Archer could tell quite quickly that Emerald had some sort of ulterior motive other than revenge to keep herself around; however, he didn't call her out on it as he felt that she herself didn't quite seem to understand the reason.
A knee-jerk reaction then?
He wasn't certain. Just that he could feel Emerald trying to be subtle while glancing at him from time to time.
Honestly, if he was a normal person, he may not have been able to catch her staring due to her experience and confidence as a thief, but his senses were quite good after years in numerous battlefields.
The three of them were meandering down the street while waiting for Summer to get a 'feeling' of where they had to go. Emerald obviously didn't buy it and thought Summer looked funny while rubbing her temples as if it would help her powers concentrate, but he knew better.
Summer's situation was complex, and rubbing her temples really may have helped her concentrate on what was important. Sadly, Summer had only described faint tingles again, but she assured everyone that everything was on track.
Emerald idled near the back of the group, likely to have the best excuse to observe them both at once, but she couldn't get a feel for them in the silence while Summer focused.
"Who are you people anyway?" Emerald finally broached the subject. Apart form their names, she knew next to nothing. "And why the masks?"
She was probing them.
For a moment, he considered how to answer.
Emerald was just someone that they had helped and was now offering her help in turn. The matter regarding the identity of the woman that they were chasing had nothing to do with her, and it would lead to further danger in her life. This case was sensitive as it had something to do with the main orchestrator of the Grimm.
It's best to mislead her.
Just as he was about to offer some sort of deflection, he was interrupted by an overly enthusiastic mother.
"He's a celebrity." Summer answered for him, causing him to scowl at her, but it wasn't as if she could see it behind the mask.
Still, Emerald nodded her head.
He knew that she could definitely believe this excuse considering what she saw him do with the food vendor, but it didn't mean he was happy about it. Sure, it worked, but didn't this just serve to make Emerald more curious about him? Or what he looked like under the mask?
Why couldn't she have just said something simple like he was a passing Huntsman or official task force member? That way, Emerald may be more disinclined to pursue her curiosity by threat of government intervention.
A celebrity though?
Die hard fans can get away with a lot of things.
Unaware of the sudden gleam of interest in Emerald's eyes, Summer nudged him as if she'd just done him a favour even as his shoulders slumped.
"Then what about you?" Emerald glanced at Summer, all while a bout of snarkiness assailed him.
"She's old," he answered snidely before Summer could speak up. "Terribly so. Wrinkles and all. You wouldn't want to see."
The sudden look of understanding Emerald leveled on Summer couldn't have been anymore appalling to Summer.
How could she be old? She'd practically died before she'd reached her thirties after giving birth to Ruby. She was only twenty-eight in spirit form.
Old? Bullshit!
Wrinkles? I'll strangle you.
It was like Shirou could read the thoughts flickering across Summer's mind, but it wasn't as if she could act out on them in the middle of a crowded street. Unresigned, she huffed instead and sniffed in finality.
YOU ARE READING
The Huntsman of Red V2
AdventureGuardian, Protector, Hero, and perhaps something more, that was what he had always meant to her, but to others he was simply known as the Huntsman of Red, Remnant's final hope. This story is not mine, it belongs to Parcasious
