Wayne the Guardsman & Aegis the Demon Bear
Menagerie: Kuo Kuana
It was midafternoon as a lone girl made her way through the crowded streets. I have to know, the girl thought, is she really back. The girl was a chameleon Faunus whose hair was tied back in a way which greatly resembled the tail of said reptile.
As for her outfit, she wore bluish-purple overalls with short pant legs that stopped above her knees and a pair of boots, with a glove on her right hand. But the most distinct feature about her was the horned White Fang mask she wore, which had four slits for her eyes and covered her nose and forehead.
Ordinarily, this mask would cause a great amount of unease anywhere else in the world, but this was Menagerie, the birth place of the White Fang, and her home. Her name was Ilia Amitola, and today, she had a personal mission she wanted to accomplish, not for the White Fang, but for herself. At least that's what she had planned to do until something else drew her attention.
What in the world, thought Ilia, is that a person? Whatever, or whoever it was, it was dripping with the dissolving blood of a Grimm and reeked of the scent of death as the crowd seemed to move out of the way of its approach. You can't be here, she thought as she got a better look at who it was, you were in Mistral just yesterday, my brothers in the White Fang saw you, how can you be here, and why?
It took another few moments for Ilia to get over her shock before it occurred to her to hide by a nearby stand as she tried to organize her thoughts. Okay, you're here, as oddly insane as it is you're here, and now I need to figure out why, why are you here Aegis Ursario? Sorry Blake, thought Ilia, we'll have to catch up a little later, right now I need to investigate how and why this guy got here.
I hope I'm not drawing too much attention to myself, thought Aegis as he walked into the town, still covered in dissolving Grimm blood. Unsurprisingly, many people were giving him lopsided looks or covering their noses as Aegis walked by. Gosh this ain't that weird is it, he thought to himself, admittedly I'm covered in way more blood than the time I blew up that boarbatusk in Port's classroom and showered everyone with Grimm entrails, but still, it's like people have never seen a guy covered in Deathstalker blood walking around town before.
Even despite the reception he was getting, Aegis still couldn't help but marvel at the exotic town and the massive variety of Faunus that inhabited it. This place almost reminds me of home, thought Aegis as he walked uphill to get a better view of the town, a nice homey place filled with people of all kinds from all different walks of life, a lot more crowded though. Aegis took another moment to look out over the town before he set his mind back to why he was there.
I should probably start asking around, thought Aegis, I don't exactly have a map of this place and Blake's home could be on the other side of town for all I know. Aegis took a quick look around the area before he decided to stop at a food stall which was run by a lady with some kind of cow horns, whose back was currently turned as she was organizing some crates. "Hey you, uh got a minute," asked Aegis, "I'm a bit new in town and I need some directions."
"Certainly," said the woman as she turned around, "How can I AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH!" He's covered in blood, thought the woman, why is he covered in blood, "Demon bear!" exclaimed the trembling woman as she started frantically searching for something under the stall.
"Demon bear," said Aegis as he drew his weapon and looked around, "Where?" "Be cleansed and leave us in peace," said the cow-horned woman as she pulled out a jug of water and splashed it on him. Aegis stood there for a moment, dripping wet with a slightly annoyed expression as the rest of the Grimm blood dissolved off of him.
"I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding," said Aegis as he stood and spit some water out of his mouth. "Oh wait, you're just a Faunus, a funny smelling one yes but still a Faunus," said the now embarrassed woman.
"Half-Faunus actually," said Aegis as he shook some of the water off of his armor, "But that's beside point, what I want to know is WHY everyone is freaking out, oh and do you know where I can find the Belladona residence?"
"Well we usually don't get armored figures covered in blood around here," said the woman sheepishly, "You kind of looked like some monster from folklore, so I splashed you with some cleansing water."
"Well fortunately for you I was needing a bath anyway," said Aegis as he straightened out his hair a little, "But if you still feel like apologizing, just answer my second question." "Oh right, you want to know where the chief's home is," said the woman as she pointed to the bottom of the hill, "You'll find the Belladona residence right down there." Aegis looked where she was pointing, and felt his jaw drop.
"Well that place is, uh, fancy," said Aegis as he looked at the large, Eastern-style mansion sitting at the bottom of the hill. "Humble though he may be," said the woman, "He is still the chief, but may I ask, what business do you have with him?" "Oh nothing much just-," Aegis paused for a short moment as he noticed a reflection in one of the windows, "Just needed to talk to him about a few things."
"Well I wish you luck," said the woman, "Again, sorry about the whole 'cleansing water' thing, oh and welcome to Menagerie." "Well like I said," replied Aegis as he turned to leave, discreetly scanning the area as he did, "I needed a bath anyway."
Aegis walked a few feet before turning a corner into a slightly less crowded area, making it look like he was adjusting some of his armor as he checked behind him. Come on out White Fang girl, thought Aegis, I know you're there, so let's see what ya got.
Atlas: The Schnee Mansion
Finally getting close, thought Wayne as he approached what he hoped was Weiss's room. If not for my sense of smell I could've easily gotten lost in this place, I mean seriously, you'd need a map or a tour guide just to find a bathroom around here. "Leave," said a familiar female voice coming from the room Wayne was approaching. Oh come on, thought Wayne as he noticed the door to the room was standing wide open, I just got here.
"So hurtful," said an unfamiliar voice, this one sounding like a young boy, "And here I was about to grant you a favor." Oh, thought Wayne as he continued to listen while he walked forward, she's not talking to me after all. The boy mentioned something about meeting his father's business partner's as Wayne got close to the door, but what really caught Wayne's attention was his next sentence.
"I thought I'd see if you wanted me to pick anything up for you since you're, well, stuck here," said the boy as Wayne approached the edge of the door. Stuck here, thought Wayne, what's he talking about? "Are you jealous," Weiss asked the boy.
"Whatever do you mean?" questioned the boy. "Is that why you hate me and Winter, are you jealous of our abilities?" Inquired Weiss. The boy seemed to ponder for a moment before answering. "Not really," said the boy, "To be honest I find it quite barbaric, it's beneath people like me and father, I mean honestly, what could a single huntsman do that an army could not?"
"Well for starters," said Wayne as he stepped into the room and set his hand on the white-haired boy's right shoulder, "I doubt an army could've snuck in here nearly undetected, Huntsmen are a bit better suited for that kind of job."
The boy shrieked, in a surprisingly feminine manner Wayne noted, as he staggered backward and fell onto floor. "W-who are you?" questioned the white-haired boy, who Wayne noted was also wearing a business casual suit with a white shirt, black pants and a blue vest. And for whatever reason, a neck-tie. "Are you with the White Fang," questioned the now frightened boy.
"Relax bellhop," said Wayne as he pointed his thumb towards Weiss, "I'm one of Weiss's friends, who by the way you should not be bad-mouthing, because if I recall my history correctly, the founder of your fantastic little company, Nicholas Schnee I think he was called, not only went to combat school, but personally led expeditions into and worked in those dust mines you guys own, so I guess it's lucky for you that none of that was beneath him, so next time you go shooting off your mouth-."
"Guardsman," said Weiss suddenly, drawing Wayne's attention, "I think that will do for now." "Just thought he needed a little reminder 'bout where he comes from," replied Wayne, wondering why Weiss had called him guardsman as he went to help the boy up, "What was your name again bellhop?"
"My name is Whitley Schnee!" exclaimed the white-haired boy, knocking Wayne's hand away as he angrily picked himself up off the floor, "And since you are clearly ill-informed I'll have you know that I am the current heir of the Schnee Dust Company, so you'd best show some proper respect and tell me who you are and why exactly you are here, Mr.-!"
"Guardsman," said Weiss, interrupting Whitley, "You can just call him guardsman for now, and he's earlier than expected actually." Weiss pulled out her scroll and checked it before she continued speaking, "I hadn't planned on you being here for at least another half an hour, and you even managed to get past the guards without causing a full scale alarm, not bad."
"Uh, yeah sure," said Wayne, deciding to play along with Weiss, "Just using what I was taught." "Guardsman?" questioned Whitley, looking both annoyed and inquisitive at the same time, "What do you mean guardsman?"
"It was supposed to be a proposal for father," explained Weiss, "Since he dreads the idea of me going out alone these days, I thought, why not hire a personal bodyguard who could keep an eye on me at all times while I'm out of the mansion, that way I could leave and father could rest easy knowing I had someone looking out for me."
"A bodyguard," repeated Whitley with a raised eyebrow, "Surely you could've gone with someone who at least looks like a professional, this one is wearing a coat with stitches in it, and is that really a mask hanging from your hip?" "Sorry," said Wayne, "I prefer outfits that don't restrict my movement and cut off my breathing because the neck is too tight."
"He came here from Mistral," said Weiss, "They have a great appreciation for art and theater, so of course he'd be dressed a bit differently, but what's important is that he has the qualities of not only being a descendant of a warrior clan but also the qualities of a good body guard: skill, experience, determination, loyalty, a willingness to see a job through to the end no matter what, and most importantly him and his family were highly recommended by Winter the last time we spoke."
"Yes and Winter trusts a fool like Ironwood," said Whitley as he stepped through the doorway, "But I suppose it can't be helped, I doubt father will go for this anyway, so enjoy your short stay Mr. Guardsman, you'll probably be out of here by tomorrow at the latest, and good luck with your training sister, as pointless as it is."
A black glyph appeared on the door as it slammed shut, locking Whitley out of the room. After waiting until they were sure Whitley was out of earshot, both Wayne and Weiss sighed in relief. "Well that was something," said Wayne as he turned to Weiss, "So how ya been Snowfla-?" Wayne was interrupted as Weiss threw her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder.
Okay, this is weird, thought Wayne as he stood temporarily frozen trying to process what was happening. Weiss Schnee, the prim and proper girl who'd always lectured him and Aegis about etiquette, was hugging him, and were those tears of joy?
"I can't believe you're here," said Weiss, her voice cracking a little, "I've missed you, I've missed everyone so much." "Well it's just me right now, hope that's not too disappointing," said Wayne as he lightly hugged Weiss back.
Weiss moved back a little as she looked him in the eye and happily shook her head. "It's not disappointing at all," said Weiss as she smiled, "How have you been Wayne, and oh gosh where have you been?" "Oh that," said Wayne as he tried not to laugh at how Weiss was wrinkling her nose, "I was uh, kind of in a warzone yesterday." "A WARZONE!" exclaimed Weiss.
"Just a little one," said Wayne as he rubbed his ear, "Like abandoned town size." "And tell me, were the rest of our friends involved?" asked Weiss as she let go of Wayne and crossed her arms. "No, just me and Aegis, a Vacuoan sniper and an ex-White Fang guy," replied Wayne. "And how did you even manage to find yourselves in a warzone?" questioned Weiss as she shifted back to her usual demeanor.
"Well the White Fang may have been a bit upset by some of me and Aegis's meddling in Mistral," said Wayne as he tried to think of a quick way to explain it, "And they may have sent in a strike force of White Fang soldiers to try and kill us."
"You brought down a force of White Fang soldiers on yourselves," said Weiss as she put her hand to her head, trying to comprehend the situation, "That's just, you know what first things first." Weiss pointed to a door which looked like it belonged to a bathroom.
"Shower," said Weiss. "Now surely I don't smell that bad do I?" asked Wayne, feigning innocence. "Look I am beyond happy to see you again Wayne," said Weiss, "But if we're gonna have a conversation of any kind, pleasant, serious, or otherwise I cannot be wrinkling my nose every minute, so shower, now." Wayne wanted to protest, seeing as what he needed to tell her was kind of important, but he knew Weiss well enough to know that there was no arguing with her when she got like this.
"Alright, we shall convene again after I wash myself in the royal baths," said Wayne, imitating a stereotypical royal's voice as he bowed and headed towards the shower. "Just don't get the shower too filthy," replied Weiss. "No promises," said Wayne as he opened the bathroom door, "Oh and Weiss." Wayne paused for a moment as he thought about what to say. "I really missed you too," he finally said with a sincere smile.
And at last, Wayne has reunited with a member of team RWBY, while Aegis trails close behind as he is followed by a girl from Blake's past. How will he deal with one of Blake's old friends?
Now onto other business, I'd like to make a bit of an apology for getting this out a bit late, had something of an interesting week. But I should be able to get back on track fairly soon. So for those of you still keeping up, I'd like to say thank you to my reviewers, followers and viewers for your patience and for continuing to keep me motivated on this story.
Come back next time as Aegis must find a creative way to deal with his pursuer, while Wayne and Weiss hatch a plan of escape from the Schnee mansion. 'Til next time.
