Roy awoke the next morning feeling refreshed.

Rising quickly, He got dressed and walked down the stairs. Sierra was already up, standing by her coffee maker and dressed in her crisp white Atlas uniform.

"Good morning Ms. Summerfell!" Roy said brightly.

Sierra groaned and poured herself a steaming cup of coffee, "What's got you in such a good mood this morning?"

Roy grinned as he filled his canteen at the sink. "Simple, I think I've solved the problem with the Atlas border."

Sierra stopped pouring and slowly slid the pot back into the machine. "Oh? How?" she asked.

Roy chuckled, "Let's just say I've got friends in high places."

Sierra turned and smiled sadly, "Well I'm going to miss you."

Roy sobered up a bit, "I know, I'll miss you too."

Sierra blinked hard and set her mug on the counter. "I wonder why it's so hard this time." she said with a watery grin.

Roy smiled softly, "What?" he asked.

"Saying goodbye." Sierra sniffed and hugged him tightly.

Roy patted her back reassuringly, "It's just that the state of the world has changed. I'm not heading for school anymore, I'm heading to Mistral which is full of grimm and bandits. You don't need to worry about me Sierra. I'm like a broke friend, I just keep coming back."

Sierra wiped her eyes and smiled, "I'm gonna hold you to that Shiroi Arashi." She quipped.

Roy laughed, "I expect you will." he said.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Sierra gasped.

She ran up stairs to her room, taking the steps two at a time. Roy heard her rummaging around and a few minutes later, she came running back downstairs. She was holding something wrapped in an old blanket. Sweeping the blanket aside, she revealed the shining black plasteel of his old helmet and the black fabric of his old vigilante coat.

Roy reached out, almost reverently, and picked the helmet up. He placed it on his head and powered it on. The helmet let out a little hum as the electronics warmed up for the first time in two years.

"Do the lights still work?" he asked.

Sierra burst out laughing; Roy's voice had come out as a high pitched squeaky voice.

"The lights work fine, but you might want to readjust the voice modulator." She responded through her giggles.

Roy took the helmet off and fiddled with a switch on the inside. Slipping the helmet back on, he spoke again, "How about now?"

Sierra gave a triumphant thumbs up, "Yup, sounding deep and foreboding again."

Roy slipped the mask back off and tried the coat on. He was pleased to find that it fit almost perfectly still.

Sam snickered, "Haven't grown much have you?"

Roy fixed her with a glare, "All the growth went into my wisdom and experience" he grumbled.

Sam smiled and he hugged her again, "Don't worry," he said quietly, "I'll be back."

Sierra sniffed, "You'd better be." she whispered.

Roy slid out of the hug and walked upstairs to fetch his things. Wanting to catch Sierra before she left, he hurried back into the kitchen to give her one last goodbye hug. Then, Roy turned and walked out of the kitchen, then the house. Making his way into the main city, Roy walked to the city's post office. He'd decided to mail his helmet to Mistral as he had no room for it in his bag and didn't want to wear it the whole trip.

After sending his package off and paying the shipping fee, he walked back to the hanger where "The Dusty Daydream" was docked. Aster was bent over near the front of the boat rummaging among some rope. Her back or rather her rear was to Roy when he walked up. Averting his eyes, Roy scanned the open sky and cleared his throat to get her attention.

Aster spun around, "Oh! Hiya Roy! Is there something I can do for you?"

Roy hid a grin, "Actually Aster...there is, I need to go to Mistral"

Aster played with her long ponytail thoughtfully, "That's a heck of a trip...it'll cost a bit more."

Roy nodded "As I expected. I'll pay you when we get there."

Aster grinned, "Sounds good, all aboard that's coming aboard!"

:

Roy stood on the bow of the Dusty Daydream, staring off into the clear blue sky. Atlas had vanished into the distance a while ago and it was just crystal blue water far below and not a shred of land in sight. Roy lowered his hood and let the wind ruffle his cat ears. The cold air nipped at his nose and eartips, turning the later a rosy pink.

"Huh, should've guessed you were a Faunus"

Roy almost fell over the side of the ship in surprise, the wind whistling in his ears had prevented him from hearing Aster's approach. He rushed to pull his hood back on as Aster leaned on the bow's railing,

"Relax shortstack I don't care, they're cute." She said.

Roy let the hood back down and once again let the wind tickle his ears. Aster chuckled at Roy's embarrassed reaction,

"Your ears are probably the biggest of your species that I've seen." she said.

Roy twitched his ears at her, "Really? I get them from my mom's side."

Aster snorted with laughter, "What was your dad like?" she asked.

Roy shrugged, "I don't remember, he wasn't around a lot and the last time I saw him was when I was 8."

Aster blinked, "Really? Was he a faunus too?"

Roy shook his head, "I asked my mom that once and she said no."

Aster nodded and stared out at the sky for a few minutes. Leaning her face on her hand, the smuggler smiled smugly at Roy, "Sooo, got any girls you're sweet on?"

Roy turned pink, "Yeah...I do."

Aster's eyes lit up and she slid closer, "Oh do tell! Details details details!"

Roy looked off into the wild blue yonder as he pictured Ebony's face. "She's the most beautiful creature I've ever met. She's a faunus, with a long fluffy cat tail. She has hair as black as a nevermore, her eyes are the color of the purest emerald and her lips are…." Roy trailed off and turned beet red, "Her name is Ebony." he finished.

Aster gave him a smug smile, "Ooh you got it bad, you guys do it yet?"

Roy blinked in surprise, "Do it?..No-."

Aster laughed, her sides quaking and tears streaming from her eyes. "I'm joking! Dust, you're gonna explode if I ask one more question about her."

She eventually quelled her laughter and settled back onto the railing.

"That eyepatch just for looks?" she asked, pointing toward his face.

Roy's ears swiveled backwards, "No...my eye's actually gone."

Aster fidgeted with her hands, "Oh..sorry kid, I didn't know."

Roy waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, I don't." he said.

Aster nodded, "Yeah, you seem to be used to it."

Roy shrugged, "As used to it as I can be, living without half my vision. I'm so lucky I have these," he pointed to his faunus ears, "They help me compensate for the lack of vision on that side."

Aster bit her lip slightly, "Come on, don't ask him that, it's probably racist!" Roy heard her mumble.

He rolled his eye, "You want to touch them, don't you?"

Aster nodded guiltily.

Roy let out a heavy sigh, "Fine, do it before I change my mind."

Aster looked as if he'd just given her permission to walk on water and she reached out, carefully but eagerly, toward his ears.

Suddenly, the Dusty Daydream bucked wildly, almost throwing Roy over the side. Roy frantically looked over the side to see a huge Nevermore rise up in front of the boat. Roy drew Μόνος and braced.

"Welp!" Aster exclaimed, "This could get messy!"

The Nevermore rose up in front of the Daydream's bow and let out a shriek that made all four of Roy's ears ring. He staggered sideways, disoriented and Aster bolted to the cockpit and slammed the ship to high gear. The Nevermore rolled sideways to avoid the ship's sharp metal front. Roy ran to the edge of the ship and looked down, the grimm had settled under the ship, which was far from comforting as it could rise up and tip the ship over at any moment.

He turned to the cockpit and saw Aster. She gripped the steering yoke, her face was pale but her eyes were full of an excitement that made him smile. He ran into the cockpit and set the lien he owed into Aster's lap. "Roy? What-"

He gave her a grin, "Thanks for the ride Aster!"

Running to the edge of the ship, Roy dove over the edge of the ship.

He fell, the wind whistling in his ears and the cold air biting into his cheeks. He landed on the back of the Nevermore and gripped its back feathers tightly. The giant bird bucked and dove in a desperate bid to unseat the Faunus on his back, but Roy doggedly hung on.

He was banking on the bird trying to return to its nest which would hopefully be in Mistral. It was a gamble, but a gamble he was willing to take. The bird seemed to calm down and it banked into a wide turn soaring away from the Dust Daydream. Roy watched the quaint vessel until it disappeared into the clouds then turned and settled his eyes on the horizon.

After what seemed like an hour of nerve wracking flight, Roy saw an emerald coastline come into view. He breathed a small sigh of relief, he was almost completely certain that the lush land beneath him was Mistral.

Time to try out my landing strategy, he thought.

He waited until the giant bird had flown lower over a patch of open ground then he rolled off its back and began free falling to the ground. Unslinging Μόνος from his side, he fired downward, chambering round after round, using the recoil to arrest his downward speed. He activated his semblance as he slammed into the ground, the impact rippled along his entire frame.

Swinging his foot into a tree, Roy watched it explode into a shower of splinters. As the kinetic energy drained from him, Roy's vision suddenly flashed red and he felt an impact slam into his back, sending him onto all fours. He scrambled back to his feet and spun in a circle scanning the surrounding countryside. No one was in sight and the only thing to be heard was the breeze through the trees. Roy suddenly became aware of how hard his heart was beating and stood for a moment, waiting for his heart to slow down. He looked at his arm and clenched his hand several times, everything seemed okay. He shook his head to clear it and moved forward across the field.

An hour later, a small village came into view. Small white houses with red brick roofs clustered together around a larger building in the center. Roy reached the dirt road that led to a small round archway. Next to the archway was a little wooden sign that read "Anjouyuki" in red carved letters. Upon reaching the arch, Roy passed through it and moved into the village.

It was market day and people bustled around stalls situated on both sides of the Main Street. Roy moved carefully through the stalls, perusing the different wares, nothing really catching his fancy.

He kept a hand resting lightly on Μόνος' pommel as he made his way to the large building in the center of the village. He'd done some research before coming to Mistral and found that it was good manners to introduce one's self to the village leaders when first arriving.

Walking through a set of double doors he was presented with a long walkway that led to a large chair behind a desk. Behind the chair, two flights of stairs led off to two doors on either side of the hall. The chair and desk were flanked by two guards carrying metal polearms.

Seated in the chair was a human male about 6' in height. He had dirty blonde hair and large scar stretching across his face. His eyes were a flinty blue and his face was creased like leather. As Roy approached the man stood. "Welcome to Anjouyuki stranger, what brings you to our small village?"

Roy bowed forward with his fist pressed into an open palm in a customary Mistrali greeting. "I'm simply a freelance huntsman on my way to Haven academy, I would appreciate a place to stay, just for the night"

The man nodded, "Of course, might I ask your name young man?"

Roy nodded, "Shiroi Arashi." he said.

"Ah a Mistrali name," the man said, "White Storm if I'm not mistaken."

Roy grinned, "Yes sir, my mother was originally from Mistral but I was born and raised in Atlas."

The man sat back down in the chair and steepled his fingers, "We will gladly give you a room Mr. Arashi, up the stairs to the right."

Roy nodded his thanks and took a step toward the staircase.

"Oh, one more thing," The man said,

Roy froze.

"If you would kindly remove your hood. We've been having faunus try to sneak through here lately."

Roy set his teeth and slowly slid the hood off of his head, revealing his cat ears. The warmth drained from the man's eyes.

"Get out of my town." He spat.

"But...I'm a huntsman…" Roy began.

"I don't care." the man growled, "You're a faunus and we don't want your kind here."

Roy was at a loss for words, "What have I ever done to you!?" he exclaimed.

The man leaned forward and pointed at Roy "Your kind are always making trouble." He growled, "A few months ago, The White Fang brought down one of our Huntsmen schools! Do I need a better reason? Now, get your filthy half human self out of my village."

Roy grit his teeth at the injustice. Turning briskly on his heel, he stormed out of the hall and out of the village.

That night, he slept on a small plateau overlooking the town. He hadn't brought a bedroll so he just sat against a tree and attempted to nod off. He finally fell asleep as the stars of deep night spread slowly across the sky.

Whew, This was a lot to do in a single chapter, it was a wild ride. I've got a lot more on the way and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Until next we meet!

-Ar3mRising.