16

Off they went. The four of them, well three since Charlie was too weak to use legs herself, walked onwards through the abysmal territory begrudgingly. Full of silence, and seemingly uncomfortable distance from one another. Husk, and Vaggie didn't need to fly over-top to avoid the menace of the place, because all it took was one look towards Charlie, and every creature went the opposite direction.

Husk was rubbing his forehead every so often, clearly dealing with something internally, while Angel huddled tightly in the robe, shifting oddly every once and a while. They had almost reached the abode of the gambler when Angel slumped over, wincing in pain.

With widening eyes, Husk grabbed Angel before the spider hit the ground. Turning his head towards Vaggie, the hissing returned. "What is wrong?! I thought Charlie fixed him."

The angel shrugged. This wasn't right as Charlie did everything that could be done. Nothing should be wrong with Angel, but with that thought running through everyone's mind, Angel seemed to straighten himself. "I'm alright, I'm good. No need to panic." A slight false giggle escaped his lips, but it was soon interrupted by a cough. "Just exhausted you know."

It was clear something was up, and it couldn't be hidden all that well. Especially by Husk who knew him this long. It hit the black cat like a rock, and he stepped back slowly. "Right. We'll get you a good long rest soon, Legs." With that Angel stood as proud as he could, and the group carried on.

The shack that the gambler lived in wasn't much of a living situation. Perhaps more of a roofed place to sleep from time to time. It didn't really have a garden, or even much of a window. The place was small, one room and filled to the brim with magic crap, and liquor bottles both empty and full. From decks of cards, to magic rings, and other useless objects. The bed was tucked to one side of the place while presumably a place to eat was cleared off on the other end.

Vaggie sat Charlie on the bed as soon as she was able, as inspecting it for anything off was priority. A rude joke almost slipped out of Husk's maw, but it was clear they were all too tired for any of it. Angel sat down in the only vacant seat, fumbling as he did so, and Husk decided leaning against the wall was good enough, though not the most agreeable.

At the moment everyone relaxed, Angel grasped at one of the half torn magic hats and up chucked almost instantly within. The rapid smell filling the small space fast, and making loud ruckus out of everyone. "Really." Both Vaggie, and Husk chimed, but Husk was the only one to act on it. Grabbing the cap and tossing it out the broken window.

17

"Shit man, I was just brought back from near death. Don't complain so much." Angel used a nearby cloth to wipe his chin. "What do you expect? Cotton Candy, and rainbows?"

Husk snatched the cloth as well, giving the pink face a deep glare, before also tossing the rag out the window. "I expect you to explain yourself." His gruffness seemed to put Angel in a defensive position.

Angel lashed out aggressively. "Fuck off furball, and give me a minute!"

"I already gave you the whole fucking day."

"And I'll take my sweet ass time!"

"Then you can take your ass and-"

Vaggie clearly had enough pushing between the two, and using her wings to separate them. "Enough you two!" Angelic power could be felt coming from her. The aura vibrating the building. "Charlie needs rest, and if I can help it, that means you both are going to shut up."

With that, everyone stayed still. Still, and quiet. Husk took the time to pull out his phone. He stared at the screen for a moment. He had once again forgotten how the stupid thing worked. The old man fingered the screen for a second, scrolling the apps about, and pressing on random ones before he got to the screen he wanted. For a while, he looked up at the crew in his house, and then back down. Husk proceeded to press a few buttons on this new screen, afterwards putting the phone back in his pocket to be forgotten about.

Angel looked like he was about to say something, but the words didn't seem to want to come out. The whole while of silence; the worry was clear on everyone's faces. What was to be done now, and how was this all going to pan out.

Soon enough a knock came to the door. Vaggie instantly pulled out her spear and aimed it towards the sound. With this, Husk raised his hands in a manner that said 'woah', but this didn't seem to calm Charlie's guard dog down. Instead Husk turned to the door and opened it, the lot all expected something bad.

It was a pizza delivery man. Husk paid the gentleman, and whispered something to him. Thus the demon handed over the goods, including a small package that Husk tried to hide from view. With that, the door was slammed. The gambling addict shoved some stuff that was lying on the table straight onto the floor without care, and opened the box for everyone.

18

Hands rushed inward like fire. Of course everyone was starving after all that, and so it didn't matter if it was straight up trash, it seemed good for the pickings in everyone's eyes. Vaggie even grabbed an extra slice in a violent manner, at first you'd think for Charlie, but the princess was fast asleep, and she downed both of them.

Despite how quickly the dripping oily masterpiece was swiped by Angel, he seemed reluctant to chow down like Vaggie, and Husk seemed to be doing. He nibbled softly on the tip, staring at it like it was made of diamonds.

With this Husk rolled his eyes and slipped the package to his second set of arms beneath the table seeming ashamed of this action. He even seemed to do his best to make sure that the other two couldn't see him pull it off. A small sleight of hand trick he learned back in the day perhaps. Distraction via pizza.

Angel's eyes lit up to the package, looking back and forth at it and Husk as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, but with each glance Husk seemed to look further and further away. Unhappy with his choice, but it was too late to go back now.

Angel continued to eat the pizza in silence. He fidgeted with the package, apparently having troubles opening it. He gazed up at Husk for help, but the grump was ignoring him. With that, he set his pizza down, and moved both sets of arms to work on opening the package. When Husk did decide to glance over back at his friend, he found the scene to be almost revolting. Abandoning food. Of course.

Vaggie at that point caught him, and stumbled over to question the situation. "What are you doing?"

This made Angel jump, and as quickly as he could, Angel buried the package into the cloak. "N…Nothing. Just eating my pizza."

They both looked to the barely chewed on slice sitting sadly on the table's edge. "Right." The sarcastic tone made Angel hold his breath, unable to move. "You were holding something, what was it?"

Angel's eyes swirled around the room, looking for a way out of the problem he put himself in. "This!" He grabbed a nearby object without looking, and it solved everything, but not in the way he desired, as the item he held up was dildo. They both glanced at the item, then at each other. "I thought it was a…" This was awkward for all of them.

"Give me that!" Husk stumbled over, "Just eat your damn pizza, and get some rest." With the awkward sex toy in his hand, he left the building to get some fresh air, tossing the toy over by the bed away from Angel.

19

The place was getting too tight in there to breathe. A small walk, and then he'd get back to work. Those two would need a full night's rest before Angel was ready to spill his guts. Not to mention if what he got for Angel was the real deal, the moron wouldn't be able to speak for a couple hours anyway. Husk rolled his eyes at the thought of what he had done, but he also knew why.

It must have been a while since he was in Val's grasp, the long travel, the things he had to give up. It wasn't an easy task to say the least. The smallest gift Husk could give him was something to help him while he was here. Was it a good thing to do so? probably not, but the kid would probably kill over if he didn't.

He hadn't walked far, with the new bottle of booze that he snatched on the way out, before a screeching sound reached his ears. Husk winced and pinned his ears tight to his head. "Alastor. You bastard, don't play games with me."

Soon enough the cheery red deer stepped out of the shadows, the same old grin on his face, and a sly look in his eyes. "What do you mean my dear old pal?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Husk grumbled, he opened up the bottle, and took a large gulp of the stuff before wiping it up with his forearm.

Alastor simply chuckled in delight, taking the moment to move about what he considered his pet. "How's our little dust bunny doing?"

"None'a ya business."

Alastor stepped closer. His can firm beneath both palms. "Oh I assure you it is entirely my business." the tones had gotten darker, a lot quicker than they normally would around Husk. "I have very important things that rely on what Angel has to say."

Husk shrugged in response, seemingly unfazed by the dark aura that presented itself around his master. "He said he wanted to see me." This was true, but no one could doubt that there was more to this than meets the eye. "Other than that I got nothin'."

The creaking noise echoed, and Alastor's head snapped from side to side in a creepy manner. "Oh?"

"You would know wouldn't you? You've been following me this whole time." Husk had his suspicions. The creepy bastard seemed to know far more than he was letting on, and there wasn't much to surmise about the situation. It was obvious.

20

Alastor didn't have a response to this, but instead returned to a more neutral stance as if the whole conversation didn't happen. There certainly was a bug in his cap, but what was there to do about it? He sauntered slowly away from Husk towards the bigger buildings in the distance. "Tata for now my dearest friend." With that he began to whistle a simple toon.

Husk didn't bother to wait till he was out of sight for anything. He didn't even watch the man leave. It didn't matter what the ruler wanted, he would eventually get it anyway. Another moment, and another swig of his alcohol.

A few hours would pass, and the moon was high in the sky. The world was filled with the lights from below rather than the stars filling the sky. Husk had already finished the bottle long ago, and was staring blankly at the dark abyss above. Not drunk enough to forget, not sober enough to care.

He decided he'd go back, and curl up on the floor with a blanket for the rest of the night, so with a turn, he reached the hut that was supposedly his home. He hardly ever slept in this building, was hardly ever here. The place was more of a storage facility than a home.

The cat didn't knock. He didn't need to, by his logic everyone was asleep, or too high to care in Angel's case, that it wouldn't matter. Stepping in, he set his hat on top of one of the many piles of strange objects. He went to grab a blanket that was lying around when he noticed Angel staring blankly at him.

Husk huffed. "What?"

Angel looked away, he wasn't drugged. That was surprising to him, he had access to the stuff. Silence pursued, and Husk decided not to question it. He cleared off a space on the floor and curled up. Sleep wouldn't come easy.

—

When the light finally pierced through the window. It wasn't surprising that others were already awake. "GOOD Morning~ " Charlie's voice echoed in the small place. "Today is going to be a glorious day."

Charlie was clearly back to her old self, and Vaggie was sitting on the bed seeming exhausted. Angel had just woken up from the noise, shifting about in the chair trying to get out of that mode of being half asleep. The sun was hitting Husk in the face, so he was wide awake before Chalie chanted, but unmoving.

"Anybody hungry? Let's have panca-" She stopped when she realized the place didn't have a kitchen. The leftover pizza seemed to be the only food around, and it had been sitting on the table all night. This led her to frown in dismay, as she looked to Vaggie for assistance.

21

Vaggie shrugged, unsure of what to do. It wasn't exactly like she could pull pancakes out of her ass. Angel simply rubbed his eyes ignoring everyone. The spider would proceed to stand up, stretch, and fix up his fur. Putting his fingers through his hair, and shaping his chest fur into the breast shape it always held. Husk simply stayed on the floor.

Angel nudged him with his foot, and continued to do so until his grumpy bum moved into at least a sitting position. Husk rubbed his eyes, and grabbed a nearby unopened bottle. "I've got my breakfast."

Charlie sighed, and looked to the others for support, but it seemed no one had anything to say. "Well, I could invite you to the castle, and we all could have a nice meal. How does that sound?"

Husk nearly choked. Spitting whatever he still hadn't swallowed onto his lap, and the floor in front of him. "You crazy, your father would smite us faster than you could say 'hello'. The bastard is crazy."

Charlie tried to reprimand the situation. "If I say who you are, and that you were my friends I'm sure he'd be alright with it."

"Ye. And then how would you explain this?" His thumb pointed at Angel, who immediately took that as a sign to pose for the camera. Husk ignored it the best he could by taking a drink of his 'breakfast'.

Vaggie chimed in. "Speaking of explaining, you still haven't told us what your doing here." Her voice was tinged with anger.

Angel lost his posture, and began to fidget nervously, "Well…. I…." He seemed to be looking for anything to be an escape. Husk blocked the door however, and Vaggie blocked the window.

"Spit it out Legs."

He sat down, and tried to stay calm, but something in him was driving him to seem crazed. "I… It's… Complicated, I can't exactly say it's just… I…"

The three of them looked at each other, and Charlie took this as a sign to approach. She stepped forward slowly, seeing Angel in such an a painful position with the way he held himself tight against the wall, and looking away from everyone. The cloak lay so loosely on him before, but now it seemed as if he was trying desperately to hide in it till everyone disappeared. Her hand gently grasped his shoulder, and a sincere smile bent on her face.

22

"It's okay, I understand. Sometimes it takes time to speak." She tried to reassure him, in hopes of not only coaxing out the information, but more to make him realize he was with people who he was safe with. That he could confide in no matter what.

"I CAN'T SAY OKAY!" Angel pushed Charlie away forcefully. She ended up falling right into Vaggies arms, and almost fell to the ground.

Vaggie went to defend her girlfriend by gently setting Charlie behind her, while pulling out her weapon. "No one acts thi-"

"It's okay." Charlie interrupted. "He was just defending himself. Calm down." She did the same tactic towards her guard, putting her hand on Vaggie's shoulder. "After all-" she stepped between them, slightly pushing everyone away from Angel, and his defensive posture.

" Sometimes we all just need a little space.

A little time to take a breath and see the sky. "

She had moved toward the window in the symphony of her music, but everyone stopped her from getting any further. From Vaggie facepalming to Husk pulling her away from the window, causing a load of crap to fall over due to the mess the place was actually in. There wasn't room for a musical at the moment.

Husk sighed. "We get it princess, but this is important."

Charlie responded in sincerity. "I know, but it's also clear this is beyond a simple chat." She looked over to Angel. "And if we try to push him, nothing good is going to come of it. So why don't we just head back to the castle, and enjoy breakfast. Dad is still super busy, so maaaybe we can sneak by him. A little food will brighten all our spirits."

A grouchy voice erupted. "Or me 'n Angel can hit the local booths, and you and your little confetti glitter can go home."

It was clear Charlie wanted to help, but Husk was having none of it. There had been enough shit going on, and it was time for it all to just move on. Whatever it was originally about was shoved out the window.

Charlie, however, decided to challenge the black cat, by busting the door open, and continuing her song.

" So let's take a walk and enjoy the Outside!

I hear a bird just around the corner,

And with that we will go a little further.

23

Just let me show you I can help you feel a little better! "

Husk was beginning to realize that there was no talking Charlie out of the situation. She was determined to butt her nose into any situation she could grasp. It must have been lonely in that castle of hers, but it was no reason to drag us into her problems. Thus Husk knew to speak her language, and hoped it would help.

" I think we got it so just take a hint,

Take your bags and hit the road.
For if we needed extra assistance,

We would have asked a long time ago. "

Charlie had seemed to drag the group down the road, at that point making it down a good distance. She then chimed in the next part of the song.

" I get it now, I understand,

It's hard to take an extra hand.

And so I'll be a little patient,

Hold my tongue, and be complacent.

Be-caaaaus

" Sometimes we all just need a little space.

A little time to take a breath and see the sky.

To take a walk down the street,

And say hello to every set of eyes! "

It wasn't working, so Husk shut Charlie up again. They were getting stares from every corner of the realm, and it was getting to him that the girl was set on it. "Fine Fine." He gestured for her to stop. "We'll eat with you, but that's that."

Vaggie piped in. "And Charlie deserves an explanation! She used up a lot of energy saving your boy toy."

This offended Husk of course. "He's not my boy toy."

Then Angel had to put in his two cents. "I could be your boy toy if you-"

"ENOUGH!" Husk snapped. His wings had puffed out, and his fangs were bared. "Enough okay. We'll deal with this later. And so they all walked in silence towards the castle, as Charlie chose to do so, the rest had to follow suit.

24

As they approached the border once again, the Angels crowded the area to watch the princess walk back. She seemed to change her posture and attitude towards everyone around her. It was as if she turned from a singing fairy tale, to an actual member of royalty in a blink. Many harkened her return with enormous gratitude, and didn't make much eye contact with the others in the least. This made it easier to cross, but Angel still seemed incredibly weary. He went as far as to try and hide behind Husk like a child. It was odd, but Husk understood that Angel didn't want to get caught.

He seemed to bury his head in the feathers of Husk's wings, and Husk obliged by making sure he was well covered. Not that seeing his face would mean anything to them. How are they supposed to have every face recognized? They believe that you can't pass through, and nothing was going to change that in their minds.

Still, every caution was taken, even after they were on the other side. Charlie looked about for other guards, and more importantly, her parents. She did so with such elegance it didn't seem like her at all.

At the door, they all stopped, and were given distinct glares from those at the entrance. They simply nodded their heads as the group traveled on through, Angel's head seemed to still be buried, as if he didn't wish to be seen by anyone. Husk touched him lightly at this point, assuring him that they were safe now, but this didn't seem to change Angel's position.

Husk sighed, "Can me and Angel go get washed up?" He mostly referred to Angel, who was still kinda covered in blood.

Charlie turned daintily, and gave a cautious look. "Of course." A half smile appeared. "Breakfast will probably be ready by the time you return. Razzle." She called out to the servants.

A small upright goat creature appeared at her feet, seemingly ready to take any order given. "Please escort Husk, and Angel, to the guest bathroom." The creature responded in loyalty, and galavanted over to the two.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the destination they desired. Razzle took a quick bow, and seemed to wait outside the door. The room that they were taken to had a luxurious four poster bed, and a wide window with silk curtains. There was storage for clothes, shelves, and a whole walk in closet. Not far in was the bathroom. A couple steps away from the bed, and separated by a door. This bathroom was the same size as the bedroom, and had a tub big enough to fit a horse.

"All Right, now we're talking." Angel proceeded to take off everything he had on, dropping it to the floor with ease, and not caring that Husk was right there to see him.

25

Husk didn't respond too much to this, as it wasn't like everyone had seen his naked bum before. He simply turned and walked out into the bedroom area, and sat on the cushiony surface. "I'll be right here."

"Sure. You could just go and hang out with everyone else ya know."

"And leave you when you specifically requested me to be here for ya." Husk rubbed his wings, they were still sore from the whip coming down on them.

As the water started up, Angel took a few moments of silence before shouting out towards Husk. "When did I ask?"

"On the way in." Husk fiddled with his claws. "Not exactly in words, but you being buried in me like I could protect you said enough."

Angel retorted in almost anger. "I don't need you to protect me."

"No, no you don't, but it seems like you want it."

"I…"

Silence. The rest of Angel's shower was quiet. That is till Razzle came in the room with what appeared to be a small pile of clothes, and a couple of towels. The creature handed it to Husk, and bowed again before leaving them in peace.

Husk shrugged at this, and headed into the bathroom. "What do you want, have to take a piss?" Angel seemed to notice without much effort.

Husk set the clothes down, and hung up the towel. "Just dropping off a gift from Charlie." With that he left Angel to do his thing.

It wasn't much longer before Angel stepped out of the shower, dressed in the new clothes, and looking like his usual self. "She seems to know exactly what I'm into. I wonder where she got this." It was a pink top, and dark shorts that seemed similar to an outfit he typically wore, nothing special, and certainly nothing to brag about.

"Come on, breakfast is waiting." Husk gestured, and the two of them set off the way they came, finding the kitchen with ease.

26

To their surprise the table was lavished with different foods. Of course nothing less for the princess. She was there, with Vaggie by her side, and no one else really at the table. None of the guards were in the room either. Husk had expected this to be the moment they had to face the king, and have Angel sent back, or at least punished.

Charlie simply wavered before her. Wearing a different dress, and new sets of jewels. "Come on guys, enjoy yourself."

Husk wasn't gonna complain, when was the last time he had a decent meal. He sat promptly and grabbed a bit of everything. This pleased Charlie, but Angel seemed hesitant.

Husk spoke to him with a mouth full. "It's not gonna be poisoned."

This got Angel to comply a little, but it being poisoned or not wasn't his concern. It was clear he still wasn't ready to explain his situation. Sitting, He would glance at what was available, and pick out some small things compared to Husks full plate of meat. He nibbled cautiously, staring at the mostly empty plate as if it was going to bite him back.

"I mean it when I say I can't tell you guys." Angel huffed a little, and fiddled with the food.

Husk stopped eating, and turned to his pal. "Why not?"

"I don't know, I just can't."

A creepy, yet very familiar voice chimed in. "This is because the poor lad cannot speak upon the event that got him here."

Everyone jumped and turned to see Alastor standing in the archway between the dining room and the next. His eerie shadow passed over the place ominously. His grin still seemed to be presented on his face as always.

Charlie beamed at him with kindness. "Al, why don't you join us?"

Vaggie bumped in before Alastor could move, pointing her spear straight at him. "You weren't invited, what are you doing back?"

Husk continued to eat. Ignoring the situation, and downing the juice that was given to him. He grunted in dismay, as he had hoped it had been spiked, but it was just plain apple. Angel had pushed away from the group a bit, looking as if he was about to run. Alastor on the other hand, like Husk, was unmoved.

Instead, he slightly pushed the spear out of his face as he approached, and sat graciously at the table. "Oh, deary, the princess just did." It was a true fact at the moment. Charlie just asked him to join them at the table.

27

Charlie was happy that it turned out, as she never had a desire for bloodshed. She helped by handing food down to him, which the cannibal gladly accepted. As he put a small morsel of many things onto his plate, he continued from before. "I was invited the other day to the castle in order to help deal with security issues. Seems many of the Angels have ended up missing, or found dead."

Angel settled down, and instead prodded back at the bear. "What does that have to do with me?"

Alastor chuckled with that radio filter. "Everything sweetheart. Tell me, what do you remember at all about getting over to my slice of this realm?"

Angel stopped for a moment to think. What was the last thing he remembered? He did take drugs last night, but not a lot. Not enough to mess with his memory this badly. On top of that, he didn't quite remember why, just that he had to do something that was very important.

Al continued as he cut his food into small bite sized chunks. He did so slowly and irregularly, so that the pieces would tear into uncomfortable shapes. "You don't remember, cause someone doesn't want you to, and that someone is also involved in the angel issue. Ha! Clever honestly."

Of course this was clearly speculation, but no doubt that Alastor was onto something. Husk flinched at the idea of yet more people messing with the only thing close to him. A low growl escaped him.

Husk stood up sharply. "Let's go find the bastard."

Authors Note: Thank You so Much for Reading! Always appreciate every Favorite, Comment, Follow, and view :3 Updates on Saturdays if I can.