Born From Blood

The bleak, dark atmosphere of Yharnam was something I grew accustom to. I didn't see a problem with how the world was cascaded in night time forever, or how the streets were covered in blood. I didn't care much that there were eldritch beings beyond my imagination plaguing that world with evils I knew nothing about. I didn't care about the monsters, most of them once human, that I slaughtered, or the other Hunters driven mad by their nightmares that I had put down.

I thought I was doing what I was born to do. I thought I had to do these things in order to succeed. Gherman, a mentor to Hunters, always instilled that into my head. I went through nightmarish realms with only my weapons and clothes, and a mind made of steel, blocking out the nightmares I would have if I ever were to sleep. The only thing that separated me from the other Hunters was my attitude. Comedy, the main thing that made me different from the others.

Am I okay?

No, I don't think so.

You watched Twilight as she scrambled from the doorway over to you, bound to tackle you before you brought your hands up defiantly. You weren't bleeding anymore, but you were still plenty bruised and your bones ached. She looked like she had been crying for hours, and you knew it was probably true.

She started to speak but it was a jumbled mess of half-said words, trying to formulate a sentence. You shook your head, speaking instead. "Before you say anything, yes, I'm fine. Yes, I did get hurt, and yes, I almost died. And from the very very small amount of time I've spent with your neurotic self, you probably think that you had some fault in that. But you don't. What happened was for the best- if I didn't find that thing, someone else would have."

She shook her head. "That doesn't mean I get to disrespect you-"

You cut her off, raising your hand. "-Yeah, it doesn't mean you get to disrespect me. But that was an environment that I wasn't comfortable with, so it put me on edge. You were worried about me being there and it was a spur of the moment reaction from the both of us. It's not something I'm going to hate you over. I've almost been killed by some Hunters and still forgave them, so do you think I'd care if there was one argument between us?"

She sat there in silence, shaking her head after a few seconds.

"I'm glad your worried about me- It's still not normal for me, and weirds me out a little bit, but I think if I was going to be thankful for anything that'd be one of them. I'm fine though- really. I recover pretty fast from injuries- and that wasn't the worst I've had."

Memories of your fight with the Orphan of Kos stung your brain.

You were waiting for Twilight to say something, but she didn't. She was instead observing you, eyeing every little detail. No, not that detail you moron! You were still covered up down there. You tilted your head slightly in question. "Twilight? You alright? Did I break you or some shit?"

Twilight, as if she was caught in the act of something bad, shook her head violently and sputtered. "N-No! I just... I haven't seen you. Like, you. You've been wearing that outfit since you've got here, and I only saw your full face a few times. You look so... normal."

You smirked. "And the red eyes?"

"Suit you, surprisingly. I'd say they work well with your abrasive nature." She said, hopping on the bed opposite of you. "Which isn't a bad thing all the time. What you said to me had clicked a few minutes after you left, and I realized you weren't trying to be rude."

"Oh well, that time I was. But I meant what I said. I'm not always good, but I'm always honest."

The room fell into silence, both of you not sure what to say. You stared off into space, your minds racing to the battle that felt like happened only twenty minutes ago, and the thoughts of what might happen next. You felt a shiver go down your spine, a feeling you haven't had in a long long time.

"Anon?" Twilight asked, her face full of sympathy. "Is there something wrong?"

You smiled at her, shaking your head. "Nope."

...

"Yeah, actually, there is." You spoke a few minutes afterwards, your voice wavering slightly. Twilight looked at you, her ears perked up and her attention fully on you. You tried rambling through your brain to figure out how to say things but instead of that, you just started to speak.

"This world is beautiful. It's clean, it's bright even if the sun hurts my eyes, and it's cheerful. And now... now things from my curse-ridden world are popping up here, and you all won't be able to fight back against that easily. The only thing stopping you all from getting hurt is me. I know the monsters- I've fought them before and Celestia recently told me that the Darkbeast was resistant to your magic. Which, from what I've seen, is almost a building block for your society."

"I look at what happened today and I... I feel strange. I had no way to repair my injuries in the fight like I usually am able to do, I had no help, and I wasn't prepared. I'm from that world and I'm struggling with it. What the hell will happen when I'm not there? I'm alone here, Twilight. Even if I'm bunking in your room, even if I'm surrounded by you pony-folk, I'm an alien in your world. Utterly alone, against beasts in this bright world."

"I don't know how to put my feelings into words but I think... I think I'm..."

"I think I'm scared, Twilight. I think I'm just... absolutely terrified."