The gangway lowered and Sun smiled as he walked down, taking in the sight before him. Smaller ships were in port, a multitude of voices talking over one another. Vendors were situated near the ships, freshly caught fish, and various tropical fruits for sale. The sun was beating down, a salty, fishy scent in the air. He grimaced slightly at how packed it was; people were huddled around vendors, people filling out of boats, almost every part of the port filled with people. He cocked his head to the side, squinting as he looked at the crowds, at the wolf tails, bird beaks, spider legs, and lizard horns. Where… where all of these people Faunus?
He looked at Blake as they stepped off the gangway, feeling Neptune get squished next to him as people walked past them.
"Lot of Faunus here," Sun said. Blake nodded, making her way through the crowd.
"It's our one safe haven. The one place our people can go to and feel safe, like they have a place to belong." Sun cocked an eyebrow.
"What about Vacou? The humans over there don't seem to mind us." Blake glanced at the light blue ribbon tied around her arm.
"The humans there might be okay for now. But the SDC there, they rely on a lot of Faunus labor. Dangerous labor that goes uncompensated. Here, they don't have to worry about any of that. No Schnee Dust Company, no fear that the humans they run into next could kill them just for being who they are." Sun looked at the crowd, noticing the wary, and occasionally dirty looks being shot at Neptune. He frowned, and wrapped his tail around him, pulling him in close.
Sun grunted as a man carrying coconuts shoved past him.
"Is it always this crowded?" Neptune asked. Blake nodded, stepping around a woman carrying a fish.
"When you try to squeeze an entire race of people onto a tiny island that's two thirds desert, it tends to get a little crowded." Sun looked at Blake in disbelief, glancing at Neptune to make sure he heard her right. Neptune was looking at her in confusion.
"Two-thirds desert? Why not set up villages out there? Vacou did it." Neptune said.
"Yeah! The desert's freaking awesome!" Sun said. Blake sighed.
"It's not like back in Vacou. The desert here is dangerous." Blake said. Sun snorted.
"Uh, have you been to Vacou? Do you have any idea how big the Sandworms in the Blue Sands get?" he asked. Blake rolled her eyes.
"Does Vacou have Deathstalkers the size of mountains? King Taijitu's several kilometers long? Sobek's in every drop of water? Tsuchigumo's-"
"All right, all right, you've made your point." Sun said, waving his hand.
"That's pretty shitty," Neptune said. Blake looked back at them. "To give all your people this much land and most of it can't be used." Blake shrugged, stepping around people as they climbed a hill.
"We've made the best of what we have." She said. She stopped at the top of the hill, and Sun whistled, resting his hands on his hips as he looked out. A mountain lay off in the distance, palm tree forests filling the space between. Wooden buildings were situated throughout the forest, dirt roads connecting them all. He saw a large building directly ahead of them at the end of their path. He looked over at Blake, she was smiling, a hint of pride on her face. "This is Kuo Kuana. I was born here."
"It's beautiful," Neptune said. Blake's smile grew, resting a hand on her blue ribbon as she stared out at the village.
"The humans thought they would break us by giving us this land. That we would come begging for a better deal; that we might give up the rights we fought for if it meant a better place to establish our own land. But we haven't. Kuo Kauna is far from perfect; we don't have the same resources as the Four Kingdoms, and it's a constant reminder that we're nothing but second class citizens in the rest of the world. But we've made a place for ourselves. A home for the Faunus. Our Menagarieaus." Sun cocked his head to the side.
"I thought it was Menagerie?" Blake shook her head.
"In Common. But not in Ishvi."
"Huh. Neat." Neptune cleared his throat, and Sun looked over at him.
"You were born here, right? Can you see your house from here, Blake? Which one is it?" Blake gave them a look before pointing at the large building at the end of their path. Sun's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. Neptune turned to Blake, pointing at her.
"You're-!" Blake nodded, putting a hand to her lips, hiding her smile.
Anxiety nipped at her gut as she neared her house, Neptune and Sun trailing behind her. She stopped before they reached the stairs, rubbing her arm.
"What's wrong?" Sun asked. She looked up at the house.
Her father's face as he snapped at her, her parent's voices as they called out for her. She shook her head.
"I haven't seen my parents in almost seven years. I… I kinda left on bad terms," she said.
"If it's been that long, I'm sure they've gotten over it. They must miss you," Neptune said. Blake said nothing, and took a breath. She began to climb the stairs. Guards stood next to the front door, spears in hand.
"Do you have an appointment with the Chieftain?" one of the guards asked. Blake shook her head.
"I…" she took a deep breath, calming her nerves. "My name is Hōzuki Blake. I am the daughter of the Chieftain, and I would like an audience with my family." The guards looked at each other, before one of them opened the door, and went inside. Blake played with her hands as she waited. Her ears flattened as the door opened, and her mother stepped out.
Her mother stared at her, placing a hand over her mouth. Her mother's face was more wrinkled then she remembered, streaks of gray in her short black hair.
"Blake?" Blake held up a hand, forcing a smile.
"Hey, mom." Kali embraced her, wrapping her arms around her, burying her face into her shoulder. Blake stiffened at the hug, her ears getting flatter.
"Thank Devi, it is you. My baby girl." Blake's ears unflattened, perking up. She felt herself smile, closing her eyes as she hugged her mother.
"I'm sorry I left." Blake felt her mother start to stroke her hair.
"That doesn't matter right now. All that matters, is that you're here." Kali said. Blake opened her eyes as she heard the door open further. Her father stood in the doorway, his mouth agape as he stared in shock. Blake hesitated before smiling at her father. He smiled back before embracing her and her mother, laughing.
Kali sat on her knees at the table, gripping her chai. Blake was looking into her cup, while her two friends were draining their cups, the blonde one refilling his cup once he was done.
"We saw you in the Vytal Festival," Kali said. Blake looked over at her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Kali smiled at her. "You should have seen the look on your father's face when he saw you on the screen." Blake looked over at her father. Ghira laughed nervously. "We were so happy to see you were okay. We had started to give up hope that you were still alive, or that we would ever see you again."
"Please, I told you she was fine. No daughter of ours would die out in the wilderness." Kali rolled her eyes; memories of all the sleepless nights worrying about their daughter flashing through her mind. Ghira stroked his beard "The other members of your team, that Ruby and Yang, were they good people?" he asked. Blake nodded. Ghira smiled, and exhaled. "It must have been difficult having the Heiress on your team, I hope this Ruby and Yang made living there easier."
Kali cocked her head to the side as Neptune shot a look over at Blake. Blake looked down at her drink, and Kali squinted at the blue ribbon resting above the multitude of black ribbons tied around her arms. It… it looked like the same shade of blue the Heiress' clothes had been. Neptune elbowed Sun in the side, before pointing at his cup.
"So who made this tea? It's really great!" Neptune asked. Sun started to drink from his cup, holding up a thumbs up while he drank.
"I did," Ghira said. Ghira looked Neptune over, cocking an eyebrow. "Forgive me for asking, but what type of Faunus are you?"
"I'm human."
"I see. Your Ishvi is impeccable. Not many humans bother learning it." Neptune rubbed the back of his head, pointing at Sun with his thumb.
"Yeah. I learned it when I first met him to try and impress him. Found out he doesn't speak it." Kali chuckled; these two seemed like a cute couple. She leaned over to Blake as Ghira continued to talk to Neptune.
"Who are these two again?" she asked. Blake shrugged.
"Friends I made back in Vale. I kinda ran into them on the boat here." She looked over as Sun lifted the tea set with his tail, helping himself to his third cup of chai.
"I like them." she said.
She looked over at the door as it swung open, a guard walking in. He bowed to Ghira before speaking.
"My Chief, she's arrived." Ghira smiled.
"Good. Send her in, I'm sure she would enjoy a cup of tea after her long trip." Kali smiled, taking a sip from her drink; she hadn't seen her in such a long time. Blake's ear twitched as the guard left, and looked over at her.
"Who's she?" Blake asked.
"Hm?" Kali lowered her drink to the table. "Your Aunt Sienna," she said.
Sienna opened the door to her sister's dining room, raising an eyebrow at who she saw at the table. She smiled as her niece stared at her in shock.
"Blake. After seeing you were at Beacon, I feared the worst." She cocked an eyebrow at the blue haired human and blonde Faunus who sat next to him. "Who are they?" Blake looked over at her father.
"You two are on speaking terms again?" Blake asked. Ghira nodded.
"We are. I may not agree with your aunt's methods, but she has our people's best interest at heart." He looked over at her, motioning to the duo with his hand. "These two are Blake's friends, she brought them with her," he said. Sienna snorted in displeasure at the two before walking over to her sister's side, sitting next to her. Kali began to pour her a cup as she situated herself. The Faunus cocked his head to the side, looking at her, confused.
"So like, who are you?" the human asked. Sienna was taken back; a human who knew her language? Ghira cleared his throat, the human and Faunus looking over at him.
"Sun, Neptune, this is Sienna Khan. High Leader of the White Fang."
Sun and Neptune bolted upright, Neptune stepping away from the table.
"The White Fang?!" Sun shouted. Sun looked over at Blake. "Why aren't you freaking out, Blake?!" Blake opened and closed her mouth before sighing. She untied the blue ribbon on her arm, Sun's jaw dropping and Neptune's eyes widening as they stared at the emblem burned into her skin.
"Do you two remember how I said I've done things that I'm not proud of?"
"Woah, woah, woah, hold up, time out." Sun motioned with his hands as he spoke, Neptune still staring at Blake in shock. "You mean to tell me you've been White Fang this entire time? Then why were you trying to stop them while in Vale? Did you help attack your own school?"
Sienna stared at the emblem; only the Vale branch did that. She looked over at her sister; she had a hand to her mouth, staring at the emblem. Sienna looked over at Neptune, narrowing her eyes.
"Human," he looked over at her. "What's Blake's last name?"
"Uh, its… uh." He thought for a moment. "Belladonna?" Sienna sneered; she should have known. She looked over at her niece. Blake wouldn't meet her gaze. Sienna rose to her feet, walking over to Blake.
"You're the Belladonna from Adam's reports, aren't you?" she asked. Blake said nothing, her ears pinned back. She nodded weakly. Sienna dropped to her knees, hugging her niece, nuzzling the back of her head. "I'm so sorry, Blake."
"Belladonna?" Kali asked. Sienna looked up at her sister. Ghira and Kali were looking at her in confusion. "What are you talking about, Sienna?" Sienna looked down at her niece. Blake looked up at her before taking a deep breath. She nodded her head. Sienna looked over at them.
"Around the time that Blake left, Adam Taurus gained a new member in his branch, a girl who went by Belladonna. I didn't think anything of it then, he was gaining a lot of new recruits around that time. He mentioned her in several of his more high profile incidents throughout the years; his assassination of Umber Winchester, an attack on a SDC mining facility. She stopped appearing in them around the time his branch stopped sending in reports, the last one being that she had deserted after an SDC train bombing." Sienna felt Blake tremble, and tightened her grip around her. She looked over at Sun and Neptune. "I'm sure the media has told you a lot of lies about our organization. But I assure you, we want nothing more than the betterment of our people." She looked over at Kali and Ghira. "Had I known, I would have stepped in, and brought her home."
Kali and Ghira got up, joining her, hugging their daughter. Blake hiccuped, her hair falling, obscuring her face as she cried.
"Then… what about the White Fang that attacked Beacon?" Neptune asked. Blake shook her head, looking up at them.
"That wasn't the real White Fang. That wasn't the organization my family made. That was Adam." Blake's lip twitched, the tears streaming as she snarled. "He's the one responsible for everything bad that happened there; the shootout at the docks, the highway attack, the Breach. Everything."
Sun rubbed the back of his head, Neptune resting his hands in his coat pockets. Blake hiccuped again, wiping at her tears. Sienna looked over at Ghira.
"Adam is actually why I came by." She said. Blake's ears perked up. "His attack on Beacon has led to a large amount of distrust of the Faunus and our organization. I've tried organizing relief efforts; offering ships to help in transporting Faunus refugees to Vacou or Menagarie, but many of the Faunus are wary of us now, the Atlesian's especially." Sienna broke free of the hug, straightening her clothes out. "I am going to summon Adam to our headquarters in Mistral, and there he will stand trial for his crimes against the Faunus." She smirked. "And I will kill him myself, when I find him guilty." She saw a ghost of a smile on Blake's face.
She turned away from her family, walking past Sun and Neptune. She held up a hand as she left.
"The trial will be soon, I figured it best to deliver this message in person due to the nature of it. I don't want any of Adam's followers learning of it and attempting to interfere. My two most trusted advisors, the Albain twins, are on their way to help co-ordinate the White Fang activities here." She stopped at the door, and looked back at her family. She smiled at them.
"I'm glad you're back with us, Blake."
Blake smiled back at her, wiping her tears away and nodding.
She looked up at the sign of the ryokan; the Flowering Spring. If her prey was going this way, she would have stopped here.
Tyrian opened the door, smiling at the man behind the counter. The man hesitated before smiling back at her. She approached the desk, her smile not wavering. The man laughed nervously when she stopped at the desk.
"H-hello, welcome to the Flowering Spring. My name is Kuro, do you need anything?" Tyrian reached into her coat pocket, pulling out her scroll.
"I was hoping you could help me find someone," she said. She held up the scroll. He looked at the picture as she spoke. "I'm a Hunter you see, and she's wanted by my employer. She's a dangerous individual." Kuro glanced at her, distrust etched on his face. Kuro rested his hands on his desk, leaning forward, she smirked at the brave face he was putting on.
"I haven't seen her. And I want you to leave."
Tyrian leaned forward, grabbing his hand, inhaling his scent. He jerked his hand back in shock. She closed her eyes; the smell of firewood smoke, damp clothes, masked by a floral soap. She opened her eyes, and smiled at him.
"You lied to me," she said.
Kuro tried to step back, a strangled gasp coming from him as her tail shot out, wrapping around his throat. He clawed at her tail, gasping for air, tears welling in his eyes. Tyrian's smile grew a her tail tightened around him.
"Do you know what my favorite part of strangulation is?" Kuro dug his nails into her tail, clawing marks into her. She felt a chill go down her back, and held back the urge to moan at the pain. "It's watching your eyes. As the blood vessels begin to," she made a pop sound with her lips, a warmth growing in her belly as the whites of his eyes began to turn red. She feigned disapproval as his cheeks began to turn purple. "But I know not everyone enjoys being strangled, so I'll ask again." She loosened her tail, Kuro sucking in air in ragged breaths. "Do you know where she is?" Kuro nodded.
Tyrian smiled, sliding her tail off of him, trailing her stinger across his face like a lovers finger. He massaged his throat, coughing, gasping for air.
"S-she's heading for Mistral City. Taking the Old Road. She left yesterday. Had a few friends with her."
Tyrian bit her lip; oooo, friends with her. How fun. She grabbed his shoulders, enjoying his startled cry. She trailed a finger up his chin, gripping his shoulder, her tail trailing down his back.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Blood spurted onto her face as her stinger exploded from his chest. She felt him go limp, and licked the blood off her lips as she pulled out of him. His body slumped onto the counter, blood dripping down and onto the floor. She giggled as she turned to leave, wiping the blood off her face, and licking it off her fingers.