"Oh boy, here we go again." Vynx stared up at the grandiose set of mahogany double doors with a gloomy expression. He never enjoyed visiting the capital's largest cathedral, knowing the bishop very much had it out for him. The relationship between the Church and the Alchemy Commission had never been an amiable one. Considering that his very creation was considered a "slight against the gods" (as quoted by the bishop), Vynx tried to avoid paying a visit to the esteemed holy halls if he could avoid it. Fortunately, Vynx was under the Commission's, and by extension, the King's protection. That meant the Church had to play nice with him and avoid blabbing to the general populace that Vynx was a homunculus created by the Commission's founding alchemist, Alfred. Still, it never made taking jobs from the clergy easier, nor his refills of holy water any less expensive. "We have a report to make; let's just get it over with." The armored woman next to him rolled her eyes and pushed open the doors to let them in. Soleil Auclair, a paladin of the Holy Order, was not unfamiliar with the hallowed halls of the cathedral. She dragged Vynx by the collar of his jacket, ignoring the hunter's protest. "Alright, alright, you don't have to take me in by force!" He flailed, but even he wasn't able to escape Soleil's grip. "I'll leave the talking to you. And don't forget, we're splitting the reward 50-50. No actually, make it 33-66, since Sophia deserves a cut too." "Sophia didn't even have to fight the pack," Soleil said dryly. "She was holding down the fort; that still counts. I'll be hanging onto her share, by the way," Vynx bargained all the way until they reached the receptionist's desk. Then he quickly clammed up and turned away to let Soleil handle reporting their latest bounty: a pack of werewolves responsible for attacking the livestock in the countryside. Like a child forced to wait for their parents, Vynx crossed his arms and paced around the foyer area, avoiding the curious gazes of acolytes and visitors alike. Soleil's word was enough to convince the priest on duty to hand over their reward. Vynx wished the church would believe him that easily when he made his reports, but the bishop always demanded proof of his deeds. So while Vynx previously had the fun task of hauling back a severed monster head after each job, now he just left the declarations to Soleil, who got all the credit for their shared hunts. That was fine with him, so long as he still got his cut of the gold in the end, though a "thank you" now and then wouldn't go amiss. As soon as he saw the sack of coins passed over to Soleil, he headed straight back for the front doors. "Hold on. We should restock on supplies while we're here," Soleil called, forcing Vynx to stop in his tracks. "The armory's this way; come on." She watched as the hunter turned around with a groan, then went ahead down the west hall to one of the back rooms of the cathedral. Soleil brought Vynx through a locked wooden door and into the stone chamber that contained shelves and racks of steel weapons, decorated shields, and suits of armor. The hunter perked up and began to browse the selection. "Can I just take whatever I want? No fees or hidden charges?" Vynx asked, grinning ear-to-ear as he perused the collection of swords lining a wall. "Only take what you need, Vynx." Soleil's tone was short as always. "Consider this my repayment for your help on the mission." She turned to inspect the kite shields, looking to replace the one she'd lost during their fight with the werewolf pack. It was several weeks ago when they had first met, on the eve that the moon was set to be at its fullest. At first, Vynx had been cautious when Soleil approached him about the bounty. He was used to working alone, though it seemed that rumours of him traveling with a silver-haired female companion had somehow gotten around. What troubled him was that Soleil knew that Sophia was a vampire without even meeting her and that she had called him out to the woods—alone. But as a professional, Vynx could hardly turn down a request from a paladin, and to his surprise, Soleil had a secret of her own. The brunette woman, whose amber eyes burned with vengeance, was none other than a werewolf herself. It was a secret that she demanded he keep, and Vynx was happy to do so. After all, he was already helping a vampiress look for a cure for vampirism; why not aid a cute werewolf girl too? Perhaps he had been a little too eager to help, especially when Soleil mentioned that she would need to strip down before her transformation that night. Vynx feared no werewolf, but he was more than familiar with how most would lose control during the full moon. Still, there was a part of him that felt bad for them, knowing that many were victims who were forced to live while hiding the bestial part from all around them. As he watched Soleil discard her clothes, he made note of the scars displayed all over her body. A particularly nasty bite wound peppered her shoulder, and there were signs of claw marks and blade cuts all over her back and abdomen. Undeterred, Vynx put her naked figure to memory right before the woman began to hunch over in pain and the transformation process began.

He had seen it a few times before, but this was the first time he watched a werewolf change forms up close. It never looked like a fun process—the crunching and rearrangement of bones, the tearing of skin, and the sudden growth of fur—it all happened within seconds, yet he could still scarcely believe the woman before him had grown a foot taller than him and now sprouted a set of canine ears and a tail. Vynx kept his hand on his pistol, loaded with enough silver bullets to blow the werewolf's brains out should he need to. But Soleil had promised him that she could control herself and that once she was able to recognize his scent, she would be an asset to him in the coming fight. Somehow, Soleil kept her word. The large female werewolf stared him down with a gaze of familiarity and, much like a giant dog, sniffed him over until she was satisfied. Vynx held back the urge to call her a "good girl" in the moment, not wanting to incite Soleil's anger when she was already doing her best to keep her sanity in check.