"65 pounds…" Pyrrha started as she looked at her counterpart. Watching him carry a not so small crate of metal over his shoulder like it was nothing. "65 separate pounds of different metals…"
"Yep." Pyrrha shook her head as she walked beside the teen. "Everything I'll need."
"If I may ask, what are you going to make with all that metal?
"I'm thinking Switch-Axe."
"A Switch-Axe; I don't think I've heard of that type of weapon before."
"It's kind of like a Great Sword only lighter and can turn into an Axe. Or do I have that backwards?" Gales wondered aloud before shrugging. "Either way it's not a bad weapon. I used to use one when Gandora was in the shop getting upgraded." Gales patted the crate for a moment as he smiled. "Feels only right that I go back to it now that Gandora won't let me wield it."
"I see." Pyrrha muttered as she put her hands behind her back. "A sword and an axe… what about for ranged combat?"
"Oh I used to toy around with a Bow and Arrow and later a Light Bowgun. I guess I could try making one too if I divide up the materials."
"So you'll use two weapons instead of melding them together into one?" Pyrrha asked as Gales looked at her."
"Is there a way to merge them together?"
"Yes. As I mentioned earlier; we tailor our weapons to suit our personal combat styles, but an unspoken rule is that they tend to cover both long and short-range combat. Take my Miló for example, I designed it to shift between close, mid and long range combat."
"You know I've never seen your weapon right." Gales noted before looking off into space. "Still, a weapon that can shift between those three ranges. I don't think I'd ever need to switch out between another weapon again." Gales noted before shaking his head. "But designing something like that must be really hard."
"It is, but I assure you it's quite rewarding, being able to build and wield a weapon properly tailored to your combat needs."
"Hm~ Sounds nice, back home we had our weapons tailored but they followed specific designs. Sword and shield, Great Sword, Long Sword… no real originality in what they did or how they worked."
"I am sorry to hear that." Pyrrha paused for a moment as she looked to Gales. "But when you return home you'll be able to show them something new, why, perhaps you might set a trend in creating custom weapons." Gales chuckled lightly before looking to Pyrrha.
"Yeah I guess you gotta point there. It'll be nice seeing some more unique weapons in the Old World." That made Pyrrha pause for a moment.
"The Old World, is that what your people call your homeland?"
"Yeah. I guess it's because that's where we all started; it's what we inherited from the ancestors; an 'Old World'." Gales stated before his thoughts started to drift.
"I see, what's it like?"
"Difficult." Gales muttered with a fond smile. "It's -
"In other news; a Schnee Dust Transport was attacked earlier this week."
Gales paused as he looked at the television screen from behind a glass screen. Turning his attention to see Lisa Lavender reporting something on the news.
"We have reports that countless Atlesian Knight-130 as well as a Spider Droid used to protect the Shipments were found destroyed and the entire Dust Shipment was lost. Once again the White Fang has resumed responsibility for this transaction against the Schnee Company and…"
"Another attack."
"It appears that way." Pyrrha noted as they continued to watch the broadcast. "This makes the 7th attack the White Fang had attacked a Schnee Dust transport."
"What would they possibly want with all that Dust?"
"I'm not sure. Dust is very valuable yes, but to have that much seems quite odd."
"Maybe they're just trying to give the Schnee the finger?"
"Perhaps." The Schnee and the White Fang don't have the best reputation with one another."
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha and Gales started walking off as the broadcast continued. Though they had heard all they needed to hear at the moment.
"I'm actually not that certain, but there appears to be much bloodshed between the two groups. The Schnee hate the Faunus and White Fang, and the White Fang hate the Schnee in turn." She sighed slightly. "I wish I understood why though."
"… maybe it's all they know." Gales muttered as he frowned. "Maybe there's been this gudge between them for so long that they only know they have to hate one another but lost sight of the reason why."
"It would be sad if that were the case, but the White Fang wasn't always like what they are now." Pyrrha replied. "Years ago the White Fang were different, just protesters seeking Equality Rights; but then one day things just changed for some reason."
"Really… that's too bad." Gales admitted before frowning. "Old grudges are… hard to deal with you know. Especially when you're inheriting it from your parents. Told to hate someone just because of who they are and not really knowing a reason why." Gales sighed. "There's a story back home; about two rival tribes; they absolutely hated each other but their heir and heiress fell in love. Kept it a secret and met under the cover of night when the stars shined so bright you could almost touch them and the Lightbugs danced in flower fields."
"Sounds romantic."
"Yeah, but it doesn't end well. They died one night, while their tribes went searching for them. Thought a monster attack got them, but one had a vial of poison and the other a knife in her chest. Double suicide…" Gales sighed again as his eyes clouded. "It ends with their tribes making up and becoming one. But the grudge had done its job; taken something irreplaceable from them; and throughout it all the story never tells what caused the grudge in the first place."
"That really is sad." Pyrrha muttered as she looked to Gales for a moment. "I hope the Schnee and the White Fang don't have to go through something like that in order to end their problems."
"Yeah…" Gales drifted away for a moment before shaking his head. Hated depressing subjects, always got him feeling down. "Anyway, Pyrrha, thanks again for buying the metal for me, really owe you one for this."
"You don't owe me anything Gales, I'm just happy to help."
"Yeah but still you spent a lot of Lien on me today, I promise I'll pay you back whenever I can."
"Well, if you want to pay me back, why not come to my house this weekend." Pyrrha stated as Gales looked back at her in confusion. "My mother has been dying to meet the boy I've been spending my time with."
"You're mom? She's curious about me?" Pyrrha just nodded as she quickly received a smile. "You know what; sure. I'm curious about the woman who raised you into who you are today anyway." He paused for a moment. "Should I bring anything? I should probably bring something; maybe some fruit as tribute. Nah maybe a nice gown for your mom. She likes gowns right?"
"You don't need to bring anything. Just come by and be yourself."
"Really? That's it?"
"Yes." 'This is the first time I'm going to have a friend at my house! What should I do? Should I dress up - I should probably dress up. Should I ask mom t prepare certain dishes? I should probably clean my room a bit too. I am supposed to let him into my room right?'
An hour later
Tukson's Bookstore
"Get. Out. Of. My. Shop." He didn't raise his voice, but Gales knew the man was upset the moment he walked in. Didn't look it, but he could tell; Tukson was actually upset about something. Looking at the scene Gales found the man was having a standoff with a few faces he wasn't familiar with. Suits though, he recognized the suits, black, finely pressed, but none of Junior's boys. That said, he turned his gaze to focus solely on Tukson and caught the man's eye for a moment before he took a calming breathe. "I have a business to run, I'm afraid if you're not here looking for a book, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Right, no worries Tukson, we'll get out your hair." One of the men stated as the rest started to make some room for him. "Just… keep what I said in mind." That same man said as he and his entourage started moving through the store and barely stopped to get a look at Gales. "We'll be in touch." Door shut and Gales looked at the store owner, watching him frown before relaxing his features.
"Hey Tukson… mind if I ask what that was all about?"
"It's nothing to important Gales, just some thugs trying to scare me." Tukson began as he went over to a couple boxes and started to lift them up. Gales followed his example, as he started carrying them towards the back. "They come around every now and then. Usually in the afternoon when you go out for lunch. Came a bit late though this time."
"Oh…" Gales muttered as he and Tukson started unpacking the new books. "So what did they want?"
"They wanted the shop." Tukson stated. "They didn't say why… but it can't be for anything good." Gales just made a noise as he grabbed a couple of books and looked at the titles. "Those should head in the Romance section."
"Got it… so these guys, they keep coming back huh? Can't the… Police do anything about em?"
"Not without proper cause. Less they do anything that prompts them, it's just filed under a Disturbance of the Peace." Gales made a noise as he picked up another couple of books and started setting them up.
"Back home whenever we had a problem we just dealt with it ourselves, we didn't have any police to turn to when problems started popping up. Sure there was the Guild Knights but they only got involved when Hunters went bad and stuff like poaching."
"So your people policed yourself?"
"Mainly." Gales paused for a moment as he set another stack of books down for a moment and seemed to drift into thought. "If you want; I can deal with the thugs for you."
"You are not going to go vigilante to protect my store." Tukson gave the light smile. "Thanks though; but I don't want you getting into trouble."
"Alright~." Gales grumbled as he stacked a couple more books. "I'll try to stay out of trouble."
"All I can ask for." The two continued to work in silence, stacking books in their proper place before heading to the front and waited. Gales didn't bother reading a book, not this time, instead just took up a broom and started sweeping.
"You know… this is actually kinda nice." Gales admitted as Tukson looked at him.
"What is?"
"Just… being here I guess, in Vale. It's all much different than back home."
"Did you not like staying in the Old World?"
"No, the Old World was great - tough but great. What I mean is... I moved around a lot after I graduated from my apprenticeship. Going from one town to the next - especially when I was on the Frontier. I only stayed in one place for maybe a couple weeks in order to deal with local monster problems… soon as I was done I moved on to the next town." He stopped sweeping as he leaned on the broom. "I've been in Vale for just over two months now, that's the longest I've been in one place since I left my master. It's… nice having a house to go back to when the days done, having a normal job… staying in touch with friends without worrying about Monsters getting to them when they go out hunting - not worrying about the next hunt being your last. I like it."
"It is nice. Not when the bills come in but you have a point." Tukson got a light laugh as Gales went back to sweeping. "This is nice… but, what about being a Huntsman; are you giving up on that?"
"No way, I can't give up hunting." Gales stated. "Hunting is~ hunting isn't just my job. I was born to Hunt; I was born to fight. It's a part of me, it's in my blood. Without it… I guess I wouldn't know who I really am anymore." Gales paused his sweeping again as he looked at Tukson. "Does that make sense?"
"Yes." Tukson said slowly. "Some people are just born to do something; and you - you're born to hunt. Still two months without hunting, that has to be eating you up inside."
"A bit… a lot really." Gales corrected himself. "Ashe always did say that I had a 'storm' in me. A need for hunting - that I had a gift for it. Guess that's why when I go without it for so long I start to feel restless. I've been taking it out at the Gym but… it's not the same ya know." The teen fell silent. "There's no 'rush'; nothing to really get my heartbeat pumping or get the adrenaline coursing." Gales sighed to himself. "She tried calming it so that it wouldn't be swept up by my own storm - my love for hunting. But it still blows inside me and so is that need to hunt."
"You kinda sound a junkie."
"I guess I do." Gales admitted with a shrug. "Hopefully when my new weapon's done I'll be able to calm it again."
"You're building a Hunter's weapon?"
"Yeah, Pyrrha just got me the metal today, and I'll start working on it when I get home after Junior's tonight. Gonna try making it to Beacon."
"Aren't you cutting it a bit close then; Beacon's just a month away."
"Ugh I know. It's a good thing I work well under pressure." Gales paused as he stopped sweeping again. "Also, earlier today, I saw the news, White Fang hit another Schnee Dust transport." Tukson didn't say anything for a moment, but Gales took notice of the slight pause he did.
"That so?"
"Yeah, it was earlier this week apparently. Hit the transport while it was moving… what I can't get is why they keep hitting Dust shipments, seriously who needs that much Dust?"
"It's a good question." Tukson. "They weren't always after Dust. Then again they weren't always the people they were today."
"Pyrrha told me they used to be an activist movement for Faunus, but they changed suddenly. Any clue why?" For a minute Tukson didn't say anything as he returned to looking at a book.
"That would be due to the new leader they took on five years ago." He said finally. "The previous leader stepped down and was replaced by a new one, one that didn't follow her predecessor's idea of nonviolent protests and changed everything about the White Fang. They started causing violence at protests, firebombed stores that refused to serve Faunus, stole from and sabotaged organizations that used Faunus for labor." Tukson shook his head.
"So that's it… they're under the leadership of a radical." The teen muttered before frown. "Still what they're doing can't possibly be benefiting the Faunus, right?"
"That's where you're wrong." A familiar voice called out as Tukson shook his head.
"Not exactly; as much as I hate to say it, they're methods now are working. Humans treat Faunus as equals now, but it's not out of respect - it's fear." Tukson clenched his fist slightly. "Fear of what the White Fang will do to them if they don't have their way. Also most Faunus realize this, and they don't exactly see the White Fang as helping their cause, more like a cult that just uses force to get what they want."
"So that's it." Gales muttered before making a noise. "Tukson… is that why you left the White Fang?"
"Yes... ! Wait you knew I was -"
"You're tone when you start talking about them, the way you balled your fist, how your scent changed. It gave me an idea but I wasn't too sure." Gales admitted before looking to the store entrance to see if anyone was coming. "You either were with the White Fang or you were close to them." Tukson just looked at the boy before shaking his head.
"You're too aware sometimes you know that, but yes. I used to be in the White Fang, and I left when things started getting too aggressive. I - I didn't like the direction things were headed so I left, went into hiding for a while and eventually started my store here."
"Is that how you know Junior?" Tukson just nodded his head as he reached for another book.
"Junior gave me a job to get me on my feet, though I left when I was ready to move on. I owe him for that, but I can't stop thinking that one of these days my past is going to catch up to me. That the White Fang is going to send someone to deal with a deserter."
"Will they really come after you for leaving?
"I don't know; maybe it's just in my head, but it's a feeling I have. That they are still looking for me." The bookstore owner admitted before sighing. "You can't outrun your past forever after all. It catches up with you sooner or later."
"That's true." The pair fell into an oddly comfortable silence as Gales looked around and made a noise. "You know… you should write a book."
"Me, write a book?"
"Yeah, I mean you got plenty of experience with them. So maybe you could write one; tell people about your experiences with the White Fang. Tell them how they started, how they changed. Remind them that they weren't always like who they are now and show that not all White Fang members agree with what's going on with them."
"It isn't that simple Gales."
"When is anything worth doing simple?" Tukson stayed quiet for a moment as he looked at the teen. "The harder it is; the more worthwhile doing something is in the end, least that's how I see it."
"I guess you have a point… I'll sleep on it alright."
"All I can ask." Gales smiled before he returned to sweeping again. Stopping only a moment later as he looked back to Tukson. "Hey Tukson?"
"Yes?"
"Can you tell me about the White Fang? Back when it was an activist group?"
"You're interested in what it was once like?"
"Yeah. I mean, you must have some fond memories of the White Fang, are there any people you miss?"
"A few."
"Can you tell me about them?"
"… sure why not." Gales smiled as he set the broom on the wall and set himself on the floor. " There used to be a woman with them I once knew."
"Girlfriend?"
"Not even. She was married, but knew how to put a smile on our faces during the tough times. Bit talkative to… nothing like her husband."
"What was her name?"
"Kali."
Junior's Club
Gales blinked as he looked at Junior, a serious look on his face as he stared back at the teen. "I'm sorry… what?"
"Melanie and Miltia are missing."