It took Vox some doing to shake Sir Franklin off of him. That bouncy little man was too starstruck to think clearly, and it was starting to get in Vox's way. He had to hypnotize him just to get away for his first dance with the Ambassador.

She had been taking a refreshment break when it came time for his turn. She didn't touch the main course. That wasn't too surprising, it was a rather gruesome spread; Even Vox didn't want to try it. He might be a demon, but he wasn't into eating human flesh. He joined her by the blood fountain, where she stood sipping a glass of fine wine. She looked at the flowing red display with an unreadable expression.

"Madame Ambassador," He greeted, "Are you ready for our dance?"

She turned and looked up at him with another friendly smile, "Of course! I've been looking forward to it." She handed her wine glass to one of the party caterers and took the overlord's outstretched hand. He once again caught the scent of an aquarium, bringing his mind back to one of his happiest childhood memories. It was the reason he kept pet sharks in his office. The memory made him want to lean in closer to her than was strictly appropriate. He resisted.

Alastor was chatting up some giggling cannibal lady in a dress decorated with far too much lace. Vox caught him glancing their way, before turning away to ignore them again. He wished he could tell what the Radio Demon was thinking. You could never quite guess what was going on in that psycho's mind.

Vox led Elida to the dance floor. She practically floated beside him, a vision in red and black; her doe-like grace evident in the way she moved. Once the new sets of partners had all taken their places, the orchestra began the next song. Vox led the dance, Elida followed.

"Now, wherever did you learn to dance so beautifully?" He asked, starting off with simple compliments.

She blinked sweetly, "Oh, Alastor taught me everything I know! He's been dutifully instructing me every day for a month now. We've been practicing pretty hard to make up for the short notice. He's been so patient and kind."

Patient and kind were the last words Vox would use to describe that prick. No wonder they were nearly attached at the hip, he'd been bombing her with attention. Fuck. "Well, you must be a quick learner, then." He needed to keep the conversation about her and keep Alastor out of it. "Color me impressed."

"Thank you, I'm rather proud of myself as well," She stated. "What about you? Where did you learn?"

Ah, so she was a little cocky. He could work with that. "It took me quite a bit longer than a month. I had to learn as a kid. Took me years to get the hang of it." That was a lie. He'd taken a class in college when he was alive so that he could make a good showing at business events. "You're clearly a natural at this." He twirled her around, emphasizing the point.

"I think so, too," She agreed. "So, tell me, what's your story? I've seen the websites and advertisements, but who are you really?"

She was almost making it too easy. He put on his most charming smile. "My, what a big question. I think we both know there's not enough time in a single dance to answer that. Perhaps we could discuss it over dinner?" He looked into her eyes and used a bit of hypnosis to get her to agree.

Oddly, it didn't have the effect he'd expected. Her eyes remained completely normal, even as she looked directly at him. "I do like dinners. However, as I said before, I'm only comfortable meeting in person if I'm accompanied by Alastor. He's kept me out of harm's way on several occasions already and he's promised to continue to do so until I return home. You could always come by the hotel if you'd like more privacy, though. Our new chef has put together a beautiful restaurant area. We could talk there for as long as you like?"

God fucking damn it! They already had an arrangement. "You haven't made a deal with him, have you?" He couldn't help asking, it just slipped out. The Radio Demon could get on his last nerve without even being there.

Vox was squeezing Elida's fingers way too tight. "Any deals I make are between myself and the subjects of the contract in question," she stated vaguely. She had no soul-binding deals, but that was none of Vox's business. Elida liked to give non-answers even when the truth wasn't harmful, because if you only plead the fifth when you're guilty, everyone knows when you're guilty. It was the same reason she hadn't denied to Marc's face that she liked Alastor. She wasn't in love with her new friend like Marcel had been implying, but consistency was key in secret-keeping. She applied that logic here as well.

Vox forced himself to calm down. He loosened his grip. "Of course, my dear. Apologies if that was too personal of a question. You're just so enchanting. I feel like I can really talk to you." He had to get this back on track and flatter her into a sense of comfort.

He turned her around again, but instead of bringing her back to face him, he guided her to a flipped position where her back was pressed tightly against his chest and her face was a breath away from his. He had one arm holding her waist and the other in her hand. It was a standard dance move, but intimate. It was a common move in more seductive songs between romantic couples. He tried the hypnosis again. It didn't work.

"You absolutely can talk to me," she confirmed, unperturbed. "That's what I'm down here for, after all."

They moved slowly in a circle, nose to screen. He spoke softly, as if he were a mournful lover confessing his deepest secrets. "The truth is," he lied, "As much as I'd love to go to your hotel, I can't. Alastor would never allow it. He's been told a lot of lies about me and I couldn't convince him that they were wrong. I want to change, and maybe even see Heaven's gates one day, but I don't think I could open up with him around." If hypnotism wouldn't work on her, he'd have to stick with good old-fashioned manipulation. Maybe he could appeal to her better nature. "I've been struggling for a while with the state of my own soul. I want to be better. Not to mention, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to. I don't fancy the exorcists returning early." A little logic never hurts when speaking to a logical person.

It worked. She softened a bit, studying him. After a beat or two she responded, "I'll tell you what; We can meet in the middle. I'll have Alastor escort me to my coven's headquarters. I'll have a private room reserved where we can meet regularly until you're more comfortable. I can ward the area against eavesdroppers, and you can speak freely. No cameras, no microphones, and no Alastor. My sisters will respect my boundaries if I tell them not to listen in. How does that sound?"

Jackpot. He had his foot in the door. What she was describing sounded suspiciously like therapy, which Vox thought was for pussies, but he'd take what he could get. "That would be wonderful, Madame Ambassador."

"Elida is fine."

Fuck yes. That was a good sign. "Of course… Elida. Such a beautiful name." He still kept her held intimately close.

"It was a gift from my father," she quipped, lightening the mood a bit.

He laughed politely at her joke, "As they often are! So, you've kept your human name? That's unusual." He released her from the too-close position and turned her to face him normally again.

"The McCarthy's are a long and proud bloodline," She stated, "I wouldn't give up my name for the world."

"So, you never plan to marry, then? Or is McCarthy your husband's name?" He probed.

"Not married. If I met someone that I liked enough to bind myself to, which I find unlikely, I'd still keep my name. If they want to match, they can change their own. I've found a lot of suitors don't like that very much, but it's an easy way to weed out the covert misogynists."

"I can imagine someone as gorgeous as you gets a lot of admirers," Vox flirted at her.

She cringed visibly at the thought, "Too many. Ironically, I'm harassed less in Hell than when I was in Heaven, though I expect that might have more to do with Alastor than the demons themselves. He threatens anyone who so much as looks at me wrong. My first day here, he ripped a guy's spine out for getting too handsy," She laughed a bit, which Vox thought was weirdly dark for an angel as soft and gentle seeming as her. It caught him off guard a bit.

She continued, "It's been a nice break down here. Up there, everyone keeps sending me flowers and poems and things. I really wish people would just chill out and leave well enough alone when I say no, but if you're single and pretty, everyone assumes you're there for the taking."

That was good to know. In that case, trying to romance her into a contract would be a bad move. Maybe he could play the victim card and get her to pity him into a friendship instead. He'd think on that. Vox would need to write a good believable backstory to feed her during their meetups.

The music came to a close, and all the dancers bowed to one another. Vox could see down Elida's dress a bit as she curtseyed. There was a potion vial hidden between her breasts. That must be what was blocking his hypnosis. He pretended not to look, instead lifting her hand and kissing it. "Dancing with you was nothing short of the greatest honor I've ever been graced with, dear Elida. I look forward to our next one later this evening."

"I'll see you then," She nodded, turning to look behind him at her next partner.

Vox turned to hand her over, as was customary, only to see that smiling freak standing there. "Hello again, sweetheart," He greeted her cheerfully in that stupid old-timey accent, ignoring Vox completely.

"Hi Allie!" She sounded genuinely delighted to see him, much to Vox's annoyance. "Is it time to finally try that tango?" She checked the card on her wrist, which was identical to the ones other guests wore, save for a single custom change that Alastor hadn't told her about. He'd had it arranged with Rosie ahead of time before the cards were printed and sent out.

"You'll do swell," he assured her as he took her hand. As Vox turned to leave, Alastor held his staff out just a little farther than strictly necessary, making his enemy stumble. Alastor pretended it hadn't happened. It took everything Vox had to keep from exploding. Rosie was watching.

Elida watched, bewildered as all the other dancers left the floor. She knitted her eyebrows together, giving Alastor a quizzical look. "Where are-"

"Shhh, darling," Alastor held a finger to her lips, hushing her, "Just look at me and forget the rest."

He snapped his fingers, and the lights dimmed, a spotlight settling on the two of them, now standing alone on the floor. Two of the event servers came and, in a movement that was far too prepared to be anything other than rehearsed, removed the top layer of Elida's skirt, revealing a shorter and easier to move in version underneath it. She hadn't realized it was convertible. They disappeared into the crowd as quickly as they had appeared. Alastor dismissed his staff into thin air and pulled Elida into position.

Generally, tangos weren't Rosie's thing, so she didn't often include them in her parties. But Alastor had specifically requested this song, detailing to her that he'd wanted to be seen showing the Ambassador off. He wanted to make a splash. And because Rosie simply adored that boy to pieces, she allowed it, including a note on everyone else's cards to clear the floor for the middle song. Elida's card was custom made so that it could be a surprise. It would mark the height of the party and give everyone a good show.

The crowd hushed, and the music began. The Radio Demon was familiar in Cannibaltown, but he was still an infamous face, feared and now envied by all as the other guests watched him with an ethereal beauty on his arm. Elida knew the steps by now. They had practiced this dance over and over again, focusing on choreography rather than following a lead for this particular number. Alastor had never intended for her to tango with anyone else.

The music started softly, the tempo slow and tense. Alastor took a step, signaling Elida to mirror him while they began their momentum. Then the music got faster, and faster, and faster, until the world had become a whirlwind. There was no room for conversation as Alastor whipped Elida back and forth, over and around, in and out. She was light, and therefore easy to lift, so the more acrobatic movements were far easier than they would have been if she'd been a demon. Angels were floaty like that.

Alastor was having more fun than he'd expected to. He loved being the center of attention, and he loved dancing, so it was only natural that his smile had turned to something real in that moment, despite Vox lurking in the background. It helped that his dance partner was as spectacular as she was. She smiled right back at him, clearly enjoying herself just as much.

Having boiled in the pot for several decades by that point, Alastor was used to burning by now. So why did his chest feel so abnormally warm? Perhaps he'd had too much spiced blood to drink. He ignored it.

In a move that wasn't choreographed, Elida pulled the rose from her halo and straightened the stem with a flick of magic, then placed the rose between her teeth. Alastor couldn't help but laugh. She was goofing off, and he was the only one who knew it, because she'd executed the move so elegantly. Everyone else would assume it was planned. His laugh made her eyes crinkle happily. Damn, if she wasn't just too adorable…

The tango ended, as tangos often do, with Elida and Alastor pressed far too close to one another, nose to nose and chest to chest. They stayed put until the count of eight, just like they'd practiced, while the crowd cheered their approval. It had gone off without a hitch. When the staff returned with the rest of Elida's dress, she stepped back, almost reluctantly, and let them reattach the missing piece back onto her. Alastor bowed with an overdramatic flourish, and once again kissed her hand, signaling the end of the encounter and letting the rest of the guests know they could return to the dance floor.

"That went well," She commented once the attention had shifted back off of them.

"Of course it did, I told you it would. Perhaps you ought to learn not to question me." Alastor declared before offering her a wink and walking off to have a snack break.

She followed, having had the foresight to write a blank name in after the center dance to regain her footing. "You know, this whole thing is giving me an idea that I wanted to run by you."

"Hm? And what would that be?" He asked, indicating to the caterers that he wanted a slice off the thigh.

Elida nibbled at a cracker. "All Hallow's Eve."

"What about it?"

"It's sacred to witches, so I know the Coven will be celebrating it. The veil is thin that night, which makes it easier for deceased souls to visit the living world."

"Don't you do that anyway?"

"Yeah, but not with a large group."

He tasted the perfectly cooked morsel he'd been given, savoring the balance of spices and sauce. "I'm not sure I follow, darling."

"We know that a lot of people down here have loved ones up in Heaven that they've been writing to, and now we have two officially redeemed sinners that probably miss their old friends. What if we organize an event in the living world on All Hallow's Eve where we could all attend, you know, just as people? Not demons and angels, but as humans. We'd manifest in our human forms and spend the night on common ground. It could do wonders for people's motivation to rehabilitate. What do you think?"

It took every ounce of self-control Alastor had carefully honed not to freeze in his tracks and panic. Here, suddenly and without warning, she'd offered up a chance to see his mother again, served on a silver platter. But it wasn't without some serious complications. Meeting her at an event like that would be too public, and it would result in too many questions. Vulnerability in his line of work was nothing short of lethal. "I think you've missed your chance, dear. Halloween just passed in the human world, did it not? It's nearly a year away." Stall. He had to stall.

"That's the beauty of it," She said, blissfully unaware of his predicament. "We'll have plenty of time to plan. Not to mention, by that point, we'll need something fresh to liven up the mood in the hotel. Morale has to be actively maintained, and a little planning ahead never hurt."

Alastor hated it when anyone other than himself was able to look that far ahead. It complicated things. Short-sighted people were easier to control. "I suppose that's something that would need to be discussed later. For now, we have a party to enjoy!" And then he walked off, leaving Elida a bit bewildered at his dismissal. He hadn't blown her off like that even once up to that point. It made her a bit sad, but she didn't fully understand why. She was a woman, so people blew her off all the time, it was hardly anything new. She finished her cracker as she watched him walk off to talk to someone else.

Brushing it off, she scanned the room looking for Charlie and Vaggie. It occurred to her that she hadn't bumped into them in quite a while. She floated into the air a foot or so to get a better view but didn't see them anywhere. Odd. She checked her dance card. It had a name listed on the next line, so she wouldn't have time to hunt the princess down, wherever she'd run off to. Elida just had to trust that she was okay.

As the night went on, Elida found her mind lingering on Alastor's reaction to her All Hallow's Eve idea. She thought he'd have been all over it. Maybe he was tired? She was learning to read his expressions beneath the eternal grin, but his thoughts were still just as unknowable as everyone else's. It took no small amount of concentration to avoid glancing over at him every thirty seconds. It would have been impolite to the people she danced with, and there were too many eyes watching her.

Alastor was having the same problem. He wanted to keep an eye on the Ambassador, especially with Vox lurking about, but propriety was propriety, and Alastor was nothing if not polite.

Eventually, Elida was scheduled for another break, so she wandered outside to get a bit of a breather. Hell never smelled great, but a shift in ambient energy did the same thing for a witch that a breath of fresh air did for your average Joe. She looked up at the sky, wishing she could see the stars. How many demons missed the constellations? She had only been here a short time and she already missed them.

Alastor saw her walk out and followed, not wanting her to get snatched by anyone foolish enough to start trouble on Rosie's turf. He followed her gaze upward, assuming she was looking at Heaven, since it was easily the grandest thing up there.

"Homesick?" He asked.

"Oddly, no," She answered, gaze remaining upward. "I don't actually mind it down here. I missed having a coven. The connection between sisters was something I missed, and it makes up the difference well enough. Although, the cleaner air was nice to have."

"They seem happy that you're here with them," he remarked. And it was true, the coven acted like they'd been waiting for her all along, giving her everything she asked for without question, and spending a great deal of time and energy keeping her happy. Their collective behavior had shifted a bit since her arrival, and it made him wonder. But witches were always hard to figure out, including the holy ones, apparently.

Elida spotted something in the distance. A white glow rising slowly up into the air, coming from the direction of the hotel. She squinted at it. "Can you see that?"

Alastor followed her eyes and saw it too, "Well, by golly, how about that!" He adjusted his monocle, which didn't really do anything, considering how far away the glow was, "Is that what I think it is?"