I'm going to be taking a lot of… creative liberties, shall we say, with this story. Chief among them being my own interpretation of the Great War and the Faunus/Human conflicts, as well as some things about Faunus bloodlines and whatnot. Because the way that it's described in RWBY – One Faunus plus one human = Faunus, Faunus(of same type) + Faunus = human or random Faunus, ect… that's not how genetics work.
I also realize that RWBY – or, at least, Rooster Teeth via livestream - explicitly stated that Faunus can only have a single animal trait, but for the sake of the story we're going to say that the 'stronger' your Faunus heritage is the more traits you end up with.
I'm borrowing different ideas on Faunus culture from several different fics, as well as my own ideas, so none of this could really be called canon. It's a fanfic, obv.
At the point and time of writing this RWBY is not yet finished, so I may end up making things up to fill gaps that will be later filled in the series.
I will only say it once, and in case it isn't clear, I do not own RWBY. That honor goes to Rooster teeth and the late Monty Oum, may he rest in peace.
Jaune really, really hated airships.
Hate was a bit of a misnomer, really. Too soft of a word for the deep, absolute, heart-swallowing black anger that was how much he absolutely fucking despised airships. Something about not being on the ground, not being able to trust your own two feet and sense of balance, be able to grab ahold of the tree or even sit down for a moment if you knew you were going to fall -
The ship rocked minutely under his feet, and he tensed up, a wave of insecurity and bile billowing up in his throat. If he were on the ground, or even on a boat, he'd be fine with it rocking. But hundreds of feet up in the air when
Jaune hated airships.
But, of course, everyone else and their monkey's uncle decided that floating balloons were the epitome of mass transportation. Jaune, on the other hand, would much prefer an train, or a bus, or even walking.
Because balloons pop pretty easy, to be honest.
He sighed, biting his lip in frustration as the ship tilted slightly again – almost too slightly to notice, even if you were looking for it. Of course, to anyone with any sort of combat training, you notice damn near instantly when your footing changes.
So not only was he trapped in a giant fragile cage, held aloft by and oversized party favor, he was also instinctively shifting on his feet and having mini-adrenaline rushes as his footing slipped back and forth.
The whispers weren't helping, either.
He was more than used to people talking behind his back at this point – kind of par for the course, really, when you're the heir to the Arc line, bearer to what was quite possibly the most famous sword in Vale, and, well, not dead like everyone thought you were since birth.
The whole 'being a Faunus' bit was probably a big factor, too.
He sighed, his ears twitching in sync with his eyelid as they caught every single damn whisper that was muttered supposedly out of his hearing range.
You think that the giant, grey, furry ears are kind of a giveaway that I have above-average hearing.
Yes, he had ears. Yellow furred, pointed, wolf (not dog, dammit. Lupine, not Canine) ears that popped up out of his unruly mop of hair like a pair of middle fingers to the delicate sensibilities of everyone in Vale who, well, wasn't a Faunus or related to a Faunus.
Because propaganda and bigotry ahoy.
"…Said he was stillborn, but I bet that was a way to get past the rulings.."
"Shame such an important sword ended up in his hands…"
"Pappa won't like when he hears about…"
"…so sad that Beacon lowered their standards enough to…"
Jaune bit his lip with larger-than-normal canines, strong enough to draw blood and realized he was growling deep in his throat. The balloon shifted again, harder than usually this time, and Jaune was unsettled enough that it made him stumble a small amount to his left. The whispers increased in volume.
"Yo, foxy, you ok there?" The voice came from behind him, and his grip tightened on the metal railing.
Unnoticed, the metal groaned under his grip. The – obviously female – voice continued on, either not noticing or not caring about how his growl resurfaced and his shoulders hunched.
"Because, I know a guy, if you want a cuddle, or some airsick tablets, or maybe a –"
"I swear to god if you say bone I will rip your throat out." He said, turning slowly to glare at the… offender.
The blonde girl stood there, two fingers held up from whatever she was listing out from before. Her hands were gloved and pretty heavily gauntleted, and her expression was one of shock. A shorter, but incredibly, well, adorable black haired girl in what could only be described as a little red riding hood outfit stood next to her, bouncing on her heels, not even bothered by threats of death and/or mayhem.
"…Was actually going to say some ginger ale, but I guess bone works if you want one. Wasn't gonna be that rude, but I mean if you're down for a roast, I really bring the heat." The black haired(still absolutely adorable) girl rolled her eyes with a groan.
"Yang, we talked about this. Its been like ten seconds since we talked about this. No more puns."
Yang – that's what he guessed her name was, so long as Lil' red wasn't talking to ghosts - just grinned the most obviously shit-eating grin he had ever seen.
"Just Yang in there, Ruby, it gets worse."
"Yaaaaaaannnnng. I will cut you. Deeply, and multiple times."
Jaune sighed, once more running his hands through his hair, over his ears(which was a habit of his when he got stressed. Somehow he got the feeling his hands would be in his hair a lot) and gave a dull look to the blonde.
"Sorry. I get a lot of the 'wanna bone' one, usually shortly after being called 'doggy, fido, wolfy' or some other variant. Foxy is new though."
Yang snorted. "Glad to be a first. So." She gave him an assessing once-over, eyes darting from head to toe, then leaned in with a smirk. "Wanna bone?" Ruby did some weird combination of snort, shocked gasp and choke, but Jaune just sighed.
"Also gotten that variant about sixty or so times, usually from either morally bankrupt people or ones who, for whatever reason, sort having a tail in with being gay. So no. I do not want either or any forms of bone or boning…" He raked his eyes slowly up her body, hoping to draw a blush or at least get her to back off. "No matter how tempting the offer may be."
Ruby just turned a shade of red that matched her (still absolutely adorable, how the hell did she get into a school for hired assassins and grim killers. It's like putting a puppy on steroids or dust supplements or something) cloak, then groaned when Yang leaned forward and growled, raking her hands in a claw motion. "Mm. Ill remember you." She extended her hand out, grinning. "Yang Xio-Long. Please to meet you."
Jaune raised an eyebrow, then took her proffered hand. "Jaune Arc, heir of House Arc. And trust me, the pleasure is mine." A very sauve and savvy introduction, he thought. Barring the whole 'sorry I threatened to kill you for being nice' bit at the beginning.
The airship began to bank to bleed off speed for its descent, and he then proceeded to ruin the introduction by vomiting on Yang's boots.
"Papa?"
Jacob Arc, the head of House Arc, was organizing the house finances and attempting to find a way to both pay for his expenses and keep his shareholders happy. He quickly looked up from his list of holdings, dropping his pen hurriedly on his desk and dropping to his knees, ready for one of his sons signature tackle hugs – then frowned when no ball of yellow hair and giggling fury slammed into him.
"Papa, why does everyone hate me?"
He sighed, deep and sorrowful. Knew this day would come sooner or later. He walked to his son, who was standing in the door. His outfit – the jeans and brown shirt he refused to take off, no matter what – was scuffed with dirt, hopefully from him playing.
More possibly, from some things a lot less fun.
He closed his eyes, crossing himself (in the traditional way – Monty, Oum, Rooster, Teeth) and walking slowly to his son, picking the near-tears boy up in his arms.
"Why don't we go to the sitting room and talk, and see if someone wont bring us some cocoa as well?" He gestured with his free arm to one of the waiting servants standing in the corner, who promptly bowed and left to the kitchen.
He walked with the boy in his arms, Jaune's head snuggled into his shoulder. The boy's furry ears tickled Jacob's nose, and he had to fight a sneeze.
When they reached the sitting room – the east wing sitting room, the one they used for informal occasions and story time – he sat down in his easy chair, resting the boy in his lap.
Jaune blinked big blue puppy eyes up at him, tears mostly gone(and damn if Jacob didn't want to find out who made his boy cry and choke them). Jacob sighed again, waiting until Jaune took his cocoa from the servant and had taken a sip before asking.
"Why do you say that everyone hates you, Jaune?"
Jaune set his saucer down on the table next to them(no coaster under it, Linda would be pissed later) and looked down.
"The other kids at school don't lemme play with them, papa. And… and they call me things."
Jacob had to wrest his anger back lest his semblance start activating on accident. Last thing he needed was to send the boy flying off his lap. He breathed a deep breath, then asked "What kinds of things, Jaune?"
"Mostly stupid things. Dog things, like fido or mutt. Its not that bad, their just a buncha stupid meanies. But…" he trailed off, looking up at his father.
"They say I'm not human, papa. Why do they say that?"
Jacob took another deep breath, looking up. Oum help me from murdering an elementary school. "Well, Jaune… you aren't."
He hurried on quickly when his son shot him a hurt look, eyes wide in shock. "You're a Faunus, Jaune. That's not a bad thing. In lots of places, its perfectly normal and even a good thing to be a Faunus. Because you can hear better, and run faster, and fight stronger. But…"
"You're different from the other kids, and – once again, not a bad thing – and people are scared of things that are different. And when people are scared of things, well… they usually either run from them or fight them."
He ran his hands through the boys mass of blonde hair, scratching behind his ears. Jaune scowled, shaking his head and Jacob just smiled, before continuing. "Honestly, I bet that it's not even the kids at school who don't like you – it's their parents who teach them to hate Faunus." He felt the need to throw a few words onto the word 'parents' but decided not to – he was only eight after all.
"Why don't they like Funus, Papa?" Jaune asked, eyes completely tear free and looking up at him as if he knew everything. To be that young again…
"Faunus, little pup." He said, poking the boy on the nose. Jaune scrunched up said nose before rubbing it and giggling. "Well. Remember great-great grandpa Julius Arc?"
"The one who used Croaky Mores?" Jacob sighed again. If only they could get the boy a tutor to teach him to speak properly.
Of course, that would require telling the rest of the world that they still had their son, and he was a Faunus – something Jacob and Linda had been very careful about keeping quiet. Not out of shame, but for his protection.
"Crocea Mors, Jaune. And yes, him. Long ago, when Julius fought in the Great War, he fought against a lot of different people. But, mostly… Faunus. For you see, the great war revolved around five very important and powerful people, all kings or rulers in their own rights – Irrikson of Mantle, Rathos of Vacuo, Andres of Mistral, Vander of Vale and, most prominently…"
"Lupin Nosderos, the Faunus high-Alpha, otherwise known as the Wolf of the Forest."
Jaune's eyes widened, and he reached up to touch twitching wolf ears. Jacob smiled fondly at the boy, then continued. "The five rulers – four, really, because Lupin was only chosen as high Alpha once the war began – were fighting over silly reasons, mostly over matters of opinion. Nothing important enough to start a war over – but Vale and Mantle were allies, as were Vacuo and Mistral. No one really knows how the war started, but most people agree it was the assassination of Prince Austeril of Mistral by Mantle soldiers disguised as rebels."
"Mistral declared war on Mantle, and Vale and Vacuo were dragged in with them. It was a bloody conquest spanning decades, longer than we truly know, and it came to an end seventy years ago this month."
"Why was Lupin fighting, Papa?"
Jacob sighed. "Ill get to that, patience little one." Jaune, abashed, took a sip of his cocoa and waited for his father to collect his thoughts.
"Vale and Mistral had very different ideas of how they viewed Faunus. To the royalty of those countries, the Faunus weren't even people, just animals to be conscripted – forced to fight for them." He said when Jaune's look of confusion at the word conscripted emerged. "Mistral and Vacuo thought differently, and were generally just very free-flowing when it came to freedoms of their people."
"Vale and Mantle… Not so much, I'm afraid. Vale was the only country with a full monarchy – ruled by a royal family – and Mantle had a council of Houses, all made up of people who could trace their family tree back at least twenty generations. Lots of very stuffy old people, basically."
Jaune blinked his big blue eyes owlishly. "Like the councilmen you have to meet with and I need to put on servant clothes around?"
Jacob smiled, but it was a strained one. "Yes. Like them. You see, to the people of Vale and Mantle, using their Auras was supposed to be a noble sort of calling. Only Knights or Lords or their families could learn to use their Aura, and they punished anyone who used it outside of those families."
"Now, Lupin… Most of the Faunus in the time before the great war lived in either the Isle of the Northern Forests or the Southern Mountains. These islands were relatively uncharted, and – as far as we knew – filled to the brim with hostile Grimm. One of the House lords of Mantle got it into his head to make a naval base on the Isle – this was about ten years into the war – so he could attack Vacuo easier, and maybe attempt to claim the hostile wastes as their own."
"That was when humankind first met the Faunus. As they were setting up, the commander of the naval base sent out a contingent of soldiers to clear the surrounding area of any Grimm. This turned out to be a mistake."
"Didn't they know how to fight Grimm, Papa?" Jaune asked, confusion apparent in his eyes. Jacob snorted. An eight year old boy, smarter than a fully trained naval officer. Then again, before Mantle's own revolution and subsequent rebirth into Atlas, they weren't really known for being intelligent.
"No, the navy of the time was experienced in fighting people, not Grimm. So they passed out a few dust rounds and went hunting – they assumed it would be easy, because grimm are just animals, right?"
Jaune gaped at him, and his father grinned grimly as he continued. "They got a lot of the area cleared out – of beowovles. Then the rest of the Grimm – able to feel the negative emotions of combat, and feeling the deaths of their kin – came to the base. Ursa, more Beowolves, Nevermores, Death stalkers – forests that had never been touched by humans and were full to the brim of young Grimm who had just gotten their first taste of human emotions."
"They were about to be wiped out, when they heard a howl from the woods. Fearing even more wolves were coming, the soldiers despaired – then were shocked as people came from the woods and proceeded to utterly slaughter the Grimm that were attacking them – and for good reason."
"Every single one of them was using Aura, and using it well. The officers were shocked and appalled – you just didn't use Aura if you weren't a noble or high ranking military officer. It just wasn't done in Mantle. Something about the ruling class having divine right or something like that."
"The warriors were all wearing armor made of Grimm bone, and carrying wooden weapons. They assumed them to be primitive, and thought that they were wearing animal skins as decoration."
"Of course, once the armor came off and they realized their saviours were actually part animal, they did the stupid, panicky human thing."
"They said thanks?" Jacob smirked. To be naïve…
He sighed, then looked down at his son. "No. They called their saviors demons, then proceeded to try to kill them. Granted, this was way back when people still thought that Grimm were evil animal spirits, so you can give them a smidgen of doubt. A teeny, tiny bit."
"One of the Faunus was a young wolf Faunus named Lupin, and he helped his pack defeat and force the Navy to flee back to Mantle, not even killing a single one of them. Lupin then went and told all of the other packs on the Isle to prepare of a possible war, which he was smart to do – because two years later, Mantle sent their entire Navy to 'cleanse the Island of Beasts."
Jacob patted his son on the head. "And that is how the Faunus were dragged kicking and screaming into the view of the rest of the world. Eventually, the Faunus of the Southern Mountains joined up with Lupin's army, and they proceeded to join Mistral and Vacuo. It turned out that Mantle's arrogance and superstious traditions were what cost us the war."
Jaune nodded slowly, then figited in his fathers lap. "Can I go play now, Papa?"
Jacob rolled his eyes. They really did need to get the kid a tutor, if this is how he reacted to a simple history lesson. "Yes, son. Go out and play."
"I'm sorry, for like the millionth time. Ill buy you a new pair if you want, seriously."
Yang scowled at him again, her hair spewing sparks still. Better than the raging inferno it had been, but still. "Whatever, Vomit Boy." Jaune sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"It's ok, Jaune. She'll cool off in like fifteen minutes or the second something interesting happens. No big deal, really. Just don't puke on anyone else and we should be good, Vomit Boy." Ruby patted the older boy on the back, and he hung his head dejectedly.
"That's gonna be a thing now, isn't it."
"Yeah, probably. Look on the bright side though!" He raised his head up, looking at Ruby comically throwing her arms in the air, rocking back on her heels. "No more airship rides, until we have more airship rides!"
"You'll have to forgive me if that ringing encouragement doesn't fill me with joy, Ruby." Ruby just nodded cheerfully, not deterred in the slightest. Of course, then someone walking by with a war hammer (giant pink war hammers, what the hell) distracted her, and she realized she was literally surrounded by cool weapons.
The resulting sound was not unlike a 'squee' and Jaune watch incredulously as she seemed to literally teleport to the war hammer user, then to a boy holding a giant mace/shotgun, then someone with a large staff, babbling questions rapidfire the whole way.
"She does that on occasion." Yang said, standing next to the dumbfounded fellow blonde. Jaune noted that Ruby was right, and the second something interesting happened Yang stopped being mad at him. "Little bit gun crazy."
Jaune pressed his lips together, drawing Crocea Mors a few inches out of its sheath before letting it slide back in with the rasp of metal on metal. "I guess a hundred year old sword that has literal songs sung about its glories doesn't really compare to a hybrid grenade launcher hammer thing."
Yang hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. "Yeah, seems about right. Well, I'm gonna go Yang out with some people I see from signal. Catchya later." With that, the blonde brawler literally tore off into the distance, leaving a comically large dust trail behind her.
Jaune ran his hands through his hair(twenty third time since he got on that damn airship), groaning softly to himself. "She wasn't joking about the puns. Oh Oum, the puns." He took a deep breath, then sighed as the scents of the campus filled his overly-sensative nose.
Fresh-cut grass and ocean water was first and foremost. Then the smell of humans – body oils, sweat, pheromones – the almost powdery feel of gunpowder, dust, and weapon oil, and… something familiar.
He took another deep breath, trying to locate the scent, but instead got a nosefull of dust, leaving him coughing. He turned, attempting to locate the scent…
Just in time to watch Ruby and a girl in all white nearly cause a dust-fueled explosion. Seriously, who transports dust in suitcases like that? They make specially made transporting cases for a reason…
And who the hell needs that much dust?
He walked towards the – now incredibly icy – scene of the explosion, walking up next to a black haired girl who was holding a vial of red dust in her hand. He was planning on asking Ruby if she was alright, but was stopped when he noticed the logo on the vial, as well as the girl holding it and her expression as she glared at it.
He couldn't help a quiet growl. "Schnee."
He had thought he was being quiet, but somehow the girl in black heard him and turned to face him, nearly dropping the vial as she was startled. It was a tense moment at first, as he tried to figure out both how she heard him and why she reacted badly to the logo of Schnee corps.
Then he saw her bow twitch minutely, and the conclusion was rather obvious.
She stared back at him, her face carefully blank, until he simply nodded to her and held out his hand, taking the (half empty) vial of red dust from her. Feeling her eyes on his back, he turned and walked slowly to Ruby, who was in the middle of an argument with the white-haired girl.
"I'm trying to apologize, but it's your fault as well, if you would just listen to – oh, hey Jaune!" Ruby went from angry to bubbly in a minute, and Jaune snorted at the girl's mood swing. He held out the vial to the other girl, who accepted it carefully – then paled once she saw the minute crack on the bottom.
"Oh sweet Oum. A little more damage…" the yet unnamed girl muttered quietly, and he raised an eyebrow.
"This is why they make special heavy-duty kinetic negating cases for dust, you know." She groaned, carefully opening her suitcase and placing the vial in, wrapping it in a layer of bubble wrap.
"I know, I know. I had to sneak this out of the warehouse, because father wouldn't let me take any with me – apparently he doesn't want me selling it without him getting a slice of the profits or something of the sort." She sighed, wiping her skirt of nonexistent dust, then bowed slightly to him. "Thank you for returning it safely to me."
Jaune nodded. "Really, you should be thanking… her…" He turned to the black haired girl, only to find that the faunus in disguise had fled while he was distracted. "Huh. Must be shy. Anyways." He turned back to the white haired girl, watching as her eyes flickered down from his ears. He made sure to let his tail wag a bit past the back of his leg, which he usually didn't do – he tried to suppress the movement, but the damn thing had a mind of his own. Watching her eyes flicker down, catching the movement of the yellow-furred appendage, he held out a hand to her.
"Jaune, Heir of House Arc." He watched as she started a bit at the name – or maybe the fact that he wasn't dead – then smiled as she didn't hesitate to accept the proffered hand he held out. Clearly, not someone with a hatred of Faunus.
"Wiess Schnee, of Schnee dust company."
What.
He took his hand back carefully, making sure to hide the fact that he was absofuckinglutey freaking out behind a careful mask of his normal smile. "Pleased to meet you, Wiess." The girl nodded, but equally as carefully as him, able to feel and see the way he literally tensed up once she said her name.
They were silent for a moment, each of them reforming the opinions they had of each other, until Ruby slapped them both on the back.
"Yay, friends!" The (still incredibly adorable what the everloving hell) raven haired girl shouted, then pouted as Wiess shook off her hand.
"No, not friends. I don't know either of you." The unspoken nor am I sure I want to was left unheard by the red-cloaked menace who was beginning to babble yet again, this time about friendship and roses and cookies and sunshine.
Jaune took a deep breath, looking up at the sky.
Dear Oum, what is my life?
So, I may have gone on a bit of a tangent for a while. If it's too confusing, I'll try to fix it up in future chapters - which, obviously, will explain more.
No, I haven't abandoned my other stories. I write my stories to share ideas, and If people don't seem to like them I wont update them. its that simple. No one ever reviews them, so I dont update them. Does that make me a greedy review digger? Maybe.
Chapter two will be up in probably a few hours or tomorrow morning, depending on how tired I am.
Follow, Favorite and Review please! It only takes a few seconds for you and it validates hours of work for me.
Cy .
-Xander