The organization was a special subsection of the Demacian underground network of spies, a legion of elite special troops to obtain Intel and knowledge of the enemies of the empire. The night hunters were one particularly branch of the order, created to combat the dangerous creatures which lurk in the dark corners of the world, tasked to eradicate these monsters. While the world slept, it was them who walked the earth, a playground for the hunters and the hunted.
Vayne was among them, her skills and prowess in combat allowed her to be recruited from the Demacian army and into the shadow. Her fearsome hatred for such creatures fueled her to excel in the order, quickly climbing the ranks to be among the top rated huntress they had ever seen. There was never a mission she failed, always returning back victorious and triumphant from battle. No celebration was ever upheld for her return, no applause. She worked gracefully in the concavities of the night, no one except the council of ten ever seeing her.
Today was another ordinary day for her, starting with an evening meal she cooked herself while catching up on a book she longed to read for a while now. Afterwards, she made haste to the library, diving straight to the mystery section in the very far back as she pulled a select book combination, watching as the book shelves moved, revealing a passage for her to enter. It was a normal day for her, collecting her next assignment before heading out.
The task had lead her all the way into the mountainside, taking a few days to make it by horse. The townspeople have reported that of a disturbance deep within the forest, claiming kids had gone missing for days. When they reappeared, they were drenched in blood, saying they ran into a monster, but no cuts or wounds were visibly shown on their bodies.
Vayne followed the path the townsfolk had mentioned, brushing through sticks and bushes until she stopped right outside of a large obsidian temple. There had been no paths leading up to this spot, the building itself seemingly looking to be empty and abandoned. Many of the windows were shattering, the paint rusting and fading away. Looking at the door, it was broken and falling apart, cobwebs covering the way inside.
What bothered her the most was the peculiar smell of blood, fresh and new, with a hint of what she believed to be meat. Someone was surely inside she knew, probably a monster who had dragged its prey inside to dine upon. There was no doubt she was no longer alone, but how many were inside, she did not know the answer to.
Sneaking straight through the entrance would surely alert them no her presence, noticing the frail wooden floor which would squeak under the smallest of pressure. Instead, she looked towards another way inside, clinging to the side as she found a nice, large square hole where a window was supposed to be. She jumped in, being in what appeared to be a living room.
Vayne occupied herself behind a black woolen couch and peaked about. A fire place settled itself upon the wall with the fire still blaring about. On the wall hung a few old and faded paintings, which she believed depicted ancient kingdoms and told a romance between a princess and a peasant. Next to the walls were also several bookcases filled with a wide variety of books. Perhaps she was in the study, or maybe this cozy room was to lead weary travelers into a false sense of security?
The huntress crossed the room to head into an open hallway and wondered about, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. The fire had already told her that someone was home, signaling that it wasn't a mere werewolf or a beast without brains, otherwise it couldn't have lit the fire. Fifteen minutes had already breezed by and yet still not a single person in sight. She also hadn't even scratched the surface of this enormous temple too. You'd expect some signs of life by now. At least let the creature attack in some form, she grew tiresome of this game of cat and mouse.
She nudged open the door before her and found herself in the dining room. The metallic blood scent she had smelled earlier poured through her nostrils now. The table was practically covered in it, the white sheet on top being drenched by it. On top of the table was a deer which was cut open, blood gushing out of it. The sight of it disgusted her, relishing in the fact someone could possibly find that enticing. Again, more signs of life, and not enough life present.
"Really now, you should just knock. It's not often I get visitors you know. I would have prepared a proper meal had I known someone was coming," a male's voice said behind her.
Vayne tumbled forward, grabbed her crossbow, and turned around, aiming it at the creature. On a mere premise he appeared to look like a normal human being. He had long, glossy white hair and wore a noble scarlet outfit. The man definitely held the aura of a noble man that was for sure. His dark, crimson eyes she noticed were almost enchanting, and yet she felt something dark lurking within, something ominous luring her in.
"How long have you been behind me? What are you?" Vayne questioned, her crossbow never leaving his body.
"Now now… first let's start with names. My name is Vladimir, what is yours Madame?" the man said.
"Do you not get the position you're in, or do you enjoy getting shot at?" the huntress retorted.
"Is this what you humans call a kink? Does this mean you're kinky?" Vladimir quickly got excited, hurriedly jotting something down in a notebook he had by his side, "and if you really want to know, I knew you were here since you began to enter the forest and was behind you the entirety of the time since the moment you entered through the window to the study."
Vayne paused for a moment, staring at him baffled that something so fowl had called her kinky. If he wasn't a monster, then she would have him hanged as a pervert instead. Still, she couldn't believe the notion that he was behind her this entire time, her senses were far too refined and would have noticed his presence by now if it was true. With modern technology, there was a chance he was spying on her through a camera, but she hadn't seen any wires or any sign of electricity nearby.
"Now, what is your name?" Vladimir said.
"None of your business," Vayne muttered, eyes still locked upon him.
"Nice to meet you none of your business. I am quite famished, so I am going to go eat, please make yourself at home my dear," he said before strolling straight over to a chair at the far end of the table.
The night hunter merely watched as he moved by. Sadly, she lacked any sufficient evidence to prove his guilt or innocence. For now she'll have to play along until he unveils any sense of bloodlust. Merely taking his head would be much easier; however, if he truly was guilt-free, the higher ups would surely chew her out. She made her way over to sit at a chair at the far end of the long, narrow table away from this 'Vladimir'.
"So, tell me about yourself 'none of your business'. I'll love to know more about my infiltrator," he said, eyes genuinely curious, "what about your interests you were so eager to perform earlier? Is this what the humans call bdsm? Oh, I'm so excited, do tell me."
She was quickly on the edge, ready to send a bullet straight through his skull, but she calmed herself down, not acting out of anger and rashness, "listen here pervert, shut up and go choke on your food for me."
"Haha… go ahead, be negative, you'll be just my type," Vladimir laughed.
"Did you just… hit on me?" she raised a brow, "I'm starting to enjoy the notion of being a sadist and showing you what hardcore bdsm is if you don't shut up."
"Wait wait, no no, it was a blood joke. Get it?... you know… negative… blood type? And er…" Vladimir trailed off. He quickly got out a scarlet notebook he had earlier, titled, "How to be a normal person, the Do's and Dont's" and jotted something down.
"Let's cut to the chase shall we? Are you a vampire or not?" Vayne said. She could care less at this point. She'll much rather just camp out and wait for his move. He had to leave eventually to feast anyways if he were a creature of the night.
The question seemed to hurt the man in some way. "Is it the clothes? The hair maybe? Too gothic maybe?" he murmured, "everyone always presumes I'm a vampire. I was hoping I looked more, I don't know, a human? People always think I want to suck their blood nowadays."
Vayne let loose a silver arrow and let it gracefully soar half a centimeter past his cheek. However, the man sat unfazed.
"Well, I'm not exactly human if that is what you are asking," Vladimir said.
She got up from her seat, hearing plenty enough to decipher this man was truly her target. Without a moment's hesitation she quickly brought out her crossbow, letting a bolt fly straight at her target, merely testing his capabilities. Such an attack was easy and predictable to dodge, but to her surprise he let it hit up straight in his shoulders, watching as he was sent flying out of his chair and onto the ground.
The man slowly got up, using the table to aid him as he picked himself off the ground. He grabbed ahold of the arrow and yanked it out of his body, wincing from the pain. Once again, he grabbed the notebook, and jotted something down before returning her gaze.
"Alright, so it was pretty painful, and it was not an enjoyable experience," he concluded, "therefore, I learned I am not a masochist. I think, I can't help but feel excited. I don't know if this, uh, kink as you humans call it, is thrilling or just having company for once makes me feel so alive."
This entire situation became embarrassing, making her feel awkward and left uncomfortable. This was supposed to be a fight to the death, not helping some creep she just met discover his kinky side. She was prepared to launch a real assault on him, when he disappeared from his spot, standing in front of her with pure joy gleaming from his eyes.
"Let's go on a date," Vladimir exclaimed, beaming.
"A… what?" Vayne stuttered, her face becoming bright red. Surely this was a ploy from the enemy, his best attempt to deceive her into a false sense of security before feasting on her carcass.
The man stood in silence for a moment, scratching his head and crossed his arms, "isn't that what you humans call it, you know, dating, getting to know one another and all that?"
This mission was by far the most embarrassing thing she had ever encountered, wanting it to end already. The man had left her uncomfortable and confused, but it only fueled her desire to kill the beats. She remained calm and collected, regaining focus as she prepared to attack, but the sudden intrusion of a black and grew stripped bird had her stop dead in her tracks. It was a special messenger bird from the organization, one that shouldn't have known her location.
It landed on her shoulder, dropping a piece of tightly tied parchment into her hands, flying away as its mission was done. She quickly eyed her foe, not sensing any bloodlust from him yet, so she unwrapped the letter and began reading.
"Dear Vayne,
There is an update to the mission at hand. The organization is short on funds as most of the Demancian gold is currently being used to aid the war efforts. We made an error in your original mission documents when we said to kill the man, he is a large donor of money currently. We want you to get on his good side, seduce him if you must, so he will be happy and keep funding our cause.
Thanks,
The council."
"What did it say," Vladimir inquired.
"Nothing," Vayne muttered, taking a long time to calm herself down before turning around, smiling as she said, "so, about that date?"
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the story so far, please tell me what you think about it and tell me if there is anything I can do to improve! Thanks.