Never thought I'd miss her this much…'Husk sighed boredly as he lit the cigar in his mouth. Months had passed since Niffty had gone and the hole in his heart didn't seem to fade, growing more day by day.
Niffty's absence did make things harder, as they had to clean things. He did really miss his neatfreak friend, as she was basically the one who always did things for them. Now they'd have to hire a new cook but a new cleaner as well.
Thankfully, Charlie taught Razzle and Dazzle how to cook, so the first part wasn't an issue. She just needed to hire some other demon to be the cleaner, and after dialing some numbers, she managed to find some guy to be their housekeeper, meaning they didn't have to worry about anything.
Cherri and Arackniss's absence were sad, but it seemed like those two were much happier up in the clouds, having been a fully fledged couple by the time they were picked up. Now that they were with Angel, they assumed that the reunion was basically a hit and that everything had gone smoothly.
Even with the new cleaning guy around, it wasn't' the same. Knowing that his random guy who Charlie hired replaced their dear Niffty didn't go too well for Husk and Alastor. At this point, everyone considered Niffty a friend, so her departure was rather upsetting.
By now, everyone had gone back to their normal routine, but the absence of multiple people made things a bit more gloomy. Even Vox had to admit things weren't the same since those three left and it affected everyone to an extent.
Charlie of course justified it as a sad but necessary part of running the hotel. Angel's absence had her hard,so when the other three left, she was rather down,but at least somewhat prepared. After crossing their names off the list, Charlie was at least happy knowing their afterlife was better and that they'd be truly happy up there.
Vaggie was more withdrawn, but otherwise fairly normal. She expected things to go like this, knowing sooner or later, it' d be her turn and she'd have to leave, so she at least braced herself for when they left.
Vox had gotten friendly with them prior to their leave. They were basically friends and with their departure from hell, things felt different without those three around, they made things interesting and more fun, and considering he didn't have that many friends, Vox was a bit upset. He knew he'd get up there eventually, but that didn't make having people you know and live with going to another plane of existence less difficult.
And Alastor. Despite what he said. He wasn't the same when Niffty left. He became more withdrawn and less social. He didn't seem to like being around others for extended periods of time. When he was out with others, he stared at the places Niffty used to be at, like her favorite chair and her favorite desk. He always passed by Niffty's room and even carried something to remember her by, like the feather duster she had left behind.
Husk however, was doing his best to break his unhealthy habits, as of now, he had only smoked a cigar twice a week. He was trying to cut it off by the end of the month so by the time Michael showed up, he'd be able to reunite with Niffty and the others in heaven.
Alcohol and gambling down, smoking was the last tic as far as he was concerned.
As Husk was smoking, he noticed Alastor peering over,"Hello Husker."
"Hey Al, what are you doing over here?"
"Oh nothing, just noticed your lack of smoking. You've smoked cigars since you were alive, I've never seen you do so few."
"I'm trying to get to heaven. I gotta cut back if I wanna get through the gates."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? Half of our team is heaven. Niffty, Arackniss, Cherri, Angel, all of them are up there. I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of staying in hell for too long."
"But why? Hell is our home! It's our afterlife after all our misdeeds! This place is paradise is it not?"
"Not for everyone. Al, I get it, you like suffering, but doesn't that get old? I mean, don't you just want to leave sometimes?"
"Occasionally, but I know they won't let me in, so why bother dwelling on that and raise hell for the sake of it?"
"Because it's only gonna leave you here. Face it Al, things have changed. It's not the same hell that we used to know after all these years. If we wanna see our friends again, we gotta change our behavior, else we'll get left behind."
Left behind? But there are tons of demons to be with!"
"Al, think about it. It's only a matter of time before Vaggie and Vox get their shots. All Vaggie's gotta do is loosen up her issues with men and Vox...he's a work in progress but I'm sure they'll let him in eventually. The point is, they've changed from where they started. You haven't changed all too much. If you wanna make it up there, you have to change your mindset. You have to change from within, Al."
"And why would I change? The reason I am has got me everything I've ever needed, power, fame and glory! What use is changing when you feel where you belong? Why would I trade this afterlife for another one?"
"I don't know, because I'm not you. But as for me," Husk took his cigar, which was barely used and tossed it in the trash,"I'm gonna try getting out by the end of this year. You have the choice to stay in hell for the rest of your afterlife, that's on you, but some of us would like an escape from this never ending cycle. Just know, if you ever change your mind, they'll wait for you."
Alastor remained silent, not responding to the cat demon as he turned his back.
When Husk disappeared, Alastor's eyes lowered,'He's changed…They've all changed...'
Everyone except him...
