Standing up from the bar, drink in hand, Qrow staggered his way over to the man he had heard whispers about.
Leaning against the wooden wall of the bar was a man, about the same height as Qrow, wearing a pitch-black armor. The man's helmet featured a reflective visor. His arms were crossed over his chest in a relaxed position.
Qrow stumbled, spilling a little of his drink onto the wooden floor of the bar before he rested against a wooden pillar across from the man. "Heeey buddy… Why are you standing here all alone?" Qrow slurred, taking a gulp from his glass, watching the man from the corner of his eye.
The man tilted his head upwards. "Huh… You might be the first person brave enough to try talking to me since I got here…" the man said, voice deep and heavily distorted, before he let out a low chuckle. "Then again, that might be my fault, huh? The suit isn't exactly inviting."
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Suits fancy lookin," Qrow said, raising a glass to the man before squinting at him. "Actually… I can't say I've ever seen a suit that looks quite like that before. Where'd you get it anyway?"
"This? I guess you could say it's something I've always had…"
Qrow let out an exaggerated hum, giving the man a drunken grin before taking another sip from his drink. "Ya know, most people come to bars to drink, right?"
The man shrugged. "I'm new here. In my experience it is useful to get a sense of people by watching them." Qrow got the sense the man was staring directly at him. "You can learn a lot about a person by watching what they do."
"Not to say bartenders appreciate loiterers, but they're usually too scared to do anything beyond giving me glares," the man finished, giving another chuckle as he gestured his head over towards the bartender, who was doing a poor job of subtly watching the two men.
"Huh… I've always thought of bars as a place to get drunk," Qrow slurred, wobbling on his feet a little before leaning against his pillar again.
The man looked at Qrow. "Sure you do…"
Qrow forced himself to not change his body language at the comment.
"So… see anything interesting?"
The man tilted his head slightly. "Huh?"
"You said you're new here; see anything interesting about the people?" Qrow asked.
"Not really. People here are still exactly the same as ever," the man said, before giving a chuckle. "It's a little comforting actually."
Qrow nodded his head before raising his glass. "I hear that," he said before downing the rest of his drink. "So… What brings you to Vale? Comin to see the Vytal Festival?"
"Hm… I might stay for that, but no. I'm looking for," he let out another chuckle, "let's call her a friend. Caught some information she might be around here, and I'm curious to see what she's been up to."
"She got a name? Maybe I've heard of her."
The helmet stared intently at him. "The Servant."
Qrow didn't need to fake his confused expression. "Nope, sorry. Weird name."
"It's more of a title really," the man shrugged, "she might be using her name. It's Zeffre."
Qrow shook his head. "Nah, sorry. Still doesn't ring any bells."
The man silently stared at Qrow for a few moments. "I'm sure it doesn't," he said, voice thick with sarcasm.
"Well, it has been an… interesting talk Qrow Branwen," the man said, giving Qrow a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him.
Qrow glanced at the man from the corner of his eye. "I never told you my name."
"No, you didn't," the man said, walking away.
"You got a name," Qrow asked, turning his head.
The man stopped, turning his head to the side. "They call me The Hunter," he said, giving Qrow a wave from over his shoulder, "I'll be seeing you."
Watching the man leave Qrow reflected on the conversation. He'd need to make a call, but before that…
Walking back to the bar he placed his glass on the counter; he needed another drink.
She was in her bed.
Why was she in her bed?
She scrunched up her face. There was a deep unfamiliar burning sensation deep inside her. Wincing a little in discomfort, Saffre tried to remember why she was in her bed.
It felt as if a core part of herself was on fire.
What had she been doing?
Opening her eyes Saffre made eye contact with a pair of pink and brown eyes staring back at her.
Why was Neo staring at her?
"He—" Saffre began before clenching her eyes shut again. Pain in the front of her skull.
She felt awful.
"Hello… Neo." Saffre managed to get out, her voice quiet.
'Neo? oh,' she thought, remembering before she passed out.
She had failed.
A sharp pang of guild pierced her heart at the realization. Neo had directed her to teleport, and she hadn't been able to follow her order.
Opening her eyes again Saffre saw that Neo was still staring at her with a blank expression. Why was Neo sitting next to her bed? Was that normal?
It didn't matter. She needed to apologize.
"So… Sorry for… failing," she managed to get out. It hurt to speak.
Neo's expression changed. Why did she look sad?
Saffre was in no condition to answer these questions.
Moving to sit up, Saffre could feel that she was still in her outfit from, presumably, yesterday.
That was unacceptable.
Her attire required special care and was a gift from Roman. She would not allow herself to intentionally sleep in her clothes, potentially damaging them.
As she moved to stand up, Neo quickly standing besides her bed, Saffre quietly grit her teeth as she worked through the pain. She knew she'd be fine after some rest.
Removing her azure long coat Saffre slowly began to remove her clothes; she needed to at least put them in the hamper and dress herself in pajamas.
Saffre noticed Neo shuffling. Looking up at her she found the other girl's face was flush, a bright red contrasting against her flawless, fair skin.
'Does she have a fever?'
Neo was watching her, blinked, and then quickly rushed out of Saffre's room, shutting the door behind her.
On reflex Saffre tilted her head, ignoring the pain of the movement, before going back to undressing.
'That was weird.'
Stepping out into the forest clearing Zeffre gave Professor Goodwitch a large wave, grinning at her.
The ground shook slightly underneath her feet.
Glynda raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before her eyes widened in shock.
"Hey! Look, I made a friend!" Zeffre shouted over, gesturing to the massive Beowulf that was obediently following her.
The Beowulf had deep gashes along its body, black smoke billowing out from the cuts. Even with its hunched posture the Beowulf still towered over Zeffre.
The creature's eyes were glowing with a dim white light.
"Stay here Henry," Zeffre said, giving the creature a smile before jogging over to a still shocked Glynda. "Can I keep him?"
The blond shook her head before looking down at the shorter girl, giving her a flat look.
"What? I've already named him and everything," Zeffre said, smiling. "His name is Henry, by the way."
Glynda looked over at the massive Grimm, expression contemplative as she observed the creature be uncharacteristically passive. "I knew one of your abilities was to control creatures, but I didn't think it would extend to Grimm… Especially older and more powerful ones."
Zeffre shrugged. "It isn't easy. Heck, it is taking most of my concentration to keep him calm even now. Grimm are really aggressive."
"And you want to keep it—"
"His name is Henry."
Glynda gave her a half-lidded look.
"And you want to keep 'Henry'?"
Zeffre gave her a smile "Not really. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I asked."
In a blink Zeffre drew her prototype pistol and fired a single shot.
A lance of white light cleared right through Henry's bone mask; the massive creature shaking the ground as it fell.
What was she feeling?
Leaning against the wall outside the room Neo was deep in thought.
Pushing off the wall, Neo began pacing up and down the empty hall, her footsteps echoing off the walls filling the familiar silence.
She was frustrated.
She knew what frustration was. Hatred, fury, loyalty, amusement… These were familiar emotions. She knew how to deal with them, but this?
Stopping, Neo began tapping her foot.
That girl… Saffre. What was it with her?
Ever since they had been introduced, Neo had been suspicious. Nobody could be that earnest. She knew Saffre was capable, what with her strange powers, but she was so… passive.
Looking down Neo reflected on the previous day. She had made the other girl teleport all through the warehouse, trying to find her limit. Waiting for her to get fed up with the ordering around and tell Neo off. Even a simple 'no' would've been enough. Instead, the girl had coughed up blood and passed out.
Neo clenched her hand at the memory. At the blood on Saffre's hand and her quiet 'oh' before she collapsed.
Not only that, but she had apologized to her!
Neo bit her lip.
Her voice had been so quiet… Saffre looked so pathetic lying on her bed, face pale… Bright blue eyes showing genuine sadness for having passed out.
She didn't understand why Saffre felt the need to do everything Neo asked her to do. Neo still didn't understand why she was still waiting outside Saffre's room.
And the way Saffre had begun undressing, completely indifferent to Neo's presence in her room… How she had removed her silver waistcoat before undoing the belt on her pants… The way her pants accentuated her figure as—
Neo shook her head.
Saffre was weird.
She glanced up at the door, wondering if the girl was done getting dressed.
Approaching, Neo knocked three times before slowly opening the door.
The room was noticeably warmer than the hallway. Something Neo had noticed as she brought Saffre back to her room was how the girl's body heat was almost uncomfortably hot.
Peering inside, the walls were the same brick as the rest of the warehouse as Saffre's room was a repurposed office space. Walls bare, sparsely furnished with only the essentials, there was faint light filtering in through the curtains, giving the room indirect light. Neo looked around and spotted her.
Saffre was on the floor by her dresser.
Throwing open the door Neo rushed over to the collapsed girl. She was still breathing. Shaking her shoulder Saffre gave a quiet groan before looking at Neo, giving her a small smile before she grimaced.
Neo bit the inside of her cheek.
Hooking Saffre's arm over her shoulder, Neo helped the girl back to her bed, lightly noticing that Saffre was only a little bit taller than herself.
At least she had been able to change out into her pajamas, something she had insisted she needed to do.
Lying on the bed, Saffre gave her another tiny smile. "Thank you Neo," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Neo gave her a smile back, still not understanding what she was currently feeling.
She was cold.
Saffre began shivering under her blanket, clenching her eyes shut as a bolt of pain shot through her head.
Opening her eyes again Saffre turned her head to Neo, trying her best to give her a reassuring smile.
It was rare for Saffre to overexert her powers… She had forgotten how much it sucked. Her core body temperature was currently far above normal for a human, leaving her with a sense of a scorching hot fire in her core while also feeling freezing on the outside.
It wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Neo watched her silently for a few moments before she stood up and walked away.
'She probably has something more important to do,' Saffre thought, feeling a pang of sadness at being left alone again.
At least Neo had gave her some company for a little while.
Closing her eyes Saffre tried to focus on something else besides her current pain.
…
Neo was nice.
Watching Neo when the two of them were sent out together was amazing. The way she used her illusions to misdirect their opponents, her fluid dance like movements as she effortlessly fought using her parasol… It was a joy to watch. Especially when compared to Saffre's more direct fighting style. The way Saffre fought, it was as a tool performing a task. The way Neo fought; it was a performance.
Hearing footsteps enter her room Saffre opened her eyes.
It was Neo. She had brought a thick blanket with her.
Why did she go get a blanket?
Saffre's eyes widened as Neo threw the heavy blanket over her, adjusting it to properly cover her body.
She got the blanket for her?
Snuggling herself into the blankets, Saffre looked up at her and gave her a smile, her shivering subsiding.
Neo gave her a grin back.
Author's Note:
Happy New Year everyone!
I really enjoyed writing the interactions and scenes with Neo and Saffre. As always, Comments, questions, suggestions, etc. are always appreciated.
Thanks for reading!