Chapter Text
The moment that Alastor’s heart stopped while in the land of the living, four souls finally started their formation in Hell. Three of the four formed almost instantaneously and instinctively sought each other out. They knew why they were there, and they also unconsciously knew that they did not have ownership of their souls. A telling sign of that was the green shackle around their necks that appeared every now and then.
The darkness of Hell had not been kind to the three when it created their Sinner forms either. The first of then men had been reformed into a short, rotund frame with beady eye and the face of a pig. The Sinner was also cursed to always be covered in mud colored sludge and whenever his emotions were elevated, the same sludge would pour out of his mouth. The second man was just as unlucky as the first, forced into a diminutive form with bulging eyes and chitin-covered arms that ended in insectoid claws. The last of the trio was the luckiest, his form had taken on the look of an ape-man the color of mud.
The first thing they found out was that they were under contract, and no one other than them knew who had the contracts, and they were sworn to silence by the contents. Then they proceeded to do what they did best and attempt to terrorize as they had above. Only everyone in Hell gave as good as they were given and as new Sinners, the trio were the lowest of the low, especially when they had already lost their souls.
The three were struggling to stay afloat when the final member of their group finished forming. He formed from the ashes that he had been reduced to, covered in dark scales and reptilian features. Scales the color of fire surrounded shiny black eyes and cracks formed throughout his scaled form that showed flickering flames burning his insides. Sharp teeth filled his mouth, which also showed the flames of his death when opened. Like the other, he to had a collar around his throat.
When the others met up with him they questioned him relentlessly until he broke and tore the three to pieces and left them to reform in a back alley of the City. He kept his head down and worked a menial job at an antiquities store that barely paid for a cheap-ass apartment that he had found. He only spoke when spoken to, and when the flames escaped his mouth as he talked, most realized why he didn’t. The skink-like man also fought only when he was attacked himself and mostly swore after the betrayal that he had suffered and the reforming in Hell, that he would do his best to change. Which brings us to now.
The skink demon didn’t even look up from his merchandise unboxing as the bells above the door jingled cheerily. The only people he usually got in the shop were regulars, and they knew that if they needed him, they could just ask for his attention. He pulled a radio out of the box and froze as he felt a presence loom over him. When he turned around no one was behind him and the only person in the shop was a newcomer with a dark red coat. He let out a confused hum and turned back to the radio he was holding. A sliver of dread crept down his spine as the radio crackled to life with a red-green glow and a familiar set of notes played out. Notes of music that preluded a radio show that he was very familiar with.
“You know… you exceeded my expectations, George.” The now re-introduced skink demon froze as the radio static did nothing to change the voice of his murderer, “I expected you to join in with your companions again. But it seems as though you learned your lesson. Hmm?”
George turned around with the radio in his hands and stared at the deer demon in front of him, and the malicious shadow behind him. The smile that split the demon’s face was chilling, especially when it did not meet the demon’s red on red eyes. The skink swallowed down the magma-like blood that wanted to spill from his mouth.
Alastor tilted his head at the look of fear on the younger demon’s face. He watched in hidden fascination as what looked like fire crackled under the skink’s scales. Of all the contracts that he currently owned, it seemed as though George had gotten off the best with the roll of the dice. The deer demon had already visited and established him dominion over the other rabble and laid down the rules they were to follow.
“Alastor…?” The skink’s voice was rough and backed with what sounded like the crackling of flames. Smoke billowed from both the demon’s mouth and nostrils, “You, look almost human?” He sounded confused as he forced the words out.
“And you look like a skink.” Alastor said with a shrug and the other flinched, “But I’m not here to talk about our appearances, and you know that.” He said and George flinched hard as the deer appeared in front of him.
His arms wrapped around the radio, and he ducked away from the taller demon. He missed the flash of confusion the flickered over the other demon’s face. Alastor looked that the skink and let out a sigh and took the radio from the other’s grasp.
“Really, we’re already dead, and you already received your punishment from me. If you had continued to cause havoc and raise here like your former friends attempted to, then I might have been inclined to continue my lessons for you. But seeing as you decided to turn a new leaf in Hell, and it only took you ending up here.” He said as he looked over the radio, smile growing as he recognized it. “How much for the radio?” He asked.
George stared at him for a moment in confusion, brain whirring as he tried to take in the quick change of subject, “Ummm, you can have it?” He said with a confused hum.
Alastor shot him a disappointed look, “George, as a former store owner, and as a patron of your store, do not try and tell me that a radio of this beauty is free. Give me a price.”
George coughed fire into his hand and looked away, “Okay, then let’s say that the cost is the protection of my shop.” At Alastor’s raised eyebrow he continued, “I can already tell that you’re going to be a big player here in the city, so if I can score protection from you early on, then I’m set.” He said with a determined glow.
Alastor shot the skink a grin, “Oh George, I believe this is the start of a beautiful, if not one sided, partnership.” The words came with a small sense of relief for the skink, since it meant that he, and his shop, might have a shield in the future.