The Wanderer

An Unexpected Encounter

New story! Let's see how it goes.

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Vale forest, 89 years after the Great War

Joshua POV

I walk up to the bandit camp, the assault rifle on my back reminding me of why I came, the satchel at my side carrying a rather macabre package. My car's parked off the road, a mile from the camp, so as to keep from garnering attention. There's a few bikes parked outside, presumably to let them go on raids quickly. There are two guards, and they don't seem to notice me, these fuckers must think that I would just let them renege on our deal with no consequences. 

"RAVEN! GET OUT HERE!" I call out, as loudly as I can. The guards notice me, and train their rifles on me.

"What makes you think you can just come and see the chief?" One calls down at me. I dig around in my satchel.

"This." I say, pulling out a bandit head from my pack. They see this, and recoil. "WE HAD A DEAL, RAVEN! I DON'T FUCK WITH YOU, YOU DON'T FUCK WITH ME, WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT?!" I yell.

The guards open fire on me. One bullet hits me in the stomach, while another gets my thigh. I dive behind a tree, and pull a crystal from my jacket. The label on it reads 'NEVERMORE'. I channel my aura into it as I jump out from my cover. A large black bird erupts from my hand as the crystal crumbles to dust, and begins to harass the guards, drawing their fire. As the bird does this, I unsling my rifle, and shoot at the guard on the left in the side. He falls from the wall with a groan. The other guard begins to fire on me, but I'm able to hit him in the chest, killing him.

Now I have a severe problem. I was hoping to come and talk, but that option seems to have gone the way of the dodo. The gate is also closed, meaning that they can go to the walls and fire on me with impunity. The men inside are firing on my Nevermore, and are able to bring it down, but not before I can hear several people getting injured.

"RAVEN, NO ONE ELSE NEEDS TO DIE!" I call out in an attempt to get her attention.

The gate opens, and when it does, a woman with long black hair dressed in Mistrali garb with a sword at her hip emerges. "You come to my home, kill my men, and expect me to speak with you?" She says coldly.

"These people attacked me. When I interrogated them, they said it was on your orders." I respond, dumping four more heads from my satchel. "Like I said, we had a deal."

"Hmmph. They said they wouldn't tell." She says. "Come inside then, we have matters to discuss."

"Fine." I say, displeasure dripping from my voice.

In her tent, it's actually quite cozy. A low table is in the center, with pillows on either side.

"Tea?" She asks, pouring herself a cup.

"Forgive me if I'm unable to trust your offer, Raven. Your last one left much to be desired." I respond.

"Fine. I wanted to talk about your Grimm." She asks, businesslike.

"What about 'em?" I respond, uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

"Don't play dumb, Joshua. How do you control them?" She chides.

"I'm ain't tellin' ya that. Can't trust you with that info. 'Specially since you smell MUCH different than last time. Like a whole new person." I respond, miffed that she used my name. She seems angry, and her eyes flare. "I'll give ya a hint. When you fight Grimm, clean up after yourself."

"I guess I won't get anything else from you, then." She sighs.

"Not about that." I answer.

"Then we have nothing left to discuss. You may leave." She says, waving her hand as if to shoo me. 

"See ya around, Raven." I call out as I begin to walk back to my car.

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When I get back to my car, I put my guns in the compartment next to me, and begin driving. I drive for a few hours, until I reach a small town. It's been my place of residence for the last six months. I tend not to stay in one place for this long, because people tend to react negatively to people with Grimm at their beck and call. These people however, saw this as a blessing, rather than a sign from the devil, and welcomed me with open arms. 

I drive to my favorite pub, where I'm welcomed by the owner wishing to speak with me. He comes to my table, and takes a seat.

"'Ello Green." He greets me.

"Hello, Jim." I greet back.

"Listen, there's been a girl looking for ya, says she has a proposition." He says.

"Well, she can come have dinner with me. I doubt she'd want to have a meeting in a car." I joke back.

"Alright, I'll give her a call." He responds.

About a half hour later, A young girl with long black hair, and a red dress with gold accents, walks to my table and sits in front of me.

"Hello there, Green." She says silkily. 

"I heard you want to speak with me?" I say, wishing to get down to business. If she wasn't willing to put it in writing, this must be something big, or something illegal.

"I do. My...employer needs something done, and I need a team to do it. I've heard that you have some rather unique skills, and they'd certainly be useful." She says conspiratorially.

"That depends on what you need done, and the price you're willing to pay me. I assume it's something that law enforcement frowns upon." I respond.

"If you want that information, we'll have to go somewhere a bit more discreet." She says. This has so many red flags, but I just have to know more. 

"How about my car? Its the closest thing I have to a house." I say. It comes out more pathetically than it sounded in my head. She seems perplexed.

"Surely you have a house? Someone of your talents would probably have one." She asks.

"No point putting down roots if I'm going to be chased out of town. Better to have something mobile. A RV would be nice, but it's too slow and unwieldy." I clarify.

"Very well then. To your car we go." She says, gesturing towards the door. We leave the restaurant, and enter the parking lot.