#moses doesn't know what a boon this is to him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

poore-choice-of-words · 5 years

Text

Nightingale & Peregrine Chapter 6

Whoo! It’s been awhile. But hopefully chapter seven wil come sooner than this one. Enjoy!

First, Last

...

He was late. Luckily, most people didn’t go to ice cream at one in the afternoon. Scratch that. A lot of people went to ice cream in the afternoon, unluckily. That was why there weren’t any parking spaces. He was sure his running speed to get there was better than his record in highschool, not that it was much of a record, but still.

This was the second time in as many days he’d literally bumped into Mandie.

“Hi.” he heaved a breath. “Fancy seeing.” Heave. “You here.” Heave. “Sorry I bumped in.” Heave. “To you.”

Helena was glaring at him, and was that laughter Mandie was suppressing?

“Hi.” She said, from behind a hand.

Definitely suppressing laughter.

“Hi,” He replied.

“You already said that.”

“Did I?”

Helena nodded. Moses decided to lift himself up so he was face to face with Mandie instead.

“Nonetheless, I insist upon buying both of you your Ice Cream as pardon for my transgression.” He bowed so that once again he was at eye-level with Helena.

“I accept your offer.” Mandie offered him a hand to get back up with, which he gladly took.

Helena looked skeptical.

“Think she suspects anything?” He whispered.

“Only what you just confirmed.” Mandie said.

Helena was squinting at him.

He bent down to be at eye-level her. These squats were going to help him work off that ice cream.

“I’m not gonna lie to you. I asked for you two to come here. I’m paying for your ice cream whether you like it or not. Then you can kick me out of the store.” He put his hand out for a shake.

Helena shook it, then pointed at her eyes and back at him.

“Gotcha.” He nodded for a bit before standing up. “Is this line ever going to move?”

“Lend me your arm?” Mandie asked. There was mischief in the tone that Moses ignored.

“Here you go.” He offered an elbow.

Mandie grabbed his wrist and leaned back, taking his arm, and nearly taking him, with her. He caught on quickly enough to hold his ground, otherwise he would’ve fallen on Mandie, and Helena might’ve kicked him out before they even got in the store.

They held themselves like that for a few moments, until she lifted herself up, making him stumble back. Then he noticed they were now holding hands. She was wearing gloves again, white silk, or some imitation. It was quite soft against his skin, and the gloves didn’t cover past her wrist, which he had been grasping onto while she’d been hanging.

He quickly released, realizing he’d had skin contact with her for more than a second and didn’t learn every one of her thoughts in his head for any amount of that time.

“How?” he looked at his hand. From the corner of his eye, Mandie seemed betrayed? Was that the word?

“There seems to be a couple, or a pair of siblings gumming up the line.”

“Do you always do that lean back thing?” He turned to Helena, “Does she always do that leanback thing?”

Helena shrugged.

“It’s not uncommon,” Mandie answered.

“Can you give a heads-up next time?”

“What makes you so sure we’re ever going to end up in a line together again?”

“Maybe it’s just a hope.”

Mandie half-smiled, then went into a straight face. Did she suddenly dislike him? Why had she come then? Was free ice-cream that irresistible an offer? Of course it was, it was ice cream.

“I’m getting the sense you don’t want to end up in a line together anytime soon. Would that be a warranted assumption?”

Mandie pulled her ponytail in front of her and began stroking it.

“What are you doing here, in town?”

He should have thought of an excuse before now. He was frozen for long enough that no matter what he said, she wouldn’t believe. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

“I’m working for a secret organization to capture Nightingale, and I’m using you in an attempt to learn her secret identity.”

Mandie looked hurt, and scared, betrayed, that was the word.

“I swear that was a joke! I’m sorry. Has that actually happened before?”

“You wouldn’t be the first operative to fail at seducing Amanda Piec,” Spectrum commented in his head. He hoped it was just a memory and not the real Spectrum.

Back in the real world, the real Mandie looked at him with pity, and possibly laughter. Had he been played?

“I’ve actually been doing temp work for... a lot of places.” He was great at making excuses.

Mandie finally outright smiled. She bought it, or she didn’t care.

“Maybe I should call your company sometime. I could use some help.”

“With what?”

“I’ve always got packages that need delivering. I actually had to make a stop to send a package before we got here.”

Helena made a thumbs-down motion and a pouty face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she doesn’t like waiting in the car.” Mandie turned her head. “Oh look, the line’s moved.”

She grabbed Helena’s hand and moved forward. The line kept steadily moving forward since apparently everyone had now figured out exactly what they were going to have. Moses should’ve thought about it. He was sure he didn’t want chocolate because chocolate was the worst ice cream flavor, except for maybe grape, but that wasn’t an ice cream flavor, yet.

“Why didn’t you want to hold my hand?” Mandie asked.

“What?”

“This isn’t middle school, and I thought you…”

She was right. This wasn’t middle school. If this were middle school, he’d be rushing into stuttered apologies. Instead, he waited a moment before stuttered apologies.

“It’s, uhh.”

Helena smacked his leg. He looked down at her, and she pointed at the counter, where the guy at the counter looked weary.

“Oh, sorry!”

…

They managed to get their ice cream, Helena hadn’t told Moses to scram, and Mandie asked to sit outside.

Overall things were looking okay.

“So you design for Nightingale?” He couldn’t think of a better question to start the ball rolling.

Mandie had an expression that said she was tired of that question, but ready to oblige an answer.

“I design for the entire Heroes’ Guild, but since we live in the same city, yes, Nightingale is my most common in-person customer.”

There were so many questions Moses could ask about Nightingale, but that was just the thing. He was talking to Mandie right now, not Nightingale. He needed to ask a question more about Mandie.

“Why white?”

That was still a Nightingale question, but it was also a Mandie question.

“It’s what she wore that first night.”

“First night?”

“Nightingale was Nightingale before I made the costume, and the first night she saved was in a white tank-top and a pair of jeans.”

“Seriously?”

“Still amazing, I assure you.”

“I don’t doubt it. You don’t wear white all the time without skill.”

Jeans? what made her switch to a skirt?

“Yeah, she has skill. She’s… perfect.”

Nightingale wasn’t the best conversation subject. She seemed to leave Mandie with longing. Moses stored the skirt question for later.

“Not that I doubt your skills, but why you?”

“What?”

Was she offended? Moses was screwed.

“Why of all the people in the world did Nightingale ask you to make the costume, or did you volunteer.”

“Well, most people who know me know I make my own clothes.”

Moses took a moment to look at Mandie’s outfit, a light pink dress with blue and purple flowers that looked embroidered onto the skirt.

“You made that?”

She nodded.

“Wow.”

“I make clothes for superheroes, and the dress get’s a wow.” Mandie was sarcastic, but she was also smiling.

“Yes! Most people don’t fully process big stuff, but this dress is right in front of me, and it’s beautiful by the way.”

“You don’t need to exaggerate for me.”

“I’m not, did you hand embroider the skirt or…?”

“I use a special machine, but I did design it.”

“See? I need to ask you for style tips.”

“I think you clean up well enough.”

Moses didn’t have a response. Mandie had cornered him in compliment combat.

“Thanks.”

He could feel himself blush. Maybe he wouldn’t seduce Mandie, but if he kept this up, she’d manage it on him.

…

Maybe Moses should have asked if Nightingale had any tips for superheroes just starting out. The closest he’d seen Nightingale to being tied up like this was when he was pointing a cane at her neck.

The worst part wasn’t that the chains were definitely power suppressant, which meant these thugs had a bigger budget than he initially thought. The worst part was that he probably wasn’t going to get Nightingale’s trust to help her if he couldn’t even help himself.

“Looks like someone fancies himself a superhero,” said thug number one, in what sounded like a very fake british accent.

“Looks like someone fancies himself a Beatle,” Moses retorted, getting a punch from the nearest thug for the comment.

“Maybe he just fancies one hero in particular.” They all had that probably fake accent, he knew because they all laughed in the accent too.

“You got me, I wanted to see Black Dragon, but I think I got the wrong town. Do you have a local hero associated with a particular neutral color?”

Thug number one was about to hit him again, when a familiar sultry voice interrupted.

“Now, Anders, that’ll make it much harder to get out on good behavior this time.”

Moses squinted in an attempt to find her in the rafters. Either she was behind him, or the suppressant was messing with his ability to see her.

“Who said I'm going to jail again, Katie?”

Katie? How did this minor crook know Nightingale's name.

“Nobody, because they don't have to.”

So maybe she hadn't been flirting with him as Ace of Spades, not that he thought she had. She just seemed to have a way of talking to her enemies, a way that could be interpreted a flirtatious.

“Is it my turn to comment?” Moses asked, “cause it sounded like you just got owned.”

No response, even a single laugh.

“Start struggling if you can fight.” He heard in the back of his head. The voice sounded like Mandie plus the voice in the back of his head that he never listened to. He was going to listen to it this time.

His struggling looked more like trying to spin in mid-air than proper struggling, but hopefully the point got across to Nightingale, if she was the one he'd heard.

After a few excruciating seconds while Anders kept talking, he felt something hit his hand. He grabbed it, and felt the ridges of a key’s teeth. He felt for the lock with both his hands as Nightingale came down to the ground.

She took off the skirt to reveal an equally white pair of pants. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't that. The deployed skirt, which now looked more like a blanket, took two of the thugs out, pinning them to a wall.

He managed to get the key in the lock and turn it. He had to struggle a bit more to get out, but when he did, he punched the nearest thug, who glared at him.

Maybe that wasn't the best method. The next time he punched, he pushed at the thugs mind to knock him out.

“Don't use that on Anders, I need him awake.”

“Why?”

“Focus.”

She sounded irritable.

The next thug came running at Moses. He turned out of the way and pushed them to the wall. They looked back at him afterwards and attacked. He felt a pressure that the thug definitely felt more of since it pushed them into the wall again, this time knocking them out.

“Show off.” He said, aloud.

Nightingale glared, although the masked covered her eyes in dark lenses, which meant he couldn’t actually tell if she was glaring, but there was a feeling.

“Did I accidentally interfere in a lovers quarrel?” Anders asked.

“We’re not lovers,” Nightingale said.

“And who said we were quarreling?”

They both took a step towards Anders. Nightingale was closer, but Moses opted against closing the gap between her and himself.

“What do you want to know?” Anders grumbled, without the accent this time.

“I need some information on Ace of Spades.”

So Anders was a snitch, probably a good one, if snitches could be good.

“Word is the guy used to run with the suits.”

“As in the four suits?”

So Nightingale knew who they were. Moses was almost flattered. He wasn’t sure if he felt more or less flattered that she seemed to flinch when Anders responded.

“Yeah, then the guy disappears for half-a-year and comes back with the suit and cane.”

He was gone for six months? It hadn’t felt that long, it felt longer.

“And that’s all you got?” Nightingale asked, bringing Moses back to reality.

Anders shrugged. “The guy’s new--wait, some people are saying he’s a reincarnate of Inferno.”

“Dante Gionelli?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“The guy with a house full of booby traps?” Moses asked.

“Do I need to repeat myself to you?”

Moses turned to Nightingale. “I don’t think he likes me.”

“Go figure.” She turned to Anders. “Nothing else?”

“Come back when he’s been around for more than a month and maybe I’ll have something. This guy is different.”

Nightingale seemed to stew for a moment.

“Fine.”

…

Moses had followed Nightingale to the roof. Since she hadn’t stopped him, he assumed she didn’t want him gone. At least not yet.

“I don’t really plan on leaving so--”

“What’s your code name?” She asked.

“My what?”

“Call sign, title, superhero name. What is it?”

Before thinking about it, Moses admitted, “I never thought about it until this moment.”

“Take your time.”

He didn’t take much. Truly he’d been thinking about this for awhile, and one corny name remained.

“Do you mind if I spin off of you a little, I mean, I’m starting in your town, but I don’t wanna encr--”

“Go right ahead.”

“Alright, since you’re a Nightingale, heard but rarely seen, then I’ll be a Peregrine, fast and fearsome.”

Nightingale laughed.

“I’m sorry, it was just, so dramatic.”

Peregrine couldn’t help but smile at managing to make her laugh.

“If you’re going to stick around you’ll need a costume.” She switched to business.

Moses looked at his current outfit.

“A good costume.”

“Now that’s just mean.”

Nightingale smirked.

“Give me your measurements next time we talk.”

“When will that be?”

“Are you free tomorrow night?”

“I can be.”

“Good.”

She walked away, about to jump onto the next roof.

“Where are we going to meet?” Moses asked just before she leapt.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find you.”

...

Tag List: @lynn-iswriting, @kaylewiswrites, @taz-writes, @theshadowsofthenight, @merigreenleaf, @lady-redshield-writes, @concealeddarkness13, @authorisada, @cadewrites, @elizabethwillow, @writing-in-mermish, @royalbounties

#oc: amanda piec #oc: helena casborough #oc: moses casborough #wip: nightingale & peregrine #Moses gets to narrate a fight scene #Peregrine is revealed #everything's exciting #moses doesn't know what a boon this is to him

6 notes · View notes