Chapter Six - Feather Trail
New
Oops, uh, this took a while. Well, to be fair, I did need to write for The Bringer and my contest oneshot as well, and I got stuck with some doubts about this chapter for a bit, too. But @NebulaDreams , my beta in shining armor, helped me through! Big thanks to him.
This chapter has content warnings for mentions of STIs, misogyny (including slurs), internalized homophobia (including a slur) and some violence. Enjoy!
After breakfast, the morning passed slowly. Three lessons followed, those being health education, history and science. Health education was quite nasty with descriptions and visual aids of different kinds of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted ones. Andre did subtly appreciate it, however, as it did a good job of making intimate relations with demons seem less appealing. If he found himself with lustful thoughts, the mental image of what was colloquially called 'dickrot' was sure to set him straight.
In history, Andre was taught more about the Seven Devil Kings. The gist remained the same from what Samson had taught him a week ago on the hike, but Andre was informed of more specifics, such as the names of the Kings and their appearances. It seemed like every king had features of a different animal species. As the teacher also said these would be on the test, Andre began working hard to remember each one.
Superbio the Prideful - a lion-demon. Avaritio the Rapacious - a dragon-demon. Iro the Furious - a bull-demon. Luxurio the Lecherous - a hare-demon. Invidio the Covetous, Gulo the Voracious, Acedio the Apathetic. And then there were their generals, their advisors, their priests, whatever, whatever. Andre was sure he would have loved to learn all about this at his own pace, but Hell apparently had a lot of history to get through.
In science, there wasn't anything special. The lesson was just about the physical properties of heat. It could have been a lesson on Earth, really.
After lunch and a few more lessons, it was time for dinner. Andre got in line as he usually did, stuck in thought, trying to recap what he'd learned from that history lesson, when he felt something nudge his arm. He turned around to see… Red, looking healthy as a horse in his signature leather jacket.
"Hey," the demon greeted.
"Oh, hey," Andre replied, smiling. "Didn't think you'd be out of the infirmary so soon."
"Yeah, well, I'm still not allowed to take part in PE or do anything else that might strain my body. But otherwise, yeah, it looks like I'm healthy enough to walk around."
"Good to hear."
Red nodded, then quieted. Andre figured he was done with him and moved with the line. A few steps later, though, Red cleared his throat again.
"Can I, uhh…" he started, avoiding eye contact. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
He wanted to sit together? Well, that was progress. "Not at all," Andre said. "Or, well… I don't mind, but I do sit with Alice and Camila. Maybe Arby, too. But I'm sure they'll be fine with it."
Honestly, Andre wasn't terribly sure. Alice and Camila really hadn't appreciated Red's attitude towards Andre in the first days. And Arby… well, would Red want to sit with him?
"Mm." Red paused. "Sounds good." It didn't sound like he meant it, but… he wasn't refusing.
They passed through the line and gained a helping of lukewarm spaghetti alongside some bread, though Red also surprised Andre by asking for a serving of salad. The food service worker asked him what he needed it for when hound-demons like him could subsist just fine on the meals they provided by default, and he said he simply liked the taste. Andre - who was quite upset that he hadn't been told this was an option - then cleared his throat and said that he would like some salad as well and that he really needed it since he was an angel. The worker then rolled his eyes and provided them both with some greens from the kitchen. Well, yellows and reds. Hell's plants didn't really do green.
The two then made their way to Alice, Camila and Arby. The former two eyed Red with suspicion while Arby tried to avoid eye contact.
"Hey," Andre said. "Is it okay if Red sits with us?"
The three demons exchanged glances before Alice spoke up. "Well, if it's fine with you, it should be fine with us." There was caution in her voice, though.
"Thanks," Red said, not especially warmly. Andre sat down, and Red sat next to him. Their sitting order had Alice and Camila on one side and Arby, Andre and Red on the other. At least Andre worked as a buffer between the two.
"So, uh," Camila began. "You two cool with each other now?"
"Well… I think so," Andre said, looking to Red, though the demon seemed to be focusing on his food. "I mean, we ought to be. We're pairs."
"Andre did also save Red's life," Alice added.
"You thank him yet?" Camila asked Red.
Red answered with an annoyed look, then a flatly spoken word. "Yes."
Andre let out an awkward laugh. Boy, this was getting uncomfortable. "Yes, Red did thank me. But, well, anyone would have done what I did if put in my position, right?"
The demonesses and Arby exchanged more glances.
"Yep," Alice said with a forced smile.
Silence fell over the group. Andre took a quiet breath in before speaking again. "So, any progress on your investigation?"
"Mm, not much," Alice said. "Diana has a lot of suitors to sift through. And not all of them are as willing to talk to girls they know they can't have. Or, in my case, don't want…"
"Aw, Lis, don't say that," Camila swooped in, setting down her fork. "You're super cute. If there's anyone they don't want, it's me. And I'm real fine with that."
"Hm, well, I suppose people were more willing to talk to me because of the whole Slayer thing," Andre said. "Though I don't know if asking around about Mr Horsepower lost me that edge already." Then again, it didn't matter. Mr Ronove no longer wanted him to snoop around regarding the disappearances, so he wouldn't. Even when Zeevo's killer might have been right there in front of them…
Arby sighed. "I just hope you three can find something out. I asked the staff if they've made any progress and they still told me they had nothing new to report."
Andre wasn't surprised. The staff probably didn't want any leaks from the investigation.
Alice turned to Red and opened her mouth to say something, but then frowned. Andre looked at Red to see what warranted such a reaction, and saw him… shoving his salad into a zip lock bag.
"...What are you doing?" Alice asked.
Red lifted his gaze and froze. Everyone in the group was looking at him. His ears drew back. "It's… for later," he said.
The others held their stare.
Red cleared his throat, then looked past the group, searching for something. He seemed to find it and then spoke again. "You guys notice how Eric is actually sitting with people now?"
His diversion worked. The group followed Red's gaze to the young angel and, indeed, he sat with two demons, talking to them. Both were reptilian - one was spindly with blue and black stripes and had a long, pointed snout while the other, mottled with black and red, was huge and heavy with much blunter features. Both were nodding along as the angel spoke.
"Oh, what do you know," Camila said. "I guess that little bigot got over himself. To an extent, anyway. He's still not talking to me."
"I wonder what they're talking about," Alice said. "If I didn't already have something to investigate, I'd find out."
Andre no longer had that problem. Maybe he could be the one to do it? Or… Mr Ronove probably didn't want him doing any snooping because of its optics. Well, whatever.
The conversation then shifted to what they'd been learning in class recently, and Andre gladly participated. Every now and then, he looked to Red for whether he'd have any input, but the hound-demon stayed silent. Eventually, he excused himself and left. Andre was left wondering if he should have tried to involve him in the conversation more, but maybe there was nothing wrong. Red could have spoken up if he'd felt like it, right?
After dinner, Andre stopped by his room to perhaps have a talk with Red, but he wasn't there. As Andre had nothing else he was dying to do, he began looking for the demon through the halls of the facility. Five minutes in, he spotted Suki, and the cat-eared demoness spotted him, smiling. He decided he might as well have a talk.
"Hey," he greeted, stepping up to Suki. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, uh, sorry about that."
"No need to apologize," Andre said with a little laugh. "How's it been going, though?"
"Been writing. I really have a great streak going on right now. You wanna hear about it?"
As Suki's gushing always reminded Andre of Katie at home, he welcomed it. There had been pain at first, remembering how Andre's friendship with Katie had ended, but it had waned, leaving only precious nostalgia. "Sure!"
Suki went on to describe her new story and some new characters and creatures she'd thought up for it. Like a dragonfly with the tail and claws of a scorpion. Or a hairless, blind cave monkey. Or a two-headed thunderbird whose beaks had opposite charges and could create an arc of electricity between them. Suki's creativity seemed boundless - much stronger than Andre's, even when he considered himself a creative person, being an artist and all. He felt a hint of envy, but scolded himself for it. Envy was a sin, after all.
"And then there are these fish that can --"
Suki quieted as she noticed a group of three entering the hallway. It was Eric with those two demon friends of his. They were talking about something before abruptly stopping. They made their way past Andre and Suki without speaking, only giving the two suspicious glances. And then they rounded the corner and started speaking again.
"That was weird," Andre remarked.
"Yeah," Suki said. "Eric's supposed to hate demons, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "What do you suppose he's up to?"
So Andre and Alice weren't the only ones curious about that. Regardless, Andre shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe we'll find out at some point."
"Or…" Suki grinned mischievously. "We could find out now."
Andre flinched. "What? Like, confront them?" That wouldn't be good if he was supposed to keep a low profile.
"It doesn't have to come to that," Suki said. "We can just eavesdrop. My hearing's really good, you know." She twitched her cat ears.
"Uh, I don't know…"
"Come on!" Suki whisper-yelled, and just like that, she was on her way.
Shit! thought Andre. Well, then again… if I can say afterwards that she just roped me into it, maybe it'll be fine…
He slunk after Suki and soon caught up. The two of them kept tailing Eric's group, staying out of sight and keeping quiet - well, Suki was doing a much better job due to her soft paws than Andre with his shoes, but anyway - until the group entered someone's dorm room. Must have belonged to one or two of them. They closed the door behind them, but their speech was still audible if one strained their hearing enough. Suki and Andre got as close to the door as they could and listened.
"...like this one time at the grocery store, you know, when I saw this major hottie trying to reach something on the top shelf. I went over and took it and then said - just as a joke, you know - 'you can have it for a kiss'. Like Ricky Asmodeus, you know. But she just went 'ew' and left. 'Ew'! Like I was a pile of houndshit, you know! That shit hurts, man!"
It wasn't Eric's voice, and it didn't seem like it belonged to the heavier reptilian. Must have been the thin one.
"I know, Viathan. No man wants to be treated like that," said Eric. "See, Hemoth? That's what I was talking about with 'indecent'."
"Like, you know, I would have preferred it if she'd spat acid in my face over that," Viathan added.
"Hmm… well, I guess…" Hemoth said. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Viathan."
"Thanks, man."
Hemoth sighed. "I wish I was as brave as you…" he continued. "When I see a girl, I just freeze up. Like I'm worried she's gonna see me and laugh in my face. I mean, look at me."
"Really?" Eric said. "All I see is a big, strong man."
"Well, I'm big, and I'm strong, yeah - but every helodermid is."
"You're the only helodermid in this program. That might make you the strongest guy here."
"Even stronger than… the horse guy?"
"Yeah! You're as tall as he is, and you're heavier. You've got the advantage."
"But he's… I don't know. He's confident. I'm not. And I'm certainly not a fighter."
"Oh, but you're a demon, aren't you? From what I've heard, every demon, deep down, knows how to get violent. You were made that way."
Andre had to wonder what exactly Eric was trying to pull. A replacionist like him would believe that demons were created by Tarigan, an evil shapeshifting she-demon that opposed Arukei - the real homophobic and misogynist Arukei - and was, in fact, behind the Replacement that had occurred 2000 years ago. As Tarigan was evil, so were her creations, and they could not be reasoned with. Yet here Eric was, clearly reasoning with one. And he seemed to be at peace with that. Was it really possible for someone to change their fundamental beliefs so quickly?
"I… guess so," Hemoth said. "Reptilians like me do have instincts. Like, when I see a bug, I think 'that's a juicy looking bug'. But I can't eat it, you know, since I don't know where it's been. And reptilian immune systems aren't as tough as real wild animals'."
"Yes… it may be better that you don't eat the bugs you see," Eric said. "I don't think the girls would like that."
"Yeah…"
"Back to my point. You have what it takes to be an alpha, Hemoth. You just have to find the confidence."
"A what?"
"You know, an alpha. It means someone who's strong and dominant, unlike a beta, who's weak and submissive."
Andre sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. This bullshit.
"Oh, I see," Hemoth said. "Do you think… do you think Suki would like that?"
Suki's eyes widened, and her ears pinned back.
"Of course! Every woman wants an alpha, no matter what they say. It's basic biology."
"But… I'm not some jock. I'm a nerd. I've touched computers more than I've touched girls. Infinite times more. Or undefined, take your pick…"
Computers…? So he was a tech guy? He wouldn't know how to tamper with security cameras, would he? Then again, he really didn't seem like someone who'd dare to make anyone disappear…
But he could also be working with someone else. Eric? How long had they known each other? Damn it, Andre should have paid closer attention to him… maybe this was something to ask the staff for once - if - they called him back as an informant? Ugh, Andre didn't have his notebook right now to write this down in…
Eric replied with something, but Andre's attention was stolen by the sound of approaching steps. He heard these too late, though, as the new arrival - Samson - had already rounded the corner and noticed them.
Andre stood up straight. "Samson," he said. "Hello."
Suki's tail bristled and she turned to face Samson. "H-hello!"
"Uh, hello to you, too…" Samson replied. "What are you doing?"
"Just, um…" No, Andre couldn't think of anything. Neither could Suki, it seemed.
Samson frowned, crossing his arms. "Everyone deserves privacy," he said. "You should honor that." His gaze was stern at Suki, but a bit conflicted at Andre.
"We will. We're sorry," Andre said. "It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't," Samson said. "Or it might end up affecting your record."
The record… God, Andre had really forgotten about that ever since Red had stayed out of trouble on account of being too sick to start shit. He nodded. "Understood."
"Good." Samson smiled. "Run along, now."
Andre turned to Suki. "Let's go."
Suki nodded, and the two went on their way. Once they'd gotten far enough from Samson, Suki sighed.
"Do you think they heard us?" she asked.
"Probably," Andre said. "But… well, it's not like we liked them. It doesn't matter much if they have a low opinion of us, right?"
"I guess so."
A pause.
"I just can't believe that Hemoth guy has a crush on me," Suki then said. "No one's ever crushed on me before."
"Yeah, well…" Andre scratched his cheek. "If Eric keeps feeding him all that alpha shit, he might not be someone you should hang around."
Suki huffed. "I can handle myself."
Andre paused. "Alright," he then said. "You know yourself better than I do." It had only been that first meeting they'd had that she'd been a nervous wreck, and Andre knew that to be because of untreated withdrawal. Andre was glad that Hell apparently still had advanced enough medicine to treat that. Though… how did she end up so hooked on her drug that she tried to rob a store for it, then? Why hadn't that withdrawal medication been available for her at that time?
Well, maybe the high of the drug was just that good, and Suki craved it too badly. Or maybe that withdrawal medication was a controlled substance, and she hadn't been approved for it, yet or at all. Maybe it was any of several other possible reasons. Did it really matter? No, it didn't. What mattered was that Suki was feeling better now.
"Hmm…" Suki began. "I don't actually know if I should talk to Hemoth. Apologize for eavesdropping, maybe? He didn't seem like that bad of a guy. I wouldn't date him, but… if I had a crush and they overheard me saying I want to woo them, I'd be mortified."
"Well, that's really up to you," Andre said. "I can see pros and cons for both options."
"Like?"
"If you go and apologize, that's nice of you. But, well, guys like him can also… misinterpret that. If you don't apologize, though, it might eat away at him. But you might also be dodging a bullet."
Suki sighed. "I was never good at making hard decisions…"
Andre smiled sympathetically. "Not many people are. They wouldn't be considered 'hard' otherwise."
Suki smiled back.
"So…" Andre began. "Where were you going before I bumped into you, anyway?"
"Library. You wanna come with?"
"Sure. And, um… you could tell me more about those special fish in your story?"
Suki's smile grew into a beam. As she continued where she'd left off, they began making their way to the library. At the back of Andre's mind, though, he still wondered where Red might be…
The rest of the day passed without complications. Once Andre retreated back to his room, he found Red there. Andre asked the demon where he'd gone after dinner, and Red claimed he'd simply been 'hanging around wherever'. Andre supposed that wherever he'd gone had always been away from Andre's whereabouts, and considered this a satisfactory explanation.
The following day, though, when Red was leaving dinner after covertly stashing away some more salad, Andre asked him if he could come with. Red declined, saying that he preferred to be alone. Andre respected that, but he couldn't deny that this made him even more curious.
So, the day after that, Andre began trying to figure out where Red was going. Not by following him directly, no, but just casually through the process of elimination. He checked the rec room first - not there. He checked the library the next day - not there. He wanted to check the gym next, but honestly, he was still too shaken up about the whole Dmitri thing. And Andre already knew that Red visited the gym in the evening of each day. Why would he go there twice?
On the third day, Andre decided to head out to the yard instead. He didn't like going there on account of the blistering heat and rotten egg smell, but his curiosity was strong.
He exited the main building and immediately squinted. It really was bright. Must have been the fact that he'd spent, what, the past ten days indoors? If it weren't for windows, he could have honestly forgotten the sky here was red.
He began to circle the yard. Every now and then, he glanced at the watchtowers, feeling uneasy knowing he was being monitored, both through demon eyes and security cameras. The guards there showed no emotion on their faces. Better that than anger, Andre supposed.
There were other inmates in the yard, though only few. The girl from the hike, Jenny, was there, talking to some other female inmate as they leaned against the wall. Another group of inmates formed a huddle at the corner of the main building, each one smoking a cigarette. That goat-headed guy that Andre had met when questioning Diana was among them. A smoking goat. It would have been quaint had Andre not been painfully aware of how bad those things were for your lungs. But, well, he was in Hell. Vices were expected.
Andre rounded the corner, trying his best not to breathe in the smoke, though also trying not to show it. He still didn't want to look like a princess.
Andre kept following the wall past the corner, after which it bent outwards again to connect to the dormitory wing. He followed along that, too, until he could round another corner. He was getting close to that blind spot that Red had told Jake to meet him in for a fight just a day into the program. Andre huffed. While it wasn't nice to think that Red almost dying was a good thing, he still couldn't deny that it had probably taught him some well-needed humility. He was less of a risk for Andre's record that way.
Unless… Red was going to the same blind spot Andre would soon arrive at to do something disagreeable.
His pulse quickening, Andre approached the spot. It would be visible once he rounded the next corner. Hopefully he wouldn't be there…
Andre reached the corner and peeked around it.
Red was there.
Andre's fist closed for a split second… but then he took a closer look.
Red was crouching on the ground, and there were multiple black birds around him. Crows? No, they seemed to have red eyes and red horns. Well, they must have been some kinds of hell-crows, then. They seemed to be staring expectantly at Red, who was… digging something out of a zip lock bag. The salad he'd been putting there. He tore off a little piece of lettuce and offered it to the nearest crow, which stepped closer warily and then snatched the piece into its beak before eating it. Andre could see Red smile.
This was baffling. Red was… feeding birds? Red?
Just then, Red's gaze strayed in Andre's direction, and the two locked eyes. Red's smile dropped off his face in an instant. He stood up straight, spooking the crows into flitting further away, and pocketed the bag shortly before pocketing his hands as well. He avoided Andre's gaze. Was Red still embarrassed to be seen as anything other than some kind of badass? God.
Andre decided to make his way to the demon, who did his best to ignore him - but his whipping tail betrayed his agitation.
"Red," Andre said.
Red still didn't make eye contact. "Hey."
Andre sighed. "Red, there's no need to be upset. There's nothing wrong with feeding birds."
Red didn't answer.
"Did you use to feed birds a lot before you came here?" Andre asked.
Red gave Andre a hesitant look. After a while, he replied. "Yeah." He paused. "But I fed them better. With seeds and nuts."
"Is salad bad for them?"
The demon shook his head. "Not really. Like, yeah, this lettuce has little to no nutritional value, but some of the other vegetables are good. Tomato isn't great since it's acidic, but at least it's not as bad as onion."
Andre hummed. "You know a lot about this."
Red shrugged. "It's… relevant to my studies. Was."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I was hoping to become an ornithologist. But, well, any zoology will do. Except…" He paused. "No, no, it's all fine."
Andre crossed his arms with a smile. "What, what animal don't you like?"
"No, they're all fine. Forget I said anything."
"Alright."
A few seconds of silence.
"You can keep feeding the birds if you want," Andre said.
"Mm, no, I don't have to…"
"No, I'd like to see it."
Red drew in a slow breath and looked at Andre again. Andre gave his sincerest smile. Come on, come on, just open up a little, the angel thought.
Red sighed. "Alright, sure."
He dug out his zip lock bag and crouched again. Immediately, the crows turned to look at him, but they didn't come closer, eyeing Andre warily.
"You should get low," Red said. Andre nodded and did as requested. Red then dug out a piece of some vegetable that could maybe have been Hell's version of cucumber and offered it towards the birds. Some took steps closer, but it still seemed like Andre was too foreign for them…
"Maybe if we look like we're friends," Red said and grabbed Andre's hand.
Andre flinched at this sudden touch, especially as its texture was so unfamiliar - Red's hands, after all, were furred and had pads on the underside. Yet despite that… Andre remembered again how he'd felt when he'd first seen Red.
No, not smart. Not smart.
Red, in turn, paused to hold a gaze on their connected hands. His eyes then widened. He let go immediately after and shuffled a few steps away. "Sorry," he quickly said, "I just… I didn't think that through. I'm sorry."
"Uh…" Andre tried to begin, at a bit of a loss for words. "It's… alright? You just touched my hand." He glanced away. "But, uh, warn me next time, okay?"
"I, ah, hm…" Red got up and shoved away his salad bag, startling the birds again. "I need to go. Sorry."
With that, he briskly walked away before Andre could think of anything else to say, leaving the angel alone with the crows.
Andre looked down at his hand. The sensation of Red's touch replayed in his head alongside the feelings he'd felt.
Despite all of the reasons why he shouldn't, he wanted to feel that touch again.
No, okay? he thought to himself. Demon and angel, doesn't work. Man and man, doesn't work - not in Hell. Red probably isn't even gay despite what he's been called. This entire concept is stupid.
He shook his head and stood up, crossing his arms. I do probably need to talk to Red, though - make sure he understands that touching another guy's hand in a scenario like this isn't gay and that he doesn't have to worry about it.
With a sigh, he left the secret spot and headed back inside.
---
Red
---
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck, fuck, fuck.
What was that? What in Arukei's fucking goat balls was that? It wasn't enough that he'd touched Andre like a homo, he had to feel… feelings.
Like, yeah, it had been a while since he'd touched someone else like that, all gentle and shit, but why did it have to be Andre? Why?
…Then again, Red couldn't pretend as if this was a complete surprise.
There had been that one moment before. When he'd grabbed Andre by the collar after the angel was giving him shit about picking a fight with Jake, most pressingly. But he'd buried that. It didn't count. The blood pumping in his veins from the altercation had just taken a wrong turn. Nothing more.
But this… as much as Red tried, he couldn't brush this off. He could only watch in horror as every memory involving Andre was recontextualized in real time before his mind's eye.
No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to feel this way!
He forced himself to focus only on his surroundings while he made his way from the yard to the main building and navigated to his… room…
No, he couldn't go there, that was Andre's room too! Fuck!
Where could he go, then? What was a place that Andre would never go? The gym, maybe? Sure. He could do his workout early. He just needed a quick change of clothes. He could do it quickly enough, right?
He slipped into the room and got changed into his workout clothes in record time. He grabbed his gym bag and headed out. No Andre, good. He was free to blow off some steam on the pec deck.
He began making his way to the gym and kept on that course until… he spotted Eric and those new reptilian friends of his at a point where one hallway intersected another. Suddenly curious - must have been the eagerness to get something else on his mind - he walked more slowly and pricked up his ears to the extent he could.
"I'm telling you, that Diana is a jezebel," Eric said. "You don't want to pursue her. You don't know how many hands have touched --"
All of a sudden, Red stopped caring. It was just some inane drama. Nothing that could keep his mind off… off Andre.
Tail whipping, he passed them and kept going.
After the incident with the birds, Red had become avoidant. He wouldn't speak to Andre unless there was something very mundane and neutral to take care of, and even that he seemed to struggle with. Andre tried several times to bring up the incident with the birds, but Red would shoot it down each time with 'I don't wanna talk about it'. Fine, Andre had eventually thought and decided that he'd done enough.
Red did not sit with Andre and his friends during supper, isolating himself to a corner of some longer table the way he used to do before. Camila remarked on this and asked Andre if something had happened, but Andre decided to brush it off. Red likely wouldn't appreciate it.
"Well, that takes away some tension," Arby said. "I don't think he's over the things Jake said to him, and since I'm friends with Jake…"
"You know, you could have apologized," Andre muttered.
Arby looked guilty, but didn't respond.
As supper ended, the group split, and Andre headed to his room. Red was already there, as he'd left chow hall earlier, and he was reading another book on Hell's fauna. He didn't say anything to Andre, and Andre didn't say anything to him. Andre did his evening chores wordlessly before starting another letter to Ellie. He felt discouraged by the fact that he still hadn't gotten a response, but he also knew that the post system between Heaven and Hell was anything but fast.
After that, Andre put away his draft and told Red that he'd like to turn in for the night. Red agreed with a quiet vocalization, and the two went to bed.
The next morning passed leisurely, being a Saturday. Red still sat apart from the rest at breakfast and later at lunch and even on the just-started dinner. Andre also noticed that at no point did Red pull out his bag and begin stashing food. Was he really afraid that going out to feed the birds again would result in a repeat?
"Got a crush, Andre?"
"Huh?" Andre turned to Camila.
"You keep checking on Red."
Andre winced imperceptibly, then glanced between the demoness and Red. "Well, we're pairs. I need to keep an eye on him."
"Hm. Fair enough, fair enough."
Andre tapped on the table. "So, how's your pair doing, anyway?" he asked.
Camila gestured towards Eric, who sat some way from them. "Same old same old, as you can see. Still hanging out with the Scale Sisters."
"Suki and I decided to eavesdrop on them a bit ago," Andre said. "Eric seems like he's trying to exploit their insecurities and sell them on some macho bullshit. Building his own personal posse of insufferable people."
Camila and Alice hummed in agreement while Arby looked a bit confused. He didn't protest, though.
Andre was about to take another spoonful of his chicken soup when he noticed that people had started to lower their voices. Dmitri had entered the hall and the clip-clop of his hooves was heading straight for… huh? Eric and his pals? And whatever was on his mind, it seemed to have him in a pretty irate mood…
By the time the horse-demon had reached the angel's table and caught the attention of the ones seated there, the hall had grown dead silent. Even the others in Andre's group had noticed. They watched the scene unfold with bated breath.
Dmitri's low voice broke the silence. "Angel."
Eric eyed him with equal parts caution and disdain. He then glanced at the guards. They seemed to have noticed, but weren't doing anything yet.
Eric cleared his throat. "Yes?"
"You called Diana a whore."
Andre expected Eric to deny this, but instead the angel gave Hemoth a determined look. Hemoth looked uncertain, but once he glanced at something in another direction, he found the courage to get up. He matched Dmitri's height and captured the horse-demon's attention.
"Yeah," the reptile said. "He did."
Oh my god, thought Andre. What? What's he doing?
"Sit down, lizard," Dmitri ordered.
Hemoth hesitated, but then looked in that same direction he had before. Andre scanned it more thoroughly and realized what Hemoth was checking. It was Suki.
He… wants to impress Suki… by being the alpha. Andre wanted to bury his face in his hands, but he couldn't look away.
"No," Hemoth said. "If you have a problem with Eric, you have a problem with me."
Before Dmitri could respond, a guard's shout cut through the air. "Hey! Behave!"
Neither Dmitri nor Hemoth stood down. The guard - a bald, red-skinned man with ram-like horns - began to approach, joined by another guard of a darker shade and large fangs. One second felt like a hundred. Everyone waited for the bomb to blow.
The guards reached Dmitri. "Break it up," the other one said.
Dmitri's jaw clenched, but then he huffed and turned to leave. Andre released his breath, happy that the whole ordeal was over.
Until Eric opened his mouth again.
"She is a whore."
Andre knew that Dmitri would snap, but he could never have predicted how.
Dmitri hunched over, trembling, and wispy shadows took over his body. The guards recoiled as Dmitri's form grew and changed, his bones audibly crackling. The inmate that had, seconds ago, been a humanoid with only the ears, legs and tail of a horse, became a massive, muscular draft horse with two sabre-like horns and a mane that lit up with crimson flames.
It reared and neighed with a dark resonance in its voice before slamming its front hooves into the floor with a deafening thud, cracking it. It then spun around and faced Eric, who had fallen off his chair in shock and whose blood was rapidly leaving his face.
As the inmates in the hall, Andre and his friends included, got off their chairs and crouched behind them, one of the guards grabbed his transceiver. "Beast-out at chow hall!" he shouted into it. "Tranq gun and armored unit needed ASAP!"
On the second floor, Andre could see another guard rush for a locked box on the wall, while on the first floor, the ram-horned guard slipped between Eric and the horse. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the demonic equine's forehead. The fanged guard did the same.
The horse snorted and shook its head from side to side. It wasn't attacking, so maybe it understood on some level that the guns were a danger to it…?
Something moved on the second floor again, and Andre could spot a guard with a long gun aiming at the horse. It fired with two fwips and embedded two bright orange darts into the horse's hindquarters. The horse reared and whinnied again, and Eric and the guard protecting him backed up. The beast, pawing the ground, looked ready to charge… until it heard another pair of hooves approaching it from behind.
Another guard had entered the hall. This one had the head and legs of a brown bull - in other words, he was a minotaur. He had a similar amulet around his neck as Samson had worn on the hike. Magic armor.
"Hey!" the minotaur shouted as he weaved through the tables and the inmates hiding beside and underneath them. He stopped and tapped the ground with his right hoof. "Over here, you piece of shit!"
The horse seemed to understand the challenge. It snorted, leaned back and leaped at the minotaur, who caught its front hooves with a grunt. Neighing with agitation, the beast tried to wrench itself free, but the minotaur's grip was strong - until the horse managed to tilt him backwards and toppled him over. It then --
"Everyone, evacuate!" shouted the fanged guard. "While he keeps it busy!"
Right, of course. Andre, alongside Alice, Camila and Arby, joined a growing tide of fleeing inmates. Once they reached the wall, they moved along it until they could leave through the emergency exit. They found themselves in the yard and decided to make their way all the way to the fence before they could breathe more easily.
Wait, where was Red? Andre looked around, but he couldn't see the hound-demon anywhere.
"Are you guys alright?" Alice asked.
"Yeah…" said Arby and Camila.
"I'm fine," Andre said, "but did you guys see where Red went? Or… Suki?" He couldn't see Suki around, either…
The locust-man and demonesses exchanged glances. "Didn't catch them," Camila said.
Fuck. Okay. Andre stuck his fingernails into his scalp. What was he going to do? Well, he couldn't do anything, could he? If he were stupid enough to run back inside, he'd just get stomped to death and probably make the operation even harder for the guards. So he had to wait. Just wait. Couldn't do anything. Like he couldn't do anything about those villagers --
The door opened again. A familiar demon quickly emerged - Red. Oh, thank Arukei.
Andre ran up to him and noticed him flinch at the sight of the angel. Even now? Andre thought, annoyed. Come on.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Red said, though he looked nervous. "I'm okay."
"Let's get further away," Andre said and almost grabbed Red's wrist before realizing that would lead to further problems. Instead, he simply led by example and hurried back towards Alice and the others.
"He's not gonna fucking explode or anything," Red muttered, but did follow.
Having reached his group, Andre turned around again to keep an eye out for Suki. After a few dozen seconds of what must have been apparent worry on his face, Alice placed a hand on his shoulder.
"H-hey, it'll be alright," Alice said. "They shot that horse with tranq darts. They'll probably take effect soon enough, and the situation'll be over."
"Okay, okay…" Andre took a moment to breathe. "I'm fine."
"Good. Let's just keep waiting."
And wait they did. Seconds, then minutes. Suki still wasn't coming out. Suki wasn't coming --
Andre heard running steps and saw someone emerge from behind the corner of the building. Suki. Andre sighed in relief as the feline demoness made her way to them. He didn't even care to think about the fact that she would have had to use a very odd path to escape to end up there.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, are you?"
"Think so, yeah…" She looked at the emergency exit. "But… Hemoth hasn't come out yet, has he?"
Hemoth… did Suki really care that much about Hemoth already when she'd only heard that he'd had a crush on her? Then again, it was only noble to care…
"He was right next to Eric," Suki continued. "I hope… I hope he's fine."
Andre took a breath in. "I'm sure he's fine. I hear helodermids are really tough."
"Mm…"
They continued to wait, not feeling up to chatter. Eventually, though, all of them were allowed relief once the ram-horned guard from before exited the building and announced that the situation was over. That the beaster had succumbed to the tranquilizers and transformed back to his regular humanoid form which had then been taken into solitary confinement.
"Wh-what about the people still inside?" Suki asked.
"They're alright," the guard said. "No injuries."
Suki sighed out the tension in her body. "Okay. Thank you."
"So, uhh…" Another voice entered the conversation - Diana's. "What'll happen to Dmitri now?" She didn't really sound concerned. More inconvenienced.
"That decision hasn't been made yet," the guard said. "Ask later."
Diana rolled her eyes, which Andre was surprised to be able to notice when they were all-black.
The guard turned to address the others. "You can all come back inside now. Go about your business as usual."
"Oh, shit, sure," Arby muttered. "That'll be easy."
Andre briefly thought about how, if this had happened in Heaven, everyone involved would have been offered free counseling and a plethora of resources about trauma. Not that Andre really needed those. It was just a curious difference.
Nevertheless, the inmates did slowly make their way back into the premises. Alice and Camila invited Andre to hang out, but as Andre recalled how Red had looked after this incident, he figured he should go and talk to him. If he'd agree to it and not stubbornly continue to avoid Andre. The girls respected his choice and left him, and Andre headed for his dorm room.
On the way there, Andre wondered why he felt the need to care for Red in this regard. Red was still prickly, and while he showed some glimmers of a better person underneath that facade, he'd still killed someone. Sure, Andre knew that he'd had to have had an 'understandable' reason for it to get into the program, but how much did he know about what was considered 'understandable' to demons? Not much at all. It could have been a bar brawl for all Andre knew. Red had shown signs of a short temper…
Andre's thoughts came to a halt as he reached the door to his room. He entered, and there Red was, sitting on the bed, leaning forward onto his knees. He gave Andre a look which started off as startled, but melted into tiredness. The demon turned his head forward again, staring at the opposite wall. The tip of his tail rose and fell like a nervously tapped foot.
Andre closed the door and cleared his throat. "How are you doing?"
Red gave Andre a quick glance. "Mm."
"Is that a yes or a no?"
The demon paused, then glanced at Andre again. "It's not great," he said.
Andre sat on his own bed, facing Red. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it."
Red drew in a breath and let it out. He met Andre's eyes. "They didn't tell you what they're gonna do with Dmitri, did they?"
Andre shook his head. "I haven't heard anything new."
"Figures." As Andre didn't continue, Red did. "If I had to guess, they'll transfer him to solitary in West Woe or some similar place."
"Hmm." Andre blinked. "Isn't that a good thing? Dmitri's… not a good guy. Not a safe guy to be around."
Red frowned and lowered his gaze, not saying anything. Not for another minute or so. But Andre was patient.
"I was really lucky, you know," the demon finally said.
"Lucky in what?"
"Lucky to get into this program. Considering what… what happened."
Andre tensed up. Was Red about to say what his crime was like?
Red met Andre's eyes again. "When a beaster beasts out, it's usually considered their fault. That they should have just contained their anger, suppressed the beast. That's why they get convicted of violent crimes the same way that normal people do."
Beasters…? Wait, was Red a…
"I only got into this program because they deemed that I was in a situation where… I couldn't be blamed for getting angry."
Andre kept quiet.
Red sighed, returning his gaze to the floor. "I don't wanna say any more than that, but… I'm sure you've realized why I care what happens to Dmitri, at least."
Well, it made sense. It made sense for a beaster to care how harshly another one would be punished for losing control in this program.
"So…" Andre began. "Does the staff know?"
"Yeah," Red said. "Hard for them not to know when it's so strongly tied to the reason I'm here."
"Did they not tell you what would happen if you… lost control?"
"They said it'd be handled on a case-by-case basis. That it'd depend on how… justifiable it was. And how much damage it caused."
Andre thought about the cracks in the floor that Dmitri's hooves had left behind. It probably wouldn't be cheap to fix that… but Red must have been talking about injuries. Or maybe not. Hell was pretty materialistic.
"But, well," Red sighed, "if getting mad at some guy's words is considered unjustified enough to get you kicked out and isolated, and I'm me…"
"You kept control even when Jake was bothering you, though," Andre said, his dislike of Jake growing with this new contextual information. "I saw him yank your tail in PE, and you still didn't beast out. I would've been furious."
"Believe me, I was furious," Red muttered. "Just… barely not furious enough for the beast to take over."
Andre sighed. "Well… Jake is gone now, at least." It was an awful thing to say, but Andre didn't have much love for the pig at the moment. "And if Dmitri's leaving, that's another troublemaker gone."
"Someone else will fill their place," Red said. "They always do."'
Andre hummed, having little faith that continuing to argue would change Red's mind. He opted for a different approach. "Well, if it happens… you can come to me about it, you know. We're pairs. We're supposed to look out for each other."
Red took in a slow, deep breath through his nose before making eye contact again. He looked like he wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out. He turned his head to the side and scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know if I can… look out for you," he finally said. "I don't know if I know how."
"That's fine," Andre said. "I only need you to be a decent guy. You don't have to become a counselor or anything. I can handle myself."
"I can also handle myself," Red muttered, but it seemed like an automatic response rather than something he actually meant.
"Well, it's still nice when you have someone to talk to, isn't it?" Andre said.
"...I guess."
The room fell into silence again. Andre wasn't sure what else to say in that moment. Maybe keeping quiet was the right course of action, anyway.
Red spoke up a minute or two later. "I'm sorry I've been weird ever since the… bird thing."
"That's fine," Andre said. "I know you have… hangups about being perceived a certain way."
Red gave Andre a quick nervous glance.
"But it's really not gay, Red," Andre said, sighing. "And being gay isn't even a bad thing. I know most of Hell hasn't seemed to realize that, but it's true. If being gay was bad in some way, some kind of adverse effect would have certainly been observed by now in the places where people can be openly homosexual, like Heaven. But none has."
"You can be openly gay in Heaven?"
"Yes. The rumor saying you can't isn't true."
"Huh." After another silent spell, Red continued with a question. "So… are you…?"
This brought Andre to a fork in the road. He had sort of assumed that Red had already clocked him with the slurs he'd thrown around, but he supposed then that it had only been part of Red's carefully constructed facade. So, what should Andre do? Would Red be open-minded if Andre confirmed his suspicions? Or would he, sooner or later, expose Andre publicly in a situation where he needed to reinforce his tough guy image? Andre didn't care what the other inmates thought of his orientation, but if they were going to use it as an excuse for abuse…
"You are, then?" Red asked.
Andre flinched. "Hey, no, you can't just assume that based on how long it takes me to answer."
"Kinda can. A straight guy wouldn't hesitate to say he isn't."
Andre sighed. He supposed that if Red was already going to assume he was queer, the demon might as well know the specifics. "Well, Red, I'm not homosexual. I'm pansexual. Do you know what that means?"
Red scoffed. "Of course I know. It means you're into guys and girls and the kinds of demons that aren't really either." He paused. "Or, well, angels. You probably aren't into demons."
Oh boy, I sure wish that were the case, Andre thought.
"Anyway, I do think it's a little weird to be into slug people and shit, but you do you," Red said.
"What?"
"Slugs, you know. Since they're hermaphrodites."
"...Oh." Andre chuckled nervously. "Well, I didn't say I was into everyone of every gender."
Red shrugged.
Andre sighed. "Well, regardless… are we cool?"
Red blinked, staring at Andre. Then he… smiled. It was just a little smile, but it was there. "Yeah. We're cool."
Andre smiled back. "Good to hear." He sat up straight and thought for a moment. "I think I'm gonna head to the rec room. Alice and Camila are there. Would you like to come along?"
"Uh…" Red looked at the book on his nightstand. "No, thanks. I think I'd like to catch up on some reading."
"Suit yourself," Andre said, getting up and making his way to the door. "See ya."
"Yeah, see ya."
Andre exited the room and headed for his destination.
On the way there, he kept catching himself thinking about Red's smile.
This chapter has content warnings for mentions of STIs, misogyny (including slurs), internalized homophobia (including a slur) and some violence. Enjoy!
---
CHAPTER SIX
Feather Trail
---
CHAPTER SIX
Feather Trail
---
After breakfast, the morning passed slowly. Three lessons followed, those being health education, history and science. Health education was quite nasty with descriptions and visual aids of different kinds of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted ones. Andre did subtly appreciate it, however, as it did a good job of making intimate relations with demons seem less appealing. If he found himself with lustful thoughts, the mental image of what was colloquially called 'dickrot' was sure to set him straight.
In history, Andre was taught more about the Seven Devil Kings. The gist remained the same from what Samson had taught him a week ago on the hike, but Andre was informed of more specifics, such as the names of the Kings and their appearances. It seemed like every king had features of a different animal species. As the teacher also said these would be on the test, Andre began working hard to remember each one.
Superbio the Prideful - a lion-demon. Avaritio the Rapacious - a dragon-demon. Iro the Furious - a bull-demon. Luxurio the Lecherous - a hare-demon. Invidio the Covetous, Gulo the Voracious, Acedio the Apathetic. And then there were their generals, their advisors, their priests, whatever, whatever. Andre was sure he would have loved to learn all about this at his own pace, but Hell apparently had a lot of history to get through.
In science, there wasn't anything special. The lesson was just about the physical properties of heat. It could have been a lesson on Earth, really.
After lunch and a few more lessons, it was time for dinner. Andre got in line as he usually did, stuck in thought, trying to recap what he'd learned from that history lesson, when he felt something nudge his arm. He turned around to see… Red, looking healthy as a horse in his signature leather jacket.
"Hey," the demon greeted.
"Oh, hey," Andre replied, smiling. "Didn't think you'd be out of the infirmary so soon."
"Yeah, well, I'm still not allowed to take part in PE or do anything else that might strain my body. But otherwise, yeah, it looks like I'm healthy enough to walk around."
"Good to hear."
Red nodded, then quieted. Andre figured he was done with him and moved with the line. A few steps later, though, Red cleared his throat again.
"Can I, uhh…" he started, avoiding eye contact. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
He wanted to sit together? Well, that was progress. "Not at all," Andre said. "Or, well… I don't mind, but I do sit with Alice and Camila. Maybe Arby, too. But I'm sure they'll be fine with it."
Honestly, Andre wasn't terribly sure. Alice and Camila really hadn't appreciated Red's attitude towards Andre in the first days. And Arby… well, would Red want to sit with him?
"Mm." Red paused. "Sounds good." It didn't sound like he meant it, but… he wasn't refusing.
They passed through the line and gained a helping of lukewarm spaghetti alongside some bread, though Red also surprised Andre by asking for a serving of salad. The food service worker asked him what he needed it for when hound-demons like him could subsist just fine on the meals they provided by default, and he said he simply liked the taste. Andre - who was quite upset that he hadn't been told this was an option - then cleared his throat and said that he would like some salad as well and that he really needed it since he was an angel. The worker then rolled his eyes and provided them both with some greens from the kitchen. Well, yellows and reds. Hell's plants didn't really do green.
The two then made their way to Alice, Camila and Arby. The former two eyed Red with suspicion while Arby tried to avoid eye contact.
"Hey," Andre said. "Is it okay if Red sits with us?"
The three demons exchanged glances before Alice spoke up. "Well, if it's fine with you, it should be fine with us." There was caution in her voice, though.
"Thanks," Red said, not especially warmly. Andre sat down, and Red sat next to him. Their sitting order had Alice and Camila on one side and Arby, Andre and Red on the other. At least Andre worked as a buffer between the two.
"So, uh," Camila began. "You two cool with each other now?"
"Well… I think so," Andre said, looking to Red, though the demon seemed to be focusing on his food. "I mean, we ought to be. We're pairs."
"Andre did also save Red's life," Alice added.
"You thank him yet?" Camila asked Red.
Red answered with an annoyed look, then a flatly spoken word. "Yes."
Andre let out an awkward laugh. Boy, this was getting uncomfortable. "Yes, Red did thank me. But, well, anyone would have done what I did if put in my position, right?"
The demonesses and Arby exchanged more glances.
"Yep," Alice said with a forced smile.
Silence fell over the group. Andre took a quiet breath in before speaking again. "So, any progress on your investigation?"
"Mm, not much," Alice said. "Diana has a lot of suitors to sift through. And not all of them are as willing to talk to girls they know they can't have. Or, in my case, don't want…"
"Aw, Lis, don't say that," Camila swooped in, setting down her fork. "You're super cute. If there's anyone they don't want, it's me. And I'm real fine with that."
"Hm, well, I suppose people were more willing to talk to me because of the whole Slayer thing," Andre said. "Though I don't know if asking around about Mr Horsepower lost me that edge already." Then again, it didn't matter. Mr Ronove no longer wanted him to snoop around regarding the disappearances, so he wouldn't. Even when Zeevo's killer might have been right there in front of them…
Arby sighed. "I just hope you three can find something out. I asked the staff if they've made any progress and they still told me they had nothing new to report."
Andre wasn't surprised. The staff probably didn't want any leaks from the investigation.
Alice turned to Red and opened her mouth to say something, but then frowned. Andre looked at Red to see what warranted such a reaction, and saw him… shoving his salad into a zip lock bag.
"...What are you doing?" Alice asked.
Red lifted his gaze and froze. Everyone in the group was looking at him. His ears drew back. "It's… for later," he said.
The others held their stare.
Red cleared his throat, then looked past the group, searching for something. He seemed to find it and then spoke again. "You guys notice how Eric is actually sitting with people now?"
His diversion worked. The group followed Red's gaze to the young angel and, indeed, he sat with two demons, talking to them. Both were reptilian - one was spindly with blue and black stripes and had a long, pointed snout while the other, mottled with black and red, was huge and heavy with much blunter features. Both were nodding along as the angel spoke.
"Oh, what do you know," Camila said. "I guess that little bigot got over himself. To an extent, anyway. He's still not talking to me."
"I wonder what they're talking about," Alice said. "If I didn't already have something to investigate, I'd find out."
Andre no longer had that problem. Maybe he could be the one to do it? Or… Mr Ronove probably didn't want him doing any snooping because of its optics. Well, whatever.
The conversation then shifted to what they'd been learning in class recently, and Andre gladly participated. Every now and then, he looked to Red for whether he'd have any input, but the hound-demon stayed silent. Eventually, he excused himself and left. Andre was left wondering if he should have tried to involve him in the conversation more, but maybe there was nothing wrong. Red could have spoken up if he'd felt like it, right?
After dinner, Andre stopped by his room to perhaps have a talk with Red, but he wasn't there. As Andre had nothing else he was dying to do, he began looking for the demon through the halls of the facility. Five minutes in, he spotted Suki, and the cat-eared demoness spotted him, smiling. He decided he might as well have a talk.
"Hey," he greeted, stepping up to Suki. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, uh, sorry about that."
"No need to apologize," Andre said with a little laugh. "How's it been going, though?"
"Been writing. I really have a great streak going on right now. You wanna hear about it?"
As Suki's gushing always reminded Andre of Katie at home, he welcomed it. There had been pain at first, remembering how Andre's friendship with Katie had ended, but it had waned, leaving only precious nostalgia. "Sure!"
Suki went on to describe her new story and some new characters and creatures she'd thought up for it. Like a dragonfly with the tail and claws of a scorpion. Or a hairless, blind cave monkey. Or a two-headed thunderbird whose beaks had opposite charges and could create an arc of electricity between them. Suki's creativity seemed boundless - much stronger than Andre's, even when he considered himself a creative person, being an artist and all. He felt a hint of envy, but scolded himself for it. Envy was a sin, after all.
"And then there are these fish that can --"
Suki quieted as she noticed a group of three entering the hallway. It was Eric with those two demon friends of his. They were talking about something before abruptly stopping. They made their way past Andre and Suki without speaking, only giving the two suspicious glances. And then they rounded the corner and started speaking again.
"That was weird," Andre remarked.
"Yeah," Suki said. "Eric's supposed to hate demons, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "What do you suppose he's up to?"
So Andre and Alice weren't the only ones curious about that. Regardless, Andre shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe we'll find out at some point."
"Or…" Suki grinned mischievously. "We could find out now."
Andre flinched. "What? Like, confront them?" That wouldn't be good if he was supposed to keep a low profile.
"It doesn't have to come to that," Suki said. "We can just eavesdrop. My hearing's really good, you know." She twitched her cat ears.
"Uh, I don't know…"
"Come on!" Suki whisper-yelled, and just like that, she was on her way.
Shit! thought Andre. Well, then again… if I can say afterwards that she just roped me into it, maybe it'll be fine…
He slunk after Suki and soon caught up. The two of them kept tailing Eric's group, staying out of sight and keeping quiet - well, Suki was doing a much better job due to her soft paws than Andre with his shoes, but anyway - until the group entered someone's dorm room. Must have belonged to one or two of them. They closed the door behind them, but their speech was still audible if one strained their hearing enough. Suki and Andre got as close to the door as they could and listened.
"...like this one time at the grocery store, you know, when I saw this major hottie trying to reach something on the top shelf. I went over and took it and then said - just as a joke, you know - 'you can have it for a kiss'. Like Ricky Asmodeus, you know. But she just went 'ew' and left. 'Ew'! Like I was a pile of houndshit, you know! That shit hurts, man!"
It wasn't Eric's voice, and it didn't seem like it belonged to the heavier reptilian. Must have been the thin one.
"I know, Viathan. No man wants to be treated like that," said Eric. "See, Hemoth? That's what I was talking about with 'indecent'."
"Like, you know, I would have preferred it if she'd spat acid in my face over that," Viathan added.
"Hmm… well, I guess…" Hemoth said. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Viathan."
"Thanks, man."
Hemoth sighed. "I wish I was as brave as you…" he continued. "When I see a girl, I just freeze up. Like I'm worried she's gonna see me and laugh in my face. I mean, look at me."
"Really?" Eric said. "All I see is a big, strong man."
"Well, I'm big, and I'm strong, yeah - but every helodermid is."
"You're the only helodermid in this program. That might make you the strongest guy here."
"Even stronger than… the horse guy?"
"Yeah! You're as tall as he is, and you're heavier. You've got the advantage."
"But he's… I don't know. He's confident. I'm not. And I'm certainly not a fighter."
"Oh, but you're a demon, aren't you? From what I've heard, every demon, deep down, knows how to get violent. You were made that way."
Andre had to wonder what exactly Eric was trying to pull. A replacionist like him would believe that demons were created by Tarigan, an evil shapeshifting she-demon that opposed Arukei - the real homophobic and misogynist Arukei - and was, in fact, behind the Replacement that had occurred 2000 years ago. As Tarigan was evil, so were her creations, and they could not be reasoned with. Yet here Eric was, clearly reasoning with one. And he seemed to be at peace with that. Was it really possible for someone to change their fundamental beliefs so quickly?
"I… guess so," Hemoth said. "Reptilians like me do have instincts. Like, when I see a bug, I think 'that's a juicy looking bug'. But I can't eat it, you know, since I don't know where it's been. And reptilian immune systems aren't as tough as real wild animals'."
"Yes… it may be better that you don't eat the bugs you see," Eric said. "I don't think the girls would like that."
"Yeah…"
"Back to my point. You have what it takes to be an alpha, Hemoth. You just have to find the confidence."
"A what?"
"You know, an alpha. It means someone who's strong and dominant, unlike a beta, who's weak and submissive."
Andre sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. This bullshit.
"Oh, I see," Hemoth said. "Do you think… do you think Suki would like that?"
Suki's eyes widened, and her ears pinned back.
"Of course! Every woman wants an alpha, no matter what they say. It's basic biology."
"But… I'm not some jock. I'm a nerd. I've touched computers more than I've touched girls. Infinite times more. Or undefined, take your pick…"
Computers…? So he was a tech guy? He wouldn't know how to tamper with security cameras, would he? Then again, he really didn't seem like someone who'd dare to make anyone disappear…
But he could also be working with someone else. Eric? How long had they known each other? Damn it, Andre should have paid closer attention to him… maybe this was something to ask the staff for once - if - they called him back as an informant? Ugh, Andre didn't have his notebook right now to write this down in…
Eric replied with something, but Andre's attention was stolen by the sound of approaching steps. He heard these too late, though, as the new arrival - Samson - had already rounded the corner and noticed them.
Andre stood up straight. "Samson," he said. "Hello."
Suki's tail bristled and she turned to face Samson. "H-hello!"
"Uh, hello to you, too…" Samson replied. "What are you doing?"
"Just, um…" No, Andre couldn't think of anything. Neither could Suki, it seemed.
Samson frowned, crossing his arms. "Everyone deserves privacy," he said. "You should honor that." His gaze was stern at Suki, but a bit conflicted at Andre.
"We will. We're sorry," Andre said. "It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't," Samson said. "Or it might end up affecting your record."
The record… God, Andre had really forgotten about that ever since Red had stayed out of trouble on account of being too sick to start shit. He nodded. "Understood."
"Good." Samson smiled. "Run along, now."
Andre turned to Suki. "Let's go."
Suki nodded, and the two went on their way. Once they'd gotten far enough from Samson, Suki sighed.
"Do you think they heard us?" she asked.
"Probably," Andre said. "But… well, it's not like we liked them. It doesn't matter much if they have a low opinion of us, right?"
"I guess so."
A pause.
"I just can't believe that Hemoth guy has a crush on me," Suki then said. "No one's ever crushed on me before."
"Yeah, well…" Andre scratched his cheek. "If Eric keeps feeding him all that alpha shit, he might not be someone you should hang around."
Suki huffed. "I can handle myself."
Andre paused. "Alright," he then said. "You know yourself better than I do." It had only been that first meeting they'd had that she'd been a nervous wreck, and Andre knew that to be because of untreated withdrawal. Andre was glad that Hell apparently still had advanced enough medicine to treat that. Though… how did she end up so hooked on her drug that she tried to rob a store for it, then? Why hadn't that withdrawal medication been available for her at that time?
Well, maybe the high of the drug was just that good, and Suki craved it too badly. Or maybe that withdrawal medication was a controlled substance, and she hadn't been approved for it, yet or at all. Maybe it was any of several other possible reasons. Did it really matter? No, it didn't. What mattered was that Suki was feeling better now.
"Hmm…" Suki began. "I don't actually know if I should talk to Hemoth. Apologize for eavesdropping, maybe? He didn't seem like that bad of a guy. I wouldn't date him, but… if I had a crush and they overheard me saying I want to woo them, I'd be mortified."
"Well, that's really up to you," Andre said. "I can see pros and cons for both options."
"Like?"
"If you go and apologize, that's nice of you. But, well, guys like him can also… misinterpret that. If you don't apologize, though, it might eat away at him. But you might also be dodging a bullet."
Suki sighed. "I was never good at making hard decisions…"
Andre smiled sympathetically. "Not many people are. They wouldn't be considered 'hard' otherwise."
Suki smiled back.
"So…" Andre began. "Where were you going before I bumped into you, anyway?"
"Library. You wanna come with?"
"Sure. And, um… you could tell me more about those special fish in your story?"
Suki's smile grew into a beam. As she continued where she'd left off, they began making their way to the library. At the back of Andre's mind, though, he still wondered where Red might be…
---
The rest of the day passed without complications. Once Andre retreated back to his room, he found Red there. Andre asked the demon where he'd gone after dinner, and Red claimed he'd simply been 'hanging around wherever'. Andre supposed that wherever he'd gone had always been away from Andre's whereabouts, and considered this a satisfactory explanation.
The following day, though, when Red was leaving dinner after covertly stashing away some more salad, Andre asked him if he could come with. Red declined, saying that he preferred to be alone. Andre respected that, but he couldn't deny that this made him even more curious.
So, the day after that, Andre began trying to figure out where Red was going. Not by following him directly, no, but just casually through the process of elimination. He checked the rec room first - not there. He checked the library the next day - not there. He wanted to check the gym next, but honestly, he was still too shaken up about the whole Dmitri thing. And Andre already knew that Red visited the gym in the evening of each day. Why would he go there twice?
On the third day, Andre decided to head out to the yard instead. He didn't like going there on account of the blistering heat and rotten egg smell, but his curiosity was strong.
He exited the main building and immediately squinted. It really was bright. Must have been the fact that he'd spent, what, the past ten days indoors? If it weren't for windows, he could have honestly forgotten the sky here was red.
He began to circle the yard. Every now and then, he glanced at the watchtowers, feeling uneasy knowing he was being monitored, both through demon eyes and security cameras. The guards there showed no emotion on their faces. Better that than anger, Andre supposed.
There were other inmates in the yard, though only few. The girl from the hike, Jenny, was there, talking to some other female inmate as they leaned against the wall. Another group of inmates formed a huddle at the corner of the main building, each one smoking a cigarette. That goat-headed guy that Andre had met when questioning Diana was among them. A smoking goat. It would have been quaint had Andre not been painfully aware of how bad those things were for your lungs. But, well, he was in Hell. Vices were expected.
Andre rounded the corner, trying his best not to breathe in the smoke, though also trying not to show it. He still didn't want to look like a princess.
Andre kept following the wall past the corner, after which it bent outwards again to connect to the dormitory wing. He followed along that, too, until he could round another corner. He was getting close to that blind spot that Red had told Jake to meet him in for a fight just a day into the program. Andre huffed. While it wasn't nice to think that Red almost dying was a good thing, he still couldn't deny that it had probably taught him some well-needed humility. He was less of a risk for Andre's record that way.
Unless… Red was going to the same blind spot Andre would soon arrive at to do something disagreeable.
His pulse quickening, Andre approached the spot. It would be visible once he rounded the next corner. Hopefully he wouldn't be there…
Andre reached the corner and peeked around it.
Red was there.
Andre's fist closed for a split second… but then he took a closer look.
Red was crouching on the ground, and there were multiple black birds around him. Crows? No, they seemed to have red eyes and red horns. Well, they must have been some kinds of hell-crows, then. They seemed to be staring expectantly at Red, who was… digging something out of a zip lock bag. The salad he'd been putting there. He tore off a little piece of lettuce and offered it to the nearest crow, which stepped closer warily and then snatched the piece into its beak before eating it. Andre could see Red smile.
This was baffling. Red was… feeding birds? Red?
Just then, Red's gaze strayed in Andre's direction, and the two locked eyes. Red's smile dropped off his face in an instant. He stood up straight, spooking the crows into flitting further away, and pocketed the bag shortly before pocketing his hands as well. He avoided Andre's gaze. Was Red still embarrassed to be seen as anything other than some kind of badass? God.
Andre decided to make his way to the demon, who did his best to ignore him - but his whipping tail betrayed his agitation.
"Red," Andre said.
Red still didn't make eye contact. "Hey."
Andre sighed. "Red, there's no need to be upset. There's nothing wrong with feeding birds."
Red didn't answer.
"Did you use to feed birds a lot before you came here?" Andre asked.
Red gave Andre a hesitant look. After a while, he replied. "Yeah." He paused. "But I fed them better. With seeds and nuts."
"Is salad bad for them?"
The demon shook his head. "Not really. Like, yeah, this lettuce has little to no nutritional value, but some of the other vegetables are good. Tomato isn't great since it's acidic, but at least it's not as bad as onion."
Andre hummed. "You know a lot about this."
Red shrugged. "It's… relevant to my studies. Was."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I was hoping to become an ornithologist. But, well, any zoology will do. Except…" He paused. "No, no, it's all fine."
Andre crossed his arms with a smile. "What, what animal don't you like?"
"No, they're all fine. Forget I said anything."
"Alright."
A few seconds of silence.
"You can keep feeding the birds if you want," Andre said.
"Mm, no, I don't have to…"
"No, I'd like to see it."
Red drew in a slow breath and looked at Andre again. Andre gave his sincerest smile. Come on, come on, just open up a little, the angel thought.
Red sighed. "Alright, sure."
He dug out his zip lock bag and crouched again. Immediately, the crows turned to look at him, but they didn't come closer, eyeing Andre warily.
"You should get low," Red said. Andre nodded and did as requested. Red then dug out a piece of some vegetable that could maybe have been Hell's version of cucumber and offered it towards the birds. Some took steps closer, but it still seemed like Andre was too foreign for them…
"Maybe if we look like we're friends," Red said and grabbed Andre's hand.
Andre flinched at this sudden touch, especially as its texture was so unfamiliar - Red's hands, after all, were furred and had pads on the underside. Yet despite that… Andre remembered again how he'd felt when he'd first seen Red.
No, not smart. Not smart.
Red, in turn, paused to hold a gaze on their connected hands. His eyes then widened. He let go immediately after and shuffled a few steps away. "Sorry," he quickly said, "I just… I didn't think that through. I'm sorry."
"Uh…" Andre tried to begin, at a bit of a loss for words. "It's… alright? You just touched my hand." He glanced away. "But, uh, warn me next time, okay?"
"I, ah, hm…" Red got up and shoved away his salad bag, startling the birds again. "I need to go. Sorry."
With that, he briskly walked away before Andre could think of anything else to say, leaving the angel alone with the crows.
Andre looked down at his hand. The sensation of Red's touch replayed in his head alongside the feelings he'd felt.
Despite all of the reasons why he shouldn't, he wanted to feel that touch again.
No, okay? he thought to himself. Demon and angel, doesn't work. Man and man, doesn't work - not in Hell. Red probably isn't even gay despite what he's been called. This entire concept is stupid.
He shook his head and stood up, crossing his arms. I do probably need to talk to Red, though - make sure he understands that touching another guy's hand in a scenario like this isn't gay and that he doesn't have to worry about it.
With a sigh, he left the secret spot and headed back inside.
---
Red
---
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck, fuck, fuck.
What was that? What in Arukei's fucking goat balls was that? It wasn't enough that he'd touched Andre like a homo, he had to feel… feelings.
Like, yeah, it had been a while since he'd touched someone else like that, all gentle and shit, but why did it have to be Andre? Why?
…Then again, Red couldn't pretend as if this was a complete surprise.
There had been that one moment before. When he'd grabbed Andre by the collar after the angel was giving him shit about picking a fight with Jake, most pressingly. But he'd buried that. It didn't count. The blood pumping in his veins from the altercation had just taken a wrong turn. Nothing more.
But this… as much as Red tried, he couldn't brush this off. He could only watch in horror as every memory involving Andre was recontextualized in real time before his mind's eye.
No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to feel this way!
He forced himself to focus only on his surroundings while he made his way from the yard to the main building and navigated to his… room…
No, he couldn't go there, that was Andre's room too! Fuck!
Where could he go, then? What was a place that Andre would never go? The gym, maybe? Sure. He could do his workout early. He just needed a quick change of clothes. He could do it quickly enough, right?
He slipped into the room and got changed into his workout clothes in record time. He grabbed his gym bag and headed out. No Andre, good. He was free to blow off some steam on the pec deck.
He began making his way to the gym and kept on that course until… he spotted Eric and those new reptilian friends of his at a point where one hallway intersected another. Suddenly curious - must have been the eagerness to get something else on his mind - he walked more slowly and pricked up his ears to the extent he could.
"I'm telling you, that Diana is a jezebel," Eric said. "You don't want to pursue her. You don't know how many hands have touched --"
All of a sudden, Red stopped caring. It was just some inane drama. Nothing that could keep his mind off… off Andre.
Tail whipping, he passed them and kept going.
---
Andre
---
Andre
---
After the incident with the birds, Red had become avoidant. He wouldn't speak to Andre unless there was something very mundane and neutral to take care of, and even that he seemed to struggle with. Andre tried several times to bring up the incident with the birds, but Red would shoot it down each time with 'I don't wanna talk about it'. Fine, Andre had eventually thought and decided that he'd done enough.
Red did not sit with Andre and his friends during supper, isolating himself to a corner of some longer table the way he used to do before. Camila remarked on this and asked Andre if something had happened, but Andre decided to brush it off. Red likely wouldn't appreciate it.
"Well, that takes away some tension," Arby said. "I don't think he's over the things Jake said to him, and since I'm friends with Jake…"
"You know, you could have apologized," Andre muttered.
Arby looked guilty, but didn't respond.
As supper ended, the group split, and Andre headed to his room. Red was already there, as he'd left chow hall earlier, and he was reading another book on Hell's fauna. He didn't say anything to Andre, and Andre didn't say anything to him. Andre did his evening chores wordlessly before starting another letter to Ellie. He felt discouraged by the fact that he still hadn't gotten a response, but he also knew that the post system between Heaven and Hell was anything but fast.
After that, Andre put away his draft and told Red that he'd like to turn in for the night. Red agreed with a quiet vocalization, and the two went to bed.
The next morning passed leisurely, being a Saturday. Red still sat apart from the rest at breakfast and later at lunch and even on the just-started dinner. Andre also noticed that at no point did Red pull out his bag and begin stashing food. Was he really afraid that going out to feed the birds again would result in a repeat?
"Got a crush, Andre?"
"Huh?" Andre turned to Camila.
"You keep checking on Red."
Andre winced imperceptibly, then glanced between the demoness and Red. "Well, we're pairs. I need to keep an eye on him."
"Hm. Fair enough, fair enough."
Andre tapped on the table. "So, how's your pair doing, anyway?" he asked.
Camila gestured towards Eric, who sat some way from them. "Same old same old, as you can see. Still hanging out with the Scale Sisters."
"Suki and I decided to eavesdrop on them a bit ago," Andre said. "Eric seems like he's trying to exploit their insecurities and sell them on some macho bullshit. Building his own personal posse of insufferable people."
Camila and Alice hummed in agreement while Arby looked a bit confused. He didn't protest, though.
Andre was about to take another spoonful of his chicken soup when he noticed that people had started to lower their voices. Dmitri had entered the hall and the clip-clop of his hooves was heading straight for… huh? Eric and his pals? And whatever was on his mind, it seemed to have him in a pretty irate mood…
By the time the horse-demon had reached the angel's table and caught the attention of the ones seated there, the hall had grown dead silent. Even the others in Andre's group had noticed. They watched the scene unfold with bated breath.
Dmitri's low voice broke the silence. "Angel."
Eric eyed him with equal parts caution and disdain. He then glanced at the guards. They seemed to have noticed, but weren't doing anything yet.
Eric cleared his throat. "Yes?"
"You called Diana a whore."
Andre expected Eric to deny this, but instead the angel gave Hemoth a determined look. Hemoth looked uncertain, but once he glanced at something in another direction, he found the courage to get up. He matched Dmitri's height and captured the horse-demon's attention.
"Yeah," the reptile said. "He did."
Oh my god, thought Andre. What? What's he doing?
"Sit down, lizard," Dmitri ordered.
Hemoth hesitated, but then looked in that same direction he had before. Andre scanned it more thoroughly and realized what Hemoth was checking. It was Suki.
He… wants to impress Suki… by being the alpha. Andre wanted to bury his face in his hands, but he couldn't look away.
"No," Hemoth said. "If you have a problem with Eric, you have a problem with me."
Before Dmitri could respond, a guard's shout cut through the air. "Hey! Behave!"
Neither Dmitri nor Hemoth stood down. The guard - a bald, red-skinned man with ram-like horns - began to approach, joined by another guard of a darker shade and large fangs. One second felt like a hundred. Everyone waited for the bomb to blow.
The guards reached Dmitri. "Break it up," the other one said.
Dmitri's jaw clenched, but then he huffed and turned to leave. Andre released his breath, happy that the whole ordeal was over.
Until Eric opened his mouth again.
"She is a whore."
Andre knew that Dmitri would snap, but he could never have predicted how.
Dmitri hunched over, trembling, and wispy shadows took over his body. The guards recoiled as Dmitri's form grew and changed, his bones audibly crackling. The inmate that had, seconds ago, been a humanoid with only the ears, legs and tail of a horse, became a massive, muscular draft horse with two sabre-like horns and a mane that lit up with crimson flames.
It reared and neighed with a dark resonance in its voice before slamming its front hooves into the floor with a deafening thud, cracking it. It then spun around and faced Eric, who had fallen off his chair in shock and whose blood was rapidly leaving his face.
As the inmates in the hall, Andre and his friends included, got off their chairs and crouched behind them, one of the guards grabbed his transceiver. "Beast-out at chow hall!" he shouted into it. "Tranq gun and armored unit needed ASAP!"
On the second floor, Andre could see another guard rush for a locked box on the wall, while on the first floor, the ram-horned guard slipped between Eric and the horse. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the demonic equine's forehead. The fanged guard did the same.
The horse snorted and shook its head from side to side. It wasn't attacking, so maybe it understood on some level that the guns were a danger to it…?
Something moved on the second floor again, and Andre could spot a guard with a long gun aiming at the horse. It fired with two fwips and embedded two bright orange darts into the horse's hindquarters. The horse reared and whinnied again, and Eric and the guard protecting him backed up. The beast, pawing the ground, looked ready to charge… until it heard another pair of hooves approaching it from behind.
Another guard had entered the hall. This one had the head and legs of a brown bull - in other words, he was a minotaur. He had a similar amulet around his neck as Samson had worn on the hike. Magic armor.
"Hey!" the minotaur shouted as he weaved through the tables and the inmates hiding beside and underneath them. He stopped and tapped the ground with his right hoof. "Over here, you piece of shit!"
The horse seemed to understand the challenge. It snorted, leaned back and leaped at the minotaur, who caught its front hooves with a grunt. Neighing with agitation, the beast tried to wrench itself free, but the minotaur's grip was strong - until the horse managed to tilt him backwards and toppled him over. It then --
"Everyone, evacuate!" shouted the fanged guard. "While he keeps it busy!"
Right, of course. Andre, alongside Alice, Camila and Arby, joined a growing tide of fleeing inmates. Once they reached the wall, they moved along it until they could leave through the emergency exit. They found themselves in the yard and decided to make their way all the way to the fence before they could breathe more easily.
Wait, where was Red? Andre looked around, but he couldn't see the hound-demon anywhere.
"Are you guys alright?" Alice asked.
"Yeah…" said Arby and Camila.
"I'm fine," Andre said, "but did you guys see where Red went? Or… Suki?" He couldn't see Suki around, either…
The locust-man and demonesses exchanged glances. "Didn't catch them," Camila said.
Fuck. Okay. Andre stuck his fingernails into his scalp. What was he going to do? Well, he couldn't do anything, could he? If he were stupid enough to run back inside, he'd just get stomped to death and probably make the operation even harder for the guards. So he had to wait. Just wait. Couldn't do anything. Like he couldn't do anything about those villagers --
The door opened again. A familiar demon quickly emerged - Red. Oh, thank Arukei.
Andre ran up to him and noticed him flinch at the sight of the angel. Even now? Andre thought, annoyed. Come on.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Red said, though he looked nervous. "I'm okay."
"Let's get further away," Andre said and almost grabbed Red's wrist before realizing that would lead to further problems. Instead, he simply led by example and hurried back towards Alice and the others.
"He's not gonna fucking explode or anything," Red muttered, but did follow.
Having reached his group, Andre turned around again to keep an eye out for Suki. After a few dozen seconds of what must have been apparent worry on his face, Alice placed a hand on his shoulder.
"H-hey, it'll be alright," Alice said. "They shot that horse with tranq darts. They'll probably take effect soon enough, and the situation'll be over."
"Okay, okay…" Andre took a moment to breathe. "I'm fine."
"Good. Let's just keep waiting."
And wait they did. Seconds, then minutes. Suki still wasn't coming out. Suki wasn't coming --
Andre heard running steps and saw someone emerge from behind the corner of the building. Suki. Andre sighed in relief as the feline demoness made her way to them. He didn't even care to think about the fact that she would have had to use a very odd path to escape to end up there.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, are you?"
"Think so, yeah…" She looked at the emergency exit. "But… Hemoth hasn't come out yet, has he?"
Hemoth… did Suki really care that much about Hemoth already when she'd only heard that he'd had a crush on her? Then again, it was only noble to care…
"He was right next to Eric," Suki continued. "I hope… I hope he's fine."
Andre took a breath in. "I'm sure he's fine. I hear helodermids are really tough."
"Mm…"
They continued to wait, not feeling up to chatter. Eventually, though, all of them were allowed relief once the ram-horned guard from before exited the building and announced that the situation was over. That the beaster had succumbed to the tranquilizers and transformed back to his regular humanoid form which had then been taken into solitary confinement.
"Wh-what about the people still inside?" Suki asked.
"They're alright," the guard said. "No injuries."
Suki sighed out the tension in her body. "Okay. Thank you."
"So, uhh…" Another voice entered the conversation - Diana's. "What'll happen to Dmitri now?" She didn't really sound concerned. More inconvenienced.
"That decision hasn't been made yet," the guard said. "Ask later."
Diana rolled her eyes, which Andre was surprised to be able to notice when they were all-black.
The guard turned to address the others. "You can all come back inside now. Go about your business as usual."
"Oh, shit, sure," Arby muttered. "That'll be easy."
Andre briefly thought about how, if this had happened in Heaven, everyone involved would have been offered free counseling and a plethora of resources about trauma. Not that Andre really needed those. It was just a curious difference.
Nevertheless, the inmates did slowly make their way back into the premises. Alice and Camila invited Andre to hang out, but as Andre recalled how Red had looked after this incident, he figured he should go and talk to him. If he'd agree to it and not stubbornly continue to avoid Andre. The girls respected his choice and left him, and Andre headed for his dorm room.
On the way there, Andre wondered why he felt the need to care for Red in this regard. Red was still prickly, and while he showed some glimmers of a better person underneath that facade, he'd still killed someone. Sure, Andre knew that he'd had to have had an 'understandable' reason for it to get into the program, but how much did he know about what was considered 'understandable' to demons? Not much at all. It could have been a bar brawl for all Andre knew. Red had shown signs of a short temper…
Andre's thoughts came to a halt as he reached the door to his room. He entered, and there Red was, sitting on the bed, leaning forward onto his knees. He gave Andre a look which started off as startled, but melted into tiredness. The demon turned his head forward again, staring at the opposite wall. The tip of his tail rose and fell like a nervously tapped foot.
Andre closed the door and cleared his throat. "How are you doing?"
Red gave Andre a quick glance. "Mm."
"Is that a yes or a no?"
The demon paused, then glanced at Andre again. "It's not great," he said.
Andre sat on his own bed, facing Red. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it."
Red drew in a breath and let it out. He met Andre's eyes. "They didn't tell you what they're gonna do with Dmitri, did they?"
Andre shook his head. "I haven't heard anything new."
"Figures." As Andre didn't continue, Red did. "If I had to guess, they'll transfer him to solitary in West Woe or some similar place."
"Hmm." Andre blinked. "Isn't that a good thing? Dmitri's… not a good guy. Not a safe guy to be around."
Red frowned and lowered his gaze, not saying anything. Not for another minute or so. But Andre was patient.
"I was really lucky, you know," the demon finally said.
"Lucky in what?"
"Lucky to get into this program. Considering what… what happened."
Andre tensed up. Was Red about to say what his crime was like?
Red met Andre's eyes again. "When a beaster beasts out, it's usually considered their fault. That they should have just contained their anger, suppressed the beast. That's why they get convicted of violent crimes the same way that normal people do."
Beasters…? Wait, was Red a…
"I only got into this program because they deemed that I was in a situation where… I couldn't be blamed for getting angry."
Andre kept quiet.
Red sighed, returning his gaze to the floor. "I don't wanna say any more than that, but… I'm sure you've realized why I care what happens to Dmitri, at least."
Well, it made sense. It made sense for a beaster to care how harshly another one would be punished for losing control in this program.
"So…" Andre began. "Does the staff know?"
"Yeah," Red said. "Hard for them not to know when it's so strongly tied to the reason I'm here."
"Did they not tell you what would happen if you… lost control?"
"They said it'd be handled on a case-by-case basis. That it'd depend on how… justifiable it was. And how much damage it caused."
Andre thought about the cracks in the floor that Dmitri's hooves had left behind. It probably wouldn't be cheap to fix that… but Red must have been talking about injuries. Or maybe not. Hell was pretty materialistic.
"But, well," Red sighed, "if getting mad at some guy's words is considered unjustified enough to get you kicked out and isolated, and I'm me…"
"You kept control even when Jake was bothering you, though," Andre said, his dislike of Jake growing with this new contextual information. "I saw him yank your tail in PE, and you still didn't beast out. I would've been furious."
"Believe me, I was furious," Red muttered. "Just… barely not furious enough for the beast to take over."
Andre sighed. "Well… Jake is gone now, at least." It was an awful thing to say, but Andre didn't have much love for the pig at the moment. "And if Dmitri's leaving, that's another troublemaker gone."
"Someone else will fill their place," Red said. "They always do."'
Andre hummed, having little faith that continuing to argue would change Red's mind. He opted for a different approach. "Well, if it happens… you can come to me about it, you know. We're pairs. We're supposed to look out for each other."
Red took in a slow, deep breath through his nose before making eye contact again. He looked like he wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out. He turned his head to the side and scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know if I can… look out for you," he finally said. "I don't know if I know how."
"That's fine," Andre said. "I only need you to be a decent guy. You don't have to become a counselor or anything. I can handle myself."
"I can also handle myself," Red muttered, but it seemed like an automatic response rather than something he actually meant.
"Well, it's still nice when you have someone to talk to, isn't it?" Andre said.
"...I guess."
The room fell into silence again. Andre wasn't sure what else to say in that moment. Maybe keeping quiet was the right course of action, anyway.
Red spoke up a minute or two later. "I'm sorry I've been weird ever since the… bird thing."
"That's fine," Andre said. "I know you have… hangups about being perceived a certain way."
Red gave Andre a quick nervous glance.
"But it's really not gay, Red," Andre said, sighing. "And being gay isn't even a bad thing. I know most of Hell hasn't seemed to realize that, but it's true. If being gay was bad in some way, some kind of adverse effect would have certainly been observed by now in the places where people can be openly homosexual, like Heaven. But none has."
"You can be openly gay in Heaven?"
"Yes. The rumor saying you can't isn't true."
"Huh." After another silent spell, Red continued with a question. "So… are you…?"
This brought Andre to a fork in the road. He had sort of assumed that Red had already clocked him with the slurs he'd thrown around, but he supposed then that it had only been part of Red's carefully constructed facade. So, what should Andre do? Would Red be open-minded if Andre confirmed his suspicions? Or would he, sooner or later, expose Andre publicly in a situation where he needed to reinforce his tough guy image? Andre didn't care what the other inmates thought of his orientation, but if they were going to use it as an excuse for abuse…
"You are, then?" Red asked.
Andre flinched. "Hey, no, you can't just assume that based on how long it takes me to answer."
"Kinda can. A straight guy wouldn't hesitate to say he isn't."
Andre sighed. He supposed that if Red was already going to assume he was queer, the demon might as well know the specifics. "Well, Red, I'm not homosexual. I'm pansexual. Do you know what that means?"
Red scoffed. "Of course I know. It means you're into guys and girls and the kinds of demons that aren't really either." He paused. "Or, well, angels. You probably aren't into demons."
Oh boy, I sure wish that were the case, Andre thought.
"Anyway, I do think it's a little weird to be into slug people and shit, but you do you," Red said.
"What?"
"Slugs, you know. Since they're hermaphrodites."
"...Oh." Andre chuckled nervously. "Well, I didn't say I was into everyone of every gender."
Red shrugged.
Andre sighed. "Well, regardless… are we cool?"
Red blinked, staring at Andre. Then he… smiled. It was just a little smile, but it was there. "Yeah. We're cool."
Andre smiled back. "Good to hear." He sat up straight and thought for a moment. "I think I'm gonna head to the rec room. Alice and Camila are there. Would you like to come along?"
"Uh…" Red looked at the book on his nightstand. "No, thanks. I think I'd like to catch up on some reading."
"Suit yourself," Andre said, getting up and making his way to the door. "See ya."
"Yeah, see ya."
Andre exited the room and headed for his destination.
On the way there, he kept catching himself thinking about Red's smile.
---
