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Aussies cradle the word cunt like it’s a sweet little puppy, rather than an insult to be launched at your face. Anyway, happy reading!
It’s that dream again. A dream... or a memory? Mayumi didn’t actually know. She had been too young to remember what she’d seen, too sick to really believe what her eyes took in that night.
All she knew... all she knew was that she’d never actually found her cat. Shadow never returned; she never saw her again. But whatever her four-year-old self had stumbled upon... whatever the fuck it was, it hadn’t eaten her. At least, she didn’t think it had tried to.
It was a question she’d asked herself many times over her life. She’d often had this reoccurring memory-like dream. There were only two options available: a Demon or a Duskwalker.
Lastly, between the fireplace and the door to the right, was a full-length mirror that ran from floor to ceiling with a coat rack next to it. The mirror was there so they could check their outfits before they left the house. If one didn’t like looking at their own reflection, it would be difficult to avoid doing so because of its placement.
They better be watching over me. I’m the last one left. At least on her father’s side. She had no idea about her mother’s origins, as her mother hadn’t either. Her family had been killed by Demons when she was young, leaving her orphaned.
“Now I’m going to have to carry you and this branch back at the same time. Do you know how hard that’s going to be?! And I don’t have any booze to reward myself with!”
I need a boyfriend or something. She paused and scrunched up her nose at herself. Ew. No, I don’t. Men are too complicated. Girlfriend then? She thought about it for a long while, her eyes scanning the canopy of leaves above... and then she shook her head. Same problem. Too complicated.
It was the symbol of the Demonslayer guild. This outfit was a perfect replica of hundreds that were worn by the guild, from the hood and pants to the very shoes. All of it was uniform, all of it was the same, except for one major detail – the colour of the insignia revealed the person’s status within the Demonslayer guild.
The highest colour was gold, the lowest was black. Her left nostril twitched in irritation at the silver insignia on her chest that designated the second-highest ranking in the guild. She twisted away from her reflection.
I’ve never fought a Duskwalker before. How different could it really be? Nothing could survive an arrow between the eyes, right in the forehead where their brain was. She doubted a Duskwalker would be any different. Hmm. But I have heard their skulls are basically impenetrable.
There was an Impala-horned one with a wolf skull for a face – one many had tracked and lost their lives to. A deer-antlered one with a fox skull. A bear-skulled one with bull horns spiking on its head like the devil himself – it was ruthless. Every Demonslayer within the guild had been told never to engage it.
The new Duskwalker had antlers on its head and a rabbit skull. It was larger than any they’d ever heard of and was rabid, attacking anything and everything within earshot. Another ‘do not engage’ warning had been given by now-dead Demonslayers who’d released a messenger bird before their demise.
There had been sightings of a fifth one, but so far, no one had managed to get a good look at it before retreating to safety.
Mayumi had been discharged for violating an order. It was an order she would never follow, even if it meant she could never be a part of the guild and could only hunt Demons as she did now – at her home or in her wanderings. She was no longer allowed to fight alongside guild members, hunt with them, or be within ten miles of a Demonslayer stronghold. She wasn’t even allowed to wear her uniform, but it was the safest thing to wear. It hid her in the shadows, just like the Demons themselves.
The colour white snuffed out the red in its orbs, its body frozen like it was in the clutches of fear—like it’d seen a Ghost. The Duskwalker darted off to the side and disappeared into the forest.
A cat skull... It had a cat skull.
I saw a Duskwalker that night. That’s what she’d seen when she was little. That’s what had brought her home. It was hard to mistake that skull when she’d briefly seen it in the past. She’d been trying for years to clear away the blurry haze of her memory, to piece it together, but she’d never had anything real to place it next to. Until now. It saved me. Why?
She’d been too dizzy and childish to realise the gigantic thing in front of her wasn’t normal. But upon seeing him again, she knew that was the truth.
Perhaps I wasn’t enough of an enticing snack as a kid. Though if he tried to kill her now, she wouldn’t show him a shred of mercy and would return the sentiment.
Sitting on the long length of a strong, sturdy branch, Kitty – his self-proclaimed name – watched the tiny Demonslayer woman go about her day.
I love him already
She had occupied this house almost every other time Kitty had come to check on the little human he’d saved, and he’d witnessed her grow into the strong woman he saw now.
She had been horribly sick with a fever when he’d rescued her. He’d grown concerned for her life, but once she was better, Kitty remained until he knew for certain she was well. He always came back.
Although she didn’t know he was there, he acted as her eyes and ears to make sure she remained unharmed until she composed herself. It was a memory he cherished, witnessing this woman’s pain that was only meant for herself. Especially since it was the middle of spring and she fell onto her hands and knees in a sea of colourful flowers to scream and weep her grief.
He grew amused and interested in the sudden way she then buried her emotions and headed to the stronghold with her head held high. She stomped her feet the entire time he followed her until he couldn’t go any further.
He thought he would like to see a Demon suddenly combust – it’d be awfully hilarious.
I will be her guard until one of us dies.
It was anyone’s guess whether it would be her or him first.
As long as I survive all her years, that is fine. He hoped Mayumi would reach an old, frail state, but he was also sure she would soon go back to battle more Demons.
This dangerous woman would be quicker to stab me in the seam than let me touch her. Still, Kitty didn’t mind his one-sided, dark fantasies. He’d come here to protect her and nothing more.
Hereeeee, Mayumi, Mayumi, Mayumi, he mentally called, just like how she’d once called for her precious kitty.
Her life had become a boring, mundane cycle of the same habits.
unfortunately same
“Yoshida,” Mayumi grumbled as she rubbed her temples, “I swear if you give me trouble today, I’ll climb the tower wall and drop cow dung on you again.” Henry, the dark-skinned soldier next to Yoshida, threw his head back and let out a bellowing laugh into his helmet.
“Only those who are incapable of fighting after an injury are honourably discharged. You, however, are stronger than ever.”
“I’m under an oath that forbids me from speaking of it.” She rubbed her wrist in annoyance rather than pain. Her fur jacket prevented her from being abraded by his grasp. “Is that a good enough answer for you, Yoshi?”
To have unguarded free rein of the noble sector, a person was required to have a special plaque or a soldier’s coin. Both were difficult to replicate.
She also wasn’t interested in fighting with poor, struggling, sick, desperate civilians. She understood their motives. It was hard to hate them for it.
“It’s just getting to sleep that’s the problem.”
“There are demons in all of us.”
She didn’t need nor want a therapist, and she only came in here for a hearty meal to fill her belly and to obtain liquid warmth before she set back out into the bitter cold.
lolololol
Desperate people couldn’t be bargained with, not when their bellies were empty, and they would do anything just to survive another pitiful day.
As she positioned herself over the unconscious man below her, she glared at her final attacker and rolled her shoulders back, preparing to engage. Mayumi only paused when she noticed his trousers were wet, and yellow was beginning to stain the snow at his feet. “You’re joking. You’re really pissing yourself?” She thought she’d put on a good show, but she wasn’t actually scary. She was only five feet and one inch tall, for heaven’s sake. Swift and strong she may be, but she never truly compelled fear.
“Oh. Ha. Ah.” He couldn’t even formulate a word, only sounds fell from him. It took her far longer than it should have to realise that he hadn’t been looking at her.
The sword wielder didn’t just disappear into thin air, and dagger boy didn’t pee himself over nothing. That’s who has been watching me. While still crouching, Mayumi let her eyes drift over the forest once more, this time searching for any sign of the feline-skulled Duskwalker. He never left. He’s protecting me.
He has ram horns. I didn’t know he had ram horns. They were tan in colour and curled forward down the sides of his white skull. His face appeared to be that of a larger feline predator – perhaps a mountain lion or panther, rather than a cat’s.
“You’ve been watching me, following me. I wanted to know why.” He stopped pacing and darted his head in her direction. “Can I not? As long as I am not causing any harm, what does it matter what I do?”
“Of course, it matters. What you’re doing is odd.” Once her arm was covered, she tucked the tail of her bandage beneath the wrapping to secure it. “Duskwalkers kill and eat humans. Why would you go out of your way to protect one?”
“Fine. I’m protecting you.” His floating orbs morphed into a neutral yellow, but his stance was utterly aggressive with the way his hands and paws were spread, resting on the ground. “What of it?” “If I told you to leave, would you?” Mayumi asked, raising a singular brow and folding her arms. “No,” he answered, his orbs flashing red momentarily before fading back to yellow. The single word had been uttered with a deep and defining tone, ensuring she understood he wouldn’t be moved on this matter.
Mayumi had been waiting all her life, not only to find out the truth, but to meet the... creature that had saved her. She thought she’d be waiting until the day she died – whether that was of old age or by a Demon’s claws. Yet here he was, right in front of her, and emotions Mayumi usually bottled up inside of her threatened to bubble over and spill in front of him.
That instead of eating her like a monster, he’d brought her home. She was a four-year-old girl lost in the forest in the middle of the night. No one would have known it was him. He could have freely gotten away with it without any consequences, and she doubted he would have had a moral conscience about it. So why didn’t he eat her?
