"Good. Come join me."
The sun had begun to set for the night, the sky a blurred gradient of blues and yellows. Not a cloud in the sky with the only celestial body present being the sun, giving off an orange aura.
Lumiere City.
The animation capital of the world. A city of extreme diversity but of strong unity. It was a city that had seen its share of world-ending events.
It wasn't too long ago that you found yourself embroiled in such a 'world-ending event', face-to-face with a genocidal clown known as Tricky. It was a hard-fought battle and several friends died though ultimately you and company saved the city, and (potentially the world).
And thinking on it, that was a vast oversimplification of what was a several month-long endeavour in which you battled an eldritch god, engaged in a prison break, toured the world and destroyed the city's criminal underworld. Initially planned to be a simple heist, how it turned into what it did made little sense to you.
There simply wasn't any to put it succinctly. At least, since that event things had been quiet.
You, occasionally known as Geist, or "the ghost", were a detective, former 'criminal' and ringleader of a mercenary group called "The Carnival" (the rag-tag team of heroes and villains that led the aforementioned endeavour).
Currently you held two jobs. One, being in charge of your partner's rap group's security and two, being an occasional consultant helping out the Lumiere City Police Department. After all, the department had a lot of restructuring to do after it was found how corrupt they were. During that battle the police chief was slain too, the department's incompetence exposed and the entire precinct was thrown into disarray.
But despite the career change things were far easier than before. The paycheck from the Carnival (fall of the Dearest Family) went a long way. Doubly long it went thanks to your new partner. He was the other 'prize' from that endeavour.
He was the 'Russian Goat King', or Tabi, that human with a goat skull for a head and translucent skin. He was back to being a full-time musician now, part of a trio of musicians known collectively as Entity. That was who you provided security for, though it was really just an excuse to stay near Tabi.
Currently you were at home, sitting at the table poring over a police file. You hadn't taken much a look about it. Something about a mysterious new crime boss and DNA at one of his robberies matching a child who disappeared over 20 years ago. Detectives weren't sure of the connection yet hence bringing you in to investigate. The file was titled Case File 1188. Having worked extensively with people like Tabi (read: not normal people), the police begun to see you as a sort of paranormal expert.
The criminal underworld changed a lot too. Though without your ear to the ground much these days you couldn't begin to name which groups controlled what parts of the city. The only thing you knew was that no single group had their fingers in as many things as the Dearest Family did. The result of such a vacuum led to a small scale civil war, different groups vying for control of different illegal industries. But, that was something the police handled more than you. Crime was down so as far as you were concerned, the job was done. You couldn't see how any one group could take over as much as The Dearest Family did without attracting attention.
Tabi was close by, seated on the couch, paws upon the coffee table and controller in his hand as he gamed. He had literal flames for eyes, flickering brightly as the game demanded his entire focus. With how his jaws clenched to the hunched position and tight grip on the controller, he was not to be bothered right now.
From the light off the television it was hard to tell what his colour his body normally was. Shirtless, his body glowed dimly. Once frightful of his appearance he now felt comfortable enough to own it. You'd seen it enough times and intimately enough that it didn't bother you. Though you never found his appearance disconcerting, just always fascinating. It was him that was extremely conscious of his appearance, a combination of no self-esteem + the harrowing conditions in which he was forced into that appearance which made him that way. When you first met him he didn't even like people seeing him eat. Now he didn't care, accepting his appearance.
He wasn't always like that, once a regular looking guy he got involved with the wrong girl's family and with the use of magic was made to look like he is now. It was Daddy Dearest, patriarch of the Dearest Family that did it to him. It broke him then, forever changing him both physically and mentally. That was also ancient history now. Daddy and Mommy were rotting somewhere in Hell. Even though you occasionally forgot it, Tabi could change his appearance at will. That was a gift from a friend, having figured out how to modify the curse. Of course, Tabi rarely changed his appearance, keeping the goat visage as a constant reminder that he won. He 'put them in the ground'. Simply put, he was one happy goat.
Image: https://www.deviantart.com/odaocer/art/1254710126
"Stop looking at me. I can't focus." Tabi said as he unleashed a flurry of button presses. His Russian accent bled into his voice heavily, a husky collage of Slavic and local accents duking out for dominance.
You snickered before returning to the police file.
It was cool inside, the early-April weather practically forcing you to keep the heat on. Winter would not let up, snow still covering the landscape, the last vestiges of winter still going strong. Lights dimmed, and combined with the blue haze outside it created a calm atmosphere. Festive too, the blues making the room feel more festive.
"DAMNIT!" Tabi shouted and in a violent motion almost slammed the controller onto the table, only catching himself at the last second. He sighed.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine now. Bah. I'll do this later. How much longer you gonna look at that?" He asked.
"Mhm. I can stop. Not really feeling it right now anyways."
"Good. Come join me." Tabi said, offering a sly look in his direction. Despite his eyes being flames he could certainly emote, the flames of his eyes slimming as he grinned.
A smile back, you turn off the lamp, joining him on the couch. The file could wait anyways. Sitting with Tabi he pulls you into a hug. While he wasn't body-builder level his muscles were well toned, visible abs and pecs. He worked out regularly, always sure was in good physical condition. He wanted to always be ready for a battle.
Up close you could see the translucence better, most of his bones visible beneath the faint outline of muscles. It was a 'side-effect' of his transformation, making his body originally invisible. Whether through age or weakening magic, his body had dimmed slightly since you met him, always just barely visible. It was warm, providing a sensual heat as you cuddled into him, Tabi gladly reciprocating.
"Mhhhmm." He murmured. With the night now in full swing nothing could interrupt what was next. Work had been done and now was time to rest and play. When you first met him, he rarely displayed such affection (a result of his paranoia). He had to work through a lot of trauma just to be able to stay close to you. Though not by his choice he purred as you rubbed your hand on his back, lying down on the couch as his pants acted as a pillow. Despite the blue-ish appearance of the room and TV, everything felt warm, a furnace in post-winter weather. His body seemed to flicker slightly as you snuggled, an effect that while Tabi couldn't control, you often teased about, and, with a few touches you could control.
While such a sensual session would have turned into something more graphic the ring of the doorbell stopped that. Even if you wouldn't have heard it, the instant tensing of Tabi's body and flickering of his essence would've alerted you too.
Tabi growled, not loud enough to threaten the person at the door, but rather one in annoyance. You were about to speak but Tabi shushed you immediately. "Hush." He said, placing a hand on your chest lightly. He hoped that whoever it was would go away, seeing there was no answer. Though while you and Tabi stood still, you getting increasingly amused at his inaction, the doorbell did not ring again.
"Should we go check it out?" You ask, breaking the mood further. "Why? It's probably some punk kid pranking us. Come on. Let's finish this." He said, bending to nuzzle your face with his bony snout.
There was no second ring and combined with a growing ominous feeling you couldn't reciprocate. If it was ding-dong-ditch they would have rung again. Plus, if it were a delivery all you'd need to do is pick it up and done. If it were a friend they would have texted or called you. What kind of person just rings a doorbell and stays there-"I think we should check it out." You say. He sighed, exhaling over you. "Don't move." He said, gently lifting your head off his legs as he moved off the couch.
In a swift motion he grabbed his bayonet from under the table, swinging it hard enough to make the cover go flying. Just as quickly he leapt over the couch, making for the door. Bemused, you peered up, seeing the shirtless goat man wield a bayonet as if he were ready to stab a soldier. He swung the door open, knife forward as he looked around. You could see there was nobody standing there as Tabi scanned the outside. Finally he noticed something on the ground.
"What the hell?" He asked out loud. You saw him bend look around outside again before bending and picking something up.
"What's up?"
"See for yourself." He said, coming back into the house and closing the door. You watched as he placed a large gift box onto the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch as you shifted. It was about the size of a birthday cake. A pink and white stripped gift box, complete with a white bow on top. A small card was attached, just reading "TO: TABI", written in cursive. You looked at him as he shrugged. "I don't know." He said, thoroughly confused. His birthday was two months away, far enough that this couldn't be a gift for that.
"Secret admirer? You cheating on me?" You asked playfully.
"I am not! Don't even think that!" Tabi shouted. "Not after all we've been through! Not after-"
"I was just joking man. Calm down." You said, giggling. For all his faults he was still really easy to rile up.
"Maybe Ayana sent it." Tabi mumbled.
"Well, let's open it."
"Mmhm." Tabi nodded, using the bayonet as he cut the ribbon. Lifting and tossing the lid aside he looked into it, his expression only taking on even more confusion.
"Что за хрень?" Tabi mumbled as he pulled out a large action figure and stuffy. The stuffy was a rather fat brown bear with a black snout and small beady ears. At least, you think it was supposed to be a bear. From the dark brown area around it's ears and stubby arms and legs it could have just been a raccoon. Tabi's eyes flickered strangely as he looked at it. He looked at the action figure next. A rather buff action figure of what you think was a 1800s seafaring captain or pirate. He even had the "judges hairpiece" and a dark green overcoat concealing a blue shirt and stuffed handkerchiefs in the chest. In one hand he held a skull and the other a bottle of poison(?) while a cutlass stayed strapped at his side. You guess it was based off some old cartoon, what with his elongated face and large teeth.
Tabi looked at both, half-confused, half-another emotion you didn't recognize. There was something about these toys that bothered him.
"I don't get it." You said.
"You wouldn't." Tabi said, snapping out his daze. He put the toys down carefully. "Only...I would."
"What do you mean?"
Tabi didn't reply, instead reaching down into the box again, pulling out an evelope now.
"Hey, are you okay?" Now did you see it. He looked as if he saw a ghost, a feeling of dread on his face.
"I-I am." Tabi said hastily as he ripped the envelope's top off, taking out and reading the letter. Only then did his expression change again, returning to normal, albeit replaced by a hint of fury.
"Tabi. What's going on?"
"See for yourself." He said, handing you the letter.
Written in fanciful text the letter only contained a few words. 'I trust you will find these comforting before the end. Expect me in the coming days. I know you will be prepared.
It wasn't signed though a red seal punctuated the letter. It didn't take much for you to at least recognize the symbol. It was demonic in origin, the symbol probably a 'callsign' for a demon. That must have been where the fury was coming from.
You put the letter down, seeing Tabi eyeing the toys again.
"You don't think its-"
"The Family? I don't know. It doesn't make sense."
"So. uh, what's the significance of the toys?"
"They were things I watched back home. This," He said, pointing to the bear. "Is Винни-Пух. My mother showed it to me when I was a child. I must have watched it a hundred times. This one too." He pointed to the 'pirate'. "Остров Сокровищ. I think it's called Treasure Island here. That's the doctor. Ли́вси...I watched that movie so many times. I used to be scared of Долговязый Джон Сильвер." He spoke nostalgically and though you didn't understand what he was saying just nodded along.
He picked up the bear again, moving it's stubby arms. "I used to know this stuff when I lived in Russia. We had a VHS player and a few movies. Didn't have much but we were always able to watch these movies. If these were given to me from you I would have loved them. No. They're screwing with me."
With the added context it certainly made the letter look more threatening. You sighed. "So we have someone, probably a demon coming after us."
"Looks like it." Tabi said. His eyes flickered hastily. Though he wasn't saying it you could tell he really liked the toys, probably giving him some immense nostalgia.
"But I don't know if it was the Family. They couldn't have known about this." Tabi muttered. You had to agree. If they were coming they wouldn't have sent children's toys. Just didn't make sense.
"Well it is a demon. That much I'm sure of. Someone else then? You're close with Ruv, maybe one of his enemies sent it." You shrugged. "Maybe Ruv sent it a joke?"
"That's a stretch. Ruv has no enemies. He killed them all...and he's still in jail. I can't think of anyone who would have sent this. I didn't know any demons back home. I had enemies back home but none who would do this." He said, confused.
"Well, we got someone coming for us now." You said. "We better be prepared."
"Coming for me." Tabi stood up. "Until we know who it is I should go." He stood up, already a plan in his head to run.
"Pfft. Hold on a sec cowboy. We're a team, remember? We beat the Family. We can handle one guy who did a little research on you."
Tabi, paused and shook his head, sitting down. "I-I'm sorry." He looked at the toys again. "I just saw them and..it took me back. Yeah. Let's get ready. What's the plan?"
"Well," you look at the letter. "First thing's first is determining who sent this. And I think we know someone who has the resources to find out who."
Tabi nodded. "Displo."
"Yep."
"Call him." Tabi said coldly. "I'll prep the guns." He sounded determined now, marching off to the spare bedroom that had been turned into an armoury.
Displo, friend, ally and your contact in an 'antinominal' (paranormal) organization called IRIS. IRIS and Displo helped take down Daddy and would definitely have someone on hand to deal with this 'gift'. You immediately texted him a photo of the symbol. "It is a sigil." He said, calling back just as fast. "Demonic in origin. I don't have a database of demonic callsigns but this is not a common one. I am now conducting a search on the Malleus database." Quickly, you explained the situation, Displo listening concerned as you explained the situation. "Until then stay put. Keep an eye on the gift. Do not let anyone try to touch it." Displo said, sounding far more comfortable with the situation than you or Tabi.
"I will send a SME to your position asap. If anything happens I can send a strike team to your position in 18 minutes. Your neighbour is still out on assignment. Flee to his house if things escalate. It is far more defendable than your domicile." Displo concluded. "How is Tabi? Is he handling the situation?"
"I am fine." He grunted, hearing Displo on speaker. "I am not scared of them. We beat them once. We'll beat them again." He said coldly.
"Sit tight, the both of you." Displo said, concluding the call.
"We'll handle whatever they throw our way." You said to Tabi. With time to spend you wished to at least comfort him. "Well, if we're going to battle, you wanna at least sit with me for till then?"
Tabi looked to tense up but stopped, relaxing. "I'd like that." He said, keeping a gun on his hip but otherwise taking a seat on the couch, waiting patiently for you to join him.
The next chapter will be called A Familiar Face.