Fandom [Invitational] RWBY - The Nature of the Soul

[Riddle78]

Remnant is at war.


Tensions were rising more and more between Humans and the Faunus for the past decade. The White Fang,ever since its violent change of leadership,grew more and more bold,more and more violent. Where there were once talks,there are now surgical strikes. What once were peaceful rallies became neighborhood-burning riots. Five years ago,Vale criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick,in conjunction with the White Fang,local gangs,and other allies,began their campaign against the Kingdoms of Remnant.


It was quiet,at first.


Dust robberies,be it at storefronts,warehouses,or in transit. They began to recruit on all fronts. And,most chillingly,began to steal a great volume of Atlesian pre-production next-generation combat materiel. This continued,despite these actions coming to light,thanks to the action of a group of students from Beacon.


The White Fang,emboldened by their new allies and arsenal,declared open war on the Kingdoms of Remnant,the Humans who pull the strings; Government,military,even the schools. All of those responsible for their degraded lot in life... As well as any who won't openly stand by their side. And so began the Second Faunus War.


Faunus across the planet began to feel the finger of suspicion; Governments passed legislation that allowed persecution of Faunus,the common citizen looked upon all Faunus with open suspicion and hostility. The White Fang's numbers only swelled,as they were proven right,once again. The Kingdoms scrambled to defend themselves against a widespread,unconventional foe,using their own weapons against them. All the while,people vanished from the streets,their workplaces,their very homes.


With their hands full,and frightful of the looming destruction that the White Fang promises,the Kingdoms cannot investigate the disappearances,simply blaming them on the White Fang. However,there is someone who does not believe this. They propose that these disappearances have no connection to the war,at least,not directly. Their opinions made them incredibly unpopular,however,and were forced to remain anonymous.


And they've contacted you.


You're a notable individual,currently not attached to the conflict. At least,not directly. The anonymous contact requests your attendance at a bistro in the heart of the City of Vale,at noon. For whatever reason,you decide to investigate this further.


This is the day Remnant was laid bare before you. In all its glory.


And all its horror.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Lazuli sighed as she let water rush over her head and through her hair. Honestly she probably should have removed her clothes first, but she was, quite frankly, out of fucks to give, and today's work had been more troublesome than most. Usually the patrols were robotic only, but the latest one they'd dealt with had a couple rather skilled soldiers. She'd taken care of them of course, but their blood felt like it tainted her skin. Life was... a complicated thing to take, human or Faunus, but it was not a choice in a fight such as the one they faced. Besides, it was easier to rationalise that the humans had brought the war to the Faunus, and not the other way around.


A knock on her door drew her attention however, and not bothering to dry herself, Lazuli made her way out of her washroom, ignoring the red hued puddle she left behind her. As she neared the door she could hear voices raised on the other side, and made sure she had Dona Bruid hefted over her shoulder as she opened the door to a beefy gorilla Faunus, Bojack, and a python Faunus, Karyn, arguing quite loudly before her.


"So, is there a point to screaming outside my door, or did you just decide to see if it would draw my ire?" the slight girl asked jokingly, though not without an edge to her voice that let them know she wanted to get down to business.


It didn't take long for the explanation to shine light on things. A man, a human man, had walked right up to the gates of their complex, which was admittedly an abandoned industrial building, and asked for her, by name. To say that it was less than practical was an understatement, and it had immediately put a number of her sub-set of White Fang members on edge. Besides, it wasn't like their location was on a map.


Making her way through the halls, it didn't take long for Lazuli to reach the room they were holding the man in, and without ceremony she marched straight through the door to listen to get the information she wanted out of him.

¬Three Days Later¬



​

Vale was miserable. Just overall. It was filled with humans, any Faunus she saw walking the streets were forced to where ridiculous necklaces outside there clothes with a metal 'F' hanging from them, and if nothing it only reinforced her want to smash in some noses of the haughtier looking human shits parading themselves through the streets. The fact that this was even a thing made Lazuli sick, and it angered her to no end.


Still, the man that had sought her out told her of a threat to the Faunus, greater than the threat the humans posed, and furthermore he spun quite the interesting tale of a way that this could lead to a way to end the Human-Faunus wars. Admittedly it was the best route for all.


As she neared the bistro Lazuli noticed a group of teens, both Faunus and human, play football, and due to a stray kick the ball came rolling to a stop at her feet. Stopping for a moment, Lazuli couldn't help but admire the younger folk. They always seemed to put silly things aside when it came to pursuing goals such as having fun, or being happy. It wan't always the case, but usually those involved nasty parents anyway.


One of the Faunus asked if she was going to kick the ball back, and Lazuli obliged willingly and made to keep going when one of the younger human teens asked if she wanted to join in. It was an interesting proposition, and it had been a long time since she'd actually played football, a game that she rather enjoyed. Besides, the bistro was just down the road, and she was early, so...


"Sure," Lazuli grinned as she laid Dona Bruid next to some of the other teens belongings, "It's been ages, but I love a game of football."


Joining into the match, Lazuli lost herself to the fun, but only enough to where she could still keep an eye for the others meant to arrive at the bistro.

 

[Riddle78]

Three Days Ago

Isiliva Kulta. Her name was known by a great many people,even outside of the Kingdom of Vale. To the common Human,she was just another Faunus. To the common Faunus,she was a paragon to emulate. To the government,she was a wildcard. To the White Fang? They've made their collective mind up when she was only eight. To them,she was a race traitor. Isiliva reflexively clenched her left fist,her robotic fist,as she remembered that day. Just because they didn't want to throw their lives away,they deserved death? They took her left arm that day. But,that day,they opened her eyes. There are people out there,insane people,who will take any flimsy excuse to hide behind,as they satiate their urges for wanton destruction and slaughter. That's what the White Fang has become. Before,they were a respectable organization. They were peaceful,held talks,and condemned violent members of their numbers. That changed,twenty years ago.


The bull Faunus was out on the field,on a Hunt. A certain Grimm was causing all sorts of mayhem for the nearby town. An enormous Deathstalker. She fought one such specimen in her entrance exam for Beacon. She remembered how she killed it,too,with her team's help. They were all a little more crazy,back then. Alabaster,the bastard,actually took point,ahead of the woman whose gear was designed for taking point! He hopped on top of the damn thing's tail,after cleverly freezing its stinger to the ground after it whffed. He got onto the thing's back,and started to actually managed to annihilate the thing's armour; She saw a lot of ice and steam,and his tattoos were lit up like a midnight rave,but he managed to make the thing's armour explode. There was no other word for it.


Once Alabaster blew the thing's armour up,Rhea began to pour on gunfire from her minigun,and Isaiah was already on the thing like a man possessed,swinging his exploding flail around like a children's plaything. The Deathstalker was finally killed when Isiliva impaled the thing's face on the Horn of the Abyss,at full burn,and when Alabaster dropped an enormous ice spike into the thing's head from seven feet up. And so began their time at Beacon.


It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows,however.


Isiliva's team dwindled over the years. Rhea was killed on their third mission,when a Beowolf caught her by surprise,and it just... Tore her head off. One swipe,and it was done; Rhea's head was rolling on the forest floor,and the rest of the pack was barreling in on the horrified team. They got away,with her head,body,and gear,thankfully,to be interred. Isaiah was next; While trying to kill a giant Nevermore in the cliffs surrounding a settlement on the outskirts of the kingdom,someone from the local militia landed a lucky shot in the thing's wing with their harpoon cannon,and began to reel the thing into the ground... Right on top of Isaiah. After the Grimm was slain,there was nothing left of the man to return home for his family. Alabaster,though,arguably had it the worst.


It was their final year at Beacon,just the two of them. Ozpin didn't blame them for their friend's deaths; They were swift,random,and out of their control. It didn't take away the sting,and Isiliva blames herself to this day over what happened to Alabaster. A White Fang assassin infiltrated Beacon during a festival. Despite being surrounded by some of the finest combatants in the world,the assassin managed to sneak a dagger into the festival,and had her eyes set on killing Isiliva that night. She planned to kill the bull-woman in public,to send a message,as per orders. However,when she drew the knife,Alabaster,unknowing of the assassin,stepped behind Isiliva. The assassin,unable to change her course,plunged the blade between his shoulder blades. The weapon was poisoned,and delivered some bioweapon,as well.


Needless to say,when people noticed,the assassin was slain on the spot,by none other than her intended target; Isiliva drove her robotic hand into the bewildered woman's abdomen,and engaged the Radiant Wave Emission Limb. It was over in a second. The assassin's body swelled grotesquely as the fluids in her body were flash-vaporized,and then she exploded,as the resultant vapors fled her body by the most direct means possible. All Isiliva could say the entire time,was shriek at the top of her lungs that Alabaster was the only friend she had left. It was also the first time the public saw what her arm could do. Covered in gore,Isiliva was arrested,and Alabaster was rushed to hospital. Ozpin got her released within the week,after the investigation confirmed her story,and the first thing that Isiliva did was visit Alabaster. He was conscious,but lost the use of his arms and legs. What's more,he was infected by... Something. Something new,and it was adapting to any treatments used against it.


He was hospitalized in that state for seventeen years,before he simply... Vanished. Fell off the face of Remnant. Nobody knows what happened. One evening,they turned out his lights. The next morning,his ward was emptied,as if he was never there.


He wasn't euthanized,that much she was certain. Whenever the doctors tried to approach the subject,he raved at them until they fled his ward. The Stones would have been informed if he was,anyways,and they would have told Isiliva in turn. Alabaster's sudden disappearance disturbed Isiliva,and what disturbed her the most was that she had no idea who would have done it,or why.


Isiliva shook her head. Memory lane was a very dangerous place to be for her,especially on a mission. She opened up the Valkyr's throttle,going from a leisurely roll on her Landspinners,to a comet ripping through the forest. She had a Deathstalker to kill. It wasn't hard to find; The thing knocked over trees wherever it went,and it laired in an abandoned airbase. She knew why she was brought in to deal with the thing; The lair was surrounded with debris and corpses,each and every one part of the local's attempts at killing the thing. It was obvious how well that went.


Isiliva had a plan. It worked for every single Grimm she fought on the ground. Charge into the thing,full burn. If it survived the Horn of the Abyss,she'd cook its face. So,upon seeing the giant Deathstalker in the hangar at the foot of the runway,Isiliva turned,and burned. The Valkyr roared to life,and the bull-woman howled bloody murder. The giant arachnid jerked into wakefulness,and was about to scuttle forth to meet the intruder,but Isiliva was upon it,first. Just before impact,she turned her trunk,and lunged her entire being into a great thrust,and engaged the Horn's thruster,driving the thing forward with even greater force.


The armour around the thing's face didn't stand a chance. The lance's point smashed clean through the chitin plates with minimal fragmenting,stunning the beast,long enough for her to bring her empty left arm to bear; She slammed the metal claw of a hand into the monster's face,square between its ten beady red eyes,cracking the outermost layer of the thing's bulletproof armour. After a moment,a deafening whine resounded from the robotic limb,followed by an equally deafening bass roar,accompanied by a great surge of barely-visible violet light. The effect was immediate; As plates on Isiliva's arm slid aside to allow a heat sink to rise out,with a great rush of steam,the Deathstalker's body swelled,and then the front of its head exploded in a mess of gore and steam,the vapors from such a sudden spike in temperature escaping the body as rapidly as possible.


The beast was dead. She dropped the Horn of the Abyss,and retrieved her old Scroll from her pocket,to take a picture of the corpse as proof of the deed. As she did so,she noticed she had a new text message. Her heart jumped to her throat; Was it Alabaster? She checked the message,and her heart sank. She wasn't able to make any friends since her time in Beacon.


"Miss Isiliva Kulta.


You likely know of the war that the White Fang is waging against the Kingdoms. It's a senseless waste of life,on both sides,and I believe we are of one mind in this. Men and women have been vanishing across the planet,lately. While the Kingdoms blame the White Fang,I am not so sure. While I cannot promise anything,I have a strong suspicion that,together,we can end this conflict,should we find the source of the disappearances. If you agree with me,then press the corresponding button embedded in this message. If not,then there's a button for that,too. Whatever your choice,I thank you.


<YES>


<NO>





Isiliva frowned,and considered it. If it can end the war... Then the White Fang was likely involved,somehow. Even if they weren't,as a Huntress,it was her duty to investigate such things,regardless. She pressed yes.


"Thank you,Isiliva. One moment..."





The message changed to that one line for a moment,then it changed again.


Launching DarknetTunnel.exe...


Launch successful.


Creating tunnel...


Tunnel established.


Initializing connection...


Welcome,User ArgentumAurum.


Messages waiting; One. Open?


<YES> <NO>





Curious,Isiliva pressed yes,and she was greeted with a single line of text.


"City of Vale,Dusty Pantry Bistro. Noon,this Friday."





Isiliva blinked. A rendezvous? And... Darknet? What's that? She shook her head. Even if this was a scam,or,Dust forbid,another assassination attempt,she had to investigate. Logging off,Isiliva pocketed her Scroll,picked up her lance,and left the forest to report her work.


Today

Isiliva muttered to herself as she rolled down Vale's downtown streets. The steel necklace around her neck grated on her; It was to identify "non-hostile Faunus",according to the government. As if such measures would even work. A member of the White Fang would wear it to operate undercover. Still,it was better than the actual branding that the official initially suggested,and was even equipped to administer. Isiliva was forced to threaten the man,saying that if he came within five feet of her with a branding iron,she would be forced to defend herself. Even worse,legislation made it illegal for Faunus to use public transit,forcing Faunus to either walk,car pool,or use a car. But,it was also now perfectly legal for a business to refuse service to a Faunus,thanks to the war,so even if you had a car,you likely wouldn't even be able to fill up the tank,or get it serviced,thanks to the Human-dominated market.


Isiliva was lucky that her tailor and the owner of From Dust to Dawn liked her,or she'd never be able to get anything done in this town.


And so,Isiliva rolled down the sidewalk,wearing her casual clothes; A white,button-down shirt,sans left sleeve,under a black waistcoat,with matching black trousers. It looked like she was in casual business attire,to be honest; Her hair was braided down to the small of her back,with the platinum blonde locks wrapped around a tasteful jade ring at the end. While she would have normally worn steel-reinforced hiking boots with this ensemble,the necessity of travel forced her to don her armoured boots and greaves,and use her Landspinners to make the trip into town.


Rolling up to the Dusty Pantry,Isiliva sighed,and hoped fervently that the staff wouldn't turn her away. Looking around,she saw a bunch of children playing football in the nearby park. However,among the possessions,Isiliva saw a weapon. She was surprised; They looked too young to be in Signal or Beacon. Maybe such a person was watching,out of sight. The bull woman shrugged,and disengaged her Landspinners,preparing to enter the establishment.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

THREE DAYS AGO

​

In much like that of her pseudo-father, the disappearance of Mari 'Ryith' was something that went largely unnoticed. During her stay at Beacon, the girl was hardly the popular type, after all, usually just sitting at the back of class and taking notes until day's end.


And, that wasn't exactly the demeanor that tended to attract the largest circle of friends.


So, even over an entire year, Mari stayed at that place the bonds she formed were loose and tentative, her relationships with even her team being more akin to that of a recluse being forced into a group environment. So to say, she never did any more than she had to, completing her missions and nothing else. But to Mari, those memories were hardly of any concern.


What mattered, was that which was at hand, the investigation of Ryan's disappearance. In the months following her own vanishment, Mari had found herself compelled, driving by some... Inexplicable urge to find the man that had taken her in. It hardly made any sense, even to her, he'd done little more than serve as an endless source of frustration for her, yet his sudden departure had instilled within her a disturbance so strong that she'd ended her stay at Beacon without a second thought. It was completely illogical. But... She supposed that too was unimportant to the task she undertook.


It was the dead of the night, and her mark was a close as he would ever be. According to the last man she'd... Interrogated, he was someone that could lead her, or at least, point her in the direction of Ryan Ryith, and, with the trail she'd been following even a breadcrumb as small as this was worth following. He moved slowly, clearly cautious as to avoid any followers, but avoiding the man's haphazardly thrown around gaze was an easy enough task for anyone with half a brain. Still though, she'd be unsurprised if anyone else would have already fallen to frustration and jumped the man with how often she had to stop in her tracks to avoid his gaze.


Unfortunately for him though, in about three seconds he would be where he could not escape. It wasn't that he'd wandered into a dead end, but logically, from where he was about to set foot there was no faucet with which he could make his leave more quickly than Mari would be able to reach him.


There.





At a moment's notice, Mari's body sprung into action, closing the gap between them before the man had nary a moment to realize what was going on, toppling him with the sheer weight of her tiny body hammering into his. Quick and efficient, just as it should be.


"O-Oh, oh God! What do you what!?"


"I was told you knew about the disappearances."


"What do y-"


"Tell me about the disappearances."


"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"


"I will give you five seconds to comply."


"Pl-"


"Five" "Four" "I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW" "Three" "Two" "STOP!" "One" "I DON'T-"


Mari's arm hammered into the ground next to his elbow, sending all manner of shards of the pavement flying in whatever-which direction.


"..."


It was easy enough to tell that he didn't know anything. Someone as easily panicked as him clearly wouldn't be one to value his secrets over his life, and, even if he did know something, she doubted that he'd be in any state to tell her should she exert her full force. And needless violence was pointless here. Seeing things as a lost cause, Mari dismounted the man, breaking away from the scene just as quickly as she had caused it, before he could do so much as speak a word at her departure.


One Hour Later...





The apartment that Mari had been living out of for the past month was a sad thing. The heating was non-existent, the tap dripped, and there was a hole in the living room wall, all culminating to form living environment that no living person could comfortably live in, lest they be some sort of madman who enjoyed the decrepit atmosphere. Mari however, had the ever lucky trait of not being a living person, so such trifles were negligible to her at best. It was, honestly, one of the more... Convenient things about being a robot, sitting right next to the fact that she needed not worry about neither nutrition, nor gaining weight, as form of food she consumed was converted into the exact same type of food in the end.


Speaking of which, she needed to eat her fifth candy dinner that week.


Fetching it, she lay herself across the couch, taking her Scroll in one hand, and shoveling her 'meal' into her mouth with the other. Something akin to surprise flashed across her face. Unexpectedly, a new message lay inside her inbox, it was a rare occurrence indeed, she after all, hadn't held a single friend from her time in Beacon, so the only person that ought to have her number would be...


Her hand immediately flicked to open the message.

TODAY

​

Miss Mari Ryith.


You likely know of the war that the White Fang is waging against the Kingdoms. It's a senseless waste of life,on both sides,and I believe we are of one mind in this. Men and women have been vanishing across the planet,lately. While the Kingdoms blame the White Fang,I am not so sure. While I cannot promise anything,I have a strong suspicion that,together,we can end this conflict,should we find the source of the disappearances. If you agree with me,then press the corresponding button embedded in this message. If not,then there's a button for that,too. Whatever your choice,I thank you.


There days ago, Mari had received that message. It was a simple one, true, but it had been more than enough to get her on the move, after her last mark she'd run up against a veritable dead end, after all, so it wasn't like she had a choice, even if she didn't want to follow this lead.


She'd fortunately already found herself in Vale at the time she'd received the message, and her destination was only around fourty minutes from her place of stay, so the travel involved in this was negligible. ...Compared to the pursuit she led a few nights ago this was a veritable walk in the part. But, still, she needed to stay alert. Anyone could have sent that message, it was clear enough that she was looking to find the source of the disappearances, so any of the mooks she'd gone after before could have set something this up to get back at her. Or, even worse, the kidnappers themselves could have targeted her next.


But again, she had practically nowhere else left to look.


The Dusty Pantry Bistro. The sign already hung above her head. The place looked legitimate enough, if not in need of a good housing down so that it didn't live up to it's name quite as efficiently as it did. Though, something like that hardly mattered to Mari, who payed it no heed as she strode though it's doors without doing so much as slow her pace.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Three Days Ago

Aurora found herself standing mere feet from the bookstore turned two story house, only a moment from opening the door and beginning phase two of her mission. Inside was a known White Fang associate, someone connected to the Atlas terror attacks from so long ago. Her body shook with excitement, she hadn't had any chance to get them back after the day of the battle, and now she was closer to vengeance than she'd ever been.


Before entering she activated her Semblance to see inside, making sure to confirm the target. Four were inside, and all were sitting close to one another in a room not connected to the main one. Were they scheming? Making plans to attack Vale like they did Atlas? "Target confirmed, three allies inside as well. Permission to eliminate all associates." She whispered into the mic, trying not to let herself be heard by her prey.


"Granted." The gruff voice over the speaker said, not even bothering to ask for more details. Maybe he recognized that she was a veteran who knew how to do her job, or maybe he just didn't give a damn. Either way, Aurora took it as the official start of the second portion of her mission, and she immediately put an arrow in place on her bow.


She kicked the door once, twice, three times before it finally collapsed and allowed entry. The first thing Aurora noticed was that the building was set up to look like a home, it was a clever way to convince government forces of one's innocence. The second thing she noticed seemed to be a bit more important: Hostages.


The bitch had two children in her home, as well as an unknown man. The two of them had to be working together, it was the only explanation that made sense. So, while the children were screaming and the adults were standing shocked, Aurora aimed an arrow at the man. The bitch would realize rapidly what would happen if she argued or tried to fight back, so Aurora could complete the mission with no dead suspects. Or she could finally get her revenge after so long.


No, she was a Huntress and there were children in the room. There was no need to permanently scar them for simply being an unfortunate choice in hostages. It was odd, one of them had the same tail as the target, and from a distance it looked like the other had the same eyes. Had that monster really resorted to kidnapping family in order to save her own skin? That was a level of cowardice Aurora could never forgive.


"Kids, you two get outside. I'll be out to take you somewhere safe after I deal with these wastes of oxygen." Aurora gave them seconds to leave before beginning her true mission, pulling out an arrow kept at extremely high temperatures by Dust. She knew it felt like being set on fire to even be touched by it, one of the more efficient information gathering devices.


"Who led the mission to attack Atlas?" She asked the still shellshocked duo, holding the arrow's tip only inches from the neck of the man.


"What the hell is wrong with you? What the fuck do we have to do with Atlas?" That was all the man could get out before Aurora stabbed him in the knee with her arrow, the skin around it immediately turning warped and brown. The screams from him were loud in Aurora's ears, and the look on the target's face gave Aurora her answer. They were close, it'd only take a few more seconds to break her.


"I'll kill him if you don't give me the name of the one who organized that attack." Aurora was emotionless, having long disconnected herself from the scene. She took only a small enjoyment out of the idea of getting revenge on the people who hurt her, and didn't want to needlessly torture even the most filthy animal. And these animals were filthy, there was no question to that. Kidnapping children, terror attacks, and probably dozens of other crimes Aurora herself was unaware of, these were the lowest of the low.


The woman hesitated for a moment, but the look on her face told Aurora she knew. "Is the loyalty to your master truly worth the life of your associate? I'll torture the answers out of you after killing him, I promise." There was no point being around the bush, those kids needed to get to the police before it got too late. Animals or not, they didn't deserve to be forced to wander Vale at night alone.


"Bring my kids back in here, and promise me they'll stay safe." Her kids? No, that had to be some attempt at confusing Aurora. She immediately reacted by pulling the string back on her bow, the arrow aimed directly at the back of the head of the man. "Fine!" That broke the woman, Aurora would get her answers.


Just then, she felt her scroll vibrate. Odd timing for a message.


-----


Today

Aurora's hair was in a ponytail, and she was decked out in her usual combat gear. Her bag was back at the hotel she was staying in, but she'd brought her bow, six arrows, and a single flasher in case things heated up. The person behind the message seemed to be on the right side of the law, but there was no way of knowing if it was a trap or not. She'd get a look inside with her Semblance if the meeting felt suspicious, but by the time she did it could be too late to affect anything.


Before walking in she examined the environment around, seeing the football field with Faunus and humans playing, along with what seemed to be a busy enough bookstore. The Bistro seemed to have only a few random passerby entering, so it didn't look like there would be a possibility of a trap, not without high risk at least.


The thought comforted Aurora as she pulled open the door to the Bistro, keeping herself ready in case of attack.

 

[simj26]

-Three Days Prior-


OPHELIA KAUFMANN


Recently promoted 1st Lieutenant Ophelia Kaufmann tapped her pencil on the surface of her mahogany table, the sound echoing around in the empty room, looking blankly across the table, and at the phone that lay there. There was no doubt that they needed a man of his caliber back within the army. Men looked up to him, and that much was enough to rally thousands. However, she already knew his answer. No matter how many times she and her predecessor had called, Marcus von Stroheim always had the same response. Nevertheless, under orders to do so, she picked up the phone and dialed the same number for the umpteenth time this month.


Three rings, like always, and then he picked up.


"Hello?" The strains of Hisaishi's Summer played in the background. The heavy accent on the piano and strings were easy to decipher. It also confirmed the identity of the man on the other end of the line. No man could have the patience to listen to the same song over and over and over again. None but Stroheim, that is.


"We need you back, Marcus." She cut right to the chase. There was no point in introducing herself.


"Nope."


Like she had expected, the same answer. Once, it had been a longer "Nope.", where he had lectured her about his resounding decision to not rejoin the military. His response had gotten progressively shorter and more succinct to the point that it was comical. She imagined Marcus sprawled out on his armchair, a hand on the phone, and conducting a fake orchestra, pausing just a moment to deliver a curt "Nope.", and smiled, just a little bit. The fact still stood, however, that Marcus had not accepted.


But he did hold on to the phone in silence. It was a game of chicken, to see who put down the phone first. She knew this, and so she waited. It wasn't long before he started to talk. Marcus was never one to put the phone down first. He was far too polite for that, and she knew it.


"How's the, uh, family, Ophelia?"


"They're all live and well. The husband's no worse for wear, and Jason's second birthday is coming soon. I'd invite you, but you wouldn't like the company."


"Have you ever wondered whether those we have killed also had a family like yours?"


Ophelia had a feeling this would come up. How could she have not? Many saw the enemy as 'the bad guys', and she didn't doubt the fact that the White Fang saw the military as the same. She knew just as much as Marcus did to realise that none of the men and women sacrificed in the name of war were machines made to kill. She had, however, chosen her route, and Marcus had chosen his. "You won't dissuade me with that, Stroheim."


"I never could dissuade anyone, and you know it." He gave a low chuckle. It didn't sound like it had any mirth in it, but more of a sense of regret. A sharp ring interrupted the call, cutting off the music in the background. Marcus stopped laughing nearly immediately, and silenced reigned the call. Out of instinct, Ophelia reached for the intercom. Retired as he was, Marcus was still a high priority target for the White Fang. After all, he HAD commanded the strike that had caused an uproar within the Faunus community. It was covered up, of course, but you never know...


"Just an email, Ophelia. No need to worry." His voice was of great relief to the 1st Lieutenant. He did, however, sound distracted. Her suspicions were proven correct when he hurriedly added, "There is something I must attend to. Please, unless I'm invited for cake for Jason's party, let's part ways once more. Until then."


The line clicked dead. She had failed once more in bringing Stroheim back, but that was a foregone conclusion. He was never coming back. What worried her, however, was the contents of the email the man had received. What had caused him to prioritise the email so much? The Stroheim she knew never put anything above those he called friends, besides one thing. She touched the intercom button, and hesitated.


She could trust him. When had he ever done wrong deliberately? Marcus von Stroheim was a good man, and she knew that. So why couldn't she shake the feeling of foreboding? She reclined on her chair, taking her hand off the intercom button. She'll let it slide. For now.


-Present Day-


MARCUS VON STROHEIM


He caught the jacket by the collar as it did what it had threatened to do in the wind a long time ago: slip off his shoulders. With a flip, he brought the white jacket over one shoulder, and held it tight. Burdened as it were with so many badges and decorations, it was still light as the air itself. He surveyed his surroundings casually, as if he were a tourist enjoying the sights. A pack of children were at the side, kicking around that ball of theirs. What was it called? Ah yes, football. Marcus had spent too much time indoors, so much that he had forgotten even terms such as these. He gave a slight and weak laugh. He really ought to step out for some sun on occasion. He was starting to sound like an old senile, and he was barely even in his 30s.


His hand snapped out before he knew it and caught the ball in his palm. The children stopped playing almost entirely. He scanned the group of them, and noted they were of both Faunus and human. It lit a fire in his heart at this sight. It was calming to see that the relationships between Faunus and human still had hope. He really needed some time outside, mainly just to experience these sights more often. He flung the ball towards them, and leaned on a pole nearby. "Don't mind if I watch, do you?"

 

[Emiya Shin]

[Celica Revenant]


[intro - Nothing But The Second Best]

D U S T | O.K.


A D R | Normal


E. E. | Annoyed
​

T H R E E | D A Y S | A G O

​

Spoiler

Celica stood in the elevator calmly as it goes upwards, with a serious expression, arms crossed. The red-haired twintail Faunus is on a job tonight. Her twin handguns were concealed on sight, thanks to the dark brown vest that she was wearing currently, on top of her trademark dark-green, knee length dress which matches her hair color nicely. The person that she was responsible to guard with? He was right beside her, a young boisterous man in a relatively casual outfit with jeans and a yellow-collar T-shirt. Noticing that Celica was a bit tense for his own taste, the man with a stylish haircut smiled at the cat Faunus and talked.


"C'mon missy! You don't have to be so serious! I need some rest from them real life nonsense and you can get the fun too! There no such BS such as a Faunus can't get into a club! Plus, you're my escort!"


The man gestured to her excitedly. Celica on the other hand, forcibly smiled to him. Although she felt relieved that the guy in front of him was pretty friendly with her and not discriminating about her race, she began to find his words more and more irritating.


"Thank you." Celica calmly replied moments later. "I appreciate your friendliness towards me."


Then, the bass is getting stronger and stronger as the elevator began to reach its destination. When it stopped, Celica took a deep breath, preparing herself for the noisy environment that she was about to get in. Her client lets out an excited chuckle, before exiting the elevator, with Celica following him from behind. The pair of bouncers bowed to the casually dressed man. As they were going to open the door for him and Celica, one of the bouncer immediately stopped when he noticed Celica's Faunus features.


"Excuse me Sir. According to the rules and---"


"... Legislation..." The suave young man interrupted one of the bouncer's explanation before putting in his own response while approaching him. "That you can let a Faunus in and..." The man temporarily stopped, as he handed a stack of money into the bouncer's hand. "...Have fun."


Celica and her client were eventually granted access into the club. As the bouncers opened the main entrance, loud, bassy electronic dance musics immediately assaulted four of her ears like a bullet train.


("Ughhh. The music! Why I even agreed to babysit some random Human politician's son... If only I hadn't run out of Dust...")


Celica's cat ears furrowed under the extreme volumes, as she slowly followed the upbeat young man's footsteps. She looked the humans confusedly, as they danced and shook their bodies like there is no tomorrow.


("Good God. Look at those people.")


Then, the man once again gestured to Celica, before both of them went upstairs and into the VIP lounge. By the time Celica got upstairs, she noticed that he was arguing with the club's host, saying that the best seat in the lounge was booked by some random local celebrity, and he has to settle with the second best. The Cat Faunus eventually lost interest with the dialogue, and immediately eased herself by leaning on a bar nearby. It was obvious that Celica was having a bad time thanks to the club's environment.


("Places like these makes me sick. I need a drink to deal with the electronic music and the robotic people...")





Celica eventually got a hold of a non-alcoholic fruit drink from the bartender behind her, relieving herself from the noisy environment as the sweetness of the drink took over her sensation. The politician's son, known as Jared, eventually returned to Celica's side, and started ranting.


"@#$%ing John. Thinks he's the boss around here. It's not like he's the best musician or something..."


"What did you say?" Celica responded as if she was mocking her client, after taking a sip from her drink.


Jared soon followed with an empty reply of "Nothing", before taking a sip from a glass of scotch. From there, the suave man once again struck another topic, attempting to know more about his stoic, armed escort.


"So, I know it's hard being a Faunus nowadays, with them discrimination and nasty acts..."


Celica stared at him suspiciously and responded. "Just get to the point."


"Well, I just want to know how you feel lately. How did you do with your own life... Or maybe I can get some advices from you!"


Jared spoke with his usual tongue in cheek attitude. After listening to his words amidst of the heavy music, Celica chuckled, and shook her head afterwards.


"Look at me, I'm standing in a nightclub, listening to musics that I can't stand with, keeping an eye on those mindless people dancing away their souls, while babysitting some random politician's son. You wouldn't want an advice from me, Mister."


Her client immediately broke into laughter. "Hahaha! And this is why I take a liking on you, catgirl. You're always real on all occasions."


The conversation ended on that note when Jared met one of his best friends, and eventually went to do his own things. Celica lets out a sigh of relief, having freed from his grasp.


("If he keeps on talking to me, I might lose myself and put a bullet to his head.")




Everything was fine and dandy, until Celica noticed a random person was standing pretty close to her client. Her crimson eyes focused on that particular person with what it looks like a hoodie cap and casual outfits. A loud gunshot can be heard within the nightclub, causing everyone to panic and scramble. At the same time, the suspicious man immediately took her client as a hostage at gunpoint. The twin-tail Faunus cursed at the goon, who was now wearing a mask, armed with a modern Altas-made handgun.


"Back off! Back off!" He was shouted, while pointing his weapon to everyone, dissuading anyone who wants to come close to him.


Some random man who was sitting by the glass walls, presumably drunk, stood up and pointed his finger to him. The goon shot him without any hesitation, but that gave the hostage a necessary distraction to break free from his grasp. Seeing this opening, Celica wasted no time and quickly jumped on the goon as the other patrons quickly ran away from the scene. When she managed to tackle him, Celica immediately shot him at the torso with her own gun, before pushing his body to the thin glass walls and broke it, all in one single motion. Her Semblance kicked in as both of them are in air, diving away from the VIP lounge which was one staircase above from the dance floor. Celica experienced slowdown on everything, and the annoying electronic dance music muted away from her senses.


Five more thugs, armed with machine pistols and handguns on the dancefloor below, immediately open fired at Celica, who just broke through the glass walls. While in the air, she aimed and fired at her enemies positioned at the top end of the nightclub with precision. With her Semblance activated, Celica took down 3 enemies with her handgun in hand. It was a daring stunt, but a successful one.

A D R | 50% Used

​

"Eugh!" Celica groaned as she landed on the cold ground with a thud on her left side, after her stunt and Semblance ended. The loud EDM once again assaulted her senses. While still lying on the ground, she managed to finish off two more goons who were foolishly trying to get close to her.


("Bastards. At least that guy I was supposed to protect with managed to escape without a scratch.")





The Faunus quickly got up from her feet and reached for her Scroll in one of her pockets. She wasted no time and quickly tapped one of the speed dials. The Scroll eventually connected to a particular person.


"Hey, Vale's craziest Faunus bodyguard, how's it going girl?"


Celica calmly replied to the cheeky male voice coming out from the Scroll, while trying not to swear.


"Some goons jumped the club and tried to abduct that rich dude. Fortunately they aren't skilled enough."


"And the kid?" Her male colleague immediately asked. At this moment, Celica immediately headed to the stairs, trying catch up with her client. "Kid got away. Lucky bastard. A random drunkard took a bullet for him so that he could escape."


Her colleague simply laughed at Celica's update of the situation. The dialogues continued on for a bit before it ends moments later. Then, halfway through the catchup, her Scroll once again vibrated....

P R E S E N T | D A Y

​

D U S T | O.K.


A D R | Normal


E. E. | Sour

​

Celica walked through the streets with a serious expression that could scare off most humans, though that ridiculous metallic necklace with an F symbol on her neck says otherwise.The metallic necklace is meant to identify... non-hostile Faunus. When Celica heard this rule for the first time, she laughed at it. Regardless, she wears it to prevent attracting any trouble. However, the necklace around her neck gets more and more uncomfortable, and it did not help much with fact that Celica has to walk all the way to Dusty Pantry Bistro.


"Sigh... Why do I even agree to follow that stupid message. If I find out that it's a hoax, or an elaborate trap..."


The Faunus muttered to herself. She was carrying a black briefcase on her right hand, which is actually her twin handguns in disguise. Celica decided not to take any chances. After a few more minutes of walking and staring on some humans as she passed them by, Celica eventually arrived at the Dusty Pantry Bistro. Before she enters the traditionally-designed bistro, the Faunus noticed a group of human and Faunus teens playing football together on a park nearby. Even for the soul-battered Celica, it placed a smile on her previously soured face. Though there is an older male human wearing full white outfits and has a white hair spectating the teenagers, Celica did not paid much attention on him.


("Now, that was a rare sight. Just like in the old days...")


When her eyes moved to the pile of belongings nearby however, there is a weapon. A longsword. Just as Celica was surrounded with nostalgia, the feelings were immediately lost, and she was once again back to her previous mood. With that, Celica moved onward and entered Dusty Pantry Bistro... with high alert and skepticism.

FYI:


A D R | equals Adrenaline


E. E. | equals Emotion Engine, or Celica's mood.

​

 

[Father Gigantor]

(Disclaimer: Post is pretty short, blame post-essay fallout for that. Later posts will have more content, I promise)


THREE DAYS PRIOR


SPALDING FAMILY BISTRO: IL GAROFANO


23:16
​

The now-empty, warmly lit interior of the eatery never failed to bring back nostalgic memories, as Lana flitted from table to table, wiping down the walnut tabletops. She never could bring herself to just drop off her brother's school funds and leave, the quaint little establishment was too nice a change of pace as compared to her lonely inner-city apartment, and she'd always find herself just helping out around the place for a day for old times' sake. Her brother not being there to help certainly meant that her parents had to work harder still, so this was the least she could do.


Her parents emerged from the Kitchen doorway not long after Lana finished pushed the remaining chairs into a corner. The averaged sized blonde gentleman and his noticeably scaly wife who towered over him made for quite the contrasting pair, but the two were very much enamoured with one another all the same (to their children's immense discomfort.) Harrison was brandishing a stack of letters in his right hand, and he called out to his daughter once he caught sight of her.


"Sweetie, you there? You got another one of those military drafting notices again, sent to us by that hunky dreamboat of yours probably. Maybe you should update your address or actually give them your scroll number, so we can maybe stop dealing with this crap, hmm?"


Lana allowed herself an exasperated groan upon hearing her father's words, no doubt it was another billet-doux from one Maro Valencia again, 'notifying her of the military's need of her particular skillset blah blah blah whatever- ' She walked back over to the duo standing in the kitchen doorway and snatched the package out of her father's hands, looking over the distinctly different black wrapping it was covered with.


"I thought I told you guys to just dump this with the rest of the junk mail, it's just a load of bluster and sucking up, nothing worth reading in these at all."


As she looked over the rest of the package in full, she was puzzled to find a lack of any return address. It had a military seal on the front, as usual, but Maro always did have quite the ego, and the lack of his usual flowery signature was rather unusual. The package was rectangular and fairly small, not unlike that of the standard issue scroll most people owned. Soon enough though, her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's usual unhelpful teasing.


"Ah youth! Being sent heartfelt letters by a passionate lover, to rendezvous and elope together into the sunset's embrace! Have you picked out a place yet for your sinful retreat?"


Lana scowled and threw the cleaning rag straight at her mother's face, which she nonchalantly dodged while letting giggling incessantly. Growing impatient, Lana tore open the package and unceremoniously dumped its contents onto of the kitchen counter. It was a scroll, a military edition one, bulkier and heavier than standard commercial ones and unavailable for regular purchase. Perplexed, she turned it on, and on the screen was not the standard start up screen, but an email, already preloaded on the interface.


"Well well well... Would you look at all those pretty little zeroes..."

PRESENT DAY



​

Lana took one final puff of her cigarette as she rounded the corner, exhaling the bitter smoke in a long audible sigh. She didn't smoke very often but today was different, and much as she didn't want to admit it, she was nervous. Contracts rarely came out of the blue like the one she had received several nights before, rarer still were ones of such an enigmatic nature. Faunus/Human conflicts were never her cup of team but an assignement that could potentially lead to the end of such wars would definitely be worth her time indeed. A potentially safer world for her family to live in was definitely something she could never ignore, and the sum promised to her in the letter? Now that was something she would never pass up.


She flung the butt into a nearby bin as she surveyed the establishment in front of her. The Dusty Pantry Bistro, an unimpressive place with an even less impressive name. It was not unlike Il Garofano in size, but it certainly lacked the same flair and welcoming atmosphere. The sign above it was rather faded, and the paint was peeling off the window sills ever so slightly, but it was certainly not the worst she'd seen. To the side of the place was a field, with both Faunus and human teens locked in an intense battle of spherical supremacy. The irony of the situation was certainly not lost on her, and she vaguely wondered whether or not her potential employer had any sense of locational awareness.


Before walking towards the bistro, Lana made her way towards an alleyway on the block opposite of the bistro and set down the heavy carrying case she brought. Unpacking her darling from the black case, she hid Aurgelmir under one of the dumpsters sitting in the alley. Attending some suspicious gathering unarmed was a foolish move, but she wasn't about to ruin any first impressions by sidling into a Bistro with a stonking huge axe on her back. She covered the gap with a couple of garbage bags and continued on to the bistro once she was satisfied with her handiwork.


She glanced down at her watch as she neared the entrance, she was running late already. Peering into the windows, she was unsurprised to find the place sparsely populated. Several individuals stood inside, minding their own business but otherwise, nobody stood out much. Unsettlingly however, was what was unmistakably a longsword, resting on one of the walls outside. Coming to the place armed certainly seemed like the right choice. Gripping tightly onto door handle, she opened the door and prepared herself for whatever would come next.

 

[Riddle78]

Isiliva Kulta - The Dusty Pantry

Isiliva was scowling bitterly at the bistro's hostess,with her arms crossed over her chest; The extra length on her left arm caused it to protrude noticeably. The hostess was being an obstinate bitch,is what she was doing. Isiliva was all over the news a couple of years ago; She turned several White Fang bases into pauper's graves,back then. More recently,Isiliva is one of the few remaining active Hunters from Beacon who do their duty to protect the Kingdom from threats to its peace,be they Grimm or internal. However,here was this uppity Human,who does nothing but point people to tables,thinking she was superior to her,simply because she was "Pure",and not some product of some "Bestial fetish". However,the next words out of the bitch's mouth nearly made the Huntress punch her across the establishment.


"No matter what you say,we won't serve a filthy cow! Leave at once!" Isiliva's scowl contorted,for a brief moment,into an expression of the purest rage,a look that would vaporize someone,if looks could kill. However,she controlled her expression within the second. However,she was still visibly tense,the steel of her left arm audibly straining against the forces running in opposite directions through it. After a moment,Isiliva pulled her Scroll from her waistcoat's inside pocket,and slammed it on the podium before the hostess with enough force to cause the pen to bounce three solid inches,scaring the girl to within an inch of her life. When Isiliva withdrew her mechanical arm,the Scroll was intact,as it was Beacon's proprietary model,unavailable anywhere in the world,outside of issue to Beacon's students and staff.


The device was sturdy enough to survive most Grimm or weapon assaults. But,most importantly,it bore the emblem of Beacon; crossed hatchets over a laurel crown. It was a badge of office. "I'm on your side,you ungrateful bitch." Isiliva leaned in closely to whisper,because people were waiting behind; "I'm also on an investigation. If you don't let me in,you're making yourself an enemy of the peace." Isiliva leaned back out,and tried to snap her left fingers,but all that came of it was a metallic clinking. However,as she did so,the Radiant Wave Emitter was visible as a violet lens on the steel palm. "So,you gonna let me in?" Isiliva picked up her Scroll with her organic hand,now that she's made her point,and slipped it back into her waistcoat's inside pocket.


To the hostess' credit,she recovered quickly,and didn't even blanch. She simply nodded,and gestured to the relatively empty dining room behind her. "I'm sorry,I didn't realize you were a Huntress. Please,seat yourself; We don't have any reservations,today." Isiliva nodded,still scowling,and tersely replied, "Thank you." The jilted Faunus woman marched past the hostess,and seated herself at a table,with her back to a corner. She picked up the menu that was resting on the table,which was clean,and examined the dining room from her vantage point.


Two of the walls that made up the room met the outside,and were thus practically made of windows,bathing the establishment in natural light. The ceiling was a grid of support beams,with chandeliers hanging from them,looking to be made of brass,maybe painted steel. The tables were all square,and made of a faded wood,maybe pine or fir,considering the light colouration. The chairs matched,and had equally faded-looking green upholstery. It looked as if the Dusty Pantry wanted to look like an older dining room,to lend it a vintage or "Grandma's place" charm. The floors were largely bare,too; Simply the same faded hardwood panelling,with the only rugs set up by the doors outside,doors to the kitchen,and doors to the restrooms.


All-in-all,the establishment had a cozy atmosphere; It was well cultivated. Shame about the poor choice of name,however. A waiter came by,and asked if she was ready to order. "Just a drink,to start. A glass of People Like Grapes,no ice." The waiter nodded,jotted it down,and left,leaving the Huntress to browse the menu for her meal. She was hungry,but the primary reason she was here was business...

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

For a game of football with a bunch of kids, Lazuli was surprised how badly she'd let her talent slip. Back in her prime she'd be dancing a merry jig around the bairns and scoring left and right. Now she was struggling to keep it from some of the more diehard players. Still, the one thing she enjoyed most was that neither side was predominately human or faunus, and their teamwork was flawless. It almost brought a tear to her eyes, if she weren't trying so hard to get the ball into the goal.


Continuing for another five minutes or so, Lazuli allowed herself to fall oblivious to the world until a pair of patrol bots came lurching down the road and staring noticeably at the group.


Now, Lazuli knew they weren't after her. These models, while armed with a real-cam for the operators back in the office to watch real-time, they held no facial recognition software, and her arms were covered in sleeves that kept her feathers from prying eyes. Still, they seemed like they were on a mission, and as they drew near one of them homed in on a faunus girl, looked like a doe faunus, and confronted her.


"Fuanus citizen, you are not wearing your identification tags. You are now recognised as a potential terrorist. Come quietly."


Quietly wasn't something to be expected from a scared fifteen year old faunus, especially not when confronted with such accusations. Her hesitant step back seemed to have been enough for the robot, and it reached forward and gripped the girls wrist tightly. As Lazuli lunged for her longsword sheath, which held the covered holster for her rifle, she heard one of the boys, a human, step up and try to pull the robots hand from its crushing grip.


'Nice kid,' Lazuli thought as she retrieved her rifle and rolled the lever deftly whilst slipping a harpoon down the barrel, coming to an end with it levelled at the offending bot. "LAZULI KARAY! I know you know the name, operator!"


It took a couple seconds for the operator watching the scene to manual override the bot, but it let go of the girl and turned to Lazuli, but made no move against her as they stared each other down. Seconds later both bots left to their own devices as the doe faunus grabbed her 'tags' from by her belongings and slipped them on. Some of the kids gave her fearful looks, others grateful, as they dispersed and left Lazuli alone in the field.


Mood effectively soured, the slight girl put her longsword over her back and hefted her rifle onto a shoulder before turning to head to the bistro, only to have a man, a human at that, catch her eye. If he was trying to be subtle with his gaze, he was doing a piss poor job about it. As her eyes met his her grip on her rifle tightened. She knew eyes like those, military, taking in every little detail and making calculations and discernments based off of them.


"You got a problem there, Snowflake?!" Lazuli barked, her face twisted into an annoyed scowl as she confronted the man.


She honestly hoped he both did and didn't. To be frank, she'd wished the robots would have made a move so she could have crushed them. She hated the robots, and the lack of an age protocol that kept them from going after children was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard of and just pissed her off. That said, she also had the meeting at the bistro, so she couldn't be causing any more trouble lest she bring the military down on the block.


"Well, you got something to say there steel eyes, or are you just gonna stare all day? I've got places to be and shit to do."


_______Meanwhile in the Automated Polis Headquarters______


"That's Lazuli Karay!? We need to sound an alarm!"


"Nope."


"But she's a massive threat! Works with the White Fang!"


"Listen, see that panel over there? Lift it."


"Done, it says 'no.'"


"Good, lift the panel under it."


"Also says 'no'."


"And the panel under that one?"


"...'Fuck no'."


"And the switch under that, flip it."


"Okay, fli-"


*HELL TO THE FUCK NO!*





"Oh gods, why would you make a switch scream that?"


"It's our protocol for 'should we call someone if we notice Lazuli Karay. Long story short, we're to ignore her. As long as she don't start any issues she tends to leave things be. Otherwise there's a fight, and human property gets destroyed and then there's retaliation, and it's just safer this way. Ergo, we leave her to the military, for the military, when the military wants her."


"But..."


"Go lift the panel then."

 

[simj26]

He hadn’t noticed the patrol bots that came roaming from around the corner. After all, they had become a rather common sight. Perhaps sight was not the word for this. They had, rather, become a rather common eyesore. He didn’t like them more than the next person, if only for the fact that they tended to obstruct daily activities, interrupting his groceries just because a Faunus beside him decided that her metallic tag clashed with her outfit. Of course, Marcus did not simply stand idly by as they harassed any other civilian. He was disapproving of said law as well, especially since it did nothing more than make categorisation easier. When they had such high-level technologies, why was such a heavy thing necessary? His rank in the military gave him some arguing weight with the operators down at the law enforcement centre, and they had lessened the harassment somewhat down at the local grocer’s. He was beginning to suspect however, that they finally made a schedule of his shopping times, and made a rather wise choice to avoid the grocer’s at these times.


He watched as one of the bots approached one of the Faunus children, and demand for her identification tags. Marcus had already started forwards, shrugging on his white jacket, brushing his hair back, wearing his most winning smile. A human child dashed forwards to the bot, attempting to pull it away from the Faunus child, but to no avail. Alas, his heroically steady walk slowed to a casual stroll and then a halt as one of the players drew a longsword from her sheath and confronted the bot. Her yell was loud, and it would seem that many upon the streets have heard it. Lazuli Karay. Human. White Fang leader. He had her file on his table for days. For some goddamned reason, he had a tugging in his heart that she had some threads connected to Nicholas. He dismissed it as merely false intuition as he progressed nearer to his retirement, however, and closed it entirely after he retired. Here she stood now, in front of him, directing her sword upon the bot, exclaiming her name for all to hear. He took a step back, and watched her somehow drive the bots away. He wouldn’t be surprised. He had heard that some of the better known White Fang members had a unique switch designated for them, which basically meant “Leave it to the military.”. He couldn’t blame them. They didn’t have the firepower, after all, to handle a Beacon Hunter. She could surely wipe the entire floor with them, no problem.


He had, however, expected someone taller.


Marcus only grinned at her rather boisterous remark shot towards his way, deflecting the sharpness of it with aloof charm. “Oh, quite a few, actually. There was no actual need for you to have loudly proclaimed your allegiance with the White Fang, especially in such a place as such. The military is listening.” He raised his hands up and laughed. Whether she could perceive the lack of hostility with his laugh was purely her own reaction. “Don’t glare at me like that. I quit a long time ago. You could say I got quite tired of the whole...war thing. You could even say I gave up.” Gave up trying to change the world. he had wanted to say. He turned his hand over, and pushed back his sleeve, checking his watch. “Hmm, what a coincidence, so do I. I’ve been told I could change the course of history by being somewhere, and doing some ‘shit’, as you put it. So I take it that you won’t be able to stay for some drinks, hm? My treat, of course, in a show of my neutrality.” He bowed, then straightened his coat, and from his breast pocket, he produced a namecard, offering it to Lazuli. “Perhaps another time then?”

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

The white suited man's attitude was more than enough to make Lazuli want to put his teeth down his throat, if only for the overtly friendly attitude of him. The military affiliation, former or otherwise, coupled with his species didn't do much to dissuade the line of thinking. Still, she did have a meeting, and apparently he did as well. She'd been warned others, others that would not necessarily be human, would be there as well, so Lazuli spun her rifle, launching the loaded harpoon into the air, and holstered the firearm as she let out a somewhat scornful laugh.


"Yea, and there wasn't a need for me not too," she started, pausing long enough to catch and holster the stray harpoon as it fell back to the ground, "Nothing short of Hunters, Huntresses and the Military confront me, and the military doesn't think to fuck with me when I step in for kids, but if you know about me, then I'm sure you know all about that."


Taking a moment to look the man over from behind a derisive glare Lazuli noted that he carried himself confidently, no doubt courtesy of the military, but that he had the friendly sort of confidence often seen in arrogant teens that think themselves ladies men. The former military fact rose back up in her mind, but if he was going to make an attempt he would have made it. That and ultimately she believed that there was never a good time to pass up free drinks.


Striding forward, her scrutinising gaze holding par with the man's more frustratingly amused expression, Lazuli took the card and slipped it into her top, not having any true pockets for it, and gave a hearty guffaw.


"Not likely I'd go for drinks with the likes of you. I've heard enough 'promises' of the humans to get a feel for them, and as if you've got any proof you'll be any different. That shit all said and gone, I don't even know your damn name." Lazuli finished somewhat accusingly, leaving the white drabbed man to respond.

 

[simj26]

Oh, man. She reminded him of Nicholas. Callous, with a specific choice of words. Nicholas had been a tough nut to crack, even as a kid, and he was even more hostile to the rest of MOON, now that Marcus thought back on it. It had only taken about half a year for him to thaw put when around them. Was this how it was now? Has the military truly caused so much of a change within people that they naturally distrusted altruism? What a world. He sighed inwardly, and scratched the back of his head, looking quite dejected about it all. She was right, too. He didn't exactly have proof that he wasn't on anyone's side. He doubted showing off his amazing collection of Joe Hisaishi albums, as awe-inspiring as it was, would help either. He remembered when he told Nicholas about it, and all he did was snort in derision and called him a 'weak willed man with a soft heart'. Of course, he didn't actually mean it. It was simply just more of their friendly jabs at each other. It'd probably be the same for Ms. Karay. She looked, and sounded more like a person who preferred louder music. Perhaps he was right, though. He had a soft heart. That was why he couldn't fit in this world any more. A world dominated by suspicion and hatred. He looked across the street where the last child had finally disappeared around the block. There was hope yet for them. Whoever called him here tonight would assure that hope would reign. He turned his attention back to Ms. Karay when her accusation reached his ears.


His name was on the card. That was why it was called a NAMEcard. It was considered polite to exchange namecards upon introductions, but apparently Ms. Karay was not learned of such a practice. Of course, she probably didn't have to meet people in their ivory towers. He doubted she even had a namecard as well. Marcus smiled tiredly at her, nodding as she accused him of his apparent rudeness. She was right again, of course. How selfish of him. He had only seen things in his own perspective and not hers. What a fool he had been. He should really come out more often to see just how those beneath his usual seat in the sky behaved. By gods, he learned just the other day that he was supposed to bargain with the grocer.


"Ah, forgive me then. I had assumed... no, let us not dwell upon that. Marcus von Stroheim. It has been nothing short of a pleasure to have met you, Ms. Karay." He snapped out a handkerchief from his other breast pocket and wiped his hand, before offering his cleaned hand to her. "We should meet again, when I am in a better light, it seems. You will find that my promises are not as lacking as my previous standing would have implied."

 

[Heartsteal]

One Week Ago, Schnee Digsite C-027

​

A couple hours West of Rooktower by airship, another Schnee digsite was situated, an open pit mine, hoping to strike dust. Another day, another trip down, and as midday drew nearer, the shift change also drew closer upon them. Eduard would be starting his first day here, one of the company's newest employees.


"Hey Eddie! Welcome to the dig!" an older man called, portly, and with neatly kept grey beard. The site foreman.


A lot of the younger crew called him "Pops", and he always seemed to find time to introduce the new members of the team to the job. Today wasn't any different, and Eduard was exceedingly anxious about working outside the walls of a haven for the first time in his life. On every side of the pit, towering green sentinels loomed, reaching for the sky almost hungrily, though it might have only been his imagination.


"Things are pretty simple here, you get to be on probe since you're the new guy, but don't worry, you won't be stuck there long," Pops explained, gesturing toward one of the quadrants of the mine, where a team of three workmen probed the ground with a long metal pole and sledge, while also mapping the area. On the other side of them, another team had finished probing, and were working in concert with some heavy machinery to dig their patch of dirt deeper than the space around it, where they'd start probing again next.


"After the probe, you'll be on sledge, after that it's mapper, then there's some real opportunity for good money," he went on with a chuckle, knowing full well that even at starting wages, this digsite paid by the buckets, though the site seemed conspicuously devoid of faunus.


The pair of them made their way closer to the edge of the site, up steep dirt hills, strewn with loose pebbles. There were far more workers out here, trying to level off with the bottom of the pit maybe. Dust had to be dug up in segments like this, because if a vein were struck by heavy mining equipment, it could be disastrous, or if using a shaft mine, it could do any number of things, from collapsing their tunnels to turning them to a raging inferno. Instead, they had to test the area for large concentrations of dust with hand tools, then dig up the soil, and sift it for powder, or small crystals while they searched for the elusive geodes of the stuff.


Coming ever nearer to the edge of the site, the trees outside it, and the dense undergrowth therein, Eduard found his paranoia mounting, swearing he could have just seen something move, just outside of sight, though he had to shake it off. No way they'd be operating such a large excavation if it wasn't safe right? They must have a security perimiter some way out, just to keep the grimm away. It was obvious, right?


Pops was in the middle of a sentence that was only half listened to when a shape burst from that undergrowth, an enormous ebony feline, bonelike masses emerging from its hide the whole body over. Eduard screamed, flinched, and fell on the spot, though before he could scramble backwards, Pops had gotten both hands to his ears, and the grimm jerked sideways suddenly, careening dozens of feet aside, bursting into black fractals before it even struck the ground again.


Before he could ask what had just happened, a deafening crash slammed into him, a wall purely of sound that knocked the breath out of him.


"Oh yeah, meet the sec-force!" Pops laughed aloud, needing to raise his voice so that both the pair could hear what he'd said. Waving a hand at the highest edge of the pit, Eduard couldn't see anything that would explain what had just happened, though he supposed that there must be some huntsman up above with an enormous rifle.


Looking back to where the bastet had exploded though, he could only see a metal rod buried in the ground, like an entire spear with curious featherings at the base.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

Above, overlooking the entire site, stood Tio, fully armoured, and still holding Yolmak level with her shot. As she lowered the colossal bow, her other hand came up to her helm, rolling the dial back down so that she didn't need to see the young human who'd just wet himself quite so close up anymore. The shot wasn't a spectacular one, not when compared to many such that she'd had to make before, though she could swear that Pops just liked taking the new crew close to the perimeter whenever she pointed out grimm wandering around in the morning. This wasn't the first time that his team had gotten a close look at the mountain's grimm, nor did she suspect it would be the last, though thankfully she'd be done with her turn on this detail after just this one last day.


Admit it, that's still hilarious!


No, not really...


Hey, if it wasn't funny, you wouldn't let them come so close, would you?


That's not true! They don't always attack...


Hah! You're a real comedian you are!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

By the time that the sun was starting to set, their airship was readying to leave again, this time carrying the return crew back home, while the others remained behind for their shift.


Tio's time there was finished, and now so was her employment. Remaining at the very back of the airship, where the ceiling was highest, Tio remained in her armour, partly for simplicity's sake, partly because none of the team knew who she was beneath it in the least. They didn't know that she was faunus, and with the formlessness of her armour, she doubted they even believed she was a woman. It was a relationship that she was reasonably pleased with.


Now, with tensions mounting in all of the world, Pharos' hunters were being pulled back, to show their faces less prevalently, partly for their own safety, partly for the school's reputation. Staring at the floor, this was all that she really had to ponder on for the long flight home; well, that or memories.


In Atlas, many faunus citizens were being forced into camps in an attempt to minimize White Fang activities, though they still ran rampant, and seemed to recruit more and more from these camps.


Thankfully, being a huntress, Tio was exempted from such a fate, though on her return, she would no longer be one, and may well be expected to lay down her weapons, and take up residence in the Rooktower camp herself.


No, she wouldn't think about that right now, instead she turned her helmeted head toward the nearest window, managing to get a sidelong look at the dense forests below, though craning her neck to do it quickly proved not to be worth it. While she might have tried to listen to the miners and other security crew, they weren't exactly the sort that she usually associated with.


Who do you usually associate with again? Right, nobody.


Hey, I still talk to Jarvia! And I call home too...


Yeah, family, and a freak that tattoos dust into her skin, huge social circle there.


There's Malik too!


When did you talk to him last anyways?


Uh...





Tio had to count on her fingers, not entirely sure of how long it had been. She got the point she supposed.


It was while counting back on this that a vibrating came from somewhere under her armour, near the waist. Right, her Scroll!


The vibration went in one second bursts every other second, and grew progressively stronger while Tio struggled to get to the little contraption. Unbuckling her cuirass, she had to lift layer upon layer of body armour to reach her belt where the Scroll was clipped on. It had long since stopped quaking by the time that she reached it, then spent another minute or so trying to wriggle it back out. To the one miner actually watching, he just watched as one of their defenders went past their wrist into the suit of armour they always wore, eventually managing to produce a Scroll that looked comically small in their gauntleted hand.


Peeling the gauntlet off next, Tio managed to get the Scroll ready, and saw that she'd received a message from someone she didn't know, which was rare to say the least.


I bet it's spam~





[Miss Tio Bihter,





You likely know of the war that the White Fang is waging against the Kingdoms. It's a senseless waste of life,on both sides,and I believe we are of one mind in this. Men and women have been vanishing across the planet,lately. While the Kingdoms blame the White Fang,I am not so sure. While I cannot promise anything,I have a strong suspicion that,together,we can end this conflict,should we find the source of the disappearances. If you agree with me,then press the corresponding button embedded in this message. If not,then there's a button for that,too. Whatever your choice,I thank you.


<YES>


<NO> ]





Reading it once, twice, and eventually a third time, she just wasn't really sure what to do. It seemed that there wasn't much choice to be made in the first place, so she made to press the tiny "YES" button. There was a brief buzzing noise as both buttons lit up, and the screen blinked before delivering another message.


[Recipients may select only one option]


Trying again, Tio received the same result, her thumb easily larger than both buttons combined. Trying a different approach the next time, she tried to press the buttons with her little finger instead, though it still covered both options. A frown found its way onto Tio's face, though she didn't make any noise, at least not enough for anyone outside her helmet to hear it. Trying one last time, another message appeared afterwards instead.


[City of Vale, Dusty Pantry Bistro. Noon, Friday. Deliver your answer in person, or do not arrive.]

Today, City of Vale, nearing noon



​

After a particularly long, and expensive flight, Tio finally made her first trip beyond Atlas' shores. While it would have been nice to believe that she'd done it altogether out of altruism, it was also in part, to avoid ending up detained in an Atlesian faunus camp. Thinking about those made her exceedingly glad that her family lived outside any haven, so they wouldn't need to worry about being put in the camps. At the same time though, she couldn't help imagining that the security forces meant to protect the farmland would be pulled back for more "worthwhile" tasks.


Getting through customs was surprisingly difficult, and had her stuck in the terminal for an entire day. Thankfully, there had been some pretense lain out before her arrival, though it hadn't been quite enough to cover her armour and weapons as well, which left her filing a small mountain of papers to prove her ownership, and to take responsibility for their use or misuse.


Trying to put all of that behind her however, Tio kept walking, making her way through the city toward the, "Dusty Pantry" mentioned in her invitation. Was it an invitation? Following the map lain out by her Scroll, she was relatively sure that she was headed the right way, though she was beginning to wonder the wisdom of wearing all of her gear. On the other hand, she didn't have anywhere to leave it safely...


Everywhere she went, people ducked into doorways and hid from sight. Those that didn't, stared openly at the armoured giant walking their streets, towing what only looked like a large metal crate behind it. Beneath the helmet, as with any other time she knew that eyes were on her, Tio couldn't help fidgeting, her eyes flicking one way then the other, trying and failing to fight down the flush in her cheeks. It was difficult enough dealing with people, but now she was even out of practice, having not seen her old teammate in a few years now, though they did still chat once in a while over their Scrolls.


Only a short minute or so left to her destination, and Tio ran into a pair of patrol bots, a familiar enough, if bizarre sight, even still. The metal men reached some way past her waist, and always had bizarre reactions to her. Thankfully, seeing as nearly all patrol bots were manufactured in Atlas, most models had Pharos-sanctioned hunters on file, herself included, or at least she hoped that she was still included.


"Unidentified weapons platform! Stand down and come along quietly," the pair said in unison, pulling the rifles from their shoulders. A few moments passed as Tio spread her armoured hands before her, gulping down mounting tension as she waited to see what actions they would take.


Thankfully, the pair settled as quickly as they had reacted, returning their rifles to their places, and announcing a:


"Apologies Huntress Bihter, as you were."


Both machines resumed their march through the streets on that note, as though nothing at all had transpired.


Finally, after that awkward encounter, Tio rounded the last corner on her route, and looking up, saw the sign for the bistro she was to be headed to, which hung above the door, at the middle of her chest. As much as that sign nagged at her mounting curiosity, its placement had Tio deflate in disappointment, as it was sure to be a herald of what she could expect of the city so far as buildings were concerned. Beside the bistro, some children were still in the midst of scattering, a lanky doe faunus presenting her necklace in a hurried display before darting down a back alley that Tio couldn't have fit into even without Yolmak's pod behind her. A human youth went running after her, and ahead, near the roadside, a pair of white haired individuals held a somewhat heated conversation. On the other side of the street, the side with the field, there was also a crimson haired cat faunus about to enter the building from what she could tell.


Is it just us, or did we miss something? And what was with that little faunus girl?


I don't know...





Already Tio could feel attention gathering on her, even before anyone looked. It wasn't easy to miss a metal-clad giant coming cantankerously up the sidewalk after all.

 

[Emiya Shin]

[Celica Revenant]


[Vale - The Dusty Pantry Bistro]

D U S T | O. K.


A D R | Normal


E. E. | Impatient
​

As Celica was going to push the door and enter the Dusty Pantry Bistro, there was a commotion at the park where a pair of patrol bots confronted the group of humans and Faunus, and interrupted their friendly game of football. Celica also noticed that there was another incident inside the Bistro as well, a heated argument between a Faunus possessing bull-like features against a female human, who dressed in a uniform, presumably the Bistro's hostess. The incident on the park attracted her curiosity more compared to the ongoing argument inside the Dusty Pantry. Celica took a few steps forward towards the park, close enough to observe the situation.


The event was quickly escalated when a rather short female human... or Faunus (?) with a long white hair with some feathery features on it, aimed some kind of rifle at one of the bots. The pint-sized girl also shouted at them as well. Celica heard something from her angry words, presumably... a name.


("Lazuli...?")


The situation was eventually resolved in a peaceful manner, and so is the argument inside the Bistro, when Celica shifted her focus into the establishment. The Cat Faunus pushed the doors gently, the doorbells chime as she entered the Dusty Pantry Bistro. The hostess, who was initially smiling and walking towards Celica, her expression instantly turned sour when she noticed Celica's cat-like features. To the twin-tail red-haired Faunus, the hostess' expression was totally screaming 'Not another Faunus again!'. Celica gave a light smile, hoping that she could pass through the obstacle in front of her. She decided to take the polite route, to prevent attracting any unnecessary attention.


"Good day, miss..." The hostess started politely. "But, I'm afraid that the Dusty Pantry today is not open for Faunus customers." She explained, in a firm tone, smiling.


Celica displayed a quick stare of disapproval, before reverting to her usual light smiling expression, without saying a single word. Ignoring the hostess' words, the Faunus took a step forward. As for the hostess? She immediately stood in front of Celica, blocking her path, while still wearing the same pleasant expression as before. This time, the Faunus obviously annoyed by the hostess' actions, as placed both of her arms on her hip and lets out an exasperated sigh. She bit her lips, before her left hand reached into one of her dress pockets.


("I do bloody hope that this thing works for once...!")


Celica eventually took out her Scroll, which have a clean, white color casing. A distinctive, black colored emblem of the Beacon Academy was inscribed at the back of the handheld device. The red-haired Faunus gave her Scroll to the hostess, with both of her hands as a sign of politeness. As for the human hostess however, she rudely took the Scroll, before examining the device and touched the inscribed emblem. The hostess eventually threw the Scroll back to Celica with a dissatisfied look, where the owner barely caught it with her left hand.


"No." The hostess crossed her arms. "Emblems like these can be easily imitated."


The hostess' words instantly sent the red-haired Faunus in a state of anger and distraught, as she gritted her teeth, tightly gripping her hands, and slowly shook her head to the female human in front of her.


("Did you actually use your pea-sized brain and your absurd analytical skills before you talk, human?! How the fking hell does a normal Faunus or human can imitate an inscribed Beacon emblem on their Scrolls?!")


At this moment, Celica lets out another exasperated sigh. Knowing that her Beacon Academy-issued Scroll did not do the trick, she has to find another way. As much as she wants to punch the hostess in her face, the Faunus continued to hold her anger in. Then, she has an idea. An idea that most likely... work.


"Look, madam..." Celica stared at the hostess impatiently. "Your boss... is my best friend, and I have saved that useless fella from a bunch of Grimms during a business trip gone wrong." The Faunus began to tap on her Scroll, in a pretending manner. "If you're not letting me in, I'm going to make a call, saying that a random female blonde is blocking my way..." Her words trailed off at the end.


Celica instantly turned her back to the human hostess, while placing her Scroll on her left ear. Moments later, the hostess went panicky, and quickly stopped the Faunus.


"N-no...! Please don't! I'm... I'm sorry. Please... seat yourself at the dining room! We have no reservations today..."


The red-haired catgirl smirked at the hostess before making her way into the dining area. "Thank you."




("Goddammit. Humans nowadays... Plus, why the need of meeting in such a place with a human that has a heavy anti-Faunus sentiments anyway? Damn it all.")


Celica complained to herself as she took a seat in one of the empty tables in the dining room. She began to observe the environment around her, and eventually realized why the hostess was being such a mean person to her.


("What a nice place... But still, it doesn't warrant the anti-Faunus acts. It baffles me...")


The red-haired catgirl sat in a table where she could get a clear view of the bistro's entrance, however that leaves her on a direct line of sight with a female bull Faunus. The same one who had an argument with the hostess earlier on. Even so, Celica maintained her composure, and placed her black briefcase on the table.


A waitress arrived at her table, with a menu in hand. She placed the menu on the table, while patiently waited for the Faunus' orders. Celica took the menu, and began flipping it, skimming its contents. The foods served at the Bistro were pretty lavish too, but it also reminded that her purse will take severe damage should she decides to dine here. After reaching a decision, Celica turned to the waitress.


"A cup of Earl Grey. Hot. That's all, for now."


The waitress jotted down Celica's orders, and eventually left. She closed the menu, and leaned on the comfortable chair. Her right fingers tapped on the black briefcase in a noticeable rhythm as she waited...

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

At times like these, Mari really was glad that she'd been made in the image of a regular human. Now, she wasn't usually one to listen into other people's business, most of the conversations one could hear on the street nowadays were utter nonsense after all, but this particular conversation wasn't one she could very well ignore. Well, at least without shutting off her hearing in it's entirety. In the doorway stood a bull Faunus, at least seven feet tall, having a... Heated discussion with the hostess of the establishment. From what she could gather, the woman was being denied access to the establishment, and, predictably, she was kicking up a fuss about it.


Honestly though, why didn't she just go somewhere else?


Even if she did manage to get in, it was obvious that her service was going to be sub-par anyway, so it was only logical that she find another place to eat the afternoon away. Honestly, this was why organics so effortlessly managed to confuse her...


But whatever the horned woman decided to do, it wasn't Mari's issue. Her helping some woman get into an eatery wasn't going to help out anyone in the long run. In fact, it was more likely to just end up hurting her in the end. Or, at least, hurting her wallet. But again, that was none of Mari's concern. Letting out a rare sigh, Mari tried to think of a way to distract herself from the circus act going on with the hostess.


Actually, this was a pretty good chance to map the place out, lest this little meet up... Go sour, so to speak.


Getting up from her chair, Mari began to pace around the room, her eyes darting around as she walked, looking to take in every nook and cranny that she could lay her eyes one. To any onlooker, it probably looked like the girl was having a nigh on seizure. Several entree points. Glass walls for quick escape. No door more than ten seconds apart. Sturdy counter for shelter from small arms. State of kitchen unknown. Furnishings may provide makeshift weaponry. And as for the toilets... Well, she doubted there was much there that could provide any significant modicum of tactical advantage, but, not at least checking them would make little combative s-


One of the staff stepped into her way.


"Ah, mam, can I help y-"


And she walked right into him, knocking him to his feet. It must have been an ... Odd sight to say the least. A girl, a girl standing at no more than five feet tall, sending one of the staff toppling by doing no more than walking into him.


"Sorry."


Flustered, he scrambled around on the floor, doing his best to get back to his feet without the aid that any person who wasn't Mari probably would have offered.


"Ah... Nono, I should have gotten your attention before stepping in front of you like that..."


"Yes."


Back on his feet, the his compsure didn't seem to improve any, probably being thrown off by the... Breifness, with which Mari was answering his questions. "A-Anyway... You look a little lost, can I help you with anything? Have you forgotten your seat perha-"


"No, thank you."


"Are you s-"


"Yes, thank you."


"Well, ah, I hope you have a nice meal..."

...

​

As expected, the bathroom had offered nothing of interest. Toilet stalls in surplus, perfect for hiding in if this were some sort of B-Grade horror movie where everyone seemed to think the best way to escape the monster was by backing themselves into a dead end, but, in a combat situation... Well, she very much doubted that any potential assailants would take a toilet break while they were trying to gun her down.


So, doubting they would allow her to go wandering around the kitchens, Mari made her way back towards her seat.


On her way back, she was surprised to see that the commotion in the door was still going on, the sound of the hostess's voice being more than audible from the d- Wait, no, the bull-woman from before was sitting inside... Then, who was she talking to? Another Faunus? Why would they be so stupid as to approach the place after the spectacle that had gone on with the last one? She was honestly a little curious to see what kind of person would so bold, or idiotic, to pull try and pull such a thing off.


Stopping perpendicular to the entrance, her eyes flicked over to watch the scene in the doorway unfold. A cat-girl this time. Red hair, pale skin, nothing too out of the ordinary. Taking things just as poorly as the bull-woman had too. She had to wonder though, what exactly was the hostess was thinking. I mean, she'd been so adamantly denying her previous 'issue' entrance only a few moments ago, and now she was sitting... Not so happily... In the corner. And yet, here she was, denying another Faunus entree. Perhaps the other woman had been a special case, a Huntress, perhaps?


It would be best to keep an eye on her...


About to make her way back to her seat, Mari was surprised yet again as the cat-Faunus made her way inside.


Another Huntress? Or something else? She didn't seem familiar with the other Faunus, so they likely weren't part of a team.... Or, were they just trying to trick her? For all she knew, the two of them could have been sent her to take her out... It would explain the lack of customers... But that would mean that the Bistro was in on this, and, looking at the staff, she doubted that they'd be too keen on allowing a fight to go down in their restaurant...


For now she'd just return to her seat and keep an eye on them, then.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Nodding, and admitting that she had certainly met worse humans, though this one was certainly from a more upper crust than she was used to dealing with. As she faltered for conversation she let the silence take over instead and began to look around, scanning for any potential threats and whilst pulling the sleeves from her arms. No use hiding what she already gave away, right?


A new entry into the bistro coupled with a ridiculously large figure making their way down the street told her that if Marcus too was here for a meeting, it would seem that the 'pawns' had gathered, which meant that both her and Marcus probably needed to make their way into the bistro as well. Giving a grunt towards the man before turning and heading towards the bistro, the Lazuli simply assumed the man would realise where she was going and follow.


As she neared the entrance she immediately took notice of lady attending the front giving her arms a look before it immediately strayed to the massive sword slung across her back. Expecting trouble Lazuli put on a glare that would make a soldier flinch and the lady took notice, going from scornful to uneasy.


"O...o...oh, ahm, miss, you must... ah...must..."


Great, so the lady couldn't english. Putting her arms out 'welcomingly' Lazuli stepped forward with a disturbing smile and spoke.


"Oh, I must? What must I do? Come on? Tell me, what must I do?"


Following the distressed woman's glances to a red eared cat faunus and a large cow faunus, Lazuli gave her a look that let the lady know she needed to watch her next words carefully.


"M...mu... must be here... uh... for... your friends?"


Letting out a derisive, barking laugh at the ineptitude of the woman, Lazuli began to walk forward to find herself a seat, but made sure to demand a bottle of rum be brought to her as she walked past just to see if it would actually be done.

 

[simj26]

-Marcus von Stroheim

"Oh dear, oh dear." Marcus truly was cursed. He didn't mind it, truly. Looking at Lazuli Karay was like staring at Nicholas through the eyes of a stranger. He, too, liked to go quiet when he lost his standing in an argument or debate, looking sorry for himself that he didn't have much else to add. He would also then take his anger out on some unsuspecting innocent nearby, causing problems for both himself and Marcus, who had always been by his side. Well, he had been, up until their final meeting, where their paths split. Those paths converged again, years back, and only one path emerged from that fateful encounter. Marcus wondered, sometimes, if his path had stopped there, where would Nicholas have gone? Where would his path take him now, were he still alive? Looking on at Lazuli terrorise the attendant of the bistro, he rubbed his temples. Maybe he would be standing here now, as a friend or ally of Ms. Karay. Alas, the fates have already decided. There was no turning back, no changing of the tracks that led to the future. He followed closely behind Lazuli as she brushed her way past the lady. Marcus cast the attendant a sympathetic look as he entered the bistro. She had clearly suffered quite a bit of trauma from the most recent customers that entered the bistro. Clearly, the establishment was not one that would readily invite Faunus into their walls. It was a justified move. The White Fang was not making this easy on anyone. And in turn, the White Fang's violence only came about because the government forced their hand.


Marcus breathed in, and smelled the smell that plagued him, even at home as he stared at the one order he issued that he wished he had never done so. It was the smell of burning, of charred corpses, of the dead and the dying. He came, and he saw, and wished earnestly that he had not conquered. He lost his temper with his superiors, demanding to know why so much excessive force was needed, just for one man, whether or not the deployed units had any understanding of the words 'perceived threat'. They brushed off his complaints, but he knew he had stung them. Everyone knew, however, that Marcus' retirement was not far behind, espeically with his listless behaviour after the incident.


He, presently, scratched his head, exhaled tiredly, and reached into his pocket. He took the attendant's hand and pressed some bank notes into it, before closing her fingers on it. "After this shift of yours, go home, get some rest, and forget everything tonight. None of this is any of your fault. Like water off a duck's back, miss." He nodded, and gave his usual smile, before entering the premises of the bistro, leaving the attendant with a handful of cash. It should be enough to buy herself something to calm herself down after work, more or less. Ms. Karay ordered a bottle of rum. How crude, and how familiar. If she didn't stop with her mannerisms, he'd start calling her Nicholas. He wondered, jokingly, just how much of him would survive once she was done beating him up for the unwanted nickname. He detached himself from Lazuli's trail, and sat by the bar counter, next to the bartender. "I'll settle that order of rum. Get me a gin and tonic as well."

 

[Heartsteal]

As the others filed quietly, more or less, into the bistro, Tio released a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. It was always pleasant not being the focus of scrutinizing stares and hushed conversations. Trying not to make too much of a ruckus as she made her way up the sidewalk, Tio still sounded like a wagon full of cookware as metal plates scraped and struck against one another, even the under layers making quieter clinks.


Drawing ever closer, the faunus woman could see inside the building through the facade's windows, but the inside wasn't what worried her near as much as the entrance. It wasn't much higher than her waist, and the ceiling beyond couldn't be much higher.


So what do I do now?


What are you asking me for, I'm still you remember?


Yeah, but you're usually pretty quick to say something mean, or point out the obvious...


Right, real smart plan there, I don't see a problem with it.


What?


Never mind. You're not getting inside there unless you feel like crawling around, and I don't think the suit would work well with that.


So should I just wait outside? The meeting is inside though...


Well, do you think they'll mind when the ceiling gets all torn up?


I guess you're right...





So it was that when Tio crossed the street toward the bistro, she didn't even bother trying the door, instead she made a seat for herself with Yolmak's pod, leaving it by the corner of the structure, and detaching it from her harness. Sitting there, on the side of the road, one armoured shoulder poking out into the window's view, she started pondering if it was even the best idea to have come. A long trip to a foreign land where everything was made without the grandeur of Atlesian architecture meant that not only would she not know anyone, but she wouldn't be able to enter most buildings without damaging something.


Not to mention how much it cost to get here, and the permits for all your gear.


Yeah...


You know that cost you almost everything from the last job?


...


Those six months we were out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by all those miners?


...


Where you hardly got out of your armour at all?


I know and it still stinks!





Tuning out the rest of her... own, conversation, Tio decided it might be best to at least strip some of her armour down if she was meeting with people. The heavy steel plates didn't exactly exude the professional atmosphere that she could only hope they were looking for. Not to mention it would give the suit a chance to air out, and cool her off a good degree at the same time.


First though, she needed to find her glasses, or there wouldn't be any way to see what she was doing, or who she was supposed to be meeting; or much of anything really. She'd learned that the hard way back at Pharos. Shedding her gauntlets first, Tio used bared hands to open her duffel, the canvas sack that she carried the belongings other than her gear with. Just like always, in a special pocket near the opening, Tio's glasses sit, and while she'd cracked the left lens a little bit recently, they still served just fine.


Once those were in hand, she just had to handle the helmet, which only took her a moment, practice making the act much more simple. Not getting the helm tangled up on her horn like she was so oft terrible for, Tio set the bulbous lump of steel aside before slipping her glasses back onto her face.


Even just this small exposure of skin was a fantastic sensation as a cool breeze brushed by silently. With the helmet off, Tio's face was exposed, still flush with heat, and a deal of embarrassment as well, being with her current predicament and all, even after so long cooped up inside the metal jacket, her skin had kept some colour to it, though it wasn't the same leathery olive that she usually had.


Before removing any more of the armour, Tio made certain to open the bottom storage space in Yolmak's pod, where she could store her armour while not wearing it. An addition she was extremely happy with, though it added considerably to the already gargantuan box, to such a point that if there were nothing inside it, Tio could probably fit herself inside in her entirety, and with hardly a bend in the knees.


Then came the arduous process of peeling the protective layers away, one layer and piece at a time; though as she usually did, Tio unclasped the gorget first, allowing some air to get inside the cuirass to help cool off the stuffy protective gear.

 

[Heartsteal]

A long minute or two went by as Tio unclasped the gorget for her suit, the steel striking her breastplate as it slid loose into her hand, making a quiet metallic clang. Setting the piece inside Yolmak's storage space, she continued to unbuckle the sides of her cuirass, after removing her pauldrons of course, letting the front spill forward noisily into her lap. The sudden blast of fresh air was incredible, and from inside the thick metal plating, faint evidence of steam rising off of it was visible.


Before worrying about the rest of the layers, Tio stripped both arm pieces off, peeling the entire set off like a pair of gloves. Beneath these layers of protection, Tio's arms, thickened with muscle, first from fieldwork, later with her hunting, showed, glistening with more sweat than her face or collar did.


Maybe the weather wasn't so hot for locals, but to a large, hot-blooded faunus that lived in the subarctic climes of central Atlas, especially the mountaintops where Pharos was located, it was sweltering. Shaking her hands for a moment, Tio could feel the cool breeze chill the moisture off her arms, fingertips to shoulders as it raised goosebumps for a moment before the sunlight reminded her what the weather was really like.


While with her arms bared, Tio could have dealt with the heat reasonably well, she felt like wearing even half her armour was pushing the limits a little bit for meeting a stranger.


Yeah, would you look at that, strip down to meet that person you don't know in a place you've never been!


Not funny...


I'm still right though.





In hindsight, the circumstances were certainly a little bit odd, but full body armour like Tio's seemed a little bit like overdressing for the occasion, so despite her thoughts, she felt perfectly reasonable with doing this much. Certainly removing her cuisses, greaves, and sabatons would be a little bit much, but stripping her cuirass down partway would leave a much less dangerous impression on her employer, or anyone else that she might be intended to meet.


From her seat, and now that she was somewhat more comfortable in the warm Vale sun, Tio glanced over her shoulder, and into the window at her side to get a look at the people inside. There were a couple of faunus, though none quite so large as herself that they would have considerable issue with entering the establishment or remaining inside. A couple of them she remembered watching enter, but she couldn't say who any of them were. All seemed to hold a confidence in their face though, and while she didn't want to jump to any conclusions, Tio figured that they must be hunters, military, or at least police, while on the other hand, a human girl was standing at the entrance, a wooden podium before her. The hostess seemed to have spotted Tio much prior, and had a look to her face that practically dared her to try entering; a barrage of frustration built up in the bulging vein at her temple.


Jarvia certainly would have pressed the girl for it, but Tio was just fine staying where she was and quickly averting her eyes, turning to face the road again, throwing huge calloused hands into her lap as she tried to forget it happened.


Wow, haven't gotten a look like that since... what, the tourney? When we beat Liize right? Oh Juliet was pissed~


She was pretty upset with us and Jarvia...


Yeah, because the little tramp got a good zap! We didn't do that anyways though, she was just a vindictive l-


Jarvia is our teammate! Anything that happens, we face it together!


Oh~ It almost sounds like you really believe that. Who does Jarvia work for again?


...