Small evils(Bekki)
Date: 2025-12-28 14:23
(Small evils(Bekki):Bekki)
[Sun Dec 28 2025]
In A shadey promenade in the twisting tunnels of the Undertrade
Hell hath no fury, or so they claim.
They were wrong: Burned, blackened and smooth as though having been blasted with great heat in quantities to have turned the halls to obsidian, the tunnel complex stretches out in a system of halls that appear to thrive in all directions, with active businesses and shadey traders spread out in side caves and grottos.
Wrapped, cloaked and otherwise obscured figures prowl through these halls, their attention their own, and being certain to not make eye contact with any others to whom they may cross paths.
It is about 60F(15C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Hawthorn and Franklin/span/span>Avalon stares at Teagan for a good couple seconds before telling “And they told you what to do with this after the whole process was done? Because Thomas said something needed to be done one month later and now he’s useless enough to be unable to escape the Other…” That gets a huff or two out of the man, and with a tilt of his head, and a pointed finger at Bekki, he says “I don’t work for her… She should be thankful the Court counts with me as an operative, otherwise the local branch would be eating shit control-wise”
Stepping through the mirrorgate sees Avalon, Bekki and Teagan back within the Undertrade as they were when originally visiting the Pierce interests within District 82.
The object in hand, the heart of Project Bethany, the apparent alchemical item required for Penny and Anthony to complete their latest experiments, now sealed in a clear plastic containment box after its time in the -care- of Doctor Vincent Morrow of the Hollow Conclave.
As previously, the adapted shadowdemon guards are standing attentive where they aught, with cloaked and hooded figures making their ways through the concourse under their own power, at their own time, and keeping their business to themselves.
The chained hellhounds remain, though aside from the sights from previously, there are now a group of Bone Harvesters awaiting their chance to use the mirror– Some greater, some lesser, their forms warped and distorted, as is to be expected, by the bonecraft they employ to adapt themselves, daggers ready to stalk the mists.
“You do kinda work for her.” Bekki points out to Avalon. “She’s kinda your Elsa until she gets toppled.” A thoughtful pause, the box slipped beneath an arm, and the blond suggests, “You, like thought of saying thanks to Teagan offering to help you? a arcanist offering to help is totes what you wanted anyway, right? Thats her and me who said we’d help you get stronger again and stuff.”
“Oh, that-” Teagan apparently hadn’t even thought of the Avalon working for her angle. Which says either she thinks that little of him or her role. Coinflip as to which it is, perhaps. To the man himself, she shakes her head absently. “Of course I do. We all know that if you got stuck with it, you’d take it out on someone in a rage and Hale is pragmatic enough to know that in his line of work, things can happen. Whether it be something like the Wild Hunt or getting locked in a tomb for a month on an expedition.” She sniffs, glancing toward that bun merchant in consideration… but no, she’s not hungry yet today.
And it’s second to that she sees the Bone Harvesters, grimacing at the looks of some of them (you can be disgusted by something even if not shocked by it: a bad dye job, for example).
“She was already toppled, and had the poor idea to ask for it to be returned in poor form” Avalon huffs aside to Bekki, before pointing out to her “I don’t want some random arcanist favor, though I will take her debt… I said I have to look for another arcanist because Matias took the one I previously owned… It’s not the same”
And with that and a couple groans, he starts setting in motion, trying to set route towards the place they had already visited in the past, telling Bekki once more “Now, stop talking about what I want or I don’t, and focus on this” and towards Teagan, he remarks “If you know what to do with the thing, I’ll take the help, but we will discuss that later”
Said bun merchant, at the moment some way down the tunnel appears to have a special on the menu today: hellfire moth kebabs– In truth, little more than a series of chargrilled insects on skewers, with a few live examples, not yet grown to mist hunting maturity hovering around. (Perhaps prep work for later)
Along with this familiar figure, the artifact merchants line the tunnel walls, though outside of the odd group of cloaked figures, this portion of the Undertrade appears perfectly ordinary, which cant be said for the restaurant/bar near to where Avalon, Teagan, Bekki and Matias met with the Pierces previously. A familiar figure stands outside of that establishment, the single 63rd agent that was not slaughtered outright, his cut throat having been healed.
He has not spotted the group yet, however.
Grilled insects are not Teagan’s idea of a good lunch, so she’s perfectly fine to follow Avalon toward their destination. A shame, for the lack of buns. “I didn’t ask for it to be returned,” the redhead reminds absently. She does spot their, uh, old friend and grimaces once again. She takes a slight side step to Avalon’s opposite side because, well. Even in hell her red hair likely stands out.
Avalon glances towards Teagan as she shifts her position, perking his eyebrow and staring in the opposite direction. His mouth opens to ask something, but then he spots the soldier, and he nods slowly “Well, he’s not alone if he’s here… So whenever I’m going to change, get the valuable away from me- These tunnels are big enough to fit me, but don’t want the transformation to smash it, do we?” It seems smelling was as fast in a place like here to alarm him beforehand of the presence, specially considering the amount of food and different people. And as he stretches his neck to the sides, he asks Bekki “Unless you can rush to your family with the thing?”
Ironically, Bekki likely doesn’t stand out quite as much this time, now being absent the fake tan, though she did wear pink, and she is walking with a suspicious box- And has not yet spotted the potential problem ahead.
Thankfully, with Avalon’s bulk and Teagan having moved, Bekki is capable of following good examples. Likewise, the majority of the Undertrade’s -shoppers- have not taken an interest. It appears that they are, to a demon-related being, intent on personal business and not being embroiled in the business of others– At least so long as the Undertrade’s law enforcement are attentive, which of course they are, regimented as they are, with the odd patrol stomping through the cave systems beneath the district.
“I can run there. I’m kinda quick.” Bekki supposes, “But why? You maybe don’t wanna do nothing to get attention. The guards don’t like it when fights break out if there ain’t rules.”
“We should let them start it,” Teagan murmurs absently, keeping half an eye in the direction of Mister Cut Throat. Not cutthroat. Cut Throat. Two totally different things. He was on the receiving end, after all. “Gives Bekki an edge in the distraction to running,” she adds, clutching at the key in her pocket. There is a frown upward. No storms here, alas! “But maybe he’s just, you know. Waiting for a date and we can just keep on going.”
“Because the sixty third is here… And if they are here, it’s not just one or two, and they are to get what we took from them” Avalon replies to Bekki, pointing out as he keeps walking “Fight will happen, whether we want it or not, it’s one of the Legions…” A sigh follows as he glances at Teagan and he rolls his eyes, telling “Of course we’ll let them start, I’m just saying… When they do, get the thing away from me, and try and rush to the demidemon that is apparently her uncle”
The chances that Mr. Cut_Throat, not to be confused with Mr. Cutthroat, who is a well respected businessman who would never do anything even vaguely suspicious ever, is waiting for a date becomes less likely the closer Avalon, Teagan and Bekki get. He spots them soon after they spot him, and his posture changes to be less casual and more evocative of someone spoiling to create conflict as he prowls his way towards them.
As Avalon suggested, there is going to be a fight either way, though no other Legion members step out to flank, at least not for now, curious though that may be.
“I swear to god, if the guards release the hounds because of this, I am taking them down like the ones in the mist” Avalon mutters as he watches Mister Cut Throat approaching, letting out a sigh and glancing to the sides as if to spot anyone else, before telling “Well, Bekki should be able to make it further ahead, but you…” And a glance is spared towards Teagan for a good couple seconds before he tells “I doubt you can do much in a fight without someone stopping people from getting to you… Stay by my side if you want to have your time to cast whatever it is you do”
It takes a couple of seconds, moving as Bekki is, but she notices the Legion member.
Thankfully, Bekki is not a complete idiot, and thus she recognizes the threat, the objective (someone must have reminded her shortly before the group set off) and she slips behind Avalon’s bulk, ready to move if that becomes needed, though waiting for him, as the power player, to make the call.
Cut_Throat advances now, clearly aiming to intercept Bekki, Avalon and Teagan, though curiously looks much the worst for wear. There are, now he is closer, mud stains on his fatigues, leaves in his hair, and there are scrapes on his exposed skin. Those red irises from before are no longer crimson, suggesting that he likely just escaped the Wild Hunt himself.
“Release the hounds, he said,” Teagan says to herself with a quiet laugh under her breath. A nervous one, perhaps, because tunnels are bad places to fight. They are in Hell, even if it’s a sort of… independent, do whatever you want kind of hell. But she does pick up on those changes in the man and steps forward, just a bit. Not a lot. Not entirely friendly. More to be right in Avalon’s way just in case the man decides to, you know. Get big and angry. “We should take this outside if there’s… a problem?” Outside. Where she can lightning.
“I don’t think this man will wait for you to get your ideal fighting conditions, Lawson” Avalon mutters as he reaches for his jacket, already taking it off and out of the way, likely getting ready for the change “Well, another Lieutenant to get out of the way, just like in the Other” He says with a little smile, asking Bekki on the side “Do you see any others around?”
Outside seems like an ideal, but not one that is available.
The Undertrade is a tunnel system, and likely has exits, but none present themselves.
Cut-Throat gets closer, and glancing around, he does appear very much to be alone, which could indicate that this is personal, unsanctioned, ore bloody minded stubbornness.
For now, the guards are not responding– Why would they? None of the unspoken rules have been broken. Fortunately, the side tunnel and the Pierce clinic is visible from here.
For her part, when asked, Bekki glances around. She’s not imperceptive, and thus indicated reports back with a solid negative, the boxed heart held close, out of view of the approaching man, who is now speed walking directly for Teagan, having spotted the red hair. He does not seem to recognize Avalon Of course not. He hasn’t seen Avalon outside of his shift. It was Matias, Teagan, and Bekki who came close in the Reclamation fields, which may be something the group could play on.
It is exactly what Teagan is playing on. It was her and someone, really. Even moreso than Bekki. And so the redhead steps forward a few strides, taking a gamble here. And giving their not-currently-tanned demonborn some further leeway to make a run for it if need be. “Hey, look,” she calls out toward the guy, taking hands out and spreading them wide. She leaves the key behind in her pocket, but near enough if she needs it. The staff at her back, too. They’re close. “The guy who gave you that, uh, jewelry- he’s not with us, you see? Deal went totally bad.”
It is exactly what Teagan is playing on. It was her and Matias, really. Even moreso than Bekki. And so the redhead steps forward a few strides, taking a gamble here. And giving their not-currently-tanned demonborn some further leeway to make a run for it if need be. “Hey, look,” she calls out toward the guy, taking hands out and spreading them wide. She leaves the key behind in her pocket, but near enough if she needs it. The staff at her back, too. They’re close. “The guy who gave you that, uh, jewelry- he’s not with us, you see? Deal went totally bad.”
Avalon seems about ready to peel off his shirt when Teagan steps forward, perking his eyebrow in turn and about to say something- Stopping himself only as she tries to try and trick the Lieutenant, his eyes moving towards Bekki almost as if questioning, before returning to the redhead and the legionnaire- Seemingly on pause in his stripping down
Making herself a target, Cut_Throat zeroes in on Teagan, coming to a full stop an arms length away, arms crossed.
Incandescent with rage with that demonic cast to it- which is to say, always- Cut_Throat narrows his eyes, for now not noticing Avalon or Bekki One of whom he does not know, and the other he is uncertain of.
For now, he cant see the box, though he notices that something is inordinary when Bekki moves to more fully put herself behind Avalon, though seeing no cowering, and Avalon getting ready to strip down, he puts two and two together.
“Where is it.” Cut_Throat demands of Teagan. “Hand it over or I’ll…”
What he’ll do is likely nothing Teagan would desire, though from what Teagan, Bekki and Avalon can see, the only weapons he has include an empty pistol holster, his hands and a back-sheathed sword.
60We’ll take a 5 minute break for Avalon to come back. Send me a thought when you’re both back and we’ll finish up.`X
Lowering her hands, Teagan/b>And that’s the cue for Avalon to step in. But of course he doesn’t do it in the usual way one might expect, but in finishing stripping down, shirt off. Pants halfway down before his skin starts wiggling and wobbling unnaturally, almost like halfway between solid and liquid. His meat tears apart as it starts growing, splashing the area around him with blood, and as the body fixes itself it slowly gets covered by a mane of fluffy hair.
Nails get replaced by claws, and teeth by fangs, the shape of his face changes, and in a question of seconds, instead of a man, the bear has risen, the size of a bus, probably cramping the tunnels and damaging one stand or another, but its focus fully on the lieutenant, lowering its head towards it and baring its fangs in warning
A fight is brewing- The shop keeps blatently ignore it. They have their own business to attend, and those that get shoved aside are few and far between, being two, in this case.
A shady trader of somekind, who drops his coat full of completely unsuspicious medical supplies, takes one look at Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) then legs it, and a man who seems to be trading in captive juvinile animals, who sees his baby T-rex crushed, his plant cat turned to pulp, and drags away his other wears before they can get beared in the same way.
A group of figures who were happily muttering together in lowered tones, hooded heads together decide that what ever mysterious topic it is can wait, turning respectively on their heels and heading in opposite directions, and a group of shoppers- continue bargaining with a trader, ignoring Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi), Bekki and Teagan.
A patrol have noticed however, and along with their hell hounds begin making their way towards the disturbance, though for now they remain as observers only.
Cut_Throat stares blankly at Teagan for a long moment. Then he snorts an unamused laugh, lips thinning. “That’s not how this worked. We were given the same schedule as you were. So where is it?”
Bekki doesn’t appear to be able to run from the situation. One of the guards is blocking the exit she may have taken, standing, statue still in the center of the path.
There is a good chance that Cut_Throat may have even delivered a villainous monologue, expressing all that he knew of the situation (as he sees it) or having shared more, at least to distract, though unfortunately, when confronted with a giant bear the size of a bus, he reacts just as anyone else would in this situation– Anyone with half a brain and their self preservation in tact. He takes a step back, eyes scanning for escape routs, weighs the situation up, decides he has the upper hand and points an open palm at someone
Nothing happens. Cut_Throat looks confused for a moment, failing to produce hellfire and begins to turn to leave, horror dawning.
Welp. Where’s the handbasket?
Then again, they’re already in hell. Who needs the handbasket at this point?
With a squeak, Teagan dives out of the way of the Suddenly!Bear and moves toward a market stand that has helpfully not been destroyed yet. She has to assume Bekki will have made a run for it in the initial fray. The staff is held in both hands and she does her damndest to call on what roots and shit she can sense out there: Hellish or otherwise. If she can secure the guy in place, maybe this can be over before it really begins. Maybe.
A fight is brewing- The shop keeps blatently ignore it. They have their own business to attend, and those that get shoved aside are few and far between, being two, in this case.
A shady trader of some kind, who drops his coat full of completely unsuspicious medical supplies, takes one look at Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) then legs it, and a man who seems to be trading in captive juvinile animals, who sees his baby T-rex crushed, his plant cat turned to pulp, and drags away his other wears before they can get beared in the same way.
A group of figures who were happily muttering together in lowered tones, hooded heads together decide that what ever mysterious topic it is can wait, turning respectively on their heels and heading in opposite directions, and a group of shoppers- continue bargaining with a trader, ignoring Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi), Bekki and Teagan.
A patrol have noticed however, and along with their hell hounds begin making their way towards the disturbance, though for now they remain as observers only.
Cut_Throat stares blankly at Teagan for a long moment. Then he snorts an unamused laugh, lips thinning. “That’s not how this worked. We were given the same schedule as you were. So where is it?”
Bekki doesn’t appear to be able to run from the situation. One of the guards is blocking the exit she may have taken, standing, statue still in the center of the path.
There is a good chance that Cut_Throat may have even delivered a villainous monologue, expressing all that he knew of the situation (as he sees it) or having shared more, at least to distract, though unfortunately, when confronted with a giant bear the size of a bus, he reacts just as anyone else would in this situation– Anyone with half a brain and their self preservation intact. He takes a step back, eyes scanning for escape routs, weighs the situation up, decides he has the upper hand and points an open palm at Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) –
Nothing happens. Cut_Throat looks confused for a moment, failing to produce hellfire and begins to turn to leave, horror dawning.
And of course shit hits the fan-
Teagan moves, Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) shifts, and Bekki, unable to run shifts her grip on the box, which Cut_Throat spots, and dives over a stall, ducking down behind it.
What ever it is that Teagan has in mind, she has plant-cat pulp to work with. Thankfully it’s a cat made of vines, and there is free pulp to play with, so it’s usable.
There have been a lot of things in Teagan’s life in just the past three months that could cause her to buy a Charm of Lethe. She hasn’t yet, but no one would blame her. Having your tits eaten off by a wolverine had her damn near the tipping point.
But finding herself reaching with the arcane for the pulp left behind by an adorable vine cat is the deciding factor. There’s certain things that no man (even a fae) should be forced to remember.
Which is probably why when Teagan does use the herbaceous slurry to lash out at Cut_Throat, she is even more cutthroat (see how that works?) about it than she might otherwise be. Instead of thick roots that could have come up out the earth, it is multitude of razor-thin shades of green; a veritable guillotine of verdant vines grasping and grabbing for the goon.
And as Teagan lashes out against the attempting to cover himself Lieutenant, Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) simply throws one paw against the stall, sending it flying somewhere else across the tunnel, leaving the man exposed to the redhead’s vine attack. And moments later prompting the ursine to also throw its own attack, lowering one of those massive paws with all of its weight on top of the poor Cut Throat, claws probably as sharp as proper swords slashing and adding to the combined attack of the two
If Cut_Throat wasn’t an unrepentant evil piece of shit someone would surely opine his quick cutting down by Teagan and Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi). (Maybe his mother cares?) likely not!
He’s not a slouch however, and though no longer possessing hellfire, he is able to dodge some of the razor vines. He is even able to step back from the first one or two slashes from giant bear claws, his sword drawn and ready to fight back. Unfortunately for him, there’s nothing one can do when having their throat cut. And for this guy, it’s the second time in as many weeks.
The unfortunate lieutenant also just returned from the Other, and not that long ago as it would appear, and so not only does he lack hellfire, but he also lacks the level of regeneration he previously possessed.
He goes down cursing his poor life choices, which is quite naturally when the guards step in- No disruption. This was clean (sociopolitically) and so they step aside, allowing Cut_Throat to bleed out- Some scavenger will likely resolve the obstruction before long. It’s not as if Hell would allow messy floors when they are such neat and tidy regimented beings.
Bekki, seeing that she can now pass the guard up-nods him, swaggers past the hellhound who has eyes only for the free bloody meat, and removes herself so that she can wait for Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) and Teagan beside the cold iron door of the Pierce clinic.
Now, Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) has the same eyes as the hellhound does… And when Cut Throat not only is defeated but also left to bleed out, the massive bear steps forward and lowers its head towards the body, opening its mouth wide and simply, bit by bit, fitting the Lieutenant into it, then munching and crunching while rising its head, as if to aid with the swallowing. If this particular 63rd member had a chance to revive, he’ll have to wait, and he’ll emerge from some pile of giant mammal poop.
But as the situation seems resolved, Avalon(Ursus Arctos Middendorffi) starts pacing towards the entrance, not seeming in a rush to return to his previous form. It’s only when it’s close enough to Bekki that its body starts contorting again, and its bones start cracking under the pressure of the shrinking form, only to reform what mashed flesh it becomes into the proper human form once more- This time naked
It’s once Cut_Throat is down and bleeding out that Teagan steps back and just begins to follow Bekki. She follows the rule of ‘act like you belong’ to just waltz on by the guard and hellhound both. Any anxiety she has (and there’s bound to be some) that they might decide someone has to pay (in some way, shape, or form) for the disruption is swallowed down deep for now. Nope, they just handled a minor disagreement and are on their way. Nothing to see here except maybe a few stains on the floor. Janitorial staff will be by to handle that, no worries, please file your applications for the open stall locations accordingly.
“Well, let’s get this on with before people clue in that we have something of value,” Teagan mumbles under her breath to her two companions once Avalon has joined them.
“A lieutenant of one of the legions just died to two people… I doubt people want to step in even if we have something valuable” Avalon comments to Teagan after joining her and Bekki, though he doesn’t make any movements towards the door himself. If he was already displeased with it while clothed, now that he’s completely naked, he’s got even less intention to approach it. And of course, after eating someone, Avalon has to let out a burp that probably stinks of blood, probably
Those poor hungry puppies. Someone will have to let them out to widdle before long, and then not only will they be hungry, but likely dead after encountering a few members of Haven society in the mist. It really isn’t their day, but perhaps their owners will pick some place above ground in Hell instead- That would likely be far more safe.
As Avalon and Teagan join Bekki, the door is opened, the three are invited once more into the waiting room, and before long find themselves ushered through into Aunt Penny’s lab space.
The box containing the heart is handed over, stunted pleasantries exchanged, and the fleshformer returns to her business– It’s not the same almost formless figure today, but a woman, and unlike the figure before, Penny completes the work rather more rapidly before dismissing the latest -victim- with a few words of healthcare advice before handling Bekki, Avalon and Teagan.
Being who she is however, and having no actual need to talk more than she has to, Penny produces pay for the group, handing it over and dismissing them, though not before giving Avalon and Teagan coupons for five percent off of any return fleshforming. They are short term, too, with an expiry date of two months from now- fucking demons!
With the objective achieved, Avalon having eaten a good meal, and with Bekki having been handed a lollipop, butterscotch, of course, (family apparently don’t count as viable mugs for extorting), the group are afforded free time to wander before returning to New Haven, a job well done.
Should they hold subscriptions to any medical magazines or take a passing interest in the supernatural state of affairs, rumours might be spotted, a more effective limb regeneration method that will be trialed outside Hell within six months.