Alastor puts the last items on the breakfast table as he awaits the arrival of his dear assistant with somewhat of a giddy nervousness. Well. Not nervousness. Excitement. He has been thinking about what he all could ask from her the entire night. Not to forget he is eager to hear her shower him with lovely coo's of you shouldn't have 's and thank you so much I love them, Alastor's in reaction to the clothes he has gifted her. He should have just given them personally. Oh how her face must have lit up in pure joy. He wonders which attire she will choose to wear first.

The clicking of heels in the distance has Alastor perking up and with more of a clang than he had intended, drops the final plate and shadow warps to the staircase. Waiting like a puppy for its owner.

Angeldust leans in closer to Husk before whispering. "What has Smiles so erect? It's freaking me out." Husker simply shakes his head and shrugs up his shoulders. The reason why quickly comes into view as Cattaleya rounds the corner to the top of the staircase.

"There is your what. But your what, is a who." Husker whispers in return as the entire table keeps their eyes fixed on them as if watching a new episode of their favorite soap series.

For a moment, Cattaleya is blissfully unaware of the staring company. But it is hard to miss the Radio Demon eagerly seeming to wait for her at the bottom of the stairs. His grin wide as usual. Though she has learned not to look at his smile. She looks at his eyes. And what she sees makes her cheeks color. She tells herself it is because of the pride and smugness he obviously feels of her actually wearing the clothes he has provided her.

The pounding in Alastor's hollow chest tells a different story. His gaze rakes from her black shining heels, up to her panty covered calves, to the soft redness of the swinger poofy dress with a sweetheart neckline. And on that gorgeous neckline, the necklace of pearls he had chosen for her to finish that specific look. The first dress she had tried on in the store. The one that made her eyes sparkle the brightest. Fairly she is not wearing the hat or gloves but she probably would have if they had been going out. Instead she wears her hair in a low mermaid braid. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. He scolds himself to breathe as she stands right in front of him now. A soft smile, suppressing some amusement, pushes her lips together, as her head tilts to the side in a silent dare for him to make a comment.

He reaches out and gently runs a finger over the pearls as he for once only manages to say. "Lovely."

"Of course, you picked it out."

He laughs, though not as loud as he would usually do. This is genuine and reserved. Softening the air between them more. "I do appreciate it that you enjoy my gifts enough to actually wear them."

"Gifts? I remember the card said payment." She challenges without animosity, actually genuinely curious what he is going to say. It could go either way.

"I suppose I was a bit-" Out of nowhere he takes a loose strand of her hair that she had framing her face and starts twirling it. "- troubled you might decline a gift that grand. Opting it as payment instead." He was not wrong though. She probably would have denied she realizes ruefully.

Both miss the painful hissing, followed by a struggle to get out, as Charlie in her excitement clutches Sir Pentious's arm in tight claws as he so unfortunately was sitting to her right.

Seeming to finally notice what he is doing, Alastor lets go of her hair and instead wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Now, let's not dally too long and fill up on some breakfast! You have a long day ahead of you and I wouldn't want you fainting on your first day!"

Her smile drops a few inches. By the ancestors what has he planned.

He has been quiet the entire time as they walk towards the office, Cattaleya's arm being claimed once more to wrap around his own as he leads them through the maze of halls. It unnerves her slightly. She is not one to be unnerved but she already knew the Radio demon well enough to know that his silence is the thing to worry about. She reads nothing on his face coming close to hidden sadistic intentions but she could be wrong of course as he keeps his face pointed straight forward. Not noticing the way he is clenching his lips shut in nerves of his own.

When they finally arrive at the door Alastor finally speaks up. "Considering I am going to need my assistant very close to me I took it upon myself to prepare you a work space in my very own office!" Cattaleya ponders for a fleeting moment why one room further would not be close enough when he swings the door open and practically pushes her forward.

The first thing her eyes fall on is Alastor's own large mahogany wooden desk with a lavished grand chair behind it, obviously. But then when she looks to her right she sees a lower desk, without a chair, to sit on behind on her knees. Some fancy embroidered cushions to soften the floor. Old fashioned Japanese calligraphy stuff. A small bonsai tree to cheer the desk a bit up. "I have been told that this would be suited for someone coming from your heritage? If not I am going to have to have a strong discussion with a certain store clerk." It follows by a light laugh as to brush it off as a joke but he was menacingly serious.

Cattaleya smiles at him reassuringly though before moving over to the desk and taking her shoes off. "Don't worry, this is more than fine." She sits down in a fluent motion on her knees as she neatly sets her shoes away. "I really appreciate it that you take so many things into consideration."

His smile widens in what she believes is genuine joy at her compliment. "Well of course, my dear! What kind of a gentleman would I be if I didn't." Her own smile widens a bit more though is wiped away when he snaps his fingers and her desk is filled. Like FILLED. With papers stacking so high they almost hit the ceiling. "I thought you could start with organizing the contracts and deals I have made over the years! After a while they became so many and so often I forgot to care. When you are done with this pile I'll bring the next ones in."

"Next ones?"

He laughs as if she just told him a joke. "Oh dear, this isn't even a fraction of it!"

His contracts. Deals he has made with demons in exchange for their souls. Granting him his power. Ancestors. "How?"

Again, he laughs. Eyes gleaming with mockery and a challenge as he says. "How? That is slightly disappointing. I had thought a wise sharp young woman as yourself would have the capability of-"

"What I meant to say was-" His eyes narrow at being interrupted but she merely gives him an obedient smile, not at all rattled by the amount of work. "- How would you like them organized? By date? Duration of the contract? Alphabetical? Sin? Useful capabilities of the sinner?"

Alastor blinks twice before he suddenly but gently pats her head. She is about to comment on the degrading gesture when she sees his softer smile. "Alphabetical will be fine."

"Very well." The melodious lull of her voice sends a shiver down his spine as she looks up at the unreachable top of the pile. Alastor's mischievous grin returns, wondering how she was going to make sure the pile doesn't topple over- Swish. With the swiftness of an attacking rattlesnake she snatches a random contract from the pile, the movement not having moved the stack an inch. She reads over it quickly and lays it to the side before snatching out the next one. "I'll need something to file them in. Could you get me a few filing cabinets or should I head out myself?"

With a frozen in awe bewildered stare he snaps his fingers, a few file cabinets appear lining the wall behind her. She humms pleasantly in approval and gets to work. She is only five papers in when she adds without looking in his direction. "May I ask my boss to go attend his own work? Watching me will only waver my concentration."

Shocked out of his stupor, he shadow warps himself into his own chair, pretending to be nose deep in a book as she works like a diligent horse.

Frankly, working for Alastor isn't that bad. He doesn't let her work around the clock. Provides her with tea from time to time. Lets her have her hours to train her wings. Forces her to lunch even if she wants to continue what she was busy with. He makes small conversation sometimes but cuts it off himself when he notices her attention dwindling back to the documents. She had expected him to jest, banter, make comments or make her do impossible things but he didn't. Not yet. Even if filing these contracts took a hell of a lot longer and more work than expected, it isn't bad.

What was bad though is the fact that she hasn't slept since the night she had her… Episode. She decides to call it episode. Even if she had made this deal to prevent anyone being harmed she is still too… Anxious to sleep. Not knowing what it might bring. So for night after night she laid awake, staring at the ceiling, reading a book, staring outside, blanking her mind out but wandering to her past nonetheless. It was becoming maddening. She is free. Free of that life. Literally a death away. And still the shackles are not broken. Still she feels like she could be ordered to walk on fire, cut her own skin or dive into freezing rivers any moment.

With a loud sigh she accepts the fact tonight will be another restless one. She slips on flat shoes as she wanders downstairs, planning on just watching a movie in the lobby to find she is not the only one still awake. Husker is sitting at the bar, a glass of liquor in his hand as he looks at the cards on the table, playing some sort of game by himself.

"May I join you?"

He waves his hand to the empty seat for her to sit. She doesn't start up a conversation as she merely watches trying to unfold the rules on her own. "Boss giving you a hard time, huh? Bags under your eyes have been growing."

Cattaleya blinks, honestly surprised Husker has been paying that much attention to her features. "No, Alastor has been fine. He could have been a menace but he is kind."

Husker huffs a slight chuckle, not connecting the word kind to said Radio Demon but even he can't deny that he has acted less violent to her compared to any other being. "If not him, what has you troubled?"

Cattaleya leans on her hand as she averts her eyes. She has the urge to talk about it, words lulling on the back of her tongue. Instead she asks. "After you died, did you become someone else? Not bodily speaking but in mind and soul."

"I am still a drunken gamble addict if that is what you mean."

Her mouth quips a bit up. "Could you shake away any unwanted part of you off?"

Husker now looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "If you are asking me if redemption is possible, then Charlie is the one you should be talking to. Though she damningly believes in the redemption of souls so…" He grumbles for a second. "But if you ask me, I guess some parts of you can be changed. There will always be a lingering piece but improvement is possible, if I judge from what I have seen happening here."

A small invisible weight is lifted from her shoulders. "That is in a way comforting, thank you Husker."

He pauses his game for a second. "Look, you carry an air of discipline and politeness. Radiating calmth and wisdom like some old kung fu master. Fucks sake, your words even seem to navigate it's way through the shit storm that could be Alastor." She rolls her eyes jestingly with a smile. "But you're hiding you. And it is tiring you out. So all you do is focus on anything else but you."

He had expected an outright denial, or a kind smile and a laugh, not the pensive hmn she makes as she looks into the distance. For a while she says nothing. "Is this why people talk to bartenders? To suddenly have themselves unraveled bare? It feels like a strange form of relief."

"I was right then?"

"You are. Though…" She sighs out through her nose. "I wouldn't call it hiding. Merely being what I have been forever. If I was not to do that I don't know what or who is underneath."

"Well, you got an eternity in Hell to figure that out." he says, looking thoughtfully at one of his cards.

"Where does one start on a path of finding oneself?"

"Old kung fu soul." Cattaleya chuckles at his remark. "I don't know. Just go try stuff? Find things you like and roll with it." Cattaleya ponders for a second before suddenly snatching the card out of his hand, gathering the others then in a pile. "Hey! What th-"

"Let's start here then." She begins shuffling the deck with a smile on her face. "Teach me a game or two? I got an entire night to get through. "

Alastor hadn't expected anyone to be up this early, but as he arrives in the lobby he is surprised to see Husker and Cattaleya already awake at the bar. More surprisingly, playing a game of cards together, amiable smiles on their face, open bags of snacks surrounding them.

"Go fish."

"How! I just gave you that card."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You are cheating."

"I am not. I just don't know the rules for this game so well."

"We have been playing this for two hours."

"I am not losing again. Go fish."

"So you are cheating."

"I am not. I am just not giving you this card."

Amidst their bantering, they did not notice the Radio Demon stalking statically closer till he is standing right next to them. "Look at you both, being all friendly and cozy in the early morning." He narrows his eyes a bit as he notices Husker's bowtie around Cattaleya's neck.

"Is it morning already?" Cattaleya asks as she looks around for an indication of light. "Oh well. I was losing anyway so~" She takes a sip from her glass.

"You wish to butt out just as you are losing your underwear?" Husker's jest, which he had been doing all night, flew out of his mouth. Radio screeching signaling his technical error.

Luckily, Cattaleya was too busy coughing up the water she was choking on to see Alastor crashing for a second. "Pardon me?"

"What else did you think knickers meant?"

It took her a few seconds to load. "You asked me to gamble away my underwear?!"

"I was pretty surprised you so quickly said yes."

"What-" Husker's ears flatten a bit backwards. "- else did you ask our dear Cattaleya to gamble away? Hmm?" Alastor's grin is nothing short of pissed.

Cattaleya thinks as she begins to count on her fingers. "7 massages, that he gets to choose my first drink with alcohol in it, saving him from Angel when he says a codeword, vacuum his room once a week, help him with a prank he wants to pull on Sir Pentious, a week long my dessert after dinner, serenade him a song about how amazing he is… Really I lost a lot."

"You won once."

"I think that was a pity win but I do feel proud yes." Cattaleya says as she happily adjusts the bowtie she has won, not knowing what else she wanted to ask from him.

"That is quite a long list of things she has to do for you-" Alastor's nails scratch the wood into curls. "- Husker."

Noticing the shift in the air, Cattaleya's smile drops. "We were playing a game."

Alastor's eyes narrow. "He was gambling favors out of you knowing you could never win from him."

"And so what?" She stands up, so close that they are almost chest to chest. She tilts her head back to look up at him as he leans down. "I enjoyed my night. And the things he had gambled out of me are all things I don't mind."

"It starts with small things, my dear. Before you know it you have gambled away your soul."

"Speaking from experience I suppose? Should I also be aspecting bigger things to be asked from in the future from you? Or is the thing making you upset that I am supposed to be only serving your wishes and needs?" Neither of them move as they face of, neither willing to cave.

"You are my assistant."

"Are the things I have gambled away in violation of it? Will it enable me to do my job?" He stays quiet but his annoyed grin tightens. "The answer is no. So if you would excuse me."

As she moves to walk away, Alastor snaps as he grabs her wrist and pulls her harshly back against the bar, slamming his hand on the wood and cracking it. She had gasped in surprise but not in fear. Even if the way his smile is growing is inhumanely large. Nightmare worthy. A gleam nothing short of psychopathic in his eyes. "You are mine. You'll do good to remind yourself of that."

Without blinking or recoiling, steady and calm, she replies. "I am your assistant. We made an agreement. Not a deal. But we did make promises. One of them is that I would have my own choices. That things could be discussed but not ordered. I do not remember promising you that I wouldn't do anything for anyone else ever again or that I should ask for permission. I am an employee but not your slave." When the grip on her wrist only tightens she feels a pang of disappointment. A daring move as she places her free hand over his. "In the future, I will consider and think about how things I do or agree on might affect my position with you. But tonight has been the first one after very long nights in which I could unwind and not think. I don't want to end it like this. Could you please let me remember this night as a memory to be fond of, Alastor?"

Alastor looks down at where her hand lays on his. On the one gripping her wrist with a strength that for sure must hurt. Slowly, the static in the air disappears and his grip lessens. He turns his hand as he lets her go, cradling her hand gently. Completely the opposite of the intensity mere seconds before. When Cattaleya looks back up at his face, his smile is now close lipped and small, his eyes pensive.

"Alright." It was so soft she almost hesitates if he had really said it.

"Thank you." She squeezes his hand, making his head shoot up to meet the grateful curl of her lips.

Alastor is convinced she must have some secret hidden powers. Like a Siren that can lure and command poor foolish sailors to their deaths. To bend them to her will. How else could anyone explain what had just happened? She had calmed him down. And not only that, she had made him agree with her request and made him actually feel… Bad for reacting so harshly to her. There will for sure be bruises forming where he had gripped her. And still she is smiling at him. Thanking him with that sweet soft caress of her voice. His thumb graces over the back of her hand.

"Go get dressed for breakfast. It won't take long." He says, no animosity but it lacks the regular chipper of his voice as well.

Cattaleya stares at him till he disappears into the kitchen, mulling over what happened when Husker's voice reminds her of his presence. "Kid, you have just gained my utmost respect. Any way to teach me that?"

She huffs a light laugh and holds up a card. "Perhaps next gamble?"

After a rare day of Alastor being mostly gone from his own office, Cattaleya had expected the Overlord to come knocking on her door late at night.

His smile is tight, which she has learned to read as conflicted, annoyed or unsure. "May I come in?" Still the gentleman, he asks.

"Ofcourse." As he walks in, his eyes land on her wrist but before he can truly access the damage she hides her hands behind her back, acting casually about it. "What can I help you with?"

"Something just came to mind all of sudden as I was reading in my room. Your words when you mentioned 'long nights'." He comes closer and leans down to be on eye level with her. Locked on the bags under hers. "Have you been sleeping?"

Cattaleya's shoulders sag before she grimaces as a child busted. "I am having trouble with it." He motions his hand for her to keep talking. She knows he won't back off till she tells anyway. "I haven't been able to sleep since… That night. I am just worried what might happen and it keeps me awake. The voices telling me in my head that I should not take a risk, to not lose myself, as you might still come too late… And it is not me questioning your abilities or such. It is just the distrust I feel in myself."

Once more, her blunt open honesty takes him back. But by now he shouldn't be surprised anymore. She has always been like that with him. Openly polite. Openly kind. Openly honest. Openly blunt. She does not play games and she is in balance with what she hides and what she reveals.

"You have been tiring yourself out."

"Not more than usual I believe. I can still function. And just lack of sleep isn't as bad as what could be."

Depriving herself of sleep to secure the safety of others. How has an angel fallen to Hell he wonders. Though Cattaleya was actually thinking about other activities she was forced to do in the past during nights.

"Very well then." With the snap of his finger a comfy chair appears in the room, a book on it. "If that is what troubles your mind I guess I have no other option than to stay so close that your troubled mind will have no doubts of me being too late." He grabs the book and sits down, planning to sit there at watch the entire night.

Cattaleya softly smiles as she folds her arms and stands in front of him. "I appreciate it but you can't stay awake next to my bed forever."

"Not forever. Only until you regain your confidence and be able to sleep by yourself."

"We don't know how long that will take."

"I am willing to see."

"You need sleep as well."

"I barely sleep at all." He announces with a big grin but it softens quickly. "Truly. Go to sleep. I promise I won't take a bite out of you." A mischievous glint twinkles in his eyes

Cattaleya laughs lightly as she shakes her head. "Alright. Only if you promise you won't lick me either."

His own laughter follows as he puts a hand on his heart. "You push me into such civil corners with your requests and demands. But for your sanity I shall promise you that. For tonight."

A small flutter in her chest spreads a gentle warmth. "Alright. Good night, Alastor."

His smile widens a tad bit further. "Good night, Cattaleya." He bids her before he opens his book and starts reading. Allowing herself a second more to watch him, she memorizes this picture like a photograph. The ever frightening Radio demon overlord, reading a book with a soft smile on his face as he approaches a long night awake to serve as her guardian from nightmares. With that thought, she crawls into bed and falls into a deep nightmare free sleep.

The slow rhythm of her breathing signals her descend into slumber. His book long forgotten as he stares at her serene expression. She looks so vulnerable. So breakable. While he knows she is far from. She is strong. Intelligent. Fearless. Daunting. Respectful. Disciplined. She enjoys in a modest kind of way. Not loud or obnoxious. Enjoys in grace. She commands attention by her sheer present aura while she stands in the back of the room. She works hard without question. She has fearless words and gentle jestering accompanied also by immaculate communication skills and a patient listening ear.

A lady he would love to have on his arm to show off. To have.

She is not… his though. She doesn't realize she is his yet. He will make it so she knows. He will make sure there will be no doubt in her mind that she wants to be his.

A soft hum she lets out in her sleep has Alastor's smile visibly melt, even if he does not notice it himself.

She is so troubled by herself though. Troubled by her actions. Her past. Seeing herself as a danger while he would thrill and shiver in the ecstasy of what power she might unleash if she let it run loose. Perhaps he might convince her one day to let him see. Show him the deepest darkest parts of her and cause havoc in town. There are demons enough deserving of a bloody kill. One day.

She stirs in her sleep, hands moving up to settle near her face.

The bed dents as Alastor takes a seat. Her bruised wrist. His stomach clenches strangely, which it has been doing more often near her. Gingerly, he takes her wrist in his hand and lifts it up. He shouldn't bite. And he promised not to lick. So instead his lips softly caress the abused skin.