Alessandro Alu! Don't you dare take another drink from that bottle!
Pogo hesitated, then complied.
Maybe three drinks was enough.
Kapnos let out a very relieved sigh. Oh, thank the Gods. You still need your wits, Al. Don't throw them away.
Pogo rightened his posture, watching Ender curiously.
"What secret…?"
"….i'mmm……hahahahahaha……i'mmm a fuckkinnn aanngeelllll….." Ender laughed. "…….aalsooo……onee timmee……i acci-" He hiccuped, "accidentalllyy bleeeww upp a whoooooole badd maann buiildingggg!…..reeeal funnyy……theyy werre alll likeee AAAAAAAH annd i waas alll likee OOPPSSSSIIIEEEE"
He fell over laughing, then immediately passed out.
He's… an angel?
"A–.. Apparently…."
That explains… everything. Wait 'til you tell him the little voice in your head's a demon.
Pogo let out a long, tired sigh.
"I don'…. need this right now."
Al, he's asleep. Now's your chance, you see? You can get out of here.
"Y'forget there's a storm out there?"
He's an angel, Al! The more eyes they have, usually the more powerful they are! We're in more danger around him than we ever could be out in that storm!
The drink in his hand was spilling out onto the floor. Ender laid there, out cold. The wind howled outside. Something began scratching on the concrete walls of the bunker from the outside. The thing tried to burrow into it, to no avail. More things began scratching. the rain continued beating against the bunker ceiling, and the noises outside escalated. Ender's fingers twitched.
What's out there?
"I'd rather not find out," mumbled Pogo. "What's out there can stay out there."
Al, we should go, we—
"Listen here!" Pogo shouted, suddenly standing up from the couch. "Who's in control of this body? Me! I am! So we're doing what the owner of this body wants, and I'm not moving! I don't give a shit if he's an angel!"
Keep your godsdamned voice down! This is the alcohol talking! Kapnos hissed.
"–I didn't make that stupid deal with you so you could boss me around!—"
—Al, this is me actually trying to save your life right now—
"—I made it to save his life!"
Ale-fucking-ssandro!
Pogo stood there, now in silence, his knuckles white with how tightly his hands had clenched into fists.
You're angry and you're intoxicated. But there's gotta be some last wits in you to know that, while you can't help that you're drunk, you can absolutely help that you're angry. Calm. Down. We can yell about this when we're not being hunted.
His jaw ached with how firmly it was clenched. He sat back down on the couch and buried his head into his hands.
"… Whatever's out there can fuckin'…. fight me."
Ender groaned and pushed himself up. He opened his eyes, which had healed already.
"…….what happened…….what're you yelling about……."
He rubbed his head drowsily. He forgot how hard the floor was.
he's gonna leave he's gonna leave he's gonna leave
He heard the scratching on the bunker and sighed.
"the Lost get way worse when it storms like this….they can't claw through concrete though, luckily." He began cleaning up the mess of cans on the bunker floor. Ender wondered if he should tell Pogo that he heard all of what he said. He was curious about him; something felt different about him from the start, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
a demon, huh?
Ender realized that Pogo was probably either terrified of him because of it, or wanted to kill him because of it. He hadn't encountered many demons, or many angels for that matter.
See? Nothing to worry about! Pogo snapped, to which Kapnos had no answer.
In response to Ender, Pogo offered nothing more than a drowsy nod of his head in acknowledgement.
"Didn't… think I was that loud," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Jus'…."
He leaned back on the couch, a pained expression contorting his features.
"God. Shouldn't have had anything to drink. I'm… all over th'place. S-Sorry…"
"….it's okay….i didn't do anything too stupid, right?…" Ender looked up at him.
Pogo shook his head.
"I'm jus'…"
He shifted so he was laying down on the couch.
"This is why I don' drink," he replied, words just barely comprehensible. "Is all… too much. E'rything's too much."
He nodded. "I get the feeling……"
Ender stood up and headed for the door, not wanting to overwhelm him further. "…..i'm gonna go deal with the neighbors…..i'll be right back….." He crawled out of the bunker, and a few seconds later, the scratching stopped.
However Ender chose to 'deal' with the neighbors, Pogo didn't care.
He sat up again, wincing as the sharp movement send a throbbing ache through his head. Oh, great. Just what he needed in the middle of whatever it was he was experiencing.
Sleep. Maybe he could sleep it all off. The couch was cold and a little cramped for his comfort, but even in his drunken disorientedness he had the sense to not take someone else's bed. He layed back down, huddled into himself. This would have to do.
He came back in and wiped some ash off of his clothes. Ender walked quietly, as to avoid disturbing him. He grabbed an energy drink from the fridge and sipped it, sitting down at his desk. He began tinkering with an old computer box that he’d found a few weeks before. He opened it up, and to his delight, none of the circuitry seemed to be rusted. He began taking it apart; he had no use for a computer box, but tons of uses for the scrap he could get from it.
Pogo had fallen asleep quickly, and he'd fallen asleep hard. It hadn't taken long for his huddled form to sprawl across the couch, snoring quietly, an arm and a leg hanging off the side. It looked like he'd be lights out for a little while.
While Pogo's consciousness had shut off for the time being, Kapnos was still rather awake. And they had begun to plan.
Ender looked over at Pogo and smiled a little.
“…..sleep well……”
He continued tinkering with the scrap. Without turning to face him, he spoke to the demon. “Look, I know you’re there. I know that you’re the one that got Pogo back here; no human can get through that forest by themself. Thank you for that. But just…. please don’t cause him too much trouble, okay? I haven’t known him for very long, but…. he’s the only human I’ve ever felt even a tiny bit close to, and it’s really nice to be able to talk to someone. I don’t want any harm to come to him.”
He fiddled with a circuit chip curiously.
“I know you don’t trust me. You don’t have to trust me. Just know that….I care about him. And I have no idea how much this’ll change your mind, but I was booted from heaven, y’know. I’m no servant of god or whatever, he despises me, and I despise him….. I’m more of a freelancer. Almost like you. I have my own allegiances, my own enemies, and my own abilities. We don’t have to be enemies, okay?” He sighed. “I can explain more if you want, but I’ll stop talking for now. I’ve rambled on long enough.”
Pogo's body began to shift, and his eyes opened, his form becoming more difficult to perceive. Kapnos had heard, and with Pogo unconscious, taking over was easy. They sat upright, movements a little slow due to the alcohol, but there was an edge to every movement. Even the twitch of their fingers felt deliberate.
"Riiiiight," they drawled, the roll of their eyes adding a more exasperated tone to their words. "And it would seem he cares about you, too. I didn't bring him back here because I wanted to, mind you; I wanted him to get his stuff and book it."
They reclined delicately on the couch, lifting a hand to observe their nails.
"But he insisted on staying. And, well, when you make a contract, you're bound by it's rules, regardless if you're the human or the demon. That's the nature of business."
Kapnos now laid on their back, their legs resting against the cushions of the couch while their head hung off the side. They cracked a smile.
"I'm just looking out for him. Humans are… fragile creatures, as I'm sure you know."
They snickered.
"But, you found me out. Congratulations. I still don't like you, and I still don't agree with those little feelings you have for him. I'm not letting no angel get close to him, you understand me?"
"understood, your highness." he curtsied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Ender stood up.
"I have never had anyone that even cared about me in the slightest. i'm sure you can relate. he's the only human i've encountered that didn't immediately turn and run. I don't care about your fucking deal, i'm going to protect him. i'm not letting you win. you can try, but you know you don't stand a chance against me. servant of god or not, my abilities outweigh those of any of you demonic fucks. deep down, you know that i could wipe you from the face of this Earth."
The staticky noise around Ender had returned, and he let himself go into his full true form. he was still covered in eyes, but now had 6 feathered wings sprouting from his back. his halo looked as if someone had pushed two rings together, and one snapped inside of the other, jagged and cracked. he radiated raw, untamed power, and looked like a being that could strike fear in even the bravest being. his voice was loud and echoey, but sounded as if it were being played through a tape: slightly distorted, staticky, and with a slight hollow tone. The seraph glared at Kapnos with a stare that would make a mountain run and hide.
"STAY. IN. LINE."
Kapnos raised an eyebrow.
They knew. Angels were, inherently, more powerful than demons — as part of some divine creation plan with a history that went back eons. And, in truth, they were terrified.
But they clung onto the one defense they had.
"Anything you do to me," they whispered, a sly grin spreading across their face, "happens to him. He made a contract with me. We're bound by our souls. Your threats mean nothing to me, unless you're willing to hurt him — in which case, did you really care about him to begin with?"
Ender began to shake. It wasn’t a trembling out of fear, but of rage. “You filthy, twisted, wretched thing….” Every last eye was staring at them.
“I will rid him of you. The amount of bluffs you throw at me does not matter. I will rid him of your disgusting presence.” He knew that any physical harm would only hurt Pogo, but he had other means of harming Kapnos. “You are nothing more than a tick that must be detached from its host.” Ender could feel their fear oozing from their blurry body.
“You are nothing compared to me.”
Ender’s angelic presence alone lay like a suffocating blanket over Kapnos.
Surely, they will not take this much longer. Not even gods can.
"Then do it," Kapnos sneered, lips curled in a bold snarl despite the tremble in their hands. "What would you gain from it? My partnership with him is entirely symbiotic."
That snarl turned upwards into a crooked smile.
"What if I told you he was the one who initiated our relationship? That he sought me out, that he wanted this? Why, then, would you strip him of something he fought so desperately to acquire?"
Their grin spread wider.
"He'd hate you if you hurt me."
Ender let out a noise that sounded almost like the rumble of an earthquake.
"HE WOULD NOT. I'VE SEEN HOW HE FEELS ABOUT YOU. YOU ARE A NUISANCE."
He picked them up by the collar of their shirt, lifting them to match his height. he was almost 9 feet in this form, and was levitating several inches off the ground.
"YOU DISGUST ME."
He pressed a cold hand into Kapnos' face. It left no mark, but, to demons, it stung. Badly. The pain of a thousand hornets washed over their being, as if they had been submerged in hot acid.
"TAKE THAT AS A WARNING, FOOL. YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME. INTERFERE AGAIN, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE FAR WORSE."
Ender floated over to a corner of the bunker, opening a hatch and dropping down into what lie below. He closed it behind him, locking it from the inside.
Kapnos's cries of agony were loud and harsh, strained enough to break their voice and strain their vocal chords. They struggled vainly in Ender's grip, their movements weak, yet desperate.
"Wake UP!" they cried out. "Wake the fuck up, Alessandro!"
Then, they fell limp.
Pogo's brow furrowed, and he pressed a hand to his head.
"God, what… what's going on..?"
Ender was already in the cellar, crying and pacing around the cramped, concrete room.
"he hates me…..he hates me…..he hates me…..he hates me….."
The static sounds were emanating from the cellar, pretty loudly, as he was very upset.
He curled up on the floor, wrapping his wings around himself.
"…….why did i think……he would want to stay……"
Ender felt around in the darkness for his pocket, and searched for the compass. He gripped it tightly, holding onto it for dear life.
A-Angel boy's a psycho. He tried to kill me. We n-need to leave, pleaded Kapnos, a raw desperation in their voice that made their words difficult to dismiss.
"…What…?"
While you were asleep. He talked to me. Didn't like that I didn't like him, then f-fuckin'…. Al, we need to go, please…
Pogo stood up, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Wh… where'd he go..?"
He's got a cellar in here, apparently, a-a-and that's where he went.
Pogo clasped a hand around his neck. His throat felt sore. His brow furrowed.
It hurt. A lot. Holy things hurt.
"Can I… what if I talk to him?"
Are you still drunk?! Alessandro, he wants me dead! We need to go!
Pogo approached the cellar, tugging at the door only to find that it was locked.
"Ender?" he called, tugging again at the door. "Ender, where'd you go…?"
Ender didn't move. He continued mumbling.
"……i failed again………i failed again………i failed again……..failed again…."
His voice seemed to bounce off the walls endlessly, until all he could hear was failed.
"……i can't do anything right……i always……"
He curled up tighter.
And he calls me the tick??
"What..?"
That's what I am to him. J-Just some parasite. I'm not the one whining in my pity corner to get your sympathy.
Pogo took a few steps back, glancing behind him at his satchel.
Run, Alessandro. H-He's just gonna.. it's gonna be a cycle. I-I don't want to be around someone who could kill me because he felt like it, then turn around and play victim.
Pogo's gaze drifted back to the cellar. He seemed torn, not entirely committed to either decision.
Al, Kapnos begged, almost as if they'd be driven to tears if they had the means to cry, Al, please, p-please, just go. Just run. Don't look back, don't..
"One more time," Pogo whispered. "I'll talk to him one more time. And if this happens again… I'll leave."
You… you promise? You'll leave. For good?
Pogo paused, then nodded.
"Promise."
Kapnos didn't seem entirely on board, but they took comfort in Pogo's sincerity. They were too shaken to make any demands.
Pogo walked back over to the cellar, kneeling down and attempting to get a glimpse of what lay below.
"Ender?" he called again. "Ender, we need to talk. Can you come out of there?"
He waited a few moments, then unlocked the hatch. Ender crawled out, back in his human form.
"……..i'm……i'm so sorry……please don't leave…..i should've……stayed out of it……" He didn't make eye contact.
just end this. he won't forgive you this time.
"Ender, listen, I…"
How could he go about this…?
He took a deep breath, then he took Ender's hands in his own.
"I know you want to look out for me. And I know you and they aren't… getting along. But some ground rules need to be established."
E-Establish away.
"Firstly, you can't keep hiding away like this. It makes things difficult. I've said it before and I'll say it again: we can talk about things. I'm… I don't know what makes you think so, but I'm not going to just get angry."
He let go of Ender's hands.
"Second, I-I don't know what happened while I was out, but they're not some parasite. I made a deal with them, and they absolutely drive me up the wall, but if I wanted them gone, I would have gotten rid of them by now. It's a long and complicated story and I'll spare the details, but I really need to keep them alive. If you guys hate each other, that's fine, but the second things start getting violent is when there's a problem."
I really can't believe you're trying to reason with this guy.
"That goes for them, too. Just… try to keep things
civil, okay? We're waiting out a storm, the most everyone can do is not be at each other's throats."
Ender nodded. "……a-alright…..i can do that….." He stared at the ground.
why did i do that……why did i hurt him……
"……i know you won't believe me…..but……i'm sorry, Kapnos……i wasn't……i wasn't thinking……i was angry, and i……i lost control……i'm sorry….."
He wiped the tears from his face.
Yeah, he hit the nail on the head. I don't believe a word.
Pogo sighed. At least he apologized.
Apologies are for verbal mistakes. I want to see actions.
And I'm sure you'll get them. If he really means it, he'll work on it, I'm sure.
Kapnos didn't reply.
Pogo met Ender's gaze, his own a little weary. "I-I'm sure things will work themselves out. You guys, try to learn from each other, okay? I'm, uh, not so much a divine being myself, and I'd prefer not to get caught in the collateral here."
You're showing him more patience than you've ever given me.
My patience with you ran out a long time ago. I've just accepted that you're an asshole.
At least I don't try to hide it from you, Kapnos muttered.
Ender gave another nod, and went over to the stove to make tea. he began boiling the water, and started rummaging around for something in the cupboards. He remained silent.
you've really done it now, ender.
He rested an arm on the hot kettle for a moment, pulling it away after a few seconds. He winced a little, but continued making the tea as if nothing had happened.
He spoke very quietly. "…..I need to get more herbs……i'll be back soon…….you can come, if you want…..or not……i don't mind….." He put on a small leather satchel and crawled out of the bunker.