A Promessa

Ninna Nanna

Nothing like a good ol' lullaby

—*—

The annual Cleanse is something that the Seven Rings must experience.

This is where power and status come into play: the rich and powerful can afford to have their own private, fortified safehouses to stay for the duration of the Cleanse, while the poor and weaker have to scramble to find a good place to hide and enough supplies to last them the 24 hours of the Extermination. Being of the former group, Crimson has many safehouses throughout Greed for members of the organization to hide in. But only the members of his inner circle—and their families, if they have any—are allowed into his own personal bunker, located deep underground beneath his manor.

As the consigliere, Alessio is part of this inner circle and, as such, of the 'privileged.' Every year, the entire family came over to hide in Crimson's bunker. It wasn't easy convincing Mother, though. Her house is all the way in Mint City, and she wasn't too keen on leaving it alone, knowing that it could be easily invaded by desperate demons looking for shelter. That, and she wasn't particularly fond of being in Crimson's vicinity.

The only bad thing is that the safehouse can get... overcrowded sometimes. With the recent financial stressors, they couldn't afford to do the usual maintenance to keep the generator running, which led to random blackouts that could last from a few minutes to many hours. On one occasion, they were without energy for the entire 24 hours of the Extermination.

"I don't understand why those fucking angels don't just stick around in Pride. That's where the Sinners are, right? Why do they have to assault the other rings too?" Crimson murmured under his breath while using a book as an improvised fan.

Alessio wiped the sweat off his brow. No energy means no AC, and being stuck in tightly cramped rooms about two hundred feet underground doesn't help.

"I suppose they're dealing with the overpopulation in the other rings as well," he said.

"Overpopulation, my ass! Those feathered fiends simply like killing hellborns as much as sinners—For fuck's sake, what's taking those two clowns so long?! I'm melting in here!"

"Frankie and Donnie tend to get... distracted, sir. Jawns already went to check on them."

"I swear to Mammon, if those dumbass twins make me go fix the generator myself, I'm hanging their jaws on my wall when this shit is over."

"Do you need anything else, boss? I need to go check on my children. They're scared of the dark."

"Chil out, Al. Contrary to what some people think, I can live without you for a few hours... Is your Mom in her room?"

"Probably. Why?"

"I wouldn't like her to murder me in my sleep."

"Crim."

"What? She's said she'd do it if she ever had the chance." Alessio rolled his eyes and headed toward the door. "Before you go, do me a favor and tell Crunch to quit his whining."

"He's just worried about his cat. He couldn't find it before coming down—"

Crimson scoffed. "Big deal, we can get him another one."

Alessio chose not to start another long talk about why replacing a pet is not as easy as you would a broken vase. Instead, he picked up one of the many emergency flashlights and entered the dark hallway. As he walked by the many doors, he could hear hushed arguments and complaints about the lack of AC. He heard particularly loud curses from Stu's room, undoubtedly coming from the three women he'd been making kids with these past seven years. Alessio didn't feel any sympathy for him, though. Serves him right for not knowing when to keep his zipper up. He briefly paused at Crunch's door and told him to keep it quiet lest he wanted to face Crimson's wrath—a warning the whimpering brute took to heart—before heading straight to his own room.

A knock on the door. "Figlio? Bambina? It's me."

"They're okay, zio A. Just hiding from the Exterminators."

When he opened the door, he found GaGarret sitting on the bed with a little trembling ball beneath the blankets right next to him. Pietro and Giulia peeked their heads out as soon as Alessio sat down next to them.

"What's wrong, children–Oof!" he was caught off guard as the two flung themselves towards him and clung to his waist. Sighing, Alessio pulled them into his embrace. "There, there. It's alright."

"I came to keep them company while you came back." GaGarret got up. "Mamma and Nonna are with Arianna. I bet Crimson is pissing his pants thinking she'll murder him in his sleep, right?"

Alessio chuckled. "You have no idea."

"Are the monsters gonna eat us, Papa?" Pietro whispered once his cousin left.

"Not while I'm around, figlio. We'll be safe here." Alessio reassured as he patted his son's head. It didn't seem to calm Giulia down, though. She snuggled deeper into his embrace, face buried in the crook of his neck. "Shh. Don't be afraid, mia bambina. You know, Daddy would never let anything happen to you."

Alessio pointed the flashlight at the clock on the wall. 22:34 . It's already past their bedtime, but he knew the children wouldn't just go to sleep on their own accord. They needed a little help.

"Papa?"

"What is it, Pietro?" the five-year-old pup looked up at him, sniffling.

"...Can you sing mamma's lullaby?"

Alessio sighed sadly. He did know the song Bianca would sing to Pietro and Giulia to lull them to sleep, but he... Well, he's never been good at singing. However, he could never say no to those little faces. After making sure the door was locked and that there was no one around, Alessio lay down next to his children, pulling them close and curling up his tail around them as he began to sing.

♪Hush now, mo stóirín♪

♪Close your eyes and sleep♪

♪Waltzing the waves♪

♪Diving in the deep♪

♪Stars are shining bright♪

♪The wind is on the rise♪

♪Whispering words♪

♪Of long lost lullabies♪

♪Oh won't you come with me♪

♪Where the moon is made of gold♪

♪And in the morning sun♪

♪We'll be sailing♪

♪Oh won't you come with me♪

♪Where the ocean meets the sky♪

♪And as the clouds roll by♪

♪We'll sing the song of the sea♪

Pietro and Giulia had fallen asleep as the song ended. Alessio kissed them goodnight and watched them for a while.

Surely Crimson wouldn't mind if he stayed a bit longer with the children. The Don did say that he could live without him for a few hours, after all.