Chapter 1 The Bandit, The Leader, And Her
A/N Hi guys! I'm back and with chapter one of Taught Love: Carnage! I'm going to be posting a new chapter every month, maybe sooner, maybe a bit later. I'm now in high school so I need to focus on my schoolwork more than ever. At some point (I'll let you know when) I will be incorporating a new word that I learned recently into a chapter and ask in the end A/N which word you guys think it is. You can tell me in the reviews of that chapter and I'll declare who got it right (if anyone did) in the end A/N of the following chapter. I'm not doing that right now though, because the word I learned recently couldn't be Incorporated into this chapter XD
I love y'all and I hope you ENJOY (please review and tell me what you think)
The sky was pale and just starting to turn blue as the sun rose that morning, just like every other morning. Blake liked getting up earlier than the rest of the camp, it gave her time to take a quiet morning run and make some tea before the cooks used all the pots to either make porridge or coffee. She was actually the head chef, but that mostly meant she assigned the other cooks to certain stations, told them what to make, and how to make it.
Blake touched her toes and did other various leg stretches to prepare herself.
She took off.
The brisk morning air filled her lungs as her legs and arms pumped in rhythm. Her heart rate started to increase, warming her up and relieving the cold stiffness that had settled into her joints over night. She could just feel her skin growing moist with sweat and she pushed herself faster along the next bend. The first tweets of waking birds, rustling in the bushes just outside of camp, the yawn of the bandit in the tent she just passed - all of these things reached her ears as she concentrated on the sounds around her. Her heart made itself known, pounding harder whilst she ran her fifth time around camp. Blake's legs had gotten so used to the path she always took, that she didn't really pay attention to her surroundings using her eyes. And this was a mistake as she soon found out, when she was forced to come to screeching halt as to not run into Raven, Yang's mother.
"Good morning," the raven haired woman said. "Still so tired that you couldn't pay attention to what was right in front of you?"
Blake didn't particularly like Raven. It wasn't that Raven was a horrible person, nor even the fact the she didn't like Blake. No, the reason Blake didn't like Raven was she had a way of inadvertently saying that she wasn't happy with what you just did, but she almost never outright told you unless you've really pissed her off. This caused a lot of frustration, considering she also mixed her indirect words with belittling ones. And being on Raven's 'I don't like' list meant Blake got quite a few of those belittling words. So understandably, she doesn't like Raven.
"Morning," Blake sighed, leaning on her right foot and putting her left hand on her hip. "Sorry, I got a little lost in the moment."
Raven grimaced, "I can see that. What were you thinking about, kitty cat?"
'Kitty cat' was a nickname Blake developed in her first week with the bandits. She was one of very few Faunus there, so her nickname became her defining feature; her cat ears. It bothered her when it first started, but by now she has learned that nothing she can say or do would make them stop calling her that, therefore there is no reason for her to continue to be bothered by it.
"Nothing really - I was listening to the birds."
"I see," Raven moved past. "Well, I'd pay closer attention in the future instead of having my head stuck in the clouds if I were you."
Blake stood still, listening to Raven walk away. She clenched her fists only to relax them a moment later, letting the tension and anger leave her body.
Familiar hands slid around Blake's waist from behind. "Rough morning?" Yang whispered into her ear.
"You could say that," Blake let herself relax in Yang's arms, breathing in the smell of Yang's lavender scented shampoo she bribes shopkeepers for. Blake learned long ago that treating Yang any different than before got her nowhere, except on Yang's bad side. So she let/forced herself to do simple things like melt into Yang's hugs, hold hands with her, and kiss back when kissed. And Yang actually does most of those things often, barring her bad moods.
"I'm sorry." Yang whispered, now breathing against Blake's neck. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Afraid not," Blake pulled away. "I got to get to the kitchen tent."
Yang frowned, "Porridge?"
"Until your mom approves of anything else, yes."
Blake hates it when Yang acts like she feels anything, it's all too much of a reminder that she doesn't. A reminder that everything she does is just an act.
"Fuck, I'll have to have a word with her about that."
...
Blake paced around her small tent, nervousness racking through her body. Raven sent Yang out on a solo mission to find supplies and bring them back, by any means necessary. This could mean Yang will be forced to engage in combat, which was never good for the other party... but Blake was still terrified that Yang will get into a fight with that .1 percent who could kill her.
Yang has been gone for over an hour, which was about the time she always returned from the missions Raven sends her on. So Blake's nerves are of course at an all time high because if Yang doesn't walk into Blake's tent within the next few minutes, the cat Faunus is going to go after her herself.
The tent flap shifted to the side, and Yang padded into Blake's tent. "You're pacing now?"
Blake froze, the pit in her stomach melting away at the sound of Yang's voice. She turned around and looked at the blonde, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. "Yes."
Yang moved forward and wrapped Blake in her arms, "You got to stop worrying, kitty cat. I'll always come back."
It was true, Blake's fear of Yang not coming back was getting worse and her anxiety was spiking. However, Yang's un-felt attempts at comforting her only served to make it worse. And those last words spoken by Yang stabbed a particularly painful knife into Blake's heart. All the cat Faunus wanted was for Yang to come back, yet in these few months she has seen no progress. No signs of the old Yang, unless you want to count the occasional pun, warm hugs, or laughter. But none of those things are Yang. Yang is generous, passionate, loving, kind, honest. Yang is a fighter. And the woman who is hugging Blake right now, is not Yang.
Blake blinked back tears, "I hope so." She whispered, unable to stop the tear that rolled slowly down her face.