The Hunter’s Weakness

Humans and monsters used to live in harmony. This was centuries ago, probably a little over 500 years in the past. They had their differences, of course, and there was a small amount of discrimination, certain species generally shunned others. It's always been difficult for people to accept things unlike them. Despite the tension and differences, everyone coexisted somewhat peacefully. The ruler at the time, Emperor Arlo, was essentially most of the reason behind the peace. Well, the continued peace. He was an amazing ruler, truly cared for his people and was absolutely amazing at problem solving and conflict deescalation. He was the reason the monsters were as accepted as they were. That is, until he was killed by one. It was a vampire, something blatantly obvious. He had the punctures in his neck, a telltale sign of a vampire attack, as well as a distinct lack of blood in his entire body. He was found in his castle, seated upon his throne like a morbid display. This was essentially received as an act of war. There was rioting, pillaging and burning of monster safe houses. Any place where monster occupancy was widely known—vampire blood banks, werewolf shelters, merfolk tanks—got destroyed by the humans, who outnumbered them. The monsters fought back the best they could, but it wasn't of much use. There aren't many biological assets with an advantage over militia. Pretty soon they were outlawed, something deeply unfortunate due to which empire this was. Amarath is a widely sought after place of residence, with an amazing and fair economy, mild wealth gap, and general acceptance and equality. To be unable to take residence there would be devastating to anybody. So, despite them being unwanted, they continued to sneak in. They'd try to cover their identities, try to hide their heritage and who they really were. Over time the empire became a bit more accepting. You were allowed residence as long as you had a certain percentage of human in your DNA—a lot of other civilizations still had monsters integrated in their society, for the most part, which meant cross-species mating wasn't uncommon. It's a very high percentage, though. 90%, mostly to make sure you at least looked human. Vampires were exempt from this. If you had anything in your family tree relevant to a vampire, your presence was forbidden within the Amarath borders. Vampires specifically are the most hated species of all, and that's not just in Amarath. That's almost global, due to all the damage they cause. Saying they have a lot of enemies is an understatement. Anyway, monsters still try to sneak in. They still try to live there, due to Amarath practically being a metropolis. If you wanted success, you moved there. Monsters essentially have no rights, they lost those when they murdered the amazing, generous and benevolent ruler that gave them so much. Being a hunter is a deeply respected profession, and pretty much everyone in the royal family takes part in it. Nobody hates monsters like the Sinclairs, the family that has ruled Amarath for generations. Nobody detests vampires with such a burning passion like that family. They lost history because of the species. This only became worse when the current Empress's—Eve Sinclair's—husband was killed by one, on a hunting trip gone wrong. Before that, her grandfather. Vampires are hated. The Sinclairs have made it their mission to wipe out the species completely, and said species has always fought back. It's a war that's gone on for centuries. Nothing will ever change that. Thankfully they basically have their own kingdom, Vanhallam, where vampires make up about 95% of the population. It is a good distance away from Amarath, for both citizen's safety, though there's always been tension. It's much lesser known, and smaller, but far safer than Amarath when it comes to being a member of that species. Vampires don't really come around much anymore, thankfully, though other monsters do. Still, they aren't as prioritized. Hopefully, one day, Amarath can be free of them completely. "Kita!" Kita glances up from what he'd been doing—taking an order—to find one of his regulars waving his glass. Kita gives him a nod of acknowledgement and goes back to the task at hand. "And also..." the woman at the bar squints down at her menu. "Hm. Do you have fries?" Kita tries not to feel impatient, despite the fact that under the sides category of the menu, it says plain as day that they have fries. Honestly, his parent's tavern—on paper simply called Pub Amarath, but nicknamed The Remedy—have some of the best fries in the empire. That shouldn't even be a question. Then again, she's also had about four drinks already. Honestly, Kita probably should've made her order food sooner. In his defense, it's a busy night. Then again... every night's a busy night. Kita tells her an affirmative, and she ends up ordering them. He then grabs a glass to start pouring another beer for the man. As he does so, he overhears a conversation behind himself. "I mean, we can't have just one ruler. Look how difficult it's been for Empress Eve." "I think she's done alright," the other person defends their leader. "She did a lot better when her husband was still alive." Kita purses his lips, getting an idea of what exactly they're talking about. The prince, the eldest child of Eve, has been under immense pressure as of late to find a partner. He is to take the throne within the next year or so, and Eve has been trying desperately to find him a suitable wife. One from a line of either royalty or money, Kita's sure. "He'll find a woman eventually." A lady, also in on the conversation, says. Kita realizes the beer he was pouring is overflowing, and he mutters a swear. He takes the glass over to the customer, then tries to shake all the beer off his hand. Someone a few seats down the line chimes in; "Not if he keeps turning them all down." "Oh, there's nothing wrong with being picky." "There is when it's selfish." "Wanting to find the right one is not selfish." Kita walks over to his register, and begins writing out the woman's order of fries, giving it to the kitchen. He also writes in the guy's beer, before attempting to focus on tuning out his patrons. He feels his mood brought down a bit. He doesn't like thinking about Alexis Sinclair that way. Falling in love. Leaving him. "Hey, Kita." Kita hears from behind himself. He turns around to find the same group that's been so deep in conversation this entire time. Honestly, half his bar top is participating in it at this point. "Yes, Ma'am?" Kita replies. He's expecting her to ask for another drink or a menu or something, but the woman instead inquires something completely different. "What do you think?" Kita frowns, fully aware that he cannot share his genuine opinion on this. He decides to settle for a very neutral, "I don't know." They immediately don't buy it, something Kita probably should've predicted. The drunks that come in here on the daily, drowning their sorrows and talking his ear off about random things, rarely accept anything that isn't agreement with them. Neutrality is included in that. "Come on! He's your best friend, isn't he?" This is true. Back before the pub got wildly successful, Kita's mother had to take side gigs. One of those was a kitchen job in the castle, and Kita's father was always too busy handling everything here, so he'd sometimes dump the responsibility of looking after Kita on the woman... even when she was at work. Luckily Eve is a kind and understanding ruler, so she didn't mind. She actually became supportive when Kita was introduced to Alexis. They hit it off immediately. Alexis was never good at making friends, he's always been too headstrong. It's his way or no way, so Kita would just go along with whatever Alexis wanted to do. This sort of submissive nature is rare—though submissive is probably the wrong word, he mostly just doesn't care—and it's what drew Alexis to him. Kita hasn't been able to shake him since. Not to say that Kita doesn't stand up for himself, or give his true opinions on things. He makes it well known how he feels about anything, but that's just it. He's so indifferent, doesn't care about much, so he doesn't really have much of an opinion on many topics. Still, when he does, Alexis listens to him every time. Despite being so strong willed, he doesn't really argue with Kita much. "He is." Kita affirms, since there's no use lying to these people. It's common knowledge, anyway. His friendship with Alexis is part of why The Remedy has the success that it does. It's gotten much more attention since the royal family became involved with Kita's own. The chance of running into the prince doesn't hurt either. "Alright." The lady says, "so tell us: why won't he settle down?" Kita never appreciated how nosy drunks were, especially when they ask questions he doesn't know the answer to. Especially when they ask questions he wants to know the answer to. "He's still young." Kita decides on. He ignores the ugly, selfish twist in his gut when he continues. "It'll happen eventually." That seems to somewhat pacify them, conversation dying down a bit. While Kita and Alexis are in fact young, Kita age twenty one and Alexis twenty three, he doesn't think that's actually the reason why Alexis turns everyone down. This is mostly because Kita can't remember the last time he was in a relationship at all. His mother has been trying to set him up for ages, but nobody reaches his standards. Eve got married to Alexis' father when she was younger than he is now. Yet, still, nobody has ever caught that guy's attention. Kita has almost given up trying to figure out why, assuming Alexis must have ridiculously high standards or is just too focused on his hunting career something. Kita isn't complaining, because when Alexis gets married, he will be gone a lot, since he'll likely take the throne right after. Kita isn't too keen on losing his best friend anytime soon, so he'll take what he can get. A few more hours go by, until the pub is about thirty minutes from closing. There are only a couple people at the bar now, but they're either almost done or completely billed out. Kita is scrubbing the bar floor—it's his least favorite part of closing, so he tries to get it out of the way first—when he hears the chime of the door opening, announcing another guest. Kita isn't particularly thrilled about this, seeing as he's trying to pre-close, but he decides to just make due. It's money, after all. When he looks up to see who just entered, however, he freezes. Kita isn't the only one looking, but then again, he never is. Not when it comes to Alexis. His mere presence demands the attention of anyone in attendance. He just has a certain power about him that's hard to ignore, so it doesn't matter how often the prince enters this establishment, he will be gawked at every time. Then again, his mother is the ruler of the greatest empire this side of the sea, so that's probably part of it. He's wearing the dark bodysuit that goes under his armor, as well as a coat and some black cargo pants. He's got his heavy work boots and gloves on, with his sword on his hip. Looks like he's back from his hunt. Which means he likely wants a drink. That thought is what has Kita pausing in his floor scrubbing, and grabbing a glass. Alexis isn't very picky when it comes to his alcohol, and he never actually orders anything himself. Any time Kita asks him what he wants to eat or drink, he always makes Kita choose for him. So, Kita pours him the most popular beer they have right now, and sets it on the bar top in front of the seat Alexis usually sits in. When Alexis enters the establishment, he's immediately scanning the room. Then, upon spotting Kita, walks directly to the bar. People move out of his way without being asked, the bar top clearing for the most part to give him some room. Nobody wants to be caught dead inconveniencing their future emperor. He takes a seat at the bar right as Kita is placing a mug of beer in front of him. He doesn't look at the drink, though. His attention is solely on the bartender. "Hey." Kita smiles at him, finding the simple greeting after such an entrance to be amusing. Of course, it's not like the guy can help it. "Hi, Alexis." Alexis glances towards the stack of glasses at Kita's sink, then turns his gaze back over to him. His silver eyes are unmoving from there, studying Kita. That's a habit of his, and it never fails to set Kita a bit on edge, hyper aware of his every movement. "Busy?" "Of course," Kita replies easily, going back to scrubbing the floor. Alexis just sits there and watches him, until Kita deems his work satisfactory. He sets the scrub brush off to the side and looks back over at the prince. "Did you kill some monsters?" Kita inquires, and Alexis' once calm expression turns to one more troubled. He's clearly dissatisfied with his work today, despite the fact that he probably shouldn't be, and his next words explain why. "None that matter." Ah. None that matter. That's his way of saying that they didn't catch any vampires. Nobody hates vampires more than the Sinclair family. Honestly, nobody hates vampires more than Alexis. His father did die at the hands of one, after all. Several members of his family have. It's a war that's gone on for centuries. "You'll get some." Kita reassures him. It doesn't help much, Alexis' frown only deepening. "Someone else turned up dead last night," Alexis says, referencing the killings that have been going on. They keep finding dead bodies, completely drained of blood with bite marks. Alexis has been obsessed with finding the person—or, vampire—responsible, for the better part of a month. "Until I have that one, none matter." Kita hums in response, beginning to scrape the excess water from his scrubbing into the drains. Afterwards, he starts washing dishes. The sink is right in front of the part of the bar that Alexis is sitting at, so if Kita looks up, they'll be staring right at each other. "Some people were talking about you earlier," Kita says conversationally. He can feel Alexis still watching him, which never fails to make him a bit nervous. He should be used to it by now, though, since this is how it always goes. For as long as Kita can remember, Alexis Sinclair has had a staring problem. Alexis doesn't give him much response, just a simple hum. Kita takes that as his cue to continue. "About how you won't settle down." Kita elaborates, heart beating faster. He hasn't brought this up in a while, but he's just as curious as he's always been. People have been talking about it more often as of late. The pressure's growing, time's running out; "and you reject everyone." Upon not receiving an answer, Kita glances up. Alexis still appears displeased, though now it's likely for a different reason. He studies Kita for a moment, before saying blandly, "okay." Kita frowns, pausing in his dishwashing to look at the prince. It really bothers him that Alexis just flat out refuses to talk about this with him. He doesn't understand why, since they've been best friends for such a long time. He knows so much about the guy, but he's never opened up about this. Surely there's someone that's caught his eye after all these years? Kita can't take it. He hates confrontation, but he's reaching his limit with this. "Well do you want to talk about why?" "Why what?" Kita gives him a deadpanned expression. Seriously? He's dodging the question and they both know it. "Why you turn everyone down." Alexis sets his empty glass on the bar top, and it makes a noise. Kita doesn't have to ask if he wants another, because after a hunt, Alexis always has two. Pretty much every other time he has one, though. He's a big guy, so it doesn't make much of a difference. He can handle his alcohol well. "Not interested." Kita grabs his mug and turns around, refilling it. Alexis prefers that he uses the same glass for his drinks, so Kita doesn't have to wash more dishes than necessary. He always saw it as thoughtful. After it's full, Kita turns back around and sets it in front of the prince, who takes hold of the handle. He doesn't bring it to his mouth just yet, however, and Kita crosses his arms. It's obvious that Alexis doesn't want to talk about this, but he's so curious! "Well," Kita says, "I have to hear about it a lot." At his words, Alexis takes a long sip of his drink. He sets it back down afterwards, a bit harder than he did before. He's clearly getting impatient, which has Kita tensing up a bit. After wiping his mouth, not breaking eye contact once, he speaks. "Maybe I should just marry you." Kita freezes. He can't help it when his eyes widen a bit, cheeks flushing at the concept of that. Ugh, he hates it when Alexis says things like that! It honestly happens way too much, and for some reason, it always gets him so flustered. "W-What?" Alexis keeps steady eye contact, taking another long swig of his beer. Kita is malfunctioning, so he goes back to washing dishes, movements a bit less coordinated now. "Then they'll shut up." Kita shakes his head, reminding himself that Alexis is just f*****g with him. He always does, it's basically his pride and joy. He loves making Kita nervous. The two of them getting married would not result in people shutting up. It would definitely just make it worse. The homosexuality of it wouldn't really be the problem, though it's obviously preferable that Alexis can produce an heir. Then again, he always has a sister... No, it's Kita's lineage. He is not of royal blood, he doesn't come from money at all. Sure, the pub is pretty successful, but that doesn't yield as much profit as one would think. Kita's family is still around lower middle class, and not remarkable in any way. "That would not shut anyone up," Kita says simply, refusing to make eye contact. "You can't be with a commoner." "Why not?" Kita rolls his eyes, growing a bit frustrated. Alexis is starting to irritate him, putting thoughts in his head that should not be there. All for the fun of it, since it's not like this would ever happen. "You know why." Kita states impatiently, glancing up at Alexis, who has completely emptied his beer already. Maybe he's a bit more stressed than he lets on. "Stop messing with me." Alexis puts his mug over with the rest of the glasses that Kita is washing, on the little mat on the bartop. He then stands up, putting a pile of coins on the counter. Kita just sighs, having given up on trying to talk him out of spending too much money here. Kita can't remember the last time Alexis visited The Remedy and paid a normal amount. Kita doesn't even usually charge him for his drinks, unless his parents are here. Still, Alexis always finds a way to repay him, and then some. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kita." Kita pauses in his dishwashing to give him a bit of a reserved, flustered look. His face is still kind of red, something that earns him a prideful upturn of the mouth from his dark-haired counterpart. See? Alexis is just messing with him. Maybe Kita is a bit too expressive. He's tried to work on that, but his efforts have yielded no results. "Bye, Alexis." Alexis gives him one more once over, before securing all his tools and weapons, and making his way to the door. There are eyes on him the whole time, as per usual, and Kita goes back to pre-closing. The rest of the night—as is typical for interactions with Alexis—Kita's mind is elsewhere.