May 6, 2022

Harmonia is rolling blunts, her arms bruised from Lilith's tomfoolery

Cole strolls in and looks at the bruises and sighs slightly. “Weed moment?"

"Weed moment.” Harmonia lights one for herself and extends one to Cole.

Cole takes the blunt and his finger heats up as he lights the end of the blunt

"Nice." Harmonia gets out a few pill bottles but they're short a few for the pill bottle sword.

Cole takes a hit and snaps and 3 pill bottles appear.

"Fuck yeah. Wait I don't have hot glue.” Harmonia says.

“Who doesn't have fuckin hot glue?" Cole asks.

"Me, bitch.”

“Fuckin apparently.” Cole snaps and a hot glue gun and 20 sticks of hot glue appear next to Harmonia.

Harmonia sighs and plugs it in, waiting for it to heat up. "So how are you?”

"I'm good, I found out a way to release my anger after talking to someone,” Cole says.

"That's cool. Mind if I ask what it is?" Harmonia asks.

“Wood carving.” Cole slightly sighs as he finishes his sentence.

"Nice.”

"So how have you been recently?" Cole asks.

"I've been." Harmonia sighs.

"I feel that, do you wanna talk about it?"

"Don't know what there is to say. I mean no matter what I do, I'll just be a pawn in someone else's game of chess. Even if I get stronger, I won't be strong enough to defeat my enemies."

Cole sighs. “That is certainly a situation and a half to be in. Do you still have the watch I gave you?"

"Yeah." Harmonia motions to where it is on her desk.

"Keep that with you, I may not be able to help with gods or demons but I can try all you have to do is press on the watch face, and if I can I will appear next to you.”

Harmonia nods. "Okay, I just. I dunno. I hate having to be saved all the time..."

"Harmonia, I will never hate saving you. It’s my job and god damn it do I love my job. If someone tells you that they hate saving you then they aren't worth your time,” Cole says.

"You're so confusing... I thought you didn't like me... when you killed me I... I dunno." Harmonia looks away.

“Listen, I never hated you those times when I killed you were moments of weakness and I know my promises are as weak as paper but I promise I will never hurt you again.”

Harmonia gets up and hugs him tightly, tearing up a little. "Thank you..."

Cole hugs Harmonia back just as tight. “Not a problem.”

"I know I'm a little high but you're like a brother to me…” Harmonia rests her head on him.

"I'm a little high too but you feel like a sister to me.” Cole smiles and rests his non-blunt holding hand on Harmonia's head.

Harmonia smiles and just rests on him for a little bit before pulling away. "Mentally ill sword time.”

Cole smiles genuinely. “Mentally ill sword time.”

Harmonia starts building it.

Cole is watching, making sure she doesn’t burn herself.

A few hours later, a barn owl walks into Harmonia’s room. It looks normal except the spots that would be brown/yellow are blue.

Hoot.

Harmonia looks at the owl. "Yo, it's a fuckin owl.”

“Is it from Michigan?" Cole looks over and looks stoned as fuck before just disappearing.

In a puff of blue smoke, the owl is seemingly replaced with a person. Around 6'5, white, feathered hair with the owl ear tuft things and braided at the sides. They have antlers as well, bright blue, and a halo of blue light behind their head.

They're wearing some kind of blue dress with a cloak over it. They wear black leggings and black dress shoes. Their hands have black, talon-like claws. They wear a red jewel around their neck. "Yo, it's a butterfly goat thing."

Harmonia looks him up and down and stands up. "Yo it's not an owl! Who are you?”

"Stolas, acting Prince of Treachery while Lucifer handles her affairs up here. I'd like to discuss your status among Catalyst, specifically your reputation with some princes."

Harmonia looks at her window, then at Stolas, then at the window. "Catalyst?" She starts trying to move towards the window, attempting to be subtle.

The window clicks locked. :}

"Yes. I'd like to discuss your relationship with Bael and Beelzebub. I've looked over your conversations with both of them."

Cole walks in, still high as a kite, and just looks between the two of them.

Harmonia looks back like, I'm so fucked help- "Ah- uh- what's uh. Wrong with our conversations?"

Cole just looks at Harmonia and gives a thumbs up.

Stolas adjusts her glasses, some papers appearing in her hands. "It seems Bael was hesitant on letting you back here due to the Rapture, and Beelzebub..." They look back up at Harmonia with that school counselor look. You know the one. "I believe you can guess what's wrong with that one."

"Uh right... so... what now?" Harmonia asks.

Cole quietly mutters. “Fuckin glasses-wearing nerrrrrd-”

An old rocking chair appears and Stolas sits down, putting the papers on the arm of the chair and then leaning their arm on the opposite. "Status is quite an important thing, Ms. Reeds. Having Princes from a Hell intended to bring the end days befriend those living in the worlds being ended... now, we can't have that, can we?"

Cole giggles. “Status deez nuts-”

"Cole." Harmonia sends a death glare at him with a "please shut the fuck up" look. "I doubt they'd call me a friend- I'm a nobody. If it helps, I won't talk to them unless I have to, capiche?"

"All right. I'm able to take that for an answer. However, I'd like to discuss your experience before entering the Hotel. Whatever you did... something has changed. It's not a good change, for either party. Please, explain." Stolas says.

"I didn't do shit. Fell through like 3 dromen domains. Got taken to Sondars, fell into... god knows what, fell into Lucilles, then found a door to Heresy. And I'm assuming if I try to befriend any princes then I get tortured or killed?" Harmonia sits on her bed, watching Stolas like a hawk.

Cole stifles a giggle.

"No, but it will result in the deaths of a few Princes and their subjects. And, please elaborate on that first bit. You... fell through domains?" Stolas says.

"Don't want that so yeah I'll stay away. Yeah, I just. fuckin fell. I was walking on solid ground and then I fell into blurriness. After traveling through... stuff... I sunk through the floor and ended up in Lucille's domain."

"There's only one place where that's supposed to happen, but you said it was in Sondar's domain? An Empyrean domain, you fell out of it? Either you're lying, or something has royally fucked up because of something you did."

Harmonia holds back a growl. "I didn't do anything. Fucking ask Kalius he probably watched me fall out."

"Recount everything that happened in Sondar's domain before you fell." Stolas says.

"Sondar appeared in my closet. I touched her to try and get her away from my friend and I appeared in her domain. I wandered into the building, seeing starving dromen on the way in. There I picked a rose. Then I heard a voice in the wall. It sounded like a girl? She was crying. I asked for her name but she didn't remember. Said "Miss Lucy calls me Lilac." She cut off before telling me anything else. I tried to claw through the wall to get to her but it was marble and didn't budge. Then I continued walking and fell."

Stolas' ears perk up at the part about the rose. "You... picked one of the roses?"

"Yeah." Harmonia reaches into her pocket to see if it's still there.

It is! But it looks... weird. Low-poly. Like a N64 game model. But real.

She holds it up, looking at it in confusion.

Stolas looks at it, her expression seemingly... angry? It's hard to tell.

"What?" Harmonia looks back to Stolas.

Cole is just watching.

"I'd explain to you how flowers and Empyreans are related but I doubt you'd listen, so." Large, angelic wings unfurl from Stolas' back as she grabs Harmonia by the collar of her shirt, lifting her up. Stolas' eyes glow blue. "Remember your actions. Remember me. Remember what I tell you next. If an Empyrean Dromen takes you to their Domain, do not steal from it. Especially flowers. Do you understand, Harmonia Iris Reeds?"

Harmonia stares back, eyes stony, no fear visible. "Yes."

Stolas drops her, as their wings fold to normal position. "Good. I will see myself out." The chair disappears, as do the papers. Stolas turns back into an owl and walks out.

Harmonia scoffs and sets the rose on her desk, staring at it in anger.

Cole sighs slightly. “You alright?"

"No, because of course everything is MY fault. Maybe if anyone fucking TOLD ME SHIT, INSTEAD OF TELLING ME "Don't worry about it" THIS WOULDN'T HAVE FUCKING HAPPENED!" She growls and punches the wall, making a hole in it.

"Harmonia, please calm down nothing is your fault, we couldn't have guessed this would have been an issue otherwise I would have told you,” Cole says.

Harmonia looks fucking pissed. "I don't even know what a fucking Empyrean is, let alone that Sondar is one and that I shouldn't fucking steal or whatever. But of course, I'm too fucking stupid to even waste time on explaining that too!" She laughs in anger, looking at the Lego Hogwarts that was almost finished, anger boiling over.

"Harmonia, listen, we can go to a dojo or something and you can let off some steam without breaking things. How does that sound?"

"Yeah. Fine." She stares at her fist, watching it bleed.

Cole sighs and walks over to Harmonia, healing her before grabbing her by the shoulder. They disappear.

---

Cole and Harmonia appear, by pure accident in the same dojo that Harmonia was in during Christmas.

Harmonia starts fucking going at shit, growling, and hitting the punching bags. "I just want to be fucking respected!"

Cole leans against a wall and nods with a hum.

Melody screams and punches it more. "Have I not done enough to earn respect? Have I not suffered enough? What more do they want!? They come into my fucking house and treat me like some child-" She scratches the punching bag.

"I agree that it's unfair,” Cole mumbles as he watches Harmonia, making sure she isn’t going to get hurt.

After a bit, Harmonia gives an exasperated sigh and sits down, tearing up and holding her head.

Cole walks over and goes to rub Harmonia’s back.

Harmonia sighs and lets him, setting her phone down. "Why am I never good enough..."

“You are good enough, you will always be good enough no matter what anyone else says.” Cole heats up ever so slightly.

Harmonia lays her head on him. "I shouldn't cry again. Who knows who's watching."

"It’s alright to cry, whoever is watching should know that you are under my protection, and if they try anything I’ll wipe the floor with them,” Cole says.

"Yeah, but they'd probably like watching me cry. Free entertainment. That's all I am."

“You’re not free entertainment to me and I doubt the rest of the group sees you as such.”

"No... not to you guys at least.." Harmonia hugs him, letting the tears fall.

Cole hugs Harmonia tightly and pats her on the back. "Just let it all out.”

Harmonia hugs him back and just cries.