Inside the hunters’ quarters was like nowhere Victoria had ever seen on the outside. In fact, she was pretty sure that nowhere like this existed outside of Beowulf facilities. As she entered into the enormous common area she took a deep breath, feeling the familiar scents wash over her. She was home.

The walls were high and full of holes for relaxing in, platforms, bars, ropes and much more hung from the roof as winged hunters soared through the air and others climbed and fought on the equipment. Some of the heavier hunters stayed at ground level, full of gym equipment and game consoles as well as other… more esoteric ways to preoccupy a hunter. She had just entered the flying common area, her personal favourite area and also the hangout of one of her few friends.

Thud!

Victoria had just finished a thought when a slender, tall, catlike hunter dropped down in front of her, smiling his usual arrogant smirk

“Greetings, o’ raven of darkness, how goes your conquest! What spoils doth you bring?” smirked the hunter

“Shakespeare would be rolling in his grave Cheshire”

Replied Victoria

Cheshire frowned, cocking his head to the side “c’mon Vicky, throw me a bone here, how was your time away?”

Deciding not to comment on the cat asking her to throw him a bone she relented “the gig sucked, boring gun, boring prey”

“aww” Cheshire pouted “did someone realise that saving the world isn’t always a party?”

She scoffed “get lost” as she weaved past him “I’m getting out of here”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

She left Cheshire in the dust as she made a beeline toward the exit. Getting to the exit meant traversing the maze that was the hunters’ quarters. She passed service elevators, the rooms for all sorts of hunters, some specialised some more vague, containing dozens of beds of varying shapes and sizes.

She wouldn’t be staying here. She very rarely had to and even though it was probably dark, she would rather stay in her dingy apartment. Being a hunter able to shift her form she was allowed to hold a residence outside the compound and a small living wage to subsist and entertain herself. The idea behind this was that, if they were saving humanity, they should make sure that their saviours didn’t become completely detached from it, some of the more beastly hunters weren’t allowed out, for both their safety and that of others. As she slid into the elevator that led to the first floor of the enormous building she began to slide back into her human shape the scientists that had already been in the elevator quivered. She hadn’t noticed them. If she did maybe she would’ve just waited for the next one. They were weak, and scared of her, of her friends, of her enemies. She didn’t like to spend time with them because it sickened her, they wouldn’t fight for humanity, just mess around with their clipboards and pens, experimenting.

The elevator door opened, and she strode out, eager to get away. The pathway to the exit was primarily shining marble, with red carpets and bronze sculptures on pedestals lining the path.

Sitting lazily in the chair, completely at odds with her surroundings, was the receptionist, or at least that’s what the desk plaque said. She was tall, almost as tall as Victoria with dark hair that was shaved along one side of her head and hung down along the other. She wore heavy black boots and a black tank top that revealed her muscled arms.

She wasn’t really a receptionist; she wouldn’t be allowed to dress like that if she was. The interior was a show of culture to guests, but that woman was a display of strength.

Victoria smiled at the sight of her

“Hey Mel” she called, giving a small wave

“hey Vi” Mel replied coolly “here to check out?”

Victoria nodded and pulled out her wrist, allowing a small machine on desk to register her information.

“How much sleep are you running on” Mel asked

“I’m not sure” replied Victoria “couldn’t be more than 3 hours for several days”

Mel winced “please Vivi, get some sleep”

Victoria sighed, Mel was right, she gave her goodbyes before allowing her feathers to blossom out around her, just enough to resemble a dark coat as they shifted to her whim. And with one more look behind her, she disappeared into the nights cold embrace