Witch Hunter || Laya + Oliver AU
When the knowledge that there were people in their world with the powers of a god, thing had begun to unravel. Neighbor suspected neighbor, the fear of what might happen should one of these monsters turn against them loomed over everything. Some countries took the knowledge in stride, set up registry systems, checks and balances, ways of keeping the super-powered individuals under watch.
The United States had banned them altogether. They had created special prisons, all new laws for persecution of these monsters. And with that came government-sanctioned militias paid brilliantly for the capture of these demons.
Christopher Dash had been one of the men chosen to lead one of these groups. He was a brutal, unforgiving man - one capable of killing without so much as blinking, without remorse. One who was driven purely by the promise of his large pay out. His regiment included fifty young men trained like soldiers, given weapons and transportation. This regiment included his son, a 6'6 blonde dedicated to both his father and the cause.
Though they were technically outside of the U.S. border, word had reached Christopher about a large group of witches living on a small island off the coast of Canada. They were powerful - more powerful than anything they'd ever seen - and large in number. Capturing even one of these beasts would give them an amazing paycheck. Especially if it was one of the leaders, one of the more powerful.
He had been enraged when his regiment returned from the raid on that mansion empty-handed. What Christopher Dash didn't seem to understand was that they didn't just have powers - they had wings. They had been so ill-prepared for the fight they walked into and, frankly, were lucky to have walked away with a few bumps and scrapes.
The whole encounter had caused his son some pause upon returning to the ship which had been granted to them, thinking about it as he nursed a dark bruise on his ribs - why hadn't they killed them? Sure, the Hunters had tools to use against them, namely the binds aboard their boat that would effectively cancel out their powers, render them no more than human, but they hadn't known what they were getting into. They very easily could have wiped out the entire lot, but they hadn't. They had just retreated.
His father's rage, the solid fist to the gut, however, had been enough to distract him, enough to remind him of what these things were - monsters. Witches. Inhuman beasts with powers unlike anything else in the world. Demons. A mockery of God; a creation of the Devil.
Small groups of their men - not that there were too terribly many of them to begin with - were sent after the lessers. The rest of the family who were strong, but not the leaders they were searching for.
No, that was left to Oliver and four other men. His father waited aboard the ship.
"This is your time to prove yourself." His father had snarled at him. "You've been nothin' short of worthless to me. This is your last chance to change that."
He had to. To rid the world of these monsters and to prove to his father that he deserved his place here in the Hunters, that he had worth.
His back to the law stone wall on the far perimeter of the cottage, Oliver made sure to stay silent, keep his breathing even - slow, deep breaths. As the men started toward the cottage, slow and steady, staying silent and staying low - taking advantage of the freshly fallen snow - he pulled up the collar of his coat just a bit higher, staying hidden in the early-morning darkness.
He would prove he had worth. He would bring them back to his father, take them in change, and take them back for persecution.
@layathedarkone
