"You're late," Nova clipped, her brows furrowed. She had clearly been waiting a while. Dressed in a casual combat outfit that hid her wolf ears and fluffy tail, she exuded a wild beauty.
Her impatience likely stemmed from the fact that, unlike Luna, Nova didn't have the protection of being a member of a powerful criminal organization, and being in the Core Formation stage was far from enough to guarantee her safety.
On his approach, Kane couldn't help but be appreciative of Nova's beauty, especially when looking so fierce in her combat outfit.
Thoughts of the recent talks about a harem flitted through his mind, but he quickly shook his head to free himself from those thoughts. It wasn't the time. He barely even knew Nova. The problem was, ever since receiving that rune, he had felt hornier than usual.
He and Luna pulled up beside the wolfling and cut the engines. Kane's gaze locked onto Nova's stern expression, a smirk playing on his lips. "We had some… unexpected company. But all's good now!"
The street was as busy as any other street in Riftshade, with large amounts of people moving past, filling the air with a cacophony of sounds.
"Fine," Nova snorted, clearly wanting to hurry this along and get off the open road. "Let's just get going. I'm not as safe as that servile little catling of yours."
If she expected to get a rise out of Luna with that comment, she failed. Luna was confident in who she was. In fact, she revelled in it, especially after having been made his Valkyrie.
That said, the catling did realize Nova was trying to insult her and narrowed her eyes at the wolfling, promising revenge.
"Sure," Kane nodded, extending his hand, "but first…"
Nova knew what he wanted, but she was a suspicious person by nature, and narrowed her eyes at him without making a move.
Kane rolled his eyes, "Just give it to me. I'd like to avoid an awkward situation where you have to give me the token when we are already in front of the trader." He smirked tauntingly at her, "Besides, what am I gonna do? I'm right next to you; I'd never get away."
Nova growled something unflattering under her breath, but she couldn't deny he was right, so she discreetly pressed the Nether Cabal token into Kane's hands.
"Thank you," Kane smiled charmingly as he pocketed the token. He then grabbed the extra helmet strapped to his bike and handed it to Nova. "Here, put this on and hold tight."
Nova took the helmet but hesitated at the thought of hugging Kane's body so closely. She glanced at Luna and her bike, but Kane quickly interrupted her thoughts. He shook his head, "Uh-uh. If you still want to do this, you're riding with me, not her."
Nova couldn't help but smile a little at something in his tone. "You're quite protective of her, huh? Isn't she supposed to serve you?"
"Are those two things mutually exclusive now?" Kane asked dryly. "Just get on if you're coming. We can't afford to be late."
"Fine," Nova smirked, suddenly seeming a little more tolerant of Kane.
A few minutes later, they drove back out into the streets, now with a passenger on Kane's bike.
It was time to get their techniques.
* * *
It took them a full hour to reach the location the Nether Cabal's trader had given them. It was just outside Riftshade's slums, at the edge of the mostly-deserted wasteland.
To Luna, this was nothing new, but neither Kane nor Nova had spent much, if any, time outside the city.
The wasteland wasn't an actual desert yet, but life clung to it tenuously. Sparse plant growth and skeletal remains of old buildings destroyed in the war were common sights. Even bleached human and beastling bones could occasionally be found.
Truly, the wasteland was a grim sight. It's only saving grace was the lack of radiation. At the start of the war between Mystics and Cybers, a mysterious event had disabled all nuclear weapons and power plants. Even now, they still refused to work, and the exact reasons were unclear. At least, to people like them.
But neither Kane nor Nova let it bother them. They were more annoyed by the terrible air quality than anything else. Luckily, their status as Mystics helped alleviate the problem.
Kane and Luna's bikes came to a screeching halt just in front of an old, partially destroyed bridge. It spanned an offshoot of what was once called Tokyo Bay, ending abruptly above the polluted water without reaching the other side.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Nova asked sceptically. "Why would they want to meet here?"
"It's not the exact place yet," Kane answered thoughtfully, frowning. "They want to meet at the very end of the bridge, right above the water. As for why… I have no idea. This is my first time trading with the Cabal. It might be normal for them."
"I don't like it," Nova muttered, suspicion evident in her voice.
"Well, it is what it is," Kane shrugged helplessly. "Luna and I know it's sketchy, but we don't have much choice. These techniques are as good as life or death for us. Besides, the Cabal has a reputation as the most honourable of the six syndicates; I doubt they brought us here just to kill us."
Having said his piece, Kane stepped off his bike together with Luna, who put on her tactical backpack and gave Nova a challenging glare. Then, they started climbing the bridge, clearly willing to leave Nova behind if she didn't want to come.
They left their bikes behind out of caution, unsure of the bridge's stability.
Nova watched them go and sighed. "What am I gonna do? Give up on potentially opening a line to the Cabal?" she muttered to herself.
Unwilling to miss this opportunity, she left her helmet with the other two and started climbing after the master and beastling pair.
"Come on, let's meet our fate…" Kane smiled at Luna, continuing forward. "Either we get the techniques we need and get a chance to break free from Father, or we don't." Then, his face turned grim, "Either way, I refuse to live under Father's boot much longer. It's death or victory."
Besides him, Luna gave a determined nod, ready to follow her master wherever the path may lead.
Soon, they noticed a group of ten people gathered around a hovercopter parked at the very edge of the bridge.