Chapter 20: Hush and Blush
Rated M. Substance detailed in chapter are known carcinogens and should not be inhaled or dealt with by persons lacking appropriate training and protective equipment.
NEOPOLITAN
He slammed her down on the table, not that her flailing pins-and-needles legs had been doing much to find the mechanism to unleash her arms kept underneath. Her awkward backwards-tumble had pinched a nerve in her neck; combined with muscular atrophy from her extended confinement it made a dissociating numbness throughout her body. Furthermore, what precious little air had been in her lungs was forcefully expelled by the impact, causing her to wince for a moment. She willed her eyes back open to keep Adam in her sight. Her body might be willing to give up but her flagging spirit - her aura - was still fighting. Not enough left to use any fancy semblance tricks, though I doubt they'd do me much good now anyways. Her gambit with her semblance had relied on him not knowing she was still lashed to the table; with that secret revealed, all the illusions in the world wouldn't help her against the tall brute. How did I screw this up so badly, she wondered. Maybe she hadn't counted on his faunus senses well enough. That was hard to do when she wasn't a faunus herself. Perhaps she had overestimated his anger at her, or maybe she had simply underestimated his bestial cunning. Her plan to show him that she was still potent despite her predicament, to trick him into destroying her bonds, flopped; just like her.
In the end, she couldn't live up to the stories Roman had told her of the marvellous matadors of Vacuo. Roman had often told her how he had lost most of his personal inherited fortune, gambling it away on those bouts of bloodsport. He'd insisted that if she were to learn anything from him, it was that it was never wise to gamble - if one could avoid it - for anything more serious than pleasure.
"I may be a gamblin' man, but even I know there are some bets you just don't take..."
To her relief, Adam threw aside her cattle-prod. At least he didn't seem to be planning on using that on her anytime soon. A small comfort. "Your semblance is back, you're getting better." He stated, his large hand pressing down on her gut with pressure just shy of what she would find painful. "So tell me, Neopolitan. Do you want to help me find Cinder? Do you accept my terms: you'll serve me, you'll do what I say, and when we find Cinder, you'll stay your blade until I say otherwise?"
Neo held his gaze and bit her lip, delaying her response. I thought I had already agreed to that, but I hate hearing him insist on delaying Cinder's comeuppance. It occurred to her that maybe he thought she hadn't been fully aware of what she was agreeing to the last time he had asked it of her; she had been deliriously ill. Just as she resolved to agree to his terms again to ensure her longevity, he tired of waiting on her and bent down and picked up Torchwick's hat.
Rising back up - after seemingly missing her quick capitulating head nod - he placed the token of her treasured memories over her head. "He'd agree that it's the smart move to play the long game."
Stupid faunus, what do you know about what Torchwick would do? Roman would do whatever was necessary to profit, whatever was best for us, whatever would get his name in the papers. Of course, he was gone now. Dead. It was Cinder's fault, and yet here Adam was, telling her to stay her sword! She was all alone in her quest. All alone... just like at home or school: surrounded by fools who didn't understand her, couln't entertain her. I hate this! Her eyes stung with furious tears.
"Last chance, Neo: are you out?" His hand drifted down her body, smoothly slipping along the last bit of her abdomen, "or are you in?" His meaty finger laid a tantalizing swipe along her femininity, making her breathe in sharply. He's dumb and stupid and tall and mean but... at least I don't hate that part of this relationship. She nodded to herself, remembering the intoxicating sensation of being hit by his bright semblance; Adam might resemble Roman a bit, but he's still a world apart from my beloved mentor. Still, it might not be so bad to see where this goes.
Besides, what other option did she have? She let her eyelids flutter shut.
Until I have the chance to take my precious revenge, at least. She just needed the freedom to distract Adam, find Cinder first, and do what she wanted to do.
"Still not willing to talk?" His finger pressed a tad more into her treacherous wetness, causing her to let out a raspy grunt. It's been months since I've had it properly, she justified, haven't even been able to take care of myself while I've been stuck like this... I want to touch it, I want him to touch it more, I want to touch him!
Losing herself in her hormone-fuelled desires, she didn't see him raise his sword. Only when he uttered "so be it" did her eyes flash open, widening as they focused on the red blur of his sword coming down.
The table shook as the sudden cut tore a gash in the metal, a literal hot knife. He kept it honed to a razor edge, and it had proven he could cut through near-most anything if he willed it to. The ring of the strike faded into the absorbent walls. Adam slowly stepped away from the table, staring in shock at the sword he held in his hands, as if he couldn't believe what he had done to her. For her own part, she stared at him as well, her own eyes frozen wide in surprise. Sure, he had told her he would do it, but she had doubted him. It was such an insane thing to say to her, she hadn't given it any possibility of being true. If she had said it in his position, it would have just been a hollow statement, an expected part of interrogation.
For all of that, he'd gone and done it.
With her rubbery-numb legs she weakly rose up off the table, slick with her fluids, and fully intended to stand straight and short before him to show that despite everything he had done, she could muster some strength yet. Instead, her pins-and-needles degenerated to full-on frailty. Her lethargic legs gave out at the knees, causing her to stumble and collapse to the floor, face-first. Instincts wanted to bring her hands up to break her fall but her body couldn't comply. She squeaked in panic as her face approached the floor.
Breaking from his torpid reverie, Adam swooped in and caught her before she could be harmed by the faceplant. He laid her down on the ground, gently, upon some of the various scattered pillows. His voice came a moment later, quietly, "I thought you were supposed to be graceful?" He rose back up and stepped back to resume his observation of her.
Under better circumstances, she raged, I'm a fucking ballerina. She rocked herself onto her side like a worm and glared at him. It probably would have been intimidating if she wasn't helpless on the floor, completely naked, limbs askew. It might have been intimidating against a lesser opponent but Adam was a few tiers above the rabble she had caroused with in Vale. He wasn't afraid of the glower from a girl who couldn't stand, couldn't even wipe the fresh tears from her eyes.
Adam stepped forward, now looming over her like a vulture. Unable to move more than twitch, she felt like little more than carrion. She was exhausted: her spirit and body both. She was defeated, wasn't she? From the floor, she could think of no way to reclaim anything resembling her lost prestige. He tossed a blanket onto the table, and a pillow.
"Anyways, seems like your arms and legs are a bit sore from being cooped up in here for so long. Maybe you should have thought of that before trying to stand up immediately after I released you..." He paused. "Maybe I shouldn't have let you roll off the table like that. Mines, I'm not even sure freeing you was a good idea, but trust has to start somewhere between us. I guess it's up to me to take that step?"
Maybe you shouldn't have kept me 'cooped up in here for so long' in the first place! It was his fault! You even denied me the opportunity to get free on my own! Deny my revenge, deny my freedom, deny my freedom to fight for my own freedom! Adam had deviously undermined her entire scheme by slashing through her final restraint of his own accord. How could she try to be treated as an equal partner in their hunt for Cinder when he kept demonstrating that she was at his complete mercy? Dependent on his foul charity! Roman and I were always a team, making each other better, never using or abusing our friendship! Never competing for superiority over the other. That's what made us the best. With Adam, she felt as trapped now by his overwhelming presence as when she had been tied up.
Even unrestrained, she didn't have control over her own means of release.
He approached her, seeming to instinctively intuit her desire to have some smidgen of seemliness in her subjugating situation, and shoved his incredibly muscle-toned arms under her petite frame and lifted her up to his chiselled chest. She tried not to be distracted by the sheen of sweat that covered his bare pectorals, and was partially-successful. Keeping me naked, coming in here wearing next to nothing, he wants me to look! She justified, willing to enjoy his exhibition of his body even if that was part of his bullish strategy to keep her cowed. Somewhere in that is a joke about his faunus trait, she thought, but was too distracted by the feeling of her body being held against his scarred, hairless form to come up with something with proper zest. Instead, all she could think about was how warm his skin felt against her.
Even liberated, she didn't have control over her own need for release. Her pent-up desire that made her wonder if she would flee even if her legs weren't slick with her own fluids.
"I guess I should see what I can do to get you walking again. Lot of stuff to do today, and I need you to be mobile for what I have planned of your talents."
He won't even let me have the dignity of standing up without him! 'Oh, look at me, I'm Adam Taurus, I'm better than you, so strong, so sexy, holding you in my arms, your entire world, toned body sparkling in the fluorescent light, ruffled red hair...'
His holding her, bridal-style, ended as he lay her down on the table and began massaging her ankles. She very much wanted to be angry at him, but that was a difficult feat when his hands performed so well on her numb extremities.
"I've some experience dealing with cage-syndrome like this. I'm sure there's an actual name for it but that's just what I've always called it." He paused, hesitating as he focused on how his hand pressed against her skin. He gulped audibly. "We need to promote the blood flow back here, get the nerves firing again. Can you feel this?" He stroked firmly up the side of her leg towards her knee.
Neo nodded. She certainly felt it a little, and truthfully wouldn't mind feeling more. His hands began to roam up and down her legs, her arms, slowly becoming more accustomed to feeling her as he coaxed her nerves and sinew to wake up after their extended period of neglect, helping her stretch for the first time in ages. She wondered what Adam had in store for her today, and whether she could delay those torments by feigning immobility. The pins-and-needles effect in her arms and leg was irritating, itchy, but Adam's ministrations were making them fade. As fun as it would be to let him rub my legs for a few hours, I should make some attempt to get back in shape. I'm not sure how long his patience for me will last. More than that, if she planned to execute her vengeance on Cinder (whether or not Adam gave her the green-light), she would need to be able to move if she was going to stay one step ahead of the bull. She would need to be able to fight. Vengeance required that she be in peak condition - Cinder was no pushover. She tried stretching her leg, resulting in a spastic twitching motion. At least I can still move it after being tied to a table for so long. Things could be worse. He could have followed through on that threat to dismember her. He could have been zapping her with the cattle-prod. She tried to wiggle her fingers, with little success. If he had chopped her up, she would have been helpless like this forever - a terrifying thought. She'd struggled enough as it was without a voice.
"So what was all that about? Burning through all your aura on your semblance like that. I thought we were working together towards a common goal. We don't have time to mess around, Neo. Every moment we delay is a chance for someone else to find Cinder before we do." He wrapped his hands around her wrists, then ran them up the length of her arm. Little flashes of light flared like twinkling stars in the periphery of Neo's vision as the pleasurable movement reached the sensitive region under her arms and overwhelmed her, making her lightheaded and struggling to stave off unconsciousness' alluring charm. Why am I so tired? I've been sleeping constantly for days. She focused on Adam, cajoling herself to stay attentive and awake.
She considered his words. It would be a shame if someone killed Cinder before I do, Neo wearily conceded. Though killing her in a prison cell would still feel pretty good, if it came to that possibility. Neo imagined the police's surprise to find Cinder dissected in her cell in the morning as they came in to eat their donuts and drink their coffee or whatever they did here in Mistral. On the other hand, there was a substantial bounty on her. Adam had a bit of lien, but she wouldn't mind more if she wanted to retire before age thirty. The posted images of Cinder's face through Mistral had showcased the government's willingness to provide her that, if she managed to bring the terrorist in.
Adam kept talking, his voice keeping her from drifting off too far into the realm of dreamy fantasies. "I'm going to need that nifty semblance of yours, so from now on you don't waste it like that, okay?"
Neo pouted at that. She didn't like the idea of having to ask permission to use her semblance. Who was he to tell her how to do her thing? He was trying to restrict her, just like her parents used to!
Adam's hands reached her shoulders and kept going, the pair of them finding themselves easily encircling her neck and reminding her of how he had choked her after revealing that he had escaped his captivity on the table. Her muscles tensed up, numb as they were, as adrenaline began to pump through her veins; that sweet memory of panic and fear welling up inside of her, exciting her.
Tingles blossomed through her nerves from where he gripped her, his hands firm but not cutting off airflow or circulation through her neck. Normally she liked having a bit more control, a bit more agency, but the way he was just touching her was irresistibly arousing. Maybe it's because I've been so dry lately. Maybe if I agree to let him make use of my semblance, I can ask the same of him? As nice as that thought was for Neo to consider, the situation around her spoke a different tale. She was his prisoner still, even if he had freed her, because she had lacked the means to demonstrate her strength to him when the opportunity presented itself, despite her careful planning and skilled use of her semblance. There was just too much of a power imbalance between them for her to ask that, right? I'm just a tool to him, she thought sadly, useful and lovely, but less than a person. He was viewing her just like her mother had!
Maybe I should have disguised myself as a faunus instead of capturing him... but he probably would have seen through that shortly after I began such a ruse. It's not like I can see in the dark, and if he touched any illusionary faunus trait they'd probably shatter! As a human, as his instrument, he won't accept my feelings as more important than his own goals. Hush wouldn't ask to let it hold her and ram her through some snitch that had tattled to the police about what it may or may not have seen Roman doing in the dead of night; why would Adam see her differently than how she viewed her precious weapon? Somehow I have to find a way to be more to him, she concluded.
"Okay?" He snaked his fingers up around the base of her head and forced her to look directly into his eye. So clear blue, like a precious sapphire jewel.
Neo nodded; at least, she tried to, but his unflinching grip prevented her from moving. The pressure of her attempted motion was understood by the man, though.
"Good." Adam's hold on her relented, and he returned his hands to the task of massaging her forearms. "Though if you're going to work for me, I'd appreciate a bit more of a verbal response in the future."
Ugh. Stupid faunus. Refusing to accept her mutism. Haranguing her to the point that she might almost even believe that he knew, and just was taking a cruel pleasure in taunting her with it. He was scolding her just like her father had!
Neo used her semblance to conjure the image of her scroll on her stomach, which he saw and considered briefly. If you want me to talk, give me my scroll. That is how I spoke at you from the start. It was like he had completely forgotten the mechanical tones of her interrogation. Maybe he associates that voice with the pain of torture? He didn't know that the scroll had other voice settings. Her favourite for more... personal encounters... had always been an enticing female pitch that had been modeled after a talented vocalist famous in Vale, famous for her work on themes for popular animated scroll shows. When she heard her words being spoken by that voice, she felt like it should have been hers all along. She felt - dare she say it - normal. Or at least, less atypical.
Maybe I should explain to him that I can't talk? A simple subtitle, 'I AM MUTE', would clear the situation right up. The thought had run through her mind while she had been trapped on the table often enough, while she was waiting for her semblance to return to her. That was before her aura had regenerated, though, and before she had been released from those wretched restraints. Before she had taken the time to think through what revealing her disability would lead to. Telling Adam that she was mute? That would mean admitting that she was inherently weaker than other humans, that working with her would be a further burden. She was already being carried around by him because she couldn't walk; would begging for assistance in talking be asking too much of him, the final straw that would push it too far? Besides Roman, everyone else in her life that should have taken care of her had discarded her when she became too much trouble. Mother. Father. She remembered his threat to discard his interest in working with her and go to Emerald Sustrai instead. Adam had other options besides her. Worse options, of course, but options nonetheless which eroded her own utility. Her only option was to somehow make sure he chose her. The less reason she gave him to pursue alternate resources, the longer she would live. The longer she lived, the more chance she would have to get her revenge upon Cinder. His faunus-supremacist tendencies couldn't possibly see her in a positive light if she kept flaunting her species' vulnerabilities. There was no way he'd ever accept her as an equal, a partner, if she couldn't even claim to be on par with the human average.
If she wasn't his partner, then she would never be able to get him to use that newly discovered ability of his to make her body come alive with pleasure. Better to pretend that I'm simply choosing not to talk; he already seems to think I'm just playing tough. With my scroll in hand, he'll not even notice; especially if I get some distance between us and just keep in contact via texts...
Notifying him when she had found a clue or lead.
Informing him when she had a need for more lien or his faunus brutishness to deal with an obstacle.
Calling him when she had a want for - Neo's thought strayed again, her eyes wandering down his abs as they flexed with his movements - more intimate explorations of our relationship.
They didn't always need to have physical distance between them, right? Surely, even if she didn't beg to taste his semblance again, he would want to - at regular intervals - explore his sexuality with someone more... receptive to such desires than what he had told her Blake had been willing to be for him. Failing that, a new semblance ability was a curiosity that the possessor was always keen to become comfortable with using. Neo's gaze continued down past his firm stomach to his undershorts, whereupon she spied a sight that made her regret her solo adventure through the wilderness to get to Mistral. If only I'd had Adam with me, then, she lamented, for Adam clearly knew how to pitch a tent (with little more than his undershorts!), and she had found herself desperately wanting for such sturdy shelter often during her cold and miserably lonely travels.
Unconcerned or unaware of the direction of her hungry gaze - since he seemed determined to avoid staring at his subject's exposed, lithe form or her bewitching eyes as he worked on her limbs - Adam now massaged her ankles. His eyes had spotted the appearance of the ghostly copy of her scroll on her stomach, and now his eyes fled from the pale flesh that remained once her aura depleted and the illusion dispersed into pink shards; his face now having something in common with the name of Wilt's sheath. "No, you don't get your scroll until you've proven your dedication to cooperation."
Neo rolled her eyes and shakily brought her arms over her chest, crossing them over her breasts. How do I do that without my scroll? He's being impossible!
He noticed the movement of her arms and smiled. He reached up and grabbed them, possibly intending to rub them more or maybe disliking her hiding her breasts from his peripheral view, pulling them away from her chest. She resisted as best she could, and upon feeling the first hint of her feeble resistance he relented and let her arms fall back over her nipples. "Well, at least your arms are moving a bit better now. I've seen this sort of thing before, when I rescued my people from crates that humans had put them in for transportation to fresh slavepits."
She thought of all the faunus she had ever met in Vale. Most of them had been White Fang members, others were impoverished dregs of society's lowest rung working for Junior's underlings. She couldn't imagine them being in crates so long that their limbs were numb like this. She had never given much thought to the specisism that Adam's movement fought against in society... she had been too busy having her own fun. Outside of their time working with the White Fang at Cinder's insistence, Torchwick and she had never really associated with faunus. Out of sight, out of mind. When forced to work with the faunus, Roman had had no respect for them whatsoever. Neo thought about the table she lay upon, the things Roman's family had used it for, and realized that he had probably inherited a bit of his distaste for the faunus from them. Had Roman passed that on to her? Was her own subconscious specisism responsible for her current plight? She certainly couldn't admit to having any faunus friends.
"How are your legs feeling?"
She shrugged, gesturing with her hand that they were so-so. She pointed at her legs and he took the hint to continue rubbing them. She let her head lie back, allowing herself to enjoy the moment. She might not know what would happen afterwards, or even how much longer this moment would stretch out, but it was nice. Not great, but nice. Some quality oil would have helped, maybe some candles to conceal the foul smell of sweat and worse.
He had been massaging her, stroking her legs and arms gently, for a while now. I wish I knew what time, what day, it is. If Neo was being honest, she could probably stand up now without falling down again. That didn't mean she wouldn't milk the opportunity for a free massage for all that it was worth. She exaggerated the weakness of her legs, letting them move only a fraction of a bit to emphasize how vulnerable her internment had made her. He refocused his attention there, grasping her thighs and squeezing her limbs like tubes of toothpaste, trying to force the blood and feeling back into her out-of-practice muscles.
If Roman could see her now... he would have never stood for her letting herself get so weak. So destitute and powerless. Screw it, Neo thought. She owed it to Roman's memory to at least try to negotiate for better terms. She conjured the image of herself on all fours, a metal link-chain connecting a collar around her neck to his hand. She imagined a red slash over the image, designating it as distasteful to her. I don't want to be a slave to you, Taurus, she was trying to communicate. She swapped that image to one of herself, standing beside him, shaking hands with Adam. I'll be your partner. Even if she didn't feel like his equal now, she realized that she was better off asking and being refused than never asking and letting him dictate the terms of their relationship. Just because I can't speak doesn't mean I won't bargain.
Adam hummed as he watched the images shift. "I think I've figured out what your little charade earlier was all about. Let me know if I'm right. You thought that if you got free by tricking me into cutting the bonds that I'd treat you like an equal?" Adam pondered for a moment, then continued, ""the way I've always seen it, it doesn't matter how you achieve freedom; all that matters is that you are free. If the faunus let me free them because I am strong enough to fight for them, so be it. If you trick me into freeing you then it is just as liberating as if you had struck off your own chains. Or if I slashed the bonds apart for you of my own will like I did. The end result is more important than the means: and you are free, now." He paused. "I am in charge, though, and you'll do well to remember that. No more fighting against me, my plan, or my goals."
He worked his hands down to the stretch of leg between her ankle and knee.
"The things I do for the faunus won't matter after we've put your species in their place. I'll let later generations worry about whether what I've done is moral, whether it was right. I'm doing what is necessary for my people. They won't forget what I do for them, even if they condemn me for it when they have the freedom to do so." He paused, then added as an afterthought while poking the image of them shaking hands so that it shattered, "also, you're nowhere near that tall beside me. You're more like, this tall." He indicated a much lower spot than where her imaginary head had been.
Neo conjured an image of his grimm mask, though her ability to maintain it ended after only a couple of seconds. Seems like you've accepted, even revelled, in your own immoral methods.
He regarded it, his mouth a thin line, speaking only after it faded. "Maybe I did become a monster along the way, but at least in a world teeming with grimm and humans-" he squeezed down on her a bit harder, as if to acknowledge her humanity with a pinch, "-I'm not the worst of the lot."
He flipped her over onto her belly, letting his hands run up and down her spine, pressing her stomach and chest into the blanket.
"At least I have a goal." His hands rubbed the nape of her neck, stroking her vertebra, making her hum happily into the pillow.
"At least I have a reason for fighting." His hands trailed down her spine and found themselves squeezing her butt. "What are the grimm doing? They just destroy without purpose. What does Cinder have? She just wants to burn the world, as far as I know. I need to know who started the fire, what they have to gain from what they sent Cinder to accomplish. I've got leads on Cinder's organization; I need her to tell me what they are."
Roman had mentioned people that Cinder worked for, Neo remembered. Shadows even he seemed to fear.
He pushed her onto her side and patted her on the thigh. Neo sat up, with less difficulty than she thought she would have, and clumsily wrapped her arms around the nearest thick arm attending to her leg. Once she'd achieved a solid grapple, she pulled herself towards him and pressed her face against his warm bicep.
"Feeling better?"
Neo had felt worse. She created, in sparkling pink font, the word 'AGENDA?' on the nearest padded wall for him to read, pointing at it so that he noticed.
He suspiciously regarded her, maybe sensing a feint to allow her a surprise attack, but eventually looked at the wall. After squinting at the letters with his good eye, he responded, "the goal is to find Cinder. The quickest way to do that is to get in contact with the local underworld information brokers. My sources inform me the one known as Little Miss Malachite is the best, but is racist against faunus such as me. That's where you come in. What will that require?"
Neo managed to stifle her reaction at hearing that name. When Malachite had come to Vale looking to expand her gang's territory, it had been Neo and Roman who'd inadvertently foiled her plans – to save their own skins, mostly, not out of any altruism or sense of lawfulness. In the years since then, that wound had scabbed over: Malachite's daughters had certainly implied as much by their willingness to hang out with Neo at Junior's club. The Spyders might not have taken over Vale's criminal enterprises, but they had ended up forming a lasting partnership with Junior's gang – and in the end, that had given Malachite the power boost she'd been after.
Neo pulled herself off of Adam's shoulder. Malachite had resources in Mistral. Neo had gotten focused on Adam when she'd seen him on the train, but there were other avenues available to exploit in the hunt. Especially if this warm, muscled brute insists on treating me as a slave! Malachite could help her find Cinder, too, and without all this nonsense about not chopping her up and getting paid for the bounty.
On the other hand, she was slightly impressed that Adam had the wherewithal to seek out – or even know about – Malachite, and the stuff he'd mentioned about Cinder's organization... Roman's revenge should probably be extended all the way up that organization's hierarchy, right?
Neo hid a smirk as a devious plan formed in her mind. Adam knew about the Spyders, but he didn't know that Neo knew about the Spyders. She changed the writing on the wall to 'LIEN FOR BRIBES, FOOD'. Before anything else, she'd need to recharge herself so that she could fuel her semblance – even the little floating texts on the wall were hard enough to maintain long enough for the illiterate one-eyed faunus to read them. Once she was fed, she'd make a show about working on Adam's behalf to find the information broker he needed, all the while milking him for everything he had.
I'll have my beefcake, and eat it, too!
He frowned for a second, then nodded, as if the thought of him feeding her displeased him. "Alright. I can arrange that. You get dressed, I'll get some lien from my wallet, we can finally start making some progress here again. Anything else you need?" He stood up.
'WHERE WILL YOU BE?'
"Perhaps best you don't know that... trust still feels kind of one-sided here."
Trust was asking a lot, given the circumstances. She couldn't do much to fix that! Familiarity, though...
Neo stood up on the table so that she was a few inches taller than Adam standing on the floor. Her body might be feeling several degrees better than it had been for days, but she did still feel like a test of her core talents was in order. She and Roman had been the greatest crime-duo in Vale, able to steal anything they wanted.
So, as he turned back towards her after reading her previous text illusion, she stole a kiss; lunging forward and pressing her face into his.
"Mmmph!" Adam blurted in alarm, his hands going for the hilt of his sword. Neo, feminine predatory instincts alive in her, reached for his sheathed weapon as well.
As Adam's hands gripped on the handle of Wilt, Neo's fingers delved down into his underwear and grazed against his more dangerous armament, the one she'd been thirsting for since first she'd stripped him bare. She heard Wilt partially emerge from its sheath but didn't stop her assault; instead, she stuck her tongue out and lapped against his closed lips. Her thoughts of asking him to use his semblance on her faded, replaced by primal lust for him that had been bubbling within her. She opened her eyes and saw that his beautiful blue eye was wide, pupil dilated as he stared at her in a state of shock. Neo realized that while he may have power over her liberation and brute physical strength that she lacked, that didn't mean she lacked other kinds of power.
She reached her other hand down and grasped the hem of his underwear, pulling down at it. Alas, her short stature meant that she couldn't do more than make a futile push against it. To pull it down properly, she would have to break her mouth's connection to his in order to lower herself down further. Unacceptable! She had to maintain the kiss. So long as their mouths were connected, they were equal: both mute. She used her hand to tap against him, indicating her distress that his garment had the audacity to remain in place to obstruct him from her.
"Mmmph?" Adam hummed, still confused by the sudden intimacy.
Useless, stupid faunus, do I have to do everything?
She raised one of her feet up, her hand wrapping around Adam's chiselled chest to his back in order to keep her balance as she stood on one foot. She wedged her dangling foot into the hem of his underpants and forced it down to his thighs, letting his faunus pride spring forth for her to admire freely with her hand. I don't care if I am treated as your pet, this is mine! Neo preened victoriously.
Adam's hand left the handle of his sword and, with both of his hands, gripped Neo by the head and pulled her away from his face.
He looked from side to side as the meat between his ears worked at full capacity to understand the situation; finally, his eye focused on her. "Well, alright then." He leaned in and opened his mouth.
Neo let him explore her mouth with his tongue while her foot and hands stretched lower to explore his erection. His tongue swirled around inside her mouth, pressing against the roof. Her own tongue poked curiously at its new roommate. Overall she had to admit that he wasn't great at kissing. Definitely demonstrating his inexperience. At least his equipment below indicated a willingness to grow into its full potential quickly!
I can work with that, she thought cheerfully. He still had a toned body, a lustrous eye, a solid dick and a fun semblance. So what if she'd have to spend some time teaching him the finer elements to using his tongue? Yes! I can make this work for me very easily.
Not fond of lying on the table himself, and finding their standing position awkward, Adam lifted her up. Reaching his hands around her thighs, he picked her up off the table before laying down slowly on the mass of pillows and blankets spread out on the floor, letting her sit on his toned abs as he kept their mouths connected. She began shimmying away from his face, leaving a viscid line of clear fluids over his hard stomach as she let her hips travel down towards his. Unwilling to end the novelty of kissing her, Adam bent forward more, curling forward like a crescent around her.
As he felt the warmth of her body touch against his smooth head he let out a heavy gasp and ended the kiss. "Neo..." he said, "there's still one or two condoms left in your purse outside..."
She shook her head.
She leaned back to exhibit herself to him; with a flourish of her hand, 'TRUST' appeared on her stomach, which she pointed to with a devilish grin.
"I'm not sure if I can-" Adam started, but Neo cut him off by lunging back towards him, grabbing his horns as sturdy handles and pulling his mouth back to hers while she shoved her rump further away. With long-anticipated yearning she felt him slide against her, pressing against her inviting bared folds, his tip brushing against her clit and making her moan into his mouth. She reached one of her hands down for a moment and guided him to her entrance.
Enjoy your last moment as a virgin, Adam Taurus.
As her tongue squirmed into his mouth, she felt him tremble as he felt himself be surrounded by her. She swayed her hips a little, encouraging him deeper into her. One of his hands went up to his head, covering hers where it still held onto his horn. She held onto his faunus trait with a vice-like grip, making him relent after briefly trying to motion her to let him go. Or maybe, as he growled softly, he had other concerns on his mind as she rolled her hips from left to right, sinking well past his crown and sliding down his shaft.
Her tongue slipped out of his mouth and she began using it to trace down his neck, letting herself get a better angle, more leverage, to engulf more of him with her sex as he laid down flat on the blankets rather than staying curved over her. So tall. She tried to think of a guy she had been with who came close to Adam's height. I guess Junior himself was pretty tall, but I never had to work with him like this. She giggled at the thought of Miltia and Melanie finding if she'd slept with Junior. Oh, they'd not have liked that. Roman wouldn't have been too keen on it, either. She wondered what Roman would have thought of her current situation.
"Hmmm?" Adam questioned, hearing her giggle.
She nuzzled against his neck and continued wiggling her hips until she had finally made it to his base, enjoying the sensation of his firm member filling her up. She made a contented rumble in her throat, purring her satisfaction.
"Neo, this feels so... very... mmmm"
Not so articulate now, with that cock where it belongs, are you? Neo thought to herself, adoring how her intimidating intimate shuddered with her every slow movement. She smirked, time to get to business! She wanted that semblance, she wanted - needed - that feeling again. She rose herself up, instantly feeling the void aching to have him back fully inside her, and with a sloppy, wet smack Neo slammed back down.
Adam's eyes shot open, a wheeze escaping his mouth at the impact. "It's all... oh, oh, that's tight-" up, down, "-and wet-" up, down, "and warm!"
Her hips began a regular motion, rising and falling on him, eliciting deep rumbles of pleasure from his throat. He fell back, flat on the blanket. She let her hands run along his muscular chest, along his arms as they circled around to embrace her. He pressed her chest to his, squishing her breasts against himself.
"You're so beautiful," he laboured to say, blushing all over his body as she continued to steadily increase her pace. "I mean, for a human and ugh-!"
She chose to not pay attention to that last bit. In and out, out and in, Neo preened as pleasure continued to radiate up from where their bodies met. She'd thoroughly drenched his member, excess droplets dripping down to stain the blanket beneath them.
After a while of that Adam curled back up, using his renewed leverage to press her down and hold her firmly in place with himself completely inside her. Unable to continue pistoning, she began gyrating her hips in a circle, letting him reach heretofore unexplored spots as his dick tilted left, back, right, forward, left... she hummed her approval, and he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. She grabbed him by the horns and gently turned his head more to the side so that she could nibble on his earlobe.
He liked that.
"Neo, oh, my ear, I think..." She felt him buck up below, evidently beginning to get close. The thought of him releasing his seed, unprotected, into her, made her shiver. She had always used protection in Vale – Mother and Father routinely denied her freedom to have any fun away from the estate. Her parents weren't here to stop her now; the times had changed. Here she was, having sex with a faunus. Here she was, having sex with a raw dick.
Fantasizing about what colour their half-breed child's eyes would be.
Adam was clearly having his own crisis underneath her. His hands gripped her waist and exerted a modicum of pressure to demonstrate that he, on some still-rational level, didn't want to finish inside of her. Her legs, wrapped around and underneath him in a lover's twist, prevented him from getting her off of him without a bit of effort. Adam clearly wasn't sure if he wanted to expend the effort, the new situation confusing and exciting for him.
The moment was quickly approaching where Adam could make a choice that would have long consequences for himself and Neo, but his mind seemed to be stalled in inactivity while his body seemed content in its activity pounding up into her. His motions began to lose all sense of rhythm, becoming more and more desperate.
Neo realized that it was her that had control over the choice, that Adam was trusting her to make the decision. Neo frowned; she hadn't come yet, as good as it had felt. She needed more time, she needed more attention, she needed his semblance. Was Adam just too much of an amateur to participate equally in their coupling, or had experiencing his semblance just ruined her? She began to worry that she might never be able to experience release without his semblance. The thought made her a bit angry. She had done most of the work, his current efforts moving his hips frantically beneath her notwithstanding. Didn't she deserve to be rewarded with the release she craved?
Imbalance. Neo realized what she could do with the situation.
She suddenly sprung up off of Adam.
"O-okay, it feels like something is rising up, I don't know, I haven't ever... strange..." he stumbled with his words, somewhat incoherent in the throes of physical passion.
Neo shifted so that she was between his legs and gripped him with both hands, one hand tightly around his shaft while the other massaged his heavy balls. With a sadistic grin that Adam couldn't see while lying back with his eye ecstatically shut, she patted her palm against his dangling fruit while stroking him firmly - happy to note that her middle finger and thumb were just about wide enough to completely encircle his circumference. This was all inside me, she thought proudly, before resuming her dark design. She stroked faster.
"Neo, Neo! It's.. Its!" Adam's eye shot open and he looked down at her. "...I'm!"
Perfect timing.
She felt his testicles contract, squeezing his fertile faunus flood forth up the shaft, eager to flow out into the world.
Oh no, what's this? She squeezed her fingers around tightly on his bulging shaft, prohibiting penile projection. Not yet, not yet.
"Neo, what are you doing? It's stuck in there, let go," he demanded, his hands coming down to try to pull at hers. She brought her other hand onto the shaft and tightened the grip. "Dammit, what the... argh!" Adam's face contorted in frustration as she continued to deny him. "...it hurts!"
She nodded to the side, where her semblance created the image again of the two of them shaking hands side-by-side. Partner, not servant!
He groaned, agonized. "You're still on about that?" She gripped him tighter, making him wince. She literally had him by the balls - best employment contract negotiation technique, ever! "We're NOT killing Cinder!" He said.
Her grip didn't abate, because she could wait.
"We need her to tell her everything she knows about the people she works for," Adam continued, his hands unsure of what to do as he realized that he couldn't just yank her fingers off of his prized manhood without hurting himself. "So we have to do things my way, but I'm not making you a slave..."
Neo leaned in and licked at his balls, relishing the taste of herself that coated them after riding him. They contracted again; apparently they hadn't gotten the memo that there was a traffic jam further up the line.
"Fine!" Adam cried, "fine, partners, but unless you have a better plan then we're doing my way. If you think of something you believe will work better, then tell me and we ... discuss it until we're both... satisfied?"
That's all I wanted, Neo thought as she released her hold on him. Just a bit of respect and agency in this new life with you. She brought her mouth up from its attention to his balls so that she could wrap her lips around the crown of his turgid erection.
Adam shouted out her name as he shot several streams of his appreciation for her affections into her mouth.
Panting, he patted her on the head. "Yeah... that was amazing... and if you want to suggest changes to the plan, I'd be happy to hear you say it whenever you want."
As she tasted his release on her tongue, she realized two things: firstly, she wasn't all too fond of the taste of faunus spunk. Maybe it was just her preconceived notion of the species, but her first experience of it seemed rather gamey and thick. Not at all like what she had become accustomed to with previous liaisons. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, with mounting annoyance she realized he expected her to speak her mind when his plans didn't suit her.
Stupid faunus! She thought while coughing and spitting his excessive contribution out of her mouth. I can't speak!
Adam stood up, ignorant of her irritation, "I'm going to go get lien from my wallet; this was nice and all but we still have stuff to do today, so get cleaned up."
She wanted to ask him why he hadn't been nice enough to use his semblance on her again. Maybe he didn't want me passing out? She couldn't figure out how to communicate that question to him, either. What would she call it? She couldn't figure out a way to portray it with pictures, and he was too slow a reader for her aura to keep up a lengthy illusion long enough for him to grasp. And then he was gone out the door, leaving her alone on the floor in a huddle of soggy blankets.
She collapsed into the heap and sighed. Oh well, at least I made a bit of progress today. She'd get there eventually.
BRAZEN
He closed the door behind himself as he left the room, then immediately checked to make sure he still had both scrolls - not because he had the presence of mind to think that Neo had used the entire... interaction... they had just had to get hers back, but because he felt the urge to inform Dom.
Is it 'kiss and tell' if I'm telling myself?
As he stared at Neo's scroll, though, words failed him. What would he say? 'Hey Dom, freed Neo, had sex with her, what a day'? His plan had been thrown into complete disarray. We were supposed to release Neo together when he got back. How would Dom react to all of this? Maybe it would be better to get a grip on things, first. Get more accomplished.
He realized that he had been standing in front of the door for a minute in a daze.
Focus, he commanded himself. He had goals, right? Things he had to do, a path clear before him. Now was no time to stand around like some idle human SDC mine boss. He organized his thoughts and determined his objectives.
With Neo at work on tracking down Cinder through Hazel's underworld contact, I can reallocate my attention to other pressing issues. He had a laundry list of things he had to attend to now that Neo was no longer requiring constant nursing.
He imagined her using her semblance to appear in a sexy nurse outfit.
Focus! He commanded himself, mentally smacking his brain.
I need to do some research, he decided. He had to learn more about grimm if he was going to understand if Salem's strange seer-type had ever been seen before or if it was some new or hidden type. He had to see if there were any local resources on shared semblances: maybe naturally-born twins had exhibited similar issues to his aura being spread between three bodies. After that, he also had to test the limits of Moonbright - if it had combat or other applications, he could always use a new edge in a fight to keep one step ahead of anyone who wanted his head. Alright, he thought, I'll get dressed and head out for a while to do some research. There had to be a library around somewhere, right? As much as reading pained him, he had the time to at least make a bit of an effort to be studious. Maybe there would be an audio book.
Maybe Dom's path is better, he considered. Having loyal subordinates to do this sort of thing was certainly preferable; he missed that about the life he seemed to have lost at Haven. He looked at the closed door. Can't trust her with the secret about the ring, he knew, but she already knows about Moonbright. His mind fell back to his earlier conversation with Dom, spiralling down into the possible ways the three of them could experiment with his newly discovered semblance ability together.
He wondered why what they had done hadn't charged his semblance. Mysteries, mysteries, so many for me to solve... At least bringing Dom onboard for further testing might make up for Brazen taking the initiative and freeing Neo.
Mines, he cursed, was that ever a spur-of-the-moment move. He tried to recall what he had been thinking as he had cut through the final cable keeping her down. Sure, without the one around her belly she had been able to get under the table. Maybe there was a way she could have freed herself like that, justifying his preclusion of her inevitable escape by freeing her first. In any case, it seemed to have angered her; she'd clearly had her little human heart set on being the master of her own destiny.
Tugging his undershorts up back over his crotch, Brazen decided that his first order of business was getting dressed. One way or another, he'd have to get back out into the city and do some legwork. Besides, if Neo goes off and rats me out, I don't want to just be sitting here with my pants down. Maybe he should try to tail her for a bit, just to make himself certain of her transient trustworthiness.
On the other hand, she had just let him do all of that with her. He was inclined to think that she had earned a bit of trust between them. There was really no reason for him to stalk her around like Bedlam did Blake. Been there, done that. Nope, there was no reason to spend any more time with Neo today until Dom got back here and he could explain what had happened while his clone had been roaming about wherever he had gone for the day.
He walked into the empty office to get his clothes.
It was then that Brazen realized that there was a reason to spend more time with Neo today.
His anger quickly welling up inside of him, he could scarce contain his rage as he comprehended this newly discovered treachery.
My clothes! He had seethed, while gazing upon the tightly-fitting number Dominic had purchased to replace Bedlam's original outfit after Neo had torn it apart during their time together. It was immediately clear to him that Bedlam had made off with Brazen's clothes rather than continue to wear the ill-suited ones that Dominic had delivered him. Brazen rushed to find, and was somewhat relieved, that Bedlam had at least had the sense of decency to leave him the wallet that was more flush with lien than the original version he had held; what use of cash would he have, just running after Blake? Not as much use as Brazen would here in town, searching for answers and, apparently, buying better clothes.
So it seemed that he would have to go out with Neo after all; it would be just like old times with Blake, really. Neo seemed to have some sense of fashion, he was confident that she would be able to help him find a new suitable getup. They could make a little date of it: he would buy her lunch, then she could dress him up in various things, and then he would in turn be able to see her try on-
See her.
Seer.
"SHIT!"
The pair of them had gone to a fast-food restaurant immediately after getting washed and dressed in what clothes they had, and what they could scrounge from the pile of blankets and pillow cases. With a few cuts and a swallowing of his pride, a pillowcase covered the gaps in his garment ensemble quite well - a makeshift undershirt that made him look like he was wearing a wife-beater the way it exposed his biceps. His 'partner' had been unwilling to eat the last pudding off of the floor where it had spilled, and Brazen needed to eat, too. She ate her sandwich in silence, just as how she had ordered it - a fact which had caused the poor worker endless comical distress. Watching his short partner poke the sneeze-guard glass with her finger, pointing at lettuce and tomatoes and so forth while the man on the other side thought she wanted olives, had underlined just how ridiculous the girl was. Did she really mean to insist on not talking in his presence, even after being freed? Being the lunch hour, the line of people behind them had been visibly agitated at the time Neo took to get her food. None of them were faunus, though, so Brazen didn't really care about them. There was still sticky residue on the front window of the establishment, where he imagined a 'No-Faunus' sign had been posted until recently. He had to assume the utter lack of faunus in the area was related to the area still being considered unfriendly ground for his people.
For her part, Neo seemed quite pleased as she ate her ham sandwich and potato wedges. Brazen had scarfed down his own vegetarian sandwich and now coolly watched her take little bites with her little mouth as he sipped at his tea.
With the tables all around them packed with people, Brazen bent his shabbily disguised head down to the table - to Neo's height; honestly they should have gotten a toddler chair for her - and whispered, "so do you know somewhere we can buy clothes?" He wasn't sure how familiar she was with the city. His own familiarity was mostly with the slums, the industrial district where the warehouse was, and the upper levels around the school and elevators. Brazen wasn't keen to go to the top level to buy clothes; Mistral high fashions were notoriously expensive and, more importantly, custom tailored. Sort of hard to let a guy take my measurements without realizing who I am... Bedlam had been caught while he had been spying on Blake and her huntress allies, so maybe Neo had a better sense of the middle-class regions of the city.
Neo nodded an affirmative.
For a moment he wondered if it was wise to follow her around the city. She could be leading him into a trap. How could she have set the trap up while imprisoned and scroll-less, though? He was probably safe in following her, at least for now. Besides, they'd just had sex. That counted for something, too, right? She'd even initiated it after being freed, so he couldn't think of any way it could be construed as non-consensual. It's not like I resisted the idea. So, shelving his doubts and reservations, he followed Neo's lead as she led him to a place to buy clothing. As they approached the riotously provocative storefront, Brazen thought one thing.
Doubts and reservations would have served him well.
Technically, the store she had taken him to did, in fact, sell clothing. The iron bars on the windows would normally cause him distressing flashbacks to his youth, but he found the fact that the windows were also completely tinted to prevent perusal of the wares held within by those outside more concerning. Still paranoid - rightfully cautious, he would argue - of a trap, the barred opaque windows seemed well-suited to such a hazard. Without a hitch in her step Neo strutted up to the door and walked in, as if it was part of her regular routine to go nonchalantly into an adult store in the middle of the afternoon. He looked back up at the neon sign - tastelessly designating the business known as Toys 'N Us - and shuddered.
Get a hold of yourself, Adam. She's already inside, you're out here looking stupid. Just go in. He forced himself inside. After all, we're trying to put a bit of trust in her, right? Once inside, he found the interior unexpectedly well-lit. The green-haired human at the check-out seemed to be accosting Neo on the basis of her appearance. Despite her weathered outfit displaying her post-pubescent bust, her short stature and frumpy long tangled hair gave her the look of an urchin child.
"Jeune fille, away with you, this is not a place for children," the clerk said dismissively with a thick provincial accent, her t's sounding more like z's. Neo's face was a scowl and she stomped her boot on the floor.
Brazen moved up behind his diminutive associate and put his hand on her shoulder. "She's with me." He started to explain that she was small but legally old enough to be in the establishment, but choked as he realized that he didn't know if that was true. Gritting his teeth, he hissed out that she was old enough before pulling her away from the clerk and whispering in her ear, "that is true, right?"
Having been raised by the combined efforts of Sienna, Kali, Blake, Ilia, and the liberal Ghira after he had escaped servitude in the mines, Adam Taurus was not ignorant of social customs regarding under-aged girls and men of his age doing what the pair of them had done in the warehouse earlier - consensual or not. She's well past puberty, I know that much, he reasoned to himself.
Neo gave him a playful wink before pointing at racks of what could be considered menswear on the far wall. As he took a moment to take stock of the varieties of black leathers, Neo patted him on the butt before she spun away and disappeared into one of the aisles. Obviously up to her own brand of mischief, he feared, but she would have to be given some slack while he pursued his own objective. The sooner he was out of his current, ill-fitting, poorly chosen-by-Dominic pants, the better.
As he spent a few minutes looking through coats, vests, pants, and accessories, the clerk approached him. She seemed to be half-distracted by a single earpiece blaring music, visible through her green-auburn hair, as she asked, "so are you a huntsman, a foreign? We get a few of those what that come through here from time to time, looking for something nice and spicy. If you should want for something that is not without a crotch, you will be letting me know, yes? Or, perhaps, you simply desire a discreet shopping experience. If that is the case, be assured that we take every precaution to protect our clientele's discerning tastes."
"If you could check for a different version of these, I'd be much obliged... Miss?" Brazen responded, holding up a pair of pants and vest for the clerk in the hopes of finding a version that didn't give so much visual access to his skin. It wouldn't do for some photo of me in BDSM gear to spoil whatever reputation Adam Taurus has left. On the other hand, Dom certainly could have gotten better clothes before now.
"You may regard me as Mossai Cleft in this place, yes? Give a moment and I'll see if I have got that in back." She gave him a quick up-and-down glance, though he wasn't sure if she was guessing his measurements or his trying to pierce his jumbled disguise. As she headed off into the stock room he took a moment to feel his scarf and goggles, making sure that they were still in place to conceal his identity. Assured of his disguise and finding himself waiting for the clerk's return, he decided to explore the rest of the establishment.
The next aisle over was full of boxed replicas of male genitalia, some of which advertising what he could only describe as inventive uses of fire dust. He moved on to the next aisle, which held less explicit items that managed to disturb him more. Cloth rabbit-ear headbands and other faunus-trait replicating tools that equated animal traits with humiliation. Gags and ropes. Handcuffs, like the ones used by police to arrest his brethren without cause. A solitary package of handcuffs, apparently the last of its stock, had spilled off the clearance shelf onto the floor. He cursed the clerk for her incompetence: even her poor human sight should have noticed it if she'd spent even a moment to attend her sales area. It was a trip hazard, really.
He stooped over and made to pick up the errant box to replace it on its shelf, but as he did so he took a closer look at the labelling on the package and it gave him reason to pause. A picture of the handcuffs surrounded by flames. The company logo of four glowing green linked circles in the corner beside the company name. Squinting his eye as he read AsbestOz: There's Nothing As Best As! It had a little orange sticker on it that stated that it was retrofitted military surplus.
He'd heard the brand name before... A rural Mistralian mining outfit that, like some, had survived the SDC takeover era by focusing on products besides Dust. In their case, they'd literally staked their livelihoods on a vein of strange fibrous rocks that had gained fame for looking like little stony sheep. Like wool, the fibres of the rocks had been able to be woven into clothes as well as metals, but were much better insulators than their organic counterpart. Immune to fire as much as to cold. The SDC had been a top buyer for such products, outfitting the faunus miners with the cheap, warm clothing for as long as Adam had been indentured. Despite the exportation of goods to the SDC's various worldwide operating sites, AsbestOz hadn't itself conducted itself disreputably with its faunus employees as far as Adam could recall. Maybe they simply discriminated against faunus to the point of not hiring them, rather than exploiting them directly? Brazen didn't remember off the top of his head. He did know that he actually might end up buying this product if he couldn't think of any ethical issues with it. Cinder would probably put up a bit of a fight whenever she got tracked down. It's not like I'm particularly happy with how all of this has turned out and she knows I'll be coming to her for answers, not as a guaranteed ally. Neo's own motivations and prior involvement with the human terrorist would just be fuel for such misconceptions of my intentions as outright hostile. Fireproof handcuffs seemed like a good way to deal with the woman's namesake firepower.
However, as he continued to rack his memories for what he knew of the manufacturer of the product, his mind was brought back into the moment by the buzzing of his scroll.
I should have just searched the company's information on the local data network, he chided himself as he took the scroll from his pocket. He wondered who was trying to contact him. Who has this number and is still alive?
He read the screen and his hand shot back down to his pants, only to discover that the other scroll was indeed missing.
~Come see what I'm wearing!~
Neo had stolen back her scroll. He should have been more wary, given the occupation of her dead... whatever Roman had been to her. The rustle of a curtain at the other side of the store, concealing what he assumed was set up as a women's changing room, revealed his diminutive pest's hiding spot. Storming past the remaining sections of bondage gear, Brazen charged over to handle this new issue. I trusted her enough to free her, is letting her have the scroll really that much more of a step? He quickly decided that it was, because she had taken the scroll. Her scroll, he thought. She had simply taken back her own property that I'd been holding onto. She didn't know why he'd wanted to keep it - she had probably just thought it was a power move against her. It wasn't like he was telling her that he needed her scroll to directly call himselves. Regardless, he couldn't risk her getting a message from one of his copies while they were unaware of who would read the message.
Arriving at the wall, he was greeted with the sight of Neo's head poking out between the curtains, her body hid behind. She wore a devilish grin, and her ripped older clothes lay on the floor under her chin.
With composure and a slow calm, Brazen inquired, "what are you wearing?"
Spreading the curtain with a flourish and leaving the stall with an elegant twirl, Neo revealed a leather brassiere held up by buckled suspenders, a pair of detached brown sleeves running along her forearms with the ends nearest her elbow rolled up to reveal pink inner lining, and a fluffy white tail coming out of her rear that didn't seem to be held on by-
Oh.
Brazen realized what was keeping the tail in place.
She pressed a button on her scroll that read out her response with a feminine - if robotic - speech synthesizer program.
"LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?"
"You're supposed to be getting clothes that will make it easier to blend in on your job, Neo."
She typed quickly on her touchscreen, which was quickly translated into the tinny voice: "THAT'S NOT A NO."
"The tail is an insult to my people. That's cultural appropriation."
More typing. "THEN COME APPROPRIATE IT." As the program announced that, she rubbed her hand on his thigh and grinned wickedly.
"Hating to interrupt, but what we had in stock in the back for the outfit you were interested in is now found," the clerk interrupted. He felt Neo's hand drop off of his thigh as she tugged the curtains shut on herself. "Also, I am expecting that you will be purchasing that item after using it, madame. An excellent choice, the material is sourced from rural alpaca ranches in the hills and the end is stainless steel - very easy to wash."
"Give me one moment." Brazen moved past the curtains and retrieved her scroll - despite Neo's protests. He exited the changing room and took the offered outfits from the clerk before making his way back over to the menswear section to try them on in the privacy of the changing room. As he stripped down, he realized he had to give Neo a bit of credit - where else but a sex shop would he be able to enjoy such attention to customer privacy from the prying eyes of the outside world? While entering the place had grated against his tastes, now that he was inside it seemed not-so-bad an idea. The clothes even fit well, stretching enough to grant him full mobility. Any other store and he would have been hesitant to use the changing room, but here he could ensure a good fit before buying.
He put together two identical sets of dark-dyed fabric outfits, with his preference for red and white trim highlights well-represented. He wore one set and kept the other folded up for later, and slipped both of his scrolls and wallets into the zippered pockets. No more pick-pocketing for Neo. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and appraised his appearance. It wouldn't have his customary emblem on it, but then maybe that was for the best. Drawing attention to himself wasn't really a keen idea any longer, not since the disaster at Haven. It might be some time before he would be Adam Taurus again. He wandered out into the store's aisles, arriving at the large selection of videos. He wandered down the aisle, heading towards the other end of the store, until his eye caught on a word he recognized immediately.
Faunus.
He looked at the section beside it and read the banner. Animal. The other side. Grimm. The three sections composed subcategories of an overarching Bestiality selection. Denigrating. Looking closer at the merchandise, Brazen was rewarded with the sight of a variety of movies in glossy covers displaying indecent scenes with saucy titles, with multiple copies of each available. He noted that some had apparently either been under-stocked or had been purchased. Prisoner of the White Fang. Two copies left. Those look like actual White Fang uniforms, he thought as he examined the cover. Had Sienna's people been so inconsiderate of their organization's dignified purpose that they would sell the uniforms? Or were those actual Fang members working for the film? Horse Faunus Frolick. Five copies. Those are obviously not real, he argued - he'd never heard of faunus having that many animal traits! Octopussy Galore. Five copies. He realized his hand had strayed to his back, brushing restlessly against the nape of his neck where the hilt of Wilt brushed against his skin. The humans were always objectifying his people, and treating them as little different from mindless beasts and monsters. Faunus girls treated as slaves! Faunus men treated as little more than the plastic, battery-powered contents of the boxes in the next aisle! It was appalling!
The clothes might be nice, and the handcuffs might be useful, but there were still some parts of the store that infuriated him and his years of fighting against intolerance and the abuse of faunus. He was just about to forgive the videos as relatively harmless entertainments, but then his eye was drawn to the title of a singular case, the last of its set, at the bottom of the section.
A-Dom Tear-Ass vs Bloke Hellabooty: A Gay Parody. A raunchy romp through Remnant, where notorious pervert Adom Tear-Ass competes against his lover Bloke to see who can recruit the most sexy faunus men to their opposing causes - by any holes necessary.
He picked it up and noted that it was priced at Ⱡ35. Apparently it had director's commentaries.
"What the actual-" he began, only to stop as Neo appeared at the end of the aisle. Evidently while he had been trying on his own outfit, she'd been putting the finishing touches on hers. Under her arm she carried her older clothes and a box featuring a woman's face smeared with makeup. His attention lingered longer on how his partner was now attired with large white gloves, a grey scarf, a revealing pink and white vest that seemed to have a cape-like coat sewn into it, and white pants kept in place with a new white belt; the belt-straps she'd worn earlier were still visible running over her pale smooth shoulders, insisting that she must still be wearing the bra from earlier, too. After several moments he realized that he was staring at her and looked away, desperate to find something else to think about.
This isn't the time or place to be thinking about stuff like that! He scolded himself, happy for the comfortable amount of slack in his new pants available, compared to the previous pair, around his hips. Notably the front.
The clerk followed behind Neo into the video aisle. "The clothes are to each of your likings, I am hoping, yes? Is there anything else I can help you with this day?"
Brazen's eye looked at the clerk. There was something... His eye wandered back to Neo. Durrrrr. He shook his head. No, everything is fine. Everything is good. Somehow his body walked up to the cash register and laid all the items down.
Neo noticed the box of handcuffs and pointedly kicked him in the calf of his right leg with her toe while gesturing at it, frowning. Brazen figured that, after several days of captivity, bondage accessories would not be something for which she had any fondness.
"For the clothes and handcuffs for monsieur, Ⱡ956. For le petit mademoiselle, clothes and kit for Ⱡ1234." Yes, that all seems reasonable. "The video, Ⱡ35." Video? "For a total of Ⱡ2225. How will you be paying today?"
Video? What video?
Oh. Video!
He picked up the video back off the counter. "Actually, who is in charge of this store? Is there some sort of owner or manager, is that you? Who is in charge of ordering your stock?"
"Ah, apologies must be made, but the owner has taken his leave for the present to attend to other affairs. Is there some concern with my service, something you have not been able to find today?" The clerk replied, her posture becoming a bit defensive at the threat of a complaint.
"No, you've been just great." He said, though she didn't seem to notice the sardonic undertones. "I just have some questions about the production of this video."
"Ah, yes, from the Fanged series. They are a favourite of mine, it is such a pleasure to watch faunus rut like the simple creatures they pretend not to be," she answered. He was quite certain that the goggles managed to cover the furrowing of his brow as her words left her mouth. "Like all of our film stock, they are proudly created by Mistral-based film studios. If you were to wish, I believe that their casting agencies may be intrigued by your little girlfriend - "
Neo made a derisive snorting sound behind him.
"- now that it seems that faunus actresses - those that are left - will be working at parity because of that tall brute from Menagerie. That's also why we had to double the price of all the faunus film selection... ah, it seems like but yesterday when they were the cheapest to buy. Mmmmm, a couple cheap faunus flicks and a local vintage bottle..." she said dreamily, only stirred from her increasingly depraved thoughts as her pathetic human brain managed to process that he had asked her a followup question.
Those that are left? Brazen wondered what that meant, but was more interested in finding out the whereabouts of this new target of his ire. "So you know who made this film?"
"The company license is on the inside cover, but I happen to know that it was made by Olympus Entertainment."
"Neo, be a good girl and fetch some of the rope from the third aisle." Neo shook her head and rubbed her wrists, then pointed at the handcuffs again. He pointed at the fireproof label. "We'll need rope and other accessories if we don't want to suffer a Fall in our quest." These aren't for you, Neo. They're for Cinder.
His little innuendo managed to carry the rationale of his command, and her frown vanished - replaced by her usual smirk. She pranced off to retrieve the rope. I guess she doesn't mind the thought of confinement, as long as it isn't done to her. Brazen couldn't really condemn that attitude: he was much the same way, after all.
"So what was that you said about the faunus and Ghira?"
"Ah, that is the reason the store owner is away you see. I was supposed to have had the day off, but Shelly apparently decided to skip town on a ship with the other animals. The news says that there are a lot of them leaving with the militia back to Menagerie." She gestured at her earpiece, which he now had to assume was a local radio station. "Good riddance, I say, but to do so without warning has left many of us in a bad spot. Owner went down to the docks to protest with the boys. Left me up here alone. You're the first customers that have come in all day, so it isn't like I've been very busy."
Brazen just let her talk, listening. It sounded like Ghira had been busier than they'd thought. Neo returned with some rope.
"That brings the total to Ⱡ2289. What method of payment today?"
He smiled. The video had upset him, but there was no reason why he had to overreact. It was not like the clerk was responsible for having made it, for having slandered his personal image. He pulled out his scroll and began looking for a video of his own. One he had helped make back in the early days, the good old days, back when Ghira still had the nerve to lead them in their fight. Back when they were still united. A video they had made to teach faunus about why they were fighting, why they had to fight. It focused on the undeniable issues of pay inequalities, substandard living conditions suffered by their people, the dearth of opportunities for social advancement for faunus individuals, and the rampant racism even those few successful in human society still had to endure. He'd always found it a rather tepid film, narrated by Ghira, but even Adam had had to admit that it was a solid educational piece that covered the facts well.
Maybe Ghira hadn't been completely wrong. Maybe they could change humanity's minds. Of course, overpowering them first is still necessary. Ghira had always assumed that humanity would accept the truth willingly, rather than needing it to be forced upon them. Brazen tore packaging off the rope Neo had delivered to him. Sometimes you just need to make them listen.
"Why, with your life, of course."
As he tied her down and loaded his video onto her scroll so that she could watch it, Neo hovered nearby, staring at him with a smile.
"What?" he asked over the muffled protests of Mossai.
An illusionary duplicate of his new outfit appeared, with Neo giving a thumbs-up of approval. She likes my clothes.
They exited the store, Brazen flipping the OPEN sign over to read CLOSED so that the clerk could watch the faunus rights educational video on loop uninterrupted for the rest of her shift. That one's for you, Ghira. I'm letting some of them learn, now. Letting some of them live. He patted Neo on the head. "Meet up back at the warehouse? You get to work on finding Malachite, I've got some stuff to do myself."
She held out her hand, a phantom scroll appearing in her palm.
"If you're a good girl, I'll give it to you when we meet up at the warehouse." For the moment, he'd need it to send out some texts to his brothers to alert them to the scroll's return to its owner. Neo frowned, then shrugged. He handed her a couple thousand lien, for her expected expenses. That seemed to cheer her up, and he watched her walk off with a bit more of a spring in her step.
Now all that was left was to figure out how to break the batch of bad news to Dominic and figure out how much Bedlam's pilfering of his clothes would cost him in his quest for revelations.
