#juliethellhoundweek

Juliet sat on top of a high tomb, watching two friends walk through the cemetery, trudging through the mud and the fine mist, which had created a rainy fog. 

“I can’t believe you’ve lived in New Orleans all your life, and you still don’t appreciate cemeteries!” The friend in the green jacket teased. 

The friend in the blue raincoat rolled their eyes. “I do appreciate them! I’m just not superstitious. I appreciate them for their historical significance, not because stupid ‘ghosts’ exist.”

Juliet perked up her long ears. 

The one in the green jacket frowned. “At least have a little respect for the spirits. They were people, too.”

“Whatever,” their friend replied. 

Smoke fumed from Juliet’s eyes with anger. As a Hellhound, she always felt it was her duty to protect the deceased and their spirits. Before letting her anger overtake her, she paused in cunning thought. She silently grinned, sharp teeth glistening. She might have just found the perfect chance to have some fun this Halloween morning…

As the two friends walked, Juliet silently trailed behind on top of the tombs. She was careful to not disturb the gravestones despite her strong steps and sharp claws. Her cautious tread had been molded by years of hunting instinct and out of respect to the dead.

Her large steps quickly overtook the friends, and she crouched down in the shadows, off to the side of the road that the disbeliever was on. 

Despite their warm raincoat, the non-believer felt a chill raise the hairs on the back of their neck. Their stomach began to slowly constrict with anxiety. They glanced behind them to see if anyone was following them. 

Juliet was always impressed by humans’ ability to sense another presence, even though most of their animalistic instincts had died off long ago. 

The disbeliever wrapped the raincoat tighter around them, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling growing inside them. Of course they didn’t  believe in the supernatural, but they didn’t want to get stalked by some weirdo, either. They turned around again, just to check. Nothing. This place must just be giving them the creeps. 

When they turned around to face forward, they froze in their tracks. Two red, glowing orbs floated in a shadow behind one of the gravestones. The disbeliever awkwardly laughed as they lightly slapped their friend’s shoulder. “Oh, so is this why you wanted to go this way? Trying to play a trick on the skeptical one? Nice try, very funny,” they said sarcastically.

Their friend turned around to face them, a confused look on their face. “Huh? What are you talking about? I didn’t set up any trick.”

“Oh come on,” the non-believer said. “Then who set up those ‘spooky’ red eyes over there?”

The friend in the green coat turned where their friend pointed. There was nothing there.

“Are you feeling alright? I don’t see anything. I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or something, but you’re starting to be mean.”

The non-believer quipped, “Whatever”, and continued walking on. But they couldn’t shake off an odd sense of dread that began to climb up their esophagus. 

Meanwhile, Juliet could barely contain her excitement. Her muscles flexed and her fiery breath quivered. She slowly extended her paws, one by one, creeping closer to her victim. As she approached, she could feel the fear radiating off of the non-believer. She licked her lips— the taste of fear was one of her favorites. 

As her victim walked past her, Juliet silently stepped onto the road, breathing down their neck. She towered over her victim, casting a shadow only they could see. 

Her victim whipped around to see what was behind them. A delicious scream rang through the air as Juliet revealed herself in her true form: a smoky mass with fire glowing inside, a rotting skeleton within, and colors dancing all around her. Her eyes and teeth flamed as her claws sank into the earth beneath her. 

Her victim lost all strength in their limbs and fell to the ground, scraping their hands along the rough dirt as they tried to crawl backwards. 

Juliet simply grinned, giving her victim enough time to scramble onto their feet and run as fast as they could. 

After giving them a head start (in order to make the chase more fun), Juliet bounded after them, wind whistling past her ears. By Thanatos, I love hunting humans, she thought. 

She laughed, a grating, guttural sound, as her victim sobbed as they ran for their life. But they had no chance at escape. 

They screamed and begged for mercy as Juliet drew nearer, their heart pounding in their ears and their limbs, attempting to push harder than they had ever experienced before. 

In moments, Juliet was right behind them, and she could sense that her victim had no hope. She nudged them with her nose, causing them to fall roughly to the ground. Juliet sank her fangs into the thin fabric of the jacket, drinking up the fear as it drained from the non-believer and turned into panic. 

Then, she released her jaws, allowing her victim to scramble away, unharmed except for a few scrapes and a newfound respect for the supernatural. 

Juliet dropped the piece of the jacket she had torn off and licked her chops. She laughed— a deep, screeching laugh— at her latest victim of fear. 

She proceeded to pick up the piece of cloth in her mouth as she bounded away, her large steps easily skipping meters at a time. 

Soon she reached a small café where she saw her Daddy sitting at an iron-wrought table, leaning forward as he flirted with the waiter. 

Crowley glanced over as he saw a large, dark shape approaching. He flit a grin and let the waiter go on their way. Once he was alone, he turned to his Juliet. 

“What have you got there, girl?” He asked in his low, gruff, but suave, voice. 

Juliet sat on her haunches and happily leaned against Crowley, which nearly pushed him off of his seat. She dropped the now crumpled and slobbery piece of raincoat into his lap. 

Crowley raised an eyebrow and curled his lips into a knowing grin. “Had a little fun, did we?” He teased, pride in his heart as he scritched behind one of her ears. “My little girl- Protector of the Dead.” The fire in Juliet’s heart flamed with happiness and pride.

“Come on, darling. Let’s take your prize back home, shall we? And I’ll get you a treat along the way.” Crowley said as he stood up, hand lovingly on Juliet’s shoulder. They quickly vanished, but if any of the café visitors had been looking, they probably would have been able to see a shadow of a dog wagging her tail as she trotted on home.

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