Beel's Incident
(Finally got around to writing this chapter out. Anyways, here's the third chapter of Animal Incident! I'll update it on Ao3 later, but it's sleep time now.)
Count: 5198
When I woke the next morning, the lights were still on and the magical candles still lit, my tired brain having ignored them the entire night. At least there wasn’t exactly an electric bill to worry about. Sitting up, I saw a pile of textbooks and a tray with a plate of food on it, though the portion size was so small that it basically looked like scraps. I checked the time and saw that my alarm hadn’t been set, and it was a bit after when the brothers would leave for class.
Lucifer must’ve left the stuff so that I could still study and eat while they were gone.
I groggily got up and approached the food on the plate as a bit of hunger ran through me. To my amusement, tiny plastic utensils were placed on the plate next to the morsels of pancake, egg, and bacon. I wasn’t really turned off to the idea of eating meat like Levi was now, so whatever I was happened to be an omnivore at least. Once I had my breakfast, I opened my phone (with a bit of difficulty given my size) and saw that I had several missed texts, and a couple missed calls.
Each of the brothers had offered to help in their own texts, though I didn’t entertain the thought much with Lucifer’s worry in my mind. The rest of the texts and the missed calls were from the others also checking in on me after finding out that I was ‘sick’. Diavolo, despite Lucifer saying he was incredibly busy, still offered to help if needed. I declined, but said I appreciated the thought. Barbators said he’d hand Lucifer an herbal blend that would supposedly help me get better quicker, Luke said he’d bake a batch of cookies to be brought over, and Simeon gave me his best wishes with broken text and stickers.
Solomon had also given me well wishes and mentioned the protective charm that Lucifer had asked for, asking what accessory I wanted for it and suggesting something that I likely wouldn’t take off. I suggested a simple bracelet and offered to give him Grimm, but he declined.
Lucifer had sent me lists of what to study for the day since I was missing classes, but it became evident very quickly how difficult even opening the textbooks was at my size. After half an hour of trying to even successfully push up the cover alone, I relented and texted Lucifer about the struggle to even study.
‘I see…. Well, I suppose Levi will have to help pick up the slack. I’ll ask Satan to share his notes with both of you. Once we’re more certain about your situation, I’ll feel more comfortable about study sessions with more than Levi.’
So, I spent the rest of the day trying to keep up with the texted notes that Satan sent me after each class, something I hadn’t really expected. Which, it was a good thing that these were being sent, because when Levi came to help me study we just ended up talking about random stuff and he talked about how moe this whole scenario was.
The next day was about the same, and Lucifer even handed me some small clothes that he’d managed to purchase so that I didn’t have to wear the same thing. I could only imagine the confusion from the demon working if he just asked for the clothes of a toy rather than buying the toy. If he did buy the toy, then there was a naked toy either around the House of Lamentation or in the trash. The thought was oddly funny to me.
I will say, the quiet and solitude was kind of nice. It felt unfamiliar and left me a bit bored aside from looking over Satan’s notes, but I’d take the small reprieve from the brothers as much as I could since everything would probably get kicked back into high gear when I was back to my normal size. For an introvert, being constantly surrounded by seven demon brothers as roommates didn’t give me a lot of alone time.
I ended up watching some DevilTube at some point, not realizing how much time had passed until I heard the sound of the door opening and absentmindedly glanced at my phone clock to see that now would be around the time the brothers came home from class.
"Hey, I didn't realize how much time had passed," I said, not even glancing at Levi as I paused the video I was watching and opened the notepad app I'd been using for notes. "How were classes?"
"They were fine."
The voice that was NOT Levi's caught my attention, looking up to see Beel in the doorway instead. I ignored the apprehension that crept up on me, replying, "Oh, I thought you were Levi, Beel."
"I know, sorry about that," Beel shifted a little, drawing my attention to the items in his arms. Most were just the textbooks for RAD, but he pulled something steel-gray from his pocket. "Levi got caught up by Luke and Barbatos since they made you stuff. They didn't want me handling them because Luke made cookies for you."
I could practically see the yearning in his eyes at the mention of the cookies and I couldn't really blame him since Luke was a really good baker. But, he was so caught up in his desire for cookies that I had to clear my throat to grab his attention again, asking, "Did Lucifer send you to help me study then, or-?..."
“Oh, no. Lucifer doesn't know I came over," the answer left a cold feeling of concern and dread in the pit of my stomach, especially as Beel stepped closer to the bed. But, he began to lower the steel-gray thing in front of me and continued, "Solomon wanted you to get this as soon as possible, and gave it to me. He said he'd buy me lunch if I made sure no other demon touched it, especially Mammon."
The steel-gray thing glinted as he did so, showing off the parts and details. It was a segmented metal creature that dangled from his hold, swaying as he lowered it until he placed it on the bed beside me. Scales glinted in the light of my room, intricately layered on top of each other like a bush viper’s scales, and I would have mistaken it for meaning to be a snake if it weren’t for the horns that sprouted from its head, the legs folded on its side and the ridges of spines down its back and on its tail. What looked like a faux chain was around the end of its tail with a short chain of metal links that ended with a ring. Its mouth was frozen in a snarl that bared its metallic teeth and its eyes were emerald gems that I couldn’t tell whether or not they were real. It was a dragon.
“Wha- What’s this supposed to be,” I asked. It couldn’t be the protection charm from Solomon, I had asked for a *simple* bracelet. This looked literally anything but simple.
I couldn’t help but kneel beside it and reach out to touch it before Beel could respond, brushing my fingers against the scales on its back, the metal cool to the touch. For about a moment. Once I touched it, the metal warmed at my touch and startled me as it suddenly shrank on itself, the force of the size change leaving it in the air for a second before it fell down towards the bed. I quickly moved forward and reached out to catch it before it landed on the comforter and potentially became lost. Both Beel and I stared at the metal thing, but he was the one that broke the silence.
“I think he had said something about it being a good luck charm, but he didn’t mention anything about it doing that,” Beel said, frowning a bit in confusion.
The metal dragon was cool to the touch now, about the length of my arm and able to be held like a length of rope in my hands. Curious, I began messing with it in my hands absentmindedly, realizing the jaw could be popped open and tested closing the teeth on the ring attached to the tail while saying, “I asked Solomon for a bracelet, but I don’t think it’ll fit.”
To prove my point, I slipped it over my wrist and let it dangle, a huge gap between my wrist and the metal from the bottom of the loop. The circlet, as if hearing me and deciding to prove me wrong, warmed against my skin once more. It was warm enough to almost be painful and I moved to yank it off. The metal slipped from between my fingers as it shrank quickly again, a jolt of fear running down my spine at the thought of it chopping my hand off. But, the second the metal became flush with my skin it stopped shrinking and cooled as though nothing happened.
“What the fuck,” I exclaimed, instinctively trying to pull it off or unclasp it to no avail. Glancing at my phone, I asked Beel, “Can you ask Solomon if it was supposed to glue itself to my wrist?!”
“Uh, yeah, hold on,” Beel jolted from just staring at my struggles in surprise, pulling out his own phone and starting to text as I continued to fumble with the dragon’s jaws to unclasp it.
It wasn’t going very well. No matter how much I tugged or tried to wriggle a finger between the metallic teeth, nothing budged. With how experimental Solomon could get with his magic, I was a little concerned. At the very least it hadn’t warmed or done anything else since it shrunk the second time. My panic ebbed as we waited for a response from Solomon, realizing that the bracelet was just loose enough that it didn’t pinch or chafe as I twisted it around.
“Solomon says it should be removable, but that it might have gotten stuck shrinking to fit your wrist,” I looked up towards Beel as he spoke, his eyes scrolling from left to right as he read. “He says the protection spells and charms took priority and he wanted to get it to you, asap. He did mention that he can take a look at it in class whenever you feel better.”
“Alright,” I sighed, giving up on the clasp after another moment. I wasn’t sure how he’d be able to get a look at it without finding out about my ‘condition’, but we’d cross that bridge when we got there. “Tell him ‘Thank you’ then for me, please.”
“Sure thing,” the demon nodded, typing on his phone and looking back up after a couple of seconds. “Okay, it’s sent.”
“Thank you, Beel. And, thank you for bringing me the bracelet.”
“It was no problem. I just wish Luke gave me a cookie before I left,” Beel frowned sadly, holding a hand to his stomach as it growled. The sight would look pathetic if I wasn’t bite-sized and if he wasn’t known for flying into rampages when hungry. If Mammon had struggled, I could only imagine how quickly this could escalate. He looked at me and I stiffened nervously, but he just gave me a look akin to a kicked puppy. “When Levi comes back, can I have a couple cookies?”
“U-uh, yeah, sure,” I said. I tried to smile and probably ended up with more of an anxious grimace. I needed to get him to leave. “When Levi comes back, you can have some cookies. But, you should probably leave before Lucifer gets home and tries to find you, and Levi’s gonna be here soon anywa-”
“I don’t mind staying and keeping you company,” the demon interrupted, making me close my mouth and sharply inhale in frustration and worry. I huffed with my eyes closed for a moment before reopening them and looking up at Beel.
“Or,” I stressed the word to try and make it abundantly clear that this was the option I’d prefer right now, suggesting, “You could go look for Levi and get some cookies.”
“Honestly, you look a bit tastier than cookies right now,” Beel replied, causing a terrified shudder to run down my spine.
This wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that and I’d gotten used to it to an extent, but right now it actually felt like a very real threat.
“Beel,” I adopted a warning tone, stepping back a couple steps nervously. His stomach growled again and my ears instinctively perked at the sound before pressing back against my head. I didn’t really want to test the very experimental protection charm on my bracelet. “You can’t eat me! E-Eating me is bad a-and dangerous!”
“I’m sure I could manage,” the Avatar of Gluttony stepped forward and dropped to a crouch beside the bed, making me jolt and yelp. His pupils were… larger than normal. That, or I was seeing things.
“I meant for me, Beel,” I shouted, my voice coming out more of a squeak. I saw his ears perk at the sound and wrenched myself from the spot, backing away a couple of steps despite knowing that he could easily reach out and grab me. If turning my back on Mammon caused his instincts to kick in more, I felt like trying to run would potentially trigger some chase instinct. “I-If you eat me, we can’t r-really hang out. R-Right?”
“Oh. Right,” a flash of realization swept across his face, probably remembering that eating very vulnerable humans who were your friends was bad. Concerningly, it was quickly replaced by eagerness as the gears in his head turned. “What if I… didn’t eat you? What if I just tasted you?”
“Wha-,” I was appalled, my fear being replaced by sheer surprise. “No, you can’t just TASTE me, Beel!”
Fear caused adrenaline to dump into my veins, uncertainty clouding my mind. Would the bracelet work if Beel snapped? What were the limits? What if it was just a glorified paperweight around my wrist?!
Gripped by a bit of panic, I moved to dart away even though I had nowhere to go on the bed. Beel was quick to move his arms, hands the size of walls blocking my escape and causing me to bounce slightly with the impact. I couldn’t move away before I found myself scooped up in his hands, getting very vivid flashbacks to when Mammon snatched me up, and I was brought closer to his face despite my squirming and kicking.
“Beel, j-just let me go!” I exclaimed, heart pounding in my chest. My protests fell on deaf ears, seeing that Beel had that hungry, glazed over look that let me know that he wasn’t going to listen to anything I said.
“I’ll just pop you in my mouth until Levi gets here,” Beel murmured, pleased with his self-approved compromise. I could already see drool at the corner of his mouth, my eyes widening when his lips began to part.
“Beel, d-don’t you dare,” I exclaimed, scrambling against his fingers as I was moved towards his opening mouth.
Unlike Mammon, who had fought against his instincts, Beel was self-assured of his plan and held no hesitation with very misguided confidence that he wouldn’t eat me if he just gave in a little and put me in his mouth. Having seen first-hand that when Beel says “one bite”, he means the whole fucking bowl, I was not very confident in his self-control.
I wasn't even given a second before I found myself tossed on his tongue with his teeth immediately shutting behind me. Given his tendency to bite and chew anything he could get his teeth around, I was extremely glad he didn’t decide to use me as a chew-toy.
The muscle beneath me, slightly rough and barbed similar to Mammon’s tongue, was still for barely a moment before I was nudged and prodded. Of course, I tried to protest and push against the offending appendage, but given the fact that it was fucking massive, I was incredibly unsuccessful and just ended up being drenched in saliva as his mouth watered.
“Beel! L-Let me out,” I gasped out, feeling like a shirt on a spin cycle as I struggled to even have a moment of reprieve. I already felt breathless.
A barely mumbled attempt to reply was my response before it just turned into a deep, pleased and rumbling hum that rattled my bones and insides. The tasting felt relentless, flipped and turned with the only occasional pause being Beel unsticking his tongue from my clothes, hair, and fur before he continued. If it wasn’t for how enthusiastically he was treating me like some kind of hard candy, the rough surface of his tongue would potentially allow me to brace myself between the muscle and palette.
I wasn’t sure how long I was savored, tired and panting after less than a minute. All I knew was that it was hot, humid, and very disorienting. But, at least he was just… tasting. Surprisingly, he’s kept his word about-.
The muscles around me paused in a way different than before when he’d shift me back to the center of his mouth or unstick his tongue from me. I was confused until I felt the tongue begin to lift, my heart leaping into my throat at getting a flashback from when Mammon ate me.
“Beel, DON’T SWALLOW ME,” I screeched in panic, but ultimately couldn’t do anything as I was forced back towards his throat before a loud gulp loudly sounded in my ears. Immediately, I was dragged down his gullet before I could even try to let out another exclamation. Beel continued to borderline purr as I was drawn past his heart and lungs, both of which were overwhelmingly loud. Maybe it was my own blood rushing in my ears though.
I felt myself slip into the stomach, the organ bouncing a bit at my slight drop from the top to base. Thankfully, Beel’s stomach was empty of foodstuffs, but that definitely didn’t help him against his instincts and normal gluttony. A small pool was at the bottom of his stomach. Whether it was drool or acid, I didn’t know or care and just jumped to my feet despite being tired from struggling, trying to press myself away from it as much as possible. I felt lightheaded with panic and tried to control my breathing, but it was very difficult.
“B-Beel, let me out,” I shouted, voice wavering in fear even as he hummed. He wasn’t supposed to eat me, and maybe if he did the protection spell like Mammon had I’d feel less scared, but he didn’t. “Please!”
There was a pressure on one side of the stomach that was enough to jostle me loose from my standing position and cause me to slide to the bottom of the organ with a yelp. The pleased hum abruptly stopped, replaced by his worried voice, “K-Kat, are you okay?! I just meant to have a taste. I thought I could hold myself back, b-but you were just irresistible!”
“Beel, just let me out,” I called out, trying to pull in my panic as I moved to sit up. The puddle was making my hands feel itchy.
“I-,” Beel’s voice paused and everything tensed for a few seconds, making me very confused. I couldn’t hear anything past his organs churning, but he spoke up before I could press to be let out again.
“L-Levi… I messed up.”
—------------------------------------------
Good news? The bracelet works to a certain extent, at least. I didn’t sustain any actual burns from Beel, nothing worse than skin irritation but that could also have been because I didn’t spend too long in his stomach.
The bad news? Another house meeting was called. And, this time, it was far more tense. Mostly because everyone gathered in a panic after Levi walked in on Beel, who immediately admitted to ‘accidentally’ eating me.
Needless to say, Levi freaked out and got Lucifer, and no one was less than panicked.
“I feel,” Lucifer’s angry tone had me flinching from my spot on the coffee table of the common room. “That eating someone should be easier to avoid than it appears, but apparently that’s not the case.”
I toyed with the edge of the hand towel I sat on, focusing on the green fibers to avoid looking at any of the brothers. To avoid their worry and concern. Beel wasn’t present, but we all knew that Lucifer would give him his own reprimand later on. I didn’t want to think about what Lucifer would end up punishing him with.
“We got lucky thanks to Solomon’s protection charm, but it’s obviously not foolproof. I wish he had gotten a hold of Levi or I for the bracelet so we could avoid this whole incident, but the past is behind us,” Lucifer inhaled deeply. I was sure that if I looked up, I’d have a fifty percent chance to see at least a bit of his demon smoke with the knowledge that he was very much holding himself back. “Moving forward, we need to be cautious. I’d love to just say ‘Don’t eat Kat’, but given that it’s happened twice, that’d be irresponsible of me.”
I heard a very faint growl from the couch that lasted only a second, resisting the urge to look up. Lucifer had told the whole house about Mammon’s incident and I knew he probably felt under scrutiny right now.
“So, we’re going to do this a different way,” Lucifer continued. A thud on the table next to me caused me to jolt and look up at the sound. Lucifer shot me an apologetic glance as he tapped the heavy looking tome to drag the others attention to it. His ears flattened a little in anger, a glimpse into just how pissed he was about me being eaten twice in three days along with his steadily growling tone and flicking tail. “You all are expected to hold in your instincts, but if that expectation fails like it already has, I want you all to have memorized this spell.
“I have it bookmarked. This is the spell Mammon used to protect Kat when he lost control of his instincts. I want you all to learn it, internalize it, and by tomorrow, I want each of you to recite it to me. This does not mean that anyone can just eat Kat. This is an extra safety measure for emergencies and is extremely important given that the protection bracelet isn’t perfected. I will still give severe punishment for eating them, so don’t think you can get off scott-free by just eating them and calling it an emergency,” he straightened from the coffee table and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mammon.”
The demon in question looked towards Lucifer, ears wilting a bit. He’d already likely suffered his repercussions and wasn’t looking for more. But, Lucifer wasn’t looking to reprimand him.
“Since you already know the spell, you can take Kat to their room.”
“I- Really,” Mammon looked surprised, but his apprehension faded with relief.
Levi, on the other hand, was quick to voice his objection with a frown and protective glance. “How come Mammon takes Kat? Why should he be trusted? What if he eats them again, he already has once. Besides, I’m an herbivore!”
“Because,” Lucifer responded tersely, wisps of black smoke curling from his shoulders. “You also still need to learn the spell, regardless of your herbivore status. I, myself, need to refresh myself on it. Mammon not only knows the spell, he used it responsibly and knows the consequences if he does it again.”
He looked from Levi to Mammon and nodded in dismissal. Mammon got up and approached the coffee table, offering his palm for me to climb into.
I didn’t hesitate much to hop into his hand, clutching onto one of his fingers as he straightened up and left the common room. I let out a huff once we got far enough down the hallway that I wasn’t as much on edge. I couldn’t help but glance at the redness of my hands. It was a lot better than earlier if Lucifer’s initial blow up was anything to go by, along with Asmos comment about me looking like a tiny lobster. Now, it was more just a couple shades pinker than normal. Still, patchy as fuck.
“I hope Luke manages to get a hold of the antidote soon,” I sighed tiredly. I saw the fingers of the hand I was in twitch a little, glancing up to see Mammon surprised that I started talking with him. Given that he’s barely texted me other than to apologize, I think he thought I had been mad at him.
“Yeah,” he replied after a couple seconds of quiet contemplation. “Pretty sure if Luke doesn’t manage to find any available, Lucifer’s gonna try and get Micheal to find some. And, Micheal will probably fold because Lucifer was his favorite.”
“Benefits to being a Teacher’s Pet,” I yawned. Did the phrase really make sense? Not really, but it was all I could think of at the moment. That, and I felt like Lucifer would absolutely be a Teacher’s Pet.
“He’s got the ears and tail for it now,” Mammon mumbled, catching me off guard. After another day of panic and stress, I couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. The demon looked down at me, apparently not thinking that he’d said that outside and quickly added, “Don’t tell Lucifer I said that, got it?”
“G-Got it,” my laughing petered out into chuckles, feeling a lot better than before. But, as we entered my room and he lowered his hand to allow me off, I still felt like I needed to reassure him. Especially when, after I stepped down, he quickly pulled his hand away.
“I, uh, should probably head back and stuff before the others accuse me of eatin’ ya again,” Mammon said, poised to immediately leave. But, before he took a step, I spoke up.
“I’m not mad at you, you know,” I called out quietly, too nervous to be too loud about it. But, I saw the way that his ears flicked in my direction though he kept his gaze averted. “I mean, maybe a bit irritated, but I don’t really blame you for the instincts stuff.”
The demon was quiet for a few seconds longer, uncharacteristic of the Avatar of Greed, but eventually he responded, “You’re still scared though, at least a little. And even if I couldn’t control myself, I still could have seriously hurt you, Kat… I don’t know what I would have done if that was the case…”
I frowned, thinking on it. “Mammon, the first few hours of the potion kicking in, I literally thought one of you would end up, I don’t know, biting off a chunk of my arm or something. And I’d do the same thing that I’m doing now: I wouldn’t really blame any of you. Granted, I’d probably be more scared if I ended up… injured, but I wouldn’t want you guys beating yourself up over something you can’t control. Besides, I’m still a little scared of all of you! I don’t know if you remember this, but I’m a few inches tall with some kind of rodent instincts in me, any movement too quick makes me anxious. Don’t worry, in this case, you’re not special.”
Mammon looked towards me, mulling over my words and likely thinking of how he should respond. And, in true Mammon fashion, he’d decided that he’d been vulnerable enough for one day, scoffing, “Yeah, well, just don’t forget that I’m special in other ways, like being your first demon.”
“I’ve told you that you need to work on your phrasing,” I rolled my eyes, but I knew he only said it like that to get under his brother’s skin. I just tried to fucking mitigate the in-fighting. “Go on, get! Before I die of annoyance and the others think you ate me again.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Mammon rolled his eyes right back, walking to the entrance of the bedroom.
“Oh, wait,” I exclaimed, quickly remembering something. Mammon looked back in surprise but waited expectantly. “Tell Beel that I don’t really blame him either when you see him next.”
The demon frowned, likely feeling his own way about Beel’s situation but said, “Alright, fine. Get some rest, Kat.”
“Will do,” I called out as he left the room, the door closing with a soft click. After a few seconds, I tiredly walked to where my phone was left on my bed, flopping down and letting out a long exhale. “These fucking brothers are gonna be the death of me.”
I laid there on the comforter for a while, rifling through the complicated emotions that came with the near-death experiences and trying to sort through what was rodent instinct and what was entirely me until my phone buzzed. I yelped, caught off guard by what would be a text, and sat up to unlock the phone. It was from Solomon.
‘Hey, Kat. Lucifer told me that the charm wasn’t working fully. That should probably be taken care of ASAP given the trouble the brothers give you. Are you feeling any better?’
Uh oh. At this point, it’d been three days. Usually, if someone is sick past that, that meant something was pretty wrong. And, given the fact that I didn’t think anyone was any closer to an antidote for my transformation, I felt like Solomon should probably know if he was going to fix the bracelet.
‘Ah. About that. I wasn’t… actually sick??? I’m sort of shrunk.’ I typed out, watching nervously as Solomon’s writing dots popped up and disappeared several times until his response came through.
‘Shrunk? How did that happen?’
I huffed a bit. ‘Long story. But, really need the bracelet looked at if possible.’
‘I mean, I can try, but it’ll be difficult to get a good look at it. If you take it off and leave it off for a few hours, it should return to normal size.’
‘Bracelet is stuck, remember?’
‘Right, Beel said something about that earlier…’
I watched the dots pop up, then disappear, pop up, then disappear for a few minutes, eventually leaving the messenger app out of boredom to watch some DevilTube. Eventually, after about thirty minutes, Solomon did give me a response.
‘Okay, I can try to swing by tomorrow after classes to take a look, but I can’t guarantee anything being able to be done in just one night.’
‘That’s fine. Thank you for being flexible, see you tomorrow!’
‘You too, Kat.’
And, with that, the conversation was over. I should probably tell Lucifer about Solomon knowing about the whole shrinking situation, but he was probably busy still chewing Beel out and I didn’t want to risk turning his wrath towards me. So, I’ll tell him about it tomorrow.
