While waiting for Mick's return, Stella chose to simply lounge on her sunbed while sipping the martini she had in one hand and indulging herself in the magazine she had in the other.
"Ugh… what's taking that damn Cat so long!?" she snapped, her patience growing exceedingly thin at this point.
Of course, no one else was close enough to hear the Bird Demon's rant. Having had enough of her mother's ever-growing list of complaints, Octavia seized the chance to take a seat at the poolside bar under the pretence of wanting to have a quick dip in the pool. Now here she was, comfortably sitting on one of the submerged barstools with Linda at her side, a fruit cocktail in her hand and a sour look on her face.
" I know they say patience is a virtue but is there any point in saying that in this scenario?" Linda asked with a frown of her own, seeing Octavia's frustration from miles away.
"Nope," Octavia stated with a sigh. "I swear, the only way she's ever happy is if someone else is miserable."
"Sounds about right," Linda commented with a deadpan glare.
Choosing to ignore the sight of her mother, Octavia turned back towards her little friend, her face shifting from annoyance to concern.
"Are you sure you're alright sitting there?" she asked. "We can go to the edge of the pool if you want?"
Given the size difference between the two Demons, while they both sat upon the same levelled barstools, the water in the pool only came up to Octavia's waist while Linda was submerged all the way up to her chest, almost to the point where it was touching her chin. However, regardless of this fact, Linda shook her head in response to Octavia's question.
"No, I'll be fine," she insisted, taking a sip of her drink through a long crazy straw. "It's actually nice in here… besides it keeps me out of your mother's line of sight."
Hearing that, Octavia nodded her head in understanding. Given how quick Stella was to treat Mick so poorly, there was no way Linda was going to be her next target should she ever get bored.
"Penny for your thoughts, your highness?"
Startled by the sudden voice, both Octavia and Linda yelped before turning to see the barmaid walk up to them and lean up on the bar. She was a pretty dog-like demon with light grey fur, curved horns similar to that of a ram and wore a light green polo shirt as part of her hotel uniform. Needless to say, given how most of the hotel staff tended to avoid open conversation with the guests if they could help it, seeing the barmaid talk to them so casually was quite surprising to both Octavia and Linda.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," she apologized. "It's just that you both looked pretty down is all."
After all, the grovelling the other staff members seemed insistent on doing, Octavia had to admit that being spoken to with such concern felt like a breath of fresh air. So much so that she felt no reservation whatsoever in giving the barmaid a friendly reply.
"I guess you could say that," she said with a heavy sigh, causing the barmaid to wince.
"Oof… that bad, huh?" she asked, giving Octavia cause to scoff.
"Bad?" she repeated. "What else would you call a vacation where you're being forced to go on a date with the king of pricks and the biggest bitch in history at the same time?"
"Another Tuesday in Hell?" the barmaid retorted with a light chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood a bit with her joke.
Seeing that Octavia's face barely shifted at her attempt at humour, however, the barmaid instantly knew she had to take a different approach.
"You know something?" she said, going under the bar and taking out a few bottles of liquor. "You look like you could use something a little better than that cocktail."
"But-" Octavia tried to protest, only for the barmaid to cut her off.
"Relax, honey, this one's on the house," she insisted firmly, before proceeding to mix up the new drink. "Call it my pride, but I can't have a customer leaving the bar in a bad mood."
Seeing that she wasn't going to win the argument, all Octavia could do was nod.
"Thank you," she said gratefully. Perhaps a small pick-me-up was exactly what she needed right now.
After that, the barmaid began crushing some ice in a small bucket before pouring it into a large, bowl-like glass, along with three different bottles of blue liquor and multiple fruit juices and syrups. While she was mixing it all up, however, she suddenly noticed Linda's wide eyes peeking over the surface of the bar and staring at her with intrigue.
"See something you like, cutie?" she asked with a smirk.
Once again, Linda found herself flushing with embarrassment over being caught in the act.
"Oh, sorry!" she squeaked, fiercely fighting the urge to dunk her head in the pool like a duck in a pond. "I-It's just that… I've never seen a Hellhound with horns before."
Hearing that, the barmaid's smirk instantly fell and an awkward expression took its place.
"Oh…" she uttered, scratching the side of her head where one of her horns poked out from her fur. "Well… sorry to disappoint you but actually I'm… NOT a Hellhound."
Given the way the barmaid reacted, it was obvious that she ran into this misconception a LOT. However, that didn't stop Linda from feeling any less guilty about her mistake.
"Oh, shit you're a Sinner!" the little Imp yelped. "Sorry!"
But once again, the barmaid gave the Imp an awkward glance.
"Nnnnnnnno, I'm not one of those either," she said, this time bringing confusion to Linda's face.
It was only after hearing that, Octavia took a good long look at the barmaid. If she wasn't a Hellhound or a Sinner, then what else could she be? Suddenly, the Goetia Princess remembered something, something that made the barmaid seem a little more familiar than she realized. However, she needed one more detail to confirm her suspicions.
"Wait… what did you say your name was?" she asked, much to the barmaid's anxiety.
Given how awkward the scenario was already, the barmaid scratched her head again and gave an honest answer to the young Owl Demon. After all, there was no point in lying about it, was there?
"Clara… Labolas," she answered, causing Octavia's eyes to snap wide open in surprise.
"Holy Shit, I knew it!" she gasped, much to Linda's further confusion.
"Um… am I missing something?" she asked, feeling a little out of the loop.
Quickly realizing her mistake, Octavia immediately began to elaborate for her attendant without hesitation.
"Glasya Labolas is part of another branch of the Goetia family," she explained. "A Countess who studied all of the Arts and Sciences. You could say she and my dad were distant cousins."
"So… you're related?" Linda asked, giving the barmaid, Clara, cause to nod.
"Mhm," she said. "Glasya was my Aunt."
A Goetia… the woman behind the bar was another GOETIA!? Linda didn't know whether to be in awe or to start bowing and scraping right there in the pool… wait… WAS?
"Is… is she not around anymore?" Linda asked, letting her curiosity overtake the rest of her head before she could stop herself from speaking.
As to be expected, Clara immediately looked glum upon hearing such a question.
"Auntie G… Glasya… was killed 7 years ago," she let out with a solemn sigh. "It was during Extermination Day."
Needless to say, Linda instantly regretted asking such a question, so much so that she really started to consider the bowing and scraping, if only to earn the canine's forgiveness,
"I… I'm so sorry," she whimpered, having no other words that she could possibly say.
Thankfully, Clara didn't seem too upset about the matter.
"Don't worry, it's fine," she said. "I mean, it still hurts from time to time, but there's no sense dwelling on it."
However, as brave of a face as she tried to put on, the look in Clara's eyes told all.
"You two were pretty close, huh?" Octavia asked, earning herself a solemn nod.
"Very," Clara replied.
Octavia figured as much, given the nickname Clara let slip, it was pretty clear that Glasya and she were as close as they could get. Wishing not to cause the poor girl any more grief, the Goetia Princess tried her best to change the subject.
"So… what the hell are you doing behind the bar?" she asked. "No offence, but since when do members of Hellish Nobility go out and get a job?"
Hearing that, Clara couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, when your entire branch of the family goes broke, some of us have to make smarter decisions than your idiot relatives," she answered, much to Octavia and Linda's surprise.
"Your family's broke?" Linda repeated, understandably astonished that such a thing was possible. As far as she was aware, the riches of Hellish Nobility never seemed to run out.
"Mhm," Clara replied with a nod. "Rumour has it that before the Exorcist got her, Glaysa used a Cursed Papyrus to will her role as family head along with her wings AND the entire family fortune to someone outside the bloodline. Someone who NOBODY was able to find afterwards."
"You're kidding," Octavia commented.
"Is that even allowed?" Linda added, feeling even more confused than ever.
"Apparently," Clara confirmed with a shrug. "Anyway, ever since then, no member of the Labolas family was ever granted the wings of the family head. Something that, of course, my dad and his siblings completely loathed Aunt Glasya for."
No surprises there. From what Octavia has heard about the Labolas, the head of the family was the only one who had a pair of feathered wings on their back, a sort of symbol for their position even amongst their own bloodline. If she recalled correctly, traditionally the wings were only passed down from the eldest child to the next every generation… or the second eldest sibling should an heir not be available. Had Glasya not taken measures, that would have taken place almost immediately since she had no children.
Then again, Octavia couldn't blame the late Countess for such actions. She may not have known them personally but even the Goetia Princess had heard many a gossip regarding THAT part of the family. While Countess Glasya was a recluse who was hardly ever seen in public and preferred to hide away in her mansion… her siblings, on the other hand, were some of the most loathsome Demons in Hell. Greedy, gluttonous, one might even say insane. There were even rumours of experimentation on Imps, Sinners and any other lower-class Demon they could get their hands on. If Octavia were in Glasya's shoes, she wouldn't want them to get squat either.
"So, none of your family got anything?" she asked, making sure she got the message perfectly clear.
"Not a single red dime," Clara confirmed. "But of course, instead of doing the smart thing and saving their money, those entitled pricks squandered everything they had left. Next thing you know, they're privately selling off their cars and their trinkets just to get by."
"Holy shit," Linda uttered, feeling a small surge of amusement at the thought of higher-class Demons losing everything.
"To make matters worse, none of them were able to get help from anyone because of the bridges they've burnt over the years," Clara continued. "They never even tried to make amends for what they did. They just kept justifying themselves by saying it was 'all in the family name' like that even has any meaning these days."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Octavia commented, giving her mother a glance and a scowl.
"And you know something else?" Clara added. "At some point, our debts had gotten so bad, my idiot father tried to marry me off to some rich douchebag just to get his fortune."
Needless to say, both Linda and Octavia gasped in shock at that, especially considering the latter knew of Clara's situation all too well.
"You didn't go through with it, did you?" she couldn't resist asking, only to be met with a scoff and a laugh.
"Fuck no!" Clara exclaimed. "I just flipped off the groom, kicked my dad in the balls and headed out the door, next thing I know, instant disownment."
"You were disowned!?" Linda blurted out, unable to contain her shock.
"Oh yeah," Clara confirmed, seemingly showing not an ounce of regret. "But as far as I'm concerned, the family can suck it! No one controls my love life, status be damned. Fuck, getting disowned was probably the best damn thing to ever happen to me."
Hearing that, Octavia couldn't help but stare in awe at the barmaid's confidence.
"Good for you, girl," she said with admiration. "I wish I had that kind of backbone."
"Bah, you'll get there someday," Clara replied with a smirk as she placed a tiny umbrella into the colourful drink she had just finished mixing and slid it over to her fellow Goetia. "Till then, I suggest you stop thinking and start drinking."
Unable to hold back a small laugh in response to that, all Octavia could do then was smile and enjoy her drink, looking back at Clara with a smile as the flavourful tingling instantly hit her tongue.
Meanwhile, after finally managing to find his way back to the pool, Mick walked over to Stella with caution, pulling his every step. Given how long it's been since he left, the Bird Demon was more than likely pretty pissed off at this point… sure enough, she was.
"Well, it's about fucking time!" she snapped, snatching the oil from the Cat Demon with a hateful glare. "What kept you!?"
"Well, I-" Mick began, only for Stella to instantly cut him off.
"You know what? I don't care!" she snarled, shoving her empty Martini glass into Mick's hand. "Just make yourself useful for once and go get me a refill."
Hearing that, Mick's left eye immediately began to twitch with anger.
"Right away, Lady Stella," he forced out, his teeth gritting under his mask before he turned to the bar and muttered under his breath. "Just don't expect it to have no spit in it."
Thankfully, Stella seemed all too caught up in applying the oil to herself to listen, allowing Mick's comment to go unheard. As luck would have it, the Cat Demon soon found himself in much more favourable company.
"Hey, Mick!" Linda called out, giving Mick a reason to walk up to the edge of the pool with a smile beneath his mask. "Glad to have you back."
"You certainly took a while," Octavia added, unable to resist raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Mick sighed regretfully. "I was delayed upstairs."
"Delayed?" Octavia repeated curiously. "How?"
Needless to say, Mick immediately felt uncomfortable at such a question. As much as he hated even the idea of lying to Octavia, the Cat Demon still had a promise to keep, and he sure as hell wasn't going to break it working the first 20 minutes.
"Oh, I ran into... housekeeping," he soon replied, his eyes tilting off to the side as he mentally chastised himself for giving his crush such a pathetic reply.
"Housekeeping?" Linda repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Mhm," Mick confirmed with a nod. "Apparently they take their job seriously in this place. Bastards wouldn't even let me in until they were done."
"Really?" Clara spoke up. "That doesn't sound like them. As far as I'm aware, they're more likely to slack off and light up their crack pipes than actually work. You… didn't happen to smell anything through the door, did you?"
It was only at that moment, that Mick turned to face the barmaid standing behind the bar. As soon as he looked upon her face… every strand of hair on his body stood on end, his entire body suddenly freezing up as he found himself unable to look away. Upon seeing Mick stiffen up in silence, both Octavia and Linda looked at each other with confusion. If they didn't know any better, they would almost say that the Cat Demon was suddenly frightened of something.
"Hey, you okay there, handsome?" Clara spoke up, being the first to break the awkward silence that followed.
Quickly realizing the position he now found himself in, Mick quickly tried to shake off whatever was troubling him and stepped a little closer to the bar's upper level.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he uttered, sliding Stella's empty glass across the bar. "O-one Martini refill, please?"
Unable to come up with any response to this, all Clara could do was climb up the steps of the bar and begin mixing the requested drink. As soon as she was done, Mick quickly snatched it up, somewhat thankful that the bar was all-inclusive and thus didn't require him to stay any longer to discuss payment. The moment the glass was in his hand, the Cat Demon was already hurrying his way back to Stella with it, much to the confusion of the barmaid and especially his two friends in the pool.
"That... that was weird, right?" Linda asked, feeling completely flabbergasted as she scratched her head.
"Yeah…" Octavia replied, suddenly truly feeling suspicious of Mick for the first time since she met him. "VERY weird. I'm going to have to speak with him later."
Clara may not have had a clue about what was going on, but regardless, she couldn't help but feel somewhat curious herself. Why would that Sinner freeze up around her? And why did he seem so scared? Whatever the case may be, it wasn't any of her business. Whatever was going through that Cat Demon's head was between him and Octavia.
A short while later, while most of the guests were enjoying a delightful lunch buffet in numerous parts of the hotel, Buzz and Johnny found themselves back in their regular attire sneaking through the currently empty corridors on the first floor. Their destination: The Manager's Office.
"This is a stupid plan, you know that right?" Johnny complained, keeping his tone hushed so no one might accidentally overhear.
"Exactly!" Buzz retorted. "A stupid plan, for a stupid man."
Hearing that seemingly random retort, Johnny was instantly flabbergasted. WHY was he following this lunatic's idea again?
"Are you fucking HIGH right now!?" the Greaser snapped, believing it to be the only logical explanation for the whole scenario.
Buzz, of course, only scoffed at the accusation.
"Do I LOOK high to you?" he said, pointing at his grinning face.
"You really don't want me to answer that," Johnny replied with a deadpan glance, instantly taking note of the Imp's twitching eye and the smoking weed bud currently stuffed behind his horn.
"Look, just follow the plan and we're golden, alright?" Buzz all but chuckled, instantly brushing off Johnny's comment. "There's no need to worry."
Needless to say, Johnny wasn't convinced in the slightest.
"Sure there isn't," he muttered, his sarcasm swiftly falling upon deaf ears.
"Okay, you remember what to do, yes?" Buzz suddenly asked, surprising Johnny, who never expected him to actually follow ANY plan to the letter, least of all his own.
"Yeah, I remember," the Snake Demon replied with a sigh. "Lure the boss lady out, then keep her busy long enough for you to break in and do something incredibly stupid that will likely get us BOTH killed."
Failing to detect the disdain during the last part of that sentence, Buzz gave the Sinner a thumbs up along with one of his signature grins.
"Simple, right?" he asked, completely oblivious to Johnny's sarcasm.
"Suicidal, more like," Johnny muttered under his breath.
Before long, the two of them were in front of a large wooden door with a golden plaque on it. Judging from the inscription on it, this was exactly where they needed to be.
"Alright, let's do this shit!" Buzz exclaimed, quickly giving the door a loud knock before swiftly diving into the nearest potted plant.
Of course, given how quickly Buzz made his exit, it didn't give Johnny that much time to ready himself for whoever came through the door.
"Oh, you mother-!"
"Can I help you?"
Before he knew it, Johnny found himself staring at the bespectacled face of Margaret, the hotel Manager… a face that clearly wasn't amused by being interrupted while at work. Watching the exchange from his hiding place amongst the ferns, Buzz bit his lip and swished his tail in anticipation.
"Come on, Johnny," he whispered to himself, "Don't blow it."
"I, uh… I'm here for a… job interview?" Johnny replied awkwardly, obviously making something up on the spot.
At first, Margaret didn't look the least bit convinced by the Sinner's lie, her deadpan expression never wavering as she gave Johnny a good look over from head to toe. However, mere seconds later, a sultry grin suddenly appeared on her face.
"An interview, you say?" she said, licking her lips as she eyed Johnny's leather jacket. "I don't seem to recall booking one for today."
"Uh…" Johnny uttered nervously, fearful that he had already been found out.
"Well, no matter," the Spaniel Hellhound continued, seemingly dismissing the issue. "We might as well carry on with it. Normally I don't just up and leave to conduct interviews… but since you seem to be quite eager, I suppose I can spare a few minutes."
It might have been his imagination, but Johnny could have sworn that he caught the Manager looking below his waistline when she said that. Either way, he still had to get her out of the office if the plan was ever going to work. As luck would have it, the Hellhound herself immediately provided the opportunity.
"So, shall we conduct our business here, or would you rather I show you the… department you'd be working in?"
"Actually… if it's all the same with you, I WOULD like to see where I'd be working," Johnny replied, earning himself a small grin from Buzz in his hiding place. "Better to give the place a good look over before seeing if it's a good fit, ya know?"
Hearing that, the Manager, for some reason, bit her lip in delight.
"Very well," she said, stepping out of the office and walking down the hall with a bounce and sway in her step. "If you would follow me please?"
Upon hearing that, Buzz grinned like a maniac and waited until Margaret's back was turned before quickly diving into the office just before the door closed. Time to carry out the next step of the plan. Rushing over to the Manager's desk, Buzz evilly rubbed his hands together before turning his attention to the computer stationed on it.
"Alright, let's see what we got here…" he muttered with a smirk, suddenly grimacing at what he saw on the screen when he turned it on. "Fuck me, organise your desktop, lady!"
Choosing to ignore the chaos that was the Manager's personal homepage, Buzz quickly began typing away on the keyboard. There's no telling how much time Johnny was going to be able to buy him after all.
"Let's see… online bookings, events… AHA!" he declared, delighted that he was able to find what he was looking for so quickly "Okay, just a little typy-type here… and set!"
After that, Buzz reached out for the nearby rotary phone and began to dial a certain number he knew. After a few moments, a distinguished voice answered.
"Furem residence?" it said, his tone stoic and clear.
Resisting the urge to laugh, Buzz then cleared his throat and spoke.
"Yes, this is Mr McBride from the Triton Resort," he said, putting on a fake posh voice in an attempt to sound convincing. "Might I request to be connected to his lordship, please?"
"Please, hold," the voice on the phone replied before the other end of the line suddenly went quiet.
After a brief pause that lasted about a minute, a different voice then bellowed from the other end of the call. As luck would have it, it was the exact gravelly voice Buzz was hoping for.
"Yeah? What do ya want!?" the Imp heard, giving him cause to grin.
"Ah, good afternoon your Highness," he replied, keeping up his posh tone of voice. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I simply wished to confirm your reservation with us at the Triton Resort for this weekend."
As Buzz expected, the Demon on the other end of the call was completely baffled upon hearing that.
"The Triton?" he repeated, his tone filled with confusion. "I don't remember booking anything,"
"Well, according to our records you and your whole family are scheduled to check in late this afternoon for complimentary drinks," Buzz informed the Demon. "From what I see, you were the winners of a prize draw for a complimentary stay at our hotel for the weekend. As far as I'm aware, all prize winners were posted last month… you DID receive the confirmation letter we sent, didn't you?"
It may not have been the best of lies, and chances are that it wouldn't fool most Demons, least of all the most elite and powerful. But as Buzz already knew, THIS particular Demon may have been powerful… but he was also about as bright as an eclipse AND the type of greedy sucker who would jump at the chance of something if it was being offered for free.
"Uh… yeah, of course we did!" Buzz heard the other Demon say, the latter clearly lying through his teeth. "Silly me, must have slipped my mind. We'll, uh… be there soon. HONEY! Get the bags! We-"
After that, Buzz instantly heard the dial tone after the other Demon hung up the phone, allowing him to smirk in triumph.
"Phase one: Complete," he said smugly to himself. "Now… I wonder how Johnny's doing."
Suddenly, as if some higher power was answering his inquiry, Buzz heard a small commotion from the other side of the office door, one caused by the familiar voices of both Johnny and the Manager as they made their return.
"Oh, shit!" Buzz squeaked, quickly jumping away from the desk and diving behind the door just as the manager was opening it.
At that moment, Margaret walked into the office with Johnny in tow, the former licking her lips with a satisfied grin on her face while the latter looked completely mortified as he tried to straighten his clothes out.
"Well, that concludes our brief interview, young man," Margaret said coyly as she leaned up against her desk, giving Johnny a lustful glance. "I do hope everything was to your satisfaction."
"Y-yeah," Johnny stuttered, trying desperately to force out his words. "I-it was… great."
"Excellent," Margaret replied, taking out her purse with a smirk. "I'll be sure to give your agency a call as soon as we can confirm your… application."
Buzz didn't know why, but he could have sworn that he heard Johnny whimper like a little girl as he snuck his way out of the office. He'd have to ask the Sinner for details as soon as he was finished here.
"Th-th-thank you," Johnny uttered, with another stutter. "I l-l-look forward to it."
"Until we meet again, handsome,"
The instant those words popped out of the Hellhound's mouth, Johnny was bolting out of that office faster than one could blink, at which Margaret couldn't help but laugh. She did seem to have that effect on certain Demons.
"Shit!" she suddenly exclaimed, her face falling with realization as she slapped a hand to her forehead. "I never got a phone number!"
Back in the lobby, Johnny was clutching his heart between heavy breaths as he collapsed up against the fountain, the panicked look on his face practically painting the entire picture of what he just went through.
"Why… do I always end up… meeting the sex maniacs!?" he uttered between breaths.
Needless to say, his encounter with the Manager was NOT an easy one.
"So… how did it go?"
Hearing that familiar, annoying voice, Johnny's eye twitched in fury as he turned to see Buzz looking back at him with an amused snicker. As traumatizing as his experience was, somehow his anger toward the tiny Imp seemed to quell his tensions a bit.
"She thought I was a RENT-BOY!" he snapped, desperately resisting the urge to strangle Buzz right there and then. "And she apparently has a thing for leather!"
That was putting it mildly. Despite having a job at a strip club, Johnny had never witnessed anyone as thirsty as the Manager was, with the exception of Jewel! The instant she and the Snake Demon were alone together in an empty room, she was all over Johnny like a beast in heat! Apparently, she DIDN'T buy Johnny's ruse for a second, instead believing him to be some kind of male hooker sent to the hotel for some role-play and a quickie! Thankfully for Johnny, since the Manager was first and foremost a strict workaholic, nothing went that far… However, that didn't mean she couldn't spare a few minutes to have some "fun" with the poor Snake Demon. Buzz, of course, merely chuckled at Johnny's dilemma and once again brushed the Sinner's fury off.
"Oh don't be a puss, our mission was a success, wasn't it?" he pointed out, much to Johnny's annoyance. "Nice hickey by the way."
Hearing that, Johnny immediately blushed and self-consciously slapped his hand over his neck to cover the mark.
"This had better have been worth it, Buzz," he muttered.
"Oh, believe me, Johnny boy, it will," Buzz chuckled with pride. "By the end of the night, Mick will be singing our praises, I guarantee it.
"I'M GONNA KILL THEM!"
Needless to say, neither Mick nor Octavia was happy right now. After waiting for several hours for Buzz and Johnny to come up with something to sabotage the date, the two of them had expected to at least be informed of something by now. Alas, neither Imp nor Sinner was seen again since Mick's talk with them at the pool… Now, it was too late.
With their escape plan practically down the toilet, all Mick and Octavia could do now was grimace as they both stood outside their respective bedrooms wearing formal attire. In Mick's case, it was little more than a simple change of a shirt and jacket to his usual suit, trading his normal attire for a tieless pink shirt and a grey jacket. However, as per her mother's insistence, Octavia appeared to have had a complete makeover… and despite the circumstances, Mick had to admit that she looked absolutely stunning. Right now, she wore a sparkly, backless red dress that reached down to her ankles, and exchanged her beanie for a silver headband. As much as he enjoyed the view, however, it didn't change how the Cat Demon felt at that moment.
"Those stupid, lazy berks!" he snapped, desperately resisting the urge to kick a hole in the wall. "Why the hell did I ever trust them!?"
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," Octavia uttered whilst currently banging her head against the wall in frustration.
"I swear if we manage to survive tonight, I'm going to DROWN Buzz and Johnny in the pool!" Mick grumbled, the fire in his eyes becoming so large they almost ignited the nearby window curtains.
"Oh, I'm right there with you on that one," Octavia snarled in agreement.
It was only then that the pair of them made their way to the sofa and simultaneously slumped down into the cushions, the pair of them now staring up at the ceiling in anxiety.
"I just don't believe it," Mick continued to ramble. "I ask them to do one thing and they still fuck it up."
"Hey, it was worth a shot," Octavia pointed out, putting a reassuring hand on Mick's shoulder. "At least you tried something to get us out of this."
As much as he appreciated the Goetia's kind words, however, Mick didn't really feel that much better. However, his frustration was soon pushed aside for a moment of confusion when Octavia suddenly gave him an odd look.
"What is it?" he asked, his curiosity once again rearing its head.
At first, Octavia didn't feel like she should say anything, fearing that the question she had building up inside could only ignite an unwanted argument before the date. However, as Mick's friend, she couldn't hold herself back any longer, if something was bothering him, she NEEDED to know.
"Are we going to talk about that barmaid from earlier?" she asked.
As she half-expected, Mick once again froze up the instant Clara was brought up, after which he immediately turned his head away.
"What about her?" he retorted, the tone of his voice clearly suggesting that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Don't give me that, Mick," Octavia stated firmly, there was no way she was going to let Mick worm his way out of this conversation. "I saw you freeze up the instant you laid your eyes on her."
Then she asked a question that instantly made Mick's throat tighten.
"Do you… KNOW her?"
Hearing that question ring in his ears, Mick's first response was to fall into an uncomfortable silence. Obviously, he knew Octavia and Linda saw how he reacted; he wasn't stupid. And in all honesty, he had somewhat expected such a question to pop up sooner or later… though frankly, he had hoped that the stress of tonight's date would make Octavia forget all about it. After about a minute of silence, the Cat Demon eventually let out a sigh of defeat and spoke.
"She… reminds me of someone I knew once," he answered, the sudden surge of stress causing him to raise a hand to the left side of his mask and begin scratching.
At that moment, Octavia immediately began to regret asking. Having known the Cat Demon for months now, she knew that Mick only scratched at his face for two reasons… he had somehow run out of weed… or the subject of the conversation he was in literally caused him emotional pain. What's more, at any other time Mick would have been more open with Octavia, but he refused to say any more than he already had, so this particular subject must have been ESPECIALLY painful.
So Clara reminded him of someone? Who could that possibly be? And why would they frighten Mick so? The only logical answer the Goetia Princess could form in her head was that it MUST have been someone that he ran into during the first 14 years he had spent down here… someone who clearly scarred him for the rest of his afterlife. Could it have been the Lobolas Family? Was THAT why Clara reminded him of someone? If that were the case, then it was no wonder Mick was so frightened. If he had actually run into that horrible family then… wait… was he… experimented on? Was THAT why he truly wore the mask?
In any case, it was clear that Octavia wasn't going to get an answer tonight. Seeing how uncomfortable her interrogation was making her crush, she chose to drop the subject right there and then.
"Right…" she said awkwardly. "Sorry for bringing up the subject."
Realizing how this must have made Octavia feel, Mick couldn't help but let out a guilty sigh.
"No, it's fine," he said before rummaging through his pocket. "You weren't to know. Perhaps I will tell you the whole story… one day. But for now, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather keep that part of my afterlife buried… too many experiences I'd rather not relive right now."
Octavia nodded her head at that, both in gratitude and understanding.
"Fair enough," she said, hanging her head to look at the floor.
In all honesty, it was probably for the best. If the experiences were as bad as Mick claimed, then she shouldn't bring them up just before he was supposed to be meeting his date.
"Hey…" Mick suddenly spoke up, grabbing Octavia's attention just as he was pulling two joints out of his pocket. "You wanna get fucked up before we have to leave?"
"Sweet Jesus fuck yes!" Octavia exclaimed, snatching up one of the joints before sticking it in her beak. "With any luck, we'll OD before the date even begins."
Hearing that, Mick couldn't help but chuckle. Of all the many things he loved about this girl, her snark was definitely one of them. However, just as they were about to light up their respective sticks, they both heard someone entering the room from their sleeping space. Yelping in shock, they both quickly spat the joints out and stuffed them under the couch cushions just before Stella came strolling into the living space.
"Alright, I'm off," she said, not even so much as turning her head to face the two as she preened herself in front of the nearest mirror. "Don't bother waiting up, I won't be back until morning."
Needless to say, this sudden declaration brought about some confused glances from Mick and Octavia, the pair of them both unsure about what was happening right now.
"Where are YOU going, mum?" Octavia asked, voicing the question that both young Demons wanted the answer to.
"If you must know, I'll be spending the evening at a cocktail party being held on the other side of the resort," Stella casually explained. "It's one of those onsight excursions or something."
"And you're only telling me this now?" Octavia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I felt that you didn't need any distractions since you've your own plans tonight," Stella retorted, her tone souring as she gave Mick a sour glare. "That being said… you had better make sure nothing goes wrong, CAT. I want everything tonight to go swimmingly. Am I clear?"
Feeling the icy glare coming from the elder Bird Demon pierce into his very soul, all Mick could do was sit there and gulp.
"T-transparently, Ma'am," he stuttered, his survival instincts practically screaming that it was for his own good not to piss Stella off. "H-hope you have a… wonderful time?"
At those words, all Stella did was scoff with a condescending tone.
"Oh, I intend to," she said with a huff, her face twisted as though getting good wishes from a Sinner was a big insult. "Don't expect the same courtesy from me, Cat."
Then without so much as saying goodbye, the elder Goetia opened the door and left the hotel room, leaving Mick and Octavia to release a breath neither had realized they had been holding in.
"Yeah… she DEFINITELY still hates me," Mick commented, sinking back into the sofa as if it were a comforting blanket.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think she hates you more than everyone else in her life," Octavia pointed out, feeling the same wave of relief wash over her as Stella walked further away from the room. "With any luck, maybe she'll drink herself into a coma."
"Great, that's all we need, a narcissist with a hangover," Mick retorted sarcastically.
Octavia couldn't really blame Mick for his snark, of course. After all, at the end of the day, it WAS all Stella's fault that the pair of them were going on this date in the first place. In all honesty, it was surprising that neither of them even thought to put a laxative in her drink for a bit of subtle revenge. Suddenly, the pair of them were caught off guard by Linda exiting the bedroom wearing a formal version of her uniform, complete with a longer skirt and darker shades of fabric with satin trims.
"I-is she gone?" she asked, obviously referring to a certain avian who still scared her to this day.
"Yeah, she just left," Octavia answered, groaning inwardly as she looked at the time on her phone. "And it looks as though WE should be too."
Mick and Octavia both simultaneously sighed at that.
"Alright," Mick uttered. "Let's just get this over with."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thank you all for continuing to follow this story and for all your comments and likes. However, due to a heavy work schedule and the desperate need for some much-needed R&R, the next chapter of Owlette and the Cat will once again be postponed until August 11th. Until then, we thank you for your patience and wish you all a great Summer.
In the meantime, you all can enjoy some of these characters in LC Presents: Helluva Dad. a new fanfic by J-P Ryder and BuckJohnson. Loving the story guys.