Broken Wings

Chapter 3: Unspoken Tensions

By: CartoonSunday

Husk had always been good at pretending things didn't bother him. It was a skill he'd honed over years of living in the underbelly of Hell, where keeping your head down and your heart numb was the only way to survive. But this time, it wasn't working.

You'd been at the hotel for three days now. Three long, quiet days where you spent most of your time sitting in that same corner booth, sipping on whiskey or whatever Charlie insisted on offering, occasionally glancing around the bar as if you were waiting for something—or someone. You hadn't said much, not to Husk or anyone else, and you certainly weren't making any efforts to blend in. Not that anyone seemed to mind. Charlie had welcomed you with open arms, like she always did, and the rest of the hotel's usual inhabitants—Angel Dust, Vaggie, Niffty—had either ignored you or thrown their usual greetings your way.

But Husk noticed. He noticed the way you moved, how calculated every step seemed, how you watched the room with a strange sense of awareness that made his feathers itch. You didn't belong here. Not in the same way the others did. The usual riffraff that stumbled through the hotel doors were easy to read—desperate, broken souls clinging to Charlie's impossible dream of redemption. But you? You were something else entirely.

You didn't need redemption. At least, not the way the others did.

And that's what bothered him.

It gnawed at the back of his mind, an irritating buzz that wouldn't leave him alone. Every time he tried to ignore it, push it down with another drink, there it was again—your calm, composed face, your quiet confidence that made him feel like he was the one being scrutinized. Husk wasn't used to feeling like that. He didn't like it.

On the third night, Husk found himself leaning against the bar again, staring at the empty glass in front of him as the low hum of the neon sign flickered through the dusty windows. The bar was empty, save for the usual sounds of the hotel in the background—the occasional laugh or shout from the other rooms, the distant clatter of Niffty cleaning something she probably shouldn't be touching.

You were there, of course, sitting in your usual spot in the corner, nursing a drink like you always did. You hadn't approached him again after that first night, and Husk had been grateful for that. But now, with the stillness of the bar pressing in on him, he found himself glancing over at you more often than he'd like to admit.

What was your deal?

Why did you choose to stay in this dump?

He'd seen plenty of people come through these doors with their reasons, but you... you didn't make sense. You weren't desperate. You weren't looking for salvation or some kind of twisted redemption. You were just... there. Sitting quietly in the corner, never asking for anything, never giving anything away.

It made him uneasy.

And yet, despite himself, Husk found that he couldn't look away.

The door to the bar creaked open, and Husk's ear twitched at the sound, his wings shifting slightly in irritation. He didn't need to look up to know who it was. The presence that filled the room was unmistakable—heavy, suffocating, like the static crackle of an old radio just before the signal cuts out.

Alastor.

"Ah, Husk! Always a pleasure to see you so diligent at your post!" Alastor's voice slid through the air like oil, thick and smooth with that ever-present undertone of menace. The Radio Demon strolled into the bar with his usual exaggerated flair, his cane tapping rhythmically against the floor as his wide grin stretched impossibly across his face.

Husk grunted, barely acknowledging Alastor's presence as he poured himself another drink. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

Alastor chuckled, the sound low and crackling like distant thunder. "Now, now, Husk, there's no need to be so cold! I simply thought I'd drop by and see how our newest guest is faring." His red eyes gleamed as they flicked toward your booth in the corner. "After all, it's not every day we get someone so... interesting."