The weekend, strangely enough, wasn't something Cobalt really looked forward to anymore. Even during his teacher training back at university, Saturdays and Sundays were almost exclusively for studying and research. He had hoped to relax a little now that he was working at B.I.D., but after a less than ideal first week, the Incubus found that his entire weekend had been dedicated to correcting assignments and organising lessons for the following week. Without the convenience of a teacher's home office, his dormitory room had been reduced to a mess of documents, workbooks and scattered stationary.
His alarm went off like a bomb, causing Cobalt to groan as he blearily peeled his eyes open.
"Mnh... Monday already...?" he murmured, slapping his clock in an effort to shut it off.
"Uh-huh, and it's a big day, too!" piped a voice from beneath the covers of his futon.
There wasn't quite an accurate enough word to describe the noise Cobalt made upon hearing that, but "terrified shriek" certainly came close. Quickly as his sluggish body would let him, he backpedaled out of the futon, bashing his head off the wall behind him and knocking down the bookshelf he had painstakingly set up the previous night.
"Wh- Wh- What are you d- doing?!" he cried, pointing an accusing figure at the shape beneath the covers.
None other than Karazelle slowly emerged, stretching languidly as she yawned. Her body was slick with a fine sheen of sweat. She sighed dramatically and ran a hand through her hair, taking great lengths to ensure that Cobalt saw every inch of her body as she stretched.
"You looked a little cold last night, sugar. I figured I'd come warm you up~" she purred, crawling towards him.
"Wh- What?!"
"Well, your window's been a bit draughty since crazy eyes busted the lock, right? You were shivering in your sleep, and can you really expect a girl to hold herself back when presented with a sight like that?" the Succubus asked, cocking her head as she brushed a stray strand of navy hair out of her teacher's eyes.
He guttered and stammered, causing her to giggle and pull back.
"Oh, you're too cute sometimes, sugar. But I can't play with you all morning; we have a trip to prepare for." Karazelle sighed, fluttering her wings as she got to her feet.
Cobalt's heart nearly stopped.
"Excuse me?" he breathed, looking up at her.
"What, you know about the trip, right? Last year, we found out that Mr. Whitaker was banging Suzie Allyta in the old club building, so he promised to take the class to London and say it was a History field trip if we kept our mouths shut. Of course, he got caught and fired anyway, but I think I like his replacement better anyway~" she answer, narrowing her eyes predatorily.
Her lewd comments went right over Cobalt's head, as he was far too busy panicking over the first half of her statement. One week in, and they were already going on a field trip to London?! And nobody thought to tell him?!"
Noticing the panicked look on his face, Karazelle gave him a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, everything was sorted out in advance. Here, give me a few minutes, and I'll draw you up an itinerary."
Swiping a notebook off his coffee table, she grabbed a nearby pen and began to write, leaving the Incubus dazed and confused on the floor. He just couldn't figure this girl out. One moment, she was coming on to him like an animal in heat, and the next she was helping him out with such genuine sincerity that he had no idea whether she actually had an interest in him in the first place. And while he would certainly prefer for her not to, the antics she pulls constantly prove him wrong, leaving him confounded as to just what goes on inside Karazelle's head.
"Here you go, sugar!" she announced after a few minutes of hurried scrawling, tearing a page free and handing it to the Incubus.
True enough, she had outlined everything that was to happen that day, from arrival and departure times of trains, planes and Jump Terminals, down to the location and cost of accommodation. It appeared this was to be a two-day affair, and the entire thing had been greenlit by the Headmistress a year ago.
It was enough to make his head spin.
"We don't have to wear uniforms, so that's a plus. I'm thinking of wearing this sweet black jacket I got last week. What about you, sugar? I must say, I'd love to see you in casualwear." Karazelle commented, seating herself upon the window.
Cobalt swallowed hard and glanced at his wardrobe, knowing full well that the only articles of clothing he owned were white shirts and brown slacks.
"Anyway, we're all meeting in the central courtyard, then we're gonna head down to the Terminal at around ten. Don't forget your Cloaking Charm; I'm sure you'd make a cute human!" concluded the Succubus, calling over her shoulder as she waltzed back across the beam to her room.
Heart hammering, her teacher took a deep breath and struggled to steady his nerves. Going back to Earth - to England, no less - wasn't something he expected to have to do for a long time, if at all, and especially not with a class of rowdy students in tow. There was so many things that could go wrong, he made himself nauseous thinking about it.
Then again, Karazelle seemed to have a remarkably keen planning sense, so at least everything was prearranged. Perhaps if he pulled this off, he might earn some standing amongst the students and faculty...
With a deep breath, he stood up and marched towards the bathroom, reinvigorated.
"Alright. You can do this Trayer. Pack your things and put on your best smile. You're going to London!"
------
It was a disaster from the offset. Cobalt was a fool to believe it would have been anything otherwise.
The short jaunt downtown to the Jump Terminal went smoothly enough, save for a few of his students deciding to flash rude hand signs at passing cars. Once their Cloaking Charms were pulled on and they stepped onto the platform, the trouble began. One thing to keep in mind about travelling between Hell and Earth was that the overall experience was incredibly jarring, especially for those who never made the jump before. The Incubus was swiftly reminded of this once they appeared safely beneath the streets of Paris when nearly a quarter of his class fell to their knees and began vomiting all over the floor. The platform had to be shut down so the mess could be cleaned up, delaying schedules and earning the class a host of angry glares as they shuffled out into the Paris catacombs.
From there, they made their way through specially marked tunnels towards inconspicuous elevators leading to the surface, but it appeared that Whitney and her gang didn't quite realise that such routes were a secret to the humans, and thus loudly tittering and giggling as they walked the passages was highly discouraged. But one way or another, Cobalt managed to get his class up to the surface, whereupon he piled them onto a bus headed for the airport. Of course, many of them wanted to stay and shop around, but they had neither the time nor the money, as he put it. Alas, they swore and spat at him regardless.
Karazelle - by hellfire's grace - did her part in keeping the student body from revolting against their teacher, much to his relief. They were terrifying when they got angry. None so much as Izzbelle, who deigned to take up all five seats at the back of the bus, glaring angrily up the aisle the entire trip. At the airport, getting through security was a hassle, but thanks to the Cloaking Charm's ingenious design, they were neither detected by the machines nor asked to be removed by the staff. Once on board, they took off for London.
The flight was awkward, to say the least. Cobalt wound up sitting next to none other than Izzbelle, who took no small amount of pleasure in constantly jostling his arms off the armrests and muttering obscenities whenever he happened to glance her way. The Oni was particularly peeved, and even disguised as a bronze-skinned human, he could feel the wrathful heat radiate off her. Sufficed to say, the Incubus spent the entire plane ride fearing for his life, and once they touched down and stepped out onto the streets of the English capital, the whole field trip only further spiraled out of control.
Beholden to their own whims, Cobalt's students completely ignored their teacher and scattered, leaving him whimpering in the middle of the street, clutching Karazelle's itinerary in one shaking hand. Eventually, he was forced to concede; it was all for show, after all. This entire outing was nothing more than a bribe from his predecessor.
Thankfully, however, Karazelle and Jelli deigned to stick by him. Their kindly presence uplifted him somewhat, and with them in tow, he was determined to glean some educational value from this trip. So, they set off to the various museums, exhibits and installations outlined in the itinerary, to witness the history of humans, and - in some cases - laugh at their folly.
He had to note that when he was with those two, the three looked more like a trio of schoolfriends, as opposed to a teacher and the few students that actually respect him.
It was... oddly nostalgic. And he couldn't fathom why.
By the time evening rolled around, they had been all over the city, having finished their tour at the Tower of London itself. Completely exhausted, Cobalt returned to the hotel Karazelle had marked out and was surprised to find his class already waiting for him in the lobby, each impatiently murmuring to one another. Swallowing hard, he set his bags down and stepped up to the front desk.
"H- Hello there, miss. Reservation for... thirty?" he asked, voice quivering with uncertainty.
The receptionist bid him wait a moment as she tapped away at her computer, but as she searched for the reservation made the previous year, he couldn't help but noticed how her cheeks flushed. The one danger of bringing a group of demons to Hell was their natural pheromones; harmless in the presence of other demons, but in human company, they could begin to act... erratic.
He sighed. Of course, with him being a Lust demon, there were certain other realities he would rather not face regarding the chemicals his body secreted...
"Ah, here we are. Sixteen rooms, was it?" asked the receptionist, stealing a glance at him.
"Um... yes, I think that's us."
"Of course, here you are, then. You're all up on the fourth floor. Have a pleasant stay."
She gathered a handful of keys and tipped them into Cobalt's waiting hands. Thanking her, he turned to his class and cleared his throat for their attention. After two minutes of waiting, they eventually stopped talking and stared at him expectantly.
"R- Right, seeing as there's fifteen rooms, I think it would be best if we all split up into pairs, alright?" he announced, doing his best not to drop any keys.
His students wasted no time in grabbing their partners, but a hand suddenly shot up.
"But there's twenty-nine of us, not including you, so someone's not gonna have a partner," Karazelle stated, bringing up a valid point.
She suddenly snapped her fingers.
"I'll volunteer to be alone!" she announced.
Sidling up to her teacher, her sweet smile was replaced with a carnal grin.
"Or how about I pair up with you instead, sugar~?" the Succubus whispered, her breath hot on his ears.
"Y- You can share a room with Miss Pharmine tonight! A- As for who'll be on their own, I say that we-"
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"I'm havin' my own room"
Izzbelle - her cropped t-shirt doing little to conceal her impressive musculature - barged through her peers and roughly tore one of the keys from Cobalt's hands, scattering the rest all over the lobby floor. At once, pandemonium broke out as everybody suddenly dived for the dropped keys, each dead-set on their ideal rooms. As his students squabbled and fought, the Incubus merely sighed and turned on his heel.
"W- Where are you going?! M- Mr. Trayer?!" Jelli called, whimpering at every shout and holler emmenating from the rest of the class.
"I'm just going to the bathroom. You and Karazelle head on up to your room, okay?"
With that, he stepped into the restrooms, the chaos of his pupils dying away behind him.
------
Staring into the bathroom mirror, Cobalt took a long, hard look at himself. Even disguised as a human, his eyes still glinted amber, and anybody with a working pair of their own could see that they were clearly terrified. As ever, his students were walking all over him. Worse, Izzbelle's attitude had taken a foul turn ever since their run-in with Elya. She swore, spat and yelled at him without a moment's hesitation, and seemed to enjoy his suffering as he struggled to keep the class in order. The Oni was a tyrant, and he couldn't foresee the situation getting any better.
"Get it together, Cobalt, get it together..." he sighed, twisting the tap in front of him.
"Trouble with the birds, eh?" piped a cockney voice from somewhere behind the Incubus.
Wheeling around, he turned to face the toilets, only to see a head peeking out from over one of the stalls. Whoever they were, they were a bold-faced individual; their eyes flashing emerald and their mouth twisted into a cocky grin. From what he could make out, they looked to be about eighteen or so. Freckles spattered their cheeks and tufts of auburn hair poked from beneath their torn leather flatcap, but aside from all that, Cobalt couldn't quite make out their gender.
"Um, n- not quite, sir- oh, um..." he stammered, tripping all over himself.
They snickered.
"I'm a girl, mate."
"Oh, my apologies."
This time, she burst out laughing, rattling the stall door as she clung onto it for dear life.
"S'all good, innit? Name's Quinn!"
Booting the door open, she jumped down onto the floor, hands confidently planted upon her hips.
Quinn was... short. Incredibly so. While Cobalt himself was less-than average in terms of height, he completely towered over her by more than a foot. As he looked her over, he noticed that her hands were stained with ink, just before she wiped them on her leather jacket. Peering back at the stall, he saw that she had drawn all sorts of rude symbols on the walls with permanent marker.
"Nice to meet you, Quinn... I'm Cobalt," he replied, uneasily offering his hand.
She shook it with gusto, staining his palms black.
"Huh, weird name. So, you with that lot out there?" she asked, nodding at the bathroom door.
He thought for a moment. Telling her that he was actually a twenty-two year old teacher of a class of twenty-nine nineteen year old tertiary level students didn't seem like such a good idea, so he simply bit his tongue and nodded.
"Ah. Thought you were foreigners. Saw one of you call chocolate 'candy', so I figured you were yanks. But now that I take a look at you..."
She narrowed her eyes and scrutinised Cobalt's face for a moment, before smirking a backing off. Gesturing for him to proffer his hand, she pulled a beaten wallet from her pocket and placed it into his waiting palms. Confused, he glanced up at her, but the girl had already gone. Gingerly prying the wallet open, his eyes went wide with shock.
"This is mine!"
That girl must have slipped it from his pocket when he wasn't paying attention! But why the Hell would she give it back to him...?
Deigning to solve that mystery at a later date, he pocketed it and stepped back out into the hotel lobby. His students had all left, leaving a single, weathered key on the floor. Sighing, he picked it up, dusted it off and headed for the elevator. It had been a long day; there was no point in stressing himself out any further. He ought to just be glad that Quinn saw fit to return it with the money still inside.
Once at the group's designated floor, Cobalt stepped out into the gloomy hall, only to be greeted by noise erupting from the open doorways of his students' rooms. As he made his way towards his own, he watched on helplessly as they ran to and fro, loudly chatting, laughing and yelling amongst themselves. Passing by Izzbelle's room, he briefly spied her silently lifting weights upon her bed, but once she noticed him, she angrily slammed the door shut with her foot. Sighing heavy-heartedly, he continued towards his room, only to be halted in his tracks by a muffled scream coming from behind one of the doors. Worse still, he recognised the voice.
"Jelli!" he cried, throwing the door open.
What lay behind was not quite what he was expecting.
Karazelle and Jelli were upon the room's only bed, both already in their bedclothes and both completely tangled up in each other. The Glutton was fearfully trying to hold her friend off as she ruthlessly grappled her from behind. Upon noticing their teacher, however, Karazelle loosened her grip and smiled sweetly.
"Hey there sugar, come to admire the view~?" she cooed, batting her eyelids.
"Herr- Mr. Trayer! Th- There's only one bed!" Jelli whined.
With another sigh, Cobalt wiped his brow. For a moment, he thought it was something serious.
"Well, there's no excuse for fighting, girls. Look, one of you can sleep on that couch there," he reasoned, gesturing to the seat at the other side of the room.
But the Glutton shook her head, smacking Karazelle in the face with a braided pigtail.
"Th- That's not the problem! She's t- trying to... to... she's trying to s- sleep with me!"
"... Excuse me?"
Laughing at his incredulity, Karazelle reached over and pinched Jelli's face.
"Can you blame me, sugar? Come on, look at her cute chubby widdle cheeks~!" she giggled, delighting in tormenting the poor Glutton.
"N- No, they're not... I- I- I mean, no, s- stop!"
The Succubus shot him a lascivious look.
"Wanna join me? We could make a Jelli sandwich~?" she asked, causing Jelli's face to go even redder than it already was.
Taking a deep breath, Cobalt ran a hand through his hair before turning on his heel.
"Karazelle, leave the poor girl alone, please?" he sighed, rubbing his eyes as exhaustion crept up on him.
"Fine~. Still, I wanna share a bed. She's cuddly."
"W- W- What?!"
With a flick of his foot, Cobalt shut the hotel room door, leaving the two girls to sort out their sleeping arrangements in their own time. His entire body was aching, his feet were burning and his head was throbbing in time to the loud music pumping from another student's room. At least - looking on the bright side - he had his own room to retire to.
------
After changing into his pajamas, Cobalt sat down on the edge of his bed and heaved a heavy sigh. This particular hotel was far from high-end, and he could hear his students' ceaseless clamouring through the relatively thin walls. He doubted he would get any sleep that night.
"Still, things could have gone worse," he murmured to himself, reaching for the Cloaking Charm around his neck.
As soon as he unclasped it, his body began to change, reverting to it's demonic form in a matter of seconds. Taking a moment to stretch his wings and massage the aches out of his tail, the Incubus turned around in order to climb into bed-
- and nearly screamed in terror at the sight of the figure in the window. There, splayed unabashedly outside the fourth-storey room, was none other than Elya Yalfre, her filthy coat fluttering in the wind. She wore no Charm to speak of, and though the street outside was empty, it would only be a matter of time before somebody saw the Fallen. Though he was frozen with fear, Cobalt eventually willed himself to step over and ease the window open.
"Elya, what are you doing?!" he hissed, nervously glancing around for any errant humans.
She crawled through the window, her slender limbs evoking the image of a spider. Rolling onto the beige carpet, the demon of Envy stood tall and stretched her wings as far as they would go.
"Forever and always, I shall be your protector, my love. It is my wifely duty to keep you safe." she replied, voice as low and monotonous as ever.
Slowly, she turned to face him, purple eyes wide and unblinking. Swallowing hard, Cobalt tried to avoid her gaze, only to cry out as she suddenly grasped his shoulders.
"I was wrong to challenge your devotion," she stated, her chest heaving with every breath.
"Wh- What?!"
"You cannot deny what you are; a demon of Lust, an Incubus, a man of ingrained carnality. It was foolish of me to believe you could last without me by your side."
Shoving him onto the bed, the Fallen swiftly clambered atop the helpless teacher. She was soaked with sweat, and as he struggled, she began to tear the buttons off his nightshirt.
"I should have expected you to have mistresses. I should have understood. Words cannot convey my sincerity, my love, but actions certainly can..."
Pressing her bare flesh against his, Elya wrapped her arms and legs around him, her heart hammering loud enough for him to hear. Her embrace was suffocating, and her breath stung his nostrils, smelling like antiseptic.
"Forget them. Forget the deceivers. I am all you need. Any carnal desires - no matter how dark or sordid - may be inflicted up me, my love. I promise, there is naught you can do to hurt me; I shall be sated as you sate yourself. Just promise to forget them, lest I be forced to pay them a visit once more," she gasped before biting his neck.
"E- E- Elya...! C- Can't... breathe...!"
Her maddened ministrations were abruptly silenced by a loud knock up the door. The two demons froze up.
"Room service!" chimed a voice from the hall.
Cobalt glanced over at Elya, who simply stared back with an expectant gaze. Slowly, she released her teeth from his neck, granting a him a brief gasp of life-sustaining air.
"I- I didn't order room service!" he cried, trying to sound composed and failing miserably.
Something began scratching at the door, before a series of clicks sounded from the lock.
"Eh, too bad. Coming in anyway...!"
With a decisive crack, the door was swiftly flung open as the minute form of the bathroom girl barged in. Quinn Redtile, smiling through the hairpins clutched between her teeth, swiftly kicked the door shut before turning her gaze upon the bed, whereupon her jaw dropped open. She stared boggle-eyed at Elya, before slowly turning to Cobalt.
"Uh... This isn't a good time, is it?" she stated after a moment of pensive silence.
Cobalt couldn't begin to form a response. Not only had a human seen two demons without their Charms, but in such a compromising position too...!
Elya wasn't as concerned. In fact, Quinn's intrusion seemed to enrage her. Leaping off Cobalt, she pulled her dagger from her coat and pointed it at the human.
"Deceiver! Harlot! Whore! You come to take what is mine!" the Fallen shrieked, defensively grabbing his arm with her free hand.
Surprised, Quinn raised her hands.
"Woah, okay, let's back the fuck up a bit, alright? I'm not here for your plaything, alright? Just came to-"
"LIAR! YOU ARE ALL THE SAME! I SHOULD SLICE THAT TREACHEROUS TONGUE CLEAN OUT OF YOUR PUTRID THROAT!" Elya interjected, brandishing Immoderata threateningly.
Rolling her eyes, Quinn swiftly unzipped her jacket and pulled it open, revealing a t-shirt covered in pins and badges. She tapped them with a fingernail, drawing the Fallen's attention to the fact that many of them bore a rainbow motif.
"Like I said, couldn't give a toss about your boytoy," she said calmly before zipping it back up.
Elya blinked a few times, before slowly lowering her weapon. Though her grip on the handle didn't loosen, she stepped back and eyed her up suspiciously.
"You have no desire for men..." she muttered to herself, idly running a finger across the blade.
"Like it needed spelling out. Tch, I'm just here to speak with Cobalt."
The Incubus in question was still frozen in place. After a few failed vocalisations, he raised a shaking finger and pointed at her. Quinn simply nodded and sat herself down upon the end of the bed, her ripped flat cap held in her hands.
"Had you lot pegged for demons after I did some thinking. Don't worry, it's not exactly shocking..."
Reaching into her top, Quinn produced a beaten Cloaking Charm of her own.
"'specially considering I'm one of you!"
Pulling the pendant off, her body began to change, just as swiftly as Cobalt's own a few minutes prior. The girl's skin shifted to a rusty red colour as her fingernails sharpened before his very eyes. Though her hair remained auburn, his attention was swiftly drawn to a pair of yellow horns sprouting from just above her ears. They gradually curled across the top of her head before jabbing straight upwards, nearly a foot in length. With a satisfied sigh, Quinn pulled her cap back on, her horns poking perfectly through the strategically torn holes. Her eyes were bright green and slitted, like those of a cat's.
She was an Imp, a mischievous demon of Greed.
"Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Bit of a pisstake, yeah?' Well, I'm not too used to being around folks like me, so I figured I'd wait a bit before showing myself, so to speak. Just didn't expect to walk in on you and your girlfriend shagging. Sorry about that," she sighed, scratching the back of her head.
From the other end of the room, Elya growled from the couch she had perched herself upon.
"I am his wife."
"Couldn't be. I don't see a ring on it, love" Quinn snapped back.
Before Elya could throw herself at the Imp, Cobalt swiftly got to his feet and regarded the Imp with an exhausted smile. Hastily buttoning his now-ruined nightshirt, he took a quick moment to compose himself before facing her.
"W- Well, circumstances notwithstanding, I'm always happy to help a fellow demon in need. What can I do for you, Miss Redtile?" he asked, trying to appear professional despite the rapidly-forming hickies left by the Fallen.
Scratching her nose, Quinn nodded in the direction of the hotel corridor.
"Figure you lot are a school of some sort, yeah? Whatsit, uh... tertiary level or summat?"
"Yes, that's about the long and short of it. We're here on a trip."
"Solid. I want in."
He recoiled.
"I- I'm sorry?"
Hopping off the bed, Quinn began to circle the room, casually pocketing whatever ornaments she could fit in her jacket.
"I already hashed it out with mum and dad over the phone, if that's what's bothering you. I'm nineteen, so age isn't a problem neither. I figures, y'know... I could enroll? It's just... I've always wanted to go to Hell, yeah? Never been, being Earthborne'n'all..." she explained, pinching the toiletries from the bathroom.
Cobalt slowly exhaled and scratched the back of his head. It was an unusual request, that was all he was certain of. Though they were only a week into the school year, having enrolling late at B.I.D. was quite a drawn-out process, not to mention that Quinn would be starting right at second year. If she was Earthborne like she said with no prior access to Hellish education, then she would be expected to learn everything covered in first year on her own.
Still... he wasn't about to turn her down.
"Well... I can put a word in with the Headmistress, I suppose... I can make you no promises, Quinn, but I'll see what I can do," Cobalt told her.
Stashing her ill-gotten goods away, Quinn grinned and playfully punched his shoulder, standing on her toes in order to reach.
"Thanks mate, I owe you one! Fuck me, I'm actually getting excited for this now!"
"L- Like I said, no promises-"
"Yeah yeah yeah, no promises. Still, thank you, Cobalt. Really."
Pulling her Cloaking Charm back on, Quinn twirled on her heel and offered him a salute, before she darted out the door as abruptly as she came in. He waved her off, but once the Imp was clear of his room, Cobalt sighed and deflated. If anything, this would wind up being more paperwork for him, and if things went well, another student to add to his already-rambunctious class...
Turning around, he was further dismayed to see Elya lying in his bed, arms open invitingly.
"With that out of the way, allow me to comfort you in the night, my love," she breathed.
He wanted to argue. Truly, he did. But as tired as he was, Cobalt could do naught but mumbled a few incomprehensible objections before allowing himself to be tangled up in the Fallen's embrace.
He just hoped she would be gone by morning.