(A/N: I had no idea I could be so consistent.)
XOXO
An impassable wall that stretched out in every direction, no end nor beginning to be found.
An insurmountable mountain which sheer height concealed the apex of, no path up nor down it.
An insatiable void that stared back, intent on ravaging all that it came into contact with.
None of that came close to describing the thing before me. Each and every combination of words fell short of encapsulating all there was to this thing. A hunger so deep rooted and primal, not even the fiercest and hungriest of predators could begin to compare. Rage, a constant unending storm of rage, that rendered all else insignificant before it. And a presence so overwhelming that all ceased to be.
A tendril of darkness advanced, the icy cloud grazing my cheek.
Feeling flooded my numb legs and I turned.
The rest of the freezing cloud shot forward, tugging me back.
XOXO
My eyes snapped open.
Unfamiliar walls surrounded me, none of that shadowy darkness present.
Rising with a yawn, I propped myself against the wall I'd slept against, rolling my neck as my feet settled onto cold wood.
A simple lumpy bed at the center of a small room with an old end table at its side. A mini flatscreen placed on a table against the wall across from the bed, a mini fridge placed among a handful of counters, and one small hall leading towards a bathroom and the flimsy sliding doors of a closet.
I was used to being on the move and slept in far worse. That said, if I was going to be in one of the big cities and doing high paying work for the less savory types, I would've at least found a better place to stay. Might as well enjoy the luxuries while they were around after all.
But comfort didn't even make the top five of my concerns right now.
A few rooms over, in one of the many crappy and more or less identical rooms this hotel building boasted, I could still feel a presence in the one Cinder checked into last night.
Observing her came first.
Rising up, I headed down the narrow hall and into the just as cramped bathroom, taking care of the usual morning rituals, shower included. I will admit just the convenience of a shower made even this dingy old room leagues better than getting by in the wilds.
Running water truly was one of humanity's greatest advancements.
After that quick shower I was back in the main room, bandaged blade picked up from the wall and raised with a single hand. It'd taken a long while to collect the right materials to put together a blade this big that wasn't dead weight likely to spin me around without the help of telekinesis, but I managed it over the years. It was still good for weight training though, unwieldy in the hands of most.
I didn't bother with my usual swings, the room far too small for that, but kept it held straight across from me, swapping hands every few minutes or so.
Some light training was in order. At least until Cinder was on the move.
Waiting on that took far longer than I expected.
I'd got through several different exercises, throwing in some aura manipulation at some point before I picked up on movement. By then, sunlight was already slipping into the room through the bottom of its cheap door and dusty blinds. Given that we hadn't gotten back to the city to the earliest hours of the morning, it made sense that she wasn't up and about until well after noon.
Partially undoing the bandages around my blade, I shifted the handle, a click filling the room. I pulled free two blades, unfolding their handles.
Identical to one another, the grayish-silver blades were bulkier than traditional daggers, barely making the cut as a pair of shortswords. Affixing them to clips hidden along the back waistband of my pants, I folded their handles back, throwing a spare jacket as plain as the rest of my clothing over to hide them.
While Cinder was prepping to make her way out, I headed over to the counters near the fridge, grabbing the set of shades placed beside my mask. While the mask wasn't really meant to hide my identity, the concealment of my Sharingan the main reason I made use of it, with my hair tied up, these shades, and a different set of unimpressionable clothing, unless someone with a sharp eye was securitizing me they wouldn't have much reason to think I was the same person walking around in that thing.
Cinder had just left her room, a brisk pace taken as she made her way down the building.
I slipped on the shades and followed.
XOXO
The gondola shook before settling, people rising from their seats while others released the various handles they'd been steadying themselves on, lining up at the doors as they slid open. Groups of people left at a time, Cinder careful to keep to herself as she did the same. Snapping closed the book I'd been reading my way through, a healthy blockade of people keeping me beneath her notice despite how close we were, I stepped out as well.
Another crowd had already begun making their way past the group we were among, packing into the gondola to make their way towards the level we'd just come from.
Mistral was definitely unique. With so much of the capital centralized along the incline of a mountain range and parts of the city so far from one another, public transportation was top notch. I hadn't exactly been thrilled to stuff myself in a glorified crate full of near defenseless people with some metal and wiring holding things together, but it was a pretty steady ride. The people were confident too, many on their scrolls and chatting away during the ride, few besides the kids paying any attention to their surroundings or the occasional distant gunfire from the kingdom's scattered aerial defenses.
Accidents must be a rarity in those things.
That popular mode of transportation was just one of the things that Mistral's unique structure created.
I kept one eye on Cinder, who was carefully making her way through the crowded market center as I meandered along the edges of the bustling area.
A city built along a mountain. Hear that and you'd assume it'd be a pretty barren, or at the very least rocky, place. That'd been closer to the truth for the lower section we'd come from, but this market area had all sorts of greenery surrounding it, some naturally growing out of the mountain itself and others artificially placed throughout it. Combined with the natural waterfall cascading out from some openings along the mountain's slope, the stone paved streets decorated with fountains and indents that allowed the crystal clear water to flow throughout the place, and it all made for a pretty interesting sight, completely distinct from both the entertainment district where Miss Malachite's bar was and that area with the cheap hotel Cinder had chosen.
With so many about, going from store to store and idling about, it was easy to forget we were in territory typically dominated by nevermores and other Grimm like it.
Maybe she was here to meet someone. Crowded as it was, it actually made for a good place for any kind of underhanded talks or exchanges if one avoided the cameras and direct attention from anyone. Easy to dip into a crowd and escape from any tails too.
But she didn't interact with anyone, avoiding others as she looked through the windows of different stores.
…She was window shopping.
I changed spots as minutes turned to well over an hour, going in and out of stores, taking a seat outside of small restaurants, and generally blending in as I watched her. Sometimes she would step into a store herself, but she never left with anything or talked, just looking things over. From dust and weapons to mundane things like clothes and food.
It only got harder to connect the lost looking youth struggling to figure out how to spend her lien to the Cinder I had planned on killing.
She was looking more and more like some lone kid without any connection to Salem.
XOXO
Cinder stood across from me, narrowed eyes attempting to burrow a hole through the mask covering my face.
After burning the day away wondering the city, nothing more than food bought in the end, and a brief return to that crappy hotel, she'd opted to head straight to Lil Miss Malachite's bar. And, by no coincidence, arrived at the exact same time as me.
She held up that glare for a bit before turning and stepping past the same guards from before, the two given the same unfriendly scowl.
She might not be evil but she sure wasn't nice.
"Hey." I said to the two, stopping in front of them and offering the muscled one on the left a nod. "Sorry about the arm thing."
"Oh, it's all good." The man said after a moment, eyes a bit wider.
"Didn't take you for the friendly type." The other guard said, brow raised.
I shrugged. "That was my first time here. Just needed to make a good impression."
"A memorable one, you mean?"
"Both." I conceded. My approach had been risky but so far it was all working out.
"How'd you do that in the first place?" The muscled one jumped back in the conversation, surprised replaced by narrowed eyes as he looked my arms over. "No offense but I'm almost three times your size. Was it that semblance everyone's been talking about?"
"Maybe." Good. The more people focused on Glynda's semblance, the far bigger my advantage would be over anyone assuming that was all they had to watch out for. "It's all about balance. Control that and strength won't mean much." I said, before giving the curious duo another nod and stepping past them into the bar.
Bartender serving drinks, people all across talking, and, by the looks of it, Cinder being ordered away from Lil Miss Malachite's private area. Her table was full, the woman in question in the middle of a conversation with someone that lacked the telltale colors and tattoo of her group.
After a brief argument with the pair stopping her from approaching, Cinder, brow furrowed and scowl deepened, stalked off to an isolated table.
Miss Malachite might've tolerated mine and, presumably, Cinder's unorthodox introductions, but when it really came down to it, she was the one in charge here. We, and anyone else who wanted anything from her, were on her time, not the other way around.
I took up a spot of my own. A lone table meant for a pair that offered a good view of most of the bar aside from portions of the second floor. My gaze jumped from patron to patron, the many conversations jumbled up to the point of incoherency but their lips easy to read. It was rather interesting how openly the people here talked of their crimes, be they already carried out or plans for the future.
Did their boldness say more about the city itself or Miss Malachite's influence? Either way, whether or not Miss Malachite could help me, a place like this was a treasure trove of information by its very nature.
Nearly half an hour passed, the man Miss Malachite was speaking with on his way out before we were called up, one of her men signaling for us to come over. Cinder, scowl only worsened by the delay, was the first to reach the table, no attempt made to hide the glare she was aiming at Miss Malachite.
"You." Miss Malachite said, looking up at Cinder. "You'll be joining my people on some work. If-"
"I don't need to work with anyone." Cinder all but growled back, a number of the people around the table staring up at as though she'd lost her mind. "I-"
"You best watch what tone you take when talking to me, girl." Miss Malachite stated, her voice even, but a sharper edge to the words. "You came to me for work. Take what I give you or leave." Cinder, her glare, and whatever else she had to say, weren't given the time of day, Miss Malachite's gaze turned to me as her men led Cinder away.
"Now, what exactly is it that brought you to me?"
Finally. Cinder was a factor I couldn't afford to ignore yet, but I was still going to stay my initial course.
"There's a man I'm looking for." I said. "A faunus with a scorpion tail."
XOXO
(A/N: Talon is a hall of fame stalker? Crazy thing to just take out of context lol.
For those who don't know, yes, I'll be trying to post Monday to Friday next week too. In fact, I plan on keeping that up not just until the end of January but ideally for as long as possible. Who knows, maybe I'll keep it up to the very end of the story. Probably not though. I've learned that its pretty good for me to traditionally take a few days or week away after finishing an arc to recharge then get back at it full tilt.
Trivia about my habits aside, here's the link for those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Another thanks to everyone showing up anywhere I'm writing. I don't think I will ever not find it weird to know there are really people who look forward to something I'm doing in my free time.