An Unexpected Guest

Ganzac closed the door behind him as he took his cigar from his mouth and snuffed it out with his fingers. He sat on the couch, before John walked into the living room and sat on the opposite side. Ganzac, however, barely even glanced at him as he did so even despite John's rather drastic wardrobe change.

Ganzac slammed his suitcase on the table and popped it open. Inside was a small pigeon that wore a black tophat and a cape attached to a golden chain around its neck. Its feathers were mostly grey, with wings of white feathers that also contained two lines where they were black instead. But the clothing and feather patterns aside, John could feel that this was no ordinary pigeon.

"I caught our little friend here snooping around outside just now," Ganzac said with a grunt as Blair sat down as well, in between him and John.

"Yeah, it's just Woody, he comes around sometimes for snacks. But I have to ask, if you found him just now, does that mean you saw him, knocked him out, and then put him in your suitcase just so you could take him back out one minute later when you came inside?"

"So, you do know him, figures. Good thing I didn't just kill him then," he replied as he ignored her question. “Although… we both know that no demon just comes around, so you two must have some sort of deal and schedule, one you didn’t tell me about,” Ganzac said coldly; this was the second time she had gone behind his back that he was now aware of.

“I was going to tell you later today since he was actually supposed to come by tomorrow based on the message he sent me a few days ago. And yes, I do have a deal with him, although it’s a simple one. He comes by to get snacks from me, and in exchange, he tells me about the latest high-class gossip in Hell. The kind that doesn’t reach the public sources for at least a few months. Oh! By the way, what did the Apothecary end up saying?” she asked him. Ganzac folded his arms as he stared down the still **** bird.

“Nothing. It’ll apparently be at least a few days until the results come in,” he answered with a slight huff. It was also in that moment he actually took notice of John. He looked him up and down. “The way that armor looks, it doesn't fit you at all. Although… maybe you could barely survive me hitting you with my pinky while I’m asleep now that you have it!” he said with a snort of laughter as he stood up and walked to the kitchen.

John sighed internally as he stole a glance towards Blair, who was currently poking the bird to wake it up. Based on the way she casually sat next to him now and how she had spoken, it seemed that whatever had bothered her before was now over with. Although John couldn’t honestly say that a part of him didn’t want to find out the reasons behind it in the first place to see what he could do. He also couldn’t help but feel relieved that it wasn’t something he would have to deal with. Especially because he had his own list of problems.

Speaking of which… did he plan to go back home tonight? If he didn’t, then he would need to at least text his mom to let her know. And if he wasn’t going to sleep at home, then maybe Blair wouldn’t mind if he asked her if he could crash here for the night? Although, John was sure it would be fun to see what Ganzac would say or do.

He looked at his phone’s clock. There still were about five hours left until midnight, when he had his appointment to meet with Wentworth at Ashcroft’s front gates. What would actually happen when he got there, he didn’t know. She hadn’t exactly given him many details to work with on that front. He thought about it for a few more moments, and then typed and sent a text to his mom that explained that he wouldn’t be home tonight and that he would be sleeping over at a friend’s house instead.

 Although John didn't really have any friends to speak of at Ashcroft, he just had to hope that his mom would buy it. After he sent it, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, something that made him immediately feel guilty for being relieved about.

Mom told me at breakfast that what she needed right now was some space, right? So isn’t giving it to her like she asked the right thing to do? John asked himself. It was at that time, however, that his train of thought would be interrupted as his attention was drawn elsewhere. Namely, to the pigeon that had now been stirred and slowly woken up by Blair’s incessant pokes.  It opened its red eyes and gagged before it brought itself under control again.

“Ahem, can’t say I was expecting to get sucker punched today. Usually save that for Fridays, or my birthday, or Halloween, or Christmas… nevermind. Anyways, how do you do, Blair? It’s been a little while since the last time we spoke.”

“I’ve been fine. I imagine that the reason for that is because things have been interesting in Hell lately?” she asked him.

“Oh yes. Verrrry interesting, to say the least. But before we get to that, do you have my treats?”

With a nod, Blair stood up and went to the kitchen, temporarily leaving John alone in the living room with the pigeon. They didn’t say anything to each other, mostly due to the fact that the pigeon didn’t even look at him as it intently gazed at Blair and impatiently waited for its food. When Blair came back, what she held was a bit more mundane than what John had  expected: a bag of animal crackers. As soon as she poured them into a bowl, the pigeon quite literally dived into them and began to feast. Between mouthfuls, it began to hold up its end of the bargain and explain the latest happenings.

“So. First things first, these things are just sooooooo goooood. Second, and here’s the bit more boring news, the Flaming Maggots and the Bloody Skulls are set to trade Mulazothu and Borbros between each other. Something that's going to flip the entire game of Hellball on its axis if you want my opinion. But alright, I know you don’t really care about that, so here’s the juicier stuff…” it started.

And as it began to explain, John glanced back to see that, although Ganzac seemed to have little interest in what the pigeon had to say, in reality, an expression that showed that the pigeon had his full and undivided attention was on his face, alongside what could only have been described as a wistful look. Although that immediately hardened up as soon as he took notice of John looking at him.