(This is copied from another RP I am in!)
It was about 7:00 am on a rainy Thursday morning, on the outer edge of a mid-sized town.
A figure huddled in the corner between a rusty old dumpster and the grey brick of a large building that housed a vape shop. Water dripped from the edge of the roof far above, rhythmically thumping against the drenched fabric of his hooded jacket. The young fellow— if that’s what one would call him— shivered and wrapped his arms tighter against his aching ribs, curling into himself. The gash on his side throbbed. If only he could just… sink back, away from the world, into nothingness. If only he could just… peacefully cease to exist. Then maybe things would be better.
But he couldn’t. And he was too scared to die.
Orion squinted up at the cloudy sky. A few drops of rain smattered across his glasses’ lens. Though it wasn’t that bright outside, the grey light of the morning was a little harsh for his tired eyes. After a long night of ducking through back alleys and slinking through the shadows, they burned. He was a nocturnal creature, anyway. The night welcomed him much more than daylight ever did.
“Hey!” a man’s voice called.
Orion tensed, one gloved hand reflexively yanking his hood as far forward as it would go. He turned his head as little as possible, peering at the stranger through his peripheral. A burly, overweight guy, maybe in his early thirties, wearing a sports hoodie and smoking something. Not a police. Not a hunter. Still a threat.
“You’re trespassing. No loitering here!” The man took a few fast steps closer.
Orion hurried to his feet without turning to face the man. The movement upset the wound he’d sustained on his side the night before, but that would have to be a secondary concern.
“Sorry,” he mumbled as he nervously started in the other direction— keeping his voice low and his head even lower. He walked as fast as he could without bringing more attention to himself, cupping one hand over the the injury on his abdomen. It felt warm. Bleeding again, probably.
Instead of making his way to the open street, which was already starting to get more alive with morning traffic, he ducked into another side alley and leaned against the wall. He pulled his hand back; a little dark spot stained the front of his grey hoodie. He was right about the bleeding at least.
If he were anyone else, he’d just go to the hospital like a normal person. But he wasn’t anyone else, and he wasn’t a normal person. Most wouldn’t even consider him a person. He wasn’t even sure if he considered himself a person, either. He didn’t look like “real” people. Not up close, at least. Not with his blue-black skin, yellow eyes, long pointed canines, and sharp black nails. The few times he’d accidentally been spotted by civilians, they’d mistaken him for some kind of demon.
He wasn’t a demon, though. He was an abomination that never should’ve existed.
Footsteps from deeper in the alley caught Orion’s attention. He started, eyes wide as he stared in the direction of the sound. The hunters had been chasing him all night long; he’d only lost them a couple hours ago. No doubt, they were still searching. And they wouldn’t quit. Hurting him wasn’t enough. Killing him now wasn’t enough, either. He was an anomaly, a fluke, a creature whose very existence threatened everything known about monsters and humans. They wanted him alive— for now, at least.
He didn’t wait around to find out what the noise was. Didn’t want to risk being seen again. He darted off, ignoring the pain in his side, ignoring the ache in his legs from running all night. All that mattered now was keeping his head low and keeping away from them. Maybe he could find a manhole or something, somewhere to hide in the dark until nightfall.
He turned around a corner, took it too fast, tripped over a random sack of garbage laying right in the middle of his path. He face-planted onto the pavement, wheezing as every bit of air was forced from his lungs and his hands and knees dug into the rough concrete. He scrambled back to his feet and limped forward, momentarily forced to acknowledge his own physical pain.
Maybe they’d just end up killing him after all.
Maybe that was what needed to happen.