Side Story: Blackrazor 1 (Patreon)

Beyol was troubled.

The streets of Moscow were beautiful, as always, it was a sunny day despite the chill that came with the first touches of winter. He didn’t mind it, his shadows were colder. The coat that the mistress had insisted he wear helped, of course. The slacks too, and the designer shirt, and the new shoes. He was a bit confused about why she was so insistent he wear something different. T-shirts and jeans were cheap and practical, for someone who got blood on himself often, it seemed more sensible just to wear something disposable.

It wasn’t a bad thing though and it helped him blend in a bit better with all the other people who were walking around the streets of the Russian capital. Few looked his way though a few smiled at him with amusement for some reason. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He rounded a corner and spotted his destination, it was a cafe. He liked coffee. That put him in a good mood. Yes, the sun was out, the air was crisp, and he had coffee to look forward to. Still, though, he was troubled.

Something soft pressed against his arm again and he looked down at the mess of off-gray hair attached to the head rubbing against his arm. He felt that softness again as well as the narrow arms of the troubling woman who was gripping onto him like a vice. He raised an eyebrow and once more wondered what on earth was wrong with this woman. He had spent a short time dealing with some gnolls on her behalf and all of a sudden she was glued to him every time they were assigned together.

He sighed and glanced around as Veloce, she still hadn’t picked her new villain name yet, mumbled something about fruits.

“Date, date, date, date, it’s a date.” Veloce sing-songed against his arm, barely audible since her face seemed to be attached to his coat. 

He scratched his nose, he didn’t hate the attention but it confused him a great deal. He hadn’t been prepared for this kind of thing back during his training so he had no real frame of reference to work with. Why is she so interested in fruit? He thought to himself, Does she like dates? Should I get her some? Would that make her happy? He glanced down at her again, She seems happy already, he sighed again, I don’t understand.

He walked into the cafe and up to the counter and a young woman greeted them with a small smile, “Hi! Welcome! Can I make anything for you?”

“Two coffees, please,” He said, pulling out some cash from his wallet that he unfortunately had to move from its usual pocket because of his new ‘attachment’. 

“Sure! Would your lady friend like anything sweet to go with it?” The woman asked brightly.

Beyol considered the question before leaning in and holding his hand up to whisper, “You wouldn’t happen to have any dates? She apparently likes them quite a bit.”

The woman blinked and then gave him a deadpan look, it was the same look mistress gave him all the time these days. Why did women look at him like that when he was with Veloce? The woman looked down at Veloce with a pitying look before taking out a tart from a display and setting it down next to the two coffees she prepared and handed it to them. He paid quickly and led Veloce over to a table.

“We need to sit, Veloce,” He grunted.

Veloce looked up at him with bright yellow eyes, a big grin on her face before glancing over at the table and the small tray with a treat and coffee in his free hand. Her eyes sparkled and she darted off his arm to sit in the chair, swaying merrily as he set the two coffees down and the tart that he assumed had dates in it in front of her. She looked down at the treat and brightened even more, if that was possible, before looking up at him with a big smile, “You’re so sweet.”

“Am I?” He grunted and sat down, taking his blessedly strong black coffee in his hand and sipping.

“Mhm,” She mumbled, already a full piece of the tart in her mouth.

“We have work to do after this,” He said stiffly.

“I know, I know, boss lady wants us to go poke around a bit,” Veloce said waving her hand, “No worries, I got it.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Have you given your name any thought?” He asked in a low voice.

She pursed her lips and looked away, “Always busy talk with you, good thing you’re cute,” She said and tilted her head left and right, “Yeah, I got a few books from her that have some great ideas in it. I’ll come up with something soon.”

“You said that a month ago,” He pointed out.

“Yeah well I get distracted,” She shrugged, picking at her black fingernails. She wore a heavy coat but the rest of her ensemble was decidedly not for cold weather. A punk outfit with a torn shirt and ripped jeans that exposed enough skin to make him flush a little if he looked too hard. For some reason that seemed to make her laugh when it happened. She was messing with him somehow, he knew it.

She took a sip of her coffee and glanced out the window, “Wish we could just, you know, deal with the problem instead of being all stealthy.”

“Only if it’s as bad as she suspects,” He reminded her, “We’re not here to make a mess.”

She puffed out a breath, “No fun! No fun!” She whined and threw her head back, slumping against the chair, “Fine, I’ll be good, but only if you buy me dinner later, somewhere nice.”

He glanced down at his attire, he figured it was suitable for a nice restaurant later, “Alright, I suppose that isn’t a bad deal. I will buy you dinner at a reputable restaurant this evening after we’re done.”

“Two dates in one day,” She sighed, leaning forward on her elbow and cupping her chin with her hand, “You know how to take care of a girl, Beyol,” She said, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Again with the fruits. Is it addictive?

“You can have plenty of fruit tarts or whatever you like when we go,” He said flatly and sipped at his coffee, turning to look out the window as well. Across the street was their target, an innocuous building that was home to several shops but had a large warehouse in the rear that they all shared. Apparently a group of criminals were active in the area collecting monsters that appeared in the city in order to sell them as pets on the open market. It was a bit distasteful and bound to cause unnecessary trouble for the mistress’ wider goals. According to the mistress, monsters were bad for business.

That was good enough for him.

Beyol finished his coffee and set it down as Veloce finished her own and popped the last piece of tart into her mouth. She beamed at him and got to her feet, stretching a little and arching her back in his face before getting to her feet and brushing her hands off. He cleared his throat and looked away, it was a little embarrassing how much she did that around him. He got to his feet and they walked past the counter where the young woman gave Veloce a look and patient smile. Veloce grinned at her before wrapping her arms around his left arm and returning to being attached to his side.

Once again, Beyol was troubled.

The two of them crossed the street through the cold and walked straight into a butcher’s shop. They walked towards the side of the counter and the owner looked up and frowned at them, “You can’t-” He was cut off by a small spark of electricity that jumped from the clingy Veloce’s finger and struck him, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. She glanced up at Beyol and blew across her finger like it was a smoking gun as they stepped up to the door leading to the back. He pinched his thumb and a violet knife appeared in his free hand. One swing and the deadbolt was cut cleanly. He reached forward and opened it.

The two of them stepped inside of the large space beyond, there were people shouting and going back and forth as they worked. He frowned and looked around while Veloce skipped away to peer with a hand over her eyes like a visor, “Oho! Looks like we found the right place!” She said merrily and glanced back at him, grinning. She paused and pouted, “Wait, do we still get to go to dinner?” She asked.

He frowned at the cages with hounds in them and then glanced at her. He met her gaze, big yellow eyes pleading, and sighed, “Very well, go have fun,” He said.

She turned on her heel and cheered while pumping her fist, “Yes!” She shouted and hopped onto the rail before declaring to the entire warehouse; as bolts of lethal electricity began dancing across her skin, jumping from her body to strike anything around her and immediately starting small fires, “Y’all gotta die please! I have a date tonight!” 

He frowned, What is it with this woman and fruit?