8 No going Back

"Let's start with some making up. I know there's a big gap to cross here, with the whole, hunter's duty and family bonds deal. But," She looks to the young hunter.

"Kimle,"

"Kimle, how long have you been a hunter?" She has to think for a moment, tapping a finger on her lips.

"Eight years." The woman nods, and the man she's connected to with this gross curse discreetly removes his hand.

"So you've been in the system for a while, and you've probably had some successful hunts?"

"Most of my hunts are successful," she counters, controlling her pride so she doesn't give Cameron another reason to want to wrap her own whip around her neck.

"I see. Did you ever, even for a moment, consider giving that up? For me, when this happened to me and my husband, I finally found a reason to leave the army." Kimle looks at her hands, thinking back to when she first started the training. Her parents had pushed her into the track and kept up the pressure until she had to cut contact with them. It turned out to be the best decision she ever made. Then, she was picked by her mentor and discovered that she had potential.

"No." she admits. This disappoints the other demon. Time to quench her own curiosity, for a change. "Can you tell your name? What is the relationship between the two of you?" She meets the woman's eyes for the first time.

"You'll call me Ellar, and I'm his aunt." Oh, his father's sister. Kimle looks to him, and he nods. There're no similarities between the two of them. Then again, why would they lie about that?

"You've been hunting survivors of the Purge for eight years?" he asks, his voice thick with loathing. He runs his fingers through his hair when she nods. The curse puts a sense of shame in her at how proud she is of the time she served. "And what do you get for it? Not much, judging by your living situation. What are you going to use that money for? Nothing, by the looks of it! Countless lives lost for nothing!" She shrugs.

"It's just my job, I have no other purpose. They give me enough money for me to live comfortably in return for survivors." He growls, and thinking back she realizes what she said might've sounded slightly off-putting for one of those survivors. She raises her hands to defend herself, but it doesn't protect her from the electric shock. His aunt hisses and reaches across the table to slap him. He rips the bracelet off his wrist and storms out of the room.

"I know how little you want to be with him, no matter how great a guy I say he is, usually. Trust me, I've been there." Ellar says after a moment's silence. Kimle has taken the necklace off herself and put it on the table between them. She wouldn't be able to do that if it was still connected to his arm.

"I've always been good at my job, I'm not ready to give it up yet." The older woman doesn't like that answer.

"You don't have a choice, sweety!" There's a tinge of anger in her voice now. Kimle doesn't appreciate that.

"I just want to forget him." She raises her voice and Ellar's hands on the table curls into fists. They both take a deep breath.

"You'll learn to live with it. Anyway, I think you need some rest. You look tired." Kimle laughs softly. This woman has no idea how tired she is, and as long as they don't have any clear intent of killing her, she might actually take the offer. She's directed to a room at the end of a narrow hallway on the second floor. The bathroom is the door right next to it.

She should have expected it, but it still stops her dead when she opens the door to the room. There are two single beds. In one of which a filthy, tired halfling is sleeping with his back to the room. Her whip is resting on the nightstand, and the gun is nowhere to be seen. This could be her chance. She walks up to the small table and reaches for the weapon. Then, she's seized by a deep sadness, the sad knowledge that if she does this, she'll not be able to see his face again. That should be an easy call. As easy as when she cut off her parents. Yet the decision hollows her out and her hand stops, hovering right above the handle.

In the corner of her eye, there's a tiny movement, and she turns her head, and their eyes meet. She realizes she's crying when she tastes the salt. Why? It's not fair. She'll have to stay with him, or she's not going to be able to live with herself. Maybe she would be able to take him back inside the wall at some point, but the chance is high that they'd both be killed. She drags her feet over to the other bed and sits on the edge, head in her hands. He moves, sitting silently on his own bed for a few minutes before he walks over to her and sits down next to her. She expects him to defend his own view, or maybe even choke her with his bare hands, but he just puts an arm around her shoulder and they sit there for a moment. She tries to wriggle away, but when he doesn't try to hold her back she freezes.

"You're not who I thought I'd be trapped with for the rest of my life, for sure," he says, sounding so distant that she's not a hundred percent sure he's still on the planet. She's a little scared of what might come next, if she's going to be honest. "But you're pretty badass, you know that?" She laughs, pushing him away from her. The last thing she wants is him to sympathize with her. They shouldn't be able to be friends, and they are definitely never going to become anything more than that. She sighs and rubs her face, barely believing what the curse is making her think.

"You're not all bad yourself. Is there any chance that you'll come back wi-" he places a hand over her mouth and she glares at him. He grimaces and removes it.

"It's not going to happen. Not unless I want to spend the rest of my life in that underground cell. From what I can see, you're the one who has the least to lose." She whimpers, and he withdraws his hands. "Sorry, I know that's your life in there. None of this feels right, does it?"

She raises her eyebrows in mild surprise. That's what she's been thinking from the start. Some of the tension melts away: He's sympathizing with her, and it doesn't really feel like anyone did that until now. Sure, her mentor tried to help, but it was out of the joy of seeing her struggle with her broken emotions. Her boss just did what that mentor suggested, she's an honored retiree, after all. She throws away as much of her pride as she needs to hug him, and he hugs her back. Even though she never chose to have a hunting partner, it feels nice to have someone on her side, forced or not, for once. Maybe if she'd had a partner from the start all of this wouldn't have happened, so at the bottom of it, she could blame herself. Not him.

"Kimle!" Ellar yells from downstairs. The unlikely couple releases each other as if they were awkward teenagers, and Kimle darts out of the room to see what the older demon wants. She finds her in the living room, another massive space in the house, where there's a couple of sitting groups and small tables. There's, again, room for about eight people. Maybe there are members of this family that she hasn't met, yet. Ellar and the white girl is peeking out through the window at something that's making them restless. The girl turns to look at her with pure disgust, then leaves the room without a word.

"What's wrong?" she asks and takes the girls place in the lookout. There're demons out on the street. At least one armed squad, probably one more somewhere nearby. Behind them walks her mentor, swiping her gaze across the area. She curses.

"Are there any backdoors?" she asks, and as soon as she's pointed in the right direction, she's running toward it. She makes sure there's no one out there before she gets out, and stays low until she's a few blocks away from the house with her new family. Then, she whistles, a loud, quick tune that sounds like a bird if you don't know that there exist no birds that make that particular pattern. After a few minutes, her mentor walks around the corner, in no hurry, and stops when she sees her student. To Kimle's great relief, she didn't bring anyone from the teams.

"I thought they killed you. What are you doing, sneaking off like this? Are they threatening you, or," her voice trails off when the realization hits home. "Oh," is her only response. Kimle didn't really think as far as what to say if she got to this point. Not that she thought she'd reach this point, but it's a little too late to back out of it now.

"I'm not coming back to the base, Lerken." Her voice is steadier than she thought she would be able to keep it. Her mentor looks at her. As the seconds tick by, she's starting to sweat. There's a mask of disappointment on the mentors usually cheery, pretty face. Then, finally, she just nods and turns around. With her back to her, she talks again, but for as long as they've known each other, her voice has never been so quiet.

"There's no going back, Kimle. I'm sure you know that. We'll meet again one day, I'm sure. Maybe not in this life. But you know, I liked you, I'll make sure they don't come looking for you for the rest of your life." She disappears back the way she came, and the young demon hunter drops to all four, shaking and heaving because she's free. As free as she can be, and she's got someone waiting for her back in the house, someone who's not disappointed in her, and wants her to be safe. She can't stop sobbing, because she never had that before. She runs back as fast as her feet can carry her.