Vampire Hunter D: Recollection of the Innocent
Chapter 03: Calm before a Storm

How could we forget?! It's you!

"Cecilia?," the name rolled of their tongues easily as the girl in front of them jumped slightly in their grasp. "Oh...!," Cecilia pulled back arm and rubbed the back of her head; the look on her face told them plenty. "S-sorry guys, I've had a rough morning, I can't believe I forgot who you guys were for a second. My bad," with her head angled downward she smiled, obviously trying to ease off the embarrassment. "You're sorry? I should be the one to apologize!," Argent exclaimed. "I was ready to deck you and your horse in the face! Seriously, what the hell are you doing riding that beast of a machine around in a dark alleyway like that!?," it was obvious Argent was a little perturbed, but happy to see Cecilia none the less.

"I'm sorry, alright. Look I thought I heard you two laughing, but then I heard na-," Mara raised her index finger to her lips, her onyx eyes politely asking for her silence. "Argent, Cecilia, it's good to see you both, but I'm afraid we'll have to cut things short here because-," she motioned to the increased number of people watching them from behind. Some were from the little group before, others tagged along to unfamiliar faces.

"Lady Velrose! Are those the hunters you hired?!," an aged man's voice bellowed out as another, a young woman, shouted out her inquiry, "Will things go back to normal soon?!". One more, a voice of a young man called out Cecilia's previous predicament from the night before; "H-hey! It's that beautiful woman who knocked out Richard's gang in the Golden-Lute last night!", Cecilia rolled her eyes as she mounted her horse.

"I got it. We'll talk at your place," Cecilia smiled as she extended out her hand. Argent chuckled at the offer and gently pushed the hand towards Mara. "Ok, I'll tell you where to go," Mara grabbed on to her hand, settling behind Cecilia as she held on to her to avoid falling off the horse. "Then, once we've settled in-," Mara added, "you can tell me all about your 'brawl'". With a click of her tongue Cecilia commanded the horse out of the dark alleyway towards the group of people. Argent sauntered along side the beast, surveying the mix of folk before her.

Stop here, please.

Mara raised her right hand high into the air, immediately the crowd quieted down to only a few whispers that were barely audible. "People of CandleBrook," her voice taking on an authoritative tone , "I know that these past months have been frightening for all us, and with much ground to cover in our fair city I have hired two Hunters as you know-," her hand fell to Cecilia's shoulder as she raised her hand and waved a little. Her soft voice had hardly carried the kind "Hello," to the ears of the attending crowd. "This huntress, Cecilia Havelock, arrived last night and the other...," Mara gestured out to the air, "...has yet come". Cecilia's face was in full view now and the reactions she got was expected; The looks that adorned the faces of young and old were amusing, some turning away and others shielding their lightly pink dusted cheeks. Argent stifled a laugh as she saw a few sneak away.

Cecilia's face was 'diamond shaped' with her skin being of a very fair complexion along with high cheek bones. A set of deep brown almond eyes and straight, thick eyebrows. Her short, dark brown hair was stacked in the back and reached her chin in the front. Her nose was neither large or small, but just the right size to be called cute as the tip of it was broad; her lips, the 'Cupid's Bow'.
It was fair to say she was broad shouldered, but from what the cloak hide away they assumed that she must have some trick to tango with the likes of night creatures as she was a few inches shorter than their Mayor.

"Then! M'lady! Who is that young woman standing beside you?!"

The tips of Mara's fingers touched the top of Argent's head, auburn locks swayed gently as a cool breeze past through which earned some gasps. If they had known what this pretty lady truly was their gasps would turn into screams. It's not everyday that a she-wolf looks as alluring as the next woman. Her dark clothes hide well toned muscles from running with countless wolf packs. Argent's skin was not as fair as Cecilia's; her tone was healthy looking while Cecilia's would give slight cause for concern.

Argent was round faced, her eyebrows sat between a hi-low position above her thin, almond eyes which held confident hazel orbs. Her nose a snub shape as her lips below were pulled into smirk; thinning her lips slightly.
"I'm Argent Silverstone," Argent stated proudly as she pointed towards herself with her thumb to her chest, "and I'm here to help out my dear friend, Mara". Mara withdrew her hand from Argent's head, looking into the crowd of people. "Will there be anymore questions?," she asked.

"Actually- I've got one..."

A voice that held a contemptuous tone piped up in the back, Cecilia's eyes widened ever so slightly by the time the crowd parted to show who it belonged to. There, standing with arms cross and with a glare that could burn holes into steel was a young man of two decades. "You...," softly Cecilia acknowledged the man in the back was Richard. He stood about five foot ten, and his physique told many that he worked in manual labor; the kind that sculpted him into a bullying brute. The leader of a group of low-lives.

"Did you honestly think you'd get away with hurting my men?!," Richard angrily yelled out. Cecilia could see scorn in his red face. His tensed posture indicated that he was raring for a fight. Cecilia sighed as the reins dropped from her hands and made to dismount from her horse. "Cecilia...!," Mara had grabbed onto her shoulder, the concerned look in her eyes told her No.

"It will be alright, Mara. I'm not going fight him," the words that were whispered softly comforted Mara, but the issue remained as Richard stood at the edge of the sidewalk. Cecilia removed her sheathed weapon from her back and handed it over to Mara; it looked like a regular sword to the untrained eye, but something told them otherwise. Argent remained at the horse's left side, looking up to Mara, the two were surprised at Cecilia's course of action. She walked up until she was merely a foot away from Richard as his hands were to the side; fists tightly balled up with the white of his knuckles showing. Cecilia cocked her head to the side as shoulders slackened and arms hung to her sides; her disinterested posture contrasted from Richard's energetic stance. Fearing the seemingly inevitable fight the crowd parted even further, though some stood right where they were and hoped to see if the faith their Mayor had in this huntress was right.

"Well, I'd rather not fi-"

Cecilia was cut short by a fist aimed straight for her face...it didn't land. Another was met with same treatment as his fists strike the open air one after the other, but she didn't lift a finger as she danced around his blows. The 'dance' had made its way into the middle of the street; previous spectators now gathered a little closer on the sidewalk. Mara and Argent didn't need to see the look on Cecilia's face to know what she was feeling right now. She hated fighting, but they knew she was no push over; her previous 'brawls' proved that.

"Damnit! Hold still!"

"Oh yes, like being punched is so appealing..."

It continued on for at least several minutes, Richard's frustration was replaced with signs of weariness and fatigue as his movements grew sluggish. For her small stature it worked well against a meat head such as Richard. There were some opportunities for him to land a few, not that they would, but perhaps it was a way to humor herself after remembering the ache of being hit in the back of the head with a bottle; courtesy of one of his goons. As the last fist fell from its mark, Richard had spun around and stumbled backwards. Perspiration, a rapid heartbeat, heavy breaths, it was all over as he slowly rose up, looking through exhausted eyes he could make out the figure of his enemy. She stood there watching, expressionless, and poised just like before.

"Are you done now?"

Richard tried to speak, but his legs gave out underneath him as he fell backwards into a pitiful pile of man. Swiftly, Cecilia walked over and gave Richard a once over; he would not be getting up anytime soon. Satisfied with the inspection, Cecilia walked back over to her horse and donned her weapon once more. Taking up the reins and clicking her tongue again she steered her steed along the same path which Richard lied unconscious. The pace of the beast told them that they were in no hurry, at least, it didn't seem like it; the crowd was left speechless and bewildered as they expected their Mayor to comment on the situation, but passed them by with no words to give. The three figures disappeared around the corner; leaving the crowd to disperse whilst Richard was dragged away by a few individuals who were unsympathetic, but not entirely heartless as they rested him up against a corner...uncomfortably.

News would spread fast as it does, exchanged by man, woman, and child; Richard was beaten by a young woman. No! A huntress known as Cecilia Havelock!
Argent Silverstone, her name would too spread fast as she was a mystery; with no weapons and a shoulder bag at her side, the wonder of what she would do to help was on the minds of every individual that was present during the confrontation. Then, there was their Mayor, a kind young woman with much burden upon her shoulders; she was not inexperienced in battles, but never had they seen Mara stand aside like she did just then. The sky turned azure as the clouds moved fast above, the uneasy feeling that many couldn't shake was the other hunter; Mayor Velrose had not told them who would be the second contender. Some pondered away of the select few who qualified for such a daunting task, but few dared to think of the one name that stood out against all others; a single letter that would not make it past their quivering lips as the thought perished and was buried deep beneath the routine tasks for the day.

~~~VHD:ROTI~~~

The light of the sun pushed through the forest canopy as the light beamed through the thick leaves; a youth rode through on a pitch-black cybernetic steed. A pleasant breeze caused his jet black cape to billow in the wind; though keeping it from fully extending was his sword which was held firmly to his back. It was long and elegant with gold accents running across the guard and a skull-like motif in its center. His raiment from head to toe was all black except for the few pieces that did have some contrasting color. A blue pendent held fast by a gold chain rested in front of his powerful chest; on the right side of the wide brimmed travelers hat that protected his face from the sun sat a large opal brooch with thin gold encircling it and horizontally cutting through the stark white gem was a single gold line that curved up a little. All was quiet except for the sounds of the forest wildlife and a peculiar voice that sounded like an old man; surly it wasn't from this man's lovely countenance!

"Don't you think you're running behind, D?"

Ah, relief! The voice came from D's left hand; an aged face emerged from the palm of his hand. The question was met with silence as D rode on. "Oh, oh! The silent treatment! Look, I know I blown your cover in the last hunt, but what was I suppose to do?!," the parasite expected no response as a few moments passed until D spoke, his deep voice cold and emotionless.

"Hold your breath..."

"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one nose-deep in that shit!"

Long story short: The previous bounty had a couple of nasty mutants which needed to be exterminated as one poured noxious fumes from its pores; causing the land to whither and die around a small hamlet called GroveShire, the humans that were affected went into fits of coughing and sneezing if exposed to it. The further they stayed exposed the effects would escalate into vomiting and spasms, D had no trouble holding his piece except for one certain parasitic, loud mouth. In the end, D made off with twenty thousand Dallas and a lavender envelop in hand the day he received his payment. From the details inside said envelope led D to quickly disembark from the little hamlet and journey towards CandleBrook.

"Anyway, judging from that lady's writing she must be in some serious trouble to call for your aid- I mean a guy like you brings trou-"

Paraffin fingers dug their nails deep into the parasite's face, stifling its surrender. "I give! I GIVE, DAMNIT!," it receded back into his palm, it remained quiet for moment until it came back out for a brief second. "Uh...you're an hour behi-," just before D could crush away the parasite's voice it retreated away again.
It was right though, the meeting time was eleven o' clock and judging from the shadows it was nine o' clock now; CandleBrook was four hours on horse back.
D wasn't an ordinary man with no ordinary means. He spurned the horse on with his heels dug deep in the horse's flanks; trees blurred by and wind whistled passed his ears as it sent his chestnut mane to whip in the wind along with his cape.

"In an hour..."