Vernal snapped the small booklet shut. She took a deep breath, trying to settle her fluttering nerves. Of course the ravings of a madman deserved little regard, but she could not quite bring herself to shake it off. The body in the corner may contribute.
Vernal was no stranger to death. She saw it aplenty over the years; both among her tribe and the towns they swept clean after they fell. But Shiroyuri felt subtly different. Then there was that young man, almost a boy really. He lay nestled in that corner, arms wrapped around his legs. The only one who died of natural causes, dehydration most likely. It was not a pretty sight.
Shaking her head, Vernal's gaze swept the room for anything valuable. A few Lien notes wandered into her sack, as did a few bits and bobs. Nothing groundbreaking, but even tiny amounts added up in the end.
Just as she was about to leave, her eyes fell on that journal again. She picked it up almost inadvertently, against her better judgement. Vernal absently rubbed the black ink dragon cresting her left arm before slinging the sack over her shoulder and leaving the tiny home. Snow crunched under her boots.
Where she could usually push away whatever weirdness she found in dead folks' homes, this one stayed in mind. Even though the final entry read like a complete nutjob, something about those words upset Vernal.
It took a few minutes of stalking the desolate streets before realisation came; the unlucky bastards on penal duty were busy stacking up corpses already pilfered. Upon seeing the frozen bodies, Vernal realised what felt so off: every single corpse sported a bloody hole in its head. No other injuries, no signs of battle. If anything, their expressions were of fear.
The city was fine when their scouts checked two weeks prior. A windfall for the Branwen tribe, certainly, but an eerie one.
Raven was thankfully not far. She oversaw proceedings on the marketplace, where just about all of the bodies were found. Like a mob, suddenly felled. Vernal smoothed out her features and approached the tribe's leader. Their strongest member, the woman who elevated them from a creeping death to new vitality. A head taller than most women and clad in black with some traces of red, Raven Branwen struck an imposing figure. No one would expect her to be in her fourties, even the wrinkles in her face were rare. They spoke of exhaustion more than age, at least to those who saw them.
"Got something for ya."
Raven's head turned to behold Vernal. Her expression was hidden as always when out of camp. A mask so reminiscent of Grimm boneplates covered her entire head; primarily white, with sharp red lines. Each segment an eye-covering mask taken from White Fang operatives Raven herself slew. The animals would forever remember not to mess with their tribe.
Vernal handed her leader the journal. She could not see Raven's expression, but the way she flipped it open seemed impatient. Then Raven stilled, head moving up ever so slightly. Vernal gave her a few minutes to go through what meagre amount of information there was; if the boss lady decided it was rubbish, she could just claim she brought it for a laugh.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Raven absorbed its contents with rapt attention. It slapped shut with a muted thud once she was done.
"Nonsense?" she murmured to herself. "Or perhaps a clue?"
Vernal was familiar with that particular habit. She let the older woman muse for a minute before speaking up: "What do you think? Kinda weird, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Even without seeing her face, Vernal knew Raven was scowling at that booklet. "Most of it is sensible if odd. The last bit makes me wonder, though." A soft sigh followed, shared with only Vernal; it remained a source of pride that their leader trusted her and her alone with these tiny signs of weariness. "And yet a city that should be flourishing is dead. Not by Grimm, either. This has to mean something."
"I was thinking the same thing. Was there a moth faunus among the dead?"
Raven swiftly called over one of the poor sods who had to stack corpses to ask him that question; his answer was a quick no. There were hardly any faunus at all. The guard teams found no one sneaking around the city,either.
With no real answers, the women shrugged it off and went back to work. They had to finish stripping everything of value out of the town before Mistral sent a response team. Glancing at the bodies again, Vernal quickly looked away. She found distraction in cursing their luck; with all these people obviously killed by humans, they would blame the tribe again.
"Great, Hunters at the gates in a week or two."
"We will manage," Raven assured her mirthlessly.
Vernal could only snort in response; of course they would. They always had.
She would put the incident out of her mind by the time they left Shiroyuri. Raven would keep the journal, however.
Meanwhile, dozens of kilometres distant, a waif sat on a large rock. Her gossamer wings glittered in the afternoon sun, slowly folding and unfolding. She stared at her thin, almost bony hands, trying to understand what went wrong. Her patchwork blouse and skirt could not deter the cold winter air, but aura protected her perfectly. So why did she feel cold?
Lumina took a deep breath. White fog flew from her mouth, glittering in the sunlight. She tried to understand while thinking back to the past hours.
Someone friendly came up and asked about her. Not an unprecedented occurence, but he did not let Lumina brush him off. He was polite about it, too. The inconsistencies of her existence were noticed and inquired about. So Lumina indulged him; she felt he may actually believe her, unlike anyone else she ever tried to be candid with.
So she showed him what he wished to know. Then he began giggling, fell to his knees before her while muttering something incoherent, and staggered away. Days later she was accosted by a mob while sunbathing. Something about having hurt the poor man. The entire village was there, just about. Almost frothing at the mouth in anger, riled up and screaming at her. People she always knew she was not alike, but who she still lived around for many years.
Everything after that was a wrath-filled blur.
Lumina silently stared at her fingers. They weakly closed into a fist.
They were all dead now. Her anger always bubbled with their veiled insults, but today it boiled over for this final injustice. So she vented it in the only way she knew, in a gleaming display of divine punishment. Only after calming down did she realise what she did.
Lumina fled Shiroyuri the same day while cursing her own foolishness; she no longer had a place to obtain food or shelter from. That was truly the most damning of it all. That hollow feeling permeating her mind, it surely came from her stomach quietly aching in demand of sustenance.
Indulging her body's base desires, she plucked an apple from the tiny pack she dared make before fleeing Shiroyuri. A growling Beowulf emerged from the nearby woodland as she rummaged; the moment it made itself known, a band of light connected its forehead with Lumina's fingertip. The beast died while she tore into her meal.
For some reason Lumina wished to return, but she did not indulge in that desire; she knew there was nothing there anymore. Humans were herd animals, so she as the only survivor would have to face questions and persecution. Yet her pilfered supplies would not last long, either.
Her mood worsened as she pondered her circumstances and how to proceed. Aura helped preserve her teeth thus far, which now ground the apple's soft flesh to mush in her agitation.
Lumina often entertained the thought of just taking what she needed instead of paying with Lien. Unfortunately, she was too weak to risk damage to her human body. Without any money on her and few supplies, she thanked the books she took to reading. That and occasional excursions into the wilderness taught her how to forage and boil water on her own. As aggravating as it may be to dig in the dirt, she would do it to preserve herself.
Nonetheless, having to conform to human mannerisms angered Lumina. Every day was a reminder of how far she fell. Once a goddess, well and truly; now trapped in mortal flesh for the actions of that dastardly Wyrm!
Lumina bit through the apple's core and ate that, too. She was full after some additional jerky and a drag of water. Considering her eating habits, that gave her enough resources to subsist on for another day or two.
Alas, she finally had to accept waiting would not suffice. Lumina spent over a decade simply surviving in the hopes of her powers growing with time. It was far too little and she remained trapped in this shape.
Yet her only alternative may just be worse; Lumina still remembered her beloved moths, who betrayed her. The mere reminder saw her teeth clenched. Anger radiated from her in almost palpable waves. Incoherent rage blinded Lumina for one long moment before she forced it down.
Now was not the time, she needed to think.
Ignoring people was no longer a viable path. She disregarded them and their way of life long enough. Lumina had to integrate and find a way to cement herself in their memories. A bitter pill to swallow, but needs must. If only her birthplace still existed, that may make it easier to transition. Then again, wiping the slate clean may be more favourable?
Her musings were interrupted by a hellish howl.
Lumina looked up, as did many others; that roar echoed for miles, sending animals and people alike into rapid retreat. Only the Branwen Tribe remained at work, though Raven herself now reinforced the guards.
Meanwhile, Lumina remained where she was. Seated under a pair of trees at the foot of a hill, she watched a horned head crest that same hill. Yellowish red eyes gleamed as they beheld prey; the beast climbed further, revealing something resembling a rider on a horse. Only it was a single being comprised of solid darkness. Bony ribs were the only colour beyond horse and rider's eyes, as well as the bone plates on their heads. An assortment of spears and other weapons stuck to the horseman's back, shifting as the Grimm moved.
The Nuckelavee stood no less than six metres tall. Even Lumina heard of it in her ignorance; the nightmare of Anima, a beast that plagued Mistral for generations.
The horse reared up, ready to charge.
Before it could take a single step down the hill, a beam of light connected Lumina and the rider. Its eyes crossed in wonder as the flash passed. The horseman fell back with a sizable hole in its head. Yet against Lumina's expectations, the horse was undeterred. Its hooves threw up snow as it charged anyway.
A second beam pierced its head several steps later.
The Nuckelavee collapsed without a sound beyond the rumble of its tumble down the hill. It tore up the ground with its sheer mass and came to lie right before Lumina.
While the elder Grimm's body began to dissolve into black mist, she nonchalantly fished in her small pack. It did not take long to find the aged map she sought for. Anger intermittently calmed by violence, Lumina went back to considering her next move.
Out of all the places to go, she felt most drawn to the capital. The city of Mistral was far bigger than any other in the kingdom. As much as it galled her to admit, she needed more practice interacting with humans. She could just leave the country of Mistral for greener pastures, but knew too little to even begin picking a destination. Touring nearby villages did not appeal, either. So the capital it was.
Orienting herself by the native sun's position, Lumina spread her faintly glittering wings. She clutched her little pack tight and became light; a gleaming band connected where she just stood and a spot a kilometre above. There it curved before racing northward.
The entire display was visible for but a moment. Lumina reformed in front of Mistral city's walls within less than a second. As her wings folded behind her back, the moth beheld a pair of stunned guards. Neither quite knew how to react to her sudden appearance.
"Lemme guess," the man drawled after a moment, "Haven?"
Lumina shook her head. She was not planning to become a Huntress at this time. "Not Haven. I am merely traveling."
"Aren't you a little young to travel alone, missy?" the other interjected. They looked Lumina up and down, half a sneer aborted at the sorry sight of her clothes. The girl stood a full head shorter than someone already of only average height. They grimaced. "On second thought, forget it. Any controlled substances you carry? Weapons?"
"Neither."
The man wordlessly waved Lumina through the gate. She strode past them and into town; only when he was certain the waif left hearing range did he turn to his companion. "You ever see a Semblance like that before?"
They shrugged in response while he frowned. "Brother's both, that kid is days from starving. Shouldn't we-"
"Leave it. We're guards. We don't do anything until she starts pickpocketing. Check the station this evening if you're that worried. Won't take long."
He rolled his eyes, but did not argue the point.
Lumina herself was busy exploring the city. She paid little mind to the guarded looks thrown her way by passersby; Mistral's architecture had her mesmerised. Grand pagodas reached dozens of stories high. A giant structure had been hewn into the mountain itself to provide more space. Thick walls guarded the entire city, manned by safety teams and cannons of all sizes. Brutal and efficient, but still elegant in essence. She could not help but acknowledge the beauty in human creations.
The everpresent sneers thrown her way, she was nonplussed by. Buildings Lumina understood, but the reason to call her ten differents flavours of "dirty animal" eluded her. Maybe she would have taken offense, but the opinions of fools mattered little to her. More pertinent though, humans protected their own; attacking one would soon have the city up in arms. She just learned that lesson.
With that gruesome reminder, she simply let the slurs wash over her; not like they were anything new. People were surprisingly uncreative. She just made certain to stay clear of places with "No Faunus Allowed" signs; Lumina was no faunus, but her wings apparently said otherwise. Idiots, the lot of them.
Sometimes people approached her.
A smartly dressed man offered her a place to stay and a nondescript job to work. Even Lumina was not oblivious enough to accept that. She knew full well what humans could do to their own. By the way he sneered when she turned him down, she was right. A few rude words hit her retreating back to no effect.
Then she had to stop several children from trying to grab her wings. Not one of them so much as asked permission. Several fled under her stare, others were rooted in place until their parents dragged them away. Sometimes with a parting insult Lumina's way. All she gave those was a simple response: "Blaming your failure to keep your spawn under control on me will not make them behave better."
She was already moving on by the time anyone registered her scathing words. Any shouts following her went ignored. Angry muttering from those around her, she likewise paid little mind to. The one time a large man grabbed her bony shoulder and started to berate her, she stared into his eyes. A gaze with the weight of eons, even a fool could feel. He stopped in surprise, then sputtered in an attempt to regain his bearings. Lumina already shrugged him off and moved on by the time he did.
She wandered past several temples, too; some large, some small. Each one dedicated to gods or saints with almost painful familiarity. Lumina knew none of their names; she never met any 'Brother Gods', who were the main divine figures on Remnant. Andersen the Benevolent was often featured as well, though deemed a saint instead of a god. All this achieved was to remind her of her own brother and his absence. Lumina frowned and moved on. At least the people in this district left her mostly alone.
Then again, the many scowls made clear she would find no shelter even if she were to inquire.
Lumina's impression of Mistral was positive despite it all. She did not care much for the waste of flesh inhabiting it, but the atmosphere captured her interest. It not only was but felt bigger than Shiroyuri by several orders of magnitude. Tens of thousands of people lived here and it showed.
Some time into her aimless wandering, a red-faced woman accosted her. She simply appeared in Lumina's path, carrying the scent of alcohol. "Go back to Menagerie," she demanded with surprising coherence. "It's where animals like you belong!"
Apparently pleased with herself for some reason, the woman's grin soon faltered. Lumina did not take offence. If anything, her curiousity had been roused by that pitiful attempt at intimidation.
"Menagerie?" She inquired. "I never heard of such a place." The name itself was telling, though. Chances were humans picked it as some sort of indignity.
Unfortunately, the human she spoke to simply snorted and toddled away. Lumina's brow arched in faint annoyance before she was distracted by a gnarly hand landing on her shoulder. Turning her head, she found an aged man with patches of grey fur on his cheeks. He smiled gently, tugging on her.
"Good job staying so calm," he praised as if being unaffected by the moods of vermin was a great achievement. Lumina remembered the previous encounters, though. He could tell she tensed up and let go of her, raising his hands placatively. "Ah, my bad. Makes sense you'd be wary." His gaze wandered over Lumina's bony frame, eliciting a clear wince. "Little late, but how 'bout I treat ya to some lunch? Us faunus ought to stick together, eh?"
Lumina was not worried about being hurt. She knew she could kill just about anyone who made such overtures. At the same time, this was the first person to actually seem at ease around her. Not to mention her stomach ached quietly once again. So she nodded.
He led her down the street to a small diner; well visible from the street and somewhat populated, too. The owner was a faunus as well, much like most of the customers. Quite a few greeted the elder cheerfully and soon enough, Lumina was gnawing on some chicken and white rice. A bowl of miso soup was added to her meal.
She ate slowly to savour the tastes, brow scrunched while considering what to do with this. A golden opportunity to meet some people. But what did humans and faunus talk about?
Lumina ultimately decided to sate her curiousity first: "Do you know about Menagerie?"
He had been watching her indulgently before, but the question drew a soft huff. "Hah, good one. Hard not to know when you're in the big city. Menagerie's our own kingdom, kinda. Just a few years old, but the entire continent is ours. The other four gave it to us as a concession. You know which four I mean?"
"Obviously. Mistral, Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas." Lumina rolled her eyes at that while he chuckled.
"Aye, smart lass ye are." He leaned back and sipped from his tea. A note of fondness crept into his voice: "Menagerie's different. I've been there a few times to visit my nephew. Mostly faunus, none of the racism. They're building something kinder there, you know?"
"And yet it is named 'Menagerie'?"
"Fair. Used to be some sort of penal colony, I hear. They're keeping the name and owning it. Make the idiots choke on their little slights, is the idea."
This, Lumina could appreciate. She was well acquainted with spite. His explanations only made her more curious about this place, though; it certainly sounded better than Mistral. Then again, if it was and actually existed... "Why do you still live here, then?"
He blinked at that. "Hm? Ah. I'm a little old to emigrate. Mistral got loads better of late, too. This is where my ancestors were born and died, so I figure I should stay. Everyone else here's much the same, lass." He motioned for the small crowd Lumina had been eyeing. "But this time next year, a bunch of the younger ones won't be around anymore. 'specially once they start having kids. Some go to Vale or Vacuo, but most to Menagerie these days."
"I see."
Taking a final bite of her food, Lumina slowly pushed back the plate. It was still half filled. "It definitely sounds like a place I would like to visit." If only to see if it was truly what people said. "Where exactly do I find Menagerie?"
"Heh. How about ya eat some more, lass? It's my treat, no problem."
"I would, but I am full."
"Ah." He winced again and changed the subject as if burned. "Arright. Menagerie's across the ocean, almost straight south from here. Bit of a long journey, though." At that point he hesitated for a long moment. "Are you... sure ya got enough money to make the trip?"
Lumina's wings unfolded halfway in response. She tilted her head at him. "I do not need money. I will fly there." Her words were clearly not as convincing as she thought, but Lumina saw no need to elaborate. "Where exactly is it located? Near the coast, I imagine?"
"Yeah, Kuo Kuana's the only town so far. Sits right at the coast, with some small offshoot villages around. But are you sure about this? The ocean's far bigger than most youngsters imagine. You'd be flying for days."
"I will be fine," Lumina said. Whether her absolute confidence convinced him, she could not tell. Deep down she did not care, either. "Thank you for your help."
Despite her demeanour, he still managed an easygoing smile. "'twas my pleasure. You sure you will be fine?"
"Naturally."
Lumina rose and bowed faintly, a gesture of thanks and respect in these lands. It was the first time in years she did, to a man who deserved a modicum of respect. "Goodbye."
He watched her stride away, hoping she might reconsider. Such an undertaking was madness in his eyes. But just as Lumina walked out the door and he expected the crowd to swallow her... there was light. He winced, rubbing his eyes. When he looked back, Lumina was gone without a trace. Only a glowing line remained on his retinas
"I'll be," he muttered. "What an odd lass."
He flagged down the waitress to pay for the girl's meal and his tea, quietly hoping the poor thing made it across the ocean.
