Italics- thoughts/ flashbacks/ dreams

Bold- author talking

Underline- narrator talking, known as the main character

Normal- normal story

2659 words

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Something is licking my face, I'm not even awake yet.

This is so weird.

"Stop it..."

It stops for a second. I hear a whine, and it continues. I wave my hand near the side of my face to get whatever's happening to stop. I feel something soft.

I turn on my back to whack him with my arm cuz this is so weird. I don't open my eyes. It's too early in the morning for this.

I only hit the bed. "Stop being weird you big fucker or I'll lock you out of the room."

There's another whine before the weight shifts to my stomach.

In the form of little sharp feet.

What the absolute fucking hell is going on? I'm scared to move.

"Go away."

The little feet and claws, I think, start prancing on me before getting off behind my back. It moves around the bed but doesn't leave and whines a lot.

My heartbeat is too fast for this. I look at the wall in front of me and think of something. If this is him messing with me I'ma beat his ass.

I need my sleep.

Do I look or not? Well, if it wanted to eat me it would have by now. I don't have the best survival skills.

The weight goes back to my chest, and it starts sniffing me before whining again. I would even consider it being Iggy or Gracie because those are the vibes, but they aren't this light.

Well, it's now or never. Either die faster or torture myself with this feeling for even longer. I open my eyes and have a heart attack.

I see colorless ones staring back at me, a bluish white. Dead eyes with black and red fur. It's a...

German shepherd? They look like a puppy German shepherd, and they are even panting like a dog. But they're red and black and dead.

"What the fuck?"

They bark and drag their tongue over my face again. Now I have to wash my face.

If this isn't some weird dream that is. I can't ever tell what's a dream and what isn't anymore.

I then notice my manz kneeling on the edge(ish) of the bed looking at me and this imposer puppy with a big ol smile on his face. He looks like a kid who gave someone a present after working on it for hours.

He holds his arms up to the furry, "Surprise!"

I'm baffled. "What do you mean by surprise? What is this?"

"A capybara."

"No, it isn't. This doesn't look like one at all."

The dog thingy sits on me and waves their foot in the air. They haven't blinked this whole time.

"You just asked what he is, which insinuates you don't know what he is. You can't say he isn't a capybara if you don't know what he is."

I glare at him so he tells me what is sitting on me with stupidly long claws and dead eyes.

Can dogs wear contacts?

He walks over to my side of the bed and picks up the 'puppy'. "I got you a hellhound."

"A what?" I stop functioning for a second.

"You heard me. Isn't he cute?" He puts the hellhound back on the bed.

I sit up so the dog doesn't heat my face.

"Why a hellhound...? And aren't they supposed to look not like German shepherd puppies?"

"They can look like whatever they want and who doesn't want a hellhound?"

I don't wanna be mean. He looks so happy. "Aren't they supposed to have read eyes?" I don't know which one is worse.

"Some do and some don't. It's either red, yellow or gray."

I look at the dog who seems way too calm to be a hellhound. "So, what is he here for?"

He shrugs.

"I don't know how to take care of a hellhound."

"You don't. He is smart enough to take care of himself."

The dog barks as if he agrees."I'm so confused."

"With what?" He crawls on the bed and over me. The dog gets on my chest yet again and uses his nose to push death away while his tail keeps hitting my face as he wags it.

Awe. Maybe I'll keep him.

I look away so his fur or hair or whatever it is doesn't get in my mouth. Some fur is super soft, and some isn't. The tail isn't.

They stare at each other for a while.

I think I'm a chair at this point. Maybe I'm the new bed. My life's purpose is to be a mouse pig butterfly puppy chair bed.

Very unique.

The dog raises his paw to Death and Death raises his hand to the dog. The dog starts talking the way dogs do. They have their conversion.

I just want to sleep. Maybe if I roll over and ignore them, I can sleep.

But then the dog will fall, and we don't want that.

The dog puts his paw on Death's face and tries to push him away. His tail is still hitting my face.

Death biopsy the doggie's nose. "I didn't get you so you can steal her from me."

I feel like I'm 3rd wheeling here. This is my apartment damnit.

The dog keeps hitting Death with his paw and jumps off of me. Death then quickly lays next to me and pulls me against him on my side. Now I get to sleep.

Thy best surprise of all.

The dog whines before climbing over my manz and stuffing himself between us. I look at him to find his lifeless eyes looking back at me.

"What are you doing?"

He grabs my arm with his mouth and pulls it off of Death and craws under it. He then curls into a ball around my hand and huffs.

I look back at Death who is also watching the dog. "Sooooooo is everyone in hell starved of attention or physical touch or something?"

"It's hell, what do you expect, love?"

"That's sad."

"It is what it is."

I guess. Ok enough being sad. "What's his name?"

"Whatever you want it to be."

"Brownie?" That's the first thing that came to my mind.

The dog snorts and kicks me with his back leg. I guess not brownie.

I turn my attention back to Death. "Is there a name he wants?"

"Ask him."

I look back at the dog who is sniffing my hand like he has to, or he will die. "What name do you want me to call you?"

He stretches and puts his head on my leg. Oh my god, why is he so cute?

I've fallen in love.

He put his paw on me over and over till he sighs and looks at Death.

He pets the dog, "she doesn't understand."

"What don't I understand?" Do they already have inside jokes or something?

He pushes hair out of my face and off of me, "hellhounds can telepathically talk, love."

I look at them both in shock, "Really?"

"Yes." The dog nods too.

I pull the dog against me, and he seems happy, "I wanna talk to you." I look at my manz, "how do I do it?"

"As I have said time and time again, spiritually open up."

I look at the dog. "Should I do it mr doggo?"

He nods. Well, if he can talk, I guess he can respond to me. This is all still so crazy.

"So, what name does he want?"

"Pierce."

He barks. "Okay Pierce it is."

"Aren't you supposed to be big and terrifying?"

He puts his paw on my glabella before getting off the bed and walking away out the room.

"Where'd he go?"

"Only one way to know."

I get out of the comfy bed. That was the most unexpected way to be woken up. At least there is sunlight. Death wraps his arms around me and kisses my hair.

I look up at him, "how do you move so quietly? Pierce is louder than you."

I'ma have to get used to having a dog here. Before I was barely able to take care of myself or my fish but now, I'm not alone and not in school. It should be so much easier.

He grins. "I can't be a kidnapper if I'm loud. I would give myself away too fast."

"It's too early in the morning to mess with me."

He shakes his head. "It's never too early to mess with you."

Goofy. I walk out the room and look at the not so bare apartment. It's still sort of bare but not as much. For someone who likes to hoard a lot of things there isn't much here. Besides things I made that don't fit in the bedroom.

I feed my fishies. They still have that one special part of my heart that no one else can get.

I turn around and see Pierce on the kitchen counter and 'talking' with Death. How the fuck-

Imagine he can't talk, and I'm being trolled. That would be crazy. I'm still waiting to be woken up, I'm still waiting to wake up from meeting my manz.

No one mentally stable hangs out with me so either this is a very elaborate lucid dream, or he isn't mentally stable.

I think we all know the answer.

It's both and he infiltrated my mind. If that's true and I ever wake up I would make a story out of it.

I walk over to the counter and lean on it, "how'd you get on here? Puppies can't jump this high." I look at my manz, "can they? I actually don't know. I know little, tiny puppies can't." I look back at Pierce, "you're bigger than pikachu so you aren't tiny."

Pikachu is bigger than my torso and binder.

Something touches my foot. I look down to see Pierce staring at me. He's adorable but creepy at the same time.

I guess nothing's perfect. Let alone something from hell. Kind of amazing though.

He fades into a blood red mist, and it moves to the top of the counter. The mist forms into him.

How the hell? "How did you do that? That's so cool."

He wags his tail and sits between my hands on the counter with his back to me. He watches Death.

Everyone is goofy this morning. Sleep drunkenness must be contagious. I'm immune.

I walk over to the cabinets before remembering there is nothing here. I got everything but the food.

Eh, who needs food?

But I want pancakes.

Either starve or get fat. Such complicated decisions.

I'll think about it while getting ready for the day.

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A black and red fur ball appears in front of me on the side of the sink counter space. I look behind me to see if the door is still closed and it is.

I turn back to him so confused. I'd ask how he got in here but I'm sort of busy brushing my teeth. I'm so messy at brushing my teeth. Maybe he's going to give me advice on how to not look crazy when I do anything in the morning.

He nudges his nose on the wall, and it goes right through. He pulls back and does it again, but he doesn't go through the wall.

That's amazing. I'd interrogate him of how he can do that, but my mouth is sorta full of toothpaste. I rinse out my mouth and once I look back up, he boops his nose with mine.

Awe.

But I got to focus, I grab my brush and brush my hair out, so Death doesn't have to deal with that. He gets visibly upset if I do my hair without letting him do it but he can't do everything, so I brush it.

I also boop him on the head with the brush, "you cannot just break in the bathroom with someone in it. Have you ever heard of privacy?"

He snorts and licks my forearm. I pick him up and walk out the bathroom and turn off the lights. I see my manz still in the kitchen, in the same spot but watching me as I walk over to him.

"So, he gets to be in the bathroom with you but not me? You've known me longer, am I not trustworthy?"

I put pierce on the floor, and he sits between me and Death, leaning on my leg. "He's a puppy."

"My dear, no hellhounds are puppies, and they are extremely smart, smarter than almost every existing thing and always know what they are doing. He's stealing you from me." He looks down on Pierce. "You will not steal her from me."

"You're going to fight him over me? How flattering. Don't forget, you're the one that got him."

He picks up Pierce and rubs his ears. "I'd fight the universe for you to be in my arms, you own my heart. I also told him when things get better, I will find him an owner and you happen to be her."

"What are you talking about?" I should have been studying hellhounds the past 3 years if I knew this was going to happen. Maybe I'd know if there's something special about them.

Besides them talking and going through walls and literally looking like they're dead.

Shit's crazy. He walks over to the couch with Pierce, I follow them.

Yay! Story time! We only got to the couch for story time.

Or if I'm lazy and don't want to put the clothes on my bed away. If it happens it happens.

Pierce leaves my manz arms to my lap as soon as I sit down. I pet the doggie. Death pulls me against him and scratches his nose before staying silent for a little while.

Ooo an important story. I think. I could also be overthinking again.

"Around 200 years ago," he starts, "Pierce here," the little doggie wags his tail, "got injured when someone summoned him. Naturally the inexperienced person was terrified, and Pierce growled at them. Their stupid uncle grabbed his shotgun filled with salt and shot Pierce. I had to take care of him because everyone in hell is so self-absorbed, κόπρειος. He wanted to stay with me, but I could barely stay conscious. I told him when I find someone, I will take him. You are the most mentally stable woman I've met since then. You are so oddly calm and aren't that scared. Anyone else would have lost their minds by now."

Now I'm the one hopelessly staring at him, "really?"

He nods. I look down to the fur ball watching my every move.

"I'ma give you the best life, really old mister puppy. How are you still a puppy if you're 200 years old? How does a dog live for 200 years?"

He stands up to put his paws on my shoulders and yelps at me. "What are you saying?" He sneezes before looking at Death. I look at death too.

"Hellhounds live till they find an owner. They then live as long as their owner lives or get passed on to someone else to be their owner."

"What if they don't get one? Is there a certain time they need to get one?"

"No."

"How am I his owner if you're the one that helped him?"

"He can help you more than he can help me. I don't need a hellhound to protect me, you do."

"I have you though, not that I'm complaining." I don't wanna make Pierce sad. He's so adorable.

"I'm not with you all the time."

"Then how would I be safe when you weren't with me, and I wasn't in your magical hell house?"

Almost every time I would hang out with Athena, he was busy doing his job. His face drops like he forgot something kinda important.

"So-"

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SoRrY for the late upload. I was watching SUV and Blue Bloods. And every time I got motivation to write it got taken away.

And here is Pierce ⬇️