Speak of the City
A lengthy pause follows, during which Binah considers her options again. She could answer the question directly. But why would she do that? The answer Ash seeks is better left earned than given.
"What do you think of Vale?" she asks instead. "This city's walls have given you shelter, the people gave you work, an existence. Is it a home, a temporary dwelling, perhaps even purgatory for the hand you were dealt?"
If the turnaround surprises Ash, she does not show it. A soft hum escapes her as she mulls over the question. "I don't think much about it. Vale is Vale and I was here for as long as I can remember. The people are nice enough, mostly. I got an ID despite my amnesia and they even helped look for my parents, or where I'd be from. They gave up a month or two into that, so it's just me." She shrugs. "I didn't really have time to think about my feelings. Needed to keep going to stay alive."
Binah's brow rises by a fraction. This is an unusual stance for a child of Remnant to have, by what she observed. At the same time, Ash offers her a faint smile and dispells the similarity to a City dweller. "I guess I can do that now. Thanks to you. Vale is... I don't hate living here? It could be better, it could be worse. I can't really compare it to anywhere else, it's all I know."
Into this contemplative silence, Binah asks her question: "Can you imagine another city? A greater city than Vale?"
Anemone looks up. She clearly gathered where this is going; Ash does not, she simply frowns. "I saw pictures of Atlas. The city flies, I think I'd like to see that sometime. But I think that's not what you mean." Her reasoning has Binah's smile grow. She is a perceptive child.
"Imagine a city with twenty-six Wings, each of them a corporation on par with Schnee Dust. Their countless feathers occupy their twenty-six Nests, a privilege, honour, and prison all at once. Each Nest on its own beyond Vale in scope. Between the Nests slither the Backstreets, where the dregs find refuge. Rats scurry along, dreaming of the comfort within the Nests. Where they form packs, the Syndicates rise, subordinate only to even greater Syndicates. Five Fingers there are at their pinnacle, a hand keeping its chokehold on the Backstreets, tearing at each other for the scraps their betters discard. Imagine the Outskirts beyond that sprawling City, filled with fools, heretics, and abominations chased out of its borders. Beyond them lie the Ruins, where greater monsters are said to lurk."
Binah leaves a dramatic pause, well aware of Ash's furrowed brow. Sable clacks his beak, sat on the perch installed solely for him. When Ash speaks, her words are carefully measured: "What kind of city would that be? Does it actually exist?"
"It is a City defined by the drive to excel. Rats dream to become feathers of the Wings while the feathers seek to improve their standing further. Yet in its shadow writhes human nature, laid bare for all with eyes to see. Red rivers run through every district while all avert their gaze, focussed on but themselves. The Wings keep their stranglehold through Singularities, processes and technology which can not be explained by the sciences. Only their procedure and results can be observed. And above them all reigns the Head, regulating all aspects of City life. To violate the Head's laws is to become seen by their Beholders, judged by the Arbiters, and executed by Claws."
"Slow down, please." Ash is still thinking, though she has one hand raised. "I think I can follow, but not at this speed." Binah acquiesces and spends a few minutes observing the girl; her lips part a few times, but no sound comes out. In the end, she nods ever so slowly. "So you say the people lack compassion and the laws only enforce that?"
Binah simply inclines her head. "Everyday life may be quite similar to what you know of Vale, yet the scale is so much greater. W-Corp's Warp trains can transfer anyone to any station in the City within ten seconds. F-Corp's Fairies may open any lock. Infinite, clean energy was provided until L-Corp fell. Tools of fallen Wings find their way to the markets and workshops, becoming but another aspect of City life. And among them tread Fixers to treat the citizens' woes, be they mundane or sanguine."
Another long pause follows. Ash is clearly getting a little annoyed, but still she listened with an almost innocent curiousity. Come to think of it, Binah realises the girl always soaks up knowledge like a sponge. Akin to a certain scarecrow, if far less violent.
"You're dodging my questions," she accuses after a few minutes of introspection. "The way you talk about this, it's almost like a real place. But I never heard of a city like that before. Where is it? What's its name?"
"The City has neither need nor desire for a name. It is, in the end, no more and no less than the City, built on a foundation of countless sacrifices. As for your other ruminations, it is up to you to find the truth. Disregard your preconceived notions and see only what is. Once you do, we will speak again."
A final sip of tea concludes the tale. Broad it may have been, but it gave Ash food for thought. To consider if such a grand place can actually exist. Binah makes certain to tell all five Abnormalities not to reveal the truth, though Ash does not even try to get out of her homework that way. Perhaps she already expects they would keep their silence on the matter.
Binah does ponders whether the Distortion should have been mentioned, but decides it does not matter. Neither does Ash have a proper frame of reference, nor did the children of Remnant display the ability to distort. Such an occurence would have been noticed without doubt.
Between her first days of training, accompanying Binah across town to observe the people of Vale, another meeting with Ruby 'just to hang out', and a number of interviews for the tea house's staff, it takes Ash almost a full weak. Sunday afternoon, the day before Love and Anemone are to make for Beacon, she approaches Binah. Only Courage is with her, even Sable has gone out to patrol.
"I thought about it," she begins. "What you told me on Monday." Upon receiving nothing beyond a faint nod and Binah's attention, Ash continues: "But I'm not sure what you wanted me to understand. There's no place like this city you talked about, I looked it up. So either you made it all up, or you're from a place no one knows." She makes a faint motion for Courage, who is still reading. "But you have Abnormalities and magic, no one else has that here. And you don't strike me like the kind to make these things up."
"When you have eliminated all which is impossible," Courage comments in her usual monotone, "then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Her tone betrays nothing, but Binah spots the miniscule upturn of Courage's lips.
Meanwhile, Ash stares ahead wordlessly. "Okay," she murmurs, closing her eyes momentarily. "So you're... not from here. Is it some secret kingdom or another world?"
"The City is no kingdom," Binah corrects her, answering the question at the same time. "Neither would it remain hidden from the many eyes on Remnant. Eight billion people live, slave, and die within its borders, ever onward until such a day they may be freed of their suffering or succumb to it."
"And why did you come here? There has to have been a reason. Do many Abnormalities live in the City?"
"I do not know the reasons behind my presence, merely my goal." Her retort draws curiousity, which makes Binah smile once again. "A year of my memories is missing, much like your own. I know I have come to find a person by the name of Salem and turn her into a book to take back from whence I came. A Library unlike any that stands on Remnant, exiled from the City for belonging to a being whose mere existence violates the Head's laws."
"There are some Abnormalities in the City," Courage adds, unfortunatly reminding Ash of the question she already forgot about. "Lobotomy Corporation had many branches, all of which held some."
Their conversation is ended then. A faint scent of iron fills Binah's nose, announcing Love before she walks in through the back door a moment later. The blunette is splattered with blood and carries a sheathed sword. Her forlorn expression remains in place as she slumps onto a chair. The weapon is haphazardly put aside. She looks from Binah to Ash, then to Courage. "Can I have a hug?" she finally asks. "From anyone? Please?"
Her pleading words manage to make Courage lower her book. Binah simply waits for which of the two taciturn girls will be the first to indulge Love's request. That turns out to be Ash, who hesitantly reaches over; befuddlement all but radiates from her as she begins to cradle Love against her chest. The deflated magical girl simply nestles closer without a word. A little later, Courage's hand snakes into Love's grasp.
"What happened?" Ash finally asks. Her expression still flits between confusion, embarassment, and content. She awkwardly starts stroking Love's back, not that the blunette is ready to let go either way.
"I went to their main camp in Forever Fall and met the local leader, Adam." Love's voice is subdued, completely unlike her usual enthusiasm. Yet the faint mist of uncontrolled magic is amiss, as are all other signs of the Queen's imminent arrival. "He was... nice. We had a long talk about the White Fang and stuff. He made some good points for why they started to get violent, and agreed when I told him about my feelings." She shudders. "But he also said he won't stop and that I won't change his mind. And some of the more violent members started threatening me on the way out. Said if I keep doing what I do, they'll find me and kill me."
"So you killed them first," Ash deduces. Love slumps even further. "I am not judging you."
"Neither am I," Courage adds. She stands next to her sister, one hand on her shoulder and the other entwined with Love's. "You did your best."
"I know." Love rears back, pale but otherwise fine. No tears to be seen, simply a constant frown. "I know I did the right thing destroying them. I'm not sad about that, either. But Adam came and defended them. I'm sad I had to kill him. And that a bunch of them got away while we fought." She motions for the sheathed blade on the table. "That's his weapon. I didn't want to just leave it there."
A cup of tea waits for her when she finally sits back down normally. Love heaves a heavy sigh and gulps it down, uncaring for the scalding heat. Meanwhile, Ash studies her with newfound respect. "I didn't think anyone could fight that many people at once."
"Not so hard when I can fly and they can't." Love's mirthless smile grows a smidgen more animated. "It's all about using your advantages and denying theirs, you know?" Then she rubs her shoulder. "He still got me once with his Semblance, sheared my entire arm off through my clothes. I don't know how it worked, just that it was a big beam from his sword."
Binah is tempted to poke a little further. Love's development intrigues her greatly. But at the same time, moving too fast is liable to either undo her progress or drown the seed before it can sprout. She will be patient and water it instead, quite literally in this case. Another cup is poured for the magical girl, who slowly regains her cheer. Once Monday dawns, she is back to normal. Adam's sword and gun-sheathe is added to the gauntlets Saffron won weeks ago; they form the beginning of a trophy collection in the living room upstairs, courtesy of Binah.
Binah spends the morning after Love and Anemone left for Beacon finalising her choice of clerks. They will not be disposable fodder like those once employed by Lobotomy Corporation, but that only means she needs to pick more carefully. A number of Ash's associates from Vale's backstreets as per Anemone's request, several locals from various walks of life, and one Beacon reject. It took two minutes into her interview with Jaune Arc to know he was the one who ordered faked transcripts from Roman. It seems either they did not hold up, or he failed to adhere to them. Whatever his aspirations, he now owes Roman money and needs the job to pay it. Not that he actually admitted to any of that. Neither did he mind the Non-Disclosure Agreement Courage added to the employment contract.
"Saffron said it is about time to start advertising," the diminutive woman comments without looking up from her book. "We can open up for business in a week."
"I know someone who can draw us flyers," Ash adds from her own seat. She has grown slightly more animated as well. "As long as we don't ask for anything, he might get it done by tomorrow."
Just then, the door opens to admit Melanie Malachite. She enters on her own with an airy "Knock knock", throwing a probing look at the fully furbished tearoom. "Wow, it turned out pretty well. All classy like. Looks a bit like some noble joint, though." Sauntering over to them, she crosses her arms in front of the table. "Do you lot, like, ever go out?"
Courage's head tilts ever so slightly. "All my things are here and I don't like people much," she summarises her feelings. Melanie heaves a sigh while Binah chuckles softly.
Meanwhile, Ash has to crane her neck to look at Melanie from her seat. "We go out plenty," she tells the black-haired woman. "And there won't be much chance to keep doing it once the Nirvana opens."
"Nirvana?" Completely ignoring the rest, Melanie cocks her hips at that. "Being all fancy like with the name, too. I thought this place was for everyone?"
"All are welcome," Binah responds with her usual smirk. "Alas, you have not come here to criticise my naming sense."
"Whatever, yeah. Thanks for the nightmares, by the way. Really great, those. Anyway, I was thinking. Saffron's got no aura, right?" She twitches for an inexplicable reason, her brows furrowing. The expression vanishes right after. Melanie motions for Courage. "And I'm pretty sure she doesn't, either."
"That is correct," Courage confirms. "None of us Abnormalities possess an aura."
"Is that because you can't have one or because yours just isn't active?"
The question gives them all pause. Sable chirps into the silence and flutters over to sit on the table to observe more closely. Ash glances between everyone before focussing on Binah; her suspicions are clear, though Binah has yet to test anything. Courage mulls over the question and inclines her head. "It was never attempted to unlock an Abnormality's aura. I read that there is an artificial process beside pushing the body until it unlocks on its own, but found no details yet."
"You can unlock other peoples' aura?" Ash stares owlishly, first at Courage and then at Melanie. "Why doesn't everyone have it active then?"
A pertinent question indeed. "Control," Binah reasons. "If every member of the population is capable of incredible feats, then keeping control of them becomes ever more difficult. Not to mention that raising up a hero is ever so much easier when they stand far above the common man."
"It is also easier to suppress criminal elements if most of them lack aura," Courage guesses.
"Errr, nooooo?" Melanie draws out the word; disbelief clearly colours her tone. "It's pretty simple to do, but tiring. And the reason we don't give any idiot in the streets aura is that you've gotta earn it. It's not some sort of right." She seems to feel especially offended that Binah and Ash are unaware.
Binah herself simply smiles. "So control, if by tradition and not law."
"Tiphereth once told me that, in her words, 'tradition is just peer pressure from dead people'."
"She sounds like a bitch," Melanie comments with a sniff. Courage gives no more than a minute shrug. The human woman sighs and crosses her arms again. "Anyway, you up for it?"
"Why not ask Saffron?"
"Ugh. C'mon, it's like she and Mil are off in their own little world. I'm not gonna butt in like a Beringel. So, what's it gonna be?"
This could be an interesting datapoint. Can Abnormalities manifest an aura? They should not be able to, being manifestations of the mind. Yet at the same time, Abnormalities defy many rules. These same rules are different on Remnant as well. Something surprising may just happen. Moreover, what of a non-native human?
[] Encourage Courage
[] Suggest Sable
[] Do it yourself
[] Don't do it
