Brun was a light sleeper after years of listening to Grimm walk around his clearing. He didn't know if it was his understandable exhaustion , the blood loss or the weird feeling that pushed out from his heart but he had actually slept in for once.
He failed to notice the early morning light that usually hit his eyes through a crack in the walls of his hut.
He had also failed to notice how the literal most attractive person he had ever seen had fallen asleep on top of him.
And he was shirtless.
This took quite a while for him to begin to process in a calm manner.
'Okay so how do I not get stabbed If I wake her up'
He looked down again finding a mess of black hair it was cut relatively short and was styled into long bangs.
Her ears resembled a panthers and were difficult to spot in her hair a few small golden piercings were placed into her right ear.
The ferocity she showed her incredible prowess with her weapon and the fact that she absolutely saved his life made him seriously reconsider his stance on the ruling family.
The smell of dried sweat and cool morning dew and whatever unknown fruit it was she put in her hair.
He could get very used to this.
He didn't really want to wake her up she was warm and a part of him really wanted to just stay there wrapped in safety.
'I mean I don't have to maybe its best if she realises on her own? besides she clearly needs the sleep'
He didn't dare put his hands anywhere as he still wanted them attached to his body by mid afternoon.
He had never had a clock so judging time had always been difficult it took quite a while for her to wake up on her own.
The mid morning sun's rays shot at her eye lids forcing them open.
"Uh ...hi"
'Maybe staring directly at her as she began to stir was a bad idea'
Her eyes widened in shock as her head pulled back.
"Oh right its you"
Her expression entirely changed her eyes took on a hint of warm mirth and her lips curved into a sly smile.
"So how was it?" she placed a finger onto his chest and supported her head with her other hand.
"How was what?"
"Oh I think you know , the vigorous thrusting , grunting , panting and slapping that we did after I unlocked your aura?...we worked up quite a sweat"
...
'What the actual fuck...Is she joking'
Rurik's ears flushed red.
'What the fuck why don't I remember? , what the fuck is an aura? , how the hell didn't I bleed to death AND WHY THE FUCK WOULDN'T I REMEMBER THAT?'
"Ooops I meant before" Maya cackled as she rolled off of him falling onto the floor.
Her laugh was incredibly infectious as Rurik got up and stretched leaning against the wall as he got his laughs out.
"Oh hell you got me for a second I thought...".
"What exactly were you picturing?"
"NOTHING!"
"Awwww come on give me something I have had nobles give me better details of their dirty fantasies "
"You...go first?"
Maya looked surprised her eyebrows shifted up.
"Ooooh interesting someone who actually seems to care what I want" Maya said with a little malice that wasn't directed at him.
"I mean obviously it involves the threat of death and a roguishly attractive illiterate lumberjack" Rurik flexed his bicep pleased to feel no pain when doing so despite remembering some rather deep cuts on the limb.
"Honestly when I think about it this really isn't that far off . No more corsets , no more grand dinners or dances , no more suitors who only want me as a means to political progression."
'Not that far off being a serf are any of us truly free?'
Maya looked off into space while biting her nail.
"Do you want to hunt some breakfast?"
She snapped out of it.
"You hunt your breakfast?"
"I live in the middle of shitsville nowhere Maya It's either that or we go into town and steal"
"Is it bad that both of those sound fun?"
'Probably'
"Nah I think you just have a sense of adventure...so what will it be?"
Maya picked up her spear.
"Let's get to it then"
"Maya we're going to be killing rabbits not bloody bears"
"Are you a professional rabbit killer?"
"No that would be silly I am clearly a comedian"
Being part of the military was much more boring than people imagined , part of it was due to how war and the service of one's country is glorified but another is just through its own presentation.
Soldiers talk about the highlights just like anyone else but when a nation isn't at war.
You have a normal day job.
Saya's skills could easily apply to a private security firm or a logistics company or she could even fill the role of a regular gunsmith.
She was told what to actually expect by her father.
'Racist old fucking coot'
She didn't need Brun to tell her that he was just angry at whatever scapegoat he could find for his own fathers death.
'Still he was right about the slow days'
She turned the handle to her home feeling the warm air wash over her.
She slipped into the usual routine easily tossing off her heavy coat beginning to work on dinner.
CLINK
'was that a loose round'
The pot was left to boil as she walked through their living room to their garage the light wasn't on and the padlock remained in place.
'Oh fuck is this a break in?'
She inhaled through her nostrils noting how her heart rate picked up , she rolled her shoulders reached for her holster and drew it slowly using the time to try and calm herself.
She took 4 steps away from the door dropped her shoulder and charged into itTthe door was tough but Brun had taught her how to empower her body with aura.
The lock snapped and light spilled into the room.
Her weapon followed the light as she rapidly cleared it finding a figure clutching her Attano Lupan DMR.
"Oh for fuck's sake Alex why the fuck are you holding my gun?"
"This looks a lot worse than it actually is"
"Answer the question"
Alex gestured to her sidearm which was still pointed in his face.
Saya holstered it by shoving it into her holster the cover being pushed into the holster itself making a poor fit.
"Well... enough stalling why are you here? , how did you even get in? and why did you think this was a smart idea?"
"I wanted to learn about guns , its not exactly easy to find real information I don't have a local library and the one at school restricts that stuff to older kids"
"So you broke into your own home instead of asking me , a literal gunsmith"
"I was going to ask you , but you've been working a lot and well I am extremely impatient I think that it is my biggest flaw"
"Oh it's up there , along with the arrogance that you could or even should be able to get away with this seriously how did you get in here?"
Alex pulled a vaguely familiar looking spare key from his pocket that was for the main door to the garage.
"Found it on top of one of the support beams to the front porch"
Saya reached forward and grabbed her rifle pulling the bolt back and finding no round in the chamber or the mag below it.
"Well at least you didn't shoot anything but seriously Alex you couldn't have waited a couple of hours? I would have let you in and shown you"
"Would you actually?"
"Yeah why wouldn't I?"
"I am 9 years old I just assumed that I wasn't supposed to see this stuff"
"Alex I am a gunsmith and your father is a huntsman you're covered in gunshot residue from just being around the two of us"
"People and teachers keep telling me no , they have all the books and subject matter but I am not 'old' enough to use them like my new school is meant to prepare us for combat right?"
"Yes but don't say that in-front of your father ... I am sure you are aware of how much we argued over getting you there"
"I know Mom it is still better than my old place and I am making some cool friends"
"So what do you want to know?"
"I think you are the expert there so how about you decide?" Saya smiled with just a little hint of excitement.
"Did you guys do anything this weekend" Alex asked more eager to tell them of his own weekend than listen to theirs.
Katia looked up to Samsen who shrugged.
"Yeah we went protesting" Katia looked back down.
...
...
'Okay that's unusual for her Samsen probably dragged her there... wherever 'there' was'
"Okay...any details for who , why , where that kinda thing?"
Samsen piped up
"We're protesting for faunus rights as part of this group called the "White Fang"
Once the word was finished his mind erupted masks , guns , sleeveless jackets all emblazoned with a symbol of an predators jaw.
You'll kill a lot of them , the good people do it so why shouldn't you?
Alex hissed and sucked in air between his teeth his hands covered his eyes as they twitched and were flooded with imagery , protests , more armed people , a man with a giant chainsword.
"What do they do?" Alex groaned out his expression becoming pained.
"Well we protest for faunus rights , equal pay , better working conditions , less discrimination that kind of thing"
LIAR THEY ARE FUCKING TERRORISTS , THEY ARE HALF THE REASON YOU HAVE TO DO THIS.
'They could change'
NO 'THEY' WILL CHANGE...unless
"Are you ok?" Samsen asked as Katia looked up looking oddly concerned
"Sorry Migraine it happens kinda randomly sometimes"
Alex shook his head head and breathed deeply opening his eyes only to blink them rapidly.
"So do you want to come to a protest/rally thing sometime ? I feel like you want to meet some more people... like us"
'I need to play it off he's offended that I didn't listen properly'
"You mean strikingly handsome men such as us Samsen" Swiping his hair back and giving a sly smile.
Samsen chuckled Katia looked back down.
'Is she embarrassed or am I overreacting?'
"No I mean like more faunus kids who don't hate you because of well...you" he pointed to Alex's ears
"Is my head seriously that big?"
"You know what I mean"
'Honestly yeah I need to meet more people the human kids here aren't exactly immediately welcoming'
...
...
'You gonna scream something...no okay then'
"Yeah sure sounds like ... well not fun because I think that isn't the point of protesting but you know its for a good cause and all that , when is the next protest thing?"
"There is one next Saturday you could come to"
"Yeah I'll ask mom"
Samsen looked hesitant.
"I mean does she have to know , like she probably wouldn't let you go there"
"Well did your parents let you go"
Samsen nodded.
"Well then it probably is safe enough and I cannot really get there without her driving me so I kinda have to"
"I don't think she would let you go because she's... you know 'human' "
'Okay that's a silly assumption sure her stopping me from protesting because that's what a good parent would do makes sense , but because she's human?'
"Samsen she gave birth to me , she loves me so she wants me to have a better future she really isn't racist"
"Yeah but she might not support you going to protests at our age"
"Then how about this , I go ask her I get her thoughts on it and if she says no I claim to go to your house and go there with you."
Samsen seemed satisfied and was eager to change the point.
'You know for a bunch of FUCKING TERRORISTS these are some pretty nice people'
...
...
'Huh well then I guess you were wrong'
A crowd of a round 60 or so mostly faunus people from a variety of backgrounds marched through the towns main streets , a few police officers followed them acting friendly and attempting to lead the crowd away from moving traffic.
The protest wasn't that loud or obnoxious the police did a good job of containing people.
'Okay this is a bit ridiculous we are protesting at 7PM when nearly everyone is in their houses having dinner , we aren't causing any disruption this is a bit...weak'
'Wasn't the point of protest to gather attention? Shouldn't we be doing this at rush hour?'
The group ended up collecting near the town hall it was at this point that more police officers turned up.
They remained peaceful but their postures changed a little with straighter backs and hands were placed onto their nightsticks.
They didn't draw them and didn't act hostile.
Alex walked through the crowd attempting to find Katia and Samsen mainly out of boredom there weren't that many kids here.
'Seriously why are we doing this at this time of night? If we did this at rush hour would we cause a violent incident? Or is this more of a meet-up to get people talking?
The 'protest' went on the chanting continued and Alexs ears began to ring.
You would think that other faunus would understand the issues of superhuman hearing and would out of courtesy?
'You are being pushed in each of those police officers has moved 5 metres forward'
The crowd was growing a little more tense , the loud noise the tiredness from standing around and the realisation that their efforts were hardly fruitful were frustrating to many.
"Hey Katia" Alex found the girl with her hands on her ears and a scrunched red face.
"What?"
"Who managed this protest this is just shit?"
"The group leader changed my mom is out of town so someone else took over"
The chanting became more incoherent peoples voices became hoarse with jeering and swearing at some new arrival.
Alex couldn't see through all the legs in-front of him.
"Look Katia I am gonna go , I don't think I am gonna achieve anything by doing this"
"DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY THIS IS AN ILLEGAL PROTEST"
Both Katia and Alex perked up worry found their faces.
"We need to go" Alex grabbed Katias hand and tried to pull her to the left out of the crowd.
'Samsen will kick my fucking ass if so much as a hair on her head is out of place'
Dodging knees and people stepping forwards the crowd was becoming more aggressive with their movements and hand gestures.
Alex continued to pull her along the crowd was like some living breathing things that was rapidly tensing up , something about it was intoxicating so many people together united.
They reached the edge of the crowd Alex pulled Katia through who was for the first time since they had met looking worried.
Her eyes widened Alex turned to follow her vision and was blasted by a torrent of water the force of which meant to incapacitate fully grown men bowled him and Katia over.
Alex managed to shove his arm beneath Katia's head saving her from a concussion but he wasn't so lucky his forehead slammed into concrete making a snap that was audible over the shouting.
The pain took a second to register and a second blast struck him in the back as he was sprawled over Katia his back felt like it was going to peel off the water was cold but all of him burned from the force and impact.
The crowd was stunned into silence the police officer with the megaphone was stunned the anger in his eyes briefly faded and turned to shock.
And like a switch being flipped rage resumed , the crowd charged out in all directions in a chaotic mess only the children remained in what was the centre of the group.
The discipline of the police won out several of the protestors were snatched , some threw bricks and they received the same treatment Alex had.
Alex was incredibly delirious he couldn't hear and his eyes stung but the pain from his forehead burned through his haze making him groan out and begin to cry his breath hitching constantly.
He was pulled off Katia who was thoroughly soaked and felt himself being hauled up onto someone's shoulder , he continued to cry and pried open his own eyes.
He tried his best to walk but found it difficult to concentrate the throbbing pressure in the front of his forehead grew.
'I have a concussion don't I?... fuck'
At some point he was loaded into a car and a towel was tossed over him he ebbed in and out of consciousness hearing cursing from unfamiliar voices.
'Well that was a shitshow'
Alex knew he could have opened his eyes but he decided to take a moment to collect his thoughts in his very pained brain.
'okay I can wonder about what the fuck happened later the first priority should be damage control on me , Katia , Samsen and then anyone else'
He felt a wet cloth being placed against his forehead an adults hand pressing it down with a bit too much force , Alex resisted the urge to wince and kept his mouth in a thin line.
'Okay nothing feels broken but I don't think I can walk that well , Katia should be better off than I was hopefully Samsen got out okay'
'Was he the one who helped carry me?'
'Where am I? did the white fang have a headquarters? or is this Katia and Samsen's home?'
With only one way to find out Alex opened his eyes it was clearly a child's bedroom he was facing the bottom of a cheaper looking bunk bed the rest of the room was furnished much like his own.
"So you're finally awake"
"God fucking damnit T.."
Alex looked left finding Samsen sitting in a chair beside him.
"Were you watching me sleep"
"Someone had to after you got hit with a water cannon how are you feeling?"
"I have a concussion and have no idea how I got here , or what time it is or what really happened after I got hit. Honestly for all I know it could be Sunday"
...
...
...
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"About 5 hours you have been in and out , we gave you something to drink about an hour ago you seemed awake then"
'02:00 and I really thought that I would remember waking up is that a sign of brain damage or is this normal?'
"I really do not remember that"
Samsen winced
"Look I just wanted to say that you kept Katia safe and for that I and the rest of my family are very grateful"
"What about my parents?"
"That was a nice surprise neither of them saw what happened but they heard about it on the news and called our house they told us to keep you indoors overnight"
"Are you okay? is Katia.."
"We are both fine thanks to you mate"
Alex sat up the damp cloth slipped off his head and with the absence of the cold his head began to throb scrunching his eyes up instinctually did not help this.
"How bad does it look?"
'Could I pretend that this never happened'
He could imagine the arguments between his parents , his mother a human supporting him and encouraging him to make friends his father a faunus denying him the right to protest for his own safety.
'Pretending this never happened is the best thing for everyone I don't embarrass the Leone's and I get to hang out with them more often'
Last night proved that there was a problem he hadn't experienced any racism that really went beyond words but this changed things.
'What kind of fucking maniac blasts a child with a watercannon , why did none of the crowd swarm around me to protect me? why did they aim for me?'
'Was someone trying to instigate an incident'
"Hey Alex are you good to stand up?"
Alex refocused and stood up clutching onto the bedframe he had a minor feeling of vertigo and stretching his back while standing up made his skin stretch uncomfortably.
His whole back and legs felt hot , sore and scratched but he kept going shuffling forwards towards the door.
'oh fuck'
His stomach twitched and his abdomen contorted he burst through the bedroom door and ran into the next room spilling his guts into a glass bowl.
The nausea caught up with him and he spent a few moments clutching the bowl.
"Oh that's bad."Alex croaked out
"...poor thing" Alex turned his head finding Katia and 6ft tall clone of Katia.
"Uh hi Katia and bigger Katia I am not doing great"
Both Katias looked disgusted by the contents of the bowl though the older Katia seemed to be more concerned with him.
"You don't seem to be doing too well"
She shoved smaller Katia forward who was looking at the ground.
"And we have something that we would like to say to you"
"I am sorry for bringing you along you got hurt and that isn't ok"
"You can get your parents to pick you up if you would like, I wouldn't want to stay with some strangers after something like that"
'Is she that embarrassed? I suppose it makes sense , I was her responsibility in a way that doesn't bode well'
'My family is one of a few huntsman families with faunus heritage and someone with a military background would add a lot of legitimacy to the movement'
She wanted us to join so these would be more impactful and if this goes wrong like yesterday then having a huntsman around might help a lot.
But all of that would go down the drain if his parents found out , if he was honest all of that could never happen.
Alex set the bowl down and walked over to a pantry door lining up his head with the doorknob.
SMACK
'Regret didn't need to do that'
"Well would you look at that I hit my forehead on a doorknob after a nice night of staying in and playing with Samsen and Katia as intended"
The bigger Katia was deeply disturbed by a child slamming their forehead into something so casually.
At any other moment Alex would have realised the idiocy of his action , he could have lied or claimed he fell down the stairs rather than risking another concussion or even possible brain damage as he didn't know if his skull was fractured.
But he was delirious , dehydrated and determined to keep his only friends.
'What went wrong'
Every faunus within the fang and every member of the Leone's had the same thought. There were obvious issues the poor timing of the event which would be changed as well as the fact that they didn't cause any real public disturbance.
Both of these could be fixed but the violence that erupted was a sticking point , why did it happen? , who acted first? and why did the crowd become so enraged before any incident occurred.
"I am telling you Indiga I don't know what came over me I snapped , there isn't a satisfying 'other' reason why you were fuh...ming angry too" Looking towards the living room where Katia and Samsen did their best to comfort Alex.
"I know I felt something but it just didn't make any sense"
"Isn't there that whole metaphor with the wolves and the sheep...who was the wolf?"
'So Indiga (Formerly bigger Katia) used to run these protests and now the new management is fucking it up , so wonder why that brilliant change was made'
'To be fair it seems like progress for faunus rights isn't exactly coming out of the walls'
The walls began to spin his vision was locked onto a singular point his head throbbed and it seemed like his vision changed every time that it did.
Luckily there was his ever faithful companion Mr Bowl.
He hadn't thrown up anything solid in over an hour but Alex did what he could.
'Ugh this reminds me of when I got gastroentirits'
A torrent of stomach fluid and memories overwhelmed Alex a small bathroom that was unfamiliar , a jug which had had so much stomach acid thrown into it that there was a visible 'etch' to its inside.
Laid on the floor of a room he barely recognised.
More memories flooded in and unfortunately so did the sensations that he was feeling at the time further disorienting and disappointing him.
It was a long night
Sunday morning greeted Alex's eyes it felt like the second that it hit his face throbbing in his head resumed.
He crawled out of Samsens bed and took a moment to compose himself on the floor.
'Oh god I am going to need to explain this to mom'
He hadn't thought about the consequences if she realised he went to that protest.
He hadn't thought about the half dozen ways she could easily hear about , concerned parents at his school , teachers , local newspapers.
'Shouldn't shit like this be making regional news for god's sake a child getting hit by a water-cannon is crazy'
'Was that even an accident? They still made the shot towards the crowd they knew that there was a chance to hit me'
Alex wasn't the only child the group was surprisingly age diverse some even brought babies.
'There was a point where the young adults stepped forward wasn't there? Everyone in the crowd just flared up so fast that the threat looked real'
..
..
'No horrible inner monologue...okay'
Breakfast was a mix. It was great there was some weird spicy porridge that came from Indigas roots in vacuo which Alex adored.
But the amount of concerned looks and awkward pauses was near unbearable.
'Fuck it honesty is the best policy'
"Alright look"
Alex met eyes with Samsens father who was like the bigger Katia a scaled up version of Samsen.
He was very well built and could have easily been a model but for the very hairy forearms.
" I want to support the cause. I realise that this is almost literally the worst possible start.
I realise the value that having a faunus huntsman and an important member of the local military community on side would help.
So let's just get down to brass tacks eventually they are going to find out I went to this protest.
However I want them to help as much as you do.
'Dad needs a hobby other than obsessive axe sharpening while drunk'
Alex stood up walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed a notepad.
"Shall we craft a lie?"
"Well done Azure Tanil... you have made the right call"
The man across was haggard tired with a large purple bruise stretching across the right side of his face , the green edges lead into his green eyes .
"Where's is my money?"
A wad of Lien hit the table and Azure snatched it his rabbit ears twitching and tense as he made to stand up.
"Sit down Mr Tanil we are not done"
Azure stood angrily his clothes still damp from the protest.
"I am done , I am never doing this again that kid who got hurt that will not happen again"
"That Child's injury was regrettable no doubt , I made significant efforts to find the man responsible and rest assure his pay has been docked."
"That's it? Assaulting a child with a watercannon"
"We both know why he did that , If I were a less forgiving Mayor then I would make efforts to apprehend the real cause"
"You wouldn't dare"
The mayors thick eyebrow raised.
"After this recent incident do you really think you can plead against the whole town with 500 lien to your name?"
..
..
"Smart man , so do it again and again until you can get the money you need and we can both leave happy... and healthy"