Sienna Khan was still debating within her own mind how the White Fang was going to play the announcement of the Rising Sun raid. The last few years had made her appreciate the Belladonnas attempts to keep all the plates spinning with more sympathy than she had expected. She was uncomfortably aware that the rank and file of the White Fang would view her efforts with the same lack of forbearance as she had given Ghira and Kali.
As it was she led a movement which had fundamental differences of opinion. There was one section which still liked to kid itself that it would be easy to step back from direct action and had only reluctantly agreed t it after the Atlas humiliation of the Belladonnas. They were delusional. An important part of the Mistralian and Atlesian governing classes resented the concessions made at the end of the Faunus wars and were determined to roll them back. There were also many ordinary humans who felt the same way. There had been three human assassination attempts on Ghira Belladonna and he had been preaching for passive resistance.
She hoped when the time came for her to cease to be leader she would know it and negotiate a peaceful changeover. Kali had seen it before Ghira and had in retrospect manipulated Sienna into making her play. Sienna had been on the wing of the movement supporting more militancy and had predicted how Atlas would react to the publicity about the multi-kingdoms' actions in the mines. She had got in before the Albains could make their move and the rest of the leadership had been happy to allow the Belladonnas to retire to Menagerie. The Albains had swallowed their pride and decided that for them to seek to depose Ghira would have been seen as too self-serving at that time. Ghira and Kali had got out alive and the kingdoms had been prepared to accept that things were as good as they could get. The Belladonnas had paid a price with Blake leaving with Sienna and the others for Mistral. Sienna had felt bad about this, but Blake had insisted on coming with them and Adam had backed her up. As it was, Sienna was glad that she had joined them. It was clear that she was the only person who was close to Adam who dared disagree with him and to whom he would listen.
There was a part of the movement which said that all out military action was needed. They declared that violence was the only language their opponents understood and respected. Adam was currently the emotional symbol for those close to the top of the organisation and the raid would solidify that appeal and extend it to more of the rank-and-file soldiers. She distrusted his extremism, although admitting to herself that she could understand why he felt that way. Being branded in one eye as a teenager and then called a self-mutilating liar by two human governments and ignored by a third was not an experience which was calculated to make anyone trust humans. Still there was no appetite amongst most Faunus for refighting the Faunus wars and a belief that the white fang was aiming for this would cripple the donations which came in for "Mistral Aid" in Vale and Menagerie. It was an open secret that a charitable organisation allegedly established to help the victims of discrimination in Mistral was really one of the White Fang's main sources of finance.
Sienna had known from the start that the violence would need to be ramped up, but the pretence had been necessary to keep the organisation together. The realists and extremists (not always the same) could say to the moderates and wishful thinkers (not always the same, although a larger overlap) that they had told them so and the later could say that Sienna had given their preferred tactic a fair try. The entire cabinet had unanimously backed Sienna's decision to escalate the campaign at a time of her choosing. The fact that Adam had a plan which he was ready to implement she had kept as secret as she could. The fact that she had called back many of the more visible members of the White Fang for a meeting had passed unnoticed but did mean that the most prominent normal suspects for a crackdown were safely out of harm's way. Even without outright treachery, too many members of the cabinet liked to boast about how important they were for the raid to have been kept a secret if she had told them openly.
She had heard Adam's and Bruno's reports early this morning. It was frustrating that a mission which had come so close to total success had somehow gone off the rails. It was unfortunate that there had been so many civilian casualties and losing Rouge was a shame. Not knowing if he was dead or captured did not help. The biggest frustration for her was that the civilian casualties and the post-death injuries reduce the scope for the Atlesians to take stock and think whether they should try and come to a deal. The likelihood was that they would escalate the rhetoric of calling the White Fang terrorists and investing in the costs needed to defeat them, rather than ask whether the price was worth it. Still, that had been a thin chance anyway and until the White Fang attacked Atlas itself, she had not expected the consensus there to change.
Adam had reported to the full cabinet before the press conference. She had made it clear that she did not blame him or Bruno for the mission not being a total success. The presence of the Atlas Major and his troops and the explosion as the bullheads landed where not events for which plans could reasonably have been expected to envisage. She wished Rouge had not been injured by the missile at the start of the raid. While Bruno was a good fighter, he was not someone who she would have wanted dealing with the unexpected. Adam intellectually accepted this, but emotionally believed that he could have controlled matters if he had been there.
One problem of being a terrorist organisation in a world with only four kingdoms was that holding televised press conferences with journalists present was not feasible. Menagerie did not have a link to the CCT and few journalists from the kingdoms were based there. The White Fang was banned by the authorities in Atlas and in the parts of Mistral under government control while in Vale Press releases and anonymous briefings to journalists were doable, but briefing the sources meant that there was an inevitable delay. The White Fang headquarters were currently in Mistral, but in a part of the kingdom which the authorities did not venture. The White Fang and the Branwen tribe had negotiated a truce which almost amounted to a mutual defence pact. The best solution was tapes which they recorded here and distributed to supporters and journalists, but this meant that there was a time lag. The confusion over what had happened meant that the pre-recorded versions were not appropriate for sending out and Sienna had reluctantly decided that they may as well listen to the Atlas version before finalising their statement to supporters and the press.
The cabinet had just finished watching the Mistral TV coverage of the Atlas press conference. Adam Taurus and Corsac Albain were there together with the rest of the war cabinet. However, in reality she and the other two were the only three whose opinions mattered. While the majority of the cabinet would follow her lead slavishly for the time being, the Albain brothers were increasingly influential, while Adam was the one they admired. She had known a risk of letting him lead the mission would be to increase his prestige, but frankly it had been right to try and knock Atlas out of its complacency and his plan had seemed the most likely to be successful.
She had insisted in advance on a fifteen-minute break between the end of the press conference and discussing it. She did not know whether it was true for the rest of the cabinet but giving herself time to have second thoughts rather than blurting out her immediate reaction seemed to her to result in a better final decision. As things had turned out that was the right call. It had played out very differently from how she had expected. Firstly, only Ironwood, Sleet and Camilla attended the press conference. She had expected that the entire council would be in attendance to show unity in the face of trouble. Still, Marigold and Campion were rather older and presumably had been up all night and may have felt that looking exhausted was not a good sign. The content of the announcement was also a little odd. While the ritual denouncements were there and he emphasised the heavy loss of life and the fact that Atlas soldiers had been killed was not glossed over, he did not talk about bodies being mutilated and went out of his way to mention that Faunus workers had saved the lives of two humans. He also spelt out that the crews of the bullheads and the workers at the supply base had been unharmed and not ill-treated. There had been references to the identified terrorists being predominantly citizens of Mistral. Actually, something interesting was happening in Atlas, although whether it was good for Faunus was a different matter.
Corsac was a self-proclaimed expert on the workings of the Atlas council. and she expected he would try to analyse the significance of every word and facial expression. Sienna felt that he risked tying himself in knots and attributing logical consistency to the members of the Atlas council. The Atlas council preferred to ignore the Faunus problem. Ok, Sleet was a well-intentioned woolly liberal and Marigold was a bigot, but they cancelled each other out. If there was going to be a change in Atlas policy then in reality it would be led by Ironwood. He was no bleeding heart and no one in the White Fang really knew what made him tick. Kali Belladonna immediately before the coup had said that she thought he was after power, but the question was whether he wanted it for a particular purpose. She had her own ideas of how to read the runes but wanted Corsac and Adam to commit themselves first.
She looked around and said, "Frack, was that a bluff? We can more or less go with our original public pitch that we have shown them that we cannot be taken for granted. I was expecting them to have accused us of savagery rather than go out of their way to say that those who surrendered were left alive."
Corsac coughed and said., "I have just received a message from my brother in Menagerie. Kali Belladonna is flying to Vale officially to meet with the Menagerie consulate there as well as with the Faunus rights groups."
He paused and said with deliberate sarcasm, "Apparently Parsifal Campion is also going to Vale to brief the Vale council and the Atlas ambassador to Vale. I anticipate that Kali and Parsifal will meet somewhere in Vale for one of their unofficial official meetings."
Sienna said, "Look we know, and Atlas knows, that Kali will report back to the Menagerie government which includes your brother. Atlas expects he will leak the details of any meeting to us. That is part of the game of keeping indirect lines of communication open while not talking directly to terrorists."
Corsac said, "It is the speed with which the meeting has been arranged which is unusual. Atlas wants to pass a message to us."
Sienna said, "Fine, but we have to say something today. In particular, I need to be recorded in the next hour or so sending a message to our people and to the people of Remnant. Obviously, I am going to praise the bravery of our troops and the ingenuity of our planners. I was expecting to be having to defend against allegations of atrocities with our own accusations against the SDC and the Atlas military."
Corsac said, "I think the fact that Marigold and Campion were not in attendance suggests a major realignment in Atlas politics. Ironwood was giving his version of a Sleet article in the Atlas Times and Camilla approves. This means that they have a majority on the council. Perhaps they will be ready to talk."
Adam said, "They are trying to bluff us out of publicising the SDC's atrocities and that CSM shooting an unarmed Faunus in the back. We have the body with the scarred face and that explosion was intended to bury the evidence."
Sienna looked at him "Sorry Adam. Unless we have footage showing the soldier shooting the Faunus, only the choir will be listening to us. You may well be right and that the local management of the SDC was up to something. The fact that they kept those new arrivals away from the rest of the miners and that explosion happening as the bullheads landed are suspicious circumstances. But what can we prove? Atlas and the SDC can say that the destruction of the mine is down to us and that following the missiles being launched at the mine by us it is not safe to excavate and impossible in any event to prove which deaths were down to which explosion."
Corsac said, "The aim of this attack was to try and bring Atlas to the negotiating table. It may not happen, but it was the strategy we agreed on. Atlas has not ruled out of hand dealing with us and is already exploring one of the backdoors. I am afraid that in the absence of more evidence and them accusing us of atrocities, we had best say nothing for now."
Sienna said, "For the moment we do not have enough to go to press on this. Let us continue digging and see what we can find. Let us talk to your prisoner and see what he knows and analyse what is on his lap scroll. Let us debrief the miners you brought with you. Perhaps we can persuade a human journalist to go round the bars of Vacuo. Julie's report of the gossip she heard suggests that something odd has been going on there. Bluntly we are more likely to be believed by our own people and the neutrals if we major on the exploitation stories and the fact that half the surviving miners hitched a ride with Bruno. We actually left dust behind to fit them on board so we can show it was not about robbery. We express regret for the casualties but point out that those who surrendered to us did survive. It was the choice of those who died to fight against poor odds and to start using destructive weapons."
There was a half hour discussion, but eventually the council agreed that she should make the announcement that she wanted to make. Adam was clearly unhappy, but for the moment kept his peace. Corsac was suitably equivocal – he supported her but using terms which would allow himself later to say to Adam that he understood his concerns. Well two could play at that game.
/-/
Adam was puzzled by the invitation to him and Blake to have a late lunch with Sienna Khan and Corsac Albain but was happy to allow Blake to talk him in to attending. He was unsurprised to find that Tuna was on the menu. At the end of the meal, Corsac left to return to Menagerie with his copies of the press release and tapes. He was to be accompanied by Ilia who Sienna had praised and then asked to carry out a recruitment role in Menagerie. Julie had been in the team sent to Vale to distribute them there and had been told to relaunch her career in the entertainment world. Blake had said her goodbyes before the meal but was feeling a little upset,
Adam felt an odd mixture of emotions. He was sorry for Blake at being separated from her two best friends but was glad at not having to share her with them anymore. Ilia was so clearly obsessed with Blake that it was embarrassing for everyone. He respected Julie but would be glad to have her influence removed. She tended to assume that all men were like her father who clearly had been appalling. He had tried once to remonstrate about her obvious loathing for Bruno and said that she should stop projecting her father on to all men. Her response had been such that she would do that when he stopped projecting Bruce Crimson on to all humans. He felt that was unfair but had not broached the subject with her again.
After Corsac had left, Sienna turned to them both and said, "There are some things which I wanted to say to you both in private. Blake, I am sorry for redeploying your friends, but after the raid it is not safe for either of them to work in Atlas or Mistral again. It is quite clear to me from Julie's report that they were spotted in Vacuo by someone involved with the Atlas military. Ilia is originally an Atlesian citizen and is vulnerable to extradition. Besides which the Faunus back in Menagerie need to be reminded of how badly humans treat Faunus. Some of the younger generation do not appreciate how hard Faunus worked to carve out that part of the island which is safe for Faunus and underestimate how hard it is to keep that area safe. They do not realise that it is not practical for all Faunus to live on Menagerie. She will be useful in persuading the young adults there to ask their parents and grandparents what they had to put up with. She can work best for the cause there. Besides which, she needs time away from you and to have a chance to find someone who is in a position to care for her in the way she deserves."
Blake nodded at that. She had sometimes murmured to Adam about how hard it was not to give signals to Ilia which she took as encouragement.
"Julie is different. She is not an Atlesian and perhaps in a year's time it will be safe for her to spend time in Mistral again. However, she is a Faunus who works better in cities and propaganda rather than in army camps. If we left her in Mistral, then she would be vulnerable to being targeted by the Atlas Intelligence Agency. In Vale they will almost certainly consider the risk of a backlash outweighs the desire for revenge. Besides which she has talent, and we need our generation's Vera Bluebirds to sing the songs that inspire us."
Blake was less happy about this reasoning, but Adam was relieved. It had not helped that Bruno was besotted with the Fox Faunus and had found it hard to take being rejected. Adam had been glad that Ronald Rouge had bene around to talk him down and save Adam the trouble of telling him that he had crossed a line.
Sienna then turned to Adam and said, "I understand your frustration about not telling the truth. Unfortunately, most people find it easier to accept that people are weak and misguided rather than evil. It is why I did not agree with Ghira agreeing to you telling your story to the world. The cognitive dissonance which that caused to the Atlas establishment meant that they were always going to say that it was a lie. If Julie got the right end of the stick, the Atlas military are in the process of finding out exactly what they signed up to covering up a few years back and are not enjoying it. We will leak the SDC files over the next few weeks about the company stores and forcing workers to buy their own safety equipment at inflated prices and Atlas will squirm. Accuse that Major of conspiracy to murder and they will double down and give him the highest honorary award they can."
Adam replied, "Do you really think that Atlas or Mistral will come to terms with us?"
Sienna said, "You may be right. I hope you are wrong. If you are right we should either give up now or accept that we refight the Faunus wars against an army which has perfected night vision goggles. Let us be honest with each other, one of the reasons we won the Faunus wars was because a sizeable proportion of the Atlas and Vale populations did not believe in the fight and all the Faunus knew we either fought or died. If we have to refight the Faunus wars, so be it. However, I want the humans to be the aggressors and divided and for the Faunus to be united. I am not going to get into a battle where most of the Faunus of Menagerie, Vacuo and Vale are non-combatants and where a sizeable minority of those in Mistral and Atlas are unconvinced that the fight is worth it. As long as there is a chance that Atlas and Mistral will blink first I will do my best not to start an all-out war myself."
Adam supposed to himself that this was a reasonable position for Sienna to take, but emotionally it did not satisfy him. Still, he would talk to Blake tonight and she what she said. Certainly, unity among the Faunus was essential if an all-out war happened.
Sienna then said "While it is worth a try, I think Corsac Albain is overestimating how much thought Atlas has given to the White Fang. My rule of thumb is that anything which the Atlas council does is more about their own domestic politics and that they prefer to ignore us or to pretend we do not exist. A few years ago, Ironwood backed Marigold and Campion in order to gain a second council seat. Today he is backing Sleet for his own reasons. I will be surprised if we do not end up with a council dominated by Ironwood. We will then find out what he wants the power for."
Blake said, "That sounds a bit like something my mother would say." Adam winced to himself. He tried to ignore how much Blake looked like her mother and how much being separated from her parents obviously hurt her.
Sienna said, "She was always better at people than your father and unlike Corsac knew when to stop overanalysing. Just because we had fundamental differences of opinion does not mean that she is not a decent and intelligent woman who was right about many things."
Adam again rebelled against this idea that opponents were simply misguided. As far as he was concerned if you were a Faunus you should be fully behind the cause and not question it. Still Sienna khan had not become leader of the White Fang without being clearly the best candidate when Ghira had to go.
"Assuming you are right, then what does an alliance between Sleet and Ironwood mean for Faunus."
"Sleet probably genuinely believes in gradual change, so long as his class are not seriously inconvenienced. Better education and chances to serve in the army, so long as we know our place in middle management with perhaps the truly exceptional being lauded and treated as near equals. He wants Atlas to follow the Vale model. Campion and Marigold just want to protect their own interests and playing of poor humans against the Faunus works well for them. Camilla as far as I can tell just wants to keep the show on the road and avoid unpleasantness. The big political issue in Atlas is representation on the council for Mantle. My bet is that Ironwood has offered to support a change on this in exchange for an even freer hand with the military and foreign policy."
Blake asked, "What is Ironwood's attitude to Faunus?"
Sienna said, "I do not know for certain. I have met him. He did not come across as anti-Faunus in the same way Marigold did and was polite to me. I hope that he is an Atlas patriot and that to the extent that Faunus are citizens believes that they should be treated as such. However, my bet is that the language he used today was aimed at avoiding riots in Mantle by humans against the Faunus and was nothing to do with keeping open a dialogue with us. He was trying to convey the message that our Faunus are good hardworking citizens."
She sighed and said, "I have tried discussing it with Corsac and we could not work out what his policy towards the White Fang is. The only formulation that makes sense is that he is not anti-Faunus but will not hesitate to sacrifice a Faunus if it is for the good of Atlas or promote one if it is for the same good. Adam, I know your views on the Vytal festival, but that Dog Faunus whom Ironwood praised at the press conference is an interesting example. If he had been human and from Atlas he would in his first year have been placed on the strongest team Atlas had with a view to taking that team to the finals of the Vytal Festival. Instead of which he was put on a makeshift team which embarrassed everyone by qualifying for the festival and making it to the second round based on a single person's ability. The rumours are that Ironwood used that fact to oust the previous headmaster on the basis that not recognising talent because it comes from Mantle and are Faunus is wasteful."
Blake said, "Wasteful, not morally wrong?"
"Correct."
Adam said, "Does that mean that our policy towards Atlas should be based on trying to make things such that it is less wasteful to come to terms with us than to fight us?"
"If only it was that simple. He supported Marigold and the multi-kingdoms against us a few years ago to gain power. My bet is that he is following Sleet's line to increase his power. The question is what does he want that power for? Some say that power corrupts, but it is truer to say that power reveals."
Adam said, "He is a military man. His first instinct on encountering a threat will be to fight it. On the other hand, unless we pressure Atlas, there is no incentive for him to make major changes in Atlas. At best in twenty years' time, the Faunus in Mantle will be treated the same as the humans in Mantle so long as they do not start the riots first. Is that really good enough?"
"No, but there is a chance that things will improve more than that. If we are fortunate the humans and Faunus in Mantle will unite against the Atlas elite. Look while things could have gone better, yesterday we – you- proved that we have the capability to launch large scale raids and cause major economic damage. Atlas can no longer ignore us. At least if they are worrying about whether to kill us or deal with us, they are at least worrying about us. If to defeat the white Fang, they decide that they have to deal with Faunus in Mantle fairly than that is a victory of sorts. We will have to see what combination of stick and carrot Atlas will use in Mantle and how far they will put pressure on Mistral to come to terms with us."
Adam again felt the need to talk things over with Blake. While emotionally he hated the fact that Sienna seemed to be hinting that she would settle for less than complete victory, perhaps there was something to be said for small victories.
/-/
Marrow was finishing his after-action report on the Rising Sun raid when he received a scroll call from Major Magenta.
"Sir, is there an emergency?"
"Not really, Lieutenant. However, I think that this evening Mr Corkran could do with a friend who is also a Faunus and was at the mine. You both have leave until midday tomorrow and a pass to stay at the barracks in town. If he agrees there is a package for you in my office,"
Marrow called up Leslie who needed little persuading to go into Vacuo, although he did say "I am afraid that I will not be good company tonight. I have just returned from telling the closest relatives of good friends that they died, and I am not in a merry mood."
They arrived at Rick's and quickly realised that they had both been too busy to watch the news and think about how it had affected other people. A member of the Mohawk tribe came up and hugged Corkran, Saturn Vassilias sent a bottle of the best sparkling wine over to their table. After thirty minutes the management had come over and offered them a private room to keep them away from the journalists who wanted to talk to Lieutenant Amin and his Faunus friend. The management had assured them that the room was not bugged tonight which raised various interesting questions. Still, he did use the jamming device which Magenta had included in the package just in case.
They first talked about Corkran's visit to the Mohawks. Marrow knew enough to just listen to his friend describe how it felt telling the mother and sister and then the brother and nephew of his two friends that they had died and what had been done to their bodies afterwards. He listened to his friend reminisce about how Brian Thrush had hinted to Corkran that he was better off joining the military rather than the SDC or indeed any of the multi-kingdoms and how earlier he had helped train him in dealing with the desert. Marrow got the impression that the desert had killed Corkran's mother shortly before he had met the Mohawks. Certainly, it sounded as though they had helped him focus on what he needed to be good at to survive in Vacuo. He also had not heard before, although he could have guessed, how close he and the nephew had been and the fun they had had together. Marrow found it easy to say that from his meetings with them, he had known the Thrushes to be good people and agreed that Corkran had been right to suggest to Russel that he should consider applying to Beacon.
They then got on to the events at the mine.
Corkran who had been drinking faster than normal said "We both saw the footage and we both saw the aftermath. We both also have our own suspicions about what was going on at the mine."
Marrow checked that the jammer was activated and said, "Of course. I am a citizen of Atlas and a Faunus. Atlas is not perfect, but my experience is that it is trying to improve itself. I think that it is better to try and change things from within – for me reform rather than revolution seems the right way forward. I also understand that most of the White Fang members are not evil or at least in their eyes have good reasons for fighting. I am happy to fight for my kingdom, right or not self evidently wrong. I do not know how I would deal with being ordered to do an unlawful act. I can trust Captain Schnee and Major Magenta not to put me in that position."
Corkran said, "My favourite childhood story was about a cat who walked by itself. In summary, in early time a man and woman settle down together. The woman is expecting a child and uses magic tempt a dog, horse, and cow into being their servants in exchange for food and warmth. The dog goes hunting with man and looks t' the man for approval, the cow gives up its milk and its freedom to roam in exchange for hay while the horse is forced t' wear a saddle and be ridden by man. The cat mocks the other three for giving up their freedom and says it is the cat who walks by itself, and all places are alike to him. It tries to come into the cave when the woman is there to sleep by the fire and drink warm milk, but she refuses saying that there is no need for it. The cat bargains with the woman and asks if he might never come in the Cave, sit by the fire, or taste the milk. The woman says that if she praises the cast once, twice and three times, his three wishes would be granted and suggests that this will never happen. In summary the Cat waits until the baby has come along and returns to the cave on a day when baby is fractious. Despite herself, the woman praises the cat for playing with the baby and stopping it crying, for purring the baby t' sleep and for catching a mouse. It is allowed t' stay in the cave so long as it deals with the mice and is good t' the child but has retained its right t' go prowling in the night. The man and dog are annoyed by the cat having got such a good deal and the man promises t' throw boots at it and the dog promises t' chase it up trees if it does not keep its word. The cat despite these threats is still happy about the deal it has made."
Marrow said, "I suppose you see yourself as being rather like the cat in the story."
"Afraid so. I have got through my life so far by charming people into accepting me on my own terms in exchange for being good at my job and being good company."
"You're not modest"
The lynx Faunus laughed, "Why should I be? Anyway, the point is that the major and the captain have made me an offer t' sit by the fire and drink milk. I am minded t' take it but have my doubts."
"What is the offer and why do you have doubts?"
"They have offered me a commission and a place at a hunter's academy of my choice in two- or three-years' time. I will be paid a stipend during my time at the academy. If at the end of my training at the academy I choose t' go my own way then that will be fine."
"That's a good offer financially. What is the catch?"
"This has t' be between us, but I will in fact have my commission in military intelligence. Ideally they want me t' infiltrate the White Fang and take down its operations in Mantle and Atlas."
"I take it back- they are underpaying you."
"They have agreed that I will only join the White Fang if they approach me. I may wander in front of them, but I must not seem eager. If it does not happen weeding out the jerks and the corrupt amongst officers will be seen as good service."
"I can understand why. The White Fang are notoriously paranoid about being infiltrated. You will have to prove yourself to them."
"I think I know how t' make them chase after me until I catch them and how t' make them believe that they have made the right decision. I cannot assume that I will fail t' hook them. Besides, the captain and the major accept that one cannot make omelettes without breaking eggs."
"I assume that you have not told the Major and the Captain that you believe that you can make the White Fang approach you?"
"Correct. However, part of me relishes the challenge. It also allows me to p the plans of the people whose plans resulted in the death of my friends. It does give me a chance of real financial independence and to live outside of Vacuo. Frankly, although I have learned how to survive in it and I like most of the people, I have no great attachment to the place. I want to travel to Vale, Mistral and Atlas and choose where I want to settle. I accept that part of the price is that there will be people who will have a good reason in their own minds to kill me on sight."
"If you can live with the latter then what is the problem?"
"I tend to like most of the people I deal with. I should assume that I will be in the position of betraying people whom I care for and that my actions will result in them being imprisoned or killed. Also, while it has never badly impacted on me as an adult, I am aware that many members of the White Fang have strong reasons t' be members. Remnant, you saw the footage and heard the stories. I have been lucky in that I have been able t' thwart those officers who wanted t' humiliate me because they saw me as an uppity Faunus. I am not certain that I can really blame those who have not my good fortune in being able t' ignore the humans who have contempt for us because we have animal ears or a tail. If I do this I have t' accept that I may not be serving the side I think is right at the end of my time. If I am on the right side then undoubtedly I will have t' carry out actions which temporarily benefit the White Fang to be allowed t' be in a position which means that I can do it lasting harm."
"For me, I know Atlas is flawed, but in my lifetime it has started changing for the better. I agree that things are not perfect, but it is my kingdom and I think I can help make it better."
"At least Atlas is your kingdom. I am the Lynx who stalks by himself, and all kingdom are alike t' me. If I do this it will be because I want t' do it and not out of loyalty t' Atlas. I feel a personal loyalty t' Captain Schnee and Major Magenta and I will not regret obtaining revenge for my friends."
At the time Marrow was a little puzzled by his friend's behaviour. In a few months' time it all made a lot more sense.
