[IC] Stranger Beetles

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice tilted his head at her. "Why don't we find somewhere for you to get some rest. It's getting kinda' late. We can scam people out of their money in the morning."

He paused and looked around. There was a pretty fancy hotel across the street from them. "What do you think?" He asked, wagging his tail. "Sneak in a fancy hotel room, trash the place?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"We could, but what happens if someone pays for the room and finds us there? How are we going to explain how we got in there without anyone seeing us?" Lydia asked, a little concerned. God, the labradoodles were finally rubbing off on her.

[Metronome]

"Huh...I guess that really only works it you're invisible..." His tail drooped. He trotted along silently, thinking. All the odd ball places he would sleep weren't really fitting for a human. Why did humans have to be so fragile? "What about one of those totally sketchy mattress stores? We could pop into one, set up camp, and leave before they open!"

[Beetlejuice96]

"That...actually might work. Besides, I've always wanted to jump on a bed without getting yelled at." Lydia smiled widely at the thought. "Let's do it!" She cheered happily.

[Metronome]

"Yeah, and there's gotta be a Mattress Firm around here somewhere. Most places you can't walk five feet without running across one. Those filthy money laundering fiends." He trotted alongside her, and sure enough, they eventually came to a corner with said Mattress Firm wedged between two shops.

"Come on!" BJ poof'd them inside. There were several mattresses to choose from, and Dogjuice took the liberty of running across every, single one of them. "Oooo this one's memory foam!"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia giggled before climbing onto one before promptly jumping on it like a trampoline and hopping onto the next one. "Whoo-hoo!" She cheered as she chased after Beej. She then gasped, "Pillows!" She exclaimed before grabbing one and throwing it towards him.

[Metronome]

Dogjuice caught the pillow in his mouth and promptly shredded it. "Wow, that tasted super over priced!" He bounced on the bed excitedly. "Toss me another!"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia laughed before tossing another one at him then hopping over to him, hitting him with a third she was holding. "PILLOW FIGHT!" She roared playfully, finally feeling like a kid. A real kid.

[Metronome]

Dogjuice yelped as he was pummeled off the bed. When he flew back up, he was regular Beetlejuice again, but with four extra arms, each holding a pillow.

"Don't start fights you can't end, kid!" He flew at her, swinging pillows wildly. Hearing her laugh stirred up a joyfulness that he hadn't felt in a very long time. If ever. Neither had been given much of a chance at happiness in their lives...or afterlives. Sometimes it was the little things, like beating the absolutely hell out of each other with pillows.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia screamed in laughter as she was attacked and attacked him in return. It wasn't until much later, when feathers were falling like snowflakes, that she collapsed onto one of the beds, softly giggling. "That was fun." She said, still smiling.

[Metronome]

"Yeah! And the best part is we don't have to clean it up!" Beetlejuice, who had taken the liberty of transforming into a giant spider with a pillow in each hand, shifted back. He flew over to the shelf that stored overpriced blankets and tacky comforters and grabbed a couple. He tore open the packaging and unfurled the blankets over Lydia.

"Get some rest, kid. We got exploring to do tomorrow! I wanna find the best roaches this city has to offer." With that, the demon shifted into a cat and pawed at the blankets at the foot of the bed before curling up in them.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia rolled her eyes at the mention of Beetlejuice wanting to find bugs, but that's what she was used to being around him for years. "Night, Beej. Hopefully tomorrow is a great expedition." She yawned before sleep consumed her.

___

I can't stay here anymore being caged like an animal. I've suffered enough to last a lifetime. I'm leaving and I'm not coming back.

Lydia

The note read the next morning when Charles came to check on her.

[Metronome]

Catjuice's ears twitched at the sound of keys jiggling the lock on the door. Had they slept in?

"Oh shit!" He clambered up and dove for Lydia, touching a paw to her face just as the door swung open. Suddenly, they were in the park down the street. A jogger paused, a bit startled to see them there, but decided to keep going.

"Sorry Lyds. Didn't want us to end up on the 6 o'clock news." He shifted back into his dog form, probably a lot less conspicuous than the cat. "Well, the world's ours for takin' kid. What do you wanna do today?"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia blinked upon the sudden sunlight in her face as she woke up, seeing herself in the park along with Beetlejuice. She let out a yawn as she looked around in her duffel bag. "Well, we could start off with finding a place for breakfast. What sounds good, breakfast burritos or see if I have enough to get something from a diner?"

[Metronome]

"Whichever you want, kid. I'll be looking at a different menu, anyways," he grinned, his tail thumbing.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia shook her head before heading off to find breakfast,thankfully coming across a van where she got herself a breakfast burrito. "Okay. Should we find a place where I can give people readings or did you have something else in mind?" She asked as she ate.

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice had managed to pounce on a fat city rat, and had already wolfed it down whole. He looked pretty pleased with himself.

"Well, we gotta make money somehow, kid. I'm still in favor of robbing the bank. I'm sure you'll come around eventually." He paused, something catching his eye. Dogjuice stood, his ears perked and his hackles raised. It looked like he wasn't the only demon in this city.

[Beetlejuice96]

"What's wrong?" Lydia asked as she looked around for a human; hoping it wasn't someone who knew her. She didn't know that it was a demon nor that it wasn't in human form. A beautiful, white Turkish Angora cat sat with its fluffy tail curled around its paws, amber eyes locked onto Dogjuice's. It seemed taken back that he was there.

[Metronome]

Dogjuice growled, then barked rabidly at the cat to make his point. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" He snarled at the cat.

[Beetlejuice96]

The cat instantly fluffed up in defense, letting out mumbling growling meows as its ears lay flat on its head. "Now, now, Beetle, sweetheart, darling, no need to cause a scene." The cat spoke in a voice that was neither male or female.

Lydia blinked in surprise as the cat spoke, especially since it called Beetlejuice sweetheart and darling. "Beej, you know this cat?"