Note: Plant is not my OC, they belong to Exhausted Plant on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Exhausted_Plant) they gave me full permission to use them and please visit their etsy as well (https://www.etsy.com/shop/exhaustedplant/?etsrc=sdt)
Out of all the rings in hell Sloth was considered one of the nicest however for Striker it was far too pink, even the fucking crappy motel room he was staying in was bubble gum pink!
“I can’t wait ta get the fuck outta here,” Striker groused into his phone.
“Ha-ha, come now it can’t be that bad,” Calus chuckled on the other end.
“My eyes are already burnin’ from this place,” Striker continued.
“Well, you’re almost done with the job, right? Then you can come home,” Calus encouraged still lightly chuckling.
“Yeah, tracked him down now just gotta take care of the bastard,” Striker confirmed with a huff.
“Alright, I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” Calus concluded with a warm smile evident in his voice.
“Yep, talk to Ya tomorrow,” Striker confirmed with a smile of his own.
After hanging up the phone Striker went about meticulously planning how he was going to handle the assassination. Evening brought some relief from the bright colors of Sloth allowing Striker to work a little more efficiently, riding to the outskirts of Sloth’s main city where he’d tracked down his current target. An abandoned rundown house with two hounds sat outside the front door likely guarding Striker’s real target sat in the middle of some nowhere field making it power for the course. Settling on a raised hill not far from the decrepit building Striker slung his gun case from over his shoulder to pull out the sniper rifle from within, laying on his stomach to take aim at the first hell hound. Striker proved his prowess with a firearm by taking out the first hound unfortunately as predicted the second was instantly put on guard making it too difficult for Striker to get a proper beat before the he disappeared into the house. Giving a huff Striker put away his rifle then placed it on bombproof before skulking his way to the house and around the back where he located a large hole allowing him to slip through into an empty decaying room. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of mildew Striker pulled his bandana over his snout before proceeding with revolver drawn. Peering around the corner Striker caught sight of the imp he’d been sent to kill in the room across the hallway conversing with the hound from outside, panic clear on their features.
Aiming carefully Striker was just about to take a shot when he felt someone behind him prompting the pale imp to spin around, expression shifting to surprised horror as he saw a third hell hound with his paw raised. The hound brought his paw down causing his claws to dig deep into Striker’s side resulting in a cry of agony, but he managed to keep his composure just enough to get off a shot in the direction of the target, taking out the second hell hound who’d been standing with said target. Snarling Striker pressed his back to the nearest wall with a hand clamped around his now bleeding side, sizing up the third hound who was standing too close to get a shot off cleanly. Sneakily Striker pulled a knife from his belt using his tail while waiting for the hound to make his move, fortunately after a few moments the hound didn’t disappoint. The hound lunged at Striker with claws and teeth bared only to yelp as he came to a sudden stop, Striker grunting as he plunged the blade into the hounds’ chest with a twist to finish him off. Cursing under his breath Striker relied on his adrenaline to take off after the imp he’d been sent to kill, cocking his pistol as he easily caught up to the short slum lord just outside the house clambering into his fancy car. Taking a breath to steady his hand Striker took aim then shot through the passenger side window straight through the imp’s head. Holstering his pistol Striker quickly got his pictures for his client unfortunately his adrenaline was wearing thin resulting in the pain from his wound getting stronger as he limped off to find Bombproof. Upon finding his steed Striker managed to mount Bombproof despite his growing agony, directing the hell steed towards the city where he hoped to either get back to his motel room where he could treat his wound or find a doctor who’d be willing to work on him anonymously. Striker’s vision began to darken around the edges as he struggled to stay conscious, blood soaking his entire side from the claw wounds left from the hell hound. Just as the city limits came into view the pain and blood loss won out causing Striker to fall unconscious unfortunately this also caused him to fall off bombproof resulting in a sickening crack from his wrist.
Bombproof stopped immediately with a surprised neigh followed by a series of concerned nickers as he moved to Striker’s side, nudging Striker with his nose only to receive no response. Bombproof glanced around clearly seeking help for his injured rider however upon realizing no one was around the hell steed gently picked Striker up by the back of his jacket in hopes of taking him somewhere for help.
Several scattered buildings littered the outskirts of Sloths’ main city amongst which was a small pharmacy where a short crimson shark/imp hybrid scurried around trying to stalk shelves. Clambering on to a step stool she started putting bottles filled with pills away on one of the upper shelves, meticulously sorting them when a sudden scream from outside startled them instantly resulting in all the bottles falling to the floor. Fortunately, none of the bottles had spilled or broken but it was still annoying, giving an irritated sigh she climbed carefully down to start picking up the mess of bottles which she placed in a bin for sorting later before going outside to see what had happened. Plant as her name tag stated let out a gasp, hands flying up to cover her snout at the sight that lay just feet from the pharmacy’s front door, laying in the middle of the street with a massive hell steed standing protectively over him was a pale imp covered in blood. Plant’s good-natured instincts propelled her forwards to kneel beside the imp revealing the blood was coming from his right side however that wasn’t all she discovered, this imp had several weapons attached to his belt including two revolvers and a sheath for a knife which was missing. Plant hesitated on helping the imp after all he could mean trouble and she wasn’t equipped for trouble being just a pharmacy assistant, on the other hand they could take him to the hospital within the city however what was to say he wouldn’t be arrested, escape then come after her for doing that. Plant was yanked from her thoughts as the pale imp released a soft pained moan, his face contorted in agony despite being unconscious with sweat rolling down his features.
A sympathetic expression crossed the hybrids features as she looked upon the pale imp, gentle soul overriding their anxious nature prompting her to grab the imp under his arms and haul his limp form into the back of the pharmacy where a couple simple treatment rooms resided. A small struggle got the pale imp on the treatment table and once plant got his jacket as well as his shirt off, she could finally get to work on treating him properly.
Calus awoke to the sun of imp city filtering through the curtains of his bedroom window, giving a massive yawn before sitting up. Glancing at his phone Calus found it a little unusual that Striker hadn’t at least sent him a text saying he’d completed his job yet, but it wasn’t too abnormal after all if Striker was tired afterwards, he might have just fallen asleep. Shrugging it off Calus pushed off the bed to get about his day believing that Striker would contact him later on as he always did…except he didn’t, evening was already starting to set in when Calus realized Striker hadn’t contacted him yet. Concern was beginning to churn Calus’ stomach, furrowing his brow the Dracony sent a series of text messages over the next couple hours to no avail. Concern giving way to full on worry now Calus tried to locate Striker’s phone by using the tracker they’d both agreed to install in their phones in case of emergency however the tracker said that either Striker’s phone was turned off or something had happened to the tracker either way that didn’t bode well. Finished with waiting the Dracony quickly packed himself up to hit the road on Aurora headed for Striker’s last location namely Sloth.
Evening in Sloth warmed the usual bright pastel colors creating a calming effect over the ring, Plant breathed out while swiping her arm across her sweaty forehead. The pale imp she’d been working on for hours was finally in a semi stable state laying on the treatment table now stained with his black blood. In addition to the claw wounds on his right side the imp also had a broken wrist however the biggest problem was the massive amount of blood he’d lost leaving him extremely anemic, luckily the pharmacy had a small stock of blood bags in the back. Yawning Plant decided there wasn’t anything further she could do for the unusual visitor, his phone was dead thus there was no way to find out who he was until he woke up thus, they proceeded to finish up their tasks around the pharmacy for the evening including closing up shop. Normally Plant would head home once the pharmacy was closed up unfortunately she couldn’t leave her new guest alone as he needed to be monitored thus Plant dug out some blankets and a pillow from the stock area, set herself up in the treatment room next to the pale imp, fed the hell steed that he’d apparently come with then proceeded to get some shut eye.
Calus made it to Sloth just as the sun was rising, concern weighing heavily on him for his mate as he searched the city for the imp. Part of the way through Aurora perked to a scent, moving of her own accord towards the outer limits of the city and seeing as the hell horse hadn’t steered Calus astray in the past, he allowed her to lead him. Aurora was validated when in the distance a familiar form started coming into view, bombproof stood outside a pastel purple building with the word ‘Pharmacy’ above it in giant white letters. Bombproof nickered happily upon noticing Aurora as well as Calus moving towards him, nuzzling with Aurora while Calus dismounted the female hell horse.
“Bombproof, hey boy. Where’s Stri…shit!” Calus’ demeanor swiftly dropped when he noticed a patch of black blood staining the concrete a short distance from the pharmacy.
Moving briskly to the blood patch Calus took a knee to examine it, swiping his fingers across the dried patch. Snarling in aggravated concern Calus stood back up to look around the area only to hear Bombproof whinnying promptly getting his attention. The large male hell steed gently pressed his muzzle against the glass doors of the pharmacy peeking Calus’ curiosity, glancing around Calus cocked a brow at what looked like a swipe of black blood on the ground leading into the pharmacy. Reading the ‘hours’ sign on the door it said that the pharmacy would be opening in an hour meaning if nothing else Calus could ask to see if anyone had seen Striker.
Plant startled at the sound of their phone going off, quickly silencing it with a substantial yawn. Sitting up Plant rubbed their eyes, still sleepy from being up most the night checking on the imp in the treatment room next to hers. Slowly walking out into the main area of the pharmacy Plant was immediately surprised to see a large figure sitting on the curb outside the glass windows of the pharmacy along with a beautiful green colored hell steed standing next to the previous red one. Nervously Plant approached the doors eliciting an acknowledging nicker from both hell steeds which prompted the figure to look over his shoulder revealing a hellion Plant was unfamiliar with. Nervously Plant got the doors open apparently prompting the figure to stand up, towering over the shorter hybrid making her even more nervous.
“Uh…um…may I help you?” Plant nervously asked, wringing her hands in front of herself.
“I’m hoping so, I’m looking for someone,” The figure inquired, tone smooth and gentle much to Plants’ surprise.
“Oh? I-I don’t know if I can help…but I can try,” Plant stammered out.
“That’s alright, the hell steed here with the orange flames, you wouldn’t happen to have seen the imp he belongs too?” The figure asked gesturing towards the hell steed Plant had been looking after.
“Wait! You know the pale imp?” Plant questioned, she was shocked to hear this tall hell being knew her latest guest after all what were the chances.
“So, you have seen him! Where did he go?” The figure raised his voice a little in excitement causing Plant to recoil a little.
“Y-yes…” Plant stammered, voice barely above a whisper as her tail coiled around her legs.
“Hmm, forgive me. I didn’t mean to frighten you. My name’s Calus, please if you have any information on the imp I’d appreciate if you’d tell me,” Calus offered, lowering his tone while taking a step back, hand moving to his chest as he introduced himself.
“Oh…um…it’s okay, I’m just a little…nervous that’s all. I’m Plant and the imp is in the back actually,” Plant revealed, smiling at the gentle nature of Calus.
“Really, could you please show me to him?” Calus pleaded trying to keep his voice low so as to not frighten or startle the nervous little hybrid.
Plant nodded in confirmation then guided Calus into the back of the pharmacy where the treatment room held the pale imp. Upon entering the room Calus’ expression twisted into one of concerned anguish as he hurried past Plant to the imp’s side.
“Striker! Striker!? Babe, can you hear me?” Calus asked in rapid succession, hand moving to cup the imp’s cheek.
“I…found him outside…there are some nasty claw marks on his right side and his left wrist is broken…I did what I could,” Plant nervously stated moving a little further into the room. The Dracony looked from Plant to Striker’s bandaged side then back with a small smile of appreciation.
“Thank you, his name is Striker. You’ve done a great job, I never did get your name,” Calus stated.
“Oh, my name’s Plant. I’m just glad I could help, he lost a lot of blood,” Plant introduced, gesturing towards the IV hanging beside Striker filled with blood.
“I see, pleasure to meet you. I’m going to have a look at the wounds,” Calus stated with a small nod towards Plant before moving to start undoing the bandages from Striker’s torso.
“No problem. Soooo, what kind of hellion are you anyway?” Plant inquired mostly looking to fill the silence while Calus worked to reveal the claw marks on Striker’s side.
“Hmm, I’m a Dracony,” Calus replied simply, placing the bandages on the counter against the left-hand wall.
“A…Dracony? I’ve never heard of that,” Plant confessed.
“Really? That’s refreshing, in my opinion too many people know what a Dracony is,” Calus chuckled, analyzing Striker’s wounds.
“Seriously? Are Dracony…special or something?” Plant continued to quarry.
“Ha-ha, you could say that. We were the first royal demons in hell,” Calus revealed. Plant went wide eyed at this revelation, stunned that Calus had revealed such a thing so casually as if he were listing off his favorite ice cream flavor.
“The first…royals…holy shit! I’m so sorry, should I bow, should curtsy…? Do you want me to get you something, anything!?” Plant rambled in rapid succession in a panicked tone.
“No, it’s alright. You can relax, my kin have been extinct for a while now all that remains is the legacy,” Calus chuckled again as he assured Plant there was no need to fuss.
“Huh? Extinct? Does that mean you’re…” Plant trailed off once she’d calmed down a bit.
“Yes, I’m the last of my kind, but enough about that now I’m going to heal Striker and I could use a couple things, would you mind?” Calus retorted.
“Um, yeah…I can absolutely get you whatever you need,” Plant confirmed with a big grin on her face.
“Alright, could you get me a couple wash cloths and a bowl of warm water?” Calus asked, shrugging off his duster to throw onto the chair in the corner of the room.
“No problem-o,” Plant declared, skittering off to the other treatment room aka their room from last night.
Gently Calus went about removing the few stitches Plant had used to secure the wounds resulting in Striker groaning in pain, head shifting slightly from one side to the other before blinking his eyes open.
“Easy, it’s me,” Calus reassured his mate.
“C-Calus…fuck!” Striker breathed out, gritting his teeth in pain.
“Relax babe, I’m going to heal you,” Calus encouraged, hovering a hand over Striker’s side.
A soft blue light began to glow beneath Calus’ hand causing Striker to arch off the treatment table, his good hand balling into a fist as he ground out a pained groan. Calus returned his hand to cup Striker’s cheek again while leaning over him, nuzzling lightly at his mate’s snout, eyes hooded as he made soft shushing sounds just as Plant walked in. The little hybrid felt embarrassed for a moment for having walked in on such an intimate moment but then shifted to admiration, giving a silent little ‘aw’ as she moved to place the bowl of water and cloths on the counter against the left-hand wall. A few moments later Calus removed his hand revealing the majority of Striker’s wound having been healed causing the imp to go limp, panting heavily with sweat rolling down his face.
“Rest…rest…I’m done for now,” Calus assured Striker, carding his fingers through Striker’s sweat-soaked hair.
“Um…I brought the water and wash cloths,” Plant offered, gesturing to the bowl on the counter.
“Thank you, could you hand me one?” Calus asked, holding out a hand.
“Mm-hm,” Plant confirmed grabbing a cloth to dip in the bowl of warm water before handing it to Calus.
“Do you have any pain meds?” Calus wondered accepting the damp cloth.
“Yes, give me a moment,” Plant confirmed again hurrying out of the room causing Calus to smile after her.
“W-who is that?” Striker panted out, watching the hybrid flit from the room.
“They’re name is Plant, apparently you were dropped on their doorstep,” Calus answered, gently patting the cloth around Striker’s face.
“Humph, Proof must’ve brought me here,” Striker concluded.
“What happened?” Calus curiously asked.
“I fucked up on the number of henchmen…got ambushed by a third hound…pfft, rookie fuckin’ move,” Striker groused at himself.
“Shit, did you manage to kill the target?” Calus wondered.
“Yeah, I tried ta text Ya, but my phone died shortly after gettin’ the photos for my client…sorry I worried Ya,” Striker apologized, looking up at Calus.
“It’s fine, I’m glad your safe,” Calus retorted, leaning down to nuzzle lightly against Striker’s snout. Striker returned the sentiment, followed by a wince just as Plant returned with a bottle of pills and a cup of water.
Plant handed the water to Calus while undoing the bottle of pills to shake a couple out while Calus assisted Striker in siting up. Plant gave a smile as she handed the two pills to Striker who popped them in his mouth then took the water from Calus to wash them down with.
“Do you mind if we stay here for a bit? Striker isn’t in shape to travel just yet,” Calus asked Plant while gently easing Striker back down.
“Oh, no, not at all,” Plant assured them.
Calus gave a warm smile along with a head nod towards the hybrid before getting comfortable. Plant went about her day as they pretty much ran the pharmacy because the actual pharmacist/owner worked at the hospital full time. Calus remained with Striker most of the day only leaving occasionally to take care of the hell steeds outside who also received snacks from Plant. Impressively Striker managed to get on his feet by early evening with Plant assisting to get the pale imp’s shirt back on before helping secure a sling around his neck to help cradle Striker’s still broken wrist. Plant began rambling about how they should care for Striker’s injuries having warmed up to the duo substantially, Striker becoming irritated by the constant yammering, yet Calus seemed tolerant of the continuous chatter.
“Alright, I think we’ve got it. Honestly though, thank you,” Calus interrupted Plant’s ranting.
“You’re welcome, again I’m just glad I could help,” Plant blushed lightly, hands behind her back as she shuffled her feet.
“Ya did good kid, I owe Ya,” Striker added, leaning on Calus for stability.
“Nah, you don’t owe me anything if anything it was worth it to get to treat that hell steed of yours,” Plant retorted with a small laugh.
“If we need something again, would you mind if we came to you?” Calus wondered curiously.
“Oh…yeah, sure…I can’t guarantee I can help but of course you can always drop by, and I can see what I can do,” Plant responded, surprised as no one had ever asked her for something like that before.
“Sounds good, take care,” Calus stated with a parting head nod as he guided Striker outside then helped him mount Bombproof, mounting Aurora himself moments later.
Plant waved after the duo as they made their way towards home.
