ᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴇᴅᴇɴ || ᴘᴀꜱꜱɪᴏɴ & ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ

[Devils Temptation]

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;
remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for,"
~ Epicurus
​

---

---

PROLOGUE​

Insatiable.

A word with an explicitly negative connotation. To pursue desire that, ultimately, were unnecessary for a person's happiness... but who was the one to make that distinction? At what point did ambition sour into greed and at what point would attaining enough truly be satisfactory? Who decided that? God? A person's mind? Or perhaps it was the environment they were placed into that made those decisions? There was a simple truth to the matter that everyone must face - humans are inherently greedy. It is baked into their existence, much as a bird yearns for the sky for no other reason than it is made to. Everyone in this world has something they crave... something that, given the opportunity and conditions aligned, they would immediately lurch towards. Society prevents runaway greed in that capacity. Rules, laws, regulations, stipulations... restraints, restraints, restraints...

What about you?

Don't worry.

I won't tell on you...

Is there someone you love but you cannot reach because it is wrong?

Do you have someone you desperately wish you could hurt but you cannot because the world makes it wrong?

Perhaps... there is something you wish to possess but you cannot grant it to yourself, whether it is through lacking money or time?

You aren't a bad person for having these thoughts. Everyone and I mean everyone has them... there are those who admit it and then there are the liars of this world. I much prefer people who are honest with what they truly want - after all, some of the more farfetched wishes will never come true so what is the harm in thinking about them on occasion...?

Or... what if I told you... they don't need to be mere dreams?

---

---

With a city that sprawling, there was bound to be those hidden little spots tucked down hidden roads or alleyways... some that were held up solely on the patronage of niche clientele. Bars, restaurants, shops - but there was one establishment that had none of that. Not a singular hidden spot to find it at, not a reliable clientele, the pull of that place had been something far more basic. An offer of goods that no other place in the entirety of that city, or that planet, could replicate. It was precisely that place that the woman would've encountered on her stumble down the alleyway - maybe on the precipice of a particularly terrible day that needed to be drunk away to the bottom of a bottle... or just someone to whine to about the unfairness of the world. In bright, bold RED letters above an entry way neatly carved into the brick wall, there it was -

Umbra Noir
​

Faint, red hue leaked out the glass display besides the establishment, revealing neatly lined bottles of spirits and liquor. A bar. The red hue might've indicated something a little more unsavory like a strip club but nothing about the few glances inside seemed to indicate anything like that. Rather, it had a much more eloquent vibe to it with smooth black countertops and a more rustic set of seats. A standard bar, perhaps, located in some odd little corridor of the city. Entering the door would have a faint chime ringing through the establishment... it was empty? No other customers seemed to be around nor was there anyone manning the front counter. The lights had still been on and there was the faint chill of running air conditioning to indicate that everything was still on. No TV screens were mounted anywhere nor was there anything but booths in that particular bar, not even a pool table. They could have been in the process of packing up for the night...

...but before she could hurry back out a voice would have called out to her.

​

"Come in, miss. What can I get you?" Sitting on a stool not too far from where the woman had entered was a man dressed in a vest and a white dress shirt. Combed brown hair and between his index finger and middle finger there was a single dart that had the tip painted in a crimson hue.

THWACK.

One smooth toss of the dart had it sticking all the way over into a board that was positioned right besides the back door of the bar. "Hm... not a bad throw. It could have been better, though. I find people start to think retrospectively quite a bit when presented with what could be. Don't you think so too?" Shaking his head with an exasperated sigh, he would hop off the stool and made his way to the back of the counter to kneel and grab a glass. Filling it to the top with some water, he would pass it to the woman with a polite smile. Something about the way he grinned was oddly... comforting but likewise unnerving. "Please enjoy while you mull it over. How has your day gone, miss?" Polishing off a few other glasses despite there not being anyone else to serve, he kept his hands active while pressing his back to the counter and staring at the selection of liquors on the shelf in front of him.

One fingertip would tap over a few of the bottles before finally deciding on one. An amber-hued whiskey with a nondescript label which he would pour into a lavish glass. Carved orb of ice sat perfectly within the center of it - was that one on the house? No. It wasn't even for her. Grabbing the glass himself, he brought it to his lips. Drinking on the job... one of the most biggest cardinal sins of any bartender.

"Umbra Noir is a fairly strange place, to put it politely." He also spoke a lot... most people would have gone quiet waiting for an order or given the woman some space to think it over but he already had a comment or two to slide her way. Glancing over his shoulder, red eyes would meet her own finally. It was the first time they had made eye contact with each other. Staring into his gaze was... difficult. Difficult but hard to pull away from. It felt simultaneously wrong but so sinfully addictive. "On paper we are certainly a bar but we do offer quite a few other services!" Wonderful... she really had stepped into some suspicious place now. The bartender cheerfully chimed out, holding up an index finger and sliding a menu in front of her finally.

Not of any alcohol offerings. That menu was already on the wall right besides the bottles. The one that was presented to her was a... contract? What the hell was this? The details of it were jotted down on eye-catching red ink with a box for a signature at the bottom. Rather than the long, monotonous legal contracts of most binding agreements in the modern world, this one was very simple.

Contract with The Devil

In return for sacrificing something of equal value, the signer may substitute it with anything else they so desire granted they understand the stipulation that there is NO returning from this deal once it has been made. Do you agree with these terms and do you wish to partake in this deal?

"Most people that come in here, miss, these two boxes are already filled in..." Tapping onto the two blank boxes, one that showed what the signer was losing and one that showed what they were gaining, the 'man' would let out another amused smirk. "...but yet here you are without a completed contract. How rare... and delightful!" Clapping a few times as if it was impressive the clearly crazy(?) man would snap his fingers and all at once the front door would snap shut and the lights around the woman would start to dim in a supernatural manner. Not as if the lights in the bar were going off but as if her vision was focusing in on only the bar, the man, the drinks behind him... all of it seemed to vanish aside from those few things. An island of darkness would surround the two of them and it would feel like if she took a step away from that bar counter she would have fallen into the void and darkness below.

"Tell me something, miss... if you could have anything in the world, what would it be? If rules, laws, regulations did not apply to you... what is that one thing you so desperately desire?"
​

The sight of him had altered, as if the darkness around them was reaching out and touching his face. Faint outlines of horns atop his head, or of his facial features gently distorting just to flicker back to the usual handsome brunette that was smiling back at her. "Though... truth be told..." Another pause. It must've been terrifying for the woman to be shown something like that... beyond any sort of understanding whatsoever. Snapping again, the bar would revert to its usual self. No signs of any darkness, not of any hands or silhouettes on the man's face, nor the sensation that the floor was gone from underneath her.

"...I find gentlemen that force themselves upon women to be rather brutish! This bar can be whatever you like. A place to drink, a place to talk... a place to make a deal to change your life. Or nothing at all - you can so choose to get up and walk out that door. I will not stop you. I am merely here for one and one sole reason and that is for people like you to act upon your desires." Nothing more, nothing less.

There was nothing that was more sinful than a humans own base urges for their desires. It needed no encouragement, it needed no push. It existed regardless of how kind or pure a person was.

It was utterly and completely unavoidable.

He did not rush her, merely gestured to the drink menu once more as well as a dinner menu that had fairly standard bar-restaurant food for her to choose from. Or, the mother rational option to... just run out of there as soon as she possibly could. The man made no attempt to stop her, instead just focusing on polishing his glass and remaining silent for the time being. It almost felt a little too quiet without the man's constant chatter...

@Passion

 

[Passion]

Realization

I've come to realize that...
I do not belong anywhere on this Earth.

Not at my family's side.
Not in the arms of a lover.
Not in a worthwhile career.
Not even in a damn coffee shop.

I misalign.
I do not belong.
I'm the error in the equation.

I am different from them all in a way they would never understand.

So, this world and those around me will wash me away.
Fading my colors until they're diluted and unseen… forgotten.

Still, I keep breathing.
Hoping.
Dreaming.

Refusing to fade,
even as my colors bleed like ink in the rain...
vanishing line by line.

Because somewhere... beyond this ache, beyond this misfit skin...

There has to be more.
I AM MORE.

♫ Waiting ♫​

​

---

​

[Earlier that Day]​

"Bella, we're happy to have had you here for two years now, but the team is thinking that you might be better suited elsewhere." Her manager, an older woman with fake blonde hair, sat across from her junior financial advisor.

"Don't worry. We aren't firing you. We're giving you time to look for a new job. You did nothing wrong, so we don't want you to be without a paycheck, but… we think there's a different job out there that would suit you better."

I don't fit in. Again.

With a fake smile on her face, Bella nodded as if she understood. She didn't, but at the same time, she wasn't surprised. "I appreciate you giving me time, and for your honesty. Could you please tell me why you felt I wasn't a good match?" Reflecting back, she hadn't done anything wrong other than just a few human mistakes here and there.

The manager answered with a shake of her head. "You haven't done anything wrong, but we believe you'd be happier in a different field."
​

Bella wouldn't get her answer. She never did.

Now what?
Now what was she supposed to do? Where was she to go? Who was she to tell?

Lost...

WHERE DO I BELONG?

Nowhere.​

​

---

Even after work, she wandered the streets aimlessly with tear-blurred eyes. She didn't know where to go. Going back to her apartment didn't feel right. Going into a restaurant didn't feel right. Nothing felt right. Was she meant to just fade? She couldn't accept that fate. There was something more. She could almost taste it.

In her emotional state, she had gotten herself lost in a maze-like alleyway. She had thought it was a shortcut, but her mind was too aflame to make sense of her direction. In the whirlwind of her thoughts, neon red managed to catch her attention. It seemed to be telling her… this was where she was meant to be right now.

Was it?

The lost soul entered. Taking a deep breath, she wiped away the tears caught in her lashes to take in the sight of the quiet bar. She looked around, and as soon as she saw the one speaking to her, she froze.

Bella was different. She had a slight edge beyond that of a normal human; perhaps it was why she didn't quite fit in. Could he tell? Maybe. It was a subtle spark of something supernatural, faint and faded like her aching soul.

She walked over and smoothed out her dress before hopping up onto the stool. She took the water with a polite smile. "Thank you." She looked behind the bar, debating on what to order. She didn't drink often, but today she had sliced open some of her deepest insecurities. As she debated, she caught the bartender drinking on the job. Rather bold, but she knew this world already judged far too much.
​

"I've had a terrible day. I have to look for a new job, one that I probably won't like." Her eyes closed for a moment as a wave of emotion nearly gripped her. When her blue eyes opened, they met his red. It was a bit alarming, but it sparked her curiosity. He was different, too... in a much unlike way, but it made her wonder if he might understand her struggle.

Such thoughts took a back seat when she realized the menu he gave her was actually a contract. Her eyes widened as she read it, her focus drawn to the blanks when mentioned. Of course, it would be blank. Her soul was dim, her desires too… she had lost any clear sense of direction or purpose. A girl who yearned for more, yet didn't have a vision of what that more was.

Just as she tried to make sense of it all, the world around them seemed to be swallowed by darkness. Bella held her breath in utter fear, afraid that if she tried to stand, she would fall into an oblivion. What was even more alarming was the bartender shifting forms. She could sense the dark energy radiating from him. It was clear she was not dealing with a human.

While the darkness weighed heavily on her, he asked a blunt question: What was it that a beautiful young woman like Bella truly wanted?

"I want a purpose. A place I belong for once in my life." Was that why the page was blank? Her true desire was too broad, too open. She had no direction and was too diluted to even dream of what that might be. She neared the void more than the flames of sin.

When the color of the world returned, Bella gasped. "If you do that again, please warn me!" She squeezed the glass of water tightly, the ice within clinking softly from her trembling.

She looked at him long and hard, as if trying to see beyond the flesh, even though it clearly frightened her. "I shouldn't stay here. I'm not trying to end up cursed by a demon, but… I'm different too. I see and feel things others can't." Something told her this kind of man would be the last to judge her. She was nothing compared to a devil, but it was easy to see why someone like Bella might not fit in; being a little different was all it took around a bunch of sheep.

"Could I please have a bottle of chardonnay and a glass?" she asked softly. She just hoped he wouldn't scare her off before she could catch a buzz. After all, she might need one if she was going to have a conversation with the devil.​

 

[Devils Temptation]

If you do that again, please warn me!​

"No need. I do not plan to do it again. You find a lot of people enter this establishment under the impression I am some sort of... fibber. Imagine that! The Devil himself, not being taken seriously... how ridiculous." Shaking his head with a scoff as if it were nothing more than a mere inconvenience, he was already at the service of a human woman mere moments after Bella had made her order. A finger scanning over the available bottles before picking two out and bringing them to her. Tapping the one on the right that had a more intense shade, he would pop the cork to ladle about a single sip into the wine glass in front of her. "This one has a more rich, creamier texture but a little more intense of a flavor - whereas this one..." Before repeating the gesture with the other bottle of wine. "...is much lighter, perhaps better to sip on while you talk." She may have, very well, merely been here to get shit-faced drunk.

Philosophy and speculation were off the table, likewise so too was any opportunity to tempt herself into making perhaps the worst... (or best) decision of her life. The man would leave whatever bottle she chose on the table for her, sliding the cap back on just enough that it wouldn't spill if she picked it up or tilted it. Returning back to polishing a glass, he would give her a thoughtful hum. "Most people assume they are different. Special. That they are one of a kind. Are you sure you are? Perhaps a problem like yours, merely a good night's sleep would fix it over a rash decision." Comical that at this low point in her life that the worst influence in humanity would offer her some kind advice...

"...However..." Until the red glint in his eyes slightly shifted and he would finally pace to stand right in front of Bella. "...but what if you aren't imagining things? How many sleepless nights? How many times will you return to the same indecision? At some point a person will lose their mind and something, anything has to be done." The lull in their conversation would have him grabbing the neck of the wine bottle to pour her another full glass - index and middle finger parting to smoothly push the glass towards her from the edge of the table.

"Ultimately, the choice is yours in that regard. Get drunk, forget tonight, try again tomorrow. That, too, is a valid answer..." One that she had indulged in several times over, just to return back to the same starting point again and again AND AGAIN. He had seen that look on the face of humans countless times before, throughout the generations, man or woman. The look of a hopeless woman that had completely been stuck in a standstill. She wasn't living, merely surviving to get from one day to the next without knowing what the hell she was doing or where she was going.

The contract remained empty regardless.

The contract almost always filled itself, there were hardly any humans in existence that had such a broad breadth of desire that it could not be coalesced into one or two things. Sliding besides the counter, her server would take the seat next to her and took a glass of his own with the bottle that Bella had not chosen. "I have met such a wide variety of people and no matter how many humans I meet, they still continue to surprise me from time to time. This bar attracts a rather... hm. Unpleasant? No. Not quite. Desperate crowd may be the correct way to say it. Desire is not an inherently bad aspect in my eyes. So... why don't you tell me something, Bella?" Resting his jaw against his fist, he would lean enough besides her that he towered over and blocked her vision from staring at anything else that wasn't him. "Drinking is a fairly small desire. How about a larger one? What's something that would make your life easier if you got it? Surely there must be something..." Pleasure, money, power - for her it may have all been worth nothing in the pursuit of that one true desire to give her satisfaction.

Now, that?

Everyone had that.

 

[Passion]

To be sitting across the supposed Devil sounded unreal; she had to be dreaming, or maybe she did actually lose her mind... but Bella had been pretty open-minded to the world around her. She was a bit different, so it had her wondering what else was out there unexplained? Apparently, the devil, based on what she was not only told, but also witnessed. Leave it to her to bump into the Devil himself. It had made her already foggy life all the more questionable. Why was she here tonight? Something was fateful about meeting the devil, and yet she didn't see why. She was desperate, and for what was as blank as the contract before her.

She would up-nod towards the bottle of lighter wine. "I'll stick with that one for now, I'll switch it up if needed. I don't think it would be wise for me to get drunk around the devil." A lack of trust, but a given after the darkness she both saw and sensed within him. She really should get the fuck out of here, but she was close to the point that standing closer to hell would be better than being in her endless limbo.

Her filed nails lightly tapped on the cool glass when he questioned her difference. "I know what you are saying; often people think they are special snowflakes, but I am different. Even if it somehow boiled down to me being crazy, which I'm not." With a soft sigh, she took a long sip of her drink. "For example, I can see people's auras. Yours is much... different. It is unlike anything I've seen. So dark, and yet intense and interesting. I had known you were different, too, but I wouldn't have guessed the devil." She kept wondering why. She didn't think she was sinful, just lost...

Just a lost soul wandering into the devil's den.

He would refill her glass without her direction, giving her a simple suggestion that many humans attempted to cope with a bad day. Deep down, she knew a night of blacking out wouldn't fix these problems. There had to be more to life. A new path. A place for her. A drive to keep her going. She didn't even know how sin could set her free. Not innocent, and yet clueless. She was gasoline, and needed a match... although little did she know she was near more than just a small flame, but hellfire itself.

He would sit next to her, and Bella would feel seen. She rarely felt that way. Always a forgettable and quiet presence in a room. An overlooked beauty and a soul that ached for depths that others could not comprehend. It had her at a distance even when she was close, giving others a feeling that she was fine, and yet did not belong for reasons they never could express. Yet, it was next to a devil that she felt more human than ghost. Like he could see her beyond a veil she couldn't lift.

As he oh-so casually loomed over her, she trembled in her seat. It was subtle, much like a chill, but she felt intimidated. To have the devil ask about her desires had her frozen for a moment. It would have most people pausing, and it would probably be wiser not to speak. Still, she wanted to give him an answer. Mostly because she even wanted to know herself. Buying a few more seconds of time by raising her glass to finish it off, she placed it down with a sharp exhale.

"Kind of pathetic how I don't have an easy answer, huh? Think most people can easily come up with a few things. Sure, I have a few generic ones. I desire to have money, a house, and a happy relationship. Oh, and maybe a job where I actually feel welcomed and proud. However, are those my desires, or me just falling into the expectations of society?" She tilted her head to the side, wondering what a devil's stance might be. "How about this, I want to feel 'sparked'. I want to find one of my passions. My days are so gray." She needed culture, art, religion, pleasure, excitement, adventure... something that would awaken this tired and graying soul.

"I feel like if I had a drive, I'd feel better. I should experiment more, but it is so difficult when I feel like I don't belong anywhere." She looked down at the bar counter, her lips curling down into a frown. "Maybe I need to do something that really takes me out of my comfort zone, like traveling." She was open to suggestions; surely the devil would have plenty of tips on how to enjoy vices.

 

[Devils Temptation]

Inevitably, when push came to shove, there was no necessity for the Devil to force a human to give in and chase their desires. Greed was something that had brought humanity this far and it was something that any person who walked into his bar would find themselves staring down the moment the alcohol was gone from their mug and all they could see was their own reflection in the glass. Moments like the ones that Bella was in right then and there - those few moments of introspection was all people needed to make the most terrible decisions of their life. To her, it might have felt like she was buying a few more seconds. To the Devil, it was another piece of prey crawling into a web unknowingly. As if entirely on cue with Bella, his wine glass was emptied and he would push it to the side with his knuckles to turn to her.

However, are those my desires, or me just falling into the expectations of society?​

"Does it matter? Humans exist with a hierarchy of needs. Some are more base than others... and then there are some that require a much higher transcendence to reach. Both are desires but perhaps one level of them is not enough to satisfy you personally." The Devil commented, giving a brief shrug as if even he did not all the answers to the world. Humans were complex... and they only had the small window of time tonight. One thing had been for certain, however, even if those things she listed off were aspects that Bella needed for a comfortable existence - it wouldn't have been the satisfying existence that her heart was pulsing for in that moment. A reason to truly, genuinely wake in the morning... money, home, relationship - none of that would grant her true satisfaction.

How about this, I want to feel 'sparked'. I want to find one of my passions. My days are so gray.
Maybe I need to do something that really takes me out of my comfort zone, like traveling.​

"Travel for what purpose? If you want to be brought out of your comfort zone, I can merely take you out of it. After all... there is nothing quite as discomforting to a person than another human being. Serial killers... rapists... adulterers... we find ourselves grossly attracted to them in a macabre sort of manner. Yet, right alongside these intense, terrible acts is a fundamental core of desire. Thieves, liars, hypocrites... all of them coalesce in this bar at some capacity. Do not get me wrong, though! Society has labeled them in these 'negative' ways, I have not. Humans have a habit of pretending like they are above their desires." They are not. They never would be. Some just needed the right temptation... she was no different, though she might think herself a good girl that barely skidded by on a notion that she could fit into society. Where had it brought Bella? Right into the waiting arms of a demon. This world was not for her.

Standing, the Devil would give his penultimate offer finally. Instead of the contract in front of her face that had lacked clear details, a much more familiar sight would settle onto the side of the bar in front of her. A job application. Standard font and styling, no different than any other place. A little old-fashioned since hardly anyone applied in person through these... but other than that, nothing looked off. A decent salary as a bartender... nothing outwardly leapt out as something that was off with it. "If you want to experience the world, I will permit you to work here, Bella. Certainly, you can meet all manners of people and feel all types of experiences by traveling the world... but in the same way, you can experience far more here, working alongside me. It's a rather unusual offer, believe me! I hardly let anyone return to this bar after they fail to make a contract once." Better to make them live with their mistakes - there were far more sinners out there to tempt.

"Of course, I have no intention of forcing you to sign anything either. Perhaps you wish to do this by the books, settle into some quiet, unfulfilling role and slowly save up the money to inevitably travel and then, perhaps, maybe you will find yourself at last. That, too, is a choice. Ah, by the way - the bill." Smiling politely, he would settle across from her and behind the counter to present her with the cost of the bottle. Nothing overwhelmingly pricey... but once she settled that, she could walk right out that door, never to return.

 

[Passion]

She would quickly correct herself with the Devil when he started to list off less-than-ideal types of people. "Out of my comfort zone in a positive way. I'm not trying to cross paths with someone like a serial killer, but... somehow I'm here already crossing paths with the Devil." She shook her head at her own words. She didn't know what to think about meeting the supposed devil. If it wasn't for the demonic display, she would have doubted him or figured it was just some kind of nickname. "I can't help but see those types in negative ways, but I also understand that there are many passions that could drive a person. Often, you are better off with some kind of drive than nothingness." Unless maybe the crimes were too bad. Still, maybe a would-be serial killer could instead use their dark desires to write a thriller rather than act it out.

A less intimidating document appeared in front of her: a job application. How did he know she was willing to leave her current job? Why would he offer her a job after knowing almost nothing about her? She hadn't spoken about that. However, what was even more startling was the fact that he had said her name. Her ears started to ring as her heart strained. With the air caught in her chest, she paused again. What else did he know? Forcing herself to exhale, she eased into her seat enough to take another healthy sip of her wine as if it were the cure to her discomfort.

"I'm not going to pretend I have experience as a bartender." She glanced over at him, expecting him to take away the application due to her lack of experience; another place she wouldn't fit in. However, he knew this… didn't he? "I will say taking everyday roles and saving my money is the goal, but…" Her blue gaze dropped down to the paper. Her eyes stinging as emotions within her started to stir. She took a shaken sigh; she didn't want to start crying, but she was close. "This grind… this misalignment… the lack of purpose and direction... I can't keep doing it. It is killing me." She didn't mean physically, although maybe down the line it might if she continued to live a life of faded colors.

I need more…​

Again, she would try to suppress the rise of emotions in her to focus on the application in front of her. "I happen to be looking for a new job. I'm being told I'm not a good fit. I hope that you would be willing to give me time to adjust and learn before assuming the same." Hearing such a thing from others not only upset her, but also disturbed her. She didn't understand why or how she didn't fit in at this point in her life, and so it haunted her. One would think it was her behavior, but the woman seemed put together and polite enough. So… what was it? How different was she? Was she just fated to be a lost soul? Endlessly wandering, endlessly HUNGRY.

Taking the receipt, she gave the total a look over. Luckily, that bottle of wine she was coaxed into getting didn't cost an arm and a leg. "Thanks for the wine and offer." She pulled a small black purse close to her, taking out a wallet, she put down enough cash to cover it, and also leave a tip.

"Do you really think that working here would better fulfil me?" She raised a brow; it sounded nice, but she was skeptical. Why wouldn't she be? She felt lost in this world, and she doubted a bartending job would fulfill her in the way she hoped. "You speak lowly of simple, day jobs, and a bartender isn't an upgrade. Still, I think I need to try a whole new field, maybe the people who come in will inspire me, and the energy of this place…" She let her words linger. She could sense the importance of the bar and his weight, although all remained quiet and still around them. Currently, the bar looked closer to closing down than hiring new staff, but she knew there was already more here than met the eye... same thing with the oddly friendly Devil.

Reaching into her purse again, this time she pulled out a pen. "I'll give it a shot, but please don't fire me without warning. I won't do anything bad, and I'd need time to find a new job, or I'll be behind on my rent." This potentially was a dangerous confession as it left her openly at the mercy of her employer, the devil, but she was honest; she had to be as every step in her life was critical.

​

She would fill out the application, providing her address, phone number, current employment, and any basic information it had asked for, including the fact that her actual name was Isabella. It seemed so harmless to fill out a typical application, yet she kept giving him more information. "You apparently know my name, but what about you? What would you like me to call you?" She knew what he was, but still didn't know how to refer to him.

 

[Devils Temptation]

I'm not going to pretend I have experience as a bartender​

"I am not hiring you so that you can be a bartender, Bella. It is rather cute that you believe I am... but let me be a little more explicit with you, dear." Another one of those grins, the type of smile that could choke a breath out in the same way that it could wrench all manners of noises out of her mouth... "What we do here... it is not serving people liquor or food. It is part of the job, certainly, but it is a minor aspect. Your job? It is to talk. It is to evaluate. It is to see the nature of people who walk into this bar. Smile. Take a deep breath. Let something a little more natural flow." Tapping his index finger atop the page, the tilt down of his forehead would have his facial features shrouded in a veil of darkness. Deep, red eyes glinted ominously behind that silhouetted veil of his more masculine features. Something faintly crooked lingering along his lips, a smile, or a grimace, or a scowl. Sometimes his expressions looked unnervingly nondescript. "...I imagine you'll take to it rather naturally. You see, I have a rather adept ability to tell the nature of a person. You seem quite like me in that regard, Bella - if what you said about yourself before was accurate!" A perfect candidate for the role.

...A role that was not at all clear. Was she entertaining? Making small talk? What did her job truly entail?

Do you really think that working here would better fulfill me?​

"Do I know? No. Of course not. Even I cannot look into the future like that." Polishing off the glass that she had returned to him, he would set it beneath the counter before planting his palms flat on the bar and leaning forward just enough that his expression was dangerously close to her own. Once more, the veil he chose to wear was calm and charming. "...But you will find that people are not content with merely surviving. They must live. If nothing else, this job will allow you to live. It is in that act that you will find a higher echelon of satisfaction. I do not speak lowly of day jobs, excuse you! That is rather rude. I have much love in my heart for the common individual." Pouting a mock annoyance at her assumption, he placed an offended palm over his chest and finally took a step backwards from her to return to making the bar spotless.

I'll give it a shot, but please don't fire me without warning.​

"I will not - however you should have read the contract. You may leave the job at will... but when you do, you cannot ever return. Please ensure you are ready for that. When you miss your shift three times without any warning or heads up, you will never be able to find this bar again. Please keep that in mind when you cut ties with me." Three. Three chances was all she would really get... so she would have to be especially sure, deliberately enough that she would miss not one, not two, but three entire days without ever saying anything to him. What if something happened to her? What then? As if knowing that might've lingered on her mind, the Devil would merely clarify with a smile. "...I am not omniscient but I will know your intentions, regardless of where you are. Do not worry about being left behind accidentally. You are the only one who can make this choice. No one else." A stroke of brief freedom, like a streak of chaotic shades against a formerly blank canvas. Folding the application over, he would tuck it into his vest after a brief look over.

You apparently know my name, but what about you?​

"I do not have a name. I am more of a concept, less of a person... but let me see, how about - Lucifer? I always enjoyed the ring of that one! Here, however, you should merely refer to me as the Boss. It makes people less cautious, you see. Now, before you walk out on me... let me give you a gift." Finishing off the routine of cleaning the bar up once more, he would escort Isabella out to the front of the bar before sliding his broad palm through those slender, dainty digits. Guiding her hand up, he interlocked their fingers to slide something right down to the base of her ring finger...

​

A small ring, custom fit to the base of her ring finger. It nearly resembled a matrimony band if not for the glow of the red ruby at the center of it. "This is your key to coming back here. It will take you to the right location..." The Devil gestured, pointing back at the sign. Sure enough, red threads had been spilling off it like seams of silk - one of which lead right down to the ring in some sort of magnetic call. "...conversely -" Just as smoothly as he had placed the ring on her, slowly sliding it off would make everything vanish at once. The threads that guided her back, the sight of the bar entirely in the alleyway, the only thing that remained was the well-dressed sight of the Devil and her in the alleyway. "Now then... I have another customer to attend to, Bella. Please make it home safely and I look forward to seeing you on your first official day of work. Of course, that is if you choose to come in, hm?" One more cryptic smile. The ring would be left in her palm and after another blink - the Devil vanished entirely leaving her alone in the alleyway.

Was it real?

Was this something she should've done?

Was this really the right choice to find some meaning in her life?

All he left was questions. Questions and... the possibility for something more than just a life of pure indecision and insecurity. Even the slightest sliver... the Devil knew it well - that single thread was sometimes enough to make a spark turn into a wildfire.

 

[Passion]

"Set myself on fire 'cause I rather burn out than to fade." ♫ DeathbyRomy - CORPSE KISS ♫ "Midnight city's screaming I'm another dead girl walking tonight Corpse kiss leave you freezing I can be your dead girl bring me to life."

---

​

He would get a head tilt of confusion from the girl. She was unsure what her job would be at a bar if it wasn't to help tend it. Hopefully she hadn't just applied to be a maid. Cleaning up sticky counters and questionable bathrooms was far from ideal. She'd rather milk her current job, which felt too guilty to straight-up fire her since she hadn't done anything wrong.

"To talk…?" she echoed, her head still tilted with her eyebrows furrowing as she attempted to make sense of the Devil's business here. While Bella could blend in fine, she saw herself as an outcast. Not someone who could sweet-talk. However, she could see and feel auras, presences; they had a way of saying a lot more than words ever did.

She straightened her posture and let out a half-laugh. "You said you would speak more explicitly, but to simply say 'to talk' is rather cryptic. So, I assume I'll be a hostess of sorts?" She looked to the side in reflection. "I think I've seen videos of that. Usually, cute girls trying to get customers to buy more drinks, but you aren't after money." Her sea-blue eyes darted back over to him. She didn't need to say it; they both knew he was interested in something much more valuable. However, Bella wasn't a malicious woman. She wasn't trying to hurt anyone, but wasn't the Devil at least interested in granting their desperate desires? The very desires that people would be willing to change their entire life for?

So many unknowns, far too many for it to be safe. However, what Bella wanted most was a real sense of direction and purpose, and something about this place and this man was calling her more than anything else in her aimless life currently was.

"Hm? Do you really think we are alike?" She paused and considered. How was she like the Devil? He didn't seem all that bad, although she didn't want to get on his bad side to find out otherwise.

"Hey, I don't expect a job to fulfill me magically, but you were suggesting it over traveling." She gave him a witty grin. One that admitted he had a point about the disadvantages of travel but also realistically acknowledged this place was a bar run by supposedly the Devil himself.

She waved a hand to try to lighten the mood. "I wasn't trying to insult you or your place of work. I'm just trying to understand." Probably for the best she didn't, but it was only natural.

Bella gave him a half-smile when he reassured her she wouldn't be fired without warning, but then, in return, he warned her that if she quit, she wouldn't be able to return. That was pretty standard in any workplace, although now it had her wondering what else that job application had in the fine print. She had taken it more as an information sheet to attempt to get a job than as a contract.

"I think those are pretty realistic expectations. Most places you can't just quit and expect to be hired back, and yeah, no call-no show is pretty unprofessional. I wouldn't do that." What was most interesting was how he said she wouldn't be able to find the establishment again, which was puzzling for her human brain that saw it as a fixed location. Ideally, it wouldn't come to that. Bella was committed to trying a new path, even if it was a bit of a dark one. Would she find more meaning in this life? Would she feel alive again?

Lucifer.

She could have assumed, but she knew better than to. So, was it a fallen angel before her? Hearing his name was enough for her to take a pause and give him another look over. Not just of the man who currently looked nothing like a typical devil, but his energy. Even if he neatly hid it away like his true form, she still saw flickers of what she could only describe as warped and hot darkness. Even if it was malice, she was a bit envious as a girl who often felt grey, numb, and empty. At times, it felt like being in a state of limbo was a punishment worse than hell, but that wasn't very logical. Still, the fires had to be dazzling compared to this cold, endless fog she was mentally and spiritually trapped within.

It is better to burn out than to fade. ​

"Noted, Boss." She confirmed while giving the title a test before walking toward the exit. She turned to speak once more, and when she did, her words were caught in her mouth. Her soft hand was taken, and she searched his face for an explanation as he slid a ring onto her finger. That was not a gift she was expecting, and as someone who was often forgotten before she was gifted, it had her even more off guard.

He would explain it wasn't actually much of a gift, but a key to this location. Maybe it was a sign that he did trust she was a good fit and wouldn't cause any issues, although even if she did, removing her would be easy.

While Bella believed in powers beyond understanding, it was still mind-boggling seeing everything around them vanish when he took off the ring. She wondered what other supernatural elements he could show her. It wouldn't take much to fascinate someone like Isabella. She would hold on to the ring and assume then it was for wearing when it was time for work, as if part of her uniform. She wasn't quite sure what to wear, but wouldn't he have told her if he was expecting something? When was her first day anyway? She went to ask and...

She was left with more questions than answers; he had vanished. Baffled by his disappearance and all the questions storming her mind, he had left her with a dangerous curiosity that would have her returning. It was fine to dabble as long as she was careful, right?—One way to justify dancing with the devil.

Would she receive a call? A text? An email? A knock at her door?

She would continue her usual routine until then to make sure her income didn't stop. However, the whole time she was thinking about what her new job would be like and who Lucifer really was beyond the old tomes and religions that cursed his name. Again, she would keep justifying her decision to work with one of the most feared and hated beings in existence. It was the only way she could cope with the idea that she had already made a deal with the Devil.

 

[Devils Temptation]

It would have not been until the next day that the woman would fully understand what she had done - or whom she had struck the deal with. For mortals with their lack of foresight... it was nigh impossible to truly feel the gravity of what was destined to come. She, too, lacked that depth of foresight... and perhaps that was for the best. What he offered her was a single option and nothing more. No bait beyond what was presented to her. Not a call, not a text, no correspondence - he did not come to fetch her. Doing so would have ruined the point entirely. Temptation was something that existed so long as a person breathed and existed... and she too would feel that over her absence away from him.

PROLOGUE END
​

---

---

Chapter One:
What is Yours is Also Mine
​

When the hours on her 'stable' job began to cut and there was suddenly a budget deficit, there was no need to really return to the bar - if she defaulted on a bill or too and desperately tried to get more hours but as if knowing what she, herself, already planned to do a number would pop up on her screen that exact day that she, yet again, barely had any work given to her. A time and a location. As well as a reminder to keep the ring. Six in the afternoon, a certain street in downtown. It was nondescript and any attempt to text back the number would be met with the bizarre notification that any texts she attempted to send to the number would inevitably fail to send. The location had the same aforementioned door - in a location where it unmistakably had not been the first time she had seen Umbra Noir before. The sun still had yet to fully set so those vibrant, glowing letters felt like they blended much better into the brick but she was certainly there. This was the right place. The mood around that bar was unmistakable and the faint nudge of a warmer chest brushed against her shoulder from behind.

"Hurry along now, Bella. We have a busy day today - you need to get changed to something appropriate." Holding a larger crate of bottles, the towering form of the Devil would peer over her shoulder, tilting his body slightly over her own so that she caught that upside-down sight of his grin in front of her. He did not ask why she was here, did not ask what her choice was, did not bother to elaborate any further on whether she wanted to stay. No. She had returned to make money and he was here to receive her - he said it before, he knew of what her intention were. Accompanying her into the bar, he would set the box down atop the counter. Inside, everything still looked to be closed up. Chairs lifted atop their counters and all of the lights being off.

Plucking the bottles out of their holder, the Devil would produce a key from his pocket and offered it to Bella. "Go ahead into the backroom and change. I have something in your size. White dress shirt and black vest. You have a very eye-catching physique but please button it up all the way." Her employer kindly asked, tapping the top button along his collar and continuing to stock the shelves. Nothing about the work seemed... wrong. Not yet, at least. Almost to the point it would make a person hallucinate that what they saw days ago was just a fake delusion that was created under duress. Drunk, or overwhelmed, or... something. Something that didn't explain why everything felt so normal. There was that unpleasant ooze of unease everywhere in the building that made it feel like it wasn't completely hallucinated but -

- the reality still had yet to sink in.

And it would not even after she was to return to her 'employer' once more.

"Oh my! How pretty. Fine feathers certainly make for a fine bird. How does it feel? Comfortable? Shall I start briefing you before we open for the day?" The Boss would ask, tilting his head slightly with a warm, kindly sort of grin.

No.

It didn't make sense.

He was doing it on purpose.

The first time she had seen him, he was purposeful in every little grin felt like it had ulterior motives, that sharp way the white glistened practical fangs in her face. It was impossible to truly prove but he had to have been doing it on purpose... "Can I get you a drink? Answer any questions?" Wiping down the counter, he gestured her to settle atop the bar stool while he finished up the remainder of his preparation for beginning the day.

 

[Passion]

When Bella had left that evening, she had assumed she would get a message in a day or two. It had prevented her from looking for any other job, and her work was showing signs that their kindness regarding being let go was wearing thin. Bella didn't know what to do or where she was meant to go. She was left counting on a promise made by a man of shadows and sins. She knew it was a stupid decision… one made after an emotional, bad day, but a part of her did want to honor her promise. To give it a shot, to hopefully have a polite escape if this really was a bad idea.
​

With silence came dread.
Every day.
Every hour.
The silence was deafening.​

She had even tried to return to the very street where she had met the Devil, and there was nothing. Like it was all just a dream. She would have believed it if it weren't for the ring she had, but it didn't seem to work. The bar was not open.

It was when she was updating her resume to attempt to find other jobs that her phone finally went off. She was given a street and time, but no other details. When she tried to reply with a "thank you," her message was denied. What the hell…? Frustrating. Still, she saved the number to her phone just in case.

Her heels clicked behind her against the hot sidewalk as she headed down the street. The summer sun still burned bright, but twilight loomed. Her dark hair was tied in a low, loose ponytail, and she wore a pair of tight but modest pants. Her black shirt was a V-neck, which at a certain angle could tempt a gaze. It was more than fitting for a bar setting, so she was quite shocked to soon hear otherwise, especially from the Devil.

She had found Umbra Noir in its new location, and as her mind buzzed with how the location had a way of magically moving, he startled her slightly by appearing. She jumped and turned to the side to face him. "Huh? Change?" She was confused, but she followed him inside. That puzzlement seemed to only deepen the longer she stayed here.

She placed a hand right below her neck, indirectly showing she was wearing the ring he had given her; she was faintly flustered. "I'm hardly showing anything, and this is a bar." She felt the need to justify herself. She knew she should just listen to her boss, but she didn't like the idea that she gave off a negative impression. She cared what he thought. Maybe a bit too much. It was often a symptom of an outcast, one who longed for more. "But I will change right away, boss. I'll remember the dress code." She bowed her head politely with a nervous smile before wandering to where she believed the back was.

When she came back out, she had her dress shirt on and the vest. Her smile returned with the compliment, although it wasn't like she was wearing a sparkling dress or anything worth bragging about. "Thank you. It is comfortable and fits fine." She nodded along. "Yes, please tell me what you expect of me and how you think the night will go. I'm… pretty clueless." Her smile widened. She was being overly cheery and trying to hide how anxious she was, just like many would be at a new job. Especially one where the environment felt so… static.

She took a seat at the stool he had gestured to, her heels idly hooking over the metal bar. "I have many questions, but I think most of them will be answered after a shift or two. Let me know what I need to do, or at least what my duties are."

If she wasn't serving drinks, what was she doing? "I can help you get everything ready to open?" she suggested, looking at him for guidance. At least she was eager to help.
​

No, none of this made sense, but she would try to make sense of it and would give things time to unfold.​

 

[Devils Temptation]

Thank you. It is comfortable and fits fine.​

"And most importantly, we match. You know, diverging sets... they always give a sense of unease. People have this idea in their head that they must fit in under any circumstance. Don't you think so too? And so, in those moments that you find that you fit nowhere, you start to lose your mind." The Boss would note absentmindedly, eyes wandering over the way the cloth fit along her figure... words he knew would carve deep. Had he been taunting her...? The one woman worried about being left behind by anyone and everything and there he was cheerily describing how people who had no fit would be forever lost. "That's a good smile! One that will surely put our customers at ease. Let us begin." Big smile and then a pause, eyes locking onto her own when she offered to help him make everything presentable for the open.

One snap of his finger would make the sight change suddenly, a darker hint of lighting descended over the bar. Chairs down, faint red luminescence along the corners and edges just like the moment that she had walked in. "What do you think is the fundamental condition for a person to trust another? That is, loosely, what your role here is. The alcohol is more of a tool to get you there. For example..." Grabbing a glass, he would pour some faintly red fluid into it, translucent like juice but with the unmistakable tint of liquor hanging in the air off the rim of the glass. "...when I served you the night we first met, you started to tell me things that you would not to most people. Why was that? You can lie and use the excuse that it was the alcohol but... to be entirely candid, that was just what I used to soften you." She wanted someone to hear her out, for one. Most people did, they wanted someone else to speak to them, to make them feel heard.

"When a person comes in, take their order, chat them up a little... and then you will get the hang of what it is we're truly aiming for. Most people present it to you quickly, once they realize they can get away with exposing themselves." Exposing... what? Crimes? Violent thoughts? No. Desire. Everyone who walked into that bar had a reason to, even Bella. It was her job to slowly ease that clenched fist to present what that desire was.

"If you find you cannot do it... I will step in to take the lead but I believe in teaching through experiencing it yourself. Talk to them, serve them, and watch... watch how this place brings out the darkest of what a person has to give. Oh! The drink is a mocktail. Inflation has been rather crazy lately, I cannot give away liquor without charging nowadays. Ridiculous!" What was truly ridiculous was that way he waved his index finger around, talking about basic bullshit like inflation, prices, keeping a business going. None of that applied to the Devil, money had any value to a supernatural entity? No. That was part of the act, though. The way he spoke, how he presented himself, how he lured people into that false dichotomy of trust.

It was all by design.

RING.

"...What is this place...?" Their first customer would finally step in. Her first customer. A man that looked to be in his mid-thirties, darker black overcoat wrapped over a dress shirt and a red tie - faint hint of dark scruff and heavier bags under his eyes. A few steps forward would have his gaze wandering to finally land on the Devil and then the woman behind the counter. "Is this a bar? You open? There's no one here." He commented, stating out the obvious to which the Devil would merely reply with... "Actually we were in the process of setting up... however we're done, business should start picking up now. How about it? Bella here would be happy to serve you tonight, if so." Grinning, the Devil would wrap his hands over Bella's shoulders, broader hands stroking along the line of her collar so he could lean in for a few lower rumbles. "...don't worry so much about the drinks, I will make them. Remember... your job is to talk." Soft and under his breath, he would finally take a step back to allow Bella to do her 'work' - the man would've taken the Devil's offer up and finally sat down on the bar stool in front of the woman.

"Just get me a beer, thanks. Heineken will do fine, if you don't have that then I'll take a Blue Moon." Tapping his index finger against the desk, some hint of impatience would cross his expression and he looked around the bar once more before leaning in and softly muttering under his breath towards the woman working the bar. "...Does this place have a table I can play cards at? Not blackjack or anything, just poker." The Devil's eyes would flash with a faint, red glint - smile widening as if he had heard what the man was talking about. One hand had drawn over the cabinet in the back, opening up the freezer to offer the woman the first choice of beer that the gentleman had asked for.

...She just had to talk.

She just had to talk.

...But something about the direction of the conversation felt ominous. Maybe she had yet to realize it, the way she was effectively just made to spin a web for a fool that was about to be so buried deep that there would be no escaping his vices.

All she had to do was talk.

 

[Passion]

Her breath was caught in her lungs when he bluntly mentioned the unease of fitting in. "Fitting in is part of survival for most." That was exactly what she was trying to do in this chaotic and lonely world she was stumbling through. It made her reflect back when he questioned her own desires and her answers. Realizing in that very moment, she had answered him incorrectly. Well, not entirely, but her 'desire' to fit in somewhere wasn't a 'desire' but a need. What she didn't lie about was how she drew a black for what she truly desired. How could she think about her wants when her needs weren't being met? The realization made her feel an ache in the very pit of her stomach; she was even more lost than she had realized.

Her attention shifted at the lighting change, curious blue eyes scanning the bar as the lighting alone altered the mood. With a snap of his fingers, the chairs adjusted, and he stole back her attention. She listened closely as he spoke about trust. It was interesting to think about the theme of people in general venting to bartenders, and it did make sense; a few drinks and a friendly smile could be a dangerous combination. However, was that actually trust or opportunity?

The more he explained her job, the more confusing it became. It all seemed so harmless, too harmless with the Devil involved. Yet, if she could make someone's day brighter, why not? He had made hers a little brighter with hope when she was down. "I'll do my best, but I'm not sure what the whole point of this all is." Maybe it was for his own entertainment. Surely, the woes of humans could be amusing to some. However, one thing Bella could get behind was the thought of what gave people drive, what made them passionate. It was something she yearned for herself, and found it inspiring to see it in others. Grasping that fire of what it meant to be alive, and keeping that flame burning. Instead, she felt the dull gray dampening her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that a customer had joined. Sliding off the stool, she returned to her feet with a click of her heels. With a smile painted on her face, she greeted the stranger. "Hello, welcome to Umbra Noir." She nodded at his questions while her boss confirmed that they were open.

She hadn't expected her boss's hands on her shoulders, and she nearly jumped, but she didn't break her customer service front. He reminded her how simple her job was. She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to talk about exactly. Sure, she was good enough at socializing to get by, but she wouldn't say she was highly charismatic.

"Hello there, I'm Bella." Her fake smile widened. "I'm sure my boss has a deck of cards. Might have to wait a bit for others if you want to get a big game going." She took the beer the Devil had provided and slid it over to the man. It was then she really noticed not only the bags under his eyes, but a weighted and dark energy hanging from him. Something wasn't right. It was hinted that this place attracted a certain crowd, and it seemed like this man fit in.

She stalled there in front of him. "Long day?" She then fell silent, giving him the stage to talk, or possibly expose. Saying less was often saying more in a situation like this, and so she would settle with small talk.

 

[Devils Temptation]

Hello there, I'm Bella.​

"Arthur." He did not return the smile, instead swinging his gaze over to the Devil who had that likewise practiced grin to return to the man. Another somewhat suspicious stare back at Bella and then he would grab at the can before drowning half of it in one long sip. For a few moments, he wouldn't say much to either of them - on occasion sneaking another sip and drawing his eyes towards the door and then back at the two of them. "No... forget what I said. It ain't worth the trouble..." Another grunt as he backtracked on his little request and as if entirely on queue, the Devil would have stood up right besides Bella to pull out a pack of cards from his pocket to present it onto the desk in front of the man. The two still shared no words... but some sort of hidden message in that gaze of theirs as Arthur grabbed at the deck and handed it back to the Devil with a shove. "...I said I didn't want it. There's no damn point if--" ...Before his words trailed off again. Something about the creepy bastard running the bar set him off, made him bite his tongue.

On top of the fact that this felt like a setup. Gambling was among the lowest priority of crimes... but he sure as hell didn't know what cops did on their spare time. The fact that the bar was still empty set him on edge even further. "Oh, I see. You'll find if that's what you want, you certainly can wager quite a bit with me. Still - you clearly aren't here for that it seems. Hold onto these for me, Bella, will you?" Another polite smile, tucking the deck of cards into the woman's pocket with a brief tug on the hoop of her dress pants. The Devil would turn around, heading towards the back room with a low hum. It was not difficult to see the way that their customer's gaze quickly flickered over to the deck before snapping back to his beer just as fast.

Only then did he start the pretense of bothering to answer what the woman originally asked him -
Long day?

"Bullshit fucking day, sure. Doubt anyone's a stranger to it. You're down on your luck - seems like nothing goes your way. What do you do? Take the plunge and try again or give up? Ain't a good solution either way." Oftentimes bad situations? They only got worse. Trying something again usually was just met with more disappointment and though the man didn't elaborate on what exactly he was 'down on his luck' on - it didn't really take too much of following his gaze to figure it out. The way his eyes seemed to wander back to where those cards were settled into the woman's pocket. Finishing up the beer, he would press the can forward with his knuckles. "Give me another one, please." To which he would quickly start on it once more, head hanging again in silence.

"...How long you been working here? The games legit? Do people pay out?" Of course he couldn't resist, his mind started to wander back all the same. He intentionally kept his gaze away from Bella, making the conversation seem as subtle and unrelated as he could humanely manage. "...Might as well, you know. I only got about a hundred on hand. Wonder if drinking it away would probably do me more good, though..." Two beers were dirt cheap, he had enough to make another terrible decision if he really wanted to... and she was in the unfortunate position of being able to maybe talk him out of it... a game with the Devil could only spell doom.

 

[Passion]

It did feel like a setup.

One that Bella couldn't speak on. She could get creative, but she didn't know anything for a fact. So far, the Devil had been nothing but kind to her. Well, mostly. The comment about her clothes still resonated within her, but still, he had listened to her woes and had even offered her a job. Maybe the Devil wasn't too bad as long as someone didn't get on his bad side. There was a lot she didn't understand yet, but Bella knew to be careful. That dark and hot energy seeping from him couldn't be ignored, and it seemed Arthur here, even if his senses were dull, was picking up on the unease in the air.

Bella didn't know what kind of mess she had gotten herself in, but she remained hopeful that this job would not only keep her afloat financially, but would inspire a new path for her, or at least help her find a way to live a life with sparks instead of tones of gray.

"Hm?" While she could read his dark presence, she could not read his mind; probably for the best. She was left as confused as Arthur now, with a deck of cards in her pocket. She wondered if her boss would admit who he actually was before looping this man into some kind of gamble. Now wasn't the time to play the hero; she needed to see for herself how the Devil conducted business. She knew she wasn't dealing with just any man. Bella was playing her own game of chess with observant silence and polite smiles.

Bella noticed where the stranger's eyes shifted when he spoke of hardship. A shame... A sin she never fully understood, but she suspected the high of winning could easily bring addiction. His energy seemed heavy, a bit lost like her own. Bella was empathetic, but didn't always show it. She had enough on her plate and did not have much mental capacity left to worry about strangers. Still, she was human.

"Yes, sir, right away." She would bow her head to excuse herself to fetch him another beer. She would open it up for him before serving. For a moment, she looked at the back room to see if her boss was coming. She knew even if he wasn't here, she should mind her words just in case. She wasn't sure what supernatural powers the Devil might have such as super-hearing, although she didn't plan to say anything bad. However, maybe it would cause holes in the web he was building if she said the wrong thing.

"If you are down on your luck, maybe you should take a break from testing it." Bella's gut was urging her to tell the man to leave, but again, she had nothing to work with. It was just a feeling. The feeling of a setup.

"Eventually, bad luck has to give, but sometimes that appears in ways that are not so black and white. Like finding us. Maybe it is good luck that you found a quiet place to unwind for the night." She would try to twist the negatives into a positive, but she already knew Arthur probably wouldn't be very impressed. Some random bar did not equate to winning the lottery. Still, she hoped her mood would comfort the wary soul somewhat.

"Um, to be honest, today is my first day." She rubbed the back of her head, a bit flustered to be a novice. "So, I can't really speak for the place. You can ask my boss." She knew with how he returned to the intrusive thought of gambling, her quick chat would not change his ways. However, with the Devil around, chances were he could gamble with more than the hundred he had, something Bella would naturally advise against.

Her mouth opened to speak, but she froze. She also wanted to advise against spending it on drinking or playing, but that would be bad for business. While the Devil probably didn't care about Earthly concepts like money, it was still in her nature to assume so. This was a place of business. She had to help profit.

After an awkward pause, she would finally break her silence. "That is up to you, sir. I'm here to serve you if you need anything." She recalled that the goal was to gain her trust. So she would add, "I'm also here if you need an ear." Clueless Bella was not a bad option to earn the trust of, but her lack of awareness made it worth little.

 

[Devils Temptation]

Maybe it is good luck that you found a quiet place to unwind for the night.​

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. It's good. Good that you pump the brakes after things go to shit..." He would agree. He would actually agree with her. There was no telling how down on his luck the first customer had been but it looked like even he could manage to say when something was a lost cause. Squeezing onto the can a little harder, he would wave it back and forth to tilt another sip into his mouth. It wasn't really the act of losing that hooked people - who in the world would want to surround themselves in misery? No. For him, it was a far more basic instinct of... he felt like he needed it to stay alive. The rush, the adrenaline, but all of that was stupid too, wasn't it? There were some things, no matter how good they felt for a person, would only lead them to ruin.

You can ask my boss.​

A moment of silence.
As if he had lost interest in that thread at this point, much to the relief of anyone that could have seen the ensuing disaster that was coming. A train on its way to derail - Bella had never once seen what a real Devil's contract could have looked like but it was in the name. A contract with a demon could only end one way... POORLY. Between doe eyes and a softer, more empathetic tone she would've eventually seen his gaze rise to meet her own from that soon to be empty can. Two was all he was looking to drink tonight - even that much probably should've been all the money he should've spent in one night.

I'm also here if you need an ear.​

"...Thanks." A small smile etched at the edges of his worn features and he would set the can back down on the edge of the counter. "--but I think I really should just call it a night here. I should get home to my family... instead of finding a new hole to fall down. Fucking ridiculous, let me tell you... thanks for helping talk some sense into me, miss." Shuffling a hand into his pocket, he would produce a few dollar bills. Twelve for the beers and an eight dollar tip on top of it to give her a single twenty. With it, he would eye the can one more time before shaking his head and muttering something to himself. Hands pressed on the counter, he would stand to leave and just as he was about to go - the Devil would finally return.

He did not address Bella, merely walking right past her to approach the man... before stepping past even him to grab the door and open it to him with a gestured hand. "Thank you for your patronage, Sir. It is a shame you could not stay with us longer for tonight to play something but we appreciate what you have spent with us. Take care and get home safe." Warm, charismatic grin as he ushered the man out and the door fell close. The Devil remained staring at it for a few seconds, not saying anything... shoulders halfway hunched. Had he been upset? Had she lost her job on her first day? When he tossed a gaze over his shoulder at Bella, all she would see was the half-glint of his red gaze and then when he finally turned a little more straight came the smile. Not even slightly different from how he usually looked when he stared upon her.

"Tell me something, Bella. Do you think your actions tonight made a difference? What was it you said...? Maybe you should take a break from testing it? Do you think he will stop gambling now that you have said that to him?" Of course not. Even an optimistic fool would know that a few mere words was not enough to stop an addict... but her words had certainly made an effect tonight hadn't they...? She stopped him from gambling away that remaining eighty dollars that would've surely gone to better use for the family he talked about.

...Right?

Lifting the bar's door, he would return behind the counter more and gently slipped a palm against her chest to grab the pack of cards. "Do you like games of chance? I think they can be quite fun! Let us have one right here and now, dear. One at no cost to you - I will wager that man will be back... not tomorrow. Tonight. Shortly, in fact. That is to say - your words accomplished nothing. Changing the essence... and nature of a person is not so easy as merely speaking to them on moral whims. If I were to say to you right now... do not worry about being abandoned, everyone finds someone to be with in the tail end of it all!" Another pause, lips settling into a taunting smirk. "...Would you wake up the next morning and think that perhaps my words did have some merit? Or would they get lost in that sea of fear you cling onto so desperately... Bella?" Leaning close, he towered over her as if his shadow planned to devour her whole.

...Before pulling back just as quickly.

"Ah but right! The wager." Waving the deck of cards in front of her, he brought it back to the topic of the man. "I will wager that he will return tonight. You will do the opposite. If you win... hmm... how about a big bonus? A thousand dollars, perhaps? Somewhere in that ballpark." For one night? He spoke of the amount so easily like he could magically pop it out of his pocket. "If you lose, on the other hand... you will be the 'dealer' in our game. You can have a front row seat to what the true essence of greed can truly be. How does that sound?" The Devil offered, extending his hand out to her. She stood to lose absolutely nothing... some aspect of innocence, perhaps. Once the veil was pulled back and she started to drown deeper in what a person could be capable of, there was no pulling back out.

 

[Passion]

With a nod of her head, she agreed with Arthur's decision to return home to his family for the night. Her smile widened when he thanked her. She felt good to talk to someone out of a bad decision. "I am happy to help, and I hope you return again soon." Well, that was if he could find this strange bar again.

Pocketing the tip and collecting the cash just as the Devil walked back in. She expected him to say something, but he had walked by as if she was invisible; a situation she knew well. Something didn't feel right. Her boss wished the man a goodnight, but when they were alone again, she sensed the tension.

He had heard her, hadn't he?

She had considered it, but she didn't know what his reaction would be. He had hardly given her any real guidelines, and she did do what he asked. She had gotten the man to trust her enough that he had even taken her advice. She hadn't been told what to do with that trust once she had earned it.

With the heavy pause hanging between them, she held her breath, waiting for his voice to reanimate her once more. "I don't expect me, a stranger, to impact him greatly, but hopefully I prevented his bad day from getting worse. He needs that money and to focus on his family." Someone like the Devil himself probably wouldn't agree, but Bella wasn't a saint for having compassion toward another human. "No, a statement alone will not change someone, but experiences and thoughts can add up. Maybe I can be a small piece of a bigger picture." She then shrugged. She knew it was wishful thinking, but it was her positive spin on it.

He wanted her to bet on something that she didn't have the drive to bet on. The man would be pretty dumb to come back here so soon, and if he really wanted to gamble, she was sure there were better establishments for it. However, the stakes were much greater here when the Devil was involved.

Still, a thousand dollars would really help her out, and if she were to lose, she would maybe have to deal some cards? While she'd rather not be the reason why the man's family was short a needed eighty dollars or so, and might be awkward and ruin her mood, but she wasn't responsible for what a grown man decided to do.

"Deal? Maybe his luck will be great." In her mind, the man didn't have all too much to lose. He wouldn't be foolish enough to bet more than the cash he had, right? Although even if he won, would he really? A sweet victory would surely fuel his addiction. "I'm hoping my luck is even better, and he doesn't come back in. A bonus on the first day would be exciting." She laughed under her breath, trying to chase away any possible lingering disappointment he had toward her for trying to direct a client away from sin instead of toward.

"You know, boss, you never told me much about this job. I hope that you will train and explain more to me before you get mad at me." Even now, she wasn't sure if what she did had been wrong, but she needed the job, and getting on the bad side of the Devil sounded like a horrid situation to be in. "You had told me to gain their trust, but then what? I'm sure it gives them a better experience, but I feel like I'm missing something." She seemed to want to appease him with her willingness to learn, but she didn't know how he operated… or was she simply overthinking it? Bella was puzzled, but she stood behind the bar with a straight posture and a smile painted on her face. She would keep doing her best to read him and the situation.

 

[Devils Temptation]

You know, boss, you never told me much about this job.​

"You're still under the impression that there is something I need to explicitly teach you. Let me ask you this, do you think you did anything wrong in that prior interaction?" The Devil would take his time to prepare a little for what he knew to be coming. Affectionately, a thumb would draw down along Bella's jawline to press down over her lower lip and he would assure her a little too softly that... "Nothing is wrong, Bella..." He knew someone so anxious could not believe that, not when she didn't know what she was doing and so a demonstration was in order. Cupping her cheek in one more affectionate gesture he would move to the tables in the bar now to pick up one of them and move it to the center of the open floor. Two chairs facing across one another with the table in the way and a third that would serve as the seat for the dealer.

"People will talk if there is something to talk to. Someone given a medium to actually express themselves will always take it. Artists, musicians... this is not exclusive to outward creativity. Everyone has something they are dying to get out and no matter how much they may pretend, it is something they wish to be noticed." Gesturing her forward with his index finger, he would pat the seat next to himself and waited patiently for her to return to his side once more... right now they did not have to worry about other customers. Bella would find, with time, that the bar only focused on one customer at a given time - large crowds were never going to be a concern. Not the most ideal for making money but he knew she was going to be just fine in that department with a few more days with him...

Taking the deck of cards from her once more, he laid it on the table facing the bartender and held up an index finger. "What about you? Assuming you had something to get off your chest... a burning urge to reveal it - would you feel happy or satisfied yelling it out to a pillow or a wall? You have to get those feelings out, those emotions... is the act of doing so, even if no one is there, satisfying to you?" No... no, it never was. A person needed that validation, they needed to feel heard, they needed to feel as if someone was listening to them. It was the crux of the trap, the sweetest bait imaginable wherein that those that had the worst to express could only do so once they grew progressively more and more comfortable until they allowed something far more sick to slip out. Trust was vital in that just as much as it was to allow them to be heard - to give a medium for them to ruin themselves.

The Devil already was assuming he had won the bet with how they had already been set up for the game... confidently squared shoulders that leaned back against his seat and with one leg crossed over his knee while maintaining eye contact with Bella. Easy-going smile that leisurely warped into an all too confident smirk when she heard the same thing he had of the door swinging open and footsteps marching over to the vacant seat before drawing it out and planting himself down on the seat harshly with a slam of his fist opening up to reveal the remaining money he had.

Flies to honey... the nature of a person was not so easily changed.

"What the fuck are you? What the HELL are you? I try making my way home and I just remember every fucking loss like it's playing back in my head --" The customer snapped, grabbing the edge of the table like he was going to throw it over just for the Devil to calmly plant his palm down on the rocking table. One arm worth of strength was enough to keep it glued down and he gave a 'polite' smile to the rowdy customer.

"Would you like to play, Sir?" Of course he did... how the fuck was he not supposed to when everything in his mind was screaming to end things on a good note? It was such a terrible goddamn day - "We'll do Poker. Bella will deal. However this money... apologies for me saying, Sir - this will not work for wagering." Polite as ever, hand lifting off the table to pick up the crumpled notes with his thumb and palm before offering it back to the man. "These are fake notes... in fact the one you paid with was also fake, was it not?" If there was one mistake that Bella had made, it was not checking the money... but he had a feeling that she didn't particularly know how to tell counterfeit from legitimate just from a few passing glances. When confronted, the man's lip would tremble and he would run a hand through his hair with a disheveled tug.

"...If you knew it was fake, why did you let me leave? Why even set all of this up?" Tucking a hand into his vest, the Devil would produce a piece of paper and slid it over the table... a familiar form to what Bella had seen, this time with details filled out in striking red ink.

"You have something more valuable to wager me, Sir. I will take these... in return, I will say their worth is equivalent to... hm..." Sneaking another hand into his pocket, he would produce a collection of twenty-five chips in total... gray chips. Bella might have not known what those were but the Devil would announce them outright. "One thousand each. Twenty-five thousand total to wager with. In total..." The monetary-valued chips were for him, he would produce another set of equivalent twenty-five chips, this one with more unique designs before pushing them over the table to the man as his betting instruments for the night.

"I will say your wife is worth ten thousand... you can be fifteen thousand..." Ten of the chips were a softer pink color and the others were a pastel blue - ten for her soul, fifteen for his. "If you lose all the pink chips, she is mine. If you lose all the blue ones, you are mine. In return for every gray chip you get from me, I will give you a thousand in cash. Simple, yes? Or you can walk right out the door right now without playing at all. What do you think?" The gambler did not respond, he let the noise do the talking. The raise of one blue chip, before pushing it to the center of the table to which the Devil would quickly match with two chips.

"Bella, dear... Poker is quite simple if you do not know..." The Devil softly explained to her, to which Arthur snapped harshly.

"You have some fucking novice dealing? How is this fair at all, what if she leaks a card?" To which the Devil's expression alternated faintly, red eyes settling into a harsh glare over the man for once.

"...I am talking to my employee, Sir. Keep quiet, you know you will be playing anyways." Silencing him with an uneasy air of intimidation before his expression turned back to a warm smile towards his bartender.

"Draw two cards from the deck. Give two to me. Give two to him. These are our initial cards. We will call one of three actions when it is our turn... fold - we give up our hand and forfeit our chips. Call, we match the bet - in this case, I bet two chips and he bet one, so the customer must match my bet with one more if he calls. Then there is raise. The person will raise the bet, which the next person must match or they will be forced to fold. Easy, yes? Once both of us have made our actions, you will draw four cards face down and discard a random one. You will then reveal all three of those cards. We will take our actions. Then the game will continue... once we take our round, you draw another two cards, discard a random one and put the next one face up. We take one more round until five cards are face up - if we are both still in the game at this point, the highest hand wins. Not too difficult, dear. Now... deal our two cards, please. Face down, since it is to us." The Devil gestured her to start a game... though he knew the pressure might have started mounting. It was easy to think of the stakes as just mere chips of money but the Devil had said it himself.

They were wagering with human souls. What would even happen if the customer lost...?

 

[Passion]

He would try to reassure her otherwise, but something was wrong. She still couldn't put her finger on what.

She knew when he first showed her his dark truth, she should have ran. Had she really become so desperate that she was willing to take the risk of dancing with the Devil? However, the pace had been slow and warm.... She needed to comprehend more about her humanity to understand and grasp her own desires and happiness in this life she was lost in. Not only that, but at this point, she needed the paycheck.

Still, she would nod along, allowing his words to roll through her, hoping they would soothe the gripping feeling in her core. Her intuition was rarely wrong, although her mind didn't always want to listen to it. His touch was still foreign, and knowing who the touch belonged to had her jumping some; her attention fixed. "I'm sorry, but all this is new and strange to me." She didn't want to complain on the first day, and although nothing happened, she was picking up on the unsaid and unseen dark tension that hung in the still and quiet bar.

She walked toward the seat he gestured to, not just because he beckoned her, but because she was drawn into the conversation. "Do you think that everyone feels that way? Some people seem to really have their shit together." Yes, everyone wore masks, but was everyone dying to express something they were unable to? She then quietly wondered about the Devil himself. What was it that he desired that he would scream for it? Wouldn't the Devil himself have everything he wanted or needed? If not, surely he would have easy access to it? Maybe he simply liked being a game master, humans and their souls his pawns.

When he turned the question to her, she gave him a long look. She didn't quite know how to verbalize the truth or how much she should reveal. Bella's gaze dropped to the table. "Alone is too risky, to fully share is too messy." Most people were incapable of holding the rawness of others, especially someone who ached like Bella, and alone, she could drown. Not only that, she didn't have the vocabulary to paint the picture. Was she to scream until her throat burned? Would she feel relief and alive then?

Patient and quiet, she locked eyes with her boss when she heard the door. Was it someone new or...

Her eyes widened when she realized it was not only the man from earlier, but he had come back in a distraught state. Bella's heart started to race, and her blood ran cold. What had happened? Why would being here cause him such torment, enough that he knew the Devil had to be the cause?
​

Her boss had played dirty, hadn't he?
However, it was a force of nature like him that wrote the rules.​

With the rules explained, Bella had suddenly found herself in a very disturbing situation. It honestly sounded unreal that these chips could represent lives. However, any doubt she had was replaced with the recent memory of the Devil showing her a hint of his true form, proving he was a dark force beyond her understanding. She had kept an open mind about the Devil, not trusting what she heard through media and even religion, choosing to see and experience truth for herself, but it sure seemed true that the Devil worked with the currency of souls.

A deal was a deal, and although he more or less pushed her into it, she had been hoping that her compassionate voice would have rung louder than the influence of sin, but she had been nothing more than a whisper. It sounded like somehow the Devil had made this man's mind fester, or maybe it was the location itself. She had hoped she wouldn't be a victim next, but Bella was a difficult case based on her blank contract.

Her stomach was in a knot because she was an accomplice in this fucked-up game. She had hoped that luck would be on Arthur's side for the sake of him and his family, but if he was willing to even gamble away his wife, with his only concern being a novice dealing the cards, this man was either evil himself or extremely sick.

She didn't want to say it since she had already been called out, but Bella didn't really know how to play poker. Maybe a bit… a few things she had picked up from it being a topic, so she was left needing his guidance, which made her feel all the more helpless with souls on the table.

It was a bit hard to comprehend, since Bella could feel her nerves getting to her, and a part of her didn't want to be involved in this. She didn't feel great about the deal she was coaxed into, to begin with. She did not even speak, but she would deal out the fated cards as directed. Giving them both two cards each, when she looked down at them in thought. She wondered if she could somehow sabotage this cursed game, but how upset would the Devil be? Surely, he would be furious, and that was much more frightening than the fate of a stranger. She would carefully lift the edge of the card to reveal what they randomly drew.​

 

[Devils Temptation]

Ten of clubs.

Six of clubs.

A game that had far more stakes on it than most sane men were willing to so much as touch with a ten foot pole... and yet without breaking a single breath, Arthur would push. "Raise." Three more chips into the pot, two pink, one blue. Without any hesitation as well... he seemed to have no remorse gambling on the life of his own wife. The Devil would pick up on that, eyeing the pink chips in particular with a neutral expression on his face before he would briefly grab his face down cards to tug the edges up so he could see what he was dealt. Arthur had done the same at the start of his raise. "Arthur, do you think this is a game?" A question with a double meaning. Of course it was a game but that was obviously not what the Devil was asking. Did the man think he was fucking joking? A small frown would stretch across his face when he stared at the pink chips in the center pool, almost as if he were wishing the man had a bigger pair and would wager his own life instead. "Shut up and play." The gruff response came to which the Devil met him.

"Call." Bringing two more of his gray chips into the mix to wager the same amount that Arthur had... and with it the first round had ended. "What do you think of your wife? Not particularly fond? Well - I surely think that she is not fond of you. Men that cannot provide while dragging their family down... they really are worthless, aren't they?" Jagged words spoken with a syrupy smile... Arthur's response came between grit teeth and a single glare in the direction of the Devil but not much else. What could he say? Absolutely nothing. This entire game was unethical and though he knew something fucked up was going on under the veil - he hardly thought that it would be actual lives at stake.

The two men would turn to Bella, waiting for her to draw another card and place it face up at the center...

​

No reaction from either men... was it promising, was it bad? Arthur was a gambler, he knew how to hold his expression. There was already four thousand in the pot. If he could just get that... if he could just get that he wouldn't need to go back to gambling for a while, it could pay off his debts. He could just move on from this damn place... "How about this? You fold right now, I walk out the door." Arthur asked to the Devil, to which the man would cup at his own chin with a hum. "Oh? And you will stay off the table for good? Hm... I do like an underdog story!" The Devil mused, draping an arm over the back of his chair and flashing a sharp grin, the glint of his red eye all too vibrant from the crooked way he hung his head to the side. "But we both know you won't do that, isn't that right Arthur? Raise." The Devil would push ten chips to the center for an absolutely massive bet of ten grand added to the pool. To match it, Arthur would have to sacrifice at least the entirety of one person... or half of each.

"Why don't you fold instead? With this much... four chips I can shave off hm... five years of life for each of you. Ten for you and ten for your poor wife. How about it?" Returning the insulting offer back towards the gambler, there was a brief moment of silence where the man considered what the next option should have been. Ten years...? That was completely ridiculous, how was anyone going to shave any years off his life unless they killed him on the spot? The Devil might've done exactly that but he had a switchblade in his coat, he could fight off a guy that size easily. Plus, the cards that were part of the pool at the center...

...they were really good cards.

He should have just walked away.

...There was nothing good to be had in something like this.

There was still a chance to turn away, to move on, to turn a new leaf - he could apologize and start anew...

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN AWAY FROM AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS.

The way it made his heart beat, the faint touch of sweat, the adrenaline lurching through his veins... his breath grew heavier and even if his mind told him everything, EVERYTHING was a terrible idea - his trembling lips spoke for him. "Call." The value on those chips vanished entirely. He did not even look at the colors. He did not even care at that point, he did not realize that he pushed every single one of the pink chips to the center... effectively forfeiting his wife's life if the Devil won that hand of poker.

"Ah... oh dear. Most people with the greed you have, they take time to calculate and consider. As drenched as they are in overwhelming greed they are also ambitious and tactile. You, however, are a moron. What a shame... what a shame." He was terrible at poker too! What a boring game this was! "Bella. Flip another card for us, will you?" The next round would be the last one... and he wouldn't let the man get out of this one freely because the moment it was the Devil's turn, he immediately said -

"All in." There was no backing out, the only way to match a bet like that was... he had to... he could still walk away. Not all of the blue chips were in the pool. The Devil would've moved the remainder of his gray chips to the center, all twenty five of them, before grabbing his two face down cards and holding them close to his chest. If he folded, he could leave, the man was just bluffing anyways... wasn't he? Right. Just a bluff. Another glance at his cards. He won this round. He won it.

...But what if he didn't?

"All..." His throat felt dry. His fingertips trembled. It was almost on the verge of turning away until he turned and looked at that crooked smile the Devil gave him and his ego suddenly flared up, all over again. Right. That fucking guy was just bluffing. "All... All in!!" Before throwing his cards into the pile. There would be time for one more card to be drawn and turned up, leaving a total of five at the center.

"I have a house of ten --!" There wasn't a higher possible house with those configuration of cards there was nothing else that could've beaten him except -

"Straight flush, clubs." The Devil turned over his two cards. An eight of clubs and a nine of clubs. Pure disbelief would've plastered over Arthur's face and the Devil would rise, having won the most boring single hand of Poker in his life. Without another word, he would start to straighten the table, helping Bella clean up while humming to himself before Arthur suddenly drew that switch blade, pointing it at the two. "...D-Don't fucking touch me!" As he slowly backed away from the two of them. In a moment of confusion, the Devil would tilt his head and put his larger body in front of Bella, one arm protectively tucking around her waist to make sure she was not harmed. "Touch you...? I can't say I'm into men, Sir. What do you mean by that?" What...? Hadn't he lost the match? He should've... no, he wasn't going to waste time thinking of this fucking nonsense! Turning around, he ran for the door, kicking it open and escaping out of the bar without another word - leaving only the two of them in his wake. "Imagine returning just to lose the life of yourself and your spouse. How silly. Don't you think? Hahaha!" Chuckling to himself, the Devil would shake his head. He hadn't died...? He walked out the door?

At least that was what it might've looked like to Bella...

"Say, dear... who do you think is ultimately more evil? Do you think it is me for presenting the man with the option to lose everything or do you think it is him for taking the choice?" Picking up one of the gray chips, he would offer it to her. "Here, a tip. A dealer always gets tipped handsomely. One grand for a gray chip. Don't worry, I won't ask for a tenth of your life in return." Teasing with a wink, the Devil would go ahead to clean up the remainder of what was left - all while leaving everything so up in the air for what exactly had happened.

 

[Passion]

When the pink chips were pushed forward, Bella would breathe her last warning. "Arthur…," she said his name with an ache of disappointment, one she hoped would resonate, but instead, he was fueled by temptation for more.

She wasn't sure who she was more disappointed in: this man for betting his wife's life, or for the Devil involving an innocent soul in all this. Either way, she was caught in the middle of a game that made her whole body tight and her palms sweat. Never had she witnessed the tension of high-stakes gambling, and now she was seeing a game with more on the line than money.

A boring game for the devil, a terrifying one for her.

She would deal cards as directed, delivering them their fated cards. Each time she wished she could refuse to pause the game, to have them reflect, but the energy in the room was thick enough to stick a knife in. So, she would continue.

Her heart would drop when Arthur was inspired to put all the pink chips in. No, she didn't know the story of this couple; there was a chance the wife was a woman trying to raise a family with a husband who had a problem. Or she could be a bitter woman who fed his addictions and had her own. She had no idea, but her morality was screaming at her. She had to bury it for now to protect her own life, but this experience was more impactful than it looked to Bella, who quietly sat there and followed directions.

Just when she didn't think things could get tense enough, they both went all in, and with a final reveal of the cards, the Devil had won. Bella felt a bit dizzy, her breath caught in her chest as she wondered if she would witness this man suddenly drop dead. She watched closely, unblinking, but instead a weapon was drawn. Bella gasped and scrambled to her feet. In her panic, she knocked back her chair, which hit the ground with a loud bang.

Just as she took a step back, her boss stepped between her and the deranged man. "Thank you...," She softly whispered. His hold on his waist eased her some, but she wouldn't relax until that blade vanished. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, and it would seem that way based on how Arthur ran out the door. Wait… did nothing happen? Was this just to scare him into breaking his habit? A bit of tough love?

Her gut told her that wasn't how the Devil worked.

A chip was given to her, and she would have to figure out how to exchange it, but it was the least of her worries at that moment in time. The boss would go back to cleaning up like nothing happened, and Bella was still stunned. "It doesn't matter who is more evil; you both were." She then froze. Maybe she shouldn't be so blunt, but she was too shaken up to think straight. "You shouldn't have put someone's innocent life on the line. I… I don't know what you will do and how you will do it, but you should spare the woman. She had no part or consent in this. As for Arthur, I think he is sick, but… he wasn't drunk and he showed his true colors." She wouldn't wish death, but she could live with that more.

Picking up the chair she knocked over, she recalled the look in his eyes when he became engulfed in his addiction. That high. "He looked so alive, I was almost envious, but I wouldn't want to be so blind I'd risk my lover's life." Would she? Her mind buzzed for a second. She was missing out on something...

Once the chair was upright, she took a deep breath and walked over to her boss. It was hard to do, but she offered the gray chip back. "I know it isn't worth the same, but can I pay you this for you not to harm his wife?" This woman was too morally pure of heart to be around the Devil.

 

[Devils Temptation]

It doesn't matter who is more evil; you both were.​

Another hum in response, neither annoyed nor offended that she would label him in the same tier as that degenerate gambler. There was a reason that the phrase sweet as sin was prominent, could only really blame honey for being so delectable or did the blame fall upon the fly that had no more than its base instincts to be drawn to that saccharine temptation? "I did not put someone innocent on the line. He did. Though I find it rather amusing you find that his wife would do better with him, a man who has nothing but pure greed, than she would with me. Why is it so bad to fall into the hands of the Devil? After all you..." Palms glided over her waist suddenly when she bent to pick up that chair. The warm roam along slender waist before outlining the curve of her hips. In every way, how he perched his grip along her felt like his hands were made to rest on her hips like that... or that she was made to be held by him. It was hard to tell which one it was.

"...fell into mine not too long ago and seem to be doing quite fine. More than that, I would say." The job was scary by definition, it put her in potential harm's way... with the worst of what society had to offer. What about working this job would make her thrive? Releasing her hips he would give her the opportunity to pick that chair up and instead made his way back to the bar to tidy up some of the water left behind from the condensation off the beer can. The only reminder that someone had even been in the bar after both Bella and he had cleaned up every last remainder of what 'Arthur' was. That chip was offered to him and he would scoff openly.

A hand went to his chest, half-offended. "Bella! What use does a demon have of money? I do not eat or drink... I do not need a place to sleep or rest. I am as much a concept as money itself may be. This, my dear Bella, is an insult!" Plucking the gray chip out of her hands, it was hard to really feel intimidated with how upbeat and warm his tone was. Pleasantly flowing words like trickles of warm honey. All smiles after that initial scowl but even that looked like he was faking it. "Hm... I will entertain the idea for now... so let me put you through a thought experiment. Come here, sweetheart." Gesturing her forward once more, he would run an arm over her thigh and sat backwards atop the barstool. Effortlessly a knee pressed down along the underside of her thighs and pulled her right back atop his lap until her legs were comfortably draped along the sides of them.

The Devil held the gray chip between the two of them.

"Let me say for example I give that fool his wife back... the terminology here is quite important. I did not say his wife would die only that she would not be his anymore. So what does being his imply?" Opening the pocket along his dress shirt that he had stashed away those pink chips... he would set them onto the bar counter besides them, spinning on the stool slightly so she could peer onto the faint reflective sheen of the gambling chips. One arm remained around her waist to keep her comfortably perched against him. Flashes of what looked like a scene... days trapped in what looked to be a moment. One of the chips would reveal an especially angry sight of an Arthur down on his luck returning home one day. One thing would turn to another with escalating words, what looked to be a fight between him and the faint silhouette of a woman and then... then, everything got painfully violent.

One hand ducked over Bella's eyes just as it was about to get especially gruesome. Had he... killed her? Over a bad day and a bad hand of poker, over some stupid fucking gamble?

Somewhat more solemn, the smile would slip off the Devil's face. "Wrath is perhaps the ugliest of the sins humanity is capable of. Violent men are quite the bane upon society... I would not mind transferring her life back to Arthur but if I do, this is what will happen to her. Rather than that..." Grinning once more, he flipped the gray coin off his thumb and caught it mid-air. "...don't you think she would be better off being lead astray by the Devil? Perhaps dying without falling to temptation is the better outcome but don't pretend as if you are some sort of savior or agent of good, Bella..." Low. The once smooth tone would turn pleasantly harsh in a rumble against her right ear, positions suddenly reversing to shove her over the counter - legs draped off before a hand shoved down on the wood besides her head and he drew close once more. The warmth of his body felt oddly right... his smell, the way he smiled at her, especially the way his red eyes glinted beautifully when reflecting her own.

"...good girls are oftentimes the sorts that get up to the most bad. So - I will..." A hand caressed up her waistline, fingertips stroking over her arm and down to her hand before pushing the chip back into her open palm. "...give this back to you and let you make your offer again. I think you have enough context. Go ahead and make your choice, Bella. Because you are such a good girl you can't help but let an innocent woman fall into my hands like... this." Another leisurely caress, hand sinking into her own to taunt how small her palm was in comparison to his own, to taunt how effortlessly he could pin her down.