Chapter Text
Loretta was a Hunter. Lone survivor of a lost hamlet, she travelled to Yarnham in search of Paleblood, and had no choice but to join the Hunt to do so. She was shocked by what she witnessed at first, reacting to any attacker purely as a way to survive, even if she would soon realise death wasn't permanent in a dream.
She would get used to it rather quickly however, using her threaded cane to easily slash through any and all opponents who came in her way, while her drive to know more had been her main motivation to uncover the city's secrets; she would witness transformations, creatures of otherworldly nature, and changes in the sky as the night progressed.
Her exploring included Yarnham's outskirts as well, namely the Forbidden Woods and Byrgenwerth, but she would also reach what seemed to be entirely separate areas of the Dream. One such location was the Lecture Building, which Loretta assumed must have been part of Byrgenwerth at some point.
Once there, the woman had met an unusual fellow; she had spotted his pale face staring at her through a broken glass panel of a locked door. He was going by the name of Patches, and the Hunter had recognised his voice from back in the Forbidden Woods; he had given her a strange stone then, through the window of an isolated wooden shack. Loretta had been intrigued by this individual ever since.
She was glad to put a face, and a name, to the voice, and had been friendly towards him straight away. She would return to speak to him at that door at first, much to his surprise, then would enter the room altogether, after she had found another way inside from progressing through the Nightmare Frontier.
She hadn't been able to stop thinking about his appearance since, for she had now seen him in full view, and it had confirmed her suspicions; he was one of those Nightmare Apostles, with a human head and a spider's body. Loretta had somewhat figured it out before she had been able to take a proper look at him, but ultimately hadn't been sure until now.
Patches on his end had been surprised at how pretty she was under her hat and face coverings, since she felt comfortable enough to remove them in his presence. He would still hope she'd fall into his carefully laid trap deep inside the Nightmare Frontier, unable to resist a bit of mischief with newcomers.
Sure enough, Loretta would spot the trail of shining coins and followed it, her curiosity always taking the better of her; Patches was quick to push her off the cliff, down to the poisoned waters below.
The Hunter wasn't happy at all, and was certainly going to make him hear it as soon as she was out of this place. He was quite the unusual fellow to her, and she felt rather conflicted with her ever-persistent interest in him. The Hunter decided to focus on her anger instead as she found her way back to familiar territory, running back to her “friend's” lair.
“Alright Patches, you have some serious explaining to do,” The woman angrily mouthed as soon as she barged inside the room, her weapon at the ready, slamming the door behind her. Patches was of course immediately startled at her sudden hostility. He hadn't been expecting to see her back so soon.
“This cannot be, you cannot be...No you didn't...How did this come to pass?” He mumbled as he quickly scuttled in the corner of the ceiling, trying to create as much distance between him and her weapon.
“You pushed someone who knows where you live down a cliff! That's how it came to pass, you scoundrel!” Loretta shouted at him, tearing her face covering away to scold him better.
“Now wait just a moment...Do you think ill of me now? Me?” He felt rather hurt at her insult, even if he knew he was the one in the wrong here.
Loretta realised he wasn't sure how to answer that. She was tempted to say she did, just to get back at him, but deep down, she didn't want to to say it.
“No matter. Such details are trifling. We're fast friends by now,” Patches continued before she could answer, seeing how confounded she was. “Let this express what words cannot,” he added, climbing back down on the table to give Loretta a Caryll Rune. Her face lit up; she had been looking for these!
“Wait, are you sure?” She asked, the ire completely disappearing from her voice.
“Oh, doubt me not, sweet compeer. What is friendship, but a chance encounter?” He answered with a light chuckle, while thinking how sweet it was when she would forget herself sometimes if something she was passionate about came up.
They were now back on good terms, but Loretta now felt even more interested in him, and no matter how much she told herself she shouldn't condone these feelings, it wouldn't make them wane. She kept advancing through the Nightmare Frontier, and inevitably ended up finding Amydgala's lair, finally meeting the god Patches would often mention.
Unfortunately, It hadn't been a peaceful first encounter, and Loretta did what a Hunter had to do; she defeated the Great One, then retired to the Hunter's Dream to make use her recently acquired runes.
When she returned to the Lecture Building, she would hear Patches mutter to himself about his Lord Amygdala's defeat from behind the door, and she briefly wondered if he would be cross with her, but then quickly brushed the thought away, considering her actions as payback for when he pushed her off that cliff.
“Ahh, well met. This is a most pleasing encounter,” Patches spoke as soon as she entered his usual hideout.
“Hello again, my friend,” The Hunter would greet him back, removing her hat and face covering. “You sound like you have some news,” she added, putting them down on the table Patches was standing on, along with her lantern to cast some light in the dark room.
“I do indeed, dear friend. You see, I must depart erelong. My god is lost to me, so I must away to find another,” he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
“Ah...right, that might have been my doing...my apologies.” Loretta couldn't help but feel a little guilty in the end.
“Oh, think not of poor Amygdala. Upon that piteous bastard, you bestowed salvation. All's well, that ends well...” Patches would reassure his Hunter friend, but not without his signature ominous chuckle.
Loretta had come to spend some more time with Patches to merely indulge in the fixation she had for him, and couldn't help but felt a little sad he would leave soon. They exchanged some banter and conversed for a while, before a short moment of silence took over, during which the Hunter stared at the golden necklace around Patches' head. She had noticed it before, but hadn't thought of inquiring about it yet; she suddenly knelt right in front of him to take a closer look.
“So what does this...uh...” The woman started asking, but lost track of her thoughts when she raised her eyes to look at her spider friend. Their faces were very close to each other, much closer than they ever were before. Patches seemed to be nervous as well, but made no attempt in backing away. In fact he was staring right back into her eyes.
Loretta felt the sudden urge to kiss him. She didn't think she would ever end up thinking about such things, despite her strange attachment to him, but the thought was in her mind, making her blush madly. She felt way too embarrassed at her thoughts to dare make a move however, and she was rather convinced there was no way Patches would want to engage in unsavoury activities such as these anyway.
Deep down, however, she hoped he would. So much so that the faintest whisper escaped her lips: “...kiss me.”
Patches tensed. Had he heard right? He was confused, shocked even, but also...delighted? This was the last thing he expected to hear from her, and was slightly taken aback, but he would be lying if he denied having thought about it himself.
He tentatively captured her lips in a brief kiss that turned her face to a bright shade of crimson while a shiver ran down her spine; Loretta remained still for a moment, surprised he had actually reciprocated, but was still a little hesitant to give in to her temptation, until the fire that ignited in her nethers became the push she needed.
The Hunter took hold of Patches' pale face and kissed him again, more passionately this time. Patches revelled in her warmth as they deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding in her mouth to tangle with hers while his shorter font legs also tried to hold on to her pretty face.
Loretta felt intoxicated with arousal, the feeling almost too strong to bear; she didn't care if he was mostly a spider, she wanted more. Fortunately for her, Patches did too; he buried his face into her neck, taking her scent in, then nibbled on her flesh, making her gasp.
She fumbled with her garments, removing her Yharnam Hunter attire to expose more of her skin for him, face flushed and breathing heavily; she could feel wetness pool between her legs as Patches left a trail of sloppy kisses down her neck and collarbone.
She was now left with her trousers and top undergarments, but the latter didn't stay on for long, since her spider friend would use one of his front legs to pull them down over her chest, prompting Loretta to remove them altogether; he backed away for a moment to admire her semi-naked form.
“You would do this? With me?” Patches breathed out, still a little taken aback by it all.
“Yes,” Loretta answered without hesitation this time. Why not turn this Nightmare into something a bit more pleasant for a while, if they could?
Patches scuttled off of the table to stand closer to the Hunter, now sat on the wooden floor, and claimed her mouth again as she laid down, allowing him to climb over her. He moved down to her neck again, biting slightly harder this time, eliciting a loud sigh from his companion that sent a jolt of pleasure through his body, something he hadn't expected. Not that he complained; in fact, he never thought he would ever end up in such situation here of all places, but here he was, wanting nothing but to see her come undone by his touch.
He moved down one of her nipples, making her moan softly as he nibbled at the hardened bud. Her noises were driving him to continue on, turning his attention to the other nipple, then peppering kisses lower and lower down her stomach; when lacking human genitalia, one had to resort to other measures.
Loretta's heart was racing in anticipation, and she quickly removed her trousers along with her loincloth, a few of Patches' spider legs helping her discard any remaining clothes; he opened her legs and focused on her inner thighs, drawing soft moans out of her, some with a hint of frustration as he teased her with more nibbles and kisses around her heat, until he himself wanted to hear more, feel more. He felt something slide out of his abdomen, but would ignore it for now, staying focused on the task at hand.
Patches used his front legs to part her lips, then eagerly started lapping at her folds; Loretta let out a cry at the sudden stimulation, arching her back on the cold wooden floor. This spurned him to go on, circling his tongue on her clit, then dragging it slowly across her slit, making her moan as her hips jerked under him. Luckily he didn't mind how she tasted, and even felt another wave of arousal at how wet she was already.
He lightly prodded at her entrance with the tip of his tongue, making the Hunter's breath hitch at the wave of arousal in her nether regions, then breathing out a 'yes' when he pushed it inside her, stretching her walls; his bigger head made his tongue thicker and slightly longer than a regular human's.
The Nightmare Apostle rolled his tongue in and out of her, relishing in her taste and her now unashamed moans and curses as her fingers tried to grip on the flat surface under her. He himself had been grinding his arachnid's abdomen on the floor, feeling pleasure from rubbing what he assumed were his genitals, but still kept his attention on Loretta.
Patches then moved his tongue upwards inside her, rubbing that bundle of nerves that made her sing. The woman rocked her hips against his face, and her walls squeezed him lightly, making him hum at the jolt of pleasure that ran down to his cock; he swiftly held her thighs down with some of his spider legs, then vigorously fucked her with his tongue, using the tip of one of his smaller front legs to rub her clit.
Loretta let her head fall back, one of her hands raking at the floor while the other took a firm hold of one of his legs, unbothered by how foreign the texture felt under her fingers; cries of pleasure and desperate whimpers escaped her lips, along with his name as she begged him not to stop.
Patches hummed and chuckled lightly in appreciation of her praises, the vibrations only adding to her pleasure. He moved his tongue once, twice, then her orgasm crashed over her, leaving her a moaning mess, her body tensing under him as her mind was flooded with pleasurable sensations.
Patches let out muffled moans and grunts against her clenching walls; he found the feeling exhilarating, her musk intoxicating as her juices coated his tongue, and seeing her writhing in ecstasy under him was quite the sight to behold.
He kept on grinding against the floor, seeking his own release as the pressure built inside him, then came with muffled groans, his seed spurting out of his twitching cock on the floor between them, his face still buried between Loretta's now shaking legs from the overstimulation.
The spider then backed away from the Hunter just as she was gently trying to push him away from her sensitive womanhood. He stood still, catching his breath, basking in the afterglow of that feeling he hadn't thought he would ever experience again in his current form. He felt his member retract back inside his abdomen soon after.
He observed Loretta's naked body laying on the floor, illuminated by the lantern's dim light; she was panting, all spent, but looked quite beautiful still. Patches burned the scene into his mind to take with him when he'd go, doubting he would ever get to re-live something like this again.
After a few minutes, the Hunter would start to feel uncomfortable on the cold hard surface and sat up, looking at Patches who was standing a few steps in front of her, his lower face still glistening from her juices; she blushed at the sight.
“Um...how do I return the favour?” Loretta asked, feeling she should take care of him as well, but unsure of what to do.
“You don't need to worry about that for now, sweet Hunter. This one was on me.” Patches grinned, licking his lips; Loretta blushed again. He quickly scurried back on top of the table he was on.
“Alright then. And, um, thanks, I guess,” Loretta spoke shyly, biting her lip as the recent events replayed in her mind.
“It was my pleasure, dear Loretta,” Patches replied with a smirk, albeit in a slightly softer tone than usual. The Hunter couldn't help but smile at his words as she gathered her clothes. She would then silently redress herself; she had to keep going, and so did Patches, if his statement to leave prior to their messing around had been true.
“I guess this is farewell,” The woman spoke, not without some disappointment in her voice, as she turned back towards him to grab her lantern and her hat on his left on the table.
“Do not fret, our paths may cross again, if the fates are kind. Sooner still, if you were to take the leap,” Patches said, with his ever-ominous chuckling. Loretta wondered why she was into him, realising he might not be completely sane, but brushed the thought away; it was all a dream after all, and she had clearly met worse at this point.
“I hope so,” she spoke truthfully once again, daring to plant a quick kiss on his forehead that made Patches' heart skip a beat, before walking out of the room. Patches had been glad to hear her say that, even if he himself didn't have much hope in seeing her again.
***
Loretta had resumed her quest, reaching the Nightmare of Mensis and its mad host, then deciding to delve deep inside the Chalice Dungeons, retracing the steps of the old Tomb Prospectors. It was a gruelling journey, with death and danger at every corner, but with moments of much needed respite scattered here and there in the seemingly unending underground levels.
When walking through a corridor in the ancient Lower Loran ruins, Loretta would suddenly hear a familiar cackle in the distance; she followed the sound to find her old friend Patches the Spider, hanging from a web.
“Patches? Is it you?” She exclaimed, bringing her lantern closer to his face. She was certainly surprised to see him here.
“Aah! The sight of you is as balm to my eyes!” Her strange friend responded, quite honestly for a Spider like him.
Loretta smiled, feeling warm inside at his choice of words; the night had gotten better once again.
