GRYD Season 3 Chapter 2 - Do You Know Who I Am?

Yasmine awoke.

Gasping for air she quickly looked around and tried to analyze what was happening. To her surprise, she was in a makeshift camp ground in a wooded area. One that had a small shelter that she was in, a campfire that helped light up the darkness of the evening, and more. Yasmine was confused, but maintained her composure as she tried to figure out more about her current situation.

She took a deep breath and tried to piece together what led up to her sudden awakening. She recalled the fight with Primrose, the darkness that froze them in place and then swallowed them whole. Yasmine grimaced as she thought about Leilani reaching out to her but them unable to connect. And then...darkness.

"Finally, you're up," came a voice.

On instinct, Yasmine stood up and got into a stance to fight, only to realize that the person who spoke was Reyson.

He snickered as he saw her "battle pose", "That's adorable, you think you can beat me without your weapon."

"Reyson! I'm sorry...I didn't...I just woke up and..."

"it's fine. I have no doubt I would've done the same thing if the roles were switched. Come on, let's get by the fire and chat. I have a feeling we'll be doing that for a while."

"Good idea."

The two went by the campfire and sat next to the other on a log and stared at the fire for a bit. Eventually, Yasmine got the courage to ask the hard questions.

"Are we alone?"

"In terms of our teams and friends? Yeah. We're alone. I looked for them when I could, when I felt I could sneak off without endangering you, but no one but us is here," Reyson answered grimly.

"Where is here?" asked Yasmine as she looked around. They were in a forest area, but the darkness concealed many details.

"I can't say for certain, but I think we're in Mistral."

"I'm not in the mood for games, Reyson."

He tapped her shoulder and got her to look at him, Reyson gave clear intent with his eyes when he said, "I'm not joking. I think we're in Mistral."

"That's...that's not possible! Are you saying we were kidnapped and dropped off here?"

"Dropped off might be accurate, but as for 'kidnapped', that's a very loose interpretation of what we went through. Whatever that darkness that Primrose unleashed on us? I think it left us here."

Yasmine rubbed her head to try and stop the pain of all the unending questions that were arising within her, "Even if I believed that, why do you think we're in Mistral? We're in a forest area, we could just be in the Emerald Forest outside the school!"

"Oh yeah, I haven't gotten to that part. I've been awake about two days longer than you," he remarked casually.

"Two days? You've been awake that long yet you didn't try and wake me up?"

"I did! I even shot my cannon at your shoulder arm to try and wake you up, doesn't it hurt?"

She looked at both of her shoulders to see if there was anything wrong with them. As she did, Reyson burst into laughter.

"I can't believe you fell for that..."

She drilled him in the shoulder, "Jerk."

He tried to contain his laughter, "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Of course I tried to wake you up! I shouted, I fired my cannons NEAR you to see if the shockwave or explosion would wake you up, nothing. That's why I built this campground to try and at least keep us comfortable until you awoke."

"That...was a good plan."

"Thanks, I'm smart when it comes to survival. And given that I don't know exactly where we are, trying to take you anywhere would've gotten us killed."

"Which brings me back to...why do you think we're in Mistral?"

Reyson pointed to a thicket of trees in a certain direction, "On one of my searches for the others I came across a tree I remembered from class. Professor Chestnut talked about how it was only found in Mistral. So yeah, that's why I think we're there."

Yasmine put her hand over her mouth in shock as the truth set in, "We got teleported a continent away..."

"Seems like it."

"Have you tried calling anyone?"

A dry laugh came from Reyson as he pulled out his phone. In the light of the campfire Yasmine saw it was not only cracked, but a dark pulse of energy shot out of it every once in a while.

"Fried. Yours is too. Wasn't able to test your lance though..."

"My drones!" she exclaimed and looked around for them. Sure enough, her drones were in its lance form next to the makeshift shelter.

Yasmine raced over to them and tried to summon them up, but though they responded, they couldn't break apart, and thus remained as a lance.

"Blast, they're fried too."

"Talk about your powerful darkness. Are we going to talk about what it would take to go and turn Primrose into that...what's a proper word here?"

"Abomination," Yasmine answered with venom.

A more joyous laugh came from Reyson this time, "I like it. Abomination. So, what do you think?"

"She had help, Night seemed to know who it was too."

"Great, Night and his secrets strike again. Something to scold him about when we meet back up with everyone."

"That might not be so easy, Mistral is on Anima, the second-largest land mass in all of Remnant. Depending on the are we've 'landed in'...it might take a while to find a city or town to get a communication out."

"Well then, we better rest up and get started in the morning, right?"

He looked at her and did his best to convey support and that they'd get through this. Yasmine nodded in appreciation of this, "Yes, we will, thank you Reyson. And since I just...woke up...I guess I'll take first watch."

"Awesome, I'm tired anyway. See you in the morning."

With that he rested himself against the log and closed his eyes. Yasmine couldn't help but scoff at his barbarian style of sleeping, but in an odd way it was a comfort.

But as she started to pace around the area they were in, and she looked at the stars, only one thought went through her mind, "Please be ok, Leilani..."

The morning came, and with it came a new hope and determination from both Yasmine and Reyson. They disassembled their campground as best they could as they knew it'd be better to not leave a trace of where they were going...just in case they weren't alone.

As he pulled out his swords, Reyson suddenly went into a thoughtful state, "Holy crap, how did I not think of that?"

"What? What's wrong?" asked Yasmine, curious.

"Oh, nothing bad. It's just, if we're on Mistral, that means we could just go to your place and contact everyone, right?"

"Ugh, what part of 'second-largest land mass in Remnant' did you not understand last night? Yes, my parents are here, but we're not close to them by any metric."

"And you would know that...how?"

Yasmine pointed up at the sky, "The stars, you idiot. I stared at those stars for years while I lived here. Leilani and I would even makeup stories about the stars and how they connected. The stars I saw last night? They were different than the ones I'm used to seeing. Best I can tell, we're many dozens of miles from my home. We'll never make it there without help."

"Great," Reyson said with a frustrated groan. "So, any thoughts?"

"Yes, oh master of survival. When in a situation like this, what is our top priority?"

"Finding shelter."

"Technically, yes, but we had that here. In the overall, the plan is to...?""

"Find a town or city."

"Exactly. In Mistral, the directions you go in to try and find that is east or west. Because there's always a place by the coast, big or small. For us though, we want to head West."

"...because?" wondered Reyson after a moment's pause.

"Because Vale is to the west! Are you even trying to think anymore?"

"Why should I? You're awake."

This time Yasmine let out a groan of frustration and started to walk away, "How I survived under your care is a mystery."

"I'm awesome, end of mystery."

"Shut up, Reyson, come on."

With a muffled laugh he followed her and the two went off towards the west. The area they were in was heavy with trees, but it also had a natural path that allowed the two to go and walk through without too much effort.

Both of them had their weapons out, even though Yasmine couldn't use her drones, she knew her lance would be enough for a basic Grimm fight. Her Semblance was working overtime to try and give her any clues as to what might be coming for them, as well as give clues as to where they truly are.

Reyson let Yasmine take lead due to her power, but he could tell as he looked at her that she was holding back what she was really feeling.

"Your sister will be alright," he said at one point.

"While I admire the attempt at comfort, Reyson, you have no basis to put that on," she replied rather curtly.

"Oh, don't I? Riddle me this, of all the combinations we could've ended up...how was it that you and I ended up together?"

This question got Yasmine got her to stop and think. Her mind flashed back to the fight, and how Glyph ordered them to go into their partner sets to be ready for whatever was coming. That meant Reyson and Yasmine were together when struck.

"Because we were next to each other when the attack came."

"Exactly. Occam's Razor, or whatever it's called. That means that more than likely, she's with Macro, and that guy is better built for survival than any of us. So she'll be fine as long as they have each other to count on."

"Again, I admire the attempt at comforting me, because I am worried about my sister. But again, you can't base that on real facts because we don't have enough information."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning we ended up in Mistral! A whole other continent! What if Leilani was dropped in the middle of the ocean? Or in the freezing tundra of Atlas? Or being roasted alive in the deserts of Vacuo? We got lucky, she might not have. So until I hear or see my sister again...don't try and say 'it'll be ok', because nothing in our whole situation is ok. None of it."

She whipped around and proceeded back down the path without another word to him.

Reyson just watched her walk for a bit then gave a light shrug, "Oh well, I tried."

With that, he followed her once again. This time though he left her in peace as they continued down the path that was open to them. Yasmine would check at times to make sure they were going pure west, and if they weren't she would redirect them as best she could.

What was getting to Reyson though, was the quiet. He understood how big Anima was, but something didn't feel right that they hadn't come across any human, animal, or even Grimm since they left. Even recalling how he hadn't found anything as he reconned the area when he woke up.

But as to why this wasn't the case, he couldn't say.

Eventually, they came to a fork in the road. One going slightly left, and the other going slightly right. Unlike the more natural path they had been on, these paths had clearly been done by man or Faunus.

"So...left or right?" asked Reyson.

Yasmine didn't answer at first. Instead she went to her Semblance and tried to determine which path had been used more recently. Her eyes noticed fresher paths on the left side of the fork.

"Left", she said with a point of the finger. "People have been down this path recently, let's see who it is."

"After you..."

Reyson motioned for her to continue to take lead, she rolled her eyes but indeed took point once more. Silence enveloped their surroundings again. Minutes ticked on, until eventually Yasmine saw something down the path.

It was a post, and there was something on it. She picked up the pace to go and observe it, but when she did, her eyes went wide in horror.

"Oh no," she said to herself.

He saw her state and ran up to her, "What, what's wrong? What's with the skull?"

On the post was a black skull. One that had been clearly painted to look that way, but was no less intimidating.

"We have to get out of here, Reyson, now!"

"What, why?"

"That's not just a skull, it's a warning!"

"For what?"

"We're in raider territory!"

"Oh crap..."

Without hesitation they bolted in the direction they came from and tried to get back to the fork. But as they did, the silence around them shattered as the trees became alight with noise, as well as the sound of footsteps coming in from all directions.

As Reyson looked back, a series of individuals were running behind them trying to catch the two. He noticed a few more jumping from tree to tree to restrict their areas of movement and potential escape. In response, Reyson brought forth his cannons and fired repeated blasts at them while he ran.

"I'm surprised you're not trying to convince me to run into the fray!" noted Yasmine with amusement. "Isn't your bloodlust crying out for action?"

"You have no idea!" bit back Reyson. "But despite what you think of me, I'm not an idiot when it comes to battle! Raiders cheat, and they clearly had us surrounded. I'm not going to lose a fight just because I didn't know all that was there. That almost got me killed by a Grimm once if you recall!"

"Indeed."

"Besides, you're at half power at best with your lance and I doubt your Semblance will work on this many foes. So yeah, just this once, I'm NOT going to rush into a fight, HAPPY!?"

"You have no idea..."

Reyson grimaced at her clear mocking of him but fired off more rounds behind him to try and break up the raiders. To the two's dismay though, when they saw the beginning of the fork, raiders jumped out of the trees and blocked it off, forcing them to stop.

Now surrounded, each thought quickly about what they could possibly do to get out of this situation. One of the raiders stepped forward, a very detailed skull mask on his face.

"You two are either very lost...or very dumb," he remarked with a look at the two.

"I'm lost, he's dumb," corrected Yasmine.

"You just can't help yourself today, can you?" asked Reyson, bewildered at her sudden quippiness.

The masked man cleared his throat to get their attention, "As I was saying. Why are you in our territory?"

"We honestly are lost, ok? We were...kidnapped, and barely escaped. We landed in the middle of the forest here...and are trying to get to a town to make contact with our families."

"An interesting tale...but is it just that? Or...something more...?"

Yasmine looked at the man with her Semblance and could read that he was unusually calm despite the story he was just told, "You already know the answer. No two kids would go into raider country intentionally. I grew up in Mistral, I knew the black skull was a warning, that's why we ran."

"That's true...you did...but something still feels off. You're clearly from a school based on your weapons and your age...yet Haven is very far away...and if you were kidnapped...why would you be around here when the nearest settlements are only raider camps like ours?"

Reyson laughed lightly, "You'd have to ask our kidnapper, they're dead by the way."

"Capable, good to know," said the man with clear admiring. "What to do with you...?"

Silence enveloped them all, Reyson and Yasmine got anxious as it grew. Reyson carefully looked at Yasmine and muttered, "Mind if I try and pull a bluff?"

"If it's a stupid bluff, Reyson, I'll kill you myself," she answered with fury in her eyes.

"I figure that's how I'll die anyway, why not speed up the process?"

With his usual shrewd grin he dropped his swords and raised his arms in a sign of surrender.

"You're right, there is something more with us. The reason we were kidnapped is because I'm a Heron, Reyson Heron. My clan is well known throughout Mistral, my mother has worked here often. If you were to return us...a hefty reward would likely be bestowed upon you."

Many of the raiders murmured amongst themselves, the idea of a reward was enticing, and even Yasmine was impressed at the stunt he just pulled.

The man in the skull mask raised his hand and the group instantly went silent, "A Heron...how fortuitous. Or at least it would be...if you were one."

Reyson wasn't sure what he meant by that, "What are you talking about? Look me up, I'm a Heron."

"Oh...you don't know? Unfortunate...for you..."

"Don't know what?"

"Your family is well-known throughout Mistral, and I'll even...admit...that many have avoided trying to do harm to your family because of the bounty we could get by being in their favor. But you...are not in their favor...you've been privately...disowned."

"Disowned?" Reyson repeated, a mix of feelings welling up inside of him.

"After your incident with your family member...they sent out a private message. If you were to use the Heron name...it was not to be treated as condoned by the family. You may be a Heron in name...but your family...wants nothing...to do with you."

The group as a whole looked at Reyson, Yasmine included. She was stunned by the turn of events, and was worried about Reyson. He was just staring at the ground, in a daze. He wasn't a Heron anymore, they had cast him out.

But from his daze came another familiar Reyson trait, a laugh. A devious and maniacal laugh, one that made the fire within him burn all the hotter as he knew what was about to happen.

He looked at Yasmine and shrugged, "Oh well, I tried."

With that, he rolled forward, grabbed his swords, put them into cannon mode and fired at the man with the skull mask. Two of the bandits shielded him and took the blast.

The look at the man in the mask grew very intense, "So you choose violence...fine. Attack!"

The raiders rushed at Reyson and Yasmine, and this time they had no choice but to fight back. Yasmine used her lance and Semblance in combination in order to do what she could, but Reyson was right in that this was not her standard fight style.

Which made her all the angrier at her partner, "What happened to not wanting to lose a fight because you didn't know everything?"

"They're all around us, and I don't see any reinforcements, do you?" he shouted at her in the middle of attacks. "Perfect fighting scenario!"

"I hate you."

"I know."

Despite the hate, Reyson and Yasmine did their best to hold off the raiders. To their benefit, these were not fully trained Huntsman or Huntresses. They were basic fighters and thus only had basic weapons. The problem though, was that they had numbers, and they were using that to their advantage. The only one not fighting in the brawl was the man in the skull mask. He merely observed as the conflict happened.

At one point, Reyson saw an opening in their lines and made a break for it, calling to Yasmine as he did, "Hold them off for a bit!"

"Where are you-" she tried to ask before being attacked by a raider.

Using his now more open space, Reyson knocked out a pursuing raider and then rushed towards the remainder as a whole. His Semblance built up power as he rushed them and one by one he started to knock them away. Even freeing Yasmine up to use her Semblance in more controlled 1-on-1 fights and thus allowed her to KO several foes on her own even with her limited lance.

With a final roar, Reyson burst forth and launched the final raiders into the air and into some nearby trees. With the skull mask man the only one left standing, the two went and focused on him.

But to their surprise, all he did was clap, "You two are...impressive."

"Oh, stow it!" barked Reyson, "Come on and fight already! I want to break off that mask."

"That would be...unfortunate...for both of us. But no, I have no desire to fight you two...especially since I too don't want to lose a fight. You may leave."

"You're letting us go?" asked Yasmine, guard still up.

"I only ordered the attack because I thought it would be easy, that was my mistake, and I...own it. Now go, before my party awakens...and I change my mind."

Reyson made a move towards the man but Yasmine pulled him back and glared him into submission. He pulled his arm free and returned his focus to the man, "Fine, we're gone. Just one thing before we leave."

"...yes?"

"That message you heard, from my family? If you have it within your power, send one back. Tell them to eff off, and when I come 'home'? They won't like what happens."

The man looked at Reyson with curiosity, especially at the fire and fury that was within his face, and then he let out his own laugh, "Family squabbles...I know them well. If I am able to deliver your message...I shall...as a courtesy. Now leave."

Carefully, Reyson and Yasmine walked away. Keeping their eyes on the man until they felt they were a safe distance away. They didn't speak as they reached the fork, and went down the other pathway.

Their guards remained up as they proceeded down it. They both knew the raiders could be in the trees watching them, waiting for a chance to get some revenge. But as time ticked on, they relaxed as it was clear they weren't going to be attacked by them again.

"Well that's one crisis averted," joked Reyson with a grunt.

"It was too close for comfort," Yasmine said with a stern look to Reyson, but it eventually melted away to sympathy as a certain question popped into her head. "Are you...alright?"

"My Aura can heal the few wounds I got."

"That's not what I meant, Reyson. I meant about your family disowning you."

"Oh...that. I'm fine. I was going to be disowned eventually, so no sweat off my back."

"You're lying."

"No Semblance using! That's cheating."

"Then just tell the truth!"

"Fine! I'm ticked! I wouldn't have pulled that move if I had known, and I'll admit, I did almost get us killed. But more than that, I'm...worried about my mom."

Yasmine hadn't considered that factor, "You don't think they'll do something to her, do you?"

Reyson waved that notion off, "No, her reputation means too much. They wouldn't dare disavow her for my actions. And like that guy said, it's only in private that I was disowned. They only wanted certain 'higher-ups' to know my 'position in the family'. Mom won't be touched...but she's probably suffering on the inside."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This isn't on you, it's on them, and like I told skull mask back there, my reckoning will come, and I look forward to it."

"What will you do?"

"Oh...I have thoughts...lots of thoughts..."

Yasmine saw that Reyson had a very evil grin upon his face, and she could feel the hate and rage coming off of him. She nearly spoke when her Semblance picked up something in the area nearby. A roar pierced the area, and within seconds a set of Grimm had found the two.

Reyson nodded his head and for the third time that day gave a shrug, "Yeah...that's on me. Negative feelings towards my family and all that."

"I'll scold you later, let's just deal with them and go!" called out Yasmine as she prepared for battle.

The Grimm before them were Sabyrs, cat-like Grimm with major fangs powerful enough to kill anyone with a single bite if they victim wasn't shielded.

Reyson didn't care though and rushed right in. As he did, the nearest Sabyr roared at him and lunged with its mouth wide open. In response, Reyson shoved his arm cannon right into its mouth and then fired multiple times, killing it from within.

"Groovy," he said with a smirk.

Yasmine meanwhile was "playing" a game of keep away with two of the Sabyrs. Their speed was impressive and kept even her Semblance on guard. However, she was able to wait for them to expose themselves and then drilled the two in their non-armored areas with her lance, killing them instantly.

"Ok, anymore?" she asked once done.

She and Reyson did a quick survey but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. While Yasmine was relieved, Reyson spat at the ground, "Stupid Grimm. You couldn't even give me a CHALLENGE?"

As his roaring last word rang out, the area shook once again, and this time a set of four Ursa Grimm appeared. Which made him happy...and Yasmine furious, "Dang it, Reyson!"

"This is fine! Come on, let's party!"

With another roar he raced forward and used his Semblance to slam the mighty bear-Grimm into a tree before blasting it into oblivion.

Yasmine was having a harder time with these Grimm due to their size and her limited functions on her lance. She was able to get in a quick shot on one to kill it, but the other two swarmed her. She did what she could to dodge but their constant attacks made it hard to go and counterattacks.

Thankfully for her, Reyson again barreled in and struck with his Semblance. However, one only took light damage and sliced at him, sending him to the ground. Yasmine took her chance and struck the Grimm, killing it and leaving them with only one to deal with.

The Grimm knew it was alone but rushed forward. Reyson scoffed and blasted out its legs so that it hit the ground hard. Yasmine stabbed her lance into its head to finish the fight.

Before Reyson could say anything, Yasmine pointed her lance into his face, "No! Not one word! I will not have your plethora of negativity bringing out anymore-"

As she tried to finish, the sound of buzzing came from the sky. To their surprise, a small band of Lancers appeared above them.

Reyson looked at Yasmine and gave a knowing smile, to which she stared daggers into him before stating, "Not. One. Word."

He laughed and jumped into the sky to fight the Grimm and the battle continued.

Thirty minutes, five lancers, six Beowolfs, two Beringels, a dozen Boarbatusks, and a Death Stalker later, Reyson and Yasmine were nearly collapsed on the ground, exhausted and damaged from the fights. Their Auras were almost depleted and their bodies bore the scars of that.

Even Reyson couldn't muster up a smile or laugh after all of that action, "So that happened."

"Yeah," Yasmine replied, exhaustion clear in her voice, "that happened. Let's hope that's all, because we can't take anymore."

"I can dig it. So, shall we try and go down this path, see where it leads us?"

"Sadly, we don't have a choice. Just remember, no more emotions, none!"

"Ok, ok, I'll contain myself. Let's go."

The two made to get up, but found themselves struggling to do just that. Reyson especially had a hard time due to a gash on his leg. Yasmine had to support him in order for him to be upright, and he return the favor in his own way because her arms had gotten pretty banged up. Now entangled, in a way that neither of them dared to talk about, they proceeded down the path in hopes of finding something, or someone, who could help them.

Over an hour passed.

Both of them were able to heal enough to walk on their own, but they were still rather weathered. To their relief though, as they continued on down the path they found something, a small outpost-like area. But one look at it showed that they weren't out of the woods yet.

The look of the place was more of "function over form" kind of aesthetic. There were houses, but they weren't the best built. There were stores, but they looked like basic shacks that people would try and piece together without instructions.

Yasmine could tell that this wasn't the kind of place where reputable people would go. In fact, this was the kind of place that her mother and father warned about in Mistral. Because due to the size of the continent, it was harder to govern. So little places like this popped up to house the more...seedy-natured...beings of the world.

Reyson though, was impressed. He liked the feel of it. The unkempt look of it all, the "Down and Dirty" people and Faunus that he saw walk across their path. These were scoundrels, scallywags, thieves, liars, brawlers...his kind of people.

As he eyed a certain building, a rather scrawny looking man passed by. Reyson grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in, "You, is that a bar right there?"

"What?" said the man in a very high-pitched voice. "Yes, yes, it's a bar, I swear."

Reyson released him and smirked, "Good, thanks. I need a drink."

Yasmine rolled her eyes, "Reyson, don't you dare! There's nothing good that can come from going in there."

"I beg to differ. When you need info? You ask a bartender. And I. Need. A. DRINK!"

He motioned in a way that was a clear challenge to her, and when she didn't reply he gave her a mock bow and moved towards the entrance to the place.

At his stubbornness and stupidity Yasmine couldn't help but groan and shake her head before looking at the scrawny man, "I do apologize for him, he's a fool. And today, I am the fool who follows him."

Reyson entered the door via its parting doors and the moment he entered the place went silent. A very sorted group of people were in the surprisingly large bar. One look let Reyson know he was dealing with some serious power players, and each were looking at him with questions and contempt.

He didn't back down though, he showed off his still bruised hands to them and said, "What are you looking at? Anyone have a problem with me, you can end up like the people I just beat up over the last ninety minutes.

Reyson glared at them all again, and his words seemed to get through because many looked away, others laughed and nodded and returned to their business, while a few still kept their eyes on him for reasons known only to them.

"That's what I thought."

The doors opened again and Yasmine appeared behind him, he smirked and motioned to the bar counter. As he sat down on a stool he pounded the counter with his hands.

"Barkeep!"

At the call of his title, a stout man appeared from behind a set of doors. He was thick in mustache and eyebrows, but had an expression of kindness, "Ah, I haven't seen you two around. What I can I get you?"

"I have fought Raiders and Grimm within the last short period of time, AND, I have apparently been disowned by my family. I need a drink to make me feel better."

"Ha, ha, I think I can help with that. And you, Ma'am?"

"Water, or fruit juice if you have any," she replied hesitantly.

"Is Prune Juice ok?"

"That'll do fine."

With a small bow of the head the bartender turned around and started making their drinks. Reyson couldn't help but look at Yasmine in disbelief, "Prune Juice? This is a bar, not a fruit bar!"

"He offered, and just because you're looking to lose yourself doesn't mean I am. In case you haven't noticed, Reyson, we're not in a good spot right now. We should not linger here, at all. So if you want to get information, let's do it and leave."

"You are such a spoil sport. Let's just...have a few minutes to ourselves, ok? I think we deserve it, especially me."

As if on cue, the bartender turned around and gave them their drinks. Yasmine sniffed her drink to make sure something wasn't off, and then sipped the drink to be doubly sure. To her relief it was truly just Prune Juice.

Reyson meanwhile chugged down his drink in no time flat, and then as if struck by lightning he snapped out of his funk feeling very energized.

"Woah! What was that?" he asked as he looked at his empty class. "Is that why people drink the hard stuff, they feel full of life afterwards?"

The bartender laughed, "Nice try, kid. You may be new, but I can tell you're underage. Even down here, we have rules about who can drink what. In this place, the bartender sets the rules."

"Great, two spoil sports in my life."

"As for what was in that drink, it's a personal concoction made from certain herbs, fruits and drinks meant to get your blood pumping after a hard day. It's very popular with Huntsmen and Huntresses. Speaking of which...do I know you, sir?"

He gazed intently at Reyson, as if trying to get a memory unearthed. Reyson wasn't sure how to play this and thus just stared back, "We've never met."

"Oh, I know that, but you look like someone I know."

"He's from a famous family," noted Yasmine with an air of mystery to try and change the direction of the conversation.

This surprised the bartender, "Oh! I see. Well, then that proves I don't know you."

"Why's that?" asked Reyson, confused.

"Because the man I thought you were related to is a regular here, and we don't get famous family's down in this part of Mistral."

"Makes sense. Wait, then why did you think I was related to this person?"

"Your eyes."

Yasmine and Reyson shared a look of surprise of their own before refocusing on the bartender. Yasmine leaned in and asked, "What about his eyes?"

"When you're a bartender, you remember the little things about your customers. Mainly their faces, it helps keep information tied to something. Eyes, and eye color, are a very easy way to help distinguish people and Faunus...especially here in Mistral."

"Ok, but what about my eyes?" overrode Reyson, getting anxious. "You never seen red eyes before?"

The bartender scoffed, "Of course I have! I've seen every shade of red there is! But that shade? That's blood red, and only one guy I've ever met, here and abroad, had that shade."

Again, Yasmine and Reyson looked at one another, a very clear meaning emerging from what the bartender said.

"Is he here? The guy with my eye color?"

"Oh, CR? No, he's not here, he's on a hunt right now. Wait around though, he might just pop in. Want another drink?"

Reyson nodded and went into thought as the bartender got him his refill. Yasmine scooted closer to him so that their conversation wouldn't be overheard, "You're thinking what I'm thinking, right? That this could be your father?"

"It can't be," said Reyson, conflict ripe on his face. "That's too much of a coincidence. Landing in Mistral? Fine, that was dumb luck. But ending up in the place where a man with my eyes is? That's too much."

"No offense, Reyson, but a lot of our time at Beacon has been comprised of those 'coincidences.' Think about it. The Heralds. Primrose. The modified Grimm. All of it happened in our time there and we were always there to fight it off!"

"Yeah, true."

"It's fine to not get your hopes up, but in truth, my mapped out areas where your father could've been? It included places like these. The 'underside' of Mistral if you will."

Reyson thought about it, and certain pieces clicked in his head, "Yeah, that'd make sense. If he was a higher-up or noble-blood in any way my family wouldn't have rejected him. So he'd have to be something like a Huntsman, or a mercenary."

"And the bartender said this CR guy was on a hunt," reminded Yasmine. "So if nothing else, we ask this guy, and if he says no, then we'll know that blood-red eyes are not the only thing we can base the search on."

"Fair enough, thanks Yasmine."

"Don't thank me yet, we're stuck in this bar until he-"

Suddenly the doors kicked open and a behemoth of a man stood before them. He was well over six foot tall, had muscles that reminded the two of Barker Chestnut's and was covered in armor of various kinds with a giant sword on his back.

"Friends! Another successful hunt!" called out the man as he removed a helmet he wore, exposing lush brown hair underneath.

The patrons in the bar cheered for him and he basked in their praise.

"There is only one way to celebrate such a moment. Barkeep! A round for everyone on me!"

The patrons roared even louder in joy at this, and the man went around to talk to some of the people he knew at the place.

Yasmine did her best to contain a laugh, "Yep, that's your father."

"Shut up," Reyson fired back, anger suddenly rising in him.

"I'm serious! The way he talks, the way he asked for adoration after his battle, it's totally you. Just...older."

Reyson wasn't paying attention to her, he focused on the man because he hadn't gotten a look at his eyes. Eventually, the man turned and indeed he saw the same blood-red eyes that he had. The moment he witnessed them the fire within him burned brighter than ever before.

"Go..." spoke the flames within.

Reyson watched as the man went and sat at a large table at the end of place. The bartender gave him his drink and the man toasted his friends as he did. The fire burned hotter within Reyson until he couldn't help it but get up and go after him.

"Wait, Reyson!" called out Yasmine, but she was too late. He was gone, and she had no choice but to follow.

Reyson went right up to the table where the man was still enjoying his drink, "Are you CR?"

The man didn't look at Reyson but merely chuckled, "You must be new here if you're asking that. Yes, I'm 'CR', but you will refer to me as Caliban Russet, or at least one half of that."

"Fine, Russet, do you know who I am?"

Russet lazily looked up from his drank and just as lazily looked at Reyson and Yasmine, and chuckled once more when done, "They let kids in here now? That's funny."

"Shut up old man, and look at me for real! Do you know who I am?"

With a scoff, Russet put down his drink and looked at Reyson. As he did his eyes went from the outfit he wore, to the hair, and finally, his blood red eyes. As he gazed into the eyes, the same ones he had, everything became clear.

"Is your mother Poppy?" Russet asked, a very different expression now upon his face.

"Yes."

"You're...you're my son..."

"And you...are my father."

*credits*