Shorter chapter this week, but from hereon out they will be significantly longer.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Chapter 6. Malicious Shadows
Vale was more often than not a bright and lively place during the hours when the yellow sunlight graced the town.
There was a guise about the kingdom, that it was almost a carefree place, light atmosphere with little to no troubles on their minds.
No one liked to think about what happened when the candles went out at night.
Nighttime, when the less-than-pleasant kind of people crept out from the woodwork, when laughter was replaced with screaming as any straggling or lost citizens were dragged by their hair to dark alleyways, where they were tossed into holding cells and given numbers that designated when they would be thrown into the forests.
The White Fang was efficient with their work, and to this day, no prisoner had ever escaped or lived to give away their whereabouts.
As always, they only took good fodder – abandoned children, homeless taxpayers, or sickened elderly. If the Grimm could be fed for a while, they would not attack the town; the White Fang's creed was that the sacrifice of the few would benefit the masses in the long run.
Those who joined of their own free will believed in this wholeheartedly and sought to eradicate the beasts at all costs, despite the late Queen's orders.
Besides, the prisoners they collected would serve a better purpose dying in the woods rather than on the streets of the town.
From the military's training grounds, a few dozen soldiers and other people of authority were sent out to patrol the town at night, to keep an eye out for questionable activity or possible Grimm attacks.
Two such people walked together down a familiar alley, one that was hugged by abandoned shops that had burned down and never been rebuilt.
The sounds of their armor clanked lightly as they walked.
The taller of the two was a boy with gray hair, and he held a lantern in one hand. His companion was a girl with long hair like the mint-green leaves of the forest. They checked to make sure they were not being followed, remaining silent as they followed the twists and turns of the dark streets.
Along the way, they met up with several other people, holding their lanterns in a similar fashion to demonstrate their camaraderie. Most of the others were Faunus, but the pair of humans was not chased off or attacked; they were companions.
Not a sound was made save from the scuffle of boots over the dusty ground, and they made their way to a specific building. One of a dozen or so, this was one of Vale's security stations of sorts.
But no one jumped up and sounded the alarm when they entered, no one called for backup or ordered shots to be fired.
This branch welcomed the White Fang.
Perhaps that was what made it so easy for them to conduct their activities unnoticed; because whenever the authorities came in search of them, they miraculously always came up empty-handed.
Of course, there had been a few instance when the uncorrupted authorities had found out a few things here or there, but those never made it back to report what they had found.
The lines of Faunus moved into the building, heading straight to the basement. There were dungeons here where they kept their bait, and the wails and screams sent a delighted shiver up the human girl's spine. Her companion noticed and chuckled.
"You really get a kick out of it, don't you?"
"And you don't?" she challenged. "I just think it's hilarious how one minute they're crawling around the streets, sniveling and begging to die. But the second we bring them in here, they're begging for their lives." She went up to one of the cells where a woman with small, furry ears was sobbing. "Well too bad!" The girl snarled and kicked the bars of the cell, sending the woman stumbling back.
"Come on, Emerald," the boy said, grabbing her by the hood. "We can do this later. We've gotta report now."
"Oh, that's right!" She clapped her hands. "We get to see Cinder tonight." With that knowledge in mind, she all but rushed the rest of the way down the halls. Her companion followed more slowly, and she rounded on him. "Hurry up, Mercury! We can't keep her waiting!"
"Yeah, yeah." He followed her down another flight of stairs, and the other Faunus and members of the White Fang followed.
It was the night of their weekly meeting, and there was a sense of excitement in the air.
The final staircase led them down into a spacious room with a platform where the members gathered and formed an audience, waiting for their leaders to appear on-stage and speak.
Most of them did just that, mingling into a crowd, but Emerald and Mercury slipped through them, bound for a far corner of the room beside the platform.
They could see the golden glow of Dust off her crimson dress even from far away, and as the neared, they bowed their heads.
"Good evening, Cinder," Emerald greeted her.
The woman's eyes lit up with interest, and she ran a hand through her ashen hair.
"My, my..." Her voice was thick and slow and sweet, like poisonous honey that no one would be opposed to swallowing. "How are the new recruits doing this fine night? I trust Ozpin and his troops treated you well?"
"Oh yes," Mercury grunted. "So much hospitality. They threw us onto the front lines in battle today."
"That is good," Cinder purred. "So tell me what you learned."
"Plenty," Emerald replied. "We had the pleasure of fighting only a dozen or so yards from the Princesses of Vale themselves."
Cinder's eyes widened slightly, and a wicked smile curled her lips.
"Do tell."
"Well," Emerald went on. "We observed them from our positions, but we only witnessed the fighting skills of the Faunus aide and the knight. The Princesses themselves didn't engage any of the Grimm."
Cinder tilted her head, blinked slowly, and then nodded.
"I see. And you think you know exactly why that is, don't you?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"So tell me what you think of it then."
Emerald nodded and smirked as she continued.
"After what we've researched, there's no doubt about it; it's this generation's reincarnation of the Dragon's Curse."
Cinder reached out a hand to pat each of them on the head, chuckling to herself.
"Very, very, good."
Chapter 7 preview: Blake knelt down in front of the child, keeping a short distance between them, ever cautious.
"I'm sorry for scaring you. What's going on?" Rarely did children come to Blake, and even more rare was receiving a child who seemed frightened out of his wits. The boy's Faunus ears were drooping as he took a step back.
"Th-The White Fang!" he hissed so only Blake could hear, and her ears flattened instantly. "The White Fang are t-trying to take my parents! Please help them..."
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