Chapter Text
Being mistaken for a deer was humiliating enough, but waking up with antlers and ears on his head was infuriating. But the new instincts, mixing and twisting with the remnants of his soul’s humanity…well, that was something that added to the festering grudge he had against Lucifer, or had done before today.
Today, the world had turned on its head, because Lucifer was apparently ‘sick’. Charlie was flitting back and forth, expression clear with panic as she kept pulling Vaggi aside, the angel fluttering off at high speeds each time she was sent on an errand that seemed to mainly consist of piles of blankets, food, and for Charlie, books that she flipped through before throwing them behind her. At the point where her horns and hair were flaring each time she threw a book, Alastor took far more of an interest in what might be troubling Lucifer.
“What on earth is wrong with our beloathed king?” he asked Vaggi, who was pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Well, he’s technically a seraphim,” Vaggi said, as though that explained anything.
“Come again?”
“Seraphim? The highest order of angels? Emily’s one?” Vaggi raised an eyebrow. “Lucifer used to be one, or still is one. It’s complicated.”
“Please do explain. You seem to have context we’re all missing.” Alastor smiled.
“Fine, but you’re doing two hours of check in. And I’m not shaking on it.” Vaggi gave him that annoying little smile she had when she knew she’d been smart, and Alastor narrowed his eyes.
“Fine.”
“Awesome. Okay, so first up, you can tell the type of angel by their wings and the placement. You get the virtuous souls, who get a changed appearance once they enter Heaven, just like they do here, but they tend to have one pair of wings. Then, you get the divine souls, who keep more of a human appearance. Souls touched by the intervention of the divine keep more of their original form. Angels like me are created along the same lines as that. We aren’t human, but we look like them because that’s how we were made. Then there’s cherubs - the heavenborn, the answer to Hellborn creatures. So far, aside from a couple of exceptions, you’ve got one pair of wings. Then it goes to the size of the wings and placement.” Vaggie began gesturing. “Some angels, their wings are part of their head, along with their halo. Two sets, high up here. You get variations of that. Archangels and divine souls tend to have big wings. I’m sure you remember Adam’s. And then, well, you have the highest of them all, the seraphim. Six wings, changing forms, and extremely powerful. Lucifer was one of them, but the rules are a bit iffy around that. But…he’s still got those traits.”
“As fascinating as all this is, my dear, you’ve basically simply told me he’s a seraphim, and not much else.”
“I’m getting to that. Seraphim instincts are…strong, and Charlie has a theory that Hell has a certain influence on him as well. He’s got all the original stuff and all the horns and hooves stuff on top of that. And occasionally - say, after feeling incredibly threatened - those instincts kick off and cause a fuss. In fact, Sera’s going through something similar at the moment due to everything that happened. Emily let us know, which is why the heavenly postal system is going so slowly. She’s nesting up in the tower and doesn’t like letting Emily out of her sight because of that injury she got during everything. But…it’s a bit messier with Lucifer, because his instincts are telling him all different things. Apparently this has happened before, but Charlie doesn’t remember what her mother did, and Lucifer isn’t…exactly able to help explain things, so we’re going off some guesswork from what Emily’s telling us and what Charlie can remember. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass, but the shapeshifting and the nature of seraphim makes it even more of a pain in the ass.”
“You make it sound like seraphim are birds.” Alastor raised his eyebrows. “Are they?”
“That’s the issue. Most of the seraphim have…bird tendencies. Though, again, it’s the other way around. They came first. With Lucifer, you’re working with at least three separate major instinct groups that contradict each other, all fuelled by that seraphim stuff. Problem is, Charlie can’t go in there.”
“Oh? And why would that be?”
“Because she’s his kid.”
“Yes, yes, she’s his–”
“No, she’s his kid.” Vaggi rolled her eyes. “If she calls, he will come running. It happened during the fight against Adam, and…when I asked him to talk to Vox. If she calls, it doesn’t matter where he is, he’ll hear her. Unfortunately, if she goes into that room, she won’t be able to come out until he calms the fuck down. Apparently it’s happened before. Emily’s got the same problem with Sera at the moment.”
“Hmm.” Alastor turned the prospect of further entertainment over in his mind. Having fun at the expense of Lucifer had become quite the hobby recently, and this held promise he had never thought of.
“At the moment, he’ll let me near him, because he trusts me, but so far, I’m the only one we can spare, and, well, I have to run the hotel.”
“I could always give it a go!” Alastor said, cheerfully.
“I was not kidding about the desk duty, Alastor. I need to be able to help Charlie– Hey!”
She lunged forward as he sank into the shadows, cursing under her breath as her fingers caught only wisps. She’d never said when the desk duty had to be, but she had put forward some entertaining ideas, and he intended to be entertained. The great Lucifer Morningstar, brought as low as the sinners he despised.
He hummed to himself as he came to Lucifer’s room, scratching his nails across the stupid sign the man had practically nailed outside the door before opening the door. Even with the explanation Vaggi had given him, he still found himself taken aback by the sight before him.
A great circle of pillows and blankets had been carefully arranged on the bed, woven delicately together the same way a bird would weave moss and sticks together. In the middle of it all crouched Lucifer, wings curled around him the way an injured bird might, his horns on display and tail swishing back and forth in agitation. As he caught sight of Alastor, he tucked his head, glaring at him as those horns were lowered towards him slowly, red eyes wide.
Interestingly enough, he didn’t seem to attack, even shrinking back as Alastor stepped forward with those horns still on display, making little warning sounds at the back of his throat. Some thought was trying to form in the back of Alastor’s mind, but he couldn’t quite place it as he approached the nest Lucifer had clearly built for himself.
“Your Majesty–”
That was as far as he got before a loud, high pitched sound ripped itself out of Lucifer, his eyes darting around rapidly before his wings flapped at a panicked pitch. It seemed as though he wanted to launch himself upwards while also trying to burrow into the nest itself, the result being a battle between the wings and the limbs, which were clearly trembling as eyes began opening and closing along the wings, darting frantically as Alastor himself stepped back, unwelcome and unwanted instincts raking down his spine as his form cracked open much as Lucifer’s was currently doing. Like twigs snapping, his antlers extended as his shadows began to whip around him, grasping the edges of the room as ducks fell from the shelves and his size began to grow, teeth baring as he tried and failed to reel it back. As suddenly as he’d lost control, he found it regained as the seraphim before him seemed to fall quiet.
“What–” Alastor let go of the walls, the shadows falling away with a shudder as he forced himself to relax back into more of a regular form. “What the fuck did you just do,” he spat out at Lucifer, who didn’t seem to be doing much other than uncurling his wings, the eyes upon them closing as he settled down, wide eyes settled on Alastor in a way he didn’t want to understand. Fucking seraphims, he thought to himself, as he tried to bring his antlers back under control.
They wouldn’t.
A growing sense of annoyance and dread clawed at his stomach as he grasped the stupid branches he’d been cursed with. There was no way in actual Hell he was in this situation. He was the Radio Demon, and he had ripped control of his own narrative from the threads of fate even before his death. He pushed at them with a shadowy grasp as if to force them back in, but they stubbornly refused.
A knock at the door made him turn, as quick as a whip.
“Uh, Your Majesty?” Cherri’s voice came through the door. “Charlie sent me to check on you, is everything–”
She opened the door slowly, and in his nest, Lucifer once again lowered his head, showcasing those horns defensively, and then looked up at Alastor with a panicked expression. Alastor turned his head to him, taking everything in, and then her, baring his teeth in a horrific smile as a shadow tendril slammed the door shut in her face.
“Get. Out.”
The growl reverberated dangerously through his throat, and he could hear Cherri swearing at him - probably something colourful, knowing her - but he didn’t care. Couldn’t care. All he could care about was the stupid angel behind him settling down, looking safe and settled as he snuggled back down into his nest. If he’d heard Alastor’s question, he didn’t seem to be willing to respond, and something in Alastor was settling as soon as he saw Lucifer at ease. Oh, fuck this. He needed to get out of here before things got worse.
He tried to walk towards the door himself, but it was harder than he wanted it to be. His feet dragged as his mind and instincts screamed at each other, a headache forming as he snapped his fingers His shadows engulfed him, depositing him outside the door as he gripped the antlers again, attempting to force them in again, before a plaintive noise called out from inside. Scared. Alone.
“I am not going back in there,” he said to himself, gritting his teeth. “I am not going to go–”
“Alastor!” Vaggi’s voice snapped across the hallway, her face full of anger as she flapped towards him. “What the hell are you doing?! Did you go in…there…”
She stared at him, hunched over and clutching his antlers, registering the glare he levelled at her.
“Oh, you look fucked up. What, did he try to attack you or something?”
Alastor shook his head, teeth bared. “What the fuck is up with him.”
“Yeesh.” Vaggi stepped towards him, tensing as though she was prepared for him to lash out. “Alastor, are you…I mean, I’m going to regret asking this, but are you okay?”
He was, in fact, very much not okay, but allowing Vaggi to approach the door felt wrong. He lowered his head, antlers pointed towards her, eyeing her up. He didn’t know what was wrong, but his claws were scraping at the carpet, pulling at its fibers in a way he couldn’t quite control.
“Okay, this is…new.” Vaggi sat down carefully opposite him. “Agh, fuck this.” She pulled out her cellphone, dialling a number as Alastor tried to force the antlers back in. He was an overlord, and he would not be at the mercy of some seraphim-based stupidity. He refused.
“Yeah, hi babe. You might want to…come up here. Yeah, no worries. I’ll see you soon.” Vaggi hung up the phone. “Whatever’s up with you, you had better not threaten Charlie the way you did Cherri.”
It only took her a few minutes to find them. She’d clearly ran as fast as she could, and was slightly out of breath as she drew level with them, taking in the scene of Alastor hunched against the door, hands on his antlers as he and Vaggi glared at each other.
“Alastor…” Charlie approached gently, hands out. “What happened?”
Vaggi rolled her eyes. “He broke into your dad’s room and wouldn’t let Cherri in, but I think something went wrong. He’s being weird. I was thinking maybe your dad attacked him or something–”
“Nah, Dad wouldn’t attack him. That’s a buck thing.” Charlie waved her hand and Vaggi and Alastor snapped their heads towards her as she stared back at them. “What?”
“Charlie, what are you talking about?”
“Dad’s…not a billy goat?” Charlie went a little red faced as she looked away. “You know, I don’t really want to go into it, but he’s not going to attack anyone unless they get too close, just warn them! He’s just being defensive, but he’s not going to really like anyone he doesn’t trust going in.”
One word was repeating itself like the beat of a drum across his mind as Alastor gripped the carpet.
“Hey, Alastor, are you okay? Can you tell me what happened? And maybe put the horns away?” Charlie’s voice was attempting to be soothing, and something about her made him less tense than Vaggi. It was, he realised, the eyes. They were so similar. He already knew they were, but something about that familiarity was soothing his hackles.
“I…wish that I could, my dear.” His teeth remained bared.
Charlie looked confused, but Vaggi seemed to be putting the pieces of something together, and her eyes locked onto Alastor with a level of perception he immediately despised.
“Hey, Charlie, if he’s not a billy goat…” Vaggi narrowed her eyes at Alastor. “Does that mean he’s a–”
“Don’t you fucking say it.” The growl came out of Alastor, and Charlie stared at him, shocked.
“Yeah, you know what? I don’t feel sorry for you.” Vaggie spun her spear around, stomping it on the ground. “I told you about seraphim, and you decided to go poking your nose in. Well, too bad for you.”
“Vaggi…” Charlie crouched in front of Alastor. “Well, we can get you back to your room, or something–”
“No.”
At the same time as he did so, another plaintive cry came from within, searching, and he felt his heart twist. His heart did not twist, on the whole. He was renowned for the lack of it. His self-interest had served him well for nearly a century in this wretched place, and he grimaced as he fought against himself. For all the torture in Hell, this was the worst.
“Fuck this.” Vaggie pushed Charlie away and opened the door, letting Alastor fall inside as he cursed at her, shadows attempting to push back against her before he caught sight of Lucifer in his nest. At the same time, Lucifer caught sight of him
“Babe, I’m going to spell it out for you here. That is a frightened doe, and that fucker right there, that’s a protective buck.” Vaggi pointed between them.
“But…My dad isn’t a deer!” Charlie peered around the doorway, keeping as out of sight as she could.
“You think that matters?” Vaggi gestured between the two of them, locked in eye contact. “Look.”
“Do not leave me with him.” Alastor gripped onto his antlers as he tried to look away from Lucifer, who was eyeing him with a mixture of curiosity and relief. It was far too trusting a gaze for Alastor to be caught in.
“Okay, walk out of there, then. The door’s wide open.” Vaggi crossed her arms. “For fucking once, Alastor, you’re facing the consequences of your actions. Besides, even if I wanted to carry you out of here, you wouldn’t let me.”
“Vaggi, come on, that’s not true!” Charlie frowned at her. “We have to help him!”
Vaggi raised her eyebrows, and walked in a straight line towards Alastor, gesturing to the door. She didn’t touch him, but tried to usher him out. To his credit, he almost made it before there was a small, frightened noise from the nest, which drew a responding cry from Charlie before she could help it.
She’s his kid. Too late, Alastor grabbed the meaning as Charlie rushed forward, being drawn in by all six soft wings and being fussed over as Lucifer began tucking her in among the pillows.
“Oh, fucking great.” Vaggi slapped a hand over her face. “Fucking thank you, Alastor. Now she’s not going to be able to–”
“It’s okay, I’m okay.” Charlie waved an arm. “I’ll text you, okay? Besides, he seems…kind of…calm…” Her voice trailed off as the situation seemed to sink in.
Lucifer looked over to Alastor, who looked back at him, that word thrumming through his mind, his stupid, unwanted instincts screaming it at him, no matter how much he hated them.
Doe.