Hazbin Hotel: Anthony's

The only sounds in the kitchen were from Angel as he chopped up vegetables with two hands while making pasta with the other two. Husker had made a fresh pot and was once again loading his up with something strong. This time everyone held out their cups, including Charlie. Emily as always refrained, lost in her thoughts that clouded her mind. Vaggie was still fuming "Look no one's going to say it so I will. He's a danger to this place and everyone in it, when it comes down to it, I know which way I'm leaning." She looked around at all the uncomfortable faces. Everyone had good points and it was a tough decision to weigh. Charlie was drawing shapes in the flour spilt on the counter. She was listening to everyone, including Vaggie who was making good sense.

"Didn't you say the same thing about Pentious when he showed up at the door?" Angel threw that out there as he scooped everything into a pan, holding it on the stove while he kneaded the pasta dough, stopping only to grab a pinch of this and that and throw them into the pan. Vaggie's eyes turned to slits as she stabbed a knife into a cutting board "That's not…it…it's totally different!" she stammered, but Husker just scoffed at her "You punched him in the face and almost made boots out of him right there on the front step. He changed, took a while, but it happened" Vaggie was losing this and turned to the only other person that could help her "Emily come on, you've been down here a little while now. This guy is basically Alastor on steroids." the other's nodded, unable to help agreeing with that. The war of the pride ring was still talked about to that day. Caine was often referred to as Lucifer's equal, though ever since Alastor made a splash in Hell, his name had also been thrown in.

Emily wasn't one to make rash decisions despite her sunny nature and cheery disposition. She was often compared to Charlie, especially when it came to their ideas for helping the guests better themselves. But Charlie rushed in headfirst a lot of the time. Emily hung back, waited, and took everything into account before making an important decision. "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open to you" She received confused expressions as she came out of her train of thought and looked into the eyes of every person around her "If anyone here asked for help I would give it gladly, including Alastor. Why is Caine any different because of his past? If he truly wants our help…we have an obligation. We've never turned anyone away before."

Cherri had been present and quiet the entire time. At the mention of Pentious she'd started playing with the necklace she wore around her neck. After the battle she'd found a little golden gear in the rubble, probably left over from one of his inventions. She'd made a necklace out of it and wore it as something to remember him by. "Pentious would have admired the guy, probably would have been telling us everything he knew about the dick head. I bet he knew everything, he loved to go on and on about overlords. Probably would have freaked out though, knowing he wanted to come in here" she smiled and scoffed at the thought. She put the pendant back into her shirt and regained her usual demeanor "Fuck it, if the asshole acts up I'm always ready for a fight. I'll just kick his ass yeah?" Instead of coffee she grabbed the whole bottle Husker had been pouring and took a swig.

Angel hadn't said much the whole time, preferring to concentrate on the cappelletti he was making, folding the little shapes as he remembered when he'd shown up looking for help. He'd been a mess, a complete wreck, bruised and battered from Valentino and clutching fat nuggets. Charlie had tried to ask him to come and stay but he'd denied her the first time. He'd looked out for himself long enough, why would he need her now? But that night he'd gotten such a beating for even talking to her that he'd had enough. He'd taken Val's crap for longer than he cared to admit, something had snapped in him one day and he'd just said enough. Was Caine trying to do the same thing? Admittedly he'd been at it for longer by about 9 to 10 thousand years, but Charlie kept telling him, and everyone that would listen, that anyone could change. Pretty sure she'd sung several songs about it too.

Husker could see he was deep in thought, the conflict evident on his face. He'd talk to him about it later, and try and steal some of that pasta "Look as long as Alastor's owned my soul he's only talked about Caine a couple of times. He'd rip me a new one for saying this, but I don't know anyone in Hell that can actually scare Alastor. He may not show it, that damn creepy smile of his and all, but he was scared. He owed that guy a favor just for being able to walk out the front door alive. Anyone else Al would have tortured over the radio for a good decade or two. Even Carmilla and Zestial followed the guy. They were his right and left hand for centuries. Caine is no joke" He could still see the fire burning, that look on his face. The scars, like lightning spreading across his features. He had the voice of pure evil, and it had rattled Husker down to his soul. He wouldn't be forgetting that for a while. "The only place we're safe from him is here. Alastor and the big man can keep him in line."

Charlie made a face. She wasn't so sure her father was the same demon he'd been, if ever. The success of the hotel had lit some of that old fire in him, but the failure of his marriage coupled with years of isolation and depression was still sitting on his shoulders. She saw a bit more life to him now that he and Alastor had forged some kind of gross, maniacal relationship that she still didn't understand, or want to understand. Above all else, when it came to the safety of those he cared about, she knew from experience her dad could turn on the real Lucifer. "Let's hope that's enough. Alastor did have a good point. If we make it happen, it will do wonders for us" An overlord redeemed to Heaven? They'd be turning away people, booked solid for years. Of course, until she had papers covered in crayon in front of her, Charlie couldn't make a proper decision. She gave Vaggie a look to follow her and they headed out of the kitchen. A long discussion was sure to happen.

Husker and Angel were the only ones left after everyone left one by one. He often found himself in a trance as he watched Angel cook. I made it look so effortless, so artistic. Fresh grated parmesan snowed down onto the plate, followed by a sprig of herb. The plate was picture perfect, the point Angel took out his phone and took a picture of it, posting it to his Sinstagram. Instead of pictures of himself, though those still appeared every now and then, his profile was full of everything he cooked, and he had quite a following. "Seems you always cook pasta when there's a lot on your mind."

Ever the bartender, Husker grabbed a couple of forks, offering one to Angel, but not waiting any longer to dig into the food he'd been smelling this whole time. As usual, it was delicious. Fat nuggets and Keke were sitting nearby, knowing they'd get to at least lick the plate afterward.

"You know how I get on Thursday nights. Back to work on Friday" Ever since Alastor and Lucifer had gone and aggressively renegotiated his contract, he only worked for Valentino on the weekends, the rest of the time focusing his efforts on the hotel. At first it was a relief, 4 days of rest and being able to cook and feel normal again. Then Valentino decided to double down on the weekends. He ramped up the production schedule, made sure everything Angel did was more extreme, more hard-core. He was going to use him for every second he had him and was sure to let him know that he still wasn't free.

"Yeah, I know. Thursday nights we drown your sorrows in top shelf shit so you can be ready for the Hell you go to every Friday" Husker gave him a sympathetic look "So what's really on your mind?" Angel gave him a sideways glance as he tasted the sauce. He hated how well the cat knew him already. It wasn't easy for him to let someone in, but when it came to Husker it was. "Just seems like this redemption thing is taking longer than I thought. It's been two years and I've been trying a lot harder than I used to." That much was true. Husker had noticed the progress, especially compared to how he'd been when they'd met. "I've noticed. Haven't seen you touch the hard stuff in a long time. You cut back on the drinking…. a little." that made them both laugh. He grabbed the cooking wine and poured them each a glass "I think Charlie forgets it's not going to happen tomorrow, or next week. But it will. With a smirk his wing flapped and smacked Angel on the ass, catching him off guard and a pink tinge to hit his cheeks "Besides you got me every step of the way remember?" Angel had nothing to say and grabbed the plate of pasta before Husker could take another bite "Come on, Hellanovella is on" He headed out of the kitchen, knowing Husker would follow even though he hated the show.

There was a lot to think about for everyone and they were all lost in their thoughts, so much so, Emily easily was able to sneak out of the hotel. She had too many questions and knew they'd only be answered by one person. Alastor had mentioned a manor at the edge of the city, covered with vines and ravens. Even from the hotel she could see flocks of the birds flying in the air, circling around their home. Being able to fly, she took off from the roof, avoiding the streets and any danger. She didn't notice she was being watched that a drone was following her every movement, all the way to the manor.