Between classes and grimm exterms, life at Signal has been anything but boring.
That's what I told the first year that joined Mr. Sonnati's javelineering class. He's a smart kid, if a little quiet. His name's Dalim Balaustine.
I also happened to learn more about Mr. Sonnati when his father, Ali Sonnati visited him on school grounds. Bastani's nickname is Baba.
Yeah, I didn't miss the allusion. Ali and Baba? Ha ha ha...
Bastani's elder brother, Cassim, was murdered when they were young. A roving band of bandits passed through their old Vacuo town, rounding up money and other plunder. Cassim tried to steal some of it back but was publicly executed with his own woodcutting axe.
Thus, Bastani vowed to become a huntsman and exact vengeance. He did, and met his would-be wife, Morgana, who also happened to have a vendetta with them. Bastani was trained at Shade Academy.
Long story short, they poured copious amounts of fire dust on them, set it on fire, and then the gang leader was stabbed straight through the heart by Morgana with a dagger.
They tied the knot and then Mr. Sonnati took up a job as a weapon instructor at Signal. The rest is history.
He only told us all this after Dalim asked us all why we became hunstmen/huntresses. It's almost a taboo to do so, since everyone has their reasons but no one really wants to tell anyone else. It's also a courtesy because that's kind of the best way to start a conversation among huntsmen/huntresses, so it lies in this awkward middle ground of don't ask, only tell.
As you can tell, there aren't a lot of social procedures that meet those criteria.
The months passed by much quicker than I perceived and things got much easier to do.
The recovery period given to students returning after an exterm is officially only a few days. However, most teachers of those students reduce work assigned for the week after.
It really helped. Kermes made a full recovery plus scars and had literally no trouble doing the work days after it was due.
After that, it was business as usual. Then the next extermination came. Due to a mixture of all of us being better trained and informed from last time, this extermination was a cake walk.
Desiree hid her distress well but I've known her for all of my second life now, so she's not as good as she thinks she is.
The huntsmen assigned to us are permanent for our term at Signal. Lonan and Bayard are hardasses, but they were nicer this time by providing us tips and tricks.
Keeping the maw of a beowulf open is so much easier than it looks. The force they apply is strong, but you can literally wrap your arm in an extra shirt or two and they are left particularly vulnerable. Claws are sharp, so get inside of their zone and they're left defenseless.
Nevermore always fly in a set pattern. They fly away to "flee" but then they come back and take a cheap swoop. Repeat. They also always fly diagonally up and to the side to circle their prey, meaning they stay close to it. If you have a gun, bringing down nevermore is dubious at worst.
Creeps are the easiest. They charge at you and that's it. If you strafe, you win.
After that, every extermination we went on was more like a week's worth of chores followed by almost two weeks of free time.
I haven't seen Katrina around, but maybe - just maybe - I will over the summer break.
Chances of that happening are next to nil though. Every year for eight years now, the head of the SDC invites all of his key personnel and their families to high-profile, high-expenditure festivities in Atlas. Since Dad is the regional director for Vale now, he's - and we've - been invited to visit Atlas for a while.
This is really cool! I'm really excited to see the rest of Remnant and this will be a nice change of pace. Another plus side is that Weiss will be singing at the start of the event's gala.
Amazing. All of this. I can't believe how lucky I am.
Desiree got her armor fixed and Kermes forgave her, though it did take a while if I had to be honest.
Oh, and this will be my first time on a full-size airship!
This is all just so grand.
-XXXXX-
Mom and Dad are happy to show us Atlas. Cinna came to join us and she hasn't ever been to Atlas.
What's the big deal? I'm sure that Atlas is just as scenic a place as any new location, really.
So, airplane flying is generally a bad experience. Crammed into a single seat that, if not first class, can't recline far enough so that you can sleep? Painful.
A flight so long that you could sleep and have it not over? Exasperating.
Factor in that there are other people you'd be seated next to who may or may not annoy you awake when you sleep? Infuriating.
Airship flight? Incredible. Absolutely amazing. It puts planes to shame by a huge margin.
Consider this: Airships are more efficient(technically speaking), carry more passengers and cargo, have more than five times the space for a single person, have a cafeteria and restaurant, AND a large common area?
That's just for worker-class.
My family got luxury-class. Meaning we have what equates to a hotel room and room service alongside communication services. We each have our own beds, though us children have a separate room from our parental relatives.
Granted, airships are suitably slow. Not sluggish, but obviously not speedy. It'll take us a week or so to get to our destination.
There are also the dangers of grimm attacks which are dissuaded with an armament suite that can dispel aviary threats. This is further enforced by a contigent of professional huntsmen that have been contracted by the airline. Generous security.
One might see it as paranoid.
I, for one, welcome it all.
-XXXXX-
After a decently lengthy airship trip, we are to arrive at Atlas in just a few hours. On the upper, open air level of the floating hotel, Dez and I looked around to our frosty, coldened surroundings.
The frigid air that pushed past us bit lightly into my lungs with every breath. Gentle, transparent snowflakes had fell onto the ground around us, mounding into small white humps.
Clutching the guard railing, my dry hands stuck to the icy metal with a indiscernible heat fortified by my aura. Silver clouds hung above the ship, casting most of their shadows onto us.
I had been up here for a good amount of time already. Meditation is a large part of aura training and harsh environments provide the greatest challenge. My twin was sent up to check on me by my elder sister and she took the opportunity to admire the vista.
The howling winds drowned out most sounds with a familiarly fatal white noise. Even my thoughts, as rare as they were in my reflective state were hardly clear.
Aura has strange effects on a person's mental state. It is an obvious power that one can have, but it does not let it self be exalted. It has a calming presence that, if applied properly, can lead to great clarity.
Perhaps that is how Ms. Skylar was able to learn advanced techniques.
Which is something that I want to look into.
She can see you while her eyes are closed. Seeing without eyes would be an incredible boon to more than just combat.
But I reckoned I was out here for long enough.
Comedic timing beseeched me to look beyond the airship. Lo and behold, Atlas was in view.
"It's floating." I deadpanned the line out loud for nobody specific. Dez then joined me at the bow of the airship.
"What is... Oh. Wow."
Wow indeed.
Secured by a number of pylons and held aloft by a enormous gravity dust well generator was the Atlas kingdom's capital, Atlas.
The surrounding mountainous regions that flanked ground zero of the city was dwarfed completely by the distance the city stood - or rather levitated at.
Countless lights emitted a warm glow in an otherwise cold city. They shone off of the buildings with a pale blue gleam that sparkled at every spire, every peak of every building.
There was only one word for it: dazzling.
Wow indeed.
Dez and I went to our room with our family. We'd be landing soon.
-XXXXX-
"Yeah, you could see it over and over again and you'd still be amazed," Mom smiled at how we were surprised over Atlas fucking floating.
Dad concurred and one could not miss him inwardly laughing.
We would have gotten out and gathered our belongings but a young woman with green eyes and pale yellow hair wearing a formal SDC uniform informed us that the SDC will take our baggage to our room. She was to be our chauffeur to a hotel called "The Up Above by the SDC."
Classy and pretentious, the five-star, marble-laiden hotel was placed within walking distance from the Schnee Manor. Grandiose was the entrance as were the rooms and even just the elevator. The room arrangements here were quite similar to the ones on the airship.
Honestly, it made me sick.
Well, as much as I would have protested such flagrant and extravagant waste of lien, it was to my benefit.
I didn't stop worrying about my weapon. That is until it was delivered to Cin's, Dez's, and my room. Enclosed in a sturdy plastic guncase and locked with a heavy-duty padlock, Thunderstruck was not going anywhere. Unfortunately, it wasn't going with me either. Junior huntsman license or not, you would not be allowed into the venue with a visible weapon.
The following morning was probably the slowest I had ever taken one. Desiree of all people was up early applying vast amounts of makeup with Cin in their dresses for the opening.
Cinna wore a gentle red turtleneck dress that reached her knees with a mahogany peacoat over it. She donned black high platform heels with stockings and silk gloves would finish her prissy outfit. Wavy hair was the product of her not quite curling it all the way. Her subdued red eyes were emphasized by mascara and oddly enough, olive green eyeshadow.
Oh yeah. Gloves are protocol for this event. My modified rubber combats wouldn't count.
Dez wore a longer dress than Cin that was also a darker red. Without a coat, she wore long, dark gray, mid-bicep suede gloves. Black pumps were used by her to... mixed results. Her hair had been braided and bound into a bun and her bright red orbs had also been brought out by mascara and a more sensible pale red eyeshadow.
They looked quite beautiful and I have no doubt that they'd be approached by the men attending.
My outfit for the day. consisted of a two-piece, dark gray, custom-tailored suit. Dad and I's measurements were taken the day before. Mine was above a dark maroon dress shirt with a black tie and charcoal oxfords which rounded it out.
Oxfords relates to the shoe and shoe exclusively. It checks out, but I'm always skeptical about it.
Dad's suit was a mirror of mine (actually vice versa) except for the shirt, which was a clean white with a red tie.
Both of us wore simple white cotton gloves.
Mom's dress was sinched around her waist with a gray ribbon and ended above her ankles. A sleeveless faux-fur coat was supplemented with long gloves like Dez's. She also wore the same kind of shoes as Cin, but had a neat, little, red pillbox hat on her head.
Dressed the part for a ball, we were driven by Dad an unnecessary length to the venue.
Large, brilliant archways enveloped the hall and a pair of concierges received invitations from the lines of prospective partygoers.
It was here that I first witnessed an automaton.
Two pairs of Atlesian Knight AK-130s stood at either side of the entrance hall, unmoving and unassuming behind concealing metal and glass pods. The tall metal frames stood slouched at their posts, a few black streaks seemingly out of place.
We were ushered by one of the concierges to the theater for Weiss's performance. The booth he manned was quickly filled in by another person.
Our seats weren't front-row. They were top shelf.
The theater had an atmosphere of age and experience. In it's well maintained state, it held an air of refinement and impossible expectation, as if the walls themselves judged you. On opposite sides of the walls hung two viewing balconies with few chairs, though said chairs were ostentatiously expensive. The floor was packed full of velvet seats and felt carpet. To the back was the higher seating, giving us a distant yet emphatic view of the stage.
If Weiss was to look anywhere, it would be up here.
It was only a minute when seating became exponentially hectic on the floor. The reserved seating above was spared from the droves of people lining in to attend, with only three other families in our area.
They, of course, were the families of the other kingdom's branch's regional directors. The children were especially snooty and warranted no respectful attention, much like their elitist parents.
My dad told me that they politicked into their position, reducing the number of promotable candidates until it was just them. They each had different methods but the same goal.
It made Mom particularly angry, since she recalled the days seeing Dad supervise and maintain the refinery every day until he could advance. He rose through merit. They did not. They despised him for it.
The lights in the theater dimmed dramatically and opening remarks were addressed by Jacques Schnee himself.
"Good evening distinguished personnel, staff, and honored guests. I, Jacques Schnee, President of the Schnee Dust company would like to formally welcome you to the Schnee Manor in celebration of the Schnee Dust Company charity works." His cordial voice could have fooled anyone and it probably did. Even from here I could see his lips tug down into a molecular frown. "It is with great pleasure that I address the charities and their benefactors who I am honored to contribute to."
He listed some of the charities that the SDC supposedly supported and their objectives. Not one of them pertained to faunus.
"Once again, I thank you for your help in contributing the resources required to those in need. A dinner will follow shortly after this presentation for those invited. Without further ado, please welcome the wonderful Weiss Schnee."
The red curtains swung open to reveal Weiss standing regally center stage. The lights shifted their attention to her, as did all else.
Without even so much as blinking at the blinding lights or flinching at all of the face turning to her simultaneously, she began singing.
This song wasn't "Mirror, Mirror."
I don't remember the curtains being red.
The slow, somber notes of the accompaniment preluded Weiss's role. Solemnly, she rose her voice, the quiet echoing of lyrics gradually giving rise to an imperial symphony of bewitching tones. The softness in her melody and flawless tempo did not change.
For as long as the song went on, all were enthralled. No one dared say a word because the perfection of the music felt so real, so physical, and so fragile that the slightest noise would shatter it all.
Mystification isn't infinite, however. With a grand final note that continued for far longer than I cared to count, Weiss gave a curtsey and the curtains closed upon her form. The second after and the theater was packed to the brim with deafening applause.
I found myself clapping too. My hands haven't felt this numb since I last sparred with Gwen.
Eventually, those in the theater dispersed and made way to the banquet hall. As did my family.
Well we would have. A concierge singled us out and led us to a different room where those other three families were. Two long tables waited, separated from each other to opposite sides of the room.
The one closest to the bar in this honestly small room was for Mr. Schnee and the adults. The one at the other way end of the room was for those in their company: the children.
Cin, Dez, and I sat close together and meals were served to us individually. The food was good, but hard to enjoy with spoiled, arrogant kids complaining about every single thing on their plate. "Oh the garnish isn't even," or "The meat is too thinly sliced."
Shut the fuck up and eat your food.
Dez must have sensed I was pretry pissed at them. She placed a hand on my arm and shook her head.
I ate the meager portion of food silently, contemplating whether or not I should malform the silver fork in my hand.
Those kids also ridiculed me. Apparently there's a difference between the three sets of silverware? How the fuck am I supposed to know that? Sure, one's smaller, but why can't I eat my meal with a "dessert fork?"
It's just a fork! There's three forks here!
I hardly even touched my dessert when I decided enough was enough. I didn't make a scene out of it, but I left the room to clear my head.
The room connected to a hallway which led to the banquet hall. Maybe I should see how things there are.
Less formal? Thank the gods. Perhaps I'll eat here? On second thought, no. I should be in somebody's company if I do.
I'll just take a walk around, cool off...
Minding my own business allowed me to think that others would mind theirs. I was wrong.
Conversations came to a screeching halt as people came into view. People stopped in their tracks as I passed them by. I made no eye contact with anyone but the blue carpeted floor and yet I could still feel their disapproving looks. My pace quickened until I was alone in the middle of a long, intricately adorned hallway lined with oil paintings and chiseled stone busts. Vases interspersed the heads with colorful patterns that for some reason always included a white and a blue.
Against the left side of this corridor was a great number of arched windows that dwarfed me. To their face were a plethora of doors without any defining characteristics aside from being wooden and painted white.
I did not want to invade privacy, so instead I opted to take a doorless partition with a winding set of stairs. They weren't fancy by any means, but they weren't completely practically made. The air in this small room grew drastically colder and forced me to cover my hands.
At the top of this spiral was a single, plain metal door. I inched it open and was shot immediately by a chill breeze slipping through the crack. A little bit more and the door flung open, catching more of the wind that it opened itself and strained its hinges.
And out before me was the open air balcony similar in form to the one on the airship, but with more decor. On one side were pruned evergreen hedges that were likely artificial and opposite from there was a small, round table with two frosted iron chairs. Across from me and the swinging door was this deck's railing.
I wasn't alone up here. Weiss was up here too.
By the look of it, I had scared her when the door slammed itself open.
I made to turn around and go away, but was stopped by her icy tone.
"Stop!" The word rang through my head and echoed down the staircase I was facing. A gust of water-freezing air blew by at just the right moment to seem as though her voice was the unpleasant weather clawing at the back of my head.
I did as so requested - or in this case, demanded - and cautiously turned around.
"Talk with me." What.
"I'm sorry?"
"I want you to talk with me." I mean sure, why not?
I did my own thing and grabbed both of the metal chairs and slid one down behind her easily. Her white dress and equally white hair flew around in the wind and the collar of her coat threatened to unfold itself.
Wait, was it always folded down? And I thought her ponytail was to her right and not in the middle...
I didn't see her take a seat, but she did with such grace that I didn't even hear the chair move. Her back remained flat and was not leaned against the chair. She puffed her chest out and kept her shoulders up. She dared not even cross her legs, nor did she turn her wistful gaze away from the courtyard and entrance hall where one could see eventgoers coming and going.
Such a pristine form looked so fragile.
"How are the festivities?" she asked in a mechanical and articulated manner. I hesitated for a moment and thought about my answer.
"They're quite alright. I wish that it weren't so formal, but-"
"I know that that is not how you usually speak." Just like that, she took the wind out of my fake silk sails. "I know your father. He is unrestrained and uncouth in his interactions with the other directors. My father has said as much." The wind blew across my face. My eyes were ready to shrivel up. "Yet despite his mannerisms, he's much more capable than them and even manages to entertain my father with his, quite frankly, brutal honesty."
Where was she going with this?
"Tell me... Desiree, is it? How is the gala?" Oh, she doesn't really know my name.
"No. My name is Gainsboro." Her face, pale by either the temperature or as her default appearance, seemed to grow even paler than before.
"Oh! I'm sorry, please forgive-" For once she looked towards me.
"Nah, don't apologize." I shook my head with a cocky smirk. "I'm actually quite flattered that someone confused the two of us for once."
"But that was my error. How could I be so careless?" Her distant and genteel mask began to tear at the seams.
"It's alright." I shushed her protest one more time before I continued. "So. You don't want me to be as... formal with you?"
"In a sense. How do you often speak with your father?"
I hummed. I don't really know how to explain it, but...
"I'm not sure how to explain it, but we sort of just... understand each other."
"How? In what form?" She pressed.
"Well both of us are nonvocal compared to my mother and my sisters. But it works out."
"Hmm." Weiss appeared displeased with my explanation and turned back to the view below. "It's not as though you are ambiguous with each other, though?"
"Like in what sense?"
"You only say what needs to be said? There aren't any hidden meanings behind something?" Instead of displeased, she appeared anticipating. Desiring.
Wishing.
"Well there are those sometimes. It's mostly just filling in the blanks and never anything political or mind gamey." That's the answer she was looking for. The smile that graced her face made me feel like I was doing something right. "You look like you want to be down there."
She pretended not to hear me as the smile faded into an even line.
Wow, okay. Looks like we're doing this the hard way.
"Let's go." I said, stepping out of the chair I had warmed. Surprised, Weiss stared at me.
"What?" Her eyes widened and she tensed up.
"Let's go." I offered my hand to her and she tentatively accepted it.
"To where?"
"To the party."
"But my father told me to stay up here or in my room!"
"Okay, but he's down there enjoying the party too. Why can't you?"
"He even told Whitley to stay!" She was looking for excuses. It was either that or she was frightened of what her father would do.
"Come on, we'll just be there for a little. And I'm guessing this will be the only time you've ever been at one of these?"
"Yes... But please, you mustn't!"
"Don't be scared. Let's go." I used her hand to pull her out of her chair and began leading her.
"But my father..."
"If you were really that scared you would have yanked your hand back already. Stop finding excuses and do what you want to do already."
"...Your tie is undone."
That must've been what everyone else was looking at. Ugh, everyone here is so uptight.
I pulled out the length of fabric and stuffed it into my pocket with my free hand.
She remained silent for a while and I slowed our canter so that she could catch up to me. I released her hand and she followed behind me with a practiced, uniform beat from her steps.
Soon the density of people increased and we were found in the company of many adults who were either too busy or too drunk to care about Weiss's presence.
She really wanted to try the punch for some reason. The server who cupped it was surprised but I played it off like she had been here for a long time already. She was terrified beyond belief but relaxed beyond relief when she was given the punch without much issue.
She had never tried fruit punch before. She wasn't expecting it to be so sweet but enjoyed it quite a bit.
Then she wanted to try some of the desserts like cheesecake.
The table for the dessert was in sight when I heard a familiar voice call out a familiar name.
"G! G! Where were you?" Dez had found me. "Those pieces of... is this?"
"Yes, it is. We were just about to get some desserts." My twin stared at who I had been escorting. "You do know who this is right?"
"Of course I know! But..."
"It's rude to stare, you know." I laughed at Weiss's jab and Dez's reaction.
"Sorry! It's just that I thought you weren't supposed to be down here." I leaned in close to my sister and whispered,
"She isn't, but nobody knows she's down here. Those who do think she can be down here."
"Gray! What the hell are you doing! You could get into serious trouble!" She stepped back and pointed an accusatory finger at me. "If you want to get in trouble, don't rope anyone else in!"
"She's never been here before. She didn't know what fruit punch tasted like five minutes ago!" I crossed my arms and Weiss's blue eyes jumped between me and Dez. "Even you have to acknowledge that's pretty bad."
Dez sighed, her bun moving slightly.
"...Okay, yeah that is pretty bad. But still!"
"What's the worst that could happen? It's not like Jacques will do anything more than lecture her." Weiss stood awkwardly behind me, as if awaiting for my sister's approval.
"Fine. But if you get caught, and I know you will, this was all your idea." Dez conceded. "Where's your tie?"
"In my pocket. Why?"
"Cin wanted me to fix it but you ran off."
"Well I don't have time for that. Ms. Schnee here wants to do a few more things."
"Alright then. Make it quick and then come back to the private room."
Dez went back and Weiss and I went around the party doing the things she wanted. Eventually, however, a guard saw Weiss and I saw that he saw her.
I took her back to where I found her with a purpose. Then I asked if she had a scroll and she did have one. I commandeered it from her and put down my information.
I left as quietly as I could and made it back to the private room in one piece.
-XXXXX-
"You know Junior, I never expected that you would take the heiress out to the banquet hall."
I got lectured by Dad. Sort of.
"And I never expected Jacques to thank me for that." Dad still had a stern face as he told me what happened.
"Really?" I thought he would be getting into a tough spot because of me.
"Yeah. He didn't want her to go down there, but at least he trusts us enough not to be too concerned." Dad chuckled a little. "You could have gotten shot."
"At least I didn't."
"Yeah, thank the gods. I'm not sure if the guard would have survived."
"Grey, don't encourage that!" Mom chastised my dad.
"It's the truth! Either one of those two could have taken on those guards, I'd wager."
I could get used to this. Leaving to Atlas every year or so. I think I'm Weiss's first friend too, which could give me some leverage in the SDC.
Maybe I could help with the working conditions in the refineries. Stop the White Fang from garnering more support?
A far off change, but a viable goal. I'm glad this all worked out without me getting shot though.
That would not have been conducive to allowing me back into Atlas.
Step by step, my actions bring me closer to my destiny.
-XXXXX-
(A/N: Hey all!
Thanks for keeping track of this story! This chapter's coming in early because I anticipate a lot of changes in my life soon.
First off, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is amazing! Marianne is best girl, don't at me.
Second off, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is going to be coming out in a few months and there's probably gonna be a lot to do.
And finally, the biggest change of them all: I graduated from highschool just 3 months ago and I'm slated to be moving to WA to begin my university career in a week. I have no idea if I'll be able to update this fic for a while, so I ask that you please be patient while I get my feet underneath me in the months to come. I hope you all understand.
Thanks for reading and as always,
Cheers, Rico.)