Radical New Therapy

One Hell Of A Show

Angel Dust awoke to the sounds of his alarm, and after turning it off, uncharacteristically drug himself out of the miasma of comforters and pillows littering his bed without the usual 45 minutes of smashing the snooze. 

He had given himself plenty of time to prepare for his day, since this was, after all, a whole chance to either succeed or fail on his own merits and at least somewhat on his own terms! He’d be twice damned if he was stupid enough to let a chance like this slip through all of his fingers. No, he had the chance to finally achieve the unachievable, and no way was he going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him fail.

It didn't take him too long to manage his morning routine, which was pretty straightforward and simple. As it turns out, there isn't a lot of difference between man and demon, at least in this sense. Brushing teeth, wiping the sleep from eight eyes instead of two, deodorant spray under six arms, and of course a whole lot of brushing. 

He opened his closet, remembering the terms of the agreement, and chose a blouse that had a bit of a higher neckline, and a skirt that covered his knees. He thought to himself that this had to be considered tasteful, even by Alastor standards, and he did still look very nice. He made up his bed and straightened his living quarters, which was something new, but he wanted to capitalize on all the small victories that he could, realizing that there would inevitably be failures and his best strategy was to bank a surplus. Make hay while the sun shines, as it were, because if there was anyone he knew well, it was himself.  Angel Dust was bound to do stupid shit and screw it all up eventually,  so why not hedge his bets ahead of time? Eventually Nuggets pulled his piggy self from his own little bed, no doubt Angel’s moving around waking him. The piglet grunted, making his wishes to go outside known. 

"Ya ready for your mornin' walkies, Nuggs? Let's get it done, then." He cooed to the piggy, lifting him from the floor and attaching the leash to its harness, but carrying him from his room to the outside to avoid any potential accidents for Niffty to clean up later.  

He stopped by the kitchen and picked himself up a hot cup of coffee on his way, cheerfully greeting Niffty, the only other demon he'd seen so far. The diminutive demoness seemed surprised at his chipper good morning, but returned his sentiments before scurrying away to busy herself elsewhere.He didn't think much of it, knowing it would take some getting used to for everyone.

Having coffee now in hand, he made his way to the back garden. He wasted no time in allowing the little porker to run free in the fenced yard while he sat on the bench swing sipping his coffee and enjoying a rare early morning cool breeze. While Nuggets busied himself rooting up some dirt around the base of the one large tree in the garden, Angel Dust was content with just taking a few moments of peaceful silence and watching his piggy enjoy the time outside, his varied grunts and oinks bearing testimony to the animal's own contentment. 

True rest had never found Alastor. Perhaps an hours sleep in the last shreds of night, and then an uncomfortable doze midway through his scalding shower that didn't wake him as much as he hoped. It made him contemplate a cold one just to punish his insomnia but even his flair for pain was muted under the press of tangled waves that filled his aching head. 

It made him lazy, and ever so grateful he could be. A snap had him dry and his rooms pristine, a roll of the wrist and he was dressed and presentable. Even adjusting the lines and smoothing buttons was more a reflex of comfort then necessity. Only his monocle was handed to him manually by his shadow, along with a presentation of the contraband it secured. 

"Ah yes...this." Alastor was standing in his sitting room, holding up a parcel of PCP to critically stare at when Niffty let herself in with a hurried mein. The sight gave her pause, but the Boss was the Boss.