Daye (complete)

The Hunter

    THE morning came, as it always did. Bright. Unwanted. Decide and Luca begrudgingly woke up, reeling in pain and nausea from their alcohol binging the day before.

"It really shouldn't last this long," Decide complained, holding a metal bucket close to her face.

"Ugghhh," Luca groaned, face green.

Several painful hours later, they'd gone to visit the young oracle, who had several dozen customers lined up outside his purple tent. They watched with great interest as he quickly went through them all, and the people, after exiting his tent, all had a myriad of different emotions across their faces. There was extreme anger, sadness, joy, jealousy... not everyone liked what the future had in store for them.

Finally the freckled boy pushed back the curtains, and his face lit up when he notices his two friends standing before him.

"Decide! Luca!" he cried excitedly, waving his hands frantically.

"That was certainly a lot of propheting you did there," the huntress commented.

"Eheheh," Petrouli laughed. "You get used to it after a while."

"How do you even deal with using so much magick?" Luca wondered.

Petrouli's eyes widened. "Oh! Actually, most of the time I'm not even using my powers... I've just gotten better at reading people. Now I can usually tell what'll happen just by glancing at someone!"

"Woah, that's amazing!" Luca cried. "So- can you predict my future?"

Petrouli paused to think for a second. "Hmm. Not easily! I don't need to use my powers for the simpler people... but you, you're special, Luca! Werewolves are different than humans. I'd definitely have to use my powers!"

Luca giggled happily. "Do it, do it!"

Petrouli grinned and grabbed Luca's hands, opening them to expose his palms. "Lemme just think for a sec..." he stared intently at the werewolf's hands for a minute, then looked up happily. "Your palms say that you will have a long, eventful life. You have a fear of being around people, and when you find love you will be very faithful."

"Is that it?" Luca asked, confused.

"Yeah, you're missing a couple lines on your palms but that doesn't really matter. Your future looks good!"

"Yaay!" Luca cheered, grinning widely at the prophet boy.

Then Petrouli turned to the happy huntress. "So, how was the fight last night? I stayed up late so I could pray to the gods to keep you safe! How many hearts did you manage to collect?"

"Erm..." she tried to remember. "We had a good haul."

"Was it scary? How many vamps came?"

"Scary? Thrilling, more like. There were so many of those disgusting creatures they could've filled the entirety of the palace."

"Nice," Petrouli smiled happily. "I'll pray for you tonight too!"

Decide raised an eyebrow. "I appreciate the sentiment, kid, but it's not like your words are gonna help me when a vamp bites my throat out,"

Soon enough, night arrived. Against their better judgment, the two fighters let the Oracle accompany them to the gates. He wanted to watch the bloodbath, never having seen a real vampyre before. Besides, he pleaded, if something bad happened, he could use magick to protect them.

"Just do not, whatever you do, stick any part of yourself outside the iron bars," Decide warned. "They'll be on you in a flash."

Like the previous night, the gates shuddered closed, and the group of warriors were stranded outside the city. More torches had been set up around the walls, offering better visibility to the fighters. The massive, screeching, dark wave approached, a fresh batch of shadow-dwellers. The air reeked of blood and sweat and fear. Decide drew her sword and dagger, gripping their hilts tightly so her knuckles went white. Luca transformed, pawing the ground in anticipation. The vampyres drew nearer.