Nickname Horizons are Broadening
At the sound of the timid voice, they all turned and took in the sight of the young, slender woman wringing her hands while she lurked just inside the doorway.
Her weight shifted from side to side as she nervously watched for their reactions.
Chuck beamed brightly and waved her over while Malachi stood rigidly and studied her closely.
He was still nervous she was hiding something and wanted to be ready if needed.
She was so skinny she was almost childlike in appearance.
She was mostly sharp angles, and her collarbones stood out in stark contrast to her shoulders.
Her hair was long and stick straight, nearly touching her waist. The color was a strawberry blonde, as if the angel in her was taking the lead, but her demon side wouldn’t allow it the pure golden hue of heavenly beings.
Wide blue eyes, the color of a cloudless sky, blinked in fear as she took in everyone staring at her.
Her button nose twitched like a nervous rabbit, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip briefly before she took a deep, steadying breath.
Slowly, she slipped forward from the hallway and inched closer while Chuck continued to encourage her.
“My goodness, aren’t you pretty!” Chuck called happily, trying to reassure the timid demon. “So, Malachi tells me you don’t really have a name. That’s not going to work. What would you like to be called?”
“I… I’m not sure…” she stammered, confusion pinking her cheeks as she bit her lower lip once more. A concerned whimper from Reena had her smiling apologetically at her new friend.
Standing slowly, Chuck approached her quietly, non-threateningly, with her hands out to show she was no danger. “What are some things you like? Maybe we can find a name based on what brings you joy? Something that makes you feel happy and safe?”
The younger demon’s head tilted, and she paused in her shaking nervousness to consider the question seriously.
“I… I like the moon,” she finally whispered, her response hesitant, as if they would laugh at her.
When no teasing came forth, she explained further.
“It’s beautiful and quiet. It looks so peaceful, and I’ve been enjoying seeing it here without the haze of the Hell fires.
I like the way it changes each night, and how it can be different colors. ”
“The moon,” Chuck repeated with a small smile. “How wonderful. How about…” She tapped her lower lip thoughtfully. “Moonbeam. Moonchild. Mmm, no, too hippie.”
“I’m fantastic at names! How about, Moonshine?” Malachi offered with a teasing grin, putting his thumb to his lips and tilting his head back, miming like he was drinking. “Moon Pie? Moonie?”
Chuck simply ignored him and continued. “Diana, Artemis. Lunar… Luna?”
A small squeal escaped from the slight female. “Luna!” She clapped and bounced on her toes. “I love it! Luna!”
“I like it, too,” Malachi rumbled with a delighted grin, bouncing his eyebrows with exaggerated glee. “So many nickname possibilities!”
Reena loosed a loud wheezing laugh, her small body shaking with her amusement. She yipped more quietly when Chuck hushed her. A grumble of indignant irritation sounded from the Chuglet as she glared and turned her attention back to her show.
Malachi didn’t translate that the sweet dog was cursing a blue streak at being silenced.
“So, now that we have that out of the way,” Chuck announced briskly, running a hand over her hair to cover her irritation.
“Why don’t you have a seat and tell us what brought you here?
Malachi mentioned that you’re half demon and half angel.
That seems unusual, even from someone who is also half angel. ” She pointed at herself.
Shyly, Luna nodded and sat on the edge of the armchair facing the others.
“I am. Which is why I was never truly accepted in Hell. And I definitely can’t go to Heaven with this demonic side that’s magically stronger than the angelic part.
It’s hard. Sometimes I want to cause a ruckus.
I want to corrupt and cause chaos. But then I feel bad about it. And… well… I look like this.”
Standing again, Luna bit her lip, concentrating.
A pair of light dove gray wings sprouted from her back.
The feathers resembled fluffy, delicate clouds and gleamed the same way as Nick’s angel wings did when he was acting particularly serene.
His were brighter, but that was usually because they shimmered with smug righteousness.
Her body glowed brightly, a halo nearly identical to Chuck’s, but visible to all.
It was a pale yellow, like the first buds of spring daffodils, betraying the fear still coursing through her slender frame.
A pair of thin, delicate horns sprouted from her head.
They were short and loosely spiraled like a unicorn’s horn; they shimmered with gold.
Her eyes lit with Hellfire; not quite as dark as Malachi’s but still dancing with unholy flames.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Malachi muttered in awe as he moved closer and circled Luna, intrigued by her mixed appearance. “I mean, more than I already am, of course, but I’ve never seen that before. A demon with horns and Hellfire, but angel wings and a halo. And you don’t know who your parents are?”
Luna silently shook her head no, then pulled her wings back in with a small shimmy. “The Pentagram Facility never asked, I guess. I was dropped off when I was only a few days old, so I couldn’t ask either.”
Chuck glanced at Malachi; her brow furrowed with dismay at the harsh reality of demons born in Hell.
“Do you think Nick…” She trailed off with uncertainty.
Her hands lifted, her palms turned up toward the ceiling as she shrugged.
“I mean… I know he’s not your favorite person, but I really think we could use his help with this. ”
“Are you kidding? I adore Nicosaurus’ visits!
It’s one of the highlights of my life!” He grinned with unrepentant glee and rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain preparing to enact his dastardly plot.
All he needed was a handlebar mustache he could twirl and a lengthy unnecessary monologue.
“I’ll call him now,” he announced excitedly before he turned to explain to Luna.
“Now, don’t be alarmed, but I’m going to summon an angel to help.
I don’t want you to worry about it, because he’s family, so he won’t hurt you. Alright?”
She nodded nervously in response, then her gaze shifted over his shoulder, and her eyes widened in shock. Her lips parted, and one finger lifted, trembling as she pointed at something behind him. “A-A-Angel,” she whispered, her voice shaking with fear as much, if not more, than her finger.
Whirling, Malachi was utterly dismayed to find Nick already standing in the living room, hands clasped demurely in front of him.
His halo pulsed gently as he smiled in pious righteousness.
It was downright repulsive, despicably vomit-inducing.
Malachi wanted to punch him in his stupid, serene face, but he turned stiffly to Chuck instead.
“You called him?” he asked in a flat tone devoid of the irritation he wanted to demonstrate.
Shrugging, Chuck smirked, sensing the keen edge of disappointment in his nonchalant tone. “Yeah, I figured he’d respond faster to me. And maybe he’d show up without the fanfare and halo that burns you. I don’t like it when it hurts you.” She eyed her uncle with a pointed glare.
Breathing out slowly through his nose with a harsh exhale, Malachi studied her before his shoulders dropped.
“Fine. But you owe me some significant entertainment later.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively to make sure she knew he wasn’t truly angry.
Facing the angel, he nodded in mock deference.
“Nickalow, we meet again. Twice in one day. This must be a record! Not a particularly fulfilling one, but a record nonetheless.”
Nick merely smiled and turned to Malachi.
He opened his mouth to speak but abruptly stopped as he glanced at his feet in surprise.
Reena was leaning against his shins, rubbing on him like a cat as she greeted him.
“Hi Reena!” he called, unable to contain his glee at being acknowledged.
Swooping down, he scooped up the brindle menace, cuddling her like an infant.
“Re-re,” he cooed, tickling her chin while she extended her underbite in an approximation of a smile.
“How are you, sweet little girl? Is Malachi treating you well?”
“Nicky Dicky Bob!” Malachi snapped, the ridiculousness of the name rolling off his tongue with the sincerity of a politician during election season.
“We didn’t call you here just to play with the Chuglet, you winged freak!
Aren’t you the least bit curious about who that is?
” He stepped to the side and flung his arms toward Luna, adding tendrils of shadow for extra dramatic effect.
The angel rolled his eyes in good-natured irritation as he set the small dog back on the floor.
Her grunt of frustration lifted the corners of his lips as he studied the newcomer.
“Hello there, I’m Nick. I’m Kelly’s uncle if that hasn’t been shared yet.
And whom do I have the pleasure of meet…
” His words trailed off into a faint murmur as he took in the person before him.
“You can’t exist!” he finally blurted, his eyes wide with disbelief, his voice shaking, and his wings trembling behind him.
His halo flickered wildly with his agitation.