Chapter Fifty Two
Den of Wolves
"Damn it!" Raine whined when she learned the news from her girlfriend.
Vivi laughed and hugged her. "It'll be alright, Little Fox. This one may not be your chaperone this year, but she'll still be going to the dance with you."
"I guess I should be happy with that," Raine huffed and looked to the side to see the team that Vivi was chaperoning, "You guys take care of her. Don't let anything sneak up on her."
Aulin nodded and grinned. "Sure. I doubt anything's gonna sneak up on her though."
"And that means you!" Raine yelled, "No trying to grab her butt, thighs, or boobs. I'm giving her permission to use deadly force if you do. And don't stare at her ass!"
Aulin laughed. "I got it. Although I'm still gonna look. Can't help it."
"I'll make sure there's no groping," Alex assured Raine, "I'd hate to lose my girlfriend because she wouldn't keep her hands to herself."
"All of you make sure of it." Raine told everyone on the team.
"Hey Raine!" Preacher yelled from where he stood with the others on her team, "Hurry the fuck up! That Beringel ain't gonna wait for shit!"
Raine chuckled a bit and gave Vivi a long kiss. "I guess I should go. Preacher won't shut up otherwise."
Vivi laughed and nodded. "No, he will not. Good luck, Raine."
"Thanks. See you guys later." Raine said and left them to go to her team.
Vivi watched her go with a smile on her face, watching as she donned her cloak and nearly turned invisible. She turned back to team SLVA and addressed them. "Okay, let's get to our bullhead. We've got a long trip.
Everyone nodded and Vivi led them to their assigned bullhead. They stepped inside and sat down after Vivi closed the door, then the pilot started the engines and lifted it off into the air.
"I know it only has one arm, but..." Alex sighed, "I'm hoping they didn't make a mistake by only having one team required to go after that Beringel."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Vivi said, "Preacher is one of our best, even at his age. If something goes wrong, he'll handle it. I doubt they'll really need him, though. Auron killed that Armaddon, remember?"
"That is true, but that was only after it was pinned to its side," Bell reminded her, "And it was with all our combined effort. They will be going against a Beringel as only four students and a Ranger. And from what happened to Jace last year, we all know that anything can happen."
Vivi nodded. "That's true, but Jace learned from that. They all did. They aren't going to let anything like that happen again. And Jace knows that if he lets his drive for revenge control him, then it could kill him like it did his uncle."
"I'm sure they have this," Inuvali said, "I still wish they would have chosen a mission in Menagerie with us, but that Beringel needs to die before it harms any villagers. I just hope that Vanille won't take it too bad."
"We're going to be there for two weeks," Vivi told them all, "Starting tomorrow, we'll be working two days and then resting for one. That'll be our cycle. We're both gathering supplies and protecting from the wildlife. Any questions?"
"Hey Inu, when is Vanille's birthday?" Alex asked the wolf Faunus.
"In six days, so we won't be working," Inuvali answered him, "If we did, then I assume we could have a day off if we made up for it."
"If it's needed." Vivi affirmed.
"Oh gods, I'm nervous," Aulin said and sighed, "I don't know how to freakin' act there that won't offend anyone."
"How you act won't offend anyone," Inuvali assured her, "Just act normal, but don't hit on everyone you see."
"That's part of my normality, but I know to put a cap on that there," Aulin said, "I don't want someone getting mad at me for a misunderstanding like that."
"And be polite," Inuvali continued, "Everyone in Menagerie, whether it's Hibana or Kuo Kuana or somewhere else, likes that foreigners are polite. And if someone tries to confront you for being human, then let me or Vivi handle it."
"I'll handle it as long as it's later today," Vivi said, closing up her scroll, "I need to meet the Ranger Commandant and the Chieftan in Kuo Kuana. Actually, you all should come too. If the Faunus there see you all having a friendly meeting with their leader, then they'll be more accepting of you."
"That may be best," Bell agreed, " Do you think it is about what Raine suggested?"
Vivi nodded. "That's exactly what it's about."
"Well, you might want to tell him that we may be a bit late," The pilot told her, "Our flight path is putting us through the aftereffects, or worse, the last bit of a storm. We could hit bad turbulence that'll slow us down."
"I hope Gen's alright, then." Alex said.
"He has Nika with him, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Aulin replied.
"I hope you are right." Bell said, tensing up at the mention of the storm.
"C'mon, Belly," Aulin laughed, "Have you ever known me to be wrong?" She asked and Bell opened her mouth to reply, "Besides tests."
Bell rolled her eyes. "I do not recall."
"Exactly! Gen's gonna be fine!"
After a six hour flight, an hour and a half of it through the storm the pilot warned of, the bullhead touched down at the makeshift airdocks just outside Kuo Kuana. It wasn't so much an airdock as it was just a large area cut out in the trees next to the port town, cleared in anticipation of the arriving students to help.
"Are you alright, Bell?" Inuvali asked his light-red-haired friend.
She nodded and let go of his hand, taking a deep, steadying breath. "I-I am fine, Inu. Thank you."
Inuvali smiled. "Any time."
"Vivi!" Remington called at the edge of the clearing when she and the others stepped outside of the bullhead.
They all quickly walked up to him and greeted him. "Good to see you, Remington. Have you talked with Ghira yet?"
Remington shook his head. "Not yet. I figured it would be best to show up with a Ranger that's also a Faunus. He'll be expecting us at any time."
"Would it be okay if they came too?" Vivi said, motioning to the others with her hand, "I guessed that it may be good for people to see friendly humans greeting their Chieftan."
Remington shook his head again. "Sorry, but no. This is only between Rangers and Ghira."
"I understand," Vivi said and turned to the others, "I'm guessing that you can find your way to Hibana alright, so I'll meet you there. Be at the inn two hours after you get there."
"Okay, we'll see you then." Aulin told her.
Vivi and Remington walked deeper into Kuo Kuana while team SLVR turned north to Hibana, led by Inuvali. They walked from the clearing and down the forested road toward Inuvali's hometown. It was only two miles away to Hibana, a walk that usually took Inuvali one to two hours to complete, then the same on the way back home.
"So... act normal, but not too normal?" Aulin asked Inuvali, "I know not to hit on the Faunus here because they could be mated and their mate will probably really hate that."
"Right," Inuvali nodded, "A Faunus is extremely possessive of their mate. If both of them trust you enough, then they'll be fine with it like Jace and Alyss, and I'm assuming Sapphire and Zack."
"Yeah, just stay calm and you'll be alright. I'm sure you will." Alex told her.
Aulin nodded a few times. "Damn, I'm so nervous! I'm really excited to actually be in Menagerie!"
"Well, try to tone youre excitement down a tad," Bell advised her, "I do not believe we want a misunderstanding like what happened with Braxton."
"Oh definitely," Aulin agreed, "I hope I don't seem like that to anyone. I'm really excited to be here, but it'll be good to help out. This is a fucking beautiful place."
With what she saw of Kuo Kuana, it was stunning and exotic, and Aulin loved what was exotic. The path they took was dirt, and it was lined on both sides with the palm trees and countless different flora. Multiple different types flowers grew at the bases of the trees and they all casted shade on them as they walked on the side of the road.
"It is very beautiful." Bell agreed.
"It's not Heaven's Clearing, though," Alex said, "Nothing's coming close to that, but it's nice."
"You will have to take us there soon," Bell said, "I have been hearing so much about it."
"You both should stop making us so jealous," Inuvali said with a short laugh, "We may skip class just to go to Atlas."
"I would not go that far," Bell giggled a bit, "Perhaps during summer break?"
"That sounds like a plan to me," Aulin said, "But for now, I wanna meet Inu's lil' cutie of a sister."
"I do as well, so perhaps we may pick up the pace." Bell suggested.
"If we go any faster, then we'll just tire ourselves out," Inuvali told them, "And besides, there's a wonderful view coming up that I love walking slowly by. That's mostly why it takes so long for me to walk between the towns."
"I'm good with walking slow," Alex said, clasping his hands behind his head, "It's nice. Not too cold, not too hot, not windy or rainy. It's really, really nice."
They went on for several minutes. While Alex had said it wasn't windy, there was a light breeze that made everyone comfortably cold, except Aulin. The trees on their left eventually disappeared and the ocean came into view, the water sparkling in the sunlight with the reflections on the small ripples in the surface. Everyone looked at the sight while still walking forward.
"It's even better at sunset." Inuvali said.
"I believe it," Aulin said with a grin, "I wanna see it at sunset then."
"My house has the perfect view for it."
"Gods, I love the sea so much. I really don't know what made me so interested in it."
"I'm just glad you all want to come with me when I join Connor's crew," Alex said to everyone, a noticeable smile on his face, "It means a lot."
"I am sure if you asked Barrett, then he would join as well," Bell said, "He has said that he does not know what he wants to do after he graduates. I have noticed he is happier. I suppose Aly truly helped his entire family."
"He definitely is a lot happier than when we saw him in Patch," Aulin said putting an arm around Alex's waist. He responded by dropping his arms, putting one over her shoulders, "And of course, Alex. You know I'd stick by you with whatever you decided to do. That just happened to match up perfect to what I want to do and that's just a bonus."
"It is like I said before. I want to stay close to my family," Bell said, "You are all very important to me and I love you as if you were true siblings. I truly would not know what to do if I did not have you all in my life. You three and Aly's team and Barrett. You all make me thankful that I walk this path."
"Out of anyone that I could have been on a team with, I'm glad it was you three and Barrett," Inuvali said next and finally looked back to the road, "I don't know if I would've been so quick to trust you all if it wasn't for Aulin. She made it easy to trust her, and then Barrett and Bell were everything that humans should be. Kind and accepting to Faunus. They all made me be able to trust Auron quickly, and then you, Alex. Honestly, Aulin is a great leader, and I'll follow that leader through anything."
Aulin started snickering. "You just wanna follow me to look at my ass."
Inuvali opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped and shook his head as he suppressed a laugh. "And here I thought we would have a heartfelt moment without any of that talk."
"I believe you may have ruined the moment, Aul." Bell chided her, but she couldn't stop a light laugh.
Alex just began laughing loudly as his eyes started blurring, both from the laughs and from what he felt. "Gods, that's why I love this team. Thank Oum for my old team being what they were."
"Inu!" Inuvali's mother exclaimed as she opened the front door of their home to see him and his team.
The village of Hibana had the same architecture as Kuo Kuana, only on a smaller scale. There were smaller buildings in a smaller area than the main port town of the continent. It also had more trees in between the buildings and streets, giving the town a bit more of a natural look. Lamp posts lined the streets at regular intervals, all dust powered to save electricity for the residents and the stores.
"Hello, mom," Inuvali greeted with a smile, "It's good to see you."
His mother had a tan complexion with minimal wrinkles on her face as she was in her late thirties. She had wolf ears that mirrored his, dark gray and long. Her hair was different as it was completely gray only due to her heritage, being a gray wolf Faunus. The color of her eyes matched his, being bright amber. She was three inches taller than him at six feet and one inch tall.
"I didn't know you would be here so soon after landing!" His mother said and motioned for them all to enter her home, "Please, come in. I'm sure you must be tired."
"We did just get here," Inuvali said as she led them all inside, "Shoes and weapons at the door." He told his team.
"Why weapons?" Aulin asked quietly.
"It's basically family and house rules," Inuvali said and slipped his boots off, "Only members of the house can keep their weapons on them while guests leave their weapons at the door. If you were staying the night, then you could keep them in the guest room."
"I won't question it," Alex said and put Celosia, sheath and all, just in the corner, "I'm okay with it."
"So am I. I just wanted to know why." Aulin said, putting Elementia next to Alex's sword.
They finished at the door and followed Inuvali's mother to the living room, where he introduced his teammates. "Mom, these are my teammates. Aulin, Alex, and Bell."
"I figured as much. My name is Gracia. It's nice to finally meet my pup's team."
"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," Aulin returned the greeting, "I'm Aulin Sylvana. This is my boyfriend, Alex Reznor," She held his hand up, "And the quiet girl is Bell Vonas. You can call her Belly."
"I would not mind it if you did." Bell affirmed, giving a short bow to Gracia.
Aulin scoffed. "So it's fine if Inu's mom does but not me?"
"It is because she is Inu's mother that I would not mind." Bell retorted.
Gracia laughed at the banter. "Oh, I believe I like them already, Inu."
Inuvali nodded. "I kind of guessed you would."
"Please, everyone sit down!" Gracia insisted, motioning to the cushions on the floor surrounding a small table in front of a couch. They all sat down, Alex and Aulin cross-legged while Inuvali and Bell kneeld down, then sat on their calves. Inuvali took Orochi, sheath and blade, from his hip and laid it in front of him on the table.
The inside of the house was more modern and had traditional elements, such as the thin paper doorways and walls on the first floor. The second floor was completely wooden, giving the bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom more privacy like the bathroom downstairs had, being completely covered by wood. The living room had a medium-sized vidcaster in the corner the furthest from the doorway with a shelf under it. On the wall opposite of the doorway was a large window, which gave a perfect view of the ocean where the house was situated next to the shore. The walls of the living room were decorated with wave-like patterns that looked like blue fire, swirling and straightening out at different intervals along the entirety of the walls.
"What do each of you prefer? Coffee, tea, soda, or water?" Gracia asked everyone.
"I would like some tea, if you do not mind." Bell requested.
"I like coffee, but I'll go with soda since it's so late," Aulin said, "What kind do you have?"
"There are only citrus and cola." Gracia said.
"Cola, then."
"I'll take one too" Alex said.
Gracia nodded. "I'll be right back."
She left the room and after a few minutes, she came back with a tray with everyone's drinks on it, with water for her son. She put them in front of each person and then she sat down at the head of the small table.
"I remember you saying there would be more people with you," Gracia said to Inuvali, "Where are they?"
"Something important came up and they took another mission." Inuvali answered.
"They did? I hope Vanille doesn't take that too hard, then. She wanted to meet your friends so much."
"They feel bad about it, but they said they'll make it up to her," Aulin told her, remembering the mission that the others had taken, "We'll all come back here after the tournament during that break. They'll bring gifts and a cake."
Gracia grinned a bit. "Well, I think she'll be just fine knowing that. I'm glad that you four at least made it. What mission did they take?"
"It's in the snowy parts of Anima," Alex answered her somberly, "There was a report of a Beringel and Jace, my brother, wanted to go after it. It only has one arm, and it's the same Grimm that killed his and his adoptive brother's uncle last year."
"Oh, it did?" Gracia hummed, "I hope they're careful. And you said his uncle? Are you not related by blood to him?"
Alex hesitated a bit. "He is my brother by blood, but I only found that out last year. I never knew his uncle, and they aren't related by blood either. Jace and his other brother were adopted. I think I'll leave it to Jace to tell you all of that if he wants to. The point is that I never knew their uncle, so I don't know him like that."
"Ah, okay then. If he wants to tell me details, then he can," Gracia said, "I look forward to when they can be here."
"Where is Vanille at?" Inuvali asked, "With dad?"
Gracia nodded. "They should be back any time. He took her out for ice cream."
"I hope it is soon when they return," Bell said, "From every picture Inu has sent us, I have always wanted to meet her. She is just so adorable."
Gracia laughed. "Vanille has that affect. I also noticed how you kept braiding your hair like that, Inu."
"It grew on me." Inuvali grinned.
"It helped that we all think it suits him." Aulin remarked.
"Vanille will be glad to hear it," Gracia laughed, "She may want to braid everyone's hair that she can. She's kind of in a phase."
"I do not mind it," Bell said quickly, "I do not think any one of us would want to tell her no."
"If I had the hair for it, then I'd let her braid mine too." Alex said.
"Grace, we're home!" A deep-voiced man called from the front of the house.
"In the living room, hon!" Gracia called back, "We have guests!"
A moment later, a little girl with long silver hair stepped into the doorway, her emerald and amber eyes widening as her mouth formed a toothy grin.
"Inu!" She exclaimed and ran forward, jumping into him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug, "You're home!"
"Like I said I would be," Inuvali grinned and ruffled her hair, "I even brought friends."
Vanille looked from Inuvali and smiled at everyone. "It's nice to meet you!" She greeted excitedly.
"I take it you're Vanille," Aulin said and smiled at her, "It's good to finally meet you. Inu's told us all about you."
A second later, a man the same height of Inuvali walked in, five feet and eleven inches tall with a black wolf tail swaying behind him. He had emerald colored eyes and black hair, short and unruly. He had no facial hair at all. He had a katana on his back that looked almost like Inuvali's.
"I was wondering why Vanille took off as soon as I opened the door," The man said, "Good to have you back for a little while, Inu. Is this your team?"
Inuvali nodded. "Purple hair is Aulin Sylvana, red hair is Bell Vonas, and the last is Alex Reznor."
"Wasn't your other friends gonna be here?" Vanille asked, "Where are they? I only see three people."
"Well..." Inuvali hesitated, "Something important came up and they went on another mission."
"But you promised!" Vanille whined, separating from him and crossing her arms as she pouted, "You said they would come!"
"I know I promised, Puppy," Inuvali said softly, "but I didn't make them promise and it was really important for them to go. But they did promise to make it up to you right after the tournament with gifts and cake. They'll be here then."
"Good!" Vanille huffed, "I won't like them if they don't meet me again."
"Does that mean you like us?" Alex asked her.
She looked at him and nodded. "Yeah! You came for my birthday!"
"I'm glad you like my friends," Inuvali said, "Did you like your ice cream?"
"Uh-huh! It was awesome!" Vanille cheered.
"Was it vanilla?" Aulin asked with a grin.
Inuvali's father grunted. "How did you guess? He laughed, "My name is Fenn, by the way. Thank you for wanting to come to help with supplies."
"Part of it was to meet Vanille," Aulin replied, "And the other part was for the actual mission."
"Oh that's fine. You don't even want to meet the parents or anything, only our daughter." Fenn said indignantly.
"We did want to meet you both as well, sir," Bell assured him, "We only wished to meet Vanille more because of all the pictures that Inu has sent us."
Fenn stared at her for a few moments, then his eyes lightened and he chuckled. "It's fine, Bell. We don't mind it. Before I forget, who's toothpick is that next to the door?"
Aulin snickered, nudging Alex with her elbow. "I think he's talking about Celosia."
"You think?" Alex laughed, "It's definitely not a toothpick. Do you want to go outside so I can show you?"
Fenn's expression immediately darkened. "Are you challenging Hibana's Chief to a fight, boy?"
Alex immediately straightened his back at the threatening tone. "N-no! That's not what I meant, sir!" He said quickly "I just wanted to know if you'd just like to see it!"
Immediately, Fenn's expression lifted and he started laughing loudly. "I'm just messing with you, Alex!" He said as Inuvali laughed with him, "I knew what you meant, I just couldn't pass that up!"
"I'm glad I never told you how dad is," Inuvali said and ceased laughing, wiping at his eyes, "That was hilarious."
"For you two, maybe," Alex relaxed and looked down at his drink, "Gods, I was worried that I insulted you."
"It's fine, kid," Fenn assured him, "Maybe you can show me your sword later. For now, I want to get to know you all." He said and sat next to Gracia on the long cushion there.
"I did not know your father was the Chief here," Bell said to Inuvali, "Why did you never tell us?"
Inuvali shrugged. "It never crossed my mind to say anything."
"Makes for a big surprise." Alex remarked.
"Man," Aulin shook her head, "I never thought I'd ever be in a den of wolves like this-" She snapped her mouth shut and clamped her hands over it as Bell smacked her arm.
"Aulin!" She chided her, "Do not say that!"
Aulin started shaking her head over and over. "I'm so sorry!" She yelled out as Inuvali, Gracia, and Fenn just stared at her, "I-I didn't mean to say that! It just slipped! I'm used to calling two of our friends kittens and it slipped!"
"Did you really just say that?" Inuvali narrowed his eyes at her.
"Tell me you didn't just say that." Gracia said, crossing her arms.
Aulin gulped and nodded slowly. "I'm really, really sorry..."
Fenn's eyes bored into her for more than a few uncomfortable moments as silence filled the room. Bell and Alex were looking between Aulin and all the wolf Faunus in the room while Vanille just looked around, confused by the silence.
It started with a low chuckle, then that turned into hearty laughs from both Fenn and Gracia. Aulin looked between them both with a look of relief and shock and fear on her face. Inuvali just shook his head and started grinning.
"I'm... really confused." Alex said.
"So am I." Bell said, still glaring at Aulin a bit.
"It's been so long since I've laughed like this," Fenn said, the humor showing heavily in his voice, "Oum, I hope your other friends are like this, Inu. I'm already enjoying their stay."
The next few days were fairly uneventful for them all. SLVR had begun to provide their assistance to the people gathering materials in the jungle. Trees were being chopped down in a large area, the logs stacked closer to Hibana so they could be transported out easily. Every few hours, the shifts changed and a few of the guards began to cut down trees while the others rested and the remainder of the guards kept with what they were doing.
On the second break day, everyone, including Vivi, had gone back to Inuvali's home for Vanille's eighth birthday. A few of her friends and their parents had come over and it was held mostly inside. When it was time for cake, everyone migrated outside to the chairs and the tables that Fenn had set up for everyone.
Everyone had sung a birthday song for Vanille, and then she blew out the candles of her vanilla-flavored cake. Aulin and the others enjoyed seeing the children enjoy their pieces of cake and have fun playing with a beach ball afterward, hitting it up into the air between each other.
Later in the day, all of the guests had left, leaving Inu's family and team sitting outside to look at the sunset over the horizon. Aulin had her elbows on the table she and her team sat at, propping her head up in her hands as she marveled at it.
"I can never get over how beautiful that can be." Aulin said after awhile of gawking.
"Sadly, this one is never in Menagerie anymore to enjoy it," Vivi said with a sigh, "But that may change one day if she is assigned here with her... girlfriend."
"That view is why we made our home here," Gracia told her, sitting down at the table along with her mate, "That was nineteen years ago after Fenn graduated Haven. Seeing this almost every night made all the troubles of moving and all of our hardships worth it."
"This is a very lovely place to have a home," Bell said. She was running her fingers through Vanille's hair after the tired-out girl had asked to sit in her lap, on the verge of falling asleep, "Perhaps one day I will move here. I just hope I would be able to make myself welcome."
"You won't have to worry about that too much," Fenn told her, "There are a few Faunus in Hibana that are... a bit extreme in their resentment of humans. There hasn't been any reports of violence, but no humans are ever here. I would hope they wouldn't try anything against you all why you're here."
"They'd be dumb to try," Gracia remarked dryly, "Hardly anyone here have fighting skills like Fenn. They won't openly do anything if you have your weapons with you. Also, they should know that if they attempt anything with any of you or any other students, then it could come down on everyone in Hibana and Menagerie as a whole in a bad way."
"And being the Chief of this town, any racists like that will answer to me," Fenn said, "If they try to get violent with you, then..." Gracia gave him a hard look, then she looked at their daughter, "...then it's a matter for when and if it happens."
"Soon, your workload will be taken down a bit," Vivi said, "Ghira and Remington came to an agreement, like I said before. In the next couple of months, we'll be having a Gathering to decide what Rangers will be moved here."
"Out here, we don't hear as much about Rangers or anything like that," Fenn said, "But if Ghira actually met with him about it, then you all must be a big deal."
"It was actually one of our apprentices that came up with the idea of having a few Rangers here." Vivi sighed a bit.
"Did your commandant not give any thought to it before?" Gracia asked.
"Being our leader is tiring work, so probably not. He not only has to direct all the Rangers, but he also has to deal with all the councils and headmasters along with the Rangers assigned to them. He rarely goes on missions, but he works just as, if not twice as hard as everyone else."
"Must have been a bright kid to suggest that and get him to do it, then." Fenn remarked.
Vivi nodded. "She really is."
"They're dating, by the way," Aulin cut in with a grin, "It's my best friend she's talking about. Short fox Faunus that uses a gun as big as her and a bow that can be bigger than her. Vivi here can't get over how awesome she is and Raine can't get over how awesome Vivi is."
Vivi shrugged. "True enough. She's a bright light in this one's life."
"It sounds like you truly care for her," Gracia remarked, "I think this will turn out well for everyone here with what your leader and Ghira agreed to."
"Since it's such a small area because of the deserts and wildlife here, only one Ranger per village should be needed," Vivi said, "One of our more veteran members will be assisting Ghira for now while younger ones are at the other towns."
Fenn nodded. "That sounds good. I hope to have someone to help out with any paperwork I may have to do."
"Hey Bell?" Vanille said tiredly, cutting the conversation off.
"Yes, sweetie?" Bell replied, taking her attention from what was being discussed.
"Can I maybe brush your hair?"
Bell smiled, but Vanille couldn't see it. "Of course. Would it be alright if I brushed your tail?" She looked up nervously to Gracia and Fenn for permission.
"Can she, mama?" Vanille asked.
Both parents looked at each other. "What do you think, dear?" Gracia asked him.
"I know it would be harmless, but..." Fenn sighed.
"Do you remember me telling you all about that food fight last year?" Inuvali asked and they nodded, "Bell cleaned my ears for me after they got so much... things in and on them. She was very gentle with them. She's gentle in everything she does. She won't hurt Vanille's tail at all."
Bell and Inuvali looked at each other. Inuvali smiled and Bell returned it nervously as his parents came to a decision.
"I suppose it would be okay, then," Fenn relented, "Just watch out for tangles. Our Little Puppy plays a lot and tends to get her tail messy."
Bell nodded. "I will be extremely careful with it. I know how most Faunus view their animal traits and I would hate to cause any type of pain to them. Thankfully, my brush helps with tangles because I cannot stand them in my hair at all."
"Hear that, Vanille?" Inuvali grinned and ruffled his sister's hair, "You be careful with her hair too."
Vanille stuck her tongue out at him, then she giggled and stepped off of Bell's lap. Bell went into the house and found her bag that she brought with her, digging in it to find her orange hair brush. She went back outside and saw that Vanille had set up a chair behind hers, sitting in it as she swung her legs back and forth.
"I see someone had their energy restored." Bell said and handed her brush off to her apparent new best friend, a thought she didn't mind at all."
Vanille nodded quickly. "Can I braid your hair too?"
Bell smiled before she sat down. "If you make it look as nice as Inu's, then yes. Or you can make it however you want."
"Thanks, Belly!" Vanille hugged her from behind.
"Oh I didn't even tell her about that nickname," Aulin said with a grin, "Great minds think alike."
"I may have said Belly as I was talking about you the other day." Gracia admitted.
"It was good things, I hope." Bell smiled a her.
"Oh of course!" Gracia nodded, "Fenn and I were talking about how kind and quiet you are."
"I appreciate the kind words," Bell said as Vanille began running her brush through her hair, "I have always been a quiet speaker. At the church when I was a child, the priests and priestesses said they could barely hear me talk."
"I think that comes from her really sensitive hearing," Alex said, "You know, she can hear just about as well as my brother and he's a cat Faunus."
"A cat Faunus?" Gracia looked at him strangely, "And... this is the same brother you were talking about when we met?"
Alex hesitated, just catching what he had said. "Yeah... Same brother..."
"Is something wrong?" Gracia asked.
"Didn't Jace ask us to tell it if it came up?" Aulin asked Alex.
He nodded. "He did. I just... really don't feel comfortable saying it."
"I'll tell them later," Vivi said, "It may take awhile and you all need your sleep for work tomorrow. That is after little Vanille finishes with Bell's hair."
Inuvali chuckled. "Now that may take awhile."
