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Alastor leaned up against the fireplace of the Hazbin Hotel parlor. He’d been running around the Hotel for most of the day, begrudgingly under Vaggi’s very strict orders, and what he needed right now more than anything was a break. He never had to do this much when Charlie was in charge of things.
“Urgh, this cannot go on.” He snarled in exasperation, running a hand through his hair. “I know that I have a lot of work to catch up on around here as hotel host, but that wretched girl has me running back and forth without even a single pause! She drives me up a wall, that little bitch. What I’d like to do to her…” He huffed a defeated sigh, knowing that if he hurt Vaggi in any way then he would face the wrath of Charlie. “I wish.”
Guuuuuuuurrrr!
Alastor moaned as he held a hand over his belly, annoyed and a little embarrassed for the loud grumble of his stomach in public, even if nobody around seemed to care or notice; hopefully the latter. He’d been so busy with the Hotel that that day he missed both breakfast AND lunch, and now his severely empty stomach was reminding him of it.
Through gritted teeth, he grunted, “I swear, I’m going to lose it if I don’t eat something soon.”
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a pale blue light appearing in the lobby followed by an excited squeal; a familiar face suddenly burst into the parlor through a portal that appeared to be made of water. It was Emily, the young and happy-go-lucky seraphim who saved him and helped save Hell from Vox’s angelic death machine. Now she became a regular visitor of the Hotel since that day, dropping by to bring messages and presents from Heaven to Hell and vice versa.
“Charlie!” She squealed.
“Emily!” Charlie cried as she ran down the stairs to greet her friend.
Alastor observed the exchange from where he was standing; Emily and Charlie were so much alike. If they weren’t from two completely different worlds, they probably could’ve been long-lost sisters. To him, it was both irksome and endearing.
‘Cute.’ He thought.
Charlie then noticed Alastor by the fireplace and excitedly waved him over, encouraging him to join them. With one hand over his midsection, he took a deep breath and reluctantly approached the Princess of Hell and her angelic companion.
“Why hello, Charlie. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve last spoken. What can I do for you, my dear?” He asked politely.
“I’m glad you asked, Alastor, because it’s recently come to my attention that you two haven’t properly met.” Charlie replied, pulling him closer. “Alastor, Emily. Emily, Alastor.”
“Hi! You can call me Em. Emmy. E. Whatever you want; I go by whatever. I’m so excited to meet you!” Emily giggled, beaming at the Radio Demon; her eyes sparkling with glee.
“Ah, yes. I remember you…” He glanced at her prosthetic golden wing before hesitantly holding out his hand. “You’re the little dove who advocated for Charlie in Heaven. A pleasure to be meeting you, sweetheart. Quite a pleasure.”
The young angel grinned and vigorously shook his hand. “Oh the pleasure is all mine, Mister Alastor! Do you mind being called Al? Or Ally? Or A?”
“Just Alastor is fine, dear.”
In another corner of the lobby, Husk was cleaning some glasses at the bar when he spotted Alastor talking with Charlie and Emily. Everything seemed perfectly normal until Husk took notice of the Radio Demon’s body language and demeanor that the two girls failed to see. His red eyes had a rather desperate, almost predatory, look in them as he gazed at Emily, his usual smile seemed a tad crooked, he was clutching his staff tighter than usual, and he was fidgeting the heel of his right foot up and down in an anxious manner. Then his eyes fell on to Alastor’s waist; his free hand was gripping his abdomen, almost as if he were in pain. The demon feline’s eyes suddenly widened in realization and fear.
“Oh fuck no…” He muttered, his voice dripping with dread.
“Husk!” Vaggi’s voice rang out, causing the bartender to jump. He turned to see Vaggi walking up to him. “Hey, Husk. Have you seen Alastor anywhere? He has still has a shit ton of things to do today and he just disappeared on me.”
“Vaggi, have you been making Alastor work all day?” Husk asked.
“Yeah, ‘cause he needs to pick up his slack.”
“Has he taken any breaks?”
“I…” She paused. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Just look at him!” He pointed a claw in Alastor’s direction, but Vaggi couldn’t see anything wrong. She glanced back at Husk, who now looked visibly nervous.
“What?” She asked.
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me right now? You don’t see it? He looks like he hasn’t eaten anything all day.”
“So?”
Husk pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You’ve never seen Alastor when he’s hungry, have you?”
“What’s the big deal?”
“Alastor’s hungry?” Niffty asked as she appeared seemingly out of thin air, which made Vaggi jump in surprise.
Husk pointed in Alastor’s direction and said, “See for yourself, Niff.”
She did just that and quickly went stiff. “Uh oh.”
“Why? What’s wrong with Alastor being hungry?” The one-eyed angel asked.
“No, no, no. You don’t get it, bitch.” Husk grabbed Vaggi by her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “If Alastor doesn’t get some food in him in the next couple minutes or so… he’s gonna go straight into Wendigo mode.”
Vaggi’s expression twisted into one of fear. “Uh… excuse-a-what now?”
“I know you’ve seen his full demon form before, but never when he’s hungry. The last time he went a whole day without food, he went on a starving rampage and ate an entire family out of house and home! Literally! A mom, a dad, five kids, two old as balls grandparents, even their fuckin’ pet dog!”
“What?!”
“Yep. Not pretty.” Niffty chimed in.
“It’s true!” A sinner that looked like a sheep said as she walked up. “I once saw the Radio Demon rip a rude butcher apart limb by limb and eat him alive in his own shop.”
“Why do you think he and Rosie of Cannibal Town get along so well?” Another sinner added. “He’s got an appetite for flesh that rivals even hers.”
“…Fuck.” Vaggi muttered, now realizing the seriousness of the situation.
Charlie glanced over to see a new guest enter the Hotel and struggling with their luggage. “Oh! Can you guys excuse me for just a minute? I gotta take this.”
“Sure! No worries.” Emily replied; Alastor nodded while staying silent.
“Thanks so much, I’ll be right back.”
And with that, the Princess ran off to help, leaving Emily alone with the Radio Demon. She then noticed his subtle discomfort.
“Hey, is everything okay, Alastor?” She asked, innocently batting her eyes. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“Me? Oh yes, I’m fine. Just fine.” He lied before clearing his throat. “You know, I don’t usually do this, but…” He glanced around, making sure nobody was watching, and leaned in closer to the little seraphim as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “…I never got the chance to give you my thanks for saving my hide that night. So… thank you.” He gave a quick bow.
Emily’s eyes grew wide and she smiled so big that her own grin almost matched Alastor’s. “Oh Alastor, you are so welcome!” Before another word could be said, she wrapped her arms around the Radio Demon in the biggest bear hug she could muster.
Alastor was quickly caught off guard by this sudden display of affection and was about to gently shove her off of him when he caught the whiff of a delightful scent. To him, it was like roasted pheasant with a hint of white chocolate. He paused and took another sniff; it was coming from Emily. “My, miss Emily, you… you smell…” He whispered. “…good. Very good.” He slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him and burying his face in her fluffy white hair.
“What? Oh, thank you. I’m using a new body wash and shampoo. Thanks for noticing and I’m so glad you like it.” She replied.
‘You smell good enough… to eat.’ He thought, licking his lips as his eyes turned black.
Grrraaaaawwwwwrrrr!
Emily perked up in confusion at the odd grumbling sound she just heard.
“Did you hear something?” She asked, unaware of Alastor opening his mouth wide with his sharp teeth bared. It looked like he was about to take a big bite out of the young angel any second.
“Oh shit, shit, shit, shit! Stop him!” Vaggi shouted, her eye wide with panic.
But before she or Husk could spring into action, a red and white blur suddenly zoomed in and whisked Emily away from Alastor just before he could sink his teeth into her flesh. It was Lucifer, Charlie’s father.
“Mr. Morningstar?” Emily asked in bewilderment.
“That was a close one. You okay?” Lucifer asked; she nodded.
Vaggi, Husk, and Niffty all heaved deep sighs of relief while Charlie stared in shock.
“Emily? Dad, what happened?” The Princess of Hell asked.
“Ask your little red friend over there, sweetheart. Got anything to say for yourself, Bambi?” Lucifer replied, glaring at the Radio Demon. Alastor, who was still flashing his enormous grin, snarled in annoyance at the King of Hell.
“Sir, we were just hugging.” Emily said innocently.
“Just hugging?! He was about to EAT you!” Vaggi yelled from the bar.
The Hotel lobby became so deathly quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a very long moment of silence, Emily and Charlie turned to Alastor and cried in unison,
“WHAT?!”
“Alastor, how could you?!” Charlie scolded.
“Don’t blame him entirely, Princess.” Husk chimed in. “Alastor was working all day, with NO breaks, under Vaggi’s orders.”
“Excuse me, what?” Emily cried, turning to Vaggi. “No breaks? Not even for lunch?”
“Or breakfast.” Alastor finally spoke up, turning his angry scowl in Vaggi’s direction.
Vaggi sneered in embarrassment and folded her arms, trying to shrink away. With a look of indignation, the young seraphim flew out of Lucifer’s arms and made her way back to Alastor.
“Then get this man something to eat!” She ordered. “He’s had a long day and he deserves it for all the hard work he’s done today.”
“Fine. Just gimme a few minutes.” Vaggi groaned in exasperation before making her way to the kitchen.
“Good.” She turned back to the Radio Demon and wrapped her arm around him, unbothered by what he attempted to do to her. “Don’t you worry, Alastor. I’ll make sure to right this wrong.”
GRROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRR!
That was when Alastor’s stomach took the opportunity to growl a particularly loud roar, which quickly caught Emily’s attention.
“And silence those rumblies in your tummy.” She added.
Alastor’s cheeks turned just as red as the rest of him in embarrassment, both of his hands covering his very audibly hungry belly; Lucifer suppressed his laughter. A few minutes later, up in his room, both Vaggi and Emily came in and placed a large covered platter in front of Alastor.
“Alastor, I believe Vaggi has something she wants to say to you.” Emily said.
“Uh, your breath reeks?” Vaggi sarcastically asked before receiving a yank on her ponytail. “Ow.”
“Try again.” The young seraphim folded her arms and frowned at her like how a mother would glare at her naughty child to make them apologize for misbehaving.
She groaned in defeat. “Ugh, okay. I’m sorry for not giving you time to eat.”
“And hopefully, this will help make up for it.”
Emily took the cover off to reveal the mangled corpse of a dead deer marinated in a strange dark red sauce and sprinkled with garnish with an apple in its mouth like a roasted pig; it looked like it was freshly plucked from the side of the road.
“Tada!” She cheered.
Alastor’s eyes brightened and his mouth watered at the sight while Vaggi nearly gagged.
“And it’s all for you. Bon appétit, Alastor!” Emily beamed, handing him a knife and fork.
“Enjoy… you freak.” Vaggi muttered through a repulsed grimace.
Alastor licked his lips and gladly took the utensils before the girls made their way to the door.
“I hope you learned something from all this.” Emily commented.
“Just be lucky you’re still alive.” Vaggi hissed. They glanced back at Alastor; he dove straight into the deer carcass and was eating it up with great pleasure. Even though it was admittedly disturbing and very gross to look at, the young seraphim beamed.
“Aww, see? Look how happy he is.” She cooed.
Vaggi just rolled her eye and said nothing before closing the door and walking off with Emily following close behind, leaving Alastor alone with his meal.