Volume I: Chapter XI: Second Chances and First Impressions:
[KLANG!] [KLANG!]
A loud metallic clanging suddenly rings, disturbing my sleep.
"Ugh! What is that sound?" I think to myself as I start to stir a bit after being woken up. "Just let me sleep some more please?"
I quietly groan to myself as I pull the blanket over my face and cover my ears in an attempt to maybe muffle the sound to reclaim whatever extra sleep was just robbed from me. But a few seconds later...:
[KLANG!] [KLANG!]
"Damn! There's that noise again! Just let me sleep already!"
Just then, an unfamiliar female voice made its presence known to me.
"Kid, I swear I'm not doing this a third time! Next time, I'm just going to march into that cage and drag your ass with me. Now get up! I'm losing my patience!" Commanded the voice.
Who is that? I may be tired, but one thing's for sure, that's not Raven's voice and that definitely isn't Mari's either. Who is the owner of this new voice I'm hearing?
I slowly uncover my face, causing my eyes to squint due to the sudden change of darkness to brightness as the beams of light assault my vision. After shading my face from the rays, I look in the direction of the owner of the voice. It was hard to see at first due to my eyes adjusting to the sunlight, but I was able to make the figure out. It's that brown haired girl with the blue eyes who was next to Raven and Mari on the day I was captured. What was her name again? I can't remember. I only heard Raven say it once, but it began with a "V".
"Where's Mari?" I ask in my groggy voice, still waking up. I was a bit confused to see the other girl here and not Mari since, for some reason, I was under the impression that Mari would be the one escorting me considering she was the one that informed me of what was going to happen today. But clearly, I am wrong.
"Doesn't matter." The brown-haired girl responds with a blunt dismissal. "I was ordered to escort you to Raven's tent, so get up. She doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"Oh shit!"
The realization hit me like a charging goliath: I meant to think more about my decision last night so that I would come in already knowing what I was going to pick. But I was so hung up on the news of Kuroyuri, that I forgot to go over it in my head.
My eyes widen as I let out a sharp, yet faint, gasp as my heart quickened its pace a bit. I quickly picked myself and may as well have leapt to my feet, considering the speed at which I did it. The pain from my movements didn't affect me as much this time either as the pain quickly grew less and less in the past few days. I ended up chalking it up to just adrenaline since there is no other explanation that I know of that could have contributed to the pain from my wounds to lessen so quickly. Afterall, wounds as severe as the ones that I have shouldn't heal that fast, do they?
Before letting her know I was ready to step out, I made sure to brush myself off of whatever dirt or leaves that were on me. My nerves are a bit shot right now, due to me forgetting to go over my choices last night. Now I need to come up with one fast in the little frame of time that I have. On the bright side though, at least now I'm fully awake, so I don't have to worry about any morning fatigue (even though it's noon) affecting my thinking.
"Ready?" She asks with a bit of haste in her voice.
"Yeah. I think so." I confirm, a tad bit nervous.
As soon as I finish, the brown-haired girl pulls out a rusty set of keys and unlocks the cage, opening the door as it lets out a loud, metallic creak as it scrapes on its hinges. After seeing the door open for the first time, I step out, and place myself on the other side of the bars, finally free... or at least, free from the cage, that is. Just being on the outside of the cage felt like taking a huge breath of fresh air. After being stuck in there for about three days, I can safely conclude that I never want to go back in there again. It was just... so dull!
"Alright let's get going. We're already running late." She said gesturing to me to go ahead to our destination.
"Right." I comply.
As soon as I pass her, she turns and follows suit behind me, placing her hand on my back to guide me from behind
As we turn the corner and leave the secluded area of the cage, we step out into an open area where I could finally get a good look at the camp. From the way the perimeter wall was shaped, the camp sort of resembled a large oval. The center was a pretty wide open area with a hole dug in the middle to which I assume was mainly for bonfires or probably where the cooking is done. There were also tents of all shapes and sizes stitched together from blankets and animal hides lined up all around the perimeter wall, some of which sat around the edge of the open area we were in with empty crates lying about, which were probably used as makeshift chairs and tables.
"We're going to the large tent over there." The girl says, pointing with her head, as she slightly hurries me forward in the direction of a large black tent at the end of the camp that completely dwarfed all the other tents, which I can only assume to be Raven's.
On each side of what I assume to be Raven's tent, there were two other smaller tents that were still noticeably bigger than all the others. I assume those two tents belonged to Mari and the girl taking me to Raven. Speaking of Mari, I wonder where she is right now. I haven't seen any sign of her since stepping out. As I look over at one of the two medium sized tents, I focus my sights on the one to the right and see the curtains slightly flinch. So that's where she is.
(Sigh).
Of course she's monitoring me. Does she think I'm inept or something? She worries too much. I promised her I would be careful.
Anyway, tucked behind Mari's and the other girl's tents respectively sat one long tent each, but were slightly poking out. Judging from the shape of the tent compared to the others, they probably served an auxiliary role and their position in the camp must mean they are pretty important. If I had to guess, one is probably for medical supplies while the other one is probably for food. Can't say which is for what though.
As I got a look around the place, scanning my environment, I also got a good look at the people as well. Mostly there were just bandits, some of which I recognized from the day I was captured as they all snuck brief glances at me and the girl guiding me as I walked by. To my right, I could hear a slight commotion and saw a group of people cheering and shouting from the corner of my eye. Out of curiosity, I slightly slowed pace and turned my head in the direction of the noise. There were two men by an old, brown crate, one on each side, engaged in an intense arm wrestling match as a small group of spectators were standing around them cheering for one or the other and making bets on who would win. Judging from the redness and strain on their faces and the beads of sweat forming on their heads, they've probably been going at it for a while. I wonder how I would do in that. As I let myself get distracted, I feel my guide's hand nudge me forward, almost causing me to stumble and snap me out of my brief daze.
As our walk to Raven's tent resumed its initial pace, we also ended up passing by another group of bandits who were sat by the entrance of a random tent, huddled around a deck of cards as each one held a hand of their own. After every few seconds, one of them would occasionally glance at each other as each player around the circle took a card from their hand and dropped it into a messy pile in the center of them. As we passed by, one of them, who I assumed to be the dealer, spotted Vernal.
"Hey, Vernal!" Waved a girl with a little bit of energy in her voice and movement. "You want in on this? This round's about to end, so I can deal you in if you don't mind waiting a few minutes." She offered as we walked by.
"Vernal! That's her name! I knew it began with a 'V'!"
On another note, I recognize that voice. That was the bandit that was betting on whether I was dead or alive when I woke up in the cage. She looked to be about 18 years of age. She had shoulder length, dark midnight blue hair, which was styled in a ponytail that stemmed from the middle of the back of her head and hung over the back of her neck. However, she still had two long locks of hair that fell down each side of her head in front of her ears, framing her face, as they dropped down to her collar bone. She also had a beige tone to her skin and hazel eyes that seemed to have a bit of a playfulness to them, but more in a childlike or mischievous way. On her face, around the corner of her left eye, I could see she had a small, curved, vertical scar that was about an inch (2.5 centimeters) in length. I guess if you're a gambler, you're probably bound to at least get into a few physical altercations, but something tells me this girl has been in way more than just a few.
She also sported a black compressed sleeve with reddish tints toward the bottom on her left arm that only covered her forearm, stopping at her elbow. She also had an unbuttoned dark blue vest that was a slightly brighter in shade compared to her hair. It had an opened breast pocket with a golden button on it, which led me to think that she is probably the owner of the deck of cards they were playing with. Under the vest, she had a sleeveless, dark gray undershirt. Given the amount of faded dark brownish spots on the front of her undershirt, something tells me she most likely prefers wearing her vest unbuttoned all the time.
For her legs she wore a pair of jean shorts that were cut off around her mid-thigh. They had a shade of green that resembled the color of seaweed. She also had a dark brown holster that wrapped around her hips and drooped toward her right leg with a pistol poking out if it. She also wore a pair of mud brown boots which were black around the soles and the toes and heel. Just from her greeting toward Vernal and how she dresses, she seems to come across to me as someone who is laid back and somewhat casual. However, as I stated earlier, her eyes give me a bit of a playful or mischievous vibe.
"I'll pass this time, Phi." Vernal declined. "I have to take this kid to Raven. So I'll get back to you later." She says, gesturing to me as we both continue walking.
"Alright, suit yourself." She says, purposely exaggerating the disappointment in her voice and expression in a way that she still maintains a somewhat playful tone.
"And besides, you still owe me from last time." Vernal says, poking fun at something that I am most definitely out of the loop on.
"Oh! Uh... You- You still remember that?" Sophia says, rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous laugh and evasive eyes as she gave a toothy grin, clearly visibly uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed as her face adopted a reddish hue.
"How could I forget?" Vernal says, capitalizing on Sophia's embarrassed reaction. "I remember it down to the last digit." Vernal says as we both continue our journey to Raven's tent.
"Who was that?" I turn my head to ask Vernal mainly just to have some conversation so I don't have to stay awkwardly silent as we walk on.
"Just Sophia." Vernal responds as we continue our walk. "Terrible gambler, but also a good friend of mine. Although she can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll admit. But her loyalty more than makes up for that-"
Suddenly, we hear a loud, low creak from behind us that seemed to get the attention of everyone within earshot. Even Vernal stopped for a couple seconds to look back, to which I followed suit.
"Oh! They're back. They took down that caravan faster than I thought." Casually said by one of the male bandits playing the card game, who was looking up from his hand of cards while one next to him took the opportune moment to cheat via a not-so-subtle, over-the-shoulder peek at his hand.
Curious to know where the noise is coming from as well, I look back to be greeted by the sight of a group of bandits entering through a large wooden gate that was in the process of opening. They were all carrying supplies with them—some carrying sacks or rolling barrels filled with goods and supplies while others lugged entire crates on their shoulders.
"So this is what I am considering being a part of, huh? My new 'family'?"
After she got a glimpse of what came through the gates, Vernal resumes the walk as she continued pushing me forward and we reach the entrance to Raven's tent a few seconds later.
"Here we are." Vernal says gesturing me to step in.
I couldn't help but hesitate a bit as I was fully aware of the environment I am about to enter as well as who was waiting for me on the other side. I guess you could compare it to the feeling you get when you stand at the edge of a cliff and look directly down before throwing yourself into the water below. It was a feeling of anxiety.
As I took a couple seconds to hesitate and gather my bearings a bit, I then felt the hand Vernal had against my back suddenly nudge me forward as I stumbled into the tent before she stepped in after me. After glancing back at Vernal with a bit of an annoyed expression, which she luckily did not notice, I then turn my head to face in front of me and there, staring back at me on the opposite end of the tent, arms crossed and leaning back on a desk with a large map of Remnant above it, was none other than the bandit leader herself: Raven.
"Here's the kid, Raven. Sorry to keep you waiting." Vernal says, adopting a somewhat subservient tone and demeanor. Much different than the one she used when waking me up and when talking to that Sophia girl. You could almost describe it as one a subordinate would only adopt when speaking to their boss.
"Thank you, Vernal. That's all for now. You're dismissed. I'll let you know if I need anything else." Raven responded.
Vernal then stepped out, shooting me a quick look that warned me to watch what I say around Raven, leaving just me and the bandit leader alone in the tent. And just like that, the atmosphere completely changed. My heart suddenly started beating a bit quickly again as my pulse started to slightly quicken. I couldn't help but get a feeling of nervousness and unease around her, especially after how our last two exchanges went (one of which left me unconscious). I've definitely learned my lesson with Raven. For the time being, she isn't that I stand any chance against in a fight.
"Would you like to take a seat?" Raven asked, gesturing to a small table sitting on the floor in the center of the tent atop two large rugs. On both sides of the table, there sat a small ceramic cup of tea, a teapot acting as a wedge between the two, with a red cushion for sitting accompanying each side of the table. two cups of tea on it and one red cushion on both sides for sitting.
"Yeah. Sure." I try to casually say as I walk over, attempting to keep a cool exterior.
I then take a seat on one of cushions at the table with Raven following suit as she sits down on the side opposite of me. Ever since my last interaction with her as well as seeing how the other bandits acted around her when I was in the cage, I can't help but notice this menacing aura about Raven. To be frank, it's honestly intimidating. It feels like I'm sitting this close to someone who can end my life in the blink of an eye and the fact that she most likely can doesn't help either. Is this really someone who just wants to help me like Mari said? Not once in my entire life have I encountered someone with this much power and authority, who carried themself in a way that just their presence alone is enough to make me feel this way. Which makes me wonder something: is she respected here or is she feared? I guess time will only be able to provide the answer to that question.
To try and calm my nerves a bit, I take a sip of my tea. It's temperature is very lukewarm, which means she must have been waiting for a good bit.
"It would have been warmer if you had gotten here earlier." Raven initiates the conversation and breaking the silence between us.
Anxiously waiting for her to get to the chase, I just sat there quietly. But after realizing that ignoring her wouldn't help my chances here, eventually decide to speak up, but about something that's been clawing at the back of my head for a while that I haven't addressed yet.
"Where are my weapons?" I nervously ask, changing the subject .
"They're in that chest over there." Raven answers as she briefly directs her gaze at a large chest beside the desk. "I kept them in there in case of the off chance that you would have escaped and tried to kill me in my tent while I slept or anyone else here. A precautionary measure, but I'm sure you understand."
I silently took another sip of my tea.
"I take it Mari treated you well?" Raven asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
"What is her game?! Why hasn't she gotten to the chase yet? The anticipation is killing me! Is she trying to ease me into it or is she just toying with me? Just calm down and play along, Simin."
"Yes." I answer, going with the flow of our talk.
"And would I be correct to assume that you treated Mari well?" Raven followed up, with a bit of a look that said she already suspected the answer I would give.
Hearing this question struck me with a feeling of guilt as I thought back to the first couple interactions I had with Mari, especially about how I struck her in the head with a rock when we first met. Even though Mari and I are past that now, it's still embarrassing to look back on because of how unfairly I treated her. I need to be very careful with how I answer this. I remember what Mari said about her covering for me and why she did, so I need to remember my promise to her.
"Yes. I was a bit on edge at first, but she helped." I answer, technically not lying, but not telling the full truth either.
"That's good to hear." She responded with a slight smirk as she took a sip from her tea before continuing. "You should be happy she stood up and covered for you when she did."
Upon hearing those words, my heart started to beat faster as my expression became extremely nervous because that means she knows what happens.
"I'm not an idiot and I most certainly am not gullible. Not to mention Mari is a horrible liar, so I picked it up almost immediately. I know what happened. But seeing her try so hard to defend you was just enough to make me consider sparing you. In any other scenario, anyone who makes any act toward Mari with the intent to harm her would pay dearly regardless of whether they are a part of the tribe or not; although, those who aren't a part of the tribe who harm her normally pay with their lives. So consider yourself incredibly lucky."
I honestly had no response to that. I can't tell whether this is just her way of conversing to ease my nerves some more or if she's just trying to intimidate me more. If it's the former, then she's not very good at it. But I'm not going to dare say that to her face.
"You know kid, I don't believe I ever got your name. Who are you?" She asked me, taking another sip.
"Simin Megistus." I answer with a bit of a quiet tone.
"What was that? Speak up. I didn't quite catch that." She requested.
"My name is Simin Megistus." I repeated.
"Simin, huh?"
"Ye-agh!" I accidentally agitated my wound a bit when I reached for the cup of tea, causing me to give a bit of a surprised yelp as it surprised more than it actually hurt me.
"So, Simin, how are your injuries treating you?" Raven asked, changing the subject after seeing my reaction.
"They don't hurt as much as a couple days ago, I'll admit. They feel a lot better to be honest. But I can still feel a bit of pain." I say placing my hand on my side around where the wound is.
"You mind if I take a look at them?" Raven as she stands up and heads toward a barrel near the chest that my weapons were kept in. Assuming she was going to check regardless of my answer, I just went with it.
"Um... okay." I say, still with some unease in my voice as I stand up and lift up my shirt so Raven can take a look. As I do that, Raven opens the barrel and grabs some fresh bandages before returning to me.
"I'm also going to change your bandages while I'm at it." She bluntly tells me.
Raven then crouches down and slowly starts unravelling the dirty, bloody bandages wrapped around my midsection. With every round she made removing the bandages, they gradually grew redder and redder as she slowly made her way down to my wound lying underneath. As the bandit leader removed the last bloody layer of gauze, she had a curious look on her face as she stared at the wound for a couple seconds.
"Is something wrong?" I ask her with some concern in my voice.
"I'm surprised, Simin. From the looks of this you're making a pretty fast recovery. Abnormally fast, I might add. This wound looked much, much worse compared to how it looks now. It appears that you may be on the verge of unlocking your aura." She says as she begins to redress my wound with the fresh bandages.
"My aura?" I ask her not knowing exactly what she meant. "What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you've never heard of aura before, Simin." Raven says with a bit of disbelief in her voice.
"I've had it brought up to me before in the past,..." I assure her. "...but I never really fully understood what it was."
"Hmm... well allow me to give you a brief rundown of the ins and outs of aura. It's something everyone has, but it takes a certain amount of skill and training to be able to unlock it. It's essentially the manifestation of one's soul that is projected around their body and it basically creates a barrier around you that protects you from harm and even has the ability to heal most wounds."
"So in other words..."
"Think of it like an invisible suit of armor that perfectly wraps and morphs around your body that also gives you a bit of a healing factor." Raven simplifies it further for me.
"Okay, I think I get it now." I say with a slight nod of my head.
"However,..." She continues. "... one thing I should add is that despite aura being able to protect you from wounds and heal most already inflicted wounds, it does not nullify pain. And it can be broken through if it takes enough damage, which means you will have to train it if you wish to increase it because the more aura you have, the more damage it can take and the faster it can heal most wounds so long as it is activated. Another thing about aura I should also add is that the more you increase the amount of aura you have, the more things you'll be able to push your semblance, once you unlock it."
"A semblance?" I ask as I am hit with another word I am not familiar with.
"Wow, you are a sheltered kid!" Raven commented with a sigh. "A semblance is a unique, hidden ability that each person is born with that can be unlocked given the right circumstances. Think of it as your hidden potential. It can have the ability to turn the tide of a battle and turn unwinnable situations into an even playing field and act as a potential equalizer depending on how you implement it. They can pretty much do anything. Some can grant you the ability to move at superhuman speeds, others can allow you to clone yourself, some can give you the ability to manipulate matter with your mind, and more. The possibilities are pretty much endless at what a semblance can be or do, especially when it comes to how you apply it. Take mine for example. Though it is not a combat oriented semblance nor is it the most impressive once broken down, I can still implement it in combat situations in ways that some wouldn't expect.
"However, despite the abilities and advantages a semblance can grant you, you can't rely too heavily on your semblance since it is directly connected to your aura. If you overuse your semblance, it can drain your aura like a battery, which will render you borderline defenseless with no aura to protect you or heal you as the only things left for you to rely on will be your own skills and base limitations as you will have to wait for your aura to recharge enough for you to use your semblance again.
"Semblances can also be divided into two categories: passive and active. Active semblances are the ones that are directly tied to aura and require extensive training or, as I said earlier, certain circumstances to be unlocked. So long as it requires the user's action, whether it be physical or mental, to activate or use it, then it is considered an active semblance.
"Passive semblances, on the other hand, operate much differently than active semblances and sort of operate under their own set of rules. For starters, they are automatically unlocked at birth and do not require aura to function and they act completely independent of the user and their aura. Because of that, passive semblances are the exception to the aura draining rule as they do not drain aura and can still be in effect even after the user's aura is broken. Lastly, the user has no actual control over it since passive semblances tend to act of their own accord to varying degrees. My brother, Qrow, is the biggest example of this I know. His semblance is misfortune, which basically makes him a walking bad luck charm and it's always in effect at all times since he doesn't really have any control over it."
"Wait, you have a brother?" I ask curiously.
"Yes. But we are not exactly on speaking terms anymore to put it lightly." When she said this, I noticed she slowed down a bit when changing my bandages.
"What happened?" I prod.
Suddenly, Raven paused and immediately stopped what she was doing. She then focused her attention from changing my bandages to me as she looked me directly in the eyes.
"It's best not to ask such personal questions so soon after meeting someone, Simin." She said almost as if she was giving me a warning.
"Right. I'm sorry." I say not wanting to test my luck and push the envelope further. Raven then went back to changing my bandages, this time, in silence.
"There. You should be all set." She says as she finishes treating my wounds. She then returned to her side of the table and sat back down.
"Even though I would have preferred it be under different circumstances, you're lucky I found you when I did. You know that? And I'm not referring to your injuries this time." She said as she sat down.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Did you hear about what happened to Kuroyuri?" She asked before taking a sip of her tea.
"Yes. I heard it got destroyed in a grimm attack." I answer as I look away, thinking about the lives that were lost and the people who could possibly be going through what I went through.
"Which means that if you had actually made it to Kuroyuri like you had originally intended, chances are you probably would have walked right into the grimm attack or at least the aftermath and you would have been killed upon arrival."
"Oh. I see." I say taking a sip of my tea.
I still can't shake the thought of those victims out of my head. It made me think about all the innocents who have been slaughtered whether it was Dorado, Kuroyuri, or any other village. After first hearing about Kuroyuri last night, there was a burning question that resided in me that I needed to know the answer to and I feel like Raven is the only person who can give it to me.
"May I ask you something?" I ask Raven, looking at my tea as the lukewarm heat emanating from it gently kissed my face.
"What is it?" Raven asked, curious as to why I suddenly took the initiative in the conversation.
"Why do bad things happen to those who don't deserve it?"
Raven seemed a little surprised by my question. She definitely wasn't expecting me to ask that, but the quick shift in her expression from slight surprise back to a more neutral one showed that she does know the answer.
"It's a cruel, merciless world out there, Simin." Raven answered as if she already knew the question and the answer beforehand. "I'm sure you've realized that by now. And in order to survive in a cruel and merciless world, you need to be just as cruel and merciless. That's how we've been able to survive out here. And I'm sure that's how you've been able to survive as well. No matter what it is, in order to preserve your own survival or even the survival of those around you, there is no room for things like compassion or mercy."
"But what about those who live in villages or those in the kingdoms?" I asked. "They never relied on cruelty and mercilessness to live, do they?"
"The people in the villages are never long for this world. They're just a bunch of idiots who take their chances with the wilderness, but instead of fighting and clawing to survive, they arm themselves with a proverbial pair of dice. In other words, every day they spend out there is a gamble where they are hoping the next day they won't be raided by bandits or sacked by grimm. And the only thing to save them is dumb luck like if a huntsman or huntress happens to be walking by. But if that doesn't happen, then they are nothing more than screwed. If you don't believe me, ask the people of Kuroyuri if there are any left. They died because they were naïve enough to think they could get by out here without having to do whatever it took to survive and they kept themselves weak in the process.
"And as for the kingdoms, you couldn't be more wrong. Even the kingdoms have their own cruel and merciless environment. It takes a certain level of cunning and preparedness to survive there. It's just as brutal in there as it is out here. The only difference is they are more organized when they do it, which means it takes a different kind of creature to survive there and get to the top, let alone stay at the top. The SDC is the biggest example of this as they are a worldwide juggernaut in the dust industry by adopting cutthroat business practices and exploiting Faunus workers, which is something they constantly try to sweep under the rug and successfully do so every time. Then there are the underground crime syndicates like the Mistral black market that constantly sell illegal items all under the nose of the Mistral government as well as carry out kidnappings in the slums for human and faunus trafficking. The slums of Mistral alone, on average, have more kidnappings than all of Vacuo, an entire kingdom that is known to be one of the most dangerous on Remnant."
"But what about-"
"Hey, you asked and I answered. I'm sorry if it wasn't the answer you wanted, but it's the one you needed to hear. That's the sad truth no matter how you cut it. I've arrived at this conclusion a very long time ago through my experiences in Remnant and I've yet to see anything that contradicts that... unless you have something to tell me that I don't know." Raven said before finishing her cup of tea as I was now silent.
I hate to admit it, but she does have a point. My father was the protector of Dorado and the village mostly relied on his protection, but when he got murdered, the village collapsed in a single night from a grimm attack. Oniyuri ended up having to be abandoned due to a potentially approaching grimm horde and the residents relocated to Kuroyuri due to the likely threat of a grimm attack. And Kuroyuri ended up getting demolished in a single night just like Dorado. All those people died because they had no one to protect them and they were too weak to fight for themselves. I guess Raven really is right. But to what extent is she?
"But anyway," Raven continues. "We're getting off topic. I didn't bring up Kuroyuri to discuss the latest thing going on in the world. Simin, do you believe in things like fate and natural selection?"
"What do you mean?" I asked for about the third time since stepping in this tent.
"What I mean is, did it ever occur to you that me finding you, Kuroyuri falling, and possibly everything leading up to this exact moment was for a reason?" She asks with indication that this is leading up to something.
"What are you trying to say?" I ask with my head slightly cocked with a bit of a bewildered look on my face.
"What I'm saying, Simin, is have you ever thought that maybe the world itself delivered you right to us? That you were meant to be a part of this tribe- this family? The world has recognized your strength, your skill, and your determination, Simin. You have proven yourself to the world that you are a survivor and a fighter, and in return, the world has deemed you fit to live. And that is why you are here right now. That is why we are having this conversation. You belong with us. And if these events aren't a clear indication of that, then I don't know what is.
"There is nowhere more suitable for you than here at the tribe. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you have what it takes, Simin: the skill, the determination, the strength, and more. This can be your home and we can be your family. You are a fighter with nothing to fight for. A survivor with nothing to live for. So if you want to live for something and fight for something, then all you have to do... is take my hand." Raven says as she extends her hand waiting for me to take it.
Here it is. The ultimate decision. With just one word and a single motion, I determine my future. On one hand, if I say no, I will be cast back out into the wilderness. And it's not like I have anywhere to go anymore now that Kuroyuri is destroyed, so I would literally be sent out to die at the hands of the world itself. But if I say yes, I can get my second chance at life. I can start over. When I was in that cage, I was solidified in saying no and was ready to be cast out and die, no longer caring to live. But Mari, made a miracle happen by taking my despair and turning it into hope... hope that I can actually get something back. A home and a family. At this very moment, I knew my answer. And in response to Raven extending her hand to me, I reach out and firmly grab her forearm, which she does to mine in return, look her dead in the eyes, and confidently say:
"Yes, Raven. I will join your tribe."
. . .
After accepting Raven's offer to join her tribe, she returned to me my weapons and then gathered the camp outside the tent where she would basically announce me joining the tribe, to the indifference or slight surprise of many (including Vernal) and to the relief of Mari. After that, she would have Mari and Vernal set up a tent for me (which was not far from Raven's, Mari's, and Vernal's tents) while I waited with Raven. After that, Mari would take me to my tent where I dropped my weapons off (although I still kept my knife on me) and she would pretty much just walk me around camp. Every now and then, we would get approached by a bandit who just wanted to say hi and welcome me, but for the most part, most of them were very indifferent or a bit apprehensive toward me.
Once we were done with that, that Sophia girl, who was in the middle of a card game with Vernal, invited us over to join, which we agreed. After dealing us in, Sophia tried to explain to me the rules of the game as best she could, but I honestly could not get even a little bit of a grasp on the concept, so I just nodded my head and just went along with everything she said. I was so lost throughout the game that I just ended up following Mari's lead the whole time, since she was sitting right next to me. However, something tells me it may have been a case of the blind leading the blind because it seemed she was about as lost as I was and she didn't seem to know what she was doing either. I genuinely could not tell whether I was winning or losing throughout the game until we got to the end where Vernal ended up being the actual victor.
I also should mention that throughout the whole game Vernal kept briefly eyeing me like there was something on her mind. I could already see an interrogation coming my way. Later that night, my prediction would be proven correct when, just as dinner was starting, Raven would leave for a bit and I would end up being cornered and interrogated by an opportunistic and very curious Vernal while Mari was getting my food.
"Okay, spill it, kid!" Vernal demanded as she interrogated like she was trying to get me to confess to a crime. "What Raven did for you isn't something she does for just anybody. So what does she want with you? What is it about you that interests Raven so much?"
"U-um..." I was a bit caught off guard since she came at me so suddenly and I didn't exactly know how to respond.
"Answer the question!" She restlessly demanded as if somebody's life were on the line. "It's not that difficult. Who are you to her?"
"Maybe they're related?" Sophia chimed in, clearly eavesdropping, as she approached us and took a seat on the ground before taking a sip from her cup. "Like he's her illegitimate child or something?"
"What?! N-no! That's- that's ridiculous! We're not related at all!" I slightly raised my voice as I got slightly flustered by her ludicrous guess.
"Relax, kid." Sophia said, laughing at my reaction. "It's just a harmless guess. Buuut,..." She then stands up and faces me. "...judging from your reaction, perhaps there's some truth to my words." She continued as she bent down, placing her hands on her knees, as she leaned her face close to mine with an inquiring look, causing it to go even redder.
"C-could you please not stand so close?" I plead as I take a couple steps back.
"He's so adorable." She says with a slight chuckle as she looks back to Vernal and stands up straight again before turning back to me. "You can relax now. I'm just teasing you. I'll lay off of you now." She says as she ended her little stunt.
"So... you have a name, kid?" She continued as she sat back down, legs crossed and propping herself up with her arms as she was leaning back.
"You do realize I wasn't finished with him yet, right, Phi?" Vernal interrupted as her words were this time directed toward Sophia.
"Well you were clearly making him uncomfortable." Sophia responded as she took a sip from her drink.
"You say that as if what you were doing was any help." Vernal protested.
"Well at least it's better than you intimidating him."
"I feel so awkward right now. Where's Mari so she can pull me out of this?"
Just then, as Vernal and Sophia were distracted with their small dispute, I peer my head to the side a bit, looking past them, and I notice Mari approaching with my food.
"I'm saved!"
"I'm back, Simin! Sorry I took so long. Anyway, I hope you like venison because that's what we're having tonight." She says as Vernal and Sophia quickly ended their dispute we both joined Sophia on the ground and sat.
"Here you go, Simin." Mari says as she hands me my plate and sits down next to me to my right.
"Thank you, Mari. But you know you don't have to keep bringing me my food anymore, right? I'm not a captive anymore." I remind her.
"Sorry. Force of habit, I guess." Mari says with a slight nervous laugh as she forces a bit of a smile, her cheeks turning into a light shade of red from the slight feeling of embarrassment.
"You're too nice, Mari." Vernal says as she turns to scold her. "The kid's not going to get anywhere if you baby him."
"I know, I know." Mari says with a sort of exhausted tone as she rolls her eyes.
I get the feeling this isn't the first time they've had this exchange judging from Mari's reaction.
"I have a name, you know." I join in as I turn to Vernal.
"Oh, and what is it then?" She asks me.
"It's Simin." I tell her as I take a bite from my venison.
"Simin, huh?" Sophia chimes in again. "You mind if I just call you 'Lu' instead?"
"What? Why 'Lu'?" I ask confused.
"I don't know. You just look like a 'Lu' to me." She says in a way that sounded almost evasive as she looked away for a second like there's something she didn't want to say.
"Why do I have the feeling you're still going to call me 'Lu' regardless of what I say?" I ask with suspicion.
"Because I am." Sophia says bluntly.
"Please don't call me that?" I plead.
"Nope." She says even more bluntly as she takes another sip.
"But it doesn't even make any—"
"Don't bother arguing with her, Simin." Vernal advises me as she cuts me off. "She's as stubborn as a mule." She then leans close and lowers her voice a bit. "Which is why she's a terrible gambler. That's how she ended up being in debt with me."
"Oh screw you, Vernal! I heard that!" Sophia says in response to Vernal's indirect jab to which Vernal responds with a chuckle of her own.
"It's true though." Vernal fires back. "If you had just decided to swap some cards from your hand instead of holding onto them, you would have stood a chance. But no. You just had to get cocky."
"I get cocky?!" Sophia raises her voice in disbelief. "You're the one who always has a sly grin on your face everytime like you have this thing won from the start."
"Well when it's you I'm going against, can you really blame me?" Vernal jabs.
"Just you wait, Vernal!" Sophia wags her finger at her. "One of these days I will beat you. I'm just... letting you beat me so you can get a winning streak over me so that I can lure you into a false sense of security, which will make it even more satisfying when I take you down."
"Well how many rounds are you going to 'let me win' until you decide that you're going to beat me in the next round?"
"As many as I want." She crosses her arms.
"Well then I guess you must like losing, then." Vernal says coldly.
In response, Sophia just huffs as she stuffs a piece of venison in her mouth, accepting her quick defeat as Vernal stumped her.
"Damn! That was cold." I thought to myself.
Something tells me their relationship is one of those types of friendships where they will constantly butt heads or throw jabs at each other, but still call themselves friends by the end of it. I never understood those types of friendships, but I've seen people somehow make it work during my time in Dorado whenever I would occasionally see two teenagers insult and throw verbal jabs at each other while at the same time laughing and smiling.
"Anyway..." Vernal then turns back to me. "I'm still not finished with you, Simin. I still have questions for you to answer."
"Oh leave him alone, Vernal!" Says Mari, inserting herself back into the conversation. "You're making him uncomfortable."
"But don't you not want to know where he came from? Who he is exactly? Or why Raven has taken an interest in him? Are you not even the slightest bit curious?" Vernal says trying to win Mari to her side.
"I am, but I'm not going to treat it like pulling teeth and interrogate him over it. Plus I'm sure the last thing he wants right now is to be hounded in the middle of dinner." Mari says, defending me. "Let the boy eat, enjoy himself, and relax. He's had a long and rough three days, not including whatever came before that."
"Fine. I'll drop it... for now, that is." Vernal reluctantly acquiesced with a slight sigh.
On that note, we all start eating our separate dinners. I admit I feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable given the new circumstances and adjusting to my new life, not even including the interrogation from moments ago. But aside from that, my first night as a part of Raven's tribe is going... ... well... not as bad as I thought.
After a few minutes of eating, one of us decided to speak up again:
"Psst! Hey, Vernal?" Sophia calls in a low voice as she nudges Vernal with her elbow.
"What is it, Phi?" Vernal asks after giving a slightly annoyed sigh and looking over in a way as if she had a feeling of what was going to happen next.
In response, Sophia says nothing except give a begging grin as she pulls something small out of her breast pocket and opens her palm to reveal a deck of playing cards.
"No, Phi!" Vernal immediately responds.
"Oh come on, Vernal! Please? You know you want to." Sophia begs.
"No, you want to." Vernal corrects her. "Can't you just ask Mari or Simin?" She says, trying to have us take her place.
"But Mari has no idea what she's doing and 'Lu' is still new at it." Sophia protests.
"Well that sounds like a 'you' problem." Vernal says coldly again.
"Pleeaase, Vernal. Just hear out my terms." Sophia keeps pushing.
"Did you forget what you already owe me?" Vernal reminds her.
"Look, if f I beat you-"
"I said no, Sophia!" Vernal cut her off.
"Don't bother arguing with her, Vernal. She's as stubborn as a mule, remember?" I teasingly remind her with a light elbow nudge to her side as I get in a bit of a jab of my own by turning her own words from earlier against her to which Mari just quietly chuckles in the background with her hand over her mouth so they couldn't hear her. As I said that, Vernal just flashed me a glare that probably said a lot of things toward me- none of them good- before turning back to Sophia.
"He's right you know." Said Sophia gesturing to me. "So what do you say?"
"Ugh! Fine! If it gets you off my ass!" Vernal reluctantly agrees after a few seconds of thinking with another annoyed sigh. "But under one condition: if I beat you, the amount you already owe me will be doubled."
"Alrighty. And as for my deal, when I beat you, the amount I owe you will be transferred to you and you will be the one owing me lien. Deal?" Sophia says with suspicious confidence as she extends her hand for Vernal to shake.
"Deal." Vernal says as she takes her hand and gives it a firm squeeze.
While Vernal and Sophia were distracted with their game, I turn my attention to my right to have a conversation with Mari.
"So how's your food, Simin? Are you enjoying yourself?" Mari asked as she turns to me as well.
"It's good. I've never had venison before." I then take another bite of my food.
"Really? So are you saying you've never hunted any deer when you were out in the wilderness?" Mari says pulling her right leg up to her chest and practically hugs it as she rests her cheek on her knee.
"Well I had a dream that I was hunting one, but I don't think that counts, does it?"
"No that does not count." Mari says as she gives a small laugh.
"Then never mind." I say as I join in on the small laugh.
"So what did you mainly eat then?" She asks after a couple seconds of silence.
"Mainly fish since there was a stream I would follow. But when I couldn't find any fish, I would just go for any small animals nearby like kingfishers and rabbits."
"That must have been really tough." Mari adopts an empathetic tone.
"It was." I say somberly as I stare down at my plate for a few moments.
"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore." Mari says putting her hand on my shoulder. "You have us now. A new family and a new home. If there is something or someone you need, we'll be here for you." She then wraps her arm around my back and pulls me into a bit of a one-armed side hug.
As she did so, I couldn't help but notice how soft and warm her jacket is. I kinda don't want to let go. Now I'm starting to wish I had a jacket myself.
"Anyway..." She says, releasing me. "I'm still impressed that you even managed to survive out there for that long, especially given your age and size."
"Yeah. I'm surprised that-"
"WHAT?!" Sophia suddenly yells with shock in her voice as she throws her cards to the ground in frustration. "Dammit! Are you shitting me right now!?"
"You asked for this, Phi, so don't complain! Now you owe me double." Vernal scolds her with a sly grin on her face.
"But how could I have lost?! I even rigged your hand and everything!" Sophia blurts out.
"I'm sorry, you what?" Vernal asks after a brief pause, now looking very irate toward her.
Sophia now visibly looks nervous as she starts to give a nervous laugh as she was rubbing the back of her neck and starting to stammer while Vernal looked like she was ready to give her a lashing. Mari and I then glance at each other before we decide to get up and take our plates and cups to put away before things get ugly.
At this point, the area we were in was mostly empty at this point with most of the bandits in other parts of the camp or sleeping. There were only maybe two or three here as they were getting their fill of alcohol.
"Um. So Mari..." I get her attention.
"Hm? Yes, Simin? What's on your mind?" Mari says before putting the last small piece of venison in her mouth.
"When Vernal was interrogating me earlier about who I was and where I'm from and why Raven took an interest in me, it got me thinking about something."
"Like what?" Mari slightly tilted her head in curiosity as she looked down to talk to me.
"Who are you?" I ask bluntly.
"Um...What do you mean?" Mari asked with a bit of a puzzled look.
"What I mean is the way you present yourself in pretty much every way is so different from everyone else here, that it kinda makes you stick out. The way you dress, the way you speak, the way you walk, the way you act, all of it. Even your posture is different compared to everyone else. You're not from here are you- the tribe I mean?"
The sudden change in the look of Mari's eyes showed me she was not expecting me to say that.
"Well... uh... aren't you observant?" Mari says as nervousness grew in her voice. She tried to play off the nervousness with a small laugh, but I could tell what I said made her nervousness as her steps slightly increased in pace with little distance between each step.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is what's your story?" I ask, ignoring her comment.
Mari looked incredibly nervous and had a bit of a "deer in the headlights" expression as she wasn't exactly sure how to answer or even what to answer with. She looks like she's about to start sweating. I wonder why her behavior suddenly changed from that. Eventually she spoke up, but she didn't say what I was expecting her to say.
"Simin, watch ou-!"
Unfortunately, Mari noticed too late and before she could finish her sentence, I ended up walking straight into a large bandit as something hard, but light, hit my head, before I fell to the ground. As I fell, my knife slid out of my pocket and I was suddenly drenched as a small amount of a wet, cold liquid spilled all over me. After a few smells, I noticed that it had a rather pungent smell. Alcohol.
Meanwhile, Mari was covering her mouth with a surprised expression as she moved her eyes back and forth to the bandit and to me like she was expecting a fight.
"Watch where you're fucking going!" The bandit slurred his words, clearly intoxicated.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I apologized, as I look around for mom's knife.
"Hey! You look at me if you're gonna apologize! What's so important that's got you so distracted? You lose something special of yours?" He says in a mocking way.
"My knife." I answer, stupidly hoping he'd just buzz off if I answered his question.
"Do you mean this knife?" He says, as he spots my knife on the ground and gets down on one knee to pick it up.
"So what's so special about this knife?"
"It's... uh—"
"Hey! Leave him alone and give him back his knife-!" Mari steps in.
"Relax." The drunkard says as he holds her hand out to cut her off. "Just a harmless question. Is it wrong to want to get to know the new member?" He then turns back to me. "Care to answer the question?"
I don't think this asshole's going to give it back unless I comply. I'd kick his ass and take it back myself, but I don't think that would make a good first impression if I got into a fight on my first night. Not to mention I'm still injured, so I'm not too sure how I would fare in this shape.
"It's... it's my mother's. Look, just please give it back. It's extremely important to me." I plead with frustration as that is pretty much all I can really do given the scenario.
The fact this drunken dickhead is basically holding my mother's knife hostage right now is already pissing me off. But I need to keep it together for now.
"Don't worry, kid. I'll give it back."
"Oh thank the gods!"
"After a bit of dental hygiene."
"I'm sorry, what?"
He then proceeded to flip the knife around and bring it to his mouth and... he started to pick his teeth with it. My mother's knife is now being used to scrape gunk out of some jackass' teeth... right in front of me. Now I'm absolutely fuming. As soon as he started doing that I, without thinking, kicked the knife out of his hand, which caused him to flinch and stumble on his back as it slashed his lower lip.
"Agh! Fuck!" He shouted as he held his face for a couple seconds before shooting me a look of pure malice.
Next thing you know he swiftly kicks me in the gut where my wounds are, which immediately sent waves of pain through my body as it winded me and knocked me back a few feet as I fell to the ground, convulsing, while he got back up to his feet and started approaching me.
"Back off!" Mari shouted as she put herself between me and the drunkard.
Without a word, the bandit just brushed her out of the way with his arm, effortlessly moving her aside as if she weren't even there at all.
"You're fucking dead, kid!" He said as he lifted me by my collar and brought his other hand back to pummel me.
"STOP!" Mari shouted as she grabbed his hand. "You will leave him alone!"
"Stay out of my fucking way, Mari!" He says as he jerks his arm, which flings Mari to the ground, briefly lifting her off her feet for a second.
"VERNAL! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Mari shouts for Vernal at the top of her lungs so she can come and resolve the situation.
Vernal took notice and got up from where she was and headed to our location. I should also point out that Sophia was already long gone at that point.
"So you think you're tough, kid?" The bandit jeers with ill intent in his drunken eyes. "You have any idea where you are? We're a band, not a daycare! But if you think you're tough enough to play with the big boys, then I don't mind showing you the ropes. Well come on, then. Show me how tough you are, shit stain!"
"I have nothing to prove to someone who has nothing to offer." I utter as how he's holding me is making it a bit harder to breathe.
If I wasn't injured already, he'd be unconscious by now.
"Oho! You got quite the mouth on you!" He mocks. "How about I take care of that?"
"HEY!" Vernal barks as she reaches us, getting his attention as he looks over while still holding me. "Drop him... now."
"You need to mind your own fucking business, Vernal!" He snaps back as Vernal foolishly tries to reason with a drunk.
"And you need to know your place! I'm in charge when Raven is gone, so until she gets back, this is all my fucking business!" She says as she draws her weapons and points them at the drunkard.
Her weapons are a pair of curved blades that kind of resemble a pair of half-moons with the open ends facing us. In the center of the blades, there appears to be barrels, which indicates that these weapons are most definitely also firearms and the fact that Vernal has her finger curled over what looks like a trigger only proves my suspicions correct.
"Vernal, is that necessary?" Mari questions Vernal's approach to the situation.
"Hey, you're the one who called me here, Mari, so don't start with me!" Vernal shouts to Mari. "I'm doing this my way! It's going to take more than pacifism to reason with a drunkard, Mari. So let me take the reins here if you're just going to be useless."
Vernal then turned back to us.
"Now I'm going to count to three. And if you don't put him down and back off by that point..." She then aims her weapons at the drunkard, ready to pull the trigger if need be.
"You'll what? You'll kill me?" The drunkard asks in a sarcastic tone clearly brave due to his drunkenness as he gives a slight chuckle.
"No. But I'll make you wish that I did." Vernal said adopting a very serious tone, like she was ready to maim her own tribe member if she had to.
"Sure you will." Said the jackass to Vernal, turning his attention back to me.
"One." Vernal had started counting, giving him a chance to put me down.
"What's the real reason why Raven let a shit stain like you be a part of our family?!" Said the man with a mocking tone as he aggressively shook me.
"Two." Vernal sounded more impatient after his comment. For a second, I almost thought she was about to skip to three and pull the trigger.
"Let me go!" I struggled to yell since the way he was holding me was starting to make it hard for me to breathe.
"Not fucking happening! So did she pity you? Was that it?"
"Thr-"
Not wanting Vernal to have to shoot this guy, before she could finish saying three, I kicked the drunkard square in the face, stunning him and knocking him back as well as him letting me go as I hit the ground with a thud, gasping for air and holding my pained sides. Mari and Vernal both looked a bit surprised that I managed to stun him like that with just a single kick from my position.
As he regained his bearings, the drunk man looked back at me with a livid expression and said:
"You just dug your own grave."
. . .
This isn't good. I just pissed him off even more now. Now I've never had any experience with one, but I know for a fact that there is no reasoning with a pissed off drunk person in any situation- especially when you're the one that pissed them off.
The man was now storming back over to me as I was prepared to defend myself. I'm going to have to end this quickly if I don't want to injure myself even more. But that alone is going to be even more of a challenge given the injuries I'm already recovering from. I'm very limited as to what I can do at the moment. But regardless, I'm still going to make this bastard pay for disrespecting my mother by using her knife as a toothpick and thinking he can push me around.
As we both started moving toward each other, we were briefly stopped by a crescent shaped blade flying into our path and lodging itself into the ground and briefly getting our attention.
"Enough!" Shouted Vernal to both of us.
"No Vernal. Stay out of this."
"I am not having a fight break out under my watch!" She yelled.
"But Vernal, weren't you asking earlier why Raven took an interest in me?" I bargain, taking advantage of her curiosity from earlier.
"And what does that have to do with this?" Vernal asks, irritated and confused by seemingly irrelevant question.
"If you want your answer, then please stay out of this— you and Mari."
With that, Vernal, with an intrigued look on her face, paused before lowering her weapon, giving me center stage.
"You can't be serious, Vernal!" Mari protested. "He's going to get hurt! Are you seriously letting a fight play out because you let your curiosity get the better of you?!"
"I'll jump in and stop it when I feel it's going too far, Mari, which is if they literally start trying to kill each other. But right now, I'm going to get an answer and see what he can do. And if all I have to do to get that is just sit and watch, then I'll do that."
"And how would you go about stopping it?" Mari asks with worry in her voice.
"Quickly and efficiently." Vernal answers vaguely.
With that Vernal and Mari left us to our fight as they watched as spectators.
As the man and I got closer, he attempted a straight jab with his left hand and I ducked and moved to the side and took a couple of quick shots to his ribs, which seemed to have affected him a little bit. He would then attempt a back hand and I, anticipating it, would duck again and move back in front of him to kick him straight in the crotch, causing him to crouch down. I then thrust my hand into his neck as he crouched from the pain, hitting him in the throat and stunning him again. Just one more solid shot should do it for me to end this quickly. I think I'll end it with a knee strike next.
I take a couple steps back to build space for me to run up and knee him in the head, but as I was coming back in to finish him off with it, he caught the knee and took me to the ground pinning me. As he brought his arm back to pummel my face in, I grabbed a handful of dust and threw it in his face, getting it into his eyes. I then took the opening to reach for my plate that was right next to me and stabbed him in the cheek with a fork I had grabbed.
"Agh! You little shit!" Shouted the bandit with agony in his voice as he backed off of me in pain and sort of leaned back next to me, swearing from the pain.
I'm a bit slow to get up as that take down really hurt me due to my wound, but I'm still able to manage. I get on top of him as I dug the fork deeper into his cheek causing him to shriek in pain, but it didn't take long or much effort for him to toss me off. Luckily for me, he was still having a bit of trouble seeing through his dust filled eyes, giving me some time to catch my breath before he could catch me. At this point, I'm not sure at this point if I'll have enough strength to finish him off with a strike to the head, so I might have to try a different approach if I am to beat him. As I was getting back up again, I feel a large fist hit me in the side of the face rattling me and knocking me back down and a few feet back.
"How did he know where to hit me?" I thought. "He shouldn't be able to see. Did he get lucky?"
I look up and see the man approaching me, his eyes red like an angry bull, either from the dust in his eyes or the unbridled rage.
"Oh shit!"
As he started marching toward me again while I was still on all fours, a bit stunned from that headshot, I realized he was about to punt me in the gut or stomp me on the back. Either way, that will most likely critically injure me. I need to move, but I'm still feeling the effects from that headshot.
"Come on, Simin! Shake it off and move!"
As he was about to land a heavy stomp on me, I roll to the inside as he brings his foot down, leaving a large gap between his legs due to the lunge he took to take it. I saw my opening and immediately scurried under his legs as he reached for me and I quickly get behind him and mount his back. I wrap my left arm around his neck under his chin and my right arm to lock it in place and began to apply as much pressure as I could while also raking his eyes for some extra damage.
The drunkard was desperately trying to shake me off as he was gasping for air and the blood circulation to his brain was starting to cut off. With seemingly nothing left to do, he then reached for the fork that was still embedded in his cheek and pulled it out, releasing a sharp exhale of pain. I then realized what he was trying to do: he was going to stab my arm or face with it to get me to let go! Not wanting to take the risk, I quickly release him.
As I landed, he quickly turned around before I even hit the ground and caught me with a backward swipe with his right arm that I wasn't able to dodge this time as it knocked me down. However, I did manage to get my arm up to partially block the head shot this time. As I got back up to my feet, he lands a kick toward my sternum and essentially shoves me back a couple yards.
After being knocked down I look up and try to catch my breath expecting him to come at me again. But instead, I'm just met with the sight looking down at something. As I move my gaze toward what it is he's looking at, I see that he's staring down at mom's knife, still sitting on the ground from when I kicked it out of his hands earlier.
"Is he planning to use it on me?"
Instead of bending down to pick up my mother's knife and use it, like I thought he would, he instead spits on it and proceeds to press his boot on it. After seeing that, I suddenly felt that bubbling rage start to burn in me again just like on the day Bruno died. I know drunk people don't make the wisest of decisions, but what he just did is going to cost him his life! Now I'm the one who's seeing red!
As I was down on the ground, the man seemingly tried to pounce on me as he brought his body to the ground where I was. Just as he did that, I swiftly moved out of the way, ignoring all pain in my body just to make this one bastard pay. As I dodged, I quickly get to my feet and grab a bottle. I try to swing the glass bottle at his face, but he blocks it with his forearm just in time, causing broken glass to lay everywhere and some getting embedded into his forearm. Right after he blocked it, the man grabbed me by the shirt and proceeded to lift me up like he did earlier. He then punched me in the gut around where my wound was, sending another wave of pain shoot through my body, and then flung me back down to the ground tearing a huge hole in my shirt and revealing my bandages.
At this point, whatever I do, needs to be quick and decisive. I'm in so much pain right now, I thought I was going to throw up. I'm just going to have to fight through it. Right now would be a good time for that adrenaline to kick in.
I immediately get back up, fighting through the pain and not wasting any time after being tossed to the ground, and rush back toward him and dropkick his knee, bringing him back down to my level like when I gave him that low blow. He's a bit hurt by this and it won't be long until he recovers, so I then quickly get up and land a shot on his ribs and another into the side of his neck. For the neck shot, I formed my fist in a way that my knuckles were basically sticking out so I could concentrate the blow more to specific spots and hopefully get a bit more damage in because of it. He once again brings his arm back to do a backward swipe again but I lean back and dodge as his arm goes over my face.
"Man, this guy fights like a colossus, which is anything but a compliment!"
I take the opening and move in and jab him in the face with one knuckle out that I drive straight into his eye and open my other hand and thrust it into his solar plexus as if it were a knife. This gets a good amount of damage in as I start chopping him down to size.
He brings his left arm for a punch but I lean back and step back a bit and block it with my left hand, capturing and controlling the wrist in the process. Upon doing this, I thrust my foot into his ribs. Then, still in control of his wrist, I spin myself around in a way that I am almost in front of him with my back facing toward him and use my momentum to hit him with a back elbow in the gut, open my hand and swiftly bring it down to chop him in the groin, and then ball that same hand into a fist as I hit him with a back fist square in the face into his bleeding nose (all of that being done with the same arm). Once that is done, I spin and jump as I nail him in the jaw with a knee, knocking him flat on his back.
As he started to recover a bit, I grabbed a plate and got myself a bit of a distance between us.
"He hasn't noticed yet. Time to end this!"
I toss the plate in the air toward him and sprint forward. As the plate was about to come down right in front of his face, I jump and hit a flying knee into the plate and into his face. The plate shattered on impact as my knee and his face both made contact with it. The man was instantly knocked out upon receiving the decisive blow as his body violently whipped back and hit the ground, his head bouncing off of it from the force.
But I wasn't done with him yet. I still feel absolutely livid at what he did with her knife. As he lay there knocked out, I go and retrieve my knife. Just the site of his boot marks on it and the glob of saliva on the blade made me livid. I'm not letting this go so easily.
At this point I couldn't even hear anything around me due to the pain in my body and my unbridled rage. I approached the unconscious man with the knife and placed my knee on his abdomen as I brought the blade above my head, ready to sink it into his chest. But as soon as I was about to make the motion—
"SIMIN!" I hear a voice snap me out of it as I feel a hand firmly grab my wrist and pull it back at the last moment while also pulling me back into reality.
As I snapped out of my rage-filled state, I look back at the source of the voice and I see Mari standing over me with her hand firmly grabbing onto my wrist. She was staring at me with pleading eyes and a fearful expression.
"Let it go, Simin." She says, bringing her voice to a softer tone. "Please. He's not a threat anymore."
I then see Mari's eyes dart off to the side a bit as if she were trying to tell me something. I move my eyes in the same direction and I see Vernal behind her, pointing her weapon at me with a stone cold face. I could tell just from her look that she was literally on the verge of pulling the trigger on me.
I then slowly release the knife as it falls to the ground with a slight thud. In response to that Mari releases me hand. After that I looked back down at the unconscious man that I was about to kill. As soon as I did so, I look back into Mari's fearful eyes and then back down at the unconscious man and put my hand over my mouth as the feeling hit me.
"Oh my gods! I... I was about to kill him! I was actually about to kill him!"
It felt like something had come over me like a tidal wave swallowing whole all that lay in its path. It was an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I then started to feel my heartbeat quicken as well as my breathing getting rapid as the guilt grew more and more to the point that it became almost unbearable. Like my body was fighting back against my mind and screaming at me for what I was about to do.
"I have to get out of here!"
I then made a beeline toward a secluded part of the camp and dropped on the ground behind a few crates where no one could see me so I could regather my bearings. Due to my abdominal wounds, the rapid made it very painful for me to take a breath and left me hunched over as the breaths became labored. It felt like my own body was torturing me.
"It hurts so much! I-I can't believe I was going to murder that guy! What am I doing?! What am I thinking?! What am I becoming? What's-"
"Simin?" I hear Mari's voice call out to me, interrupting my thoughts and dragging me out of my own head.
She sounded almost skittish, like she was afraid of me. Not that I can blame her if she feels that way considering I almost just murdered a guy right in front of her. I was so busy trying to pull myself back together, I couldn't answer.
"S-simin are you-"
"I-I'm fine, Mari! Don't-... don't worry about me!" I struggle to speak, between pained breaths.
"Simi-"
"I'M FINE, MARI!" I shouted with a pained voice. "Just... please... leave me alone right now. I'm sorry Mari,... but I just... need to be alone." I then covered my mouth to suppress my hyperventilating to keep her from hearing my labored breaths and checking up on me.
Mari then hesitated until she spoke up again.
"O-okay, Simin. I'll give you your space. Just call for me or find me if you need anything."
I could then hear footsteps going in the opposite direction. As soon as Mari left, I audibly finished my thought from a moment ago:
"What's wrong with me?"
**CHAPTER END**
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Hey, everyone!
I want to start this off with an apology. I'm really sorry this chapter is so late. I have been really tired this past week and the fact that this was an absolute monster of a chapter in terms of size didn't exactly help much either, which contributed to a severe lack of sleep and a bit of stress this past week. Just yesterday, I literally ended up going to bed at 3 p.m. (no, that is not a typo) because I was up all night finishing editing this monster-sized chapter. So for the next few weeks, I'm going to be taking it easy and slow down a bit and I might take a small break (not sure yet on whether I actually will or not) after posting chapter 12 to close off the third act. Right now, I am almost done revising the remaining chapters for Volume 1 as I am currently revising chapter 19 (which is personally my favorite chapter in the volume).
Now with that out of the way, let's talk about this chapter:
(sigh)
I have a lot to say about this chapter and I'm going to be honest here and just say this right off the bat:
I am not too pleased with how this chapter turned out.
I don't know about the rest of you, but this chapter is probably the weakest in this entire volume in my opinion, which is why I have the most mixed feelings toward it. I tried smoothening it out as best I could, but I'm not sure if it was enough. The pacing just feels a bit off to me, the dialogue in the second half feels a bit weird or disjointed in some parts, and the entire last third of the chapter feels really messy to me. If I had to rank this chapter out of 10, I would make it probably a 6/10. It's easily my least favorite chapter. I'm not sure if this is just the lack of sleep talking right now and I'm just being too hard on myself or the fact that this chapter was a huge pain to work on, but that's how I feel toward this chapter at the moment. If there is anything I could have done to have improved this chapter, please tell me. I welcome your criticism with open arms.
Not to mention the fight scene felt a bit forced or shoehorned compared to the others I've had this volume. The main reason why I had this fight scene even happen at all was because I needed something that would readdress the words Raven said to Simin back in chapter 9 regarding what he did in chapter 8 and I thought this was the best way for me to do it so it could lead to Simin's biggest mental struggle, that being with himself and what he did, so that he can come to terms with the things he did and move on... for now, that is. Also, I really wanted to have at least one brawl scene. So anyway, the reason why Simin reacts the way he does toward the end of this chapter is because he is very affected by the words Raven said to him in chapter 9 and he's starting to feel guilt for the things he did in chapter 8, which are coming back to haunt him, which means he's currently going through his biggest mental struggle in the volume (which will be resolved in the next chapter, which will be a really wholesome one (mostly)).
Which reminds me, next chapter, we're also going to be getting the final dream sequence for this volume.
So like I said in the last chapter's notes, I've kinda hit the reset button with aura as I am going to be changing the rules a bit and making tweaks such as me making up the rule of how passive semblances don't use up aura or function with aura, for example. I'll explain why I made that up when I get to the fun fact for this chapter. I do plan on doing some of my own things with aura in the future to expand on it, but I will keep that secret for now. I plan on revealing those things in Volume 2. Also when Raven was explaining semblances to Simin, I was originally going to have her break it down even further with supplemental information by categorizing semblances in regard to how they function such as conditional semblances that require certain conditions be met to use them such as Raven's semblance, which requires her to form a bond with someone in order to use it, semblances that only affect the user such as Blake's semblance that allows her to clone herself or Harriet's semblance that allows her to move very quickly, and semblances that affect things beyond the user such as Weiss' glyphs or Pyrrha's polarity. In the end, I decided to cut that out at the last second because I was worried I might be unnecessarily overcomplicating it.
We also finally get introduced to the next oc of mine that I've been mentioning in the past few author's notes, Sophia Avalon, who has a little bit of a gambling problem (not sure if I did good job at showing that, so please let me know if I did well or not with that). She barely makes any appearances in the main chapters, but she's much more present in the anthology chapters. I'd like to know what you think of her and if there is any suggestions for me to improve her character, just let me know. She's kinda meant to be a bit of a comedic character or, at the very least, a more lighthearted character. I've never exactly written a character like this before so again if anyone has suggestions on how I can make her better, I am open to them. The reason why I put a character like this in this volume is because I felt I needed one to help balance the tone since out of all the volumes I plan on writing, Volume 1 is definitely the darkest. Sophia herself isn't really a major character in terms of the story, but she does, however, have ties or relations to a major oc of mine that does appear at the end of this volume. Also by the way, the reason why Sophia wants to refer to SImin as "Lu" has a lot to do with her backstory, which as I said previously, is really depressing. We'll get her depressing backstory in the first anthology chapter when we get to it.
Anyway, the next chapter will be the end of act 3. So with all that said, I will leave you to fun fact #11 and then I'm going to finally get some sleep:
Fun fact #11: The rule I said that involves aura not being tied to passive semblances stems from the fight in Volume 4 of RWBY where Qrow is fighting Tyrian. The reason why I made this rule is because during the fight, Qrow's aura breaks, but his bad luck semblance was still in effect (which was why Qrow yelled at Ruby to stay back to which Ruby responded by saying this was her fight as well and then Qrow says, "No, it's not that.", which was him basically referring to his bad luck semblance and that whole exchange took place after Qrow's aura had already broken).
Also, (consider this another fun fact), for the hand-to-hand parts in the fight scenes, since I know some martial arts, I like to incorporate some things that I know into the fights. I also like to physically do most of the moves whenever I'm writing a fight scene because it helps me choreograph the fights just to make sure they flow well enough.