Chapter 22: Gifts and Tensions

Anya had just taken a bite of her slice of cake, which she discovered had peanut butter filling. She looked around at everyone else, each with their own slice of cake. Even Alastor had one, although she had read in his mind that he didn't like sweet things, but that he would make an exception for her (which briefly scared her).

And of course, Husk came up to her and performed a magic trick for her, involving cards and coins. She clapped her hands at his little show, and the feline smiled at how much she appreciated it.

Vaggie, for the first time, approached the little girl of her own free will and congratulated she on her first birthday in Hell. There was a visible discomfort in her expression and thoughts, indicating that she still didn't know how to interact decently with Anya without looking like an idiot or something. Anya simply hugged her legs and thanked her and understood, which made Vaggie smile shyly at her and pat her head lightly.

Niffty then walked over to her with a large gift box. - "I bought it especially for you, Anya. I hope you like it." - She declared in an excited tone of voice.

Curious, Anya began to unwrap the box and came across a dark blue coat with white details, along with black gloves, gray tights, and brown boots with bows. She then remembered Niffty's thought from the night before. The girl then gave the little cyclops a hug and murmured a "Thank you very much, Niffty" for her.

Anya then walked towards Angel Dust, a smile on her face. She noticed that he had a small package behind his back, and as soon as he noticed her behind him, he bent down and got close to her height.

"So, Anya, how did you like your first birthday party?" - the spider asked, as he lightly stroked her hair. And then, he moved and showed the package with his second pair of arms to her. - "I hope you like it, I made it for you myself, girl."

Anya took the package and gave him a grateful smile before she began to open it. Inside was a pink sweater with a penguin on it, custom-made for her. Her eyes lit up and she jumped a few times before hugging Angel tightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Dust! Anya loved the gift!" - she declared, releasing him immediately. The spider smiled excitedly at her, before standing up and muttering, - "You're welcome, kid." - and finishing with a wink.

And then, Charlie approached her and declared. - "And by the way, Anya. We also have one more thing for you." - she then brought the child to a corner, and Vaggie pulled back a curtain, revealing a television as another gift for Anya.

"Niffty and Angel told me you were watching one of these TVs yesterday, so we bought it for you. Now you can watch your favorite spy shows, what do you think?" - the princess declared, seeing the genuine excitement on Anya's face.

She walked closer when she noticed that her chimera doll was next to the television, which was playing her favorite series at that very moment. - "Anya loved it." - she pointed out, looking at the two women.

Charlie smiled as shejoined herself two hands together while Vaggie smiled at both of them.

And at that moment, the little girl realized that there was only one person missing, who was standing there, looking at her with that smile that gave her goosebumps.

Internally, Anya didn't expect Alastor to have a gift for her or anything like that, knowing him. She saw him walking towards her, with his hands behind his back. After a few seconds of silence, he answered.

"My congratulations, little Anya. I've been thinking about what I could give you as a 5th birthday present, and so I decided to give you this." - He moved one of his hands, green aura emerging from under it.

The little girl feared it was something scary or grotesque, but to her surprise, it was a small, dark red radio.

"I hope you like it. I bought it this afternoon especially for you, dear." - He pointed out, smiling friendly at her. Anya took the small radio in the air and studied it briefly. She then looked up shyly and replied. - "Thank you very... very much, Sir Alastor. Anya loved your gift."

In response, the Radio Demon patted her head lightly, and turned to leave. - "You're welcome, girl. I hope you enjoy my live broadcasts especially at night." - He declared, chuckling lightly.

Anya continued to watch him leave, when out of nowhere, the small radio was abruptly snatched from her hands, startling her. She looked up and saw an enraged Vaggie squeezing the small radio very hard, causing it to break into large pieces and drop to the floor.

She then pointed at Alastor and questioned, anger and disbelief in her voice. - "Who do you think you are, to make a child watch your bloody massacre broadcasts?! Do you want to traumatize her or something?!"

Everyone there looked at the two, expecting a fight or something. The little girl felt between a rock and a hard place, between the two of them. She feared that the Radio Demon would attack Vaggie or something worse, but instead, he just laughed sarcastically and declared.

"And do you happen to have any experience in what would or wouldn't traumatize a child, my dear? It's not like you didn't scare her when she first got besides, we're in hell, she needs to learn what she's going to deal with since she's going to be living here from now on."

Vaggie just growled back at him. Quickly, Charlie stepped between the two of them, trying to calm the situation. - "You two, please don't fight. Today is Anya's first birthday. Let's not make a bad first impression on this date, shall we?"

With that, the mood cooled down. - "You're right, Sweetheart. Let's not make a bad first impression on this special date, shall we, little Anya?" - Alastor declared, looking at the little girl, who was still in shock.

She nodded shyly, not wanting the situation to get any worse. With that, she watched him retreat from the lounge, until it was just the six of them left.

Anya then looked at Vaggie, who began to walk away, while mumbling an apology to her.

With that, she bent down and picked up the pieces of the radio that had been broken. Even if it was given by Alastor, a gift was still a gift. The child decided she would keep it in her room to try to fix it later.

She then walked to the sofa and sat down next to Angel Dust, and leaned against him, as she felt her eyes burn with tears threatening to fall. Not because her first birthday was ruined or anything, but because she thought she was the cause of that fight.

Charlie then came over and sat down next to her, trying to comfort her. - "Shh, please don't cry, Anya. It's okay. This always happens between the two of them, it wasn't your fault, okay?"

Anya didn't answer, she just curled up tighter, still holding the pieces of the radio. She felt two of the spider's arms wrap around her, trying to comfort her. In his thoughts, he was feeling sorry for her for what had happened, and at the same time slightly envious that she was receiving a gift from the Radio Demon.

She also looked at where Vaggie had left, and began to think about doing something to cheer her up. With that, she quickly got off the couch and ran towards the stairs, and finally, to her room.

She placed the pieces of the radio on her bed and then went to the trunk and grabbed her drawing materials, and left the room again, leaving the door open in her haste.

The girl returned to the lounge, surprising everyone, as they thought she would want to be alone at that moment. She then threw the papers on the floor and addressed Charlie. -"Princess, please tell Anya what things Miss Vaggie likes most."

This took everyone by surprise, but Charlie understood and nodded in response. She bent down and started telling her all about Vaggie, while Anya started scribbling on the paper.

Once she was done, Anya handed the paper to the princess and bowed her head in reverence. - "Please, Miss Charlie. Give it to Miss Vaggie."

Charlie smiled in response and nodded. - "You're welcome, Anya. I'll come." - And before leaving, the little girl declared. - "Oh, and Miss Charlie. Thank you so much for throwing this birthday party for Anya. It meant a lot."

She smiled tearfully in response as she waved and left the lounge. Anya sighed in relief and sat back down on the couch, next to Angel, feeling better now.

03/09/2025: And here is part 2. Yes, as I said, it was too long to write in one, and it would get tiring to read. But anyway, wait for the next one, because after that, the events of the first season will finally the posts for each chapter will start to take a while.

Note: And by the way, I discovered that I was a victim of scams from fake artists asking for commissions for the story in other site. I'm glad I can't pay anyone at the moment and didn't fall for that scam. Lesson learned.