Before the Dawn:
As Sanzang finished applying what was possibly the third generous application of his healing salve onto Sandy's wounds and fetched a roll of bandages from his satchel, he let out a sigh. "Well," he began, dressing the wound on Sandy's bicep the same as he did on the considerable number of other injuries his friend had sustained, "that'll be the last of my salve." Looking down, he found that not only had his salve stockpile run dry in the aftermath of his merry trio's latest battle, but his last roll of bandages had been depleted as well.
"And the bandages…" His shoulders deflated, the fatigue of the battle that'd occurred mere hours ago settling in his body as he stuffed the empty containers of salve into his satchel. "I sincerely hope you aren't planning on alerting another raider encampment to our location before we're ready to attack next time, Sandy." He half-heartedly chastised, more thankful that his friend had emerged alive than he was frustrated about the wounds the three of them had sustained burning through his remaining stockpile.
Over the years, Sanzang had prided himself on being able to provide whatever people needed, whenever they needed it, despite his nomadic lifestyle as something of an adventuring monk with a knack for pressure-point combat. As a result, Sanzang was known to have always had more than enough resources to spare for any occasion, no matter how severe or mundane it might have been. Running low on something as fundamental as medical supplies, while not disastrous – given how his salves were made with readily available herbs and bandages weren't all that expensive – was still something that irked the long-haired man.
"Oh, come on! I'm sure we'll make do." Sandy encouraged, "It can't be worse than when we met," he finished with a nostalgic grin, despite the fact that when Sanzang had first encountered the larger-than-life man, Sandy had been halfway to death's doorstep after barely fending off a gang's attempt to rob him blind. Sanzang was still only beginning his nomadic journey around Anima at the time, and thus only had a passing knowledge of how to treat Sandy's wounds without medical supplies, but no matter the scars that remained from his serviceable-at-best first aid, Sandy had lived – and had promptly vowed to return the favor by joining the young monk on his journey. Whether that was because of his perception of a life-debt to Sanzang or because, as he later found out, Sandy was a homeless brawler with nowhere to go, he didn't know; but truly, he couldn't quite find it in himself to care.
As Sanzang rolled his eyes, a certain portly pig-eared Faunus piped up from his spot dozing up against the wall. "As much as I hate to agree with him when it comes to having no supplies, he's right. We've been through worse… unfortunately." Pigsy finished with a yawn.
He was right, too. Shortly after partnering up with the Sandy, Pigsy had joined Sanzang on his wandering journey for similar reasons, with the duo having saved his life from the anti-Faunus sentiment in his hometown near Argus. While having an extra pair of hands with a talent for unconventional combat via a sharpened rake was all well and good, Sandy and Sanzang had already been scraping by on whatever charity was given to them on their journey, and the presence of a Faunus among them only made that charity all the rarer. Until they started making a name for themselves as a respectable group of adventurers that always helped those in need, the trio had to endure no small number of nights spent with empty bellies out in the wilderness, neither of the human members of their party ever willing to leave Pigsy out in the cold alone.
As a result, the three of them had forged an unshakeable bond that none of them ever needed words to describe. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, had each other's backs even in the most desperate of times, and were more than ready to walk into a den of Grimm alone if it meant saving their friends' lives. It was this same bond that made them such a formidable force to be reckoned with, despite their lack of Semblances or training as Huntsmen. To those who would see them or any innocents under their protection harmed, the unnamed trio of wanderer's led by a long-haired monk became something of a boogeyman, and to those they protected, they were but humble heroes wishing to do good.
"I'm… sorry to hear that." A cat-eared Faunus said, earning a startled jolt from Pigsy, who was too tired from battle to have noticed their most recent client coming.
As Pigsy was still clutching his chest to calm himself down, Sanzang looked up at the man and gave a small shrug. "It's none of your concern, Beryl." He assured, rising to his feet. "It's good to see you again though. As your clansmen might've informed you, we come bearing good news – the raiders are all defeated, and though their leader may have escaped, I don't believe their raids will be a problem for you again anytime soon."
Taking ahold of the slightly older man's hand and shaking it, Beryl shook his head slightly as he and his wife, Peridot, caught a glimpse of the heavily-bandaged state of Sandy. "You didn't have to do this for us." He apologized, "If I'd known that those raiders were so dangerous, even to you three, I would never have sent you to deal with them, I swear."
"Dangerous? That's an understatement." Pigsy snorted, rising to his feet and dusting himself off, now too alert to even think about sleeping anytime soon.
Sanzang's expression remained comfortingly calm despite his friend's frustration. Even though the young leader of the Malachite Clan had just about begged for the trio's aid in dealing with the raiders led by Arach Nid and their attacks on his clan's trade caravans, none of those present knew just what they were getting into when they accepted the man's plea for help. While Arach's grunts were no match for the experienced trio, when the spider Faunus himself had joined the battle and rallied his men, it was everything they could do to stand their ground and have each other's backs against overwhelming odds. Despite having emerged victorious in the end, Arach had escaped, and with the utterly wild way the man had fought, none of Sanzang's party were looking forward to the possibility of the Faunus coming for them for revenge.
"It's no problem, Beryl, really. Making sure people like him can't prey on honest folk such as yourself is well worth any risk – and don't worry about paying us anything. Protecting people like you is reward enough." He said. While he was annoyed at their lack of medical supplies, Sanzang was a man of his principles, and wasn't about to ask for compensation for something he saw as simply the right thing to do.
Beryl bit his tongue in thought, his foot tapping on the wood floor before he nodded to himself. "Then let me offer you something more – a place in the clan as my closest allies and friends. It's the least I could do, after what you've done for us." He said, desperate to give thanks to the three men who had possibly just saved generations' worth of his clan's prosperity on a whim.
As the monk and his friends' eyes went wide and Sanzang began contemplating the offer, Peridot piped up, turning Beryl around to face her. "Are you sure? Something like that's never been done before!" She exclaimed. After years of marriage, she had become abundantly familiar with how unconventional an offer her husband had just made. While exceptions were made in the case of marriage, it was unheard of for strangers to be invited into the Malachite Clan, and for Beryl to make such an offer was the last thing she expected.
"I'll make an exception for them. They more than deserve it after they bled for us, and with Arach Nid out there, there's no telling if they'd ever be safe out on the road again." He turned towards Sanzang and the rest. "Tell me that I'm wrong?"
Pigsy shrugged, kicking his rake off the floor and into his hand. "He does have a point. Besides, it'd be nice to settle down. We've been on the road for, what, how many years now?" He asked, gesturing towards Sanzang and Sandy.
"That does sound nice, but… what are we gonna do? After so long out and in the world, it seems… weird to slow down now." Sandy looked around, suddenly feeling as though the room around him felt a lot larger than it used to be.
Pigsy smiled. "Are you kidding? I think this clan has an opening right about now for a certain guardian who could train up some quality guardsmen so that this raider business never happens again. As for me? I think I'd like to try and become a chef like my grandparents – always sounded like a nice, stable job." He turned, content with how Sandy seemed to be considering the idea Pigsy proposed. "And Sanzang? You could easily make a living growing herbs and making those medicines of yours! So, come on, what do you say?" He finished, planting his rake into the floor and striking an overly dramatic pose.
Sanzang shook his head. "You know, I didn't need you to spell it out for me Pigsy, but… you're right. We don't know if Arach is going to be hunting us down, we can't always be on guard for him, and settling down… doesn't sound like a terrible idea." He turned towards the younger couple before him. "It sounds like we'll be staying, then." He stated, picking up his satchel. "Care to show us around?"
Beryl shared in an amused look with Sandy as Pigsy pumped his fist in excitement before answering. "It'd be my honor." He declared with a bow of his head, motioning for his newfound inner council to follow him deeper into his ancestral home.
Though none of them knew then how their lives in their newfound home would turn out, over the years, it became increasingly apparent that they had made the right choice in choosing to leave behind the wanderer's lifestyle they'd lived for so long.
True to his word, within mere months of familiarizing himself with the facilities of the Malachite Clan's home, Pigsy was well on his way to becoming as much of a legendary chef as he was a fighter. Years of having so little to work with blended with his family's history in the culinary world in such a way that the Faunus, once he was given a selection of ingredients that consisted of things other than canned goods, could only blossom in his new, well-stocked cooking environment. At the same time, Sandy's experience as the heart of Sanzang's trio tempered him into the perfectly knowledgeable, yet down-to-earth fighter the clan needed to instill courage and steadfast resolve into the guards that would be born and raised within the Malachite Clan's walls.
Just as Sandy and Pigsy found their own callings within their adopted family, over the years, Sanzang became a local legend within the walls of Mistral as someone with the patience of a saint and such an encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicines that he was just about glorified as one by some. Even as his and his companions' hair grew grey and they found themselves increasingly at odds with time as Beryl and Peridot welcomed a new life of their own into the world, Sanzang never found himself disheartened. If anything, the presence of a life brought into being by the man who'd given him a home reinvigorated the aging monk. Whereas before his sage advice had only been taken to heart by a select few friends and acquaintances who had already long since formed their own identities, Sanzang held hope that Beryl's daughter would latch onto his wisdom and carry it on long after his days came to an end. As the young woman grew and faced adversity and tragedy no one so youthful should have to endure, and yet still emerged stronger for it, Sanzang knew that his hopes were well-founded. Though he had never imagined his life would tread the path he'd wound up taking, he was more than content to see it through to the end; and in his eyes, the world would be all the better for it.
Author's Note: After so long thinking about how cool it'd be to find some way to work the inner council's origins/backstory into ToTI, I think deciding to just bite the bullet and make a full-fledged oneshot about it has to have been one of my favorite decisions I've ever made for these three. Despite being side characters, I think giving them their own curt nod of acknowledgment was the least I could do for them after so long of just off-handedly mentioning them – especially considering how their saving the Malachite Clan and their subsequent guidance of Opal might have very well helped shape Remnant for the better.
PS: Do note that 'A Study in Support' and 'Food for Thought' were the first two oneshots I wrote - I simply moved 'Fractured' and this to the front of the chapter list for the sake of continuity and the chronological organization of this series making sense! So... when I do update this fic, do check in on the chapter list, in case my 'new' chapter winds up being classified in the same grouping as the pre-ToTI oneshots or an already covered volume.