Black Like Ink (A RWBY AU)
- Thread starter Ethernet_Cable
- Start date
- Fantasy
-
- Tags
- rwby first quest open voting
GamingandReading
Browses and Replies With Haste
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Reveal the note.
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Mom! Dad! Blake's gone!
I hope this option isn't showing the note? Because otherwise I don't see the point of this write-in
I hope this option isn't showing the note? Because otherwise I don't see the point of this write-in
[X] Reveal the note.
- Location
- USA
Life's got hands, yikes.
Next update will come soon! Thanks for reading!
Next update will come soon! Thanks for reading!
Introduction 1.0
- Location
- USA
[X] Mom! Dad! Blake's gone!
The words tumbled out of Robin's mouth before he could stop himself. He could feel his hands start to grow numb. Wasn't Vale across the Great Sea? When was Blake coming back? Robin's mind was a aflutter with what felt like a million questions, but it was clear to him that whatever Blake meant by her letter was bad news.
A sudden burst of footsteps heralded the arrival of Kali and Ghira, both of whom relaxed slightly at the sight of Robin.
"What did you say, Robin?" Kali said as she stepped into the room. "Where did Blake go?"
[] Reveal the note.
Robin showed his parents the note. The reaction was nearly instantaneous.
"Shit." Ghira ran out of the room, his heavy footsteps marching down the stairs and off into the distance.
Kali looked back at Robin, a look of intensity on her face that Robin had only seen one other time before: when a pack of Grimm were reported to be nearing the village. "Stay here, Robin. Breakfast is on the table."
"Have you and dad eaten?" Robin said as Kali began leaving the room.
A slam resonated through the house: the front door slamming shut. Kali looked back at Robin with a smile. "Don't worry about your father and I. We'll be back soon."
"With Blake?"
Kali's smile dropped, even Robin could tell that the answer was probably no. A crumpled note in hand, Robin could only stand and watch through the window as his mother dashed out into the streets of Kuo Kuana, chasing after his father: a black dot in the distance.
The roar of the storm drowned out all of Robin's thoughts.
Breakfast passed, and Robin ate nothing. He was stuck looking out the window, waiting for his parents to return, but they didn't. He doodled in his journal haphazardly, scrawling circle after circle after circle.
The storm raged on.
Lunch came, and Robin could feel his hunger urging him to eat the cold pancakes on the dining table. His eyes begged him to stare out at the horizon. His stomach demanded food. He relented. The cold air stung as he crawled downstairs in his pajamas. The doughy sheets were tough and dry in his mouth and seemed to suffocate him as they went down his throat.
Robin went back to the window, waiting for someone to appear over the horizon. The dancing of rain on the rooftop, on more than one occasion, tricked Robin into thinking someone else was home. But no one was there. He was alone.
Then, his mother appeared over the crest of the hill, without Ghira. Her hair and ears were flattened against her head by the wind, and her clothes were essentially soaked. In her hand was an umbrella, likely borrowed from a neighbor.
Robin clambered back downstairs and opened the front door for her.
"Where's dad?"
"He's gathering a search party, we think Blake went north to Maha Lua." Kali put her hand on Robin's. "Don't worry, we'll find her. Now let's get you something to eat, alright?"
Dinner was a simple affair: some leftover fish, rice, and spinach. To Robin, it felt like the beginning of the end to something very important. Though what, he did not know.
At night, Ghira had not returned, and Robin's dreams were filled with nightmares of him drowning in a large body of water. He would cry for Blake to save him, but she would be nowhere to be found.
The storm raged on.
The next day, Robin was left alone at home again while Kali went to try and gather information on Blake's escape. Apparently it was a coordinated effort between her and a few of her other White Fang friends.
Robin. . .
[] Decided to help with the search.
[]Write-in.
[] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
The words tumbled out of Robin's mouth before he could stop himself. He could feel his hands start to grow numb. Wasn't Vale across the Great Sea? When was Blake coming back? Robin's mind was a aflutter with what felt like a million questions, but it was clear to him that whatever Blake meant by her letter was bad news.
A sudden burst of footsteps heralded the arrival of Kali and Ghira, both of whom relaxed slightly at the sight of Robin.
"What did you say, Robin?" Kali said as she stepped into the room. "Where did Blake go?"
[] Reveal the note.
Robin showed his parents the note. The reaction was nearly instantaneous.
"Shit." Ghira ran out of the room, his heavy footsteps marching down the stairs and off into the distance.
Kali looked back at Robin, a look of intensity on her face that Robin had only seen one other time before: when a pack of Grimm were reported to be nearing the village. "Stay here, Robin. Breakfast is on the table."
"Have you and dad eaten?" Robin said as Kali began leaving the room.
A slam resonated through the house: the front door slamming shut. Kali looked back at Robin with a smile. "Don't worry about your father and I. We'll be back soon."
"With Blake?"
Kali's smile dropped, even Robin could tell that the answer was probably no. A crumpled note in hand, Robin could only stand and watch through the window as his mother dashed out into the streets of Kuo Kuana, chasing after his father: a black dot in the distance.
The roar of the storm drowned out all of Robin's thoughts.
Breakfast passed, and Robin ate nothing. He was stuck looking out the window, waiting for his parents to return, but they didn't. He doodled in his journal haphazardly, scrawling circle after circle after circle.
The storm raged on.
Lunch came, and Robin could feel his hunger urging him to eat the cold pancakes on the dining table. His eyes begged him to stare out at the horizon. His stomach demanded food. He relented. The cold air stung as he crawled downstairs in his pajamas. The doughy sheets were tough and dry in his mouth and seemed to suffocate him as they went down his throat.
Robin went back to the window, waiting for someone to appear over the horizon. The dancing of rain on the rooftop, on more than one occasion, tricked Robin into thinking someone else was home. But no one was there. He was alone.
Then, his mother appeared over the crest of the hill, without Ghira. Her hair and ears were flattened against her head by the wind, and her clothes were essentially soaked. In her hand was an umbrella, likely borrowed from a neighbor.
Robin clambered back downstairs and opened the front door for her.
"Where's dad?"
"He's gathering a search party, we think Blake went north to Maha Lua." Kali put her hand on Robin's. "Don't worry, we'll find her. Now let's get you something to eat, alright?"
Dinner was a simple affair: some leftover fish, rice, and spinach. To Robin, it felt like the beginning of the end to something very important. Though what, he did not know.
At night, Ghira had not returned, and Robin's dreams were filled with nightmares of him drowning in a large body of water. He would cry for Blake to save him, but she would be nowhere to be found.
The storm raged on.
The next day, Robin was left alone at home again while Kali went to try and gather information on Blake's escape. Apparently it was a coordinated effort between her and a few of her other White Fang friends.
Robin. . .
[] Decided to help with the search.
[]Write-in.
[] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
[X] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
Nothing a kid can really do
Nothing a kid can really do
- Location
- The United States
Forgot to Threadmark it?
[X] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
- Location
- USA
Haha, yep! Fixed.
Introduction 1.1
- Location
- USA
Not really satisfied with this one, but here's an overdue update:
[] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
It wasn't until his mother caught him trying to escape the house to "interrogate" some of Blake's friends that Robin ultimately decided to stay at home and let his parents do the searching. Gilbert, having heard of Blake's disappearance, came rushing to the Belladonna household to talk to Robin.
"I-is it true? T-that Blake ran away?" Gilbert said as he adjusted his glasses twice before ultimately deciding to clean them with a cloth. "I. . . I heard my dad talking to your mom about it."
"Mhm." Robin nodded as he stared out the window of his room. His head was propped up by his arm. The storm was still raging on. "Some other kids ran away too."
"Oh. . . Where do you think they went?"
"Vale. . ." Robin sighed. Vale. . . all the way across the Great Sea. And she didn't even bother to tell him. Robin scowled. To think Blake didn't tell him about something so important! It was like she thought he was too young or not mature enough to know about it! It drove Robin mad thinking about it. She always did that, ignore him whenever something really important was going to happen. She wouldn't even let him make posters until he begged her over an entire month.
Maybe she thought the posters weren't that important.
Gilbert spoke up, his voice meek. "S--say. . .did you know that she was running away?"
Robin stared at Gilbert, who shrank away instantly.
"G--guess not. . ." Gilbert adjusted his glasses, the large circular lenses drooping back down his nose after the motion. "W--what are you going to do?"
"Idunno." Robin sighed. His frown eased slightly. No one wanted him to do anything. "The grownups don't want me getting involved. It's too important."
"Oh. . ."
A silence fell upon the room.
"Oh! Have you checked her room for clues?" Gilbert piped up
Robin's ears twitched. The idea hadn't even occurred to him. A force of habit. "No."
The two Faunus got up and walked over to Blakes room. Upon entering, Robin pounced upon the desk. Books went clattering to the ground. Robin flipped through book after book, looking for the slightest sign of any clue or code or cipher. Gilbert sifted through papers with a fair bit of skittishness, being uncomfortable with the intimacy of some of Blake's writings. Hours passed with the two trying to shed any light on how Blake may have come up with her plan. Until, finally, Gilbert found something.
"Robin!" Gilbert looked up from a copy of The History of Remnant, sending his glasses hopping over his nose. He replaced his glasses after a brief bit of fumbling.
"What." Robin looked up from his book, his head mounted utop his hand. "Did you find something?"
"Look here." Gilbert pointed to a page titled "Faunus Rights Movement."
On the page, Blake had sketched out a map of Menagerie and highlighted two different villages along its coast: Maha Lua and Luo Kahana.
"Why would she want to leave from Luo Kahana? It's so far away," Robin said.
Gilbert adjusted his glasses. "It is a pretty big village though. Probably has a lot of ships leaving for Vale."
"So do we."
"But we're in a storm right now. No one would be crazy enough to sail in this weather. Except maybe Mad Ollie."
"Mad Ollie?" Robin shuddered. "I don't like her."
"Me neither. Did you know her boat smells like rotten eggs? My dad says it's because her boat's falling apart."
"Wait, how does this help with Blake?"
"I don't know, you brought her up."
"No I didn't. You did!"
"What?" Gilbert faltered. "Hmm. Maybe I did. . . Anyways. Blake. If she went to Luo Kahana, there's no way your dad's going to find her in time. Just getting to Maha Lua's going to take him half a day."
"We have to tell him then," Robin said as he grabbed the book from Gilbert's hand and rose to leave the room.
"Wait, Robin."
Robin stopped and turned around to glare at Gilbert. "What."
"We don't even know if Blake left for Luo Kahana. For all we know she might actually be leaving from Maha Lua!"
"But what if she's actually leaving from Luo Kahana? We have to tell someone." Robin's voice rose to a shout.
"We could make things worse!" Gilbert's voice rose to match Robin's. "We should just—"
"Wait? Blake's my sister!"
"What if we're wrong?" Gilbert stood up. "What if Blake left with Ollie on her stupid little boat for Vale?"
"She wouldn't do that."
"Fine, what if she's actually hiding here in Kuo Kuana waiting for the storm to blow over and we help her get away by getting your mom to look at Maha Lua."
Robin froze. For a brief moment, the possibility of him never seeing his sister again became tangible. A pit formed in his stomach. Robin's voice came out as a whisper. "I just want to see her again."
Gilbert looked away. "Look Robin, Maybe we're actually right. Maybe your mom doesn't listen to us. Maybe Blake's going to come back today and say everything was a joke. I don't know. I just want to make sure we know what we're doing. We'll have to live with whatever happens."
"Okay." Robin wiped his eyes. "Fine. What do we do?"
"At the end of the day, it's your call. She is your sister."
Tell Kali:
[] That Blake went South towards Luo Kahana.
[] That Blake is hiding in Kuo Kuana
[] Nothing.
[] Stayed home, at his mother's insistence.
It wasn't until his mother caught him trying to escape the house to "interrogate" some of Blake's friends that Robin ultimately decided to stay at home and let his parents do the searching. Gilbert, having heard of Blake's disappearance, came rushing to the Belladonna household to talk to Robin.
"I-is it true? T-that Blake ran away?" Gilbert said as he adjusted his glasses twice before ultimately deciding to clean them with a cloth. "I. . . I heard my dad talking to your mom about it."
"Mhm." Robin nodded as he stared out the window of his room. His head was propped up by his arm. The storm was still raging on. "Some other kids ran away too."
"Oh. . . Where do you think they went?"
"Vale. . ." Robin sighed. Vale. . . all the way across the Great Sea. And she didn't even bother to tell him. Robin scowled. To think Blake didn't tell him about something so important! It was like she thought he was too young or not mature enough to know about it! It drove Robin mad thinking about it. She always did that, ignore him whenever something really important was going to happen. She wouldn't even let him make posters until he begged her over an entire month.
Maybe she thought the posters weren't that important.
Gilbert spoke up, his voice meek. "S--say. . .did you know that she was running away?"
Robin stared at Gilbert, who shrank away instantly.
"G--guess not. . ." Gilbert adjusted his glasses, the large circular lenses drooping back down his nose after the motion. "W--what are you going to do?"
"Idunno." Robin sighed. His frown eased slightly. No one wanted him to do anything. "The grownups don't want me getting involved. It's too important."
"Oh. . ."
A silence fell upon the room.
"Oh! Have you checked her room for clues?" Gilbert piped up
Robin's ears twitched. The idea hadn't even occurred to him. A force of habit. "No."
The two Faunus got up and walked over to Blakes room. Upon entering, Robin pounced upon the desk. Books went clattering to the ground. Robin flipped through book after book, looking for the slightest sign of any clue or code or cipher. Gilbert sifted through papers with a fair bit of skittishness, being uncomfortable with the intimacy of some of Blake's writings. Hours passed with the two trying to shed any light on how Blake may have come up with her plan. Until, finally, Gilbert found something.
"Robin!" Gilbert looked up from a copy of The History of Remnant, sending his glasses hopping over his nose. He replaced his glasses after a brief bit of fumbling.
"What." Robin looked up from his book, his head mounted utop his hand. "Did you find something?"
"Look here." Gilbert pointed to a page titled "Faunus Rights Movement."
On the page, Blake had sketched out a map of Menagerie and highlighted two different villages along its coast: Maha Lua and Luo Kahana.
"Why would she want to leave from Luo Kahana? It's so far away," Robin said.
Gilbert adjusted his glasses. "It is a pretty big village though. Probably has a lot of ships leaving for Vale."
"So do we."
"But we're in a storm right now. No one would be crazy enough to sail in this weather. Except maybe Mad Ollie."
"Mad Ollie?" Robin shuddered. "I don't like her."
"Me neither. Did you know her boat smells like rotten eggs? My dad says it's because her boat's falling apart."
"Wait, how does this help with Blake?"
"I don't know, you brought her up."
"No I didn't. You did!"
"What?" Gilbert faltered. "Hmm. Maybe I did. . . Anyways. Blake. If she went to Luo Kahana, there's no way your dad's going to find her in time. Just getting to Maha Lua's going to take him half a day."
"We have to tell him then," Robin said as he grabbed the book from Gilbert's hand and rose to leave the room.
"Wait, Robin."
Robin stopped and turned around to glare at Gilbert. "What."
"We don't even know if Blake left for Luo Kahana. For all we know she might actually be leaving from Maha Lua!"
"But what if she's actually leaving from Luo Kahana? We have to tell someone." Robin's voice rose to a shout.
"We could make things worse!" Gilbert's voice rose to match Robin's. "We should just—"
"Wait? Blake's my sister!"
"What if we're wrong?" Gilbert stood up. "What if Blake left with Ollie on her stupid little boat for Vale?"
"She wouldn't do that."
"Fine, what if she's actually hiding here in Kuo Kuana waiting for the storm to blow over and we help her get away by getting your mom to look at Maha Lua."
Robin froze. For a brief moment, the possibility of him never seeing his sister again became tangible. A pit formed in his stomach. Robin's voice came out as a whisper. "I just want to see her again."
Gilbert looked away. "Look Robin, Maybe we're actually right. Maybe your mom doesn't listen to us. Maybe Blake's going to come back today and say everything was a joke. I don't know. I just want to make sure we know what we're doing. We'll have to live with whatever happens."
"Okay." Robin wiped his eyes. "Fine. What do we do?"
"At the end of the day, it's your call. She is your sister."
Tell Kali:
[] That Blake went South towards Luo Kahana.
[] That Blake is hiding in Kuo Kuana
[] Nothing.
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] That Blake went South towards Luo Kahana.
- Location
- USA
Yeah you totally can!
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
I'm going to note that posts that small don't come up as alerts, and you didn't quote the guy's post either so he wouldn't be alerted too. If you want something to be an alert, make it a threadmark when you post it then remove the threadmark later whenever.
[X] That Blake could've gone towards Luo Kahana or Kuo Kuana
- Pronouns
- Reader
[X] That Blake could've gone towards Luo Kahana or Kuo Kuana
[X] That Blake could've gone towards Luo Kahana or Kuo Kuana
Introduction 1.3
- Location
- USA
[X] That Blake could've gone towards Luo Kahana or Kuo Kuana
Robin and Gilbert marched out of Blake's room like soldiers out on a mission. Robin in the lead, confidently striding through his family home towards his mother's study. In the rear was Gilbert, skittering from shadow to shadow, as if fearful that a Beowolf would pounce upon him at any moment. The two-man troop soon found themselves before Kali's study, which had its large oak doors firmly closed.
"S—should we knock?" Gilbert said from over Robin's shoulder. Murmurs and hushed voices filtered through the wood, Robin didn't bother using his improved hearing.
"Of course we knock." Robin rapped his knuckles against the towering door. The voices stopped.
For a tense few seconds, Gilbert and Robin stood alone, in a looming halls of the Belladonna household with naught but the scheming pitter patter of rain. Then, the door opened.
Kali's study was a small, comfortable room that reminded Robin as much of his mother as it did of home. It was an octagonal room, lined with bookshelves stuffed to the brim. Kali had a desk set up on the wall opposite to the door, naturally. To the rightmost wall relative to the door, was a fireplace that was often times gently crackling with warmth.
Today, however, the fire was no more than a pile of embers wasting away in the corner. Kali stood behind her desk, her hair in a mess and her eyes burdened with bags. Across from Kali was a neighbor of Robin's, Mr. Galewood. At the door was Ms. Kofee. Neither guest looked much better than Kali.
Ms. Kofee smiled at Robin and Gilbert, though the action was forced even to Robin.
"Hi boys, Mrs. Belladonna's a little busy at the moment, why don't you come back later?"
Robin gave his mother a look. Kali frowned before giving him a tilt of the head.
Go do something else.
Robin scowled. "Fine."
"S—sorry for bothering you."
Robin strode off back towards the stairs in the center of the living room. Gilbert trailed after him.
"W—well we can always come back later?"
"Yeah, later." Robin rolled his eyes. His mother had been in meeting after meeting since the morning. His lunch been a meal gifted to him from Mr. Galewood. "She won't listen to us. We're 'just kids.'"
Robin cursed himself for believing that he had a chance of shearing what he had with his mother. It was easy to forget how easily he was dismissed just because of his age.
"Well maybe we can tell my parents?"
Robin stopped on the first step of the staircase to look at Gilbert.
"T—they'd listen!" Gilbert nodded his head. "Promise."
The Port's were by no means rich. That much was clear from the size of their house. Robin found it rather cool how the Port's managed to make a house that was no bigger than his house's living room seem so busy. Their living room and kitchen were practically the same room, while Gilbert shared a room barely the size of Robin's with his older brother.
"So you're saying that you're sister might have gone South towards Luo Kahana or stayed here somewhere in Kuo Kuana."
Robin and Gilbert nodded their heads in unison.
"And you want me to bring this idea up with your mother so that she can coordinate a search here and down South."
Nods.
"Geez." Mrs. Port sighed. "Do you have some proof of what you've said? Your mother's a scary woman when she's mad, and I don't want to be the one coming up to here with a claim like that with no evidence."
"Here." Gilbert said, handing over Blake's textbook on world history and pointing to the sketch of Menagerie.
Mrs. Port squinted her eyes for a second. "What am I looking at here?"
"It's Blake's plan to leave from either here or Luo Kahana," Robin said.
"This just looks like a note she made in class."
"Well. . ." Gilbert said, "Why would a class on the Faunus Rights Movement talk about Luo Kahana?"
"The Eastern Commission, Gilbert. Didn't I teach you about this back a month ago?"
"Ah, shoot." Gilbert adjusted his glasses, his fingers fumbled with the frames for a moment. He explained for Robin. "The Eastern Commission was a trade deal between the Faunus Movement and the four kingdoms. Mistral would supply Menagerie with food and supplies for the five years while we set up our governments and created settlements."
Mrs. Port nodded in approval. "In any case, I think this is a good theory you've come up with about Blake, but it's just that: a theory. You don't have any proof for what you've said!"
Robin sputtered. "W—we do!"
"Like what?"
"The—the textbook!"
"Robin, if Blake was really going to run away from home, do you think she'd leave behind something like a map of where she was headed?"
Robin faltered. "I. . . I don't know."
Mrs. Port put an arm around Robin. "Listen Robin. You're a good kid that cares a lot about his sister. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's not a lot you can do here. Trust your mother, if anyone can find your sister, it's Kali Belladonna."
Robin's eyes were locked on the ground.
"Now why don't you get ready for dinner? I'm sure your mother's busy with coordinating the search. You can bring her some leftovers as well. If I know anything, she'll be starving by the time you get home."
A week later, and Blake Belladonna was still out on the loose. Ghira had searched all of Maha Lua to no avail while Kali had scoured all of Kuo Kuana, and at the behest of Mrs. Port, even sent men to Luo Kahana. Nothing. Either Blake had left before they had gotten there on the three ships that left before Ghira ordered no ships to sail, or she had left through some other village.
For Robin, it was hell. Every day, he would lie in bed and pray that that would be the day his mother would come home and exclaim that they found Blake. Every day, he would go to bed alone: his mother staying up far past his bedtime analyzing reports and crossing potential hiding places off her list.
A week and a half after Blake's disappearance, and Robin began to lose hope. So did Ghira. Kali persisted, analyzing ship departures and tracking Blake's projected journey across the Great Sea and pulling long-forgotten strings to have people as far as even Atlas to help search for Blake.
Two weeks since her disappearance, and even Kali began to lose hope. Ghira would spend hours trying to perform his duties as chieftain, yet his mind would constantly wander back towards that fateful night. The night he pushed Blake too far. He had seen a hint of himself in Blake and been scared. Terrified that his daughter would devote herself to the wrong cause with as much fervor as he had devoted to the White Fang in its nascency.
Now, he had nothing.
A month since Blake left, and there was a new normal. The once comfortable and lavish halls of the Belladonna household were now a prison. Blake did not speak much when she was home, but her presence was always appreciated. Now, there was always an empty seat at dinner, always one room that stayed closed.
Robin, it seemed, was now an only child.
Without Blake, Robin was set adrift in the cruel sea of life. He wrote stories for Blake. He walked to school with Blake. He studied with Blake. He made posters with Blake. Without Blake, who was he?
Robin didn't know the answer to that question.
In his sorrow, Robin turned to. . .
Note, this vote will determine Robin's Semblance. In addition to what Robin does with his time now that Blake is gone, please also indicate the nature of his coping mechanism (eg: writing tragedies, writing horror, drawing Grimm, drawing ghosts)
[] Writing.
[] Drawing.
Robin and Gilbert marched out of Blake's room like soldiers out on a mission. Robin in the lead, confidently striding through his family home towards his mother's study. In the rear was Gilbert, skittering from shadow to shadow, as if fearful that a Beowolf would pounce upon him at any moment. The two-man troop soon found themselves before Kali's study, which had its large oak doors firmly closed.
"S—should we knock?" Gilbert said from over Robin's shoulder. Murmurs and hushed voices filtered through the wood, Robin didn't bother using his improved hearing.
"Of course we knock." Robin rapped his knuckles against the towering door. The voices stopped.
For a tense few seconds, Gilbert and Robin stood alone, in a looming halls of the Belladonna household with naught but the scheming pitter patter of rain. Then, the door opened.
Kali's study was a small, comfortable room that reminded Robin as much of his mother as it did of home. It was an octagonal room, lined with bookshelves stuffed to the brim. Kali had a desk set up on the wall opposite to the door, naturally. To the rightmost wall relative to the door, was a fireplace that was often times gently crackling with warmth.
Today, however, the fire was no more than a pile of embers wasting away in the corner. Kali stood behind her desk, her hair in a mess and her eyes burdened with bags. Across from Kali was a neighbor of Robin's, Mr. Galewood. At the door was Ms. Kofee. Neither guest looked much better than Kali.
Ms. Kofee smiled at Robin and Gilbert, though the action was forced even to Robin.
"Hi boys, Mrs. Belladonna's a little busy at the moment, why don't you come back later?"
Robin gave his mother a look. Kali frowned before giving him a tilt of the head.
Go do something else.
Robin scowled. "Fine."
"S—sorry for bothering you."
Robin strode off back towards the stairs in the center of the living room. Gilbert trailed after him.
"W—well we can always come back later?"
"Yeah, later." Robin rolled his eyes. His mother had been in meeting after meeting since the morning. His lunch been a meal gifted to him from Mr. Galewood. "She won't listen to us. We're 'just kids.'"
Robin cursed himself for believing that he had a chance of shearing what he had with his mother. It was easy to forget how easily he was dismissed just because of his age.
"Well maybe we can tell my parents?"
Robin stopped on the first step of the staircase to look at Gilbert.
"T—they'd listen!" Gilbert nodded his head. "Promise."
The Port's were by no means rich. That much was clear from the size of their house. Robin found it rather cool how the Port's managed to make a house that was no bigger than his house's living room seem so busy. Their living room and kitchen were practically the same room, while Gilbert shared a room barely the size of Robin's with his older brother.
"So you're saying that you're sister might have gone South towards Luo Kahana or stayed here somewhere in Kuo Kuana."
Robin and Gilbert nodded their heads in unison.
"And you want me to bring this idea up with your mother so that she can coordinate a search here and down South."
Nods.
"Geez." Mrs. Port sighed. "Do you have some proof of what you've said? Your mother's a scary woman when she's mad, and I don't want to be the one coming up to here with a claim like that with no evidence."
"Here." Gilbert said, handing over Blake's textbook on world history and pointing to the sketch of Menagerie.
Mrs. Port squinted her eyes for a second. "What am I looking at here?"
"It's Blake's plan to leave from either here or Luo Kahana," Robin said.
"This just looks like a note she made in class."
"Well. . ." Gilbert said, "Why would a class on the Faunus Rights Movement talk about Luo Kahana?"
"The Eastern Commission, Gilbert. Didn't I teach you about this back a month ago?"
"Ah, shoot." Gilbert adjusted his glasses, his fingers fumbled with the frames for a moment. He explained for Robin. "The Eastern Commission was a trade deal between the Faunus Movement and the four kingdoms. Mistral would supply Menagerie with food and supplies for the five years while we set up our governments and created settlements."
Mrs. Port nodded in approval. "In any case, I think this is a good theory you've come up with about Blake, but it's just that: a theory. You don't have any proof for what you've said!"
Robin sputtered. "W—we do!"
"Like what?"
"The—the textbook!"
"Robin, if Blake was really going to run away from home, do you think she'd leave behind something like a map of where she was headed?"
Robin faltered. "I. . . I don't know."
Mrs. Port put an arm around Robin. "Listen Robin. You're a good kid that cares a lot about his sister. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's not a lot you can do here. Trust your mother, if anyone can find your sister, it's Kali Belladonna."
Robin's eyes were locked on the ground.
"Now why don't you get ready for dinner? I'm sure your mother's busy with coordinating the search. You can bring her some leftovers as well. If I know anything, she'll be starving by the time you get home."
A week later, and Blake Belladonna was still out on the loose. Ghira had searched all of Maha Lua to no avail while Kali had scoured all of Kuo Kuana, and at the behest of Mrs. Port, even sent men to Luo Kahana. Nothing. Either Blake had left before they had gotten there on the three ships that left before Ghira ordered no ships to sail, or she had left through some other village.
For Robin, it was hell. Every day, he would lie in bed and pray that that would be the day his mother would come home and exclaim that they found Blake. Every day, he would go to bed alone: his mother staying up far past his bedtime analyzing reports and crossing potential hiding places off her list.
A week and a half after Blake's disappearance, and Robin began to lose hope. So did Ghira. Kali persisted, analyzing ship departures and tracking Blake's projected journey across the Great Sea and pulling long-forgotten strings to have people as far as even Atlas to help search for Blake.
Two weeks since her disappearance, and even Kali began to lose hope. Ghira would spend hours trying to perform his duties as chieftain, yet his mind would constantly wander back towards that fateful night. The night he pushed Blake too far. He had seen a hint of himself in Blake and been scared. Terrified that his daughter would devote herself to the wrong cause with as much fervor as he had devoted to the White Fang in its nascency.
Now, he had nothing.
A month since Blake left, and there was a new normal. The once comfortable and lavish halls of the Belladonna household were now a prison. Blake did not speak much when she was home, but her presence was always appreciated. Now, there was always an empty seat at dinner, always one room that stayed closed.
Robin, it seemed, was now an only child.
Without Blake, Robin was set adrift in the cruel sea of life. He wrote stories for Blake. He walked to school with Blake. He studied with Blake. He made posters with Blake. Without Blake, who was he?
Robin didn't know the answer to that question.
In his sorrow, Robin turned to. . .
Note, this vote will determine Robin's Semblance. In addition to what Robin does with his time now that Blake is gone, please also indicate the nature of his coping mechanism (eg: writing tragedies, writing horror, drawing Grimm, drawing ghosts)
[] Writing.
[] Drawing.