The hunter woke atop the woman's laps, looking up and seeing the two sleeping as well. He smiled and caressed Maria's leg, gently, smiling to himself, the leather of her pants were soft yet sturdy, perfect for the hunt, for form and function. He slowly brought himself up and walked out of the workshop and went over to the Yharnam headstone about to warp to the church of the good chalice before he heard a voice behind him. "Leaving without me?" The voice said, it was Maria. She smiled and knelt beside him. "Where are you going?" She said smiling next to him.
"Just going to see an old friend, quite literally." He said jokingly.
"Oh really, would you mind if I accompany you?"
"Not at all." He smiled and took her hand as he warped them to the church. "He prefers if I take the back entrance, so to not hurt any Pygmy beasts along the way, he says they still have humanity within them and are worth sparing." He explained.
"Sounds like some silly hippy to me." Maria scoffed as they walked out of the church she gasped looking up at the architecture and scenery. "Th-this is... old Yharnam, this is what became of it, b-but they said it was free from the scourge of the beasts, what happened?" She said with sorrow in her voice.
"The church, that's what happened." He said sighing.
"Damn church bastards." She said angrily as they made their way through, cutting through the abnormally high amount of lycanthropes, and the few Pygmy demons that his old friend wouldn't see him cut down. Now out of the lower area and to the ladder leading up to his old friend the hunter lead her up and up the second ladder. "Damn, whoever's up her must really not have wanted to be seen." She said.
"Yes, I prefer staying out of sight of most..." the old hunter known as Djura turned around and fell to one knee seeing who stood in front of him. "M-Maria, I-is it truly you." He said in shock.
She looked at him quizzically but noticed his giant arm mounted stake driver and fell to her knees as well, tears rolling from her eyes. "By god, Djura, my old friend, what happened." She said sobbing from the shock of seeing her friend still alive.
"Time weathered me dear." He said standing up and embracing her. "But I think I deserve an answer to the same question, after the hunt at the hamlet, you never returned, Gerhman was so broken up, he wouldn't stop crying for a week." Djura said with sorrow in his voice.
"I-I couldn't go on after what happened in the hamlet, the horror I saw drove me away from the hunt, I'm sorry I abandoned all of you." She said in a shaky breath, her tears still falling.
"Yeah, I can relate, after the massacre of old Yharnam I took residence here, with my fellow heretic down there, and swore to defend this place with our lives, for the beasts here still have humanity, I know it." He said.
"H-heretic? What do you mean?" She said, composing herself and looking up at him. He released her and walked back a couple steps before sitting down. He went on to tell the tale of how the powder kegs became known as heretics after the massacre at old Yharnam and how the church caused the plague at old Yharnam and were banished from the workshop, and how only two remained, himself and his friend below. She looked in horror at his story. "They dare tell you to go slaughter a town, to murder men and beast, and when you do so, you're branded traitors, the damn nerve, and the damn church!" She shouted in rage and Djura smiled.
"I shared your sentiments, but now I consider it a gift, I finally got to rid myself of the hunt, and do what I felt was truly right, after doing something so unforgivable." He said with both sorrow and hope in his voice.
"I see." She said lowly. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve this, you're a hero, and they dare..." She was cut short by Djura chuckling heartily.
"My dear, I'm flattered but I'm no hero. I realized that after I left, I was just a soldier." He said putting his hand on her shoulder. "But thank you." He smiled. "And thank you boy, I don't know how you found her, and frankly I'm fine not knowing, but this was truly a wondrous occasion." Djura smiled at the young hunter.
"Yeah, no problem, I probably should've expected you guys knew each other." He smiled a little.
"Yes, we were good friends." He smiled.
"Is anyone still... alive?" She looked up hopefully.
"Eileen And Willem, though I'm unsure of where Willem is." He said.
"Eileen, wh-where is she?"
"Somewhere in Yharnam." He smiled. "I've no clue where, she's a nomad, I'm merely a squatter." He chuckled a bit.
"I see. Thank you." She smiled and hugged him. "It's been a while, I missed you guys." She said in whimpering tone with sadness.
"Aye lass, we've all missed you as well." He hugged her back tightly, seeing his old comrade after many decades almost brought this hardened man to tears.
"I'll be sure to visit you again." She said smiling brightly as she walked to the ladder.
"I expect, don't abandon me again." Djura said and chuckled heartily. Maria smiled and wiped her eyes.
"Come on, let's go find Eileen!" Maria said with so much joy and happiness he found it impossible to resist her joyful demands.
"Well, goodbye, I'll come talk some other time." He said smiling at Djura.
"Goodbye boy, and keep her safe." Djura said smiling brightly.
When they got to the bottom of the ladders they made their way through the front of old Yharnam, making sure to deftly dodge the weak attempt at attacks the Pygmy demons would throw at them, instead of killing them, to please Djura. Once they made their way out and up to Oedon chapel they started to look around for Eileen. They checked up at the grand cathedral, and right at the front of Oedon chapel but couldn't find her, until the hunter remembered something. "We have to go to the tomb of Oedon, now!" He shouted as he ran for the tomb, Maria following in tow. As they made their way to the tomb the heard shouting, the clash of steel, and the crack of gunpowder, and a few yells coming from an old man.
"WHERE ARE THEY, WHERE IS MY GRAND DAUGHTER!!! WHERES MY PARTNER!!! AND WHY IS MY DAUGHTER DEAD!!!" They heard him shout. When they found the cause, they saw a hunter garbed in crow feather, who the young hunter knew was Eileen, and a hunter garbed in the normal hunters attire, but it was brown and had a long feather sticking out of the cap. The man clashed his blade with Eileen, with more strength than her he easily left many cuts across the woman's armor, and access to his firearm he fired buckshot right into her chest and caused her to fly back, yet still alive. She snapped a blood vile into her leg. The young hunter and Maria had enough of watching and decided to help. Maria swooped down and impaled the man with her longer blade. He shouted and spat blood into his mouth cover, causing the brown to sink red as he whipped his hand around and cut as Maria's cheek, causing her to wince and rip her blade out of him, he shouted and turned around. "Well this is hardly fair!" He shouted. "But I love a challenge!" He said and laughed maniacally as he brought his blade crashing into Maria's, taking his gun and firing into her leg causing her to fall to her knee, he quickly took the opening and brought his blade deep into her arm, causing her to shout in pain. This was the last straw for the young hunter as he primed his hammer and smacked the old mans face with it, the impact mixed with the fire threw the old man to the ground. The old man quickly threw himself up and shot the young hunter in the face causing him to back away and wipe his face, the old hunter had now brought his blade right to the young hunters neck and cut his head clean off, causing him to fall to the ground as his body lay there. The old hunter cackled "One down, two to go!" He said as he felt the blood echoes of the young man flow into him as his eyes started glowing blue with the power of the young hunter.
"That was your last mistake." Maria said lowly, stifling a sob, in the heat of the moment she forgot her beloved still dreamt and thought he was truly gone. She drove her blades into her chest and ripped them out, causing the blood to harden in the blades and practically double their length. Her eyes burned with rage as the crow hunter looked on in awe. Maria simply smirked as she flicked her blade up to the middle of her face as she charged the old hunter, slicing at him, he dodged and chuckled, but milliseconds later a giant blade of blood shot out, cutting deep in the old man as he grunted and fell to his knee. Maria quickly ran up to him and took the opportunity to drive her blade right through his neck. He attempted to shout, but only the gargle of blood came out as she drove her other blade through his head. Slowly, the echoes of both her beloved and the old hunter flowed into her. She took a deep breath as small tears fell out. She quickly jumped and shrieked as she felt two arms embrace her. She turned around to see her beloved hunter standing there. "OH MY GOD YOU'RE ALIVE!!!" She shrieked with happiness as she embraced him tightly, so tightly she broke a couple of his ribs. She put him down eventually allowing him to speak.
"Y-Yeah I'm alive, did you forget that I dream?" He looked at her to which she immediately blushed and looked away.
"N-no." She said softly.
"In all my years of hunting I have only seen one hunter with such a power as to control her own blood, and only one who uses that Rakuyo as well." Eileen said. "I had been some time Maria." She said smiling under her mask, reaching her had out to Maria.
Maria instead of just shaking her hand wrapped her arms around the woman. "It's been too long!" She said as she gripped the old woman tightly.
"Be gentle with me dear, I'm not nearly as indestructible as I used to be." Eileen said chuckling a bit. "But it seems you still are." She looked Maria up and down. "I dare say I'm almost jealous of how age treated you." She smirked under her mask.
"Oh yeah, I guess I did age well, although I am of cainhurst blood."
"Ahh, yes I often forget this fact." Eileen said and then returned Maria's hug. "It's been so long." She said morosely.