Niren Argent
Niren sat in the shade of an umbrella while the cup of tea before him sat half empty, he was currently watching ships dock at the port of Kuo Kuana, he had been on the island for roughly two months by this point, the result of few Bullheads being available from either the Maleficar or the Argent Knights, both groups had been left with few from their last battle against Uther Pendragon and his forces to spare even one to get him and Talia to Anima. Vanir and Lirril however had been impatient about having to wait even a week longer than they felt necessary, so they had found a vessel that was heading there and looking to hire some protection from the various aquatic Grimm that had been attacking ships along the usual route. Niren however choose to take some time to recover from the last few months before moving on to Anima to join them, Talia also choose to keep him company.
"Menagerie wouldn't be so bad a place to live, if there weren't other problems demanding our attention." He thought to himself as he looked down at the menu that the waiter who had brought him his tea had set down a few moments prior. There was little that he really felt like eating, mostly seafood that was above the price range he had wanted to spend, yet Talia had insisted they go and eat somewhere fancy for once. "Couldn't she have gotten here on time?" Niren thought, feeling somewhat irked by the fact that Talia had forgotten to run an errand as simple as dropping off a letter to her father. Niren decided on having some ice cream, while he enjoyed warm weather due to his blood working similar to an actual lizards, he also enjoyed remaining mostly cool, especially since he still wore armor, a scale mail hauberk over a normal gray long sleeved shirt and metal plates covering his upper legs while a pair of steel toed boots kept his feet protected, he had to leave Gungnir at the inn they had been staying at but the armor didn't stand out here, several guards and huntsmen and huntresses had already passed him, giving a nod as they went by to acknowledge him.
Niren looked out at the harbor after shaking his head at the waiter who had looked at him quizzically, he hadn't ordered for a while since Talia had threatened to take his head off if he did so before she arrived, he knew full well that she would do her best to live up to that promise. "Please hurry." He thought to himself as he watched a group of passengers disembark from a large wooden vessel that looked as though it had battled several attacks from smaller sea Grimm or one large one. Niren took note of the passengers and saw little of interest, aside from a raven haired woman with a male faunus, the male had blonde hair and what looked like the tail of a monkey, though Niren could make out little else of their features from the distance he was at without Gungnir, or a pair of binoculars. "That couldn't be?" Niren thought, he obviously couldn't tell for sure but he thought they looked similar to Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong, the last time he had seen them was at the Fall of Beacon, his return to civilization had given him a good idea of what the world thought of that night, half of it angered him greatly.
Nirens attention was drawn from the docks when he heard Talias voice, he looked up and saw the waiter walking towards him, leading Talia to the table and pulling out the chair across from Niren, Talia thanked the waiter and took a seat, Niren noted that she had decided to wear a blue sundress, but no hat to cover her auburn hair, which had grown long enough to be put into a braid that reached her back. "I take it you did more than send a letter to your father then?" Niren asked, she didn't have the braid when he had left the inn that morning.
"It took a while to get this done." Talia said, moving the braid to show Niren, it was well done considering usually Lirril would be the one to help her with things like that. "I see." Niren replied, more hungry than anything at the moment. "You hear anything from Vanir?" Talia asked, leaning over the table to try and keep that conversation between them, while letters could not reach someone overseas in a reasonable time frame the Argent Knights still had their backdoor CCT array, it was damaged during their conflict but the majority of it still worked, however it was likely backed up with requests for supplies and information in regards to the Knights change in leadership. "Nothing, though I can say for certain that if they have reached Anima then they should be well on their way to Mistral by now. Hopefully they took a train." Niren replied, waving over the waiter, he had decided on some sushi, it was fairly cheap compared to whatever Talia would order.
"I wish those two had just stayed here with us, would've been easier you know?" Talia said as they waited for their orders to be made and delivered to them, she was less than pleased with the team splitting again, Niren himself was as always calm about it and felt that Vanir would be able to explain the situation to Qrow when they met up in Mistral, that was part of their plans several months ago after the Fall of Beacon after all the Knights however drew their attention from that goal for several months, long enough for winter to come and go on Anima.
"Im sure that we will hear from them soon, it should only take a few weeks for the kind of ship they left on to reach Anima, after that assuming they took a train they should be able to send a letter to us." Niren said in a way that he hoped would reassure Talia that Vanir and Lirril weren't lying dead at the bottom of the sea. "They better be ok." Talia said, just as their food arrived, the two of them smiled and thanked the waiter before turning to their food and starting to eat, silently agreeing to stop talking about it until they had finished eating and returned to the inn.
Vanir Argent
Vanir sat down on the bench of the simple train car, his broken blade sat in its sheath next time him, and Moonlight, the blade of his mentor sat on the floor, it was in its own sheath and had been in it since Vanir had set out for Anima two months ago, he had no reason to use it since for once his travel was not slowed by Grimm or bandits. He had managed to get a decent seat despite the fact that the staff on the train had chosen to force him to sit in a carriage that was reserved for faunus.
"Figures that I would forget about that." Vanir said to himself quietly as he put his hands behind his head and his feet up on the bench across from him, he was hoping to get some sleep before the next problem decided to rear its ugly head.
"Not sure why they wouldn't let you in the carriage for first class." Lirril said as she stepped over his legs and sat down next to Vanir and began to try and fix their luggage in the overhead compartment. Vanir smirked as he remembered she had never really been to Mistral or knew much about how they saw fit to treat faunus as opposed to Vale.
"Because despite having plenty of money to pay for tickets to first class people in Mistral like to discriminate against faunus." Vanir replied, his voice level as he opened his left eye to look at Lirril. He saw that she had once again pulled out her sketchbook and had begun to work on a drawing of Mordred, Vanir had his own objections to the two of them having any form of relationship that didn't involve her staying far away from Mordred but there was little Vanir could do to keep her from having those feelings. "Besides, there's worse people she could have picked." Vanir thought to himself before realizing that Lirril had been glaring at him as she noticed that his gaze had traveled to her book.
"Justify it all you want Vanir, it's still not right to treat people like their second class citizens." Lirril said, her voice obviously meant to scold someone, though Vanir wasn't entirely sure if it was meant for him since he was accepting of the conditions for him to avoid having to walk all the way across a continent when he was already likely late to meet up with Qrow, or meant for the lawmakers who decided to allow businesses to refuse service to faunus if they wanted to.
"They could've just told me to fuck off you know, Mistral wants to keep the idea that humans are better than faunus and im not going to complain if I can rest my feet while covering a few weeks worth of distance in a couple days." Vanir replied, still keeping himself calm, though he felt his blood boil somewhat at his treatment, knowing that he could have taken a Bullhead from the Maleficar before leaving Menagerie and been in Mistral two months ago didn't help him.
Vanir heard Lirril open her mouth to try and complain before she stopped herself and left out a small huff, Vanir knew she wanted to keep going but was pleased that she figured he would just tell her to drop the matter, despite being far worse than the pristine carriages that made up the first class the one they sat in was comfortable in its own right. And that was enough for Vanir. He simply wanted to get some rest and let the pain from his stomach fade away for a while, he still felt pain that most would describe as debilitating from the massive scar left by the blade that lay on the hardwood floor beneath him, it would have made walking across an entire continent hell. Vanir felt the train start moving and let out a deep breath, he hadn't even realized he was holding it. "I wonder how Moms doing?" Vanir thought to himself, he had only just reunited with her and his sister a few months back, only learning that they had been looking for him nonstop for the years he had been fighting the enemies of the Argent Knights and the Knights themselves. "Probably pissed since I nearly killed her and then ran off." He thought, a small frown forming on his face at that thought.
Vanir pushed the thought of his mother loading her gun and trying to shoot him in retaliation for his previous actions out of his head, he had enough to worry about already and decided to try and get some sleep, he had spent enough time talking and thinking already, and still had a long train ride ahead of him.
Kasumi Aster
Kasumi walked down the large hall that was the throne room of Sienna Khan, her footsteps silent as she moved with the step of a master assassin, her service to Sienna was centered around killing those who raised their voices in dissent and treason, it was cruel work that fit her, her catlike ears perked up as she approached her master and picked up some of her conversation with the man standing at the base of her throne, Kasumi recognized the blade at his waist and was considering several ways to kill Adam Taurus, a habit she had developed after years of killing warriors, scholars, and politicians alike. Kasumi made certain that she still had her blades ready, she fought with two wakizashi named Raijin and Fujin. Both blades were kept sheathed across her lower back when she wasn't wearing the kimono that she currently wore, in this case she kept one in the sash at her waist and another hidden up her sleeves, for ease of access should someone threaten her.
Kasumi stopped a few feet from the stairs leading up to the throne and lowered her head, keeping her eyes closed while Adam and her master argued over whether or not his actions should be tolerated. Kasumi found herself annoyed at the ideas Adam had been trying to convince others of, it had made her very busy as of late and she had not been able to rest well, she found herself turning to her partner for help more often as well. "The number of voices silenced by us these last few months." Kasumi thought before letting out a small sigh. She disliked killing so many, but knew full well that not keeping the more radical elements of the White Fang under control would result in disaster.
"Kasumi, speak." Sienna Khan said, drawing Kasumi out of her thoughts. "Master, I have come to deliver a report from Kassandra, though I am uncertain if any but you should hear it." Kasumi said, sinking to her knees and pressing her head against the floor, showing as much respect for Sienna Khan as she had told her was required of her. "Very well, Adam, we can finish this later." Sienna said, dismissing Adam from her throne room.
"Kasumi, your report?" Sienna asked, Kasumi lifted her head and straightened her back to address the woman she had devoted her life to and spoke. "Kassandra reports that while she has dealt with several of those who cry for even more blood than what was spilled at Beacon she had already heard more whispers from those who think you weak." Kasumi had changed certain elements of her partners message that she considered to be too vulgar for her master but still felt shame that their efforts seemed to be for nothing.
"I see." Sienna Khan said, Kasumi saw a frown on her face as the words left and felt her frustration grow. "Master, if I amy be so bold, would the solution to this problem not be to eliminate the main threat to your rule?" Kasumi asked, she knew the answer would likely be a solid "No" from her master but still felt she should ask.
"Kasumi, we can't just kill Adam, he has too much support." Sienna responded, bringing her fist down on the armrest of her throne and leaning forward. Kasumi lowered her gaze once again before speaking. "Is there nothing to be done then? Do we allow him to do as he likes?" Kasumi asked this question while slowly raising her head, watching her masters face for any reaction and felt her heart skip a beat as she saw her master start to think.
"Kasumi, I want you and Kassandra to join Adam on his next mission, ensure he is still loyal to the White Fang and myself." Sienna Khan said, Kasumi nodded and stood up before bowing to her master and excusing herself from her presence.
Alice Greywater
Alice sat down in the booth of one of the few bars in Argus that would openly serve faunus and pulled out her Scroll and unlocked it, she was checking to see if she had any new messages from Sif but also to send a message to the person she had chosen to meet in this bar.
"Don't bother with a message Alice." a familiar voice said quietly from beside her, Alice's wolf like ears perked up at the deep yet soft voice of Quinten.
"About time you showed up." Alice replied, a smile on her face as she stood up to try and hug the massive man, while she was around five feet, eight inches tall Quinten towered over her at seven feet tall, the two of them made an odd pair to be sure, Alice was still wearing the stark white trench coat, with grey slacks and a black T-shirt and white boots that clearly marked her as a member of the garrison found in Argus, Quinten wore a simple dark grey long sleeved shirt with a metal plate strapped around his torso to cover his heart, black slacks and leather boots, his arms had simple leather vambraces on them, the attire of a Huntsman who was good at his job, the both of them were unarmed, as much as Alice wished to bring her hand cannon Redemption with her she knew it would go poorly, and Quinten would have had to leave his own weapon at the door.
"So, what did you want to talk about so bad that you had to get me to come out to Argus?" Quinten asked, his face calm and kind, just as Alice knew it would almost always be. Alice paid the barmaid who had brought the whiskey she now poured into two shot glasses before answering her old friend. "I've found him Quinten, I've finally found him." Alice noticed Quintens eyebrows rise a little at that news, Quinten had been well aware of what Alice had been up to, he told her to not lose herself in the search for her son but she had largely ignored him.
"You're sure? It's not just some guy who looks like him?' Quinten asked, Alice shot him a glare as she raised the shot glass to her lips and quickly gulped down the whiskey. "I'm sure,he recognized me Quinten, He recognized Sif." Alice replied, trying to keep herself from being too excited as she thought about her encounter with Vanir in Vacuo.
"Well do you know where he's at now? Because you wouldn't need me to be ready to fight if he came home willingly." Quinten replied, Alice swallowed another shot of whiskey, wincing from the burn, she was concerned that Quinten had already drank more than her and wasn't affected in the slightest.
"No, he didn't give me any hints about where he was going, only that he had some problems with the Argent Knights." Alice said, refraining from another drink and watching Quintens face for a reaction. "So. you want me to start looking for him here on Anima since you aren't at liberty to do so yourself?" Quinten asked, Alice watched him down another soht, this time he gasped as he finally felt the burn.
"Yes, I want you to try and figure out if he's been seen in Anima, I was planning on asking Vincent and Anna to check in Menagerie and Vale, before meeting up here in Argus." Alice replied, she stretched her back as she felt it tense up from sitting in the booth and from her very uncomfortable office chair, cordovin had given her a mountain of paperwork to do before leaving for the day. Vincent chuckled softly before responding to Alice's plan. "Of course, it's been a while since all of Team AQVA was working together, Vincent might be a dick about it but at the same time, it wouldn't be too bad to see the little guy again, though I suppose he isn't so little anymore now if he?" Alice felt her ears perk up at Quintens words, he was fully willing to help her, and possibly send a message to the rest of her old team.
"Thank you, Quinten." Alice said, a smile on her face as the two of them stood up and prepared to leave, Alice and Quinten both left sizable tips for their waitress. "Now, I want to see little Sif before i leave Argus, is she home or is she out with friends?" Quinten said, Alice felt her cheeks redden as she realized her daughter had recently put more focus on trying to learn more about her brother and anything he may have been involved in, so much so she had begun to neglect her friends. "You may want to talk to her about her obsession with finding Vanir." Alice replied, hoping Quinten would think the red in her cheeks was from the whiskey and cold air of Argus.
Im pleased to finally be able to post a new chapter even if its short, works been a pain in the neck and has kept me from being able to do much beyond sleep when I get done, hopefully these next few weeks will let me post a couple more chapters, once again and for the twentieth time or so thank you for reading!