fallen angel

Getting Situated

Wandering around aimlessly eventually paid off as he seemed to come across the big building the red incubus had described. There was a sign labeled 'New Beginnings' posted out in front, by the door. Though it was a large structure, the architecture surely didn't compare to that of the incubi headquarters he had stood outside of earlier. The bricks were rugged and old and the framework left much to be desired.

Euphony stepped inside, glancing at all the decor that was just a bit tacky when matched with the wallpaper that had signs of weathering and tear. There was a desk towards the back of the lobby though no one stood behind it. The sign placed across the top simply said 'out'.

Out? Out of what? Euphony stood at the desk for a few minutes waiting. He'd peer past the desk and into the hallway on his heels before settling back into place patiently. The longer he waited, the longer he shuffled and became more anxious. The red demon did tell him to just find a room...maybe he was supposed to find one himself?

With nervous eyes, he searched the lobby one more time before beggining to walk off down the hallway. Room after room seemed to be occupied; doors shut and locked, even some with 'do not disturb' signs hanging on the doorknobs. When all was beginning to seem hopeless, Euphony found an open room.

There was space, definitely, though not much at all. The living area had a tiny mattress sitting in the corner with a sheet fitted over it. On the opposite side was a very tiny closet and next to that, a small space in the wall for the bathroom- the shower being a stand in. The room looked like it had been abandoned for years.

Euphony made sure to look the space over and when he found no evidence of it being someone's room already, he smiled. It was a small smile, warm and tired. He had never had a home to call his own as far as he could remember, he was only just created.

He walked over to shut the loud, creaky door and then to the mattress where he sat. Staring around the room, he yawned and began to lay back. All the walking and sudden commotion was enough to ware the poor incubus out; he found himself quickly falling asleep.

The last thought he remembered having while conscious was to go back to that big skyscraper where he had met the intimidating incubus to apply for a job.

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Light shown through the small window of the room Euphony had claimed the day before. He must have slept well over 12 hours for it to be daytime once more. With some restless stirring and a large yawn, the blue incubus stretched himself awake and prepared to go back to the headquarters. Though he still couldn't see his appearance without a mirror he smoothed down his hair and brushed off his robes. Might as well save the shower for when he could get hair and body care products. He left the room and walked down past the lobby and past the still empty desk.

In only a few minutes Euphony was back at the building, but this time he stepped inside. There he faced another desk but to his relief, someone was there waiting to give instructions. He said a small hello and then sheepishly asked for an application. The secretary looked him over and scoffed before digging around in a cabinet.

"What ya interested in? Paperwork or pleasure?"

The last word caught Euphony off guard. "P-paperwork," he responded quickly, a bit afraid to ask what pleasure ensued.

The incubus nodded with a 'of course that's what you'd choose' kind of expression before pulling out a stone and a thick stack of papers.

"E48. Walk down the hall til you get to your cubicle and sit in it. What you do with your work area is no one's concern but your own, just don't be tacky 'bout it. The papers here are an explanation of what you'll be doing. Once you're done readin' em, get to work." The secretary passed everything to an ready overwhelmed Euphony before continuing.
"Your rune stone is meant for communication, it's complementary for everyone that works here. Once your shift is over, which it will tell you when your shifts are in the pamplet, go to room C88 where you'll find Cyprus. He'll give you your bribe."

"Bribe...?"

The secretary only sneered. "We gotta beg people to work for us now, especially for C ranks. Ya'll are a dime a dozen. And since the boss has been on ten with his crankiness, we've begun paying new workers the day they work here. You'll never be fired here no matter how hard you suck. Unless you personally make Lord Cacophony's shit list, you're here til you stop coming in."

Euphony nodded and accepted everything he retrieved. He nervously bowed his head and gave a small thank you before stepping away to try to find his cubicle.

"Good luck and welcome to the family," the secretary cackled as he called out to him. What an odd fellow.

By the time Euphony found a map, he was sweating; this was a lot to take in, especially in his second day of existing in general. But he was relieved he'd get money first off- he had no means of food or hygiene, though he noticed he still didn't have much of an apetite. He scanned the map and found the selection of cubicles E48 was listed under and found the location of the 'hellevator'.

Eventually, Euphony had reached E48 and was ready to read his pamplet and begin work. Being an incubus was already draining. 

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Artist's Notes

Been a while since the last update! It's been a rough few months. Maybe we'll finally get the ball rolling in this story.

This chapter was a lot of boring but necessary progress and next chapter is going to be half story, half how the information on Euphony's booklet looks- explaining the ranks and all that jazz.

Lovely cover art is by Mitokondrio on instagram!