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She wakes up screaming and gasping for air. Not again… It shouldn’t still hurt after all this time. Untwisting herself from the blankets, the little cyclops jumps down from her bed and throws on her slippers. It’s late, but she won’t be able to fall asleep again in her bed anytime soon. She leaves her room, dragging her blanket behind her as she heads upstairs.
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Familiar light tapping at his office door has Alastor looking up from the paperwork he’s been reading.
“Come on in, Niffty.”
His door opens to reveal the tiny creature. Wearing pajamas with her blanket in tow, he realizes what must’ve happened. “Another nightmare?”
The cyclops nods, rubbing at her eye sleepily. “Yeah…” She gives him a hopeful look, “You going to be up for a bit?”
“Most likely,” the deer agrees, “Charlotte’s filing system for the hotel’s paperwork is a disaster. These things need to be in better order.” He gestures at the chaos on his desk. Noticing how Niffty is shifting from foot to foot, he pushes his chair back from the desk and pats his lap. “Come here, my little monster.”
Eye brightening, the tiny cyclops scurries over and climbs up onto his lap.
“Do you wish to talk about it?”
She shakes her head, curling up like a cat instead and wrapping herself with the blanket. Once she’s situated, Alastor scoots his chair back to the desk to continue his work, letting a clawed hand pet at Niffty’s hair.
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It’s almost routine for them at this point. She’s had trouble sleeping by herself for as long as she’s been in Hell, and Alastor has always accommodated her need for company on nights like this. She pulls the blanket tighter around herself, getting comfortable in the Radio Demon’s lap. Claws scratch at her scalp soothingly, while the rustling of papers lets her know that Alastor has gone back to his work. Yawning, Niffty looks up at him with a soft smile, “Read it to me?”
The static in his voice is like white noise to her once he begins reading the paperwork aloud, and soon enough she can feel her eyelid getting heavy.
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Within minutes, Alastor can hear soft snores coming from the cyclops. He spends another few hours on the paperwork before deciding to get some rest himself. Picking Niffty up as gently as possible, he heads towards his bedroom and lays her down in the little bed he keeps for nights like this. He slips on some pajamas and climbs into his own bed.
Just as Alastor’s starting to doze off, Niffty’s whisper breaks the silence of his room, “Thanks, Al…”
He smiles to himself, “Anytime, my little monster.”