#temeluches

"I have a boyfriend-"

"One of them is your sister-"

"That's how I know!"

Temeluches giving "the shovel talk" to his own sister bc he Likes These Flesh Vessels is somehow the funniest yet most in character concept I've ever read lol

"Zagan she's squishy and full of blood."

"Tem I'm a vamp, that's literally my two standards."

"Rise, my child, and give us your report."

Norma slowly stood, crossing her hands behind her back. It was partially to look proper; mostly to hide their shaking as she looked upon the queen of demons. It was hard to judge what she was thinking- Norma wasn't great at that on a good day, sure, but all the human could glimpse was flashes of bright yellow eyes, rolling back and forth across her form. She wondered what an ancient demon would see. A baby? A snack?

"My report, your majesty?" she broached finally.

Norma watched the demon's pupils constrict in real time. "Of course. What did you witness? What did the angels do?"

She swallowed heavily. Oh. Right. That felt obvious, in retrospect. "Yes, ma'am." Norma cleared her throat, thankful to her sweater for hiding the bobbing motion. Would the queen be a vampire too? Hard to say. Temeluches wasn't, and Zagan had mentioned being turned. But Tem was dead and Zagan could've been an heir ritual. "The Watcher jailed us for eternity in Naraka- and not just us, but many innocent demons and clones."

Zagan nodded along, metal hand cupping her chin. "Az gave us a call when he got out. Said you were pretty cool."

"Ahh, thank you?" she said, forcing herself not to look too long as the vampire. Norma would be lying if she said she didn't want to hang out with Zagan again- but this felt like a really bad time for feelings. "There was- are casualties."

"On our side too," confirmed the queen.

There was a crunch, and two heads and one sarcophagus swiveled as fire-tipped fingers left scratches in Temeluches' chair. Blue eyes burned into Norma's skull.

"Who?" he asked, deathly quiet.

Norma dug her nails into her palms to keep centered. "Pugsley."

Temeluches was on his feet before she'd even finished her sentence. The human body he'd obtained was quickly engulfed in blue flames, glowing blue eyes spelling doom.

"Those bastards," he hissed, the mere word a noxious spell as he started towards the door. "When I get my claws in them, I'll-"

"Stop."

Norma flinched as the queen called out her command. Her voice hadn't changed at all, as if she were simply about to ask Temeluches not to drive in a storm. Zagan inched away from her tomb slightly- and Norma, following her lead, instantly fell back into her bow.

"Mother," Temeluches rumbled. It sounded pleading. "You can't possibly ask me to abide the destruction of one of my flesh vessels."

"I'm not asking," she agreed. "I'm demanding."

The queen's eyes slid towards Norma. The stone dug into her knees as she struggled not to cower. "What is your relation to our war, child?"

"I'm the first line of defense from invaders on the neutral zone," Norma replied, remembering not for the first time how daunting that was. "I've also begun studying up on angels to find potential weaknesses."

"If the answers we needed were in a book, girl, we would've found them already."

"Mom," Zagan hissed quietly.

Norma's ears burned with embarrassment as she deepened the bow. "Yes, ma'am. I don't... I know I'm not a strong creature. I know we humans die a lot easier than any demon or angel. But I'm happy to risk it all to help see this war through."

"Big aspirations for someone younger than the newest angel," she hummed, but Norma thought she caught a hint of something positive in her voice, impossible to pin down exactly. It wasn't respect, surely? "You see, Tem? You could go busting down the angel's door and be obliterated in moments... or we could gather intel, use our new assistance, and march upon the pearly gates with enough men to stranglehold the angels and be sure we vaporize the ones responsible."

Temeluches looked tempted to refuse, grief winning out over his senses, but he took in a deep breath and returned to his chair. "Yeah, alright."

The queen looked down at Norma again, and Norma couldn't help but feel drawn to look back. It was like a ghostly hand was on her chin, forcing her gaze. Perhaps it would be easier if it was that simple.

There's a long, dead silence as Norma casually throws a trussed up angel at the Queen's sarcophagus, dipping into a bow entirely too casual for the situation.

"Your Majesties," she greets.

"What," says the Queen, blinking curiously at her, "did you do?"

"Nothing much. I found this angel skulking around the neutral plane, hooked up some improvised booby traps, hit it in the face with a shovel, then trussed it up with leftover lights from the Christmas in July event." Norma, catching on to the ever-growing confusion, shrugged. "It makes more sense if you've seen the film Home Alone."

"Hated that movie," Temeluches commented, cracking his knuckles. "Thanks for the free info, Norma."

"Sure thing. Mind if I go now?"

"Not at all."

"Thanks." Norma stood, bowed, and exited.

Zagan watched the debacle with a detached sense of stage fright. It was great to see more of Norma. That was kind of why she'd given the teen her number in the first place. But the more time demons hung around humans, the more they were all beginning to realize that humans were batshit insane.

The Queen couldn't exactly turn to look at her, but Zagan saw a yellow eye slowly slide towards her. "What ails you, precious?"

"Reeks of blood," she said, and it wasn't a lie. Zagan rubbed her thumb and forefinger together across the bridge of her nose to keep back a familiar urge.

But her mother was far less understanding about Zagan's wish to respect her friend's space and species preference. "Ah. Go feast, then, dear."

Zagan didn't argue, but she wished she could. Wished she could say, 'she just brought us a huge boon and is injured, and you still can't respect her?' Alas, mother is not someone she can deny.

The vampire found Norma just outside the big doors to her castle, and she found her wrapping her forearm with a steady hand. Zagan set her hand on her hip and laughed a little. "Maybe we should make you our field medic."

Norma smiled tightly. "Standard procedure for working at Phoenix Parks. If you can do it yourself, you don't go to the hospital." She jerked her head towards the interrogation likely happening within. "I thought you'd be more interested in that."

"Eugh, I am," she groused. "Mom shooed me away."

She hummed agreement and held out the wound, still half-wrapped. "Snack?"

"You're offering?"

"That's why she sent you out here, isn't it?"

Zagan tsks and slaps her hand away. "Believe it or not, I didn't give you my number for a dine and dash."

"Ah," said Norma, as if she was just remembering. "I don't really know what to do with that. Something tells me my cell phone won't connect to the lower planes."

"You got a scrying pool?"

She stared at her blandly.

"We'll get you a scrying pool," Zagan promised. "Makes it easier to give us reports."

Norma tied off the last bit of gauze and didn't reply.

Zagan leaned awkwardly against the wood door. "This is weird, isn't it?"

"Every social interaction is weird to me," she replied with a shrug. "I don't mind the company."

"I'm sorry," Zagan added, feeling like she should've done it sooner. "For your loss, or whatever. If I'd known... I didn't know. I just thought we were having a fun time."

"We were. It's not your fault the angels aren't what they're cracked up to be." Norma flexed her arm, smiling at the mobility. "That's the whole point of this, isn't it? Revenge?"

"I mean, I just wanted to hang out with a cute girl, but you do you."

It takes Norma a moment to catch up, turning a bright shade of red. Zagan smiled with a hint of fang.

"Wanna grab a bite?" she offered. "There's a diner a floor up that serves food you can probably digest."