Dreams in the Fields - Chapter 1
The sun was setting on another evening, no breeze to speak of, the whirling of a nearby fan the only thing turning the dead air around in the room. With her long blonde hair wrapped in a bath towel, and her underwear the only thing covering her body, a blonde woman leaned heavily on her desk. Only a small lamp, and a dairy lingering on the worn old wood. It had lost its finish, plenty of water stains and pen marks proving just how old it was. Fade crayon from time gone by scuffed the surface. It was just another story in this old house.
If the walls could talk, they'd probably have endless things to say.
Sadly, they couldn't murmur a word, and this evening was unusually quiet. Not even the crickets were signing, a testament to the heatwave spilling over Vale, and thusly, the island known as Patch.
The glass of lemonade in her hand dripped with condensation, as if it also protested its very existence. Yang could only gulp it down quickly, the sugary drink only having the slightest bit of a tart aftertaste. Crushing the ice between her teeth, a bad habit of hers, further helped to keep at bay the sweltering temperatures in her bedroom. It was only as she set the now empty glass on the sill, allowing it to catch the fading rays of the sun just right, that she sat at her desk and began to write, same as she had done every since she was a child.
Dear Diary,
The heat sucks, but you already know that. The crops are dryer than usual, but you know that too. I feel like I'm running out of new things to say, but time makes a habit of that. I guess it makes sense. Live in one place too long, it catches up to you. That's what dad says, anyway. He seems alright with that way of thinking. I wish I could say the same.
I find myself doing that a lot more now than I ever used to…wishing…daydreaming…getting distracted. I don't know why. I just do. That's pretty childish, right?
Of course it was, and with a grunt of annoyance she slammed the diary closed with a newfound aggravation.
"Are you okay, Yang?" Ruby, her little sister called through the door, a knock following after. "Yang?"
"I'm fine." The blond said. It was just a little white lie. It couldn't hurt, right? It wasn't meant to do lasting damage.
The door creaked open before Yang could stop it. Her younger sibling leaning in from the doorway. "You don't sound fine, Yang." Ruby noted, a laundry basket being supported between her hand and her hip. She looked older like that, more mature. Motherly, in a way. It wasn't the first time Yang noticed, it probably wouldn't be the last. "Actually, sis, you look really angry too."
"I'm not."
"Your eyes are red."
"Maybe, but I'm not mad." Yang shot back.
"What are you, then?" Ruby pressed, the question simply dangling in the air between them.
"I guess I'm just tired." Not quite a lie this time. A half truth, even so, Yang wasn't sure it was good enough.
"Your eyes don't just turn red when you're tired." Ruby pointed out, taking a step forward and closing the door behind her. "They turn red when you're mad. Your semblance has always been like that, and it's never been something you can control." Setting her laundry basket down, she leaned against the wall. "Want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to really talk about." Yang shrugged. "I'm fine sis, really."
"Oh, well..." Ruby was unconvinced, but she had long since learned to accept when her family members were intent on keeping things from her. With a little nod, she sighed. accepting Yang's desire for privacy was better than pushing her. "Okay then, If you're sure it's no big deal or anything." Unhappy as it made her to feign ignorance, being the little sister meant doing that sometimes. "If you change your mind, though, you know where to find me."
"I won't. Thanks anyway." Yang said as she watched Ruby gather her basket once again and leave, shutting the door behind her.
Opening one of the drawers, Yang pulled out a small wooden compact. The inside contained old blush and a cracked mirror. The puff to go along with it had long since been discarded. Her fingers caressed the aged wood, her thumb skimming along the pink product within. She'd never worn the make-up. It wasn't even her color, and it wouldn't compliment her in the slightest. That didn't matter.
It was the history that meant everything to Yang. Who she was, and who this compact used to belong to. That's what truly mattered at the end of it all. When she looked into the broken fragments of the mirror, she'd always felt calmer. Catching sight of herself in the mirror this time didn't yield those desperately desired results.
Ruby was right, her eyes were red. Although, Yang had already known that. With a few steadying breaths she closed the compact and put it away, reaching once again for her pen and the diary.
I've gotta stop doing this. One day, someone's going to catch on. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Ah, I guess that doesn't matter.
Know what's funny? Everything's quiet tonight, too quiet. I miss the nights when crickets sang and the bullfrogs wouldn't shut up. Dad says that the dust from that new mine is polluting the air. That the Schnee Dust Company doesn't seem to care about the damage they're doing to nature. He told me he's seen what an open mineshaft does to the land.
If it gets bad enough, the crops won't grow. That's what he keeps saying, and I know he's probably right. It happens a lot in Vacuo, and there are a ton of mines there.
Dad's totally obsessing about what might happen to our land. While he worries about the future, I go back to thinking about the past. I just stick to what I know. I do the work around here, but I don't ask questions. Sometimes, I think I should...
I flip backwards through these pages sometimes…
I do it a lot, actually. I just spend hours reading old stuff. It probably doesn't mean much in the grand scheme anymore, but I think it helps. It's important to me. It reminds me who I was, where I came from. It's all I have left of those days, it's not like I can preserve it…I tried, but, life goes on…
The morning came sooner than anyone truly wanted.
In most households, it was uncommon to see a busty twenty-five year old woman walk around in an oversized shirt that barely covered her boy shorts. Yet, most households didn't belong to the Xiao-long family. The huntress yanked a chair out from the table, slumping in it with a hangover that could only come from a night of drinking with her uncle. A party for a man who would be gone on another several month long mission.
True to his word, he was gone by sunrise. She had to respect that about him, knowing he'd probably left with a hangover worse than her own.
When she became a huntress, she thought she would see action. Real combat with Grimm, like he did. It was what she had been trained for, but Grimm activity on the island was scarce at best. Boredom was her companion as she sat around, waiting for missions to be handed to her. So here she was, a young woman on an island packed with ex-huntsmen looking for an easier way to earn a living.
Farming was the perfect occupation. They could defend their own land, protect outlying crops. A lone huntsmen worth his salt could take down anything in this area of Vale without too much trouble.
She had grown up as the daughter of one such huntsman. Yang had been rolling around in the dirt, minding the crops, and fighting Grimm ever since she was a child. Taiyang raised her to take over the farm, to learn to fight for self-defense. He never assumed she would take to the training with such gusto. That she would get her license, or that she would spend the days twiddling her fingers, waiting for jobs that never came.
He never imagined that, true to the Branwen bloodline, Yang would find herself lost in a world far too large and nuanced for her own good.
Much like Qrow, even more like Raven. Yang seemed to be following in their footsteps.
"No work today?" He asked.
"None." Yang grumbled. Another tiny lie. A believable one.
"Not that I mind, or anything, but If you don't want to work the land, you probably won't find a job in Patch." He said, sliding some bacon and eggs across the table. "There hasn't been an invasion of Grimm activity in over ten years."
"Yeah, but the city doesn't have any Grimm either. It's all grunt work, or dealing with criminals." She said, buttering her toast and taking a huge bite, stuffing her mouth full. A glance to the clock as she chewed only made her roll her eyes. All of the daily missions had likely been assigned by now. No call, meant no incoming missions worth taking. "I'm a huntress, not a cop."
"The two often work hand in hand." He replied.
"Not out in the wilds they don't." She scoffed, boredom and crankiness made worse by her head pounding in agony. "Military maybe, but local enforcement wouldn't last a week under a Grimm infestation. That's why huntsmen and huntresses are what we are. We're not meant to deal with people, that's not our training."
"You spend too much time with your uncle."
"Maybe, but he still goes on missions, and you don't." Yang pointed out. "So that says a lot about him, just like it says a lot about you."
"Uh-huh…" The man drawled out.
"Besides, you can't do everything here on your own." Yang continued, stabbing a corner of that toast into one of the sunny side up eggs. "The farm's too big for one person." Distractedly, she continued dipping that same corner into her yolk. "If you ever got some actual help around here, you'd realize that…"
Taiyang sighed as he poured himself some coffee, sitting down at the table. He felt inclined to agree. "No. I can't do it all on my own, but Ruby's here. You're here most of the time. Even if you're gone for a little while, the community is very helpful, I won't be alone."
"Dad, come on, you know what I mean."
Drinking from his coffee slowly, he grimaced, adding in two lumps of sugar and a dash of cream. He sipped from it again and sighed, deliberately setting the drink off to the side. "Trust me." He murmured quietly. "I know your sister is in no condition to be working the field. If I could afford it, I would buy machines. Hell, I might take out a loan and buy some anyway."
"But dust powered machines are expensive." Yang retorted. "You'd never make the money back. Patch is just a small island all things considered, and our property isn't even the largest on the island."
"You're right about that." Taiyang grumbled. "It's one of the smallest. To top it off, the Arc's just invested in another plot."
"Uncle Qrow is still going on missions and all." She said. "Maybe ask him to take a few more high paying ones. The partner missions."
"We're not as young as we used to be." Taiyang laughed. "He's a good huntsman, don't get me wrong, but there are limits to what he can accomplish on his own. I'm not in my prime either, so partner missions are out of the question."
"That's why I should partner up with him."
"Nope." The man regarded his daughter carefully. "You're too green."
"How else am I supposed to get experience?"
"Not with him, that's for sure."
"Dad, I'm not a baby..."
"I said no, Yang. His particular line of work is too dangerous for you." Seeing her shrug with a mouth full of food, he could only shake his head. "Besides, you don't want to kill criminals or deal with people."
"Bandits aren't the same thing as big city criminals." Yang shot back after she swallowed.
"You're right, they're worse."
"Are you ever really going to level with me about why you don't want me out there with him?" Yang asked then. "Or am I going to have to just follow him out there one day on my own?"
"Yang.."
"I will, if I have to."
"There's nothing to level with you about. The academy should have taught you everything you need to know." Taiyang said distantly. Toying with a piece of bacon, he scowled at it for a long while before taking a bite. "And if it didn't, well, let's just say that our family's history is muddled enough without you stirring the pot."
"Yeah, so you always say…" Yang groused, largely unconvinced.
"Personally, I think you should look into a different line of work." Taiyang said, changing the subject as best as he could. "You'd be amazed at how many people would willingly hire a huntress."
She just rolled her eyes at this. Deep purple sliding behind closed lids. "Dad, it's not that I didn't get a job offer. It's that I don't think I'll get paid if I'm driven to punch my client in the face."
"Depends on the client." Her father huffed.
"You're not going to elaborate on that, are you?"
"Digressing from my personal scuffles, what was your job offer, and why didn't you take it?"
Yang licked her lips, as she got up and walked into the living room. Pulling open a creaky desk drawer, her father could hear it squealing in protest. Slamming it shut, she returned a few moments later, a torn envelope in hand. "Got this yesterday, while you were out. The request is a guard position over Weiss Schnee, one of the largest snobs in the dust trade imaginable. Apparently, she'll be coming to Vale, and her father wanted to hire some extra security detail."
"Give me that." He said, reaching for the document. He flipped it open and glanced at the assigned mission. "Hmm, says here that he stipulated that her protection should be a human female."
"I know." Yang protested. "How racist is the guy, really? I knew he was bad, but still."
"A very, very rich racist." Taiyang grumbled.
"I can't believe you." Yang shot back. "That doesn't make it right."
"I'm not condoning the man." He said distractedly as he read the paperwork further.
Yang could only gawk at him, breakfast entirely forgotten. "I guess the big-wigs down in the assignment offices don't think I'm good enough to do anything but play a babysitter to a prickly heiress. I swear, they all act like I'm a dumb bimbo or something."
"This paperwork argues that statement."
"Dad…"
"No, really, I mean that. The Schnee family, Weiss particularly, stands to be a very high profile client." He could almost feel his daughter's annoyance and disappointment. On the one hand, he understood her vexation, but on the other… "I think you should take the job. It'll be a learning experience for you."
"Are you kidding me? Dad, its Weiss friggin' Schnee. You don't get more pompous and stuck up than a wealthy Atlas brat. She's had a silver spoon in her mouth since the day she was born. She doesn't know anything about Vale, or the dust mines, or even about the Faunus refugees hiding here in Vale illegally because they're too scared to go back to Atlas!"
"That doesn't matter. A job, temporary as it might be, is a job." He carefully looked over the requirements. Most people asked for a hunter by name, many others asked for particular qualities, and the ones listed seemed rational to him. "A human female is being requested. It makes sense. His daughter is coming here alone, with only one personal guard. I know it might seem like the offices are just brushing you aside, and on the surface, maybe they are. Thing is, there's another way to look at this too."
"What way is that?"
Taiyang stretched, leaning back in his chair to reach a small shelf by the table that was just over his head. Grabbing the wooden box between both hands he brought it down, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter with two names engraved on it. One in the front, one in the back. A heart around the both of them added the finishing touch to the gold case. He took the time to light his tobacco product before closing it and sliding the object across the table. "We were a split team, two women, and two men. As you can guess, there were things that some of us were more suited for than others. Our partnership combinations depended on that."
"I'm not a partnered huntress."
"No, but you and Weiss Schnee should be about the same age, and that could play a factor in all of this. Vale's a comparatively safe place to be, unlike some other areas of the world. Whoever gave you the assignment might have assumed that it would be good for the girl to be protected by a peer. Someone who might share similar interests." The smoke billowed out of his moth as he said this, and he only paused to take another drag. "As tone deaf as it might sound, Weiss Schnee is a high profile figure. People know a girl like her, and this is a big shot for you, even if it doesn't seem like it."
"I don't think I want a girl like her, or her dad's name, on a reference sheet though. A lot of good that'll do me if I ever decide to take jobs from Faunus."
At this, her father merely smirked. "That's the beauty of being a huntress, Yang. You can take jobs from anyone, anywhere, at any time. It really doesn't matter, so long as the pay's good. For us, it just needs to be a job worthwhile. Take it as you will, kiddo, but the way I look at it, being a huntsman was the most indiscriminate job I ever had. For the better, and for the worse…frankly, that's just the hazard of the job."
Yang only gave her father a look, one that spoke all of her displeasure. Disgusted and surprised that such a thing had come out of his mouth. "…and you say I spend too much time with Qrow." When her father only shrugged his shoulders at her, she hefted herself up from the chair and rubbed her forehead. "I'm going to get dressed and start on the east end…you start in the west, we'll meet in the middle."
"Hopefully before nightfall." He agreed.
"That's why I keep telling you, hire a damn farmhand!" She shot back, as she made her way upstairs to dress for the day ahead.
