forum Hell of a Time :D // oxo // romance // open

Started July 15, 2020 by @PaperHats business

tune

"So, not only did I summon a demon, but I summoned the prince of hell." Aaron snorted despite the situation. "Damn, my luck is fan-frickin-tastic."
The sarcasm was thick in his voice, but it covered a wavering hint of fear. Surely, other demons were going to start realising their prince was gone right? Did that put him in trouble? He sure as hell didn't need hell on top of the list of people groups that hated him.
Aaron had let go of Zaelis, already waving over a waiter to grab french fries for the demon.
"Ace! Who's your friend?"
Smithers (not at all his real name) was Ace's arguably closest friend, and a long time waiter at the joint but with him came the rest of the crew. If he let Smithers start talking, more and more people would join in.
"I don't have the time today" Aaron waved his friend off. "Can you bring me a large bowl of chips?"
Smithers trudged off, mind already elsewhere and greeting others that were let into the place.
"I have a question. And you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." He turned to Zaelis. "But, is there a chance we could be in trouble seeing as you're trapped up here? Aren't people going to start noticing?"

Zaelis took a full couple minutes, then said plainly, “Perhaps.”
His golden eyes watched people come and go, then locked on a few others moving about. He was curious, still trying to take in all the surroundings. Man, humans were weird. And Zaelis thought hell was loud.

“I mean, I was doing a pretty important job killing criminals and all before I got bopped here,” he said, twirling one of the many rings on his finger. “I don’t see why Rog doesn’t have a reason to kill me.”
He paused for a moment, squinting at his ring before continuing.
“Oh—yeah— and Rog is this dude I work with. Pretty uptight. Never really liked him. I’m not very worried at all, considering he’s too dull to even kill a mouse. Dang, that guy’s a dweeb. The only thing he’s got on me is.. well, strength. But I can outsmart him any day.”

Zaelis put his hand down, tugging at the collar of the jacket around his neck uncomfortably. “And they probably won’t have any issue with you. Us demons don’t really care about torturing people who are still living. That’s for the gods to do. We just take people’s souls when they’re already dead, and then toy with them. It’s much more fun.”

"Gods, as in, uh, plural? More than one of those assholes?" Aaron was more muttering to himself then Zaelis, shaking his head in disbelief.
He could feel a migraine coming on. He tried to focus on something else, the familiar noise, mindless pop songs and happy chatter from all angles. The smell of deeply battered food, fresh fruit cocktails and smoke machines wafted all over the place. Aaron specifically loved that no one here was the same, the women around were laughing with close friends or hanging onto partners, the men were dancing wildly and flirting with pretty much everything that moved. It was fun to watch.
"Rog and Dan sound like they'd get along" He laughed at the thought of his stupid peer hanging out with a demon. "Stupidity is practically his identity."
Zaelis was certainly intrigued by it all, the demon had been nodding his head along to the sound and taking in the club, almost as if he was surveying the area for an escape. The french fries arrived by the hand of a waiter he didn't know and true to his name Smithers had made sure to double the serving.
Aaron pushed the bowl towards Zaelis. "Now this dude, is going to taste way better than bones"

“Well, no doubt,” Zaelis muttered, as if it were total common knowledge. “Those things are horrible. These, on the other hand, look absolutely amazing.”

Zaelis held a hand out timidly to it, as if the bowl was an animal that could jump to life any second. He hesitantly took a fry with his claws, lifting it up and surveying it before severing it completely with his fangs.
Instantly his eyes lit up, and he gave a delightful laugh, glancing back up to Aaron with a look that said ‘you seein’ this? This is insane!’

“Well shave my horns and call me a mortal, this is absolutely phenominal,” he drawled, taking another and shoveling it into his mouth. He slowly pushed the bowl forward, offering some to Aaron. Demons normally killed people over food, but Zaelis had always offered his bones to the younger ones. He wasn’t sure why— possibly just the way Carcian raised him. That was his best guess, at least.

“Do you guys eat like this all the time?” he asked, but directly after, his eyes flickered with another flame of realization. He leaned forward, quietly asking, “Is there stuff better than this?”

Aaron doubled over with laughter, unable to hold back the child-like giggling. It was too funny, seeing something so stereotypically betrayed as powerful enjoying such a simple food.Three of his co-workers eyes bulged, they had previously been pretending that they weren't watching the pair with interest, but now they all stared with incredulity at his laugher. Aaron wasn't exactly the cheerful type, it was unlikely any of them had ever seen a smile let alone a laugh.
"That's not even classified as food, Zaelis. It's a side dish!" He leaned back in his seat, beaming. "Wait until you try meat. Now, that's the good stuff"
He didn't speak from experience, Aaron hadn't eaten meat since a he was a tiny kid but damn he remembered the taste, perfectly tendered steak, fresh sushi, fried chicken. Man did they have some teaching to do.
"Have you ever heard of demons being transported up here? Is there someone who can send you back? A priest or something?"
It wasn't like he wanted the guy gone straight away, it had only been an hour or so and he didn't totally hate the guy. Which was strange because Aaron didn't really like humans. Maybe demons were more his speed.

“Demons traveling up here?” he asked, chewing on yet another fry. He tapped his lip absently as he thought, but was unable to really focus on the question due to the distracting taste of the fries. They were.. so good.

“No.. we don’t normally come up here. Carcian is the only one that does,” Zaelis continued, gesturing with his hand. “Because he’s like, your grim reaper? When people die, that are sinners, Carcian comes and takes em through the gates. Haven’t seen the guy in a while, though.”
He paused as he thought for a moment, squinting. His tail curled around one of his legs, then uncurled, following the pattern a few more times, but Zaelis didn’t seem to be aware.

“I mean, we could try killing someone and waiting for Carcian there. Not sure he’d be too happy ‘bout that, though. Otherwise, I’m not totally sure what to do. Is there a place you guys keep information about the multiplanar system? Or do you have magic? Perhaps a vanishing spell would work…”

He then took the small golden orb from his pocket, holding it up and narrowing his eyes at it.
“Or, do you guys have people who specialize in trinkets? Maybe they could at least get this thing open. But, really, for now, I kind of want to hang around in the mortal world, if you don’t mind. Hell’s trash, so I’d rather avoid it as long as possible.”

"Your life, dude." Aaron shrugged. "I'm not sure how well you're going to blend in during the day though."
Even Zaelis's skin had a tint to it, his horns were comparable to a strong male deers and overall, he wasn't sure how the demon would fit into everyday life but he couldn't blame him for not wanting to go back to a place that didn't have fries.

"Killing people is off the table, unless we're talking Dan." Aaron tapped the table. "As for magic up here, I'd say its pretty nonexistent as far as I'm aware but I know a girl who can fix and work out just about anything. She's a tough one but seeing as everyone can't get enough of my charming antics, she'd figure it out for us if I asked."
Aaron slipped out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, clicking on the one person outside of his family that he always respected.
Hey.
Before he could click it close, she wrote back.
Who have you pissed off this time, Ace?
Damn. She knew him well.
Aaron flicked off the phone and turned back to Zaelis, risking taking a single chip from the bowl, half-scared the demon would highly object to anyone stealing a single morsel of his new favourite food.
"But by all means, you can stay with me until you figure it out." He wasn't sure why he was offering. "Like you said, it's kind of my fault."
Well, wasn't it always?

“Well you seem to be happy about keeping me around,” Zaelis mumbled playfully, offering another one of his charming smiles. “And, blending in during the day? How is that any different? Couldn’t we just stay here, technically? I mean, it has french fries. What else is there to need, really?”

He pawed at the fries again, taking a few more and then looking back up to Aaron.
“And who is this person you know?” he purred, giving a slow blink as his tail flicked back and forth. “A girlfriend of yours, perhaps?”

Although his sultry actions, Zaelis was secretly wishing that wasn’t the case. He liked Ace’s get-up, possibly a little more than he’d want to admit. He wanted to fantasize about what could happen, and not have his dreams crushed by figuring out the boy was straight. Well, he could still fantasize, but not with the knowledge that whatever it was was possible.
It was then, for the four hundredth time, Zaelis thought he belonged more in the lust part of hell than the ninth. The second story seemed to suit him well.

Still, he pushed the thoughts aside, trying to keep his composure, yet still await an answer. He then pushed the bowl slightly more forward, his mind drawing elsewhere.

“You can have some of these, y’know,” he said casually. “It’s not like I’m gonna bite. Unless…”
Z gave a small smirk, but waved his hand, not able to keep the demeanor for long. “Just kidding. But I actually won’t bite. Blood has never been my thing, really. It’s too… metallic.”

Aaron grinned at his new friends humour. At least, he hoped it was mostly humour. His cheeks felt sore from the new strain, it was a depressing thought but he really just wasn't used to smiling so much.
"Not my girlfriend, no. I don't think anyone could put up with me so permanently anyway."
Although, he supposed Zaelis might have to, for the time being anyway.
"This place is only open during the night, but luckily for you, lots of places have fries." Aaron shrugged. "I could probably get you a job here even, if you're going to play human, you'll need one of those."
It was interesting to think about, planning out a life for a demon. He had the strangest nag in the back of his head that it couldn't exactly work out, or at least not smoothly straight away. Still, he knew right then and there he was stuck with Zaelis for the foreseeable future.
For better or worse and all that.
"I think it'll be best to go visit her in the morning, she'll know how to work that sphere." He said. "So finish up those chips and we'll go home. Uh, you're not like a Vampire, are you? You do sleep, right?"

“Gods, no,” Zaelis said with the longest drawl, his words drawn out and exasperated. “I hate those things. With their little beady eyes and only two fangs instead of.. all. And everyone romanticizes those vampires but in the underworld, demons are the sexy ones. Humans have it all wrong.”
Zaelis then squinted, responded, “But to answer your question, yes I do sleep. I haven’t done it in a while, though, since my job really waits for no one.”

Zae tugged at the side of his jacket again, readjusting the collar around his neck to untangle his various accessories. He then ruffled his hair between his horns, the red strands going wherever they pleased.

“And, I have a job. Not here, of course, because these jobs look miles easier,” Zaelis continued, smiling and glancing toward the people serving. “But I wouldn’t mind it. You think they’d let me work here?”
He then looked back forward, his voice growing quieter. “You think they’d let me eat free fries?”

"I know they'd let you eat free fries, because you're right about one thing. Demons are definitely hot and that's literally all anyone cares about around here." Aaron shrugged, gesturing to the multiple men and women dramatically dressed up in all sorts of exotic costumes.
He knew Zaelis would fit right into just about any bar he wanted to work at, he was tall and handsome and his appearance looked far more like a choice than reality. Aaron didn't want to brag, not even in internal monologue, but he knew just about any club downtown would welcome any friend of his, purely based on his ability to get complete strangers dancing with him. Yeah, he had a lot of nights that were blurry.
"We should head home." He said. "It's getting late and I have an early shift in the morning. I'll probably be back before you wake up though."
Aaron groaned inwardly at the thought, presenting a grin but feeling the aches in his back already. On top of his jobs and schooling, he really wasn't sure how he was going to fit in babysitting a totally novice-to-all-things-human demon. He let out a slow sigh, and flattened out the bunched up groups of to-do lists invading his mind.

“Sick,” Zaelis replied with a smile. “Seems like it’ll be a better job than an executioner at the Crater. Especially if I get free fries.”

With a smile, Zaelis finished off the rest of the bowl, not caring to apologize for it. Aaron had had ample time to grab any he wanted, so Zae wouldn’t feel guilty.

“And, alrighty. So based on that, I’m assuming I’m staying with you?” he asked. “If not, I might be able to charm myself into someone else’s house. You said it wasn’t hard for a demon here? Perhaps I should test that theory.”

Zaelis let out a sigh, his tail curling and uncurling around one of his legs mindlessly. “After all, although you brought me here, I wouldn’t want to bother you too much. I’m a lot to take on— I’ll admit it.”

_{(so sorry this is extremely short— I’m away from my computer atm)}

"I mean, I'm all for seeing you fluster the crap out of any of these guys, but I have a spare room at home if you'd rather it."
Aaron was lying, he was so not up for witnessing that but if that's what Zaelis felt like doing, everything about the guy screamed that her could.
He stood to leave, throwing some money on the counter and tugging at the end of his sleeves and missing the warmth of his jumper. He stretched out, a decades old tired grin on his face that shouldn't belong to that of a young adult. Damn Aaron needed a good sleep, he had a morning shift that he was far too brain-melted and exhausted to go to. But he knew he would. His shits given were slowly draining, and along with it, the filter he kept up to not say deadly stupid things.
Like how much he already like Zaelis.
"I'm going to grab a drink." Aaron waved a hand over his head as he walked off from the table. "Make up your mind before I get back, yeah?"

“Yeah, yeah,” Zaelis murmured, crossing his arms and resting his head on the table. All the talk of sleep has gotten him relatively tired too.
The demon had never slept in a bed. It was always this one rock he loved— one rock that was heated up by magma from beneath. He always figured he’d would be colder, but why not try one?
He was already starting to get cold, pulling up the jacket over his hands and tucking the ends into his palms. He fluttered his eyes closed, tail still swishing beneath the table.

Truth was, he didn’t want to sweet talk any of the people here. Any of the people except Aaron. Despite his outward suave appearance, Zaelis latched on to people quickly, and wouldn’t talk to anyone he didn’t really need too.

Still, his golden eyes flicked back open with his thoughts, scanning the room. No one caught his eye, but it was a entertaining sight to see. It seemed to get more active as the night went on, not unusual to Zaelis, considering that’s what happened at the Crater. The only difference between the two was that one involved deadly fights and gladiator-style combat. This one clearly didn’t, but both seemed kin to demons. Zae let a small smile flicker across his face.

"So, be straight with me, who's the boy?"
Aaron was starting to worry that he couldn't be.
Smithers had cornered him at the bar, with a groan Aaron tried to block his energetic coworker out of his view. Watching the bartender whip up a very dramatic order before continuing with Aaron's very simple gin and tonic. He liked things simple, to balance out what he couldn't control. Example: this entire day.
"He's a friend, Smithers." Aaron hissed. "Would you lower your voice?"
Smithers wasn't having it. "You barely have friends. And I've never seen you that happy, dude. You laughed."
Aaron's much taller, always working friend's eyes were wide for emphasis, truly disturbed by his contentment with Zaelis. It was sort of true, it was strange for Aaron, but then again, something about the demon calmed him. He wondered if they had some power that made them so likeable.
The bartender slid him the drink. "Here Ace, the usual"
Aaron downed it, glancing over at the demon as he did, Zaelis was smiling and probably unaware of the fifteen or so people that were goggling at him.
"Another, and make it stronger."

_{(No worries!)}

Zaelis bounced his leg on the floor, tapping his fingers on his knee absently while he let his eyes wander. He sure was curious about everything here. It was all so interesting. The mortal realm seemed so much more enjoyable. It seemed like that was where he really belonged.

Contrary to popular belief, Zaelis hadn’t had a choice to be in Hell. It’s not like he lived a life full of sin, so that’s where he ended up in the afterlife. He was a demon from the start— well, half demon— so that automatically deemed him as a bad person. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to prove himself.

He didn’t seem to care much, though. He didn’t know what he was missing out on, so why be bothered? But now he was here, and now he had met someone who made him feel all weird, and he wondered if it was worth it. If it actually would have been worth the fight he didn’t make.

But he was here now, and it was like the world had possibly given him a second chance. Yes, there were people mad at him. Yes, they would probably come and get him… sooner, rather than later, but he would take advantage of the situations as they presented themselves. Plus, he was curious. What were mortals all about?

With that, he stood from the table, and decided— reluctantly— to try to “socialize.” If that’s what the human’s called it.

Aaron skillfully shrugged loose his friend before any other of his hovering coworkers could strangle him into a conversation or confession as it was starting to feel. There was nothing wrong with having a new friend. Even if he was an attractive demon that was likely to lead him into some serious trouble.

Zaelis had already managed to clamber out of their booth and was actually interacting with other people in the club which both scared and amazed Aaron all at once. The demon had already shown his childish curiosity, ignorant of the danger or perhaps he was above it. Were demons invincible? Aaron couldn't remember reading anything like that in the bible. He had given Zaelis a mental timer of ten minutes before he thought the demon would get bored and wander around and he hadn't even lasted two.

And suddenly he was smiling again.

Yeah. Aaron was definitely asking for trouble with this one, but if trouble always came this cute, then maybe he should start inviting it home more often.

Right now however, he had a demon on the loose and it was probably (completely) his responsibility to make sure no one fell victim to his overly charming friend. He clawed at the dark ringlets that were always desperately trying to escape his beanie, cursing his genes and blowing wisps of hair out of his eyes. Aaron had made the situation worse, perhaps his one talent. His confidence fading and his exhaustion from the day's events pressing down on him more than before, he blew out his cheeks with a final exasperation and walked over to Zaelis.

that'd be good! I'm a whole plot girl so let me brainstorm and you tell me if you like anything I come up with. So, as I see it we've got two people each that can be used to further the story along. On my side we have Dan and Lavenda (the girl who Ace texted who they'll go see in the morning) and Z has Rog and Carcian (I'd like to point out that Z reminds me SO much of Lucifer (from the tv show lol) and I'm here for it). Rog and Dan are similar, it'd make sense if Dan tried to pull a prank on Ace like he promised and Zaelis completely shut it down (I'm thinking something horrible like stealing all the photos of his family from his apartment and desk at work). If Zaelis caught that and scared the shit out of Dan, using his demon powers or whatever for good, that's some damn good character development there. Additionally Rog could track them down sooner rather then later and try to take Z home, who rebukes this and only falters out when he hears Carcian's missing or worried or something.
The sphere is important, I'll have them visit Lavenda in the morning and she'll give us some important plot info about where the sphere came from and what it can do. She'll be able to fix it up and work it out. It'd also make sense if one of the demons stole it back from her and killed her in the effort later on.
Would anyone be trying to kill Zaelis and take the thrown with Carcian out of the picture?
Everything's a bit rushed but really Ace is the kind of person who needs a set plan, or he'll crumble. As we've seen.

The most obvious steps now are them getting settled in Ace's apartment, giving Z eye contacts and clothing from his dead brother (#morbidbutnecessary) to help him blend in, then visiting Lavenda in the morning with the sphere and getting Z a job at the night club through Smithers who will try and make a move on Zaelis no doubt.
People would go after Zaelis even at the night club purely from jealousy and their partners wanting to dance with him, I imagine the demon literally has a drawing element for mortals so that pisses people off. I'm not sure what we're going to do but here are some ideas xD
Do we want the end goal for zaelis to stay up here or embrace his culture and find a balance leaving Ace with a Demon King for a boyfriend who can come visit him whenever? Assuming we get them to be an item by the end lol

Zaelis had no clue how to really dance, so he was just going to not try. You’d think, having spent just a little while in the lust part of hell, he’d understand things like these.

Really, he didn’t. While he was charming, he was dull.

So the conversation he was currently having with a very eccentric individual may not have been as innocent as he thought, the person strolling closer with each passing word. Zae kind of just stood there with his hands on his hips, grinning like an idiot. Even so, his bright eyes were elsewhere, constantly looking for something else. Someone else.

He seemed very absent from the conversation, unlike the other, who was actively trying to lace Zaelis in with the silver tongue of theirs.
But when Zaelis caught sight of Ace again, he pranced up, tail swishing excitedly behind him.
“Shave my horns and call me a mortal,” he said, in complete disregard to the person behind him. “I didn’t know all you people came this friendly! You’re all surprisingly easy to talk to.”
He lowered his voice for a moment, continuing, “No offense, but I really expected you’d all be super up-tight and awkward.”

Zaelis stood perhaps too close to Ace, really not caring for the concept of personal space. “But— anyway, I’ve made up my mind. While I didn’t necessarily talk myself into anyone’s house— and didn’t actually try, for that matter— I guess I’ll be staying with you?”

Ace nodded sleepily at the thought of bed and home. His apartment was messy, but he was pretty sure the demon wouldn't mind too much.
"Yeah, that's the plan. I'll take responsibility." Ace tried for a grin, but it was messy. "My car is out on the street, back the way we came. It's about 2am now, I should think so let's try and be conspicuous. Nothing good every happens after 2am."
Though, considering Zaelis's everything, that was going to be a mission in itself.

He led the demon out, throwing a wave to some of his coworkers, the ones he tolerated, and making it through the crowded streets of the night just slow enough so as not to overwhelm Z. Because, surely, he had to be overwhelmed with it all, from what Ace had heard anyway.
The night was more alive in New York, the fog of the day settled down, music thumped intoxicatingly from every corner, the thick scents of global cuisine confused the senses and the buzzing crowds swallowed people whole.
The softer part of Aaron wouldn't to reach his hand out for Zaelis, like earlier when he guided the demon by the wrist, just to make sure he was ok and in no danger of being lost. Which was a flaw in his usual character to say the least.

Something was wrong with Ace, call it sleep deprivation, stress or a confusingly attractive probably-immortal species, it didn't feel right, comfortable really, to be actively worrying for someone outside of his usual circle. And so quickly.
Up ahead was Ace's car, he tried to focus on reaching the blue ford and not other things.