Chapter 20 - New Depths

As I walked down the street, my eyes lingered on the ground as I was lost in my thoughts. I soon enough reached the school in this dazed state.

Looking up as I was surprised by how quickly I reached— I suppose that being lost in thought allowed time to pass by quickly.

With a sigh, I made my way into the building, carrying with me the bag of books that i bought— since I had no way to place them.

Entering my first class of the day and my preferred subject— Arts— I made my way over to a spot to sit.

As I glanced across the room— I didn't spot many people.

It was still early during the day so it was understandable that not many were here yet. However, from the people that were here, I could see Rosaline.

I also spotted the guy I spoke to previously— my friend as I called him— but I was far more interested in Rosaline for whatever reasons.

No, the reasons were obvious.

I found the girl interesting— I also wanted to learn more about her family and about the hunters as a whole.

However, I would never admit my interest in the girl out loud. That would be bothersome for multiple reasons.

So I decided this time to sit down next to Rosaline.

Making my way to the empty spot next to her— I took a seat.

At first, it seemed as if Rosaline didn't notice me, lost in thought for whatever reason, but when I spoke out loud, addressing her, she snapped out of her thoughts and turned to me.

"Hello."

That was all I said since I was unsure if she would hear me— but it seems she heard me.

"I hope you don't mind me sitting here— I wanted to talk more about stuff."

I followed up with that since she was now paying attention to me.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, thinking about my question and what it might entail.

Until finally— she spoke.

"Sure, I can't stop you anyways."

Well, she wasn't wrong in the fact that she couldn't exactly stop me from sitting anywhere in the class because that's just how the rules were.

I just wasn't rude enough to sit next to someone that didn't want me next to them.

"I would've left if you wanted me to. But thanks for not wanting me to."

As I said that, I laid the bag of books on the ground near my feet, taking a seat on the empty spot next to the girl.

It wasn't prominent, but I could feel that the girl wasn't sure how to interact with me.

Maybe it was because of never having revealed the truth to anyone before— if that was the case— but it made the situation awkward.

It seemed like there was some tension between us, or at least towards me, but I wanted to get to know the girl better regardless of any tension that may have been caused by the discovery.

After a few moments of silence, staring off into space, Rosaline spoke up again.

"I don't mind you sitting here— I'm just unsure what you want exactly?"

That is to be expected— even I was unsure what exactly I wanted to accomplish from this meeting.

"To be honest, I just want to know more. More about what a hunter is, more about~"

More words were cut short since I didn't think finishing the sentence would be a wise choice— finishing it off with 'more about you' would seem odd from someone she didn't know well.

"And why do you want to know all these things? Hunters are meant to be secret for a reason."

The girl asked after a brief pause. She seemed curious as to where my intentions lay and what I was planning on doing as a result of finding out so much about the hunters.

While she was also still unsure about even talking about this further with me— after all, she wasn't wrong.

The hunters were meant to be a thing secret to the world— much like us Witches and monsters as a whole.

In fact, the only reason monsters and Witches have stayed a secret from most humans is because of the hunters.

They killed any monster that they found— or pulled powerful strings in the government to cover up any incidents they cause.

It goes without saying they have caused many over the years.

In fact— a lot of things in history or myths stem from monsters or Witches in one way or the other. But that is a story for another time.

Instead, as I thought about her question— my eyes gazed at the stream of students that came into the room ever so often— as the time for class grew closer.

"I just want to know more about the world and everything that comes with it since I saw it for myself. And it seems like Hunters are a big part of that."

I answered simply, stating my intentions behind this meeting— and while it wasn't a lie, it also wasn't the whole truth.

Rosaline's eyes widened slightly as I said those words before quickly returning to normal.

I guess she didn't expect me to answer it in that way— maybe she thought I was just curious about the monster or something. But it seemed that her opinion was changed— if ever so slightly.

After thinking over my response for a few minutes she finally replied— but her reply was more open than I was expecting it to be.

"Sure, but you can't tell anyone about it."

I found her willingness to tell me— a stranger— about the hunters really odd. But maybe there was more to it I just didn't understand.

Nonetheless, I nodded my head since I had no reason to deny it— I never planned to tell anyone else anyways.

"Of course, I already told you last night that I wouldn't tell anyone about it. I don't break a promise."

I said to her in a voice that would keep the conversation between us— since the place was getting more crowded.

Hearing my reply she cracked a small smile across her— a smile that left me dazed for a second by just how much it changed her face.

She was already good-looking before— but just a small smile on her face made her seem so much more alluring. A charm that didn't go unnoticed by me— which made me look away.

'She's dangerous.'

I thought to myself as I heard her speak from the corner of my ear.

"Well, the hunters are pretty complicated but also very basic. In the most simplest of sense— we hunt monsters that hurt humans."

That much I knew, it was the most basic information that any Witch worth their hex would know. However, what she said next, I didn't know.

"However it's much more than that— we protect humanity from the depths that these monsters come from. We originated a very long time ago with this very goal in mind— and since then we have grown large in size and power."

'Depths?' That was a description I didn't expect to hear.

Was she saying that monsters came from the depths of hell— in a metaphorical sense like they usually do? Or was it something more?

It felt like something more— she didn't seem like someone that would use such meaningless flavor phrases.

"What do you mean by depths?"

I asked in order to try and uncover more.

If she had no more information about it— or provided lackluster information— then it was yet another thing I had to add to the list of conversations to have with Luna.

"Well, I'm not too sure myself. To be honest, I only learned of it from my father— and he said it was a sort of place where the monsters are born from. But I'm not too sure— so I can't explain it to you."

After listening to her explanation— it left me with even more questions— and the resolve to find out more about this later. Either from my family's library or from Luna.

Because as far as I am aware— monsters are born in various ways, with some even being formed.

Take a ghoul for example— they take form when a corpse has been tampered with by dark magic— or under the special moonlight of a blood moon.

Or the werewolves like the one we saw early— which is a rare change that happens to children that are born on the nights of full moons.

I've never heard of this depth, so it naturally left me with questions.

Resolved to find out more, I moved on to another question— this time more so in line with her being a hunter and her family.

"Ok, then what exactly do you do? I know you said you hunt monsters— but why?"

She seemed puzzled at my question— one I could understand as well since from her perspective I was a normal human who almost died to a werewolf.

She would expect me to understand that monsters are dangerous and that was why they hunted them— yet I asked why.

"Well, to be honest."