Monday, 9th March, 1:18pm
(Death's Pov)
Angel's taken Gamer to the palace today for another lesson with Jackal whilst I'm stuck here... working at my own casino. About lunch time and early afternoon is always slow, there's barely anyone but the few day drinkers blowing off their weekly pay they've gotten the day before. No gambling... well, except a day drinker or two attempting to get to a table of machine and failing in probably the funniest way possible, a reason why Gamer's stopped working most afternoons and lunches... apparently it's really that funny to him. Another reason is that sometimes... his laugh can be a 'little' contagious....... yes, on multiple accounts I've had to physically choke back my own laughter in order to keep it from leaving my lips.
I stood behind the bar, listening to the faint drunken slurs of the day drinkers as I watched an overlord walk in and over to a booth in the corner. "What's Sovanna Jeong doing here?" Nile questioned, standing by my left as June walked over with a tray of empty glasses "Death-" "On it" I waved off June, walking into the small kitchen behind the bar wall to thankfully finding the kettle still boiling hot. I quickly made a cup of tea before walking back out into the main area of the casino with the cup in hand. I walked over to the booth Sovanna was sitting in "A bit early for night drinking, isn't it?" I questioned the overlord, placing the cup of tea down in front of her "Well, I wanted to talk to you in person" she stated, silently thanking me for the tea "Could've called and scheduled a meeting or something-" "I needed to speak with you today... and I assumed you were working, which I see was true" Sovanna told me as I slowly sat down in the booth, across from her. "Alright... I'm listening" I said "...when young Shadow arrived in Hell, did he by chance hesitate to talk about his past?" Sovanna asked as I raised a brow "Well... he's only told me a little about it but I know for myself that it's not everything, he is holding something back" I answered. "I know he might talk about it eventually, either to me or someone else so I'm happy to be patient and wait" I added, looking up at Sovanna "There are a few things about him or his actions towards things that I'd like to ask about, but I want to wait until he's completely comfortable with me first... that's what I'd hope for when learning to trust a new person" I continued. I folded my arms "Mind me asking why you brought up that question?" I asked as Sovanna took a sip of her tea "I have a new tenant" "Right, and what sort of job have you given them?" I asked "None, I've taken her in off the street-" I laughed a bit at Sovanna's words.
"What part of my words find you amusing?" Sovanna questioned, all seriousness painted on her face "Woah- wait... seriously?" I questioned as she turned her head away from me "Since when do you rent rooms out to people for free?" I questioned her again as she signed in annoyance. "Lali earns her keep and I let her stay for free-" "Yeah, but I have a feeling that this is different" I interrupted, feeling both June and Nile's eyes pierced on me, closing watching in on the conversation "...she's a new arrival, isn't she?" I stated as Sovanna refused to look at me "Sovanna... how long has this girl been in Hell for?" I asked and of course, I eventually got an answer. "...three days... being my tenant for one" Sovanna answered "What type of demon is this girl?" "I'm not sure and neither is she... Queen Aristomache hasn't exactly seen nor met her yet" Sovanna answered, only now finally looking at me "But... her sin is deceit". I raised a brow... it's very unlike Sovanna to take in a deceit-sinned demon so hearing about it from Sovanna herself feels very unbelievable. "...her name?" "Rebel Nili... I swear I've heard that name before" the overlord answered "At the moment, she's got black hair, pale skin and these brown eyes you can see is slowly turning purple and... she has this scar, most probably from her death I'm assuming, from her hip to near the bottom of her breast on the right" she stated. "That description suppose to make me pity her-" "She died sixteen, Death" Sovanna interrupted "She won't tell me about her death, but her scar seems painful and... she suffered in her dying moments" she told me as I bit my tongue. Right, forgot to not judge someone just by their sin or what they are.... it's a habit I'm working on. "I don't understand- you hate those who hold deceit as a sin as much as I hate those who are lust-sinned" I stated "I have my reasons for such hate towards certain sinners as well as you have yours" I continued, looking up at the overlord "So what makes this girl any different?" I questioned, very curious in what this answer is gonna be.
"I... I'm not entirely sure" Sovanna answered, looking down at the tea within the cup in front of her "To be honest, I was going to ignore her yet... just seeing her be mistreated by those vermin who've still not acquired decent manners..... it really reminded me how much Hell still hasn't changed" Sovanna admitted as I leaned back in the booth. "Yeah, I know..." I quietly agreed.
Hell really hasn't changed much at all since I arrived down here, and I died 1946... it's now 1987. In about twenty years, fuck all has changed for the better, instead... most places changed for the worst and became even more fucked up. The few places I've been are thankfully non-existent or abandoned now but.... there's still a lot of shit the royals and council need to really fix. I'm just glad Gamer's never been to any of these horrid places and under my eyes, never going to in the rest of his new demon life.
(No One's Pov)
"I just don't understand what's wrong with asking questions-" "Questions are a waste of time and breath" Angel interrupted, walking through the palace's library with Gamer following after her. "No, they're not" Gamer told the reaper "Asking questions helps people learn more about the topic at hand-" Angel turned her head and glared right into the fallen's eyes as her own glowed purple "Too many questions is annoying and just asking for trouble" she hissed before turning her back to Gamer and continuing to walk again.
Earlier, Jackal was again talking Gamer through the process of taking spells and given it was Gamer he was teaching, the fallen started asking questions about it. And even though Jackal himself was completely fine about answering the numerous questions he was being asked, and also trying to hold back a bit of laughter, Angel stormed out of the room, spitting out venom about how stupid the fallen's questions were. Of course, being as determined and curious he was, Gamer followed after the reaper, daring to poke her anger with a stick just to find the truth behind it.
"...like you've never been curious before" Gamer spoke, his words making Angel come to a dead stop "We've all asked questions out of curiosity at least once in you lives-" "Curiosity always kills the cat, dumbass" Angel spat "And sometimes you can't trust the person you're asking is actually telling the truth, especially if the answer you get comes from a fucking stranger" Angel told him. "That's a basic purpose of children's stories and nursery rhymes- they teach you the basic dos and don'ts of life" the reaper stated "And sometimes they also tell you stories of history or things people would never tell you" she continued as Gamer raised a brow. "...alright?" "Like 'Jack and Jill' for example- it just sounds like a nursery rhyme about two clumsy kids when really, if you think about it, it's about two people being beheaded" Angel plainly stated "Jack loses his 'crown', aka his head and 'Jill came tumbling after' simply implying the next head tumbling down after the other beheading" she continued as Gamer stared at her in confusion. "Also 'Ring Around the Rosie' is about the Black Plague with its symptoms and death, 'London Bridge is Falling Down-" "What?" Angel looked over at the fallen as soon as he interrupted her, she was met with the confusion on his face... her own softening a bit once realising why he was so confused. "...you don't know those?" Angel questioned as Gamer slowly shook his head "What did you grow up hearing in Heaven then?" "I was mostly left at the Light Temple most of my childhood so... all I've heard were stories and teachings of stuff that happened in Heaven" Gamer answered, looking down at the ground. "If I asked about any other existing realm and its history... I'd get snapped at and punished" he continued, glancing up at Angel "Like you said... curiosity always kills the cat, but... I don't care how many times I 'die' from curiosity" Gamer stated as Angel's brows frowned in worry "I'd rather risk asking the question than hold back and never know the truth".
Angel stood there... silent.
She found it hard to believe such thing. Punishment just for asking to learn more of the outside world or showing the slightest interest in it... it disgusted her. Hearing and realising that Gamer's never heard a proper lullaby, nursery rhyme or children's story, nor had a decent childhood whilst growing up in Heaven. Did the angels just assume he was gonna be 'all-knowing' and completely alright without a decent childhood? He grew up on teachings the Head Priestess and mother of the temple teach new sisters and priestesses. He grew up on the non-existent care and love given to him. Angel felt horrible... and beyond pissed with those who've done such a poor job on raising a kid, and that's what Gamer still is... a kid. Or more of a teenager, yet still a kid.
Angel quickly looked at the shelf of books beside her, immediately spotting a book and pulling it off the shelf, handing it to Gamer. The fallen raised a brow "Fairytales?... why-" "Just read it" Angel told him "You've got all the time in the world now so... you can now play 'catch up' on the things you've missed out" she said, giving Gamer a slight smile. "Plus you might be surprised by some things you've missed" Angel stated before walking off and disappearing further into the library, leaving Gamer alone with the book of tales in his hands.
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