Doc Elliott was beginning to grow impatient with Cobalt. As soon as the Incubus arrived at the hospital, he was herded into his office, sat down at his desk and was given a bloody good telling off. Supposedly an Incubus' carnimancy was not "some parlour trick" that he should use whenever he felt like it, and that the ability to regenerate his flesh did not excuse the reckless endangerment of his own body. The doctor made sure to insist that even in dangerous situations that warranted self-defense, carnimancy was to be a last resort and a last resort only.

Cobalt just nodded his head and mumbled agreements, wondering why he even came. Most of his wounds had already healed when he stepped through the door, the rips and bloodstains on his clothes being the only evidence of their existence. In all honesty, he was beginning to believe that he no longer needed hospitals.

Eventually he was discharged with some supplements and a pamphlet about rest and recovery which he immediately tossed into the bin. Given the late hour, he decided to walk back as opposed to getting a taxi. Despite the cold, it was a nice night, and the wind would feel good against what remained of his electrical burns.

"So... What now?" asked Lilith as he made his way down the hill from the hospital.

"What do you mean?" he asked in return.

"Everything you told that girl back there. About love and whatnot."

He felt a lump in his throat.

"Yeah... I don't know, Lilith. Love isn't something I have much of a frame of reference for. Hellfire knows I wouldn't want to give anyone hope just to realise I..."

Cobalt trailed off as he reached a crossroads, stopping at the pavement as a lone snowplow charged down the street.

"I'm no expert either, kid. But it's a two-way street last time I checked. Or three or four-way. Or five. L- Listen, what I mean is that you can't factor yourself out of the equation."

Crossing the icy road, he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Been with you long enough to know that you suck at thinking of yourself first. But if you get into something like this without ensuring that you actually want it, you're only gonna end up hurting everyone else. You get me?" Lilith continued, sounding unusually wise despite her harsh tone.

He stopped in the middle of the street as he contemplated her words.

"I... think so," the Incubus breathed, his breath turning to vapour all around him.

"Yeah, so-"

"I don't wanna hurt them."

"... Sorry, you've lost me."

Shaking his head, he jammed his hands into his pockets and forged on towards B.I.D.

"Whitney lost her arm because of me, right?"

"Wait-"

"And everything that Elya has done, she did for my sake."

"Kid, that's not-"

"Even the others... the mental distress of falling for someone... it's still my fault!"

"KID!"

The Devil's voice rang so loud that he nearly tripped on the curb and split his head open. Steadying himself on an icy street sign, the Incubus took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

"Look, I don't even know why I'm playing relationship counsellor for you, but you can't go into this like that either."

"I- I don't understand."

"Blaming yourself for everything."

"But I-"

"Doesn't matter to them. Don't get me wrong, you're no abject panty-dropper, but you've managed to earn the affections of several people who are willing to see past your flaws. You can't base your decision on your personal faults if they don't matter to them."

"You said I have to want-"

Cobalt swallowed hard.

"You said I have to want love too."

"And you still haven't answered that question. Do you?"

He... didn't know. He truly did not know the answer to that. Noticing his silence, Lilith sighed loudly.

"I get it, kid. There was a time when I was a dumb kid in love too. Thought I was just sick or that I was just meeting expectations. There's no easy way out, it's gonna be tough to figure any of it, and even after all that it might still end in heartbreak. But 'might' is better than 'definitely'. So for your own sake, if not that of those girls of yours, sort your shit out and settle on a definite answer," she told him in a gentler, but no less stern tone.

Sighing shakily, the Incubus turned his gaze upwards. The clouds were still thick, glistening with icy rime far above his head.

"... Will you help me?" he asked.

She scoffed.

"If I'm to be bound to you in body and soul then I guess I'll have to. Just don't start writing poetry. I'll support any artistic outlets aside from fucking poetry, alright?"

Despite his inner turmoil, Cobalt smiled and straightened his back.

"Alright, it's a deal."

"Good. Now get going, kid; it's freezing out here."

"Is it? I'm not all that cold."

"Well some of us don't have nuclear blood."

"It's not nuclear, just... hot. And you don't even have a physical body right now, so you should be feeling the same as-"

"Just go home, kid!"

"Okay, okay!"

Starting off towards the school, Cobalt suddenly came to a stop as he was struck with a realisation. It was the Winter Festival. There was nobody at the school, not on a holiday like this. Frowning, he glanced down at his feet as an idea slowly formed.

"Hey, Lilith?" he asked.

"What?" the Devil responded.

"Seeing Whitney and her family like that, it made me realise... well... I'm not the best with my own family."

"We had like a whole conversation about this, kid."

"I know, it's just... I haven't spent a Winter Festival with them in years. Maybe I should swing by tonight."

"Up to you."

"I'm bringing this up because I want to know if you wanna be a part of it. I dunno, to make up for how things ended last time we were there."

Lilith went silent for a moment.

"Kid, I know what you're trying to do. And it's not that I don't appreciate it, it's just..."

Her voice trailed off into silence before he heard a heavy sigh ringing in the back of his mind.

"Fine, fine, alright. Let's go."

Smiling, Cobalt turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction, towards Brimstone's upper end. If he was quick, perhaps he would make it before dessert. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that nothing ever ran on time in the Trayer household.

-----

"If you stand on my toes one more fucking time, I'm gonna shove that rolling pin right up your ass! Sideways!"

"Wouldn't be my first time with a rolling pin!"

"Ew!"

"Don't be gross!"

"Not while we're making food, please."

Cobalt stood outside the door to his family's house, brow creased and lips pulled tight upon hearing his sisters' voices echoing through the letterbox. They sounded as though they were in the kitchen - a room far to the back of the house - and yet he could hear their yelling all the way from the front porch. It was impressive how loud they could be.

Easing the door open, he carefully tiptoed towards the source of the noise, wincing every time he heard Scarlet cackle or Violet swear at the top of her lungs.

"How have your sisters not killed each other yet?" Lilith mused as he entered the kitchen.

"It's not for lack of trying..." Cobalt answered beneath his breath as he stepped inside.

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Surely enough, the kitchen was the picture of chaos he expected it to be. Violet and Scarlet were jostling for space at the counters as they attempted to prepare two different courses, while Viridi manned the stovetop. Azul flitted about the room as she carried ingredients and dishes from one spot to another, and over by the microwave, Amber sat staring at a bowl that she was heating up. As soon as Cobalt made his presence known, however, they all turned to stare at him.

"Oh shit. Yo," Scarlet called first, waving with one hand as she rolled a sheet of pastry with the other.

Beside her, her quintuplet was less enthused.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Violet spat, manically beating some eggs.

"Violet!" Viridi scolded.

"What?! He's never shown for Winter Festivals before!"

"You can't blame him for that!"

The microwave dinged loudly, prompting Amber to open it up. Pulling out her bowl, she stared dismayed into it as she realised that she had forget to actually put anything into it.

"Darn," she sighed, setting the bowl aside.

Distracted by his sisters' antics, Cobalt was unable to defend himself as Azul abruptly tackled him from the side.

"Cobalt, you're home~!" she squealed, squeezing him in a nigh-inescapable hug.

His muscle memory urged him to pull away, but he remained in her grasp, determined not to shy away from his own family.

"You're just in time. Dinner is absolutely nowhere near ready," Scarlet called, shoving Violet aside.

"Mother had an incident involving a little too much wine," Viridi chimed in, pointing with her tail as she stirred a pot.

Cobalt followed to where her spade was pointed. Sure enough, there were several empty bottles of wine sitting by the back door.

"Is she alright?" he asked, taking a deep breath as Azul let him go.

"Nothing that hasn't happened before. She's been sleeping it off most of the day; hopefully she'll be awake by the time we're finished."

Nodding slowly, Cobalt took a second to gaze at what they were making. He recognised most of the dishes; they were Jezebel Trayer's own recipes, staples of the household.

"Do you guys need help?" he asked.

Four of them answered affirmatively, while only Violet scoffed at his question.

"No," she growled, flashing him a dirty look.

"Violet..." Viridi grumbled, glaring at her sister over the rims of her glasses.

"What?!"

The most responsible of the Trayer quintuplets shook her head and turned her gaze onto her brother.

"Go help Amber with her tasks. She's supposed to be making the sides."

"Of course."

Catching the pajama-clad Succubus before she attempted to microwave an empty bowl again - this time with a fork still inside it - Cobalt began to settle in to the chaotic flow of his family's kitchen. He found himself overtaken by a wave of nostalgia; patchy memories of the days when they all still lived as a unit, when he was subjected to his sisters' affections and torment in equal measure, when they all ended each day sat in the dining room, eating, drinking, yelling and laughing...

He would be lying if he said he didn't miss it. But then again, back then he didn't know about what they were hiding from him either. It was hard to determine whether those good memories were genuine, or if they were just trying to give him the best life possible with what little time he had.

Right as he and Amber succeeded in getting a tray of garlic bread into the oven, he heard someone gasp from the doorway.

"Snookums?"

Turning around, he saw Jezebel Trayer standing in the doorway, staring blearily at him. Pulling a face, she glanced up at a clock on the wall before returning her attention to her children.

"Oh... how long was I out...?" the matronly Succubus yawned, smoothing down her nightgown with one hand.

"Couple hours. Don't worry, squirt came in clutch right when we needed an extra hand," Scarlet answered, playfully smacking her brother with a ladle as she crossed the kitchen.

"Mm. You go sit down, Mother. We're almost ready," Viridi added as she fiddled with the knobs on the oven.

Nodding sleepily, she smiled gently at Cobalt before heading into the dining room.

Dinner preparations chugged along, but he quickly found himself getting lost in his own thoughts again. He remembered Calvin Srenth telling him to spend more time with his mother, and yet he still felt apprehensive every time he was around her.

Once the starters were ready, the Trayer children plated up the food and carried it into the dining room, much to their mother's awe. Viridi carefully lit a set of candles in the centre of table, while Azul laid out the cutlery. When table was set and everyone was seated, Jezebel finally spoke.

"Oh, my darlings... you've all grown so much...!" she breathed, struggling to choke back the tears.

"Don't cry, Mom," Amber said, offering her a napkin.

"Here, serve her some of those roast potatoes. That'll shut her up," Scarlet joked, handing Cobalt a set of tongs.

"Did you...?" Jezebel asked he served her a handful of perfectly crisped, golden-brown potatoes.

"Yes, we used flamgander fat," he answered with a smile.

"Ooh, I'm so proud of you all!"

With the first dishes served, the Winter Festival dinner was kicked into high gear. For that time, Cobalt felt like he was right back at home again, surrounded by his bickering sisters as they fought with one another over who got what. Though he couldn't have many of his childhood favourites, there were still a few meat dishes that the Incubus could indulge in. At one point Azul left the table in order to serve the main course, so he tagged along to help her out. A magnificent roast was laid out for the family, and with his sister manning the various side dishes, Cobalt set out with a wine bottle to fill everyone's glasses. He rounded the table, filling each vessel as he went, but upon trying to serve Violet, his mother swiftly snatched the glass away and shook her head, replacing her daughter's wine glass with a bottle of mineral water. Though confused, he just sat back down and tore into his dinner.

But before long, the hairs at the back of his neck began to stand up. Across the table, Violet glared at him as she stabbed her food with her fork.

She's always had it in for him. He had ruminated on why for so long. But no matter what Cobalt did, she always stared at him with those angry, vindictive eyes. Eyes that never healed after Brass left. Eyes that blamed him.

Setting his fork down, Cobalt took a deep breath and faced his sister.

"Violet? Would it make you feel better if you hit me?" he asked resolutely, unwilling to keep cowering from her burning gaze.

Everyone around the table nearly choked at his words.

"What?" the quintuplet in question spat, narrowing her eyes.

"Every time I come here, you act as though you're ready to just attack me. So I'm offering you the chance."

"Snookums!" Jezebel gasped.

Baring her teeth, Violet jabbed her fork in his direction.

"Don't fuck with me."

"I'm not. I'm completely serious. If it'll make you feel a little better at all, then I'll let you hit me."

"Nobody is hitting anyone!" their mother cried.

She slammed her fork down and stood out of her chair.

"Fine. You're on."

"Alright then."

Cobalt set his fork aside and stood up.

"Kid, what happened to the relaxing family dinner you promised me?" Lilith sighed.

"Can't relax with her staring a hole through me," he responded beneath his breath, pushing past Amber's chair.

As Jezebel protested and the rest of their sisters stared in amazement, the two Trayer siblings rounded the table until they were both standing face to face. Violet bore down on her brother, eyes burning with... something. Not quite hate. Not quite anger. Resentment, perhaps?

Cobalt knew a thing or two about that, if it were.

"This is the best idea you've ever had, dipshit," Violet said, balling up her fist.

"Go for the haymaker!" Scarlet called as her mother scolded her.

"Stop being so childish, both of you," Viridi sighed, leaning against her hand.

The Incubus matched his sister's burning stare.

"Whenever you're ready," he told her, clasping his hands behind his back.

Violet's eyes narrowed. Rolling up her sleeve, she flexed her hand and readied herself. Cobalt had never noticed before, but she had a tattoo on her arm. Words inscribed in black ink, written in tongues.

RTNETPAS TE DIREM: MENIDUTITROF IHIM AD

"Fuck you."

She struck him with a right cross. Succubi weren't known for their physical strength, but Violet Trayer was one notable exception. The force of her strike rocked Cobalt's entire skull, briefly stunning him as he was thrown back. Pain shot through him as he fell, a little blood spilling from his mouth. Jezebel screamed and rushed to his side while the rest of his sisters cried out. He hit the floor with a dull thump, but as his mother tried to help him, he blearily waved her away. The Incubus hacked and coughed, spitting a broken premolar out in a splatter of blood. Plucking it off the floor, he shakily climbed to his feet and faced Violet once more.

"Satisfied? Or do you need another go?" he asked, offering her the tooth.

As if to compound his point, his veins flashed as a replacement tooth burst through his gums. Violet bared her own teeth and wound her fist back, only for Jezebel to jump between them.

"Both of you, stop this at once!" she cried, waving her arms.

"But Mom, he started it!" her daughter cried.

"Well I'm ending it! You can't keep getting into fights like this, Violet! Not in your condition!"

"What condition?!"

"Motherhood!"

Silence settled over the dining room like a wet blanket. Nobody dared speak as Jezebel's words rang out. Even Lilith was quiet.

"... Excuse me?" Violet asked, lowering her arm.

"You heard me, young lady," her mother responded.

"Mom, I'm not-"

Wordlessly, Jezebel rummaged through the pockets of her nightgown and produced a small cardboard package, decorated with lilac branding. Cobalt recognised it as a pregnancy test developed by a Succubus-run company based in the city state of Furnace. Apparently their products were the most accurate on the market.

"You're kidding, right?" Violet asked, cautiously accepting the test.

"I'm your mother, I notice things. Now go pee on the stick, honey."

With a sigh, she turned and rushed off to the bathroom, muttering under her breath the entire time. While she was gone, Jezebel returned her attention to Cobalt.

"Snookums... you can't do things like that, okay? The last thing we need is more friction," she said softly, wiping the blood off the floor with a napkin.

He swallowed hard, a little bewildered by the preceding exchange.

"Sorry, I just... I thought it might get her to stop..."

"I know. Just give her time. I imagine she won't have time to hold onto grudges in the near future."

From the bathroom, they were all startled by a sudden yell.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Heavy footsteps echoed off the walls as Violet tore back into the room, eyes wide and her face slicked with sweat. She produced the pregnancy test with a flourish, causing her sisters to shriek.

"Don't wave that thing around the dinner table!" Azul cried from her seat.

"Tell me this is a joke!" Violet cried, ignoring her sibling's cries.

She shoved the test into her mother's hands, who scrutinised it closely. Cobalt tried to ask what the matter was, but Jezebel raised her finger, gesturing for all her children to be quiet. A few more moments of awkward silence passed before she broke out into a great big smile.

"I'm gonna be a grandmother~!" she cried ecstatically, wrapping Violet up in a hug.

The Succubus in question just stood there, her face going pale as the rest of her siblings gathered around.

"Wh- What...? No, that can't-!"

"Hah! Congratulations! Knew I was gonna be an aunt sooner or later!" Scarlet guffawed, slapping her back.

"But... But I was so careful...!"

Pulling back, Jezebel fixed her daughter with a smile.

"Until the one time you weren't. That's how they get you."

Slowly, the newly discovered mother-to-be turned her gaze onto Cobalt, who returned an equally bewildered stare.

"This... isn't over, you hear?" she hissed, pointing at him.

The Incubus nodded slowly.

"R- Right..."

He swallowed hard.

This was... not how he thought his night was going to end.