A Deer in Headlights || Alastor the Radio Demon

2 ~ The Commander and His Lieutenant

Seven days flew by like a breeze. Especially with people to talk to. (Y/n) found herself training with Vaggie nearly every day and then chatting with Alice afterwards.

She enjoyed her spars with Vaggie as well as her chats with Alice. With every conversation she had with Alice, she learned something new about Alice's son and it almost felt like she knew him personally.

Despite never meeting the man, (Y/n) already knew he had a lazy eye that occasionally would look in a slightly different direction than his other eye, but no one ever noticed unless they looked really closely. She knew Alastor was a foodie; he loved his mother's cooking—particularly her jambalaya which had a kick "right out of hell," Alice had said. He preferred bitter tastes to sweet ones, he hunted deer as a hobby, he loved to listen to jazz, the list could span a mile if written on a scroll.

(Y/n) could see in her mind's eye the picture Alice had painted of her son. She imagined he was rather charming because, apparently, he was quite the ladies' man. She fell in love with this romanticized idea of the angelic, radio-hosting, jazz loving, deer hunting, mama's boy. He wasn't too much older than her, either. If only she'd met him when she was alive.

As Alice recounted every detail she could recall about her son, (Y/n) followed her around heaven's promenade. Following Alice's daily routine, the two came and went from shop to shop. Everywhere they went, people knew Alice as a regular. The grocery store, boutique, bakery, and crafts store's employees all waved hello to Alice before helping her to whatever regular goods she would buy from them.

At the end of the day, by the time Alice had arrived at her home on the outskirts of Heaven City, (Y/n) had to leave for the big event. They parted ways, but not before (Y/n) helped Alice lug her things into her small cottage on the clouds.

After (Y/n) left, Alice settled into the kitchen and prepared a meal for two as she swayed her hips to the jazz playing on her little radio.

She set two plates of jambalaya onto her dinner table and opened her mouth to call out for her son. "Alastor, dinner is ready," she thought to shout. But then she realized that her son was not up there with her, and she was all alone in her house.

I miss you dearly, my son, she said in her head, but do not come and see me soon. I have friends to keep me company in your absence.

~~~

(Y/n) soared through the air, meeting Vaggie high above the ground. The two flapped their wings in sync as they enthused about the big day.

"Are you excited?" (Y/n) asked. The golden fence of the training grounds came into view and they saw their commander and his lieutenant already there.

They slowed their flight and began to descend. "I am," Vaggie replied just as her pristine boots touched the ground, "I think our sparring'll definitely help."

As they landed on the fluffy, white clouds, the other exorcists touched down as well. The lieutenant smiled through her horned mask and stood proudly beside their leader. "Line up!" she ordered.

"Alright, Ladies!" Adam began excitedly, "Have you all been training?!" To which he received a roaring 'yeah!' as a reply. "Are you all ready for the extermination?!" And again, he received a booming response. The crowd was almost as hyped as him, but he had a different type of excitement... his almost seemed something akin to vengeance.

(Y/n) couldn't help but feel anxious. It was only then that she began to realize how unprepared she was for this. What was she supposed to expect down there? She was terrified of Hell, now that she realized she was going to go down there. What if she found herself face to face with Lucifer, himself? What then? She'd surely be pummeled to death by the devil.