What We Hunt

Chapter 3 - First Hunt

"Revenge, huh?" Haitei said resting his head on his hand as if bored. "Well, your determination is unmistakable. Though, you know you're a beast yourself, right?"

"I remember. Though, I think with someone who's worked with beasts for a long time, like you, you could tea-"

"Hunted."

"Huh?"

"I've hunted beasts for a long time."

"Still, with your help I could learn to control it, and use this to our advantage. Smart, huh?"

There was a pause. "No."

"No, it's not smart or no I can't do it?"

"Both. For one, werewolves lose all sense of self in their transformation. They completely abandon their humanity. Sure, one here might recognize a significant item or one there might spare a special person but all in all they're the same: beasts."

"And for two?"

Haitei stood up, put one hand in a pocket, and began walking away, using his other hand to lazily motion Cruciatul to follow before hiding it in a pocket as well. "Well, as far as I know, you didn't know you were a beast, or at least, never accepted it. Even more so, you've never transformed have you?"

Crutiatul followed him briskly up some dimly lit stairs, "Well, no but..."

"Then there's nothing to discuss. You're not allowed to use your beast."

They entered a more well lit room which seemed to be an office. There was large desk in the middle with knives and maps in place, scribbles all over. There were many bottles and flasks of variously colored concoctions in shelves and glass cases next to towering bookshelves lined with thick books on beasts, poltergeists, yokai, and other things of the like. On one wall, a light shine on a bulletin board with different drawings and letters all with pins and scribbles in them. Some had large 'X's drawn over them and others had knives stabbed into them. As Haitei reach the desk, he effortlessly picked up and tossed it at the board, stabbing a detailed drawing of a cute young girl.

"Brutal... Did you kill that young school girl?" Crutiatul asked, a little nervous of the answer.

"Monika." Haitei whispered to himself.

"Excuse me?"

"A demon who made her friends kill themselves just so she could spend time with some kid with a dumb name." Haitei said, plopping down into his large leather chair behind the desk. "So you tell me who's 'brutal.'

"Hm." Was all Crutiatul said.

"If you're gonna hunt, you'll need an omen."

"An omen?"

"A creature or object that brings luck. Bad or good. Of course, you'll need a good one. Creatures are more powerful than object so that's what you'll look for." Haitei explained, shuffling through miscellaneous papers on his desk.

"What's your omen?"

"Hm?" Haitei stopped and looked at him. "Oh, right." He sighed, "Come here."

Cruciatul walked over to him as he stood up and turned to one of his cases of potions and other strange liquids. Haitei grabbed an erlenmeyer flask of glowing, yellow liquid from a cabinet and began shuffling through a junk drawer.

He pulled out a strange contraption that was foreign to Cruciatul. It had a small, oval shape rubber cup attached to some thin metal and tubes. On the other end was an empty bottle screwed in the top of a pump which was activated by a trigger. Haitei unscrewed the bottle and began filling it up with the glowing liquid from the flask.

"What is that?" Cruciatul asked.

"Fabulosa oculos. Now, how well do you handle pain?"

Cruciatul hesitated when he asked this, "Wh- why do you ask?"

"Well, there's a table I can strap you to in the dungeon but I'd rather not go through the trouble."

"Ummmm," Cruciatul knew he didn't want to be strapped to the torture table, "Okay, I guess?" He responded, unsure.

Haitei put the rubber cup over Cruciatul's left eye and pulled the trigger. Cruciatul's scream was heard throughout the castle as a needle pierced into his eye and the glowing liquid drained from the bottle.

"You bastard!" Crutiatul screamed, covering the side of his face with both hand after the contraption was removed.

"Shut up and look at me." Haitei said.

Cruciatul slowly looked up and to his surprise, something changed. He couldn't see it before but now, clear as day, he saw a small fox with three tails resting across Haitei's shoulders.

"Hm, so it happens to everyone." Haitei said, studying Cruciatul.

"Hm? What do you mean?" He said looking down at his body self-consciously.

Haitei tossed Cruciatul's new least favorite device back into the drawer and pulled out a handheld mirror and showed it to Cruciatul.

Looking into the dusty mirror, Cruciatul saw that his cobalt blue eyes now had a dim glow to them.

"Are they like this forever?"

"Yeah."

"So your eyes glow too?" Cruciatul asked.

Haitei carefully lifted his round sunglasses on one side, revealing his right eye which had pink glow.

"Hm, ok." Cruciatul said. He then handed back the mirror. "You don't use this much, I see." He commented on the dusty mirror.

"I haven't much use for it." He said tossing it back into the drawer and closing it.

"So, that fox..." Cruciatul said.

"A kitsune, it's my omen."

"It's a good omen?"

"Depends on what she brings me in the morning."

"Oh, ok. So I have to find a... Kitsune?"

"No, I doubt you could anyway. Kitsune are just one omen, there are many out in the world. Of course, you're not just looking for any omen. You need a powerful omen."

"Ok, then let's go."

"Oh, no, you're doing this by yourself."

"Huh?? But I don't know how to hunt for these things! I don't even know where to look."

"Shut up and take this." Haitei said pulling out an old piece of parchment with three bulleted things written on it.

"What's this?"

"It's a list of how to befriend an omen. Here, you'll need this as well." Haitei handed him another piece of paper, this time it was a map of the current country they were in. There were three red circles on it. "It's a map of places where there have been sightings of what are described as mystical animals scurrying about. After reading up on the details I was given, I've learned that it's quite possible there are omens here."

"These places are so far away!!"

"Then you'd better hop to it. Luckily for you you only need one omen."

"Wait a second. Why do you have a list of directions on how to befriend an omen and three unexplored areas if where some might be?? You work alone so it doesn't make any sense."

"Do you really think you found me on your own, pirate? I've been doing this for a long time. I've known you were coming for close to a month now."

"You got all of this ready in a month?"

"And more, so you'd better hurry your preparing. It's night now so we'll continue in the morning but for now, this is it. You work for me in this hellish world of monsters. The only things that keep you alive are skill, knowledge, and a bit of luck. This is why you need an omen, so tomorrow you depart..." He paused and stood up, hands down on his desk. "...on your first hunt."