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Gotham was a dangerous and strange place for more reasons than was reasonable to count, so not the greatest place to grow up but it wasn't like Jason had a choice in the matter.
Everyone knew about the city's reputation when it came to crime, but there were whispers of other things in the shadows for those who paid attention, and worse for those unfortunate enough to have no other choice to stick to those shadows.
That's how Jason learned about Talons, or at least one in particular.
Before his mom died, she'd told him stories about some of the strange creatures that inhabited Gotham alongside humans, Talons had never been a particular favorite of his for her bedtime stories, which was likely why Jason had forgotten the most important rule should you ever cross paths with one.
You should never touch a Talon.
In the telephone game of myths and folklore there were many reasons why not to, thought it typically boiled down to the Talon sinking their claws into your mind, or killing you, or taking you…somewhere?
It was hard to remember because none of that seemed to matter to a ten-year-old Jason left alone in the world trying to fend for himself on the streets of Gotham, more accurately the rooftops of Gotham when it occurred to him that it could be easier to not get messed with if he was hiding out up high instead of in the alleys.
Talons were far from his mind as he'd climbed up to the rooftop he'd set up camp on for the past few nights just as the patches of sky one could spot past the sky were turning pink with the sunset.
He was immediately on edge once he'd realized he wasn't alone. An older kid, not quite a grown-up, Jason was pretty sure, and maybe that was why Jason let his guard down probably too easily. Plus, it maybe wouldn't have been the end of the world for him to have a friend.
The other boy couldn't talk, or didn't want to, but Jason understood that. Right after his mom Jason didn't feel like talking very much either, and maybe the other kid was going through something like that. It wasn't like it was that uncommon around here, and if this guy needed help like Jason did when he'd first started living on his own, he could share all the tips and tricks he'd learned.
"I don't have a lot of stuff to eat, but these peanut butter crackers should still be good for a while." Jason offered, mouth full of one of the crackers before he'd offered the pack to the other boy who studied him in confusion but delicately pinched the package between his fingers to hold on to them after Jason kept insisting he didn't need them.
"You can take this blanket too if you need one, I know where to find more and my hoodies' really warm anyway." He explained, wrapping said blanket around the other kid's shoulders. The other boy lifted his hand to catch the fabric from slipping off him, fingertips brushing against Jason's and he felt a strange thrum of something assuming it was static from the blanket and the weird clothes the other kid wore. Maybe he'd escaped from somewhere? It seemed impolite to ask, so Jason tried to fill the quiet between them with anything else he could think of, though as time wore on his stream of words slowed significantly as he fought sleep.
Jason blinked awake suddenly as he felt the weight of something settling over him, blearily recognizing the blanket he'd offered now being wrapped around him before the other boy stood.
"Thank you for sharing your nest with me, little wing." The boy, the thing, the Talon had somehow said to Jason without opening his mouth as the sky had reached it's darkest point above them, smiling brightly as his body transformed, wings splaying out behind him and taking off before it could fully dawn on Jason to be horrified.
~~
At first it seemed like Jason's luck was turning around after that night when Bruce had found him and offered to him a place to stay and something of a future. Typically, Jason would come to learn, hunting was the sort of profession passed down a family line and a more transient lifestyle, though Gotham existed as something specially cursed requiring constant vigilance.
The sense of belonging and relative safety Bruce offered came with the heavy weight of legacy and expectation that Jason continuously got the impression he wasn't living up to. Assumably, it had a lot to do with the way Jason hesitated to take his shot if there seemed to be a fluttering a wings nearby.
They never talked about it outright, which was good because that meant that Bruce could assume that Jason's aversion was based in fear he hadn't yet worked past. But still, a flaw he knew Bruce wanted him to correct.
Part of Jason wished he wanted to correct it to, but truthfully Jason didn't always share Bruce's strict binary of good and wicked things, and even as years passed and he rarely caught more than glimpses of a Talon, his Talon he'd rarely allow himself to think of the creature as, each glimpse lit something in his chest that Jason didn't know how to name.
~~
Jason had been tracking what seemed to be the makings of a new vampire nest in town and had not accounted for hired human security being until it seemed to be too late. His first solo outing and he'd already fucked it up.
He'd heard a gun cock behind him, trying to take a steadying breath and puzzle out, what, if anything, he could possibly do to get himself out of this.
A rustling of the wind, the clatter of metal and a startled yell happened in the seconds Jason was expecting to die, turning slowly to see what was waiting behind him though he already
"I will kill for you." The Talon's voice was still not quite human as it rang through Jason's mind, Jason's would-be attacker dangling precariously from the Talon's grip on his ankle.
"Please don't." Jason answered aloud, hating that his motivations for the plea were more self-serving than attempts at mercy. If something happened to this guy, Bruce might have questions that Jason wouldn't know how to begin answering.
"As you wish it, little wing," The Talon trilled tossing the man aside carelessly before spreading his wings and lithely launching up beyond where the city lights of Gotham could reach him.
Until next time.
~~
This part of Robinson Park was rarely ever part of Jason's typical patrolling, inexplicably it'd always just registered in his mind as safe, but tonight it was as though his feet were moving of their own volition toward something even if he had no idea what.
As he walked Jason began to notice a flickering in a small grouping of trees and as he came closer he could detect the thrum of magic, an illusion, but still that sense of safe that had him leaning into curiosity rather than caution as he pushed past the illusory magic. He couldn't dare to admit to himself what he was hoping to find once he'd reached the other side of the illusion to find a cavernous nest-like dwelling that seemed impossible to exist in Gotham, leaving Jason with even more questions.
"You've found our nest."
Jason turned, at the sound of the voice speaking to him, taking a step back for each step forward Talon took, but not out of fear, in the same way that he'd somehow led himself here in the first place.
Our nest? Jason thought to himself, or assumed he thought to himself as he stumbled back into the haphazard collection of pillows, blankets, all kinds of soft or silky fabrics which again Jason couldn't help but wonder how they'd ended up here.
"I've finally got it just right for you, I believe, human things like you enjoy soft things, yes? A nest of soft things for us." Talon's voice echoed in Jason's mind as he was reflexively crawling backwards deeper into the nest as Talon drew closer, his heart racing in anticipation as the humanoid creature loomed above him. Talon would be smaller than Jason had they been standing face to face, but in the moment Talon's presence loomed as large as it always did in Jason's memories and imagination.
"You're going to be mine," Talon chirped, preening brightly as he grinned down at the man as he straddled Jason's prone form " just as I am going to be yours. Once you've mated me the bond will be complete. Don't you want that, little wing?"
"Yes." Jason breathed, and he couldn't pretend he'd ever wanted anything else.