Velvet Scarlatina stretches as her scroll goes off for the millionth time this morning. Not for the first time she wishes that she could just throw the damned thing out of the porthole. But as a lieutenant in the White Fang, she just can't. She has responsibilities to the organization, and besides, her partner for over a decade now wouldn't let her. Getting out from under the covers, she yawns as she stretches, eventually rising to her feet and then her toes, lengthening out to her normal 5' 3" in height. Wincing as her scars pull, she groans irritably. Eleven years, and she still can't stretch like she likes.
Hearing a pair of giggles coming from under a large blanket, she stalks over as quiet as a shadow and grabs ahold of it. Waiting for the giggling to get a bit louder, she suddenly snatches it off as she smiles. "Well well well, look what I found! A pair of Joey's in their pocket!"
"Mum! That isn't funny! We left the pocket!" Jet, a raven haired rabbit Faunus cries out, her chocolate brown eyes gleaming.
"Yeah mum! We're big girls now!" Kali proclaims, her chocolate brown cat ears twitching as her molten gold eyes sparkle. Velvet just laughs as she looks at the girls her and her partner had roughly five years ago now. The White Fang had "acquired" a way to have children using artificial sperm, and Velvet and her partner had been the first to volunteer. To their surprise, it had worked surprisingly well, and she and her partner decided to make it a permanent arraignment to raise the sisters together.
Five years later, and Velvet adores her partner as much as their girls, but she still misses Coco. But after eleven years, Velvet is sure that she's moved on just like she has. Her work as well as her girls keep her moving constantly from place to place. But now that they are here in Vale, the two of them as well as their girls are thrilled.
They are here to stay. No more moving every few months. No more having to deal with this idiot or that asshole. And no more trips to Menagerie. She never wants to go back there ever again. So many died. Her parents and siblings, Blake's, even Neptune. She, along with Sun and Blake had witnessed Neptune's final stand. It had taken weeks to get him there, and he had to be heavily medicated the whole way. But there wasn't time for that during Cinder's attack. Blake still has nightmares of watching him wave good bye. Sun refuses to love anyone else. But she respects him. He stood alone and bought them the time the last vessel needed to escape before the fire and the flames consumed him. He never screamed. He wouldn't give Cinder the satisfaction.
Shaking her head, she smiles as she looks at the girls. "I tell my favorite brumbies what, whoever gets your mum up first gets to pick breakfast!" She starts laughing as the two eager young girls dash over to the bed and start burrowing under blankets to tickle the cat Faunus still sleeping underneath.
"Nooooo! Jet stop tickling my feet! Kali! Stop tickling my stomach!" Velvet starts laughing as she moves to change. Gone was her gold and brown bodysuit, replaced by a long chocolate brown dress with dust infused runes woven into the sides and sleeves. She had lost her special camera and case years ago during the same fight that scarred her deeply, when a monstrous Alpha Beowolf clawed her down her front. It had dug deep furrows down her entire front, leaving a line of three claw marks running from the top of her head all the way down to her stomach. She had almost died from blood loss alone, not to mention she almost lost her eyesight as well. If the claws had been just a little bit closer to the left or right, she would not doubt be dead or blind. Coco and the others had been forced to leave her behind in Vale as they traveled north to join Ruby. Once she recovered enough, she was evacuated to Menagerie, where she had run into Blake, Sun and Neptune. When her life changed forever.
"Velvet!" Blake screams from under the blanket, no doubt Kali's reach her sides now. With a smile as she slips her three inch heels on, she strides over and pulls the blanket off the woman and their giggly daughters.
"Alright you two, go get dressed. I'll finish getting your mum up." She watches as the two faunus girls scoot off laughing and giggling before she sits down next to her wife, Blake Belladonna. "Time to get up mum."
Blake moans as she tries to grab the blanket and pull it back over her head. "Nooooo Velv. I stayed up most of the night reading."
"Well that's just too bad love, I kept telling you to turn the bloody light off and go to bed." Velvet decides it's time to quit playing nice. Taking one of her long fingered hands, she starts running it gently up her left leg, past numerous scars running across her legs and past her waist. Her smile widens as Blake shudders and tries to slap her hand away with her long silky tail, but Velvet is hungry and the girls are both up. Her fingers trail up higher, and she hesitates at the long slashing scar that runs across Blake's back. A final souvenir from Adam Taurus. The two of them along with Sun had tracked him down in Mistral, and faced off against him in a titanic battle. Velvet had watched as Adam slashed Blake across her back after knocking Sun out, and the rabbit faunus had become enraged. Using her copycat ability combined with the dust she had started training with to become a dust mage, she fought Adam for over an hour before she finally drove Gambol's Katana through his skull and set it aflame.
Blake never used Gambol Shroud again. Instead she claimed Wilt and Blush while Velvet inherited Gambol Shroud. They cemented their reputation with the White Fang, and soon enough they became deeply immersed in the terrorist organization. They spent years fighting for the Faunus, who suffered almost cataclysmic losses. And when the chance came to help replenish their numbers they took it.
Blake finally lifts her head and smiles as she watches Kali and Jet throw their nightclothes at each other, giggling all the while. "They are so beautiful Velv."
"Yeah they are love. I wish we could have had more though." Having Jet and Kali had almost killed them both. Velvet's claw wounds almost split back open, and Blake's back injury had gotten aggravated to the point that she couldn't walk anymore. Both women had become disappointed that they couldn't have any more children, but still felt like the Goddesses had still blessed them. And they themselves couldn't be happier. It had made the rabbit and cat faunus finally admit the feelings that had been growing between them for years. They had gotten married when the girls had been six months old.
Velvet winces along with her wife as she slowly stands and stretches, pulling on the nasty scar. Blake had been forced to change her entire fighting style after the battle with Adam. Gone is the acrobatic ninja like style supported by the Gambol Shroud. She modified her style to favor speed and a fast terminal strike instead. She depended on her clones to keep her targets busy until she could end a fight with one swift strike. Velvet meanwhile modified Gambol Shroud to channel dust better, giving her more options for either in close or distance strikes. Both of them had become deadly in the past eleven years. But their hands are covered in blood. So much blood. But they let them stay coated. They were fighting for a better future for their girls. And that alone makes it all worth it.
"Mum! Mama! We're hungry!" Jet cries out, already dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with the Pumpkin Pete's bunny emblazoned on the front.
"Yeah! I want some tuna pancakes!" Kali adds as she struggles to get into a red tinted dress.
Velvet snickers as she looks at Blake before walking over to help their kitten into her dress. "You heard the bosses love. They have spoken."
"Of course they have. Thus we must make haste to feed our growing bottomless pits!" Blake smiles as she answers while putting on a pair of slim black pants and a white shirt.
Smiling, the dust mage and the assassin finish getting their daughters ready. They'll be docking in Vale soon, and they had to make a few more preparations. It's been a long journey from Mistral, and they have much to do. But first they need to find Sun Wukong and figure out what in the hell he screwed up this time.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"What the fuck were you thinking you IDIOT!" She is furious. No, worse than furious! Six months! The damned rock headed idiot has been laying low for over six months now, and now he suddenly decides to come out of hiding to work on his tattoo?! Nora is still looking for him, so is Glynda along with every Huntsman and Huntress in Vale!
"Oh quit worrying so much Sophia! The heat should be off by now. And I'm pretty sure you need the money."
She doesn't hesitate as she grabs him by the ear and drags him back to the bedroom she now shares with her girls. It had taken months to get them to sleep through the night. Weeks to get them to stop jumping at every little sound. Aqua still stays glued to her side from the second she wakes up to the second she falls asleep, while Diane has turned moody and quiet. But she will be damned if she fails the two little girls that have come to depend on her. They have actually started to make her feel something again. Something she hasn't felt in over a decade. They make her feel loved. She knows that Aqua is trailing behind her as she slings the door to the bedroom open, startling Diane as she sits and watches cartoons. Ignoring his constant squeals of pain, she shoves him towards the bed, where he lands in a heap. Diane doesn't miss a beat, and quickly sits back down on his head, pinning him to the bed. "Oooo Mr. Sun is in trouble!"
"Hey! Get off my head kid! This isn't funny!" Sun howls as he tries to push the squirrel faunus girl off his head. To her amusement, Diane starts snapping at him as her tail bristles angrily. But she herself is pissed. She can't take the chance of him being caught here. They will rip her tiny little family apart just as they have finally started to get comfortable with each other. Balling up one small fist, she pins one of his legs to the bed and strikes swiftly with a surprisingly powerful punch to his balls.
"Ooooo, mommy Sophia just hit Mr. Sun in the no no spot." She snickers at Aqua's statement. It was the least he deserves, but she needs to get him to shut up before Nora or Glynda show up and find him here. At least the nut shot had the desired effect, since he is now whimpering quietly and holding his crotch.
"Listen to me you idiot! You stay back here and you stay quiet! And tonight after they run the sweeps, you are going to get your monkey ass out of my shop and stay gone until the heat actually is off, got it?! Or do I need to hit you in your balls again?!"
"Got it… Please don't donkey punch me again…." Good. He got the hint. Leaving him with Diane, she walks back up front while spraying air freshener everywhere to try to mask his scent. Her nose wrinkles at the smell of pine as she walks back, praying to the Goddesses that they will give her this much. She doesn't want anything else to happen to the girls. They've suffered enough.
Picking Aqua up, she settles the little meerkat down on the desk and goes back to fixing the hem of her skirt. Aqua stares wide eyed as she goes back and forth with needle and thread, and she has a pang in her heart as a memory returns unbidden. She can remember Ruby doing the same thing as they sat together after initiation, with Weiss fixing the the tear in her cloak from the Nevermore's feather. Even Blake and Yang had watched in amazement as the heiress deftly stitched the ragged tear back together before handing Ruby her precious cloak back. Ruby had truly smiled at her for the first time that day, and Weiss couldn't help but bask in the brilliance that was Ruby Rose. Thinking about it, she is still more than certain that that had been the moment that she had fallen in love with the little red cloaked dolt. Damn but ever since she took in her girls she is starting to feel more and more. Hearing the door open, her ears twitch as as she picks up the conversation the two women are having as they enter, her heart sinking rapidly.
"I'm telling you love. His scent comes right to here. And my sniffer works better than yours."
"I find that hard to believe. Especially considering your nose got split in half and had to be sewn back together."
"Oi! That was a low blow love! Hey! You got a minute?" She can feel her blood pumping in fright. This is it. Some Faunus the Huntsmen hired with promises of wealth or full citizenship has tracked the block head back to her shop. But they won't take her, or especially her girls. She reaches down and pulls a knife out from under the desk. But before she can sit back up, one of the Faunus suddenly takes a deep breath and gasps.
"Impossible. She's dead."
"Wait, what are you going on about love?"
"Weiss. Her scent is everywhere in here! But she's dead! We went to her grave! We laid white roses on it!" She hears the second Faunus take a deep breath and gasp as well.
"Bloody hell! You're right love! Weiss! Where in the hell are you?!" She is on the verge of a full blown panic attack now. These two Faunus must have met her somewhere in the past. Probably right here in Vale or even in Beacon. She's been so worried about Sun putting the girls in danger that it never occurred to her that she too could be a danger to them either. But from deep within her she can feel a genuine growl start to climb from her chest, and the once dead heart it holds still. Standing up from her hiding spot as she pulls Aqua behind her, she barely brandishes the knife before she gasps in surprise, the knife dropping from nerveless fingers as the sight and the scent of the two faunus hit her like a ton of bricks. Her hands fly to her mouth as tears spring to her eyes as she stares into the eyes of two of her closest and dearest friends from her past.
"Blake? Velvet? Is it really you?" She watches as the cat faunus walks towards her slowly, one hand rising up to pull hers away from her mouth.
"Goddesses above, is it really you Weiss?" She feels Blake run a gentle finger across her face slowly where her scar should be, her fingernail easily pulling the putty away to reveal the living reminder of her father's cruelty.
"Bloody hell, it is you Weiss!" Not another word was said as the three women begin to hug each other, tears falling from all their eyes. They stay this way for a while until Velvet pulls away first, allowing the former team members a chance to hold each other close.
"Goddesses above Weiss, everyone thinks you're dead. Why?" Blake finally asks into her ear. Weiss sniffles as she pulls away finally from a woman as close to her as a sister once and wipes her eyes.
"Winter. I saw what happened to her on TV. I was still living on the streets in Mistral at the time. I watched them execute my sister, and I was scared I would be next."
"I can understand that love. Me and Blake just got into town ourselves….."
"And we don't need to draw too much attention to ourselves right now either. Not until…" Blake suddenly stops and looks at Velvet, who shakes her head slightly. Taking a closer look, she sees that the two of them have changed so much, but then again, so has she.
"How long have you two been White Fang?" She might as well get it out of the way. After all, Blake is carrying Wilt and Blush, and Gambol Shroud is secure on the small of Velvet's back. She can't help but snicker as the two of them look at her with jaws dropped. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a supporter of the Vale chapter these days." She smiles as both women visibly relax and look at her.
"I went back after I ran. I decided to try to change things from the inside. And to take care of some unfinished business." Blake answers as she brandishes Wilt and Blush. She isn't surprised. And a huge part of her is glad to see that her friend finally conquered her demons. Turning to Velvet, she ignores the scars that seem to run in parallel down her face and disappear down the front of her dress.
"I got wrapped up with the Fang after the fall of Menagerie. I watched that bitch Fall burn everything." Velvet has changed so much. She sure as hell has no room to talk. "So, what's your story love?"
It takes a while to tell them everything. But she holds nothing back. They pause only long enough for Velvet to run and get them something to eat and to go and retrieve her's and Blake's daughters. She is enchanted by the adorable bunny and kitten, who somehow manage to get Aqua and Diane laughing and playing in no time at all. "And that is everything."
Blake sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "So Sun is here then?"
"Yup. In the back still. I have him locked in."
"Bloody idiot! He knew we were coming sooner or later!" Velvet growls as she cracks her knuckles. "And he got an entire building's worth of Faunus killed!"
"They weren't all Faunus, Velvet." She cuts her off. They don't understand how things are here in the district. "Some of the people in that building were humans as well. Humans who dared to love a faunus." They stop and look at each other in shock.
"Have things really come so far here in Vale at least?" She hears the tinge of hope in Blake's voice.
"Yes. Diane's father was a human. He was killed during a riot a few years ago. Same with Aqua's father." She smiles as she looks at them both. "Even with the deaths, it hasn't changed. There are many human/faunus couples left here."
"So then what in the bloody hell is going on?!"
"Remember Cardin Winchester? He's the leader of the largest anti Faunus rights group here in Vale. He led the lynch mob six months ago."
She watches Blake sigh as she leans back in her chair. "I knew that cocksucker was going to be nothing but trouble."
Velvet sighs as she holds a sleeping Kali. "So what do we do? And how much can we trust Nora?"
"I trust Nora Valkyrie with my life." That's all she has to say. Blake nods as she stands.
"Then that's good enough for me. I'll deal with Sun. Sophia, is the place next door to you for rent?" She sees Blake wince slightly, but she knows the two Faunus women will respect her and her choice to continue to hide.
"Yes it is. The new landlord is an old acquaintance, so I'm pretty sure they'll rent to you no questions asked." She won't complain if they move in of course. She's gotten used to Nora's constant presence now, and having Blake and Velvet and their two girls living next door would be a real gift from the Goddesses. Taking out her scroll, she finds the number she needs and pushes send, not surprised that the person on the other line answers within the second ring.
"Good evening Miss Wulff. Is there anything you need?" She snickers as both their jaws drop simultaneously.
"As a matter of fact Professor, I have a rabbit and a cat interested in renting the place next to mine." She smirks as she turns the scroll around to face the two shocked faunus women, not surprised at the next statement.
"I shall be there in the morning with the paperwork. I trust the two of you have suitable identification?" She starts giggling as the two grown women start to shuffle their feet.
"Yes ma'am Professor Goodwitch." They answer in unison as they both look at her and glare. She simply flashes them both her best shit eating grin as she lights a cigarette. Tomorrow is going to be fun.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"C'mon Blake! Don't do this! I swear I never meant for all of this to happen!" Sun pleads as Blake marches him towards the docks in the hour preceding dawn. Blake is furious of course, Sun had indirectly caused the deaths of over forty people, and left two of the most adorable faunus girls she has ever seen other than her own orphaned.
"Sun, I'm not going to kill you. But you need to get the hell out of Vale for a while." Blake smiles grimly as she feels him relax. She owes Sun too much to just hand him over to the humans. Especially if they are being led by that dick Winchester. That could be a problem in the long run.
"Where am I supposed to go then Blake? Huh? I'm not going to Menagerie. I won't…" Blake stops him with a look as she releases the taller Faunus.
"Go back to Mistral. Neon's there waiting for you. She'll help you find a place to lay low while she and Reese keep things calm."
Sun snorts as he crosses his arms across his chest. "So Neon's in charge in Mistral now? That's some bullshit and we both know it Blake. Especially since she's running things with a human."
Blake slaps Sun so hard that she knows she knocked a tooth loose, but before he can draw one of his gunchucks she has Wilt pointed in his face. "Reese can be trusted Sun. Right now alot more than you. Now get on the ship. And so help me if you don't show up on this ship in Mistral, I will hunt you down personally. Got it?"
"Yeah Blake, I got it." He takes a deep breath and sighs. "I really fucked everything up didn't I?"
"Yes you did Sun. But it's nothing Velvet and I can't fix." Blake sheathes Wilt as she smiles sadly at her old friend.
"Just do me a favor? Keep an eye on Sophia for me, will ya?"
"You know we both will Sun." Blake holds out her arms and hugs Sun tightly, knowing it will be some time before she sees him again. "And thank you for helping her."
"You bet Bellabootie!" She groans at the mention of that old nickname. "What are friends for?"
