The sun was dipping below the horizon by the time they disembarked from The Dusty Daydream. As they were making their approach, the Atlesian base on the coast had requested identification. After wading through a couple miles of red tape, Aster had been granted permission to land at lot A-15. Upon landing, a small contingent of airfield security had approached the ship and ordered everyone to stand outside the ship as they inspected it. After this, they'd deemed it necessary to search the faunus's luggage.
Roy had said nothing as they rummaged through his meager change of clothes and his cleaning kit. He did break his silence when one of the inspectors deemed it appropriate to completely remove one of Ebony's bras to inspect it. The way Ebony had visibly colored had pushed his temper over the edge and in a moment of repressed anger, he'd quipped, "Ebony, why didn't you tell me you were carrying such a dangerous weapon along on this trip?"
The female faunus had been mortified and the two humans in their party dissolved into barely suppressed laughter. Once the security team had finished their inspection, they stuck a green sticker on the side of the Daydream and handed Aster a docking pass. The pilot had asked about repairs, to which the lead inspector had confirmed that the airfield offered repairs to those who needed it for a price. With that, the security team had walked away and left them standing next to the ship.
Aster grumbled as she rubbed at the sticker, "of course the bastards would use paper stickers instead of vinyl. This is going to be a bitch to get off."
Roy was still fuming, his eye boring into the backs of the humans as they walked away. It still happens, even after so long. I shouldn't be surprised.
The touch of a cool hand broke him out of the angry haze and he turned to find Ebony smiling softly at him. "It's okay," she murmured, "I'll survive."
Roy sighed and moved his bangs out of his face, "I know...it's just frustrating." He heard a small cough and turned to see Dahlia looking at him, eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked.
Dahlia shrugged, "I just thought your hair was shorter when we left your mother's house, that's all."
Roy could tell the smaller girl was trying to change the subject and he decided to let her. Turning his attention to his hair, he noticed that it was indeed longer than it had been. When he'd left his mother's house, his hair had been swept up in the front and trimmed close to his neck, Now, his bangs hung low over his eyes and the back of his hair tumbled down to just past his nape.
"I...don't know why it's long again…" he mumbled, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes.
Ebony patted his arm, "I think long suits you, I'm not sure about the beard though."
Roy grinned as he ran his fingers through the thick stubble on his chin, "Right, I definitely need to buy a razor while we're here."
Aster approached and cleared her throat, "I'm going to talk to the mechanic and get the old girl taken care of, then we can get out of here."
Team SDE nodded and followed the pilot to a small building on the edge of the airfield. Once she had concluded her business, they made their way deeper into the heart of Argus.
The city, built on the sides of a steep slope, was a jewel of civilization on the coast of Anima. Ornate houses stood side by side on brick paved streets that sloped down toward the water. Street cars trundled up and down the streets, ferrying people from the upper edges of town to the seaside. It was late evening, the lanterns on the street corners and strung between each house glowing steadily in the fading light.
Roy's head must've looked like it was on a swivel from the amount of times he craned his neck to take in the sights. "This place is…"
Aster finished the sentence for him, "Beautiful? Yeah, it really is. This is what it looks like when Mistral and Atlas build a city together." She spun on her heel, arms spread wide as if indicating the city as a whole, "This place is amazing! I couldn't even begin to tell you about half of the cool shit to do here!"
Ebony and Dahlia laughed at the pilot's enthusiasm, despite the half-a-dozen stares they were getting. As Roy watched Aster's jubilation, something seemed off. The pilot was bubbly and happy, sure, but this seemed...over the top. Almost as if she was compensating for...something.
You're probably just over analyzing, Arashi, he thought, pushing the unease aside.
"Hey Aster, where's this Blue Dust Tavern?" he asked, causing the pilot to stop and grin sheepishly, "Oh right, Follow me!"
The pilot led them a good mile or so down the main street, before turning down a broad lane. Buildings flanked either side of the lane and at the very end of the street sat a large powder blue building. It was around 4 stories tall, the blue coloring causing the white window frames to pop in the lantern light. A large sign above the door proudly proclaimed "Blue Dust Tavern" in bold black letters.
Dahlia and the two faunus stared up at the building in awe, Roy finally breaking the silence, "You say the owner owes you a favor?"
Aster grinned cheekily, hands on hips, "yup! Can you believe it?"
Ebony smiled sheepishly, "In all honesty, not really."
The pilot shrugged, "eh, fair enough. Come on, I'll introduce you."
The door to the tavern opened, the chime of a small bell welcoming them as the they stepped into the well-lit space. The walls were midnight blue, decorative china plates hanging in artistic patterns around the room. White chairs surrounded tables set with blue cloths, small crystal mood lights twinkling brightly from the center of each one. A large, glass-top bar filled the right hand wall, a string of bright blue lights strung around the underside causing the surface to glow. Rows of bottles sat on shelves along the wall, the glass reflecting the mood lights in an almost mesmerizing display.
A tall, lithe gentleman stood behind the bar. He wore a white shirt under a black and blue pinstripe vest. His skin was pale, almost matching the shirt he wore. The long midnight blue hair drawn up into a ponytail only heightened this effect. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, so vibrant that they almost glowed in the light from the counter.
He looked up as they walked in, his eyes lighting up as he spotted the taller pilot, "Ah, Angel Wing, it's been much too long!"
Aster returned the smile and stepped around the bar to give the man a hug, "Azure Meer, It has been too long! How's business?"
The man returned the hug, thumping Aster on the back, "Could be better. We've been having a steady trickle of people coming in, but nothing like our usual crowd. This embargo is bad for business."
Aster gave Azure a sly wink, "your business maybe, it's amazing for smugglers like me. All those rich mistralians needing their fine wines and coffees from Atlas."
Azure let out a laugh, "Yes, and when all you smugglers come back through town, where do you stay? My place." The man cast a questioning eye over the pilot's shoulder, "Ah, but where are my manners, who are your friends?"
Aster turned and led the man over to where team SDE stood, "Azure, these are some friends of mine. The dark broody one there is Shiroi Arashi."
Azure held out a pale hand to the faunus, "The dark silent type I see, Azure Meer at your service."
Roy accepted the hand and gave it a firm shake, "please, call me Roy."
Azure's eyes twinkled, "I like it, much less of a mouthful."
His eyes turned next to Ebony, "And what is your name my dear?"
Ebony gave him a gentle bow, her eyes never leaving his face, "Ebony Winterhold, It is a pleasure."
Azure inclined his head, acknowledging the bow, "The pleasure is all mine." His eyes softened as they rested on Dahlia, "Ah, no need for introduction here. Those steel blue eyes, that dirty blonde hair...You're Matsudo's girl."
Dahlia blinked in surprise, "You were friends with my father?"
Azure let out a soft chuckle, "Friends is probably too strong a word for it. 'Acquaintances' is much more suitable. He would go on business trips for the Schnee Dust Company very often and would stay here in my tavern. There wasn't a time that we'd see each other and not speak. Usually a few words from one about the well being of the other and so on." Azure gently rested his hand on Dahlia's shoulder, "I was saddened to hear of his death, you have my condolences."
The smaller girl gently grasped Azure's hand with her own and gave him a sad smile, "thank you sir."
Azure nodded and straightened up, walking back behind the bar in a few short strides, "Now Angel Wing, I take it you're not just here to see how many gray hairs I have. What do you need?"
Aster leaned nonchalantly on the bar, twirling her ponytail around her arm, "Wellll, We're going to be staying in town for a few days and could really use a room."
Azure raised an eyebrow, "All of you in one room? It may get a little crowded."
The pilot shrugged, "Eh, it'll be fine, just give us a room with two beds and we'll make it work."
The bartender cast a curious glance at Dahlia, "I assume you'll be sharing with Ms. Shino? Shorter girls were always your type."
Aster's face turned beet red and Dahlia let out a boisterous laugh. "Oh no sir," she said, "We're not dating. I have a boyfriend."
Azure chuckled at Aster's obvious embarrassment, "I jest dear girl, I just naturally assumed that these lovely faunus were a couple."
Roy quickly raised his hand, "We're…." He trailed off and Ebony finished the sentence for him, "Working on it."
The bartender nodded knowingly, "Say no more. I do have a double room for you; room 190. Here are the keys." Azure handed Aster a small envelope and waved them off, "Go get settled, I pride myself in my rooms and I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Aster gave Azure a winning smile, "Thanks Zur, you're a peach."
The team headed toward a flight of stairs tucked in next to the bar and headed up to the second floor. As they climbed, Dahlia playfully patted Aster's arm, "Sorry girl, but I'm taken."
Aster bristled slightly, "I know that! Azure was just…" She sighed and softened her tone, "joking."
Roy listened to the exchange with mounting curiosity; Aster never snapped. Something about the city was obviously bothering her, but Roy couldn't put his finger on it.
"Aster, is something wrong?"
His ear flicked as he heard Ebony ask the question he was dying to. The pilot's shoulders slumped slightly and she paused on the stairs, "It's...It's just that I have a lot of good memories here and a lot of bad ones. If you want to know, ask Azure."
She continued up the stairs, leaving Team SDE to exchange worried looks. They continued after the pilot and finally reached their room. Room 190 was on the second floor; a dark blue door with a silver number plate, Aster slid a card out of the envelope and held it against the high tech looking door handle. There came a beep, then a click and the door swung open.
The room was decently sized with a window at the far end that looked out onto the sea. Two beds sat side by side, made up with blue comforters and snow white pillows. Another door, leading to a decently sized bathroom, was to their right as they walked in. The carpet was a lighter blue and the walls were plain white.
The ceiling was anything but plain. Instead of the usual white affair, the ceiling was painted deep blue and had a beautiful starscape painted across it. Roy craned his neck to look up at the stunning artwork.
"Damn," he murmured as he noticed that there were also planets scattered here and there.
"Azure paints the rooms when he gets bored," Aster explained as she set her suitcase on the bed closest to the door.
Dahlia made a noise of wonder, "nooo, Azure painted this?"
The pilot laughed and nodded, "You bet he did, who do you think painted the pinup on my ship?"
Roy shrugged, "I assumed it was you."
Aster snorted loudly, "As if, I can barely draw a stick figure." She grew a tad more serious as she looked between Roy and Ebony, "So, are you guys okay to share a bed? I know you're going through a thing right now."
Ebony shrugged, "There shouldn't be any problems."
Aster nodded and turned to Dahlia, "And you Ms. Taken, can you lower yourself to share a bed with a poor single woman?"
Dahlia nodded vigorously, "Of course, I'm sorry if I offended you."
Aster chuckled, "Not at all, I was just worried that Azure offended you."
The tension from a few minutes ago seemed to drain from the room and was replaced with a happy buzz as Aster and Team SDE proceeded to get the room ready. Once they were finished, the pilot yawned and stretched, "Well, I don't know about you but I could use something to eat."
Dahlia opened her mouth to reply when her stomach gave an extra loud grumble. She blushed and Aster laughed, "Well, I think Lia agrees with me! I know a really great place a few blocks from here. Their shepherd's pie is to die for."
Ebony's eyes glazed over slightly and she let out a sigh of longing, "I haven't had shepherd's pie in so long."
As the team descended the stairs, the familiar flash of a ragged maroon cape at the bar caught Roy's eye. "Qrow?"
The elder huntsman turned around to fix Roy with a blurry eyed gaze as the faunus called his name, "Short stuff? Where the hell have you been?"
Roy hurried over to the bar, his team trailing a few feet behind him. "I'm sorry we're late, we got sidetracked."
Qrow let out a snort of mirthless laughter, "yeah, so did we." He turned to look over the Roy's companions, "are these your other teammates?"
Roy motioned to Dahlia and Ebony, "These two are. The tall one is our good friend; Aster."
The three girls murmured greetings of their own as Qrow turned back to his glass and drained it, motioning to Azure to fill it. Roy stood awkwardly, waiting for the huntsman to address him once more.
When Qrow remained silent, the faunus cleared his throat, "I honestly thought you'd be in Atlas by now."
The huntsman took a sip of the amber liquor in his glass, "Yeah, so did I. Funny how that works."
Roy flicked his ear, slightly annoyed by the overly sarcastic reply, "What happened?"
Qrow set his drink on the bar with a crisp clack, "The imperialistic witch at the Atlesian outpost refused to let us through. Something about, 'us civilians clearly being incapable of understanding their mission' or something like that."
Roy rolled his eye, "That sounds like Atlas alright. I'm guessing the embargo has tensions running high. What's the plan?"
Qrow let out a snort, motioning to Azure again, "There is no plan kid."
Roy hovered his hand over the huntsman's glass, preventing the bartender from filling it, "then we need to make one!"
Qrow fixed the faunus with an icy glare so frigid that Roy quickly moved his hand, "There's no point in making a plan, not anymore."
"Why not?" Roy asked, evenly returning Qrow's glare.
The huntsman paused with the glass half way to his mouth and set it back down with a sigh, "It's only fair you hear the truth. I'll tell you...in private."
Roy shook his head, "no, whatever you can tell me, you can tell my team."
Ebony lightly touched his arm, "It's fine Roy, we'll go on ahead and leave you to talk."
Roy read her eyes and nodded, she knows I'll tell them later.
The rest of his group filed out of the doors, leaving Roy and Qrow alone. Azure read the situation with a quick glance and set the bottle in front of Qrow, quietly retreating to the back room.
"So…" Roy began, taking the seat next to the huntsman, "What happened?"
Qrow sighed and drained his glass, "We got one of the relics; the lamp of knowledge. We used it to discover Salem's origin."
The same chill Roy had felt when first hearing this name danced up his spine once more. "And?" he asked with baited breath.
Qrow refilled the glass from the bottle Azure had left, "it's a long story."
Roy shrugged, "It's a good thing we have time then."
Qrow snorted again, "Fine, it all started with the relic from Haven academy…"
I made the smart decision and decided to have Qrow retell the story off camera. it would be tedious to rewrite and to reread. This is the first chapter of a new decade! its weird to thing that I'm two decades old already, but hey at least I can drink now XD. I hope that you all have a wonderful new year!
Catch you later!
-Ar3mRising.
