Though the surface of the river was calm for a while after the waterfall had ended, so much so that no one would even suspect that someone had taken a wild ride directly over it a few mere moments ago. However, that all changed when quick as a flash, two figures broke the surface of the dark river with a heavy splash and a large gasp for air. Though it may have been tricky to get all the liquid out of his throat with a mask on, the Cat Demon was able to breathe easily enough… however the Demon Princess next to him was a different story.
"Hey," he said, giving Octavia's unconscious body a small shake. "Come on, don't do this!"
Beginning to panic a bit, the Cat Demon looked around as best he could around the underground river system. Despite it being nearly pitch black, he managed to see thanks to his nocturnal vision. Soon enough, he spotted something secured to a nearby rocky wall. Adjusting his eyes a bit as he moved closer, he found that it was some manner of an old fashioned ferry boat, like that of a Venetian gondola but MUCH bigger. The boat looked almost skeletal in appearance as if it were made of bones. The keel looked like a spine and the bow like a rib cage, even the bowsprit looked as though it had a beast-like skull carved into it.
Deciding to worry about the design of the boat later, the Cat Demon swam up to the side of the ferry and, while holding onto Octavia as best he could while keeping afloat with one arm, used the other to lift up his tail and throw it like a lasso, allowing it to take a firm grip on the railing of the boat. Lifting Octavia over his shoulder, the Cat Demon then used his free arm to slowly, with some difficulty, pull the both of them up the side of the boat and to relative safety as they both slumped onto the deck. Coughing out a little more of the blood, the Cat Demon wasted no more time and quickly rushed back to Octavia's side, laying her flat on her back and checking to see that there was no liquid in her mouth. At that moment, he gripped the sides of his mask, unlatching a certain mechanism that rested just above the jawline, with one quick yank, he pulled off the fake teeth of the mask to reveal another mouth underneath, one which was covered in chestnut fur and slightly scratched up on the left-hand side. Tossing the bottom of his mask to the side, the Cat Demon then proceeded to tilt Octavia's head up and put his mouth to hers in order to perform CPR. However, the moment his lips came into contact with her beak…
WHACK!
"SWEET JESUS!"
Those words instantly echoed throughout the entire area as the Cat Demon suddenly clutched the area between his legs, before collapsing into the fetal position off to the side of the boat. As it turned out, Octavia wasn't as unconscious as she first appeared. Though she may have been a little out of it just before the two Demons were able to board the boat, it took about 3 seconds after she was laid out on the deck for her to begin stirring, however, the Cat Demon was in too much of a panic to notice at first. The moment she snapped her eyes open and she felt the stranger's lips invade her personal space, the first thing she could think of doing was to swing her leg up and strike him right where it hurts the most.
Crawling away from the downed Cat Demon until she was backed up against the railing on the opposite side of the boat, Octavia instinctively spat anything the Cat Demon may have left on her mouth as well as any remaining blood from the river. After which she wrapped her arms around herself, keeping her distance and feeling somewhat violated as she gave her so-called saviour the stink eye.
"Y-you stay the fuck away from me, you pervert!" she snapped, her mind unable to comprehend what had just happened.
However, needless to say, after getting over the initial shock of having his genitals brutally swatted by a high-heel boot, the Cat Demon's first response to that ungrateful comment was far from friendly.
"Are you shitting me!?" he snapped back. "I risk myself to save your life and the only thanks I get is a kick in the balls!? You seriously need to get that stick out of your ass, Missy!"
"Oh please, like you weren't thinking of trying something!" Octavia retorted, feeling that she had heard enough stories of Demons all over hell taking advantage of young women in her position to make an accurate assumption.
The Cat Demon, on the other hand, wasn't going to take the argument lying down.
"Oh get over yourself, Feathers," he scoffed, staggering back to his feet. "What do you take me for?"
Choosing not to say anything in response to that, Octavia merely continued to glare at the Cat Demon as he walked over to the bottom half of his mask, before picking it back up and reattaching it.
"Honestly you Upper Crusts, you think everyone is just trying to get into your knickers don't you?" he grumbled, making sure he was loud enough so she could hear. "Do you go around kicking everyone who tries to help you in the testicles? Can't imagine you ever landing a boyfriend if that's your first response."
Needless to say, Octavia was easily offended by THAT particular remark.
"Oh, screw you!" she snapped.
"You first, Bitch!" the Cat Demon retorted.
After that the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, the both of them choosing to take a moment to try and calm themselves down, all the while keeping their hateful glares fixated in the other's direction. Octavia didn't know how to respond during this time, first, this strange Demon saves her life, then drags her into the sewer, thus landing her in what surely must have been an even worse location knowing her luck, and to top it all off, she now found herself in THIS awkward position. Maybe the stranger did mean well, and MAYBE she might have overreacted a bit, but there was no way she was going to admit that, especially given the attitude the guy was giving her. However, realising that neither of them was ever going to move forward if they stayed the way they were, Octavia eventually sighed in defeat and eventually broke the silence.
"So… you know who I am then?" she asked, this time with a tone that wasn't so harsh.
The Cat Demon merely rolled his eyes at that.
"Oh please, just because you're no longer wearing a tiara doesn't mean I don't know who you are, PRINCESS," he replied, crossing his arms in a small huff. "The only people who wouldn't recognise you at this point are the recently deceased or the mentally insane."
Now it was Octavia's turn to roll her eyes, in all honesty, she should have expected to hear an answer such as that. However, there was one particular detail of that sentence that suddenly made her eyes snap open in shock mere moments later.
"Wait, WHAT!?" she exclaimed, reaching a hand up to her head, able to feel her beanie, which was completely soaked, but NOT the golden crown that usually rested just above the rim. "Shit!"
The damn thing must have fallen off after she and the Cat Demon took a swan dive into the river of blood. Knowing that now, the Goetia Demon couldn't help but facepalm. Then again, it's not like she was actually going to miss the bloody thing, the only reason she ever wore it at all was because her mother always insisted upon it, saying that it reminded everyone who saw just how high her status was. If she was being honest with herself, while Octavia never really liked wearing her crown, it was mostly due to habit that she always had it on. Thinking more on that, she couldn't help but imagine how pissed her mother would be if she ever came home without it… if she ever made it home at all.
Her mind once again focused on her current situation, Octavia turned her head, gazing in all directions to, at the very least, get her bearings. With her own nocturnal vision, she was able to see that despite being in a modern-day sewer not that long ago, she and the Cat Demon were now inside was appeared to be a cave system of sorts, complete with stone stalactites dripping from the ceiling, and large stalagmites rising from the edges of the river of blood. The river… Why would such a thing even be down here? That was just one of the many questions forming in Octavia's head, although the first and foremost was one she simply had to openly voice.
"Where are we, anyway?" she asked.
"Your guess is good as mine, Feathers," the Cat Demon replied with a small shrug. "Though wherever we are it's pretty obvious that we're not getting out the way we came. That much I can say for sure."
"Why the hell is there even a river of blood here anyway?" Octavia voiced, feeling the need to rub her temple as she felt a small migraine coming on. "The nearest body of water is supposed to be three rings down for crying out loud!"
"What, you think I know?!" the Cat Demon retorted.
After that, the two of them once again fell into silence, neither one of them seemingly having anything productive to say as they were as clueless as each other when it came to their current situation. After a short while, only one question seemed to matter.
"So what do we do now?"
At first, the Cat Demon said nothing in response, instead choosing to turn away and stare over the side of the boat. Octavia may not have known what was going on in his head, but despite being unable to see his face, even from a quick glance at his eyes, she could tell that certain gears were turning. Finally, after what felt like a minute or two, the Cat Demon spoke up.
"Well as far as I can tell, we have two options," he said, raising two fingers for emphasis.
"Which are?" Octavia asked curiously.
"One: we stay here and wait for rescue," the Cat Demon replied, though it quickly resulted in a small scoff. "But if either of us were actually alive, that will more than likely result in us dying of thirst since no one up top really gives a shit. Therefore our best bet is option two: we try to find another way out by following the flow of the current. All this blood has got to go somewhere so if we follow that, it's sure to lead us to a way out."
However, though this suggestion may have been better than nothing, Octavia remained sceptical to the idea since it was coming from a complete stranger.
"And just how are we supposed to do that? Swim?" she asked sarcastically.
Once again, the Cat Demon felt the need to roll his eyes.
"We're on a boat, aren't we?" he retorted, tapping his foot against the railing. "And all things considered, it appears to be in good shape. All we have to do is detach it from the wall and we'll be on our way."
However, as simple as the Cat Demon made the plan sound, Octavia remained unconvinced that it would actually work, so much so that she couldn't help but stand up and point out the obvious flaws.
"And then do what, genius?" she argued, gesturing towards the entire deck. "I don't see any oars or a motor, so you're basically telling us to just sit on our asses and wait while sitting on a giant chunk of driftwood."
"Hey, if you have any better ideas, then I'm all ears," the Cat Demon retorted, resisting the urge to chuckle as Octavia was left completely, confoundedly speechless. "No? Then shut your beak and help me get this chunk of driftwood moving."
As much as the Cat Demon's attitude pissed her off to no end, Octavia had to admit that his plan was the best one they had. Hell, it was the ONLY one they had. So, with a groan and a sigh, she followed the Cat Demon over to the ropes and began lending her aid. It was a difficult task, to say the least, some would argue that it was near impossible given the lack of available tools. Not only were the ropes incredibly thick and covered in disgusting red residue, but the metal rings they were attached to were so rusted that they wouldn't even budge. Eventually, the two of them had no choice but to do some serious damage in order to break the ropes free, either by breaking off chunks of the boat or cutting through the rope itself using a small multi-tool the Cat Demon had in his front pocket. It may have taken a long time, perhaps an entire hour, but eventually, the boat was finally free… however the boat still didn't seem to be moving.
"Okay, no problem," the Cat Demon said, trying to analyse the situation by peering over the side of the boat closest to the cave wall. "We just need to give it a little push is all."
"Well then, be my guest," Octavia commented, gesturing towards the side of the boat with a roll of her eyes, giving the clear indication that she had no intention of doing such a thing.
Though still annoyed by the Goetia Demon's sarcasm, the Cat Demon decided to take the high road on that one and ignore the comment. Taking another look over the side of the boat, he reluctantly jumped over, being careful to avoid the stalagmites as he landed back in the blood, thankfully without being snatched up by the current on the other side. Pressing his back against the hull of the boat, the giant skeletal rib cage pressing deep into his spine, he then used his legs to walk up the biggest stalagmite he could find and put every ounce of strength he had to kick the boat off from it. Watching from the deck above, Octavia couldn't help but feel impressed by the Cat Demons determination, from what she could see, it appears as though he were trying to use a Leg-Press Machine at the gym, albeit on the highest setting given how much he appeared to be struggling. Finally, with one final push, the hull of the boat gave way and the whole thing finally began to float away, causing the Cat Demon to fall back into the blood below. Before the boat managed to get too far, however, he was able to climb back onto the stalagmite and jump back onto the railing just before it was out of reach.
Glad to be back on board, the Cat Demon couldn't help but scowl underneath his mask as he saw Octavia's look of indifference.
"Thanks for the help," he said sarcastically.
Though she may have given no more than a simple eye-roll in response, the Cat Demon still muttered a curse under his breath for Octavia's attitude as he pulled off his hoodie, ringing the excess blood out of it over the side of the boat before letting it rest over the railing to dry. Following the Cat Demon's example, Octavia did the same thing with her beanie, not even bothering to put it back on, after which she felt the need to take off her boots, considering how drenched they were as well. By the time the two of them were done, the pair of demons stood barefoot on the deck, with any extra clothing just slumped over the side of the boat to dry out, though despite being covered in fur and feathers respectively, that still didn't mean either of them didn't feel a chill afterwards. Looking over the boat in nothing more than an olive green tank top and pants, the Cat Demon's next objective was to find anything on the boat that was still salvageable, after all, it was common sense to see if there was anything that could be used to help the two Demons survive.
Though this boat may have looked like a giant skeletal gondola when they first saw it, now that the Cat Demon had the chance to get a better look, it was more like a small Bireme ship without any oars or sails… which also meant there must be a cargo hold somewhere. Seeing nothing from one end of the keel to the other, the Cat Demon quickly started banging his bare foot against the deck, much to Octavia's confusion. After a few light taps against the wood, they both finally heard a small echo from beneath their feet. Smirking beneath his mask, the Cat Demon then knelt down and proceeded to pry it open with his multi-tool, causing both Demons to cringe as a strong odour practically slapped them in the face the second it happened.
"Ugh, what's that smell!?" the Cat Demon exclaimed, quickly turning his head away to avoid the strange aroma.
Curious to know herself, Octavia was the first to walk down the creaky steps down into the storage area of the boat, resisting the urge to gag as the smell quickly became stronger. Feeling something brush up against her foot, she looked down to find a filthy brown bottle with a stained yellow label on it, picking it up she found that the label appeared to have what looked like the picture of the whale scrawled on it in black ink, causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Turning her head, the Goetia Demon saw that there were rows upon rows of the same bottle lined up next to the stairs like wine in a cellar.
"I think… this is some kind of Whale Oil!" she called up, putting the bottle in her hand back on one of the empty shelves. "But I thought this stuff was rendered obsolete years ago!"
Hearing the Goetia Demon's words loud and clear, the gears in the Cat Demon's head quickly started turning. Why would such a thing be stashed away on a boat that has clearly been abandoned? Taking another look around, he then spotted something towards the front of the boat, namely a small opening that appeared to have what looked like a large, black metal wick embedded into it, making it resemble some kind of shrine. A small theory forming in his head, the Cat Demon once again reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal lighter, one which thankfully managed to survive the swim through the blood rapids.
"Let's see if we can shed some light here," he muttered, igniting the candle with the smallest spark of a flame.
Just like a stick of dynamite, the moment the flame hit the wick, the entire crevice burst with green flames, flames which suddenly disappeared in a flash and reappeared again inside the skull at the head of the boat and in several other small crevices along the edge of the railing, lighting up the entire boat and making the whole thing shimmer with an eerie green glow. Unable to hold back a smug grin as Octavia came back up from the cargo hold, the Cat Demon let out a small sigh of relief as he watched the boat move on its merry way down the river.
"Now… we wait," he said, feeling that no other words would be appropriate for such a situation.
"Smashing," Octavia replied sarcastically, walking over to where her boots were drying and taking a seat up against the railing. "Let me know when we get there."
Seeing the Goetia Demon turn her head away in a huff, the Cat Demon knew in an instant that she had no intention of talking to him for a while, not that he could blame her. After the little spat they had, it was only natural for the pair of them to take some time to cool off. Then again, if Octavia was planning on keeping up her moody attitude throughout the entire boat ride… then this was going to be a LONG trip back to the Pride Ring.
As time went on, Octavia remained as silent as she was when the boat first began to float. Needless to say, this trip was starting to get REALLY boring. Without her Hellphone, she couldn't listen to her music to pass the time, the only thing she had to read was the label that had her name stitched to the inside of her blood-soaked beanie, and the only company on the boat was a Cat Demon who she still wasn't willing to start up a conversation with. How long has it been now? An hour? Maybe two? Either way, it wasn't looking like the Cat Demon had any intention of speaking to her either. Perhaps he was simply giving her space out of respect? He did seem like he genuinely wanted to help before, but given the fact that he was clearly one of the Sinner Demons, he MUST have some kind of agenda... right?
Suddenly Octavia was snapped out of her train of thought by the small click of a lighter. Following the sound, she saw that the Cat Demon had once again removed the bottom half of his mask and was holding a rolled-up stick of paper in his mouth, before proceeding to ignite the tip of it with his lighter. Catching Octavia staring at him from the corner of his red eye, he took the stick out of his mouth for a moment and spoke.
"Hey," he greeted casually. "You don't mind if I smoke do you?"
Octavia gave an unamused scowl at that.
"Would it even matter if I did?" she asked sarcastically, knowing that this guy was going to indulge himself either way.
"Fuck no," he scoffed, confirming Octavia's suspicion as he took a good long drag of the stick of paper, puffs of strange blue smoke wafting through his mouth as he exhaled. "Ah yeah, that's the stuff."
Seeing this, Octavia couldn't help but let out another groan as she pinched the bridge between her eyes.
"Great," she muttered. "Of all the Demons in Hell, I had to get stuck with one of the potheads!"
The Cat Demon growled at that comment. Sure, there was a time and place to smoke, but would it seriously kill her to cut him some slack!? They were almost slaughtered by the early arrival of the damned Exorcists, fell god knows how long down a broken sewer, had to swim through a river of actual blood and now that they were on their way she had a problem with him smoking?! That was the last straw for him.
"Hey, I'll have you know this is medicinal!" He snapped.
"Sure it is," Octavia retorted, once again rolling her eyes.
It was at that moment, the Cat Demon felt as though he was about to pop a blood vessel. However, upon taking a moment to take another hit of his joint and exhale another puff of blue smoke, he eventually let out a heavy sigh. Though he was annoyed by the princess and her holier than thou attitude, he also knew that couldn't really fault her for acting that way after what they had both been through.
"Okay, look," he said. "As much as I would LOVE to continue arguing with you, we're both stuck with each other until we get out of here, so how about a compromise here?"
"A compromise?" Octavia asked, looking at him with a curious raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, until we get out of here, how about the two of us actually TRY to be somewhat civil to each other, or at the very least try not to piss each other off," he suggested, causing Octavia to stare back at him in disbelief. "That way the both of us can spare ourselves a massive headache. Does that sound fair?"
Though she didn't answer straight away, Octavia had to admit the suggestion the Cat Demon was making did have some merit to it, despite knowing that she had no experience in making such deals with people like him. But if being stuck with rich, entitled brats and all her parents' bullshit had taught her anything, then it would be that compromises needed to be made. Plus, she did admit that if it weren't for him, she'd be dead. So, all things considered, the form of compromise he suggested didn't sound like a bad idea at all.
"Okay, fine," she finally relented with a sigh, getting back to her feet and walking over to the Cat Demon and offering her hand. "I suppose I can work with that."
At those words, the Cat Demon smiled and shook the Goetia Demon's outstretched hand, thus instigating the start of their deal.
"Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you," Octavia added with a pout, causing the Cat demon to chuckle a bit.
"Likewise, Feathers," he replied, taking another drag of his joint.
"Okay, first off stop calling me that," Octavia slightly snapped, a small hint of annoyance shrouding her tone. "If we're trying not to piss each other off, you can start by using my actual name."
As fun as it would have been to keep using his little nickname for her, the Cat Demon had to admit that the Goetia Demon had a point. If the pair of them were going to make this little ride easier for each other, then this would most certainly be the most appropriate first step.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Octavia," he apologised. "Well, since we're on the subject, I suppose I should properly introduce myself. The name's Mick. Mick Nikos,"
Once again going for a handshake, the Cat Demon, Mick, gave a polite smile at the Goetia Demon, hoping that she would accept the introduction. Thankfully, she appeared to be just as tired of arguing as he was.
"A pleasure," she replied, accepting the handshake with the same courteous tone that her mother taught her so many years ago.
After that, the two young demons once again remained in silence for a while, though this time the air didn't feel so thick with intensity as before. Now that the two of them had somewhat broken the ice, things might just be a little easier for them as time went on… not that it was any less boring, all things considered.
Once again left alone with her thoughts as she leaned against the railing and looked down at the blood below the boat, Octavia couldn't help but wonder how she was ever going to pass the time with the company she was stuck with. Given that she had next to no friends that weren't 'appropriate' for her social standing thanks to her mother, she didn't really have any idea of how to START a conversation with someone like Mick, much less think of a subject that the pair of them would be able to talk about. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that any subjects of conversation she could bring up would most likely sound as if she were whining again. She had thought of bringing up the early arrival of the Exorcists, but more than likely he wouldn't have had any more answers than she did. Octavia would have to put that question in the back of her mind for the time being. For the time being, the main question on Octavia's mind was how long they had been on this river now. Hoping to find out, she checked the small wristwatch she wore under her left sleeve, however the moment she looked at it, she found that it had stopped working since she was attacked in her limo.
"Damn it, my watch has stopped," she cursed.
"Half-past 5 in the afternoon," Mick spoke up, having heard her as he took a puff of his third joint.
Octavia couldn't help but groan upon hearing that.
"9 fucking hours… and not a thing to eat," she muttered, putting her hand to her forehead in exasperation, cringing in disgust as she felt the dried, sticky blood still flaking off her hair. "Can't even have a bath."
"Well, at least you're still alive," Mick said, hoping to cheer her up a little
"I guess," Octavia sighed, appreciating the effort but still feeling down due to her stomach practically eating itself.
Resting her head against her hand on the railing, Octavia once again looked down at the blood below with a solemn frown. Oh, how she wished that she could have anything to wash away the stench coming off her right now. Deodorant, perfume, even her father's weed killer would be better than the smell of sewer water and blood staining the clothes on her back. But even more so, what she really wanted was something to eat, she may not be able to starve to death but regardless she still felt the pain of it. At that moment, a sudden thought occurred to her regarding what Mick had just said.
"Wait a sec, how did you know what time it was?" she demanded, snapping her head around to look at the Cat Demon's wrist, noticing that a certain accessory wasn't on it. "I don't see a watch."
Pausing for a moment from his smoking, the Cat Demon raised an eyebrow under his mask in response.
"Uh… I checked my Hellphone," he replied bluntly, taking the device out of his pocket as if its existence was of no real consequence.
Needless to say, the moment she saw the object in Mick's hands, Octavia's left eye twitched with disbelief and anger.
"Are you kidding me!?" she snapped, staring down at Mick with daggers in her eyes as she stomped over towards him. "You've had a Hellphone this whole fucking time!?"
As much as he didn't enjoy having an accusing finger shoved into his chest as a furious teenager was yelling at him, especially considering that she was about an inch taller than him, Mick had to admit that keeping that particular piece of info quiet was kind of a dick move on his part… then again it wasn't as if she actually asked about it either.
"Ok yeah, but good luck trying to contact anyone, I already tried," he replied, frowning as Octavia snatched the phone out of his hand and tried dialling, hoping to contact her family. "I can't get a signal down here for some reason. Can't even connect to the News Network."
Seeing that Mick was indeed correct on that front, Octavia groaned with frustration as she squeezed the phone in her hand.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, taking a quick glance at her surroundings in order to find some kind of explanation. "Maybe all this rock and blood down here is interfering with the connection?"
"Could be," Mick sighed with a small shrug. "Either way that phone is all but useless, I don't even have much charge left."
"Oh, wow, you have got a LOT of songs by Verosika Mayday on here," Octavia pointed out, chuckling a little as she scrolled through the music album on the phone. "Never pegged you for the Pop Song type."
"HEY!" Mick snapped, snatching the phone back and scowling at Octavia for blatantly invading his privacy. "It's not ALL Pop Music."
However, despite having been caught out, Octavia still kept her smirk.
"No, of course not," she retorted playfully. "That is just one of the many genres out of that, Country, and let's not forget the oh, so riveting J-POP!"
At that moment, Mick's face, or at least the parts Octavia could see turned red with embarrassment, so much so that the Goetia demon couldn't help but stifle a small giggle at his expense.
"Oh come on, what happened to not trying to piss each other off!?" he exclaimed, trying but failing to save face in front of the Goetia Demon.
Finally getting all the laughter out of her system after a few minutes of giggles, Octavia eventually regained her composure long enough to give Mick a genuine look of apology. Apparently, she needed to find something to laugh at more than she had realised.
"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to pry. But consider it payback for keeping the Hellphone secret from me."
Hearing this, even Mick couldn't help but crack a smile at the Goetia Demon's small joke. In all honesty, he should have expected such a thing, after all, he admittedly did deserve it. With that in mind, the pair of them once again leant up against the railing of the boat. With the ice broken even further, both seemed to be a bit more comfortable with engaging in casual conversation.
"You do know she's a Succubus right?" Octavia asked, her smirk never leaving her face.
"Hey, I work at the Peppermint Puss, I practically live with those kinds of Demons," Mick retorted, flicking away the used up bud of his joint into the river. "They get more of a bad rep than they actually need in my opinion."
Octavia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.
"So you ARE a pervert?" she asked playfully.
"I never said that," Mick quickly denied. "Besides, you try getting an honest job in Hell."
Octavia couldn't really argue with that. Whatever this "Peppermint Puss" was, it must have been a somewhat decent place to work if Mick was able to defend his co-workers so easily, at least by his own standards. This was nice, no arguing, no fighting, just casual conversation. Though she may have been sceptical before, actually talking with this guy was quite a pleasant experience.
"So what are you, a stripper?" she asked, hoping to learn a little more while making a small assumption of the mentioned workplace at the same time.
"Busboy, actually," Mick replied, not even bothering to sugar-coat his answer.
"Ouch."
Quickly noticing the small cringe Octavia had when she let that small comment slip, Mick knew in an instant that she felt a small tinge of pity for him after hearing that. Luckily he was quick to try and ease her apparent concerns.
"Meh, it's honest work," he replied, giving a small shrug. "Plus I get good tips… after the bouncer shakes them out of the deadbeats."
Hearing Octavia let out another small laugh, Mick couldn't help but smirk again as he relished his success in making her smile again. Reaching into his pocket again, he then pulled out a small metal canister that was the same shape and size as a cigarette case, which it actually was in a way considering he opened it up to reveal several more rolled up joints. After pulling one out for himself, he then offered the box to Octavia. At first, she was going to refuse but given her situation, the Goetia Demon figured she could use a little something to calm herself after the day she's had.
"Aw, what the hell?" she muttered, pulling out one of the joints and allowing Mick to light it for her and coughing a little bit as she took her first drag. "Wow... this is actually some good shit. Tastes kinda like Spearmint."
Mick couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Yeah, it's much better than your standard vending machine crap, that's for sure," he said, lighting up his own joint. "Got it from these twins who stole the original seedlings from that Overlord who runs that porn studio uptown. You know, the one who dresses like a pimp."
"You mean Valentino?" Octavia asked, having heard more than enough stories from the infamous Moth Demon to recognise him by reputation alone.
"That's the one," Mick confirmed. "Basically, they nabbed a few plants from his office while he wasn't looking and then started using them to grow their own crop."
Octavia's jaw dropped in disbelief upon hearing that.
"Seriously!?" she exclaimed. "I'm surprised Valentino hasn't had them filleted for ripping him off."
"Oh, he tried," Mick rerouted with a shrug of indifference. "But they managed to give him the slip."
After hearing that, Octavia started to feel like she may very well need more than one of these joints, so much so that she felt the need to take a very long drag of the one she was smoking now. After a small fit of coughing for her trouble, she couldn't help but wonder what else about this particular weed was different than the standard stuff they sell in vending machines all over Hell. Sure she knew of the taste, and the fact that the smoke was blue, but that's about it. Then again, it wasn't as if she smoked weed before, so she couldn't really make a comparison.
"You… don't mix catnip into this do you?" she asked, not wanting to make any assumptions but still feeling the need to speak up the next question that popped into her head.
Once again, Mick let out a small chuckle.
"Only when I want to get REALLY fucked up," he shamelessly answered as he took another hit. "But like I said, I mainly use this stuff for medicinal purposes. Painkillers and something to take the edge off, ya know?"
After hearing that, Octavia quickly decided not to push the subject any further. Though that didn't mean she was without any questions. Smoking weed to take the edge off she understood, after all, Demons all over Hell take much harder drugs for the same reason every other day. But using it as a painkiller? What kind of pain was Mick even talking about? Was he injured at some point? It didn't seem like he was in any pain from what Octavia could see. Maybe there was something else she was missing. For a short while she mulled that over in her mind, trying to figure it out until suddenly, she felt Mick's hand tap her on the shoulder.
"Hey," he said, pointing a finger over to the nearby cavern wall. "What's that?"
Looking over to where Mick was pointing, what she saw next caused her jaw to drop a little. After hours of nothing but empty stone walls and the slow-flowing blood beneath the boat, there, coming into the eerie green light of the torches, was what appeared to something marking the flat surface of the passing wall. Spitting out his joint, Mick quickly rushed to the front of the boat, igniting his lighter before wrapping the tip of his tail around the metal base of it, taking care not to burn himself as he used said tail to lift it high. With the extra light, the two Demons were able to discover that what they were actually seeing was a set of markings scorched into the stone, leaving black gaping marks that appeared to be trickling blood from the bottom of each symbol, almost as if the stone itself were wounded.
"Jesus, what kind of language is this?" Mick muttered, cringing a little as he tried to keep the light on the markings even as the boat began to pass them by.
Taking a closer look herself, Octavia soon gasped in recognition, having seen symbols like this in the books that resided in her own home.
"It's Latin," she answered, much to Mick's intrigue.
"Can you read it?" he asked curiously.
Nodding in response, Octavia took another quick look at the writing again, focusing on each symbol individually before speaking them aloud.
"Qui huc... intrasti... omissa spe," she uttered in the original Latin before repeating the same sentence in a language both Demons could understand. "Abandon all hope-"
"-ye who enter here."
After Mick finished the sentence for her, Octavia couldn't help but look back at him with a face filled with unease. One didn't need to read a bible to know THAT particular quote and what it meant. Flicking out the lighter as the words on the wall disappeared behind them, Mick couldn't help but feel a chill run down his own spine. Granted they were already in Hell, but there was just something about being in such a dark, horrible place and reading one of the most infamous sayings in all recorded history made them feel all the worse for being down here. As the pair of them leaned up against the railing side by side once more, their faces plastered with a small twinge of newfound fear, Octavia couldn't help but voice the one thing that was clearly on both their minds.
"We're gonna need a LOT more weed,"