Work Text:
UNO, a card game of world-renowned fame that is described by Mattel with the slogan: “UNO is for Everyone!” It’s marketed as a fun family game. However, what the company fails to tell is that it can also be a rage-inducing, relationship-breaking nightmarish experience. Like Monopoly, but without the debt and jail time.
Nevertheless, UNO used to be the Papas’ favorite game, for some reason. Back when they were alive, of course. Although, some Siblings of Sin are convinced that Primo, Secondo, and Terzo do in fact still play even from the Afterlife –or Hell– since UNO stacks of cards keep going missing around the abbey.
Seestor doesn’t believe the theories, though. She says Siblings either have a terrible memory or suck at organizing their stuff.
That aside, the game is of significance to a particular pack of demons because of a rather grim reason. One that affects one of them mostly, and that the others are trying to help their friend through dealing with it. And, as of late, that very same group has been considering using the game for therapeutic purposes. The exposure-themed kind.
In fact, they have actually been doing so for a while now, although they have yet to use the game as a method. So far, they have exposed him to other sorts of triggering situations and stimuli, as well as gone through an extensive variety of exercises that aim not only to help him get a better grip on his unstable powers but to manage his anger altogether. The latter has been harder to achieve, but they remain hopeful.
After Dewdrop revealed to his bandmates −all sans Copia− that he was involved in the murders of the first three Papas, and how that combined with having to pretend to be a water ghoul during Terzo’s tenure as frontman were the factors that led him to develop PTSD, the musicians decided to help their friend heal and get better however they could. It didn’t matter to them what they had to do or how much time they had to spend. Not only because it meant that Dew would feel better, but at the same time they would all be able to live a less stressful life.
All the furious outbursts and accidental fires were getting a little bit too much for everybody, thus why they decided to hold an intervention for the guitarist in the first place. And it was that intervention that forced the truth to come to light after many months of silent suffering on Dew’s part.
They decided to start with simple, little things. Going through all kinds of exercises that would help Dewdrop calm down whenever he started to get angry, as well as to reign in his powers before they could get out of control and hurt someone. Which hasn’t happened, by the way. Ever since he started having those problems, all the damage he has caused has been towards the property and the inanimate objects within the same. Luckily, he has yet to hurt a soul (as ironic as that may seem, given that he is a demon).
The one to help him the most throughout the entire rehabilitation process was Aether, who –being one of the ghouls with the most calm, stable, adaptable, and grounded personality, given his element– walked him through exercises oriented to gaining back the control he had lost not only over his fire but over his volatile temper as well. Because, no matter how explosive the characters of fire ghouls tend to be by nature, they are rarely as intense and magnified as Dewdrop’s is, which was aggravated by all the trauma he endured.
So, the point of all the exercises he did with Aether was to help him manage his outbursts in a less violent way and refrain from letting his arising rage get the best of him. At the same time, they were meant to aid him in taming his wild fire, which would get out of hand whenever he used it once provoked in the slightest way. Obviously, he was reminded again and again to use what he learned through those exercises every time he realized he was getting angry.
In order to work out the possible achievement of that goal, they turned to Swiss for help. The multi ghoul was tasked with pushing the lead guitarist’s buttons to the point of pissing him off, all in an attempt to gauge how much progress Dew had made with everything he had been practicing up to that point. The purpose of those exercises was for the fire demon to learn patience and not rise to the slightest provocation.
They went kind of like…
“Ya know, your bitch ass mug’s ugly as fuck,” Swiss said with a straight face but mocking voice, lying through his teeth to make Dewdrop angry.
They were both sitting face to face, the common room’s coffee table being the only barrier between them. Seated in the middle of the couch was Aether, who was meant to act as a mediator if tensions rose too high between the other two.
“Fuck you,” the fire ghoul retorted, scowling behind his mask but not reacting otherwise.
He tried to hold himself in check by crossing his arms atop his chest while gripping them tightly as well.
“You wish,” Swiss fired back, smirking while his eyes shined with mischief, “but ya ain’t pretty enough, darlin’.”
Given how Dewdrop’s insecurities and low self-esteem, which he usually hid behind his anger issues and pretend narcissism, were ticked off by the multi-instrumentalist’s derisive comments, they consequently led him to react violently and scream before he threw himself toward the demon in front of him.
“You fucking bastard!”
“Wait, hold on–” Swiss tried to put a stop to Dew’s outburst before he ended up with a lap full of the small demon trying to gouge his eyes out. “Aether! Get this bitch off of me!”
As soon as the quintessence ghoul registered what was happening, he jumped to his feet and grabbed Dewdrop under the armpits in order to pull him up and off Swiss, holding him in the air for a few seconds as the lead guitarist kept thrashing around. At the same time, while a disheveled Swiss got up and away from the screeching demon, the rhythmic guitarist tried to make the other see reason.
He also put Dew down, allowing the fire ghoul’s feet to touch the floor once more, but continued to restrain him by holding him against his chest in a hug.
“Dew, stop! You need to calm down.”
“He started it!” Came Dewdrop’s infuriated response.
“Of course he did!” Aether yelled louder, making sure the struggling demon in his arms would hear him over his own screams. “That’s the whole point of this.”
With that, the bigger ghoul managed to make the smaller one stand still again, although both of their breaths were agitated after the whole ordeal.
“Ugly and stupid,” Swiss mocked under his breath snidely, unable to help himself.
Naturally, Dewdrop was able to hear him, thus why he started up once more his attempts to free himself from Aether’s embrace and get to Swiss in order to gut him or something.
“That’s it, I’m gonna kill you!”
“Stop!” Aether yelled, tightening his grip around Dew’s body.
Thankfully for the multi ghoul, the quintessence demon didn’t budge.
So, even though at first it seemed like it would be futile since Dewdrop reacted immediately even to a teasing expression, he eventually managed to at least not react violently in a physical way, meaning activating his powers. And with due time and effort, he might be able to ignore taunts, teasing, and provocations completely.
Still, all of that didn’t seem enough, so Mountain and the ghoulettes offered exercises of their own. While Cumulus and Cirrus ran him through breathing exercises that aimed to teach him how to de-escalate his mounting anger, the drummer started to take him out to the less crowded gardens to sit down to meditate and learn mindfulness. However, the earth ghoul couldn’t get the smaller demon to spend quiet and relaxing time with him at the library.
Dewdrop also refused to explain why he didn’t want to go to the library at all. And since they were in the process of helping out the ghoul with dealing with his stress, anxiety, and unresolved trauma, they thought better to leave that particular issue for another time.
What they did do, was begin to figure out how they could address the roots of his problems, the experiences that traumatized him in the first place: having to pretend to be a water ghoul and killing the first three Papas. They already had Dew talking about it all, sharing what feelings and thoughts he had about those two important occurrences in his life. So, it was time to take a step further in Dewdrop’s healing journey.
The first thing they tried concerning the exposure therapy route they chose to take was intended to address Dewdrop’s trauma regarding the time he spent acting as a water ghoul after Terzo summoned him by mistake. He was forced asked by the former Papa Emeritus III and Sister Imperator to behave in the same manner a water-type demon would, as well as to not use his powers unless alone in his own room. That’s the main reason that led him to suffer an inner power imbalance that resulted in his inability to control his fire.
The ghoul tasked with helping Dewdrop be exposed to a triggering stimulus related to that stressful time in his life was Rain, being the current water ghoul and bassist of the band. The exercise itself was quite simple and it only entailed using Rain’s bass. All they had to do was see how Dew reacted to holding the instrument and even attempting to play it. And to make sure that it would take place somewhere that not only was relaxing for the fire demon, but also kept him away from others, they chose to do it in Rain’s secret garden.
Rain was by his side the whole time, keeping him company throughout the experience while also serving as emotional support. The whole point was for Dew to do something that reminded him of the hard times he lived through but in the comfort of a setting he found to be safe and reassuring.
The first time they did it, they just took the bass guitar with them. No amp or anything as the first trial was meant to rely mostly on Dew’s reaction to holding the instrument and mimicking playing it. Since they feared hearing the deep sounds the bass would make through the amp could turn out to be too much of a trigger for him, they decided to leave that for another time.
“Do you feel ready?”
That was what Rain asked as soon as they both sat down cross-legged in the middle of the clearing. He had one of his precious bass guitars placed on his lap, the B&W Fender. In front of him, Dewdrop had both hands gripping his knees tightly as he tried to calm his raging heartbeat, while his tail swished wildly behind his back.
“Not really,” the fire ghoul confessed before swallowing thickly. “It’s like I have fucking dragons in my stomach.”
“We can just reschedule then–” Rain began, worried about his friend’s anxious state.
Nevertheless, a determined Dew was quick to try and ease the other’s concern.
“No! No. I have to at least give it a try,” Dew said, letting out a sigh. “I’ve been working so hard, you guys as well, and I really want to get better. Just…give me that thing.”
Seeing the guitarist extended right arm as well as his hand motioning for the bass to be handed over, the water ghoul obeyed with only a little hesitance. And the aforementioned preoccupation only grew once he saw the other handle the instrument with trembling fingers. Still, Rain went on to reiterate that if it became too much for Dewdrop, they could always end the exercise.
“If you feel uncomfortable, distressed, anxious, or anything like that, let me know and we’ll stop altogether.”
“Okay.”
Dewdrop let out a deep sigh, adjusted the bass on his lap, and placed his fingers on the strings near both ends. Then, for a few seconds, he froze completely and his whole body started to shudder slightly. For a moment, Rain feared his friend would suffer a nervous breakdown. However, and after letting out another, shakier breath, he started moving his hands.
The only sounds disrupting the silence were those of the vibrating strings being deftly plucked by the fire ghoul, accompanied by the usual noises of the woods surrounding them. Dew played through the opening of “Con Clavi Con Dio”, not only one of his favorite Ghost songs to play on bass but one of his favorites from the band altogether. After the initial notes, he stopped for a few more seconds before resuming playing the rest of the song. Only the bass part, of course.
By the time he was done, he had been crying lightly under his mask, Rain only taking notice of it since he could feel the sudden appearance of water streaming down his friend’s face.
“How do you feel now?” The bassist asked softly.
“Relieved, I guess,” Dew replies, sounding calm and collected, the fluffy tip of his tail moving languidly up and down while the rest lay on the grass. “My stomach still feels a bit upset, but I thought I would throw up as soon as I touched the bass.”
“That’s good then, right?”
The water demon sounded hopeful, even excited, hearing confirmation of progress from Dewdrop himself. And he knew the guitarist was being honest, which only served to make him feel even more happy about all of their combined efforts showing positive results.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s better than expected,” the fire ghoul explains as he shrugs one of his shoulders. “All there’s left to do now is try to see how I do when I play it while plugged into the amp.”
“Next time,” Rain promises with a small smile.
So, after all of that hard work and given the passing of a couple of months during which Dewdrop went through his “rehabilitation program”, the demons decide to play a game of UNO, knowing that the former Papas were playing exactly that game when Dew followed Seestor’s orders to kill them.
Ever since, the fire ghoul hadn’t been able to even look at the cards without wanting to throw up or feeling assaulted by anguish and anger that threatened to consume him. Thus, his bandmates resolved that playing the game would be the final test to see if all of the guitarist’s hard work had paid off or not and if he was indeed healing as well as believed.
However, and after some discussion, the musicians chose not to use a physical deck of cards to play the game. Mainly, for two reasons. Number one, they couldn’t find any despite asking several Siblings of Sin if they could borrow one. They chalked it up to the “Missing UNO Cards Conspiracy” and paid it no mind. Number two, they realized it might be less triggering for Dew to play the online videogame version first. Just like playing the bass, if the first attempt went well, they would try to play with the physical cards later (although, they would have to buy a stack first).
Speaking of buying games, the group of demons had to do the same when it came to the videogame version, which ultimately led to a little discussion taking place in the common room regarding how Copia could react to finding out such expense being made by his beloved demons on something so “trivial”.
“Do you think the Cardinal will tell us off for charging all these games to his credit card?” Rain asked, brow furrowing slightly under his mask.
“Maybe,” Swiss replied as he shrugged.
As always, the multi ghoul showed little concern regarding the consequences of their actions. After all, he’s a creature that thrives in chaos. The fun kind, not the destructive type. On the other hand, Cumulus was a little more worried despite holding an optimistic approach to the situation, trying to remain hopeful about the Cardinal’s understanding.
“I mean, I don’t think he’ll get mad if we tell him what it’s for.”
“Yeah, but we can’t really do that without explaining why playing UNO is so essential to helping Dew get a grip on himself,” Cirrus scoffed while rolling her eyes.
The taller ghoulette was bent over the backrest of the couch, looking over Mountain’s shoulder as he juggled the purchase of the game on four different laptops. Rain and Cumulus were seated on each side of the drummer, peering at what he was doing as well.
Given that the online multiplayer version of the game allowed for four players at a time, only three of them could play with Dewdrop (they also figured it would be less chaotic with only four players). Luckily for them, the fire ghoul agreed to hand over his computer so Mountain could install the game for him. Although, he made clear that he didn’t want to be present while any of that took place.
“Touché,” Swiss idly commented.
He was sprawled over one of the armchairs, chewing strawberry-flavored gum and blowing up little balloons from time to time. On the other side of the coffee table, Aether was sitting straight on the remaining armchair.
“Don’t worry about it,” Aether reassured, picking the dirt under his clawed fingernails. “If he gets angry about it, I’ll talk to him without revealing too much.”
The quintessence ghoul’s confident declaration led Mountain to snort and make a snide comment of his own. “He’ll surely listen to you alright.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The guitarist inquired, his face scrunching up in confusion.
“Nothing,” the other five demons answered in unison, not wanting to get into that particular topic.
There was a bit of an awkward lull in the conversation as the musicians worked in sync around their common area to set everything up. Doing so included getting the four laptops ready and the game’s homepages opened. They even went as far as to prepare some of Dewdrop’s favorite snacks and fizzy soda to act as comfort food while he underwent that particular exercise of exposure therapy.
It was only when they were done that Aether remembered something really important he had to do before they started playing: warn his fellow demons against doing anything stupid.
“And remember, please, for the love of Satan, don’t do anything to mess with him on purpose.”
Aether, Cirrus, and Swiss were the ones who would play alongside Dew, being the only ones that willingly dared volunteered. The rest of the musicians were simply going to spectate, while also standing by in case their assistance was needed for anything. Say, like, with putting out a fire or something.
“You sayin’ we should let him win?” An affronted Swiss asked, left hand flat against his chest in a dramatic gesture.
“No, I’m not saying that at all, just that we shouldn’t purposefully try to piss him off by stacking +2ʼs or something like that,” Aether said before he sighed and pinched the bridge of his mask’s nose.
“Killjoy.”
Hearing the multi-instrumentalist’s last comment of discontent, Cirrus automatically followed to chastise him before he could even think of getting away with his mischievous scheming behind everyone else’s backs.
“Swiss.”
“Aight, whatevah~”
With Swiss shrugging and rolling his eyes, conceding defeat, Aether and Cirrus were left heaving sighs of relief. Still, the guitarist and the keyboardist knew better than to let their guards down around the other demon. Meanwhile, Rain, Cumulus, and Mountain exchanged slightly concerned glances, hoping that everything would go according to plan. Or, at the very least, that the entire room wouldn’t get consumed by flames.
All they had left to do then was to wait until the last player arrived.
As soon as Dewdrop walked into the room and saw the four laptops set up, he swallowed thickly, his heart rate picked up, and his hands started to feel clammy. Still, he soldiered on and sat down on his black bean bag, Rain seated on a chair to his right and Cumulus the same but to his left.
Aether was sat in the middle of the couch, opposite him and on the other side of the coffee table, while Swiss and Cirrus occupied the armchairs (him to the left of Dew and her to his right). Mountain was making coffee in the kitchen, using it as an excuse to remain near the faucet.
If things went awry and a fire was started, the drummer’s mission was to open the faucet so that Rain would have quick access to enough water to put out the flames. He also really wanted a cup of coffee.
Either way, the fire ghoul got comfortable enough, eyes barely leaving the computer waiting in front of him. He noticed the spicy-flavored snacks prepared for him only after Cumulus pointed out their presence to him. However, due to the queasy feeling that started up in his stomach the moment he walked in, he kindly rejected her offer while thanking them for the thoughtful gesture, explaining that he feared throwing up the food as soon as it hit his gastric acid.
“Alright, before we start, just a quick reminder,” Aether began once everyone settled. “If you need to stop playing whenever, Dew, just tell us and we will shut everything down.”
“Yeah,” Cirrus seconded. “Please don’t hesitate to let us know if it is too much for you, okay?”
“Sure,” Dew replied, trying to sound confident but barely being able to mask his uneasiness.
Hearing the dubious tone he used, Cumulus decided to step in to reassure him that he wasn’t alone in that ordeal, holding his right hand between her own. On the other side of him, Rain silently linked his tail with the smaller demon’s, his own way of offering comfort.
“We are all here to support you and help you go through this,” Cumulus’ sweet voice proclaimed. “We want you to heal and be happy again.”
“Thanks,” came Dew’s brief reply as he swallowed the lump in his throat and held back tears of relief.
“Well then, should we start playin’ already?”
With Swiss asking for approval, Aether nodded in confirmation and the four players officially started the game. By then, Cumulus let go of the fire ghoul’s hand so he could play. Yet before they got into it, they first went through the tutorial, learning the rules and how to play before they got to the actual stage of playing the game. So far, Dewdrop was doing well. At the very least, he had yet to throw up, which they considered to be a good sign.
The real game started simple enough, although it went a little slow at first since they had never played it before –let alone the digital version. Thus why nothing much happened besides some confused questions being exchanged before the inquirer understood what was happening or what they were meant to do. Nevertheless, once the four of them got a grip on the basic mechanics, the game really kicked off and it wasn’t long until “dirty cards” (as they liked to refer to Action and Wild cards) started to get played. Mainly +2ʼs and Reverse ones, though.
“Is it just me or do I have the shittiest hand ever?”
Dewdrop asked Rain and Cumulus, who were intently following the game through his screen. The fire ghoul felt as if he had been dealt a bad hand on purpose by the Universe itself, given that it somehow knew what his relationship with the game was. He took it kinda personally, even.
“I’m sure it’s just a bit of bad luck,” Rain muttered, trying to cheer up the other. “You’ll get better cards soon, don’t worry about it.”
“Yeah, you gotta stay positive, Dewey!” Cumulus exclaimed, all excited to see the game play out.
The lead guitarist hummed but didn’t comment further, knowing that nothing positive would come out of his mouth. Instead, he chose to keep focused on what was happening on the screen. That was when he heard Swiss offering to take said hand of cards, giving Dew the one Cirrus had. However, a couple of moves later, Dew got bold enough to take Aether’s hand. And with that, they felt as if all bets were off and they were seriously playing to win.
No longer was the game just a means to an end in order to see how well and far along was Dewdrop doing in his healing process, but it soon enough turned into a full-blown competition. And with three out of the four players being highly competitive creatures, they all realized that the serene atmosphere was about to turn tense and ruthless.
Swiss took Dew’s hand once more the first chance he got. And that’s when everything started going downhill.
It turned out that the hand Swiss held was comprised of red and blue cards, and he swapped it for Dew’s just after playing the last green one he had. That in itself wouldn’t have been a problem if someone else played a card with the same number but a different color. Yet the one who went next didn’t do that. Instead, Aether played a green card, unaware of the fire demon’s predicament.
And since Cirrus also played a green one, Dew was doomed to having to draw from the deck as he had no green cards in his hand.
He thankfully drew a green Skip card, which meant Aether was the one to play next instead of Swiss. On his part, the quintessence ghoul played a green +2, which meant Cirrus had to draw two more cards and her turn got skipped. Yet the problem remained: Dew still didn’t have any green cards. So, he drew one, which turned out to be a green +2, making him get back at Swiss for earlier.
Swiss had two cards added to his hand and his turn was skipped, just like it happened to Cirrus. When Aether played next, he used a green card as well, perpetuating the cycle. And after the ghoulette played a green one as well, shit started hitting the fan.
Dew still didn’t have green cards, so he drew from the deck. But the deck didn’t seem to have green cards either, at least not at the ready just like the two times before.
“What is this game?! Are you serious?! Give me a green card! What. Are. You. Doing?! Unholy shit!” The fire ghoul yelled at his computer, watching the yellow, blue, and red cards filling his hand.
Dewdrop ended with 9 new cards before he finally got to play a green one.
Despite how horrific the situation should have seemed to the other demons, most of them could barely contain the giggles dying to burst from their mouths. If the situation wasn’t supposed to hold a rather solemn mood, they would all probably be cackling by then. However, they tried to keep their cool and not make the situation worse for Dew.
Or, in reality, Cirrus and Aether did. Because, against Aether’s previous warning and insistent plea, Swiss couldn’t help his wicked nature.
He played a green Reverse card.
Dewdrop had to draw again.
Cirrus gasped a breathless “don’t do it”, feeling hysterical in more than one sense, but it was already too late.
“I don’t have a green!!!” Dew shouted before he screeched at the top of his lungs.
He almost deafened everyone else in the room by doing that, yet the action alone wasn’t enough to help him calm down. Steam was coming out of his mouth and nostrils; his tail whipped angrily by his left side. Fortunately for Rain, though, he realized what was about to happen and withdrew his tail before Dew’s rage started to boil dangerously.
The lead guitarist got 5 more cards added to his hand, making the total 19 (discounting the +4 he played).
Given that he had just 5 before being forced to draw 14 more, Dewdrop just exploded in rage. His computer, seated atop his lap, burst into flames. So did the bean bag he was sitting on, and Cumulus’ chair –which she vacated as soon as she saw the first sparks appearing on the little gremlin’s hands. Not only that, though, since before Mountain could react and open the tap on the kitchen sink, Dew threw the burning laptop onto the coffee table, setting that on fire as well.
A few seconds later, Rain managed to put out the fire, dousing everything caught in flames with enough water only to leave charred wood, metal, and fabric behind. Meanwhile, Aether and Swiss took care of opening the windows to allow Cirrus and Cumulus to blow the smoke outside.
By the end, they were all left standing around their common room, staring at Dewdrop, who had his eyes closed, nostrils flaring under the mask, and fire still dancing on his fingertips as he tried to use a combination of some of the calming exercises his fellow demons had taught him. A little too late, perhaps, but it was better than him raging on.
He eventually managed to slow down his agitated breath as well as his rapid heartbeats, and the fire disappeared from his hands. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked around at the mess he made, a profuse apology already at the tip of his tongue. Yet before he could even utter a word, the Cardinal burst into the room, seemingly on the verge of a panic attack.
He was already on his way to the common area when he heard the commotion.
“What in Satan’s name is happening in here?!” He demanded with a concerned tone and expression. “Is everyone alright?!”
No one dared to say anything, which meant Copia was left looking over at them to search for possible injuries as well as to take note of the burning smell wafting in the air, coming from the carbonized objects in the middle of the room.
At least the TV is intact, the man thought as he heaved a relieved sigh upon confirming everyone was fine.
Nonetheless, his relief was short-lived once he caught sight of something that brought a memory to the forefront of his mind.
He had left one of his most beloved suit jackets down there –one custom-made for him–, draped over the backrest of one of the chairs.
The Cardinal looked around the room with more urgency, hoping to see the garment he fretted having lost to the fire. But he couldn’t find it anywhere.
“You lot haven’t seen the jacket I left here last time we watched a movie, have you?” He asked, doubtful yet full of hope.
The demons looked at each other before every single gaze fell on the burnt chair, which still had some remnants of the jacket in question.
“I’m sorry,” Dew mumbled, staring at his feet in shame.
“It-it’s okay, it was just a jacket,” Copia tried to reassure, yet his stuttering voice didn’t sound convincing at all. “What’s important is that you are all safe.”
The clergyman’s tentative smile didn’t reach his eyes, despite him wanting to feel sympathy for the frustrated ghoul. Yet how could he? They all knew how much he loved that piece of clothing, given that he often commented on how it “made him look really slim while at the same time it accentuated his hips and ass in the most exquisite way”. They never argued for or against that claim, preferring to ignore it and leave the man to his own musings. Still, they all felt sort of guilty then. Dewdrop more than anyone else, of course.
And as if all of that weren’t enough, that was when Seestor showed up as well after being made aware of the fire through the silent smoke alarm notice she received on her phone. Once inside, she looked around at the band members with a combination of concern and fury. When her eyes landed on the fire ghoul and the decimated remains next to him, she settled on anger.
“What the hell have you done now?” The woman asked with barely concealed rage, being about past done with the small ghoul and his destructive proclivities.
(Which, considering what the motives are behind said issues is a little hypocritical from her.)
“It was an accident, Sister,” Aether tried to explain before being silenced by her.
As Imperator held up a hand to quiet the rhythmic guitarist and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, taking a deep breath, all of the demons shuffled anxiously on their feet, fearing what the woman would say or do next. Even the Cardinal shared some of the dread they were all feeling.
“You,” she started, pointing at Dewdrop, “are grounded until further notice. You won’t be allowed to use any electronic devices for entertainment purposes. Is that clear?”
The deadly tone Seestor used was enough to make Dew swallow and nod in understanding, not daring to speak.
And just as quickly as she had arrived, she left. Not without barking an order to them to “clean that mess up”.
Copia almost ran after her, having assured the pack of ghouls and ghoulettes that he would try to talk with her to see if she would lessen the punishment. Yet no matter how cheerful he tried to sound when making that empty promise, the hellish creatures knew better than to believe him.
With the two humans out of the room, the demons started to clean everything up, helping Dewdrop with the aftermath of his outburst despite him telling them it wasn’t their responsibility. He insisted it was his problem to fix, but they argued that they all took part in it one way or another since the whole “rehabilitation program” they had put him in was their idea. Thus, they worked together in silence as they cleared the common room and got rid of the burned remains.
“You know, that game sucks anyway,” Dew ended up saying at large, which prompted everyone else to start laughing.
That was what kicked off the talk through which they figured out that the small demon’s rage wasn’t due to the connection between the game and the Papas’ murders, but just due to the fact that he was dealt such an awful hand. All in all, it was a small win for them, since at least they confirmed that Dew didn’t relate the game to the incident anymore.
Still, they agreed that it would be best if he refrained from playing until he worked further on treating his anger-management issues through all the exercises they taught him.
“Whatcha gonna do now, though?” Swiss asked, hands resting atop one another on the end of the broomstick he held as he leaned on it, his tail swaying lazily behind him. “Until further notice’ sounds like a hella long time to me.”
“Heʼs right,” Cumulus chimed in. “What are you gonna do to pass the time?”
“I dunno, play my guitar?”
“That might get boring pretty quickly,” Rain argued before adding something else in a whisper, “knowing you.”
Before Dewdrop could retort to the bassist’s slightly dissing comment with a snide remark of his own, someone caught his attention by saying something he would have rather not heard at all.
“Maybe you could try reading,” a nonchalant Mountain offered out of the blue.
Despite how innocent his suggestion sounded, he knew perfectly well what he was insinuating with his offer. For months he had been trying to sniff out what the deal between Dewdrop and his reticence to step into the abbey’s library was, and that moment seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a chance at finding out. After all, the only time he did go in was when hiding from the others when they first tried to get him to talk about what was the root of all his anger and power control issues.
“Reading?! I fucking hate doing that!” The fire ghoul replied, sounding defensive despite not meaning to.
His scandalized reaction to such a trivial matter caught the attention of all the other musicians, which made Mountain smirk under his mask. Clearly, there was something related to the library that made Dew’s hackles rise.
“Well, you might not have another option if Imperator doesn’t rescind her punishment,” Aether pointed out.
“Fuck,” was all Dew muttered before the conversation came to an end.
It was then that he realized he would, sooner than later, be forced to face what he had been dreading to confront for many months: borrowing a book from the library.