Chapter 45 - The Strong Survive, and Thrive

Vernal got up, stretching out from her bed as she awoke. Bed's were nice, didn't have too many of them at the camp with all the moving around they did, though she usually got one as Raven's right hand. Still, she'd had enough nights on just a sleeping bag or even the cold hard ground to learn to appreciate the little luxuries, and this room was quite a nice one.

Chandeliers hung about the place, with a fancy mahogony desk just past the foot of the plush bed. The bookcase was filled with a hundred thick, impressive looking tomes that Vernal thought were a waste of space. Most of them were dusty, and considering they'd ran out the owners only a day ago, the owner just never read them. Symbols of status, really. Who needed a million words on 'philosophy' when the truth was apparent for anyone with eyes to see: The world is violent and brutal, so be the same if you want to get on top.

Raiding the fridge found some pretty average food, but it was decent enough. Filled up, she flew out the door - literally. Not having to worry about who might see her eyes glow or not was quite a liberating feeling, and flying was just the best thing in general, in Vernal's opinion. Up in the air, you could feel free, no other teammates dragging you down, nothing stopping you from going where you wanted to. Plus it gave her a great view to observe the camp.

'Camp' might be a bit of a stretch at this point. The 'original core' of the bandit tribe fit within the town they had taken over easily, even the initial additions from Haven had just gotten them to a good number, still easily fitting within the confines of the town. Now though?

The camp easily expanded a mile in every direction outside of it at least. Half the people in the raided settlement had turned around and joined straight up with the Branwen tribe, and that was hardly a lone occurrence. News was spreading fast, even in the more rural villages, and the message was clear: Mistral had failed, along with a litany of other fears to spread about Ozpin, the huntsman system, and Salem and the Grimm. Faced with death or capitulation, people chose the later, but now they sought more than that. They had no faith that any help would be coming from the city, no belief in those leaders, and with the recent surge in the tribe, they thought to join too.

The end result was over population, the people pushing past any fortifications from whatever place they conquered. If it wasn't for the good cheer and the lack of those feelings in Mistral and other towns, the Grimm might have been a serious problem for the tribe. As it was, the former White Fang and couple of hunters in training they had picked up could still secure the edges of where the tribe rested. The bigger issue was supplies.

Vernal could see the people living large on the looted goods they'd taken, even some that she were sure must have been neighbors a few days ago, taking freely from those that had fled. It wouldn't last though. Vernal was Raven's right hand, she had an eye for these things and could see how the logistics would progress, had received a few reports the night before. They needed to either settle down - possibly for good for the first time in the tribe's history - or cut the chaff out from the tribe, heavily. Possibly even both. That was a matter for Raven to decide, however.

Gazing down on the camp, Vernal saw the cheiftain's daughter, talking with the Schnee. Seeing them, she decided to drop down for a chat, landing in a slight burst of wind in front of them. They took a startled step back, and as she rose, Vernal took a closer look at them.

Weiss had traded out her dress for a white blouse and a pair of ripped jeans. They were actually likely fairly expensive in material and precision in how they had been ripped, but with her hair done in a braid and the little crown gone, she gave a far more brutal appearance than the dainty princess she had been when they'd first taken her in. Vernal gave her a quick smile, glad to see she was right and that the Schnee really could fit in here. Yang noticed and stepped forward slightly between them.

She was very protective of what she saw as 'hers' Vernal noted. It was something that made her a lot like her mother. Not that she would air that thought out loud; despite the new black bandana she was wearing, Vernal wasn't quite sure what to make of their relationship.

(Personally, she thought Yang was a brat who spat in Raven's face and didn't deserve the second chance she'd been given. She'd been ordered not to interfere in their relationship though, so she wouldn't).

"I see you two are settling in nicely."

"Yes, it's... been quite the experience" Weiss said, still obviously used to coaching her words. Vernal chuckled. She gave it three weeks before the Schnee princess was swearing with the rest of them.

"And how 'bout you?" Vernal asked, turning to face Yang. The blond haired girl frowned.

"Alright. Haven't seen much of Ra- mother." Yup, loooot of mixed feelings there, even with her joining up with the tribe. Not that Vernal was gonna poke.

"Busy running things, there's a lot to do to keep the tribe running, especially these days."

"Yeah, had to fight off a few dozen Grimm yesterday." The grin on her face betrayed how much she enjoyed the conflict. That was a good trait to have.

"Well, I was just going to see her, you wanna come along?"

"Sure." With that, the three of them headed off to the biggest mansion in the town, the old mayor's place. His head spiked on the gate might have been a touch much, Weiss looking a bit queasy at it, but Raven knew how to make a good display. Besides, it was really the old man's fault for raving about how he'd 'put her in her place' and 'see her whore head on a pike'. If he hadn't shot at her as well (with a civilian grade gun no less) she might have even still let him leave with most of his limbs, but after that... well Vernal didn't feel sorry for him.

Inside the stately manor, they went right up to the master bedroom, Vernal figuring the woman was sleeping in after her conquest. She was correct, in a sense, as they found out as they entered the room to find the bandit leader... and the two lovers she had taken for the night.

Raven got out of bed, snapping to readiness in an instant before taking them in. It also let them take her in, with far less clothing than they would have preferred. Yang turned away in disgust and the Schnee turned beet red and turned away as soon as she realized she was staring. The man and woman that had been occupying her bed woke up blearily, shrieking out slightly and moving to cover themselves with sheets or any clothes they could grab nearby.

"Yes?" Raven asked, sounding slightly irritated at how she had been awoken.

"I wanted to talk to my mother but- jeez!" Yang exclaimed, the former bed occupants leaving the room hurriedly.

"I had some things to discuss regarding the camp, but I'll let you wake up first" Vernal said, leaving the room. Weiss quickly followed suit, leaving the situation with all haste, and Vernal couldn't help a chuckle at the former heiress' discomfort at the situation high society had not prepared her for.

"Where are you going now?" The girl asked, seeming still content to follow her. Vernal hummed.

"To train. I'll give her a bit to talk to her daughter as well." Weiss nodded, and they proceeded in silence, the girl still following her likely because she had nothing better to do.

Seeing it as a good chance to introduce her to the tribe, she took a longer path to the gate, walking around the tribe members as they played games, reveled in their victories, and took stock of supplies. All going fairly normal, until the very end of the trail where some human was pushing around a faunus. The faunus in question was a rabbit faunus with a fluffy tail and a glare on his face as one man pushed him around, three of his fellows cheering him on. An unusual sight in the camp, but then she realized that this was one of the former White Fang that had joined on, not one of their usual bandits. The humans were new too, making the situation a bit different than usual, getting her to intervene.

She stepped inbetween them, letting the human's next shove fail utterly against her. "What the hell's the problem here?"

"This racist piece of crap-"

"This animal dared to try and get in my way. After hitting me, he didn't even apologize, filthy mongrel." Ugh, this was annoying. Rabbit-boy was probably in the right of it, but stepping in directly to tell that guy off would cause it's own problems. Luckily, there was a time honored solution to disputes like this in the tribe.

"Either of you want to back down?" Vernal asked, barely even waiting to see them shake their heads before walking past them to grab some weapons, a nearby baseball bat lying against a shed and knife stuck into a stump. Grabbing them, she tossed the bat to the human and the knife to the faunus. "You wanna settle this? Then settle it." To three behind the human, now looking pretty stunned, she yelled "You lot, back off!" Making shooing motions to them and the rest of the crowd that was gathering, leaving enough space for a circle between the fighters.

The knife had a far shorter reach, and the only thing going for it was it's bladed edge... but that wasn't quite the end of the story was it? Sure, Vernal would usually bet on a bat instead of a knife if skill wasn't a question, but it was. The human might have been in a town and used to rural threats, but this place was still within 50 miles of the city. Far less danger, far less need to train oneself for constant threats, unlike the former White Fang member who would have at least some training. More to the point though was the point of the blade itself.

The bigot had the wind taken out of his sails when he saw her hand them both weapons, and as he saw the rabbit flash about his blade, the bat wielder grew weak at the knees. Imagining all the ways it could cut or tear into him... the fight was lost even before the faunus lunged forward. Fear was a weapon more powerful than any heavy stick or blade.

The human's took the first hit, but broke at that, his return swing with the bat was slow and sloppy, even for a civilian. The faunus jumped out of the way and returned with a quick cut, causing him to drop the bat just before he plunged the knife into the man's stomach. As he pulled it out and prepared to stab again, likely many more times, Vernal stepped in, grabbing him by the wrist. He turned to glare in confusion and hate, but before he could do more than that, she threw his hand up in the air.

"The victor! The strong survive, the weak- fall." Not quite the exact quote from Raven, but she didn't need a bloodbath on her hands. Besides, Raven had taught her a fair bit, and there was more to that quote than she first stated. The man bleeding on the ground might not die today from his wounds, but the shame, the fear, it would all haunt him till eventually it took his life in another way. Making him angrier, causing him to provoke someone nasty in a bar, drawing in the Grimm, etc. He'd still die, but he'd die in at least a neutral way to the tribe. The fight didn't need to, shouldn't be turned into, a racial issue. The faunus in question appeared to have forgotten about it, his previous hostility melting away at the cheers and adulation at his victory.

She let him go and bask in his triumph, hopeful that things would work well, for that case at least. Others would be trickier. Raven had a good system to help integrate newcomers into the tribe, to get them used to the lifestyle. It took time though, time they critically didn't have here.

Weiss was looking a bit poleaxed about the whole situation, but Vernal didn't pay her much mind as she went on to a little section that could work for her practice. With a flick of the trigger, blades popped out of her wrist guard, gleaming darkly.

Vernal practiced, perfecting the tosses of her new blades, getting used to the balance so she could ricochet them back to her hands properly. A few stumps and discarded beer cans served as good training targets around the gate. Usually she preferred to fire off the laser blasts than use them like that, but the surprise angles could be useful against other people, and that was who she was most worried about. Or at least, one person in particular.

"You're training hard" Weiss commented, before noticing the different blades. "Did you change your weapon recently?"

"Yup. Entirely non-magnetic, no chance of that bitch controlling them."

"Excuse you. That- Pyrrha's our friend!" There was a slight stamp to her feet as she said that and Vernal snorted. It looked like the heiress wasn't entirely taken out of the girl.

"Look, there's two kinds of people in this world: Those on the tribe's side, and those against it, and you'll need to learn to wrap your head around that. We both fought for the Maiden mantle and took swings at each other. She might be a million years to early to take on Raven, our little scuffle at Haven proved that, but me? That's a different story."

"She-"

"What? Gonna say that 'your friend' wouldn't try to get back at someone that tried to kill 'em? Didn't strike me that way with Cinder, but hey, believe what you want. In any case, I'll be ready."

"By hitting broken trees and pieces of garbage?" Vernal smirked at that.

"Target practice does the job, though if you're eager for my to try a more mobile target, we could go a round" Vernal offered. The Schnee girl definitely had some tricks up her sleeve with that semblance, but Vernal thought she could take her on. The blades had a bit more heft to them now, but she had gotten mostly used to it from tossing them around.

The girl looked conflicted before nodding. She drew her rapier and began to circle around. Vernal went along with it, readying her deer horn blades as she countercircled before lunging ahead. Weiss met her charge with a fast feint, pretending to strike in a manner she would have caught in her first pair of blades only to hit from a different angle. Vernal's second pair however caught that, even as it forced her to halt her attack. She followed through with a kick, but the former heiress was already moving out of the way so the strike barely clipped her stomach.

Dust helped Weiss regain some space, blasts of fire and ice quickly sent Vernal's way. She flowed around them, searching for a way to strike at the girl. When Weiss tried to make a wall to buy some time, but she just threw her weapons around like chakrams to strike her from other angles. It interrupted the summoning, but Weiss switched a black glyph over one of the blade sets to prevent it from ricocheting back to her.

With only weapon, she opted to retrieve her other pair rather than try and close in on Weiss. The other girl reacted, chasing after her, but only after seeing that Vernal wasn't closing in on her, letting the fake maiden arm herself again. They traded blows until Weiss, leaping in the air off a white glyph, caught Vernal in a tricky trap, the older girl off balance and with the wrong footing. She forgot though, that she wasn't the only one who could use their semblance. With flight, Vernal didn't need to balance on her feet, easily swiveling around to catch Weiss off guard, skimming over the ground as she hit her opponent in the back of her neck with her blades. Weiss gave a small cry out of pain, and tried to maintain her composure as she stumbled forward, but that wasn't enough to stop Vernal's flurry pinging her a few times before opening her up for a heavy double strike to her face and stomach.

Glaring, Weiss pulled herself back up, Aura lowered a good deal, but still able to fight. She caught a blade in a parry, but this time Vernal couldn't react fast enough to realize Myrtenaster had chambered to the lighting Dust. It was one of the weaknesses, she realized through the pain, that the blade still conducted electricity and was even worse at deal with heat than before. Those could be covered by her Aura to some degree though, so she still felt it was a fair trade to have non-ferrous weapons made.

Weiss pulled back after zapping her, using the moment not to press the attack, but make a glyph underneath her. She couldn't be trying to summon so what- Vernal's thoughts were cut off by the appearance of several glyphs all around her as well as the Schnee charging ahead, far faster than she had been before. A barrage of strikes wailed into her, hitting her a half-dozen times before she could come up with a response, and a half dozen more before she could actually pull the trigger on her guns. The lasers burst out in two different directions, the lines cutting through Weiss' omni-directional platforms forcing her to abort. The girl was dazed enough coming out of that maneuver that she was completely caught out guard by Vernal's bare knee slamming into her face as she flew on by and up.

"Alright Princess, what are you going to do now?" Vernal asked, hovering out of reach above her. She responded by attempting the same strategy, this time in a more aerial field. Vernal flew away fast, trying to dodge the rapidly ascending girl, somewhat succeeding. Vernal could fly at a pretty good pace, but with that speed, she couldn't outpace Weiss. She could outmaneuver her though, the girl stuck to straight line bursts between glyphs while she could adjust her momentum and angle 'on the fly'. It wasn't enough though, and even firing off a few more laser shots she couldn't stop her approach like in the ground, but that open space cut both ways, allowing Vernal to dodge ever so slightly by moving in three dimensions against the easy to follow (if incredibly fast) attacks.

In the end though, Vernal thinks the girl might have had a chance of winning... had she started with that strategy. By the time she came close to nailing Vernal, her time dilation had run out, and so had the Aura she used to make it happen, the girl sailing past her fifty feet above the ground as she realized what was happening.

She got a good chuckle at the shocked look on her face but could have reacted to save her if need be, though the former heiress had enough Aura left to make some of the black glyphs to slow her fall down such that she only hurt her pride (mostly). Vernal helped the girl back to her feet as the chieftain's daughter returned.

She talked with Yang for a moment before heading off. Now that Raven was up, they had some important matters to discuss. She actually met up with the Maiden mid-air, the woman flying out over the camp as well.

"Raven."

"Vernal."

They flew together in silence for a moment, looking over the sprawling tribe before she hesitantly continued. "What are we going to do about the tribe? It's pretty big, but there might be a few options deeper into the wilderness we could hole up, get them trained up to the right level. Or we could just chop off some of the chaff right now."

"You aren't looking in the right direction" Raven replied, turning to cast her blazing eyes out past the town to where Mistral stood proud.

"M-Mistral?" The camp had moved fast. With all their new recruits and the willingness of the villages to have them as they realized all their defenders had been wiped out by Lionheart the Branwen tribe had moved through at record speeds. "But how will we fight something like that? They'll put up a heavy fight if we try and loot them."

"We won't be pillaging, we'll be taking over. I know, they beat of the Grimm recently, but some monsters are different than an army of bandits. They have no proper huntsmen, no faith in their shattered leadership, nothing but the drive of a few children." She paused for a minute. "Children who have done well, considering, but children still."

Raven must have sensed Vernal's worry and brought a hand up to gently cup her chin. "I understand your worry, but these are changing times. We have to adapt if we are to survive, and if we can do that, we'll thrive. Besides, I have knowledge on my side" she said, tapping at the relic affixed to her belt. It had one question left. Did Raven use it- her leader continued "With the defeat of the Grimm massing, there won't be many more juicy targets for Qrow to waylay on the other side. I'll get my brother and all the treasure he's gathered back soon and then, we march on Mistral." Not all her doubts could be soothed by words, but the trust Vernal had in their leader overwhelmed those fears, and she nodded eagerly, ready to carry out her orders.