Husk just made a mistake. That was it. "Now, why don't we try that again?" It was all because of a small clapback, the rough ending to an even rougher day. Maybe Husk had hit a nerve. Maybe Alastor had reached his limit. Chains weighed around Husk's shoulders, draped over his arms and hands like a cloak made of thick metal links. His wings ached as he knelt on the floor in front of his boss. Any wrong move could have him snap a bone, or burn off a feather. He knew from experience. It's always dangerous to be summoned to Alastor's side. Like a game of roulette, he didn't know what he'd land on in terms of his boss's mood. But Husk had inched it further to bad luck tonight, as he always did. Sometimes Alastor didn't give a shit. He seemed to find Husk's grumpy moods entertaining enough. Except, this time, he had refused to smile.
Alastor tapped the end of his cane into the carpet. His den was decked out in hunter's regalia, with the antlers perched over the fireplace, and what looked like remnants of a spinal column laid out on a wooden table, as if the demon had been using it in a personal game of checkers. Overall, more macabre than most places in Pentagram City. Husk gritted his teeth. He swore the manacle was slowly tightening around his neck. With excruciating slowness, Alastor leaned forward, bending just enough to invade Husk's space. There was that wide, obnoxious grin, the kind that slit through the shadows, and then a hand that gripped his chin. Thumb and forefinger shifted to move Husk's lips, showing off sharp canines and a bit of his gums. The sensation of claws just edging into his mouth made him flinch. "Remember! You're never fully dressed without a smile!" Husk would have uttered out a 'fuck you' if he could.
This would also not be the first time Alastor would just do something so humiliating to him. There was nothing to smile about in Husk's life, and Alastor knew that very well. Another stretch of those fingers, and Husk was almost sure the guy was about to rip off his lips so he could have the same perma-grin. "You always have to be such a grouch, don't you? Careful, or your face will get stuck in that frown of yours! Or perhaps it already has! We really need to fix that." Husk growled in quiet rage. Alastor still hadn't let go of him, and the manacle didn't make it easy to just shake off that hand. His mouth was feeling dry. His molars stung with those claws being so near. He tasted salt. It slid from his gums into his saliva, which leaked past his lips from the constant forced smiling. Always making him feel like some animal, always making him undignified. Alastor leered at him, his eyes shining. "Now, Husker. Let's keep smiling." Husk acted out of instinct.
He remembered the crunch of bone between his teeth. The force of it had made his jaw vibrate, sending threads of nausea through his stomach. Then, there was the blood. A surprising amount of it, falling over his tongue and spilling down his chin. He ripped through meat that got stuck in the spaces in his gums, stringy and bitter. Alastor didn't even blink. With his frozen grin, he looked down at his hand, where he was now missing a finger. There was only the spongy look of cartilage, the ribbons of torn flesh, and the cracked white of his bone, all of it right before his knuckle. Husk couldn't even remember opening his own mouth. But he felt the weight of the finger on his tongue, the press of the claw tip just against the roof of his mouth. There was a first for everything, he supposed. Husk waited, still balancing that finger over his teeth. It was disgusting, but he kept his lips pressed firmly shut, keeping it like a souvenir. Alastor was still staring at him, a soft but steadily growing buzz surrounding them like a dark cloud.
Day 3: Muzzle/Amputation (also cannibalism?)
All Alastor wanted from Husk was a smile. But sometimes, pets misbehave. Or they act on instinct.
#HW2025dark #radiohusk #fic
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