And here's Blake/Ilia's short.
Blake stepped through the crowded streets of the market, the sun sweltering, the air thick with the scent of fish, fruit, spices, and flowers. Heiwa ga Motarasu shifted against her back as she moved through the crowd.
She stopped at a flower stall, smiling at the budding belladonnas.
Ilia stretched her arms, leaning against the roof of the building. Belladonna shifted, crossing her arms, looking up at the cloud filled sky.
"Can I ask you something?" Belladonna asked.
"Sure. What is it?"
Belladonna shifted, looking down at her. She ran a hand up her arm, gripping her branding.
"Why…why did you join us? The White Fang?" she asked. Ilia cocked her head to the side.
"The same reason you did?" she said. Belladonna bit her lip.
"But-?"
"Why fight when I'm human passing?" Ilia asked. Belladonna nodded weakly. Ilia chuckled, resting an arm on her knee. Should have known. "I'm fine with you asking. You're not the first to want to know."
Blake felt a hand grasp her shoulder; she looked behind her. Sun was staring into the crowd, his eyes narrowing. She followed his line of sight; a man covered in bumpy scales and horns was at a knife stall, inspecting a butterfly knife, rapidly opening and closing it with a smirk. A cloth was tied around his arm, bits of the skin around the cloth looking burned, branded.
She looked at Sun, he looked at her. They nodded.
She sidestepped people in the crowd, Sun stalking behind her.
The Branded Man smiled at the knife, pocketing it, and fishing out his wallet, looking up at the merchant. He stopped, pursing his lips as he looked at a large blade polished to a mirror sheen.
He sneered, dropping his wallet, drawing a pistol.
Blake's eyes shot open, drawing her sword as he fired, deflecting his shots. Screams rang out, people dropping to the ground. He sneered and bolted.
Blake grit her teeth, sheathing her sword as she sprinted after him, Sun tailing her.
He grunted as he opened the door to his house, his back aching, his feet barely able to move. The tension and pain in his aching muscles and bones lifted as he saw his wife sitting on their couch, nursing their daughter.
She looked up at him, smiling tiredly, her tail shifting, dangling off the couch, offering him a seat. He took the spot next to her, running a hand through his soot covered hair, his fingers brushing against his horns.
"How is Ilia?" he asked. She shifted Ilia, brushing a hair from her face.
"She was rather quiet today." She looked from Ilia to him. "I… I still haven't seen any Faunus markings on her." He frowned.
"Do you think it could be her teeth once they grow in? Or retractable claws?" he asked. She shrugged.
"No way to know until then, but," she brushed a finger over Ilia's face. "I think… she might be able to pass for human" She sighed, weariness filling her features. "How much longer until they want me back at the mine?" He sighed.
"By the end of the week." She chuckled darkly.
"Not even a month's leave." She straightened her back. "I'll try and find a sitter for her."
Ilia opened the door to her family's shack, cocking an eyebrow at her parents as she entered.
"I thought you two had work today?" she asked. Her mother smiled at her, her tail swishing.
"We did, dear. But we were allowed to leave early today. We'll have to make up for those hours tomorrow though." She said. Her father stepped forward, holding something behind his back.
"Your mother and I have been saving up for this since we learned what your Faunus trait was." He held out his hands, holding a brochure. Ilia took it, her eyes widening as she looked it over.
Ruhm Academy. The most elite prep school in all of Atlas.
"T-this, I-I'm-," she looked up at her father. He smiled warmly at her, her mother joining his side.
"We managed to convince the school to accept you." Her mother said. Her father nodded.
"But there are some things that you need to promise us."
"Anything!" Ilia said. Her father's face darkened, and he held up a finger.
"Number one: whatever human friends you make there, do not bring them down here to Mantle." He held up another finger. "Number two: don't tell the others about us." Another finger. "Third: Do. Not. Change. Color." A fourth finger. "Fourth: you are going to hear so many, many terrible things about our kind. You're going to have to listen to it all with a smile. But do not forget who you are, Ilia." He lowered his hand. "Do you understand?"
She nodded.
The Marked Man slid to a stop, firing back at her. Dust and dirt flew in the air around her as the bullets landed, people running past her, screaming as the shots rang out. The Man frowned, his lip curling as he looked at his pistol. He tossed it aside, turning and running down a new road, into the housing area.
Blake forced herself to sprint faster, closing the gap as she took the turn, shoving past people, hearing them yell at her as they fell to the ground.
The Man glanced back at her, scowling. He pulled something from his pocket, a silver glint flashing in the air as he tossed something into the crowd.
Blake slid to a stop, her eyes darting toward a man screaming in agony, a butterfly knife embedded in his arm.
Ilia sipped from her bubble tea as her friends laughed. The mall they were in was crowded, a multitude of conversations filling the air.
"Did you see that stupid Animal looking at you when he was making our drinks, Ilia?" Rot asked. Ilia giggled; he had been staring at her as she placed her order, confusion, and betrayal in his yellow eyes.
"I bet he was planning on kidnapping you and forcing himself on you." Grau added with a snicker.
"I mean, you know how Faunus are. I'm sure he would have," Ilia said.
They came to a stop, several stores nearby. Rot looked at each of them, tapping her finger on her chin.
"Where do you want to go, Ilia? It's my treat."
Ilia shrugged.
"Wherever you two want to go. I'm not all that picky."
"That place looks cool," Grau said, pointing at an antique store. Ilia giggled as Rot groaned in annoyance.
Sun ran past her, crouching down next to the injured man.
"Keep going! I've got this!" Sun shouted. Blake nodded, running after the Man.
She took a turn, down into an alleyway; he was sprinting ahead of her. A construction barge was held up above the alley. She drew her pistol, firing at the rope.
The rope snapped, the barge hurdling down, down upon the Marked Man.
There was a flash of yellow, the hair on Blake's neck standing up as electricity filled the air.
The barge split apart, crashing to the ground, dust flying up. A figure was crouched in the dust, an electric whip in hand, a Lancer mask covering their face.
Ilia stood up, her whip crackling as she looked at Blake.
Ilia paused, taking a few steps back, looking up at the tv in the school's hallway.
"Everything okay, Il?" Grau asked.
"There has been confirmation of an explosion in one of the mines in Mantle. The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the SDC workers present are working to help save the Faunus miners trapped in the mines."
Ilia's knees shook as a list of the names of the miners appeared on the screen.
Grün Amitola
Lila Amitola
She looked back, his fist clenching as she heard Rot snicker.
"Why are you watching this shit, Il?" Rot asked. "So some Animals got killed? Who cares?"
Ilia's fist trembled, despair, and hatred washing through her. Rot's eyes widened, Grau's jaw dropping.
"I-Ilia-?"
Ilia pounced, her fist slamming into Rot's face, her screams filling her ears. Grau screamed, running down the hallway. Ilia tackled Rot to the ground, pinning her to the ground with her legs. Blood ran from Rot's nose, staining her perfect teeth.
"Ilia! Please! Sto-" Ilia hurled her fist, feeling Rot's teeth shatter, blood spurting as she pounded on Rot's face, her fist slamming into her again. And again. And again; crimson soaking her red fist.
Blake stared at Ilia, the pistol in her hand shaking. Blake lowered her pistol, shaking her head.
The electricity on her whip died. Ilia turned and fled, leaping up the various ledges of the buildings around them, before reaching the rooftop, and disappearing from view.
Blake gripped her pistol, her head falling, her hair covering her face.
"I'm sorry,"