Y/n's POV

When I woke up in the morning, my hair was wet with Riot's drool. I grimaced and brushed the [h/c] strands out of my face, then stretched and walked into the restroom. 

My reflection was a mess. Dirt was matted into my hair, and I had a scratch on my cheek from when I was fighting the Endermen yesterday. I sighed, then hopped into the shower to clean off. 

When I got out, my cheek was stinging. I was pretty sure the cut had reopened, but it was nothing serious. I walked into the kitchen and began looking through my food barrels, searching for something to create pancakes. I had promised myself and Riot a day to ourselves, and I intended to keep that promise. With 40 emeralds, I shouldn't have to really work for another two days, I thought.

A sudden creak caught my attention, and I glanced over to see Riot walking in with a slightly charred bone in his mouth- the remnants of an unfortunate skeleton that had gotten caught in the sunrise. He gave me a scathing look before settling down on his cushion to eat his prize.

I winced. "I forgot to get that bone for you last night, didn't I..." I said. Riot huffed, chewing on the bone. I sighed. "Sorry, bud," I said. Riot considered my apology for a few seconds before yipping and going back to his bone. A sound of forgiveness. 

I smiled at him, then went back to digging through my different barrels. I pulled some eggs out of one barrel, wheat flour from another, and milk from another. Then, I pulled out a frying pan- pure iron, a good weight in my hands. There was a small dent in it, from when I used it to knock some random creep in my house out, but other than that it was perfectly useable. 

I threw some wood in the furnace to get it heated up, then quickly mixed the ingredients together to make batter. Once the furnace was nice and hot, I poured some of the batter into the pan and placed it on top of the furnace. A sizzling noise sounded from the pan, and a thick, creamy smell filled the air. 

Riot glanced up from his bone, now reduced to a few fragments, and whined. I side-eyed him. "Oh, so now you want my attention? You were rather occupied whenever you had that bone to chew on," I said accusingly. He whined again and looked at me with big, brown puppy dog eyes. I felt my heart soften, even if I had only been teasing.

"Fine, fine, I'll give you a pancake as soon as I finish making them," I said reassuringly. Riot mercifully looked away, sparing me from the puppy eyes while he panted happily. I quickly grabbed the handle of the pan and tossed the pancake into the air, flipping it with expert precision. It landed with a satisfying hiss, the batter steaming on the hot metal. 

A few minutes later, and the first pancake was done. I repeated the process five more times until there was a small stack of pancakes on the plate. I tossed two to Riot, who devoured them immediately, then poured honey onto the remaining four and cut them into pieces. I stabbed three chunks with my fork and stuffed them into my mouth. 

It was pure bliss. I hadn't stopped to make myself a good breakfast in weeks- usually we were up and out of the house before dawn, only eating what little food we could grab before we went out on our job. I savored the feeling of sticky honey on my tongue, not caring whenever some crumbs fell onto the table.

Riot was whimpering, sitting at my feet to beg for more. I glanced down at him, then tossed another piece of pancake to him. He snapped it out of the air, then looked at me for more. I ignored him.

I was just starting to eat the next pancake when the doorbell rang. 

I sighed, then swallowed the food in my mouth. "Who izzit?" I called, my mouth sticky from the honey.

A man's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "I'm looking for Y/n, the monster hunter. Is this her?" he called. 

I snorted and drank a glass of water before responding. "It is. I'm taking a day off. Now get off my property before I sic Riot on you," I said, annoyance tainting my voice. 

The man chuckled. "See, but I have an offer I think you'll like," he said hopefully.

I threw a shoe at the door. "Get lost."

I heard shuffling on the other side of the door, and I tensed. This wouldn't be the first time someone tried to break in. Riot snarled, and I grabbed my sword from its hook on the wall. I crept towards the door, waiting for the man to come through, but he didn't. Instead, he spoke again.

"We're in a bit of a situation, Y/n. We need the best monster hunter in the land to help us. You're the only one we could find who's brave enough to help," he said. I rolled my eyes at how pathetic he sounded.

"I said, I'm taking a day off. What do you not understand about that?" I snapped.

"We have a good price for your services!" he said. 

"I don't care! I'm not taking any jobs today, no matter the pri-"

"500 Emeralds!" he said, cutting me off.

I froze.

500 Emeralds???

That would keep us financially stable for at least a year- maybe longer, if I played my cards right. I slowly set down my sword, then crept towards the door and pulled back the slab of wood that covered the peephole. "Are you being serious?" I asked.

I couldn't see the man's face clearly, given that the peephole was built for someone taller than me, but I could tell that he nodded. "I was. Are you going to accept?" he asked. 

I considered his offer. "Come on in and let's talk," I said before unlocking the door and opening it. The man strolled in, and I felt my jaw drop at his attire.

A glittering golden crown rested on his dark, wavy hair. He wore a fancy button-up shirt with a lace collar, and his boots were made of fine leather. A dagger rested in a sheath on his leg, and he wore a pair of dark sunglasses, obstructing my view of his eyes. To complete the royal look, a long cape flowed from his shoulders, with a fur trim and the colors of the bi flag sewn on the inside. 

He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch as if he owned the place- and for all I knew, he might. He had an air of importance around him, carrying himself like a king.

Once he was settled, I sat in the chair across from the couch, eyeing him warily. He gave me a warm smile. "Thank you for being willing to hear me out," he said. I nodded and grunted, then gestured to him. "Mind giving me an introduction?" I asked.

He nodded. "Of course! If we're going to be business partners, it's only logical. My name is Eret," he said. "I use any pronouns, and I've come on behalf of a group of my friends. They said that I'd be best for telling you about this job," he said.

I nodded my head. "Nice to meet you, Eret. Name's Y/n. Monster hunter. She/her. Y'know, pretty much everything people say about me." I gestured to Riot, who was studying Eret. "That's my dog Riot."

Eret reached a hand out, allowing Riot to sniff them and gather his scent. After a few seconds, Riot warily allowed him to pet him on the head. Good. Eret can be trusted. For now.

"You mentioned a 500 emerald reward?" I said. He nodded. "Must be a pretty special creature for you to offer that much. That or you're just desperate," I said sarcastically. 

She chuckled bitterly. "A little bit of both, actually. We've been tracking down this creature and trying to kill him for months, to no avail. He always manages to escape, and brutally wounds our men when he does. I was the one who suggested we come to you," he explained. 

I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of creature is he?" I asked.

He sighed. "He's a demon."

Riot's tail stopped wagging. 

The tension in the room grew exponentially.

I let out my breath through my teeth, sounding like a hiss. "Well, that would certainly explain why the reward is so great," I murmured. Eret nodded, looking slightly nervous. "What are your thoughts?" he asked. 

I stood up and strode over to the bookshelf in the corner of the living room, pushing aside books as I looked for one specific cover. The worn brown cover caught my attention, and I pulled it off of the shelf, dusting it off before walking back over to my chair. The words inked into the cover were bold against the faded cloth.

Property of Arwan l/n. Open at your own risk.

My father's bold handwriting stirred a little pang in my heart, bringing up old memories. I could remember sitting on his lap as he wrote in this journal late at night, with him whispering stories of the monsters he was logging. My mother wasn't happy whenever she found out he was telling me about all of those beasts, but she always scolded him with a twinkle in her eye. I knew she was secretly glad that I was learning. 

I pushed away the painful memories and opened the journal. I scanned the neatly labeled table of contents before flipping to the last page. At the top, one word was written- Demons. The amount of information after it was pitiful, but I cleared my throat and read it out loud anyways.

"Demons. Said to be born of the Nether, these monsters are unpredictable. Some are said to shapeshift, others are said to have control and/or immunity to certain elements. The only way to kill a demon is to destroy it so utterly that nothing could ever bring it back- no respawn or magic or anything else." I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "You expect me to kill one of these?"

Eret sighed. "I know that it's a lot to ask, but we're offering a good reward. Besides, on our last hunting operation, one of our men may have hurt him. We heard him cry in pain before fleeing into the woods," they said. 

I snorted. "Like that does anything for me," I said. Eret rubbed his forehead. "They're not invincible, Y/n. There is a possibility that you could kill him, even if he isn't hurt."

Setting the book onto the couch gently, I stood up. "I take jobs that I know I can complete. Jobs that I know I'm not going to get killed on. I take care of myself and Riot- no one else. Even though your job pays well, I don't know if either of us will make it out alive. I've never even seen a demon before- I'm not sure what I'd be getting myself into. So thank you, but no thank you. I'm not taking this job."

Eret held his hands out to me. "We could pay double," he said. "Triple. We could give you any supplies you need. Food, weapons, you name it. We'll do whatever you need, so long as you help us kill this demon," he said desperately. 

I considered his offer. My sword may have been strong once, but it wasn't nearly as effective. The iron was softer, and more liable to snap off in one of the monsters I killed. I was a good shot with my bow, but I needed a new sword- preferably one not made of iron.

From the way Eret dressed, I was quite certain he could get me the best-quality sword in the land. 

I turned back to him. "Say I accept. What are your terms?" I said. 

He visibly relaxed, relieved that I was considering his offer. "We don't have any- just bring us back his body, and we'll pay you in full," he said. I thought for a moment, then smiled at her and held out my hand. "Looks like we have a deal," I said. 

Their face lit up, and he took my hand in a firm grasp, shaking it. "What all do you need?" he said eagerly.

I smiled. "Let me get a piece of paper, because I have a lot of items I'll need. 

It's going to take a lot it I'm going to kill a demon."

2106 words

Finishing Chapter 2 before I have to turn in my Chromebook! Have a great summer!