When you get home from massacring demons and your baby greets you. (Not for this story)
Alastor's POV
I quickly grabbed Charlie's hand, teleporting us up to Aria's room. We were just outside in the hall, and the sound of yelling and things banging around could clearly be heard.
Charlie quickly opened the door, and then immediately screamed and ducked when a lamp shattered against the wall directly next to her head.
With widened eyes we both stared at the destroyed room, Aria and Vaggie were on the ground.
And it looks like my Aria is winning.
My smile widened and amusement bubbled up inside me. Charlie grabbed my arm.
"Al, do something!" She said worriedly, and I glanced down at her.
"Why? I'm quite curious to see the end result of this—"
"Alastor!" She fussed and I chuckled before snapping my fingers. In an instant, Aria was restrained by my shadows.
Vaggie quickly got up and hurried over to us. Other than a few scrapes and a bit of disorientation, she looks fine.
"Alastor, why did you bring that psycho to the hotel!" Vaggie hissed, and my amusement was dampened by irritation at the disrespect.
After ushering the girls out before shutting the door, we all stood in the hallway.
Vaggie was fuming and Charlie was worriedly checking her for any serious injuries. Her glare was pointed at me, and I simply smiled down at her with my hands behind my back.
"Your little friend in there just tried to kill me!" She said angrily, and I shrugged.
"Why did you bother her?" I asked simply, and Vaggie's head nearly exploded.
"I was just asking if she was alright!" She hissed, "I was checking on her!"
I glanced between the two girls, then sighed.
"Listen, girls, she's been in hell for a very short amount of time...and in that time she was alone, very scared, and probably backstabbed and betrayed a number of times," I explained calmly, "so, she may not be the most susceptible to warming up to new people just yet," I finished.
I glanced at the door, my gaze softening momentarily.
"I'll handle her...just go get yourself cleaned up, miss Vagatha," I said, my voice losing its edge. After they walked off, I turned and faced the door.
I braced myself, counting down from 3 in my head before stepping forward and opening the door.
Quickly I shut the door, and I expected to be promptly attacked.
But the room was quiet. I'd released her after I got the girls out, and curiously I panned the room, looking for her.
The room was an entire wreck, shattered glass and pillow fluff littered the floor. It was dark, the only light being the dim red glow from the evening outside.
Finally my eyes landed on her tiny figure, huddled into the darkest corner of the room. Her bright orange eyes were what stood out the most.
My smile softened to a more friendly one, and I slowly approached her. Then I stopped when she laid her ears back and hissed at me.
I put my hands up and backed up again.
She was shaking, her eyes darting around.
"W-where am I?" she stuttered, and then narrowed her eyes, "who are you, a-and who are those other people?"
I took a slow step forward, sitting on the end of her bed. She watched me closely, keeping herself tightly scrunched into a ball.
"Well, to start off, I am Alastor..." I placed my hand to my chest, "and you are in a hotel, dear," I explained.
"Why did you kidnap me?" she snapped, "what do you want? I don't have anything..." she said, and I felt the guilt getting heavier by the minute.
I shook my head.
"I didn't kidnap you, dear..." I said with a soft chuckle, "I simply noticed that you were alone and scared, and I knew this place was open, so I brought you here," I said gently.
"I can't afford this place..." she responded, her tone still holding a sharp, almost challenging, edge to it.
"Free of charge," I said, and her eyes widened. They then quickly narrowed again, and she pointed at me.
"Y-you said my name, you knew my name...I don't know you," she said to me, sounding suspicious. I cursed that she remembered that, and chuckled nervously.
Hearing her say she doesn't know me...that's causing a different kind of pain.
Because deep, deep down...suppressed in her head...she knows me better than anyone.
"Don't worry about that, dear...I just want to help you," I said softly, and she shook her head.
"No, you're going to hurt me..." she said shakily, and my heart broke slightly. It broke even more when I realized I was going to hurt her before I knew it was her...
I sighed, and looked around.
"You made quite the mess...here let me fix it," I offered, and waved my hand. All the broken glass picked itself up, reforming back into the mirror it once was.
The pillow fluff disappeared and pillows reappeared back onto the bed, intact.
The rest of the room picked itself up, quickly becoming spotless and neat again.
"There," I smiled, and looked back to her. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted. She always did love my magic.
She blinked and glared at me again when she realized I was looking.
I inched closer to her, scooting over on the bed. She noticed this, but where she had hissed before she remained silent.
The little ears on top of her head were cute, and I wondered what kind of demon she was.
Taking in a deep breath, I caught her scent immediately. There was her scent...her specific scent. The one I recognized earlier...and then there was her demon scent.
I believe she is a fox.
Smiling softly at her, I patted the bed next to me.
"Would you like to join me? I'm sure it's much more comfortable up here," I offered her, but she shook her head.
"No..." she said, and I nodded.
"Ok...that's ok, dear...are you hungry at all?" I asked her, and she hesitated. Her body wasn't as tightly scrunched anymore, and she was just sitting in the corner.
Her hand went over her stomach, and that was enough of an answer for me.
Waving my hand, a bowl appeared. It was filled with jambalaya...mother's recipe. This is her favorite.
Slowly I got up from the bed, and I walked over to her. She watched me, keeping her eyes on me the entire time.
I got to be about two feet away from her, and knelt down. I placed the bowl on the floor, sliding it towards her.
"Here..." I said softly, and she stared down at it. She looked like she wanted to dig in immediately, but she hesitated.
She pushed it back towards me, retracting her hand quickly and then looking up at me.
"You first."
At those two words I felt my breath catch in my throat.
Immediately the first time I made this for her flashed through my head. The way she looked at me, her challenging little smirk.
You first.
That day, I had laughed at her. I found her request to be so amusing, seeing as demons aren't affected by any human poisons.
However, my response this time was a gentle smile as I summoned a spoon. I took a small bite, not wanting to take too much of what she'll be eating, and she watched me closely as I ate it.
After I swallowed I opened my mouth and showered her that it was gone. She glanced back down at the bowl.
I placed the spoon I'd used into the bowl, pushing it back towards her. She took it this time, holding the bowl close to her.
"Thank you..." she muttered, and I nodded.
"You're very welcome, sweetheart," I said before standing back up. I walked over to the door, opening it. I'm going to give her a bit of space...
Pausing briefly, I turned to face her.
"If you need anything, dear, just come down to the lobby," I said. Her glowing eyes were basically the only thing I could see from the dark corner.
"Or just...holler my name, I'll hear you," I added. With that I turned and left her room. I blew a soft breath from my lips, and my smile dropped momentarily.
Well...that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At least she's not trying to fight me anymore.
I teleported down to the lobby, and Charlie was sitting with Vaggie. She was helping her patch up her scrapes and an amused smile rose to my lips.
"Hello ladies," I greeted them, and they both looked my direction.
"Hey Al," Charlie returned, "how is she? Did you manage to calm her down?" She asked and I shrugged and nodded.
"Yes, she is...calmer. I gave her something to eat, and I think it's best we give her a little time to herself," I said, and Charlie nodded.
"Sure...I'll go and check on her later tonight," she said. I was reluctant to allow that, but decided it would be fine.
She'll warm up, and once she meets everyone she'll feel less...uncomfortable.
Speaking of everyone...
I snapped my fingers and then put my arms behind my back and waited.
"Looks like I win again boys—hoooly shit," Husker's voice came from behind the girls and they spun around.
"Husk!" Charlie let out and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him. He grunted and pushed her off.
"What? Princess...? Why—" then his eyes met mine. I narrowed my eyes and smiled wider.
He sighed heavily, "for fuck's sake..." he grumbled, and then trudged over behind the bar, flopping into his chair and grabbing bottle.
Then, the fireplace roared to life and a small ash covered figure dropped down. I snatched her up, and she sneezed.
All the ash puffed away, reveling little Niffty. Her eye opened and she looked around. Then she saw me.
She gasped, and I dropped her. Landing on her feet, she turned to me.
"Boss!" She let out, and then threw herself onto my leg, hugging it tightly.
"You left for such a long time! We thought you were erased! What are you doing? Who were you with? We were all so worried, I'm so glad you're back, I missed you," she said quickly and and I chuckled and patted her head.
"Hello, Niffty dear...what I was up to is unimportant. Now that I'm back, I need you and Husker to help with this hotel again," I said to her and she nodded.
"Yes sir!" She said, and then sped off to go clean something, I'm sure.
Charlie came up to me with a big smile.
"Oh, thank you Al!" She praised and I smiled softer at her.
Hopefully things will be better now...
I found Aria.
I can keep her safe...
The fact that she doesn't remember me is heartbreaking...but I'll court her relentlessly until she falls for me again.
Perhaps the longer I spend with her, the more her memory will return?
I'll wait, however long it may take.
I was patient for this long...I can be patient just a little bit longer.