Chapter Text
(Big thank you to @dranktwocoffees on Twitter for this lovely piece <3 Big Inspiration behind this chapter's existence!)
A dripping , a repetitive dripping that came from nowhere in particular yet echoed all around her.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The ground was frigid . Not like an uncomfortable coolness that would keep anyone awake, but instead, a freezing icy bitterness that burned flesh to the touch – where any bit of unfortunate exposed flesh would stick to the ground only to be torn with every step she attempted to take, but the longer she stayed still, the more her paw pads would stick to the ground. A sick feeling lingered in her stomach; her fur stood at its ends as her flesh burned, and her ears rang with the echoing melody of her beating heart and that dastardly dripping. The feline’s ears flattened, and her golden eyes widened. She glanced around the vast emptiness of the current space she resided in…there was nothing.
There was nothing but absolute darkness as far as the eye could see, no sound besides the maddening dripping of something accompanied by a ringing and a beating.
Panic settled in. A sick feeling begins to crawl from her stomach and up her throat, her eyes watering, the ringing growing louder, and her blood finally ran cold as a cry rips out of her throat. “Ama! Apa!” The feline would call out, feeling her throat burn with each strain as if she had been shouting out for hours into nothingness before she’d even become aware of her own voice – but that’s when she heard it.
“Harmony! Over here!”
“Furrball! We’re right here!”
Their voices broke through the ringing. The melody of her mother’s tone and the roughness of her father’s voice made her heart skip a beat. Her ears flicked as she attempted to find the source of their voices, tears threatening to spill as silence befell her once more. “Ama! Apa!” Harmony would cry out again, hoping they’d also attempt to find her voice.
The feline didn’t know when she’d begun to run, and she didn't know how long she’d ignored the pain of her sensitive paw pads as they had been torn bloody by the ground. She was now growing keenly aware of the stinging and burning – keenly aware that a layer of blood now lay between each step and the frigid ground. The pain kept her awake, and it made her heart race. Harmony finally grew aware of her wings, her wings! The feline would remember, urging her to spread her wings finally; her wings––appendages often used for comfort now found themselves attempting to be used for flight - a skill she’d never mastered, yet she hoped to accomplish in her greatest time of need.
She remembered how her father never gave up on her; he never once lost hope that his Harmony would achieve flight.
The small feline would flap her unpracticed wings, desperately attempting to pick up momentum as she ran, the muscles growing exhausted with each failed attempt at takeoff. Said exhaustion seemed to have melted away when she heard them, her parents calling out to her again, their voices chiming much closer than earlier. Harmony finally felt alleviation in her paws as they left the frigid ground, now feeling more aware of her own body as her wings had managed to finally lift her body, picking up more than enough height to leave the frigid ground a faint memory and the idea that she could reach her parents much closer. They were calling out to her; Harmony could hear them! Their voices grew closer and closer, louder and louder – her wings getting her a lot further than her paws ever did. When she finally reached them, the feeling of relief was quickly stripped from her as the darkened room of nothingness lit up with a blinding heavenly glow – startling the feline, causing her to instinctively envelop her wings around herself as protection as she hurdled back towards the ground.
Her body ached at the moment of impact, a wail escaping her as she curled onto herself; her parent’s voice had long since gone silent.
That's when she grew aware that the ground wasn’t cold—it was warm and wet.
Uncoiling herself from the safety of her wings, she’d glimpse down at her paws, the fur now matted with red. A sickly red…Blood…It wasn’t her own; she was sure of that, as her paws appeared to have recovered from the earlier tearing. A painful stillness that’s befallen her, frightening her, the warmth of the liquid she sat upon disgusted her, horrified her…Harmony didn’t want to glance, yet some unknown force nudged her to look . Looking up from the crimson lake, the feline felt the bitter, burning feeling of bile threatening to escape as a strained howl left her body.
Harmony could only manage to stare at the mangled bodies…the remains…of her parents.
Or more so, what was left of them.
Unable to find the strength to get back on her feet, Harmony would crawl to the still-warm bodies belonging to her parents, finding nothing but mangled fur and torn flesh – their faces marred beyond recognition, but she knew it was them…Through the stench of metallic blood, she could still pick up on their comforting scent; although it had begun to fade, it lingered. It broke her to know it was them, but she knew nothing would change, even if she attempted to delude herself. Harmony was stuck in place, incapable of forming any thoughts or words. There was nothing left…Nothing she could do.
The warmth of the red lake vanished, the icy ground making its return known as the sound of cold steel being wielded rang out through the silence, forcing the feline’s ears to perk up. Instincts forced her to examine her surroundings, tearing her gaze from what was left of her parents. The feline could feel her fur standing at its ends as her tail frizzled, her ears flattened further against her skull…She couldn’t move. Only found a terrifying figure, a masked exorcist, its permanent grin mocking her as it silently lifted its holy spear above its head, striking her down with one fell swoop.
Waking herself up with her labored breathing and hiccuped sobs, she’d find her fur dampened with sweat and tears, small paws digging tiny claws onto the cool covers on her bed. Anxiously glancing around the room she awoke in – attempting to ease her heart as she struggled to breathe any air, hiccuping through each dying cry. She found herself in her room, away from the darkened emptiness and in the comfort of mahogany floors, pink walls, lacey curtains, and stuffed animals. She was home, she was safe, she was still alive .
The feline would wrap her tail and wings around herself, glancing out the window to ease her mind, and she’d find the never-changing carmine skies. Day or night, there was no sun or moon to brighten or dim the skies drastically; it always remained one color beneath the threatening aura of heaven’s ever-threatening glory. The countdown to extermination day was a grim reminder that their afterlife wasn’t eternal; mortality was never escaped. It frightened her to think that one day, she’d come to taste the end of her life, a punishment for being a sinless sinner.
A punishment for having been born.
Harmony’s attention was torn from the sight outside her window by heavy footsteps that could be heard making their way to her bedroom door. She would recognize that heavy footsteps lacked the usual click-clack of her mother’s hooves on the wooden floor––her theory being proven correct as her bedroom door was opened. The light from her bedroom window illuminated her father’s face, her throat tightening once more as she made sense of his features upon a mess of white and graying fur. Instead of a mangled corpse, she saw his usual stern eyes softening as he looked upon her.
The tomcat felt an ache in his chest as he took in the sight of his Harmony, honey eyes glossed with tears and fur matted by sweat––all while being curled up in her bed by her tail and wings, wrapped up tightly as if she were shielding herself. “What’s wrong, fuzzball?” His voice came out like a whisper, his tone deep yet smooth. Often, it found itself striking fear into the lowly sinners that he managed to rope into losing bets, yet at this very moment, he could see how his kit would begin to ease, allowing her wings to settle back while uncurling her tail from around herself. His little fuzzball, the only soul besides his Evangeline who didn’t fear him, the only soul who could ever find comfort in his voice…His remaining hope in an afterlife is meant to punish the sinful. Yet, he’d been given one thing he never thought he would have– his own family. “Did you have a nightmare again?” He finally approached, sitting beside her on the bed as he used one of his wings to scooch her closer. Instantly, she’d curl up against him as she nodded.
A silence.
“Mommy wasn’t…okay…you…weren’t okay.” The young feline struggled to let out. Her throat tightened as she began to sniffle, clearly attempting to choke back tears that were threatening to spill again. “There was blood everywhere… Mommy and you weren’t breathing…I–I couldn’t do anything. You two were gone. I don’t want you guys to die, but what if you do? What if those angels get you guys? Papa, I don’t want you to die!” The floodgates were opened, and her staggered breaths became labored breathing as the small feline began to choke out sobs and wails, only pressing herself closer to him as she tried to hide her face away in his fur.
Husk would sit still, feeling the spot his daughter had chosen to bury her face in had begun to grow damp with her tears, fabric being something that he could dry or wash, but his fur ball was crying –– crying about his and her mother’s deaths.
Harmony, his Harmony––A kit who was just barely 6––contemplating, fearing the mortality of her parents when she shouldn’t even be thinking about death.
The grim reality was a hard pill to swallow for most adults, and he couldn’t imagine a child trying to wrap their head around the concept of ceasing to exist forever or losing someone they loved permanently…Truthfully, it was something Husk himself had believed he had long accepted. After all, he knew that even his afterlife wasn’t permanent with the exorcist coming down once a year –– Sure, he had better chances, seeing as his current overlord status granted him power, but not permanent safety from his imminent death. He was still a sinner through it all. But a lot of things have changed since then. He’d become a husband and, most importantly, a father. He was a father to an innocent soul that was far from deserving of damnation, a soul he needed to protect.
There was more at stake now, more for him to lose, more that he wasn’t willing to risk losing.
Usually, Evangeline watched Harmony during the night while he manned the casino. Still, they had decided to switch things up as he was growing exhausted by the sleepless nights. His wife was increasingly antsy by the idea of missing out on potential deals and contracts––his experience when it came to dealing with his daughter’s night terrors was limited, and the last thing he wanted was to distress his kit further. Never had he thought he’d be a father. Never in life would he have believed that would’ve been a good one, but seeing his little star in despair made something profound within him break and ache––a protective instinct finally surfacing.
The tomcat would turn to pick up the trembling bundle beside him, carefully sitting her weeping form on his lap, with one of his giant paws on her back while the other carefully wiped away at the tears staining her face –– the candle atop ontop her head holding a low flame, barely visible at all, she was probably still scarcely awake. “I’m not going to die furball…Neither is your mother, y’know why?” He’d begin, his voice lower, a whisper. He waited till she’d lifted her gaze from the ground, putting her full attention on him as her ears would perk up at the sound of his voice, staggered short breaths escaping as she attempted to ease herself.
“W…Why?...” She hiccuped out.
“Because we would never risk ourselves so blindly, not when we have you to think about. Your mother and I are strong, and those angels won’t ever leave scratches on us…You have nothing to worry about, furball.” Husk knew there was no way to ensure the fact neither he nor Eva fell victim to an exorcist’s blade; there were no promises of safety in this world…But maybe, just maybe, if he was powerful enough, there could be a way he could ensure the continuous protection of his family––there had to be a way for him to beat a second death, to gather enough control and power over the pride ring that would make it so his family…his Harmony…would never fear an angelic blade.
There had to be a way.
Husk would ease away from his wandering thoughts, going from carefully wiping his daughter’s tears to pinching her cheek between his fingers, chuckling under his breath as she attempted to bat him away with her tiny paws with a whined-out laugh, her cries now long gone. “How about I tell you a story to help you fall back asleep? How does that sound?” a smile finally formed upon the small feline’s face, her face softening as she gazed up upon her father––her father, her guardian, the moon to her mother’s sun, shining so brightly in her eyes. “What kind of story do you want, kid?”
“Tell me about the stars, Papa…Tell me about the sparkly ones.” Harmony would yawn, cuddling closer to her father. The scent of nicotine, spirits, and the fading cologne her mother had most likely gifted her father lulled her into a sense of security, a feeling of comforting warmth.
Silence fell upon the room as Husk pulled Harmony closer, giving her a bit of a squeeze before sighing out…Where could he begin? “The sky isn’t red like it is down here. It's blue. A soft blue in the mornings, bright and warm…But at night.” He paused. He could feel something tightening in his chest; was he reminiscing? Maybe. He could still remember his mortal life. It hadn’t been the best, nor had it been the worst…But he’d wasted away the majority of his life in his addiction to gambling and nurturing his wounded ego with whatever spirit he was able to afford after a stinging loss––There were times he’d lost everything, had nothing to his name but the clothes on his back, no roof or bed to speak of. It wasn’t like he was alone in his situation. He often found solace in all the other pathetic losers who fell to the promises of winning big in Vegas.
There were nights when he had nothing but a bench or spot somewhere away from all the foot traffic, where he could fall asleep while gazing upon the stars…The stars had always been there for him, his only company in life.
“At night…The sky is dark, such a dark, dark blue. It's cold and frightening, but the stars shine so brightly. They sparkle in the sky like diamonds, much like the ones your mother always wears.” He’d chuckle, a softer smile further warming his features. “They’re freckled throughout the sky, some shining brighter than others. The stars guide the way, and they light up your way…They could be your only company on late nights. They’ll never leave until the light finally returns.” A pause. “You and your mother could make any stars up there jealous or envious, and even I can’t name a pair of stars whose light had guided me out of the darkest corners like you two have.”
A quiet snoring that was all Husk was met with.
He doubted that Harmony heard him entirely, but glancing down at the bundled-up kit, who now rested with ease, filled him with a sense of contentment. Carefully settling her back into bed and tucking Harmony into her pink comforter before leaning down to kiss the top of her head––the small feline smiling before fully easing into a deep slumber. “Rest well, little star sweeper…I’ll ensure you never have to fear losing us…I’ll make sure you never have to fear at all.” Husk would whisper, eventually making his way out of the bedroom, the sense of comforting warmth never leaving him.
He was happy…He felt complete.
He had lied.
Before the grand doors of the hotel stood a trembling figure attempting to feign bravery. Ginger fur stood on its ends, and the feeling of something not being quite right settled in her stomach; it shouldn’t have unnerved her this badly––the sense of never being safe was constant, but what scared her was that there was a different edge to this new blooming sensation, something dangerous sat behind these doors. She wanted to turn back; she wanted to go back into hiding, but she’d gotten this far and couldn’t throw it all away.
Swallowing the knot forming in her throat, the feline would open the doors with a slight struggle, eyes attempting to take it all in at once.
Harmony was determined to find her dad, and she was determined to be at his side once more.
“Welcome to the Happy Hotel! Are you a misguided soul attempting to find redemption?”