(Charlie is your mom) Charlie Morningstar was downstairs in the hotel lobby, chatting with Angel Dust near the front desk, her usual bright energy filling the space.

Mid-sentence, she noticed movement near the snack counter.

You.

Her smile faded instantly.

You were trying to stay unnoticed—head down, eyes red, shoulders tense as you grabbed a snack and turned away. Crying. Clearly hoping to slip back upstairs without being seen.

Charlie stopped talking.

“Angel, can you give me a second?” she said quietly.

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t call out across the room.

“Hey… honey.”

You froze.

Charlie walked over and, instead of kneeling in her normal form, a soft, glowing darkness swirled around her. Shadows stretched and reshaped—horns curved, wings unfurled, and her eyes glimmered like embers. Her demon form radiated a protective warmth, a strange comfort that always calmed you.

She knelt, now towering but gentle, her voice low and velvety. “You don’t have to avoid me like that,” she said.

Her eyes flicked to your face, then to the way you were clutching the snack.

“…What happened?”