Sanguine Desire (Project Moon Bloodfiend Quest)

The streets were cold and damp, the silence of the night broken only by the sound of frenzied panting and rapid footsteps.

He ran, and ran. He ran through the dark, desperately attempting to escape his doom. Little did he know, his fate was already sealed.

A lance was hurled with pinpoint precision, skewering his shoulder violently. He stumbles and rips it out with unnatural strength, his blood red eyes widening in fear and pain. Blood splatters out of the wound, staining the concrete road red.

He ignored the burning pain and began to run again, but this time, a sword rammed itself into his gut. He collapses to the ground, writhing in the dirt.

His attackers soon reveal themselves. A group of cloaked figures wrapped in ash gray coats, holding rods formed of something he could not make out, and their faces were wrapped in an eerily symmetrical, featureless white mask. A hand pulls him up by the hair and raises his body above the ground with ruthless strength. He claws at the grip, but it is unrelenting, and he is weak right now.

"Brothers. Sisters. Comrades. I welcome all of you." The voice spoke out softly. It was monotone and without any inflection, like blankness had been given an audible form. "Once again, on this night, I gather to remind you of our purpose."

The voice raises itself slightly, but still no notable emotion can be detected in its tone. "The lost have gathered! Their indolence leads all in this City down the path of ruin!"


"Are we going to let them?"
The cloaked figures shake their heads in unison. The motion was eerily synchronized, not a single person in the crowd missed a beat. "Yes! The road ahead is dark and harsh! For they are many! They are deceitful! They hide amongst the common! Amongst the meek!"

"..And they take! They take from the innocent! They entice the others to follow the same path of ruin they do!" The voice thundered loudly. The audience was nodding along blankly. He thrashed in agony, and bitterly noted that they could not even spare him the decency to show malice.

No. When he looked upon their faces, he could see nothing. No joy, no hatred, no desire for vengeance. Only the blank stare of their masks.

"A mind.. without discipline.. is like water without a vessel." The figure holding his prone body up like a trophy continued. "It is messy. It spills out without control."

"So we must contain it. We must ensure that it does not win! Chain the beast inside you!" He was about to tune this lecture out, and his mind wandered to how things got so wrong in the first place. Had he been too messy with his feedings? Too bold? He felt so powerful, skulking around in the dark, feeding off the vagrants and the weak. Now he realized that there are others out there. Others who are seeking the destruction of him and his kind.

"But fear not my comrades.. the Blood Tasters do not have any power over the strong willed. They wield strength over the body.. but not the mind." The figure whispered, something imperceptible entering its voice.

"We shall rip out this weed by the roots. We shall cleanse the Lost out of this City, and excise the sickness of the mind!" The voice said, and despite the zeal of its words, it never showed any emotion. Not once did it do so in the duration of this deranged sermon. It was uncanny, how could something so zealous and deranged be delivered with such cold precision?

The rod in the figure's hands morphed and formed itself into a sword, long and slender. He felt the cold weapon press into his neck, and realized that he was about to die. A thousand regrets flashed through his mind, his body so exhausted he could barely speak. He spat upon the mask of his soon to be executor, and watched as they did not even react when the spittle hit their mask.

"This one.. will be far from the last." The figure whispered. The sword pressed harder into his neck, drawing even more blood. "Yes. Our road will not end here. Our mission will not end here."

..And then the sword ripped through his neck and severed his head from his shoulders, and the Bloodfiend could dimly note the sound of his now headless body dropping onto the ground like trash. The figure was still holding his head up as a macabre trophy for the crowd, and they did not make a single sound. No cheers, or yells, or cries. Simply acceptance.

The world turned dark, and he knew no more.


A/N: A teaser for what is in store for you.
Enjoy.

.."Alright." You sigh. "We can be partners. But I expect you to contribute." He smiles brightly and nods. "Oh, by the way, what's your name? My name's Daeun!" You already disliked him. Too bright, too loud.

"I'm Dustin." You say. No point dragging this out beyond what's necessary. He clasps your hand in his and smiles. "I hope we'll get along well."

—

You did not, in fact; get along well.

First of all, Daeun did not exhibit any form of passion in the process of sculpting, which is odd. Even the brashest members of the Ring show some form of passion in what they do. You included. You did dislike being tugged along by the Docents every month, but triumphing above their nonsensical demands brought you some form of pride and your natural passion for the arts ensured that you couldn't be too upset.

Daeun, on the other hand, seemed to view the entire process as some amusing pastime, and it was driving you up the wall.

After you prepared your materials (mainly making multiple trips to the butcher shop and ensuring that the meat you brought was actually animal meat and not.. human) you began the sculpting process. Daeun was no help whatsoever, so you mostly ignored him.

The process itself was agonizing. Meat wasn't meant to be sculpted, it was meant to be consumed. You managed to shape it into a coherent shape.

You take a look at the statue, which so far has taken the shape of a:

[X] A Bat
[X] A Pig
[X] A Sheep
[X] A Bird
[X] A Wolf
[X] Write-in.

Either way, another concern has arised. You're afraid that the sculpture will rot.. but then you remembered that you could get U Corp's stasis preservation cage to help with that, it usually costs a fortune to do so, but the Ring is generous enough to provide everyone with some for this assignment.
Still, Daeun is clearly no help. He doesn't assist in the process of skinning the animals and harvesting their body parts, so you had to do the majority of it yourself.

..Isn't this supposed to be a group assignment? Doesn't feel like it.

—

One day, while you were sculpting, Daeun was watching you. You've grown accustomed to that, even though it made you uncomfortable at first. You've never been good with allowing people to look at you while you create, but it was just one of the many, many things you've had to get used to with your eccentric partner.

He runs his gaze down your arms, coated in viscera and animal guts, and his smile widens.

"What?" You ask. "Did I do something?"
"Not particularly." He says, in that same sing-song tone of voice he always has. "I just thought you didn't have the courage to do this assignment, but you had more guts than I expected."

You don't even know how to respond to that, so you ignored him and went back to your work.


If you had kept your gaze on him for even a single second more, you'd notice how his eyes widened slightly in what seems to be close enough to admiration.

—

Someone's been killing off Ring Students lately.

You've heard it from the bits of gossip during the group assignment. All the victims were killed in mostly the same way, all of their teeth were pulled out of their mouths when they were still alive, and the killer would create sculptures out of them.

It seems that there is a competing artist in the Ring's domain, you make a mental note to be more careful when going out during the night, but right now, you need to focus on the deadline.

—

Your sculpture is almost done.

Daeun seems to have an almost bottomless wallet, so that made things a lot easier. Even if he's useless in all other aspects, at least his money is worth something. You sigh and curse your luck for being partnered up with such an useless partner, but you can't complain too much when he slaps you with Ahn so you can buy more materials.

A blessing and a curse at the same time. What a relief. You don't know how to feel.

—

One day, while you were still busy sculpting, Daeun asked you an odd question.

"Do you want to tutor me?" And you could only turn to his direction in shock. You waited for him to laugh, to reveal that the entire thing was just a joke, but he simply stares at you unblinkingly with that same, odd smile.

"..But why? You never seemed interested in doing this." You inquired. "Well, at first I didn't care about any of this." He props himself up on top of a nearby table, and kicks his legs back and forth. "But then you seemed really passionate about this type of stuff, it made me wonder if this could be fun after all."

That made you even more confused. Who joined a Finger out of a desire for amusement? Just who was he? Maybe his family wielded some sort of authority high enough to let him get away with this type of behavior, with that and his frankly exorbitant amounts of spending, you felt like you've become involved with a very, very dangerous person.

Still, taking him under your wing proved tempting. Assuming a mentorship position could prove to boost your ranking and help you score some points with the Docents. Not by much, you doubted they cared about a Student mentoring another Student, but you could gain a bit of respect from this. On the other hand, everything you've gleaned from Daeun made you irritated and annoyed. He possessed zero passion for the arts and seemed to view the entire thing as a game, it's frustrating to you.

[X] Take him under your wing.
Weight: 1.0x
You think it's worth it. Somewhat. Maybe you can teach him to be less obnoxious, and some part of you does feel like it wants to have someone to share your creations with.

[X] Do not.
Weight: 1.0x
Daeun is a really, really odd person. You'd prefer not to keep your involvement with him beyond what's strictly necessary.

THIRST: ◉○○○○○○ (Sated)

Ah fuck it. Why not? You needed to look good with the Docents anyway, and you were stuck with this guy for the foreseeable future, so there really is more to gain than to lose. But how do you mentor someone? You don't have any experience with it.. time to learn, and you better adapt to it quickly.

You sigh and rub your forehead. It seems like you have your work cut out for you.

—-

You take a look at your sculpture, which has currently taken the shape of a cat. It was Daeun's suggestion, really. He thought it would look cute. You just hoped the Docent would be able to find it satisfactory.

She walks across the warehouse, the sound of her heels clicking on the ground feels like the scraping of a guillotine, ready to snap at a moment's notice and decapitate someone. She scoffs at a few mediocre sculptures and hands out a C or two, before stopping upon an unfortunate student, who is currently cowering like a mouse trapped under a lion's gaze.

"..What is this?" She spoke, her voice carrying the tranquil undertones of the quiet sea before a storm. "..I-I thought that humans would qualify, ma'am." The cowering student stammers out. The docent stays deadly still for a moment before smashing her hand down on the small sculpture, crushing it to bits and splattering chunks of meat everywhere. The U Corp static preservation cage however, makes it so that the bits of meat are frozen everywhere mid-air, a quite beautiful sight if you do say so yourself.


"I told you imbeciles that humans were specifically off limits for this assignment. What did you not understand?" She whispered venomously, the student looked like he wanted to sink into his skin.

She takes a moment to calm herself down, before turning to him again and speaking: "As this is your first time failing, I shall be merciful and let you off with a warning."

Her eyes narrow.

"However, the next time, there shall be no leniency, am I understood?" The student nods frantically, and she leaves him to wallow in his shame before turning to your table. She scrutinizes it for a bit, scrunching her eyes for a moment. She takes a look at your nervous frame and Daeun's bright grin before turning away and giving you a B+, that's a slight increase in your work, if you do say so yourself.

You somewhat sympathize with the Docent. It's a bit distasteful how the other students seem to put in half hearted work sometimes, on the other hand, you can also relate to their feelings of being chained. The assignments are a way to improve your art skills, but they also limit what you have to create on a monthly basis and take up your time.

At least you got a good grade. That's all you could ask for.

—

..Someone's watching you.

You can feel it. There's someone dogging your footsteps. They don't feel close now, but it's worrying..

Very worrying.

Daeun's bright grin pops up in front of your face as he waves his hands back and forth. "Helloooo? Earth to Dustin? Earth to Dustin?" He smiles.

"Ah. Yeah, sorry. Anyway, as I was saying.. it's better to use a technique like this if you want a smoother result.. if you want a bolder one.. you should use this brush instead.." You allow yourself to guide his movements back on the canvas, and your worries melt away. Art really had a way of calming you down.

But that sense of unease simply did not dissipate fully.

—

One day, while you were on a grocery run with Daeun, a peculiar question slipped past his lips.

"Teach, why aren't you like the other Ring Members?" You stop in your tracks, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that.. When I said tutoring, I expected you to do something like.. making art from someone's spinal cord, or using blood as paint. But so far you've only taught me painting techniques.. how to sculpt better, it's a bit unexpected really." He intones. "You don't seem as freaky as the others, y'know?" He waves his fingers playfully.

"..I just don't see why any of that's necessary." You avert your eyes. Truth be told, you're just not used to it. You joined the Ring out of necessity. Your life was in shambles ever since that night, and it was a way for you to pursue your passions in a place as unforgiving as the City.

It doesn't mean you have to like it.

"Aaah. I see huh. But.. if you want to do it, I think you should." Daeun turns around and hops atop a railing, sitting on it peacefully. "Y'know? You should do what you want a bit more, teach. Restraining yourself isn't a good look."

With that, he ran forward, spinning around like a child, and leaving you behind with your thoughts.

You try to interpret his words. Is it really necessary for you to hold yourself back? You're a member of the Five Fingers. They're not good people. You don't think anyone in the City is a good person, and you're a Bloodfiend, you need to harm others to live by your very nature.

Sure, you've killed a few people, and your feelings on it are.. conflicted. Sometimes you justify it as something you have to do, like when you killed those Rats, and sometimes you feel something that's somewhat like guilt, but you won't acknowledge that. There's no point thinking about those feelings.

Nonetheless.. you think he's:

[X] Correct
Weight: 0.5x
All of this aversion to violence is unbecoming. You should try being more proactive. Do what you want, feed as you wish. In a world where being selfish is rewarded, why should you be anything else?

[X] Wrong
Weight: 0.5x
…Why? You know he's right. But something in you just can't..


—

The rest of the walk home is quiet and uneventful, but your mind is in turmoil after the conversation you've had earlier. Daeun is still in front of you, humming a light tune to himself. He makes a turn through an alleyway, forcing you to follow him, before you see him standing still in the middle.

What's going on?

You hear footsteps clambering out behind you, a group of men and women brandishing weapons surrounding you. They grin, greed and bloodlust showing on their faces. "Well.. well.. well, what do we have here?" The man in front of you says, he seems like the leader.

"You two look like you have nice clothes. Care to lend some money to those who need it?" He grins sleazily, and his group cackles.

You think about your chances, they outnumber you at least six to two. But their weapons seem pretty shabby, and you're not exactly defenseless yourself, plus there's Daeun, something about him sets you on edge, like how he's just smiling despite the situation you found yourselves in.

What do you do?


Combat Encounter!

Ally Info:
Daeun
Fixer Rating: ???
Status: Not afraid at all. Rather calm actually.

Enemy Info:
Backstreet Thugs
Fixer Rating: Grade 8-6 if you have to guess.
Status: Eager for a fight. More eager for money.

[X] Fight
Weight: 0.5x
-Write-in plan.
[X] Bribe them with money to leave you alone.
Weight: 1.0x
[X] Intimidate them
-How?
Weight: 1.0x


Thirst: ◉◉◯◯◯◯◯ (Sated)