The last time we moved, I was in the hospital for the process. We don't exactly have a lot to our names though so it's not like it was a big deal. Moving dimensions, no matter how much stuff you have, is rather difficult. Eventually it wore Ghost down having to keep portals open for an hour at a time. If he went too long, he'd get nose bleeds. All and all, it took a few days to get the process done.

          I wanted to make sure we had furniture set up before I moved Chris to our new home. Then I realized we didn't have any furniture anymore. We only had two beds on the farm and they weren't worth moving. Any currency we had was spent on this place. It wasn't money, that shit is evil. We use golds, silvers, and bronzes as exchange. Everything any of us had in the bank was put into this place. 

          It became a quick realization that everyone needed to get jobs. We had to if we wanted to furnish our home. All of us have overstayed our welcome at Bret and JC's. We can't continue to slum it on their couch and the floor of our houses. Most the others were lucky enough that they had something to offer. The styling of vampires are much different than that of an elf. Things like the clothes Ghost makes, Josh's taxidermy, Ryan-Ashley's drawings, Ricky's paintings, Ryan's wood carvings, they all were considered valuable in this market. Felix, I've learned, is quite the musician. He easily found a place to perform regularly. 

          As for Vinny, Kuza, and myself, we're a little lost. We've been living in this empty home for a week now and we have yet to place ourselves somewhere. Elves are tough as fuck and they have no need for muscle. That left Kuza at a severe disadvantage. I'm trained in light creature medicine and I'm not certified in this dimension. I couldn't practice even if I wanted to. Vinny... I'm not really sure what his talents were. Whatever they were, or maybe the lack there of, he couldn't find use for.

          "Knock, knock!" A voice that's growing to be more familiar sang as he walked in.

          Currently I was in the midst of cooking dinner. I glanced up from the stove at Emerson, "How did you get in? The door was locked..."

          He gestured towards the hallway with his pointer finger, "The tall scary one... What's his name again?" 

          "Kuza?" I asked.

          "Yeah, he let me in." He spoke so nonchalantly, as if it's normal for him to walk into the house of people he barely knows. "A little birdie, by birdie I mean Maxine, told me you've been in need of some new furniture," He took a sharp breath of thought, "And a job."

          I stirred the soup on the stove, then covered it with a lid. Leaning back on the counter behind me, I replied, "I don't suppose you could help me with that?"

          "I can, if you're interested." He said with the smile of a lunatic, "I checked the system and I saw you aren't a registered surgeon here. I've trained several surgeons. So have my brothers, if you'd be more interested in them mentoring you, even though they're rather boring... And I know it totally would suck to have to go through your residency again, but it's still a job."

          "I'd be more than happy to work under you. I've been dying to get back into medicine but I was never able to practice on Heaven or Earth." I responded.

          Emerson pulled himself up on the counter opposite of me and crossed his ankles. "Good! You start next week, 10AM sharp." 

          "Um, I don't really have a clock, let alone an alarm clock." I admitted shamefully.

          "Oh, that's right. Well, we just decided to redecorate our house. We're getting rid of a lot of furniture and I'll give it to you if you want. It's three bedroom sets, a couch, and a few miscellaneous things, including a clock." 

          "Are you serious?" I asked, receiving a cute smile from him, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to have that kind of support from someone-" I just barely got my sentence out before a loud slam in the living room distracted me.

          Concerned, Emerson jumped down from the counter and walked out into the hall. I followed behind him but kept my distance. I can fight some but not like the others. I'm weak compared to a vampire or elf. That's why someone's always stepping in front of me to protect me when shit goes down. Emerson and his brothers had taken a liking to us, apparently, and have seemed to befriend us all. He quickly extended his arm in front of me as he set eyes on our intruder. 

          A demon with a broad chest stood at around eight feet tall. His defined white face was framed by swampy colored dreads. Starting at his jawline, the pale tone of his skin faded into green scales. His eyes were pure black. Similar to Josh's, but more more unsettling. His chest was bare and arms covered with a leather jacket. He looked like a reptile creature but I could tell by his aura, he was a demon. A no good, fucking evil demon. 

          Kuza was on the floor at his feet. He sputtered a cough as he tried to get back up. The demon grabbed him by the neck and lifted him a foot off the ground. Kuza tried his best to pry his hand away as he pleaded, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I- I promise I won't do it again!" 

          The demon threw him into the stone wall as he spat, "Bullshit! How many fucking times have you done this now?" He walked over to where Kuza had landed on the ground and kicked him, "You're fucking worthless!" 

          He groveled on his hands and knees. Kuza grabbed onto the demon's leather pants desperately, "I'm sorry, Daddy! I'm so sorry! I have a good reason this time!" There was nearly tears in his eyes. I've never seen him fear anyone like that. He was genuinely scared.

          Wait, wait, back up. Daddy? He called him Daddy, and it was pretty obvious by the tone that he didn't mean it in a fatherly way. Aside from the fact that they're different species, that demon was way too young to be anyone's father. I'd never pictured Kuza as the submissive type. Obviously no matter how dominant someone can be, there's always going to be someone more dominant. He's a demon, that Kuza is submitting to, and he looked like a reptile... Croc. That's who it had to be, right? How'd he find Kuza here? 

          "Yeah?" He snit, "Just like how you've had such good reasons the other hundred fucking times?!"

          "Does this creature need to be removed from the property?" Emerson asked calmly.

          Croc looked to the hall we stood in and snarled. Kuza barely got to his feet, rubbing his bruised neck. "It's okay. I'm sorry we bothered you. Please, just go back to whatever you were doing."

          I gave him a serious look, hoping he'd muster up the courage to be honest. "Are you sure?" 

          "Yeah," He replied, "Please, just go. I'll be fine." 

          I sighed, "Let's give them their privacy." 

          It's the last thing I wanted to do. Emerson and I were the only other ones in the house though. There's no way we could take on a demon, especially one that angry. I already could hear Kuza getting knocked around the second I turned around. Pausing in my steps, I closed my eyes shut for a moment to think. Well, fuck it. What's the worst he could do to me that hasn't already been done? 

          I turned around, addressing Croc, "He's telling you the truth, you know. He did have a good reason for running off. He got infected with Psycoiac and came to us looking for help. It took us awhile to be able to cure him. As soon as he was cured, his best friend became deathly ill. He's wanted to go back to you but he hasn't had the chance."

          He snarled, speaking numbly, "I guess it's true what they say. Once an angel, always an angel." Croc looked at Kuza, "Is that true?"

          "Y-Yes, Sir." He stammered, "Chris is still in the hospital. I was just waiting until he got out, then I was going to come home."

          He huffed heavily, "You're still not off the hook. You're going to be on your knees for a long fucking time to make up for this." 

          Kuza kept his sight at the ground and his hands folded in front of him. "I understand, Sir."

          Croc had so many chains around his hips that I didn't even notice one was more of a lead than anything else. Kuza always wore a BDSM collar but I never thought much of it. I assumed it was some kind of aesthetic for him or something like that. Croc unhooked one end of the chain, letting it hit the ground with a thud. Poor Kuza jumped out of his skin when he heard it. The other side of the chain was clipped onto his collar.

          He ran his hand over Kuza's hair as he trembled. Croc wrapped the chain around his knuckles a few times and yanked his submissive closer. "You're so cute when you're behaving." His teeth grit and he slapped Kuza, "But you have to be such a fucking bitch, don't you?" 

          Blood trickled down from his nose. He re-centered and murmured, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I promise I'll take my punishments like a good pet."

          Croc grinned, "That's what I like to hear. Now, where can we find a little more privacy?" 

          "The room at the end of that hall to the left is where I'm staying right now. We don't have furniture though. I've been sleeping on the floor." He explained.

          He gave a somewhat phony coo, "Aw, if you're a good boy, I'll fix that for you. For now, I believe it'd be better for us all if I take you to a hotel." 

          "We'll be eating dinner in about two hours, if you'd like to join us." I politely offered. Maybe if they were in front of other people, he wouldn't torture Kuza. That's what I was hoping for at least. 

          "Thank you for the offer, but his mouth is going to be rather full for the rest of the night." Croc pulled on the chain tightly and made Kuza stumble forward. He continued to yank him out of the house, leaving the air rather awkward.

          "Well," Emerson spoke lightheartedly, "That was interesting."

          "You could say that again." I replied as I closed the door they'd left open.

          That whole scene left me with a lot of unanswered questions. But, ya know, some questions are better left unanswered. I think about that a lot when it comes to our family. It comes in an innocent way with people like Vinny. It's a lot more serious in concerns to someone like Ricky or Ghost though. Maybe there's a reason why humans only get ninety years. Too much fucked up shit gets chalked up in your past if you're allowed to live any longer.  

| | |

          We haven't really seen Kuza since that incident yesterday. I'm slightly worried about him. If Croc hasn't killed him in all these years, I doubt he'd do it now. He did have two very good reasons for running off this time. I couldn't imagine just skipping out on Chris like that. Our relationship, as Kuza has told me many times, is different from most. We're not dysfunctional. 

          Now that we had a bed in our room, I could finally bring my baby home. JC cleared a few hours in his schedule to help me bring Chris to the house. He filled up our bathroom cabinet with several medications for all possible issues Chris could have. I don't know what we'd do without all his help. This kind of support that we've received, no light creatures would ever be that generous. They're all greedy bastards. Dark creatures are truly thick as thieves.

          "Babe!" I yelled at Chris as I caught him out of bed, "You're not supposed to be up!"

          He wasn't doing much, just taking clothes out of boxes and putting them in the dresser. "But I'm so sick of laying there!" He whined.

          "You just had heart surgery three weeks ago, and they scraped your insides while they were in there. You shouldn't be on your feet." I set my hand on his chest, giving him my best puppy dog eyes, "Please go lay down. It stresses me out when you're up." 

          Chris sighed deeply. He hooked his finger under my chin and kissed me. "Only for you, and only if you come lay with me."

          "Deal." I agreed and followed him to our new bed.

          It was so gorgeous. Something like this would be so fucking expensive on Earth. The craftsmanship in the carving was amazing. Not to mention the cloud of a mattress and the black sheets made for a bed you'd want to stay in all day long. What really would make it a place I don't want to leave would be my amazing husband. It feels like a century since I've gotten to lay beside him. Snuggling up to his chest, I felt so damn peaceful.