Hello again, it's been four months.

DON'T WORRY, I'M ALIVE! Or thereabouts.

As always my studies and work took me into an alley, put a knife to my throat and said "work, motherfucker!

So... Yeah, well... I didn't have time to write (let's be honest, I preferred to go out with friends in the little free time I had). But here it is at last! Chapter 20!

In the meantime, good chapter to you!

Chapter 20 : New expectations

Aiz was lost. Back in Orario, she began to walk towards her guild house with her mind racing.

What did she plan to do next?

Loki, Riveria, Finn, many had tried to get her to stop his quest for strength and had tried to convince her, but at best they had managed to numb some of her self-destructive attitude.

Ashton's sentence was running through her head. Not only that, but the person who had said it. Someone she recognised as strong and who had given her a strange feeling.

It was new.

He understood her, more than she seemed to, but she didn't understand him and that bothered her. Her feet dragged on the ground as she walked towards her Familia.

The training had been useful, she felt that she understood the hunter's way of fighting better and that new ways had been created to improve herself but, while answers had been brought to her, just as many questions had appeared. Like sediment settling to the bottom of a lake, it was piling up, making her more and more interested in the person than in his methods.

This she did not understand. Why was she interested in Ashton?

She continued to wonder, she should ask Riveria, she had always known better than she did what she was feeling.

As she slowly made her way back into the guild house, she made her way to the elf's office, slowly greeting the other members of the Familia.

Knocking on the door of the green haired elf's office, she heard a permission to enter.

"Aiz? Did everything go well?"

Nodding, the blonde took a breath.

"Riviera." she asked as she sat down in the nearest chair. "I'd like to talk."

Riviera rubbed her forehead, her eyes closed in intense thought, listening to what the young knight in front of her was telling. Beside her, the redheaded goddess, Loki's eyes widened more and more as the story continued.

"And then... we came back to Orario," the blonde concluded, lowering her head.

Her eyes were clouded with incomprehension, like a puppy lost in the wild. The silence in the office was complete.

"That asshole seduced my Aiz?!" Loki stormed to his feet in anger, breaking the air of expectation and raising both fists above her head. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Sit down!" shouted Riviera, grabbing the redhead by the collar and pulling her into the couch. "What do you mean enjoy?" she asked, looking at the girl.

"I don't know." replied Aiz still confused. The dropped puppy dog eyes the blonde gave her almost made her smile. "When I'm with him, I just feel... good? I can't describe it... it's new."

The elf shook her head. She had almost been a surrogate mother to the blonde and seeing her like this was just as pleasing as it was disturbing. She fully expected that one day the girl she had helped raise would start to take an interest in others. But the first case was certainly hard. Both because of the person towards whom this affection was directed and the likely lack of experience of both.

She had to make sure it wasn't just a passing thing. She didn't want both Aiz and Ashton to be emotionally hurt for no reason. Just by her conversation with the hunter, she knew, neither of them would recover easily now.

Still, she didn't want to prevent anything that might come up, lest she hurt them just as much. She sighed at the complexity of the choice. To let Aiz understand her own feelings or to prevent it because of their dangers.

"What do you see in him?" she asked.

"Me..." she said. "He's like me but more... tired?"

Ashton had a chill down his spine since he returned to Orario, a strange sense of macabre familiarity. At first it was just his instincts telling him something was wrong.

There were rumours in the city that a small earthquake had occurred around the Tower of Babel one night. But few could confirm it and no gods had said anything had happened.

As a hunter he had no confidence in the gods, but Ryuu's oral confirmation had been enough to confirm that it must be nothing serious. But his instincts were telling him that something had changed, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

As he passed by Karl to check on his condition, his mind remained focused on this strange feeling of expectation. The young boy could feel the hunter's condition.

"Maybe you should try to find out where this is coming from," he offered calmly, still happy to see the hunter coming back to talk to him.

As much as Ashton would find it hard to admit, he liked the boy and his simple outlook. But above all, this kind of will not give up in the face of adversity.

The hunter had a small smile towards the boy in remission.

"That's not a bad idea.

A simple question that Ashton was now going to follow. And as he descended the stairs, he was certain of it. A strange scent hung in the air of the dungeon, a smoke imperceptible to even the best of smells and one that could only be perceived by those bearing the cursed blood of Yharnam.

A creature from there was walking through the corridors. For the first time since his arrival in this world, a feeling of absolute fear took root in his mind.

This world, Orario, they were not ready to face a cursed creature from Yharnam on the loose, the old blood was not to go out into the city.

Screams and roars echoed, their sounds clashing between the trees. His lungs burned as he ran. His legs seemed to fail him, but he kept running, determined to get to safety. Alois was in pain; he didn't know why or how this man... no... this monster with human skin had appeared.

He knew even less why this shadow armed with some kind of rapier had thrown himself with such fury on the monsters, but what he was sure of was that he had to run.

Why hadn't he listened to his team and run with them? Why had he been stupid enough to approach the anomaly alone?

Insanity, a frenzied situation. It didn't make sense. There was only this scene, a vacuum of muffled noise contrasting with anguish. He slid half to the ground, landing only with reflexes honed by years of expertise and training in the dungeon.

He resumed his run.

The adventurer pushed his legs to the absolute limit. A primal fear had formed in his mind, inhabited by the thought of fleeing. The smell of blood filled the air and tore through the sky, lighting it up with a thousand different bloody hues. Zigzagging through the forest in an attempt to escape the advancing light, he felt the blood rush into his eyes. But he ignored it, too preoccupied with the battle of the creature far behind him.

He could hear the sounds of battle roar even from this distance, followed moments later by the creak and crash of smashing trees.

The heat of the sweat running down his eyes licked his face as he sped up his run.

"The stairs!" he thought happily as he saw the shape take shape.

His heart missed a beat when he saw a form similar to the one he had fled calmly descend the steps. The cold blue gaze stared back at him and made him hold his breath as he came to an urgent stop.

"W-W-Who?!" he asked in a trembling voice.

The man gestured with his hand, slowly sliding his fingers along his weapon, and gesturing to the man.

"Ashton Warden."

The name... He recognized it! The name of the strange adventurer who was in the news for his violence in the dungeon and his troubled relationship with the Loki Familia. Relief washed over him, even without knowing his level, Alois knew he would be safer.

"he said urgently as he smelled the blood that had reached them. "There's a creature here!

The hunter whose eyes were now a calm lake seemed to take on an aggressive hue as a creak was heard amidst the silence.

"A creature? What is it like?"

Alois took a breath to recall all he could.

"Large, some kind of weapon, very violent, a beast."

The gleam in his listener's eyes firmed.

"I see. Go to the surface, I'll take care of it."

"You're crazy!" retorted the adventurer. "That stuff is dangerous!"

Ashton shook his head in annoyance before walking past the man without giving him a word. Those who did not know how to hunt were always like that.

As he approached slowly towards the place where the fighting was coming from, an apprehension came over the hunter. A dark shape loomed between the trees, standing over the corpse of a creature that the hunter could no longer even identify as it had been torn and stabbed in the face.

"Here!" roared the man, whom Ashton identified by scent as another hunter.

Mentally preparing himself for the fight to come, Ashton slid his hand along his cleaver, ready to throw himself forward.

"What faction?" he questioned harshly.

Finneas twirled the Reiterpallasch in his hand several times as he looked the young man in front of him up and down.

"Well! A hunter's hunter has come for me ? That would be the least I could do for a noble member of the Queen's court!" the knight said arrogantly, tapping the back of his boots with the tip of his blade. "I could do with a bath and some new clothes. God what a shitty place!"

"So, a Cainhurst Vileblood," he made a mental note.

In a voice that he kept cold, and calm Ashton replied.

"The situation is somewhat different; we are no longer in Yharnam.

"I thought so," Finneas retorted with some mocking amusement at him.

The younger man shook his head, he was aware of the Vileblood's inherent arrogance towards other covenants and their sense of superiority towards them.

"I will need your name."

"Finneas Van Wissenacht, Knight of Cainhurst and member of Her Majesty Annalise's Royal Guard. And you, young hunter?"

"Ashton Warden, hunter of hunters."

"Good! Good! Let's get out of here as fast as we can, this smell is killing me!"

Throughout his existence, Ashton had never considered anyone to be a real nuisance, at best he was an easily avoidable nuisance. But this case made him question everything he had ever experienced.

The arrogance of the Vilebloods was known, but this much? Probably the worst thing was that he quickly realised that he could not defeat the knight in single combat without resorting to subterfuge. Finneas, despite his bravado, was certainly able to follow through on what he claimed.

Especially since Ashton had not yet begun the most difficult of explanations about this new world.

"God."

A word that had been enough to stop the Vileblood in his tracks of boasting. His confident, mocking smile was stifled, replaced by intense anger.

"There are gods?"

The hunter sighed, already knowing where this was going. Ryuu's explanation, but also Riviera's, came back to him.

"Yes and no... They renounced their divinity to walk among humans and help them.

Ashton didn't believe it himself; he was defending the gods. Shit... How far had this world gotten to him. As he began to ascend, reaching the surface, he gestured to the Vileblood.

"I'll take you to the inn where I'm staying and get you a room for three days, you should be able to manage after that."

The Vileblood still in shock at the revelation seemed to nod more out of instinct than understanding.

"Otherwise, if you're looking for information about this world, I suggest you go to the library, that should help you."

Honestly, he didn't care about Finneas. Sure, they came from the same place, but that was about it. His only concern was that the bloody hunter might go mad. In any other case, he would have abandoned him in a corner and let him die.

Especially since he had other priorities.

"I'll have to see what I do with Karl."

The boy would soon be cured, and he would have to figure out how to help him.

The inn was as quiet as ever at this hour. Ryuu gestured towards the hunter in noble garb.

"Another one of your covenants?"

Ashton gave a mocking grunt.

"Thankfully not. But he's in a similar situation so I have to help him."

As he picked up the room key, he gestured to Finneas to follow him upstairs. Entering the assigned room, he turned to see the Vileblood's wrinkled face. All the arrogance was gone which made Ashton wonder why he was behaving the way he was. Then he remembered one thing, he didn't give a damn.

"Well. I know this is an unusual situation..."

"No shit." the nobleman cut him off, opening his arms. An anger combined with concern was in his eyes. "When we were walking here, I felt the energy of at least four 'gods'. These monsters walk among normal people!"

"Was I really like that?" he questioned.

As much as he distrusted the gods, he didn't think he was that extreme.

"I understand that, but there's nothing we can do about it.

"Nothing to do about it?! By the queen!" he growled in a low voice. "They are a danger!"

"If you think I don't understand the situation. They have rules and can't break them, that's the best they can get now," the younger hunter tempered.

Realizing he had gotten carried away, Finneas stopped and examined his surroundings warily.

"How does this work?"

"Gods are beings that have descended from Heaven. This descent is voluntary, with most gods seeking to experience life on Earth for themselves. As part of a bargain, they are forced to give up most of their powers and all of their inhuman physical abilities to descend to Earth. However, they retain the ability to provide blessings called Falna, which are commonly used to mark members of their Familia giving them some of their power."

"A bit like blood," remarked the Vileblood.

Raising his eyebrows, Ashton noted some of the similarities that were emerging.

"Somewhat."

"That they rely on the help of the gods to fight the beasts, how indecent." growled the bloody one. "How does this work? Why isn't there chaos in the streets?!"

Ashton gave an annoyed hiss, losing his impassive expression at Finneas' arrogance.

"Like I know that? I've only been here a few months! I'm still trying to adjust to this fucking situation Gehrman has put me in!"

At the hunter's aggressive response, Finneas paused.

"Certainly... Shit..." He sat down heavily on the bed losing his jaded expression. "This place... Why? By the Queen..."

Ashton regained his composure and patted the older hunter on the shoulder.

"I don't know, but we have to make the best of the situation. And we don't have to make any deals with the gods.

Finneas, his head bowed to the ground, mumbled a few unintelligible words, then drew a breath.

"You're not wrong..."

Ashton nodded, understanding the poor man's thoughts. Perhaps he didn't appreciate him for his behaviour, but he was still a hunter, with as much sacrifice and respect as he should have.

"I understand it's difficult, but it's going to take time for you to understand how this waking world works."

"More shit here... By the Queen, what nightmare have I landed in? Damn... I... I need time to think," the Vileblood said softly.

Leaving the room and the man to his thoughts, Ashton headed for the next room. There were other matters to attend to.

"Karl... Really."

Ashton held back a sad grunt. In front of him, Karl stood silently.

"I'm fine now! In a few days, the healer said I would have fully recovered!"

"But... A Familia. Are you sure?" questioned Ashton calmly.

Karl took a sure look and nodded.

"Yes! I want to get stronger!"

It hurt the hunter to know that despite all his efforts, the boy would return to a god.

"Wasn't the trip to Apollo enough?" he questioned sceptically, trying to get the boy back on track. "There are so many other things you could do.

"No! Not all gods are like that! And besides, they're the only ones who can make me stronger."

Ashton shook his head.

"I couldn't change your mind?" The boy's gaze remained hard and unconvinced making Ashton gasp. "I see..."

All he could do was to find the best possible Familia for Karl.

There were days that sucked. The ones where too much was going on. Why hadn't he been quicker to leave? Why had he taken the time to check his weapons...

The young hunter was sitting at a table, holding a letter in his hands.

"What is it?" he questioned the delivery girl, turning the envelope between his fingers several times.

"An invitation to the Apollo Familia banquet," replied the first woman named Daphne.

"Banquet?" he questioned, lowering his mask, and taking a drink of water.

He had vaguely heard of it, a gathering of several gods and goddesses with some of their adventurers to trade. Fierce contempt appeared on the hunter's face as he let out a low growl that startled the second person at the table, Cassandra, slightly.

With a quick movement, he put the envelope back on the table and handed it back to them.

"Keep your message, I won't go."

The disgust in the hunter's eyes made the more timid of the two shiver.

"Don't bother," Daphne retorted without flinching. "I have orders to hand her over to you, to keep her. I don't care what you do with it."

She motioned to her partner to stand up.

"We have other people to go see, good day to you."

Walking out of the inn, Ashton stood there, looking at the piece of paper in his hands. It was surprising that he had been invited, usually it was only for the gods, not a mere mortal alone. And the fact that exceptionally adventurers could join meant intense alarm for him.

"Ashton?"

A soft, monotonous voice brought him out of his dark thoughts.

"Aiz? What are you doing here?" he asked softly, surprising himself with his friendly tone.

Something was wrong, he noted. She seemed so worried or dubious in her movements, but he guessed it was something embarrassing.

"An invitation to the Apollo Familia Ball?" she asked.

The hunter of hunters nodded with annoyance.

"Apollo decided to invite me." Seeing her eyebrows raise slightly he continued. "I won't go," he spat. "Too many gods."

Aiz looked extremely embarrassed.

"I have to go too," she announced. "Loki wants me to go with him." The hunter clicked his tongue, then she added something that stopped the hunter in his tracks of hatred. "Would you like to go with me?"

There was a blank, his eyes widening as Ashton realized what she was asking. It was a realization heavy with meaning, but also and above all with will.

She had helped him in that forest, in his nightmares. A gift for a gift, a return for a return. That was how the young hunter worked. But... Was he able to get past his absolute contempt for the gods? To accept that they could be more than the filth he had heard about, the very thing that had cursed Yharnam? The worried look that contrasted with what he had become accustomed to seeing from her gave him his answer.

"Well..." he reluctantly agreed. "But I refuse to do anything for the gods.

"Thank you," she said with a small tone in which he heard a certain joy.

Why had he been so easily convinced? He felt it had to do with Aiz. The searching looks in her eyes had hurt him, and he hadn't wanted to add to it. It had hurt him to feel that way. Seeing the slight happy glint in the golden eyes of his... friend? Could he use the word?

What did it really mean? He couldn't quite remember.

He hesitated to ask but pulled himself together.

"Aiz... I wanted to know... Are we friends?"

She cocked her head to the side, not quite seeming to understand.

"I suppose we are? I think that's how it works. Why?"

"Nothing... I wanted to know. I've never had one so I was wondering if it was consistent with who we were."

"I think..."

"Thank you," he said, smiling slightly?

What he forgot was that he had his mask down.

There was a joy in the hunter's step as he made his way through the quarters of Orario, moving quickly through the narrow streets with a habitual gait. The conversation with Aiz had filled him with a strange feeling of contentment.

Arriving at his destination, he stifled his slight smile and resumed his calm, composed demeanour.

"Finally..." he thought as he stopped at the door of the old church.

The crumbling, almost dilapidated building sat like a macabre victim in the neighbourhood.

The hunter had many choices to make, and one in particular stood out. Hestia Familia, it was not so much because he liked the goddess or vaguely remembered one of her two members as Bell Cranel, but rather because all the hostess waitresses had unanimously advised him as the best choice.

The Hestia Familia seemed to be correct in what he expected of her. She was small, far from being really rich nor even powerful, but it is what interested Ashton.

If the Familia had only one or two members, it meant that it would take better care of these adventurers in order to preserve them and thus would avoid putting itself in conflict with more powerful Familias.

Everything seemed positive, especially with the few ties the goddess seemed to have with other Familias.

Calmly, he arrived at the entrance of the church and knocked on the door.

"Yes! I'm coming!"

A woman's cheerful voice rang out. Ashton checked his outfit, rubbed the folds of cloth and pulled the headband up over his nose, covering his face.

"Ho." the goddess said as she opened the door and saw the hunter at the entrance. "What do you come here for?"

"I need to talk about something."

Sitting comfortably in an old sofa, the hunter stood opposite the goddess who looked at him questioningly.

"A new member?" asked Hestia again.

Ashton nodded.

"Karl, the boy had problems with Apollo, he wants to go back to the dungeon and needs a Familia. So I need to find him a Familia that can take him in."

"And you? You can't do it? You don't need Falna."

Ashton gritted his teeth. She had hit the nail on the head.

"No." he said softly, choosing his words carefully. "The method I used is too... violent. I can't apply it to anyone else."

"Very well," said Hestia. "I understand... Or at least part of it."

Her smile was warm and maternal giving the hunter a strange sense of comfort.

"I'll help him! Bell will be thrilled to have someone extra in the Familia!"

Ashton nodded, today had been such a good day, he could bring Karl good news. It was... almost a dream. A dawn without unnecessary blood to be shed, where he had met another hunter and helped a young boy in search of strength and where he had made sure he had a friend.

It was a dream... He noted the irony in his situation, he was hunting but outside of a nightmare. It was a hunt beyond what he knew.

I'll admit I'm glad to get to the end of writing this chapter. It was long and painful to write and (it shows) written in a very disjointed way in the little time I had to motivate myself.

But I'm happy with the result, I think it launches a new story arc by introducing our new hunter and the beginnings of the relationship between Aiz and Ashton!

Other than that, nothing else to say. Take care of yourself and your loved ones and see you next time!