The Decent
Part 1?
'Beasts all over the shop. He'll be one too, soon enough.' Thought Helena as she looked over her companion.
Killian had been a useful ally, but the infection was beginning to overcome him. He'd join the ranks of the beasts within the next few days. Maybe even the next few hours. Watching a fellow hunter turn was always a shame, but here it was doubly so.
Killian had been a good man. Courteous, kind and intelligent. He was a true gentleman in every sense. He'd always treated Helena with a level of respect that wasn't always common among hunters. Of course, all hunters considered themselves gentlemen, but not all acted like it. Killian, however, lived up to the high standards set by the legends.
Or at least he used to. Lately, he had been changing. It started small at first. He was less jovial and, at times, even short-tempered. Then his voice began to change, sounding an octave or so deeper and perpetually weary. Today, the most concerning change had happened. He'd shown up blindfolded.
Hunters always covered their eyes when the final change was nearly upon them. Curiously, they still seemed to be able to see just fine. It was as though they developed some kind of sixth sense that rendered sight obsolete. It was always eery to look such a person in the face, and know that despite the blindfold, they were still staring right back at you. Perhaps with eyes that were not of this earth. Perhaps with something altogether different from what we would call eyes.
However, in spite of all of this, Killian's change wasn't what scared her. What scared her was how the change made her feel.
She knew what she was suppose to feel. Sorrow for her soon-to-be-lost comrade. Fear of what he might do to her after beasthood took hold. Disgust for the abomination against nature he would soon be. And to be fair, she did feel all of these things. In part.
Yet all of these feelings were overshadowed by something worse. Lust. The most powerful, animalistic lust she'd ever felt in her life. She'd done everything in her power to ignore it at first, but it was only growing stronger by the minute.
In truth, Helena had always fancied him to some extent. He was a gentle soul with a scholarly mind, yet he was also a fierce warrior and an unyielding protector of innocents.
He even looked the part of a noble hero. With his lean but firm build, angular jawline, and dark yet soft eyes, he looked like he'd just stepped out of a painting.
Watching Killian change had created some kind of perfect storm. Everything good about him was being twisted more and more by the day. He was becoming more primal. A lower, baser version of himself. The gentlemanly defender was turning into an animal before Helena's eyes.
Which made her weak in the knees for him, in the sickest way. The poor man was losing his mind, and the process brought her nothing but unignorable heat between her legs. Shame filled her mind and made her stomach churn, yet it did nothing to quell the lust she felt.
"You look at me as though I were already gone." Killian's voice came out in a low growl and interrupted her thoughts.
As Killian stared out across the city skyline bathed in moonlight, Helena stood behind him. It shouldn't be a surprise that his new 'sight' allowed him to apparently see in all directions, it still caught Helena off guard that he been able to tell she was looking at him.
"You covered your eyes." She mused, not knowing what else to say.
"Moonlight's too bright." He explained. "Hurts my eyes, makes it hard to focus."
"They always cover their eyes near the end." She pointed out. She would miss him.
"It's not the end for me. Not yet."
She decided to ask the question that had been at the forefront of her mind this whole time. "How can you see with your eyes covered?"
He laughed bitterly. "We've all got eyes on the inside."
She'd expected him to elaborate but he didn't. Instead, silence hung between them for a moment.
"We can talk to Gerhman." She mused. "He can put a stop to your suffering."
He grunted. "Then I'd never dream again."
"You'd be at peace."
"Not without the dream, I wouldn't."
She stepped closer to him and spoke softly. "Killian...I hate seeing you suffer like this." She lied. Or rather, she told a half-truth.
"I'm fine." He insisted.
She moved around in front of him so she could look at his face.
"Hunters have to take care of one another." She told him. "I care for you, Killian. I always have."
"Stop talking to me like a wounded dog!" He snapped, startling her.
Upon considering his words, she realized that was exactly the tone she had been using.
"Just let me comfort you." She said, unable to stop using the sickly sweet tone of voice.
"The only comfort I need comes from knowing there's one less beast in the city."
"There'll be one more in the city soon." She remarked sadly.
"I'll have taken tens more of them before I turn."
So his mind was made up. He wanted to go down swinging. Noble to the end.
But who would take him when he turned? Hunters became some of the worst beasts. And Killian was fast and strong, even for a Hunter. He wouldn't be easy to stop when he turned.
"I was thinking..." Killian said, sounding a bit more like his old self for a moment. "Maybe when the end is upon me, I'll go to Old Yarnham, where I can't hurt anyone."
She nodded and stepped closer. "Djura would take good care of you."
If he had the presence of mind to follow through with this plan, it would undoubtedly be the best possible fate for him. Djura and his few allies may very well have been the only folk in all the world who were kind to beasts.
"Until then," she continued. "I can ease your suffering."
"I don't need you to dote on me." He sounded genuinely angry at the mere suggestion.
Helena took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to say and do.
"There are many kinds of comfort." She explained. With that, she reached up and began to undo the top button of her shirt.
His face, or the lower half she could still see, became a mask of confusion. "What are you playing at?" He asked suspiciously.
"I used to catch you looking at me when you still used your eyes."
"That supposed to be a joke?" He snapped.
She shook her head. "I'm only saying that I know beneath all this, you're still a man." She then continued unbuttoning her shirt.
His look of confusion turned to disgust, and she realized she may have made a mistake.
Suddenly, he lunged forward and grabbed her wrists. "What's this then?" He hissed. "A woman of your stature, throwing herself about."
"Killian, I'm sorry." She whimpered, surprised at how weak she sounded. She'd slain wolves, beats, vermin, and even kin of the cosmos. None of them had stuck fear into her heart like Killian's sudden change in demeanor.
"It's enough to make a man sick." He spat out.
"I'm sorry, I made a mistake!" She tried to explain, her voice trembling.
He then pushed her forward until her back was against the railing. Still holding onto her wrists, killian pressed himself up against her, pinning her in place. It was then that she realized something that filled her with both even more fear than she'd felt before, as well as a perverse sense of delight and anticipation.
He was rock-hard.
"Killian." She said softly, and even as she said if she realized the truth. This wasn't Killian anymore.