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"Desperate times call for desperate measures" are the words you've been repeating the entire journey here. Of the monster hunters in the business, Excla Talutah is one of the most infamous: she gets the job done quickly and cleanly, yes, but her methods and prices tend to be... unorthodox. From what you heard, the more difficult the monster is to kill or catch, the crueler your payment—and the man who arranged your meeting with her had the scarring to show it. In exchange for the extermination of a changeling, the man had traded his right hand.

You and Talutah are meeting late at night in a tavern, empty of people besides yourself, the man who brought you here (whom is dismissed to stand outside), and the bartender. Talutah's earrings glitter. As you sit, she does not turn to face you. She does not buy a drink, nor does she offer you one. Talutah nods, and the bartender leaves. She places her sword on the bar and folds her arms together—and only now do you realize the bandages around her eyes. The words tumble out faster than you can think: "How do you fight if you're blind?"

Quickly putting your hands to your mouth, you can hear the rapid pounding of your heartbeat. Her expression is unreadable. "I don't reveal my methods."

"Then how will I know the job is done?"

"I give you the monster's head, dumbass," she says, "Any more questions or can we get to business?"

You nod and attempt to rub down the goosebumps forming on your neck. "Of course, of course, yes."

Talutah hums.

You fumble in your satchel and take out the witch's wanted poster—then remember its uselessness. You don't bother putting the crumpled up paper back into your bag however, be it a sake of dignity or simply helping yourself think. And yet, the feeling of being watched only grows stronger. Outside the windows, you can only see empty streets and the man leaning on the window, the silence of the tavern deafening. Your skin is crawling. But then you hear tapping—Talutah's finger, calling you back to attention. "What's my bounty," she states.

"A witch is terrorizing my town," you finally say, "no one knows their name. Usually the guards are able to take care of this sort of thing, but, uh, the last knight to try and stop them, well, disappeared?"

Her face splits into a malicious grin. "Where was its last sighting?"

You describe the witch's whereabouts and supposed home, then for good measure you describe what the reports last saw them wearing. Going as in-depth as possible, you've a minuscule hope that it makes you look less of a fool. No other monster hunter had taken your pleas, and if the worst of the worst wasn't willing, then what chance did the village stand? Hopefully, her turning her body towards you was a good sign.

She nods, putting her left hand to her chin. "Interesting."

She turns away. It's now her turn to be deep in thought: her growing grin fades as time goes on, and her brow creases. You fold your hands together. Silence. The feeling of being watched has relaxed for a moment, unfortunately returning as Talutah nods and hums again.

Talutah holds out her hand, and the handshake is curt and firm. Through the heat of your own hand, you realize her hand is extremely cold. "I'll lower your price," she says, "though, there's a caveat."

Through the stress-filled meeting, this must be the first time you breathe a sigh of relief. "A discount would be wonderful, what's the catch?"

"More of a universal thing," she says, "I have a tax upfront to ensure that if I'm not paid, I still walk away with payment."

You shift in your seat, leaning back. "O-oh, gold? I can just pay upfront if—"

"Not gold. With upfront payment I might as well fuck off, right?"

You keep your mouth shut, though she seems to take your silence as another question.

"Don't worry, you'll get them back."

There are eyes on her sword.

You notice her grip on her sword tighten—when did she reach over anyways?—and faster than you can blink, she swivels onto her feet and backs you against the bar, cold metal resting against your warming skin. You see eyes everywhere: her earrings, her necklaces, the buttons on her coat and apparel, upon her garments. She does not draw blood, but her sword is firm on your forehead. She smiles. For the first time tonight, you realize you're soaked in sweat.

"I'll have your eyes."

I'd like to try out for the First Tier (Hydra)!

okay honesty time: Nightmare Before Christmas is a good movie, I have not watched it but I know for a fact that it's a good movie. I hate the style. i just personally hate it. It's immature of me to not go 100% along with the contest due to Aesthetique Reasons, but I couldn't bring myself to go "Tim Burton"?? so i tried to emulate it with my color choices instead ahaaa

In summary: Excla Talutah is a proficient but cruel monster hunter, and quickly gained fame—then infamy—for her success rate and... odd demands for her services. After a particularly nasty run-in with a witch, Excla's eye was stolen and her sockets were replaced with skin—but rather than ask for forgiveness, Excla went the petty route and bound her soul to a sword to be her eyes for her. And, just for flair, she adorns it with the eyes of her best kills... and worst debtors. She claims the eyes of her jewelry are just gemstones, but knowing her aesthetic, they're probably eyes too. Although disorienting, she sees uses all of the eyes on her sword at once.*

She's only in it for personal entertainment: some rumors even suggest that monsters have paid her to hunt humans before, and she doesn't deny these accusations outright. One can only hope that she charges for only gold on a hunt, as Excla prefers things with sentimental value, such as heirlooms, wedding rings, personal items, pets, body parts... the last one being her favorite. Long before losing her sight, she required a tax of the commissioner's eyes if she knew hunting a monster was difficult. If they couldn't pay their dues when she finished the job, Excla kept the eyes. Though, if you knew the whereabouts of a certain witch, she might be a bit more lenient on your fee... Emphasis on might.

*idiot doesn't know how to make her eyes move independently

hopefully she's? monster enough? Excla's "monster" is actually based off of the Ranger class in D&D, and a few comics and stories I found on Tumblr—most notably, one about an eye-eating sword , and another one where physical pieces of people can be stolen (the protagonist is missing an eye, and meets someone missing both of theirs, i don't know where to look for it tho?). All around, I May Or May Not Like Eye-Related Body Horror A Bit Too Much.

6 unique frames: all changes are in the eyes, however, so overall all frames are simple.

Excla Talutah and this design belongs to me, et cetera et ecetera,

Description

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" are the words you've been repeating the entire journey here. Of the monster hunters in the business, Excla Talutah is one of the most infamous: she gets the job done quickly and cleanly, yes, but her methods and prices tend to be... unorthodox. From what you heard, the more difficult the monster is to kill or catch, the crueler your payment—and the man who arranged your meeting with her had the scarring to show it. In exchange for the extermination of a changeling, the man had traded his right hand.

You and Talutah are meeting late at night in a tavern, empty of people besides yourself, the man who brought you here (whom is dismissed to stand outside), and the bartender. Talutah's earrings glitter. As you sit, she does not turn to face you. She does not buy a drink, nor does she offer you one. Talutah nods, and the bartender leaves. She places her sword on the bar and folds her arms together—and only now do you realize the bandages around her eyes. The words tumble out faster than you can think: "How do you fight if you're blind?"

Quickly putting your hands to your mouth, you can hear the rapid pounding of your heartbeat. Her expression is unreadable. "I don't reveal my methods."

"Then how will I know the job is done?"

"I give you the monster's head, dumbass," she says, "Any more questions or can we get to business?"

You nod and attempt to rub down the goosebumps forming on your neck. "Of course, of course, yes."

Talutah hums.

You fumble in your satchel and take out the witch's wanted poster—then remember its uselessness. You don't bother putting the crumpled up paper back into your bag however, be it a sake of dignity or simply helping yourself think. And yet, the feeling of being watched only grows stronger. Outside the windows, you can only see empty streets and the man leaning on the window, the silence of the tavern deafening. Your skin is crawling. But then you hear tapping—Talutah's finger, calling you back to attention. "What's my bounty," she states.

"A witch is terrorizing my town," you finally say, "no one knows their name. Usually the guards are able to take care of this sort of thing, but, uh, the last knight to try and stop them, well, disappeared?"

Her face splits into a malicious grin. "Where was its last sighting?"

You describe the witch's whereabouts and supposed home, then for good measure you describe what the reports last saw them wearing. Going as in-depth as possible, you've a minuscule hope that it makes you look less of a fool. No other monster hunter had taken your pleas, and if the worst of the worst wasn't willing, then what chance did the village stand? Hopefully, her turning her body towards you was a good sign.

She nods, putting her left hand to her chin. "Interesting."

She turns away. It's now her turn to be deep in thought: her growing grin fades as time goes on, and her brow creases. You fold your hands together. Silence. The feeling of being watched has relaxed for a moment, unfortunately returning as Talutah nods and hums again.

Talutah holds out her hand, and the handshake is curt and firm. Through the heat of your own hand, you realize her hand is extremely cold. "I'll lower your price," she says, "though, there's a caveat."

Through the stress-filled meeting, this must be the first time you breathe a sigh of relief. "A discount would be wonderful, what's the catch?"

"More of a universal thing," she says, "I have a tax upfront to ensure that if I'm not paid, I still walk away with payment."

You shift in your seat, leaning back. "O-oh, gold? I can just pay upfront if—"

"Not gold. With upfront payment I might as well fuck off, right?"

You keep your mouth shut, though she seems to take your silence as another question.

"Don't worry, you'll get them back."

There are eyes on her sword.

You notice her grip on her sword tighten—when did she reach over anyways?—and faster than you can blink, she swivels onto her feet and backs you against the bar, cold metal resting against your warming skin. You see eyes everywhere: her earrings, her necklaces, the buttons on her coat and apparel, upon her garments. She does not draw blood, but her sword is firm on your forehead. She smiles. For the first time tonight, you realize you're soaked in sweat.

"I'll have your eyes."

I'd like to try out for the First Tier (Hydra)!

okay honesty time: Nightmare Before Christmas is a good movie, I have not watched it but I know for a fact that it's a good movie. I hate the style. i just personally hate it. It's immature of me to not go 100% along with the contest due to Aesthetique Reasons, but I couldn't bring myself to go "Tim Burton"?? so i tried to emulate it with my color choices instead ahaaa

In summary: Excla Talutah is a proficient but cruel monster hunter, and quickly gained fame—then infamy—for her success rate and... odd demands for her services. After a particularly nasty run-in with a witch, Excla's eye was stolen and her sockets were replaced with skin—but rather than ask for forgiveness, Excla went the petty route and bound her soul to a sword to be her eyes for her. And, just for flair, she adorns it with the eyes of her best kills... and worst debtors. She claims the eyes of her jewelry are just gemstones, but knowing her aesthetic, they're probably eyes too. Although disorienting, she sees uses all of the eyes on her sword at once.*

She's only in it for personal entertainment: some rumors even suggest that monsters have paid her to hunt humans before, and she doesn't deny these accusations outright. One can only hope that she charges for only gold on a hunt, as Excla prefers things with sentimental value, such as heirlooms, wedding rings, personal items, pets, body parts... the last one being her favorite. Long before losing her sight, she required a tax of the commissioner's eyes if she knew hunting a monster was difficult. If they couldn't pay their dues when she finished the job, Excla kept the eyes. Though, if you knew the whereabouts of a certain witch, she might be a bit more lenient on your fee... Emphasis on might.

*idiot doesn't know how to make her eyes move independently

hopefully she's? monster enough? Excla's "monster" is actually based off of the Ranger class in D&D, and a few comics and stories I found on Tumblr—most notably, one about an eye-eating sword , and another one where physical pieces of people can be stolen (the protagonist is missing an eye, and meets someone missing both of theirs, i don't know where to look for it tho?). All around, I May Or May Not Like Eye-Related Body Horror A Bit Too Much.

6 unique frames: all changes are in the eyes, however, so overall all frames are simple.

Excla Talutah and this design belongs to me, et cetera et ecetera,