A pestilence ravages its way through Europe, claiming lives indiscriminately. Avelina will learn that salvation comes at a cost and the mysterious priest who haunts her dreams has also paid the price.
hi friends! in honor of skeletá releasing, the world tour starting and reaching a follow milestone, i figured i would do another giveaway! rules are simple, you must be following me and you must like and reblog this post to enter.
i will pay for shipping to anywhere! note: YOU MUST BE 18+ TO ENTER!
the item is the loma vista aqua blue variant of rite here rite now :)
EDIT TO ADD WHEN THE WINNER WILL BE DRAWN: june 6th 😈!
hello there! i am here with a nice lil giveaway in honor of the ghovie. the winner will receive a revolver aqua blue meliora #742 out of 1,000 and i will cover the shipping! the lil label with the number on it was torn so i have it taped up as shown in the photo. i am based on the US but i will cover international shipping as well :) (i finally got my hands on a scandinavian press so i no longer need this bad boi)
the rules are simple :) just be following me and like and reblog this post. i will draw the winning username on July 26th (release date for the soundtrack of rite here rite now🤪)
thank you to all my lovely followers! i love you all! good luck!
hello! i’ve got a very cool follower milestone and wanted to do another fun lil giveaway! rules are simple, you must be following me and you must like and reblog this post to enter. i will pay for shipping to anywhere! note: YOU MUST BE 18+ TO ENTER!
Drunken nights and their more drunken consequences…
“Shiiit…I have the worst fucking hangover.” Dewdrop grumbles, clawed fingers scratching at his eyes through his mask.
“Dew, please don't talk, my head is pounding.” Cumulus rises from beneath him, wiggling her way out of the pile to get a bottle of water.
“What time is it?”
“Fuck, I don’t know man! Omega.” Dew nudges the larger ghoul who wakes up with a loud snort.
“What? Did nobody set an alarm?” He quickly rises, walking over to the desk where he left his phone.
“Pff, you think we thought of that!?” The fire ghoul laughs at himself.
Omega shakes his head. “You’re all idiots…” he turns on his phone, the screen illuminating his mask “shit! It’s 10:30!”
“WHAT!” Cumulus and Dew jump up, shaking all the ghouls around them to wake up.
“Avelina?” Omega questions, as the ghouls begin to rise he still hasn’t caught sight of me.
“I’m under here.” My voice comes out muffled. The large ghoul chuckles, dragging away the ghoul bodies to free me from my imprisonment. “It is good I no longer need to breathe.” I smile. The others move quickly around us, getting dressed, throwing papers and what look like crumpled metal cylinders everywhere.
“We are in such deep shit!” One ghoul screeches, his hands rapidly sorting through an assortment of badly organised papers. “Copia wanted the documents on his desk by 8! 8!”
“You’re all stupid.” Omega simply shakes his head again, brushing past them to give me a packet of blood.
“You’re only okay because you have babysitting duty! The rest of us still have to work.”
“Shut up, Dew. We don’t have time to argue.” Rain drags the short, angry ghoul out the door. The others quickly follow, slamming the door behind them.
Now it is just me and Omega alone once more. I settle into the corner of the room, plopping myself down on the blanket and tearing into the packet I hold.
I hum to myself in pleasure as the liquid quenches my throat, soothing the burning pain of thirst. It’s such an intense feeling, the blood, life’s essence… everytime I drink I feel different, it's an odd sensation. Though not the same as when I drank from the Cardinal. I could feel him, his thoughts, his history, all in the blood. Almost like blood is the very lives of people… Though I drank from Copia, I did not get a sense of his will, his morality, is he high strung? Is he a spiteful leader?
“Will they be punished? The others?” I ask Omega as he slumps down beside me.
“Probably not. Papa doesn’t make us do too much work. Copia won’t appreciate the tardiness but he’s too much of a pushover to shout at them.”
I nod. A ‘pushover’… as in he will not stand up for himself. This does appear to be the case, he allowed me to attack him, to feed from him, he didn’t even try to push me away. As I sank my teeth into his neck his only retort was meek whimpers. For a man that has been alive for centuries you would think he would’ve grown a spine…although perhaps he is just holding himself back? Does a man that has life eternal need to retaliate against every present threat, or is it more powerful to deceive and be perceived as weak to your peers?
“Still kinda freaky watching you drink that stuff.” Omega interrupts, staring at the drop of O+ dribbling down to my chin.
“Imagine how I feel.” I retort. Perhaps it is wrong of me to have become accustomed to drinking human blood so quickly, though I suppose everything I do is wrong now. Even the very fact I walk among the living is ‘wrong’.
“Not that I think it's gross or anything-” he quickly corrects himself after seeing my discomfort. “You just look too…innocent.”
The corners of my mouth curl up into a smile. Omega really is quite funny. After all I’ve done, people I have killed with my own teeth, he still thinks I appear innocent? “Well, looks can be deceiving. You for example appear to be extremely intimidating, you are in reality very kind.”
He huffs, straightening his back and crossing his arms. “I’m not that nice.” I raise my eyebrow, still smirking. “I’m not! I’m a ghoul. We’re… evil and shit.”
My lips quiver into a smile, my teeth baring as I fail to hold back a giggle at his statement. The ghoul lets out a laugh too, deep and muffled by his silver mask.
“I have never heard such eloquent words from you before.”
“Why thank you,” he jokes, bowing like a lord would to his lady.
He raises his head again and I smile at him. Although his smile is hidden I can see the crinkles at the corners of his eyes through the mask. It's an oxymoron, smiling related to those eyes. Like fire they glow… it's a wonder how people do not get lost searching though those amber orbs. Whips of flames encircle his pupils. I suppose eyes are the window to the soul, or lack thereof?
-“So…how do you feel about trying to walk through the hallway again today?” I quirk up at his question. “I don't want to keep you in the den, I don't think it’ll help.”
My eyes cast off towards the door. Going out there again so soon… have I gained anymore control? Then again how can I know unless I test myself. Omega is right, locking myself away isn’t how I will learn to live around people. “Yes, I feel a little anxious but with you beside me I know I can be stopped.”
Omega lets out a breath. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you ever again.”
———————————
I find myself trembling as we walk the halls. They seem somehow even quieter than the last time we were up here, perhaps my outburst has scared the remainder of the occupants away? Omega strides strongly, just slightly ahead of me. Every few seconds he turns his head back to look at me, maybe he’s scared I’ll bolt as soon as I get the chance. I squint as we turn the corner, one of the long maroon drapes covering the windows is open allowing a crack of sunlight to spill into the corridor. I stop before it, watching how the ghoul walks through effortlessly, his body moving the dust which floats through the air. How badly I wish to feel the rays on my skin. Like a warm summer day in the village, work completed allowing me to rest in the midday sun. No worries or feckless thoughts, just warmth and joy.
“Are you coming?”
My daydream is broken once again. I shift my sorrowful gaze from the light to the ghoul, eyebrows creasing as I think of what to say.
“I… I cannot touch the sunlight… I burn.”
He stares for a second, his own eyes flitting to the window. “Oh. I’m sorry.” Is all he says before he reaches over to close the curtain. I step forward in the now dark hall, only taking a step before the door besides us bursts open.
The small ghoul stomps through, slamming the door behind him. Dew looks up to the taller ghoul in front of him, not noticing him a second ago. He lets out a sigh of relief. “Perfect timing. He wants to talk to fangs here.” He points towards me. Who? Ah well that explains it, the gleaming golden sign besides reads ‘Cardinal Copia’
“Does he have a death wish?” Omega retorts, scoffing.
“Maybe. But he’s the Cardinal so… gotta do what he says.” Dew shrugs, patting Omega on the shoulder before walking away. Omega shakes his head at the small ghoul before telling me to stay put while he speaks to Copia.
He knocks on the door, opening it up just a crack to be able to stick his head through. “You wanted to speak to Avelina?”
Copia, clearly not expecting the immediate intrusion, looks up in bewilderment. “Oh, yes-” he stumbles, dropping his quill and inadvertently spilling ink over his paper. “Uh.” He frantically tries to mop it up. “Omega, is it?” He chuckles nervously, Omega standing stoic as ever. “C-Could you ask her to come up?”
“She’s already here.”
“Oh.” The Cardinal sweeps the papers from his desk and into the bin, sitting down again he tries to smooth out his appearance.
“But I’m not letting her be in a room alone with you.”
“Ah well… that’s eh…understandable. So you will also be in the room?”
Omega grunts, resting against the frame of the door. “Yes. Unless you want to run the risk of being brunch?”
“…”
“Great.” He turns back. “Avelina, you can come in now.”
His face is less pale than the last time I saw him. It’s now flush with pink, even his pointed nose blushing as I step into the room. His blown eyes do not leave me as he moves to pull out a chair. I take my steps slowly, carefully. The thrumming of his heart is not well hidden by his rib cage, the sound makes me painfully aware of the blood that rushes through his veins, so irresistible, so rich…
“Please, sit, um…you uh-”
I take in a deep breath, lowering myself into the chair, my nails absentmindedly gripping at the arms. “I think I should begin by apologising.”
The Cardinal’s eyes widen more dramatically so, his white iris flashing at me like a beacon. His brows knit in confusion, as if the thought of what I'd done hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Please, there is no need. No hard feelings, eh?”
“Are you sure it is so easy to forgive?” I question, feeling as if he hides the truth of his feelings. “I could’ve killed you.”
He waves a hand, his sweaty brow wrinkling as he closes his eyes in conformation. “You didn’t mean it. I completely understand. I promise.”
“Well, thank you.” I sigh in disbelief. “Do…do you feel well?”
“Yes! I’m fine- perfectly recovered. And you- I- I cannot even imagine how this must be for you! Time has gone by so slowly for me but…to appear here from our time…”
“It is a little…overwhelming.” Like that thrumming, like the way his vein pulses on his neck…the small mark where I bled him…would it be so painful to open it again? Omega knocks me on the shoulder, taking me out of the trance and back to Copia’s rambles.
“I wish I could share this with you…I hope that you can- eh… confide in me- if you want! I’m not sure-”
“Nobody else could understand what happened.”
“Yes.” He begins, sorrowfully. “It was the most catastrophic plague in history.”
“Oh…how lucky of us to have been alive for the worst one.” I chuckle sadly.
“It was unfair, that our people had to live such short and scared lives, taken by a disease which is now easily curable.” He sighs, freezing when he notices the shock staining my face.
“Easily…curable… I- there is a cure?”
He nods slowly. “It won't happen again.”
The words leave his lips so easily. A cure for the pestilence…so easily sought out now. It is unfair. How could God allow a cure to be made yet spread the disease around the uninformed, slaughter us like cattle. My family- they could have been saved. I can’t help but feel stupid that I gave up the most divine thing I possessed, my soul, for something that now has a cure. Why was I forsaken to be born at such a time of suffering? At least… at least my parents died with dignity and their souls…
“Father-” My eyes lock with the pale man, my hands reaching out to grasp his. His body tenses yet he does not correct me. “Thank you for allowing my parents a holy death. Y-You couldn’t have done any more for them.” I bite back tears, the image of his praying to their weak bodies is still so near.
“Neither could you.” He smiles. “I know you stayed with them, cared for them. They prayed for you, asked me to pray for you.”
“Had you already decided by then?”
“To confide in the Dark One? Yes.” He looks down solemnly. “But-” he quickly lifts his gaze again. “-that didn’t mean I stopped caring- I…I made sure you were protected. I- I saw what happened to you.” He cringes at himself, thinking of the memory…what he had done…what I can never know.
“I…I didn’t even know what I had done.” I confess. “I- I didn’t mean to do this-” The tears spill over, rolling down my cheek, I try to hold back the sobs, my body shaking as the emotions come over me. Copia’s eyes search me, his hand still awkwardly in the grasp of mine. Omega grumbles about to move to comfort me before Copia’s fingers begin stroking my arm comfortingly.
“It’s okay, eh? Everything is okay.”
“I…I have no soul.”
“Neither do I.” He shrugs as if it is nothing at all. The tears stop now replaced with confusion and a slight hint of anger.
“Why did He allow you to be normal?”
Copia’s brow furrows, he retracts his hand from mine, head tilting as he looks at me. “I…am not normal? I can't die like normal people. I can't age. I can't grow old with someone. -B-But we should be thankful, ah!? Satanas blessed both of us. You most especially-”
“How can you say that!?” I snap, hand slamming down onto his desk. “He made me a monster!”
“A monster?” He shakes his head rapidly, hand grasping mine again. “No, no, no, bella ragazza, you- you’re His most special creation.” A shaking hand reaches up to wipe the tears from my face. “You are the purest thing he has.”
“Y-You think so?”
He blushes again, laughing awkwardly to himself. “I know so. He cares for you so much, that’s why he made you so special.”
I’ve never thought of it this way. Does the Cardinal really think I’m special? It's so kind of him to say, even if I don't quite believe it. Special? I don't think I ever wanted to be. Just to be a normal girl in a normal village having a loving and normal life…I can never have that now. Unique, monstrous, those are other words that could be used to describe me. He did not use those though, did he. Special and pure, he- well, he is sweet.
“I appreciate your kind words, Copia.” A smile lingers on my lips. His pink cheeks are sweet I suppose, he’s such an awkward yet sweet man, how cruel of me to have ever hurt him. Even unintentionally.
Omega picks up on Copia’s behaviour. He’s never seen the Cardinal act like this with any of the siblings in the church, it’s almost like he’s…flirting…
Ew.
Copia can’t help but stare into her eyes. Still just as blue as all those years ago. He could never forget the way she stared at him when they first met, they shone even under candle light, even more radiant now.
“Ah Cardinal!” A voice breaks through the silence, the large wooden door slamming open as the current Papa barges though. Copia immediately tenses, he lets go of me and smooths his Cassock with his hands. “I didn’t not know you had company.” He winks. “How are you, dolce?”
“I am feeling well, Papa.” I reply, sad to have my meeting with the Cardinal interrupted.
“It's okay, Papa. We were just leaving anyway, Avelina needs to study.” Omega taps me on the shoulder, signalling me to get up.
“Thanks Ghoul. And yes, Copia! I was going to ask you to do my tax returns. You know how it is, Papa has far too much on his plate.” He laughs obnoxiously before turning again to me, leaning against the desk. “Oh and bella, if you are in need of a snack anytime, I am happy to provide.” He winks. Copia grits his teeth, gloved hands clenching as he meets Omega’s gage. The ghoul quickly ushers me out of the room, closing the door quickly behind us.
“Are you okay?” Omega asks, crouching down to be at my eye level, dark hands holding either side of my face.
“Yes…I just…seeing him bought back those memories-”
“If you don't want to see him again-”
“No…I do. He is very kind…”
———————————
Omega was taken away by Papa this afternoon for ‘band practice’, he left me again with Cirrus and Cumulus with clear instructions that they help me to study and learn more about the church. It seems they do not take instructions in a literal sense. My books have been strewn across the cold stone floor as we now sit in a circle discussing…well…
“Papa’s album is so good, Avy! You need to hear it!” Cumulus raves. She’s definitely the more excitable of the two ghoulettes. Her passion for the church is unmatched but perhaps only in her perversion towards its leaders.
“I would love to, though I’m afraid my knowledge of music is very limited.”
“I think you might have a heart attack seeing Papa’s performance.” Cirrus adds. I doubt that, my heart no longer beats so I assume death won’t be granted to me from shock alone.
“Oh fuck, it makes me so horny.”
…horny?
“I mean, he can’t thrust in our faces like that and expect us to ignore it!”
“Excuse me, he does what?”
The ghoulette scoffs at me. “Don’t act so shocked, Avy. Sin is encouraged around here.” Cirrus nods in agreement. “And it’s Papa, everyone wants to fuck him. I’m sure you do.”
“I do not.” I bite back. What a vile accusation.
“Fair enough,” Cirrus laughs, “he’s not everyone’s type.”
“Yes he is! He’s our Papa!”
I’m not exactly sure what she sees in him. I suppose he comes across as charming but…arrogance was never attractive to me. Secondo seemed to think I was unaware of his brother's intentions, I may be from a long time ago but I am not stupid. Men have always had bad intentions.
“I do not really have a history of falling for men I’ve just met. Father was always trying to marry me off to some stranger.”
“So you never got married? What about a secret lover or something?” A secret lover? I think my Father would’ve killed me, or him… Not that I was ever too fond of the men in my village. They were either far too old or far too immature. I always found myself wanting more, maybe I was destined to end up alone.
I hum. “No, I’m afraid my life on Earth was free from romance.”
Cumulus gasps. “So you’re a virgin!?”
“Well, yes- ”
She jumps forward, almost planting herself in my lap. “We need to fix that! Who do we ask? Terzo would, maybe Secondo?”
Fix it? I don’t require fixing!? Is there something wrong now with not bedding the first person you run into? Omega walks into the room, slamming open the door before sneering at the two ghoulettes.
“Shut up Cumulus. Don’t taint her with your filth.” He takes my arm, dragging me away from Cumulus’ grasp.
“Or maybe Omega will fix it~”
He hisses at her before storming off with me in tow.
——————————————
It has been too long since Copia has settled down into his bed. His thoughts have been so frantic, so uncontainable that he finds himself night after night thrashing in a restless haze. Tonight though, sleep has washed over him, floating him away into the sea of dreams…
The sun shines down brightly today, masking the darkness of the pestilence which lurks so near. I walk down the trodden path, dirt caking itself to my shoes only to be wiped away by the lush grass. Passing fields of wheat and cattle, workers ploughing, women cooking, children playing…I hum to myself. The church is not far from here, perhaps another few moments, yet I find myself taking the scenic route, the one that passes the shepherd's house. There she sits as I round the corner, blonde tresses flowing in the wind. Golden, pure and bright. Her face turns towards me, pink lips and dusted cheeks, shining blue eyes- but-
Her eyes turn black, plush lips curving into an unnatural grin, sharp teeth piercing out. The sky goes dark, the village fading away and the water rushes past my feet. Again she is gone, now only an amorphous figure remains.
“I should have known I would have no dreams tonight.”
A dark chuckle reverberates through my mind. “I allow you too much rest.”
I laugh inwardly, I only wish rest was more than a fast acquaintance. In reality it has been…well a long time since I have been allowed to relax. Being Satan’s eternal servant does come with a surprising amount of paperwork.
“What is it that you need of me, my Lord?” I bow, feeling his grin through the air as I do so.
“My daughter,” he begins, “you have met her again now haven’t you?”
“Um, yes.” I reply meekly, knowing he can see inside my mind.
“I saw what she did to you.”
“She didn’t mean it-”
“Oh but it was brilliant!” Satanas laughs proudly, the very earth beneath me rumbling under his deep chuckle. “That's just what I wanted, that uncontrollable urge to consume. However, she still has not accepted this path. I want you to convince her, turn her to my side.”
Manipulate Avelina? No Copia, it is not manipulation. She ‘chose’ to sell her soul, didn’t she? Didn’t she…tell yourself that enough and you might begin to believe it… How can I get her to come to the Olde One’s side, she’s just scared and confused. She feels lost but she’s not- she’s not against anyone.
“I don’t believe she is against you per say, she-”
“Listen to what I say, Cardinal. I have great plans for you both but I need trust to put them into motion. See that it is done.”
Papa in his red suit at the Rouen ritual (x). Original video by the lovely @owlghuleh (thank you so much for letting me use it and for sharing a bit of your ritual experience with me!)
