Hey there everyone, welcome back to another chapter of 'The Darkling Thrush'!

As usual I'd like to than those who left a review last chapter. I'm glad to see you all enjoy those 'family history' chapters. They're kind of where I plant things for later use, you know? Anyways, thank you Drake187, Baoh joestar, Ussop and jin0uga. I'm just glad you all enjoyed it.

So this arc is a little different. Like I previously established in the previous authors note, this arc is not following Russel, but rather, we're following Nebula. Who, I've been sort of jumping at the chance to write. Because she isn't like any other character I've written before.

Alright, enough with my yapping. On with the story!

XXXI

Nebula: Part 1

The lean Thrush with its brown tinted wings glided the sandy desert that was Vacuo. Lunch caught its eye on the ground below so it swooped downward landing beside a decorative cattle skull. The sun shined bright, bathing the land the bird stood on. A twinkle in its eyes, the bird claimed its prize. A struggling lizard of all things, which had taken shelter beneath the skull in an attempt to scavenge anything worth eating for itself, was caught unaware by the Thrush.

The bird yanked it out by the tail with its beak. The lizard struggled, it squealed as it thrashed about in an attempt to find its way back onto its fours. But the Thrush was a veteran in his craft, it'd done this before. It kept the lizard pinned with its claws and then it set to work with killing it with its beak. Gouged with blood pouring out of it, the lizard remained lifeless while the Thrush helped itself to its meal.

Slithering through the dirt, keeping a low profile, stalked a rattle snake. The snake's eyes widened with intent as it drew closer to its prey. The Thrush, caught up in its meal, was unaware of the sinister snake sneaking up from behind. The Thrush was taken by surprise as the rattler's fangs sang into its back. And soon, down the mouth of snake it went. The lump descended down the long body. And then the rattler slithered away.

"Cool." A young adolescent muttered to herself.

Nebula Violette, age nine, sat cross-legged high up off the ground on the peak of a large boulder she'd climbed. Her facial expression was one of pure awe as she watched nature preform for her.

It was a stunning sight to the olive color eyed young girl, she was never allowed to wander out and about on her own for too long, not allowed to see what the world had to offer her. The only daughter of a Schnee Dust Corporation pencil pusher and an overbearing stay at home mom, Nebula wasn't usually allowed to leave their sight. But it was these instances, when she was away from an ever watching eye, when she'd pick up more knowledge than in a primary school classroom.

It was the way the snake prowled, how it snuck up and caught the Thrush unaware that intrigued her the most. The Thrush should've seen its approach, it should've heard it, but it was too caught up in its meal to pay attention. That was its downfall. And that was something no textbook could teach you.

Nebula lived in a town called Acre, just north of the capitol of Vacuo, which was a renowned upper middle class suburb. Her home was right across from the primary school she attended and less than a mile away from the combat school she wished to be attending. The buildings were all level, almost cookie cutter in a way. Because of that, the schools acted as mighty landmarks that could be seen from great distances.

Watching as the snake departed through an opening in the gate of the primary school, Nebula was caught by surprise as a familiar womanly voice called out for her. "Nebula? Nebula! Where are you dear?!"

Recognizing her mother's voice, Nebula frowned having realized her expedition into the supposed 'wilds' of the world would soon be ending. She spun around on the rock, turning to see her home across the street and her mother standing on their rock lawn.

"Nebula, what have I told you about wandering off!" Her mother shouted in a scolding manner as she began to cross the street. "Get down from there."

"You found me, didn't you?" Nebula played off her mother's concerns. She then leapt off the boulder in an extravagant fashion, much to her mother's dismay. "Relax Mom, no harm done." She smiled.

"You could've given me a heart attack." Her mother retorted. "Not to mention you could've hurt yourself."

"That was like two feet." Nebula muttered before her mother reached out and took her hand.

"Come along its getting dark." Her mother said as she gestured to the setting sun and the rising smoke far off in the distance. Nebula looked up to her mother and caught a glimpse of something familiar. She thought back to the Thrush and the fear on its face as the snake attacked it. That's what she found on her mother's face.

But Nebula was still too young to understand why her mother was so afraid of smoke. So she shrugged it off as some adult concern and complied with her mother's wishes. Nebula had learned not to argue with her mother, she'd been sure to put down any rebellious nature or fits she'd throw when she was four or seven. So the indigo haired girl did as she was told and just followed her mother closely as they made their way across the street back to their home.

Stepping into their home, Nebula was greeted with the aroma of freshly cooked pork and the sweet smell of baked bread. Her mother ushered her off into the kitchen, no doubt to hand her a plate of food. But Nebula couldn't help but turn her attention to the living room where her father now rested after a long day at work.

Nebula was half expecting some sort of footage from one of those action cop thrillers her father enjoyed, but instead she found there to be one of those boing reporters in the firm pressed suits talking about things that otherwise disinterested the young girl. But then on the right beside the man, flashed a video with a red dot in the corner claiming it to be a live feed.

This was only in passing, but Nebula caught sight of cars being set on fire by masked individual with horns and animal ears poking out of them. After being brought into the kitchen, Nebula was no longer able to see what was being depicted on the television, instead all she had to go on was what she heard. She shut her eyes as if the loss of one sense amplified another. It appeared to work as she soon managed to sort out from the noise of her mother's over rehearsed speech about staying home and what was coming out of the television.

"-Just moments ago Councilman Vermillion delivered an address acknowledging the escalation of the Belfry Riots. Although he didn't call for martial law, the increase of military forces would certainly confirm-"

"Here you go." Nebula's mother snapped her out of her concentration by handing her a plate full of food. Nebula quietly thanked her mother before scurrying off, snatching a pair of utensils on the way out of the kitchen and into the living room in order to find out just what was up with the news.

Her father must've sensed her arrival, because as soon as she stepped into the living room he quickly changed the channel. "Hey kiddo." Messier Violette, looked to his only child with adoring eyes.

"What was that on the news, pops?" Nebula said before setting herself down on the floor, her back against the couch and already stuffing her face with the food on her plate.

"Something you wouldn't understand, not now anyways." Messier said in an attempt to quell his daughter's interest as e continued to channel surf.

"I bet you I could understand it." Nebula quipped before her father settled on a live feed of a low tier tournament in Mistral. Nebula then found herself turning to the screen in front of her, almost as if it beckoned to her.

"I don't have a doubt that you could, dear." Messier couldn't help but chuckled nervously. Nebula was his daughter, after all. She was the granddaughter of his father Andros and the great-granddaughter of Orion. It wasn't just the pride of being a father that allowed such word to leave his lips, but rather the knowledge that it was their blood that coursed through her veins. "You could do whatever you want if you set your mind to it."

On the television, a young girl with red hair who appeared to be Nebula's age, a newcomer into the world and life of a huntsman in training, stood amongst a cheering crowd applauded her opponent. Nebula wasn't as savy in following these tournaments as she'd like to be. But she recognized the setting of the tournament, one of Mistral's annual lower division championship matches. And she recognized the red haired girl's opponent, the defending champion a teenager named Daedalus. Given by the cheers surrounding his arrival to ring, it appeared he was the favored contender.

The way he moved on the screen with his boastful taunts and rousing the crowd with flamboyant hand gestures did not cause the girl with red hair to lose her resolve. And then it was announced by one of the commentators that this was the final fight of the tournament, the championship match. Nebula couldn't help but watch in awe for the second time that day as someone her age stood poised to take home the championship title.

As Nebula watched the fight on the screen with great interest, her father Messier was busy looking away from the screen and at her. The indigo haired girl had quit eating, too captivated with fight before her. And Messier couldn't help but feel a surge of fatherly pride. He himself had failed as a Violette, taken a desk job instead of rising towards something more. And here he sat seeing the same look on his daughter's face that no doubt was worn by those before them.

As the fight raged and began to come to a close, Messier leaned forward and whispered against his daughter's ear, "You can do that too."

A smile encroached its way onto Nebula's face. There were stars in the young girl's eyes. Before her on the television, the redheaded girl, whose name was Pyrrha, stood victorious and smiled at the crowd. After shrugging off the surprise of the usurping of the champion Daedalus, they all cheered and applauded the hard earned victory. That girl standing there down below before the crowd, Nebula thought, she wanted to stand there just like her one day.

"I'd like that." Nebula smiled to herself.

A month later, Nebula was enrolled into combat school.

So, I hope you all caught the parallels to the very first chapter. The entire setup of watching a Thrush get eaten by a snake is pulled right from the beginning of the story. And from there you can pick apart, compare and contrast Russel and Nebula's upbringings. Russel grew up motherless and in an abusive household while Nebula has the love and support of both her parents. And I think that speaks volumes about Nebula, because she isn't messed up in any way. She's got everything together and I think that's important to her character, or rather the small bits we can gleam about out her from her brief appearances in Volume 3.

I'm also taking the time to build up Vacuo. I imagine the kingdom to be heavily segregated and in the midst of social unrest. And I find that interesting and something that'll be fun to explore with Nebula and company.

Next chapter will be out sometime this week, but expect updates to be less frequent. I've got things going behind the scenes right now. 'Til next time dear reader! Later days!