"I... mean... the cannon did kind of explode... and it's been a while... between the street sweepers and the canni... y'know, I think just don't worry about it!"
She has never been more grateful to have someone to text than right now.
Not quite! Remember Winzig? Vox has a big pet demon shark. Sharks are his SUPER favorite animal, kinda like how you love ducks!
Luckily he's amphibious!! Buuuuut a pool for him out back might be a good idea...
Don't tell Vox though, I don't know if I can actually get Shokky yet and I don't want to get his hopes up. But if he gets a nice surprise then maybe he'll feel more comfortable and willing to keep trying the hotel.
Also it would be a nice surprise
also also it might make a fuuuun group project: everyone learning how to take care of a great big friendly shark! If Shokky is the kind of shark that would be ok with it. I'd have to meet him first
Yep! I already gave him a stern talking to and made the terms for a Deal.
"I'm gonna go check on dad's progress - Vaggi'll be up in a few with a pack for you, alright? Just take it easy in the meantime!" Charlie excused herself, giving Vox a small wave before heading out into the hallway.
"Don't take shit from other demons!"
I'll make it work and I won't let the guests hurt each other.
Not like she was in a big rush anyway... she was giving the schedule a look, the Vee Tower schedule a look, trying to figure out when was a good time to go over there...
Hmm. Not... really much information about how they time stuff. Makes sense, it's not like she's an employee... oh! She should ask Baxter--
"Knock knock! Good morning, dad," Charlie called, knocking on the door and entering without much of a thought.
Outfit outfit outfit outfit- he was hopping around and shifting through what he could think of. The ringmaster outfit was fine but too typical, and he was at HOME and wanted to be COMFY--
He only had time for sweatpants a Great Quacksby sweatshirt almost two sizes too big for him when Charlie knocked and subsequently stepped in. The room was... fuller... with ducks than before, the gifts from the other Sins sitting propped atop the bed. Littered upon his work desk were parts of a prosthetic leg in black and blue aesthetic, and others sat propped up on the neighboring wall. One was digitigrade. One had talons.
Look, he didn't know what kinda feet Vox was rockin', but he wasn't about to ASK that's weird--
"Charlieeee! Hi, sweetie! Mi casa en su casa, haha... just- just close that door, wouldja? Private matters, y'know?" He struggled to pull the baggy sleeves inward to expose his hands. Nailed it. Mind the ducks.
"Definitely," she agreed, closing the door behind her and taking a look around. W...wow there's a lot of ducks in here. And then she looked at the legs - they matched Vox's usual look, the blue... even if her dad was angry with Vox, he still couldn't resist showing off, huh?
"These are looking pretty good! Are you having fun making them, at least?"
He preened a little with the compliment. "Oh yeah! It's nice to get a sort of commission. I didn't know what kind of legs he has- the pictures just kinda stick to the chest and up, naturally- so I just went a little nuts with it."
Lucifer turned to place the last of the finished legs with the rest.
"I heard about what happened back then: Torn clean off by his ex, huh? Talk about a bad break-up. Y'know, he's lucky to be a Sinner- last I checked people tend to die from getting their head popped off like a little daisy. If I had his body I'd get something to match the legs, but uh... yeah, pretty sure the clean-up crews or that fancy hat lady and her friends gobbled it up ages ago."
"Yeah, I remember that Valentino guy screaming 'you are NOT killing us over that stupid deer', so... there's like... a whole tangled mess. I'm not surprised he saved his friend... boyfriend? But I'm also not surprised he ended up here in a basket."
The digitigrade legs look pretty good, pretty stable... delicately, she lifted one, flexing the joint to see how it moved.
"How're you healing up? I know you said you were mostly fine..."
It had a delicateness to it, lines of 'sinew' and muscle all weaved together to form the limb for this particular pair, ending in claws akin to something that walked the human world so, so long ago. The joints moved like butter, primed to flex, bend and balance. To dance.
"M'yeeeah, there uh... seemed to be kind of a thing between Bambi and the Box. He got real pissy when the deer and I had a little exchange of words..."
Lucifer shrugged a shoulder, rolled it. "Hah, your old man's not gonna get his clock cleaned by a few little plugs and bad tingles...! My head's stopped spinning for a few days now and I'll come away with some pretty awesome little scars, I think. Make me look rugged, y'know, in... in case your mother, she..."
He paused, cleared his throat.
"Anyway, that freaky little death ray is gone and everything's honky-dory! Couple more days of early bedtime and I'll be back to 100%, cross my heart. How you holding up? I think what I went through's got nothing on what happened with you..."
"Oh, come on-- I barely got tumbled around! You were the one who basically speed-ran like a hundred years of blood donations every time that creepy thing fired," Charlie laughed a little, brushing off the worst of it.
"And besides. It was... really scary and rough, sure, but everything's been turning out right after all of it..."
Well... save for an Angel Dust shaped hole in the space...
"I'm feeling... pretty good about things. About letting Vaggi take up more of the decisions and responsibilities than me, and letting her tell me what to do and trusting her. I was... kind of floundering and being a huge jerk, acting like I had to figure it out myself."
"Ahaha... yeeeeah..." He tried not to think about the very laser-shaped slashes of complete devastation in the city. And the gate chunks sitting roped off in the center. Pete's gotta be pretty upset-
It was weird not having Angel around. Guy seemed to be doing pretty okay right up until everything. Cherri and Husk definitely missed the hell out of him. Hope he figures his stuff out.
But Lucifer reached out with a sleeve-covered hand to touch her arm. "Hey. What you're doing? Noooot easy, trust me. I quit pretty... pretty fast, when I tried. But the difference between you and me is that you've got Vaggi and the others. ...Golly, and HELL, too! You proved the naysayers wrong, Charlie! Your determination saved us all from getting us blown to smithereens, too! Maybe you goofed for a while, but... hey, you know better now. You picked yourself up and you're a little wiser now. You have people you can lean on! Just... keep that in mind. We're all here for you."
"Guuuh, yeah... Vaggi and I talked it out a lot, and just-- I got it in my head that I had to personally FIX things and not fuck it all up like I always do--"
"Thank you, princess... for SUCKING at everything you do!"
"Lilith would be ashamed."
Gah...
"But! I can't! Always be the person that fixes it. I have to trust people, I have to let them make mistakes because I'd be a big ol' hypocrite if I flipped out about everyone else's mistakes but I still make them..."
He thought of the rally. What he did. A small ball of nausea twisted in his gut, but he smiled through it.
"...And you need to keep in mind that this whole... shitty... system is super old and you've only been at this for about a year. It's gonna be slow, and some of the Sinners down there are going to keep being frustrated in their honeymoon phase of everything that's happened. But there's so much we still don't know, and I don't want you thinking you're screwing up because what happened with the snake fella isn't happening all lickety-split with anyone else. Mistakes are gonna keep being made, but we're all in this together, right? You're not gonna be The One Who Fixes Everything. We all are. You've just... been the spark that finally inspired everyone, after I've- we've- ...so many of us have been so freakin' hopeless for so long."
He looked up. The nausea was gone. "...And I couldn't be more proud of you for that. You really fit your name, huh, Miss Morningstar?"
She sniffed, a little, feeling grounded by his pride. She leaned down so she could give him a hug, grateful to have him and have earned his pride.
"I'm sorry I got mad and threw the couch and yelled at you. I was freaking out that things were going to get worse-- I shouldn't have acted like that. It wasn't nice."
His shoulders hitched minutely, momentary nerves, before those arms found their way around him.
They relaxed. Standing on tip toes, he returned the gesture, and his heart felt full again.
"N-no, I'm sorry. ...You were right, to... to be as pissed as you were. I've fucked things up enough, for so long, and I don't want to be that screw-up any more."
His voice thickened. "...Thank you for not giving up on me."
"I won't," she promised. And it felt true - if she believed in the worst Sinners here being able to find their way to change, of course she felt that way about her dad. "Even if I get frustrated - it's just... it's just because you and mom... what you guys think about me matters a lot."
Dismissiveness, being brushed off, chided, considered naive, or annoying, or childish...
But he was here, now. And... whenever mom was finally done with whatever she disappeared to do, she would be too. Hopefully.
"Yeah. Me, too." He'd been so terrified of going back out here after so long. This room was filling with ducks, but... he was so, so glad he was here now. He was glad to be back, and the more he looked at those gifts on the bed, the more he wondered if he could go even further and see the gang again.
Maybe... maybe soon. He missed them so much. He sniffled, and fought to get his voice back.
"What, um- whatcha got planned for today, kiddo? Anything else I can help you out with?"
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A pet? Seriously? God, if it's a pomeranian or something that would be SOOO like him. KeeKee's always going to be the best little fluffernutter~ ❤️
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She has never been more grateful to have someone to text than right now.
Not quite! Remember Winzig? Vox has a big pet demon shark. Sharks are his SUPER favorite animal, kinda like how you love ducks!
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Oh WINNIE!! Love that guy!! I should check in with Freddy sometime...
Hold on, you want to grab a shark? I don't
think
the fountain is big enough to hold a sea fella, sweetie...
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Don't tell Vox though, I don't know if I can actually get Shokky yet and I don't want to get his hopes up. But if he gets a nice surprise then maybe he'll feel more comfortable and willing to keep trying the hotel.
Also it would be a nice surprise
also also it might make a fuuuun group project: everyone learning how to take care of a great big friendly shark! If Shokky is the kind of shark that would be ok with it. I'd have to meet him first
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REALLY wanna help this guy, huh?
After
Everything...?
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Plus when he showed up he was just a detached head and his friends left him at the door in a basket :(
don't tell him but I did think about kicking it instead BUT
I stand by my belief!!!!
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You figure with friends just as shitty as you, they'd stick with you through everything, but I guess those Vees have limits, huh...?
Evenifthatlimitisblowingthemup
But... alright. If you're sure. Just don't feel bad about kicking him out if he tries to pull a fast one!
Because sometimes you can bend over backwards for somebody, and nothing works. The person has to WANT to change, ya know?
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"I'm gonna go check on dad's progress - Vaggi'll be up in a few with a pack for you, alright? Just take it easy in the meantime!" Charlie excused herself, giving Vox a small wave before heading out into the hallway.
"Don't take shit from other demons!"
I'll make it work and I won't let the guests hurt each other.
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Vox grumbled and flopped over. It was still so fucking early, so he didn't need to be told twice to take it easy.
Of course. Just remember I'm here if you need any more help with anything, okay?
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FUCK, HE NEEDS TO WEAR ACTUAL CLOTHES, NOT THIS DUCK KIGURUMI--
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Not like she was in a big rush anyway... she was giving the schedule a look, the Vee Tower schedule a look, trying to figure out when was a good time to go over there...
Hmm. Not... really much information about how they time stuff. Makes sense, it's not like she's an employee... oh! She should ask Baxter--
"Knock knock! Good morning, dad," Charlie called, knocking on the door and entering without much of a thought.
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He only had time for sweatpants a Great Quacksby sweatshirt almost two sizes too big for him when Charlie knocked and subsequently stepped in. The room was... fuller... with ducks than before, the gifts from the other Sins sitting propped atop the bed. Littered upon his work desk were parts of a prosthetic leg in black and blue aesthetic, and others sat propped up on the neighboring wall. One was digitigrade. One had talons.
Look, he didn't know what kinda feet Vox was rockin', but he wasn't about to ASK that's weird--
"Charlieeee! Hi, sweetie! Mi casa en su casa, haha... just- just close that door, wouldja? Private matters, y'know?" He struggled to pull the baggy sleeves inward to expose his hands. Nailed it. Mind the ducks.
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"These are looking pretty good! Are you having fun making them, at least?"
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Lucifer turned to place the last of the finished legs with the rest.
"I heard about what happened back then: Torn clean off by his ex, huh? Talk about a bad break-up. Y'know, he's lucky to be a Sinner- last I checked people tend to die from getting their head popped off like a little daisy. If I had his body I'd get something to match the legs, but uh... yeah, pretty sure the clean-up crews or that fancy hat lady and her friends gobbled it up ages ago."
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The digitigrade legs look pretty good, pretty stable... delicately, she lifted one, flexing the joint to see how it moved.
"How're you healing up? I know you said you were mostly fine..."
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"M'yeeeah, there uh... seemed to be kind of a thing between Bambi and the Box. He got real pissy when the deer and I had a little exchange of words..."
Lucifer shrugged a shoulder, rolled it. "Hah, your old man's not gonna get his clock cleaned by a few little plugs and bad tingles...! My head's stopped spinning for a few days now and I'll come away with some pretty awesome little scars, I think. Make me look rugged, y'know, in... in case your mother, she..."
He paused, cleared his throat.
"Anyway, that freaky little death ray is gone and everything's honky-dory! Couple more days of early bedtime and I'll be back to 100%, cross my heart. How you holding up? I think what I went through's got nothing on what happened with you..."
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"And besides. It was... really scary and rough, sure, but everything's been turning out right after all of it..."
Well... save for an Angel Dust shaped hole in the space...
"I'm feeling... pretty good about things. About letting Vaggi take up more of the decisions and responsibilities than me, and letting her tell me what to do and trusting her. I was... kind of floundering and being a huge jerk, acting like I had to figure it out myself."
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It was weird not having Angel around. Guy seemed to be doing pretty okay right up until everything. Cherri and Husk definitely missed the hell out of him. Hope he figures his stuff out.
But Lucifer reached out with a sleeve-covered hand to touch her arm. "Hey. What you're doing? Noooot easy, trust me. I quit pretty... pretty fast, when I tried. But the difference between you and me is that you've got Vaggi and the others. ...Golly, and HELL, too! You proved the naysayers wrong, Charlie! Your determination saved us all from getting us blown to smithereens, too! Maybe you goofed for a while, but... hey, you know better now. You picked yourself up and you're a little wiser now. You have people you can lean on! Just... keep that in mind. We're all here for you."
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"Thank you, princess... for SUCKING at everything you do!"
"Lilith would be ashamed."
Gah...
"But! I can't! Always be the person that fixes it. I have to trust people, I have to let them make mistakes because I'd be a big ol' hypocrite if I flipped out about everyone else's mistakes but I still make them..."
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He thought of the rally. What he did. A small ball of nausea twisted in his gut, but he smiled through it.
"...And you need to keep in mind that this whole... shitty... system is super old and you've only been at this for about a year. It's gonna be slow, and some of the Sinners down there are going to keep being frustrated in their honeymoon phase of everything that's happened. But there's so much we still don't know, and I don't want you thinking you're screwing up because what happened with the snake fella isn't happening all lickety-split with anyone else. Mistakes are gonna keep being made, but we're all in this together, right? You're not gonna be The One Who Fixes Everything. We all are. You've just... been the spark that finally inspired everyone, after I've- we've- ...so many of us have been so freakin' hopeless for so long."
He looked up. The nausea was gone. "...And I couldn't be more proud of you for that. You really fit your name, huh, Miss Morningstar?"
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She sniffed, a little, feeling grounded by his pride. She leaned down so she could give him a hug, grateful to have him and have earned his pride.
"I'm sorry I got mad and threw the couch and yelled at you. I was freaking out that things were going to get worse-- I shouldn't have acted like that. It wasn't nice."
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They relaxed. Standing on tip toes, he returned the gesture, and his heart felt full again.
"N-no, I'm sorry. ...You were right, to... to be as pissed as you were. I've fucked things up enough, for so long, and I don't want to be that screw-up any more."
His voice thickened. "...Thank you for not giving up on me."
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Dismissiveness, being brushed off, chided, considered naive, or annoying, or childish...
But he was here, now. And... whenever mom was finally done with whatever she disappeared to do, she would be too. Hopefully.
"I'm glad you're here."
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Maybe... maybe soon. He missed them so much. He sniffled, and fought to get his voice back.
"What, um- whatcha got planned for today, kiddo? Anything else I can help you out with?"
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