She didn't care about anyone else. She only cared about him. On a day like this, her birthday, Talia knew she wanted to spend this day with him. She knew she'd find him in the village below the compound.
Bane stood at the edge of the lofty cliff. The harsh wind blew around him. Down below hides a green abyss. Clouds overcast the sun. These days, he secluded himself as much as possible from anyone.
Except for Talia.
Bane was sixteen year old Talia's existence. She had not gone one day without seeing her Protector; her friend. Today, she would tell him how she felt. For some time, she has thought nothing of him. If she could just convey to him what she wanted-what she needed-of him, then she could dispel the unceasing thoughts. She had never been with a man, at least not in the way, and now…things were changing.
There was not many of her fellow League of Shadow students that she took notice of. Only Bane engulfed her thoughts like a petty disease she can't shake.
"I wish I had your life; never having the leader of the League of Shadows breathing down your neck like I do." Talia mumbles as she approaches the giant man from behind. Her almond eyes gazed out into the precipice. Bane is still, and then turns to face her.
"Your father is keeping a close eye on you lately." Bane's bulky mask always covers his expressions, but Talia knew how to read him. She saw smugness.
"I suppose he's making up for lost time." Talia counters. A sneer tracing around her pink lips. She didn't like Ra's Al Ghul.
Bane crossed his arms, still not making any effort to engage in more conversation. He squeezed his right hand as if he was crushing a mouse. Talia dug into her brown satchel. "I figured you'd need this."
She tosses a small glass container at Bane. Shaking off his right hand, the hulking man swiftly plucks the container from the air. Inside was a small plant, ground up and prepared by Talia herself. It was an especially powerful anesthetic that she had made for Bane. It was the only drug she could muster in this secluded land.
Talia tweeked her head to the side, trying to steal a peek at Bane's eyes. "Why do you stand closer to the edge every time I see you here?"
A muffled chuckle escapes. "So I can fly."
She laughs. "I wouldn't want you leaving here without me."
Bane's face scans the valley below, and then he inclines his head. "Someday, I will have to leave. You know this."
Talia juts out her lip. It was usually easy to talk to Bane. "If you leave this place, I go with you."
"Ah, running away again." Bane's eyes dance in mirth as he finally turns to face her.
"It's pathetic, Bane. He's so…eager to make up for lost time. I hate that man. He tries to barter for my love in gifts and it sickens me." She flings her hands in the air. Bane is still.
"He's right to mistrust you." Bane rebuttals.
"Obviously." She can't resist adding in a little attitude. Talia dares to rest her hand on Bane's shoulder. He is hard and unyielding, but familiar and warm.
"So, what do you want then?" He asks. The question surprises her. Bane has never asked her anything. He has only provided.
This was it; the moment of truth. The reason she came down here today. She was training to be a killer, but she couldn't ask one favor of her beloved friend.
"I am sixteen now and… I feel incomplete." She bit her lip, trying to distract herself from the daunting task at hand. "And, I am not a child anymore. I hate the way the other students talk about me; that I am inexperienced and innocent of the outside world. They look at me as if I'm just a little girl. I want to be taken seriously, Bane."
"Why worry about something so petty?"
Bane's blue pool eyes rest seriously on her now. She begins to sulk and turn away from him. She doesn't even flinch when a Siberian wind comes wafting over them from the North. "I want to experience everything…and, I really mean everything."
With one last effort to explain herself, Talia spins and reaches out for Bane's massive hand. She clasps it in hers, blatantly making her statement more clear.
For a moment, it seems as if Bane is drifting off into his own world. "So, this is how you want to solve your problem? And after, all the stars will fall into place?"
Talia's shoulders finally broaden as she musters more courage. "It would help me clear my mind." Her face becomes red, which was embarrassing because it never did that. "It nags at me. I need to experience everything if I'm going to be a true warrior."
To Talia's ultimate horror, Bane begins to laugh. "You are a fool, child."
"Stop calling me a child!"
Bane is unaffected by the outburst as he saunters slowly away from the cliff, and motions for her to follow. For a moment, Talia falters. Why did she even bring it up? Hurt spread through her chest. A pain she has never experienced. An important tie has dislodged from her heart like a cold, lifeless growth.
After the fifth wave of his giant hand, Talia shuffles toward Bane. They walk back down the hill towards the foot of the village. Talia can see the ominous League of Shadows compound up the slope on the other side. She hugs her body against the cold, and Bane notices. He takes his shearling coat off and drapes it over her in one, unblinking movement.
Talia clutches the coat in her strong hand and flings it to the ground. She knew it was not helping her case, but acting childish was the only way to lessen the bruised trust between them. And she desperately wanted Bane to notice her anger.
"I will find someone else to help me then." She hollers. Bane does not falter. Talia split away from him and walked down her own separate path, not looking to see if Bane was following.