The city was bustling with life, with more people in a single municipality than Velvet had ever seen before in her life. People of all walks of life, it seemed like, were inhabiting the same space in perfect harmony. It was like there couldn't be any qualms between these people. Velvet would have sincerely believed that all of the people around her were unaware of the racial tensions that had gripped the world of Remnant for all time. It was then that she became aware to just how out-of-place a reclusive and stoic Yatsuhashi appeared to be among the harmonious dissonance.
"How did someone like yourself end up in a city such as this? Surely, you're not a native?"
Yatsuhashi calmy nodded, looking down briefly at the girl that had addressed him before raising his head once more to look straight ahead. "I'm not originally from this place. I was originally from a place called Thread. It's a small village in the far north of Anima. Once I had been accepted into Beacon, my parents had insisted on moving me here two months ahead of my enrollment in order for me to become properly acclimate to the urban lifestyle prior to school starting."
Velvet nodded, looking ahead at the immense shopping centers that they were coming up upon to shadow the small shops and assorted apartments that they had been casually strolling. The buildings were enormous, casting large shadows onto them and street, defying the midmorning sun. They were adorned with glowing borders, an ornate manner in which to utilize the glow of the Dust implemented to keep the establishments in working order. Several people at a time walked out of the stores, several bags of different delicacies crammed into carts and hefted in awkward positions in different directions. Velvet was delighted by the diversity that this city had to offer, in all shapes and forms.
It was like the advertising she had seen on the television back in Valkryite. Frankly, she wasn't sure whether or not scenes like that actually existed, or if they were simply products of Atlesian film crews. It was almost too much for her to take in at once.
It was a beautiful thing to Velvet, the aesthetic that the large shopping centers offered to the look of the area as a whole. This triggered the silent regret that she had not made it one of her priorities to visit the City of Vale before her life took such a dramatic and unfortuante turn. This thought took her to the surprising realization that no one had made her while she walked out on the street without any type of concealment for her face.
Velvet didn't make a big scene out of her discovery, but she thought it strange nonetheless and decided to keep her guard up. The last thing that she'd want was to be ambushed as a result of her foolish decision to enter a population and police hub. She mentally scolded herself for allowing herself to enter such a place without a second thought. I wonder if it will be like Hansel said, or if they'll actually give me a proper trial. In retrospect, his word probably isn't the most reliable. He was probably telling me everything that he did in order to keep me on a leash, so I wouldn't ask questions.
Finally, the two rounded the corner of one of the glowing shops that Velvet had seen and out of the shadows. As they rounded the corner, Velvet had to cover her eyes as they were bathed in the warm light of the sun that was directly over the street next to them. Yatsuhashi stopped and pointed to a restaruant located at the far end of the street, opposite their side. "That's the restauraunt that your friend told you about. Whoever you're meeting with, they're likely waiting inside."
"Aren't you going to follow me?" She asked, pondering the possible reasons why Yatsuhashi would not want to accompany her, at the very least, to the front of the establishment. Is it possible that he knows? She suggested to herself.
"I imagined that your business was private, and that you did not wish for me to view any part of it. I was planning on merely waiting here to ensure your safe journey there."
"Well, you're free to walk me there. In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what to expect myself." She said quite bluntly. Velvet had no idea what it was that was waiting for her inside, and, if the past few months had taught her anything, it was that it never hurt to have a backup plan should things go south.
Yatsuhashi nodded passively, gesturing Velvet forward. She smiled as well, and began to step towards the crosswalk. After briskly crossing, she looked behind her to see that Yatsuhashi was indeed still following. A smile was allowed to pass her lips, and she turned forward once more, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. From their vantage point, she could see that there was a welded metal sign over the front door of the restaraunt. It read The Rusty Clockwork, the metal letters also welded on to the rusted metal frame. The sign itself was hung on two black hooks that jutted out from a rod of the same color that was screwed in over the doorway of the entrance.
It didn't take long for the pair to reach the entrance of the restaruant. The front of the restaruant was equipped with large bay windows that would allow any type of passerby to effectively gaze inside and see what was going on. The door itself, to Velvet's delight, was a standard oak door with several old cogs of all shapes and sizes drilled into the wood. There sat a small framed window near the top, just tall enough for a person of Velvet's height to see through with minimal difficulty. The door handle itself was in fact a clock retrofitted to fit its new purpose. Trying to conceal her excitement for such a unique and expressive opening to a restaraunt, she turned to Yatsuhashi, who only stood with a blank smile, his eyes squinted against the sunlight.
"I am afraid I must leave you here to conduct your business, Velvet. What goes on while you are in there is none ofmy concern. I can assure you, that, should things 'go south' as you say, I will be waiting out here to provide you assistance. After a time, should I see that you're in no evident danger, then I shall take my leave. Regardless, I will be gone when you leave this place. Allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for the joy of making your acquaintance. Perhaps we shall see each other again?"
"Of course. Thank you for your help." Unsure what to do, Velvet impulsivley outstretched her hand, which Yatsuhashi took. He shook it firmly, yet gently enough that, should her eyes have been closed, Velvet would have sworn that she was shaking hands with someone who mirrored her physique. Without another word, Yatsuhashi leaned his back against the sliver of red brick wall adjacent to the building. Velvet took another look at him before she turned the knob to the door and slipped inside.
The restaurant was as delightfully quizzical and quirky to Velvet that she was just as excited as when she was standing outside. The walls were adorned with the pictures of famous clockmakers in Remnant (the fact that she even knew who they were was due in no small part to the fact that she had once spent a summer as a little girl, waiting for her mother to return from a particularly extensive trip, that she had read the extent of Valkryite's extremely pragmatic, yet extensive library) as well as the scientists who played a large role in designing the CCTs. The tables were, in themselves, replicas of clock faces. The walls were adorned, underneath the pictures, with a peeling stick-on wallpaper with a brick wall pattern. Velvet wasn't sure if it was part of the restaraunt's motif, but she felt it to be an interesting addition to the other styles in the building.
The employees of the eatery, to Velvet's disappointment, were dressed in black collared shirts and slacks. However, her childlike joy was rediscovered when she realized that the nametags of the employees were, similar to the style of the tables, brass clockfaces. The counter was solid brick, save for the metal countertop. Over said counter was a large metal welcome sign that delighted Velvet almost as much as the door had. Behind the counter was a coffee machine, who's tint matched that of the counter. Along with this, holding less of Velvet's interest, was an assortment of cookware, slightly blackened from extended use.
"Enjoying yourself, are we?" A familiar female voice whispered into her ear. Momentarily anxious that a new foe had come to toy with her, Velvet turned to see it was not a new enemy, but rather an old friend.
"Dorian!" She exclaimed, not hesitating to embrace her in a hug.
It was then that Velvet realized she had come in too quickly, and slowly retracted, hoping that she had not come on too strong. The smile on Dorian's face proved the opposite, however, calming any insecurities Velvet had felt.
She looked deep into Dorian's eyes,which were a striking magenta hue now that her contacts were gone. A twinkle was evident in her eyes, one that she had only seen in the eyes of Kandase. It brought a joy of days gone by, but Velvet thought it best not to say anything about such things. Instead, she asked Dorian how she was faring.
"Before I answer that, there's someone else who wants to talk to you." She moved out of Velvet's field of vision to give way to the sight of two people who were looking her over.
The first was a middle-aged man with tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes to effectively contrast it. His face was light-complected and very angular to Velvet. She saw that the first stranger had black eyebrows, from which Velvet deduced that he may have had black hair to go with them during his younger years.
His eyes were partially covered by a pair of shaded glass spectacles. His neck was wrapped in a dark-green cowl. Over the cowl in the center was a small, purple, cross-shaped pin. The other aspects of his outfits consisted of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green shirt to go underneath. Over the stranger's feet and legs were black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants. Resting against the table by his side was an intricately carved cane as silver as his hair. Resting in front of him was a white mug of what she assumed was coffee.
The boy to his right looked to be near Velvet's age, yet somehow managed to come off as someone twice that age.
He appeared to be a teenage boy with dark skin and dark, messy copper hair, styled (so to speak) into a long fringe and a cowlick.
The strange boy's abdomen was covered by a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a raised collar. Around his legs were a pair of black jeans. On his feet, brown, laced shoes. His eyes were pure pools of white, giving off the appearance that he is blind, similar to the technique that Dorian had been using to track Velvet when they first met.
His arms were covered in an array of scars, along with a vertical scar on his lips. The stranger wore a pair of long black gloves that partially covered his forearms. Around his waist was a belt adorned with patches.
Dorian led Velvet over to the table, where she quickly introduced her. The Copper-haired boy remained silent, unlike the other silver-haired man.
He tipped his head in acknowledgement of Velvet's prescence. "Velvet Scarlatina. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I can assure that I've heard a lot about you, from an assortment of reliable sources. Please, won't you have a seat?" He said, gesturing to one of the empty chairs at the table, directly across from him.
She eyed the chair, then uneasily sat, clasping her hands together on the table. The silver-haired man sipped his coffee while she performed this action, Dorian sitting in the chair next to her. The Copper-haired boy continued to stare uneasily. "Velvet," Dorian asked, placing her hand on Velvet's. "Do you know who these people are?"
Velvet thought intently for a moment, then recalled exactly who she was in the prescence of. "Yes. You're Professor Ozpin, Head of Beacon Academy. You went to said school with my father Zandu. Yourself, Dorian, and he were part of Team OZDN. He would tell me stories of all of your heroics, then and after."
A smile crossed both of their faces at the mention of their old friend. "And I'm sure all of his stories were true. Your father was a great man, a great Huntsman. If what I've heard and seen has any merit, than his skill was passed down onto you. It is likely a major factor in why you have survived for so long out in the wilderness. Did you ever find it odd that you were able to access your ability through your Semblance? Did it ever strike you peculiar that you never needed the assistance of Dust to access them?"
"Yes, sir. I was perplexed when I first began to explore the limits of what I could do, but I simply took it as a blessing from the gods and pushed it to the back of my mind."
" 'Gift from the gods', you say? Where may I ask did you learn that lesson from? Perhaps your father?"
Confused where Ozpin was going with his string of questions, Velvet played along.
"My father was the one who taught me that, yes. How would you know that?" She asked, not considering the idea that Zandu may have simply told Ozpin this. Even then, this proved to not entirely be the case.
"Your father, believe it or not, did keep in contact with me and...most of his team after Graduation Day. We were all made aware to your peculiar abilities, and their special qualities. They possess very rare traits that almost no other people have ever recorded before. To use magic abilities without the need of Dust. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"
Velvet warily nodded, slowly beginning to piece
together what it was that Ozpin was trying to say. A spike of anxiety passed through her, but she said nothing. Velvet wanted to be proven wrong, or perhaps she subconsciously wanted to be proven right.
"As a matter of fact, such rare abilities are a major reason why I feel you would be an essential part of the roster at Beacon Academy. Before such talks, however, I must ask you a very important question."
Ozpin paused, looking towards Dorian and the strange boy before looking back to Velvet. "You're smart enough to know where I'm going with this but," another pause, a small smile cracking at the corner of his mouth. "What is your favorite Fairy Tale?"