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It was a lazy day in the hotel with the daily activity done for and Charlie had left with Vaggie for a date. Alastor was nowhere to be found, which wasn’t unusual, and Husk was drinking alone at the bar, which was the usual. On calm, boring days like this, Niffty liked to normally count the stains in the hotel before counting her roach collection. But being that the building was new, there were only two stains of notice and the bugs were scarce to find. She had no choice but to find her entertainment elsewhere, which is how she found herself with Angel Dust, rewatching some of his old movies in the parlor room with popsicles. They were on their third film and the two were going between laughing at the other actors and critiquing the fetishes used for each scene.
“Ya know, I won two awards for this scene. One for best hole an' another for best use of medical equipment. Yeah, I really knocked it out.” Angel grinned down at Niffty who watched with rapt attention and kicked her little legs out behind her from her spot on the side table besides the couch. She giggled at the dialogue, loving how cheesy and bad it was.
“Ohhh, that’s a big needle.”
“Yeah, Val was feelin' out a new kink that day. It didn’t last long, thank fuck, but I’ve had worse shoots.”
“What did they inject you with?”
“A mixture of morphine and an anesthetic.”
“Were you in lots and lots of pain?”
“No, not more than usual, an' some of it was the good kind. After about three shots of the crap, I passed out an' they kept filming. Almost got me a best somnophilia award but I lost it to some fuck that did a gang bang out cold on cough syrup. How weak is that? That’s not even art.”
“That’s boring.”
“You got that right, toots.”
They fell silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's company, their porno movie and the popsicles. Niffty finished her popsicle first and struggled with the wrapper of a next, trying to gnaw at the plastic until Angel carefully took it from her hands and opened the packaging for her. She gave a little squeal of delight with grabbing hands for the sweet treat. Angel smiled at her, ruffling her red hair before handing the pink popsicle over.
“We should do this more. You and me, kid.”
“We can watch bug royales.”
“What exactly is that?”
“Where you pit two bugs against each other with their children captured and forced to watch.”
“Uh, sure. Once. Only once.”
“I also like really bad romance movies. Like the reallllllllyyyy bad ones.”
Angel hadn’t expected that, and raised an eyebrow as he took a bite of his popsicle. Then again, he liked bad romance novels himself so he doubted they were that different to enjoy. Plus this was Hell, there were plenty of porny romance flicks they could make fun of together. It was one of the better ways to waste an evening and night.
“Alright, how about a romance marathon? We can drink and watch the worst of it. Ever seen Hell’s The Bachelorette? It’s fuckin' great.”
“Ooh that sounds fun. You like romance? Are you in love?” There was an almost knowing, accusing looking in that big eye of hers and Angel felt his cheeks flush as he looked away.
Niffty knew there was something between Angel and Husk, not only because the twos rooms smelled like sex and each other, but she had noticed the looks between them and the not-so subtle touches. Not only Angel to Husk, which everyone in the hotel was used to, but she had seen Husk touch Angel willingly and on a common basis now.
“I wouldn’t say that, but there's someone I like a lot, yeah.”
“You gonna tell him?”
Angel didn’t question how Niffty knew who, knowing well enough that questioning Niffty and what went on in that mind of hers would just lead to madness. Instead, he finished his popsicle and grabbed another out of the box.
“I think he knows. Which is kinda the scary part.”
“Why is it scary? If you like each other then you’re not alone.”
Nothing was scary when you have someone, Niffty thought, thinking of Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship. The two had faced so many hardships and overcome them all with each other's help and support. Surely Husk and Angel could do the same.
“Val is scary and I can’t drag him into Val’s shit. I won’t.”
“Alastor wouldn’t let him be dragged into that, I don’t think you need to worry.” Niffty pointed out, biting her popsicle in half.
She wasn’t the smartest in the hotel, but she knew Alastor. The deer demon was possessive, and Niffty knew there was a better chance of getting Angel under contract with Alastor than for Husk to be lost to Val instead. She didn’t mention that though, not thinking a contract with Alastor would do much to help in the long haul. Husk wouldn’t be happy about it for sure, even if he hated what Val did to Angel. It was Angel’s choice after all.
“You’re not wrong, girlie. Anyways, I think it’s time we start that marathon. We need to raid the bar then get something started.”
“Can we bring Fat Nuggets down to watch too?”
Angel smiled, nodding his head at the request. He would never turn down a chance to bring Fat Nugs out for a while and to watch bad tv. He had a few joints up in his room too so maybe he would smoke one before coming back down, nothing too wild for the night, but a pick-me-up. Then again, he wouldn’t really need it hanging out with Niffty, the girl would keep him entertained with her dialogue alone.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
It was far from go-fish, that’s Niffty’s first thought about learning this card game called poker. It had a lot of counting as well and that wasn’t her strong suit, but Husk had been giving Niffty nods of approval when she had a matching pair so maybe she was doing better than expected. Husker had explained that the game usually had at least three to five people playing, but two people wasn’t uncommon either, especially when learning the game.
“Remember, Niffty, Jokers are wild cards and can be used for anything. You almost had a royal flush this time, you’re the hang of it.” Husk pointed to the Joker in her hand after Niffty set her cards down at the end of the round.
“He’s a bad boy.” She pointed to the Joker in her cards and grinned.
“Very. Let’s try again.”
Husk was calm like this, she noticed. The anger and air of depression didn’t linger as he shuffled the cards with an expert hand. There was even a small smile on his lips as he started to sort the cards out for the new hand, and while Niffty wasn’t skilled like Husker in cards, it didn’t look like a fixed game either. Pure luck of the cards.
“Alright, pick them up. Now do you remember the goal?”
“Best five card hand.”
“And how many rounds per game?”
“Uh, four?”
“Good. Now discard any cards you don’t want.”
His voice was soothing, gentle and praising as Niffty did as instructed, picking three cards to discard and get new ones. Her grin grew at the three of a kind she had now, maybe one of the best hands she had gotten so far in their games. Once they had their new cards, Husk took two poker chips and added them to the center of the table. There were no real stakes in the game, no money being used, just chips that Husk had divided equally at the start. After a few hands and Niffty was losing chips, she had added some bugs to her pile as extra tokens. Husk didn’t seem to mind. With chips down, the cards were placed face up on the table and Husk gave a whistle at Niffty’s hand.
“Look at that. You beat my pair, so this time you win.”
Niffty squealed, delighted and pulled in the coins and bugs to her side of the table, quick to make everything neat and tidy. They had been playing for a couple hours now and this was her first real win, and while Husk had a larger pile of tokens and bugs, she was holding her own.
“Do you miss it?”
“Miss what?”
“Being a gambling overlord.”
“Sometimes. I miss the gambling more than being an overlord. What about you? You miss the overlord days? You could have made a serious name for yourself if you hadn’t let it go.” Husk was one of the two people who knew Niffty’s past almost entirely, him and Alastor.
“Gambling is dumb. I don't miss it much, not really, I miss the stabbing sometimes and the chasing after someone part, but this is more fun and relaxing. Less...pressure. I’m thirsty.”
Husk watched Niffty a moment, as if gauging if what she said was true before finding his answer and standing up. “Wait here a minute. I’ll make you something.”
True to his word, Husker only took a minute before he was back with a pretty glass filled to the brim with a straw. It was a blue drink with a gradient of purple at the bottom, the ice cubes reflecting the purple hue. Niffty looked to Husker before taking a long sip, eyes widening before drinking more of it.
“Amazing! What is it?”
“Blue raspberry mocktail.” Husk, pleased with Niffty liking his drink choice, returned to dealing cards.
“What’s a mocktail?”
“It’s a cocktail but without liquor. So it’s fancy, mixed juices. You don’t need any liquor while we play. By the way, you said gambling was dumb. What makes it dumb?”
“It’s all luck, and you can’t count on luck for things. You can’t get better at luck and I’m not lucky so it’s dumb.”
“You’re right in that it's not a skill you can really improve on, but luck is part of the fun of gambling. When you get a lucky roll of the dice or hand in cards without having to swap dice and cards, it’s exhilarating. But you? Unlucky? You had to have some luck in life and here. You still have your soul.”
“Momma said I was unlucky, both for me and her.”
“Sometimes our parents don’t know shit.”
Niffty didn’t respond, playing with the edge of her glass instead and Husk places the cards down to cross his arms.
“You can’t let her influence your thinking, or else you’ll end up doubting yourself and no one needs that. You’re the only one of us who doesn’t do that crap. We need your positivity and your wack-o antics to keep us going.”
“You didn’t think catching mice with me was wack-o.”
That made the cat flare up pink in the cheeks at their chasing mice not that long ago. It isn’t often Husk lets the cat aspect of himself free, but chasing mice is one of the few activities he can’t resist as a cat.
“I mean other stuff. Look, maybe your mom called you unlucky, but you’re lucky to us here.”
Niffty smiled at Husk, her doubt erased and replaced with her usual cheerfulness. It was a better look than the downcast look she had thinking of her mother. With that taken care, Husk returned to the cards, giving them each five before putting in his ante.
“Back to the game. I’ll win back my chips this time.”
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
It had been years since Niffty had seen Alastor in a kitchen, let alone cooked with the man. Ever since the Radio Demon’s staff had been broken by Adam, the man had been secluding himself more often, his smile didn’t reach his eyes like it used to, and he didn’t joke as much with the group or with her. Niffty didn’t like seeing him like this, it was wrong and she was determined to help even a little. It’s why when she had found Alastor in the kitchen with his coat placed off to the side with a large pot, she had asked to help.
While Niffty was the main cook of the hotel, it wasn’t her favorite task, she was a much better baker than cook but she was quickly set to the role of chopping as Alastor took the position of head chef for the evening. Not only was Niffty skilled at chopping, she in fact had the best knife skills not only in the hotel, but through a large chunk of Hell. There were onions, tomatoes, peppers, sausage, garlic, scallions and chicken to chop into equal chunks. On the counter by Alastor were a few cans, boxes, a large amount of shrimp and jars of spices, as well as a bag of rice.
“What are we making?”
“My mothers jambalaya. It’s delightful.”
“You haven’t cooked in a while, Alastor.”
Alastor chuckled and his grin turned a bit softer for the small demon before he took the chopped onions and peppers, adding them to the empty pot first. The sound of sizzling filled the kitchen.
“I find it relaxing. An activity that clears the mind and creates something wonderful in the end. One of the few joys I take part in.”
“Are you upset about your staff mic thing and that’s why you want to cook?”
“Ah, always so straight forward, Niffty, I like that about you. Yes, I am rather upset over my microphone, though I would rather if you didn’t go telling everyone about it.”
Niffty could do that, she could keep a secret. She had many secrets after all, so she understood and respected the need to keep this between them. If anything, she felt honored to be trusted enough for such an admittance, she knew that talking about his feelings wasn’t one of Alastor’s favorite things to do. Maybe she should get him a gift, a new furby for his collection perhaps. He would like that. She nodded in agreement to keep this conversation quiet between them.
“Does it hurt being without your mic?” She asked, watching as he added the chicken and some spices, letting everything cook a few minutes before putting in the sausage, cans of tomato paste and the garlic. The smells of the kitchen were becoming fragrant and mouth-watering. Prime-o, fresh ingredients like these were expensive and hard to get for anyone who wasn’t the Radio Demon.
“It doesn’t hurt per say, but it is extremely limiting.” Alastor explained, adding in chicken stock. “It’s frustrating and more than just a hindrance. I need a new microphone, but obtaining one is the tricky part.”
“I’ll steal one for you.”
“I appreciate the sentiment but it must be gifted to me, enchanted as well.”
“What about Charlie? Could she enchant one for you?”
“Possibly, but she may not be strong enough for the power I need and want. Not without her really tapping into her potential. But she isn’t ready.”
“Lucifer?”
That made Alastor chuckle, thinking of going to the fallen angel for help after their instantaneous dislike of each other and each other's connection to Charlie. But she wasn’t exactly wrong in that he was one of the best options so far. He took the time to both think it over as well as add the stock, tomatoes, rice and more seasonings. Now to let it cook for twenty minutes and set a timer.
“I’d prefer not.”
“Well, who else? The Seven Deadly Sins?”
“Doubtful. Niffty, be a dear and keep stirring the pot.”
“Why can’t you get another microphone from the person you got the first from?”
“Well that is quite the secret, I’m not sure I can share.”
“I’ll tell you a secret if you tell me.”
“Hmm, I don’t see the harm. Just remember, this all stays between us.” Alastor didn’t need his full power for Niffty to get the threatening undertone of the words. It didn’t bother her.
“I became an overlord to kill my mother when I came to Hell. I couldn’t do it when alive, but I was able to over and over here.”
“Revenge?”
“Yeah. It felt good but also made me a little sad. She was a bad person in life to me, but she was still…Momma.”
“It’s complicated the relationships we hold with people. You can’t be blamed for that. More so here in Hell. You were settling an unpaid debt she owed you.”
Niffty knew Alastor preferred women to men, much like Niffty preferred men to women, and she also knew the man was a momma’s boy, so hearing him defend her actions against her mother in hell was reassuring. He didn’t think less of her for it, and he didn’t pry either into what she had done to Niffty to cause not only herself to go to hell but for Niffty to want revenge.
“So who gave you your microphone?”
“Lilith.”
“Charlie’s mom, Lilith?” Niffty clarified, her eye going wide in surprise as Alastor nodded.
“It was quite a while ago, and I don’t think I can get another one from her so easily. I don't have the collateral this time.”
“Maybe she will be nice and just give you a new one. You were defending her daughter right? It’s gotta mean something.”
“I do appreciate how you see the bright side in these situations.”
“That or you can blackmail her.”
The timer went off and Alastor was quick to add the shrimp to the jambalaya, covering the top with a lid to let it all cook for the next few minutes. Once the shrimp were pink and the rice was finished cooking, it would be ready for serving.
“While that is an option, I doubt that would go well. By Lilith or by Charlie.”
Niffty was about to suggest that they convince Charlie to talk to her mom when Alastor tasked Niffty to get bowls for everyone. The scallions would be the last added to the dish and added fresh color along with taste.
“But you’re not without your power right? You’re just not as strong?”
Alastor didn’t answer, smiling instead. Niffty knew she must be right, but struggled to find a way to help her friend. Thinking of plans wasn’t her best skill though and she came up with nothing besides the idea of asking Charlie to convince her mother. If they could even contact her mother that is. Mothers were complicated, Niffty decided as she and Alastor filled the bowls and started to set the table in the dining hall.
“Thank you for your help, Niffty. Cooking with companionship sure makes the time fly.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help with your microphone problem.”
Alastor patted Niffty on the head.
“Don’t worry your little head about it. I’ll figure something out, I always do. Now go call everyone to dinner, I don’t want it going cold.”
Niffty nodded and took off, still thinking about Alastor's problem and how she could help. She would get him a new furby, even two. Maybe she couldn’t get him a new microphone, but she could at least be a good and supportive friend for him until he got one.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
The early morning was one of Niffty’s favorite times to clean. It was before everyone else woke up for the day so no one was in the way or making a further mess. Her process started with the kitchen then to the large parlor room and the connecting bar, the bedrooms were last as to let everyone wake up naturally before her cleaning spree. Yet today as she entered the parlor room, she was faced with the growingly familiar sight of Charlie in front of a board for the hotel and her plans. What wasn’t familiar was the countless empty cans of energy drinks on every flat surface and the floor.
‘Wow, it’s messy in here.” Niffty commented, looking between the cans and the blonde demon princess.
Charlie squeaked in surprise as she spun around, hair out of place and dark bags under her red eyes. It was a wonder she hadn’t slipped into her demon form from how surprised she had been at Niffty’s appearance, but she had gotten more used to the small demon’s scuttering around lately so it helped.
“Sorry Niffty, I got a bit carried away last night. I can help you clean.”
“No, it’s okay. I got it. You look tired, you should sleep.” It was good advice but Charlie looked like she wasn’t going to follow it as she turned back to her board.
“I need to keep working. We have more sinners now since the last extermination, but we haven’t heard anything from Heaven about the next one, or about what will happen considering Adam, also we need to double our work on redeeming as many people as we can, oh and we need to get more advertising out, and and and.” She pulled at her hair, horns coming from her head before quickly disappearing once again.
“I think you need a break.” Niffty suggested, putting down a can to instead take the princess by the hand and lead her to the couch to sit. Charlie followed and sat down with a loud groan.
“But there is so much to do, Niffty! I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“A break isn’t nothing, it’s resting to do more. It’s what my papa always told me.”
“Your papa?” Charlie asked, for a moment forgetting her worried state of mind. Niffty never talked of her past so she couldn’t help listening in for more.
“Yeah, he worked a lot but would always take breaks. Said it was important to clear the mind and keep doing your best.”
“He sounds like a smart man. Do…you miss him?”
“Sometimes. He was a good man.” There was a tinge of sadness to Niffty’s voice, an almost longing.
Charlie could understand that longing, and knew that if Niffty’s father had been good, he went to Heaven and she hadn’t seen him in however long she had been down in Hell. That was a question that Charlie had had for a while for the small demon, along with a hundred others. Thinking of it, she wasn’t sure she would get another chance to ask.
“NIffty? How long have you been here?”
“I lost count of how long it’s been, but I’ve been here a while. I met Alastor not long after I became an overlord. He was already a well known bad boy.”
That didn’t quite help things, as the stories of the Radio Demon went back for a few decades at least. Charlie’s best tip off was that many sinner’s liked to dress in the time period they died in, so she would make the guess as to the 1950’s. That left another question of how old Niffty was when she died, but Charlie didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask that. She wanted to know more about Niffty being an overlord but wasn’t sure about that either so she went for something easier.
“How did you meet Alastor?”
“It was when I was an overlord, a long time ago. Alastor was searching for something or someone, I forget, but wanted to search my territory. He was always nice so I let him. We became friends, did favors for each other and when I got bored of being an overlord, Alastor said I could work with him instead.”
“You never sold him your soul?” It made sense, Niffty didn’t have the eye of someone who sold their soul, it wasn’t blacked out. In fact, her eye was a mixture of a regular soul’s yellow and an overlords red. A regular sinner but with great power.
“Nope, but I gave him most of the souls I owned, I didn’t want them anymore.”
“Niffty, what did you specialize in as an overlord?”
“Assassination. And money laundering. And blackmail. And counterfeiting. Oh and kidnapping. Some stalking.”
The answers were both surprising and not. If anything, it made some pieces fall together on how Niffty was able to easily kill Adam, she wasn’t a normal sinner. This was more information on Niffty than Charlie had ever had before, and she was realizing not for the first time that Niffty would be one of the harder souls to redeem, maybe not as difficult as Alastor would prove to be, but there was obviously a lot more history than Charlie realized for the seemingly mostly harmless girl. Charlie was still accepting the fact that Niffty had once been an overlord who simply gave it up. She knew Husk had been an overlord as well but was taken down by Alastor; she had assumed Alastor had just found Niffty alone on the streets.
“You were- you are powerful, so why stop? Why…clean and cook?”
“I like it better than being in charge. And I like Alastor, he’s nice and a bad boy, so working with him is fun. I’ve gotten to do a lot of fun things by working with him.”
“Well, I’m glad you have a friend in him. I hope you view the rest of us as your friends too, Niffty.”
“You are my friends, it’s why I make your favorite meals.”
That little detail touched Charlie and she pressed a hand to her chest with a smile on her lips. She of course had noticed the other sinners' excitement when their favorite was for dinner or lunch, but she hadn’t realized that it was once a week there was someone's favorite food. She didn’t realize that hated foods weren’t included in meal prep or were prepared in a way that would be delicious to try. It was such a kind gesture of love and Charlie had to hold herself back from hugging Niffty tightly.
“Niffty, that’s so sweet, thank you.”
“Oh you’re welcome, if I didn’t like you I’d add bugs to your food.”
“Well we much prefer that you like us, Niffty.”
Charlie instead of hugging the girl patted her head, a gesture she had seen Alastor do to Niffty numerous times so she knew it would be alright. She looked to the empty cans around the room and sighed, feeling the exhaustion start to hit her now that she had taken a break from her manic planning episode.
“Maybe you’re right and I should get some sleep.”
“I think you should. You look tired, Charlie.”
“I am, and I will. Thank you Niffty, for the talk and for calming me down. I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”
Niffty nodded and smiled, starting on collecting the cans as Charlie headed to the elevators.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
It had started as Niffty accidentally walked in on Vaggie dancing in the empty library in the late afternoon. It was one of the biggest spaces in the hotel besides the large dining hall, and with the tables moved to the side, there was plenty of space. It was also rarely used, making it easier and more private than the regularly used backyard. At first, Niffty simply watched Vaggie do a mixture of dance and practice fighting with her spear depending on the type song that played and perhaps her mood at the moment. It was enthralling to watch and made Niffty want to join. It was only during the third time that Niffty caught Vaggie dancing did she approach the taller woman and ask to join, to learn to dance. Vaggie had smiled at her and set a time for them to meet the next day for their first session.
“Ever dance before, Niffty?” Vaggie asked after they; mainly Vaggie, pushed the tables aside to make room the next evening.
“Not really. But I like watching people dance.”
“That isn’t a bad thing. Watch long enough, and you learn the steps. Okay, so we’re doing something low effort and easy for your first time. I like doing complex dance routines but you’re not there yet. This one you can’t mess up, because a lot of it is freestyle so you’re free to do your own moves. Just move as the music tells you.”
Vaggie pressed play on the speaker, and pop music started to come out. It took a moment, but Niffty recognized the voice as being Charlie’s and she looked to Vaggie for clarification.
“She wanted to be a pop star before deciding to save sinners. This was her demo album. It flopped but I like it so I have a few copies.”
“I like it. I like Charlie’s singing.”
“I’ll give you a copy, then you can practice in your room too.”
Niffty smiled, liking the idea of being part of Charlie’s fan club for her pop days. Maybe she could ask Charlie to sing the song for her live, songs always sounded better live. Vaggie quickly got Niffty into position and on the first loop of the song, showed her the footwork. Left step, right, left left, spin, right. It was confusing but fun as Niffty made multiple spins, laughing maniacally before Vaggie stopped her spinning to correct her pose.
“Okay, next we add arms. This can throw you off balance as you move if you throw yourself into it too hard.” It was a warning as Vaggie had watched the enthusiasm Niffty put into her dance moves. With such a small frame, Vaggie worried Niffty would knock herself over and come tumbling down. “This time, just the arms. Then we can put it all together.”
The song was restarted, and Niffty mouthed the words she was slowly learning as she followed Vaggie’s movements and created a few of her own. She nearly fell over a few times with the nearly violent way she swung her arms, but Vaggie kept an eye on the girl.
They were on the third run of the song before Niffty was needing a break. They pulled a few chairs from the corner and sat down together, nursing bottles of flavored water to keep hydrated. All water in Hell was acidic so the best way to drink it was to flavor the hell out of it.
“You’re doing better than I expected, Niffty.”
“I am?”
“Yeah, you’re nailing the footwork and you’re getting the hang of the arm movements. We’ll do one rundown of it all before finishing for today. Sounds good?”
“Uh-huh! Do you dance a lot? When did you start?”
“Sometimes. It’s a good workout and the flexibility it gives me is great for fighting. If I had started doing this more before the last extermination, I would have been at the top of my game. As to when, I started after the extermination. Carmilla Carmine fights with a lot of dancing and she’s one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen so I thought I should try it too.”
“Will I get better at stabbing by dancing?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. But it doesn’t hurt to learn.”
“Does Charlie know you dance or that you dance to her music?”
“She knows I like private time but I haven’t shown her my dancing. I can’t imagine telling her what I dance to. She’d probably be embarrassed, she tried to hide her pop days pretty deep. But it’s her , how can I not love everything she does?”
“I think you should show her, I’ll do the dance with you.”
Vaggie chuckled, imagining the two of them performing with Charlie watching. Either she would burst into tears hating it or because she loved it. There was no real inbetween when it came to the princess and her reaction.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Have you ever thought about marrying Charlie?”
That made Vaggie sputter into her water bottle, cheeks red. Niffty took that as a yes, and grinned, kicking her feet off the edge of the chair. Vaggie cleared her throat and stood up, setting her bottle down.
“Let’s try and combine everything this time. It’ll be more challenging but you got this.” Even with the change of topic, her face was pink as Niffty got into place.
Like Vaggie said it would be, combining arm movements with footwork was harder than Niffty anticipated. It was a lot of remembering and a lot of keeping track of where she was on the beat. She nearly fell over in the middle of the song during a half turn, but Vaggie caught hold of her arm and kept her steady. At the end of the song, Niffty was out of breath but felt good with her dance. She had gotten most of it right and for her first day of dancing, she felt she did good. She looked to Vaggie for confirmation and found a proud smile on the woman's face.
“Good job, Niffty.”
“Can we do this again?”
“How about the day after tomorrow? We can do this every other day.”
“I’d like that.”
Vaggie took the CD out of the player and back into its case before handing it to Niffty.
“Keep practicing in the meantime. Maybe when you get it down, we can add something cool like a knife. Then you can use your dance skills in battle.”
“Like you?”
“Like me.”
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
It had taken her weeks to measure everyone in their sleep or while she was crawling on them, then even longer to sew the outfits, but now Niffty was staring proudly at the clothes she had worked hard to make. It had been a rough few months after the extermination that led to the rebuilding of the Hazbin Hotel and the death of many angels including Adam. While keeping the new hotel clean was something Niffty was skilled at, it didn’t help her friends who were starting to worry about the next cleansing and about the new sinners in the hotel to redeem. She needed to do something grand and personal. So she got to work sewing. Everyone had a special outfit, something that Niffty thought would not only suit everyone individually but would show how much she really loved these sinners she considered family.
She had set each outfit outside the respective person's room, hoping it would be enough to tempt them to try it on and let Niffty see her work being worn. There was no sleep, the anxiety and excitement to see everyones reactions was too strong and overpowering for the ten pound demon girl. So instead she waited in the parlor, resuming her favorite pastime of chasing insects while carefully avoiding to step on the stains she had lovingly named. The stains were her friends too after all, and Charlie had taught Niffty you don’t hurt friends, and if you do by accident, apologize then blame someone else. Okay, Angel taught her the last part, but still.
“Niffty?”
The voice belonged to Charlie and Niffty felt her little body fill with glee at seeing the princess in the white ruffle front halter neck dress with a red underbust, short sleeve jacket and cover skirt. It flowed around her elegantly and Niffty was so happy with how the bottom petticoat ruffled and moved with the demon heiress’ every step down the grand stairs from the second floor elevators. Sewn into the red of the skirt and sleeve edges were designs of pentagrams, hearts and little designs of Razzle and Dazzle. Vaggie was right behind her wearing a white halter shirt with a ruffle in the front similar to the top half of Charlie’s dress only instead of being closed at the neck and collarbones, it was undone at the first few buttons. It made Niffty think of a pirate shirt with the way she wore the black jacket and with the ruffle in the front. A captain at sea ready to fight. It was why she paired it with black slacks that laced up the sides in white and a thick fabric belt that went from crimson to fuchsia stitched with a pair of wings at the ends and an X. She had picked the outfit to pair well with Charlie, wanting the couple to look good together.
“Ohhhh, everything fits so well.” Niffty grinned wildly, excitedly bouncing on her feet.
“It does, Niffty, so perfectly! I can’t believe you made these for us! Oh thank you! I’ll wear it all the time and think of you when I do!” Charlie cooed and picked up the smaller demon girl, hugging her tightly.
Charlie’s hugs were warm and inviting, making Niffty feel like she did good. Vaggie was smiling at her, saving her praise for after Charlie had finished the bear hug.
“Look at the new duds I found outside my room. Pretty slick.”
Angel was grinning from the elevator, one of his hands adjusting the draping front of the knit split thigh dress. During an episode of Hell's Bachelorette, a contestant wore a similar dress and Angel had cooed how much he loved the design so she made one for him. His was baby pink with white lacing along the thighs and along each sleeve. At the tall neck, right where the pulse point would be was a small playing card of the ace of hearts. Instead of his usual thigh high black boots, she had spent a week learning how to make her own boots and made him pink ankle boots with a spiked heel. Both beautiful and great for stabbing. What Niffty loved was the heart shaped boob-window she had added to the dress, knowing how much Angel liked to show off his chest fluff.
“How does it fit?” Niffty asked, checking on each of the arms to make sure she had the placement correct.
“Fits like a dream, doll. How long did it take ya to make all this?”
“A while.” Months, since she had met them she had ideas.
“Well ya did good, perfect in every way.”
“Now we know who to trust with important clothes repair or making. Better than a tailor, right?” Vaggie added and asked the group, who nodded their agreement. Only two left of the group to get their reactions, but so far everything was going great.
For Alastor, Niffty decided to make a completely new suit for the man, having considered doing something simple like the cuffs and bowtie she made for Husk who didn’t like dressing up, but Alastor was a man of style and she could capture that style. His usual suit was old fashioned, from the time that Alastor himself was alive so she decided to do a modern take. The button-up shirt was a deep crimson red with almost black red slacks. The suit jacket was a blood orange color, something a little different. While his usual suit was long and went to the knees, this one was short, ending at the bottom of the ribs, right where the waist narrows. The bowtie was a similar blood orange, only a hint darker and with black edges. Alastor wearing the outfit would be the real gamble here, as the demon was very peculiar about his outfit.
Niffty got her answer not long after she had inspected Husker’s cuffs on him, pleased that the furry man liked the poker cards she had sewn as the design along with the matching bowtie. She had placed the same ace of hearts at the pulse point of the bowtie to match Angel, a sucker for a matching couple. Not only was Alastor wearing the outfit, but to Niffty, he looked wonderful in it. The sleeves were rolled to the elbow and with the short jacket, his red tail was out for all to see.
“Found this number outside my door. Quite the needlework, Niffty. You truly have outdone yourself. Thank you.”
It was real praise and thanks from the radio demon, no teasing or playfulness to the words, just truth. It along with the kind words and love shown to the clothes she made were almost overwhelming for Niffty and she felt her eye water with happy tears. Everyone was wearing her designs with smiles, they were showing them off to each other and she couldn’t stop her happiness. She had her secrets and her past, but she had found a new family here, new friends and people she trusted. This was her home.