Atlanta von Eldritch

Prologue

The demon didn't know any better but she did and she used it against him. No one used her for money when she had none. The red splattered against the wall as the mouth on her hand tore into him, making him scream. Her hair was a mess, tentacles that had sprouted from her head when she first got here emptied his pockets and dug through his wallet for money. She didn't feel a thing, there was no exhilarated exuberance or regret as the life drained from his eyes. "This was not your day, my friend," she muttered.
What accent did she have? It wasn't something she heard others have, not a nameable region. She didn't know either even though the name was on the tip of her tongue. She didn't even remember how she ended up in this god forsaken place. She stood up, bare feet padding on the cracked concrete as she left the scene with the money in her hand. She would have been well on her way to meet the man that was interested in her hair and the six eyes on her face.
His fascination with her appearance was startling and strange at first but she got used to it as he actively sought her out. It would be the same today no doubt. He would ask her how she was doing over a cup of tea, offer her help and support, and then begin speaking about the high society here. It was strange that she understood the many ins and outs of his part of society but it made for good conversation with him and he seemed to enjoy it. It gave them equal ground to speak on.
That was to say, when she wasn't speaking of her dreams of a place long forgotten. She didn't even remember what it was called but it never matched up with what everyone described their living lives as. It was advanced yet subtle, archaic yet modern. Creatures and faceless people dwelled in the sun and under the stars, buildings and walls of gray were decorated with many bright colors, feelings of warmth and joy that seemed so alien to her. They all infested those dreams yet every single one of them was different and begged exploration. He was the only one that listened with any interest in this borderline made up world of hers and he would say nothing cruel or demeaning of it.
She stopped at the front of the cafe, seeing Frederick seated and drinking tea already. She sat in front of him carefully, one of his eyes opening to stare at her before they all opened.
"My, aren't you a mess today," he chuckled.
"I apologize, friend. I had a run in with a miscreant who wanted money," she replied. He gave a dreamy sigh as he leaned forward and put his jaw in his palm.
"Yet you don't carry any," he sang. "I assume you have some now?" Atlanta nodded and set the money on the table with one of her tentacles. Frederick reached across and held it, rolling it in his fingers and his smile growing when she shivered. "I recall you only drawing blood if they deserve it, my sweet little Atlanta."
"He offed himself in a sexual manner and tried to make me pay for it," she shrugged. "Of course I didn't want it to begin with so why would I pay? Young souls now." The sigh that left her made Frederick laugh and he sat back.
"I have a proposition for you," he hummed. Something about the way he said it made her curious. This didn't sound like anything he had uttered before; this sounded genuine and he used it as a bait she would willingly bite in curiosity.
"Is it another one of your, 'I offer to help and you pay me later' ordeals," Atlanta asked coyly. He chuckled and waved his blackened hand, the many eyes of his narrowing in their amusement. Something was awfully familiar about them and the energy he carried was terrifyingly nostalgic to the woman.
"Better," he sang. He dug around in a bag Atlanta hadn't noticed, tongues sticking from a few of his extra maws in concentration. She began to wonder what he'd look like if he was human but brushed it aside. He might never have been one like the souls stuck here and it might have been an insult to him and his kin. "Ah, here we are my dear," he placed a packet of papers on the table and grinned almost wickedly.
"What sort of dastardly deeds are you presenting, friend," she carefully pulled the papers over, watching her fingers in their humanoid shape. She had heard that her looking more human was because she was more humane than most down here. She wished she looked more threatening but this would have to do for now.
"Become my daughter," his arms flared out in a dramatization, his eyes as wide as his grin. The green details of his very person seemed to gleam in the small tea shop, drawing attention from the other customers and employees. "My two are so boring lately that I've needed a bit of fun."
"So," she rose an eyebrow, flicking through the papers before frowning and rubbing her head. She couldn't read whatever chicken scratched nonsense was there. Not because she couldn't read but because it was in a language she didn't know. "I can't understand this, friend."
"They're adoption papers, my darling Atlanta," he sighed and rested his arms on the table before sipping from his cup again.
"This would make me your eldest," she muttered. Her tentacles writhed about her a bit angrily, her head hurting from her continuous attempt to read the symbols.
"Of course."
"You have two children that I would get in the way of."
"I'm sure that won't be a problem for you to wiggle about."
"I don't even remember how I got here, friend."
"Your dreams may be the key. You talked about them many times when we began speaking years ago," he tapped his cup a bit.
Atlanta sighed and moved the tentacle dangling in her face a bit, pulling it slightly out of habit, "I believe you are far older than what you display. I'm hoping that has led you to have simplistically perplexing thoughts I will never understand."
"You trust my word though, as it assists you in your reasoning," he chuckled and waved his hand, "As you've put it many times." Atlanta glared at him and tapped the papers as the mouth on her shoulder snapped open and closed in distaste.
"Why," she finally asked. "Why present this sort of informal contraction? Do you really wish to see me that often for company?"
His grin turned knowing, the eyes growing sharp as the sickly green light became a bit brighter, "Speaking with you has made me wish to grow my family. It would be nice to have a child who revels in the chaos my name brings." Something about the low hiss and gurgling in his voice made Atlanta's mouth water at the thought, her tentacles somehow popping into tight coils. Power came with a name, a title, a privilege; she had always found herself weak to that sort of temptation and Frederick was banking on her only known vice.
Sadly, it was working.
"And what would I need to do, per say, to fulfill that little desire of yours," she asked.
"Your signature," he flicked his hand, the papers surrounding themselves in the iridescent glow of green before moving themselves to dashed lines, "Right here."
"Is this a deal you've decided to try and make," she sucked her teeth, seeing his signature already there in his fancy penmanship.
"No deals, no contracts," he hummed. "I am only adopting you into the Eldritch family." Atlanta stared, knowing full well he would want something from her yet deep down, her instincts were telling her there were no dangers. Her hand waved over the line, a green glow emanating from her and the paper as her name scrawled itself across the line in its own hue.

"Welcome to the family, Atlanta von Eldritch."