#I actually imagine Alastor won Husk's soul in a similar manner

[blue-rose-soul]

Wait I just realized something. For any au that includes Nicaise in hell first, how does she meet Niffty and Husk and their relationship?

To be honest, I'm not sure Niffty would have attached to Nicaise the way that she did Alastor. I'm about 50/50 whether Alastor actually owns her soul or not, but either way I get the impression that she was drawn to him because of his bad boy vibes. And, well, Nicaise is a woman, not a bad boy.

So instead of Niffty coming to Nicaise, it makes more sense for things to be the other way around. Niffty could have accidentally antagonized some dangerous demons, like when she stole those guys' drinks at Consent.

Nicaise was just passing by when she smelled the blood - a lot this long before extermination day - and glanced down the alley out of idle curiosity. She saw Niffty being held down by her neck, face pressed to the asphalt, laughing weakly despite being drenched in blood. Her attacker was a man several times her size whose hand dwarfed Niffty's skull. Nicaise didn't give so much as a warning before removing the guy's head.

Afterwards, Nicaise brought Niffty home and patched her up. Once Niffty had regenerated she gave Nicaise a cheery goodbye and just... left. Skipped right on out the door without a care in the world.

So yeah, Niffty was pretty disinterested in Nicaise at first, but Nicaise at least kept an eye out for Niffty when the little bug was in her territory. Slowly over time, Niffty got used to Nicaise and began to hang around. And Nicaise noticed that Niffty was actually quite useful in some ways. Not just the fact that she was a good housekeeper, but that she was small, able to get into places other people couldn't, and easily overlooked. After she'd saved Niffty multiple times, she leveraged the number of favors Niffty owed her and took possession of Niffty's soul. Niffty's okay with this arrangement, as Nicaise's Overlord activities puts her in close proximity with a number of bad boys.

With Husk, it was more targeted. Husk's Overlord reign was still going strong when he made the unfortunate mistake of crossing her. Husk had won the soul of someone Nicaise had under her protection, someone who lived on her territory in exchange for some favors. After they'd lost their soul to Husk, this person begged Nicaise to save them from Husk, and after some negotiation she agreed with the stipulation that she would keep ownership of the soul. They agreed, since they were already loyal to Nicaise.

So Nicaise went into Husk's territory and instantly he was on edge. By this point Nicaise had developed some abilities of her own. I imagine she would have been a singer much like Alastor and Charlie, and so some of her powers are based around her voice as well. Husk was wary, but he figured he could use her. So when she asked to play a game with him he accepted, planning on taking everything from her and before taking her soul.

But instead, the exact opposite happened. Nicaise started small, only betting some wealth. After she'd won a substantial amount of money from Husk, she wagered it all back in exchange for the soul of the sinner who she'd come for. Figuring this was all she was after, Husk agreed, but only if Nicaise bet a soul of her own. He wagered souls for souls, after all. Nicaise agreed, but she wouldn't bet any of the souls under her control. Nor would she bet her own soul for a single sinner's. After some negotiation they came to an agreement; the pot plus her soul for a number of Husk's souls and a portion of territory. Both of them cheated. Nicaise won, but only just. Nicaise offered him the chance to win everything back and his gambling addiction plus his pride wouldn't let him turn her down.

The game went on like this for a while, with Nicaise chipping away at Husk's wealth, territory, and power little by little until she'd won everything but the shirt off his back, and his soul. Husk could have walked away, knocked down to the level of a common sinner, but free. He didn't. In the final game Nicaise wagered everything she'd won plus her own soul against Husk's soul, and he lost.

In the present, Nicaise's relationship with Husk is rather cold. As an Overlord he was exactly the sort of man she hated; a greedy alcoholic who traded souls like they were poker chips. She still sees him this way even after decades of being on her leash wore him down.