For Dee
“Chtahzus’aak!”
At the sound of his name, he stopped partway to the elevator on the first floor to wait for the young electricity demon to catch up. There was a bright smile on her face as she stuck a hand out for him to shake. “Congratulations.”
He didn’t ask why, and his brow furrowed for a fraction of a second as he shook her hand. After he nodded in acknowledgment, he watched her bound away toward the front desk. Perplexed, Zeus continued to the elevator, stepped inside, and pressed the button for the second floor. It had to have been about the reclaiming of the West. The demon must’ve been a bit belated to congratulate him - not that such an act needed congratulating - or she wanted to wait for a free moment to say it in person when they ran into one another. He was rather busy these days, so it was plausible.
Besides, she was a quirky one.
It was still early in the morning so the other offices on the second floor were empty. Typically, Zeus started working early after a sunrise walk through the quiet streets. The demons working front-of-house wouldn't be in for at least another hour.
When the elevator doors slid open, the first unusual thing Zeus noticed was his office doors - they were open. While they were never really locked (the elevator was enough of a security measure) they shouldn’t have been open. Someone must have slipped a report on his desk sometime late last night after he’d gone to his quarters. That wasn’t anything unusual - after all there was a lot of work left to be done.
He set a deliberately brisk pace down the hall, eager to see what was left on his desk to review. There were several outreach-based investigative assignments he’d given, certain demon clans to track down and establish relationships with. Unification wasn’t an overnight task, but they’d made quicker progress than he’d initially projected they would. The promise of a reliable stream of soul rations for those who were having difficulty with acquiring an energy source themselves, coupled with straight-forward guidelines for humane extractions in target demographics, were enough to curry favor. Many were eager for direction, to place their headaches in his lap. Other groups had different desires, each as unique to the individual demon heading them.
Then there were the other supernaturals in the district, and their needs. Finding willing parties to participate in the bi-weekly community meetings was slow-going. Tensions were still high, but it was a work in progress.
Chtahzus’aak closed the door behind him and went to sit at his desk and begin sorting through whatever had been left for him. Instead of a stack of papers perched on his desk, there was a sizable concrete geometric bowl filled with a variety of succulents artistically arranged. A little notecard fixed to a stick stuck out of the rocky soil. Frowning, he hesitated before plucking it out and opening it.
The teal-gradient front of the card read “CONGRATS!” in gold script. So it was from the demon at the front desk then. This was seriously overkill, words were plenty enough. He sighed and shook his head, opening the card to see what she had written.
Congrats on the newest addition to your family!
- The Security Team
He read the card several times, even going to far as to close and open it again. The newest addition to your family? He didn't have a-
Sabrina.
But how did the Security Team find out? Or the demon at the front desk? Who else knew? It'd barely been a couple days since the discovery was made and Zeus scarcely processed the information himself. He hadn't breathed a word of it to anyone, nor did he intend to. It was far too early to go and consider the witch his family, nevermind whether or not she was interested in associating with him outside of district leader business. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of the connection either.
Family. Such a human concept.
After centering the planter on his desk, he went directly out of his office to the elevator, taking it to the third floor. He emerged with a serious expression and stopped the first demon he could find, who was thankfully loitering just outside the surveillance office.
"You know about this?" Zeus asked, holding up the teal card. The other demon nodded, smile fading from their face. "Who told you?" His tone was patient. He had wanted to ask whose idea it was, but that sounded more confrontational and it wasn't exactly the information he was looking for.
"Uh, Anros told me but loads of people were talking about it here."
Zeus sighed quietly through his nose and gave the other demon an assessing look.
"Oh--uh, I heard Brael talking to a bunch of people about it so maybe he knows?"
"Right," he rubbed his temple and stuffed the card into his pocket. Zeus turned back toward the elevator, then spun around for the last time. "Is this widely known here, now?"
The demon nodded, then added quickly: "It won't leave the building." No, he trusted his own enough to know that. Chtahzus'aak nodded appreciatively and continued to the elevator to track down Brael.
