of screaming.
"Damian! You get back here!"
Snapping their heads over towards the blood-red limousine that just pulled up to the house, both Mick and Snowflake were quickly startled by what looked like a rabid, little rat running out of the back seat. As small as Snowflake was, with spiky black fur, a massive underbite, and eyes as red as hellfire, this little Demon Dog was nothing like any beast Mick had ever seen. In any case, as soon as the tiny terror spotted Snowflake it instantly began to foam at the mouth, letting out a few vicious barks before running straight for her. However, there was one thing that the little monster was completely unprepared for…
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"
If there was one thing one should never do, it's try to attack something precious to Mick Nikos. While Snowflake was ready to fight back against the black-haired terror, arching her back and baring her fangs while spewing a little fire out of her mouth, Mick beat her to the punch by roaring like a ferocious panther, his eyes literally burning with fire as he directed his voice straight at the Demon Dog. The moment the little monster heard the noise and felt the scorching heat of Mick's breath, all ferocity he had all but disappeared and he was quickly reduced to a whimpering wreck, shivering in terror as he looked up at the pissed off Cat Demon with a pleading look in his eyes.
"Alright!" Mick growled, grabbing the little animal by the neck hide and bringing him up to eye level. "WHO is responsible for this, huh!?"
At that moment, the Demon Dog's owner quickly came rushing out of the limo.
"Damian!" they called out. "Oh jeez, I am SO sorry about him,"
Getting a good look at the new arrival, Mick had to admit that this had to have been one of the most GORGEOUS women he had ever seen, and considering where he used to work, that is saying something. A tall, voluptuous lady with flawless blue skin, an hourglass figure that would make most Succubae weep with envy, a pair of mystifying eyes with yellow irises and black scleras, and a flow of fiery red hair that dropped down just above her buttocks, all wrapped in a shimmering black dress that clung to the woman's proportions like plastic wrap. If Mick hadn't been so ticked, he probably would have been drooling by now.
"Does THIS belong to you?" he growled, his eyes narrowed in anger as he lifted the Demon Dog up for the new arrival to see.
He may have known that he was speaking to Hellish Nobility, and talking to them in such a disrespectful way would more than likely earn him a horrible punishment afterwards, but after all the insults topped with how his precious pet was almost attacked, Mick's anger was so great he didn't even care anymore. At that moment, it didn't matter who the owner of this little monster was, if they had the gall to set this little fucker loose then they were going to receive the full brunt of the Cat Demon's frustration, job or life be damned.
"I'm afraid he does," the woman sighed, a sincere apologetic look plastered across her face as she took Damian out of Mick's grip and cradled him like a baby. "I know I shouldn't have brought him, but he gets a little agitated when I leave him alone, you see."
"You couldn't have gotten a pet sitter, ma'am?" Mick retorted, raising an eyebrow and receiving yet another sigh.
"Believe me, I wish I could," the woman replied. "But he REALLY hates strangers and despite going through 7 trainers, I STILL can't get him to behave… though I have to say I'm quite surprised to see you handle him so easily."
Despite his anger, Mick couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Oh, I have quite the talent when it comes to most animals, Ma'am," he stated proudly. "All except pigs and rodents surprisingly… not really sure why."
At those words, even the woman couldn't resist letting out a small giggle of her own, softening the mood a little bit.
"In that case, I don't suppose you mind me leaving him with you?" she asked, catching Mick by surprise.
"Oh? Um, well I'm not sure that I should-" he stuttered, trying to deny the woman's request only to be cut off mid-sentence.
"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" the woman pleaded, her black and yellow eyes practically sparkling in the flicker of the lamp lights.
Alas, while Mick tried desperately not to get drawn in by the captivating woman's gaze, there was one thing that the Cat Demon was practically infamous for at this point… his inability to refuse a plea for help. Soon enough, he eventually sighed in defeat.
"It will be no trouble at all, Miss…" he answered, his own words failing him as he found himself silently requiring an introduction.
"Gremory," the woman replied with a sultry smile, straightening herself up and giving the Cat Demon a flutter of her eyelashes. "Duchess Gremory."
The moment he heard that name, Mick almost swallowed his tongue in shock. Now that he had a moment to calm down, he only now realised just how big of a blunder he almost made. Given that the rank of Duchess was literally only one step down from a Prince, if he had a true go at her, Mick would have been verbally attacking one of Prince Stolas's highest-ranking lieutenants in the hierarchy! Quickly wanting to make up for his near-actions, he quickly lowered Damian back to the ground.
"Snowflake, watch him!" he said, keeping his voice low and earning himself what could only be an offended look from his pet as she stared back at him as if he were insane. "Just bear with it for tonight, okay?"
Letting out a small huff, all Snowflake could do was sit there while her daddy placed Damian next to her. At first, the Kitsune pup merely glared hard at the Demon Dog as he gave her a sheepish, toothy grin… however, she wasn't one to let things go too easily so she also smacked him across the head with her paw as her own subtle revenge. With that issue seemingly settled, Mick quickly turned back to the Demonic Duchess.
"So will you be on your own tonight, your Grace?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too rude.
For some reason, Duchess Gremory looked surprised at that.
"On my own?" she repeated confusingly, turning her head back towards her limo before her expression suddenly changed to a look of annoyance. "Verosika, come on!"
As it turned out, Duchess Gremory DID in fact come with someone tonight, someone who apparently was having a better time flirting with the limo's driver than accompanying her to the door. The moment she heard the Duchess's call, however, she quickly said her goodbyes and soon joined Gremory at the door. The moment Mick saw who it was… his jaw practically hit the ground in shock.
"V-Verosika Mayday!?" he blurted out, desperately hoping he wasn't hallucinating at this very moment.
However, no matter how many times the Cat Demon would ever pinch himself, this was definitely happening. Before his eyes was none other than one of his favourite pop stars in Hell, the Succubus, Verosika Mayday! From her flowing white hair to her gorgeous figure, she was as captivating as she always appeared on her CD albums. But… Why would someone like her be attending an event like this!?
"Honestly, Verosika," Gremory uttered in an annoyed tone. "What's the point of me inviting you to these parties if you're always going to try banging everyone in sight?"
Verosika, however, merely responded to that question with an amused chuckle.
"Oh, come on, babe, you know I can't go against my nature ALL the time," she stated bluntly. "Besides, it's not my fault you got some good-looking workers."
Rolling her eyes at the Succubus's comment, Duchess Gremory chose not to dignify it with an answer. Meanwhile, Mick simply continued to stare at the pop star as she came closer to the door, making sure to burn every detail into his memory as if his life depended on it, from the way her black silk dress perfectly hugged her every curve to the way her mesmerising yellow and pink eyes looked back at him with… wait, what!?
"Oh, hey, I know you!" she suddenly said, pointing straight towards the Cat Demon with an amused grin. "You're the Cat from the Voxtube videos!"
At that moment, Mick didn't know whether to be thrilled at the fact that Verosika Mayday recognised him at all… or feel ungodly humiliated that it was because of the fucking Crazy Cat videos! Of all things for a pop star to recognise him from, why did it have to be those!? Still, no sense in denying it now.
"Yeah," he sighed. "That's me."
"I thought so, I am a huge fan of those videos," Verosika replied, catching Mick by surprise.
"Y-you are?" the Cat Demon uttered, genuinely shocked at that revelation.
"Of course," Verosika chuckled, before suddenly leaning in close and whispering into Mick's ear. "I also saw how you saved my colleague in Imp City. If you ever need anything, just let me know."
If Mick didn't think that the Succubus could surprise him any further, he was DEFINITELY proven wrong after hearing that! After all, he had only been to Imp City once so there could only be one Demon the pop star could have been talking about. Apple knew Verosika Mayday!? That sure as hell would have been a nice subject of conversation when Mick met her and Coco that day! But more importantly THE Verosika Mayday was now offering him a favour in exchange. At that point, he had to resist the urge to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Shall we head in then?" Duchess Gremory spoke up, clearly growing impatient with her plus-one.
"Sure, just one sec," Verosika replied, before suddenly tucking a hand into her cleavage, instantly getting a hard blush from Mick in response.
Moments later, the Succubus pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it over to the Cat Demon in front of her. Seeing the photo printed on it, Mick suddenly found himself blushing harder than ever as he saw the autographed cover image of one of Verosika's albums… namely the one of her laying on the beach wearing a skimpy bikini.
"The number's on the back, sweetie," the pop star pointed out with a smirk and a wink as she followed Duchess Gremory inside. "Call if you ever need that favour."
"Wow Verosika, you sure you don't want to stick around to give him a BJ?" Gremory scoffed, taking the Succubus by the arm. "Honestly, I can't take you anywhere!"
"Hey, I didn't give my Hellhound the night off just so I can act like a prude all evening, alright?" Verosika retorted. "Besides, you're the one who invited me to this-"
Alas, Mick was unable to hear anything else from the two Demons as they disappeared inside and out of earshot. That aside, he couldn't stop smiling like an idiot beneath his mask. Not only did he meet one of his favourite pop stars, but she also owed him a favour for saving someone she knew! Even as Snowflake looked up at him with what appeared to be a deadpan expression on her face, there was nothing at that moment that could ruin this moment for him.
"Best night ever!" he muttered to himself, having to resist the urge to jump with joy and dance around like a loon.
Unfortunately, Mick's moment of joy was quickly short-lived when he suddenly noticed both Snowflake and Damian dashing towards the door and hiding behind it with looks of terror on their faces. Before the Cat Demon could inquire about what was going on, he suddenly felt an unnerving chill run down his spine… in fact, she was starting to feel REALLY cold, almost as if there was something… unnatural watching him.
"Admittance for one,"
The moment Mick heard that cold, raspy voice coming from behind him, every single hair on his body stood on end. Slowly turning around to face the courtyard again, the Cat Demon suddenly found himself freezing in absolute horror, all the while staring up at what he could only describe as the face of pure evil. With dark iron-grey skin, wearing a tall black hat, a crystalline monocle that looked more like it was forced into his left eye socket, and a grin filled with green-tinted teeth that was so creepy, it looked as though it was the stuff of nightmares.
Unable to say a single thing, all Mick could do was tremble in his shoes and point towards the door before allowing the dark figure to pass. Only when the dark figure was gone, did Mick allow himself to take a breath, practically hyperventilating as he clutched his chest and leaned up against the doorframe and tried to wrap his head around the dark entity that he had just allowed into the Goetia house. Granted, this may have literally been the depths of Hell, but HOLY SHIT, that creature wasn't natural!
"Nope! The night is still shitty!" he exclaimed, searching desperately through his suit for a single joint he might have had on his person. "Jeez, I need a fucking smoke!"
Alas, no matter how many hits of marijuana he took, Mick knew for a fact that they may not be enough. Because the night was only just beginning.