Hellwalkers

Within The Walls

"I'll kill ya for this, vermin." 

"Stop making a fuss, would you? You look far more presentable!"

"This thing itches!"

Moxxie rolled his eyes. "You'll get used to it."

It wasn't easy, at all, but Moxxie had managed to convince Striker to change into a more... town imp-like attire to further drive attention off him. The Hellwalker wasn't happy and complained throughout the whole experience, but finally they managed to find him a more-or-less suitable outfit for their trek into town. 

The attire consisted of a black turtleneck shirt with a matching dark gray vest, light gray jacket with dark gray cuffs and black fingerless gloves. As a final touch, Moxxie added a wide-brimmed grey cowboy hat and a red bandanna around Striker's neck. 

For once, Striker was glad that Brash wasn't around. If his brother saw him dressed as a town imp, he'd never hear the end of it. 

The Hellwalker couldn't stop scratching his arms at the itchy sensation. 

"What now?" he asked.

"Well, the town gates won't open until seven, so I might as well clean up your mess upstairs." Moxxie retorted in a somewhat irritated tone. "Meanwhile, you could wait outside, but please don't break anything else." 

Moxxie hurried back upstairs with a hand sweeper and dustpan. He had just finished cleaning the last bits of glass when Millie finally began stirring awake. 

"Good morning, honey."

"Good morning, Mox- What happened to the window?" 

"You know, just some unruly teenagers with nothing better to do." 

Millie sighed. "Daddy will certainly go on a fit when he sees this." 

"Hey, Millie, I need to go back home to make sure those nasty kids  didn't break our windows. Are you coming, or will you stay outside the wall a little longer?" Millie briefly stepped out of the bathroom, still in the process of brushing her teeth. 

"Well, I promised Blitz I'd help him put some more traps today." 

"That's okay, honey. That'll actually give me time to clean up a bit before you arrive so we can spend some... quality time," Moxxie raised his eyebrows coyly, earning a playful smack from his wife. 

"Oh, you rascal!"

Thankfully, Striker hadn't wandered off, ut he looked bored and irritated. "What took ya so long, vermin?" he asked with a rattling tail.

"I had to get dressed and clean up the mess you made, mister." Moxxie retorted matter-of-factly. "Alright, let's get going." 

Moxxie led his companion down the main path and then through the gates. It was still early morning, so the town wasn't bustling with activity just yet. In fact, the vendors were still setting up their stalls and the Ars Goetia guards hadn't yet finished their last patrols. 

Striker still seemed to find the 'stench' unbearable, as he'd pulled up his scarf up to his nose.

The hospital was located a few streets into town, just near the tall, foreboding castle where the Ars Goetia resided. Striker frowned at the castle banner—a visual representation of a demonic owl battling a hellbeast—as they passed by the castle gates. He was tempted to climb up and tear it to pieces, but Moxxie's voice distracted him from it. 

"Here we are." 

Much like the castle, the hospital was build from stone and brick rather than wooden plants like the rest of the western-like town. The interior was adorned with slate gray and white tiles in the floor and walls, but the installation was far from being pristine and clean like any respectable medical institution should.