Bruce dragged his eyes away from the legs--his mother and Betty--and looked at Tony, clenching his teeth and trying to remember that they were okay, that this was Alessa's hell and not his, and why was he freaking out he had to keep it together for their sake
And then something started crawling down the wall.
Bruce flinched away, bringing everyone's attention to the movement.
"Meet Valtiel." Alessa's lips formed a crooked smile, but her eyes were dark.
It was a monster. Humanoid, but sewn into a shell of leathery stitched skin, with tattooed symbols on its shoulders and faceless save for stitches along its head. Its head was constantly twitching uncontrollably, like it was having a localized seizure, obscuring any kind of features it might have.
Then it crawled down the machinery like a spider, landing soundlessly on the ground, its neck craning as it crouched low to the floor and its head shuddered and thrashed.
"Valtiel." Alessa patted her thigh as if it were a dog. "Come."
It charged, limbs scurrying and bending at awkward inhuman angles, before it scooped Alessa up into its leathery, spider-like arms. She instinctively grabbed its biceps, her nails digging into its flesh, but it just pressed its twitching face into her abdomen, its fingers grasping at her clothes like no non-monster could, curling into fists that kept her locked in its embrace.
"It's okay. I'm here now." The crooked smile didn't shift. She lightly stroked its head with the tips of her fingers, apparently uncaring that it had just grabbed her.
To Steve, who was staring in confusion at the interaction, Valtiel wasn't a monster. He looked like a man, one with long tattered wings wrapped tight around him and a leather sack over his head. A fallen angel, holding and pressing its face against Alessa as if it would never let go again.
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And then something started crawling down the wall.
Bruce flinched away, bringing everyone's attention to the movement.
"Meet Valtiel." Alessa's lips formed a crooked smile, but her eyes were dark.
It was a monster. Humanoid, but sewn into a shell of leathery stitched skin, with tattooed symbols on its shoulders and faceless save for stitches along its head. Its head was constantly twitching uncontrollably, like it was having a localized seizure, obscuring any kind of features it might have.
Then it crawled down the machinery like a spider, landing soundlessly on the ground, its neck craning as it crouched low to the floor and its head shuddered and thrashed.
"Valtiel." Alessa patted her thigh as if it were a dog. "Come."
It charged, limbs scurrying and bending at awkward inhuman angles, before it scooped Alessa up into its leathery, spider-like arms. She instinctively grabbed its biceps, her nails digging into its flesh, but it just pressed its twitching face into her abdomen, its fingers grasping at her clothes like no non-monster could, curling into fists that kept her locked in its embrace.
"It's okay. I'm here now." The crooked smile didn't shift. She lightly stroked its head with the tips of her fingers, apparently uncaring that it had just grabbed her.
To Steve, who was staring in confusion at the interaction, Valtiel wasn't a monster. He looked like a man, one with long tattered wings wrapped tight around him and a leather sack over his head. A fallen angel, holding and pressing its face against Alessa as if it would never let go again.