Striding back to the Hotel as if she hadn't just murdered a demon in plain sight, Aria's face plastered with a smile as she walked through the giant doors of the establishment. Her contentment was short lived, however, when the Princess and her girlfriend approached her with concerned scowls on both their faces.
"Aria," Vaggie breathed out, stopping right in front of the young demoness with the expression of a disappointed mother. "What the fuck were you doing, walking outside at these hours?? Don't you know how dangerous it is out there?"
Rolling her eyes, Aria crossed her arms as her tail swished around in annoyance. "I was going on a morning stroll, Vaggie. Where do you think I was heading to, a strip club with harlots and man-whores plaguing all over the building?"
Huffing, Vaggie put her hands on her hips and was ready to give Aria the harshest scolding of her afterlife before Charlie interrupted with a nervous smile.
"Look, Aria. We're just worried for you, and we don't want you to get hurt." The royal said, putting her hands on Aria's shoulders. "We care- I care about you."
Seeing that Aria wasn't responding and making eye contact, Charlie cleared her throat and retracted her arms, changing the topic. "How was your walk, by the way? Have you met any interesting demons?"
A smirk found its way to Aria's lips again as her ears perked up. Nodding and chuckling, a pinch of deviousness crept in her tone. "Oh, I have." She replied.
"That very interesting demon was trying to ravage a young imp, a wretch he was. So I got rid of him and dealt with the situation with my own hands. Isn't that marvelous!" The lioness laughed, spreading her arms as if she were telling a fable for children.
"Wait, I'm sorry but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!?!?" Vaggie screamed, the pale, greyish skin of her face turning red from agitation. "Are you saying you MURDERED someone?? What's gotten into you, Aria?! This is going to ruin the credibility of the Hotel- AGAIN!!!"
Being yelled at in this manner certainly wasn't helping Aria to simmer her temper, much less make her happier. "I did what I had to do! Wouldn't YOU do the same if someone laid a finger on the Princess?? You hypocrite!" She accused. Her tail swished around angrily.
"Girls, calm down!! Please, don't argue-" Charlie begged helplessly, watching her girlfriend and the lioness demon scream at each other. The fight got so loud that the entire staff of the Hotel came to see the little show of anger.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"
"AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?! MY FUCKING MOTHER?!"
Husker stared at the two demonesses screeching like howling cats, his jaw dropped and his claws still holding a bottle of half-finished booze. Angel looked concerned but really didn't know what to do as the argument progressed. Niffty stood at the corner with an almost demented smile, her single eye hollow. Alastor watched silently, his expression unreadable. And Charlie looked like she was about to cry.
As the fighting got to its peak, Aria had no more patience to spare and let out a deafening roar, silencing Vaggie's relentless scolding. The lioness looked as if she were about to explode, her irises and sclera threatening to drown in an ocean of ruby red.
"You don't know what kind of shit I had to go through to become like this." She snarled, harshly tapping Vaggie's chest with a finger. She took a few steps forward, forcing the moth demoness to move backwards with a scowl.
"And you, Vaggie, CERTAINLY don't have a fucking clue about how it feels like to be forced to kill for a simple meal for the evening, or just to live and see another day. YOU get privileged to date a royal, have a high-paying job and live an easy life, while folks like ME have to live in the dust, fighting our asses off just to survive!" Aria continued, her voice cracking as she finally ended her rant, leaving the entire building in such a tensed silence that no one felt comfortable. Not even Alastor, but it hardly showed.
Growling as she walked away, the lioness demon stormed to her room and slammed the door shut, muttering curses of a few languages that no one knew about. "Jalang bodoh, mengira dia tahu segalanya..."
Back in the lobby, Charlie had Vaggie come with her to talk privately about the situation. Husker continued to drink his booze and Angel had to answer a call from his boss. Niffty found a hell-bug and instantly went to try and stab it with her sewing needle. Yet, the thing was concerning, other than Aria's tantrum just then, was the sudden absence of the Radio Demon. It seemed like after the "show" had ended, Alastor morphed into a shadow and went off to God knows where. Where could he have gone to?
It was only a matter of time before the sulking big feline in her room heard a knock at her door. Sniffing and wiping away some of the tears that fell from her eyes, Aria grumbled beneath her breath. "Go away." She said.
"My dear, it's only me. Care to have a little chat?"
The static of Alastor's voice shifted like a radio switching stations, and his haunting yet charming presence seemed to ooze out from the cracks of the door.
Reluctantly, Aria opened the door to see the stag staring down at her with a soft grin. Unlike his usual perma-smile, this one seemed more gentle, and maybe kind? She couldn't tell.
"I'm sorry, Alastor, I don't feel like talking now. But thank you for your concern." She mumbled, trying to fake a smile and pretend everything was okay. Seeing this, Alastor's smile tightened, but continued to stay soft.
"Oh no, my dear. No, no, no, this won't do at all." He chimed, clicking his tongue while shaking his head. Placing a gloved hand on Aria's shoulder, Alastor tilted his head and bent down slightly to reach her eye-level. "Let me tell you something, sweetheart, a fake smile is uglier than any tear-filled face. Absolutely horrendous, not a bit of authenticity. However, it is a useful mechanism to keep your enemies guessing."
The lioness demon sighed, letting her smile fall and refused to look into those pools of red coming from his eyes. Aria crossed her arms after adjusting her spectacles.
Noticing her silence, Alastor's smile became a bit more mischievous, but stayed gentle. "You know, I certainly agreed with you there when you had that unique showdown with Vaggie. There is nothing more difficult than a life in which you're forced to go to the extremities just to survive. I can relate to that."
"You... you do?" Aria asked, her ears perking up in surprise. "Really?" Alastor snickered at the lioness demon's curiosity and nodded, continuing his speech.
"Why, of course! You don't possibly think that I gained my title from singing and having tea with other Overlords, do you? Oh no, sweetheart, I worked my way up here. Walk with me, darling." He chuckled, leading Aria out of her room to continue talking.
"This place was nothing short of merciless during my time, and it certainly never changed. I took soul after soul, wretch after wretch, and everyone who dared to disrespect me? Hah! Let's just say that my broadcasts never ceased to have new screams..." He said ominously.
Aria looked up at Alastor with wide eyes of admiration instead of fear. Sure, she was intimidated, but on the other hand she was amazed how much the Radio Demon had to do to earn his title. "Woah, that's well, that's cool! I've always wondered how you rose to power. It seems like you're quite the enigma as well, Alastor."
"Oho! You are quite the flatterer, Aria. But what I'm trying to imply is; you and I, we're not so different. We are killers, predators of predators." Alastor replied, hooting with laughter and patting Aria's hair gently. "So wipe those tears away, my dear! What's the use of crying?"
Leading her to the balcony, the Overlord and young sinner looked down upon the streets of Hell, with Alastor chuckling at the various sinners that strolled around. Taking a deep breath, he leaned down to Aria's level and rested his hands on her shoulders.
"Look at how they crawl around," Alastor sang softly, his voice a low baritone and making Aria's fur stand up from slight intimidation. "Upon the ground, like little ants."
Hearing the joke Alastor made of those fools that roamed around the streets below them, Aria chuckled and leaned on the balcony, her tail flicking around in amusement. The tears in her eyes have dried up, and her smile was no longer fake.
"Yes, but how they fascinate, confusing fate with what is merely chance...!" Aria joined in the ominous melody, her smile returning to her face fully, and as deviously as ever. Alastor's perma-grin widened while he offered a hand to the lioness demon, to which she gladly accepted.
With a cackle, Alastor led the young demoness down the hallway. The background suddenly dissipated into a theater stage, with the spotlight on the stag and Aria.
"Isn't it a laugh?" Alastor asked. "Isn't it a shame?" Aria added, relishing in the red-tinted spotlight as she sang along with the dangerous Radio Demon. "Thinking there is someone in Heaven to blame, haha!"
Aria snickered as they both started to mock the foolishness of most of the common people of Hell. Alastor's shadow minions helped create several silhouettes of the sinners in Hell, blaming destiny for the curses they brought on themselves. "Yes, but even while blaming fate for the lives that they lead, they hope for the lives they need. Dear me!"
Giggling, Alastor made the shadow silhouettes shrivel up. "Living everyday, till the day they die, never getting answers-" "yet still asking why!" They sang in unison and perfect harmony, with Aria only cutting off Alastor's line with permission from a knowing glance.
"Going through the motions as if there will be a reward," Aria mocked, with her lilting voice and theatrical movements. It amused the Radio Demon quite a lot, reminding him of a younger version of himself. "While we stay eternally bored~" He faked a sigh and pressed his back to Aria's, both demons faking their sorrow with their smiles still intact.
"They're only human, they don't see, who they are is who they'll always be!" Aria and Alastor sang together, their voices overlapping in a haunting, yet somehow cheerful duet. Hand-in-hand, the two demons danced their worries away together while making fun of the concept of entitlement. "Only human, after all~"
"So they push and they shove,"
"With this thing they call love, till they fall!"
Laughing together, Alastor and Aria teleported to the main streets of Pentagram City, where they gloated over the simpletons that roamed around the place. "Isn't it a farce?" Alastor asked while still following their musical number, his smile widening with sadistic glee. "Isn't it a waste?" Aria replied, her smile matching Alastor's despite being not as wide.
"Struggling to face what can never be faced!" Alastor tested, the pun making the younger demon snicker. Aria then responded with words that made the Radio Demon's black heart jitter with excitement and gladness. "Yes, but maybe death can release something more than we share..." She sang, her eyes flickering from their usual bright yellow sclera and candy red pupils, to a full blood red.
"I really don't know and don't care~" Shrugging, Alastor pulled the younger demon to an illusion sequence of different silhouettes of humans pushing heavy boulders up a steep hill, with most of them struggling to hold the weight. "They're only human, standing still, doomed to live pushing boulders uphill! Only human, after all~"
"So they give and they take-" Alastor grinned cruelly, watching as the little shadow humans traded their boulders so much that it led to their downfall. Giggling, Aria looked over at the tumbling silhouettes and continued Alastor's verse. "Hoping someone will help break their fall!"
The Radio Demon then led Aria to the top of the Hotel, giving her a good look of the view of all of Pentagram City.
"They will pray, curse, live, die," He sang, gently turning, pushing and pulling Aria around comically as he spoke every syllable. This playful gesture of his made the lioness demon laugh aloud. Standing behind her and resting his gloved hands above her shoulders once more, Alastor grinned terrifyingly wide as his pupils flickered to radio dials for a few moments. "Never knowing the truth is another man's lie!!"
"Eat, sleep, love, hate, like a leaf blowing in the wind..." Aria's voice rang out, catching a stray leaf that blew towards her. With her pyromancy, the lioness demon then set the little leaf ablaze, watching as the flames flickered. Alastor looked at it with twisted glee as well, his hand moving the remaining dust away from Aria's hand and letting it flow by the wind. "Watch them all vacillate!!"
"They're only human, they can't see~" Alastor and Aria sang in harmony again, with the stag leading the lioness in a platonic, fun, evil dance. "All the years they could give you and me!"
Aria grinned and continued to sing, now spinning around with the older demon hand-in-hand, her ears wiggling slightly with joy. "Only human, after all! So they give and they take- 'til their silly hearts break!" She belted, separating with Alastor temporarily to use her flames and enhance both their voices. Now, every syllable they sang echoed throughout the Hotel, and Alastor allowed it to be broadcasted from his microphone.
"Looking down from above, I'm intrigued by their love," The younger demon continued to sing, looking down from the roof of the building to catch a glimpse of a select few demons who had genuine care- like Charlie and Vaggie. But no... They don't understand. They don't know what it's like to fight for survival. Looking up at Alastor again, Aria returned his smile and placed her hand in his again, to which he responded by gripping it gently but firmly. "So let's call~"
The two demons then ended their little song with a grand show of power, with Alastor's voice being muffled even more with static while Aria's voice echoed around the Hotel. Together, they sounded dreadfully perfect, and all of the city heard their duet.
"Haha! You are such a talented young lass, my dear." Alastor grinned, leaning on his staff as the background turned back to normal. "Now you see? I am just like you. And you, my dear fuzzy friend, are in many ways similar to I."
With a nod, Aria smiled and responded to Alastor with a cheered up expression. "Indeed! I couldn't agree more. I have to say, you'd make a great mentor."
"Oh, ohohohoho! Now that is something I've never heard. But I will take it as a compliment." Alastor replied, hooting with laughter again while spinning his staff around with one hand."Now, I have a proposition for you, my dear."
Tilting her head like a curious little cat, Aria looked up at Alastor with intrigue as her tail flicked to the right. "I'm all ears, Alastor."
A satisfied smirk crept up the Radio Demon's lips, his eyes narrowing in delight. "Let us work together, my dear Aria. Together, you and I will become a force to be reckoned with. Our similarities will help both of us in the long run, so why waste such an opportunity that can benefit us two at the same time?" He offered, leaning down to meet Aria's eye level. Alastor then started to circle her, as if she were a little toy for him to play with. Yet somehow, he wasn't doing it in an intimidating way. "I will offer you protection and guidance, since I know you are fairly new to Hell, and who better to help you than I? You, on the other hand, can help me with my broadcasts."
Aria was listening attentively, like a loyal student to her teacher. However, she couldn't help but wonder what Alastor's motivation was.
"My dear," Alastor continued, using one hand to pull her face close to his, squishing her cheeks in the process. His smile was horrifyingly cruel, but it only intrigued the young lioness demon even more. "You will use your powers to enhance my broadcasts and make sure the entire Pride Ring hears me when I broadcast the screams of my enemies, for every little disrespectful brat to hear. And no, there is no soul-giving needed." Releasing Aria's cheeks, the Radio Demon's smile seemingly returned back to normal. "What do you say?"
Aria was vacillating. She could accept this little pact and gain a lot of things, but is Alastor truly trustworthy enough? On the other hand, if she doesn't accept, that would also be quite a shame. She would miss out the opportunity of sharing companionship with a fucking Overlord. Not to mention one of the most powerful ones. What to do?
Finally, after a minute of thinking, Aria made her decision. It was a difficult one for someone as young as her, but she felt like it couldn't hurt too much, right? "I'll accept it." She murmured and offered her hand for a handshake, to Alastor's delight.
"Splendid, my dear, absolutely splendid!" He exclaimed gleefully, shaking Aria's hand and sealing the deal. "You will become my ward, and I will watch over you as if you were my own. And you'll have your own little chores to do, isn't it lovely?"
"Yes, it is." Aria replied, feeling a bit confused but also glad she was able to make the right decision. Or at least, she hope she did. There were no contracts, nor did she feel her soul be taken away. "It is quite lovely."