Loch's mind appeared to freeze over at the sight before him. The middle-aged Hunter's state looked almost exactly like his dream, with the same ripped up suit and everything. The Hunter was staring at the two surprising beings next to the table and appeared as if his mind had frozen even worse than Loch's. An awkward silence eventually began to stretch between them, that was broken by the one who was more nervous than confused. "Did you call for me?" Loch asked the first thing that came to his mind.
The Hunter's eyes narrowed after hearing the question, before a roughish grin began to crawl up his blood caked face. A severe laceration sliced the man's right cheek to his ear. The smile reopened the previously dried blood, sending fresh, dark red blood down his face and across his lips. Giving the man an even more eerie look, compacted with his current surroundings, Loch felt as if he was staring at a Fiend, creatures the Priests of Earth always warned the misbehaving children about, from their lips, the Fiends would crawl up from the bowels of the underworld and devour any children who snuck out at night to cause trouble.
The little naive courage Loch possessed was quickly disappearing. His green eyes shook at the sight of the grinning Hunter and his calm grey eyes drilling a hole into his head. As if feeling Loch's rising fear and the culprit for it, Jack flexed his wings wide upon his perch on the young boy's shoulder and let out a caw in the direction of the tied up Hunter. Hearing the call from his companion and the metaphorical beating of his chest in warning to the Hunter, Loch calmed himself the best he could before looking back at the Hunter and asking again, "Well? Did you call for me or not?"
The Hunter's grin softened but didn't disappear as he took stock of Loch entire form. His eyes were no longer piercing and more searching. "Ain't you an odd little punk? I don't know if you're brave or utterly moronic coming here tonight. Probably a bit of both, but more of the latter I would say." Seeing the hurt look on Loch's childish face from his reply, the man let out a wet cough like laugh before he continued, "I didn't call for you. I'm not that heartless."
With a face of confusion and loss, Loch thought to himself, 'Was it merely coincidence? I thought this was the start to my story... Witnessing the loss, look upon the boy's face, the Hunter didn't laugh this time, but with an almost apologetic look upon his face, he interrupted Loch's trailing thoughts, "I was using my aura to call for backup. Usually only someone with an awakened aura could tune in to a Hunter's aura call." 'Aura call? What in the soil is that? Is that one of the powers of a Hunter?' Loch's confused mind was only sent further into chaos. This time, however, he was far more intrigued than scared. "Why can I hear your call, then? I don't have this Aura thing?"
The chained Hunter gave the boy an odd look now, as if what the Loch asked was such common knowledge, "What do you mean, what is Aura? It's the most basic power of controlling Aether outside one's body. Whether working with tainted or purified Aether, all awakened can use Aura." After hearing the explanation, although it was said in a tone as if the Hunter was looking at someone who just came out from a cave, Loch's eyes still sparkled in excitement as he asked, "What's Aether?" The Hunter looked even more speechless and staring hard at the boy, his eyes narrowed as a dangerous air began to gather in the room, while the man's rich but calm voice took on an irritated close to angry tone, "Are you messing with me?"
Not being able to help himself, Loch took a step back, as he felt the air around him become heavy. He began to leak large droplets of sweat, and his breathing became rough. After several seconds and accompanied by a now squawking Jack, Loch managed to only stutter out one word, "What? The man's face tightened into a heavy frown. Thick veins swelled in his neck and hands as he exerted tremendous effort, shaking even the chains that bound him to the table. "Who are you working for? Did those blood sucking bastards send you to try to bring my mental walls down? I'll not fall for such a simple ploy, go back to your master, little Thrall."
Though burdened and breathless, Loch managed to force out a few words, expending every ounce of his strength. "What on the soil are you bloody talking about?" As suddenly as it came, the heavy atmosphere surrounding it appeared to disappear. Loch almost immediately fell to his knees as he took several giant lungfuls of air. To the Hunter's experienced eyes, he could tell this boy was not lying to him. He also knew that it was highly unlikely this skinny boy would be working for the people who had ambushed him. 'But then why doesn't he have such basic knowledge, and how the hell did he hear my Aether call then? This stuff should have already been taught to him.' The Hunter thought to himself, as he used his Aura to scan the kneeling boy again, unseen to Loch, a set of smoky tendrils were caressing the air around his body as if they were tasting something and were only a few centimeters from touching him. They appeared like thin grey colored tentacles, similar to a jellyfish, appearing in uniform sizes from around the Hunter's head.
"I'm... not... working... for... anyone." Loch said through gasps from his position on his knees, while Jack, who didn't appear to be ruffled from the previous experience, still had his wings outstretched and was cawing at the Hunter, as if reprimanding him. Whether because of finding something or the lack of something, the Hunter redrew his smoking tendrils and said in a gentler tone, "I know. Come on, get up, it was only a basic Aura suppression. If I released the full thing, it would have crushed your brittle bones." With shaky legs, Loch got back to his feet and looked back over to the Hunter. His previous excitement was truly doused now. "By the blessed soil, quiet that bird down, will you?"
Loch, nodding, gently patted the fired-up Raven with his right hand. The Raven quieted and lowered its wings, but still appeared to give the tied-up Hunter a death stare. The Hunter matched gazes with the bird for a moment and couldn't help but blurt out loud, "Brave pet you got there, boy." A slight sense of pride washed over Loch as he made eye contact with Jack who softly beat his wings and automatically replied, "Jack's not my pet, he's my brother."
The Hunter looked at the grey streak that ran down the Raven's midnight-colored feathers and then to Loch's wrapped arm, it appeared as if the wrapping couldn't hide the contents beneath to the Hunter, as he muttered in an almost whisper, "Blighted should always stick together." Loch, who didn't manage to catch the words, looked back at the man and hesitatingly asked, "What was that... ummm... Sir?"
"It's nothing, boy. Well, considering you're not with those bloodsuckers, and you're here already, and I've been calling for almost half a day now with no response, you may as well help me." The Hunter replied, as his sharp eyes locked back onto the boy.
Even though Loch was still holding a belly full of fear of the man before him, all the years growing up hearing about the heroic deeds committed by Hunters made him still feel as if the man before him held no true ill will against him. "Okay, what do you need me to do?" After taking a nervous gulp, Loch tried his best to put on a confident front and asked.
"You specifically? You can't do shit for me here. However, you can help by retrieving someone who can truly help me." The Hunter replied. Even though his tone didn't sound like he was deliberately insulting the boy and just stating facts, Loch still felt slightly dispirited at the hard truth. 'I should have known. What can a one-armed orphan truly help with?' Loch berated himself as he listened to the Hunter, who began to explain how he could help. According to the Hunter, an outpost of Earth Knights was stationed at a house just one street from the Old woman's Hut. Loch even knew the house the Hunter was telling him about; it was a fairly famous house in the Shambles due to the fact that it was apparently haunted with many stories of people going in and never coming out. Loch just found out the truth, as there was apparently a secret group of Earth Knights called Sentinels stationed there. 'Why would the blessed warriors of the church be hiding out there for? All the gangs and criminals live on the East side of the Shambles.' Even though Loch was going over the many reasons the famous guardians of the Church and the Nobility would be set up there, he still listened intently to the Hunter's instructions.
"You'll need to take my Hunter's badge with you. It may be hard because of the chains, but with your bony arm, you should be able to reach through them. It's under my left side jacket. Once you get there, tell them that Tobias Grimstone sent you and... Oh... soil it!" The Hunter's calm voice slightly turned harsh as he stopped his explanation and closed his eyes. Loch could see the man's eyeballs moving around behind his lids, like he was searching for something. The man's tight frown turned into a snarl as his eyes snapped back open. Looking into Loch's shaky eyes, the man rushed out, "There is no time. Go, go now!"
Hearing the man's roar, Loch shuddered; his heart pounded, threatening to burst. Without thinking about why the Hunter suddenly told him to leave, but seeing the slight fear in the older man's eyes, Loch leaned over the table that was standing at his chest and tried his best to reach into the man's jacket, searching for the badge. Seeing the boy's action, the Hunter just shook his head and commanded, "Forget the badge! Just run. Find the Sentinels and tell them Tobias Grimstone has ended his Hunt." Hearing the resignation that now held no trace of fear in the man's tone brought Loch up short quicker than his roaring for him to leave. Taking a couple of steps back from the table and looking towards the doorway that led back towards the front of the shop, Loch hesitated.
"Don't worry about it, boy. All Hunters know that one day the Hunt must end. It'll be okay. It's not cowardly to run when you're up against something far stronger than you. Go." The Hunter's deep voice took on a gentle tone, as his grey eyes appeared to gleam with a purity of a man who was truly ready. Seeing the look in the man's eyes and the calm smile he was giving even while covered in blood made a similar scene flash through his mind unbidden. So much about the current situation was similar to the one playing through his eyes. Instead of the Hunter's tanned middle-aged face, with his neat mustache and slicked back black hair, a woman's face was superimposed over his.
A woman who appeared in her mid-twenties took the position of the tied up Hunter. She was also covered in blood and appeared to be missing both eyes. With the sockets dripping blood as if they were just recently plucked out. Even without eyes, the woman appeared to be looking right into Loch's own, while a gentle motherly smile filled her face, as she calmly spoke, "It's okay Loch. It's all going to be okay. I just need you to hide in our special place in the forest. Can you do that for Mummy?" The woman's face turned around as if something was heading towards them. Before she turned back to Loch with the same gentle smile, she urged, "I need you to go right now, honey. I'll be right behind you. Go and don't look back." As if Loch was currently running away, the women kept raising her voice as if he was getting further and further away, "Don't look back, honey. I'm right behind you. "...Don't look back..." Something abruptly silenced the woman, replacing her voice with a quickly stifled scream.
The familiar sound of the suppressed scream—one that had awakened Loch countless nights—rang in his mind, instantly sharpening his focus on the back room of the butcher shop. The blood-flecked walls, the smell of iron in the air, and the Hunter who was now yelling angrily at the frozen boy. Everything became crystal clear again. The large metal table and the thick iron chains became his entire world for a moment. Thoughts and ideas flew through his head like someone had kicked a nest of bees. 'Those chains look familiar. I wonder if they are also wea…' "I got it!" Interrupting his own thoughts, Loch couldn't help but cry out. His sudden shout even caused the Hunter to flinch for a moment before he roared at the boy, "What are you talking about, you moron!? Did you not hear me!? The bloodsuckers pet is coming back. I can feel his horrid aura from here, which means he is minutes away. Get your skinny ass out of here!"
Not listening to the yelling and flailing Hunter, Loch simply gave the man his brightest smile and shouted out while he ran to the other side of the room, "Don't worry! I'm an expert at escaping chains!"
Stopping his moving about and shouting, as it just exhausted him further, the Hunter just looked at the skinny boy who was stacking several crates on top of each other near the end of the table with an absurd look, as if he was watching a mental patient. Ignoring the Hunter, Loch felt like an erupting volcano, brimming with energy. He wasn't sure what exactly had lit this sudden fire within him, whether it was seeing the sight that had haunted him ever since he arrived at the Orphanage or Loch was just sick of being utterly hopeless to his fate, he just knew that if he didn't try, he would never be able to sleep again.
After stacking several boxes on top of each other in a one, two, and three pattern, Loch used them like a set of steps. Now standing on the three stacked high boxes, he was able to reach up towards the roof. His objective was not the roof; instead, it was just below it, where a sturdy steel pipe ran from one wall to another. Hanging on these pipes were several thick hooks that ended in razor sharp points. The hooks were designed to hold slabs of meat, but they were currently empty. Retrieving one of the hooks from the pole, Loch climbed down his impromptu stairs, almost slipping on the blood-covered floor. Jack almost lost his perch on his shoulder than well and let out a caw in surprise, looking up at his companion, Loch shouted out a command as he hurried back over to the middle of the table while pushing one of the crates over with his foot. "Jack, head outside and watch the back area. Let me know if you see anyone coming towards here." With a caw, Jack left Loch's shoulder and headed towards the front door.
Loch stood on top of the crate and could now look down on the tied-up Hunter and get a better look at the chains. The chains repeatedly encircled the man and the table in a simple loop, running from just below his shoulders to his ankles. They were so tight they were digging into the man's flesh. Seeing the serious look on the boy's face as he investigated the chains, the Hunter decided to avoid interrupting Loch and to simply wait. Even though he was not holding much hope for whatever plan the boy had cooked up on the fly, the Hunter couldn't help but notice a slight trace of anticipation rising within him.
A frown began to gather on Loch's tiny face as his sweaty palm gripped the metal hook tightly, while his eyes ran up and down the chains with a meticulous eye. 'Come on. Come on, there is always a weak link. Always.' Loch muttered to himself, and as the fire raging in his belly began to settle down, he looked over the chain. 'Our luck can't be that bad. It doesn't look new...Wait, there!' Loch couldn't help but exclaim in his own mind, as he jumped off the crate and looked at a part of the chain that was wrapped around the Hunter's waist. The specific part of the chain Loch was looking at was on the side of the table, almost underneath it. The link he was looking for appeared slightly damaged, as if due to the Hunter's repeated thrashing and moving, made the link catch itself on the side of the table, scraping into the metal link and bending it slightly out of shape. Loch looked back at the Hunter, who hadn't taken his eyes off the boy, raised his hook, and wagged it in the air with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll have you out of those chains before you can say... Soil it!"
The Hunter gave the boy a raised eyebrow in response to the sudden curse, before he realized why he said that, then he mimicked Loch with a snarl, "Soil it!" Jack had just flown back into the room and started cawing wildly while flying near the back door, which was past the end of the table. Understanding that Jack was trying to tell him that someone was coming through the back door he hadn't been through, Loch knew he was running out of time, in a loud whisper Loch cried out, "Hide Jack!" while he jammed the sharp point of his hanging hook into the link at the side of the table before gripping the opposite end of the hook tightly and laying down under the table. While placing both his feet on the back of the table for more strength and gritting his teeth, Loch began to pull on the hook with all his might.
The link in the chain distorted slightly more but didn't break. Loch paused for a moment, as the sound of a door opening further into the building followed by what sounded like very heavy footsteps following, made his already beating heart run rampant. Taking a deep breath, Loch gripped the hook and began to pull again. He was exerting so much, veins were bulging in the side of his head, while a crazed look began to gather in his eyes. Just as the footsteps approached the backdoor and the sound of the door opening viciously with a bang, that clapped like thunder in Loch's ears, another sound which sounded like the very heavens were singing rang out straight after, with a soft Tink, followed by the momentum of Loch pulling suddenly coming free the hook came flying back at him, almost hitting him in the face. Not wasting another moment, Loch grabbed the now broken chain by one end and began pulling, unravelling one end, with the end of the chain wrapping around his arm. The sound of two large feet slamming down just to the right of Loch brought his desperate pulling to a swift stop, as he looked to the side and saw what could be a massively overweight set of feet. "Soil it."