Hansel marched out of the Cathedral in a huff, doing his best to push down the swell of anger rising up in his chest. The wind whipped against him harshly as he stepped out into the freezing night air and he mumbled a string of curses under his breath as he pulled his cloak tighter around his small frame. He prided himself on being well tempered and mild mannered for the most part but Augustine always seemed to bring out the very worst in him, a side of himself he usually kept locked away unless the circumstances proved dire. It was a bloody miracle he had managed to restrain himself and repress the urge to fight back against him because if Augustine had pushed him just a bit further Hansel might have sent the crown prince flying right through that glass window he liked to brag about so much.

“Hansel!” A voice suddenly called from behind him. Hansel turned suddenly to see a young man dashing towards him. The boy looked familiar. The wind fluttered through his chestnut brown hair and there was a rather frazzled expression on his freckled face. The wind continued to bellow around them, the cold air reddening the young man’s nose and cheeks. The boy gave him a little bow when he finally approached.

Hansel arched a brow at the formality. “Can I help you?”

“My name is Luca,” the boy said, “I hope you don’t mind...I saw you leaving the church and I didn’t want to miss the chance to talk with you.” Right...Luca. That’s why the boy seemed so familiar. Hansel had seen him lurking around the palace before, he was one of Augustine’s favorite manservants. The boy’s gaze darted to the ground. “I just wanted to say that...I really admire you.” His cheeks reddened slightly. “It’s always been my dream to someday be a Wolf Hunter. I would do almost anything to fight alongside you and the brave and esteemed crown prince Augustine.”

It took everything in Hansel’s power to hold back a small snort of laughter at the later half of the boy’s statement. Hansel could think of many words to describe Augustine but he was quite sure that brave and esteemed were most certainly not in the crown prince’s vocabulary of descriptors.

Hansel looked to Luca now. “I’m not exactly someone to be admired,” he said slowly, offering him a smile. “How I see it I’m just doing my job. I promise you, being a Wolf Hunter is not nearly as glamorous as prince Augustine makes it out to be to the country.”

Luca shook his head. “I don’t care about glamour, or fame.” His gaze flickered to the ground. “I...actually lost my entire family and village to wolves. All I want is to dedicate my life to eradicating them.”

His statement caused something to flutter in his chest, a recognition. This boy reminded Hansel of himself, almost frighteningly so. A determined fire burned in this boy Luca’s eyes and Hansel could see himself reflected right back in them. Once, Hansel had been like this...a long time ago...now he was nothing more than a weary butcher who had seen enough blood to last him a lifetime.

Hansel let out a low shaky breath, “I know how you feel,” he said slowly. “I too became a Wolf Hunter after losing someone extremely important to me to the wolves. But the thing is…” he struggled to find the right words, “it changes you-” and that’s when the coughing started again. Hansel fell to his knees, his coughing fit growing worse as his breath grew increasingly more ragged.

Luca’s green eyes widened, a look of horror coming over his features. “Hansel!” He cried out. “Hansel are you okay? What can I do to help?” He quickly knelt beside the boy, reaching out to touch him when suddenly his gaze fell to Hansel’s arm and his entire face paled. From the overwhelming wave of pain that was beginning to shoot through him Hansel could probably guess why. Across the length of his arm letters were slowly beginning to be carved as if done by the claw of some kind of invisible beast. The letters were thin, just deep enough to draw blood, the writing spider like. Hansel swallowed the pain, gritting his teeth to stop himself from whimpering. The only clue to the blinding pain sweeping over him was the slight quiver in his lower lip. Blood dripped down his arm, wet and warm, staining the snow covered steps of the Cathedral. Finally the pain resided as suddenly as it had came leaving only two words carved into the soft flesh of Hansel’s arm, ‘pay up’. Hansel quickly stumbled to his feet, pulling his sleeve down over the grisly words, the blood seeping through the white of the shirt’s fabric.

Luca was simply staring at him, a look of horror plastered to his face.

Hansel swallowed hard. “You can’t tell anyone,” Hansel rasped, his voice hoarse.

Luca was shaking violently. “But...but...w-what was that-”

Hansel shot him a desperate glance. “Trust me, it’s better for both our sakes if you don’t know. Just...please don’t tell anyone what you just saw. I promise you that this is more dangerous than you ever could imagine. Luca, you have to promise me you won’t tell a single person.”

Luca swallowed hard before finally giving a stiff nod. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” Hansel’s gaze flickered now to the empty place at his chest. Shit, he still had to find his badge. The last place he had put it was the cottage, wasn’t it? He would need to go back tonight and get it, the last thing he needed was Augustine breathing down his neck, continuing to threaten ‘consequences’. He glanced up to the sky, the milky light of the moon streamed down causing the snow to sparkle.

It was almost full.

The wolves would be beginning to lose control soon, perhaps Gilbert had already lost himself.

On the other hand...Hansel really needed that badge. The boy pulled his cloak over his shoulder, further hiding his bloody wound.There was still some time left before the moon was full.

He would probably be fine.