#☽ thread.

[swordsborne-a]

@vilestblood​ / heehee hug time

He didn’t flinch away. That was a step in the right direction. The hatred Yharnam -- and the Executioners in particular -- bore for the nobility of Cainhurst seemed unwarranted to him. There was nothing that they had done that Byrgenwerth had not tried first. He knew. He had been there. ( He just hadn’t paid attention. That was his own fault. )

       “I’m not lonely. Are you?” There was a challenge behind his words, but it was gentle. He kept his hands on the other’s back. “Don’t worry. I’ve not lost my senses. You have no target here.”

[swordsborne-a]

@vilestblood​ / one who executes is not, necessarily, an executioner

His cloak scraped through the snow as he turned. It had grown so cold over the past week that the last flurry had frozen over entirely; where he stepped, his foot broke through a half-inch hard surface before crunching into the softer stuff beneath. His breath escaped in huffs as he caught his breath, staring at the stranger before him. “--it’s pretty cold,” he said, by way of greeting, and there was a hint of a smile on his face, even as he shivered.

[swordsborne-a]

@goodhunting​ / moon-scented hunter

The scent was as familiar to him as his own -- distilled moonlight, tinged with blood that could only have been administered in Yharnam. He had carried that smell, once; more the former than the latter, to be sure, and there had been smoke, horrible smoke... now he smelled of the sea, salt and cool water. The blood remained. Blood was compulsory. Two slow blinks, and he did not reach for his sword. Beneath it all, he could just make out the gentle aroma of flowers. Her favorites. “Good Hunter-- this is not your Dream. Go back.”

[swordsborne-a]

@derjaegermond​ / above all else - do no harm

“Then am I to assume that Gehrman--?” That was a shame, truly. He harbored no ill will towards Gehrman and his Hunter’s Workshop. Whatever he and Laurence had been planning, Alexander was sure that it had been for the good of all of them -- even if it hadn’t panned out that way. Even if it had ended up making everything so much worse. Still, he would have expected to see him in the Nightmare; perhaps, then, the state of being he had found himself in with his... patron had altered things. And now it had another Host, and, much as Alexander wished to be welcoming, it had no place here.

       “I’m sorry, Good Hunter -- Host of the Dream -- but this Nightmare isn’t for you. Not yet, maybe not ever. Please, go back. And don’t send your disciples here. It will do more harm than good.”

[swordsborne-a]

@yellowfingcr​ / a face i haven’t seen before!

“Thank you for helping me!” With a squelch, he extracted his sword from the beast’s body, holding the hilt tightly in two hands and angling the blade down to scan for any damage. Beating steel into bone was never a good idea, but it was what had to be done. Perhaps he’d have time to bring it back to the workshop in the morning, and somebody there would fix it. Certainly it would have been worse, if he hadn’t had anyone to assist him. He smiled brightly and wiped what blood he could onto the grass, then sheathed his weapon and extended a hand. “That was impressive!”

[swordsborne-a]

@bastardbeast

       “Ardner?” They had told him that he might find lone Hunters of the Church out tonight, those that did not move in units surrounded by townspeople. Lucas, unable to resist the urge to help where he could, had left his group in the hands of another and set out to find these stragglers. Regardless of skill, a Hunter on their own could be easily overwhelmed by beasts, and Lucas did not wish to see this happen to a fellow member of the Church. He crossed the courtyard, where the fountain still flowed and the crows kept their distance, scanning the scene for any signs of life. “I’m here. You don’t have to hide.”

[swordsborne-a]

@cruentc

       A Hunter of the League -- that was who had been looking after Ursula all this time. When he had sought his sister out, reaching down through the waters of the Nightmare in an attempt to glimpse the world below, he had seen beside her a shadowy form, difficult to place, but never hostile. By the way he carried himself, he must have been one of Valtr’s. Lucas had to wonder if the Beast Eater had survived the night thus far, but he was not here for him. “Well met, League Hunter.”

[swordsborne-a]

@sanctussanguiis

       It had been years since he had entered the Upper Cathedral Ward -- the last time he had visited had been before Old Yharnam was burnt to the ground, before he relinquished his Choir robes and joined Ludwig on his hunt, wielding a greatsword in place of the much-beloved pick of his years as a student. On the night of the Hunt, with the Blood Moon struggling to force its way through Rom’s deception, the distances between worlds were shortened or done away with altogether, and Lucas could cross back into the land of the living and grant aid to those in it.

       With the bridge burnt down, those barricaded in Cathedral Ward were safe from the beasts ravaging the main city, but greater terrors loomed here, and, as Lucas ascended the stair, batting enemies out of his way, he kept a careful ear out for any sounds that might lead to those left behind at the top of the tower. It was good that he did; there was somebody here.

       “Hello? Can you hear me? Please, open this door. I’m here to help.”