𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘

[ 𝟑𝟑 ] - 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 | 𝘼𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧

【 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 】

"Lemme guess... water?" Husk snickered as he stared down at (Y/N) with a raised brow, currently the girl back in her human form with some medicine clutched tightly in her hand, her cheek pressed against the clean, cool wood of the bar's counter. "After seeing how one glass of alcohol did ya in, I'm guessing you ain't touching the stuff no more."

"Definitely not," (Y/N) groaned. "And water would be very much appreciated."

    Husk chuckled to himself once more at her situation as he picked up a glass and poured her some water, then sliding the beverage across the counter towards her. He watched as she caught it with ease, popping the medicine in her mouth before then proceeding to down the whole glass. She let out a small exhale as she then set the empty glass down before flopping back onto the counter, Husk rolling his eyes with a slight smile at her dramatics.

"Looks like those are chipping away," he pointed out her nails both figuratively and literally.

    "Oh, are they?" She mumbled as she looked up long enough to take a quick glance at her nails, finding that he was indeed right. "Guess I'll have to ask Charlie to repaint them or something."

    "Maybe try different colors."

    "Is that so?" (Y/N) mused. "Is it 'cause you don't like Alastor?"

    "Yeah, and the fact that his colors along with that collar ya got on is basically him branding you," Husk scoffed, rolling his eyes once more before taking a swig of his drink, the green glass of the bottle winking in the soft lighting of the room. "Since the only way he can actually own ya is through you giving him your soul, I guess this is the next best thing for him."

    "Hah, you're probably right... it sounds a lot like what Alastor would do," she chuckled softly, circling the rim of her glass with her finger.

    "You ain't worried?"

    "No... it's not as if there's anything worth giving him my soul over."

    "You say that now, but trust me, down the line, he's gonna have something that you can't resist making a deal with him for," Husk shrugged as he tapped a finger against the bar's counter, forcing (Y/N)'s attention back to him to show her he was being serious. "And I'm thinking that ain't so far away with how he's tryna find a way to keep you from turnin' into a cat. Think about it—why would he give you that kinda power for free?"

(Y/N)'s lips dipped into a small frown as she brushed a strand of her (H/C) hair out of her face.

She understood what Husk was saying.

In fact, she understood all too well.

While she knew she had placated Alastor with the idea of trading a favor for a favor, she also knew that Husk was right. There would be nothing stopping Alastor from rescinding his agreement about giving her the ability of remaining a sinner demon for a favor when he could just as easily ask for her soul in return. Running her hands down her face, she groaned softly.

"Hey," a voice to her right made her jump, glancing to the side to see Mimzy sitting a stool away from her. "Sorry to interrupt your little conversation, but this girl needs a drink. My, my, Husker, I didn't expect to see you here. I guess Alastor still has you slinging hooch for him, huh? Haha, classic! How ya been, fur-ball?"

"Good!" He flashed her a sarcastic smile until the look fell flash. "Until five minutes ago..."

"Oh, don't tell me you're not happy to see me," Mimzy giggled, knowing exactly what she was doing. "You might hurt my feelin's."

Husk rolled his eyes for the third time.

"So," Mimzy turned towards (Y/N) after greeting Niffty who was still fighting bugs, Husk sliding her a glass filled with what looked to be whiskey. "I've never seen you hangin' around Alastor before. Let me guess, he got your soul just like the little pussycat over here, huh?"

"Oh, fuck you," Husk grumbled as he stalked off—presumably to get away from her.

Mimzy just laughed.

"Hah... no..." (Y/N) trailed off awkwardly, deciding that she probably shouldn't tell Mimzy of her situation. "He just finds me... entertaining?"

"Sounds about right," Mimzy laughed again.

"Hey, doll face," another voice spoke, this time the speaker being Angel who slung an arm around (Y/N) with a patient and easy-going smile. "You holding up okay after last night?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm doing alright."

Angel's smile broadened.

It was a nice look on him—a look she was seeing a lot more often now that the weight of Valentino's hold over him had mostly disappeared. Key word: mostly. (Y/N) wasn't going to pretend that she didn't see the bags under his eyes some days that suggested sleepless nights, or how sometimes he would jump whenever someone would touch him. Just the other day when she tapped his shoulder to gain his attention, he flinched, yet turned towards her and brushed it off as if nothing had happened.

She was glad Valentino was gone.

At least now, Angel could properly focus on healing himself and his heart.

"So..." Angel spoke as he circled around Mimzy to stand on the other side of her, Pentious not too far behind since he too was curious about the woman and her relationship to Alastor. "Mimzy, right? Uh... you and Alastor are like what? Friends?"

"Well, that's your word, not mine, but I think it fits," Mimzy answered with a fluff up of her hair, then frowning when catching Angel and Pentious exchange a rather doubting glance between them at her words. "Why so surprised?"

"Well, I just didn't know he had any of those," Angel shrugged as he took a sip from his drink. "I mean, the closest thing I thought he had to a friend was probably (Y/N) over here considering he spends the most time with her before I realized he was just treatin' her like a pet. I mean, he did go out of his way to get her those two times when she was taken by the Vee's. That and the fact that he hardly lets her out of his sight now."

Mimzy raised a brow at his words.

Hm...

Interesting.