Chapter 9
Moon Shaded Wings
A/N: I lost the original AN. This is a placeholder. Thank you. ^_^
Trina: You're not getting away that easily… Shoots him
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Damn, I'm tired…
I know that I was complaining about it a while back, about not having any jobs, and I should be thankful, but I had my hopes set high for all this. I was supposed to be taking down a legend, a myth, the fabled Maxwell Rose.
But so far, I've been facing the reality that this is never going to happen. Rose was never here at Boot Hill. In fact, the only lead I found got me into some kind of inter-species war, and nothing else. So it's understandable that I'm tired…
Something that I found odd about Boot Hill is that there wasn't an inn. No overnight tavern, no bed-and-breakfast, nothing. So I suppose I'm damn lucky that Tesla and Shalte gave me a spare room. I can't say that they trust me – they're as nervous as ever now – but they certainly are grateful for my help in the battle the other day.
Well, as much of a waste of time as this venture has been, there have still been some interesting moments, and plenty of new questions. There's something about this family and that girl, Virginia, that seems suspicious. I seriously doubt this has anything to do with Rose, but the situation does seem to demand my attention. Something has to explain why those two are always so tense.
But how do I start? Those people have been awfully generous even though they distrust me. I can't just jump in and start interrogating them, they don't deserve that. On the other hand, I can't just pussyfoot around the issue, either.
Ah, screw it. I'll worry about it tomorrow; I'm going to sleep.
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The rose…
There's dew building up on a corner…
I….
I have to get rid of it…
Toss it away…
Why?
Why did I do it?
Where is the rose?
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A few hours passed by, and night soon overtook the room. What was once already shaded grew darker as the shadows of objects stretched, filled out, and eventually merged into one another. Still, small rays of moonlight fell through the window, preventing the room from disappearing into the void. Just like at Baskar, the night created an ethereal atmosphere.
Something caused the young man to stir from his rest. He groaned, swung his legs off the side of the bed, sat up, and placed his head in his hands.
"Why do all of my dreams work like that?" he muttered into his palms. He really wasn't expecting an answer, which is why he jumped when there came a knock on the door. Regaining his composure, he grumbled "Come in."
With Maya, Jet never had any qualms of being caught in nothing but his shorts. In fact, they used to walk into each other half-naked at least twice a day. They rarely thought much of it.
So it took Jet a few moments to realize why Virginia had stopped dead in her tracks upon entering. They both stared at each other in shock for a few moments, until Jet snapped back to consciousness a pulled up a blanket, prompting his visitor to dash from the room.
Once she left, the boy scrambled to get his black shirt and a pair of jeans, and quickly slipped into them. "Okay, I'm decent," he whispered.
Slowly, Virginia re-entered the guest room. She stopped in the middle of the floor, and started to glance around. Jet watched her curiously as she examined her surroundings, wondering what she was doing. Especially this late at night. "What are you doing?" he asked, though he knew she couldn't answer.
She didn't even attempt to respond. All she did was brush past him a grab his jacket from the chair in the corner. She tossed it to him, walked to the door, and indicated that he should follow her.
He stood still for a moment. This really was an awkward situation, but realized that this may be an opportunity to find some answers.
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We quietly slipped out of the house, around three in the morning, and out into the night. The air was cool tonight, partly due to the weak breeze that manifested every few seconds. Almost immediately, I felt more comfortable than I had in weeks. This night was perfect, the kind that all wandering Hawks dream of. Even the sky was utterly clear. I looked up at the stars, and was slightly surprised at how easily I did. Funny, the other night I couldn't bear to face them.
I certainly felt more at ease out there than I did in that house….
Virginia strolled on ahead, down the path leading to the city gates, just staring of towards the horizon. Whether or not she knew I was still following her, I couldn't tell. So I kept behind her, unaware of our destination.
It was only when we reached the arch of the Boot Hill sign that I realized how quiet this town was. It was actually louder out in the wilderness, even though there was only a few crickets out there.
She turned to me and pointed out to the west.
"Is that where we're going?" I asked.
She nodded to me, and then set off in that direction. I trailed behind, hoping that our destination wasn't too far away.
We walked for roughly an hour, and we passed nothing of real interest. However, even if we had come across anything significant, my host wouldn't have noticed. Whatever her intentions were, she was obviously focused on them. She just looked straight ahead as we meandered across the plains. I couldn't help but be curious about this, given my suspicions of this girl and her family, and so I frequently found myself gazing at her, trying to read her.
Usually, I could tell a lot about a person just by looking at them. And when they opened their mouths, they frequently reinforced whatever preconceptions I had made of them by glancing. But for some reason, and besides the fact that she can't talk, I couldn't form any such hypotheses about her. It's intriguing, but frustrating at the same time. I have to find out more about Virginia and her family, or else I'll go insane wondering.
Now that I think about it, I'm just as distracted as she seems to be. We could've passed by Moor Gault playing poker and neither of us would've noticed. I need a drink….
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Sitting cross-legged in the high grass, a thin young man with long, blue hair snacked on a pear from his pouch. He held the fruit in his left hand while he rested his head on his right fist. He scanned the area around him with mild disinterest, and looked about ready to nod off at any moment.
Not far from him lay another man, this one of a more average build, though imposingly tall, with straight black hair that seemed to be pulled back by a ponytail, but in fact was merely slicked back. However, once his hair passed his neck, it all massed into a curled mess. This man simply stared off into the night sky, resting against the bare earth.
The smaller of the two spoke. "I'm losing interest here, bro. Are we gonna kill something in this stupid plan of your or what?" He tossed away his pear, and began to twirl a pocketknife in his fingers.
"Just relax, Harry," responded his 'bro,' "I have a hunch that my plan is going to work."
"Whatever, Ron. But you don't actually think that Rose'll still be around here, do ya? We're wasting our time, that lead was too old!" His face suddenly twisted into an impish grin. "We should be out having fun."
Ron closed his eyes and sighed. "Just trust me on this, brother. Trust me."
Harry grunted in defeat, and resumed glancing around the vicinity. A hint of movement caught his eye. "Hey Ron, somebody's coming."
The bigger man sat up a bit and looked to where his brother had been pointing. From his long, red coat, he produced a pair of binoculars and looked off into the distance. "Hm….ah, it's just two kids."
"Let me see!" called a rather excited Harry. He scrambled over to the taller man and snatched the binoculars. "Aw, damn. You're right." However, something made him look again. "Wait… That boy over there has silver hair."
"What, you think it's Enduro or something?"
"It has to be. He's just the same as when I saw him at the battle arena in Gunner's Heaven."
"Harry, I have an idea."
The thinner brother smiled sadistically. "We're gonna challenge him, aren't we?"
"Heh. Just imagine the publicity and recognition we'd get if we were able to take him out." With that, Ron pulled an oversized, double-barrel shotgun from his coat. "You wanna borrow my sidearm, Harry?"
"What, that old Beretta? Nah, I'm good." To prove his point, he slipped on a pair of steel gauntlets. "I like to feel the bones of my enemy breaking under my fists, anyway."
The taller brother laughed, and the two grabbed what they needed and ripped through the night.
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"How much longer, Virginia?" muttered Jet, a bit fed up with wandering, no matter how nice the night was.
In response, she held up five fingers.
"Five minutes? Five miles? Five hours? What?"
She just silently laughed and kept walking.
"Damn it, why can't you –" Stopping suddenly, he took a look around. "Virginia, stop." When she did, he moved into the point position, and readied the Airget-lamh. Virginia drew her ARMs as well, and quietly followed his lead.
A shotgun blast knocked the gun out of Jet's grip, causing him to jump backwards. He called out "Who's there?!"
"The great Jet Enduro, can't even hold onto his weapon, eh?" remarked the frail looking man who stood up from the nearby field of tall grass.
"Come on, Harry, give him a break. We did get the drop on him, after all," answered his larger companion from over by the cliff face. The barrel of his ARM was still smoking.
"Damn it, Ron, you take the fun out of everything," replied the one now identified as Harry.
"Who the hell are you guys?!" questioned an irate Enduro.
Harry snickered before answering. "We're just you're run-of-the-mill pair of Migrant Hawk brothers, and we have a little surprise for you!"
Ron continued. "Yes, we want to play a game…"
On that cue, Harry dashed towards Jet, the moonlight glinting off his fists. The boy couldn't believe the speed at which the weak-looking man was coming at him. Virginia raised her pistols towards Harry, but a scattering of bullets at her feet sent her diving into the nearby grass field.
Harry struck out with a right hook, which Jet barely avoided. He tried to counter with a knee to the stomach, but Harry had already swung with his other hand, and caught the boy in the sternum, knocking the wind out of him. With jab to the face, Jet fell to the ground, bleeding from his lip.
The azure-haired Hawk grinned and quipped, "We take our games seriously, as you can see." He kicked the boy in the ribs, rolling him onto his back. Placing a foot on his victim's neck, he finished, "We don't like to lose, ya know."
Off in the fields, Virginia struggled to stay out of the sights of Ron, who had amazing accuracy with such a clumsy weapon. Whenever she so much as rose an inch above the greenery, he was able to blast shells within feet of her position. In fact, in one such occasion he managed to graze her back, not really causing an injury, but enough to cause intense stinging and some bleeding. She would have screamed out if she could, though more out of anger than out of pain. It didn't look like she'd be getting out of this mess.
Harry continued knocking Jet around the plain with sadistic glee. Each blow seemed to make him grin wider, and soon he was giggling like child.
Unfortunately for him, his laughing distracted him from the fact that he was kicking Jet right towards Airget-lamh. Jet saw his opportunity coming, so he continued to act like a rag doll as Harry laced into him. As soon as he rolled over it, Jet grabbed his ARM and swung it upwards, hoping to get a shot at Harry's chest. Instead, he miscalculated and wound up delivering the frail man a glancing blow below the belt.
Letting out a yelp, Harry crumpled and fell, cringing in pain. Jet, who had yet to stand back up, blinked in silence.
Virginia soon realized that she was running in circles. She recognized her own blood staining the weeds and grass in the field. To her left, she heard Ron cackle and boast, "I feel like a mongoose chasing a snake in the grass!" A fatal error on his part. Years of silence had allowed the girl to fine tune her sense of hearing, and she was able to zero in on Ron's position from that outburst. Pointing her guns, she fired two shots. A grunt was followed by a thump, and she knew that she had hit her target. Just to make sure, she ran over to check his fallen form. Laid out in the grass, with his shotgun just out of reach, was Ron's body. He was still alive, but a bullet in his stomach and another in his right shoulder effectively removed him from the battle.
Harry didn't look ready to get back up, either. Clearly this man had never been hit in the groin. Jet, more pissed off than before, snatched Harry's ponytail and yanked him to his feet. Shoving the barrel of Airget-lamh into his mouth, he spat, "Get the fuck out of here," and then dropped him to the ground.
Harry stumbled over to his brother, passing Virginia on the way. As she approached, Jet asked "What about his bro?"
In response, she pointed off to the fields, turning her back to him. While she watched Harry try to support his brother's weight and escape, Jet noticed the wounds she had. Quiet filled the air again, and the only evidence that anything had happened was the blood in the grass field, and a few scattered shell casings.
Moments later, Jet muttered, "I don't suppose that was what you dragged me out here for, was it?" He wasn't entirely certain, but from looking at her, it seemed that she would've giggled if she could. Neither of them seemed to be badly wounded. Jet had a few bruises here and there, and Virginia only had the cuts on her back, which happened to damage her coat more than anything else, really. So, they sat for a while, resting and thinking.
Jet broke the silence again. "I'll bet you're wondering what that was about, huh?" She nodded, and he continued. "Those guys were Hawks, I guess, and they're probably looking to make a name for themselves by beating me in a battle. I'm not sure if you know or not, but I happen to be one of the best Migrant Hawks around."
Virginia let out a sigh, which Jet interpreted as an "Oh, okay…"
"Heh, this isn't the first time this has happened, actually." After some silence, he continued, "I'll tell you about it on the way back to town."
After some quick bandaging, the pair headed back east towards Boot Hill.
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A/N: Heh, look at that, a nice long one!
Trina: Yeah, I'm surprised.
A/N: …I must seem like an imitator by having you in these A/N's, don't I?
Trina: Possibly, but otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this on a regular basis. Shoots him
A/N: Ah, cool. Dies
CRRS:
Teefa85: Well, no secrets revealed this time around, but there will be some upsets soon enough! ^_^
JayJay-Sawada: Heh…that's a fun coincidence… What decade, anyway? 60's? 70's? Heh heh. ^_^
Black Waltz 0: Aww…I wouldn't say mind-melting…well…okay, maybe I would.
Hana no Kaze: Hee hee….thanks! I just hope my ego doesn't overinflate! ^_^ All kidding aside, thanks for the comments. Sometimes I feel like my work is subpar compared to all the rest, so I really appreciate it. But…uh….that doesn't mean I demand sympathy or nuthin…erm….that is…erm… Oh no, I've gone crosseyed…. ^_^
Hypes: Gobs have the most entertaining accent to write, gob. And the confusion such an accent would cause. ^_^
Skylark Starflower: Hey…what's that supposed to mean? ^_^ Just kidding. And please don't hit me with Angel again….the stuffing hurts….
aya-yahiko: Yup, she's mute alright. And what kind of supermarket would carry something like that? ^_^