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Chapter 37Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Three

"You sure you don't want to come?" Akelarre asked one last time.

Neo just turned her head away, pout still firmly in place as she refused to meet Akelarre's pleading gaze. The shorter girl's arms were crossed and her posture was ramrod straight in her seat. She would have looked quite serious if her cheeks weren't puffed out so much.

"Fine," Akelarre said. She wasn't in any sort of mood to argue with her friend, especially when it was clear that Neo thought that Akelarre was the one in the wrong. And to be fair, she sort of was. Neo was most disappointed that Akelarre hadn't invited her over to her home. Then again, Akelarre was kind of glad.

She did not want Neo and Tyrian in the same room. Ever.

"I'll be off then," she said before pulling a letter out of her cloak. "I need to deliver this to Beacon before tomorrow, or I won't have time to do it later."

Neo paused in her pouting to gesture first at Akelarre, then at her own clothes.

"My clothes?" Akelarre guessed and Neo had the decency to nod. "What's wrong with them?" she asked as she looked down at her white blouse and cargo pants.

Neo rolled her eyes and finally deigned to stand up. She stomped over to Akelarre and tugged at her cloak, then mimed putting on handcuffs.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess my cloak is kind of distinctive," Akelarre mused. "I can't just go out and buy more clothes though, I'll be spotted buying them, you know?"

Neo's mouth twisted and she leveled a flat glare at Akelarre before huffing and walking off to one corner of their VIP room. There was a little closet there that the shorter girl disappeared into for a moment. When she came out it was with a jacket in hand, one that was obviously too big for her.

Neo tossed it at Akelarre who caught it with only a bit of a fumble. "Is this for me?" she asked.

The snort Neo gave was answer enough. She walked back to her couch and flopped down, pulling out her scroll as she did so. Akelarre caught Neo glancing her way from the corner of her eye while she pretended to be on her scroll.

Dismissing Neo's weird behaviour for a moment, Akelarre took off her cloak and set it on the back of a chair before trying on the jacket. It was a tiny bit snug around the waist, but that only made her look slimmer as she zipped it up. The jacket had a big hood that covered her entire head and a good part of her face too. The material creaked a little as new leather was wont to do. "This is really pretty," Akelarre said. "Did... did you buy this for me?"

Neo folded her legs up and brought her scroll closer to her face. It only served to illuminate the tiny spots of pink on her cheeks.

"You didn't have to!" Akelarre said. Her cheeks were starting to hurt because of how hard she was smiling.

Neo gave her the finger and huddled closer to her scroll, so Akelarre did the natural thing and skipped over to give Neo a tight hug. When Neo started kicking and punching Akelarre only held on tighter and rubbed her cheek against Neo's, much to the shorter girl's consternation.

"Thanks Neo, you're a great friend," Akelarre said as she let go and watched Neo roll to the opposite end of the couch where she glared back. "I have to go, but I should be back by tonight, okay?"

Neo huffed but nodded before Akelarre had made it to the door.

Akelarre was planning on leaving via the back of The Club, through one of the exits out into the alleyways of the industrial sector where she could then walk over to a bus deeper into the city. She was moving her overwatch bugs from one rooftop to another when a figure caught her mind's eye and she slowed her walk within The Club to a crawl.

Forehead creasing, Akelarre navigated some of her smaller, less conspicuous bugs to the figure, noting almost immediately that the girl, because at that height and with that figure it had to be, was talking to herself. No scroll, no device around her ears, just a low monotone.

Things started to make less sense as she paid attention to the girl's clothes. Trench coats were popular in vale, and her fedora, while a horrible fashion choice in Akelarre's opinion, was perfectly reasonable accessory. The pipe in the girl's mouth was not.

Akelarre did what she always did when faced with something strange: she brought in more bugs.

A few Grimmsects along the lip of the roof, some normal bugs swarmed closer as if inspecting some tasty trash. Nothing that even an observant person would give a second look unless they were specifically aware of her.

The girl was no different, she just kept walking down the alleyway on a direct course towards the far end where she would only be one turn away from The Club's entrance.

"Penny's Journal. September 9th, 0712. Hot dog carcass in alley this morning. Tire tread on burst corndog. This city is afraid of me. I've seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters, and the gutters are full of yucky stuff, and when the drains finally scab over all the vermin will run away. The accumulated filth of all their naughtiness will foam up about their waists and all the bad guys and politicians will look up and shout 'Save us!' and I'll whisper 'Nope.'"

Akelarre decided that the girl was probably not dangerous, just a little bit off, and she wasn't about to start throwing stones from within her glass house.

With a careless shrug that only the Grimmsects hidden on her person noticed, she made her way to the first floor and opened one of the access doors at the back of the building just as the girl was passing by.

She stopped, trench coat flapping around her black thigh-high boots. Akelarre's red-rimmed eyes met the girl's startlingly bright green ones. "Hey," Akelarre said. "You okay?"

The girl's face split into a wide grin and she raised one hand in greeting. "Salutations, citizens. I appreciate your concern, but I am merely working my beat, looking for clues about the worse criminal scum in this city."

Akelarre nodded slowly. "Okay," she said for a lack of better things to say.

"indeed, fine citizen," the girl said before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a wallet that unfolded to show a badge. "I am a detective with the VPD."

Akelarre nodded again and stepped out into the alleyway. Her trip would be faster travelling by there anyway. It wasn't until she was close to the girl that she realized that the little redhead was quite small, only coming up to her shoulder at most and had the kind of round cheeks and guileless look Akelarre had only ever seen on Ruby. "How old are you?" she asked.

"Weeks or months?" the girl asked.

Akelarre chuckled. "Nevermind that," she said, dismissing the question with a wave. "You shouldn't be in an alleyway, especially not in this part of the city, and especially not alone. It's dangerous. You never know what kind of person you might run into." And playing dress up as a cop of all things was a terrible idea.

"Thank you for your concern, citizen, but I am combat ready!" the girl said.

Akelarre looked at her with one eyebrow rising, a look she had received from Salem more than once when she said something strange. "Where are your parents?" she asked.

"My dad is in Atlas," the girl said, not even hesitating to answer. "He will be coming here soon."

"And your mom?" Akelarre pressed.

"I have no mother."

She winced. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know what that's like. Do you have any friends around here?" It most certainly wasn't her responsibility to help some little girl back home, but if no one else was going to do it Akelarre figured she could at least try to do the right thing.

The girl finally looked down and away from Akelarre. Her constant, unblinking stare suggested that she wasn't all there, but Akelarre's last question had hit a nerve as far. "I have no friends in the region. Though I did try to make the acquaintance of the nice officers of the VPD. I am, after all, their coworker!"

"Uh-huh," Akelarre said. She set her Grimmsects to searching for any nearby police cars. Maybe she had been talking to an office before? They would certainly be able to help her back home.

"This situation is acceptable," the girl went on. "I did not have any friends in Atlas either. Only my father."

"Oh." Akelarre brought her hands together, then let them fall to her side. "I'm sorry to hear that. Not having friends is... hard. I got lucky and made a few good friends when I started exploring. Maybe the same will happen to you?"

The girl blinks slowly at Akelarre as if processing that. "Sensational! Perhaps in my quest for more clues about the hideous monster known as the Grimm Girl I shall encounter new and exciting people to aide me and become my friends."

"What was that about a Grimm Girl?" Akelarre asked.

"I am Detective Penny Polendina," the girl said. "I am searching for clues about the mysterious Grimm Girl. Do you with to assist me and also become my friend?"

It was Akelarre's turn to take a moment to process, though Penny didn't seem to mind waiting at all. She just reached up and fiddled with the pipe still stuck between her lips. There were no cops nearby, no concerned parents and no one other than a few workers heading to and from work. "Tell you what, Penny, how about you fill me in on your... case so far, and we'll see where we can go from there?"

Penny's face lit up and her eyes literally brightened at the suggestion. "Extraordinary! I will tell you all I know of my case, and you will become my loyal sidekick."

Akelarre snorted. "I don't think I have it in me to be a sidekick. I'd rather be the hero."

"I have read every article about heroes," Penny boasted. "If that is your goal I can assist you. I am PR ready."

Akelarre couldn't help but grin. Penny seemed like a nice girl, though she really shouldn't have been left alone to play detective in the rougher parts of Vale. "Sure, but tell me about this case of yours first. And why you were in this area."

"May I answer the questions in reverse order?" Penny asked.

"Sure," Akelarre said with a shrug.

"I am in the area to question members of the criminal element about any involvement they might have with the Grimm Girl. Initial reports suggest a possible link between changes in criminal behaviour and the appearance of the Grimm Girl."

Akelarre nodded. "That actually makes sense. Though aren't you afraid of talking to criminals? This area is patrolled by the Suits, they wouldn't hurt you without answering to Junior, or worse, me, but it's not that wise to be out alone here."

Penny stared at her for a moment. "Your words suggest a possible link between yourself and the criminal enterprise known as the Suits."

"If I was part of that group I probably wouldn't admit to it, now would I?" Akelarre said.

Penny's eyes widened and her mouth formed a little 'o' of surprise. "Then how would I discern your possible membership to the group?"

"You could ask."

"But you would answer in a negative fashion in both instances, leading me to suspect that you are, at best, not a member or, at worse, a member and also a lying liar who lies."

Akelarre giggled and nodded. "Exactly. You catch on quick."

Penny didn't pout, but the look of consternation she wore almost had Akelarre reaching out to ruffle the girl's hair, even if it was an ugly shade of ginger and she was wearing that hideous fedora.

"Say, Penny, I'm going into Vale to deliver a letter. Did you want to come with me?"

Penny shook her head with the same monotonous movements of a metronome. "I cannot. My duties as detective require that I stay here and look for clues."

"Ah, but if you come with me," Akelarre said. "I could tell you all sorts of things about the criminal underworld of Vale. Wouldn't that help you build your case?" If telling the girls a few whitewashed facts would get her out of the slums, then Akelarre was more than willing to talk.

"Sensational!" Penny clasped her hands together over her chest and nodded. "I would love to accompany you, citizen, on your important task if it means learning more about my own mission."

Akelarre grinned. "Call me Akelarre."

***

Big thank-you to ChaoticSky and the filthy degenerates on the Raven's Nest Discord for the idea bouncing and encouragement, and CrazySith87 for doing word things! You're all completely insane, but I like you anyway.