A Bat's Ultimate Plan for Vengeance!
Ch. 1: Their loss, not mine!
CW: You get beat up a little, but I go ham on writing description. W/C: 1.4k
“But of course, my dear! Truly an ambition worthy of my prowess!” You smugly responded back to the voice… that didn’t come from your head?! You shot up from your seat, gliding down to confirm the source of the new voice. Lightly bouncing down the layers of rubble, you descended from the heavens like a fallen angel, though with wings of a bat instead.
“Stupid brothers.. always thinking I’m a burden..” You grumbled, kicking a stray pebble from atop of the hill of rubble and stone benches you sat upon. It fell with a pitter patter, bouncing off somewhere into the abyss.
There you lied in wait, on the outskirts of the hollow as the Ballet Twin Towers loomed behind you in the distance. It had been approximately 20 minutes since your cauldron of brothers had left you behind to guard the “throne” you had built, them playing along in order to ditch you at the last minute. With no carrot and little assistance, you were stranded, left to die alone.
“Hmhm..” You smirked to yourself, placing a hand over your heart. “Maybe it’s time I start my villain arc!” In a growing voice, you began to announce, “After playing the role of the ‘runt’ for so long’, I, Cruorem (y/n), shall have my vengeance! No longer shall I be seen as ‘little shrimp’ or ‘dull-fanged’, for as long as I shall live, from this day forth, I shall be known as a true predator!” You cackled, conjuring sparks of ether behind you to mimic thunder Your wings splayed out in a show of dominance, the shadow allowing a ring of light to halo around your head. Your non-existent followers began to cheer and applause, your name being chanted over and over.
“Wow.. that’s so inspiring..!” A voice had called out from below. Confidence began to swell within your chest.
“But of course, my dear! Truly an ambition worthy of my prowess!” You smugly responded back to the voice… that didn’t come from your head?! You shot up from your seat, gliding down to confirm the source of the new voice. Lightly bouncing down the layers of rubble, you descended from the heavens like a fallen angel, though with bat wings instead.
There, a pale girl in green twintails awaited, gaping in awe of your presence. She stood speechless at your arrival, before realizing that she had interrupted your speech. More shaken than you, she stuttered out an apology, tears welling up from her eyes. “I’m- I’m- I’m so sorry!” Biting her tongue in the process, she bowed down, clutching her apron.
‘A maid? This must be fate! I must recruit her!’ You thought to yourself on opportunity, before you had smelled the scent of blood, though it was a little rotten. “Hey, look at me.” You gently grasped the girl’s chin to observe her injury, pulling out a clean handkerchief from your breast pocket. Lightly prying her mouth open, you placed pressure on her tongue with the cloth while she sniffed pitifully. The little maid grasped the cloth herself. “Thffank yu..”
You gently placed a hand on her head, careful not to ruin her hair. “No problem, my lackey! If I’m going to have you by my side as a servant, I’d have to treat you well!”
“Corin! Where have you gone?” A voice shouted in the distance. Said girl jolted in surprise, biting down on the cloth before removing it to respond. “I’m over here, Mr. Lycaon! I found a girl!”
“Girl?!” You shouted in bewilderment, shaking the maid’s shoulders. “Man! I’m a man!” Actually, you were neither, but you had decided that presenting masculine would help you fit in with your brothers more, so you identified as so.
“Oh.. I’m so sorry, I had thought..-!” She cried out in response, but her words were interrupted as a kick came barreling in, aimed at your abdomen. The maid shut her eyes at the force, frost blown against her eyelashes. “Please refrain from touching my employee!”
The kick connected, digging into your spine. Your body flew back against the concrete, slamming into the ridges of the hill you had made of rubble, knocking the air out of your lungs. As you tumbled to the ground, your wings fluttered weakly. Pain shot through your spine as you jerked on the ground from the pain, a sob forcing its way through your lips. The assailant from before picked you up by your collar as you struggled to open your eyes. “State your business here, bat.”
The wolf-thiren held you above the ground, cutting off your air. In defiance, you bit his paw, though that only made him clutch your shirt harder. He recognized your kind, and he did not appreciate it one bit.
“No, Mr. Lycaon! They didn’t do anything!” Corin weakly tugged at his sleeve. “You’re bleeding.” He gruffly responded, glaring down at your form as you weakly pried at his grasp. “I bit my tongue..!” She raised her voice at last, which made him drop you in light surprise at her volume.
She immediately dropped to her knees, scraping them in the process in order to hold you up. Though at this point, the lack of air had rendered you half-unconscious. Your vision tunneled as your ears rang, unable to make out her following words as she held you. In fear and instinct, you weakly pushed away from her arms, rolling onto the floor. “N-no!” Your wings shielded your face as you curled into a ball, the same way you would hang upside-down.
“I won’t..” You sobbed out, “I won’t do it again, sir… Please! I’ll do anything..”
Realizing his mistake at Corin’s response to your form, the wolf-thiren kneeled down, though that only made you tremble harder. He hovered a hand at the small of your back, below your wings. The heat emanating from his palm warmed your back against the frost spilling from his legs. “I.. apologize, little one. I have treated you wrongly. Please, allow me to make it up to you.”
You forced yourself to stop shaking, though pain still pulsed through your core. You were alone, and outnumbered, and with no escape, so you planned the only way you knew how.
“Then.. escort me out.” You uttered meekly, the confidence blown from your body from the kick.
Corin watched sadly as you lost the character you had formed when she had first seen you. She blamed herself, for if she had never bitten her tongue, then maybe her boss wouldn’t have harmed you. Instead of being the person she wished she could be, she had only lowered you down to her level, or what she saw herself as. Corin bit her lip, watching you struggle to stand, knees buckling.
Pushing away Mr. Lycaon’s extended reach, she gently scooped your figure into her arms, careful not to let her shackles dig into your wings. “Please..um, my lord. Allow this servant to carry you out!” Corin tried to appease you so that you wouldn't shy away..
‘My lord’, she had called you. Her reference to your new title made your heart swell up with joy, and you relaxed in her hold, clearly pleased. Your head lay nestled in her arms as you chuckled weakly, keeping your head tucked so that the wolf from before did not appear in your peripheral. “Ha.. ha.. okay.”
Lycaon silently stood, allowing Corin to coddle you as you clearly trusted her. He didn’t want to agitate you any further. “Then let us return to the others.”
Corin treated you with the same tenderness that you had treated her injury, holding you against her chest as she followed along. If it were any other situation, she would’ve been proud of herself for being able to serve you like this, but it was her fault that she had caused your situation in the first place, so she swore to do her best to make it up to you. Her strides were smooth, careful not to jostle you as she and Mr. Lycaon made their way through the rocky terrain of the Hollow, to where the others were waiting at the exit.
“They’re back.” Ellen bit into her lollipop as she saw her co-workers return, getting up from her crouched position on the ground. Eous bounced up at her feet. “Lycaon, who is that?” Phaethon questioned, seeing the bat-thiren in Corin’s arms. The little bangboo pointed its stub at your limp figure.
“Shhh!” Corin lightly pleaded in a whisper. “They’re sleeping.”
“Please, allow me.” Rina hovered over attempting to lighten the load, but Corin only stepped back, shaking her head. “I can do it, really!”
Lycaon shook his head at Rina when she looked at him in query. “Prioritize the client first. I will inform you both at the debriefing tonight. Ellen, Corin, you two return back first. Alexandrina and I will meet up with the client to return the requested item and complete the commission.” Eous hopped into his arms. “Master Proxy, I will stop by later for your compensation.” The little bangboo nodded. “Okay, but you’ve gotta spill the tea later.”
Corin meekly followed behind with you in her arms.
[Onwards!]
