𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝘿𝙀𝘼𝙇 - 𝙔𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙍𝙀 𝘼𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍 𝙓 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙍

3.

━━━

I have no clue of my whereabouts.

I don't know where this girl will lead me to, the princess gently gripping my wrist as she leads me across the streets of hell and to wherever the destination is. 

And as she does, she makes conversation. 

"So... Um, may I ask... what happened...?" 

Her voice cuts my train of thought, my eyes meeting her's as I can feel her mentally taking note of my unkempt appearance. I can feel my cheeks begin to burn, feeling this lovely girl perceive me in such a messy state is just as embarrassing as I thought it'd be. 

A gentle sigh leaves me, gaze flickering to the concrete beneath my heels which click against every step. 

"I... had a bad night. I had a very messy audience tonight, I was just... I don't know, it was too much for me to handle," I explain shortly yet with as much potent honesty as I can muster, Charlie's blonde locks shifting within her low, bubbled ponytail against her head's movements.

Each step continues to lead us up towards a heightened hill, distancing from the town around us. 

"I understand, I have a friend who works in the same type of industry, so I've heard how hard it can be, I'm sure if you met him, and, well, all of my friends, you may feel a little less alone...!" She attempts to assure me, and as I listen to her emotional familiarity with my situation, it brings our building bond down to a more natural, raw level. 

My eye's lightly shift from Charlie's figure and up towards the building she's leading me towards, it's tall in height and tower's the town around it. Its opaque, maroon architecture lines and decorates with bright Hollywood arrow signs and utterly bright lights, overly welcoming. Even so, I follow her with a touch of hesitation towards the building. 

"Haz...bin... hotel...?" I question softly as I read the glittering sign stapled against the building, shooting Charlie a glance of confusion before she meets mine with a meek smile. 

"Yeah...! You may or may not have heard of it, it's a hotel I've just recently started up, and, oh, I'm getting ahead of myself, I'll explain it all later, come inside-!" She rambles with a mixture of need and over-excitement, yet I don't attempt to stop her. 

This is clearly a very passionate project to her. Still, she can see by my slow blinking and loose muscles, that I'm too mentally and emotionally fatigued to comprehend a thing she's saying. Even so, she turns the large front door's knobs and lets the doors swing open, my sight washing and enveloping within the hotel's interior. 

Deep, detailed maroon wallpaper coats the walls of the opening hall, and dark, wood pillars line the walls with a gold trim that bands across the roof of the hall's level. My head turns from side to side, taking in every detail of my surroundings as the light, distant chatter of the occupied building begins to fill my hearing with every step I take. 

Turning towards a bar area that sits across the main hall of the building, my gaze settles on the source of the voices. A cat stands behind the bar, his fur being a taupe colour, overlayed with white across his face, torso, feet, and upper arms. Tucked-back wings sit behind and against his body, kept still with his fingers dragging a cloth around the rim of a cup coldly and sternly.

"That's Husk, he works behind the bar, and..." Charlie introduces as the winged cat behind the bar perks his head up, and meets my gaze sharply, before lowering it back down. I move my gaze as Charlie does, meeting a female figure. 

A slim-figured girl with grey-lavender skin meets my gaze, Her knee-length, grayish-white hair shifting with her movements. On the back of her head, an accessorized red-pink bow sit's calmly against her muted locks, a burst of colour. She flashes me a short, faint smile, which I return softly.