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Hell Is Empty, Part 16

Reth has a very strange morning, after his very strange previous day.

CW: fantastic racism towards demons, implied past non-con/nsfwhump, referenced past non-con drugging, victim blaming, minor miscommunications

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Reth woke slowly, his awareness trickling back like fog. He was in a bed.

He was in a bed, and he was clothed.

And he was alone.

He heard grumbling below him and sensed the sleepy irritation of someone just waking up, and amended his mental statement. He was in the bed alone. He was sharing the room with his summoner.

"Tara?" he asked cautiously.

The sound she let out was mostly consonants, and certainly not an actual word. It seemed that she was not a morning person.

"Mmmrgh." It was muffled like she had spoken into her pillow. "Guess it was too much to hope this was all a bad dream."

Reth grimaced in sympathy. They'd had the same thought more than once in their cell, in the fuzzy half-awareness of waking.

"I'll just. Get dressed and everything," she said. "Give me a minute."

"Yes, Tara."

They cautiously extricated themself from the sheets that had tried to strangle them during the night while Tara rifled through her dresser. Once she'd found what she was looking for, she took the clothing with her into the bathroom and closed the door.

Had she meant for them to wait in the bed? Or to get down? She hadn't specified, when she said to give her time. Reth worried about the choice for a moment, then decided it would be best to get up. Best not for a concubus to give a human ideas, what with them lounging about in bed.

("You expect me to believe you don't want it, when you're laying there looking like that? Nice try.")

He sat up, and immediately let out a yelp of pain. Why was this bed so close to the ceiling?!? He'd hit his horns just by sitting upright!

"Reth?" A spike of panic preceeded Tara into the room. A toothbrush in her mouth made the word came out garbled.

"I apologize," he said quickly.

"What happened, are you okay?" she asked. Her eyes scanned over him where he hunched on the bed, finally seeming to rest on where he held a hand to his horn.

"I am uninjured," he said. "I… misjudged the distance to the ceiling."

Her emotions did a complicated twist. There was amusement, but it was tempered by sympathy and a hint of guilt. Her face went through a similar process, a bitten-back smile transforming into a grimace of sympathy.

"Sorry. Probably should have warned you," she said. "Low ceiling, high lofted bed. Not the best combo."

"It's fine," he rushed to reassure her.

Her expression said she didn't believe that, but she didn't say that aloud. Instead, she gestured to his horn with the toothbrush.

"Can you feel those?" she asked. "I didn't think horns had nerve endings."

He equivocated with a shrug. "Not the outer sheath, but the core of them, yes. And they are attached."

He forced himself not to shiver at the memory of being pulled around by the horns, and how much they ached afterwards.

Tara nodded. "Huh. Never thought about that."

She looked down at the toothbrush she was still holding, then back to him. "You good? Can I finish getting ready?"

"Yes, Tara. Thank you," he said.

Her expression didn't change, but he sensed a flicker of something like unease pass through her emotions. All she said was, "Alright. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Yes, Tara."

She returned to the bathroom and closed the door.

Reth took more care getting the rest of the way out of the bed, and made it to the ground without further mishaps. He cautiously stretched.

Oh, he ached. One night of sleep on an actual bed hadn't erased the lingering pains of sleeping on the floor of his cell for ages. And that was before he considered… everything else.

He hadn't been able to keep track of time, in his cell. He wasn't sure how long he'd thought it had been, but he'd been shocked to hear the date. It was already Ostara. He'd been captured after Samhain, and spent the Solstice in his captor's tender care.

He'd been there for four months.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, willing down the tears that were starting to form. He was not going to cry.

"Okay!"

His eyes flew open at Tara's voice. She sounded much more alert than she had upon waking. Her hair was wet and combed back from her face; the bandage on her forehead was fresh.

"I pulled out a clean washcloth and towel for you; they're on the floor next to the shower. I also had a fresh toothbrush, so I put that on the counter. As for the rest of it…"

She grimaced slightly. "Do human medicines even work on demons? Like. I'd offer you some Tylenol, but for all I know it'd be like giving chocolate to dogs."

He tilted his head in confusion. What was she talking about?

She ducked her head with a rush of embarrassment. "Sorry. That's. That was rude, wasn't it. I'm sorry. That's a bad comparison."

It was the same choppy, nervous chatter as when she'd asked Reth about their pronouns. She was self-conscious and embarrassed, though they weren't sure why.

She said, "Just because you're vaguely human-shaped— or, I guess humans are vaguely you-shaped? I don't know which came first— doesn't mean that different meds will work the same, is what I meant to say, but it came out like, really speciest. Sorry."

"No apology necessary, Tara," Reth said. They weren't entirely sure what she was embarrassed about, but they figured this was the best way to move past it. "Could you repeat the question?"

"Right, sure," she said with a quick nod. "Um. Do human medicines work on demons?"

They kept their expression the same, despite the unease that stirred at the question. "Some do, to various degrees. Some have no effect. Others affect us differently."

("Have a drink, demon; we're here to celebrate!"

He tried to cough it out, but they forced him to swallow. The intoxicant hit fast and hard. He remembered little else of the evening but their mocking laughter.)

She grimaced. "Of course, because nothing can be simple. I don't know why I expected anything else. Awesome."

Reth cautiously ventured, "Why do you ask, Tara?"

Tara looked at him in confusion, as though the answer to his question was incredibly obvious. Her face then brightened in understanding.

"I forgot to ask, didn't I. Sorry. Morning brain." She shook her head as though to clear it. "I meant to ask if you need any medical care, and if you want any help with it."

"Pardon?"

She gestured vaguely with one hand. "For your back. Or, I guess if there's anything else that needs it, too. I wasn't sure if you'd want help, but I also wasn't sure how easy it would be to patch up your own back."

He felt like he was missing something that she considered too obvious to mention. "I don't understand the connection."

She looked as confused as he felt. "Painkillers? I have a couple different NSAIDs, as well as Tylenol, to keep all my bases covered. I wasn't sure if you could take any, and I didn't want to offer something that's gonna make you sick, you know?"

He stared in astonishment. She was offering him aid?

Tara fidgeted under his gaze. She looked down at her hands and adjusted the bandages, then ran her fingers through her hair. This seemed to spark another realization.

"Oh! I also left my shampoo by the sink. Feel free to use it. I just washed mine in the sink, but if you want a cold shower, go ahead, I guess? Like I said, towel and washcloth are by the shower. What else… I don't have a second hairbrush, but you're welcome to share mine."

Reth's eyes prickled. This time, he couldn't hold back. He blinked, and tears raced down his cheeks.

Tara's emotions spiked with alarm and dismay. "Woah, hey, I know it's not ideal, but I didn't think it was that bad." She gave a nervous little laugh.

He shook his head. Hastily, he said, "No, no! It's not that. This is beyond generous, Tara."

He couldn't let her think that he was ungrateful, when that was the farthest thing from the truth.

"I thank you, truly, for your care and consideration," he continued.

To be allowed to care for his own hair, after so long of—

(Fingers mockingly gentle as they combed, hands gathering gripping pulling—)

—not being able… it was more than he could have hoped.

"Okay, if you're sure…" Tara didn't sound convinced.

He nodded quickly. "Yes! I thank you, Tara, for this kindness."

He fled to the bathroom and shut himself inside before he could break down completely.

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