Chapter Text
Like many days, it had been a quiet day at Angelwood High School.
There had been no adults masquerading as ghost hunters, only to turn tail and run out the door the minute they sense a smidge of paranormal activity. There had been no local kids daring each other to skip class and spend an hour, or a night, in the deteriorating school. There hadn’t even been any animals accidentally making their way inside, getting caught under the debris or in spider webs and making a ruckus.
For most of the undead residents at Angelwood High School, it was peaceful. Tranquil, even.
For Nyck de Vries, it was pure, unadulterated agony.
Nyck was a spectre who thrived off of activity and engagement; he loved being around people and being involved. Whenever someone entered the school, Nyck would be the first to see what was happening and what they were doing, hounding the humans the whole time they were in the building.
He was - what his most trusted best friend and the love of his unlife, Stoffel, would say - a nosey little shit.
So, for there to have been a drought of trespassers and teenagers carrying out dares and people using the darkened halls for illicit activities (though Fernando always chased those people out), Nyck was feeling incredibly, undeniably, really-super-douper bored.
“I’m bored.” He whined, hanging upside down from one of the shelves in the library as Stoffel sat on the floor below him, flicking through a spellbook he had obtained from somewhere, a notebook sitting open next to him.
“You’ve said,” the demon responded. “Multiple times.”
Nyck humpfed, flipping himself over on the shelf, looking down at Stoffel. “So why don’t we do something?”
“I am doing something.” Stoffel tapped his pencil against the spellbook. “I’m trying to figure out the difference between these two spells.”
“Ugh,” Nyck climbed down from the shelf he had been situated on. “Suppose it’s something.”
“You don’t have to hang out here, y’know. You could go bother Fernando.” Stoffel glanced over as Nyck sat down next to him, leaning his head on the demon’s shoulder to look at the book.
“You’re more interesting. Besides, we can’t have you not knowing your fancy-schmancy spells.”
“They’re not fancy-” Stoffel started, and Nyck snorted.
“They’re demon spells, they’re fancy.” He jabbed his finger at the page labelled RESURRECTION POTION. “I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
“Looking at it, I don’t think I can, either,” Stoffel mumbled, turning back to the book. His eyebrows furrowed as he re-read the text for the tenth time that day. “I mean, there’s a whole load of steps and ingredients, half of which I’ve never heard of! What even is ‘angel’s hair’?”
“Is there an index, or a translation page or something?” Nyck asked, picking up another one of the spellbooks scattered around the floor and flicking through it.
“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” Stoffel sighed, closing the book he was holding. “Guess they expect demons to just know everything.”
“To be fair,” Nyck hummed, eyes scanning the contents page of the book he was holding. “Most demons don’t live on this side of the Veil; they reside in the Otherworld, so they probably have, like, Demon School or something.”
“Ha-ha,” Stoffel grumbled, pulling himself up off the floor and stretching. “Ugh, suppose we'd better go and have a wander before my legs fall asleep.”
“Ooh, this book has a list of herbs and plants!” Nyck held up the book triumphantly. “It might be useful!” He looked down at the list, and his face fell. “No angel’s hair, though.”
Stoffel peered at the book’s cover. “Considering it’s a spellbook for wraiths, I’m not surprised.”
Nyck flipped the book shut. “Oh. Well,” he shrugged. “Might still be useful. We’ll just need to find a demon botanical book at some point.”
Stoffel hummed non-committedly, picking up his items and leaving them on the old librarian’s desk - how that thing was still stable, Nyck had no idea. It had been creaky and rotten and half-falling apart when he’d been a student at Angelwood in the 60’s.
Five decades later, and it was still hanging on. Maybe it was a more durable desk than Nyck originally thought.
The two left the library and headed down the hallway.
“You know, we could ask Fernando about how to get our hands on a botanical book. He’s been here since like the age of the dinosaurs.” Nyck said.
A door creaked open, and Fernando’s head popped out. “I have not, bribón descarado!”
“Oh, hey Nando!” Nyck slid slightly behind Stoffel, as if trying to hide from the phantom.
Fernando huffed. “What do you want, juguetón? Aside from to bully me, that is.”
“Well, Stoffie’s trying to figure out a super fancy spell-”
“Not fancy!” Stoffel objected.
“And we don’t know half of the ingredients, and we don’t know where to find out what they are cuz it’s a demon spellbook and y’know how rare those are.” Nyck continued, ignoring Stoffel.
Fernando frowned. “If it’s a demon book, why are you asking me? I can’t even open them, let alone know what’s inside.”
“We just wondered if you might have any idea where we could find that information.” Stoffel slapped his hand over Nyck’s mouth before the wraith could call Fernando old again.
Fernando hummed, rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “The best place is probably the Library of the Otherworld. That’s where they keep most demon-level books. It’s likely where your ones came from originally.”
Stoffel groaned, burying his head in his hands. “I really don’t want to have to go back.”
Nyck patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, this time you’ll know where you’re going! At least you have a map now.”
“I’ll go and have a look in a few days. It’s not important.” Stoffel waved a hand. “Mentally prepare myself for that place.”
“Ehh, I don’t know Stoffie, I think understanding a resurrection spell is pretty important. If you put it off, you might end up needing to use it.” Nyck told him.
“The niñato is right. A resurrection spell is one you want as much time on as possible. Especially as you’ll be the only one able to cast it.” Fernando added.
Stoffel groaned. “Fine, fine. I’ll go have a look tomorrow. I need a break at the moment. I’ve been staring at books all day.”
Fernando and Nyck nodded, seemingly pleased with the outcome of that conversation.
With that hangup sorted, Nyck and Stoffel continued down the corridor, now with Fernando accompanying them.
There were only so many places a ghost could go, and the abandoned cafeteria was one of them. Not that ghosts could eat, but at least the room had benches where they could sit down and chat.
“So…” Nyck leaned against Stoffel’s shoulder with a shit-eating grin stretched across his face. “What’s the Otherworld like? Seeing as you’re the only one who’s able to go and all.”
“Do not make me think about that place more than I have to.” Stoffel picked at a hole in the table they were sitting at.
“But why?” Nyck whined. “It sounds really interesting, y’know. We’ll never get to see it.”
“Ja, and it sounds like it has all the information you need, does it not?” Fernando added.
“It’s just-” Stoffel waved his hand dismissively. “Boring. And the demons who live there are really annoying, they act like they know everything, and they hate that I prefer to stay here than in their ranks.”
“I was surprised that you came back,” Fernando nodded. “The Guild seemed like they really wanted you to be there.”
“They did,” Stoffel sighed. “And they would not leave me alone about it. They seemed to think I was something special.”
“But you are, Stoffie!” Nyck grabbed Stoffel’s hand, squeezing it tightly.
Stoffel chuckled, squeezing back. “Which is why I don’t like going to the Otherworld. Every time I’m there, the Guild keeps trying to get me to join them, and every time I tell them I’m happy where I am. I have my friends, my boyfriend, and it’s peaceful here. At the Guild, there’s always something happening. Feels suffocating.”
Nyck and Fernando nodded. They knew Stoffel liked his peace, that he always focused better when he had breathing room and could take things at his own pace.
The Guild of Demons was prestigious, but it was also known to overwork its members. They might be some of the strongest and most knowledgeable Demons on either side of the Veil, but sacrificing your soul for all that power? That was not Stoffel.
Not at all.