.
Chapter 39:
Bonding over a blade
About 3 days had passed since the tense meeting with the other overlords where Lute's, or rather, Vendetta's whereabouts and new position as 3rd member of the Vee's were revealed as the hotel staff was brought up to speed of this new development and security had been strongly increased to not only secure the safety of the Morningstars, but the other residents of the hotel as well
Vaggie was leaning over a baluster of one of the balconies overlooking the lobby of the hazbin hotel, in her hands, an ornate looking scabbard that shone in an uncanny way when the light hit it.
As she ran her fingers over the embossed design, a flood of painful memories flashed through her mind as she flinched and began to reach for her eyepatch, recalling the events of her fall and the loss of half her vision….
"Cheers luv, hanging in there? You look like you just had to watch one of Angel's films again" She heard as Velvette would walk up next to her and join her as she leaned her elbows on the baluster.
As the short fashionista's eyes hovered over the scabbard, she smirked "Damn feathers, impressive looking blade. Where did you get that? Didn't you have a spear?...and why does it look….familiar…."
Vaggie glanced over to the doll demoness, once a cruel member of the Vee's, now a full supporter of the hotel and by this time, close friend of both her and her partner….she felt comfortable around her…safe….she could let her guard down….
"Sera….gave it to me…after the hearing…" she answered truthfully.
To this, Velvette would slowly raise her brow in realization "Wait….is that the blade that was used to clip Lute's wings?"
Vaggie would just nod as they sat in silence for a bit before she spoke up again "Sera thought it better if it were in the hands of someone who would do good with it…..but….i just can't wield it"
The social media overlord nodded "Eh, understandable I guess, you'd probably not feel too comfortable wielding it knowing what was done with it not long ago" as she shrugged "I guess it's the same with Ashley's axe. Neither of us know how many were struck down with it before she got her hands on it and honestly, the less we know, the better"
Vaggie winced "It's not just that…..her wings weren't just clipped….no….they were CLEAVED off…with her own damn sword…."
Velvette spoke up "Uhm, I know, Feathers. Remember? I was there? In the courtroom, during the hearing?" before her face dropped as she fell silent for a moment, recalling the time Vaggie told her about her fall "Wait….is that…."
Vaggie just nodded as she looked down at the sheathed blade "This is Lute's sword….the sword that disfigured me…the sword that took my eye…."
She said as she turned to Velvette and pulled up her eyepatch.
Velvette had seen Vaggie's empty socket before, she had gotten used to it and it didn't really freak her out as much. If anything, she felt sorry for what her friend had been through. But with this new knowledge of the past uses of this blade, she couldn't help but stare at the old wound before letting her eyes settle back onto the blade.
"Shit….Feathers….that's kinda messed up, girl….." as she put an arm around the fallen angel "Hey, you ok, Vaggie?"
Vaggie leaned into her friend "Yea….it's just….holding it feels…surreal…." As she looked at Velvette "Thanks….you're a good friend, you know that?" to which Velvette just responded "Hey…I try my best…" as she looked down over the lobby, seeing Charlie, currently deeply engaged into a group activity with a number of hotel residents before speaking up again "…..i had a good teacher" before she teasingly stuck her tongue out at the angel.
Vaggie would chuckle as she too let her gaze fall on her partner, Charlie "Yea…..she really is something else….." before Velvette took a deep sigh.
"But yea, I can understand ya don't feel comfortable wielding the weapon responsible for you having only 1 eye…..hey maybe it'd be in better hands with Charlie?"
Vaggie would snort through her nose and chuckle "You kidding? Why do you think Charlie wielded a shield during Adam's attack on the hotel? Don't get me wrong, I adore her, but Charlie's a pacifist, only resorting to violence when there's no other options left. She has no use for a sword" she paused for a moment.
"Plus, I don't think she would be comfortable wielding the weapon that disfigured her girlfriend"
Velvette would raise a finger in protest before giving it some thought and slowly lowering it again "Uhhhhmmm…..ok fair, point taken"
Vaggie would run her hand over the scabbard again "It's a pity tho….it's a finely crafted blade…it'd be a shame for it to go to waste…." As she would turn to the social media demoness and gently holding the sword out in front of her "Maybe you can find a use for it?"
The short doll demoness looked at the fallen angel as if she just saw water burn "You….want to give this….to me?"
Only a few months ago, Vaggie had pointed a spear at her when she first set foot into the hotel, and now she entrusted her with the sword that cut out her damn eye?
Velvette just stood there, wide eyes fixed on the blade "I…I don't know what to say…..fuck, Feathers….i…..thank you…." As she slowly accepted the fine blade, to which Vaggie smiled "Hey….you have earned mine and Charlie's trust…..i felt like this was the right way to show that to you…."
Taking a deep inhale, the fallen angel suddenly activated what Velvette had come to know as "Drill-sergeant mode" as her voice took on an authoritarian tone "Aaaaalright soldier, a sword is only as good as the person wielding it. So if you want this blade, you're going to have to learn how to properly use it. You're gonna have to EARN it. Understood?"
On cue, Velvette would clutch the scabbard closely to her chest with one arm as she straightened her back and saluted the former exorcist with her other hand as she beamed "YES MA'AM"
Giving her own smirk, Vaggie gestured for the short fashionista to follow her as they began to make their way towards the court yard of the hotel.
..
..
A short wardrobe change later and Velvette was now standing outside, in front of the hotel, wearing a comfy looking set of sports wear, hair up in a tight bun, yet still wearing her long gloves as she was now wielding a wooden dummy sword, Vaggie standing several feet across from her, holding a wooden stave.
"ALRIGHT, first lesson! I want to see your form. Gotta know what I'm working with, so come at me with everything that you've got!" Vaggie spoke loudly to Velvette on the other side, before pointing a dismissive finger at Angel Dust, who was sitting on a nearby half-wall, being one of a hand full of spectators as she yelled out "And no, Angel, shut up! Not in that way, get your mind out of the gutter!"
The spider sinner would raise his hands defensively "What?! I hadn't even said anything" he quipped back before whispering under his breath "yet" to which Vaggie just yelled "Don't think I didn't hear that!" causing Husk, who was not too far away, as well as a few other hotel guests to chuckle, before the fallen angel would finish "And to answer that, I KNOW you, you never waste a chance to make an innuendo!"
The pornstar wanted to raise a hand in defense before giving it some thought as he instead gave Vaggie a fingergun as he spoke " …touché"
Focusing back on her new student, Vaggie spoke loudly "So, again, Velvette. Come at me with everything you got" before she heard a snort as without looking, she pointed at Angel Dust again and said "Shut up"
Velvette took her cue as she ran towards the former exorcist with the wooden dummy raised above her head but as soon as she had closed the distance, Vaggie had quickly dodged out of the way as with a couple of well placed jabs of her stave and a swipe, Velvette found herself face rolling into a nearby bush, finally coming to a stop in a pile of dead leaves.
As the short overlord slowly got up, Vaggie once again entered drill-sergeant mode "You are and too reckless" as with her stave, she pointed to a spot next to her.
Velvette would grumble as she spat out a few leaves while begrudgingly taking the position she was assigned as Vaggie spoke up "Alright, show me your fighting stance.
Velvette would comply as she did the best she could. Vaggie would circle around her observantly, before she spoke up "Your balance is way off and leave yourself open to attack" which she emphasized by giving her a good few jabs with her staff, causing Velvette so wave her arms and yelp out in a desperate attempt to maintain balance before falling backwards, flat onto her ass.
As she groggily got up, she barked out "I thought this was gonna be a training session, not you belittling and beating the shit out of me for 2 hours. What did you honestly expect? I've never had to fight even once in my entire god-damn existence"
Vaggie would soften slightly as she extended a hand to help Velvette up "The key of learning how to properly fight is to first learn the basics" as she used her stave to push Velvette's feet into different positions, as well as her arms as she gave pointers "Don't give your enemy an opening by keeping your arms closer to your body, feet apart for better balance, slightly bend your knees"
Velvette would follow these instructions to a fault as eventually, Vaggie stood before her again, one hand on her hip, the other firmly holding her stave as she smiled "Not bad, you learn quickly…..now….THINK FAST" As she would suddenly jab the butt end of her stave forward, jabbing Velvette in shoulder, causing her to stagger as she yelped "THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!"
Vaggie would chuckle "A demonstration. Notice how much easier that hit was to take? How fast you were able to recompose and keep your balance?"
Velvette would raise her brow in surprise "Oh shit, you're right" as Vaggie would nod with pride
"A good stance can mean the difference between life and death. If an enemy can't knock you down, their attack might leave them vulnerable for a moment and open for you to retaliate"
as vaggie would throw her stave in the air and expertly caught it both both hands, before spinning it with her hands in an impressive display as she took on her own stance
"Ok, I want you to take a slow swing at me from the left, and I will block it, then you use the momentum to come back at me again from the right, got it?"
The short fashionista would nod as she followed the fallen angel's instructions, slowly getting familiar with the movements, all the while Vaggie gave her pointers "Watch your stance….yes that's it….little more arm movement, less wrist….perfect…..now give a little more swing with your shoulder….you're doing great….aaaand AGAIN….left…..right….left….right…."
Vaggie did her best to keep her own movements slow, allowing Velvette to follow along according to her instructions "Ok now I want you to do something a little different…we're going to introduce swings from above and below….got it?" to which, the social media overlord gave a firm nod "Yes ma'am!"
The short demoness followed the fallen angel's instructions to a fault as she slowly became more familiar with these movements.
They had been at it for a few hours, switching between different techniques before Vaggie would drop her stave "Alright, that should be enough for today" as she approached the short demoness and patted her on the shoulder "I'm impressed Vel, you learn quickly"
Velvette would smile "Thanks….i had a good teacher"
Vaggie would return the smile before putting on her drill-sergeant voice again "Now soldier, I'm expecting you to practice as much as you can at home, understood?" Velvette would straighten her back and nod "And I'm expecting you here every Friday morning at 7 ON THE DOT, am I clear?" to which Velvette saluted, half joking and half serious "YES MA'AM"
To this, Vaggie smiled "Good job soldier, you're dismissed"
Author's note: Not sure why i felt like going into this direction but the idea popped in my head and i liked it.
You could see this as Velvette's arch with earning Vaggie's trust and becoming friends coming full circle.
Next 2 chapters will also involve sword training so, stay tuned y'all