Fortunately, when we reached the car, Neil was able to to open the door and get in without my help. I climbed into the drivers seat and put on my seat belt before driving out of the school parking lot.
"Is there anything in particular you want to do?" My eyes left the road for a moment to glance at him as I asked.
He stared out the window at all the passing scenery as he answered. "I don't know enough about the human world to decide so I will leave that up to you."
I thought for a moment about where we could go. My mouth pulled into a smile as I thought about the perfect place to take him. "Alright, I have an idea."
"What is your idea?" He moved his gaze to me, waiting for an answer.
I grinned at him happily. "It's a surprise."
"Hmm, I've never been surprised before, how exciting." He replied giddily, making a small smile form on my lips. He stared out the car window at the passing scenery with a pleased look on his face.
I decided to take the long way to where we were going so he could see more of the forest surrounding the town. About ten minutes later I pulled into the parking lot of our destination.
"Follow me." I instructed as I got out of the car and motioned for him to do the same. When he got out I locked the doors and made my way to the building.
"What is this? Where are we?" He asked curiously.
"Just come inside and you'll see." I smirked, knowing he would love this place, and headed inside. The sound of dogs barking hit me as soon as I opened the door to the animal shelter. I looked behind me and saw Xaneil perk up instantly.
He looked around and ran to the nearest kennel to him and then to every one of them after that, his tail swishing excitedly. A fluttering feeling erupted in my stomach as I watched him interact with the dogs and the movement of his tail which was surprisingly cute.
I felt my face heat up once that thought had entered my mind. How could I even think that? He's a demon, he's deadly, not cute.
Although, when he acts so innocent... No! Get your shit together Kairan.
I ignored my previous thoughts and made my way towards the enthusiastic demon. "Do you like the surprise?" I asked with a small smile, already knowing the answer.
He looked at me with wide eyes and a large grin. "More than anything." His gaze turned back to the kennel with an Australian shepherd puppy that was wagging its tail and barking happily at him. I knew just what to do to make his day.
I walked over to the front counter and asked the lady about adopting dogs here. I told her which one I wanted and she told me about the adoption process and what he still needs to get done at the vet. "Now just fill out this paper work, sign here, and pay the adoption fee and he's all yours." The employee smiled at me and handed me the adoption papers.
I filled out the sheet and handed it back to older woman along with the fee amount. "Alright, let's go get him so you can take him home." She walked over to the kennel and unlocked the door for me to grab him. I gently picked up the puppy and cradled him in my arms with Xaneil looking at us in awe. I smiled to the woman as I thanked her on our way out.
When we got in the car, I set the puppy down in his lap so he could hold him, both of them seemed very happy about this. I shook my head with a grin and began the drive to the pet store so we could get some essentials for the puppy.
"So, any ideas for a name?" I asked him.
He gasped. "I get to name him?" He shouted eagerly.
"Go for it."
"Craig." He smiled proudly at himself.
I shook my head with a sigh. "No, that's not a dog name."
"It is too a name, I've known many humans with it."
"Human names and pet names are different. Human names are more practical while pet names are usually something cutesy and simple." I explained.
He looked at the dog in concentration. "What about Blue?"
"Yeah, I like that." I smiled at him in approval.
We made it to the pet store and I took Blue from him despite his protests. "You can't carry him while we're in public, all people would see is a floating dog."
He sighed dejectedly. "I suppose you're right." We got out of the car and went into the pet store. I grabbed a small basket and walked us over to the collar and leash aisle and picked out bright blue ones to match his eyes and name. I then filled the basket full of toys and dog hygiene items.
I was going to grab a bag of puppy food also, but with my hands full of the dog and the basket, I decided to buy the stuff I had first and then come back for the food. When we got back to the car, I put the collar on Blue and attached the leash then made my way back into the store. I searched for the healthiest bag of puppy food and stopped at the dog tag machine before going to the checkout. I put Blue's name on the tag along with my phone number and address then finished with the shopping.
I handed Blue back to Xaneil when we got in the car again and then called the veterinary clinic to make an appointment for Blue. The appointment was set for Saturday and I headed back to my house for the rest of today to do homework and allow Xaneil to play with Blue.
I showed them into the living room and put on The Lion King as another human experience for him to have as I set my bag down and began to work on homework. The movie and Blue seemed to keep his attention which I was glad to see because I wasn't sure what to show him for him to learn about humans and see the way we live. You can never go wrong with Disney movies and animals though, not for this man-child at least.
My stomach growled reminding me that I haven't eaten today so I got up to make dinner. "Neil, do you eat?" He looked up from playing tug-of-war with Blue.
"It's not necessary, but I'd like to." I nodded in response and grabbed the right proportions for two. While in the kitchen, I filled Blue's food bowl so he could eat dinner also.
"I hope you like pasta." I sat a plate down in front of him on the coffee table. A moan escaping his mouth as he takes a bite. "I assume you like it." I say with a light chuckle.
"Human food is incredible. Why don't we have this in hell?" Food fell out of his mouth and onto his plate as he continued to stuff his face while talking.
"I don't know. If you like it so much, why don't you take it up with Satan?" I joked.
"That's a good idea, I'll be sure to do that." He stated nonchalantly causing me to choke on my food.
"What? You can't actually be serious! You can't bother Satan with something so stupid, he'll demolish you!" I replied astounded which only made him smirk.
"Lucy and I are long time friends, and he's not as bad as a guy as people seem to think."
"He's the ruler of Hell, how can he not be bad? And how could you have possibly become friends with the second most powerful being in existence?"
A hurt look crossed his face. "I'm from hell, am I so bad?"
"W-well, no, but he's the ruler of Hell for a reason. That's where people are sent to suffer for all of eternity, is it possible for him to be good?"
"He's in hell because that's where God-" He grimaced at this, "assigned him. It is also Him who sends the people to Hell to suffer. Tell me which one of them seems like the bad guy."
I moved the food on my plate around with my fork as I thought about what he said, feeling somewhat ashamed for judging those who I didn't really know anything about. "You're right, that's not Lucifer's fault. He's just doing his job." Xaneil nodded and went back to eating. "You still haven't told me how you know him."
"Oh, well I'm his second in command, just as Michael is to... G-word." I began coughing rigorously as the complete shock of his statement stupefied me into not being able to swallow the bite correctly. I need to learn to stop eating when he speaks, nothing normal ever comes out of his mouth.
"You're joking, you must be. What the hell are you doing with me if you're that powerful? Oh my God, I'm going to die." I said breathlessly.
"Please, Kairan, I have told you not to use that word."
"S-sorry. M-may I ask why?"
"Most words that are associated with holiness make any creature of Hell uncomfortable. It is part of our curse. It's why people pray in times of fear, it casts out all surrounding 'evil.' For me it's just discomfort and sometimes a little pain, for lower ranking demons it can be excruciating." He explained.
"I'm sorry, I'll try to be more careful." I promised.
"Kairan." He didn't say anything until I looked him in the eye. "You do not need to fear me, I will not hurt you." He looked and sounded so sincere that I had to believe him. I nodded in response.
We watched some more movies, played with Blue, and talked until it started to get late and I decided it was time to go to bed. I went to my room and climbed into bed after changing. Sleep overtook me as soon as my head hit the pillow.
