Melody was almost starting to feel like the evening wouldn’t be so bad, but the dining room was a lot more than she was expecting. Gold seemed to gleam from all over, and the ostentation of the table and its settings was definitely not cozy. The amount of skulls and skeletons worked into the decor was intimidating, and the high backed chairs spoke of a stiff formality that made Melody feel small and insignificant. While her family was wealthy, there was a far more subdued aesthetic to the home she grew up in. This place looked like it was plucked from the estate of some bygone nobility.

However, at the table, the brothers that sat there seemed fairly relaxed. Only Lucifer, sitting in a central seat, kept up the appearance that fit with the room. Levi didn’t even look up from his game as she and Mammon entered, though he made a soft sound of derision in his throat. Satan seemed to be conversing with Asmodeus, and Beel was busy stuffing his face. Mammon was quick to sit down and start dishing up, while Melody simply lingered in the doorway.

“Weren’t ya listenin’? I told ya, you have to eat fast around here!” Mammon’s irate voice snapped Melody out of her hesitance.

“Oh, um…I wasn’t sure where to sit, or…” Melody could recall being pushed off of the chair if she happened to sit where one of her brothers wanted to.

“Everyone else has a place; you’re the last to sit down. Sit where you please,” said Lucifer, his voice a mix between authoritative and bored. Sometimes he was too much like one of Melody’s older brothers for her to feel completely comfortable around him. Still, uncomfortable or not, it was natural for her to obey that tone of voice, so she meekly slid into the chair closest to her, ending up sitting next to Satan and across from Mammon. For a moment, Melody thought she saw Satan’s face express surprise, but it was so fleeting, she couldn’t be sure.

“Hello, Melody,” he greeted with a smile that was more polite than happy. But Melody was fine with that; they barely knew each other, and certainly she didn’t see herself as cause for joy. Finally looking at the food served, Melody realized that she didn’t exactly know what most of it was. While at first glance, it definitely looked like food, she couldn’t really tell what each dish was made up of. Tentatively she took a sniff, and the smells were largely unfamiliar, but without necessarily smelling bad. With a degree of caution, she served up a bit from the dishes that looked the least unusual. Although there was quite a bit of hesitation, she eventually took a taste. It, to her surprise, wasn’t bad. And she nibbled away at it until one of the brothers casually mentioned that the brains were particularly good that day.

Melody dropped her fork instantly and rushed from the room. No one tried to stop her. There were exchanged glances, a few eyes rolled, and some snickers at her expense, while Beel simply helped himself to everything she had abandoned without thinking much on the subject. Food was food, after all. Back in her own home, Melody would have felt a bit queasy, but just assumed her siblings were joking and kept eating. However, down here, she didn’t know what to expect, and with her nerves already shot, that comment was enough to send her over the edge and into her bathroom. Once that was done, she curled back up in bed, the evening ruined for her. Melody wasn’t sure how she was going to survive this.

After tossing and turning fitfully for a while, she sat up cross-legged, back against her headboard. Swiping her finger across her DDD, she turned the screen on. Even if she couldn’t eat and felt under the weather, she still had to make it to her first day of school on the morrow. It was a daunting prospect, but she knew it would be even worse if she didn’t mentally prep herself. Luckily the first day was mostly orientation and class introductions. What would it be like, compared to high school, or even compared to a human college? Melody had not enjoyed high school; the kids were mean, the teachers wary. The work itself wasn’t super hard, but there was no subject she excelled in. Both Diavolo and Lucifer seemed interested in having her succeed, even if the latter could care less about her as a person. She didn’t want to disappoint either of them. Melody was about to check on her tasks, which she hadn’t done since she was first told about them, when another knock interrupted her.

“Ya in there human?” A few words different, and it would have sounded suspiciously like the conversation just before dinner. Either way, Melody could tell it was Mammon speaking.

“Y…yes. Where else would I be?”

“How the hell should I know? Ya gonna open the door, or what?”

“Um, sure. Just a second.” Melody cautiously slid off her bed and went to the door. Mammon was there, looking a bit sheepish, but the moment she made eye-contact with him, he scowled.

“There you are!” Mammon sounded as though he’d been waiting an eternity and a half, instead of the few seconds it took Melody to get to the door.

“Did you…need something?” she asked, though the moment she did, she felt foolish. What could she have that he wanted?

“Pfff, why would the Great Mammon need something from you?” It was just as Melody thought. “In fact, I’m here to give ya somethin’, so you should be grateful.” Mammon tossed her a few bags of something that looked very familiar. “I got these human world snacks, but grabbed the wrong kind and they’re just too sweet for me. Who better to dump them off on than the human?” Melody couldn’t tell if he was actually trying to get rid of them, or if he was being nice in a really weird and awkward way. Not only was it a human world snack, but something Melody was used to, though she usually wouldn’t go for that specific flavor either. And, with the way Beel seemed to consume food, she guessed he was just as likely a candidate as she was, perhaps an even better one, considering their familial ties.

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“Thank you. I…” Melody sighed. “I’m sorry for not finishing dinner.” The snacks weren’t the most healthy meal, certainly, but it was better than starving.

“Don’t worry about it; Beel ate your share before most of us could blink twice,” Mammon said, a bit brusquely, but sounding oddly pleased.

“At least some good came out of it.”

“That’s not the point…I mean…why would ya go an’ say a thing like that?” Mammon asked, his hands gesturing with an impatient motion. The question surprised Melody as much as her previous statement seemed to take Mammon off guard.

“It’s true, isn’t it? Just because I couldn’t enjoy it doesn’t meant someone else shouldn’t,” Melody reasons. “After all, wasted food does no one any good.”

“You are aware we’re demons, right? We don’t do things ‘cause they’re good.”

“Well, I’m not a demon, so, I’ll just keep believing in the silver linings.”

Mammon shrugged and shook his head. This human was very different from Solomon. The sorcerer was shifty and hard to read, his soul darkened and criss-crossed from a long life and a great deal of magic use, as well as the subjugation of scores of demons. Melody had a soul that was dim, but untarnished. More like someone who had great potential, but no chance to truly shine. Her behavior so far had made her seem weak, timid, and fragile. But, when he peeked at her soul again, in this moment, it seemed to have a flash of brilliance that soon subsided. Interesting. Perhaps she wasn’t worth much as far as cold hard Grimm went, but Mammon oversaw all forms of Greed; he knew much about the value of things.

“It’s your funeral. Anyhow, since I’m here, do ya have any questions? Might as well answer them now since I have a bit of downtime.”

“Well, it’s mentioned that I need to wear a uniform, but, I haven’t received one yet,” Melody said.

“Hm, really? Should be something in your closet.”

Melody stepped aside, tacitly allowing Mammon into her room. He brushed past her, and she sat back on her bed, opening the first bag of snacks. Though her tummy was still a bit sensitive from earlier, the familiar flavor of the snack soothed her nerves, grounding her. She watched as Mammon rummaged around through the drawers and closets, something she hadn’t really had the nerve to do. Muttering under his breath, he finally found her uniforms tucked into the back.

“Looks like the spell on the light in there fizzled out. No wonder ya couldn’t see anything in there with your feeble human eyes. It’s a wonder you guys have survived as long as you have,” he said, bemused. “Seein’ as you came here with nothin’ at all, I’ll be nice and not charge you this time,” Mammon added, grinning widely. The fact that he would have charged her otherwise, didn’t help Melody’s estimation of him, but, she actually wonders if he would have. Somehow, it kept cropping up in her mind that he wasn’t completely sincere with everything he said, and it was hard to tell which things he meant, and which things he didn’t.

“I’m glad you found them; thank you.” Everything Mammon did, he complained about, but, other than the one time he abandoned her to Levi, he hadn’t actually left her floundering for too long. And every time she thanked him, he seemed surprised. Was this a demon thing? She supposed that all the stories had to come from somewhere, and she didn’t really expect them to be polite.

“Whatever. You’re not going to be worth much if you can’t even arrive at school for classes ‘cause you didn’t find your uniform. If you get behind, you’ll never earn anything, and then no one will help you.” His warning sounded pretty extreme, but, Melody took it with a grain of salt. After nibbling some on her snacks, she cleared her throat.

“So, it said in my DDD that I just show up at the main hall first thing?” she asked, looking to him for confirmation. Even with all his complaints and brush offs, she looked at him with a certain amount of trust and, Mammon had to admit, it was a bit flattering.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s easy to find; ya can’t miss it really. Just go in the front doors, and boom, it’s right there,” Mammon explained. It was good enough for Melody, and she relaxed a bit. Looking over Mammon, she contemplated him while nibbling a bit more on the snacks. Levi wanted his money back, and was angry at Mammon. Mammon had claimed to not have the money. As an outsider, it wasn’t really her business, but she felt that if she helped one, it would strain her standing with the other. How could she avoid alienating one of them? She still felt guilty with the knowledge that Levi had tried to convince her to team up and hedge Mammon into making a pact. But, she only had the one perspective on the matter. What did it mean for a demon to make a pact?

“Mammon?” she asked, tentatively.

“Yeah, what?”

“I really do appreciate all the help, and I know there’s not much I can do, or give you right now, but, I’d like to find a way to help you back,” she found herself saying. To her surprise, Mammon appeared to blush.

“Ya already said you don’t have much,” Mammon pointed out. “So don’t worry about it. Just behave and don’t go makin’ any more extra work for me, and we’ll call it even.” Then he grinned, laughing, and Melody was surprised at how carefree the sound was. “But if ya do happen to find your way into some Grimm, I’m always happy to take it off your hands.” He seemed positively thrilled at the prospect, yet, to Melody, it felt more like a child being promised a treat than a cold-blooded capitalist. Even so, she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

“I never planned on making any extra work for anyone,” Melody says. “I didn’t choose to come here after all.” It was a gentle reminder that none of this was her idea. But, it was also her way of saying she didn’t hold it against him personally.

“Alright. There should be an alarm on your DDD to wake you in time for school. I’ll get you there if you’re ready in time,” Mammon said, his tone slightly bored, as his enthusiasm for the conversation petered off. “See ya.” And with that, the Avatar of Greed was gone. Once more alone, Melody quickly finished off her snacks, carefully throwing away the wrappers. Her tummy a little less empty, and her worries a little eased, it was much easier to curl up in bed and fall into a proper sleep.