This Was Bizarre, The Imp Thought As He Walked In. Whatever He Had Planned To Say, He Completely Forgot

This was bizarre, the imp thought as he walked in. Whatever he had planned to say, he completely forgot about it as he just looked around at this place. Who lived like this? It was so vibrant and soft... If this Cardan guy thought he was going to order Blitz to abduct her, or kill her, he was going to need to pay extremely well, the hitman decided.

Realizing he hadn't taken in anything that she'd actually said or offered, just that it was something about tea, he nodded vaguely, turning in place as he looked around again. "Yeah, that sounds... nice... what the... how did you get the floor like this? All these plants, all this um, greenery. How are you getting them to grow without any real sunlight?" He wasn't actually interested in the ins and outs of fae gardening, but if this woman had some kind of crazy light powers, or sunlight powers... shit, those were things he needed to know. Fuck Cardan for sending him in here without any real explanation of just what exactly a fae was.

Well, that was an interesting turn of events, the way this man interacted with her. Zephos tilted her head curiously, noting at first, he was somewhat taken aback, then the shift to a semi-polite cascade of introductions and questions. Then he pulled that packet of seeds out, thyme.

She could smell it even in the package he carried. Thyme had a certain scent to her that was familiar, a welcoming gesture once again. He surely meant no harm with that kind of introduction and mispronounced fae speech. Was he here upon his accord or was he here upon the demands of another?

Zephos would chuckle, similar to a babbling brook, finding this Blitz person rather charming, if a little awkward. She would take the extended hand in both of her small gloved ones, "You may call me what you wish, Zeph, Zephos, or another form if you desire, Blitz. You may come in, should I put on a kettle for tea, or another drink be more your preference?"

She would move aside to let him in, the place she resided in rather small, yet comfortable. He would see that it was rather homey, with plants in most windowsills, and the floor akin to a forest meadow. The home also smelled of kitchen spices, like cinnamon and sugar, with the floral smells adding a nice non-overwhelming touch. The lights were dim like candles, but light enough to see. Odd to note since Hell was mostly a cold concrete jungle in comparison.

Blitz's eyes had gotten huge at Chaz's outburst and he was already reaching into his jacket for a gun well before the shark calmed down. Blinking, the imp nodded slowly; at a little nudge from Demetri, he made himself relax again.

"I mean, I kind of left, you know. My clothes there, it was sort of an escape in boxers and a jacket type situation. Then the last I heard, you were dead or something. There was a rumor that fuckface calling himself Moxxie's father put in an order for another pair of jaws to be cleaned and mounted. I'm like. Uh. Fuck. Glad? You're not dead? And that you still have your teeth."

Demetri whispered something into Blitz's ear that made the imp roll his eyes and blush at the same time. He batted at his vampiric date.

"Behave."

"Make me," Demetri cooed. But then, his smile still warm as ever, eyes so much softer than either Chaz or Blitz ever tended to look, he turned back to the shark. "You get off soon, don't you? Why don't you come back to my place with Blitz and I? I won't bite. Unless either of you tell me to, of course."

Blitz had to suppress a shiver. That was actually kind of a nice thought, but--fuck. He swallowed hard. "Sexy as that visual is, I'm uh, let's, maybe, how about a um, a fucking raincheck on that, on... that particular threesome. Text me when you can, Chaz, we'll get together. If you're free tomorrow, I actually need to go to the shooting range for a bit. You wanna come with? Come get your jacket afterwards?"

The way Chaz's face heats up at the joke was very noticeable, sure people flirted with him dirtily but never so... dominant towards him so it caught him off guard even more then any flirting from Blitz would be, awkwardly chuckling, scratching his neck with a goofy grin on his face before it fell slightly "Yeah I know, I'm sorry it sucked I kno- Wait, you were using me? How? I'm the one who came on to you" Chaz questioned, he had been so preoccupied with how he felt about it during and after, he never considered Blitz used him, especially when he in hindsight did a piss poor job of giving him a pleasant lay.

He raises a brow at the mention of the party, realizing he remembered it half way through "O-Oh... Yeah I got an invitation somehow, Verosika Mayday used to be a celebrity crush of mine, but reading that invitation it just turned me off real quick. Maybe it's just cause I fucked up plenty but I don't want to rake someone over the coals ten times over for that shit, especially when I fully deserved what you did..." Chaz said pouring himself a drink and staring into the swirling liquid somberly

His eyes perk up however when Blitz speaks about second chances, a bit stunned how right that felt to hear. Blushing again at the proposition and stammering in response "U-Uh I guess your right, i-If you want that I'd sure be down for it, honestly!... And, thanks Blitz. I mean that believe it or not" Chaz said awkwardly, but with a warm and soft smile on his face at the end, shrugging a bit before his face twisted in confusion at seeing Demetri walk up, leaning up against Blitz all cozy as he greeted the shark. Taking a bit before gasping in realization.

"Oh he's your date. I forget that's a requirement for getting in here sometimes." Chaz said shrugging with a chuckle, a slight pang of disappointment in his voice before his eyes widened ever so slightly at Blitz looking back at him, stammering again "O-Oh yeah, sure thing, I'd... like to try again with you if Im being.. entirely honest Blitz" The shark said blushing, bashfully pulling on his collar, both nervous and excited to have a chance to redeem himself with Blitz, before his ringed eyes went very wide in realization

"YOU HAVE MY JACKET!? THE ONE WITH THE BONES ON THE SLEEVES?! Holy shit so that's where it ended up, you took it!" The shark exclaimed, suddenly leaning over the counter and accidentally getting very close to Blitz's face in the process before backing off and standing up, awkwardly chuckling, a bit embarrassed at his reaction

"B-But yeah um I'd like it back, I really like it, and it was a gift from my mom actually, so yeah if you don't mind giving it back, I'd really appreciate it Blitz..."

Just look my way ♥️🌙

Vox stood, his grin sharper and more dangerous now as he adjusted his jacket, making sure it hung perfectly. "You can want to ask," he said cheerfully, "but it's better that you don't. Until I know that you and your company can be trusted? If you were to end up with any of my secrets, I would have to take care of that." If I tell you the truth, I will kill you. It was as simple and heartless as that. Just because Vox didn't make a habit of killing didn't mean he was reluctant to do so when necessary. He liked this little imp. Beautiful, charming, ferocious, and adaptable, she was everything one could wish for in a contractor--

But she would be meat on the floor the moment she crossed him.

That was the ugly truth about interacting with Overlords. Even the kindest of them--of which Vox was arguably not--could never really be trusted. Her instincts had been right, to slam the door in his face, and now it was too late. Millie was on Vox's radar. IMP was on his list. There was only one way for them to get out of this, and that was through success.

Smile brighter than ever, he zapped himself away, leaving nothing but the acrid tang of burned air behind.

-

Blitz was in ridiculously good spirits when he, Moxxie, and Loona returned through the portal. With a cheerful whoop, he did a completely unnecessary somersault before going to hang his jacket up.

"Fuck, killing is the best. It's good to be good at shit!" He practically hopped over to Millie, scooped her up, and nuzzled her face. "Hey there, Millie-Billie! We missed you! How was shit here? I got you something." Blitz put her down, went back over to his coat, and dug out the paper sack with cheeseburgers in it. "Earth burgers, if you haven't had lunch yet." He tossed the bag her way. "We miss anything?"

There's a smirk rested on her face as he said that. Her being able to flatter someone was easy. It was in her genes. Learned it from her mother. Something her mother did say was 'If you can flatter someone, you'll be certain to win them over.' Her mom was right most of the time. It doesn't always work though. But she definitely didn't want to get on an overlord's bad side. That wouldn't be good, or helpful to I.M.P. Although, Blitz might enjoy it if someone like her were to get on an overlord's bad side. "I know my way around people."

Honestly, it wasn't all that much of a surprise that killing may be boring to him. It made her wonder if he just hadn't found the unique ways of killing someone. Oh well, to each their own. She listens as he began to describe someone that he wanted her to find. The second that he managed to spit out just a bit of the description she couldn't help but grin. Perfect. Her boss and coworkers already had a bone to pick with that jerk. So, it would be nice to have a reason to rough him up a bit. Take him right off that high horse that he was always on. This was definitely going to be a fun job that was certain.

Although she was already thrilled to take on this job, she was curious to know who this overlord was. Killing an overlord? That was something that they'd never done before. "You can't just tell me it's an overlord and not expect me to want to ask who you're referring too."

There it was, she was smirking again at the mention of Strikers name.

"I already have a bet to settle with him. So, count us in."

Based on a conversation I had with @oversensitiveandoffputting I think that ironically, “Apology Tour” was the episode that fully convinced me that Stolitz was a relationship that could work in the long run.

Hear me out, because I know this is the episode where the state of Stolitz is the worst it’s ever been.

In every romantic relationship, you two will inevitably piss each other off and you might end up in an argument that ends badly. But after you two have said your piece how will you proceed? How will you treat them before you make up? Well “Apology Tour” gave me that answer.

Yes Blitz and Stolas opened the episode having a really brutal argument where the two of them, mainly Blitz, said a lot of hurtful and insensitive shit. But later in the episode at the Anti-Blitzo party, Blitz goes to talk to Stolas still trying to apologize even after Stolas publicly sang a song about how much Blitz hurt him and that he was “a motherfucker” (which honestly, good for Stolas, the bird needed a healthier outlet for his pain).

And when Stolas sees him, despite him being mad at Blitz, despite the fact that he is still clearly hurt by Blitz’s actions and words, and despite the fact that he is surrounded by people that would 100% be on his side if he were to expose Blitz, Stolas still tries to hide Blitz and warns him against exposing himself. Even when he’s mad at him, Stolas tries to protect Blitz.

And on Blitz’s end of things, Stolas is drunk off his ass and extremely vulnerable. Despite the fact that Blitz in that moment has the power to try to make Stolas feel worse about himself, despite the fact that Blitz is also extremely hurt by Stolas’s actions, despite the fact that Blitz could easily have chosen to leave Stolas to drink himself to the point of danger, he still chose to take care of Stolas in his drunken state and bothered to listen to what Stolas had to say and only left when Stolas asked him to.

Even when the two of them are mad at each other, confused as hell about how badly things ended, when they no longer have any obligation to each other, and are too wrapped in their own feelings to understand how the other is hurt, they are still looking after and caring about each other, even if only to the extent of ensuring things don’t go worse for the other person.

I don't know how to articulate how much this means to me because after seeing a lot of couples both fictional and in real life go through a rough patch, maybe even break up, and they proceed to treat each other just awfully because of their hurt, what Stolitz did is almost unheard of to me. They have no more obligation to each other, but they still chose to take care of each other when both of them were at their most vulnerable.

They didn't have to but they still chose to.

Now this in and of itself doesn't mean the two of them are ready to get back together. Blitz needs to unlearn his self-destructive habits born out of debilitating self-hatred, and he needs to learn that his -self-loathing will hurt the people around him because let me tell you, it hurts like hell when someone you love is determined to not accept that you care about them. And Stolas still needs to do a lot self-reflection on why his actions lead Blitz to believe that Stolas could not possibly care about him, because it also doesn't feel good when it feels like someone doesn't respect you enough to treat you like an adult.

However, the fact that the two of them still chose to be kind and attentive to each other in spite of their anger and the messiness of the situation, this tells me that when the time comes for them to have another conflict that frustrates them both, they will work to overcome it together.

They know how to have a good time together, but now they're figuring out how to have a bad time together, and honestly if this is how they treat each other when they are at their worst, I have a lot of hope for how they will handle conflict moving forward.

The immediate flirting caught Blitz off guard. He faltered for a moment, unsure whether or not he'd actually just heard that, but he rallied just as quickly and put a grin on, slipping back into his most comfortable public persona, the shield coming as naturally as it ever had--even if maybe, maybe, it didn't fit quite as well these days.

"Well, guy as handsome as you, I could be persuaded," he practically purred back at the man. "I wanted to talk about something you offered, writing lessons? But I mean, if you have something else in mind that you'd like to hold and a pen just ain't cuttin' it..." Blitz leaned his shoulder against the bird, not quite rubbing against him the way a cat might, but something similar. It was a very brief contact, and then he moved away again, to a more comfortable distance. "Did you mean that? About teaching me to write better? Or were you pointing out how fucking uneducated I am?" He asked it like it was nothing, but deep down, even under his hope, there was an ember of resentment; it was easy for those with privilege and security to look down on those who didn't have enough of either to get the same education they had. If that was what was going on here? Well, Goetia were Goetia, he shouldn't be surprised.

Maybe it would be easier if all the guy had meant was let's get together again under any pretense, I want a quick fuck. It would almost definitely be safer.

Usually these days, he'd send Baron out to do small errands for him. But this was one of his days of full freedom from what one might call work, albeit how leisurely it was, you might not. And thus the Goetia had to go out and about himself. Turning heads left and right, nobility walking amongst the rabble.

That essentially made it Blitz's lucky day. Any other Goetia would never be caught dead in public if they could avoid it. But he enjoyed his time on the streets, these were the people he favored. No pomp, no circumstance...just living 'life' in Hell as best they could. And being as tall as he was, and vibrant as sin itself, he was easy to pick out.

When called out with such a ridiculous name, Eclipse smoothed down his already slick feathers. Being a raven, he wasn't as puffy or fluffy as certain other birds...such as Owls.

"My existence is Important, Blitz, I'm a Goetia....but no, I'm just doing some minor errands since Baron's off today. Though I do have to ask, are these fuckin' minutes or "fuckin" minutes?" He teased playfully.