Hellhound AU

[just_aces]

Sometime round about 1900, a witch summoned a hellhound as a familiar.

He didn't mind it, hellhounds are loyal after all, and if some of her spells left him tired and drained, well, that was what he was there for, to keep her from using too much of her own energy for things. That and to eat the souls of her victims, sometimes.

But then, in the early 1970s, she ran afoul of a much stronger coven.

She was quite quickly banished to hell, but the hellhound couldn't be allowed to go with her, because, well, hellhounds are loyal and she was powerful and would have been able to use him to escape.

So the hellhound was made human, figuring that sixty, seventy, even eighty years if he was lucky would be enough time for the witch to have been consumed, so that even when the human-that-had-been-a-hellhound died, and Death herself realized that he was definitely not where, or what, he was supposed to be, she'd send him back.

But then one Charles Rowland kind of fucked up that whole plan by dying young and immediately running away from Death herself.

So the ghost-who-was-the-boy-who-was-the-hellhound has no idea what he was, or still is, under it all.

But, after a trip through hell to save his best friend (Hellhounds are loyal, after all) and time spent in a familiar position -though not a familiar kitchen- after that has been enough to knock a few things loose...

Comments

[just_aces]

Charles straightened slowly where he was sitting, like he was trying not to draw attention to himself as he shifted position, falling almost completely still once he'd done so, because that answer -especially the parting comment even as quiet as it was- had that dread solidifying into something like panic, and he was doing his damnedest not to let it simmer over, to keep a lid on it, because Edwin usually said what he meant instead of trying to be kind about it like most people.

His voice was still quiet when he asked: "How can I fix it?" Because really that was what it came down to, this was a problem he had caused, it was up to him to make it right and to do better.

[uptightboy]

Edwin fell silent at the question. An odd question but taken Charles's eagerness to do better for... reasons, Edwin could maybe understand.

"No, I believe it is something I shall look into the solution," he decided and put the sending stone away for now. They needed to stick to letters and meetings for now, until he figured how to proceed. Because if Charles's presence caused a small spell to flare up like this, what would it do with the bigger ones? "Do not worry, Charles, I doubt it is anything complicated," he added, walking to their bookshelf to see if he can find something. Also, they truly needed to make a proper ward for the office now...

[just_aces]

Charles was rooted to his spot on the couch still, fingers a nervous tangle to keep himself from jostling the bangles or fidgeting with the collar. He'd sorted out how to tone them down at least a little, but they were still there, and toying with them had become second nature, a soothing habit as much as anything else, but if they were part of the problem -if Edwin was looking for a solution on his own- he wasn't going to call attention to them any more than he was going to call attention to himself, older instincts and ingrained habits at play at the moment.

He gnawed at the corner of his lip for a moment before following up with another question: "How can I help?" Even if he couldn't fix it himself, he could at least help put things to rights, deep-rooted anxieties -made more apparent by the influx of energy- clamoring that he had to be able to do something to make the situation better, because if he couldn't there was no point in Edwin keeping him around.

[uptightboy]

Edwin took the spellbook that contained the warding spells and flipped it through. He did note Charles going still and quiet, something he barely did. Not even when it was needed. But as Edwin looked at him again all he saw was his undivided attention. Maybe because of the feast he just had?

"Well, I do not think there is anything you can assist me with just yet," Edwin wondered out loud. No, it was more about the way the bonds connected to him and his magic. Edwin begrudgingly wondered if he needed to raid the witch library again. "I suppose if you feel the pull of magic against your will, do warn me."

[just_aces]

He was trying to keep the clawing panic at bay and he was mostly managing it, he thought, though he still felt a little queasy, a little dizzy, still waiting for the turn, for things to go bad, and really it was only the fact that Edwin had literally never done an emotional heel-turn on Charles the whole time they'd known each other that was keeping him from giving into that panic and falling into a string of apologies that had never worked before and were unnecessary now.

But the answer Edwin gave was a good one, nothing he could help with yet, but still something actionable -letting him know if there was any unexpected magical pull- and so he nodded, fingers still knotted together, but finally letting one thumb slide up the inside of his wrist to slide along the edge of one of the bangles, nodding, "Yeah, alright, I can do that."

[uptightboy]

Edwin's attention was on the bangles again too. They were still making his heart flutter. This time too. So he looked back into his book of wards, thinking about their next step. He did feel something strange with Charles but hoped it was only because of the little adventure with the imp. So as they went on Edwin didn't think about it much.

Since Charles's presence apparently changed the way some of the spells were working, Ediwn had ruled that they needed better protection for the office. Starting with the mirror, of course. It took him a few days to find the most suitable spell in the witches' library.

"Hmm, due to the fact that this is a new spell, I believe the best course of action would be if you were not present when it is cast, Charles," Edwin muttered as he was standing by their mirror.

[just_aces]

Charles' anxiety that he'd done something wrong and that Edwin was going to break the bonds or send him off to the Coven, or even let him go at all had faded even just by the end of the first day, and the next few days while Edwin did research things settled back into balance once more.

Which was why he'd already been waiting while Edwin actually settled on a spell and set up to perform it. He nodded at the idea that he should be out of range while Edwin actually did the spell, "Yeah, makes sense." He scratched the back of his neck, "Just downstairs far enough away, you think?" They hadn't really tested how far the bonds were still able to draw on Charles' power, because that siphon was different than Edwin just being able to find or summon him, which should have been possible regardless of distance or even physical plane.

[uptightboy]

"Well..." Edwin wondered, looking around as he was thinking. Distance could be a good thing to have but how much indeed. "Maybe further away. Let us hop you off somewhere through the mirror. I shall fetch you when I am done," he offered.

There was a chance it could still fail or backfire, summoning some protection demon... but Edwin hoped the distance may help. It was also good practice.

[just_aces]

He considered that for a moment, but nodded, "Alright, but if it's more than five minutes, I'm coming back, because that means you ran into trouble." He was pretty sure the bond would alert him to that, too, but he also wasn't going to take any chances.

He shrugged, snagging his jacket and leaving the backpack, it wasn't like he was going to need it just for a few minutes out of the office, "Warehouse, then?" It was an abandoned shipping warehouse by the river, where they usually mirrored to when going to the Floating Market or most places on the other side of the river and was probably far enough away that Edwin wouldn't be able to pull on Charles' magic even accidentally, even now that most of the extra from having eaten an imp had faded. Not all of it, but still more than half, enough that he wasn't itchy with it anymore while still being a little bouncier than usual.

[uptightboy]

"It will not be five minutes, Charles," Edwin huffed. But he understood. Being apart, even for a little while, even when Charles went on supply runs was... difficult. They have always been together, it was the way of their afterlife. So distance was something they rarely practiced.

"Warehouse should do it, indeed," Edwin nodded, then put his hand on the mirror to work his mirror hopping magic first. Even like this, he could feel the pull his magic had toward Charles but he stopped it before it could have been worse. The mirror was open in a second. "Should I escort you or will you be alright?"

[just_aces]

He flashed a smile at the initial response, "Yeah, which is how I know if it's been that long you ran into trouble."

He gave a little head-shake at the question, shrugging into his jacket, "You've got it open, I won't get lost on the way, and it saves you a trip, gives you a few more seconds to get to work, right?" Another, smaller smile, already stepping through the mirror, "See you in a minute, yeah?" He didn't wait for an answer before stepping through fully, shaking himself a little as he usually did before setting to pacing the warehouse, waiting until the mirror reverted to inert behind him instead of a portal to start his countdown.

[uptightboy]

Edwin could not help to smile back. Yes. Charles always knew when to step in. He was... well, he was his knight in shining armor. Which was such a silly thought so Edwin quickly discarded it. They needed to get to work. He nodded as Charles disappeared behind the mirror, seeing him off. Then, he took the spell and concentrated. He had to realize distance did help a little, he could focus more but he also noted his magic was a bit weaker too. Though Edwin somehow welcomed that sensation because it was how he learned it, without any enhancement.

It barely took a minute to ward the mirror, which was now buzzing with the spell's energy. Edwin checked the spell and happily concluded that everything went smoothly. So he opened the mirror portal again and called.

"It is done, Charles, you may come back," he said.

[just_aces]

Two minutes and seventeen seconds and Charles was already moving back towards the mirror as soon as it rippled, even before hearing Edwin's voice, and he stepped through only to bounce off of some unseen barrier, but as he'd only been thinking of the office, he'd lost the connection to the warehouse already which meant that when he reverberated against what should have been the mirror into the office, he'd gone reeling into the mirror-maze that made up the path between portals.

The panic from earlier the week surged to the forefront of his mind, swamping any attempt at rational thought and all he could think was of course Edwin hadn't reacted with anger in the first place, that wasn't his style, but waiting until he could believably send Charles on an errand, only to block him from returning? That made sense. Because that also meant that the Coven wouldn't be able to snap him up right away, either, it would give Charles a chance to evade them for a while, even, because even if Edwin was turning him away, he wasn't going to leave him with the Coven who -even though they had allies there- still just wanted him for the Hound's power.

Charles was reeling, his first coherent thought was a lament that he hadn't thought to bring his backpack, he was going to miss it, but even with that thought at the forefront of his mind, the panic, the absolute certainty that Edwin was cutting him loose because he'd become a liability -maybe always had been- overtook any further rational thought, so he turned, and he ran.

The mirror-maze was never meant for long-term habitation, and Charles had never been good at navigating it by pulling two end points together, which was why he was mostly only able to go to familiar places, but he couldn't do that now, it was dangerous to go anywhere that Edwin would think to look for him, so he just fell into the nearest open portal, ending up flat on his back in the corridor of a hotel, one that it took him a moment to recognize that it was the one they'd taken a detour through during the chase with the ghost from the museum.

[uptightboy]

Edwin did pay little attention to the mirror after he called for Charles. He was already thinking about the next step, the next task they had on their schedule. They were about to start on a new case after this and do some supply runs for the new wards, and... But as Edwin could think, he realized that nothing was stopping him - there was no bouncing around, no steps around the office, no questions. It was quiet. Edwin frowned, looking at the mirror and realizing that he had not seen Charles walk back.

"Charles," Edwin huffed, thinking that the boy was pulling a prank or found something that distracted him. It wouldn't be the first time. So with pursed lips, Edwin leaned through the mirror to the warehouse. "Charles!" he called. His voice did not echo off the walls because it didn't exist like that but he still felt the emptiness of it all. "Charles, this is not funny!" Edwin yelled, walking out of the mirror to look around. He half-expected to be jumped at but it was one of the first things they established in their partnership: no jumpscares. So... Charles wouldn't do something like that. Edwin looked around realizing that Charles was indeed not there. He tried to call him again but nothing.

With slight panic, Edwin looked at the mirror to think. To try and put two and two together - he was a detective for hell's sake! But there were no signs of trouble, there were no signs of anything. He couldn't feel much through their bond either. All he knew was that Charles was still out there somewhere. Which was an enormously calming thought, despite everything.

Edwin hopped back to the office, leaving the mirror open for now, in the hope that Charles may pop back in. But truly, he was suddenly at a loss. Where did Charles go? Why did he leave? He did look a little strange a few days ago but that was... He wouldn't leave without his backpack, he wouldn't just leave without saying a word! Edwin didn't need air but as the moment stretched, as it was quiet and without Charles he found himself unable to breathe.

[just_aces]

Charles knew that he needed a moment to think, he needed some kind of plan, he needed to be able to go about this with a clear head, but with cold dread and hot panic coursing through him in turns, emotions clogging the back of his throat and his mind, he couldn't catch his breath, literally or metaphorically, and he just felt like he was drowning all over again. So he did the only thing he could do, he buried his face in his hands and he screamed, and if for a moment it sounded like the dismayed baying of a Hellhound, well that just made sense, didn't it?

He did feel a little better once he'd done so, like some kind of emergency pressure release had been opened on a boiler about to overheat, he still didn't have an actual plan, but he knew he couldn't stay in the hotel any more than he could stay in the mirror maze. More than that, the fact that he was still reeling, and had already convinced himself of what was true, meant that it didn't even occur to him that the bonds were still in place, they were an afterthought, and Edwin was probably setting up whatever he needed to break them without Charles actually present.

It also didn't occur to him that he could just walk back to the office the normal way to retrieve the backpack or ask what had happened, not that he would have tried even if it had occurred to him to do so, he knew the front door was warded just as strongly as the mirror now was and there was no going back.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, he knew he couldn't get back through the mirror he'd fallen through, as it was on the ceiling, but there were others in the building, he could go back into the maze and find somewhere else to go. But that meant he'd have to get up off the floor first, and he wasn't sure he had the strength to do that.

He gave himself a count of five before forcing himself to roll over and get to his feet, taking only a moment to find the nearest mirror and a moment more to actually concentrate enough to be able to open the portal, easier since he wasn't trying to come up with an end point, just to get back into the maze.

It was only when he tried coming up with an exit point that the warehouse swam into view on the other side of the nearest portal, and that just had the panic clawing its way back up his ribs and into his throat, bitter and sharp in a way that had him lashing out with a sharp: "No!" It had the mirror shattering spectacularly, the maze itself was still intact, but that portal was no longer there, which meant that the mirror in the office, still connected to that exit point, returned to being inert once more, not that Charles had any way of knowing it, already moving forward, looking for somewhere else to go.

[uptightboy]

If Edwin wasn't spiraling before, him seeing the mirror connection break definitely did it. He moved to it, pressing his hand on the glass just to find that the mirror in the warehouse must have been broken, as he couldn't open a portal there.

"Charles!" Edwin yelled again, as if that would have helped anything. As if calling Charles's name would have waken him from this nightmare. He was shaking, his thoughts were racing, throwing action plans at him at lighting speed. So fast and so much that Edwin just stood there, numb and in panic. He needed to go, he needed to do something! He needed... anything, something. He closed his eyes and forced himself to open a mirror to Crystal's place because where else Charles could have gone?

The screaming that happened after was... not nice. Once Edwin realized Charles wasn't there, and when Crystal realized Charles was missing and both of them worried out of their minds resulted in one of their nastiest fights up to date. It took them a while to calm down, agreeing on a plan. At least Edwin wasn't stuck in panic anymore, he had plans! Places to visit! Crystal could go and check a few places on her own too. They agreed on that. So Edwin mirrorhopped to his next destination - to the witches.

After that nasty meeting, and realizing that some of the witches were actively trying to take Charles, Edwin didn't think about the consequences, he needed to know if they had anything to do with Charles missing. It was his luck to run into Daphne first who tried to calm him down, with little luck, but she offered she listened around the inner coven if she had heard anything. But she advised Edwin not to linger about without Charles by his side because that would just show how 'incompetent' he was. So after Daphne confirmed she would contact him the first thing she knew something Edwin was convinced to go look at other places. Though, on his way back to the office, Daphne also told him that if he still has the 'leash' on Charles he may be able to order him back, almost like saying 'heel'. And that sounded horrifying to Edwin...

It took Edwin and Crystal days to confirm that Charles was absolutely nowhere to be found. They checked everywhere, talked to every person, even harrassed the dead postman about it. Nobody knew a thing...

So, Edwin found himself once again with so little clues on what to do. Though, there was one place he had not checked. But why would Charles be there? He was also considering what Daphne had said... about yanking a leash.

[just_aces]

It didn't take long for Charles to lose track of time, partly because it didn't really exist in the mirror-maze, not the way it did outside of it, but by Edwin and Crystal's second day of searching, something interesting had started to happen. Mirrors that Edwin and Charles used with any degree of regularity were all turning up broken.

Not in any kind of trackable order, not by distance or by regularity of use, maybe by chronology of when they'd first been set up -as many of them had been placed by the boys themselves- but even that fell apart on closer inspection. The only two that didn't end up broken were the office mirror, and the garden globe nearest the Coven's manor. Even the spare inside the backpack shattered spectacularly, not that Edwin would know it, and that had been a particularly dark few hours for Charles, when he'd realized that he couldn't even get through that one, either as it was covered by the ward on the office door.

Even the mirror Crystal had set up for them split two days in, a nasty spider-web pattern from an impact point at about face-level, as if it had been punched.

Three days in, Charles -already exhausted- even found himself back in Port Townsend for a time, and he didn't bother breaking that mirror, halfway down an alley in a pile of other junk, chances were good it would get broken by something else before long, and it wasn't like Edwin would actually think to look for him there. Unfortunately there were also a pair of cats in that alley, and Charles knew he couldn't actually stay anywhere they had allies, so he'd just slipped back into the maze again.

It was a full five days after he realized he'd been effectively banished that Charles, about as depleted of energy as he could get without Edwin having used it for a spell, toppled out of a mirror, taking the dust-cloth covering it to the floor with him. It took him a long moment to realize where he was, and it was only the blue-grey light streaming through the window that did it.

Somehow, against all odds, and thirty-some years later, Saint Hilarions was still standing, and the attic he'd died in hadn't changed much, still cluttered, though the detritus stacked in haphazard piles wasn't all the same as it had been that night, some of it definitely still was.

He laughed, tight and broken, and hauled himself to his feet once more, reasoning that there was no way Edwin would come looking for him here, he could rest for a while before getting back to it. He just dragged the dust-cloth from the mirror with him to go curl up under the window, just shifting to hound shape as he did. Things were simpler that way, and if anyone from the school came looking, a dog was scarier than a person, which meant he was less likely to be bothered.

[uptightboy]

Halfway through the chase, Edwin did notice the breaking mirrors. Especially after Crystal confirmed hers broke out of nowhere. It was like something or someone was going around breaking mirrors, and Edwin wondered why all those mirrors were on places they were frequent to. Was this a trap? Or was Charles trying to tell him something? Or he was completely thrown off by another thing?

Edwin did not stop. The notes he took were excessive and fairy unreadable even to him at some point. Books didn't help. When Daphne confirmed that the witches knew nothing he felt sick. Because if it wasn't the witches what was it? What happened? Why would Charles leave him? And yes, there was a time, a short one, where Edwin did feel angry too. Because Charles was keeping quiet about something again? Was he hiding something? His panic attacks got more frequent and horrible, even if he knew he couldn't die, he still felt like it. It felt like Hell was closer than ever and at one point Edwin had to force himself to walk through the mirror to his next place, in vain.

After the fifth day, Edwin had to realize that this was the longest without knowing where Charles was. Which was funny, yes, funny... He had a leash on him, he could command him if he wanted... and he lost him. Edwin felt another attack grip him as he was thinking about it. So to stop it, he got up and walked to the mirror. He wondered to drop in on Crystal who said to find him whenever he needed. But instead, Edwin opened a mirror to the last place he hadn't checked. To that dreadful attic. He was slightly surprised when it opened, however.

So with the last scrapes of hope he still possessed, Edwin walked through the mirror. The attic was dark and more cluttered than the last time he was here. Thirty years ago. For a moment he just stood there, looking around, barely paying attention to anything at this point. Because Charles was nowhere... Edwin shook his head at himself for being such a fool, looking over to the window. And then he spotted it. The small bundle, of dog and sheet.

"Charles?" Edwin whispered, his eyes widening.

[just_aces]

Charles' head lifted at the sound of his voice, looking startled more than anything, gaze darting from Edwin to the mirror, but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it through, he was too tired, energy all but gone, and Edwin was between him and that escape route.

More than that, he couldn't imagine why Edwin was even there, unless it was just because the bonds couldn't be broken without him being present to do so, and he had noticed that they'd remained in place no matter where he went, but that was the only conclusion he'd been able to pull together, that Edwin couldn't cut him loose without him being there.

It was why he just whined softly, shrinking back into the tangle of sheet he'd made a nest for himself out of, head lowering to his paws, effectively hiding both the collar and the cuffs, even though Edwin had sent him away -and had followed him to finish the job- he still didn't want to lose that connection.

[uptightboy]

For a split second, Edwin thought he had made a mistake. If that dog wasn't Charles... But he only needed to take a step closer to be sure that it was Charles. What made Edwin hesitate was the reaction he had gotten. As if Charles wasn't expecting him. As if he didn't want to see him... Was he hurt? No. No, if Charles was hurt Edwin would feel it from this close. There wasn't any spell buzzing in the air either. Was this a trap?

"Charles..." Edwin whispered, wanting to feel relief but the way Charles looked he couldn't let go of his nerves just yet. He felt his throat tighten. "Charles I was looking for you," he said and finally decided to go closer. Edwin fell on his knees by Charles, reaching for him. He could feel how tired he was... was he being chased? Edwin gently put his hand on the hound's head. "What happened?"

[just_aces]

He actually shivered at that touch, eyes still closed, another low whine curling out of his throat, because despite everything that he'd convinced himself of, he had missed Edwin, the closeness, the thirty years of ease with each other.

But the question just confused him, Edwin knew what had happened, didn't he? The fact that Edwin seemed as lost in the situation as Charles now felt certainly didn't clear things up, and he knew, despite things being simpler in this shape, that he was going to have to change back so they could actually talk.

He twisted himself around, sitting up, knees drawn to his chest, leaning back against the wall under the window. He looked more tired like this than he had in the hound shape, almost gaunt in a way he didn't usually get, he'd clearly been running himself ragged the whole time he'd been running. Ghosts didn't need to sleep and technically Charles didn't really either, but he hadn't really been keeping himself fed the past few days on top of not letting himself rest and it showed.

His voice was a rough near-croak when he finally spoke, "You locked me out."

[uptightboy]

Seeing Charles react to his touch was breaking Edwin's heart. It also made him realize that he was going to go mad if he wouldn't have found him. Not literally... Charles was keeping him sane all these years. He was by his side no matter what happened.

Edwin realized his hands were trembling as he watched Charles shift back to his boy form. Because he reached for him but he didn't dare to touch him again. Not yet. And Charles didn't look good. And Edwin's eyes widened. The question 'who did this to you' got stuck on his tongue as Charles spoke.

"I... what?" Edwin asked, shocked. "Charles, I..." he started but then he remembered. The spell. The warding spell... It was working. It was working too well! "No, Charles, no... I did not know the spell would ward against you too. I did not know," he gasped, reaching for Charles's face. Edwin moved closer holding Charles's cheek in both of his hands, his eyes filling with tears. "I went back to the warehouse but you weren't there, I kept searching for you, I thought- I thought something happened to you."

[just_aces]

A string of expressions crossed Charles' face, prompted by the tumble and tangle of emotions rolling across the surface of his mind, even he couldn't track all of them, there were simply too many and he was vaguely surprised to find that none of them were anger. He'd run out of that on day one, it had been replaced by despair and determination.

But now? Now it was something like relief. There was an edge of distrust, but it was fleeting, he'd almost always trusted Edwin more than his own mind, and he just leaned forward into Edwin's hands, as if that might press the truth of those words more deeply into his consciousness. What he finally managed to say, voice thick with emotion was: "Guess we both focused on the worst possible outcome this time." He tried to laugh, but it came out as something closer to a sob, eyes closing, head tilting forward into Edwin's hands, brow pressing against his partner's, voice a little shaky as he added, "Missed you. So much."

[uptightboy]

Edwin did worry about what had prompted Charles to react so badly to a small mistake. Why couldn't he wait. Why did he run... But right now, as Charles was pressing close, Edwin focused on somehow telling him, signaling him that he was wanted, he was missed, he was important, more than anything.

"We did," Edwin agreed, quietly, his voice feeling like a stranger's in his throat. It was weak and broken. He held Charles for a moment, pressing their foreheads together before he felt it wasn't enough. He sat by him, pressing close, and gathered him in his arms. He caressed Charles's forehead with his lips, peppering him with gentle, barely there kisses. "I missed you too, Charles, I missed you," Edwin whispered, closing his eyes as he held Charles closer. His magic reacted too, not yanking on the bonds, but holding them tighter, as if he wanted to reassure Charles in all kinds of ways he possibly could.

[just_aces]

That additional weight-pressure-presence to the bonds was more of a reassurance than anything else had been, and the rest definitely had been as well, even if he hadn't been, still wasn't, able to fully process the scattering of kisses, which had initially caused a faint whine in the back of his throat.

It wasn't pain or upset, it was just not fully being able to process the gesture even as he pushed himself closer into the loop of Edwin's arms, clinging to his coat like a lifeline. He'd be able to explain himself eventually, after some rest, maybe a day or two to actually settle again, but all he managed to say after a few long minutes of trembling silence was: "Going to need to find a new mirror for the backpack." A pause, brow creasing, "Probably owe Crystal one, too."