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[bartenderbitch]

"Yeah, yeah, leave a message and I'll get back to you at some point."

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[bartenderbitch]

[He's not the one that put him on there and he thought he could handle it until things got a little... much. Especially putting together just how many people actually seemed interested in him in such a short period of time and still not understanding why they would be or how they could be.]

... Yeah.

[A soft huff of breath as he moves to sprawl on the bed, tail slowly uncurling from his waist at least and it's a question of how he managed to fit his folded wings mostly in the hoodie, but that doesn't matter for the time being.]

[reargunner]

[The young man just chuckles lightly and settles down next to him, retrieving his book to prop it against his thighs as he leans against the wall. He holds it open with one hand while the other slips down against the back of Husk's head and scritches into his fur.]

Better?

[bartenderbitch]

[Shit, how dare he know exactly how to get to him. As soon as he's scritching into that fur he's purring once more, though the sound far lighter than he's probably used to from him at this point. His tail moves to lightly lay over him, making sure to avoid getting in the way of his book.]

Mhmm...

[reargunner]

[Cats gonna cat.

He turns a page carefully with his free hand.]

I know you're purring, but it's still bugging you isn't it.

[bartenderbitch]

[Excuse you, Cain. He pauses in his purring for a moment, looking up from his spot to look up at him.

He hates that he's right, actually.]

How the fuck? [As in: how the fuck did you know that?]

[reargunner]

[A soft snort.]

'Cause you're purring, but it sounds different. I'm not fucking stupid, sweetheart.

[Scritch scritch.]

You're not as hard to read as you think you are.

[bartenderbitch]

[Look, most people around him tend to be that fucking stupid. Or just won't push him on anything, for the most part. The scritches are nice, at least? So there's that.]

Dunno. Last time I was in any sort of spotlight it ended up piss poorly for me, so it's... got connotations, y'know?

[reargunner]

Y'mean what happened with Alastor?

[The implications have been there even if he hasn't heard even close to the whole story. Husk used to be some kind of important but something happened, he got desperate, and then everything went wrong.

Cain sighs sharply and puts his book down again, curling his hand around Husk's tail instead.]

[bartenderbitch]

What led up to all of that, yeah. [His tail shifts to instead curl around his hand in turn, tight but not intending to cut off circulation or anything like that.]

Long story short is that I used to be an Overlord, myself, someone that dealt in souls and was considered one of the most powerful people in our slice of the Pride ring. Only people above us was Lucifer and his daughter, technically. [Yeah, he said that right and he's shifting a little to get more comfortable where he's at.]

I was called the Gambling Overlord, ran casinos and the like, the house always won. I... enjoyed my time doing all that shit until I ran into a streak of losing and when you deal in souls as a gambler, the stakes are pretty high. And when an Overlord is actively losing what's considered their strength, the whole ring has their eyes on you.

[reargunner]

[As intended, to be honest, and he shifts his arm so the fanned, feathered tip of the demon's tail is not getting in the way.

That Husk used to be high on the food chain isn't wholly surprising given what he knows so far. He would have needed to be pretty damned desperate to do what he did and, well... that would sure do it.

Cain listens, his head cocked to one side and tilted towards Husk's voice.]

So... what went wrong? A turn of shit luck like that, it can't just come out of nowhere for someone like that.

[bartenderbitch]

[At least he seems more calm when he has his tail wrapped around him like this, seeming to not like talking about this, for obvious reasons. But he's able to talk about it like this, which is... progress?]

Dunno, that's the whole thing. It's not like I haven't hit bad streaks of luck before, but it's never been something that bad or as quick as it was. Whether it was just my luck turning bad or something else, couldn't quite say. [Nor does he particularly have proof that it was anyone's doing, but he's had... suspicions from time to time.]

[reargunner]

My bets would be on something else. Especially if Alastor was waiting in the wings with a deal that was too good to be true.

[Maybe it's just his natural suspicion but that's how it reads to him.

Whatever it was, it isn't as if it changes anything now.]

'S it really that weird to you to be getting this kind of attention, though?

[bartenderbitch]

Problem is, he wasn't the only one that wanted to see my downfall and would take the opportunity to swoop in if they could. Overlords ain't the types to befriend each other, but more likely to wait until someone's weak and take what they can to boost themselves. [He wouldn't doubt that Alastor would put that together and be there waiting, but he doesn't have proof, unfortunately.

He huffs softly in turn, trying to smooth over his own bristled fur.]

No. I was a performer up top and a gambler then, too, used to having eyes on me.

[reargunner]

Mmhm. Says the guy in shorts and a hoodie hiding in my cabin.

[He chuckles lightly as he finally works his hand underneath the hood to push it down and free Husk's ears.]

It's fine. You can hide out here as long as you want. I can get Angel to pick you up later.

[bartenderbitch]

[Look! Don't you judge him! He doesn't fight him as he pushes the hood down, though does pin his ears for a brief moment only to make it easier to get said hood off.]

I didn't say I didn't have trauma around that shit, like I already said! Just... I used to be used to that kind of attention. Shit, wouldn't have done a lot of stuff I did when I was alive if I had an issue with spotlight back then.

[reargunner]

[Cain just hums.]

Think you could learn to enjoy it?

[His head cocks as he looks down at Husk, two fingers sliding back behind his ear to scratch gently there.]

I mean think about it, Husk. This isn't Hell. Alastor's not fucking here. You don't need to be an ex-Overlord or a bartender or a fucking victim. You don't have to worry about someone yanking on your leash. You can do anything you want.

[bartenderbitch]

Dunno, been pretty reclusive most of the time since I've been dead, even before things went to shit. [Even then, as an Overlord, he hung around in his casino(s) and didn't bother going to the meetings or anything else most of the time. He had been an old man and who wanted an old man in the spotlight, right?

Luckily he seems to calm somewhat at the gentle scratching, a frown crossing his lips.]

Yeah, I... guess that's true. Admittedly, I don't mind the whole bartending bit, you hear a lot of shit while back there and sometimes it's worth it. And my brand of entertainment ain't exactly something most people cared about and I don't think I was good at it to begin with. [Something he's quite keen to play down, if he were perfectly honest.] Shit, I ditched my name the second I died.

[reargunner]

You still owe me a magic show.

[Amused.

He curls his arm carefully around the demon's head to nudge him in closer, giving him a dark and quiet spot to tuck himself into if he wants. Kind of like a cat might.]

Haven't forgotten. You got a stage name to go with it?

[bartenderbitch]

I wasn't that good at it...

[Says the complainer as he absolutely takes that offer to tuck himself into the offered dark spot, grumbling quietly to himself as he does so. How absolutely dare him right now.]

Nah, stage names were fuckin' stupid, just used my regular-ass name. Sounded exotic enough to most folks that were there, anyway.

[reargunner]

[Grumbly cat noises. Adorable.]

You gonna say what that name was, or just be vague as fuck about it until one of us changes the subject?

[He's not gonna push it but the topic is right there. And, well, maybe the whole names thing is an issue in the forefront of his mind right now.]

[bartenderbitch]

[The most grumbly and offended of cats at this moment.]

... Nikolai. [It's more muffled muttered than anything else he's said thus far, it sounds so weird in his mouth after all these years.]

[reargunner]

Nikolai?

[Muffled and grumbly as it was, he picked it out. He gives one of those large ears another gentle scritch.]

Nice. 'S a good name.

[bartenderbitch]

[He wants to keep being grumbly about everything, but it's hard when he's getting ear scritches of all things.]

Don't fuckin' lie to me like that, it's generic as shit. [Is it, though?] Named me after some fuckin' ruler back in the motherland or whatever as if I'd care.

[reargunner]

... You're talking to a guy called Alexei.

[Cain rolls his eyes. As if Alexei isn't one of the most common and generic Russian names there is.]

At least neither of us are called fucking Ivan.

[bartenderbitch]

[Okay, admittedly, that does actually get a laugh out of him. It could be worse.]

Guess so. Don't think I'd suit Ivan, got too much brains for that. [HUSK, BAD.] The most generic as shit Russian names club, the members being us.