-Greetings, and welcome all to my first official foray into RWBY fanfiction! To be honest, while the show itself is phenomenal (Weiss is best girl), I was absolutely entranced by not only the entire world-building, but's it's set in rules regarding characters and how they allude to real-life tales, myths, legends, stories, etc. This combined with the fact that there are a type of animal-humanoid characters made my eyes lit up, and I knew what I had to do!
And so here I am, the fruits of my mental creative labor have brought forth this character of mine into the world of RWBY! This entire story is purely a sort of one-shot, in the style of how the original RWBY characters had their own character shorts also showcasing themselves, their weapons, powers, character traits, and also their primary allusions. It's constructed in a way that it can be fit into any larger story, hopefully with others that to mesh with!
Wow I'm really rambling here, I'd better wrap this up- enjoy the short!
In the forest, a gentle breeze caresses its trees, with vibrantly colored green leaves dancing on their branches. Eventually, with enough force, a single leaf breaks free from its parent and flutters in a downward, spiraling descent. The leaf lands to the ground, in front of someone: a girl, vaguely noticing the leaf, but instead choosing to focus on the more important thing in front of her.
With focused eyes, Liz Viridian stares out in front of her. The wind causing the edges of her loose wind-breaker to flutter lightly. She herself remains standing strong and firm, unyielding to anything that would hinder her. That includes distractions, like the gentle breeze or the beautiful leaves it carries. All that concerns her now, are her enemies no more than ten yards away from her: a pack of beowolves, their red eyes glowing from out of the dim of the forest. The beasts growl threateningly as they stalk towards her from the thick of the woods and out into the clearing.
Though she holds a steady stance from the outside, inside, Liz's core does hold fear. The mere sight of these creatures of Grimm would be enough to shake anyone. In fact, that negative emotion of fear was probably what drew these creatures to her in the first place. Actually, she does notice that her lizard tail is twitching rather anxiously. Thus, she takes a moment to calm herself; she closes her eyes, breathes in deep, exhales, and opens her eyes. The real world nightmare is still present before her, but Liz was not expecting anything different.
She spreads her clenched fists from her body. Resting on the tops of her palms are her dual weapons, the Kaginawa Tsume. Brandishing them, the mid-day sun's light reflects off of their claw tips. The beowolves see this gleam of light and interpret this as aggression. One by one, they rush towards her, claws digging into the ground as they run,saliva dripping from their maws.
Liz slowly breaks into a run, and the two sides meet.
She jumps and twists forward in a corkscrew motion, outstretched claws slashing out and lacerating two of the grimm monsters. The two fall to the ground, disintegrating into fine black dust on the wind. One by one beowolves attempt to slash at her with their own claws, but are parried and out-slashed by hers. Their claws may be naturally grown, but Liz knows that the Kaginawa Tsume's claw tips are made of stronger material than whatever their claws are made of. It's easily shown with every successful slash into their skin and flesh. In between her slashes, Liz would throw in a kick here and there against them as well.
Eventually, the Grimm numbers have dwindled down to three, when suddenly Liz spins her head around to discover one of them almost sneak up on her. Reacting quickly, she swipes her open palm in front of her, producing a Scaleshield, her semblance, to block the beowolf's overhead clawed pounding. This shield would not hold for long, but Liz doesn't need it to. For her, Scaleshield has always been best for delaying strikes against her and allowing her mind to catch up to the present.
Seizing this momentary break, Liz points her arms in back of her, the Kaginawa Tsume conveniently aiming at the other two beowolves behind her. The two claws suddenly shoot back, singular ropes attaching them to bands mounted on her wrists, and rocket straight back and embed themselves into the two creatures' chests. Liz then pulls forward as well as retracts the ropes themselves, hard, and both sail towards each other until they pass. With a quick flick of her wrists, she dislodges the Kaginawa Tsume from the beowolves' chests, leaving her to back-flip into stance, and the two of them to tumble forward and crash into the third beowolf.
The creatures struggle to untangle themselves from their own limbs, but Liz doesn't give them a chance to recover. She again points her weapons at the Grimm, but this time the claw tips flip open, and begin to fire their .38 rounds at them. There were only six total claws, three for each hand-claw base, but it was all more than enough for these creatures; they are all run through with bullets, each one disintegrating into black dust.
Moments pass, and the Kaginawa Tsume tips close back into place, and Liz relaxes her arms. There are no more beowolves in sight, nor can she hear any in her immediate vicinity. The battle was truly over, and Liz breathes a sigh of relief. However, a new sound reaches her ears; the sound of clapping.
"Well done Liz!"
Liz turns around to see a man approaching her: her father, Komodo. Like her, he was also a faunus, with a reptilian tail of his own, far thicker and heavier looking than her own. His face held weathering to it, slitted eyes held content, and a smile that held satisfaction.
Liz can barely contain her smile of victory as she moved to join him.
"Thanks, Dad!" she says excitedly, "So... How did I do?"
"Not bad," Komodo admits, "Not bad at all. I'd say you've definitely mastered your mother's Kaginawa Tsume!"
"I did, didn't I?" Liz looks down to fiddle with the bullet insertion slots on her left hand weapon, "I'm really getting a better feel for them now... like I'm more familiar with them than I was before." She stops to look back up at her father, "But anyway-! I've slain that pack of beowolves that have been skulking around here; does that mean I've passed 'your' little test?"
Komodo's hands rest on his hips, and he lowers his head, but Liz can still barely see a small smile on his face. It was that type of smile she knew to be his 'resignation' smile, "Yes... yes, I'd say you've passed my test. Even though Lionhart's already officially passed you, 'I' can definitely say you're ready to transfer to Beacon."
"Oh thank you, THANK you!" Liz leaps forward into her father's arms and hugs him hard, "I promise I won't let you down, Dad! I'll make you so proud of me!"
Komodo returns the hug, saying nothing, but inwardly thinking,
'You already have, Liz...'
-Scene change to Mistral Bullhead-
A few days have passed since that day. Liz and Komodo stand at Mistral's airship station. They are not alone though, as another person has joined them as well, eager to see the young faunus girl off on her journey.
"So, you nervous, kiddo?"
Liz looks to her side to see her uncle, "A little, Uncle Briar... But at the same time, excited."
"Yep, treasure this feeling, 'cause they come by very rarely in one's life..." Briar Jeremiah said, placing a hand on Liz's shoulder.
Finally, an airship lands onto its platform, steam hissing as it comes to a complete stop and touchdown. The doors slowly open with an alerting chime, and slowly people began to board.
With another sigh, Liz turns around to face her guardians, "Well, it looks like this is it..."
"Liz, wait..." Komodo says, "Before you go, there's one more thing you should take with you..."
"Huh?" Komodo reaches into his pocket, pulls out a simple photograph, sparing a single glance at it, and hands it to Liz. Curiously, Liz inspects the picture: it's an old photo of a younger Briar, Komodo, herself as no more than an infant... and her late mother, Anole. The woman holds her in her arms, the most gentlest of smiles on her face.
Liz hardly knew her mother at all growing up, but somehow, having this image of her smiling face as her only reference, it felt like all she would ever want. And all four of them were there, in that moment, a moment of peace and happiness... Her family!
"Dad..." Liz says, feeling her eyes start to grow misty. This time Komodo places his hand on her shoulder.
"You may be on your way to becoming a huntress," he says, "but there's a little something to remind you of where you first began..."
Liz stares at the photo even longer. Finally, she wipes her eyes from tears that were about to form. She then quickly embraces her father and Briar in her arms, both of them returning her hug.
"I'll do great, I promise you both!" her cracking voice says, "I'll become a great huntress!"
"I have no doubt about that, kiddo!" Briar says, "You've got everything you need for your journey ahead..." He looks back up at the airship, prompting him to break away, "Speaking which, looks like you better to get going! Don't wanna be late!
"Oh yeah!" Liz breaks out of her sentimental state. She picks up her suitcase and tucks the photograph into one of its outer pockets, "Well, goodbye!" Komodo places one last kiss on her forehead before he and Briar wave her goodbye. The massive transport soon lifts off of the platform and the two faunus watch as it shoots off towards Vale.
"Well, there she goes..." Komodo says with a sigh "She's grown up so much all these years..."
"Yes, she has..." the bull-frog faunus agrees, then his mood lowers slightly, "Still... are we really doing the right thing? Leading her down 'this' path, instead of...?"
He trails off, not needing to say more, as Komodo quickly picks up his meaning...
Flashback
"Daddy! Daddy!" A crying six-year-old Liz runs to her home, where her father is outside.
"Huh? Whoa Liz-!" Komodo says when his daughter practically crashes into his embrace sobbing, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"They did it again!" Liz says in between her cries, "The human kids at school, they bullied me again! They kept messing with my tail and called me names like-"
"Liz hey, shh... Calm down, it's okay," Komodo comfortingly rubs the back of her head, "Here, come on inside, I'll make you some tea..." He leads her into their house, a modest abode in the city of Mistral. A nice enough place for a faunus family to live and make their way in the world. If only where they themselves stood in society could reflect as well as how they lived...
A trembling Liz sits at the table when Komodo returns to her with a pair of tea cups. She doesn't say anything, but still accepts the tea out of gratitude. Slowly she takes gentle sips, savoring the tea's flavor. Eventually, her sobs began to slow down until Liz is left with the sniffles.
"There, feeling better?" Komodo asks, to which Liz gives a small nod.
"It's not fair... it's just not fair!" Liz says, "Why do they always do that to me?!"
"Liz, I'll have a talk with their parents tomorrow, we'll get this all sorted out."
"Dad, you don't understand," Liz says.
"Understand what?"
"Some of the things the humans say, what they call me," Liz says, her mood dropping again, "It... it actually hurts me! Even more than when they step on my tail or pull it! They call me things like 'faunus-scum' or 'scaly-freak'! I hate it, I hate it so much..." Komodo listens to his daughter's tirade, letting her vent her feelings. It seems the humans were still no closer to accepting faunus than they were since before the Great War, or even during...
"Like I said, I'll talk with the parents and see if they can get them to stop their kids from bullying you, alright?" Liz doesn't respond immediately, but still takes another sip of her tea.
"You know Dad? I've been thinking... I've really been thinking about this..." she pulls her eyes up from looking down and looks straight at Komodo, "I think I wanna join the White Fang!" The air is silent for a solid handful of moments. Liz's sudden declaration leaves Komodo almost speechless. He was paying concerned attention to his daughter's plight before, but now, at the mention of that organization, his eyes narrow with greater concern.
"What?"
"You know, that organization made up of faunus people?" Liz clarifies, "I heard Maye Tukson talking about it, one time; they fight for faunus rights all across Remn-"
"I know who they are, Liz," Komodo cuts her off. This was a topic he was hoping to avoid for a long time, but now it's unavoidable, "And, I have to say... I refuse. I cannot allow you to join the White Fang."
"What? But why not?!" Liz whines, "Maye says she's going to join them! They fight back against humans who bully us and push us down! Why can't we be part of them?"
"Liz, this is not for debate-"
"They're fighting for our equality! They fight the humans so that us faunus can live peaceful lives! What about that could be terrible?!"
"YOU'LL DIE IN THE WHITE FANG!" Komodo had jumped from his seat, palms slamming against the tabletop, and eyes now widened. His sudden outburst had surprised Liz so much she was leaning back into her chair, her own eyes widened in fear. That fear soon took over her body, and she began to tremble, her eyes threatening to pour tears again.
Realizing his mistake, Komodo takes a deep breath, and sits back down.
"I-I'm sorry Liz, I didn't mean to shout like that," he quickly apologizes, "But... you have to understand something, something very important; the White Fang is not the proper answer to this problem."
"But-" Liz was about to protest again, but hearing her father's calmer tone prompts her to calm herself as well, "But, it can't be all that bad, can it?"
Komodo's mouth twists to respond, then at the last minute he stopped himself. Shaking his head lightly, he gets up from his chair and makes his way over to a nearby bookshelf. A quick look across it's shelves and he finds what he was looking for: an old photo book. He returns to the table and sets the book in front of Liz.
"What's this...?" Liz asks, as Komodo opened the book and flipped through its pages. Every single one had an image of himself, standing with another faunus or two of varying varieties. From the smiles on their faces and the ways they stood next to each other, it was clear that Komodo was good friends with them, or at least a vast majority of these people, "Dad? Who are these people?"
"These people... they were friends of mine, very dear friends..." Komodo says, "The old saying of 'Faunus must stick together in a human's world' held so true for us."
"Well, where are they?" Liz asks, "I don't recognize any of them."
"That's because... they're not around anymore." Liz's eyes snap up to meet her father's.
"What?!"
"All of them have died..." Komodo says, "But the worst part? All have them have died from the exact same thing: Joining the White Fang, and dying for it..." Liz looks back at the book, at all these faunus people, so full of life, joy, and happiness, combined with the happiness her dad seemed to have on his own face.
"They all had similar ideals to what you claim to have heard about as well," Komodo continues, "So they joined up, hoping to 'change the world' for the betterment of faunus-kind. And for their effort, they died. Killed either by humans, accidents, missions they go on failing, and sometimes even ones considered 'successes'. So many faunus who lose their own lives, or the lives of loved ones who never get to return to them." Komodo sets a gentle hand on top of Liz's own hand, "You see Liz? As bad as it may be for you right now, dealing with how the humans treat you... at the very least you still have loved ones who you can come home to."
By now, Liz's mood had turned somber. This situation felt like tears would be called for, yet for some reason, she couldn't muster any more tears... It was then that a thought crosses her mind.
"Is that... is that what had happened to Mom?" she asks, at the same time moving her hands to search through the pages. His hands suddenly but gently stopped hers, and he took the book from her.
"No, no you won't find your mother in here, with the others..." Komodo says, "Anole... she was different from them; she didn't join the White Fang, thus the two of us were able to meet in the first place..."
"Oh," Liz says, "Well then... then how did she... you know, die?" Komodo looks at her, then his eyes drift down, as if recounting a painful memory.
"Your mother... she was killed by Grimm," he says, his voice sounding like it was on the verge of breaking. Liz's hands rush up to cover her mouth.
"G-Grimm?! Those black monsters outside the city walls? They killed her?!" she says. Komodo nods.
"I was absolutely crushed when I had heard about what had happened to her myself. If I had known... I could've at least... been there, with her...However, I'm told that the people she had saved that day were so grateful to her for saving their lives." He shakes his head with closed eyes. When he looks back at Liz, his eyes appear to be filled with renewed purpose, "Liz, those people that she saved from Grimm? They were humans! Complete strangers who'd never met nor she'd ever met before! And they thanked her, humans thanking a faunus for the act of giving her own life to save theirs!" Liz's eyes widen and she makes a short gasp of air.
"What? Humans, grateful for something Mom did for them?"
"That's right, she killed Grimm monsters to save them," Komodo says, "And Liz... That I feel is what separates people like her from the White Fang: There would be little to no negative repercussions for anyone who slays Grimm. In fact, as I've just mentioned, someone may actually end up living another day because of such actions. Take that in comparison to the White Fang, who's only goal seems to push humanity down, thus costing lives on both sides..." Both Komodo and Liz are silent for a good minute, processing what was just said. He watches her face, many different emotions appear to display themselves; confusion, uncertainty, reasoning, and finally, resolve.
She looks back up at Komodo,
"Maybe you're right, about not joining the White Fang at least..." Komodo's lip corners curl up into a slight smile upon hearing this, "And... maybe, I dunno... maybe I'd like to do what Mom did!"
"Hm? Kill Grimm, you mean?" Komodo asks, "Sweetie, are you sure that's what you'd want to do? Kill Grimm and be one of those 'huntresses?'"
"A... huntress?" Liz asks, "Was that what Mom was? She was a Huntress that killed Grimm?"
"Well, not really, she was never officially named one..." Komodo says, "Still, it's not like that ever stopped her from doing what they usually do."
"Then..." Liz pounds a fist into her open palm, "Then I'll just become a huntress myself and kill Grimm like she did!" Komodo looks at her, then his hands move to his hips and he lowers his head. From Liz's angle, she can vaguely see a grin on his lips and the small sound of a chuckle escape his mouth.
"Hey! What's so funny Dad?!" she pouts.
"Hm? Oh no, nothing!" Komodo looks up, "It's just that... well, becoming a huntress takes a lot of work, training, exercise-"
"I'm ready for it!" Liz says, "I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Heh, well, I like your sudden enthusiasm," Komodo admits, "But there is the matter of weapons..."
"Weapons?"
"Well, you certainly can't become a huntress from punching Grimm with your own fists, can you?" Komodo asks, "You'd need a weapon to increase your odds."
"I could just use your weapon! Your... Malu- Maluki- Malo- er..."
"My Malukutine?" Komodo says, this time thoroughly amused, "Not on your life sweetie... Still, there might be another option open to you..."
"Eh?"
Flashback end
Komodo shakes his head from memories of that day, returning himself to the present, "I've said before, this is for the best! Her as a huntress, slaying Grimm..." With a sigh, he looks at his bull-frog faunus counterpart, "Briar, you've been like a brother to me for so long... You have to understand me on this, don't you?" Briar looks back at him, finally sighing himself.
"Yes, yes... maybe you're right... Maybe all these years just needed their way of... putting things into perspective... for all of us..." Suddenly, Briar clasps his arm around Komodo's shoulder "And hey, we should celebrate, 'brother'! Your daughter has officially grown up and left home! You know what that means?"
"Some... peace and quiet?" Komodo guesses.
"HA! You're only half right!" Briar jovially says, "Come on, some celebratory wine from my latest vintage: 2187! Nothing better to commemorate freedom than that!"
"My daughter leaves and you're treating this like a bachelor party..." Komodo quietly mutters under his breath. Nonetheless, he lets Briar lead the two of them back to his house, a rare wine vintage awaiting them.
While on the airship, Liz watches out the view port as the land of Mistral, the land that she'd once called home and grew up in, disappears beneath a sea of clouds. Another breath of reassurance escaping her lips; this would be the start of a new chapter in her life, with a Beacon awaiting her new life as a huntress...
End character short
-And there you have it, my character Liz Viridian, ready to be set out into the world and on her way to being a huntress!
But of course, in keeping with the rule of allusions, both Liz and even Komodo both allude to the old fable 'The Tale of the Two Lizards'!
Anyway, what did you all think? Anything I can do to improve this? Or better yet, anyone out there seek to corroborate my OCs with others in a grander story? Simply let me know in any reviews or PMs, they're all greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading, I'll see you next time!-