A Priest’s Dagger

When Blush first heard the head priest’s word carry to the pews of the Church of Sulfur, when those verses resonated in the depths of his aimless aspirations now giving them purpose, he knew he would become a priest himself. He would praise the demons and encourage others to pray to their might, regardless of the doubt he carried in his own chest. Beyond vices, virtues and the envious.

But what happened when blind devotion wasn’t enough? When all of his fears broke on his shoulders and he couldn’t help but desperately seek out an answer.

When he sought out a man that rejected his way of life.

“Are you sure I can do this?” Blush shifted the dagger in his grip. “This isn’t exactly something I was taught.”

Silver scoffed as he set a hand on the priest’s shoulder, his eyes focused on the blade between them. “You want to learn how to protect yourself, don’t you?”

Blush looked up, his expression tense as their eyes met, “Of course I do, I wouldn’t have asked you to train me if I wasn’t sure about that.”

“Then you need to stop hesitating,” Silver scolded, “You’ll end up dead out there if you lose your footing for even a moment. Vampires and other supernatural creatures won’t give you a second chance.”

Blush raised his dagger once again, “But what good will this do? I’m not nearly as tall or strong as other buns here, what chance do I have against someone even stronger than that?”

“Then you’re looking at this from the wrong angle, strength isn’t only muscle. If you know how to take down a garden variety vampire, then you’re leagues above those that would ignore this threat.” Silver bitterly continued, “You’re better than most of the priests and nuns that think their demons do no wrong.”

Blush flinched, his expression hardening, “Part of this arrangement is not mentioning the Church, as I do not question what you do, you won’t question what I do.”

Silver relented with a sigh, dropping his hand from the other man’s shoulder, “You’re right, now is not the time. Try striking the target again, this time aim higher.”

Blush wanted to snap that there would be no right time, but he was already out later in the night than he wanted and Patron would worry if he didn’t come home before the bartender’s shift ended. “Alright.”

He widened his stance, feet digging into the hard ground, before he moved forward and dug his dagger into the practice dummy’s chest in a fluid motion.

Silver made a low hum of approval. “That was better, more forceful.”

Blush pulled back, ripping the blade out of the matted straw. “What if I can’t handle doing this to an actual succubun?”

Silver took a moment to reply, his voice low, “You’re not going to do this to a succubun, it will be a vampire.”

“But even so? They look like us, they talk like us, they feel like we do, don’t they?”

“I don’t think the succubuns you know are the type to go around draining people dry, Blush. They’re murderers, a demonic plague.”

“You’re right,” Blush took a deep breath, “I just never pictured myself doing something like this, but ever since I learned about these other forces in the burrows…if I can’t learn to protect myself, what chance do I have to protect others?”

“Is that why you wanted to do this?”

“Yes, no? I know I want to protect my loved ones but I don’t know if that’s my only reason.”

Without promoting, Blush struck the dummy again, his arm quivering with the force of the movement. “After Oleander, it feels like nothing makes sense anymore.”

Silver took a step back, avoiding Blush’s elbow as he once again ripped out his dagger. For a short and altogether delicate looking man, Blush stabbed hard enough to almost go through the dummy’s back. “As long as you want to protect the others in the burrows, I don’t think another reason is needed.”

“You think so?” Blush muttered, his arm lowered, “How do you do this, Silver? It’s almost as if nothing fazes you.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Silver replied, “I’m angry with the demons and I’m angry at the creatures that kill succubuns for their own selfishness. But when I chose this path, I knew I would need to learn patience. You’ll get better at it with time.”

“And if I don’t have that?”

“Stop being a priest.”

“Silver,” Blush warned, his mouth twisted, “I have no plans of turning my back on the Church, there are good demons in this world. While I can admit, they can be imperfect. That just means these imperfections are causing harm and must be dealt with.”

“You struck me as overly optimistic.” Silver huffed, reaching a hand out to rub over the gouges in the straw dummy’s chest. He wouldn’t go too far with Blush, he didn’t want the other man to reject hunting just because of a few backhanded comments.

“Maybe I am, but I think we need people like that. This is a terrifying time, we can’t hope to help anyone if we don’t believe we’ll make any difference.”

Silver was silent after Blush finished speaking, the two succubuns staring at each other in the dark of the yard.

Silver nodded, breaking the moment, “Let’s continue.”

Blush didn’t refuse, instead he waited for Silver to instruct him through the next few exercises. His hand never leaving the hilt of his dagger.

The priest didn’t know if he would take being a vampire hunter serious, but he trusted Silver to show him what he needed to learn. To teach him to be stronger than he was now. Blush only hoped his heart wouldn’t become jaded like the envious bun, that he wouldn’t end up rejecting the caretaker he remembered so fondly in the back of his mind,

He also hoped that one day the burrows could be safe for all buns, succubun or not, and if he had to be part of that initiative, then he would.