"Ruby, you need to rest." Sun tried to coax the girl to go back into her bed, the injuries she had sustained the day prior were severe and Miltiades mentioned that it would take weeks for her to heal. The medic couldn't say for certain if Ruby would be able to walk normally ever again, but that didn't deter the Gladiator in the slightest.
"No! Why did he leave so suddenly? No one knew that Nadir was being given to House Fall!" Ruby Rose was unconscious when they brought her back from the Arena. The ordeal caused her to miss Nadir leaving completely.
Sun sighed as he grabbed hold of Ruby and literally dragged her back to her bed, "You need to lay down, and I can't believe you have the energy to be raging around right now." He motioned towards the injured leg, "Torchwick allowed Nadir to come around the infirmary last night before Cinder and Mercury took him away."
"It's not fair…" Ruby whined, "Oum damn that man to the deepest levels of Hell with me so that I may spend eternity torturing him for all that he's done." She seethed silently.
The Faunus nodded his head in agreement, "I didn't see it coming either, but from what I've heard from the house slaves it seems like Nadir was given to the Fall family to appease his position with them. Politics."
"It's just us now." Ruby smiled sadly, "I don't know what I would do if I were without you too…"
Sun sat at Ruby's bedside and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I don't know what I would do without you as well, not after all this." He smiled sadly, "I swear to Oum and all the Dust in Remnant, Roman can tear me away from you after my dying breath."
A light punch landed on Sun's chest, "Don't say that, I want you alive, Dust dammit." Silver eyes looked into clear blue, "I love you, Sun. So don't die on me."
Sun smiled back as he leaned over to plant a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead, "I love you too, Rubes. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
Yang yawned as she lay back in the chair; the fruit salad she got from one of the port's vendors was sweet and refreshing in the Menagerie sun. She couldn't believe how it's the beginning of winter and yet it's still so warm in the southern hemisphere of Remnant.
She liked hanging out at the port because of all the different people that would blow through from so many different parts of the world. Yesterday she met a couple of uniformed guards that hailed all the way from Atlas. Their skin was pale and their uniform stifling in the warmth. They made for great company after a couple pints at the pub. Their small detachment was here on a good will mission with their Commander to meet with the High Leader of Menagerie.
Something about keeping relations civil, Yang didn't exactly care for things of politics. She'd rather swing her sword and hunt Grimm, which is what she had been doing here across the Faunus continent with Qrow. Yang understood why Huntsmen didn't want to come down south to hunt – the Grimm in the deserts here were no joke. On top of that the two also extended their stay to help over see the reinforcement of the village walls to further keep the Grimm beasts out.
"What's a sweetheart like you sitting all by your lonesome?" A man dressed in a loose tunic took the seat next to her, Yang studied him for a moment longer and guessed him to be from Mistral based on his clothing choice.
"Huntress. I'm here relaxing for the last few days I'm in town." Yang left her ridiculously huge sword back in the room, she did keep a small dagger on her person at all times, Qrow had gone to settle formal business with Ghira so that they could report to the Huntsmen Guild in town for their reward.
"A strong one I bet." The sailor winked at her, "But I reckon not nearly as strong as the Gladiators of my hometown."
She raised a brow, "What makes you say that?" She challenged him with a smirk on her face.
"Ayye, let me tell you," He slurped his pint and the drunken blush was evident on his face. "We let loose Grimm and beasts alike into that Arena, have these brave and noble fighters go up against them and see them triumph."
"Something I get paid to do, but go on." Yang's tone was light as she smiled to herself.
"I see your game there." He laughed a bit, "But let me tell you about the Match of the Century. Imagine our best Commander Pyrrha Nikos – hero of the Vytal Conflict and probably the strongest fighter in our ranks. Commander Nikos hails from a family of gladiators and heroes, and it isn't just lip service. I've seen dismantle and easily over whelm man and beast alike." There was gusto in his tone as he went on about the beloved hero. "So who else to match this famed and beloved hero than with someone who goes by the name of the Reaper."
"Spooky." Yang quipped, but she motioned the man to continue.
The sailor shot an irritated look at the blond's antics, but it broke back into a smile, "The Reaper… a Gladiator I've never seen before. Let me tell ya – the young girl has gone up against a pack of Beowolves and slain many men easily three times her size. But despite all those odds against her she has always come up victorious. Easily the fiercest fighter you'll ever meet."
"Do these Gladiators have a death wish or something?" Yang often fought huge beasts and Grimm, but it was always for the protection of the people. She couldn't imagine waging her life for mere entertainment.
"No, they're mostly slaves. A few warriors seeking glory often volunteer to fight in the Arena, like Commander Nikos."
Yang let the information sit, she remembered learning that Mistral had the hugest slave market in Remnant. "So who won? The brave Commander or the fierce slave?"
"I saw the match with my own eyes – I would call it a tie, but alas the great fight ended because the Reaper's sword snapped in half. The Nikos heirloom blade is forged from the toughest steel in the world." He looked over to his new companion, "As a Huntress you must travel a lot, have you been to Mistral?"
"I've actually never been to Mistral," Yang thought back on her travels, her and Qrow mostly stuck around Vale and Vacuo since they both laid claim to Vale as their home base. Not to mention a standard Hunt would take a month to really finish and thoroughly eradicate Grimm nest areas.
"You should go, maybe volunteer in the Arena too if you think you're as strong as you are." A challenge.
"Maybe I will, find this Pyrrha and take her title as strongest." Yang smiled at the thought, when was the last time she had gone on vacation?
"It's the Reaper you would want to roll with." The sailor let out as he emptied the pint, "Thanks for the company, Missy."
"Thanks for the story." Yang smiled.
This is why she liked hanging out by the port.
"Running into you is the last thing on my list of things to do." Winter Schnee eyed the man across the room, they were both there on business with Ghira. Winter was there on behalf of General Ironwood, Atlas and Menagerie had a naval partnership when it came to patrolling the southern waters for pirates. Menagerie would allow Atlas some resources in exchange for their fishermen's safety.
Qrow Branwen was there to wrap up the issue of the Grimm nests that were found close to Faunus village.
"Haven't exactly counted down the days since we last met." Qrow looked over the Altesian Officer.
"How have you been?" Winter broke the ice first.
"Cut the small talk." Qrow looked away, "Don't feel like you owe me."
"But I do." Winter mentioned, "You let me-"
"There wasn't a good reason to kill you," The Hunter looked out the window as he waited for Ghira to finish up whatever meeting he had.
Winter tugged at the prim collar of the stark white and silver uniform, "I didn't fight in the Vytal Conflict, General Ironwood allowed me to stay out of it."
"I don't care for those things, that's why I'm a Huntsman now." Red eyes continued to stare out the window, "That 5-year war with you guys… it was pointless and I never want to stomach anything like that again."
"You were a good scout for Vale, I still remember my troops telling me about the Red-Eyed Qrow stalking through the forests and single-handedly taking down squads." Winter was a young officer at the time, still fresh from the military academy.
Qrow looked down, "I hear through the grape vine you're a good officer." A sigh, "It's just a damn shame that we can't keep things peaceful – Vytal was unnecessary, too many dead for a damn island."
"Vytal is a strategic foothold for Mistral."
"What's strategic about their deaths?"
Winter remained silent in the face of the veteran, "Nothing."
Qrow took a final look out the window and decided to be civil, for once. It's not like he ran into the Schnee very often, "I won't antagonize you any longer, it's been years since we last saw each other. How's your sister?" Their relationship could only be described as strange – a series of chance meetings over the course of the years had brought them to this point. He never thought he would see the doe-eyed officer at some random port in Vacuo after the peace treaty had been signed with Vacuo. From then in on it was a trend, every so often they would run into each in the strangest corners of Remnant.
"Weiss is well from what she writes me, she went to Mistral to open up a new branch."
"Doing more of your dirty father's bidding, she should have left." The Schnee name was famous for their cutthroat methods, not to mention they went through slaves like nothing for their famed mines in the north.
"She wants to turn around the Schnee name."
"You've done a decent job of that yourself." The Huntsman leaned against the wall and kept a steady gaze.
Winter smiled at the rare compliment, "How's your niece? She get her license?"
"She's doing alright herself, she's been following me around as a partner on all of our Grimm expeditions."
"It's good seeing you Qrow." The officer let out, she thought back to the time when they met as enemies on the battlefield, she remembered hearing stories about that team Qrow was a part of. There were three more of them that worked together Qrow, but the old war vet didn't like to talk about the old memories.
"I suppose it's good seeing you too." Qrow smiled wearily, "I hope we don't ever have another war for you to fight in."
"You wouldn't take up arms again for Vale?"
"No." Qrow answered flatly. "No more wars, not for the rest of my lifetime."
A sheet of sweat coated the Wilding's body as he stepped out of the personal quarters that belonged to Councilman Salem. He was slightly out of breath and glad that the woman wasn't keen on the whole cuddling thing. It was strange to be here, never would he had ever guessed that he would leave the Torchwick Villa.
It had barely been a week, but Nadir was already adjusted to the lifestyle of the Fall slaves, which was not as grueling as what Torchwick put his slaves through. Mercury mentioned that this is pretty much the average life of slaves that belonged to your regular nobles. Nothing in comparison to the lavish wonderland that the Torchwick family had built upon hard slave discipline to make those parties as legendary as they are.
The Wilding scratched a bit at the skin around his collar, he knew the bath in the slave's quarters was still open and that there was left over food and drink available to him if he asked the kitchen slaves for some. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought over his plans for the rest of the evening. Other than training with Mercury and two other gladiators that the Fall family owned, it was a simple and quiet life.
Nothing like the life he had just left behind, the life that Ruby and Sun were still subjected to.
He ran a hand through his pink locks at the sight of Ruby before he left, she was pale from blood loss and the bandages that were wrapped around her thigh were soaked. She had taken a damn sword to the leg and still managed to pull off a magnificent victory. Ruby was like no other that he had met.
She didn't deserve any of the bullshit that she had been subjected to the past few years.
Nadir nearly ran into the silver haired slave as he turned the corner.
"Hey, you okay there?" Mercury was about to say a few choice words before he recognized who it was and what sort of expression he wore on his face.
"Ah, I apologize, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Nadir mentioned sheepishly.
Mercury looked over his shoulder, "If you're looking for something to eat, the kitchen staff and slaves are already gone – but I could help you out since I know where they keep everything."
"I would appreciate that." Nadir grinned, he heard stories about how well Mercury fights and it seems that he was good natured too since the fellow slave had done his best to ease Nadir into the new environment.
"No problem at all," Mercury smiled back as he turned heel, "What were you thinking about though? That was a serious look on your face." His tone sounded genuine.
Nadir looked the slave up and down before deciding to let go of the weight on his chest before it ate him up completely.
"I was just thinking about Sun and Ruby."
"What about them?" Mercury had to bite back the gut wrenching feeling that made him want to puke out his dinner. He wasn't the type to be the shoulder to lean on, or to lend an ear to someone who needed it. But there was things he needed to get done, so he would grit and bear with it all while the newest Fall slave spoke of his friends and some of their trials.
Red eyes looked up at the night sky, it was a full moon and the night sky always seemed a little darker as the seasons turned colder. Though Menagerie was still pleasant during the winter months. He thought it funny that the grown woman in front of him would be so hesitant – she rarely showed apprehension. That much was evident the other day when she rushed straight on into the King Taijitu nest.
He knew there was something eating at her from the way she would wring her hands every minute or so.
"I won't stop you." Qrow smiled down at his niece before she could get what it was off her chest.
"Wh-what?" Yang was taken back, "What do you mean?" She was surprised that her uncle managed to beat her to the punch.
"You wanna leave, right?" Qrow leaned back on the wooden railing as he listened to the waves below the pier. "I've been sensing it since our mission hunting Death Stalkers in Vacuo."
"I wasn't going to suggest that, I was going to ask if you wanted to head to Mistral. I heard an interesting-"
"Mistral's a nice place, lots to do in that Kingdom." The older Huntsman cut off his partner. "The Kingdom's got plenty to do with lots of character both good and shady, but nothing you can't handle." He turned his gaze to his niece, "Try it out for once, going on your own."
Yang looked down at the water, "You gonna be okay?"
Qrow snorted at the thought, "I think I'll be more than just okay." He looked on affectionately towards her, "I'll wait for you in Vale, the usual inn we stay at."
"You mean you don't want to hang out in Atlas for the winter?" Yang waggled her eyebrows.
"I will never do another Atlas mission in the winter for as long as I can help it." Qrow shuddered at the thought of toughing out another Atlas mission in the winter, in the summer it wasn't so bad, but the winter... that was something else.
"Guess I'll look into how much fares are from here." Yang smiled as she closed her eyes, it was a different feeling fluttering around in her stomach, to go off on her own adventure.
"I might be able to call in a favor for you in terms of transportation." A smug grin could be seen on the old Huntsman's face.
When it comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb.
Blake stared at the piece of parchment one more time, she was surprised to find a message in that crevice of Villa's walls since it had been some time since the last one. She crumpled it and proceeded to shove the note into her mouth.
A few hard chews and a forceful gulp ensured the message should never be seen.
'March, we move in March.' The Faunus thought to herself as she tended to the rest of the garden, or rather what was left of it since the biting cold had came in.
"Blake, aren't you cold?" Despite the fact how it was not yet light out, Weiss was up and ready to take on the day since she was getting ready to open up a proper headquarters in the heart of the city and properly manage the business from there. She was mentioning how she would hire on some employees to help manage the books and lessen the workload that was starting to make even Blake's eyes swim.
"A little, I underestimated the weather a bit." She replied back sheepishly.
"Should I ask Klein for something warmer for you?" Weiss stepped out into the courtyard and immediately pulled the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter.
Blake shook her head as she motioned for her master to go back inside where it was much warmer, "It's fine, I was just checking on the garden and was kind of wondering if anything was still alive."
"It does look a little dreary without the flowers now, doesn't it?" The Merchant thought to herself, "In Atlas, we have plants that can grow in the winter. Maybe I'll send a letter back home for some seeds to be sent. Klein's favorite flower is known as a Sweet Pea, they're pretty popular in Atlas." She nodded her head at the thought as they two gravitated toward the fire pit of the parlor room.
"I don't think I've ever seen a winter plant before." Blake wondered what Klein's reaction would be if he saw his favorite plant growing here, the man absolutely adored the court yard in the early fall when everything was in full bloom for what would be the last time of the year.
"All the more reason to have some sent over then." Weiss hummed as she headed for the study, "Klein is preparing a porridge for breakfast, please come get me when the food is ready."
"Of course!" Blake called back.
Her stomach began to ache, but the Faunus couldn't tell if it was from swallowing the blasted paper earlier, or this feeling of guilt that was beginning to sit heavily on her conscience.
A crowd gathered around, it was a mix of the Faunus who ran the several port side shops and the pristine white that unmistakably belonged to the Altesian military. The bunch was rowdy and jostled about as bronze and silver lien was being thrown down into the center on which they thought wanted to place their bets on.
"Shall we settle this once and for all, friend?" To others, she sounded condescending, but to Yang she knew that the Atlas soldier meant well since that was just the way she talked. The Huntress learned that she had a prim and proper upbringing in order to follow in her father's footsteps. Something that Yang though was a waste, but after sharing a few pints wit her (and Oum could this Altesian keep up) she knew that it was something the Altesian Lieutenant had dreamed of doing since hearing her father's old war stories.
"Let's go, Penny." A signature smirk was played out on Yang's face, her elbow made a loud thunk as she set it heavily on the tabletop. Lieutenant Penny Polendina smiled as placed her arm into position with purpose and precision. A Faunus and another Altesian sailor did a final inspection over the starting position.
"Nothing dirty ladies, just keep it clean, and as always, if your elbow lifts up off the table it's an automatic loss." The Altesian explained.
"And bets are closed!" The Faunus chimed in.
The Faunus and sailor exchanged a look as they both inhaled, "Begin!" They roared out in unison.
The crowd exploded as the arm wrestling match between the Huntress and their beloved Lieutenant began.
Qrow chuckled at the sight as he watched the spectacle from the back of the crowd, but his attention was brought to the irritate footsteps that were snapping down the pier. He didn't even have to turn around to see who it was.
"What the fuck is going on here? I told those buffoons to get the ship ready to leave port and they're here doing Oum knows." Major Winter Schnee seethed as she took a deep breath to bring order to the chaos.
"Relax, they got their stuff squared away, that Lieutenant of yours is pretty sharp." Qrow patted Winter's shoulders.
"She better be, that's Ironwood's daughter."
If Qrow was drinking something, he would have choked on it, "Wh-What?"
"Don't ask too many questions, not a lot of people know who the mother is." She shrugged, "So where's your niece?" She scanned the crowd.
"Take a guess." A smug smile was plastered on his face.
"No… you don't mean." Winter paled as her eyes settled on the blond in the middle, a groan escaped, "I already heard some stories about a blond in port that's like wild fire… I should have known."
"What were you hoping for?" The Huntsman's tone was just as a smug as his smile.
"A professional who hunted Grimm for a living." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "You're lucky we already had plans to sail for Mistral…" Lieutenant Polendina always had an unusual amount of energy, and just seeing how well she played off of Yang was causing a headache to form.
"How long's the journey again?" There was something about antagonizing the Schnee.
"Seven days." Winter growled, "but if we go fast we can cut it down in half the time."
"Now why would you want to do that?"
The question was answered with the sound of a table not breaking, but imploding on the sheer force of Penny Polendina smashing Yang Xiao Long's hand through the tabletop. A triumphant yell erupted from Atlas' finest as they broke out into a familiar war song to celebrate the Lieutenant's victory.
"Oh, I guess I can see why." Qrow had a deep laugh emit, which only further infuriated Winter.
Red eyes that were filled with mirth watched as Yang and Penny shook hands, both were obviously pleased with the outcome.
"Hey kid!" Qrow called out, "Come here, I want you to meet my…" He trailed off and looked the officer over, "My friend."
Winter's brewing headache subsided, she sighed as she watched Yang walk up with the Lieutenant in trail.
The trip couldn't be that bad.
A/N:
Happy Holidays everyone, hope you enjoyed the new installment of Gladiator. Found some inspiration to continue on with this story, I'm determined to finish this and see this through.
Hope to see you guys in the chapter!
Cheers,
DevilRed