7th Aura

[aurabble]

Who: Mercury Black and Jaune Arc
What: Bounty Hunting Long Shot
When: August 14th
Where: Nova City
Warnings: It's Mercury and Jaune so probably definite violence.

[He isn't sure if he can do this.

There had been some trepidation when Jaune took on the bounty. He had trained almost nonstop, but risking himself and others and fighting was another thing entirely. He had made a commitment for Weiss though, and even if he hadn't started as a Deputy yet and wouldn't admit it out loud, he still wanted to protect some people.

Just because he had made the decision, didn't mean he could do it alone. Jaune's pretty accustomed to not knowing what he's doing. Teaming up with Mercury to stop someone else who was intent on violence and maybe murder seemed to follow the same pattern. The situation didn't entirely sit right with Jaune, but at least Mercury was honest about what kind of person he is. He was a better fighter, and right now, the aspiring huntsman wasn't sure if he could work with a team again. If he could work with Mercury, he could work with anyone...right?

He's abandoned his shield and armor. With his sword currently stuck, Jaune has had to learn to use other weapons. He texts Mercury his location. This is the weirdest, most unnatural thing ever. While he waits, he decides to talk to an employee at one of the stores that was hit. Having an image to go by helps, but if he can narrow it down and figure out why the man is doing what he is, then it might save them some time, and leave less people injured.]

Comments

[sarcaskick]

[ He isn't sure if he can do this.

He knows he has a good thing going, so far - the pardon from Schnee had opened a lot of closed doors, and bit by bit he was working on regaining access to the other cities. Doing bounties pro bono was part of one of his deals, and by all means he could handle this work alone. But part of playing the "bad guy going straight" was actually tolerating the presence of the Beacon Brats out in the open, and while he and Jaune had rarely spoken a word to each other Mercury's impression of him wasn't...

Favorable.

But work is work. Besides, he knows the blonde hates his guts - he can have fun with that.

Even so, his expression is bland as he strolls into the store Jaune had mentioned, hands in his pockets as he looks around with an air of disinterest that seems distinctly at odds with his current role as an investigator. ]

What's the good word, buddy?

[ His attitude, unsurprisingly, is flippant. ]

[aurabble]

[Wow. As soon as the words leave Mercury's mouth, Jaune hates himself a little more. Which is saying a lot, because he's become pretty accustomed to self-loathing lately.]

Apparently she recognizes the man as someone who's worked for Aster Tech in the past. Before everything kind of went crazy. There are a couple of more stores that haven't been attacked yet nearby, so unless we run into him or another vehicle explodes, I figure we can start there. [He glances at the employee again.] Thanks for helping me out with this. This is my very temporary bounty hunting partner, Huggy. He's a great person, really selfless, he helped out during the carnival and everything. So we all call him Huggy now.

[Mercury's not the only one capable of being an asshole. He's under no delusions that Mercury actually cares, but it might help him to have the information anyway. He's still baffled as to why Mercury agreed to this in the first place. He knows about the pardon Weiss gave him, but not the other deal. Maybe he could use the money and a human shield. There's no reason for the to stick around any longer, so Jaune heads out, pulling out his scroll as he does.]

Do you still have your scroll? We can set them up to temporarily monitor eachother's aura levels. And do you still have access to...I'm guessing what you used in the past is dust ammo of some kind? [Teamwork is important, okay. Even if neither of them can stand eachother.]

[sarcaskick]

[ He follows him out of the store, making no comment whatsoever about the whole "Huggy" thing. He's the one who gave himself that nickname in the first place, after all - it's a lot harder than that to get under his skin.

He rolls his eyes at the question about his scroll and such, lifting a hand to flap it dismissively. ]

You think there's time to whip out your scroll in the middle of a real fight? That's a good way to offer yourself as a target. Forget it. I know what I'm doing, I'm not gonna let you die.

[ ... as much as he'd like to. ]

I've got plenty of what I need. I've barely even used the stuff.

[aurabble]

[With Mercury not taking the bait, Jaune drops it. He shrugs, pocketing his scroll. While he walks ahead on the automated sidewalks, he tries not to wince or make a face.]

Please never say that again.

[It's weird.]

I doubt we'll need that much anyway. It's just some guy with grenades. He doesn't even have an aura.