AN: Hey all! So I am a bit nervous about this chapter. I kinda added it last minute, and I feel it might jump around a bit so I hope it's okay!
Cheers!
Alastor didn't know what was worse, the absolute silence he had just dealt with for almost a whole day or the now, constant ringing in his ears. He still couldn't hear, but at least the change was a sign things were healing. Unfortunately much too slow for his liking.
He had slept for a long time after repairing his radio cane. Fourteen hours to be exact, probably to most he had ever slept. Yet he still felt like he had been hit by a freight train. Most of his body was still sore, not to mention he was still deaf. And though he had a long rest, he was still tired.
Some flesh would help, but he couldn't go hunt in the bayou. No, he needed his hearing for that, so he would need to make his way down to the kitchen. Not ideal, but he didn't have a choice. He summoned his shadow to him and sent it to scout the kitchen and surrounding area, making sure it was clear. The last thing he wanted was to have to fumble his way through a conversation.
Upon its return he discovered how much he hated charades. Normally it was a simple few sentences, but having no hearing, he now was limited to yes and no questions. Or trying to guess what shape his shadow had taken the form of. How the hell did Ellen tolerate this? Heck, how did his shadow manage gathering all of the hotel's residents when Ellen asked it to? Just a few minutes of this was frustrating.
It was proving to be a much more difficult task than he thought. After a few minutes of back and forth he finally got the message. Everything was clear, but Husker was still at the bar. No surprise there.
He slipped into shadow, down to the kitchen. He hadn't tried that since going deaf and to his surprise and horror, it affected his shifting. And his balance.
While he had intended on appearing by the door, he found he was off by a few feet, and with his balance displaced, he knocked over some pots that, likely, clattered loudly to the floor. He rolled his eyes deciding it would probably be best for him to do things normally from now on. Or at least until his ears had improved more.
With a rather annoyed sigh he never heard, he picked up the scattered pots placing them in the sink. Hopefully no one would come to investigate. He doubted Husker would.
He pressed on, working on a simple demon steak dish. Cooking was usually something he enjoyed, though even it wasn't as enjoyable without sound. No soft chopping sounds as he prepared the meat, no hiss of the gas fueling the element, no sizzling of the meat in the pan, just absolute silence. Like watching a cooking show that had been put on mute. Not very satisfactory. At least he still had his nose.
He wasn't sure how long his shadow had been trying to get his attention but it was clearly far too long. It simply pointed behind him and he already knew he was going to have to fumble his way through a conversation with someone. He hoped to whatever deity that was listening, it would be Nifty. She would be easy to get rid of and she wouldn't ask questions.
He turned knowing Hell was never that kind. Angel stood, arms crossed giving him an unamused look. Probably the worst possible person to deal with right now.
Vaggie and Lucifer wouldn't even bother trying to converse and both Charlie and Husker could simply be ignored and they would eventually leave on their own accord, but Angel? He would ask questions and demand answers. Getting him to leave would not be a simple task, even if he still had the ability to hear.
Not to mention he didn't want to shift into shadows like this. He had only once, while ossified, tried shifting and found himself in a wall, squished between studs. Rosie and Mimzy only found him because of his shadow. Those girls refused to let him live that one down, even after eighty or so years. After that he vowed never to shift inebriated, and while this wasn't exactly the same, he wasn't going to risk something like that again. Once was embarrassing enough.
He was stuck here, hoping he could somewhat stumble through a conversation. This was going to be an unfortunate fiasco. He let out an annoyed breath. Here goes nothing.
"What is it you want, Angel? I'm not in the mood for trivial chitchat."
He watched his mouth open lips forming words he couldn't comprehend. Watched the way his arms moved around, eyes moved, even looking at body language, yet still deciphered nothing. Fuck.
Angel had just gotten to the bottom of the stairs when he heard a loud crash in the kitchen. His eyes darted over to Husker who only shrugged in response. If he didn't see anyone go in, then it was Alastor. Odd, he was usually good about keeping noise down.
He pushed open the kitchen door to confirm his assumption, it was indeed Alastor. He looked busy at work with what he was doing. Angel thought about leaving him to his cooking but couldn't help but be curious about all the radios yesterday. He and Nifty went up to his room but never got an answer. He even went again later to see if he could find him, but had no luck. In fact no one had seen him for almost a day, not since the whole Ellen to heaven thing.
He didn't expect Alastor to open up, but maybe he could at least let him know they were all rooting for him, all looking for a way to get Ellen back. It may help knowing he wasn't fighting this alone.
"I know ya gonna tell me off, but I jus wanna let ya know we're all on your side Al. We all want her back too."
He waited expecting some sort of reply but as the seconds ticked by his face scrunched up confused. Did he not hear him? He raised his voice a little.
"Hey Al!"
Still no response. Did he do something to piss off Alastor? He couldn't think of anything recently. He popped his head out of the kitchen looking toward the bar.
"Hey Whiskers, is tha radios still acting outta sorts?"
He didn't catch the full response, though by the glare he knew Husker had made some comment about the nickname.
"Yeah, still radio silence."
Interesting. He popped back into the kitchen to see Alastor still at work on whatever he was making, completely oblivious to his presence. Out of character for the Radio Demon, who seemed to know where everyone was at all times. He was very hard to sneak up on. Angel would know, he had tried many times.
His ears didn't even twitch to noises, a response that was usually involuntary.
He crossed his arms, staring at his back wondering how long it would take him to figure out he had an audience. Apparently three minutes, of which two had his shadow waving to get his attention. Guy must have been zoned out hard.
When he turned he was greeted with a look of annoyance. That was at least more like Alastor.
"What is it you want, Angel? I'm not in the mood for trivial chitchat."
He raised an eyebrow. His arms falling loosely to his side. Alastor was watching him intently, something he had never done before.
"I wanna know why all the radios have gone to shit and it took ya five minutes to address me standin here. Not very much like you at all smiles. Somethin's up."
There was a pregnant pause, Alastor seeming to take a while to come up with a response. If he didn't know better he would think his look was blank. As the pause drew out longer, he was starting to feel bad. Alastor was probably a bit more irritable given the past twenty four hours, and here Angel was hounding him, the first time anyone had seen him out of his room.
"While I'm sure that topic is of interest to you, I don't quite care for it, so if you'll excuse me I wish to return to my cooking."
He remained silent as he watched Alastor turn back to what he was doing. His response, while very much typical of him, seemed…vague? Almost like he hadn't really heard what he said.
He opened his mouth to push for more answers but was interrupted.
"I'm simply going to ignore you, Angel. I'm sure you can find someone else to pester."
Angel glared at the other demon, but eventually returned on his heels and left. He had something going on, he was going to find out what.
He made his way to the bar and sat down flustered. If anyone was going to know it would be Husker. He knew Alastor the longest.
"Somethin is goin on wit Smiles."
Husker slid his favourite drink down the bar to him.
"Yeah and? He's always up to something. The last time you were here brooding we found out he got hitched. Or the time before that, you thought he was suspiciously friendly with Ellen. When are ya gonna learn. He's always got something."
Angel gave him a look. "This is different"
Husker rolled his eyes mumbling, "ya said the same shit last time."
"Okay fine, but this one is different. Tha radios have gone ta shit. That's something different. This ain't like those otta times."
Husker turned, placing a glass up on the shelf behind the bar. "Right. And he's gonna just openly tell you his deal?"
"Aren't you at least a little curious?" Angel leaned forward onto the bar, a soft smile on his face.
Husker turned to face him with a knowing glare. "Curiosity killed the cat. I know better than to start snooping around Alastor. He'll play nice cause of Charlie, but that won't stop him from killing anyone here, so I suggest you let it go."
"And the radios?"
Husker waved a hand dismissing the concern. "They'll fix themselves. Whatever Alastor has got going on ain't going to last long. I give it two days, three tops and it's all back to normal."
"How do ya know? You said this has never happened before."
Husk leaned on the bar. "It hasn't. Doesn't mean he won't fix it. He ain't one to stay down for long."
Angel turned to look back toward the kitchen just as Alastor happened to walk out, plate in hand, headed up the stairs.
"But somethin is definitely off right?"
Husker watched as his boss continued his journey up the stairs. Something definitely happened if he wasn't using his shadows to shift around. He would never walk to his room from down here, not unless he was accompanying someone. That wasn't the case here.
"Yeah. Somethin's off."
Husker returned to wiping down the bar, his body on autopilot, grabbing himself a bottle of booze from underneath. It seemed Angel had given him stuff to think about. Not that he particularly wanted to think about Alastor.
The two remained silent for a long while, both lost in thought.
Alastor could feel both sets of eyes on him as he made his way back to his room. Husker would have figured something was off, but seeing as this had never happened before, he wouldn't have to worry about being discovered. If he could keep himself locked in his room, he could probably keep it that way.
While being a master manipulator you learn to read people, but it did nothing to help him with whatever happened in the kitchen. All he could decipher was that Angel had been annoyed and a bit curious, not something special. Not something that really helped finding responses, though Angel did leave. Whether he had disgruntled words about it, he didn't know and frankly didn't care.
He took a seat to enjoy his meal. He let out a small huff, annoyed at the situation he found himself in. It seemed like a waste of time sitting and waiting for his ears to heal. But all of the things he normally did couldn't be done deaf. No broadcasts, no hunting sinners, no listening to music, simply silence. He leaned back his gaze looking over the bayou. Paperwork. He could catch up on the mountain of paperwork he had put off for a while. Not what he wanted but it was something to do.
As he finished the last bite on his plate his shadow pointed to the door. His eyes slowly moved in that direction but remained seated. He was not going to answer that. Why was everyone all up in his business now? He couldn't think of another time his attention had been so heavily demanded. When he was sure he had waited long enough he finally stood, brushing himself off. His shoulders dropped in defeat as his gaze moved to his bed. It would be much more comfortable than the chair he fell asleep in earlier. Rest was the best medicine and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was still drained. He turned to see the clock, it was early in the afternoon. Maybe he would go for a quick nap.
He opened his eyes to find it looked dark in his room. He looked at the clock. When did he lay down? He sat up stretching. He definitely needed that extra rest. He was feeling more like himself now, no more ache or exhaustion. He slowly reached up to stroke an ear. No radiating pain. His head shot to the door when he heard a knock. Had his ears healed themselves already?
He made his way to the door pleased he had progressed faster than he had originally thought. He opened it to find Nifty standing on the other side bouncing up and down. He tilted his head to the side, curious as to what she could possibly need from him.
"Yes Nifty?"
His gut sank when her lips started moving at a quick pace but there was no sound coming out.
She darted between his legs letting herself into his room and he turned to find her zipping around cleaning still talking with words he never heard. He remained quiet, simply watching her as she quickly finished. She zipped back to him, staring up at him expectantly. Had she asked him a question? It didn't look like she had.
He cleared his throat. "Thank you Nifty that will be all."
Her smile grew before she darted out and down the hall. Well that didn't go too terribly.
He had heard her knock. Why didn't he hear her? Too high a pitch to discern yet? Maybe he hadn't healed as well as he thought.
He closed the door and moved toward the bayou. He couldn't hear the frogs and toads. No breeze through the leaves. Hmm.
He shifted to his bathroom, only to test his thoughts. He was no longer off balance and he did indeed make it to where he intended. At least that nightmare was over.
He shifted down to his office to get started on some paperwork. He may not be able to hear conversations yet, but at least he could hear some things.
After many hours of paperwork he managed to get it done. He stretched his fingers and arms. Looking at the clock he found it was very late, or really early depending on one's preference.
He stood and made his way to the lobby. Husker was long gone, off to bed likely, like the rest of the residence. He fixed himself a drink sitting on one of the stools enjoying the dim flickering of the lights. He turned to face the bar leaning on it, swirling his glass watching the amber liquid spin in the glass. The loud sound of the door slamming shut had him freeze. He slowly turned watching as Angel trudged by him, eyes glued to the floor, his footsteps silent. Uhg.
Alastor remained frozen, only his eyes moving. If he could remain still perhaps Angel would simply walk by and he would remain unnoticed. He narrowed his eyes as if he could mentally control Angels movements. Of course he never had such luck.
Angel looked up to him. He straightened himself up. He opened his mouth but he still couldn't hear the words. It was short. A greeting perhaps?
"You were out rather late."
One of Angel's hands moved to the back of his neck, his gaze turned away. He was probably talking about Valentino, something that was always uncomfortable for the spider.
He stood, not wanting to bother with another doomed to fail conversation. He would go for a walk through the city. He may not hear normal voices, but he didn't need to to find trouble. Screams were more what he liked listening to. If he got lucky he may just find some sorry sinner destined to join the voices of his broadcast.
He summoned his radio cane giving it a satisfactory twirl before turning to the door. There was a soft pop sound, but he ignored it moving to the doors.
"Where ya headed this late?"
Alastor paused. He had heard that. Did Angel yell it at him? It didn't sound like it was angry. His grin grew. This evening would indeed be a good one.
He slowly turned to face Angel.
"Off to settle some business. Reclaim what is mine."
He slipped through shadows into the heart of the city. Despite the lateness of the evening the city was still bustling, sounds drawing his ears everywhere. Screams and gunfire were almost constant but he was enjoying the soft hushed whispers of the sinners he passed.
Tonight he would go hunting, perhaps to the other side of the city. It was about time he rekindled the fear and dominance he had once held in Hell. It all started toppling overlords, a good place to start again. His grin grew wicked as he slipped back into the shadows waiting, watching.
Angel slowly trudged his way back to the hotel. He wasn't supposed to be in the studio tonight, but Val wanted him in. It was very obvious when Valentino had a bad day. It normally resulted in longer shoots and rougher routines.
He pushed the front door of the hotel open, practically dragging himself across the lobby. He was exhausted. He glanced over to the bar in hopes of finding Husker, to his surprise Alastor sat there, eyes narrowed watching him.
He straightened himself up. "Oh hey Al."
"You were out rather late."
He turned away forcing a laugh, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah well you know Val, when he gets inspired it's all hands on deck."
Alastor stood and that was when Angel noticed the radio cane that had been missing for months. He hadn't seen it since the last extermination, the two seemingly inseparable before.
He watched Alastor make his way to the front doors, one arm tucked behind him the other twirling his cane.
"Where ya headed this late?"
Alastor stopped, his ear twitched toward him, the only sign he had that indicated that the Radio Demon had heard him.
He slowly turned to face Angel, his grin wider than usual.
"Off to settle some business. Reclaim what is mine."
And with that he was gone.
Angel stared for a few moments trying to figure out what he meant. Reclaiming territory maybe? He shrugged it off, headed back for the stairs only coming to a stop again this time, as he passed one of the radios in the lobby.
His eye flicked between it and the front door a few times before he moved to it. He flicked the radio on, expecting it to sound distorted like it had been earlier in the day. He had never been so invested in radios before.
The sound was smooth and crisp, or at least the best you could get from an outdated radio. He smiled as the soft jazz filled the lobby. Whatever happened, Alastor had fixed it, or sorted it all out. He chuckled to himself. Husker knew Alastor well, it had been just under three days, just as he predicted.
He decided to leave the radio on for when Alastor returned. He finally made his way back to his original destination; his bed.
Perhaps now that Alastor was back to his usual self he would be more present.
His smile slipped remembering they still had to find a way to get Ellen back. One thing at a time.