The phone beeped.

"Hey Bluebell, just got back with your, uh... friend. You, uh, gonna tell me what you're doing with a knocked out Devil? Call me back."

It beeped again.

"Yo, it's your girl Alison again. Managed to get your friend locked up and secure. Hey, did you know that certain metals can create frequencies that can disrupt demonic magic? Yeah. Anyway, call me; I'm still in the dark over her."

The phone beeped for a third time.

"He's awake, bluebell, and he is not fucking happy about it! Ring me back already! I can't take this racket!"

The backlog of missed calls ended with a final, quieter beep.

Snapping his phone shut, Cobalt took a deep breath of the cold winter air and slipped it back into his jacket. Sitting on a bench around the back of the student dorms, the Incubus cradled a thermos in his gloved hands as he watched the snow fall all around him. From his vantage point he could see a small team of janitorial staff painting over the graffiti on the back of the girl's dormitory. It was a mural of him, triumphantly surrounded by dead Devils.

A lump form in his throat as he raised the thermos to his lips. It was filled with warm milk; tea wouldn't stay down anymore.

As he drank, he noticed the tips of his claws poking through the ends of his gloves, scratching against the steel casing of his flask. Swallowing hard, he screwed the lid on and took a deep, shuddering breath.

Word spread before the day was out.

When the rescue teams descended into the ruins and began to search them thoroughly, evidence of his fight with Delta was discovered. The broken traps, the bloodstains, the broken masonry... Even though they found no body, when compounded with the injuries Cobalt sustained, it was clear to all that he had fought another Devil. Rumours spread as they were wont to do, and by the time he was patched up and returned to full health, the story went that he had taken on an entire secret army single-handedly.

Mistress Viola was running damage control in regards to the rampant rumourmongering, but that didn't stop the student body from crowning their sole Incubus teacher with a new moniker.

The Iron Hound.

They gave it to him as a sign of respect. A nickname that mirrored his father's. They looked at him now with wide, awed eyes, like he was the living reincarnation of the legendary Hellhound. Like he was destined to defend them from Devils whenever they reared their iron-horned heads.

Cobalt hated it. He just wanted to go back to how things were before he ran into the Alpha Corps. Before he met Lilith. Before the Diate incident ever even happened.

Draining the last of his drink, the Incubus shoved his thermos back into his satchel, wincing every time his nails accidentally scraped against its surface.

"Dammit..." he murmured, glaring at his hand.

His index claw had ripped right through the finger of his glove. These sharp nails formed of bone were useful for dealing with Delta at the time, but now he wished he never had the idea to tear out his old ones. He kept accidentally scratching himself in his sleep, resulting in him waking up to bloodstains in his sheets nearly every morning. He couldn't cut them with scissors either; he had to grind them down with a metal file, and even then they were still too sharp.

"Can't keep moping like this, kid," Lilith said unhelpfully.

"Watch me," he murmured, folding his arms as he watched the janitors paint over his face.

"Look, you saved your students or whatever. Again. Isn't that something to be happy about?"

She... had a point. With Delta safely in Alison's care, he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. So why did Cobalt feel so miserable?

"i just.... I don't know. It doesn't feel right."

"Ngh. Quit being so miserable. Your students love you now. That's what you wanted, right?"

"... not like this..."

Once the whole ordeal came to light, the mayoral office swarmed the excavation site. Everyone was ordered out; his class, the workers, even the rescue teams. The entire site went dark for a few days, before an official decree was announced. The ruins beneath the town were deemed too dangerous for exploration, and no further research was to take place. All that did was whip the paparazzi into a frenzy as they immediately went to Cobalt's class for answers.

Neither he nor his students had left the campus for days. Mistress Viola made it expressly clear that any reporter or news investigator found on school grounds would be dealt with severely, so B.I.D. had become their only safe haven in the entire town. Cobalt was thankful for it, but some of his students were going a little stir-crazy.

"We gotta prep for the last one, kid. Delta and Beta were tough sons of bitches, but-"

"Can we not talk about this, Lilith? Please? I've just had enough of Devils for now," the Incubus sighed, rubbing his eyes.

He flinched as one of his claws nearly gouged out his eyeball.

"You don't have a choice. Besides, I thought you said you were ready to sack up and fight now."

"I know, I know... but please. I'd like to focus on school business until all this blows over."

"... Fine, whatever, do what you want."

He knew he more or less promised Lilith a hand in dealing with the Devils and the Alpha Corps. He thought he could somehow juggle that with his work duties, on top of fretting over Cordelia Fesser's potential cure. But now everything was getting jumbled up together and the Incubus was left feeling more than a little frazzled.

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To add Jelli's sudden burst of boldness on top of it all...

"This seat taken?"

"No, not at all," Cobalt said absentmindedly, sweeping the snow off the bench next to him.

With a sigh, Karazelle Terna suddenly sat down next to him, startling the poor man. He was so used to her opening with a crude joke or unashamed flirt that it was genuinely surprising to hear a regular greeting from her. But sure enough, one look at the Succubus' face was enough to tell him all he needed to know; she was in no mood for jokes. She looked tired and worried, but even then she tried to put on a smile for him.

"Rough couple of days, huh?" she sighed, rubbing her hands together.

"That's one way to put it..."

Frowning, the Succubus scooched over and began fussing with his scarf, wrapping it snugly around his neck.

"Nice scarf, sugar. I wonder who got it for you?" she asked with a smile.

Try as he might, Cobalt couldn't help but do the same.

"Someone I'm very glad to have by my side."

"Heh. Sounds like a Hell of a gal."

The two took deep breaths of the crisp air and silently watched as the janitorial staff painted over the last of the mural, finally erasing the eyesore from sight.

"Never liked that picture. I wish people saw your gentler side," Karazelle remarked, leaning back in the bench.

"I... suppose so. Honestly I wish they wouldn't laud me like this," he replied with a heavy sigh.

"Can't say the same. You deserve to be celebrated, sugar. You've saved lives, again and again."

"Even so, all people seem to see is the Incubus. The second coming of Brass Trayer. They... They like me better that way."

The Succubus suddenly reached over and grabbed Cobalt's cheeks, startling him. She gazed deep into his amber eyes, her own betraying none of the usual flirtatious teasing. They gleamed like sapphires in the winter light.

"Crowds always go gaga for blood and guts, sugar, but don't focus on them. Focus on those who really care about you, who see you for who you are; a good guy with a good heart, who always puts others before himself."

She broke her serious facade with a cheeky smile.

"And a good butt."

"Wh- What?"

Giggling, she put her arm around his shoulder, her wings gently spreading and her tail entangling with his.

"We've all got your back, sugar, just as I told you. So no moping around, okay?"

"I... okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear."

"Seal it with a kiss?"

"What?!"

"Just a little one~?"

"Karazelle-!"

She laughed uproariously and kicked her feet, scattering snow everywhere.

"Hey, c'mon, I'm just playing with you, sugar!"

"R- Right..."

A gust of wind picked up, prompting Karazelle to shiver. Concerned, Cobalt made to offer her his gloves, but stopped himself upon remembering just what they concealed. She immediately noticed this, and with a gentle smile she reached for his hands. Sliding his gloves off, the Succubus threaded her fingers through his, passing no remarks on the bony claws jutting from where his fingernails once grew. He... appreciated it. More than he thought he would.

"So, Izzbelle's been more or less confined to bedrest until her head gets better, and Jelli's been waiting on her hand and foot! You should see it, sugar; it's adorable!" the Succubus commented.

A lump formed in his throat at the mention of the Glutton's moniker.

"Y'know, I was worried that whole 'getting trapped underground' thing would have messed her up, but if anything it's done her some good. She's really brightened up. Any idea why?"

His blood ran cold.

"I- I... have no idea. I spent most of my time down there searching for an exit, until I ran into..."

Cobalt trailed off. Sensing a sensitive subject, Karazelle casually changed the subject. He had never spent much time thinking about it before, but she was much more thoughtful than people gave her credit for.

"Butterskin's birthday is coming up soon," she commented, following the janitors as they packed up their equipment and trudged away through the snow.

"Do you have to call her that when she's not even here?" her teacher asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yes. Any idea what we could do for her?"

There it was again. Even with her so-called 'rivalry' with Whitney, Karazelle still put a lot of thought into the things she did for her.

Cobalt shrugged.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know much about what young ladies like for their birthdays. I imagine you'd have a better idea than I," he told her, causing the Succubus to snicker.

"Oh, you'd think. Most of my birthdays were spent at rented-out kids' restaurants. Not much fun having a party there when you didn't have friends to invite. Just me and the staff. Real awkward, lemme tell you."

Cobalt's eyes widened. That sounded... heavy.

"Are... you alright?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"Don't worry about it. Momma was always busy anyway. Though on the subject of parties, we should throw one for Butterskin!" she announced joyously.

Leaping off her seat, Karazelle began to pace back and forth in front of Cobalt, grinding the snow into slush every time she made a pass. He just sat and gazed at her, still grappling with the gravity of what she had just revealed.

"Yeah, that's it! Seeing as Magnus put a dampener on the start of year party, I'm sure nobody would object to us throwing another, proper one! And seeing as Butterskin's been so down in the dumps lately, I'm sure she'd love to be in the centre of attention again!"

"Is that such a good idea? Whitney's going through a lot at the moment..." Cobalt murmured.

"I know, I know. But look, think of it this way; she's still trying to shake off her pretty-princess persona, right? Well this could be like a proper debut for her! Everyone's invited, so they can all come to see her for who she truly is! The blue-haired, pierced-tongue, no-eyebrowed Whitney we all know and sorta love!"

Despite the slight digs thrown in, Karazelle's words carried a lot of truth. Maybe something like that would be good for Whitney, especially considering the effect her parents' divorce was having on her ongoing identity struggle. He thought back on the PTM the previous year, and what Gulliver had told him before they parted.

"Which is why I'm going to ask you this, not as a servant of the Brodes, but out of concern for Whitney. Don't stop what you're doing. No amount of money is worth that girl's pain."

The Incubus nodded.

"Yes... Yes. Good idea," he told Karazelle, looking up into her eyes.

Grinning in return, she surprised him with a quick hug.

"Okay! You can leave the planning to me, sugar; I know just who to ask. Oh, and it goes without saying, but don't tell Butterskin, alright? I want to surprise the shit out of her!"

Tittering gleefully, the Succubus squeezed Cobalt tightly before taking off towards the girls' dorms, kicking up snow behind her as she set off to begin planning this grand venture. He sat where he was, watching her run before turning his gaze to the overcast sky.

Despite all the turmoil slowly building up in his life, it just kept chugging on, didn't it? Devils, Incupsychosis, rumours and confessions; all were individual threads of a tapestry that continues to be woven. And no matter how much he wished to bury his head in the sand, there was no sense in trying to go against the grain. Things would continue to happen, and Cobalt couldn't just pretend they weren't.

He promised to Karazelle that he would stop moping. He should start making good on it.

Clearing his throat, Cobalt pulled out his phone and dialed Alison's number. Bracing himself, he held it to his ear.

"Hey-" he began.

"Where the Hell were you, bluebell?! I am up to my ears in shit over here! I've got like a billion different chemical solutions and alchemy ingredients - rare ones! - taking up every scrap of space I have in order to try and make this damn cure, I've still got a bunch of ongoing projects that need seeing to, and now the room that I was hoping to convert into a lounge has a goddamn pissed-off Devil in it! I had to put a shock collar on him just to get him to shut the fuck up! Like one for dogs! I know he's like as far from human as you can get, but I'm pretty sure I'm still violating human rights here. Or demon rights. I don't know; doesn't matter. What does matter is that I need your help to shoulder some of this bullshit weighing me down, and seeing as you've kinda sorta caused like most of it, could you please just come down here and give me a hand with something?! Please?!" Alison screeched, not taking a single breath.

A little dazed from her outburst, Cobalt took a shuddering breath and brought the receiver close to his face.

"I, um... I'll be over after classes tomorrow."

"Oh, you fucking better be, bluebell!"