Alastor's sitting across from his mother, mugs of tea in both their hands now that she's finally stopped crying and told him she couldn't be more proud of him, saying "-was waiting outside the building for her to finish with Camilla. Imagine my surprise when she walks out talking to someone she called Fate, telling her she's a sadist and talking about storming Heaven - and, rather accurately, said Adam was an idiot and the worst possible choice for an Ambassador. I walked her home after that."
Alicia hums, saying "She seems like quite the unique woman. And she was quite defensive of you, Alastor."
Alastor blinks, taking in Alicia's delighted smile, and asks "She was?"
"Oh, very much so! I'm fairly certain that, had she thought I was angry or upset with you, she'd have left me out on that balcony to fend for myself. Put a lot of emphasis on what kind of people you dealt with in your life."
Alastor blinks, then murmurs "Of course she knew…" In hindsight, given the detail that Azrael collects souls, she must've known about all the people he killed.
Alicia hums, then says "If I didn't know any better, Alastor, I'd say she cares a great deal about you." At Alastor's glance, she grins and says "Alright, I do know better. The young woman that greeted us at the door, Calara, said she was sure you two are together."
Alastor groans, running a hand through his hair, and mutters "Of course she is…before you ask, Mother, Hell's like a giant tank of sharks. Each one looking for a hint of blood in the water, some sign of weakness. It's one of the reasons why we've kept this to ourselves…another being that it's almost nobody else's business." Nobody but Lucifer, anyway. And he's gotten halfway tolerable, at least.
Alicia squeals in delight, clapping her hands together and throwing herself forward to wrap around Alastor in a tight hug. "Ohh, I'm so happy for you! I won't ask if she treats you well, you and I both know you wouldn't stand for someone who doesn't. Plus, the way she was so protective of you when we were alone!"
Alastor smiles, resting his chin on top of Alicia's head - and hiding a wince when she squeals once more in sheer ecstasy, his ears are good and so are his mother's lungs and vocal cords! - and adds "There's also the detail that we technically have a daughter."
Alicia pulls back so fast he thinks she's trying to take his head off for a moment, a look of utter shock on her face that rapidly turns to even more delight - something Alastor didn't even think was possible, just how happy can one person get, is he about to make his mother quite literally explode from sheer joy? He didn't think that was possible before meeting Calliope, but he didn't think he'd end up meeting someone he'd come to want to spend the rest of his afterlife with, either. Ergo, who knows if people exploding from happiness is a thing - people spontaneously burst into song down here, after all! "Oh, tell me every single detail, Alastor! Don't leave anything out! Where is she? I would've recognized my own granddaughter! What's her name?"
Alastor holds up one hand to stop his mother's verbal freight train of questions in its tracks, and says "You knew Emily before she arrived down here, right?" At Alicia's nod, Alastor says "Well, she was getting corrupted by the energy of some eldritch creature known as Roo - she apparently created Hell, but that's a side-topic to this. At any rate, the process was apparently agonizing…so Calli made a potion that would make it easier on her."
Alicia nods, asking "What kind of Potion was it, then?"
Alastor says "One from her own world, known as the Blood Adoption Potion. It gave Emily Calliope's own Nephilim heritage…but required the blood of two separate people. For all intents and purposes, Calliope and I are Emily's parents." Alastor almost immediately flattens his ears to his head, as the noise that comes out of his mother's mouth should legitimately break glass all by itself. After she quiets down, he adds "You may have noticed her in the entranceway. Curly red hair with black tips, black wings with red tips, green eyes…"
"That was Emily?! I hadn't recognized her, she changed quite a bit! She looks like she's doing well, though. Ohh, I'm so excited! I should've brought my cookbook with me, though!! I'm a grandmother! I've got to teach them all my favorite recipes! And all your favorite recipes!"
Alastor smiles in delight, and says "Start with the Jambalaya, yours was always the best!" And then, suddenly, the chain that is his claim on Husk's soul materializes in his hand, giving him a sharp tug towards the bar - what, exactly, is going on down there that needs him?
Michael heads down to the common area once everyone else has turned in for the night, fully intent on at least attempting to down his regrets in getting drunk - it's only been one day since coming down here, not even a full twenty-four hours, and he's already ready to either burst into another round of tears from the sheer guilt or just hide away until the visit is over.
As it is, he wants to at least make it until he actually speaks to Lucifer before breaking under the guilt - ergo, he wants to get blackout drunk for the night so he can get some sleep tonight without Lucifer's cries ringing in his ears.
When he gets there, though, he sees none other than Calli sitting at the bar while the bartender - Husk, he's called - stares at her in blatant shock. And then his eyes widen even further when Michael sits down two seats away from her, expression gaining a 'the bar is going to be leveled and I'm caught in the deadzone' kind of look before he takes out two bottles and opens them both - and, the one he slides to Calli, Michael notices, is a bottle he's never seen before ever. It looks similar to bourbon, but with a reddish hue to it…and he doesn't recognize the label whatsoever, with the stylized dragon breathing flames that make the letters. He's never heard of 'Dragon's Breath Bourbon' either. The other, he cracks open and takes a long swallow from before asking "What'll you have?"
Michael shrugs, asking "What's the strongest drink you have down there?"
Husk points to the bottle Calli has already cracked open, saying "That. Two shot glasses of that puts pretty much anyone down. Calli, you sure? You don't drink."
Calli nods, saying "Anymore. I don't drink anymore. 'Til tonight, that is. I start saying names you don't recognize, Husk, that's my limit." She then puts the bottle to her lips and takes three swallows.
From Husk's dumbfounded expression, Michael guesses this is the first time she's had a drink here.
After a long moment, Husk reaches down and grabs a second bottle before sliding it to Michael, saying "Hope you like your throat on fire. It isn't called 'Dragon's Breath' for nothing."
Michael glances at the label as he opens the bottle, saying "Never heard of it. Where'd you get it?"
Husk points at Calli, saying "She made it. It's from her old world, strongest drink they made according to her. And, uh…maybe don't slam it like Calli just did…"
Calli just shrugs, saying "I've got about seven vials' worth of Phoenix Tears mixed with my bloodstream, Husk. Means it takes me a while to get well and truly drunk - and that was before I was turned into a Nephilim." Now, she's fairly certain it's next to impossible to get her drunk...but, no telling until she tries.
Husk blinks a few times, Michael staring at her like she's grown a second head, and the cat-demon eventually says "Right…good to know. So, what're you doing here?"
Michael takes a mouthful of Bourbon, grimacing and nearly choking at the burn - Husk wasn't kidding, and that label was perfectly accurate!! - and pounds himself on the chest for a moment before saying "Wanted to try and get drunk enough that I could stop thinking."
Calli snorts, then says "Alcohol doesn't work that way. I would know, I tried for about two hundred years." She takes another mouthful of Bourbon, the bottle filling back up somehow, and then says "He doesn't hate you, you know. Never did, never even fucking blamed you despite what Lilith and I said time and again. That's what happens, though, when you're told literally thousands of times that you're not good enough. Eventually, you just start thinking they're right."
Michael asks "Lucifer…doesn't blame me?" How could he not?! He certainly blames himself! Calli clearly blames him to!
Calli shrugs, saying "He didn't before learning about Roo, at least. Now…I don't know. Haven't asked, didn't plan on bringing it all back up for him to deal with all over again." Lucifer should blame Michael, in her honest opinion. Should absolutely blame him for not even trying to protect his youngest brother.
But...he doesn't. Lucifer always was the more forgiving of the two of them, though.
Michael deflates at that, saying "He probably blames me for not protecting him, then." Glancing at Calli, he adds "You certainly do."
Calli snorts, saying "Guilty as charged. Believe it or not, I used to think maybe it was my fault he was down here. Late at night, when Lilith would be too exhausted to stay awake, the thoughts would eat at me - if he hadn't successfully tracked me down, if I had just turned invisible and then disappeared when I saw him, would the innocent goofball dreamer of an Angel still be up top with his family? Knowing Roo made Hell just means Eve being freed was blameless, means I had nothing at all to do with Sera deciding to get Lucifer out of her feathers…means I could drop at least that bit of baggage." Calli takes another mouthful, and Michael tries to copy her - she makes it look ridiculously easy, though! How is she not coughing and sputtering at the feeling of her throat being on fire?!
After a moment spent recovering, Michael decides to try and steer the conversation away from guilt-ridden territory and asks "What did you mean you have…what are Phoenix Tears? I've never heard of them before."
Calli's silent for a moment, then says "You wouldn't have. Phoenixes don't exist in this world, never have. They were very real in my old one, though."
"Your…old one."
Calli gives him a side-eye, taking another mouthful of her drink, and says "Yeah, my old one. I predate this world. I was there when the last one died, and I was there when this one was sung into existence. When G and Roo came into being, when Roo went her own way after declaring all of G's creations pathetic…I was there for all of it. Surprise."
Michael makes himself pick his jaw up off the floor, and then says "Alright…good to know…"
Calli snorts derisively, and says "I just broke you and we both know it, Michael. Don't even try to pretend otherwise."
"Does Lucifer know?!"
"Course," Calli says, "he asked where I was from, and I told him. Not my fault or his you three never bothered to try and find anything out about me." Michael opens his mouth, but Calli sharply says "You never even bothered to come with him. Never even went with on one of his visits, make sure I wasn't actually drugging him, Enchanting him, anything like what you suspected. I wasn't, by the way, that's disgusting and absolutely fucked up and I'd never." From the dark expression on Calli's face, she means that with every ounce of her being.
Given the way she went off on Adam just for insinuating it was alright to do as much to Eve, he believes her.
Michael looks down at his bottle, then says "Phoenix tears, please. How'd you end up with them in your blood?"
Calli sighs, then says "The short version? I was dead-center at a war, undesirable number one, after the psychotic madman who'd been trying to kill me since I was fifteen months old took over the government. Eventually, my friends and I were brought to some of his supporters, and one of that particular group was an equally-insane woman named Bellatrix Lestrange. I came out of that encounter alive, but with extensive nerve damage. It's only because I had magic that I could even move my limbs, work my hands, etc. The nerve-repair potion that was invented wasn't working as well as had been hoped - it was working, but not as fast or as effectively, as they'd thought. So, eventually, Draco and Hermione put their heads together and came up with the idea of introducing Phoenix Tears directly into my bloodstream. A lot of Phoenix Tears, at that - seven vials' worth." Draco also absolutely freaked out when he learned about the trace amounts of Basilisk Venom in her blood, and that was before he learned that it wasn't a tiny drop on a cut she got, but a full-on bite. He actually fainted when he realized she'd actually been hit in the chest with a Killing Curse, to…and then insisted on giving her a full work-up after he woke up. "As for why it's still in my blood…I honestly couldn't tell you, don't have a clue myself. It was well over fifteen millennia that it happened, so either the Tears bonded to my blood or my magic, and either is likely given the detail that it's me."
Michael stares at her in shock, that's…he hadn't known that, but it sounds horrifying, honestly.
The alcohol seems to have loosened Calli's tongue quite a bit, because she suddenly says "He had this idea, you know. This dream of his."
Michael thickly says "Lucifer?"
Calli nods, taking yet another gulp of Bourbon, and says "He'd hoped that, one day, we'd all get along. He'd probably have started with Raphael first, they'd get Gabriel onside, and then all three of them would talk you into coming to visit my cottage - this was before humanity came to be, of course, so it was just Hedwig and I at the time. In his head, we'd all get along, and laugh off me accidentally hitting you in the chest with my first beam of Angelic Energy I hadn't even known about until then, and be one big happy family…I didn't have the heart to tell him I didn't see it happening in a thousand years, didn't want to be yet another person who crushed his ideas under their heel."
Michael grimaces, then says "Guess that came true in the end…" He wishes it hadn't, really wishes it hadn't…but, it did, and there's no changing that. And then he sees Calli take yet another gulp of that liquid fire in a bottle, and incredulously asks "How can you drink that so easily?! I can barely get one swallow down without choking on it!"
Calli puts the bottle down on the counter, still not letting go of it, and says "A two-hundred year-long bender, that's how. I died for everyone I cared about, I came back to finish the psycho off, I made it through that battle, I lived…and lived…and lived. And Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna…none of them did the same. So, I spent the next two centuries looking for some way - any way - to join everyone I loved and lost because I had a fucking hero complex and wanted to try and save everyone when I'd already literally given my life to stop that psychotic madman! Because, instead of choosing to go on, I decided I'd go back and see everything through! I fucked up a lot of things before then, but I didn't think I could do the same with dying - turns out I could and I did!"
Husk stares at Calli with an absolutely dumbfounded expression on his face, then slowly inches forwards saying "I think you've had enough of that…" When she gets off the barstool, bottle still in hand just before he can try to take it, Husk decides to call in the cavalry and says "Be right back, need a minute…"
Michael shoots him a betrayed expression, clearly saying 'Don't you dare leave me alone with her, I haven't got the faintest idea what to do next!' but Husk ignores it in favor of ducking around a corner to manifest the chain around his neck and give it a harsh yank - Alastor doesn't use a phone, after all, else he'd be putting the guy on speaker to hear Calli going on a drunken ramble.
This…this could be why Calli doesn't drink. This, right here, blurting out that she tried to find a way to die a second time until Death brought her Hedwig.
By the time Alastor gets down to the ground floor, five minutes and about ten hard tugs of the chain later, Calli's just poked her finger into Michael's plate armor, saying "You don't get to just waltz back into his life like nothing's happened, Michael! Like everything's just fine, like you didn't nearly destroy him entirely! Now you wanna just, just what? Show up, not tell him his daughter's dream is a terrible idea, and decide everything is back to how it used to be?!"
Alastor stares at the scene for a moment, Michael staring wide-eyed at Calli as she opens her mouth to keep going over and saying "Ma Chère, I think you've had quite enough of this." He manages to slip the bottle from Calli's hand, turning her around by her shoulder so she's facing him instead of the wide-eyed blonde, and Calli's arms wrap around him after a moment.
"'M really tired of being alone, Alastor. Been alone a long time, even if it wasn't recently, 'm sick of it…" Michael glances at Husk right then, and feels a small amount of relief that it's not just him feeling like an outsider to something extremely private all of a sudden. Because Husk's expression clearly has 'what the hell is this and why am I seeing it?' written all over it.
"I'm sure, Ma Fleur. Let's head upstairs, shall we?"
Michael and Husk both watch silently as Alastor leads Calliope up the staircase, neither daring to say one single word until Husk can't hear their footsteps anymore. Once Husk lets out a few quiet swears under his breath, Michael runs a hand through his hair and asks "What the fuck is in that Bourbon?!"
"I don't actually know," Husk says, grabbing every single bottle he can find, "but I really don't want to find out." If that bottle of alcohol can do that to the single most self-controlled person he's ever met - with the sheer amount of issues he just learned about from Calli, she is definitely the most in-control person in all of Hell despite her temper and her overly-reactive magic - then he's never touching another drop of it ever again.
"That's seriously the first time she's been drunk here?" If he never sees a drunk Calliope ever again, he'll be oh so grateful, he's decided.
Husk shrugs, saying "She always said she's a really pathetic drunk."
"I think she mispronounced 'overly-talkative.' And who was that?!" Aside from absolutely the voice they heard on that call with Calliope before Extermination Day.
Husk rolls his eyes as he heads for the kitchen sink, fully intent on dumping every single drop of Dragon's Breath Bourbon down the drain, and says "Alastor, better known as the Radio Demon. And he will absolutely tear you apart limb from limb and broadcast your agonized screams to all of Hell if given ample reason and opportunity to do so. He and Charlie run the Hotel together."
Michael swallows, as he processes that for a solid minute and a half then says "I can't decide which of them is braver, then. Alastor, for getting close to Calliope despite known the absolute destruction she can wreak in a fit of temper…he does know about that…right?"
Husk snorts, having gotten back to the bar, and says "First time he saw her face to face, she got so angry about Extermination Day upon learning about it that she did something similar to what Charlie described happening in that courtroom you're thinking of. Yeah, he knows."
"…or Calliope, for getting together with someone who would rip a person apart and broadcast their screams on a show for…what, entertainment?"
Husk shrugs, saying "Welcome to Hell. You do what you have to so people won't fuck with you. That was Alastor's method…and it damn well works, his reputation has people running at the mere sight of him."
Michael groans, feeling a massive headache coming on - some of which is definitely because he had some of that Bourbon, he knows, but most is just because of the massive info-dump he's been at the receiving end of tonight. He's not sure how he's ever going to be able to look at Calliope the same way ever again - or, at least, not in a way that'll have her bristling at the idea of pity - but at least there's some hope for his relationship with Lucifer? ...if Calliope will ever let him near his younger brother, that is.