josie-anne-darling

[josie-anne-darling]

The Home of An Overlord

So I apologize in advance for this. I'm sure this isn't something a lot of people do and that the format is gonna turn out looking strange but here goes nothing.

I have not been on Tumblr for very long and I actually wrote this short story quite a while ago, although I have edited it since then (It was originally posted on Amino). It is a small narrative surrounding my Hazbin Hotel OC, Josie/Josephine who is Alastor's daughter.

I am aware Alastor is canonically asexual and I fully acknowledge and respect that. Josephine's story generally still paints him in that light actually but I thought I'd just make note for anyone who may be concerned. There's a lot more to the whole thing of course but I'll save explanations and Josie's full character layout for another day or DMs :)

I have had her for around 5 years now so she is quite dear to me.

I will do my best to respond to any appropriate comments or questions if I receive any.

Anyhow! I hope you enjoy the short read and if not, I still wish you a great day/night! ^-^

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The Home of An Overlord

A frost demon was exceptionally rare to be seen in Pentagram City, let alone one so young walking alongside that of yet another adolescent soul. To Matthias, it felt as if he'd been following Josie for hours despite it only being just under 45 minutes. The manor in which the couple of kids sought was quite a ways away from everything else the city had to offer, making it quite the trek unless one had the ability to teleport or fly. This was of course done on purpose as the master of the dark estate valued his privacy. Though it wasn't necessarily uncommon for various walks of death to come snooping around the place here and there. Just seemingly curious folks wanting to get a glimpse of it as if it were some sort of haunted attraction. Nonetheless the spry doe continued her stroll towards the main gates of the manor, not nearly as nervous or frightened as Mathias. One would think the girl should be quaking with fear and yet she seemed perfectly collected. It was odd to him how a single soul from the first circle could have such a comforting and exciting influence over him but for the record, he hadn't met many beings his own age. Let alone a female.

 Josephine came to a halt just outside the gate, her delicate ears twitching as the two pieces separated and screeched open for her. All three of her friend's eyes blinked with awe as it did so. The boy appeared so easily amused at times.

"Alright. Let's go over this one more time, okay? Stay close to me and keep to the edges of the walls. If you absolutely must say something, keep your voice down and be sure to whisper. He's not home but we still need to be cautious. We'll be taking the long way around to the library, avoiding the kitchen and the den. Do you understand?" The fawn questioned, glancing at her friend, waiting for his response.

 Blinking his darkly lit eyes in an expression of blank acknowledgement to her words, Matthias nodded. "Yeah, I think so." The young man answered, watching as Josie knelt down and gracefully placed a small green orb upon the ground just outside the property's edge. "Come on then, we most likely do not have a lot of time to waste." 

 With that being said, the crimson haired doe motioned for her companion to follow her forward. Their silent and seemingly tedious task began the moment they both set foot on the smooth stones that made up the narrowed pathway that led to the porch of the towering manor. Plucking a single and simple enough looking key from her messenger bag, Josephine carefully slipped the contorted piece of metal into the lock and proceeded to twist it until they both heard a decently loud click. The doe was quick to slide the key out and drop it right back into her satchel before hesitantly turning the handle on the left side of the double door styled entrance. 

 As delicate gray hands pushed the door open with a creak, a decent sliver of amber tinged light from the outside climbed its way across the main entryway, illuminating the details in the rug that laid there. However as soon as both teens were inside, Josephine immediately but softly shut the door and made sure to lock it back up from the inside. With little light coming in from the windows it was somewhat difficult to see much at all, let alone enough to navigate a place they had never been before. At Least that was what Matthias thought as he glanced about the darkened home in curiosity.

 Josie immediately started off by taking her own advice and sticking close to the walls, her heels only an inch about from them as she slowly made her way along. Mathias followed suit, glancing about and taking notice of the only place any light seemed to emanate from. This being a large living space in the opposite direction of which they were heading, presumably the den mentioned earlier. The shadow of dimly burning coals danced about the ceiling, trickling into the hall every so often. It seemed there had been a fire burning not too long ago. 

 Mathias' thoughts were broken as he realized Josie was waiting patiently for him at the edge of the next doorway left of them. Picking up the pace ever so slightly, the young frost demon shuffled over to his friend whilst attempting to make as little noise possible. How in all the circles did this little doe-demon know where they were even going? Blueprints? Unspoken psychic abilities? It was anyone's guess if one were to ask Matthias. The further the two ventured inside the home, the darker it got and the more nervous one of them became. Just when it seemed pitch black, a delicate but bright enough light beamed from Josephine's eyes. A sort of golden glow. Some may argue that it was a useless skill at times but it was not one to be taken for granted and also one that she'd learned to control quickly after discovery. 

“Why are we keeping so close to the walls like this?” Matthias asked in a whispered voice as requested, copying the way Josephine was moving to the best of his abilities.

“Traps. He leaves them around from time to time when he’s feeling…paranoid.” She answered, leaving her friend wondering how she knew all this.

Josie continued onward, leading their two person party along as she had been. She appeared to be on high alert, looking from corner to corner and avoiding shining her eyes in certain areas. The doe's ears twitched and moved as she surveyed each movement whenever they needed to turn a corner or pass another hall, all the while making certain she didn't lose track of Matthias. What a clever and meticulous little creature she could be when she so desired.

It was only a few moments later that the two of them reached a decently sized staircase, one that they needed to use from the look of Josephine's face. The girl turned her head slightly to glance at her counterpart, mouthing the word edges as a quick reminder and then pointed to the opposite side of the first stair. With a nod, Matthias caught on quickly to how they'd be going upwards. One step at a time. Once in position, the almost dance-like maneuver began as the two young demons matched their footing. Moving from one small platform to the next in perfect sync, carefully avoiding any loss of balance or falling out of rhythm with one another.

 Smiling at each other in the presence of darkness, they made their way up the stairwell with little falter on both parts. Soon enough, the duo reached the end of the little game and came to the top of the stairs. Josie couldn't help but let out a single breath she had been holding within her chest throughout the tactful ascension of the stairwell, relieved that they had yet to set off any traps. She seemed almost bewildered with herself that she had actually managed to lead Matthias this far. If it hadn't been for her ears abruptly reaching for the ceiling at the sensation of noise - she may have felt the slightest bit of pride.

 Unfortunately for Matthias and Josie, there would be no time for that or any other emotion beyond panic for the time being. Any noise was an unwelcome one in that moment and Josephine made that clear by quickening her pace and dragging the young frost demon along by his wrist. She knew that there was only one thing, or more accurately one being, who'd be making such blatant noise without a care in The Radio Demon's home. The crimson clad overlord himself.

 Shoving open a door further down the hallway, Josie pulled her companion inside the room right behind her. As quickly and as quietly as possible, she shut the same door as impulse and guilt took the reins. She had obviously underestimated how much time they would have and now the plan would suffer because of it. But there was no time to dwell on it now and Josie knew that was certain. The doe pushed at Matthias' back, shoving him towards the closet. 

"In there, as far back as we can go." She whispered into the side of his neck. It would be the best hiding place for the moment, given that her identifying smell was all over the various articles of clothing already. Hopefully it would be sufficient enough to mask Matthias' scent, surrounded by her own. She was fairly confident it would work for a while. Or at least this detour would give her some time to ponder what their next move would be. Regardless, Josie needed to think and she needed to think quickly.

The continuing sounds of a presence in the home seemed to consume the fawn’s train of thought. The downside of having such excellent, yet selective hearing. Her behavior definitely dredged up anxiety and panic within the young frost demon beside her. He looked to his friend to find her softly nibbling on her bottom lip in thought, being careful not to draw her own blood. Baby fangs or not, the girl's canines were still abnormally sharp. He wouldn't enter this room of all the ones that made up the large manor. Why would he? As far as he was aware, there would be nothing within those four walls to interest him after being out and about.

Thinking to herself, Josie began internally listing off the most likely places Alastor would venture to. His room, the kitchen, his studio or study and the room they were in seemed to be the most prominent in her mind - unfortunately. Out of those she could imagine, his studio would be her preferred choice. Worst case scenario out of the options would be the room in which they were hiding or his own as it was quite literally across the hall from the one they remained hopelessly trapped in. But even if he went to his studio, it would still be treacherous getting her companion out with both him and the book still intact.

Rolling the little green marble like trinket between her petite fingers, Josephine released a gentle sigh. She reminded herself of why she'd put herself in such a fine predicament in the first place. To help Mathias and ultimately The Pentagram in a way. The girl cautiously removed her bag from her shoulder and hung it up silently within the closet. It wasn't like she'd be needing a portable satchel anymore. The emerald ball of mysterious intent remained in her hand as she met Matthias' gaze.

"Matthias. Listen closely. The book you're looking for is navy blue with raised writing on it. It's leather bound and should be to the right between two similar looking red ones when you first enter. You must be very quiet and be sure to leave the door exactly as you found it. Opened or closed." 

The young doe took the young man's somewhat larger hand into her own, placing the green pearl in his palm and then gently aiding his digits to close around it. 

"As soon as you have the book, place this pearl on the floor and step on it. Make sure you crush it beneath your foot and do not raise it until you're outside. There’s no need to be frightened, it won’t cause you any harm." She instructed and reassured, letting her hands fall from his.

Matthias opened the hand that Josephine had caressed a moment ago, looking at the little orb with concern upon his brow. "But...I don't-"

Two delicate hands gingerly grip his shoulders in the darkness of it all, a reassuring gesture to balance him once more and bring him back into the moment. "Down the hall to your left and straight down, you can not possibly miss it." She smiled and gazed into his eyes, doing her damnedest to dispel any doubts he had. Those bright yellow eyes. So big and entrancing, maintaining a radiance within them that was all their own.

The boy gulped. "I meant to say, I don't understand. I thought we'd be doing this together."

His statement caused Josie’s smile to falter slightly although Matthias couldn’t see it too clearly. Of course she wanted to make sure her friend got home safe but plans changed and this seemed to be the best choice for him to move forward as safely as possible. 

"I know but I can't have him hurting you and someone needs to keep him busy…it's the best idea we have and I don't believe we have the time to come up with a better one." She reasoned before finally pulling her hands away and turning around to place one on the doorknob of the closet, only to have her opposite wrist firmly grabbed.

"I'm not leaving you here, I can't. You're my friend and I don't want to imagine him chopping you up into itt- bitty deer pieces and eating you with a side of rice!”

His slightly louder exclamation earned him an immediate shushing from Josephine.

“...Please, let's find another way." Matthias pleaded, despite Josie’s arm slipping from his loose grasp. 

"Trust me, he won't be eating me. I'll be alright I promise…" The young lady insisted with her ever present and pure grin that he could actually somewhat admire once the closet door was at last opened again. "No matter what you may hear or think has happened, you must stay here for a few minutes. Remember to keep to the edges and please be careful." She reminded him as she took the first step out into the large bedroom.

"Josie..?" Matthias prodded with a whisper.

"Hm?"

"Thank you...for everything. I hope we meet again someday. I think I might…ya know, miss hanging out with you."

A rather flattering and almost unnoticeable shade of pink dusted the fawn's cheeks in response to Matthias' kind words. Nonetheless, she replied. 

"You're welcome...and perhaps I may miss your company as well, Matthias. I hope you make it home safely... goodbye and good luck."

"Goodbye... Josephine."

And with one somewhat blunt and final goodbye, the two young demons separated.