What happens when a simple life is screwed by a perpetually-running Cat Faunus? Lots of shenanigans of the comedic kind and... an incredibly unsure fate for Remnant.
I have a Cat Problem (RWBY Comedy)
- Thread starter JustBukharin
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Or 'How a Cat Faunus invaded my house'
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Get out of my flat!
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 1: Get out of my flat!
My life was a simple one. One where things were dictated by common logic, a sense of peacefulness and… order.
That was before the strangest anomaly decided to come and storm everything with its mere presence. Such an oddity… that even now I couldn't help but snort at the unpredictability of fate itself.
Vale wasn't close to the Kingdom of Atlas in terms of technological benefits, but it still offered the chance of having the most satisfying experience of life. The kind of life that only those who faced the hardships of the Civilian life in a world that favored huntsmen before anyone else.
It wasn't much of an issue considering that Hunters weren't there to just strut around and get easy benefits. They were the protectors of today and tomorrow, the heroes of our time… and beyond.
I never had any issues with the neighbors. I actually enjoyed the little interactions I had with the elder couple that lived by the flat across mine. A little less about the numerous but still young family occupying the apartment in the front and providing with no little noise-related issues.
The little kids, especially the toddlers, tended to turn in minor annoyance past dinnertime.
Still, despite this negligible problem, I was glad about the home I got out from working hard and determinedly.
My job was one of the few ones that just offered a graceful balance of safety and income. The small establishment that was 'alive' by early morning had been searching some waitress back when I moved here in Vale. I remember getting hired mostly thanks to the references provided by my former teachers.
Years spent at school to try and get hold of the basics of what a normal life away from the dangerous workplace that were the Academies resulted in an impressive paper detailing my capacities as a waiter, chef, shop-keeper, and much more. I was an all-around worker. One that many would've paid gold to have around… but I just settled for this very activity.
The pay was decent, if not quite generous for the limited labor behind the daily tasks. Plus it went to modestly cover for the various expenditures of my peaceful life, rent included.
My flat was fairly spacious, but I knew that it was mostly because this was the kind of building that had been built with the purpose of housing large families families rather than single occupants like me. And this opportunity gave me the chance to have enough space to enjoy having my good hobbies there too.
My little garden was filled with various pots. A small line of proper wet dirt was used to keep the flowers and plants that I was trying to grow there there. Some were from my collection that I taken from my home in Mistral, while others had been planted a little after I had the rest of my equipment set for a small, but efficient farming operation.
With the dutiful caring and proper ministrations applied to the plants, I was guaranteed a slow but steady production of delicious fruits that I could either eat or offer around to anyone that wanted. In the end, this hobby also worked to reduce some of the expenses related to fruits that would come from trips at the local stores. It wasn't much, but it was honest work.
I was glad of what I had achieved in so little time spent away from my family's home. I was happy of the seemingly lonely but satisfying life that I got now. No longer was I going to be dreading to be attacked by any bandits or thugs that were known to live on the territories near the old manor.
I wasn't poor, but neither I was rich enough to avoid dealing with the violence from the criminal issue troubling Mistral. Mom and Dad had long decided to settle by the capital once we were out of the old house. Their new place had plenty of security that was provided by the quite-flamboyant council ruling over the country.
I wasn't savvy about politics, but I could recognize full-fledged idiocy when I saw it. Especially when in one instance a good majority of the year's budget was burned in artistic renovations of some cathedrals rather than improve the already lacking military budget for the Militia Departments.
This is why, compared to Mistral, living here in Vale had left me at ease over the simplicity of things and the general lack of murderous gangs. The loneliness that comes with that lifestyle could easily be considered a terrible thing to praise, yet there was a proper reason why I didn't care much about it.
I hated being in large crowds.
Mistral's Transportation Network was (and possibly still is even now) the most obsolete in Remnant. Vacuo didn't count since there wasn't a genuine regulated system, nor a railway to begin with, that helped around the desert-based Kingdom.
With just a handful of rail-networks and with slow and small trains, people were hardly pleased with the means to reach their destinations. Large crowds were forced to get squeezed together and… some were certainly prone to sweat a lot either for agoraphobia or for something a little less complex, like obesity.
The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Mistral, despite having shown impressive liberal ideas in the last few years considering their easing over some rules, was still formed by a group of nobles that would eventually leave their seats as inheritance to their own children. Essential reforms were nowadays ditched for the sake of reviving old arts… or expensive tournaments.
I could still remember watching my first and, hopefully, last competition.
I was partially irritated by how dull some fighters had looked to be. After years spent training with dad… that just didn't sit well for me. Too easy, too flashy. It was all a farce… except for the final match. It couldn't exactly be considered a fair one.
The 'popular choice' was a flashy joke with hardly some serious experience in his bones. It would be a lie to say that I hadn't cheered for his opponent, at the time unknown Pyrrha Nikos, in putting an end to that nonsense.
The serious-paced speed and the timed reactions were just on point, delivering a 'brilliant' victory for the young redhead.
But while the fight had easily won me over the fact that the girl was meant to go far, I didn't bother watching any of the following seasons from that one onward.
After what had happened there and… after hearing brief details about the girl easily getting a second victory out of the next tournament, I felt my interest over that kind of stuff dwindle away for more 'honest' stuff.
Invincible Girl? She was mediocre, something my father had been keen to drill when he took me to see her fight for the first time. Very nervous, her footing missing essential steps and her last victory wasn't even that sensational to the old man.
A retired Huntsman that had seen far too much in his past job to be impressed by a young girl being able to get some 'important' win because of the circumstances rather with her 'invincibility'.
Dad wasn't certainly a pushover, never lost his touch since he retired as proved when he went to teach temporarily at Haven Academy. Several students were forced to work even harder than previously to just pass his class, some giving up mid-way because of the peer pressure the veteran was keen to display when bored or annoyed.
Both my parents had been supportive of my decision to move out, saddened by the fact I was a Kingdom away from them, but glad that I had settled well in the better-defended nation.
But I think I'm digressing a little too much. Let me explain why… I lost my balance and found myself dealing with the greatest issue I had to ever face in my entire life. With a pleasant surprise by the very end of it all.
It all started when I finished my shift at the bar, just an hour or two after lunch. I had managed to eat something during my break and thus I didn't feel the need to wander around before going back home. I was tired, and I didn't have a reason to stay away from a few hours of rest.
Work was simple, but also tiring because of how long the shifts tended to be, especially when those ended up taking longer turns than usual when certain seasons were turning in, like the Vytal Festival. I wasn't by any mean unnerved by this as the extra hours were paid extra, thus giving me the proper incentive to give my best with my assignments.
There were still some men and women walking around the streets, and the sun was still high in the sky. The blue was starting to give away to a lighter-orange, it was getting late. Vendors had their shops still open and continuing to help the various clients browsing their products. The peacefulness of these scenes were more than enough to bring me a sense of easiness that Mistral would have never been able to give to me.
I bit down a yawn, my lips twitching to suppress the tiny noise. I was feeling quite tired from the draining day at the job I had just concluded.
Starting fairly early in the morning, I was expected to wake at some unholy hour… thus I had to go to sleep even earlier than I used to back when I frequented college.
Was I annoyed by this? Just a little bit. I wasn't a morning person, but I knew that it wasn't a labor without rewards as the pay was worth it.
My walk back to the flat was uneventful and lacking any major crowds obstructing the strees. Even the hallway leading to the front door was deserted much to my immense relief.
I was ready to go for a brief nap of an hour (or who knows, maybe two) before focusing on tending the small garden I had set up in there.
Being that it was still before afternoon, I had my own plans about it and I knew how I was going to spend the rest of the day. Or at least until it was dinnertime.
My tomato plants needed some nutrients to recover from some parasites that had almost killed it. The pesky bugs had managed to enter through a small opening by the nearby window, prompting me to invest in something to solve this very issue.
Humming quietly, the key to the entrance door slipped correctly inside the lock's mechanism and then clicked a single time to dignify the opening of the final barrier between me and my house.
I blinked in minor surprise as I was greeted by some darkness. I eased as I remembered that I had forgotten to lift up the windows' curtains earlier this morning.
I went ahead to slowly pace around the place, calmly pulling the fabrics aside and letting the light shine and making all corners and objects in my desolate living room clear and-
Just as I turned around to greet the sofa and the small couches by its side, my eyes found themselves fixing upon something- no, someone sleeping on that very sofa.
I was tense, unwilling to move and cause the figure in there to stir awake from their slumber. My eyes were wide open as I silently studied the display given, and I was able to discern quickly that… it was a young woman.
And someone I knew nothing about.
Quietly snoring with her head resting by one of the small pillows of the comfy furniture, I could see that the girl had quite the fair-skin. It was rather pale, and it presented itself as an interesting contrast to her long, dark hair. Her locks reached right down to where her lower back began.
She was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and some same-colored shorts. Her legs were warmed by stockings that had a gradation of black to purple.
I noticed that an unfamiliar black vest, presumably hers, was currently folded on one of the couches, and there was a pair of black low-heeled boots that had been set right by the floor beneath the couch.
My attention moved back up to her face and… hair. A twitch above her fringe caught my attention and I locked my eyes onto the pair of relaxed cat ears perfectly visible from there. Twitching once in a while, the feline appendages offered some insight over her current state of self.
The half-attentive tension in those just made it clear that she was still sleeping, but that my previous actions might have stirred her a little bit from her rest.
It was a few moments later that I finally lessened the tension within my body as I knew that she was still unconscious.
My eyes were still wide open as my mind was failing to grasp how this Cat Faunus had managed to sneak inside my apartment when I had my windows and door closed…
And why did she invade my house?
A burglar? Quite a dumb one if she decided to take a nap on the sofa of the poor moron she was trying to steal from. Usually one would take the stuff and leave rather than just settle down by the couch.
A murderer? I couldn't see any weapons and, just like the previous guess, it would've been a dumb murderer if she literally decided to sleep in her victim's couch… before killing said victim.
Do I even know her? I was certain the girl wasn't someone I had met before, nor I think I've ever seen her before today. A complete strange. And she was sleeping by my couch.
What the fuck!?
I slowly tip-toed my stunned self away from the living room, reaching for the kitchen where I knew I had left my house's phone. A simple cordless device that was a decade or two old but still worked efficiently and well for my daily needs while I was at home.
My brain was riddled with prayers and hopes of managing to get a distress call out. Maybe even leave the girl slumbering until the authorities arrived here to deal with this, but I sure failed to realize that I was doing a terrible mistake by stepping so quietly by the floor.
A few days ago I had found a weakened spot between the hallways and the doorstep that led to the kitchen. The cause of the instability supposedly related a tiny infiltration of water that had lessened the cement around the section and made it easy to break if applied some pressure against it. Too much weight and the thing would just collapse under anyone's feet.
I had already planned to call some professional to fix it as I really didn't need to have any guests trip and die because of it. Aura or not, that wasn't something I really wished to keep this issue around forever.
In that very moment where I needed the utmost silence from the world around me, and I had completely forgotten about that very problem, my right foot ended up pressing down right on the middle of the frail bit of floor.
The part gave away, the ground cracking and creating a small hole in which my foot ended up unwittingly pushed into. And I was stuck in there with a horrified look look plastered on my now pale face.
There was a noise at that development, and it was loud enough to make me pause and panic as I heard footsteps coming from the living room.
I stared down in shock and, biting down a not-so-kind word, I ditched my shoe to save my foot. I didn't sneak anymore as I knew my trouble was now awake and in alert. Fear was a good motivation and I was soon bolting across the room and reach for the phone.
I grabbed it, my fingers frantically pressing the numbers that would compose the emergency phone number of the VPD and-
SHLINK!
My jaws dropped when a dark-gray blade proceeded to cut the receiver in half before I had the chance of bringing it close to my ear. I tumbled, a moderate kick pushing me away and causing me to fall on the floor with a pained look.
I snapped my eyes open at the woman, now wielding what looked to be a short sword and… a ribbon folded around its hilt?
"L-Look, I don't wish to hurt you," The Faunus said with a calm but nervous voice, her amber eyes locked onto my frame as I stilled at her words. "I just need a place where to sta-!!"
Before the girl could manage to finish whatever explanation she had planned to dispense about her current illegal stay at my flat, her eyes went wide in sudden shock as she found herself tripping… on the shoe I had abandoned mere moments ago.
It was an opportunity to reverse the hostage situation she had created as she started to slowly fall towards me. I pounced right as I saw her falling toward the floor, both of my hands swiftly going for her weapon and carefully slipping it off from her hold.
She was just too surprised by the fall to notice what I just did, trying to halt her fall only for me to roll away with her blade and… aiming it at her.
Intrigue but also annoyance were now displayed by her feline eyes, but I could care any less about her reaction as I quickly discovered that, much like the majority of the new generations of blades, this one was provided with a gun.
A… machine gun? I wasn't savvy about it so I merely switched to it and prayed it wasn't a single-shot handgun. Now that would be a sad development for me.
"I ask you to return to the living room and not move as I call-"
"You are not going to hurt me," The dark-haired lady stated calmly. "Knowing about your lack of weapons in the house, I know that you are just lucky to know how to hold-"
Bang
She tensed quickly as the warning bullet slammed on the floor just a few centimeters away from her. Eyes now once more wide, the girl stared at my growing smirk.
"Dad was a Huntsman," I explained curtly. "And he taught me a thing or two how those things work." I shook her weapon to dignify my point and… she sighed.
Moments of quiet passed and I was tempted to go for another warning shot, but then the girl slowly stood up and started to walk back to the living room, hands up and visible for me as she went back to sit by the couch.
There was silence and, while I continued to hold the gun aimed at her with one of my hands, the other one slowly trailed back to my pants' left pocket as I went to get my Scroll. T
he reason why I hadn't used it to call the cops rather than mess up my attempt with the now-gone phone in the kitchen was actually a fairly embarrassing one.
During one of my duties as a waiter at the nearby bar, one of the patrons' children had spilled their drink on my pants and… drenched the then recently-acquired device.
The last gift from mom so that I could have called her without having to resort to the CCTV's system and make senseless walks around the large capital.
So while the small thing managed to send and receive calls, its receptors weren't fully-operational and sometimes words ended up failing to register to the device. The issues created by this phenomenon led to no little problems with various contacts saved in there.
Mom was confused when I said some 'foul words' back to her, but she calmed a little bit when I explained that it was just an issue with the damaged phone.
I still tried, the number composed and… I waited patiently for someone to take up the call.
Just four seconds passed before someone actually picked up the distress call.
"VPD Emergency Line, how can we help you?"
"Y-Yes, I call from 745 Torrent Street, Flat 45, Floor 2." I started quickly, a little stutter slipping through much to my chagrin. "There is a burglar that invaded my home. It's a young woman, dark-hair, Faunus and-"
"Sir," The woman on the other side scoffed in annoyance and I frowned. "I can assure you this is a serious Emergency line and I can't keep up with this call."
My frown deepened without hesitation at that sudden comeback.
"Say what?!"
"The Emergency Line is for special cases of distress and need," The operator replied with a somewhat angry tone. "We can live without your depiction of the foreplay you have with your Faunus girlfriend, sir. Good day to you."
The call ended and my jaw dropped at what I ended up hearing.
Some red was spreading on my cheeks and, from what I could see by the couch, the girl was blushing herself, sharing the same mortification I was enduring at that unexpected quip from the operator.
I blinked at the device and… the dark-haired lady spoke once more.
"I understand that I might have caused you incredible distress-"
"And damage." I interjected flatly, her ears twitching still as she flinched.
"And damage," She admitted to that higher fault. "But I can assure you that I didn't mean to cause you any harm and-"
"You cut my phone and then pointed your blade at me," I pointed out with a stern voice. "And I reckon you were possibly going to 'cause me harm' just to keep me quiet."
My accusation was legitimized by the fact she had been advancing on me before tripping on the shoe.
The Faunus didn't dare to contest that very point, preferring to silently look away and play the naive one. But seriously, I wasn't in the mood for that.
"Look, how about you just get out of my house," I pointed at the door behind me. "And you never return?"
There was more silence, this time her bright eyes were on me once again. Surprise and confusion at my sudden 'defeat', yet she didn't budge from her seat.
"What?" Her voice trailed the very confusion I could see in her face.
I sighed, I really didn't need this madness. As much as I wanted to haul her ass off to jail for that stunt she pulled on me, I really didn't need this.
I was too tired to think straight as of now.
"Look, I know you aren't here to steal from me and the cops aren't going to help me with removing you from my home," I said with a tired tone. I just wanted to nap, nothing more. "Just get out and we forget this even happened-"
"I-I can't." She interrupted unexpectedly, causing me to double-back at that.
"What? I'm giving you the chance to-"
"I really need a place where to spend some time away from… some people," The Faunus admitted. "And I had planned to spend this time here so-"
"No," I shot back with an angry tone. "Also, how the heck did you get inside my flat?!"
She flinched again and… her eyes briefly staring up at the ceiling and I followed her stare right onto the newly-created hole in there.
I breathed calmly, but I could feel anger rising from my chest. "You destroyed the ceiling-"
"There was a small opening and… I just increased it?" Her attempt to lessen the fact she had damaged my roof was enough to cause a scowl to appear on my lips.
"Get out of my house-"
"Look, I know that-"
"Out!"
"There is no need to-"
"I will yell as much as I want!" I rebuked furiously. "Get the fuck out of my home!" I screamed back at her.
There was silence from the brunette, amber eyes once wide were now narrowed at me in silent anger.
"It's because I'm a Faunus," She started with a soft tone, making my own fury simmer down just a little to let my surprise known to her. "It's that, isn't it?"
The Cat-girl had to literally go there.
I was a middle-class Mistralian-born young man that studied with, befriended and proudly had some relationships with some Faunus back home. And to hear this incredibly slanderous lie was enough to make my blood boil to the maximum.
"How dare you!" I shrieked back, the girl flinching at the sudden outburst while also looking fairly surprised by it. "Out, now!"
This time I aimed the gun with more decision and she tensed.
While I was sure that she had Aura, a bullet was still a painful thing to be hit with. Thus, silently and defeatedly, the girl stood up from the sofa, slowly walked from the furniture and towards me.
She wanted her weapon back, but like hell I would have given it back before I had her out of the apartment. I turned around, ready to lead her out of the flat when I felt the blade yanked away from my hold as the girl quickly jumped through the hole in the ceiling and… left.
I stood just a handful of moments to stare at the roof, expecting her to resurface just to mock me or something like that but…
Nothing. She was gone.
...Hallelujah!
I sighed in relief, my mind slowly drifting away from that surreal encounter as I started to write down in my mental 'to-do' list that I had to call some carpenter to fix the damage on the roof and… get someone to fix the phone by the kitchen.
I yawned, but I didn't want to nap. Not yet at least.
After what just transpired, I didn't feel safe enough to close my eyes just a moment before having that hole fixed.
I decided to message someone nearby that I knew was a professional in fixing roofs and… he ended up applying something that looked like a large tape, but it was meant to be a preventive measure.
The job itself would take a full afternoon and the man was busy for the day, giving me some availability by tomorrow.
I gladly accepted the offer and felt a little safer with the fact I had that 'tiny cover-up' to deter anyone trying to pull the same stunt as the Cat Faunus.
I didn't need to deal with crazy hobos because of that bizarre encounter, and I really didn't want to make a redo of what happened with my disrupted call at the cops.
Yawning again, I had just enough time to fix myself a quick bath, make a delicious dinner and then I was off for some dreamless sleep.
The day had been indeed the weirdest I had ever since I had arrived in Vale, and part of me labeled it as just a unique deviation from normality.
It wouldn't change anything from now on and I had nothing to truly worry about, I thought soundly as I fell asleep with my head snuggling on my pillow.
Yet that little hope I had until the next morning was dashed when, after waking up from that good sleep and walking in the living room, I found the same Cat Faunus sleeping on the very sofa I saw her occupying the day before.
Without hesitation and with much of my renewed energy, I let out two words that would end up becoming a constant in the relationship I had with the girl, the one I would learn much later was Blake Belladonna.
"GET OUT!"
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AN
From the contorted mine of this very Author, here is a light-hearted but terribly crass fun story about the one and only Blake Belladonna.
It's sudden, me knows, but I've been having this pending idea for a while. An idea I've thought well about, altered, butchered and then reformed in this very plan of mine.
What is this? A comedy with some hints of an altered main plot.
Altered main plot? Cinder has been reworked a little. She is patient and will not go ham at Vale itself for the Maiden. And yes, this means that any horrid derails from Vol3 is now… erased, or Thanos-snapped.
Timeline? It happens the same day as the 'Black and White' episode, but instead of Blake regrouping and apologizing for running away the first time… she decides that running is her thing now and bolt away from the docks before speaking with her team.
Why the MC's house? Something that will be explained next chapter. Leaving you on your tip-toes, you lovely fellows!
Lastly, I know this is sudden but… if there are errors, I will be more than happy to have proof-readers. That is if those that volunteer willingly are actually willing about this and not joking around, 'cause I ain't a super-dummy! (LeHmph!)
My life was a simple one. One where things were dictated by common logic, a sense of peacefulness and… order.
That was before the strangest anomaly decided to come and storm everything with its mere presence. Such an oddity… that even now I couldn't help but snort at the unpredictability of fate itself.
Vale wasn't close to the Kingdom of Atlas in terms of technological benefits, but it still offered the chance of having the most satisfying experience of life. The kind of life that only those who faced the hardships of the Civilian life in a world that favored huntsmen before anyone else.
It wasn't much of an issue considering that Hunters weren't there to just strut around and get easy benefits. They were the protectors of today and tomorrow, the heroes of our time… and beyond.
I never had any issues with the neighbors. I actually enjoyed the little interactions I had with the elder couple that lived by the flat across mine. A little less about the numerous but still young family occupying the apartment in the front and providing with no little noise-related issues.
The little kids, especially the toddlers, tended to turn in minor annoyance past dinnertime.
Still, despite this negligible problem, I was glad about the home I got out from working hard and determinedly.
My job was one of the few ones that just offered a graceful balance of safety and income. The small establishment that was 'alive' by early morning had been searching some waitress back when I moved here in Vale. I remember getting hired mostly thanks to the references provided by my former teachers.
Years spent at school to try and get hold of the basics of what a normal life away from the dangerous workplace that were the Academies resulted in an impressive paper detailing my capacities as a waiter, chef, shop-keeper, and much more. I was an all-around worker. One that many would've paid gold to have around… but I just settled for this very activity.
The pay was decent, if not quite generous for the limited labor behind the daily tasks. Plus it went to modestly cover for the various expenditures of my peaceful life, rent included.
My flat was fairly spacious, but I knew that it was mostly because this was the kind of building that had been built with the purpose of housing large families families rather than single occupants like me. And this opportunity gave me the chance to have enough space to enjoy having my good hobbies there too.
My little garden was filled with various pots. A small line of proper wet dirt was used to keep the flowers and plants that I was trying to grow there there. Some were from my collection that I taken from my home in Mistral, while others had been planted a little after I had the rest of my equipment set for a small, but efficient farming operation.
With the dutiful caring and proper ministrations applied to the plants, I was guaranteed a slow but steady production of delicious fruits that I could either eat or offer around to anyone that wanted. In the end, this hobby also worked to reduce some of the expenses related to fruits that would come from trips at the local stores. It wasn't much, but it was honest work.
I was glad of what I had achieved in so little time spent away from my family's home. I was happy of the seemingly lonely but satisfying life that I got now. No longer was I going to be dreading to be attacked by any bandits or thugs that were known to live on the territories near the old manor.
I wasn't poor, but neither I was rich enough to avoid dealing with the violence from the criminal issue troubling Mistral. Mom and Dad had long decided to settle by the capital once we were out of the old house. Their new place had plenty of security that was provided by the quite-flamboyant council ruling over the country.
I wasn't savvy about politics, but I could recognize full-fledged idiocy when I saw it. Especially when in one instance a good majority of the year's budget was burned in artistic renovations of some cathedrals rather than improve the already lacking military budget for the Militia Departments.
This is why, compared to Mistral, living here in Vale had left me at ease over the simplicity of things and the general lack of murderous gangs. The loneliness that comes with that lifestyle could easily be considered a terrible thing to praise, yet there was a proper reason why I didn't care much about it.
I hated being in large crowds.
Mistral's Transportation Network was (and possibly still is even now) the most obsolete in Remnant. Vacuo didn't count since there wasn't a genuine regulated system, nor a railway to begin with, that helped around the desert-based Kingdom.
With just a handful of rail-networks and with slow and small trains, people were hardly pleased with the means to reach their destinations. Large crowds were forced to get squeezed together and… some were certainly prone to sweat a lot either for agoraphobia or for something a little less complex, like obesity.
The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Mistral, despite having shown impressive liberal ideas in the last few years considering their easing over some rules, was still formed by a group of nobles that would eventually leave their seats as inheritance to their own children. Essential reforms were nowadays ditched for the sake of reviving old arts… or expensive tournaments.
I could still remember watching my first and, hopefully, last competition.
I was partially irritated by how dull some fighters had looked to be. After years spent training with dad… that just didn't sit well for me. Too easy, too flashy. It was all a farce… except for the final match. It couldn't exactly be considered a fair one.
The 'popular choice' was a flashy joke with hardly some serious experience in his bones. It would be a lie to say that I hadn't cheered for his opponent, at the time unknown Pyrrha Nikos, in putting an end to that nonsense.
The serious-paced speed and the timed reactions were just on point, delivering a 'brilliant' victory for the young redhead.
But while the fight had easily won me over the fact that the girl was meant to go far, I didn't bother watching any of the following seasons from that one onward.
After what had happened there and… after hearing brief details about the girl easily getting a second victory out of the next tournament, I felt my interest over that kind of stuff dwindle away for more 'honest' stuff.
Invincible Girl? She was mediocre, something my father had been keen to drill when he took me to see her fight for the first time. Very nervous, her footing missing essential steps and her last victory wasn't even that sensational to the old man.
A retired Huntsman that had seen far too much in his past job to be impressed by a young girl being able to get some 'important' win because of the circumstances rather with her 'invincibility'.
Dad wasn't certainly a pushover, never lost his touch since he retired as proved when he went to teach temporarily at Haven Academy. Several students were forced to work even harder than previously to just pass his class, some giving up mid-way because of the peer pressure the veteran was keen to display when bored or annoyed.
Both my parents had been supportive of my decision to move out, saddened by the fact I was a Kingdom away from them, but glad that I had settled well in the better-defended nation.
But I think I'm digressing a little too much. Let me explain why… I lost my balance and found myself dealing with the greatest issue I had to ever face in my entire life. With a pleasant surprise by the very end of it all.
It all started when I finished my shift at the bar, just an hour or two after lunch. I had managed to eat something during my break and thus I didn't feel the need to wander around before going back home. I was tired, and I didn't have a reason to stay away from a few hours of rest.
Work was simple, but also tiring because of how long the shifts tended to be, especially when those ended up taking longer turns than usual when certain seasons were turning in, like the Vytal Festival. I wasn't by any mean unnerved by this as the extra hours were paid extra, thus giving me the proper incentive to give my best with my assignments.
There were still some men and women walking around the streets, and the sun was still high in the sky. The blue was starting to give away to a lighter-orange, it was getting late. Vendors had their shops still open and continuing to help the various clients browsing their products. The peacefulness of these scenes were more than enough to bring me a sense of easiness that Mistral would have never been able to give to me.
I bit down a yawn, my lips twitching to suppress the tiny noise. I was feeling quite tired from the draining day at the job I had just concluded.
Starting fairly early in the morning, I was expected to wake at some unholy hour… thus I had to go to sleep even earlier than I used to back when I frequented college.
Was I annoyed by this? Just a little bit. I wasn't a morning person, but I knew that it wasn't a labor without rewards as the pay was worth it.
My walk back to the flat was uneventful and lacking any major crowds obstructing the strees. Even the hallway leading to the front door was deserted much to my immense relief.
I was ready to go for a brief nap of an hour (or who knows, maybe two) before focusing on tending the small garden I had set up in there.
Being that it was still before afternoon, I had my own plans about it and I knew how I was going to spend the rest of the day. Or at least until it was dinnertime.
My tomato plants needed some nutrients to recover from some parasites that had almost killed it. The pesky bugs had managed to enter through a small opening by the nearby window, prompting me to invest in something to solve this very issue.
Humming quietly, the key to the entrance door slipped correctly inside the lock's mechanism and then clicked a single time to dignify the opening of the final barrier between me and my house.
I blinked in minor surprise as I was greeted by some darkness. I eased as I remembered that I had forgotten to lift up the windows' curtains earlier this morning.
I went ahead to slowly pace around the place, calmly pulling the fabrics aside and letting the light shine and making all corners and objects in my desolate living room clear and-
Just as I turned around to greet the sofa and the small couches by its side, my eyes found themselves fixing upon something- no, someone sleeping on that very sofa.
I was tense, unwilling to move and cause the figure in there to stir awake from their slumber. My eyes were wide open as I silently studied the display given, and I was able to discern quickly that… it was a young woman.
And someone I knew nothing about.
Quietly snoring with her head resting by one of the small pillows of the comfy furniture, I could see that the girl had quite the fair-skin. It was rather pale, and it presented itself as an interesting contrast to her long, dark hair. Her locks reached right down to where her lower back began.
She was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and some same-colored shorts. Her legs were warmed by stockings that had a gradation of black to purple.
I noticed that an unfamiliar black vest, presumably hers, was currently folded on one of the couches, and there was a pair of black low-heeled boots that had been set right by the floor beneath the couch.
My attention moved back up to her face and… hair. A twitch above her fringe caught my attention and I locked my eyes onto the pair of relaxed cat ears perfectly visible from there. Twitching once in a while, the feline appendages offered some insight over her current state of self.
The half-attentive tension in those just made it clear that she was still sleeping, but that my previous actions might have stirred her a little bit from her rest.
It was a few moments later that I finally lessened the tension within my body as I knew that she was still unconscious.
My eyes were still wide open as my mind was failing to grasp how this Cat Faunus had managed to sneak inside my apartment when I had my windows and door closed…
And why did she invade my house?
A burglar? Quite a dumb one if she decided to take a nap on the sofa of the poor moron she was trying to steal from. Usually one would take the stuff and leave rather than just settle down by the couch.
A murderer? I couldn't see any weapons and, just like the previous guess, it would've been a dumb murderer if she literally decided to sleep in her victim's couch… before killing said victim.
Do I even know her? I was certain the girl wasn't someone I had met before, nor I think I've ever seen her before today. A complete strange. And she was sleeping by my couch.
What the fuck!?
I slowly tip-toed my stunned self away from the living room, reaching for the kitchen where I knew I had left my house's phone. A simple cordless device that was a decade or two old but still worked efficiently and well for my daily needs while I was at home.
My brain was riddled with prayers and hopes of managing to get a distress call out. Maybe even leave the girl slumbering until the authorities arrived here to deal with this, but I sure failed to realize that I was doing a terrible mistake by stepping so quietly by the floor.
A few days ago I had found a weakened spot between the hallways and the doorstep that led to the kitchen. The cause of the instability supposedly related a tiny infiltration of water that had lessened the cement around the section and made it easy to break if applied some pressure against it. Too much weight and the thing would just collapse under anyone's feet.
I had already planned to call some professional to fix it as I really didn't need to have any guests trip and die because of it. Aura or not, that wasn't something I really wished to keep this issue around forever.
In that very moment where I needed the utmost silence from the world around me, and I had completely forgotten about that very problem, my right foot ended up pressing down right on the middle of the frail bit of floor.
The part gave away, the ground cracking and creating a small hole in which my foot ended up unwittingly pushed into. And I was stuck in there with a horrified look look plastered on my now pale face.
There was a noise at that development, and it was loud enough to make me pause and panic as I heard footsteps coming from the living room.
I stared down in shock and, biting down a not-so-kind word, I ditched my shoe to save my foot. I didn't sneak anymore as I knew my trouble was now awake and in alert. Fear was a good motivation and I was soon bolting across the room and reach for the phone.
I grabbed it, my fingers frantically pressing the numbers that would compose the emergency phone number of the VPD and-
SHLINK!
My jaws dropped when a dark-gray blade proceeded to cut the receiver in half before I had the chance of bringing it close to my ear. I tumbled, a moderate kick pushing me away and causing me to fall on the floor with a pained look.
I snapped my eyes open at the woman, now wielding what looked to be a short sword and… a ribbon folded around its hilt?
"L-Look, I don't wish to hurt you," The Faunus said with a calm but nervous voice, her amber eyes locked onto my frame as I stilled at her words. "I just need a place where to sta-!!"
Before the girl could manage to finish whatever explanation she had planned to dispense about her current illegal stay at my flat, her eyes went wide in sudden shock as she found herself tripping… on the shoe I had abandoned mere moments ago.
It was an opportunity to reverse the hostage situation she had created as she started to slowly fall towards me. I pounced right as I saw her falling toward the floor, both of my hands swiftly going for her weapon and carefully slipping it off from her hold.
She was just too surprised by the fall to notice what I just did, trying to halt her fall only for me to roll away with her blade and… aiming it at her.
Intrigue but also annoyance were now displayed by her feline eyes, but I could care any less about her reaction as I quickly discovered that, much like the majority of the new generations of blades, this one was provided with a gun.
A… machine gun? I wasn't savvy about it so I merely switched to it and prayed it wasn't a single-shot handgun. Now that would be a sad development for me.
"I ask you to return to the living room and not move as I call-"
"You are not going to hurt me," The dark-haired lady stated calmly. "Knowing about your lack of weapons in the house, I know that you are just lucky to know how to hold-"
Bang
She tensed quickly as the warning bullet slammed on the floor just a few centimeters away from her. Eyes now once more wide, the girl stared at my growing smirk.
"Dad was a Huntsman," I explained curtly. "And he taught me a thing or two how those things work." I shook her weapon to dignify my point and… she sighed.
Moments of quiet passed and I was tempted to go for another warning shot, but then the girl slowly stood up and started to walk back to the living room, hands up and visible for me as she went back to sit by the couch.
There was silence and, while I continued to hold the gun aimed at her with one of my hands, the other one slowly trailed back to my pants' left pocket as I went to get my Scroll. T
he reason why I hadn't used it to call the cops rather than mess up my attempt with the now-gone phone in the kitchen was actually a fairly embarrassing one.
During one of my duties as a waiter at the nearby bar, one of the patrons' children had spilled their drink on my pants and… drenched the then recently-acquired device.
The last gift from mom so that I could have called her without having to resort to the CCTV's system and make senseless walks around the large capital.
So while the small thing managed to send and receive calls, its receptors weren't fully-operational and sometimes words ended up failing to register to the device. The issues created by this phenomenon led to no little problems with various contacts saved in there.
Mom was confused when I said some 'foul words' back to her, but she calmed a little bit when I explained that it was just an issue with the damaged phone.
I still tried, the number composed and… I waited patiently for someone to take up the call.
Just four seconds passed before someone actually picked up the distress call.
"VPD Emergency Line, how can we help you?"
"Y-Yes, I call from 745 Torrent Street, Flat 45, Floor 2." I started quickly, a little stutter slipping through much to my chagrin. "There is a burglar that invaded my home. It's a young woman, dark-hair, Faunus and-"
"Sir," The woman on the other side scoffed in annoyance and I frowned. "I can assure you this is a serious Emergency line and I can't keep up with this call."
My frown deepened without hesitation at that sudden comeback.
"Say what?!"
"The Emergency Line is for special cases of distress and need," The operator replied with a somewhat angry tone. "We can live without your depiction of the foreplay you have with your Faunus girlfriend, sir. Good day to you."
The call ended and my jaw dropped at what I ended up hearing.
Some red was spreading on my cheeks and, from what I could see by the couch, the girl was blushing herself, sharing the same mortification I was enduring at that unexpected quip from the operator.
I blinked at the device and… the dark-haired lady spoke once more.
"I understand that I might have caused you incredible distress-"
"And damage." I interjected flatly, her ears twitching still as she flinched.
"And damage," She admitted to that higher fault. "But I can assure you that I didn't mean to cause you any harm and-"
"You cut my phone and then pointed your blade at me," I pointed out with a stern voice. "And I reckon you were possibly going to 'cause me harm' just to keep me quiet."
My accusation was legitimized by the fact she had been advancing on me before tripping on the shoe.
The Faunus didn't dare to contest that very point, preferring to silently look away and play the naive one. But seriously, I wasn't in the mood for that.
"Look, how about you just get out of my house," I pointed at the door behind me. "And you never return?"
There was more silence, this time her bright eyes were on me once again. Surprise and confusion at my sudden 'defeat', yet she didn't budge from her seat.
"What?" Her voice trailed the very confusion I could see in her face.
I sighed, I really didn't need this madness. As much as I wanted to haul her ass off to jail for that stunt she pulled on me, I really didn't need this.
I was too tired to think straight as of now.
"Look, I know you aren't here to steal from me and the cops aren't going to help me with removing you from my home," I said with a tired tone. I just wanted to nap, nothing more. "Just get out and we forget this even happened-"
"I-I can't." She interrupted unexpectedly, causing me to double-back at that.
"What? I'm giving you the chance to-"
"I really need a place where to spend some time away from… some people," The Faunus admitted. "And I had planned to spend this time here so-"
"No," I shot back with an angry tone. "Also, how the heck did you get inside my flat?!"
She flinched again and… her eyes briefly staring up at the ceiling and I followed her stare right onto the newly-created hole in there.
I breathed calmly, but I could feel anger rising from my chest. "You destroyed the ceiling-"
"There was a small opening and… I just increased it?" Her attempt to lessen the fact she had damaged my roof was enough to cause a scowl to appear on my lips.
"Get out of my house-"
"Look, I know that-"
"Out!"
"There is no need to-"
"I will yell as much as I want!" I rebuked furiously. "Get the fuck out of my home!" I screamed back at her.
There was silence from the brunette, amber eyes once wide were now narrowed at me in silent anger.
"It's because I'm a Faunus," She started with a soft tone, making my own fury simmer down just a little to let my surprise known to her. "It's that, isn't it?"
The Cat-girl had to literally go there.
I was a middle-class Mistralian-born young man that studied with, befriended and proudly had some relationships with some Faunus back home. And to hear this incredibly slanderous lie was enough to make my blood boil to the maximum.
"How dare you!" I shrieked back, the girl flinching at the sudden outburst while also looking fairly surprised by it. "Out, now!"
This time I aimed the gun with more decision and she tensed.
While I was sure that she had Aura, a bullet was still a painful thing to be hit with. Thus, silently and defeatedly, the girl stood up from the sofa, slowly walked from the furniture and towards me.
She wanted her weapon back, but like hell I would have given it back before I had her out of the apartment. I turned around, ready to lead her out of the flat when I felt the blade yanked away from my hold as the girl quickly jumped through the hole in the ceiling and… left.
I stood just a handful of moments to stare at the roof, expecting her to resurface just to mock me or something like that but…
Nothing. She was gone.
...Hallelujah!
I sighed in relief, my mind slowly drifting away from that surreal encounter as I started to write down in my mental 'to-do' list that I had to call some carpenter to fix the damage on the roof and… get someone to fix the phone by the kitchen.
I yawned, but I didn't want to nap. Not yet at least.
After what just transpired, I didn't feel safe enough to close my eyes just a moment before having that hole fixed.
I decided to message someone nearby that I knew was a professional in fixing roofs and… he ended up applying something that looked like a large tape, but it was meant to be a preventive measure.
The job itself would take a full afternoon and the man was busy for the day, giving me some availability by tomorrow.
I gladly accepted the offer and felt a little safer with the fact I had that 'tiny cover-up' to deter anyone trying to pull the same stunt as the Cat Faunus.
I didn't need to deal with crazy hobos because of that bizarre encounter, and I really didn't want to make a redo of what happened with my disrupted call at the cops.
Yawning again, I had just enough time to fix myself a quick bath, make a delicious dinner and then I was off for some dreamless sleep.
The day had been indeed the weirdest I had ever since I had arrived in Vale, and part of me labeled it as just a unique deviation from normality.
It wouldn't change anything from now on and I had nothing to truly worry about, I thought soundly as I fell asleep with my head snuggling on my pillow.
Yet that little hope I had until the next morning was dashed when, after waking up from that good sleep and walking in the living room, I found the same Cat Faunus sleeping on the very sofa I saw her occupying the day before.
Without hesitation and with much of my renewed energy, I let out two words that would end up becoming a constant in the relationship I had with the girl, the one I would learn much later was Blake Belladonna.
"GET OUT!"
-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d-------
AN
From the contorted mine of this very Author, here is a light-hearted but terribly crass fun story about the one and only Blake Belladonna.
It's sudden, me knows, but I've been having this pending idea for a while. An idea I've thought well about, altered, butchered and then reformed in this very plan of mine.
What is this? A comedy with some hints of an altered main plot.
Altered main plot? Cinder has been reworked a little. She is patient and will not go ham at Vale itself for the Maiden. And yes, this means that any horrid derails from Vol3 is now… erased, or Thanos-snapped.
Timeline? It happens the same day as the 'Black and White' episode, but instead of Blake regrouping and apologizing for running away the first time… she decides that running is her thing now and bolt away from the docks before speaking with her team.
Why the MC's house? Something that will be explained next chapter. Leaving you on your tip-toes, you lovely fellows!
Lastly, I know this is sudden but… if there are errors, I will be more than happy to have proof-readers. That is if those that volunteer willingly are actually willing about this and not joking around, 'cause I ain't a super-dummy! (LeHmph!)
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Oh yeah Blake, the reason why this man isn't letting you stay at his house doesn't at all have anything to do with the fact that you snuck into his flat, destroyed his ceiling, cut his phone line, and then threatened him with bodily harm. It's because he loathes you for being a faunus, if anything he was being generous with the fact that he was willing to let you leave without calling the police. And your supposed to be one of the so called "Heroes", load of B.S considering what they constantly get away with, JNPR should have definitely been made the protagonists.
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Jordisk
<Unverified N00B>
- Location
- Blind Eternities
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Nora is best character. Ren is a close second. Jaune is a fool, but a lucky one, while Pyhrra is overhyped.
Correction: Jaune is fanfiction fuel, plus shipping with anyone and everyone. Even the dog.
Jordisk
<Unverified N00B>
- Location
- Blind Eternities
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
"a fool, but a lucky one"
"fanfiction/shipping fuel"
I see no difference here. Jaune is a standard Shonen protagonist, completely unable to understand when a woman is interested in him, and only competent when the plot demands it.
Especially the dog. Go Zwei!
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Unless Professors Arcs theory that he has always been hiding his real power is true and he's secretly an agent of Ozpin.
To be fair, all members of team RWBY are known to make very stupid decisions.
Jordisk
<Unverified N00B>
- Location
- Blind Eternities
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
But not usually to the "Go back to the same place you were shot at to go into your most vulnerable state" stupid. Plus, the police thing was really stupid.
Well its not exactly like the police were very useful in Canon, the best we saw of them was trying (and failing) to stop Sun from Stowing away.
VC Project
Infinite Possibilities at the Point of No Return
As someone who lives in a neighborhood with a sizable stray cat population, I can sympathize. Once a cat claims that roof patch/ledge/shingle/wall as theirs, it's pretty much impossible to drive them away for any length of time. Only reason the house is clear of stray cats is liberal use of chicken wire mesh and our 3 brutish mixedbreed dogs scaring them off...
And they say Faunus aren't animals, then why don't they stop acting like them.
Being unable to stop an evasive huntsman in training when you don't have aura us a hell of a lot different than the assumption the operator made. The MC wasn't even allowed to finish explaining before he was cut of with accusations of wasting time for perverse reasons.
It would be like you calling 911 when there's a thief in your house and only getting as far as "There is a strange man in my house and-" before getting cut off by the operator, having the operator assume without any sort of indication or evidence that you and this stranger in your house are having some messed up sexual roleplay going on, then hanging up.
Really?
And as for Blake coming back, she snuck into an obviously lived in apartment, fell asleep, threatened the owner, got evicted at gunpoint by the owner, and the came back the same night and fell asleep in the same spot.
That's not funny cat traits. That's insane with a survival instinct of zero.
As I said before, the writing style is great, the pacing is great, but this scenario is being forced in painful ways that are just too hard to ignore.
- Location
- Italia
I think I will point out just a few things, nothing worth of major concern.
Words were missing, so while he was indeed pointing out a proper concern, the operator heard something like: "There is a ----- that invaded my -----. It's a young woman, dark-hair, Faunus and-"
The major fault in that fragmented depiction was that there wasn't any major panic in his voice and he pointed that it was a 'young woman' the cause of the disturbance. I've heard of numerous 911 calls going for some extreme topics, either too crazy like perverts on the phone or even the most harmless but derailing calls like a child calling for help with his Math homework.
Someone forgot about the end of Volume 1. But yes, it is insane for a normal person with common sense, but since Blake was more than happy to attempt to resolve a theft from the WF with only Sun as support, that very point fall very short because of her attitude. There is also the fact that she literally ran away from a heated discussion with Weiss, I can see some reason to be angry at how the Schnee described the Faunus community.
I think it is quite easy to pick up the fact that Blake 'acts' tought in Volume 1 to 3, her maturity an illusion to not show the aimlessness that led her to Beacon. It's when she stops 'running away', coming to terms with the hardships of protecting those around her rather than taking the burder alone that she truly ends up growing some common sense.
Still, thank you for the kind words and I hope you find some better stories to read.
Words were missing, so while he was indeed pointing out a proper concern, the operator heard something like: "There is a ----- that invaded my -----. It's a young woman, dark-hair, Faunus and-"
The major fault in that fragmented depiction was that there wasn't any major panic in his voice and he pointed that it was a 'young woman' the cause of the disturbance. I've heard of numerous 911 calls going for some extreme topics, either too crazy like perverts on the phone or even the most harmless but derailing calls like a child calling for help with his Math homework.
Someone forgot about the end of Volume 1. But yes, it is insane for a normal person with common sense, but since Blake was more than happy to attempt to resolve a theft from the WF with only Sun as support, that very point fall very short because of her attitude. There is also the fact that she literally ran away from a heated discussion with Weiss, I can see some reason to be angry at how the Schnee described the Faunus community.
I think it is quite easy to pick up the fact that Blake 'acts' tought in Volume 1 to 3, her maturity an illusion to not show the aimlessness that led her to Beacon. It's when she stops 'running away', coming to terms with the hardships of protecting those around her rather than taking the burder alone that she truly ends up growing some common sense.
I'm genuinely happy for your kind words and I'm quite saddened by the fact the main-plot sounds forced. I know that there is a lot missing, but I have plans for next chapter to shed some light over the questions lingering from it. From Blake POV.
Still, thank you for the kind words and I hope you find some better stories to read.
redfoxdelta
Now gainfully employed!
- Location
- San Diego, CA
I mean, this is tagged as comedy, meaning that you can expect quite a few "improbable but possible" kind of situations for comedic value. I couldn't help but be confused by the people in the comments who seemed to be taking it so seriously.
I don't want to!
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 2: I don't want to!
The battle at the port has been… quite a close call for Blake.
There wasn't another way to properly describe the mix of external dangers and internal struggles that had characterized that specific night.
The black-haired girl couldn't still make her mind over what she had seen there, what she had been forced to do just for the sake of survival. The White Fang, men and women from the Vale Branch that the young Belladonna had once known on a friendly basis, had been ruthless and lacking any of the hesitation freezing her at first when they engaged for the fight.
With the odds of two Hunters-in-training against a large contingent of militia-level armed people, Sun had been quite correct to swear foully at how things had gone to hell so quickly. It had been his words, when he had almost begged her to not jump out of their cover and not to blow up their surprise element.
Yet she had gone up to mess things up by trying to force answers out of Torchwick, the Criminal Boss gleefully asserting his crass command over the grunts dispatched on the first wave. People that were clearly irritated by the attitude taken by their supposed leader, deciding to stray away from the very essence that even Adam had been keen to abide to.
Do not trust criminals, nor try to even be on friendly terms with the scum.
It had been a golden rule during her father's leadership and Sienna had been more than happy to respect it, quite adamant in denying the chances of seeking out alliances with shady groups, fearful that one of those senseless thugs would have easily besmirched their reputation for the sake of avoiding too many years in jail.
The policy was logical and, knowing Adam's declination of the Fang's purity, Blake could hardly make head of what had happened on that very night before this blatant unity between the two distinct parties.
Torchwick in particular wasn't someone that could be trusted, many of their groups having been slaughtered by the man's men and… his assassin. Not many knew the identity of the close guard of the 'classy' scumbag, but the fact none had survived to tell the tale, people that weren't certainly pushovers by all means, was enough to deter the leadership to fish more info about the 'slayer'.
Her mind shifted back to the numerous questions regarding the Fang's current alliance with the criminal boss, baffled by the fact this was actually an official mission from the leaders of the branch. Maybe it had been a rebellious branch, someone that had grown disgruntled of Sienna's rule and went to offer their services to lesser associations in Vale.
It was a possibility, her vivid imagination agreed wholeheartedly, but what if something a little worse had happened after her unexpected departure?
Dark thoughts reigned for most of the fight, even diluting the surprise rising from the sudden appearance of her team and other familiar students.
What if… he had died? Something that made her skip her beat just for a moment, shock grasping in quite the unforgiving manner at her chest, inner whispers calling her a cause of problem, the reason why the White Fang had fallen so low.
The man had shown interest in her, pointing out in a half-subtle manner that she represented the light from not falling in the madness of emotions. Adam wasn't a monster, no matter how much people depicted him as such, but he wasn't never going to be a saint for her.
Blood stained both his hands and his blade, some were from self-defense while others were easily caused by the active role he had in the missions. Death was forgivable only when extreme resistance was met during their tasks, only when they were attacked with lethal force first.
The Bull Faunus' concept of self-defense was a loose thing in his mind already, the fact that Sienna had been so foolish to give him so much political power within the hierarchy had been more than enough to increase the stress perceived by the man.
Adam was strong, always coming on top of any trouble or challenge, but he was also mortal. No matter how much he trained, how much he said that he would have got control over his raging thoughts, Blake knew it would have been a matter of time before he did something too much stupid and… perished in action.
But no, her logical side had corrected with a cold but incredibly relaxing certainty, if Adam had been killed recently, something of a procession would have been planned for the occasion. He was one of the 'valiant heroes' of the Fang and there was no way in Hell that Sienna would have passed the opportunity to milk the moral high ground from the 'martyrdom' itself.
The girl's focus was quickly restored to the battlefield, a little confidence reasserting more energy in her actions and then… she realized that things were far from peachy even with the fight seemingly won.
The Fang was close to retreat from the sound beating they were receiving, Torchwick had ditched the group for a safe evacuation, and her team was slowly starting to have time to reach out for her.
Sun's words drilled deep in her consciousness, drawing guilt and hesitation in avoiding the group she had lied to until now, yet her thoughts about what had just happened to the Fang was more than enough to create a stalemate.
Weiss was looking particularly angry, the heiress not even sparing a glance at her and the Belladonna didn't need anyone to tell her that it was a bad omen. Their discussion still fresh in her mind, the hurtful words repeating in a sickening pattern as the dust started to settle in the now 'conquered' port.
She saw her team approaching, Sun was quite near to where she was and… her mind was instantly planning out her escape.
Nervousness and general unwillingness to resume what had been quite an aching development for her new cover drove her to move away from hoping for some redemption at her lies, to actually buy some time out of the golden opportunity presented by the current lack of enemies.
The Monkey Faunus let out a quick 'eep' as her shadow clone slammed into him and made him trip backwards before disappearing in thin air, disabling temporarily the closest concern. Ruby was the furthest of the bunch and she looked quite winded by the previous fight, the chances of her using the semblance to catch up to her rather slim.
The rest of the people weren't as fast as she was… if she didn't hold anything back for the chase.
The Cat Faunus breathed in and then out. Her eyes settling for a small alley that led right out of the district and back to the main road.
Blake bolted with all the strength left in her body without hesitation, ignoring the girls calling her name, her attention and legs giving more importance to the need of getting out from some unwanted encounter.
The girl managed to get inside the alley without any issue and she also managed to reach the roofs while retreating several buildings away from the docks and back to the industrial district of Vale. She could feel her breathing itching and then… her pacing slowed down to a full stop.
Both pair of ears were twitching attentively as she waited for some telling noise that there was still an ongoing chase, that the pursuit was still persisting or not, and she carefully turned around to find nobody behind her.
Relief washed over the Faunus' mind as her sore body was hit by the cool breeze of the nightly wind. Eyes narrowing tiredly, the girl realized in that exact moment that, despite having indeed dodged the bullet with that run, she also remained homeless and without any shelters to make use of.
She had nowhere to rest and recover from the fight, her Aura running a little low and her body was aching for some rest. It was late, her attention span had quickly reached the lowest degree possible after the eventful day and then... her nose picked a familiar but intriguing smell.
Her body tensed up and her eyes shot wide open as she felt a new purpose renewing her strengths. The scent was strong, terribly strong and also terribly familiar.
Blake could still remember perfectly the first time she actually discovered catnip and… the dangers about it. It had been back at fifth grade, she had been very surprised to learn that the teacher was going to teach a lesson about the 'drug-like' plant for Cat Faunus, but from there she learned about why this was borderline addictive.
The plant itself caused little issue, it was the pheromones released from it that caused some unfunny effects on feline-kind of Faunus. Nothing dangerous to the body, nothing that would actually cause any damage to it, yet it was frowned upon for… the effects caused on the mind of those around it.
A single sniff would deprive the Feline Faunus of any perception of pain, tiredness and put them in a euphoric state that could lead to some accidents or… worse.
The Belladonna didn't have the luxury of having her mind fully there as her senses were invaded by the 'fragrance' and she found herself driven to pursue the origin of this delightful scent. It was… beneath her?
There were balconies and thus the girl slowly studied every single one of them, being careful to not cause any noise and… she found the right flat. A small opening gave the Faunus a chance to enter… yet it was small and her frame unable to pass through during her first attempts.
If she had been conscious of the situation, she would have planned it a little better, but the desire of finding the intriguing smell was stronger than her already-tiny common sense. Gambol Shroud tore a larger gap on the roof and… she passed through.
Glee filled her mind as she entered inside what looked to be a dark living room and, as she recovered from the quick fall to enter the room, she noticed much to her grand dismay the smell was gone. Shock surged, her eyes widening as she was deprived of this primal task and… returned to her tired self.
There was no sound, nor noise that could have hinted to anyone being around and…
Her eyes fixed with little focus at the couch.
Mind screaming to not go through with this stupid idea, Blake succumbed to her body's cravings for the long-deserved rest for the night and, after removing her boots and her vest, she slumped on the attractive sofa.
Her reaction to the soft texture, to the extremely comfy pillow and the overall warmth coming off from it was… to close her eyes in relief at the good luck of having found possibly the best furniture to sleep on.
If only she had known how things would have turned the next morning…
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I was sitting by the couch while I continued to listen the 'explanation' afforded by this girl, Blake Belladonna, with an emotionless look plastered on my face as my attention failed to properly understand some of the context missing.
Why running away from her team? And Weiss Schnee? She was in the same group as the daughter of the richest man in Remnant?
Knowing that she wasn't going anywhere, I was able to quickly go through my bathroom morning routine before truly tackling the issue at hand, part of me begging the Gods to make this something not as infuriating as the one that had happened just the day before.
The Faunus stopped her tale with a nervous look, her eyes hardly able to stay for too long on my face before moving away in embarrassment. She was fidgeting a little, her hands playing with the edges of her vest when I sighed and thought about what I just heard.
There was so much to think about the complicated case, about the fact her narration explained why she entered uninvited in my home and used the couch without permission the first time (because the motivation couldn't certainly extend to why she returned once again), about the fact I was running late for work with this nonsense and… about the wind coming from the newly open roof of my flat.
There was nothing positive with her stubborn presence, the damage caused to my poor apartment still fresh on my mind and visible at the moment. I didn't feel angry at first as I felt… determinedly sure of a simple thing about my state of mind.
I blinked with some perplexity, as I felt so calm in the fact there was no mercy in my mind and body about this situation.
"And you returned here. Why?" I asked with a frown, the girl blinking once before nodding.
"I… I wanted to repay you for the kindness-" She tried to appear apologetic, yet there was no promise of economic repairs for the damage caused by her mere presence.
"Yet you are here." I interrupted without thinking twice about it, causing her to flinch for a moment and sigh.
"I know that it was wrong of me to enter your house, turn your sofa in my bed for a rest and then drink some of milk by the fridge, but it was all in the name of distress and-" She tried to appear appeasing, and maybe she expected to sugarcoat the costs I will have to spend to pay up the reparations, but as she mentioned the milk I had bought the day before, I felt a chill go down my spine.
It was something I had bought for the sake of preparing a cake. The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paars, were soon going to celebrate their 35th anniversary of marriage and I had offered to help them by bringing something to eat for the feast.
And now, the opportunity was once again lost because of Blake.
Goddammit.
"Wait, the milk-" I felt anger bubbling again. "You mean to tell me that you also stole food-"
"Beverage-"
"YOU STILL STOLE FROM ME!" I yelled back, causing her interjection to die on the spot at the volume I used against her. Her eyes widened, a little surprised by the outburst and… I wasn't done with her. "You came back, WHY?!" I repeated with a strained voice, I was starting to regret having not called Beacon at this point.
She blinked and… stared at the floor with some embarrassment. "I might have… seen some of my team-members patrolling the district and… I hid in your roof," A blink dignified a momentary pause. "Then I decided to… return inside to not be caught by them." She admitted with a tight tone, expecting the umpteenth outburst out of me.
A legitimate expectation, but one I didn't go through as I merely stared at her in silence. My eyes burning in fury at the fact that not only did she decide to 'hide' in my flat once again, but I was also thinking of the expenses that I would have to pay for her current presence.
I wasn't doubting that the more I was around Blake, the more I would have to pay for the damage she was committing in my own house. I was angry, but I was also smart enough to know how to solve this situation easily and without any issue.
I stood up from my couch with a somewhat calm and 'defeated' expression. "Fine."
…
"W-What?" The Faunus asked with a soft and terribly confused tone, her eyes highlighting how much she had lost me with that sudden change of mood.
I truly didn't want to waste anymore time, thus I went for a quick one.
I smiled. "Do whatever you want," I said lightly. "Do you need to use the bathroom? Use it. Need to rest a little more? You may use the bed. Are you hungry? Mi fridge es tu fridge." I finished with a bright smirk.
The girl blinked, hopes being lifted to an unexpected degree. She looked like a child that just received a gift ten times greater than the one she asked. What kind of monster would ruin her mood?!
"D-Do you mean it? Can I… Can I stay?" Her childish wonder was dripping in each of the words she used and I felt lifted by the lovely moment. Oh my, the hum- I mean, the Faunus-kind!
I sighed and, still smiling, pointed my finger at the door, waiting for her to turn at it with a half-confused frown.
"Get out of my fucking flat!" I replied in a jolly tone while sternly looking at her, making her tense up at the crud demand. I blinked and kept quiet for a while, waiting for a response for her. "So? Are you leaving?" I pressed on her and the girl seemed to be ready to concede but…
"N-No." She shook her head. My irritation increasing at her resilience at my rightful demands. "I know it sounds childish and stupid but-"
"There is no but, Blake, you have been childish and stupid right now," I pointed at the door again, my face hardening again. "Get out, stop harassing me this much and-"
"I-I want to help," She blurted with a convinced tone, cat ears twitching with her voice. "I-I did some damage, I know that you said that you don't want me to- but I can offer you help with your work- maybe do some house-chores or-"
"I don't need that from you," I said calmly but trembling in utter anger, my face was red now. "I thought that you had understood yesterday that I don't want any of that and yet-" I huffed. "Get out of my home or I will call the cops-"
"And commit yourself to the same embarrassing scene of yesterday?" The Faunus shot back with some heat. "I bet you will end up getting yourself ridiculed like back then and obtain nothing from it."
I was fuming, it's been years since I had this much anger for someone,
"Out." That was my limit. I wasn't joking, I wasn't amused by her tenacious attempt to latch like a leech at my sofa and I didn't need her to linger any further.
"I wasn't fi-"
"I said out, Blake!" I repeated angrily, my hand closed in a twichy fist. I wasn't going to hit her, I wouldn't hit a woman before she tried to hit me first, something of a gentleman rule. "You need to fucking leave my house, do you understand?!" I yelled one last time and… it seemed to truly work.
Once again silence but this time the girl nodded at my request much to my surprise. She stood up from the couch and slowly made her way to the door while I followed her behind and prepared myself for any trickery she might have planned for that occasion.
No strange tricks, nothing that could hint to any sudden reappearances any time soon and I hoped for the carpenter to start to work earnestly in the afternoon to see that hole completely fixed.
I closed the door behind, finalizing the end of that maddening situation that spanned from yesterday until now and… I sighed as I felt my fury simmering to a calm, my mind feeling fairly drained as was my body.
It wasn't healthy to have this kind of messes so early in the day and I certainly wasn't going to put more weight on it with the fact I had yet to even go out for work. I nodded to myself, calmly going through some quick check-up of the rest of the rooms, looking for anything that might have been taken, or ruined, yet I found none much to my growing relief.
I spared a few moments to notice the state of the sofa, surprised by the fabric having been moved harshly around in what looked to be a proper battlefield of sheets and covers. It was a sign of some agitated sleep, of someone that had some troublesome nightmares that-
No. I'm not going to show any kindness to Blake.
She could have asked if it had been a true emergency instead of sneaking inside without permission. It was deceitful and dishonest, something born from thought rather than true emotion and that was more than enough for me to silence any positive attempt to pardon what had just happened.
Feeling prepared for another day at the bar, I left my apartment with a guarded but mostly relaxed pace, looking all around in case the girl had decided to tag along… without my consent.
Paranoia, I tried to give it a logical name, yet the sensation of being watched and followed persisted for most of my walk. I stopped numerous times to look around for the Faunus, ready to get her to stop stalking me around and…
There was no sign of her. I blinked, feeling that I was actually giving weight to the matter even though I had planned to not do that. I was just a little tired and… I felt a smile forming on my face as I spotted the bar.
Without hesitation, I stepped inside and found myself greeting the owner of the establishment. Marcus Cobalt was a man in his early forties, already balding with his red-brown hair while proudly sporting a jolly beard and 'stache. His frame showed some beer-belly but he was the healthiest possible.
"Good morning, sir," I said with a relaxed tone, some of my stress dripping off my words and it was quickly caught by the man.
"Good morning, boy," He nodded back with a concerned look. "By the way, something got you tired already? Is the shift too hard on you?" He asked kindly and I shook my head negatively.
"Some unexpected issues and nothing to worry about. All solved," I waved back with a small smile.
"I see," The owner nodded before turning away from me and… smiling. "Good morning, young lady. Are you perhaps friends with Sid or-"
"An acquaintance," Blake muttered quietly, avoiding my face as I turned around to stare at her in shock. She had somehow followed me back to this place, even though I made sure of not being followed and… I grimaced.
When did she get inside? And why didn't I hear her!?
"Yet you seem to be quite interested on him- and he seemed interest too." Mustache winked at the mistaken situation, eyes teasingly darting from her to me before returning back to the girl. "Please, do take a seat as Sid prepares to help around." Marcus gestured me to go and put on my uniform and… I sighed, unwilling to grace any further glances at Blake as I felt one step from truly exploding at the inanity of things.
The Faunus by the time I ventured inside the locker room, good enough for me as I started to prepare for what looked to be a very long day at work. A shift where I was going to hopefully endure the presence and possibly the damage this girl will cause around herself.
May it be some objects being cut or broken, or may it be my reputation being obliterated by innuendos or misunderstandings.
Yep, this was going to be the day…
Seriously, I don't want to sounds racist or anything like that-
But did I just get some bad luck from a dark-haired Cat Faunus or what?!
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AN
Just to clarify something quick before the mob stab my butt, the MC will have something the usual MCs in my stories don't have.
And that is anger issues. (It's something about the family, btw… and yes, it is an important detail).
While he is good in being polite and neat, precise and calculative, he is bestowed with some easy-to-come fury when the situations… doesn't need it.
The perspective is purposely shown from the point of view of the MC and by any mean Blake is that bad. His point of view is flawed and that… makes the other perspectives more important than in my usual stories. So prepare for some hatred in a nutshell and Blake pulling an interesting action on… Sid.
Why Sid? It's from a fairy tale, one that has been explored in RWBY. The connection will be… shocking!
The battle at the port has been… quite a close call for Blake.
There wasn't another way to properly describe the mix of external dangers and internal struggles that had characterized that specific night.
The black-haired girl couldn't still make her mind over what she had seen there, what she had been forced to do just for the sake of survival. The White Fang, men and women from the Vale Branch that the young Belladonna had once known on a friendly basis, had been ruthless and lacking any of the hesitation freezing her at first when they engaged for the fight.
With the odds of two Hunters-in-training against a large contingent of militia-level armed people, Sun had been quite correct to swear foully at how things had gone to hell so quickly. It had been his words, when he had almost begged her to not jump out of their cover and not to blow up their surprise element.
Yet she had gone up to mess things up by trying to force answers out of Torchwick, the Criminal Boss gleefully asserting his crass command over the grunts dispatched on the first wave. People that were clearly irritated by the attitude taken by their supposed leader, deciding to stray away from the very essence that even Adam had been keen to abide to.
Do not trust criminals, nor try to even be on friendly terms with the scum.
It had been a golden rule during her father's leadership and Sienna had been more than happy to respect it, quite adamant in denying the chances of seeking out alliances with shady groups, fearful that one of those senseless thugs would have easily besmirched their reputation for the sake of avoiding too many years in jail.
The policy was logical and, knowing Adam's declination of the Fang's purity, Blake could hardly make head of what had happened on that very night before this blatant unity between the two distinct parties.
Torchwick in particular wasn't someone that could be trusted, many of their groups having been slaughtered by the man's men and… his assassin. Not many knew the identity of the close guard of the 'classy' scumbag, but the fact none had survived to tell the tale, people that weren't certainly pushovers by all means, was enough to deter the leadership to fish more info about the 'slayer'.
Her mind shifted back to the numerous questions regarding the Fang's current alliance with the criminal boss, baffled by the fact this was actually an official mission from the leaders of the branch. Maybe it had been a rebellious branch, someone that had grown disgruntled of Sienna's rule and went to offer their services to lesser associations in Vale.
It was a possibility, her vivid imagination agreed wholeheartedly, but what if something a little worse had happened after her unexpected departure?
Dark thoughts reigned for most of the fight, even diluting the surprise rising from the sudden appearance of her team and other familiar students.
What if… he had died? Something that made her skip her beat just for a moment, shock grasping in quite the unforgiving manner at her chest, inner whispers calling her a cause of problem, the reason why the White Fang had fallen so low.
The man had shown interest in her, pointing out in a half-subtle manner that she represented the light from not falling in the madness of emotions. Adam wasn't a monster, no matter how much people depicted him as such, but he wasn't never going to be a saint for her.
Blood stained both his hands and his blade, some were from self-defense while others were easily caused by the active role he had in the missions. Death was forgivable only when extreme resistance was met during their tasks, only when they were attacked with lethal force first.
The Bull Faunus' concept of self-defense was a loose thing in his mind already, the fact that Sienna had been so foolish to give him so much political power within the hierarchy had been more than enough to increase the stress perceived by the man.
Adam was strong, always coming on top of any trouble or challenge, but he was also mortal. No matter how much he trained, how much he said that he would have got control over his raging thoughts, Blake knew it would have been a matter of time before he did something too much stupid and… perished in action.
But no, her logical side had corrected with a cold but incredibly relaxing certainty, if Adam had been killed recently, something of a procession would have been planned for the occasion. He was one of the 'valiant heroes' of the Fang and there was no way in Hell that Sienna would have passed the opportunity to milk the moral high ground from the 'martyrdom' itself.
The girl's focus was quickly restored to the battlefield, a little confidence reasserting more energy in her actions and then… she realized that things were far from peachy even with the fight seemingly won.
The Fang was close to retreat from the sound beating they were receiving, Torchwick had ditched the group for a safe evacuation, and her team was slowly starting to have time to reach out for her.
Sun's words drilled deep in her consciousness, drawing guilt and hesitation in avoiding the group she had lied to until now, yet her thoughts about what had just happened to the Fang was more than enough to create a stalemate.
Weiss was looking particularly angry, the heiress not even sparing a glance at her and the Belladonna didn't need anyone to tell her that it was a bad omen. Their discussion still fresh in her mind, the hurtful words repeating in a sickening pattern as the dust started to settle in the now 'conquered' port.
She saw her team approaching, Sun was quite near to where she was and… her mind was instantly planning out her escape.
Nervousness and general unwillingness to resume what had been quite an aching development for her new cover drove her to move away from hoping for some redemption at her lies, to actually buy some time out of the golden opportunity presented by the current lack of enemies.
The Monkey Faunus let out a quick 'eep' as her shadow clone slammed into him and made him trip backwards before disappearing in thin air, disabling temporarily the closest concern. Ruby was the furthest of the bunch and she looked quite winded by the previous fight, the chances of her using the semblance to catch up to her rather slim.
The rest of the people weren't as fast as she was… if she didn't hold anything back for the chase.
The Cat Faunus breathed in and then out. Her eyes settling for a small alley that led right out of the district and back to the main road.
Blake bolted with all the strength left in her body without hesitation, ignoring the girls calling her name, her attention and legs giving more importance to the need of getting out from some unwanted encounter.
The girl managed to get inside the alley without any issue and she also managed to reach the roofs while retreating several buildings away from the docks and back to the industrial district of Vale. She could feel her breathing itching and then… her pacing slowed down to a full stop.
Both pair of ears were twitching attentively as she waited for some telling noise that there was still an ongoing chase, that the pursuit was still persisting or not, and she carefully turned around to find nobody behind her.
Relief washed over the Faunus' mind as her sore body was hit by the cool breeze of the nightly wind. Eyes narrowing tiredly, the girl realized in that exact moment that, despite having indeed dodged the bullet with that run, she also remained homeless and without any shelters to make use of.
She had nowhere to rest and recover from the fight, her Aura running a little low and her body was aching for some rest. It was late, her attention span had quickly reached the lowest degree possible after the eventful day and then... her nose picked a familiar but intriguing smell.
Her body tensed up and her eyes shot wide open as she felt a new purpose renewing her strengths. The scent was strong, terribly strong and also terribly familiar.
Blake could still remember perfectly the first time she actually discovered catnip and… the dangers about it. It had been back at fifth grade, she had been very surprised to learn that the teacher was going to teach a lesson about the 'drug-like' plant for Cat Faunus, but from there she learned about why this was borderline addictive.
The plant itself caused little issue, it was the pheromones released from it that caused some unfunny effects on feline-kind of Faunus. Nothing dangerous to the body, nothing that would actually cause any damage to it, yet it was frowned upon for… the effects caused on the mind of those around it.
A single sniff would deprive the Feline Faunus of any perception of pain, tiredness and put them in a euphoric state that could lead to some accidents or… worse.
The Belladonna didn't have the luxury of having her mind fully there as her senses were invaded by the 'fragrance' and she found herself driven to pursue the origin of this delightful scent. It was… beneath her?
There were balconies and thus the girl slowly studied every single one of them, being careful to not cause any noise and… she found the right flat. A small opening gave the Faunus a chance to enter… yet it was small and her frame unable to pass through during her first attempts.
If she had been conscious of the situation, she would have planned it a little better, but the desire of finding the intriguing smell was stronger than her already-tiny common sense. Gambol Shroud tore a larger gap on the roof and… she passed through.
Glee filled her mind as she entered inside what looked to be a dark living room and, as she recovered from the quick fall to enter the room, she noticed much to her grand dismay the smell was gone. Shock surged, her eyes widening as she was deprived of this primal task and… returned to her tired self.
There was no sound, nor noise that could have hinted to anyone being around and…
Her eyes fixed with little focus at the couch.
Mind screaming to not go through with this stupid idea, Blake succumbed to her body's cravings for the long-deserved rest for the night and, after removing her boots and her vest, she slumped on the attractive sofa.
Her reaction to the soft texture, to the extremely comfy pillow and the overall warmth coming off from it was… to close her eyes in relief at the good luck of having found possibly the best furniture to sleep on.
If only she had known how things would have turned the next morning…
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I was sitting by the couch while I continued to listen the 'explanation' afforded by this girl, Blake Belladonna, with an emotionless look plastered on my face as my attention failed to properly understand some of the context missing.
Why running away from her team? And Weiss Schnee? She was in the same group as the daughter of the richest man in Remnant?
Knowing that she wasn't going anywhere, I was able to quickly go through my bathroom morning routine before truly tackling the issue at hand, part of me begging the Gods to make this something not as infuriating as the one that had happened just the day before.
The Faunus stopped her tale with a nervous look, her eyes hardly able to stay for too long on my face before moving away in embarrassment. She was fidgeting a little, her hands playing with the edges of her vest when I sighed and thought about what I just heard.
There was so much to think about the complicated case, about the fact her narration explained why she entered uninvited in my home and used the couch without permission the first time (because the motivation couldn't certainly extend to why she returned once again), about the fact I was running late for work with this nonsense and… about the wind coming from the newly open roof of my flat.
There was nothing positive with her stubborn presence, the damage caused to my poor apartment still fresh on my mind and visible at the moment. I didn't feel angry at first as I felt… determinedly sure of a simple thing about my state of mind.
I blinked with some perplexity, as I felt so calm in the fact there was no mercy in my mind and body about this situation.
"And you returned here. Why?" I asked with a frown, the girl blinking once before nodding.
"I… I wanted to repay you for the kindness-" She tried to appear apologetic, yet there was no promise of economic repairs for the damage caused by her mere presence.
"Yet you are here." I interrupted without thinking twice about it, causing her to flinch for a moment and sigh.
"I know that it was wrong of me to enter your house, turn your sofa in my bed for a rest and then drink some of milk by the fridge, but it was all in the name of distress and-" She tried to appear appeasing, and maybe she expected to sugarcoat the costs I will have to spend to pay up the reparations, but as she mentioned the milk I had bought the day before, I felt a chill go down my spine.
It was something I had bought for the sake of preparing a cake. The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paars, were soon going to celebrate their 35th anniversary of marriage and I had offered to help them by bringing something to eat for the feast.
And now, the opportunity was once again lost because of Blake.
Goddammit.
"Wait, the milk-" I felt anger bubbling again. "You mean to tell me that you also stole food-"
"Beverage-"
"YOU STILL STOLE FROM ME!" I yelled back, causing her interjection to die on the spot at the volume I used against her. Her eyes widened, a little surprised by the outburst and… I wasn't done with her. "You came back, WHY?!" I repeated with a strained voice, I was starting to regret having not called Beacon at this point.
She blinked and… stared at the floor with some embarrassment. "I might have… seen some of my team-members patrolling the district and… I hid in your roof," A blink dignified a momentary pause. "Then I decided to… return inside to not be caught by them." She admitted with a tight tone, expecting the umpteenth outburst out of me.
A legitimate expectation, but one I didn't go through as I merely stared at her in silence. My eyes burning in fury at the fact that not only did she decide to 'hide' in my flat once again, but I was also thinking of the expenses that I would have to pay for her current presence.
I wasn't doubting that the more I was around Blake, the more I would have to pay for the damage she was committing in my own house. I was angry, but I was also smart enough to know how to solve this situation easily and without any issue.
I stood up from my couch with a somewhat calm and 'defeated' expression. "Fine."
…
"W-What?" The Faunus asked with a soft and terribly confused tone, her eyes highlighting how much she had lost me with that sudden change of mood.
I truly didn't want to waste anymore time, thus I went for a quick one.
I smiled. "Do whatever you want," I said lightly. "Do you need to use the bathroom? Use it. Need to rest a little more? You may use the bed. Are you hungry? Mi fridge es tu fridge." I finished with a bright smirk.
The girl blinked, hopes being lifted to an unexpected degree. She looked like a child that just received a gift ten times greater than the one she asked. What kind of monster would ruin her mood?!
"D-Do you mean it? Can I… Can I stay?" Her childish wonder was dripping in each of the words she used and I felt lifted by the lovely moment. Oh my, the hum- I mean, the Faunus-kind!
I sighed and, still smiling, pointed my finger at the door, waiting for her to turn at it with a half-confused frown.
"Get out of my fucking flat!" I replied in a jolly tone while sternly looking at her, making her tense up at the crud demand. I blinked and kept quiet for a while, waiting for a response for her. "So? Are you leaving?" I pressed on her and the girl seemed to be ready to concede but…
"N-No." She shook her head. My irritation increasing at her resilience at my rightful demands. "I know it sounds childish and stupid but-"
"There is no but, Blake, you have been childish and stupid right now," I pointed at the door again, my face hardening again. "Get out, stop harassing me this much and-"
"I-I want to help," She blurted with a convinced tone, cat ears twitching with her voice. "I-I did some damage, I know that you said that you don't want me to- but I can offer you help with your work- maybe do some house-chores or-"
"I don't need that from you," I said calmly but trembling in utter anger, my face was red now. "I thought that you had understood yesterday that I don't want any of that and yet-" I huffed. "Get out of my home or I will call the cops-"
"And commit yourself to the same embarrassing scene of yesterday?" The Faunus shot back with some heat. "I bet you will end up getting yourself ridiculed like back then and obtain nothing from it."
I was fuming, it's been years since I had this much anger for someone,
"Out." That was my limit. I wasn't joking, I wasn't amused by her tenacious attempt to latch like a leech at my sofa and I didn't need her to linger any further.
"I wasn't fi-"
"I said out, Blake!" I repeated angrily, my hand closed in a twichy fist. I wasn't going to hit her, I wouldn't hit a woman before she tried to hit me first, something of a gentleman rule. "You need to fucking leave my house, do you understand?!" I yelled one last time and… it seemed to truly work.
Once again silence but this time the girl nodded at my request much to my surprise. She stood up from the couch and slowly made her way to the door while I followed her behind and prepared myself for any trickery she might have planned for that occasion.
No strange tricks, nothing that could hint to any sudden reappearances any time soon and I hoped for the carpenter to start to work earnestly in the afternoon to see that hole completely fixed.
I closed the door behind, finalizing the end of that maddening situation that spanned from yesterday until now and… I sighed as I felt my fury simmering to a calm, my mind feeling fairly drained as was my body.
It wasn't healthy to have this kind of messes so early in the day and I certainly wasn't going to put more weight on it with the fact I had yet to even go out for work. I nodded to myself, calmly going through some quick check-up of the rest of the rooms, looking for anything that might have been taken, or ruined, yet I found none much to my growing relief.
I spared a few moments to notice the state of the sofa, surprised by the fabric having been moved harshly around in what looked to be a proper battlefield of sheets and covers. It was a sign of some agitated sleep, of someone that had some troublesome nightmares that-
No. I'm not going to show any kindness to Blake.
She could have asked if it had been a true emergency instead of sneaking inside without permission. It was deceitful and dishonest, something born from thought rather than true emotion and that was more than enough for me to silence any positive attempt to pardon what had just happened.
Feeling prepared for another day at the bar, I left my apartment with a guarded but mostly relaxed pace, looking all around in case the girl had decided to tag along… without my consent.
Paranoia, I tried to give it a logical name, yet the sensation of being watched and followed persisted for most of my walk. I stopped numerous times to look around for the Faunus, ready to get her to stop stalking me around and…
There was no sign of her. I blinked, feeling that I was actually giving weight to the matter even though I had planned to not do that. I was just a little tired and… I felt a smile forming on my face as I spotted the bar.
Without hesitation, I stepped inside and found myself greeting the owner of the establishment. Marcus Cobalt was a man in his early forties, already balding with his red-brown hair while proudly sporting a jolly beard and 'stache. His frame showed some beer-belly but he was the healthiest possible.
"Good morning, sir," I said with a relaxed tone, some of my stress dripping off my words and it was quickly caught by the man.
"Good morning, boy," He nodded back with a concerned look. "By the way, something got you tired already? Is the shift too hard on you?" He asked kindly and I shook my head negatively.
"Some unexpected issues and nothing to worry about. All solved," I waved back with a small smile.
"I see," The owner nodded before turning away from me and… smiling. "Good morning, young lady. Are you perhaps friends with Sid or-"
"An acquaintance," Blake muttered quietly, avoiding my face as I turned around to stare at her in shock. She had somehow followed me back to this place, even though I made sure of not being followed and… I grimaced.
When did she get inside? And why didn't I hear her!?
"Yet you seem to be quite interested on him- and he seemed interest too." Mustache winked at the mistaken situation, eyes teasingly darting from her to me before returning back to the girl. "Please, do take a seat as Sid prepares to help around." Marcus gestured me to go and put on my uniform and… I sighed, unwilling to grace any further glances at Blake as I felt one step from truly exploding at the inanity of things.
The Faunus by the time I ventured inside the locker room, good enough for me as I started to prepare for what looked to be a very long day at work. A shift where I was going to hopefully endure the presence and possibly the damage this girl will cause around herself.
May it be some objects being cut or broken, or may it be my reputation being obliterated by innuendos or misunderstandings.
Yep, this was going to be the day…
Seriously, I don't want to sounds racist or anything like that-
But did I just get some bad luck from a dark-haired Cat Faunus or what?!
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AN
Just to clarify something quick before the mob stab my butt, the MC will have something the usual MCs in my stories don't have.
And that is anger issues. (It's something about the family, btw… and yes, it is an important detail).
While he is good in being polite and neat, precise and calculative, he is bestowed with some easy-to-come fury when the situations… doesn't need it.
The perspective is purposely shown from the point of view of the MC and by any mean Blake is that bad. His point of view is flawed and that… makes the other perspectives more important than in my usual stories. So prepare for some hatred in a nutshell and Blake pulling an interesting action on… Sid.
Why Sid? It's from a fairy tale, one that has been explored in RWBY. The connection will be… shocking!
- Location
- Italia
I wouldn't advise to waste too much time guessing now. There are other clues planning to come and the final realization will be possibly the greatest gamble of my career. (And I'm betting high!)
Doru
Digital Disaster
- Location
- Canada, the internet
Random wild guess because why not, Beast from Beauty and the Beast because Adam is actually Gaston. But it's a reversal because RWBY does this shit like 50% of the time.
Edit: Also Adam isn't the Beast's name, we never actually get his name. Adam was his name given by a 3rd party trivia game, and the lie was perpetuated by non disney and un-offical sources.
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MBsymphony
Just an awkward person here
- Location
- Asia
I feel like I've seen this concept of Blake sleeping on someone's couch before, pretty sure it was a snippet i think, don't really remember who posted it, am really surprised to see you make this fic and I wonder what territory would you park this fic in
Stop following me at work!
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 3: Stop following me at work!
If I have to be honest, I hadn't expected things to escalate to that very awkward and terribly itching point.
I had planned to spend some hours at work to avoid having to deal with the newfound bane of my simple life, the Cat Faunus that was Blake Belladonna having proved that she wasn't certainly going to give up with her attempts of leeching off from my current lack of means to contact the authorities.
The black-haired girl had been incredibly sneaky in following silently and undetected me right to the fine establishment I used to spend my time working by, something that gave me even more confirmation that she was indeed a huntress-in-training.
I mean, it wasn't difficult to see her weapon and proclivity to action to understand that she was one, but the actual idea that she gave chase without me knowing was enough to have me accept this fact a little more than before.
I wasn't a huntsman, nor I did consider my senses to be above what many civilians had, but I had been given some 'self-defense' training by both my parents, my Aura was unlocked and I knew about my Semblance. My special ability was, of course, useless about most of my daily life, but it was good to know what it truly was.
The 'Morning Sip' bar was a blossoming activity that had been opened two years ago by the jovial man that was Marcus Cobalt as an attempt to broaden his chances of giving his life a proper improvement.
A family man with two children, both sons, approaching the late stage of teenagehood, he was very attentive to make sure his investment continued to produce enough green to keep up with the growing expenses and the need of preparing some money to leave to his children.
A man that was also playful and understanding with his workers and that was proven right as I started to work for him. The man should have by all means refused the Curriculum I had presented, my grades at Civilian School were mediocre at best and I knew that I was just an inch below the required grade for the job.
It had been desperation, it had been hopefulness, my mind wasn't truly sure of which one had dominated prior to the hiring, but I was certain of one silly thing. I had been overjoyed to learn about the fact I had finally gotten my first job and, much to my glee, the burden it presented were easy to manage in every situation.
I was glad that I had been given the opportunity to have a stable income while living away from Mistral, the final cornerstone that made my independence from home ever so sweet to obtain after years of trying and failing to do so in the Kingdom I came from. Despite being compared to Vale, Mistral was still a struggling nation with what little good jobs were given to the children of those rich and powerful.
And sure, I could have called my parents to obtain some more money to further search for some more job opportunities, but I felt it would have been like borrowing from them without a proper date set and, knowing them, it would have never had one.
It was one of the reasons the man had decided to hire me for his new economic adventure, knowing the perils of leaving the familial home and the struggle of settling down alone and without proper directions.
He had been a farmer, a diligent hard-worker that ended up selling his property to move inside the capital of the Kingdom, away from the dangerous threat the Grimm posed to the people living outside the safe walls of the large settlements.
With a growing family on his back and with me giving a good show of genuine interest at making a good job if taken in, I was accepted in the fold of his establishment and made into something similar to an apprentice to the bearded man.
Time passed, several months going by as I had this job mastered and rendered permanent part of my daily life, and I was turned out to become quite professional at the simple duty of waiter at the bar.
Being the lone worker at the particularly humongous place, my job wasn't actually the easiest out there as speedy reactions were a must for the sake of keeping the service quality the highest possible, but it had possibly the best pay compared to other similar activities.
With Marcus not exploiting his manpower and rewarded hard-work with the right money, making the interest to make some quality work during the various tasks subtly expected and needed, but not truly mandatory to force people to do so.
Truth be told, I appreciated that single line of sternness from him as a proper establishment did require some strong-handed action here and there and I found his capacity with planning the future improvements to be… refreshing and inspiring.
I had yet to meet the man's wife, but if from his lovely comments regarding her, I sure expected to find a lady as kind as the owner was. She had to deal with the house's duties, the woman being strong enough to perfectly balance the daily chores with the responsibility of being a mother of two young teen.
And knowing how hard it had been for mom to deal with me and my two other siblings, it sure was easy to understand and praise the lady for her efforts.
Of course, I wasn't certainly as mature and responsible as back as a few years old. I could still remember the issues I would cause in these specific moments and…
I think I digressed again! Curses!
It's been happening for a while now, my mind wandering far too many times away from the current problem, escaping from what looked to be a perfectly worrying issue to deal about in a normal situation. And this wasn't even a normal situation.
Returning my attention back at my current situation I couldn't help but appear quite distracted as I went through my usual tasks. Passing the plates with slices of the various available cakes, preparing steamy and warm coffee, and making sure that everyone was happy and satisfied with their services.
I was attentive enough to make sure to have all the clients I was helping around and taking orders from were content with my hard-work, but I still decided to keep a mindful watch over a certain trouble-causing girl that was now donning the female version of the uniform as she continued to go through the difficult pace of her temporary work without any breaks.
A long-sleeved white shirt with a little black tie, black pants that reached to a pair of dark brown shoes. There was also a black bow partially covering her cat ears.
Why was she hiding her Faunus' features?
Marcus had been giddy to 'introduce' his new 'part-timer', saying that Blake's interest in 'repaying me for the kindness and the understanding way I had about her' had conquered his attention and urged him to help her.
Of course, I knew it was because of the Cat Ears. Why would anyone hate them?
It had been a shocker when I left the locker room to find out that Blake had indeed decided to 'pay back her debt' by asking for a part-time work at the 'Morning Sip' and I was surprised to realize that she had decided to keep quiet over what had happened back to my house, either out of embarrassment or simply accepting the fact it wouldn't have painted her in a good light to the kind owner of the bar.
Still, I found myself having to deal with the fact I had to keep a mindful eye over what she was doing as a responsibility I had as a senior worker at the establishment. Which was technically extra work for me to go through.
She was completely inexperienced, going quite slow and somewhat shaky with her interactions with the clients, nothing that truly ruined things but it was certainly getting some confused looks from some of the long-standing people that were keen to frequently visit the establishment at that hour.
No mistakes were made for the orders, something that put me at an eased stance regarding my worries of having to deal with an eventual fallout if even the smallest mistake was committed. I went through my own duties without any issue, yet I was given some curious questions from the group I had to serve.
I had imagined some intrigue at the newest 'waitress', yet I was surprised when the inquires were mostly directed at the bow she was wearing. Sure, there were people that were asking about her name and why she was here, the last one being replied with the fact the girl was desperately in need of money (which was true, but didn't bring out any issue related to 'why' she needed it).
Soon my eyes caught something interesting happening to the Faunus as tips started to appear by her hands. Tips weren't a major surprise, but those weren't much common for me to receive… but the girl was easily gaining several hundreds of Liens from her rookie-ish and shy mannerism.
It was enough to put me in some irritated mood, but not enough to warrant a true reaction out of me, knowing full well that there was some kind of 'affection' Vale had for independent female workers.
Nothing specifically explained, but something that certainly had to do with the whole 'young woman trying to make a future from little' picture gaining the interest and the pity of those interested in the stories.
Hours passed and the only pause for the shift began. People weren't around and the building was mostly empty at that point as Marcus had gone to check some documents back in his office and leaving me to face Blake in that thirty-minutes long break.
The Cat Faunus silently took a seat right beside mine as we patiently waited by one of the tables. I blinked, my lips sealed close as I decided that I didn't have anything to say to her and thus I had no reason to begin any conversation.
I wasn't angry, but I was tired and annoyed at her subtle action. I wasn't completely influenced by the recent development of having her work here too, but I was still stomaching the very idea that Marcus had deemed it to be a good idea hiring her too.
Even though it was a student they were talking about. A fugitive one too.
"I'm sorry."
The words happen to sound more like a bell ringing, my eyes glancing momentarily at the Cat Faunus. The young Belladonna had her stare directed at the table itself, unwilling to deign a stare back at me out of nervousness.
"I know that I did force this decision- and that maybe I could have just… waited there rather than do anything about it," She admitted with a gulp, amber eyes glancing up at me for a moment, forced away as the girl found my blank stare a little too much to bear. "But I know for a thing that I can't certainly 'let go' of what had happened."
A sigh, then I stood up and started to walk towards the front door. The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden action and her lips parted.
"W-Where are you going?" She asked with a quiet tone.
I shrugged as I prepared to walk outside. "Going for a walk," I curtly replied, eyes not bothering to glance at her in that moment. "Feel the need to think about stuff."
I didn't deign her further comments as I decided to wander a little in the medium-sized plaza where the bar faced to. People were mostly filling it with their happy appearances, children and young teens enjoying the early hours of the day and chatting all over the place.
It was a mess of noises that surprisingly didn't annoy nor irritate those that were going all over the streets to reach for their workplaces. The square was a good reminder that sometime loud sounds did also help in the search for clarity and inspiration.
I wasn't certainly going to debate to myself whenever or not Blake's decision had been a good one, but I was keen to give some weight over the fact she had indeed accepted to work at the bar for the sake of 'repaying me', which was certainly something I had told her to 'not consider, nor do' back when she had offered.
A silly development, but one that further cemented a very irritation escalation after we were done with this shift. After this first day at work, I was quite sure that the Cat Faunus was planning to go back to my flat and use it as her temporary shelter until the storm she had created with her messy luck.
Which also meant that she was going to leech off from what I had around and force me to once again hide the catnip pot I had to protect the day before. Seriously, what is wrong with that girl?
Faunus followed some of their animalistic traits to a fair degree, but they never 'strayed' too much about those. There was a 'human' limit to their needs as to detach them from their animal counterparts.
Blake was seemingly lacking about most of those, appearing and acting more as a troublesome black cat than a normal young woman. Why, even the fact she literally hand-picked my house and 'deemed' it a good place to return after some yells was enough to point out her cat-like attitude.
I sighed as I took refuge in one of the benches set right by the side of the road, my legs feeling sore and needing some rest after the intense pacing of walking around the bar to provide the orders to the clients and… then I heard them.
"Do you think Blake is fine?" A young voice called out by the nearby alley, causing my eyes to widen up and turn at the origin of the question. I had to tilt a little to stare at the two girls talking to each other.
One had black-hair with red-tips, she was wearing what looked to be a red cape, a black long-sleeved dress that ended in a black skirt with red trim around and in the front. She was also wearing black stockings and black boots.
The other had white-silver hair and light-blue eyes. She was wearing a strapless dress with a gradation from white to pale blue at the hem that ended right by her thighs, layers of tulle under the skirt. A white bell-sleeved bolero was over the dress, a strangely familiar emblem painted on its back.
Were they the 'angry' teammates that Blake had described in her story? From what I could see in the youngest of the two, they hardly seemed to be that much furious about what the Faunus had done.
Maybe, just maybe, if I went to talk to them, I could have the girls 'apologize to each other' and get her out of my life and flat. Yes, that would certainly work and-
"She surely is, Ruby," The pale-skinned girl snorted her eyes filtering some annoyance. "She still has to explain why she is still running if she is truly that much of a good person."
I blinked at the harsh tone the girl had adopted, making me pause in my attempt to approach the two.
"I-It's not that bad. Sun did say that-"
"If she truly means well, then she shouldn't have run away after what happened at the docks," The regal-looking lady scoffed, her stare hardening at the uneasy-looking brunette. "As much as we are aware about, she might as well have lied to Sun for the sake of covering the fact that she was part of the White Fang."
There was a pause and then… red-cape spoke once again.
"There is sure an explanation," Ruby pressed back with some nervousness. "Sun said that she 'was' part of the Fang and… she is no longer with them."
The silver-haired lady huffed and shook her head. "Ruby, I think we can agree that she did run away rather than talk to us," The girl said with an irritated tone. "I know the kind of Faunus she is and I'm sure that she will not be the one to speak to us."
...What did she just say? 'The kind of Faunus she is'?
I felt my stomach churning at what I just heard and I felt like this wasn't certainly something to be 'interested about'. If these girls were truly Blake's teammates… then I think I will make sure of having not heard anything about that.
Actually, I wasn't even aware of their current presence. Nope.
I sighed as I zoned out from the following words, feeling like I had heard more than enough to pass on some judgment on their manners and rejecting the chances of having some peaceful approach to happen anytime soon.
Blinking, I realized that it was about time for the break to come to an end and went back inside the bar without saying anything to what I had just heard.
My stare went for a brief moment at the Cat Faunus, Blake having started to use the broom to clean some dust trails by the corner of the large room and unaware of my return.
Another blink, I felt my lips twitching in a little scowl as I felt uncertain of what to do about what I just heard. I was still angry about what she had done at my poor flat and phone, but I did feel that I was also understanding some more about her reluctance to go back to her 'friends'.
Marcus returned from his office and a few seconds later we were back to deal with the final two hours of the shift, people flocking at the now-reopen 'Morning Sip' and already asking for some snack and beverages.
But what was I supposed to do with the girl?
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The noises coming from the clients was enough to bring Blake's mind back to the tasks at hand.
Working as waitress in this warm bar had been an idea blurted without any major thinking put behind and she had almost back-tracked from it as she had seen the man that was Marcus Cobalt, the owner of the 'Morning Sip', humming about this offer.
It had been spontaneous, her mind still reminding her guilty consciousness that she had to do something about the damage inflicted to the apartment she had for 'good reasons' infiltrated in the last two days.
The yells, the panicked actions committed for the sake of 'survival' and the sheer panic at having to avoid certain streets of Vale to not encounter any of her teammates was enough to prompt her mind out from her usual composure. There wasn't much to recover from the two wacky days that saw her entangled to someone that, by all means, was as average as one could be nowadays.
Sid was angry, the black-haired girl didn't require any loud vocal proof of such thing as his face told her more than enough about the young man's current ill mood. She was certain that she was doing a somewhat decent job for her first day at 'work', but the constant staring the girl was subject to prior to the pause had been enough to put her in a somewhat tense guard around the object of her 'damaging'.
The Faunus wasn't technically afraid of him in an abusive or harmful manner, knowing full well that when he had the opportunity to truly hurt her, he had decided to still use words rather than physical pain to direct his point.
Said words growing crasser the more he would get angrier, but that was something that she could see herself do when an object under her possession was damaged or even destroyed by some stranger.
And that was the very thing that plunged her mind in that guilt, the fact that she could identify herself with the reaction she got back from her 'bad actions'. While there was a 'genuinely good' context behind it all, Blake was aware that some of the escalation could have been easily avoided.
Prime example being the roof she had 'opened' twice, knowing from experience that reparation of a roof is more expensive than repairing a simple broken window. Her mind bringing up the very day her father had to pay some really high price to get the roof of their living room fixed after a fallen tree had crashed onto it.
Her lips clicked silently as the second part of the shift began with… some curious difference from the stare she was receiving. No more as intense as before and certainly not as continuous. At first she had been surprised by the interesting change, her mind quickly picking up a trick in the making as it did sound rather similar to the one that had happened back to the flat.
So the tension persisted for a full ten minutes before her confusion started to get a grip over her mind once more. There was no sign of planned trickery, nor any hint of foul play in the making and… that was giving her even more reasons to be paranoid around the young man.
While she knew that Sid wasn't planning anything dangerous, the sudden lack of attention was duly-noted as something of an anomaly in the waiter's attitude. Something to be concerned about until the shift ended.
In fact, time passed and nothing eventful happened at the establishment, the work-day ending with a calm tone that put even more uneasiness in Blake. Was he planning something for after the job? Maybe something about having her refused inside the flat?
The Cat Faunus was nervous, rather ready to make a run back at the comfy couch and warm living room instead of letting this possible trap spring on her face. It was frustrating… but she had to keep her composure right now.
Marcus smiled kindly as he handed her the surprisingly good pay-check for the five hours she spent there. The girl had thought that the wage was good enough to allow Sid to keep up with the flat's rent, but that she would get this much of a good pay too?
She blinked in awe at the amount she received, quickly putting the gained money in her little wallet without thinking too much about it. She would return the proper money once they had reached the apartment.
If they happened to reach the apartment, if she wasn't barred from entering inside and was 'evicted' by the young man. Her mind was a cacophony of nervousness, panic and unrest.
She wanted answers, she craved for them, and yet Blake was aware that she wouldn't get any in that exact moment. There was silence as they both walked outside the 'Morning Sip' and proceeded to make the trip back to the flat.
The quiet calm was unnerving, enough to have her newly-freed cat ears twitch in irritation at that lack of clues for her future stay at the apartment. They continued to walk, the human hardly seeming to mind the fact she was walking beside him and that… lifted her hope just a little.
But Blake was restrained about showing this, her mind reminding her of the chances of this being a trap, an ambush to have her removed from his normal life. He was attached to the idea, rightfully so as he enjoyed the quiet and loved the lack of troubles she was keen to bring around wherever she went.
There was a sigh from him as his stare fell upon the nearby market shop. Was he thinking of buying some groceries? Should she offer now to pay with her newly-gained money?
Maybe not, she confirmed to her anxious brain, reminding that giving out her money so easily could have been seen as a sign of lack of interest and genuine concern regarding the issue she had to repay. So she waited for his next step before planning to do anything.
He didn't say anything as he suddenly directed his steps away from the line of the street and right toward the little shop. There was just a small crowd of people, enough to bring some life to the normal-looking place.
Sid nodded at one of the cashiers, the young man there smiling and nodding back before giving a glance at her. He blushed, possibly because of her interesting appearance.
It was no secret that she had some beauty to herself thanks to training and careful eating. People in the White Fang had been prime people that had seen this and commented about it, mostly Adam and Ilia but their comments would always end one way or another about her…
Butt.
It was a strangely irritating topic as it had been brought up for an unfair amount of time by both close friends. Nothing that truly warranted a strong vocal response, but enough to put her in some instant nervousness around them.
And while she contemplated about this, the young man beside her went to pick a box containing several milk bags and settling it… in a nearby shopping cart. Amber eyes blinked in surprise as she noticed just now that Sid had picked one before entering inside.
It was something that reminded her that he had truly never minded about her appearance. Even the Faunus features had gotten any reaction out of him and that… left her quite pleased about it. It was nice from time to time to not be considered a good-looking thing to everyone sight and it did remind her of the time she wasn't as developed as now.
Happier times, she grimaced inwardly before being yanked away from her thoughts by someone poking at her shoulder. She blinked and glanced at… Sid.
"Do you have to pick anything yourself?" He asked calmly, nothing there that reminded her of the enraged tone she had to deal with back at the flat. There wasn't anything in his behavior that suggested at it.
And that was worrying Blake to no end.
"I-I think I will pass-"
He sighed. "There isn't no need to give me all the money," His admittance got her floored for a moment. "We can do installments. I think that you should keep some of it and… you can use it."
There was a blink or two before the girl truly replied at that surreal instance.
"Is this a trick?" She snapped quietly. "Are you trying to perhaps have me pay with 'your money' so-"
"As if I would lower myself to that degree," He said with a scoff, interrupting her and causing her eyes to widen up at the annoyance displayed by him. "I admit that I might have been a little harsher than the situation required, but I think you have to admit that the damage caused was all on you. I don't need to exploit that, nor I wish to."
Another pause, more surprise drowning her mind and then, she hummed.
"Do you m-mean it?" Blake stuttered much to her dismay. "Can I buy something without-"
"Go ahead." He said with another heavy sigh and with that positive note, the Cat Faunus found her attention directed at the products displayed by the shop.
Some more time passed, her mind finally delving in the chance of getting some good food and proper hygiene products compared to the ones available in Beacon. While Yang's shampoo was good to keep her hair shining, it did little to get them straight and easy-to-manage and Weiss' own products were forbidden to even be glanced at by the girl's high-standard.
Remembering the Schnee's very passionate speech about her pricey products was enough to leave a bitter taste at what was supposed to be a simple shopping trip for her. What a difficult subject to face, she reckoned with a simple and blank sigh.
Finally, they went back to pay the bought products and soon they were back to the trip to the… flat. She was unsure how to define it now as the word 'home' hardly-fitted with how lacking their current situation was, but she was keen to say that whatever was planned for her stay there, it wouldn't make her Sid's roommate.
Yet she shrugged as the building came to sight and Blake followed the young man inside. Once they had entered the place, Sid gave clear indication of her current stay. There was some minor sternness but also tension in his tone, possibly because the young man was still unsure about what he was trying to accomplish by helping her.
His sudden change of heart still suspicious, but his lack of faux helpfulness giving her little to do about the strange behavior. So the Cat Faunus merely accepted it and was led to her newest 'room'.
Formerly 'Guest' room (more of an unused section that was meant to be some children's room), it was given to her to use until their 'situation was cleared', subtly implying that the full repay of the costs of her damage was going to end her temporary stay to this flat.
Something that somehow left her irritated, but also confused about such irritation. She tested the room provided, hand carefully pressing on the mattress of the bed and… Blake was sure of it.
The couch would do fine for her.
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AN
I think I can hear people preparing the forks about 'going too fast'. No, I'm just setting up the base for some more shenanigans. While Sid's sudden change of attitude might seem too 'good' to be true, I plan for his sternness to be more than rather a tone of his voice.
The installations are going to be salty ones and Blake's usage of the flat's services will be monitored (where morality allows it) and she will not be allowed to have a key to the door.
Small precautions, but those will have major reasons to be when things will… scale up a notch.
So, Weiss is still racist? I think we can all agree that if Blake had ran from the docks after the fight her already shaky trust would have collapsed all at once. The Schnee is hurt and she retaliate in such a manner.
Does it sound strange? I'm working with a hypothetical scenario, so some attitudes will have to change.
If I have to be honest, I hadn't expected things to escalate to that very awkward and terribly itching point.
I had planned to spend some hours at work to avoid having to deal with the newfound bane of my simple life, the Cat Faunus that was Blake Belladonna having proved that she wasn't certainly going to give up with her attempts of leeching off from my current lack of means to contact the authorities.
The black-haired girl had been incredibly sneaky in following silently and undetected me right to the fine establishment I used to spend my time working by, something that gave me even more confirmation that she was indeed a huntress-in-training.
I mean, it wasn't difficult to see her weapon and proclivity to action to understand that she was one, but the actual idea that she gave chase without me knowing was enough to have me accept this fact a little more than before.
I wasn't a huntsman, nor I did consider my senses to be above what many civilians had, but I had been given some 'self-defense' training by both my parents, my Aura was unlocked and I knew about my Semblance. My special ability was, of course, useless about most of my daily life, but it was good to know what it truly was.
The 'Morning Sip' bar was a blossoming activity that had been opened two years ago by the jovial man that was Marcus Cobalt as an attempt to broaden his chances of giving his life a proper improvement.
A family man with two children, both sons, approaching the late stage of teenagehood, he was very attentive to make sure his investment continued to produce enough green to keep up with the growing expenses and the need of preparing some money to leave to his children.
A man that was also playful and understanding with his workers and that was proven right as I started to work for him. The man should have by all means refused the Curriculum I had presented, my grades at Civilian School were mediocre at best and I knew that I was just an inch below the required grade for the job.
It had been desperation, it had been hopefulness, my mind wasn't truly sure of which one had dominated prior to the hiring, but I was certain of one silly thing. I had been overjoyed to learn about the fact I had finally gotten my first job and, much to my glee, the burden it presented were easy to manage in every situation.
I was glad that I had been given the opportunity to have a stable income while living away from Mistral, the final cornerstone that made my independence from home ever so sweet to obtain after years of trying and failing to do so in the Kingdom I came from. Despite being compared to Vale, Mistral was still a struggling nation with what little good jobs were given to the children of those rich and powerful.
And sure, I could have called my parents to obtain some more money to further search for some more job opportunities, but I felt it would have been like borrowing from them without a proper date set and, knowing them, it would have never had one.
It was one of the reasons the man had decided to hire me for his new economic adventure, knowing the perils of leaving the familial home and the struggle of settling down alone and without proper directions.
He had been a farmer, a diligent hard-worker that ended up selling his property to move inside the capital of the Kingdom, away from the dangerous threat the Grimm posed to the people living outside the safe walls of the large settlements.
With a growing family on his back and with me giving a good show of genuine interest at making a good job if taken in, I was accepted in the fold of his establishment and made into something similar to an apprentice to the bearded man.
Time passed, several months going by as I had this job mastered and rendered permanent part of my daily life, and I was turned out to become quite professional at the simple duty of waiter at the bar.
Being the lone worker at the particularly humongous place, my job wasn't actually the easiest out there as speedy reactions were a must for the sake of keeping the service quality the highest possible, but it had possibly the best pay compared to other similar activities.
With Marcus not exploiting his manpower and rewarded hard-work with the right money, making the interest to make some quality work during the various tasks subtly expected and needed, but not truly mandatory to force people to do so.
Truth be told, I appreciated that single line of sternness from him as a proper establishment did require some strong-handed action here and there and I found his capacity with planning the future improvements to be… refreshing and inspiring.
I had yet to meet the man's wife, but if from his lovely comments regarding her, I sure expected to find a lady as kind as the owner was. She had to deal with the house's duties, the woman being strong enough to perfectly balance the daily chores with the responsibility of being a mother of two young teen.
And knowing how hard it had been for mom to deal with me and my two other siblings, it sure was easy to understand and praise the lady for her efforts.
Of course, I wasn't certainly as mature and responsible as back as a few years old. I could still remember the issues I would cause in these specific moments and…
I think I digressed again! Curses!
It's been happening for a while now, my mind wandering far too many times away from the current problem, escaping from what looked to be a perfectly worrying issue to deal about in a normal situation. And this wasn't even a normal situation.
Returning my attention back at my current situation I couldn't help but appear quite distracted as I went through my usual tasks. Passing the plates with slices of the various available cakes, preparing steamy and warm coffee, and making sure that everyone was happy and satisfied with their services.
I was attentive enough to make sure to have all the clients I was helping around and taking orders from were content with my hard-work, but I still decided to keep a mindful watch over a certain trouble-causing girl that was now donning the female version of the uniform as she continued to go through the difficult pace of her temporary work without any breaks.
A long-sleeved white shirt with a little black tie, black pants that reached to a pair of dark brown shoes. There was also a black bow partially covering her cat ears.
Why was she hiding her Faunus' features?
Marcus had been giddy to 'introduce' his new 'part-timer', saying that Blake's interest in 'repaying me for the kindness and the understanding way I had about her' had conquered his attention and urged him to help her.
Of course, I knew it was because of the Cat Ears. Why would anyone hate them?
It had been a shocker when I left the locker room to find out that Blake had indeed decided to 'pay back her debt' by asking for a part-time work at the 'Morning Sip' and I was surprised to realize that she had decided to keep quiet over what had happened back to my house, either out of embarrassment or simply accepting the fact it wouldn't have painted her in a good light to the kind owner of the bar.
Still, I found myself having to deal with the fact I had to keep a mindful eye over what she was doing as a responsibility I had as a senior worker at the establishment. Which was technically extra work for me to go through.
She was completely inexperienced, going quite slow and somewhat shaky with her interactions with the clients, nothing that truly ruined things but it was certainly getting some confused looks from some of the long-standing people that were keen to frequently visit the establishment at that hour.
No mistakes were made for the orders, something that put me at an eased stance regarding my worries of having to deal with an eventual fallout if even the smallest mistake was committed. I went through my own duties without any issue, yet I was given some curious questions from the group I had to serve.
I had imagined some intrigue at the newest 'waitress', yet I was surprised when the inquires were mostly directed at the bow she was wearing. Sure, there were people that were asking about her name and why she was here, the last one being replied with the fact the girl was desperately in need of money (which was true, but didn't bring out any issue related to 'why' she needed it).
Soon my eyes caught something interesting happening to the Faunus as tips started to appear by her hands. Tips weren't a major surprise, but those weren't much common for me to receive… but the girl was easily gaining several hundreds of Liens from her rookie-ish and shy mannerism.
It was enough to put me in some irritated mood, but not enough to warrant a true reaction out of me, knowing full well that there was some kind of 'affection' Vale had for independent female workers.
Nothing specifically explained, but something that certainly had to do with the whole 'young woman trying to make a future from little' picture gaining the interest and the pity of those interested in the stories.
Hours passed and the only pause for the shift began. People weren't around and the building was mostly empty at that point as Marcus had gone to check some documents back in his office and leaving me to face Blake in that thirty-minutes long break.
The Cat Faunus silently took a seat right beside mine as we patiently waited by one of the tables. I blinked, my lips sealed close as I decided that I didn't have anything to say to her and thus I had no reason to begin any conversation.
I wasn't angry, but I was tired and annoyed at her subtle action. I wasn't completely influenced by the recent development of having her work here too, but I was still stomaching the very idea that Marcus had deemed it to be a good idea hiring her too.
Even though it was a student they were talking about. A fugitive one too.
"I'm sorry."
The words happen to sound more like a bell ringing, my eyes glancing momentarily at the Cat Faunus. The young Belladonna had her stare directed at the table itself, unwilling to deign a stare back at me out of nervousness.
"I know that I did force this decision- and that maybe I could have just… waited there rather than do anything about it," She admitted with a gulp, amber eyes glancing up at me for a moment, forced away as the girl found my blank stare a little too much to bear. "But I know for a thing that I can't certainly 'let go' of what had happened."
A sigh, then I stood up and started to walk towards the front door. The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden action and her lips parted.
"W-Where are you going?" She asked with a quiet tone.
I shrugged as I prepared to walk outside. "Going for a walk," I curtly replied, eyes not bothering to glance at her in that moment. "Feel the need to think about stuff."
I didn't deign her further comments as I decided to wander a little in the medium-sized plaza where the bar faced to. People were mostly filling it with their happy appearances, children and young teens enjoying the early hours of the day and chatting all over the place.
It was a mess of noises that surprisingly didn't annoy nor irritate those that were going all over the streets to reach for their workplaces. The square was a good reminder that sometime loud sounds did also help in the search for clarity and inspiration.
I wasn't certainly going to debate to myself whenever or not Blake's decision had been a good one, but I was keen to give some weight over the fact she had indeed accepted to work at the bar for the sake of 'repaying me', which was certainly something I had told her to 'not consider, nor do' back when she had offered.
A silly development, but one that further cemented a very irritation escalation after we were done with this shift. After this first day at work, I was quite sure that the Cat Faunus was planning to go back to my flat and use it as her temporary shelter until the storm she had created with her messy luck.
Which also meant that she was going to leech off from what I had around and force me to once again hide the catnip pot I had to protect the day before. Seriously, what is wrong with that girl?
Faunus followed some of their animalistic traits to a fair degree, but they never 'strayed' too much about those. There was a 'human' limit to their needs as to detach them from their animal counterparts.
Blake was seemingly lacking about most of those, appearing and acting more as a troublesome black cat than a normal young woman. Why, even the fact she literally hand-picked my house and 'deemed' it a good place to return after some yells was enough to point out her cat-like attitude.
I sighed as I took refuge in one of the benches set right by the side of the road, my legs feeling sore and needing some rest after the intense pacing of walking around the bar to provide the orders to the clients and… then I heard them.
"Do you think Blake is fine?" A young voice called out by the nearby alley, causing my eyes to widen up and turn at the origin of the question. I had to tilt a little to stare at the two girls talking to each other.
One had black-hair with red-tips, she was wearing what looked to be a red cape, a black long-sleeved dress that ended in a black skirt with red trim around and in the front. She was also wearing black stockings and black boots.
The other had white-silver hair and light-blue eyes. She was wearing a strapless dress with a gradation from white to pale blue at the hem that ended right by her thighs, layers of tulle under the skirt. A white bell-sleeved bolero was over the dress, a strangely familiar emblem painted on its back.
Were they the 'angry' teammates that Blake had described in her story? From what I could see in the youngest of the two, they hardly seemed to be that much furious about what the Faunus had done.
Maybe, just maybe, if I went to talk to them, I could have the girls 'apologize to each other' and get her out of my life and flat. Yes, that would certainly work and-
"She surely is, Ruby," The pale-skinned girl snorted her eyes filtering some annoyance. "She still has to explain why she is still running if she is truly that much of a good person."
I blinked at the harsh tone the girl had adopted, making me pause in my attempt to approach the two.
"I-It's not that bad. Sun did say that-"
"If she truly means well, then she shouldn't have run away after what happened at the docks," The regal-looking lady scoffed, her stare hardening at the uneasy-looking brunette. "As much as we are aware about, she might as well have lied to Sun for the sake of covering the fact that she was part of the White Fang."
There was a pause and then… red-cape spoke once again.
"There is sure an explanation," Ruby pressed back with some nervousness. "Sun said that she 'was' part of the Fang and… she is no longer with them."
The silver-haired lady huffed and shook her head. "Ruby, I think we can agree that she did run away rather than talk to us," The girl said with an irritated tone. "I know the kind of Faunus she is and I'm sure that she will not be the one to speak to us."
...What did she just say? 'The kind of Faunus she is'?
I felt my stomach churning at what I just heard and I felt like this wasn't certainly something to be 'interested about'. If these girls were truly Blake's teammates… then I think I will make sure of having not heard anything about that.
Actually, I wasn't even aware of their current presence. Nope.
I sighed as I zoned out from the following words, feeling like I had heard more than enough to pass on some judgment on their manners and rejecting the chances of having some peaceful approach to happen anytime soon.
Blinking, I realized that it was about time for the break to come to an end and went back inside the bar without saying anything to what I had just heard.
My stare went for a brief moment at the Cat Faunus, Blake having started to use the broom to clean some dust trails by the corner of the large room and unaware of my return.
Another blink, I felt my lips twitching in a little scowl as I felt uncertain of what to do about what I just heard. I was still angry about what she had done at my poor flat and phone, but I did feel that I was also understanding some more about her reluctance to go back to her 'friends'.
Marcus returned from his office and a few seconds later we were back to deal with the final two hours of the shift, people flocking at the now-reopen 'Morning Sip' and already asking for some snack and beverages.
But what was I supposed to do with the girl?
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The noises coming from the clients was enough to bring Blake's mind back to the tasks at hand.
Working as waitress in this warm bar had been an idea blurted without any major thinking put behind and she had almost back-tracked from it as she had seen the man that was Marcus Cobalt, the owner of the 'Morning Sip', humming about this offer.
It had been spontaneous, her mind still reminding her guilty consciousness that she had to do something about the damage inflicted to the apartment she had for 'good reasons' infiltrated in the last two days.
The yells, the panicked actions committed for the sake of 'survival' and the sheer panic at having to avoid certain streets of Vale to not encounter any of her teammates was enough to prompt her mind out from her usual composure. There wasn't much to recover from the two wacky days that saw her entangled to someone that, by all means, was as average as one could be nowadays.
Sid was angry, the black-haired girl didn't require any loud vocal proof of such thing as his face told her more than enough about the young man's current ill mood. She was certain that she was doing a somewhat decent job for her first day at 'work', but the constant staring the girl was subject to prior to the pause had been enough to put her in a somewhat tense guard around the object of her 'damaging'.
The Faunus wasn't technically afraid of him in an abusive or harmful manner, knowing full well that when he had the opportunity to truly hurt her, he had decided to still use words rather than physical pain to direct his point.
Said words growing crasser the more he would get angrier, but that was something that she could see herself do when an object under her possession was damaged or even destroyed by some stranger.
And that was the very thing that plunged her mind in that guilt, the fact that she could identify herself with the reaction she got back from her 'bad actions'. While there was a 'genuinely good' context behind it all, Blake was aware that some of the escalation could have been easily avoided.
Prime example being the roof she had 'opened' twice, knowing from experience that reparation of a roof is more expensive than repairing a simple broken window. Her mind bringing up the very day her father had to pay some really high price to get the roof of their living room fixed after a fallen tree had crashed onto it.
Her lips clicked silently as the second part of the shift began with… some curious difference from the stare she was receiving. No more as intense as before and certainly not as continuous. At first she had been surprised by the interesting change, her mind quickly picking up a trick in the making as it did sound rather similar to the one that had happened back to the flat.
So the tension persisted for a full ten minutes before her confusion started to get a grip over her mind once more. There was no sign of planned trickery, nor any hint of foul play in the making and… that was giving her even more reasons to be paranoid around the young man.
While she knew that Sid wasn't planning anything dangerous, the sudden lack of attention was duly-noted as something of an anomaly in the waiter's attitude. Something to be concerned about until the shift ended.
In fact, time passed and nothing eventful happened at the establishment, the work-day ending with a calm tone that put even more uneasiness in Blake. Was he planning something for after the job? Maybe something about having her refused inside the flat?
The Cat Faunus was nervous, rather ready to make a run back at the comfy couch and warm living room instead of letting this possible trap spring on her face. It was frustrating… but she had to keep her composure right now.
Marcus smiled kindly as he handed her the surprisingly good pay-check for the five hours she spent there. The girl had thought that the wage was good enough to allow Sid to keep up with the flat's rent, but that she would get this much of a good pay too?
She blinked in awe at the amount she received, quickly putting the gained money in her little wallet without thinking too much about it. She would return the proper money once they had reached the apartment.
If they happened to reach the apartment, if she wasn't barred from entering inside and was 'evicted' by the young man. Her mind was a cacophony of nervousness, panic and unrest.
She wanted answers, she craved for them, and yet Blake was aware that she wouldn't get any in that exact moment. There was silence as they both walked outside the 'Morning Sip' and proceeded to make the trip back to the flat.
The quiet calm was unnerving, enough to have her newly-freed cat ears twitch in irritation at that lack of clues for her future stay at the apartment. They continued to walk, the human hardly seeming to mind the fact she was walking beside him and that… lifted her hope just a little.
But Blake was restrained about showing this, her mind reminding her of the chances of this being a trap, an ambush to have her removed from his normal life. He was attached to the idea, rightfully so as he enjoyed the quiet and loved the lack of troubles she was keen to bring around wherever she went.
There was a sigh from him as his stare fell upon the nearby market shop. Was he thinking of buying some groceries? Should she offer now to pay with her newly-gained money?
Maybe not, she confirmed to her anxious brain, reminding that giving out her money so easily could have been seen as a sign of lack of interest and genuine concern regarding the issue she had to repay. So she waited for his next step before planning to do anything.
He didn't say anything as he suddenly directed his steps away from the line of the street and right toward the little shop. There was just a small crowd of people, enough to bring some life to the normal-looking place.
Sid nodded at one of the cashiers, the young man there smiling and nodding back before giving a glance at her. He blushed, possibly because of her interesting appearance.
It was no secret that she had some beauty to herself thanks to training and careful eating. People in the White Fang had been prime people that had seen this and commented about it, mostly Adam and Ilia but their comments would always end one way or another about her…
Butt.
It was a strangely irritating topic as it had been brought up for an unfair amount of time by both close friends. Nothing that truly warranted a strong vocal response, but enough to put her in some instant nervousness around them.
And while she contemplated about this, the young man beside her went to pick a box containing several milk bags and settling it… in a nearby shopping cart. Amber eyes blinked in surprise as she noticed just now that Sid had picked one before entering inside.
It was something that reminded her that he had truly never minded about her appearance. Even the Faunus features had gotten any reaction out of him and that… left her quite pleased about it. It was nice from time to time to not be considered a good-looking thing to everyone sight and it did remind her of the time she wasn't as developed as now.
Happier times, she grimaced inwardly before being yanked away from her thoughts by someone poking at her shoulder. She blinked and glanced at… Sid.
"Do you have to pick anything yourself?" He asked calmly, nothing there that reminded her of the enraged tone she had to deal with back at the flat. There wasn't anything in his behavior that suggested at it.
And that was worrying Blake to no end.
"I-I think I will pass-"
He sighed. "There isn't no need to give me all the money," His admittance got her floored for a moment. "We can do installments. I think that you should keep some of it and… you can use it."
There was a blink or two before the girl truly replied at that surreal instance.
"Is this a trick?" She snapped quietly. "Are you trying to perhaps have me pay with 'your money' so-"
"As if I would lower myself to that degree," He said with a scoff, interrupting her and causing her eyes to widen up at the annoyance displayed by him. "I admit that I might have been a little harsher than the situation required, but I think you have to admit that the damage caused was all on you. I don't need to exploit that, nor I wish to."
Another pause, more surprise drowning her mind and then, she hummed.
"Do you m-mean it?" Blake stuttered much to her dismay. "Can I buy something without-"
"Go ahead." He said with another heavy sigh and with that positive note, the Cat Faunus found her attention directed at the products displayed by the shop.
Some more time passed, her mind finally delving in the chance of getting some good food and proper hygiene products compared to the ones available in Beacon. While Yang's shampoo was good to keep her hair shining, it did little to get them straight and easy-to-manage and Weiss' own products were forbidden to even be glanced at by the girl's high-standard.
Remembering the Schnee's very passionate speech about her pricey products was enough to leave a bitter taste at what was supposed to be a simple shopping trip for her. What a difficult subject to face, she reckoned with a simple and blank sigh.
Finally, they went back to pay the bought products and soon they were back to the trip to the… flat. She was unsure how to define it now as the word 'home' hardly-fitted with how lacking their current situation was, but she was keen to say that whatever was planned for her stay there, it wouldn't make her Sid's roommate.
Yet she shrugged as the building came to sight and Blake followed the young man inside. Once they had entered the place, Sid gave clear indication of her current stay. There was some minor sternness but also tension in his tone, possibly because the young man was still unsure about what he was trying to accomplish by helping her.
His sudden change of heart still suspicious, but his lack of faux helpfulness giving her little to do about the strange behavior. So the Cat Faunus merely accepted it and was led to her newest 'room'.
Formerly 'Guest' room (more of an unused section that was meant to be some children's room), it was given to her to use until their 'situation was cleared', subtly implying that the full repay of the costs of her damage was going to end her temporary stay to this flat.
Something that somehow left her irritated, but also confused about such irritation. She tested the room provided, hand carefully pressing on the mattress of the bed and… Blake was sure of it.
The couch would do fine for her.
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AN
I think I can hear people preparing the forks about 'going too fast'. No, I'm just setting up the base for some more shenanigans. While Sid's sudden change of attitude might seem too 'good' to be true, I plan for his sternness to be more than rather a tone of his voice.
The installations are going to be salty ones and Blake's usage of the flat's services will be monitored (where morality allows it) and she will not be allowed to have a key to the door.
Small precautions, but those will have major reasons to be when things will… scale up a notch.
So, Weiss is still racist? I think we can all agree that if Blake had ran from the docks after the fight her already shaky trust would have collapsed all at once. The Schnee is hurt and she retaliate in such a manner.
Does it sound strange? I'm working with a hypothetical scenario, so some attitudes will have to change.
I only wish for some order
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 4: I only wish for some order
If there is something I truly despised as my worst flaw, it was how easily I would become a softie when I heard a solid sad story about someone going through hard times. It was a little something that had been there ever since my childhood, an event which I will not digress myself to explain caused this to become something of a terrible weakness of mine.
I had been used back during my school years, I had been used during my brief time as a sport player and then I found myself dabbling at the realization that I hadn't truly taken a 'polite and functional being' within my humble abode.
Imagine waking up to prepare the breakfast, brain still failing to grasp the concept of 'waking up' as of yet and then… entering inside one of the messiest displays in which my poor living room could have been turned in a matter of a few hours spent by my unaware self in blissful and ignorant sleep.
It took me some monumental effort to not outright drop the large plate holding two steamy cups of coffee I had just finished to prepare. There were some cookies too, but I think my mind was experiencing the divine mix of anger and horror as I found the entire place littered with Blake's clothes.
Well, mostly littered. The entirety of her clothes were all left in utter disorganization, scattered across couches and sofa while the 'sleeping beauty' enjoyed the lack of painful sunlight thanks to the curtained windows.
I could see her face, the Cat Faunus sporting a satisfied smile as she snuggled her face onto the pillow I was sure came from 'her' room, the sheets covering her lower body originating from the same room and… I froze for a moment as I realized a very shocking detail about her current state of sleep.
While the girl looked to be in heaven from the relaxed expression on her face, the sofa and the clothes she had decided to use as a sleeping wear proved that she had indeed gone through another terrible night cycle.
What truly got me particularly embarrassed, morality being a cruel mistress, was 'what' kind of night-wear she was still using. At first, I thought of it as a functional and slightly-conservative night-gown, having seen some distractedly while going through numerous shopping sprees in my life because of my mother's and sister's interest in fashion once or twice in a while.
Of course, that had been in the past and… I was proven that my first assumption was possibly the wrongest I could have ever guessed. In fact, I was stunned still as I realized that the 'conservative pajama' was none other than a revealing kimono that was partly unfolded to show… some curves.
The curves were evident, the pale skin-color bringing them up to an interesting but somewhat degree. I turned away from the embarrassing sight with a full-blush, my attention returning to the now shaky plate I was holding and I was quick to urge my unnerved mind to redirect the focus to the nearby small table.
I was slow, my pace a little stiffy as I settled the plate down and freeing myself of a limiting burden, one that had forbidden me until now to pick up a pillow in one of the couches and yeet it at the sleeping Faunus.
It slammed softly but true on her unfortunately unaware face, the sudden 'attack' being more than enough to get her to jump out from her pseudo-comatose state to a fully-awake and hyperventilating one.
Eyes wide open, darting from one side to another to try and see the cause of this unexpected disturbance, and finally she spotted me. Golden eyes bore onto my blue eyes and… she frowned in minor displeasure at the fact I was the sole possible responsible for this rough awakening.
"Wha-" Her words dying before those could even start to make a coherent speech, her reaction ended by the fact I now had my arms crossing close to my chest as my eyes turned to the closest of the two couches and Blake followed my stare to the ridiculous situation that was caused by her disorder.
Annoyance slowly simmered down at that new sight, in its stead a growing sense of cool realization washing over her sleepy body as she started to grasp the true reason behind her abrupt awakening. The Faunus looked nervous, possibly because she actually was a normally-ordered person compared to my first assessment and…
I genuinely hoped that it wasn't nothing else other than that new guess.
She was silent for a while, her glance lingering longer through the 'battlefield' she had created and she sighed.
"I will fix this," Blake replied to the mounting group of inquiries coming from my stern staring, her cat ears flapping down in discomfort. I could almost hear her add 'I promise' to that curt answer, but she caught herself from sounding too apologetic.
At least she had noticed how I dislike when people repeated apologies without meaning them. It was so unbecoming and annoying to have someone say 'I am sorry' and then go to make another mess after the one they made.
Hopefully, today was going to be as tame as it had been yesterday.
Facing another 'Day One' wasn't certainly something I wanted to deal anytime soon, especially with how many expenses I still had to pay. The carpenter had gone to fix back the roof's issue and I spent the time the man used to work on the damage to glare at the barely concealed girl.
Blake had taken 'refuge' in the very sofa she had turned up to sleep onto yesterday, trying to appear as naively innocent as she could. An act that 'sadly' didn't get any more freebies out of me as I did mention that I would still take some money from her wage.
A solid 25% to be exact, the amount of the pay offered at the bar more than enough to have her survive even with that daunting drain for the problems she had caused in the last two days. It was almost impressive how someone could do so much of a grand issue as the one the Faunus had caused in the span of almost 48 hours.
"Why are you not sleeping in your room?" I asked with a somewhat calm tone, some of my irritation still passing through much to my inner chiding and the girl's flinch. The lack of caffeine was a serious debilitation to my capacity to compose my emotions with how I planned to speak and right now, my anger wasn't certainly hiding away.
I was just a little pissed, irked even at the fact I woke up to such a disgusting lack of capacity in keeping some orders. I wasn't even mad that she had gone for the couch, with all due respect finding it unimportant compared to the state I found the living room mere moments ago.
"The mattress is too stiff," She commented slowly, almost like as if she was keeping track of her words before giving them out. She was thinking before blurting and that was good in my book.
"You could have asked if there was another mattress," I pointed out with a sigh, this time my stern posture breaking to allow me the chance of grasping the inviting cup of coffee. The first sip was enough to bring some more energy to my body. "I think I have two new ones lying around somewhere."
She nodded, head slightly tilted towards in shame. "I didn't want to bother," Blake admitted with a frail tone. "I thought that it would have sounded a little… demanding from my part."
I blinked, glancing at her in confusion as she averted her sight away from me. Now, that was actually a first.
"Did you forget what I said yesterday?" I found myself asking numbly. "I admit I went overboard with words and manners, I think you can easily understand why I had to be harsh and-"
I paused, flinching a little as she didn't even bother turning her sight up to match with mine. I wasn't expecting her to show defiance at my words, but I truly wanted to make it clear I didn't truly hate her… completely. I was hating her for her recent actions, which had impacted severely on my daily life and put a temporary drain to my stable income.
This was difficult to watch in silence and inactively, and terribly familiar for how similar it did look to a certain painful instance of my childhood. I hummed, ignoring the little crave for a second sip from my mug as my free hand wandered over the untouched cup as I slowly walked up to Blake with it.
The Faunus didn't react much at the fact I was approaching her, the only tale-telling sign being the way her cat-like ears were twitching. Attentive, cautious and somewhat curious about what I had planned for her to 'endure'.
I sighed again, this time bending a little to offer the cup at the student and… she huffed.
"I don't need it-"
"Please," I pressed on with a tense but soft tone, feeling my little irritation vanish in a moment of… hesitation. "I understand you are tired and need some strength."
She still looked a little reluctant at my offer, but now her attention was directed at the enticing mug waiting for her to be held and drunk from. A blink, then two and… still nothing. She was staring at it, with notable interest, but a general unwillingness to try and grasp it in her hands.
I sighed one last time. "I will help you fix things up," I promised in an attempt to push her in the right direction. "I suppose I can spare some time for-"
"I-I don't need your help," Blake replied with a nervous note. "I… I know I did mistakes and- I'm glad that you are at least giving me a chance of paying back the issues I had caused."
There was an uneasy pause as she let her expression relax just an instant, flashing a tiny grateful smile before returning her focus at the cup. Instead of resuming the stare competition with the object, her hands tentatively went to wrap around the cup, slowly but momentarily touching my fingers as I slipped my hold of the object to her and… she nodded.
"Thank you."
Two simple words that gave me some relief as she then proceeded to bring the cup close to her lips, the girl taking a quick sip before flinching and let out a soft cough. I blinked, a simple snort leaving mouth cut short at the sight.
"I can bring some sugar if you want-"
"I-It's fine," She let out another quick cough. "I like it… bitter." Finally, a small smirk forming on her face. "Still, thank you for the offer."
It was all what I wanted to hear and, after that brief moment of genuine re-approach with each other, a finalization of the details that made our strange situation… strange, we proceeded to give a thorough clean-up of the living room.
Her clothes were folded in a thinly-made stack by the sofa. Stockings, vest, shirt, pants, ribbon, arm-wears and…
Underwear.
I was the one that found out personally that the girl was indeed sleeping without anything beside that revealing kimono. It didn't help that she then caught me freezing me a moment with her panties before me, face flushing a bright red as she mechanically took them away from my hands and turned away from my mortified expression.
Now wasn't that the proper awkward way to start this brand new day in Vale with someone as peculiar as was Blake Belladonna?
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If someone had told Blake just a week or two ago that she would have ended up living together with a 'mostly' complete stranger, the Cat Faunus would have easily scoffed at them, turned around, and waltzed away from their sight with her own eyes drowning in her little books.
It was certainly a sudden change that the girl had yet to stomach to the fullest, the fact that she was now forced to stay away from possibly the safest place in Vale. Beacon was homely but the reason that had driven her to seek out asylum there was because of the strong walls and good people 'ruling' over it.
The Headmaster was enigmatic with his mysterious ways, yet Blake knew of his diplomatic and appeasing tones from her father's past talks about him. A curious elder that wouldn't indulge much in breaking his own rules for the sake of something interesting happening around him.
Like a mature child with incredible political power and hold, Ozpin was still a trustworthy figure that certainly knew how to keep his own 'fief' well-protected and secured from any infiltration by external groups.
She could remember the annoyance displayed by Sienna when numerous attempts of that kind had yielded nothing if not backfiring results against the organization, the man being far too cautious to allow large teams with 'peculiar' upbringings and thus foiling any situation of the kind.
Yet Blake's case had been particular and surely intriguing enough to catch the headmaster's interest and subsequent intention of allowing her to enroll to the school. She could remember being captured after advancing the request for a secret meeting, panic surging when the officers sent to her temporary hideout said something about jail-time and a trial.
It had been some of the most difficult moments and she would be lying if she didn't say how it had been a tense night at the police department back then, but then the man had decided to give her some trust and the Faunus was accepted in the Huntsmen Academy with some categorical conditions to keep up with, which she had been more than glad to uphold for the sake of not getting kidnapped back by any of Adam's henchmen and brought before him… to face a trial for her unexpected 'betrayal'.
Loyalists were everywhere nowadays, in the streets, in the docks, in the factories and in the farms, all ready to swear fealty to a 'good cause' like the one pushed by the White Fang. The lack of initiatives from the councils proving to be a good way to quickly recruit dissatisfied members of the numerous Faunus-led communities in their folds, increasing their ranks to a number three-times bigger than the amount present before Sienna had assumed the leadership.
Yet, just like her tenure in the group had soured before the violence and aggressive tones adopted by Sienna's authoritarian rule, the little peace the girl had gained by becoming a member of Team RWBY was shattered in a moment of emotional distress.
As much as she had tried to keep things bottled up regarding her hidden features and her own origins, being around someone as pompous and racist as Weiss Schnee proved to be far more than the Faunus could have endured. It wasn't just possible and her hopes of four to five years of minimal presence over the political landscape unfolding around Remnant were all crushed by the little faith ruined by the very cheeky moron she had allied with two days ago.
Sun was somewhat… easygoing. Kind of like Yang, but terribly easy to push over with how he was crushing on her. It was flattering to a fair degree, the attention he was giving her being rather acceptable compared to the obsessive one promoted by Adam.
Even in a topic of friendship, Sun felt more trustworthy and… less creepy than Ilia. The Chameleon Faunus was sweet and quite accepting of her different views, but she was still quite keen to give her some of the weirdest looks ever.
Something that had been a major thorn to any major 'closeness' they could have developed, but not enough to bring it all to a painful end. Cutting down her connection with Adam had left her hurt, but the path he had taken had been more than enough to get her to accept the need to put at end to that failing diplomatic approach.
But the fact that now Ilia could consider an enemy? The mere thought was enough to wager a large bit of her early-morning musings. Almost enough to even reduce the embarrassment of that rather unwanted discovery proclaimed by her 'creditor'.
She blamed tiredness, yet she wouldn't be lying to herself. Even when Sid had asked about the reason behind the mess she had left on his wake while folding her vest in a calm but steady way, the girl had been hesitant to give out the real motivation.
Nightmares had been a thing for a long time now, but not was much as they had been in the last few days. Her unconscious reaction was far stronger than the meek ones she would have back in her team's room and the reasons behind such change was actually easy to point out from small details.
With Yang's easy-to-hear snores, Ruby dragging her homework up to late, and with Weiss giving some annoying-to-listen lectures to the young team leader, Blake had never experienced a state of complete sleep at Beacon, her senses keeping a state of partial awareness of what was around her.
And that was until she had fallen onto that delightful sofa decorating the young man's living room.
If Sid snored or not, she wouldn't be having trouble to deal with it as his roof was still far from the living room, far enough to allow her moments of silent rest to be wasted in… bad memories that didn't leave her alone for just a moment.
Vivid memories and altered scenes of her pasts that haunted her tired mind, keeping her from fully attaining a proper sleep in that perfect settlement she got in this ideally-good predicament. While she was indeed forced to work for some place in Vale, the lack of violence (human, Faunus and Grimm) was actually proving to be a decent change to her livelihood as her work was… easy.
It wasn't dull enough as the shift was perfectly halved to allow some time to not lose herself in the tasks provided and the pay was nothing to truly scoff at. It was proof that Marcus Cobalt wasn't racist, or that at least he didn't mind having a Faunus worker and giving them same rights as human ones.
It was pleasant to be reminded that there were some good people in Vale, that the case provided by Cardin's mere existence was actually an extremely-small minority compared to the large approval of equal rights with Faunus-kind. People were receptive for change, but there weren't serious rules that established that.
Blake was fine with this, but she couldn't help but be a little miffed by the fact she wasn't guaranteed in a legal way, that her position was offered out of kindness and good-will. Her musings cut brief as the walk through Vale to reach the 'Morning Sip' was as uneventful as the last two times.
The owner greeted them both chirpily, Blake smiling at the older man while Sid merely granted him a quick 'good-morning' before they both went to the locker rooms. In a normal circumstance, the mixed area would have caused major problems because of their different sexes, yet the fact that the changing to the uniform required just a tiny bit skin exposure, made the experience bearable if not forgettable.
The human finished first, the elements of his clothes as a waiter being less than the one the Faunus had to put on. The uniform itself had been a surprise, part of her expecting for her to be subjected to some 'Neko-Maid' situation rather than being given a professional look and… she was happy about what she got.
It wasn't the best work in Remnant, but she was happy to say that it was definitively better than boringly spending her days studying things she knew about in Beacon or being restricted by the limited air allowed by the White Fang.
Here she was Blake Belladonna, simple waitress in a morning-only bar. She was deemed a young woman, not a student, nor a fodder to waste in the 'long and shining path of the revolution.' She wasn't a pawn to some mastermind and she wasn't truly forced to do anything.
The girl chose this road and she was eager to responsibly go through this and… there was just a worry that had superseded anything she had been having nightmares about. A new concern that was as silly as rightfully proposed by her mind.
What happens when she was done with her debt? Would she be allowed to stay?
Naively, she had expected for Sid to bring up the topic either earlier in the morning or even before by yesterday's dinner, but the young man had been mostly focused on the present rather than in the future.
While his intentions were genuinely good (or at least, she hoped so), he didn't have any reason to worry about the time the debt she had for him was exhausted by the installments planned. And even though such situation wouldn't happen anytime soon as of how 'little' he was taking from her wage, she couldn't help but wonder about what would come next.
Would the Cat Faunus have her strained relationship with her team solved by the time? Would she have the means to 'survive' by the time this was all over?
Will this ever be over, the peace and the calm she was so happily enjoying?
She couldn't help but appreciate the rather selfish need of preserving the new status quo, it was far too decent and acceptable, inspiring and endearing for someone as tired as Blake.
The girl sighed as she left the locker room with some heavy thoughts to develop during her mindless working, her hands pressing the door behind her close as she shifted her attention back to the now-open activity, going back to the counter as she prepared with Sid to accommodate the first clients.
She sported a tiny smile, her mind reminding her that she had to give a positive impression to those she was going to take orders from and… then her entire facade dropped in a shocked jaw-drop.
Gone was her composure, gone was her little calm of mind as the very first individual to walk inside the building was someone she was familiar with and very keen to avoid for the time being because of how she had 'took care' of him back at the docks.
Smiling eye-to-eye in a rather cheeky way, blue eyes exploring briefly all over the bar while he stretched his arms to the side and giving a full flex of his muscles, and abs freely exposed by his open shirt, Sun Wukong looked rather unaware of the incredibly (un)lucky predicament he had stumbled upon.
Maybe it was karma, she should have been a little less rude to the energetic Monkey Faunus and then, if things couldn't get any worse in that very horrible development, Sid decided to approach the still-unaware Haven student.
"Good morning, sir," The human said with a polite tone, catching the attention of the blond. "And welcome to 'Morning Sip'."
The smile brightened a little more at the polite greeting. "Thanks man," He replied mirthfully. "I just wanted to try out this place as I've heard good things from some friends of mine and… is it possible for me to browse a little from the menu before-"
The paper containing the entire list of sweet snacks and other delicacies for that early hour was provided by Sid to the slightly-surprised Monkey Faunus. "It is actually how we prefer clients to pick," The young man replied with his professional voice. "It's best to know a little more about ingredients and the way some of the food is made for the sake of avoiding causing trouble to those with intolerance to any of the ingredients."
Blake was quick to exploit the opportunity to get herself away from sight, ducking behind the counter and… getting a curious glance from Marcus, the man noticing her action and casting a confused glance her way.
The Faunus flinched and mouthed a 'I will explain later' at the owner, his eyebrow lifting in a curious fashion before he turned his attention back at the coming clients. Several were frequent ones but, instead of finding relief in the mass of people coming inside, the Belladonna felt herself paling as she spotted a familiar blonde cowlick standing uniquely among the other people and…
Yes, her eyes weren't deceiving her as a slightly-annoyed Yang Xiao-Long made her way towards Sun. The Monkey Faunus pausing the interaction with the waiter to wave at Blake's girlfriend and… getting a snort back from the fellow blonde.
"Morning, Goldi-"
"Can it, Monkey-boy," The Xiao Long shot back with a tired sigh. "It's too early in the morning to be this cheerful and… I'm not in the mood for any fun dates right now."
There was a pause, the grin on the boy's face widening at the comment. "C'mon, it's not just a 'date'-"
"Before you thrown in your crappy ideas," Yang interrupted the fellow student, turning her lilac eyes at Sid. "Could you please get me a cup of coffee? I need something strong enough to kick myself awake."
The young man nodded without much of a reply to the girl's request, turning a moment to Sun. "I will take your order once hers is done." He bowed a little as to apologize and accepting the quick nod from the Faunus before going back to the counter and… noticing what was going on with Blake.
He blinked once, then twice. "What are you doing?" He whispered with some annoyance, her whole face cringing at how close the two familiar people were to her current cover right now. That wasn't the best scenario. Not at all.
"They are 'that' friends I told you about." She replied quickly but still whispering, afraid of getting the two hotheaded teens on her trail if she was too loud. Sid blinked again but this time gave her a slow nod before picking the prepared coffee mug and walking back to the table.
The Cat Faunus had been distracted by the quiet discussion the two were having, Yang appearing rather deflated compared to her usual self, the cheeky tones and the easygoing attitude having disappeared from her current self. Quite surprising and… worth a quick flinch as her mind pointed out it had happened right as she had bolted away at the docks.
Her fault? Possibly.
Was it possible to mend the damage? She was unsure.
The blonde thanked the waiter before taking a long sip from her mug, eyes almost closing in bliss as she took in the bitterness of the normal coffee, a little smile gracing her face as she commented happily about the 'best coffee she had ever drunk' which was… rather difficult to judge about as a compliment.
Yang never took a cup of coffee in the last few weeks and her knowledge over her teammate was… incredibly limited. That's why she just accepted it as a decent comment and ignored the detail altogether.
Then Sid went to take Sun's orders, returning to the counter and, while the order was being prepared, deigned her an inquisitive look. It wasn't difficult to understand that he wanted some more answers about the predicament she was facing, possibly also names and descriptions of people she was currently avoiding.
More work for Blake, but maybe it was about time for the girl some more details about her situation. The man had yet to show hints of serious disdain and his complaints were directed at legitimately damaging actions she had committed against him.
It wouldn't do well for her to continue with her lone wolf attitude, denying herself an ally in those trying times would be akin to shot herself in the foot with Gambol Shroud. Speaking of guns, she had to see if Sid would take her to the nearby Dust shop to buy some ammo.
The girl was technically running on just a handful of magazines and she needed some munitions in case things turned… sour for everyone. Mostly for Sid, especially for Sid. He was an unharmed citizen that had been taken inside a storm in the making, one that she was possibly responsible for.
And thus, blissfully distracted by her own thoughts about the helpful man, Blake was unaware of the fact that Yang had approached the counter to spare some words to the waiter and the owner.
"Sir, I know that it sounds a little demanding, but can I ask you a few questions about a possible client you might have had?" The blonde started with a calm tone, drawing a curious look from Marcus, a kind smile on his face.
"If it isn't anything personal, then sure," The man said with a jovial tone. "And I think that the reason behind this request isn't anything light or to dismiss so soon."
The brawler nodded and took out her Scroll to show a picture of… Blake Belladonna.
"She is my partner at Beacon Academy," The girl explained with a serious edge. "She ran away two days ago during a skirmish that happened by-"
"The docks?" Sid's interruption was the one thing that took Blake out of her thoughts, eyes widening in shock as she noticed how close Yang was to her. This- This wasn't happening!
The owner blinked at the picture and seemed to be putting an effort to not glance down at where the Cat Faunus was hiding. Instead the waiter was flawlessly pulling a poker face at the picture and Yang's reaction to his interjection.
"There was a news report about it yesterday night, that means that you are one of the huntresses that went to deal with the theft led by Torchwick." He twisted the topic, the flattering tone being enough to draw a smile on the blonde's face.
"We are still students… but yes, we were there for… reasons." She admitted with some nervousness, still smiling at the compliments. "Still, I know that the photo offers little-"
"Actually, it offers a lot… Miss?" He paused to ask, lilac eyes easing at the simple request.
"Yang, Yang Xiao Long."
"Well, Ms. Xiao Long, the picture itself 'says' that you are searching a Cat Faunus with black hair, amber eyes and a skin-tone paler than many people here in Vale," Sid pointed out with a polite smile. "I think that offers more than just a 'little'."
The blonde's face… seemed to gain a little more color at that reply. "Really? Then can you-"
"Still, we would have noticed someone with those details and… I can assure you with utmost certainty that she never walked in this establishment," Sid interrupted again, this time his smile being rather sad about it. "But if you want, we will keep an eye around for anyone like her."
The suggested offer was met with a quick nod. "That would be cool," Yang said with some little irritation at not having any hints of her 'close, but also not' partner. "Also, can you tell me your name? Maybe exchange Scroll's number or-"
"Ms. Xiao Long, I didn't… expect to be subjected to this kind of flirting," The young man pointed out, causing the blonde to freeze a moment and snort, amusement playing for a moment as her face flushed a strong pink.
"Funny guy too, ain't ya?"
He shrugged, but still spoke. "Still, I guess you are right." He passed the number of his scroll and then- "By the way, I'm Sid, Sid Tremaine. Nice too meet you, Ms. Xiao Long-"
"Hush with the 'Ms.' thing. Call me Yang and you allow me to the first name basis too? How about that?" She interrupted, bringing surprise to both the waiter and Blake herself.
While the Cat Faunus had pinpointed the 'forward and expressive' attitude of the young man as an act, she had certainly felt unexpected how her partner had reacted. Yang flirted light-heartedly with everyone and, it was strange to see her being 'this much' forward with someone.
Still, the young man nodded and soon the two students from different academies left the 'Morning Sip' without much of a warm greeting, leaving Blake to stand up and face the music she had set up on herself because of fate itself.
"So," Marcus finally spoke as Sid went to deal with the new wave of clients. "You are a student at Beacon Academy, Blake?" He asked slowly, trying to appear mindful of how strong such an inquiry could be.
"I… am," The Faunus admitted with a sigh. "It's just… that things have happened. It's a long story."
The man sighed at the mysterious curtness but smiled at the last bit.
"Well, I think there is already plenty of time to chat, especially since I think Sid will not be minding taking some of your burden as we talk about it." The owner mentioned, causing Blake's eyes to turn at her 'colleague'.
While the young man had appeared collected and calm by the time the 'trouble duo' had been at the bar, after they had left his facade had dropped to show a rather flustered individual trying to focus only on his job. She could see how he wouldn't mind to have some more tasks to not 'think' about what had just happened.
Yang was attractive and quite keen to point this out so flamboyantly, thus it wasn't difficult to see how someone as cool and calculative as Sid would have some trouble dealing with the full brunt of that comeback. A cheeky smile crept on her face at the thought that, deep in that armor of irritation and simplicity, there was someone that was could still get embarrassed and teased on by someone like Yang.
It just made the future chit-chat on the way back to the flat even more… interesting, she supposed.
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AN
I don't know if I should really go for a break. This year I will be spending the Eve and Christmas, even New Year's Celebration with my close family and so… I will need to get my mind doing something instead of getting bored and dulled.
Of course, I will use some of my newer free time to correct many of the mistakes I've left in the stories I'm updating right now so… things like Magical Trickster DXD, Living Bot, and Golden Month will receive a major upgrade very soon.
Also I will update Golden Month and this story very frequently as I'm inspired to muster up the 'bestest story ever for both cases'.
Lastly (about this chapter, the surname is an anagram and Kudos for the reader that will pinpoint the obscure Disney detail I just used for that name. It will be fun, but it is also a strong clue about the parents and siblings of Sid.
So stay tuned 'cause we are just starting here!
P.S. I think I should say that this chapter is dedicated to my Sis since today is her B-day. So yay, Happy B-Day, you brat! XD
If there is something I truly despised as my worst flaw, it was how easily I would become a softie when I heard a solid sad story about someone going through hard times. It was a little something that had been there ever since my childhood, an event which I will not digress myself to explain caused this to become something of a terrible weakness of mine.
I had been used back during my school years, I had been used during my brief time as a sport player and then I found myself dabbling at the realization that I hadn't truly taken a 'polite and functional being' within my humble abode.
Imagine waking up to prepare the breakfast, brain still failing to grasp the concept of 'waking up' as of yet and then… entering inside one of the messiest displays in which my poor living room could have been turned in a matter of a few hours spent by my unaware self in blissful and ignorant sleep.
It took me some monumental effort to not outright drop the large plate holding two steamy cups of coffee I had just finished to prepare. There were some cookies too, but I think my mind was experiencing the divine mix of anger and horror as I found the entire place littered with Blake's clothes.
Well, mostly littered. The entirety of her clothes were all left in utter disorganization, scattered across couches and sofa while the 'sleeping beauty' enjoyed the lack of painful sunlight thanks to the curtained windows.
I could see her face, the Cat Faunus sporting a satisfied smile as she snuggled her face onto the pillow I was sure came from 'her' room, the sheets covering her lower body originating from the same room and… I froze for a moment as I realized a very shocking detail about her current state of sleep.
While the girl looked to be in heaven from the relaxed expression on her face, the sofa and the clothes she had decided to use as a sleeping wear proved that she had indeed gone through another terrible night cycle.
What truly got me particularly embarrassed, morality being a cruel mistress, was 'what' kind of night-wear she was still using. At first, I thought of it as a functional and slightly-conservative night-gown, having seen some distractedly while going through numerous shopping sprees in my life because of my mother's and sister's interest in fashion once or twice in a while.
Of course, that had been in the past and… I was proven that my first assumption was possibly the wrongest I could have ever guessed. In fact, I was stunned still as I realized that the 'conservative pajama' was none other than a revealing kimono that was partly unfolded to show… some curves.
The curves were evident, the pale skin-color bringing them up to an interesting but somewhat degree. I turned away from the embarrassing sight with a full-blush, my attention returning to the now shaky plate I was holding and I was quick to urge my unnerved mind to redirect the focus to the nearby small table.
I was slow, my pace a little stiffy as I settled the plate down and freeing myself of a limiting burden, one that had forbidden me until now to pick up a pillow in one of the couches and yeet it at the sleeping Faunus.
It slammed softly but true on her unfortunately unaware face, the sudden 'attack' being more than enough to get her to jump out from her pseudo-comatose state to a fully-awake and hyperventilating one.
Eyes wide open, darting from one side to another to try and see the cause of this unexpected disturbance, and finally she spotted me. Golden eyes bore onto my blue eyes and… she frowned in minor displeasure at the fact I was the sole possible responsible for this rough awakening.
"Wha-" Her words dying before those could even start to make a coherent speech, her reaction ended by the fact I now had my arms crossing close to my chest as my eyes turned to the closest of the two couches and Blake followed my stare to the ridiculous situation that was caused by her disorder.
Annoyance slowly simmered down at that new sight, in its stead a growing sense of cool realization washing over her sleepy body as she started to grasp the true reason behind her abrupt awakening. The Faunus looked nervous, possibly because she actually was a normally-ordered person compared to my first assessment and…
I genuinely hoped that it wasn't nothing else other than that new guess.
She was silent for a while, her glance lingering longer through the 'battlefield' she had created and she sighed.
"I will fix this," Blake replied to the mounting group of inquiries coming from my stern staring, her cat ears flapping down in discomfort. I could almost hear her add 'I promise' to that curt answer, but she caught herself from sounding too apologetic.
At least she had noticed how I dislike when people repeated apologies without meaning them. It was so unbecoming and annoying to have someone say 'I am sorry' and then go to make another mess after the one they made.
Hopefully, today was going to be as tame as it had been yesterday.
Facing another 'Day One' wasn't certainly something I wanted to deal anytime soon, especially with how many expenses I still had to pay. The carpenter had gone to fix back the roof's issue and I spent the time the man used to work on the damage to glare at the barely concealed girl.
Blake had taken 'refuge' in the very sofa she had turned up to sleep onto yesterday, trying to appear as naively innocent as she could. An act that 'sadly' didn't get any more freebies out of me as I did mention that I would still take some money from her wage.
A solid 25% to be exact, the amount of the pay offered at the bar more than enough to have her survive even with that daunting drain for the problems she had caused in the last two days. It was almost impressive how someone could do so much of a grand issue as the one the Faunus had caused in the span of almost 48 hours.
"Why are you not sleeping in your room?" I asked with a somewhat calm tone, some of my irritation still passing through much to my inner chiding and the girl's flinch. The lack of caffeine was a serious debilitation to my capacity to compose my emotions with how I planned to speak and right now, my anger wasn't certainly hiding away.
I was just a little pissed, irked even at the fact I woke up to such a disgusting lack of capacity in keeping some orders. I wasn't even mad that she had gone for the couch, with all due respect finding it unimportant compared to the state I found the living room mere moments ago.
"The mattress is too stiff," She commented slowly, almost like as if she was keeping track of her words before giving them out. She was thinking before blurting and that was good in my book.
"You could have asked if there was another mattress," I pointed out with a sigh, this time my stern posture breaking to allow me the chance of grasping the inviting cup of coffee. The first sip was enough to bring some more energy to my body. "I think I have two new ones lying around somewhere."
She nodded, head slightly tilted towards in shame. "I didn't want to bother," Blake admitted with a frail tone. "I thought that it would have sounded a little… demanding from my part."
I blinked, glancing at her in confusion as she averted her sight away from me. Now, that was actually a first.
"Did you forget what I said yesterday?" I found myself asking numbly. "I admit I went overboard with words and manners, I think you can easily understand why I had to be harsh and-"
I paused, flinching a little as she didn't even bother turning her sight up to match with mine. I wasn't expecting her to show defiance at my words, but I truly wanted to make it clear I didn't truly hate her… completely. I was hating her for her recent actions, which had impacted severely on my daily life and put a temporary drain to my stable income.
This was difficult to watch in silence and inactively, and terribly familiar for how similar it did look to a certain painful instance of my childhood. I hummed, ignoring the little crave for a second sip from my mug as my free hand wandered over the untouched cup as I slowly walked up to Blake with it.
The Faunus didn't react much at the fact I was approaching her, the only tale-telling sign being the way her cat-like ears were twitching. Attentive, cautious and somewhat curious about what I had planned for her to 'endure'.
I sighed again, this time bending a little to offer the cup at the student and… she huffed.
"I don't need it-"
"Please," I pressed on with a tense but soft tone, feeling my little irritation vanish in a moment of… hesitation. "I understand you are tired and need some strength."
She still looked a little reluctant at my offer, but now her attention was directed at the enticing mug waiting for her to be held and drunk from. A blink, then two and… still nothing. She was staring at it, with notable interest, but a general unwillingness to try and grasp it in her hands.
I sighed one last time. "I will help you fix things up," I promised in an attempt to push her in the right direction. "I suppose I can spare some time for-"
"I-I don't need your help," Blake replied with a nervous note. "I… I know I did mistakes and- I'm glad that you are at least giving me a chance of paying back the issues I had caused."
There was an uneasy pause as she let her expression relax just an instant, flashing a tiny grateful smile before returning her focus at the cup. Instead of resuming the stare competition with the object, her hands tentatively went to wrap around the cup, slowly but momentarily touching my fingers as I slipped my hold of the object to her and… she nodded.
"Thank you."
Two simple words that gave me some relief as she then proceeded to bring the cup close to her lips, the girl taking a quick sip before flinching and let out a soft cough. I blinked, a simple snort leaving mouth cut short at the sight.
"I can bring some sugar if you want-"
"I-It's fine," She let out another quick cough. "I like it… bitter." Finally, a small smirk forming on her face. "Still, thank you for the offer."
It was all what I wanted to hear and, after that brief moment of genuine re-approach with each other, a finalization of the details that made our strange situation… strange, we proceeded to give a thorough clean-up of the living room.
Her clothes were folded in a thinly-made stack by the sofa. Stockings, vest, shirt, pants, ribbon, arm-wears and…
Underwear.
I was the one that found out personally that the girl was indeed sleeping without anything beside that revealing kimono. It didn't help that she then caught me freezing me a moment with her panties before me, face flushing a bright red as she mechanically took them away from my hands and turned away from my mortified expression.
Now wasn't that the proper awkward way to start this brand new day in Vale with someone as peculiar as was Blake Belladonna?
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If someone had told Blake just a week or two ago that she would have ended up living together with a 'mostly' complete stranger, the Cat Faunus would have easily scoffed at them, turned around, and waltzed away from their sight with her own eyes drowning in her little books.
It was certainly a sudden change that the girl had yet to stomach to the fullest, the fact that she was now forced to stay away from possibly the safest place in Vale. Beacon was homely but the reason that had driven her to seek out asylum there was because of the strong walls and good people 'ruling' over it.
The Headmaster was enigmatic with his mysterious ways, yet Blake knew of his diplomatic and appeasing tones from her father's past talks about him. A curious elder that wouldn't indulge much in breaking his own rules for the sake of something interesting happening around him.
Like a mature child with incredible political power and hold, Ozpin was still a trustworthy figure that certainly knew how to keep his own 'fief' well-protected and secured from any infiltration by external groups.
She could remember the annoyance displayed by Sienna when numerous attempts of that kind had yielded nothing if not backfiring results against the organization, the man being far too cautious to allow large teams with 'peculiar' upbringings and thus foiling any situation of the kind.
Yet Blake's case had been particular and surely intriguing enough to catch the headmaster's interest and subsequent intention of allowing her to enroll to the school. She could remember being captured after advancing the request for a secret meeting, panic surging when the officers sent to her temporary hideout said something about jail-time and a trial.
It had been some of the most difficult moments and she would be lying if she didn't say how it had been a tense night at the police department back then, but then the man had decided to give her some trust and the Faunus was accepted in the Huntsmen Academy with some categorical conditions to keep up with, which she had been more than glad to uphold for the sake of not getting kidnapped back by any of Adam's henchmen and brought before him… to face a trial for her unexpected 'betrayal'.
Loyalists were everywhere nowadays, in the streets, in the docks, in the factories and in the farms, all ready to swear fealty to a 'good cause' like the one pushed by the White Fang. The lack of initiatives from the councils proving to be a good way to quickly recruit dissatisfied members of the numerous Faunus-led communities in their folds, increasing their ranks to a number three-times bigger than the amount present before Sienna had assumed the leadership.
Yet, just like her tenure in the group had soured before the violence and aggressive tones adopted by Sienna's authoritarian rule, the little peace the girl had gained by becoming a member of Team RWBY was shattered in a moment of emotional distress.
As much as she had tried to keep things bottled up regarding her hidden features and her own origins, being around someone as pompous and racist as Weiss Schnee proved to be far more than the Faunus could have endured. It wasn't just possible and her hopes of four to five years of minimal presence over the political landscape unfolding around Remnant were all crushed by the little faith ruined by the very cheeky moron she had allied with two days ago.
Sun was somewhat… easygoing. Kind of like Yang, but terribly easy to push over with how he was crushing on her. It was flattering to a fair degree, the attention he was giving her being rather acceptable compared to the obsessive one promoted by Adam.
Even in a topic of friendship, Sun felt more trustworthy and… less creepy than Ilia. The Chameleon Faunus was sweet and quite accepting of her different views, but she was still quite keen to give her some of the weirdest looks ever.
Something that had been a major thorn to any major 'closeness' they could have developed, but not enough to bring it all to a painful end. Cutting down her connection with Adam had left her hurt, but the path he had taken had been more than enough to get her to accept the need to put at end to that failing diplomatic approach.
But the fact that now Ilia could consider an enemy? The mere thought was enough to wager a large bit of her early-morning musings. Almost enough to even reduce the embarrassment of that rather unwanted discovery proclaimed by her 'creditor'.
She blamed tiredness, yet she wouldn't be lying to herself. Even when Sid had asked about the reason behind the mess she had left on his wake while folding her vest in a calm but steady way, the girl had been hesitant to give out the real motivation.
Nightmares had been a thing for a long time now, but not was much as they had been in the last few days. Her unconscious reaction was far stronger than the meek ones she would have back in her team's room and the reasons behind such change was actually easy to point out from small details.
With Yang's easy-to-hear snores, Ruby dragging her homework up to late, and with Weiss giving some annoying-to-listen lectures to the young team leader, Blake had never experienced a state of complete sleep at Beacon, her senses keeping a state of partial awareness of what was around her.
And that was until she had fallen onto that delightful sofa decorating the young man's living room.
If Sid snored or not, she wouldn't be having trouble to deal with it as his roof was still far from the living room, far enough to allow her moments of silent rest to be wasted in… bad memories that didn't leave her alone for just a moment.
Vivid memories and altered scenes of her pasts that haunted her tired mind, keeping her from fully attaining a proper sleep in that perfect settlement she got in this ideally-good predicament. While she was indeed forced to work for some place in Vale, the lack of violence (human, Faunus and Grimm) was actually proving to be a decent change to her livelihood as her work was… easy.
It wasn't dull enough as the shift was perfectly halved to allow some time to not lose herself in the tasks provided and the pay was nothing to truly scoff at. It was proof that Marcus Cobalt wasn't racist, or that at least he didn't mind having a Faunus worker and giving them same rights as human ones.
It was pleasant to be reminded that there were some good people in Vale, that the case provided by Cardin's mere existence was actually an extremely-small minority compared to the large approval of equal rights with Faunus-kind. People were receptive for change, but there weren't serious rules that established that.
Blake was fine with this, but she couldn't help but be a little miffed by the fact she wasn't guaranteed in a legal way, that her position was offered out of kindness and good-will. Her musings cut brief as the walk through Vale to reach the 'Morning Sip' was as uneventful as the last two times.
The owner greeted them both chirpily, Blake smiling at the older man while Sid merely granted him a quick 'good-morning' before they both went to the locker rooms. In a normal circumstance, the mixed area would have caused major problems because of their different sexes, yet the fact that the changing to the uniform required just a tiny bit skin exposure, made the experience bearable if not forgettable.
The human finished first, the elements of his clothes as a waiter being less than the one the Faunus had to put on. The uniform itself had been a surprise, part of her expecting for her to be subjected to some 'Neko-Maid' situation rather than being given a professional look and… she was happy about what she got.
It wasn't the best work in Remnant, but she was happy to say that it was definitively better than boringly spending her days studying things she knew about in Beacon or being restricted by the limited air allowed by the White Fang.
Here she was Blake Belladonna, simple waitress in a morning-only bar. She was deemed a young woman, not a student, nor a fodder to waste in the 'long and shining path of the revolution.' She wasn't a pawn to some mastermind and she wasn't truly forced to do anything.
The girl chose this road and she was eager to responsibly go through this and… there was just a worry that had superseded anything she had been having nightmares about. A new concern that was as silly as rightfully proposed by her mind.
What happens when she was done with her debt? Would she be allowed to stay?
Naively, she had expected for Sid to bring up the topic either earlier in the morning or even before by yesterday's dinner, but the young man had been mostly focused on the present rather than in the future.
While his intentions were genuinely good (or at least, she hoped so), he didn't have any reason to worry about the time the debt she had for him was exhausted by the installments planned. And even though such situation wouldn't happen anytime soon as of how 'little' he was taking from her wage, she couldn't help but wonder about what would come next.
Would the Cat Faunus have her strained relationship with her team solved by the time? Would she have the means to 'survive' by the time this was all over?
Will this ever be over, the peace and the calm she was so happily enjoying?
She couldn't help but appreciate the rather selfish need of preserving the new status quo, it was far too decent and acceptable, inspiring and endearing for someone as tired as Blake.
The girl sighed as she left the locker room with some heavy thoughts to develop during her mindless working, her hands pressing the door behind her close as she shifted her attention back to the now-open activity, going back to the counter as she prepared with Sid to accommodate the first clients.
She sported a tiny smile, her mind reminding her that she had to give a positive impression to those she was going to take orders from and… then her entire facade dropped in a shocked jaw-drop.
Gone was her composure, gone was her little calm of mind as the very first individual to walk inside the building was someone she was familiar with and very keen to avoid for the time being because of how she had 'took care' of him back at the docks.
Smiling eye-to-eye in a rather cheeky way, blue eyes exploring briefly all over the bar while he stretched his arms to the side and giving a full flex of his muscles, and abs freely exposed by his open shirt, Sun Wukong looked rather unaware of the incredibly (un)lucky predicament he had stumbled upon.
Maybe it was karma, she should have been a little less rude to the energetic Monkey Faunus and then, if things couldn't get any worse in that very horrible development, Sid decided to approach the still-unaware Haven student.
"Good morning, sir," The human said with a polite tone, catching the attention of the blond. "And welcome to 'Morning Sip'."
The smile brightened a little more at the polite greeting. "Thanks man," He replied mirthfully. "I just wanted to try out this place as I've heard good things from some friends of mine and… is it possible for me to browse a little from the menu before-"
The paper containing the entire list of sweet snacks and other delicacies for that early hour was provided by Sid to the slightly-surprised Monkey Faunus. "It is actually how we prefer clients to pick," The young man replied with his professional voice. "It's best to know a little more about ingredients and the way some of the food is made for the sake of avoiding causing trouble to those with intolerance to any of the ingredients."
Blake was quick to exploit the opportunity to get herself away from sight, ducking behind the counter and… getting a curious glance from Marcus, the man noticing her action and casting a confused glance her way.
The Faunus flinched and mouthed a 'I will explain later' at the owner, his eyebrow lifting in a curious fashion before he turned his attention back at the coming clients. Several were frequent ones but, instead of finding relief in the mass of people coming inside, the Belladonna felt herself paling as she spotted a familiar blonde cowlick standing uniquely among the other people and…
Yes, her eyes weren't deceiving her as a slightly-annoyed Yang Xiao-Long made her way towards Sun. The Monkey Faunus pausing the interaction with the waiter to wave at Blake's girlfriend and… getting a snort back from the fellow blonde.
"Morning, Goldi-"
"Can it, Monkey-boy," The Xiao Long shot back with a tired sigh. "It's too early in the morning to be this cheerful and… I'm not in the mood for any fun dates right now."
There was a pause, the grin on the boy's face widening at the comment. "C'mon, it's not just a 'date'-"
"Before you thrown in your crappy ideas," Yang interrupted the fellow student, turning her lilac eyes at Sid. "Could you please get me a cup of coffee? I need something strong enough to kick myself awake."
The young man nodded without much of a reply to the girl's request, turning a moment to Sun. "I will take your order once hers is done." He bowed a little as to apologize and accepting the quick nod from the Faunus before going back to the counter and… noticing what was going on with Blake.
He blinked once, then twice. "What are you doing?" He whispered with some annoyance, her whole face cringing at how close the two familiar people were to her current cover right now. That wasn't the best scenario. Not at all.
"They are 'that' friends I told you about." She replied quickly but still whispering, afraid of getting the two hotheaded teens on her trail if she was too loud. Sid blinked again but this time gave her a slow nod before picking the prepared coffee mug and walking back to the table.
The Cat Faunus had been distracted by the quiet discussion the two were having, Yang appearing rather deflated compared to her usual self, the cheeky tones and the easygoing attitude having disappeared from her current self. Quite surprising and… worth a quick flinch as her mind pointed out it had happened right as she had bolted away at the docks.
Her fault? Possibly.
Was it possible to mend the damage? She was unsure.
The blonde thanked the waiter before taking a long sip from her mug, eyes almost closing in bliss as she took in the bitterness of the normal coffee, a little smile gracing her face as she commented happily about the 'best coffee she had ever drunk' which was… rather difficult to judge about as a compliment.
Yang never took a cup of coffee in the last few weeks and her knowledge over her teammate was… incredibly limited. That's why she just accepted it as a decent comment and ignored the detail altogether.
Then Sid went to take Sun's orders, returning to the counter and, while the order was being prepared, deigned her an inquisitive look. It wasn't difficult to understand that he wanted some more answers about the predicament she was facing, possibly also names and descriptions of people she was currently avoiding.
More work for Blake, but maybe it was about time for the girl some more details about her situation. The man had yet to show hints of serious disdain and his complaints were directed at legitimately damaging actions she had committed against him.
It wouldn't do well for her to continue with her lone wolf attitude, denying herself an ally in those trying times would be akin to shot herself in the foot with Gambol Shroud. Speaking of guns, she had to see if Sid would take her to the nearby Dust shop to buy some ammo.
The girl was technically running on just a handful of magazines and she needed some munitions in case things turned… sour for everyone. Mostly for Sid, especially for Sid. He was an unharmed citizen that had been taken inside a storm in the making, one that she was possibly responsible for.
And thus, blissfully distracted by her own thoughts about the helpful man, Blake was unaware of the fact that Yang had approached the counter to spare some words to the waiter and the owner.
"Sir, I know that it sounds a little demanding, but can I ask you a few questions about a possible client you might have had?" The blonde started with a calm tone, drawing a curious look from Marcus, a kind smile on his face.
"If it isn't anything personal, then sure," The man said with a jovial tone. "And I think that the reason behind this request isn't anything light or to dismiss so soon."
The brawler nodded and took out her Scroll to show a picture of… Blake Belladonna.
"She is my partner at Beacon Academy," The girl explained with a serious edge. "She ran away two days ago during a skirmish that happened by-"
"The docks?" Sid's interruption was the one thing that took Blake out of her thoughts, eyes widening in shock as she noticed how close Yang was to her. This- This wasn't happening!
The owner blinked at the picture and seemed to be putting an effort to not glance down at where the Cat Faunus was hiding. Instead the waiter was flawlessly pulling a poker face at the picture and Yang's reaction to his interjection.
"There was a news report about it yesterday night, that means that you are one of the huntresses that went to deal with the theft led by Torchwick." He twisted the topic, the flattering tone being enough to draw a smile on the blonde's face.
"We are still students… but yes, we were there for… reasons." She admitted with some nervousness, still smiling at the compliments. "Still, I know that the photo offers little-"
"Actually, it offers a lot… Miss?" He paused to ask, lilac eyes easing at the simple request.
"Yang, Yang Xiao Long."
"Well, Ms. Xiao Long, the picture itself 'says' that you are searching a Cat Faunus with black hair, amber eyes and a skin-tone paler than many people here in Vale," Sid pointed out with a polite smile. "I think that offers more than just a 'little'."
The blonde's face… seemed to gain a little more color at that reply. "Really? Then can you-"
"Still, we would have noticed someone with those details and… I can assure you with utmost certainty that she never walked in this establishment," Sid interrupted again, this time his smile being rather sad about it. "But if you want, we will keep an eye around for anyone like her."
The suggested offer was met with a quick nod. "That would be cool," Yang said with some little irritation at not having any hints of her 'close, but also not' partner. "Also, can you tell me your name? Maybe exchange Scroll's number or-"
"Ms. Xiao Long, I didn't… expect to be subjected to this kind of flirting," The young man pointed out, causing the blonde to freeze a moment and snort, amusement playing for a moment as her face flushed a strong pink.
"Funny guy too, ain't ya?"
He shrugged, but still spoke. "Still, I guess you are right." He passed the number of his scroll and then- "By the way, I'm Sid, Sid Tremaine. Nice too meet you, Ms. Xiao Long-"
"Hush with the 'Ms.' thing. Call me Yang and you allow me to the first name basis too? How about that?" She interrupted, bringing surprise to both the waiter and Blake herself.
While the Cat Faunus had pinpointed the 'forward and expressive' attitude of the young man as an act, she had certainly felt unexpected how her partner had reacted. Yang flirted light-heartedly with everyone and, it was strange to see her being 'this much' forward with someone.
Still, the young man nodded and soon the two students from different academies left the 'Morning Sip' without much of a warm greeting, leaving Blake to stand up and face the music she had set up on herself because of fate itself.
"So," Marcus finally spoke as Sid went to deal with the new wave of clients. "You are a student at Beacon Academy, Blake?" He asked slowly, trying to appear mindful of how strong such an inquiry could be.
"I… am," The Faunus admitted with a sigh. "It's just… that things have happened. It's a long story."
The man sighed at the mysterious curtness but smiled at the last bit.
"Well, I think there is already plenty of time to chat, especially since I think Sid will not be minding taking some of your burden as we talk about it." The owner mentioned, causing Blake's eyes to turn at her 'colleague'.
While the young man had appeared collected and calm by the time the 'trouble duo' had been at the bar, after they had left his facade had dropped to show a rather flustered individual trying to focus only on his job. She could see how he wouldn't mind to have some more tasks to not 'think' about what had just happened.
Yang was attractive and quite keen to point this out so flamboyantly, thus it wasn't difficult to see how someone as cool and calculative as Sid would have some trouble dealing with the full brunt of that comeback. A cheeky smile crept on her face at the thought that, deep in that armor of irritation and simplicity, there was someone that was could still get embarrassed and teased on by someone like Yang.
It just made the future chit-chat on the way back to the flat even more… interesting, she supposed.
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AN
I don't know if I should really go for a break. This year I will be spending the Eve and Christmas, even New Year's Celebration with my close family and so… I will need to get my mind doing something instead of getting bored and dulled.
Of course, I will use some of my newer free time to correct many of the mistakes I've left in the stories I'm updating right now so… things like Magical Trickster DXD, Living Bot, and Golden Month will receive a major upgrade very soon.
Also I will update Golden Month and this story very frequently as I'm inspired to muster up the 'bestest story ever for both cases'.
Lastly (about this chapter, the surname is an anagram and Kudos for the reader that will pinpoint the obscure Disney detail I just used for that name. It will be fun, but it is also a strong clue about the parents and siblings of Sid.
So stay tuned 'cause we are just starting here!
P.S. I think I should say that this chapter is dedicated to my Sis since today is her B-day. So yay, Happy B-Day, you brat! XD
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And I wish for my individual Peace
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 5: And I wish for my individual Peace
It's been two days since Blake had gotten to deal with this new situation. Two days since she had been on the run from her teammates, two days since she had been hired as a waitress in a simple bar in Vale's industrial district.
The close encounter with Yang and Sun turned out to be the worst case of being found by any of the students of Beacon searching for her. After that unexpected situation, Sid had been partly-accepting of her request of him buying for her a hoodie and a face mask to keep most of her recognizable features hidden from sight.
It had been quite the annoying task to have this much on herself, the unpleasantness of having her cat-ears forced flat by the hood turning out to be far different that how it did felt to have a bow. It was all for the sake of not being found, to not be brought back to deal with the daily life of a student.
The girl was far too advanced in both physical and theoretical subjects to be actually capable of fitting with the role, having learned much from practical experience as a grunt-to-officer of the White Fang. This very notion was proven correct when the last she had to take resulted in an impressive A+.
Weiss had been partially irritated by this detail, thinking that Blake should have flunked it because of her lack of interest in studies. A presumptuous exclamation that came out from the fact she had to headbutt a lot with Ruby.
The Team Leader was young, inexperienced and was lacking two years worth of knowledge. This last bit was actually what caused the Schnee to devolve a large part of her free time in helping the caped girl to actually understand the basis of the lectures given at Beacon.
It was almost impressive how Ruby had actually managed to get enrolled at the Academy, her unique fighting style barely compensating for her lacking capacity in keeping up with the school's pacing.
Actually, it was interesting how the Headmaster had broken the rule three times for this year, counting Ruby, herself and Jaune as prime examples of laws being 'forgotten' by Ozpin for some strange reasons.
Blake was more of a political refuge than else, it wouldn't have surprised her if the gray-haired man had taken her in for the fact he had connected dots about her important parentage. After all, Kali Belladonna did come to study at Beacon for a few years before returning back to Menagerie to her father' (Blake's grandfather) orders.
Jaune was mediocre at best in whatever he did, his grades being just average enough and sufficient to continue with the school year without dealing with major issues with the teachers and the school itself. The blond was also weak in terms of fights, having been seen failing to keep up with someone like Cardin Winchester and other members of Team CRDL. but he was incredibly quick in accepting advice when presented and she wouldn't be lying in saying that he had good chances of becoming a prominent huntsman by the end of his years at Beacon.
It was Ruby that the Belladonna found to be the blatant error in keeping things under the rug, the girl being an eyesore by the way she failed to catch up with the missing material required for the rest of the lessons. Even with Weiss' help, the little Rose was still capable of keeping up with a lazy Yang… at the best of her strength.
Speaking of the blonde, the Cat Faunus was actually surprised by the fact the girl did indeed visit two more times the 'Morning Sip' and Blake had been forced to resort to have a hat and a pair of sunglasses while she was around. It did made things difficult as the light in the bar wasn't strong enough to give her a proper sight over the tables and… some mess might have been made for the sake of not getting caught.
Her pay suffered the blunt of these encounters, but that wasn't actually what got the girl interested over the frequency of the brawler by the simple establishment as she tried to find out more about Blake… and also flirt a little with a stone-faced Sid. After the first time he had to deal with both the brawler's flirting and the Belladonna's intense teasing over it, the young man had been smart enough to gear up and endure the advances forwarded by the blonde in question.
There was also the fact that the Cat Faunus couldn't help but remind herself as of why she had never been close to Yang, the cheerful blonde being what Blake wouldn't never want to be in a social context.
She was too much an extrovert compared to the reclusive Faunus, something that had put them at odds during their first days as partners. The following step had been silent neutrality with some minor bantering initiated by Yang herself.
Blake never felt the need to start anything as she felt that their relationship would have been affordable as formal team-members than anything else, a feeling not shared by the giddy blonde that would end up pestering her about the silliest of details.
While the Xiao Long was eager for fights, to speak with people and to venture in danger, the Belladonna preferred the peace and quiet of books rather than dealing with real life's issues, something proven by the way she had decided to not return back to Beacon as it was no longer the fight with Weiss that kept her from going there to seek redemption.
The effort wasn't… actually worth it. It was actually worse, in her quiet opinion, to let go of the little settlement gained by pure and raw dumb luck. Or lack of, considering the damage she had caused to end up in that curious situation.
Sid was still uneasy to have around, the same she knew was for him when she was around, but they both weren't there to attack each other. Rather they were making sure the other didn't pull a foul without any physical damage involved.
One could call it a cat-and-mouse play, where the girl was actually the rodent before someone with much more balance over his own life. He had his own moderation within the sea of extreme ends, something that Blake had failed to obtain after slamming painfully against both directions. The human was also partially-trained as a Huntsman but lacked any of the major skills and weapon that could actually make her consider him a threat to have around.
He was mostly harmless, if not sassy and impudent with his tones when she ended up causing some minor issues. Lucky for her, her attention over her attempt to be conciliating turned out to be a blessing for their curious relationship.
This connection was actually one of the major questions that had gotten the girl thinking about for hours, the extent and limits of their current 'friendship'. It was odd to even call it friendship, the two of them being more or less simple housemates at this point.
Where they even friends? She was at fault for crashing down from his roof and making some escalation of sort out of panic and ill-thinking, but now they were… neutral to each other. There was a humane understanding of each other and they were both respectful to the barest about the other.
It was that simple bond that Blake found… nice to have in these trying times. There wasn't any attempt to garner her utmost trust, nor was she supposed to fear every step for the sake of getting betrayed by the waiter.
A peaceful standoff, one where both contenders knew that there wouldn't be any horrible development coming from it but still didn't budge from their standing positions. Staring at each other, determination pouring from their souls as they keenly avoided to make the first, and possibly wrong, move against the other.
It was stimulating, it was refreshing and…
"I finished my sets," Sid proclaimed with a tired sigh, his sweaty form slowly walking away from the living room. "I will take the bathroom for some minutes."
The comment was enough to bring the Belladonna out of her silence-induced thoughts regarding the last two days of work, her attention once more shifting back to the fact she had yet to finish with her own training.
Two days had passed and the working week was over as Saturday began without a clear plan established by both housemates. Sure, Blake had loved three more hours of sleep by the lovely couch and she had turned up refreshed by the extra time spent resting.
Enough for her to be ready to the schedule she would have to deal while spending her whole day at the flat by exercising and meditating. The idea had came out from Sid, the young man mentioning how it's been a while since he had last gone for some sessions of training and mentioning how the girl should have planned out something similar for the fact that she was a student at Beacon.
Telling him about the full context of everything that had happened by the docks, her former allegiance to the White Fang and the reason why she was still avoiding her team had helped immensely the Faunus' plight as the human had visibly appreciated the honesty provided by the girl and offering some minor support in giving her the means of avoiding getting 'discovered' by anyone she knew about.
Still, some discomfort from the revelation of having been part of the now-violent organization had created some minor friction between the two as the young man was aware of the fact that the aggressive approach taken by the Fang developed far before her 'planned' leave and he had asked for some simple but crude questions.
Did she ever kills someone during service? Only in extreme cases of self-defense. Her first kill was legitimated by the fact she had been merely fourteen and the one she had offed was a rabid officer from Atlas attacking her without hesitation and madly.
Gambol Shroud had tasted blood in that encounter, but the following times the spread of the red color had been limited as she didn't believe in making examples in that way. It was barbaric, it would have made her an 'animal' just like racists have painted her as with the rest of her kind.
With a tired sigh of her own, the girl slumped on the comfy sofa, eyes closing as she quietly basked in the quietness of her free day here at the flat. Sadly, the cat ears that were proud feature and sign of her heritage proved to be strong enough to catch the distant noise of water running from the bathroom.
Her eyes twitched open, a groan turning in an irritated purr as she blinked at the general direction where Sid was possibly taking a quick bath. The human was swift in his activities there but her mind couldn't help but… wander to certain details.
She had noticed that he was well-developed in his chest, legs and arms, there was a clear attention at making sure he kept healthy, something that was surprising coming from a supposedly-normal civilian. Her brain surmised that it had to do with the particular roles of his parents, both military-related jobs that would end up requiring fitness as a core part of their lives.
Something that had been instilled even to their 'average' child, enough to have him become a fairly interesting threat if given a proper gun. Now, Blake wasn't fairly certain of this particular statement, but she would easily admit that he could have been a good material for Huntsman…
Yet he was a little too old for that. It was two years, he was two years older than her and… he had already gotten 'enough' from his time spent completing the regular education and specialization, having his own work and flat… it was kind of a pity.
It would have been an interest addition, but then again he would have gone for Haven rather than Beacon and that would have render it mostly-impossible for her to meet him. It was a series of conflicting thought that followed this extended line that culminated… with someone knocking by the entrance of the living room.
Her attention snapped at the waving hand owned by the one and only Sid Tremaine, the young man having a little towel covering his wet hair as he tip-toed with a simple shirt and short pants, his shoes missing. "Bathroom is clear," He announced calmly.
Blake nodded and, just as he got up from her seat, the man hummed. "By the way, I was planning to do a movie marathon after lunch," The human pointed out, causing her to frown curiously at the proposal. "Something to keep entertained until dinner."
The girl blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Anything specific…?" She asked, knowing that a large majority of movies would have hardly got her attention, thus denying her the 'entertainment' promised by the young man.
"The Madonna Arc's Anthology," He mentioned absently as he checked on the small stack of discs sitting nearby the TV, ignoring the fact that Blake's jaws had dropped the moment the name was mentioned. "So, Ninja of Love, the sequel and the spin-off-"
"W-Wait," The young woman zeroed the distance between herself and thediscs in question and gave them a long look, her golden eyes widening as she had just found out about something… interesting.
She had heard about news of some movies having been adapted from her beloved books, but the availability of the three films had been limited to some areas of Mistral and Atlas. Vale was quick to ban it for the sake of avoiding the 'halved' romantic scenes and Vacuo couldn't just afford to distribute the movie with how expensive the process was for many kingdoms.
But to think that a copy of the trilogy was here in Sid's possession…
She gulped nervously and slowly stared up at the now-confused look settled on the young man's face. "Something's wrong about it?" He asked innocently, seemingly unable to pick up the immense joy vibrating from her features.
"W-Wrong?" Her tone felt trembling too. "N-Nothing wrong. Just… y-you really mean it? Can I… see it too?"
He frowned, his confusion deepening even more but he still nodded at her. "Yeah?"
It was enough for the Belladonna to show her affection at this grandiose offer… by launching herself at the unaware human in a surprise hug. The propulsion wasn't strong enough to send them both flying back to the floor, but the relative closeness was more than enough to get a quick reaction out of Sid.
He started to pat her upper back, her shoulders hurting a little as he seemed to be struggling in what was supposed to be a show of gratefulness and affection.
"B-Blake! Get off of me-" He started to yell in a panicked tone. Could it be that he was flustered by the closeness she had-
"I just did a bath, Blake- You are stinky!"
Nevermind, any warm emotion she held for the young man flatly vanished with those strong words, she let go instantly of the hold she had imposed upon him…
But decided to deign him a quick headbutt on his chest, the action not strong enough to hurt both of them but… at least she was the only one knowing the meaning behind the gesture, in fact she walked up to the entrance, glanced back and saw immense confusion at what had just happened.
The giddy smile at the prospect of spending the rest of the afternoon in watching the terrific trilogy widened as she was finally granted the peace of mind in the form of a warm bath with bubble.
Bubbles made good things better. Always.
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The movie marathon turned out to be a major success, an idea that I was partly eager to experiment with someone as introverted as Blake was. The fact that the girl had been quite impatient during lunch after learning of this proposal should have been grand sign that I had somehow hit jackpot with the picking of the movies.
I had seen the little book the Faunus had around, the one she would take during their pauses at work or when it was time to go to sleep. It was Ninja of Love, or rather the Uncensored version of the curious literary work.
The trilogy itself as books had been the cause of a major uproar back when it was first released because of the graphic content of some 'love' sessions between the two protagonists, forcing the principal editor to re-release it in two versions. An 18+ book that contained the fullest 'glory' of the original text and a redacted version with the entirety of the sexual content cut down and removed.
The movies were based from the censored version, the movie-makers had been well-aware of the dangers of stirring another set of conflicts regarding the perception of the perverted book, thus deciding to create, with the author's permission, some different scenes that replaced the very ones that were to be removed.
The first film gained a massive and positive critic and review from the majority of the fans, some still mourning the fact that the 'fun bits' from the series had been denied by some 'overly-conservatives troglodytes'. And yes, they did use the term 'troglodytes' to define people denying the sex scenes.
I suppose I should also explain how exactly I ended up getting the trifecta with how rare it was finding it in Mistral and the answer to that question can be traced back to a mission my father had been part of back when he was still in active duty… three years ago.
He had been called to deal with a sudden increase of Grimm by the lone village of Ansel and there he ended up befriending an old colleague of his and his wife. The woman, which was the writer of the three books, decided to provide, as a sign of gratitude, the copies of the movie to my dad and…
Mom had been fairly angry about that. Considering the content presented by the movies, still a touch above what my siblings and I could have been able to watch 'without inopportune questions being asked'.
Both my brother and my sister had refused the chances of getting these with them when they both left home, leaving me as the sole owner of the 'forbidden' movies as I moved out of my home in Mistral.
I had expected Blake to be a little uneasy at the fact I had provided her with the adaptation of quite the lewd book, the very one she was seen having around more than a few times, and yet she had been… overly-enthusiastic at the prospect of watching the three films in what turned out to be a seven hours long marathon.
I was flinching once or twice of the time as the tones used by some characters before the cut-off scenes were still there to torment with their lustful tones.
Seriously, why weren't the movie shot down too? Why were they accepted so easily with how many crass dialogues it still had?
Good questions in which the three movies failed to give an answer too and… Blake continued to be the giddiest I've ever seen her, with a bright smile, shining golden eyes and cat ears twitching in full-attention as the plots of the stories unfolded from the large screen in front of the sofa.
We had our own mantle of sheets, two bowls of popcorn and chips, and large bottles of soda to keep our hunger and thirst satisfied for the whole duration of the marathon. We were sitting by the two edges of the furniture, our stares fixed at the TV displaying the movies. I had seen this just once before that day and… I didn't find myself liking it just as I had back when I first gave it a quick look.
The dialogue was okay most of the time, some scenes were fantastic in showing the complexity behind some of the protagonists' flaws and weaknesses, but the way the shipping was flaunted was… way too speedy for it to appear realistic. The delivery from some of the actors was disheartening at best as these were too dismissive of major details that could have given major weight to the overall stories of the individual characters. A good set of movies… but not the best to watch after three times.
And, much to my chagrin, I was actually contrasted by the way Blake was keen to describe the marathon. Terribly influenced by the love she held for the series, the girl judged it as a perfect masterwork, 'the culmination of real life and fantasy, the dream and the fiction being painted upon reality itself'.
I was impressed by the use of some precise words to elevate the state of some of the good scenes and I almost fell for that vision of hers. It was pitched in a delightful manner and fairly honest… until a certain degree.
In fact, the only thing I ended up having to endure about this overly-positive judgment was how I had to decide whenever or not it would have been convenient for me to point out how her perception ignored the flaws of the good movies for the sake of lift up the potency of the scenes.
I was half-tempted to call 'BS' on her review of it, but then again I had the common sense to know that she was trained in the use of guns and she had a weapon on herself. And that is why, instead of headbutting against an early death, I merely kept quiet until dinner.
Dinner was fairly normal if not for Blake being in the best of moods with what had happened until mere moments ago. The smile plastered there was somehow intriguing to see as it morphed while she starting to eat her plateful of tuna.
The Cat Faunus loved fish and I was pretty sure that, without the scene unfolding before me, I would have felt it sounding more as a racist slur rather than the commentary of what she was doing right now.
She just loved fish, she literally spent half her pay in sea-food and there was nothing particularly wrong about it…
Except that she would let out a purr or two in a normal situation. But now? Now the girl was vibrating on her seat, the purrs loud enough to not appear as mere innocent noises as she continued to happily eat the cooked fish.
It was an overly-adorable sight, one that I had planned to have to see for that day. I had actually expected the girl to refuse the movies out of embarrassment and yet my little plan had backfired to a point where it actually looked I was 'granted' such a cute display of happiness.
I might have been aware of the fact that Cat Faunus and Dog Faunus were rather affectionate in showing their cheerfulness, the former being more difficult to render so rather than the latter, something I knew from experience, but… I was completely unprepared with how I was supposed to react about it.
After four days of having Blake around, I couldn't help but feel nervous at the sudden shift of personality. I was certain it was a temporary thing, but I couldn't let go of the fact that she was indeed looking terribly adorable-
OMG, her cute kitty-cat ears are flapping so excitedly and-
N-NO! We aren't having any of that. I might love cats to a degree, but I couldn't certainly compare a simple animal as a kitty to the purring, happy-looking Faunus sitting in front of me.
I felt by breath itching as I didn't realize I had walked behind Blake, the girl was unaware of this sudden shift herself and… we both discovered what was going on when I had my hand softly settled on top of her head.
She tensed, and I tensed. I felt nervous, I felt paling and I felt the need to bolt away from the possible bomb I just set off with this careless and greedy action.
I expected her to snap at the sudden gesture, to hit me and maybe beat the crap out of me (kind of an Anime reaction that would be, but I was still fearful of any reaction from that Neko- I mean, Cat Faunus).
Then, much to my immense surprise and confusion, the black-haired girl relaxed and… started to purr even more, seemingly accepting the fact my hand was now on her head. I blinked once, then twice.
Then thrice.
What the heck is going on?!
Finally, I managed to lift my hand off from her soft and silky hair, wide eyes staring accusingly at my traitorous fingers before deigning to answer to the certainly-implicit question generating from the poor girl assaulted in such manner.
The degeneration of mankind in a nutshell!
"S-Sorry," I tried to apologize, my head burning a little in embarrassment and mortification at the fact I did indeed touched a rather sensitive part of her biology. The cat ears were quite sensible, I remember receiving a lecture out from my mother when a child had been caught pulling on some Faunus child's animal ears and- "I-It's just that… it looked-"
"Cute?" She suggested softly, her head lowering a little and yet I could still see the blush spreading to her ears and turning those red. "I-It's alright, I- You apologized." There was embarrassment in the girl's voice, but the purring for some reason didn't cease even in that moment.
The rest of the evening was spent quietly and silently as we decided to not discuss about that weird and senseless scene. It was just too… senseless.
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AN
Little moment of warmth before something a little deeper. Comedy at the purest, when the awkward is made silent for only the presents to know about.
People are asking for the two to be paired? Well sadly, I don't wish for them to do that.
Would it kill the closeness? No, I'm actually bringing up the kind of friendship that will be so weird, so crackish and terribly easy to misunderstand for the people witnessing this happen that it will become much better and wholesome than mere romance.
Expect jealousy from Blake's admirers and the only one hailing from Sid's camp. It will be a fun brawl~!
It's been two days since Blake had gotten to deal with this new situation. Two days since she had been on the run from her teammates, two days since she had been hired as a waitress in a simple bar in Vale's industrial district.
The close encounter with Yang and Sun turned out to be the worst case of being found by any of the students of Beacon searching for her. After that unexpected situation, Sid had been partly-accepting of her request of him buying for her a hoodie and a face mask to keep most of her recognizable features hidden from sight.
It had been quite the annoying task to have this much on herself, the unpleasantness of having her cat-ears forced flat by the hood turning out to be far different that how it did felt to have a bow. It was all for the sake of not being found, to not be brought back to deal with the daily life of a student.
The girl was far too advanced in both physical and theoretical subjects to be actually capable of fitting with the role, having learned much from practical experience as a grunt-to-officer of the White Fang. This very notion was proven correct when the last she had to take resulted in an impressive A+.
Weiss had been partially irritated by this detail, thinking that Blake should have flunked it because of her lack of interest in studies. A presumptuous exclamation that came out from the fact she had to headbutt a lot with Ruby.
The Team Leader was young, inexperienced and was lacking two years worth of knowledge. This last bit was actually what caused the Schnee to devolve a large part of her free time in helping the caped girl to actually understand the basis of the lectures given at Beacon.
It was almost impressive how Ruby had actually managed to get enrolled at the Academy, her unique fighting style barely compensating for her lacking capacity in keeping up with the school's pacing.
Actually, it was interesting how the Headmaster had broken the rule three times for this year, counting Ruby, herself and Jaune as prime examples of laws being 'forgotten' by Ozpin for some strange reasons.
Blake was more of a political refuge than else, it wouldn't have surprised her if the gray-haired man had taken her in for the fact he had connected dots about her important parentage. After all, Kali Belladonna did come to study at Beacon for a few years before returning back to Menagerie to her father' (Blake's grandfather) orders.
Jaune was mediocre at best in whatever he did, his grades being just average enough and sufficient to continue with the school year without dealing with major issues with the teachers and the school itself. The blond was also weak in terms of fights, having been seen failing to keep up with someone like Cardin Winchester and other members of Team CRDL. but he was incredibly quick in accepting advice when presented and she wouldn't be lying in saying that he had good chances of becoming a prominent huntsman by the end of his years at Beacon.
It was Ruby that the Belladonna found to be the blatant error in keeping things under the rug, the girl being an eyesore by the way she failed to catch up with the missing material required for the rest of the lessons. Even with Weiss' help, the little Rose was still capable of keeping up with a lazy Yang… at the best of her strength.
Speaking of the blonde, the Cat Faunus was actually surprised by the fact the girl did indeed visit two more times the 'Morning Sip' and Blake had been forced to resort to have a hat and a pair of sunglasses while she was around. It did made things difficult as the light in the bar wasn't strong enough to give her a proper sight over the tables and… some mess might have been made for the sake of not getting caught.
Her pay suffered the blunt of these encounters, but that wasn't actually what got the girl interested over the frequency of the brawler by the simple establishment as she tried to find out more about Blake… and also flirt a little with a stone-faced Sid. After the first time he had to deal with both the brawler's flirting and the Belladonna's intense teasing over it, the young man had been smart enough to gear up and endure the advances forwarded by the blonde in question.
There was also the fact that the Cat Faunus couldn't help but remind herself as of why she had never been close to Yang, the cheerful blonde being what Blake wouldn't never want to be in a social context.
She was too much an extrovert compared to the reclusive Faunus, something that had put them at odds during their first days as partners. The following step had been silent neutrality with some minor bantering initiated by Yang herself.
Blake never felt the need to start anything as she felt that their relationship would have been affordable as formal team-members than anything else, a feeling not shared by the giddy blonde that would end up pestering her about the silliest of details.
While the Xiao Long was eager for fights, to speak with people and to venture in danger, the Belladonna preferred the peace and quiet of books rather than dealing with real life's issues, something proven by the way she had decided to not return back to Beacon as it was no longer the fight with Weiss that kept her from going there to seek redemption.
The effort wasn't… actually worth it. It was actually worse, in her quiet opinion, to let go of the little settlement gained by pure and raw dumb luck. Or lack of, considering the damage she had caused to end up in that curious situation.
Sid was still uneasy to have around, the same she knew was for him when she was around, but they both weren't there to attack each other. Rather they were making sure the other didn't pull a foul without any physical damage involved.
One could call it a cat-and-mouse play, where the girl was actually the rodent before someone with much more balance over his own life. He had his own moderation within the sea of extreme ends, something that Blake had failed to obtain after slamming painfully against both directions. The human was also partially-trained as a Huntsman but lacked any of the major skills and weapon that could actually make her consider him a threat to have around.
He was mostly harmless, if not sassy and impudent with his tones when she ended up causing some minor issues. Lucky for her, her attention over her attempt to be conciliating turned out to be a blessing for their curious relationship.
This connection was actually one of the major questions that had gotten the girl thinking about for hours, the extent and limits of their current 'friendship'. It was odd to even call it friendship, the two of them being more or less simple housemates at this point.
Where they even friends? She was at fault for crashing down from his roof and making some escalation of sort out of panic and ill-thinking, but now they were… neutral to each other. There was a humane understanding of each other and they were both respectful to the barest about the other.
It was that simple bond that Blake found… nice to have in these trying times. There wasn't any attempt to garner her utmost trust, nor was she supposed to fear every step for the sake of getting betrayed by the waiter.
A peaceful standoff, one where both contenders knew that there wouldn't be any horrible development coming from it but still didn't budge from their standing positions. Staring at each other, determination pouring from their souls as they keenly avoided to make the first, and possibly wrong, move against the other.
It was stimulating, it was refreshing and…
"I finished my sets," Sid proclaimed with a tired sigh, his sweaty form slowly walking away from the living room. "I will take the bathroom for some minutes."
The comment was enough to bring the Belladonna out of her silence-induced thoughts regarding the last two days of work, her attention once more shifting back to the fact she had yet to finish with her own training.
Two days had passed and the working week was over as Saturday began without a clear plan established by both housemates. Sure, Blake had loved three more hours of sleep by the lovely couch and she had turned up refreshed by the extra time spent resting.
Enough for her to be ready to the schedule she would have to deal while spending her whole day at the flat by exercising and meditating. The idea had came out from Sid, the young man mentioning how it's been a while since he had last gone for some sessions of training and mentioning how the girl should have planned out something similar for the fact that she was a student at Beacon.
Telling him about the full context of everything that had happened by the docks, her former allegiance to the White Fang and the reason why she was still avoiding her team had helped immensely the Faunus' plight as the human had visibly appreciated the honesty provided by the girl and offering some minor support in giving her the means of avoiding getting 'discovered' by anyone she knew about.
Still, some discomfort from the revelation of having been part of the now-violent organization had created some minor friction between the two as the young man was aware of the fact that the aggressive approach taken by the Fang developed far before her 'planned' leave and he had asked for some simple but crude questions.
Did she ever kills someone during service? Only in extreme cases of self-defense. Her first kill was legitimated by the fact she had been merely fourteen and the one she had offed was a rabid officer from Atlas attacking her without hesitation and madly.
Gambol Shroud had tasted blood in that encounter, but the following times the spread of the red color had been limited as she didn't believe in making examples in that way. It was barbaric, it would have made her an 'animal' just like racists have painted her as with the rest of her kind.
With a tired sigh of her own, the girl slumped on the comfy sofa, eyes closing as she quietly basked in the quietness of her free day here at the flat. Sadly, the cat ears that were proud feature and sign of her heritage proved to be strong enough to catch the distant noise of water running from the bathroom.
Her eyes twitched open, a groan turning in an irritated purr as she blinked at the general direction where Sid was possibly taking a quick bath. The human was swift in his activities there but her mind couldn't help but… wander to certain details.
She had noticed that he was well-developed in his chest, legs and arms, there was a clear attention at making sure he kept healthy, something that was surprising coming from a supposedly-normal civilian. Her brain surmised that it had to do with the particular roles of his parents, both military-related jobs that would end up requiring fitness as a core part of their lives.
Something that had been instilled even to their 'average' child, enough to have him become a fairly interesting threat if given a proper gun. Now, Blake wasn't fairly certain of this particular statement, but she would easily admit that he could have been a good material for Huntsman…
Yet he was a little too old for that. It was two years, he was two years older than her and… he had already gotten 'enough' from his time spent completing the regular education and specialization, having his own work and flat… it was kind of a pity.
It would have been an interest addition, but then again he would have gone for Haven rather than Beacon and that would have render it mostly-impossible for her to meet him. It was a series of conflicting thought that followed this extended line that culminated… with someone knocking by the entrance of the living room.
Her attention snapped at the waving hand owned by the one and only Sid Tremaine, the young man having a little towel covering his wet hair as he tip-toed with a simple shirt and short pants, his shoes missing. "Bathroom is clear," He announced calmly.
Blake nodded and, just as he got up from her seat, the man hummed. "By the way, I was planning to do a movie marathon after lunch," The human pointed out, causing her to frown curiously at the proposal. "Something to keep entertained until dinner."
The girl blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Anything specific…?" She asked, knowing that a large majority of movies would have hardly got her attention, thus denying her the 'entertainment' promised by the young man.
"The Madonna Arc's Anthology," He mentioned absently as he checked on the small stack of discs sitting nearby the TV, ignoring the fact that Blake's jaws had dropped the moment the name was mentioned. "So, Ninja of Love, the sequel and the spin-off-"
"W-Wait," The young woman zeroed the distance between herself and thediscs in question and gave them a long look, her golden eyes widening as she had just found out about something… interesting.
She had heard about news of some movies having been adapted from her beloved books, but the availability of the three films had been limited to some areas of Mistral and Atlas. Vale was quick to ban it for the sake of avoiding the 'halved' romantic scenes and Vacuo couldn't just afford to distribute the movie with how expensive the process was for many kingdoms.
But to think that a copy of the trilogy was here in Sid's possession…
She gulped nervously and slowly stared up at the now-confused look settled on the young man's face. "Something's wrong about it?" He asked innocently, seemingly unable to pick up the immense joy vibrating from her features.
"W-Wrong?" Her tone felt trembling too. "N-Nothing wrong. Just… y-you really mean it? Can I… see it too?"
He frowned, his confusion deepening even more but he still nodded at her. "Yeah?"
It was enough for the Belladonna to show her affection at this grandiose offer… by launching herself at the unaware human in a surprise hug. The propulsion wasn't strong enough to send them both flying back to the floor, but the relative closeness was more than enough to get a quick reaction out of Sid.
He started to pat her upper back, her shoulders hurting a little as he seemed to be struggling in what was supposed to be a show of gratefulness and affection.
"B-Blake! Get off of me-" He started to yell in a panicked tone. Could it be that he was flustered by the closeness she had-
"I just did a bath, Blake- You are stinky!"
Nevermind, any warm emotion she held for the young man flatly vanished with those strong words, she let go instantly of the hold she had imposed upon him…
But decided to deign him a quick headbutt on his chest, the action not strong enough to hurt both of them but… at least she was the only one knowing the meaning behind the gesture, in fact she walked up to the entrance, glanced back and saw immense confusion at what had just happened.
The giddy smile at the prospect of spending the rest of the afternoon in watching the terrific trilogy widened as she was finally granted the peace of mind in the form of a warm bath with bubble.
Bubbles made good things better. Always.
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The movie marathon turned out to be a major success, an idea that I was partly eager to experiment with someone as introverted as Blake was. The fact that the girl had been quite impatient during lunch after learning of this proposal should have been grand sign that I had somehow hit jackpot with the picking of the movies.
I had seen the little book the Faunus had around, the one she would take during their pauses at work or when it was time to go to sleep. It was Ninja of Love, or rather the Uncensored version of the curious literary work.
The trilogy itself as books had been the cause of a major uproar back when it was first released because of the graphic content of some 'love' sessions between the two protagonists, forcing the principal editor to re-release it in two versions. An 18+ book that contained the fullest 'glory' of the original text and a redacted version with the entirety of the sexual content cut down and removed.
The movies were based from the censored version, the movie-makers had been well-aware of the dangers of stirring another set of conflicts regarding the perception of the perverted book, thus deciding to create, with the author's permission, some different scenes that replaced the very ones that were to be removed.
The first film gained a massive and positive critic and review from the majority of the fans, some still mourning the fact that the 'fun bits' from the series had been denied by some 'overly-conservatives troglodytes'. And yes, they did use the term 'troglodytes' to define people denying the sex scenes.
I suppose I should also explain how exactly I ended up getting the trifecta with how rare it was finding it in Mistral and the answer to that question can be traced back to a mission my father had been part of back when he was still in active duty… three years ago.
He had been called to deal with a sudden increase of Grimm by the lone village of Ansel and there he ended up befriending an old colleague of his and his wife. The woman, which was the writer of the three books, decided to provide, as a sign of gratitude, the copies of the movie to my dad and…
Mom had been fairly angry about that. Considering the content presented by the movies, still a touch above what my siblings and I could have been able to watch 'without inopportune questions being asked'.
Both my brother and my sister had refused the chances of getting these with them when they both left home, leaving me as the sole owner of the 'forbidden' movies as I moved out of my home in Mistral.
I had expected Blake to be a little uneasy at the fact I had provided her with the adaptation of quite the lewd book, the very one she was seen having around more than a few times, and yet she had been… overly-enthusiastic at the prospect of watching the three films in what turned out to be a seven hours long marathon.
I was flinching once or twice of the time as the tones used by some characters before the cut-off scenes were still there to torment with their lustful tones.
Seriously, why weren't the movie shot down too? Why were they accepted so easily with how many crass dialogues it still had?
Good questions in which the three movies failed to give an answer too and… Blake continued to be the giddiest I've ever seen her, with a bright smile, shining golden eyes and cat ears twitching in full-attention as the plots of the stories unfolded from the large screen in front of the sofa.
We had our own mantle of sheets, two bowls of popcorn and chips, and large bottles of soda to keep our hunger and thirst satisfied for the whole duration of the marathon. We were sitting by the two edges of the furniture, our stares fixed at the TV displaying the movies. I had seen this just once before that day and… I didn't find myself liking it just as I had back when I first gave it a quick look.
The dialogue was okay most of the time, some scenes were fantastic in showing the complexity behind some of the protagonists' flaws and weaknesses, but the way the shipping was flaunted was… way too speedy for it to appear realistic. The delivery from some of the actors was disheartening at best as these were too dismissive of major details that could have given major weight to the overall stories of the individual characters. A good set of movies… but not the best to watch after three times.
And, much to my chagrin, I was actually contrasted by the way Blake was keen to describe the marathon. Terribly influenced by the love she held for the series, the girl judged it as a perfect masterwork, 'the culmination of real life and fantasy, the dream and the fiction being painted upon reality itself'.
I was impressed by the use of some precise words to elevate the state of some of the good scenes and I almost fell for that vision of hers. It was pitched in a delightful manner and fairly honest… until a certain degree.
In fact, the only thing I ended up having to endure about this overly-positive judgment was how I had to decide whenever or not it would have been convenient for me to point out how her perception ignored the flaws of the good movies for the sake of lift up the potency of the scenes.
I was half-tempted to call 'BS' on her review of it, but then again I had the common sense to know that she was trained in the use of guns and she had a weapon on herself. And that is why, instead of headbutting against an early death, I merely kept quiet until dinner.
Dinner was fairly normal if not for Blake being in the best of moods with what had happened until mere moments ago. The smile plastered there was somehow intriguing to see as it morphed while she starting to eat her plateful of tuna.
The Cat Faunus loved fish and I was pretty sure that, without the scene unfolding before me, I would have felt it sounding more as a racist slur rather than the commentary of what she was doing right now.
She just loved fish, she literally spent half her pay in sea-food and there was nothing particularly wrong about it…
Except that she would let out a purr or two in a normal situation. But now? Now the girl was vibrating on her seat, the purrs loud enough to not appear as mere innocent noises as she continued to happily eat the cooked fish.
It was an overly-adorable sight, one that I had planned to have to see for that day. I had actually expected the girl to refuse the movies out of embarrassment and yet my little plan had backfired to a point where it actually looked I was 'granted' such a cute display of happiness.
I might have been aware of the fact that Cat Faunus and Dog Faunus were rather affectionate in showing their cheerfulness, the former being more difficult to render so rather than the latter, something I knew from experience, but… I was completely unprepared with how I was supposed to react about it.
After four days of having Blake around, I couldn't help but feel nervous at the sudden shift of personality. I was certain it was a temporary thing, but I couldn't let go of the fact that she was indeed looking terribly adorable-
OMG, her cute kitty-cat ears are flapping so excitedly and-
N-NO! We aren't having any of that. I might love cats to a degree, but I couldn't certainly compare a simple animal as a kitty to the purring, happy-looking Faunus sitting in front of me.
I felt by breath itching as I didn't realize I had walked behind Blake, the girl was unaware of this sudden shift herself and… we both discovered what was going on when I had my hand softly settled on top of her head.
She tensed, and I tensed. I felt nervous, I felt paling and I felt the need to bolt away from the possible bomb I just set off with this careless and greedy action.
I expected her to snap at the sudden gesture, to hit me and maybe beat the crap out of me (kind of an Anime reaction that would be, but I was still fearful of any reaction from that Neko- I mean, Cat Faunus).
Then, much to my immense surprise and confusion, the black-haired girl relaxed and… started to purr even more, seemingly accepting the fact my hand was now on her head. I blinked once, then twice.
Then thrice.
What the heck is going on?!
Finally, I managed to lift my hand off from her soft and silky hair, wide eyes staring accusingly at my traitorous fingers before deigning to answer to the certainly-implicit question generating from the poor girl assaulted in such manner.
The degeneration of mankind in a nutshell!
"S-Sorry," I tried to apologize, my head burning a little in embarrassment and mortification at the fact I did indeed touched a rather sensitive part of her biology. The cat ears were quite sensible, I remember receiving a lecture out from my mother when a child had been caught pulling on some Faunus child's animal ears and- "I-It's just that… it looked-"
"Cute?" She suggested softly, her head lowering a little and yet I could still see the blush spreading to her ears and turning those red. "I-It's alright, I- You apologized." There was embarrassment in the girl's voice, but the purring for some reason didn't cease even in that moment.
The rest of the evening was spent quietly and silently as we decided to not discuss about that weird and senseless scene. It was just too… senseless.
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AN
Little moment of warmth before something a little deeper. Comedy at the purest, when the awkward is made silent for only the presents to know about.
People are asking for the two to be paired? Well sadly, I don't wish for them to do that.
Would it kill the closeness? No, I'm actually bringing up the kind of friendship that will be so weird, so crackish and terribly easy to misunderstand for the people witnessing this happen that it will become much better and wholesome than mere romance.
Expect jealousy from Blake's admirers and the only one hailing from Sid's camp. It will be a fun brawl~!
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And I'm not that bad!
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 6: And I'm not that bad!
Yang wasn't having the greatest days as of now.
After Blake had just gone and escaped from them following what had happened in the docks, the rest of the team had taken the material victory as a moral defeat at the fact that the Cat Faunus had decided to avoid them once more.
It didn't help that the bitterness of failing to 'calm her down' was burdened by the harsh lecture the team got from Ms. Goodwitch. It was the first time the woman had looked so incredibly livid and ready to make use of her infamous whip, their grace being the ever-so diplomatic mediator that was the headmaster.
The headmaster had stressed well-enough that the situation had been mostly led by a simple 'teen-related' fallout and that the escalation had been out of their hands as a whole He pointed out how they wouldn't have certainly gone to risk their lives for the sake of stopping a grand theft committed by a terrorist cell.
The Combat Training teacher was still furious even when the man shifted his attention at the three girls, her eyes narrowing at them and promising a multiple-months long detention for how much crap they had caused with their intervention.
But Yang hadn't been quick to call for relief as the visibly-angriest woman had settled down, her lilac eyes noticing way too well the familiar expression, similar to the one her father would take when some of his students had gone and done something completely wrong and unforgivable, on the calmly, yet furious headmaster.
Ozpin's lecture didn't spare them, even the smallest of details and errors committed before and during the fight were brought up to be dissected and displayed in their hideous glory.
Ruby was terribly mortified at the pressure exercised on her as she was still the team-leader and she had been expected to be a little more mindful of the emotions and the attrition born out from her partner and Blake, her hood failing to hide the paleness now present on her face as she merely took the verbal punishment withou much but a nod.
The same was for Weiss as the heiress did seem to have reverted back to a little child as she merely nodded absently at Ozpin's rant while also giving some 'yes sir' where it was necessary, gone was her snippy remarks and her classy tones.
Yang didn't feel the need to express major worry about the situation, even though she had been afraid herself of what kind of punishment she would have ended up because of her inaction regarding her partner's fit and… how she hadn't given her some support.
Not just because the Xiao Long could see the logic in Blake's words, but because she did know a little about the situation of Faunus after what Uncle Qrow had described both her and Ruby about what was going on in Atlas.
While the White Fang were terrorists, the violent reaction exerted by the most-advanced Kingdom was still worth of some frowning and displeasure. Miners were killed, a large majority of Mantle was dealing with something close to a famine because of the latest reforms and the protests weren't being denied with the units deployed there.
It was close to war, close to something that Yang didn't want to be part of and… to think that her partner came from that kind of situation? Sure, the blonde wasn't sure that the Belladonna had come from the cold territory up north, but the overall situation for Faunus wasn't different if not in Mistral and partly in Vale.
And seeing the vehemence displayed by the girl, the brawler was also certain that her partner wasn't from neither of the two kingdoms. Either she was from Atlas, Vacuo (which was a hellhole for everyone) or Menagerie.
The day after the fight, Yang had found herself having some trouble finding rest. Maybe it was the guilt of the whole situation, or maybe the hits she had received the day before were still make her body bitch about the soreness.
It wouldn't be the first time that the stinging sensation on her aura from numerous attacks she had suffered from a spar or a full-fledged battle had continued to annoy her brain until she found sleep in utter tiredness.
Yet the Xiao Long hadn't found rest in that singular day, nor the following one and the one after that. Gone was her cheerful morning personality as she felt incredibly sluggish with her usual routine and her attention span suffered immensely because of it.
Not even sparring gave her that same bright fire as the gnawing emotion of having failed someone that she had a responsibility over was still here to spoil her chances of regaining some calm. She was unnerved, terribly so, and the fact that her search through Vale had been inconclusive at best was enough to worsen up her general mood.
It didn't help that Sun had taken interest in making it a double patrol, following her as he mirthfully commented about everything around them and… it had been quite the irritating, if not infuriating, behavior to not react with a punch.
The Monkey Faunus seemed to really mean well, having been the one that had told the team that Blake had indeed mused over the chance of apologizing and that they had planned to 'see' if there would have been a theft to either confute or prove that her thesis was correct or not.
One thing led to another… and the Cat had jumped right on the trouble rather than make some smart decision. Something that led to a brawl in the docks and that ended up with everyone losing everything.
Not the brightest idea, but Yang couldn't certainly fault the fellow blond over it as it had been her partner to cause this incredible mess.
And it was also Weiss' fault for instigating the usually-introverted Faunus to this kind of action. She could have been a little less… abrasive while dispensing her 'righteous' preaching, maybe even get a lesser fallout out of that predicament.
Still, it was useless to cry on the spoiled milk and Yang couldn't exactly linger too much over the past now that she had to find out where her elusive partner had gone. She had to be in the capital, the Scroll she had on herself still functioning from Beacon's database even though her location had been blocked out by the Cat Faunus.
It was a minor relief over the multiple worries besieging the blonde and… she was glad that she found someplace where to rest during the searches. The 'Morning Sip' wasn't a place where she could ever hope to find alcohol to buy, but Yang wouldn't exactly make use of some Strawberry Sunrises to get her early-day going.
Alcohol was nice when it was used to spice her emotions up, just enough to warm her body and keep her heartbeat drumming as she concluded the last tasks of a difficult day. She never got drunk… too much. There had been some instances but- she was digressing.
The place was nice, it had a warmth system that delightfully keeps her from freezing up with the unholy cold coming to Vale during this part of the year, her clothes and aura offering just little protection from the surreal climate, and the coffee she would order would always aid her to recover from the drowsiness of the uneasy morning while also clearing her mind for further thinking.
The bar was nice, not the Junior's kind of 'nice' as the place was clean and a fine establishment. One that she had found because of Sun's insistence to expand their operations' range, something that could easily be described as 'annoying people until someone actually care and give us some clue' kind of plan.
It was good plan, she has to admit, but with how overly-irritating Sun was at that early hour, Yang couldn't help but deem it the worst idea with her 'buddy'. That very buddy that wasn't there at the moment as she happily took a sip from her warm mug.
The very mug offered by the usual waiter, Sid having been rather intrigued by the matter but keeping himself distant from getting too attached to the matter. Something that the Xiao Long appreciated as she knew that too many people to keep an eye on were going to create her more issues than help in the long run.
The young man was barely older than her, maybe a year or two, and his politely-quiet manners and tones were more than enough to bring her to relax in that good place. Patch didn't have much of a daily bar, only a pub that offered ice creams and icicles to those that had enough money to afford it.
It was the first time she had gone to see something like this place and… she was glad that this occasion had come, ignoring the importance regarding what had led her in this part of town.
The very place where she found a perfect target for her teasing. Sid was a gentleman, but Yang was more endeared by how easy it was to get him flustered once or twice in a while. After the first time, the man had been guarded over falling with her 'tricks', but the blonde was hardly a rookie in the unfair game of teasing.
It had been easy to pick up hints from his posture and his clothes about what kind of person he was and the most curious topic about them all was… his colleague. The young woman was a little shorter than Sid, her hair and eyes hidden by a little Christmas-themed hat and a pair of sunglasses.
She was rather curt with her interactions around clients and she had been avoiding quite well ever coming close to the curious brawler. Why would she wear sunglasses with so little illumination and… why the hat?
The questions were there poking at her sanity, but she couldn't exactly man-handle her way into discovering what was going on with the lady. It was the little common sense she had that drove her to not pull a 'Junior' on the bar, feeling like this little haven was far too much of a necessity to ditch without a proper reason.
Curiosity was still there, pressing for at least a hint or two that could satisfy her sudden case of interest and… that was done when the waiter came around to pick her empty mug.
"By the way, Sid," Yang said as soon as the young man had his hand on the cup. "Can you tell me about your lady-friend over there?" She pointed subtly at the unaware waitress and… Sid blinked in minor surprise.
"You mean B-" He immediately stopped, his eyes widening a little more before he corrected himself, faking a cough. "B-Bianca? My colleague?"
Lilac eyes narrowed. "So her name is Bianca?" She pressed on with an intrigued tone, her glance briefly returning to the young woman and… yep, there was something off about that very name.
He nodded and she felt like something was off with that reply. Something about the way he had just stopped and almost panicking about it, as if the Xiao Long had asked him if he still had his V-Card or not.
Very suspicious, she admitted to herself and she decided to continue with her inquiry.
"That's a peculiar name. Isn't it… Mistralian?" The guess was met with a quick nod, this time the strange panic subsiding. Maybe it was time to poke a little harder and see if she can fish out another reaction out of him.
"I bet that she is… newer than you," The brawler commented as her eyes caught just in time another clumsy tripping from the waitress, dignifying her current lack of experience. "I bet she relies a lot on you."
He sighed. "You could say that."
The admission was actually a strong clue about a little suggestion about the case, one that seemed the most appropriate by the way he appeared so flustered when the blonde mentioned about his colleague.
There was no doubt that, while the young man was trying to make it appear that they were in a professional relationship… he might have been thinking of the clumsy girl more than he said.
"Oh really?" Yang felt a smile widening on her face at the unsuspecting frown coming from the waiter, the cheeky girl truly feeling at the peak of that glorious teasing session as her prey was soon going to fall for her little discovery.
How could she not see this as the real truth!?
His shyness when talking of the girl, his adorable panicking when Yang would ask more about his 'interest' and how he was so conscious of the girl's flaws and still loved them.
Her smile twitched and… she went for the bite. A big one for sure!
"Then I can only guess that she is rather handful when you are crushing on her."
Hook, liner and-
Thud
…
Lilac eyes turned to stare at the now-unconscious waiter as he now lied on the floor in a twitchy, the entire bar fell silent as everyone heard the man falling on the ground and were now exchanging glances between him and the nervous blonde.
Yang blinked again, this time it was her turn to panic as the situation had devolved to an uneasy murmuring from the other clients, with the waitress cautiously approaching her colleague and checking on him while the owner proceeded to walk towards Yang.
He looked annoyed, but not angry. Hopefully, she could get just five seconds of her explanation in before being kicked out. Yet, while she had expected to be banned for 'killing' one of the workers there, she felt surprise as the older man's appearance eased with a soft sigh as he momentarily glanced at the unconscious worker.
"To think that Sid would have been taken down by you, missy," The mustached man said, returning his calm stare at her. "I will let it pass the fact you went overboard with your teasing and… please don't do that again, I need this one in particular."
She felt confused, uneasy and terribly embarrassed at what had just happened and, feeling guilty over the matter, the blonde rose from her seat and tried to help the 'camouflaged' lady to pull the sleeping young man away from the room-
Only to be hissed at by the fellow woman. She froze, her eyes widening for a moment as she tried and failed to compute the strange reaction she had just witnessed and before she could even proclaim her dumbfoundness, the two workers left her sight to their locker room.
What the heck was that!?
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Blake felt uneasy at the strange demeanor she was being prime witnesses of.
It's been just twenty minutes since their shift had concluded, the close encounter with Yang gone and partly-forgotten as the blonde left the bar after paying for her coffee, giving to the Cat Faunus some relief over the fact that her stupid reaction hadn't gotten the blonde suspicious of her identity.
The current camouflage was indeed useless in keeping the usually-extroverted girl from noticing the awfully weird look the secretive Faunus had to cover her unique features. Something that Sid had been quite prominent to point out once he woke up.
Their interaction in the locker room was brief as they both resumed their shift after sparing a few words following his awakening, his curt sentence still fresh on her mind as it was manifesting in their current shopping spree.
"Hat and glasses need to go."
She understood perfectly what he was referring too and she agreed to this wholeheartedly, but the fact that they were browsing in the wigs section of a costume shop was enough to get the Faunus to some uneasiness regarding what the young man was trying to find.
"We need something… short," He whispered to himself. "Something that could motivate the hat while also dissuade any connection to the long-haired one."
There was a pause as he stopped by a pair of dark-red short version of her style, his eyes narrowing at it before he took them and flashed those at her. "What do you think of those?"
The Cat Faunus had been silent until now, the intrigue born from seeing the human going through what seemed to be a panic-induced Plan B had been both an entertaining and disturbing sight. It was just plain odd to see the usually-collected Sid being this much frantic with his actions, showing that the close call had been far worse than the one she had when Sun was around too.
Yang was good at flirting, but it was her teasing that made her a worrisome individual to face alone and without precaution. Something that the young man had paid dearly as he had been aware of what he had been going against… and earned a quick unconsciousness out of it.
And while the sudden fainting had given Blake the worst scare possible, she was mostly confused as of what could have exactly gotten this strong of a reaction out of the human. There was hardly anything that Yang could have said about him to get him to that state and… it didn't help that the young man was tight-lipped over the matter.
Very suspicious but also concerning, hoping that whatever had gotten him this worked up wouldn't end up becoming her next problem any time soon. Yet, knowing her partner's propensity to tease everyone on her reach, it was a sure thing that was going to happen to the Faunus too, whatever she liked it or not.
Blake hummed and nodded at the curious wig, picking it in her hands as she tested the texture and… it was just as soft at hair. She checked around to see if there was space for her longer black locks and… it seemed there was enough to fit her head well.
Seeing her positive answer, Sid moved out of that section of the shop and, instead of leading her to the counter so they could have gone to pay for this product, he decided to wander right to the part of the building that displayed numerous boxes containing… eye-contacts.
She frowned as the young man started to browse onto that section too, her worry about his sanity growing with her need to ask what had gotten him to that particular frenzy. It was now far too pronounced to be ignored and, if she had to be honest, the girl wasn't a fan of eye-contacts.
The Belladonna had tried them once a few years ago during a Fang operation and the atrocious itchy soreness she had to deal with after she was gone with the blue-colored ones for a full hour of wearing the pair had left her in a particular discomfort when around those.
"Sid," The girl finally spoke, a twitch in the human's posture giving her clue that he was at least listening to what she was saying. "I know that this might be weird coming from me but… isn't this a little overboard?"
The moment the last word from her query left her lips, the young man's search came to a sudden halt. He stiffened his body and then he glanced back with a serious look, almost making her flinch in response.
"Blake," He started with a tense voice. "What I'm going to tell you is going to sound disrespectful to a fair degree and I wish you to understand that there is context behind this nervousness about some details that… aren't good to think about right now."
She blinked at the way he explained it. She had expected him to pull an angry tirade and… yet he was awfully calm and collected in that frenzy of his. Seriously, what did Yang told him?
Sid opened his mouth once again and… he started to tell her what had truly happened in that brief encounter he had with the blonde and why he had gone unconscious the moment her last sentence had reached his ears.
Blake stood still as she listened to it all, not even displaying any telling emotion about the fact that the main reason that had gotten Sid to faint at work was… the possibility that he was crushing on the 'mysterious' waitress.
The temptation to merely bash his skull at the silly and outrageous reason to actually 'faint' was terribly growing within her chest but she held back from putting thoughts into practice. Maybe there was indeed something that she was missing from this view, she thought absently, there has to be a better reason for him to faint other than the idea of her being
Sid had yet to pull a 'Sun' on her and, hopefully, that wasn't going to be the case this time.
"But what is what got you scared?" She pressed on impatiently, huffing as he blinked tiredly. "Seriously, you said that there was a context to-"
"If she truly believes that, what do you think she will do the next time she comes at the bar?"
"Apologize?" The Faunus guessed, getting a sigh from the man.
"She will want to know more about the matter and… try to 'help us out'," He pointed out without hesitation. "You said that she was the one that usually headbutt onto the problem and what better way to solve a problem about 'crushes' than directly investigating the crush itself?"
…Oh Gods.
Her eyes widened and her face paled a little. "Y-You mean that she-"
"Officially speaking, I fainted for a lack of sugar, not because of me pulling an act worth of some Award. Something that I'm solving with more snacks rather than weak medicines," Sid interrupted firmly as he continued to explain his new plan.
"And you decided to hide yourself a little less than usual as you almost tripped on me when I fainted. That is why you decided that for the sake of work, you ditched the glasses and the hat to avoid meddling with any worrisome situations."
She blinked, her golden eyes staring in shock at the newly-fabricated excuses and the absurd save proposed by the young man. He looked determined about it and she would be lying if she said she didn't felt it good enough to be used for their predicament.
It was odd to say, but now the faint felt legitimately the best action to pull in that awkward case. If he had continued to talk or even move away from the situation, the blonde would have taken them as positive things.
While the faint still counted as a possible sign for that, if the legitimate cause was given to a medical issue, the 'clue' itself would fall away from the whole 'crushing debacle' and so would Yang's attempt to investigate on her.
The perfect alibi and… Sid had given this to her for her sake. Blake couldn't certainly deny that something this big would require some effort from the human himself and she felt rather amazed by the show of trust and friendliness coming from that seemingly well-elaborated plan.
The Faunus didn't expect this much from him, feeling that he was going out of his way to cover up for that glaring issue she would have gotten to deal with alone if it wasn't for him.
The girl blinked once again and the quick hug that followed that genuine interaction that dripped of intriguing trust towards her was perceived as unexpected by the young man as it was for her. The first time she had 'consciously' gone for the embrace, beyond the mere moments of giddiness caused by having her favorite series to watch on TV rather than in the caged dimension of books.
It was the first time in a long time since she had hugged someone as a mean to thank them. Blake couldn't even remember who was the last individual she had hugged for that.
Was it her parents? Adam? Or even Illia?
It's been so long and-
"That was quite… interesting," Sid mused quietly, but loud enough to snap the girl's out of her depressing thoughts. "And ignoring what did just happen, do you prefer brown or blue ones?" He asked while bringing two small boxes.
She glanced in surprise as her eyes looked at both with a minor grimace replacing her smile. "Do… Do I have to?"
The human frowned at her comment. "What's wrong with contacts?" He pressed on, seemingly perplexed by her reaction.
A sigh left the girl's lips. "Last time I used them, my eyes almost got an infection and-"
"That can't be true." He huffed with a frown. "Like, I know there are some bad reaction but chances of infection are only when-" The young man stopped as he turned his attention to another set of boxes, leading Blake towards them.
"Where the ones you used contained in boxes like these ones?" Sid questioned with a curious tone, gaining a surprise look from Blake as… those were the ones she had used back then.
"Yes, but why-"
"The 'Human-only' ones?" He interrupted with a strong query, catching her off-guard. "The one that can actually damage a Faunus' eyesight if used by one?"
There was a nervous pause from the Belladonna, her mind trying to squeeze out the details of that specific situation and… then she remembered exactly the possible individual she had to blame for what had been three days of atrocious problems about her eyesight.
The 'humble and kind' girl that had given her support on those trying times, the very shy Faunus that had 'opened up' for the sake of helping.
Ilia had been the one assigned to buy the contacts, Blake remembered perfectly, her eyes throwing a deadly glare at the boxes as she now had the name of the one guilty part that had caused her so much trouble!
Meanwhile, a certain Chameleon Faunus sneezed without an apparent reason as she continued to stand perched by her usual tree in Kuo Kuana, eyes directed at the mansion owned by the Belladonna family and… where Blake could 'hopefully' come back to. The right place to continue with her loving Sta- 'humble guarding'.
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AN
I don't have much to say… except that I just found an adorable Blake fanart that I will possibly use as the FF cover in the 'maybe future'. Why not now and why maybe? Well, it's almost midnight and I need some sleeping going before I ded on this keyboard, plus I don't know- I don't feel it.
I wonder if this will reach 100 follows before 31th…
Yang wasn't having the greatest days as of now.
After Blake had just gone and escaped from them following what had happened in the docks, the rest of the team had taken the material victory as a moral defeat at the fact that the Cat Faunus had decided to avoid them once more.
It didn't help that the bitterness of failing to 'calm her down' was burdened by the harsh lecture the team got from Ms. Goodwitch. It was the first time the woman had looked so incredibly livid and ready to make use of her infamous whip, their grace being the ever-so diplomatic mediator that was the headmaster.
The headmaster had stressed well-enough that the situation had been mostly led by a simple 'teen-related' fallout and that the escalation had been out of their hands as a whole He pointed out how they wouldn't have certainly gone to risk their lives for the sake of stopping a grand theft committed by a terrorist cell.
The Combat Training teacher was still furious even when the man shifted his attention at the three girls, her eyes narrowing at them and promising a multiple-months long detention for how much crap they had caused with their intervention.
But Yang hadn't been quick to call for relief as the visibly-angriest woman had settled down, her lilac eyes noticing way too well the familiar expression, similar to the one her father would take when some of his students had gone and done something completely wrong and unforgivable, on the calmly, yet furious headmaster.
Ozpin's lecture didn't spare them, even the smallest of details and errors committed before and during the fight were brought up to be dissected and displayed in their hideous glory.
Ruby was terribly mortified at the pressure exercised on her as she was still the team-leader and she had been expected to be a little more mindful of the emotions and the attrition born out from her partner and Blake, her hood failing to hide the paleness now present on her face as she merely took the verbal punishment withou much but a nod.
The same was for Weiss as the heiress did seem to have reverted back to a little child as she merely nodded absently at Ozpin's rant while also giving some 'yes sir' where it was necessary, gone was her snippy remarks and her classy tones.
Yang didn't feel the need to express major worry about the situation, even though she had been afraid herself of what kind of punishment she would have ended up because of her inaction regarding her partner's fit and… how she hadn't given her some support.
Not just because the Xiao Long could see the logic in Blake's words, but because she did know a little about the situation of Faunus after what Uncle Qrow had described both her and Ruby about what was going on in Atlas.
While the White Fang were terrorists, the violent reaction exerted by the most-advanced Kingdom was still worth of some frowning and displeasure. Miners were killed, a large majority of Mantle was dealing with something close to a famine because of the latest reforms and the protests weren't being denied with the units deployed there.
It was close to war, close to something that Yang didn't want to be part of and… to think that her partner came from that kind of situation? Sure, the blonde wasn't sure that the Belladonna had come from the cold territory up north, but the overall situation for Faunus wasn't different if not in Mistral and partly in Vale.
And seeing the vehemence displayed by the girl, the brawler was also certain that her partner wasn't from neither of the two kingdoms. Either she was from Atlas, Vacuo (which was a hellhole for everyone) or Menagerie.
The day after the fight, Yang had found herself having some trouble finding rest. Maybe it was the guilt of the whole situation, or maybe the hits she had received the day before were still make her body bitch about the soreness.
It wouldn't be the first time that the stinging sensation on her aura from numerous attacks she had suffered from a spar or a full-fledged battle had continued to annoy her brain until she found sleep in utter tiredness.
Yet the Xiao Long hadn't found rest in that singular day, nor the following one and the one after that. Gone was her cheerful morning personality as she felt incredibly sluggish with her usual routine and her attention span suffered immensely because of it.
Not even sparring gave her that same bright fire as the gnawing emotion of having failed someone that she had a responsibility over was still here to spoil her chances of regaining some calm. She was unnerved, terribly so, and the fact that her search through Vale had been inconclusive at best was enough to worsen up her general mood.
It didn't help that Sun had taken interest in making it a double patrol, following her as he mirthfully commented about everything around them and… it had been quite the irritating, if not infuriating, behavior to not react with a punch.
The Monkey Faunus seemed to really mean well, having been the one that had told the team that Blake had indeed mused over the chance of apologizing and that they had planned to 'see' if there would have been a theft to either confute or prove that her thesis was correct or not.
One thing led to another… and the Cat had jumped right on the trouble rather than make some smart decision. Something that led to a brawl in the docks and that ended up with everyone losing everything.
Not the brightest idea, but Yang couldn't certainly fault the fellow blond over it as it had been her partner to cause this incredible mess.
And it was also Weiss' fault for instigating the usually-introverted Faunus to this kind of action. She could have been a little less… abrasive while dispensing her 'righteous' preaching, maybe even get a lesser fallout out of that predicament.
Still, it was useless to cry on the spoiled milk and Yang couldn't exactly linger too much over the past now that she had to find out where her elusive partner had gone. She had to be in the capital, the Scroll she had on herself still functioning from Beacon's database even though her location had been blocked out by the Cat Faunus.
It was a minor relief over the multiple worries besieging the blonde and… she was glad that she found someplace where to rest during the searches. The 'Morning Sip' wasn't a place where she could ever hope to find alcohol to buy, but Yang wouldn't exactly make use of some Strawberry Sunrises to get her early-day going.
Alcohol was nice when it was used to spice her emotions up, just enough to warm her body and keep her heartbeat drumming as she concluded the last tasks of a difficult day. She never got drunk… too much. There had been some instances but- she was digressing.
The place was nice, it had a warmth system that delightfully keeps her from freezing up with the unholy cold coming to Vale during this part of the year, her clothes and aura offering just little protection from the surreal climate, and the coffee she would order would always aid her to recover from the drowsiness of the uneasy morning while also clearing her mind for further thinking.
The bar was nice, not the Junior's kind of 'nice' as the place was clean and a fine establishment. One that she had found because of Sun's insistence to expand their operations' range, something that could easily be described as 'annoying people until someone actually care and give us some clue' kind of plan.
It was good plan, she has to admit, but with how overly-irritating Sun was at that early hour, Yang couldn't help but deem it the worst idea with her 'buddy'. That very buddy that wasn't there at the moment as she happily took a sip from her warm mug.
The very mug offered by the usual waiter, Sid having been rather intrigued by the matter but keeping himself distant from getting too attached to the matter. Something that the Xiao Long appreciated as she knew that too many people to keep an eye on were going to create her more issues than help in the long run.
The young man was barely older than her, maybe a year or two, and his politely-quiet manners and tones were more than enough to bring her to relax in that good place. Patch didn't have much of a daily bar, only a pub that offered ice creams and icicles to those that had enough money to afford it.
It was the first time she had gone to see something like this place and… she was glad that this occasion had come, ignoring the importance regarding what had led her in this part of town.
The very place where she found a perfect target for her teasing. Sid was a gentleman, but Yang was more endeared by how easy it was to get him flustered once or twice in a while. After the first time, the man had been guarded over falling with her 'tricks', but the blonde was hardly a rookie in the unfair game of teasing.
It had been easy to pick up hints from his posture and his clothes about what kind of person he was and the most curious topic about them all was… his colleague. The young woman was a little shorter than Sid, her hair and eyes hidden by a little Christmas-themed hat and a pair of sunglasses.
She was rather curt with her interactions around clients and she had been avoiding quite well ever coming close to the curious brawler. Why would she wear sunglasses with so little illumination and… why the hat?
The questions were there poking at her sanity, but she couldn't exactly man-handle her way into discovering what was going on with the lady. It was the little common sense she had that drove her to not pull a 'Junior' on the bar, feeling like this little haven was far too much of a necessity to ditch without a proper reason.
Curiosity was still there, pressing for at least a hint or two that could satisfy her sudden case of interest and… that was done when the waiter came around to pick her empty mug.
"By the way, Sid," Yang said as soon as the young man had his hand on the cup. "Can you tell me about your lady-friend over there?" She pointed subtly at the unaware waitress and… Sid blinked in minor surprise.
"You mean B-" He immediately stopped, his eyes widening a little more before he corrected himself, faking a cough. "B-Bianca? My colleague?"
Lilac eyes narrowed. "So her name is Bianca?" She pressed on with an intrigued tone, her glance briefly returning to the young woman and… yep, there was something off about that very name.
He nodded and she felt like something was off with that reply. Something about the way he had just stopped and almost panicking about it, as if the Xiao Long had asked him if he still had his V-Card or not.
Very suspicious, she admitted to herself and she decided to continue with her inquiry.
"That's a peculiar name. Isn't it… Mistralian?" The guess was met with a quick nod, this time the strange panic subsiding. Maybe it was time to poke a little harder and see if she can fish out another reaction out of him.
"I bet that she is… newer than you," The brawler commented as her eyes caught just in time another clumsy tripping from the waitress, dignifying her current lack of experience. "I bet she relies a lot on you."
He sighed. "You could say that."
The admission was actually a strong clue about a little suggestion about the case, one that seemed the most appropriate by the way he appeared so flustered when the blonde mentioned about his colleague.
There was no doubt that, while the young man was trying to make it appear that they were in a professional relationship… he might have been thinking of the clumsy girl more than he said.
"Oh really?" Yang felt a smile widening on her face at the unsuspecting frown coming from the waiter, the cheeky girl truly feeling at the peak of that glorious teasing session as her prey was soon going to fall for her little discovery.
How could she not see this as the real truth!?
His shyness when talking of the girl, his adorable panicking when Yang would ask more about his 'interest' and how he was so conscious of the girl's flaws and still loved them.
Her smile twitched and… she went for the bite. A big one for sure!
"Then I can only guess that she is rather handful when you are crushing on her."
Hook, liner and-
Thud
…
Lilac eyes turned to stare at the now-unconscious waiter as he now lied on the floor in a twitchy, the entire bar fell silent as everyone heard the man falling on the ground and were now exchanging glances between him and the nervous blonde.
Yang blinked again, this time it was her turn to panic as the situation had devolved to an uneasy murmuring from the other clients, with the waitress cautiously approaching her colleague and checking on him while the owner proceeded to walk towards Yang.
He looked annoyed, but not angry. Hopefully, she could get just five seconds of her explanation in before being kicked out. Yet, while she had expected to be banned for 'killing' one of the workers there, she felt surprise as the older man's appearance eased with a soft sigh as he momentarily glanced at the unconscious worker.
"To think that Sid would have been taken down by you, missy," The mustached man said, returning his calm stare at her. "I will let it pass the fact you went overboard with your teasing and… please don't do that again, I need this one in particular."
She felt confused, uneasy and terribly embarrassed at what had just happened and, feeling guilty over the matter, the blonde rose from her seat and tried to help the 'camouflaged' lady to pull the sleeping young man away from the room-
Only to be hissed at by the fellow woman. She froze, her eyes widening for a moment as she tried and failed to compute the strange reaction she had just witnessed and before she could even proclaim her dumbfoundness, the two workers left her sight to their locker room.
What the heck was that!?
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Blake felt uneasy at the strange demeanor she was being prime witnesses of.
It's been just twenty minutes since their shift had concluded, the close encounter with Yang gone and partly-forgotten as the blonde left the bar after paying for her coffee, giving to the Cat Faunus some relief over the fact that her stupid reaction hadn't gotten the blonde suspicious of her identity.
The current camouflage was indeed useless in keeping the usually-extroverted girl from noticing the awfully weird look the secretive Faunus had to cover her unique features. Something that Sid had been quite prominent to point out once he woke up.
Their interaction in the locker room was brief as they both resumed their shift after sparing a few words following his awakening, his curt sentence still fresh on her mind as it was manifesting in their current shopping spree.
"Hat and glasses need to go."
She understood perfectly what he was referring too and she agreed to this wholeheartedly, but the fact that they were browsing in the wigs section of a costume shop was enough to get the Faunus to some uneasiness regarding what the young man was trying to find.
"We need something… short," He whispered to himself. "Something that could motivate the hat while also dissuade any connection to the long-haired one."
There was a pause as he stopped by a pair of dark-red short version of her style, his eyes narrowing at it before he took them and flashed those at her. "What do you think of those?"
The Cat Faunus had been silent until now, the intrigue born from seeing the human going through what seemed to be a panic-induced Plan B had been both an entertaining and disturbing sight. It was just plain odd to see the usually-collected Sid being this much frantic with his actions, showing that the close call had been far worse than the one she had when Sun was around too.
Yang was good at flirting, but it was her teasing that made her a worrisome individual to face alone and without precaution. Something that the young man had paid dearly as he had been aware of what he had been going against… and earned a quick unconsciousness out of it.
And while the sudden fainting had given Blake the worst scare possible, she was mostly confused as of what could have exactly gotten this strong of a reaction out of the human. There was hardly anything that Yang could have said about him to get him to that state and… it didn't help that the young man was tight-lipped over the matter.
Very suspicious but also concerning, hoping that whatever had gotten him this worked up wouldn't end up becoming her next problem any time soon. Yet, knowing her partner's propensity to tease everyone on her reach, it was a sure thing that was going to happen to the Faunus too, whatever she liked it or not.
Blake hummed and nodded at the curious wig, picking it in her hands as she tested the texture and… it was just as soft at hair. She checked around to see if there was space for her longer black locks and… it seemed there was enough to fit her head well.
Seeing her positive answer, Sid moved out of that section of the shop and, instead of leading her to the counter so they could have gone to pay for this product, he decided to wander right to the part of the building that displayed numerous boxes containing… eye-contacts.
She frowned as the young man started to browse onto that section too, her worry about his sanity growing with her need to ask what had gotten him to that particular frenzy. It was now far too pronounced to be ignored and, if she had to be honest, the girl wasn't a fan of eye-contacts.
The Belladonna had tried them once a few years ago during a Fang operation and the atrocious itchy soreness she had to deal with after she was gone with the blue-colored ones for a full hour of wearing the pair had left her in a particular discomfort when around those.
"Sid," The girl finally spoke, a twitch in the human's posture giving her clue that he was at least listening to what she was saying. "I know that this might be weird coming from me but… isn't this a little overboard?"
The moment the last word from her query left her lips, the young man's search came to a sudden halt. He stiffened his body and then he glanced back with a serious look, almost making her flinch in response.
"Blake," He started with a tense voice. "What I'm going to tell you is going to sound disrespectful to a fair degree and I wish you to understand that there is context behind this nervousness about some details that… aren't good to think about right now."
She blinked at the way he explained it. She had expected him to pull an angry tirade and… yet he was awfully calm and collected in that frenzy of his. Seriously, what did Yang told him?
Sid opened his mouth once again and… he started to tell her what had truly happened in that brief encounter he had with the blonde and why he had gone unconscious the moment her last sentence had reached his ears.
Blake stood still as she listened to it all, not even displaying any telling emotion about the fact that the main reason that had gotten Sid to faint at work was… the possibility that he was crushing on the 'mysterious' waitress.
The temptation to merely bash his skull at the silly and outrageous reason to actually 'faint' was terribly growing within her chest but she held back from putting thoughts into practice. Maybe there was indeed something that she was missing from this view, she thought absently, there has to be a better reason for him to faint other than the idea of her being
Sid had yet to pull a 'Sun' on her and, hopefully, that wasn't going to be the case this time.
"But what is what got you scared?" She pressed on impatiently, huffing as he blinked tiredly. "Seriously, you said that there was a context to-"
"If she truly believes that, what do you think she will do the next time she comes at the bar?"
"Apologize?" The Faunus guessed, getting a sigh from the man.
"She will want to know more about the matter and… try to 'help us out'," He pointed out without hesitation. "You said that she was the one that usually headbutt onto the problem and what better way to solve a problem about 'crushes' than directly investigating the crush itself?"
…Oh Gods.
Her eyes widened and her face paled a little. "Y-You mean that she-"
"Officially speaking, I fainted for a lack of sugar, not because of me pulling an act worth of some Award. Something that I'm solving with more snacks rather than weak medicines," Sid interrupted firmly as he continued to explain his new plan.
"And you decided to hide yourself a little less than usual as you almost tripped on me when I fainted. That is why you decided that for the sake of work, you ditched the glasses and the hat to avoid meddling with any worrisome situations."
She blinked, her golden eyes staring in shock at the newly-fabricated excuses and the absurd save proposed by the young man. He looked determined about it and she would be lying if she said she didn't felt it good enough to be used for their predicament.
It was odd to say, but now the faint felt legitimately the best action to pull in that awkward case. If he had continued to talk or even move away from the situation, the blonde would have taken them as positive things.
While the faint still counted as a possible sign for that, if the legitimate cause was given to a medical issue, the 'clue' itself would fall away from the whole 'crushing debacle' and so would Yang's attempt to investigate on her.
The perfect alibi and… Sid had given this to her for her sake. Blake couldn't certainly deny that something this big would require some effort from the human himself and she felt rather amazed by the show of trust and friendliness coming from that seemingly well-elaborated plan.
The Faunus didn't expect this much from him, feeling that he was going out of his way to cover up for that glaring issue she would have gotten to deal with alone if it wasn't for him.
The girl blinked once again and the quick hug that followed that genuine interaction that dripped of intriguing trust towards her was perceived as unexpected by the young man as it was for her. The first time she had 'consciously' gone for the embrace, beyond the mere moments of giddiness caused by having her favorite series to watch on TV rather than in the caged dimension of books.
It was the first time in a long time since she had hugged someone as a mean to thank them. Blake couldn't even remember who was the last individual she had hugged for that.
Was it her parents? Adam? Or even Illia?
It's been so long and-
"That was quite… interesting," Sid mused quietly, but loud enough to snap the girl's out of her depressing thoughts. "And ignoring what did just happen, do you prefer brown or blue ones?" He asked while bringing two small boxes.
She glanced in surprise as her eyes looked at both with a minor grimace replacing her smile. "Do… Do I have to?"
The human frowned at her comment. "What's wrong with contacts?" He pressed on, seemingly perplexed by her reaction.
A sigh left the girl's lips. "Last time I used them, my eyes almost got an infection and-"
"That can't be true." He huffed with a frown. "Like, I know there are some bad reaction but chances of infection are only when-" The young man stopped as he turned his attention to another set of boxes, leading Blake towards them.
"Where the ones you used contained in boxes like these ones?" Sid questioned with a curious tone, gaining a surprise look from Blake as… those were the ones she had used back then.
"Yes, but why-"
"The 'Human-only' ones?" He interrupted with a strong query, catching her off-guard. "The one that can actually damage a Faunus' eyesight if used by one?"
There was a nervous pause from the Belladonna, her mind trying to squeeze out the details of that specific situation and… then she remembered exactly the possible individual she had to blame for what had been three days of atrocious problems about her eyesight.
The 'humble and kind' girl that had given her support on those trying times, the very shy Faunus that had 'opened up' for the sake of helping.
Ilia had been the one assigned to buy the contacts, Blake remembered perfectly, her eyes throwing a deadly glare at the boxes as she now had the name of the one guilty part that had caused her so much trouble!
Meanwhile, a certain Chameleon Faunus sneezed without an apparent reason as she continued to stand perched by her usual tree in Kuo Kuana, eyes directed at the mansion owned by the Belladonna family and… where Blake could 'hopefully' come back to. The right place to continue with her loving Sta- 'humble guarding'.
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AN
I don't have much to say… except that I just found an adorable Blake fanart that I will possibly use as the FF cover in the 'maybe future'. Why not now and why maybe? Well, it's almost midnight and I need some sleeping going before I ded on this keyboard, plus I don't know- I don't feel it.
I wonder if this will reach 100 follows before 31th…