divinetree | Charlie & Vox

Ah, right... yeah, he didn't think it was safe at all. But her talk of spells was intriguing- he'd seen strange things happen down below on the flight over, and any denial of the existence of magic had long since withered in him. I mean, he rode a fucking DRAGON about an hour ago!

Anything would help. I'm a quick study! Haha- maybe with magic, too?

DID he have magic? He had to. He had a television for a head and had regenerative properties. He -had- to have something.

Hmm. Let's see. The eye narrowed a bit in focus. Safe. He needed to learn to keep himself safe. Vincent Whittman wasn't weak.

A flash of blue, just a fleck, and a thin ribbon of electricity steadied between his antennae. He felt a little tingly...

Trying... ...Is this doing anything??

"Oooh... you've got electricity running! Does it hurt? Don't go overboard if it hurts!"

But even so, she stared admiringly at the sparks between diodes. Fast!

"Say, maybe you'll be like the Radio Demon... you might be able to control TVs and stuff once you get your footing! Err, hopefully you're less... scary than the Radio Demon, though."

Hurt? No...

Ironic? Yes. He remembered electricity coursing through his body when he died. It really was ironic, wasn't it...? But maybe the TV head meant he could do things TV related, too.

Ah. Seems she came to the same conclusion. He needed to investigate that. But-

The Radio Demon??

"Yeaaah.... he's one of the big Overlords, one of the stronger Sinner demons. There's a bunch of them and my mom works with them more than dad or I ever do, so she could tell you a lot more - but you should be really careful. They deal in souls, aaaaand aren't very trustworthy... sometimes some Sinners compare them to mob bosses on Earth? Sometimes? But apparently there's even more killing and violence so."

An awkward little gesture of just. Maybe... don't mess with them?

Overlords = Demon Mob Bosses. Got it. Dealing in souls was a thing like all the stories, and he'd had his fill of the violence for sure. He probably would have been killed if he went into a defensive ball to protect himself.

I'll pass on playing with Hell's mob. I appreciate this information, Princess.

That's it. Make nice with Hell's royalty, and things will work right as rain. Yet as he worked to put a smile in his uncovered eye, the glow of his screen turned snowy. His head sagged a bit. The lightning sputtered and fizzled out.

Oh. ...Right. Energy. Busted up.

"Oof, yeah, take it easy... you'll feel better soon," Charlie promised, taking the glass of water offered by Razzle.

Though... huh. How to... actually help him drink. Most object-headed Sinners still had to eat and drink, so... Vee should be able to.

"Hmm... you should be able to drink. You have a mouth sometimes, we just gotta figure out..."

He reached up and palpated the bottom half of his screen. A mouth...? Right, he was making sounds before outside of his speakers. Give him a second... god, the last thing he wanted was to somehow die of starvation or thirst because he can't figure this out.

The glass was smooth, warm to the touch. It was soft, rather like gel somehow. He pressed his claws against it, and the simulation of the mouth opened up, hoping to pass something through.

He can't starve. Don't starve. Water. He needed water. Come on, mind over matter--

His eye narrowed, glowed brighter as he visualized the feeling of a mouth opening and closing. Slowly, he felt something opening, and his fingers slipped inside, felt a tingle as they brushed against rows of sharp teeth. His 'Ah' was more the sound of static than anything remotely close to human.

His other hand joined, feeling around his open mouth. Strange, but the screen was somehow able to... part? And the inside tingled, but otherwise felt warm like a normal mouth.

...

And he must have looked weird, as he quickly snapped his mouth shut and folded his hands on his lap.

Sorry.

"Hey!! You did it!" Charlie cheered, giving an almost-clap by tapping her arm before passing over the glass of water. "That's good! That means we can get you something to eat too, so rest and recovery should go real smooth!"

Strange Sinner anatomy always was strange to witness... she always wondered how long it took them to get used to their new strange bodies.

"It's kind of cool - I never pictured a TV having a mouth, but it totally makes sense when I see you do it."

He accepted the glass and tried again. Now that he had the visual, and now that he had an idea of how this weird mouth felt to open and close, it was simpler to raise the glass to what passed for his lips, and--

--Wait, wasn't he electronics now? Shouldn't he--

Nothing. The water was cool in its rush over a tongue he realized he had, and swallowing was an instinct. He felt what had to be his stomach curl a bit, receiving it's first bit of sustenance since his death, and the thought of food was enough to wake it right up and help him realize that he was famished.

"...I-innt-int-teres-ting-ing-ing-" God, he sounded embarrassing. But wait, that wasn't a channel. That was his voice.

Voice.

Voice.

He was the voice of a revolution, and still could be here. Vox popu--

He sat up straighter. He reached for one of Charlie's hands and took it.

"V--x-- V o x."

"Vox!! That's a great name!" Charlie beamed, squeezing his hand back. "Did you pick it out? Is that latin? I know some latin! That was one of the first languages I learned," she gabbed a bit excitedly, giggling a bit. "There's a lot of classic stage-plays in latin. I did SOOOO many in college, it was a blast! I learned a little German, too, but uh-- it's been about thirty years since I last spoke it, so I don't remember it well, ehehe."

Wait!! She's babbling again, huh? Charlie shook her head to get herself back on task.

"Anyway!! Vox, with plenty of practice and rest you'll feel like a whole new demon! It'll be great!"

That's so weird. Like- he expected some kind of ribbing, some joke, but there was full support and he left him feeling a little... pleasantly squirmy. His followers would look up at him with some level of adoration and it always got a charge out of him... he missed that already.

But Vox blinked at her. Right, she was probably thousands of years old or something, Latin was likely something second-nature. But he wondered what stage-plays she enjoyed, what college was like here as he quietly finished his drink and fell into thought.

She sure was a talker, he noticed. He also had a tendency to babble. Perhaps it was to everyone's benefit right now that his voice was still pretty busted, or everyone in the palace would be in trouble.

With practice using his mouth under his belt, he offered a smile as he nodded. He could keep practicing. He could rest. He would repay a debt and then figure things out from there. He worked best when he had a list of goals. A to-do list!

Vox the... television demon?... would not be weak. He wouldn't be a nobody. Oh, he was going to be the somebody that would make his mark in Hell, perhaps further and brighter than he was when he was alive.

As he wandered in thought, Charlie finished cleaning off most of the blood and wrapped up the few gashes. So many bruises... those would probably heal up the fastest, at least! Once he was all set, she grabbed the nice button-down left by the staff and offered it to him - it was a pleasant powdery purple with ruffles along the sleeves. Not even close to Vox's style, but at least it was something roughly in the range of the right size for him.

"How're you feeling? Are you hurting a bit too much to eat, or do you want something? We can get something small to help your stomach settle, then a little opium should go down a lot easier."

Ah, right. Hell's healthcare might be... a bit behind.

They'd done a real number on him. Vox had to wonder how the fuck they could possibly get anything from a Sinner freshly dead with no possessions, but... he had a feeling they were just bored and looking for something to break.

He would remember their faces.

He offered a thumbs up, feeling a bit better in all honesty. He could already feel something... odd... like a gravitation of individual parts to each other. One's damnation must persist here in Hell. No escape through death.

Wait, opium?? Shit, that was something his grandpa would talk about. H-how... how far behind was Hell, again??

He waved off a polite refusal for the opiate. Being high would probably take the edge off, but he needed to keep his mind even, now more than ever.

Small bite, then a little sleep, I think. I don't want to use up too much of your time!

"We'll get some snacks, then! And don't worry - there's plenty of time. I've got all the time in Hell to help my people out," Charlie encouraged fondly, gently taking Vox's hands and easing him upright. There was some blood on the chaise, but Charlie didn't even blink at it, carefully walking him out into the front guest room to sit down for a bit.

"Something easy like tea, I think... I always find it really cozy! Say, Dazzle-- oh!"

The darker red dragon had flown off and already returned with a teatime plate of biscuits, cookies and little sandwiches, tiny forked tongue sticking out of his mouth in a silly, proud-of-himself blep. He took the initiative!

"Thanks, Dazzle! Okay, some stuff is probably gonna taste different than Earth food, but from what I hear most Sinners get used to food easily here. This has some of the veggies we grow in Wrath ring, the bread is from our cultivation of rye in the volcanic soil down there, there's some slices of hell-boar, this is some jellyfish jam from Envy, it's kinda savory-sweet..."

Vox couldn't help the curiosity involving those two creatures that were never too far from Charlie. They could stay small or become much larger at will. What were they...? Just dragons? Familiars? Guardians? All of the above?

A shark guardian would be pretty neat, all told-

So Hell has a level for each Sin? Could I see them??

"Kind of! There's some videos taken of them, some magazine photoshoots and tourist guides for the hellborn... uhm, but Sinners are all bound to the Pride Ring. Mostly in Pentagram City, but there's a bit more in Pride like Imp City and some other places."

Hopefully that wouldn't be too disappointing...

"Buuuut hey, maybe a bunch of movies could be made! The hellborn can all go up and down the Hellevator, you could probably hire them to get good footage of all the Rings. That'd be a fun project!"

Ah. There was the catch. There was a whole world down here, but not for the punished.

But Charlie had an idea that he could have come up with himself. Of course. He could bring the natives in, get some shots of the different Rings... but first, he wanted to see what footage and pictures existed of each, so he wasn't covering similar ground. He didn't become the God of Entertainment by showing everyone the same old and dusty, safe crap the other networks were churning out.

I do like a project.

Hmm, but let's try some of this stuff, first. He took a moment to try the mouth thing again, and selected a sandwich first. He ate like he was afraid that mouth would disappear, but to his relief, he could chew with it. He could swallow with it. Immediately the cramping in his stomach began to ease. Vox was already selecting another, and a cookie, and this wafer...

Maybe a documentary about the Rings. History? Ecology? Major battles?

"Ooooh...! And you could make it make sense for Sinners, since they have WAY more to learn and understand than a lot of Hellborn!! That sounds really, really fun...! And maybe then--" she paused, gasping as an idea struck her, "maybe then the hellborn and Sinners could start understanding each other better...!! They can start getting along! Oh my gosh, that'd be wonderful! A safer, happier Hell for everyone..."

A puff piece about somewhere wasn't quite his style, but he could make a snappy, informational showcase of Hell. The battles, the history, maybe net an interview with Lucifer himself...? Now THAT would be interesting.

But Vox paused mid-bite about a safer, happier Hell. Boy, this lady had a lot of... hopes for this place, huh...? She knows that horrible people come down here when they die, right? He had a body count.

I'll do my best!

Let's chance it.

I could interview you and your parents, too. Get their perspective on things. Get their story?

"Mom might be interested at some point! She does rallies, lately, so maybe before or after one of those. Dad... well, uh... maaaaybe I can wrangle him?"

He's, uh... a little bit of a jerk, though. But maybe that wouldn't bother Vincent much... eh... well, maybe let's see how he does with Lilith first...

"I have a book on their story that dad wrote for me. We could start there, if you really wanted."

A book is perfect! I can study it tonight, make some notes.

It HAD to be good. A book written by Lucifer himself! Was it a novel? What was his writing style? How many anecdotes would be hiding in the text that nobody on earth would ever know? Imagine the juicy secrets...

Then request an audience with the queen? If... that's how it works? I don't know if I send a letter or make a declaration or something.

Imagine it now: This guy standing outside the gates, shouting a 'pretty please' to Lilith Morningstar.

"Yep! You can usually send a letter via courier... that will usually take a little while, but she does get through all our mail eventually! And you can try to catch her after a rally, though uh, mom keeps her schedule pre-tty tightly packed sooooo she might have to excuse herself. But she's been trying to work with Sinners a lot, so I think she'll listen!"

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. These are all great, by the way-

Well, he was already here, so... hmm. Perhaps a cheeky little letter left where the Queen could find it would be his best shot. Then one for the King, and he'd officially have his foot in the door. What a great first 24 hours! Hell food also wasn't all that bad. He figured he'd be eating needles, lava, other torturous things as punishment. But he guessed native demons lived down here too, and would have had an issue with that.

His excitement, even in the middle of the aches and pains, had left him unaware of something thumping away behind him: Some sort of cord that had slipped through beneath the back of his shirt, ending in a two-pronged plug. It beat a thrilled little rhythm against his seat, no different than a canine's tail.

"Oh!! Look, it looks like your tail already grew back!" Charlie chirped, smiling a bit as she leaned in her seat to get a peek. Aww...! "It's an electrical cord! That's pretty cute! And probably pretty useful!"

Tail? What was she talking about?

Thump, thump, thump, thump-

He turned his head quickly, wobbling a little as the view briefly disoriented him in his injured state. But there it was, a little electric cable and plug moving around like he'd sprouted some sort of tail.

Vox's screen- what wasn't obscured by bandages- glowed a bright blue as he reached back to snatch at it and grab hold. It surprised him when there was sensation to it, the protective coating over the wiring feeling a bit like cool skin and sending signals into his head akin to being touched.

But it was cute? Noooonononono- Don't perceive him- a thin vapor rose from his head vents as he tried to look anywhere else.

Wh4t w0uld I ev3n d0 with th1s???

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