DrN1k0

Me when I fucking lie bruh

His face was exposed- no, worse than that- His mask had broken before, much to his own chagrin- here, his face was exposed on a battlefield full of other people. Other ‘hunters.’ Hunters that were pulling the monster this way and that and prodding and poking and making it so fucking hard to just do his job-

Löllinger’s expression dropped, and it only made everything worse. Anger, humiliation, he couldn’t stomach it.

“Löllinger !” König had called to him, but his hands were shaking. Löllinger reached up to his hood, still held in place by the buckles around his horns, and he tugged lose fabric against his face to hide it from any prying eyes.

Did any of them see ?

Löllinger felt like he couldn’t breathe.

König was calling his name when he’d fled the battlefield, hammer left in his frantic retreat.

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“Olivia said you’re not to leave the camp,” König informed mildly. It had been three days, and Löllinger hadn’t been able to look his palico in the eye since the incident, try after try that he might. This news only made the feeling worse.

“That’s ridiculous,” He sniffed, lips curled in a grinning sneer. “She can’t stop me- she’s not the one I was told to take orders from. We’ll just go out like we always do anyways. There’s not much she can do about it.”

“The orders are from Fabius. And I agree with him.” The fucking traitor. Löllinger could feel his jaw tighten until near pain, and he turned his face further toward König in defiance.

“You agree with him,” Löllinger spat mockingly. “You agree with him, do you ? Yeah, you fucking would-”

“It’s not like that-”

“Sure as hell what it seems like. They want to ruin my fucking hunt-”

“It was the guild’s hunt, not yours.”

“My fucking hunt ! They don’t get to ruin my fucking hunt after months of kissing the fucking ground I walk on ! I didn’t need any help ! I’ve never needed any fucking help !” Löllinger snapped, turning to finally face his snarl towards the felyne that stared back at him, clearly having expected the outburst based on the controlled expression on his face.

“They felt a duty to help, just as you had a duty to assist them,” König attempted to explain, tone strained in its forced calm. “This is the best case scenario.”

“The best-” Löllinger fully rounded on his palico, using his height to tower over and intimidate the animal with a vicious bare of sharp teeth, “The best case scenario ? I’m the best fucking hunter there’s ever been and I’ve been fucking grounded to my tent like a god damn child !” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could König say this to him ? He thought König understood, he thought König was his friend. This was inconceivable, that he’d agree with such idiocy. “This is the ‘best case scenario’ to you !?”

“They wanted to arrest you,” König informed, tone sharper now. Löllinger’s mouth shut, teeth clicking together unhappily as he’s faced with the new information. “Olivia called for your guild membership to be revoked and for you to be charged for your reckless selfishness. Claimed that you’re a danger and that the monster got away because of you- I talked them down from it. This is the best case scenario, Loel.”

Löllinger’s throat felt tight, and he suddenly found that his never-ending eye contact was forced to waver with his own discomfort, just as it had seemed to be doing the entirety of the aftermath. That bitch had been practically fiending for an opportunity to kick him from the guild the moment she’d met him, he can’t even understand why he was surprised to learn that König had to defend him from her. Still, the fact that the others had considered it all is bad, really fucking bad. How far had he slipped ?

“You said the Gogmazios got away ?” Löllinger asked, voice dry in a grief that could only ever be described as selfish. König’s eyes softened, the kind that the hunter could feel comfort in, not the dangerous pity that others always offered.

“Yes. They got it to change course, at least for the time being. They expect it to be coming back any day, but Azuz is still standing for now.” Löllinger’s eyes drifted off for a moment in thought, König’s words knocking around in his head. 

There was still a chance for himself, then.

Löllinger’s grin widened, from lazy to proud.

“I didn’t know you were such a successful lawyer, König,” The hybrid purred, eyes half-lidded with delight as he passed by the palico with a cautious saunter, risking a peek outside of his tent. He held the fabric close to him so that his face stayed out of view, a single crimson and amber eye peering into the darkness. He blinked slowly.

“What on Earth could you have said to them to make them give up something as serious as jail time ?” Löllinger prodded, predatory gaze following his handler as she seemingly anxiously traversed through the crowd of panicking hunters, potentially looking for him. He hadn’t seen her since König had kept him in the tent. Did she think that he was dead ? She looked pretty when she was scared. “I told them the truth.” Löllinger’s focus shifted, and he was suddenly unable to keep his eye on Alma. König’s ear flicked, cautious, but he held himself firm and lifted his chin, even as his hunter turned to face him with an empty expression. “I told them that you’re sensitive. That you got overwhelmed, and became a liability. I told them that leaving was the best thing that could have happened, because you would have hurt somebody had you stayed.”

I have no idea what this is from but it was just so absurd I HAD to draw it with them