Angel's Library

On the outskirts of a small town in the midst of a great forest, Peppermint is building a fire. 808 is sitting on a mossy log, watching her. Leaning against that same log is a guitar. The grey skies above are tinged with a warm orange as the sun disappears below the horizon, light sneaking through the darkening clouds.

Peppermint adds a few more sticks to the heap she’s made. She murmurs something under her breath. Then, she snaps her fingers. A small flame sparks just above her finger tip. She holds it to a bit of tinder, setting it ablaze. Backing away, she holds her finger up to her lips and blows the flame out. For a moment, she watches as the pile catches fire.

Turning away, she sits down next to 808. As she does, she opens her waist bag. She pulls out a notebook. While she flips through it, 808 scoots closer to her. She hops up, onto Peppermint’s shoulder, where she perches. This makes Peppermint smile and pat her on the head.

Turning her focus back to the notebook, Peppermint finally finds the page she was looking for. It’s filled with notes and drawings. They specifically detail how to summon a demon. Skimming through the notes, she glances at the fire she’d set up. The wood crackles as the flames eat away at it. She sighs. Shutting her eyes for a moment, she basks in the sounds of the forest. As her eyes open, her expression changes into one of steely determination. She flips the page.

Setting her notebook aside, she grabs the guitar. She shifts, moving into a position where she can read the sheet music on the page and still see the fire. As she does this, 808 hops off of her shoulder. She watches warily as Peppermint begins to pick out a rather simple melody.

As the tune quickly begins to become more intricate, the wind starts to pick up. The fire flickers. 808 shifts uneasily.

The sounds of the forest seem to change. The insects and their chirring join her in singing. The wind whistles to the song. Creaking of the trees; rustling of the grass and leaves; trilling of nightjars, hoots of owls, and warbling of nightingales. Off in the distance, the howling of wolves, their call finding its way into the song. Even the hounds from the nearby town join in.

The melody still grows more complex. When her hands begin to shake, she bites her lip as she concentrates. The flames dwindle. The rumble of thunder reverberates throughout the woods. The skies overhead darken. 808 begins to tremble, parts clicking and clacking . Peppermint’s prosthetic leg shakes. The buckle at the end of the long belt attached to her bag starts gravitating towards the fire. Her earrings tremble.

Higher and higher the song climbs. The forest is full of music. The air crackles with electricity.

808 jolts as the fire suddenly collapses in on itself. Lightning strikes its remains. A raucous boom echoes out. The sticks, logs, and leaves it was comprised of disintegrate, leaving behind only ashes.

The melody Peppermint plucks reaching its apex of complexity. She almost strums the wrong string a couple of times.

A metal arm bursts out from the ashes of the fire. It falls forward, fingers clawing at the ground. The sky is full of light, streaks of it zigzagging through the dark clouds. The thunder roars. The choir of the forest grows ever louder, until it is all that can be heard.

They can feel themselves being pulled toward it, the arm. Peppermint by her metallic leg, buckle, and earrings. 808 by her whole being. Peppermint keeps her focus on the music; if she falters now, the summoning could go south. 808 hisses, digging its claws into the log they’re sat on.

Another arm, this one of flesh, follows the original. It, too, claws at the forest floor, leaving behind a trail of murky blood. Ashes fly through the air as the creature the limbs belong to squirms, slowly pulling himself free. The song screams.

Everything grows very quiet suddenly. The only sounds to be heard are the howling of the wind, the raging of the rainless storm, and the last few notes she can play to end off the melody. They come out sounding discordant.

The demon, at last unearthed, rises to his feet. Lightning strikes just behind him, illuminating him for a split second. His image is burned into their minds.

Covered in muck, ash, and blood. His veins pulse and glow through the filth. A pair of horns juts out from his head; one of them has been halved. Orange eyes gleaming and thrumming with electric energy. Unkempt, orange, luminescent hair plastered to his face. The many earrings on his pointed ears glint in the light.

There’s a dirty, tattered red scarf wrapped around his neck. He’s shirtless, revealing his body to be riddled with scars and radiant lightning-esque markings, alongside a strange pulsating light from the center of his chest. Clawed, twitching fingers. His prosthetic arm has the same glow as his chest. His tail flicks back and forth behind him.

They stare in shock and awe.

Then, the demon shakes himself, sending blood, ash, and filth flying. Peppermint shies away. 808 ducks behind her, avoiding the worst of it. She frowns, wiping some dirt off of her light blue jacket.

Despite still being coated with grime, he doesn’t attempt to clean himself further. Instead, he yawns, stretching his flesh arm up, over his head, tail curling up towards himself. His veins, hair, and markings lose their luster. The skies lighten a little, a few rays of light sneaking through the thick clouds above.

“You better have summoned me for a good reason,” he says with a huff. “I was in the middle of a nice nap…”

She barely resists the urge to roll her eyes. “If it weren’t for a good reason, I wouldn’t bother in the first place.”

He mutters, “You’d be surprised by the sorts of things people summon for…”

“What did you say?” she asks, eyes narrowing.
“What’d you bring me here for?”
“I summoned you because...I need help getting...some information. ”
“So…you summoned me for a spy mission?”
“That’s a…way to put it, yeah.”
“Hmm…”

Moving closer, the demon gives her a level look.

808’s fur starts to fluff up. Peppermint’s brow furrows.

Once he’s close enough, he wraps his tail around the guitar in her grasp, whisking it away into his arms. He inspects it, handling it with the utmost care, as if it’s been a treasured item of his for years, not something that’s only his now by technicality. He plucks each string, fiddling with the tuning pegs.

808 tilts her head.

Peppermint crosses her arms. Right as she opens her mouth, the demon speaks.

“Alright, I’ll help. But I don’t do stealth, so you owe me extra if I have to.”
“Great,” she mutters, frowning. “Okay…owe you what, exactly?”

“Iunno. Burn that bridge when we get to it.”
“...It’s…cross, not burn.”
“Whatever. Potato, tomato.”
“Th—” She sighs, facepalming. “Nevermind.”

Turning away, she looks up at the sky. It’s growing darker, the clouds getting thicker again.

She pushes herself to her feet. 808 hops up onto her shoulder, causing her to stumble. When she nudges the side of her face, eyes wide and apologetic, Peppermint offers her a reassuring smile and a pat on the head. Then, she looks back at the demon.

He’s playing the guitar, dancing in a small circle as he does so. His tail flicks back and forth to the beat of the song. The light coming from his chest and arm pulse to it, as well, causing her to quirk a brow. But after a moment, she shakes her head.

“C’mon, let’s head into town. I got us a room at the motel there,” she says.
He glances at her over his shoulder. “I’ll sleep out here, thanks.”
“...What? Why? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?”
“Nothing I can’t handle. And I like sleeping outside, especially in weather this nice.”

The wind’s started to pick up again. The air feels damp and heavy. Thunder rumbles distantly, a forewarning of the rainstorm to come. The skies keep getting dimmer and dimmer as the clouds block out the last of the sun’s light.

“...You’re joking, right?”
“Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p.’

Peppermint’s eyes narrow, her mouth falling open slightly. With a sigh, she turns and starts walking away.

“Alright. Enjoy sleeping in the cold, dark, and rain, then. Just meet me at the motel in the morning.”

The demon tenses, plucking the wrong string. The note hangs in the air.

808’s ears twitch as she glances back at him.

“Y’know, maybe I should go with you. I dunno where that is, so, y’know,” he says as he jogs to catch up with her, tail winding around the guitar to hold it.

She rolls her eyes. “Right…”

Looking over at him, she frowns. “Before we get to town, though, do you have some sort of…disguise or something?”

“Of course I do,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Why?”
Her frown turns into a scowl. “Because we need to keep a low profile, jackass.”
“I told you earlier, I don’t do stealth. And my name’s Chai, not jackass.”
“Well, Chai, if you wanna sleep out of the rain, I’d suggest you learn to ‘do stealth.’”

Now it’s his turn to scowl. His tail’s movements are sharp as it gives the guitar back to him.

As they walk, Chai starts to shift. His horns disappear into his hair, which becomes a lighter brown color. Ears becoming smaller, the tips round out. The orange hue of his eyes changes into a soft brown; his pupils get wider; and the whites of his eyes become actually white. His grey skin shifts to a more natural tone. The markings all over his body fade.

With one final flick, his tail disappears from sight. Fingers twitching, his claws round out into plain, short nails. Opening his mouth, he stretches his jaw as his fangs become flatter, until only four canines remain.

“Happy?”
She glances over at him. “...Sure.”

808 shifts, ears folding back a bit.

The rest of the way to the town is quiet, save for the growing rumbling of thunder. Right as they step through the entrance, it begins to rain.

Peppermint’s brow furrows. Grabbing 808, she hurries towards the motel.

Racing past her, Chai clutches the guitar close to his chest. Yanking the door open, he leaps inside. 808 jumps out of her grasp to hurry after him.

Her eyes widen. She picks up the pace as best she can in order to catch up.

Shutting the door behind herself, she takes a moment to catch her breath.

Water drips off of all of them, landing on the large mat below them. 808 shakes herself, sending droplets flying. When Chai looks like he’s about to do the same, Peppermint shoots him a glare. He frowns, crossing his arms as he turns away.

“You can dry yourself off after you take a shower when we get to the room,” she says as she walks past the (thankfully) empty front desk.

808 pads after her, but stops and looks back at Chai when he doesn’t follow.

His brow is furrowed. “I don’t even know your name, and you’re telling me to shower? ”

“Uh…yeah,” she replies, not even looking back at him. “You’re covered in shit. I don’t really see how knowing my name is relevant—but, for the record, it’s Peppermint.”

“Well, Peppermint, maybe you should learn to deal with it,” he retorts as he storms after her.

She whirls around to face him. “You are not sleeping in this nice room I got for us covered in dirt and blood. Either take a goddamn shower or sleep outside!”

Chai grimaces, looking past her.
She puts her hands on her hips, glowering at him.
808 looks back and forth between them. Her ears are folded back.

The sound of a door opening nearby startles all three of them. They look over to see someone poking their head out of their room.

“Excuse me, but could you argue a little quieter?” they ask.
“Uh—yeah. Sorry,” Peppermint says after a moment.
“Thank you.”

They shut the door.

Peppermint looks at Chai. He’s staring at the door. Blood and water is dripping off of him, making a slowly growing, murky puddle on the hardwood floor. He’s trembling. The guitar is clutched in his hands so tightly his knuckles are white.

She sighs. Opening her bag, she pulls out the key to their room.

As she unlocks the door, she says, “Look, I don’t really understand how demons work, but you’re probably gonna catch a cold if you don’t clean up.”

There’s a beat of silence.

Then, “Ugh.” His head falls forward. “Fine. I’ll take a stupid fuckin’ shower. But…you have to give me somethin’.”

“Give you something?” She takes a deep breath. “Okay. Sure. Fine. What do you want?”

He purses his lips, fingers drumming against the guitar.

808 watches him, eyes wide and curious.

“Some food would be nice,” Chai eventually settles on.
Her eyes widen slightly. “Deal.”

Stepping aside, she holds the door open. It takes a second for him to take the hint and walk inside. He looks around the room, leaning the guitar against a wall. Then, he heads into the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself.

808 pads in and leaps onto one of the beds.

Peppermint shuts the door behind herself as she enters after, leaning up against it for a moment. She takes a deep breath.

Sitting down on the bed next to 808, she pats her on the head. She nuzzles into Peppermint’s hand. When she pulls away, 808 rests her head on her leg.

Shrugging off her jacket and taking off her bag, she opens the latter and pulls out a towel. She quickly dries her hair and hands off. Then, she uses it to dry 808 off properly.

Setting the towel aside, she reaches back into her bag to get some chips, which she tosses onto the other bed.

After a moment, she pulls out a white shirt and a pair of baggy, orange pants. Frowning thoughtfully, she checks the sizes of both. With a shrug, she tosses them towards the bathroom door. They land in a heap in front of it.

“I got you some clean clothes!” she calls.
“Oh, uh—okay!” Chai replies after a beat. “Thanks!”

Shifting her attention, she carefully pulls her joggers out from where they’re tucked into her leg. Taking off her prosthetic, she pulls it onto her lap to dry it off. Once it’s sufficiently dry, she gingerly sets it aside.

Rifling through her bag again, Peppermint pulls out some more clothes. She takes a moment to listen for the sound of the shower running. Once she hears it, she changes into them. She leaves what she was wearing in a pile on the floor.

Scooting back, she leans up against the headboard, adjusting the pillows behind her until she’s comfortable. Peppermint pulls her laptop out from her bag. As she opens the laptop, 808 moves to lie down next to her. She purrs when Peppermint pets her side.

The sound of the bathroom door opening slightly causes her ears to twitch. She peers in its direction.

Chai’s tail is poking out. It wraps around the clothes and tugs them inside. Not even a second later, the door shuts. She tilts her head slightly. After another moment, she settles back down, tail curling around herself.

While Peppermint works on something on her laptop, Chai finally comes out of the bathroom. 808 and her glance at him.

He’s cleaning his prosthetic as he walks over to the other bed and sits down on it.

Brow furrowing, her eyes narrow a bit, gaze zeroed in on his arm. However, after a second, she shakes her head.

The clothes she gave him fit...okay enough. The pants are clearly a bit awkward, though, due to his tail. Them missing one leg reveals some scars. There’s more on his neck, which are now visible due to him not wearing his scarf. An alexandrite pendant is, as well.

Now that he’s cleaned up and his hair is out of his face, the scar on his cheek and the other through his eyebrow are visible.

Peppermint frowns.

“I...got you some chips,” she says after a moment, tilting her head toward them.
His gaze flits over. “Oh. Thanks.”

Chai’s tail moves to set his arm down on the bed behind him after he finishes cleaning it. While it does that, he grabs the bag of chips.

Tearing it open with his teeth, he dumps all of the chips into his mouth and quickly devours them.

She stares at him, slack-jawed.

Crumpling the bag up and tossing it aside, he turns toward her.

“Now gimme some real food.”

“Wh—what?” She frowns. “Do you think I can just…materialize a three-course meal or something?”
“Huh? No! I’m talking about your laptop! Or the cat. Whichever, really; doesn’t matter to me.”

“I…wait…are you saying you…eat metal?”

He huffs. “No. Though I have before. It tastes pretty good. Not as filling as the charge in that laptop of yours, though.”

Peppermint’s eyes widen. “You…eat electricity?”

“Yeah. I mean, I can eat the chips. Obviously. But they don’t do the same thing for me as they do for you.”

“...Huh. Okay. Good to know.”

“So…” He tilts his head. “Laptop or cat?”
She frowns. “Just…gimme a second. And her name’s 808.”

After saving and closing the files she has open, she shuts the laptop, scoots closer to the edge of the bed, and holds it out.

Chai crawls over to the edge of his bed and takes it. He flips it around and starts fiddling with something on the back of it.

Her eyes narrow. 808 tilts her head.

It takes a few beats, but he eventually gets the battery to pop out. Bringing it up to his lips, he opens his mouth...and bites down.

It doesn’t even take a second for the energy to start flowing into him, his eyes and veins glowing brightly. The pulsing of the light from his chest quickens. He squeezes his eyes shut. He begins to tremble.

And then, he pulls away. The light immediately starts to slow back down, the radiance of his veins dimming.

There’s a brief moment where he simply sits there, eyes shut with the battery held tightly in his hand.

He shakes himself. Chai pops the battery back into place. He hands the laptop back to her.

Peppermint frowns as she takes it from him.

Opening the laptop, she checks to see how much battery is left. She sighs and unbuckles her bag, digging through it for its charger.

While she does that, Chai gets comfortable. He pulls the covers over himself, completely covering his body. Then, he curls up, chin tucked to his chest and tail curling around himself.

Once she has her laptop plugged in, Peppermint sets her bag on the nightstand between their beds. She opens her mouth as she looks over at him, but shuts it and frowns when she sees the lump that he is on the bed. She sighs.

“Are you still awake?”
“No…I’m sleeping…”

She rolls her eyes. “Tomorrow, we’re going to head to Vandelay City. On the way there, we’re going to go over my plan. Got it?”

When Chai doesn’t respond, Peppermint huffs.

She turns the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness. Only 808’s neon blue LEDs all over her body and the muted glow from Chai’s chest under the covers provide light inside. Flashes from the storm outside creep in through the blinds.

Lying down, Peppermint pulls the covers over herself and shifts until she’s comfortable.

808 stands up, circles a few times, then curls up next to her. Her lights dim as she shuts down for the night. Peppermint rests one of her hands on 808’s side as she shuts her eyes and tries to sleep.