𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 • 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 (𝐡.𝐡.)

-ᴅɪꜱᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

chapter 4.) distraction

"I think we have rats—"

"—Rats!? Where? I'll add them to my collection!"

—————

The first thing Reina awoke to was the feeling of something tickling the bottom of her chin; whatever it was, it felt soft, like a feather or fur or something similar. But she had no idea what it could've possibly been, eyes fluttering open with an irritated grumble.

Such agitation almost instantly dissipated when she saw it was just Alastor, the fluff from his ears brushing against her skin as they flicked idly in his sleep. She smiled softly, exhaling a breath in amusement. For his sake, she held back her chuckles so she wouldn't wake him up, because she knew that he would feel it if she shook with quiet laughter—after all, he was essentially laying on top of her.

Reina shifted her arm out from under his hold, using the hand to gently scratch at the base of his ear. The red fluff flicked around wildly, Alastor himself letting out a little static-filled purr in his sleep.

"Sometimes I wonder how you're even capable of murder," Reina whispered, the words more to herself than anything. She watched as his brow creased slightly at her voice, the demon in her arms letting out a sleepy little mumble as he buried her face further into her shirt.

Reina gently nudged him off of her, watching as he flopped back onto the bed with another irritated little noise. He didn't seem all too happy with the sudden lack of physical contact, but he was still too asleep to really notice.

Reina stood up with another soft sigh, rubbing her hands along her clothes to smooth out any possible wrinkles. She glanced back at Alastor, making sure that he was still asleep before she grabbed some clothes from the closet and changed into her usual attire.

Walking down the flights of stairs, she noticed a small hole in a nearby wall; Charlie and Vaggie seemed to be examining it, Vaggie with her angelic spear in hand.

"What's happening over here?" Reina questioned lightly.

The sound of her voice must have startled the pair, considering Vaggie whirled around and immediately tried to stab her with the spear out of sheer instinct. Reina leaned out of the way with a small scowl, grabbing the stick with one of her hands.

"Shit, sorry," Vaggie muttered after realizing who it was, pulling the spear away with downcast eyes.

"We've been hearing banging in the walls all morning, and it's really annoying," Charlie explained, an annoyed frown pulling at her rosy cheeks. "I think we have rats—"

"—Rats!?" Niffty's panicked shriek spooked all of them, the little cyclops rushing into the room with an awfully sharp-looking pin. "Where? Absolutely not—I'll get 'em, just—where? I'll add them to my collection!" She trailed off into a fit of frenzied giggles, zooming around the room at a speed that not even Reina's eyes could follow.

"Okay, what the fuck," Vaggie questioned under her breath, seeming extremely disturbed by the other woman's behavior. There was then another loud thump from somewhere from above them, Reina tilting her head up to the noise with a confused expression.

"Those are footsteps, for your information," she murmured softly, spade-tipped tail flicking slightly in contemplation. "Listen carefully; two consecutive thumps, one being slightly heavier than the other—so whoever's up there is walking with a slight limp. Hm."

Reina trailed off, taking an extra moment to listen for a few moments longer. Squinting her eyes slightly as she stared at the ceiling above her, she added, "And the thumps are delayed, like the individual wants to make as little noise as possible—whoever's up there isn't very good at what they're doing. Charlie, dear, that's no rat; I believe we have an intruder on our hands."