When the party had finally come to an end, Carnavont started to make his way over to Vortex to thank him for the party and the help with being able to talk to Loona. It had been quite the fun party overall, and the fact he got to successfully ask a girl out was just the added bonus to it all. He couldn't wait to...Carnavont stopped mid step as he slapped his forehead, he had completely forgotten to ask for her number in all the back and forth with Blitz and the excitement of her saying she'd like to go out with him. He just hoped that Vortex wouldn't ask, that would be...embarrassing to say the least. At least it wasn't a total screw up, he did give her his card...with his business number not his personal one...fuck.
"Hey man, enjoy the party?" Vortex asked with a smile
"Yeah, it was fun." Carnavont replied.
"Great!" Vortex beamed. "My girl will be happy to hear it. So, how'd it go with Loona, any luck?"
"It went pretty well, you weren't kidding when you said she could be awkward." Carnavont said with a slight chuckle.
"Heh, yeah." Vortex chuckled back. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a lot of social experience, especially given she mentioned not having friends."
Carnavont blinked a bit. "She doesn't have friends? That's odd..."
"I know right?" Vortex remarked. "From the looks of her you'd assume she'd have some at least."
"Well her dad can be kind of a dick." Carnavont muttered.
"Really? I mean I didn't talk to him, but from what I remember he seemed more overprotective, if a little overbearing." Vortex mused.
"Like I said, a dick and an asshole." Carnavont reiterated with a clear dislike.
"Gave you shit I take it?" Vortex asked.
"Yeah." Carnavont replied. "I mean it was coming from looking after his daughter, which I can kind of get, but he's still an asshole."
Vortex shrugged. "Just one of those things. So..." Vortex trailed off as he leaned closer to Carnavont, "Did you manage to ask her out?" He asked
"I did." Carnavont replied. "After her dad had to be talked down from trying to shoot me for trying to do so."
An all too telling expression of concerned knowing came to Vortex's face. "Glad my girlfriend didn't see that...she would have been...not happy."
"Yeah…" Carnavont agreed.
"Did she say yes?" Vortex asked with some interest and investment.
Carnavont smiled, "She did, enthusiastically so." he said with a slight chuckle
A wide smile grew on Vortex's face. "I had a feeling she would, not to say anything against her, she just seems..."
"Quick to get infatuated?" Carnavont asked.
'Yeah. She's a sweet girl, but she definitely gets a bit eager when it comes to getting close to someone she thinks is attractive. Again, no offense to her, she just needs the experience. Still, if she was going to get with anyone here, I'm glad it was you. You're a pretty good guy, if naive about trying to change things, but I think you might just be what she needs."
"Now I'm starting to think you invited me here to hook me up." Carnavont commented suspiciously
"Purely coincidence." Vortex assured. "Like I could tell you'd like her or anyone else here."
"...Fair enough." Carnavont said, though he still had some slight suspicion.
"But I do mean it." Vortex said as he put his arm around the other hellhound. "I think you'd be good for her...and her you."
Carnavont slightly narrowed his eyes at Vortex. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Vortex said in an almost dismissive playfulness. "Other than the fact you'll finally be dating someone."
Carnavont narrowed his eyes more. "...I'm going to ignore that."
Vortex laughed as he patted Carnavont's shoulder. "Don't take it personal man, just happy for ya, I hope this goes well for you."
"Thanks man." The crimson hellhound said with a slight smile. "Anyway, I better go, got work tomorrow and all."
"Sure, sure. Just a shame none of your employees could make." Vortex remarked.
"They would've, if they didn't have other plans already." Carnavont explained.
"I know, which is why I'm glad you finally got a girl, now you have something after work instead of being single." The other hellhound grinned.
Carnavont's eyes narrowed once more. "Again, going to ignore that because we're friends."
Vortex laughed a bit. "Have a good one man."
"You too." Carnavont smiled, giving Vortex a bro hug before they parted.
Carnavont proceeded to pick up his guitar and head to his van, putting it away before driving off and heading home. Arriving back at his modest home he let out a sigh, admonishing himself again for not getting Loona's number or giving her his own personal number. There was nothing to be done about it now, not unless he called IMP to get in touch with her to do so, but then that might be weird to do so. All he could do now is wait and see if she called him...but then again not trying to get in touch with her might be douchey to do.
"Argh, why does this have to be so complicated?" he thought out loud in frustration. The more he thought about it, the more it did seem like it'd be better to just call her instead of waiting for her to call him. But calling her to just exchange personal numbers just seemed weird, especially this soon. Waiting a day or two might be best as well, not to mention possibly asking her out on a date as well so it isn't weird or awkward.
Then again, he did run the risk of talking to Blitz, the thought alone made him shudder. He REALLY didn't want to talk to the imp any more than he absolutely had to, even if he was Loona's father. It was blatantly obvious that the guy had some personal issues he needed to work out, let alone being a rather insufferable prick. Still, despite how much he might dislike the imp, the fact alone that he took Loona in and cared for her earned at least a small amount of respect.
Carnavont sighed, accepting that if he was going to pursue something with Loona, then he'd just have to put up with Blitz...and hope they don't kill each other in the process, which was fairly likely to happen. But that was a problem for another day, right now he was tired and tomorrow would likely be busy. Carnavont yawned, stretching a bit before heading to get ready for bed before turning in, hoping that the next day wouldn't be too stressful or tiring.
When the morning came Carnavont stretched as he sat up in bed, getting up a moment later to do a light bit of exercise before getting ready for work and having some breakfast before leaving. As he drove his mind went back to the party and the somewhat brief time he had with Loona, annoyingly filled with Blitz as it was. He couldn't really help it, she was cute to say the least, and not just in appearance. For the first time in a long time he felt nervous, apprehensive, completely unsure about how to go about things. Sure he was confident when it came to everything else, but not when it came to dating, especially considering his lack there of, he hadn't much of a clue.
"How hard could it be?" Carnavont thought. "All I got to do is pick the right time to call, ask her out to somewhere she'd have fun, and make sure she has a good time...and get her number, simple." he tried to reassure himself. "I mean, I've done far more dangerous things, this should be a breeze..." As much as he tried to calm his mind, there was still an ever present lingering worry, something that he hoped wouldn't show.
It wasn't long before Carnavont arrived at where his business was located, a surprisingly nice office building situated in a rather nice part of town. Despite being fairly familiar with his backer, Carnavont was still somewhat surprised to a degree at the strings he could pull. It was something that was simultaneously impressive, and terrifying. Still, regardless of his backer's motivation for lending him a hand, he was not about to let the strides he had made go to waste.
Exiting the van he made his way into the building, heading up to the top floor of it where the headquarters of his business was located. When he got to the door he took a quick moment to compose himself, also taking a quick moment to once more take in the fact he not only had his business, but also that he was given such a nice and section of the building, taking one more moment to look at the name on the door before opening it and stepping in. As he entered the spacious receptionist area, a male hellhound of average build with deep aqua blue and pearl white fur, a mechanical left arm, a few scars, one whited out eye and one with red sclera stood up to greet him.
"Ah, good morning sir, how are you doing?" the hound greeted him with a smile.
"Typhus, how many times do I need to tell you that you don't have to call me sir? We're all comrades here, business or no."
"I know, I just feel comfortable calling you sir when we're working." Typhus said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Very well, do as you want." Carnavont relented. "Are the others here and ready?"
"Yes sir." Typhus nodded. "They're in the meeting room waiting for the morning meeting before work officially starts."
"Good." Carnavont said as he and Typhus walked to the meeting room door and stepped through where four other hellhounds, two females and two males, were sitting and waiting for their boss, all wearing attire with the same symbol on it. "Morning everyone, I trust you're all ready for another day of being paid to kill whoever. Did all of you enjoy yourselves last night?"
"Sure did boss," said one of the females who was sitting close to teach other with her feet up on the table. She was a bit shorter than the rest, seemingly about chest height to everyone and had a lavender and gray fur complimented by purple sclera. "Me and Destra here had a REAL good time last night." she grinned as she rested her hand on the hand of the curvy violet and purplish blue female next to her, causing a slight smirk to form on Destra's mouth.
"Yes, yes, good for you two." one of the males commented as he played with a knife. He was rather lean, and more slender than the others with a slight air of professionalism to him. "I myself had a rather enjoyable night out with my girl, celebrated our two year."
"Well isn't that sweat Zever." The other male who sat next to him commented, his voice filled with a cocky smartassness. He was slightly average in build, being a bit bulkier than Typhus, with orange and red fur and purple sclera. "I meanwhile had fun with two lovely candleheads." He grinned.
"Good for you Havoc...if that's true." Destra remarked.
"It is!" Havoc said with a broad grin
"Uh huh...how about you boss, how was the party?" Destra asked as she and the others looked to Carnavont.
"It...was fun." Carnavont replied, unaware of his tail now slightly wagging.
"I see...meet someone there?" Destra further inquired.
Carnavont blinked. "...Why do you ask?"
"Just curious..." she smiled.
"She's asking because your tail's wagging dummy." Xera chimed in. "So, who is she? And don't bother lying, I know that kind of wagging."
Carnavont let out a sigh. "...Her name's Loona."
"Fucking finally!" Xera exclaimed. "I thought you'd never find someone."
Carnavont blinked with slight befuddlement. "Wait, Do you...talk about my love life when I'm not around?"
"Yup." they all said in unison.
Carnavont looked dumbfound at his team. "...WHY?!"
"Because we got nothing more interesting to talk about, and it's weird a guy like you was single for so long." Havoc replied with a shrug. "We were actually placing bets on how long it'd take." he explained, much to Carnavont's exasperation.
"Which reminds me, I believe you all owe me some money." Destra said with a sly smirk.
"Yeah yeah..." Havoc muttered. "Can't believe you guessed within a year."
"...Just….why?" Carnavont asked again in bewilderment.
"Mostly because it's fun to do." Destra said as she counted her cash, "And because we do care about you. Don't get us wrong, this is not to rib on you. You took us in, gave us a respectable job, helped us get a place to live. This is just our way of showing our gratitude."
"What Dessy said." Xera said before grinning widely as she leaned in Carnavont's direction. "So...when's the date?"
"I uh...dunno?" Carnavont said as he rubbed the back of his head.
Xera blinked as she looked at him, processing the fact she just heard how badly Carnavont fumbled."WHAT?!"
"Well I didn't get a chance to really get that worked out." Carnavont admitted. "She is interested in going out, just...didn't get time to say when or what a date would be. She had to carry her dad out of the party when he got wasted."
"Did you at least get her number?" Havoc asked.
"I...did not." Carnavont admitted.
Xera looked at Carnavont in pure unbelief, "OH WHAT THE FUCK DUDE?!" She exclaimed. "How could you fuck up that badly when you run this place for a living? You should've had the shit on lock!"
"Yeah!" Havoc echoed.
"Look, I realized I made a mistake, but I did give her my business card AND I know how to get in touch with her."
"Gotta give our boss credit, it wasn't a complete screw up." Zever chimed in.
"So you don't have her number...but you know how to contact her...how does that even work?" Xera asked.
"Well...she works for the immediate murder professionals." Carnavont explained "She's the...owner's daughter."
"…And you don't see that as a conflict of interest?" Zever asked. "I mean sure we do more business than them, but still."
"I know...but she's nice." Carnavont replied. "Plus she's really hot."
"Just so long as you're aware." Zever remarked with a slight dismissive shrug.
"So, when you going to call her for a date? Can't expect her to be the one doing that." Xera asked with a fair bit of investment.
"Not sure..." Carnavont replied.
"Well that just won't fucking do. You're going to march your ass into the lobby and call to ask her out."
Carnavont narrowed his eyes. "Hey, who's the boss here?"
"You are, and a damn good one at that." era remarked. "But that's why we're going to make you finally get a date."
Havoc nodded his head in agreement. "Damn straight."
"Fine...but before I do..." Carnavont said before looking at Typhus. "Any word on the new commercial?"
"Oh, Right!" Typhus said as he snapped to being more alert. "It should be airing any minute now."
Carnavont nodded. "Good, I'll call after that."
"You fucking better." Xera threatened
"I will, don't worry." Carnavont reassured.
Loona sat at the meeting table with a bored expression, idly looking at her phone as Blitz went on about the day's business. To her it was the same old shit each and every day. At least, it usually was, today was a bit less so due to what had recently happened. Still, she couldn't muster herself to care, more so focused on Carnavont and the card he gave her, wondering when she should call him or if he'd reach out to her. Her focus was soon drawn from her phone as she happened to notice the TV. "Huh, he's got commercials." she commented.
"OH WHAT THE HELL!" Blitz exclaimed as he turned the volume up to hear the commercial which featured Carnavont and his employees killing a variety of humans and demons in surprisingly effective, tactical, and intricate ways with Carnavont's voice speaking over it.
"Need someone killed? Have they been responsible for your death or just crossed you in ways that are unforgivable and you want payback? Perhaps your an overlord or prince that needs some rival or upstart put in their place or sent a message, maybe you just need a protection detail for the day. Whatever your need, we here at the hellhound organization for untimely and necessary deaths are here to provide from justified or unjustified deaths, assassinations, and more. We guarantee complete satisfaction of services and won't take payment until the job is done. And trust me, we WILL get the job done, because we pride ourselves on a reputation of efficiency. Want it clean and mess free? We will make sure it's as clean as an angel's ass. Want to really send a message? We will make it as bloody and gory as your demonic heart desires and then some. Want something or someone blown up, hacked up, shot up, we got you covered. No matter what the job is we will get it done. So remember, if you need someone hunted down, you can always trust a hound." the voice over ended with a shot of him with his employees merging into their logo.
As the commercial ended Blitz shot the TV, seething in anger. "OH MOTHERFUCKER!" he yelled. "Even his commercials are good!"
"And aired on channels people watch." Loona commented, much to Blitz's annoyance.
"I take it you know them..." Moxxie inquired.
"Met Carnavont at the party I went to last night, he's a pretty decent guy." Loona said, blatantly ignoring Blitz's anger.
"He's an asshole! I'm going to blow open a new hole in that guy's ass when I see him." Blitz fumed, "I can't even believe I let you even talk to the guy alone!"
Moxxie blinked a bit in shock, "You usually aren't that nice to people."
"He's cool OK, unlike you fatso." Loona said somewhat defensively.
Millie lit up as she looked at Loona, "Do you like him?! Does he like you? Are you dating?!"
"THE FUCK THEY ARE!" Blitz yelled.
Loona got further defensive as she tried to hide a blush, "ARGH! I can't take this pressure! I'm going to my desk." she said as she stormed off to man the phone, slamming the door behind her. As she sat at her desk and was about to open up her hellhound monthly the phone rang, causing her to groan as she answered it. "Hello, IMP." she answered boredly.
"Hey Loona, glad it was you that answered the phone." Carnavont's voice came through, "How're you?"
Loona felt herself get excited, tail wagging a bit. "Carna-" she paused a bit, looking over at the nearby door where the meeting room was and calmed herself a bit as she lowered her voice. "Carnavnot, hiii, what's up?"
Carnavont stood for a moment, fighting off a blush as his team watched him from the threshold of the meeting room. "Oh...not much." he said as he tried to stay calm. "How are you?"
"I'm...good…you?" Loona asked
"That's good to here, I'm doing good too."
"By the way just saw your commercial, it was good." Loona commented.
"Oh, thanks, I put a fair bit of work into it." Carnavont said with a smile.
Xera frowned, leering at Carnavont. "Fucking do it already pussy! By Lucifer, it's like you got no balls at all!" she muttered.
Carnavont sighed, composing himself. "So, I was actually calling because, well...I feel stupid for not asking your number or giving you mine instead of my business'."
Loona blinked, feeling her cheeks heat up, "Oh...my number...right." she said before exchanging numbers with Carnavont.
"Thanks, so..." Carnavont said somewhat awkwardly before continuing. "There was actually one other thing I called for."
Loona's tail started to wag more as hopeful excitement started to fill her. "Oh?"
"Yeah...how would you like to...Oh I dunno…Maybe go get a drink, maybe some food, then we could perhaps go for a stroll...possibly under the night sky of either here or the human world…completely up to you of course." Carnavont suggested.
"Like a...date?" Loona asked with growing excitement.
"Yeah, like a date." The crimson hellhound confirmed.
"I'd love to!" Lonna exclaimed before covering her mouth, looking over to see Bliz opening the door of the meeting room. "Shit..."
"Loonie, something going on?" Blitzo asked with slightly concerned curiosity.
Loona panicked slightly as she thought of something to reply with "Uh...nothing…just..."
"Just what?" Blitzo inquired.
Millie lit up even more, "Is it that hellhound from the TV?" she asked, judging based off how excited Loona sounded.
"It better not fucking be!" Blitz snarled.
"And what if it is?" Loona snidely asked.
Blitz's anger began to rise as he started to move towards Loona's desk, "OH FUC-" before he could move any further or finish he was held back by the throat by Millie as Moxxie looked on unsure what to do.
"Woo yeah! Get him girl!" Millie cheered.
"Millie, sweetie...let me go so I can stop my Loona from making a mistake and KILL that son of a bitch!" Blitz requested as his voice got angrier.
"Let me have this!" Millie said in a deranged glee as she tightened her hold on Blitz. "Moxxie, sweetie, help me hold his legs down so Loona can get herself a man."
"You better fucking not Moxxie or I swear to satan I'll-." Before Blitz could say anything else Millie covered his mouth.
"Oh crumbs..." Moxxie muttered, going ahead to help Millie as he'd rather have Blitz mad at him than Millie.
"God your all embarrassing!" Loona exclaimed. "Sorry..."
"It's fine! Really..." Carnavont reassured, "So, how's...tomorrow or the following day at around...six or seven? I don't want to put you on too short of a notice..."
"Tomorrow at six is good." Loona agreed.
"Noooooooo! My baby!" Blitz managed to cry out as Millie and Moxxie restrained the crying imp as he struggled to free himself, only to be muffled by Millie again.
"Way to go Loona!" Millie cheered.
"Cool." Carnavont remarked ever so slightly awkwardly. "So...do I meet you..."
"Oh, right...umm...where to pick me up…" Loona thought out loud.
"We'll keep Blitz here so you can go out." Millie offered as Blitz went wide eyed in panic, starting to struggle more.
"We will?" Moxxie asked in shocked dismay.
"Of course sweetie, this is about love! Romance! It reminds me of when we started dating. Pleeeeease?" Millie asked as she looked at Moxxie with wide eyes.
Moxxie sighed. "Fiiiine."
Loona sighed. "Whatever...But I don't owe you guys anything." She muttered before turning back to the phone and telling Carnavont where her and Blitz lived.
"Great. See you then." Carnavont said with a smile.
"See you then." Loona replied.
As Carnavont hung up, Xera's pure excitement was evident. "YEEESSSS!" Xera exclaimed as she raised her fists up in the air. "Let's fucking gooooooooooooo!" she yelled before grabbing Destra by the collar and pulling her into a firm kiss, much to Destra's slight shock. "Wooo!"
"Seriously Xera?" Zever asked. "I mean we're all happy for the boss but I don't think that was really needed."
"me and Destra are from the lust ring, sue me." Xera remarked as she grabbed Destra's ass to just prove a point, the taller female seemingly not to mind too much.
"Whatever, and you say I get too into my work." Zever slightly muttered.
"Alright you two that's enough." Carnavont said, getting everyone's attention. "Now that Xera has forced me to take care of my own PRIVATE business, I think we need to take care of actual business wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah yeah." Xera muttered
"Yes sir." Zever complied.
"Good. Now then, let's get down to some killing. With that new commercial, we're bound to be getting a lot of business. I should probably invest in a few billboards too, the more we're out there the better. I know we're in the black, but you can never have enough business."
"I still can't believe you turned downed that job from the Ars Goetia chick, seemed easy too." Havoc commented.
"As much as it did fall within our purview, I didn't have the best feeling about that job. Plus I didn't exactly want to be angering princes so soon." Carnavont explained.
Havoc shrugged dismissively. "Fair enough, still could've netted us a lot of money."
"There's no denying that. As said, I just didn't have the best feeling towards that job, nor did I want any of us being a target if things didn't work out. No amount of money is worth risking the safety of this company and you guys."
Xera smirked a bit. "Awe, thanks boss."
"No problem." Carnavont replied simply.
With that, Carnavont and the others went back to the meeting room as Typhus manned the phone waiting for customers. Carnavont himself felt quite happy, his wagging tail showing it as he looked forward to the next day. Whatever issues or problems that might arise from dating the daughter of his business rival he was ready to face head on, whether it might work out or not. One thing was definitely for sure though, things were going to get a hell of a lot more interesting because of it.