The way to the town's library Lavaid could only describe as painfully boring. The building wasn't even remotely close to where the old sack of bones lived which meant they had to walk for far too long in order to get there. He quickly learnt that Mary-Ann had no other means of transportation save for her feet.

Such a physically challenging and time-consuming task wasn't in the demon's to-do list. He didn't welcome the burning of his leg muscles and the tingling feeling in his otherwise numb heels. He wasn't used to walking this much. Back in Hell he used teleportation to get wherever his heart desired, even if that meant going from his home to the shop across the street.

He let out a frustrated sigh. He had no other option but to endure his suffering and memorize his surroundings. Remembering the street signs he had passed by could come in handy, especially considering he was new to human architecture and didn't know the difference between any of the buildings in sight.

While the boy was trying to keep his sanity from the tediousness, Mary-Ann was quietly minding her own business. Though she was usually bursting with energy, she got tired on the 10th minute of her leaving the house. She was exhausted and couldn't help but wish she had asked the sweet woman nextdoor to drive them to their destination. The neighbouring family had always been there to help her with whatever she needed and she was very grateful for their kindness. Now, however, she didn't know how to explain the sudden appearance of a very bizarre looking boy that was tagging along with her.

She opted to give him a once-over. He had slightly altered his complexion to look more human before going out. His sharp horns and strangely sassy tail were gone. His skin was no longer red and was rather pale in comparison to most of the people's in the country.  The red hue of his eyes had faded, leaving a muddy brown in their stead.

If one looked at him right now they wouldn't see anything but a normal teenager accompanying his grandmother. There was nothing suspicious about the two of them at first glance. But if you payed enough attention to their body language you'd see her shaking in her boots, never getting closer to the demon more than necessary. She was clearly fairly uncomfortable in his dark, brooding presence.

"Are we there yet?" asked her impatient companion. He was watching her from the corner of his eye, not bothering to face her properly.

"We are getting there," she answered, unsuccessfully concealing the slight squeak in her voice. She squirmed under his scrutiny.  She noticed the barely there smirk that pulled at his lips at her reaction.

That brat is enjoying himself too much for my liking, thought Mary-Ann as she narrowed frowned, displeased with the fact he was using her for his own amusement.

Ever since she was little she had never been a fan of being seen as somebody weak. She could never stand being underestimated, viewed as a rug to step on, to be used and thrown away for somebody else's sick entertainment.

With a newfound confidence she managed to get the words out without any hint of hesitation, fear even. "What is a creature like you doing here anyway?"

That got his attention. He finally looked her dead in the eyes – his eyes did indeed look dead – and scoffed at her boldness. "I do whatever I like without being questioned, granny."

"Oh, I bet you chose to be here. Say, didn't you mention something about punishment... It doesn't sound very fun to me." Lavaid didn't appreciate her sticking her nose where it didn't belong. He hated the mischievous glint in her eyes, the mocking smile on her face. Damn that old bag of ashes, looking all smug and shit.

He stuffed his hands in his jacket's pockets deciding to ignore the nuisance for now. Despite his cantankerous nature, he couldn't let himself become angry or he'd do something regretful to the human. He didn't have the option of losing her as his guide at the time being. Maybe later, he promised to himself. I still have shit to figure out myself.

Mary-Ann groaned at the blatant way he avoided acknowledging she even opened her mouth, much less her questions. He was stubborn, she noted. That wouldn't help her much with getting information out of the demon. With a defeated sigh, her burst of courage long gone, she looked ahead. The moment she did, the library came into view like the blessing in disguise it was.

"We have arrived, you fiend."

Inside the library was quiet, naturally.  The demon, however, found that very odd. He wasn't used to public libraries. In Hell everybody had their own private one, or at least the wealthy folk did. He wasn't sure about the poor bastards out there, nor did he really care about them.

His eyes didn't linger on one spot for more than a second, they were constantly drinking in even the slightest of details. Humans sure were something else, he supposed. Everything seemed too colourful for his taste – from the covers of the books to the different shades of the wallpapers. He felt like his eyeballs were about to fall off, unable to stand such outrageous disharmony. It hurt his very demon soul to have a peaceful space such as this and to barf a rainbow all over it.

Finally he stopped at the big computers in the far right corner. The 80's called, they want their desktops back. Even back home he had more modern ones than those. He wondered if the thing even functioned before heading over to check for himself. Mary-Ann was left behind, unable to match the pace of the now seemingly energised walking sin.

Lavaid sat uncomfortably on the wooden chair in front of the desk. It was killing his backside with each second he spent trying to turn the ancient artifact on.  But it was to no avail. The damn thing refused to come back to land of the living.

He pulled at his hair, too annoyed with his luck. He had tried all three computers and none of them worked. Of course, just his luck. Oh and what luck he had. He quickly let go of his abused locks when he tugged too harshly. Whatever tread he was holding onto snapped. Stupid humans, stupid technology, stupid library, stupid Earth. Stupid, stupid, stu—

Amidst his inner monologue he didn't register his hand moving on its own and slamming his fist on the wooden surface. A loud bang sounded in the gravely silent hall. All heads turned to look at him and what had caused the noise.

Lavaid glanced down. His hand was throbbing, a bruise already forming from the ridiculous amount of strength he used on the innocent piece of furniture. He then took in the damage he had caused in front of the bane of his existence – the irritatingly curious humans. The keyboard was smashed into pieces, some of which he could still feel digging into his skin. The desk itself was barely hanging in there with a deep crack in its middle.

He turned back and saw all the questioning faces of the irrelevant spectators. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling drained, and took a deep breath, "Fucking hell."