intrepid

“Maybe Commissioner Gordon is right, there’s always a time and place for the Batman.”

terry hates to admit that she’s right. much like bruce, he didn’t care for her warnings and arrest threats; although she has a point. terry only figured he would live long like the old man. for the batman was apart of him as it is to bruce, tearing away from it would be like ripping a limb off.

“Stick to it,” he mutters to himself.

there’s always hope for the wicked–

suddenly,  batman pivots quickly to face the left side. he feels someone watching him like prey. his eyes dilate, his heart picks up pace and he could feel the blood coursing through his body. he comes to find that an empty space.

God, she even missed the Rooks. Imagine that, she missed being a gangleader. At least it was something. Nowadays she was lucky if her night involved a simple theft. And although that was certainly useful and in line with her creed, it too felt directionless. 

She sighed, deciding to give this area one more look over from her perch on a rooftop. Nothing, more nothing, even more- no, close by, on the ground below... she saw a figure, who was certainly not a civilian. Well, it was likely that they wouldn’t be able to aid her in her investigations, but this could certainly be interesting. Evie moved to cover, just before the figure turned around. Hm, she still had the element of surprise for the most part. 

Aiming her rope launcher accordingly, she glided down and landed gracefully in front of the other. 

     ah, her scolding. he could do without it, but having it here in this “social experiment” was more than appreciated. the whole situation was odd; first he found himself placed in an unknown city, then he tussled with a couple of hooligans, and the next thing he knew, Evie was here with him. just when he thought he was alone, she came in to prove otherwise.

     and that wasn’t to say he was ungrateful. oh no, having her here was more reassuring than Jacob would ever admit. they did things together as a team – always had, always will.

     “come t’ think of it, how did you find me?” he looked over the horizon, eyes squinting at the city before him. “this place is massive. no way i would’ve been able to find you had our roles been reversed.”

She rolled her eyes, but made a note to herself to lift the wallet off him later when she had the chance. It wasn’t for any reason, really, not because she thought he shouldn’t have the money or that it was better that she had it- Only that it would be a sort of game between them, as they constantly tried to one-up each other. And his face when he realized it was gone, that would certainly be amusing. 

“As to how I found you, it was simple. I followed the sound of destruction and there you were!”

Jacob didn’t need to know it was pure luck and coincidence, as that information didn’t really change the fact that she had found him and that they were together once more. It didn’t really matter how she found him, she thought. 

How many times could one roll their eyes before they rolled right out of the head? With the way Jacob behaved, Evie was nearly certain she would find out the answer to this question in her lifetime.

▒ ▒ ▒  @intrepidassassin

The Servant was certainly an odd sight against the backdrop of a city that had recently suffered at the hands of an earthquake near winter’s end. The air still held it’s snowy nip, yet there she was clad in attire most unfitting for a young girl. Yet, while her abilities had left her, she was still no mere girl. The cold could not so prominently deter a Servant.

Not that she wasn’t used to the harsh cold of London’s winters while unequipped. How many nights had she almost let the cold take her?

“…Stay away from us.” Traversing the ruins of a felled building clouding an alley pass, green eyes responded to footsteps that pierced the eerie silence as the child turned on her heel. There was a woman at the base of the mess, though Jack hadn’t the foggiest regarding what she could want.

She must be freezing... And she was certainly scared, given how she treated Evie. The assassin held her ground, but did not try to go any further. She needed the girl to trust her and if she advanced, it might end up becoming a chase.

“Are you alright? How long have you been out here?”

“The Yo-Kai World is a separate dimension inhabited solely by Yo-Kai!” he explained. “Many of us dwell in the human world as well, completely unseen by the human eye!”

“Alright, then, I understand. Yo-Kai is the proper terminology, but for the most part humans haven’t been privy to this information and have so made their own assumptions as they tend to do. But-”

She paused, raising an eyebrow.

“Completely unseen? I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s very easy to see you right now. And I must admit, I tend to have no issue with seeing things that others cannot. Although, I’ve never seen anyone quite like you, even so...”

@intrepidassassin

“Oh! It’s you!” Pearl’s eyes widen in excitement, grin stretching across her face. The gem gazes, examining, perhaps not realising how potentially awkward or unusual her blunt observance is – it’s overshadowed by the fact that she’s delighted to see the woman isn’t in any serious harm. It’s a stark contrast to their first meeting.

“Yes... it’s- ah, me.”

She repeated her name as well, just in case, “Evie Frye.”

He can only wonder as to whether this a first for her in this city – this sort of ease, relaxation.

He mouths at a sales clerk, drawing out the pounds tucked away in his robes and gesturing them towards the man. “You underestimate him, Evie. The tides always turn when you least expect them to.” He says, a laugh threatening to make its way beyond his lips. In a matter of seconds, her expression has brightened, her hold on him tightening – she chatters about, and her brings his hand against her own, squeezing lightly. The words hit him then, weighing in his chest: I didn’t know if I would see you again, Henry.

The glint of her (their) wedding band grasps at his attention, attempting to drown him whole. Months, and yet she thinks of him, months and yet she hasn’t left him behind, left what they had behind. 

He begins to walk, looping his arm around her own and chuckles; it’s better that he does so she doesn’t think to recognize the way his eyebrows have knit together for a second or so, the way his eyes have darkened and his benign smile is barely holding itself together. “No need to apologize. This is..no mere city: a metropolis, far beyond our age. Centuries ahead of us, even. The transport, the goods, the mobiles, they call them…small and portable This sort of modernity is…unheard of to me.” 

The wind chimes sound as they exit the shop, their arms still hooked together. His expression harshens. “Evie.” He starts.

Her excitement was curtailed slightly as Henry might have possibly implied that she could lose in a race. It took her every bit of self control to not challenge Henry or her brother to a race right then and there. 

“Perhaps,” she said, smiling too sweetly as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Perhaps, but- she thought, thinking of all the ways she knew she was right. 

“When I first arrived, I wondered if-” 

There was a moment of hesitance as she stopped herself, so used to speaking to those who would have no idea what she was talking about, or those who wouldn’t care like Jacob.

“-if this was a Precursor city or if an artifact had something to do with... any of this, but my research has been unsatisfactory. However, I have heard that the current year is thought to be 2016. And to many that I have met... we are history, as are our allies and friends. It’s disorienting, even after all this time.”

Evie turned her head to look at him, noting the change in his expression and tone.

His questions were easy enough to answer. She hadn’t. Jacob was here. And yet, she felt herself unable to speak, unable to tell him something as simple as that. It was true, or technically it was- she hadn’t... in this city, at least. But since she had seen him last, although she remembered him differently, but.

She could feel scars and bruises that she knew were nowhere to be found on her body. And she worried about her brother, although he was here with her and he was perfectly fine. She had wanted to speak to someone about this, and yet she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell him. After all, what would he think of her if he knew?

Whoopsie. False start right there. Let him try that again, shall we?

“Not just any ghost, madam! I am a Yo-Kai, a spiritual being who hails from a realm beyond the human eye! But don’t be mistaken, our worlds do intersect, and they’re much, much closer than you may believe!”

“A Yo-Kai... But you are a spirit still, is that correct? What is your world like? If you do not mind me asking, that is.”

Evie smiled slightly as he bowed, and she gave a small curtsy in return.

Irritation crept into his tone, the dragon bristling at what he took to be the other’s insult. Did she never learn the meaning of gratitude, or what?

“If you will look up to the sky, you will see that the star constellations are notably different from any you’ve seen before. Without a compass, nor a map, nor the stars to guide you, I doubt you could pinpoint the location of this city anywhere.”

She continued to walk behind him, refusing to let him get away just yet. She still didn’t have all the answers she wanted, and while she could interrogate someone else, she wanted to give the other another chance at being cooperative.

It is the 15th when he arrives, the streets somehow speak of the day before. The pathetic sight of bouquets driven into concrete, chocolates littering the pavement, the telltale sign of a broken heart somewhere off in the distance.

The people pay little mind to him; he is wary nonetheless, blade tucked away and underneath his sleeve. His eyes rove over every building, every vendor, every passerby in some attempt to understand.

He doesn’t. Not yet.

The store is no more than a remnant of what once was, a day that’s already passed. The shelves are hollow, the leftover stock now piled atop boxes, advertised with a gaudy “FOR SALE” sign. In the corner are flowers, sloped and browning. The poor things, he thinks as his fingers ghost across them.

He hauls a single bouquet into his arms, a red tulip peeking through the wilted mass. Surely, they could be saved – so long as he were to tend them quickly enough. 

It’s then that he sees her– bountiful, brown braids, the heels of boots against the ground, her back arched forward, her expression pensive as she lingers about. “E–” 

Before he can speak, her arms are wound around him – as agile as ever, isn’t she? He brings his arms around her in turn, hands grazing against and rub circles into her back. He pulls her close against him, and a laugh slips out from his lips, light and subdued.

Warmth pools in the blues of her eyes; he sees the tears that well, and his expression softens, a smile tugging at his lips. It’s terribly surreal, truth be told.

Her missing him. Her loving him. The band she wears, his band, that glints at this moment.

He is speechless – in awe, and opts to stroke her cheek and push a strand of hair behind her hair. “The wondrous Evie Frye, missing me? A tale for the ages.” He grips her hands, pulling away as he holds them, a thumb swiping over her own.

“I can only hope you haven’t given this city too much grief. Come, now. This is no place for a conversation.” 

His fingers tighten around her own, and gradually does he bring her hands to his lips, placing a kiss atop their backs and letting them fall once again.

Evie smiled up at him, blushing all the while. She shouldn’t have made such a scene, and they both knew this, but... she was thankful Henry didn’t make a big deal out of it, that he wasn’t nearly as dramatic as she was right now. Of course, that made sense, didn’t it? In his mind, they had probably barely been separated. And yet for her, it had been several months. Surely, her reaction must be confusing to him, but he acted so naturally and smoothly. It was impressive, if not also attractive. 

“On my mark? That almost sounds as if we’re to race, though I don’t think you could outrun me. Jacob can only do so when he cheats, after all.”

He made it easier to fall back into something like this, talking so casually as if nothing had changed. Still, there were things to discuss and work to be done.