#but mercy felt so much sympathy that they just kinda stood in the temple for a moment and stared at Orin's gore pile

[bhaalsdeepbat]

I think Mercy would try to bargain for Orin back. I just can't see them not being weighed down by that, especially after the convo w Sarevok and finding the note in his desk. That was the moment when Mercy's quest for Vengeance just became a hollow one. They realized how much if a victim Orin is, even if they didn't want to see themself in her. Ultimately, they did, but the journey went from a them vs. us thing to Mercy realizing how close they were to being part of the "them" category, esp since the rest of the squad is only there bc of their evil master plan

[sloppy-butcher]

Hi! I was uh wondering if i could get somethin with my Buff Gf Huntress where the Survivor ls injured and gets left by everyone else and instead of killing her she kinda sits/sings to her (a kinda fallls in love with her) until she dies and then next match kills everyone but her and lets her go? Please and thank you :)

No anon, thank YOU for the request. This is ...MWEH i love stuff like this! Especially with mamma huntress! Hope you enjoy the short short (i’d call it a crack-fic but there's nothing funny nor crack-y about what i'm going to write) hope it’s okay if i make the reader gender-ambiguous also<3 Thank you for the request and for your support! 

Mercy of Another Name

The Huntress (Anna) x Survivor!Reader

tw: mentions of death and blood

Anna remembers one of the first hunts that she had tagged along with her mamma. Together they had chased a powerful stag through the frozen tundra on a brisk winters morning. She remembers her nose feeling like ice from the cold air and her legs wobbling with smoke from a weak fire in a terrible breeze. She felt slow and tired - feeble like a baby. Mamma, however, never showed any of these signs of strain, always pulling ahead of Anna in pursuit of a much-desired meal. How Anna wished to be strong like her, determined to fight, and unyielding to the elements. She thought her mother to be the strongest, most fearless person in the world. 

Her belief of her mamma’s superior ability was cemented when she had hacked down the deer with one foul throw of an impossible ax. The beast fell but did not die, kicking its legs out desperately still trying to run away. Anna scoffed, how pathetic it looked, like an ant suck in honey, showing no sign of dignity even when dying. She moved to end it when her mamma stopped her, a large hand placed on her smaller shoulder. Anna looked up with confused eyes as her mamma glided over to the frantic animal, her ax instead replaced with a small hunters knife. Her mamma began to sing, her voice echoing impressively through the arctic, white trees and carrying across the land for miles. Anna remembers her touching the beast with the movement one might see between family, between equals. The stag cried out but her mamma did not look angry. 

She snapped its neck in one quick motion and the thing went rigid.

Anna remembers that being the first time she had seen her mamma express compassion to anyone other than herself. How perplexing it was to watch her mother not only appear in stone and strength but also bend in mercy. 

“No one deserves to suffer,” Mamma said, taking Anna’s hand and placing it on the stag's chest running her fingers through its soft, brown fur. “Not even the animals we hunt.” 

You were crying like that stag. A death sound, ringing loud through all the world around you - your last commotion beyond slipping to the great beyond. Anna looked down at you laying at her feet, blood trickling from a hatchet strike to your back. It was a fatal wound but one that would not kill you instantly - it would be slow and it would be painful. 

Your eyes were wide and weeping, your attention darting from her face to her hand to the exit gate left open across the hill. Everyone had left already, you were alone with her. Ordinarily, Anna would see no pity for the people like you, ignorant intruders who deserved every second of pain and hurt you received at the sting of her blade. No sympathy for animals. 

But Anna was tired and you sounded so scared. Sounded so much like that dying deer in the forest. She released the longest of sighs, letting out with the air all her anger and territorial aggression that had built-up over the trial’s progression. All was over now, no more hunting for she was full and well-fed. There was only the cleanup.

You made a futile attempt to crawl away when you noticed Anna reaching down for you, blood starting to rise up from the back of your throat, and trickle out your grimacing mouth. She sneered at your defiance to stay down, her childish impulse to mock those without dignity threatening to blind her once again. But then she heard you cry again and Anna remembered her mamma and slowly knelt beside you. 

She hummed quietly, lowering her voice enough to give you a private performance of her trademark song. Without effort or hassle, she slid her hands underneath you, picking you up in her lap and cradling you. Suddenly, you stopped crying. You didn’t feel cold anymore. Comforting warmth spread from her and into you as you stared dumbfounded up at her. She began to rock back and forth, head lowered with her small, black eyes gazing with something that could be confused with love or pity, at your pale face. Perhaps it was the blood-lost but to you, she looked beautiful. 

You sucked in a painful breath, she was so warm. You felt so safe and cozy, the rain and cold world around being forgotten by the sound of her voice and the feel of her arms. You ease into her giving yourself over to all that she offered you. Anna was surprised by your actions, her humming hitching slightly as you nuzzled into her chest, eyes going droopy and distant. Were you not scared just moments before? How now were you cuddling her like a baby would their mother? She raises a hand to her face and you turn into it, your cold nose tickling her bloody palm. Anna felt her heart leap.

For a brief moment, she considered keeping you. By all means, it seemed that you wanted to be with her. But Anna could smell your blood pouring onto the ground and she could not deny the growing stiffness that accompanied each of your raggedy breaths. It looked so painful, she cried. So kind and gentle was your face yet so awful was your eyes.  She felt uncommon compassion for you  and though her first instinct was to protect you, she knew what needed to be done.

No one deserves to suffer. Not even animals we hunt.

Anna leaned down to your level, placing her temple to yours and closing her eyes. You smelled strange to her, like something incredibly sweet and sunny, and in a weird way, she liked it. You close your eyes in return, smiling as you feel her strong hands caress your face again. A large, heavy thumb strokes your wet cheek. This was nice. It was nice to be held.

Then there was a snap and a hand went limp in the mud. 

Anna stood up, her head remaining all the while downward and solemn. Her music ceased to a quiet murmur, the drumming of rain drowning out everything in white noise. She took in the sight before her feet one last time then turned and set off in search of something in the woods. She hoped that she’d find you there, alive and well. She hoped that you’d remember her just as she remembered her mamma. She’d find you again, she just knew she would.