Gluttony
Sera was eerily calm the morning after the attack. Carmilla had asked her if she was alright multiple times, but the former angel always brushed her off. They had gone to bed together, but when Carmilla had woken up, Sera was gone and the note on her pillow said she was heading to the hotel early.
Carmilla wouldn’t normally be worried, except last night Sera had killed two demons and had brushed it off as if it was nothing. But Carmilla knew better. Carmilla knew Sera was probably freaking out, but hiding it from her so she wouldn’t worry.
Well, too late! I’m already worrying!
Carmilla decided to give Sera some space and check on her during lunch time at the hotel. In the meantime she had work to do.
By the time lunch rolled around Carmilla felt like a lifetime had passed. Instead of getting any work done, she spent the time worrying about what to say to Sera. On the one hand, Sera had seemed fine during and after the act, but Carmilla knew her, and Sera was nothing if not an overthinker.
So, as soon as that clock struck noon, Carmilla called her car and made her way over to the Hazbin Hotel.
She went into the lobby and instantly spotted those beautiful black feathers over by the bar. Bad sign.
As soon as she locked eyes on her girlfriend, she knew something was off. She was slouching against the bar as if her legs couldn’t hold her up and she was holding a bottle of wine in her hand. Carmilla mentally cursed herself for not checking in sooner.
“Mother!” Carmilla’s eyes snapped to her two daughters who were grimacing at her.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Her tone was reprimanding.
Odette and Clara bowed their heads. Odette replied. “We were going to call, but she said she didn’t want to worry you, so we were going to wait for her to sleep it off or something before calling you.”
Carmilla took a deep breath to keep her from blowing up at her children. After all, it wasn’t their fault and she couldn’t deal with more feelings right now. She nodded her understanding and gave them a pointed look. “Next time, call me. No matter what she says, sí?
Both gave her a sharp nod and scurried up the winding staircase.
Carmilla composed herself and walked over to the bar. She saw Husk try to snatch the bottle of wine out of Sera’s hands, but she somehow managed to evade him, even in her drunk state. Next to her, Angel Dust was sipping on a whiskey and snickering every time Husk missed.
Then her eyes fell on Sera as she was finishing a story she was telling. “And so, they asked me why I fell from Heaven and I said, get this,” she giggled and hiccuped before continuing, “I said that since my girlfriend wouldn’t move in with me, I had to come move in with her.”
Angel and Sera had burst out laughing while Husk just huffed out a small chuckle.
Carmilla came to stand behind her girlfriend. “Charming.”
Sera slammed the bottle down and turned at lightning pace. The movement caused her to stagger and Carmilla had to help her stand up right. When Sera’s eyes focused on her she gave Carmilla a wide lopsided smile. “My angel!”
Angel snickered at the pet name and Carmilla looked over Sera’s shoulder to glare at him. “Out, Angel Dust.”
He quickly sobered up and saluted before dashing out. With one look at Husk, the cat-like demon put his hands up in surrender and turned around to clean the glasses.
Carmilla returned her gaze to her drunk girlfriend. “Sera, have you ever had wine before?”
The taller woman hiccuped and shook her head. “Nope! Well, depends. Do the sips at communion count? Because if so, then yes.”
Carmilla groaned. It was going to be a long day.
She ushered her girlfriend towards the door and then to the car, her staggering and stumbling making the short trek ten times longer.
Once they were safely in the car, Carmilla let out a sigh and turned to face her inebriated partner. “What were you thinking, Sera?”
Sera looked slightly abashed. But Carmilla didn’t let her respond, she pressed on. “Actually, don’t answer that because you clearly weren’t. Getting drunk in the middle of the day? Really? I know Husk and Angel wouldn’t have let anything happen to you, but what if they hadn't been there? What if it had been some other poor sinner who just wanted to wreak some havoc? It’s not unusual for Vox to send down a few saboteurs every once in a while, you know. And you would have made the perfect target. You need to be more careful. If you’re going to get piss drunk at least do it in the safety of your own home.”
What Carmilla really wanted to say was what the hell happened to make you get drunk and why didn’t you tell me? But Carmilla could never be so forward with her feelings.
Sera, for her part, seemed to be on the verge of tears as she heard Carmilla’s speech. She nodded solemnly and replied, “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. I was just so mad I–” She paused and pursed her lips to keep herself from crying. She seemed to be sobering up by the second.
Carmilla urged her on, her fury softening to worry. “Dime, mi amor. Por favor.”
Sera sniffled and continued. “I want to say I did it because I could. Because I’m free from the constraints placed upon me as High Seraphim. But that’s not true.” She looked away from Carmilla. “I did it because I wanted to hide from my feelings. I had heard that drinking could numb the pain, and I just wanted to feel normal for a while.”
Carmilla was going to kill whoever gave Sera that misguided advice, but for now she focused on her hurting girlfriend.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were in pain? Did I do something to hurt you, amor?”
Sera’s gaze snapped back to hers. “No! It wasn’t you. It’s just… I’m afraid, Carmilla. Afraid of my actions last night. I couldn’t even recognize myself in the mirror. It’s like something took hold of me and it wouldn’t let go. I committed Mortal Sin, Carmilla. I killed. I could have just portaled us out of there, but a part of me wanted to see them suffer. I wanted them to hurt for what they were saying about you, about us. What have I become?”
Carmilla gave her sad smile. “You’re just like the rest of us now, amor. Selfish, prideful, vengeful.”
Sera shook her head. “But you’re not like that. You’re kind and loving, and-”
“And selfish and prideful and vengeful. They don’t cancel out, my sweet.”
The former angel seemed to be struggling with this new information. “Then, how do I control it? I don’t want to feel like this all the time.”
Carmilla raised a hand to her cheek. “I think it’s time you and Vaggie had a chat. I know you don’t like each other, but she has been through all of this before so I think you should reach out to her. Ask for her help.”
Sera looked like she was going to reject her idea but she reigned herself in. “Right. Put my pride aside. I can do that.”
Carmilla chuckled. “That’s it. You’re starting to get the hang of it.”
The next morning, Carmilla woke up to Sera wrapped around her like a serpent. That’s more like it.
Carmilla raised a gentle hand to Sera’s horns and caressed them. Sera squirmed against her and grumbled into her neck, “Never let me drink wine ever again.”
Carmilla laughed long and hard. “Deal.”