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raccoonmooon · 4 years

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the poison, drunk

Post pledge ending, the hunter does not tell anyone when they leave Lunaris.

The hunter's sister (who is a hunter herself) acquires a lingering injury, and decides to take the time off to visit her sibling.

Instead she finds a mystery, and a town full of people who's help she will need to solve it.

categories: angst, hurt / comfort, eventual happy ending, maybe the hunter can have a little redemption arc, as a treat, two hunters, divergence from canon epilogue | pairings: August / F!Hunter, Finnzra, Finnzra / nb!Hunter | fic rating: explicit | content warnings (this chapter): mild body horror | word count: 3,343 | read on AO3

Chapter 2/? | and I come back changed

chapter summary- Rowan leaves for Lunaris, Maro leaves Lunaris

Rowan woke to the sound of rain pattering on a tent, she sat up suddenly and immediately regretted it, a wave of vertigo and nausea overtaking her. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and there was a persistent, pounding ache in her left leg, she wasn’t sure she could feel her toes.

“Are you up Velle?” Keane’s gruff voice called “Come out here and have some stew!”

She groaned and flipped onto her knees to crawl out of the little tent, and hissed at the sharp pain when she bumped her left foot on the ground. Keane was sitting next to a cheery little fire, stirring a pot of what smelled like rabbit and not much else. He was maintaining a thin magical barrier several meters above the fire, keeping the rain at bay. The smoke twisted into strange shapes against the invisible surface before flowing up and around it.

“How long have I been asleep?” she managed to croak out.

He handed her a skin of water which she graciously gulped down, and replied “Day an’ a half. Lucky your boot leather kept you from takin’ more than a scratch from the thing or you might not be wakin’ up at all.”

She sat on an overturned log next to the fire. “Did you-”

“Aye, I remembered to bring the damn thing, keepin’ it cool but not frozen as you said.”

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding “Thank you.” he nodded and went back to stirring the stew.

It certainly wasn’t the impetus for the hunt, but she had planned on collecting the manticore’s stinger to use both as a component for antivenom on future hunts, and a way to learn more about the creatures. They were rare in this part of the world, meant for sand dunes and desert nights, and the demonologist in her had relished the idea of learning more. Hells.

Now it seemed she’d be needing it all for antivenin potions if she wanted to keep her leg. Very little was needed for each dose, but she wondered how long her new supply would last. And of course, it could only prevent further damage, it wouldn’t heal what had already been done, or permanently neutralize the venom, which was as magical in nature as the creature that had provided it.

She needed to have it seen by a witch, but Keane was the only game in town on that front, and healing wasn’t his forte. Hadn’t Maro’s letters mentioned-

Keane passed her a tin camp mug full of rabbit stew, breaking her from the spiraling reverie.

“Eat up. Think you can walk on that?” He nodded at her leg.

She grimaced “I don’t think so Enforcer.”

He nodded again and slurped his stew.

Once he’d finished eating he trundled off into the woods to look for “A half decent walkin’ stick” and left her with the crackling fire and her thoughts for company.

OOO

The hike back to town took nearly twice as long as the journey out. And Rowan was relieved when they finally stepped out of the trees and onto the little dirt road. It wound through the farmland that surrounded and supported the remote little village of Enk. Puddles had pooled in the wagon ruts after the recent rains and pale spring grass was coming up on the sides of the road.

Rowan now walked with a sturdy stick taking the weight of every other step, a dull ache remained in her left foot, and while the sharp pain of jostling it had lessened, it was now swollen and stiff. She had managed to ration out the remaining pre-prepared doses for the rest of the trip, and would be able to make more as soon as she had access to the headquarter’s alchemy equipment.

Not that theirs was the best equipped headquarters in Eskria, the village too small to support a large presence from the corp’. It was just herself, Keane, one lower ranking enforcer, and two other hunters. All working out of a sturdy wooden building that was only just as large as it needed to be.

This place had been exactly what she’d needed on her arrival three years ago, drowning in grief. The slower pace and bright, wide open meadows had given her misery space to flow away from her, making it easier to keep her head above water. But recently she had begun to relish the thought of another reassignment, a chance to make more use of everything she’d learned in all the extra time she’d had to study here.

They trudged into the sleepy village center around midday, the tavern owner Rosie was one of the few people around. She looked up from her herb garden to wink at Rowan. She was short and curvy, with unruly golden hair piled in a bun, and pink freckled cheeks. She’d become fast friends with the shrewd and mischievous woman, and had shared a bed with her on occasion. But neither had been interested in more, so it had comfortably been left at that.

Rowan smiled back at her as Keane clapped her on the shoulder.

“Rest up, make your potion, meet me back with your report tomorrow, and we’ll discuss what’s next, eh?”

She nodded and they went their separate ways.

OOO

The next day Rowan stepped out of the crisp morning air into her enforcer’s office, the quarterstaff she’d found to replace the rough walking stick made hollow thunks on the dusty wooden floor as he waved her in. She balanced her report on his overflowing desk and sat.

He leaned back in his chair “Got your potion made?”

“Enough to last several weeks, it takes up more space fully prepared, so I’ve left the remaining venom in an enchanted jar to keep it cool and reasonably compact until I’m ready to make more.”

“Good, now General, you’re officially on leave until that leg is back in workin’ order. I’ve done what I can, but for a manticore sting you need to get yourself to a proper healer, there’s a fellow in Lenfield-”

She cut him off “Enforcer, I was wondering if I might try Lunaris? It’s a week closer than Lenfield and my sibling mentioned in their letters they’ve got a top rate healer there.”

Keane eyed her for a moment from under from under his bushy brows before breaking into the grandfatherly smile he so rarely granted “Oh off you go then, get in a visit with young Maro while you’ve got the chance.”

Rowan let herself smile back, she had only seen Maro once in the nine years since she’d graduated, and despite their frequent correspondence she missed her younger sibling dearly. She had been pleasantly surprised at the contents of the most recent letters, they seemed to be doing well in Lunaris. There hadn’t been a new one waiting when she’d returned from the hunt, but that wasn’t so unusual, and now she’d be able to catch up in person.

“There was one other thing I wanted to discuss ‘fore you head out, I know you’ve been itchin’ to leave this town for months now and-”

She opened her mouth to disagree and he laughed “I’m old, not blind Velle! You’re goin’ stir-crazy out here between hunts and frankly it’s a waste a talent.”

He continued “I was planning to have you reassigned somewhere a bit busier when that new recruit we’re slated for finally shows up, but now you’ve got a week long ride anyways no point making you come all the way back afterwards only to turn on your heel again in another direction. I’ll be in touch with the headquarters in Lunaris and have them pass on your new assignment when you’re all healed up.”

Rowan stood up, leaning heavily on the quarterstaff “It’s been an honor to work with you Enforcer Keane.”

“Likewise.” Keane sighed “I’ll miss you Velle, heal well and good luck.”

A few hours later she’d packed her things, said her goodbyes, and with her horse in high spirits after nearly a month with nothing to do, was on the road to Lunaris.

OOO

Maro paced. And paced. Their room above The Wolf felt smaller and smaller with every pivot. Tightening like their skin. Something was crawling under their skin. Or was that their skin? Doing the crawling? It seemed like things were crawling in the shadows of the once familiar room as well.

There were new shadows in their mind. Shadows that spoke. Not a great sign, that. Plugging their ears didn’t help. With the shadows or with every clink and mutter and laugh and buzzing insect in and around the tavern.

They lurched to a stop as another wave of nausea overcame them. Gripping the bedpost like a lifeline. They could smell everything in the tavern as well. Cooked meat and human sweat and rarely cleaned bathrooms and-

The bedpost gave out and they fell, splintered wood in their hands. Their hands didn’t feel like their hands. Yes, still long-fingered and scarred. But reaching for things Maro did not want. Holding too hard to things that shouldn’t matter. Letting go of things that did. Crawling.

They held a breath in. And released it slowly. As Finn had had them do to quell their panic after that first encounter with the creature. The creature they were going to-

No. Breathe. In, cool hands light on their shoulders, calm voice counting. Out, their face pressed into a warm shoulder that smelled of vanilla. In. Out.

They felt guilty, using those memories to calm themself. Maro had betrayed their partners after all. The word partner implied a sharing of the load, a willingness to help and allow yourself to be helped. And Maro had tried, they had even surprised themself with how much they’d shared so soon. But when it had really mattered, they hadn’t been able to listen, to let go of the weight.

Maybe their hands were their own.

Maro stood on wobbly legs. They’d broken their relationship surely as they’d done the bedpost. They couldn’t fix that, couldn’t undo the damage already done. But maybe now they had a chance to prevent more.

#wtnc #wtnc fic #wtnc fanfic #when the night comes #august / hunter #finnzra #finn / ezra / hunter #august willenheim #finnegan kazimir #ezra lyon

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