Vaggie took a deep breath as she looked at Angel's room's door, raising her hand and softly knocking before grabbing the doorknob and slowly opening the door. "Uh… Husk," Vaggie called, "You decent?" "Yeah," Husk called, "Angel give you permission to come in?"
"Yeah, he did," Vaggie nodded, spotting Husk laying on the bed. Husk nodded and beaconed her inside. Vaggie gave a sigh and walked in, gently closing the door behind her before walking over and sitting down at the end of the bed. "How you feeling?" "Ugh… like shit," Husk groaned, "Not like that's exactly new for me, but… I'm feeling a little less like shit since Angel patched me up. Not sure what's in that pain cream he used but… fuck, I'm not about to complain." Vaggie chuckled a little, a smile stretching across her face as she looked down to see Fat Nuggets curled up peacefully in Husk's lap.
"Husk, talk to me. What's going on with you?" Vaggie asked. "The fuck are you talking about? I jacked up my foot and Alastor made it worse," Husk grunted, "It's not that big a mystery." "You know that's not what I'm talking about," Vaggie huffed, "Nobody reacts to a sprained ankle like that unless there's something else going on on top of it." Husk groaned, rubbing the sides of his head with his fingers and shook his head, chuckling dismissively. "You don't know what you're saying, kid," Husk laughed, "The way my foot landed and turned after Al shoved me, I'm glad I didn't outright twist it."
"Maybe you wouldn't have been hurt so bad if you could've stayed on your feet a bit better," Vaggie scolded, "You're so drunk, I bet you can barely feel it anymore." Husk glared at Vaggie with an indignant scowl, growling angrily as he crossed his arms and said, "Yeah, okay, you can leave now."
Vaggie took a deep breath, sighing heavily and said, "Look, Husk… you need to ease off the booze." Husk's ears twitched, his face suddenly becoming even more irritated as Vaggie continued, "It's not even because of the whole 'it's a sin' thing, it's just… not good for you. Or the hotel, for that matter." "Excuse me? Far as I can tell the only one my alcohol consumption is hurting is myself," Husk scoffed, "Besides, it's not like I can just quit."
"I… but," Vaggie let out a frustrated groan and huffed, "But why!? Why do you need to be so damn drunk all the time?" "Because!" Husk barked, "Because… because it's the only thing that really numbs me… without leaving me completely useless." Vaggie's eye widened and her expression softened as Husk took a deep breath, giving Fat Nuggets a gentle scratch as he desperately trying to hold himself together and continued, "It's better than the alternative where all I can feel… is pain. I've tried damn near every legal drug on the market, and they all just make me loopy or knock me out. I have a prescription for medical cannabis; it helps a lot… until it doesn't. That just leaves the booze."
"Look, Husk, I hear what you're saying, but," "No, you're not! You're not hearing a damn word I'm saying!" Husk snapped; Vaggie looked at him stunned, "You have no fucking idea what it feels like! It's enough of a nightmare, being trapped in a body that you hate! A body… and a face that you dread having to see staring back at you in the damn mirror every morning! Thing is, I could deal with that, I'd dealt with it my whole fucking life! What I can't stand… is the damn near constant pain! Pain that never really goes away. Pain that, when it's at its worst… reduces me to a useless pile of flesh incapable of doing anything but lying in bed in agony waiting to pass out… just wanting to die."
Vaggie felt her heart sink as Husk's eyes filled with tears, his body shaking and his fur and feathers bristling in discomfort. Fat Nuggets snorted softly, nuzzling Husk's hand with his snout and looking up at him worriedly. Husk smiled a little down at the little pig, scratching him softly behind the ears and chuckled. "How often does the… pain… get that bad?" Vaggie asked. Husk sighed heavily and said, "Not terribly often. But when I feel it coming on… there's nothing I can do to stop it. And… when it hits… all I can do is wait for it to end. I just… don't know what else to do. Nothing else has ever really worked for me."
Vaggie reached over and gently placed a hand on Husk's shoulder, watching him shiver a bit at the sudden contact. Vaggie locked eyes with Husk and asked gently, "Do you want to quit drinking?" Husk scoffed, slowly shaking his head and said, "You have no idea. I mean… I'd love to at least cut back. Satan knows I've tried. But every time I'd get to where I was finally making progress," Husk looked away, a mix of fear and shame shown in his eyes as he spoke, "I'd fall off the wagon. I… confess, it was usually because I just couldn't take the temptation anymore. Other times, though… the pain just got to be too much to bear."
Vaggie sighed, nodding in understanding and gently patting Husk's shoulder. Husk winced and groaned as he felt a sharp pang in his lower back just above his tail, making him tremble and pull away fast. Vaggie watched as Husk curled up, holding Fat Nuggets close for comfort as the pain started to ebb. Husk let out a moan and choked back a sob before slowly straightening out his spine and leaning back against the pillow.
"It's coming on now, isn't it?" Vaggie asked. Husk shook his head and said, "No… not now. But soon… very soon." Husk looked at her and said with a pitiful whimper, "It's why I've been drinking so much more than usual lately." Vaggie gently placed her hand back on Husk's shoulder and flashed him a gentle smile. "I'm scared, kid," Husk shook, "I'm always scared when these flare-ups come on. It's… horrible; you… you really have no fucking clue."
"Does Alastor know?" Vaggie asked. Husk groaned, "Unfortunately," he sighed, "It's about the only time when I feel like he sees me as a fellow human being instead of his damn pet. Fucking asshole."
"Does… does Angel know about this? Or Charlie?" Husk's eyes widened in horror; the thought of Angel seeing him like that had never even crossed his mind. He'd gone so long without a nasty flare-up that he didn't even think about what he'd do when it finally started up again, how he would explain it to Angel or any of the others. "N-no," Husk shivered, "He doesn't. None of the others know. I… don't ever want any of you to have to see me like that. Especially Angel."
"Husk," Vaggie sighed, "You can't keep it a secret forever. You're going to have to tell them eventually. You know that, don't you?" Husk sighed and nodded. Vaggie could see the nervousness in Husk's eyes; she wasn't sure why Husk would be so scared at the thought of Angel seeing him in pain. After all, they'd all seen Angel at some of his lowest points, Husk more so than almost anyone else Angel knew. But, Vaggie could also tell that regardless of the why, this was important to him.
"Look," Vaggie said with a sigh, "If makes you feel any better, I won't say anything. But… you should; preferably before Alastor does." Husk turned to Vaggie with a grateful look and nodded, placing a hand over hers. "Thank you, Vaggie," Husk whispered, "Thank you."
Husk flinched as the doorknob started to rattle; he instantly regretted the sudden action as his whole body throbbed from his jerky movements, especially his hips. Husk gave a quiet sigh of relief when the door opened and Angel Dust walked in with the now full icepack and a few clean washcloths in hand. "Uh… am I interrupting something?" Angel asked, pointing to Husk and Vaggie's hands on Husk's shoulder.
Vaggie shook her head and said, "Nope. I was just leaving. Charlie's probably at the point in her talk with her 'dads' where she's going to need some backup." Vaggie walked to the door, paused, turned back to Husk and said, "You going to be okay now, Husk?" Husk gave a tired smile and nodded, saying, "Yeah. I'll be fine," the cat turned to Angel and continued, "I'm in good hands here."