"Talon huh? Not the worst name." I glanced up from the gold lien coin I was rolling between my fingers, Melanie and the ever quiet Miltia taking seats around my usual table in the corner of Miss Malachite's bar. "First you go out of your way to hand over her lien then you give her your name after a single conversation. You sure you don't got a thing for miss bad attitude?" Melanie questioned, raising her brow.
Guess my name got around after yesterday.
"To be fair, no one here asked for my name."
"You're wearing a fucking mask."
"Really?" I flicked the coin across into my other hand then reached up, feeling the front of my mask. "I guess I am."
"Ass." Melanie cursed, fixing me with a dead stare, while Miltia stifled a laugh. Despite getting on Cinder's case all the time, Melanie was pretty temperamental herself, a few smart comments more than enough to rile her up and worsened her already foul mouth. Entertaining I'll admit, her personality reminding me of a few of the tribe members, but it was best never to take it too far.
Cinder was an…unforeseen exception but I wasn't here to make friends. Certainly not with the daughters of the criminal boss who I may or may not end up at odds with.
"Got something for me tonight or…"
"Yeah, but it's a little different than the usual. You'll be leading this one yourself." Melanie answered my unfinished question before glancing over her shoulder. "Cinder! Get your ass over here!" Her order mingled with the mess of noise ruling over the busy bar, the place at its peak with the early hours of the morning still a ways off. It achieved the intended result, Cinder, far across the building, shifting her scowl from those around her to us.
She left her isolated table behind, careful to avoid others, all while glaring at me specifically.
"Don't go looking extra pissy over a name." Melanie said once she drew close. "If you didn't want anyone to know it, sharing it in this place was a dumb idea." That drew Cinder's ire away from me, Melanie easily shrugging off the sharp glare and signaling for her to sit with us before turning back to me. "So, you've been keeping track of all the supply points we've been to, right?"
I nodded.
"You'll be handling the resupply of one and taking this one with you." Melanie explained, a thumb pointed at Cinder.
Strange. Too strange and big of a decision for the twins to be solely responsible.
Must be orders from Lil Miss Malachite herself. She might not be talking with us directly anymore, but she was keeping tabs on everything going on within the bar, figuring out how best to put me to work. My abilities might not be in question, but she was still putting together the degree I could be trusted.
This bit of apparent autonomy was as much a test as any other.
Not sure where Cinder factored into it, but it was an arrangement I'd be taking advantage of.
XOXO
The crunch of leaves, dirt, and sticks combined with the running water of a nearby stream. Nothing out of the ordinary when it came to the untamed wilds but there was something distinctly lacking. No chirps. Nothing bounding along the ground and rustling the brush.
Either Grimm frequented this area or they were nearby. As we walked forward, Cinder trailing behind me with a hand on at least one sword at all times, the reach of my telekinesis soon confirmed the latter. With just the two of us I could easily rely on a bit of sword surfing to speed up this whole trip while avoiding fighting entirely, but I was in no rush.
Besides, that wouldn't do.
As beowolves emerged from between he trees and bushes, I raised a hand, snapping the small pack's necks without slowing my stride. Cinder, cautiously lowering the weapons she instantly drawn, slowly put them away before catching up, glancing towards the vanishing darkness as she passed the dissipating corpses.
"Your semblance." She said, finally breaking the silence that'd held from the moment we were stuck together. "It lets you control things with your mind?"
"And yours let you superheat anything you're touching, right?" I questioned, fully looking over my shoulder.
Cinder was always tense, but she managed to stiffen up further, dead silent.
"Saw it when you were fighting off those beowolves at the crash." And then tested it myself when I got the chance, not to mention seeing it plenty of times throughout the show. "You might be able to do the same thing, you know."
"What?"
"My mind is just as important as my aura when it comes to manipulating things. I'm pretty sure your semblance is the same." I pointed out. Even without knowledge of the show in mind, it seemed pretty obvious to me that her semblance had far more potential than the heating component, but I could literally see aura and knew full well how it worked. Few, if any, could see things the way I did when it came to aura. "Ever tried moving anything you've used your semblance on?"
Cinder didn't answer.
Based on the weapons she used, the worn swords unable to take full advantage or truly tolerate her semblance, and how basic her semblance use had been during her desperate fight against that hoard, she was still in the early stages of figuring out her abilities. I doubted she had any idea what she was capable of.
And that silence of hers only confirmed it.
She be coming to me after this little assignment of ours. And soon too.
Someone like her wouldn't be able to help themselves.
XOXO
"And she didn't give you any trouble? No back talk or any of that stupid lone wolf shit?" Melanie asked, she and Miltia at my usual table, envelope of lien already handed over. The bar wasn't empty yet but had died down significantly, early morning not far off now.
"Not at all." I said. Aside from our short conversation about semblances, Cinder had been quiet the entire time, and, though I didn't really give out any orders, she followed my lead the entire time without questioning me. Whatever trouble she was giving others hadn't found its way to me.
Given what she'd seen from me, respect and maybe fear played a role in that. Who am I kidding, fear was definitely playing a role. I might not typically go out of my way to threatened people but a semblance like Glynda's was the overbearing sort that always lingered at the back of the mind, especially in shady business like this.
Looking back, it was a little creepy, or maybe troubling, to know that during those sparse times with Glynda around, she could've done what I do to Grimm on a daily basis at any point to me.
"Mom was right." Miltia said, head tilted slightly.
"Huh, I guess so." Melanie agreed. "Unless you've got a problem with it, you're stuck with her now. The way I hear it, that girl might be good in a fight, but she's been giving everyone trouble."
"And I can say no?"
"Yep." Melanie said, popping the P as she shrugged. "The old lady was thinking about cutting her loose anyways but if she's listening to you, I guess mom doesn't think she needs to. Personally, I wouldn't want to deal with a bitch like that."
"But don't you have to deal with yourself every day?" Miltia said, lips curving into a slight smirk.
"At least I know when to turn the attitude off." Melanie retorted.
I hummed to myself, tuning out the duo.
Based off one, maybe two, brief interaction she hadn't even been around to see, Miss Malachite decided to send us out together before throwing away a possible resource. The woman, while cautious, could definitely be bold when it came to extracting value out of those around her.
"Back for something?" Melanie questioned, raising a brow at Cinder who now stood beside the table, having left the bar immediately after being paid. The question went ignored, Cinder focused solely on me.
She wouldn't want to talk here after that mistake with her name.
"I'll be back." I said to the twins before standing and heading towards the bar's exit. Cinder silently followed me out the doors and through the cool lamp lit streets, not saying a world until there was a good distance between us, the bar, and any of the few stragglers still on the streets.
"How did you know I could do that?" She questioned lowly as she stepped up to my side, matching my pace rather than following, a narrowed gaze of suspicion on me. Looks like she hadn't wasted any time trying out what I suggested.
Didn't think she'd actually be able to figure out how to make it work in less than a day.
"How long have you've been using your semblance?"
"…years." She answered vaguely.
"And when did you decide you couldn't do something like that?" I asked rhetorically. "Your semblance is a tool you'll have all your life to learn how to use and, unless you've got a rare hereditary one, it's up to you to figure out everything it can do." I explained, glancing over to her. "Understanding of aura helps but you should be experimenting with it however you can to ensure you're getting the most out of it."
Her suspicion eased but she was still staring up at me, her brow scrunched up.
"The Spiders pay well so you should have a good bit of lien on you. I can recommend some books on aura." I suggested. After a moment she nodded.
Perhaps not the friendliest way to go about things but this was a girl trying to survive all on her own, too old and world weary to accept the typical gestures of friendship. Behind or beyond city walls, survival was the main thing on her mind.
And that was something I knew all about.
XOXO
(A/N: Do keep in mind this is being told directly from Talon's P.O.V and people can be hypocritical? No, I think contradictory might be the right word. He might tell himself he isn't trying to make friends but the unnecessary friendly way he treats people definitely goes against it. Its a minor example of something you should try to keep an eye out for here and there. Bro is not omniscient or perfectly logical after all.
Link for those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Nearing the end of January so I've got to lock in!)