"Sir, there's too many of them – we have to turn back!"
"Not even the Salem Witch can stop me from seeing my son's birth – now move!"
A hulking Faunus stormed through the storm of streaking bullets. His molten gold eyes owned untold level of rage and conviction. His brown boots trampled over the debris and exposed mud under the concrete, staining his beige slacks and marking his skin.
But he didn't care.
Scrambling for freedom, the unarmed Faunus hid behind bombed-out homes and collapsed trees. Some wept for the skeleton of their decrepit hometown. The streets of the Ghetto that once thronged with life stood wild and smothered with chaos. Gone were the food vendors and the women in their bright clothes selling handmade goods from carts and baskets. Gone were the child-cubs who played amongst the crowds with their games and laughter. Gone were the stores with their windows of fine clothing or delicacies. There were cracked sidewalks, empty gun shells strewn about. Starving looters and overzealous soldiers laid waste to damaged storefronts. Screeching volleys of gunfire became a constant companion for all.
But the one leading the charge didn't care.
As devastating as the disaster was, his priority was the protection of the helpless.
Then he stopped, proud and tall atop a dune of rubble. With the flick of a wrist, he whipped out a silver flag. The hailstorm of plasma bullets tampered out.
"Ghira, don't!"
"Hush!" He raised his fist; his people fell in line.
Studying the source of the ruin, shining eyes narrowed.
The Mistralian Army.
Hiding within trenches (or sitting in or on Atlesian weapons) the red-clad soldiers fired round after round with endless hate. They circled an airstrip. Surrounding the only way out. All their artillery trained on the group of ten dozen civilians and two dozen armed soldiers.
These people – Humans included – could die if he wasn't mindful.
A murmur emerged from the opposing party before a shout:
"What are you playing at, Belladonna?"
Ghira didn't waver.
"I'm issuing my right as a Mistralian citizen; with this flag, you are honour-bound to listen to your combatant's peace terms, is that not the case?"
Silence.
After a few moments, a human military unit marched towards the Black Leopard Faunus. Their legs moved in perfect timing, synchronised by an inaudible beat. Each black boot made precise steps, one hand holding their bayonet rifles on their shoulder and the other swinging to the beat of the silent rhythm. Captain Nieva Cypress led the unit– her rank signified the standard plume on her spartan Corinthian helmet, the paludamentum under her golden epaulette and the grand cuirass that protected her torso – her lips were drawn into a perpetual grimace.
Ghira took a step towards them.
"Baba!"
An 8-year-old cried out, followed by hurried footfalls. Belladonna turned to examine his adopted son. His candy apple red hair matted by sweat pronouncing his bull horns. His lone blue eye peered at him, pleading for him to not get anywhere near the humans.
"Go back to Sienna, Addy."
The child clung to his trunk-like legs, "No, I won't let the demons hurt you!"
Nieva, within earshot, snorted.
"Bold words from a beast like you."
"I did not wave that flag so you could my son, Captain."
"Of course," she smirked and gestured for him to "Declare your terms."
"These people need-"
"People?" Cypress quizzed, "I see no people unless you mean the zoo cowering behind you?"
Her men howled with laughter. Anger pulsed through his veins like fire and Ghira wanted nothing more to unleash his claws and gut the unit from the knaves to the chops. Instead, he hugged Adam closer.
"We want to travel to Menagerie - this level of destruction was unnecessary."
"This township was an unauthorised settlement, those people were given a week's warning to evacuate - they ignored a government order and they should've expected us to retaliate," her cold winter grey pupils admired the horizon, "Besides, they were blocking the view."
Adam broke loose, "The only beast I see here is you!"
Ghira drew his talons behind his back as insurance. Here, his boy was proving himself. He won't stand in the way of that if they remain civil. Taurus-Belladonna's blue eyes bore the kindling of revolution in them.
"Pardon me?"
"These people have nowhere else to live because your government makes it difficult to find good homes - you didn't even give them an alternative or escort them out!"
His little arm shook with fury as he pointed at the weaponised Regiment, "You brought and used all those weapons - you wanted to kill people today and you have the nerve to call us animals!"
He lowered his arm to glare at the Captain. His glower filled with dangerous levels of hate that no child should carry.
"Maybe we are because at least animals kill and run to survive - Demons like you kill because they feel nothing and run because they're cowards."
Enraged, Nieva stepped forward, hand poised to snatch Adam's horn. Then a hand snared her throat. Sharp nails dug into her neck, inches away from shredding an artery.
Rifles clicked in reply.
Green eyes glared into gold.
Ghira's grasp tightened.
"Don't you dare touch my son."
Ghira reiterated his request once more, calm and collected as he shoved her backwards. The Captain seethed at the titan-like Faunus. Cypress coughed and rubbed her throat.
"Let them through."
Her soldiers fumbled. Their subservient nature broke, and they questioned the sanity of their leader.
"Madam?"
Red-faced, she barked at them.
"Did I stutter?"
Snapping back into formation, the soldiers cleared the way. For a tense moment, no one moved. Both sides equally suspecting the other of dubious movements.
Thundering ocean waves in the distance set the baseline for the tense orchestra of nature circling the conflict. Wings fluttered. Metal clinked. Feet shuffled. And the clock was ticking.
Taurus took the first steps. Head held high, he glanced back at his father, took his hand, and motioned for the others to follow. A stream of refugees trickled towards the Airstrip. Years of fear made them clot together if a soldier got close. Their former neighbours reassured those tempted to run and taking comfort in seeing their own armed with rifles too.
Once they were in the home stretch, the White Fang set up the plane and their cargo. With everything stashed away, the bulkheads took off.
Every soul on board remained quiet. None dared to shatter the delicate silence. The Bengal Tiger Faunus gazed at her High Leader. He met her amber orbs, his own telling her what she wanted to know. She growled, slammed her hand into a wall and ran to gather the fighters.
"Adam!"
The young Faunus dashed to Ghira. "Yes, Baba?"
"Get everyone ready for a fight."
"What-" The older Belladonna saw the wheels turn in his mind, "Oh, understood father."
Whipping her finger towards the retreating ships, Cypress screamed:
"Bring them down – not a single mutt in those ships will leave alive!"
Like shooting stars in the night sky, balls of flame and fury streaked across the ocean, intending to decimate the escaping refugees.
His Coat torn off and a box full of Magma Dust in one arm, Ghira opened the cargo bay door and braced for battle
32 HOURS LATER
"Sienna, look after things here – Adam, come!"
Khan knew better to stop Ghira from tending to Kali. She replied with a sort nod and ordering the medics to check on the survivors.
They had obliterated half of the ships. Only 4 of the 10 dozen had made to the Faunus Safe-Haven. The cries of children, the wails of fathers and the screams of mothers drifted to the night sky along with the stench of blood and burnt flesh.
Adam hopped into his father's arms and they made a mad dash from the Port to their hut.
Night cloaked the light of the sun, but it didn't stop lovers from strolling hand in hand, browsing, whilst housewives hustled haggled over the price of imported merchandise. Various smells wafted through the air: of slaughtered meat hanging from hooks, of baked goods, the rancid smell of body odour, the smell of manure and chicken droppings. Stalls overflowed with produce, vegetables spilt onto the muddy ground and splashed through puddles. Stallholders hollered out their special deals, customers haggling over prices. People gossiped in huddles, cacophony, bulging bags swung into people's legs.
Ghira, bruised, bleeding and struggling to hold on to his cub; paid no mind to the surrounding environment. Just distractions and obstacles that blocked him from reuniting with his family. Gasps and grunts of shock from the crowds he shoved were mere white noise. Searing fiery bursts pulsated around the wound, intensifying with each dragging step, jarring and brutal. With each step the pain amplified, the bloody muscle quivered, her consciousness ebbed.
But he did not care.
He was so close.
On the edge of town, by a lake, lay a cottage. The cottage hunkered low on the moor like a child in the elements trying to keep warm. Yet it looked alive and welcoming, with a thin silver trail curling from the crooked stone chimney. The sides were the same grey slabs as the low walls in the dales, and the roof was a darker slate. Screams poured through the windows, followed by demands to push.
Adam wiggled out of his father's tightened grasp and continued the sprint to his mother's aid. Ghira stood in the cold. Mind absent from the world, his heart drove him forward to his mate's bedside.
Newborn cries fill the room, and the father breaks into tears of relief and joy. He turned his glassy eyes to his wife and in a weak voice; he tells her they have a beautiful son. Through her exhaustion, she smiles, and she lets her eyes leave his face to take in the screeching baby. She cried the sweetest tears she's ever known, the hours of anguish melting away. Only a few minutes old and his tiny boy roots, mouth wide, his instincts strong. The doctor and his team waved and blushed away his blubbering thanks. They remind him they'll drop by to check on the Belladonna Matriarch the next day.
The redhead inched closer, acting as if his presence would break the new child. Ghira becomes him over, then placed him in his lap next to Kali.
"That's your brother, Adam."
Their whispers danced on the wind – but the frail ears upon the baby's head flicked in their direction.
Taurus hummed, "I thought he'll be… bigger."
"If he were any bigger," Kali let loose a weak giggle, "He wouldn't come out and I rather not live through that."
The parents chuckled to themselves. Adam studied them and looked at his new brother.
"What's his name?"
The Belladonnas tilted their heads. Gold and blue eyes studied the tiny Faunus cub that squirmed in its mother's hold.
MAY 25th, 2013 – ¼ MOON SHATTER ATLAS: City Centre – The Architect's Summit
Blake adjusted his purple Kurta jacket and fiddled with his tear gas mask. Fear curled up inside him and clung to his ribs, settling uncomfortably in his chest. He didn't doubt the feeling was there to stay, reminding him of its existence every time she opened her mouth to breathe.
'So much could go wrong – the Army could be set on us, I could lose Addy, Ima or Baba, what if they shoot at us or-'
A gloved hand placed itself on his shoulder. The rabbles of the gathering crowd behind him faded away as he saw pride in his brother's clear blue eye. Hope for him and the others. And a fire, bright and scorching – even with all the suffering his hero endured, that fire never burned out. That look was all he needed.
Today they'll make a difference.
Somehow.
"You gonna be okay?"
Glancing to his left, Blake saw his brunette friend, Ilia Amitola. Her parents, Azura and Garnet Amitola, stood nearby talking to Sienna Khan. Her blue orbs studied him and brightened when he took her hand.
"We will be."
The infamous cold of air of Atlas was never an exaggeration. Even with the mighty sun bearing down on the floating metropolis, even with the fumes from all the technology rampant in the city, it remains as cold as ice. People held no smiles. Service is fast, efficient, mechanical. Sparse and infrequent spot of greenery appeared for a few seconds at most – vastly different from the teeming jungles of Menagerie.
Baby Belladonna has never seen such a gorgeous and utterly soulless scenery. Everything was monochrome, glass or a light tint of blue, from the stores to cars to clothing. There was no tinge of earthy loam to the air, no fragrance of spring growth or heady warning when rain was due. The fumes from belching vehicles underpinned everything.
'It's so… unnatural.'
Ghira, leading the charge, looked at his youngest son.
"Do you have your hat, Kit?"
Fishing inside his satchel, Blake whipped out a black felt and leather Captain's hat – three sizes too big. The High Leader nodded and stepped in front of the crowd of one-hundred, hands raised. Silence fell.
"Brother and Sisters of the White Fang and Faunus and Humankind, today our march will signify our defiance of the system, of the government and hate – today we make a stand, today our voices will be heard!"
Jeers of hope spurted out, protesters stood straighter.
"For too long, the Atlesian government and the Schnee Dust Company have promised improvements to their treatments of the Faunus; they gave us pretty words and handshakes but nothing concrete and I say no more!"
Blake struck the air, his father's determination in his eyes and his mother's hope in his stance.
"They will understand that we are not asking for equality – we are demanding respect!"
Another cheer.
"I will not shame you if you leave; there are unfeeling beasts in that glass jungle and we're about to knock on their door - if you must go, do so now."
No soul dared to move.
"Well then," Sienna chuckled, "Let's get marching!"
United, every protester rested their fist on their shoulder and raised it to touch the sky.
Sienna and 300 more marched out of a Warehouse and towards a Schnee Dust Company Mine Operation HQ. They marched for a cause, for a reason. They marched with the anger, joy, emotion from themselves and a thousand others before them. Chants invaded the stifling air of Atlas. They forced the rich and powerful to look at their revolution. Well-dressed youth joined the riffraff in their own petty acts of rebellion. The hundreds grew into thousands. Sienna and Ghira made the call and their people cried back:
"Show me what respect looks like!"
"This is what respect looks like!"
"Show me what freedom looks like!"
"This is what freedom looks like!"
"Show me what solidarity looks like!"
"This is what solidarity looks like!"
For a full hour with a body of 5,000 marchers – the White Fang and their High Leaders made their presence known. The colours of their clothes, flags and jewellery popped out in the sea of greys. Blake stretched his youthful voices as far as he could; it grew hoarse and would be stinging tomorrow, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. His golden eyes looked behind and seeing that crowd united, screaming the same chants created a swell of pride in his chest. As if he was leading the charge with his brother and best friend beside him.
'And I will, one day!'
Ghira and Sienna stopped.
The hymns shushed.
The battalion of guards aimed. SDC logos branded on their weapons and armour.
Adam clenched his fist at the sight of it. His other hand seized Blush & Wilt – itching to whip the blade out.
"This," the Lieutenant Colonel said through a megaphone, "Is an unauthorised gathering – you have three minutes to disperse or we will use force!"
Sienna sneered at their blank faces.
"You have no right – Grand Lieutenant Ironwood gave us permission to march!"
"And you trespassing private property."
The regiment remained stoic at the outrage. While few (the Humans) left – not desiring to tempt fate – the others remained and stared down the armed guards. The upperclassmen turned up their noses in disgust, and a troop of Human miners from Mantle investigated the commotion.
"You have one minute to disperse!"
Ghira resumed their hymns and everyone followed suit, not budging an inch. Blake, Adam and Ilia stood tall by their parents while yelling and singing their hearts out.
Trash and insults hurled towards the demonstrators, the rate and number increasing in volume:
"Get out of here, you rabid animals!"
"Y'all just love to cause trouble here!"
"You've taken enough jobs – what more do you need?"
The guards did nothing. Some had glints of amusement in their eyes, others smiled, more laughed. But they did nothing.
A single dark-skinned man stepped forward from the crowd. Before he could open his mouth:
"You have thirty-seconds to disperse!"
His dark face scrunched up, his tail stiffened, and he snarled.
"They're harassing us and you do nothing – but performing our rights is a problem for you; what the Hell?"
They did nothing.
"You have ten-seconds to disperse."
He stepped closer.
The miners chucked harder. Faster. Angrier.
"You have five seconds to disperse."
"Could you at least-"
A bullet spat out of a soldier's gun, hot in the Atlesian sun. It hit the man in the chest, propelling him backwards in an awkward spin.
The man fell and hit the ground.
Seconds filled with shocked silence pass. Every eye concentrated on the fallen Faunus. Every mind wondered if he would stand.
The pool of scarlet spreading out under him gave them the answer.
The Miners ran, and the protesters scattered.
Gunshots come thick like winter hail. The tin projectiles cutting through the frozen air, oblivious to their purpose. Each one rips into something, be it inanimate or living, spilling tree sap or blood with equal unfeeling. There was a time where the ones pulling the trigger might have felt something: remorse, guilt, compassion.
Not anymore.
Dust kicked up. People, soldiers and civilians, ran up and down the streets. Canisters strewn on the ground emitted a grey gas, blinding those without masks.
It was pure chaos.
Blake strained his sore eyes - the ones that cried and bled. He called for Adam, his father, anyone who would listen and rescue him. He fumbled to wear his mask, but the damage was done. Through his tears, he saw SDC's dog handler and his partner.
They turned.
They looked at him.
They unleashed their dog and pointed at the young Belladonna.
Blake ran.
His breath came in small spurts, hot and nervous. At his sides, tanned fingers curled into sweaty fists, swinging forward as if it would make him faster. Behind him, he could hear the baying howls of the dog and jeering laughter of his hunters. Sweat dripped from his matted hair, his cat ears pressed against his h.
'Please Ozma, let me live!'
He cried aloud, throwing himself forward with even greater abandon.
His lungs and heart were pumping, but the air didn't seem to be enough as he sprinted forward, panic trembling in his exhausted limbs. A dog slammed him into the ground, but he rolled it off before its jaws could snare his neck. Blake wasn't fast enough; the animal recovered, charging towards him – Belladonna defended his face with his forearm. He screamed in anguish as the sharp teeth of the canine dug in and tore his flesh. Blood painted the beast's mouth, growing more in volume as Blake squirmed and shook him off. As the boy attempted to punch the beast, its handlers caught up to them. Kicks and hits from a baton bruised Blake all over – the pain was encompassing his body, but his mind gave up.
'No one's coming – I'm going to die here.'
"Blake!"
The boy had long since fallen unconscious, his body shut down as it couldn't cope with the pain.
Hate burned in Adam's heart so deep that spite ingrained it in the tissue.
Red.
Everything went red.
His vision blurred as a flame curled in the pit of his stomach. His brain went on overdrive as it picked every moment that he'd spent worried about his charge. The memories of his innocent and joyous brother weighed down on him, but instead of breaking, his heart turned ice cold and slunk into the shadows as his rage took complete control. The flames in Adam's stomach rose to his chest and, crawling through his veins, took over the rest of his body. He screamed, alerting Blake's attackers.
The dog released the youth's arm after a call from his master and charged towards Taurus. Before it could blink, it hit the ground, one of its forelegs missing.
Adam sheathed Wilt, preparing for another attack.
The two guards fired a stream of rounds at the 18-year-old, the blade absorbed all of it. The hair on the bull Faunus (and the red on his clothes) glowed red hot as did his weapon. He sheathed it, and the two guards scrambled to reload.
Adam crouched low, hair and red clothing glowing white. Wilt swung out of Blush and a plasma red arc of energy thundered through the air.
Blood splattered across the ground.
The cleaved bodies of the aggressors collapsed in halves, more scarlet fluids gushing out from their exposed guts.
Adam turned to his brother and ran to his side.
"Kit!" Blake took wheezing breaths, but his eyes didn't open, "Hey, I'm here – they won't hurt you now, just open your eyes."
The boy kept still. His brother shook him, each tremor harder than the last.
"Wake up, damn it!" a tear fled from the lone eye, Adam's proud voice hoarse and trembling, "Blake, please; I'm here, I-"
He refused to look away, even as his lips trembled and his shoulders heaved with emotion, unwilling to back down. Even at the sight of his mauled little brother. His dark lashes brimmed heavy with tears; his hands clenched into shaking fists in a desperate battle against the grief. Another tear traced down his cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. He wept; loud, heaving sobs tearing from his throat, and still, he did not look away. Not until the sobs drove him to his knees.
But Adam stood, using himself as a living shield for Blake, and ran through the stampede. Bullets struck his back and while painful, his Aura held out long enough for him to return to the Warehouse and out of range.
The hospital room is a concrete pen with a window the size of a biscuit tin lid. It has a stagnant smell like it's cleaned with plain water instead of disinfectant. The bed sits low to the ground; the frame baring the signs of rust and the mattress thin. But in Mantle, any hospital in the decaying metropolis is better than none.
The 'hospital' was little more than an abandoned mansion of an obscure Atlesian noble, on the outskirts of the city centre. But when Atlas raised itself above its unsafe former kingdom, the people left behind had seized this mansion for their own use and flown in the medical staff and supplies they required. Now the generous sized bedrooms and the lounge areas became wards, only the dining room and kitchens kept their original purpose.
Adam, Ghira and Kali had strewn themselves across the floor. In rickety chairs or on the dusty ground. Blake, unconscious and connected to an IV drip and a heart-monitor, mumbled in his sleep.
"I failed you both, I'm sorry."
Ghira gazed at his eldest son, "What do you mean Addy?"
"I promised to protect him," Adam rubbed his face, "and he almost died on my watch."
Kali strode over to the bull Faunus and placed her hand on Adam's shoulder.
"You can't blame yourself for the actions of monsters Adam - Blake is alive because of you; you saved your brother, and you kept your promise."
She placed a kiss on his forehead and left the room.
"What happened to-"
"They're dead, Baba, as they should be."
The son and the father stared into each other's eyes. Ghira's glare overwhelmed the boy, and he warned him:
"Don't let their hate consume son, it will help no one – not even yourself."
JULY 4th, 2016 – ½ MOON SHATTER MANTLE: Inner City – The Miner's Ghetto
The streets had blackened by the thick pollution emitting from the factories. The road is a monochrome patchwork, each one lined with a shiny border of tar. Despite these fixes, cracks and potholes gaped in the road. The trees that were once youthful saplings became gnarled embittered trees growing tall but without strength, competing against the towering apartment blocks. Their bark is mossy from the perennial dampness and incessant rain, except a few weeks of reprieve in the summer months. The sidewalk had a litter and the debris of the moulting trees slobbered over it.
Blake heard water gushing from the sink into the grate, the dropping of a pail, the clink of a coal shovel and the banging of a door. Miners - with hunched shoulders, swollen knuckles, who have long since stopped trying to scrub the Dust off their broken nails and the lines of their sunken faces - passed Blake in the back of trucks.
His eyes flicked over to Kali and Azura in a medical tent. Burned, Dust covered miners, whined and cried over their injuries. A Dust mine had caved in after a cart derailed and exploded.
15,000 people died.
Only 500 could be rescued.
The injured Faunus had their appendages missing. Flames and debris had scorched humans to the point of disfigurement. Others could never walk again. The women soothed the loved ones and rubbed cheap healing balms into wounds.
"Blake?" Ilia shook his shoulder, "Can I talk to you?"
The boy motioned to the 11 litres of stew he was stirring.
"I'm kinda busy, Lia."
Garnet took the Ladle from Blake, gesturing for them to go. Ilia took her best friend's hand and ran to an obscure corner. Despite the earlier desperation in her tone, she kept quiet in private. Blake stared at Adam; handing out clothes, shoes and books for the elderly. Faunus children dashed around his heels. But years of having Blake as his brother made him able to keep his balance. Other members of the Fang did the same, handing out Energy Dust crystals from the latest train heist to Humans and Faunus alike.
"I'm joining Almanac Combat School."
"What?!"
The exclamation echoed in the pitch-black alleyway.
"Have you lost your mind?" he continued, "You won't last a week in there!"
Ilia couldn't look him in the eyes, much to Blake's chagrin. She shuffled and rubbed her arm – blue orbs flicking around the bleak scenery.
"Blake, look at this place, tell me what you see."
Confused, the 13-year-old Belladonna complied, "I see injured people from the mine, people passing out food-"
"No, really look at the state of this place – look at where I live!"
Tears appeared in her eyes. Her body trembled and hand clenched tight. Her skin turned a sickly chartreuse colour while her hair and dark spots turning violet. Shame, cowardice, and frustration bared for the world to see. However, she suppressed it; faster than Blake could ever remember her doing. Like she had… practised.
The young Amitola sighed.
"You know what I see?" she narrowed her eyes, "I see pure sorrow – we fight the system, and we get shot at, but if we play their game, we have a chance of having more than… this."
Blake shook his head, unable to comprehend how Ilia could give up on the fight.
"You would hide up your heritage for some cushy life in Atlas?"
She blinked.
"Yes, if it means I can get my parents out of those mines and out of this dump, then a thousand times yes."
No words came to Belladonna, so she proceeded.
"There's no future here Blake, I don't want to die in a cave and I can't let that be Mum and Dad's fate either – I can pass for a Human so I'll be okay."
His Captain's hat concealed his eyes, which glared at the snowy ground.
"How much will you be giving up to be like them?"
The growl in his tone made the chameleon Faunus step back. Anger picked up in his voice.
"Sienna and Adam were right, people are giving up; and now?" he pointed a frozen finger at her, "My best friend is running away to pretend to be a Human, an Atlesian at that; like a spineless, selfish runt!"
Shock rippled through Ilia's form. She would never believe that a slur like that would ever leave Blake's mouth – let alone be directed at her.
He expected her skin to change but got a pitiful flash of blue, and her skin remained the same. Blake's lipped curled, his nostrils flared, and his cat ears flayed back in irritation. His mind felt as if lead were coursing through it instead of blood. once sunny childhood memories of his closest friend now appeared tarred, mangled into something grotesque. Belladonna couldn't bear to look her way, because if they made eye-contact he thought he might gag.
Disgust.
Total disgust.
As he stomped away, cheeks red, Ilia tried to stop him from leaving. Blake threw her off, pivoting suddenly. His mouth opened, desperate to leave a scathing message, a witty remark, anything to ease the pain in his heart.
However, the traitor wore his friend's face. The face he grew up and fought with. Her damn blue orbs, shining with tears in the Atlesian moonlight; her quivering form, seconds away from breaking down into sobs. No bone in his body wanted to be responsible for any more of her heartache. He had to fight the instinct to hold her and apologise.
But her skin stayed the same. Even she teetered on the verge of tears.
She looked like a human.
Blake slumped and his retort died on his tongue. Turning away, he left a crying Ilia behind to resume his charity work.
JUNE 4th, 2018 – FULL MOON MENAGERIE: Jungle Outback
The jungle folded around Blake like it was taking possession of him. Nights in Menagerie during Summer were brutal – no matter how exposed your skin was or how light your clothing, one will always end up drenched in sweat.
Blake took a swig of water, his monochrome ears perking up, and let out a long sigh. He stretched the fingers of his right hand, before re-clasping the handle of Gambol Shroud. The fingerless gloves had kept the blisters at bay, but his palm ached.
A small meadow emerged from the twisting vines and clumps of trees. Moon rays break through the cracks, lighting up the area, decorated with outgrown roots, wildflowers and fallen leaves. Blake trudged on, collecting in the fragrance of minty grass and the damp earth.
He stalled. Feline ears fluttered and his nose flared to detect any foreign smells. Footsteps stormed towards him. Heavy and fast, the pattern irregular, and it messed with his hearing. Then they stopped as a figure burst out from the canopy.
Wilt slammed against the large Cleaver. Red against Black.
Squeezing the trigger, Belladonna left a Fire Dust shadow as he slid back, the clone exploding instantly. The Bull recovered, using his night vision to shoot down the Cat from a tree. He couldn't help but chuckle at the miffed expression on Blake's face.
They circled each other.
Refusing to break eye-contact, they halted. Crouched low.
Blake's heart thundered in his chest. Breathes came out in short bursts; the thrill of battle firing up his Aura. The stale air of the island crackled with anxious power. Moonlight danced behind them, colouring the glade in a blue filter. Neither faltered at the intense heat. Wildlife chattered in the far distance.
Adam flexed his fingers.
Belladonna's facial muscles trembled.
The elder stepped forward. On impulse, the junior pulled up a guard.
Adam nicked the opened side of the young Faunus, and he wailed out in pain. Empowered by his fury, Blake snapped back, and the dance began.
Once separated, the katana and cleaver weaved through the air, striking at their opponent with precision and strength behind each swing. Wilt matched it with dominating offsets and strong blocks – sharp and deadly. Under the Grimm mask, a blue eye glimmered with pride for his foe.
Adam spun the red Katana upwards, disrupting the course of Blake's counter. The 15-year-old stumbled back. Taurus lunged for her exposed abdomen. A few clones later, the two had scaled the jungle trees before landing on a long branch. Blake whipped his ribbon on a branch and catapulted it towards Adam. Without flinching, Blush fired the shot that decimated the wood. Several metres above the floor, on a thin platform, the dance paused.
Adam shuffled closer. Blake flourished his Katana and stepped backwards. The weapons struck and parried.
Then stopped.
Shuffle forward, shuffle back.
They lurched and parried in rapid succession. The red sword tried to gut its opponent, but a ribbon wrapped around the tool and held it in place. Adam boxed the youth in the face, releasing his blade and swung high. It passed a hair's breadth from Blake's eye.
Closer and closer they got to one another and the battle turned riskier. Maybe he felt impetuous or intimidated; for whatever reason, Blake swiped at his brother's legs to break the deadlock. Taurus fell for it and brought Wilt downwards. Blake summoned an ice shadow clone, causing Wilt and Adam to stumble backwards. The cleaver slammed into Taurus and he seized Blake's strip, dragging the boy with him through the canopy.
Even in the air, the fight didn't stop. Kicks, punches, and smacks – the brothers brawled. Wind licked at their ears, rippling through their clothes. Bugs hit them on their wild fall but the tiny collisions on their bare arms did nothing to deter them.
Blake grabbed Adam and forced him to take the brunt of the branches slamming into them. In retaliation, Adam kneed his brother to the ground as he fell on top. The cleaver slid aside.
Purple and Red Aura flickered.
On their last legs, the duo wailed at each other. Adam knocked the Katana away and rammed his horns into Blake's gut. The boy flew into a tree and his Aura shattered.
Laughter echoed through the forest over the huffs of the younger Belladonna.
"You almost got me, Kit!"
Adam jogged over to his exhausted brother to help him up.
"Did you have to shatter my Aura?"
"Were you going to stop if I didn't?"
The teen pouted but remained silent.
"Yeah, that's what I thought – come on, Ima has probably finished dinner by now."
They trekked back through the forest. Adam shuffled, unnerved by Blake's silence. He tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, ever since we got back from the SDC mission, you've been… off."
"Have I?"
His tone was bland, his eyes drifting away from the path. Away from his brother.
"Are you and Ilia fighting again?"
"No."
"Did someone bring a dog near you?"
"No."
"Are you on your period?"
"What- No!"
"Then tell me what's up, you always tell me if something's wrong and that doesn't change even if you're growing into Ima's 'big strong man'."
He chuckled as his baby brother shoved him into the foliage. The mood mellowed as Blake spoke.
"It's just Sienna has been getting more violent in Mistral and I fear that she's forcing Baba's ideals out – he told us that by harming innocents we become the monsters we're fighting against but I realise that more and more people are getting caught in the crossfire and Sienna's encouraging it."
Taurus kept quiet.
"That's only part of it; we're kidnapping people now!"
"Baba also did that."
"But he held them for ransom and returned them unharmed and fed when the ransom was paid; this life for a life deals – the people that Khan takes are never seen again and when they are they're reported dead by the news!"
Belladonna paced, and his brother stopped to watch him. He took off his Grimm mask to put on his red silk bandana and held Blake's shoulder.
"Kit, I admit – that Sienna has been more extreme lately but understands this:"
Golden eyes met blue, then glazed over in thought.
"Those bystanders in that mission were Schnee's people who don't protest against the system that subjugates the marginalised."
Adam's tone had a robotic tint to it like he was reiterating a speech he had memorised. Blake ignored it.
"They have lives too Addy, not everyone can just overturn everything for our cause."
"And that makes it okay for them to do nothing and benefit from that system?"
Silence.
"Every time someone does nothing, others think it's okay to do nothing, then no one does anything but watch people suffer – what we're doing is horrible, but if we become the monsters that incite change, the next generation can have a future with the Humans, and the end is worth means."
Adam wasn't wrong. Over the years Humans have withdrawn their support of the Fang now that they had been demanding for more social changes instead of community support. But…
"Violence begets more violence brother; fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering – if our actions are just going to make Humanity hate us more, then-"
"Then we fight harder, I don't care if they respect us out of tolerance or fear – I want freedom not their feelings, they will only take us so far or nowhere at all other than 'prayers' and 'well-wishes'."
Annoyed, Taurus resumed the walk home as Blake stared at his back. He looked over his shoulder.
"Our father taught us well, he's a great man, but has his methods ever given us results like Sienna's had?"
Ashamed of how quickly he answered, Blake, looked down.
"No."
DECEMBER 27th, 2018 – ¼ MOON SHATTER MENAGERIE: Chieftain's Estate – Belladonna Household
Blake and Adam entered their father's study. The living room was with the vintage wall sconces that hung on the walls like earrings. Thin velvet curtains hid the long windows across the walls, just leaving a shy peak of the woods beyond. Two antique couches stood on the opposite sides of each on the hand-woven rug in front of the ashen fireplace, accompanied by bronze wing-chairs that stood as sidekicks. The paintings and faded tapestry panels on the walls seem to blink at the brothers as they entered. Blake sunk in one couch and Adam remained standing.
After two years, Adam still disliked their new home. The new shininess of it all, disconnected with the suffering world made him feel awkward. Ghira and Kali never forced him to get used to it. They grew used to the long lengths of time he spent at White Fang bases to getaway.
Kali paced behind her husband, rubbing her lips as Ghira tapped his pen on his desk. The winter solstice decorations hung across the study, dim like the holiday mood compared to when they put them up. Taurus spoke, worry laced in his tone.
"Ima, Baba; what's the matter?"
Their father glanced at their mother and motioned to sit in front of him. The matriarch of the Belladonna family wrapped an arm around her husband.
"The Belladonna clan have been fighting since the Civil War; I met your mother doing community work, I found you, Adam, when evacuating a mine and taught Sienna all she knows about leadership." He chuckled, "I remember the day when Adam, Sienna and I were evacuating a village as quickly as possible to see your birth, Blake."
The Patriarch teared up, breath harsh. Sparing a glance to each other, the brothers tensed in their chairs. Dread seeped from their hearts and pooled in their stomachs.
"I remember our first march as a family; no matter how horrible that day was, we did it together and for those short happy moments I thought there was no luckier man than me because of the family that loved and stood by me."
He closed his eyes and his mate placed a kiss on his forehead.
"I am proud of the men that you two have become, well… Blake is almost there but my point still stands – your mother and I did a good job, I think."
Blake gave a watery smile. Adam rubbed his eye.
"You did Baba and we're thankful, but… where are you going with this?"
Kali stepped up once Ghira's jaw locked in place. Her own golden orbs watered with tears.
"Boys, from tomorrow evening we'll be stepping down as High Leaders of the Fang."
They said nothing. White knuckles from clenching her fist too hard, and gritted teeth from the effort to stay silent, her hunched form exuded an animosity was like acid - burning, slicing, potent. Her face was red with suppressed rage.
"Sienna will take over and Adam will take her position as Commander of the Vale division and we'll be governing Menagerie full time."
Adam's chair flew backwards as he stood. Blake's insides were in chaos. Something was bothering him. Something was hurting him. Something felt so wrong, but he couldn't tell what. He tried to pinpoint the cause for this unexplained pain but failed. He tried to reason with this unbearable burning but didn't find any. Everything felt so confused, just like a jumbled set of a puzzle.
"Traitors!"
Adam sobbed, his pain and anger swirling into a single form. He combed his hands through his hair, blubbered, pointed and whined, but nothing came out. Kali stepped closer, but her eldest flinched back, his eyes chalked full of betrayal. Blake escaped his catatonic state.
"Why?"
Kali answered, her voice wavering.
"Over the years we've seen so many of our friends die, so many reports of suffering and pain – it's too much for us to cope with, we're tired, sweetheart."
Adam growled.
"So, you dump the responsibility on your protégée so you can live in a mansion and turn your back on the people who need you?"
Ghira joined the argument.
"Sienna has been leading the Fang in all but in name, she is ready."
Blake stood, unable to bear being so close to the source of his anguish. Adam had long since left the room.
"That isn't the issue Baba – word it how you like, but what you're doing is giving up!"
Ghira slammed his hands on his table, his own golden orbs baring on his youngest cub.
"Are we supposed to fight forever, supposed to let hundreds of deaths rest on our shoulders, to command a movement is already following another leader?"
"I-"
"For ten years Blake, we have fought, we helped, we got hurt, shot at, beaten, dragged our babies into this war and there's nothing to show for it!"
"You're a coward!"
"If spending my last years with my mate is cowardice, then yes son, I am a coward!"
Adam slammed the door open, suitcases in both hands.
"Then we'll let you that fantasy, but I want no part in it – as far as you're concerned, you never adopted me."
He turned to his baby brother. Blake paused, gazing between his parents and his big brother. He moved.
With a suitcase in hand and a brother by his side, Blake left his parents with the last words they would hear from him for the next few years.
"Don't worry, we'll finish what you've started, but we'll die trying and won't become cowards like you."
DECEMBER 27th, 2019 – ¾ MOON SHATTER FOREVER FALL FOREST – The Red Sea Railroad
Adam fell to his knee. His Semblance took a lot of outs of him with his Moonslice attack. As he sheathed Wilt, the caboose blew up. Fire soared to the sky and the train cabins behind them tumbled off the track, machines and living soldier inside. Fire singed falling red leaves and ashes danced with the wind.
He ran over the remaining carts to catch up to his brother. As for the teen, he stared at the red foliage speeding past. Conflict swirled in his golden orbs. Then cemented as guilt. He opened his mouth.
"I-"
Adam raised his hand and took off his mask. He knew this day would come; he didn't lose faith in his brother's will to fight. But part of his angst over this separation.
"I know, Kit."
Gambol Shroud in hand, Blake decoupled the train from Adam's cart. Silent tears streamed down his tanned face.
"Love you, Addy."
Taurus held back a sob; his vision blurred by tears.
"Love you too."