Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Imagine getting humbled by a girl with a staff and some flowers. Imagine. 'Cause that totally didn't happen to Doomsekkar. Yep, definetely not. She managed to somehow escape her bindings and was now hiding out from her creator. A fight where she got her ass handed to her by a Thief was definetely not involved.

Doomsekkar stood infront of a water mirror loosely held together, staring at the bright pink flower that had sprouted in her eye with a disgruntled expression. No idea how that managed to get in there, but she didn't notice the seed earlier, so now she had to deal with it. It... looked nice, yeah, but having a flower in your eye is kind of annnoying.

No matter though. Overfocusing on that was moreas to distract from the strange feelings she was harboring. Watchers aren't supposed to feel... what? Embarassment? Mild fondness? Why in the world was she getting attached to a random demon she saw once that also pelted her with petals?!!
Watchers aren't supposed to feel like this, clearly. She never did before. So why did she do now? Why in the damn-

Doomsekkar sighed. She shouldn't be getting mad at such silly things - anger. That was another thing she didn't feel in a while. But, seriously. She really couldn't stop thinking about the girl she'd seen. What would be a good word to describe her? Delicate? Determined? Pretty-

hey, what is pretty anyways?? The word just kind of spawned in her mind and she immediately associated it to the Thief, not really considering what it meant. But even when doing that, it still felt quite fitting...

The watcher audibly groaned and put her hands on her face, back arching. She really needed to get her thoughts in order, before they got out of hand - but it was already too late, wasn't it?

Their mind was full of her- the way she looked so unamused and composed despite the flurry of attacks Doom had been chucking at her, how she was so nonchalant during the entire thing, the way she casually had fixed her ponytail mid battle whilst still dodging their attacks!?

It all made an odd, unfamiliar feeling bubble up in her chest, and she grasped at it, looking for answers. Her mind wandered back to the fact it isn't normal for a watcher to feel like this, but she just... couldn't help it.

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Vine staff didn't really want to explain to her brother and Slingshot that she had scars from freeing some random watcher that evidently had sight issues because it took them being pelted with petals for about a solid half an hour to realize that she wasn't Ghostwalker.

"Vine, seriously. You're making us worried. What happend?"

"Nobody gets hurt like that on a trip to the flower shop. ...Unless you nearly got eaten by a plant-"

"No, no - nothing like that. But, I...-"

She sighed. Those two damn well knew how much she hated to see them worried, and she couldn't keep lying through her teeth.

"I took a wrong turn -I'm not sure when-, and I- ended up in this... place? It felt unfamiliar, it was just a platform and around it was full of plants. I had a feeling I shouldn't have been there, but I stayed, and-"

"and?-" "Shuri!"

"...and there was somebody in a cage, but not a typical one - some sort of magic one, and I... freed them. But they confused me for Ghostwalker or something, from what I understood, and so I had to fight them."

Upon looking up, Vine Staff found that her roommates were staring at her in disbelief. Slingshot had more of a worried tone, whilst Shuriken... didn't really seem like he got it.

"So- what?? There's just this- person out and about now because of you??"

"...yes, I assume. Ghosdeeri may know something about them, because they looked quite alike, and if I recall I heard them mention her at some point - they were blabbering to themselves a lot."

"Oh my SFOTH-" Sling put his face in his hands. "what have you done, Vine...?"

"Who's Ghosdeeri again?" Shuri muttered.

"Shuriken I really hope you're joking."

"No-"

"The librarian that sometimes we run into on our way to Phights, who always greets us..."

"Ooh, the one who also decorated your horns that one time?"

"Yes. She's done much more besides that, but yes."

"Aaalright!"

Chapter Text

And the next morning... Vine Staff had to do the opening shift the cafe. She really didn't want to get up early, especially with what had happend the day before. Plus, the morning is always so nosy and busy because everybody's getting breakfast - not like the other hours were much better, especially the evening, but still.

Once she got to the cafe, nearly late because she took the longer way there, shs made sure everything was fine and opened in a hurry, soon rushing behind the counter. Slingshot had already passed by and dropped off all the sweets for the first half of the morning, so for the next two or three hours everything should be fine.

Or, everything should've been fine. Of course, the summer generally meant more customers, especially mid summer, but oh SFOTH was this going much worse than Vine could have ever imagined. By 9:30 about three quarters of the pastries were gone, the coffee machine randomly broke and the line was getting impatient.

With the excuse of having to check on the ovens, the Thief hurried to the back and called Slingshot.

"Vine? What-"

"PLEASE. Come in early today. I don't think I can handle this for much longer - and also, the coffee machine broke because of course it is nothing goes the right way when I have mornings I-"

"Vine! Vine! Calm down, alright. I'll be there as soon as possible, just try to survive another five minutes... you better not be blacked out when I get there-" he said. From the other side of the phone, she could tell he was getting his things to go out already.

"Can't make promises right now.-" and with that, she hung up.

Slingshot nearly kept his word. He got there 6 minutes later, but Vine Staff wasn't going to complain about him being one minute late. He also brought in the pastries he'd saved for the second half of the morning, so that was covered aswell. He gladly allowed his friend to have a break, because she looked on the verge of a breakDOWN.

Disappearing into the back, she pretty much fell onto the couch they usually chill on for a little after closing before untying her hair and laying down. The noise of the front was still very much audible, but at least it was muffled. And before she knew it, her eyes fluttered shut.

Her rest didn't quite last as long as she wished, because she was awoken by a weight on her neck. Her hands slowly reached up to touch it, to which the weight meowed. Wait, what?

She grabbed it and pulled it up, to which she discovered it was a black cat, and a clearly well-loved one at that; shiny fur, and a little chunky.

"...baby..." she muttered, staring at the cat. Just then, Slingshot peeked in from the front. "Vine, how you-"

She just turned to stare at him instead, giving her friend a deadpanned look for a few seconds before he spoke up. "...well, I see! Also, Katana passed by and dropped off that cat. He said it's somebody else's and that somehow the cat was in his house-"

"How does that even happen?"

"No idea. Anyhow, he said the owner is probably going to come pick her up tonight."

"And he can't just keep the cat at his house and have his friend pick him up there, because..?"

"They're iffy about going around factions too much."

Vine Staff sighed. "Alright then." She'd complain, if she wasn't too tired to.

Suddendly, they heard a voice from the front. "Sling!"

"Ah, hold on-"

"Yeah, go greet your boyfriend."

Slingshot would've gone to the front to chat with Skateboard, but instead he just froze and gave Vine Staff a thousand yard stare.

"I am not gay."

"1 in 4 demons are."

"Yes, and for our friend circle it's you."

With that, Slingshot went to the front, still mildly annoyed by Vine's comment, though she could tell he was blushing.

She went back to looking at the cat, which had a collar. The collar had a tag, which said Princess. Appropriate name for such a kitty.

That's how she spent the morning up until lunch break; cuddling the cat and playing with it. It was a lovely little ball of fluff, and admittedly, she didn't want to give her back to the owner later, whoever it was.

All things considered, she didn't feel like going back home for the afternoon, either. Because kitty.

Vine Staff didn't show to be much of an animal person, usuallly just preferring, y'know, plants, but she was growing very fond of the feline, very quickly.

She purred and brushed against her chin, to which she picked her back up and dug her face in her fur. Maybe she could convince Sling to get a cat after this. Or steal this one, she hadn't quite decided yet.

She could hear somebody walk in and assumed it was Shuriken, but soon realized it didn't quite sound like him... eh.

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Doomsekkar hurryingly walked through Crossroads. Now that they knew, they definetely were after her. ...And also she probably would be at the very least questioned due to the way she was dressed; trenchcoat, hood and a hat so she was hidden. Her tail did cause a weird bump on the back though.

In the midst, under the tower in the middle, she could've sworn she saw Ghosdeeri. They narrowly ignored the urge to go up to her and decided to ask for hiding in a nearby cafe. A customer was there drinking something but they doubted he'd care.

She slammed her hands on the counter just a bit too violently, before speaking. "Could I hide here."

The poor worked at the counter seemed very confused and stayed silent.

"...and also could I have a pastry."

"Any kind-?"

"Yes, any is fine."

"Alright then-" and he then handed her a donut.

"Thank you." She replied, before hurrying into the back and slamming the door behind her and taking off the hood with a sigh.

A lightbulb soon turned on, which illuminated a demon in the room with a cat.

...Who just so happend to be the flower girl from the day prior.
Doom's heart -if they have one at all- jumped at seeing her, and their pupils narrowed.

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Vine Staff felt like she nearly had a heart attack when the door suddendly was slammed shut and the lights turned on. Infront of her was the watcher she'd freed the day prior, back to the door, looking bewildered. She subconsciously held Princess a little closer.

The two just stared at eachother for a long, long, long time, until Vine spoke up. "...are you stalking me?!"

"What-" Doomsekkar immediately began freaking out. "no no no-! It- seems that by chance this is the first place I stumbled upon to hide, and-"

"Hide? From who?"

And a long pause.

"...Ghostwalker. Just being out is too dangerous, he discovered I was freed and if he finds me, he'll-"

they paused. They... didn't know what he'd do, but they knew it would be no-good for them. They clutched at their chest before speaking again. "...do nothing good. I'm sure of it."

Vine Staff's gaze moved to the familiar flowers in the watcher's eye. "Sorry. About that, and... those."

"What- ah."

They reached out a clawed hand to brush over the bloom, the touch gentle as to not hinder the flowers. "It's... fine - they'll go away anyways."

"They won't. Not on their own, at least."

They paused. Doom... didn't want the flowers gone. They weren't sure why, but they just... didn't.

"..."

"Think about it, alright? Just remember they will stay."

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Doomsekkar was much more of an animal person than Vine Staff was. Her library was stationed in a jungle, so of course she was used to them. Having been bound and all, though, she didn't really get to interact with one in quite some time.

Hesitantly, they reached out and gently patted Princess's head. It felt nice. She let out a "mrp", and from then on Doom was hooked.

For quite some time, the Thief just sat there, looking at the other playing with the cat, before she decided to speak up.

"...by the way, what can I call you?"

"Hm?" they looked up, confused.

"Your name."

"Ah - Doom- Doomsekkar."

"You don't seem very doom-like to me," the demon chuckled, leaning on the armrest of the couch with a slight smile.

"...Not my fault that's the name I was given."

"Right. I'm Vine Staff."

Vine Staff... a pretty name, for an equally pretty demon. Not that Doom would say that out loud, but it still was an observation. Their thoughts were broken by her voice again.

"Pleasure to meet you,"

"Pleasure to- meet you too."

In their moment of distraction, the cat had went back to the couch and fallen asleep. The two silently agreed to not wake her up.

She was really mesmerizing. The demon, not the cat. The watcher's gaze eventually fell back on her, and they just kind of... stared whilst their hands shifted nervously.

They held back from reaching out and trying to touch her hair -because it'd be weird-, but they couldn't help but remember that brief moment they saw her with her hair down during their first encounter.

"You look better with your hair down," they muttered without thinking.

"...hm? You think so?"

Ah- was she offended? Did they just mess up? They should think more berore saying things, and-

"I don't keep it down very often, for practicality. Wouldn't want your hair in your face in the middle of a phight or whilst dealing with orders," she said, ruffling one of the locks around her finger.

"But what about your free time?"

"I may or may not tend to... forget to undo it. So even then I have it up."

"I see.
Even when you go to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't it hurt after some time?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Is that just a common trait between you watchers?"

They hesitated for a second before answering. "...Yes, mostly so."

"Well, that explains it.
Anyhow, to answer you, I'm used to tying my hair, so the pain numbed out a long time ago. I don't have to worry about it anytime soon."

Doomsekkar nodded. They kind of wished they had hair, so maybe they could get her to style it. They wondered about all the pretty hairstyles she could make, and... ah, their thoughts are wandering again.

The two went silent again after a bit, but it wasn't an awkard silence by any means. ...Probably because they were both staring at the cat. But Vine didn't have a knack for silence, so she spoke up again. "You wouldn't mind if I ask something more... personal, would you?"

"Ask ahead. You have the right to have your doubts answered when I had mine."

"Before you were... imprisoned. Were you and the other watchers on good terms?"

Doom didn't answer for a minute or two, just looking down at the floor.

"...I apologize if the subject is too touchy, I-"

"No, no. It's fine. We... were on good terms for the most part, yes. Granted, there were only three of us back then - but good terms regardless."

"..."

"Our friendship was short-lived, but I was closer to Ghosdeeri than I was to Dusekkar despite having known them for longer. We were in a constant exchange of information. But alas, things weren't how I thought they were."

"...how come?"

"Because she was my replacement."

That was a heavy one to drop, and Doomsekkar soon began to regret their words. They didn't have the right to dump that onto the poor demon like that, and-

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Finding out somebody you grew close to was just made to be a "better" you must have been... tough."

They sighed. "It was. But hey, I had plenty of time to think about it in those binds.
...Thank- you for freeing me, by the way."

"No problem," Vine said, smiling slightly.

"Do you happen to have any water?"

"Er... yes. There should be some in the front. I can go get it if you'd like."

Doomsekkar nodded, and Vine quietly went to the front just as Skateboard was leaving, ruffling Slingshot's hair before turning to the exit.

"Sup, Vine."

""Sup", Skate. ...I assume I used that right."

"Yeah, don't worry. See ya, Sling! See ya, Vine!"

"See you."

"...See you..."

The catboy seemed somewhat on edge and his face was slightly tinted darker, though she didn't ask anything about it to fetch the water for the watcher.

Imagine her surprise when instead of drinking she watched them somehow take it out of the bottle in a square and use it as a mirror.

"...WHAT are you doing?"

"Looking at myself."

"If you wanted a mirror you could've asked for that, not... water."

"You have one?"

"Of course I do!"

"Ah."

She then spilled the water on the floor.

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"You know Ghosdeeri? Personally?"

"Not personally, we're moreas friendly aquaintances. But yes, I do know her."

"So when- when the other watchers find out I was freed, you'll be in trouble aswell! Because if somebody tells her that you-"

"Don't worry, I've only told Shuriken and Slingshot - you've only seen the latter, he is the one in the front."

"The cat guy?"

"The... cat guy." she nodded.

"And who is Shuriken?"

"He's my brother. He's home until tonight, since he has the late afternoon and closing shift on Mondays and Thursdays,"

"I see."

Whilst sitting there and chatting about, a realization crossed her mind.

"I have to go home at some point."

"...and- ah."

"We can't really leave you here, I assume." Vine Staff said, sitting up. "I think you'd like Thieves' Den, if it wasn't that since you have a deity after you you have to stay hidden."

"Yes... though I could come along with the disguise."

"Are you sure? It's quite a warm and humid place, especially in the summer."

"I'm sure."

"Then I guess you'll live with me and the others from now on..."