Taking over the Abyss

79- Hunter's Dream

By now, you were on your third cup of tea.

The date you agreed upon with Red Hood Hunter had finally arrived, and you'd been waiting for them to show up for at least an hour over your set time now. If this meeting wasn't so important to you, you already would've gotten up to leave. You really wanted to learn more about how the concept of soul severing, and they seemed excited to meet up with you.

You set your tea cup down with a little more force than necessary, and debated ordering another dessert... you certainly deserved it for waiting so long!

About to call the server back over to continue making your way through the dessert menu, you were stopped by a series of thuds and a loud clang. Normally you'd ignore it, but...

Driven by the inquisitiveness that came being an alchemist, you hurriedly set your payment down and got up to go check things out. You kept your footsteps light in case it was a robbery, peeking into the alleyway. A soft gasp left you at the sight of a pale, red-haired man slumped against the wall. He looked badly injured, curled up and using one hand to try and keep himself all together.

Without hesitation, you rushed over, kneeling down next to him. "Are you okay?!"

The man growled in response, likely not in the mood to entertain such an obvious question. He glared at you through the long bangs that stuck to his face, breathing shallowly to not disturb his heavy injuries. When you reached out to touch his shoulder to try and take a look, he jerked away from you. "... Leave."

"But your injuries..." you reached out again, hesitating before you could actually touch him. His heavy glare had caught your attention, and the vibrant red and pink colors of his eyes made you pause. It'd had been a long time since you'd seen somebody without any trace of the Khaenri'ahn eye pattern, nor had you ever met somebody with sharp, slitted eyes before.

Catching your staring, his glare sharpened into an irritated snarl. The sharp points of his teeth made you blink. Taking a closer look at his eyes, you had an inkling of an idea. "There must be some way I can help you."

"I don't need your help." He sat up and winced, a sharp hiss of pain leaving him. You could see dark red pooling into the cracks of the stone brick ground. With injuries this severe, he might be in serious danger. You stared at the sharp points of his teeth, indenting his lips as he doubled over and held his side.

"... C- can I offer you my blood?" You asked, taking the chance. Maybe it was rude of you, but you could make some kind of assumptions with the red slitted eyes and sharp pointy teeth... if you were wrong, you'd have to apologize profusely. Hearing his breath hitch, you met his bewildered stare with a wince. "Sorry, I know that sounds weird."

"How did you...?" He trailed off, shock turning into worry. His glaring resumed, but he looked more like a cornered animal. "What do you expect to get in return?"

"I made a guess." You pointed at your own mouth, not wanting to risk getting your finger bit off. "And I don't want anything from you. I just want to help."

He glared at you weakly some more, and you found yourself not intimidated in the slightest. To try and convince him, you made a gesture with your hand over your chest. "Really. Cross my heart and hope to- um, well... I don't want either of us to die, so..."

With a huff, he nodded stiffly in agreement. "... Fine."

"Great!" You weren't sure how to go about this, but assumed he would just need to bite and... drink. Rolling up the sleeve of your shirt, you held your arm out for him to take, expecting it to be like an old blood draw. "Do you have a name, stranger?"