The wind was still.
Blake knelt down to her new partner. The faunus' peaceful protests were often met with unjustified violence. She missed her former partner, but they had to overcome. For the White Fang, it wasn't about pride. It was about peace. And Adam Taurus felt the same.
The air was cold.
Adam introduced himself as a longtime mercenary, but with the humans being cruel, he could no longer work for meager pay. Blake herself had never killed anyone, but to be paired with someone who hardly viewed human life as meaningful, well, it was a shock to her.
The time had come.
Adam and Blake set off to the pavilion for a meeting. There was to be a leadership announcement, from the highest of the White Fang himself. They would protest an event called the Dust Missile Grandstand. Ironwood, that bastard, would militarize dust in the form of terrible explosives. At least, that's how Adam worded it to his newfound partner. The duo arrived at the meeting hall.
Blake was nervous about the days activities. According to their leader, they were set to head to the event before the rest of the protesters, to scope it out in the event of any violent opposition, and report back. Easier said than done, as she herself knew she wouldn't be able to control her temper of one of those filthy humans dare lay a hand on her. See, it was easy for her to slip away in the event of danger; her semblance gave her the option to clone herself for flight or fight. But her temper, and Adam's experience in his previous line of work, was quite problematic. She opened a book to calm down, From Dust: A History. She always did enjoy historical fiction, regardless of how unrealistic it seemed. Dust that can bring people back, she smirked a bit. That'd be pretty great.
"Are we ready to go, Ms. Belladonna?" Adam didn't offer any emotion to his words. He was rather cold and off-putting on occasion, but kept himself collected and professional.
"Yes, let's depart."
The two traveled to Vale to set up a position. Blake had binoculars and would be set to a higher perch; it would happen that quick climbing was her forte. She signaled for Adam to blend in with the gathering crowd, who wore a hat to hide his horns, lest he be noticed. The sun shone across his pale face, and he donned a pair of shades to keep his focus and to help blend in. Blake noticed a few armed soldiers near the staging area, and a few more down the road. She traversed the rooftops.
No soldiers here, but a few own this street. She pondered a bit, and concluded the presenters – Ironwood included – would likely come this way. I hope Adam knows what he's doing. She called Adam on her scroll to ensure his knowledge, and proceeded to call another member to let them know to make their way over for the protest.
Ironwood arrived in a dark car, possibly armored and surrounded by guards. He made his way up to the stage as Blake stood near Adam. She had never met the general, but had seen his face a few times on the news. The rest of the white fang, near the front of the stage, began unfurling their banners in protest. The mission directive Adam and Blake were following was mostly recon, but if things got ugly, they will step in. Soldiers noticed the signs and approached the group.
Blake wasn't too fond of politics, but knew quite a bit anyway. Since the pact that supposedly meant peace between the faunus' and the humans began, the vicious murder on sight simply turned into racism and a lack of justice. Before the pact, the faunus', who had their own systems in play, could fight back due to their own rights and civil adherence. Under the pact, they became fully assimilated under the human law of the land and saw any rights they may have had stripped. There was also a rumor going around that the government of Vale had chipped faunus', but Blake had never met one.
"Stand down!" The soldier's voice bellowed at the protesters as they stood in silence. "I said stand down!" The White Fang continued to be silent. They had but posters and banners, and without a word, facing the stage, eyes on Ironwood. The soldier fired a single shot.
The warning shot startled the crowd, as Blake and Adam leapt into action. Adam got between the soldier and the protesters, as Blake shuffled to distract the other soldiers. The soldier smirked and yelled at the top of his lungs: "He has a weapon!" Adam was stunned and looked around. The soldier smacked him with the stock of his rifle, and proceeded to focus the gun on his chest. Blake turned around just in time to see the exchange. She summoned a clone, who promptly appeared in front of the gun's barrel, as she tackled the soldier. Many others had now made their way over as Ironwood himself slipped away from the stage. The protesters began reaching for weapons, as very few were armed, and prepared for a battle. Blake pulled out her trusty weapon, a chain-scythe combination called Gambol Shroud, and ran towards the approaching soldiers. With deftness and speed she disarmed many of them, mostly through use of her chain, and grabbed Adam to run. Adam sprung to his feet and directed the rest of the white fang to get a move on, as he calls it. Adam and Blake lagged behind to watch for reinforcements, leaving the city to debrief when the rest of the group was safe.
Blake sat down to gather herself in her room. She had a small apartment in the city, but she wasn't so worried about being recognized. She lived in Vale, and often wore black around the town; this morning's protest saw her wearing white and a knit cap to cover her ears. Most times, it was replaced with a little black bow, gifted to her by her former best friend.
I shouldn't be thinking about her. Blake began to sip some tea she had made. Darjeeling, her favorite. The young woman began to tear up. They were only kids, both 16, when the protest had gone awry. It started out much like today's one. The two were with a smaller group of protesters then, protesting the opening of a new weapons factory on the outskirts of Vale. Sky… Blake reached for the book she had been given before the untimely death of her best friend. Ninjas in Love. Kinda pervy, Blake blushed slightly before returning to her tea. But I did promise her I would read it one day.
Sky Duranta was a gorgeous young woman, only a few days older than Blake. She wore her light blonde hair down, flowing well beyond her shoulder blades and down to the small of her back. She would often wear these blue dresses, full of frills and nary a stray seam. Quite generous, and with a lilting voice that sometime seemed almost like it wasn't there, she wasn't the most innocent of girls. Her parents were killed during a mission; they were hunters. Sky was only 14 when she found sanctum in the white fang, and met Blake a year later, when the two became instant friends. They would often read books with each other. Blake preferred historical novella about time periods, while Sky was more into fantasy and new ideas. She gave Blake many gifts, and Blake was always so thankful and would usually buy food for Sky, who loved eating as much as she loved reading. Sky would always tell Blake to pet her ears, which resembled those of a deer, simply because she enjoyed the way it felt to be petted. She also gave Blake her signature collar, because she always referred to her best friend as "Kitty." Blake would wear this collar closed until Sky's passing, when she wore it loosely from her neck, open, in symbolism of a grasp she cant quite let go of yet. Blake finished her cup and poured another, hoping it would help her sleep.