AN: Another Small warning for SA. Only in the dream sequence at the beginning of the chapter so feel free to skip it if needed.
Cheers
She had been running forever, unable to stop because she knew what would happen if she did. It would get her. Her throat burned and her legs were barely able to keep her standing let alone run. She darted between the endless sea of trees, but heard nothing. It was like the sound had been muted. Finally her legs gave out and she crashed to the ground harshly, the damp ground soaking into her clothes quickly.
"Found you little fawn." His tone was sinister and mocking. It was standing above her, black eyes burning into her full of desire and something far less pleasant.
She whimpered, knowing this was it.
It pinned both of her hands as the other quickly tore her pants away. It didn't care that its claws had torn some of her flesh as well.
"You will be mine, little fawn."
She could feel tears streaming down her face as she struggled helplessly. She didn't know how but it had managed to remove its own clothing and he positioned himself over her entrance. She screamed, and kicked, whatever she could to prevent the inevitable. It didn't work. It never did.
Ellen bolted up gasping for air, the claw mark on her hip burning. Another nightmare. The same nightmare that had been plaguing her sleep for three nights. Since she last saw Alastor.
She lay back down staring at the ceiling. The faint light from around the curtains meant it was at least a decent hour to be awake, not that she was going to get any sleep anyway. She had fallen back into the routine she had before seeing him during his rut. Hiding in her room and only going out when she knew he was busy elsewhere. Was she angry with him? No. But right now his face was a little difficult to look at.
Her mark continued to burn, despite it looking like a simple red welt. No blood was drawn and most of the time she forgot it was there. Why did it burn? She didn't know, but she was starting to pick up on a suspicious pattern. It burned after her nightmares. In fact, that's when it burned the most. Throughout the day it would burn a little if she thought about Alastor, which was a bit difficult to avoid recently. Her heart fluttered a bit thinking about him pulling her face to his. That moment before he lost control. She would sometimes ponder what would have happened if he hadn't.
She also wondered where they stood. Yeah they were kind of making out, nothing serious, but that was mostly because of his rut. Or at least that's what she thought. There may be a small part of her that wanted it to be more than that, but seeing as she has been avoiding him altogether, she had no way of knowing. She sighed sitting up again. These four walls would drive her insane soon enough.
She slipped out of bed and got dressed heading downstairs. She was glad most of her wounds were relatively gone. The bruising on her arm was only around the cut, that was now fully healed and her waist was just a scar now. All that was left was the stupid mark on her hip.
"The dead has risen!"
She followed the sound of slow clapping to Angel Dust sitting at the dining table eating. She stuck her tongue out at him but made her way over.
"We's were startin to wonder if you'd ever come down."
"A girl's gotta eat."
"You know…" He was giving her a sideways glance, a mischievous smirk on his face. "…the only other person who's been holed up like you is Alastor. Some people may be thinkin-
"NO!" She held her hand up, stopping that thought. She was not going to entertain that fabrication. "We are friends at best. If you really must know, I may… be avoiding him. And my room would be the best place to do that."
"He scared ya did he?" He rolled his eyes. "What a jerk."
"No no. I am NOT afraid of him. I just…" She couldn't come up with a good lie.
Angel raised an eyebrow in question.
"It's not like that Angel, okay?" She wrapped her arms around herself.
"Well now I gotta know." He leaned forward, his head resting in all four of his hands.
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Angel, I will go back to my stone tower." She warned.
"Aww come on. You've been hiding for like a week. And you look like shit. Somethin's goin on. Even if it ain't involvin the strawberry pimp."
"Just having trouble sleeping. That's it." At least that was the truth.
He gave her a disapproving look. "This ain't just lack of sleep. I would know."
She turned, headed for the kitchen. "I'll be fine. I always pull through."
"You know maybe that's why you're here, to learn to trust people. Open up. You ain't alone toots."
She stopped for a second to let the words sink in. She hadn't thought about going home in a while. So much was happening here it seemed to have been pushed to the back of her mind. She still wanted to go home. Right? She pressed on to the kitchen grabbing something simple to eat. When she made it back to the table, Angel had moved on leaving her to herself.
A flash of movement caught her eye. She followed a shadow move across the lobby, up the stairs and through the ceiling. Her hip started to burn again. Had Alastor been out? Where did he go? She finished her breakfast and turned to head back upstairs. On the main stairs she found Alastor's shadow. He looked very happy to see her. She couldn't lie, it brought a small smile to her face too.
It followed her up to her room. When she stopped at her door he motioned to Alastor's door down the hall.
"Oh no, I don't think I'm ready for that yet." She whispered, afraid she might be heard. He looked at her confused. "I just…need some time to get my head straight. Besides, if he really wanted to see me, he could just come see me. He knows where my room is." He pointed to the stairs to the roof. "Yes or there too." She paused to think. It had been a long time since she had gone up there. A smile creeped onto her face. "Hold that thought."
She went into her room to grab the radio Alastor had gifted her and made her way to the roof access, Alastor's shadow following excitedly.
The air was a bit cooler but she knew it would be refreshing once she got moving. She placed the radio down and clicked in on tuning it to find something she could dance or sing too. After playing with Angels radio she discovered that there were indeed channels that played something other than jazz. And though it only happened once, she did manage to find a song from this decade. One that she actually knew. She wouldn't get her hopes up though, as long as she got something she kinda knew she would be happy.
It took a few minutes but she found something and she stood taking a breath before she started to move. She mocked a curtsy to Alastor's shadow and took what would have been his hand, if he had solid hands. He kept up with her pace, seeming to know her every move. Her grin lit up her face. Despite being in a simple tank and jeans, she imagined herself in something that would twirl as she spun and danced across the roof with her shadow partner. As the song came to an end she curtsied again to her shadow partner.
"Why, thank you for this dance." She smiled at him and he smiled back to her, returning with a bow. She giggled.
The next song started up and her eyes went wide as she squealed in excitement.
"I know this song!"
She didn't really know how to dance to it, but she didn't care. She was alone on the roof and she could look as silly as she wanted to.
"Do you know this song?"
The shadow shook his head.
"Oh come on. This came out in Alastor's time. The brass is just amazing!"
She closed her eyes singing. 'Hey folks, here's the story about Minnie the Moocher.'
Unbeknownst to her, Alastor's shadow slipped from the roof only to return with an audience.
Maybe she would just sing. She wasn't too versed in scat either but it's not like anyone would hear.
'Had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes, she sat around and counted them all a million times. Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi (hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi) Ho-de-oh-de-oh-de-oh (ho-de-oh-de-oh-de-oh) He-de-he-de-he-de-he (he-de-he-de-he-de-he) Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho (hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho) Poor Min, poor Min, Poor Min.'
A small chuckle pulled her attention behind her. Alastor stood there with a sideways grin. His shadow looked pleased with himself. She gave it a glare.
"Cab Calloway. It's good to know some legends truly never die."
She knew he would know the song. "Yea well he was still performing this in the 80's. It's a pretty good song."
Alastor took a second to do the math. "At 70?"
She smiled. "Yup and he was just as lively performing it. At least, so I heard. I hadn't been born yet."
His smile brightened.
The next song started playing on the radio, but she didn't know it. She looked up at Alastor who was still watching her intently. Her hip started to burn. They stood silent for a bit before Ellen broke it. "I guess I should get going." She went to get her radio.
"Leaving so soon?"
Her gaze darted to his shadow. "I usually come up here to be alone."
"Then it should be I who leaves."
"It's okay, I'm not really in the mood anymore." She clicked off her radio, picking it up.
He shifted to block her path. The pain in her hip intensified, but she ignored it, keeping her gaze down.
"We should discuss our last encounter."
"I need some time to clear my head."
"I frightened you." It was a statement. He already knew. Of course he did. She was never any good at hiding her emotions.
She forced a laugh. "I'm not afraid of you, Alastor." Even to her own ears she didn't sound convincing.
"I've taken enough lives to know what fear looks like, my dear. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I do pride myself in instilling my dominance here in hell. I must admit I was starting to wonder if I had lost my touch."
His hand touched her chin pulling her gaze to meet his. His eyes looked her over. Her heart started racing at his touch, breath hitching. She hoped she was able to conceal her fear well. He had never been this forward before.
"You look tired my dear. Perhaps we can talk after you've had some rest." His voice was unusually soft. He removed his hand from her chin. His arm linked around hers and her scream was silenced as they disappeared into shadow, the sound evaporating into the void. It felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her hip, cruelly twisting the blade.
She landed on her hands and knees in her room. One hand quickly covering the pained mark. The poor radio clattered to the floor.
Alastor looked confused to see her on the floor. She turned her face away, trying to hide the tears that had slipped out. It had never hurt that bad before. Was it because of his touch? It didn't hurt when he grabbed her chin.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine." She tried to hide the pain from her voice, but she couldn't manage it. The pain was slowly receding.
"You're hurt. You should have mentioned something." He moved to touch her again but she dodged.
"NO! No dont…don't touch it."
He pulled back from her, surprised by her outburst.
She finally sat up, though her hand still clutched her side. She quickly wiped her face, to remove the wetness. From afar he tried to examine her.
"There's no blood." It wasn't a question, but his tone indicated confusion.
She shook her head. "It's just a small cut. It's fine, it should go away soon." She took a few steadying breaths, the pain now only a sharp throb. "See? All fine now." She pushed to her feet, still a little out of breath.
"Ellen, I need to see it."
"Honestly Alastor it's barely visab-"
"I'm not asking." His eyes narrowed as he strode toward her.
She took a few panicked steps back before she hit a wall. It had been a while since she was actually afraid, but the thought of that pain again had her pressed up against the wall as hard as she could. Maybe some of it was also Alastor.
"No, don't touch it." The closer he was, the more it burned. "STOP!"
He froze a few steps away, shocked. She was panting, trying to keep herself together. Her throat hurt from how raw she had screamed. She didn't know what was happening, she was sleep deprived and she was scared. This wasn't a normal wound, it should have healed by now. Something was wrong. Tears were falling from her face again and this time she didn't bother hiding them. Her hand instinctively went to cover her hip again.
"Please." It came out as a whisper. She gazed up to find he was watching her confused, head tilted to the side. He remained still, frozen in place.
"I don't know what's going on. I've been having the same nightmare for days, this scratch burns anytime I see or even think of you I just…don't touch me."
He took a few paces back, some of the colour draining from his face. "He marked you."
He had said it so matter of factly it took her a second to realize what he was talking about.
"No, it's just a little scratch from your rut…side? Demon? I don't really know what to call it."
"You're nightmares they're of that day, In the bayou."
She looked at him confused. "How'd you-"
"It's of…" he swallowed uncomfortably, "…finishing the deed."
She looked at him, mouth agape. He averted his eyes. "This is another rut thing isn't it?"
He didn't answer her. "You are correct. I can not touch you." He sighed. "Not without impure intentions," he mumbled.
She rubbed her face trying to understand what was going on. "Impure intentions? I don't understand what's going on Alastor. What is this?" She gestured to her hip that she had uncovered to display her mark.
She could hear the light buzzing coming from him, uncomfortable with the subject matter. He took a few more paces away from her, eyes still not able to meet hers.
"He…I marked you as my mate it seems. We are…bonded in a way."
"This is a rut thing." She stated it this time. His demeanor had made it obvious to her this was in some way an intimate thing, something he had no intentions of solving if he could help it.
"It is."
She sighed. "Layman's terms please, I want to know what to do to fix it.
"It's not that simple, I'm afraid. Not really a fix. I would have to...um…FUCK!" He turned quickly, pacing the floor of her room.
Her eyes widened in surprise, she had never seen him lose his composure like this before. She had never heard him curse either. She watched as he slowly became undone. Eyes panicked, ears pinned, antlers sprouting and static and buzzing ringing out through the room. She ignored her hip and slowly made her way closer to him. She reached out to touch him but stopped.
Impure intentions? What did he mean by that? Sexual? That would explain the melt down. His touch would only not hurt if it was under the intent of… oh. Oh that explains it. Shit. She sometimes wanted to have sex, but it was very, very rare. She had no idea if he had any desire, and if not he would just…never touch her again she guessed. No more dancing. No more shadow teleporting. What would happen if she made it back home without this being resolved? Would it really be a bad thing?
Maybe this panicking was valid. But that was for him to touch her, could she touch him? And when he grabbed her chin, it hadn't really hurt her. What was he thinking about?
She blocked his pacing and grabbed the front of his jacket pulling him to her. She hoped this wasn't crossing a line, now that he had finished his rut. She pressed her lips to his, eyes closing as her head started swimming. It lasted barely a second before he pushed her off of him.
"You can't-" He stopped looking down at her. "It didn't hurt you?"
"I think it's because I touched you." Her eyes widened. "I hope that's okay. I didn't mean to-" She was stopped when his lips crashed back into hers. His hands cupped her face, holding her to him. Her body relaxed under his hold. When they broke apart, he moved a few paces back, keeping his distance from her.
"No pain?" He asked suspiciously.
She just shook her head. "Hey, does that mean you were thinking-"
"NO! No, I don't think of such things."
Her grin grew. "Well I accomplished what I set out to do." When he cocked his head to the side she laughed and continued. "You're not spiraling out of control anymore. I guess my kiss grounds you." Her grin turned to a smirk. "I'll keep that in mind for the future."
His face glowed red. "Yes, well. I do believe I should get going."
"Woah, woah, woah. You still haven't explained what all this is. And if you aren't going to tell me willingly, I will use my last question to get my answers."
He let out a frustrated sigh, but waved her over to the bed to sit. She happily obliged.
"You've been marked as a mate. It's normally used to make sure both parties are willing. So if one was not in heat, it would put them in one. Easier to mate if both parties are interested."
"So this mark is going to make me horny? For you specifically."
His static screeched for a second. "Essentially yes. Though I am no longer in heat and seeing as my last one was decades ago, waiting for it to come back around isn't an option."
"Can't I just ignore it? Yours went away after a week right?"
"You do wish to sleep again, yes?"
"I won't sleep until we…" she was going to say 'fuck' but quickly corrected herself for his sake. "…mate?"
"Not well. And I'm not too sure what this will do to you. You are still a mortal soul after all."
"Okay so if I just scratch you, would it bring you back into a heat?"
'That will not be happening."
"It wont work?"
"I will not be going another week in heat my dear. This last one was bad enough."
"So I stay horny and sleep deprived until you one day decide to fuck?" She deadpanned.
"I will find a way around this."
"Okay hold on." She gave her head a shake then pinched the bridge of her nose trying to make sense of the situation. "You are asexual. Sex does not interest you very much if at all." Static was starting to fill the room again, but she pressed on. "The only time you actually consider it is if you're in a rut. Why the FUCK isn't the solution to just rut at the same time, fuck, and be done with it?"
"I don't think you understand how uncomfortable rutting is."
"So it'll be a walk in the park for me right? Are you forgetting I am also asexual? Maybe not as shrewd as you, but I still don't like those parts."
"What?"
She let out a frustrated sigh getting up and pacing by the bed, needing to burn off some energy. Was it getting warm? "How long does it take for the mark to put someone into a rut?"
"Normally a few hours, can't wait too long or you risk…well this." He gestured between the two of them.
"It's been three days since I've been marked. Is it possible it doesn't work on me?"
"There's no real way of knowing, but your nightmares are a good indication that it did something."
She let out a groan. The last time she was turned on was…Her eyes lit up.
"You're wound! We were both turned on when I healed it. I can just do that again right?"
Horror passed through his eyes as he shook his head. "No, no. That won't be a viable option. Alcohol will not be an attributing factor. There's not enough left to heal and I will most certainly not do that again."
She fell to sit back on the bed. It had to be getting warm in the room, her clothes starting to stick to her skin. And what was that smell? Woody, musky smell. It was nice. She normally hated those kinds of scents but this one…just hits different.
"There's the issue of marriage as well."
Ellen inhaled some saliva, choking at the statement, eyes as round as saucers.
"I will not defile you for the meager act of a rut. You are an enchanting young lady and no gentleman would dishonor a lady out of wedlock." He ran his hand through his hair over his ears. He didn't seem to like the idea either.
"No, no, no. You are thinking too far into this. I am not a virgin anyways, I've had sex before. Marriage? That's a serious thing, it's a promise, a contract. It's a lot more permanent."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah nowadays sex is not really a taboo subject anymore, even marriage isn't a lifelong thing anymore. Divorces are very common. One night stands are super common. It's still an intimate act, but it's not dedicated to a singular person. Although I can't say everyone is like that, I'm sure there are some up there that do wait until marriage."
She looked over to find Alastor frozen like a deer in headlights. It looked as though he zoned out. "Oh. I just dumped a lot of information on you. Okay um…how about I word it differently. Alastor, do you actually want to marry a girl you just met just because you accidentally marked her?"
"It's…it's the right thing to do."
She tried not to visibly cringe at that statement. "Ooo. Okay and if it turns out we are nothing alike, absolutely hate each other and everything goes to hell, what happens then?"
"No kinship is without problems."
"Wow. Okay. Well. I've already been deflowered, there is no dishonor to me and I'm okay letting this be a one and done. So we don't need to worry about tying the knot, okay?
"I simply can not allow that. I was raised a proper gentleman and even if you are…unchaste, I will do the right thing."
"You are going to spend the rest of your eternity married to a girl you'll probably never see again?" She asked, appalled.
"I'm not here for romance, let alone a spouse. It is Hell after all. Whether I am married or not doesn't affect my life down here."
"So why does it matter?!" She whined frustrated.
"It's principles my dear. What kind of a man would I be?"
"A normal one."
That response gave him pause. "Are there no gentlemen up there on Earth?"
Ellen sputtered a laugh. "If there are, they are few and far between. I certainly haven't found any."
He looked visually upset. "Then there is no question about it. We will be wed. You deserve a proper gentleman, even if you are impure. It seems down here is better suited for you anyway. Earth sounds like such a mess. No wonder the new sinners are so lost."
Ellen remained silent. Marriage was insane. Married in hell? None of her family would be there, not to mention she would be getting married to a serial killer who also happened to be a demon. No. This was crazy. But… she had no doubt he would look after her. She was already falling for this guy. Maybe it wasn't as crazy as she thought. On the other hand, she was still a mortal soul, a weak spot for someone who considers themselves a very powerful person. It would be easy to get to him through her. And death was a common occurrence in hell. How long would she really last? Would she come back like the rest of the sinners? Did she really want to spend all of eternity in hell? She barely knows anything down here, stuck to the confines of the hotel.
"Your father isn't dead is he?"
She was pulled from her mind. "What? No. He's still alive."
"In good health?"
"Yes?"
"Hmm. Shame."
"What?!"
"I was hoping to acquire his blessing, though I suppose I can forgo that given the unusual circumstances. Oh! Grandfathers perhaps?"
"No, they're both still kicking, too. I don't think any of them would end up in hell either."
Alastor laughed. "My dear, most of the people down here don't think they belong in hell."
Her stomach was starting to hurt again. Did that woody and musky smell get stronger? It seemed like it was coming from… "Oh shit" She muttered as the realization hit her.
"Hmm?"
She turned to look at him, her insides twisting. It was him. He was the, now overpowering smell, that made her head cloud. Was this what she did to him only a few days ago? And it was supposed to get worse as days went by? Oh god.
"You smell really good."
"Why thank you I-" he stopped, blinking hard a few times before he caught on. "Oh! I see. Yes, well, it would be best if I kept my distance then. Considering you've never done this before I imagine it will be a bit rough getting used to. If you need me, you know where to find me."
"What? No tips? No pointers? Come on!"
"Cold baths and a good book should help." And with that he was gone.
AN: Song mentioned in this Chapter 'Minnie the Moocher- Cab Calloway'. I personally enjoy the version in the movie 'The Blues Brothers' :)
