Recovering from the hunt

I woke up about an hour later, somewhat refreshed, but still shaken by the day I lived. As I took a deep breath, I could smell the rest of the oil Elan made us cover our bodies with.

I don't know what it is made of, but it smells so awful...

I went to the bathroom and undressed before getting into the shower in order to fully clean myself. I rubbed my skin meticulously, trying my hardest to get rid of any remnant of the oil. The shower helped me relax a bit more, too, it was always so enjoyable to feel the hot water trace my curves.

Once done, I got changed and went outside, leaning against a wall and lighting a cigarette, observing the sky as I recalled today's events. I still couldn't fully realise that I did really fight a wendigo, and helped kill it. Seeing such a monster from up close was terrifying. I knew it could have easily ended my life had it not hesitated after catching me.

It somehow sensed I was a skinwalker by smelling me... Were there any lingering remnants of my scent as Edward?

I deducted that it most likely was due to me having worn Aurora recently. Hopefully, the longer I'd spend in her skin, the less likely I'd be to get caught by other creatures or hunters.

As I was thinking about this, I heard Elan's voice from afar. "How are you feeling?"

I turned my head and saw him with Yahana, approaching me.

I smiled while taking a puff of my cigarette. "A bit better. I'm really not suited for hunting games that big."

Elan chuckled. "Ah, you city-dwellers... Completely useless in the countryside."

I knew it was a joke, so I didn't take offense. Elan spent the vast majority of his time hunting wild creatures, the kind you never found in densely populated areas. He usually had his own teammates, but sometimes gave a hand to his cousins and other members of his tribe, like he did with Yahana today.

Yahana pulled me closer and gave me a kiss. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Rori."

"I'll go meet the ones who hired us and tell them the hunt is over. Have fun, girls." Elan said, winking at me.

He knew full well what the nature of the relationship between Aurora and Yahana was, but was quite supportive, being bisexual himself. He waved at us and walked away, leaving me alone with Yahana.

She snuggled closer, holding my arm. "You don't have another contract planned, right?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. What about you?"

"For now, no. But I have no doubt that my tribe will find another creature to hunt soon, so we should enjoy the peace while it lasts."

"It's never-ending, huh..." I commented.

Yahana sighed. "Technology made dealing with most monsters a lot easier, but some are still difficult to track down."

"Which ones do you have in mind?"

"Shapeshifting ones, mainly. Skinwalkers, too." She replied, and I tried my hardest to keep a straight face as she mentioned them.

"Skinwalkers... I never dealt with one. I only have minimum knowledge about them." I lied, fully retreating behind Aurora's persona.

"They're masters at deception and manipulation. Even with your sixth sense, they'd still be quite difficult to track down." She declared, referring to Aurora's ability to sense people's souls.

She was right, I couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary when I was with Dahlia. If it was the same for other skinwalkers, it'd be impossible to sense one with a soul within them.

"I see. How would you track one down usually?" I asked.

"Normally, we'd be on the lookout for people acting strangely, or people disappearing. A lot of skinwalkers seem to like... 'collecting' multiple skins." She said, disgust clearly audible in her voice. "I could check if there's any contract about potential skinwalkers if you'd like to try hunting one?"

I closed my eyes, thinking about it. I knew I'd have to hunt some skinwalkers at some point, there was no need to delay the inevitable. I was a skinwalker myself, but apart from Dahlia, I didn't particularly care about our kind. I imagined a few more managed to retain some semblance of morale, like Dahlia and me, but I had the strong suspicion that most didn't. These abilities and desires we had could so easily corrupt people, after all.

"Why not, I need to learn how to deal with them properly." I said.

"Alright, I'll text my uncle later." Yahana replied before kissing me on the cheek. "For now, though, I'd like to spend some time with you, Rori. It's been a while since we last saw each others."

I pulled her closer and caressed her back. "Sorry about that, Yana, I was too busy with my mother's works recently."

"Why do you still listen to her? You're an independent woman, now. You could just stay with me. Even without your mother's connections, we'd find a lot of work easily, trust me."

I looked away. "But she's my mother... I can't-"

Yahana held my hands in hers. "Rori, your mother stopped caring about you a long time ago. It's clear she's just using you as a tool now. Don't let her control your life like this."

Aurora, despite her strong character, still had hope of her mother returning to the way she was before her father's ****. It was why she kept accepting her requests. But I didn't share this hope. Like Yahana, I believed that she was too far gone, and wouldn't get any better.

I am no longer the same Aurora... I don't have to keep following what she says...

I took a deep breath and sighed. "Maybe you're right... I tried my best to make her proud for years, but never once did she seem to care about my well-being... She never checked on me when I was injured, she never cared about my personal life, about my future..."

Yahana hugged me. "It's the best for you. You need to live your own life."

If only she knew the irony of what she just said... I thought, depression creeping back in.

"Sorry for talking about depressing stuff, Rori. Would you like if we went to my room?"

I smiled weakly and held her hand. "Sure. Thanks Yana."