Silver, Black, and Gold

by B1ue Ange1s

When one needs a glimpse of power look no further than Dragon Slayer Ornstein. He has seen wars with dragons, demons, and darkness. But what happens when all that time fighting leads to nothing. The fire still fades no matter how bravely he and his men may fight. But when he chooses to leave, opportunity will rise what would he find, fellow knights? A strange new world? Love?

2. Companions

I do not own either Dark Souls or Claymore

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Yoma or Yoki charged Claymore speech"

'Yoma or Yoki charger Claymore thought'

Chapter 2: Companions

It had been a few days since Ornstein's initial appearance into the land, and if he was being honest, this land was pathetic. Creatures such as dragons, or the monsters of the Abyss only existed in stories and while the Dragon Slayer was somewhat relived it also made him sigh a bit whenever he thought about it.

Whether he liked it or not he was a fighter, a warrior and he had been since his soul first came to be. After all the god of war taught him no less. And there was no changing that. There was however a few things that kept the knight entertained; first on that list was his goal to find the four Black Knights that had been under his command when they were all pulled into this place.

And while he had no doubt they could handle themselves against the creatures known as Yoma. He knew that Reden and Meinen would somehow find trouble eventually even in their short few months together, those two in particular had a habit of stumbling into problems much larger than themselves.

There was somewhat of a phantom headache, when Ornstein remembered walking through the catacombs after Reden had killed two members of the Gravelord covenant.

Explaining that to Nito was an ordeal that Ornstein hopes to never go through again.

He knew that he had to find them fast and then try to find a way back to Lordran, before any of them either are found dead, or they give the ones ruling this land a reason for wanting them dead.

Either way Ornstein would have to keep his ear to the ground, gods this was going to be difficult, he was a captain, not a spy. This was always more Ciaran's specialty. But if he wanted to get back his home then he would have to adapt.

Then there was the second thing that kept the Dragon Slayer's mind occupied. During the last few days he had been thinking of questions concerning these warriors known as Claymores and asked them to any passing townsfolk that he could, and even then many had chosen not to speak of them. But even with more than a few less than helpful humans Ornstein had been able to get a grasp as to what he should look out for.

Apparently they got the name since claymores are the only weapons these silver haired and eyed warriors use. And another thing that interested him, all Claymores were women, why? That was something he'd have to ask one in person if he ever got the chance.

But there was one thing that brought a frown onto his face when he thought about it; these people hated them, why though Ornstein would never truly understand. They were seen in no better light than the Yoma they slew. It was honestly moronic to chastise those who protect you. Sure some of the lesser gods in Anor Londo resented him since he possessed a soul greater and more powerful than theirs will ever be, but they knew damn well that not only would they be facing the captain of the entire army, but also Gwyn, and the other three knights.

So they wisely kept their resentment to themselves, although Ornstein knew that, that wasn't the only reason they grew to dislike him. But still why hate the one that protects you, it will only cause them to grow irritated and eventually hate you as much as you hate them. But fools will be fools, not like Ornstein cared in the slightest, the world was better off without some fools in it.

But back to the Claymores they weren't too hard to spot considering they had their famous swords on them at all times, all of them had pale colored hair whether it be brown, blonde, or silver, and their piercing silver eyes. And it just so happened that the town known as Theo only a few miles from here was expecting a Claymore to take care of their own Yoma problem.

He quickly then made it the town and began to wait.

So here Ornstein sat in a tavern with his armor and spear stored away in his bottomless box while a greatsword he bought was displayed proudly on his back. True that this weapon was more akin to Artorias, but that didn't mean he was a novice when it came to using it in combat, he could use nearly every weapon forged by man or giant it just so happened that spears will forever be his specialty. Although he would admit that seeing their eyes bulge out of their heads was quite humorous, as they watched him casually swing a sword like that around with ease.

It also gave him something to reach for if the Yoma in the room tried anything.

And that was both the reason it was still visible and related to the last thing that has kept him occupied over the last few days, Yoma were somewhat fun to hunt. Although he supposed it was cutting into the work of Claymores he was sure a few monsters going missing isn't something that would be noticed.

He had already killed about three of them, the first being on that road with the hunters, the second being on his way to another town after stopping for supplies and a rest at the first town, and the third was only yesterday, after the beast thought to try and murder him in his sleep.

You don't work with someone like Ciaran without learning to keep one open as you slept.

Ornstein knew that there were six of them in the village; he could feel them as easily as he could feel the ground beneath his feet. And it made him want to laugh at the fact that he spoke to one of these "disguised" Yoma no more than an hour ago. 'Fools will be fools though, and I'm not about to reveal myself to them. I'll wait I'm not ruining my chance to finally get some answers.'

So for the next day Ornstein continued to wait while he kept up a façade of being only a simple traveler by staying at the town inn, even though their beds could hardly hold him. But it was not all bad; it had earned him a laugh when the innkeeper's daughter saw him shirtless and promptly left the room with her face showing a brighter red than both his hair and eyes.

There was however one moment in which Ornstein nearly broke character and resisted the urge to backhand one of the more rowdy patrons of a tavern through a wall. The man thought of himself as a warrior and had the gall to try and challenge him, and even though he could clearly tell that the other, smaller, and most importantly mortal man was very drunk at this point, to do nothing would be a stain on his honor.

So instead of knocking him through the wall or cutting the man in half, Ornstein merely grabbed him by the shirt and threw him out the door, which he thought was the correct thing to do.

But from the looks everyone else was giving him, he assumed he might've used a bit too much strength.

However none of that mattered, because as soon as the Claymore came he would be able to leave and hopefully not reveal too much. He planned to somewhat follow her as she was guaranteed to head to another town eventually, but during her trip there he hoped she would have some information or really heard any rumors about any knights that matched the description of the four black knights. And while he knew it was a long shot to assume she had any real information Ornstein was trying to be optimistic.

The Next Day

In the morning Ornstein found himself in the market square of the town near the entrance, the reason being he could feel the presence of an insanely large soul approaching the town, this must be the Claymore they sent for, strange though he wasn't expecting them to send a warrior this powerful for six…no seven Yoma in this town.

Perhaps she simply was the closest to the town that seemed to be the most logical thing that came to mind.

Feeling her getting closer then seeing where exactly all the Yoma were in the town Ornstein begins to move away from the entrance and more towards the center of the market and waited for the show. And he didn't have to wait long.

The moment the Claymore entered the town it was if all noise stopped, no one dared to even breath and in that brief moment Ornstein started to analyze her from head to toe.

She was young looking and roughly about 5'10 (180 cm) maybe a bit taller, her hair was like the people said all Claymore hair was like pale and hers was no different with it being a unique shade of blonde, but she had hers long, wavy, and somewhat loosely hanging from her shoulders, she also had it split down the middle, which only drew more attention to her somewhat mischievous silver eyes. Ornstein could see that she was very aware that these simple Yoma would be no match for her.

Great that only means, things were going to be boring then. He hoped that she would at least have some kind of information about his knights otherwise this was going to be a day of disappointments.

But moving on to her attire Ornstein looks it over and can see that it was somewhat lacking in the armor department, as it was only a light grey two-piece suit, with cloth around her neck and what he assumed was some kind of symbol near her throat. Hell the only armor he could see was her steel plated shin-high boots, her wrist guards, pauldrons and some around the waist somewhat like a skirt. And to top it all off a waist length cape was slightly blowing in the wind giving her more of a dramatic look.

Laughing a bit Ornstein knew she had to either be incredible at dodging attacks, or perhaps she could heal herself like most knights do with miracles.

Ornstein knew what was about to happen the second she locked eyes with the closest disguised Yoma and like he predicted in his head the beast was dead in one swing of her sword. Easily cleaved nearly in two by the blade. She then continued her small warpath finding three more Yoma hidden among the crowd each one taken care of in similar fashion like the first, all of them killed in a single blow.

Then it became a bit more interesting from there as two of the remaining three Yoma shed their disguises and went after her, "An older and wiser Yoma would've shed their disguise the moment they saw me." She says with somewhat of an arrogant, yet experienced tone.

'So she's fought older and wiser Yoma, interesting maybe she's quite as young as she looks.' Ornstein couldn't help but think of all the knights in Anor Londo that looked no older than thirty, but in reality were closer to three hundred, it was a comparison he was sure might actually be closer to reality than he thought.

He see her kill both of the Yoma that attacked her and sighs seeing that it was already over, hell the only one that remained felt like the weakest of them all and was using a girl as a shield no less.

'Does he not realize that his head is still very much exposed?' A small shower of purple blood answers the question for him.

Looking back at the others who had now transformed back into their original forms it made the captain of Anor Londo nod his head almost in admiration. She had killed them all, each with one fast and powerful slash which either decapitated, cut them in two, or in one's case split only his head in two. It was actually very good that he saw one this powerful in action; he saw that her form was astounding, no movements wasted, and always-in total control of the fight.

A remarkable fighter in his own opinion, which if one were to ask anyone in Anor Londo would tell you that, that alone meant the warrior was dangerous.

Later that night

Afterwards when most of the people stopped screaming and panicking, they moved the bodies and mostly everyone moved to their own homes for the night, all except Ornstein who was practicing in one of the empty fields a mile outside of town.

He knew that by now the Claymore was most likely asleep seeing as she had walked to Theo from gods know how far away, then the moment she arrived killed seven Yoma in the time frame of about a minute at most two.

And he highly doubted that she would show any interest in the town outside of the job, however that didn't mean he was going to let her out of his sensory range just yet, he could still feel the presence of her soul, but as of right now he wasn't concentrating meaning he could only tell the general direction of her for a certain amount of distance.

He stood in the field wearing only cloth trousers, and regular working boots and not really caring about the fact that he was training shirtless in the rain.

After all it wasn't as if the lightning would kill him.

He slowed his breathing down and picked up his famous spear from the ground next to him before going over his forms. He started with the simple thrusts mixed in with a few slashes on nothing but air, but gradually picked up speed until he was practically dodging raindrops. His spear then began to glow a faint yellow before lightning suddenly bust into life on the blade and traveled up his arm until it rested in his left palm.

He then turns and takes aim at one of the thicker tress and unleashes a lightning spear, with a thunderous boom the spear left his hand and struck the tree practically turning the dirt around the base into glass, and absolutely obliterating the trunk of the tree causing it to begin to fall rapidly towards him.

But instead of dodging Ornstein smirks and faster than the eye could see swung his spear cleaving the tree in half causing it to fall on either side of him, with a resounding boom.

From there Ornstein takes a stance before charging at another tree only to stop no more than ten feet from it and unleash lightning from the tip of his spear, he watches with unmoving posture as the bolt goes through multiple tress much like a sharp blade through rotting flesh. Looking from the smoldering ruins that used to be trees he disappears in a burst of speed and summons another bolt of lightning before slamming it down no more than a foot in front of him. In an instant all life within a near thirty foot radius was evaporated, the dirt now glass, the grass now ash, and any water touching the ground and all the water around him still mid air was instantly evaporated leaving him in a small bubble of air for a moment. Before the constant rainfall filled it and once again left him completely soaked.

Looking up from his work Ornstein closes his eyes and looks up into the rain enjoying it for a few seconds as it cooled him.

He then takes a deep breath and begins to slow his heart, a trick he learned from talking to a traveler from the eastern continent before finding Sebastian.

And as he stood there enjoying the sounds of the rain around him, something alerts the captain to a disturbance the tell tale sounds of raindrops hitting metal came to his ears.

Snapping his eyes open in shock he turns to the source and his eyes widen seeing the familiar silver eyes of the Claymore he had seen that morning. How did she get that close without him sensing her?

It was dark so he wasn't sure if she had seen his face yet, but soon a flash of natural lightning illuminated her entirely, she stood their no more than forty yards from where a tree once stood, her hair damp from the rain, a faint smile on her lips, and her silver eyes full of curiosity as she looked directly into his own fiery red.

That moment of light felt like an eternity to Ornstein, he was able to see that her posture was entirely relaxed unlike this morning where she was prepared to strike the moment she arrived, her sword was still in its holster, and he could see it that she too was studying him. But what she thought of what she saw he did not know.

The moment the light vanished Ornstein made his move to leave the field, allowing himself to tap into his godly amount of power he vanishes in a burst of speed and reappears almost a hundred yards away from where he originally stood. Only to feel the presence of the Claymore nipping at his heels, so she can keep up with him, for now? 'Great.' He thought sarcastically.

He then goes a different direction as uses his power multiple times to send him on multiple jumps at once trying to make some distance. Yet he felt her once again keeping up, he couldn't help but laugh at this point only a few silver knights were able to keep up with him when he was actually trying to move at some insane speeds. Of course the black knights and the other Knights of Gwyn were able to move this fast even the lumbering Gough, who looked remarkably slow was able to really move when he had to.

As this goes on though he is torn between smirking or frowning as the woman is able to still keep up with him, but then again he was barely using any of his true power, and yet deep down he knew, so was she.

After a few attempts to escape he laughs a bit seeing how persistent she is, "If you wanted to follow me you could've waited till morning!" He shouts to her while slightly increasing his speed every time he moves.

And of course so does she, matching him movement for movement always just right behind him, "Seeing as you're not going to talk allow me. I've got a few questions, and I'm confident that you'll be able to answer." He says suddenly appearing behind her instead of away from her.

She turns around suddenly and looks up to him, their eyes meet for a moment, "Humor me if you will." Ornstein says raising his hands to show he meant no harm. He sees the Claymore frown a bit, most likely from him getting behind her, but it soon turns into that smile he saw when she first appeared.

"Alright then, I'll humor you." She says while still tensed and prepared to move if he did. Ornstein nods his head puts his spear on his back. "As fun as it would be to continue this little game of chase, I believe it would be better if we were to have this conversation back in town." He says gesturing to the rain that was still falling heavily around them.

The Claymore nods, "I suppose it would be." She says as they both make their way back into town.

When they arrive Ornstein allows her to lead him to her room, there she turns away from him and removes her armor before she plants her sword into the ground and leans against it, not caring in the slightest that her hair and clothes were soaked.

Ornstein on the other hand simply puts on a pair of dry trousers and undergarments facing away from her. Though if he were honest he really did not at all care that she could have see him naked. He was sure that Ciaran had seen both him and Artorias naked plenty of times, though he wasn't sure as to how often she saw them since it was difficult to know if she was there or not. She was always somewhat mischievous when it came to her lover. He was just unfortunate enough to be caught up in it sometimes. Now that he thought about it she was actually quite erotic when it came to Artorias, he had been kicked out of his own room once after a particularly brutal spar with the Wolf Knight. He had those sheets burned.

So seeing as the night was most likely going to pass at a snail's pace he reaches into his bottomless box and removes a small bottle of wine. He had grown to love the drink during his celebrations with the other knights, especially Havel.

Sitting down and leaning against the wall opposite to her, he sees the Claymore is curious as to what he just did, but is holding herself back from asking. "It's called a bottomless box." He says suddenly causing her to raise a brow at him answering her unasked question.

"I doubt it's actually bottomless." She says with a mocking tone to her voice. However her attitude did a complete turn around when he pulls out the greatsword he bought out of nowhere and made his spear disappear in it's place.

"Well to be completely honest the bottomless box is really, not a box at all but somewhat of a complex realistic illusion that all warriors of Lordran posses in their bodies." He says offhandedly at the comment while thinking as to how it actually worked.

Was it some sort of innate magic that all creatures were able to access? Was it simply there for convenience sake? Or did an all-powerful creator "program" it into existence? Truly he didn't know nor care to know as it was there when he first entered combat and it is still with him now, and it was just very convenient.

But he stopped his inner thoughts when he saw that the Claymore was now completely lost.

"Never mind then, so allow me to ask you this, why were you out there watching me?" He asks taking a sip of wine from the bottle.

She stares at him a bit before answering, "I felt some kind of power, I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was something I just couldn't ignore so I followed it and…well it led me to you. Which is why I'm wondering as to exactly what you did, and what power you truly posses. You're no Yoma I would have known the moment I stepped foot into this village, but you're not human either. What are you?" She asks bluntly at the end.

Ornstein smirks at bit, "I'm not a what my lady, I'm a whom. And as to who I am, my name is Ornstein. And who might I ask are you?" He asks somewhat dodging the topic of miracles and his soul.

The smile that he saw in the field and when she first entered the city was once again visible on her face, "Alright then Ornstein, if you really want to know that bad my name is Teresa of the Faint Smile." She says confidently, "And you tried to avoid the question I asked earlier, what sort of power was that you used?"

Ornstein smirked once again while sipping the wine again, "Would you believe me if I told you I'm just very fast." She shakes her head; "Ok then I draw power from my soul."

This makes the Teresa glare a bit thinking it was another joke. Only to see Ornstein raise his hand and before a small bright white flame appeared in his hand, "This is a very, very small portion of my soul, this is where my power comes from." He says closing his hand.

Teresa was in awe somewhat at seeing someone who just brought their soul out of their own body. It was amazing to look at, even though she only got a glimpse of it. She felt the wave of warmth it created and knew he wasn't lying when he said that it was a portion of his soul. How could she when he so easily presented proof?

"Well then I guess you were telling the truth."

"Now then Teresa, may I ask as to what exactly a Claymore is? I'm new to this land and call me curious, but after hearing about warriors like you I couldn't help but take notice."

Teresa looking him over a bit decides that there was no point in dodging this, "First of all we are not called Claymores that is simply the name the people of this land gave us. As for what we really are, well the best way to explain it is like this, in order to fight monsters, sometimes you must become one."

Ornstein knew what she meant when she said that, "So you're a Yoma yourself?" She shakes her head, "No, I'm not a Yoma, but I'm not a human either. I'm a mix between the two, warriors like myself were created in order to fight the Yoma epidemic by The Organization." Hearing the name Ornstein couldn't help but raise a brow, the name itself was very ominous and if that wasn't bad enough just hearing gave Ornstein aches.

'That name is going to cause a lot of pain for me in the future, I can already tell.' But ignoring this feeling he continues to simply sip his wine in peace as Teresa looked as if she was about to fall asleep.

"Teresa before you fall asleep may I ask one more question?" She opens her eyes and nods. "You wouldn't have happened to hear rumors of knights wearing black horned armor would you? They aren't easy to forget they are about around my height, they have some rather interesting looking weapons, and unmistakable helms each one looks like a pair of horns atop their heads." Teresa shakes her head at hearing the description truly she didn't care for rumor unless a Yoma or another warrior was involved.

"No I can't say I have heard of knights like those, in this land knights are a very rare thing, and if there were any around your height with black horned armor like you described, I'm sure they'd be guarding nobles, or the bishops by now."

Ornstein knew that she might've not heard anything so he couldn't be too disappointed, but still there he was still at square one in his search for his fellow knights.

"I see then, thank you." He then closes his eyes only for Teresa to wake him exactly like he did to her moments ago, "It was you that caused the lightning during the storm wasn't it?"

He looks to her trying to hide another smirk, "I saw that there was hardly any distance between the flashes of light, and I don't think I've ever seen lightning come from anywhere, but the clouds." She says knowing he couldn't claim she was wrong.

"Alright then, assume that I'm able to use lightning, I'll neither confirm nor deny that." He says before placing the cork back into his wine bottle and storing it away.

They then both fell asleep, each leaning against the walls opposite to each other.

Morning

When the sun rose Teresa awoke to see that Ornstein was gone. She couldn't say that she was completely surprised at this, but still it was unfortunate to loose such an interesting character. But none the less she was sure her handler will most likely be waiting with another assignment, so she put her armor back into place and made sure her sword was secure before going for the door.

Only for a golden armored figure to step through the door and stare her in the eyes, eyes she quickly realized were a fiery red. Taking a step back Teresa was able to look over the armor that Ornstein wore, and it truly was unlike any she had ever seen. It was beautiful to look at the craftsmanship was astounding, every detail was made with only Ornstein in mind as every part of the armor from its golden gauntlets, matching leggings the part of the armor that somewhat layered over his legs, the spiked ridges that appeared all around the shoulders and lining the cloth at his waist. Looking a bit closer she could see a few scratches and what looked like scorch marks at his sides and the five jewels that went across his chest just below the collarbone. Overall it was an intimidating set.

But it didn't stop there, as under his arm was the helm to complete the look. With the same ceremonious look to it as the rest of the armor with the bright blood red plume attached to the top of the helm the fearsome growling lion's head and it's somewhat sleek looking edges. All in all the armor was built for maneuverability, yet offered a good deal of defense if the enemy were to get lucky.

Looking to the face of the man underneath the armor Teresa was able to see two huge scars on his face that she wasn't able to see last due to dim lighting. The first going from his neck along his entire jaw line to his bottom lip, and the second beginning at his forehead traveling down his face, over his right eye and stopping just short of his jaw.

"Well, seeing as you know that I'm not an ordinary traveler, perhaps you'll let me go with you to the next town. I promise not to bother you." He says before making his helm disappear.

Sighing Teresa only nodded and motioned her head for both of them to walk outside. There they were met with the people of the town who looked shocked to see Ornstein both leaving in an armor set they were absolutely sure he never arrived in and leaving with the Claymore who had massacred seven Yoma the day before.

"Here we managed to collect the payment." One man says trying to give the large bag of money to Teresa only for her to shake her head. "Don't give the money to me, after I leave a man in black will arrive to collect, give it to him." She tells him, to which he nodded nervously.

Ornstein shrugged his shoulders a bit at hearing this; he was assuming that the warrior would be compensated for their efforts against the Yoma, or at least taken care.

They then turn to leave only for something to grab onto Teresa's cape.

Looking down at the girl Ornstein recognizes her; it's the little girl from yesterday, the same one that the last Yoma held as a hostage.

Seeing that she was still holding onto her cape Teresa gains a looks of annoyance before grabbing her cape and throwing the young girl to the ground by ripping it out of her grip. "Who is this girl? She belonged to the final Yoma I destroyed didn't she? Trying to exact revenge for your father's death?" She asks somewhat mockingly, which unknown to her made Ornstein glare at her for her actions.

Looking to the one still holding the money he tries to explain, "Um, no actually I don't think she belongs to anyone here or even the Yoma you killed. But she was traveling with it." This causes Teresa to raise a brow at him in confusion.

"She…she hasn't spoken to anyone ever since she arrived, but I think she knew the one you killed was a Yoma and it was keeping her prisoner or hostage while traveling from village to village, until they ended up here."

It was here that both Ornstein and Teresa thought of something odd it was Ornstein who voiced it though, "If she hasn't spoken, then how do you know this?" He asks taking a step forward standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Teresa.

The man looks down the at the girl his face dawns somewhat of a sympathetic look, "Well we couldn't help but notice that she is covered to scars and bruises, probably from her travels with the Yoma."

It was at this point Teresa lets out an irritated sigh, "So she was the Yoma's plaything, so you must think I'm some kind of savior, don't you? Don't over think it I didn't kill the Yoma to save you, I did it because it is my job, nothing more."

However the little girl ignored everything Teresa had said and latched onto her leg, this got an honest chuckle from Ornstein, "It looks as if she's going to be a persistent one."

Hearing him laugh Teresa looks at him with a glare before kicking the girl off of her, and not gently either.

Hearing the girl shout in pain Ornstein looks over to her and see that she was once again back on her feet, "Perhaps I wasn't completely clear, what I did yesterday does not make me your savior or your friend." She says harshly to the young girl.

Ornstein clenching his fist at seeing Teresa's actions was almost about to go over to her when the girl once again started to walk towards Teresa.

Then while not even looking Teresa makes a very clear threat, "Take one more step, and you'll regret it. Surly you're not both mute and deaf."

At this point the town's people were whispering to one another about what was about to happen to the girl and it honestly got on Ornstein's nerves a bit all of them questioning if she was a Yoma herself, if Teresa would kill her, or what they were to do with her.

Then time seemed to slow down as the girl tried to take another step, Teresa turned to kick her, and in the blink of an eye Ornstein was in front of the girl blocking Teresa's low aiming kick with his own knee.

"I think she's had enough. Leave the girl be." Everyone at this point slowly moved away from the two armored titans as Teresa eyes glared holes into Ornstein's own. They stayed like this for a moment Ornstein standing tall in front of the girl somewhat like a shield, while Teresa stood defiantly in front of him not a word was spoken and eventually Teresa only let out a sigh, "For someone who said they wouldn't be a bother, you're being quite troublesome Ornstein."

He smirks, "Well I am a knight, call it my code of chivalry kicking in. Now then I believe you've made your point to the girl, I'd prefer to simply leave, rather than cause a scene."

Teresa sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose turns and begins to walk away, "Just so you know, my job was only to destroy six Yoma, the seventh we'll call my parting gift to Theo." She says making her way out into the forest.

Turning to the little girl behind him Ornstein looks at her before giving her a soft smile he leans down on one knee and gives her an apple he stored in his bottomless box. She looks at him with a sort of blank stare before she took the apple in her hands.

Seeing that she took the item from him Ornstein stands up again at his full height and pats the girl on the head with his armored hand.

"Take care child." He said warmly to her before turning and following after Teresa. But not before giving her the gesture of quite resolve as a farewell.

Unknown to him said child's eyes never left his back, and they seemed a bit brighter and more full of life than a few moments ago.

Later that Night

Ornstein and Teresa were at this point both surrounding a fire that had been made some time ago yet it was deadly silent the entire time. He had caught up to her some time ago, yet neither of them had said anything to one another then and have yet to utter a single word to one another.

Reasons being Teresa was still a bit irritated that he would easily get in her way like that rather than just letting her take care of the girl on her own. She never had any intention of killing or actually harming the girl, she just wanted to make her stop seeing her as this savior figure she had imagined. Teresa knew she would only be disappointed.

And Ornstein was still bothered by the casual attitude Teresa had as she struck a child, one who had been most likely abused or tortured no less by a Yoma. As a knight seeing any innocence come to harm disturbed him greatly, but he had always held a soft spot for children around the capital when he was still in Lordran.

However the silence was beginning to bother Ornstein since he could feel the presence of more than a dozen smaller souls in the area, humans. That could only mean one thing, bandits, thieves, highwaymen whatever they called themselves they were all scum in his opinion.

'Preying on those you assume are weak, every time I think of it all I picture are those damned Dark Wraiths, to Izalith with them all.' He said in his head and just before he was going to go take care of them all, another smaller and very familiar presence made itself known to him.

Standing no more than ten yards away from the fire he and Teresa sat, stood the little girl from the village, and before he could react Teresa was behind her with her sword on the girls shoulder.

"I commend you for keeping up with us for as long as you have. But I can't have you following anymore. I told you before I didn't kill those Yoma to save, I did it only because it is my job."

Hearing this Ornstein gets ready for the bandits to attack, he could feel some of them closing in from around the forest. He scans the area and can see how many are in the trees and how many were simply waiting out of sight to attack. He tightens the grip on his spear without any suspicion.

"I tolerated you in the village, but you've begun to annoy me. So if you want, I will help you join your Yoma." It was here that both Ornstein and Teresa, alerting them as to what was about to happen, heard a broken branch. Time seemed to stop for a moment as one bandit fell out of the trees with a war cry causing Teresa to roll away, all the while another two closed in on her, one behind her and the other behind the girl.

Shifting her weight she was able to easily swing her sword and almost cleave the man's head in two, but strangely stopped herself, "Humans?!" She says understanding why she wasn't able to sense them.

Still it didn't stop her from slicing one's hand off as he reached for the girl. He screams in pain clutching his wound, while Teresa moves the girl behind her. "Don't you dare touch her." She commands with a deadly tone of voice.

At the same time Ornstein the moment the first bandit dropped from the trees caught an arrow that was aimed for his neck. Looking to his left he sees the shocked face of the bandit who tried to kill him.

Removing his spear he vanishes and not a moment later that bandit found the spear completely run through him all the way to the cross shaped guard. He chokes on his own blood for a bit before he dies, but Ornstein made sure that he wouldn't die alone.

Two others ran at him swords drawn, Ornstein actually looking insulted by the sloppy attack the first one throws at him he catches the blade with his own hand.

From there he grabs the man by the throat and lifts him up before throwing him into a tree snapping his spine on impact. This leaves the third frozen in fear to simply shake as Ornstein crushes the blade in his bare hand, "Now what will you do, vermin." He says kicking him with enough force to completely destroy his chest cavity, and sends him flying off into the forest, already dead.

From there he turns and walks the small distance from where he fought back to camp, which was now completely surrounded by bandits. And at this point they were more stunned by the mere sight of Teresa than him. 'Did they not see me kill three of their own? Pitiful little things these bandits are.'

Discreetly looking over her shoulder Teresa saw that Ornstein was unharmed and had yet to be seen the bandits somehow.

Placing her sword in the ground she looks to them all, "Bandits. You'll find that I have nothing worth stealing. Now then I'd attend to that man's wound if I were you, he doesn't have much time." She says in an uninterested manner to them.

Suddenly a voice called out from the woods, "His death would create a real problem for you wouldn't it?" Everyone hearing it turns to see what Teresa and Ornstein assumed to be the leader walking out of the woods. "Imagine my surprise finding a Claymore so deep in my forest, and such an attractive one at that."

Hearing this his own men turn to him surprise, "Boss this is a silver-eyed witch we're dealing with, tread carefully." However the bandit leader gave no sign of worry, "I'm not concerned, this witch, will do no more harm. You'll see." He says with that same arrogant attitude that only served to piss off Ornstein even more, but a part of him wondered as to why Teresa wouldn't harm them, she did cut one's hand off.

"Claymores are forbidden from killing humans accidentally or otherwise. So don't think she is actually concerned for our friend, she's simply afraid of being punished for breaking their most important law. The punishment would be beheading by one of her fellow witches. Very little actually separates these mix breeds from the Yoma, they'll benefit if it appears as if they give a damn about human life. If they didn't what's to keep people from thinking they're on our side at all."

Hearing this the bandits closest to her gained a hungry look in their eyes as they looked at her, they made jokes about her situation and how she could not harm them. 'Fools, she can't kill you, but she can harm you.' Ornstein shakes his head at the fact that they missed an important loophole.

He had just about had enough of them mocking Teresa, she was a warrior, not a damned prostitute! "Wait, where'd the other one go? There was a man with her?" One asks out loud making the others look to her then the girl behind her realizing they missed one.

"Oh I'm sure he's been taken care of I know my forest like I do my own skin. I simply had Edger wait in the tree next to their camp and had him put an arrow in his neck, I'm guessing he's been searching him this whole time with the other men I sent with him. Perhaps I shouldn't have wasted by best archer on him and had him take out the witch instead."

At hearing this Ornstein could not help but laugh, and it was no small laugh like a chuckle, it was a loud, proud, and somewhat sinister. Emerging from the woods Ornstein still held his spear over his shoulder, still in his armor without the helm. "'Your' forest you call it, forgive me but that is by far the most arrogant thing I've heard in quite some time. To really think that a forest this big doesn't hide true monsters, you really are a complete fool, I know for damn sure that what you said is an insult to the Forest Hunters. And an insult like that is great enough for them to warrant your execution. And as for those pathetic things you called "your men" they were dealt with." He finishes showing his still bloody spear in the moonlight.

At this the leader grits his teeth at the sight while Teresa smirks seeing Ornstein take control of the whole situation. To be honest Teresa was somewhat glad he had killed a few of them, men like these she heard can almost be as bad as Yoma.

Seeing blood on his weapon one of the men closer to him yelled and charged him with his knife. Ornstein turns to him and casually avoids his attempt to stab him before slicing off one of his legs. The man lets out a horrible scream of pain as he hits the ground and flails a bit before he tries to desperately crawl away from the captain. From there the other bandits watch in horror as this golden armored beast of a man calmly goes over to him and stomps on his neck creating a sickening crunch beneath his boot.

"Now then, this is what is going to happen, I'm giving you one warning to leave us be. If you do not heed my warning I will kill each and every one of you. Do I make myself clear? I don't care if she cannot kill you, just know that I will do what I know she desperately wants to." He says in his commanding tone of voice making some of the weaker willed ones flinch at hearing it.

The leader of the bandits looks to him, the bloody spear, then to the dead man beneath his boot, "Let's go," he says all of them slowly back away from the group of three.

But as one left he turned around still holding his missing hand and snarled at Teresa, "You won't get away with this Claymore!" He says lowly, only for his eyes to go wide seeing the blade of a still bloody spear appear in his face.

"Watch your tongue vermin, insult or threaten my companion again, and I will remove the rest of you arm." He says threateningly to the man and watches as they move away from him as quickly as possible. Watching them leave he sighs before going back over to the fire and quickly snuffed it out.

He looks to Teresa notices that she had a faint smile on he face after seeing his display. She then looks him in the eyes and she nods as they both begin to walk away. But before they get too far, Teresa turns back around to address the still somewhat shocked girl, "You should go girl. Travel with someone human for once." She says coldly to her while walking away.

She then turns and walks beside Ornstein sighing as they both know the girl is still behind them, hearing him laugh a bit Teresa looks to him, "You're too hard on the girl, let her at least enjoy our company for some time. She at least deserves a bit of comfort after what she's been through." He says looking at her over his shoulder.

Teresa however sighs once again, "No, you're simply too soft on her, I meant what I said back there, I didn't kill the Yoma to save her, I killed it because it was my duty." She says a bit colder.

However Ornstein still smiles, "You say that, but give her time. Children have a way of worming their way into you heart, trust me I know from personal experience. And besides if you truly killed the Yoma for duty's sake, then why did you save her from that bandit?" He asks her honestly, to which she doesn't answer and walks a bit faster.

Meanwhile

On the other side of the continent stood a single knight, in his left hand was his Black Knight's shield and in his right was the Black Knight Glaive, this was the Steel-eyed Black Knight, Reden.

Before him stood a small town, it wasn't anything impressive like some of the other cities he'd heard about or seen, and the entire thing could fit inside some of the buildings back in Anor Londo, but he doubted anything he'd see in this place could hold a candle to the capital of Lordran.

He heard a few rumors about this place a few days ago and wanted to see if it was true or not, apparently the town tried to cheat a Claymore out of their full payment since one of the Yoma fled a few days before she arrived, they blamed her and said that she should track it down and kill it once and for all, but she told them it was already long gone.

They still didn't believe her, and tried to cut back on the price, people claimed the mayor was a former bandit, meaning he really didn't care for the people he ruled over in this tiny little village. But apparently this is what happens when someone tries to cheat the Claymores out of their money.

About two months after the incident of them not paying the mayor invited his whole bandit crew to live in the city in order to "protect the people," but some of those people weren't human.

And as time went on the whole village eventually became overrun by Yoma, and even when the mayor himself begged with almost triple the amount necessary to kill the Yoma in his town, no Claymore came to help.

And as so the town became deserted, most were apparently eaten by the Yoma, while many left as soon as they could leaving almost everything behind.

And now here he stood overlooking the town, truthfully most people he'd talked to told him to avoid this place, but it was the fastest way across the mountain range. And from what he heard some of the more populated cites would be on the other side, meaning a better chance to find either his brothers or his captain.

Closing his eyes he began to try and sense the Yoma down there, from what he could tell there were about six of them, most of them no more powerful than the giant rats of some of Lordran's dirtier places. But one of them felt a bit stronger, he'd say maybe a little bit weaker than a Dark Wraith, he'd always liked fighting those things.

True they were despicable to him and every other honor bound knight he knew. But he had to admit that they were no pushovers in combat.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't going in there just because it was the shortest path, he felt something that was off. Among the seven Yoma souls there was another soul, it was small yet it gave off a feeling of hidden potential. Perhaps it was a human warrior that the Yoma were saving for later, or something else entirely he really did not know. Nor did he really care he was simply curious.

And for a knight who had been called just things as curious and talkative, he was never a subtle fighter. Not that he cared as to what they thought, as long as they knew he could hold his own.

"Oh well, what the worse that could happen?" He says out loud making his way into town.

It was funny really he knew the instant he walked into the town that almost every Yoma there had there eyes on him. And he was honestly in somewhat of a hurry, there looked to be a storm coming soon, and he'd rather not be caught in the rain.

"I know you're there! Save us both some time and just come out already!" He shouts to the houses in front of him. It then becomes quiet, as the only sound there was for a small moment was only the wind.

Until a roar was heard behind him, so this one will be the first to die. Shifting his weight the knight brought his glaive around in a wide arc and ducked at the same time. In doing both at once he was rewarded with the sound of his blade slicing through flesh. Turning to see his opponent he sees a humanoid Yoma laying on the bleeding and snarling at him, missing his right leg.

"Well would you look at this, it seems as if I struck first blood, hopefully your friends put up more of a fight." He says darkly before thrusting his weapon through the head of the Yoma.

As it bleeds out he stands up and looks around, "Oh come on, is this the best you can do? I wanted to fight monsters, not cowards!" This gets exactly the reaction he wants as three more Yoma leap into the street to meet him all of them glaring at him with those glowing golden slit eyes.

"Well then, your friend is waiting in the after life, let's not keep him waiting long!" He shouts charging the three. To which they respond in turn and charge to meet him, one taking flight on its bat like wings and the other two running at him full sprint.

Going for the runner on his right Reden points his glaive forward and tries to pierce the monster's chest, only for it to try and catch the weapon before it could pierce its chest. "What will you do without your weapon, human?" It asks arrogantly thinking that Reden was now defenseless.

Only Reden smiles underneath his helm, he blocks the claws of the runner on his left before slamming the edge into its ribs earning a resounding pop to be heard from the Yoma's chest. "Who said that was my only weapon, by the way that's a very bad idea to hold a glaive like that." He casually before twisting the spear slicing open the monster's hands.

After it lets loose a roar of pain Reden is then forced to dodge attack from the one on his left as it as recovered from the brutal shot to ribs, and Reden can tell it is seriously struggling to even stand up straight. So focusing on the Yoma to his right Reden spins his glaive around and while the beast avoids getting its head taken off, its throat was cut wide open allowing its purple blood to flow like a fountain onto the streets.

'Why am I not healing!?' The beast thinks just before it blacks out from blood loss before silently dying on the street..

Meanwhile Reden could only smile, apparently Twinkling Titanite slows down a Yoma's healing factor, well at least it does for the weaker ones. But that can wait for later.

He looks between the one with broken ribs and the flying one that has yet to attack, making his choice at who to kill first he leaps onto the building to his left with astounding ease and performs a plunge attack on the shocked Yoma that was watching from the roof of the house.

"That's three down you ugly bastards! And I haven't even broken a sweat!" He yells to every Yoma around.

Immediately after shouting that Reden feels their power increase as the last two that were hiding reveal themselves with another being a flying Yoma, "You're going to pay for this you bastard!" The injured one of the streets yells as it and the other ground based Yoma leap onto the house as well.

Reden tensing his legs puts his shield on his back and two hands his glaive. Waiting for the right moment the knight waits until both are in range. He then performs a power full circle swing that sliced both Yoma open across the chest, but he didn't end at only one he continued with two more complete spins leaving three deep and rapidly bleeding wounds.

Seeing as though one was still in better health he finishes his attack with a brutal downward attack the splits one of the Yoma in two.

Turning as the flying ones were now coming to attack him he raises his shield to block the incoming claws one of one of the flying Yoma. But he notices that he is knocked off balance a bit and almost falls, however by correcting himself he is left open for a moment.

A moment that the second flying monster took advantage of, "Got you, arrogant prick!" It shouts before kicking him off the roof as it flew away.

As he lay on the cobblestone floor Reden snaps his eyes open, 'Four, I was able to go through four opponents. And then I get cocky, damn if the captain were here he'd tear into me for being this foolish!' He shouts to himself in his head.

He looks up to see the last two remaining Yoma in the in the streets, or really sky coming right at him again. He knew the other one of the roof was definitely dead by now, those wound he gave it were enough to bring a demon to their knees, a single Yoma wasn't too bad.

Looking dead on at the two incoming enemies Reden takes in a deep breath before he rushes to meet them. In the blink of an eye, he slams the tipped end of his shield into the first's head, cracking it completely in two. From there he grips his glaive with two hands and leaps into the air just above where the Yom was flying.

The beast didn't have even a moment to realize where the knight was before it was cut in two.

Landing on the ground Reden looks around and tries to find the last Yoma soul and the human that was left in the city. He then began walking when he found them on the other side of town.

While walking he noticed bodies in the streets, some of them still rotting. It was truly a sorry sight to see.

When he finally arrived to where he felt the final Yoma soul he was staring at the town hall. Or at least that's what he thought it was, while it might've been a respectable building at one point right now with both door smashed inward the knight could tell either bandits had tried to rob the mayor when things were starting to get bad, or Yoma broke in to get at the last survivors.

Either way he knew that this was probably where the town met its end. Tragic really.

Walking through the ruined door Reden sees the final Yoma holding a boy no older than twelve by the throat with one claw pressed against his temple.

"Stay right where you are knight!" It shouted upon seeing him. This gave Reden some time to look over the beast, and he could honestly say it was very different from the others he fought. It was shorter, but it had eight legs like a spider, and each one of them looked to tensed ready to pounce at any moment.

Its hands were long and thin with every single finger ending with a razor sharp claw at the end, moving past its limbs the Yoma's body mainly had height from its legs as its torso was short of somewhat thin and maneuverable. After that its head was somewhat human like yet the eyes were perfectly round, they never seemed to blink, and were able to look in two directions at once.

After getting a good look at it Reden could conclude that it was in fact one of the most hideous things he had seen in a long time. "To be honest I'm pretty sure that even your mother couldn't love that face." Reden says earning an annoyed snarl from the beast. "Enough! Put your weapon and shield down or else…" it then makes a point by slowly dragging its claw across the boy's face drawing blood. "…the boy leaves this town in pieces." At hearing this the boy lets loose a whimper in both fear and pain.

This makes Reden freeze in his movements, he was the second fastest besides Ornstein, but then again there was a huge gap in power between Ornstein and any of the other knights under his command. So he had to come up with a way to kill the monster without putting the boy in harms way.

Thinking quickly he does as the monster says and puts down his glaive and shield before taking a step back from them. The Yoma smiles, before tossing the boy aside and charges the knight with its fingers turning into what looked like lances.

Deciding that it was now or never Reden channels some of his power into a force miracle. As soon as the shockwave left Reden's hands the beast was stunned for a brief moment allowing him to roll forward in order to grab his glaive and ram it through the bottom of the beast's skull.

And grew a small satisfied smile seeing the blade emerge from the top of its head.

However that was not the most important thing on the knight's mind, quickly jerking the glaive out of the Yoma's head he stabs his weapon into the ground and goes over to the boy.

"Still alive. Thank the gods. Now to leave this damned place." He says putting his shield on his back, his glaive over his shield, and the boy in his arms.

Later that Night

Reden didn't know what to expect when the boy awoke, maybe shock, tears, fright he truly did not know. But it looked as if he would have to wait long.

Looking into the fire he had built then to the food that was being cooked above it Reden smiled thinking about his training days when he was still clad in silver rather than black. The many times him and his comrades would camp under the thousands of stars that shined above the night skies of Lordran, those were truly better times.

Hearing a shuffling the knight, now with out his helm, see the boy stir. As he slowly gets up the first thing he see is Reden still in his armor, and the first thing he does is lock his arms around the knight's neck and sob.

Reden at this point was frozen in awkwardness, he'd never had to take care of child before, and he absolutely didn't how to comfort one. But he tried his best with the boy and eventually he settled down and sat next him.

It was then that the knight got a good look at the young boy, his skin was somewhat tanned most likely from being exposed to the sun, but it could have been natural. Both his hair and eyes were a midnight black and at this point his eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Trying to comfort the young boy Reden tears off a chunk of meat and hands it to the boy who eagerly devours it earning a small laugh from him. Eventually after both of them had picked the bones of whatever it was he killed clean, the boy spoke.

"Thank y-you!" He says suddenly while holding back another round of tears. Reden actually felt somewhat compelled to offer a bit of comfort, so he rubbed the boy's hair and spoke in a calm and quite voice.

"It's ok. Those beasts cannot hurt you ever again." The boy nodding at those words relaxes a bit before looking the weapon that killed his tormentors. Reden noticing his line of sight picks up the glaive and shows it to the boy. "Want to hold it, go ahead be careful though it's heavy and the blade will cut you if you're not careful." He says warning the boy.

"Don't w-worry, my f-father was the town b-b-butcher, I know how to handle blades." He says no longer shaking as he did when he first woke up. 'Did he just calm down, by holding a weapon? Strange kid.'

"Well at least you woke cut your self. So tell me do you have anywhere you can go?" Reden asks hopeful that he did.

"No."

Hopes destroyed.

"Well maybe I could drop you off at the next town hopefully there someone will be able to take care of you." Hearing this the boy looks Reden dead in the eyes, "Can I stay with you?"

Reden can see the hope in the boys eyes, he must have become a hero to this boy when he killed the Yoma, great. "Look kid I can't I'm sorry about your town back there but-" The boy then stood up cutting Reden off, "That wasn't my home back there. That beast found me and my father traveling together, we tried to run, but he caught papa by the leg and started to claw at him. I couldn't take seeing that so I grabbed my father's grain scythe that his friend gave him, and I cut the bastard's hand off. After that though the beast only became mad and after he killed my papa he took me as a trophy I was with him for three days before he stopped there for the night."

Reden could tell that this kid permanently had something against Yoma for the rest of his life, and knew it might be a problem for him later. "Look, I'm sorry to hear about your father, but I live a dangerous life. I'm trying to find my way back home, and trust me when I say this, the monster that live in my world, make those Yoma look like insects compared to them." He says with tone of brutal honesty making the boy's eyes go wide.

"I want to stay with you though." He begs again, Reden only shake his head, "It's not going to happen boy, there is a good chance I might die either here or when I make it back home I might still die there. I don't want to risk a boy's life when all he can do is swing a butcher's tool around."

"Teach me then!" The boy yells at him in anger.

Reden only glares back, "And why the fuck would I do that?"

"So I won't be a burden to you, I want to repay you for saving my life, let me be a squire! Isn't that what knights have squires? I'll clean, I'll cook, and I'll train everyday! Please!" He yells again with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Reden however hardens his own and stares him down.

"Ok say I do train you, what will you do with that training?"

At this the boy pauses before looking up with a new look of determination on his face, "I want to do to Yoma what they do to people." This confuses Reden as he raises a brow, "What do you mean?"

"I want them to feel fear, not the fear that you or Claymores make them feel when they're about to die. I want them to live in fear everyday that I might be right behind them. I want them to feel like prey, like they're the ones being hunted! I want to spill their blood, make them bleed for every human they kill! I want to slaughter them all, to protect people everywhere, by wiping them out! I want to be the hunter, not the hunted! After I'm grown up I'll teach others just like you'll teach me, I'll help others by allowing them to help themselves!" He shouts panting after growing furious just thinking about what Yoma do to people everyday.

"Well then, convincing speech there boy, but let me ask you this, what am I to call my new trainee?" Reden asks making the boys eyes go wide.

"Well I guess I'll tell you my name then, my name is Knight Reden of Anor Londo. And who are you?" Reden asks with a smile on his face.

The boy doesn't answer at first, but instead looks to the moon, "Gehrman. My name is Gehrman, future Hunter!"

And done!

Well that was fun to write, it gave me an excuse to go back and rewatch Claymore again, so that's always fun.

Anyway read and review please, I always enjoy reading reviews don't be shy to tell me what you think.

Oh and to Loyaltothelegion- I hope I delivered on your expectations for at least one of the Black Knights for now.

Stay Cool