#bewitchedmuses

Inside the towering screen-lit studio of VoxTek, every monitor flickered in perfect, synchronized rhythm. Blues and reds pulsed like a heartbeat. At the center of it all stood Vox, fingers steepled, screen-face glowing with a satisfied grin as he looked at Angel Dust.

“Thanks for coming Angel. Let’s try something a little more persuasive tonight. I kind of have something special planned for you to do for me.”

"Hmm."

That's not what Vox wants to hear. Alastor isn't wrong, not at all, but having it pointed out, having the reminder that even one person sees his scams and bravado for what they are, it isn't nice. Vox doesn't like it.

It's a good thing he's got a few tricks that always lift his mood, and even thinking about them is enough for Vox to muster a small chuckle.

And desires were all he could think about. He hasn't even been able to focus on any sort of murder (until now) and at least three other people have been promoted before him. Normally, he'd never let himself fall so far down the food chain but he...he can't seem to escape this carnal desire that no amount of self-attention could cure! But it's far too risky to dare and try some random club or bar or park bathroom. Getting caught and losing it all in general wasn't an option, more so in those sort of places.

But he needed satisfaction!

It was driving him mad! Mad to the point in belief and thus this point.

Clearing his den of his high-end and expensive furniture to craft these runes along this summoning circle. The instructions commented how it would usually be called for a human sacrifice but that an animal would do just fine...but he wasn't afraid of getting the necessary blood needed. Not if it could help ease this painful desire brewing and boiling inside of him.

"I need this....I need this to work...I seek satisfaction and conquest of desire..."

@bewitchedmuses Hua Cheng to Xie Lian: "I told you I'd come back one day."

Xie Lian had been waiting and waiting for Hua Cheng’s return. He had been keeping himself busy with his Puqi Temple, cleaning and accepting offering and helping people to make the time go faster, to make the days less lonely. His Ghost King had said he would return to him after he had set him free from his cursed shackles and he believed him. Hua Cheng could do anything he wanted.

' Wasn't expecting it or . . . hoping I'd be busy with something else . . . ?? ' He raised a brow at the other. He didn't have a dead body to display for the other this time. But he was laying on Angel's bed , kicking his feet in the air.

@bewitchedmuses from HERE

Alastor had spent the following day thinking about Vox just as the other overlord was, though his thoughts were far more dreary. Vox might've accepted his gift but it hadn't gone over well. The other had been suspicious of his intentions and feeling his presence was unwelcomed he left the partly.

Of course he hadn't thought one gift would right all the wrongs he had did, but he hoped that it was a gesture to show he wanted to try to rebuild what he had unknowingly thrown away. He spent his time wondering what else he could do or if he should even try. It might just be best that he should leave Vox be and allow him to move on. The latter option was likely for the best but he couldn't help but feel this sting in his chest.

That evening he spent his time at the bar drinking. And drinking more. He drank until Husk even left to go to his room, leaving him alone at the bar very intoxicated. Four empty whiskey bottles on the counter with a forth one in his hand, his other hand holding up his head. When he heard a familiar voice his ears angles towards the other overlord but he didn't look over, thinking that it was just a drunken hallucination. But then he looked down at the small box that was placed on the counter. He set the bottle down and reached out to pick the gift up to carefully open. It was a lovely vintage watch, made with expensive metals and hand engraved floral patterns.

"It's beautiful..." Alastor caressed it gently and looked over at Vox. "Why'd you get me something so nice?"

The plan had been simple. Visit the Hotel, find Alastor, drop off the gift without making a big deal out of it and get the fuck out. He had assumed that locating his rival would have been the hardest part, especially since he was hellbent on not getting spotted by everyone else in the process, so finding him at the bar, sitting alone, had felt like a stroke of luck.

Since the most difficult step had turned out to be easy, everything else should have gone as smoothly, right? Which was absolutely great.

Or, at least, that was what he had thought until the Radio Demon had asked his question, looking at him in a way he couldn't decipher but that had caused the Media Overlord's insides to twist in a way that was, at the same time, painful and hopeful.

"I..." He started, but his voice trailed off immediately after, since he didn't have a ready answer. Fuck, he didn't even know if he had any answer either. One that he was ready to spell out loud, at least.

His shoulders sagged as he glanced away, lips pressed together in a thin line. His gaze travelled around the bar, to have an excuse not to look at Alastor, and eventually landed on the whiskey bottles. It looked like the other had had a busy night. Not that he had any right to judge when he was in desperate need of a drink himself.

Biting back a heavy sigh, Vox took a seat in the stool next to the one the Radio Demon was occupying, reaching out for the still unfinished bottle. With just one, quick look at the label, he brought it to his mouth, taking a generous gulp from it.

"Look, Al, I meant what I said yesterday. I don't get what you're playing at...if you're playing at all," he admitted, voice tight as the tension in his shoulders. "You suddenly taking such a keen interest in me, after everything, it's...weird. It makes no sense. So, I won't apologise for thinking that it might be just another of your schemes, but..."

He was a greedy fool who needed to think that, perhaps, he could get a chance. After all the pain, the humiliation, the anger, the heartbreak...maybe he could still get something that would have made it all somewhat worth his trouble.

He is confused, unsure what to think of this. The aftermath of his fuck up left him with needing a new body, stuck in the tanks out of comfort. Vox has felt numb since and did not expect any attention from Alastor.