AN: Sorry for the late chapter. Life really kicks your ass sometimes, you know? Well I'm glad to see there wasn't anything negative about Lyra. I didn't expect people to be shipping her so soon though.
To that one guest account that asked me about what happened to Laura to make her so obsessive I thought I clarified enough but I suppose I'll say it again. Laura didn't have anyone for a long while. She just had some acquaintances she kept in touch with like Abaya and nothing else really. Sure she had those companions that stuck with her but they all died off since they weren't able to survive one way or another. Then Kat betrayed her and she spent some time alone.
Now in comes Dexter. He's strong, somewhat smart in his own way, and pretty dependant on Laura. She kind of took the leads in their travels. They spend some time together but never really get together and that's all well and good. Eventually Laura is getting pretty antsy about a relationship and the war starts. War goes on for a few years and NOW we have the big turn in er character.
Keep in mind that three years passed of Laura holding herself back. Dexter is pretty much in her mind as a companion that won't die and that she likes. Probably the only person who won't die on her considering her history of travelling companions, which certainly left their fair share of scars.
Finally the letter comes. Laura want's Dexter since it's more what he represents. She won't have to worry about somebody stabbing her in her sleep or fight in a war or be forced to wander or ANYTHING. Dexter and a peaceful life guaranteed are like the golden tickets. The gates of heaven. The holy grail. Something she desperately wants but doesn't really believe she'll ever have.
With the temptation of that imagined life right in front of her anyone can have a moment of weakness. But for Laura it's not really a moment and more like a situation that spiraled out of control for her. A fixation that grew too far.
I hope that clears this stuff up. My bad that I didn't display Laura with that well enough to really understand it without an author's note. This is my first real attempt at a fanfiction here at this site so of course it's going to have it's fair share of issues. Thank you all for reading.
|-\\/-|
Grimm souls chapter 25
The truth
"I sent a letter to the king of Vale some short time ago…" Laura tried to look as calm as she could be. You could easily see the rage and a host of other emotions on her face. Joan sat off to the side. He looked to want to say something but refrained from doing so out of courtesy for Laura. She had spoken first, after all.
"I asked for something I didn't believe I could have. Peace. A home. A husband." Dexter stiffened at that. Nothing good could come of it. Nothing at all. "I bargained with him that I would fight in the battle here where we finally advance from skirmishes and raids and go to real battles between armies and Mantle and Vacuo get involved as more than passive supporters. I use my power in full and make a statement about the power of Vale to Mistral and Mantle. In exchange I get a pass on the war and a house at Dawnstar point. Where Abaya lived, remember? It was burned down by the grimm a year and a half ago but it's still a beautiful location."
Dexter barely took notice of that. There was one detail that Laura was avoiding. "The marriage?" He gritted out. Laura steeled her eyes.
"To you. Or courtship for a time. The king agreed to marry you to me regardless of your stance." Dexter activated his glare at Laura in a small fit of wrath. She flinched but stood her ground. The glare worsened and her legs and arm shook.
Dexter glared at her in silence for a good minute. When he finally spoke his voice was tinged with malice. "It seems I have been too kind to you." Laura made as if to protest but Dexter upped the intensity of his glare for a moment and she shut up. "I've tried to reject you many times without actually telling you. I made no advances from close contact, I ignored your subtle hints, and most tellingly, when you kissed me I didn't kiss back. I thought that was enough to be clear. Seemingly not."
Laura's eyes burned with a desire to say something but she said nothing. Dexter's glare was too strong. For good reason too. It was almost at maximum intensity.
"So to make it utterly clear I will say this. I do not desire in any way to be romantically involved with you. It has nothing to do with your looks, status, or anything physical whatsoever. I do not want to court you because of why you want to court me or at least my interpretation of what it is." Laura ceased her struggles to say something and stared at Dexter intensely.
"You are desperate for reprieve from your loneliness. You think that I am the only solution because I won't die and I enjoy being around you. That's utterly wrong. You're so focused on me that you forget about others who you could easily grow close to. You've always thought of your team as teammates for example. Only Rella could be called a friend. Don't think I haven't noticed how you act as a leader to the team rather than a friend."
Laura once more began fighting the effects of the fear with a passion. Dexter kept it at it's maximum intensity. All the resistance training they did and the passion with which Laura wished to speak was lessening the effects on Laura. A glance at Joan showed him with dilated eyes and a clenched fist.
"I like you, Laura. As a friend. You've just grown so desperate to be near me that you've lost sight of what I want. What I feel. I don't want a house. It was nice in the islands but that was an outpost. Temporary. I don't desire to spend my years on a porch with children. I want to see the world. Go to places where I can do as I please. More than anything, though, I don't want to be with someone I don't love." With that Dexter completely removed the presence he had been exerting. Joan gasped and fell back to lay on the couch. Laura slammed her feet down and nearly jumped up.
"NO!" She yelled. The fear was still present in her but color was rapidly returning to her hands and her limbs had already stopped shaking. "It isn't desperation! I know I can make you happy because that's what you give me when you're around! I haven't blocked out others either! Abaya, Keller, Hod, Grell, and Rella! I keep myself as a team leader but that doesn't mean I'm not a friend to my team too!" Dexter remembered those people. They had been friends to Laura. Not close ones though. Halfway through her protests Laura's eyes flared with the familiar energy of her power. It seemed her emotions caused the power to flare up. It didn't often do that.
"I admit that I knew you wouldn't be happy with the arrangement at first but if you would just give me a chance then I know I could help you be happy around me the same way I am around you!" Laura stopped breathlessly and looked to Dexter with all of her focus.
"... No, Laura. I don't love you as anything more than my best friend." Dexter said quietly. Laura tried to say something but nothing came out. She looked to the ground and clenched her fists again. A moment passed and she stormed out of the room with her cloak and left.
A small moment passed where nothing happened. Then Dexter looked to Joan. "Sorry you had to see that. I didn't intend to catch you in our spat."
"I wouldn't call that a spat. More like a fight." Joan said tiredly. Dexter smiled despondently.
"So you really don't love her, huh?" Joan asked easily. Dexter shook his head. He couldn't see Laura as anything more than his best friend. "Then what about that Lyra woman?" Dexter looked to Joan curiously.
"You mean to ask if I love a woman I met less than a day ago?"
"It happens. One of my sisters met a man and married him within a month. They're one of the most stable couples I've ever met. I know of a woman who married a man after knowing him for an hour. My elder brother's friend I believe. They're not the best couple but they work."
Dexter was silent for a moment. "I don't love her but I do like her. A lot. She's happy, excitable, thoughtful, sensible, kind, and she wasn't even very mad when I deceived her. Most likeable about her is that she trusts me."
"It sounds like you like her a lot." Joan smiled faintly.
"I do. She's not without her flaws, though. She tends to take things at face value over looking into them. It works in my favor but it's not good for her. It seems to be a trend among the Valkyrie clan to do that though."
Joan nodded. Then he hesitated. "Look, I should just get this out of the way right now. If you publicly court her or even marry her then I'll have to treat you as more like an enemy if we meet in public. You'd be aligning yourself with Mistral. Treason." Dexter grinned.
"Actually it wouldn't be treason. I'm not a Valean hunter, remember? The only loyalty I owe to Vale is through my position as an aide to Laura. Even then I've not been in the position long. I'm not even a Valean citizen, you know?"
Joan grinned faintly at Dexter. "I never knew that. That you traveled with the team made me thing that you were a Valean hunter. I supposed I should have asked. It explains a lot actually. Like why you don't pay taxes on that dragon's hoard of yours."
"Like you do either?"
"Fair point."
"So why do the Valkyries want to marry you to their head?" Joan asked curiously.
"A variety of reasons. Mostly, though, they want a monopoly on my dolls and access to my skills. The treasure hoard of mine I'm hoping to keep away from them. I doubt they'd mind much if I make them some more dolls in exchange. I think I've been selling them for less than what they were worth."
Joan nodded. "When you were selling them from the islands they weren't worth mich because of travel costs but her in Vacuo or in Mistral they're worth far more. At least twenty times what they were in the islands. Probably more."
Dexter hummed with indifference. "I've got a few ideas about avoiding paying allegiance to the king of Mistral. I don't have anything set yet but I've got a few ideas. Do you have any advice?"
Joan thought for a few seconds. "Well getting involved with the Valkyrie clan would put you near Mistral in terms of allegiance but you wouldn't pay it directly. You would be a huntsman in service to the clan which is in service to Mistral. You could negotiate with the clan to not accept jobs you don't want to. If you bargained with Mistral directly you'd fail since Mistral is far more powerful than you. With the clan, however, you know that they're eager to get their hands on you. You have leverage with that. you could negotiate a few small things like selecting your own missions and freeing yourself from serving Mistral as a combatant. The Valkyrie clan wouldn't care so long as you accepted some missions and Mistral can't speak out because of their clan laws."
Dexter grinned. "I was thinking something similar. Your idea is better though."
"What were you thinking?"
"I was going to request to not accept a citizenship of Mistral."
"That wouldn't fly. You have to be a citizen to sell goods and even then you could be conscripted by the army despite not being a citizen. Better to hide yourself under the Valkyrie clan's laws. It's legal as stone so it's more solid a protection than a lack of citizenship. Other clans would back you as well since a violation of your rights and freedom could mean that their own rights are in danger if Mistral gets away with using you."
Dexter smiled. "Thanks Joan. You're a good friend." Joan shrugged.
"I actually want to ask something." Dexter gestured for him to go on. "You said you would want to travel but you're planning on tying yourself to the Valkyrie clan. How would that work?"
Dexter smirked. "As a Mistralian huntsman under the sect of the Valkyrie clan I'd be allowed to take missions throughout Mistral and possibly Mantle if they've got a shortage of huntsmen at some point. I could see the world then. Besides, I can fly three quarters of remnant in two weeks. I think my wife, if I go through with that sort of thing, might get a little annoyed if I'm gone that long but I think she could come with me sometimes. I wouldn't mind spending time at the clan compound if it's anything like the one they have here. It's probably better actually since they're just borrowing the one here from Mistral."
Joan nodded. "Want to go drinking? I feel like you need one." Dexter smiled. He needed to talk to somebody more than drink but one would certainly lead to the other. Besides, it was only eight. He had some time to kill.
|-\\/-|
"And I told R'lla… that's not even funny." Joan slurred slightly. Dexter said nothing as he sipped his gin. Wait for it… "Hah! Exactly! If she had said it abou' Mantle then it would have been funny." That's it. Joan's mind was apparently a little mushy an so what he thought Dexter was going to say was what he interpreted him as saying. It had been a little confusing at first but it was somewhat amusing to just listen in silence as people looked at Joan with concern.
A burly man tapped Dexter on the shoulder. "Is yer mate okay?" He whispered in concern.
"He's a lightweight and has some things going on. Just let him tire himself out and I'll take him home." Dexter assured. The man took a glance to Joan, who was saying something about horses and outhouses before clapping Dexter on the shoulder and walking away.
"Wait, was that guy a pirate?" Joan asked in confusion. Dexter shrugged. If he had said something about booty or boats then he would have said yes.
It was in the second hour of light drinking for Joan that something strange happened. A large sweaty man in fine clothing (he really was sweaty. Dexter could smell him) entered with a nervous stick-like man who wrung his hands.
"We demand a drink!" Sweaty declared while walking to the bar. The nervous man trailed his way behind Sweaty murmuring apologies to people and flinching occasionally at small movements.
"Inkeep!" Sweaty called loudly. "Could I get a mug of red for me and my friend here?"
"Red wine, rum, or something else?" The barman growled. The bar didn't actually have an inn so he was just a barkeep. He was good at mixing drinks though. A somewhat useless skill considering everyone just drank to get drunk here rather than for flavor. A wasted talent in Dexter's opinion. The man was good.
"Rum of course!" Sweaty declared with his usual volume. He flashed a smile at the barkeep that spoke of pedophilia and the barkeep glared flatly at him. After a brief rummaging around under the counter the barkeep came up with some low grade red rum and poured it grudgingly into a mug. Did he actually intend to turn Sweaty away with bad alcohol?
Sweaty gulped the rum in one gulp - Dexter was liking this man less and less - and slammed the mug down on the counter. "Another!" He boomed. Stick-figure next to him jumped at the noise despite seeing the mug go down up close. The barkeep got him another with a scowl. The plan was a bust. The man had even less taste than he had expected.
Sweaty gulped the mug in the same fashion as before. "Good work man!" Sweaty said as loudly as usual. "You know… I heard you were the best at mixing drinks in the city." The barkeep nodded grudgingly. Dexter wouldn't want to be acknowledged by Sweaty either.
"Well I like your drinks! You're hired!" The man looked at Sweaty like he was an idiot, which Dexter was fairly certain he was. He didn't even try to protest that he hadn't even mixed the drinks. He probably assumed he would be demanded to mix a drink for sweaty.
"I'm not for sale." The barkeep growled.
"Nonesense! Everything and everyone has a price! What's yours?!" Sweaty gave his molester grin again and the young man sitting next to him decided it was time to go despite having half of his very nice ale left. The man in the seat next to him subtly dragged it over to himself with an innocent look.
"I don't have a price. I have requirements." The barkeep growled more. Dexter was considering whether it was just his normal voice. Come to think of it he had greeted everyone with a growling voice.
"Well what are your requirements then?!"
The barkeep looked to Sweaty flatly. "First is an appreciation for my craft. You don't even seem to know beer from barley. Would you please leave my bar?"
Sweaty didn't even blink. "I have an appreciation for all things pedestrian!" The barkeep's left eye twitched. Sweaty seemingly had no tact whatsoever. "After all! I am a noble! A hero of the people!"
"A noble, you say?" Joan had seemingly taken an interest in the conversation. It was hard not to. If only he hadn't spoken up though. "I'm actually a noble too. Joan Arc. You are?"
Sweaty turned to Joan with some interest. "I am Baron Fratian Oobleck! Forty third in line for the kingship of Vale! I came to Vacuo to help out with the noble war efforts of our king!"
"Ah! I'm glad to make your acquaintance then!" Joan reached out and shook one of Sweatie's meaty paws (Dexter refused to call this lump of oily lard a noble). Dexter winced in sympathy when Joan's hand came away sweaty. By god it's spreading.
"So what have you done to aid in our crusade against the enemies of the crown?!" Sweaty asked jovially.
"I'm a huntsman acting as an aide to commander Laura Frost. My companion here is Dexter. He's of a similar position."
"As an aide to her?"
"No. His relationship is somewhat more personal." Dexter would have punched Joan. Best friends TECHNICALLY made him an aide with a more personal relationship but saying it that way made him sound like a -
"A gigolo then! You don't see many men in such a position. I can see why you drink so heavily at such an establishment as this my fr-… my apologies. I cannot call you my friend with a position as, ah, reputable as yours."
Dexter glared. Just a little bit. Sweaty would have a heart attack if his blood pressure rose by a sugar cookie's worth. Still, though, Sweaty took the hint.
"So Joan, my friend! You're a huntsman you say? I actually have need for somebody with such skills as yours! Would you be interested in a job for me?!"
"Of course! I'd be happy to assist you. We are friends, after all." Dexter's glare upped the intensity just a little bit. No way in hell was he helping Joan with this.
"Actually your friend may be of use in this endeavor as well."
Dexter lost his chill a small bit. "Go blow yours-"
"Of course! My best friend and I are quite inseparable." Sweaty didn't so much as glance at Dexter when he spoke. Maybe the glare was making him scared of Dexter so he was trying not to focus on him?
"Good news! You see, there's a mansion that the locals call haunted two miles south of Vacuo's city limits. It's actually got a small geist infestation. I believe your friend would serve as a fantastic human shield for you if you were to be in need of a quick escape. I am willing to pay you handsomely for your services." Dexter didn't miss how Sweaty directed his words only to Joan. Did he not intend to reward Dexter? Ah, of course. He was a lowly faunus gigolo taken in by the gracious faunus sympathizer Laura Frost, whose heart is too big for her own good. He was truly lucky to be next to Sweaty the balding walrus faunus for even a moment. He deserved the highest of respects. Time to repay him.
"I WILL SEPARATE YOUR BALLS FRO-" Joan swung an arm around Dexter's neck like he was still his friend after calling him a gigolo and human shield. His hand moved to cover his mouth and Dexter kept his mouth closed unwillingly.
"Jeez quiet down Dexter. Don't get mad at me loaning you out to Sweat - I mean, Baron Oobleck. It's only for a night." Dexter punched Joan in the gut. Fucker deserved it. Drunk or not.
Joan coughed and doubled over. Sweaty looked in alarm to Dexter and in some shock. "It's his kink." Dexter explained. "He likes being… manhandled. That and whips." Sweaty looked mildly disturbed at the implications of that and shook his head.
"Well… when you're done just… go to Vasilias Manor. Rising sun district. Ah, good - goodbye." Oobleck left in a slight hurry.
Dexter looked to Joan with some annoyance. "Are you really drunk?" Joan looked surprised at the accusation.
"What makes you say that?" Dexter rolled his eyes.
"You almost called him Sweaty, you took two mugs of what I thought were really pale ale or vodka and were still coherent, you went with the gigolo misunderstanding too fast, your arm moved quickly and smoothly when you swung it over my shoulders, you inturrupted me both times I was about to insult Baron sweaty, you forgot to slur after that one time you did it, and you're a terrible actor and liar in general. Stick to killing and playing with aura." Joan scowled.
"So do you want to say why you're doing this in the first place? It's not for the money I know already. You didn't negotiate or even get an adress."
Joan grinned. "I'm not telling." Dexter scowled and punched his shoulder. Joan winced but didn't look annoyed.
"Wow, that angry, huh?" Dexter glared at him a little and his point got across. Joan took a look around at the other patrons who were staring at them rather angrily. The message was clear. They had disturbed their drinking and should get out.
"Ah… Let's go." Joan muttered.
|-\\/-|
Joan had refused to fly to the manor. They had jogged the whole way. It had drawn a few looks from passer bys but it didn't really matter to either of them. The run had been quite nice. Peaceful even. There were quite a lot of fireflies in Vacuo surprisingly. They looked quite pretty as they huddled in groups throughout the desert shrubbery. It was like they were little pillars of light at night.
The manor was… big. Very big. It was surrounded by a wrought iron fence merged sloppily with a brick wall. It was like the wall couldn't decide to be one or the other so it chose both. In front of the manor was a statue of a woman sitting under an apple tree with a few children. It was quite well done actually. Vacuo did have good stonework though their metalworks were horrible. Mistral and Vale made the best weapons. Mantle had started shipping out guns, though. If they became popular then they would have a leg up on the competition.
The mansion was, of course, made of stone. What made it notable was that it was made out of solid stone. Giant slabs of stone appeared to have been carved as a whole and placed to arrange a house. Dexter believed Rella had mentioned the style once. It was popular in old Vacuo about a half century ago. It had fallen out of fashion when clay deposits were found and the difficult to transport massive slabs fell out of fashion as housing materials. The brick wall, then, showed a more recent modification to the manor.
"Should we lure them out or confront them inside?" Dexter asked.
"I'd prefer them in an enclosed space." Joan answered. "It would make them easier to fight. Less material to protect themselves with."
"... Well let's go." Dexter strided forward easily. Joan took one last look at the manor with his eyebrows drawn together before frowning and catching up. Dexter tried to open the door and found it closed. A quick filling out with his semblance had it open in an instant. He had to shovel the sand out of the locking mechanism as well. A quick push made a small grating sound in the hinges. A glance showed that sand was caught in them. Somehow Dexter wasn't surprised.
Joan peeked around the corners and spoke "I'll check the west wing. You do the east one. We'll meet in the north one."
"How do we know which wing is which inside?" Dexter questioned. Joan tilted his head a little at Dexter and looked upwards. Dexter did so too and saw the writing 'West wing' above Joan's door. "Oh." Dexter said. He turned around then and made strides through the corridor. A kick through the doors revealed no grimm in any of them.
It was in the second corridor that Dexter was about to move on when a blanket moved. An arrow was fired in a blink. A small grunt and a… creature stood up from the covers in an unnatural looking jerk. It looked like some sort of twisted beowolf with a longer muzzle that was malformed into a horrid smile, an emancipated and grisly build that prominently showed the grimm's ribs and stick-like arms, and long nightmarish claws. The beast's dull and cruel red eyes. Dexter froze. The grimm turned to him with a snap and the horrible grin grew larger and crueler. A hiss of air and the grimm threw it's head back. In a panic Dexter nocked an arrow and let it fly on reflex. The grimm let out a "HAHA-!" before the arrow flew through the roof of it's mouth. That was a lucky shot.
A frantic pounding and scratching on the floor came distantly from the door behind Dexter. Dexter half closed the door and ran as fast as he could to the closet. It was just when he closed the door to it that the door cracked and shattered. A creature burst into the room with speed. It was twitchy and excited. A cackler.
Dexter hated cacklers. Hated them with a passion. The beasts were like evil beowolves from some hellscape. They were stronger, more durable, and far, far faster than any beowolf could ever be. The worst part was their laugh. The cacklers were more based off of hyenas than wolves. They were pack hunters. When they sensed prey they… cackled if you could even call it that. It was cackling, sure, but it was high pitched and filled with malice. Dexter truly thought that his mother only made these grimm to fulfill some sort of child's nightmare. The cackle from them called their brethren, more cacklers, to hunt. In a mansion that might have geists? It would be terrifying. Dexter was thankful he had to deal with these monsters rather than Joan. If he had been found the cacklers would have called.
The new cackler laughed a little as he looked to his dead fellow. His nose twitched a few times and he walked around the area a few times. Luckily Dexter didn't sweat or anything, being a grimm so he didn't release any inherent smell. He did, however, smell faintly of sand. He could only hope.
The cackler prowled the room a bit. It clawed at the corpse, perhaps making sure hus buddy wasn't playing dead. It raked the room with his eyes before heading out to roam the halls. It hadn't decided to warn it's buddies yet but it was only a matter of time before Joan was found by a cackler or something. Why had they split up again? Oh right. They were cocky. Hopefully Dexter could meet with Joan, use HIM as a meat shield for the terrors, kill all of them, and they could fly back to Vacuo to do… something. Perhaps Dexter could visit Lyra again. He could use something nice after being thrown into a mansion filled with his worst nightmares.
Dexter crept out of the closet without a sound and peered out of the hallway with his bow nocked. The cackler was gone, which both comforted and terrified Dexter. At least it was gone… right?
Dexter decided to, rather than simply run to Joan, he would be stealthy. He wouldn't use his leopard form either. He could be camouflaged but he was a huntsman for the moment. He would kill grimm, as was supposed to. They would all have to die eventually.
Dexter crouched down somewhat and threw his cloak over his head. He formed a mask of black bone over his face for good measure. He should get used to using one in fights. His face was a bit of a weak spot. Looking cool wasn't an excuse to not use head protection. Joan had his aura shields and he still used armor. Dexter really had no excuse. A little aura on his feet helped to further dampen his footfalls if he walked on broken glass or gravel and Dexter formed a sabre in a knife and held the blade pointed away from him and a throwing knife extra sharp in his off hand. He could sneak attack any grimm he ran across pretty easily now.
A minute of slowly making his way across the corridors later Dexter ran into his first cackler. Two of them to be exact. One asleep and the other nibbling on a human femur. The sleeping one wasn't an issue but the awake one would be a problem if he didn't deal with him quickly. A throwing knife would make a thunk sound and wake the sleeping one so he would have to go about this closely.
The feeding one was close to a window that looked into a courtyard so Dexter crept through a storage room and opened a courtyard window. There were no grimm at the moment. Dexter leapt to the adjacent window and landed rather neatly. When he tried to open it, however, the window was a little noisy to open. He fell back in alarm and hung onto the window sill by one hand. Above him the cackler laughed a little and a clicking of claws on stone was heard. The cackler lost interest in a few seconds and returned to nibbling on the bone.
Dexter calmed himself and pulled himself up. He dashed silently to the cackler with the bone and slit it's vocal cords swiftly. The beast lashed out silently but Dexter hugged it and sharpened his knife to the extreme with aura. The beast's head slid off and Dexter quietly set it to the floor. The grimm's hide was tougher than he had expected. He would have to sharpen more but he would prefer to conserve his aura. The extreme sharpening was rather taxing. He couldn't use it that often.
Whatever the case Dexter crept as fast as he dared to the other cackler and simply stabbed it through the eye holes with his knives. It fell limp. Easily done.
Some more creeping and Dexter found another cackler in a storage room that was rummaging through a few boxes that had clearly already been rummaged through. Dexter climbed the shelves and fell on it from above. It stood no chance. A glance at the shelves revealed something interesting. A necklace of pearls. Black pearls. Well, they were sewn onto a tattered dress of silk but a little knife work removed the rags. Lyra might not care for a necklace but Dexter could just add it to his hoard. He hadn't ever found black pearl necklaces. There was one small one where the pearls alternated black and normal white though. Well, he liked it so he was taking it.
A quick rummage revealed no more treasure of great value. Just some uncut rubies and a platinum bracelet. Dexter took them. He might as well. There was really no reason not to. Oh, right. Joan was ignorant and his life was on the line… Dexter needed to stop pandering to his greed. He could really just loot the whole mansion later and give it to Lyra. Transporting all of it to the eastern islands would be a pain if there were other rooms with valuables in the manor. Maybe they had a treasury. Mmmm. Oh, what? Ah, Joan. Right.
Dexter moved a little faster to make up for lost time. There were a few cacklers around but they were alone and easy pickings. Finally he made it to the northern wing.
Dexter ran as quickly as he dared to the western wing.a few corridors away. He had hurried and not checked his rooms so Joan was probably still checking his wing. Dexter raced around a little recklessly. He was still pretty quiet at least. Sudden;y he saw a flash of white. Dexter crept closer. "Joan!" He hissed. Joan jumped high in the air and whipped around. Oh right. Dexter was still being stealthy.
"Who are you?! Joan hissed with equally low volume. Dexter blinked. Was he… Ah. the mask. Dexter broke down the bone mask and Joan raised an eyebrow and relaxed. "I've never seen you wear a mask before." He said simply. Dexter frowned. He hadn't and it was his mistake. Sometimes you miss the simplest of things.
"Have you found anything?" Dexter asked.
Joan frowned with him. "No. Nothing. Why?"
That was… worrying. Why hadn't Joan seen anything? Why were the cacklers only on the east side? Unless…
A hulking and pitch black form lurched behind Joan. Dexter's honed instincts screamed. He gripped Joan hard and threw himself and Joan off to the side into one of the rooms. Dexter shut the door as fast as he could while being mostly quiet and pulled Joan aside. "Gauntlets up." He said quietly as he could. Joan flicked the safeties off of one and pointed it at the door. For ten tense seconds nothing came through.
"What's wrong?" Asked Joan worriedly. Dexter listened closely to his instincts. His eyes widened when the shadows from the doorframe crept back from the frame. Something light hadn't come. The darkness had gone. That was incredibly disturbing.
"Did you see that?" asked Dexter fearfully. Joan looked closely at the doorframe. He shook his head.
"There's something there or it's already left. It saw us and was probably following you. I only saw shadows." Joan opened his mouth but Dexter interrupted him. "I only saw shadows. I can see most everything in the dark. The only times I can't see in the darkness is when there's nearly no light. At all." Joan stiffened and looked at the doorframe in concern.
"... Should we leave?" Joan asked with a hint of apprehension in his voice. Dexter considered it. He really did. They could just walk away. There wasn't much for them here… but what of the next huntsmen to come? Or the next ones? What is a regiment of the army came? Could they even get out without conflict? And of course the biggest factor of all… Dexter was curious.
"No. We're staying."
AN: Spooky manor with geists *cough* ghosts *cough* in it. But are there really geists? What was the shadow? And I really gotta hand props to Super Saiyin cyndaquil. His cacklers are good grimm. Not super powerful but scary. Sadly not many grimm are a match for Dexter. He would get stomped by a dragon or something but a conflict where he chooses how to approach and isn't notices? Oh they're boned… for now.
Did I mention that the manor has a basement? Because it does. Fun times. Not foreshadowing at all. This is like a mini-arc by the way. It's got some important stuff but it isn't immediately critical. It'll be two or three more chapters. It'll only take this night and the next day in remnant though. Dexter and Joan can't be absent from the war forever. In fact, the hunters are kind of playing hookie from the war. They're not going to be punished or anything but since conflict is allowed between hunters now it's kind of implied that huntsmen will fight. That they should.