Stolas' only solace besides Octavia in his adulthood were the times where he could talk to and see his best friend…his best friend turned lover, Blitzo.
Stolas slowly opened his eyes as he lay on his bed. He sat up and groaned loudly with his head in his hands. He pulled at his baggy eyes and pushed aside the sheets. With a tired expression, he slipped on his red robe and red slippers…and stared at himself in the mirror.
Broken. Blank. Barely alive.
He brushed his feathery head with a hand and took out a pink bottle. It was a pill bottle labeled "Belphegor's Hard Candy Happy Pills," Hell's version of antidepressants. He popped a couple into his mouth and slouched on.
He wandered over to his bookshelf and grabbed the grimoire from the top shelf. He opened it and the glowing constellations appeared from the book in front of him.
Stolas didn't notice Blitzo just outside a pink glass window. His eyes darted around until they widened at the sight of Stolas and the grimoire. Stolas snapped the book shut and continued on his way.
Blitzo frantically tried to pull open the window. When Stolas yawned and walked away, Blitzo gave him an angry look, hands against the pane.
For the sake of his business and his survival…and for the chance to finally see horses…he had to get that grimoire!
Stolas walked toward a door with three white stars on it. He slowly opened it and smiled at the sight of a sleeping teen Octavia. She lay peacefully with her eyes closed, just like she did as a young girl. Her rug was dotted with constellations, her purple sheets had crescent moons and stars on them, and a hanging planet mobile hung from the ceiling. White unlit candles were attached to the walls. Stolas smiled and gently closed the door. He walked into the kitchen and picked up a copper pot to make coffee in. Stella was talking on her feathery pink rotary phone. An imp held the phone stand.
"I know we're together, but it seems like I'm married to a fucking board. Stolas just lazes around and pouts. Everyone else gets better-mannered spouses. I know still being married isn't a big enough occasion, but to be fair, it's no picnic being married to a boring stiff like Stolas." She glared at him before turning back. Stolas opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a finger and turned away.
Stolas poured his coffee into a blue mug with yellow stars on it. He sat at a table and took a sip of his coffee, using his magic to flip open a newspaper. A headline read "NOT DIVORCED ANNIVERSARY PARTY! Couples Only."
"Stella, what in hell is this?" Stolas asked in disgust.
"Urgh Stolas, you know I like throwing parties. Plus, it's true so, you can come if you want." She flipped back her long white feathery hair and walked away, beak-nose in the air.
Stolas dropped his newspaper and groaned in disgust. He figured he'd get it over with. He sipped his coffee…
…and several hours later, he sipped wine from a glass at the party. Verosika's sultry music theme from Spring Broken played in the background. Bird-like demons wearing royal garb chatted together in groups around the chamber-like room. A gray quail and a smaller blue parrot-like being danced together, both wearing fancy suits with long trims at the ends. The parrot held his partner under him in a dance. There were silver curtains hanging by the glass windows and spiral silver plants were displayed in pots. A female imp was serving a drink to a lady wearing a yellow dress, while another imp held two wine glasses on a platter. Another lady wore a magenta dress, fancy golden gloves and pink tips in her white feathery hair. She was with a gentleman bird who wore a matching magenta coat.
Near the crystal spiral chandelier, Stella and two white birds dressed in formal attire were laughing and holding wine glasses in their hands. They loved gossiping and dressing up. Stella wore her usual white dress with a pink top and her gold crown on her head. The yellow-eyed woman owl wore a pink dress and a pearl necklace, while the male white bird wore a tuxedo and had yellow eyes.
Stella laughed loudly as she gossiped. "No! Stolas is terrible in bed! I swear to fuck he just lays there staring at the wall, and I have to do everything! It's embarrassing!" She sighed. "I'm glad one egg fell out of me so I could stop pretending to want to fuck his scrawny twig ass."
Stella gulped down her drink and tossed her wine glass at the window, causing it to shatter. All three royals laughed loudly, while a grumpy Stolas stood stiffly under a blue banner reading "Not Divorced!"
The three white birds walked off, Stella in the middle. Stella turned back and sneered at Stolas. "What a pathetic fucking man! Ha!"
Stolas seethed and made hawk-like bird noises.
Stella talked with her friends some more. "Poor people! Ugh! I'm so glad they're not allowed in this thing! I don't want them anywhere near me. Can you imagine if you didn't have money?" She laughed derogatively.
An imp waitress with black hair in a long ponytail, a white shirt and a black bowtie walked over. Stolas held up a finger.
"Do you have anything stronger than this?"
"We have absinthe, your highness," she said nervously. She held out a plate bordered by a design of moons and constellations. Three gray dead mice on skewers lay on the plate.
Stolas placed his empty glass on the plate.
"Bring me all of it."
Stolas grabbed all three mice kababs and stuffed them into his mouth in one bite.
The imp hurried off as Stolas chewed.
The female imp shoved a male imp waiter forward toward Stolas. He caught a flying cup on the platter. Nervously, the imp poured a green alcoholic beverage into a small cup from a green heart-shaped flask on a platter. Stolas instead grabbed the flask and proceeded to gulp down as much absinthe as he could.
"Stolas, sir?" asked a male voice.
Stolas spat out the drink and coughed.
"I'm fine!" the waiter called.
Stolas saw two bi-pedal guards, one with a doberman head and a collar around his neck, the other gray and wolf-like. Both wore dark suits with neckties and dark sunglasses. In-between the guards, horns coated with mud and a yellow flower was none other than…
Blitzo!
"We got this nasty imp trying to sneak into your chambers," said the wolf. "What should we do with him?"
Blitzo smiled nervously at Stolas.
Stolas' face turned pink. His heart fluttered.
"Into my chambers? Really? Oh well that is concerning," Stolas pondered then cleared his throat. "Leave him to me." His face turned pinker as he smirked. "I'll deal with him accordingly."
The guards dropped Blitzo and the doberman lowered his head in disappointment.
Blitzo stared up at Stolas on the floor as Stolas' silhouette came over him.
"Follow me, imp," Stolas deadpanned. Blitzo did so, looking very out of place at the fancy soiree. He folded his arms around himself.
Blitzo glanced at the portraits that lined the hall.
Stolas appeared in a gloomy father-son portrait, wearing a suit and a serious expression. His father Paimon appeared in red in the golden mirror in Stolas' hands. In another portrait, Stolas wore his red royal cape and vest and his crown with a black top hat. Stella wore an elegant white dress, a red necklace and earrings, and a gold crown with a purple gem on her head topped with black feathers. Her thick eyelashes extended past her face. Stolas held the grimoire in his hands, and both wore annoyed scowls. In sharp contrast, Stolas and a young Octavia were smiling in the cosmos by a ringed planet in another portrait. Pink magic light zipped around them.
Blitzo held up his hands. "Look I-I didn't mean to interrupt your whatever party, I was just trying to…"
"Don't bother with excuses. I know why you were here," Stolas replied.
Blitzo's face froze with fear. "You do?"
This was it. He was going to get ratted out for breaking in and trying to steal the book.
Stolas opened the door to his bedroom, holding it open for Blitzo. Blitzo wandered inside and Stolas shut the door behind him.
"Yes," Stolas smirked with a crooning pose, arm to his head. "You were here to ravish me, weren't you?"
Blitzo stared in disbelief. "Uhhhh…you?"
Stolas looked at Blitzo with curiosity. "Why else would you be breaking into my room? You could've asked to visit, you know. It's been a long time, but I have a very good memory." He clapped his hands and a candelabra lit up.
Blitzo then noticed the grimoire with the fancy blue and gold spine with a red gem in the center. It was on the highest shelf. His eyes widened.
Blitzo grinned and decided to play along. "Oh yeah…yeah, well, uh you know, I figured, you know since you're a prince and all, it might just be easier to scale the walls and slip on in." He crouched closer and posed with his hand behind his head. His eyebrows bounced. "It certainly is easier than going through your fucking staff." He briefly winced in pain.
"One would think you might be here for nefarious reasons," Stolas smirked, wiggling his fingers. He lowered his voice in a seductive tone, "...if you are sneaking in during the cover of night."
Blitzo grinned. "Oh, I wanted to crash the party and it's always more fun, you know, to make an entrance."
Stolas glided over to a heart-shaped couch and Blitzo rushed over to sit by him. "I recall how you enjoy making an entrance." Blitzo brushed off dirt on his shoulder.
"I know we may have hung out in our teen years a bit and started to fall in love…well at least I did for sure since it's not easy being alone," Stolas mused. "But still, it's been so long since I've last seen my favorite entertainer." Stolas tilted his head. "Last time I remember seeing you, you were with teen Fizzarolli at the circus. Are you still a circus clown?"
Blitzo scoffed. "Oh no, not anymore. No." He grinned. "I kill people now."
Stolas chuckled nervously and pulled away slightly. "Oh, how afraid should I be?"
Blitzo spotted the book again.
"Well, I mean…" he then spoke in a seductive tone. "How afraid do you want to be?" He touched Stolas' fingers with his own, leaning in closer with a sharp-toothed sexy grin.
"Oh well, um well I uh," Stolas stuttered as Blitzo crawled forward, backing him into a corner on the couch. "I was teasing. I don't really…"
"You seem pretty tense," Blitzo mused. He gently pushed apart Stolas' long legs. "How about I help you out there?"
Blitzo placed his hands on Stolas' knees.
Stolas flushed and left the couch. Blitzo fell to the floor. "Um you get, you know this is, um, getting a wee bit, is it hot?" He used his finger to pull on his furry spotted part at the top of his robe. Blitzo inched closer and closer. "I'm starting to feel it getting very hot."
Blitzo slammed him against the bookshelf, pinning him.
"Oh! What are you doing?"
Blitzo watched as the grimoire wobbled on the shelf before it fell and bounced off to the side.
"I barely remember you name," said Stolas. Blitzo glanced at the book off to the side.
Blitzo grinned…he had an idea.
He used the ladder to zoom to the side, lowering Stolas in a ballroom dance dip.
"It's Blitz."
Blitzo used his pointed tail to grab hold of the book.
Stolas began, "Didn't it have an 'o' at the end like a clown name? I remember…oh!"
Blitzo and Stolas tripped and fell off the ladder. Blitzo hit the floor and the book bounced off. Stolas hit the side of his bed with his back as he stumbled backwards. The book slid to a stop on the pinkish purple starry floor. Stolas lifted up his head and Blitzo pinned him onto the bed.
"Yeah well it's silent now, okay?" Blitzo stated, his long snake-like tongue sticking out. So call me…Blitz."
Stolas stuttered and chuckled nervously as Blitzo pursued him further down the bed. The red sheets bore the Goetia family sigil.
"Okay, Blitz, what are you doing to me?" Stolas asked as Blitzo crawled toward him. Blitzo spotted the book off to the side.
"What do you want me to do to you?"
"I, uh well," Stolas stuttered. Stolas looked to see a blank spot where his grimoire used to be. Blitzo caught onto Stolas' suspicion and distracted him…with a large bite to his feathery neck!
Stolas' face turned bright pink, he flustered and moaned. Sweat poured down his face. "Oh my fuck! Oh wow!" He collapsed into the bed. "Oh you are so forward, Blitz!" Stolas could feel the heated hints of an erection.
Stolas began to sit up. "Oh, what are we doing?"
Blitzo, bent over the edge trying to get the book, saw Stolas and leaped onto him.
"No! No! Stay down, dammit!" Blitzo gripped Stolas' arms.
"Oh, so you like to command, you like being in charge, hm?"
"Yeah, I sure do," Blitzo replied. He grinned and reached out his hand for the book…
Stolas suddenly bounced Blitzo in the air with his feathery butt and moved him sideways.
"Oh, so you're a kinky little imp, aren't you? Do you like it when I talk dirty to you? I want you to f*** me with your **** **… Get it me through…"
Blitzo turned Stolas' head around and covered his mouth with his hand. "No. Stop it."
"Yes, if that's what Blitzy wants," Stolas replied.
Thinking fast, Blitzo grabbed the curtain from the bed poster and ripped it. He made strips and tied them around Stolas' eyes.
"Blitzy! Oh, my, yes!" Stolas moaned in pleasure, BDSM fantasies rummaging through his head. Blitzo tied Stolas' hands and feet to the bed as well.
"Oh, I've never had anyone want me this way," Stolas mused.
Blitzo grabbed the grimoire and started to leave. He looked around.
Stolas smiled and sighed. "You have no idea how long I've craved this kind of passion, and how much it means that the one who wants me is…my first ever friend…"
Blitzo froze. Like Stolas, he didn't really have any friends. Could he actually become friends with someone so different in status? At the moment, he felt a sort of pity for the bird prince.
Blitzo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, I can do this real fast."
The Morning After 'Real Fast'…
Blitzo snuck out of the room as Stolas slept, feathers shedding. "I got the book, I got the book, I got this fucking heavy book," Blitzo whispered with a grin as he snuck toward the window. He placed the book on the ledge and climbed on top…
The book started to lean forward and fall.
"Oh shit!" Blitzo cried.
There was a big splat as Blitzo crashed into the fancy teal cake that was present at the tea party with Stella and her white elite friends. They sat in pink heart chairs. Stolas rose out of bed and looked outside.
"Sorry I fucked your husband!" Blitzo called to Stella before running for his life with the grimoire.
Stella turned to Blitzo in a fury, brown tea splattered all over the royals' faces and clothes.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT STOLAS?!" Stella fumed. She smashed her teacup onto the cobblestone ground.
Stolas grinned in victory. "That…was the sound… of a FUCKING DIVORCE!"
In one swipe, he ripped the blue banner in half.
The "Still Not Divorced!" banner now read "Divorced!" in gold.
Stolas held his arms in the air and laughed in triumph.