A few minutes later, Ebony, Roy, Dahlia, and Aster followed the bandits into the woods. Each of them carried their packs and weapons, not wanting to leave them in the ship. The bandits had returned to retrieve them a short time after Ebony and Roy's discussion. As they walked, the younger bandit fell in step beside them.

"You know, you guys shouldn't argue in these woods," he said, trying to staunch the blood flowing from his broken nose, "they're crawling with grimm."

Ebony offered the youth an apologetic smile, "we'll keep that in mind. How is your nose?"

The youth sniffed thickly, "Hurts like a bitch thanks to your boyfriend."

The woman leaned over and lightly smacked the back of the youth's head, "Language Morado."

Ebony looked over the boy's nose with an appraising look, "ma'am if you'd like I could heal your boy's nose."

The man looked hopeful, "Could you?"

The woman held her hand up, "I will allow it, but don't think this changes anything" she shot a glare at Roy.

Ebony nodded, "Understood." She had the group stop and sat Morado down on a fallen log. "Tilt your head back please," she said kindly.

Her aura began to glow, the green light rippling dreamily over the surrounding trees. Extending her hand, she gently placed her fingers on either side of Morado's nose. A small snap sounded as the youth's nose reset and he gasped, rubbing ruefully at his nose.

"There!" Ebony said, "good as new."

The youth drew in a long breath through his nose, "Thanks miss."

Ebony smiled and laughed, "you're more than welcome."

Eventually they came to a break in the trees that led out onto a dirt road. The bandits stood aside and allowed Roy and his team to pass through. Down the road to the west, stood a small village. It was the usual mistrali affair; white walled houses with red clay shingles sitting in quaint little rows. A larger house sat in the very center of the village, rising several stories above the others. Roy sensed Ebony tense up beside him and looked over to find her staring pointedly at the larger house.

"Is that your house?" he asked.

Ebony nodded and strode forward into the village. As they passed through the arch that marked the entrance of the village, Roy noticed a quaint wooden sign with the word "Akichi" carved into it.

"What does that mean in Ancient Mistrali?" he asked Ebony.

"Glade," She replied, "before this village was built, there was a beautiful glade here. My great grandfather fell in love with it and decided to settle here."

As they made their way down the street, people began coming out of the different homes and businesses to see the newcomers. The townsfolk looked on curiously, several of them pointing at Ebony; recognition dawning on their faces. Roy turned his gaze forward once more as they neared the house's front door. Ebony reached out and gave an ornate braided cord hanging from the awning a brisk tug. Roy's ears picked up the sound of a bell ringing somewhere in the house and a few moments later, the door swung open.

Standing before them was a man with graying black hair and deep brown eyes. He was taller than Ebony and held himself with a certain poise that told Roy immediately that this man was not to be messed with. The man's eyes quickly scanned the small crowd at the door until they found Ebony and widened. Neither of them said anything for several seconds, then the man stepped forward.

Ebony took a small step back, clearly unsure of the man's intentions, "Dad...I…"

The man suddenly enveloped her in his arms, hugging her as if his life depended on it. Ebony seemed like she didn't know how to react at first, but she slowly wrapped her arms around the man and returned the hug.

"How long has it been?" The man finally said.

Ebony looked at him puzzled, "since what?"

The man gently ran his hand through Ebony's hair, "Since I've held my little girl in my arms."

Ebony's eyes filled with tears and she pulled her father into another hug, "too long." she said, her voice shaking, "far too long."

One of the bandits cleared their throat behind Roy, "Sorry for breaking up this touching reunion, but we have matters to discuss concerning our agreement, Coal."

The man shot an annoyed look at the bandits over his daughter's shoulder, "I haven't seen my daughter in over 4 years. We will attend to your matters in a moment."

Ebony pulled back from the hug, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, "Actually dad, it might be a good idea to hear them out first."

Coal read his daughter's face and sighed, "very well, please come into the main hall, I will call Jade and we can discuss this properly."

Coal led them through the entry way into the main hall. It was a large rectangular room with a vaulted ceiling and pillars at the four corners of the room. A large table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs. Two larger chairs sat at the head of it, obviously reserved for the village leader and his wife. Behind the two chairs was a large painting, depicting a bearded man in plate armor swinging a large war hammer down on an ursa's head.

"Please have a seat," Coal said, gesturing to the table, "my wife will be down shortly."

Everyone found their seats and waited silently until the back door of the hall opened. A tall woman walked into the room, a bushy red cat tail waving gracefully behind her. She had fiery red hair that matched the fur on her tail and eyes that were the same vibrant green as Ebony's. She wore a loose fitting kimono with large sleeves that fell down to just above her sandaled feet. As loose as the garment was, it still couldn't hide the fact that she was expecting. A gentle swell of her belly showed that she was about 6 months along.

Roy heard a sharp intake of breath from Ebony as she saw her mother and although he was dying to see her reaction, he kept his eye forward. The woman reached the chair beside Coal and gracefully sat down.

Coal gave his wife a brief smile then turned to the bandits, "now that my wife has arrived, we may begin our meeting."

The tallest bandit stood up and cleared his throat. "While we were patrolling, we saw an airship crash. Upon investigating we were attacked by that young man there." he gestured at Roy who continued staring evenly ahead. "Seeing as he is your daughter's companion, I'd say it is an infringement of our agreement."

Coal turned to his daughter, "Is this true?"

Ebony nodded, "Yes, Roy's been having trouble looking before he leaps. I apologize for his actions and take full responsibility."

The female bandit sighed, "And while we appreciate that, we'd rather hear it from him."

Roy sat up a little straighter in his chair, "I will apologize for any injury I may have caused you, but I will not apologize for defending myself." He turned to meet the tall bandit's eyes and continued, "Mistral is rife with bandits, almost none of them are friendly. How was I supposed to know that the ones coming to find us were?"

The grizzled bandit scoffed, "Touchy little thing aren't you. If you would've let us explain ourselves, all this could have been avoided."

Coal pinched the bridge of his nose, "Did he injure any of you?"

The youth raised his hand sheepishly, "He broke my nose, but your daughter fixed it."

Edel held her hand up, "As I said, that changes nothing. He must make reparations for his actions."

Coal tilted his head, "what sort of reparations did you have in mind?"

The tall bandit gestured around, "The forest surrounding this village is full of grimm, if one were to go running off half-cocked, it would lead to a whole host of troubles. I propose that Roy join me and my family in protecting your village for a couple days. If he can prove that he's learned not to charge in blindly, then we'll say all is forgiven. If not...well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Ebony's mother finally spoke, drawing everyone's attention to her, "Why should the issue of our village's protection be left up to the actions of a boy?"

Roy bristled slightly at the label, but stayed silent as the female bandit responded, "It states, in your grandfather's agreement, that if anyone from, or associated with, your village attacks one of our tribe, it is considered an act of aggression. This breaks your grandfather's promise to our ancestors. As such, it should fall to the transgressor to try and make things right. Honestly, Jade I shouldn't have to remind you of your own family history!"

Ebony's mother bristled and pointed to her baby bump, "Oh I'm sorry Edel, I've been a tad busy of late."

The tall bandit cleared his throat and continued, "Those are our terms, take them or leave them."

Coal nodded and stood, "As the elder of Akichi, I accept your terms. Roy will join you in defending the village until their transport is repaired."

Roy sighed, "I'm guessing I don't get a say in this?"

Jade shot him a glare, "Seeing as you're the one at fault...no, you don't get a say."

Roy returned the glare silently, his temper steadily rising.

Coal arose from his chair and knocked on the mahogany surface. "This meeting is adjourned, I bid you all a good night."

The bandits all got up and left the room, the door shutting behind them with a light thud. Coal turned to Roy, "I don't know what your previous experiences with bandits are, but Argent and his family have been faithfully protecting this village for almost 80 years. I would suggest doing your best to treat them with respect and civility."

Roy nodded, the patriarch's quiet words easing his rising temper.

Coal sighed and smiled, "Now, with that out of the way, I bid you welcome to Akichi, I am Coal Der Riese, leader of this village and Ebony's father. This is my wife, Jade."

Roy bowed slightly "I am Shiroi Arashi, this is my teammate Dahlia and our pilot Aster."

Jade nodded gently to each of them in turn, "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you all...under different circumstances."

Ebony walked forward slowly until she was standing before her mother. Reaching out, she gently placed a hand on her mother's stomach. "Do you know the sex?" she asked quietly.

Her mother gazed evenly back at her daughter, "It's a boy. We haven't settled on a name yet."

Ebony nodded and stepped away from her mother. As she did, Roy noticed that her tail had been entwined with her mother's; a silent show of affection.

Coal motioned to Aster, "I hope your ship wasn't too damaged, I will send our smiths with you in the morning to inspect her."

Aster bowed clumsily, "I appreciate that your lordship."

Ebony's father laughed at the moniker, "Not a lord. I'm technically an Elder of the village, but I hate that title. You can call me Coal."

Aster rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, "Will do."

Jade turned to the rest of them, "We will have someone show you to your rooms. Ebony, if you would join your father and I to talk please."

Ebony's tail drooped and she nodded, following after her parents. Roy wanted to stay with her, but knew he probably wasn't welcome. Instead he chose to follow a faunus with furry wolf ears to his room. The room was of medium size with a single bed and wash stand sitting against the right hand wall. The silver light of the fractured moon shone through a round window illuminating a deep blue rug with an intricate pattern of gold that covered the floor in front of the bed. The window was cracked open, allowing the sweet autumn air to drift into the room.

Roy set his pack beside the bed and sat on the bed with a sigh. Today did not go well, he thought, snorting at his own understatement. We're stranded here until the ship is fixed.

He took out his scroll and sighed at the 'No signal' message that greeted him. Setting the device on the bedside table, his mind turned to the thing that was truly bothering him. Ebony said that I reminded her of Ronin...Do I really?

His gaze swept the room catching sight of himself in the mirror. He looked tired, nowhere near as tired as he'd been a week or so ago, but he could still see a noticeable darkening under his eyes. He rubbed his eyes as he thought back to the days following the Warehouse 13 incident. Ronin had become more hateful toward humans; blurring the lines between right and wrong until he no longer saw a difference. Roy could still remember the stories Ebony had told him of the heinous acts that Ronin had carried out against humans.

I'm not like that, I just fight to protect my team. That's all.

As he thought this, Ebony's words from a few weeks prior worked their way back into his head,

"Was anyone in danger? Were the grimm straying from the village or endangering neighboring villages?"

Roy shook his head, blotting out the voice and turning his mind elsewhere. His scroll gave a little chime heralding the coming of 10:00, causing his ears to twitch lightly. Shedding his clothes and donning his pajamas, Roy slid between the covers.

Μόνος once again lay beside him, making Ebony's absence all the more noticeable. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, Roy dropped off into a fitful sleep; his hand clasped around his weapon's handle.

Ebony's going to be a SISTER! WOOOT. Roy has got some work ahead of him, hopefully he can learn before it's too late. In other news, Tales of Remnant: Spring has reached 8,000 views! I cannot say how honored I am that you all are reading my story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Until Next we meet,

-Ar3mRising.