3 - Small Stones, Long Shadows

I just wished the time was right, not too early and definitely not too late to be of any help.

As it later turned out, you can always help people, there is no such thing as the "right time" to help someone.
You just need to embrace the opportunity.

I was happily napping when I felt something brush my hand, I opened one eye and saw a figure escaping to the aisle.
I looked down and understood at once what was happening. Someone was trying to steal my suitcase!

There was no point in running. I didn't think he would jump out of the train, as fast as we were going.
Or maybe I was just being lazy, but I wouldn't push my luck, so I kept a steady trot, looking into the compartments along the way.

For some reason, my back was hurting like hell. Just why...? ...and I remembered the Grimm and the tree Ah.

Arriving at the last wagon, I trotted until the end finding nothing suspicious.
That is, until I thought of the toilet compartment.

I opened the door slowly, as it wasn't even closed and I saw a young blonde faunus boy and his human partner in crime, brownish in hair .
Both weren't being careful and didn't pay attention to the door.

They were trying to open my suitcase, in vain.

I thought I could tease them, there was no risk in that.

'Hey Kid, humor me, open the case' said Owen, with a grin in his face.
In afterthought Owen would realize this kind of entrance was really creepy.

The human wannabe-thug shrieked, turned around and Owen noticed she was a girl, not a boy as he had first thought.
Her faunus crime partner didn't even flinch. Owen was pretty sure the faunus must have heard him but didn't even care or maybe he was playing it cool.
When he looked back to Owen, he seemed to have a certain fierceness in his eyes.

I continued my tease 'Trying to open the case? Good luck with that. Please tell me when you have opened it, there are some things I really need from that case ' The girl was still frightened.

'Believe me, not even a huge Grimm monster could open it, I doubt you can'

'A Grimm monster? Ha, I've seen a bunch of criminals in my life but never met such a bad scammer'

'Don't believe it until you see it? Turn the case around'
I was delighted seeing his eyes widen for an instant and then he frowned upon my case.
'Nah, everybody can scratch this kind of crap'
'You really think so? Do you have a knife?' He didn't respond.
'Come on, I'm not teasing you or tricking you. I want you to try and scratch the metal of the case'
'Uh, okay' he pulled a small dagger out of his pouch and was surprised when he couldn't recreate the scratches on the Titanium surface.
'And? What do you say now?' He was already slashing at it, but it didn't even make a scratch let alone a dent.
The boy seemed to be slowly giving up but was too stubborn to quit completely.
'May I get my case back now?' I insisted.
'When you get it, you will kill us and I cannot let you harm Mallorie', he put himself between me and her, waving his petty knife awkwardly.
'No, I won't. I won't report you either, I just want my case back' I put on my best fatherly expression.
He kept the fierceness in his eyes , but his hand shot forward and he gave me the case.
He didn't let go at first. Owen looked into his eyes and asked 'I offered a fair trade, don't you agree?'
'Sure'
'Stop risking yourselves and putting your little friend here in danger'
He let go of the case.
'And why would I do that?'
'Because you don't meet a nice person everyday and some day it could be the last'
He seemed to reconsider.

'You aren't even armed, I got my knifes, why should I listen to you?'

He was testing me. Sure, why not.

'Because I am willing to let you go, unharmed, even if you tried to steal my case'
I took Apollo out of my pocket and let it unfold, for effect.
'Don't let sembl... appearances deceive you, I am quite armed actually.'
His eyes almost fell out of his head.
I don't know if he was more amazed, fearsome or both.

'Whoa, where did you get that from?'

'Literally from other world kid, just as my case'

The girl was barely audible but I managed to hear what she had said 'Please mister, don't harm Sam, he is always looking for trouble.' She looked away and whispered '...but he is a good person'

I had already guessed he had some good traits despite his awkwardness. Call it intuition.
I risked it and offered my hand. 'I'm Owen. Travelling Hero'

The boy snorted but still shook my hand 'You don't look like a hero', a dismissive look in his face.

'Why not?' I retorted

'You simply don't look like one. You have a scruffy beard'

'Oh and how is a hero supposed to look?' Owen scratched his chin unwittingly.

'They...well they wear armor and...they ride on horses. And they are powerful mages and hunters too' the girl interjected.

'You are probably right, I'm no hero yet. But I might as well try' A smile formed in Owen's face. 'You can always start by being nice to other people, don't ya think?'

'Sir, how do you become a hero?' I heard the girl ask.

'I guess helping other people is of utmost importance. Avoiding unnecessary bloodshed is also important. I think even people who do bad things are able to learn and do good deeds, what do you say? You can always try to redeem yourself'

'Hm hm' she nodded shyly. Sam was blushing gently, I guess he was getting the message.

'Do you have a ticket for the train?' I asked both of them.

'We don't need one. We can hide in the toilet until we reach Patchburg'

'And what happens if you get caught?'

The girl spoke first 'We would probably get in a lot of trouble, we are on probation'

So young and already in trouble.
'I can offer you a deal'

At this, Sam rose an eyebrow.

'I can get you tickets if you promise you won't get into more trouble until you get back home'

'We are kinda homeless'

Shit.
I can't save the whole world, can I?
'Then at least avoid getting into trouble until I catch my flight'

'Hmm' he turned around to Mallorie. I don't think they spoke, I couldn't hear a thing, maybe they just signalled with their hands or had some kind of mutual understanding. Sam turned around again and offered his hand. I shook it.

'Deal'

I smiled and looked down at my hand. It was still attached and in one piece, despite the threats.
'And what do you mean by "kinda homeless"?' I air-quoted.

'We lost our parents long time ago, We...got separated'

Parents. Are those siblings? I looked at Sam's ears.
'What do you mean, you lost them?'

'Ah?' he looked at his sister and she nodded. He stared at her and she insisted, nodding at him again.

'Well, we were assaulted by a bunch of gangsters once on our way home and our parents told us to run and hide, which is what we did'
The girl spoke 'We hid for half a day and then walked home, but they didn't come back. We waited for whole three days but no one came. When we were running out of food, we decided to go out and look for them'

I noticed her eyes getting watery as she continued

'But we never found them, so we are on the run now'

I... ahm...damn...

'We couldn't go back to the house, the gangsters may have been trailing us'

'Don't you have any relatives you can visit? Maybe they know the whereabouts of your parents'

'We...have an uncle in Patchburg or the City of Vale, I don't know where he is now, but he is kind of a drunkard...'

I don't like what my gut is telling me.
'Keep trying finding your parents but also try to find your uncle, it's maybe better than being on the run all the time, stealing to survive'

'I guess...'

'What about the authorities?'

'What? The only thing they care for is to catch us, separate us and lock us up'

'And what about school? You should get proper education, I can see you both are resourceful and clever, you should have no problems to get good grades'

'We won't get admitted in any school mister, we have already a criminal record'

Arghh...

'...I know it sounds pretty basic, but you need to eat.
Maybe you are lucky and someone wants to help you, have you tried a foster family?'

'We aren't that young, you know. No one wants troublesome teenagers. And we don't want to get separated'

I think I might have cornered myself into that one.

'What about you, mister?' Asked the girl.

'What? Me?' Adopting them?

'To be completely honest, I couldn't support you. I only have this money because a friend tried to help me out so I can get to Vale'

Her shoulders sank and I felt pretty awful, but it was the truth.

'...And even then, what I will be doing won't allow me to take care of you, it is likely I won't come back for months'
...or at all. That went unsaid.

Somewhere, in a place near my heart, an idea began forming
Mallorie noticed Owen's eyebrows go up, as if he had noticed something he hadn't before.
She is very perceptive.

I cleared my throat 'Ok. Please try to reach your uncle, ok? I can't do much either right now.
Now, come, let us get some tickets for you, ok?'

We walked through the aisles until we found a ticket collector and I told her, the kids had jumped just in time onto the train but couldn't buy a ticket at the station, so I wanted to buy some for them now.

'You know this actually means a legal offense...' Said the female collector.

'Yes, I know, but we got caught in a fight with criminals and almost lost the train. I am sorry. I will pay whatever extra fee they need to pay'

The collector looked at the three of them, decided their plea wasn't completely untruthful and chuckled

'I will let this pass, you have behaved so far and you look like nice, decent people, but next time please buy your tickets in advance, ok?' She smiled warmly and sold them tickets.

'We will do, thank you very much!'

The collector chuckled, turned around and kept walking through the aisle, controlling tickets.

'That was close' Sam uttered.

'Did you hear what she said?'Owen questioned Sam.

'Ahm...which part?'

'The "You have behaved" part'

'Right...'

'Have you?'

'Not quite entirely behaved, no...'

'If you want to avoid problems and appeal to people's hearts, try behaving first and tell them the truth'

'Yes, sir!' He was being mostly serious this time. Mallorie grinned.

'But Owen, you lied to that lady' she noted.

This girl is certainly clever. 'Not entirely. I really fought against a bunch of criminals. They tried to hurt my friend back in Pockety'

'But why?' I heard Sam ask.

'They attacked us because she is a faunus'

At that, Mallorie's expression brightened up. 'You have a faunus friend? My brother gets harassed often by other humans.
I am his only human friend' she looked down while saying the last bit.

Looking at Mallorie I corrected her thoughts swiftly. 'Now he has two'

She smiled when Owen looked to Sam and both shook hands.

Sam was still absorbed by the story and frowned 'Criminals?'
'Yeah, there were three of them. They tried to separate us and beat her'

At that they noticed Owen's expression hardens and his eyes literally change color, but it happened so quickly, they couldn't tell if they had imagined it.

'Three against two? That is quite unfair'

'I didn't let my friend fight, she is quite capable but those guys were out to harm her and very dangerous'

Sam couldn't believe it 'You took three guys all by yourself?!'

'Well...you could say so. I actually just punched one guy and attacked the leader, making them retreat. Bloodshed is not always necessary'

Sam thought Owen may really be powerful. But certainly not a hero. No. Not a hero.

Mallorie asked how those guys looked like, to stay away from this kind of people.
Owen described them as normal looking, not really different from any person on the street and then he remembered.
'They had charcoal clothes, at least one of them had a whip and I can clearly remember them having a kind of symbol.
It was...an ornate symbol, a black symbol inside of a white circle of a person wielding a pistol and a whip and I think there was a crystal, a dust crystal hovering over the person'

At this description, both kids did a double take, opened their eyes and a terrified expression appeared in Mallorie's face.

Owen stopped talking when he noticed the change of mood.
'Do you know those people?'

Sam answered first, a shaky but determined tone in his voice 'Yes. Those are the people who attacked our parents'

Owen was left speechless. A mix of anger and horror crossed his very soul but he didn't let it show.

He just noticed Sam was still talking '...and I mean, those are probably other people, but their symbol is the same'
At this, Owen was relieved, but not entirely. Those people were most probably capable of the same evil.

He would have to look into this at some point.
'Ok. I will remember this if I see those criminals again'

With the immediate problem regarding the tickets solved, I turned around to return to my compartment when I felt someone tugging at my jacket.

It was Mallorie. Sam was looking down and away, obviously too prideful to ask.

'May we sit with you in the compartment, mister?'

He smirked at that question. 'Of course, I'd enjoy that. And call me Owen'

'You can call me Mal then'

'Ok Mal. Is your brother coming?' Sam was fidgeting with his feet.

She motioned for him and we walked to the compartment.

'Do you have a scroll by the way?'

'We have a very basic one' I was about to say something but Sam nervously interrupted me 'It's not stolen!'

'I wasn't about to say anything' I grinned. Well, now I was lying. 'If you excuse me, I need to make a call'

Owen exited the compartment and walked the corridor up and down. He never was calm when he was on the telephone.

A sweet voice answered on the other line and Owen heard the wind rushing and horses neighing in the background.

'Yes, Owen?'

'Myra...'

'Ahm yes?'

'Why are you riding back home ...alone?' He guessed.

'Errm' She cackled nervously 'well...you caught me... I... do owe you now, right?'

...Owen usually guessed right.

'I just wanted to make sure you would get back home safe and sound'

'I will manage, I will make a small detour and sleep on a traveller cottage along the way' Owen had his doubts on that, but he would trust her.

'Ok. Now, can you hear me clearly enough?'

'Sure, what is troubling you? Did you get into the wrong train?'

'It's not that...'

'Well?...?

Owen cleared his throat. 'Myra...you told me, you wanted to save the world once?'

Myra made a thoughtful "Hmm" in response.

'Do you want to start saving someone's world instead?'

I heard the rushing wind diminish, she had slowed down.
That had caught her attention.
It was a big favor, even if it didn't mean forever, it was a lot to ask, a lot of responsibility and trouble that may ensue.

Myra slowed down and listened intently, what was Owen suggesting?

'I ...I wanted to ask you something and it is something complicated to explain but...'

She really liked it when he babbled, but what was he trying to tell her?
'Owen. Talk to me. Don't beat around the bush'

He stopped babbling and then he explained the situation to her.

When Owen came back to the compartment, he had a smug smile on his face. Mal noticed the sad look in his eyes though.

I didn't want to trouble Myra anymore, Owen thought to himself.

Owen excused himself and fell in a deep slumber, jokingly teasing Sam to leave his case where it was.

Mal turned to Sam and whispered. 'Es, we are causing this man lots of trouble. We should leave him in peace'

'I think you are right Mal, but if we leave now, we will trouble him even more. We are already involved'

Mal frowned but nodded. She liked it when her brother was insightful like that. He sometimes had another perspective she hadn't thought about.

Arriving at Patchburg, they shook Owen's shoulder but he seemed to be completely out, he was even snoring!

Sam had an idea, he was certain it would wake Owen up.

Owen's eyes shot open and he stared at his case, which had been grabbed by Sam 'We had to wake you up somehow'.
Sam's pleased expression never diminished as he let go of the case.

'You smug rascal' Yep. They were clever and resourceful.

Owen was oddly proud.

As they descended from the train, Owen gently tapped both teens on the shoulder, getting their attention.

'Sam, Mal? I need you to come with me but I will need to sort out something first'

'Sure, there isn't really a place we can go to right now, to be honest' Sam quipped.

A little smile appeared on Owen's face.
I hope this is the last time you have to think that way. Owen thought to himself.

He bought a ticket to the City of Vale and looked at the airship schedule.
Owen then turned around and started walking.

He looked back and called for the siblings 'Ok folks, follow me'

Sam frowned and Mal looked puzzled when they returned to the train station.

'I will buy you tickets back to Pockety, there you will be picked up by a good friend of mine.
She will give you shelter but you shall help her with the animals and whatever she needs a hand with.
Does that sound like a fair deal?'

'But why are you doing this?' Sam questioned.

'Why not? She can use helping hands and you could use some food and some education, you can learn a lot from her'

'Why is she willing to help us?' Mal demanded.

'That's something you will have to ask herself. Rest assured, she is a kind person and I think she may be willing to help you in your quest, but that comes in second place'

Mallorie seemed happy even if she was confused.

Sam...oh Sam, Owen thought for a moment before he grabbed Sam by the shoulders and whispered in a menacing tone

'Don't you dare to cause her trouble. I can make an exception to my no-bloodshed-rule, just for you'.

'Yyyy...yes sir!'

In a more relaxed tone, he added 'Simply call me Owen, I know you will behave. Just don't do anything stupid, ok?
She is the faunus friend I talked about'

At this, Sam visibly relaxed and some gleam returned to his eyes. Mal's smile couldn't be bigger. She had heard it.

They were worried the friend would be a human, Owen realized.

After giving it some thought, he softened up and spoke gently to him 'I wouldn't let something happen to you or your sister. And I am sending you to the person I trust most. Don't worry and please don't run away if there is trouble.
Always speak with her first. Or call me, ok?'

'Ok. I...we will'

'Attaboy'

'What?'

'Nevermind. Keep what I said in mind, ok?'

'Sure'

Owen raised his voice so Mal could hear him again 'Ok, let's go, you got to catch a train. But let us buy some tickets first.

You need to stay out of trouble' he smirked while saying this.

After he had sent them off, not without a heartfelt hug from Mal and a clumsy handshake from Sam, he walked to the Skyport where he would take an airship and get to mainland Vale.

He heard some young kids talking excitedly and he observed as an adult smirked and shook his head overhearing the conversation.

'Yes, next Year I can go to Signal and I will kick ass like my brother does!'

At this, Owen slowed down. He was on Patch. He could go to Signal Academy and meet Qrow. But then he reconsidered.

I don't think Qrow is ever actually at the school. It is probably some kind of disguise and he just trained his nieces. And I need to talk to Ozpin, not Qrow, he pondered.

He thought long about it, but decided to rely on information he had, not risky unknowns and wild guesses.

He usually did listen to the voice of reason in his head but often decided to ignore it if the situation required it.

The flight would take a short while but certainly less than the train.

Owen sat down in one of the benches and looked at the clock. Still 25 Minutes. He could enjoy a little respite from fighting criminals and making teenagers listen to reason.

Shit

"Making teenagers listen to reason" is all I will be doing for the next time being, he thought. They are mostly 17, right? Ow, I feel old.

Now that I think of it...how old am I here anyway? Do I look the part?

He walked to the public toilets to take a look at his face. Myra's mirror had been broken and it was one of the things she had to replace when she got to Pockety.

Not bad. Owen thought for himself. He looked a tad younger, 6 or maybe even 8 years younger.

He still looked a little older than he should have, but it was still closer to 18 than a few days before.

He also looked slimmer. That is nice, he thought, pleased.

Getting old makes you fat. I tell you, stay young!

After a short, relieving stop at the pissoir, Owen decided to go back and wait for the airship.

While walking back to the bench, Owen smiled when he saw an ad of Pumpkin Pete's showing Pyrrha Nikos.

A real beauty indeed.

He was tempted to buy a box but he remembered Pyrrha saying those were quite unhealthy.

Owen rummaged in his bag and picked an apple, he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Myra had given Owen that bag for his belongings, the things he had bought in Pockety and some snacks.

Interrupting his musings, the airship docked and opened the doors, letting a couple of people out before Owen presented his ticket and boarded the ship.

The flight was quite uneventful and smooth, despite the moving metal wings, which remembered Owen of a flying whale.

Between the clouds he saw it. The water glistering at the port and the tall buildings of the City of Vale.

Further away, he spotted Beacon Academy overlooking the city, resting on the top of a cliff.

I was there. I was finally in Vale.

Dry your eyes now, baby;

Broken wings won't hold you down.

You'll take flight soon, baby.

You'll be lifted up,

And you'll be there.

A/N:

Some of the reasons why this chapter wasn't up earlier were:

1) Procrastination, despite a big chunk of the chapter being already written to some extent. (10%)

2) My betareader (Shavranekto [SN]) kept me busy fixing some minor errors in previous chapters. (7%)

3) Rewriting some parts of this chapter (1%)

4) Considering jumping off a cliff after re-reading some of the errors SN pointed out. (25%)

5) *snort* Pancakes! (2%)

6) Soundtrack (find the value of x = %)

7) Cover/Art research/commission/design/timeline research/location scouting/geography of Remnant/corroborate lore (50%)

8) Competitive Dogfighting. No. Don't ask. (3%) [ Nothing with animals FYI ]

9)...To be Continued...

ps: I want to change some of the formatting to clearly separate Narrator, Owen's thoughts and those of everybody else.

This being the first chapter done according to this. (I may have to come back and fix some lines here and there.)

Owen's thoughts will only be in cursive if they may be confused with someone else's thoughts or the narrator.

Cursive will only be used to emphasize thoughts if he is thinking all by himself.

I will fix retroactively this formatting issue for chapter 1 and 2 in the next weeks.

ps2: As of 2019, I checked for typos and fixed some phrases.