Blood Drunk Hunter (Shadow Slave/Bloodborne Fic)

When Gehrman saw the Outer Settlement, he was very confused. 

Since he had become self-sufficient in his New Workshop, he didn't have a reason to approach the Bright Castle. He had only decided to do so now on a whim. He had not seen Caster in a while, and Gehrman was curious how the little horror was doing. He highly doubted he was dead, but which path he now walked was anybody's guess. 

Would he fall in with the Gunlaug's people? Or perhaps keep up his facade and stay living in the outer settlement. As Gehrman approached, he started to get the feeling that the fool was indeed playing a fool. 

The quality of life of the place had drastically increased, this much was clear by the general vibe of the place. Despair had been replaced by hope. Something had acted as a light in the darkness. Whatever it was, it creeped Gehrman out. For this much to change in a matter of months was…unsettling. 

He started to walk up the road, and noticed a lot of attention on one of the nearest shacks (although it looked more like a house at this point). Some people were crowded around it, and there seemed to be a lot of chatter. 

Gehrman considered pushing through and asking what was going on, but then he remembered he was barely 5 feet tall. Deciding to hold off on being embarrassed, he simply sat down right on the road and waited until something happened. 

As he did this, he considered taking his morning blood. He kept a stockpile in order to efficiently collect as many Fragments as possible while also minimizing the madness. This system had worked well so far, he had managed to become accustomed to the lower levels of madness and hadn't suffered any serious errors in months. Considering this, he summoned the [Portable Blood Imbiber].

As he did this, he noticed something odd. There was nothing wrong with the Memory, it had all seven vials filled to the brim with the blood of Awakened Beasts and some Monsters. No, instead his [Sixth Sense] was triggered and he noticed something off. He couldn't quite describe it. He had the uncanny feeling of being watched, but there was no movement anywhere, nor was there anyone in the area who gave off the corresponding ominous feeling. 

After a couple seconds of nothing changing, Gehrman shrugged and imbibed the blood into his right leg as was his tradition. 

Once again, he felt the movement of something. He couldn't say what it was, but he did pick up on the area it was coming from. It was in the shadow of the busy shack. 

"That's odd," Gehrman muttered aloud, the blood already making him more talkative. 

What followed was even more odd. The hubbub near the house suddenly picked up. Then, five figures came out of the house. Clearly, they were the center of attention. After laying eyes on them, Gehrman felt a chill go down his spine. 

The most eye-catching was a tall and imposing woman with deep tan skin. Her complexion was darker than even Caster's making her stand out more. Even still, that wasn't what really drew the eye. No, it was her clothing which almost caused Gehrman to choke. The old Gehrman and the nameless prodigy both came form an era where certain…pressures were placed on women, especially on how they dressed. Needless to say, they, and thus the current Gehrman, was not ready for how much skin she was showing. It didn't help that he was in a 13 year olds body either. 

This is why I don't socialize. I swear my body is going to get me killed one of these days, Gehrman grumbled internally. 

The next most astounding was the one with the most presence out of all of them. She was also a tall and powerful woman, her platinum hair and grey eyes seemed to resemble the blaze of a cruel sun. She held herself high, and had the presence of a monarch. She seemed to be at the center of everyone's adoration. Fortunately, she was dressed more modestly so Gehrman avoided another fit. 

The last girl was dressed far closer to Yharnam sensibilities, yet she probably had the biggest impact on him. This was because she was incredibly pretty. Though she had a blindfold over her eyes, she seemed gentle and saintly. However, she also gave off a strange aura. It was more mystical than any other Sleeper he had met and it made Gehrman uneasy. 

The next boy was actually Caster. He seemed to have developed his strength and become a much more capable warrior. His imitation of Ludwig was still lacking greatly, but it was noticeably closer. 

Finally there was the least noticeable. At least, he would have been if he wasn't staring into Gehrman's soul with the eyes of a killer. The guy was short, only a bit taller than Gehrman himself. He had dark, shaggy hair that nearly reached his eyes, which in turn were so dark they looked like an abyss. He walked with a slight hunch and seemed…angry. 

Belatedly, Gehrman realized that now every single one of them was staring at him. They kept their distance, treating him warily. Do they think I am a beast? Gehrman gritted his teeth at the implied accusation. Instead of running over there and inflicting great violence upon them he decided to be civil. 

With a controlled motion he took up his Hunters Cap and waved it Caster. Frankly, he was upset that the brat didn't immediately recognize him. But he would definitely remember his odd black and grey hair (which was very abnormal as far as he could tell).

Sure enough, Caster stammered out his name. Though Gehrman couldn't really hear it given the distance. It was enough though, Caster's recognition seemed to alleviate some tension, leaving them all bewildered instead. 

Gehrman, still holding his cap, waved the boy over in a non-threatening way. After some useless prattling, he and the rest of the little group started to approach him. 

It was only when they started walking did Gehrman realize another thing. Hey…if these guys wanted to they could probably kill me. While he couldn't speak to the blindfolded girl, the rest of them seemed much stronger than the average Sleeper. This unsettling thought aside, he was quite happy with this meeting. It was far more entertaining than he was expecting. 

"Gehrman?" Caster said in disbelief. "Is that…really you?"

"No fucking duh," Gehrman replied with the same dignity that questions deserved. "What, did you think I died? Me? I thought you would have learned some manners brat."

The others seemed quite surprised by this reaction, but Caster seemed to actually relax. 

"Well you did vanish for a couple of months, I haven't even heard about you coming around the settlement or the castle. What was I supposed to think" the brat smiled and spoke in an incredulous voice. 

"I see you're still as creepy as ever. I thought you would have dropped that weird-ass face by now. Especially since you got someone even more terrifying to hide behind." Gehrman slid his eyes over to the grey lady with that last line. Her piercing eyes briefly reminded him of Maria, causing his heart to stop. Fortunately, he could just physically restart it with his Aspect. It really was a pain in the ass that she also happened to have grey hair, though it did look to be a different tone than Maria's. 

"Gehrman," Caster's voice suddenly hardened. "I know you like to play around by insulting people but Lady Nephis has done nothing to provoke you. You haven't even met her. Take that back right now." 

The forcefulness caught him off-guard. It was a different side of the bastard then he knew. "Ohhh, playing the chivalric hero are we?" Gehrman's grin widened. "It rounds out your character well, but you're missing the point. I don't need to have met her to know she is a monster. I could feel it as soon as I saw this place. Something terrible has happened, and she is at the center of it."

"Okay kid time to calm down," the bronze woman stepped up to him, towering over his still sitting figure. "I get that being a little runt makes you angry. Doofus over there is proof enough of that," she nodded to the creeping shadow behind her. Then, her aura turned threatening. "but if you keep trying to insult Princess you are going to get hurt."

Gehrman stared at the woman with half lidded eyes. After waiting several seconds, letting the tension build, he finally said: "what the hell is up with those nicknames. That's so corny," he visibly cringed to showcase his discomfort.

The woman seemed about ready to clobber him when Caster stepped in. "Huntress Athena, please wait." Caster showed a look of shame and started a little monologue. "This boy, Gehrman, has been through a lot. He just came to the Forgotten Shore with us, but he passed his First Nightmare on the night before the Winter Solstice; so he couldn't get any help from the Awakened Academy. Nevertheless he accompanied me in finding the Dark City. He insults people because he doesn't trust that anyone could be truly honorable. I think that, despite his young age, he has suffered greatly. We can't be too harsh on him."

A moment of silence followed. The group now took some more time to consider him. Clearly reassessing. There was an exception, the Shadow seemed to view Gehrman no differently after the sob story. 

"Well first of all that was horrifically patronizing, considering I'm sitting right here," Gehrman remarked dryly. "Not to mention that half of that was a lie or just something you made up on the spot…but you also gotta know that just because I call you terrifying doesn't mean I dislike you or anything," Gehrman stood up slowly with feigned effort. The shadow was once again the only one to respond, he seemed ready to call upon a Memory at any moment. 

"I mean, look at little Caster here," Gehrman continued and walked over to the boy. Then, reaching up as high as he could he patted the brat on the head. "He may be lying scum, but at least he's funny about it. Not to mention he is a pretty decent guy to have around. I'm sure you have your qualities too…Nephis." Gehrman said the last part slowly. Taking the "lady" honorific that Caster had used out of his statement.

He did acknowledge that this was quite the dubious introduction, but he was also fairly certain that whatever happened none of them would trust him, even Caster. The best thing he could do at the moment was confuse them with nonsense. Besides, it was more fun this way. 

"Heh, that's…thanks," Caster's facade was strained as he gently removed Gehrman's gloved hand from his head. 

All the while, Gehrman and Nephis's eyes stayed locked, both assessing the other. Then, for the first time. The exalted Lady Nephis spoke: "I hope that I live up to your expectations. For now, do you want to eat? We just finished a hunt."

…

Gehrman accepted the invitation. He was then quickly assimilated into the cult of Nephis, or rather, Changing Star. It turned out that the grey lady was worth the adoration of the entire settlement. She had single handedly created a system where those of the outer settlement never went hungry and never had to fear danger from the Beasts. The group of five were formidable, even more so than most of these Sleepers realized. 

"Huntress Athena" or rather Effie, was the bronze warrior from earlier. She had been here for years and likely knew the Dark City better than Gehrman despite him living in it for the past couple months. She was also incredibly physically capable, acting as both a tank and damage dealer. 

Caster was lauded for his great speed and powerful sword style. He was considered by many to be the second strongest warrior after their leader and savior. 

Changing Star was the True Name of Nephis. It turns out, she is also a part of one of those "Clans" that Caster kept going on about. It used to be the greatest one, but has since fallen into obscurity. Nephis was considered a saint for her charity and honorable nature. She was also incredibly skilled. In her first week staying here, she managed to easily kill one of the vile Pathfinders who had caused the death of an innocent kid Sleeper. Not only that, she did it in a way where she suffered no punishment because she found a loophole in the laws of the Bright Castle. She was just as creepy as he had originally thought.

Cassie, the blindfolded girl was universally loved. She had a similar saintly image, but was also perceived as more kind while Nephis was a warrior of justice. The more he heard people talk about her the more he started to suspect that there was something creepy about her as well. Maybe he hadn't picked up on it because he had been distracted by her beauty. 

The final member was the reason that no one realized the true strength of the cohort. The shadow was just as elusive as his essence suggested. After asking around about him he just got a lot of non-committal answers. No one even seemed to remember his name. All they said was that he was a "scout" who had traveled with Nephis before she reached the Dark City. Given his connection with Changing Star, no one seemed to outright hate him. Though he did pick up on the vibe that most didn't think he belonged in that core group. It was unnerving. He thought that the shadow had purposely cultivated this image, but that didn't seem to be the case. 

As the food was being handed out he saw him sitting alone, watching the hand out with spite in his eyes. The source of it he couldn't say for sure, but whatever it was had immense weight. 

Despite the intimidation, Gehrman decided to approach him. For no other reason than he was pissed off that he didn't know his name. 

The shadow noticed his approach, he shifted his weight as if to walk away, but he pulled back before taking a step. Then he faced Gehrman and bluntly said, "Are you actually insane?"

This surprised Gehrman, as he considered the question for a moment. "Yes," he finally answered. "I have Dissociative Personality Disorder. In other words I have a bunch of different people and memories in my head. In actuality, I am 64. Though I might be double that if all my memories were recovered. I believe that is insane, don't you think?" He carried on the conversation with a tone of nonchalance. Gehrman was trying to be as civil as possible for this shadow, though he didn't know why.

"Yes, that is very insane," the shadow agreed. 

There was a pause as they both looked over the chaos of this "dinner." Then, Gehrman asked the question. "What name do you go by?" 

The shadow turned then, looking at the hunter. It was then he knew why he had reached out to him. In the boy's dark eyes he saw a reflection of his own. For the first time since coming to this world, Gehrman had found a true Hunter.

"My name is Sunless."