High quality guitar picks from a musical specialty store. A set of Ripsaw Rodeo t-shirts. A large pack of ink pens. A hardback unlined notebook. Giftcards for a couple of different establishments around town. And a set of CDs recommended by the owner of the record store. Thankfully the places that Cobalt bought everything were kind enough to giftwrap them, though that did result in everything having wildly different wrapping paper. Perhaps if he gives one to each of the girls to give to Whitney, she won't catch on the fact that everything was bought at the last minute.
With a pile of gifts heaped in his arms, the Incubus gradually made his way towards Bloody Hell, hissing through his teeth as he arduously forged on through the knee-high snow. It was still coming down thick and fast, and by the time he arrived in front of the club, the Incubus had lost all feeling in his toes. He took a deep breath and pushed through the doors, nearly tripping over his own numbed feet.
"I- I'm not late, am I?" he asked, his teeth chattering involuntarily.
Thankfully, clubbing was the last thing on anyone's mind, given the weather. Bloody Hell was nearly entirely empty, save for those preparing Whitney's party. Over in a corner, Jelli was blowing up balloons while Izzbelle stood close by, pinning a banner to one of the walls.. Quinn and Lottie were huddled around a computer that was connected to the club's sound system, and in the middle of it all, Karazelle was pacing back and forth, checking things off her phone. They were so engrossed in their work that they didn't even hear the Incubus come in.
Behind the bar, Dassie Dals stood dressed in her usual smart uniform, carefully cleaning and inspecting the many glasses and bottles lining the shelf behind her. The one-eyed Succubus wore a party hat at a jaunty angle, and upon looking over her shoulder at Cobalt, she gave him a sidelong grin.
"Good to see you, kiddo. Your gaggle's already got the preparations underway," she remarked, hooking a thumb over her shoulder at the girls.
"I see that. Sorry for foisting this upon you," he replied, placing the presents down onto the bar.
She shook her head.
"Don't mention it. Business is trailing anyway; I don't mind having something to do."
With a hearty laugh, she tapped the side of her head.
"Besides, I'm an old hand at this! If I had a brand for every Cobalt Trayer birthday party I had to tend, I'd be two brands richer!"
Cobalt pulled a face. What did she mean by that...?
"Right, well, thank you Dassie. Listen, about payment-"
"Miss Terna's already handled all that. Now go and take a seat or something; you look about ready to collapse."
Nodding wearily, the Incubus rubbed his eyes and walked over to Karazelle. Tapping her shoulder, she looked up from her phone and beamed at him, slipping it into her pocket before clapping her hands together.
"Hey sugar! How was your shopping trip?" she asked, glancing over his shoulder at the presents.
"A little tricky, but that was the weather's fault moreso than anything else," he replied, wiping some excess snow off his shoulders.
"Good, good. Here, come sign Butterskin's card!"
Taking him by the hand, she led her teacher over to one of the booths. A birthday card lay open upon the table, already filled with messages and signatures. A heartfelt message from Karazelle was carefully written in the centre, whilst another lay below it, inscribed in Jelli's indescribably perfect handwriting. Quinn and Lottie had deigned to doodle on the inside of the cover, and Izzbelle had written a lengthy paragraph at one point, but had since scribbled it out, replacing it instead with a simply "Happy Birthday". Locating a tiny free space for him to write on, Cobalt grabbed a nearby pen and carefully signed his name.
"FUCK! DAMMIT!"
Everyone in Bloody Hell flinched as Izzbelle suddenly roared out loud, dropping the birthday banner as she clutched her hand. There, jutting from her finger, was a thumbtack that she had errantly stabbed herself with. Jelli screamed and let go of one of the balloons she was blowing up, causing it to fly all around the room.
"How'd you manage that?" Quinn asked incredulously, peering over the top of the laptop.
"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! FUCK YOU!" the Oni snapped in response.
Before a fight could break out, both Cobalt and Jelli rushed over to her, both trying to calm her down.
"O- Okay, okay, there's no need to panic. Here, do you need me to pull it out?" Cobalt asked.
"No, I wanna keep it there, it looks nice- yes I want the fuckin' thing pulled out, dumbass!"
Nodding, the Incubus gripped Izzbelle's wrist in one hand and slowly pinched the thumbtack with the other, his frown deepening with every pained grunt from the Oni. Jelli just stood there, her tail rapidly flapping about behind her as she panicked.
"Here we go...!"
With a quick twist and pull, he wrenched the thumbtack right out of Izzbelle's flesh. She swore beneath her breath and pounded her fist against the wall, slowly releasing the breath she had been holding. As soon as blood began to leak from the wound, however, Cobalt suddenly found himself transfixed. He could smell the red fluid from where he was standing. He stood there, feeling his eyes widening as the blood slowly ran down the Oni's finger, pooling upon her fingernail and gradually dripping down onto the-
"S- Sie blutet!" Jelli suddenly screamed, the colour draining from her face at the sight of blood.
"Calm down, it's not that much," Izzbelle sighed, looking more annoyed than pained.
"W- We have to get a bandage!"
The Glutton frantically looked around the club, only to be met with confused and concerned looks from the others. Kicking herself up into a right panic, she eventually decided to grab her friends wrist with both hands and jam her finger into her mouth.
Everyone went silent as Jelli sucked on Izzbelle's finger, her cheeks growing redder as she began to realise just what she had done.
"Uh... What are you...?" the Oni asked, raising an eyebrow.
Across the floor, Quinn snorted as her girlfriend looked on, completely bewildered.
"Be thankful, she's disinfecting it for you," the Imp snorted as she flicked through various music samples on the laptop.
"You guys need first aid? I got a kit out back," Dassie called from the bar.
The sound of a phone notification suddenly rang out through the bar, prompting Karazelle to quickly swipe through her phone.
"Ah! No time for oral play! Butterskin's nearly here!" she cried aloud.
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With that, everyone dove into action. Izzbelle extracted her finger from Jelli's mouth with a wet pop before grabbing the Glutton around the waist and dragging her behind a table. Lottie and Quinn ducked behind a couch as Dassie shut off the lights. Cobalt just stood there, still reeling from the sudden bloodshed before Karazelle suddenly grabbed his arm, snapping him out of it.
"HIde!" she whispered, pulling him around the bar.
Taking cover, the Succubus held a finger to her lips as she peeked out, doing her best to make sure her horns weren't in view. A moments of silence passed before they heard noises from outside; irritated sighing and the sound of light footsteps.
"C'mon... it's the middle of the night and she pulls this shit..." the nasally tones of Whitney Brode sounded from the club's entrance.
Karazelle just grinned in the darkness and motioned for Cobalt to get ready.
The Nymph stepped into the gloomy club, shaking the snow off her clothes as she muttered to herself. As she unwounded her scarf and took off her hat, she squinted through the darkness, looking around for any signs of her friends.
"Hello? Whoretits, you here?" Whitney called, taking a few steps closer to the bar.
Karazelle silently raised her hand and counted down from five.
"If you're pranking me again, I swear I'm gonna-"
The Succubus snapped her fingers.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" everyone suddenly screamed, leaping out from their hiding places as Dassie turned the lights back on.
The sound that came from Whitney's throat was nothing short of a howl of sheer terror. She raised her hands in front of her face and nearly toppled back over the bar as her friends revealed themselves, her face twisted with fear. Quinn and Lottie let loose with a pair of party-poppers as Karazelle sprinted towards the Nymph, grappling her around the waist in order to hug her close.
"Hah! You didn't think I'd forget about your birthday, did you?" the Succubus cried ecstatically, shaking her back and forth as confetti rained down all around her.
"Wha...?" was all Whitney could say, looking dazed and confused as music began to play through the club's sound system.
Eyes widening, Cobalt stumbled out from around the bar and put a hand on Karazelle's shoulder, motioning her to take a step back. The Succubus gave him a confused look, but upon following his gaze her face immediately softened.
Whitney Brode stood there, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she looked around the interior of Bloody Hell. Despite the admittedly amateur decorations, the simple snacks laid out upon one of the tables and the evidently pirated music that played from Quinn's laptop, the Nymph looked completely overwhelmed with joy.
"This... You guys..." she breathed, bracing herself against the bar for support.
Behind it, Dassie chuckled and slid a colourful cocktail over to her.
"Happy birthday kiddo. Bar's open all night, so you'd best start now," the well-built Succubus quipped with a nod.
Laughing, Karazelle clapped her hands together, signaling for everyone's attention.
"Well, you heard the lady; let's get to it!"
-----
Now that Cobalt had gotten over the initial shock of drinking a Dustop Divekick, he found that it boasted some rather complex flavours behind it's initial kick. It was oddly spicy in a way, coupled with sour notes that would taste awful in any other context, but worked well when blended together in his father's personal recipe. He quietly wondered what the original concoction would have tasted like; the one that purportedly involved snake venom in its creation.
The Incubus quietly sipped at his drink as he observed the birthday party in full swing, gently smiling to himself. The girls were in their element, that element being complete and utter chaos. And strangely enough, he felt more comfortable than he had been in quite some time.
Jelli, in all of her excitement, drank too much too quickly, and was completely drunk before they were even an hour in. The Glutton was sat at the bar, babbling in her native tongue to Dassie, who just nodded along and discretely refilled the glass of water she had placed in front of the addled girl. Izzbelle was holding up a little better, but forgotten that the food on offer was all catered to vegetarians, so she had taken to loudly complaining about the lack of meat to an audience of no-one. Over on the dancefloor, Quinn and Lottie waltzed hand-in-hand, even though the music pounding from the speakers was far too fast and coarse for such a dance. Karazelle was staggering from one table to another, drunkenly checking in on everyone as she struggled to stop herself from spilling wine everywhere.
As for the birthday girl herself, she seemed to be the only person still relatively clear-headed. She had cut herself a slice from the impressive birthday cake that Jelli had baked, and was gingerly picking at it with a fork. Spotting Cobalt sitting at one of the booths, she carefully skirted around Izzbelle and sat down next to him.
"Hey sir," she said with a smile, sipping her drink.
He responded with a weary smile of his own.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked.
"I... more than anything. I've never had a party like this. I mean, I've had, like, birthday parties before, but they all sucked. They were always these big things with a ton of people and... No, this is better by miles. Just the people I care about. And some killer cake, too," the Nymph laughed, cutting off a piece of cake and popping it into her mouth.
Her ears wiggled as she chewed.
"Mmf. So good. Jelli should start a bakery."
The Incubus laughed and watched as Quinn attempted to lift Lottie up for a particularly showy dance move, only for the Golem to completely flatten her girlfriend against the dancefloor.
"How are your presents?" he asked, glancing over at the pile of unwrapped gifts.
Whitney's smile softened as her cheeks flushed. Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out the birthday card and carefully held it close to her chest.
"You guys didn't have to get me anything. You didn't have to do any of this," she admitted.
Cobalt shook his head.
"Of course we did. You're our friend."
He laughed.
"Besides, Karazelle was pretty insistent."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You mean you didn't have to drag her to do this for me?"
"Are you kidding? This entire thing was her idea!"
The red glow in her cheeks intensified.
"A- Ah..."
The Nymph glanced over at Karazelle right as the Succubus collapsed onto a stool next to Jelli, nearly toppling both of them straight to the floor.
"Stupid Whoretits... gotta get her back sometime..." she murmured with a slight smile.
The pair sat in silence for a while, just taking in the ambience and listening to Ripsaw Rodeo as their music blared through the speakers. To be honest, once the initial shock wore off, their songs weren't half bad. Unique, just like their biggest fan. At one point, Whitney sighed and rested her head against Cobalt's shoulder. He was surprised by her sudden gesture, but even more surprised at the fact that he didn't mind it at all.
"Hey sir? What was it like for you?" she asked after a while.
"What do you mean?"
"When you were our age? Not saying you're, like, old, but... I mean did you do things like this with your friends?"
The Incubus' smile faded.
Friends...
There was Elya, but aside from her...
Durnall, Harriet, Cherry...
They didn't feel like anybody he was friends with, but...
He shook his head after a while.
"I don't think I was the partying type, Whitney," he said after a while.
"You don't think...?"
Before she could ask anything further, Dassie suddenly waved for Cobalt's attention, offering him an out. He excused himself from the conversation, but Whitney decided to follow him up to the bar.
"Hey kiddo, this one's not looking so good," she told him, adjusting her eyepatch as she nodded at Jelli.
Sure enough, the Glutton had gone a little pale, her face scrunching up as she held a hand to her stomach.
"Would you mind running down the pharmacy and picking up some antacids? I've seen this before with patrons and they usually seem to help," Dassie continued, pouring Jelli another glass of water.
Cobalt nodded.
"Of course. Are there any still open this time of night?"
"Couple streets down there's a 24-hour dispensary. Heh, I'm pretty sure I'm the reason they have half of their customers."
"Alright then."
Buttoning up his jacket, Cobalt began to wind his scarf around his neck as Whitney stepped in front of him.
"Here, I'll come too," she said, grabbing her hat off the edge of the bar.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I need a little fresh air anyway. If that's, like, okay with you?"
With a sighed, Cobalt smiled. He could hardly deny the wishes of the birthday girl, could he?
"Of course. After you."
All buttoned up and braced for the cold, the pair headed for Bloody Hell's exit, followed by the sound of Karazelle wolf-whistling behind them.
Cobalt thought that perhaps he ought to pick up some aspirin for the inevitable headache that girl was going to have tomorrow...