His sleep schedule typically swung wildly between "somewhat normal" to "highly unusual" to "nonexistent". Lately, it was firmly locked in the "nonexistent" category. Not that he would admit that to anyone, of course. Converting magical energy to physical energy to keep going? It was a trick he'd mastered long ago but it was one he always paid dearly for sooner or later.
However, this wasn't the usual wild swinging of his sleep schedule. No, after the first day of Angel being gone, he'd gotten antsy. He didn't care about Angel, not by a long shot. If he lied to himself and everybody else enough, maybe he'd finally believe it. Alastor craved control like others craved their favorite vices. There'd been so much out of his control in life that having it in any situation was addictive.
Angel was gone. Alastor didn't know where he was. Something was happening outside of his knowledge or control, and it was like spiders beneath his skin.
He set his shadow friends to watch for Angel, telling them to alert him the moment the spider returned to the hotel. He'd tried sending them out the first day but he'd ended up empty-handed. Too many places in Pentagram City with wards against any form of scrying. If his shadows tried to penetrate those places, the owners of those locations would immediately know who was probing at their wards.
Alastor sat in his room, staring blankly at the book in front of him. Normally a voracious reader, he'd been staring at the same page for over an hour.
His shadows swarmed about him, chattering mutely in his head.
"One at a time!" he lightly scolded his shadowy companions. "You know I can't understand you when you're all jabbering at once!"
They tried again, being careful to take their turns. Their news prompted Alastor's ears to shoot straight up.
"Thank you, my friends." He summoned a ball of magical energy which they eagerly took and divided amongst themselves. "I'll take things from here."
Alastor rose from his seat and headed towards Angel's room.
The Hotel was eerily quiet as Angel snuck up the stairs towards his room. So far so good, no a single person in sight. Angel didn't know if this was lucky or just plain sad that no one was around looking for him. In his current state of mind, it settled on the latter. Who could blame them? Angel hasn't been the best of house guests. They were al probably glad for a couple days of Angel free drama. Why did he even return? Because you have nowhere else to go.
Choking down bitter thoughts Angel finally reached his door and quickly darted inside. Once the door was securely locked and closed behind him, the full weight of his body slumped against it. Everything he had endured just came crashing down onto his shoulders, making his chest feel heavy, hard to breath. Taking a moment to collect himself staring into his darken room, Angel shot a glance at his large vanity. Even in the dark he could see his reflection clear as day. God, he knew he looked like shit but this was probably the worst yet.
As Angel peered into his own eyes, the images in the mirror warped, reflecting back the 'events' of the past few days. Angel winced attempting to blink away the memories but all he could do was hear that awful low buzz of Val's laughter humming in his ears and how distrusting his touch had felt against his skin. It was like he was on fire. Letting out a small howl, Angel snatched a sheet from his bed, whipping it off to hastily cover the vanity. The images were gone but the hushed voices and the lingering sensation through his fur persist.
Mentally and physically exhausted Angel collapsed to the floor at the foot of his bed, clasping his face in his hands. It was like the flood gates were opened as tears poured from his eyes soaking his white fur. Lost in dark thoughts, Angel suddenly felt a soft nuzzle at his side and he raised his head to see a tiny pink ball of fluff. Fat Nuggets… Seeing his pet pig brought a slight smile to his face as he gingerly scooped up the small piglet into his arms, bringing him close to his chest. To some, it might just be a stupid pig, but to Angel, Nuggs was his whole world. He has seen the worst of Angel but he never judged, never abandoned him. He was always there when he needed someone. Probably one of the only living things that loved him.
Angel could feel the tears welling backup inside him and he held Nuggs close like he was afraid someone was going to rip him away from him. There he sat… crying… in the dark… as his little pig tried his best to lick away Angel's pain.
Alastor approached the door to Angel's room, pausing to adjust his jacket. No need to give the impression that he'd been waiting up for days to listen for news. No no, that just wouldn't do. Because he hadn't been worried.
Really. Not at all. He'd just had to keep things running while Charlie had taken Vaggie out searching for Angel. That was fine and normal.
He knocked on the door to the room.
"Angel, I know you're there! You can either let me in or I'll let myself in! You know I will!"
He had a copy of the master key after all. Even if he didn't he could easily teleport himself inside. Perhaps Charlie was a bit of a good influence on Alastor that way: getting him to at least give warning before he invaded.
The sudden knocking at his door almost caused Angel to jump clean out of his skin. His senses were already on high alert and the last thing he expected was a late night visitor. Who the fuc-? Alastor?
If this was any other normal day, the spider demon would have been delighted by an impromptu visit by the radio demon. However tonight, Alastor was literally the last person he wanted to see right now. Thinking about how all this started... Angel was in no mood for Alastor's judgement. Or worse, he might find Angel's situation entertaining.
But he knew Alastor was right. He was coming in, one way or another. Even if Angel wanted to, he didn't think he had the strength to pull his ass from the floor to let him in. Instead, Angel tucked up his knees and lowered his head to let his long bangs hide his face, making himself appear as small as possible, bracing for Alastor's inevitable intrusion.
"Go away Alastor." Angel pleaded through the door, all pet names dropped. "I'm not entertainin' anyone tonight."
No "Smiles"? No "Al"? Nothing vulgar? Something was definitely off.
Rather than respecting Angel's wishes, he teleported through the door. He opened his mouth, preparing to say something, but the words died before they were fully-formed as he took in the spider.
He took two steps closer, reached out to Angel...
...and gently took him by the arm.
"You'll be more comfortable on the bed, my dear."
All the while he was scanning the spider's form, taking in the injuries and making a mental list.
As Angel was expecting, the other demon just waltz right in. Or rather, teleported in Alastor's case. Unmoving from his cozy little spot on the floor, he readied himself for the mountain of shit that was about to be tossed his way. But it never came.
If the radio demon wanted more to concern himself with, Angel who was usually very liberal with his invasion of other's personal space, instinctively recoiled from Alastor's gentle touch. Wait... Was Alastor actually being kind? What the fuck? This was the last thing Angel would have expected from the other demon, who he made a habit of making his existence hell. Oh man, if this was any other day, having Alastor trying to get him into bed would have been one for the record books. But that was the farthest thought on his mind right now.
Too sore and too tired, Angel couldn't resist against the soft coaxing of Alastor to lead him to his bed. Once standing, Alastor could clearly see the full laundry list of injuries that peppered Angel's body... or at least all the ones that weren't covered by clothing. Most notable was most likely Angel's badly battered face, which he was still trying to conceal with a curtain of white bangs. Not to mention it was probably made worse due to the fact that moments ago he was bailing his eyes out. Fun times all around for Angel.
Crumpling onto his lumpy mattress, Angel went back to resume curling himself into a the smallest ball he could make himself with Fat Nuggets firmly pressed against his chest. "You did it, you're in. What the fuck do you want, Alastor?"
Angel's easy compliance unnerved Alastor. No, no, no. This was not how Angel should be. He should be spitting venom between terrible come-ons. That was Angel. This pathetic creature...
Well, it was Angel, too. And Alastor's mind flashed back to dozens, hundreds of others he'd stumbled upon who'd been battered and bruised. He'd go on to stalk their abusers -- didn't matter if they were a man or a woman, he was an equal-opportunity killer -- before viciously murdering them and having them for a few meals. Honestly, Alastor's first inclination was to set his shadows to watch Valentino to learn his routines for the perfect time to strike. Perhaps it was time to "clean house" again, make way for new overlords by slaughtering the old.
Tempting. Extremely so. However, he wasn't a fool. The overlords of old had operated purely independently. While most overlords nowadays made the same mistake, Valentino wasn't one of them. If Alastor took on one of "the Three Vs", he'd have the other two on him in a heartbeat. One overlord was a challenge. Two was a struggle. Three? Well, that was definitely impossible. No, he'd have to keep his eyes and ears open and find ways to widen potential cracks in the trio to split them apart.
Right now, however, he had other work to do. And he had the perfect excuse to deflect unwanted questions.
"Charlie's been scouring the city for you for days while I held down the fort. How do you think she'll react when she sees you in your current state?" Alastor shook his head. "No no no no, we need to fix you up. That way she doesn't send herself into a reckless tizzy! Not to mention smothering you! Need to ease her into the situation, don't you think?"
For some reason, hearing Alastor talk about Charlie was like a knife through his heart. On the one hand, the thought of the reason the Hotel was so quiet was that there was no one there... In his piss poor mental state that idea never crossed his mind. Of course that bleeding heart Charlie would be out there looking for him. But then on the other hand... the one that distressed him the most was that Alastor seemed to be more concerned about Charlie, rather than him.
It really shouldn't have come much of a surprise to him by now. Who would care about a pathetic prostitute like him? All the words Val beaten into him came rushing back. No one cared about him. Everyone saw him as an object, what could the get out of him. Even Charlie herself wanted something out of him. She wanted him to become the poster boy of her whole redemption story. Heh... so much for redemption right about now.
"Why do ya care? What are you getting out of all of this?" What are you getting out of me? Angel slowly moved to sit up to stare at Alastor properly for the first time he entered his room. "You have made it painfully clear since day one you don't give a shit about me."
"Oh, Angel, that's where you're oh-so-close yet so very wrong. You see...
"I don't care about anyone here. I told you all from the very beginning, I'm here to be entertained. You're all my toys!"
Alastor's eyes glowed as they narrowed.
"However, I take pride in taking good care of my toys! So I don't like it when other people break them...!"
He'd only met Valentino in person once but he could smell the moth all over Angel. It pissed him off that the other overlord would dare take liberties.
And there is was. The finial nail in Angel's shitty week. Angel always suspected that this is how the radio demon truly felt, so why did it feel like his heart was being crushed between those sharp talons? Sure, the two of them have dicked around before and Angel had thought some of their interactions were genuine underneath the bullshit.
God, he was so fucking stupid...
This was his place, be he toyed and jerked around by people. He hated to admit the truth in Valentino's words. The small flame in Angel's eyes sizzled out and he slumped back onto his bed in complete defeat, his back turned to Alastor so he other demon couldn't see him start to cry.
"I ain't your toy." That point was made painfully clear... "Just leave me alone."
Please don't come back, fucking asshole. Angel thought to himself as his room filled with silence once more. He really was in no mood to be emotionally jerked around anymore. Angel mentally kicked himself for letting himself caring one bit about Alastor's feelings while he trampled all over his. He should have just fucked him when he had the chance.
No... that didn't feel right.
Fuuuuuuuuck. Even though Angel knew he was a shitty person, he still couldn't bring himself to do that to another person. Being on the other side, he can personally say that it sucking ass was an understatement.
Why was he even here? Redemption? Did he really deserve it? This was he's divine punishment for his poor life choices. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. God, being left alone with his thoughts was the worst. He wanted Cherri... She was one of the few people he could sincerely trust down here in the Hell hole.
Alastor returned about ten minutes later, a piece of what looked like tupperware in his claws along with some strips of cloth.
He said nothing as he popped the lid off of the container, simply heading to the bathroom to add water to the mixture of various herbs to create a rather bitter-smelling paste. He then walked back into the room.
"Here. You can either apply this yourself or I can do it for you. Regardless, it'll sting quite a bit when it goes on but that means it's working."
His smile was still there, but he was careful to cover his eyes with his bangs. If no one could see his eyes, they could never hope to see his true expression.
With the combination of Angel throwing himself a pity party and his back turned to Alastor, the spider failed to realized the change in the radio demon's face. Angel huffed a heavy sigh, picking himself back up off the bed. One way or another he knew that weird cream Al brought was going to on his body whether he liked it or not. It was just easier to give in. What's one more thing against his wishes at this point?
On multiple occasions Alastor made it crystal clear that he didn't have any sexual interest in him, though the thought of anyone's hands on his body made his stomach turn. The porn star was known for his flexibility, but he had his limits. After days of being strung up in various positions for days even with his multitude of hands he knew he lacked the strength to reach certain places.
"I'm... going to need help..." Angel's voice come out more sheepish than he meant.
Reluctant to let go of Fat Nuggets, Angel shifted the pig between his hands as he tenderly removed pieces of his clothing. Little by little, the hidden marks that were left behind began to came to light. It wasn't until his jacket was safely removed that Alastor could see the full extent of the poor spider's defilement by Val's playtime.
Alastor nodded even though Angel wasn't likely to see it. Instead, he took a bit of cloth and dipped it into the sticky poultice. His hands, gloved or not, would never touch Angel's skin. He knew the look of someone who'd been touched enough.
It was arguably the only thing he truly had empathy for: that feeling that another's touch was burning, freezing, crawling under the skin and wouldn't give a moment's peace.
Alastor began applying the poultice little by little, adding bandages as soon as the scrapes and bruises were covered by the bitter-smelling mixture. He began murmuring under his breath as green magic swirled about Angel, seeping into the other's body and encouraging healing.
If Angel listened close enough, he'd be shocked to hear not curses or forbidden tongues but prayers almost buried beneath Alastor's customary static.
Angel let out an agonizing hiss, sucking air through his sharp teeth as the poultice pressed against his wounds. Son of a bitch, he wasn't joking about it stinging like a motherfucker. Though it didn't go unnoticed by Angel that Alastor was being oddly... tender. The spider couldn't tell if Al was just repulsed to the idea of touching him or he was actually trying to be mindful.
Either way, this whole situation was aggravatingly confusing. The radio demon's words didn't seem to match with his actions. Or maybe they did? He couldn't tell what was the truth anymore. Switching off his brain, Angel just sat and let Alastor continue his work.
In the quiet stillness of Angel's darken room, he could hear the other demon muttering to himself as his hands worked over his body. It was too faint for him to make anything out and he couldn't help himself from be suspicious.
"You better not be putting some weird hex on me." Angel peered over his shoulder at Al with his one good eye.
Alastor snorted. "Contrary to popular belief, voodoo isn't just about hexes and curses. Plenty of the spells, particularly those in rootwork, are for healing."
He continued applying each bit of poultice and the bandages.
"I admit I never found much use for the healing aspects outside of personal use, but here we are, I suppose!"
His power flowed into Angel, working with the poultice to start cleaning out potential infection and closing up the wounds.
Angel abruptly jerked away as one of the poultices touched a rather sore around, choking down curses under his breath. Whether Alastor was telling the truth it was anyone guess. But after the stinging subsided, Angel had to admit his injuries did seem... better.
Turning back around, Angel huffed, "Always full of surprises. Never pegged you as the healing type... Don't it seem a bit wasteful even if I'm just your 'toy'?"
"I'm not," Alastor said flatly. "Perhaps if I was, I wouldn't be down here in the first place. Besides, I told you I take good care of my toys and don't appreciate others breaking them. I'll have to think of some way to repay Valentino for this."
He dipped another strip of cloth into the poultice.
"Close your eyes. This will sting even more if it ends up in them, and you writhing around in the floor in pain might be fun to watch but it will probably undo a lot of my work."
In a knee jerk reaction, without warning Angel spun around to face Alastor, his eyes uncharacteristically wide with fear.
"No, don't! I-" Angel froze, one of his primary hands were just inches away from clasping onto Alastor's shoulders. His eyes fluttered. Fuck, what the hell was he doing? Realizing how pathetic he must look right about now, Angel he withdrew his hand to stroke Fat Nuggets head. "I mean, I was already broken before Val dug his claws into me. I fuckin' hate that limp dick sack of shit. I know your tough Al, but you're just one guy. There's no need for ya you get buried in all this shit too. Not for someone like me. You can get new toys that haven't been all used up."
Angel slumped his head downwards as his thought trailed off. Ughh, again, why did he even care what Alastor decided to do? Go get yourself killed. See if he cared. Annoyed with himself, Angel shut his eyes in compliance. The faster Alastor finishes, the faster he can leave.
Alastor's ears pricked up as his eyes widened in surprise, smile tensing as Angel's hands hovered so close to his shoulders. He relaxed a hair when Angel chose to start petting the pig instead, relieved. It had nothing to do with where those hands had been. Alastor just didn't like to be touched unless he initiated it, something Angel likely knew.
He chuckled as he reached forward to tap the back of his hand against Angel's chin, a mute request for him to look up.
"My dear, I prefer fixing up the old and broken toys since they're shiny and new to me. Why interest myself in something just anyone can pick up at the corner store? The real treasures are the ones others have forgotten. No no no no, I'll take the burnt-out old Philco over any Vogitech MP3 player. With a bit of elbow grease and time, the Philco will be infinitely better than that lump of plastic."
Alastor then darkly chuckled. "Besides, I'm not so foolish as to attempt to 'clean house' again just yet. I caught everyone flat-footed last time. This time they're watching for me."
Waiting for the impending unpleasant burning sensation over his swollen eye, it confused him when there came a gentle graze against his chin. It caused his eyes to flicker open, peering up into Alastor's face as his own flushed a bit pink. Angel's head buzzed with a million different voices, all trying to scream over the other. First of all, the king of no touchy was choosing to initiate contact. And second, why did Alastor sound so strangely sweet? Who was he and where is the real radio demon?!
No, no, no. Do not get swept away in this bullshit. He literally just said your just an object to him. Even so, somewhere deep inside him, Angel couldn't help feeling a bit moved by his words. Like a fucking idiot.
Crashing back down to reality, Angel tried to blink away the flustered look in his eyes, but his cheeks remained rosy, "Do what ever ya want then. Just don't say I didn't warn ya. But if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're growing a bit soft there, Smiles."
Regaining a bit of his old spark, Angel flashed a small fang filled grin.
Alastor gave a sharp laugh. "Ha! Even if I was, nobody would ever believe you, my effeminate fellow!"
The Radio Demon. Soft. Absolutely absurd. Everyone in Hell knew the Radio Demon had no heart. Why, some sinners were convinced that Alastor had never been alive to begin with, the Radio Demon having manifested from pure evil itself.
He wished he didn't have a heart, that he was just evil chaos made manifest.
"Now then: Eyes closed unless you want to writhe about on the floor! As amusing as that would be, you'd undo all my work so far!"
Damn, Alastor was right. Even if he told people about the radio demon's supposed soft side, they would just laugh in his face. Though Charlie... she would totally believe him and pester the ever loving shit out of Alastor forever. Welp, he was just going to pack that away for a rainy day when he was feeling bored and wanted to piss Al off.
Angel snickered under his breath, closing his eyes again. "Sure, sure, what ever you say. If that's what ya got to tell yourself to sleep at night, Smiles."
However, he began very carefully dabbing away at the areas around Angel's eyes. It wouldn't do to work to heal the damage only to poke the spider's eye out with a clumsily-placed claw.
He resumed murmuring his prayers to the loa, asking for their aid in speeding up the healing process. Likely the names would mean nothing to Angel except for one: Divine Mother Mary.
The swelling around the blackened eye was starting to go down. Good. Soon enough Angel would be able to use the eye to see again. It'd take more time for the aberrant color to go away but the swelling was the important thing.
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His sleep schedule typically swung wildly between "somewhat normal" to "highly unusual" to "nonexistent". Lately, it was firmly locked in the "nonexistent" category. Not that he would admit that to anyone, of course. Converting magical energy to physical energy to keep going? It was a trick he'd mastered long ago but it was one he always paid dearly for sooner or later.
However, this wasn't the usual wild swinging of his sleep schedule. No, after the first day of Angel being gone, he'd gotten antsy. He didn't care about Angel, not by a long shot.
If he lied to himself and everybody else enough, maybe he'd finally believe it.Alastor craved control like others craved their favorite vices. There'd been so much out of his control in life that having it in any situation was addictive.Angel was gone. Alastor didn't know where he was. Something was happening outside of his knowledge or control, and it was like spiders beneath his skin.
He set his shadow friends to watch for Angel, telling them to alert him the moment the spider returned to the hotel. He'd tried sending them out the first day but he'd ended up empty-handed. Too many places in Pentagram City with wards against any form of scrying. If his shadows tried to penetrate those places, the owners of those locations would immediately know who was probing at their wards.
Alastor sat in his room, staring blankly at the book in front of him. Normally a voracious reader, he'd been staring at the same page for over an hour.
His shadows swarmed about him, chattering mutely in his head.
"One at a time!" he lightly scolded his shadowy companions. "You know I can't understand you when you're all jabbering at once!"
They tried again, being careful to take their turns. Their news prompted Alastor's ears to shoot straight up.
"Thank you, my friends." He summoned a ball of magical energy which they eagerly took and divided amongst themselves. "I'll take things from here."
Alastor rose from his seat and headed towards Angel's room.
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Because you have nowhere else to go.Choking down bitter thoughts Angel finally reached his door and quickly darted inside. Once the door was securely locked and closed behind him, the full weight of his body slumped against it. Everything he had endured just came crashing down onto his shoulders, making his chest feel heavy, hard to breath. Taking a moment to collect himself staring into his darken room, Angel shot a glance at his large vanity. Even in the dark he could see his reflection clear as day. God, he knew he looked like shit but this was probably the worst yet.
As Angel peered into his own eyes, the images in the mirror warped, reflecting back the 'events' of the past few days. Angel winced attempting to blink away the memories but all he could do was hear that awful low buzz of Val's laughter humming in his ears and how distrusting his touch had felt against his skin. It was like he was on fire. Letting out a small howl, Angel snatched a sheet from his bed, whipping it off to hastily cover the vanity. The images were gone but the hushed voices and the lingering sensation through his fur persist.
Mentally and physically exhausted Angel collapsed to the floor at the foot of his bed, clasping his face in his hands. It was like the flood gates were opened as tears poured from his eyes soaking his white fur. Lost in dark thoughts, Angel suddenly felt a soft nuzzle at his side and he raised his head to see a tiny pink ball of fluff. Fat Nuggets… Seeing his pet pig brought a slight smile to his face as he gingerly scooped up the small piglet into his arms, bringing him close to his chest. To some, it might just be a stupid pig, but to Angel, Nuggs was his whole world. He has seen the worst of Angel but he never judged, never abandoned him. He was always there when he needed someone. Probably one of the only living things that loved him.
Angel could feel the tears welling backup inside him and he held Nuggs close like he was afraid someone was going to rip him away from him. There he sat… crying… in the dark… as his little pig tried his best to lick away Angel's pain.
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Really. Not at all. He'd just had to keep things running while Charlie had taken Vaggie out searching for Angel. That was fine and normal.
He knocked on the door to the room.
"Angel, I know you're there! You can either let me in or I'll let myself in! You know I will!"
He had a copy of the master key after all. Even if he didn't he could easily teleport himself inside. Perhaps Charlie was a bit of a good influence on Alastor that way: getting him to at least give warning before he invaded.
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If this was any other normal day, the spider demon would have been delighted by an impromptu visit by the radio demon. However tonight, Alastor was literally the last person he wanted to see right now. Thinking about how all this started... Angel was in no mood for Alastor's judgement. Or worse, he might find Angel's situation entertaining.
But he knew Alastor was right. He was coming in, one way or another. Even if Angel wanted to, he didn't think he had the strength to pull his ass from the floor to let him in. Instead, Angel tucked up his knees and lowered his head to let his long bangs hide his face, making himself appear as small as possible, bracing for Alastor's inevitable intrusion.
"Go away Alastor." Angel pleaded through the door, all pet names dropped. "I'm not entertainin' anyone tonight."
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Rather than respecting Angel's wishes, he teleported through the door. He opened his mouth, preparing to say something, but the words died before they were fully-formed as he took in the spider.
He took two steps closer, reached out to Angel...
...and gently took him by the arm.
"You'll be more comfortable on the bed, my dear."
All the while he was scanning the spider's form, taking in the injuries and making a mental list.
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If the radio demon wanted more to concern himself with, Angel who was usually very liberal with his invasion of other's personal space, instinctively recoiled from Alastor's gentle touch. Wait... Was Alastor actually being kind? What the fuck? This was the last thing Angel would have expected from the other demon, who he made a habit of making his existence hell. Oh man, if this was any other day, having Alastor trying to get him into bed would have been one for the record books. But that was the farthest thought on his mind right now.
Too sore and too tired, Angel couldn't resist against the soft coaxing of Alastor to lead him to his bed. Once standing, Alastor could clearly see the full laundry list of injuries that peppered Angel's body... or at least all the ones that weren't covered by clothing. Most notable was most likely Angel's badly battered face, which he was still trying to conceal with a curtain of white bangs. Not to mention it was probably made worse due to the fact that moments ago he was bailing his eyes out. Fun times all around for Angel.
Crumpling onto his lumpy mattress, Angel went back to resume curling himself into a the smallest ball he could make himself with Fat Nuggets firmly pressed against his chest. "You did it, you're in. What the fuck do you want, Alastor?"
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Well, it was Angel, too. And Alastor's mind flashed back to dozens, hundreds of others he'd stumbled upon who'd been battered and bruised. He'd go on to stalk their abusers -- didn't matter if they were a man or a woman, he was an equal-opportunity killer -- before viciously murdering them and having them for a few meals. Honestly, Alastor's first inclination was to set his shadows to watch Valentino to learn his routines for the perfect time to strike. Perhaps it was time to "clean house" again, make way for new overlords by slaughtering the old.
Tempting. Extremely so. However, he wasn't a fool. The overlords of old had operated purely independently. While most overlords nowadays made the same mistake, Valentino wasn't one of them. If Alastor took on one of "the Three Vs", he'd have the other two on him in a heartbeat. One overlord was a challenge. Two was a struggle. Three? Well, that was definitely impossible. No, he'd have to keep his eyes and ears open and find ways to widen potential cracks in the trio to split them apart.
Right now, however, he had other work to do. And he had the perfect excuse to deflect unwanted questions.
"Charlie's been scouring the city for you for days while I held down the fort. How do you think she'll react when she sees you in your current state?" Alastor shook his head. "No no no no, we need to fix you up. That way she doesn't send herself into a reckless tizzy! Not to mention smothering you! Need to ease her into the situation, don't you think?"
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It really shouldn't have come much of a surprise to him by now. Who would care about a pathetic prostitute like him? All the words Val beaten into him came rushing back. No one cared about him. Everyone saw him as an object, what could the get out of him. Even Charlie herself wanted something out of him. She wanted him to become the poster boy of her whole redemption story. Heh... so much for redemption right about now.
"Why do ya care? What are you getting out of all of this?" What are you getting out of me? Angel slowly moved to sit up to stare at Alastor properly for the first time he entered his room. "You have made it painfully clear since day one you don't give a shit about me."
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"I don't care about anyone here. I told you all from the very beginning, I'm here to be entertained. You're all my toys!"
Alastor's eyes glowed as they narrowed.
"However, I take pride in taking good care of my toys! So I don't like it when other people break them...!"
He'd only met Valentino in person once but he could smell the moth all over Angel. It pissed him off that the other overlord would dare take liberties.
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God, he was so fucking stupid...
This was his place, be he toyed and jerked around by people. He hated to admit the truth in Valentino's words. The small flame in Angel's eyes sizzled out and he slumped back onto his bed in complete defeat, his back turned to Alastor so he other demon couldn't see him start to cry.
"I ain't your toy." That point was made painfully clear... "Just leave me alone."
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He didn't care. Really, he didn't. He didn't need anybody or anything. He was fine with just his shadows.
He lied to himself so he wouldn't break."I will. For a few minutes. But I'll be back shortly."
And with that, he was gone, teleporting away to the nearest radio tower and a proper workroom.
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No... that didn't feel right.
Fuuuuuuuuck. Even though Angel knew he was a shitty person, he still couldn't bring himself to do that to another person. Being on the other side, he can personally say that it sucking ass was an understatement.
Why was he even here? Redemption? Did he really deserve it? This was he's divine punishment for his poor life choices. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. God, being left alone with his thoughts was the worst. He wanted Cherri... She was one of the few people he could sincerely trust down here in the Hell hole.
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He said nothing as he popped the lid off of the container, simply heading to the bathroom to add water to the mixture of various herbs to create a rather bitter-smelling paste. He then walked back into the room.
"Here. You can either apply this yourself or I can do it for you. Regardless, it'll sting quite a bit when it goes on but that means it's working."
His smile was still there, but he was careful to cover his eyes with his bangs. If no one could see his eyes, they could never hope to see his true expression.
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On multiple occasions Alastor made it crystal clear that he didn't have any sexual interest in him, though the thought of anyone's hands on his body made his stomach turn. The porn star was known for his flexibility, but he had his limits. After days of being strung up in various positions for days even with his multitude of hands he knew he lacked the strength to reach certain places.
"I'm... going to need help..." Angel's voice come out more sheepish than he meant.
Reluctant to let go of Fat Nuggets, Angel shifted the pig between his hands as he tenderly removed pieces of his clothing. Little by little, the hidden marks that were left behind began to came to light. It wasn't until his jacket was safely removed that Alastor could see the full extent of the poor spider's defilement by Val's playtime.
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It was arguably the only thing he truly had empathy for: that feeling that another's touch was burning, freezing, crawling under the skin and wouldn't give a moment's peace.
Alastor began applying the poultice little by little, adding bandages as soon as the scrapes and bruises were covered by the bitter-smelling mixture. He began murmuring under his breath as green magic swirled about Angel, seeping into the other's body and encouraging healing.
If Angel listened close enough, he'd be shocked to hear not curses or forbidden tongues but prayers almost buried beneath Alastor's customary static.
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Either way, this whole situation was aggravatingly confusing. The radio demon's words didn't seem to match with his actions. Or maybe they did? He couldn't tell what was the truth anymore. Switching off his brain, Angel just sat and let Alastor continue his work.
In the quiet stillness of Angel's darken room, he could hear the other demon muttering to himself as his hands worked over his body. It was too faint for him to make anything out and he couldn't help himself from be suspicious.
"You better not be putting some weird hex on me." Angel peered over his shoulder at Al with his one good eye.
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He continued applying each bit of poultice and the bandages.
"I admit I never found much use for the healing aspects outside of personal use, but here we are, I suppose!"
His power flowed into Angel, working with the poultice to start cleaning out potential infection and closing up the wounds.
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Turning back around, Angel huffed, "Always full of surprises. Never pegged you as the healing type... Don't it seem a bit wasteful even if I'm just your 'toy'?"
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He dipped another strip of cloth into the poultice.
"Close your eyes. This will sting even more if it ends up in them, and you writhing around in the floor in pain might be fun to watch but it will probably undo a lot of my work."
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"No, don't! I-" Angel froze, one of his primary hands were just inches away from clasping onto Alastor's shoulders. His eyes fluttered. Fuck, what the hell was he doing? Realizing how pathetic he must look right about now, Angel he withdrew his hand to stroke Fat Nuggets head. "I mean, I was already broken before Val dug his claws into me. I fuckin' hate that limp dick sack of shit. I know your tough Al, but you're just one guy. There's no need for ya you get buried in all this shit too. Not for someone like me. You can get new toys that haven't been all used up."
Angel slumped his head downwards as his thought trailed off. Ughh, again, why did he even care what Alastor decided to do? Go get yourself killed. See if he cared. Annoyed with himself, Angel shut his eyes in compliance. The faster Alastor finishes, the faster he can leave.
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He chuckled as he reached forward to tap the back of his hand against Angel's chin, a mute request for him to look up.
"My dear, I prefer fixing up the old and broken toys since they're shiny and new to me. Why interest myself in something just anyone can pick up at the corner store? The real treasures are the ones others have forgotten. No no no no, I'll take the burnt-out old Philco over any Vogitech MP3 player. With a bit of elbow grease and time, the Philco will be infinitely better than that lump of plastic."
Alastor then darkly chuckled. "Besides, I'm not so foolish as to attempt to 'clean house' again just yet. I caught everyone flat-footed last time. This time they're watching for me."
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No, no, no. Do not get swept away in this bullshit. He literally just said your just an object to him. Even so, somewhere deep inside him, Angel couldn't help feeling a bit moved by his words. Like a fucking idiot.
Crashing back down to reality, Angel tried to blink away the flustered look in his eyes, but his cheeks remained rosy, "Do what ever ya want then. Just don't say I didn't warn ya. But if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're growing a bit soft there, Smiles."
Regaining a bit of his old spark, Angel flashed a small fang filled grin.
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The Radio Demon. Soft. Absolutely absurd. Everyone in Hell knew the Radio Demon had no heart. Why, some sinners were convinced that Alastor had never been alive to begin with, the Radio Demon having manifested from pure evil itself.
He wished he didn't have a heart, that he was just evil chaos made manifest."Now then: Eyes closed unless you want to writhe about on the floor! As amusing as that would be, you'd undo all my work so far!"
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Angel snickered under his breath, closing his eyes again. "Sure, sure, what ever you say. If that's what ya got to tell yourself to sleep at night, Smiles."
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However, he began very carefully dabbing away at the areas around Angel's eyes. It wouldn't do to work to heal the damage only to poke the spider's eye out with a clumsily-placed claw.
He resumed murmuring his prayers to the loa, asking for their aid in speeding up the healing process. Likely the names would mean nothing to Angel except for one: Divine Mother Mary.
The swelling around the blackened eye was starting to go down. Good. Soon enough Angel would be able to use the eye to see again. It'd take more time for the aberrant color to go away but the swelling was the important thing.
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My turn to ramble on and on it seems.
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Vox in next tag...
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