Obey Me! OC - Wine Mom Chapter 8-8
This is Wine Mom’s chapter for the dance. Oh. Both Wine Mom and Marshmallow have an added dance with Diavolo ;) Enjoy. Word Count: 6707 Within the golden illustrious palace of the Demon King, the residents of Purgatory Hall, exchange students Simeon, Luke, and Solomon, were joined with the denizens of the House of Lamentation, the demon brothers, accompanied by the final exchange student, Althea. It was a retreat designed to celebrate the exchange program and how smoothly it was running. Smoothly was not the word she’d use for it however. While the situation itself was one of jovial merriment, a banquet before them prepared by the Demon Lord’s Butler Barbatos and the unseen staff that lurk in the shadows, Althea had been having the antithesis of amusement. “...Well then, I suppose it’s about that time.” Diavolo, a man who seemed surprisingly pleasant given the fact he was supposed to be, according to all she knew about Hell prior to arriving in the Devildom, had risen from the table that everyone had been seated at for the meal. As he rose, so did everyone else, more or less, rise with him in time as you would expectantly do for someone of such high royal status. Yet he also looked off to the side and waved a hand to the staff who were only visible from the reflections on the golden floor. The table glittered before them and disappeared before her very eyes through means of magic, much to Beelzebub’s displeasure, mumbling and groaning about how he wasn’t finished eating. “Ignore him, Diavolo. Go ahead.” Lucifer had distanced himself, and so did the other brothers. She had known that there were more festivities to be had, and while she enjoyed the tour and perhaps the scavenger hunt itself for its intellectual and cultural insights, this was a surprise for her whatever it was. Fun fact: Althea did not like surprises. You can’t prepare for surprises. That, and most surprises were disappointing. This one time however, was the exception to the rule. This was something the heiress was a bit more used to. “All right then, here we go…”
As the lights went dark over the entire area, her vision became obscured so that not even a shine from the floor or chandelier was able to gleam through. This was a spell, it had to be. Though she was unfamiliar with sorcery, she had been around it enough to feel the charged particles linger in the air. If she had arm hair, surely the hairs would be standing up as she felt static prickle along her skin. Althea felt a weight against her neck, and the texture of other fabrics. As the lights went on, all was revealed as the room they were in was transformed to a grand dance hall. Each demon was within their natural form, and the students, herself included, were adorned with fanciful formal attire.
This is the sort of thing that could tempt mortals to fall. All those stories about grandiose, larger than life scenarios. Oh, how the Devil could tempt you with whatever it is your heart desired. Indeed. Decadence and Sin was mired throughout this place. She had been raised Catholic, went to an all girls, Private Catholic School, and although she had enough skeletons in her closet to fill a graveyard, was still faithful to God.
“Magic really does come in hand sometimes, huh?” Solomon passed by her, his cloak bearing a mantle now for his formal robes his smirk remained the same no matter what he wore.
“We were the only ones here just a bit ago, but now look at all these people…” Luke’s formal attire suited his diminutive appearance, rather looking like a flower boy at a wedding. Though that wasn’t much better than a chihuahua.
“They’re all guests from across the Devildom, and there certainly are a lot of them.” Simeon was the other angel, dark skinned, dark haired, with eyes like the Caribbean Sea. Yet, she was expecting to see that the angels had wings, apparently neither manifested them or were able to.
Yet all of the individuals here, those she knew, those she didn’t, were in their demon forms. Wings, tails, and horns of all shapes and sizes were visible. Yet it seemed, from what she could see, that only Lucifer retained feathery wings. The rest had wings like that of a bat if they had them. Satan and Leviathan only had tails and horns- and despite Satan’s questionable fashion sense, it was Diavolo who truly caught the eye. The man had already been enough to catch the eye before; broad of shoulder and frame, tall of statue, clearly the largest demon she had seen but in his true form it was something else.
His bare chest was adorned with golden accents and a few tattoos that accentuated his muscled form. Triangles bore upon his forearm and his attire on his lower half of black and white was still draped with gold chains and just the same as his torso. His neck held a black and gold collar that went all the way up, yet it didn’t look like it was difficult to turn his head in. All the while, a mantle of black fur curled over his arms behind his shoulder blades like a runway model. His hair turned a blood red and his skin deepend in colour. The future King of the Devildom truly looked like royalty in this moment for even his horns and four bat wings were tipped with gold. Yet he wasn’t the only one who was striking.
“...Yo, Al… ah… ah…” Mammon seemed stunned for a bit at her appearance, and as Althea took a glance over what she wore, it seemed that it was the gala gown. It seems that it was replicated perfectly- and she didn’t have to pay the hefty price again for it either.
With a thigh high slit, the gown was practically entirely gold, the leaves, vines, and flowers upon the skirt gold, the bodice and interior, all shades of gold in various ways that had a satin reflection as much as the room around her. Yet that wasn’t all, it also appeared her jewelry was replicated as well, bejeweled bracelets and the cascading necklace upon her bare neck and collarbones. Glancing to the side, she saw Barbatos give a nod. It seemed that he had done his research to make the gown as faithful to her own as possible.
“I- Ah- Al- Althea! Um, like… you know… uh, I mean, like… uh… L-Like, you’ve gotta have weird tastes to ask a human like you to dance. I’m guessin’ no on here’s gonna do that, huh? Ahahahah!” Mammon then mumbled something under his breath, looking away from her gaze, the blush upon his cheeks was expected by now.
His demon form, as this was the first she had a chance to see it, was what she assumed he thought looked cool. A leather half cropped jacket that came nowhere close to being able to close was studded and had gold dangling decorations on the popped collar with belts that crossed his chest with two strips of leather that clutched the X. His bat wings were angled downwards and held white markings on them, just as his chest bore markings almost reminiscent of tribal war paint.
“My oh my, Mammon… this look is more suited for the bedroom than the ballroom, don’t you think?” Althea closed the distance and brought her hand towards his chest, ever so slowly dragging a finger across one of the white markings. Mammon seemed to freeze a second and take a half step back as his blush intensified.
“Mm? Y- yeah? W- wait- I mean! Y- what are ya doin’?! Y- ya can’t go sayin’ that here-” He even smacked at her hand, however light the trailing of her nail had been across his chest. Though, Althea’s reaction as a smug, mused grin at how flustered her had become.
“Oh, I know- I know. I just like to see you blush. It’s terribly entertaining, darling.” Placing a hand on her hip, she canted them to the side as Althea couldn’t help but laugh in the most amused of ways. Teasing Mammon was probably her favorite thing to do in all the Devildom, which honestly was saying something because she lied. There were a few things that she did find enjoyable since being here.
“Stop it-! Would ya? Geeze. Now I don’t even know if I wanna pair up with ya for a li’l bit!”
“Mammon, why not just admit that you want to dance with Althea?”
“You’re such a loser! And a total tsundere! Looooool People are sick of characters like that!... Didn’t you get the memo? Lololol Those characters are so yesterday! LMAO.”
Satan and Leviathan mocked the already wounded Mammon, pouring a bit of lemon and salt into the cut Althea made. The both of them had been a curiosity to her. While certainly she did get along with Satan as he tended to with others, she was used to people faking their smiles and demeanor and found it tiresome to guess their motives. Levi was easy to read, just like Mammon, in that he wore his emotions on his sleeve and he had quite a bit of emotions as well. A bit of a smile formed upon her lips again and as she was about to offer a head-pat to comfort the second oldest brother, he burst out in frustration to number 3 and 4.
“GRRRRR! Get outta here, both of you! Shoo! Shoo!” Mammon smacked the hand away again to avoid being head-pat but also waved his hands frantically at Satan and Levi.
“Althea, come dance with me. Now.” A voice came from the side, deep and commanding.
“Lucifer, surely you can ask a lady more politely than that.” A bemused chuckle slipped from her lips as her eyes leveled upon the mighty first born in his prideful glory. Accepting the hand that was extended towards her, she could tell just from the shadows nestled in his gaze that this was not a frivolous encounter.
“Wh…!”
“See, you should’ve just come out and asked Althea to dance.” Satan let out an audible sigh.
“The loser was rejected! Haha, awesome! Loool!”
“SHUT UP YOU TWO!”
A hand remained delicately rested within Lucifer’s, another hand pinching the corner of her dress as the pair made their way further onto the dance floor. Her eyes glanced over, lingered upon his facade as he seemed to be watching her from the corner of his eyes as well. As soon as they were appropriately distanced enough from others, her hands went in position and remained there without a shred of doubt in herself.
“It would surprise me if you didn’t know how to dance.”
“You would be correct to assume that I know. However, the question is, can you keep up with me?”
“Is that a challenge?” These words could have been spoken by either of them, as both held a certain tension that charged between the both like electricity about to go off. Yet it was Lucifer who stared down with a foreboding gaze as if to question the human who dare challenge his pride.
“No. Not yet anyway.” Althea was taking full advantage of them being in a public location and while she would contest him while not surrounded by others as well, she was all the more confident in just how many people were around them.
Lucifer was savvy on the pickup, and as the music started, took careful stride. Long, graceful movements were made upon the dance floor, something that she could easily pair her steps with. Needless to say, she was not one to fall behind with every pivot, twist, and for the longest of whiles, the two would not speak, merely stare intensely at each other as if to try and make the other person become unnerved and miss a step. Of course, she didn’t expect to be able to stare down Lucifer, however, she made certain not to lose any of her own ground. Finally, the dancing slowed enough for the discussion to begin.
“You might be able to charm Mammon, but I will not be so easy. I will cut directly to the point as you already know this is not a dance out of politeness or interest.”
Althea certainly expected him to be dramatic, yet as he pulled her body in close, pressing snugly so that it made it difficult to breath, she knew that it was best to dispense with the games, lest she make any following interaction with him sour. It was quite clear that with how tightly he was squeezing her hand, that he was demonstrating his force, able to easily break every one in her hand should he feel like it. With his lips whispering next to her ear, the heat of his breath chilled at the back of her neck.
“I know you’re plotting something with Asmo...”
His words remained cold, and for a moment, she wasn’t certain if she could even breath, let alone feel her hand with just how tightly she was squeezed and yet that moment passed. He eased up and a slow, more basic dance resumed. Step, step, step, glide. Step, step, turn, step glide…. Just a bit to be able to get a bit of air in her lungs as he continued.
“Let me make one thing clear: I respect my brothers’ freedom to do as they wish. However, if I ever sense that you’ve become a threat to either Diavolo or us… then I will show you absolutely no mercy. Understood?”
There were any number of approaches she could take here. Should she simply take his warning and be done with it, should she try to reach out with attempted understanding, perhaps threaten back and put pressure on him to show she wasn’t going to be pushed around or controlled? Certainly any number of them could backfire and while accepting it seemed the safest option and be done with it, she was in Hell and if she was going to be stuck down here for the year, she was determined to make them suffer just as much as they were making her suffer.
“Oh, I understand. However you need to understand something yourself, Lucifer. You’ve taken someone away from their home, away from everything they’ve known to be real and then forced them to adapt- and I don’t like surprises. I don’t like change- and like you, I like to be in control of everything around me. Perhaps all of this is just a fleeting moment in your ancient life, but it’s not to me. If I were you, I’d be more concerned about Solomon. He actually has the power to change things here in the Devildom and he might just have the mind to. A warning you gave me on the first day.”
There was no point in mincing words and while she really could take the most advantage of her time here, and while Althea could manipulate and con others, she’d much rather not put in the effort to deal with demons. The only reason after all as for why she was making these pacts to help Belphegor was because that damned voice in her head wouldn’t let her sleep. Making pacts with the demon brothers, while amusing in hindsight for the look on Mother Superior’s face at the next alumni reunion will be precious, was never something she particularly cared for. It was a means to an end. He should be thankful she wasn’t more malicious.
“Oh, I have my eye on Solomon as well. However, he is a figure we’ve had our eye on for quite some time and understand his motivations. You are an unknown. And while you are forced to be here, you would be wise to keep your nose out of where it doesn’t belong.” There was an abrupt turn with those words as his hands remained tightly gripped within her own, a jerking pull to one direction as the dance was nearing its end.
“Where it doesn’t belong? Or where I don’t belong? It seems to me that you don’t entirely trust Lord Diavolo. My my, how scandalous, Lucifer. Do you doubt his wis-”
“Watch it, Human.” Once more Lucifer abruptly pulled upon her hands but at this point, it was because the dance was at an end, and so was his patience.
“...Pardon me. Well, looks like a new song has started. I’d love the chance to dance with Althea. Might I cut in?” Speak of the Devil. It was almost too perfect his timing as Solomon approached. There was an unassuming smile upon his features as if he knew this was exactly the perfect moment to approach.
“...Fine. I get the feeling that you’ve gotten the message and you understand what I’m telling you, Althea. I’m glad we got to have this little talk.” Inclining his head ever so briefly as she placed her hands within Solomon’s for the dance, Lucifer shot a glare that threatened to freeze the entire Devildom.
“... What was that all about?” Solomon gave a side glance to Lucifer who was now on the hunt for Mammon, seeing as he was no longer visible on the dance floor, it likely meant that he was attempting to steal something.
“It was exactly what it looked like.” Her words were evasive as was her dancing, for it seemed that Solomon as well was a graceful dancer. With her heels, she was even able to remain at eye level with him instead of having to look up.
“Oh? I see. So you were flirting then.” A fake laugh erupted from him, one that was obvious enough to her just how fake it was. Though he continued to speak as a delicate little dance proceeded.
“You certainly aren’t meek, are you? When I heard that the other human they selected wasn’t a witch or sorcerer, I half expected them to be eaten alive and had their soul taken within a week. However, while you may have made pacts with demons, you still lack the power to command them.”
Of all the humans that they could select, it was Solomon. Of course she knew who Solomon was, she was Catholic. Yet, that he looked so very different from the portrayals still was a bit of a surprise. Then again, there were many things that were coming to a surprise as her. Once more. She did not like surprises, even if this one did come in the form of an attractive young man.
“Lack the power to control them? Perhaps I don’t have magic like you, but I certainly can still command them. I daresay my method is more fun.” With an aloof shrug of her shoulder, Althea turned her head off to the side with a bit of a hmph. Though, she knew that Solomon still had something up his sleeve. He wouldn’t bring that up for no reason.
“Well, everyone has some amount of magical power by nature. However, there are some people in which it actually manifests itself, and some people in which it doesn’t. And even among those in which it does, some have more of it than others. It varies based on the individual. Seeing how it doesn’t even manifest itself in you to begin with, even though you’ve made pacts with demons, you can’t take command of their powers.”
“This has been made clear enough to me as is, Solomon. What is your point?”
Althea kept her gaze turned to the side, dancing around him and dancing around the subject just as he was. Solomon was obviously building to some point, bringing up and reminding her that she couldn’t use magic. In truth, she had been researching to see if there was a way to get around that. While it was still unknown all of what magic could do, the amount of benefits you could apply it to in the human world would be quite advantageous. But just what was he getting at?
“How would you like me to lend you my power?” Solomon gave a side eye, clearly trying to tempt Althea with the thought and to get her to read into it more and more. He was having quite a bit of amusement with this, wasn’t he?
“Depends on what your price is… But. I am more concerned about your motivations in this. What do you get out of this?” Althea’s eyes narrowed all the same, sliding her body closer towards his own, fingers on his shoulders sliding a bit down his arm.
“A price? What sort of person do you think I am? I am but an innocent la-”
“An innocent lamb. Yes yes, if you’re an innocent lamb, then I’m a fairy princess.”
“Well, glad to meet you, your Highness… Hmm. Well. Let’s just say I’m curious to know what would happen if I did. You’re a destabilizing element here in this world. I can’t say what might happen if I do this, which is exactly what makes it interesting. We are on a retreat after all. Why waste this opportunity?”
From what she had known of Solomon, he didn’t lie. However, he wasn’t one to tell the whole truth either, or he would avoid answering the questions all together if he didn’t wish to say the full truth either. While she was confident enough that he wished just to see what would happen, Althea was not one to enjoy being used for entertainment of others and there was no guarantee what would happen or what effects would linger, if any. She needed assurances before accepting and just how he would do this.
“You have me intrigued, however. I do have conditions. First, how do you intend to share this power and for how long?”
“For six hours, I can allow you access to my abilities. This should allow you to command the demons you’ve made a pact with. As for conditions, you don’t need to be so wary of me. After all, us humans need to look out for the other.” Solomon kept his words aloof and lofty, offering words of grandeur as a gesture to try and make her more accepting of his proposition. However, she was not one to just simply accept something without knowing the full details.
“You may know demons and you may know magic, but it is precisely because you are human that I am wary of you. I make no assumptions about the world around me, for the rules I know do not apply, yet the one thing I have the utmost confidence in, is a fellow human, for I know the evils we are capable of. I also know enough to not believe in all of the legends about you.”
Althea picked up the pace of the dance, sliding her leg up and inward against his own as she then kicked her heel around his own. Dropping her weight, she forced Solomon into a dip for dramatic effect so that the weight of her words would add pressure and assurance to what she was about to say. Yet it was the piercing, stern nature of her eyes that would contest the shrewd gaze of his own. Perhaps she couldn’t stare someone like Lucifer down, but with Solomon, she had the utmost confidence in this.
“I will accept your offer, but know that if I find any lingering effects or if you attempt to do anything else of a similar nature without informing me…” Althea then leaned in to whisper against his ear, much like what was done to her earlier.
“...You will find out why Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… and I would oh so hate to get your blood on my hands, as pretty as the colour would be…”
Pulling him upwards now, Althea then proceeded to dance with him again, holding his hand firmly within her own , the other upon his back again. Yet for all what was said and done, Solomon just smiled. Althea hadn’t been able to threaten him enough or perhaps it was effective but not in the way she wanted exactly. Though the way he remained smug annoyed her, she couldn’t let her expression show any of it.
“Hahaha. And they say I act like a demon. Hmm. Very well. You have nothing to fear from me. Just a moment… and… There.”
Solomon had stopped the dancing between them, just as the song ended as well so it didn’t look so suspicious. He made a subtle hand gesture, but did not even speak words and around them, it almost seemed as if there was a bit of glitter floating in the air. A chill ran down her spine as the tips of her fingers felt almost faster… and then the feeling faded, going numb and returned to feeling the way it had before.
“For the next six hours, you’ll have access to my abilities. You are quite a curiosity, Althea. I’m excited to see what will happen…”
A smug side glance was sent her way, and in return, she shot a narrowed one of scrutiny. It was hard to tell exactly who had won that battle, but unfortunately, she felt like she was in the red two for two tonight. This was not what she wanted. To be put under pressure from Lucifer because he was afraid of losing control, and accepting the temporary use of magic from humanity’s (theorized) most powerful sorcerer. She needed a drink.
Walking past a waiter, Althea plucked a glass of demonus off of the tray. This truly was Hell. She hadn’t had a glass of wine in ages and demonus didn’t seem to affect humans. Still, it had a similar taste which was at least a slight benefit. Making her way to Asmodeus, who, for one time in this night wasn’t surrounded by the group of scantily clad incubi and succubi, was speaking with Satan over something. It was a good opportunity to see where she could get something that could numb her a bit.
“Ooh ooh! Look! Althea made it back in one piece.” Asmodeus actually noticed her and skipped over a bit. His demon form had four smaller bat wings upon his back, a sleeveless blouse with roses imprinted upon it, and what appeared to be a centipede in gold that wrapped around his torso.
“Dancing with Lucifer and Solomon. Aren’t you the popular one tonight. Whatever they wanted, it couldn’t be good.” Satan was obviously watching, he seemed to know as much stuff as Lucifer when it came to people watching. Of course he would have seen that they were speaking. It made her question if any demons could read minds.
“Lucifer threatened me and Solomon is looking for entertainment. So. Just a regular night in the Devildom. Listen- do you know where I can get human world wine?” Althea casually waved a hand as she glossed over what was said, downing the glass she had in her hands.
“Threatened? What did he say this time?” Satan shook his head, whether he was concerned or just feigned it was hard to tell at this moment, however, whatever Lucifer was for, Satan was always against.
“Weeeeeeeeell…..? Why not kill two birds with one stone?” Asmo plucked the glass from her hand and turned her gaze to the idea that just popped into his head.
“Just as a little favour to me, why don’t you try and dance with Lord Diavolo. It’ll be super fun.” Like a giddy school girl, Asmo pointed out the Lord of the Devildom not too far away from them. He was in the process of crossing the hall and she could easily intercept him. What was better, is that Lucifer was distracted shaking down Mammon for all the things he had stolen.
“Not only would it annoy Lucifer, but imagine the status you would gain by being seen dancing with him.”
Satan brought up a good point. It would annoy him, which was the opposite of what she wanted right now, however, it was going to be something to add clout to her. Networking was one of the things she excelled at. So, with a wink to the both of them, Althea sauntered her way to Diavolo, hips swaying as she did so. This was the time to turn on all of her charm. There was nothing to hold back with. As she neared him, she could feel the heat of Lucifer’s gaze upon her once more. Yet he was too late, she was already there.
“Lord Diavolo, I must thank you for this lovely turn of events. It is something I couldn’t hope to dream of attending. Would you do me the honour of a dance? I would be grateful and gracious if you would accept such a request of mine.” Placing a hand over her heart, Althea dipped her head in a bow, bent knees ever so slightly for a curtsy before straightening up.
She was thankful to be a woman of stature, for it would be easy to be lost or overwhelmed with a man of this size. Perhaps, she might be able to actually enjoy the dance for what it is however. After all, it is something that she did have formal practice in. Growing up in a family of wealth, no… growing up as the middle child in a family where it pushes your children to succeed, Althea had picked up many artistic hobbies or skills in her youth to try and impress her family. She didn’t expect to use any of them all that often, let alone for such an important thing like this.
“Ah, Althea! I’d be delighted to share a dance with you. I saw your dance with Lucifer and I must say I was a little jealous. I haven’t danced with Lucifer in centuries!” His cheeks went a bit flush, as if he was actually jealous. Diavolo was a strange sort of person, always laughing and smiling, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Then again, she knew just how entitled people could behave. She was one after all.
“Jealous, My Lord? Why, I find it more jealous that he gets to share your company with such great frequency. I daresay I put Lucifer in a bit of a panic earlier. My most sincere apologies if he confides in great lengths about it later. I take entire ownership of his unrest.”
As her hands came into place within his own, the moonlight from the windows illuminated her near sickly pallor and the gold between them. A glance to the left, she noticed that the other dancers had given them space. After all, it was as Satan said, dancing with the Lord of the Devildom was quite a thing of status. Yet this was not status she could use. It was simply, for the moment, for the enjoyment of it. Resting her other hand upon his shoulder just over the mantle, her eyes glance to the right. Lucifer watched from a distance, not daring to separate the two for the moment. This was her moment.
“Please, please. No need to speak so formally. Though you say you put Lucifer in a panic? Haha! That sounds just like him. I don’t think he’s had anyone challenge him outside of his brothers for quite some time.” Diavolo seemed to laugh at this, all the more amused over the turn of events. He was surprisingly light on his feet, able to stride through the dance hall with great sweeping motions. No. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising. She should come to expect that he’d excel at something like ballroom dancing.
“My apologies- ah.. Hm. Admittedly, I am not good at relaxing. It is not as if I challenge him to cause him grief. That is a byproduct I cannot control, but I will not allow others to control me, regardless of who they are. It is simply my nature to challenge those who think themselves superior.” As if in reaction, her grip tightened a bit in place, even if Diavolo remained the same, not adding fuel to her tension. This was strange for her. It was not like Althea to be so candid with her responses and while she didn’t like to lie about things, she wasn’t the most forthcoming with her feelings either.
“Hmm. I think I know what’s going on here. You’re reminding Lucifer of how he first behaved when he came to the Devildom. I must say, this certainly brings back memories!” Diavolo’s signature laugh was quite loud from a distance but up close it caused her to wince a little bit. Still, regardless of her sigh and frown, Diavolo only seemed to smile and laugh all the more.
“Yes! Exactly! He made that exact same face!” He didn’t relent with his humor, finding too much enjoyment in the similarities.
“Lord Diavolo, please-” Althea shook her head as the pair spun around in the dance, not once miss-stepping or having a single tap of her shoe off beat with the music. Even though she was being teased, she had to keep herself poised through the dance at all times, after all, there were eyes upon them.
“Now I’m curious to see you in his outfit. Hmm. Yes. I’ll have to get Barbatos to tailor you a suit.” It was as if he was already imagining this in his mind and at this moment, Althea was sympathizing with how Lucifer had to deal with this spoiled prince. There was no getting out of this whim of his, was there?
“Oh come now, don’t sigh. I do mean it, however. You and Lucifer share striking similarities at times and yet there are things you are the exact opposite with. I believe he is concerned because he knows what he is capable of but is uncertain where your loyalties lie.” It seemed that Diavolo had returned to being serious, though perhaps he was always serious, even when joking.
“I can understand that, and perhaps he is not used to having to sympathize with humans, and I will certainly not take anyone’s pity, but he should not expect that I will simply sit back and let myself get pushed around by anyone, human, angel, or demon.” Her gaze had been to the side, scrutinizing the situation as she had been on edge this entire time. It was as if the dance that was supposed to be for fun was turning more into something to be paranoid over.
“You must have had a difficult life to assume you must constantly defend yourself. Let me ask you this, Althea. What do you believe in? What is the dream that you are fighting for?” Diavolo directed the conversation back on track and brought his hand up to her face, drawing her gaze back towards his own as the pace of the dance started to slow down.
This is something that she had to think about carefully. It was something that she hadn’t particularly shared with anyone, and it was still too soon for her to determine if Diavolo was indeed someone that she could trust. After all, he was a demon, and while he might seem pleasant and charming, that is how they reel you in. You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar after all. Still. She could not deny the fact that she was in hell, so she applied prudence and caution. However, it was something of inner reflection that she had to consider why she was always behaving in such a way, so much so that it caused her to isolate from others in the pursuit of glory.
“There are societal expectations that one should strive to be the best they can possibly be, a society that demands perfection. The idea that if you are not the best, you are not good enough to leave an impact on the world. To leave a legacy. Your mark, your name. To be remembered. I dream to have a legacy where I will not be forgotten after I am dead and gone. I fight, so that others will not ignore me.”
That is the closest reason Althea could think of right now. Of course she also believed that since she started down this path, she really couldn’t stop. After all, she had already committed to years into an economics degree, currently with a Masters and while math was not the most interesting thing, she knew that money made the world move. It was one of the reasons she surprisingly got along with Mammon, despite his idiocy, she could take full advantage of his abilities in a way that aided them both.
“And what of happiness?” The dance had now stopped, and Diavolo had his hands resting on either side of her shoulders, staring towards her with a look of genuine concern now.
“Happiness is not something I assign value to.” Her voice was flat in response, now taking a step backwards out of his attempted comfort. Perhaps Diavolo only had the best intentions, but that she said as much was enough as is. The pursuit of happiness was not within her schedule. If it happened, it happened, but she would not directly go out of her way to do something fun for fun’s sake, there was always another motivation attached to it. The amount of priority happiness had on her list was leagues below most other needs.
Yet, while Diavolo might have wanted to continue the conversation, Lucifer had made his way over, quite displeased with how long their conversation went on. Not like she cared. Althea waved over a waiter, needing another drink and swearing she would give someone a lobotomy with her nails if she didn’t get alcohol this time. Again. Just demonus.
“And just what were you discussing with Diavolo?” Lucifer’s arms were crossed over himself, stern voice, strict posture, all the while Althea kept her gaze turned away, pretending not to see him.
“Oh relax, Lucifer. This is a retreat after all. I was just noticing how many similarities you and Althea share! I have a wonderful idea I must tell you and Barbatos about!” Diavolo placed a hand upon Lucifer’s shoulder and went back to beaming brightly, now patting him in an encouraging way.
“Lord Diavolo, I swear if you-” Althea widened her eyes, this was not something she wanted to go through with and while perhaps he had a striking coat, Althea was not going to play dress up for someone’s amusement.
“I want to see the both of you wearing the same outfit and pose for the RAD Newsletter! Think how well an advertisement it will be!” On cue with Diavolo’s laughter and Lucifer’s sigh, Althea downed the glass in her hand and just started to walk away. No. At this very moment, she was most certainly glad to not be similar to Lucifer in the way that at least she could walk away from this situation. He would have to endure the conversation and hopefully he would speak sense into the Lord of the Devildom.
Staring down into the empty glass, it was at that moment that Althea did need to consider what she wanted in life. Her world was turned upside down with the realization that some things in her life were now meaningless in comparison to the eternity of either the Devildom or Celestial Realm that awaited her after death. She made no illusions that she was virtuous, but she was not quite tipsy enough to have a philosophical debate with herself about this. No, instead her eyes drifted upon a roughed up little demon sulking against the wall.
“Mammon…” Muttering his name below her lips, Althea could at least relax around one demon that didn’t care about pretenses. Then again, he might also know where an actual bottle of wine was. Maybe Solomon’s power could be used for more than just causing mischief later on. With a saunter and sway of her hips, Althea flipped a hand through her hair and approached the Avatar of Greed. He did look like he could use a bit of cheering up.