After waiting for what seemed to be hours, Blake grew increasingly annoyed at Sun's delay. It was not the first time he was late for a war council, and Blake knew it would not be the last.
Once the monkey tailed Faunus arrived, he was given expressions of distaste by the many Generals and commanders that were present within the living room of the rebuilt Belladona home in Menagerie.
Giving a shy smile back, Sun immediately made his way through the sea of guests to take his position beside Blake.
"That'll be worth a week of dish duty." Blake remarked.
"Sorry, Captain Belladona. I was busy with interrogative work." Sun replied.
"I hardly call drinking with the prisoners and sleeping in the next morning work."
"But you can't argue with the results."
"Now then, shall we get started?" Ghira announced. Everyone swiftly gathered around a holographic table in the middle.
Blake could sense the distrust between the humans and Faunus in the room. However, she also saw that they were willing to put their conflicts aside to win the war.
"What news from the mainland?" Ghira asked.
"Our spies within the other three kingdoms report that Mistral may be Atlas's main priority of conquest." A human general stepped forward and pulled up a holographic projection of a city. "According to their findings, six of their armies have already landed in Mistral and more will arrive to swarm us. We've only survived this long because of the terrain. If we are to stop their flow of troops, we must capture their only point of arrival, the city of Argus."
"But Atlas has been upgrading Argus's defenses since before the war even started." A Faunus captain came to the table and made adjustments to the city, adding cannons and turrets to almost every building and a massive wall around it. "As we speak Atlas has conquered most of Northern Mistral and are moving south with haste. If we attempt another assault on the northern front, we'll be pushed back even further. I say we focus on the western front. We may already be at a stalemate in the west with Vale, but at least we have a better chance of victory against them than Atlas."
As the discussion on what to do went on, Blake was deep in thought on her friends. She missed her time with them in Beacon. Fond memories of their adventures flooded her mind. However, they quickly vanished when Sun placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Blake? You alright?" Sun asked.
"Y-yeah just, thinking." At the moment, Blake returned her focus to the meeting and noticed that while Atlas was swiftly moving southward with their air and ground forces, their naval fleet would take time to circumnavigate Anima's eastern most point. Blake was half way into piecing together a plan but was interrupted when a soldier came busrting through the doors.
"Generals! Raven Branwen has arrived." The soldier said. His pupils trembled as he panted heavily. His announcement shocked everyone. Blake, without a second thought, bolted out of the house. Sun followed suit and eventually so did everyone else.
While running, Blake drew her weapons in preparation for an attack. But when she saw Raven standing at the foot of the stairs, she came to a halt. Blake's eyes met Ravens and the two were off in a battle for dominance.
"Blake, we need to talk." Raven began.
"Just because we have the same enemy doesn't mean we're allies. You taught me that when we fought against Salem." Blake retorted.
"Atlas has Cinder. Is that enough for you to hear me out?" Indeed it was. When everyone else arrived and heard Raven, they too seemed intrigued. But Ghira was not taking any chances and ordered two of his Guards to restrain her.
This however only resulted in Raven pummeling the two Faunus to the ground. Their soft groans of agony were audible from the top of the stairs. Sun was about to pounce on her until Blake restrained him with her arm on his chest.
As hostilities died down, Raven entered the house with a hundred eyes locked onto her. Trying to resume the meeting with as little awkwardness as possible, Blake began the conversation.
"How do you know about Cinder's whereabouts? She's been missing ever since Salem's defeat." Blake inquired.
"After the battle, I was suspicious of her and her two followers, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. While you and your comrades were celebrating your victory, I followed them to Mistral, to an abandoned castle. When your soldiers were close, they'd move. For the four months that I watched them recover from their defeat, I saw the fear that had crept into their minds. Their endless quarreling about who was to blame, what to do next, why did what happen happened. The three were at their lowest point, divided, afraid and angry.
"Things got worse for them when the war began. Though they were no longer the top priority, of the four kingdoms, their choices on where to go grew smaller. Unfortunately for them, Atlas arrived in Mistral unexpectedly and swiftly moved southward. Too fast for them to escape. The three stood no chance against Atlas's new tanks and androids. I watched in delight as Mercury's legs were shot off and Emerald's eyes were blinded. But what happened to, Cinder brought me so much satisfaction." Raven grinned as she stared at the table. Her evil smile grew larger by the second. This made Blake curious, but she was also creeped out.
"So... what do you want?" Blake asked knowing that Raven would want something in return for this information. "Four months of spying must have a pretty big price tag."
"My price is to allow my tribe to join the war effort."
"Preposterous!" Ghira scoffed. "We will never trust you or your people. Not after the battle of Haven! Your people are nothing but a bunch of thieves and raiders."
Though Blake agreed with her Father, she could not ignore the advantages that their troops would bring. Their knowledge of raiding and living in the forests of Anima would help with stealing supplies from Atlas and Raven's semblance would aid with troop movement.
Blake restrained her father with her arm and turned her focus onto Raven.
"What if we do agree to pay your price? What do you gain and what if we decline your deal. You realise that if you fight in this war, your people will suffer." Blake wondered as to why Raven would join the war.
"As much as I'd like to sit back and watch, if Atlas conquers Anima, my tribe would be enslaved. That's something I won't allow my people to experience. And if you won't except my deal, I'll raid every military base of what remains of Mistral. I may even get on Ironwood's goodside and he'll spare us. But I have little confidence in that happening."
As chatter filled the room between the commanding officers, Blake thought about the deal with Raven. While she did have as much reason to fight, trusting her and her men was a problem.
Before Blake could finalise her decision with her Father, another messenger came bursting through the doors. Blake now grew annoyed at the interruptions and felt like punching him out the door.
"Haven has fallen!"