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The ominous tree loomed over his head and heightened his anxiety tenfold with every step he took. Virgil clutched his crossbow tighter, swallowing to make up for his dry throat.
“Stupid village, stupid family business.” The black clad man mumbled, avoiding the roots underfoot with a clumsy grace.
Witch hunting was the only thing that Virgil knew, ever since he was the tender age of six. His parents had thrust him into the profession without giving him much choice. From then on it was training, studying and hunting. When he was of age, his parents had seared their family sigil on his left peck with glowing metal. Virgil knew better than to scream, because that would only cause more agony in the future. From that day on, the purple eyed man was no longer an individual. Subconsciously, the hunter brought a hand over his tainted skin, the family sigil coming out of it an ugly red against his skin. Every noise made the boy jump, looking around with owl eyes before gulping and moving forward.
Finally, after what felt like years, he heard two different sets of laughter ring from straight ahead.
… Wait.
Two?
Virgil felt his breath go short as he heard it once more, the deep resonating voices of two witches.
Well fuck.
The village that had hired his family to collect a bounty for them had only mentioned one of the magic wielding people. It was typical:
“The nuisance lives in isolation in the woods!”
“It turned my mother into a cat!”
“It was hideous!”
“I saw it with my own eyes, such a powerful thing could never be defeated!”
A roll of his eyes at the memories, the people in villages like these were so naive. Also, somehow didn’t know how to fucking count.
The purple eyed man bit his lip, almost to the point of hyperventilation when a python slithered up to him. Blinking rapidly, he watched as a small snake peered up at him. Virgil eyed the yellow reptile, his tension melting when the python headbutted his foot. Momentarily forgetting what he was actually supposed to be doing, the hunter bent down and ran a hand over his tiny friend’s head. The corner of his mouth twitched up as the snake blepped, sticking it’s tongue out at him to smell him.
Had he the choice, Virgil would have definitely worked with animals. The creatures fascinated him and gave him all the attention as well as love that was severely lacking in his household. It was strange that all these different creatures flocked to him and greeted him like he was an old friend. It was a blessing in disguise, the animals that showed up were his only friends to play and talk to when training got particularly tough, or when his family locked him out of the mansion because he was too soft.
Virgil shivered at the memories, but remembers a particularly large deer coming up to provide body heat to the shivering child. The short male barely contained a squeak when the voices of the witches, which he had momentarily forgotten about, started heading in his direction. Without thinking much, Virgil scooped the little snake up and retreated as quietly as he could to get some distance between him and his targets. His years of training screamed at him for being so careless. He raised his crossbow, setting an arrow in place to make a quick attack if things were to go south.
“Faust? Faust, my darling, where are you?”
The witches were covered in cloaks, the leather seemingly blending into the surrounding trees. The little yellow python that was curled around his arm squirmed, it’s tongue sticking out at him again as if to make sure he was okay. Virgil gave a shaky breath before smiling at the snake softly.
“Don’t worry little one, I’ll protect you.” The hunter cooed in a quiet voice, his hands steadying a little bit.
“But if you’re the one protecting him, then who will protect you little one?”
Virgil yelped and raised his weapon, only to have it smacked out of his hand. The crossbow slid across the floor, leaves surrounding it as if to emphasize that he should get the damn thing back into his possession so he can go home early-
The snake slithered down his arm and raised its head at the witch, blepping once more. The hunter gasped and gently covered the python, holding the delicate creature to his chest.
“No no, you don’t want to get involved with the likes of these... “ Virgil said down at the snake currently curling up to him to absorb body warmth.
“I’m pretty sure he’s okay with it, seeing as he is my familiar.” The deep voice hummed, a gloved hand reaching out for the said creature.
The hunter took a step back only to back into the trunk of a particularly thick tree. The snake, Faust, raised its head again and yawned as if it couldn’t sense the rising tension in the atmosphere. He glanced up at Virgil, headbutted the hunter’s chin and then raised itself to slither onto his master’s hand.
“Hello precious, I was beginning to worry about you.” The witch cooed at the sleepy snake, a yellow gloved hand raising to stroke the tiny head after Faust curled up into a ball. Virgil pouted slightly but quickly schooled his expression, glaring weakly at the reptile.
“Traitor… “ Virgil mumbled, crossing his arms as the snake nuzzled the witch’s cheek, the hood of the cloak falling down. The hunter gasped, his eyes widening.
The witch… for lack of better words… was a literal snake.
Half of its face was littered with green scales and one of his eyes was yellow with a slit for a pupil. After getting over his original reaction, the hunter reached out to touch the smooth looking scales. When he got a few inches, the witch snapped it’s head up and snarled at him. Virgil flinched back, a small hiss ripping itself from his throat. The witch looked surprised, tilting its head slightly.
“Well that was certainly interesting.”
Virgil turned his head so quickly that he thought he got whiplash.
Oh yeah… Two witches.
The tallest one of the three moved with a natural grace, and before Virgil could even utter a sound he was wrapped up in muscle clad arms. A small noise left the hunter and he looked up at the new addition to the conversation. Its angular face disarmed the purple eyed man momentarily, its features striking him as extremely handsome. Virgil glanced back and forth between the two, escaping them the last thing from his mind.
“Tell me, little one, did you come to collect a bounty against us?” The one who currently had it’s arms firmly wrapped around him cooed in a sweet voice, a grin spreading across his face when Virgil tensed.
Shit.
Of course, this was the way he was going to die. Two of the most handsome and ethereal witches he’s ever hunted would kill him and he would never have the chance to run away from his family. Virgil considered himself young still, and there was still so much that he wanted to experience. Before he could stop himself, tears started to well up in his eyes. He would die and his fucking family wouldn’t care. He often wondered what it would be like if he was born from a different pair of people, often fantasizing about being a farmer or an artist… maybe even a poet. He would have a brother or sister who he could tease and look after and vice versa, able to play with them and work with them and love them unconditionally. He would find someone who would take care of him and spend his life with them.
Now he could never try for it.
The brunette tried blinking back the tears, trying to void his face of emotions. He was unwilling to let these fiends see him weak.
I can do this I can do this I can… fuck it.
Virgil burst into tears, throwing himself deeper into the arms of his captor. His years upon painful years of training fell away and left him raw as he fisted the witch’s cloak, waiting for the other to strike him dead. This was the only comfort he had ever gotten and it would be the last one he ever received. The witch grunted, grip going from nearly bruising to comforting. A hand rubbed circles on his lower back, but Virgil was too distressed to notice who it was. He only sobbed harder, burying his face even more into the chest in front of him. The hunter’s knees buckled and he nearly fell but the witch currently hugging him caught him, scooping the boy into his arms.
Virgil whimpered, curling up against the witch as the two sank to the floor in an effort to better place him in their lap. Faust, the clever snake, uncurled from the witch’s clutch and slithered onto his lap. He blinked up at him and the hunter turned his head enough to look down at the tiny reptile. Faust blepped and raised his head, nuzzling Virgil’s cheek as more tears streamed out of his eyes. It was almost as if the snake was frowning when he heard Virgil choke out a sob, leaning away to look at him more thoroughly. The witch with half of a human face reached out to the hunter, pausing when the deep lilac and brown eyes glanced up at him and retreated into the form of his accomplice with a small pitiful noise. The brown and yellow eyed witch then gently wiped away the tear tracks on his face and cooed more gently at him.
Then the expression on his face hardened.
Virgil let out a sharp gasp, his whole life flashing before his eyes. The coldness, the abuse, the rejection, the neglect, the pain… the numbness. Every second of his training was brought up in detail and he sobbed clinging to the witch that was currently holding him. Then suddenly, his childhood was brought to the forefront. A tiny, more innocent version of himself was shown to him. The chubby little hands of the toddler out in front of him as he ran without care into the forest and right into a bear. The bear roared, rearing up on its hind legs to intimidate him but the child just giggled. A hand was raised to pat the animal’s stomach and a tiny purple wisp flew out of the corner of the tiny human’s eyes. The bear carefully crouched back down, snuffing the child’s shirt before letting out a huff. The child giggled again, fisting her fur between his fingers and rubbed his face on her neck.
As soon as the child looked up though, an arrow buried itself in the bear’s head, the beast letting out a roar before slumping over. The child gasped and tensed, reaching a hesitant hand out to the bear. Tears fell and he flung himself at the creature, crying into the bear’s fur as blood came gushing out of the wound. A strong hand gripped Virgil by his wrist and dragged him away from the corpse that had once been a potential friend.
Virgil gasped, sobbing as the images faded from his mind. He couldn’t even see the witches through his new batch of tears, but he could tell that they shared a glance over his head.
A hum started up, something soothing and definitely aimed at him. Virgil slumped a little more, his eyelids becoming heavy as the humming steadily continued.
At least they were killing him in a relatively painless way…
----
Virgil woke warm and lazy, inhaling deeply. The smell of several different spices he couldn’t name filled his lungs, lulling him into a light sleep. His eyes snapped open when he realized that his mansion never felt this safe. The hunter glanced around the room, finding the light interior to hurt his eyes slightly, curtains open to let the morning light come in. He thought back to his old room and compared it to the one he was in currently. He had never known a room could be so inviting. Soft silk sheet caressed his skin as he moved, sitting up to try to survey the room more. Virgil then realized that he had been stripped of his weapons and his overcoats, almost in the nude save for the boxers that had apparently been spared.
Suddenly the door opened, and Virgil startled before feeling heat rush to his face. The two witches stepped in, one holding Faust, who was wrapped around his neck eagerly. The second witch was wearing a white lace bodice while the first wore a yellow one, both had discarded their capes. Both seemed to be wearing skirts -red and black respectively- that came to just below their knees and socks that came up to hide the skin that would have gone uncovered otherwise. The second witch had yellow gloves that went up to a little over his elbow and the first identical ones but red. Besides color, the only other difference was that the one witch had a snake, while the other had a sash across his shoulder. Virgil gulped and quickly looked away when he saw the one in red smirk at him.
“Well well, the little one is finally awake.” The yellow witch’s voice was deep, making the hunter suppress a shiver.
Oh god this isn’t happening holy sh-
“Little one, you really scared us when you passed out. I thought that the little spell went wrong.” The one in red cooed at him, walking to one side of the bed. Virgil made to shift to the other side but he found his shoulder nudged into the yellow one’s when he did.
He settled for shuffling back into the headboard.
“What-” Virgil cleared his throat as it came out raspy, “What spell?”
Faust slithered off of the yellow witch’s shoulders and wrapped himself around Virgil’s wrist, staring up at him. Despite himself, the hunter gently scratched under the snake’s head and heard a small, happy hiss. Virgil looked down, yelping loudly when he saw his hands bright with dark purple flames. Faust nudged his hand, seeming to enjoy the heat that was radiating from his hands.
“Holy shit, what the fuck?!” Virgil gasped, flinching as a pair of hands caressed his flaming ones. His eyes snapped up to see the red witch smile gently at him, his thumb rubbing Virgil’s palm.
“Easy there, no need to get panicked and burn the house down. That’d be a tragedy to fix.” He mused, watching in satisfaction as the purple flames died down. Virgil let out a breath, gently giving Faust over to the man.
“You don’t need to be so tense, Virgil. We won’t hurt you.”
At that, Virgil tensed. He grabbed the closest thing near him and pointed it at the yellow witch.
“How do you know my name?” Virgil questioned, winding the pillow up to attack.
To his credit, the witch merely chuckled, prying the pillow out of the hunter’s hands.
“You don’t remember?” He simply asked, tilting his head. The hunter furrowed his brows before raising them.
“The… the thing you did in the forest.”
The witch looked pleased, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. He grinned, giving a little squeeze.
“What a smart boy. Yes, that thing I did in the forest. I definitely thought you’d forget that.” The witch looked bemused, looking away as his shoulders shook.
He was laughing.
“Then what are your names?” Virgil mumbled in a timid manner, sticking his hands between his thighs. The red witch stood and gave a grand gesture, giving Virgil whiplash at the difference in emotion. He went from gentle and nurturing to cocky in the matter of a half second.
“I am called Roman. I know, I know, you’ve been blessed to be in my presence.” Roman grinned, winking at the hunter. Virgil leveled him with an unamused look, sighing softly.
“I didn’t know that snakes could talk through witches, so who’s the giant human thing you’re attached to Roman?” Virgil couldn’t help but grin when Roman made an offended noise. The yellow witch laughed, throwing his head back. Roman picked up a pillow and threw it at the other, making him laugh harder. When the yellow witch was done, he looked over at Virgil with a bright expression.
“I’ve lived for a few centuries, but I’m called Deceit. And don’t bother calling me by your binary genders, they have no purpose for me.” They laid back, propping their head up on a hand.
Virgil tilted his head slightly.
“Deceit… can i call you Dee?” He asked, looking at the relaxed witch. They nodded, their eyes shifting to his exposed chest.
The smile slowly faded.
Virgil knew why. He was branded, marked to be a hunter. A mark he will carry for the rest of his life.
“I felt it.”
Virgil couldn’t help the confused look on his face. When Deceit saw it, they pointed to their temple. Suddenly the hunter understood.
“I can… change it.” Roman cleared his throat, sitting back down. He traced the raised skin gently, treating him as if he were the most fragile thing he had even touched. Virgil figured he might as well be.
“But into what?” His honey voice hummed, glancing up at the hunter. Virgil bit his lip, contemplating. He couldn’t think of a single thing, not one animal, not one weapon. His mind was always a raging storm.
Virgil smiled to himself, raising his head.
“A storm cloud.”
A warm sensation pried at his skin and he felt a shift. Deceit held his hand, kissing the knuckle when the red flame over his mark settled down.
“It’s perfect, our new addition to our coven.” Roman sighed happily, oblivious to the turmoil that was caused for Virgil.
Deceit on the other hand, glanced up at him through his lashes.
“You never knew? Virg… You’re a witch.” They straightened up, cupping the hunter’s face in their hands. For some reason, Virgil was very calm about that revelation.
“Let us take care of you, storm cloud.” Roman cooed, taking one of Virgil’s hands into his own.
“Let us show you the compassion and gentleness you’ve been craving, my love.” Deceit followed up with, kissing Virgil’s forehead. Roman kissed all of his finger, grabbing his other hand to repeat the process.
This… was exactly what Virgil wanted. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he nodded, accepting his fate as both witches descended on him. Even as the witches kissed every inch of his skin, he couldn’t help but think that this was better than any fantasy he had ever made.
He could get used to this.