Hazbin Hotel: Week One Part III
"It's me! Mimzy!" Once again, the fanfare and musical pageantry that came with any visit from Mimzy was going on. Though as she finished her grand entrance, she looked up into the face of none other than Caine himself, who had the unfortunate luck of standing right where she'd entered "Who?" He had just been trying to hold a conversation with Emily about a book he'd been reading when the doors burst open, and music started playing. From out of nowhere and in an explosion of confetti and song, came a woman he'd never met before or heard of. He was certain he'd remember if he had. "Woah looks like the clientele has gone up since my last visit" Her eyes widened at the site of the infamous overlord. "Mimzy!" Alastor was there to greet her and the two exchanged hugs. Emily took the opportunity to take Caine by the arm and move him out of the way of Mimzy's exuberance. "She…does that" she laughed nervously. "A friend of Alastor's no doubt. I've never seen him smile so genuinely before" He had on the face usually reserved for Niffty.
"I had no idea he could be so friendly to another person." To say he was shocked would be an understatement. "Trust me, it shocks everyone" Behind them Vaggie was standing, spear in hand, for once her eyes narrowed at a person other than Caine "I still don't trust her after the first time she came here, even if Alastor managed to patch things up with her. She caused a lot of damage here." She then looked to Caine, the same look of distrust only more so on her face. "I think we should go; I have a new exercise planned for today" Emily led him away, not before Caine looked back to see Alastor and Mimzy engaged in what passed for a pleasant conversation with the demon. Alastor was a man of many faces, something Caine did not trust in the slightest. Turning back to the angel he followed behind at a closer pace than usual. He'd come to enjoy their little walks. Aside from her pleasant company, he was learning a lot not only about her, but the stories she told of Heaven.
"You've been doing so well with making friends lately. It's so nice to see you more engaged and taking chances" The first time she'd seen him talking to someone other than her had been when she'd walked into one of the sitting rooms to see him talking to Niffty of all people. As usual she was everywhere all at once. He stayed in one spot, but they had a pleasant conversation, mostly about her endeavors to rid the hotel of an infestation of roaches. He'd taken a knife from an inside pocket and skillfully pierced a rather large one that had been crawling on the wall. She'd been so fascinated with his skill that she'd asked him to do it again. So, they'd spent the afternoon killing bugs together and ended it with him showing her how to throw knives. As they passed a sitting room, he looked in to see her practicing, getting closer to her targets and even managing to wing one. "She is fascinating for one so small. The way her mind works, she's probably more intelligent than all of us put together. All it takes is focus" Emily was surprised to hear what amounted to a tone of pride in his voice. Perhaps with a little more encouragement, he could take that pride and turn it into something even more precious. Care.
"I'm glad to see you've taken Niffty under your wing. Though at some point we should have a conversation about teaching her to throw knives." At that they heard a crash somewhere along with Angel's voice "Quit throwing things at me you crazy bitch!" This caused a devious smirk to spread on Caine's face, reminiscent of Alastor. "Why spoil her fun? Besides…. keeps Angel on his toes now doesn't it" Angel was another matter. What she hoped would blossom into friendship was turning out to be two people just ignoring each other. Angel could be off putting at times with his frequent innuendos, but he meant well. Caine just wasn't ready for that level of friendship. On some level he was barely ready for what passed for friendship between himself and her.
At some point he noticed they'd been walking up instead of around the hotel's first and second floor where they usually contained themselves "Seraphim I'd to alarm you but at this point we'll end up on the roof if we go any further." They were almost to the roof's exit, the glowing sign marking the end of their path "That's exactly where we're going" she giggled as she went ahead of him, disappearing out the door. Short of teaching him to fly, which on some level he could already do, he wasn't sure what purpose they'd have on the roof. Of course, being a seraphim, she probably had some abstract lesson planned for this. Humoring her had been an excuse to keep spending time with her, but the more she pressed these little exercises onto him, the more he was finding he was coming to enjoy her ideas, her thoughts and philosophies. If it meant being able to talk with her more, he could endure.
Stepping out onto the roof with her, he was reminded of the noise of the city, the surroundings of the hotel. He spent so much time away from all of it, it was easy to forget there was more to Hell than just his home "If you brought me here for the view, I have to say it's not all it's cracked up to be" He came to stand next to her, looking out over the vast expanse of the city. From there they could see everything, from one corner of the pentagram to another. A small noise caught his attention, and he looked in its direction. The odd peeping noise was coming from her hands.
"Look what I found yesterday" she opened them up to reveal to him a baby raven. Not an odd site, his raven's had been breeding and dying for years. Though this was the first time he'd been directly faced with any of their offspring. "Yes, it is that time again, isn't it? The young ones will come in and the old ones will fly off and die somewhere. A cycle of life, one that I have no control over. If that is your lesson for today, then I'll have to disappoint you. I learned that lesson quite some time ago." She moved closer to him, holding out her cupped hands "I want you to hold him" he wasn't sure how to respond to that, but his first action was to hold his hands behind his back and as far away from the little creature as possible "I don't think that's necessary you're doing quite a good job on your own". She stepped forward insistently "I want you to know what it feels like, this innocent life in your hands." She held up the baby bird, giving him a closer look.
The little thing was pink, freshly hatched it looked like, though already black in some places. It was struggling around, almost like a worm, an insect of some kind. It was helpless. It couldn't sit up or barely move anywhere on its own. "It needs you. They're your ravens after all aren't they? You treat them like servants, but they're more than that." Once again, she held the little thing out further and finally, he relented, cupping his hands under hers until she gently passed the baby bird over to him. For a moment he stayed there, just holding it with his hands extended and unsure of what else to do. He felt fear at that moment. That was something he hadn't allowed himself to feel in a long time. Fear, uncertainty, confusion. What could happen?
What if he did something wrong? If he failed at this task in some way. The innocent life he now held could be lost. It would be his fault and he wouldn't be able to change it. All of this and more raced through his mind, and his breathing began to quicken, his heart racing. He felt anxiety wash over him. This wasn't meant to happen. He wasn't normally like this. He was always so in control. Then he felt two smaller hands close over his and gently ease them closer to his chest until he was cradling the baby bird closer, his whole body a shield against a world of dangers that could befall an innocent life.
Emily had watched him panic, watched him almost cave in on himself. It was such a huge change from the man that was normally in control. "It's ok. I'm not going to let you fail" she kept their hands like that and smiled at him with warmth and reassurance "I think he was lost; he was alone when I found him. I kept him over here" she took her hands away only for a moment and showed him over to what amounted to a makeshift coop. Some of the other ravens were already using it, but inside she'd made a little nest. With a hand on his she guided him over and together they put the little bird inside "He'll be fine as long as someone looks after him. I don't think he has parents anymore." As he'd done with Keke, though only able to do with a single finger, he gently caressed the little thing's head, making it peep even more "I suppose you would want that someone to be me?" he gave her a knowing look, though quickly returned his gaze to what was now his new charge "I think that would be great. Learning to care for another living thing is a very big step."
He'd never given his birds a second thought. They had Diablo to fend for them, almost like a pack leader to wolves. Upon seeing his master, said bird came and landed nearby, angling its head this way and that at seeing him with a youngling. "Don't look at me like that. You'd do the same thing if you were in a position to do so" Diablo cawed and hopped over to the top of the little hut, tapping it with his beak "Stop that, you'll scare him" Again another caw as the giant bird took off. "I'm not sure if it's him or not, but then who can tell at this age" he was mostly speaking to himself but knowing Emily was there to listen made him continue on. "Abandoned…by the very ones meant to protect you. Left to die…. left to wonder if you'd ever see tomorrow. By chance you were found by someone as kind and good as an angel. Anyone else would have left you or even worse, put you out of your misery. You survived. That makes you a survivor. Just like me" Diablo came back, only this time he clutched what looked like a dead carcass in his mouth. "Well, look at that. Come to help me I see? Not sure what to do with that thing, he's not that big"
Emily stepped forward and after a deep breath, took the dead thing with her finger tips "A bit of grinding and I'm sure he'll be able to swallow the meat." together they did what they could to feed him and make sure he was settled for the night "I'll come to check on you in the morning little one" he left him there, though as they walked away cast a glance over his shoulder. Diablo stood by dutifully to make sure he would stay safe "Thank you, old friend. I'm glad someone I trust is watching" Once back inside they began to head back to the lobby, dinner would be served soon. "You did wonderfully." she beamed at him as she flew backwards so she could face him "Every little bit helps and today you did a lot. Your progress will show others you are capable of changing. They might even…" her face fell when she saw him.
He looked so crestfallen, so sad. She put her hand on his arm, noticing that this time he didn't flinch at her touch "Caine?" he didn't say anything, but she could tell there was a storm behind his eyes "Is that what I am? A lost little bird? A helpless little animal?" he looked up and into her eyes "Is that what you see me as?" She came to land back on the floor "No! Of course not" she stepped forward to reassure him and he wrenched his arm from her hold "You're a good person. You're capable of such good things. But you've been so lost down here that you lost sight of what you're able to do with just a little trust and a little faith. You have to learn to care, to let people in again and to give trust without expecting anything in return." She placed both her hands on his arm this time and was relieved that he didn't move away from her again.
"I know it's hard for you…" He looked straight into her eyes, his narrowed "What could you possibly know about being alone. About torture, cruelty, neglect. About ten thousand years of it, having to scrape out my own way, my own path" he'd had to endure more than one lifetime of what any person went through in just one. "The way down here is kill or be killed. Gain power before those that have it realize you don't. Strike a deal to stay alive, be damn sure the debt is paid off before it can be used against you. So, you'll have to excuse me if I know nothing of care, kindness, or compassion. All these things you seem to take for granted every day can get you killed down here or worse." He saw the hurt in her eyes, looking away, closing his own and this time gently moving out of her hold "I'm sorry ser…" he mentally chastised himself. He knew her name, but just refused to use it. "I'm sorry, Emily, but there are things about Hell you couldn't possibly know or want to know. Those of us that have been down here the longest, are lucky enough to make it to the next day, know that it takes a cold heart and a steel blade to get by not nice words and empty promises of glory and eternity."
He hated to leave her like that, but he just wasn't up to spending a night at dinner with a bunch of strangers. He closed the door to his room a bit harsher than he meant to and just collapsed into a chair by the fireplace. A quick turn of his hand and he had in it a tumbler of some kind of alcohol, neat, and about half the glass. All it took was one sip and he sighed "Make it quick Alastor before I really lose my temper" Of course the radio demon would choose now to make an unwelcome appearance.
"Why when you didn't come down to dinner I was concerned. I thought I'd check on our newest resident. Everything's going well I hope?" That sickeningly sweet false concern was dripping from his mouth and Caine could hear it in every word "I prefer to be alone if it's alright with you?" He didn't even look in his direction, just stared into the fire "Oh it is, it is. Just thought I'd check in on you. Funny, when Emily came into the dining room, I half expected you to be trailing behind her" The glass in Caine's hand shattered and the amber liquid sprayed everywhere. "Alastor, I'm warning you…" He didn't need to say anymore, he'd gotten everything he came for "Well I'll leave you to your rest then." As Alastor opened the door to leave, he didn't notice Keke sneak in and jump up into Caine's lap "You keep finding me, don't you?" he scratched between her ears, noticing it was her favorite "What is your obsession with me I wonder?" His eyes widened when she turned into a little key in a puff of magic, landing in his palm. "That…. was…. unexpected" He turned it over in his hand "What do you unlock little friend?"