Multifaceted...
Stump sat in his chair, a good little boy, his big bright eye wandering about the room. Lucifer sat across from him, her lovely crimson dress and matching tiara seemed to fit so nicely with the deep mahogany of the dining area.
"I have a Tail!" He barked. Lucy smiled. She always loved these little visits from the noble demons, the mid-afternoon tea times, the lazy lunches, always such fun. But Stump was her favorite.
"Yes, I think so too..." Her eyes were bright, almost as bright as his.
"A Tail!" His fluffy purple fur started to puff up and his always beaming smiled widened just a little bit more than usual. He always knew just what to say, the charming little devil...
Lucy stirred her tea, stopped, then reached across for one of the delightful little pastries set in the middle of the small table. She picked up the little silver cake slice and tenderly bit into it.
"So, dear, how is our old friend doing lately? I haven't spoke much to her as of recently, and I know you visited her just a few months ago"
The squat little demon began to play with his fluffy tail, which seemed to have a mind of it's own as it flitted from side to side. To one who wasn't accustomed to Stump, this might have seemed rather rude, but Lucy knew he was always eagerly listening and happy to talk.
"Lulu.... Tail!" Lucy beamed.
"Oh? Did she now?"
it was rather peculiar to hear them talking. One would be forgiven for thinking that Lucifer had gone mad and was simply sitting across from this purple little cyclops who never seemed to have that many words in his vocabulary to start with. But Lucy knew. Like playing with a child who makes up their own language, it was best not to listen to the words themselves but to his eye and his smile.
"Tail! Minion.... Lulu" His squeaky voice danced around as she helped herself to another pastry.
"Well that sounds very much like something Lulu would do, now doesn't it? And minion is well, too?"
"Tail!"
He rose from his seat, a rather unimpressive gesture as he wasn't particularly tall to begin with, and hopped down from his chair. His gait was a chipper little waddle as he made his way over to her. He hopped into her lap and began to circle around like a fat little hellcat.
"My, my, we're feeling awfully bold today, are we not?"
Stump never cared. That's what she loved most about him. She could be the highest rank in all of the underworld and he would still see her as the little girl playing with the hellhounds on the banks of the river Styx. He was always so cheerful, it was hard not to catch on to his mood. He smiled and looked into her eyes as she ran her fingers through his thick fur.
"I have a Tale..." his enormous tooth shone in the candlelight, like a little white stone wall stretching from one side of his mouth to the other.
"I know, dear, I know" She continued stroking his fur. She would need to get back to work soon, but she never felt worried when she was with Stump.
An hour passed. Laughs were shared, soft cooing into Stump's notched little ears and stories of the amazing things he had seen. He finally rose, hopping down from Lucy's lap and rolled towards the door. Lucy stood and followed him.
They chatted some more, Stump always smiling, and finally they bid each other farewell.
Before he left, he reached into one of the pockets of his overalls and pulled out a tiny little coin purse. Lucy grabbed his top hat and his jacket from the coat rack and handed them to him. He reached up and they exchanged the items.
Stump put his jacket on, which clashed so horribly with those overalls he never seemed to stop wearing, and put the top hat on, his horn poking through the little hole in the hats brim. Lucy shook the little purses contents into her hand.
A small, green emerald plopped into her hand. She smiled, bent down and kissed Stump on the cheek. He smiled and hugged her. Time to go. She opened the door and he walked out, looking back briefly to exclaim his goodbye,
"I... have a Tale!" She grinned and waved at him, and finally closed the door.
Alfred Marcus Stumpleton III, ruler of the 33rd Gate, King of the Cyclops's, and dearest friend. She placed the little emerald back into the purse and walked back to the table, helping herself to yet another pastry.
She couldn't wait to hear his next tale....
toucherlenez