Chapter 2. Enshin Relian

The clock strikes midnight, and the bell echoes through the empty streets, the ringing dampened by the snowfall. The man gives a tired grumble as he wanders the dark winding alleyways of the red brick buildings that hid the secret underbelly of the city.

He was one of many Hunters available to patrol the city during the holiday season, and especially on this night. Apart from his brothers and sisters in arms, there were no family or friends he cared to spend this winter’s eve with, as it was with many of the others.

A Hunter with friends made them a target. A Hunter with a family was a luxury; one that the beasts of the night would no doubt partake in, given the opportunity, so that they could inflict as much suffering as possible, before finally… The man turned and stepped out into one of the larger streets, when he spotted a figure walking in the lamplight.

Her face looked serene, yet cold. Blonde, almost silver, hair flowed from her shoulders and danced behind her, along with a trailing blue scarf. Her light brown coat looked too thin for a night like this, and in heels no less! A woman? Young, by the looks of it, and dressed up. What was she doing out on a night like this? The man sniffs and shivers, tucking his own woolen scarf into his coat before he starts walking after her.

She moves fast, he thinks as he crosses the street. He looks up to see she has turned around completely, her hands in her pockets as she glared down at him. At least she noticed him, but why does she look so angry?

As he walks up, she asks, “Excuse me, do you need something?”

“What are you doing out this late at night?” In his line of work, a person, especially a woman, walking alone late at night was an easy meal for anything. Or sometimes, they turned out to be the beast itself.

The woman replies, “I’m heading home now. Is there anything else?”

“I see.” No way she was a beast; it would either be trying to lure him somewhere, or already trying to make a meal out of him.

He continues, “Did you… want an escort home?” He thought he saw her give a sigh. Was she thinking about it? What was there to think about?

Wait a minute; a well-dressed woman walking alone in the middle of the night, and someone like him who hunts and kills beasts was quietly following her, asking her what she’s doing, and if he can take her home? If he was a passerby seeing this he’d be worried about the woman possibly being followed by a creepy man. On top of that, she didn’t respond immediately; she was probably thinking the exact same thing. He knew it, this ended up being a bad idea.

He feels himself burning as he quickly finishes, “Just make sure to stay on the main streets and get home safely. Sorry to bother you,” and he tips his cap down to try to hide his face.

“Oh no!  Not at all!” she says. A silence starts to set in, the snow still flitting down, and the man looks off to the side to retreat into an alleyway. He turned the corner and leaned against the wall as he brought a hand to his chest and took a deep breath.

It was over. Even though ‘building rapport’ and ‘maintaining public relations’ was encouraged, it never came easily to him. On top of that, a Hunter’s reputation wasn’t a glamorous one. He could only hope she got home safe.

The man looks up to the grey sky and exhales to have his white breath dance among the snowflakes. Even on a night like this, the Hunt will not rest.