Live Off The Land

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Nickel nodded.

Adam growled in irritation.

For two days they traveled in near silence. Nickel only spoke when it was around a campfire. When he did speak, his words were short and awkward. Adam could understand why he might be a little off. He lost everything, gained something new that he'd never experienced, yet he remained shut off from the world in his eyes.

It infuriated Adam to no end. Speaking and not being listened to was why he had opted to remain quiet in his life with the Fang. With the White Fang, Adam felt a sense of comradery with them. Some looked to him, seeing him as the savior of their kind. Long had he worked to better their lives, even if it was by stealing. Killing… He hadn't done that. Not out of anger or fear. He just hadn't killed anyone yet.

But Nickel had.

Adam could feel the hate that sometimes licked off the gunman. Nickel was of a right mind, but when they sat around the campfire, listening to the sounds of nature, Nickel's eyes would lose focus and his hatred would come off his form. It gave Adam chills.

How could someone hate so much? He lost everything, sure. Lots of people lost everything. Some found a new rock to steady themselves on, push off, and start over. Nickel had a platform, he just didn't know what to do from there.

Perhaps it wasn't hate that he felt, but a sense of confusion?

It didn't matter. They were currently two days in to this stupid trip and Adam could feel his stomach eaching away at the lining of itself. He'd heard stories of people eating Grimm in the past. Stories, embellished obviously, but it did give him pause. What would they taste life? Could you even eat one fast enough that it wouldn't dissolve in your mouth?

And how was Nickel so calm right now? That pissed him just as much as his hunger. Nickel just kept to the path, his silence being the only other thing to piss him off. Couldn't he answer his questions? He had plenty of time? Why the silence?

Nickel suddenly stopped, his hand reaching for his gun as he got down low to the cold earth. Adam followed, his hand reaching for his weapon. Nickel stopped him.

A few meters away, a bush moved. Nickel slowly withdrew a knife with one hand and grabbed a pebble from the soil with the other. He worked the pebble between his thumb and index finger, his eyes widening as he took small sniffs of the air.

He flicked the pebble a meter behind the bush. A rabbit lunged out of the bush, its little nose working to find the source of the odd noise that spooked it. Nickel snapped up fast, the knife already flying through the air as he did, and crossed the distance in three big steps.

Adam blinked, missing the entire event. One moment Nickel was crouched down in front of him, the next he was holding up a dead rabbit.

His stomach growled again.

Sniffing the air, Nickel turned and looked around. "We'll camp here."

Adam felt relief wash over him. He had been waiting for that. His feet ached from all the walking and he was sure that he was going to die of thirst soon as well. How was Nickel not suffering from any of this? Did he have food and water on him?

They both moved to grab some wood for a fire. Nickel smoked a fire into existence and Adam moved closer to it, his hands raised to enjoy the warmth it provided. Nickel then got to work on the rabbit, skinning it and pulling out would work and what wouldn't work. Adam turned away from the scene and foul smell that followed when something was cut to release it.

Nickel scowled at a gland he ripped out before chucking it as far as he could. With the fire going, he put the rabbit over the fire on a stick and sat down close to it.

"Does none of this bother you?"

Nickel blinked, looking up from the cooking rabbit. "What?"

"This!" Adam gestured to the woods, the small fire, the rabbit, and their lack of supplies. "We have nothing. Yet you aren't affected by any of it? Why?"

Nickel furrowed his brow as he reached into one of his pouches. "I've been snacking on these." He pulled out a fistful of small brown seeds. "They don't do much, not enough energy to do much."

Adam turned his nose up at the things. They were covered in dirt and looked like rocks. Nickel shrugged as he ate a few of them.

"And water?"

Nickel withdrew a small vial, hardly big enough for a shot, and sloshed some water that had formed in it. Adam stared at it. Nickel threw it to him and turned back to the fire. "This isn't piss, right?"

"Snow."

Adam looked back at the liquid before he drank it. It was cold and refreshing. Not like snow. He threw it back. "How did you have that on you?"

Nickel stopped what he was doing to eye the redhead in front of him. Adam felt naked under his gaze. There was something off about the way he looked him over. It felt like he was being judged.

Finally, after a minute of silence, Nickel spoke. "You're not used to being in places like this, are you?" Adam shook his head. "Out here in the woods, silence is your best friend. If you know where to look, you can find food. Might not be what you want, but it gives you energy. Maggots give you lots of calories. Those seeds I showed you don't have much to them either, but they work at staving off hunger since you can find them in abundance around this place."

"And the snow turned to water?"

Nickel scooped up from the snow and put it in the vial before slipping it into his pocket. Adam felt stupid right then. The body heat he naturally produced would slowly melt the snow and turn it into water. Trying to eat it how it was wasn't good for your health in the cold.

"I figured you had some experience being on your own out in the woods." Nickel checked the meat. It was close, but not close enough. "I learned to live off the land at a young age. Father taught me to hunt, but neither of us knew how to really skin an animal. We can get enough meat off it to survive, but obviously a professional can make something like this give more than what we could."

"They also have the tools we don't have."

Nickel nodded in silence.

Adam adjusted his mask when he felt it begin to slip.

They sat in silence again, both watching the fire while Nickel would occasionally check the meat. Once he was satisfied with it, he pulled it off and gave half to Adam where they ate in silence.

The thing was bitter, lacking seasonings and other things Adam had grown accustomed to. There were days in his youth that he had buried under guilt and sorrow to hide where he ate raw rats and lived off stagnant water. He could still taste the iron that was in it from time to time when he drank. The cold nights were worse for him back then. Newspapers, soiled cloth, and wet cardboard boxes had been a life for him growing up.

When he was finally old enough to escape that hell he never looked back. His eyes were only ever looking to a brighter future where justice was given. Nights back then were dreams of food and warmth, something he had never really received. But when he had it, he didn't want to let it go.

Yet, here he was, sitting in front of a campfire, no supplies, no sleeping bags, and just the two of them. Those dark memories surfaced, but he squashed them down as best he could and remembered the new life he had. The better one. The best one.

"Why did you join the White Fang?"

Adam stared at the gunman. Nickel kept his gaze on the dancing fire. Adjusting his mask again, the redhead stared into the flickering flames. He could hear his younger self crying as hot metal was pushed against his skin.

"To ensure what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else." Adam touched his mask when a burning sensation washed across him. "When I was little… When I was too weak to do anything, I suffered a lot. I wanted to make sure that no one else had to go through the same thing I went through. It wasn't right, but the law said it was."

"I've never known the suffering of our kind. Father used to tell me stories about my kind though. Said that our history was bloody. He didn't fight in the war. Too young. But he told me stories about it that his grandfather had told him. Said it wasn't just bloody… It was something else. Something so dark that it cast a shadow over darkness itself."

"Sounds about right. I remember those stories. Dark times. I'd rather not think about that. Any other tricks you got to surviving out here?"

Nickel chuckled. "I got a few. But in order to do it, I need some supplies. I know we're coming up on their last camp. I can smell their cooking. Wendy was making stew again. Father and I learned how to make it better from…" He froze and his face contorted into a look of worry. Adam reached for his sword. Nickel shook his head. "One rule of the land is that not all life is dangerous."

Adam slowly turned his head just enough to make out a gray tail that slinked behind a bush. A pair of blue eyes looked out from within the foliage to the fire where the light barely reached it.

Nickel broke off a piece of the meat, rolled it in his hand, and then gently tossed it to the bush where it plopped down in front of it. A moment later a snout moved out and tentatively sniffed the offering before its tongue wrapped around it and yanked it back to the safety of the bush.

Adam looked back at Nickel, but stilled grabbed his sword for safety.

"Not all things will kill you. It's just looking for the blood it smelled. Chances are it's a loner. Cut off from its pack. Poor thing."

"It won't eat us in our sleep?"

"No. It's just here to investigate the blood." Nickel yawned and put his back to a tree. "Don't be surprised if it comes closer to the fire for warmth during the night. It might saddle up to you if you're lucky."

Adam doubted that he'd be so fortunate. Not that he wanted a flea covered mutt to lay on him, even if it would provide more warmth through the night. It could go lay with Nickel for all he cared.

(-)

The bite of the wind tore at Kali's bare shoulders. She pulled the thick coat over and rubbed them for warmth. There was work to do.

The last group of survivors had made it safely two days ago with stories of fire and blood. But they spoke in their stories of two who stood against an army of darkness, gun and sword raised in protest to the night, and beat them back. It was a harrowing tale of action and adventure any child would love to listen to.

But it did give her pause. Though she smiled when the kid, namely a small girl named Pepper, spoke about them, she always made sure to mention that the gunslinger had asked her to watch over the other children. A proud moment for her and one she vowed to do.

There were others that wanted to give them praise for their assistance, some even asking to join in the hopes of working with them.

From her spot in the camp, Kali could see two new faces that were being led around by Sabar and Sienna, both of which were gesturing to the wall and giving small orders to them. One of them was a man half the size of Sabar, a purple tail swaying gently in the breeze, the other a man twice his height with claws.

When Sabar pointed, he said something, slapping the smaller one on the back in good nature, and nodded. The two ran off, eager to do whatever job they had been assigned. Kali moved forward, joining them and smiling at the two.

"New recruits?"

"Too gungho." Sienna put her hands in her pockets, shivering when the wind kicked in again. "No word on Adam and Nickel. A team came back saying they saw tracks heading away from the camp. Two pairs. Gotta be them."

"Nickel did say he was going to make sure his people got to Haven before he came back. Not a small trip. Could be a week or two before we see them."

Kali's ears perked up at that tidbit from Sabar, but she kept quiet.

"I shouldn't have let them run off."

"They'll be fine. We've had the roads very secure between here and there. If anything, we need to worry about what we're going to do with so many people. We're overcrowded and we need the ships to return to take those that want to leave with us to Menagerie." Sabar gestured to the crowded tents.

Kali bite down on her lower lip. Part of her wished this had been more thought out. In the beginning it was nothing but a rescue operation. It was still that, but not a lot of people wanted to leave their homes behind and start over. Yes, they came with them, but that was because the only option was death if they stayed. No one wanted to die, but no one wanted to start over either.

If Mistral would do something none of this would have happened. What were they thinking not sending someone in to deal with the threat? Just thinking about it made her blood run cold. She had not laid eyes on the monster, but the stories were enough to give her chills.

They're peaceful protests had worked wonders, just on a slower scale than what she would have liked. What had once been a noble promise and fresh start had turned into a prison and false hope spread by those that made the promise of a better future.

Menagerie was a lot of things, but a paradise and free land it was not. The rest of the world had attempted to cage all the Faunus there in the hopes of shutting them up and making the world forget about them.

That wasn't the life they wanted. Yes, they made due, but it wasn't what they wanted. They wanted to be equal, to live side by side with other humans in other lands. Atlas was one of the worst, but it was doable. It was just all wrong. Vacuo didn't care either way and Vale had been a good promise with bad people too set in their ways to do much in the way of change.

Ozpin, Beacon's Headmaster, had made great strides in improving their lifestyle there, but it wasn't enough. Ironwood, Atlas's Headmaster, saw their potential as soldiers, but otherwise did little in the way of change. Leo was a joke of a Headmaster at Haven and did little in the way of help, but he was a Faunus, and thus his school was deemed more noteworthy to Faunus as well.

It all boiled down to too many people of the older generation still being in power and making sure that their young understood they were above the Faunus because they were just animals. People like the Schnees' were some of the worst, but they only ever used them as cheap labor. They never forced them to leave a place of business just because they were a Faunus.

In Kali's eyes, this was a fight that needed to be fought, no matter how drastic their actions became. If they wouldn't sit down and talk like civilized people then perhaps they simply needed to…

She shook her head of those thoughts. Dark and true as they were, it would only serve to show the Humans that they were right in their judgment of them.

"We'll make due with it." Kali put a hand on Sienna's shoulder. She tensed, her anger showing, but not coming to full. "We came and did what we needed to. Saving our kind and anyone else along the way. This should show the world that we are understanding of their pain and want to help them, even if they won't do it for us."

Sienna took a calming breath, her eyes shut as she raised her head. "I just wish that the Humans could be more understanding."

"Don't worry. One day, maybe not during our time, but they will come around. If we can't do it for ourselves, then we need to be guideposts for our children so that they don't have to struggle as much as we did. It's not fair to leave such a thing to the next generation, but we can lessen the burden along the way."

Sienna said nothing, but the message was clear. She didn't want to wait or leave this problem for the next generation. It had to be taken care of during their time.

Kali started walking back to her tent as she stifled a yawn. "Try to get some sleep," she ordered.

Sienna gave a mute nod as she turned back to the gate, Sabar was already heading for. Despite Kali's orders, sleep wouldn't come for her. Too much was on her mind. Namely, Adam and Nickel. She hated herself for letting him run off to lure the Grimm away and allowing Adam to chase after him.

There had been no other option, but still, it plagued her. If they died out there, it was her fault for not stopping them. In her eyes, she'd be a failure to their race for not stopping two brave souls for putting others before themselves.

Hurry back you two.

(-)

Adam awoke with a start and reached for his weapon. The cold air hit him hard and he felt the fabric of his clothing crunch as he moved. Awake and alarmed, he looked around, searching for the noise and fear that woke him.

After a minute of searching his eyes fell upon Nickel. A large wolf was laying against him, snuggled close enough that he almost mistook it for the pelt he wore. Nickel's calm breathing was a good sign to the redhead, but the wolf was not something he liked or wanted near him.

Alerted to Adam's minor panic attack, the wolf yawned and looked around before it noticed Adam had awakened and rushed off in search of safety. Nickel was jostled in the entire thing and snapped awake with a simple yawn as he stretched.

"...orning…" he said through another yawn.

Adam looked around before he felt his stomach not comply with his earlier actions. He sat down, his sword still in hand, and grumbled irritably as his body threatened to expel what little food he had for energy.

"You alright?" Adam waved his concern off with a nod. Nickel sniffed the air as he slowly got to his feet. His eyes darkened for a moment but he let it pass. "We need to start moving soon."

"Right… Food?" Nickel withdrew some of the strange seeds again. Adam reluctantly took this time and started munching on them. They were bitter and hard. He wanted to puke but willed it down. "Which way?"

Nickel turned and started walking, his hand on his gun. Adam followed in silence. Another day of endless walking. Another day of endless silence. Yeah, he was going to have fun. What he wouldn't do for a functioning scroll right now with music.

Knowing he was in for a long haul with silence again, Adam started looking around to hopefully see what Nickel saw in the land. Finding tracks, even the ones they left behind, was easy enough. But how did you know their freshness? How could one judge that? And what sort of seeds were these things?

He scanned the trees in hopes of seeing something like them. They were spruce trees and he didn't see seeds on them.

Nickel reached up and grabbed something from a branch, raking his hand down it and leaving the branch behind.

Adam picked it up and examined both it and the tree for some clue to what he took. Upon closer inspection of both, he saw that it bore the same seeds he had in his hand. But it wasn't a spruce tree. It was something else.

He grabbed a handful and pocketed them before turning and catching up to the gunman. Nickel didn't break his stride. Prick. Was he trying to leave him behind, or did he have a wild thought that Adam knew these parts? He couldn't even recognize anything for miles. It was just trees for as far as the eye could see. Boring, really. Who would want to live in a wooded area like this?

The wind whipped through the woods and Nickel came to a stop, his head up and sniffing the air.

Adam watched with half-lidded eyes. How was his nose that good? That made no sense. Was it his Semblance? That was a rather pathetic one if you asked him. Super speed was up there with bad as well. He could run circles around others with ease all thanks to aura enhancing his abilities. Same could be said about strength as well. It was just a joke to him. If Aura could do the job as well, then a Semblance like that was rather pointless.

Of course, on the flipside, it did mean you weren't burning through aura that fast. Aura was rather versatile, but it had its limits. Why waste it on massive strength if you were slow? It could heal, shield, and even empower your weapons.

The thought of the use of aura brought his mind to his sword. It had been with him for so long that he didn't know when he got anymore. Well, that was completely true. He knew when he received it, he just didn't know why it had called to him of all things. It drew strength from him and he the same.

Since the practicality of dust had come into use some fifty years ago to supplement weaponry, some people had forgotten how to channel the elements within the weapons. Not many had ever been gifted with the knowledge of aura usage and how it could affect weapons like swords and such, but they had an idea. They just couldn't use it in a way that was beneficial to them.

Adam used his sword for his Semblance by taking kinect energy from the attacks it gave and received, then stored it for later use. As long as he could hold it in, which wasn't incredibly long, he could save the energy for a massive attack or smaller, lighter ones.

This was just one way to use your aura with your weapon, but there were others that could use it in different ways, like simply enhancing the cutting power of the blade or holding it together longer to ensure that a damaged one might see you through a fight.

There were other ways that dust could be used, but it was beyond Adam's ability. He would like to learn, but he couldn't think of a single use it would give him. Why would he want a coat that could suddenly combust into fire? That was just a hazard to his health. Sounded fun though.

Nickel came to a sudden stop, his nose working again. His tail went stiff and he suddenly started to run. Adam chased after him.

They ran for about ten minutes before they came across a small camp with tents still thrown up. Packs were scattered around and few torn into. Nickel sniffed the area as he looked around, his hand on his gun as he moved silently through small camp.

Adam looked around, checking the tents that had stayed upright for survivors. "Empty," he told him. Nickel didn't respond. He grew worried as his stomach gurgled when his nose picked up the scent of food. A small fire and kettle had been left unattended.

"Grimm..."

Adam took hold of his sword on that.

Nickel moved from tent to tent, shaking his head when he found it empty. He worked his jaw in thought. They weren't that far away from the docks. Haven was close. If they could get to one of the villages by the sea then they were right as rain. They'd be fine and this job would be over.

Reality was though, there was no telling when they left. The fire had been dead for some time, the food cold, and tents left abandoned in a rush. They could be hours away from the camp or days.

They were close to the location though. That much he knew. He could smell it.

"What's the call?"

Nickel started staring at the earth. Adam turned away from him to hide his discomfort. The silence was the thing that annoyed him the most. But, he knew Nickel wasn't ignoring him. Far from it. In all actuality he was probably thinking and looking for something.

Knowing it might take a while, Adam turned his senses outward. There was something out there just beyond the scope of his normal senses. He could feel it. A pressure was building in the back of his mind, warning him to something unseen.

The rustling of earth and grunting yanked him away from the strange sensation as he found Nickel on his knees digging at the earth. Adam stepped up beside him and watched with rabid interest as the faunus laughed when his fingers touched a hard fabric.

From the ground he pulled a burlap sack from the ground. He checked the inside of it, smiling as he pulled out some bread and tossed it to Adam. The thing was cold to the touch and hard, but Adam still ate.

"They buried it?" he asked before taking another bite.

Nickel threw the sack over his shoulder. "Keeps it cold and makes it hard for predators to find." He took a bite of the bread, savoring the taste. "They're almost there. I can smell the ocean from here."

"Are we good to turn around then?"

Nickel shook his head. "No. I won't go back until I know they're at Haven."

Adam sighed explosively. "Why do you care so much about them? Humans have never anything good for us! You hardly know anything of us." Nickel flinched at Adam's words.

He was right… Somewhat.

Their history, their suffering, was lost to him. He only knew what he had been told, not that he had really ever asked. His days were spent working and training with no end in sight. Leon had done many things to aid him, but give him something to fight for wasn't one of them. Many nights he had wished to join the White Fang, believing that they were in need of a Noble Man much like himself in those dreams.

But they were only dreams.

He was no Noble Man. He was a storm. A terror to be avoided. Storms could not be stopped, only weathered. They could not be killed. A man could be killed. Not a storm. There was no righteous intent in his mind, for it bore only ill thoughts.

Justice had been the biggest thing his father taught him, but it was also the biggest lie he'd ever heard. There was no justice in the world. People of higher power created rules and laws to make the world in their image while breaking the laws they created to keep those without power in check.

Leon had hated those people. Hated them enough that at times Nickel could hear him muttering curses in their name.

But that sense of right and wrong has always been a thing of conflict within him. He had enough sense to know that his actions, right or wrong, would be terrible in the eyes of others. If he stole food to give to a starving person, he was a hero to that person, but a villain to others.

"Because it's the right thing to do, even if it feels wrong." Nickel started walking, his tail low to the ground.

Adam bite his bottom lip at the sight. This was a noble deed. It was right for Nickel to do this. Ghira would be proud to know that they did this for humans. Really, he would. That man preached peace like it was water from the ocean. He cared not for violence.

He glanced down at the sword at his side in wonder. If things had been different from the start for him, where would he be now? This path was not one so easily walked. The line between good and evil was so very thin.

Which side am I really on…