Okay, so I said in my first post that I was just going to post the first chapter... obviously that is a bit of a lie.
So, here is Chapter 2.
I'd love to hear some feedback, I'm also heavily editing this before I post any chapters. I did replace the first chapter after editing it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Seven Deadly Sins, not that I wouldn't love to have the rights to have Ban... but yeah... It's Ban. I own Hecate, her ability and any other characters not part of the anime. I also own the scenes not part of the original story and any additions to original scenes that are not there.
Rated M for suggestive themes, strong language and potential explicit scenes later one.
"So… where to first?" Hecate their captain as she stretched her arms out a little but the moment she inhaled, she had to bite back a growl. Melodias' wound was still bleeding, and the scent was making her sick. To try and counteract that, she pressed her sleeve against her nose, but it was little use. She could still smell the blood, one of the downfalls with her sensitive sense of smell. "Also, mind bringing me up to speed on why you're looking for the gang after all this time?"
Turning to the halfling, Melodias gave her a grin. He noticed how she kept a distance from him with her sleeve pressed over her face, but he knew it was something she did to clam her internal hunger. Since they were waiting for Elizabeth and Hawk to return, he brought the halfling up. He told her about the discord in the Kingdom, and what Elizabeth had told him when the two first met. Hecate nodded a little, understanding where he was coming from, and like he assumed, she agreed to go along, even if it was because she wanted to see everyone again. He knew she had plans that she was slowly working towards, but it was nice to know that she was going to come with them. They would need all the help that they could get. It wasn't long after explaining the situation that the trio heard movement in the forest and saw Elizabeth and an irate Hawk come through.
"Hey! You have some nerve, doing that to me, you swine! It'll be my turn next time!" the pig shouted angrily, looking around for the missing knight, and seemed disappointed and surprise that he was gone.
"Are you three alright?" Elizabeth asked, genuine worry laced in her voice as she took them in. Aside from Meliodas, the other two were perfectly fine, as if they didn't see battle at all, which they didn't.
Meliodas replied in the positive as the pig started calming down, noticing that they were now alone in the forest. It seemed now was the time that Elizabeth finally noticed the blood on Meliodas' shirt. It was caked on and the wound was rather deep, but the blood was slowly stopping, much to Hecate's relief. Except that it wouldn't lessen the itch clawing at her throat do it the amount that had spilt already. It didn't take long for Diane to get irate at Elizabeth fussing over Meliodas or her to act out. The giantess' crush on their Captain was nothing new to the halfling, who groaned and moved out of the way when Diane finally snapped, telling Elizabeth to stop clinging to the captain, and that it was her job to be at his side. Then Hawk got in on it as well by complaining about Gilthunder and Diane, but to Hecate's annoyance.
"Easy, Diane. Let's just go for now, okay?" Hecate spoke softly, bringing everyone's focus onto her as she stared at the captain, her usually light pink eyes now dark fuchsia. "The Captain needs to take care of his wound and rest, we need leave the forest and get moving to get to the others…" Hecate took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "…and for everyone's safety, I need to feed, because his blood is starting to drive me crazy and if that happens, no one will be left alive…" she spoke bluntly behind her sleeve, trying to keep the scent of blood from bothering her, but it was getting harder to keep herself under control. She really screwed up by not feeding sooner, but she also hadn't expected to meet up with others like this.
"Hecate's right." Meliodas agreed with a clap of his hands, catching everyone's attention. He was still in high spirits. The man was infuriating sometimes. "We also have to figure out where to go now. Either to Baste Prison, or the Necropolis." He explained.
"Why there?" Both Elizabeth and Hawk asked curiously, wondering what would have led Melodias to choose those specific places.
"It's where two Sins are, or so we're told…" Hecate clarified. "Now, can we leave… please?" Hecate pleaded to the others, just so she could feed and no longer be a danger to anyone. The last thing Hecate wanted was to attack anyone in the group, not her old friends or the two new ones.
Seeing how desperate the woman was, everyone was quick to agree. Melodias especially knew how hard this was on her, and the group set out towards Hawk's Mom, the large pig that housed Meliodas' bar 'The Boar Hat'. Along the way, Hecate stood on Diane's shoulder, keeping as far away from Meliodas and the others as she could until she was able to curb her hunger. Once the group left the forest, Hecate immediately jumped off Diane's shoulder and bolted from the group. She barely heard Meliodas tell her that they would wait for her to return before they left. She didn't respond though; she had their scents and would catch up once she was finally sated.
It didn't take her long to pick up the scent of an elk herd, but she needed to find an elk away from the heard. Hecate let her senses guide her, giving into the primal mindset of a hunter. It wasn't long until she found a large stag, all by itself in the wilderness, far from the heard. Licking her lips, she could hear the blood pumping through the creature's body, calling to her. Hecate didn't hesitate and acted, pouncing on the creature before it even realized she was there and sunk her fangs deep into its neck. She drank deeply and fully; the rush of fresh blood flooded her senses, and the thirst began dying down. A soft purr escaped her as the beast retreated from the forefront of her mind, sated, and pleased. Once she pulled back, she hoisted the stag over her shoulder, and cleaned her face so no one would see the remnants of her feast.
Some time later, Hecate returned to the Boar Hat, seeing that it was still waiting for her, just like Melodias had told her. It made her smile though, and it warmed her to see that she still meant something to the group, even after so long. But before anything, Hecate needed to get something done. Because she took a life, she needed to honour it, it was something she always did. Nothing of the elk would go to waste, and she knew the pelt, antlers and hooves would fetch a good price when sold. The bones would be cleaned and sold later after the meat was used up.
"Back already, Cat?" Diane asked curiously, coming towards the halfling, then saw the stag she was just setting onto the ground. The animal was twice the size of the woman, with a large rack, for a regular human, it would be impossible to carry it back by themselves. "Oh, wow! That's huge!" she complimented, knowing how avid a hunter the woman was.
"I got lucky that this guy was so close." Hecate responded with a laugh, brushing her hair from her face as she used one of the random knives she had on her person, intending on getting started with her ritual.
"Cat, just bring it inside, we can't stay long!" Meliodas called down to her, coming to the door of the restaurant on top of the large, green hog. "You can do you ritual later, once we've stopped."
Even from where she was, Hecate could still smell the blood on him, which meant he hadn't changed out of his clothing, but he was not longer bleeding. It bothered her to know he was being careless still. But she couldn't say to the man. He was in charge, and she was certain he had some ideas of where he wanted to go. With a sigh, Hecate slipped her knife back into her boot and hoisted the stag over her shoulder. She pushed off the ground, easily jumping onto the large pig, she landed easily and gently, brushing off some dust from her leggings before heading towards the man. He let out a low whistle, grinning and nodding at the sight of the elk. He showed her were to store it for the time being and knew that the restaurant would have some good meat for some time.
"Set your things on a table, we need to talk with Diane about where we should go from here." He told her, walking over to a wall that had wanted posters of all the Sins, including her.
Looking at the wall, Hecate scanned the faces until she landed on one that resembled her a bit. Her wanted posted made her look more mature and depicted her without fangs. Her hair was a lot messier and fell over her eyes. He grabbed two of the posters meant for the Grizzly Sin, King, and the Fox Sin, Ban. A sigh escaped her a little, Hecate followed her captain outside as Hawk's mom began walking next to Diane. The Giantess picked the two up, placing them onto her shoulder so the three of them could talk easier about their next step, leaving Elizabeth to take care of Hawk.
"Hey, didn't you leave with Ban ten years ago, Cat?" Meliodas asked curiously, looking at the light, pink-eyed female once everyone was settled.
"Originally, yes. Last I saw him was nine years ago, he was drunk off his rocker one night, then the next day he was gone." Hecate replied with a shrug, but she was frowning. "Haven't seen hide nor tail of that asshole since, but that doesn't surprise me." She huffed a little and crossed her arms over her chest. She was still pissed at Ban for doing that to her.
"Hmm… and never heard anything from King?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"Trust me when I say that I'd probably be last person he'd get into contact with." Hecate spoke quietly, looking off into the distance with a painful longing.
The three of them were quiet for a moment until Meliodas looked at the wanted posters again. He reached over and petted Hecate's head, knowing nothing he could say would make a difference to how she felt. Even within the Sins, Hecate's full past was a mystery. The only reason he knew about it was because he asked her. He told her tell him why she was important and why she should continue to live. It had taken some time before she spoke though, but once she had, everything spilled out. He knew about her family, the curse she inherited from her family, the tragedy that brought her to them in the first place, everything. He listened, never speaking up to ask her a question, and he saw the woman underneath. He knew who she truly was, and the woman who sat next to him now was still that same woman who he took under his wing and brought her into the one group that would never treat her any different. And she flourished, the shell she once was disappeared, and her true self emerged the more she relaxed and interacted with himself and the others.
"Ban, the Sin of Greed, has been thrown into prison, and King, the Sin of Sloth, is dead and in the grave, huh?" Meliodas mused as Diane looked at one of the posters pinched gently between her fingers. "What's your take on this?" he asked the giantess curiously.
"I don't have one. I'm not interested in any man but you." Diane replied dismissively, causing Hecate to chuckle softly. "But we're ignoring the important thing here!" she stated much to Hecate's amusement. "Look at what a sexy babe I've grown into these past ten years!" she crowed, causing the halfling to snort in laughter.
"Those wanted posters are just artists' renditions." He stated plainly and jumped off Diane's shoulder, landing on Hawk's mom's head. "Okay, I've decided!" he declared to everyone as Elizabeth and Hawk stepped out of the tavern.
"Aw, you could've ridden on me!" Diane whined, pouting at his actions.
Lightly patting her friend's shoulder in sympathy, Hecate jumped off as well, planning on getting some rest as she landed next to her captain. The blood from his wound made her nose crinkle still, something about it smelt off, and was making her stomach turn a bit.
"We're going to Baste Prison first to pick up Ban!" he declared with a smile, causing everyone to blink slightly.
"Great, gives me a chance to kick that bastard's ass for disappearing without a trace." Hecate smirked, causing Meliodas to laugh, he knew nothing serious was going to happen. Hecate and Ban were close after all.
When asked why he chose Baste Prison first, Meliodas' answer was simple: it was closer than the Necropolis. With a shake of her head, Hecate passed Elizabeth, who looked a little down in the dumps about something. Whatever it was, seemed to bother the princess a lot, but it was clear that she wouldn't speak up about it.
"Hey, it'll be okay." She whispered softly, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to reassure her.
Instead of responding, Elizabeth looked off to the side, mutely nodding, but she wasn't convinced, that much was certain. With a soft sigh, Hecate patted her shoulder lightly and headed into the tavern. She paused at her belongings and took in the place she would be calling home for the time. It was a spacious place with wooden tables and stools. The bar itself was also made from wood and the display case was filled with bottles of booze. It had a homey setting to it, something Hecate knew she could get used to seeing day in and out. Grabbing her satchel, the woman decided to find a bed to rest in. She always felt tired after a big feed like earlier, and her body needed time to digest and absorb the blood that now flowed through her.
Finding a staircase, she followed the stairs up to the first door she saw and once she opened it, she was pleased to see that it was a bedroom. It was simple, but comfortable with a bed tucked into the corner with a window above it. Tossing her satchel into a corner, she made a beeline to the bed, laying down instantly, not bothering to take her boots off. She was used to wearing them while sleeping after all, she never knew when she had to make a quick getaway. A soft groan escaped her as she sunk comfortably into the mattress and without another thought, closed her eyes and happily drifted off.
It seemed she just finished closing her eyes when they shot open again at the sound of Elizabeth's piercing screams. Bolting out of bed, she rushed up the rest of the stairs to another door frame where she saw Elizabeth holding onto the captain with tears in her eyes. The bitter stench of the wound made Hecate recoil as she pressed her sleeve firmly to her nose to try and stifle the scent.
"He went too long without treatment…" Hecate stated, almost in disgust, not at her captain, but at the fact that the wound was rancid. "As brilliant as he can be… this man is such an idiot…" she muttered under her breath and knew what she had to do. Time was precious and limited, but hopefully she could help stabilize him. "Elizabeth, tell Hawk's mom to speed up to the nearest village. I'll stay and try to purify and temper the bleeding." But the girl didn't move, as if she barely realized she was joined by Hecate. Despite how irritated this was making the halfling, she couldn't blame her. It was probably the first time she had ever seen something like this happen. But the longer she stayed, the worse the man would be.
"Elizabeth! Now!" Hecate didn't mean to shout at the girl, but she needed to snap out of the trance she was in. This was serious after all, and as much as she cared for him, there was nothing the girl could do right now. Getting Meliodas to a doctor was the best way. Hecate could only do so much after all, she wasn't a doctor, but her magical ability could help.
The girl flinched at Hecate's tone, but thankfully began moving, thanking Hecate as the dhampir looked at her fallen captain with a sigh. She sat down next to him, rolling him onto his back. His wound was festering, and the onslaught of bitter blood was enough to make her gag. With a deep breath, she raised a hand over his wound and concentrated. Using her ability to draw his blood back to his body, while simultaneously purifying it the infection hovered next to her as she worked, she would discard it later. Her ability, Lifeblood, was a handy skill for her to have. It allowed her to manipulate and control the blood of any living being. She often used it to help heal minor wounds or to control the body of another person. She tasted the blood of another person; she would have a firmer hold on their body and could manipulate them in any way she saw fit, even to the point of draining all the blood out of their body through their pores or crystalizing their blood. Her ability could be quite frightening sometimes, but it was also handy in situations like this.
By the time they reached the village, Hecate was panting. Depending on what Hecate used her ability for, she was often left tired. In the case of healing, it took a lot more energy to focus on it than it did to drain blood out of a body. Add the fact that she also separated the infected blood from the rest didn't help matters either. Her ability always took a toll on her, but that was something she was used to. Meliodas was not in the best shape to be moved around. He was still out cold, but his breathing had evened out and his fever had dropped a little. Elizabeth and Hawk were going to leave to find a doctor and bring him back to the tavern, but Diane disagreed.
Before anyone could say or do anything, Diane quickly grabbed their captain from the window, despite Hecate mentioning that severing her connection would cause her ability to break and the bleeding would start bleeding again and entered the village looking for a doctor herself. Elizabeth, Hawk and Hecate had to go running after the giantess, leaving the tavern and Hawk's mom behind to handle things. There was a reason why the others didn't want Diane running around on her own, most people feared giants, and would often run away screaming or try to kill them with pitchforks. The moment the trio entered the village, that was exactly what was happening. The villagers ran away in fear of the giantess, who was only trying to find a doctor for their captain. Elizabeth tried to reason with Diane, who was being stubborn about being the one to help Meliodas. The giantess wouldn't even listen to Hecate who tried reasoning with her, but she just brushed the halfling off. Thankfully, it was Hawk who became the voice of reason, telling her that the villagers would continue running away from her in fear any time they saw her and that they were the best ones to get someone to listen to them. Despite not liking it, Diane relented and crouched in the street with tears welling up in her eyes. Hecate jumped onto the giantess' shoulder and gently patted her cheek, trying to reassure that he was going to be alright and that she could trust Elizabeth and Hawk to find a doctor for Meliodas.
"Let me see him, Diane. I can at least temper the bleeding a little until the doctor arrives." Hecate spoke softly, resting a hand on her friend's cheek.
She understood how Diane felt, and she emphasized with the giantess' worry and her love for the captain. While she didn't share the same feelings, she had deep respect for the man. Luckily, Diane uncurled her hands enough to let the halfling slip into her hands to join their captain. It didn't take long for Hecate to start the process again and kept it up while continuously reassuring Diane that he was going to be fine. Meliodas was their captain after all, he was also one of the most stubborn people any of them had met. He wouldn't let something like this stop him from returning to them in one piece. It did seem to help Diane relax a little as the two spoke.
It didn't take long for Elizabeth and Hawk to return, with what looked to be a doctor on their heels. The moment he saw Diane though, the man hesitated to help, not that anyone could blame him. But the moment he saw Hecate using her ability he seemed to pale and take an involuntary step backwards at the sight of blood moving into the body. It would be an unnatural sight for anyone to witness, but after some pleading from both Diane, Elizabeth and Hawk, the man agreed to help them, ushering them to follow him to his house. Hecate rode in Diane's hands to keep Meliodas stabilized until they got to the doctor's home. Once they stopped in front of the house, she and Hawk helped carry Meliodas inside with Elizabeth hovering nearby and Diane peaking through the windows. They got him onto the bed and Hecate left the rest with the doctor, quickly using the bathroom to wash her hands. Despite trusting the doctor to take care of her captain, something felt off about the man. He acted professional and everything, but something bothered her. She just couldn't put a figure out why. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, lightly tugging on some strands.
Maybe she just needed to have some faith in other people…
"I'm going out to join Diane." She informed both Hawk and Elizabeth, not wanting to crowd the room.
Heading outside again, Hecate joined Diane, sitting on the giantess' shoulder as she peered into the window to make sure everything was alright. There was little that Hecate could say to the giantess to make her worry less, so she stayed silent, giving her friend comfort of having someone there with her. While Hecate was curious to see what the doctor was doing, she instead looked around the village to give her something to do. It was quiet there, not many people were out now thanks to Diane's attempts of getting help earlier. She doubted anyone would leave their homes until Diane was gone or until they saw the giantess was not a threat to them or their lives. In the distant, the halfling noticed several round buildings in the distant. From where she was, they looked like mushrooms growing together, it was an odd sight to behold though. She wondered if that was the prison where Ban was held in, and if it was, maybe she could get him out by the time Meliodas was healed up. It would give her something to do, so she wasn't sitting around waiting, and keep her mind focused on something other than the captain.
"Hey, I'm going to on ahead and get that bloody troublemaker out of prison, okay?" Hecate spoke to her friend, who finally looked away from the window.
"What do you mean?" Diane asked curiously, worried that she might lose another precious friend to.
"You see those buildings in the distance?" Hecate pointed out the building. "I think that might be the prison. I figured I would go on ahead, that way we can get the bastard and still let the captain rest up. He'll understand if I'm not around when he wakes up." She said simply with a shrug. "Plus, as much as I'd like to hang around and worry about him, I know he's in good hands with you around." Hecate smiled at her friend.
Everyone knew Hecate held their captain on a high pedestal, the respect the halfling had for him was something not everyone understood. There were very few people Hecate held in high regards, people she would instantly sacrifice her life for. While she would do anything and everything for her friends, not everyone could say that Hecate would die for them. Despite being close with the halfling, Diane knew Hecate was the closest with Ban. Out of everyone in their mismatched group, her and Ban had hit it off instantly, and were often inseparable at the best of times. It made sense why she would want to go on her own to get him, even if it was to give his ass a beating.
"Alright, stay safe." Diane nodded, speaking softly as the halfling jumped off her shoulder and headed down the street in a jog. It didn't take long before the blue-haired female was out of sight, causing Diane to sigh a little.
"Where's Hecate?" Elizabeth asked curiously, worry slipped into her voice as she looked around the block for the halfling.
"She went off ahead, but don't worry, she's more capable than she lets on." Diane reassured her with a warm smile. At least, that was something Diane still hoped for.