Cassie Dupran's grammar was finally starting to improve. Time was she didn't even know what a tense was, and now she was managing to write relatively-impressive short pieces in the present tense, something even Cobalt struggled with sometimes. Bobby Talon was still struggling with correct preposition usage, but aside from that, his sentence structure had markedly improved.
"Kid."
Arrn Srenth, in an unusual turn of events, had begun to submit actually legible essays. He only just about reached the correct word limit, but as long as his handwriting improved, Cobalt had high hopes for him. As for Ellanah Farrel, well... she was earnest, he could give her that. While none of her essays showed much technical improvement, the fact that she was submitting her assignments on time was a step in the right direction. Perhaps with some extra encouragement and some one-to-one tutoring, her writing would improve before the final exams.
"Kid, you're freaking me out here."
Quinn had also finally stopped plagiarising all of her assignments, just most of them. Her last creative writing piece was actually an original story, which Cobalt much appreciated. Whitney was still having trouble with minor, easily-fixed mistakes written in haste, and as for-
"Kid!"
"What?!" Cobalt cried, slamming his pen down upon his desk.
He whipped around to face Lilith. The Devil was sitting cross-legged upon his bed, disinterestedly chewing on a length of her own hair. Her single eye was boring straight into him.
"What?" he asked again in a much calmer tone.
She looked him up and down.
"You look like shit," Lilith said, leaning back upon the bed.
Cobalt scoffed and turned back to his work.
"Thank you for your input, Lilith, but as you can see I am very busy right now!"
"No seriously. Take a look at yourself," the Devil continued, standing up.
Walking over to the wardrobe, she pulled open the door, revealing the mirror within. Scowling, the Incubus glared at his own reflection.
She wasn't wrong. The Incubus' clothes were in disarray; ruffled, soaked with sweat and covered in stains from leaking pens. He looked paler than usual, and the dark circles around his eyes betrayed his lack of sleep.
"You're stressed. And your stress is stressing me out," Lilith told him, swinging the door shut.
"I'm a teacher. Stress is normal," he reasoned, returning his attention to the papers before him.
"Yeah, but you're not stressing out over school work, are you?"
"Why do you care, Lilith?!" snapped Cobalt, flinging his pen at her.
She avoided it with a cock of her head. Glancing down at the writing implement, the Devil sighed.
"...This is about what that nurse said, isn't it?"
The Incubus clenched his fists.
"Drop it, Lilith."
"Look, I don't know what she was talking about either, but if what she said is freaking you out, then-"
"I said drop it!"
Rendered lightheaded by his sudden outburst, Cobalt groaned and toppled back in his chair, collapsing onto the floor. He heard Lilith's heavy boots reverberate through the floorboards as she stood next to him, peering down at the Incubus with a pitying look in her eye.
"At least eat something, kid. You're no use to me if you're dead," she sighed, jamming her hands into the pockets of her spectral coat.
He shut his eyes as she marched off into the kitchenette.
Durnall Klarke. Harriet Mathers. Cherry Lattess.
For the past few days, Cobalt had been burying himself in his work, desperate to get those names out of his head. No matter what he did, however, Elya's words echoed through his memory, ringing over and over again. They were names that he supposedly knew. Names he had some dark connection with. And yet, he held no memory of them.
So why did hearing Elya's words terrify him so?
The Incubus flinched as something suddenly hit him in the chest. Frowning, he looked down to see that Lilith had thrown a packet of sliced ham at him.
"Here. Meat seems to be your favourite these days," she remarked dryly.
Cobalt stared at it for a moment. He was hungry; he hadn't eaten anything all day. But while he had skipped meals in the past in order to focus on work or due to just plain forgetting, now... he dreaded the idea of eating anything. The foods he used to enjoy now tasted awful, and those he didn't much care for such as meat...
They reminded him of what he was.
Shaking his head, Cobalt tossed the ham aside and stumbled over to the window. Peering across the beam, he saw Karazelle's light glimmering. Music quietly thumped from her dorm room. She must be studying.
He took a breath.
"...You're right. I need to eat something," the Incubus sighed, fiddling with the jittery lock on the window.
Shunting it open after some struggling, Cobalt climbed out onto the sill, swallowing hard as the cold air blasted him in the face. Lilith sighed and swore beneath her breath, but rather than say anything, she formed back into a ferromantic mass and rejoined with him.
He knew what he was doing was a bad idea. As a teacher, he had no right bothering his students with his own problems. But he was too tired, too stressed and too hungry to think about that.
Shimmying across the support beam, the Incubus seated himself on Karazelle's windowsill and took a deep breath of the evening air. He steeled himself and knocked on the glass. The music shut off, and he heard the sound of a chair rolling away from a desk.
"...Sugar? Is that you?" called the muffled voice of the Succubus from within.
Her curtains were pulled apart, revealing Karazelle. She was still in her uniform, and looked at him with a puzzled gaze as she opened up her window.
"Well, colour me surprised, sugar! You finally going on the offensive~?" she purred, cracking a smile as she propped her head up in her hands.
"A- Ah, Karazelle, well, the thing is..."
He swallowed hard.
"Would you like to go out for something to eat? I... don't feel like eating alone tonight," he said, feeling as though there was no point in backing out now.
Maybe if Karazelle was with him when he ate, then he'd feel more compelled to choke his food down in order to keep up a façade of stability. A long shot perhaps, but at this point, he was desperate to regain a little control of his life.
She cocked an eyebrow at his request, but upon seeing the look in his eyes, Karazelle smiled and nodded.
"I was planning on studying up for my History exam, but if you really wanna wine and dine me, then count me in! Gimme a moment to grab my purse!"
As she scuttled back into her room to gather her things, Cobalt heard Lilith's disapproving voice in the back of his head.
"You can't keep running from your problems like this, kid," she chided.
"I'm not running. I'm just tired of dwelling on everything," he grumbled to himself.
Cobalt sighed and rubbed his eyes.
This was supposed to be the year where he got it together. Why was he falling apart already?
-----
Brimstone was packed for some reason, and Cobalt couldn't figure out why. It seemed like every demon in the city-state had decided to spend their evening out on the town. There were people everywhere as he and Karazelle made their way down the various streets, and the roads were abuzz with heavy traffic.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Cobalt had planned on going somewhere nice and relaxing for a bite to eat, but his hopes were dashed when he arrived at his first restaurant of choice to find it completely booked out. He was dejected of course, but Karazelle simply suggested that they tried another place. The pair traipsed across the town, only to find their second choice completely full as well. Again and again, they went to this venue and that, disappointing at every turn by the lack of open tables. By the time the evening bled away to night, he and Karazelle found themselves sitting on a wall outside a small family diner. They each held their orders in styrofoam boxes, and for a moment, neither of them said a word.
"...I'm sorry. Had I known there would be no open tables anywhere, I never would have suggested this," Cobalt said, his feet aching from all the walking.
Karazelle just shrugged and gave him a smile.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Honestly this is more my kinda thing anyway. Momma never took me to places like this when I was little. Said they were too 'plebeian', if you can believe that," she responded, nodding at the diner behind them as she opened up her carton.
The Succubus was clearly hungry. A double cheeseburger and chicken tenders with a generous side of chips, still hot and steaming.
"I suppose Mistress Viola has a classy image to uphold," her teacher reasoned, opening up his own carton.
A salad. He'd force it into him no matter how much his taste buds protested.
"Pfft, sure. Every time she took me out for dinner, it was always to some uptown hoity-toity restaurant. Y'know, the kinds of places that don't even have kids menus!" Karazelle proclaimed, taking a bite of her burger.
She swallowed and gave him a smile, wiping a dollop of ketchup off her lip with a crumpled tissue.
"Nah, I prefer eating at local places like this. Especially with such good company!" the Succubus laughed, prodding her teacher with the spade of her tail.
"Y- Yes, well... I'm sorry we couldn't get a seat inside."
"And waste a nice night like this? Come on; there's no beating that view!"
She craned her neck upwards, directing Cobalt's view towards the sky. The light from the streetlamps made it a little difficult to see, but when he squinted, he could make out the stars glinting high above.
There was something about sitting out here with Karazelle that made him feel much calmer. His stomach didn't hurt quite so much, and all the turbulent thoughts in his head seemed to settle for the moment.
"How's your salad?" Karazelle asked, nodding to his untouched food.
"Huh? O- Oh, yes, it's fine," the Incubus stammered, quickly stabbing a lettuce leaf with his plastic fork and popping it into his mouth.
Ash. Claggy and dry. Had his student not been watching him, he would have choked right there.
"You sure that's gonna be enough for you, sugar?"
He shrugged in an effort to appear nonchalant.
"I was always a light eater. Apparently I used to leave a lot of meals unfinished. My mother used to tell me that if I left one more plate as dirty as I did Lydia would die from overwork."
"Who's Lydia?"
"Our maid."
Karazelle's eyes widened.
"You had a maid?!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of chips.
Cobalt felt his cheeks burning.
"W- Well, Mom was always away on film shoots, so she needed someone to help look after me, you know? I think she's still back in Phrodival, keeping her affairs in order."
The Succubus continued to look shocked, but her smile quickly returned as she reached over to pinch Cobalt's cheek.
"She must have been a lucky maid then, getting to look after a cute little thing like you! I don't know what the whole deal was with you turning into a kid, but damn if you weren't the cutest thing I ever set my eyes on! And you're sure that was only a one-time thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Absolutely certain," he responded quickly, eating some more of his salad.
He used to really enjoy salads. Not anymore, so it seemed.
"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to consider being a different sort of mommy~" his student cooed, sidling closer.
"K- Karazelle!"
"Say, what happened that night? Some of the girls said they saw you head into Jelli's room, and she's been as red as a beet ever since."
Ah. Yes. That. Ever since Jelli woke up to find herself clinging to the chest of her half-naked teacher, the poor Glutton hadn't been able to even make eye contact with him. To say the mood between them had gotten even more awkward was an understatement.
"Let's not speak ill of others behind their back..." he murmured, chasing his salad around the bottom of the carton.
Shrugging, Karazelle leaned back and watched as cars zoomed by.
"Okay, so Izzbelle, right?" she suddenly started, taking a bite of one of her chicken tenders.
"Didn't you hear what I just-?"
"She's been bragging about taking you out on a gym date for a while now. Is that actually happening or is she just bullshitting us?"
Cobalt cocked his head. Yes, she mentioned something about taking him to the gym when they were at Bloody Hell, but honestly he wasn't entirely sure whether that was a promise or just some usual Izzbelle bluster.
"I'm not certain, actually," he responded after a moment.
"Huh. I wasn't kidding about seeing her in gym clothes, by the way. The sight of Izzbelle in spandex gets all kinds of juices flowing, if you know what I mean," she continued, wiping some crumbs off her blazer.
"Karazelle...!" Cobalt sighed, wincing at her words.
"Oh come on, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! Picture it now; everyone's favourite hellion Oni, just off the squat rack, dripping with sweat and practically steaming from the workout, eyes full of hunger and-!"
Halfway through describing her little fantasy, Karazelle was abruptly cut off by a thunderous growl from Cobalt's midsection. He winced and instinctively grabbed his stomach, but upon noticing her staring at him, he tried to play it off as nothing.
But Karazelle wasn't convinced.
"...Are you alright, sugar?" she asked in a soft voice.
"I'm fine, Karazelle. No need to worry about me," he quickly replied, frowning as his hunger pains worsened.
"No, I think I'm gonna worry about you."
She glanced down at his food.
"You don't actually like salads, do you?" she asked, all joviality gone from her voice, replaced now with concern.
"I do, I do, it's just-"
"Here."
Cobalt looked up to see her offering him the rest of her burger. He could smell the meat from here; greasy and low quality, but still somehow enticing. Fighting back the urge to salivate, the Incubus swallowed hard and shook his head.
"I couldn't. It's yours," he quickly said, tearing his gaze away.
"C'mon sugar. You gotta eat. I can just get another one if I'm still hungry; it's not like they're expensive."
Biting his lip, he let the air drain out of him as he relented. Thanking Karazelle weakly, Cobalt gripped the burger in both hands and eyed it up nervously. After some thought, he pulled the meat out from between the buns, leaving himself with a cheese-covered slab of beef. He could feel his heart pounding at the sight of it.
"You okay?" asked his student, tucking into the rest of her meal.
"Y- Yes, I'm fine."
Steeling himself, Cobalt took a bite.
He expected something mediocre; fast food rubbish drowned in salt and MSG. What he tasted, however, was simply divine. Flavours he had never even thought to sit and savour before danced across his tongue, driving the Incubus to tear into the burger with reckless abandon. His plastic cutlery lay abandoned upon the floor as he ate, and Karazelle just watched on in awe.
Before long, it was gone, and Cobalt was left gasping for breath. His face was covered in excess cheese and meat juices.
He should feel disgusted with himself for such a display, but all Cobalt could feel at that moment in time was relief. The hunger pains faded, and the burning in his stomach quelled for the moment.
"Damn, you really were starving, huh?" the Succubus murmured, eyes wide.
Grabbing a napkin, he looked away and frantically wiped his face. Embarrassment set in quickly.
"I- I'm sorry you had to see that..."
He heard her suppress a giggle.
"Don't be. It was kinda cute."
Raising an eyebrow, he turned back to her. Karazelle's eyes betrayed none of the usual coy cheek they usually exuded. Instead, she looked genuinely happy.
"Nice to see you finally letting your walls down a little, sugar," she said softly, reaching over to wipe his cheek with her thumb.
"What...?"
"You know you can talk to me, right? If there's anything going on, I'm here for you, sugar. I know what it's like to have no-one to talk to."
His eyes widened.
"K- Karazelle, are you alright?" Cobalt asked, alarmed by her words.
She just smiled and nodded.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine now. But there was a point not too long ago where I didn't really have anyone to unload on. I had friends, sure, but I wasn't really close enough to any of them. As for Momma, well... work comes first."
The Succubus stared at her shoes for a moment, looking saddened by her last statement. Cobalt didn't know what to say, so he just sat by her, giving her a moment to think.
"...But hey, that's what I got you and the girls for now. Guess I don't have act out my mommy issues anymore, huh?" Karazelle laughed, sticking out her tongue.
Finishing up the last of her food, she hopped off the wall and turned to Cobalt, her smile gleaming in the orange streetlights.
"So if you got anything to say, sugar, I'm ready to listen! But for now, how about you throw that nasty salad away so we can head home? I'm beat!"
Nodding shakily, the Incubus tossed his abandoned meal into a nearby bin and stood up.
"Alright then, Karazelle. Let's go."
Joining her on the pavement, the two Lust demons began the slow trek back through the winding streets of Brimstone, but this time they took it slow. With no need to rush, they were able to observe the towns nightlife and all that came with it. Occasionally Karazelle would discretely point at and make jokes about passers-by, which Cobalt admonished her for.
But as they made their way back, a single thought plagued Cobalt. Karazelle was a trusted friend; in fact, he was closer to her than anyone else currently in his life. Perhaps if he explained the Lilith situation to her calmly, then...?
Could he do that? The incident on the rooftop last summer was still a fresh memory in everyone's minds, never mind those who were right in the thick of it. Was it okay to drag her into another Devil situation when she's just returned to normalcy after the previous one?
He'd... He'd have to think on it.
"Ah, one sec," the Succubus suddenly said as they turned onto a narrow side street.
Taking his arm, she suddenly dragged him over to the entrance of a small club.
"Sugar, I gotta go powder my nose. Could you wait here while I ask to use the ladies?" Karazelle asked, pointing at the entrance.
He nodded absentmindedly.
"Of course."
"Alright. Won't be a sec!"
Giving him a quick smile, the Succubus darted into the building, leaving him out on the busy street. As demons flowed by all around him, Cobalt took a step back and waited by a wall, absorbed in thought.
"I think I should tell her," he said to himself after a while.
"No. She can't be trusted," Lilith responded brusquely.
"I trust her."
"And I don't. I'm not putting my cover at risk because of your little crush."
"You wanted me to stop stressing, right?! Karazelle's good with this sort of thing!"
"Just because she's dealt with Diate doesn't mean she's ready to deal with the-!"
The Devil's voice quickly cut off.
"Deal with what?" Cobalt breathed.
She didn't answer.
"Deal with what, Lilith?! What aren't you telling me?!"
Before she could provide an answer, a strong hand abruptly grabbed the Incubus' shoulder from behind. He was shoved hard against the wall, and before he could move, a towering figure loomed over him, dressed in a dirty grey hoodie.
"Hey there, 'sir,'" hissed a mocking voice.
Cobalt looked up at the stranger, only to find that he wasn't quite so unfamiliar. Beneath the raised hood, he could see the face of an Oni he recognised. He stifled a gasp.
"Magnus...?" he breathed.
The ex-student bared his gapped teeth and tightened his grip.
"Let's take a walk, you and me," he said, trying to force Cobalt out onto the street.
But the Incubus held his ground.
"No, I'm waiting for-!"
"I'm not fucking asking!"
Cobalt's blood froze as he felt something metallic jab into his ribs. Slowly, he glanced down to see that Magnus had discretely pressed the barrel of a pistol against his chest. Sweating profusely, he looked back up into the Oni's blazing eyes.
"Let's go."