Hunt

Fanny paced furiously in the drawing room, despite the lovely decor of the area, with a soft shade of peach for the walls and bookshelves that contained knowledge, she couldn't help but be frustrated at the battle they had with Alice. It had been a week ago and yet she was still mulling about it, she couldn't believe that she had yet again slipped through their fingers and what's worse was that Alucard had gotten hurt, though now he was mostly healed he was still less likely to partake any battles anytime soon.

Suddenly, Tigreal burst into the room with a scowl on his face, Fanny looked him over and her heart dropped, that was never a good sign. "We're lucky that Alice hasn't made any appearance since then" He said, he walked over to the plush blue cushioned chair and sat down, he looked frustrated yet relieved at the same time. "But we haven't gotten any leads as to where she may be now" he continued, Tigreal could only hope that Kaja was having any luck in finding Moskov, at the moment he was doing a great job at keeping the Spear of Quiescence at bay. Trying to kill Moskov would be nearly impossible he'd resurrect over and over again but it would give them enough time to warrant an ally free Alice, but now that she was with a shadow creature it was harder to spot her than before.

"Tigreal why don't you let me find him instead? i'll be able to get around easily" Fanny reasoned out, she couldn't understand why Tigreal wouldn't let her be, but the again his word is law in the empire. "No, Kaja will be more than enough to go and put him out, we need you here. Alucard is still wounded and any threats to the empire must be kept away, and that's our job, no one else's" He explained.

Fanny sometimes hated how he was almost right every time but his guidance did help them many a times before and she had no right to disobey him. "Alright, but-" before she could continue, Miya appeared by the door in a hurry, her bow ready and behind her was Natalia. "Bandits, in the far north"

Tigreal sighed in defeat, their job was never done.

In the calmness of the forest, Moskov found their peace uncomfortable and forced, it was as if all the voices in the world had been hushed down to a deafening silence. It had been 5 days since he was struck with Eveister's blades and his wound had finally healed, what changed though was the tension between him and his companion. Onyx had grown rather distant from the world, drifting off into silence every now and again and staring into oblivion without any particular reason. She hadn't said much since that night in the cave and he was being honest with himself it was becoming a bother.

Something definitely changed, either it was her awkward silence or the fact that the mission wasn't even uttered anymore, any attempts at discussing strategies were brushed off as if it was irrelevant to their companionship. Moskov decided to try again.

"Onyx, we need to talk about what to do with Eveister" he advised, She ceased in her walking and sighed. There was really no escaping the topic is there?

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" She inquired.

Onyx settled on a boulder by a sturdy tree and turned to face him. Moskov had to pause, it was the first time she looked him in the eyes in 5 days and the sudden change in her actions made his stomach churn. Really now, it wasn't a big deal. So what if she had a little fall out on her own? It was out of his league and business.

"We need to rethink of a way to get to him without anyone interfering," He said.

"That...will be nearly impossible" She answered truthfully.

"I know but we have to somehow lead him away from the village"

"Moskov, He has an entire village by his side and then some, it's going to take us a whole army to pry him off of their sights" Onyx argued back.

"Maybe we don't need to pry him off forcefully, maybe we just need the right time to take him" He offered.

"Oh yes, like we did the last time. That worked so well" The mockery was clear in her voice, but he decided to ignore it. "We just underestimated him, if we can figure out his weaknesses, he'll be defenseless" He argued back, the tension rose once again, he could see her eyes narrow in slits once again.

"How do you suppose we do that then?"

Moskov held back in biting his lip, it was a question he was also asking himself and so far he was still yet to come up with a viable answer. Moskov's silence made Onyx sigh in disbelief, for someone who wanted their companionship to end right away he sure doesn't have that much answers to give.

"I...don't know, but we'll figure something out eventually. I propose we go back to Zyron clan and observe for a few days" She looked ready to argue and to say no, but surprised Moskov when she accepted his proposal almost right away "Okay, we go back and observe him, in the meantime i have to find a decent armor for myself, my wings won't be enough to shield both me and you all the time" He nodded an started towards east where they'll eventually come across another village, Moskov paused the train of thought in his head about the mission and came to stop at what she had mentioned. Her wings...as shields?

"I have to ask. How do you shield yourself with your wings? they look delicate...well save for the blades at the very ends" He asked. Onyx turned her head slightly to the side to look at him but kept on walking. "Everything is not what it seems when you see a Damatorum" she extended her wings out towards him "Go ahead" she gestured for him to touch the feathers, he was hesitant at first but moved to lay a hand on the appendages, his eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't smooth or soft like a feather would be, instead it was solid and hard, much like a camouflaged shield. And then the next second it was the softest thing he had ever touched, so it changes at will?

"It...changes?" he asked, flabbergasted at the seemingly non threatening display yet it posed a great threat to anyone who didn't know. "It's driven by emotions you see, when i feel aggressive or defensive the blades sharpen and the feathers hardened, but if i feel calm and happy they're as harmless as they can be" She explained, he drew his hand back slowly, a new thought came to mind.

"So is that why it becomes dangerous when harvested?" he prodded as he stepped over a rock that he barely saw among the tall grass. "Sadly, yes. That's what Eveister does, he provokes or threatens us to get our wings to change, then he harvests them when they're at their finest. but even controlling our emotions at a time like death is useless, our wings will try to defend us whether we like it or not" she explained sadly, a look of disappointment crossed her face making a crease on her brows "This is why we hid from the world, we were supposed to bring peace not hide away from the dangers, when humankind was consumed with the sin of greed we were pretty much done for, unluckily for our ancestors they sided with the wrong clan" She kicked a stray pebbled into a nearby river and watched it plop into the water.

"It was only a matter of time till they inevitably betrayed my people"

Moskov cast his eyes down, remembering his own clan who had been slaughtered because of greed and power, The Damatorums were lucky enough to escape though but it came with a price, to hide away from the world and never to be known again. To his dismay more questions were brought to his attention than answers, for some reason he was curious as to how she got captured, how was it possible for them to hide yet survive at the same time. Even without any contact of the outside world they still managed to survive, and also where was this village of theirs reside now?

"But that's enough about me, what about you? I barely know anything about where you come from" She folded her wings on her back, letting the tips drag behind her, making a soft noise as it came in contact with a few rocks. Moskov turned to look at the skies, it was cloudy today, but no doubt the sun will peak out anytime soon, it was just a day like this too. "My clan was...one of the strongest to ever stand, it was known mainly because of the future chief that would have taken his place prior to the fall-" He paused to conjure up his spear and gripped it tightly in his hand, oh the burden he had to carry throughout such an agonizing life, his resurrection came with a price. And that was the weight of the agonizing pain each and every thought of vengeance give him, the tiniest thoughts of revenge gave him the most unpleasant feeling, almost like a constant torturous descent to darkness.

"The said young aspiring leader was a very skilled and strong man indeed and yet because of one single mistake, he managed to lose everything that he tried to protect....he failed his father, his friends and most of all his people. He failed them all the moment he raised his spear..and struck every single one of them into oblivion" There was a feeling of regret once again rising in his throat, blocking his airways and constricting his heart to move, but along with the pain was the light weight emotion of the fact that he had finally voiced out his past mistakes. It now resounded in his ears so clearly yet it brought with it an unexpected warmth.

Onyx was silent, but he knew she was listening intently. She didn't speak, didn't offer any kind of sympathy and didn't attempt any form of apology, instead he could hear her hum a soft tune, almost like a ballad to the fallen, both to him and to her.

It was the only moment he realized, that the silence was welcomed and very much needed between them.

Kaja was on his third round from scouting the village, the past few days everything was peaceful. Even their daily hunts for Moskov proved nothing as it seemed he wasn't anywhere in the perimeter of the village. Kaja was growing ever restless by the day but a hunter's longest running quality should be patience, the prey will eventually come to him and take the bait and when Moskov strikes he will be ready to take him down.