The portal opened across the wild fields of the Bohar Plains, dropping Rhenakos, Hazel, and Rex at the edge of a small town. The grasslands in front of them spread far and wide, and Rex let out a surprised gasp. He had never seen anything like it, having a surprisingly limited amount of experience outside of street life in the cities.

There were a few caravans winding through the small town, with one taking a break as the driver pet his work horse. Rex stared at them for a moment before breaking his gaze away, and looking to Hazel. “This is kind of cool. I didn’t think places like this were so quiet….and the breeze feels amazing! And look at all of that grass! I wonder what it’s like running through it.” He thought for a moment. “Wonder what it’s like rolling arou-”

“Let’s get moving,” Rhenakos interrupted, hefting up his sack. “We have a lot of ground to cover. The last known sighting was that way. We’ll need to pick up the trail from there and start tracking. The caravans wanted this taken care of as quickly as possible.” The demon hunter had come prepared, wearing his usual full hunting gear, covered by his large overcoat. Strapped to his waist was his sword, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

Rex, in contrast, barely came with anything at all. He didn’t even have a weapon on him. All he had was the plain, white sleeveless shirt and dark red pants that he had visited Hazel with.

“Rude,” Rex sneered at his father. “But fine.”

It took them about an hour to find the first set of tracks, and Rhenakos knelt down. “Here. Hazel…do your thing.” He could have tracked it himself, but this was Hazel’s job, not his, and she needed to pull her own weight. All he was here for was to keep her safe. Of course, if she asked for help, he would abide.

Rex got a giggle out of Hazel who quickly stifled it. Hazel shifted her bag and nodded as she ran to catch up to Rhenakos. She had seen places like this all over and she had been all over Revaliir as a result of her job. She took jobs that no one else but people like Rhenakos took.

Hazel was covered from head to toe in a long dress, she had a cloak on and it kept her hidden. For this job it was… Important. Her bag was packed with loads of things and she drew something in the ground muttering something. “We might not to need to look far but… Tonight is a full moon it will probably go towards another village. They say virgin blood shines the brightest tonight.”

Her tendril reached out and over to some grass where it parted, “There…” She got up and found the body of a girl no more than her age. “It’s really hungry. I don’t think she’s got a drop left in her. Must be the girl who went missing I was told about…” A blanket materialized and Hazel spent some time preparing the body. She tied it together and broke the limbs where rigamortis had set in. Lacing it with herbs she finally stood back up. “There we go.”

Looking at Rhenakos, “We can inform them of the body’s location by bird. The herbs will keep the wild dogs away. Judging from the energy… He’s headed in that direction.” She pointed. “It’s a he because she was violated afterward.”

It made her nervous but still, she proceeded forward. She stood along the way and opened her bag. “Here,” she handed a talisman to Rex. “For your safety. Good luck. It keeps demons away. I can’t give one to Rhenakos.” It was a chicken bone with runes.

“This is going to be a nasty one. I can feel the pressure from here,” she looked up at Rhenakos. “He isn’t anywhere near us… He’s probably going to lie low and go into town at night. We should position ourselves in between us and the Laeto line. Set up a capture barrier using runes, salt, and blood of another demon.” She took out her dagger and smirked as she hit it on her palm. “Which you can give me right?” She said up to Rhenakos. “Should be strong enough to keep him in. It will take me a few hours to set up the trap.”

Rex stayed quiet as the two worked, but when he saw what was done to the body, he couldn’t help but gag a little. What he assumed was once a beautiful young girl was nothing more than a drained husk. What was worse, was that according to Hazel, the demon violated her afterwards. That alone made Rex sick to his stomach, and he excused himself for a moment while Hazel started to work on the body.

Once she was finished, Rex returned, looking a bit paler than before, but ready to go. Rhenakos merely ignored the boy, and sighed at the new information he had been given. “There’s a village in that direction. If I recall, they have a coming of age celebration coming up in the next month or so. It’s that time of year…very likely to be full of virgins just waiting for the event.”

“Wait, people actually wait for events like that?” Rex asked. “That sounds like a waste…”

“Other cultures have different forms of celebration. For this village…their celebration is that of sacrificing purity to become an adult.” Rhenakos shrugged, “Their traditions aren’t for us to judge.”

As Hazel handed Rex a charm, he looked at it curiously. “T-thanks?’ He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with it, so he kept it in hand.

Rhenakos nodded in agreement about how this demon would be bad, and he took a step forward and held out his hand to Hazel when she mentioned using demon blood. “Go for it. It’s not pure, but it should do the trick. As long as we can get it before it hits the village, we should be fine.”

And so, with a plan made, the trio made their way to the specified location. While Hazel worked on her trap, Rhenakos stood by, guarding her in case anything came up.

Rex, on the other hand, felt that he didn’t have much to do. So, he kept Hazel company, asking her what each and every part of this trap was, and how it worked. It didn’t even occur to him that he might be hindering her.

“Rex, back off and let the lady work,” Rhenakos said finally. “We’re running out of time, and she needs to focus.” He crossed his arms. “If you want to make yourself useful, you can take one of my weapons and go hunting for food. We should have time to at least get something quick made before the demon arrives.”

“Fine, fine…” Rex growled, taking his father’s sword and huffing. “I’ll get us something. Just watch…” He left, disappearing into the grasses.

“Good…now that he’s out of your hair, you can finish up.” Rhenakos knew very well that his son had no idea how to hunt. He didn’t even take a viable weapon to hunt with. He’d be back soon, empty handed.

Hazel had remembered a time when seeing bodies made her sick too but no more. She had long gotten used to the stink of it all. “Lots of bodies to bury if we don’t kill it tonight,” she looked up at Rhenakos. “Other villages kill the girls if they find out they aren’t virgins. They are useless to them. Like Rhenakos says though. It’s not for us to judge. It’s their way of life.”

She got a good bit of his blood into a container before patching up his arm. “Thank you.” She had been careful not to touch Rhenakos too much doing the whole thing. Her whole life was one of the boundaries she had set to keep her away from others.

Hazel was annoying at the very least by all of Rex’s questions but still, she answered them. Rex didn’t realize he was hindering her and she had no right to be mad at him. “He didn’t take your bow,” she looked up at him. “He isn’t getting us food is he?” It didn’t take long for Hazel to catch on as she very quickly and accurately finished what she was doing.

Nighttime came almost too fast as Rex came back empty-handed. What he found was Hazel in the middle of a fight. The field had activated and she was flinging magic. Rhenakos was waiting for her to tell him she needed help. After all, she needed to learn how to hold her own.

Only Rex didn’t know that.

He charged at the demon not understanding why Rhenakos would just let Hazel handle it. She was just a girl. “REX NO!” Hazel was instantly distracted as she got flung away.

There was panic in her eyes. He didn’t know how to fight. He didn’t know how to handle himself. She took up and took out her dagger. She could only think of a single thing to save his life. “HEY,” She cut her wrist and blood spilled out. Immediately the demon lost interest in him. In the moonlight, it looked like flowing silver, and soon he was charging her.

Rex was pissed off. For some reason, he couldn’t get anywhere near any of the animals of the plains. They were too fast to catch, and too wary of him. It was infuriating, and as the sun started to set, he realized that he would just have to accept that he wasn’t going to catch anything. Of course, this lead to a completely different problem, where he couldn’t figure out his way back to the temporary camp they had made.

“Well…shit,” Rex said to himself. As the moon started to rise, he realized that he was almost going to be too late to be of any use when the demon came, but that was when he heard noises. Curious, he started to follow them, and finally found the camp.

What he saw pissed him off more than anything else. Rhenakos was keeping back, merely watching as Hazel was fighting against the demon. It was an ugly creature, larger than Rex and Hazel, but just a hair smaller than Rhenakos. It was surprisingly skinny, but deceptively strong, with a pale, purple like skin. It’s face was human-like, but with a razor maw instead of teeth, and it’s eyes…were like nothing Rex had ever seen.

It was obvious what kind of demon it was, and the evidence of what it had done to the girl earlier was easy to see, between the blood and other fluids strewn across its body. And the smell…

“You fucking bastard!” Rex yelled, raising the sword as if it were a bat, rushing in. The demon wanted nothing to do with this boy, but if it was going to stand between him and his prey, he would have to be taken care of. It slashed the sword out of his hand with a claw, and then picked Rex up as if he were a toy, holding the boy by his throat.

Rex squirmed against the grip as it tightened around his throat, but before Rhenakos could act, Hazel made her move.

At once, the demon smelled the blood, and it’s eyes started to glow hungrily. It tossed Rex to the side like a rag, and turned its attention to Hazel, staring hungrily at her blood. It pounced, pinning her to the ground, it’s eyes wide. It wanted all of her.

Rhenakos yelled a few choice curses, slamming his foot into the demon and launching it off of Hazel. “Hazel. Leave. Now.” He picked up the sword that had been discarded by Rex, and pointed it at the demon. His left eye began to glow, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

It was over in a heartbeat. The demon launched itself at Hazel, but Rhenakos cleaved through it with a single strike. Still, the top half clambered towards the girl, seeming not to care that it was dying.

“Die, you piece of filth…” Rhenakos said as he slammed the blade into the creature’s skull. He looked over to Hazel, and then to Rex. “Are you okay Hazel? Rex, get the fuck up.”

Hazel was fierce against it. There was a sort of confidence in her movements as she fought. But that all disappeared as Rex came into view and got in the way. It was replaced with fear as she worried about his safety.

The girl wasn’t scared as the demon came down on her. If she got scared she wouldn’t be able to think right, that was something Rhenakos taught her. She could hear Rhenakos coming and as soon as he yelled to run she got up and she ran towards Rex to make sure he was okay.

She was uniquely aware of the demon that still was trying to come after her. It got her foot and she fell. Using her other foot she kicked it hard giving enough recoil for Rhenakos to smash its head. “I’m fine,” she breathed easily as she got up letting her wrist continue to bleed as she pulled Rex up and dusted him off.

“Are you okay? You shouldn’t have done that.” The wound on her wrist was releasing something akin to steam as it healed up mostly thanks to the eldritch inside of her.

Rex stared at her in disbelief as she tried to make sure he was okay. “What do you mean I shouldn’t have done that!? You were fighting that thing alone!” He glared at Rhenakos. “And you! Some fucking guard you are!”

The demon hunter crossed his arms, “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” He was raising his voice. “Everything was going according to plan until you came in and fucked it all to hell. And where the hell have you been? I figured you would at least be smart enough to know how to find your way back here!”

“According…to plan?” he looked at Rhenakos and then to Hazel, who nodded in agreement. “What the fuck?”

Hazel stood up, dusting herself off. “I had it handled until you showed up. And even if I didn’t-”

“I would have stepped in if she needed the help,” Rhenakos replied. “But, she’s much stronger than she appeared. Her magic was more than enough to deal with it. And then you had to go and make her cut herself.”

“I really did have it, Rex. I even used herbs to mask the virgin smell but…I guess with the blood, that didn’t work out.” Hazel sighed. She seemed almost disappointed that things didn’t go to plan.

“Rex…this is a normal part of our job. I’m not just a guard dog. I’m also here to help her grow. She needs to be able to take care of herself if she’s going to be keeping to herself.”

“Wait, what did you say?” Rex asked Hazel.

“That…I had it?” she repeated, looking at him curiously.

“No, the other thing,” Rex asked.

Rhenakos rolled his eyes, “Oh my fucking god.”

“Virgin?” she said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It….it all makes sense now,” Rex said, his eyes widening. “That…makes complete sense actually. I’m…an idiot for not noticing sooner.”

“You are, indeed, an idiot,” Rhenakos snapped. “This is why I didn’t want you here. You’re too impulsive and don’t think.”

“Like you have room to talk!” Rex shot back.

“Unlike you,” the demon hunter said with a glare, “I have the power to back it up. What the hell is Lewis teaching you, anyway? What made you think you could go hunting with a fucking sword?”

“Lewis ain’t teaching me shit. I got by on my own before him, and I intend to keep it that way. I don’t need his help, or anyone else's!”

“And here you are, cocking everything up because you refuse to learn or ask questions.” Rhenakos crossed his arms.

“You mean like you fucked up Izzy’s life?” Rex yelled. “You have ZERO room to talk about fucking up. It’s one thing to abandon a kid you know nothing about, but what you did to Izzy is unforgivable, and I fucking hate you, and always fucking will!” At that, Rex stormed off, not waiting for any response.

“I’m…sorry about that, Hazel…”

Hazel knew from the fight that she had unleashed something bad. Though it sounded like it needed to be said. She looked up at Rhenakos and suddenly she was bolting for Rex. She hugged him from behind and pressed herself to him. “Rex…” Her voice was soft as she held him in place. “You have to forgive Rhenakos okay? He wasn’t insulting you. That was him showing worry. I’m worried too…” Her eyes were closed so she couldn’t see if he was mad.

“If you had gotten hurt I would have felt awful. I’ve been training for a long time. For what it’s worth… I think it’s good if you ask for help. Please? For me? You can’t just survive off yourself… if I had… I would be dead now. Please… Think about it.” She put her forehead into his back before she ran off.

“I’ll collect payment later. I have to get back to Sularia.” By collect payment later… She meant Rhenakos could do it. She was blushing as she ran up to a potato cart that was on its way, “Can I catch a ride?”

The man nodded and she jumped onto the back of the wagon letting her legs hang. The long trip would help clear her head. “I can get back to Sularia!” She waved to Rhenakos. Obviously, she needed some time… At least she thought it was obvious. She never willingly touched people and she was shaking.

Rhenakos sighed when Hazel ran off for the first time. Was surprised him though was that she came back, if only to tell him to collect the money for her, and off she went again, leaving him alone. “As usual…I just get left behind…” He sighed again, and started to head towards the village to take care of the payment.


Rex was surprised when he felt Hazel behind him. He froze up, not sure what to do. This was the closest she had ever gotten to him, and he felt that if he turned around, she might never touch him again, so he waited for her to say what she had to say. In the end, it was always the same thing that he had heard from Simone.

Coming from Hazel, though, it felt a bit different. “I don’t think I can ever forgive him, but…” He let out a long breath. “I can…try to ask for help.” It came out less as a confident statement, and more of a barely audible mumble. But he had said it. It was more than he had ever said about the subject, so it was some kind of progress there. She was gone, though, before he could say more.

Rex thought a lot as he wandered the grasslands. The sun was already starting to come up, and when the first light hit, he noticed a cart off in the distance. On the back, was a familiar face. “Oh?”

—

Rex waved the cart driver down, panting. “C-can…can I ride…ride with? I know the…” He held up one hand. “One second…” He took a good, deep breath, and seemed to be doing better. “Can I ride with her? I know her. I won’t bother you, and can even pay for both of us if need be.”

He smiled and waved to Hazel as he hopped onto the opposite side of the cart. There wasn’t enough room for her to maintain her normal distance, but somehow Rex figured she would find a way to deal with that.

“So…where are we headed?” Rex asked.

Hazel looked at him as he jumped up on the wagon with her. “You offered to pay?” She tilted her head at him. “You carry silver with you?” Though Hazel wouldn’t complain she could easily pay for what he didn’t have. “We’re going to Mamlak.”

Halfway through Laeto they had to stop for the night. They were at a small tavern and inn. The potato farmer had already gone in leaving Hazel and Rex to gather their belongings. “I can pay for our rooms.” She smiled at him and led him into the tavern.

“Can I have two rooms?”

“We only have two and one was just bought.”

Hazel looked up at the owner then over to Rex, “That’s fine.” She pulled out the coin and handed it. “Thank you.” She said as she got the key and sighed. “Rex… Come on you can sleep on the floor.” She was just going to make him sleep in the cart but she couldn’t do that.

Once they were in the room she put her bag down and got out a simple set of shorts and a tank top. “I need to change into my sleepwear… I’ll be back.” She grabbed the blanket off the bed and came back shorting throwing her blood-stained clothes into a chair. She had the blanket wrapped around her and was waddling into the room not wanting to show him.