Hey there!

Sorry, I'm a bit late, I was working on other stuff so I had to finish this chapter in a rush, plus I needed to reread past chapters to remember where I was and all x)

Warning for panic attacks and anxiety for this one.

Enjoy!

Chapter 30 – Delay

Asmodeus was a Sin, older than Hell itself. He had seen many things, good, bad, neutral, done many things as well, interacted with lots of demons, yet he knew when he was reaching his limit.

The owl before him was breaking down all over again completely, a complete mess so far away from the composed prince the rooster had always seen, and even if Stolas had stopped flinching at the comforting hand on his shoulder, the rooster knew he wouldn't accept any more physical touch than that.

His words didn't get through, no matter his tone of voice. So he sighed, and settled for the one option he had wanted to avoid, but if he didn't want the bird to get worse, he didn't have a choice.

"STOLAS!"

Asmodeus' voice rumbled in the room, immediately stopping the prince's loud sobbing and somehow even stilling his trembling. Instead, the owl only tried to make himself smaller, wide eyes staring at him with an expression both stunned and fearful. The Sin realized his mane had turned into a bright blue fire and calmed it down before his size and voice returned to more normal levels.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but you need to listen to me. You were crying because you think Blitz blames you for endangering you, am I right?"

The Goetia slowly nodded, tears continuing to fall down, but he was now utterly silent, and seemed to carefully weight his movements too, as if anything too much would break him, or, more likely, awaken the King's wrath again. Asmodeus suppressed another sigh. He hadn't meant to frighten him, but again, startling him enough to get him out of his head has been the only way at his disposal at the moment.

"Then please wait until you talked to him again before drawing any conclusion. I know what it likely looks like from your perspective, believe me I do. But I can assure you you got it wrong. Fizz went with Blitz to help him calm down, and they will return any minute now, trust me. He didn't flee because he hates you, alright?"

"But…" Stolas finally dared, voice low and rough from all the crying and emotions bubbling up inside, and the sheer exhaustion of weeks of needing to carry all that weight all alone, only for everything to crumble down without any control nor certitude of how things would turn out. "I, he could have gotten killed any moment these past weeks. He could have been shot in front of his employees, in front of his daughter, and I didn't warn him. I couldn't, I… I couldn't even keep him safe."

"Now birdie babe, that's not true. I went to his office earlier, and I noticed magic on the windows. It was yours, wasn't it?"

Stolas slowly nodded, gaze still locked with his, but at least his white pupils were gone.

"It is, but… I'm not sure if it would have been enough to protect him from a bullet, let alone several."

"Still, you did what you could to protect him even without being able to warn him directly. I'm sure he'll get that."

There was silence for a few seconds, Stolas' gaze moving to the end of the bed, until he frowned.

"Now you're wondering why he ran away", Asmodeus guessed.

"Yes… Why would he have reacted that way, if he doesn't hold any resentment toward me?"

"You need to see things from his point of view birdie babe."

The frown deepened, and Asmodeus could see even before the owl opened his mouth to answer again that he wouldn't get it, not in his current state of mind.

"I'm sorry Asmodeus, but I do not see any other explanation. I endangered him, multiple times, he probably realized that too by now, and he did not want to deal with me any longer. I'm not really sure why he bothered for so long, to be honest. I was hoping… Well, it's probably more than I deserve anyway."

It was the rooster's turn to frown. That, he didn't expect. He should have suspected it though, no one goes through all that and gets out of it with their self-esteem intact, but… It seemed to be pretty bad, enough for the Sin to think there was more to it.

Sadly, he didn't have time to dwell on it, nor explain to the prince why he was wrong in his reading of Blitz's behavior, for there was suddenly noise outside, footsteps coming their way. Asmodeus looked up and winced, realizing the door was still wide open, and the voices seemed to belong to Loona and Octavia. They probably heard his near yell earlier to get Stolas' attention. But before he could get up and get in the way, the two girls reached the door frame, the owlet first, whose gaze immediately went to her father, still sitting on his bed, the tear streaks clearly visible on his still wet cheeks, and expression crestfallen.

"Dad!" She exclaimed, and even Loona couldn't prevent the concerned teen to rush to her father's side, before Asmodeus managed to get in her way with placating gestures.

"Now, calm down young lady. I understand you're worried about him, but…"

She barely stayed a few seconds before him, obviously not listening to a single word he said, and ended up bypassing him to get to the bed, while Stolas looked up at her with an aghast expression.

"Via?! What… What are you doing here?"

Loona watched the interaction helplessly, before her ears caught sounds from the corridors, and she realized the jester and her father were missing, but were both returning. She got out to stop them, not inquiring why Blitz seemed to have cried recently too.

"Wait, there's too many people in there already", she said, but couldn't prevent Blitz from sneaking in. "Hey!"

Meanwhile, Octavia had walked around the bed to sit on the side, taking in her father's distressed appearance.

"What happened?" She urged instead. "Dad, I know something has been bothering you for weeks. Is it about that?"

"Starfire, now is really… What are you doing here?! You should be with your mother. Is she aware you're here? Did you…"

But then the owl noticed Blitz in the room, and he froze, realizing all the people watching them and listening to him, and having so many questions for the assassin, and worries for what they knew, what they would do about it, how to deal with it without Octavia finding out…

"Dad? Dad!"

The owlet shook his arm, snapping Stolas out of his new spiral, and he blinked at his daughter, expression lost, and she felt her chest constrict painfully.

This wasn't the dad she was used to, yet she had a feeling it wasn't exactly a new him either, not fully. It had to be related to his weird behavior for the last few weeks, but this time she was seeing something hidden, a side she wasn't meant to see because they didn't tell him she would be there. Maybe they had all planned to hide her the truth, but she wouldn't let them, not anymore.

"Dad, please, tell me what's happening. Don't worry about mom, she probably won't realize I'm gone anyway."

Stolas frowned at that.

"No, Via, you can't just…"

"I can, and I did. I have a Sin covering up for me, I think I'm pretty safe, don't you think so too?"

She nodded at Asmodeus, who was still waiting nearby, watching them talk with an uncertain expression, as if he was debating with himself if he should let this happen or not.

Blitz almost burst it the conversation at the mention of Stella, but both Loona and Fizz held him back with a look. It wasn't the time to intervene, father and daughter needed this talk. Preferably alone, in private, but they weren't able to make Blitz move toward the door, so they stayed as well, to make sure he would keep his temper in check.

"Via, it's… It's not that simple…"

His voice was strangled, still rough from crying, and she teen frowned, before she spotted the glass of water on the side, already full. She took it and gave it to her father.

"Here, drink. You sound like it could help."

The owl obeyed, taking slow gulps as much to ease his throat than to buy himself time, but once the glass was almost finished, he still had no idea how to address all this, especially not with everyone watching.

As much as he wanted to speak to Blitz, especially now that the imp was back, Stolas' focus was now on his daughter, yet he had no idea how to do this. He had wanted for years to tell her about Stella's abuse, but this… This was something else entirely, and he didn't want… He didn't know…

"It's okay dad. I'll refill the glass. Just, find the words, okay? I know you got this. Just… Don't make me ask the others, please."

Her voice was soft, as if she knew he needed reassurance. Fuck, he should be the one to support her, not the other way around. He was just so pathetic, and so, so tired…

While Via was gone, he looked up, and wished he hadn't. None of the demons initially present had left the room, and they were all watching him, prompting the prince to make himself smaller on instinct. His eyes met Blitz's, and he didn't know what to make of the anger he displayed. If he was to trust Asmodeus' words, it wasn't directed at him, but Stolas had trouble seeing who else it could be directed at. Honestly, if Fizzarolli brought him back so he could yell at the owl before leaving for good, Stolas could have gone without it.

He was distracted from that sensible topic by his daughter coming back from the bathroom with the glass full anew. He thanked her, drinking just enough so it had less risks of spilling over, before he set it aside, and it's only then that he realized something had changed in Octavia's eyes.

"Starfire? Is there a problem?"

"Dad, what happened to you this morning?"

There was an edge to her voice that made the attention of all demons switch on her, but she either didn't notice or didn't give a fuck, her eyes hard and fixated on her father, who felt his worry skyrocket once more.

"This morning? Ah, well, em…"

"Don't lie to me."

She had this tone, almost cold, that was doing nothing to help Stolas' nerves, and even the other demons looked baffled.

"I… Guess you mean what happened before everyone got there, you included I presume if you arrived with Asmodeus…"

"Yes, that. I arrived because I was invited. You have your answer. Now answer my question."

Stolas met his daughter's eyes before he looked aside again, not daring to meet anyone's eyes, knowing he was alone in this. He didn't want anyone to tell his daughter what was happening, but he didn't see how he could minimize what happened earlier without lying.

The teen sighed, and crossed her arms.

"Okay, let me be more clear. Dad, why the fuck are there bloodstained clothes in the bathroom? Clothes that I know are yours and are all… Holed and ripped and bloody. What the fuck happened to you? Did… Did someone attack you again?"

Stolas suddenly stared at her, eyes wide, before looking at the others, as if trying to find out who could have let his clothes around like this.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I was the one to let your clothes there, for… Ahem. Reasons. Loonie?"

"On it", the hellhound nodded, immediately going to the bathroom.

"Ah, wait, what are you…"

Stolas tried to get up to follow, but Octavia softly but firmly stopped him.

"Don't. You didn't want to tell me what exactly happened when you ended up in the hospital either, is that the same thing? The same person?"

"I can answer that, it seems that it wasn't", Asmodeus decided to answer. "When you father was hospitalized, it was after an attack by an imp. It would seem that this time, three hellhounds are responsible for this."

The owlet had switched her focus on Asmodeus before she frowned.

"Hellhounds? But… Did they have blessed things too? They shouldn't be able to hurt my dad…"

She let her words die as realization seemed to strike her. She returned her attention on her father, checking him over.

"Where are you hurt? There was so much blood on these clothes, and with how everyone is reacting I'm sure it happened recently, too recently for you to have healed even from normal weapons."

"Ah, no no Via, I'm fine, A-Asmodeus healed me."

She leaned back a bit, squinting at both demons.

"Really?"

"Yes. I did my best, and your father is as well as he can be with such magic."

There was almost a suspension at the end, like if he almost wanted to add something, and Octavia was suddenly glaring at her father again, who seemed very conscious that sitting on a bed, even clothed and not under the covers, wasn't exactly giving the impression of someone in great shape.

"I assure you Via, I'm alright…"

Blitz's tail was lashing out, dying to tell Via about the wounds from the blessed blade, but he decided not to, like it wasn't his place to tell the poor kid that her own mother was responsible for this. He himself wasn't completely over the fact, with his panic earlier, but now that he was trying to process it, he realized that he had a lot of questions to ask.

"But you weren't, all these other times when you were acting all stiff, weren't you? Because you don't know healing spells, so even if you were hurt by regular means, you would still need a bit of time to heal from serious injuries. I remember those nights were you were moving like after coming back from the hospital, but just during an evening, in the morning you were back to normal! Oh, and is that also why you were almost always with super long sleeves during these moments, and long pants? You don't wear both often, so I thought it was weird…"

She was distracted when she saw Loona return from the bathroom, ears flat, and in the silence that followed, everyone could hear her low growl. Blitz immediately approached her, worried.

"Loonie, are you alright?"

But she ignored him, watching Asmodeus straight in the eyes instead.

"Did you know?"

"If you are referring to who is behind all this, yes, I do. Your father already knows, I told time earlier."

That had Octavia straightening up to approach the Sin, now looking pleading and desperate.

"You know?! Then what's happening? Please, can at least someone tell me who's hurting my dad and why!"

"Via", Stolas spoke softly. "Please, I don't want you to get involved in this. I can… Work with Asmodeus to find a solution, and once we found one, I will try to explain as much of the situation as I can to you. But I think it is best to wait until things are settled before that. Please, starfire, I can't… It's not… An easy situation."

"Why?! Why can't you tell me who is hurting you dad? Why is it happening in the first place?" She asked, already returning her attention on him, her voice louder, and there was still this despair, this worry in her voice, out of concern for her father, and fear of not understanding what was happening.

This time, Stolas managed to hold her gaze, and shook his head, but even without his pupils visible, everyone knew his eyes never left Octavia.

"Later darling. I promise you, I will give you answers later. I cannot right now, not when…"

"When what? You could still get hurt?"

"We won't let that happen", Asmodeus assured. "We can handle the situation, but as I said, me, Fizz and Blitz were starting to work on a solution. It will be more efficient if we are a reduced number, and then we will ask others for help if needed, but I agree with your father, explanations should wait until after the most urgent matters have been settled. I know it is frustrating, but everything will become clearer in time."

Octavia sent a hesitant glance to the other demons in the room. The two little imps were the only ones missing, everyone else was there. The jester was holding Blitz, grounding him with a hand on his shoulder, but it was obvious the assassin wanted to say something, to who, she wasn't sure, but he looked angry. The Sin seemed calm, and Loona… She still looked pissed, but she also avoided Via's gaze with a flash of guilt in her eyes, and the owlet then understood she probably knew something too, maybe has known for a while.

Octavia stood up from the bed, debating with herself, before she launched herself at her father again.

"Ouch! Via?!"

She hugged him tightly, head pressing against his chest, and he slowly returned the hug.

"I'll wait for your answers, but you better give them or I'll be pissed", she warned, voice muffled by Stolas' clothes and chest feathers poking out. "Also, stop getting hurt."

"Ah, I'll do my best starfire. Stay safe too."

Octavia finally let go and stepped back, smiling shyly.

"Don't worry, I'll stay with Loona, unless she needs to tell you guys stuff she found out?"

"No, I think they just needed confirmation, and if they need more, they know where to find us, and I have my phone with me. Now let's go!"

Both girls left the room a bit awkwardly, Loona patting her father's shoulder on her way out, Octavia casting a last uncertain glance at her father before they both left.

Loona knew Octavia was probably going to try and get answers out of her, but she had her defense as to why she didn't say anything sooner, and Stolas' words should hopefully help the owlet's patience. But she was also worried for how the conversation was going to go in there, with all the tension, stress and fear she could smell, mainly from Blitz and Stolas, and what else she smelt on these dirty clothes had her fur standing on end.

Asmodeus was right, the priority was to put a stop to this.

The demons staying in the bedroom watched the girls go, before Fizz carefully closed the door before asking to his childhood friend:

"So… Are your employees alright? I'm mildly worried they didn't rush here too to see what the commotion was about."

"No, place's big enough for them to be too far to hear, but you're right, checking won't hurt", he answered, shooting a quick text to try and distract himself from the nerves.

Because now that the daughters were out of the way, it meant talking to Stolas to try and explain his stupid reaction from earlier, and, well… He wasn't ready. He didn't know how to.

But as soon as Moxxie answered with a confirmation that everything seemed normal, in a wording that could only be him, the assassin had no excuse left. Looking up, he saw that both Stolas and Asmodeus were watching him, the Sin still with a calm albeit serious expression, the owl anxious.

The jester walked further inside the room to prompt Blitz to do the same, and the scarred imp sighed, pocketed his phone, and decided to walk to the bed to sit back on the side, close enough to chat but not as close as before to give them both space just in case Fizz has been wrong about this. It was true that Stolas wasn't looking at him with hate at all, more with worry and anticipation, but it didn't make it any easier, because now he had to face his fucked up reaction.

Blitz sighed, rubbing his face with his hands as he sat on the bed, looked at Stolas then quickly looked aside at the hesitant ant hopeful look the bird was giving him, before he mumbled:

"Sorry, for running away. I… Thought you'd hate me, for being the reason you had to go through all this."

The prince's eyes widened, and he tried to reach out, before changing his mind, realizing Blitz was too far for Stolas to touch him easily from this side of the bed. Instead, he looked down at the hand that almost went to touch the imp, looking apologetic.

"I'm… Sorry, too. For not being able to tell you I was putting you in danger. I thought… That you were mad at me for it."

"What?! No, I'm not mad at you! Why would I?"

"Well… Why would I be mad at you for what someone else is putting me through?"

Both demons stayed silent, as if slowly realizing that, yes the argument worked, but it also worked both ways. Then, Asmodeus cleared his throat and Fizz jumped in his lap, looking at both Stolas and Blitz before his gaze ended up on Stolas.

"So! What should we do about the bitch?"

26/09/2024

Well, see you in two weeks again I guess! Take care ^^