1 - Spoilers for the end of chapter 5:)
2 - Alchemist is mistaken for a child in this, but she's like... 28? Just short
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Alchemist watched from a cliff, a battle was happening, too far for her to see anything, but close enough to hear just about everything. There was blood in the air, too. It filled her nose and forced a deep, primal hunger out of her. One she tried to ignore. One that had her scrambling for her bag in search of her medicine, to force it back into submission again.
The bottle was empty, the beast inside her was starving, and the smell of blood was only growing more enticing by the second. Her feet began to move before she could stop herself, sneaking closer to the battle.
A man she didn't recognize, and a woman she vaguely did. One of The Ancient Hero's. He had her by the neck, speaking in a low, rumbling voice. He held her over a cliff as she struggled in his grasp.
And- And someone yelled out for The Hero, before he grasped both her wings in one hand and pulled. She screamed, loud enough to draw a hiss from Alchemist as she backed away. She had put herself in view if the man turned around. He didn't, not right away, saying a few more words to The Hero, before dropping down the cliff below. Another man- the one who had yelled- rushed forward, being stopped in his tracks by a spasm that sent him to the ground.
The smell of blood had faded as The Hero fell, but it still filled Alchemist's lungs with every breathe she took. She shuffled further against the rock she found herself behind, watching as the man who had torn off the wings looked at them. He looked... disappointed?
She looked at the wings, and it clicked. They were fabric, enchanted, likely, to grant flight. She also noticed the damaged bone of a real wing. That was bleeding, but only a little bit, Alchemist wasn't sure if he'd even noticed it as he tossed it to the side.
He faced the fallen man, watching half-heartily as he shook, body overtaken by what looked like painful glitches.
He approached him, and knelt down onto one knee, a smile that sent a shiver down Alchemist's spine crossing his face.
"Having trouble there?"
His eyes looked up from the man, who clearly couldn't respond as another wave of glitches tore through him. Forcing a weak gasp out of his lungs. His eye's grazed the cliffside.
And landed on Alchemist.
He was on her before she could run away. Grasping her by one of her braids and throwing her into the open. She snarled as his axe descended a pun her, landing right by her neck, splitting the hair it hit. His foot landed on her stomach, and she gasped.
His head tilted a degree to the side, and he smiled even wider. Alchemist lunged when he removed his foot, managing to sink her teeth into his arm before he pulled her away. Holding her up by her arm as she trashed. His blood tasted like pure spice, nothing soothing her tongue. But the beast inside her calmed down, for now.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here!"
Cookies formed behind him, ignoring the pained man just a few feet behind them. Alchemist stared daggers into the man's eyes, and he stared back in glee.
"A Vampire! One of noble blood at that!"
He turned around and held her up like a trophy, a few of the cookies cheered, some looked confused, the one at the front, a woman with the lower body of a tiger, smiled excitedly. Like she knew something Alchemist didn't- like they all knew something she didn't.
He looked at her again, ignoring the happy crowd before them.
"Tell me, little girl, what brings you to your kind's birthplace?"
...
What?
She stared at him, now confused beyond words. Birthplace? Her kind's birthplace? What was he on about?
"Ah, I don't suppose your parents would have spoken of it. I suppose they would be 'ashamed' of their origin."
Alchemist bit back her response. Her parent's had died before she was old enough to remember their faces. Her brother gave them new names to keep them safe. Some good that did. She simply narrowed her eyes further.
"You have a beast in you, young one. A beast born from the blood of another."
"... What are you talking about?"
He was just being cryptic on purpose, now. She was sure of it. He chuckled, dropping her to the ground. Alchemist shuffled back, trying to gain some distance between herself and this- this mad man. He held out his arms, wide and imposing. Alchemist felt even smaller than she was under his intense gaze.
"Your eyes are on your beholder, girl. I created your kind."
Silence, Alchemist took another step back.
What?
No- Nononono- That can't- He's lying- He has to be.
Forward. Back. Forward. Back. Until she was right by the cliff The Hero had been thrown off of.
"What's that look for? Your inner beast calmed once it had a taste of me, didn't it? I can tell by your eyes you don't indulge much. Tell me, has it ever been satiated by just one taste of blood?"
It hadn't been, she had to force herself off of Black Clover's shoulder when defending her brother. And that was one of the times she had been lucid enough to do it herself.
"S- So what? That's not- You-"
He was in front of her, now, and she had nowhere to go. She didn't have control over her bat form, and she really didn't want to bet on her wings deciding to grow back in again. She was ready to bite him again as he reached out but was met instead by a hand gently placing itself on top of her head. He was petting her- like she was a child! Alchemist grumbled, but didn't stop him. He was more than twice her size in height, and his arms were thicker than both of hers combined.
At least he wasn't trying to kill her. That was a nice change of pace.
"Although, given you clearly didn't know that it makes me wonder... What exactly made such a young one come here?"
He thought she was a child. Alchemist decided that was the least of her concerns. She didn't want him to know about Black Clover- or her... Friends. Even if he would wipe the floor with them and take them out of her- and her brothers' lives.
"... I like to explore. What's wrong with that?"
His eyes narrowed.
"I would certainly hope your parents wouldn't let their child wander to someplace like this unattended."
"... Good thing they're dead. Then."
Good thing she wasn't a child, too.
"Dead? No- no that won't do,"
His grasped her hair tight, pulling her away from the cliff's edge. His smile wasn't as feral, but it still unnerved her.
"You'll need guidance, if you really want to reach your full potential."
Alchemist yelped as he shoved her away, she landed by the fallen man, he was unconscious. Still seizing from the glitching.
"I suppose I'll have to do,"
Suddenly, Alchemist realizes as the tiger-woman picks up both her and the other man, that she should have just faced the music. Black Clover wasn't this insane, anyways.
