Necromancer For Hire- Arc 2

Arc 2, Chapter 28

(Dork dads by me)

The Confrontation

"Ah, yes," Umbra said smoothly. "Very fascinating."

Umbra had been chatting up Finch for the last thirty minutes, trying to find out more about the mysterious bounty hunter man. Finch had been quick to answer, clearly bored and eagar to amuse himself.

As far as Umbra knew, Hawkins hadn't attempted to contact them yet. "The big haul", as Finch called it, seemed to be far away.

But, of course, none of this mattered if the two men really were criminals. Matthew dearly wanted to call the police, but Umbra refused. There was no evidence that Hawkins and Finch were involved in any illegal activity. Bounty hunting was, after all, completely legal, even if their methods were a little strange.
So, for now, the only thing Team Silver Moon could do was wait.

"So, Finch, where were you and Hawkins registered as bounty hunters? Are you affiliated with any other hunters in Alcorith?" Umbra asked, smiling warmly and only slightly squinting at Finch. He may have been acting nice, but Umbra was in full interrogation mode, ready to dig out an incriminating piece of his story.

Finch scratched the back of his neck. He had been much more relaxed answering the more general questions Umbra had throw at him. "Ah, well, 'dat's a real long story..."

"I'm actually very interested, do tell." Umbra countered politely, taking a step forward.

Aunora and Esper watched Umbra's ambiguous questioning with bated breath, not sure whether to help out or stay silent. Matthew was still sitting against the wall, inattentive and seemingly bored by the waiting Finch was having them endure.

"We're independent workers," the squat man said, sounding strained. "We haven't even registered ourselves."

"That's not very intelligent," Umbra remarked critically. "You two are pretty much inviting the police to raid this place."

Finch glared at Umbra, lifting his head to look the much taller man in the eyes. "I didn't ask for any lip from my hired guns, so shut up."

"Oh, Mr. Finch, I'm not offering any 'lip', as you call it." Umbra's kindly smiled descended into smug smirk as Finch's temper started to flare. "I'm just sharing my meek observation. It'd be a shame if you two were to be apprehended by the police."

"Listen here you 'lil-"

"Umbry!" Matthew suddenly  threw his arms around Umbra's waist, laying his head on his friend's shoulder.

The tension that had been climaxing was unexpectedly broken by Matthew's bizarre show of affection. Umbra gasped in surprise, the muscles in his face instantly becoming slack.

"Umbry! I'm going to check on Victor upstairs." The German man said cheerfully, almost too cheerfully. "Please continue to have fun while I'm gone." He lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear, hissing in Umbra's ear. "Don't blow this by pissing him off. We don't know who we're messing with here. Once I find out Victor's okay, I'm cutting a portal and sending him straight home. I'm getting more and more uncomfortable as we wait for Hawkins' 'big haul.'"

Matthew let go of Umbra, dusting off his coat and messing with the fur-lined collar. "I've gotta make sure Victor's all peachy." he explained to Finch, who was staring judgmentally. "He is my baby, after all." He skipped up the stairs, swinging his arms back and forth. "My sweet, cuddly, precious child..." he murmured softly as he sprinted up to the first floor of the basement.

Umbra huffed, turning his head haughtily. He walked back to Aunora and Esper, muttering under his breath.

Once Finch's attention faded from Umbra, the man hastily relayed the message Matthew had told him.