Jaune pulled himself onto the window seal of the new house. His father and mother had told him to stay inside with his older sisters and his younger ones. They were screaming and chasing each other throughout the house, enjoying the unknown of it all. Jaune watched as his parents carried stuff from the box truck, ignoring the Faunus who stopped and stared as the couple did so. He knew his dad was friends with whoever was in charge, and that his dad was invited here to act as some example of some sort. Of what or for what, Jaune didn't know.
He was young, six years old, and he felt a mixture of fear and excitement of the sudden new environment. He didn't have that many friends—a lot of bullies instead. A part of him was hopeful that things could be different here, that he could have some friends here. Another part feared the idea that he would meet nothing more than more bullies.
After the moving day, Jaune soon went to school.
A woman with ram horns on the sides of her head introduced Jaune to the class. Jaune nervously bowed, "H-Hi, I'm Jaune." He fidgeted, "I'm a… in your care."
The teacher smiled politely, "Go ahead and take your seat, next to Mr. Taurus." She turned to the class, "Adam, please raise your hand."
A boy with bull horns did so and Jaune took the seat next to him. Jaune turned to him, smiling nervously, "H-Hi…"
The boy simply huffed in response, turning away from him.
Jaune flinched in response and shrunk in his seat.
He soon realized that the reception he received was dramatically different to his sisters.
Some of his older and younger sisters were dragged about the playgrounds. People were drawn to them, creating a posse of sorts. This was while Jaune sat on a staircase near a door into the school. He didn't feel safe—something was off. He could feel eyes digging into his very being and it scared him—terrified him. His arms trembled and he sat silently. He was too afraid to speak to anyone about it because he was afraid these monsters who pounce as soon as he moved.
Of course, he knew they weren't monsters. They were boys, spread about the playground. Whenever one stopped glaring at him to play with their friends another's eyes landed on Jaune.
Jaune rubbed his arms as he stood and quickly moved into the building. He wondered the halls before finding a set of doors labeled, 'Library.' He pushed open the doors and walked to the nearest adult.
The man was young but has obviously transited into adulthood, "Hey…" He smiled, "You're one of those human kids who moved in, right?"
Jaune slowly nodded.
"Name's Tukson. It's a… Jaune, right?"
Jaune gave another nod in response.
Tukson chuckled awkwardly, "You're a… bit of a quiet one, huh?"
Jaune lowered his head, "S-Sure…"
Tukson asked, "Spending recess here?"
Jaune nodded, "Yeah…"
Tukson pulled a book from underneath the counter, "Here, read this." It was a thick little book with a pretty picture on the cover of a girl and the title, 'James Patterson - Maximum Ride'. Tukson smiled, "One of my favorites. A graphic novel or maybe a manga—I can't tell the difference—version of a novel. You'll like the pictures, I'm sure, and it's a good story."
Jaune looked at the book, "Hmm…"
"I think you'll like Iggy. He's a funny one."
Jaune bowed, "T-Thanks…"
Tukson waved as Jaune found a quiet corner to sit, "No problem, kiddo."
Jaune took a seat on a beanbag and began to read. He froze when he felt a pair of eyes land on him. He looked around. Tukson was busy working—he was not looking at Jaune. The feeling suddenly left him and he gave one last look around before curling up with his book.
XXX
Days past and the Arc Family soon got used to their lives in Menagerie. His sisters enjoyed their attention, but didn't mind the dissipation of that attention. Jaune's parents began to work as traders and began to make a steady income. Jaune slowly got used to a life of self-isolation and quiet—at least he wasn't being shoved into lockers or tied to any flagpoles till sunset.
He never could figure out whoever was staring at him in the library. He got used to it in the end.
Jaune walked into the house, he was always the first one home. His mother walked out of the kitchen, smiling, "Welcome home, Jaune."
He gave a small wave, "Hi, Mom."
She then told him, "Go take a shower and get into something nice. We'll be going to a friend's house for dinner tonight."
Jaune nodded, "Okay…" He began to move up the stairs to his room before pausing, "With who?"
His mother answered, "Your father's friend, Ghira, but call him Mr. Belladonna."
He then just walked up the staircase and into his room, "Okay."
After some time, the Arc Family walked down the road and walked towards the largest building in the area.
The offspring of Joan and Thaddeus Arc oohed and awed at the sight of it. One of his younger sisters outstretched her arms to signify the size of the building, "This must be the biggest house in the world!"
Joan kneeled down and fixed one of her daughters' dress, "Yes-yes, of course, it is."
Thaddeus reached up to the large door-knocker and rung it. It rung for awhile before the door was opened by a woman with cat ears, Kali Belladonna.
Kali grinned brightly, "Ah! Joan! Thaddeus!" She quickly roped the couple into a hug.
The Arc Family was led into the house and they moved through the house before stopping in an area that was more than likely the dining room.
One of his sisters asked, "Where're the chairs?"
Thaddeus smiled, "Honey, we'll just sit on the floor on those mats."
Jaune was, of course, the first one to sit. Whenever it came to the little-get-togethers of his parents' friends, he just did what he was told—turning off the part of his brain that asked, "But why?"
The Arc Family sat at the table, waiting for dinner. Ghira walked in and he and Thaddeus greeted each other as old friends. Thaddeus and Joan spoke to Ghira with small talk before they slowly went into politics. A girl stepped out wearing a purple and black dress—she was at Jaune's age and had two cat ears atop her head.
Ghira turned to her, grinning, "There's my beautiful little girl."
Joan smiled, "She's beautiful, Ghira."
Ghira nodded, "Thank you, Joan." He smiled proudly, "This is my daughter, Blake."
Joan smiled warmly, "Hello, Blake." The mother turned to her children, "Girls-Jaune, say hi."
Jaune's sisters said varying forms of greetings.
Jaune blinked at Blake, finding a familiar feeling in the girl, before smiling warmly and waving, "Hi."
Blake bowed, blushing, "H-Hello."
The combined families ate their dinner and after they cleaned their plates, the parents began to talk with one another, the sisters of Jaune ran around—talking, Jaune walked in silence, and Blake had disappeared.
Jaune tip-toed to the adults, ignoring his talkative sisters, "Um…" He froze for a moment as all four adults looked at him, "Uh… Um… Is there a library here?" He didn't mean to ask that. He wanted to ask when they were leaving, but the gazes of his parents and practically two strangers scared him a bit, making him screw up his words.
Kali smiled, "Up the stairs over there and the first the door on your right."
Ghira added, "I'm sure, you'll find something you'd enjoy in there."
Jaune gave a small bow before walking to the library, "Thanks."
He made his way there and stepped into the surprisingly large library. It was dark and the shelves just seemed to tower over Jaune. He tiptoed about the area, looking around nervously. He could feel someone stare at him. He was fighting his urge to look for the source.
He made his way to a shelf and picked out a random book before sitting down and reading. Unbeknownst to him, he had picked out a book about human politics—boredom soon came. He then closed it before putting it back onto the shelf.
"You're not going to find any good books there."
The new voice startled Jaune, causing him to jump. His elbow slammed into one of the shelves, knocking it loose and causing it to fall onto him—along with the books atop of it. He let out a yelp of pain.
Blake rushed over to him, pulling books off him, "Are you okay?"
Jaune sat up, "Y-Yeah…" He scratched the back of his head, "Y-You scared me…"
"I can tell."
"Uh… hi."
Blake stated, "We've already met."
Jaune chuckled awkwardly, "R-Right…"
XXX
Time continued to pass for the Arc Family.
Jaune and Blake became good friends. He was sure that she was the one that stared at him a few times, but he decided to not bring it up. He also become well acquainted with Tukson, the librarian. To him, Tukson was the big brother he never had. The rest of the family grew into the community of Menagerie and becoming a pillar of human interaction for the Faunus. But—something unknown publicly—a certain Faunus doesn't trust the Arc Family and with a group of followers something horrible is being planned.
Jaune woke up and stretched. The sun had rose, it was another warm and lazy day. He hopped out of his bed and ran down the stairs into the kitchen, where his entire family was. His father was cooking, his mother was looking over his three younger sisters, and his four older sisters did their own thing as per usual.
Jaune smiled at his family members, "Good morning."
His father looked over his shoulder, "Morning, Jaune."
There was a sudden pounding on the front door.
His father smiled, "Sheesh…" He looked towards his wife, "Honey?"
She chuckled, making her way out of the kitchen, "Alright."
Jaune turned from the table, "Oh, mom! Tukson's coming over for some books I borrowed."
His mother spoke as she opened the door, "Okay!"
The busy family went quiet as a gunshot rung through the air.
His father quickly dropped what he was doing and ran towards the front door, followed by Jaune and his sisters. Jaune's mother laid on the floor, blood pooling underneath her. Jaune began to tear up and his sisters screamed.
His father ran up to his wife, cradling her in his arms, "Oh god, Joan!"
The sound of a cars grew and cars drove extremely close to the sides of the house.
One of his sisters spoke, "W-What's going on?"
Their father scrambled, making his way towards a panel in the floor, "The basement! We need to-" He opened the floor, a ticking noise sounding off. He turned to his kids, "Ru-"
The resounding explosion sent Jaune flying out the front window. He rolled to a stop. The entire right side of his body hurt. Breathing hurt. He could feel glass cutting into other parts of his body. He tried to move, but his body screamed in pain. In the end, the only thing he could move was his head. He lifted it and looked around. For a reason that he didn't register, he could only see out of his left eye.
There was a crowd. Some were cheering. Few were watching on in horror. There was a tiger-Faunus standing above it all, cheering and ranting about something.
Jaune didn't understand. Those people in the crowd… His sisters went on dates with some them… His mother gossiped all day with some them… His father invited some of them to barbeques in their backyard… So, why? Why were they cheering?!
He tried to speak but nothing came. He tried to move, but his body refused. He looked around once more to see the tiger looking back at him. He then motioned to someone within the crowd.
Out came a bull-Faunus. he wore a mask and in his hand, he held a gun. He was in his teens and he hung out with Blake and Jaune every now and again. So, it surprised Jaune when the bull kicked him over and onto his back, causing mind-numbing pain to Jaune. Jaune struggled to speak as the bull put a foot on his chest. And as the Faunus leveled the gun and cocked it, Jaune spoke before a gunshot rung through the air.
XXX
Tukson watched in horror as the crowds cheered when a young Faunus shot Jaune. His heart squeezed as he hid around the corner out of fear, watching as one Faunus incited the crowd. His gaze fell on Jaune. He laid there lifelessly. He was an awkward kid—a good kid. His family was kind and treated people fairly. It didn't make sense… Why did this happen to them? Them out of all people on Remnant!
He sucked in a few breaths before running from around the corner and towards Jaune. He could fell the glares of betrayal and fury land on him as he lifted Jaune into his arms.
He looked at the crowd, "W-What's… WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" He stumbled back as people in the crowd began to converge on him, barely dodging a thrown knife, "You're worse than Grimm…" He then turned and ran. He could hear the crowd close in on him, closing in on him. He looked at the mangled Jaune, "I'll get you out of here… I'll get you out of here…"
XXX
AN: Howdy! So, this chapter probably isn't the best, but it's the best I can do at the given time. Inactivity's gonna get worse due to school and things are just gonna get harder. Sorry for being pretty bad about just activity in general. This is more focused on setting up the story than actually being the beginning of the story. These first few chapters will definitely be more focused on setting up Jaune's character and relationships with certain characters. So, sorry for the quality of the chapter. Thank you for reading.