The streets were empty at this hour, an unusual quiet having fallen over the city in the past few weeks. Bronn was glad for the quiet - the political atmosphere was heating up ahead of the Atlas Council election, and supplies that were supposed to be headed for Mantle were being diverted… elsewhere. Emotions were running high, which meant the Grimm were sure to close in more often.
Bronn let out a deep breath, watching the steam escape his lips and dissipate in the night air. Above, the underside of Atlas eclipsed the shattered moon and obscured the stars. The streetlamps were dim as their Dust was rationed. The shieldbearer struggled to see. He thought he saw dust stirring at the mouth of an alleyway, but by the time he approached it, he didn’t see anything.
He blinked, and in that instant, the air shifted, a hooded figure popping into existence. Bronn gasped, then realized belatedly how utterly unprepared he was. Fortunately, the figure wasn’t a threat; Nyx lowered her hood and smiled sweetly at him. “Easy there, Bronn,” she said.
“Can you not do that… ever?” Bronn asked, forcing his breathing to slow. “Bad enough Atlas decided to dim the lights down here.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” she said. “Thanks for coming out here.”
“No problem. Everything okay?” he asked. “Harriett still giving you trouble?”
Nyx rolled her eyes, her ears flattening slightly. “No, it’s fine. She gives everybody trouble,” she replied. “Have you heard anything about the supply convoys? The ones being diverted away from Mantle?”
Bronn shook his head. “Above my paygrade, Nyx, you know that,” he answered. “It’s supposedly being looked into, but I don’t know if I trust Ironwood any further than I can throw him. Probably nobody can, especially after the embargo.”
Nyx frowned. “You’re probably right. How’s your mom doing? Is the business okay?”
He nodded. “The shop is still running out of necessity, since they provide armor for Huntsmen. Costs have gone up, though, and the wait for materials is frustrating.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do…”
“I appreciate it, Nyx,” Bronn said. “We’ll be okay.” The fox Faunus dropped her gaze, then looked back up at him, her cheeks slightly pink. Bronn assumed it was the cold. “You should get back inside and warm up.”
“Hmm? Oh, I’m fine,” she said. “Rouge is out right now anyway, so there’s nobody home. Besides, we haven’t gotten to see much of each other lately.”
“That’s true,” Bronn said. Their missions of late had been pretty thin, with Ironwood preferring to leave patrols to the mechanized infantry rather than the Huntsmen. Even the private missions seemed to have dried up - Bronn hadn’t seen many come across, and Rouge and Cobalt confirmed similar difficulties.
“Hey, so while I’ve got you here, there was something I needed to tell you,” she said, lowering her voice.
“What’s up?” he asked. He leaned a little closer to hear her better, but she kept her eyes on the ground, her fingers fidgeting. Whatever it was, she was having trouble putting it into words.
Nyx’s scroll chirped, and she looked at it quickly, obscuring it from his view. “Damn. Sorry, Bronn, I’ve got to run,” she said, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. “Try not to miss me too much, okay?”
She reengaged her Semblance, vanishing from sight as she hurried off, leaving Bronn very confused and slightly shaken.
#Fluffuary Days 15 & 16 - Secret Meeting + Under The Night Sky
Just before everything went to hell, Bronn found himself in a quiet alley in Mantle, and ran across a fox...
#rwby #rwbyocs #bronnguerrera #nyxthorne #writesky
