limbo

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!Language Warning!

Limbo.
He hated it to be here. The smell of dust, burned flesh... and bureaucracy.
Well at least he was one of the few lucky who would be able to leave this place again. Not like those 'poor' souls, he could hear screaming on the other site of the walls.

Yes. Lucky him.

He sighed, his red eyes shifting around in this small room he was. If any mortal would ever see any of those 'offices' in limbo... then they would propably think about hell with amusement... instead of fear.
Hell was not only about torture and damnation. It was also about bureaucracy. He was actually not sure what was more horrible.

In the moment his gaze stopped at the big stone desk in front of him... two figures materialized in two bright red flames. The smell of sulphhur and smoke filled the anyhow thick air.

One of the two was an elder... deeb wrinkles and furrows in the black skin of his face. White hair floating down over his shoulders, the long white bears almost touching the surface of the desk in front of him. The round glasses and his big, hooked nose made him look very similar to the owl skull he wore on his head...

Next to him a secretary. Young... very young it seemed.
A novice, only wearing the sigil of the owl on his forehead... enthusiastic dipping the quill into ink.

Teh. Quill... ink...
Unbelievable how oldfashionet they still where down here...
... up there the mortals developed cars, mobile phones, computers...
... and down here... they still worked with quill, ink and parchment.

On the other hand... up there... and down here... where different worlds. Literally.

"Typhus, contractor and executor of the high house of pestilence and plauges?" The elder begun to speak, glimpseing over the edge of his glasses.

The devil nodded "The one and only, right at your service, Sir~" he saluted and started to grin, but it almost immediately vanished from his white lips again as he noticed the look on the elder's face. Oh my.. grinning not allowed, eh?

Humorless old ape...

"We ordered you here to inform you that we found the witch you lost..."
"I did not exactly lost her... she merel..."
"TO INFORM you that we found the witch you lost and missed to supply the final execution of your contract..." he paused to order a few parchments in front of him, reading them.

Typhus made a few nervous steps.
Not that again.
Actually he though that case was closed once and for all...
... yeha okay he MAYBE lost her .... kinda... in a way... a little bit... and did not exactly get her soul... and kinda... somehow... allowed her to trick him ... and make the contract worthless...
But however he thought that bitch made herself vanish for good... what solved all the troubles... and actually saved his ass from burning in the great fires for a few hundred years.

Actually he thought that was the case.
Seems she wasn't entirely gone.
Great.

"Yea, Sir... see I actually thought this case was..." again the elder cut his words with his monotonous voice.
"With this we relieve you of all your current tasks, missons and ranks and sent you to the forest we identefied as the current place of residence of the fugitive witch. "
"But Sir I..."
"This forest, merely this world is also new opened teretorry for us, therefore it will also be your task to explore and exploit the local conditions and resources..."
"Wait, what?"
"... as far as we know a certain force is already present, but not overly interested in our prefared resources. The mortals and Inhabitants of this forest don't seem to be human, but could be typed as 'animal' ... hm... yes..."

The elder started to study the parchments oce again, Typhus gapeing at him...
... he couldn't believe his ears.

They want to sent him into a completely unknown teretorry? Not only to find that witch and to scout this new world... which was on TOP of that obviously nothing but ... a forest full of brainless animals?
No.
They can't be serious...
... he was specialized on the modern world, on hospitals and looney bins... finding and enticeing the despairing and broken souls of the society...
... but... a forest... full of animals...?

The elder fold his hands over the parchments, finally looking up. "We await your report as soon as possible. Coudld you follow and understand the information and orders I just gave you, Typhus, former contractor and executor of the high house of pestilence and plauges?"

The devil blinked a few times... still gapeing at the two in front of him. Then he started to blink, then he let out a dry, humorless laughter.
"Of course. Would be a piece of cake for me. You'll see I'll catch that bitch and be back before you are finished with all the paper work for this case... heh!"
Actually he was not as half as convinced about this as she sounded.

The elder looked at him with an unmoved face, then he bent over to his secretary.
"Please note that."

Typhus swallowed.
That didn't really rise his hopes...

The secretary looked up, shifting over another parchment.
"Please sign here, Typhus of the high house of pestilence and plauges, and you will set off immediately."

The devil looked from the elder to the secretary... and back.
He saw it in the eyes of the old demon in front of him... he had no choice.

He sighed... stepped towards the table and grabbed the quill.
With a fast movement he pierced the tip into the palm of his hand, covering it with is own blood.

As soon as he finished the last letter of his name... bright red flames and smoke wrapped him up... carrying him far away... onto unknown teretorry...

(Something experimental...)