MHOS Part 18: Alastor is always watching

I walk past my car and meet Alastor at the bottom of the steps going to Husks cottage and greet him "Alastor, what can I do for you on this absolutely LOVELY day?" The thin closed mouth smile widened into a large sinister one.

"What did you do with Husk last night?" Alastor asks.

I tell Alastor honestly "I was coming to the tavern for a hunt before bed, but when I arrived you were tearing apart people in the parking lot and Husk came running out of the tavern into my car telling me to drive. So I drove.. back to my place.. Then we went on a hunt together instead."

"And the deal you made?" Alastor asks pointedly.

"Oh, that." I chuckle. "I asked if I could take Husk home with me and take full advantage of him and in exchange he would have a safe place for the night and a ride home in the morning. He agreed, so I had him help me clean out the previous tenants old sex room."

"Hah!" Alastor laughed. "A fantastic use of word play my dear." and he reached out to shake my hand. I reached out to return his hand shake and he pulled me in quietly, menacingly asking "And what are your intentions with Husk?"

Alastor towered over me, quietly awaiting my answer. "Intentions?" I ask.. "It's only my 4th day in hell, I have no intentions yet. I'm still mapping out the place, learning about myself. I wasn't even supposed to take Husk home last night, that was all you and someone named Mimzy. I planned on hunting in the tavern and going home alone to do some nesting."

Alastors eyes narrow and his smile grows as he asks "It's only your 4th day in hell? and you are already actively hunting and making deals?" as he walks me to my car. "Just 2 deals, small ones.. For information exchange & assistance." I say as I reach for my door handle. "Impressive" Alastor says as I get in the car. "Thank you" I reply as I buckle up and reach for the door. Alastor closes the door for me and says as I put the keys in the ignition. "Just remember one thing when dealing with Husker." Alastors face shifts. His lips unmoving, his eyes glow soft, like a radio and static crackles throughout the air as he says "He is under MY protection."

"Absolutely" I say with an earnest look on my face as I pull out of the driveway to leave, heart pounding in my ears. Apparently I'm getting too close to Husk for Alastors comfort. And he doesn't look like the kind of man I want to try making uncomfortable.. I'll have to pull back a little with Husk.. I like him, I don't need to be putting him in danger. I head back over to Peaches new place taking one last look back at Alastor in my rearview mirror as Husk went out to meet him.

I arrive at Peaches and when I enter she is awake and running around the place cleaning. "You're back!' She says excitedly as runs to the front to hug me. I hug her back and she says "I can't wait to show you what I've done so far!" and she drags me to the bathroom and it is beautiful. What was once a bathroom used by two predatory men became a soft and colourful hideaway any girly girl would adore. She excitedly hugs me again and asks if I want some lunch. I say yes and she runs into the kitchen and rummages through the fridge to pull out a platter she had obviously already put together in the anticipation of getting a yes and she set it down in the dining room table.

We sat and ate and she told me all about her trip to earth. She managed to bring 3 men to hell last night. She said she didn't feel quite so lost and alone because in the few moments of sleep she did get she was in my arms and it really helped.

She gets up off her chair and climbs onto my lap and says "I've never had so much hope as I do now that we've made our deal. I have a home, I have food. I am working harder and being more productive. I really do feel like I am getting the better end of the deal here." She looks down at my lips and kisses me tenderly. I return her kiss and she pops back up off my lap and begins to clean up the lunch dishes.

"About the collar" I say. Peaches freezes and says "The collar?" as she looks back at me. "I made a deal with you to teach me and that I would help you get stronger. And when we kissed a collar showed up around your neck.. When I made a deal with Husk he never got a collar, what does that mean?"

"The collar means you own my soul until the deal is done." Peaches says as she continues to wash the dishes. I stand up and begin drying the dishes beside her and say "I never asked for your soul in our deal tho, so how did that even happen?"

Peaches put the dish in her hand back down in the sink, turned to me and said "The best way you can help me is by owning my soul, having a real stake in me and my life, so when I agreed to your deal, that was my intention. It resulted in a collar glowing around my neck" She smiles coyly "Which you have access to if you focus on it."

I asked "How?" in disbelief and she replied "I don't know, you just.. pull." I swiped at the air, attempting to pull Peaches in my direction and nothing was happening.. beyond my looking like a really bad mime. She giggled and said "I think you have to mean it, like you do when you control someone else's emotions"

I reply "Oh yeah, Husk told me that I can mirror others, amplify their feelings, and even change them if I let go and live in the moment. So this is another one of those things.. I just have to believe I can pull the chain.. like really believe it and just..

I wrapped my arm around an invisible chain, wrapped my fingers around it too and pulled.. and suddenly a purple chain appeared and Peaches came jutting toward me as a lilac purple collar glowed around her neck. She was inches from my face, the way the purple lit up her face, the power that came with owning her soul, her large golden eyes looked up at me in anticipation. I leaned down and kissed her deeply as she sighed as she melted into my mouth.

I cut the kiss short and say "I slept with Husk again last night.. after I left your house" She smiles and says "Sirens are known for 2 things.. 1: being incredibly talented in bed and 2: being terminally commitmentphobic. I expect nothing less from you." as she pulls me in to kiss me again. "I'll take what I can get while I can get it. Now let's hit up Pride and go to the archives so you can learn some more about yourself and the world around you!