The Scavenger’s Sister

Before Raziel could respond, Leon stepped forward, grabbing her arm gently but firmly. "We need to talk," he muttered under his breath, pulling her off to the side.

Raziel raised an eyebrow, letting herself be dragged a few steps away from the trio. "What's your problem, Scavenger? I was handling it."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure you were. You're about to trust three guys we barely know with your life."

"They're offering to help," Raziel countered, crossing her arms. "What's your deal? You scared of making new friends?"

Leon scoffed, lowering his voice. "Friends? You're kidding, right? These guys could be playing us."

Raziel tilted her head, her lips twitching into a smirk. "What, you don't think I can handle them?"

"It's not about handling them," Leon grumbled. "It's about not jumping into the first alliance that pops up just because they say a few nice words."

Raziel leaned in closer, her tone teasing. "Aw, are you worried about me?"

Leon shot her a deadpan look. "No, I'm worried about us both getting stabbed in the back. We barely know these guys."

Raziel, growing more amused by the second, nudged Leon with her elbow. "I can take care of myself, Scavenger. Besides, you're just mad because I'm making all the decisions now."

"Oh, really?" Leon crossed his arms, glaring down at her. "You think you're in charge?"

"Obviously." Raziel gave him a cocky grin. "Who else around here is a splicer priestess with godlike powers?"

Leon let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "You don't even have control of your flames half the time, and you're acting like you've got everything figured out."

"I've got more figured out than you think," Raziel shot back, poking him in the chest. "Maybe you should let me handle this one."

Leon grabbed her hand before she could poke him again, narrowing his eyes. "You're not seriously going to trust them just because they say they're defecting."

Raziel yanked her hand back, getting up in his face. "What if I am?"

"You're gonna get us both killed."

"I'm not gonna get us killed, you moron!" Raziel snapped, shoving him lightly in the chest. "I know what I'm doing."

Leon grumbled under his breath, rubbing the spot where she shoved him. "You're impossible."

Raziel shoved him again, but this time with a smirk. "And you're paranoid."

Leon grabbed her wrist before she could push him a third time, and this time he gave her a light shove back, rolling his eyes. "You're gonna give me a headache."

Raziel grinned, obviously enjoying the back-and-forth. "Good. Maybe it'll knock some sense into you."

Leon let out a frustrated laugh, shaking his head. "Fine. We'll hear them out. But I swear, if they try anything, I'm not saving your ass."

Raziel winked at him. "Don't worry, Scavenger. I'll be saving yours."

After the decision was made to hear them out, Leon motioned for the triplets to speak. They exchanged another glance, as if silently agreeing on who should go first.

Striker stepped forward, taking a small breath before speaking. "Alright… guess we should probably start with who we are. I'm Striker, the oldest." He gave a small, hesitant nod. "I handle most of the combat and planning. I… used to lead our squad when we were still with House Eternal."

He glanced at his brothers, giving them a look to follow his lead.

Riker, the middle triplet, scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm Riker," he muttered. "I'm more of the tech guy. Hacking, systems, that kind of stuff. I, uh… can crack into just about anything we need."

Raziel raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She snorted. "Good for you," she muttered under her breath, arms still crossed. Her tone had the kind of sharp, careless attitude that showed she was hardly convinced.

Finally, Hiker, the quietest and youngest of the three, took a step forward, but he seemed even more nervous than his brothers. "I'm Hiker," he said softly. "I, uh… I'm good with stealth. Tracking, infiltration, stuff like that. I'm… not much of a talker."

Raziel sized him up with a sharp gaze, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, I can tell. You didn't say a damn thing this whole time."

Hiker flushed slightly, ducking his head. "Yeah, well... I leave the talking to them."

Striker, seeing the dynamic shift, relaxed a little, though his caution remained. "We've been together since we were kids. Our parents… well, they didn't last long in House Eternal's service. So it's been just us for a long time. We joined the House because we didn't have anywhere else to go, but now..."

Riker cut in, his voice more determined now. "Now we're done with that life. The House isn't what it used to be. The secrets, the experiments… we don't want any part of it. We're done being pawns. House Eternal… it's not what it used to be. They've gone too far. Experimenting on people, keeping secrets from their own members—we've had enough."

Leon's brow furrowed. "Experimenting? On who?"

Hiker spoke up, his voice low and bitter. "On anyone they can get their hands on. Splicers, civilians, anyone. We were sent after the rogue scientist, but it's because he knows too much. They want to wipe him out before he exposes them."

Raziel scoffed loudly, arms still crossed. "So, you're just gonna defect because you feel guilty? That's hard to buy." She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed by their reasoning.

Before she could continue, Leon bonked her lightly on the head with his knuckles. "Chill out," he muttered, giving her a warning glance. "Let them talk."

Raziel shot him a glare, rubbing the spot where he tapped her. "Don't touch me, scavenger," she grumbled, but she didn't make a big deal out of it, choosing instead to roll her eyes and mutter something under her breath.

Leon smirked, shaking his head. "You've got no filter, seriously."

Raziel crossed her arms tighter, clearly annoyed but dropping the subject. "Whatever."

Striker nodded. "Guilty, yes. But also scared. You don't know what they're capable of. We've seen things—things that would make anyone run. But we also saw you," he added, his gaze fixed on Raziel. "What you did back there... the power you showed. We don't want to be on the wrong side of that."

Raziel's eyes flickered with a hint of her Brimstone flames, though she kept them in check. Her smirk returned, but it was far from comforting. "You're scared of me? Good."

Riker shook his head quickly. "Not just scared. We… respect what you can do. House Infinite branded you a heretic, but we know they're hiding something. They're lying to everyone. You're proof of that."

Leon glanced at Raziel, watching her closely as she processed the triplets' words. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the weight of everything she'd been through pressing down on her. She was a walking target for the Houses, and now these triplets were talking about using her power for their own ends—whether they realized it or not.

Raziel clicked her tongue, clearly bored with the conversation. "So, you want me to play babysitter for three traitors? Let me guess, you think I'm gonna swoop in and fix your problems?"

Striker shook his head quickly. "No! It's not like that. We just want a way out. We think you're the key to exposing everything—House Infinite, House Eternal, all of it. But we'll follow your lead."

Leon stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "And what happens if we say no?"

There was a brief silence as the triplets exchanged glances again, before Striker answered quietly. "Then we're back to being targets. You're our best chance. Without you… we don't stand a chance."

Leon studied the trio closely, his eyes narrowing. "And you think we're your ticket out?"

Striker nodded, not backing down. "Yeah. We've got skills—skills you could use. And you've got the one thing the Houses can't control. Her." He motioned to Raziel, but quickly added, "Not that we're trying to use you, or anything. We just know you're the key to something bigger."

Raziel's eyes glinted, her lips curving into a small, dangerous smile as she twirled one of her new tonfas. "Interesting. I like the sound of that. But don't get too comfy. I don't trust easily, and you're still on probation as far as I'm concerned."

Leon crossed his arms again, nodding in agreement. "Alright, Striker, Riker, Hiker. We don't trust you, but we're willing to listen. We'll see how useful you actually are and if you're serious about leaving the House, then you'd better be prepared for what comes next. But remember—we're not your babysitters. You pull your weight, or you're gone."

Striker nodded eagerly. "We're ready. Whatever it takes."

Riker and Hiker both nodded in agreement, though there was a visible tension in their movements, as if they were well aware of the danger they were walking into.

Raziel leaned in close to Leon, her voice low but still carrying her usual blunt edge. "Guess we've got our own little squad now. Hope you're ready to play leader, Scavenger."

Leon shot her a glance, annoyance clear in his tone. "Would you quit calling me that already? I have a name."

Raziel snorted, not even looking at him. "Yeah, yeah. I know. 'Leon.' Whatever."

Leon rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath, but Raziel, in her usual way, wasn't done. "Leonidas."

Leon froze mid-step, his head turning toward her, confusion flashing across his face. "What did you just say?"

Raziel, caught off guard, shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Leonidas? Dunno, it just came to me."

Leon's stare grew sharper, his gaze narrowing at her. "How do you even know that?"

Raziel blinked, realizing the shift in his tone. For once, she seemed genuinely confused. "What? Is that your name or something?"

Leon's eyes were fixed on her, his expression unreadable, but there was tension there. "It is. But I've never told you that."

Raziel's smirk faltered, the usual bravado dimming just a bit. "Well, you've got that whole 'stoic warrior' vibe going on. Leonidas just seemed… fitting."

Leon's stare lingered, unnerving her in a way she hadn't expected. "Right…"

Raziel, clearly uncomfortable now, gave a half-hearted laugh, trying to shake it off. "Okay, chill. It's just a name."

Leon turned away, his posture stiff as he muttered, "Just don't go around calling me that."

Raziel, still thrown by his reaction, raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say… Leon."

She gave Leon a cautious glance before quickly shaking off the moment and turning her attention back to the triplets. "Alright, that's enough chit-chat for now. You three are dismissed. Go… do whatever it is you do."

Striker nodded eagerly, his posture still tense. "Of course. We'll stay close by, keep an eye out for trouble."

Riker offered a small salute, clearly relieved to be dismissed. "We'll scout the area, see if we can dig up more info on House Eternal's movements."

Hiker, ever quiet, simply nodded before the trio moved off into the shadows, disappearing into the surrounding area with practiced stealth.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Leon exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Those guys are a piece of work."

Raziel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Tell me about it. 'We're scared of you, but hey, let's be best friends.' Idiots."

Leon snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, they're our problem now."

Raziel shrugged, her usual nonchalance returning. "I guess we'll see how useful they actually are." She glanced over at Leon again, a slight grin tugging at her lips. "Maybe they'll annoy you more than I do."

Leon gave her a deadpan look. "You? Please. You're more of a handful than the three of them combined, and they just tried to defect to the most wanted splicer in the region."

Raziel smirked. "You know you love it."

Leon shook his head, smirking despite himself. "Yeah, sure. Can't wait for more of your 'charm.'"