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Having six people in the same household can sometimes make things easier to hide, to get lost in the crowd. You would think that it would be even easier when that living space was a large hotel with only six occupants, each with their own lives, and only five rooms being used.
That turned out not to be the case at all. Because there were only six of them in a largely empty building, they tended to gravitate to one another so they didn’t feel so lonely in the cavernous space. And everyone was nosy about each other business. Charlie was out of care and concern, Vaggie was suspicious of everything, Alastor wanted all the details so he didn’t miss an ounce of entertainment, Husk just sort of got information because he was a bartender and everyone told their problems to the bartender, and Nifty and Angel Dust just liked sticking their noses in other people’s business.
This had made things extremely difficult for Charlie the last month.
But, she had succeed and was almost home free as she snuck out the door of the Hotel, just–
“And where are you off to, Charlie?”
The demon princess froze at the staticy voice beside her.
So close.
Charlie sighed. “I’m going to the dentist.”
It had all started a month ago. As a demon, her teeth were strong, just like the rest of her, but, well, things happened. Vaggie was many things, but a good cook was not one of them, and a bit of bone had managed its way into the meal, and Charlie’s tooth had chipped. The problem was that it had shortly after started hurting. A lot. Upon inspecting it, Charlie had found a cavity had taken root in the chipped tooth. She wasn’t sure how things worked in the human world, but in Hell, if something could make you suffer, it usually did.
Now that same strength worked against her. Teeth didn’t heal, but in Charlie’s case she could grow a new one. …If the old one was removed. The problem was that it was deeply rooted and she couldn’t do it herself.
So she had to go to a dentist. She had heard that in the human world, no one liked to go to the dentist. That was even more so true in Hell. Even if they hadn’t been sent down for reasons that related to malpractice, they were there for a reason. And not all dentists in Hell had been dentists when they were alive. You were generally in a very vulnerable position. You had to let them into your mouthy with sharp tools, lying in a chair not unlike a possible torture chamber. You could be sedated and they could rob or maim you, or extract information for black mail or benefit while you were out of it. They were not a place one wanted to go to in Hell, but it was sometimes unavoidable. So Charlie had made the appointment.
The receptionist hadn’t been able to place her in a slot for weeks, so Charlie had done her best to hide that there was anything wrong, even though eating, or sometimes even breathing wrong had made agony spike from the damaged tooth.
Then, she looked up at her partner suddenly, and asked, “Will you come with me?”
Because of the vulnerability involved in seeing a dentist in Hell, it was considered best practice to have someone accompany you. But Charlie didn’t want to bring Vaggie. While she trusted her implicitly, Charlie was embarrassed to admit to her that she was afraid of going to the dentist. Vaggie saw her as strong and fearless, chasing her goals in spite of adversity. Likewise, Angel Dust was her patron, and Niffty and and Husk were employees.
Alastor was a unique case. He was not an employee, but a partner. He did admit that he saw she had strengths, that she wasn’t as weak as people tended to think, but he also saw her faults very clearly and pointed them out without hesitation. He was her friend, and she trusted him, but she didn’t feel embarrassed that she was afraid of something seemingly so minor. She had, briefly, toyed with asking him prior, but hadn’t wanted to bother him. But he had approached her, and he was perfectly free to decline.
The Radio Demon blinked. “Hmm…. Alright then.”
Charlie let out a relieved sigh, and the two began to journey to the office.
On the way, Alastor questioned her.
“It seemed you have been trying to leave without notice, why did you change your mind and ask me to accompany you?”
“I’m… well, I’m kind of afraid of the dentist. I didn’t really want to go alone, so when the opportunity presented itself, I caved.”
They continued discussing the situation on the trip, and somehow, even though it wasn’t anywhere near a topic Charlie wanted to dwell on, the trip seemed to go faster.
Once they arrived outside the office, Alastor asked, “So what is it you want me to do?”
“I’m… just be there? I just… need support. Someone to show me I’m not alone. …or keep them from robbing me if I get knocked out.”
The Radio Demon gave a nod, with a wide smile as he opened the door for her, and they entered the waiting room. Everybody froze upon seeing the infamous Radio Demon walking in.
As the two got further in – and Alastor was no longer blocking the exit, – some people fled, probably figuring the continued tooth pain and lost appointment were worth not becoming a ‘guest’ on one of the Radio Demon’s broadcasts.
The princess approached the counter and said, “I’m Charlie Magne, I’m the 3:30 appointment.”
Not looking up from her magazine, the receptionist said, “yeah, sure, the doc will get to ya when he gets to ya.”
“Oh, okay,” she said meekly and went to take a seat.
From the examination rooms, there were loud drilling noises and screaming. Alastor seemed perfectly content, while Charlie only got more nervous. After a minute, one of the paitents walked out, though the receptionist made no move to call anybody new. After nearly twenty minutes, Alastor stood. Charlie looked to him questioningly, just as he wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her up and walked her towards the window.
At the obvious prompting, Charlie said, “Um…”
“I said he’d get to you when he–”
The receptionist cut off abruptly when she looked up from her paper to rant at the patient, only to see the Radio Demon behind her, smiling. “It seems the doctor is running quite behind today.”
“O-oh, you’re the 3:30 appointment! My mistake! Right this way!” And she scrambled to lead them to a room.
Once they had walked into the empty room as directed, the receptionist said, “please make yourself comfortable, the dentist will be with you in just a moment!”
Charlie sat herself down in the reclining chair meant for patients.
While Alastor moved a chair that had been in the corner beside it, having(changing) it from hard plastic to a softly cushioned seat as he did so.
The doctor did come in a moment later, looking at his clipboard and saying, “alright princess, you’ve got a tooth problem you want me to… fix,” pausing and becoming more subdued when he saw Alastor sitting beside her.
Now a little nervous, and seeming more focused on his task, the demon quickly sat down and said, “Well, let’s take a look.”
He inspected her mouth under the close eye of the Radio Demon, finding the problem tooth and investigating it, earning a whimper and a recoil from Charlie when he prodded it. While Alastor did not maim, threaten, or even move, there was an aura of warning when that happened. A message that it was understandable that he might twinge a nerve on the sensitive tooth while determining what the issue was, but that pain caused deliberately or by carelessness would not be tolerated.
Having gathered the situation with the tooth, he consulted her chart – neatly hiding from the Overlord’s unnerving gaze.
When he turned back, he said, “well, it seems you grow teeth back, so the best course is to remove the tooth so a new one will replace it. We will numb the area for that,” he added, looking at the Radio Demon.
Alastor just smiled at him.
Sometimes the dentists in Hell did not do so, or if they did were careless or cruel about it, either deriving pleasure from it, not caring, or assuming their patient was already high as a kite and would notice anyway.
But with the Radio Demon looking on, the dentist had never been so careful in his entire career, both living and deceased.
It still caused some pain, and Charlie had squeezed the hand Alastor had slipped into hers at some point, but the dentist had apologized and there was nothing he could do about the situation. He waited until he was sure the area was so numb he could slice her open and she wouldn’t feel it before he even attempted to work on removing the tooth. And did the most meticulous, careful work he’d ever performed. He was sure he could have won awards for how diligently he worked. As he did, the girl seemed to vibrate, her whole body except from her mouth in the effort of staying still and getting through it.
And the Radio Demon just watched him, running his free hand over the one holding his other in a soothing gesture.
Eventually he was done, the tooth out and while he had done all he could to ensure that there would be the least pain, he gave her some medication to manage the pain. And instructions when she asked about dosages and such. Not one to dabble in a little recreational use or self medicating then. She’d paid with no questions asked and the pair left. After they had left and they didn’t return, the dentist went to his next patient, determined they needed a filling, and jammed the syringe into his gums.
Once they arrived at the Hotel, Charlie said, “Thank you for coming with me Alastor.”
He accepted with a grin and then excused himself to make dinner. It ended up being a wonderful soup, smooth and soothing and Charlie was sure it was made with her in mind, but did not skimp on flavour – or substance, despite having no chunks in it.
Over the next couple of days, the new tooth grew back in and everything was back to normal, with the addition of one ‘sick’ day burned into her memory.