A Forest On Fire

Strong Enough

Èmile was strong enough to admit that he was angry. To throw him out of an entire province, to hold him at gunpoint, to scare his hunters, to destroy their rifles, to threaten to imprison him should he ever step foot in the land again, for what? For doing his job? For protecting the people? For sparing her life when he easily could have killed her? She thought he was prideful, but the real vain was closer to home. And the fact that she owned a monster herself, the fact that she was alright with these things walking, was completely unacceptable.

That is why he was contacting another group of hunters. They were controversial, per se. They were technically hunters, but they were hunters known for their cruelty and unfairness. Often, they skinned the telé or sold the body whole in exchange for other things, like alcohol, drugs, weapons, and the like. They were a band of sailors from Finland. Certainly, Èmile did not like them, but they did not act or look like conventional hunters. All the better in order to get his hands on whatever creature Elliot had and snuff out its existence. For now, they would not do anything; they would only watch the Governor and her servant. Sailors weren't exactly spies, but they agreed to do anything for money.

"Do you understand your objective?" Èmile demanded. They had met on the eastern coasts of Rousette in the port city of Tyyppi, which was deserted at the early hour. It was unwonted; usually, he would have preferred a more formal setting, but he felt this was somehow safer. There were three sailors- a woman and two men- in front of him, but he knew there were more. The tall, muscular woman wearing a thick scarf with the initials "I.S." threaded into the side gave her name as Riina Sokolov. The man to her right introduced himself as Jorma Vesa. The man to her left, shorter than the other two, hairy, said his name was Markus Arttu. Riina inhaled deeply, puffing out the smoke from her cigarette in short bursts.

"Do you think we're stupid?" She finally barked. "'Course we understand! You repeated yourself like you had dementia!"

Markus laughed good-naturedly, albeit slightly drunkenly. "Least you could do is give us a challenge, eh, Èmile?"

Jorma was the only one who questioned the hunter. "Why'd you ask us? We ain't exactly spies, y'know."

"Yes, I know. You were cheap," Èmile said.

"CHEAP?" Riina shouted. "We're doin' all this for you, we're puttin' our-"

"Shut up!" He bellowed, just as loudly. "Do what you are told, do exactly as I tell you, and you get your money, alright? That is the deal. You will not argue; you will not question me."

"We ain't slaves," Jorma added. "We c'n walk away whenev'r we w'nt."

"But you won't. Because you're broke. Because you're jobless. Because no-one wants to hire a posse of drunken buffoons!"

"I don't know what you're trying to explain to us, but that only made you sound desperate for help," Riina said.

"It doesn't matter. Do your job. Start at sunrise."

Èmile took them to a hotel after Riina told Markus to instruct "her boys" to stay where they were and tell them that they were going to be gone for a while. He paid for the expenses, ensured that they would start at day, and left with Ivan and Felix, who had accompanied him there. "Sir?" Felix spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to meddle with the Governor?"

"It's our job to, Felix."  

Felix looked skeptical.

"Listen, Alfons, our job is to vanquish monsters, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you remember what you saw that day?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Boy, telé'l may be frightening, but what you saw that day was a real monster."

"A real monster?"

"Telé'l are born the way they are. Those creatures are born human. They change and mutilate themselves for power and immortality. They look human, they act human, they will make you believe they are human, and, it is true, they once were. But not anymore. You must not believe them. Because they were once human, they know us. They know our weaknesses. That is the kind of monster you must not trust."

"Of course, sir."

This was the situation in which Èmile found himself after his encounter with Lydia and Elliot.