A/N: It's been long time since I've posted, but I plan on keeping this one up. A lot of people seem to like it and I personally want to continue, as well. I'm not sure when it'll be updated next, but i'm working on it as we speak. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!
Chapter 1
Rain poured over the small city of Vale, a large, dark grey cloud looming over the buildings. It was the middle of the day, but it looked like it could be midnight. And the streetlamps were timed, so they couldn't turn on. It had been raining relentlessly for about a week, the city becoming more of a small lake than an actual city.
Alone sat a poor girl, knees scraped from slipping in a puddle, face stained with tears. The rain disguised the tears, though. She sat underneath the awning, taking a break from the downpour. Amber eyes were merely slits as she wrapped her arms around herself, her breath visible. It was nearly winter and she wore a thin, black tank top, a loose, white hoodie to cover it, and loose-fitting jeans. No one was willing to take the girl in. They weren't willing to even so much as associate themselves with someone like her. She was an abomination. The black ears atop her head were a sign to people. She was the product of a human and a beast. No one ever accepted her. She couldn't stay in one place for too long or she'll be run off by a shop owner or an overprotective mother.
Speaking of being run out of places, it was about time the shop owner came out and chased Blake away. He had a broom in his hand and he waved it at the feline. "Hey!" He shouted. She jumped out into the rain, avoiding being hit by the bristled stick. She fell back, slipping in a puddle. "Get outta here, you filthy animal!" She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran off, wiping her eyes free of the tears that were making her eyes go red. She rounded a corner and panted, leaning against the wall. A red apple was revealed from beneath her jacket, the water droplets dripping off of it, only to be replaced by more as the rain continued to fall. She took a bite of it and pulled her hood over her head in an attempt to hide her ears, and she began walking.
The apple crunched as she bit onto it, the fruit filling her stomach more than it had in a couple of days. She often had to steal food to keep herself alive, but sometimes she thought about ways to end her life. It was hard to survive, and Blake often lost hope. But then her brother came to mind and she found hope again. She had to find him. They've been separated since their parents were killed. That was seven years ago. He had always told her that he would be there for her, and when they were separated, he promised to find her, but Blake was afraid the worst had happened.
Finally, Blake arrived at her makeshift home, pulled together by shrapnel and metal plates from discarded airships. Upon entry, she pulled her hood off and shook her head, the water dripping out of her hair. The small shack was well hidden, tucked away in the back of an ally. It was a maze to get there, as well, and couldn't be seen my the untrained eye. There was a hole in the fence behind a dumpster that was pushed in front of the entrance when Blake was gone. The small hideout was just a ways away from the fence, connected to the hole by a tunnel she and a couple of friends had made. The tunnel led directly into the hideout, which was hidden in the brush of the forest, concealed by trees.
"Blake," a soft voice said from within the hideout. The feline turned and gazed at her faunus friend, a tall, blond boy with the tail of a monkey. "You're back."
The ravenette turned her head, giving the boy a halfhearted smile. "Hey, Sun. I brought back some food." She walked over to the small table and placed the other two apples she had take. "It's not much. . . Where's Velvet?"
He rubbed the back of his head. "She should be back soon. I think she went to find more medical supplies. We're running out."
Blake sighed and ran a hand through her drenched hair. "Great. . ." She muttered under her breath, gazing down at her scraped knee through the hole in her jeans. It wasn't bad, but it still stung. And she was worried about her friend. She looked over at the primate, who was feverishly eating his apple. It was understandable. They hadn't eaten in two days. She took a seat on the tattered couch and took another bite of her own. Blake acted as the caregiver of the two, sort of like a mother, or an older sister. Sun was older than her chronologically, but mentally and emotionally, she was the oldest. She could keep herself together a lot better, hold the other two when they were having a bad day.
When she wanted to cry, though, she made sure to do it away from the other two. That was partially why she left in the middle of a rainy day. The rain hid her tears. The three faunus made do with what they could, taking furniture and clothes from the dump, and sometimes stealing it right out of the store. Blake and Sun were the thieves of the group. Velvet dealt with the medicines, the healing, negotiating, also acting as bait when the group needed to hassle someone for money. Velvet could play a mean game of cards.
Black cat ears twitched and swerved towards the tunnel, amber eyes following as the metallic sound of someone crawling through filled her ears. She stood and looked at Sun. There was a moment of realization that it could be Velvet, but there was also some doubt. Sure enough, though, the brunette set her feet on the ground with a sigh and the other two relaxed.
"Did you find what you needed?" Sun asked, tossing Velvet her apple.
The rabbit reached out to catch it, but flinched as she thought it was going to hit her. Blake reached up and snatched it out of the air, then handed it to her, and Velvet smiled. "Thank you, Blake," her eyes returned to Sun. "I didn't find much. I traded another faunus for the medicine he had. Sadly, it was the rest of our money. . . I got half a bottle of painkillers for 2 lien. And I got some bandages by trading the needle and spool of thread we had. But that's all I could get my hands on."
"That's alright. You did well, Velv." Grinned the monkey as he held a thumbs up. Velvet smiled at him and nodded, then sat on the couch beside Blake and bit into her fruit. "Alright, tomorrow I get to go out. I don't like being cooped up in this place! I can get a lot of stuff, too!"
Blake nodded. "Alright. I'll stay and watch the shack. You two get all you can. Sun, try and find as much food as possible. I don't care how you get it, just get it. And Velvet, try and get some more money. You can do it better than any of us." The two nodded and settled into the couch, both leaning against the feline. This was how they spent rainy nights; Velvet's head in Blake's lap and Sun's on her shoulder. None of them were too fond of the rain. It lead to bad memories.
The rest of the night melted away, turned into morning. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, the hot rays beaming down on the little shack. The monkey and rabbit had left and Blake was alone. She spent most of the day drying up the puddles form the rain that had leaked in as well as sharpening her small life. She never used it, but kept it on her person in case she needed to. Velvet and Sun had one too, but Blake didn't think Velvet would ever have the heart to use it. Blake hoped they would never have to.
The feline examined the knife, the light shining off of the metal. It had been made from more debris from trashed airships. It was pretty sharp and could do quite some damage. Blake was distracted from her examination by the sound of someone crawling through the tunnel leading to the shack. That wasn't right. Velvet and Sun should be gone all day. Quickly, the feline jumped behind the tattered couch, clutching the knife tight to her chest, trying to keep her breathing quiet.
She heard the familiar sound of feet hitting the ground. Amber eyes peered around the couch, catching the tail end of the long, blonde hair tied into a loose ponytail. The girl wore yellow sneakers, a matching jacket tied around her waist. The girl's jeans clung to her legs and the white t-shirt she was wearing bore some kind of logo Blake couldn't make out from her position.
"Hello?" Asked the blonde. "Is anyone here? This place is pretty cool." She muttered to herself, fingering a wind-chime dangling from the ceiling. Then something caught her eyes, a black figure rising from behind the couch. The girl spun around and held up her fists, then blinked when she saw a faunus pointing a knife at her, amber eyes glistening with fear and anger. She unclenched her fists and held them open in surrender, palms towards the feline.
And they just stared at each other, neither one moving, neither making a sound.