Aiming for Justice

“Hey, Emrys?” The man looked up and over at the young woman he called his adopted daughter. It was mildly suspicious that her massive ‘banhammer’ was nowhere in sight, but he focused his dark eyes on Nina to make sure she had his full attention. As he did, he closed the manual he’d been reading, his finger tucked in between the pages to mark his spot. 

“What’s up, Nina?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her as she leaned against the desk with her hip supporting her. Her arms were folded across her chest, making the chainmail under her dress clink as she shifted.

“What made you want to be a cop?” Emrys blinked. That was a question he hadn’t expected from her. He paused, thinking back to when he was a youngster, tracing his memories to when he first told his mom he wanted to be the chief of police. He wanted to help people, but there was more to it than that, wasn’t there? He shrugged after a moment. What the hell? 

“So, you know I’m not a native to Reign’s Rest, right?” Nina nodded, and Emrys turned in his office chair, leaning forward to rest his arms on his thighs as he kept his attention on her. “Well, we used to live in Wintervale - parents still do, even.”

“What the hell made you move to Brookfell of all places if you could afford that?” The trainer across from him asked incredulously, and a smile twitched at his lips in amusement at the disbelief.

“I’m getting there. You want to hear this story or not?”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry, Chief.” Emrys shook his head again, trying to keep his patience. There just was something about the woman that got under his skin, and he had a hard time putting his finger on why.

“Anyways. While crime is almost nonexistent, it’s still there. So, imagine little me -” He held his hand out to about even with the top of his desk, “with that same tenacity you know me for when it comes to making sure things are just and fair.”

Nina’s grin made him smile back, leaning on his other fist with his elbow propped on the desktop to support him. “Well, when I was like… six? Seven? I met Iqbal, and he was being bullied. Some of the kids took one look at his clothes and thought they were better than him. He was hurt, and something just made me go up and get between them.”

“Sounds about right for you.” Nina commented and Emrys rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I got my ass kicked, though me and him took down several of them while we were at it.” He smirked and gave a one shoulder shrug. “But yeah, just since then, I felt the need to help people and do right by them. If kids like that could get away with bullying someone, then… well, more adults needed to step up.”

“Huh… Then why not stop when you got to being a cop? Why aim for chief of police?”

“Why are you so curious about this?” Emrys asked, his dark eyes narrowing suspiciously as his Pyroar tail lashed behind him. She defensively held her hands up to show she meant peace and he couldn’t help but relax.. Marginally.

“Just am. It never made sense to me, and Boss man wants me to try and get to know you better for some reason.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but her eyes showed a bit of hurt. Now he felt like an ass. He sighed.

“Sorry. Just… not used to you being curious about me.” His shoulders slumped slightly as he studied her. “But as I got to be more involved with the police, I was seeing corruption, especially here in Brookfell. The people deserve better than that, and the best way to deal with it is from the top, I’d say.”

“So… you transferred from your cushy place in Wintervale to Brookfell… to help people?” Why did Nina seem so genuinely surprised by that statement? It took a second for his brain to process why, exactly. Right. She had a much different upbringing than he did, and just as different as Iqbal’s was. From her perspective, people weren’t helpful just because they wanted to be. There usually was something in it for the other person. People in Brookfell, born and raised there at least, didn’t do that on the norm.

Emrys gave a firm nod. “Yeah. To help people and to make things better for everyone, including little pests like you.”

He grinned and from nowhere he could think of, Nina had a pillow and smacked him with it. He laughed, holding an arm up to shield himself from the playful onslaught. “I’m joking! I’m joking! You’re not a pest!” 

Nina paused midswing, staring at him and he wondered if he’d misspoke or something. She studied him, and he, for the life of him, couldn’t figure out what was going through her brain. Like it hadn’t existed at all, the pillow disappeared behind her and she stood up straighter, grinning. “Yeah, well, this pest is gonna let you get back to your studying, then. Can’t have you flunking your yearly exam. Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it.”