Gluttony and Greed Walk into a Burger Joint

Chapter 1 - BurgeRama

 "I am the Fifth Daemoenic and Queen of the Hells. I could tear your jaw from your face, shove my fingers up through your skull and use you as a puppet. I have started wars over less than this." It was close to a monologue coming from Runeak.

Alus pulled Runeak in tighter to him by her elbow, leaned over and kissed his younger sister on her dark-skinned cheek—to which she obligingly snarled. "Wrath herself can't be Wrathful all the time." His voice was as it always was, on the verge of laughter with the faintest twang of a friendly drawl. 

Not many could stay upset with Alus, not even Runeak, though it wasn't for lack of trying. That was just her brother; that was just Alus. The demon's steel gray eyes shined with amusement, because he knew he had her. At that moment, the gray reflected the color of his button-up-undone-at-the-collar shirt, cobalt blue. Green, purple, yellow, red—Alus's eyes tended to absorb whatever hue he wore.

"It's just a bite to eat, Runeak. We won't waste more of your time than is absolutely necessary." Arek's darker, sarcastic tone came from the other side of his twin brother. Their voices sounded identical, but there could no mistaking one for the other. 

Alus's carefree attitude met its opposite in Arek, who lacked all whimsy. True to form, Arek kept his hands in his blue jean pockets, along for the ride while Alus played the adventurer. 

Arek put up with all of it so long as he could stand it, planned meticulously, and blended into the background. Alus played it by ear and made people laugh simply by being in the same room as them. Two sides of the same coin, the Twins balanced out one another in a fine dance. Third and Fourth of the Daemoenica, though no one could define with any finality which came Third and which came Fourth. They were referred to as both, always, the Twins—Greed and Gluttony. Identical in every way, save in mannerism and eye-color. 

Arek's irises reflected lavender, no matter which color shirt he wore. That day, he'd chosen a plain olive t-shirt. Otherwise, the Twins boasted tan skin, sun-bleached, unruly "surfer" hair, and—when the light hit it right—two metallic bronze patches at their temples.

They couldn't look farther from related to Runeak, yet the way they interacted was as old as time; familiar in that annoying way, especially for the sister. Wrath herself possessed skin the color of ebony. Her full lips reflected hues of blue, all the better to show her white, white teeth when she bared them. Runeak's eyes were black. Not brown, as many had said in passing to try and humanize her. The colorless pupil surrounded by an equally onyx iris made it damn near impossible to tell between impassive staring versus stalking with predatory intent. The Fifth's blood-hued, dreadlocked hair fell to mid-back—all save two distinct locks, one on either side of her face. These, too, carried the color of midnight. 

Runeak's equally bland wardrobe seemed appropriate for her. Wrath dressed herself in black boots, black jeans, and a black t-shirt tucked in at the waist. It showed off her muscular, yet unmistakably feminine frame.

"You're both mindless," the Fifth growled in response. Alus, of course, laughed. Arek's expression didn't change.

"Yet, here you are." Arek muttered it under his breath.

Runeak didn't have time to respond because in that moment, they arrived.

The residential area they walked through didn't look anything like a place known for housing a burger joint. Truth be told, it wasn't so much a burger joint as a lunchtime burger hut with old picnic benches surrounding it, meant exclusively for outdoor dining. To either side of the establishment rose average houses with driveways, basketball hoops, gardens, and fences. Sandwiched between two beige, middle-class homes stood BurgeRama.

Raising her scarlet eyebrows, Runeak stopped in her tracks and shot an unamused look at the Twins, though meant it more for Alus. Gluttony raised a hand and put a pointer finger over Runeak's lips, though he didn't touch. He valued his finger more than that. 

Because she was his sister, and because Alus knew how to handle her better than anyone in the family, he softened his voice. "I just want you to see her."

Arek cleared his throat.

Alus corrected himself. "We want you to see her."

Runeak's jaw tensed, but she held her tongue. It was as good as an affirmation from her.

Alus smiled his perfect smile, the one which wrinkled the corners of his eyes just so, and made the world want to smile with him. He gave her a single nod of thanks, lowered his hand, and released her as he joined Arek up at the ordering window.

One window on the small hut stood open for order placement and payment processing. No pick-up necessary, because BurgeRama had one waitress on staff to bring food to the benches in exchange for a plastic number received at the time of the order. Alus put his hands on the window ledge and waited for the middle-aged, balding and pudgy man within to turn around. "Good afternoon, welcome to BurgeRam—oh." The owner stopped mid-sentence when he saw Alus's glowing expression and sighed, though even he couldn't resist smirking in the face of Gluttony's charm. "Hi, boys. Your usual?"

"Negative, Hoss!" Hoss wasn't his name, but Alus next-to-never used anyone's real name. "We're treating our sister today, so it'll be an extra order of your triple-meat, triple-cheese burger, another large soda, and one more plate of sweet potato fries if you please."

"Sweet potato." Runeak's humorless voice turned the question into a brooding statement.

Alus glanced over his shoulder, and mouthed at her silently, 'Because you're so sweet.' His teeth really showed with the last word.

Runeak glowered and turned away to find a bench for the three of them to claim.

While Alus handled the food ordering and payment, Arek made his way over to sit across from his sister. Straddling his side of the bench, he otherwise sat up straight, neutral-faced.

"She's human?"

With a blink, Arek turned at the neck to look at Runeak. "We believe she is." His tone held a careful edge.

"Then why am I here?"

Arek frowned at Runeak's inquiry, paused, then shrugged in his usual, non-committal fashion. "I think it's better seen than explained."

"I don't like surprises."

The smirk which lifted one corner of Arek's cynical mouth couldn't be helped. "If I warn you that you'll be surprised, does that count as spoiling the surprise so you won't be upset with us?"

Runeak frowned.

Arek huffed, because he rarely laughed. "You'll be surprised."

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