Chapter Text
Husk is gonna be honest. He doesn't know how any of this happened. In fact, he didn't even know where to start. Actually, scratch that, he does know where to start, he just has to back a little bit. Was it when he ended up at the hotel? No, farther back than that. Was it when he met him? No, still not it. Was it when he was a bartender? No, he could still trace it farther. In fact, now that he thought about it, he could trace it all the way back to the first couple of years he had spent in Hell. It all started with, ironically, a game of Poker.
Husk had adjusted to Hell pretty quickly. Once he learned he could drink and gamble as much as he wanted without consequence he got pretty comfortable. Except, there were consequences, just... Maybe not for him. He was far too good at it. No one beat him and it was intoxicating. He's pretty sure in the first year in Hell he had already visited every casino. He couldn't count the number of times he won on his fingers... Or well... Claws...
Adjusting to his new form was a whole different subject. To be frank, Husk was pissed with it. It's not that he hated cats, actually when he was alive he quite liked them. He just didn't want to BE one. When he first got here his wings and tail knocked over everything, constantly tripping him and blocking him in doorways. His claws snagged on anything that wasn't smooth and he didn't even want to get started on the fact that he had FUCKING PAWS. Having fur was weird, like, really weird. It's like his fur could feel the vibrations in the air, causing his skin to feel like it was covered in bugs. One perk was his eyes, being able to see at night had saved his life many times.
But the biggest thing that happened the first year he got here, the thing that caused all of this, was a Poker game with a little bird. A finch to be exact…
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“HA! READ EM AND WEEP FUCKER!” He yelled, slamming down his cards, causing some of the chip piles to fall. Chips that were now all his. He took a swing from his almost empty bottle. The finch was shocked into silence, staring at his own trashy hand. Husk smiled smugly, swaying heavily as he got up from his seat, his tail swishing and hitting the many bottles on the floor. He may be drunk, but that doesn't mean he doesn't win. They were in a run down casino near the border of Pentagram City. There was a dingy little bar with broken stools and a drunk bartender, small dirty rooms for people who wanted a little fun for the night, one broken betting machine and tables. Lots of tables. They were all mismatched, with chairs of all different materials, sizes, and colors. It made Husk’s fur itch with discomfort. If he ran a casino it wouldn’t look anything like this, it would have beautiful lighting, matching outfits for their workers, his own unique chips and cards, Husk almost sighed just daydreaming about it. This was the last casino he needed to play a game at before he could claim he’s been in them all, and so far, it was… Disappointing… And pretty disgusting. Husk was winning right from the start of the game. Most people had folded out of the game, realizing they had no chance of winning, but the little finch had been too stubborn. They thought they could win. Soon it was late, though time didn’t really matter in Hell, many bottles had been acquired on the ground, and Husk held the winning hand.
The finch finally started up again as Husk stood, holding out his hand, “You played well lil Finch, but a game ‘sa game.”
Husk may have been drunk, but he still had manors… Kinda… Honestly his win was a little ironic. A cat winning over a finch? HA! There was a joke to be made there…
The finch flew out of their seat, running in front of him, “Please! Another round! One more! I’m begging you!”
Husk snorted, looking down on them as they looked up with pleading eyes, “Whatcha gonna bet with? I’ve got everything, jus’ take the loss like a good player.”
Husk turned, starting to collect the chips, thinking about how he might use them at his favorite casino. The finch was muttering to themself, on the verge of a breakdown. Husk just shrugged it off, can’t say he hadn’t done that in life, still, it was the finches fault they had bet EVERYTHING. Husk finished up and went to leave before the finch grabbed one of his claws.
“MY SOUL!” They blurted, “I STILL HAVE MY SOUL TO BET!”
Husk froze. This was new. Nobody had ever bet their soul before, not in life, not in death. Husk looked down at his prize, and then at the finch. He could turn the offer down, go crash in his apartment only to wake up the next morning and do the same thing he did everyday, casinos. Or he could take this deal and do the same thing, just with the possibility of a soul. Husk stared at the finch’s black pleading eyes a moment longer. This sinner was crazy.
Husk smiled and held out his hand, “I win, I get your soul. You win, you get all your money back, plus more. Do we have a deal?”
The finch stared at his clawed paw, as if debating if they should actually do this. They held true to their word, they grabbed his hand and shook, “Deal.”
There wasn’t anything special. No lights, no chains, no symbols. It was like any other handshake, like one you’d make while going into an interview. It felt… Simple… Easy…
It wasn’t the handshake that was special, no. It was when Husk won the soul. That was special. As soon as the cards were placed down there was silence. The area around them quickly faded to black as the finch released what exactly they had done. Husk was confused at first, thought he was drunk, but he sobered up really quick once he felt it course through him. Every hair stood on end, practically vibrating, his wings swung out, seemingly way bigger than they were. The finch fell, staring up at the growing tower before them. His eyes shone a piercing yellow, his poker like symbols glowed, and his tail slashed about. He grinned at the finch below him. He had no clue what he was doing, but it felt fucking great. It was a new high he had never experienced before. It was far past drinking, far past drunks, far past gambling. This. This was the power over a soul. It was his now. Husker pulled out a card from the finch’s losing hand. The finch let out a shriek as it was slowly dragged into the card.
Husk was suddenly placed back in the casino, people lumbered about like nothing had happened. Maybe it didn’t… His sober mind thought. He shook out his fur, smoothing it down. He looked normal, he felt normal, besides a slight buzz. He felt slightly disappointed, he already missed that weird high he got. He looked down at the card he held in his hand. He did a double take.
Husk burst out laughing, causing the few people there to stair at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was… Husk smiled, flipping the card over, looking over every inch of it.
“Ace of finch huh?”