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Chapter 02: Family
The late summer sun shone down on the streets of Patch, a gentle breeze preventing the heat from becoming stifling. A trio of teens slowly made their way through the streets of the island whose population and infrastructure could now best be described as a small city, having grown exponentially since the war
"Y'know you could just tell our Mums and save me the hassle, they expect me to know everything you're doing. I don't get why you even think they'd mind, they'll just tease" Felix grumbled as he and Arctus walked with Corvid to the docks, slightly annoyed by his sisters' reticence
"Oh my Oum" Corvid huffed "I'm not dating anyone on Team CLIR, I just don't want to go the whole summer without training together and be out of practice when we get back. If one of you two end up as a team leader you'll get it" Felix gave her a glance and cocked his head, he knew there was probably more to the situation than she was telling him and the sudden lack of trust bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Deciding to drop the subject he turned his attention to Arctus, the Bear Faunus wiping sweat from his brow
"You okay over there?"
"Yeah" he panted out "It just never gets this hot back home"
"That's because you live at the top of a frozen mountain like some kind of supervillain" Felix snorted, Corvid merely rolling her eyes at the constant well meaning bickering between her brother and cousin
"So Corey, you gonna tell us how they pick teams at Halo? someone's gotta keep Felix from trying to fight everything with a pulse" Arctus asked suddenly
"Hey I'm not that bad!" Felix insisted indignantly "Why pick a fight with people when I can plough through Grimm" Corvid suppressed a snort, her brother was notorious on Patch for his casual approach to solving disputes via fistfights; an attitude which had admittedly put Yang in a tough position as a teacher on more than one occasion
"I mean I could tell you" she smiled sweetly, voice turning sing-song "But I'm not gonna"
"Figures" Arctus sighed with an amused shake of the head, there were a few moments of quiet before the docks became visible in the distance
"Hey" Felix placed a hand on his sister's shoulder "Try and get home tonight. You don't wanna miss Auntie Ruby, ya never know when we'll see her again"
"I know and I'll try my best" Corvid smiled "If not I'll see you at the Academy….wow it feels weird to be saying that"
"I know" Felix admitted, his natural bravado faltering for a brief moment "This is really happening" Corvid recognising the expression on her brother's face pulled him into a hug before ruffling his hair
"You'll be fine, both of you" she added giving Arctus a smile "Whatever happens you'll be fine"
"Thanks sis" Felix watched as Corvid turned and left. The remaining two teens shared a moment of silence before Felix spoke again
"Wanna head home?" Arctus raised an incredulous eyebrow
"I've been stuck in the Manor since you left, so almost all summer. Let's find something to do" the Lion Faunus cracked a feral grin
"Now you're talking"
Several hours had passed and Arctus and Felix were meandering through the streets of Patch's centre with admittedly little purpose
"Wanna head into those woods near your place and deal with some Grimm?" Arctus asked as he stretched, soaking up the sun which rarely shone on his native Kingdom
"Nah, did that yesterday" Felix sighed, none of the Patch natives' friends from Signal were currently available to join them. Rounding a corner and seeing a small bar set between buildings that were distinctly more recent additions and seemed to have been built around the establishment brought a small grin to Felix's face and gave him an idea
"Hey, wanna get some drinks in before we leave? I'm pretty sure we can sneak 'em into Halo"
"From there?" Arctus eyed the bar with some suspicion, his cousin rolling his eyes and snorting
"Yes rich boy from there. Junior's is the best place on Patch to get something under the table" Junior's bar was currently owned by Miltia Wukong whose husband Sun Wukong was the islands' chief Hunter and was known for turning a blind eye to things he considered harmless fun; Miltia had apparently inherited the bar from her uncle following Hei Xiong's decision to start a career in politics after the war which many people joked was only a slightly more corrupt line of work. Felix was still not sure if he believed his mother's tales about fighting her way through the original iteration of the establishment on the mainland. Arctus regarded the building for a few more seconds before finally shrugging, before the pair could reach their destination they were halted by something colliding with Arctus and sending him staggering, upon further inspection that something appeared to in fact be someone
"Hey watch where you're going!" the Bear Faunus called, the person who'd barged past him stopped and turned around revealing themselves to be an Axolotl Faunus; standing at an unimpressive five feet tall with pink-tinged caudal fins extending from the sides of his head, watery dark eyes and a broad mouth that seemed to be naturally pulled into a smile the individual was hardly an intimidating sight despite the unusual combination of loose fitting clothes and clearly well used armour he wore, the intricate and serpentine tribal tattoo running down the left side of his face and the oversized sword, double edged and serrated slung over his back
"Excuse me….boy?" the Axolotl Faunus asked, seemingly taken aback by the sheer temerity of anyone challenging him as he began making his way back towards them "I'll walk anywhere on this island I feel like….and right now I feel like stepping on the back of your head, repeatedly" Arctus took a step back, unprepared for the sudden and needless aggression; Felix stepped forwards seemingly in his element as he positioned himself between them and used his fight to face down the unknown newcomer
"Yeah sorry but there's a quota for short bad-asses on the island, I'm currently filling it. Fuck off"
"Ah someone with a little fight, I was getting bored" the Axolotl Faunus laughed as he reached over his shoulder making to grab the hilt of his weapon. Felix instantly responded in kind, Hack and Slash finding their way to his hands
"HEY!" the pair turned towards the sound of the yell as did Arctus, they were greeted by the sight of a dark haired and green eyed Monkey Faunus stomping towards them with a face like thunder whom the crowd that Felix now realised was beginning to form around them parted for without question despite her being fifteen years old; she was Amethyst Wukong
"Felix you know better!" she prodded the Lion Faunus in the chest with enough force to make him physically wince before rounding on his would be aggressor "And you, listen I don't know who you are but you've got until my Dad gets here to be out of sight or you're gonna end up in a cell and he'll probably use your head to open the door" the manic smile plastered across his face only grew wider and more mocking as he bowed theatrically
"Well I am Raffia Dirge and you my dear are quite possibly the feistiest thing on this island" he stepped forward only to find a chainsaw blade pressed under his chin
"Take several steps back" Felix snarled. A giggle escaped Raffia's lips before he relented and turned away
"Some other time perhaps" seeing that the commotion was over the crowd began to disperse, Felix shifted Hack into its' machine gun form and give serious thought to shooting the smaller Faunus in the back before Arctus placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head silently
"Fucking tourists" Felix muttered under his breath before turning to Amethyst and giving her a bright smile
"So, before you spoiled what could have been fun we were actually coming to see you"
"You were?" the younger Faunus expression brightened and Arctus looked between Amethyst and Felix, a small smirk of understanding crossing his features
"Well, we were coming to the bar" Felix continued "I'm heading to Halo Academy tomorrow and I wanted to grab a few bottles before I go"
"Oh" Amethyst's smile faltered slightly "Well the bar's not open yet and both my parents are out….wanna come in, one last game of spin the bottle?" Felix rubbed the back of his neck clearly considering it
"We can come in and chill but I can't start drinking now, I've got family visiting tonight"
"Okay" Amethyst turned and led them towards the bar that was the Wukong family home her tail twitching seemingly nervously, Arctus muttering to Felix as they followed
"She's not even attempting to be subtle with the crush she's got on you"
"She's fifteen" Felix answered almost reflexively, his tone and body language becoming defensive
"Alright man" Arctus raised his hands "I'm just saying" Felix sighed
"Do me a favour….don't"
Several hours later Felix and Arctus had returned from the Wukong household and were currently helping prepare for a barbecue as the summer sun began to set
"No word from Corey?" Felix asked as he and Yang moved the dining table into the back yard
"She said she's probably gonna be late tonight" she answered with a knowing smile "I think it's CLIR she's seeing someone"
"Mum I swear I will drop this table on purpose" Felix grumbled, the threat becoming moot as the pair of them set the piece of furniture down
"Leave her be Yang, she'll tell us what's going on with her when she's ready" Blake murmured as she and Arctus carried what could only be described as obscene amounts of food out to Taiyang, the older man taking up his traditional role of cook at the family get together. The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt when Blake, Felix and Arctus all cocked their heads as their more sensitive hearing picked up a distinctive sound; the near silent engine of a very specific craft only audible because it was flying low to the ground
"And now the party's started" Felix grinned as 'The Pearl' Penny Rose, formerly Polendina's personal Bull-Head passed overhead, hovering just outside of the limits of Blake and Yang's sizeable back yard before landing in the clearing just beyond it that had been created specifically for such a purpose. The Xiao Long family and Arctus made their way towards the fence marking the edge of their property and opening the gate to meet the newcomers; within seconds of the rear hatch of the craft lowering Felix found himself buffeted by twin streaks, one red and one green
"FELIX!"
"Hey" the Lion Faunus laughed as he crouched down and allowed himself to be pulled into simultaneous hugs from both of the children now in front of him; the six year old twins were both fair-skinned and freckled with unruly copper coloured hair and bright silver eyes, they wore matching outfits in different colours; Tai-Jaune Rose wearing red while Summer-Pyrrha Rose wore green
"Look at how big you are now!" Felix gave them a theatrical gasp "What is Aunt Ruby feeding you?"
"Other kids" Summer answered with a completely straight face
"We'd eat Grimm but they vanish" Tai-Jaune, or TJ as he was usually called to avoid confusion added with a small snigger
"And you've turned into a pair of comedians since I last saw you as well"
"Yep" Summer beamed, popping the P before seemingly catching sight of the rest of the family
"Aunt Yang, Aunt Blake, Grandpa!" the twins darted around giving out hugs and an observer might think that they had inherited the speed of the mother that carried them, in truth they were simply just that energetic.
"Salutations" the speaker stepped out of the rear of the Pearl. Penny Polendina had seemingly barely aged, even though her birth certificate would lead one to believe she was in her late thirties Penny herself appeared to be in her mid twenties as the synthetic skin grafted over her mechanical frame seemed to remain youthful, she was also carrying more food which she handed over to Yang as she entered the back yard
"Domo arigato sister roboto" the blonde grinned "Where's Ruby?" Penny suddenly looked nervous
"She'll be out in a second, Yang….please don't make a scene it looks worse than it is"
"What looks worse than it is?" Taiyang asked having caught part of the conversation
"Mum got hurt at work" Summer informed them from her current position of being wrapped around her grandfathers' leg
"Hey guys" every one turned to face Ruby herself, eyes widening as they took in her appearance. Ruby wasn't currently wearing her signature hooded cape and her tanned skin suggested that her current mission had taken her and her small family away from Vale, her hair had grown out and was currently tied back; but what had drawn their attention and quiet gasps was the still healing diagonal slash running from her left temple across her face to the right corner of her lips and the bruised and reddened skin around it
"Oh my Oum what happened to you?" Yang's voice wavered at the sight of Ruby, whom she would always consider her baby sister so badly injured
"Yang I'm fine" Ruby tried to assure her as she made her way into the yard "Come on you know how fast I heal, it'll be fine in a week" Yang couldn't help the urge to mother her, knowing that a side effect of Ruby's speed was that she could heal broken bones in minutes if she focused wasn't going to change that
"Hey" Taiyang murmured in Yang's ear "Calm down, if you get upset it'll scare the twins" at that she relented
"Okay, so since Uncle Qrow couldn't make it and Corey is still on the mainland….so let's start this party with a Yang!"
The Xiao Longs and their extended family were still in their backyard long after the sun had set and were chatting animatedly amongst themselves when Felix was surprised by Yang pressing a bottle of beer into his hand
"You're letting me drink"
"If you're old enough to go to Haven Academy then you're old enough for a few beers" she sighed before passing a bottle to Arctus who gratefully accepted "Besides I'd rather you learn to be responsible with alcohol"
"Oh I can tell him so many stories about you and your responsibility with alcohol" Taiyang chuckled
"We've already heard about the bar-fights" the Lion Faunus involved his grandfather
"But did she tell you she drove her bike home afterwards?"
"Seriously?" Felix demanded incredulously "After the earache I got after Arctus's birthday"
"Hey leave me out of it" the Bear Faunus raised his hands defensively "You were the one that decided that the speed limit was a rough guideline" they were referring to the fact that Felix had visited Atlas for Arctus's seventeenth birthday at the start of the Summer, Whitley had taken them to Schnee Manor's underground garage and told them to pick one of his sports cars to borrow for the night; neither of their parents had been happy to learn that Felix had taken the wheel and decided to 'Open it up'
"Anyway" Ruby interjected "Before this turns into an argument, I got you both a going away present. Arctus, I'm sorry I didn't realise you were gonna be here or I'd have got something for you as well" Arctus merely shrugged indicating he didn't mind as Ruby reached into one of the many ammunition pouches integrated into her outfit and produced a pair of extended magazines, chambered to fit Hack and Slash; Felix's eyes widened as he realised what kind of rounds they were filled with it
"Nano-bomb rounds?" he breathed out "Auntie Ruby these are awesome, thanks!"
"Yeah well, turns out I didn't need 'em while we were in Port Alistair"
"You've been to Menagerie?" Yang asked, expression becoming a bright smile
"Did you see-"
"We went because they asked" Ruby interrupted already knowing who her sister was thinking about, the three members of Team CFVY that had survived the war against Salem had allowed Yang to act as their fourth member for a time after the conflict and had since relocated to Menagerie almost a decade ago as part of the effort to make the former Faunus homeland habitable again; taking up residence in one of the largest of the new settlements, named for their fallen comrade
"How are they?" Yang asked "Last I heard it wasn't just Coco and Velvet dating, all three of them had something going on. I haven't actually heard from them in years though"
"CCT coverage in Menagerie isn't optimal" Penny explained while she and Blake watched the twins, who seemed to have an infinite amount of energy play
"Yeah but they finally got in touch, there were some raiders picking off convoys between settlements….The law doesn't really exist in Menagerie once you're out of a towns' limits. But Penny and I decided to go and give them a hand, it's summer vacation so why not take the kids to see some new sights….speaking of which" the silver eyed Huntress rummaged through her various pockets before finding her Scroll and pulling up a picture for everyone to look at
"OH MY OUM THEY HAVE A KID?" Yang gasped, the image showed Ruby before her injuries and Penny as well as Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina and Yatsuhashi Daichi; between them were the twins and a small child with Yatsuhashi's complexion and Velvet's rabbit ears
"Yep" Ruby beamed "Little Fox Scarlatina, he's five"
"Okay this is cute" Blake noted "But why is Summer here sticking her tongue out at him"
"Because he's stupid" the niece in question informed her bluntly while pouting. Ruby leaned forward and said in a stage whisper
"He called Summer pretty" the adults couldn't help but laugh
"That's so cute!" Yang exclaimed
"Is not!" Penny made her way over to the twins and hoisted them both up
"Okay, it's way passed both of your bedtimes" this news was met with assorted noises of frustration from the children until Blake spoke up
"But since you're staying here tonight, you get a bedtime story from Auntie Blake" this immediately changing their opinion of the situation. After hearing the door to the house close Yang turned her attention to Ruby
"So what happened to you out there?" Ruby sighed, a little annoyed that her injured state hadn't been forgotten
"I told you, raiders between the settlements….downside of being a living legend is everyone knows I have 'magic eyes' and there's always someone brave enough to try and take them out. I got sloppy" Felix and Arctus shared a confused look, they both knew that their Auntie Ruby was a war hero and considered a legend on par with Qrow Branwen and possibly even Ozpin himself but they'd never had the references to magic eyes explained to them
"Someone tried to blind you?" Arctus asked aghast
"Don't get soft on me now, we're going to Halo tomorrow" Felix snorted as he swigged his beer
"There's a line between brave and rushing in like an idiot" Taiyang spoke up "Us Xiao Longs have a habit of being on the wrong side of it, try to be careful"
"It'll be fine" Arctus sighed "I'll keep an eye on him" the Bear Faunus was somewhat used to having to be the voice of reason when he visited his family in Vale, if either Felix or Corvid got an idea in their heads they tended to run with it regardless of potential consequences
"You're all so grown up now" Ruby gushed "I remember when you two and Corvid were small enough to sit on my lap and tell me what kind of weapons you wanted to build when you were older"
"I know, hey Felix show her what you've got now" the Lion Faunus shrugged and grumbled as he reached into his pocket
"I mean it's not much use right now"
"You got a driving license?" Ruby's eyes widened "That's awesome!"
"It would be if I had money for a car" the conversation was interrupted by the sound of Yang's Scroll
"Hello, hey Sun" Yang answered "What?….Oum's sake I'll be there in five"
"What's going on" Felix asked, his mother sighed as she rose to her feet and deployed Ember Celica
"Some Faunus tourist apparently started trouble in Miltia's bar, Sun's on the other side of Patch responding to a break in…..This place used to be quiet. I'll probably be back late"
"I'll tell Blake what happened" Ruby assured her sister
"Want a hand?" Taiyang offered, he'd retired from Hunting Grimm years ago and his teaching career was coming to a close but he was sure he could deal with a few rowdy tourists
"It's fine, nothing I can't handle" those that remained watched as Yang mounted her motorbike, the Bumblebee it's lights fading into the distance as Yang sped off. Arctus watched as Ruby and Taiyang decided to make a start on cleaning up after their barbecue before turning his attention to Felix, the expression on his cousins' face setting off alarm bells in his mind
"I know you're planning something and I can take a guess at what it is"
"Faunus tourist" Felix growled out, eyes narrowing "I think that little weirdo from earlier went back to the bar. I'm going" with that he silently leapt over the fence and began making his way around to the road that would take him to the centre of Patch. Arctus took a deep breath and made a split second decision
"Hang on I'm coming with" with that the pair of them set off.
Authors Notes:
Sorry I've not updated in about a week, I'm usually better than this.
I was busy all weekend.
Let's summarise:
A lot of refugees from Vale during the war ended up on Patch so now Patch is more of a port city than a fishing town.
Team CLIR (Clear) Corvid's team, yes you'll meet them soon.
If I haven't made it clear enough yet, Felix is a little hell raiser of a kid.
Junior went into politics, Miltia owns the Patch branch of Junior's….We'll see Melanie later.
Because Raffia Dirge the creepy Axolotl Faunus couldn't possibly be connected with the antagonists we got a look at last chapter.
Also a fucking Axolotl Faunus….why has nobody done this already?
No the fact she's fifteen is not the only reason Felix isn't flirting back with Amethyst Wukong, yes it will become relevant later on.
Nuts & Dolts kids, how they exist is explained at the end of my one-shot "Our Happy Ever After" which bridges the gap between The Downward Spiral and this story.
Also, the idea of Ruby and Penny the two innocent little dorks having a pair of smart mouth kids makes me chuckle "Other kids" indeed.
Imagine Yang trying to be any kind of strict to her kids with Taiyang in the vicinity just giving her a look that exudes "Really now?".
Nano-bomb rounds….another reference to Our Happy Ever After.
Cross-hares has become Poly CFVY and they have a kid named Fox, they live in "Port Alistair" am I giving you feels yet?
Felix with a driving license, because Team FADE when it's formed will need a way t get around since nobody has super speed.
Faunus tourist at the bar…..it's obvious….or is it.
Xiao Longs crossing the line between brave and rushing in like an idiot, case in point.
Thank you to Ferrous, Antonio+Beltran, MarianTheLibrarian22 and Fluffyfirefly for their reviews on the last chapter:
I don't take breaks, sleep is for the weak.
If you want new Grimm….Oh boy I've got some great news for you.
If you like Game of Thrones References then just wait.
Gangrel's response was probably internal screaming at the amount of paperwork.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.