A/N: Next Arc: |The Price of Altruism (I-VI)|.
I think the details make the story. Anyway, the Interludes will be very important. This one is about worldbuilding and about a topic I can't include later (government). But it'll explain somethings along the way.
I also wanted to practice dialogue- It's a big part of storytelling, and I wanted to make sure I had more practice before some big stuff.
This is the last of the Arc family in a long while.
I will also be checking for mistakes in previous chapters and updating them. Also, 35% done with chapter 1 of the next arc. But I promise nothing when it will be posted.
We also reached 100+ reviews and are almost 30 away from 500 follows- Let's do it!
Argent Arc 24 years old- 4th Eldest.
Argent was finishing getting ready for today; she examined herself in the mirror, making sure everything was in place.
She wore a black knee-length skirt and a white blouse, with the first two buttons lose, her hair circling her face. She also had a bit of makeup beneath her eyebrows, trying to cover her eyebags and nothing else.
She shoved her hips to the side and examined her looks; she could say she was wider than before; she needed to look out for herself once she managed to finish the deal with the other town.
Argent left the bathroom and headed towards her sister's room.
She needed to speak to her about something important; she had tried on breakfast, but she had been too enthralled with Jaune's work, something she didn't know would be possible.
She had to admit; she thought he had given up when he chose to be a farmer. If he had chosen something else, anything else with more potential, she was sure he would succeed.
Her brother wasn't a people person, and she didn't think he was overly smart, but he was silently stubborn, a rare quality, and the notebooks only proved that.
When he came into her room with a few books' requests, she just pointed towards a few beginner ones, and when he didn't come again or asked any questions, she assumed he had given up. But far from it.
He accomplished so much, and he enjoyed it, not the farming- that was written dry and to the point- but his projections and calculations.
Besides, nobody would write several notebooks on a topic they didn't like, especially when he could've quickly settled on easy pay by planting vegetables. Maybe not as much, but it was safer.
But no, he took a risk, and it paid off.
But even after working so hard, he gave everything up and ran away.
These notebooks might've not seen the light of day without her older sister snooping around in his bedroom, and she was glad for it.
But now wasn't the time for Jaune. He already ran away, and there was nothing she could do about him.
But she could do something for somebody else.
She shook her head and took a few calming breaths as she stood in front of her sister's door; she mulled words in front of her sister's door; this wasn't an easy thing to do.
That she was the only person that had a chance of helping a scarred child?
She didn't have an answer, but she had wasted enough time in front of her sister's door.
She was going to ask her at breakfast, but her sister asked her to examine Jaune's notebooks and thought it could wait until she was ready to leave for work.
She tapped the wooden door with her knuckles and received no answer.
It might be possible she was meditating and was too focused to answer. She grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door, and took a peek inside.
She immediately shoved the door aside as she entered and tried to get to her sister as fast as possible.
Atlanta was having a panic attack; she was having trouble breathing as she took shuddering breaths.
She closed the distance and grabbed her sister's forearms, and told her, "It's okay; just breathe." Her sister looked up with her pale face and locked their blue eyes and, eventually, their breathing.
She could feel the sweat gathered across her body and its foul smell, but she didn't care; her sister needed her, and she had to be there.
After a few moments of silence and breathing, her sister spoke in a tired voice, "Can you call out to dad?"
She didn't question it; her sister's aura must've destabilized, and right now, only her father's semblance could help her.
She took a deep breath and yelled upwards so hard, her voice cracked, "DAD!"
Immediately afterward, a wave pushed her not physically but emotionally; she could feel care and love just an inch away from her skin. She wondered for a moment if this was what if felt to have aura.
She shoved that thought aside and focused on her sister; she seemed to be doing better as she started pushing her feet off the ground, she wanted to say something, but the look in Atlanta's eyes stopped her.
Instead, she gripped her sister's forearm and helped her stand.
As her sister's managed to gain her balance, she asked with concern in her voice, "Are you okay?"
Atlanta looked straight into her eyes and replied bluntly to her asinine question, "No, not really."
She blanked out for a second for her sister's bluntness, and she didn't know why. She was always this straightforward.
When her mind recovered, she asked a bit timidly, "Wanna talk abo.-"
She was cut off when her father entered the room, and the force of care and love only grew more substantial, but it faltered when her sister responded to her unfinished question.
"I think it's all my fault."
A thousand thoughts raced through her brain, but the only concrete idea was that she was talking about Jaune.
She could feel her father recoil almost as he had been slapped and took a step back and even the comfort of his semblance wavered.
She pushed everything back and said without thinking because she just had to say something in this oppressive silence, "There's nothing you can do about it."
She regretted it, the words that left her mouth and the nonchalance as she said it, but her father and sister glanced at her and chuckled.
Her father at her left said as he took a step forward and enhanced his semblance, "You know what to say at the right time."
She looked at him incredulously; she briefly wondered if he was sarcastic, but he was earnest; she was snapped out of it as her sister said, "You're right, I can only move forward."
Atlanta grabbed her father's hand and said as she charged at the window, "Let's train."
Her sister completely ignored her father's complaint as they jumped through the window, "Let me change at least; I am still in my pajamas!"
Her sister's playful voice wandered through the window as she said, "Nope."
She blankly stared at the window in a daze.
She wondered if spending too much time dealing with politics in the town hall that she forgot how her sister and father operated.
Blunt to the point of ridiculousness.
Not that she wasn't any better with her, 'there's nothing you can do about it.' But she usually manages to rein it in.
She shook her head as she thought that things for her father and sister were that simple.
When you were the last line of defense between the town and Grimm's relentless wave, there was no time for a second of doubt or hesitation as they had to push themselves forward.
Because if they failed, they all died. For them, things were that simple.
So for them, movement meant life and stagnation, death.
There were no more implications for their work, not like hers.
She hesitated for a second and questioned herself if it was the moment to talk to her sister about Ash. She felt she needed to take a look at her sister first.
She approached the window to see her sister do a side kick towards her father.
He didn't dodge or block very well as he sent a few dozen feet back, but he did a sideways slash with his hand even before he stopped.
Aura was sent in an arc parallel to the ground; her sister jumped over it, but more aura slashes appeared, and her father kept his distance. She felt her sister's frustration as she kicked off the ground, and it shattered, going like a projectile towards her father.
But he seemed to see it coming as he dodged and her sister went planted her feet a dozen feet away from, to stop her momentum, and the ground shattered again.
This time her sister limited her speed and approached more carefully, but her father kept his distance with his aura slashes frustrating her sister.
Argent shook her head and decided that she didn't want to go near that battleground.
Not that she was afraid, but it wasn't the right time.
Or maybe she was making excuses for herself.
In her daze, she took a glance at her clock, '7:55', and noticed she was late for work; she definitely wouldn't make it in time.
She stepped out of her sister's room, and went into hers, grabbed a pair of sneakers, her backpack, and went downstairs.
Just as she was about to grab her keys in a bowl just outside the main door, she noticed her mother looking out the window, watching her father and sister sparring.
'Maybe, she could bring Atla with her.' She thought as she walked to the kitchen.
She called out to her, "Hey Mom, I'm leaving for work."
Her mother turned to her with a smile, "Hope you have a good day."
Argent couldn't repress the shiver as she remembered she would need to negotiate with her; she knew how calculating her mother could be.
She then said with a bit of hesitation, "Could you bring Atlanta with you?"
Her mother looked puzzled for a second before she got a bit of clarity in her eyes, said, "It's about what you wanted to talk to her about in the morning, right?"
Argent sighed as it was difficult to hide things from her mother, for her anyway, "Yeah, there's a new orphan from Greenville."
Her mother said with a bit of sadness, "Another faunus?"
She nodded and said with distaste, "The mayor is a closeted racist. He preaches equality, but how many faunus orphans has he pushed out of his town?"
Her mother looked thoughtful, "He's been mayor for almost a decade now, enough time to slowly change key personnel in their town hall and become bolder in their racism."
Argent nodded, "Yeah, that's what the Town Manager thinks as well, but can't exactly call him out on it." She then said with a bit of disdain, "Y'know diplomacy."
Her mother nodded, noticing her hate of the subject, and said, "Anyway, why do you think the orphan needs Atlanta?"
She said with a bit of amusement, "Well, Ash seems only to be excited by shows of strength-"
And her mother finished her sentence, "and who better than Atlanta."
She then noticed then took a look at the clock, 8:07, and she froze, already seven minutes late.
She hefted her backpack in a more comfortable position as she made towards the door; she asked her mother, "I gotta go. You'll bring Atlanta?"
Her mother nodded and said with a smile, "I will."
'Expectations Rule Remnant'
That was a saying that anyone in a position of power in Remnant should've heard.
Any form of government needed to manage its people's expectations because expectations directly influence its inhabitants' emotions, and they control the amount of Grimm they attract.
'So what makes or breaks a town is its administration.'
That's what Argent thought as she hopped off the bus and looked over at Meliora Town Hall.
It was the most impressive building in the whole town; it was white, and it had only two floors except for its middle part that had grown into a bell shape for its third and fourth floors.
There weren't many buildings around it, and if they were, they were small and made out of wood. Not gravity infused steel and cement, like the town hall. The most significant building nearby was the hospital.
But all of this was done with a purpose when they rebuilt it in this location.
It was the town's last shelter.
Where they would make their last stand if Grimm overran them.
But it was a symbol of hope, of how far they've come and how far they will go.
This building was an enormous investment; moving that many tons of gravity-infused steel and cement towards a remote town like theirs was beyond expensive.
It was the most impressive town hall she had seen in any of their neighboring towns.
It also represented their authority towards their people and a warning towards their neighboring towns, reminding them how much power their administration held.
She moved and looked at the entrance, there was no visible door, but she knew it was because it was hidden between the walls and would only come out during an emergency.
Beyond the entrance was a pearl white floor and a couple of couches to the side; in front of her was a desk where a man and woman were handling the reception.
At the backs of the receptionist was an inscription.
Meliora
Every day can be the last.
She knew the town's name was contradictory to its slogan, as it meant 'toward better things' in some ancient language.
But considering the men and women who founded this town a few years after The Great War, she could see they preferred dealing with Grimm every day than the-in the words of their founders- 'bullshit of the rest of peoplekind.'
And considering their founder's history, she couldn't blame them.
She snapped out of her thoughts as the receptionist called out to her, "You're late~."
She looked over at the redhead and blue-eyed receptionist that looked in her thirties and said with seriousness, "I was evaluating a project."
Amaranth said with sarcasm, "Was that 'Project' your pillow?"
She said with a bit of an edge in her voice, "It was my brother's."
Amaranth didn't seem to believe it as she said, "What could-"
But she was cut off by her coworker, a man with black hair and brown eyes that looked in his late twenties, "How's your sister doing?"
She was grateful for Vanta for interrupting whatever rude comment Amaranth was going to say as she replied without much thought, "She's doing better."
Vanta seemed relieved as he answered, "My brother is getting restless without her lieutenant."
She said with a deadpan face, "That's not good."
Vanta replied with a hollow chuckle, "He's been pranking everyone in a two-block radius of our home."
As she was about to reply, she was interrupted by Amaranth in a cold tone, "You need to go to work."
She rolled her eyes as she said, "Yeah, yeah, talk to ya later, Vanta."
He smiled at her as she walked to the stairs.
Argent knocked on the door that said, 'Town Manager- Jet Davidson.' After a few moments of silence, a monotone voice came through the door, "Come in."
She opened the door, and she saw her Boss, a skinny man in a white shirt with a black tie and pants. He had black hair and blue eyes, but his eyes were focused on the cup he was nursing.
She called out to him, trying not to put too much cheer in her voice as her Boss wasn't a morning person, "Good morning, Boss."
Her Boss's eyes drifter towards her as he said, "Mornin'." She immediately wanted to ask him about buying Jaune's work, but before she could say anything, Jet said in a matter of fact tone, "It's not like you to be late."
That was true; she usually was twenty minutes early every day, not -she glanced at the clock 8:29- not twenty-nine minutes late.
She grimaced a bit as she had looked at the clock, and she was sure her Boss caught it and said with a bit of shame, "got caught up reading my brother's records."
Her Boss replied, not truly paying attention, "The farmer?"
She replied a bit, annoyed as he wasn't paying attention, "Yeah, he had interesting ideas."
Her Boss didn't seem to care too much as he gazed at his cup of coffee, "Interesting, how?"
She replied a bit cheekily, "Not how, but for whom."
Her Boss raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by her tone, and said in a dry tone, "I know you wouldn't bring this up if this weren't a good idea, but you should know how it would reflect on your family if we use whatever your brother worked on."
She grimaced a bit because he was right; some people in positions of power were concerned about her family holding too much power in the town, not because they were four of them in important positions of power.
But because of their reputation, or because they positioned to influence many people, even if they didn't hold any formal authority.
If the city bought Jaune's work, their fears might worsen.
She sighed and said, annoyed, "They should focus on other families that actually vie for power. Like the Pendrakes."
He laughed a bit and said, "They do, but they aren't as... loud as your family."
She was a bit exasperated, but it was true. After a moment of silence, a thought occurred to her, "Maybe this is a chance to demonstrate that my family just wants to do their own thing."
Her Boss eye's moved from his cup of coffee and looked at her in interest, and she took this as a chance to explain herself, "Well, my brother's work is the groundwork for a big project, and we could've continued it, but instead we are selling it to them."
She opened her arms and said with a shrug, "Even if we win reputation. They will win more of it if they succeed. And even if they fail, we sold it to them, so it has to count for something."
Jet said with a bit of a smile, "It will." He took a sip of his coffee and said, "Anyway, tell about this big project."
She explained her brother's plan and how she would expand on it.
With the glint in Jet's eyes, she knew, 'He was hooked.'
Argent had a smile on her face as she reached her office, she had just managed to finish her lunch, but most importantly, she wouldn't have to be in the room when her Boss would negotiate with her mother.
'Not a sentence she would have ever thought off.' She thought with a bit of choked laughter.
She had said it would be a conflict of interest, and people would question the outcome if she was in there. Not that she would relent towards a higher price; she would do the opposite, as her family didn't need the money.
If her brother wanted money, he could ask them.
But a part of her knew he wouldn't do that.
If he could have done that, he would have left earlier.
She had concluded after looking at her brother's farming records. He had delayed his departure for at least a month, maybe two.
She could tell because he had projections for other plants during that cycle that would have netted him a lot more money, but instead, he chose short-term ones.
It was difficult for him to leave home.
In a way, that comforted her, how he struggled with his decision, even if he left.
It meant they still meant a lot to Jaune.
She snapped out of her thoughts by a voice in her back, "Argent, Jet is calling you to his office."
She turned back towards the black-haired secretary, "Uh, okay. Thanks."
She nodded and went back to her desk as she went towards Jet's office.
The door was open, and as Jet saw her, he said from his chair, "Please, close the door."
She did, and Jet made a motion toward the chair across from his desk, and she sat down on it.
There was a moment of silence, and she examined Jet, focused, and looked straight at her with his piercing blue eyes and held his hands together over his stomach.
Just as she was getting nervous, Jet said in a stone-cold tone, "Tell me about your mother."
Argent sat there for a moment before she slowly rose from her seat and said in a hollow tone, "I'm going to HR."
She could feel her Boss panic and said with a bit of terror, "Come on! It was a joke."
She turned and look down on him as she said, "So you don't want me to tell you about my mother."
Jet looked away and said, "Professionally. You know-"
She knew how it was, he needed to know the opponent, and she would tell him, but it was funny seeing him squirm.
She kept her ice-cold tone, "You want to know my mother, 'Professionally.'
Jet said with a whine that no man in his thirties had the right to make, "You know the saying If you know the-"
She stepped forward, and he leaned back as if trying to put distance between them; she then said, "So my mother's the enemy?"
Jet panicked as he waved his hands in front of him and said, "No- Of course-"
His panic seems to fade away as he examined her expression, and finally, she laughed as she clutched her stomach and said, "You should've taken a look at your face."
Jet leaned over and motioned with his hand and said with a resigned tone, "Yeah, yeah, get it out of your system."
She made a pitiful face as she said, "It was like, Oh no! I'll have to have another session with HR!"
Jet cringed as he said in a reproachful tone, "Don't read my mind!"
She ignored his comment, and she continued, "Maybe they'll have someone from HR over my shoulder for a few weeks."
Argent saw him shudder, and then his entire frame slumped as he said, "I liked it better when you just laughed at my jokes."
She snickered as she crossed her arms, "Those were pity laughs."
Jet stood up as he said with a finger pointed at her and said dramatically, "Lies! I remember your first week as Assitant Town Manager. You laughed when I said, 'Can you hand me my pair of balls.'"
Jet then pointed towards a pair of balls on a shelf at the side of the office.
She had a ghost of a smile on her face as she said, "Those are the kind of comments that will make me Town Manager."
Jet shook his head and said with a proud smile, "If those jokes were enough to get me fired, I would've been fired a long time ago."
Argent pointed out with a wry smile, "That's not something to be proud of."
After that comment, she took a glance at the clock, 4:07. She gained a bit of urgency as she didn't have too much time.
She saw Jet follow her line of sight and pursed his lips. At seeing that, she said, "Okay, I'll tell you about my mother, or she'll eat you alive."
As Jet sat down, he said a bit nervously, "Come on; she can't be that good."
She also sat down across from him and said with an even tone, "Yes, she is." Her Boss didn't seem to believe it, and she had to consider what to say, as some things were just speculation of her part or not appropriate.
This should be a conversation between her and a psychiatrist.
After a moment, she said with deadly seriousness, "This stays between us." Jet nodded, and she mulled it over before she said, "You remember my dad, right?
Jet snorted as he said, "Big blonde guy, always drawing crowds around him. Everyone in the Town Hall parties knows him."
She nodded, not arguing as it was true, and said, "Well, my Mom's the opposite; she likes watching from afar, and she usually blends in the background."
She swallowed her next words, 'Even at home,' instead; she said, "But, she can be intense if you are alone with her."
Jet seemed a bit confused as he said, "I can't imagine a mother of eight blending in the background."
Argent said as she leaned back in her chair, "Well, my mother taught us independence and responsibility, she let us make a mess of things, but we had to take care of it too."
She then said with a shudder, "It was not a good day for anyone if we didn't clean up."
She then continued with a bit of bitterness, "I think she and my dad accepted that they couldn't take care of eight children, so she taught us to take care of ourselves and each other."
For a moment, she froze, she didn't mean for it sound so bleak, but Jet said in agreement, "I could see that; your sisters are a handful, but they always stepped up when they made a mistake."
She felt as if she strayed from their topic and wanted to get back on track, and spoke with a bit of shiver, "Anyway, our mother is also the one that taught me..."
She mulled it over and finally settled in a single topic, "Power dynamics."
Jet seemed to be struck by a realization, and by the smile on his face, he thought it was hilarious, "That's why you mellowed out! She taught you to compromise."
She said with a bit of a pout, "I knew how to compromise; I didn't know when."
Though she wasn't the only one her mother taught, her mother was harshest on her but not without reason, as she was in the Town Hall and was a definite requirement to survive in it.
Just as she was about to continue, a blue screen flashed over her Boss's desk. Then Jet said as he sat up, "Well, our time's up."
Argent felt a bit reluctant, as she didn't say anything that could help him. But she didn't say anything as she followed him out the door.
There she saw her mother sitting on the leather couch right in front of the secretary's desk. She had a leather pouch and a plastic container in her hand, its lid supporting its bottom, and eating a piece of sliced apple out of it.
She saw Jet extend his hand and about to greet her, but her mother was faster; she said with a sweet smile, "Hi, you must be Jet Davidson. I've heard a lot from you."
Her Boss sent her a glance before saying, "Good things, I hope."
Her mother sent her a smile as she said conspiratory, "Well, Argent seems quite taken by you."
She wanted nothing more than to strangle her at this moment, but she could only go with the less damaging option to her career; she tried to flash a smile and said a bit stiffly, "Hi, mom."
She noticed that Jet seemed quite stiff as her mother replied to her greeting, "Hi sweetie, I've brought some snacks." She then spoke towards both of them, "Have some."
She then shoved the plastic container towards them, and they took a slice of apple each. She felt like she was missing something as she munched over the sliced apple.
After a moment, her mother spoke towards her, "Atlanta, went to the orphanage after lunch, so you don't have to worry."
Fuck, how could she forget?
The day seemed to pass as a blur after that; she couldn't focus after realizing she had forgotten entirely about Ash.
That little girl had nobody, and she refused to let anyone help her.
She could change her life, and she fucking forgot.
That thought only seemed to strike harder the moment she stepped through the door and looked over at the dining room.
Ash was sitting at the table. In Jaune's spot.
It was only now that she realized what she was doing. She was projecting her feelings of Jaune into Ash. What was even more tragic? She was still failing.
Ash wasn't the first orphan that she saw seeking refuge in their town, but it was the first since Jaune left, and she saw how alone she was, even when surrounded by people.
A treacherous voice spoke in her mind, 'Just like Jaune.'
Ash looked over at her and sent her a timid smile.
She forced herself to smile back, and Ash seemed to brighten a bit.
She felt fucking sick.
She rushed without running towards her bedroom and laid on her bed.
A sentence she read in some book came to her mind, 'Tragedy is in everyday life.'
How many times did she forget about her brother?
Would she have even realized he was gone without her family?
Did she ever show him she cared?
It was then she heard a knock at her door; after a few seconds, the door creaked open.
Atlanta appeared and said with a sorry smile, "Sorry for barging in, had to say that I will teach Ash how to fight."
She wanted to ask, 'Are you replacing Jaune?' but instead, she said, "That's good. I'm glad it worked out."
She knew what her sister would answer, 'Everyone is irreplaceable.' towards her untold question. But was that true? After all, it's been a month, and someone else was already on his seat.
Atlanta moved towards her with a bit of concern in her steps, "Are you okay?"
She lied with an exhausted tone, "I'm okay, just tired."
The theme of these interludes was, how do we hurt those around us? What do we do after we pushed them away? You can see it in the responses of Argent and Atlanta.
It also had some purposes of worldbuilding, introducing characters, and some foreshadowing.
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Next Arc: |The Price of Altruism (I-VI)|