(one day later...)
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Aria screeched. "No no no no no no..."
In front of her was a massive pile of rubble and dust, which was supposed to be her humble abode in the northwest side of Pentagram City. The once fairly large bungalow she lived in was now nothing but dirt.
"How could this happen?!" She lividly wondered out loud to herself. Chalking it up to the recently frequent turf wars, she yelled out in frustration, pulling out some of her hair.
Now she's gotta find another home, which would be a difficult challenge, since this part of the city was extremely crowded, and so new houses would almost be impossible to find.
What to do? It was too dangerous for Aria to live on the streets. And she would never stay in a stranger's house, let alone befriend one. Having no other choice, she took out her phone and called Angel Dust, since he was the closest to where she lived.
"Heya toots," Angel said on the other side of the phone. "Anything ya' need?"
Aria sighed. "Look, I'll just get straight to the point. I need a new place to stay. My house has been crushed to pieces."
"WHAT?!" Angel screamed. "Uh, okay. How the fuck did that happen?"
"I asked the same thing. Ugh, probably another turf war." Aria grumbled, her tail flicking in annoyance. "It's- uugh. It's complete horseshit."
"Eh, geez. That sounds awful as fuck. Sorry that happened, Ari." Angel said, his voice a little apologetic.
Shaking her head, she replied, "Not your fault. But uh, you mentioned a Happy Hotel you were staying rent-free on the west side of the city, right? Is there any more room there?"
"You're gonna stay here? At the Hazbin Hotel?" He asked, a hint of excitement in his tone now. "And yeah there's plenty o' room 'ere, trust me."
"Wait, 'Hazbin' Hotel?"
Angel nodded. "Yep, Happy changed to Hazbin for some reason."
"Hm. So yeah, I'm going there. I got no other choice."
"Well come over and make ya'self comfy. I'll tell the staff that there's a guest comin'."
"Alright. Thanks, Angie." A small smile of gratitude creeped up Aria's face.
"Anytime, babe."
Ending the call, Aria took a deep breath and started her journey to the west side of the city. It wasn't too far, and it only took around 15 minutes of walking to arrive at the massive hotel.
Shades of red and gold covered the ginormous building, with stained glass window pictures of apples and snakes. A ridiculously large ship was sticking out on the left side of the hotel while a blimp with the face resembling a shark stuck out on the middle right. On the top left, a small radio station connected to the roof of the hotel. It had a neon sign that said "On Air", but it wasn't on.
A carousel was on the bottom right of the building, which made Aria wonder who in the right mind would add that to a hotel in Hell. In addition, there was also a train in the middle of the establishment, which looked quite old and tattered. On the very top was the big sign, "Hazbin Hotel", and just below it was a stained glass window that was shaped like an open eye.
Approaching the massive Hotel, she hesitated to knock on the door.
The lioness demon felt a little nervous. She wasn't the best in making friends, and hearing that the Princess herself ran this establishment made her panic a little. Albeit she heard that Charlie was quite bubbly and a little too kind for her own good, she still wanted to make a good impression.
Knocking the door thrice in a rhythm, she waited patiently for it to open. Moments later, a blonde, deathly pale-skinned demoness with rosy cheeks and a cheery grin answered the door.
"This must be the princess." Aria said to herself. With a polite smile and a slight bow of the head, she greeted her. "Hello, princess. I'm Aria, and if I'm not mistaken, my friend Angel Dust has told you about me, right?"
"Oh, no need for the formalities!" Charlie said, ushering Aria inside the building. "Charlie is just fine. And yes, Angel told me about you. Aria, is it? So are you staying here for redemption??" She asked excitedly, stars glimmering in her eyes.
"Unfortunately, no." Aria replied, trying her best to stay at a distance from the over-enthusiastic princess. "I'm just looking for somewhere to stay, since my house has been destroyed by a turf war."
Charlie's face dropped with slight disappointment and then sympathy. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. Well, we're happy to have you here anyways. Let me introduce you to the rest of the staff!"
Taking Aria's hand, Charlie eagerly introduced her to the people who resided in the Hotel.
"This is my girlfriend, Vaggie~" Charlie cooed, pointing to a grey moth demon who had only one eye. The other eye was only an X. Vaggie merely gave Aria a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, but looked at her up and down skeptically.
"Uh, hi." Aria said awkwardly.
"Hi." Vaggie replied.
"Ooookay. This is Angel Dust, and I'm positive you two know each other already, right?" Charlie said, to which the tall spider demon nodded.
"Eyup." Aria replied, smiling up at Angel. "He's been with me since day 1 of being in Hell."
Angel gave her a finger gun and a wink before ruffling up her hair in a brotherly way. Charlie giggled at the sight and nodded in approval. "That's great! And now here's our bartender, Husk!"
A black and white winged cat demon slumped down on his stool behind the bar counter, drinking hefty amounts of booze. Aria chuckled a little at the sight, since this Husker guy reminded her of a typical beer-belly uncle.
Husk opened an eye to look at Aria for a moment before he resumed his drinking. Continuing to follow Charlie, Aria then spotted a very short and cute cyclops demon.
"Oh, and that's Niffty! She's our maid." Charlie said, bending on her knees slightly to be closer to Niffty's eye-level. Aria did the same, and she felt quite enamored by how small and fragile the little demon looked.
"Hi! I'm Niffty! It's nice to meet you- woah! You're pretty!" Niffty said in a high-pitched voice, grinning from ear to ear. Flattered, Aria chuckled and smiled back.
"Nice to meet you too! I'm Aria. You're very cute and pretty too, Niffty." She replied, gently patting her head, to which Niffty blushed and giggled. Then, she ran off to clean the cobwebs on the ceiling meticulously.
Suddenly, Aria's ears twitched in response to hearing something like a radio switching channels. Her excellent hearing also caught the sound of confident footsteps approaching her and Charlie.
They both turned around to see the last member of the Hotel staff. This man was tall and very lean, but around a foot shorter than Angel. He wore an all red suit, save for the bowtie and his pants. A wide, almost unnatural grin was plastered on his face, which made Aria wonder how strong his facial muscles were to keep that smile for more than a second.
Fluffy deer ears stuck out from the two sides of his head as well as a set of small black antlers, and his eyes were ruby red and sharp, half-lidded and calculating. He had a mysterious aura around him, a somewhat menacing yet charming vibe to the deer demon.
"And here we have...Alastor. The Radio Demon, our facility manager." Charlie said with a smile. This time, her smile was a little nervous, like she was a tad bit concerned about how Alastor would react to Aria's arrival.
The lioness demon looked up at Alastor with a polite smile and a nod of acknowledgement. "Hello there, Alastor. I'm Aria."
Alastor's grin seemed to widen in interest as he nodded back. "Lovely meeting you, my dear!" He said with a static-filled voice. Taking Aria's hand in his and shaking it vigorously, he bent down slightly to meet her eye-level. "I assure you, you're going to have a swell time in this establishment!"
"I'm looking forward to it." Aria replied, retracting her hand. She had heard about the Radio Demon before, of how he was a tyrannical Overlord with powers strong enough to topple other Overlords who have been dominant for centuries. Yet he looked quite affable here, and his grin seemed friendly. Not to mention that he was acting like a typical old-fashioned gentleman.
"Splendid! Now, my dear, do you need my assistance in showing you around the hotel?" Alastor asked Aria, swinging one of his arms to gesture to their surroundings.
"Uh, I wouldn't mind-"
"I think she'll be just fine, Alastor." Charlie clapped her hands together nervously as she cut off their conversation.
"Nonsense!" Alastor interrupted. The screech of static emanated from him as his smile tightened. "I'll make sure that the young lass will be taken care of. I give you my word, sweetheart. Besides, what kind of gentleman would I be if I did not treat a lady right? This way, my dear~"
Noticing how his smile tightened, Aria assumed he wasn't a fan of people interrupting his conversations and took a mental note to not do it.
"Thank you for the introduction, Charlie." Aria smiled and shook her hand, before she started to follow Alastor. Even so, she stayed alert of her surroundings, and her ears flicked and twitched occasionally to listen to any abnormal sounds or more.
With the princess being all too concerned, she decided to follow behind them silently to keep watch. Alastor didn't seem to mind.
"Are you new to Hell, darling? I haven't seen you around here before." Alastor asked, his strides long and confident as his hands rested behind him. His accent was transatlantic, to which Aria found it interesting.
Aria nodded, pushing up her glasses. "I am. I've only been here for a year, but I'm adapting well."
Alastor rubbed his chin in thought, his smile widening in curiosity. "My apologies if I appear to be rude, my dear, but how old were you when you died?"
Aria chuckled. "Oh, I was only 20."
"20! Hahaha! Oh, to be youthful and young again. You are but a spry little thing, aren't you?" Alastor laughed, reaching out a hand to pat her head lightly. In response, her tail waggled.
"If you say so."
His response was peculiar. Most people would've been shocked or worried, like Charlie who got even more concerned in hearing Aria's age. But Alastor just laughed it off like nothing. That made Aria find him even more mysterious.
_________________________________________
Alastor and Charlie showed Aria around the hotel, from the balconies to the roof, to the bar, kitchen, lounges, and many more. In the meantime, the stag and the lioness demon maintained conversation, which was a little bit out of her comfort zone, since she was usually quite quiet in meeting new faces.
It was the same for Alastor. Usually, he would just ignore a new face or troll with them, or do whatever he wanted to do. But Aria was very polite and modest, which peaked his interest since most of the demonesses he encountered were either spoiled or way too naive. This young woman felt unique. Finally, the tour ended.
"Here you go," Charlie gave Aria a key to her room. "Your room number is 506. If you need any help, just ask, okay?"
"Alright. Thanks, Princess- I mean, Charlie." Aria stuttered, yawning a little.
Alastor chuckled in amusement. "Getting a little sleepy now, are we?"
Aria laughed as well, nodding. "I guess so. Thank you for your help, Alastor and Charlie. It's really, very very appreciated."
"How very polite of you, darling. It's quite refreshing to see." Alastor said with a slightly more genuine smile.
Charlie nodded in a somewhat approving way and went to hug Aria tightly. "Have sweet dreams, Aria! And like I said before, if you need anything, just call me, okay? My office door is always open for you."
Aria hugged back, albeit awkwardly and gently patted Charlie's back before breaking the hug. "Alright. Uh, goodnight."
Going up the elevator to the fifth floor, she found that her room was next to Angel's, since 507 had his name on the door. Aria grinned to herself before she turned the key and opened her door.
The room was fairly cozy, with a bathroom on the right side and a decently large bed on the left side, with a night desk sitting beside it. Perfect for a young lioness demon to sleep and rest in.
Locking the door behind her and flopping onto the bed, she gasped at how surprisingly soft and fluffy the sheets were. A soft purr of contentment came out of her throat as she curled up into a ball, enjoying the comfort it brought to her.
Even so, Aria was still sad about losing her home. She missed it quite a lot. But hey, she's got a new place to stay now. New friends and an old one, in addition a room that she could stay in rent-free.
Pushing all those thoughts aside, she decided it would be a good decision to sleep. Yawning once again, she first entered the bathroom and cleaned herself up, snapping her fingers to create a toothbrush, toothpaste and clothes for her to wear. After showering and brushing her teeth as well as grooming her fur, she flopped onto the bed and almost instantly fell into a dreamless sleep.