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Evenings in the House of Lamentation could go one of two ways. Either it was utter chaos, or the house was quiet due to all the brothers being at their activities. Tonight was the latter; the chaos was minimal and the house was silent save the sighs of the old house. Monroe sat in the living room, sitting on a couch and scrolling through their DDD. Most of the brothers were out doing their respective activities, leaving only a few people left at the house. Monroe got a ping from their phone.
Levi: H e Pp
MV: ??
Levi: so em naked
MV: ?????? Levi? You good?
Levi: co ne to rooooom
Vox frowned at their phone as they got up from the couch. Leviathan? Attempting a booty call? Very unlikely, but you never know. It seemed like he was distressed, so that may indicate he is not in the best position.
Monroe climbed the stairs to the second level, and walked to Levi's room. It was eerily quiet. No music, no screaming from video games, no clack of a controller could be heard at all. Monroe knocked at the door.
"Levi?" No response. "It's me. I'm coming in." Yes, there was a pass code in tact but in this scenario, it probably was not the greatest idea. Monroe closed the door behind them, and ventured into the dimly lit room.
Levi's display was lit with a paused game, the options bouncing when the mouse hovered over them. A few books were scattered across the floor, and Leviathan's DDD was on the floor, still open to the chat text with Monroe. Vox looked around and made their way to the phone. They picked it up and inspected it. There were a few characters typed out, but it was incoherent. There were no true lights in Levi's room, so Monroe turned on their flashlight. A chill ran up Vox's spine as they ventured deeper into the moody room.
Vox tread lightly, as to not potentially harm anything that may be on the ground.
"Levi?"
No response.
"Leevviii"
Still, nothing.
"Levi, this isn't funny. Are you alright?"
Thud.
It came from the bathtub.
Monroe ran over to the tub and looked in. They gasped.
Laying in the tub in front of them was a giant serpent. Its iridescent scales shimmered with the phone flashlight, and softly moved against the bathtub. The diamond pattern that adorned Levi's skin in his demon form was present, adding contrast to the otherwise block of shiny blue.
Two sparkling orange eyes looked at Monroe, the pupils in slits to accommodate the bright phone flashlight. Monroe turned their flashlight off and scrambled for the remote to the luminescent jellyfish. They turned them onto their maximum setting, and investigated more.
This serpent was ginormous. It resembled a constrictor snake, the body being particularly large. It flicked its tongue out and peered at Vox.
"Ah, so that's what happened. I'm glad you're alright, Levi." Monroe reached hesitantly for the snake's head, and placed two fingers on it to stroke the snout. The snake was smooth, its scales cool to the touch. But, all was not sound.
Levi was breathing heavily: rough, audible sighs filled the tank as the serpent curled its body in. A familiar tail came to wrap itself around Vox's arm, and constricted. MV winced as this happened.
"Levi? What's going on?" Monroe reached for their phone as the serpent continued to constrict. They grabbed their phone and frantically kept it open, texting Satan in a flurry of messages. Levi yanked Vox's arm and yelped as their attention was redirected to the snake. A soft head placed itself on Vox's chest, heavily sighing. Ah, so it was an anxiety attack.
The entity stroked Levi's head, sighing deeply. "Levi, it's okay. Can you please let go of my arm? I'm losing circulation." The tail slightly relaxed, leaving indentations on MV's porcelain skin. Footsteps could be heard outside of Levi's room, and Monroe looked up.
"Satan, can you give me a moment?" Monroe called out and got a slight response. Their attention turned back to the giant serpent who had attached themselves to the entity.
"Levi, do you want to try to take a bath and calm down?" Because of his status as an aquatic demon, being in water calmed down the demon a great deal. He found it homely, and was able to relax a great deal very quickly. Levi sighed and squeezed Vox's arm. Vox then looked around Levi's room.
The place was a mess; apparently Levi had truly been caught off guard and panicked when he turned into a snake. Manga and miscellaneous items were scattered on the floor: almost the entire shelf was gone. Various game cartridges and controllers also littered the room, the floor being loaded with random trinkets.
Henry's aquarium was around the same. This was the time of month where his enclosure needed the glass to be cleaned, otherwise, the tank would fill with algae. At some point, Monroe had pitched the idea of adding a pleco into the tank to clean the algae naturally (because clearly the plants were not doing their job). Levi brushed it off originally, afraid that the fish would conflict and Henry 2.0 may cease to exist. Though, after a while, and several months of having to dive into a grimy tank and clean the algae off, Levi was more open to the idea. Anyway, this tank was no place for a snake to calm down. Monroe thought for a minute, and audibly said 'aha!' Levi looked up at his partner, senses heightened from the adverse stimuli.
"Asmo bleached his bathtub yesterday, and hasn't gotten the chance to use it. Do you want to see if we can go and you can soak in it? Because it was cleaned yesterday, the perfume smell has been rubbed off.” Monroe spoke gently, treading lightly. Though Levi was scared, he was still a serpent at the time. His body resembled that of an anaconda’s, curled into the porcelain bathtub. His body was as wide as Monroe’s torso in some areas, and he could not have been any shorter than 4.5 meters, his body slowly shifting to get into a more comfortable position.
Levi looked up at Vox. His orange eyes reflected that of distress. Levi’s room was messy, and he had just been transformed into an animal with certain senses that surpassed those of a demon. He huffed and further slithered up Monroe’s body, his head landing in the crook of their neck.
“Satan, can you come in here?” Monroe asked, petting the serpent’s head. Satan entered, the usual urgency of his walking still present. He slowed down as he neared the bathtub, careful not to step on any of the memorabilia that had been scattered on the floor. Crouching near the bathtub, he inspected his brother’s new form.
“So it seems like Leviathan was affected by the same curse. What are we going to do?” Satan tried reaching out to pet the snake, but it recoiled and hissed. Due to the sheer size of the snake, the bathtub creaked and Vox was knocked down from their crouching position.
“I’m going to try to move him to Asmo’s bathroom so we can get him to soak in some water to calm down. Levi’s room is quite a mess right now, so I also kinda want to tidy it?” Levi made a noise. “I’ll let you organize as you see fit, don’t worry. I just want to make sure when you do get your regular body back, you don’t end up hitting your head on this tub.”
“So, are you expecting me to carry him?” Satan quirked an eyebrow at Monroe. This snake weighed no less than 500 lbs currently. Only the likes of Beelzebub could even try to move this beast.
“Can’t you like, levitate him or teleport him with magic? You’re supposed to be the resident wizard of this household.” Satan scoffed.
“I can’t just do that.”
“Yes, you can. If you do it, I’ll send you cat videos or some shit. Please-”
“You’re sold. Let's get this serpent to the bathroom.” Well, that didn’t take much convincing. Satan shot a white bolt of energy from his hand, and the bathtub creaked. Leviathan started to float, and wriggled around in the air with distress. Monroe caught this, and put their arms around a section of his body. It calmed him down, but not to the degree of being calm. Levi panicked, and constricted his body around Monroe.
“S-atan,euug” Vox struggled to breathe as their blonde coconspirator turned around in horror to see Levi squeezing the already-gone life out of Monroe. “Ta-illl” Monroe moved their neck to the end of the serpent, and Satan started pulling.
With the magic combined with the brute force of the Avatar of Wrath, Leviathan came free from his constricting state. He was scared. It was best to get him to the bathroom as soon as possible, it seemed.
With as much haste as the pair could muster, they ushered the impressive serpent down hallways to Asmo’s bathroom. The bathroom was gigantic. The lavish marble shined with recent cleaning, and ornate decorations were carved into the columns. Ever-blooming flowers adorned the room, adding pink accents to the beige walls. With a grunt, Satan released his magic on Levi, putting him to the ground.
Of course, Levi was freaked out. He curled into a tight ball, his beady eyes looking on the verge of tears. Monroe rushed over to him.
“Satan, can you get the bath started? After that, fetch some of the towels from the laundry room. I did a load yesterday.” They sat on their calves near the serpent, the cold tile flooring seeping through their pants. A feeble hand reached out to Levi, and he flinched. Cold, scared, overstimulated, a horrible combination of conditions for the demon. MV’s hand made contact with Levi’s head, and he whipped around.
“It’s just me, Leviachan.” A nickname that Levi self proclaimed, he used this to refer to his ever-fueled love of otakuism. His expression was still frantic. “It’s okay, nothing to be worried about. We’ll get you into the bath and you can rest.”
“Monroe, the bath is done.” Satan flicked the remaining water from his hand. Monroe nodded, and got up, still cradling Leviathan’s head.
“Alright Leviachan, ready to go take a bath?” The serpent started to cautiously move, flinching at the cold tile. Satan went to the snake’s body and lifted, scaring Levi again. Vox stumbled. “Levi, it’s ok, that’s just Satan helping you get into the bath.
At long last, the serpent submerged itself into the lukewarm water. Brilliant navy and orange scales reflected with the moody lighting, and the water rippled as Leviathan fully entered the bath.
“Tan, can you also grab me the Ruri-Chan blanket from Levi’s room while you’re at it? Place it on my bed, please.” Satan grunted and closed the door. Monroe went over to the tub, rolled their sweatpants up, and dipped their feet into the water. The temperature was warm, but not warm enough to burn. It gave a comfortable sensation, one that reminded Monroe of a mild summer’s day. Levi swam through the bathtub, looking leagues more relaxed. Water was his comfort, an entity that he had been created to dwell within. If there was anything Levi loved more than his Ruri-Chan, it was Vox and water. Nothing more, nothing less.
The snake wriggled over to Monroe, its eyes looking up at the brunette spectator. Bubbles formed and popped on either side of Levi’s face as he exhaled, placing his head on Monroe’s knee. It had taken years for Vox to earn this trust. Levi was different from others, but he found a similar soul within MV. They both saw the world from a different lens, and Vox understood instead of insult. His brothers had come around when Leviathan got his results from a psychiatrist, but it was Monroe who helped him.
-
‘Levi, I’m just glad I can help you. I know a diagnosis like this is hard to process. Unfortunately, I expected it when I was diagnosed; the people in charge of my therapy suspected I was on the spectrum for probably longer than I realized.’ Levi sat with his hands in his lap. There was something wrong with him, all right. He knew he was different, just didn’t realize to the extent.
‘My brain is fucked, Vox. No wonder I’m so worthless.’ Levi’s voice quavered. He sniffled, and his body hunched over to become smaller, drift away from the world he had lived in previously. Monroe sighed, and looked at him, pitying the demon.
‘I don’t think you’re worthless, Levi.’ Levi opened his mouth but nothing came out besides a choked squawk. Monroe continued. ‘Just because something isn’t normal doesn’t mean it’s bad. I mean, look at me. I’m autistic, but I am still quite an interesting person. Well, at least I think I am.’ Levi looked up, his eyes misted over. He felt weak. The rug had been swept out from under him. He was but a shell of who he once was, a proud, feared officer who led the charge against evil. Now here he was, hunched over and sniffling about being diagnosed with a developmental disorder to a human. How pitiful.
‘I hate to say cliched phrases, but we’ll get through this together. You have brought me so much joy, no matter how your brain developed? Who cares? You still do so much even with setbacks. You found a way to make something bad into something that showcases your creative prowess and unique personality. I love you for who you are, Leviathan. No diagnosis is going to change that.’
-
“You feelin’ any better, Levi?” Monroe inquired, rubbing a finger across the crown of the snake’s head. It had been around 15 minutes since Levi got into the bath, and the water was starting to grow cold. Satan was lounging in Asmo’s room, toying with oddly shaped perfume bottles and carefully polished mirrors.
Levi nudged Vox’s knee and started to move towards them. “Okay bud, let’s get you out of there. I’ll let Satan get the drain, my tiny little arms are not long enough to reach it.” Monroe dried their feet off and got a pile of towels ready for Levi.The serpent slithered from the tub, its neck extending to see its surroundings. Then, the serpent descended to the line of towels before him. They were soft, and smelled like the detergent concoction that Monroe had created to cut laundry costs. Monroe sat at the front towel, watching their scaled partner inch his way to their place.
Once Levi had reached his destination, Vox dried his face off with the towel, rubbing the scales with great care. They wrapped the towel around his face, and worked on the other sections of his body. At last, Leviathan was clean, and ready to be relocated from the bathroom.
“Satan, we’re ready” Monroe called out, the snake contently looking up at MV. Satan entered the bathroom, with his hand drawn to cast a levitation spell.
“You ready Levi?” Monroe looked down at their serpentine companion. The snake nodded. A white aura filled the room, and the snake lifted from the ground. Monroe went to the front end of the snake, and cradled the larger part of the body. Satan grabbed the later half.
It took about a minute to get to Monroe’s room; the house was still desolate and there were no demons in sight. Monroe opened their door, and allowed Satan to set down the snake. With a click of his fingers, the white aura dissipated and Levi was grounded on a soft pile of blankets.
“Thank you so much, Satan. You’re a godsend.” Monroe wearily sat down next to the snake, and looked up at the blonde. He smiled, and pecked their lips.
“Anytime for my love.” Levi audibly sighed. When he didn’t think too much into it, Satan was a sappy romantic. The books probably got to him. Satan left, and Vox grabbed a pink blanket adorned with Ruri-Chan’s face. They put the blanket around the serpent, and then grabbed its frontal body to pull closer. Levi curled into Monroe, and his cool scales slid against the wood of a bedframe. It was safe here. No matter his conditions, no matter his diagnosis. He wished that they could stay forever in this moment of peace; it brought him comfort to know that the person here would be with him for the rest of his life, staying by his side. He looked up at Vox, who was slumping over to rest their head on the snake’s torso. Levi shifted so that Vox was comfortable, and laid his head on top of their back.
It was half an hour before Solomon had arrived. He was buzzed despite the night being young, he had been whisked away from the party scene and Asmo to deal with the situation at hand. He opened the door to MV’s room, his cheeks a cherry pink from exertion and booze. He guffawed when he saw the sight. Monroe was asleep on the giant serpent, and the serpent had curled itself around the human in the center. They slept in tandem, a sight of calm in the storm. Solomon grabbed out his phone and started to rapidly take pictures. Satan nudged him and he jumped, remembering his purpose. Poof! The serpent went up in a veil of colorful smoke, revealing Levi tangled up with Vox sleeping peacefully on the floor. With his job being done, Solomon snapped a photo and pranced off to get back to his nightime of fun
“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Satan grumbled as he placed Vox and Levi onto the fluffy bed, Ruri-Chan blanket draped over the couple.