3rd POV

The two of them traveled for a while. Raptor constantly kept a vigilant eye out for any danger while Myne just cruised along in the levitating crib. Her eyes constantly soaked up anything that caught her attention and he kept an eye on her progress. She was at that age where she could sit up on her own and several times he had to guide her back down when she would lean forward and threaten to fall out of the crib.

They drew eyes whenever the two of them stopped in a settlement for him to take a job and replenish his supplies. He trusted absolutely no one around her and constantly kept her in a bird's eye view. He could drop her off to the authorities but there was no way to monitor her status. For all he knew, she could have been taken back to the same crime ring that she was kidnapped into. Call it paranoia but he didn't exactly trust anyone or anything on this planet except his own. He wasn't taking any chances.

He told ONI about this as well. Let's just say fear took over when heard his mother will come if something happened to Myne. Thankfully and gratefully, his father and half of ONI managed to calm her down and avoiding such a thing.

They were near a river and he spread his cloak out before taking all of his armor plates off. It needed to be cleaned and maintained carefully. He always had a spare set of clothes just in case he needed to get out of his armor and uniform and this proved to be one of those times.

The brown colored multi pocket pants were tucked into his black boots while his black shirt hugged his torso. His Brown skin was a little pale from the lack of sunlight he's received lately while his mop of black hair was in need of a hair cut soon. His panther ears twitched. His gold color eyes blinked away any dust or sand. Scars on his forearms from his early training days made him stare at them for a few seconds before he went back to cleaning his gear and putting on fake human ears so Myne won't be confused.

Scars often reminded him that he was a survivor down inside.

His hands dipped inside the cool river water and splashed against his face, making him sigh quietly in relief when it soothed him a bit. He went back to his spread out cloak and grabbed the canteen then dunked it underneath the water, watching as the bubbles made their way to the surface. Once it was filled, he went back over to the cloth and grabbed a water purifier tablet then dropped it in, twisting the cap on and shaking it a few times. After several seconds to a minute of shaking, he swished it around then drank some of it for a few seconds before picking Myne out of her crib and tilting the canteen gently. Some of the water spilled from the corner of her mouth but eventually she got her fill.

He didn't know if he was doing a good job of taking care of her but he was keeping her alive and healthy so that meant he was at least doing the bare minimum. To him, this was a learning curve when dealing with civilians so young. It gave him experience and would assist him in the future just in case something like this came up again. Setting the canteen down and throwing her over his shoulder using his tail, he sat down cross legged then set her down next to his right while he pulled up a map. Naturally, she was curious and proceeded to grab the first thing that was in her reach.

His black and green dog tags. Showing 'Pantheruos Army SWC(Special Warfare Command) Colonel R. Towson' in Pantheruos language. Myne stuck it in her mouth and began to gnaw at it. Raptor saw this then gently pried it from her hands before placing it around his neck, using his shirt to wipe away the drool.

"It's not a toy." He said calmly. She wobbled in place for a few seconds before falling over onto his knee, making him sigh and gently pick her up then place her on his lap. This proved to be more troublesome than he imagined. He had barely set her down and she already fell over and he to use his tail to make sure she doesn't again. It was to be expected though. The parents did say that she was frail so he couldn't get agitated at the fact. Usually when she slept, she slept like a rock and barely made a noise.

The next settlement was going to be around a day's walk from their current position and it was one step closer to the settlement. Bounties were considerably harder to do now that the child in front of him was an added factor. While he dealt with the job, sometimes that lasted days, he often had to push her out of harm's way so he could have more leg room.

All his thoughts were interrupted when he heard whining from the girl in his lap and he looked down to see her eyes start to water. How troublesome she was at times. He didn't play with her because he didn't feel the need to. Countless parents across the settlements the two of them encountered had given him tips on how to care for her and it proved to be helpful since she's not dead in his care.

Oh damn that sounded dark.

A cry escaped her lips and made him frown before plucking her off his lap and turning her to face him. She dangled in the air and looked at him with watery eyes while he just sighed when he heard the faint growling from her stomach.

Before he could grab the food for her, a twig snapped to his right and he quickly tucked her into him then rolled backwards when a Beowolf lunged at them, mostly at Myne. It roared at them and it lunged again at a greater speed towards the eight month infant, making him jump up and plant a hand on its head then vault over it then kick it with his right foot into a tree. He quickly swiped his knife from the cloak and spun around. As it turned to roar at them, its head suddenly slammed against the tree trunk and it went silent when he flicked the knife at blinding speeds and watched at the blade entered its mouth. It pinned the Grimm against the tree and its lower jaw hung limply and the body followed shortly after. After waiting fifteen seconds and observing, he watched as the body disappeared. He went over to pick up his knife off the tree trunk then set it on the cloak again.

"How troublesome..." He looked down at the child. She giggled and babbled a bit when he poked her stomach with a smug expression on his face before sitting down and getting her food ready. He set her down in his lap and began to mash some canned peaches for her. As he fed her, he began to think about his next course of action. Every time he fed her the fruit, she would always grip his hand as the spoon entered her mouth. He sighed with a smirk when he constantly had to scoop the excess fruit off her mouth then guide it to her mouth. She sat still whenever he pulled out his map or read something, her eyes glued to the text which were nothing but scribbles to her young mind.

The day seemed to drip away and he put Myne in her crib before putting his armor plates and helmet back on. He already fed her, changed, and made sure she got her necessary attention before setting her in her crib. She was set down and could barely see him putting his armor plates and helmet back on carefully for the next few minutes before he stood over her. He looked at her one last time before bring up his TACPAD and pressing it, closing the cover doors on the crib. It took two days but he managed to sync the crib with his TACPAD so it was easier for him to manage. Their journey was still a while away but he'd manage. He always did.

Another settlement that was entered and they needed to rest for the night. They'd rent a room then leave tomorrow morning. It was one of the rare occasions that he'd actually stayed in a settlement for the night willingly. The two of them wandered around for the next half an hour before he eventually found a tavern and inn. Looks were received but he didn't care, he managed to get a room for the night and could rest easy. Many of the eyes followed him upstairs and watched as the crib floated behind him closely after. They took the most quiet room at the end of the hall where he could rest a bit and maintain his gear before bathing her and letting her sleep soundly.

A pair of red eyes followed them before taking a swig out of their glass of alcohol then fishing in their pocket for a scroll, sending a message before leaving the establishment shortly after.

It was seven in the morning when he woke up and put his gear on before leaving the establishment with Myne. The sun was barely over the horizon when they exited the settlement and headed to the next one. He had enough lien to get new supplies but he couldn't help but look back every once in a while, not for Grimm but for people. He knew when there was a Grimm around because they always made noise that he would pick up and appear on his motion tracker shortly after. Nothing appeared on his motion tracker and there was that faint feeling he had when he was being watched. Years of being a SW Grim Reaper had given him enough experience to know when he was being watched by somebody. And he hated it.

Hours passed by as the two of them walked in the wild, avoiding Grimm for Myne's protection and usually having to backtrack several times when the path ahead of them lead to nowhere. It was relaxing in a sense, to just freely wander around. The only time they stopped is when he fed her, changed her, and brought out his map and looked at it, sighing when the next settlement turned out to be destroyed.

He guessed it was around a couple of weeks since the place seemed abandoned, stripped clean of anything probably from looters and bandits. They were still on the right track though. It would take a day or two but that was alright, it kept him busy until they reached the settlement that he enjoyed being at. He kept his weapons out but lowered just in case there was a threat or two along the way. A shame he couldn't do anything about the settlement, but it was to be expected from a world with no real structure.

A day of nonstop walking went by and they arrived at a settlement, when he brought out his map it turned out that the settlement where Myne was taken from was only about a week's journey away. When he entered the small little town, he looked behind to see if anyone was following him and saw two people barely peeking around the corner of a building looking at him.

His eyes lingered on the two before taking in their features and turning back to the path ahead. His first stop was a store to get more food then the second stop would be the weapon's shop to  get Dust. Years of experimenting with different chemicals revitalized his memory of crafting his own personal rounds. It was expensive but they did pay off and he wanted more. Dust was good for setting off chain reactions with the different elements and dealing with Grimm, they weren't as good when dealing with people. It's why he had to categories of rounds; his Pantheruos Army issued rounds and the Remnant made ones. Ones met to kill both people and Grimm with ease, and the other is met to put in less suspicious on him.

People cooed and tried to play with Myne but he scared them off when he just stared at them silently. That was one of his things that his file read, that he would just stare at people thus creeping them out. He hadn't realized it was that noticeable until Carter had brought it up to him one mission. He missed the team leader, he missed Noble Team in general. Ever since he was pulled out from Beta company, he was always alone and it comforted him a bit at times but being on a team showed him what it meant like to be a part of something. Although it was a pleasurable experience, he knew deep down inside he was meant to be alone.

His thoughts were shaken out when Myne let out a noise when they entered the store as the bell above jingled. At this point in time, she was sitting up on her own and was barely walking even with his assistance. He looked around for necessary food that would last him a while and food for her. There were times where he was so used to traveling alone that he forgot she was with him until she made a noise.

He was so caught in his thoughts at the next best course of action that he wouldn't realize how long time would pass. Letting his mind and body wander, doing bounties, and helping people kept him busy until he got off the planet. There was a noise to his left and he looked to see Myne touching the things she could reach, dropping some things on the floor while he had to pick them up numerous times.

"Stop touching things." He said calmly. She flinched at being caught and looked at him while slowly reaching her hand towards a snack while he just stared at her with a smile under his helmet. All he did was press some things on his TACPAD and watched as she jolted in surprise when she was suddenly moving away from the shelves. Deciding it would be better to gather the supplies, he quickly did so while making sure to keep her away from the shelves before leaving the store shortly after.

The two of them merely wandered around the town for the next few minutes before eventually finding an armorer. This was one of the other settlements he had visited in the past and he knew it fairly well. Like how he knew the armorer kept moving his shop often for some reason. He could see somebody working from the window and entered the store, waiting for the gruff looking man to stop what he was doing when he noticed that he had customers.

"What can I do you for? Oh, it's you..." The man sighed. He was one of the only ones who knew Raptor's antics with dealing with people. More often than not, he knew that Raptor was one of the reason's the settlement stopped getting raided by bandits. They were terrified of him catching their scent and then hunting them down.

"Been taking care of people?" He asked as he looked up at Raptor.

"..." Raptor said nothing but just stared.

"Well, it'll be out shortly after. In the meantime, wash your cloak, ya big golem. I'm tired of you walking in here sometimes and you smell like the forest." The man said.

"I'll see what I can do." Raptor nodded.

"You and that flat voice. I swear one of these days you're gonna piss off the wrong person with that tone." The man retorted.

"Understood." Raptor said in the same flat tone he's always had. He saw the man throw his arms up in exasperation before going in the back. He opened the door and waited outside the establishment so that Myne wouldn't inhale smoke. He didn't want her to have any more complications other than being frail. The two of them were this close to making back to the settlement and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the mission. Minutes turned to tens of minutes before as he leaned near the door and waited. His head craned to the right and he saw Myne looking at him before reaching up to him. A few seconds of silence passed by and he extended his hand and let her grab his index finger.

It was silent for a few minutes as he just let her hold his index finger before the door opened and the armorer walked up to him. He looked down at Myne then back at him and did this several times.

"Never took you for having a kid." He said.

"She's not mine." Raptor replied.

"I'm not one to judge. Anyways, got these knives for you and reinforced them a bit so I better not see you here for a minute. Got it?" The armorer pointed.

"Understood." Raptor said seeing the throwing knives that looked similar to his own.

"I pity the woman who falls head over heels for your ass. Stoic as a rock, you are." The man said.

"..." Raptor nodded understandably then began to leave but stopped when the man grabbed his arm, making him look at him.

"Listen, word is that a couple of Huntsmen are looking for you. I'd be careful if I were you." He said.

"Is there anything else?" Raptor asked.

"Not much, just constantly hear the occasional Huntsman or Huntress wander in here spitting a man that keeps taking the bounties. Had one the other day bring you up, said it wasn't fair that I let you get throwing knives for free sometimes." The man said.

"Why?" Raptor asked, truly wondering why the man in front of him gave his items for free sometimes or at a reduced cost.

"Don't go around telling anybody this but you're valuable here. People here feel safe despite you're less than stellar appearance and mannerisms. Hell, we trust someone who has never told anyone his name more than half these Huntsmen and Huntresses have. Even though you don't show up as frequent as we want you to, our settlement hasn't been attacked by bandits in years since you first showed up here. Point is, if you need a place to lie low then everyone here will welcome you with open arms." The man said.

"... I cannot put you all in harm's way if something is trailing me." Raptor said as he took the knives and began to put them in some sheaths on his armor plate carrier before walking down the stairs. He stopped and turned his head back towards the man. "I appreciate the offer though, it has been noted." He nodded then walked towards the exit of the gate. The man watched him him leave with the infant and sighed a bit before noticing two figures follow him shortly after he left.

"I do hope you open up to at least someone and keep that kid safe..." The man said before heading into his armory. Work needed to be done and sitting here wasn't going going to do anything about that.

As Raptor walked away from the armorer's shop, the weight of the conversation lingered in his mind. The settlement's gratitude and trust were a rare acknowledgment in his otherwise solitary existence. Yet, the warning about the Huntsmen was a stark reminder of the complexities of his presence on Remnant. He was a benefactor and a shadow, a guardian whose actions drew both silent gratitude and open suspicion. His path was solitary by choice and necessity, his mission clear yet burdened by the ever-growing complexities of the world around him.