The Gray Margins

by AB97

Richard was a young Faunas born to a notorious family of violent White Fang murderers, thieves and assassins. He had been raised to see humans as nothing more that cruel savages until a chance encounter would change his life and bring him down a path that will change his life and world forever and force him to fight the cause that had shaped his entire being.

Author's Note: This is going to be a re-write of another story I wrote earlier. I didn't really know what I was doing (and still kind of don't to be honest) when I wrote the first story and left a lot of stuff out that I've thought about since then so I'm hoping I'll do a better job here. This one's going to be a lot slower in terms of development and I'm just going to go with it and see how it goes.

The night he was born was a dark and stormy night with few stars breaking through the clouds and a moon partially shattered and torn. His family gathered around the new additions smiling. There was no joy or love in this group only a sinister air and a dark hope that these new twins would bring as much chaos and destruction as possible. In their mother's lap sat two twin brothers. They were identical in age but different in almost any other aspect. The first child slept quietly sucking his thumb. His pale yellow hair and dark blue eyes could be faintly seen in the overcast night. He was no ordinary child however. He and his brother were the newest members of the feared and hated lion Faunus and white fang Lionheart family. His tan ears and budding tail could barely be seen as he slept. His brother sat across from him restlessly fidgeting as he tried to fall asleep. This brother had jet black hair and steel eyes as cold as the frigid water around the docks where he was born along with a small dark brown tail and ears. They were born in the cold air crouched inside a white fang base on the edge of the Vale docks. No hospital would dare to accept the crowd or ruthless thieves killers and assassins that make up the Lionheart clan. Their father stood up with both twins in his arms and laughed praising the family for their good fortune.

"Today will be remembered my family for i can feel that these children will do great things for this cause and end this tyranny. You will be named Richard and will add on to the legacy of fear and terror established by your forefathers." the man said as he raised the golden haired faunus in one hand.

"And you will be named Shade, a name that will cause men to tremble in fear of the dark cold blade." He said as he lifted the other child laughing along with the rest of his family.

Years had past since that fateful night and much had changed. They boys had been grown and molded in the white fang to be the newest generation of elite fighters. Each day they worked in secret to master their talents and skills at combat. They worked in secret to avoid the prying eyes of both human law and the passive leaders who tried to solve their problems with protest and non-violence. Richard had discovered a natural talent at wielding two swords in either hand while Shade had taken to the use of multiple daggers that could be thrown at enemies or used as conventional swords. While both children became expert fighters, they're personalities were far from similar. Shade had grown arrogant and merciless nearly killing his sparring partners and destroying every mannequin used as practice while Richard had grown to study and learn about his foes and to learn from the leaders of the white fang who did not so readily resort to force and violence to fight their war. He had learned to not underestimate his foe and to learn from each spar he fought. Although he had grown up with the most ferocious group of Faunus in the White Fang, cruel wasn't the word most would use to describe Richard. He was a very capable fighter but he never fought to maim his opponent like his family but to learn from them. He defeated nearly every foe he faced save for one. No matter how hard he tried or studied he could never surpass his brother but oddly enough his brother could never gain the upper hand on him. Both would spar for hours testing each other past any normal bounds until they both passed out from exhaustion. By the age of twelve, they both became capable enough to forge their own unique weapons to use in combat. Richard chose to incorporate the broadswords he sparred with and a pair of sleek .45 caliber pistols capable of firing both regular and dust ammunition while his brother had chosen to keep several razor sharp daggers to be used in combat. He did have one trick up his sleeve however, the gloves he used were infused with dust that would allow him to throw his knives with blinding speed. times were changing in the world around them and as you can imagine being a lionheart with the virtues and lifestyle Richard had could lead to a very difficult childhood...