"Now," Alastor said as he closed the door behind them. "What can I help you with?"

It was obvious that he'd noticed her distress by how he put space between them, Alastor wandering into the center of his room; His casual air was carefully constructed, and as much as she appreciated that he wasn't pushing her, it wasn't helping. Clover breathed slowly, settling her back against the nearest wall as she distracted herself with his room- Which didn't help either when the sudden shift of hardwood to peat moss and the soft chirping of crickets from the large opening into what looked like a bayou raised even more questions for her already occupied thoughts to ponder; Hopefully, they'd be civil enough to have that conversation later.

Clover pulled the photograph from her chest, peeking down at the image just in case the whole thing had been some sort of hallucination, but the man staring back at her from behind the thin plastic protective screen was still the same warm-skinned, human Alastor she'd seen before. Gathering her courage, Clover took incredible interest in her shoes as they shuffled against his floor so she wouldn't have to meet his eye, and decided to just get it over with.

"Al- What did you look like before you died?"

When she looked up again, Clover found herself nose-to-nose with the Radio Demon.

She crushed the photo to her chest as she flinched away from him, running into the wall behind her so hard it rattled the photographs hung above. Alastor loomed over her, his hands tucked behind his back and his head tilted unnaturally at one side; Despite the intimidating move he'd made, he seemed calm, and that made Clover even more afraid of what might come next.

Alastor's voice was backlit with static, too loud and too close to her ears as he crowded further into her personal space.

"Why?"

"I-" Clover's throat constricted around her words, belittling her voice to a squeak; This was not going well. " I don't know what happened, or why but…"

Shaking fingers flipped the photo to face him, an offering of explanation when words failed them both.

She had no idea what to expect from him. Alastor had a temper, that much she'd gathered from his broadcasts and the terrifying tales others had told her, but Alastor was also cunning, chillingly collected; Would she get the more explosive option, where he would strike her down for daring to overstep their brittle boundaries, or would he take a more agonizing approach? Drip poison into her ear with his words and allow it to eat away at her for weeks to come until she begged forgiveness? He could slowly pick her apart, tearing pieces off at his whim, and Clover wasn't sure she'd be able to blame him for it-

All she knew was that either option would have been better than the silence he was currently subjecting her to.

Alastor was shockingly still, head cocked to one side and his expression warped, his mouth attempting to twist down at the corners while never dropping his smile. Wide eyes were glued to the photograph, the Radio Demon's dial-like pupils twisting over the features of his fallen self while his frequency stuttered with interference. The expression broke Clover's heart; Since they'd met, she'd never seen him show any emotion that did not fit under the labels of "passive-aggressive pleasantry" , "thinly veiled threats" or "toxic positivity" , not even during their somewhat emotionally confusing moment regarding the rose. It was quiet for far too long, and when the shadows started to shift in the corners of her vision, her anxious mouth began to run at full speed.

"I'm really, really sorry, please believe me when I say I never meant for this to happen- All I did was take a picture! I've taken others and they were all normal, I don't know why it came out this way. Cross my heart, I wouldn't invade your privacy like that, I just wanted to see if you'd let me use traditional photography and I had no idea that i-"

"Quiet."

The voice that interrupted her nervous babbling didn't come from the man standing in front of her- It echoed inside her skull, vibrating into her bone like the bellow of an ancient beast and sending a cold chill down her spine. Her ears pivoted in search of the sounds source, eyes trained on the sharpness of Alastor's grimacing smile just to make sure the stress hadn't driven her mad; He'd not said a word, nor moved an inch, his eyes still trained on the photograph she held with shaking fingers.

She nearly dropped it when movement in the corner of her eye turned Clover's head, and she found another set of eyes looking back at her.

Glowing green hovered just inches from her nose, a ghastly face of dark shadows that shimmered like summer heat. Clover could barely make out its shape against the room's dark paneling, the low light catching the edges of sharp antlers and wide shoulders as its form leaned out from behind Alastor. Its wicked grin grew wider as it watched her wide eyes struggle to make sense of it- She realized it had been holding up a dark finger in a sarcastic shushing fashion when it reached out to press it to her lips, and Clover had to fight against the urge to recoil at the sharp sting of cold that came with it's touch.

Clover was shocked, but not surprised- Living shadows weren't that far of a stretch when she added it all together, from the occasional feeling of being watched by darkened corners to the voodoo aesthetics Alastor tended towards. Today she'd learned so much about him unprompted, and none of it confused nor concerned her as much as the photograph currently being pried from between her fingers by sharp claws. She gave the photo a final glance, hoping to burn the details of it into her mind before whatever it was he decided to do with it took it from her forever, and her eyes narrowed as she noticed the strange shadow her flash had cast on the wall behind his human form; A shadow with familiar antlers, and a sharp smile.

Her list of mysteries was growing longer by the minute.

Alastor turned the photo thoughtfully between his claws, glancing over his image briefly before adjusting his monocle and investigating the film itself. The shadow continued to hover between them, its shape swaying to and fro as the torturous silence drug on-

"I believe you," Alastor suddenly said. "Now, where did you get that camera?"

The relief nearly knocked her to the floor, Clover scrambling to remain vertical as her back slid against the door and her voice breathless as she answered him.

"Some pawn shop near the café, it was in the window with a bunch of other junk. I got it on the day that y-" Clover sharply cut off before her tongue slipped- Now was not the time to reveal that she knew what he'd done that day. Alastor seemed to be either unaware of her mistake or unbothered enough to avoid it, so Clover disguised her stumbling with a sharp clearing of her throat before continuing to press her luck. "On the day there was that murder near the Colony- Did you hear about that? It was so bad Cyrus closed the café that day, so I went shopping instead."

"I did! Rosie mentioned it the last time I joined her for tea, it sounded like it was quite the gory affair," A flicker of fear lit the fire that burned beneath her ribcage, fueling her heart rate to quicken once again- The comment was so casual, but the crooked twist to his smile banished any doubt, as little as there was, that Alastor was responsible for the slaughter. Alastor's turned sharply to the shadow and it sank beneath the door as he continued, his voice low and heavy with radio static. "Who else have you photographed with this?"

"Just Charlie, and like- My shoes, but that doesn't count."

The soft laugh he gave her explanation lessened the tension between them, but Clover's nerves were still wound tight with the instinct to run at the first sign of ill intent from her fiendish friend- The feeling was confusing when combined with the fluttering his proximity set into her stomach, Alastor so close she had to crane her neck back to look at him and his breath blew the stray, curling pieces of her hair that framed her face.

"Well then," Her ears twitched forward to better hear him, Alastor's voice soft and low as he spoke. "It seems we'll have to work together to solve this little mystery."

On cue, the door slammed open beside them.

"What the hell Al?!" Angel was dragged into the room, high heels catching on the carpet as he ripped his arm from the shadow's grasp. "Ya' can't just snatch a guy outta' bed like 'dat without any warnin', ya fuckin' shadow scared me halfta' de- Oh. "

Angel's mouth dropped open as he noticed the compromising position they'd had found themselves in, and Clover begged for death to come for her again when that shocked expression shifted into a fanged smirk as Angel began to tease.

"Well, well, well, Smiles, I neva' expected this to be how ya' invited me tuh' bed- But if a threesome's what you're into, I could be persuaded to get on board with the broad, as long as you let me su-"

"̶A̷n̸g̸e̶l̵.̵"̶

Alastor's voice was filled with heavy static, warping the name into a terrifying, bastardized command as his neck twisted impossibly towards Angel with a sick crack. Angel shared a panicked glance with Clover as Alastor removed himself from her personal space, his voice returning to its normal, cheerful cadence as he turned to address their effeminate friend.

"We have a favor to ask of you- Would you kindly take our picture?"

"Uh- Sure?"

It was only when he placed her camera into Angel's raised hands that she realized the weight of it was missing from around her neck, Clover looked dumbly downward to double check and found the front of her sweater instead of the white and rainbow casing of her camera. There was no time to question when exactly he'd taken it from her before Alastor reappeared beside her with a soft pop and wound an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side as he turned them both towards Angel Dust

"Smile, my dear!"

A familiar theatrical tune clicked on from his radio to punctuate the moment, and Clover couldn't stop herself from laughing at how suddenly he'd shifted tone- The camera's flash startled her, blooming red across her vision as she sputtered. The weight against her side left as quickly as it had come, leaving behind the feeling of claws clutching her side and the buzz of static that tingled her skin where she'd been forced to lean into him. When her vision cleared, Alastor was pulling the photograph from the camera and examining it between his claws: Angel looked as confused as Clover felt when Alastor snatched the camera back from him, all eight eyes looking between the two of them as audible gears turned beneath fluffy white fur.

"Is anyone gonna' tell me what da' hell is goin' on?" Angel shouted through grinding teeth, finally fed up with Alastor's games.

"Just a moment!" Alastor replied, seeming entirely unbothered by the whole affair as he handed Clover her camera with a cheerful smile. "Now! Would you be so kind as to allow the little lady to take your portrait?"

"Sure- Why the fuck not."

Angel's voice was as flat as his expression until it shifted with practiced ease, slim hips tilting seductively as Angel draped himself across an armchair and continued on with an enthusiastic growl.

"How do ya' want me, Deer Daddy?"

Clover tried to silence her hiccupping laugh, but the loud slap of her hand over her mouth drew attention anyway; Alastor's ears twitched towards her as his radio screeched, and the movement was quickly followed by a sharp turn of his head, his brow raising expectantly she fumbled to get her camera into position. Angel Dust seemed to get the message, keeping his posture the same but breaking into a radiant smile as the camera flashed.

"You know Al, that kinda' shit usually costs people," Angel said as soon as the photo had begun to print. "You're lucky I like ya', photos with a star like me's are worth a pretty penny."

"That is all Angel, you are free to leave."

She jumped at how closer Alastor's voice was to her ear, but she didn't take her eyes off the slowly developing photograph- They'd made a pact, and even though the closeness made her heart relocate to her throat, Clover was comfortable with having Alastor as near to her as he chose to be. A soft hissing signaled Angel's annoyance, his heels planting into the carpet with a soft thud as stubbornness took root.

"Wait a damn minute! What the hell is goin' on here? You twos are bein' weirder than usual."

"All in good time," Alastor replied. "Now, you may return to whatever it was you were doing before we interrupted."

Angel's feet shuffled towards the door, muttering something under his breath as he opened the door before raising his voice one last time.

"Will ya' at least tell me if I look alright?"

"You look great Angel," Clover hoped he believed her to be as honest as she was as she looked up from the photograph to give him a grateful smile. "I promise- Thank you for helping."

Angel gave one last suspicious look between the two of them before he shrugged off their strangeness and disappeared out the open door with a lazy roll of his eyes. The swung shut behind him, Alastor's shadow twisting itself around the doorknob until the sharp click of a lock echoed through the room; Clover should have felt more intimidated by the motion, she knew that for a fact, but she was too invested in the ending to this small mystery they'd fallen into together.

Looking back down at the photo, the plot thickened.

The photograph did not show the four-armed spider demon that had left the room. It was instead of a picture of a bright younger man, with angelic blonde curls that framed bright eyes and freckled cheeks. The lopsided smile and sparkle was unmistakably Angel Dust, not even the dingy, dark pinstriped suit his lively image had manifested in was enough to disguise her foul-mouth friend.

"Well?" Alastor peered over her shoulder, his radio stations flickering almost anxiously. "What have you deduced, my dear? Is it our fellow acquaintance Angel Dust?"

"It is. And what about the other one? Is it- Us?"

Alastor produced the other photograph with a flick of his fingers, holding it out in front of them for her to consider; It was them, exactly as they were now.

"I don't understand," Clover took the picture from him, flipping it around to double-check the film before comparing it to her photo of Angel. Both photographs were taken in the same room, with the same light, on the same film- So why was it that only one of them had been altered? "Ours is normal, but Angel's- Why is this happening?"

"Dear, the answer is quite obvious! While the camera may involved, the change has something to do with you!"

" I just took a picture, I didn't mean to- Do this. "

"The fact that you seem to be entirely unaware of it is even more curious- Even so! It is a fitting little trick for you, though I would be quite careful with who you reveal it to. Many demons aren't as forgiving to being found out for who they were before."

"But Charlie's photo didn't change, why would that be?"

"Well, Miss Morningstar is Hellborn, dear. There is no 'before' to show, she's always existed just as she is- Or, perhaps, Sinners are the only ones you affect."

Clover was met with a fantastical idea, one far too romantic for a life in hell- She paused her assumptions for now, needing time to reflect on it all before she made a decision on what the fuck this might mean. How a demon gathered their power was still something she'd not dared to delve into, all she knew was that it was often taken by those who craved it, not given freely. She looked to Alastor as the pin-board of her mind grew cluttered, and found him smiling patiently down at her, seeming to have entirely forgotten any discomfort he'd shown before in the face of a far more entertaining situation. Even so, Clover was not satisfied that the conflict was well and truly closed.

"I promise I didn't know, Al, and I'm so-"

"Now, now- Do not fret, dear. I've already said that I believe you, and we should leave it at that."

"I know I just- Feel bad for invading your privacy like that when you were being so nice to indulge me. I won't tell anyone, and I don't need the photos, you can keep them- Not that they're not nice! You photograph really well, actually- You're really pleasant to look at if you don't mind me saying."

Alastor's radio stopped with a record scratch, his eyes blinking at the sudden compliment as he looked down at her. Clover could have slapped herself for saying such a thing, for not restraining her anxious babbling and need to please others from terrorizing her sanity- She was far too honest for her own good sometimes, and if she continued to let the habit run wild around the Radio Demon, it was going to end up getting her in more trouble than ever before.

Just as the moment became unbearable, it ended; The radio jumped to life with the kick of a drum as Alastor headed towards the door, the lock clicking open with a flick of his wrist.

"Well, I have no use for them. Keep them, for all I care! Now-" He turned to her again, holding the door open as shadows curled around her feet, gently nudging her towards their exit with the cold whip of their tendrils. Clover looked between him and the open door, relieved that he seemed at ease despite her slip of the tongue. "I think we both deserve a drink. Shall we?"

"...Only if you explain why the fuck there's a swamp in your room afterward."