"So lemme get this straight, Mr. Trayer... A bird flew through your window, and broke not only the panes, but the entire frame as well?"

Cobalt nodded at the housekeeper, who just groaned and massaged her temples.

"Oh you have to be joking... And it survived?" she asked, raising an exhausted eyebrow.

"I- It sure did. Flew away before I could do anything," he replied, trying not to look her in the eye.

The housekeeper grumbled beneath her breath and began to type something into her computer.

"Right, well. They're not finished fixing it yet, so you can't go up there for another couple of hours."

"That's alright."

"And you know you're not getting your security deposit back, right?"

"But I'm a teacher!"

"No buts!"

Cobalt's shoulders slumped. Nodding slowly, he thanked the housekeeper for her time and turned around to leave the dormitory building. Now that the school day was over and his room was a construction zone, he found himself standing outside with nothing to do. Sitting down on one of the benches, the Incubus took a deep breath and watched as students passed him by, either heading home to their own rooms or going out for the night. For a brief moment, he considered checking up on his own students, before swiftly deciding against it. No, he had to set a boundary between teacher and pupil. Now more than ever.

"There is an event in the teacher's apartments," spoke a monotone voice right next to Cobalt's ear.

"Gah!" he cried, nearly falling out of his seat.

Where he was once sitting alone, the seat next to the Incubus was suddenly occupied by Elya Yalfre, still dressed in her nurse's fatigues. Pushing her spectacles up the bridge of her nose, she looked over at Cobalt, then down at his hands.

"You wounded yourself dearly for the sake of a deceiver," she stated in a dour tone, narrowing her eyes at the sight of his scars.

"She was in danger, Elya. What kind of teacher would I be if I just left here there?" Cobalt responded, self-consciously rubbing the back of his hands.

"You could have left her to the authorities. You'd be guiltless in her fate, my love."

"I wasn't about to let her die, Elya."

"You weren't supposed to be alone with her at the Baths in the first place."

Cobalt made to retort, but no words came out. Elya was right. He really shouldn't have gone out with Jelli like that. People were overlooking that fact on account of what happened after, but the fact of the matter was that he had been alone with a student in a non-educational context.

"I- I know..." sighed the Incubus, his shoulders slumping.

The Fallen mimicked the gesture.

"Part of me feels ready to finish the job and suffocate her in her sleep. Another part of me wishes to spare her, so as not to downplay your feat," she admitted, folding her arms.

Cobalt didn't know how to respond, so he instead decided to change the subject.

"What were you saying about the teacher's apartments?" he asked.

"There's an event. The invites were delivered in your absence, therefore I'm informing you now, as your date."

He raised an eyebrow.

"My... date?"

"Of course. I will be accompanying you, as your wife."

"Elya, you're not my-"

"Yes I am."

"But-"

"Yes. I. Am."

Swiftly dropping the issue, Cobalt cleared his throat and adjusted his tie, feeling rather antsy all of a sudden. Maybe what he needed was to integrate with the other teachers somewhat. Yes, that was it.

"Well, I suppose I have nothing else to do," he said aloud.

The moment those words left his mouth, Elya grabbed the Incubus' hand and dragged him off the bench in the direction of the teacher's accommodation building.

"Excellent, let's go."

-----

As Cobalt soon found out, the "event" Elya was talking about was in fact Madam Pudon's birthday. He knew that without anyone even telling him, for as soon as they arrived on the third floor of the teacher's apartment building, they were met with multiple strings of pink fairy lights, all leading directly to the Succubus' door, which bore a large glittery sign labelled "BIRTHDAY BITCH'S BOUDOIR".

"Is it too late for second thoughts?" murmured Cobalt as the pair stepped over to the door.

"Worry not, my love. I'll keep you safe," Elya responded, linking arms with the Incubus.

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"R- Right, well..."

Swallowing hard, the Incubus stepped up to the door and raised a fist. He could hear music thumping from within, alongside the clatter and clamour of a party. Shaking his doubts away, he rapped his knuckles upon it, loud enough to hear over the music.

The door was flung open, revealing a very, very intoxicated Madam Pudon. She was dressed in a lovely party dress that had since been ruffled and crumpled from dancing, and now hung off one of her shoulders as she teetered back and forth on her heels. Her face was very red and she was clutching a bottle of champagne in her hand.

"Ah, Cobalt, Elya! Mes amours!" she slurred, opening her arms out wide for a hug as she walked towards him.

Elya swiftly dragged the Incubus out of the way, causing the Succubus to topple out into the hallway.

"Keep your distance," the Fallen hissed, narrowing her violet eyes.

"Ooh, si jaloux! Heh, I'm only kidding. Come on in, everyone's already here!"

Cobalt nervously bowed his head as Pudon brushed past him.

"Th- Thanks for having us, Madam Pudon."

"Please, I thought I told you to call me Monique!"

"A- Ah..."

With a firm tug from Elya, Cobalt was dragged into the apartment.

Monique had certainly spared no expense for her own party, if the decorations alone were anything to go by. Pink lights crisscrossed across the ceiling, bathing everything in rose light that twinkled off the electric disco ball that she had installed on the ceiling. Smooth jazz thrummed from a jukebox by the drinks bar, and-

Cobalt's eyes widened. She had a drinks bar?! In her living room?! Just how fancy were the teacher's apartments?!

"Unbelievable..." he muttered, growing dejected at the thought of what he was missing out.

The place was filled with teachers, either dancing to the music or drinking and chatting amongst themselves. The dining room table was laden with all sorts of treats, and over in the kitchen, a hired chef was busy preparing more.

Over by the bar, Martha Cain glanced over her shoulder and scoffed.

"For a lovely moment I thought neither of you were coming," she grumbled, sipping her vodka.

"Good to see you too, Martha," Cobalt swiftly replied, slapping Elya's wrist as she reached for her knife.

"Keep things civil, Miss Cain," sounded the voice of Viola Terna from the other end of the bar.

The Incubus flinched and whipped around, eyes locked with the Succubus. She wasn't wearing her usual clothes, and yet she still looked as intimidating as ever. Dressed in a black suit, she wore the jacket across her shoulders and kept her hair tied up in a bun, even at a party. Her eyes were burning into him.

"You've been up to a lot lately, boy," she stated, tapping her fingers against a newspaper on the bartop.

"U- Um... well..." Cobalt began, looking away nervously.

The headmistress sighed and turned her gaze onto the nurse.

"Leave him with me, Elya. I have something to discuss with Mr. Trayer."

The Fallen's grip on his arm tightened.

"With all due respect, Miss Terna, I'd rather not leave Mr. Trayer's side. He is only out of the hospital, and I wish to keep an eye on his recovery," she responded with a hiss.

Viola rolled her eyes.

"Drop the act, Yalfre. I'm not trying to steal your man; I have business to discuss that doesn't require extra ears."

Elya's eyes narrowed, but she let go of Cobalt's arm.

"Fine. But be quick."

With that, the Fallen stepped away and sat down on the couch, her eyes still firmly planted on the Headmistress. Viola then nodded to Martha, who just grumbled and got out of her seat, leaving it open for Cobalt.

"Sit, boy," Viola commanded, sipping her whiskey.

Shaking all over, the Incubus sat himself at the bar. Viola poured him a glass of whiskey, which he just clutched in his hands, terrified. Noticing his expression, she shook her head.

"I know you well enough to be aware that you weren't at the Baths with Miss Pharmine for any untoward reason. And you did save her life, so I'm willing to overlook it just this once," she said, swirling her drink.

Almost immediately, the tension he was holding his his shoulders melted away.

"O- Oh, okay. What did you want to talk with me about, th-?"

"You've been looking for him, haven't you?"

The music seemed to die away as she spoke those words. At that moment in time, it was just him and Viola, locked in conversation.

"I'm sorry?" Cobalt breathed.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy. You've been seen. Asking questions and going places."

Draining the last of her whiskey, Viola poured herself some more.

"The Hellhound. You've been looking for the Hellhound," she said, staring right at him.

Cobalt's heart stopped for a moment, before he took a deep breath and settled his nerves. No, there was no point in trying to lie to Viola; the woman had a sixth sense for that kind of thing. Slowly, he nodded his head.

"That's right. I want to know more about him," he said resolutely, gripping his glass tighter.

She frowned.

"That's a dangerous line of questioning, boy."

"I don't care. I want to know about the only other Incubus in this town."

Viola took a deep breath.

"Well well, it seems that you really have grown yourself a new spine."

Glancing around for a moment, she got up and moved to the seat right next to the Incubus. She reeked of alcohol.

"Ever heard of the Damned Defense of Brimstone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cobalt cocked his head. As a part of his History teachings, he had learned about everything the town of Brimstone had gone through since its founding. Not once had he ever heard of the Damned Defense.

"Of course you haven't. The mayor put a decree out, forbidding its mention in both words and written records. The town came under attack, and both the Brimstone military and police force couldn't do a damn thing to stop. A lot of the town underwent serious damage, and a fair few people died. A shameful event that the city state didn't want to remember," she explained, sipping her whiskey.

Cobalt glanced up at her face. She had a wistful, faraway look in her eyes.

"But it was that day when the Hellhound saved us all. The man I had spent so long fighting against... I teamed up with him and his gang and helped him put that menace down. He was a hero, and for his bravery, his name and his deeds were struck from every record in the town and beyond..." she sighed.

She looked genuinely saddened by this. Noticing his gaze, her face grew stony and she pulled the newspaper over. She tapped on the image of Cobalt carrying Jelli.

"They're already doing everything they can to pull this issue from the public eye, you know. The man that wrote this article didn't put his name, but I'd know his style anywhere. His name is Caeneus Cransh. Caen for short. He was one of the Hellhound's closest friends, and he stood by him during the Damned Defense."

Viola turned to the final page of the newspaper, where the journalists were all credited. She tapped on the picture of a bespectacled Glutton man.

"He had some nerve, writing that. If his bosses find out, he'll be fired for sure. But I know why he did it."

Grabbing Cobalt's hand, Viola pulled a pen out of her breast pocket and scrawled a phone number down upon it.

"There's more I wish I could tell you about the Hellhound, but I know for a fact that you're not ready to hear it. Call up Caenus instead. Maybe he'll be able to tell you what I can't," she said, draining her second glass.

Staring at the number, Cobalt looked back up at Viola.

"Why are you telling me all this now...?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I owe a debt to him, and by extension to you. Now go back to Elya before she stabs someone."

With that, Viola grabbed the whiskey bottle and got out of her seat. As she walked off towards the kitchen, Cobalt clenched his teeth and stared down at his hands. Everything about his search for the Hellhound... It rubbed him all the wrong way. Not only was no-one able to speak about him, but now he found out that there was some grand conspiracy in Brimstone keeping any information about the Hellhound supressed. The fact that he was able to find out all that he did...

"What did she want, my love?" asked Elya, her lips right next to Cobalt's ear.

He yelped and dropped his glass, spilling whiskey all over the carpet.

"N- Nothing, Elya! Just work stuff!"

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't look too hard at Cobalt's sweating face. Pulling him out of his seat, the Fallen pulled him close and dragged him into the middle of the room.

"Come, let's dance," she said in a cold tone.

"Do we have to?"

Elya's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Absolutely."