The Huntsman

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I have you to pay attention for me,” she said mildly, even though he was probably being a bit overprotective.  “You’re not feeling like you’re going to drop dead, are you?” 

“Not all the time,” he said sharply, narrowing his eyes at her. Quirking an eyebrow, he rolled his eyes, “Hardly.”

“Yeah, I never really saw the appeal.” She grinned, sipping her coffee. She didn’t hear stories of princesses being saved by heroes when she was a kid. She heard the ones where women were just as often the warriors and the saviors.

“Because there isn’t any for anyone with a lick of sense,” he pointed out bluntly. He, quite frankly, couldn’t stand any sort of wilting person, regardless of their gender.

“I’m saying it’s worse” Maia admitted, with a small sigh before shaking her head, smiling brighter, “But it’s okay now. I got away and I don’t think they are here in Fableton. So I don’t think I have to worry about them.” Or at least she hoped. 

His eyes narrowed down at the petite woman and he shook his head. “If they show up, you go to the station and file a report. We’ll take care of it from there.”

Bigby struggled against Hunt for a moment before being let go. Letting out a huff, he flipped him off before charging at inhuman speed at the man. Getting ready to talking him as soon as he got close.

She raised her eyebrows.  “You may know that, but I didn’t know that and I didn’t have the chance to ask,” she pointed out.  She couldn’t pretend to be mad, though, because his instincts had always been sharper than hers. 

“Then you weren’t paying attention,” he said bluntly, finishing off the apple in a few sharp bites before tossing the core into the trash.

“Thank you. I needed a big, strong man to explain that to me.” She smiled sweetly.

“Sure, sweetheart,” he said drolly, rolling his eyes at her, “Because you really come across like a damsel in distress.”

Maia stayed silent as they kept walking for a moment, not sure if she should actually tell a police officer her story. Wouldn’t that basically make him take her in to report something? Except how does one report about a toad? Maybe she can just say it was a long time ago. “Kidnapping?” She asked, meekly, though keeping her eyes forward rather than looking at him. 

Hunt was rather impressed at himself when he managed to keep walking at her meek, questioning word. “Are you asking if that’s worse, or saying it’s worse?” He couldn’t stop the rumble of a growl as he shook his head at her.

Bigby growled, trying to reach for Hunt’s neck and face, knowing that he was being riled up but also finding himself not caring at all. Just the comment of being “small” made him want to smack the smirk off his brother’s face immediately. Just once. In the back of his mind, something warned him not to take it too far, but he only vaguely remembered why. 

Send “♀” for a HEARTBREAKING text. 

Hunt: I would have killed you, you know. Don’t ever think that I am a good person, princess. I’m as selfish as the queen.

The time when she would’ve been scared by his gruff display was long since past.  All she could do was watch as he basically ejected the poor person, who probably thought she was some kind of a teacher.  She tried pretty weakly to avoid answering his eyebrow with an eyebrow of her own.  She failed.  “What if they needed something important?” 

He simply gave her a long, slow blink, crunching into the apple again. “You and I both know that they didn’t.”

“Isn’t it, though?” She grinned mischievously. “But we’re much more likely to get arrested for assault than… I don’t know what you’d call that. Public disturbance, maybe?”

“If you’re being harassed, it’s legally considered self-defense and not assault,” he said pointedly.

“You sure? Someone might be taller than you. Or tall as you.” Maia offered, giving the man a small grin as she looked up at him. His question made her smile drop, and sigh a little, “I try not to be. And usually I am not. But… I think trouble finds me. Sometimes. This isn’t so bad though. I’ve dealt with worse.” 

“Perhaps, but I haven’t found one,” he pointed out with a shrug. His eyebrow lifted at her, “Sometimes? And do I really want to know what you consider worse?”

“Are you that old that you need to get your eyes check?” Bigby growled, nails digging into his palms even harder. He wasn’t entirely sure if it broke skin, not particularly caring. “I was going easy” He mocked, eyes flickering yellow for just a second, “But if you insist…” A dark smirk covered his face before he lunged for Hunt once more. 

“Because some men don’t take no for an answer.” She smiled slightly.

“A single, well-placed kick is more effective.”

“Well I haven’t really measure them to find that out” Maia pointed out, “Or ask how tall they were.” Maybe she should next time. It certainly would make a start of an interesting conversation with the people she knew. “Oh you work for the Police” She nodded, as if the simple word was an actual sentence, “That certainly explains you being willing to help me. It’s part of your job.” 

He shrugged, “Don’t have to.” When the day come that he found someone who towered over him, he might... might be impressed. But so far he hadn’t found anyone in this town who fit the bill. He nodded in confirmation, as though it was the entire answer. It was the only part that really mattered, though. “Are you often in trouble?”

“I’m not a pup” Bigby growled, his voice low as he clenched his fists tightly. They both literally just stopped people from causing a scene and now here he was, starting one again. Oh well. Letting out another small growl, he threw a fake punch before aiming a hit at Hunt’s chin. 

Lottie’s mouth fell open at his rudeness, her arms folding primly across her chest as she glared up at him.  “Here I am, expressing extreme concern over a potentially missing citizen of Fableton, and you have the nerve to ask if I’m done?  What’s your badge number, Mister?”

Hunt barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he crossed his own arms, looking down at her. “Untwist your skirts, sweetheart, and take a deep breath,” he told her flatly. “I can’t understand you through the rapid fire talking and the heavy accent. I’m not one to interrupt a lady when she’s talking. Now, if you want me to see what I can do about your potentially missing person, I'll need you to go through it again... slowly, clearly, and with as many details of how long they've been gone and any strange things that may have happened before you saw them last.”