@countlessrealities /Multiversal Love Potion Mishap/
In the ever-present chaotic mess of Hell, things rarely stayed the same. If you couldn’t adapt, you’d get left behind in the dust. Those were some of the words Vox had thrown at him back when they first crossed paths. Val let the thought roll around in his head as he moved down the long hallway, his heels clicking sharply against the polished floor with every step.
He adjusted the fur collar of his coat, eyes half focused on the glowing screens lining the walls that flickered with distant broadcasts. Velvette was probably his best friend in this whole rotten pit, unlike Vox things with that screen headed bastard always got so damn complicated. The man’s nonstop obsession with that deer who wouldn’t even spit in his direction was exhausting Alastor this, Alastor that. It grated on the nerves after a while.
With Velvette, everything stayed simple. They rarely butted heads, and when they did, it never turned as ugly as it could with Vox. That was probably why they clicked so well. Both of them lived for fashion, loved showing off their wealth and status to every pathetic sinner beneath them. What was the point of holding all this power if you couldn’t rub it in their faces?
Besides, he had known Velvette longer than Vox anyway. Their lines of work overlapped perfectly he only ever chased the finest beauties, and if they could handle the bedroom, they could usually strut a runway too.
They swapped employees all the time. If one of Velvette’s models wasn’t cutting it, she’d just ship them straight over to him. You’d think a fashion studio would be safer than a porno set. You’d be dead wrong, just like so many of her workers had learned the hard way. The woman didn’t play around when it came to her craft. She kept them on an incredibly tight leash, and if they failed to hit her sky high standards, odds were they’d need a body bag for whatever was left.
Work was one of the reasons he was dropping by now. They hadn’t seen each other in over a week, and they were cooking up one of her newest potions together. The last extermination had hit their crews especially hard. They’d lost a good bunch of employees, and what better way to pull in fresh meat than to hook them on something so addictive they’d have to keep coming back to Vees territory to get it?
Pushing open the heavy door with one gloved hand, he stepped into the warmly lit room, the scent of burning herbs and expensive perfume hitting him immediately. Velvette was already bent over her large cauldron in the center, stirring with focused movements while colorful vapors rose in twisting patterns. A wide smile pulled at his lips as he took in the scene, his multiple arms shifting slightly with the motion. He shrugged off his long jacket in a fluid sweep and draped it across the back of her velvet couch, the fabric settling with a soft thud.
“Sorry I’m late, babe,” he called out, voice smooth and low as he crossed the room toward her. His fingers trailed along the edge of a nearby workbench cluttered with glowing vials before he leaned one hip against it, arms loosely crossed over his chest. “It’s hands on deck with so many employees dead and all these deadlines breathing down our necks.” He let out a long sigh, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension from the long day. “So how are things going?”