Chapter Text
Husk wanted to go home.
He had managed to stay out of a situation like this for years. He had hoped, as ridiculous as it sounded, that he would never find himself out here.
He did nothing that would have brought him here either. He had given it his all the previous week. Despite being given ridiculous tasks, he did not make any mistakes. It was extremely rare for him to agree with Al's requests without complaining—without complaining, for fucks sake! That’s premium service from him.
He kept thinking how unfair this was. Maybe if he had complained more, he could have avoided this entirely. Begged to be excused from the bullshit the prick had pulled out of his ass at the worst possible time—
"CAW CAW!"
Husk was jolted out of his bitter thoughts by the echoing caws of crows screeching in the night sky. Pausing his movements, he looked up and glared at the opportunistic vultures sitting atop pointed rooftops, hungrily waiting for something to drop dead for them to feast on, beaks still covered in blood and feathers littered with fresh gore.
Hearing rats squeaking below, and something scurry across his tail, made Husk flinch and instinctively raise his appendage out of the reach of deadly, razor-sharp little incisors. But looking down at the rodents revealed that he didn’t need to worry, since the little shits were already carrying their own feast, consisting of some poor bastard’s index finger and eyeball between them.
As he was watching the rats flee, he heard a crow caw, and before he could blink, a black blur swooped down, grabbed a rat, and soared away.
Watching the crow fly off with its dinner, Husk noticed black smoke flowing out of blackened chimney stacks, seeing the sky darken from the smog filling the sky and turning the clouds grey.
A muffled scream startled Husk. Coming from within one of the many buildings around him, more screams suddenly bombarded him from all sides, drawing his ears back—his keen hearing also picked up the faint howling of dogs and neighing of horses somewhere within the town.
Husk covered his ears with his hands to muffle all the sudden sounds, feeling his heart race in fear. His face scrunched up in irritation as he noticed that just a few loud noises were causing his fur to bristle and lose control of his senses.
Thinking to himself, ”Why do I have to deal with this shit?”
A faint buzzing suddenly filled his ear drums, making him jump, eyes rapidly darting about for the source of the sound. Then, a small faint glimmer caught his attention, and he let out a relieved huff as he realized just what he was looking at.
"Just a bug..." Husk muttered as the tiny firefly bounced its way around him before flying toward a flickering lamp post nearby.
He dropped his arms while keeping his attention on the little insect. Then his ears perked up at the sound of water splashing, glancing over the curb to see it gushing up from the gutters below.
Husk inhaled deeply, trying to unwind. Even if some of the terrifying tales and rumours he had heard about the Cannibal Colony were connecting, he still had his doubts.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK !!!"
𝘾𝙍𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙃!
"𝔊ℜℜℜ..."
Husk heard what sounded like a beast behind him. He swiftly turned to see what it was, but when he did, a horrible scene was crouching before him.
A colony demon squatting in the center of the street, staring at him while holding half a rat between his teeth. The poor rodent was still squirming and screeching, but the freak kept it restrained with both hands.
Husk believed it was just a stray demon hunting for food. Inspecting the scavenger, it looked like he was starving based on his baggy clothing, thin arms, face caked in dirt, and unruly hair.
But with long claw like nails, a piercing glare, and the subtle growling emanating from the freaks chest. It felt like he really was staring down a beast.
Then, the freak's mouth split wide with a hideous row of jagged, green teeth, and clamped his jaw down, crushing the rat with a revolting squish. Nausea grew at the sight.
Husk turned away in disgust as the demon withdrew his now bloodied hand from his lips and waved at him in a friendly manner. But, as he turned around, he was eye to eye with Alastor, with his face filling his view.
His annoying, mischievous face.
"Husker? Is the atmosphere of the Colony making your heart race? Or are you giddy with anticipation for the dinner we're all going to enjoy?" Alastor, accompanied by a laugh track, laughed heartily at his own shitty effort at humour.
Husk scowled and took a step back. Adjusting his bowtie and letting out a tired sigh.
“Yeah, you could say I'm a little anxious for this "dinner" you said we're having. The idea of being surrounded by a bunch of freaks like you all night long will do that.” Husk gruffed at Alastor, turning around to look back at the rat eater, but saw that he was gone.
“Please, Husker, surely this is more exciting than your previous plans for the evening.”
Eyebrows twitching in annoyance, Husk whipped his head back around to glare at Alastor, “What part of roulettes, whisky, and dames sounds boring? You said this would be some kinda special dinner I wouldn't wanna miss. I said no. So, ya sweetened the deal by promising me a whole barrel of booze and a week off from any more of your bullshit. And like the dumbass I am, I agreed." Husk marched up to Alastor and shoved a finger to his chest, saying, "But I didn’t agree to walk through this creepy shithole!”
After his outburst, Husk crossed his arms, which he had some difficulty doing due to the awkward attire he was required to wear.
Turning away from Alastor, Husk could feel his tail swaying angrily behind him, unfortunately, showing that he is genuinely upset by his circumstances. Trying to divert his focus on anything else, he noticed a colony of rats tearing apart a corpse across the street from them.
Husk turned back to a smug-faced Alastor. His face scrunching up with a deep frown at the, annoyingly, more preferable sight.
"Husker, am I not a man of my word?" Alastor vanished, resurfacing beside Husk and pulling him into a crushing side hug. "I did say this evening would be more exciting! And more entertaining than some raucous tavern with spinning wheels and harlots, trying to get their grubby hands on your wallet one way or the other... Now, please try to calm yourself. You have nothing to fear as long as you keep close to me.”
Blood was gushing to Husk's head as he struggled to escape Alastor's iron grip, he growled, "Lemme—GRRR—," as his rage grew. Alastor must have felt pity for him, because the immense constriction suddenly disappeared and Husk threw himself into the road with such force that he barely managed to stay on his feet. Swinging around, the enraged feline roared at the cheshire smiled bastard.
"If I was actually at a bar, I wouldn't have to worry about a damn thing! None of those 'harlots' would try to eat my heart out!” Alastor raised an eyebrow, tilting his head, widening the grin on his face.
Husk's anger increased, "Literally!” Baring his fangs in a feigned threat as he pointed an accusing finger at the Overlord.
“I know the chick you wanna bring me to, I ain't completely clueless about this shit. No one just gets invited out here.” Alastor flinched, Husk narrowed his eyes at the sudden change in the loudmouth pricks demeanor, he approached; perhaps he had discovered the bastards' scheme and was now silently annoyed, "So, tell me, I dare you, give me your word that this crazy bi—” Ear-deafening radio squealing erupted from Alastor. Husk quickly covered his ears at the sudden shriek of noise, shutting his eyes, nearly buckling over at the volume.
It was nearly unbearable, feeling his ears starting to hurt from the volume, Husk let out a pained whine, and mercifully, the noise faded away. Husk opened his eyes and was faced with a pair of red dress shoes before him. Raising his head, his face again came within inches of Alastors', but this time, his eyes were darker, his pupils glowing red, and his smile nearly splitting his face in two.
“Husker̶͍̦͕̎̈́̾,” voice full of static, “I allow you to ĕ̵̼͍x̸͖̓p̶͙̪͔̃̅r̸̘̓̒̚ė̵̖͌s̴͍̟͙̒̐̅s̵͉̲̆ yourself. Any way you wish̵̗̠̝͈͍͋̀̕. But I’m afraid when it comes t̷̫̬̟̽͌̌̍̋̇͂̎̋͊̾̃͝o Rosie…” Alastor inched closer, the brightness of his eyes hurting the felines retina.
"W̸͎͊̑̾̑͗̈́̇͂̓̀̚͝͝͝A̴̘͖̮̯̖̲̒̄̓̓̌̃́̍̿̋̿̊̇̚T̸̛̛̝̝̦̥̀̒̋̾͑̈́̀̎̂͆̚͠C̴̨̧̡̮̦̝͈̻̮̥͎͙̰͎͚̣̔̋̈́́̐̒̄̇͝H̴̙̣͖͕̬͙͚̱́̈͊̾͋̀̀̍ ̴̢̛͙̟̞̫͙̗̹̹̜̺̮̣̻̻̲̗̀̉͂͛̑̂̀̌́̏͂͋̊͐̐̑͠Ȳ̶̛̺͖̠̹͓̥͖͈̟̥͆̀̀̃̂̈̔̃̋̋́̇̅͗̕͠ͅÖ̷̜́̂͛́́̊̉̾Ư̸̡̧̡̩̜͇̗̻̝̙̍͛̈́̎̇͑̽̿͜͝R̵̨̧̢̭͚̯̤̦̦̮̦̳͍̬̳̣̬̘͚̠̜̪̆̎͊̑͂̒̐͗ ̵̡̪͉͍͈̝̝͈̭́̔̃̂̃̃̇͆̏̈̄̑̑̏̆́̂̓̔̚̚͝͝ͅͅT̴̡̡̤͔͔̻͙̙̹̺̹̻͎͚̤͍̱̻̭̻̐͆͊͛͆͂̈́̄̓͐̀́̈́̏͋̐̀̎̂̀̑͌̏͜ͅÖ̸̡̱̹̙̰͈̱͔̱̦̪͍̼̼̦̯̥̱́̂̈́͗̒́́̿͗͌͋̌͘͠͝Ń̵̜͖̞̜̞̥͔̙̥̹͍͓̝̠͐̆͗̅͛̏̉͗̈́͊͋̀͘̚̚͝E̴̡̛̛̛͓̹͉͈̱͊̃̿̀̔̈́̎̄͠͝"
Husk's eyes widened, his mouth gaped, and his ears pulled back. His fur bristled, and any words he could've said got lost in his throat.
Unexpectedly, Alastor's expression softened, the static disappeared, and his eyes turned back to normal. He pulled away from Husk, cleared his throat, and extended his hand.
Husk unconsciously reached for it, but as he was being dragged up and brought chest to chest, he immediately regretted it.
Attempting to pull away, he was immediately restrained with by an arm, seeing another arm rising to his head, Husk flinched in anticipation, but was taken aback when he received gentle head pats rather than something more sinister.
“I know your only upset because you haven't had a drink all day, but Rosie requested that we all make ourselves presentable. That means remaining sober until dinner.”
The brief inkling of fear Husk felt turned to fury. Alastor didn't stop his degrading pets while he spoke, and continued to cradle him in his arms. It felt like the prick was trying to say sorry to a cat he just scolded!
But before he could throw an outburst, Alastor released him, returning back to the sidewalk and walking away like nothing happened. "And if you would jog your memory back to this morning, I did say that Rosie requested us to follow certain rules," he continued while turning his head, giving a side glance, "One of them being a stroll around the Colony. A simple ritual for the citizens to get introduced to your scent. A necessity I might add in case you wish to visit again.”
He made it sound like a they were walking through a pack of wolves, but after the first encounter with one of the citizens of the Colony, Husk guessed it wasn't a bad comparison. However, that being the bullshit justification for them being unable to just teleport there with Alastor's voodoo magic bullshit was crap reasoning.
But Husk swallowed his complaints and gave a, “Yeah, whatever,” and followed behind Alastor, mumbling under his breath, “Doesn't make any of this less bullshit.”
Alastor clapped his hands together, put on jovial piano music, and marched forward with renewed determination, "Now, Rosie isn’t one to starve her guests, so we need to get back on track or else we will miss the starters, which CANNOT HAPPEN!"
Husk huffed, casting a final glance behind him to make sure the street was still empty.
His heart still feeling heavy with dread at the thought of who they were going to have dinner with.
Rosie. Overlord (of the freaks) of the Cannibal Colony.
Husk didn't give too much of a shit about the politics of Hell, but there were a few superpowers he struggled to not hear stories about.
Rosie, specifically, being a bitch you don't fuck with.
She was spoken about with greater contempt and disgust than other Overlords, but Alastor also talked shit about other Overlords so listening to every rumor wasn't exactly wise. The one thing he knew was true was that she was a Hellborn, and Hellborns are old. Really old. Which meant that she had knowledge and power, and an immense amount of wealth and influence.
caw caw!
Husk was pulled from his thoughts again by crows squawking from above.
Looking up, he saw smoke practically swallowing the sky. Glancing around, he noticed just how dark the streets had gotten, the lamp posts doing little to light up the area around them.
Turning to Alastor, the Overlord didn't show any concern for the surroundings, as if he didn't notice that the path ahead of them was a grey cloud they couldn't see past.
The jovial prick just hummed out a tune way too cheery for the atmosphere.
But just as Husk was about to say something his ears picked up the sound of a saxophone, along with laughter. Looking back at the grey mist in front of them, he could see light through the darkness. A lot of light.
Now this matched the description of the rumours he heard about.
The abundance of light from the buildings and many streetlamps, effectively transformed the dark gloom they were walking through into a town that actually looked alive, and FINALLY, seeing demons that didn't look like diseased animals, walking along the streets and sidewalks merrily. Husk had some hope that maybe the rumours were only slightly on point.
Nearly every rumour about this place painted it like a blood pit where everyone was out for your organs to cook for the family dinner, but everyone looked more stable than most in Pentagram.
However, he still had one impression of the Cannibal Colony that lived rent-free in his head…
One day, out in a bar, as usual, he remembered seeing a horse demon storming through the doors, covered from head to toe in cuts and bits of flesh missing from him, including an arm.
The messed-up stallion had tears in his eyes, barely forming a coherent sentence but managing to say something that would paint the image he had of the Colony to this day:
“SHE’S A MONSTER! Fucking psycho bitch! Her and the rest of her cult of MAN-EATING FREAKS! STAY AWAY! FOR LUCIFER’S SAKE STAY FAR AWAY FROM THAT PLACE!”
Poor bastard drank an entire barrel of booze by himself, but never stopped his crying.
"cough cough cough..."
"help..."
Once again, a ominous sound startled Husk, but this time a feint, feeble, "help" came along with it, tearing him from his thoughts, and leaving him peering down a dark alley. Not being dumb enough to go down it, Husk squinted his eyes, searching for the source of the coughing.
After a beat of silence, a grey appendage slowly creaked out from a pile of black trash bags, reaching for the light illuminating from the streetlamp. He could make out that it was an arm, a scrawny-one like the rat eater, but this one was missing its skin and its hand was missing a few fingers, but the grotesque sounds of them reforming were audible.
Once again, Husk went through the stages of terror, only this time the thought of running echoed in his head. Instincts yelling at him to just say 'fuck it' and try to fly out of there, no matter how futile it was.
Getting your head blasted by a gun wasn't a pretty sight, but dying like this seemed like a new Hell he never wanted to experience...
“HUSKER!”
Husk damn near jumped out of his skin from the call of his name from behind.
Chest feeling tight and breathing being difficult, Husk whipped his head around and glared at Alastor, gritting his teeth in anger, “You fucking CRAZY SON OF A—” but his outburst was silenced, and anger extinguished when Alastor booped his nose, "Now Husker, no need to throw a fit over a little fun." Chuckling softly at his idea of fun.
Husk’s patience was at its end, not knowing why Rosie invited him, being brought out here, he didn't want to admit it, but it was starting to scare him more than he'd like to admit.
"Al," Husk stood firm, staring Alastor in the eyes, "What the fuck am I doing out here?" He felt himself shiver, starting to feel hopelessness overtake his emotions, "Just give me something to work with", begrudgingly, letting out a weak, "Please." Hoping it would get him the peace of mind he wanted.
"...Husker, are you actually scared for Rosie's dinner?" Alastor surprised Husk again, only this time with his dense ass head.
The dense-head approached Husk, making the feline back up slightly at the close proximity, "Did you not hear a word I was saying? As long as you stay close to me you have nothing to worry about."
The Overlord invaded Husk's bubble even further, being inches away, "You will not die here Husker, and no one will touch you."
He stepped away from Husk, turning around and walked merrily along.
"Except me, of course." Alastor chuckled, stopping for a moment to adjust his bowtie and changing the station he was playing, “Just try and enjoy the evening and be a good guest for Rosie, won't you?” Suddenly he perked up, turning to look at Husk with full attention, “Oh, and I might add, your sailor mouth may be a bit too creative for many here to handle, so please show some restraint. Rosie expects a higher level of self-control from all demons.” Alastor proceeded down the path. Leaving the feline stunned in place.
Husk slowly started walking after Alastor, resisting the urge to look back down the alley and find out why he was hearing groaning emanating from it.
“Keep close Husker, no lagging behind now.” Alastor called out from afar.
Husk shook his head, pathetically jogging to catch up with Alastor who was now walking with purpose.
To Rosie’s Mansion they went.