A/N: Sorry the delay folks, but catching up on doing other works I'm been late about, also the new trailer for next season of Helluva Boss came out recently, been planning on how to build the story to incorporate the few we could see from that trailer. I don't have a plan for when next update will come, this time of year is rather busy for me, but I will keep writing during Christmas. :)
DieKleineHexeCapraiaOfTheReich;
"Yeah, I was wondering when to bring that up, but since I hadn't really planned for how big this story will go I saw no issue of dwelling into that. Also, there's still more to come from that particular conversation."
grievousrommel;
"He will be fine... mostly."
RyantheSamurai;
"I haven't wrote on anything regarding religion since my story for All Dogs Go To Heaven, it tends to be a touchy subject and I see myself very inexperienced on how to discuss that, but I do something about it for the sake of giving the story some base to build from."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o00oo0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o00o0o
"Is this usually a thing that burns one from the inside?"
"What?! It shouldn't do that!"
"Relax, it's not that bad. I mean... feels a bit weird. Not bad weird, just weird."
"Oh... well, then there's no reason to stop. It should be done in few seconds."
"Kaayyy, soooooo, after this, how do we know if it worked?"
"How did you found out you were sick?"
"I... errr, well... it's kinda embarrassing to mention it, but... urgh, fine! It was because of another Hellhound."
"Eh? How does that make sense?"
"Well, for starters, we have great sense of smell, and... me having this shit on me kinda was an easy give away of my... condition."
Collin nodded, his eyes still shut while his hands were slightly touching Loona's belly. It has been rather problematic to get the healing procedure going. For starters, they had to move away from the office to some place more private. Now, Loona's idea of privacy was... very narrow to put it lightly. They could either use a bathroom or her own room back at Blitzo's home. Collin, valuing the life he still has, refused to make way to the Imp's house, knowing full well the amount of problems that could cause. He was rather astonished that Loona had no issues inviting him into her room, but he was suspicious that she was gonna jump him right after they were done with the healing procedure. Being stuck at Blitzo's house and risk being caught while being done by his adoptive daughter could only end one way for the sheep; Horribly.
Charging the spell, being stuck inside a small bathroom, and in the company of a very imposing female wolf from Hell itself, was a very challenging thing to overcome for him to focus properly. Collin was slightly worried that his spell had a color change, no longer blue or green, but a strange faint orange emanated from his hands. He hoped that being transformed didn't alter the effect of his healing spell somehow. Loona, thankfully, was managing to have some patience despite the time it took. She looked fearful, but also eager for the results. In fact, Collin was hoping very dearly that it would work, the change on the wolfness demeanor was showing to be rather astounding. The disease was something she clearly loathed for a long time, perhaps even mining her chances at finding a proper mate or other Hellhound friends.
"Loona," Collin started, his eyes still shut as he kept focusing on the spell to keep working itself into her body. "If this doesn't work, I..."
"It's okay." She said, cutting him off quickly, to which Collin was taken aback. She didn't sound angry, nor anxious about it. "I'm already used to things never working out for me. This not working wouldn't be any different."
Collin frowned. That felt so wrong to listen, it was such a despondent way to face different outcomes, but he couldn't really blame her for being pessimistic. Perhaps her life experiences to that point were so awful she had no reason to believe things could ever go well or improve. It is a sad way to deal with life, but it is a justified point of view.
"I will pray it does." She snorted.
"Pray to who exactly? Is not like your God would care for any of us."
"... I won't be praying to God."
"Then... who?" Loona asked, looking very confused with that response. Collin shrugged.
"There are others, not just one. I will pray to them. I hope at least one will listen, I... this isn't something we would ever be allowed to discuss back in Heaven. It's considered a big sin and complete blasphemy." He explained with seriousness. "We are all made to believe there's one God. Yet, he can be one, but also many. God has no limits but his own. He would eventually need to split the power across different realms. Satan is one of those many."
Loona eyed the sheep with incredulity, wondering if this was some kind of attempt at confounding her.
"What are you...? Are you saying that Satan is something your God created?" She could help the derisive snort of mockery. It was such a ridiculous notion. Yet, she couldn't help but worry as the sheep nodded slowly.
"In a way. For the existence originated from such a divine like no other. Even God needed help in managing so much, he could observe the entirety of the universe, but not all kinds of universes at the same time." Collin continued, his voice going in some sort of auto mode, as if he was reciting words he heard many times previously. "The good and evil from all sentient life forms was something to be treated with care. God deemed himself insufficient to manage both good and evil, he attempted to split the power among lesser than him, but most of these other Gods weren't enough."
"W-What other Gods? Isn't there just one? You talking about all the other religions?" She asked, feeling perplexed by everything that she's being revealed about. At least she had to admit that Collin could entertain her with a good story, even if she was finding most of his talk so far to be nothing but lunacy.
"No, the Gods of old. The Egyptian and Greek Gods as the Humans used to describe them better. God created them at those particular times to manage the human realm, but Heaven and Hell came way before. You call him Satan, but back then you would known him as Hades or Osiris. Time changed their names, but not what they are. The same can be said about God himself, once briefly known as Zeus. The Egyptians weren't very specific on that regard, some would say the God I known of today was Horus back then, but it didn't make any sense cause he's not the son of any. Of course, other religions came around ever since, each with their own interpretations of what or who God, or Gods, really is or are."
"Huh, that... sounds kinda bizarre. " Loona said, feeling slightly overwhelmed and a bit out of touch with what was being said. "How do you know this stuff?" At this question Collin looked quite guilty.
"I, huh, maybe have behaved rather... unfitting of my status back in Heaven. Normally such information wouldn't be allowed to just anyone who wanted to search for it. I... did some sneaking around back at the Holy Library, errr... there was a restricted section that only high ranked Angels were allowed to-
"Ha! Even when in Heaven you were a little, sneaky, cunning bastard!" Loona said with a hearty laugh. Collin was flushing red all over his face.
"I was researching! Not trying to steal or read forbidden information, i-it wasn't said it was forbidden anyway!" He defended himself heatedly. Loona chuckled.
"Yeah, right. Whatever you tell yourself."
"Anyway," He continued, wishing he could just glare at the wolf, but with his eyes closed it was pointless. "I found way more than I wished I could. It was... quite astonishing to find out that God... actually created Hell, in a way."
"That is truly fucked to think of." She admitted, a frown on her face. "So, if it's by some crazy chance true, then... all of us are in Hell because that's where God wanted us to be?"
"That's... not really it?" Collin felt unsure of his own words. "I don't say he wanted you to be in Hell, I mean... Satan is the one who created the Hellhounds, I think? I have no idea what Hell's being about ever since the last Holy War many centuries ago."
"Wait, what? What is this 'Holy War' you said?" Loona quickly asked, not remembering ever hearing such a thing being mentioned before. Collin sighed heavily.
"Well, Heaven and Hell once engaged in a war. A very violent one from the reports I managed to, huh, borrow." The sheep shuddered involuntarily. "Angels, Hellhounds, Demons, Imps, Holy Spirits and so on... many lost in a time of dark age. Surprisingly the Human realm was spared from it, at least initially. Once the War ended both realms became short on population, so they turned to the Human realm to fill up as quick as possible, for another war could be on it's way. As a manner to gather enough souls, both realms planned for events to take place in the Human world that would claim millions of lives. Wars became a common across two centuries. The last one was just..." Collin paused, still unable to grasp the amount of dead in that terrific event. "Humans called it World War, and it is rather fitting, but there were two. The second one... so many died that Hell and Heaven became overcrowded, therefore the need to expansion was required. Hell introduced the ring system, Heaven created the..."
Collin suddenly muted himself, hands grasping Loona's belly with a bit more of strength. Loona, knowing the sheep wasn't really up to anything improper, raised an eyebrow.
"You ok?"
"I... cannot really reveal this information." He said after a short pause, his voice sounded strained. "I've been bidden by a spell. It seems my banishment came with few extras I wasn't aware of."
"Collin," Loona started, her voice sounding strange which made the sheep weary. "You said... both Heaven and Hell planned for these wars? Heaven... was willing to have millions die to fill their ranks?"
The fact that the wolf sounded incredulous was a very damming thing to hear in Collin's opinion. He felt the energy that was focused on his hands die out. The orange glow that has been surrounding Loona ceased to exist, he slowly pulled his arms back from her, eyes opening after a long time of contemplating nothing but darkness. He felt tired, hungry, and most of all, dismayed.
"I... wished I never saw those documents. I... I never felt so wrong!" He shouted, his voice acquiring a strange pitch. "I was fooled into thinking that...! That I... was in the good side of the realms. Heaven is!... was... something I believed, above anything else, to be the right way to go."
"Guess when they say stuff ain't perfect, there's some big fucking true to that." Loona commented, unsure of how to ease Collin's visible distress over the situation. He nodded, which was a relief for her. "Say, as interesting as this can get, why don't we focus on getting ready for tonight and leave all that crazy talk for another day? There's no point talking about stuff we ain't doing shit about."
The wolfness sounded impatient, but the sheep could tell she just wanted to get his mind off that problematic train of thought. Collin wished he could express some sort of appreciation for her doing something like that for his sake, which is a really nice thing to do.
"Sure, we can do that. Huh, what do you want me use for clothes again?" Collin quickly asked to which Loona seemed unsure at first.
"Honestly, I don't really know much, let's try that idea of yours and see what it looks." She replied, ears suddenly perking at the sound of louder voices coming from the nearest room. "Also, let's go somewhere else before anything. I don't think it's a good idea to plan with Blitzo so close."
"Oh, so... where we go?" Collin asked, looking back at the office door, he wouldn't deny that Blitzo showing up all of sudden could be catastrophic. Loona became pensive, she crossed her arms while frowning at the possible options available.
"I know a place, but you gotta promise you won't say a damn word of what you see." She said, making very clear how serious the deal was for her. Collin quickly nodded, not wishing to upset her in any way. She eyed him with scrutiny for a moment before deciding she could trust him enough. "Fine, get whatever you need. We are going, I have no reason to stick around anyway. Blitzo can mind his own with the client. I will leave a note."
"Errr, but isn't still work hour?" Collin asked with a hint of nervousness. The wolf merely raised an eyebrow at him.
"So?"
The sheep had no real argument against such dismissive reply. He merely assented before leaving the comfort of the couch and walking along the taller creature. Loona was rather brief on her memo, scribbling some poor words in regards to her early departure from the office. She tossed the note over the desk without a second thought before making her way to the door. The sheep quickly followed after, closing the door with care on the way out.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, where are w-
"My house, or, well, Blitzo's house." She quickly replied, pressing the elevator button with disinterest as soon it was on her reach. "We can get ready and go from there. You can stay in my room, just in case Blitzo decides to show around for no good reason."
"Y-Your room?" Collin asked with slight panic. "Errr, won't Blit-
"He doesn't go in there, if he knows what's best for him." Loona cut him off again, looking annoyed this time around. "He tried once, I gave him quite a... reminder, let's put it that way." She added with a smirk that made the sheep nervous.
"Oh, huh. That's why you wanted me to swear to keep it to myself then." Loona merely nodded, walking into the elevator as soon the doors opened, Collin followed her on a timid pace, struggling to find words to keep the conversation going. He found himself distracted by her large bushy tail, it was rather fascinating how something so big could swing around so easily.
Loona easily caught him staring at her behind, although she merely smirked instead of calling him out. She slowly turned around as she casually pressed the button to bring them to the floor level. Collin was looking a bit out of place, blinking rather excessively as if he was getting out of a trance. Loona, with mischievous intent, moved her tail around until it was constantly hitting at the sheep's legs. He shivered at the contact, looking stunned at first but not really bothered about it.
'No matter if from Heaven or Hell, getting a dude worked up is always too easy.' She thought with some delight.
Loona glanced at the sheep sideways, taking a closer look over his features more properly. Sure, she couldn't say that Collin was any sort of strong physical male, he is sleek, fluff and very gentle looking despite the more darker visual. The clothing didn't help much his case but that could easily be changed, he was fidgeting nervously with his hands, looking lost in deep thought. The wolf could think of many ways to describe him, most were not really adjectives. Yet, she couldn't deny there was an adorable factor to him, which she never would've expected herself to appreciate in any sort of way.
She's been thinking of what Collin said the other day, about her looking for a strong partner. Loona was growing more doubtful each time she thought about it, it was a bit frustrating that the sheep may have done a really good point. Hell was all sorts of nasty, and people could change on a dim, not for the best. She wouldn't never trust Imps or Demons, but she hoped to find some sort of loyal bound when it came about other Hellhounds. The fact she ended in an orphanage should've been enough proof that such did not exist, and being infected after a sex act was enough evidence that other Hellhounds were hardly trustworthy. If that was the case, who was she suppose to look after then? What other options were out there? She wants a partner, loneliness is the scariest prospect for any living creature, even those from Hell.
She was starting to second guess her options, and the more she talked with Collin, the stronger she felt about making a rather drastic decision. Collin, for how ironic it could sound, was good enough of a person for her to rely on. You don't really get to find nice people in Hell, for several different reasons. She felt that she can trust him, that he will honor his words, and overall stick by her side, no matter how bad things might get. Yet, she needed to know if he would do such by choice.
'My life has been crazy enough, why would this be any different?' She pondered to herself, weighting the consequences of such choice. She wasn't fully sure of making that commitment just yet, at least not until she felt some sort of mutual interest coming from the sheep, which she simply couldn't really imagine. Would Collin, a former angel, want to be with someone like her? Could he?
It was clear she wouldn't get what she hoped for; a strong alpha male, but she could get everything else that makes having a partner worthy. If Collin's spell actually worked, she simply couldn't think of a reason to not give this type of relationship a try at least.
Suddenly the air felt heavier around her, the sheep's presence at her side made the wolf slightly on edge. Loona slowly realized that, despite her inner doubts, it seems her body already made the decision for her. She cursed herself silently, worrying that Collin could be looking her way discretely, but he wasn't the type to take peeks, that much she could be assured of.
Any other day of the week, or her life, she would be feeling like a nervous wreck by talking with someone she found appealing as a potential partner. Collin was not Vortex, but he still had some charm on him to make her a bit hesitant, although Loona felt far more confident about getting her point through than she would've with anyone else. She pressed the emergency stop button, which had been used in this elevator a good amount of times, for all types of foul activities, which explained why it looked so wear out. Collin only stared apprehensively as the elevator came to a sudden stop, feeling worried he might have crossed some boundary he wasn't aware of.
"Hum, d-did something happened?" He asked with a hint of concern. Loona shook her head, turning towards him to display how much she would be giving importance to the following conversation. She looked down, an air of hesitancy that the sheep quickly caught on to. She took a deep breath, as a way to squish away her nervousness.
"Collin," She started, her voice wavering a bit, which made the sheep extremely attentive. "Do you... do you find me... attractive?"
A hint of panic flashed across the sheep's face. He was now very worried that Loona may have caught him staring at her behind unintentionally. He struggled to get a response out, knowing he has to be honest on this matter.
"I... w-well, d-despite the rather, hum... revealing clothing, I... yeah, you do look, errr... nice to look at?" He ended, unsure if that was the proper way to describe her outlook. It felt vulgar and improper but, thankfully, Loona didn't seem to mind. She nodded, looking still wary of how to talk with him.
"I... well, that's a relief, I guess. I was wondering, do you..." She groaned, looking in pain with herself. "I fucking suck at this, but... do you want to, you know, go out with me today..." Collin raised an eyebrow, looking confused for a moment, but before he could speak what he heard next made his heart pause for a moment. "As my date?"
He stared in shock, looking up at her unsure if she was trying to be funny or not.
"H-huh, w-what? A-Are you... asking me o-out?" He asked, the effort to speak at that moment became monumental. Loona grasped her own arms, she seemed nervous but nothing about her reaction indicated she was joking around.
"I... yeah, that's what it is." She said, staring down at him with concern. "Is that ok with you? I mean, I know I'm not... the type of person you would go out with, you know? Heh, me being from Hell and whatnot."
Collin felt his body tense. He wasn't sure why Loona would make such proposal, but it didn't feel right that she would excuse herself at not being a desirable option simply because of her looks or origin. He could tell this was a big deal for her to ask him out of the blue like that. Sure, they were already planning on going to the party before, but as her date? There was something about it that made him feel flustered and... happy?
"So, I get it if you don't want t-
"Hum, well. I don't see why not?" He interrupted hesitantly. Loona's worried frown quickly changed into shock then to a more cheerful look. She, much to the sheep's bewilderment, bent over slightly to hug him. Collin was astonished at the unexpected display of affection.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said, sounding incredibly happy. Collin was left speechless at the change, even her voice sounded nowhere as grumpy and bitter, but rather full of hope and excitement. He patted the wolf's shoulder gently as possible, worried about making any wrong moves while being clutched by her strong arms. It was rather strange that, while not being able to feel Hell's heated environment, he could feel the warmth irradiating from her body.
"Y-You're welcome." The sheep replied, feeling his oxygen income become rather limited due the pressure applied from the hug. "Ugh, L-Loona, I... can't breathe."
"Oh! Sorry." She quickly let go of him, to which Collin immediately took a deep breath to steady his lungs. She eyed him carefully, an air of expectancy surrounded the wolfness. Collin massaged his chest before addressing the anxious female.
"So, why is this such a big deal to you?" He asked, not wishing to diminish the compromise he made. "I really don't mind to be honest. Yeah, it is... different, but I really, hum... like you enough to go along with the idea."
Loona let out a nervous giggle, to which Collin couldn't help but be both astonished and pleasantly surprised by how adorable she sounded.
"It is a big deal. Especially for today. Hellhounds are... well, extremely territorial." She started, a huge smile on her face that didn't help Collin's sudden terror at what he just heard. "So I was kinda bummed that I would probably get a bunch of assholes being on my tail the whole night. I was worried for the both of us, to be fair, but if I introduce you as my date they will have to leave us alone. A compromised Hellhound is a serious stuff among my kind, so... yeah."
"Huh," Collin replied, not sounding very convinced. "So, we go there and say we are dating, just to keep them from bothering us." He wasn't sure why he was sounding slightly disappointed. Loona seemed to realize what the issue was right away, she grasped her hair with one of her hands, pulling at it as if being frustrated with herself.
"No! Oh my fucking... look, I really wanna do this because of that." She started, sounding more assured of her reasons this time around. "But, also... I want to... the two of us... to give it a try." Collin, despite surprised, still looked hesitant. "I know it is a weird thing to talk about or even, I dunno, actually do it. I... was thinking on the stuff you said the other day. I really wanna give this relationship thing a try. I can't say it will be good, but... it's not like I've been doing any good to myself." Loona looked regretful at that point, to which Collin could sympathize. "Yeah, me and you? So what? I really don't mind. What about you?"
"No, not really." he replied honestly. Loona let out a breath of relief, she really wasn't sure the sheep would be okay with the idea. "I mean, I'm... honored? I guess that would be a word for it, that you would choose me. Despite of what I am." He added with a nervous chuckle. Loona shrugged.
"You said it yourself, it's not about looks, but who you are."
"Err, that reminds me... you're not gonna hump me to death, are you?" Loona laughed at that, looking pleased but also rather mysterious.
"Oh, now that wouldn't be something? How else will I have fun with you?"
"T-There are plenty of ways to have fun, not necessarily is all about s-sex!" He replied nervously. Loona merely rolled her eyes, humored at the sheep's distress.
"I hope you're right. Besides, I don't wanna take my chances again with folk that will toss me aside the next day."
"You mean other Hellhounds?" Collin asked curiously, she nodded with a frown.
"Yeah, those. I'm looking forward to get to be around more of them, but that kind of intimate relationship? I had one really bad experience, no more for me. I'm not taking my chances again."
"What about family, though?" Collin inquired with a frown. "Wouldn't you want to have your own some day?"
"... like I said; I rather not end up being tossed aside." Loona pressed the button to get the elevator moving again, a forlorn look on her face as she stared into nothingness. "Or become the one that tosses their pup away."