C'thelli's Demonic Orphanage (Completed and Editing)

15

"You did what?" C'thelli's voice exploded like a volcano.

"I'm sorry mistress C'thelli, I had no idea, I just thought I was getting answers." Vivian exclaimed. For once, her usual boredom was replaced with wide eyes and erratic gestures as she floated on the edge of her seat within the living room. For Feimo, no amount of poking the cracking wood within the fire could calm his nerves. 

"Answers? You didn't think to clue me in? God's sake, you snuck out! And now you're telling me that you might have been murdered here?" The devil's hands grabbed at her hair in two mighty death grips. Had Vivian turned corporeal then he would have expected her to throttle the girl until she died again.

"Did you know about this?" She demanded, her yellow eyes were filled with rage as she rounded on him.

"For like, five minutes before you." He squeaked. Both of his hands opened to her in a sign of peace, for his words only seemed to annoy her more as she stomped her foot hard enough to splinter the floor benath.

"Vivian, you are to go to your room, and you will stay there until I say so. Understand? Good, then go!" Before she could even point towards the stairs, the wraith floated through the ceiling in silence, leaving nothing but a pool of slime to drip back down.

Now alone, Feimo found his lungs burning as he realised he had forgotten to breathe. Terrified by the devil's temper, he wondered what she wanted with him, or if she needed him for that matter. In a bid to pacify herself, she had turned away and leant against the banister. If it weren't for her shoulders rising up and down, he would have thought she had turned to stone.

What was he supposed to do? Did she want him to leave, or to stay and talk? The more he pondered the less sure he became. He remembered after the battle, the priest had acted to relieve some of her anger. "Did you want me to do what Dom did or..."

"Be silent." She snapped. He didn't need to be told twice, before she could even finish her sentence, his lips had pressed into a thin line more secure than a lockbox, leaving him to prod the tips of his fingers as he stewed in discomfort. A moment went by in painstaking reticence. "I - I wouldn't say no." C'thelli whispered.

For some reason, a sudden weight had enveloped him as if trying to keep him away. But it failed, and while he couldn't place his finger on the why, he ignored his instincts and made to stand. Slow and wobbly strides carried him across the small room. As he neared, she folded her wings to her front so that his trembling arms could wrap her in an embrace. 

It was a clumsy hold, loose with a lack of understanding. Although, despite his doubt, he couldn't deny himself soothing to the devil's touch. Hot skin that once burned with scorn, now laxed into a tender warmth he could appreciate. With a sniff of the air, he thought the lavender and bark from the forest suited her well, a welcoming scent fit for the happier C'thelli that resided deep within her hard and troubled shell. He prayed she agreed with him, though her silence made it hard to tell. 

Only when he attempted to separate his hands and end the hug, did she make her intentions known. A single red hand shot up and snatched his wrist, keeping him from abandoning her shoulder. With a flick of her wing, her long feathers whipped him in the head as if to punish him for trying to break the hold early. So they stayed there a while longer, the devil silent and grateful whilst the demon battled the urge to sneeze from her prior strike. 

"Thank you," C'thelli said. Though her voice was quiet and broken, it sounded like a shout within the silence of the room. Had he focused hard to tune her out then he could have listened to the children's shrill yells as they played a game. But instead he hung onto every word she had to say, "I guess I haven't been all too fair today, to either of you," She added before turning to face him. With the movement came the shattering of the hug and the loss of warmth he had come to enjoy.