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Dick patrolled the rooftops every night, not out of any sense of loyalty and an unerring sense of freedom, but simply because it was the only thing Dick wanted to do.

He had never wanted many things in his life, so found it hard to ignore any desire. And with freedom’s terrifying lack of grasp, Dick needed something to fill the hours. 

From his time as a Talon, Dick was more than acquainted with sticking to the shadows, hiding from sight. He saw many things on his patrols, robberies, muggings, arguments, people tumbling from clubs late, corruption- It was all the same to him, and Dick had watched them all.

He hung around the mid-town area that night, not from any real thought, but another whim, and he found himself watching a burglary.

The thief was tall, slender in build, not bulked up, but Dick saw his potential to take on weight and keep it. He stretched, lithe and graceful, from the window, a pouch between his teeth and pulled himself up onto the rooftop. With an elegant little roll he sat on his heels, tugging the bag from his mouth and pouring its contents into his hand.

Tens of little bright stone fell into his gloved hand, and the thief grinned, large and toothy but Dick frowned at the stones because they-

He slipped on to the rooftop, unheard by the thief admiring his take, and cocked his head.

Yes. They were the Stars of Hundreds. A collection of diamonds owned by a key member of the Court of the Owls. And something owned by the Court of the Owls, tended to stay owned by the Court of the Owls – regardless who currently had them.

“Those will get you killed.” Dick commented lightly, “If they haven’t noticed them missing return them now.”

The thief’s hand clenched hard around his diamonds and then he fell, rather inelegantly Dick thought, hard onto his ass. He recovered quickly, rolling onto his feet and crouching low and agile, blue eyes flashing behind the lines of his mask.

“Why?” His head tilted, “Are you part of they?”

Dick cocked a brow.

“Not anymore.”

It was true. Dick had been free for a while now, and long enough to realise regardless of how horrible freedom was, going back would be five hundred times worse.

The thief paused for a moment.

“Good terms or bad terms?” He asked, voice low and wary but with none of the accusation he’d had before.

Dick knew he could lie, but lying held no profit to him, and Dick doubted very much that the thief who held his own death sentence in his hand would be around long enough to tell many.

“The worst.” Dick said, and drew the side of his old uniform up a touch, showing a long scar that wrapped over the bone of his hip, “This was the smallest of their scratches.”

The thief’s eyes lingered on his skin, then bared his teeth almost instantly, stretching up in a long roll of the back.

“Then you should let me go.” The Thief spoke, low and promising, and Dick smiled at the ploy that surely so many had fallen for, “One last screw you to those assholes… and I’d be very grateful.”

The violent slash of teeth and died down, hidden behind a crooked smile, and the Thief moved, with a low sort of swagger across the roof, closer to the ledge. His eyes never left Dick’s.

And when he moved like that, spoke like that, Dick saw the inherent benefits of his skin tight leather suit – seduction. Like Dick’s armour had been made for intimidation, the thief wore his like a weapon.

“I never said I would be the one to stop you.” Dick mentioned coolly.

The Thief paused, on the edge of the rooftop, glancing back over his shoulder, the Stars of Hundreds disappearing back into that little black satin bag. He was preparing to leave, Dick could tell, could see every inch of his shifting muscles projected his intent.

He could let this thief go, could let him wonder off to his death. But- it struck Dick as wrong. A feeling foreign enough Dick tended to listen to it, it was why he’d left the Court and with nothing else to guide him these days, it seemed a better idea than none.

“The Court of Owls.” Dick interrupted suddenly, and he found his voice dropping hoarse despite himself, because even now, that word struck something cold through him.

The thief lingered, oh so tellingly, on the ledge. He must of heard of something about the court.

“A cat does not fear an owl.” He said, dismissively, and Dick could see the energy coiling in him as he readied to jump, “And a Stray, never lingers-“

“Cats don’t fear owls, but perhaps they should.” Dick moved, taking the Thief’s lapse in concretion, frowning hard across the city, to move close, throwing his voice bouncing against the roof top walls, “Because it takes one talon in the night to-“

He was behind Stray before he finished his words, and it was instinct ot have the knife out, to press the two blades, one lengthways across his throat, and the other pointed tip touching, in the space between a shoulder blade and his spine. All his training as easy as breathing.

Stray froze, his breath catching hard in his throat, but Dick didn’t press, didn’t take the kill his body almost instinctively wanted to make.

“You told me you weren’t part of them.” Stray hissed.

“I’m not.” Dick said, calm, “I’m the outdated model. The new Talons… well….”

He pulled back the knives, flicking them into the folds of his armour without a through, dropping back far enough when Stray turned hard on a heel he was out of immediate punching range.

“I don’t leave tracks.” Stray bit out, eyes shooting down to Dick’s hands and back to his face, “They won’t track me if you don’t tattle.”

Dick smiled, and slid forward reaching out to tap, ever so gently, Stray’s wrist. Stray pulled his arm back hard, glaring at him.

“You are wearing perfume.” Dick commented idly.

It was female perfume, an old scent, something expensive-

“Its my mentors.” Stray said shortly, providing no more information.

Curiosity pinged Dick, another emotion he was enjoying having. Normally he would chase it- but.. it wasn’t hard to guess if he chased that thread Stray would be gone within a heartbeat.

Dick inclined his head, “It’s a track. If I was the talon? I’d pick up on that scent in the jewellery room, maybe on the glass you touched. Find out which famous thieves had it… and I’d be with your mentor within the day.”

Stray’s face paled, and his body tightened.

“And why should I trust you?” Stray asked, suddenly prowling forward, right into Dick’s space, and unlike before, there was nothing seductive about it – it was straight intimidation.

Why should he. Dick threw the words around in his head for a moment, watching the emotions play on Stray’s face.

“Why shouldn’t you?” He responded, not bothered by Stray’s closeness, the Court had gotten their nails deep under his skin before, watching as he writhed, a few inches of space were like miles to Dick.

Stray frowned, pulling himself higher, straighter, he was already tall, already close, and Dick didn’t see what difference that made, maybe his lack of reaction was unsettling to the thief?

“What’s your angle?” Stray demanded, “What do you get out of this then.”

Dick smiled, recalling something earlier, and tilted his head in close to Stray, watching as Stray’s eyes watched him move, just verging on uncomfortable.

“Your gratitude?” Dick said, words lilting low like the tone Stray had taken on earlier.

Stray glanced away and back again, a new sort of smile curling over his lips. Like some sort of switch had been flicked in his head.

“Well then birdy.” Stray pressed then satin bag against Dick’s chest, he curled in close, smiling seductively once more, “Consider me grateful.”

He moved as if bless Dick with a kiss, and Dick was struck by the oddness of the sudden gesture he barley reacted when Stray pulled back at the last moment.

“Well then.” Stray said slipping around, exposing his back for a brief moment, “Later Talon.”

And with the Stay ran, leap off the rooftop, and slipped into the night, black suit melding perfectly with the night. He was talented thief, yes, but-

Dick smirked, dropping the satin bag Stray had pressed against him, and removing the identical one Dick had pick-pocketed minutes earlier.  The one that actually had the Stars of Hundreds in at and not the fake Stray had given him.

He wasn’t quite good enough to slip one over Dick.

Dick slipped over to the open window, casting one last look in the direction Stray had disappeared.