Hello, everyone! This week's update will be the last one coming from overseas. I gotta say: Being in Ireland has put a lot of things into perspective for me. I'm going to be even more focused on my writing when I get back, so expect even more from me in the near future.
This week's spotlight goes to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the Yu-Gi-Oh card game and TV series. I absolutely loved playing Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid and followed the show religiously. (And don't even get me started on the comedic awesomeness of the abridged series.) While the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is freaking amazing, I always preferred its darker counterpart. Then, GX came along and introduced me to the Darkness Dragon, and I was like "HOLY CRAP I WANT!" I haven't played in years, and apparently the rules have changed a lot. Also, they're playing card games on motorcycles for some reason. I don't know. The original and GX will always be the best times for Yu-Gi-Oh in my opinion.
Anyway, enjoy!
"I really wish I could see into your head, you little jackass," Sun muttered as he yanked on the leash in his hand, pulling his haltered dragon away from a cowering cat that had decided to peek out of a nearby alley.
Huo hissed as he was pulled away from the small animal. Why couldn't he try hunting it? He turned his head, trying to bite at the thick cloth straps that held him. He supposed he was big enough to just run along the concrete, dragging his partner behind him. Something was stopping him from doing that, though. Somehow, he knew that doing that would be taking his attempts to train his partner too far.
He was glad that his sister wasn't around to give him that superior huff that she was so fond of.
Sun noticed a dragon-friendly noodle stand nearby. "Okay, if we go get some food, can you keep from biting my foot off?"
Huo blinked at the mention of food. When he caught a whiff of the place his partner was leading him to, he decided that he could stand to be calm for a little while.
Sun ordered some spicy noodles for himself and a bowl of wheat noodles and beef broth with no salt for Huo, who happily started slurping. He smiled to himself, despite the lingering pain of several recent bites, and started on his own meal.
"Well, shit," a loud, obnoxious voice said from the sidewalk. "Looks like Beacon's just letting any old riffraff in nowadays."
Crap… Sun thought, feeling his tail curl as he glanced toward the source of the voice. Sure enough, there were three humans standing nearby. All of them were giving him and Huo very plain looks of disgust. He tightened his grip on his dragon's leash.
Huo, meanwhile, bristled and growled as he looked toward the new humans. Their stance clearly suggested that they were looking for a fight. Thankfully, his partner seemed to know that already and had grown tense. That was good. He wouldn't get taken by surprise.
The old man running the stand grumbled when he saw the three humans. "Don't pay them any mind," he muttered. "I've seen them around. They like looking for trouble."
"Thanks," Sun whispered back. "I just want to eat and go home." He took another slurp of noodles, hoping the idiots would go away.
They didn't, of course. In fact, they started to walk closer. "I mean, not only does Ozpin let the animals decide who gets in, but he lets animals in as students! What the hell?" The other two humans snickered.
"Maybe they'd rather send animals to fight the Grimm," one of the others suggested. "No one'll shed any tears if some kitty-cat got plucked up by a Nevermore."
Sun ground his teeth, but managed to take another bite of soup without responding. He dissipated some of his anger by mentally laughing at the idiocy of the humans. Can't even tell the difference between a monkey and a cat. Morons.
He could feel Huo practically vibrating at the end of his leash. "Easy, boy," he muttered.
One of the humans heard. "Look at what he's got! Looks more like a rabid dog than a dragon!"
Sun glanced over his shoulder. "Actually, he bites way more than a rabid dog does. Don't get too close."
Immediately, it was clear that this was the wrong thing to say. All three boys strode forward, eager grins on their faces. The leader cracked his knuckles.
Sun stood up, wrapping his end of the leash around his wrist to get a better hold. "Hey, I don't want any trouble." He glanced at Huo, who had abandoned his bowl in favor of growling menacingly at the approaching humans. "Why don't we all just sit down? The noodles here are pretty great." He flashed a winning grin, hoping desperately that it would work.
The humans stopped, stared, then all started laughing. "Looks like we've got a scaredy-cat Dragon Rider, guys," one of them chortled.
Sun just stood there, hoping that his forced smile and raised hands would be enough to deter them. It was a well-practiced tactic that had saved him from several fights. Either the bigots in question decided that they didn't want to hurt someone who wasn't fighting back, or that he was too dumb to bother with. Neither was very good for his pride, but he had been taught from an early age to avoid getting into fights. If things went south, most judges would immediately rule in favor of the human. With the rise of the White Fang, that was even more true now.
Of course, his string of bad luck that week had to continue. The lead human walked closer and gave Sun's chest a firm shove. "Come on, scaredy-cat. Let's see what those animal trainers are teaching you- OW!"
The instant he saw the first human push his partner, Huo struck like a viper. His fangs were deep in the enemy's leg. He bit down as hard as he could, growling deeply. His gray eyes were wide and manic. When the human started screaming, he let go and moved to stand in front of his partner, hissing loudly as his tail lashed. Why hadn't Sun done anything? Was he really too pathetic to fight back?
"Huo, settle!" Sun immediately pulled Huo back using both hands. "Come on, boy. Let's get back to Beacon." He'd have to come back and pay for his dinner later. Right then, all that mattered was keeping his dragon from doing any more damage.
The two other thugs stared at their leader's injury, then simultaneously rushed forward. One kicked dirt into Huo's eyes while the other made for Sun, aiming a punch at his face.
Sun ducked to the side, retaliating with a firm blow to his assailant's stomach. In the process, he lost his hold on Huo's leash.
Huo roared in anger, pawing at his eyes. He felt hands on his back. He snarled, his rage rising in his chest until it seemed to be seeping out of his scales.
"ARGH!" The thug that had tried to grab Huo jumped back, blowing on his hands. "It burned me!"
Sun, meanwhile, managed to knee his opponent in the groin, causing him to collapse. He immediately ran over to Huo, grabbing his leash and trying to pull him back.
"Freeze!" a new voice shouted. "Hands in the air!"
Wonderful. This is just perfect! Sun gritted his teeth as he put his hands up. "Huo, settle for the love of Dust!"
Huo, of course, was still in fight-mode, growling threateningly at the new humans who were now approaching. They had weapons in their hands. He stood in front of Sun and dug his claws into the ground.
Three cops approached, all of whom pointing guns at Sun and Huo. "Restrain your dragon!" one of the cops shouted.
Restrain my dragon, or put my hands in the air?! Make up your freaking mind! Sun bit his tongue as he knelt next to Huo and put his hands on his back. He winced as the scales burned his palms.
Huo glanced at Sun and tried to lower the temperature of his scales. Burnt hands wouldn't help in this situation.
At that moment, the old man exited the stand and walked over. "Hey, officers! You're pointing your guns at the wrong guy. This is the customer who was being harassed. Those three are the thugs I told you about."
Sun groaned. The old man had called the cops. He probably thought he was helping, but damn…
The cops continued to point their weapons toward Sun and Huo. "What started the fight?"
Sun took a deep breath, trying to keep any traces of sarcasm or anger from his voice. "I was taking my dragon for a walk. We stopped to get some food. Those guys came over and started getting in my face. I tried to leave, but one of them hit me."
One of the cops walked over to the lead thug, who was holding his leg and whimpering. "And what about this bite?"
"Huo did that after that guy hit me," Sun said. "He was trying to protect me."
One of the cops took a step closer, causing Huo to snarl. "Sir, if you don't keep that beast under control, we won't hesitate to taze it."
Sun held Huo a little tighter, trying to keep his anger from showing. His hands shook as he watched the cops take statements from each of the human thugs, and then the old man. After a few more minutes, one of them asked for Sun's ID. He gave it to them. The cop scanned it and handed it back along with a slip of paper.
"We're going to let you off with a warning this time, Faunus," he said. "But if anything like this happens again, we will have to issue an order that this dragon has to be muzzled outside of Beacon Dragonry. Do you understand?"
Again, years of ingrained knowledge kept Sun from saying something stupid. "Yes, sir." He noticed that the thugs were being shepherded off without so much as a slap on the wrist. He faintly heard the lead thug refusing an offer for an ambulance.
Once the police were gone, Sun returned to the stand and sat down heavily. The broth of his soup was cold by this point, but he drank it down anyway before opening his wallet.
A hand tapped the counter lightly, stopping him. The old man was giving him a sympathetic look. "This one's on the house. I hope that incident won't stop you from coming back."
Sun managed a smile. "Just don't call the cops next time."
The man looked at him sadly. "The police here aren't all like that. This was just a real unlucky night all around." He started rummaging in the back. "Do you like flan?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to-"
"Too late." The man returned with a chilled plate of pre-made flan. "Eat up, then take that dragon of yours home. I'm sure he needs a rest after that."
Sun accepted the free dessert and glanced down at Huo. His dragon was slurping at what remained of his beef broth, occasionally glancing over his shoulder for any new threats. He smiled and reached down to pat his back. Huo just looked at him, not even opening his jaws. "Good boy, Huo," he murmured. "Good boy."
When he got back to campus, he ran into Ruby. It looked like she was coming from the earth barn. "Ruby?" He tilted his head. "What are you doing out?"
Ruby jumped. "Oh, uh, just taking Storm for a walk." She took a closer look at Sun, noticing a few bruises. "Are you okay? Did your walk with Huo go well?"
"I…yeah," Sun replied, wincing as he heard the obvious crack in his voice.
Storm warbled in concern and trotted over to Huo, licking his shoulder comfortingly. She was normally terrified of the fire dragon, but he looked so tired and downtrodden right then.
Huo just blinked at her, his eyes narrowed as he repeatedly played back what had happened in his mind. Why had things gone this way? Why did he have the distinct feeling that, despite their obvious superiority over their opponents, that he and Sun had somehow lost?
Ruby gently touched Sun's arm. "What happened?"
Sun shook his head. "Just…Just some bigoted assholes. Nothing to worry about." His voice shook a little. Now that he wasn't in a public place like the noodle stand, he could feel his earlier façade of carelessness breaking down.
Ruby squinted. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Sun definitely looked like he was trying not to cry. Wordlessly, she stepped forward and hugged him. His arms were trembling as they came up to hug her back. "Don't worry about it," she muttered. "People like that aren't worth the brain cells. That's what Dad always says."
Sun let out a laugh, hating how it sounded just like a sob. "Your dad sounds pretty smart."
"He sure is," Ruby replied.
For a few minutes, the friends just stood there, Ruby hugging a silently-crying Sun and Storm purring gently at a dejected Huo. Then, without saying anything else, they parted ways and went to their dorms.
When Sun entered his team's dorm, he walked right over to the bed and sat down. Huo, for once, didn't chew on anything before plopping down in his bed.
Questions were still buzzing in the fire dragon's head. Why hadn't they defeated the ones who had attacked them? Why had Sun been put down after their obvious victory? Something had happened, something Huo didn't understand, and it was bothering him to no end.
Sun, meanwhile, just lay back on his bed and sighed.
There was a rustle to his left before Neptune's voice sounded near him. "Hey, dude. You okay?"
"I'll…tell you about it tomorrow," Sun muttered.
There was a pause before Sun felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Goodnight."
"Night, Nep." Sun closed his eyes and quickly fell into an exhausted sleep.
…..
The following day, when the three teams were hanging out in the courtyard, Sun told everyone a full account of what had happened.
Neptune, of course, was enraged. "Next time, take me and Nymph with you! She'll drench them!"
"Nymph hasn't started showing signs of her powers yet," Sage gently reminded him.
"So? Huo used his fire powers for the first time when those jerks attacked Sun. Maybe Nymph would react the same way."
Yang punched Sun's shoulder. "Hey, look at the bright side: Huo's the first fire dragon in our grade to get his powers. That's pretty cool."
"It won't be cool if I have to muzzle him," Sun sighed.
"So, just wait till he's better trained before you take him into town next time," Pyrrha suggested. "Or take him to a more deserted area. They can't make you muzzle him if he doesn't lash out again."
Sun shrugged. "I mean, he has been more mellow since last night. I'm not sure why."
Weiss shook her head. "I honestly can't stand ruffians like that. Looking for any excuse to start a fight. Their words don't even have any merit. Beacon's screening process is the second best in the world."
There was a pause. Neptune let out an uncomfortable cough while Sun shifted, his tail twitching. Blake turned to glare at Weiss.
Ruby, on the other hand, was totally in the dark. "Screening process?"
"The Faunus screening," Sun explained, spitting out the words like a curse. "Any Faunus who want to enroll at a Dragonry have to go through an extra series of background checks and a mental exam."
"It's a racist and degrading practice," Blake growled, her eyes blazing.
Weiss frowned. "It's a necessary precaution. I mean, what would happen if a bunch of White Fang members ended up as Dragon Riders?"
Sun's eyes narrowed. "Being a Faunus doesn't mean you're in the White Fang," he said coldly
"Well, obviously not," Weiss said calmly. "You aren't. You passed the screening, didn't you?"
"You know, humans are just as likely to be criminals as Faunus," Blake pointed out, not even trying to keep the venom out of her voice. "I could think of several people in the Schnee Dust Company, for example."
Weiss's back stiffened. "I do not wish to talk about the Company, thank you," she said crisply.
Sun let out a sigh. "Why don't we talk about something else? Hey, Scarlet. Why don't you show everyone those pictures you took of Nimbus wearing those stupid goggles?"
Scarlet was all too eager to pull out his Scroll. "Sure! Let's see…"
The rest of the afternoon passed relatively amicably, though everyone was aware of an extra layer of tension and anger in their interactions. When they parted for the evening, Team SSSN was quick to make a beeline toward the dorms.
Team RWBY was silent as they walked back. Ruby glanced between Blake and Weiss, who continued to carefully avoid each other's gazes. There was a frosty silence between them that was nearly palpable.
Yang met her sister's eye and nodded when she saw the concerned shine there. The team would definitely have to talk about this, and soon. The last thing they needed was bad feelings between friends, much less teammates.
As I said before, I want to make Faunus racism more of an actual thing in this story. Sun's encounter was very much based on what's been going on with the police force in the States. And before anyone says anything, I know that most cops are good people. My mom actually works for a police department. There will be chapters showing encounters with good cops, so don't worry. It still can't be ignored that the handful of idiot, bigoted cops are causing a significant problem.
If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!