Cobalt had woken up long before his alarm was due to go off, but he simply couldn't return to sleep. His body was raring to go, ready to return to the humdrum of normal, everyday life. His mind, however, was in a different place altogether. It was abuzz with all sorts of conflicting thoughts, feelings and emotions. He felt excited at the prospect of returning to work. He felt apprehensive of the promise he made to face his feelings. He felt disgusted at the taste of Whitney's flesh still lingering in his mouth. He felt uncomfortable at the names echoing in the back of his memory. He felt happy that he would be an uncle. He felt conflicted regarding the changes going through his body. He felt conflicted about the Devils held in Alison's lab. He felt hopeful at the prospect of a potential cure for Incupsychosis.
All in all, his head was a mess, and it was keeping him from drifting back to sleep.
"Kid. If you can't sleep, I can't either," Lilith grumbled from within, disrupting his thoughts.
"There's no-one else here. You can come out if you want," he sighed.
"I'm not sharing a bed with you. No offence."
"Then sleep on the couch."
"Not sleeping on a couch either."
"Then just suffer, I guess."
Groaning irritably, Lilith relented, ejecting herself from Cobalt's mind in a cloud of grey vapour. Shuffling over, she formed next to him on the bed, frowning as she propped her back against the headboard.
"Shit. This is actually kinda comfortable," she murmured, adjusting the pillow.
"Yeah, well... be glad you weren't here last year. We had futons," Cobalt yawned, rolling over.
A few minutes passed in silence. Cobalt almost managed to drift off to sleep before Lilith sighed audibly, waking him up.
"So. What now?" she asked, clasping her hands across her midriff.
"Huh?" the Incubus murmured, his face half-buried in the pillow.
"I don't know. Just with the Alpha Corps dealt with... I'm just wondering what to do next," the Devil sighed, staring at the ceiling.
Cobalt shrugged.
"You said yourself you weren't ending this arrangement until you felt safe to do so," he reminded her, pulling the duvet up around his neck.
He could almost hear her frown.
"Yeah... I did, didn't I...?"
Again, she went quiet, allowing Cobalt to slowly drift away right before she woke him up once more.
"I wanna stick around, but... don't wanna put you in any more danger," Lilith sighed, sinking lower into the bed.
"Am I not your meat shield anymore?"
"You're still annoyed about that?"
"A little bit."
"Well... consider yourself upgraded to a set of body armour. Good body armour. The kind you'd rather not wear into a fight in case it gets scratched to shit."
"... I think that's the nicest thing you've said to me so far."
"Tch. Count your blessings, kid."
More time passed.
"How do you think it's going to go today?" Cobalt asked quietly.
"What are you talking about?"
"Class."
"I don't know, I'm not the teacher here, am I?"
"I just hope it goes smoothly for once."
"Sure. I'll hope with you, if it helps."
Cobalt smiled slightly. It faded as time drew own and he toed the line between sleep and wakefulness. But that warm no-man's-land quickly faded as his alarm clock began to blare. With a sigh, Lilith reached over and slapped her hand against it, silencing the incessant ringing.
"Up and at 'em," she grunted, swinging her legs off the side of the bed.
Cobalt sighed.
"Up and at them indeed."
-----
At long last, the melt was upon them. With the dawn of the new year, the red Hellish sun had finally broken through the snow clouds, melting the impenetrable layers of snow choking the campus and caking the ground in soggy slush. The air was still bitterly cold, but the sunlight was just warm enough upon his back to make the Incubus feel pleasantly invigorated, urging him onwards through the mire. He passed by students all around them as they lazily snaked towards the main school building, but after a few moments he noticed that they were keeping their distance from him, averting their gazes and only interacting with him if he waved first.
They were still wary after what happened to Whitney. No matter. He wasn't going to let that stop him.
Once inside, he gave the teacher's lounge a wide berth - for fear of running into any nosy co-workers - and instead made his way to the canteen, where the dinner staff were providing breakfast. Even in the queue, he noticed that everyone was doing their best not to look at him. No matter. He could deal with it.
Once supplied with a plate of bacon, Cobalt sat down at a table in the corner of the atrium and began to eat his food, spearing the bacon slices upon his fork with one hand as he used his other to leaf through his itinerary. Surprisingly, he was actually on course with his lessons. None of his individual classes were behind on anything, and 3-F's predicted grades were promising. He just needed to focus a little more on revising their material from first year; perhaps with a different teacher, they'd be able to-
A fist suddenly slammed into the table, rattling his plate and nearly knocking him clean over.
"We talked about this," hissed a quiet voice that was absolutely boiling over with rage.
Cobalt didn't even dare to look up. He could feel Izzbelle's eyes boring a hole right through him.
"G- Good morning, Miss Suyas...!" he breathed in as cheery a voice as he could muster, his face straining as he forced a smile.
Baring her teeth, Izzbelle slammed herself down onto the seat opposite him, nearly capsizing the entire table. Leaning against it, she jabbed a finger at him.
"Don't you 'Miss Suyas' me, dumbass! I told you not to pull this shit, and if you were goin' to anyway, at least fuckin' call me!" the Oni hissed, keeping her voice surprisingly low.
She was actually making an effort to keep her anger contained? That was new.
"Izzbelle, look, it's been a rough few weeks. I really don't think I can be blamed for being preoccupied," Cobalt sighed, running a hand through his hair.
She balled her fist and straightened her back, preparing to let everything she had loose upon the Incubus. He braced himself for the inevitable tongue-lashing, but when nothing happened, he looked up to see Izzbelle sitting with her shoulders slumped and a pensive look upon her face.
"Yeah... I know..." she sighed, expelling a plume of smoke from her mouth.
Abruptly, she reached out and grasped Cobalt's hand. Her grip was far too tight - almost enough to break the average man's fingers - but judging by the way she clumsily rubbed the back of his palm with her thumb, the Incubus got the feeling that she was trying to be tender. His intial response was to push her away, but in the back of his mind, he remembered the conversation he had at the Brodes' house.
"You okay, dumbass?" Izzbelle asked, clearly unused to speaking so softly.
Cobalt smiled gently and placed his hand over hers.
"I am. Are you?"
"Wh- Wha...?"
She cleared her throat and shook her head.
"Oh, yeah, uh... doin' fine, dumbass. Just, uh... bellissima. I think..." she mumbled.
Cobalt didn't have the best understanding of European languages, but he was almost certain that she was using that word wrong. Izzbelle seemed pretty sure as well. She noticed the look in his eyes and pulled an irritated face.
"Spent the holidays up Earthside with my nonna. Pretty fun, but she always gets mad that I can't speak proper... I told her I can barely fuckin' speak Tongues!" she snapped defensively.
"And how was your holiday?"
"Eh, like I said, pretty fun. Went drinkin' a bunch with the Sixth Family guys. Good people. Bit old fashioned, but y'know. Tried visitin' Times Square, but that was a complete shitshow. Got tailed a busker and nearly smashed his fuckin' saxophone right over his stupid fuckin' head."
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The Oni rambled on about her holiday in New York, prompting Cobalt to just lean his head in his hands and listen.
Izzbelle... Even when she wasn't a blurred storm of wrath and violence, she could be perfectly captivating. Whether it was the powerful cadences of her voice or the way her eyes flashed when she spoke... it ignited that spark deep within Cobalt's chest. The one that had been plaguing him.
The question he couldn't even bring himself to ask...
"... then she got absolutely shitfaced on all the good booze and start yammerin' about ancient history. 'Kings of Sicily' this, 'great Oisicco bloodline' that. Gimme a fuckin' break..."
Taking a deep breath, Izzbelle squeezed his hand.
"You?" she asked, though the look in her eyes betrayed the fact that she already knew the answer.
Cobalt sighed and nodded.
"Eventful. But I'm going to be an uncle now, so there's that."
Izzbelle's eyes widened.
"Uncle? Shit... Congrats, I guess. Dunno if I'd be so happy about havin' a little kid runnin' about the place. Had to share a room with a bunch of my cousins up Earthside. Youngest was twelve, but his mom coddles the shit outta him so much you'd think he was five. Egh."
Cobalt laughed. Despite her rough edges, Izzbelle was quite fun to talk to.
"Not a fan of children then, I take it?" he asked.
The Oni stuck out her lower lip.
"Nah, I wouldn't say that, just... I dunno. They're alright in small doses," she said with a shrug, stealing a piece of Cobalt's bacon.
"Model mom over here," Lilith commented, which Cobalt decidedly ignored.
He made to speak more about his sister's pregnancy and how she was planning - or more like struggling to plan - to deal with it, but at that moment the commotion in the canteen rose considerably as a crowd of curious students flocked to the interest. Furrowing her brow, Izzbelle turned in her seat and glared at the doors.
"Fuck's goin' on...?" she asked, rising from her chair.
With his own curiosity piqued, Cobalt gathered his things and headed towards the crowd, with the Oni bringing up the rear.
A clatter of demons clamoured around the doors, whispering and jostling with one another as they each struggled to gawk at the newcomer. Questions flew over their heads as a few people point and snickered, but they all grew quieter as they noticed the Incubus in their midst. They shuffled away, allowing Cobalt to see what they were gawking at.
There she stood, guitar case slung over her back and earphones plugged into both pointed ears. Her hair had been redyed, intensifying its bright blue gleam, and her uniform had been ever so slightly customised, just subtly enough so the teachers had no reason to complain. Her right sleeve had been rolled up, exposing the hook prosthesis that she was using to carry her satchel. A collection of colourful stickers covered the yellow plastic casing, and as she pointedly ignored everyone staring at her, the Nymph broke out into a smile upon noticing her trusty companions.
"Sir! Izzbelle!" Whitney Brode cried, smiling at them bother.
Shoving past everyone else, she ran up to the pair of them and hugged them both. Cobalt just gratefully returned it, while Izzbelle stood there with a shocked look on her face, her free hand stiffly patting Whitney's back.
"I didn't know you'd be back so soon," Cobalt exclaimed, pulling away.
She shrugged.
"Mommy and Daddy had a discussion. They were unsure, but I managed to, like, talk them around," the Nymph said with a little smile.
Izzbelle looked her up and down.
"Whitney... You doin' alright?" she asked, sounding properly concerned.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I mean..."
Her smile faded as she looked down at her prosthesis, but before the mood got to dour, she shook her head and clicked the hook.
"... I'm getting used to it. One day at a time, right?" she asked, her smile returning.
That seemed to perk Izzbelle up.
"Yeah. Listen, you need anythin' carried or somethin', just ask, alright?"
"I'll be fine, Izzbelle."
"Right. Anyone makes fun of you, I'll fuckin' kill them."
"Alright, settle down, you big softie."
"I'm not soft! I'm serious! I'll fuckin' kill anyone who says a damn word. AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU FUCKERS, YOU HEARIN' ME?! THIS IS MY GIRL RIGHT HERE!" the Oni roared, raising her voice above the noise of the canteen.
As she glared at all the other students, she protectively pulled Whitney tight against her. The Nymph, not expecting it, yelped as her face was smooshed against Izzbelle's chest. Her visible eye went wide as her cheeks began to burn.
Before the mood could get any more awkward, the bell thankfully rang. With a nod, Cobalt turned to his students.
"Alright. Let's get to class, shall we?"
Izzbelle nodded, still clinging tight to Whitney.
"Lead the way, dumbass."
With the two demons in tow, Cobalt battled his way through the winding corridors of B.I.D. Though he couldn't say that he was particularly enjoying how wary the student body was of him, he did find it useful for getting through the crowds in record time. That being said, buy the time they reached their homeroom at the other end of the building, the entirety of 3-F were already waiting impatiently outside.
"Sorry, sorry! I'll open it now!" the Incubus called, fumbling with his keys.
They were all staring at him. His core class didn't seem quite so uneasy, however. They just seemed concerned. As he began to unlock the door, out of the corner of his eye he saw Jelli rocking back and forth on her heels, hugging her satchel close. For once, she was keeping her distance from Izzbelle, worrying him that they might have fallen out. But upon seeing how hard she blushed upon glancing at the Oni, Cobalt got the feeling that something entirely different had occurred between the two.
Either way, it was neither the time nor the place.
With the door opened, the class flooded into the room. Each student sat themselves at their seats as Cobalt took his place at the head of the room, rummaging through his satchel for his itinerary. Once located, he opened it up and surveyed the classroom.
Izzbelle lounged in her usual spot down the back, but despite her relaxed posture, she was paying close attention. Whitney was fiddling with her prosthesis, trying to find the best way to grip a pen with it. Quinn and Lottie were deep in conversation, but upon noticing his gaze, they both pulled faces. Jelli jostled in her seat, occasionally glanced back at her Oni friend. And Karazelle...
... wasn't there. Her seat was empty.
Strange.
"Alright then! New year, new start! How many times has that been said, I wonder?" he sighed, getting himself back into the teaching mood.
Rounding the desk, he sat down upon it.
"It's been... rough going. I won't argue about that. But everything that's happened is in the past, and like I said at the start of the year, the key word is 'resolve'. Even if the world is falling down around our ears, we have to knuckle down and keep at it. Exams wait for no man," he said, pounding his fist against his palm.
He smiled slightly.
"Look. The exams, they're... scary. I know, believe me. But they're not the be-all and end-all. The other teachers - and perhaps even myself - are going to push you hard from here on out, but that's because we want you at your best when you sit those tests. But so long as you give everything you have, the result doesn't matter."
His students murmured to one another, confused.
"Failure isn't the end of everything, you know. There's a backdoor into everything in life. Even if your results aren't what you want, that doesn't mean your options are closed to you. My colleagues have a habit of making it seem like these exams are the most important events to ever occur in a young demon's life, but truthfully...?"
A weak laugh escaped Cobalt lips as he gave them a shrug.
"I can't even remember taking them," he said simply.
The Incubus looked down at his feet. It wasn't like he could remember much, but if he could use that to reassure and motivate his students, then he would be a fool not to.
"That isn't, however, an excuse to not try at all. I know each and every one of you have the drive and potential to truly excel, and I'd be disappointed to see you not strive to do your best. So long as you try, then I'll be proud of you. So in the spirit of trying our best, we will be having pop quizzes this week in Science, History and especially Language! Brush up on your cantic phrases; I will be drilling you hard on those!" Cobalt continued, raising his voice as his students began to loudly protest.
He smiled despite their displeasure. He was a teacher, after all; he had to be a little cruel sometimes.
With his speech over and done with, he got straight to attendance, pausing as he arrived at Karazelle's name. Despite her demeanour, she was rarely absent. But he just shook his head and continued, determined not to let that throw off his start to the year. Once everyone was marked in, he allowed his students some time to converse before the bell rang again, signalling them to head to their first class of the day.
"You seem chipper," Lilith asked as Cobalt watched his final student flit out of the room.
"I want to see them succeed, Lilith. I've done enough to disrupt their education as is; the last thing I want is to hammer the final nail with a dour attitude," he answered, packing his things away.
"Heh... you know... you'd be a perfect fit for Pandemonium, kid. If you were a Devil, that is."
He raised an eyebrow at her puzzling comment.
"Uh... thanks?"
"Don't mention it."
Shaking his head, Cobalt turned around to leave, only to nearly leap out of his skin at the sight of the demon leaning in the doorway. Gasping for breath and slicked with sweat, Karazelle Terna unsteadily staggered into the room, wiping her brow as she rested her bag against a nearby desk.
"Sweet hellfire, I did not mean to sleep in like that... Sorry I'm late, sugar," she breathed, slumping into a chair.
"K- Karazelle!" Cobalt stammered, walking over to her.
He frowned, remembering that the last time he spoke with her - with any of them - was the disastrous night of Whitney's birthday party.
"Are you alright?" he asked, opening his satchel to pull out the class register.
She smiled and waved him away.
"Just peachy, sugar. Had a late night, is all. Been very busy with chemistry study lately."
"It's your physics that needs work, Miss Terna."
"Ah-ah-ah, I will burn that bridge when I get to that."
Grinning at her quip, Cobalt flipped open the book and corrected the attendance sheet, marking Karazelle in as present. Right as he left a tick in the appropriate box, however, a dark blotch suddenly appeared upon the page, staining it through. He pulled a face right as another one appeared beside it.
"Huh?"
He looked up at his student. She was staring at him, her eyes wide.
"Sugar, you're bleeding," she said, pointing at his face.
As more blotches splattered against the class register, Cobalt tossed the book aside and raised a hand to his face. He pulled it away to find it covered in blood. It flowed from his nostrils.
"What...?" he breathed, involuntarily licking it off his face.
Big mistake.
As soon as the sweet, salty and smooth fluid graced his tongue, a shock suddenly tore through the Incubus' body, nearly doubling him over. His veins glowed bright as his muscles writhed, his vision darkening a deep crimson colour.
"Cobalt! What's wrong?!" Karazelle cried, leaping out of her seat.
"Kid?! What the Hell's happening?!" Lilith concurred.
Everything echoed as the room swayed and blurred. Beneath his feet, countless roses sprouted from the linoleum, each a bloody shade of red. Cobalt could hear screaming in his ears, and the bones in his arms groaned and cracked, threatening to sprout a fresh array of jagged fangs.
"Agh... no, I..." he choked, staggering back against a desk.
The Succubus rushed forward to help him, but the closer she drew, the worse it got. The fire in his gut flared violently, nearly crippling him with hunger. He... He could smell her. No, he could smell the blood coursing just beneath her skin. So thick and sweet, hot and vibrant, sumptuous and heady... Nectar. Ichor. The smooth juices of the sweetest ambrosia.
Karazelle cried his name, but Cobalt couldn't hear it. Forcing himself to step through the tangled thorns underfoot, he grasped her shoulders, nearly dragging them both to the floor.
"Karazelle... I... need you..." he guttered, blood streaking all down his face and onto her shirt.
She tried to steady him, turning her head just enough to exposed her neck. He could see her jugular pulsing. He could hear it! The blood pumping through her heart! The sonorous, melodic beat! Her supple purple flesh... It would be so divine! He just... He just needed a taste! Anything to quell the hunger, but if she was offering him ambrosia, then he wasn't about to refuse...!
Cobalt opened his mouth wide, feeling the corners strain as he bared his fangs. They seemed to jostle and rattle in his maw, but right as he made to plunge them into Karazelle's throat, a pang of lucidity overcame him.
What the fuck was he doing?!
Screaming like a feral beast, Cobalt forced his own arm into his mouth before he could harm the Succubus, shoving her out of the way as his teeth tore deep into his own flesh. Skin, muscle and fat yielded to his fangs, halting only when he struck bone. He half-drowned himself on his own scorching blood, spurring him into a manic frenzy. He gurgled and stripped his flesh clean off the bone, not even bothering to chew as he crammed it down his throat.
It sat hot and heavy in his gut, consumed by the crimson furnace. Choking and spluttering, Cobalt staggered back, gawking at his arm.
He had gone over the skeletal and muscular system so many times in Science. But there it was. The radius. The ulna. What remained of his flexors and extensors. He tried to moved his hands, but the tendons responsible for movement were burning deep within him.
It hurt so, so much.
Karazelle stared at him, horrified. He looked back at her, frozen in both fear and agony.
"K- Karazelle..." Cobalt choked as blood pooled on the ground all around him.
She said something. At least he thought she did. But before he could give himself a chance to hear her out, he rushed out the door, panicked and confused.
Nothing was okay.
He wasn't alright.
He was getting worse.
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very, very wrong.