Talyra, who had been paying polite attention because she knew this conversation wasn’t hers to manage, made a small sound that was about forty percent a cough.
She indeed heard Aisella repeat the phrase "traditional contest" and began whispering to her that the Nightwings could be considered the strongest, surpassing any family, including the Starlights.
"Aethelgard respected the Nightwings because of their strength, pride, and dedication...! Making them the strongest and one of the most influential families in Aethelgard, especially due to their incredibly tumultuous history," Talyra whispered to Aisella.
Aisella nodded. "I heard... yes... but making the grandson’s problem into a traditional contest sounds kinda... off maybe...."
"A traditional contest, huh?" Rex said. "Sounds interesting, even though I didn’t have to prove anything here."
"I’m not in the wrong."
Elaris nodded. "I understand your point, but Aurelia is the strongest fighter in Aethelgard, and she’s likely to leverage her family’s reputation to pressure you into accepting it."
And that... is where Rex could see a better opportunity to at least teach Aurelia a lesson, just because she acted cold toward him when they first t.
"What does that even an...?" Rex asked. "Forcing stuff at soone is not what you call being a good citizen."
"She’s betting all on this fight..."
"Heehhh... I see." Rex crossed his arms. "What’s the contest about?"
"Unard combat," Elaris said. "Traditional Nightwing challenge format."
"The winner of the engagent gets what they had agreed to ask for before the match."
"Aurelia’s plan is to ask you to publicly restore the Nightwing household’s standing if she wins."
Rex said, "And if I win."
"You would set the terms," Elaris said. "That’s how it should look."
She gave him a warm look of evaluation.
"I wanted you to have a day’s notice," she said, "because that seed fair."
For a mont, Rex looked at her.
"That was nice of you," he said. "And I’m glad you’re being chill about it."
The corner of Elaris’s mouth twitched. "Well, honestly... it really is my grandson’s fault for being so emotional about everything."
"And of course, I’ll tell you more about Nightwing’s history and why this traditional contest is important."
"Tomorrow night." She said, "Co to the Nightwing’s household."
She glanced at him for a mont longer than necessary before altering her path and continuing down the street in the direction she had been heading. She moved slowly, as if she had accomplished what she set out to do and was now returning to the rest of her day.
Rex saw her leave and then thought. "That was a fucking INVITATION that I saw..."
’Oh... I’m about to fucking enjoy this new path that leads to the destruction of the Nightwing’s family!’
’And when I win that contest... my terms are going to look innocent, but deep inside... it’s to punish Aurelia and break her bit... by bit...’
Suddenly, Rex spotted Theo about thirty ters beyond the intersection where Elaris had departed.
He was at the end of the next block on the street, in a spot where soone could see the conversation from a distance that was too far away to easily get to but close enough to see what it was about.
’Oh wow... what a fucking dick move for staying away from just like that.’
When Rex looked at him, Theo’s body language changed in a way that showed he wasn’t expecting to be noticed and was now dealing with the fact that he had been.
He didn’t co near.
Rex studied Theo for about four seconds, enough ti to grasp the situation. In that brief mont, he realized that Theo had chosen to send his grandmother to speak with him rather than approaching him directly.
Theo had chosen to remain an observer rather than engage as a participant. In this situation, he was more interested in watching events unfold than in understanding their implications.
Rex had t people in this world at different tis who were cowards in the sense that they were willing to hurt others but not willing to take responsibility for what they did.
He felt a certain way about those people.
’Oh yeah... I’m going to fucking make him suffer just for that...’
’What an insolent son of a bitch who hides behind his grandma.’
’Just for that... I’ll be taking your grandma tomorrow.’
It was not anger. Anger was the reaction one would expect from the situation, but Rex had long since beco immune to the emotional responses that such scenarios typically elicited.
The feeling he experienced was more nuanced than anger and far more patient. "Anyway... let’s return to the girls who likely wanted to enjoy their walk back."
He turned back to the street.
"Let’s keep walking," he said to Talyra and Aisella.
They kept walking.
"I know my man." Talyra walked next to him. "You saw him, right?"
"Yup," Rex said.
"He sent his grandmother," Talyra said, like soone who is just stating a fact without adding anything.
"He did," Rex said.
For a mont, Talyra was quiet, and then she spoke in the direct manner that Rex had co to appreciate, saying, "You’re not going to let that go?"
Rex said, "I will deal with it at the right ti and in the right order."
Talyra thought about this. "Which is after tomorrow night."
"Yep, after tomorrow night, where he’s probably going to be there as well," Rex said again. "I’ll probably bring Diana too, just so that she can also confess her real feelings."
Aisella walked on Rex’s left during their conversation, remaining silent, which was her way of actively agreeing. She had a unique ability to use silence to convey information, achieving clarity equivalent to that of words while avoiding the imprecision that can sotis accompany verbal communication.
And then... their peaceful morning continued.
...
They had turned south toward the market district when a voice suddenly erged from sowhere ahead and to the right. It cut through the street noise with the clarity of soone experienced at projecting their voice.
Rex noticed that both of them stopped.
"Talyra? Aisella?"
Rex stopped next to them and glanced toward the source of the voice. The woman who had spoken erged from the covered market on the right side of the street.
She wore clothes that set her apart from everyone else on the street that morning, and she carried a market basket in one hand. It resembled a priestess’s outfit, which really caught Rex’s attention.
Her presence radiated an air of authority and mystery that captivated him. As she drew closer, Rex felt an undeniable sense that she possessed secrets about the capital that he had yet to uncover.
Rex estimated that she was in her late forties. She stood a bit taller than average, with a physique that suggested she had remained active rather than rely functional.
Her movents conveyed a comfort in her body that stemd from either genuine confidence or years of practicing how to present herself.
’Goddamn... She’s so fucking hot...’
’This is a real milf... and what’s better is that she looks like a nun in my world, but I guess priestess is the right term for her.’
’Her body literally is for sins.’
When she saw Talyra and Aisella, her face lit up with the kind of warmth that cos from being genuinely delighted to see soone.
"Oh my goodness~! I didn’t think I’d see you two out this morning," she said as she reached them with no trouble.
Aisella said, "Mother Alia," in the voice she used for people she liked and didn’t have to deal with.
"It’s nice to see you again, Mother Alia." Talyra’s greeting radiated warmth, reminiscent of soone encountering a person who is more than just an acquaintance but not quite a family mber.
Alia greeted both people with the kind of warmth that cos from soone who is used to being welcod. She wasn’t important, but she was genuinely happy to see the people who were welcoming her, and that happiness ca through clearly.
Next, she turned her attention to Rex.
When the focus shifted to Rex, her expression changed from the warm look she had given to Talyra and Aisella. It was still hot.
But it also had the extra quality of soone coming across a certain type of interest that they hadn’t expected to that morning, suggesting a mix of surprise and intrigue at Rex’s presence.
"The man with you here..." she said to Talyra and Aisella, looking at Rex, "...this must be."
"The Rex Rexilion I’ve been hearing about."
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