Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of A Lingering Ember. Enjoy the 900- word chapter. I don't own RWBY, Monty Oum, and Rooster Teeth do.
(Vale, Junior's Club)
Desmond leaned on his cane while he looked at Junior and then he looked at Neo.
"You know, I didn't think she'd be better than your bodyguards… " Desmond stated, Junior, looked at Neo who was busy typing on her scroll then waving at Junior.
"Who is she? I've only seen one girl take both of them down…" Junior said before Desmond turned and shrugged.
"Her name's Neo… And she's my partner…" Desmond said while he looked at the man and then back to the wall before tapping his cane on the ground.
"You know…. Most of Vale is destroyed… And its biggest crime lord is hiding in his kingdom… I find that funny…" Desmond said, Junior, groaned.
"What is it you want?" He asked, Desmond shrugged and leaned forward on his cane.
"I want a few million Lien, a crown, and then a few pounds of Dust…." Desmond said, Junior, looked at him with a sideways glare before he chuckled.
"I'm joking, I want a way out of Vale for me and the lovely lady… And some backup… I plan on expanding…" Desmond said, Junior, sighed in annoyance.
"You're kidding me…" Junior groaned out, Desmond turned to the side and leaned on his cane again.
"I didn't shoot you… And I also didn't allow my partner who could probably easily have killed your bodyguards… I think I'm owed something… Don't you think, Mr. king?" Desmond asked, Junior, sighed and then he turned to the map at the wall.
"Fine, we're done on this… We're done…" Desmond heard, he climbed to his feet and then looked at the man.
"I guess we are… Good doing business with you, Junior… When we get back in touch, I'll be sure to let you know…" Desmond said before he walked out of the office and then he turned to Neo who stepped off the wall, rested her umbrella on her shoulder.
"We're going for a walk, that good with you?" Desmond asked, Neo nodded, and both walked out of the club while Junior started to handle their request.
"You didn't have to threaten her you know… She was beaten… Killing should only be the case if they don't give you a choice…." Desmond said, Neo blinked.
"Hmm?" Neo hummed out, Desmond turned to her and sighed.
"You can't stab people just because you beat them… There's a difference between fighting and killing… Did you see my fight with Junior? I won because I fought smarter and because I took him down quickly… I got lucky…" Desmond said before he looked to the side and rested his cane on his shoulder like Neo did with the barrel pointed to the sky.
"Why they would have killed you, and my choices were killing them or be killed…" Neo said, Desmond nodded, he put his hand into his chin.
"Most fights are like that… But killing for no reason? That's no good, sweet tooth…. Killing one of his bodyguards wouldn't have been worth it, it would have just made Junior our enemy… And trust me, I don't much care what the old man thinks of me… But I don't plan on making enemies out of people… Not yet… Besides, I haven't mastered how to use this cane…" Desmond said before he leaned on a broken streetlight before he turned back to Neo.
"I haven't gotten to mastering this thing… A straight-up fight? I can handle myself for the most part… But handling his entire club? I can't do that… At least I'm not confident I could… I was expecting them to back off when the fight started… And they did… I still have to refill this thing and make sure it's fine after the battle with Junior… But I don't want you to kill people… Grimm is fine… But unless we have a good reason to spill blood? I don't want you to do it for no reason… We aren't going to get anywhere if you want to kill every guy, we fight… Ok?" Desmond asked, Neo nodded and looked to the side.
"I guess we're done in Vale… We're going to head south, set up shop there, and then… Well, we're going from there… It's going to be awkward, but we're setting something up there." Desmond stated, Neo blinked, and Desmond patted his shoulder with Melodic Cudgel.
"I think you're going to like what I have planned… But you're going to have to trust me a little more… Ok?" Desmond asked, Neo nodded and looked away before she smirked and looked at Beacon.
"I think I'm going to look for something to do unless you have an idea on what to do?" Desmond asked, Neo turned to the Beacon Academy.
She tugged on Desmond's jacket before pointing at the school, Desmond looked at it and blinked before he sighed in amusement and turned to the school.
He blinked and smirked.
Author Note
Phew, another chapter is done! I know it's a short chapter, the next chapter will be longer. I want to point out that Desmond is an anti-hero… He does follow a bit in Roman's footsteps, next chapter is going to show Desmond and Neo visiting Beacon and show Desmond's plan off more. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
