Two men. One tall, one small

Crouching behind a heap of refuse, Venus spied the two figures that entered the tunnel. As the only source of illumination was the dim light of the cavern, the shadows smothered most visibility and so it was too dark to make out many features. Of the two men coming towards her, one of them was massive, practically a giant as his head was almost brushing the top of the tunnel, and the other was tiny, probably shorter than even her.

Both of them were wrapped in black cloaks and stalked side-by-side, silently. Venus couldn't explain it, but she felt wary and frightened by the two men. Her intuition warned her not to go out there and reveal herself to them. There was a terrible sensation of anger and **** coming from them, like it wrapped around the two much like their cloaks did. They quickly made their way down the tunnel, and past Venus' hiding spot. Once they disappeared in the gloom on the far end of the tunnel, Venus let out the breath she was keeping in. She was safe.

There was no warning, no indication, except a short whistle and a shift of the wind. Suddenly, where there was nothing before, the bigger man was there, standing over her, staring down directly at her.

"SAGE." The man boomed.

He raised one arm and pointed down at Venus.

"Her."

Venus shivered violently, despite her best efforts to control it. Where did he come from? He was just at the other side of the tunnel a second ago. How did he move so fast?

She opened up her mouth to speak, to explain herself, to ask who this man was, but no sound came out. Confronted with a figure so large and shrouded in black, the young hunter felt that **** himself had come to claim her. Stricken with terror, Venus could only stare up at the massive, hooded man staring back down at her with unbridled intensity.

Gradually, the sound of light footsteps crept into her senses. The second one, the small man, was approaching her.

"What have you got there, Parsley?" A soft, cultured voice spoke. "Oh, I do hope it isn't another child you found. You know how I hate it when they cry. It vexes me terribly."

"No."

"And the messes they make. Oooh, filthy little beasts." He pretends to shiver.

"No."

"On a more positive note though, at least their tiny bodies are easy to dispose of after we cut their throats."

"No." The big man said, with a hint of exasperation. Finally, he pointed again at Venus.

"Her."

Both pairs of eyes turned to her now and gave her an unmistakeable look.

"A woman? And naked at that. How.....fortuituous."

They leered at her and grinned at their luck, finding a beautiful, naked, and defenceless woman before them, without another soul around.

"Well, my sweet, soiled dove. Methinks you have chosen a...rather poor location, to ply your trade." The thin man said looking around the cavern and spreading his arms helplessly. "Unless you were soliciting with the lizards, ahaha."

Then, he lowered his gaze at her dangerously and said, "And we can't have that. Now can we?"

Venus shivered again. She glanced around frantically fo an escape route, but the two men blocked off any routes, and even if she could get past him, the bigger one could just move swiftly again, like he did the last time. Venus wished now, more than ever, that she had not dropped her weapons. If only so that she could turn them on herself.

"Luckily, you have two patrons here who are in need of your services!" He said with a flourish. He looked at Venus now, expecting a response.

"W-what?" Venus could only stammer out.

"Have I been too loquacious? Or are you just unschooled? Then let me make it simple for you, my dear."

Kneeling down, the small man showed his face for the first time. Filthy and unshaven, his cheeks were sunken and hung loose against a narrow jaw and a tight smile. A pointed nose and two beady eyes, one of them slightly larger than the other, completed the impression that Venus was speaking to a rat, rather than a man. But one no less feral or cruel than the other.

"You, are a whore. And we, are Shadow Hunters."

The brute revealed a thin dagger from up his sleeve and pressed it against her neck. Then he moved even closer, so that his scruffy cheek brushed up against hers. He ran his tongue along her skin and whispered into Venus' ear:

"So we're going to fuck you now, and if you don't like it, we're going to kill you."