"And there we go." Spoke Kali as she finished wrapping the second box.

"That should be fine now, no need to go overboard." Sienna said, trying to wave off the older woman.

"Oh nonsense, you can never be to careful." She replied as she did another check of the straps holding it to the pack.

"Yes but we already have an emergency pack. We can take care of ourselves." Sienna answered, checking over the list as she counted the contents. Kali could only shake her head.

Always so excited. She thought to herself, looking over to her husband as he was planning the route with the young Mr. Rose.

Sadly Ghira and her wouldn't be able to go with them. Her husband having too much work to attend to, and she herself not being much of a fighter, she would only get in the way.

What am I worried about? They can handle themselves. Sienna was a skilled fighter, she'd seen her in action before. Sometimes a Grimm would wander too close and would need to be taken care of, Sienna and some of the retired huntsmen were usually the ones to do it.

Kali remembered the time she went on a walk, taking in the feel of nature just outside the village. She had been accompanied by Sienna herself at the time, Ghira having been attending to business for the White Fang. The girl and her had been making their way back when they were set upon by a small pack of Beowolves. Sienna had told her to stay back as she went to work cutting them down. It was like a dance, Kali'd found herself enraptured at the sight of it. Sienna's whip flowing about, a ribbon to the ballet of battle she had witnessed.

She remembered wondering why the Grimm never went for her. Sienna had told her that they preferred those with higher aura over other people, it was why huntsmen defending villages often never had to chase the grim too much. Aura had acted as a sort of bait to the Grimm, leaving Kali out of their line of sight.

Those were the days. She thought to herself.

Looking back she was able to see that Sienna had finished counting everything. Standing once again Kali turned to see Ghira and Mr. Rose approaching. It was strange really but she kept referring to him as 'Mr.' instead of his name. The boy was probably no older than Blake, yet he held himself with a level of formality she was not used too, at least not from others his age. Kali'd counted it up to how he was raised, his family looked after the leaders of a village so he was probably expected to keep things professional. She shook her thoughts away from the subject.

I'm doing it again. Kali had caught herself this time, she couldn't keep doing this.

No matter how much she kept reassuring herself, her thoughts would always find their way back. Now Kali liked to think she was a patient woman, She was always fine with taking her time when it came to important matters. Yet no matter what, each day her thoughts would find their way back to Blake. She told herself it was fine, her little kitten was a big girl now and she could take care of herself. But time had taken it's toll on her, as each day went by she could only grow more and more worried.

Kali had leaned in closer to Sienna before she began to whisper, away from the ears of her husband as not to trouble him with her constant worries.

"Has Blake said anything recently?" She'd asked, holding a guilty look as Sienna turned to her.

Sienna herself held a thoughtful face before giving her answer.

"Honestly, I haven't gotten word recently. But I can assure you they're doing fine. I know I say this every time but as much as I dislike Adam's attitude, I can't deny his skill. Blake is partnered up with him so whatever it is they're doing, I'm sure they're alright." Sienna answered as Kali let her worry fade for now.

"I know... it's just that she hasn't even sent back a message or anything. I'm worried she might still be sour from last time." Kali let out, taking a look back to Ghira.

Her husband was going through some notes, probably a schedule of where and when to move on the trip. Outside of the settlements was dangerous and would require them to always be on guard. However there were some spots where the Grimm weren't as prevalent, good places to take a moments rest.

"Look, I'm certain Blake is taking care of herself. She's probably cooled off, you know as well as I do that she gets ahead of herself at times. She's just busy at the moment, I'm sure of it." Sienna said as she made her way over to the boys.

Sienna was right, it would do no good for her to run herself into the ground like this. She would just have to remain patient and let Blake come to them. As she watched Sienna talk over something with the boys, she found herself glancing back to the Sienna's travel pack. A content smile overtook her as she made for the pack again.

A few more bandages couldn't hurt.

.

.

The air was damp, a sign of rain yet to come. She'd found herself pulling her aged and tattered hood deeper, obscuring her face as she made way along the forest.

It had been a day or so from when she had sent those bandits to their death. Having set events into motion, she'd made way for the next destination. As of the moment the land that would come to be known as Vale was inhabited by a different kingdom, the kingdom of Aether.

While it's history would be lost to the currents of time, the kingdom was rather well known in this period. Currently it's the first to really expand on the potential of gravity dust, the kingdom's castle having been built on a floating land mass high above the ground. While this style would later be preformed by the kingdom of Atlas later on, the method of execution would be different.

Aether's floating castle had been built by tunneling under the ground and slowly forcing gravity dust crystals into the dirt. In turn the chunk of land would bit by bit be lifted away from the ground, the crystals yearning to elevate themselves higher and away from those below.

As dust raised higher away from remnant, it seemed to lose it's power, weakening until it faded. This allowed the architects to control how high the castle floated. However this also meant that the crystals would eventually fade as their power extended itself to keep it's height. How long it could remain airborne depended on the size of both the crystals as well as the structure, the weight playing a key role into this as heavier structures would require either larger or more dust crystals.

Atlas had required constant dust supply as it was supporting the weight of the whole kingdom, and even then it could only last for so long. The castle of Aether however was much smaller and had yet to show signs of dropping.

As spectacular as Aether's castle was however, it would still be lost to time. It's ruins would lay outside of Vale and underground, over a thousand years from now.

Aether would fall, no matter what she does the ruins of Aether were still in her memory from when she first saw them, despite having only seen the outer of them. She needed it to fall.

Staring forward she could see the trees beginning to clear, she was coming to the edge of the forest. As she stepped beyond she was met with the clear view of a lake. While she knew not of it's name she was able to appreciate it's beauty all the same. The land had dipped forward towards it, similar to that of a vortex as the water looked as if it was swallowing up the area around it.

Yet it would seem as though she was not the only one here, others were gathered near the edge. There were two of them, both a man and a woman, similarly garbed in simple cloth aside from the man having some leather plating over top. As she made way towards them she could hear some light sobbing from from the woman, the man having his arm draped over her as he held close.

They both appeared to be Faunus, this was especially apparent when both seem to tense, having heard her approach. She found herself jumping back as a mace slammed the earth where she once stood. Solid steel, sharpened blades around it's spherical core, allowing it to cut and crush at the same time, simple and effective.

The man was quick she'll give him that. She watched as his wolf ears flickered here and there, clearly listening for more potential foes.

"What, that's it?! Draw you weapon if you wish to face me, lest you have no chance at all!" He taunted, distain coating his voice as he readied himself again.

"I've no desire to fight." She called, dodging another strike as he made his assault.

"You'd think me a fool?! I've fallen for your kind once before, I'd not do so again!" He yelled, making for another blow.

This was getting her nowhere, she needed a way to calm him, to prove her intentions to him. She didn't get much of a chance however as she heard growling and barking from the distance. Both had stopped their feud momentarily at the noise only to witness several beowolves burst from the tree line in the distance. The man had placed his focus on the approaching Grimm.

.

.

Before he could decide a course of action a bright light covered the area. Obscuring his sight as a brief panic took hold of him. His vision had returned but an instant later, the light leaving just as quick as it came. He had readied himself for the coming battle only to be met with silence. He stood stunned as the Grimm before him were seemingly frozen in time, coated in stone and unable to move.

Quickly he took back to the woman he was with, worried for her safety only to see her unharmed. With that he cast a glance to his opponent from before, a soft light seeming to seep out from under the hood. He watched as the stranger pulled back the garb, letting loose her long wild hair, seeming to gently move about in the breeze. However what caught him off guard was the glow that was coming from her eyes, shining brightly underneath her bangs.

Her face was aged yet her look held a sort of youth to it. He watched as she strolled over to him, making no obvious signs of ill intent, however he still held his guard.

"I wish you no harm, truly." She spoke to him.

He wished he could believe her, yet his current predicament had kept him. He waited as she stopped just before him, this was the perfect time for her to strike. While his mace was powerful, it would require a sturdy broad swing to be effective. As close as she was he wouldn't be able to properly defend himself. Yet she made no move to strike.

"What is it that ails you?" He heard her ask.

"It is of no concern to you!" He'd stated, his hatred beginning to break loose.

How dare she! How dare this woman, this human, have the gall to ask of him! He so badly wished to draw his weapon upon her once more, to finish what they started. Yet he found himself letting loose of his anger as his love had gripped onto his arm.

"Please forgive my husband's rash behavior. We have recently been met upon by tragedy and he is not of himself at the moment." She told as he held his tongue.

Twas true he may not have much hold of his senses at the moment. But he just couldn't bring himself to trust this human, the previous days having taught of what that had entailed.

"Yes I can see that, perhaps I may aid you so as to prove my good faith." The woman spoke, a softer tone of voice this time.

What is she playing at? Why would she have any desire to aid, she held no risk in their affairs so why?

"What game are you playing?" He asked, a threatening tone simmering throughout his words.

"Perhaps I may be sympathetic, however at the moment I wish only to prove my sincerity to you, that we may know each other better." She spoke calmly.

He held his guard, still he would not fully trust her. However she had saved both him and his wife just now, as well as having yet to attack. Perhaps she was truthful in her claim.

Maybe... He stepped forward, viewing deep into her eyes.

"Around a day ago, our tribe was met upon by travelers, humans as it were. They claimed to be stopping for rest and requested refuge in our settlement. Our chief granted this request and allowed them to stay the night. However we had awoken the next day to find our children missing, as well as most of our supplies." He told, watching as her face became one of thought.

"Slavers then." She spoke as he gave her a nod.

"Have you knowledge of their whereabouts?" She asked.

"The tracks are still fresh. I was taking a moment to speak my well wishes to my wife before I head out with the other men to get them back." He stated, she looked to him with understanding.

"I see, then allow me to journey with you in rescuing the children." She stated with a look of resolve.

"And why would you risk yourself? This is our problem." He questioned, only to receive a shake of her head accompanied by a sigh.

"Let's just say I know the pain of loosing loved ones, I'd not wish that same feeling on any." She had answered.

Her voice had sounded genuine, maybe she spoke the truth. She also had shown she possesses the ability to seemingly freeze Grimm, maybe she would be able to help.

"Fine then, if you are sincere then this will be your chance to prove it. Come I'll take you to the others." He said as he turned to his wife.

"Head back to the village and wait for our return there." She gave him a nod, as well as a gentle kiss to his cheek before heading off.

He began the trek to the meeting spot as he heard her voice from behind.

"I have yet to get your name." She spoke as she made way to follow.

"Onyx, and you?" He'd asked in return. He had given only his first name, still not quite trusting her.

"Then you may refer to me as Gem." She gave him.

At least the stranger was named now, it would be much easier to refer to her. A curious one in his opinion, yet those thoughts would have to be put away for later as they had a job to do.

Continuing along through the trees they came upon a small gathering of men, each carrying a weapon of sorts. There were five of them, two with swords, one with a bow, and the last carrying two axes. All seemed to raise their weapons as they approached the group.

"Onyx... who is this?" The bow user asked wearily.

"I met her just moments ago, She saved both my wife and I from a pack of Grimm."

He received skeptical looks from all of them.

"Really... she saved you?" the axe user asked.

"It's true, one moment the Grimm are coming, next there's a flash of light and they all appeared to've been turned to stone." He answered as the looked among one another.

They all seemed to lower their weapons slowly at this.

"Fine, I know you're not one to lie about something like this" The axe user said, placing them back in the ropes wrapped around his waist only to turn to Gem.

"Look, lets make one thing clear. Onyx may vouch for you, but know that if you try anything, and I mean 'anything' against us that I will personally lop off your head, understand?" He looked to accept the nod she gave him before turning back to Onyx

"The tracks lead north into the hills. The area there is rough and there's only one place to take shelter from the elements at night. We'll meet them there as they make camp and strike them at nightfall, understand?" He ordered as he received round of acceptance from them all.

Onyx could only hope that the children were safe, especially his daughter.

.

.

We were all set and ready to venture out. From what I was told most of Menagerie was populated along the coastline, the continent itself being mostly desert. Heading inland was dangerous as most of the terrain was jagged and unstable at times. That along with the various dangerous animals and Grimm made for quite the treacherous journey.

"You ready to head out?" I heard Sienna ask as she came up from behind me.

She had taken a little longer to fill her pack with the essentials, mostly due to Kali constantly trying to add more. In the end Kali had relented and let Sienna decide the rest. All the while I had been talking with Ghira on things to look out for. Most being Grimm, but there were some other things to look out for such as poison foliage. There were several plants that could kill with seemingly no more than a touch. Regardless we had still managed to form a sort of plan as to how to go about the trip.

"For the most part I am, question is are you ready?" I asked only to receive an eye roll.

"Well I wouldn't of asked if I wasn't. But first we need to stop by someplace on our way out." She stated as they started on their way.

"You need to do something?"

"Kind of, actually yes now that I think of it." Sienna answered as we made our way down the path.

We were walking along until the buildings started to thin out, the path starting to move into the trees. It wasn't long until we came before a new building, one that I had yet to see.

I followed her as she made her way in, curiosity taking hold as we got inside. That curiosity had only compounded as I was met with the sight of the interior. Although it was quite similar to the other places I was in, it held something that just stood out to me. Off to the side there was a solid yellow wall, standing out from the rest of the place.

"Don't ask." Sienna spoke, seeming to have sensed my confusion.

She continued inwards with me in tow, receiving odd looks from the others that inhabited this place. We had just entered a much larger room, a long walkway leading to a set of steps. Beyond those steps seemed to sit a throne of sorts, two guards standing by, each adorning the masks that the others of this place had worn.

I watched as one of them headed off to a room on the side, only to return a moment later with a man. He looked to be wearing a set of robes, a hood covering his head as two fox ears pointed out.

"Ms. Kahn, you have returned, and with a visitor no less." He spoke, quickly eyeing me before returning his gaze to her.

"Not for long Fennec, I've only come for my weapon. I'll be heading out again for a couple days. I trust you don't mind keeping charge while I'm gone?" She asked, making her way past to the chain whip hung over the side of the throne.

"No, not at all high leader. I only wonder the reasoning as to why?" he admitted, a small grin at the side of his lips.

"Something I want to check out, nothing more." Sienna answered as she made her way back to my side.

"Very well. I take it this young man will be helping you?" Fennec asked, his gaze on me once more.

"Yes, we were just about to head out. Try not to loose your head, ok." She spoke as we made our way out.

We had found ourselves walking along the path again, the sight of the various houses passed us by as we made forth for the edge of town.

"You never mentioned you were leader of the White Fang." I spoke up.

"I am, is that a problem?" She asked giving me a wary look.

"No. I just thought it interesting. You never spoke of it before." I assured her.

"I thought it was common knowledge. But I guess the topic never came up before. Speaking of... how much do you know of the White Fang?" She asked me, returning her gaze forward.

"I understand that it's a Faunus rights group, leading protests for the sake of equality." I told, watching as we neared closer to the edge of the town.

"Well there's a little more to it than that. I'll tell you about it after the trip, we'll need to stay focus if we want to make it back unscathed." She said as we finally reached the end of the village.

She was right of course. If it was as dangerous as everyone had said then we would need to put all our efforts into making it there in one piece. I found myself anxious as I took one last look to the ring.

What are you hiding?

Author's note

...

So here we are, back again off schedule as per the usual. Random motivation slapped me across the face once again. Still, I think this turned out alright.

Nothing much to say other than I hope you enjoy.