Francis knocks on the door of the hotel, only for no one to answer it so he walks in. He spots a large number of crates around the lobby of the hotel, "Woah, what the heck is all this?" Charlie rushes by in the lobby, holding a smaller crate. Vaggie was few feet behind her carrying a bigger crate in her arms.
Francis ran forward, catching her attention, "Maggie! What's going on? Why are you all running around?"
Vaggie rubbed her forehead as she held the crate in one hand, "Someone had the bright idea to send all these crates to the hotel as a prank. They're empty but mow we're just trying to get rid of all of them."
The prince raised an eyebrow, "Someone's idea of a prank was to send ALL these empty crates?"
His sister's girlfriend shrugged, "...Yeah, I don't get it either."
The princess of Hell came back from her circle around the multiple crates in the middle of the lobby, "Oh hello Francis! I'm sorry but I don't think you should be here today. We're, uh, a little filled up at the moment." She gestured to the crates littered throughout the room. Niffty was crawling around the various boxes, collecting all the smaller ones in her arms.
Francis pouted, "Aw man but I just let the limo driver go to town to give himself a break!"
Charlie rubbed her chin in thought, "Hmm... Well, I can't have you here... Hmmm..." Neither sibling wanted to call the driver back, both wanting him to have time to relax.
A certain cat demon's ears perked up as he lifted one of the boxes. Husk walked over to the trio and shrugged, "If it's that much of a problem, I'll take the kid out for the day."
The prince's eyes sparkled in excitement, "Aw that would be so cool! I wanna hang out with Husk!"
The princess giggled at her little brother, "I guess that'll be fine. Are you sure you're okay with that, Husk?"
The tuxedo cat nodded, "Yeah, don't you worry about a thing, princess. I know how to handle the little guy."
Charlie nodded back at him, "Alright then, I trust you. You guys have fun!" She smiled at the two as they left, "Awww, those two are getting along so well. Good for them. It's good for Husk especially!"
Vaggie nodded in agreement, "Oh yeah, nice of him to take the little guy out." She lifts another crate into her arms, "Okay, there we go. I'll be right back, babe."
The two guys walked down the left side of the street, completely missing a bunny demon walking towards the hotel from the right side. It was a tall man covered in soft fur walked through the door. Half of the side of his body was a black color while the other half was completely white, like a Harley Quinn rabbit with red eyes. He was wearing a pink, long-sleeved collared shirt with a brown tie. His pants were dark brown with lighter brown stripes, held up by black suspenders attached to a black belt. His shirt's elbows had patches that looked like clubs. He also wore dark brown shoes. He had a greedy smile upon addressing the princess, "Charlie Morningstar! I have a proposition for you!"
Francis smiled as the two walked down the street, "Alrighty! This is going to be so cool! What should we do first, Husk?"
The cat demon relaxed his shoulders, "Eh, I gotta pick up some more liquor at the store nearby. Not that you're allowed in there. But hey, what ideas do you have?"
The boy practically hopped up and down as he spoke, "Oh! The arcade! No no, the cinema! Aw man, there's so many thing I want to show you! Oh, maybe you can meet my friends today! The guys and Elissa shouldn't be doing anything."
Husk put his hands in his pockets, "Sounds like a real nice plan you got there. Everything's all good in school, right? That Brutus kid still messing with you?"
The prince saluted him, "No, sir! He's been as quiet as a mouse!"
He ruffled Francis's swept back hair, messing it up, "Good kid. See, I told you. A clean right hook would do it." The two then passed by a liquor store, "Ah, shit. Hang on, I gotta grab something. I'll be right back, do NOT go anywhere. And if anyone messes with you, you know what to do."
Francis grinned, motioning a punch with his right hand. Husk mimicked the motion before entering the building.
The boy relaxed against the wall of the building, fixing his hair before looking at the hooves on his feet. He thought to himself, "You know what... Why don't I wear shoes?" A group of demons were sitting together a little further down the sidewalk. A demon poked his head out from the group he was in, "Hey kiddo, wanna join in? We could always use another player."
Francis smiled at the group as he walked closer to them, "Oh sure! What are you gents playing?"
One demon flashed some poker cards at him, "Poker. How much you got to offer in those pockets of yours?"
The prince's eyes widened, "Wait what?"
Suddenly, a growl is heard from behind the prince. Husk glared at the set of demons, making them look back at their cards and away from the prince. One whispered to the other, "I-is that Husk?" The other shushed at him to get him to be quiet. None of them wanted to get into trouble with him, even though he had lost his Overlord status a long time ago.
The cat demon walked further away with Francis, pushing him slightly, "Hey, hey, you stay away from those creeps. They're bad news."
The child walked as Husk pushed him, "Really? How do you know?"
The cat demon paused for a moment before continuing, "...When you get as old as I am, you know a few things, okay?"
The prince hesitantly nodded up at him, "Oooh, uh, alright. But can you actually teach me how to play poker, Husk?" His eyes sparkled with excitement.
Husk scratched his chin in thought, "Eh, maybe... I don't know if you'd be good at the game or not. Oh, you wanna know a game I can definitely show you? Knucklebones." He snapped his fingers at the mention of the game.
The boy tilted his head at him, "Knucklebones? What's that?" But he kept his excited smile.
The cat demon smiled at him, "Oh yeah, it's a dice game I used to play with an ol' friend of mine. I think we started playing when we were around your age." He then summoned a few dice with his magic and carved two 3x3 grids on a nearby discarded table. After setting up two chairs, he had the prince sit on the other side of the table. He rolled his dice, getting a four, "It's so easy, you just roll a dice and place it anywhere on this here grid. You just have to get more points than your opponent. But the game ends when one person finished their side of the board." He placed the four in the middle of the grid.
The boy picked up his first dice and rolled it on the table, "Oooh, okay, that sounds so easy. Aw cool, I got a six." He placed the six on the right lane of his side of the grid.
Husk then rolled a six, "And if you roll the same number as your opponent..." He placed the six on the right side of his board in front of Francis's die, "You can get rid of the number on their side."
The boy took the six off of his side of the table, "Oh, that's so cool! Any other rules I should know?" He then rolled a three, placing it in the middle of his board.
The cat man shrugged, "Well, there is always the three in a row rule. Some people don't know about it but you can place three of the same number in the row, you get a lot more points than you normally would. You know how to multiply right?"
Francis chuckled, "Pfft, of course I do." He clasped the dice before tossing it onto the table, "So do adults always bet money when playing games together?"
Husk shrugged before shaking his dice, "Eh, not all the time. Some people put up food, others their property and the really desperate... Their souls." He cursed under his breath as he rolled a one.
The prince tilted his head, "Really? Why would someone offer their soul?"
The washed up cat demon took a deep breath, "Sometimes... Sometimes people get so desperate when they have nothing else to lose. Anyways! Most people need to be offered something really enticing to play anyway. That's all you need to know."
Francis narrowed his eyes at him with a confused frown, "Ooooh, okay... I see." He completed his side of the board, "So this means the game's over, right?"
Husk shook his head, getting himself out of the thoughts he plagued himself in, "Huh? Yeah, yeah that's right." He looked at both their sides of the board, "Wow, you lost to me by one point. So close, kid." Looking down at his side of the board, he had three fours in the middle row.
Francis chuckled at this before Husk's ears twitched. They both felt the wind move rapidly around them before they both looked up at the hotel. The building was suddenly surrounded by purple mist with various objects floating upwards. Husk made the board disappear, "Come on, something's not right over there."
The boy nodded as he followed behind the cat demon, spotting a deer-like shadow in one of the windows as they got closer.
When the two ran inside the hotel, they saw Charlie at a table with a dice board on it. Her side of the board already had three dice set up while Cricket had two. The princess was scratching the side of her head in thought before she noticed the two. Cricket stopped his roll as he saw duo walked into the hotel.
Francis immediately ran to his sister's side, "Woah! Charlie, what's happening?" Husk stayed behind the both of them, glaring at the rabbit.
She stopped scratching her face, looking up from the 3x3 grid board, "To be completely honest with you, Francis... I don't know. I'm playing some dice game called Knucklebones and I have no clue what I'm doing and I lost something extremely important now I'm... Not exactly sure what to do."
Her brother looks at her side of the board, "Oh wow, your side of the board is uh... Not doing so hot! You want me to take over?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow at him, "Can you do that? I mean, wait! No no, I think I'm getting the hang of this." She nodded confidently as she watched Cricket's take his turn.
Francis's eyes narrowed at how the rabbit threw the dice, the small block spinning in the air to land on a six. Meanwhile, Charlie's dice would briefly spun faster in the air before landing on a three. He pointed at the bunny demon, "Hold on! I saw that! You're cheating!"
Husk shrugged next to him, "Yeah, that's what he does. Nice catch, kid."
Both the boy and his sister looked up at the cat man, "You know this guy, Husk?"
Cricket smirked at the trio, "Yeah, ol' Husky and I swindled quite a few suckers when we were kids! It was a fun time."
Francis raised an eyebrow at Husk, who simply shrugged again. He brushed it off, "Eh, we were young. And dumb."
The rabbit demon glared at him, "Hey! You and I both know I did it for my parents!"
Francis stood next to his sister and patted her on the shoulder, "Charlie, don't worry, I got this." He did not care for Husk and Cricket's spat.
She frowned at him, "Are you sure, Francis?"
"Of course I do, would I ever lie to you?" The prince held a smile in front of the rabbit, "Hey, Cricket! I have a deal for you. Let me play for my sister and if I win, I get whatever you took from her back. And if you win, you take whatever you want from me."
The Harley Quinn rabbit rubbed his furry chin, "Hmm, I don't know... What do you have to give that the princess hasn't offered to me?"
The boy pondered for a moment, "Hmmm, well, I can offer you my soul."
The rabbit demons grinned evilly, "Oh, we're dealing with souls now? I'll throw in mine too, Deal!"
Charlie's eyes widened, "Francis, no!"
Husk's ears pricked up, "Woah, woah, okay!" He grabs Francis by the shoulders, shaking him a little, "I know I said you gotta offer something good to entice someone to play and all but that's not a good idea, kid. Trust me, you do NOT want to lose your soul." He then released the kid.
Francis folded his arms and smiled, "Don't worry about a thing, Husk. I know what I'm doing!"
Cricket smirked, "Besides, I already agreed. Not much you can do after that point, Husky-Boy."
Husk let out a low growl at his old friend. But Francis put his hand up to stop him, "Husk, relax, dude. Like I told you before, I got this. Charlie, scoot over please." This only made Husk's ears drop, he knows what would happen if the prince lost. He gave Francis a few dice to use, made from his own magic.
Charlie could only play with her fingers nervously as Francis sat in her seat in front of the man.
The two at the table were suddenly floating in the air, along with the seats and their game table. Francis grabbed onto his seat to stay on it as he regained his balance. Cricket sat in his chair with one leg over the other, his foot laid on the table to keep it steady. He smirked at the kid, "You get the first roll."
A beating of drums start off strong as a record can be heard whipping around. The prince smirked as he rolled a four, "I'm rollin' dice, kid on the rise, nah, I ain't gon' sway, yeah!"
Cricket glared as he threw his dice on the table, getting himself a five.
The goat boy flicked his wrist as he tossed the dice, "Gonna take it all tonight, old man." He smirked as he watched the demon use his powers on his dice, "Gonna take it all tonight, old man!" This gave Francis another four, which he put behind the first four.
Cricket's eyes briefly flashed purple as his own dice spun in the air, "I'm sayin' boy, drop the act." He rolled a six and placed it on his board, "I'm sayin' boy, drop the act."
The prince's chair started to float away but he threw his dice to the table, "Scoop your coins, it's my time, elder!" It landed on the left side of his board, on a two, "Scoop your coins, it's my time, elder! Yeah, Yeah!"
The rabbit demon glared at this, throwing his own dice, "I just gotta roll the six!" But he himself rolled a four, "'Cause my luck is on the flame!" The purple fog formed the shape of flames behind the rabbit demon, mocking the young boy.
But Francis smiled, taking a mocking bow in his floating chair, "And he's watchin' my game!" Francis laughs as he rolls a six, "Aha!" He placed it in the left side, completing that row.
Cricket rolled his dice to get a three, "Like he knows I'm playin' to claim!" A voice in the fog whispered in the air to sing next to Charlie and Husk, "Winner takes all..."
The boy's chair started to float even further away, "Old man's bluff, kid calls it out!" He stood in his chair to chuck his dice at the table, feel the burn of youth's bold sway, yeah!" This earned himself a two.
The bunny rolled his dice to get himself a five, "A final throw, the crowd does shout!"
The prince's chair finally hit the wall. He was careful not to scrape the wallpaper with his hoove as he kicked off the wall to get himself back to the floating table, "Kid's running the night, no dismay!" He rolled a one once he got back.
The beat shifts to slow down, the record shifting to a much more jazzy theme. One could even snap their fingers to it. Snapping can be heard from the purple fog as it got closer to Charlie and Husk.
Francis still sang, undeterred even with the one, "Aye, it's the throw down, seize the pot it's a young blood's climb, elder!"
But it seemed like the fog's voice was singing on Francis's side of the room, "Watch the boy take his shot, yeah! It's a young blood's time... It's a young blood's time..."
And finally, the last dice rolled on a four and the prince placed the number in the middle section of his grid. The air was chilly as everything began to sink downwards in the air.
And with Francis's side of the board finished, everything in the air ceased to float. The table in particular landed softly on the floor to not move the dice.
Cricket smirked, closing his eyes, "Haha, your side of the board is finished! Our game is over! Take that, kid! I win! The prince's soul is forfeit!" He relaxed back in his seat in victory.
Charlie looked at her little brother worriedly, only to see him fold his arms in confidence.
Francis smirked at the rabbit, "Oh really? Check the dice again, bud."
The bunny demon's eyes suddenly opened at this response, "Wait what?"
The prince kept his smirk, pointing to the dice on his side of the table. Sure enough, he had a four, a three and a one in a row on left side and a six, a two and another four on the other side. But he had a one row of three fours in the middle, resulting in 36 points right there. Combining that with his other dice means Francis had won the game with a score of 56.
Cricket's eyes widened at this realization. The young prince had won his soul, beating him by one point.
His older sister tilted her head as she looked at the board, "Huh?"
Husk smiled as he walked up to the table, "The ol' three in a row rule. You always did have a habit of forgetting the hidden rules, didn't you, bud?"
Cricket could feel a chain surrounded by red fire start to form around his neck, "Wait, wait, Husk! Old buddy, ol' pal! You can't let him do this to me!" The chain was fully enveloped around his neck, with the other end wrapped around Francis's wrist.
The cat demon shook his head, "I'm sorry, old friend but you gotta give him what you bet. But hey, there's worse people you could be chained to." He looked away before looking back at his old friend, "...Consider yourself lucky you got the prince."
Francis spoke up between the two, "Geez, I'm not going to hurt you, Cricket. I would never. Now, you're going to give my sister what you took from her."
The bunny demon nodded as he looked through his bag, "Okay, okay, yes... I will, young prince. Here it is!" He threw a small present wrapped in red wrapping paper to Charlie, who hugged it happily.
Francis paused upon seeing the present, "...Charlie..."
The princess's eyes snapped open, looking away from her brother, "...Yes, Frankie?"
The boy rubbed his eyebrows, "...Did I just risk my soul for a gift for Maggie?"
Charlie quickly hide the present behind her back, "...Maybe."
He took a deep breath before speaking louder, "You could have mentioned that you just lost a gift! I wouldn't have bet my SOUL that way!"
The princess then spoke louder than him with a whine, "But it was a very stressful situation and I really didn't want to lose it!"
The prince frowned again, "Charlie!"
She pouted at her little brother, "Besides you were so confident and you said you knew what you were doing. Plus you were the one you saw that he was cheating!"
Francis was about to speak but paused in thought. He then squinted his eyes while pointing at her, "...Okay, you're not wrong." He patted her shoulder, "Besides, I wouldn't have wanted you to lose anything else." He smiled at her, "I'm just glad I was able to help." He then looked at Cricket, "Wait, why did you want my sister's gift to her girlfriend?"
The black and white bunny shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I didn't know it was a gift. She said it was an object that held the most love in the world when we were betting."
The boy sighs, "...Charlie!"
She shoved the gift in his face, "Well, it is!" This caused her little brother to sigh again.
Husk interrupted the three, "Okay! Anyway, you!" He points to the prince, "Never do that again! That was incredibly dangerous, what your plan if you lost, huh? Be his servant forever? Trust me, you wouldn't want that."
Charlie nodded in agreement, putting the gift in a small portal she summoned.
The prince looks down before looking back up at Husk, "...Yeah, you're right. It was dumb and I shouldn't offered my soul" Francis then scratched the back of his neck, "But, uh, to be fair... I kinda lied! I actually don't know if I even have a soul to lose. Because uh, you know..." He gestured to himself and his sister, "We're the children of Lucifer over here!"
Charlie looked blankly at her brother and then at her friend, "You know, I never thought about it before... Do we have souls?"
The prince shrugged, "Ehhh, I try not to think about it too much, my dear sister." He gently pat Charlie on the arm.
Cricket gasped at the boy, "You little liar! That's cheating!"
Francis shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, is it cheating if I didn't lose? Okay, and now, I'll free you from this." He takes out the contract covered flames from a small portal he summoned.
The tall bunny tilted his head, shocked, "Wait... I'm sorry, what?"
The boy smiled back at him, "I just wanted to get my sister's stuff back, not have your soul. I only offered my 'soul' to get you to agree to play against me. I didn't want you as like, a servant or anything. That just seems cruel. So I am going to set you free." He tried to rip the contract, only to find the paper would not rip. He tries again, the paper still not ripping, "Uh... Hello, stupid magical contract binding us together! I said I want him to be free! What gives?! Ah, do NOT tell me it's a power I have to unlock! That would suck so hard!"
A radio-laced voice rang out from the parlor, "Oh, but it seems it is. I suppose you haven't fully figured that out yet, have you?"
They all turn their heads to the parlor, where Alastor was sitting at his own table. He was drinking tea. Just sitting down with his iconic smile facing the group.
Husk glared at the red suited demon, "Hey, hold on! If you were here the whole time, why didn't you help?"
Alastor rose from his seat, dusting off his cloak, "Oh. Because I knew none of you were in any real danger. Young Francis would have won regardless if he had a soul or not."
Francis smiled at the radio demon, "Oh really?"
The red haired demon looked at his nails, "Yes, actually. But of course, ensuring that nothing bad happens to our little project was my priority." He gestured to the hotel, "And with that, I shall take my leave." He disappeared into the shadows, making Francis jump.
The goat boy blinked at the shadow slithering away, "You know, I always forget he can do that." He then turns to his sister and the cat demon, "So! Uh,"
Cricket scratched his chin, "Do I really have a choice?"
Charlie butted into their conversation after putting her gift for her girlfriend on the nearby table, "Uh, yes! You do, actually!" She turned to her little brother, "Remember, Francis, I can't make people stay here."
Her little brother nodded and put his hands on his hips, "I know, but maybe there's something there. You heard him earlier, he gambled when he was alive for his mom and dad."
The princess snapped her fingers in agreement, "I was just thinking the same thing!" She ruffled her little brother's hair before she turned to the rabbit demon, "What do you say, Cricket?"
The bunny's face reddened in embarrassment as he muttered, "...Yeah, yeah, alright. A roof over my head sounds good to me."
Charlie clapped her hands together as she grinned at him, "Oh that's great! Finally, we have another new resident. I will show you to your room, come on!" She walked ahead excitedly, which caused the rabbit to groan before following her in defeat.
The goat prince then turned to Husk, "So! ...Can you teach me how to play poker now?"
Meanwhile, Charlie lead Cricket to his new room, "I hope you enjoy your stay here, Cricket. Even if it's well, because you don't have a house and my brother asked you to stay here. But I am more than happy to provide a roof over your head."
The bunny demon gave a gruff noise and muttered, "...It's fine." Once she left, he cracked a smile as he laid in his bed, "You know... I think I'm going to like it here." He rolled his eyes as he shifted to sleep on his side, "...Maybe."
Vaggie walked into the lobby, "Hey, I finally got the last of the crates out. Has anyone seen Charlie?" She looks up at the wall, "...How did a hoof print get all the way up there? Actually you know what, never mind." She looks down at the table, spotting the present wrapped in red wrapping paper. She reads the tag on it, as it says 'From Charlie, to Vaggie. Hugs and Kisses XOXOXO.'
Francis peered up from the table he was sitting at, "Oh, Charlie is showing our new resident his new room. She said she'd be back soon!" He noticed Vaggie holding the present, "Oh! Aren't you gonna open it?"
The gray woman shook her head while blushing, "No... I think I am going to wait until Charlie gets back to open it."
The prince let out a chuckle, "Hehe, okie dokie then. I'll tell you, she is really excited for you to open that present!" Francis turned his attention back to the card game and then smirked as he laid his cards on the table, "Read 'em and weep, fellas!" Which caused everyone at the coffee table to groan.
Angel yelled to the cat demon, raising an eyebrow at him, "Husk! What kinda things did you teach this kid? I swear he doesn't even know what game we're playing!"
The prince let out a chuckle as he slid all the poker chips to himself, "Go fish?" He jokingly coughed, "Of course I know we're playing poker. Just to clarify."
Husk let out a hearty laugh, which surprised everyone at the table. He shrugged as he got up, "Maybe I should leave you suckers to keep losing to him." He walked behind his bar, "Or you guys can play while he drinks his Shirley Temple. Come on, kid."
Francis pumped his fist as he gets up, leaving his cards on the table. He sat on the barstool ad made grabby hands towards the drink. As he took a sip, he noticed an old, blue manticore toy attached to a broken chain on the table behind his cat friend, "Hey... That's my old keychain! I haven't seen him since I was really little! Where'd you find him, Husk?"
The cat demon's ears pricked up, "Really? I found him when I was walking through a crowd one busy morning a long time ago. Never knew he was your's. You want him back?"
The prince's eyes sparkled, "I can?"
Husk grinned at him, tossing the toy to him, "Of course you can, I've been holding onto him in case I ever run into the owner. I figured he belonged to a kid."
Francis smiled upon getting his old keychain back, "Thanks, Husk! You're the best!" As he went back to drinking his Shirley Temple, Husk made a genuine smile. The prince then heard the limo beep it's horn outside, "Oh! The driver's back from his break! I'll see you tomorrow, guys!" He finished his drink before rushing outside, the keychain in his pocket.
Meanwhile, Alastor kept his wide, creepy smile as he watched Francis walk out of the hotel. He was spying from his radio tower, though not broadcasting this moment. His voice almost sounded like static, "So... The young prince obtained another's soul for himself. Things just got a little more... Interesting..."
(Also an A/N here, DO NOT GAMBLE. Only write about your characters gambling.)