Jason is almost certain he's got a hit out on him. It doesn't make any sense, given he's a street kid barely getting by. There's no misinterpreting the dead body laid on his metaphorical doorstep though.
So, like any sensible kid running from the state and whoever else, he vacates quick. Comfortable as the location he was squatting in was, Jason knows others. He's adaptable, he's scrappy - he'll be fine.
He convinces himself the dead man was coincidence. It's Gotham, after all. But right when Jason starts to believe it, it happens again.
And like before, Jason gets out. Panic mounting because he thinks maybe this is a debt collector looking for Jason to make right Willis' debts. Maybe it's a dealer that Catherine owed. Or maybe Two-Face wants to finish off the Todd bloodline.
Whatever the case, Jason takes extra precautions. He lays low, forgoing comforts and keeping his outings limited to getting the barest necessities.
The third time it happens, Jason simply runs.
And it's when he starts running that Jason realizes he's being chased. By shadows, by the wind, by the night itself. He feels crazed, like all his mother's highs have somehow twisted his brain.
Maybe it has. Not like she quit. Not for him.
Or maybe Jason is fucked in the head because he was dropped one too many times; careless falls that became aggravated hits - open palmed, closed fist; a wall, a floor, a table, a -
There's something wrong with him. He's cursed.
He knows it because even when Jason falls asleep in an alley, tucked away behind a dumpster and curled small, he wakes up to another fucking corpse laid right at his feet.
Only Jason doesn't scare this time because he's tired of it and realizes this problem isn't going away. So he looks at how this person was killed. Looks around him. Looks up.
And there on the fire escape - that shadow. Watching him. Waiting.
As a Gotham native, of course Jason knows the urban legend and has heard all the nursery rhymes, but it can't be real, right?
The thing tilts its head at him, bird-like, and Jason groans because what the fuck. Why him? If he saw something he shouldn't, it's not like he'll say anything. He's not anyone who would be believed anyway.
Why send a Talon for his head? Anyone he could think of that wants him dead would do it themselves, not through proxy.
That's when he looks at who the Talon killed and Jason realizes - it's a john he entertained not long ago. Were the others, as well? Jason doesn't remember; sometimes he doesn't pay attention. He tries not to, at least.
The only reason Jason remembers this one is because they got aggressive. Not a common occurrence, but not uncommon either.
When he looks up at the Talon again, Jason is startled to find them crouched just in front of him, waiting patiently. Like they're expecting praise or something.
And when Jason doesn't react, too scared - petrified, the Talon reaches out and Jason flinches. Drawing in small, eyes squeezed closed.
But Talon's hand on his head is gentle. Assuring.
Despite everything, Jason feels safe.
Basically Talon looking after Jason because Jason happens to look a lot like Dick back when he was first taken by the Court. It's the version of himself that he recognizes and wants to protect since he couldn't (defend himself) before.
Maybe it becomes something similar for Jason, too. Because Jason has spent a lifetime being used and hurt, but now someone protects him as viciously fiercely as he's always dreamed.
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For the anon that requested Talon and a no-capes!Jason way back when I asked for prompts a long while back. If you're interested in Talon/Civvie vibes, you should definitely check out @graytodd's comic. They have such a good story premise for this + the art is beautiful + Talon's characterization is really refreshing and he's cool lolol.
