Lapine sat in the bottommost two floors of a tall building flanked by even more tall buildings in the urban district closest to the V Tower. When open, the club was dimly lit by shifting colors of warm light. The reds, purples, and pinks reflected off accents of white scattered throughout on velvet pillows, suede couches, and sexy silhouettes painted in murals on the walls.
The far wall was occupied by a stage that stretched up through both floors. It was a black semicircle framed by red velvet curtains that extended out into a catwalk surrounded by chairs, round tables, and couches.
Sat against the leftmost wall was a long black bar. Its sleek surface reflected the pulsing lights of the club. It was generally so busy that Harlene had to have it staffed by at least three demons at all times.
The second floor was visible from the ground as an overhang. It was a u-shaped balcony ringed by even more tables and chairs. The walls of the second floor held doors, behind each was a private room where her employees could take clients for "alone time."
Each of the eight floors above the two-story club were apartments, the topmost being Harlene's own penthouse. Every one of her employees—each dancer, server, deejay, stagehand, bartender, and sex worker—lived there if they chose, giving Harlene a piece of their earnings for access to an entire apartment.
The demons that Harlene employed had made their own unique deals with her; she owned each of their souls.
Harlene was lucky enough to own the entire building. Miraculously, she was able to buy it within a year of her deal with Vox. She believed she put it to good use. The demons who lived and worked with her never had to do a thing that they wouldn't want to, worked as much as they needed to maintain their own habits, and were protected from having to make more unsavory deals with Overlords like Valentino who would more than likely abuse them.
The rabbit demon walked through the blacked out double doors much later than she normally did. Her visit to the Hazbin Hotel took up more time than she had expected. Looking around the room, she adjusted the straps of her short, sleeveless white dress. Her hair and ears were pulled back gently into a ponytail, showcasing the circle of red jewels around her neck. She walked the length of the club top and bottom a few times, greeting regulars with a silken smile and checking in on her employees as she went.
After a while, she settled behind the busy bar, picking up orders with her bartenders. She only took care of surplus customers, just to keep things running smoothly, and intended on splitting her tips with each of them.
She had just finished serving a small group of demons a round of shots when Vesper, one of her servers, leaned across the bar to get her attention, "Ma'am we have a bit of a problem."
Harlene wiped her hands on a towel and made her way out from around the bar. She examined the face of the small bat-like demon, their usual snarky attitude was replaced by a furrowed brow and stiff shoulders. Harlene grasped their hand, "What is it, love?"
Vesper looked over their own shoulder and upon following their gaze, it was clear what the problem was.
A much bigger demon had Delphene, one of Harlene's sex workers, by the wrist in a grip that was unmistakably uncomfortable. She watched as he yanked at her arm, pulling her onto his lap and sliding his free hand up her skirt. Delphene pushed back against his chest, but it wasn't enough for her to create space between the two of them.
A fire ignited in Harlene's stomach.
"I'll handle this, Vesper," Harlene patted the bat demon's hand reassuringly, "Stay at the bar for a moment, please."
The rabbit demon made her way across the club, strappy red heels clicking sharply over the music. She sensed her employees watching her determined stride but didn't break her concentration on Delphene and the bigger demon.
The closer she got, the clearer his face was. His features were boar-like; large tusks curling out from his bottom lip, hoofed feet, coarse hair covering his body. A pair of thin, bat-like wings sprawled lazily across the back of the couch where he held Delphene trapped on his lap. He seemed to be arguing with the smaller demon, wriggling his hand further up her skirt.
Harlene put on her sweetest smile to lay a hand on the shoulder of the much bigger demon, "Hello, darling," she purred at his drunken expression, willing him with her red eyes to turn his focus to her, "I'm the owner of the club. Is there a problem I can help you with?"
The boar demon blinked stupidly, his unfocused eyes sliding lazily to Harlene's cleavage back to her red-lipped smile. He slurred simply, "She's givin' me a problem."
"Oh? Well, that just won't do," she ran a hand down his arm to where he still gripped Delphene's wrist, gently loosening his fingers and guiding her off his lap, "I'll make sure to take care of her," she promised, injecting a placating sweetness into her voice. Harlene had to hold in a scowl as the demon grinned tauntingly at Delphene.
She reached up to cup one of the taller demon's cheeks in her hand, "Go wait in my office, love. I'll be there soon."
Delphene gave a small smile, ducking away quickly towards a door in the rightmost corner of the club, right next to the stage.
"Now," she coaxed the drunk demon to his feet, placing a hand on his chest and batting her eyelashes up at him. He stood nearly two feet taller than her and his chest was much wider, "How about you come back here with me? I want a piece of you."
He grinned stupidly, placing a meaty hand on her lower back. His fingers spanned almost the entire width of her, "Lead the way, little bunny."
The flame in Harlene's core raged but she kept a sweet smile on her lips, letting the demon's hand shift lower to her exposed tail as she walked to the door.
Harlene's private room in the bar was lit by green Hellfire candles, sending soft flickering shadows across the black leather furniture. There was a sturdy four post frame bed, a soft couch, and a St. Andrews cross attached to the wall. She intentionally left ropes, whips, and toys lying about in convenient places, more for show than for use.
When the door closed behind the bigger demon, he locked it without asking her, turning to face her with a staggering movement. He left out a chuckle, wasting no time grabbing her waist roughly and lifting her up as if she were as light as a toddler. He sat unceremoniously on the couch, hauling her onto his lap. Harlene didn't struggle, letting the larger demon grab at her hips as he settled back into a comfortable position. He spread his batlike wings across the back cushions lazily.
"So, you wanna piece of me?" he grabbed her entire jaw in one hand, squeezing a little too hard. Harlene held down a scowl upon feeling him grow more excited through his pants. The fire raging in her stomach boiled up into her throat.
She grabbed his hand by the wrist and pinned it to the wall above him with surprising strength, freeing her face from his grasp. He shook his head and then grinned, "You wanna get put in your place, little rabbit?" he slurred, pushing his hips up against the space between her legs and rubbing his bulge against her.
With her free hand, she pulled up the side of her dress to expose her thigh, chuckling at the self-satisfied smile on the bigger demon's face, "Trust me, you overgrown pig, I know my place."
Under the skirt of her dress was a leather and lace garter holding an angelic steel blade. She wiggled the dagger free of its sheath, gripping the bigger demon's wrist tightly as he began to realize her intention. She pulled her hand back with a wild expression, relishing in the open-mouthed stupidity of the boar demon. With one quick motion, she shoved the dagger into the palm of his hand to the hilt, pinning it to the wall.
"What the f—" Harlene released his wrist, trusting the dagger to hold it in place and reeled back to strike the bigger demon with the back of her hand. Her rings left scratches across his cheek that slowly dripped blood. He sputtered, "You fucking bitch!"
She slid back off his lap to stand in front of him and adjusted the hem of her dress with theatric care. The boar demon watched her incredulously, blinking away the remaining stupor of the alcohol. He reached up to pull the dagger out only to have his free wrist gripped by a long, taloned hand.
Harlene stretched, her limbs growing long and bending in animalistic ways. Horns elongated out of the top of her head and out of her temples, pushing her hair out of her face and exposing fully black eyes. Her nose wrinkled, a snarl erupting past her growing fangs.
"Do you know your place?" she growled, steadying a foot on his chest and yanking at his forearm with both hands. She relished in his wild scream as she felt muscles tear and ligaments pop until his arm separated from his torso at the shoulder. Blood sprayed, soaking her white dress.
"You must not," she stomped her heeled shoe down between his legs, causing him to whimper. With a smooth movement she yanked the dagger out of his hand and the wall, relishing in the spray of blood, "If you did, you wouldn't have come here tonight and touched one of my people."
Harlene slashed the dagger across his cheek once, twice, three times before dragging it down the thin skin of one of his wings. She laughed at his yowls of pain, "No one can hear you, you absolute fucking waste."
She brought the dagger down to pierce his thigh, laughing at his pained wail, and pulled back. Blood sprayed from the wound.
"I'm sorry," the demon whined, pleading, grasping helplessly at the stump of his shoulder, "Please don't kill me."
"You don't want to die?" the suddenly sweet voice seemed alien coming from her elongated demonic form. Harlene stood back and tossed his arm onto the couch next to him. She delighted in the sight of him flinching away from the movement.
He shook his head vigorously, tears streaking down his face, "No ma'am."
Her lips twisted in a warped version of her usual saccharine smile, fangs flashing grotesquely.
The boar demon relaxed slightly, hopeful.
Harlene let out a sound that was more growl than laugh and lunged forward with claws and teeth.