Pardon The Way That I Stare

The Details

Alastor and Vox approached the hotel, their clothes splattered with blood, leaving dark streaks on the fabric. As they stepped through the front door, the warmth of the lobby greeted them, contrasting sharply with the grimness of their return. Lucifer was sitting on one of the sofas, having just woken up and sipping a cup of coffee. He looked over, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of them.

"How did it go?" Lucifer asked, his tone light but with a hint of worry behind it. He knew what they'd been up to but still felt the need to ask.

Before either could respond, Angel Dust popped out from behind the couch, looking them up and down with a mischievous grin. "Oh my God, you two look like you had a *hell* of a time. So... gimme the gory details! I wanna hear everything—every hit, every cut, the whole nine yards."

Charlie, standing nearby, immediately covered her ears with her hands. "Nope, nope! I don't want to hear it!" she said, cringing at the idea of what was coming. "Just... pretend I'm not here."

Alastor exchanged a glance with Vox, and then, in a calm yet disturbingly detailed tone, he began. "Well, we started by walking him deep into the woods—slowly, of course. Didn't want him running off too soon, did we?"

Angel's grin widened as he leaned in, hanging on every word.

"Once we got to the cabin, we tied him up real tight, just so he could feel his helplessness settle in. And then, well... we took our time," Alastor continued, his eyes gleaming as he recounted the events. "I started with a little carving. Nothing too deep, just enough to get a good scream going. You know how it is. Vox handed me one of the sharper knives—best for precision, don't you think?"

"Yeah, and I kept him talking," Vox chimed in, leaning against the wall, clearly unfazed by the recollection. "Made him admit everything while Alastor worked him over. Got every sick thing out of him before we really dug in."

Charlie, despite covering her ears, could still hear enough of the conversation to grimace. "I hate that I can still hear some of this..."

Angel was practically vibrating with excitement. "Ooooh, I *love* this! What happened next? Did you slice anything off?"

Alastor nodded, his grin unsettlingly wide. "Oh, we got to that. Fingers first. Took them one by one. And the screams, my dear Angel—they were... magnificent."

Vox chuckled, shaking his head. "Alastor was loving it. You could practically see the broadcast in his head, already imagining how he'd describe it to his listeners. And once we were done carving him up, well... let's just say, he won't be seeing tomorrow."

Lucifer, sipping his coffee, let out a quiet sigh, looking both tired and somewhat resigned to what had happened. "I'm glad it's over," he said simply, knowing Finny's fate had been sealed the moment Alastor and Vox decided to take action.

Angel, however, was delighted. "Man, I wish I could've been there! Sounds like you two really had a blast."

Alastor wiped a bit of dried blood off his sleeve and looked at Angel with a smile. "Well, you can always join us next time, if you'd like."

Charlie, despite her covered ears, shouted, "No! No one is joining! No more... ugh, I can't believe you're even talking about this!" She hurried out of the room, muttering something about needing to cleanse her brain with happy thoughts.

As Charlie disappeared, Lucifer shook his head, looking up at Alastor. "Well, I guess that settles it. You're definitely cooking breakfast tomorrow, aren't you?"

Alastor chuckled darkly. "Oh, darling, it's going to be quite the feast."